News
The number of news found: 43.
06/30/2007 POULTRY FARMERS FACE LOSSES DUE TO WINDSTORM!
The poultry industry in Sindh, Pakistan, has suffered massive financial losses due to recent winds and widespread rains. This may result in prices of poultry products reaching unprecedented levels for consumers. Millions of birds died, or were injured, when roofs of poultry houses collapsed onto them. This also resulted in many poultry houses and sheds left ruined or badly destructed. Based on initial estimates, financial losses of traders run into the millions as poultry farms all over the province have reported losses of both birds and physical infrastructure.
06/29/2007 MONKEYS RETIRED FROM SWEDISH LAB!
27 monkeys from Uppsala University's vivisection laboratory have been transferred to a zoo in the south of Sweden where they will live out their remaining lives. The decision to move and retire the monkeys comes after a decision to close down the monkey laboratory due to the high cost of keeping the monkeys in relation to the fact that so few researchers were using them as part of research projects.
06/28/2007 PAM ANDERSON: FINLAND MUST STOP FUR FARMING!
Finland must move into the 21st century and stop fur farming, television star Pamela Anderson said in an appeal to the Nordic country's president. In an open letter to President Tarja Halonen, Anderson said: 'I am proud of my Finnish family roots, but I was disappointed to learn that more foxes are killed in Finland than nearly anywhere else in the world.' Anderson, who campaigns for animal rights, was visiting Finland to celebrate Midsummer's night. Halonen thanked Anderson for the letter, but said it was up to the Finnish government to make decisions on fur farming, the Finnish news agency STT said. Finland is among Europe's four leading fur producers, along with Denmark, Norway and the Netherlands, and its annual fur production is worth 250 million euros ($335 million).
06/28/2007 JAPAN KICKS OFF COASTAL WHALING SEASON!
With knives sharpened and school kids watching, one of Japan's coastal whaling towns butchered its first catch of the season last Thursday — and defended the practice against international criticism. The team in the village southeast of Tokyo pulled two Baird's beaked whales caught the day before onto a landing station with pulleys and ropes, and chopped them into bricks of meat and blubber for sale. It was Wada's first catch since the International Whaling Commission rejected a Japanese proposal in May to grant its coastal whalers rights to expand their catches, and the whalers here were angry. Yoshinori Shoji, head of Wada's Gaibo Hogei whaling company, argued that whales should be managed like any other natural resource, and he rejected anti-whaling arguments that the animals should be protected at all costs.
06/27/2007 NY STATE LEGISLATORS HAVE PASSED ELECTROCUTION BAN!
State legislators have passed a bill, sponsored by LOHV-NYC allies State Senator Frank Padavan (R-Queens) and Assemblywoman Deborah Glick (D-Manhattan), banning the anal and genital electrocution of fur-bearing animals. If signed by Governor Spitzer, New York will be the first state in the nation ban this cruel practice. 'The animals killed for fur live miserably and die painfully so that people can wear them. Although this bill will put an end to just one way these animals suffer, it's a good start,' said John Phillips, LOHV-NYC's executive director. 'We are incredibly grateful to Senator Padavan and Assemblywoman Glick for their tireless advocacy on behalf of animals. They are true humane legislators.' Electrocution is a common method of killing minks, foxes and other animals on fur farms. Several such farms operate in New York State.
06/27/2007 DUTCH SUPERMARKETS ET AL. REJECTING PIGLET CASTRATION WITHOUT ANESTHESIA!
Dutch supermarkets are reasoning too simply when they say that they will not sell any meat that is from male piglets that have been castrated without the use of anaesthetics. This is the opinion of the Dutch agri- and horticultural organization LTO Nederland, after the supermarkets jointly revealed they will phase out sales of this kind of meat as from 2009. LTO says that not selling is not a real solution for the problem - apart from the question whether it is possible in practice to castrate without the use of anaesthetics. Annechien ten Have, an LTO spokeswoman for the pig industry, says that the producers rather had not castrated at all. Ten Have has doubts whether European pig producers will be able to meet the supermarkets' specific requirements in the year 2009. As up to now, only in Norway, male piglets are castrated with sedation.
