Pro Animal Testing Group to March in UK

The group, called Pro-Test (wow, they put a lot of thought into that name) will march in Oxford.

The pressure group Pro-Test is to march through Oxford at noon on Saturday, marking the first year of its campaign to counter intimidation of scientists who experiment on animals.

The group was set up after violent protests by animal rights extremists, notably against Oxford University and Huntingdon Life Sciences.

Its teenage founder, Laurie Pycroft, said the march aimed to defend the right of researchers to work without harassment; celebrate successes in developing treatments for disease; and improve understanding of the need for animal research.

I just thank god these huge multi-national corporations and universities that conduct tests on animals have a teenager to protect them.

Here is a link to their website.

Little Change for Puerto Rico's Animals

You'd think the Puerto Rican government would move immediately to repair the international public relations damage resulting from last year's animal cruelty scandal. Remember? The one where hundreds of unwanted dogs were thrown over a bridge and left to slowly die?

Well, Puerto Rico is taking its sweet time in implementing reforms.

Activists in Puerto Rico who were outraged by the massacre of dozens of dogs hurled from a bridge last year say the government has been slow to deliver on promised measures to protect stray animals from abuse and abandonment.

In response to an outcry over allegations of inhumane killings, the government pledged in December to build shelters and create animal protection units inside the police. Authorities say they are making progress despite bureaucratic obstacles.

But advocates say that dogs are still being abandoned in large numbers, some of them starving or battered, on the streets and beaches of this U.S. Caribbean territory.

“It seems to me that the situation for the animals is continuing basically the same,” said Eugenio Crespo, president of the Animal Protection Federation and owner of shelters in Mayaguez and Ponce.

As for punishment of the animal control company responsible for the massacres...

The owner of the animal control company and two employees have been charged with animal cruelty, but they have denied involvement. A judge has been hearing evidence to decide whether the case should go to trial.

The case focused new attention on treatment of animals in Puerto Rico, which has no pet registration law and little spaying or neutering.

Photo by ElizabethKracht.

Leopards Rescued from Monaco Zoo

This is a great story about one woman's perseverance in obtaining the release of two lifelong captive leopard siblings. They will spend the rest of their days in the Shamwari game reserve where Born Free has two fenced-off sanctuaries.

The British actress and wildlife conservationist {Virginia McKenna} had spent 10 years trying to rescue Pitou and Sirius from Monaco Zoo, campaigning for them to be re-homed by Born Free, the animal welfare organisation she founded 25 years ago with her late husband, the actor Bill Travers. (Before the leopards were moved to the zoo, they were with a French travelling circus.)

McKenna went to Monaco nine times and begged courtiers to be allowed to ask the late Prince Rainier to grant these predators freedom. They wouldn't even let her see him.

But Rainier's heir Prince Albert, upon assuming the throne, was moved and gave his permission for their removal.

Shamwari, which means friend in Shona dialect, is a managed, enclosed 30,000-acre reserve teeming with wild lions, leopards, giraffes, rhinos, hippos and cheetahs as well as kudus, antelopes, zebras and eagles.

...Born Free has been given two fenced-off sanctuaries where it has re-homed big cats, most of whom had been cruelly treated. Even here, they must be restricted. They have not learnt to hunt for themselves and would perish if allowed to roam.

The Born Free sanctuary where Pitou (the name means little donkey) and Sirius (little star) now have their home...is a conservation centre for students.

Photo by Mara 1.

Canadian Animal Cruelty Laws Lag Behind Other Countries'

The International Fund for Animal Welfare issued a report comparing Canada's animal cruelty laws to the following countries': Austria, Canada, Croatia, Great Britain, Germany, Malaysia, New Zealand, Norway, the Philippines, Poland, Portugal, South Africa, Switzerland and the Ukraine.

It placed last. Even behind Portugal and the Ukraine. That's bad.

Here are some of the findings:

- Canada is alone in offering virtually no protection for wild and stray animals

- Canada's legislation does not include a clear definition of 'animal' while other countries are explicit

- Canada is the only country that does not provide protection for animals being trained to fight each other

- Canada is the only country that makes is virtually impossible to prosecute cases of neglect.

