Category Archives: Animals

China signals end to dog meat consumption by humans

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Draft policy released by agriculture ministry cites concern over animal welfare and prevention of disease transmission as factors behind move

The Chinese government has signalled an end to the human consumption of dogs, with the agriculture ministry today releasing a draft policy that would forbid canine meat.

Citing the “progress of human civilisation” as well as growing public concern over animal welfare and prevention of disease transmission from animals to humans, China’s Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Affairs singled out canines as forbidden in a draft “white list” of animals allowed to be raised for meat.

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Bamboo rats left in limbo as breeders push back against China wildlife ban

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Farms forced to shut down operations as search continues for source of Covid-19 amid uncertainty over new industry rules

Just a few months ago Cheng Yongcai ran a thriving farm that produced 20,000 bamboo rats a year in Qingyuan in northern Guangdong province.

It was an operation that his local government actively encouraged with loans and other support, he says.

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African swine fever outbreak reported in western Poland

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Highly contagious virus fatal to pigs found close to German border, as illness continues to spread in China

An outbreak of African swine fever (ASF) was confirmed on Monday on a farm near the village of Więckowice near Poznań in western Poland, less than 150km (93 miles) from the border with Germany.

African swine fever is a highly contagious virus which is fatal to pigs. It is transmitted directly between animals or through infected meat or animal feed and has also been seen as having the potential to transmit to humans. There is an ongoing outbreak in China that has already already wiped out 40% of pigs in the country.

Related: African swine fever destroying small pig farms, as factory farming booms – report

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Seal the deal: amorous mammals forced to contend with cruise ships

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Harbour seals struggle to match volume of passing ships when trying to attract a mate

Cruise ships are drowning out the roars of seals that are important for bagging a mate, researchers have found in the latest study to reveal the consequences of human activity on wildlife.

Ships are known to produce low-frequency sounds which can overlap with calls made by marine creatures. But now researchers studying harbour seals say such noise could be taking its toll.

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Human impact on wildlife to blame for spread of viruses, says study

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Increased contact with animals likely cause of outbreaks such as Covid-19, say experts, as conservationists call for global ban on wildlife markets

Hunting, farming and the global move of people to cities has led to massive declines in biodiversity and increased the risk of dangerous viruses like Covid-19 spilling over from animals to humans, a major study has concluded.

In a paper that suggests the underlying cause of the present pandemic is likely to be increased human contact with wildlife, scientists from Australia and the US traced which animals were most likely to share pathogens with humans.

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In the mood for love: Hong Kong’s middle-aged pandas rediscover their mojo

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Captive animals mate for first time in 10 years as coronavirus keeps hordes of visitors away

A middle-aged couple of giant pandas in a Hong Kong theme park have mated for the first time in more than 10 years, after finally enjoying a period of privacy thanks to the coronavirus lockdown.

Ying Ying and Le Le have been at Ocean Park since 2007 but, despite the encouragement of zookeepers, they had shown little inclination to have sex while daily hordes of visitors were watching their every move.

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Fears for wildlife recovery after bushfires as coronavirus crisis stymies scientists’ fieldwork

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Monitoring work suspended due to restrictions on travel and physical contact, in a blow for research into threatened species

Scientists are being forced to shut down or scale back fieldwork to assess the impact of last summer’s devastating bushfires on threatened species amid the coronavirus crisis, prompting concerns it could affect wildlife recovery.

Several universities have shut down fieldwork to comply with restrictions on travel and physical contact and government agencies working on the recovery have had to scale back some of their operations.

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As coronavirus keeps us apart, we will let the animals in. I hope we do them justice

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In the age of Covid-19 we are taking comfort from animals and wildlife – but we should learn from them too

First, the eyes. I pressed mine to the opening of a little wooden house. The park ranger behind me cleared her throat.

“Yeah, watch out because they jum–”

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Insects likely to be approved for human consumption by EU

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Food safety agency’s decision could put mealworms, locusts and baby crickets on menus

It is being billed as the long-awaited breakthrough moment in European gastronomy for mealworm burgers, locust aperitifs and cricket granola.

In the next few weeks the EU’s European Food Safety Authority is expected by the insect industry to endorse mealworms, lesser mealworms, locusts, baby crickets and adult crickets as being safe for human consumption.

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Mice have a range of facial expressions, researchers find

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Findings offer researchers new ways to measure intensity of emotional responses

Whether it is screwing up your face when sucking a lemon, or smiling while sitting in the sun, humans have a range of facial expressions that reflect how they feel. Now, researchers say, they have found mice do too.

“Mice exhibit facial expressions that are specific to the underlying emotions,” said Dr Nadine Gogolla, co-author of the research from Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology. She said the findings were important, as they offer researchers new ways to measure the intensity of emotional responses, which could help them probe how emotions arise in the brain.

