Working donkeys and horses are the life blood of the local communities in Afghanistan and Kabul is by no means an exception.
Where old meets new in the city; many families will have access to motor transportation (so much so that Kabul was recently compared to Delhi as the most polluted city on earth) whilst many more, particularly those who inhabit the surrounding mountains, do not.
The working donkey or horse is vital to carry supplies (water, food and building materials) to the steep hillside communities; which make up most of Kabul’s surrounding urban areas nestled precariously on the side of the unforgiving mountain terrain.
The brick kilns of Kabul are literally ‘hell-holes’ for working animals as they are more often than not, over-worked and completely neglected. The poor animals are worked to death.
With little to no education, their owners have limited knowledge on the fundamental needs of their working animals which would lead to improving working conditions and improve their overall welfare.
Nowzad promotes healthy Afghan donkey ownership through an effective campaign targeting donkey and horse owners and muleteers (especially at the brick kilns of Kabul) explaining and teaching the importance of basic health checks for their animals along with feeding requirements and required vaccinations.
We employ a farrier to relieve animals of painful and uncomfortable hooves, a small gesture that makes a big difference to the working animals quality of life and where required hospitalise any donkey or horse as needed to allow them to recover from injury and illness. Importantly too, we employ a harness maker so that we can replace ill-fitting and injury causing harnesses.
We just cannot post some of the injuries we are sadly seeing. They are just too graphic. It breaks our heart but also makes us more determined with you by our side to be the difference for these working animals who have no choice but to be there.
All donkeys that we treat are recorded so that we can follow their progress. Our veterinarians are experienced in tending to any donkey or horse that is sick or injured and we often offer ‘roadside assistance’ or outpatient treatment to animals in distress.
In November 2023, Nowzad was thrilled to join the global Working Animal Alliance working group, working with other NGOs such as World Horse Welfare, academics, the private sector and international bodies across the sector to create a stronger voice for working animals, and recognise the role donkeys and horses have in achieving the global sustainable development goals.
In 2017 Nowzad opened the FIRST EVER donkey/horse sanctuary in Afghanistan, a refuge for former working donkeys and horses who have been discarded like rubbish onto the streets when they are no longer able to carry the heavy loads demanded of them by their owners.
Be the difference today!
Please help us to continue making a difference for the working animals of Afghanistan by clicking here. You can watch Pen take on the ‘Walk a mile in a donkey’s shoes’ challenge here where he explains our work direct from the streets of Kabul.
We cannot carry the loads for them but we are going to do what we can to make their lives somewhat easier. Be the difference today please!
Greg Jones described the incident as “animal cruelty at its worst”. (Supplied)
<< Watch Video on Site >>
Video of a cow being shot multiple times has put further scrutiny on animal welfare standards at a controversial saleyard in Western Australia’s South West.
Filmed from about 100 metres away on a mobile phone near Boyanup, 185 kilometres south of Perth, the video shows a cow at the town’s saleyards lying on the ground being shot three times by an unidentified figure.
Appearing to be shaken and in distress, the cow gets to its feet before a further two gunshots can be heard, before the animal falls to the ground.
Greg Jones, who previously worked at the saleyards, was sitting in his kitchen in February when he heard the gunshots and filmed the incident.
The Boyanup saleyards are located on the outskirts of the regional town, about 180 kilometres south of Perth. (ABC South West WA: Kate Forrester)
The Boyanup saleyards have been subject of controversy and criticism for decades.
Veterinarian David Marshall, who has practised for more than 30 years, reviewed the video provided to the ABC.
Dr Marshall said it was difficult to get the full picture of the incident but conceded there were “concerning elements”.
“Even at face value, it probably doesn’t meet the community expectations,” he said.
Lack of shade at the saleyards has been raised as an issue in past years. (ABC South West WA: Kate Forrester)
Discussing improvements
Mr Jones reported the incident to the RSPCA and the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD).
A DPIRD spokesperson said the matter was investigated, but there was not enough evidence to take it further.
“The matter was investigated by DPIRD livestock compliance inspectors, who found the evidence obtained was not sufficient to support a criminal prosecution,” the spokesperson said.
The Boyanup saleyards have long been mired in controversy and criticism. (ABC South West: Kate Forrester)
‘Most humane’ death
In response to this latest incident, WALSA said the cow was euthanised within welfare guidelines.
“The cow was euthanised using a destruction method to provide the most humane and quickest death possible for the animal and ensure the safety of those involved,” chair Mark McKay said.