According to IFAW-Canada,"Canada's anti-cruelty legislation hasn't been updated since it was written in 1892-when it was enacted by Queen Victoria. While countries around the world are updating their legislation to better protect animals, Canada seems content to stay in the dark ages."

As an American who admires so many things about Canada, this is shocking and disappointing.

Photo by Insomniac101.

More on Colorado's Hunting Ban for Lazy Cowards

Here's more on the law to ban despicable little trolls (see photo at right) from killing animals in canned hunts in Colorado.

Hunters and animal-rights advocates may not agree on many things, but they both say a hunted animal at least deserves a fair chase.

But exactly what that means, and what the state should do about it, is a source of dispute as the state Legislature considers a bill that would regulate the hunting industry.

HB1096 would ban “canned hunts,” which take place in small, fenced areas. Animals may be flushed out of hiding and directed toward hunters or lured by food.

Rep. Debbie Stafford’s bill would make it illegal to operate a facility where hunters can shoot an animal that is intentionally confined, tied, staked, caged or otherwise restrained from normal movement. That would ban canned hunts while preserving the values of a fair chase, Stafford said.

Photo by Autistic Psycho

Pets are Big Business

This is something Pet Smart and other companies found out a long time ago. But, it's interesting to read about.

Mary Ann Guarino-Schlau, of Joplin, has two living rooms: one for her and one for her 14 dogs.

Guarino-Schlau’s furry “babies” have their own couch, love seat, chair, television set, radio and pillows. They are her life....

Guarino-Schlau is part of the growing population of pet owners who look at their animals as friends and family rather than property, and prove it with their checkbooks. The American Pet Product Manufacturers Association estimated that in 2007, people spent more than $40 billion on their pets nationwide. Those costs include boarding, grooming, animal purchases, medical care and food.

Animals bring us happiness. I suppose there are worse things to spend money on.

Men Are From Mars, Dogs From Venus Better Off

According to this survey in the UK, women are much more likely to sacrifice for their pets. No surprise here.

Forget man's best friend, it seems today's females seem to have the softest spot when it comes to looking after our pets.

When asked who they would insure first, almost two thirds more women than men said they would choose to insure their four legged companions over their other half, a new survey has found.

The findings also revealed the enormous lengths British pet owners will go to keep their furry friends in good health.

Almost one third (32%) of pet owners said they would sell valuable personal possessions in order to pay a large vets bill.

Lawmaker in West Virginia Wants to Teach Hunting in Schools

File this under the Dept. of WTF?

A significant drop in the number of hunters in West Virginia has left a hole in the state's budget, and one lawmaker thinks he has a solution: allow children to receive hunter training in school.

Seventh- through ninth-graders could opt for instruction in topics ranging from survival skills to gun safety, but the weapons would have dummy ammunition or be disabled. Sen. Billy Wayne Bailey, who introduced the bill this month, doesn't envision students firing real guns during class time.

"It's a way to take this kind of education in the classroom and make it more convenient for young people," said Bailey, a Wyoming County Democrat.

West Virginia, where roughly 320,000 people participated in the recent two-week gun season for bucks, may be the only state contemplating such a bill, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Ya think?

UAE to Build $1 Billion Wildlife Resort

Ah here is the latest thing they can dump their oil money into, a fake environment created as a "destination resort". I'm sure it will be complete with crappy shopping mall cultural delights (which is I might add is more of an imported US cultural trait).

The multi-use property would be built in phases and the first phase is due for completion by 2010. This would include the Arabian and African Safaris, resorts, retail and residential communities with related services.

Hospitality venues will provide visitors the choice of a family hotel and luxurious 5-star resort, with easy access to themed wildlife parks. A multi-level retail area will include shopping promenades, cafes and restaurants.

The proximity to natural wildlife with the core zoo and its expanding exhibits, in addition to the themed desert safaris, would provide a centre of learning excellence and a backdrop from which to relax and contemplate animals in their natural settings, the official said.

I suppose it's no different then zoos in other countries, except on a larger scale.

Photo by Octal

Woman Saves Baby Tiger with Mouth to Mouth

How cool is that?

A German medical student visiting a zoo in the eastern German city of Halle used mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to save a tiger cub choking on a piece of meat, according to media reports Saturday.

