Guest Post

For those of us who love animals, it is difficult to comprehend how anyone could harm a poor defenseless animal, but unfortunately there are many people in the world who do not think twice about abusing the pets that have done nothing more than offer unconditional trust and love. Every year, the RSPCA investigate over 150,000 cases of animal cruelty in the UK and that is only the cases that are reported – many more go unnoticed because animals cannot speak up for themselves.

Will You Speak Up?

If you know, or suspect, that someone is mistreating an animal then it falls to you to do something about it. There are too many people out there turning a blind eye to animal cruelty because they assume that it is either none of their business or that someone else will make the call. I often urge people to consider what they would do if they saw a baby being beaten and often the answer is cll the police, so why not do the same for a puppy? The principle is the same – neither can defend themselves or call for help.

In an ideal world, we wouldn’t have to report animal abuse, because it would be eradicated, but that is unlikely to happen. However, if everyone did their part to help prevent animal abuse then we could certainly reduce the problem. There are lots of ways to get involved in the fight against animal cruelty and some of them are outlined below.

Education Is The Key

One of the best way to prevent cruelty to animals is to teach children to respect animals. If young children see their parents, or other adults being cruel to an animal then they are likely to grow up doing the exact same thing. It is important to educate children to be kind to animals and to treat them with respect.

Responsible pet ownership is something that can be promoted from a very early age and is more important than many people think. Often violence towards pets at a young age is an early indication of potential violence to people as the child grows into an adult. If they are taught early on that violence towards anyone (human or animal) is inappropriate then it could avoid future incidents.

Why stop at educating your own kids? It is a great idea to participate in community education projects in schools and other venues to help raise awareness of the need for responsible pet owner ship.

Say No To Puppy Farms

One big problem in the pet industry is the increase in puppy mills/farms. There are many pet stores who sell pups bred in these places where dogs are kept in cruel conditions, over-bred and separated from their mothers at a dangerously young age. It is recommended that puppies are only purchased from reputable, registered breeders or that a pet is adopted through an animal shelter or rescue center. It is easy to think that you are saving an animal by buying from a puppy mill, but in reality you are only keeping them in business. If you have any suspicions about a puppy farm then you must report them at once to local authorities.

Donate Your Time

Lastly, one of the main ways you can help prevent animal cruelty is to do some voluntary work for a local animal charity or rescue center. Shelters are crying out for volunteers and even a commitment of just an hour or two a week can help. There are few formal skills required and there are plenty of jobs like feeding the rescued animals, walking the dogs or even just spending some time petting and playing with the animals. This is especially important as it helps to rebuild the animals trust in humans again which is a must if they are to be successfully re-homed.

This is by no means an exhaustive list of all of the ways you can help to prevent animal abuse, but it should hopefully give you some ideas to think about. You may only be one person, but one person can make a huge difference.

Scot Parris writes for rspca.org.uk the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals which is one of the biggest UK charities. Scot’s current mission is to educate people about making sure everything is legitimate when they see puppies for sale so that we can put a stop to puppy mills and backyard breeding.

Observer:

Retired oil industry executive David Pooley, 64, spent three years and hundreds of thousands of pounds restoring Sotshole Broad in Norfolk.

The previously lifeless and shrinking lake between Norwich and Great Yarmouth is now home to kingfishers, otters and fish.

But the Broads Authority is threatening legal action because it says Mr Pooley has “suburbanised” the 60-acre beauty spot by putting in wooden piling and building paths and a boardwalk….

Independent:

Justin Bieber’s pet monkey is set to become property of Germany after the Canadian pop star failed to produce the correct vaccination and import papers for the animal…

Orangutan SOS:

There are plans to wipe 1.2 million hectares of forest off the map in Sumatra, replacing some of the most biodiverse rainforests in the world with gold mines, oil palm plantations, logging, and roads

These forests are the only place on Earth where orangutans, tigers, elephants and rhinos co-exist – and all are critically endangered.

Experts have warned that if these plans go ahead, all these iconic species could face extinction within 10 to 20 years.

The scale of the proposed destruction is catastrophic – we must convince the Government to abandon these plans immediately.

This is a conservation emergency and we need your help urgently.
Please donate and sign the petition today, and please ask everyone in your networks to do the same.

Wildlife Extra:

Gray whales, Eschrichtius robustus, range in the high Arctic (Pacific) and northern Pacific Oceans, venturing as far south as Baja California and Mexico on the west coast of America and the Korean Peninsula to breed in summer. Gray whales did occur in the North Atlantic Ocean, but was hunted to extinction in the 1700′s, but was never known to venture south of the equator. Or so we thought…

Wales Online:

The use of animals in scientific experiments by Welsh universities has increased 83% over the past three years – with more than 180,000 creatures used in total.

Four Welsh universities – Cardiff University, Swansea University, Aberystwyth University and Bangor University – experimented on animals.

Figures released under Freedom of Information show that in total 84,249 were used last year, compared with 54,169 in 2011 and 45,862 in 2010…

On behalf of PETA, acclaimed novelist JM Coetzee, winner of the 2003 Nobel Prize in Literature, has sent an urgent letter to the members of Spain’s Culture Committee calling on them to reject the current initiative, proposed by bullfighting aficionados, to give bullfighting legal protection as a “cultural pastime”. In the letter, Coetzee points out that bullfighting is nothing more than a cruel relic of a bygone era.

