News
The number of news found: 37.
09/30/2008 BAN ON EXPANSION OF MANITOBA HOG FARMS BECOMES LAW
A ban on the expansion of hog farms became law in Manitoba on Wednesday in the face of overwhelming opposition from farmers. Pork producers made a last-ditch effort to stop the bill from passing final reading by rallying at the legislature, but the NDP government didn't waver. Conservation Minister Stan Struthers said the ban on further hog farm development across much of the province is needed because the exploding industry is threatening the water quality of lakes and rivers.
09/30/2008 FRENCH PRESIDENCY SAYS NO TO DELAY ON BATTERY CAGES BAN
The French presidency of the Council of the European Union wants to have conventional battery cages for laying hens banned by 2012 as originally agreed, and would oppose any proposals to delay it. Michel Barnier, French minister of agriculture and fisheries, made the statement during a meeting of the European Parliament's Intergroup on the Welfare & Conservation of Animals in Brussels. The use of conventional battery cages will be banned from January 1, 2012, but enriched cages will still be allowed. Mr. Barnier said: "I would not like us to go back on that date. I would not like to see it postponed. That is the Council position, that battery farming should cease on that day." The minister also revealed the French presidency's position on a range of other animal welfare related issues. He said animal welfare would be given serious consideration when discussing whether to allow animal cloning for food in the EU.
09/29/2008 ITALY BANS PESTICIDES LINKED TO BEE DEVASTATION
The Italian government banned the use of several neonicotinoid pesticides that are blamed for the deaths of millions of honeybees. The Ministero del Lavoro della Salute e delle Politiche Sociali issued an immediate suspension of the seed treatment products clothianidin, imidacloprid, fipronil and thiamethoxam used in rapeseed oil, sunflowers and sweetcorn.
09/29/2008 BUS CRASHES INTO ESCAPED CIRCUS ELEPHANT IN MEXIXO
A five-ton elephant escaped from a circus and wandered onto a busy highway, where she was hit by a bus. Both the driver and pachyderm were killed early Tuesday. Bus driver Tomas Lopez was killed and at least four passengers were hospitalized after the pre-dawn collision in Ecatepec, just north of Mexico City. State police spokesman Juan Sanchez said the elephant escaped from her cage at the Circo Union, but he declined to give any other details. He said officials were investigating. The state-funded Notimex news agency reported that the elephant named Indra escaped as her keeper arrived to feed her, knocking down a metal door and wandering through two neighborhoods before trying to cross the highway. Last month, a 500-pound lion escaped from a local lawmaker's private zoo in southern Mexico, killing two dogs and a pig and attacking a woman and child on a donkey before it was sedated and captured.
09/28/2008 TRAPPER SENTENCED FOR DUMPING CARCASSES
A Coldwater, Ohio man learned the punishment he'll pay for disposing hundreds of animal carcasses along a Jay County ditch. Richard Homan will spend ten days behind bars and will have to pay $1,400 in restitution and court costs. As many as 200- skinned calves, dogs, cats, raccoons, and coyotes were discovered in march of 2007.
09/28/2008 EUROPEAN FISHERIES LAW UNDERGOES REVIEW
The European fishing fleet is so large that it can catch between two and three times the government-authorized maximum sustainable yield. After a recent series of unsavory news reports, the European Commission has announced that its fisheries policy may need to be overhauled due to continued ecological decline and unsustainable fishing practices. Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Commissioner Joe Borg announced a laundry list of flaws with the European Union's Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) in a statement released last week. "In its current form, the CFP does not encourage responsible behavior by either fishermen or politicians," Borg said. In response, the Commission authorized an immediate review of its ten-year policy. The current fisheries policy has been in effect since 2002.
09/25/2008 FIREFIGHTER SAVES CAT WITH MOUTH-TO-MOUTH
Acts of bravery and courage come with the territory of a firefighter, but Al Machado might have broken new ground Tuesday when he saved a house cat with mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Sweating and breathing heavily from fighting the fire, Mr. Machado was still making faces and picking fur from his mouth when he told a reporter there wasn't much hesitation involved. He had rescued the cat from a burning, second-floor apartment on Summer Street "and it really needed air and it couldn't wait," he said. So he began mouth-to-mouth breathing on the cat as he carried her out to the sidewalk, where police and paramedics were ready with oxygen, and left her with them while he went back inside the apartment. Paramedics administered oxygen while he was inside the building and, at the next opportunity, Mr. Machado resumed mouth-to-mouth, and the cat, a tiger angora, revived and was resting comfortably in the animal rescue van, awaiting a ride to the veterinarian. Other animals including chinchillas, dogs, frogs and ferrets were rescued, but two other cats were lost.
