Day: June 8, 2025
Save Ralph – A short film with Taika Waititi
Introducing Ralph, the spokes-bunny of Humane Society International’s global campaign to ban animal testing for cosmetics. #SaveRalph is a powerful stop-motion animation short film featuring an all-star multinational cast including Taika Waititi, Ricky Gervais, Zac Efron, Olivia Munn, Pom Klementieff, Tricia Helfer and more.
In HSI’s ‘Save Ralph,’ a lovable spokesbunny makes a case for ending cosmetics animal testing
“Save Ralph” is a powerful stop-motion animation short film featuring Oscar winner Taika Waititi as the voice of Ralph, who is being interviewed for a documentary as he goes through his daily routine as a “tester” in a lab. “I’m a tester. My daddy was a tester, my mom, my brothers, my sisters, my kids. All testers,” he tells a documentary filmmaker voiced by actor and animal advocate Ricky Gervais. Ralph tells his interviewer that he is “doing it for the humans,” so long as “just one human can have the illusion of a safer lipstick or deodorant,” regardless of his own personal suffering.
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Battle to stop Africa’s waters being ravaged by China’s dark fishing fleets
Sunday 8 June 2025
As David Attenborough warns of the damage being wreaked on the oceans by seabed trawling, the role of an army of mystery boats is in the spotlight.
The Ghanaian flag that droops from the mast of the Meng Xin 10 is one of the few African things about the fishing boat.
The deckhands are Ghanaian, and officially it is owned by a company in Accra. But the officers are Chinese, all the instruments and telemetry are in Mandarin, and the people who call the shots are based in the northeastern Chinese port city of Dalian.
For 10 years the blue-hulled vessel, one of at least 30 that investigators have linked to Dalian Mengxin Ocean Fishery, has meandered along Ghana’s coastline, dragging a heavy beam along the ocean floor about 200m below, bottom trawling for squid and cuttlefish.
Continue reading …
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https://observer.co.uk/news/our-planet/article/time-is-running-out-for-our-oceans
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https://observer.co.uk/news/oceans/article/its-not-too-late-to-save-our-blue-planet
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https://observer.co.uk/news/oceans/article/whales-fall-prey-to-silent-killers
This course provides an introduction to the problem of wild animal suffering. It covers the situation of animals in the wild as individuals, including the many harms they suffer, and ways of improving their situation, including some of the ways this is already being done.
This is the opening video for the course. It gives an overview of the topics that will be addressed in the videos of the course.
Wild animal suffering: an overview of the course
Concern about the suffering of wild animals and the ways we can help them has increased a lot in the past decade. A growing number of people are now aware that the lives of animals in the wild are not idyllic, and that they face threats that dramatically impair their wellbeing. There is more awareness now that this affects not just a few animals, but large numbers of them. While in the past, concern for wild animals was mostly focused on their ecological roles or their conservation status, many people now are concerned about what happens to them as individuals, as sentient beings.
Some people may think that it is unfortunate that wild animal suffering occurs, but be unsure about how widespread or how serious it is. Others may think this is an important issue, but not know how tractable it is, or what we can do to address it.
This course sheds some light on these questions and helps give a more clear understanding of the reality of wild animal suffering and, what is more important, of what can be done about it. It is intended to provide an introduction to this question for anyone interested in it, and to be especially useful to those involved in animal advocacy who want to know what can be done to help wild animals. The course will also benefit people working in natural sciences with an interest in learning how their work can help animals.
The course will include three parts.
Part I has been completely published already. It explains the ways that wild animals suffer and how we can help them. Part II details the arguments about the moral consideration of animals, and Part III explores the scientific study of the situation of animals from the point of view of their wellbeing. This new field of study has been called welfare biology.
Each part will consist of a set of videos, around 10 minutes each, focused on some specific problems. The entire course contains 28 videos including this one, which you’ll see listed in the course table of contents.
