News
The number of news found: 46.
11/30/2007 LIONS FROM AUSTRIA AND ROMANIA HAVE ARRIVED SAFELY AT LIONSROCK!
Last week, ten lions from Austria and two from Romania have been transported to FOUR PAWS Big Cat Sanctuary LIONSROCK without problems. All have arrived healthily in their new home and are enjoying the warm sun of South Africa. Lion Neo and the other nine lionesses from Austria, along with Marvi and Clarice from Romania, are since exploring their 45.000 square metre habitat. Hildegard Pirker, the long-time keeper of the Austrian pack will stay with them for the next couple of weeks to make sure they are settling in well. The big cats have already found their favourite spot: They spend most of the daytime on a rock plateau. There, the stones are the warmest – and the view over the South African landscape is at its most magnificent! The successful delivery of the European lions marks the full scale start of the game cat project of FOUR PAWS. 1250 hectares of land are at disposition for relocating lions, tigers and other predator cats according to their needs.
11/29/2007 PFIZER DRUG LINKED TO SUICIDE!
The FDA asked doctors to begin closely monitoring patients who are taking Pfizer's stop-smoking pill, Chantix. Agency officials say they have received a number of reports from patients and doctors that Chantix is responsible for depression, severe mood swings, abnormal dream states, and thoughts of suicide. Since Chantix was released May 10, 2006, the FDA says it has received approximately 100 reports of adverse behavioral effects. The FDA has also asked Pfizer to submit any information its researchers may have pertaining to unusual behavior in patients taking Chantix. Over four million patients have filled prescriptions for Chantix so far.
11/28/2007 JOHN RICH AGREES TO TRY FAUX FUR!
John Rich, who wore a fox fur coat onstage at the recent CMA Awards, has shown he's willing to listen to protesters' points of view on the subject of wearing fur, The Tennessean reports. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals received dozens of complaints from viewers who were disappointed to see John wearing fur, so PETA's Michelle Cho sent him an e-mail that got his attention. She asked John to watch undercover footage of a fur-farm investigation narrated by clothing designer Stella McCartney and noted that renowned designers such as Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, and Marc Bouwer have agreed to use only faux fur in their lines. John chose to respond personally to Cho. "I would like you to please forward my apologies to any of your members that are fans of Big and Rich that took offense to me wearing a fur coat on the CMA awards," he wrote. "Trust me, it was never my intent to upset anyone. I do not agree with many of your organization's views or tactics, but I do respect your passion for animal rights, as I am an animal lover as well. I appreciate your willingness to address me on this subject."
11/28/2007 JELLYFISH KILL PENNED SALMON!
Billions of jellyfish, in a dense pack of 10 square miles 35 feet deep, attacked fish penned about a mile off the coast north of Belfast in mid-November. A dozen workers in three boats struggled for hours unable to push their way through the mass of jellyfish to the pens to prevent the 100,000 salmon from dying of stings and stress. "The sea was red with these jellyfish and there was nothing we could do about it, absolutely nothing," said the managing director of The Northern Salmon Co. Ltd., Northern Ireland's sole salmon farm. The company, which exports salmon marketed as "organic," lost its entire fish population and claims it faces closure unless it receives emergency aid from the British government.
11/27/2007 FLU DRUGS ALTER KIDS' BEHAVIOR!
Government health regulators recommended adding label precautions about neurological problems seen in children who have taken flu drugs made by Roche and GlaxoSmithKline. The Food and Drug Administration on Friday released its safety review of Roche's Tamiflu and Glaxo's Relenza. Next week, an outside group of pediatric experts is scheduled to review the safety of several such drugs when used in children. FDA began reviewing Tamiflu's safety in 2005 after receiving reports of children experiencing neurological problems, including hallucinations and convulsions. Twenty-five patients under age 21 have died while taking the drug, most of them in Japan. Five deaths resulted from children "falling from windows or balconies or running into traffic." There have been no child deaths connected with Relenza, but regulators said children taking the drug have shown similar neurological problems.
11/26/2007 TEEN ACTIVIST HONORED TO WORK WITH SEALS!