06/26/2007 ZOO VISITORS 'RISKING INFECTION'!
Zoo visitors are risking infections by not paying heed to hygiene after touching animals, research suggests. Canadian researchers sent observers to 36 zoos which allowed people to pet their animals. Almost all had some sort of hand-washing facility, but less than one in three visitors used them. The study, published in Clinical Infectious Diseases, also found parents brought along items that could easily pass infection to young children.
06/26/2007 ELECTRIC FENCES WILL BE BANNED ON FARMS!
The electro immobilisation of farm animals is to be banned from September 1. The Minister for Agriculture and Food, Mary Coughlan, confirmed that she had adopted the legislation to prohibit the electric fence practice, following examination by an animal health and welfare committee. All interested parties had been consulted on the matter and having considered all views, she had accepted a recommendation to prohibit the use of any electrical equipment or other instrument that applies a sustained electric current or impulse directly to a live animal. She decided to introduce the ban from September to allow a further period of time for farmers and vets to carry out procedures on animals that are already on farms where interventions may be necessary and where these could otherwise prove difficult.
06/25/2007 WORLD'S 1ST ANIMAL RIGHTS SENATOR!
After gaining 2 seats in parliament in November 2006 and 9 seats in provincial governments in March 2007, on June 12 Niko Koffeman was inaugurated as the first animal rights senator in the world. After their breakthrough in national politics, the Dutch animal rights politicians try to inspire animal rights advocates in different countries to start their own Party for the Animals. In April, Koffeman and chairwoman Thieme visited New York, MP Ouwehand visited Boston, and Thieme visited Vienna to speak about animal rights politics in Austria. Animal rights advocates investigate the possibility of founding a Party for the Animals in the United States, as has already happened in the UK, Germany, Spain, France and Canada, and is now being prepared in Austria. Since the pioneering entry of the Party for the Animals into the Dutch parliament, animal rights have become one of the most conspicuous issues in Dutch national politics. During the recent debate on the agricultural budget, 80% of the speaking time of all parties in parliament was dominated by the theme of animal rights.
06/25/2007 PFIZER FUNDS JOINT R&D PROJECT IN SOUTH KOREA!
Pfizer Inc forged a tentative deal with the South Korean government to invest $300 million in the joint research and development of new drugs over the next five years, Yonhap News Agency reported. Pfizer Chief Executive Officer Jeff Kindler and South Korea's Vice Welfare Minister Byun Jae-jin signed a memorandum of understanding, which calls for joint R&D with local research centers through 2012, Yonhap said, citing the Welfare Ministry. The money, which is the single-largest R&D investment by a foreign company in South Korea, will be used in studies ranging from animal testing to clinical research, Yonhap said.
06/24/2007 POULTRY INDUSTRY FACES ANOTHER HUGE STRUGGLE!
The Pakistan poultry industry is struggling once again, as devastating heat waves, frequent load shedding and power break downs are proving fatal for poultry. Breeding flocks, commercial broilers and laying birds have suffered unprecedented mortality in recent weeks. Some farms experienced mortality rates as high as 25%. A drop in the production of hatching eggs, table eggs and broiler weight gain has caused huge economic consequences for the industry. There will be a significant reduction in the supply of poultry in Pakistan throughout the coming months. According to Mir Tahir Zaidi, chairman of the Pakistan Poultry Association, this has and will continue to create a gap in demand and supply. Poultry feed prices have gone up by 22% - the highest ever in one calendar year. These prices are likely to inflate further due to unavailability of broken rice for the first time in history of feed industry in Pakistan.
06/24/2007 IDAHO FIREFIGHTERS SAVE FOUR CATS AND ALBINO RAT!