The first part begins with a general presentation summarizing the question of wild animal suffering. Following this, we will clarify in more detail what the concept of “wild animal suffering” entails. The following videos will then explain the different ways in which animals suffer in the wild. We will see the impacts of harmful weather conditions, natural disasters, diseases, parasitism, hunger, psychological stress, conflicts between animals, and accidents. We will also see how the prevalent reproductive strategies significantly increase the proportion of suffering among wild animals. Then, we will see some of the ways to provide help to these animals, including rescues and vaccination programs. Finally, we will see the kinds of things that each of us can do to make a difference for wild animals.
Some people think that we shouldn’t worry about wild animals because we shouldn’t be concerned about what happens to animals at all. We will believe this if we think, for instance, that only humans matter. In order to asess this concern, and to understand better how we can argue for the moral consideration of animals, the second part of the course presents an overview of contemporary debates about ethics and animals. The part will begin by explaining the concepts of speciesism, as well as related concepts like moral consideration. We will next examine the main defenses of the idea that human interests matter more than equally strong interests of other animals. We will then see the main arguments against this view. After that, we’ll cover how the moral consideration of animals relates to different ethical theories. We will then examine the differences between the views defending the moral consideration of animals and those defending other criteria, such as the ones held by some positions in environmental ethics. In the last part of this part, we will see what sentience is, and consider some indicators of its presence in different animals, especially invertebrates.
Finally, the third part of the course will examine the ways to promote research in academia about how to best help wild animals. In the videos of this part, we will examine the concepts of wellbeing, animal welfare, and wild animal welfare. We will also discuss welfare biology, the study of the situation of animals with regard to their wellbeing. We will see how it is different from other fields that currently exist. We will then see reasons to promote academic research in welfare biology, and what some promising lines of research for this field are. We will see how welfare biology can benefit from work in other cross-disciplinary fields. In light of the work welfare biology could carry out, we will see responses to objections to helping wild animals.. Finally, we will share some ideas concerning the advance of this new field of research, and its importance, especially in the long term.
We hope this course will be interesting to you. Our intention is to help you become familiar with the issues discussed in it, and to share some tools that enable you to do further research on them. We provide information about how to take action in defense of wild animals and to help you make informed decisions about which efforts to support or promote.
If you want to learn more, you can visit our website, where you’ll find much more detailed information about many of the issues addressed in the course.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13865257/peta-investigation-horror-abuse-animals-cairo.html
Published: 22 September 2024
Top tourist destinations in Egypt are blighted by animal abuse, with horses and camels starved, beaten and left to die in squalor, an investigation has uncovered.
MailOnline has seen exclusive footage revealing the extent of cruelty inflicted upon animals by guides offering visitors tours of historic sites, documented in harrowing detail by animal rights group PETA.
Investigators said they found the bodies of animals dumped behind the great Pyramids of Giza on a daily basis, with horses and camels worked to the bone in miserable conditions.
Horrific footage showed euthanised animals, broken by long hours in 35C heat, left out to rot as crows and stray dogs pick at their carcasses. Some – starved to the bone and exhausted – are visibly still breathing, but too weak to get up.
More than 14 million people visit the Pyramids of Giza every year, bringing trade and tourism to Cairo. But with this number set to double by 2030, rights groups are calling for tourists to avoid exploitative traps that come at the expense of many lives.
Unsettling video taken in Cairo between 2023 and 2024 showed horses eating rubbish from skips or the ground, not properly looked after by the tour operators
Many appeared thin, struggling to stand on their own and struggling under the weight and heat of thick saddles and blinkered masks.
Ribs protruded from animals with dirty manes and mottled skin, swarmed by flies in undisclosed areas around the city.
Across from them, about a dozen animals lined up to take the next group of tourists around historic sites.
Open wounds attracted midges, causing horses to squirm and writhe in pain with evidence of medicine or treatment.
Those filmed still had saddles on their back, expected to continue working under the strain.
Others twitched as they lay on the ground with ropes embedded in their skin, eyes half shut as they tried to brush off flies with limp gestures.
Bloodied ‘handles’ made from twine appeared to have been poked through the bodies of abused animals for easier control and manipulation.
PETA also documented how horses were whipped while being forced to pull carriages for tourists in Cairo.
Thin horses baring their teeth are seen outside the famous pyramids being beaten as tourists watch on unmoved.