09/24/2008 BADGERS MAY BE CULLED TO STOP DISEASE SPREADING
Up to 1,000 badgers found to be infected with tuberculosis could be killed for the first time in Northern Ireland in a bid to halt the spread of the disease in cattle. Badgers are protected animals under Northern Ireland law but farmers have long called for a cull to protect their livestock. The Department of the Environment (DOE) has now granted a licence to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD), allowing it to capture up to 1,000 badgers. If an animal is found to be infected with TB then it can be shot. It will be the first time DARD has attempted to see how many of the north's 33,500 badgers are infected with the disease. Previously only badgers who were killed on the roads were tested for TB. Cases of the disease are on the increase, with around £21 million in compensation paid last year to farmers whose cattle were infected.
09/21/2008 FDA PROPOSES REGULATIONS FOR GENETICALLY ENGINEERED ANIMALS
The prospect of foods and other products from so-called genetically engineered animals moved a step closer to reality Thursday, as U.S. regulators said producers of such animals will have to prove they are safe to eat. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it was proposing new guidelines for genetically engineered animals. These guidelines lay out the agency's position on its authority to regulate the burgeoning industry of genetically engineered animals and spell out requirements and recommendations to producers of these animals. Genetic engineering in animals refers to the use of what scientists call recombinant DNA techniques to introduce new characteristics or traits, often adding a genetic trait from one animal to another. Proponents say the practice will lead to animals that can grow faster, produce healthier foods such as heart-healthy eggs, or be resistant to certain diseases, such as mad cow disease. Opponents say the practice could unleash unintended consequences by altering the traditional genetic structures of animals.
09/20/2008 ECEAE CALLS FOR END TO ANIMAL TESTING LAW DELAY TODAY
The European Coalition to End Animal Experiments (ECEAE) deeply disappointed that the European Commission has once again broken its promise to improve the protection of laboratory animals by pulling out of publishing its proposals for the revision of twenty year old animal testing rules. The Commission publicly announced last Friday that the proposal would be adopted this week. However during the two working days between the announcement and scheduled adoption the item was removed from the official agenda. The ECEAE has this week written to Commissioner Dimas expressing its concern and deep disappointment that the process has yet again been delayed.
09/19/2008 SWITZERLAND MOVES TO BAN CAT FUR TRADE
The Swiss economy minister has promised to create legislation to end the country's trade in cat hides. Speaking to Switzerland's upper house of parliament on Thursday, Doris Leuthard promised that a new animal protection law would contain legislation to end the export and trade in cat hides, and would also contain a similar measure to protect dogs.
09/18/2008 UNDERCOVER INVESTIGATION REVEALS HORMEL SUPPLIER'S ABUSE OF MOTHER PIGS AND PIGLETS
For more than three months, PETA went undercover at an Iowa pig factory farm, which supplies piglets who are raised and killed for Hormel products. PETA found rampant cruelty to animals - committed by workers and supervisors. The farm changed ownership and management during PETA's investigation, but that made no difference to the animals who were born and confined there: Abuse and neglect were widespread during PETA's entire investigation. To learn more about the investigation, please click here.
09/17/2008 $25,000 REWARD FOR KANGAROO BOXER
The sickening video, initially sent to the RSPCA in Western Australia, shows the man kickboxing the animal as his friend laughs while filming. In one scene, the man pulls the kangaroo toward him and knees the creature in the chest. Punches are swung into the kangaroo's face with great force as the animal struggles to remain standing. The final punch knocks the kangaroo to the ground, where it appears to lie unconscious. It is unclear whether the attack resulted in the animal's death. Mr. Barry said the man in the video was between 17 and 20 years old. The man could be charged under the Animal Welfare Act with cruelty to animals. He could face a five-year jail term and a $50,000 fine if found guilty in Western Australia. On Friday night, West Australian Police searched a country property after a tip-off that the resident was the man in the video. That man was subsequently cleared. Anyone with information about the attack should call the RSPCA Animal Cruelty line on 1300 278 3589 or (08) 9209 9300.
