News
The number of news found: 61.
09/30/2007 FARMER SENTENCED FOR ANIMAL ABUSE!
A chicken farmer has been forced out of business by a judge in New Zealand's first ever prosecution of a battery hen farm. The Wellington District Court judge said the hefty sentence was a warning to companies that treat chickens as machines. Trevor Chin was fined NZ$30,000 in fines and court costs and sentenced to 400 hours community service. Chin and his business Wellington Egg Company pleaded guilty to 10 charges relating to abuse of chickens on his Judgeford Farm under the Animal Welfare Act. Dead birds were cooped in with live chickens while hungry birds were forced to peck on rotting carcases. The judge sentencing Chin expressed his outrage when giving the verdict. 'I just don't understand how you and your staff walked past and saw chicken heads stuck in the cage and unable to feed, and done this on a day to day basis,' said Judge Gregory Ross.
09/30/2007 OFFICIALS HAVE KILLED FIVE WOLVES IN TWO DAYS!
Five wolves from two separate packs were killed Monday and Tuesday in southwestern Montana for preying on cattle. That brought to nine the number of wolves removed by federal agents in Granite County over the past two weeks. Officials from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Wildlife Services shot and killed one adult female wolf and three young females out of the Sapphire Pack in upper Rock Creek on Monday. The pack, one of the largest in western Montana, was weeded down after the second confirmed calf killing on private land since July. On Tuesday, the lone survivor of the Bearmouth pack southwest of Drummond was killed. Wildlife Services removed four wolves from the Bearmouth pack in mid-September, after eliminating one in August. Tuesday's kill was a collared alpha female. The shootings completed the control actions in both locations. The wolf kills pushed the number of government-mandated wolf kills in 2007 past the total for all of 2006 in Montana. A tentative mid-year count released this week by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said 50 wolves had been killed through last week. That compares to 53 last year.
09/29/2007 EMMY AWARDED FOR PBS DOCUMENTARY FEATURING CHIMPANZEES RESCUED FROM NEW MEXICO LAB!
On September 24 in New York, a powerful documentary that tells the stories of hundreds of chimpanzees saved from research labs was awarded a News & Documentary Emmy for 'Outstanding Individual Achievement in a Craft: Research.' The documentary, titled 'Chimpanzees: An Unnatural History,' tells the stories of hundreds of chimpanzees saved from chimpanzee research labs, two of which - The Coulston Foundation of Alamogordo, N.M. and New York University's Laboratory for Experimental Medicine and Surgery in Primates - were shut down amidst intense and years-long IDA investigations and campaigns. IDA has been in the forefront of working to stop research on chimpanzees and exposing their abuse in labs for over 13 years. Kleiman provided Ms. Argo, the writer, producer and director of the film, with extensive support and documentation relating to the decades-long controversy over hundreds of chimpanzees held in labs in New Mexico by the Air Force and the Coulston Foundation.
09/29/2007 BEEF INDUSTRY IS A MASSIVE DRAIN ON THE IRISH ECONOMY!
The beef Industry is a massive drain on the Irish Economy costing it an astounding e750m a year because the costs of production are not recovered by the price received, a conference in Dublin has been told. The current system of subsidies, although much reformed is still skewed in favour of richer farmers and works to the detriment of developing countries and at a high cost to the national Economy, Professor Alan Matthews of Trinity College Dublin told the National Forum in Europe Conference on the future of the EU model of farming. (Evening Herald)
09/28/2007 EFSA TO LOOK INTO SEAL HUNTING PRACTICES!
Following a request by the European Commission, the European Food Safety Agency (EFSA) is to prepare a scientific opinion on the methods for killing and skinning seals currently used in and outside the European Union. The aim is to measure, as far as is scientifically possible, the degree of pain, distress and suffering that may be caused by each method, and to identify the most humane practices.
09/27/2007 STOP UNNECESSARY AND CRUEL EXPERIMENTS ON DOGS!
A New York Times guest journalist recently toured an animal laboratory run by George Fahey at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and found dogs who 'had been mutilated for the sake of science.' Each of the dogs had undergone a bizarre surgery in which plastic tubing was run from the dog's intestines to a spout outside the dog's body in order to measure metabolism and nutrient absorption. This mutilation is as outdated as it is cruel.
09/26/2007 300 CATS HAVE BEEN SAVED IN ITALY!
Volunteers of OIPA Varese branch and their delegated have worked hard during past months: they have helped, fed and taken to the vet for spaying/neutering about 300 stray cats in Gallarate (VA). They all have received help from the Italian Military Air Force, based in the city, which has offered for the animals an area that they do not use and they have donated empy boxes for the shelter.
09/26/2007 MAN ACCUSED OF FEEDING CATS TO PIT BULLS!
A Georgia man has been charged with aggravated cruelty to animals for capturing neighborhood kittens and cats and feeding them to his pit bulls. The warrant charges that Tye Hilmo 'did give injured live cats and kittens to his pit bull dogs and let the pit bulls kill the already injured cats and kittens. Hilmo would capture and injure neighborhood cats for this purpose.' Authorities acted after receiving an anonymous tip that Hilmo had been capturing cats for his dogs to kill. The tipster also said Hilmo was preparing his pit bulls for dog fighting. Investigators said they do not have enough evidence to charge Hilmo with dog fighting. Investigators found the bodies of two kittens near Hilmo's house. They also found evidence on his cell phone: a picture of one of his pit bulls and a dead kitten, and beneath the picture, a caption that says 'Good Dog.' Aggravated cruelty to animals is a felony, and if convicted, Hilmo can face one to five years in prison and a fine of up to $15,000. Hilmo was already in jail on drug, firearm and probation violation charges.
09/25/2007 CULL LOOMS FOR MILLIONS OF TRAPPED HILL SHEEP!
