Home secretary calls breed ‘clear and lethal danger’ after attack on 11-year-old girl in Birmingham
Suella Braverman is pushing for a ban on American bully XL dogs, arguing they are a “clear and lethal danger”, particularly to children.
The home secretary announced she has commissioned urgent advice on outlawing the dogs after she highlighted an “appalling” attack on an 11-year-old girl in Birmingham.
Continue reading...Animatronic cats that purr and dogs that wag their tails have helped staff at Oak Manor care home in Bedfordshire to avoid medicating some residents with dementia
“You’re bloody lovely ain’t you,” said Frances Barrett, as the robotic cat she was stroking flicked its ears and whiskers one lunchtime this week at the Oak Manor care home in Bedfordshire.
The resident was one of several who live with dementia playing with the home’s small menagerie of animatronic animals that were originally designed to entertain American girls aged four to eight but have found a fast growing market in British care homes.
Continue reading...‘Driver or pirate’ issued with traffic offence because feathered first mate not in suitable carrier
A driver was stopped by police after they were found at the wheel with an African grey parrot on their shoulder.
North West motorway police said its officers spotted the driver, who has not been named, with the bird on the M62.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...Vets receive medication originally meant for people amid virulent feline coronavirus that has killed thousands of cats
Veterinary services in Cyprus have received a first batch of anti-Covid pills, from a stockpile originally meant for humans, as efforts intensify to stop the spread of a virulent strain of feline coronavirus that has killed thousands of cats.
The island’s health ministry began discharging the treatment on 8 August – long celebrated as International Cat Day – in what is hoped will be the beginning of the end of the disease that has struck the Mediterranean country’s feline population.
Continue reading...Lucky was left in kennels in Bern but escaped and made her way to Lake Geneva before being found and traced to owners
An escaped border terrier named Lucky made an epic 100-mile journey across Switzerland on the eve of the country’s national holiday, according to local media reports.
Her owners had left her in kennels in the region of Bern, but the 14-year-old dog broke out on Monday evening. The following morning she turned up in Geneva 160 kilometres (100 miles) away, the RTS public broadcaster reported.
Continue reading...Essex police continue to appeal for witnesses after release of video leads member of public to rescue pet
Twiglet, the miniature dachshund who was stolen by a masked man during a burglary, is safe and well and has been reunited with her owner, police have said.
Officers in Essex launched a dog-hunt, releasing a video of the theft and appealing for information after an intruder took the 16-month-old dachshund from her home in Catmere End, Saffron Walden, at about 3pm on Wednesday.
Continue reading...West Lindsey council votes down proposal to relocate dog, named after a racial slur, to Norfolk airbase
Councillors have rejected proposals to exhume and relocate a dog buried at the former base of the Dambusters put forward amid concerns about the suitability of the grave’s location once the site is repurposed as accommodation for asylum seekers.
During an extraordinary planning meeting on Wednesday evening, West Lindsey district councillors unanimously voted down an application by RAF Heritage to relocate the dog to an airbase in Norfolk.
Continue reading...The annual contest celebrates pets’ imperfections, such as Scooter’s backwards-facing hind legs and sparse hair
Linda Elmquist, of Tucson, Arizona, smiled broadly as she held her little dog aloft. Finally, Scooter was being recognized for his best qualities on Friday as he was given the title of the world’s ugliest dog.
The competition, held as part of the Sonoma-Marin fair in Petaluma, California, for the past 50 years, is a world-renowned event that promotes dog adoption and showcases extraordinary canines that have defied adversity – and celebrates their imperfections.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...Animal Justice party will put forward an amendment to the government’s bill that further strengthens laws allowing renters to own pets
The New South Wales government is being pushed to make rentals animal-friendly sooner as pet owners find it increasingly hard to find a home and pounds see an influx of renters giving up their pets.
Labor promised in the lead-up to the election that it would make it easier for renters to own pets, with plans to give landlords 21 days to respond to a renter’s request to own a pet. If the landlord refuses within the timeframe, they must put their reason to the yet to be established rental commissioner for a final decision.
Continue reading...Seven people have been killed by dogs in the UK so far this year. Simon Usborne reports on the worrying increase in attacks
Deaths and serious injuries sustained in dog attacks are rising rapidly in the UK. So far this year seven people have been killed in such incidents. For years the average was stable, at about three deaths a year, but something has changed recently. During the Covid pandemic, dog ownership rose sharply as people took on pets as companions. But that’s only part of the story.