The 24-year-old young mother, Janine Bauer, was passing the enclosure with her son in Berg Zoo when she noticed the 4-monht-old tiger choking in December 2007.

New Zealander Campaigns for Japanese Whaling

Does Glenn Inwood from the Institute for Cetacean Research really believe in what's he's doing or is he just in it for the money?

What can I say? I personally find him despicable.

Glenn Inwood, the Japanese whaling industry's embattled spin doctor, has one of the toughest public relations gigs in the world: selling commercial whaling to the planet.

A former press secretary to a New Zealand cabinet minister, Mr Inwood resigned in 2000 after the Prime Minister, Helen Clark, found his connections to the whaling industry distasteful...

Drawing on his Maori heritage, he believes hunting whales is a respectable tradition. He has little respect for the Australian Government's position on whaling which, he has written, has allowed emotions to interfere with common sense and international law.

Here's an article about him. You can decide for yourself.

Photo by blather.

The Debate about Cloned Animals

The debate has probably been going on for a while, but it's picked up steam with the recent FDA decision that cloned animals are safe for consumption. Experts in New Zealand and Europe have come to the same conclusion.

Here is a short Voice of America report that notes activist concerns.

But activists argue that the F.D.A. based its decision on incomplete research into possible risks. The Center for Food Safety criticized the use of studies supplied by cloning companies.

Animal rights activists point out that cloning attempts often fail. They say cloning is cruel and can lead to suffering in clones born with abnormalities.

In addition, the FDA would not require food from cloned animals to be labeled as such.

Photo by Wandering Eyes.

Calls to Stop Kosher Killings in Australia

Kosher killings of sheep in Australia are apparently being carried out against government standards for ritual slaughters.

The killings are primarily for the export market in Israel (ritual slaughter of animals for Jewish and Muslim markets requires that the animal is killed by having its throat slit.) Animal rights activists are claiming that the animal is not being stunned before it is slaughtered.

The RSPCA and Animals Australia believe that killing without any form of electrical stunning of conscious sheep is illegal under the current industry standard and have called on the minister to intervene as the practice escalates in Victoria.

The Australian standard for ritual slaughter states that animals must be electrically stunned, however exemption permits have been issued under special arrangements made under a legally disputed guideline.

It is believed abattoirs at Kyneton and Geelong last week began killing 1000 sheep each a week without stunning for kosher exports to Israel, while abattoirs at Warrnambool and Cranbourne were set to follow.

Photo by solarsunset3.

Bad News Continues for Ireland's Dogs

Things are bad, bad, bad for dogs in Ireland.

On the one hand, many dog owners love their pets and are spending increasing amounts of their income on foot and pet accessories -- but, at the same time, hundreds of dogs are put down by lethal injection each week because nobody wants or cares about them.

"It's a huge number and it's very shocking and unfortunately it's not improving. A lot of it comes down to responsible dog ownership. It's a horrendous waste," says Mark Beazley, of the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ISPCA).

There's an urban/rural split in the problem, a common problem in many countries.

Much of the problem lies in the fact that spaying and neutering of dogs does not take place outside urban areas, because of cost and other factors.

Mr Beazley also explained how many rural dwellers breed dogs for farm use, only to throw away the majority of the litter when they've found the 'perfect' dog.

"The vast majority of abandoned dogs are collies and farm dogs. People trying to get the ideal sheep dog, the ideal cattle dog, maybe one pup is good out of a litter of nine and then the rest end up in the pound.

About 24,000 dogs were abandoned in Ireland last year and 14,000 were euthanized.

Photo by szabzero.

Sea Shepherd Captain Calls Australia Timid

Paul Watson, never a shrinking violet, has condemned Australia for not doing enough to stop whaling.

Captain Paul Watson says he is angry and frustrated that five whales have been killed since the protest vessel was forced to break off its pursuit of the Japanese whaling fleet.

The Australian Customs vessel Oceanic Viking has confirmed that at least five minke whales have been killed since the Japanese fleet resumed hunting.

"Australia's being awfully timid when it comes to Japan," Mr Watson said.

"Uruguay goes down there and poaches [patagonian toothfish] and Australia goes down there, arrests them, seizes their vessel and tosses them in jail.