The UK government may have to cull millions of sheep trapped on the hills by the animal movement ban which has been imposed after the recent foot and mouth outbreaks. Ministers discussed the idea last week but postponed a decision in the hope that they could allow a partial lifting of the ban in areas outside the southeast, the scene of the outbreaks. However, news that 40 cattle were being slaughtered at a farm on the Surrey-Berkshire border, after another confirmed outbreak, will make any lifting of the ban less likely. A number of other reported outbreaks are also under analysis. It could mean a return of the pyres of burning animals seen in the 2001 outbreak.
09/25/2007 AR ACTIVISTS BUY FREEDOM FOR BULGARIA'S THREE DANCING BEARS!
Bulgaria's last three dancing bears are being sent to a mountain sanctuary after activists bought their freedom Friday in an effort to stamp out the centuries-old tradition which has survived in the Balkans despite being outlawed. The trio - 8-year-old Mima, Misho, 19, and Svetla, 17 - will join another 20 brown bears in their new home on Mount Rila, a 12-hectare sanctuary 180 kilometers south of Sofia partly funded by a foundation run by former French actress Brigitte Bardot. Throughout the Balkans, families - mostly among the Gypsy or Roma community - have long earned a living through performing bears. But the brutal techniques used to train them led the practice to be banned. The bears are captured while still young. Their nose or lips are pierced, and a metal ring attached to a chain is inserted; the pain ensures instant submission. The cubs are forced to walk on burning embers or a hot sheet of metal, and hop from one hind leg to the other in order to escape the burning, while their trainer beats a drum. The process is repeated until the bear learns to connect the drum to the pain. As dancing bears are illegal, authorities could simply have taken Mima, Misho and Svelta away from their owners, in the eastern village of Getsovo. Instead, the Four Paws Foundation decided to pay for their freedom by giving their owners small grants to set up new businesses. In return, the owners signed declarations pledging never to take up the bear dancing business again.
09/24/2007 BEAR BREAKS INTO HOSPITAL!
Doctors and patients were shocked when a hungry bear with a can on its head broke into a psychiatric hospital in Romania. The bear went berserk after getting the metal can stuck on its head, breaking down the entrance door and running through corridors. Doctors at the Psychiatric Sanatorium, in Predeal mountain spa, Brasov county, called hunters to help them catch the animal. One of the hunters Aurel Iordache said: 'The bear was very agitated. It couldn't breath or see because of the aluminum can that was stuck on its head. No one could get near it so we had to sedate it first.' The bear was eventually tranquillised and the hunters used grease to remove the can from its head before the animal was released into the woods.
09/24/2007 6000 MINK RELEASED FROM NEWFOUNDLAND PRISON!
As many as 6000 captive mink were released from the Harcourt Mink Farm, located 1 kilometer east of Ryders Brook Bridge, off of Route 232, on Trinity Bay along the eastern coast of Newfoundland, according to police reports. Imprisoned in cages for life, fur-bearing animals are forced to endure the intensive confinement of only a few square feet of cage, compared to the
miles of territory these animals would enjoy in the wild - their natural state. While reports from the fur industry have surfaced that liberations were harmful to the animals, the ALF has a long history of successfully releasing animals into the wild from fur farms.
09/23/2007 BRAVO DOG & CAT FOODS RECALLED!
The FDA has announced that Bravo! has recalled select tubes of three of its poultry products for cats and dogs. The companion animals food is being recalled because two of the products have the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella and Listeria monocytogenes, while the other product has the potential to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. This can be serious to companion animals and can cause cross contamination to people.
09/23/2007 DOG SWIMS 4 KM TO NURSE HER PUPS!
A dog swims more than 4 km every day to nurse her newborn puppies who are stranded on an island. The dog, already a celebrity in Chongqing city, is called Huahua by local people. She gave birth to four pups at Shanhuba, which has become an island in the Changjiang River due to the heavy rains this summer. Huahua swims 1.2 km to the island every day to nurse her four babies. Then she returns to the Changjiang River, following the flow of the water, to swim another 1.1 km to another part of the city to feed herself. Each day Huahua does the whole journey twice, once in the morning, around 7 A.M., and again at 7 P.M., at which point she stays with her pups on the island and returns to the city the next morning.
09/22/2007 COURT RULES 'KAPPAROT' RITUAL VIOLATES ANIMAL SLAUGHTER LAWS!
A Petach Tikvah court on Tuesday ruled that the ritual slaughter of chickens for the Yom Kippur 'kapparot' ritual is a violation of state regulations on animal slaughter. American rabbis also have expressed reservations about the proper slaughter of these animals, prompted by a complaint to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. A report by PETA about cruelty toward chickens before Yom Kippur led a group of Hasidic rabbis to discuss reducing the animals' suffering. The U.S. edition of the Orthodox publication Hamodia ran an editorial calling for greater supervision of the slaughter.
09/22/2007 PIG DISEASE IN CHINA WORRIES THE WORLD!
At first, it was just some of the piglets. The mother gave birth to 13, all of them stillborn. Within a few weeks, however, she and other adult pigs in neighboring stalls became feverish and died. By the end of the summer, all but a handful of the village's 300 pigs had succumbed to the mysterious disease. Moving rapidly from one farm to the next, the virus has been devastating pig communities throughout China for more than a year, wiping out entire herds, driving pork prices up nearly 87 percent in a year and helping push the country's inflation rate to its highest levels since 1996. The Chinese government has admitted that the swine deaths amount to an epidemic but contends that the situation is under control.
09/21/2007 VANDERBILT NEGLIGENCE KILLS LABORATORY ANIMALS!