Marcelo Hoynowski of Clark began a crusade to stop the slaughter of seals in Canada and has taken college courses since he was 7. Now 14, Marcelo received the 2007 International Action Award for his activism from the International Fund for Animal Welfare. Marcelo accepted an engraved crystal trophy in Santa Monica, Calif., as hundreds gathered for the event. Essentially shy, he had prepared a speech for the occasion, but he was relieved to say, "I didn't have to give it. When I got there they said I could just say thanks." Flashbulbs popped as Marcelo's picture was taken with IFAW president Fred O'Regan, several actresses and actor Ben Stein, who was cited for his work on behalf of animals. "Marcelo's online campaign against the commercial seal hunt is truly extraordinary, especially given his youth," O'Regan said in an e-mail. "His tireless efforts are an inspiration to us all helping us create a better world for both animals and people."
11/25/2007 MILK FROM CLONES TO HIT U.S. MARKET SOON!
The Senate is still wrangling over the 2007-2012 Farm Bill. One new consumer-friendly amendment, vehemently opposed by the biotech industry, would force the FDA to reverse its current controversial regulations on milk from cloned animals. Despite widespread opposition from the OCA and other consumer groups, the FDA has approved the commercialization of milk from cloned animals as "safe" and will not require labels. The newly proposed Mikulski amendment to the 2007 Farm Bill would require the FDA to place a temporary moratorium on cloned milk and examine its potential health hazards for animals and humans.
11/24/2007 PIGLET FOUND IN TOILET ROLL LORRY!
A piglet is recovering from his ordeal after being found in a Tesco lorry packed full of toilet rolls. Andrex fed by carersThe two to three-week-old creature, which has been named Andrex, was found by stunned staff as they unloaded the vehicle in Ilkeston, Derbyshire. He had suffered bruising and cuts to his face and snout. Supermarket staff wrapped him in a duvet and put him in a warm spot in the manager's office before calling the RSPCA. The RSPCA is now trying to find out how he got there, and suspect it was a cruel prank.
11/24/2007 UK: DEADLY BIRD BUG KILLS HUNDREDS OF FINCHES!
Garden birds in the county are, according to this story, being killed off by a parasite which causes them to starve to death. Worried nature lovers have reported almost 20 outbreaks of the trichomonad parasite bug, which blocks birds' throats and stops them feeding. The killer organism was originally carried by pigeons, but has spread to finches over the past two years. The affected birds appear lethargic, regurgitate food, fluff up their feathers and often have matted plumage round their beaks. Paul Ellis, secretary of Fylde Bird Club, was cited as saying the deadly parasite seemed to have spread across Lancashire.
11/23/2007 JUMBOS MOURN BLACK RHINO KILLED BY POACHERS!
This week three Zimbabwean elephants proved that rhinos and elephants can form close bonds, and that elephants do mourn. Gruesome pictures flashed around the world this week of the three black rhinos shot by members of the Zimbabwe Army, dressed in camouflage uniforms and carrying AK-47 rifles. Each rhino had had a guard, but they were assaulted during the attack at Imire Safari Ranch in Wedza last week. When elephants Mundebvu, Makavusi and Toto were taken to where their former rhino companions Amber, DJ and Sprinter were buried, they reacted in almost human fashion, touching and supporting each other and showing obvious grief. While elephants have been known to behave in such a fashion around remains of their own kind, people might be surprised to find them behaving in the same way around rhinos, which are sometimes treated with animosity. According to Johnny Rodrigues, the chairman of the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force, since the attack, money has been pouring into a special fund set up by the Travers family - the owners of Imire. Rodrigues said: "Four armed poachers dressed in camouflage uniform assaulted and tied up the rhino guards and opened fire on the three adult rhino in their pens." All three were killed.
11/23/2007 WILD BIRDS UNLIKELY TO BRING H5N1 TO AMERICAS!
