Category: General News
Kabul Small Animal Rescue
UPDATE ~ Please watch this video for an update on our current situation. This is our LAST chance!
Please do continue to support our efforts by donating via @WarPawsIraq & @puppyrescuemis1
Thank you
https://twitter.com/i/status/1431958569633685506
#OperationHercules
GREAT NEWS, we have a plane AND the Military has worked WONDERS and we can land it!
Slightly nerve wrecking news: this plane is our last chance.
We wanted to be as transparent & honest as we can, so hit the video for me to explain it
Thanks to Di for the information;
Regards Mark
It is later evening here in England now (2130hrs), but I have just been watching the badgers in my garden having something to eat. There were 2 this evening; probably a boar (male) and a sow (female). I give them something to eat every night; as it gives me the pleasure of having the visit, and by now, I feel confident that they know through instinct that they will have a nice feed, and also, they are safe and free from injury in my garden.
I am lucky, I know, as a lot of people never even see a live badger, let alone have them in their garden every night. They arrive by way of a pathway, or ‘run’ located in woodland at the rear of the house. They normally live as family groups in ‘setts’, homes which are handed down through the generations; sometimes being centuries old. Under British law, they are a protected animal, and any person must never interfere with a sett or the animals which live in it. Quite right too.
Each night I set out food for them to come and enjoy – they love savoury little cheese flavoured savoury nibbles, crunchy peanut breakfast cereal, loads of chopped up apples from the garden trees, grapes (their favourite I think); and a chocolate covered peanut bar finely cut up into small bits. I throw it all into an area of about 2 square metres, so that can forage for the food, as well of giving them both an equal share in what is on offer. Sometimes, when I feel extra good, I make and cut up a peanut butter sandwich for them, as badgers and peanut ‘things’ go well together.
Badgers are also known as ‘Brocks’; but you find that 99 people out of 100 still refer to them simply as the ‘badger’. Badgers are members of the ‘Mustelid’ family, and are closely related to weasels and otters. Mustelid comes from the Latin word for the weasel; or ‘mustela’; which is from the word for mouse. But they are anything but a mouse; they are normally about (I would estimate) 50-60cm in length, and are utterly distinctive by having a beautiful black and white striped head.
Badgers don’t drink a lot, despite water being available for them. Instead, they get their fluid intake from the huge amount for earthworms that is their favourite food. In dry spells this can be a problem for them to find worms; but hey, this is England; and it is almost always raining here; which brings the worms to the surface of lawns etc.
If really pushed, badgers will also eat mice, rats, toads, wasps, beetles and even hedgehogs. I love seeing hedgehogs as they are more rare nowdays; but you either have one or the other, as hedgehogs and badgers do not mix ! If a badger does eat a hedgehog, it only leaves the skin and prickles; a kind of baked potato leftover.
The wonderful black and white stripes down their head lets other animals know that they are fierce and strong; and will defend themselves. As a pair foraging in the garden; I have never seen any aggression by them to the 5 or 6 foxes which visit every night. In fact, they sometimes are within easy reach of each other; but my own experience is that they take each other without any problems or showing signs of aggression.
Badgers of one family group have a ‘clan odour’; and they communicate with others in their clan by means of a musky smell which is secreted from a gland located under their tail. Every badger has its own clan odour, which is used for used for establishing family identity as well as scent marking. ‘Clan odours’ are made by all the badgers in any sett continually swapping scents with each other; just like us having a perfume or after shave which is regular to others about us as individuals.
Female badgers, or ‘sows’; can mate with several ‘boars’, or males of the species, even in just one year. They can mate at any time of the year, which is a little unusual, as Spring tends to be the normal time for wildlife. Spring is when all the multi fathered young are born to the sow. She is unique in that she can ‘hold’ fertilized eggs in her body, switching off her pregnancy until there is adequate food source available for the young – now is that not amazing ?