Pocatello- On Tuesday June 19, 2007 11:24 P.M. firefighters resuscitated four cats and an albino rat from a charred apartment in this southeastern Idaho city. The animals received oxygen after the Monday blaze through a special mask designed for small animals. The Pocatello Fire Department bought it two years ago. Fire officials say electrical failure likely caused the fire, which resulted in at least $10,000 in damage. No people were injured. Firefighter Kirby Jonas, who whisked the rat to safety, said he was astonished anything survived the flames that engulfed the apartment. He found the rat huddled in blackened bedding. 'If I were betting money, I would have put down $10,000 that anything in that cage was dead,' Jonas said Monday, adding that before he exited the apartment, he did notice something on a wall in the room: A poster of an albino rat with a halo over its head. One cat didn't survive the blaze.
06/23/2007 PHILLIPINES BAN ON SALE OF DOG MEAT NOW A LAW!
Congress has passed a law banning the trading in dog meat and promoting the elimination of rabies through mandatory dog immunization. President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo signed the law, the 'Anti-Rabies Act of 2007,' and allocated P100 million to implement it. 'We have become more animal-conscious now,' Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said. Republic Act 8845, passed in 1998, bans the trading in dog meat, but its implementation has been selective as most provinces in the north of the country hide behind 'tradition' to justify eating dogs. In Baguio alone, residents consume about 200 dogs a day, according to animal rights advocate Network for Animals.
06/23/2007 TAIWAN BANS CIRCUSES FROM IMPORTING PROTECTED ANIMALS!
Taiwan's parliament has amended a law to ban circuses from importing or exporting protected animals in an effort to improve protection of animal rights, a legislator said last Friday. Under the revised Wildlife Conservation Law passed late Thursday, all imports and exports of animals such as lions, tigers, elephants and monkeys are prohibited unless they are needed for research, said Tien Chiu-chin, of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party, who proposed the bill. The new law categorises the banned animals in line with the requirements of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). Previously circuses were permitted to import animals for performances.
06/23/2007 NEW LAWS SET JAIL TERM OF UP TO ONE YEAR FOR ANIMAL CRUELTY!
China - The Legislative Yuan last Thursday passed amendments to the Animal Protection Law that would impose a jail term of up to one year for people convicted of animal abuse leading to death. The amendments stipulate that perpetrators of various offensive acts against animals that result in severe injuries or the death of animals could be punished by up to a year in prison. These include pet owners who allow their pets to be harassed, abused, or harmed; pet owners who desert their pets; and any person convicted of harassing, abusing, harming or abandoning animals. Other offenders subject to the jail sentence also include pet owners who fail to provide necessary health care for injured or ill animals, anyone caught slaughtering animals in public places without permission from relevant authorities, or anyone discovered slaughtering animals without following legal procedures. The amendments also prescribe that people who commit aforesaid acts twice in five years be subject to a prison sentence of up to one year. Under the new law, offenders could be sentenced to a jail term up to one year plus a fine up to NT$10,000 if they commit specified offenses twice in five years. These include violation of regulations regarding the transportation of animals; performing medical treatment or surgery for animals without taking into consideration their health condition; and slaughtering animals without the supervision of a vet.
06/22/2007 FILIPINO MAYOR GUNNED DOWN AT COCK FIGHT!
Gunmen have shot dead a mayor and his deputy who were recently elected in the northern Philippines, police said. Five gunmen opened fire on Alfredo Vendivi and his deputy, Virgilio Vendivi, as they attended a cock fight in San Jose city late on Friday, police said. Seven people were also injured after the shooting sparked panic and a stampede among spectators at the fight, police also said in a statement. The bodies of the two officials, who were elected the heads of San Jose, were found just outside the stadium with multiple gunshot wounds. It was not immediately known what party the pair belonged to, whether they were related, or if the shooting was politically-motivated. They were among winners in the mid-term elections on May 14. More than 130 people were killed in election-related violence during and immediately after the three-month campaign for the polls.
06/22/2007 UT MEDICAL RESEARCHER DETERMINES LINK BETWEEN FOIE GRAS AND DISEASE!
University of Tennessee Graduate School of Medicine professor and researcher Alan Solomon, M.D., director of the Human Immunology and Cancer/Alzheimer's Disease and Amyloid-Related Disorders Research Program, led a team that discovered a link between foie gras prepared from goose or duck liver and the type of amyloid found in rheumatoid arthritis or tuberculosis. Their experimental data, appearing in this week's edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, has provided the first evidence that a food product can hasten amyloid development. Based on the findings of the study, Solomon and his team concluded that this and perhaps other forms of amyloidosis might be transmissible, like 'mad cow' and other related diseases. Until now, no other infectious sources of food products have been found.