NASHVILLE - Recently-obtained federal laboratory violations reports reveal that negligence inside Vanderbilt labs have taken the lives of several animals, while others have had painful brain scraping procedures done without anesthesia. USDA reports obtained by SAEN (Stop Animal Exploitation NOW) reveal that in January 2007, a rabbit was killed by being run through a cage washer at Vanderbilt. In May of 2007 three cotton rats were killed due to improper handling. Another federal violation report for Vanderbilt describes a primate who was subjected to a painful brain-scrape procedure without benefit of anesthesia or pain relief of any kind. According to SAEN Vanderbilt's laboratories have piled up 64 federal violations in the last two years, placing them among the nation's worst laboratories. In a recent two year period Vanderbilt's experimental animal use has climbed by 52% as federal funding of animal experimentation at Vanderbilt has topped $170 million. SAEN has contacted Jeanne Wallace, Vanderbilt's Assistant Vice Chancellor for Research to demand a tour of all animal laboratories.
09/21/2007 UNIVERSITY EXPERIMENTS ON MONKEY BRAINS SHUT DOWN BY PETA!
From 1998 to 2006, Dr. David Waitzman of the University of Connecticut Health Center went from receiving a $1.7 million grant from the National Eye Institute, a division of the National Institute of Health, to shutting down his lab at the urging of the University of Connecticut. Waitzman, whose research concentrated on how the brain stem controls eye movement, ran into trouble in 2004 when then-UConn student Justin Goodman, founder of the UConn Animal Rights Collective and research associate with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), learned of his research, which included allegedly unauthorized experimentation involving monkeys. An official complaint from PETA, written by Goodman, to the National Eye Institute contains details of a treatment log kept by doctors at the laboratory.
09/20/2007 CHRISSIE HYNDE OPENS VEGETARIAN RESTAURANT!
AKRON, Ohio Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees Chrissie Hynde and Jerry Lee Lewis performed at a concert to benefit a local theater and celebrate the upcoming opening of Hynde's vegetarian restaurant. Hynde, an Akron native and the lead singer of The Pretenders, presided over a weekend-long celebration of VegiTerranean, her eatery that will feature a blend of Mediterranean and vegetarian cuisine when it opens here in October. The events started with a Friday night acoustic performance, continued Saturday afternoon with the restaurant's ribbon-cutting ceremony and ended Saturday night with the concert. Hynde handed out bean salsa and other hors d'oeuvres from a silver platter at the ribbon-cutting ceremony. 'Save animals and stop all of the violence,' she told those gathered at the ceremony. Proceeds from the concert benefited the Akron Civic Theatre. Hynde lives in England and will partner with Dan Duplain, owner of Fedeli restaurant in downtown Canton, to operate the eatery.
09/20/2007 IBM BIDS TO FIND DISEASE CURES USING COMPUTER GRID!
Technology giant IBM launched a bid Tuesday to find drug treatments for diseases such as dengue fever and Hepatitis C by using a global computer grid whose aim is to benefit humanity. Researchers estimated 50,000 years of computing research would be needed for the bid but it will instead be completed in just one year through the 'world community grid,' IBM said in Bangalore, where it has a research facility.
09/20/2007 WINSTON BACKS BREEDING 'DESIGNER PIGS WITH HEARTS FOR HUMANS'!
The research, led by fertility expert Professor Lord Robert Winston, eventually aims to breed genetically-modified animals with organs that would not be rejected when transplanted into desperately-ill men and women. The animals would ultimately carry a ready supply of hearts, kidneys, livers and other organs for transplant into humans. Lord Winston is known to millions as the presenter of TV series such as The Human Body. Although the work, being carried out at Imperial College London, is still in the early stages, he is confident of producing the first designer pigs within two years. This means organs grown in pigs could be used in human transplants within a decade.
09/19/2007 EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AGAINST GREAT APE EXPERIMENTS!
Spare the apes. That's the message from the Members of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France. Last week, 433 of 626 MEPs signed a declaration demanding an end to experiments on great apes and non-human primates in Europe. The declaration is not legally binding, but it is a barometer of opinion and must be formally taken into account by officials drawing up legislation in the European Commission (EC). 'It sends an incredibly powerful message to the commission, who are currently reviewing rules for animal experiments across Europe,' says Animal Defenders International, the London and San Francisco-based lobby group that championed the declaration. Later this year, the EC is due to update and redraft a 21-year-old directive that regulates animal experiments. At present, it allows experiments on all non-human primates, although the UK unilaterally banned experiments on great apes in 1997. Europe currently conducts tests on around 10,000 non-human primates each year.
09/19/2007 CARRIAGE HORSE DIES IN ACCIDENT NEAR CENTRAL PARK!
One of the horses that pulls carriages around Central Park died Friday after breaking loose and running into a tree, police said. No people were injured in the crash at about 4:40 P.M., and further details on the incident were not immediately available, police said. It was not clear what had startled the horse.
09/19/2007 GENETIC 'BARCODES' MAY CUT ILLEGAL TRADE!
New genetic tests could help crack down on illegal food or timber trade, fight malaria or even give clues to how to stop bird strikes with planes, scientists said. Experts have identified DNA 'barcodes' - named after the black and white lines that identify products in a supermarket - of more than 31,000 species of animals and plants against 12,700 species in 2005 in a fast-growing branch of science. 'We're building up a reference library of species,' said David Schindel of the U.S. Smithsonian Institution who is executive secretary of the Consortium for the Barcode of Life. About 350 barcode experts will meet from September 18-20 in Taipei.
09/18/2007 COMPANION ANIMALS SLAUGHTERED FOR FOOD IN MEAT-STARVED ZIMBABWE!