Most badgers die before they reach the age of seven years; and only 60% of the young cubs will make it into a second year of life. The UK has the highest concentration of badgers of any country; with over 300,000; the 80’s seeing a rise of around 70%. This is despite a culling programme organised by the government on this ‘protected species’, in the belief that they spread Bovine tuberculosis in cattle. This is really a policy to please farmers, but is something which is shown by all the scientific studies to have no real effect. Culling badgers causes the family group to break up, and they spread far and wide, which is not the way to control disease spread, even if they were to carry it, which many (including myself) say is utter rubbish. Culling is undertaken simply to get votes from landowners and farmers; nothing else.
Well I hope you have enjoyed a few facts about the badgers of Britain; I will always act in their defence, especially where the culling is orchestrated. I hope to continue watching and enjoying ‘my badger’ visits every night; and long may it continue.
Regards Mark.
🎉 Great news! The international online shop for luxury fashion Mytheresa is discontinuing real fur sales! 🦊
From spring / summer 2022, Mytheresa plans to completely stop selling fur. The company has been removing exotic hides from its range since the spring / summer 2021 season. 🐊
We applaud Mytheresa for this important and responsible decision and appeal to all remaining companies to turn their backs on the cruel material.
https://www.facebook.com/vierpfoten.deutschland
Yes!! A very good decision, Mytheresa! we like it very much and we congratulate you!
There aren’t many designers left who still have fur in their range.
Our struggle is bearing fruit.
best regards, Venus
28/8/21 1500hrs GMT
Ex British Royal Marine Commando Pen Farthing (who has served tours in Afghan) who founded NOWZAD animal rescue in Kabul, Afghanistan, is now on his way back to the UK, complete with all the homeless dogs and cats from the shelter,
He was helped hugely by British soldiers in Kabul (airport) to load the animals on a special charter plane which late last night left KABUL in the early hours. We thank the British army and the Ministry of Defence for allowing this to get approval.
Sadly; because of restrictions imposed by the Taliban, Afghan staff from the NOWZAD were unable to get approval to enter the airport and board the flight to the UK. They were forced to remain.
Things are continuing with the UK government to try and get these workers out of Afghanistan.
Pen and the animals are coming into the UK, but first flying via Tash Kent in Uzbekistan.
We don’t know at present when they will all arrive in the UK.
I don’t think that there will be any problem in finding forever homes in the UK for all the animals en route.
Some have argued that humans should be given priority over animals; but it was always the position that if approval was given for boarding an RAF rescue flight, the animals would be shipped in the aircraft hold and that aircraft seats would still be given to humans. This was not the case as a special aircraft was chartered.
Some USA commentators have criticised the Brits for wanting to help the animals instead of humans. The UK has flown out thousands of Afghan citizens for residence in the UK during the airlift operation over the last week or so. Huge C-17 airlifters have been loaded up with Afghan citizens destined for the UK. Children were given toys on their arrival – see photo below.
Yes, the Brits also have a real thing about helping animals as well as humans – both are sentient beings.
There is an old saying:
A nation is judged by the way it treats its animals.
Pen fought in Afghan as a marine commando; but he set up NOWZAD there to help stray animals. He has seen the human side of things, and now wants to prioritise helping animals.
We wish him and all the team the very best.
Mark
In recent years there have been increasing indications that China would like to improve its image in the global public with regard to environmental and animal welfare.
It sent out a promising signal: China’s decision to ban the consumption and trade of wild animals could have changed the fate of the countless animals plagued by the illegal wildlife trade for the better.
But right from the start, the ban excluded certain areas such as the medical use of animal products.
Ironically, the law, purportedly designed to protect wildlife, has seen the tremendous rise of a wildlife exploitation industry that happened in China’s past
Why?
This is now revealed in the course of the corona crisis: China’s National Health Commission recently published the recommendation for the treatment of the coronavirus with the help of a recipe from traditional medicine (TCM), which contains bear bile, among other things.
This is tapped from collar bears and sun bears as part of an extremely painful procedure – mostly under cruel conditions and up to twice a day.
New laws also enable China’s bear bile farms to continue.
The Chinese Animal Welfare Act, enacted in 1989, provides for wild animals as a resource that can be used for human benefit. In 2016, it was changed to further legitimize the commercial use of wildlife, and it was explicitly stated that animals can be used for traditional Chinese medicine.
China is considered to be the center of the bear bile industry.
