Doorbraak in onderzoek dodelijke kanker, DFTD, onder Tasmaanse duivels (Australië) - Zonder genezing is diersoort over 25-35 jaar uitgestorven

Breakthrough in fight to save Australia's Tasmanian

devils

01-01-2010 By Kate Kelland, News.com.au, Australia


AN international team of scientists has discovered the genetic marker for a deadly cancer ravaging the Tasmanian devil population, and they say their findings pave the way for developing treatments.

Researchers analysed tumour cells taken from facial cancers in the animals, the world's largest marsupial carnivores, and found the disease probably starts in Schwann cells - a type of tissue that cushions and protects nerve fibres.

"Our findings represent a big step forward in the race to save the devils from extinction," said Elizabeth Murchison, who works with the US Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and the Australian National University.
Deadly facial tumour disease (DFTD) has ravaged the wild population.

Australia raised protection levels for devils in May and listed them as endangered due to DFTD.
DFTD is a unique type of cancer, transmitted from animal to animal via biting or other physical contact, which transfers living cancer cells between individuals.

Only two cancers are known to spread in this way - the other is found in dogs. The devils' tumours are mostly found on the face and mouth, but often spread to internal organs.

Writing in the journal Science, the researchers said that, with no diagnostic tests, treatments or vaccines currently available, the disease could wipe out the entire species in 25 to 35 years.

The team's genetic analysis confirmed that tumours spread from animal to animal are genetically identical because they originate from a single line of cells.

Using advanced sequencing technology, the team identified the originating cell by comparing the "transcriptome" - the complete set of genes that are turned on in tumour cells -- with a genetic readout of other tissues.

The scientists found the tumours' genetic signature best matched that of Schwann cells, but said they were still unclear about how these nervous system cells spawned cancer.
Identifying the genetic marker could help accurately diagnose the disease and help to develop treatments, they said.

"Now that we've taken a good look at the tumours' genetic profile, we can start hunting for genes and pathways involved in tumour formation," said Greg Hannon, who worked on the study.

The study will also help scientists distinguish between DFTD and other types of devil cancers, helping them to identify and isolate affected animals and contain the disease's spread.

(Bron: http://www.news.com.au/)
(Bron foto: http://animal.discovery.com/mammals/tasmanian-devil/ / Bron foto klein: http://www.tassiedevil.com.au/disease.html)

Project in Ladakh (India) om de bedreigde sneeuwluipaard te beschermen - In gebied worden camera's geplaatst om dieren te monitoren

Project launched to save endangered snow leopard

31-12-2009 ARIF SHAFI WANI, Greater Kashmir, India


Srinagar, Dec 31: The State Government has started work on an ambitious project to save the existing population of the endangered Snow Leopard in its bastion, the higher reaches of Ladakh with focus on its habitat improvement.

After receiving financial assistance from the Centre, the wildlife authorities have started work on the ‘Project Snow leopard’ in Ladakh. The project will span 3500 sq kms including Hemis High Altitude National Park in Ladakh.

Pertinently snow leopards are mostly found in mountainous regions of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim. Poached for its attractive fur, organs and bones, just 4500 to 7000 snow leopards left in the world and India is home to approximately 400 to 600 of them. However as sixty percent of snow leopards have been found in Ladakh region, it has been included in the Species Recovery Programme being funded through the umbrella scheme ‘Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitats’.

“We have completed micro-planning and identified the areas with huge concentration of leopards in Ladakh. Besides we have started the process to develop infrastructure and capacity building of staff,” wildlife warden Ladakh, Saleem-ul-Haq, told Greater Kashmir.

He said involvement of locals in the project, however, was imperative for its success. He said the department has approached wildlife experts from outside who will raise awareness about the leopard among the locals and the wildlife staff.

Officials said hundreds of tourists visit Ladakh only to see the snow leopard. “To cash on this aspect, the project has kept a provision for eco-tourism wherein the locals will host the tourists in their houses. This will serve dual purpose of promoting tourism and snow leopard conservation through community participation,” he said.

However, he maintained that leopards had no threat of poaching in Ladakh. “People here have strong religious beliefs and love for the wild animals. The only problem is that the leopards kill their livestock. We will stress on mitigating attacks on livestock,” he said.

The authorities plan to install special trap cameras in highly concentrated areas of the snow leopard. “The special cameras will record the leopards’ movement and help the scientists to understand their behaviour in their natural habitat,” he said and added this will help in long-term conservation measures.

Haq said freezing temperate was the only bottleneck for the project’s speedy implementation.
The project includes developing grazing and management policies along with promotion of conservation and education awareness initiatives. Besides construction of Nature interpretation Centre, the project endeavours procurement of high resolution digital cameras, survey and census gadgets and equipments for handling human-wild animal conflicts.

“One of the threats to the snow leopard is drastic decrease of its ungulate preys including wild sheep and goats. The project includes compensation packages for livestock depletion. It is mandatory to preserve the natural habitat of snow leopard for its conservation,” said Tahir Shawl a wildlife warden, who has worked extensively on the snow leopard.

Pertinently the Project Snow Leopard was launched in January this year. It is being undertaken in five Himalayan states including Jammu and Kashmir with the support from the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) and the Mysore based Nature Conservation Foundation.

The Ministry of Environment and Forests has sanctioned Rs 1.26 crore for the project. Importantly the Project Snow Leopard will be treated on a par with other flagship species programmes of the country such as Project Tiger and Project Elephant.

(Bron: http://www.greaterkashmir.com/)
(Bron foto: Greater Kashmir)

Jagers in Gelderland lappen in vorstperiode 'regels' aan hun laarzen - Dieren met drijfjacht opgejaagd....

De wilde dieren hebben het moeilijk in de winter,

maar de jacht gaat gewoon door

31-12-2009 Faunabescherming


In Gelderland wordt er weer volop "beheerd" tijdens de sneeuw- en vorstperiode. De provincie Gelderland vond het niet nodig de jacht te verbieden.

Men vertrouwde erop dat jagers de jacht niet nog verder in discrediet zouden brengen door dieren in de koude periode middels drijfjacht opzettelijk op te jagen en neer te schieten. Wildbeheereenheid De IJsselvallei organiseerde vlak vóór de Kerst een jachtpartij langs de IJssel bij Terwolde (zie foto's).

Wildbeheereenheid Midden Betuwe (Noord) was in de buurt van Maurik met boten in actie om ganzen in de rivier op te jagen die vervolgens in strijd met de provinciale voorschriften werden geschoten.

Bij de Boschhoeve nabij Wolfheze was een clubje jonge jagers van de wildbeheereenheid Zuid-Veluwe(West) bezig schade te bestrijden en het wild te tellen. Dat werd desgevraagd beweerd. Niettemin had een duidelijk beschaamde juffrouw een knuppel in de hand en twee mannetjes een geweer. De velden zijn nog deels met sneeuw bedekt en de grond is hard door de vorst. Plantjes van de kwekerij die normaal op de grond voor het grijpen staan, zijn binnen gehaald. Hazen zie je er nooit. Konijnen sporadisch.

(Bron: http://www.faunabescherming.nl/)
(Bron foto's: Faunabescherming)

Hertjes in Amsterdamse Waterleidingduinen zorgen voor veel 'commotie' onder bestuurders in regio

Roep om afschieten herten Waterleidingduinen

sterker

31-12-2009 Haarlems Dagblad


Bloemendaal - De roep om maatregelen tegen herten in de Waterleidingduinen wordt steeds sterker. Begin januari is er overleg tussen de provincies Noord- en Zuid-Holland en de gemeente Amsterdam over de situatie.