An analysis of influenza viruses collected from North American migratory birds over a 6-year period suggests that wild birds rarely carry avian flu viruses between Eurasia and North America, implying that the risk of the deadly H5N1 virus reaching the Americas by that route is probably low. A team of American and Canadian researchers based that conclusion on a study of 248 complete avian flu viruses and several thousand gene segments of flu viruses collected from birds in Alberta and on the New Jersey coast from 2001 through 2006. Their report, with Scott Krauss of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis as lead author, was published this week by PLoS Pathogens. The senior author is leading flu researcher Dr. Robert Webster, also of St. Jude. "Genomic analysis of influenza viruses from our repository failed to provide evidence of influenza viruses with their whole genome originating from Eurasia," the report states. "However, we found occasional influenza viruses from North America with single or multiple genes that originated in Eurasia. Our interpretation is that while influenza viruses do exchange between the two hemispheres, this is a rare occurrence."
11/22/2007 ACTIVISTS COMFORT DYING DOLPHINS!
Opponents of Japan's annual dolphin slaughter have taken their campaign to a new level of confrontation by paddling into the bloody waters off a western killing cove to comfort animals moments before their deaths. Antiwhaling activists are prodded with a pole by fishermen as they conduct a ceremony in the water Monday to honor the spirits of cetaceans slaughtered here. Dave Rastovich, a champion pro surfer from Australia, on Monday led a group of fellow antiwhaling activists into the waters off Taiji, Wakayama Prefecture, where 30 or so captured pilot whales - adults and calves - were being held in a netted enclosure for butchering, according to Richard O'Barry, of the United States, who helped coordinate the event. Pilot whales are a variety of dolphin. Rastovich and 37 other activists visited Taiji to honor the spirits of the hundreds of thousands of mammals butchered there, according to O'Barry. The activists came from Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand and the U.S.
11/22/2007 DOG BACK HOME AFTER SEVEN YEARS!
Lyn O'Byrne, from Brighouse, West Yorks, had her Lurcher, Rhia, stolen from the veterinary practice where she worked in Kent in January 2001. Last week she received a call from the Lost Dogs and Cats Line at Battersea Dogs and Cats Home to say they had a dog registered to her address. Ms O'Bryne was traced through a microchip inserted into the scruff of the dog's neck containing her details. She said: "When I received the call I didn't twig why The Lost Dogs & Cats Line were calling me. I thought it might be something to do with my work. When they said they had a dog at Battersea called Rhia, registered to my name and address I literally collapsed on the floor." She travelled to the home and was reunited with Rhia, who she said was in good health apart from appearing a little underweight and having a few additional cuts and bruises.
11/21/2007 ARKANSAS TEACHER KILLS RACCOON WITH NAIL GUN!
Huntsville, Ark. - A high school teacher killed a raccoon with a nail gun after discovering the planned subject of a skinning demonstration was alive. Superintendent Alvin Lievsay said a student's parent promised to bring in a raccoon for the exercise, but surprised teacher Jerick Hutchinson by bringing the animal in a live trap. Lievsay said Hutchinson, "who used to work in a slaughter house," took the animal outside to the back of his truck Friday and shot it with the nail gun. Lievsay said no students witnessed the raccoon's death.
11/21/2007 VIOXX DAMAGES IN UK: $4,850 MILLION!
Pharmaceutical firm Merck is expected to announce that it has agreed to pay $4.85 billion to settle a significant portion of claims over injuries allegedly linked to its Vioxx painkiller, the Wall Street Journal said. The company had previously said it intended to fight each case on a case-by-base basis rather than consider any broad settlement. Merck pulled the once $2.5 billion-a-year medicine from the market in 2004 after a study showed it doubled the risk of heart attack and stroke in patients taking it for more than 18 months. The New Jersey-based drugmaker is facing tens of thousands of lawsuits filed by former users of Vioxx who claim they were harmed by the drug.
11/20/2007 AMAZON REFUSES TO SELL "YOUR MOMMY KILLS ANIMALS"!
