Gothic Kittens Seized

Sky News: 

Animal protection officers have seized “gothic kittens” with piercings which were being advertised for sale on the internet.

The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals removed three kittens and a cat from a home outside Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania…

Animal Lover Leaves Millions To Animal Charities

Animal lover Grace Smith from a village in Moray has left millions of pounds to animal charities in her will. £3.5 million of her fortune was left to the Dogs Trust.

Full story: BBC News

MEPs Get Ready To Debate Europe’s New Draft Animal Experiments Directive

Dr. Hadwen  Trust:

The Dr Hadwen Trust for Humane Research welcomes news that MEP discussions on Europe’s new draft ‘animal experiments directive’ will finally begin, now that a rapporteur and lead Committee have been allocated. Directive 86/609/EEC is 20 years old1 in which time an estimated 235 million animals have been used in experiments across Europe2. Progress on a much-needed update has been continually delayed. Europe must better protect these animals and commit to a targeted strategy to replace them with alternatives, says the Dr Hadwen Trust.

More than 12 million animals are used in EU labs each year3 . The European Commission published its draft proposal for a revised Directive in November this year. It contains many positive proposals such as a ban on the use of great apes, greater restrictions on the use of non-human primates and widening the scope of the Directive to cover animals used for basic medical research, education and training. A harmonised process to ethically review and prospectively authorise all animal research in the member states has also been proposed4 .

Political disagreements have delayed progress on the draft Directive for many months. There were concerns amongst animal advocates that disagreements over which European Parliament Committee should take the lead in discussions, would further delay the process. However the Dr Hadwen Trust is relieved that UK Conservative MEP Neil Parish has finally been allocated as rapporteur and is set to begin discussions shortly.

“The Dr Hadwen Trust is greatly relieved that the years of delay are finally over and we can start the process of trying to win a better deal for Europe’s laboratory animals.” says Emily McIvor, Policy Director at the Dr Hadwen Trust. “This is a major milestone meaning that MEPs can at last begin debating the issues. We are confident that Neil Parish can drive the process forward and ensure that a new Directive really does improve the lives of animals. Most importantly we’re hoping to see Europe commit to a strategy to replace animal use with more advanced non-animal techniques. That would make a massive difference to improving animal welfare and medical progress.”

The Dr Hadwen Trust is leading the campaign for an EU-wide strategy to vastly increase investment in new non-animal replacement methods through the new EU legislation. In May this year the charity brought world renowned primatologist Dr Jane Goodall DBE5 to the European Parliament to hand in a 150,000 signature petition from citizens in thirteen member states calling for greater action on alternatives including the creation of an EU Centre of Excellence in replacement research.

It is vital that MEPs reach first reading before the June 2009 European elections, or further delay could follow.

Notes

1 Council Directive 86/609/EEC of 24 November 1986 on the approximation of laws and administrative provisions of the Member States regarding the protection of animals used for experimental and other scientific purposes.

2 Calculation: the average number of animals used each year based on official statistics published by the EU Commission every three years, multiplied by the number of years between 1987-2007.

3 12.1 million animals were used in EU experiments in 2005; Fifth Report on the Statistics on the Number of Animals used for Experimental and other Scientific Purposes in the Member States of the European Union published 5/11/2007 (these are the most recent EU wide statistics available).

4 Link to the proposal http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:52008PC0543:EN:NOT

5 Jane Goodall PhD, DBE is the founder of the Jane Goodall Institute and a UN Messenger of Peace. www.janegoodall.org

My Dog Doesn’t Match My Sofa

Reuters: 

Pets that owners can no longer afford to keep are being dumped at Battersea Dogs Home, leaving the refuge at bursting point. The shelter says it has taken in 1000 more animals this year compared to this time in 2007.

Another well known shelter The Dogs Trust recently compiled a list of weird reasons for dogs being returned to them which includes: ‘My dog doesn’t match the sofa’.