09/17/2008 FIRED RESEARCHER CLAIMS ANIMAL CRUELTY AT NV LAB
A former scientist at an animal testing facility in Nevada where 32 research monkeys were accidentally killed in May claims in a federal lawsuit he was fired partly because he opposed "cruel and inhumane mistreatment" of animals there. Guy Grimsley, 65, said in the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Reno that he believes his age also had something to do with his firing after he was hired last year to work at Charles River Laboratories in Sparks. But he said the company also knew he would fight any "unlawful or wrongful animal testing," so they forced him out without explanation. Amy Cianciaruso, spokeswoman for the Delaware-based corporation, said she could not speak directly to Grimsley's allegations but denied animals had intentionally been mistreated. She said the company's first concern is the fair treatment of animals.
09/15/2008 FIRST TEST-TUBE MONKEYS GIVEN BIRTH IN CHINA
Chinese scientists have bred the country's first test-tube monkeys, in the first step to breed genetically-engineered monkeys for scientific research. Dr. Sun Qiang of the East China Normal University led the primate research group to create the seven macaques, a type of monkeys that are fond of eating crabs. Their experiments were published by the latest edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). Under the state-financed program that focuses on the primate reproductive research and bio-engineering, Dr. Sun said, "Our next step is to bring about more test-tube monkeys and eventually make gene-modified monkeys benefiting for medical research."
09/14/2008 VEGETARIAN DRIVER SUFFERS PIG NIGHTMARE ON MOTORWAY
A vegetarian woman driving down a motorway in Germany was so traumatized at the sight of a truck loaded with pigs that she lost control of her vehicle and careered into another truck, which was also filled with pigs, police said. "The woman found herself driving next to a large pig transport truck and the sight of the pitiful animals made her feel so sick that she jerked her steering wheel and started swerving," police in the western town of Gütersloh said in a statement released on Thursday.
09/14/2008 JURY DECIDES THAT THREAT OF GLOBAL WARMING JUSTIFIES BREAKING THE LAW
The threat of global warming is so great that campaigners were justified in causing more than £35,000 worth of damage to a coal-fired power station, a jury decided. In a verdict that will have shocked ministers and energy companies the jury at Maidstone Crown Court cleared six Greenpeace activists of criminal damage. Jurors accepted defence arguments that the six had a "lawful excuse" to damage property at Kingsnorth power station in Kent to prevent even greater damage caused by climate change. The defence of "lawful excuse" under the Criminal Damage Act 1971 allows damage to be caused to property to prevent even greater damage - such as breaking down the door of a burning house to tackle a fire. The not-guilty verdict, delivered after two days and greeted with cheers in the courtroom, raises the stakes for the most pressing issue on Britain's green agenda and could encourage further direct action.
09/13/2008 FRENCH UNIVERSITY UNDER FIRE FOR CULLING MACAQUES
Primate scientists are criticizing a decision at the Louis Pasteur University in Strasbourg, France, to kill a research colony of Tonkean macaques (Macaca tonkeana) last month because the animals were infected with the herpes B virus. The monkeys, at the Centre of Primatology, had never shown symptoms of disease, and scientists critical of the move say that the culling was scientifically and morally unjustified. But university officials say they were concerned that the virus could jump the species barrier to people working with the animals. In humans, the virus can cause fatal encephalomyelitis. Some of the animals in the 14-strong colony had been used for up to 25 years by macaque ethologists. The species has an unusual way of resolving social conflicts, in which a third individual often tries to actively reconcile two fighting monkeys. There are few Tonkean macaques in captivity.
