News
The number of news found: 42.
06/30/2008 PLAN TO KILL 86,000 SEALS DRAWS IRE IN NAMIBIA
During this year's season - from July 1 to Nov. 15 - seal hunters will be allowed kill 6,000 adult males and 80,000 pups, a quota that remains the same as last year, said Moses Maurihungirire, director of resource management at the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources. The government has said the seal hunt protects its fish stocks because seals consume 900,000 tons of fish a year, which is more than a third of the fishing industry's catch. The hunt also provides revenue from skins, fur and meat, and creates 149 jobs, Maurihungirire said. But activists from Seal Alert South Africa said the country's seal population is no longer sustainable. Francois Hugo, of Seal Alert, said a colony on Cape Cross island was wiped out during last year's hunting season.
06/29/2008 AUSTRALIAN PLAN TO KILL 400 KANGAROOS DISPUTED
Four hundred kangaroos and wallabies will be shot dead in a cull in Maria Island National Park off Tasmania's east coast. Parks and Wildlife Service manager of operations and performance Mark Bryce said the 12-day animal management program will begin on Monday. Eastern grey kangaroos, Bennetts wallabies and Pademelon wallabies will be targeted, he said. "We follow the national code of practice for the humane shooting of these animals," Mr Bryce said. "We are looking at (shooting) 400 in total." Mr Bryce said the annual cull, which began in 1994, shoots between 200 and 800 of the marsupials each year, depending on population figures on the island, 60km north-east of Hobart. A controversial kangaroo cull at a Canberra Department of Defence site ended earlier this month with 514 eastern grey kangaroos killed. The Canberra cull drew international condemnation from animal rights activists, including former Beatle Sir Paul McCartney. More than 10 protesters were arrested.
06/29/2008 WIMBLEDON TO USE HAWS TO KEEP PIGEONS AWAY
Wimbledon organizers came under fire from animal rights groups for using marksmen to eradicate some pesky pigeons last Sunday, but they have pledged to use only two hawks to keep the birds away for the remainder of the tournament. Wimbledon organizers said the extreme pest control response had only been deemed necessary because pigeons were creating a health risk around the players' lawn and a restaurant. "The hawks are our first line of deterrent, and by and large they do the job," Wimbledon spokesman Johnny Perkins said. "But unfortunately there were one or two areas where the hawks didn't deter the pigeons, so it was deemed necessary to take a harder approach," he explained.
06/28/2008 VEGAN STREAKER SUDDENLY APPEARS AT CHAMPIONS TROPHY
Las Saturday afternoon the hockeymatch between the Netherlands and Spain, for the Champions Trophy, got disturbed by the vegan streaker. Vegan Streaker: "On this day there was an important match what was been broadcasted live on television. This moment I grabbed to ask attention for animal cruelty. This time I wanted to focus on the plans to build pig-appartments and the 22,5 milion pigs who got castrated every year." The vegan streaker painted on the frontside of his body the lyrics "Balls for Pigs" and behind "Géén Varkensflats" (No Pig-appartments) to ask attention for this subject. On his legs we could find the weblink to his website, where you can find more info about more actions in the past. When the game was set already on 3-0, and the players were on the other side of the field, the vegan streaker climbed over the fences and was starting to run on the field. He focused also on the spanish players.The vegan streaker walked by the dug-out of Spain yelling "BULLFIGHT IS BULLSHIT"!
06/28/2008 KFC CANADA OFFERS A VEGAN VERSION OF ITS CHICKEN SANDWICH
Starting July 1, KFC Canada will offer a vegan version of its chicken sandwich in 500 of its 750 outlets. (So far, no plans for a crispy or extra-crispy bucket of the un-chicken.) The company, owned by Ontario-based Priszm Income Fund, says it also will switch to a more humane way of slaughtering fowl. The moves follow "straightforward" talks with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, says KFC Canada President Steve Langford, adding that PETA is "someone you would prefer not to be your enemy." The group has conducted "Kentucky Fried Cruelty" protests in Canada for the past five years. PETA says it has asked KFC’s U.S. operations, owned by Yum! Brands, to follow Canada's lead. Company spokeswoman Laurie Schalow says there are no immediate plans to put the un-chicken on U.S. menus.