“[WALSA] is required to comply with occupational health and safety laws and animal welfare standards and guidelines.
“These requirements were followed.”
Mr Jones said that was not good enough.
“If this is the quality of the people they have doing it. I think WALSA and yard management need to have a really good look at themselves,” he said.
Greg Jones says he has a clear view of what happens at the saleyards. (ABC South West: Kate Forrester)
Mr Jones has a bitter history with the operator, following the termination of his employment as a maintenance worker in 2023.
Mr Jones previously filed another complaint about the saleyard dumping effluent in nearby bushland.
“I was the one who originally dobbed them in,” he said.
Lessons to be learnt
In 2021, Dr Marshall sat on a public review panel of WA’s aging animal welfare laws.
He said the incident was a reminder of the need to improve WA’s animal welfare standards across the board.
“We need to be spending a lot more resources on improving animal welfare. We certainly did make recommendations around resourcing and education,” Dr Marshall said.
“Probably the thing that disappoints me as much as anything is that we still don’t have that groundswell to some extent of public feeling to put pressure on our politicians to do more.”
The state government is yet to modernise state laws in the wake of the review of the Animal Welfare Act, despite agreeing to in 2020.
The DPIRD spokesperson said it was “progressing” the bill to update the act and would continue to monitor animal welfare at the saleyard.
The state government said that while the Boyanup Saleyards was a private business, it was committed to taking animal welfare seriously.
TORONTO, June 16, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — National animal protection organization Animal Alliance of Canada is calling on the government of Manitoba to order an immediate suspension of the current black bear hunt in light of continuing active wildfires.
At least 21 fires, including eight deemed to be out of control and scattered throughout the three hunting zones, are currently burning in the province. A province-wide state of emergency was declared on May 28.
While 21,000 residents have been evacuated and travelers asked to reconsider non-essential travel to free up hotel rooms for these evacuees, the province continues to allow foreign hunters in. The fire hazard presented by these hunters’ guns and all-terrain vehicles present unnecessary additional risks for new fires.
Black bears are the only large mammal species allowed to be hunted in the spring while cubs are reliant on their mothers for food and protection. As bears hide their cubs in trees before foraging and because their fur is too thick to be able to see if they are lactating, even bear biologists cannot reliably identify the sex of a bear. As a result, every spring, female bears are killed, leaving orphaned cubs, most of whom perish by starvation, dehydration or predation.
A newly released report (see below) commissioned by the Animal Alliance of Canada Fund, which draws upon published studies as well as the Manitoba government’s own data from seasonal bear hunts, indicates that in 2023 (the most recent year for which data is available) as many as 224 cubs were left orphanedby the spring bear hunt.
In addition, black bears are the only mammal species allowed to be baited for hunting. During the spring hunt, hungry black bears newly awakened from hibernation and restricted by limited food sources are drawn into established bait stations loaded with meat and sugary foods, where hunters wait for them. These stations, which are permitted just beyond 200 metres of a dwelling or 500 metres from a cottage subdivision or campground, may cause bears to become acclimated to finding human foods in close proximity to people. The allowance of such bait stations contradicts government instruction and legislation discouraging members of the public from feeding bears.
This year, these issues are compounded by the devastating forest fires and resulting habitat loss, altered food availability, and increased potential encounters with humans as the bears are forced to move into new territories.
“We are urging the government to order an immediate suspension of the hunt,” said Lia Laskaris, Chief Executive Officer of the Animal Alliance of Canada. “We are further calling for a moratorium on the spring bear hunt until a full survey and assessment of the damage can be conducted,” added Laskaris.
MP proposes new legislation to licence rescue centres in a move supported by a major animal charity.
New legislation has been proposed which could lead to the introduction of a formal licensing regime for animal rescue centres in England and Wales.
The move has also been backed by a leading welfare group while tens of thousands of people have separately signed an online petition calling for licensing and regulation.
The Animal Shelters (Licensing) Bill was introduced to Parliament by the Conservative MP Richard Holden last week.
He said recent cases, including one in his own Essex constituency where dozens of dogs were found dead, had shocked the public and “exposed a dangerous gap in the law”.
Closing loophole
He added: “The Bill will bring rescue and rehoming centres under the same statutory framework that already applies to kennels and breeders, closing the loophole that leaves animals unprotected.
“Mandatory licensing will drive up welfare standards, weed out rogue operators and give the public confidence that every organisation caring for dogs is properly equipped and held to account.”