Some retailers, including Amazon.com, have pulled the critically acclaimed, award-winning documentary "Your Mommy Kills Animals" from shelves and websites in advance of its November 13, 2007 street date. According to one retailer, the film was pulled due to legal threats from a well-known Washington lobbyist who represents major corporations in the tobacco and food industries. "Our understanding is that there is no legal restriction on the film whatsoever and some retailers are buckling under threats that have no legal basis," said Matt Pizzolo, President of the film's distributor Halo8 Entertainment. "The irony is that this provocative documentary tackles the issue of freedom-of-speech in political protest. Although critics have lauded the film for its objectivity, it is falling victim to several of the same parties who seek to silence some of the film's interviewees."
11/20/2007 NEW FUR LABELING GOES INTO EFFECT IN NEW YORK!
Retailers risk a $500-$1,000 fine per violation for selling unlabeled fur, under a new consumer and animal protection law which went into effect on November 14. The law states that all real fur and fur-trimmed clothing sold in New York State - the nation's largest fur market - must read "real fur" on the label. Faux fur garments must similarly be labeled "faux fur." These requirements will protect New Yorkers from retailers who take advantage of a gaping loophole in the federal law that leaves consumers unable to make informed decisions about the purchase of fur-trimmed apparel. The measure, which was introduced by Senator Frank Padavan (R-11) and Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal (D-67) and backed by The Humane Society of the United States, was passed into law on August 15, 2007.
11/19/2007 EXPERIMENTAL DRUG FAILS AGAINST HEART FAILURE!
An experimental kind of medication has failed as treatment for the emergency condition known as acute heart failure, a new trial finds. The drug, tezosentan, did not improve patients' breathlessness, reduce their incidence of major cardiovascular events, or cut their risk of death after acute heart failure, concludes an international study published in the Nov. 7 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. Episodes of acute heart failure can occur in people with chronic heart failure, in which the heart slowly loses the ability to pump blood. The loss of that ability occurs suddenly in an acute episode, leaving a person gasping for breath. The lungs can fill rapidly with fluid, and the episode can be fatal. Many existing medications, such as nitroglycerin, act by causing blood vessels to become wider, improving blood low. Tezosentan would act differently, by preventing blood vessels from narrowing. In the study, more than 1,400 people who suffered episodes of acute heart failure were either given infusions of tezosentan for up to 72 hours or a placebo. The drug did not improve breathlessness more than placebo, the researchers found. The incidence of death or worsening heart failure after seven days was 26 percent for patients in each group, and the six-month death rate was 14.3 percent for both groups.
11/19/2007 VW'S CRUEL BIRD EXPERIMENTS!
European robins, garden warblers, and zebra finches have been decapitated in cruel experiments sponsored by Volkswagen. The Volkswagen Foundation is paying experimenters at German and U.S. universities to capture and use these beautiful songbirds in worthless experiments that terrify the birds before they are ruthlessly killed for curiosity's sake. These acts are taking place at the University of Oldenburg in Germany and Duke University in North Carolina. Songbirds captured from the wild and captive canaries and finches are exposed to different light cycles or are fitted with eye caps glued tightly to their heads to block out all light. Researchers then cut the birds' heads off to slice their retinas out of their eyes, and dissect and study their brains for clues to the secret of migration.
11/18/2007 HEATHER MILLS VISITED ANIMAL FRIENDS!
Vegan and animal rights activist, Heather Mills, visited Animal Friends to show her support to the development of the animal rights movement and vegetarianism in Croatia. In a one-hour-long conversation Animal Friends' members spoke with Heather Mills about animal protection and rights in Croatia. During the conversation she praised the legal ban on breeding animals for fur and gives her support to the campaign for a ban on import of Chinese dog and cat fur. Heather also praised the Croatian ban on import of seal fur and she looks forward to the further increase of the number of vegetarians and vegans in Croatia.
11/18/2007 THE CITY OF RIJEKA ALSO SUPPORTS THE INITIATIVE TO MICROCHIP ALL DOGS!
After Zagreb, Split and Pula, Rijeka also gave a public support to Animal Friends' campaign for the legal obligation of microchipping of all dogs in Croatia. This support was signed by the mayor Mr. Vojko Obersnel. Animal Friends request the legal obligation of microchiping all dogs in Croatia because of the huge problem with abandoned animals and their settlement, while only 20% of all dogs are microchipped. This is absolutely unacceptable because microchipping is one of the basics for a successful implementation of the Animal Protection Act. Therefore, Animal Friends demand an urgent change of the regulations on the identification of dogs and legal obligation for microchipping of all dogs, not just puppies.