Niet alleen gedeputeerde Jaap Bond, ook de gemeenten Bloemendaal en Zandvoort klagen in toenemende mate over de herten en het uitblijven van maatregelen. Inmiddels is de organisatie Faunabescherming vorige week een tegenoffensief begonnen. Tegenstanders van de jacht worden verzocht een protestmail te sturen naar Jaap Bond en een steunbetuiging aan de Amsterdamse wethouder Maarten van Poelgeest. Amsterdam is eigenaar van de Waterleidingduinen en weigert tot nu toe de dieren af te schieten.
Op de gemeentelijke site waarschuwt Bloemendaal voor de gevaren van herten op de wegen langs het gebied. Met de toevoeging 'omdat de gemeente Amsterdam niet heeft willen ingrijpen'. Dit jaar zijn er zeker 43 ongevallen geweest met herten in de regio Kennemerland. Geadviseerd wordt goed op te letten en niet te hard te rijden, met name op de Boekenroodeweg, Brouwerskolkweg, Vogelenzangseweg, Zandvoortseweg en Zeeweg.

Sinds december 2008 is het aantal klachten over de herten sterk toegenomen. De dieren zwerven langs wegen en in tuinen en velden. De gevolgen van een botsing tussen hert en verkeer zijn groot. Het dier raakt vaak zwaar gewond en moet worden afgemaakt, of overlijdt meteen. Tot nu toe zijn er geen mensen verongelukt. Wel is 6 december een automobilist op de Duinlustweg gewond geraakt, toen hij een hert wilde ontwijken. Zijn auto raakte total loss.

Harm Niesen van Faunabescherming zet vraagtekens bij de roep om maatregelen. Volgens hem staat het namelijk helemaal niet vast dat het gaat om herten die uit de Waterleidingduinen komen. ,,De herten die de overlast veroorzaken zwerven rond op landgoederen. Om iedere eigenaar zover te krijgen dat ze meewerken aan afschieten is een heidens karwei. Veel makkelijker is het om de herten in de Waterleidingduinen de schuld te geven. Maar daar dieren afschieten is geen oplossing voor een probleem ergens anders.''

Bovendien zijn volgens Niesen nog andere maatregelen mogelijk. ,,Er staat welgeteld één waarschuwingsbord langs de Vogelenzangseweg. Wildspiegels zijn er niet. Herten zijn vrij traag en raken over het algemeen niet in paniek van auto's. Ik heb het gevoel dat er vaak te hard wordt gereden.''

Ook staan niet overal hoge hekken en ontbreekt het aan wildroosters.

(Bron: http://www.haarlemsdagblad.nl/)
(Bron foto: Haarlems Dagblad)

SHAC blikt terug op een succesvol actiejaar 2009 tegen Huntingdon Life Sciences

We will continue against HLS in 2010

31-12-2009 SHAC, UK


Every single day of the year, whether it be Christmas, Hanukkah, Solstice or New Year, workers at HLS continue to abuse, torture and kill animals inside their facilities. There is no holiday for these animals, nor will there be until we win once and for all.

In 2009, there was well over 900 protests in 25 countries on every inhabited continent on the planet. This was over 100 more protests than 2008, with 5 more countries joining the global movement to smash HLS. As well as this HLS were exposed yet again in late 2008, causing untold suffering to primates.

Later in 2009 they had the gall to lobby for the continuation of the use of wild caught primates in European laboratories.

As well as the increase in actions, 2009 has been a monumental year for the campaign, as strategic targeting of shareholders forced HLS' share price into free fall, resulting in a rushed buyout of the company by their own CEO Andrew Baker. This means that HLS are no longer on any stock exchange, and have no shareholders. When you consider how desperate HLS were to get onto the prestigious New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), to have now been forced to become a private company is the last thing they wanted. As can be seen from their own documentation by an independent financial consultancy, it happened because the only other option left to them was bankruptcy.

Just when things couldn't seem to get better (or worse if you are HLS!), SHAC made another huge breakthrough. In 2006 HLS were saved from imminent closure by a massive loan after Stevens Inc pulled out. HLS (and the new lender) were so keen to keep this a secret that a company in Luxembourg were employed to create an entirely fictitious company named Anchor Sub Funding. The lender set up a second front company called Progress to try and further muddy the waters. After 3 years of diligent research, SHAC traced both companies back to the Fortress Investment Group, based in New York. It is interesting to note that the Chairman of Fortress is Andrew Baker's next door neighbour!

In early 2009, HLS defaulted on a loan payment to Fortress and were once again teetering on bankruptcy. Unfortunately, Fortress let them off and have even extended the loan to HLS. If they were to call this loan back in, HLS would have very limited options left and hopefully be finished. On top of this, HLS' only other revenue, from operating profit from customers has continued to drop during 2009.

So as we enter 2010, we once again find ourselves armed with the knowledge we need to deliver a finishing blow to HLS, as all that stands between the animals and freedom are Fortress and HLS' top customers (AstraZeneca, Bayer and Novartis).

On behalf of the animals and our fellow activists and friends that have been imprisoned we extend our greatest thanks and respect to everyone who has helped over the last year. This campaign has been a long and hard one, but as long as the closure of HLS is a real possibility it will remain as focused and dedicated as the day it was conceived. There can be no quick fix to demolishing a multi-national company who have rather dubious governmental backing, but a
brief look over the historic and monumental victories of the SHAC campaign show how much can be achieved with commitment and passion. Every action you take could be the one that drives the final nail. With your help and strong belief for positive change for the animals this will continue in 2010.

Lets be the changing force we want to see for the animals...

“Never believe that a few caring people can’t change the world. For,
indeed, that’s all who ever have.” - Margaret Mead

Love and liberation, for total freedom.
SHAC

(Bron: http://www.shac.net/)

IFAW staat klaar om ruim 4000 dieren te evacueren uit gevarenzone rond werkende Mayon vulkaan, Legazpi (Filippijnen)

Getting Out of the Volcano Danger Zone

Thousands of Animals Await Evacuation From Mayon Volcano

31-12-2009 By MARGARET CONLEYLEGAZPI, Philippines, ABC News, USA


Aid organizations plan to evacuate more than 4,000 animals to fields outside the danger zone of Mayon, the Philippines' most active volcano.

The government designated them as a priority, although about 2,000 water buffalo, 1,000 cattle, 5,500 pigs, 19,000 poultry and 4,600 dogs are in need of immediate evacuation, according to the International Fund for Animal Welfare, which is on the ground in Legazpi.

"It's an incredible logistical challenge," Dick Green, the agency's emergency relief manager for disasters, said Tuesday. "Probably the biggest one I've ever had."

Behind him, water buffalo were being loaded into trucks, letters and numbers brushed in white paint on their bodies for authorities to keep track and owners to identify them.
"We can get 10 to 12 water buffalo in that truck," Green said. "That equates to over 400 round trips. The minimum round-trip time is 20 minutes from any of these shelters and probably closer to an hour each way."

In addition to such logistical challenges, aid organizations have run into resistance from farmers, some refusing to transport their animals because they rely on them to work their land, which is, in many cases, their only source of income.

The cost of a water buffalo, according to the International Fund for Animal Welfare, is about $500, depending on age, sex and weight. It takes one water buffalo about a week, at $8 a day, to till about 2.5 acres of rice paddy fields.

Economics aside, many farmers are wary of transporting their animals.
Salvador Perez watched Tuesday as his four cows were unloaded at an animal evacuation site; each receiving a multi-vitamin injection.

"We are not assured if it's really safe here because it's our first time," Perez said to ABC News, explaining that an evacuation of this scale has never been done before.
Perez was most worried about Janice, his water buffalo, who is 8 months pregnant. He was concerned that the stress of a transfer might cause a miscarriage.

In anticipation of families attempting to celebrate New Year's together back at home, Gov. Joey Salceda has tightened the screws within the danger zone.
In an effort Wednesday night to prevent residents within a 5-mile radius of Mayon from sneaking back to their homes, Salceda ordered the power supply to be cut off.

Governor: 'I'm Running Out of Time'

The governor said this morning he would cut off their water supply as well.
"I'm not running out of patience," Salceda said. "I'm running out of time."
The evacuation has affected more than 47,000 people, many of whom have been living in gymnasiums and schools for more than two weeks.