Various draft animals are used to ferry visitors around the historic sites for a fee.
Jason Baker, PETA Senior Vice President, told MailOnline: ‘No decent person would dream of climbing onto a horse or camel if they knew that behind every ride is a disturbingly cruel industry that physically abuses these sensitive animals up until the moment their exhausted bodies give out.’
He said that their investigation had shown how ‘half-starved’ animals at the Giza pyramids are ‘literally worked to death’.
If they collapse first, they are ‘whipped mercilessly to force them to get up and pull carriages or carry tourists’.
‘Most suffer from wounds, mange, and painful scarring and receive no treatment, then when they’re no longer considered useful, they’re dumped like rubbish or dragged to a slaughterhouse, where their throats are slit while they’re fully conscious,’ he assessed.
‘PETA’s shocking findings – and the Egyptian government’s shameful attempt to cover them up – sends a clear message to all tourists: avoid all animal rides like the plague.’
PETA’s investigation showed how camels, suffering from open wounds and infection, were also beaten in front of tourists.
Animals are seen with ropes through their faces and chains around their bodies, with loose skin hanging from bloodied lacerations.
The animal rights group said its investigators had come across dead camels with their throats ‘slashed’.
Footage showed camels limp or dead, some bleeding out, by the sides of roads as bystanders walked past reactionless.
One live animal was left to sit next to the corpse of another slowly bleeding into the street with a large gash in its neck.
Others, thin and weak from malnourishment, were seen being beaten with sticks to get up or dragged into trailers unwillingly on thick ropes.
Camels face a dire existence in Cairo; when no longer deemed useful, many are sold on to slaughterhouses.
Death in these abattoirs is a painful, grisly affair: footage showed live camels fully conscious as other working animals were slain, cut by the neck and left to bleed out on a cold, bare floor.
In an instant, another is approached from the front and slashed. But death takes some time. The animal cries out what it can as it writhes on the floor in pain.
One tries desperately to get up in its last act before collapsing and falling on its side. The chorus of screams continue around the building, bodies twitching for long, painful seconds before going limp.
For many thousands of animals, this will be the only life they know. Tourism contributes some 10-15 per cent of the Egyptian economy, incentivising keen entrepreneurs to cater their businesses to tourists.
But the scale and conditions of such abuse only exist due to lack of enforced regulation and the willingness of tourists to pay for such tours.
Video on Page
PETA revealed the lengths some guides will go to to stop the horrifying shadow of their operations coming out in their harrowing exposé.
Video showed how a man organising camel and horse rides called the police on a visitor after he began taking photographs.
Police, along with a representative from the Ministry of Antiquities and Tourism, detained the man for nearly an hour and a half, PETA reported.
They allegedly ‘intimidated’ him, insisting he clear his memory card, before confiscating his camera.
On camera, the man is questioned over his documentation of the abuses.
Someone out of view says: ‘When you take photos coming to the pyramids, you can take photos of the pyramids, of the second… of the sphinx.
‘But it’s not allowed for anybody to take photos of the policemen, of the cart, of the camel, of the horses.’
The man apologises and is told: ‘Whether you are sorry or not, you did something wrong. You broke the law.’
They then tell him they are going to delete all of his photos ‘for the whole visit’ in a disturbing cover-up.
Egypt does have special rules about taking photos of historic sites due to potential damage from flash photography.
But the Ministry of Antiquities and Tourism relaxed more general laws about street photography in 2022 after tourists and influencers complained about officials shutting down their photo opportunities.
Taking photos of children is still not allowed, taking photos of adults requires written consent and taking photos of police or military is generally unadvised.
There is no clear law pertaining to the photography of animals.
The man is seen on camera asking where they are taking him. He is told he will be taken to the Ministry.
Another off camera denies working for the government, claiming to be a tour operator.
Millions travel to Egypt every year to enjoy a rich history today synonymous with the height of culture and civilisation.
But behind the scenes, a sinister reality exists in stark antithesis to the wonders of human brilliance all around.
New footage shows a pressing need for reform and awareness in a country where attempts to expose the truth are often repressed with force.