11/17/2007 SUFFOLK PUB BANS MEAT FROM ITS MENUS!
A landlady who has been a passionate vegetarian for 20 years has banned meat from her historic Suffolk pub. Jan Wise, an experienced chef who has run restaurants and pubs for years, hopes the move to a completely vegetarian menu will attract people from far afield to the Red Lion, in Great Bricett near Needham Market. It is thought to be the first exclusively vegetarian pub in the county and Mrs Wise, who took over last month, said the idea was proving popular at the tavern which dates back several hundred years. Mrs Wise, who is striving to source food locally wherever possible, said: "We offer no meat at all. We did think about it, but wanted to be a vegetarian pub. We have had a lot of support from people, most have been positive, although I am not sure if they are being polite."
11/17/2007 BRITAIN'S ANIMAL LABS FAIL TO MEET EU STANDARDS!
Conditions for animals in Britain's research laboratories fall short of new Europe-wide guidelines which entered into force on June 15. The failure has been highlighted by non-animal research charity, the Dr Hadwen Trust, which says the news is in stark contrast to the Government's frequent claim that Britain has the strictest regulations in the world. Universities are likely to be the worst offenders. The Dr Hadwen Trust is the UK's leading non-animal medical research charity funding exclusively non-animal techniques to replace animal experiments.
11/16/2007 TURKEY FARM HIT BY BIRD FLU!
Vets have ordered 5,000 turkeys to be slaughtered at a free-range farm in Norfolk after bird flu returned to Britain for the first time since it was recorded at a plant run by the Bernard Matthews firm in February. The discovery of the disease at the farm in Diss, on the border with Suffolk, comes as another blow for farmers affected already this year by outbreaks of bluetongue and foot-and-mouth. The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said early tests showed the turkeys had the H5 strain of bird flu, but it is not yet known if it is a highly pathogenic form.
11/16/2007 BAYER HALTS SALES OF HEART SURGERY DRUG!
Under pressure from government regulators around the world, Bayer Pharmaceuticals announced Monday that it is suspending global sales of a drug widely used to control bleeding during heart surgery after a study found that patients receiving the medication were at increased risk of dying. U.S., German and Canadian regulators pushed Bayer to stop selling Trasylol until authorities could complete a detailed review of a Canadian study that was halted two weeks ago when a preliminary analysis indicated that those given the medication were more likely to die than those given two alternative medications. Because there are only two other drugs available for such patients, the Food and Drug Administration said it would work with the company to phase out Trasylol slowly in order to ensure that hospitals have adequate supplies of the alternatives. The agency also left open the possibility that the drug may be permitted for specific patients if doctors can identify those for whom the benefits outweigh the risks. At present, however, the FDA "cannot identify a specific patient population where we believe the benefits outweigh the risks," said John Jenkins, director of the FDA's office of new drugs.
11/15/2007 UPC FOR TURKEYS AT WHITE HOUSE!
Poultry Concerns (UPC) will leaflet for turkeys on Pennsylvania Avenue across from the White House today, November 15 from Noon to 4 p.m. They will urge people to bypass the turkey on Thanksgiving Day and pioneer new traditions in the kitchen. Turkeys are raised in filth on factory farms. They are painfully debeaked and detoed without anesthetic to offset the destructive effects of overcrowding. According to North Carolina State University professor, William Donaldson, "Very few animals go through the stresses of poults (baby turkeys) in their first three hours of life." Someone clips three toes off each foot, debeaks them, and delivers a powerful injection of antibiotics in the back of their necks. He writes: "Essentially they have been through major surgery. They have been traumatized."
11/15/2007 DOLPHINS RESCUE SURFER FROM SHARK!