Companion animals are being slaughtered for meat in shortage-stricken Zimbabwe and record numbers of animals have been surrendered to shelters or abandoned by owners no longer able to feed them, according to animal welfare groups. The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said it could not feed surrendered animals or find new homes and was being forced to kill them and destroy the corpses. Vets have run out of the drug used to put down the animals and are relying on intermittent donations from neighbouring South Africa. One veterinary practice was waiting for supplies to destroy about 20 animals, and on Friday could neither feed them adequately nor fatally inject them. In Zimbabwe's economic meltdown, meat, cornmeal, bread and other staples have vanished from shops and stores. Illegally slaughtered meat sells for more than 10 times the government's fixed price on the thriving black market.
09/18/2007 BULGARIA REPORTS SECOND OUTBREAK OF RARE BRUCELLOSIS DISEASE!
Bulgaria's national veterinary service confirmed last Wednesday a second oubreak of the rare animal disease brucellosis in the south of the country. The service said in a statement that 36 goats out of a herd of 70 had tested positive for the rare infection in the southern town of Harmanli. The infection in Harmanli spread from a first outbreak in August in the nearby village of Valche pole, where dozens of goats and sheep were found to be infected after a woman fell ill with brucellosis-like symptoms. Three other people later also tested positive for the disease, which is often difficult to diagnose as its initial symptoms, which include weakness, fever, sweating, headaches, and joint pains, resemble ordinary flu. Humans can contract brucellosis from contact with sick sheep and goats or by consuming infected meat, milk or cheese. The disease, which is very rare in Bulgaria, can be fatal for humans but cannot be transferred from one person to another.
09/18/2007 ONE IN FOUR MAMMALS UNDER THREAT!
Thousands of species in danger of extinction in the wild may survive only in captivity. The annual 'Red List' of extinct and endangered species to be published by the World Conservation Union is expected to show another increase in the numbers under threat of being wiped out by habitat loss, hunting, alien predators and climate change. Last year the union warned that the world faced 'the sixth great extinction of life on earth' as mammals, amphibians, birds, insects, fish and plants were being lost at 'unprecedented rates'. One in four mammals and one in eight bird species have been labelled 'threatened'. News that the list will show another deterioration will prompt fresh warnings about the danger of ecosystems collapsing, leading to problems with food supply and other 'biological services' such as the provision of clean water. Although some species are expected to be put into 'safer' categories after successful projects to protect them, more are believed to face a vulnerable future.
09/17/2007 MALAYSIAN MINISTRY BANS SHARK'S FIN SOUP!
Malaysia's Natural Resources and Environment Ministry has struck off shark's fin soup from the menus at official functions, to help conserve the species, a report said on Friday. Minister Azmi Khalid told the official Bernama news agency that the ministry had made the commitment to the Malaysian Nature Society. 'By refraining from the consumption of shark's fin soup, it is hoped that the ministry would contribute in one way or another towards the current conservation efforts for sharks species,' he said. The society's Selangor branch Marine Group is on a drive to encourage individuals and organisations to stop serving the delicacy at corporate functions. The marine group had embarked on a series of activities and programmes to promote awareness on the plight of sharks and their importance to the marine ecosystem.
09/17/2007 ART INSTITUTE STUDENTS TAKE CHALLENGE TO DESIGN ANIMAL CRUELTY-FREE CLOTHING!
Each year, 40 million animals are slaughtered so their fur can be used for clothing. For Pierre Grzybowski, with the Humane Society of the United States, those numbers are unacceptable. He and his organization are challenging the world’s future designers to change the status quo by designing animal cruelty-free clothing. As part of its third annual Cool vs. Cruel contest, HSUS partnered with the Art Institutes of the US and Canada, including the one based in Phoenix. Contestants from the 32 participating Art Institutes are given four different photos of trendy runway designs donning real fur and are challenged to reinterpret that same style using all cruelty-free material. Each contestant will design the garment each step of the way with the goal of creating a runway ready outfit. The winner receives an all-expenses paid week-long trip to New York to intern with a top fashion designer.
09/17/2007 THE ABANDONED MONKEY HAS FOUND LOVE WITH A PIGEON!
They're an odd couple in every sense but a monkey and a pigeon have become inseparable at an animal sanctuary in China. The 12-week-old macaque - who was abandoned by his mother - was close to death when it was rescued on Neilingding Island, in Goangdong Province. After being taken to an animal hospital his health began to improve but he seemed spiritless - until he developed a friendship with a white pigeon. The blossoming relationship helped to revive the macaque who has developed a new lease of life, say staff at the sanctuary. Now the unlikely duo are never far from each other's side, but they aren't the only ones to strike up an unusual friendship. Earlier this year a pig adopted a tiger cub and raised him along with her piglets because his mother couldn't feed him. And in 2005 a baby dear named Mi-Lu befriended lurcher Geoffrey at the Knowsley Animal Park in Merseyside after she was rejected by her mother.
09/16/2007 VICTORY FOR MAGGIE!
The Alaska Zoo has announced that it will send Maggie, a 27-year-old African elephant, to the Performing Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) sanctuary in California. This is fantastic news for Maggie! Maggie was captured in Zimbabwe in 1981 during a cull - a killing operation intended to reduce the population of wild elephants. She probably watched as her entire family was slaughtered. She has lived at the Alaska Zoo in Anchorage since 1983 and has been alone at the zoo since 1997, when her only companion, Annabelle, an Asian elephant, died. Anchorage, like most northern cities, is far too cold for an elephant, so Maggie has spent much of each year confined to a small concrete enclosure indoors. Earlier this year, Maggie collapsed twice and needed assistance in standing - a sure sign that inadequate conditions were affecting her health. PETA and concerned citizens around the world have been urging the zoo for years to send Maggie to a sanctuary. Maggie is going to PAWS' 2,300-acre sanctuary, a world-class facility that will provide her with the opportunity to roam through natural habitat, play in a lake, forage on fresh vegetation, and enjoy a healthy and enriching life in the company of other elephants. Not only will Maggie's social needs be addressed, the sanctuary environment has proved to be therapeutic to ailing elephants. The zoo plans to finalize the agreement with PAWS within two weeks. If all goes according to plan, Maggie will be headed to the sanctuary before winter.
