Category Archives: Animal welfare

‘Not just a dog bite’: why India is struggling to keep rabies at bay

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The government is being urged to dispel myths and ensure drugs are available – and take responsibility for the millions of stray dogs

By the time the patient, a young man, reached Dr Ramesh Masthi at a Bengaluru hospital, it was too late to save him. After being bitten by a pack of stray dogs as he went out to buy some milk, his family had applied a paste of green chillis, then lime juice and finally, when the wound looked gruesome, turmeric.

“He came about a week after he was bitten. The wound was serious, and we couldn’t save him. There is so much ignorance about dog bites and myths. A rabies shot in time would have saved him,” Masthi says.

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‘World’s loneliest elephant’ allowed to leave zoo for better life

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Kaavan, who lives in a Pakistani zoo, lost his partner in 2012 and is now medically clear to travel

An elephant who has become a cause célèbre for animal rights activists around the world will be allowed to leave his Pakistani zoo and be transferred to better conditions, the animal welfare group helping with the case has said.

Dubbed the “world’s loneliest elephant” by his supporters, Kaavan has languished at a zoo in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad for more than 35 years.

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Landmark ruling sees Ugandan poacher jailed for killing Rafiki the gorilla

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Six-year sentence following death of one of country’s best-known silverback mountain gorillas is first of its kind

In the first conviction of its kind, a court in Uganda has jailed a poacher for six years after he admitted killing one of the country’s best-known silverback mountain gorillas in a national park.

Felix Byamukama, from Murole in the south-west district of Kisoro, pleaded guilty to illegal entry into a protected area and killing the gorilla named Rakifi and a duiker antelope. Byamukama had said earlier that he killed the animal in self-defence after he was attacked. It is the first time Uganda, home to 50% of the world’s mountain gorillas, has jailed someone for such an offence and the sentence has been widely welcomed by wildlife groups.

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‘Horror scene’ in Canada after 38 dead puppies found on plane

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Bodies of French bulldogs were among about 500 dogs discovered on flight from Ukraine at Toronto airport

Canada has launched an investigation after some 500 puppies – 38 of them dead – were found on board a Ukraine International Airlines plane at the Toronto airport, officials said Saturday.

The surviving French bulldogs, a popular breed in Canada, were suffering from symptoms including dehydration, weakness and vomiting when they were found on the flight from Ukraine that landed at Toronto Pearson airport on 13 June, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency said in a statement.

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Cabinet unrest over U-turn on animal welfare in US trade talks

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Leaked letter instructs ministers to have ‘no specific policy’ on the issue

Downing Street has been accused of reopening the door to imports of chlorinated chicken and hormone-treated beef, after a leaked memo instructed ministers to have “no specific policy” on animal welfare in US trade talks.

The letter from No 10 states that the ministerial mandate for the US negotiations was “being updated to reflect” the fact that the UK was to have no policy position on animal welfare. The revelation will raise more concerns about the government’s commitment to upholding “high environmental protection, animal welfare and food standards”.

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‘Unstoppable’: African swine fever deaths to eclipse record 2019 toll

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With world’s attention on Covid-19, warnings that lack of measures to contain pandemic could lead to culling of record number of pigs

The African swine fever (ASF) pandemic will be even worse this year than in 2019, say experts, warning that the spread of the highly contagious virus, which is fatal to pigs, is unrelenting.

With world attention on the human viral pandemic of Covid-19, concern is growing that countries are not focusing enough on halting the spread of ASF through better biosecurity practices, cooperation on intensive vaccine development, or transparency regarding outbreaks.

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Cher sheds tears of joy as Pakistan’s loneliest elephant wins freedom

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Kaavan, a 33-year-old elephant living a sorry existence in Islamabad zoo, to be released after campaign by pop icon

The plight of an animal known as Pakistan’s loneliest elephant is set to come to an end after a court declared he should be freed from Islamabad zoo – to the delight of his longtime champion, pop icon Cher.

Kaavan, a 33-year-old Asian elephant from Sri Lanka, has been the focus of a four-year campaign by Cher to secure his release from Murghazar Zoo in Pakistan’s capital, after the singer saw pictures of the elephant living alone and held miserably in chains in a small enclosure, with only a small dirty pond to play in.

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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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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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Met upholds complaint of woman ‘deceived’ by undercover officer

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Police inquiry finds credible evidence of Andy Coles deceiving 19-year-old activist into sexual relationship

An internal police investigation has uncovered credible evidence that an undercover officer deceived a 19-year-old woman into a long-term sexual relationship.

Andy Coles has denied that he had an intimate relationship with the woman while he infiltrated political groups in the 90s, dismissing her claims as “lurid”.

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Koala ‘massacre’: scores of animals found dead or injured after plantation logging

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Victorian environment minister ‘appalled’ by allegations and her department is investigating

Investigators at the scene of a “koala massacre” at a cleared gum tree plantation in Victoria say the number of animals killed is likely to rise above 40 as they make their way through 10 kilometres of felled timber.