06/21/2007 BEAR BILE FOUND IN IMPORTED MEDICINE!
A diagnostic kit to crack down on illegal trade in bile extracted from live bears is being used by Australian and Canadian customs officers, an animal welfare group says. Bear bile is a common ingredient in traditional medicines throughout East and Southeast Asia, says the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA). The test kit uses antibodies to detect a signature bear protein and was demonstrated this week at a meeting in The Hague of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), which involves 171 nations. 'Interest from wildlife trade enforcement officials has been very strong,' says Professor Kate Sanders, an evolutionary biologist who adapted a technique used to identify species in venomous snakebites to develop the kit.
06/20/2007 MAN SENTENCED FOR UNLAWFUL TRAPPING OF BOBCATS!
A Utah man was sentenced last week in U.S. District Court in Reno for illegally taking 124 Nevada bobcats and violating the Lacey Act, a Federal law that prohibits trade in wildlife, fish, and plants that have been illegally taken, possessed, transported or sold. Cole Steele, 34, of Santaquin, Utah, pled guilty to the misdemeanor violation on March 5. He was ordered to pay a $7,500 fine and forfeited 106 bobcat pelts valued at approximately $38,000. According to the guilty plea memorandum, during the 2004 Nevada trapping season, Steele claimed to be a resident of Nevada and obtained a trapping license. Trapping licenses for bobcats are only issued to Nevada residents per state law. Steele had purchased a house in Nevada, which he used as his address, but he actually maintained his residence in Utah, thus disqualifying him for a Nevada trapping license. Steele did comply with the law by having the pelts properly sealed by state officials prior to removing them from Nevada. The defendant's father, Alan Steele, operates a legitimate fur trading business in Utah and was buying from his son. According to investigators, the bobcat pelts were seized as they were in the process of being shipped to lucrative fur markets across Europe.
06/20/2007 EU TU BAN CAT AND DOG FUR TRADE!
The European Parliament has backed a ban on cat and dog fur imports, in a move to curb the slaughter of millions of cats and dogs in China. MEPs say shoppers buy goods made with the fur unknowingly, because exporters attach false labels. It is used in coats, linings for boots and gloves, stuffed toys, and even homeopathic aids for arthritis. MEPs have agreed with EU member states on the text of the law, which will come into effect from 31 December 2008.
06/19/2007 NINETEENTH-CENTURY HARPOON FOUND IN LIVE WHALE!
A 50-ton bowhead whale caught off the Alaskan coast last month had a weapon fragment embedded in its neck that showed it survived a similar hunt - more than a century ago. Embedded deep under its blubber was a 3½-inch arrow-shaped projectile that has given researchers insight into the whale's age, estimated between 115 and 130 years old. Calculating a whale's age can be difficult, and is usually gauged by amino acids in the eye lenses. It's rare to find one that has lived more than a century, but experts say the oldest were close to 200 years old. The bomb lance fragment, lodged in a bone between the whale's neck and shoulder blade, was likely manufactured in New Bedford, on the southeast coast of Massachusetts, a major whaling center at that time. It was probably shot at the whale from a heavy shoulder gun around 1890.
06/19/2007 CLINTONS FORCED TO SELL GLAXO, PFIZER, NESTLE'S, P&G, GAP AND OTHER ANIMAL SLAUGHTER STOCK!