But until Egypt shows willing to tackle the issue, the industry will be propped up by tourists bringing demand.
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And yet some – indeed too many – are totally blind to what is going on right in front of them ..
Tammy Hembrow slammed by animal activists for ‘cruel’ act in Egypt after trying to cover it up on social media
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/jun/08/manta-ray-last-dive-film
Sun 8 Jun 2025
A Pacific manta being photographed by tourists. Photograph: Johnny Friday
The Last Dive tells how a relationship with a giant Pacific manta ray turned a big game fish hunter into a conservationist
Located about 500km off the southern coast of Baja California lies a group of ancient volcanic islands known as the Revillagigedo Archipelago. Home to large pelagic species including whale sharks and scalloped hammerheads, the rugged volcanic peaks were also once the site of an unlikely friendship.
It began in December 1988 when Terry Kennedy, a now 83-year-old American sailor with a storied past, met a six-meter-wide giant Pacific manta ray off San Benedicto island’s rugged shore. He would go on to name him Willy.
Continue reading …
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https://www.thepetitionsite.com/163/887/397/?z00m=33472029
The smash-hit movie Jaws was filmed 50 years ago off the coast of New England, on the island of Martha’s Vineyard. It stirred up human fear of sharks, contributing to a popular misconception that sharks were supposedly villains and reckless human-eating monsters.
But of course, that is not true about sharks. In fact, humans are the real threat here. Every single day, we kill an average of 274,000 sharks. That amounts to approximately 100 million sharks each year. Today, many species – like the great white, sand tiger, great hammerhead, and others – are endangered or vulnerable to extinction.
That’s why famed athlete, 55-year-old swimmer Lewis Pugh, just completed a grueling 12-day swim around the island to help raise awareness about the importance of sharks.
Sign the petition to urge the U.S. government to protect sharks by expanding and creating more marine sanctuary areas!
The United Nations named Pugh a “patron of the oceans” due to his use of swimming as a way to raise awareness about marine wildlife and ocean conservation. He’s swum near volcanoes, near glaciers, and alongside polar bears, hippos, and crocodiles. He’s the first person ever recorded to have finished a long-distance swim in each one of the world’s 5 oceans, and to swim across the north pole itself.
And he’s worried about the future of sharks – just like we all should be.
Sharks help maintain a precious balance in marine ecosystems. Without them, the entire natural structure begins to deteriorate. They promote biodiversity and keep other species in check before they spiral out of control, and even keep the oceans healthy by scavenging injured, sick, or dead animals.
But today, humans target them for overfishing. They’re suffering from habitat loss and climate change. And, of course, being maligned by humans has only made their survival more difficult.
We must respect sharks – and we must demand more protections to keep sharks safe, alive, and healthy! One way to do that would be for the U.S. Congress to create and expand more shark sanctuaries. These are special areas or zones that would sharply curtail overfishing and destruction of habitats. Sign the petition to demand the U.S. protect sharks!
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‘A horror movie’: sharks and octopuses among 200 species killed by toxic algae off South Australia
Karenia mikimotoi algae can suffocate fish, cause haemorrhaging and act as a neurotoxin, one expert says
More than 200 marine species, including deepwater sharks, leafy sea dragons and octopuses, have been killed by a toxic algal bloom that has been affecting South Australia’s coastline since March.
Nearly half (47%) of the dead species were ray-finned fish and a quarter (26%) were sharks and rays, according to OzFish analysis of 1,400 citizen scientist reports.
Cephalopods – such as squid, cuttlefish and octopuses – accounted for 7%, while decapods – crabs, lobsters and prawns – made up 6% of species reported dead or washed up on beaches.
Continue reading …
https://apnews.com/article/morocco-stray-dogs-neuter-rabies-fifa-d8452e6aa0005e0cd71462ab7daf9bf5
Updated 9:04 AM CEST, May 18, 2025
EL AARJATE, Morocco (AP) — A mutt with a blue tag clipped to her ear whimpers as she’s lifted from a cage and carried to a surgery table for a spay and a rabies vaccine, two critical steps before she’s released back onto the streets of Morocco’s capital.