A major incident response has been set up at the site, on private land near Cape Bridgewater, with koalas being treated by vets for starvation and broken bones.

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‘We’re helpless’: thousands of koalas probably dead after wildfires – video

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Up to 30% of koalas on New South Wales's mid-north coast may have been killed and many more may be endangered in South Australia in the country’s ongoing bushfire crisis after experts warned fires are the biggest threat Australian wildlife faces

Nationally, more than 5m hectares have been burned in an unprecedented bushfire season that has also killed nine people

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World’s largest ritual animal slaughter goes ahead despite ban

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Thousands of Hindus head to southern Nepal for festival honouring goddess of power

Thousands of Hindus have gathered in southern Nepal before a festival believed to be the world’s largest ritual animal slaughter, despite court orders and calls by animal activists to end the event.

The sacrifices, set to begin on Tuesday, take place every five years in the village of Bariyarpur close to the Indian border, in honour of the Hindu goddess of power.

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Chinese cafe featuring dogs dyed to look like pandas facing backlash

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‘I suggest dyeing cafe owner black and white,’ says one critic over stunt in Chengdu

A cafe in China featuring chow chow dogs painted as panda cubs has prompted widespread criticism over the treatment of the pets.

The Cute Pet Games cafe opened last month in Chengdu in the south-west Sichuan province, home to a large proportion of the endangered bear species, featuring six fluffy chow chows dyed white and black.

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Horse slaughter: irresponsibility and hypocrisy on all sides have brought us here

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The public recoils, although sheep and cows are killed in identical fashion. But the racing industry has a serious case to answer too

The biggest trucks at any horse sale belong to the meat dealers. At the end of the day, once those awarded a second chance have been led away, the dealers open the remaining pens and run their unlucky purchases through the saleyard to the loading ramp.

Young, well-fed, well-muscled horses – such as thoroughbreds or standardbreds that have recently left the racing industries – are sent to export abattoirs in Peterborough, South Australia, or the Meramist abattoir in Caboolture, Queensland. The latter is currently being investigated for animal cruelty offences after footage aired on the ABC’s 7.30 program showed horses being shocked with electric prods, hit and kicked before slaughter.

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African swine fever: the deadly virus that has landed on Australia’s doorstep

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The deadly virus wreaking havoc in Asia has been detected in Timor-Leste, just 680km north of Darwin

One month ago a particularly virulent strain of African swine fever – which has been wreaking havoc in Asia since it was detected in China last year and could potentially kill up to 25% of the world’s pig population – landed on Australia’s doorstep.

The disease was detected just 680km north of Darwin, in Timor-Leste. Australian biosecurity agencies which had been screening major airports and mail distributors for illegally imported pork products redoubled their efforts.

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RSPCA accuses government of backflip on welfare for live exports from Australia

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Heat stress guidelines would ‘prohibit or substantially reduce’ live export during northern summer says new policy document

The RSPCA has accused the federal government of making a “backflip on animal welfare safeguards” with the release of a policy document outlining options for the live export of sheep to the Middle East.

The discussion paper, released on Friday, outlines four possible options to govern the live sheep export trade from Australia to the Middle East from 2020 onwards.

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Outrage in China as giant panda on loan to Thailand zoo dies

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Chuang Chuang reportedly collapsed after eating bamboo in Chiang Mai Zoo

The sudden death of a giant panda on loan to a zoo in Thailand has sparked outrage in China and calls for no more of the bears to be lent to the country.

Chuang Chuang, a 19-year-old male, reportedly collapsed on Monday afternoon after eating bamboo in Chiang Mai zoo in northern Thailand, according to Thai media.

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Hong and Kong? Berlin’s panda cubs at centre of Chinese human rights row

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Competition to name Meng Meng’s twins intensifies pressure on German government

They may have captured the public’s imagination, but the tiny, pink panda cubs born at Berlin zoo a few days ago have also spurred a national debate about whether panda diplomacy is blinding Germany to the Chinese government’s human rights record.

As visitors and journalists queue around the block to catch a glimpse of Meng Meng’s cubs, a competition to name them has increased pressure on the government of Angela Merkel, who kicked off a trip to Beijing with a large economic delegation on Thursday.

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‘It’s scary’: wildlife selfies harming animals, experts warn

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Concern in New Zealand that trend of taking photographs with penguins and other creatures is having impact on feeding, breeding and birth rates

At the International Penguin Conference in New Zealand, the experts were worried. Among sobering discussions about the perils of the climate crisis and habitat loss, the unlikely issue of wildlife selfies photobombed the agenda, with increasing concern that the celebrity-fuelled search for that perfect shot is affecting animal behaviour.

Professor Philip Seddon, the director of Otago University’s wildlife management programme, said: ‘We’re losing respect for wildlife, we don’t understand the wild at all.”

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