By federal law, Clintons were forced to disinvest from their blind trust which included stocks of animal killers, war profiteers, the worst oil and vivisecting drug companies, environmental desecrators because Mrs Clinton is a candidate for president. Hillary Clinton through insider trading made over $100,000 on cattle futures. She also helped make Don Tyson the nation's biggest killer of cows, pigs, and chickens. Slaughterhouse operations like Tyson's have fought against controls on illegal immigration. Tyson's Mad Chicken, avian spongiform encephalopathy as well as KFC's were hidden from the public not only by the Bill Clinton appointed USDA Secretary Dan Glickman but by Ann Veneman, USDA Secretary trained by the American Meat Institute (now at UNICEF), and the current Bush regime Secretary. Other stocks they had to sell: Pepsi, Pfizer, P&G, Tyco, Yahoo, JP Morgan Chase, Exxon Mobil, Amazon, Merrill Lynch, Microsoft, Time Warner, Verizon, Gap, EBay, Raytheon, Disney (ABC).
06/18/2007 CHARGED AFTER BOILING LIVE CRABS!
Aftenposten's food writer Yngve Ekern has been charged with animal cruelty by animal rights group NOAH after an article about cooking crabs. The case against Ekern has been dismissed and instead referred to the Conciliation Board, reports trade newspaper Journalisten on its web site, but there will be repercussions. Ekern angered animal activists with his description of preparing crabs on the beach while his children were watching. He described throwing the crabs into hot oil after bashing them on a cutting board, a process that didn't kill all of them. The article also outlined how to boil crabs, and included recipes. Norway's Food Safety Authority will establish a committee to examine the question of what crabs can feel during the boiling.
06/17/2007 TESTNG CHEMICALS ON ANIMALS TOO COSTLY!
Testing chemicals in live animals can be expensive and slow, and newer test-tube methods may work better, the National Research Council reported on Tuesday. Rapid, automated tests called high-throughput assays can replace animals and assess hundreds or thousands of chemicals very quickly, the Council said in its report. 'Recent advances in systems biology, testing in cells and tissues, and related scientific fields offer the potential to fundamentally change the way chemicals are tested for risks they may pose to humans,' the Council, which advises Congress and the federal government on scientific matters, said in a statement. 'The new approach would generate more-relevant data to evaluate risks people face, expand the number of chemicals that could be scrutinized, and reduce the time, money, and animals involved in testing,' it added.
06/17/2007 PUERTO RICO LAYS TRAPS FOR MONKEYS!
Authorities in Puerto Rico are using cages and mangos to try to trap hundreds of marauding monkeys - descendants of escaped research animals - and hope to send them off to sanctuaries or labs, or to kill them. Since the first eight government traps were set out two weeks ago, the primates have snatched the bait and eluded capture - drawing ridicule from local farmers who blame the monkeys for devastating melon, pepper and pumpkin crops over the last decade. But Javier Velez Arocho, secretary of the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources, said Wednesday that's part of the plan - that animal control workers have not yet activated the mechanism that will trap the animals. The Rhesus monkeys, native to Pakistan India and Nepal, and lightning-quick red monkeys from Central Africa were brought to this Caribbean island 30 years ago to be part of scientific experiments.
06/15/2007 LOGGING MAY WRECK ORANGUTAN FORESTS IN A DECADE!
Illegal logging could destroy the last forest strongholds of orangutans within a decade and the world should do more to help Indonesia halt smuggling both of apes and of timber, a U.N. report said on Monday. Burning of forests, sometimes to clear land to grow palm oil for biofuels, was adding to threats to endangered orangutans which live on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra, according to a report issued at a U.N. wildlife conference. 'Indonesia cannot and should not have to deal with this issue alone,' Achim Steiner, the head of the U.N. Environment Programme (UNEP), said in a statement. He urged more funding for wardens and a global customs crackdown on illegal trade.
06/15/2007 ANIMAL MIGRATION IN SUDAN!
The first aerial survey of southern Sudan in 25 years has revealed vast migrating herds, rivaling those of the Serengeti plains, that have managed to survive 25 years of civil war, the Wildlife Conservation Society and Southern Sudan announced at a news conference in New York. J. Michael Fay, a conservationist at the Wildlife Conservation Society and explorer-in-residence at the National Geographic Society, who has participated in the surveys, said in a telephone interview from Chad that southern Sudan’s herds of more than a million gazelle and antelope may even surpass the Serengeti’s herds of wildebeest, making the newly surveyed migration the largest on earth.
06/13/2007 VETERINARIAN FACES ANIMAL CRUELTY CHARGES!