Todd Endris was surfing when he was bitten by a 12- to 15-foot shark, but thanks to a couple of Flippers and a friend he survived. Great white that came out of nowhere had hit him three times, peeling the skin off his back and mauling his right leg to the bone. That's when a pod of bottlenose dolphins intervened, forming a protective ring around Endris, allowing him to get to shore, where quick first aid provided by a friend saved his life. The attack occurred on Tuesday, August 28, just before 11 A.M. at Marina State Park off Monterey, California, where the 24-year-old owner of Monterey Aquarium Services had gone with friends for a day of the sport they love. Nearly four months later, Endris, who is still undergoing physical therapy to repair muscle damage suffered during the attack, is back in the water and on his board in the same spot where he almost lost his life.
11/14/2007 AUSTRALIAN STATE CULLS THOUSANDS OF WILD HORSES!
The northern Australian state of Queensland plans to slaughter 10,000 feral horses, known as brumbies, that are damaging fragile habitats in national parks. The Courier Mail newspaper reported on Saturday the state government had instructed shooters in some areas to hide the bodies under a plan to conceal the extent of the cull.
11/13/2007 NATALIE'S LEATHER BAN BLUES!
Natalie Portman's support for animal welfare causes her problems on film sets. The Star Wars beauty, who is a strict vegetarian, says that directors and costume makers have to make special outfits because of her refusal to wear leather for a role. "I'm an animal lover and I've been a vegetarian for 17 years," says Portman. "I won't wear leather in my own life and I won't wear it for a movie either. They have to make me clothes from fake leather."
11/13/2007 GOVERNMENT CRACKDOWN ON COMPANION ANIMALS HALTED!
Harassment of "petkeepers" by officials in Tehran subsided in mid-October after an international outcry that included a formal letter of protest from HSI and a one-hour Voice of America Farsi-language broadcast on the subject that reached an estimated 14 million Iranian homes.
11/11/2007 CHICKEN-PLANT WORKERS TEST "POSITIVE" FOR TB!
Alabama health officials have identified 212 workers who have tested positive for tuberculosis at a single poultry plant owned by one of the largest processors in the U.S. In two batteries of skin tests last month, given to 765 fresh processing employees at the Decatur, Ala., plant owned by Wayne Farms LLC by the State Department of Public Health's Tuberculosis Control Division, 28 percent were found to be infected, including one with active tuberculosis disease, which is contagious. Doctors have yet to evaluate X-rays for 165 current workers who tested positive to determine if any more are contagious. The testing was prompted by an earlier active TB case – a former Wayne Farms worker. Both employees with active TB are Hispanics born in countries where the disease is prevalent, heath officials said.
11/11/2007 RESEARCHES BACK MULESING CLIPS!
The use of plastic clips as a humane alternative to mulesing has been endorsed by Victorian researchers. Clips work by cutting blood circulation to the breech and tail of a sheep, causing skin to die and drop off. The Animal Welfare Science Centre compared three groups of sheep, one traditionally mulesed, one mulesed using clips, and a control group which was untouched. The study was funded by Australian Wool Innovation, Melbourne University and the Victorian Government.
11/10/2007 CULTURE OF CRUELTY AT UC AT DENVER AND HEALTH SCIENCES CENTER!
An animal care technician who worked at the University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center (UCHSC) for five years turned to PETA when officials refused to deal with serious charges of neglect and mistreatment. The whistleblower reportedly witnessed repeated violations of federal laws and regulations governing the care and use of animals in laboratories. PETA has asked the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to conduct an immediate investigation and is calling on UCHSC to dismiss the current animal care and use committee and replace it with members who are willing to do their jobs.
11/09/2007 CROCODILE IN JAIL AFTER 'HAVING A GO' AT FISHERMEN!
A feisty crocodile spent the night behind bars at the cop shop in a remote Northern Territory mining town after it 'had a go' at some fishermen. The reptile was released from its cell and moved to a crocodile farm near Nhulunbuy, on the Gove Peninsula. Local radio had warned residents to be on the lookout for the 2.4-metre crocodile after a run-in with a group of recreational anglers. The fisherman told police they were retrieving their vessel from the boat ramp at the Nhulunbuy Yacht Club when they spotted the crocodile in the water. They said the aggressive animal then 'had a go at them'.
11/08/2007 PRINCE HARRY QUIZZED OVER BIRD SHOOTING!