As Mayon's alert level lingers at the second highest level for the 12th day now, families have made the most of their time away from home.
Janice Mina, 29, rubbed her belly at a school site Tuesday; her third child due any day now.

Another 19-year-old mother coaxed her newborn baby in a classroom, where desks are pushed together to form make-shift beds.
A mid-sized tent set up on a school playground housed more than a dozen people.
Lessons will be given outdoors Monday, when classes are expected to restart.

Mayon has had nearly 50 eruptions in recorded history. The volcano watch, according to volcanologists, most closely resembles patterns from 1984, when there was a lull in activity before a violent eruption.
"You think you know her," said Eduardo Laguerta, resident volcanologist who has studied Mayon's recorded eruptions dating back to 1616, "but she is making you guess."

Miki Toda and Anna Cerezo contributed to this report.

(Bron: http://abcnews.go.com/)

Jell-O Enrichment for Squirrel Monkeys at the Bronx Zoo, New York (USA)

In the Bronx Zoos Monkey House, squirrel monkeys receive a holiday treatunlike anything theyve seen-or felt-before. Keepers offer them Jell-Owith blueberries, a jiggly concoction that immediately stimulates theirforaging instincts.

Nieuws ruiming schokt geitenhouder Stokkers in Drentse Hoogersmilde....

HOOGERSMILDE - Ruim 250 drachtige geiten van een geitenhouderij in Hoogersmilde worden volgende week maandag geruimd. Geitenhouder Chris Stokkers heeft dat bevestigd en zegt flink aangeslagen te zijn door het nieuws. Bij onderzoek door de Voedsel- en Warenautoriteit is in een melkmonster de Q-koorts-bacterie aangetroffen. Stokkers benadrukt dat niet is vastgesteld dat de dieren die nu geruimd worden daadwerkelijk Q-koorts hebben. Hij maakt zich grote zorgen over de toekomst van zijn bedrijf met in totaal 900 geiten.

Onbekende plaatst gedicht-monumentje in bos Sint Anthonis - Dichter herdenkt 120.000 vergaste varkens die in 1962 in de Staatsbossen zijn begraven

Boswachter niet blij met varkensmonumentje

31-12-2009 De Gelderlander


SINT ANTHONIS - Boswachter Frank van Kalleveen is niet gelukkig met het varkensmonumentje dat dichter Moqui in het Sint Anthonisbos heeft geplaatst. "Het is een sympathiek gebaar", zegt Van Kalleveen, "dat wel, maar je kunt niet zomaar overal borden met gedichten neerzetten.

Doe ik ook niet. Dan zou je dat toch op zijn minst even moeten overleggen met de grondeigenaar."

Van Kalleveen laat het bordje de komende dagen met rust, maar overlegt na het weekeinde met zijn collega's of het roestvrijstalen plateautje met de dichtregels bij de heide mag blijven. "En ik wil ook graag met de dichter in contact komen. Ik hoop dat hij contact met me opneemt."

Moqui, die met het gedicht Waanzin de 120.000 vergaste varkens herdenkt die in 1962 in de Staatsbossen zijn begraven, wil zijn identiteit niet prijsgeven. "Ik blijf anoniem. Dan wordt het voor de mensen nog interessanter. Dat moet ook. Daar is het onderwerp te belangrijk voor. Ook van mijn vader liggen daar varkens begraven. Vreselijk. Telkens als ik in de bossen kom, denk ik eraan. En ik kom er vaak. Het is de schande van de eeuw."

De dichter vindt het onbegrijpelijk dat mensen dieren zoiets aan kunnen doen. Daarom gebruikt hij Moqui als dekmantel. "Moqui betekent voor de indianen in Noord-Amerika trouwe vriend. Indianen zullen nooit zo massaal dieren doden. Terwijl de blanken dat bijvoorbeeld wel met hun bizons doen. Dat deden ze dus ook met varkens, koeien en nu ook met geiten. Ik schaam me dat ik een blanke ben. Ik hoop daarom dat de boswachter dit monumentje laat staan. Het hoort daar, precies op de plek waar al die varkens liggen. Dat mag niemand vergeten."

(Bron: http://www.gelderlander.nl/)
(Bron foto: Henk Baltussen/Gelderlander)

Kat redt familie tijdens brand woning Altshausen (Duitsland), maar komt zelf om in de vlammen

Brand: Katze rettet Familie und stirbt

31-12-2009 Suedkurier, Germany


Als in der Nacht zum Donnerstag ein Haus in Altshausen in Flammen stand, weckte eine Katze die Hausbewohner und bewahrte sie so vor dem Schlimmsten. Das Tier konnte sich aber nicht mehr retten und bezahlte seine Rettungsaktion mit dem Leben.

Nur mit dem Notdürftigsten bekleidet konnten sich die Bewohner aus dem ersten Obergeschoss des brennenden Hauses retten. Dass sie das Geschehen ohne größere gesundheitliche Schäden überstanden, haben sie ihrer Katze verdanken. Vermutlich wurde das Tier durch die starke Rauchentwicklung aktiv, sprang aufs Bett der schlafenden Bewohner und machte sie so auf den Brand aufmerksam. Das Tier schaffte es leider nicht, sich noch in Sicherheit zu bringen und bezahlte seine Rettungsaktion mit dem Leben.

Um 4.19 Uhr wurde die Feuerwehr alarmiert. Der Löschrupp fand zerborstene Fensterscheiben vor, Flammen schlugen aus der Wohnung, starke Rauchentwicklung. Im Erdgeschoß angetroffene Bewohner wurden geweckt. Die Feuerwehrleute verhinderten, dass das Feuer auf benachbarte Gebäude übergriff. Brennende Einrichtungsgegenstände wurden ins Freie geschafft und abgelöscht.

Neben Feuerwehr und Polizei ebenfalls vor Ort waren der stellvertretende Kreisbrandmeister Josef Wurm, Fahrzeuge der DRK-Rettungswachen Altshausen und Bad Saulgau mit Notärzten sowie Angehörige der Schnelleinsatzgruppe (SEG) der örtlichen DRK-Bereitschaft. Ein Vertreter des Bürgermeisters der Gemeinde Altshausen verschaffte sich ein Bild über Schadensausmaß und eingeleitete Maßnahmen. Bis zur Rückkehr in ihre Wohnung werden die geschädigten Hausbewohner von Verwandten aufgenommen.

(Bron: http://www.suedkurier.de/)
(Bron foto: Suedkurier)

In paar dagen tijd al bijna 8000 geiten afgemaakt

Bijna achtduizend geiten geruimd

31-12-2009 De Pers


In de strijd tegen de Q-koorts zijn er tot dusver 7754 geiten geruimd. Dat meldde het ministerie van Landbouw donderdag.

De afgelopen dagen zijn er negen bedrijven geruimd. Op oudjaarsdag wordt niet geruimd, zodat maandag het werk weer wordt hervat. Het ruimen van drachtige geiten begon vorige week. Het gaat voornamelijk om bedrijven in het zuiden en zuidoosten van het land.

(Bron: http://www.depers.nl/)

Brandweer vist twee kalfjes uit ijskoude water wetering in Alblasserdam

Kalfjes ternauwernood aan verdrinkingsdood

ontsnapt

31-12-2009 Klaroen


ALBLASSERDAM - Twee kalfjes zijn vannacht ternauwernood aan de dood ontsnapt doordat een oplettende voorbijganger de dieren opmerkte in de wetering aan het Boerenpad.

De beesten zijn waarschijnlijk losgebroken en daarna in het ijskoude water beland. De brandweer wist de twee loeiende jonkies snel op het droge te krijgen.

Even leek het erop dat één kalf de geest had gegeven. Het dier bleef versuft liggen, maar rende daarna plotseling zo hard weg dat hij in een andere, met ijs bedekte sloot terechtkwam. Na een tweede reddingsactie van de brandweer werd het kalf alsnog gered en toevertrouwd aan de boer. Die heeft zijn dieren verder verzorgd.

Het is niet de eerste keer dat op deze plek dieren te water zijn gegaan. Op 4 april dit jaar belandde op exact dezelfde plek ook al een kalfje in het water.