09/13/2008 NEARLY 40% OF NORTH AMERICAN FRESHWATER FISH SPECIES IN JEOPARDY
Over 700 freshwater fish species in North America, nearly 40 percent of the total, are considered vulnerable to extinction or worse, according to a new study led by the U.S. Geological Survey. The study, published in the journal Fisheries, is the most comprehensive assessment of North American freshwater fish species since 1989, but the results show little reason for celebration. Of the assessed species, only 11 percent were better off than in 1989, while the list of imperiled species nearly doubled since then and suspected extinctions grew by over 50 percent to a total of 61. Researchers said that pollution, drought, invasive species, the effects of development, and demand for water all contributed to the decline and that climate change may have also played a role. "Fish are indicators of how good the water quality is," said Howard Jelks of the USGS. "As long as you're losing fish, you're also likely losing crayfish, mussels, and other things of that nature. They're kind of the canary in the coal mine."
09/12/2008 HERD OF GOATS RELEASED FROM PRISON
A herd of wrongly-imprisoned goats have been freed from jail by a Congolese minister. Deputy Justice Minister Claude Nyamugabo discovered the goats during a routine prison visit. He said the animals, which were charged with being sold illegally by the roadside, were held illegally in a Kinshasa prison cell. The herd was due to appear in court in the capital. The minister said that the mistake had arisen because police officers had gaps in their knowledge of the law and they would be sent for retraining. Prisoners in Kinshasa jails have complained of torture.
09/12/2008 LARGE POULTRY FRAUD IN BELGIUM
The Public Authorities in Belgium have tracked down a large fraud concerning frozen poultry meat. The fraud involves 1,400 tons of meat being several years old. The meat was - by train - on its way to the Ukraine to be further processed in sausages and hamburgers in a factory in Dnepropetrovsk. Ukrainian customs have confiscated the meat at the border because the Belgium certificates looked a bit odd. The Belgium Food Authority agency FAVV said there are no clues that a Belgium company is responsible for the fraud. It also denies that the poultry dates back from the 1999 Beglium dioxin scare.
09/11/2008 ESTONIA PREPARES FOR MASSIVE FISH FARMS
A new fish harvesting complex has been planned for development in Estonia claims that it will have up to 1,200 employees. Postimees writes that the project is being developed by Fjordfresh Holding, a subsidiary of Kalmar Union of Scandinavia. The news, published in the bbn, says that according to plans, two thirds of the employees would process the fish and the rest would specialise in harvesting salmon. The project is managed by Danish businessman Thorben Nielsen who plans to invest up to EEK 8 billion in five years.
09/10/2008 ODLEST GORILLA IN CAPTIVITY DIES IN DALLAS
The oldest gorilla in captivity, a 55-year-old female named Jenny, has died at the Dallas Zoo - her home for more than half a century. Zoo officials decided to euthanize Jenny on Thursday night because of an inoperable tumor in her stomach. Jenny had stopped eating and drinking recently, and tests showed she was unlikely to recover, zoo spokesman Sean Greene said. The International Species Information System, which maintains records on animals at 700 institutions around the world, confirmed earlier this year that Jenny was the oldest gorilla in its database.
09/09/2008 QUEENSLAND'S MOST SERIOUS ANIMAL ABUSE CONVICTION
A Queensland truckie has been found guilty of animal cruelty over the "distressing, saddening and disastrous" transportation of 1,500 goats to the Northern Territory. But the prosecution is not seeking a prison sentence in the landmark case, believed to be the most serious animal welfare conviction in the Territory's history. Twelve goats were dead when the truck arrived in Darwin on July 27 last year after a 65-hour trip. Another 318 goats continued to suffer the effects of their 3,000 km journey, from near Bourke in NSW, and either died or were euthanased. Keith Simpson and his company Keith Simpson Transport pleaded not guilty to 96 animal cruelty charges. Magistrate Dick Wallace said some of the offences were duplicated in the charges and found Simpson and his company guilty of 24 counts each.
09/09/2008 HUNGERIT STOPS GOOS LIVER ENTERPRISE
Hungerit, one of the country's biggest poultry companies, has halted production of fattened goose products under pressure from Austrian animal rights organisation, Four Paws. Hungerit CEO Jozsef Magyar explained that the company had decided to discontinue all of its fattened goose products in September because of high feed prices, the strong forint and the campaign by Four Paws, which considers force-feeding the geese to enlarge their livers unethical. The statement was reported by BBJ, citing MTI-Econews.
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."
The number of news found: 37.
