Mystery ‘Buckshaw Beast’ Pictured

Daily Mail:

Some say it resembles a prowling hyena, others a ferocious wolf.
While there are those who have seen the mysterious creature menacing Buckshaw Village and describe it as a terrifying cross between a wild boar and some kind of big cat.
Whatever it is, it has been blamed for mauling several deer to death, and one resident’s Alsatian dogs were left quivering with fear after a particularly close encounter.
Now one intrepid villager has taken a photograph of what locals have dubbed the Buckshaw Beast, sparking a feverish online debate about what exactly it might be…

Wildlife Crime Lessons To Be Offered To Schools

BBC News:

Schools are to be offered lessons on wildlife crime as part of efforts to tackle the illegal killing of animals.

Police, the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS) and Partnership for Action Against Wildlife Crime (Paw) have worked on the education programme…

Cat Famed For Catching The Bus Has Died After Being Hit By A Car

Telegraph:

A cat who earned worldwide fame for taking free bus rides in Plymouth, Devon, has died after being struck by a car…

Cambridgeshire Dog Could Be Oldest In World

BBC News:

A mongrel terrier-cross rescued from a Cambridgeshire dog pound more than 19 years ago could be the oldest dog in the world, it has been claimed…

Relief Effort Underway For Haiti’s Animals Too

USA Today:

Several U.S. and international welfare groups have banded together to help animals in Haiti, but it’ll probably be three weeks before any aid workers are sent.

The relief effort, headed by the International Fund for Animal Welfare and the World Society for the Protection of Animals, is staging in the Dominican Republic, gathering supplies and stocking a mobile clinic to treat injured animals and vaccinate against potential outbreaks of disease.

Scientists Buried Pigs Alive In Snow Then Left Them To Die

Daily Mail:

Scientists have abandoned an experiment in which pigs were buried alive in snow and left to die after protests from animal lovers.

Researchers in the Austrian Alps wanted to study the effects of being caught in an avalanche and chose pigs because of their biological similarity to humans.

Some were completely submerged and others were buried up to the neck, and the time they took to die recorded…

Wallaby Brings Blackpool Traffic To A Standstill

Telegraph:

Motorway traffic was brought to a standstill in Blackpool on Sunday as police attempted to catch an escaped wallaby. The animal, which is privately owned, was seen bouncing down a road near to Junction 4 of the M55. Police slowed traffic while RSPCA inspectors attempted to catch the animal…

Dog Breeding Industry Set For A Shake-Up

Daily Mail:

Dog breeders are facing a tightened regulations in an effort to end inbreeding in the industry.                                              The move follows a critical documentary aired by the BBC, as well as the brodcaster’s refusal to air last year’s Crufts show.

Slimmer Dog Can Walk Again

BBC News:

A dog which weighed the same as an average six-year-old child is able to walk again after shedding more than a third of his bodyweight.

Six-year-old Beagle Cross, Patch, was 4st 7lb (28.45kg) when he was brought to the Dogs Trust re-homing centre in Glasgow at the end of 2008.

After a year of dieting and exercise under the care of the MacLean family in Motherwell he weighs 2st 13lb (18kg)…

Detroit Zoo Aids Rescued Animals

Freep:

The Detroit Zoo is helping officials in Texas treat thousands of animals, many of them seriously ill, that were seized in what’s believed to be the largest animal rescue in U.S. history last month.

More than 27,000 animals were saved in a Dec. 15 raid of an Arlington, Texas, exotic-animal dealer, zoo spokeswoman Patricia Janeway said Tuesday…