The “Beldi,” as Moroccan street dogs are called, is among the hundreds taken from Rabat to a dog pound in a nearby forest. As part of an expanded “Trap, Neuter, Vaccinate and Return” program, dogs like her are examined, treated and ultimately released with tags that make clear they pose no danger.
“We have a problem: That’s stray dogs. So we have to solve it, but in a way that respects animals,” said Mohamed Roudani, the director of the Public Health and Green Spaces Department in Morocco’s Interior Ministry.
Trying to balance safety and animal well-being
Morocco adopted “Trap, Neuter, Vaccinate and Return,” or TVNR, in 2019. One facility has opened in Rabat and more are set to be launched in at least 14 other cities, aligning Morocco with recommendations from the World Organization for Animal Health. The government has spent roughly $23 million over the past five years on animal control centers and programs.
Roudani said Morocco’s updated approach balanced public safety, health and animal well-being. Local officials, he added, were eager to expand TVNR centers throughout the country.
Though population estimates are challenging, based on samples of marked and tagged stray dogs, Moroccan officials believe they number between 1.2 to 1.5 million. Some neighborhoods welcome and care for them collectively. However, others decry their presence as a scourge and note that more than 100,000 Moroccans have needed rabies vaccinations after attacks.
A draft law is in the works that would require owners to vaccinate pets and impose penalties for animal abuse.
Inside the center
On a visit organized for journalists to a TNVR center in El Aarjate, enclosures for dogs appear spacious and orderly, with clean floors and the scent of disinfectant. Food and water bowls are refreshed regularly by staff who move between spaces, offering gentle words and careful handling. Some staff members say they grow so attached to the dogs that they miss them when they’re released to make space to treat incoming strays.
Veterinarians and doctors working for the Association for the Protection of Animals and Nature care for between 400 and 500 stray dogs from Rabat and surrounding cities. Dogs that veterinarians deem unhealthy or aggressive are euthanized using sodium pentobarbital, while the rest are released, unable to spread disease or reproduce.
Youssef Lhor, a doctor and veterinarian, said that aggressive methods to cull dogs didn’t effectively make communities safer from rabies or aggression. He said it made more sense to to try to have people coexist with dogs safely, noting that more than 200 had been released after treatment from the Rabat-area center.
“Slaughtering dogs leads to nothing. This TNVR strategy is not a miracle solution, but it is an element that will add to everything else we’re doing,” he said, referring to “Treat, Neuter, Vaccinate, Return.”
It’s designed to gradually reduce the stray dog population while minimizing the need for euthanasia.
It’s a program that Morocco is eager to showcase after animal rights groups accused it of ramping up efforts to cull street dogs after being named co-host of the 2030 FIFA World Cup last year.
Animal rights groups protest
Animal rights groups routinely use large sporting events to draw attention to their cause and similarly targeted Russia in the lead-up to the 2018 FIFA World Cup there.
Citing unnamed sources and videos it said were shot in Morocco, the International Animal Welfare and Protection Coalition claimed in January that Morocco was exterminating 3 million dogs, particularly around cities where stadiums are being built. The allegations, reported widely by international media lacking a presence in Morocco, triggered anti-FIFA protests as far away as Ahmedabad, India.
“These dogs are being shot in the street, often in front of children, or dragged away with wire nooses to die slow, agonizing deaths,” Ian Ward, the coalition’s chairman, said in a statement.
Moroccan officials vehemently deny the claims, say they’re implementing the very programs that activists propose, including TNVR. They rebuff the idea that any policy is related to the World Cup. Still, critics see their efforts as publicity stunts and are skeptical such programs are as widespread as officials claim.
Instances of mistreatment and euthanasia by gunshot have been reported in local media but Moroccan officials say, despite international attention, they’re isolated incidents and don’t reflect on-the-ground reality nationwide.
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Morocco’s Successful Stray Dog Program is Saving Lives. Turkey Must Do the Same!
https://www.thepetitionsite.com/704/461/921/?z00m=33472142
In Morocco, a groundbreaking approach to managing stray dogs has proven successful and humane. The government implemented the “Trap, Neuter, Vaccinate, and Return” (TNVR) program in 2019, investing $23 million in animal control centers and offering a better, more compassionate alternative to culling. Through TNVR, stray dogs are neutered, vaccinated, and returned to their territories, reducing the population while ensuring the health and safety of both the animals and the people in the community.