06/27/2008 SPANISH CONGRESS ANNOUNCES SUPPORT FOR THE GREAT APE PROJECT AND GREAT APES
The Spanish Parliament announced its support for the Great Ape Project's mission to attain legal rights for non-human great apes. "This is the first time in the History of Humanity that an important Parliament has announced its approval of rights for Great Primates" announced Dr. Pedro Y. Ynterian, Director of GAP Brazil and incoming GAP International President. This is the central issue the Great Ape Project has focused on for the last 14 years. This is an important step towards future governmental support for great apes worldwide. Under most government structures, legal rights are the only way to insure that non-human great apes are free from torture, unnecessary death and capture.
06/26/2008 "ETERNAL TREBLINKA" ATTRACTING ATTENTION AROUND THE WORLD
Eternal Treblinka: Our Treatment of Animals and the Holocaust by American author Charles Patterson is fast becoming an international sensation. After it was rejected by 83 American publishers (some of them said it was "too strong"), it was published in 2002 by Lantern Books in New York. Now in its third printing, it will soon be in 14 languages. The book has now been translated and published in Israel, Germany, France, Japan, Italy, Poland, Croatia, the Czech Republic, and Serbia, and soon it will be published in Spain and Latin America as well. Russian, Slovenian, and Arabic translations are also underway.
06/26/2008 DR. MARTIN BALLUCH IS STILL ON HUNGER STRIKE
The president of Verein Gegen Tierfabriken association, Dr. Martin Balluch, is being held in prison hospital wing in Josefstadt. Dr. Balluch is on hunger strike for obvious arbitrary treatment by the police over since his imprisonment May 21, 2008. Dr. Martin Balluch commented: "I've been on hunger strike over a month. This is my only chance for a protest against repression." Dr. Balluch lost over 20 kg, is receiving infusion and is on medication against stomach pain and cramps. Although there are no evidence and accusations, on which reacted the Amnesty international, the Public Prosecutors Office is still refusing to release him and even returning the confiscated computers and other material.
06/25/2008 FARMER JAILED FOR ANIMAL CRUELTY
David Dobbin's farm in Backford, near Chester, was raided by Trading Standards and Defra officers in 2007. They found a herd of 500 cattle - twice the number he could sustain - "some almost dead on their feet." Dobbin admitted disposing of bovine carcasses and animal cruelty and was jailed for four months on Friday. The farmer, who had previously claimed Trading Standards and Defra had carried out a "witch hunt" against him, was also banned from keeping animals for 10 years. Dobbin's former partner, Susan Lofthouse, 36, admitted the same charges at the Chester Crown Court hearing. Both asked for 500 counts of failing to keep proper cattle records to be taken into account. They also jointly admitted six specimen counts under the Trade Descriptions Act of "clocking" cattle by switching identification ear tags - some from dead cows - and four of selling such "worthless" cattle to other farmers. Ms. Lofthouse was sentenced to four months in jail, suspended for a year, and handed a 150-hour community service order.
06/25/2008 THE DARK SIDE OF AUSTRIA
Football fever has Austria in it's grip. Fans and tourists enjoy Austrian hospitality for which she became renown for. But, there is a dark side of modern Austria which endangers the civil liberties of every person living there. Behind the scenes of the football spectacle, 10 volunteers are arrested and kept in custody over a month. They are on remand even though there are no real charges pulled against them. Protesting on this random attack at this social activism, one of the detainees is now on hunger strike for 24 days. Even though the Amnesty International has disapproved it and the pressure comes from all over the world, the changes are yet to come.
06/24/2008 PACIFIC NATIONS BAN TUNA BOATS TO STOP STOCK COLLAPSE
Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, and six other Pacific nations banned tuna boats from an area of ocean almost the size of Alaska to save the fish from a repeat of the collapse of Atlantic cod fisheries in the 1980s.