(Bron: http://www.klaroen.nl/)
(Bron foto's: Peter Stam/Klaroen)

'Den Haag' dumpt deze dagen grote hoeveelheid konijnen en cavia's op straat....

Opnieuw huisdieren gedumpt in Den Haag

31-12-2009 RTV West


DEN HAAG - Voor de tweede keer in vijf weken tijd is er een grote hoeveelheid konijnen en cavia's op straat achtergelaten.

In totaal werden negen konijnen en acht cavia's door hun baasjes gedumpt. De konijnen, waaronder drie Vlaamse reuzen, verkeren in redelijke gezondheid.

De cavia's waren er slechter aan toe. Twee van hen zijn ernstig ondervoed en hebben bijtwonden veroorzaakt door andere cavia's. De dieren zijn ondergebracht bij knaagdierenopvang Het Knagertje aan het Westhovenplein.

(Bron: http://www.westonline.nl/)
(Bron foto: RTV West)

Berucht Amerikaans circus Ringling Bros. wint rechtszaak - Rechter staat gebruik olifantenhaken toe: sporen bij paarden mogen ook.....

Judge rules for circus in elephant case

31-12-2009 Associated Press, The Sydney Morning Herald, Australia


A federal judge on Wednesday ruled in favour of the Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Circus in a case brought by animal rights activists who accused the circus of abusing elephants.

Animal rights groups contended the use of bullhooks and prolonged chaining of elephants violated federal law.

US District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan said former Ringling employee Tom Rider and the Animal Protection Institute did not have legal standing to sue the circus, owned by Feld Entertainment Inc.

Rider and the animal protection group brought the lawsuit under the Endangered Species Act.

During the six-week trial in February and March of 2009, the lawyer for the animal rights groups asked the judge to stop the circus from harming the elephants during performances and punishing them for bad behaviour. They alleged that the use of bullhooks and prolonged chaining violated the federal law.

Feld Entertainment argued that the animals are not hurt and that the instruments are necessary to keep the pachyderms under control and protect public safety.

At the time, the judge expressed some reluctance to police circus methods and asked how the prods and chains were different from spurs used on horses and whips with tigers.

Ringling Bros said during the trial it cannot have the Asian elephants without these instruments because there is no other proven way to keep the animals under control and protect their trainers and the viewing public.

Feld's lawyers said their elephants are healthy, alert and well-cared for, including those that travel with the show and those that live at the company's 80-hectare conservatory in Florida.

(Bron: http://news.smh.com.au/)
(Bron foto: http://www2.tbo.com/content/2009/dec/30/302220/judge-rules-ringling-bros-elephant-case/news-metro/)

Zwarte beren in Kashmir (India) voorzien van GPS-zenders - Onderzoekers willen gedrag bedreigde dieren bestuderen

Kashmir black bears fitted with satellite-tracking

collars

31-12-2009 Bombay News, India


Srinagar, Dec 31 : Black bears in Kashmir have been fitted with satellite-tracking collars for the first time to study their behaviour and help conserve the endangered species. This project is being run by the Wildlife Institute of India in Dachigam National Park.

This is the first time in India that black bears have been fitted with satellite collars. Authorities have started this drive from Kashmir valley.

Rashid Naqash, Wildlife Warden, Central Division, said that the main aim of this project is to study the behaviour of the bears.

"Wildlife Institute of India is running a project here and satellite- collaring is one of its inbuilt components. The main aim of this project is to study ecology and the behaviour of wild bears scientifically," said Naqash.

Once the bears are caught, their age, weight and sex are recorded and the tracking system is fitted before they are released back into the wild.
A transmitter in the collar sends a signal to a satellite which relays the location of the animal to ground stations.

A team of wildlife experts from Wildlife Institute of India has put collars on five black bears in collaboration with the Wildlife Department of Jammu and Kashmir.

Samina Amin, a researcher said: "Through satellite collaring we came to know how much the animals travel, how it uses its area and if it leaves the area, then why it leaves the area, all this we want to observe through this."
After fixing the satellite collars, experts track the movement on computers using the Google Earth software.

Such collars can also help in preventing bear attacks in the region.

Dachigam National Park is a fairly high-density area for black bears. The density is two animals per square kilometer.

(Bron: http://www.bombaynews.net/)

Weer vossen gevangen op Vlieland - Staatsbosbeheer bevestigt vangst twee vossen in uitgezette strikken

Twee Vlielander vossen gestrikt

31-12-2009 Leeuwarder Courant


VLIELAND - Met de uitgezette strikken zijn op Vlieland deze week weer twee vossen gevangen, zo bevestigt een woordvoerder van Staatsbosbeheer.

Inmiddels zijn op het eiland vier vossen op deze manier buitgemaakt. eerder al zijn er drie door jagers gedood.

Met een totaal van zeven omgebrachte dieren sluit Staatsbosbeheer niet uit dat de klus nu geklaard is, maar voor de zekerheid worden de vangstpogingen nog wel een tijdje voortgezet.

(Bron: http://www.leeuwardercourant.nl/)

Rechter op Puerto Rico houdt bouw primatenfokcentrum van Bioculture Ltd. Mauritius in Guayama tegen

Puerto Rico Residents Win Legal Victory in Monkey

Farm Fight

Judge Halts Construction After Senate Report Highlights Bioculture’s Misleading Claims and Permit Violations

31-12-2009 Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, Washington, USA


WASHINGTON—A judge today halted construction of a primate-breeding facility in the Puerto Rican town of Guayama that has raised serious health and environmental concerns among local residents.

The decision by Judge Juan Frau Escudero of Guayama’s Superior Court is the latest development in a lawsuit filed against Bioculture, Ltd., by Puerto Rico residents who say the company has not submitted a full environmental impact statement or held public hearings. Judge Escudero’s ruling, which cites irregularities in the permitting process, follows a report from the Puerto Rico Senate that found strong evidence that Bioculture supplied misleading and contradictory information to obtain permits for the project.

Bioculture, a Mauritius-based company that ships macaque monkeys around the world for use in product testing, wants to breed and sell monkeys for experimentation at the Guayama facility. But the company applied for an animal husbandry permit—meant for farmers intending to breed cows and other animals raised for food.

“Today’s ruling is a victory for the people of Guayama and for everyone concerned about safeguarding the environment and protecting primates from inhumane experiments,” said Debra Durham, Ph.D., a primatologist with the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, a Washington-based nonprofit organization. “It sends a message to Bioculture that Puerto Rico will not tolerate manipulation of its legal system.”

The Puerto Rican Senate’s report found that Bioculture “has had an extremely defiant and disrespectful attitude to the law, at least in parts of the process of obtaining the permits.”

“We conclude that the action and non-actions of the company with respect to the protection and integrity of the cultural, historic and archeological resources of the land has been absolutely inadmissible and reprehensible,” the Senate report said.

The proposed facility could pose serious risks to public health and the environment. Monkeys are likely to escape from Bioculture's Guayama facility. Such escapes could result in the establishment of another invasive species in Puerto Rico, adding to the serious problems already caused by patas monkeys and rhesus monkeys who also invaded the island by escaping from research facilities.

Strong concerns about the Bioculture project have been expressed by both local opponents of the facility and an international coalition of nonprofit health and animal protection organizations, including the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection, and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

Recent reports in the Journal of the American Medical Association and the British Medical Journal have criticized the usefulness of primate experiments, noting that they consistently fail to predict the safety and effectiveness of drugs in humans.

For a copy of the judge’s order in Spanish or to schedule an interview with Dr. Durham, contact Jeanne McVey at 202-686-2210, ext. 316, or jeannem@pcrm.org.

(Bron: http://www.pcrm.org/)
(Bron Google Earth: archief Kraaijer)

Animals Lebanon volgt transport circustijgers en -leeuwen op reis vanuit Egypte - Van alles mis met het circus en dierenwelzijn (1) (foto's hieronder)

Stop Circus abuse in Lebanon!