The reporter Simon Usborne tells Nosheen Iqbal the increase in demand for dogs allowed unscrupulous dealers to enter the market and sell to unsuitable owners. There are also new breeds to contend with: the American bully, a type of bulldog, has become notorious for a seemingly disproportionate involvement in serious incidents. There are calls for the breed to be banned.
Continue reading...MPs call for new laws as data shows rise in number of dog seizures is not matched by action against owners
The Metropolitan police are dealing with at least one dangerous dog every day, figures show, as MPs call for ministers to introduce new laws to stop vicious dog attacks.
Police data shows the force seized 479 out-of-control dogs last year under the Dangerous Dogs Act – up from 333 in 2021 and 336 in 2019. As of the start of May this year the Met police had already seized 154 dogs.
Continue reading...Breed responsible for nine deaths since 2021, but dog organisations suggest ban may not address the issue
The American bully has quickly become one of the more visible dog breeds in the UK in recent years.
The breed is not recognised by any of the main dog associations in the UK, meaning there are no figures on ownership rates in the country. However, the dogs’ frequent appearance in the news, often under tragic circumstances, suggests they are more prevalent than ever.
Continue reading...Humans with condition can have disturbed sleep, and similar symptoms in dogs indicate cognitive decline is under way
From loud snores to twitching paws, dogs often appear to have a penchant for a good snooze. But researchers have said elderly canines with dementia appear to spend less time slumbering than those with healthy brains – mirroring patterns seen in humans.
It has long been known that people with dementia can experience sleep problems, including finding it harder to get to sleep. Researchers have also found changes in the brainwaves of people with dementia during sleep – including decreased slow brain waves that occur during non-rapid eye movement deep sleep. These are important in memory consolidation and appear to be linked to the activity of the brain’s system for clearing away waste.
Continue reading...Nanuq, a one-year-old Australian shepherd, disappeared from a family trip and went on an adventure across the Bering Sea
A one-year-old Australian shepherd took an epic trek across 150 miles (241km) of frozen Bering Sea ice that included being bitten by a seal or polar bear before he was safely returned to his home in Alaska.
Mandy Iworrigan, Nanuq’s owner who lives in Gambell, Alaska, and her family were visiting Savoonga, another St Lawrence Island community in the Bering strait, last month when Nanuq disappeared with their other family dog, Starlight, the Anchorage Daily News reported.
Continue reading...Pearl is shorter than the standard television remote and about as long as a dollar bill, Guinness World Records says
What do you call a chihuahua dog that’s shorter than a popsicle stick and can fit in your pocket? The planet’s shortest living dog, Guinness World Records has announced.
Pearl qualified for the title after a veterinarian at the Crystal Creek animal hospital in Orlando, Florida, where she was born, used a special dog-measuring wicket to determine she was just under 3.6in (9.14cm) tall and 5in (12.7cm) long. Those dimensions mean she is shorter than the standard television remote and about as long as a dollar bill, Guinness said in a statement.
Continue reading...Eight-week-old beige pup with one blue and one brown eye tossed out of moving vehicle in designer bag ‘miraculously’ OK
A puppy that was thrown out of a moving pickup truck in Los Angeles during a high-speed police chase “miraculously” survived, according to authorities.
In a statement released on Saturday, the Los Angeles police department announced that on 7 April, at about 12.10pm in a south-east part of the city, officers started a car chase in pursuit of a suspect who was wanted in connection to an attempted murder and carjacking which occurred on 26 March.
Continue reading...Act opens door to technology being used to create cats and dogs with extreme features, says charity
Pets could be subjected to gene editing under a new government act, the RSPCA has warned.
The animal charity has said that the Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Act applies to all vertebrate animals, not only farmed animals, and that it could lead to cats and dogs being gene-edited to include extreme features.
Continue reading...French bulldogs take title after dizzying rise, thanks to celebrity owners from Leonardo DiCaprio to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
For the first time in three decades, the US has a new favorite dog breed, according to the American Kennel Club (AKC).
Adorable in some eyes, deplorable in others, the sturdy, push-faced, perky-eared, world-weary-looking and distinctively droll French bulldog became the nation’s most prevalent purebred dog last year, the club announced on Wednesday. Frenchies ousted labrador retrievers from the top spot after a record 31 years.
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