This news comes at a time when Turkey is still using its brutal approach to managing its stray dog population. The country has legalized the culling of stray dogs, raising serious concerns about animal cruelty. Research shows culling creates more problems and suffering, whereas programs like Morocco’s TNVR provide a safer, more sustainable solution.
Sign the petition to urge Turkey to follow Morocco and implement a TNVR program to solve its stray dog problem!
Morocco’s program has shown amazing results, with the stray dog population decreasing in a way that promotes animal welfare, public safety, and disease control. Now, local dog populations are monitored and kept healthy, without the need for cruel and deadly methods.
The evidence is clear – culling does not solve the problem of stray animals. It only perpetuates suffering and creates new issues, as the void left by killed animals is quickly filled by others.
By adopting Morocco’s model, Turkey can provide a humane solution for stray animals while improving the safety and health of its citizens. Let’s urge the Turkish government to follow Morocco’s lead and implement a comprehensive program that prioritizes the well-being of both people and animals.
Sign the petition to demand Turkey end the culling of stray dogs and adopt a humane solution for animal control!
Copyright Animal Heroes
Published on 09/03/2025 – 10:04 GMT+1•Updated 10/03/2025 – 10:08 GMT+1
A Dutch charity faces huge challenges in the occupied territories, as it fundraises to care for dogs, cats and donkeys.
The first emergency clinic for injured animals is due to open in the Palestinian city of Jenin later this month.
Israeli attacks on the occupied West Bank city have left hundreds of homes destroyed, leaving countless animals without food, shelter or medical care.
Netherlands-based charity Animal Heroes is facing many literal roadblocks and obstructions to launching a clinic in the conflict zone. But since 7 October 2023, the small team has proven its determination to alleviate animal suffering in Gaza and the West Bank, and support local people looking after animals.
These ‘heroes’ include 36-year-old Maryam Hassan Barq, nicknamed “the cat lady of Gaza” for her steadfast support of 65 cats. And 25-year-old A’aed Mahmoud Abu Nejem, a veterinary doctor running the charity’s pop-up clinic in Gaza, who was injured in an airstrike hours before the ceasefire took effect 19 January. Despite his injuries, he resumed his work last week.
We spoke to Animal Heroes founder Esther Kef, who returned from a visit to the West Bank in February, to hear about the challenges of providing animal aid in the Palestinian territories.
Violence against animals is increasing in the West Bank
The fate of people and animals in the West Bank is inextricably linked.
“The situation for animals is horrible because since 7 October, many people are without jobs because they live off tourism and construction,” explains Kef.
Financial desperation is stoking tension in communities, she says, which triggers increased violence against animals. “What we’re seeing is like 10, 20 animals being completely kicked into pieces by people just for no reason, just to express violence,” she says.
Animal Heroes supports Bethlehem Shelter, the only registered animal charity in the West Bank, founded by another passionate animal lover, Diana Babish. But over the course of three visits since November 2023, Kef has seen conditions deteriorate.
Esther Kef, founder of Animal Heroes, says thousands of animals are in a dire situation in the West Bank.
Animal Heroes
Designed for 100 animals, the basic shelter is now holding around 200 dogs. Outdoor fences had to be shut after Babish realised that people were coming at night to hurt and poison them.
“People have seen a lot of violence,” Kef speculates. “And when the tension increases, if violence is all you know, it’s not too hard to think that then also the violence increases.”
The number of animals being hit on roads has also tripled, according to vets funded by Animal Heroes.
“On a positive note, [the vet] says that for the first time […] younger people now are starting to bring in the animals left on the street that have been hit,” Kef says.
Her charity has also partnered with Bethlehem University and the Ministry of Education to start an awareness programme for children to teach them about animal welfare. They spoke at two schools during their recent visit, working up from the importance of bees to the mistreatment of dogs.
How will the emergency clinic in Jenin help animals?