According to reports, around 10,000 bears live there in captivity – many of them originally come from the wild. The use of traditional healing methods and the use of animal products in medicine has been promoted by the government in China for years, also currently in the treatment of corona patients.
The Chinese government recommends using a bear bile product along with a range of traditional herbal medicines to treat severe symptoms caused by COVID-19
This is all the more shocking given that wildlife management is believed to be the source of the COVID-19 pandemic.
A current study by Chinese scientists shows that formulations with bear bile are actually already being used.
The publication describes a clinical study in Guangzhou in which 72 patients, all of whom suffered from serious to severe consequences of the coronavirus, received a so-called “Tan Re Qing” injection.
The product, which in addition to bear bile powder also consists of other animal and vegetable ingredients, is also sold in China via online pharmacies, among others.
Bile juice is drawn off from them twice a day in an unbearable procedure.
This intense, excruciating process makes the bears moan and tremble constantly. If they still have the strength to do so.
For this purpose the farmers on the Chinese bear farms impaled catheters through the abdominal wall into the gallbladder.
A tube is passed through this tube directly into the organ without anesthesia.
There are different types of biliary drainage – with latex catheters, metal corsets, metal catheters, the free-drip method…
The metal catheter is usually between 13 and 19 centimeters long, heavily contaminated and causes unimaginable, permanent pain and damage that will sooner or later perish the bears.
It is considered “humane” to do without the catheter and let the juice drip from an opening in the abdomen, which is surgically connected directly to the bile.
So that the animal does not tear its pipe or hose out of the inflamed wound in pain, it is fixed in a steel corset and permanently condemned to complete immobility.
We speak out strongly against torturing bears for medical purposes.
We urge the Chinese government to remove this drug from their recommended list and include only traditional herbal medicines.
In neighboring countries such as Vietnam, drawing bear bile has been banned since 2005, and in Indonesia there are only a few known illegal bile farms.
The use of remedies with bear bile, which contain the active ingredient ursodeoxycholic acid, is – regardless of any medical benefit – completely superfluous, and yet associated with extreme suffering for the animals
There are numerous herbal alternatives, but also synthetically produced ursodeoxycholic acid.
The use of the animal product cannot be justified in view of the animal suffering it entails.
China and Vietnam have banned the consumption of wild animals. This ban must be extended to include the use of wildlife in traditional medicine, preventing animals such as bears, tigers and pangolins from being abused.
https://www.worldanimalprotection.org/news/cruel-bear-bile-industry-thriving-despite-pandemic-risks
https://welttierschutz.org/tierleid-trotz-alternativen/
And I mean…The cruel bear bile business is not new.
What is new is the hocus-pocus with the healing of the corona symptoms through the.
In the flood of reports (mostly fake information) on the corona virus, this message was largely lost.
If we got that right now a product from the wildlife trade – Gall fluid from bears – recommended as a drug against a disease that is believed to have broken out in a wildlife market – COVID-19!!
Not only is this a crime for the animals, it is dangerous charlatanry against human health.
It is just as dangerous to believe that bear bile cures corona as it is to believe that vaccinations against Covid 19 are safe because they have been tested on animals!
According to the current state of knowledge, there is no evidence for the effectiveness of bear bile against Covid-19.
The recommendation of the Chinese Health Commission sends the wrong message.
Because this will only benefit the illegal wildlife trade, human health will go away empty-handed.
My best regards to all, Venus
Other videos; older, but has anything really changed ?
Ask the EU.
We did UK horse export investigations during 2001 -2004; see more on it and our other live export work at:
Its Time To Decide – The World Wants Change; So Lets Have It !
Regards Mark
Enjoy – something good for a change – one of the best bands ever !:
Live at Ally Pally, London:
UN criticised over statement on overuse of antibiotics in farming
Statement calling for significant cut in antimicrobial drug usage is ‘real missed opportunity’, say critics
Animal health experts and UN leaders have called for a significant reduction in antimicrobial drug usage in food animals, which is already causing a “silent pandemic”.
But critics say the statement is “a real missed opportunity”, pointing to its failure to set reduction targets or even call for a ban on the use of antibiotics for animal growth promotion.