09/16/2007 RABBLE ATTACKS JOURNALIST IN TORDESILLAS!
A journalist with her cameraman were trying to record the loading of poor bull Jaquerito in the lorry to take him to his torture when the men attacked. The journalist was just doing her work, in a very professional manner when suddenly the rabble attacked them and everyone watching this prime channel could see it LIVE. A hapless bull is eventually chased through the town by a huge rabble of drunken people armed with swords that stab him until he falls dying and then they cut his sexual organs while he is still alive, as a 'trophy'.
09/16/2007 GRAY WHALE VICTIM OF ILLEGAL HUNTING!
On Saturday, September 8, a Pacific gray whale was killed off the coast of Washington State. Pierced by both steel harpoons and bullets from a high-powered rifle, the whale suffered a prolonged and painful death over an estimated nine hours. The perpetrators of this crime were five members of the Makah Indian tribe, acting in violation of U.S. laws and international agreements.
09/15/2007 GORILLAS NOW 'CRITICALLY ENDANGERED'!
The most common type of gorilla is now 'critically endangered,' one step away from global extinction, according to the 2007 Red List of Threatened Species released Wednesday by the World Conservation Union. The Ebola virus is depleting Western Gorilla populations to a point where it might become impossible for them to recover. Commercial hunting, civil unrest and habitat loss due to logging and forest clearance for palm oil plantations are compounding the problem, said the Swiss-based group known by its acronym IUCN.
09/15/2007 RESCUED HENS SHED LIGHT ON HORRORS OF NEW YORK CITY'S LIVE MARKETS!
Dianna and 29 other hens came to the New York Shelter at the tail end of August, the animals taking refuge from the horrors of New York City's live markets. Live markets proliferate in the city's five boroughs; nearly 175 are open for business. At these markets, customers select from chickens, goats, cows, sheep and turkeys, who are then killed on the premises. Many of the animals are kept in filthy conditions and visibly ill. Now the hens are safe and sound at Farm Sanctuary's New York Shelter, and they're in need of loving sponsors.
09/15/2007 RISE IN ANIMAL TESTING IN NEW ZEALAND!
It has been revealed, according to this story, that more than 300,000 animals were used in research in New Zealand over the last year - a 20% increase on from 2006. The National Animal Ethics Advisory Committee (NAEAC) has revealed that the overall number of animals 'manipulated' has increased from 2006, to 318,489. However, officials are urging for people upset about the latest figures to view the numbers in context. National Animal Ethics Advisory Committee chairman John Martin was cited as saying the numbers used for testing are miniscule compared to the millions used for commercial slaughter. He says 87% of animals used experienced little or no suffering as a result of the testing. However, figures show that just over 5% - nearly all rodents - were in the 'severe' or 'very severe' grading. Almost all of the animals in this category were used for testing the safety and efficacy of animal health products to meet regulatory requirements. The principal purposes of manipulation in 2006 were animal husbandry, biological research and veterinary research.
09/14/2007 NEW FOOT AND MOUTH OUTBREAK CONFIRMED!
A new outbreak of foot and mouth has been confirmed in cattle in Surrey, the Government said the day before yesterday. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said initial tests from a farm in Egham showed the virus was present. The cattle involved are being culled and a 10 km protection zone was set up around the farmland. A meeting of the Government's emergency Cobra committee was called for 3 P.M. to discuss the latest outbreak. Prime Minister Gordon Brown will chair the talks. Vets are also examining an animal in Scotland that is reportedly showing signs of the disease. A nationwide ban on movements of cattle, sheep, pigs and other susceptible animals has been imposed in the wake of the test results.
09/14/2007 CAT FAECES 'MAY BE KILLING WHALES'!
Companion animals guardians who flush cat faeces down the lavatory may be responsible for the deaths of whales, dolphins and porpoises around Britain's coast, according to academics and public health experts. They have found evidence of a common parasite in dead marine mammals and say family cats could be be the unwitting source. Cats are essential to the life cycle of toxoplasma gondii, which can infect most mammals and birds but only as part of the food chain. The possible link to dolphin deaths has been raised by staff from Swansea and Glamorgan universities and the National Public Health Service for Wales in a letter to the Veterinary Record. They say that in California concern that cat faeces have contributed to sea otter deaths has led to disposal warnings on bags of cat litter. But little is known about infection in marine species around Britain. Blood samples from dead stranded cetaceans revealed infection in one in 70 harbour porpoises, in six of 21 common dolphins and in the only hump-backed whale tested. Nearly one in eight Swansea University and health service employees admitted flushing cat faeces away.
09/13/2007 GOODBYE, FELIX... REMEMBER FELIX!
Felix is dead. He has been killed by those that tormented and tortured him for almost a year. Unfortunately Felix would certainly have experienced no happiness in the last year of his sad life at Oxford University, but if truth be told, he probably was never able to experience happiness or any sort of joy in his entire life because he was born in a cage. He lived in a cage and he ultimately suffered in a cage before being put to death alone in a cage. Felix's final few months would have been filled with pain, torment, and much, much suffering. Felix had the top of his skull sliced off, a procedure that has been documented through human and non human primate research as extremely painful. Electrodes were forced into his brain and then he was fitted with a cranial chamber. His pain must have been unbearable but he had no one to comfort him. Just a barren cage surrounded him, there were no comforts. There was no kin to cuddle up to, to ease his pain. He was alone until the day his torturers had finished with him; the day they put him to death. Felix was just the first victim of a 5 year project that began in 2006; a project that will be using, abusing and killing 2 macaque monkeys every year. The project will run for 5 years, which means that it still has about 4 years to run. Felix is dead now, and it's important that we remember him. We must also remember that 8 macaque monkeys will be suffering the same fate as Felix over the next 4 years if the experiments continue at Oxford University...