A 25-year-old man is currently in custody on animal welfare and fraud charges following the discovery of 37 dead dogs at premises in Billericay in May.
A second man remains on bail, while a 25-year-old woman was arrested earlier this month. The remains of four more animals were found following a new search of the site.
Mr Holden said he had worked with both Dogs Trust and the RSPCA in developing his Private Members’ Bill.
‘Proper oversight’
Dogs Trust chief executive Owen Sharp said: “Good intentions aren’t enough. We need laws in place to make sure all rescue dogs are safe, cared for, and treated with the respect they deserve.
“Without proper oversight, these organisations cannot guarantee that they are operating in the best interests of the animals in their care.”
More than 50,000 people have also signed an online petition, launched prior to the Essex case, which demands licensing and regulation of rescue centres.
In its response, Defra said it would outline more details of its “overarching approach” to animal welfare in due course, but stressed that rescue groups must meet existing legal requirements.
Sea Shepherd is cracking down on illegal fish-trapping devices off the coast of Sicily (Credit: Sea Shepherd)
Off the coast of Sicily, Sea Shepherd and its volunteers are hunting down illegal fish traps and working with Italian authorities to crack down on this environmental crime.
The flat water melts into the teal-coloured sky as a former pilot vessel, the Sea Eagle, sails through the calm Tyrrhenian Sea surrounding the Aeolian Archipelago of Sicily.
The ship is operated by Sea Shepherd, an international marine conservation non-profit. Today, the team is searching for fish aggregating devices (FADs), man-made plastic structures used to attract fish. They float in the water, anchored to the seafloor, with hanging nets to catch fish. FADs made from plastic, without GPS tracking devices attached, are illegal in Italy.
While listening to techno music, a group of volunteers uses a winch to detach one of the FADs from the seafloor. A large plastic container labelled “corrosive” emerges from the sea.
“The [techno] rhythm gives us the right energy,” says James* (the crew do not wish to use their full names for safety reasons), a young Canadian volunteer who is running the operation and whose arms are covered in ocean-inspired tattoos. The volunteers work tirelessly to extract the plastic FADs from the sea and pile the tangled trash heaps into big bags. The retrieved plastic will be turned into plastic crates for sea turtle rescue operations.
FADs are used worldwide by fishermen to attract pelagic fishes into surrounding nets. These fish-trapping devices are typically composed of used fuel, pharmaceutical and other chemical containers among other types of plastic waste, dark plastic nets and rocks, all of which is held together by a few miles of nylon thread. Marine wildlife is attracted to the shade provided by FADs.
FADs are typically composed of old plastic containers held together by nylon thread (Credit: Sea Shepherd)
The material the FADs are made of matters too. FADs are required by Italian law to be biodegradable. All the FADs removed by the Sea Shepherds from the South Tyrrhenian Sea are illegal and made of plastic, says Nicola Silvestri, frigate captain and head of the Fishing Control Centre area in Western Sicily. They also lack markings which allow them to be traced back to the fishing boat that used them, he says.
“Illegal FADs are very cheap to produce, but at the same time highly dangerous for ecosystems,” says Andrea Morello, president of Sea Shepherd Italy. “These devices are installed by fishers in the month of August, then they catch fish around them in summer. Eventually, winter storms remove the devices, creating tonnes of hazardous and plastic waste floating in the sea.”
In this stretch of sea around Sicily’s Aeolian Archipelago, the target fishing species in the summer are juvenile ricciola, bluefin tuna, juvenile swordfish and pilot fish. FADs can damage the entire population, by preventing juveniles from maturing and reproducing.
The Sea Shepherd mission is part of the organisation’s ongoing Siso operation in Sicily to combat these illegal fishing devices.
“We are witnessing the biggest marine environmental disaster ever,” says Morello. “The sea is like a minefield full of FAD lines in every direction, placed by fishers who split the sea surface among them, threatening biodiversity.”
The Sea Shepherd volunteers remove the long nylon threads attached to the FADs which can harm fish, turtles, humpback whales and dolphins by trapping and suffocating them. According to Sea Shepherd, there are more than 36,000 FADs, each one composed of almost 1.2 km (0.7 miles) of nylon lines in the South Tyrrhenian Sea, part of the Mediterranean Sea.
It takes the volunteers one hour to extract almost 2km (1.2 miles) of a FAD line, it’s the first out of seven removed that day. Not far away, a police coast guard boat is monitoring the work: later it will seize the illegal plastic materials. The use of FADs made from plastic waste, without GPS trackers, is an environmental crime in Italy.
