Category Archives: Animals

Campaigners hail plan to ban bottom trawling in half of England’s protected seas

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Environmental groups welcome government proposals to clamp down on destructive fishing practice

Environmental groups have welcomed government proposals to ban the destructive fishing practice known as bottom trawling in half of England’s protected seas.

The plan, to be announced on Monday by the environment secretary, Steve Reed, came before a UN summit in Nice to tackle the ocean’s failing health. It follows pressure from conservationists and the release of a David Attenborough film featuring rare underwater footage of the devastation to the seabed caused by bottom trawling in British waters.

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Iran extends ban on dog-walking for ‘public order, safety and health’

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Many cities said to have imposed prohibition in recent days that echoes 2019 police directive in Tehran

Iranian authorities have expanded a ban on walking dogs in public to many cities nationwide, citing public health, social order and safety concerns, domestic media have reported.

The ban, which echoes a 2019 police directive that barred walking dogs in Tehran, was expanded to Ilam city in the west on Sunday, according to reports.

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Dehorning rhinos reduces poaching by 80%, study finds

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Cutting off the animals’ horns more effective than traditional protection methods such as rangers and costs less, say experts

Cutting the horns off rhinos causes a large reduction in poaching, according to a new study, which raises questions about the effectiveness of expensive anti-poaching techniques used to protect the African mammals.

Poaching for horn is a significant threat to the world’s five rhino species. The substance, which is similar to human fingernails, is commonly used for traditional medicine in China, Vietnam and other Asian countries. Dealers in the hidden market will pay tens of thousands of dollars for the horns, which are falsely believed to be effective at treating fevers, pain and a low sex drive in traditional medicine.

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This elusive possum was thought to be extinct outside Victoria. Now ecologists have made an ‘amazing’ discovery

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Leadbeater’s possum spotted in NSW at Kosciuszko national park, at least 250km away from the nearest sighting in Victoria

A critically endangered possum species thought to be isolated to Victoria has been found in a New South Wales alpine national park.

Previously thought to be extinct in the state, a leadbeater’s possum has been found in Kosciuszko national park, at least 250km away from the nearest sighting in Victoria.

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Catch of the day: rare gold lobster saved by attentive cook in Rhode Island

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The crustacean, since named Calvin, had a genetic mutation that occurs in about one in 30 million lobsters

Being one in a million may sound nice, but being one in 30m recently saved an exceptionally rare, gold lobster from being cooked and served as dinner at a New England restaurant, according to those who had a hand in the animal’s reprieve.

As the manager of the Nordic Lodge Restaurant in Charlestown, Rhode Island, tells it, one of the eatery’s cooks noticed the crustacean in question buried under a bunch of other lobsters after they were delivered to the business. The lobster, since named Calvin, was in a basket ready to be cooked and presented as a meal alongside a number of his brethren when the employee pulled him out and set him aside, manager Jake Dolbey told the Guardian.

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Vet complaint process in UK often ‘stacked against pet owners’

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Consumer group Which? says owners are put off complaining and system for doing so is not fit for purpose

Britain’s pet owners often face an uphill struggle when they are unhappy with their vet because the industry’s complaints system is not fit for purpose, according to a leading consumer body.

The findings from Which? that the complaints process “is often stacked against pet owners” come as the UK competition watchdog is investigating the veterinary sector amid concerns that above-inflation price hikes and other issues mean consumers are not getting a fair deal.

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Nearly extinct ‘forgotten antelope’ photographed for first time in DRC

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Upemba lechwe considered one of world’s rarest large mammals with fewer than 100 thought to remain

A photograph of Africa’s “forgotten antelope” has been published for the first time as the elusive creature dives towards extinction.

Fewer than 100 Upemba lechwe are thought to remain, with an aerial survey in the Kamalondo depression of the southern Democratic Republic of the Congo having recorded 10 individuals.

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Dogs are being trained to weed out eggs of invasive spotted lanternflies in US

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Researchers are deploying sniffing dogs to combat spread of leaf-hopping pests that can damage trees and fruit crops

The spotted lanternfly, a leaf-hopping invasive pest first detected in the US a decade ago, has steadily spread across the East coast and into the midwest with little getting in its way.

But now researchers are deploying a new weapon to slow its advance: specially trained dogs with the ability to sniff out the winged insect’s eggs before they hatch.

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Government records show emergency killings of thousands of livestock after transport to Australian export abattoirs

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Euthanasia is most common response to welfare incidents in sheep, pigs and cattle with about 4% of animals experiencing serious incidents, research finds

Thousands of sheep, pigs and cattle are being subjected to emergency killings after transport to Australian export abattoirs, an analysis of internal government records shows.

Curtin University researchers have also found it is taking almost 11 hours, on average, to inspect animals for injury and sickness after they arrive at abattoir facilities – delays that “significantly increase the likelihood of animals requiring emergency euthanasia”.

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Are surging shark sightings and strandings linked to South Australia’s toxic algal bloom?

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Some have speculated there is a link, but it’s too soon to say, one expert says, with toxicology results expected to reveal more soon

Shark sightings and strandings are unusually high across South Australia amid a prolonged toxic algal bloom, but scientists say it’s too soon to link to recent shark incidents.