Arizona authorities arrested a veterinarian Monday on suspicion that he hit a five-pound Chihuahua in the head so hard that he dislodged the dog's eye. Joshua Winston faces animal cruelty charges in the June 4 incident, according to Maricopa County Sheriff's Office spokesman Capt. Paul Chagolla. Another spokesman, Deputy Charles Scudella, said Winston had posted bond Monday night and would be released. He did not know how much the bond was. Employees at the Sun City West Animal Hospital northwest of Phoenix reported that Winston hit the Chihuahua, named Bella, in the head three to five times with his fist. The dog survived, but had to undergo corrective surgery. Two veterinarian technicians who said they witnessed the incident told the sheriff's office that Winston was extremely frustrated with the dog because it was uncooperative and aggressive during a visit for spay surgery. Winston also faces a theft charge from an incident earlier this year. Hospital employees said Winston charged a client $80 for medication he didn't give a Neapolitan Mastiff after the dog became uncooperative. A call to the animal hospital was not immediately returned Monday.
06/12/2007 NEW DNA DAMAGE TEST COULD REDUCE ANIMAL EXPERIMENTS!
A new tool for checking if drugs damage DNA could reduce the number of animal experiments needed in drug development, and also be cheaper than conventional techniques, according to its designer. Before any drug can enter clinical trials in humans, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires that developers check to see if it is genotoxic - if it causes DNA in the nucleus of a cell to break. 'Genotoxicity, as a side effect, is of particular concern because it can lead to mutations, and, through these mutations, can yield heritable defects and cancer,' Joe Shuga, who designed the test, told DrugResearcher.com. Although most commonly associated with radiotherapy and chemotherapy, these side effects can also be caused by some external factors, such as ionising radiation. Rather than relying on live mice, Shuga developed an assay based on cells extracted from mouse bone marrow that go on to produce red blood cells. Since hundreds or even thousands of tests could be performed on cells extracted from a single animal, the assay could dramatically reduce the numbers of animals needed. Not only that, but the increased throughput of the test would make it cheaper to run. As a result, drug developers could afford to use it earlier in the development process, saving time.
06/11/2007 HEALTH FEARS GROW AS MOUNTAINS OF MEAT ARE SMUGGLED INTO THE UK!
The amount of illegal meat entering Britain may be far higher than previously thought, increasing concerns about contamination of the food chain. New figures disclosed by the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) show the amount seized by customs and local authority environmental health teams has risen by almost 600 per cent in the last six years. Defra minister Ben Bradshaw said 104 tons of illegal meat was seized last year, compared with 18.6 tons in 2001. Previously the government's Veterinary Laboratories Agency had estimated that an average 12,000 tons of meat enters Britain illegally each year, carried in by passengers travelling through ferry terminals and airports, via mail and hidden in containers on sea tankers. But the sixfold rise in seizures suggests the true figure could be dramatically higher.
06/10/2007 WORLD SCIENTISTS ADMIT THEY JUST DON'T LIKE MICE!
Nearly 700 scientists representing 27 countries convened at the University of Zurich Monday to formally announce that their experimentation on mice has been motivated not by a desire to advance human knowledge, but out of sheer distaste for the furry little rodents. 'As a man of science, I deal with facts, and the fact is that mice are gross,' said Dr. Douglas White, chair of the Oxford biogenetics department and lifelong mouse-hater. 'They're squirmy, scurrying little vermin, and they make my skin crawl. I speak for all of my assembled colleagues when I say that the horrible little things deserve the worst we can dish out.' According to a 500-word statement, scientists hate mice for 'their beady little eyes,' 'their repulsive tails,' and 'the annoying little squeaking sounds they make.'
06/10/2007 17 DOGS BURNED TO DEATH!
In response to a complaint filed by IDA-India, the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) has launched an inquiry into the mass-burning of 17 homeless dogs at Shwan Nasbandi Kendra, a municipal sterilization center. The dogs were killed in this brutal manner by shelter personnel 'in the interest of public health.' Officials who ordered the flaming execution claimed the animals were 'rabid, diseased and violent,' and could create 'unhygienic conditions' that might compromise the health of other canine residents. While the center did have legal permission to dispatch of the dogs, IDA-India and AWBI both maintain that burning the dogs to death, even for suspected rabies, was illegal as well as unconscionable.