Drugs which are critical for humans are being used in enormous quantities in animal production. As a result there is a far higher probability of drug-resistant bacteria and viruses emerging. This could lead to some of the world’s most important drugs becoming ineffective against common infectious diseases such as pneumonia, tuberculosis and gonorrhoea, with death rates rising.
The joint statement issued this week by the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) and the UN’s global leaders group on antimicrobial resistance called for “significant and urgent reduction in the amounts of antimicrobial drugs, including antibiotics, used in food systems” and said this was “critical to combating rising levels of drug resistance”.
The overuse of antimicrobials has led to what G7 leaders called a “silent pandemic” in June. Drug-resistant diseases already cause at least 700,000 human deaths globally every year, according to the statement. “The world is rapidly heading towards a tipping point where the antimicrobials relied on to treat infections in humans, animals and plants will no longer be effective.”
Antimicrobial drugs, which include antibiotics, antifungals and antiparasitics, are used in food production all over the world, the statement said, and are “administered to animals not only for veterinary purposes (to treat and prevent disease), but also to promote growth in healthy animals”.
But despite the statement’s strong wording, experts said it had few teeth.
“Basically what [this call] lacks is a clear target for reduction,” said Thomas Van Boeckel, an antimicrobial resistance, disease, and livestock production systems scientist at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology.
Although commendable, the statement does not say “quantitatively what they mean by significant”, Van Boeckel said. That meant, “they make no commitment, basically”, he added.
He said the targets must be country specific. “It would be unfair, for example, to impose stringent targets on developing countries who need livestock for their livelihoods.”
But, he said, high-income countries and China could aim for less than 50mg of active antibiotic ingredient per kilogram of meat raised. Many EU countries are using more than that, he said, referencing a 2017 paper he co-authored.
Van Boeckel’s paper found that implementing a global cap of 50mg of antimicrobials, per kilogram of animal product, per year could reduce total consumption by 64%.
The paper said the 50mg cap corresponded to the average global use of antimicrobials in 2017. It further recommended user fees and caps on veterinary use to control antimicrobials.
“This statement is far too cautious and a real missed opportunity,” said Cóilín Nunan, a scientific adviser at the Alliance to Save our Antibiotics. “There is no target [and] not even a call for an immediate end to the use of antibiotics for [livestock] growth promotion.”
Most disappointing, he said, is how little the statement says about intensive farming. “Intensive farming, the root cause of so much animal disease and antibiotic use, is once again let off the hook. Where is the global leadership that is needed if we are ever to move to more sustainable farming practices and drastically cut farm antibiotic use?”
Henk Hobbelink, an agronomist and co-founder of the small-farmer focused NGO Grain, agreed and said the use of antimicrobial growth promoters in factory farming needed “to be banned, immediately and everywhere”.
Another solution that has been suggested is to develop animal-only antibiotics. Timothy Walsh, who is working with a team to develop animal only replacements at the Ineos Oxford Institute (IOI) for antimicrobial research, said it was “bonkers to use the same drugs in animal feeds as you would to treat neonatal sepsis”.
The IOI’s vision, he said, is to “move to a place where in supermarkets across the UK and beyond food will be labelled NHA [meaning] no human antibiotics” but it “will take, time, effort, money, goodwill and global policy”.
Sign up for the Animals farmed monthly update to get a roundup of the best farming and food stories across the world and keep up with our investigations. You can send us your stories and thoughts at animalsfarmed@theguardian.com
UN criticised over statement on overuse of antibiotics in farming | Environment | The Guardian
The Guardian – London.
Regards Mark
WAV Comment – with the terrible situation currently in Afghanistan, there have been concerns about the animals kept in Kabul Zoo. It seems that all the animals are currently ok – Both the Mayhew and One World Actors Animal Rescues (OWAP), and the Zoological Society of London are in touch with Kabul Zoo daily, cooperating to help the welfare of the animals.
The most important news (see below), is that the zoo is still in operation, and the staff continue to care for the animals the best they can under the circumstances.
The zoo is currently NOT in any immediate danger.
They have supplies of food and water and are in the process of acquiring further supplies..