06/24/2008 FILM SHOWS INHUMANE SLAUGHTER OF COASTAL WHALES
The Save Japan Dolphins Coalition joins the Oceanic Preservation Society (OPS) in releasing a shocking new video of the cruel slaughter of dolphins by Japanese whalers. Japan is pushing the International Whaling Commission (IWC), meeting in Santiago, Chile, June 23-27, to overturn the 20-year old commercial whaling moratorium by allowing it to conduct commercial whaling off its shores. OPS is releasing a short film of recently acquired covert footage of Japanese whalers slaughtering dolphins, to media groups and delegates to the IWC. The Save Japan Dolphins Coalition helped in making of the film, which features the efforts of Ric O'Barry, Director of the coalition and an expert on dolphins.
06/23/2008 CZECH CHAMBER PASSES ANIMAL PROTECTION BILL
The Czech Chamber of Deputies passed an animal protection bill that sets the rules for animal transportation and its maximum period, bans the use of live animals to train hunting dogs and toughens punishment for cruelty towards animals or its propaganda. To take effect the law should be supported by the Senate and signed by President Vaclav Klaus. The Chamber of Deputies discussed an animal protection bill last year and the use of live animals to train hunting dogs was then the bone of contention. The Senate returned the bill to the Chamber of Deputies because of this provision. The government now submitted the "senatorial version" of the bill, Agriculture Minister Petr Gandalovic (senior ruling Civic Democrats, ODS) said. The bill that bans direct contact of training dogs with live animals during the training was passed by the Chamber of Deputies. It was supported by 149 out of the 182 deputies present. No one voted against it. The law will take effect next year, Gandalovic said, adding that he firmly believed that the Senate would support it and the president would sign it into law.
06/23/2008 GREENPEACE WHALE ACTIVISTS ARRESTED IN JAPAN
Two Greenpeace activists who exposed a whale meat embezzlement fraud in Japan - Junichi Sato and Toru Suzuki - have been themselves arrested - for allegedly stealing the whale meat that they turned over to police as evidence. What is surprising is that these activists, who are innocent of any crime, would be arrested for returning whale meat that was stolen from Japanese taxpayers. This was not a police action - it was an intimidation tactic by the government agencies responsible for whaling - and the kind of harassment of whistleblowers that a modern democracy should not allow. More than 40 police officer raided Greenpeace offices and the homes of the activists, and spent 10 hours seizing cell phones, documents, and computers, despite the fact that Greenpeace activists had documented every step of how we obtained the whale meat, turned the full dossier over with the evidence, and made themselves available to police to help with the investigation at any time.
06/21/2008 U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES PASSES BIL TO STOP THE TRADE OF PRIMATES AS "PETS"
Born Free USA united with Animal Protection Institute (Born Free USA) applauded Congressional passage of the Captive Primate Safety Act (H.R.2964). The bill, championed by Born Free USA and The Humane Society of the United States (The HSUS), prohibits interstate and international movement of nonhuman primates if they are to be kept as pets. The Act is sponsored by Representatives Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) and Mark Kirk (R-IL). "The primate trade involves enormous animal suffering and threats to human safety," says Adam Roberts, senior vice president of Born Free USA. "These innocent animals may be confined in small enclosures or have their teeth or fingernails removed. We can't allow animals to be mutilated in the name of companionship. There is simply no excuse for keeping primates as pets and the trade must stop."
06/21/2008 RSPCA URGED TO REMOVE FREEDOM LABEL FROM SALMON
An animal rights group has urged the RSPCA to remove its Freedom Food label from a range of Scottish farmed salmon after producer Marine Harvest admitted killing seals at its fish farms. Animal Concern's campaigns consultant John Robins has written to the animal charity in the wake of an announcement of a major deal between Norweigian-owned Marine Harvest and Sainsbury's.
06/20/2008 KILIMANJARO'S LIONS FACE EXCTINTION
Mount Kilimanjaro's lions face extinction at the spear point of Maasai cattle herders, warn conservation experts. Once common in rural Kenya, fewer than 150 lions now roam the eco-tourism haven in and around Amboseli National Park, just northwest of Tanzania's famous mountain. Since 2003, local cattle herders have killed 63 lions, often in retaliation for lost livestock, according to National Geographic Society conservationists. It's not just lions, but tigers, leopards and other big cats worldwide also face similar losses, according to National Geographic Society explorer-in-residence Derek Joubert. He says only about 20,000 lions remain in Africa, down from hundreds of thousands only four decades ago.