Sarah, a young German volunteer, rings the bell installed on the deck of the vessel, to celebrate and notify the crew that another FAD has successfully been extracted from the seabed. In total, the volunteers haul seven FADs onto the deck that day – their combined mass is the same size as a small car.
The Sea Shepherd volunteers are collaborating with Italian maritime authorities to crack down on FADs (Credit: Sea Shepherd)
organisation maps the FADs using deep-sea radar technology and binoculars and removes them in collaboration with national maritime authorities.
Between 2017 and 2024, the organisation removed 676 FADs from the Mediterranean Sea, says Morello. “We define ourselves as FAD hunters: here to protect the sea. We are also carrying out the first census of FADs ever realised in the Mediterranean Sea,” he says.
The data collected during this mission will be analysed as part of a research project that Sea Shepherd runs with the National Biodiversity Future Centre of the University of Palermo in Sicily and the Cima Research Foundation, based in Liguria, Italy. Using statistical analysis, Sea Shepherd has been producing maps since 2017 to identify for the first time the extent of this ghost labyrinth created by FADs anchored to the seabed.
“With the information provided by Sea Shepherd, we were able to have a precise mapping of the location and composition of these devices,” says Alberto Sechi, a marine biologist at Cima Foundation. “Since 2017, the plastic lines (mostly polypropylene) used to anchor the FADs exceeds 2,500km (1,553 miles): that corresponds to the distance between Paris and Moscow.”
In a single night, Morello says the Sea Shepherds discovered around 912 FADs in the waters surrounding the Sicilian island of Alicudi, each one composed of more than 1km (0.6 miles) of nylon threads. “Multiplying the number of FADs we found by the medium length of each thread, the total length of lines used in this area is a staggering 43,200 km (26.284 miles) of nylon: this is more than the circumference of the entire planet Earth,” says Morello.
Sea Shepherd’s work involves removing as many FADs as possible, but then, the disposal problem arises. In 2022, the non-profit started collaborating with iMilani, an Italian company that specialises in building plastic crates from recycled materials. Together, they have created the Sea Turtle Crates project, which aims to transform the FADs into plastic crates for sea turtle rescue operations. After the entangled turtles have been freed from the FADs, they are put into the crates which Sea Shepherd uses to transport them to veterinarians. Six loggerhead turtles have been rescued to date and 100 turtle recovery boxes have been created from FADs, says Roberto Milani, founder of iMilani and a freediver.
The company is hoping to design other items with FADs waste in future, including pens and other gadgets, which can be sold to finance Sea Shepherd’s activities, says Milani.
Sea Shepherd is creating the first-ever census of FADs in the Mediterranean Sea (Credit: Sea Shepherd)
big bags full of plastic lines extracted from the FADs. In one day at sea, the crew removed seven FADs composed of 6.5km (4 miles) of nylon lines and plastic containers. Their labels reveal their previous lives: from hospital waste and corrosive liquids, to oil, gas and detergent jerrycans. Using radar, the Sea Shepherds map more than 100 FADs throughout the day.
The crew’s work begins early in the morning, and continues until sunset, with brief breaks for meals. Tuti, 23, an Israeli volunteer, prepares a vegan buffet each day. Today’s menu is inspired by Latin American foods, such as empanadas, chimichurri, black beans mole and corn tortillas, which Tuti learned to cook during a Sea Shepherd mission in the Gulf of California, where she worked to protect the last vaquita dolphins.
Onboard are 20 volunteers, from four continents with different ages and backgrounds: from Willie, a 20-year-old German student, to retired engineer and sea captain Gigi, 63, who joins Sea Shepherd’s missions several times a year.
“We are here because we want to be part of the solution. We are sort of part of it, by removing all those plastics from the seas,” says Zafar from Pakistan, who is in charge of measuring and cataloguing each FAD for the database. “I don’t understand people’s insensitivity towards the sea and its inhabitants,” he says.
Many FADs are anchored to the seafloor with stones or buckets full of cement, says Teresa Romeo, director of the Sicily Marine Centre at the Anton Dohrn Zoological Station in Naples, Italy. She has been studying FADs since the 1990s. “They modify the seabed environment and affect all the species living there,” she says.
Romeo says a mandatory recovery of all FADs should be implemented. “We need to establish a spatial management plan to define a specific area [for FADs] and replace floating materials with biodegradable ones, in order to have a more sustainable fishing practice in the Mediterranean Sea,” says Romeo.