09/12/2007 PIGS RELEASED FOR HUNTING!
Pig shooters and conservationists are angry at reports of domestic pigs being released into the wild in Queensland. Concerns have been raised in central Queensland that some shooters are releasing youngs pigs in the Rockhampton area so they do not have to travel so far to shoot them. The Australian Pig Doggers and Hunters Association's Wayne Flintham says it is totally irresponsible and against the law. 'We really detest them sort of people doing that sort of stuff obviously,' he said. 'They're breaking the law straight away [and]... seeding the environment back with pigs is like a $7,500 fine. Transportation of live pigs is a fine... of $3,500. We frown upon this very much so, we're here to try to rid Australia of these pests and letting them go in not something we like.' Biosecurity Queensland says the fine for releasing pigs is up to $30,000, but no-one has ever been prosecuted.
09/12/2007 MAN GAVE DOG KISS-OF-LIFE!
Handler Steve Tugwell, 42, leapt into action when he saw Welsh springer spaniel Frodo lying unconscious, reports The Sun. Frodo had been play-fighting with fellow sniffer dog Patch when Patch's jaws got entangled in Frodo's collar and choked him. Frodo appeared lifeless when Steve hacked off the collar with a knife. He moved Frodo's tongue, which had turned purple, aside, formed a cone with his hands, and blew three times down the dog's throat. Steve, who works at Long Lartin prison in Worcester, said: 'He looked a goner. I pulled the tongue to one side, made a cone with my hands, and used the little finger of one of them to place across Frodo's nostrils. I blew three times down the cone and to my amazement I saw Frodo's rib cage started to move. It wasn't pleasant - Frodo's mouth was horribly smelly - but it saved his life and I wouldn't hesitate to do it again.' The two-year-old was rushed to a vet, made a full recovery and was back on duty two weeks later.
09/11/2007 AIRLINE SACRIFICES GOATS TO APPEASE SKY GOD!
Officials at Nepal's state-run airline have sacrificed two goats to appease Akash Bhairab, the Hindu sky god, following technical problems with one of its Boeing 757 aircraft. Nepal Airlines, which has two Boeing aircraft, has had to suspend some services in recent weeks due the problem. The goats were sacrificed in front of the troublesome aircraft at Nepal's only international airport in Kathmandu in accordance with Hindu traditions, an official said. Local media last week blamed the company's woes on an electrical fault. The carrier runs international flights to five cities in Asia. It is common in Nepal to sacrifice animals like goats and buffaloes to appease different Hindu deities.
09/11/2007 CONGO REBELS SEIZE GORILLA PARK!
Rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo have taken control of large parts of the Virunga National Park, home to rare mountain gorillas. The move has raised fears for the fate of the gorillas. Only 700 remain - half of which are in Virunga. 'If anything happens to the mountain gorillas now, there is nothing we can do,' said Norbert Mushenzi of the Congolese Institute for the Conservation.
09/10/2007 MALAYSIA CULLS 50,000 PIGS AFTER COMPLAINTS!
Malaysia began culling about 50,000 pigs in southern Malacca state on last Tuesday after complaints about the stench and pollution the animals had caused, officials said, but denied there had been a disease outbreak. Ethnic Chinese in multiracial Malaysia relish pork, but the country's majority Muslim population frowns on consumption of the meat. 'The operation has started and within 12 hours they have to slaughter close to 50,000 pigs,' said a veterinary department official in the administrative capital of Putrajaya. 'I think many farms were operating without proper licences and local people were complaining about the smell and water pollution.' Malacca does not want to emerge as Malaysia's biggest pig producer, with a swine population estimated at 160,000, state chief minister Mohamad Ali Rustam said last month, according to media reports.
09/10/2007 JAPANESE LAWMAKER CALLS FOR DOLPHIN MEAT BAN!
A lawmaker in a Japanese town notorious overseas for hunting dolphins called for a ban on the meat in school lunches, saying it has high levels of mercury. Taiji, a port town in western Wakayama prefecture, has kept up a four-century tradition of herding thousands of dolphins and whales a year into shallow coves, where they are speared to death. Taiji city assemblyman Junichiro Yamashita has broken ranks by opposing the slaughter - on the grounds that the meat is contaminated with mercury. Yamashita said he conducted lab tests last year on dolphin meat sold in supermarkets and discovered mercury levels 10 times higher than allowed by the government. Japan is one of the few countries to kill dolphins, considered among the most intelligent animals, although Peru and some South Pacific islands hunt dolphins in small numbers.
09/09/2007 RESEARCH DRIVE TO REPLACE GM MOUSE TESTS!
The Dr Hadwen Trust is pioneering ground-breaking research to tackle the explosion in experiments using genetically modified (GM) animals. GM experiments now represent over one third of all animal research in Britain; unless targeted for replacement, they could send global animal research numbers spiralling further out of control. Britain's animal experiments are now at a 15 year high at just over 3 million, largely due to year-on-year increases in GM experiments. Replacing GM animal experiments is now a key strategic priority for our charity, with a first wave of projects developing replacements for 'knockout' mice.
09/09/2007 THOUSANDS OF PROTECTED FROGS SEIZED IN ASSAM!