Prince Harry has been interviewed by police about the shooting of protected birds, it has emerged. The prince has been questioned by police in Norfolk. They are investigating a report that two hen harriers were killed on the edge of the royal family's Sandringham estate last week. A spokeswoman for Clarence House said the prince and a friend were in the area at the time but had no knowledge of the incident. A conservation worker with the government agency Natural England saw the two birds being shot on Wednesday of last week. It is the most persecuted bird of prey in the UK, says the RSPB.
11/08/2007 CALL FOR A BAN ON CONTROVERSIAL DOLPHIN ASSISTED THERAPY!
WDCS, the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, is calling for a total ban on Dolphin Assisted Therapy (DAT), stating that the therapy provided is ineffective and potentially harmful to both people and animals. DAT is a controversial therapy that involves close interaction with dolphins, usually through swimming with these animals in captivity or in their natural environment, and is promoted as a treatment or respite from illness and disability. However, in a new report, titled 'Can you put your faith in DAT?', WDCS has uncovered the shocking truth behind the rapidly expanding DAT industry.
11/07/2007 PETA ASKS CAMBODIAN PM TO BAR KFC!
An international animal-rights organization has urged Prime Minister Hun Sen to prevent the U.S.-based fast-food chain Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) from opening in Cambodia, claiming that it threatens Cambodian culture, people's health and leads to animal abuse, local media said. In a letter to Hun Sen, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) was cited as saying tourists do not come to Cambodia to eat at international fast-food chains. Such outlets 'erode culture, as they make one country resemble every other country,' PETA Asia-Pacific Director Jason Baker wrote in the letter. The intensive farming required to supply KFC outlets would also increase the risks of food-born diseases caused by salmonella and E coli and the likelihood of a bird-flu epidemic, Baker wrote. Cambodian Information Minister and government spokesman Khieu Kanharith confirmed that the Ministry of Commerce had granted KFC authorization to operate in the country, the newspaper said. KFC will open outlets in Cambodia's three major tourist centers: Phnom Penh, Siem Reap town and Sihanoukville, Khieu Kanharith said.
11/07/2007 RUDDY DUCK CULL BEGINS!
The controversial cull of a colony of Ruddy Ducks has started. More than 100 ducks which live on flashes owned by Wigan Council are to be slaughtered at the request of the Spanish government. Britain ordered a nationwide cull of the species in 2003 after Spain complained that the birds were mating with Spanish White Headed Ducks.
11/06/2007 U.S. AGRICULTURE GIANT CARGILL RECALLS GROUND BEEF!
Agricultural giant Cargill Inc. said on Saturday it is recalling over 1 million pounds of ground beef distributed in the United States because of possible E. Coli contamination. Cargill Meat Solutions said the 1.084 million pounds of ground beef was produced at the Wyalusing, Pennsylvania, facility between October 8 and October 11, and distributed to retailers across the country. The U.S. Department of Agriculture returned a confirmed positive for the E. coli bacteria on a sample produced on October 8, the company said. Symptoms of E. coli 0157:H7 illness, the strain associated with the recall, include potentially severe stomach cramps, diarrhea and dehydration. Children, the elderly and people with poor immune systems are the must vulnerable.
11/05/2007 GUANTANAMO BAY - A PRISON FOR PRIMATES!
A new BUAV undercover investigation has exposed a 'Guantanamo Bay' style 'prison' for primates close to popular Spanish tourist destinations including Barcelona. The controversial facility at Camarles, in the Catalonian region of North Eastern Spain, supplies macaque monkeys, shipped from Mauritius, to research labs across Europe. The BUAV's investigation footage reveals animals at Camarles are kept in bare concrete and metal cages under the searing Spanish sun before being sent to European laboratories to end their lives undergoing painful experiments. Despite being bound by European Union rules, the BUAV believes the 'Guantanamo Bay' style pens shown in the secretly filmed footage cannot possibly meet the animals' needs.
11/04/2007 HEROES STAR IN JAPAN DOLPHIN CULL CLASH!