31-12-2009 Animals Lebanon, Lebanon


We woke up Christmas morning with an email alerting us to a shipment of lions and tigers that was on the Egyptian/Jordanian border and it was headed to Lebanon.

This shipment of six lions and three tigers is part of a circus that was coming here to perform for six months, and advertisements were put up throughout Beirut. The circus was supposed to start on 23 December, but it had been delayed repeatedly as the animals still had not arrived.

The Princess Alia Foundation went to the Aqaba border crossing with the Greater Amman Municipality on 25 December after being notified that the animals had been stuck on the border for days.

According to the report from the Princess Alia Foundation the shipment left its point of origin in Egypt on 21 December, and the Egyptian crew accompanying the shipment said the animals had been put in the crates approximately ten days before.

The shipment was delayed for two days on the border as the Egyptian crew did not have the proper paperwork to show they could continue the journey to Syria. The crew admitted that they had not provided food or water since they left their point of origin I Egypt as the owner of the animals did not provide them with money to purchase it.

Food and water were purchased by the Princess Alia Foundation and the officials from the Greater Amman Municipality after it became clear that the animals had not been fed or watered for at least two days. They the escorted the shipment to the Syria border, and the animals finally left Jordan at 13:20 on 26 December and headed into Syria.

More information from the Princess Alia Foundation is available here.

While we did inform two officials in the Ministry of Agriculture that this shipment was on its way and warned them that there were serious problems with the paperwork, unfortunately the animals were let in. They insisted that they were taking the matter seriously and would contact us once the animals arrived to the Lebanese border. Unfortunately we were not informed, and after getting the Ministry official on the phone he admitted that the shipment had already entered Lebanon and was at the circus already.

We raced to the circus grounds to document the animals as quickly as possible and check on their health, but found that the animals had still not arrived. After speaking to different circus staff and making a range of calls, we found out that the shipment had been stopped at the border as the crew did not have the proper documents.

Sitting in a nearby parking lot for hours, we began to wonder if the shipment was hidden somewhere until the circus was about to start as they were aware of the complaints about them that had started to come in. As it got dark, we finally saw the truck pull up at 19:45 on 27 December, six full days after the animals left their point of origin in Egypt.

We watched nearby for the next three hours as the trucks were slowly pulled around and equipment was offloaded from the two trucks carrying the animals. A crane lifted the two large crates containing the animals from the semi-trucks that had driven them from Egypt, and the animal crates were arranged behind the circus tent.

Early morning a report was prepared with the information we had so far, this was sent to the Ministry of Agriculture. We called in every favor and contact we had to make sure this information read the newly elected Minister and to try and get a meeting the next day.

The first performance of the circus was at 18:00 on 28 December, less than 24 hours after the end of this week long trip. Front row seats for $40 each were bought, and we sat through ninety minutes of circus performance, everything from clowns and jugglers, to acts with dogs and even audience participation with two large snakes.

The last act was of Mohamed Helou, the ‘lion tamer’ and person listed as the exporter from Egypt on the permits, as he forced the lions and tigers to perform from the audience. 20 minutes of lions and tigers jumping around, Helou screaming for them to act, as he waved to the crowd while sitting on one of the lions.

While we were at the performance we received a call that was nearly impossible to hear over the loud music of the circus. It was a struggle to understand but we soon realized it was the minister asking us to come to his office the next morning.

A follow up report was prepared with information gathered that day, and the Minister was very receptive to our information and stance on this issue. We were able to show point after point that regulations were not followed, not in Lebanon and most probably not in Egypt either.

The way the animals were transported does not meet even the most basic standards of guidelines for animal welfare. Most documents seemed incorrect or totally missing – CITES permits, health certificates, microchip details, veterinary booklets.

Lebanon is severely lacking in animal welfare legislation which makes it important to show the failures in the paperwork if we are to be able to save these animals. Sadly, the conditions of the animals were just as poor.

The information about the transport was bad enough, but we had also been informed by the Princess Alia Foundation that one of the lions, a female cub, had recently had her claws removed and she had not healed from this cruel surgery. Her paws were still bloody and raw, and it would be very difficult for them to heal properly because of the condition she was being transported in.

Based on the information we provided, the Minister sent us the same day with Ministry vets to check on the animals. Television crews and newspaper reporters were on hand as we entered the circus, and the situation became very tense and aggressive within minutes. We were stopped by Mohammed Helou and Hussein Akef – another organizer of the circus, as well as the local Lebanese organizer. There were arguments about cameras and filming, about whose authority we were there on, and who they would let into the circus grounds. The situation was finally calmed down a bit and we were able to get them to understand who we are and why we were there.

With the Ministry vets standing nearby, we asked to see the veterinary booklets for each animal. These could not be produced. We asked to see the microchip documents. These could not be produced. Helou and Akef went through the process of opening what looks to be newly purchased microchips, and peeled off nine stickers and claimed these were for the animals.

Asking to see the animals, they refused to allow anyone from the media to see the animals, and insisted we do not film or photograph. Eight adult animals were viewed for only a couple minutes, and while we are not vets and do not feel an assessment can be based on such minimal access, but there was no fresh bedding on site and no free access to water for any of the animals. They were still in the same small cages they had been in for over a week.

The lion cub was last, in a small metal cage covered by a plastic tarp. As tension had continued to build and we felt we already had enough information, we did not put up an argument to examine her paws. The night of the arrival we were able to get pictures which show the paws still bloody, and from the pictures taken in Jordan there is no way they could have healed in that time.

As we slowly worked our way back to the entrance of the circus on our way to leave, we pushed a few more times to see what papers actually exist. We were all surprised to see the assistant trainer come out with the cub in front of us and all the media. Helou and Akef stated that this was to prove they have nothing to hide and their animals are healthy.

What they didn’t realize if that a series of pictures show Helou pushing on the back paws to show the claws were still there, while Akef twist the front paws around and covered them from view. The first pictures show the paws clearly bloody and raw, and following pictures show Akef realizing this and covering them up.

These same people have been investigated repeatedly, and had all animals confiscated in early 2007 in Mozambique. A full report of this confiscation can be seen here, and the reasons for confiscation was no different than what is happening in Lebanon now.

More reports and meetings have been held with the Minister as we urge him to take appropriate action against the organizers and have the animals confiscated. This shipment could have been stopped long before ever entering Lebanon, but now is the opportunity for the Ministry to make a strong statement that Lebanon will no longer be used as a hub for smuggled animals.

Helou, Akef and other people at the circus repeatedly told us that we did not have permission to film or photograph anything at the circus. Despite this, we were able to document the arrival of the aniamls to the circus grounds in Beirut, the unloading of the crates late the night of the arrival, the baby lion hours before the first performance, the circus performance itself, and pictures of Helou and Akef.

We hope to be able to have a video available in the coming days, and an article in Al-Akhar newspaper can be seen here, and another in L’Orient Le Jour can be seen here.

(Bron: http://www.animalslebanon.org/)

Animals Lebanon volgt transport circustijgers en -leeuwen op reis vanuit Egypte - Van alles mis met het circus en dierenwelzijn (2)

Tv-babe Bridget Maasland woest op Italiaanse organisatie Save the Dogs - Maasland beschuldigd van onduidelijk financieel beheer st. Dutchy Puppy

Bridget Maasland woedend op hondenstichting

30-12-2009 van onze redactie, De Telegraaf


AMSTERDAM - Bridget Maasland is woedend op hondenorganisatie Save the Dogs, die Dutchy Puppy, de stichting van de presentatrice, ervan beticht onduidelijk beheer van financiën te voeren.

"Ze willen exclusiviteit en dat kan en wil ik ze niet geven", vertelt Bridget in Shownieuws. De Italiaanse organisatie, die zich inzet voor Roemeense zwerfhonden, zou Dutchy Puppy vaak hebben verzocht inzicht te geven in de besteding van donaties die zijn binnengekomen.

