Category Archives: Animal welfare

US scientists who used scissors to kill lab rats must be fired, activists say

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Tulane university researchers accused of ‘serious’ violations that breached international protocol over animal deaths

An animal rights group is demanding the firing of researchers at a Louisiana university who killed laboratory rats with scissors and a blunt blade – and used out-of-date anesthetics for pain relief.

The episodes are detailed in separate, self-reported notices of violation to the federal Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare (Olaw), which were sent by Tulane University in New Orleans and obtained by the Stop Animal Exploitation Now advocacy group.

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Social media platforms to face £18m fines for publishing animal cruelty content

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In a change to the online safety bill, tech firms will have to proactively prevent material that facilitates animal torture from being posted

Social media firms must remove animal cruelty content from their platforms or face the threat of substantial fines under the latest change to the online safety bill.

Ministers said causing unnecessary suffering to an animal will become a priority offence in the bill, which means tech firms will have to proactively prevent such material from reaching users. Failure to do so could result in a fine of £18m, or up to 10% of a company’s global revenue.

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Appeal for information after body of grizzly bear found in Canadian river

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Conservation officers believe animal was shot and dragged into Squamish River in British Columbia

Conservation officers in Canada are asking the public for help after the body of a grizzly bear was discovered floating in a British Columbia river.

This week, the province’s conservation service said it was investigating the illegal killing of the bear, after remains were discovered near the town of Squamish.

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Put ‘pest’ animal species on the pill, don’t cull them, says scientist

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Humane alternatives to killing rampant creatures such as wild boar, deer and grey squirrels are being developed

Conflicts between humans and wildlife are triggering growing numbers of disease outbreaks, road accidents and crop damage. And the problem is likely to get worse unless new, humane measures to curtail animal numbers are developed in the near future, say scientists.

It is a critical environmental issue that will be debated this week at a major conference in Italy where experts will discuss how best to limit numbers of grey squirrels, wild boar, deer, feral goats, pigeons, parakeets and other creatures that are causing widespread ecological damage in many countries.

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France’s animal shelters reach capacity as holidaymakers dump pets at roadside

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Protection group appeals for funds after accepting 12,000 animals since beginning of summer

French animals rescue centres say they have reached “saturation” with abandoned pets this summer.

More than 100,000 pets are abandoned to fend for themselves in France every year, more than half of them dumped just before or during long summer holidays when they are often found next to routes heading for the coast or countryside. Last summer, 60,000 pets were dumped, and animal rescuers say the figure is expected to be higher this year.

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Court grants reprieve to brown bear that killed Italian jogger

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Animal fatally attacked Andrea Papi, 26, who was first person to be killed in Italy by a bear in modern times

An Italian court has suspended a ruling that a brown bear should be put down for mauling to death a jogger in the Alps.

The animal, a 17-year-old female identified as JJ4, was captured after the fatal attack on Andrea Papi, 26, near his village of Caldes on 5 April. He was the first person in Italy to be killed in a bear attack in modern times.

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Sydney man faces domestic violence and animal cruelty charges after dead rabbits found at unit

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Police to allege 21-year-old assaulted and threatened 20-year-old woman who was known to him

A New South Wales man is facing 33 charges for a range of offences including domestic violence and animal cruelty, after police found a number of dead rabbits at his property.

The 21-year-old man allegedly on numerous occasions assaulted and threatened a 20-year-old woman who was known to him. The man also allegedly filmed the woman during an intimate act without consent and threatened to release the vision, NSW police said in a statement.

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MPs vote down Labour attempt to revive animal welfare bill

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Motion to bring back legislation on puppy smuggling and live exports that was part of Tory manifesto rejected in Commons

MPs have voted down an attempt by Labour to revive the government’s animal welfare bill.

Last month ministers announced they were dropping the kept animals bill, which was part of the Tories’ 2019 manifesto. The legislation aimed to clamp down on puppy smuggling and dog theft, as well as banning the live exports of farm animals.

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Tory MPs expected to back Labour plans to reintroduce animal welfare bill

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Conservative backbenchers plan to speak in favour of opposition motion to force government’s hand

Rishi Sunak is facing a potential headache as backbench Conservative MPs prepare to support a Labour plan to bring back ditched animal welfare policies.

Last month, ministers announced they were dropping the kept animals bill, which was part of the Tories’ 2019 manifesto. The legislation was intended to ban live exports of farm animals as well as clamp down on puppy smuggling and dog theft.

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Man arrested after car crashes into Downing Street gates – UK politics live

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Armed officers at the scene but no reports of injuries, Metropolitan Police says

Rishi Sunak is being interviewed on ITV’s This Morning.

He says immigration levels are too high, but he rejects claims it is out of control. This is from the Daily Mirror’s Lizzy Buchan.

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Co-op members and board at odds over AGM vote on chicken welfare

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Motion to adopt Better Chicken Commitment carried by 96%, but directors cited need for low prices

Feathers are flying at the Co-operative Group after thousands of its members voted to improve welfare for chickens reared for meat at the annual meeting on Saturday – but were partly overruled by the company’s directors, who said they wanted to keep prices down.