TV star Hayden Panettiere has been involved in a violent confrontation with Japanese fishermen as she tried to disrupt their annual dolphin slaughter. The 18-year-old actress, who stars in TV blockbuster Heroes, paddled out on a surfboard in an attempt to reach a pod of dolphins to stop them being driven into a nearby cove and killed. But the six surfers, from Australia and the United States, were intercepted by a fishing boat before they could reach the dolphins. The fishermen used the boat's propellers to block their way and at one point struck out with a boathook. It was an ugly and potentially life-threatening confrontation that lasted more than 10 minutes before the surfers were forced to retreat. It is believed that the dolphins were later taken into the cove and killed. Panettiere, who is a keen surfer and a committed marine conservationist and supporter of the campaign to save the Japan dolphins, said: 'It was really frightening. Some of us were hit by the boathook. But in the end all we really worried about was the dolphins. It was so incredibly sad. We were so close to them and they were sky hopping, jumping out of the water to see us.' The surfers drove straight to Osaka airport and left the country to avoid arrest by the Japanese national police.
11/03/2007 MONKEY SEEN WEEPING AT GIRL'S DEATH IN INDIA!
In a rare incident, a monkey was seen shedding tears while mourning the death of a minor girl at Ghookma area near here. According to eyewitnesses, the primate was first noticed when the family members of nine-year-old Aarti, who died of illness, were bringing her body from the hospital. The monkey, who accompanied them to the house of the deceased, sat beside her corpse and started shedding tears. He also went to the cremation ground, the eyewitnesses said, adding even after the cremation was over and all others had returned, the animal stayed
there.
11/02/2007 68 NAMIBIA VILLAGERS SICKENED AFTER EATING DEAD DOG!
Sixty-eight villagers in northern Namibia were hospitalized after eating a dog that had been killed by disease, the local daily The Namibian reported. Dog meat is considered a delicacy among tribes in northern Namibia, and calls by animal rights organizations to end the practice are ignored.
11/02/2007 THE ABUSE OF DONKEYS ON SANTORINI!
The Daily Express crusade to boycott Santorini's suffering donkeys was given a major boost as it emerged cruise companies were concerned about their treatment. Two major cruise operators, who each sail into the stunning Old Port once a week during high season, said they do not 'actively encourage' tourists to use the donkeys. Instead, they tell the thousands of passengers disembarking from the vessels to use the cable car instead. And they said any crusade to end cruelty to animals should be applauded. Their policy will put pressure on the dozens of other cruise companies visiting the Aegean destination to implement a similar strategy. The Daily Express has been inundated with hundreds of messages of support from readers determined to end the archaic and cruel practice. Daily Express readers said representatives from Ocean Village Holidays and a second company, Costa Cruises, were among the only cruise specialists to advise tourists not to take donkey rides on the island. The Greek government has said it will take complaints from tourists on matters of animal cruelty.
11/01/2007 NEW VIDEO EXPOSES HORSE-DRAWN CARRIAGE INDUSTRY!
The NYC horse-drawn carriage industry is highly controversial. Carriage operators and the city politicians say that horse-drawn carriages are a symbol of New York, and animal rights activists say that tradition is no excuse for abuse. With three fatal accidents since 2006, the plight of the carriage horses is now in the public eye more than ever before. Blinders takes viewers behind the scenes and exposes the startling truth about this industry.
11/01/2007 POACHERS SHOT AND BEHEADED BRITAIN'S ONLY WHITE STAG!
A white stag, thought to be the only one in Britain, has been shot and beheaded by poachers. The decapitated 300lb carcass of the animal was found strung up from a tree. It is thought that its head and antlers will be mounted and sold for thousands of pounds. The existence of the white stag, actually a variant of the male red deer, which lived on the Devon and Cornwall border had been kept secret for years. Pat Carey, a gamekeeper and deer stalker of 46 years was in despair after finding out about the slaughter of the nine-year- old beast, which was viewed as sacred by locals. 'I've followed the stag for years,' he said. 'He was magnificent and it's disgusting that someone has done this to him. His existence wasn't widely known because we kept it secret to try to stop this happening.'
The number of news found: 46.