There are an estimated 2,000 stray dogs in Jenin, but no single organisation dedicated to their care.
A revered animal protector in the community, Babish gets calls every day from people in Jenin saying they have found an injured cat or dog. She tends to send a taxi to take the animal to a facility in Nablus, typically an hour’s drive away.
But with increased roadblocks in the West Bank due to Israel’s so-called military expansion, the journey can now take half a day.
To save more lives where they are being jeopardised, the animal protectors have acquired – for free – space in an old house four kilometres from the centre of Jenin. Two young vets have volunteered to run the clinic, under the supervision of acclaimed British vet Jenny McKay.
It cost €5,000 for the equipment to set up the practice. With their ambitions to treat around 150 animals a month from across the West Bank, medical care is expected to add €3,500 a month to the charity’s bills.
Animal Heroes is appealing for donations to help cover the supply of antibiotics and other first aid, and secure more advanced equipment including an X-ray machine.
What happens once the animals have been treated? It’s a troubling question in a conflict zone.
Previously, Babish was skilled at sending her dogs across the world, says Kef. “Diana is the type of person you don’t say no to.” But with fewer and costlier flights from Tel Aviv, and no flight volunteers to accompany the animals out, adoptions ground to a halt.
The Bethlehem Shelter is prioritising puppies and vulnerable dogs that need to recover after treatments. Babish continues to use her network to get animals fostered in Israel, via Israeli animal aid organisations.
“The problem is,” Kef adds, “what happens if the IDF turns Jenin into a second Gaza, where no one goes in and nobody gets to go out? If that’s the case, then obviously the roads are completely blocked, and the animals will need to be just left freely back on the street again.”
Animal Heroes is looking into renting a shelter, in preparation for this worst case scenario.
Animal heroes in Gaza continue life-saving work
A’aed, Animal Heroes’ lead vet in Gaza, was hit by an airstrike in a crowded marketplace hours before the ceasefire, suffering injuries to both legs, his eye and his hand.
Animal Heroes
When we speak on 28 February, Kef is eagerly anticipating the arrival of a truckload of aid into Gaza, as part of the Animals in Gaza Alliance with the UK’s Safe Haven for Donkeys and Finland’s Animal Aid without Borders.
But on 2 March, Israel again blocked the entry of all humanitarian aid into the heavily-bombed territory, meaning that trucks containing medicine and food are still stuck at the Egyptian border.
“The impact is profound, because there is hardly any medicine in Gaza for animals, and yet so many animals are in desperate need of them,” Kef writes. “Every day this shipment is delayed, the suffering of donkeys and horses is prolonged.”
As well as operating a pop-up clinic, Animal Heroes funds people taking care of animals. Among the most remarkable of these is Maryam Hassan Barq, who refused to abandon 65 rescue cats when the IDF order came to evacuate her home in northern Gaza.
“I consider them like my children,” Maryam said during an interview with Animal Heroes in November, at a time when she was suffering from starvation and dehydration. “I am fully aware that I might die at any moment for staying in the north, but from the beginning of the war, I took the decision that we either live together or we die together.”
“There is no other place for them and I cannot transfer them anywhere else in these dangerous conditions due to their number, and there’s no safe place to go to anyway,” she explained. “Our life feels like a nightmare, to say the least, but we live on. I know it sounds crazy.”
A dozen cats died before the ceasefire emerged in January. Afterwards, Maryam was able to buy vegetables for herself for the first time in months, and chicken for the cats – which need protein. With the crossing closed again, she is again concerned for their lives.
How can you support Animal Heroes?
“People like Diana, like Maryam, they’re very humble people,” says Kef. “They just care about helping animals and they even risk their own lives to do so. So that’s what inspires me to do this every day.”
Esther was inspired to found Animal Heroes in 2023 after meeting similarly dedicated people in need of animal aid assistance in Ukraine. The lean organisation has since grown from three to 25 volunteers.
Animal Heroes is fundraising to support its medical response team in Gaza here. Its new fundraiser, to help injured animals in the West Bank – including through the new emergency clinic – has recently launched here.
** DONATION LINK **
World Animals Voice 