Regarding Kabul Zoo
CWI is a proud supporting member of the Asia for Animals Coalition.
This morning they sent all members an email with details regarding the situation at Kabul Zoo. We are providing the full text of that email here to stop the spread of misinformation.
Please know that we have no additional details, and we are not actively engaged in this situation. Any other updates will also be provided here and in our social media.
WHAT IS THE SITUATION AT KABUL ZOO?
The zoo is still in operation, and the staff continue to care for the animals the best they can under the circumstances.
The zoo is currently not in any immediate danger.
They have supplies of food and water and are in the process of acquiring further supplies..
ARE THERE CONCERNS ABOUT THE ANIMALS?
Given that the situation in Afghanistan is unstable, there are concerns for the animals at Kabul Zoo. However, as of 25th August we can confirm that zoo staff are working as normal and the animals are safe.
WHO IS WORKING ON THIS ISSUE?
Both The Mayhew and One World Actors Animal Rescues (OWAP), and the Zoological Society of London are in touch with Kabul Zoo.
These organizations are not directly involved in the zoo’s activities, but are in direct contact with the zoo’s director. The Asia for Animal Coalition’s 22 core member organisations are here to support these organisations and are monitoring the situation.
Director of Kabul Zoo, Mr. AzizGul Saqib, has confirmed that, although the situation is fluid and the future as yet uncertain, that the animals have food and water. Mr Saquib stated:
” We providing the complete standard menue of the food” and that the Zoo staff and vets are still on-site and tending to the animals..”We will be in contact if we need any thing for the animals”
STATEMENT from the Zoological Society of London
ZSL London Zoo, part of international conservation charity ZSL, is committed to providing support to Kabul Zoo. The two zoos have worked together over the years, with our teams sharing expert knowledge and experience. With the rapidly changing situation in Afghanistan, ZSL London Zoo’s team remain in contact with Kabul Zoo at this time and will continue to provide support and advice whenever and wherever possible.
STATEMENT from THE MAYHEW
Mayhew is a UK registered animal welfare charity, working primarily with dogs and cats. Our work in Kabul with our branch, Mayhew Afghanistan, is delivery of a mass canine rabies vaccination programme and a TNR programme for the city’s free-roaming dog population. We do not have a shelter there.
The safety of our staff is a priority at this time, but we are hoping to resume our operations if and when circumstances allow and it is safe to do so. There will still be free-roaming dogs in Kabul and rabies will raise its ugly head again.
Mayhew’s relationship with Kabul Zoo started in 2002 when we were part of a group of NGOs that helped rebuild the zoo. Dr Mohammadzai DVM, our Afghanistan Country Director, has facilitated connections for Kabul Zoo with ZSL London and also provided training for vets and carried out more complex surgeries for them. We have a warm relationship with the Zoo Director.
WHAT CAN I DO TO HELP?
Share news only from trustworthy sources.
Please support organisations working on the ground.
We are currently seeking advice on the best organisation to receive donations in support of Kabul Zoo. This will be updated as soon as we have more information.
Regarding Kabul Zoo (cwint.org)
Compassion Works International.
Regards Mark
Afghanistan – NOWZAD (Pen Farthing) Latest News 26/8/21.
Afghanistan: Plane leaving Luton (London UK) to evacuate rescue animals and staff
A plane is expected to leave Luton Airport later to evacuate staff and animals from a charity in Afghanistan.
The campaign to get Nowzad sanctuary founder Paul “Pen” Farthing along with animals and staff out of Kabul has become known as Operation Ark.
The privately funded plane is due to land on Friday but Mr Farthing said he was not being allowed into the airport.
There had been criticism about prioritising animals over people, but approval was given for the flight.
Royal Marine veteran Mr Farthing, who is from Essex, founded the Nowzad animal shelter, rescuing dogs, cats and donkeys after serving in Afghanistan in the mid-2000s.
He has said he would not leave the country without his staff or animals.
It is understood Mr Farthing has about 68 staff and 150 cats and dogs as well as other people described as “vulnerable”.
Read it all and see photos at:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-58340272
More reading from ‘The Guardian’ (London).
Regards Mark
World Animals Voice 