06/20/2008 RACETRACKS REPORT 5,000 HORSE DEATHS SINCE 2003
Thoroughbred racetracks in the U.S. reported more than three horse deaths a day last year and 5,000 since 2003, and the vast majority were put down after suffering devastating injuries on the track, according to an Associated Press survey. Countless other deaths went unreported because of lax record keeping, the AP found in the broadest such review to date.
06/19/2008 DOB REUNITED WITH GUARDIANSS AFTER THREE YEARS
Brambles, a saluki-greyhound cross, was taken from her garden in Dorchester, Dorset, in September 2005. Her guardian, Sarah Thornewill, had given up hope of ever seeing the two-year-old bitch again. However, last month the RSPCA had a tip-off that some boys were mistreating a dog 75 miles away, near Cribbs Causeway, Bristol. When an RSPCA inspector scanned the abused dog's fur for a microchip the database revealed it was the missing dog, which had been reported stolen three years earlier.
06/19/2008 DUTCH GOVERNMENT TO LIFT 25-YEAR BAN ON PIT BULLS
The Dutch government says it will lift a long-standing ban on pit bulls because it did not lead to any decrease in bite incidents. Agriculture Minister Gerda Verburg has informed parliament of the decision, which follows the advice of a commission of experts appointed to review the policy. Instead, the country will focus on enforcing local leashing laws and guardian education programs.
06/18/2008 NAVY HELD FIRING TESTS NEAR DOLPHIN STRANDING
The Royal Navy carried out live-firing exercises off Cornwall just hours before 25 dolphins died by stranding themselves in a nearby river, the Ministry of Defence said. As initial autopsies suggested the dolphins might have been scared or disorientated, MoD officials said training exercises with a submarine and survey ship using sonar had also been held in Falmouth Bay. MoD officials said the exercises were "highly unlikely" to have been the cause of the deaths, Britain's biggest mass stranding for nearly 30 years. Campaigners called for an urgent inquiry into any possible connection. The dolphins died after swimming up the Percuil River near Falmouth despite marine experts, wildlife volunteers and vets battling all day to save them. While seven were saved and led back out to sea, one rescuer described the scene as a "sea of carnage."
06/18/2008 MARINE EXPELLED, ANOTHER PUNISHED OVER PUPPY VIDEO
The Marine Corps said it was expelling one Marine and disciplining another for their roles in a video showing a Marine throwing a puppy off a cliff while on patrol in Iraq. The 17-second video posted on YouTube drew sharp condemnation from animal rights groups when it came to light in March. The clip shows two Marines joking before one hurls the puppy into a rocky gully. A yelping sound is heard as it flips through the air. Lance Cpl. David Motari, assigned to the 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment at Kaneohe Bay, is "being processed for separation" from the Marine Corps, the Marine Corps said in a news release. He also received unspecified "non-judicial punishment." The Marine Corps didn't say what role Motari played in the clip.
06/17/2008 SOUTH KOREA BANS U.S. MEAT
The South Korean government has responded to a rally involving more than 60,000 citizens protesting American beef imports. Major Asian markets have upheld a ban on American beef since the discovery of new cases of Mad Cow Disease in the U.S. raised consumer health concerns. Despite international pressure on the Bush Administration, the U.S. continues to ignore food safety concerns and violate World Health Organization guidelines by feeding slaughterhouse waste to animals and refusing to test all animals at slaughter for Mad Cow Disease.
06/17/2008 GOVERNMENT MANIPULATING DATA ON WORKERS INJURIES AT SLAUGHTERHOUSES
For over two decades, the meatpacking industry has held the undesirable position as America's most dangerous industry. The rate of injury among workers began escalating during the union-busting days of the 1980s. For example, the repetitive-motion-disorder incidence rate is 30 times higher for meatpacking workers than the average for all private industries. Disregarding worker's rights, government officials at the U.S. Department of Labor, appointed by President Bush, have dramatically altered laws that were originally designed to require industry to report worker injuries. As a result of the new law, government statistics now inaccurately indicate that worker's injuries have magically dropped by 50%, thereby taking the heat off the meatpacking industry to improve working environments.
