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”.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...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
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...‘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.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...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.”
Continue reading...About 100 animals transport visitors along kilometre-long cobbled path to the city’s iconic Amber Fort
Animal rights protesters took to the streets on bicycles in the Indian city of Jaipur on Sunday, demanding an end to elephants being used to carry tourists to one of the country’s top attractions, the iconic Amber Fort.
Related: Celebrity elephant Ramu opens Kerala festival after ban lifted
Continue reading...Most of the animals at the Santa Cruz Foundation in San Antonio, Colombia, have been rescued from traffickers and circuses. The multimillion-dollar illegal wildlife trade is the fourth-largest in the country after drugs, guns and human trafficking
More police on duty as tourists descend on Spanish town to watch bulls and party
One man was gored and two sustained head injuries during the first run of the week-long San Fermín running of the bulls festival in Pamplona, northern Spain, on Saturday. The injuries were not life-threatening.
During the festival the population of the small city in Navarra swells tenfold as more than a million people come from around the world. Only about 20,000 over the course of the week dress up in the traditional red and white to pursue and be pursued by the bulls along Pamplona’s cobbled streets.
Continue reading...All eight of the circus’s tigers were impounded by police after tamer Ettore Weber was mauled to death
Four tigers have mauled to death their tamer in southern Italy, fuelling calls for a ban on the use of animals in circuses as parliament debates the issue.
Police said the 61-year-old tamer, Ettore Weber, was attacked by the tigers on Thursday during a training session in Triggiano, a small town in the Puglia region.
Continue reading...Humane killing practices are virtually unknown in the majority of Thailand’s abattoirs, say campaigners, with millions of pigs dying in pain
All photographs by Jo-Anne McArthur/We Animals
Warning: this article includes some graphic images that some readers may find distressing
Photos of shirtless workers clubbing pigs with bats in a Thai slaughterhouse have prompted campaigners to call for wider training and monitoring of humane welfare practices.
Undercover images taken in the central Thailand abattoir and shared with the Guardian also shows workers stunning the animals on their eyes with what appear to be homemade stunning machines, contrary to equipment recommendations.
Continue reading...A man and a woman have been convicted of animal cruelty after activists secretly filmed him apparently preparing to throw fox cubs to hounds at a hunting kennel in Herefordshire. Undercover footage obtained by Hunt Investigation Team was used as evidence in court
Researchers still fearful as approximately 10,000 to 15,000 are killed every year
Elephant poaching rates in Africa are declining, according to a study published in the journal Nature Communications.
The annual poaching mortality rate fell from a high of more than 10% in 2011 to less than 4% in 2017, but the researchers warned that current levels were still unsustainable and could spell trouble for the future of the animals on the continent.
Continue reading...Taiji resident will testify in attempt to ban activity as part of charity’s legal challenge
A man from Taiji, the Japanese fishing town whose annual slaughter of dolphins has drawn widespread condemnation, will appear in court on Friday in an unprecedented legal challenge to the hunts.
In an exclusive interview with the Guardian, the plaintiff, who has asked not to be named until the hearing has concluded, said he had been been ostracised in Taiji, where he was born and raised but decided to speak out against the hunts.
Continue reading...The star of a string of successful film musicals was also known for her work as an animal welfare activist
Doris Day, the actor, singer and animal welfare activist, has died at the age of 97. The Doris Day Animal Foundation confirmed the news.
Born Doris Mary Ann Kappelhoff in Cincinnati, Ohio, Day was known for a string of successful musicals and romantic comedies, including Pillow Talk, as well as a singing career that encompassed 29 studio albums.
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