AFC - News

News

The number of news found: 12.

09/08/2008 HOOKED SHARK BITES FISHERMAN POSING FOR PICTURE

Angler Stephen Perkins, 52, got more than he bargained for when he hauled the fish on board his boat "Serenity" off Lundy Island, Devon. As he was preparing to unhook the fish, she sank her teeth into his wrist leaving him needing re-constructive surgery. She has earned him an unlikely place in history as the first documented case of a man being bitten by a Blue Shark off British waters.

09/08/2008 FLUSHING LIVE GOLDFISH ILLEGAL IN SWITZERLAND

New animal protection legislation which specifies in great detail how animals are to be treated has come into force in Switzerland. Under the new law live goldfish cannot be flushed - they must be knocked out and then killed first. The law also bans catch-and-release fishing and live fish bait. Many types of animal kept in captivity in zoos, circuses, and as domestic companion animals now need to be kept with at least one companion of their own species.

09/06/2008 EUROPEAN PARLIAMENTARIANS TO BAN CLONING

European parliamentarians on Wednesday voted with an overwhelming majority in favour of a proposal to ban cloning of animals for food. No fewer than 630 MEPs voted in favour and only 32 against. The motion for resolution was initiated by the Intergroup on Animal Welfare, and urges the Commission to prohibit cloning of animals for food and any products from cloned animals and their offspring. Cloning is an inefficient process that causes animals to suffer at every stage. The news has been welcomed by Eurogroup for Animals, which provides the secretariat for the Intergroup and which has been campaigning against cloning for food. The results of a Eurobarometer survey on consumer attitudes towards cloning of animals for food will be published this autumn. After that the Commission is expected to publish its proposal.

09/05/2008 ELEPHANTS SHOW FLAIR FOR ARITHMETIC

Under carefully controlled experimental conditions - essentially comprising a large cage and two buckets of assorted fruit - one elephant at Ueno Zoo in Tokyo managed to get its sums right 87 per cent of the time. A slightly less gifted pachyderm across the country in Kyoto scored a still respectable 69 per cent. The curiously accurate adding skills of Elephas maximus have been discovered by Naoko Irie, a behavioral ecologist at the University of Tokyo putting the finishing touches to her doctoral thesis.

09/05/2008 CLONES' OFFSPRING MAY BE IN FOOD SUPLY

Food and milk from the offspring of cloned animals may have entered the U.S. food supply, the U.S. government said on Tuesday, but it would be impossible to know because there is no difference between cloned and conventional products. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said in January meat and milk from cloned cattle, swine and goats and their offspring were as safe as products from traditional animals. Before then, farmers and ranchers had followed a voluntary moratorium on the sale of clones and their offspring.

09/04/2008 KOREA BANNING 7 ANTIBIOTICS FOR ANIMALS ON FARMS

The Korea Food and Drug Administration from next year will ban the use of seven types of antibiotics in feed for livestock and fish raised in fish farms. The seven include penicillin, tetracycline and colistine sulfate. The administration said continued antibiotic usage in livestock feed will raise the animals' tolerance and have an adverse effect on public health.

09/04/2008 SCOTTISH VETS VOICE OVERWHELMING SUPPORT FOR SNARING BAN

New figures released Monday, September 1, by the League Against Cruel Sports and Advocates for Animals reveal a massive 75 per cent of vets surveyed in Scotland think the use of snares should be made illegal. The research carried out by the campaigning organizations also found that 69 per cent believe the regulation of snaring can not provide an acceptable level of protection for animals. These new figures coincide with the release of a report by Senior Vice Chairman of the Animal Welfare Science, Ethics and Law Veterinary Association, and Edinburgh graduate William J Swann BVM&S MRCVS FRSA . The paper titled Shooting and Fox Control in Scotland recommends that "the use of snares should be banned other than under licence for humanely conducted academic research." The strong support of vets in Scotland for a ban on snares backs up a 9,000 signature petition which is currently being considered by the Scottish Parliament's Public Petitions Committee. The petition was first presented by the League and Advocates in March this year and the Committee will reconvene on the issue next Tuesday to decide what action to take.

