Day: September 19, 2023
Animal rights activists outraged over euthanasia at Memphis Animal Services
Animal rights activists outraged over euthanasia at Memphis Animal Services (msn.com)
Memphis Animal Services is in the hot seat after more and more people speak out on issues with the location’s policies. Some animal rights advocates said they’re planning to take legal action.
There has been outrage as the number of dogs MAS euthanizes sparked community concern. MAS takes in thousands fewer animals than a Knoxville shelter, but more than 300 animals died in MAS custody in 2022. This is an issue rescuers said is common at the Memphis shelter.
In August alone, MAS euthanized 167 animals, even as some kennels remain open. Michelle Craig, a volunteer at another dog shelter, said the time of day the shelter is open impacts the ability for potential new pet owners to foster and adopt.
“The hours are only 12-4 and for people like us that work all day, it is hard to get over there,” Craig said. “They will still put a dog down when there are empty kennels available.”
MAS responded to dogs being put down while there are still empty kennels, with this statement: “Even when there are open kennels (which are necessary for us to operate, so that our animal services officers have somewhere to put incoming animals), there will be some animals that are euthanized regardless.”
This left animal rights advocates and volunteers upset.
“I cried all passionate about it but they are – they are just turning into an awful place,” one person said.
But, ABC24 spoke with volunteers off camera who said they’re scared to go public with their concerns because other volunteers weren’t allowed back after speaking out, rescuer Jessica Gotera said.
“There are good volunteers but they don’t stay for long or they’re very distraught,” Gotera said. “They’re falling apart because they’re emotionally distraught by what they’re going through.”
She voiced her concerns about half of a bonded pair, like moms and puppies, being separated and euthanized.
MAS provided this response: “This can happen when one of the two pets is doing well behaviorally or medically, and one of them is suffering or struggling behaviorally or medically.”
But Gotera doesn’t think the shelter’s reasoning for putting down one half of a pair is enough.
“What they consider as behavioral is if they’re being rowdy or if they’re being complacent in their kennels,” Gotera said. “Even if they’re being complacent and not moving or nothing, they’re still gonna kill the dog.”
As animal rights activists and other volunteers across the state work to decrease the number of animals euthanized at MAS and other shelters, they did tell ABC24 they’re working to get a lawsuit together against the city-run shelter.
Regards Mark
A European Rabbit on the Dingle Peninsula in Ireland (Stephen Bridger / Alamy Stock Photo)
A cull of wild rabbits at Derrynane National Park will turn the landscape into a “bloodbath,” an animal rights activist has said.
The Office of Public Works (OPW) is to commission a cull of wild rabbits on Derrynane House National Park in County Kerry after a dramatic increase in the population has had a negative impact on other wildlife and rare plants.
The European Rabbit was introduced to Ireland by the Normans over 800 years ago, and are designated a medium impact invasive species by the National Biodiversity Data Centre.
Specialists will be hired to shoot the rabbits and lay more than 100 traps near the former home of political leader Daniel O’Connell, Derrynane House.
On Newstalk Breakfast this morning, animal rights activist John Carmody said he is “dishearted” by the lastest cull.
“I mean, I’ve been working on these campaigns for years and you know, we’ve had targets on deer, we’ve had targets on seals and now we’re hearing about the rabbits population in Derrynane,” he said.
“I’m kind of scratching my head since, asking myself, ‘What has went on in the last couple of months with [the rabbits] down there, that went on in the last number of years?
“As the saying goes, you breed like rabbits and there is no way a cull is going to stop those animals breeding down there – it’s totally unscientific.”
Local Fianna Fáil Councillor Norma Moriarty rejected Mr Carmody’s claim that the decision was “shortsighted”.
“It’s being done with a view to the future and the protection of the biodiversity down there and a very, very, very sensitive ecosystem, in terms of the dune system that’s there at Derrynane,” she said.
“It’s also very scientifically based because it’s the results of surveys that have been carried out and also very visible erosion.”
Councillor Moriarty said the size of the rabbits has led to “overgrazing” – while a lack of natural predators has increased their population significantly.
“There’s a serious imbalance taking place, because of the overgrazing we don’t have that very important grassland that effectively knits the dunes together and protects the area from further erosion,” she said.
“They also pose a threat to the natterjack toad, the choughs and the whorl snails.”