Police in northeastern India have recovered several bags full of thousands of protected frogs, with officials saying they were destined for French plates. A police patrol spotted 14 bags containing the bullfrogs by a highway near the Kaziranga National Park in Assam, likely abandoned by smugglers who had been tipped off over police checks. The official said frogs were being killed in Bangladesh and their legs removed and frozen before being smuggled to France. Frogs' legs are one of France's best known delicacies, but the catching and rearing of the amphibians was banned in the country in 1980 due to dwindling numbers. According to 2005 figures, France legally imports around 3,000 to 4,000 tonnes of frozen frogs' legs, mainly from Indonesia and China. In France, the dish is now mainly found in the top restaurants. The dish can also be found in parts of China, Vietnam and Cambodia. The Indian bullfrog is the largest Indian frog and grows up to 15 cm in length. It is yellowish or olive green. The species - native to south Asia - was listed as protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in 1994 after being depleted by heavy trade. The wildlife official said the recovered frogs have been freed, although several hundred of them had died of suffocation before the police made the discovery.
09/08/2007 PROSTHETIC SPECIALIST DEVELOPING NEW FIN FOR INJURED DOLPHIN!
Prosthetic specialist Kevin Carroll travels the US tackling the toughest human amputation cases, so it was only natural that he was also drawn to Winter - the only known dolphin to survive the loss of her powerful tail flukes. 'My heart went out to her, and I was thinking I could probably put a tail on her,' said Carroll, vice president of prosthetics at Hanger Orthopedic Group, Inc. Recreating one of the most powerful swimming mechanisms in nature turned out to be a lot tougher than expected. But after months of experimenting, Carroll and a unique team of experts are well on their way to, as one of them puts it, 'MacGyvering' a tail for Winter.
09/08/2007 460 SHARKS SPOTTED OFF CORNWALL IN ONE DAY!
The highest number of basking sharks counted in one day off the British coast has been recorded this week – and it's down to summer arriving, albeit very late. There were 460 seen between Land's End and Cape Cornwall near Penzance on Wednesday. The previous record was around 300 counted off Lizard Point, Cornwall, in 1998. The 460 sharks were counted by staff of the Ocean Ranger, a boat that takes tourists on trips around the Land's End peninsula. Rory Goodall, from Elemental Tours, which owns the Ocean Ranger, said warmer seas and the Indian summer could be behind the phenomenon. Douglas Herdson of the National Marine Aquarium, Plymouth, said: 'The late summer sun has meant a big bloom of plankton which is the food source for basking sharks.'
09/07/2007 LANDMARK VICTORY FOR ADI!
Animal Defenders International's (ADI) campaign to end lab primates' misery has achieved a major victory on Wednesday as 393 MEPs put their signatures to Written Declaration 40/2007 in the European Parliament - the requisite number needed to trigger its adoption and end primate testing in Europe. The declaration, sponsored by UK MEP John Bowis, French MEP Martine Roure, Swedish MEP Jens Holm, German MEP Rebecca Harms and Slovenian MEP Mojca Drcar Murko, calls for a ban on the use of Great Apes (chimpanzees, bonobos, orangutans, gorillas), and on the use of wild-caught primates, as well as a phase-out of all primate use in EU laboratories. Jan Creamer, ADI chief executive said, 'This marks a major victory not only for ADI but for all the primates who have been incarcerated in laboratories throughout Europe. Ahead of Thursday's deadline, our relentless campaigning has paid off and today we have achieved signatures of half of Europe's MEPs. This is history in the making and will end the suffering of some 10,000 primates a year in European labs and the adoption of more reliable modern alternatives.'
09/07/2007 FEDERAL COURT SAYS NAVY CAN DO SONAR TESTS!
A federal appeals court allowed the Navy on last Friday to resume using underwater sonar blasts in anti-submarine warfare tests off Southern California despite possible harm to endangered whales, saying the nation's military needs come first. 'The safety of the whales must be weighed, and so must the safety of our warriors. And of our country,' said the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco.
09/06/2007 CELEBRITIES IN JAIL FOR PRIMATES!
Celebrity supporters of Animal Defenders International (ADI) were 'jailed' in a primate cage in London to promote International Primate Day on Saturday, 1st September. Celebrities Meg Matthews, Maria Daines, and Julia Stephenson go 'inside' for International Primate Day. Celebrities who went 'inside' included: Meg Matthews, ex wife of supergroup Oasis founder member, Noel Gallagher, Maria Daines, singer songwriter, who wrote 'Monkey in a Cage' now storming up the main charts and already top of the indie charts, and Julia Stephenson, otherwise known as the Green Goddess, vegetarian celebrity and columnist on The Independent.
09/06/2007 'EXCTINT' DOLPHIN SPOTTED IN YANGTZE RIVER!
A white-flag dolphin has been seen in Yangtze River in east China, just days after a leading Chinese scientist said the animal was likely extinct. A man with a decoration company in east China's Anhui Province spotted a 'big white animal' in the river at Xuba ferry in Tongling, Anhui, at 3:10 to 3:20 pm August 19, and filmed it with a digital camera, said Dr. Wang Kexiong, of the Institute of Hydrobiology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The footages were sent to the Tongling freshwater dolphin nature reserve to determine what the animal was. A staff with the Institute of Hydrobiology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, who happened to be in the nature reserve, then brought the footages to the institute based in Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei Province, which was well-known for research on baiji. The white-flag dolphin, unique to China's Yangtze River, is listed as one of the 12 most endangered species in the world. Its population dropped to below 150 in the early 1990s from around 400 a decade earlier. A team of 25 scientists from China, the United States, Britain, Japan, Germany and Switzerland failed to find any white-flag dolphin during a 38-day search last year.
09/05/2007 GUNMEN KILL RANGER IN EAST CONGO GORILLA PARK!