06/08/2007 ZOO BIRDS CULLED AFTER COMPLAINTS ABOUT NOISE!
Seven male peacocks have been culled by Paignton zoo after one neighbour complained that the birds were a noisy nuisance. Some residents called it parade time. A group of preening peacocks would strut up the middle of Harbourne Avenue, drawing admiring stares and bringing traffic to a halt. Half an hour later, the birds would saunter back to their home in Paignton zoo. But to the horror of many local people, the concern of animal activists and the despair of zookeepers, seven male peacocks were culled by the zoo after one neighbour complained that the spectacular birds were a noisy nuisance. The Devon zoo argued that it had no choice after the neighbour took his fight to the local council and threatened legal action, claiming the peacocks, which make themselves noticed at this time of year with a piercing screech, were ruining his sleep and causing havoc in his garden. Although 100 of the birds have roamed free in the zoo's grounds and the adjoining streets for the last 80 years, seven males which had developed a particular fondness for nearby Harbourne Avenue were put down on Monday.
06/07/2007 NEW SOLOMAN ISLANDS DOLPHIN CAPTURES!
As many as twenty dolphin were recently captured in the Solomon Islands to meet supply and demand for the epidemic of captive dolphin abusement parks popping up around the world. Dolphin dealer, Christopher Porter of Marine Export Ltd (MEL) apparently has a buyer for 20 dolphins. Mr. Porter is working with his partners, Wildlife International Network inc. (WIN). The Solomon Islands has a ban in place which prohibits the export of dolphins from the country, however the new government may have changed their mind about the export ban.
06/06/2007 ELEPHANT HIT BY TRAIN!
Segamat: An elephant crossing a railway line in Bekok sustained two broken hind legs when it was hit by a train. The impact of the collision flung the animal, believed to be 10 years old and weighing about a tonne, into a 15m ravine near the tracks. Wildlife and National Parks Department officers and doctors from the Veterinary Services Department were trying to save the elephant, which was reported to be in critical condition. It is understood it would be put to sleep if efforts to save it failed. The train, which started its journey from Kuala Lumpur, was heading for Singapore when the incident happened at 4.50 A.M. the day before yesterday.
06/06/2007 CITES APPROVES MASSIVE IVORY SALE!
The world's only body that can limit trade in endangered species kicked off a 12-day meeting this weekend with one hell of a bang: The Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, or CITES, approved the sale of some 60 tons of ivory by three African nations to Japan. That's what the kids call ironical, because one of the proposals the 171-nation body will consider over the next two weeks is a 20-year moratorium on ivory trading, favored by 20 African countries. The group will also look at dozens of other measures, including possible protections for sharks, gazelles, tigers, great apes, and several hardwood tree species. And for the first time, CITES - which has overseen the international wildlife trade since 1975 - may consider the impacts of its enforcements on the livelihood of the poor.
06/05/2007 GRAVEYARD IN RC 'KOMAROVO' IN RUSSIA!
It has been declared that behind an indoor arena of the most prestige and expensive riding club of Saint Petersburg 'Komarovo' the management originated a graveyard, burying bodies of horses killed by the equestrian sport in pits in the ground and simply buried them with a bulldozer. All these unlawful and disgusting activities have been done without putting to notice neither owners of buried horses nor vet and nature control organizations. On the example of RC 'Komarovo' is clearly visible the principal attitude of 'horse riders' to a horse as to a sport gear which should be thrown out to the garbage pit when broken. Horrible stabling conditions, brutality, and savagery cruelty of horse riders create very high rates of death of horses. Nevertheless RC 'Komarovo' is positioning itself as 'international club', 'elite club' etc. Stabling at RC 'Komarovo' costs about 500 USD a month.
06/05/2007 MAN ARRESTED ON MULTIPLE CRUELTY TO ANIMALS CHARGES!