09/03/2008 CHEMICALS IN COMPANION ANIMALS FOOD CAN LEAD TO BAD BEHAVIOR

Millions of animal lovers are putting the health of their animals at risk by feeding them brand pet foods that are packed with additives and chemicals. Spearheaded by TV vet Joe Inglis, the Campaign for Real Pet Food will warn that the increasingly common behavioral issues in children, associated with some food additives, are also a problem with family animals. Food allergies and intolerances are being cited as causes of bad behavior, such as hyperactivity, and illness in companion animals, warns the vet, whose concerns are backed by experts including clinical animal behaviorist Inga MacKellar, and dog behaviorist Carolyn Menteith. Pet food manufacturers use general phrases, such as "meat and animal derivatives" and "EC permitted additives," in ingredient lists that hide the real content from animal guardians.

09/03/2008 AUSTRIAN ACTIVISTS FINALLY FREE

After more than three months, Christof, Elmar, Felix, Jan, Jürgen, Kevin, Leo, Martin and Sabine, the remaining nine Austrian activists have yesterday finally been set free! Since the end of May the nine activists (Christian had been released earlier) have been charged with "Forming a Criminal Organization," under 278a StGB of the Austrian penal code. The Appelate court explained that there is still a danger of committing further crimes, but the pre-trial detention cannot be upheld if the expected penalties are in no relation to it. The second reason for detention, danger of suppression of evidence is by law limited to two months, which have long expired.

09/02/2008 IPCC CHAIRMAN INSISTS ON EATING LESS MEAT

On Saturday, Rachendra Pachauri, head of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and Nobel Peace prize winner, lectured at length about the effects of meat consumption on climate change. Dr. Pachauri was invited by the Belgian vegetarian organisation EVA and addressed more than 600 people at the University of Ghent. The event was called "Less Meat, Less Heat" and was organized together with Greenpeace Belgium and WWF Belgium. Dr Pachauri said that in order to counter climate change, lifestyle changes are very important. One of the potentially most beneficial lifestyle changes, according to the IPCC president, would be the switch to a diet with less meat and more vegetarian meals. Dr. Pachauri said meat production is responsible for 18% of global greenhouse gas emissions, mainly due to emission of methane from ruminants (cows, sheep and goats), emissions from manure, and the effects of deforestation for cattle grazing and animal feed. He said we each need to take our responsibility and can create a big effect by individual actions, decreasing our meat intake being one of them.

09/02/2008 THEY ARE CHANGING HATS AT BUCKINGHAM PALACE TO SAVE THE BLACK BEAR

They have perched atop the heads of straight-faced soldiers for almost 200 years, been photographed by millions of tourists and generated countless protests, but now the controversial bearskin hats worn by the Buckingham Palace Guardsmen finally seem likely to be replaced with a more modern, humane alternative. The imposing Guards Regiments may soon be topping off their red jackets with natty Stella McCartney or Vivienne Westwood creations, after a meeting next week in which senior MoD officials will consider a range of alternative hats created by leading designers. Baroness Taylor, the minister for defence procurement, who is responsible for acquiring all of the Army's equipment, will meet with the animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) to review the designs on Tuesday. "This meeting is hugely significant for our campaign to save North American bears," said Robbie LeBlanc, director of PETA. "If she has a heart and can see the PR nightmare of the MoD continuing to support the Canadian bear slaughter, she can wield her influence and push the MoD to scrap the bearskin caps sooner rather than later."

09/01/2008 AUSTRIAN IMPRISONED AR CAMPAIGNER RUNS AS GREEN CANDIDATE IN SEPTEMBER ELECTION

After 100 days on remand custody with out concrete charge or evidence, Dr Martin Balluch has been visited in prison by the leader of the Austrian Greens, Alexander Van der Bellen, who invited him to run as an independent candidate for the Greens in the upcoming national election on September 28. Balluch will be elected at the Green Party conference on Sept 7. Van der Bellen told the Austrian Standard newspaper: "I have invited Balluch to run as a candidate for the Green party. He will be given a place high up on the list of candidates." He went on to say that "this unbelievably precise-thinking intellectual has been held now for over 100 days in prison. The Mafia-law being used against animal protectionists goes far beyon what is admissible." Van der Bellen described Balluch's candidacy to the ORF (Austrian TV) as "An expression of appreciation for the work of non-governmental organizations."