Suspected Rwandan Hutu rebels killed a park ranger in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo in the latest attack on guards who protect rare mountain gorillas in a national park, officials said on Friday. The ranger died from his wounds, and a worker at the camp was injured by a bullet in the neck. Houses were looted. Several rangers have been killed in Virunga, Africa's oldest national park located near the intersection of Congo, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi. Conservationists are fighting to save the estimated 700 mountain gorillas who remain in central Africa. The recent slayings of gorillas shocked conservationists, who suspect the killings are linked to a power struggle between local government agents trying to save Virunga and those engaged in the illicit trade in the charcoal made from its trees.
09/05/2007 HUMAN-ANIMAL EMBRIO STUDY WINS APPROVAL!
Plans to allow British scientists to create human-animal embryos are expected to be approved today by the government's fertility regulator. The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority published its long-awaited public consultation on the controversial research the day before yesterday, revealing that a majority of people were 'at ease' with scientists creating the hybrid embryos. Researchers want to create hybrid embryos by merging human cells with animal eggs, in the hope they will be able to extract valuable embryonic stem cells from them. The cells form the basic building blocks of the body and are expected to pave the way for revolutionary therapies for diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and even spinal cord injuries.
09/04/2007 CAT GALAXY OUTRAGED BY COOKING OF FERAL CAT!
Cat Galaxy, the internet radio and TV station for cats expressed outrage on it's morning show Monday after learning that an author of children's books entry in a cooking competition in Australia included a feral cat as the dish's main ingredient. The entry of a food dish by children's author Kay Kessing at a cooking competition in Australia, which included a feral cat as one of it's ingredient has drawn a strong reaction by Cat Galaxy an internet radio and TV station for cats in Phoenix. The station which often reads feline related news from around the world on it's live shows was in shock after reading the story from ABC News and also expressed its outrage on the air.
09/04/2007 GERMANY IN NEW COUNTRYWIDE ROTTEN MEAT SCANDAL!
Around 150 tons of rotten meat have been shipped from the southern German state of Bavaria to Berlin companies making Turkish-style doner kebab skewers and then distributed across Germany, prosecutors said Friday. The quantity of meat involved has risen steadily since the scandal first erupted. The deliveries date from June 2006, according to prosecutors in Memmingen west of the Bavarian capital of Munich. The meat, which was condemned as not fit for human consumption, came from a Bavarian company and ended up after being processed in Berlin at fast-food stands across eight states. Earlier reports spoke of 20 tons delivered to Berlin in July and sold to a distributor on August 17. Federal Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection Minister Horst Seehofer called for stiff punishments for all concerned.
09/03/2007 VIRUS THREATENS MEDITERRANEAN DOLPHINS!
Dozens of dead dolphins washing up along the Mediterranean coast have alerted environmentalists to a virus they fear will become an epidemic, El Mundo newspaper reported on Wednesday. The region's striped dolphins, a protected species, are being infected with a virus which has not been identified and has so far killed several dozen animals along the coast and may spread, the report said, quoting environmental experts. 'We are at the start of an epidemic,' Javier Pantoja, a marine conservation official at the Environment Ministry, was quoted as saying. An Environment Ministry spokesman confirmed that a meeting on the issue would be held in September to try to coordinate action between Spain's autonomous regions, but could not give details of the virus and its effects. The virus is the latest in a series of difficulties facing the Mediterranean environment. This summer, beaches have been hit by a plague of jellyfish believed by climate experts to be due to warmer sea temperatures as well as over-fishing of predators such as tuna.
09/03/2007 STUDY CONFIRMS 2006 HUMAN-HUMAN SPREAD OF BIRD FLU!
A mathematical analysis has confirmed that H5N1 avian influenza spread from person to person in Indonesia in April, U.S. researchers reported on Tuesday. They said they had developed a tool to run quick tests on disease outbreaks to see if dangerous epidemics or pandemics may be developing. Health officials around the world agree that a pandemic of influenza is overdue, and they are most worried by the H5N1 strain of avian influenza that has been spreading through flocks from Asia to Africa. It rarely passes to humans, but since 2003 it has infected 322 people and killed 195 of them. Most have been infected directly by birds. But a few clusters of cases have been seen and officials worry most about the possibility that the virus has acquired the ability to pass easily and directly from one person to another. That would spark a pandemic.
09/01/2007 'TIDY GARDENS' CAUSE HOGS' DEMISE!
Tidier gardens and urbanisation have led to a decline in the number of hedgehogs in the UK, a survey says. Development of parks and gardens have contributed to a 50% decline in some areas, the HogWatch survey suggests. Nearly 20,000 people took part in the two-year survey, making it one of the largest of its kind, organisers said. The survey was carried out by the University of London for the People's Trust for Endangered Species and the British Hedgehog Preservation Society. The data gathered by the volunteers allowed the research team to develop a better understanding of the small mammals' nationwide distribution. They said that the study revealed an east/west divide, with more hedgehogs spotted in eastern regions. Commenting on the findings, study co-ordinator Paul Bright from Royal Holloway, University of London, said: 'Increasing urbanisation and tidier gardens are pushing hedgehogs out from the places where most of us live. In the wider countryside, landscapes that have smaller fields appear better for hedgehogs,' Dr Bright added.
09/01/2007 IRISH FOOTBALL STAR 'INVOLVED IN DOG-FIGHTING RING'!
A top Gaelic footballer's future career was in doubt after he was exposed as being heavily involved in an illegal international dog-fighting ring. Gerard Cavlan, 30, a member of Tyrone's 2003 All-Ireland Championship-winning side, helped run an operation in which pit bull terriers were brutally pitched against each other, an undercover investigation has revealed. During secret filming he boasted about the animals' strength and skill in a fight and claimed to have up to 15 dogs.
The number of news found: 61.