06/16/2008 ANIMAL RIGHTS GROUP SUES RODEO OVER VIDEOS
A Geneva animal rights group has filed suit against a Colorado rodeo association, claiming it intentionally lied about its videos in an effort to remove them from YouTube. Showing Animals Respect and Kindness, or SHARK, filed the lawsuit in federal court in Chicago against Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association. According to the lawsuit, SHARK had posted more than a dozen videos of activities at rodeos throughout the country, including video of rodeo hands using electric prods on horses to encourage their bucking, a prohibited activity according to the lawsuit.
06/16/2008 STRONG EU SUPPORT FOR THE PROTECTION OF WHALES
The Commission welcomes the decision reached by the Environment Council on a common position to protect whales in view of the meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) later this month in Santiago de Chile. The decision allows for a coordinated EU approach at the meeting and strengthens the European Union's voice at the IWC. Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas said: "With this decision the European Union can now take a strong role at the International Whaling Commission and use all its political, moral and economic weight to ensure a more effective protection of whales worldwide."
06/14/2008 PFA PLEAD FOR RELEASE OF BEAR
Activists of People for Animals (PFA) in Orissa have been seeking immediate rescue of a sloth bear being bred in captivity by a tribal man in Ghatagaon, India. Eighteen-month-old Rani with her shaggy black coat and a hint of a smile is now under the care of Ramesh Munda at Rutisila village. Activists fear that the bear would be initiated into the trade of exhibitions and shows and have insisted that wildlife officers rescued her before its too late. "Also, keeping sloth bears in captivity is a violation of animal protection law," said animal rights activist J.B. Das, also a secretary of PFA.
06/14/2008 B.C. MAN GUILTY OF MICROWARING CAT
A B.C. man who microwaved his girlfriend's cat has been convicted of animal cruelty by the B.C. Supreme Court. On Feb. 14, 2005, John Ronald Hughes woke up his girlfriend, Sara Kons, to tell her he had sat down on a wobbly couch and severely injured her cat, which was lying beneath. Kons went back to sleep, but was re-awakened by the sound of the microwave door. She went downstairs to find her boyfriend holding the cat, with a weight strapped to it, outside the open microwave door. The Supreme Court case was an appeal of an earlier provincial court verdict that found Hughes not guilty. At first, Hughes defended himself by saying he was out of town on the date of the incident, and later denied microwaving the feline. The provincial court judge didn't buy either excuse, but found Hughes' acts didn't meet the test of animal cruelty, which is to wilfully cause "unnecessary pain, suffering or injury to an animal."
06/13/2008 MAN POISONS OVER 30 DOGS TO DEATH
In a bizarre incident, a man poisoned to death more than 30 dogs, giving vent to his anger after one of his goats died due to a dog bite in a village in Tirunelveli District of Tamil Nadu. Enraged over death of one of his goat after been bitten by a dog, Sivakumar (name changed) cut the dead goat into pieces, mixed them with poison and strew them at different points in the village. More than 30 dogs who consumed the meat died. Shocked over the incident, the dog guardians complained to the village panchayat. On finding him guilty, the panchayat slammed on him a fine of Rs 20,000, which was distributed as compensation to the dog guardians, local officials said.
06/13/2008 NEW LAW TO TACKLE "HEARTLESS" TRADE IN PUPPIES AND KITTENS WELCOMED
Advocates for Animals has welcomed new legislation making strict rules for the purchase and re-sale of puppies and kittens in Scotland. The Licensing of Animal Dealers (Young Cats and Dogs) (Scotland) Regulations 2008 are the first new licensing provisions under the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006. By imposing a strict licensing regime, the new regulations will have a direct impact on the trade in puppies and kittens from puppy farms in Ireland. There are serious concerns about the welfare of animals in these farms, which have supplied thousands of puppies for sale in Scotland in recent years.