Sea Shepherd makes “a great contribution to the mapping actions of FADs and their efforts are useful for monitoring impacts, but in my opinion the aim cannot be drastic removal, but to regulate their use,” she says.
The retrieved plastic FADs are turned into crates for sea turtle rescue operations (Credit: Sea Shepherd)
But creating biodegradable devices from materials such as hemp is difficult due to the high cost, according to Sechi. “Creating a completely biodegradable FAD is a significant challenge, and so far, no one has come up with a solution,” he says. “One alternative could be hemp, but kilometres of hemp thread are very expensive, and no angler would spend that much.”
Experts such as Romeo say that the transition to biodegradable and non-toxic materials would be an important part of the solution to reduce marine pollution from fisheries based on FADs. As well as breaking down in the ocean, biodegradable materials may contain fewer toxins and heavy metals, compared to plastic, says Romeo, though she agrees that cost is a major barrier for materials such as hemp.
In the meantime, the Sea Shepherds continue to sail the seas to map and remove illegal fish-trapping devices, collaborating closely with the local coastguard, researchers and private enterprises to crack down on this environmental crime.
“This alliance is a solution to protect the deep sea,” says Morello.
A judge has once again determined that public ‘shelters’ will violate laws that protect animals if left unchallenged.
In a victory for animals and those who care about them, a California Court issued a permanent injunction prohibiting the San Diego Humane Society from refusing to provide shelter and care to kittens and lost cats and instead abandoning them on the street.
While the ruling supports the legality of community cat programs, including for feral cats, it requires shelters to comply with state laws regarding abandonment and animal care.
In a bid to recast the Court’s ruling against it, the San Diego Humane Society claimed victory in the case — a claim echoed by apologists for “shelter” malfeasance — even though the Court ruled gainst SDHS and prohibited them from making any changes to the program that would reduce protections for kittens and for adult cats who are social with people.
CBS originally wrote an article regurgitating SDHS’s false claim of winning:
They quickly removed the article when presented with the truth:
CBS subsequently reported that “A judge found the Humane Society’s Community Cat Program violated state law…” In fact, it wasn’t a community program; it was a program that turned its back on kittens and lost or abandoned friendly cats.
What the ruling means:
California “shelters,” like SDHS, are guilty of abandonment if they release, rather than admit, friendly cats with indications of ownership.
These include:
Sterilization (without an ear-tip);
Microchip (even if unregistered);
Wearing a collar, clothing, or accessories;
Signs of recent medical treatment; or,
Abandonment witnessed or credibly described by a finder.
The Court also ruled that kittens under 12 weeks old and social kittens aged 12 weeks to six months must be admitted into the shelter. It imposed a permanent injunction prohibiting SDHS from instituting changes that would reduce protections for cats and kittens.
The ruling prohibiting release does not apply to feral cats, sterilized cats found with ear tips, or friendly adult cats who do not exhibit any of the above criteria.
It wasn’t a complete victory. For example, “shelters” still have some discretion to determine which kittens must be admitted. They can also continue to kill them after admission, something that many California “shelters” do.
We need to continue insisting on — and passing laws that mandate — No-Kill policies.
The case is Pet Assistance Foundation, et al. v. San Diego Humane Society, Case No. 37-2021-00007375-CU-MC-CTL. The ruling can be found here.
Together, we will create a future where every animal is respected and cherished, and every individual life is protected and revered.
This article below, written for The Independent (UK) national newspaper, by Danny; a well known journalist and AR campaigner himself, is a very well written account of events in Spain, Summer 1995, when campaigner Vicki was undercover filming and taking recordings of the ‘Bull Run’ held in the town of Coria.
Tragically, she was gored by one of the very same Bulls being tortured by locals and drunk tourists that day; one of the very same animals she was attempting to obtain footage of, in her campaign to get the Bull Runs STOPPED.
Vicki suffered terrible injuries as a result of her encounter with the Bull. Tossed into the air 10 times, and gored 11 times in the chest, back, groin and legs. She also suffered a punctured lung, had 8 badly smashed ribs, and lost one of her kidneys. She was in a coma for around 4 weeks.
Her husband Tony, said that she ‘burst into tears for the Bull’ when told that her attacking Bull has been shot and killed, as he was considered ‘too dangerous’.
Vicki died on 6th February 2000. Thanks to her work exposing the Blood Fiestas and Bullfighting; major changes have happened in Spain much to the benefit of animals.
Her biography, called ‘Life on the Line’, has been written and is available now.
World Animals Voice 