A motion led by the Humane League UK campaign group asked the mutual to adopt the Better Chicken Commitment (BCC) – a set of standards adopted by the likes of Waitrose, Marks & Spencer and the Greggs bakery chain – and report on welfare improvements in a year’s time. It was supported by 96% of the 32,000 Co-op members who voted at the AGM.

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Calls grow for Pakistan’s zoos to close after death of 17-year-old elephant

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Case of Noor Jehan in Karachi draws criticism of conditions and renewed accusations of neglect at country’s facilities

Pakistan’s zoos have faced criticism and calls for their closure after the death of a 17-year-old elephant in Karachi.

Noor Jehan, an African elephant, which have an average lifespan of 60 to 70 years, was already in poor health when she fell into a pond last month and was unable to get up. She later died.

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Rescued sea lion known for roaming San Diego dies, SeaWorld announces

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Tributes pour in for Freeway, who was named after his rescue from a busy freeway last year

Freeway, the beloved Californian rescue sea lion that would roam around San Diego, has died, SeaWorld San Diego has announced.

“It is with heavy hearts that we share ‘Freeway’, the rescued sea lion, passed away yesterday – surrounded with love from his devoted care and rescue teams. His adventurous spirit won the hearts of all San Diegans and he will be remembered for that and so much more,” the park said in a Facebook post on Friday.

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No goodbye for Toodles after poodle revived with Narcan following overdose

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Emergency veterinarians in Philadelphia save dog’s life after suspected accidental drug overdose

A poodle in Pennsylvania called Toodles was successfully revived with Narcan after an apparent accidental drug overdose, local animal welfare experts said.

The Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said they received a call last week from Blue Pearl Emergency Animal Hospital in Philadelphia saying a dog was brought to them showing symptoms of an overdose.

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Are we facing a summer of sporting protests? – podcast

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High-profile protests at the Grand National and the World Snooker Championships made headlines around the country; the London Marathon could be next. Sean Ingle and Damien Gayle report on what sporting stunts can achieve – and whether the authorities can stop them

It began with a protest at Britain’s biggest horse racing event. Members of the activist group Animal Rising scaled the fences at Aintree and attempted to stop the Grand National. As stewards and fans intervened, the protest managed only to delay the race for 14 minutes. As if to help prove the protesters’ point, one of the horses in the race was killed in a fall.

As chief sports reporter Sean Ingle tells Nosheen Iqbal, it was followed just days later by a stunt by another activist group. This time the target was the World Snooker Championship; play was postponed when a Just Stop Oil protester managed to clamber on to the the snooker table and launch an orange powder bomb over proceedings. This weekend, all eyes will be on the London Marathon.

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Calls for jump-racing ban after Grand National horse deaths

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Animal rights group Animal Aid says change needed after ‘brutal horrors’ at Aintree as three horses die during festival

Animal rights campaigners have called for jump racing to be banned and “much more stringent” safety measures put in place for the sport after three horses died at the 175th annual Grand National festival.

The third fatality, Hill Sixteen, is said to have suffered a broken neck at the first fence at the Aintree racecourse in Liverpool before being put down.

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Australian scientists grow replica human lungs and call for end to animal testing

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Exclusive: ‘Everyone told me it would never work’, says professor of nanomedicine, but science needs alternatives to experimenting on animals

Professor of nanomedicine Wojciech Chrzanowski finds it “heartbreaking” to recall some of his early scientific work, where research involving animal testing was inevitable.

“The moment you start working in a lab, and have to start squeezing and cutting animals, you feel sorry for them,” Chrzanowski said.

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HelloFresh drops Thai coconut milk after Peta monkey labour campaign

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Thai government rejects Peta’s claims, saying the practice of using monkeys to harvest is rarely used in industry

The meal kit provider HelloFresh has said it will no longer sell coconut milk sourced from Thailand, after campaigning by an animal rights group that accused coconut farms in the country of using monkey labour.

The company confirmed to Axios that it does not tolerate “any form of animal abuse in our supply chain” and “out of an abundance of caution” will not be placing orders for coconut milk from Thailand. HelloFresh has not yet responded to the Guardian’s request for comment.

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Greens decry ‘utter decimation’ of independent observer program for live exports

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Most voyages carrying livestock out of Australia sailed without an observer, with half of those ships claiming they had insufficient space for an extra person

Almost half the live export ships that sailed from Australia without an independent observer claimed there was “insufficient space” to allow them onboard last year, new data shows.

The independent monitoring scheme established in 2018 after 2,400 sheep died while being exported by Australian exporter Emanuel Exports has weakened considerably since its resumption from a Covid-related pause, data shows.

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Friendly Ghost: white dog running with coyotes gets help from rescue group

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Animal spotted in the desert of southern Nevada likely to have been abandoned as a puppy, rescuers say

For the last few months, a ghost has roamed the desert of southern Nevada near Las Vegas with a pack of coyotes. The apparent phantom is actually a white dog named Ghost, who observers say the animals accepted as one of their own.

Residents in Henderson spotted the dog running through their neighborhood at night, sometimes with the coyotes as they played together, for at least six months, according to a fundraiser for the animal. But neighbors, who documented his movements on social media, grew concerned about an injury on Ghost’s leg that was causing a severe limp and tried unsuccessfully to catch him.

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