06/12/2008 ANIMALS BECOME PREY AT EGYPT'S GIZZA ZOO
In most zoos, employees feed and care for the animals. At Egypt's Giza Zoo, police say, workers have been turning them into dinner or selling them as "pets." When two Moroccan camels were butchered in August, the perpetrators left behind only the hide and hooves. A police investigation found that a zookeeper had slaughtered the animals and sold the meat to supplement his monthly wage. More than 400 animals, including foxes, zebras, a black panther and a giraffe, have vanished from the government-run menagerie in the last three years, according to police documents. "The zoo is a living example of the mess our country has become," said Ahmed Sherbiny, chairman of the Egyptian Society of Animal Friends. "It is a combination of corruption, the death of work ethic, mismanagement and apathy." Animal rights activists are fighting to stop the zoo, which sits on the left bank of the Nile River across from Cairo, from spending $250,000 to replace a dead giraffe.
06/12/2008 SWISS COURT BANS WORK ON MACAQUE BRANIS
Zurich's two largest institutes are appealing to the country's supreme court after a lower court decided to ban two primate experiments studying how the brain adapts to change. They say that the ban is a serious threat to all basic research that uses animals in Switzerland. The University of Zurich and the Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETHZ) announced on June 4 that their local administrative court had ruled against the experiments on rhesus monkeys that had been approved in 2006 by the Swiss National Science Foundation, a funding agency and the Zurich canton's veterinary office, which is responsible for controlling animal welfare. The veterinary office decision was challenged by an external advisory committee on animal experimentation, which argued that the proposed experiments would offend the dignity of the animals. The requirement to consider the "dignity of creatures" was introduced into the Swiss constitution in 2004.
06/11/2008 COWS ALSO "HAVE REGIONAL ACCENTS"
Cows have regional accents like humans, language specialists have suggested. They decided to examine the issue after dairy farmers noticed their cows had slightly different moos, depending on which herd they came from. John Wells, Professor of Phonetics at the University of London, said regional twangs had been seen before in birds. The farmers in Somerset who noticed the phenomenon said it may have been the result of the close bond between them and their animals.
06/11/2008 ANIMAL FRIENDS AGAINST THE AUSTRALIAN LIVE EXPORT
Animal Friends Croatia sent a letter to the Australian Embassy in Zagreb and Australian Prime Minster Mr. Kevin Rudd, protesting against the suffering caused by Australia's live export industry. As the largest exporter of animals for slaughter, Australia is a world leader in a cruel trade - a trade in animal suffering. The live export industry causes the death of tens of thousands of animals every year, during the sea journey alone. Those that survive the journey are often handled, transported and slaughtered in the most appalling way.
06/10/2008 POLAR BEAR SWIMS 200 MILES AND IS SHOT DEAD FOR HIS EFFORTS
A polar bear that swam more than 200 miles in near-freezing waters to reach Iceland was shot on arrival in case he posed a threat to humans. The bear, thought to be the first to reach the country in at least 15 years, was killed after local police claimed he was a danger to humans, triggering an outcry from animal lovers. Police claimed it was not possible to sedate the bear. The adult male, weighing 250 kg, was presumed to have swum some 200 miles from Greenland, or from a distant chunk of Arctic ice, to Skagafjordur in northern Iceland.
06/09/2008 STEPS TAKEN TO RESTRICT LIVE EXPORT IN NEW ZEALAND
New Zealand is brushing up its animal welfare credentials with fresh steps to restrict the live export of animals for slaughter. With 90% of its farm products going for export, and the farming industry accounting for 17% of the country's economy, the NZ government has introduced new requirements over recent weeks. The new requirement is for importing countries to demonstrate appropriate handling facilities and for all live imports to go direct to a slaughterhouse, effectively ruling out "backyard" slaughtering for cultural or religious purposes. It is expected to further reduce the live export of NZ sheep to the Middle East, with only limited exports of some niche breeds likely to continue.