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Secret footage shows calves from Ireland beaten and kicked in France

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Video by activists appears to show cruel treatment of weeks-old cattle transported on long journeys to Europe for veal

Footage which appears to show Irish calves being beaten and kicked at a French feeding station has been published by animal campaign groups.

The video, published by Eyes on Animals (EoA) and French welfare organisation L214, appears to show workers repeatedly beating calves that are a few weeks old with sticks. One is kicked and another is dragged away, unable to stand. The calf was euthanised by a vet, said an EoA observer.

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Endangered sea turtles hatch on Brazil’s deserted beaches

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Coronavirus keeps crowds that usually greet hatching of hawksbill turtles away

Nearly 100 critically endangered sea turtles have hatched on a deserted beach in Brazil, their first steps going almost unnoticed because of coronavirus restrictions that prohibit people from gathering on the region’s sands.

The 97 hawksbill sea turtles, or tartarugas-de-pente as they are known in Brazil, were born last Sunday in Paulista, a town in the north-eastern state of Pernambuco.

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Wildlife rescue centres struggle to treat endangered species in coronavirus outbreak

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Shortages in funds, medicines and masks threaten charity work around the world

Last Thursday morning Louisa Baillie drove down the five-kilometre dirt track that connects her jungle home in the Amazon rainforest to the main road. At the junction, she parked, hiking the rest of the way into Mera, a town of about 8,000 people.

After filling her backpack with fruit and vegetables from local sellers, she grabbed some leaves and set about plucking termites off trees along the roadside, stuffing them into a bucket containing small fragments of the insects’ nests. Baillie works as a veterinarian at Merazonia, a wildlife rescue centre in Ecuador. The termites were dinner for Andy the anteater, a baby recently confiscated at a police checkpoint.

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Groggy grizzly bear caught emerging from hibernation in viral video

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Ranger in Canadian Rockies says video she captured was ‘something everybody needed’ in a time of isolation

On a bright spring day, a hulking grizzly bear named Boo emerged from his winter den, shaking a dusting of snow from his thick coat as he looked around groggily.

The moment was filmed in a remarkable viral video – which also captures the elated reaction of one of the bear’s closest humans, the manager of grizzly refuge in the Canadian Rockies.

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Ranger captures moment grizzly bear emerges from hibernation in Canada – video

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A hulking grizzly bear has found online stardom after he was caught groggily emerging from hibernation on camera. Canadian ranger Nicole Gagnon filmed the end of Boo's hibernation on her phone, a moment she said she had been waiting to document for eight years. It has since been viewed over 100,000 times on Twitter. Boo, 18, draws thousands of tourists every year to his 20-acre enclosure near the town of Golden, Canada

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‘Fright of her life’: Gold Coast woman finds five-metre python on her doorstep

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Queensland snake catcher says 80kg albino Burmese python found in Oxenford is the largest he has come across in 27 years

As a seasoned snake catcher, Tony Harrison is used to the people the claiming there is a five-metre snake on their doorstep. But for the first time on Monday, the caller wasn’t exaggerating.

“This was the largest snake I have come across in 27 years,” Harrison said. “The poor old lady who opened the front door to see it there got the fright of her life”

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Win for conservation as African black rhino numbers rise

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Slow recovery due to relocating groups and stronger protection through law enforcement

Numbers of African black rhinos in the wild have risen by several hundred, a rare boost in the conservation of a species driven to near extinction by poaching.

Black rhinos are still in grave danger but the small increase – an annual rate of 2.5% over six years, has swollen the population from 4,845 in 2012 to an estimated 5,630 in 2018, giving hope that efforts put into saving the species are paying off.

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‘Wonderchicken’: oldest fossil of modern bird discovered

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Tiny creature, half the size of a mallard, found in rocks dating back to dinosaur age

Experts have discovered a fossil of the world’s oldest known modern bird – a diminutive creature about half the size of a mallard duck.

Dubbed the Wonderchicken, the remains were found in rocks dating to about 66.8m to 66.7m years ago, revealing that the bird was active shortly before the asteroid strike that wiped out the dinosaurs 66m years ago.

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Birth of wild tapir offers hope for Brazil’s endangered ecosystem

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Researchers believe the calf was born in January and a second may be on its way

Hopes for a recovery of Brazil’s most endangered ecosystem have been given a boost by the first birth of a wild tapir in Rio de Janeiro’s Atlantic Forest for more than a century.

Scientists said video clips of the baby tapir proved the initial success of a re-introduction strategy for the threatened mammal, which is often described as “a forest gardener” because it plays a vital role in the dispersal of seeds.

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Penguins openly explore Chicago aquarium closed due to Covid-19 – video

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An aquarium in Chicago has let its penguins wander around freely after closing to visitors indefinitely due to the coronavirus outbreak. The Shedd Aquarium said on social media: 'While this may be a strange time for us, these days feel normal for animals at Shedd'

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