Mr Carmody said a lot of the rabbits will end up being maimed.
“Quite essentially, that beautiful National Park is going to turn into a bloodbath,” he said.
“I get it – we can’t exactly go down there and hand out each individual rabbit a pack of condoms and say, ‘Off you go lads’.
“So why don’t the Office of Public Works come and sit down with campaigners and wildlife biologists and come up with a solution?”
Councillor Moriarty said a “plethora” of actions had been considered by the OPW.
“When you’re talking about ecosystems and balance, it’s basically about the order of beings and their natural predators, and the absence of that natural predator has meant an unnatural explosion of the rabbit population,” she said.
“Part of this plan is the introduction of ferrets as part of [introducing natural predators], as much possible, to be in sync with what nature would want, but it does need a helping hand.”
Mr Carmody said “interfering” in nature is what human beings do best.
“We definitely know how to wreck the place and destroy the place and ransack environments,” he said.
“This is almost like going back to the Flintstone eras where we’re sending in ferrets in the hope that we’d be able to get some of the rabbits taken out so that we can, in some way, shape or form, protect the other species.
“Stop right now, stop this tender and let’s go back to the table and come up with a more humane and kinder solution for all.”
Regards Mark
‘The National Park will be a bloodbath’: Animal rights activist slams rabbit cull | Newstalk
Animal Rights Group Calls for Charges After Horses Dragged by Truck (msn.com)
Video footage can be seen by clicking on the link above.
Animal Rights Group Calls for Charges After Horses Dragged by Truck
Videos showing horses being dragged behind a truck down a Utah residential street have triggered outrage in the community and sparked an animal rights group to push for criminal charges against the driver.
The graphic videos, captured by residents’ home security cameras in Farmington, Utah, show two horses tied to a trailer being towed by a pickup truck as they struggle to keep up. Homeowners Don Evans and Amberly Powers shared the clips with local media outlets. They say the incident occurred on September 8 along Ranch Road.
While the Farmington Police Department (FPD) is aware of the videos, police told local station KUTV that it doesn’t qualify as animal cruelty. Farmington city officials said in a statement on Monday that Animal Care of Davis County is investigating.
Officials from the Humane Society of Utah told local media that they believe the incident captured on video shows a case of animal cruelty and are seeking justice for the horses.
Newsweek reached out via email and Facebook on Monday to the FPD and Animal Care of Davis County for comment. Newsweek also reached out via email and social media to the Humane Society of Utah.
Evans told KUTV that he is one of the residents whose surveillance cameras captured the “horrendous” incident, saying he wasn’t home at the time but watched the footage after his neighbor, Powers, told him what happened. Powers’ home camera also caught the horses being pulled down the street.
In the clip Evans shared with the station, the white horse stumbles before collapsing and getting dragged on its side. The video shows the truck continues to drive for several seconds before stopping.
“Sick to my stomach, outraged, disbelief,” Evans said of the footage. “I have not seen this amount of reckless disregard in my life. It’s horrendous; there’s a lot of outrage in the community over this.”
The incident has sparked such controversy in the community that Farmington city officials said in a statement on Monday that there have been “calls made for violence” to local officials and the owner of the horses.
“The City recognizes this is a traumatic incident and understands the public concern around this matter,” the online statement reads. “Animal cruelty is a serious issue, and we are concerned for the welfare of the animals within our community. There have been calls made for violence to City staff, elected officials, and the horse owner as a possible solution to this situation. Needless to say, we are concerned for the safety of humans involved in this incident and we strongly request patience and empathy as this investigation plays out.”
Humane Society communications director Guinnevere Shuster told KUTV that the animal welfare group wants Davis County investigators to charge the driver with animal cruelty and traffic violations.
“The Humane Society condemns the situation, and we decided to release a statement about it because we really want to encourage the local jurisdiction to take action,” Shuster said, adding that “the dragging of horses behind a truck is unacceptable and subjects the truck driver to penalties under the criminal code.”
Shuster told the station that it was “really disheartening” to see the white horse fall and be dragged.
“Under Utah law, anybody who knowingly, recklessly transports or confines an animal in a cruel manner is considered cruelty to animals, and we feel that it falls in that situation,” Shuster said.
Regards Mark
World Animals Voice 