"Ik ga niet alles wat we binnenhalen aan één stichting geven, anders kunnen we net zo goed Save the Dogs gaan heten. Dutchy Puppy is een onafhankelijke stichting en we steunen wie we willen steunen."

De beschuldiging dat haar stichting niet kosjer met de donaties omgaat, verwijst een boze Bridget dan ook resoluut naar het rijk der fabelen. "We zijn zo transparant als het maar kan, en het maakt me furieus dat ze een stichting ten gronde willen richten omdat ze niet hun zin krijgen."

Volgens Bridget kan de organisatie hun tijd beter besteden. "Het is schandalig, ik begrijp het niet. Laten ze zich richten om honden, nu het zo koud is, een goede plek te geven."

(Bron: http://www.telegraaf.nl/)
(Bron foto: archief Kraaijer)

CDA toont weer eens dieronvriendelijke karakter: CDA Friesland niet blij met eierzoekverbod Fryske Gea

CDA niet blij met eierzoekverbod Fryske Gea

30-12-2009 CDA Friesland (28-12-2009)


De CDA Statenfractie Fryslân is niet blij met het net ingestelde eierzoekverbod van het Fryske Gea en heeft daarover schriftelijke vragen gesteld. CDA woordvoerder Fernande Teernstra: “Wij kunnen dit eierzoekverbod niet ondersteunen en we betreuren dat het Fryske Gea deze beslissing heeft genomen.”

De belangrijkste reden van het Fryske Gea voor het eierzoekverbod is om de achteruitgang van de vogelstand te vertragen. “Dat wordt door veel aspecten veroorzaakt; dit eierzoekverbod zal daarom waarschijnlijk niet de verwachte uitkomst geven,” aldus Teernstra. “Bovendien is het ljipaaisykjen onlosmakelijk verbonden met het duurzaam en omvangrijk beschermen van alle weidevogels. Door dit verbod kunnen de natuurbeschermende stimulansen van het ljipaaisykjen, met name ook voor de jeugd, verloren gaan.”

Het eierzoeken is onderdeel van de Friese cultuurhistorie. Teernstra: “Door dit besluit wordt dit steeds meer beperkt.” De CDA Statenfractie wil daarom graag weten wat Gedeputeerde Staten gaan doen om It Fryske Gea tot andere gedachten en een andere besluitvorming te brengen.

De schriftelijke vragen zijn gericht aan gedeputeerde Konst en luiden als volgt:

1. Bent u op de hoogte van het net ingestelde eierzoekverbod van ’t Fryske Gea?
2. Staat dit eierzoekverbod niet haaks op het ingezette Friese beleid en wat betekent dit of kan dit betekenen voor de opstelling van onder meer het ministerie van LNV?
3. Bent u het met ons eens dat de opstelling van It Fryske Gea niet bijdraagt aan de zo gewenste solidariteit die we met elkaar nastreven als het gaat om eierzoeken?
4. Eierzoeken is onderdeel van de Fryske cultuurhistorie (en erkend door de Raad van State).
Bent u het daarom met ons eens dat er derhalve een inspanningsverplichting bestaat om dit
te behouden?
5. Bent u het met ons eens dat hiermee het eierzoeken steeds meer beperkt wordt en hoe ziet u
de toekomst van het eierzoeken?
6. De belangrijkste reden van het Fryske Gea is om de achteruitgang van de vogelstand te
vertragen. Bent u het met ons eens dat dit door veel aspecten wordt veroorzaakt en dat het
eierzoekverbod waarschijnlijk niet de verwachte uitkomst zal geven?
7. Op welke wetenschappelijk onderbouwde gronden is het besluit van IFG gebaseerd?
8. Is het U bekend dat in sommige terreinen van IFG al geruime tijd niet gezocht mag worden,
maar dat desondanks het eierzoekverbod daar ook in sommige van die terreinen de stand van
de weidevogels terugloopt?
9. Het ljipaaisykjen is onlosmakelijk verbonden met het duurzaam en omvangrijk beschermen
van alle weidevogels. Vreest U ook dat door het verbod de natuurbeschermende stimulansen
van het ljipaaisykjen , met name ook voor de jeugd, hierdoor verloren gaan?
10. Wat gaat u doen om It Fryske Gea tot andere gedachten en een andere besluitvorming te brengen?
11. Welke instrumenten bent u bereid daarvoor in te zetten?
12. De burger mag ook van de natuur genieten. Opnieuw worden nu door IFG met gemeenschapsgeld aangekochte en onderhouden terreinen afgesloten voor de burger zonder, volgens onze informatie, wetenschappelijk onderbouwde motivatie. Wat gaat U hieraan doen?

(Bron: http://www.cda-fryslan.nl/)
(Bron foto: CDA Friesland)

Anti-bontactivisten VS publiceren meer gevoelige informatie over bontfokkerijen - Gegevens onthuld over tot nu toe onbekende nertsenfokker in Oregon

Birth of the Underground Intelligence Unit:

Activists Release More Sensitive Data

30-12-2009 — Negotiation Is Over, Simulposted with Voice of the Voiceless

By Peter Young

Fur Farm Intelligence Unit releases its second communique
In what may be an emerging trend, anonymous activists have made public even more sensitive fur industry info.

Just after The Blueprint was released, an anonymous communication surfaced on the internet from “The Fur Farm Intelligence Unit”, publicizing the address of “Cascade Farms“, a previously unknown Oregon mink farm. This information did not turn up in the 5-month Fur Farm Intelligence Project (see previous post), and is a crucial addition to the fur farm address database.

This week I will be adding this new info to an updated edition of The Blueprint.

This is the second communique from the Fur Farm Intelligence Unit, and may signal the birth of a new angle for clandestine animal liberation activity: leaking or otherwise exposing damaging intelligence on animal abuse industries. While the Animal Liberation Front focuses on liberating animals from imprisonment, The Fur Farm Intelligence Unit appears to focus on the dissemination of sensitive data which will have an indirect, but ultimately no less powerful impact on animal exploitation industries.

Why is this tactic important, and what is the value of an underground “Intelligence Unit”?

To date, the Fur Farm Intelligence Unit have issued two communiques:
The first took credit for the leaking of the complete list of attendees (most of them fur farmers) for the 2009 Canadian Mink Breeder’s show in Madison WI, including the hotel they were staying at, their hotel confirmation numbers, and dates the dates they would be at the conference (and away from their farms). Also included were addresses for several of the absent fur farmers. Read the full communique here.

The most recent surfaced this week, divulging the location of the Cascade Farms mink ranch in Turner, Oregon. The message also stated the farm is confirmed to be open as of December, 2009. This farm, one hour south of Portland, was previously unknown to the animal rights movement.

While only a stepping-stone to more powerful activism, I see tremendous strategic value in the continued use of the “Intelligence Unit” model. As was well-stated in the latest F.F.I.U. communique:
The fur industry thrives on secrecy and will go to great lengths to keep the addresses of these farms (and the infrastructure which support them) out of the sight of the public. It is our responsibility to expose the physical manifestations of institutionalized animal exploitation and bring them out of the darkness and into light.

The first F.F.I.U. communique, listing specific farmers and the nights they would be away from their farms, tread on more legally ambiguous territory, and the impact of this data was direct. Mink farmers finding their names, addresses, and the dates they would be away from home splashed across the internet had only three options: ignore it; solicit friends, family, or hired security to watch their farms; or stay home from the conference altogether. This simple leak of very privileged information almost certainly disrupted the mink breeder’s conference more than any protest ever could.

It will be important for activists using the “Intelligence Unit” design to avoid one pitfall: disseminating information that is internet-sourced, or otherwise non-privileged. When used to release actionable, damning, insider information, this tactic can be high-impact.

When used for exclusive, actionable information, I see the “Intelligence Unit” model to have a valuable role in the future of the animal liberation movement. Until now, there has been no established outreach device to anonymously release useful information on animal abuse industries to activists.

The future may well bring a Vivisection Intelligence Unit, Slaughterhouse Intelligence Unit, and more.