On Thursday, a swimmer was bitten by a shark at Port Noarlunga beach, 30km south of Adelaide’s CBD, one of a rising number of reported sharks swimming closer to shore – with some washing up dead on beaches.

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Man died of ‘blunt force injuries’ at US zoo after suspected kangaroo fight

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South Carolina officials investigating death of Eric Slate, 52, and conditions of the petting zoo owned by his brother

Officials in South Carolina are investigating the death of a man who was believed to have been killed while fighting a kangaroo in an enclosure at a children’s petting zoo.

Eric Slate, 52, died of “multiple blunt [force] injuries”, according to Tamara Willard, the chief deputy coroner of Horry county, as reported by WPDE News.

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UK supermarkets suspend supplies from Lincolnshire pig farm over cruelty claims

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Workers at farm owned by UK’s biggest pig meat producer Cranswick filmed killing piglets by banned ‘blunt force trauma’

• Warning: graphic content

Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda and Morrisons have suspended supplies from a Lincolnshire pig farm linked to abuse against pigs.

Secretly filmed footage has shown farm workers at Northmoor Farm appearing to grab piglets by their hind legs and smashing them on to the hard floor – a banned method of killing known as blunt force trauma or “piglet thumping”.

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Koalas face death, attacks and starvation as blue gums chopped down in Victoria

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The state government is aware of koala welfare problems but says it has ‘no cost-effective’ solutions

Thousands of koalas are being displaced each year as blue gum plantations are cut down in Victoria, worsening overcrowding in nearby forests and exacerbating the risk of injury and death during bushfires.

An estimated 42,500 koalas live in blue gum plantations in south-west Victoria, data shows. Between 8,000 and 10,000 hectares of plantation are harvested each year, making thousands of koalas homeless.

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Aphids plaguing UK gardens in warm spring weather, says RHS

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Sap-sucking insects top list of queries to gardening charity after causing significant harm to plants

Aphids are plaguing gardeners this spring due to the warm weather, with higher numbers of the rose-killing bugs expected to thrive in the UK as a result of climate breakdown.

The sap-sucking insects have topped the ranking of gardener queries to the Royal Horticultural Society, with many of its 600,000 members having complained of dozens of aphids on their acers, roses and honeysuckle plants.

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Helmeted honeyeaters return to Cardinia in Victoria for first time since 1983’s Ash Wednesday bushfires

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Healesville sanctuary releases 21 critically endangered birds in hopes a new wild population will thrive

For the first time in 42 years, critically endangered helmeted honeyeaters have returned to Cardinia in south-east Victoria, where they were found until the Ash Wednesday bushfires in 1983.

Helmeted honeyeaters are charismatic, energetic and curious, according to Dr Kim Miller, the manager of threatened species at Healesville sanctuary.

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‘Astonishing journeys’: online tool tracking migratory animals highlights challenge of protecting them

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The University of Queensland system is intended to give policymakers idea of how species traverse the oceans and what it will take to save them

Off the east coast of Florida, female loggerhead turtles swim more than 1,000km north, hugging the edge of the continental shelf to get to feeding grounds.

Humpback whales move through Moreton Bay off the Brisbane coast in Australia, on their way to feed around the Balleny Islands more than 4,000km away off the Antarctic coastline, where wandering albatross circle above, travelling 1,000km a day.

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Scorpions ‘taking over’ Brazilian cities with reported stings rising 250%

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Fast and unplanned growth of cities providing ideal conditions for the creatures to thrive, say researchers

Scorpions are “taking over” Brazilian cities, researchers have warned in a paper that said rapid urbanisation and climate breakdown were driving an increase in the number of people being stung.

More than 1.1m stings were reported between 2014 and 2023, according to data from the Brazilian notifiable diseases information system. There was a 250% increase in reports of stings from 2014 to 2023, according to research published in the journal Frontiers in Public Health.

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Elk could return to UK after 3,000 years in rewilding project

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First stage of initiative will introduce ‘keystone’ species to beaver enclosures in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire

Elk could return to the UK after 3,000 years under plans by the Wildlife Trusts to reintroduce the “keystone” species into Britain’s landscapes.

The Derbyshire Wildlife Trust wants to introduce elk into two existing beaver enclosures in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, with the hope of demonstrating that the large semiaquatic deer should be released to roam free in the wild.

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After braving the wilderness for 500 days, Valerie is heavier than ever. Has someone been feeding the mini dachshund?

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Kangaroo Island mayor also notes a silky coat on the dog, while Kangala Wildlife Rescue says ‘possums or cats out there were grooming her’

As Valerie is reunited with her owners, mystery remains over how the miniature dachshund braved more than 500 days in Kangaroo Island’s rugged wilderness only to emerge healthy, happy – and larger than before.

Valerie captured the world’s attention when she was spotted 529 days after going missing on the South Australian island, with people worldwide avidly following the story of her capture.

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Hundreds of little corellas killed in suspected poisoning attack in regional Victorian city

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Horsham local Glenn Coffey says he witnessed large numbers of sick birds falling out of trees and drowning in Wimmera river

Victoria’s conservation regulator has launched an investigation into the suspected fatal poisoning of 300 little corellas in Horsham, in the state’s north-west.

The incident, which began on Tuesday last week, has killed hundreds of protected birds in a popular park near the Wimmera river, just south of the city centre.

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