“[Bullfighting] is a violent, bloody spectacle – a throwback to a time when people took no heed of the feelings of animals”, writes Coetzee. “Tormenting and butchering bulls for entertainment belongs in the Dark Ages – not in 21st century Spain.”

Every year, more than 40,000 bulls are slaughtered during Spanish bullfights. In a typical bullfight, lances are driven into a bull’s back and neck muscles, resulting in significant blood loss. Banderillas – bright sticks with harpoon points – are then stabbed into the bull’s back. The dying animal is finally stabbed to death. Sometimes the bulls are paralysed – but still conscious – as they are chained by their horns and dragged out of the arena. Seventy-six per cent of Spaniards say that they have no interest in this barbaric ritual, and the industry survives only because of subsidies from Spanish and EU taxpayers. Any move to protect bullfighting would be a huge step backwards.

This isn’t the first time that Coetzee has spoken out against animal abuse. He also worked with PETA Asia in its fight to end the systematic abuse of baby elephants in Thailand and asked the EU to implement a ban on bullfighting throughout Europe.

For more information and to view his letter, please visit PETA.org.uk.

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a devastating condition leading to dementia and ultimately death. The disease is becoming more common in our society causing suffering to the people it affects, their families and the animals who are used in research, yet we still do not fully understand the causes of the disease.

Traditional research often uses animal models. The use of these animal models requires the breeding and killing of a huge number of rats and mice to enable neurons to be grown in culture for research experiments.

The DHT is funding a project, by Dr Robin Williams at the Royal Holloway University, that uses an animal-replacement model to enhance the molecular understanding of several proteins shown to be important in inherited Alzheimer’s disease. This research will advance the scientific knowledge of this debilitating form of dementia and may provide critical insights into improved treatments and care. You can read more about it here.

Wales Online:

It could be the plot of a heart-wrenching Disney tale –  an orphaned badger who follows an animal lover and his dog to safety on a Welsh hillside.

But the lost cub found in Prestatyn in Clwyd, is now finding solace with three other orphaned cubs found across the UK in recent weeks.

United in their abandonment, and too tiny to survive without help, the cubs are being nurtured at an RSPCA centre in Cheshire…

Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is proud to announce the launch of Operation Reef Defense, a global campaign to end the destruction of coral reefs and the many threats they face worldwide. Coral reefs represent some of the planet’s most biologically diverse ecosystems providing critical habitat to approximately 25 percent of all marine species, but they are disappearing at an alarming rate due to human-induced activities such as pollution, overfishing, reef wildlife trafficking, coastal development and global warming. Thirty percent of the world’s coral reefs have died in the last 50 years, and another 30 percent have suffered severe damage. Of the reefs remaining, it is estimated that 60 percent could face extinction in less than 25 years.

According to Sea Shepherd Hawaii Director & Reef Defense Campaign Leader, Deborah Bassett, “With the oceans of the world under attack from commercial extraction and pollution, our mission remains steadfast to defend marine habitat and wildlife to the fullest extent — from the smallest of reef species to the largest marine mammals and apex predators. Time is running out for these great rain forests under the sea, so we must act now.”

Although Sea Shepherd is best known for its direct action efforts on the high seas, Sea Shepherd remains committed to protecting marine wildlife in all habitats, including the coastal awareness campaign orchestrated for Operation Reef Defense. Sea Shepherd plans to collaborate with Hawaiian dive shops and the surfing community to bring light to the destruction happening beneath the waves. With the campaign currently underway in Hawaii, Sea Shepherd’s global chapters will soon mirror similar programs in their local waters.

Reef degradation is a global crisis. Of the 100 countries with coral reefs, reef degradation is highest in Southeast Asia where nearly 95 percent of the region’s reefs are threatened, mainly due to overfishing and destructive fishing practices. The loss of underwater life and habitat is also ever-present in our own backyard of Hawaii, where the top ten sought-after species of fish for aquariums have decreased by 59 percent over the last 20 years, while the most popular aquarium fish has declined in abundance from 38 to 57 percent. In Jamaica, it is estimated that almost all of the reefs are dead or severely degraded from overfishing and coastal pollution.

Sea Shepherd’s Vice President Robert Wintner, a veteran campaigner against the aquarium trade and its devastating impact to Hawaiian reefs stated, “Sea Shepherd will champion marine habitat and wildlife from the ravages of urban and corporate effluent and the destruction caused by the aquarium trade. Massive reef wildlife dies every year as disposable ornamentation in the vicious cycle of wildlife trafficking for the pet trade. Death generates continuing demand, driving the aquarium trade to strip reefs bare. Over 25 million sea creatures are in the commercial aquarium pipeline at any given moment – and nearly all will die within a year from the point of capture.”

“Sea Shepherd is very much concerned for this wildlife and needs public support to translate these concerns into action. We may lose support from people who keep captive marine wildlife for a hobby, but as Captain Paul Watson has stated — our clients are the creatures of the sea. We hope that all people who are concerned for the oceans will recognize the importance of protecting reef eco-systems worldwide, and that if any of our supporters do keep marine wildlife in an aquarium, they will care for the wildlife they have and refrain from purchasing any more,” Wintner added.

Coral reefs simply cannot support continued unlimited resource usage or unmanaged global trade. Such drastic ongoing decline of healthy reefs will pose serious consequences for animals both on land and in the water and people worldwide.