An updated edition of The Blueprint, with the new Fur Farm Intelligence Unit information, will be uploaded within the week.

-Peter Young

The full text of the latest Fur Farm Intelligence Unit communique is as follows:
“Previously Unpublished Oregon Fur Farm Address Confirmed.

Cascade Farms of Oregon
7582 Hunsaker Rd Se
Turner, Oregon
contact: Randy Lucas

Large mink farm (16+ sheds), two farm houses located just north of sheds.
Filed for renewal of Oregon Department of Agriculture (CAFO) permit fall of 2009. Confirmed open December of 2009.

This information unfortunately did not make it into the newly published document “The Blueprint”, which contains an updated list of US fur farms, fur research facilities, and fur equipment/feed suppliers.
[Download "The Blueprint" HERE]

The fur industry thrives on secrecy and will go to great lengths to keep the addresses of these farms (and the infrastructure which support them) out of the sight of the public. It is our responsibility to expose the physical manifestations of institutionalized animal exploitation and bring them out of the darkness and into light.

‘Delivering the final nail’
Fur Farm Intelligence Unit – Oregon”

Peter Young is NIO’s Senior Editor of Animal Liberation and the creator of VoiceOfTheVoiceless.org. Young is a veteran animal liberation activist and former political prisoner convicted for his role in liberating thousands of animals from fur farms across the country. Emerging from a grand jury indictment, 7 years of being wanted by the FBI, a federal prison sentence, and nearly 15 years in the animal liberation movement; today Peter is a frequent lecturer at universities and events, writer on liberation movements, and unapologetic supporter of those who work outside the law to achieve human, earth, and animal liberation.

(Bron: http://negotiationisover.com/)
(Bron foto's: Negotiation Is Over)

Geen sneeuwstorm of terrorist, maar vossen zorgen voor vertraging vlucht vanaf luchthaven Minneapolis (VS) - 2 Vossen te dicht bij landingsbaan

Foxes cause flight delay at MSP airport

30-12-2009 by Elizabeth Dunbar, Minnesota Public Radio, USA


St. Paul, Minn. — A brief flight delay at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport Wednesday morning had nothing to do with snowstorms or terrorism. Blame the foxes.

Two of them were spotted on the airport grounds, and one happened to get too close to a runway.

Airport officials to kept planes away from the runway for a couple minutes while they captured the fox in the runway safety zone. Officials were still looking for the other fox.

Airport spokesman Pat Hogan attributed the trespassing incident to the airport's close proximity to a state park and national wildlife refuge.

"We get a lot of animals that try to get into the airport, sometimes successfully," Hogan said, chuckling. "The gates will stop a vehicle but it won't necessarily stop an animal."

Foxes weren't the only animals causing Minnesota public safety officials to scramble on Wednesday. The State Patrol was called to Interstate 35E in downtown St. Paul Wednesday morning on reports of two dogs running south in the northbound lanes.

The dogs were off the road a few minutes later without incident.

MPR's Tim Nelson contributed to this report.

(Bron: http://minnesota.publicradio.org/)

Dog Escapes Being Dinner in Taiwan now at 'Island Dogz', Duncan, Vancouver Island, British Columbia (Canada)

DUNCAN - A Duncan based animal rescue group is fostering three dogs from Taiwan -- where they say the animals are being illegally farmed for food.
Among the rescued trio -- a four year old Siberian Husky who is getting used to life in Canada -- now that she's been rescued from a hellish existence and plans for an horrific death.

A walk in the park is still a new concept for 4 year old "Vixen". It's just one of the many things this beautiful Siberian Husky is adapting to since arriving on Vancouver Island just 2 weeks ago.

Physically, she's got a ways to go. Her hips are weak and her back legs are still a little bowed from life in a tiny cage. And she's losing some of her unhealthy weight too.

She was being fattened up - ready to be slaughtered and served up as an illegal delicacy in Taiwan.

According to animal rights groups, despite it being illegal in Taiwan to kill dogs for skin or meat - the laws are rarely enforced and an underground market still exists.

Vixen was rescued from a black market meat factory by a Taiwan based animal rescue group.

Vixen is one of 3 Taiwanese dogs being fostered by Island Dogz rescue based in Duncan.

All 3 are rehabilitated enough for adoption.

With luck, Vixen will find a forever home here - thousands of miles and a lifetime away from the hell she left behind.

Advocaten U.S. Global Exotics (VS) beschuldigen PETA-medewerker van verwaarlozen zorg slangen - Medewerker was undercover voor PETA

Attorney: PETA worker neglected snakes in his care

30-12-2009 The Associated Press, The Washington Post, USA


ARLINGTON, Texas -- Attorneys for an exotic animal dealer have accused an employee of intentionally neglecting animals to further his work as an undercover investigator for an animal rights group.

In a Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2009 photo, chinchillas are among the thousands of animals confiscated from U.S. Global Exotics in Arlington, Texas, on U.S. Global Exotics. Attorneys for Jasen and Vanessa Shaw, the owners of U.S. Global Exotics, have accused Howard Goldman of intentionally neglecting animals to further his work as an undercover investigator for PETA, an animal rights group. (AP Photo/Star-Telegram, Kelley Chinn, File) MAGS OUT (Kelley Chinn - AP)

Howard Goldman could have done more to provide food, water and care for the animals that he said were being mistreated, said Lance Evans, an attorney for Jasen and Vanessa Shaw, the owners of U.S. Global Exotics.

Instead, Goldman secretly took photos and made daily reports to send to People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, Evans said.

"He was more concerned about helping PETA achieve its goal of putting U.S. Global out of business than actually aiding any animals that he felt were in distress," Evans said. Goldman worked at the Arlington facility for seven months.

During that time, he did all he could to help the animals, PETA President Ingrid Newkirk said in a statement e-mailed to The Associated Press. She accused U.S. Global Exotics of trying "to pin the blame for a litany of horrors on the one person who actually cared about the animals."

U.S. Global Exotics is trying to regain custody of more than 26,000 animals seized by the city Dec. 15 after Goldman turned over evidence describing what he said was animal cruelty at the Internet-based company.

Arlington officials have said the raid turned up starving snakes, hundreds of reptiles packed in shipping crates and rodents that had killed and eaten each other.

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports an Arlington Municipal Court judge is expected this week to decide custody of the animals.

Goldman testified last week that PETA asked him to apply for a job at U.S. Global Exotics to investigate conditions. PETA paid him $135 for each day he turned in a report while working as snake caretaker.
Evans asked Goldman on why he did not follow a posted list of duties in the snake room and let snakes go for weeks without food or water or clean cages.

Goldman said 1,500 to 3,000 snakes were under his care at any given time. He said he did everything he could for the animals but the Shaws would not pay for the food, medical and other supplies he requested.

"We never had the proper amount of food. The snakes would go two or three weeks without even being offered food," Goldman testified. "There were days I found hundreds of snakes dead."

Paul Boiko, another U.S. Global employee, testified Monday that most animals were fed and watered regularly and a veterinarian visited once a week.

Boiko said some animals were not fed before being packaged to avoid problems during shipping. And, in a practice he described as standard in the industry, animals like turtles and iguanas were kept in cold conditions to force hibernation so they wouldn't eat or move much.

(Bron: http://www.washingtonpost.com/)
(Bron foto: Washington Post)

Turkse dierenrechtenactivisten demonstreren in Marmaris tegen slechte behandeling dieren dierenasiel - Laatste 3 jaar 140 dieren gedumpt rand stad

Activists protest Marmaris Municipality for animal

rights

30-12-2009 MUĞLA - Anatolia News Agency, Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey


Animal rights activists in the Aegean city of Muğla protested the Marmaris Municipality arguing that the animals kept in a shelter are not well taken care of.

Activists gathered on Tuesday in the Sınırsızlık Square of the resort city with their dogs and banners expressing that animals at the shelter are abused and half of them were left to die outside of Marmaris.