06/08/2008 AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL STANDS UP FOR THE TEN IMPRISONED AUSTRIAN ANIMAL PROTECTIONISTS
In a two page statement the organization Amnesty International describes a string of offences against Austrian criminal law. Amnesty International emphasises that political and social activism as a freedom of expression is a protected human right. The statement criticises the use of sec 278a of the criminal code for demonstrators noting "It seems inadequate to postulate a group involved in organised crime from a situation where a number of demonstrators arrange to resist state authority." It pointed out that the term "organised crime" is characterised by the intent to enrich oneself and refers to the gravest crimes, for which the intention to maximize profits is characteristic. The appropriateness of the house searches also came under criticism, in particular the reports that those held in custody were refused their right to contact a lawyer of next of kin. Amnesty International is concerned about, and has strongly criticised the claim from Public Prosecutor that no allegations are aimed at organizations, whilst searches of offices rendered many organizations unable to function due to seized technology, equipment and data.
06/05/2008 SPANISH POP STAR POSES NUDE TO PROTEST BULLFIGHTING
One of Spain's top recording artists, Alaska, launched a campaign against bullfighting by presenting a poster of herself posing nude with three swords stuck in her back. "We need to stick some little banderillas (swords used in bullfighting) in the backs of those who think that the bull does not suffer," she said in presenting her campaign "The Naked Truth: Bullfighting is Cruel." The campaign is the idea of Spain's animal rights association AnimaNaturalis and Britain's People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), which has organised numerous protests against bullfighting.
06/04/2008 CLASS ANIMALS FACING EXTINCTION IN BRITAIN
The presence of animals in British classrooms for student activities borders on cruelty, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals says. A new proposed RSPCA guideline would ban the presence of all classroom animals in British schools to help save animals from being routinely grabbed and frightened by curious students, The Times of London said Saturday. The animal welfare charity has suggested that instead of live animals, students be given soft animal-shaped toys that can expose them to nature in a safe and cruelty-free way. Recent RSPCA research found that more than 25 percent of British schools have at least one animal on school premises, ranging from fish to rabbits.
06/04/2008 UNILEVER THREATENS PRIMATES IN IVORY COAST RAINFORESTS
One of Côte d'Ivoire's most important primary rainforests is to be cleared by global consumer product company Unilever and others, despite Unilever's recent promises to buy only "sustainable" palm oil from lands not cleared of rainforests for their production. Tanoé Swamps Forest in Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) is one of the last remaining old growth forests in the country and the last refuge for three highly endangered primates - the Miss Waldron Colobus, the Geoffroy's colobus and the Diana roloway - as well as home to many endangered plant species.
06/02/2008 NEW ZEALAND MOVES TO PROTECT RARE DOLPHINS
New Zealand plans to ban commercial fishing near its coast and set up marine reserves to protect the rare Hector's dolphins, a government minister said on Thursday. The Hector's dolphin is estimated to number around 7,400 from 29,000 in the late 1970s. However, one of its sub-species, the Maui dolphin, is said to be the rarest in the world and facing extinction with as few as 111 animals left. Fishing is blamed for up to three-quarters of the known deaths of Hector's dolphins. Fisheries Minister Jim Anderton said the measures were estimated to cost the commercial fishing industry up to 295 jobs and NZ$79.1 million over the next 10 years. The dolphins grow to around 1.4 meters (40 inches) compared with up to 4 meters for the common Bottlenose dolphin, live around 20 years, and breed slowly. They usually live in small groups of no more than five and feed on inshore fish species, which brings them into contact with fishing nets. However, conservationists said the measures were barely adequate. The commercial fishing industry said the decision would not save any more dolphins, but would ruin some businesses.
06/02/2008 ERUPTION DESCENDS ON 40,000 ABANDONED LIVESTOCK
The Chaiten volcano in Southern Chile has blasted ash some 20 miles into the atmosphere, which has forced thousands to evacuate, leaving farm animals vulnerable to the toxic cloud. IFAW, the International Fund for Animal Welfare, is headed to the volcano's foothills to help animals in need. According to media reports, farmers left behind about 40,000 head of livestock, and officials expressed fear that many of them could die. Local animal welfare groups are greatly concerned for thousands of companion and farm animals that have been left chained or abandoned with no food or water.
The number of news found: 42.