RSPCA – Teenager Sentanced In Dog Fight Case

RSPCA: 

A 19-year-old Birmingham man has been banned from keeping animals for life after he admitted breeding and supplying dog fighters with pit bull-types, in a case brought by the RSPCA…

Hegehog Fosterers Needed

West Midlands Hedgehog Rescue’s ‘hosprickal’ is full. The Walsall based rescue centre is appealing for hog fosterers. For more information visit their blog, contact details can be found on their website.

Mutts Like Us

Frances Bartkowski, author of Kissing Cousins: A New Kinship Bestiary has just posted “Mutts Like Us” on the Columbia University Press Blog.

In the post, Bartkowski begins by discussing Obama’s recent statement about buying a shelter dog for his family since they tend “to be mutts like me.” In establishing a link between humans and animals, Obama underscores the kinship between humans and animals. Bartkowski argues in the post and in her book that these human-animal connections allows us to develop an appropriate ethical framework for today’s world.

The British Hedgehog Preservation Society Inundated With Calls

Hedgehog Blog: 

The British Hedgehog Preservation Society has been inundated with calls for help from concerned members of the public who are finding hedgehogs that haven’t yet hibernated.

These hedgehogs are often too small or poorly to survive a hibernation without help, but some just need feeding up in the garden, the Society has issued a checklist to help people decide if they need to intervene of not…

Elephant Trade Hotspot

WWF: 

Asian Elephants are being smuggled from Myanmar into neighbouring Thailand for “elephant trekking” tourism, a new report by the wildlife trade monitoring network TRAFFIC reveals today.

Over the last decade around 250 live elephants have been smuggled out of the country and the species also faces the threat of continuing illegal trade in ivory. TRAFFIC surveyed 14 markets in Myanmar and three border markets in Thailand and China finding 9000 pieces of ivory and 16 whole tusks for sale.

Retailers generally displayed ivory and other elephant parts quite openly and rarely hesitated in disclosing smuggling techniques and other illegal activities to TRAFFIC staff posing as potential buyers.

Chris Shepherd, Senior Programme Officer with TRAFFIC said the report confirmed a serious lack of law enforcement and a blatant disregard for international conventions and national laws in Myanmar and neighbouring states. The smuggling of live elephants, ivory and other elephant parts out of Myanmar and into neighbouring China and Thailand is also in contravention of CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora).

“Females and juvenile elephants are particularly targeted to supply the demand from the tourism industry in Thailand, where they are put to work in elephant trekking centres,” said Shepherd. “Our research found evidence of corruption allowing the illicit smuggling of ivory and elephants to take place.”

No cross-border trade of live elephants has been reported to CITES by either Myanmar or Thailand. Some of the traders questioned claimed elephants had disappeared from parts of Myanmar, despite suitable habitat remaining, because they had been captured for the live trade.

“Anecdotal reports of elephant disappearances, together with the large volume of ivory and elephant parts consistently observed for sale at markets over a period of several years suggests that trade poses a significant threat to the survival of Asian Elephants in Myanmar,” said Vincent Nijman, a co-author of the report.

TRAFFIC and WWF call on authorities in Myanmar to work closely with enforcement officers in neighbouring Thailand and China to address the illegal trade in live elephants and ivory. Both Thailand and Myanmar are also members of the ASEAN Wildlife Enforcement Network, a regional network established to promote cross-border collaboration to tackle illegal wildlife trade.

“Thailand and China must do much more to increase enforcement and crack down on this insidious trade,” said Susan Lieberman, Director of WWF International’s Species Programme.

Nigella Lawson Angers Animal Rights’ Groups

Tuesday’s episode of BBC’s The One Show debated whether fur should be banned in fashion. Guest that evening Nigella Lawson angered animal rights’ groups by saying:

“I feel going into a shop and buying a fur coat would be an act of weakness but if I could go out into the woods and kill a bear myself, I would then wear it proudly as a trophy.”

Full article: Telegraph