Speaking on behalf of the protestors, Türkan Dağdelen, chairwoman of the Friends of Animals Association’s, or HAYDOST, Ortaca branch argued that 140 animals have been abandoned outside the city in the last three years.”

“Although the municipality denies this fact arguing that the animals have been released in accordance with the laws and regulations, these animals have been abandoned in a deserted region with no chance of finding food,” Dağdelen told reporters. “If this country is ours, all the animals are ours, too. Today, we are here to support them. This is not only being done in Marmaris, the same situation is happening all around the country.”

Dağdelen asked Muğla Gov. Ahmet Altıparmak and Environment and Forestry Provincial Director Mehmet Şahin to act against municipalities that fail to fulfill their responsibilities.

Suna Ak, chairwoman of Marmaris Animal Protection Association, said some animals that should have been at the shelter were spotted around the İçmeler district and in the Hisarönü and Orhaniye villages. “The shelter used to have around 300 dogs,” she said. “Now there are hardly 100. The authorities claim that there are 150 dogs at the shelter, but they do not let us in the shelter to make a count.”

(Bron: http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/)
(Bron foto: Hurriyet Daily News)

Tientallen verwaarloosde honden, katten en vogels en dode dieren uit woning vrouw in Mount Vernon,Fairfax County, Virginia (VS), verwijderd

Dozens of animals, carcasses removed from Va.

woman's home

30-12-2009 By Clarence Williams and Martin Weil, Washington Post Staff Writer, Washington Post, USA


Fairfax County authorities removed dozens of dogs, cats, birds and dead animals from a house on a quiet Mount Vernon street Tuesday after neighbors complained of foul odors, a county police spokeswoman said.

Fairfax County officers remove debris, animals and carcasses from a house on Ramsgate Terrace. (Clarence Williams/the Washington Post)

Working under floodlights into the night, county employees in protective suits moved in and out of the house on Ramsgate Terrace, removing debris, animals and carcasses.

Neighbor David Kwasnik said the smell near the house had been "just unbelievable" at times. "It just got to the point that something needed to be done."

About two dozen cats, more than a dozen birds and several dogs were found alive. Several were malnourished and were taken for veterinary treatment, said Lucy Caldwell, a police spokeswoman. Authorities said that more than two dozen birds and small mammals such as gerbils and hamsters were found dead.

Megan Barber, 33, was charged by summons with animal cruelty and being an unfit animal owner, Caldwell said. A sticker was placed on the house declaring it uninhabitable. Barber was not at the house Tuesday night, and she could not be reached.

Authorities went to the house mid-morning and stayed throughout the day, carrying out cardboard boxes containing the carcasses.

Many people living on Ramsgate Terrace, a street of single-family houses near the Riverside Estates community, said they knew little about the woman or the animals in her house. One said that she kept a sticker on her car promoting animal rescue.

The incident is reminiscent of cases of animal hoarding reported in the Washington area in the past few years. In one, an 82-year-old woman was found to have 488 cats -- 222 of them dead -- in her home in July 2005.

After that incident, several more cases of animal hoarding were brought to authorities' attention, said John Yetman, a former head of the Fairfax hoarding task force.

But the complaints subsided, Yetman said, and a considerable period went by without reports of large-scale hoarding.

(Bron: http://www.washingtonpost.com/)
(Bron foto: Washington Post)

Ontevreden geitenfokkers richten vakbond op - 1e Doel is opheffing algeheel fokverbod tot 1 juli 2010

Nieuwe vakbond ontevreden geitenfokkers

30-12-2009 door Henk Mees, BN/De Stem


DEN BOSCH - Het ongenoegen bij geitenhouders over de maatregelen tegen Q-koorts heeft geleid tot de oprichting van een vakbond.

Opheffing van het algehele fokverbod tot 1 juli 2010 is het eerste doel van deze vakbond, de Nederlandse Geitenhouders Vakbond (NGHV).

,,De instanties die onze belangen behartigen zoals LTO en ZLTO moeten zich harder opstellen, ze doen niet genoeg naar onze zin en zijn veel te gemakkelijk overstag gegaan", zegt een van drie initiatiefnemers die vooralsnog onbekend wil blijven.

LTO bestrijdt de kritiek. "We hebben een maand eerder een eigen plan op tafel gelegd", zegt scheidend voorzitter Jan van Lokven van de vakgroep LTO Geitenhouderij.

"Een van de kernpunten daarvan was vaccinatie, testen en hertesten van alle dieren. Het bericht dat de test niet waterdicht zou zijn, kwam ook voor ons volkomen onverwacht. Aansluitend zijn door de politiek zeer drastische maatregelen genomen en de Tweede Kamer heeft zich daarachter geschaard."

Volgens de oprichters van de vakbond dreigen er grote financiële problemen in de geitensector als het fokverbod voor alle bedrijven met meer dan vijftig geiten in stand blijft.

Ook eisen de initiatiefnemers dat er een eind komt aan het ruimen van niet-zieke dieren op besmette bedrijven.

(Bron: http://www.bndestem.nl/)

Komt er in 2010 in Engeland een einde aan het verbod op traditionele vossenjacht?

Will 2010 see an end to the hunting ban?



30-12-2009 This Is North Devon, UK





HUNDREDS gathered across North Devon to watch the annual Boxing Day Hunts — which hunt supporters hope could be the last of their kind under the legislation which outlawed the sport. Fans of hunting are hoping a new government will repeal the Hunting Act, which came into force in 2004, banning traditional fox hunting methods.

The Act instead allows "exempt hunting" — using a pair of hounds to flush a fox to guns. Hunts are also allowed to use their packs to follow a trail.



If the Conservative Party win the general election, which has to take place before May 2010, David Cameron has said he will offer a free vote in government time for repeal of the ban.



Tod Marshman, chairman of the Torrington Farmers' Hunt, said he believed 100% of the hunt's members would like to see the ban lifted.

He said: "Because the Hunting Act is not well drafted nobody knows with great clarity where the law stands.

"Hounds follow their instincts rather than what they are told. If they smell something exciting they are away and getting them back can be very difficult.

"Although we lay trails we always worry there will be an accident and a repeal in the law would remove this worry.

"If something goes wrong you don't want to break the law, but sticking with it can be tricky when you're relying on natural instincts and elements."



Alan Briggs, of Bideford, is a member of the League Against Cruel Sports and admits the Act has "loose ends", but feels it has had an effect.

He said: "We are concerned about the possibility of the Act being repealed, but we're going to fight this as hard as we can and I hope the ban will continue.

"I just can't understand why people want to do this (hunt) and hurt animals."



But the RSPCA believes the Act, which will be five years old in February, is working well.

John Rolls, RSPCA director of Animal Welfare Promotion, said 48 people were found guilty of offences under the Hunting Act in 2007.

Mr Rolls said: "Hunting wild animals to a cruel and pointless death for sport is no longer tolerated by modern Britain — thankfully it is now an enforceable crime."

Thousands brave sub zero temperatures to support Boxing Day hunts, as campaigners call for a vote to scrap the Hunting ActJoint master of the Tynedale Hunt Frank Houghton-Brown said he hoped a new Government would overturn the hunting ban. (JournalLive for North East news. Read the latest from The Journal newspaper covering Newcastle, Tyne and Wear, Northumberland all areas across the Northeast.)

Hunting's popularity has grown since the Act came into force according to local hunt meets.

Mr Marshman added: "Hunting is more popular than ever. We have had more people at the Boxing Day Hunt than we did 10 years ago.

"It is an illogical thing — the sport becomes an endangered species so everybody wants to see it."

Tony Wright, of the Exmoor Foxhounds, was the first huntsman to be prosecuted under the Act, but his conviction was overturned by the High Court earlier this year.



Boxing Day Hunts took place in Torrington and the Tetcott Hunt met in Holsworthy Square on Boxing Day and will be outside The Tree Inn in Stratton on New Year's Day.

(Bron:

http://www.thisisnorthdevon.co.uk)

(Bron foto: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1101944/Record-300-000-traditional-Boxing-Day-hunts-making-mockery-ban.html)