More than 50 dogs of varying breeds, ages and sizes were rescued from an Adairsville Highway home Wednesday. Jerry Bryan Johnson, 44, was charged with 52 counts of misdemeanor cruelty to animals charges. He was held Wednesday night at Floyd County Jail on $7,250 bail. Johnson was arrested in a joint operation between Floyd County Animal Control and the Floyd County Police Department as the result of a three-year inquiry led by Officer Keelan Freeman with FCAC, authorities said. Johnson had been previously written up by animal control authorities and had more than $6,000 in fines levied against him, said Scotty Hancock, Floyd County Emergency Management Agency director and head of Floyd County Animal Control. At Johnson's 5297 Adairsville Highway home authorities found kennels containing dogs of several breeds, ages and sizes in various stages of health at home. Dog carcasses were found in woods near the house.
06/04/2007 FISH PROTECT WATER SUPPLY!
A number of North American cities are using common bluegills, fish particularly sensitive to chemicals in their environment, to monitor the quality of drinking water. An Associated Press report explains: 'The fish are kept in tanks constantly replenished with water from the municipal supply, and sensors work around the clock to register changes in the breathing, heartbeat and swimming patterns of the bluegills that occur in the presence of toxins.' In one instance in New York City, says the report, 'the fish noticed a diesel spill two hours earlier than any... other detective devices,' and they thus prevented toxins from reaching the public water supply.
06/04/2007 THOUSANDS OF NEW SPECIES!
Nearly 17,000 new species are found every year, according to the newspaper Fenua Info of Tahiti. Some three quarters of the new species are insects, but among the discoveries are also some 450 vertebrates, including 250 species of fish and 20 to 30 mammals. Two thirds of the new mammals are rodents and bats, and 'on average', says the newspaper, 'a new primate is discovered every year', which scientists says is surprising. The list of finds also includes trees and plants.
06/03/2007 PETA SEEKS TAX BREAKS FOR VEGETARIANS!
Citing the need to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is calling on congressional leaders to give vegetarians a tax break. In a letter sent Wednesday to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), PETA President Ingrid Newkirk stated, '[V]egetarians are responsible for far fewer greenhouse-gas emissions and other kinds of environmental degradation than meat-eaters.' The letter added that vegetarians should receive a tax break 'just as people who purchase a hybrid vehicle enjoy a tax break.'
06/02/2007 MONTANA DELAYS SLAUGHTER OF 300 BISON AMID UPROAR!
Public outrage prompted a temporary stay of execution Wednesday for 300 bison, including an estimated 100 calves, roaming in Montana outside the confines of Yellowstone National Park. The Montana Board of Livestock on Tuesday announced plans to capture and kill the bison, or buffalo, in the wake of news earlier this month that seven Montana cows had tested positive for brucellosis, a disease that can cause stillbirths in cows and infects some of the Yellowstone bison herd. Bison advocates, including the Buffalo Field Campaign, launched an opposition campaign that caused an e-mail and telephone backlog at the state and federal agencies that manage Yellowstone's 3,900 bison. The department said it would delay plans to round up and kill the bison until early next week.
06/01/2007 COCA-COLA PULLS ALL FUNDING OF ANIMAL TESTS!
A little more than a month ago, PETA successfully concluded discussions with food-industry giant PepsiCo that resulted in the company's announcement that it will no longer conduct or fund experiments on animals. Now, after hearing from PETA, PepsiCo's rival Coca-Cola has agreed to stop animal tests. Prior to our discussions, Coca-Cola had a history of conducting invasive and deadly animal experiments - including cutting open chimpanzees' faces in order to conduct taste tests and force-feeding chemicals to rats to test 'caramel color' - none of which is necessary or required by law. Coca-Cola's commitment not to fund tests on animals - and its instruction to its suppliers to use alternatives to animal testing - is a sign of hope for the millions of animals who are forced to endure cruel and unnecessary experiments every year. Coca-Cola joins PepsiCo, Welch's, Ocean Spray, POM Wonderful, and more than 22 other beverage companies that have pledged to PETA that they will not fund or conduct animal tests.
The number of news found: 43.
