The brilliant guys at BDMLR British Divers Marine Life Rescue (bdmlr.org.uk) are monitoring Thor all the way, and it is hoped that soon he will return to the icy Arctic waters that he belongs in.
The walrus who attracted huge crowds in Scarborough and saw the town’s new year fireworks cancelled has left his latest stopping point of Blyth.
Photo – Alan Tilmouth
The animal, dubbed Thor, arrived in the Northumberland harbour at about midday on Monday where he rested on a pontoon.
The British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) kept watch overnight and said he left Blyth at about 06:45 GMT on Tuesday.
It is hoped he will head north to his normal Arctic waters.
Animal lovers in Madrid showed some puppy love during this festive period, as they embarked on the San Perrestre walk against animal abandonment.
The annual event, which was organised by the animal protection group El Refugio, reminds us that dogs are not just for Christmas.
“This is the third time we have come to support the shelter and we are very happy to support especially the dogs that need a home,” said one participant.
The event aims to highlight the growing need to adopt cats and dogs that have been abandoned and neglected.
Because of you, so many animals get to shine bright. Thank you for your kindness, which has reached many hearts here in Animal Aid.
Your generosity over the past year has enabled us to help more animals than ever before, and to serve them better every day. Your help has meant more soft glossy fur, more twinkling eyes, more soft muzzles and more silly playfulness
Cherub wanted to heal fastin order to startkissing!
This little girl had been hit by a vehicle and had blood coming from her nose. A kind passer-by saw her injury and called us to the rescue. She cried out as we gently lifted her into our carry-basket, but she was too hurt and confused to struggle. As we examined her mouth, nose, and badly sprained leg, she kept perfectly still and her eyes were worried with doubt.
But what a resilient brave-heart she proved to be! After pain medicine, supportive bandages and plenty of cuddles,her tail gave a tiny wag, and we knew we had a life-loving spirit on our hands. Meet Cherub now!
This frightened young lady was in tremendous pain from an abscess around her neck causing so much swelling she could barely turn her head. An abscess is a build up of pus formed under the skin, usually from a bacterial infection. In her case, we suspect she’d suffered apuncture wound, and the abscess formed to fight the infection from the puncture. Left untreated, an abscess can cause sepsis and even lead to death, so it was vital that she receive treatment right away.
We treated her with antibiotics, painkillers, and gave her sedation to painlessly drain the abscess. As soon as Saaya woke up from the sedation she was already feeling so much better,and within just a day she looked like another dog, and a gorgeous one!
We often hear from people who have sponsored an animal that they feel their sponsored sweetheart is connected to them, no matter the distance. Animals in permanent sanctuary at Animal Aid often came to us with a heartbreaking past, whether because of abandonment, or injuries so severe that they needed life-long care and protection. Sponsoring one of our many sanctuary darlings means giving the gift of not only rescue and medical care, but a life-time of love. Take a look at these beauties–each with unique needs, a painful past and a beautiful life in Animal Aid’s permanent sanctuary, with you helping watch over him or her.
This little shop saves very important lives.
100% of the proceeds go to our street animal rescues.
In relation to my stray animal campaigning work in the Balkans, I have always argued that current money spent killing strays should instead be put into NO KILL sterilisation and vaccination / health check issues for all strays By sterilisation, over a period of short time, you will see stray numbers REDUCING, not increasing.
Rounding up and killing strays is a very good but very ineffective way for authorities to present the image to0 the public of them ‘doing something’; when in fact they are killing and killing, but not seriously addressing the real issue as it should be addressed.
Strays are homeless animals, NOT wild animals !
Further update – above I talk about work for stray animals in the Balkans.
In 2005 I founded ‘Serbian Animals Voice’ (SAV) and with the support of some Serbian activists, we took on the Serbian government on the issue of stray animal management.
I am giving a link to the old SAV site which I have now closed down but which is still around for archive review purposes. With this past, I feel confident that I am in a position to add my voice to positives for stray animal protection and numbers reduction through No Kill sterilisation.
Also below I am showing a few photographs from the site which shows how strays are abused and mistreated by the Serbian authorities. On the (archive) left of the site, you can gain access to all the work that we attempted in defending the rights of stray animals in https://serbiananimalsvoice.com/2016/08/Serbia.
I hope you find it interesting;
Stray animals are homeless, and in need of help; they are not wild animals !
Primates exposed to severe suffering in brain research experiments in Germany
15 November 2022
DAAE
News
Doctors Against Animal Experiments have revealed the severe suffering of non-human primates used for brain research experimentation in Germany, and reveal that eight institutions are currently carrying out similar tests that should be banned under EU law.
In 2009, six dead primates used for scientific experimentation at the Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics in Tübingen were sent to a governmental pathological institution to investigate their cause of death. The examination revealed severe injuries on the skull, cerebral membranes and the brain which must have caused excruciating pain for months.
New photo and video evidence obtained by Doctors Against Animal Experiments has exposed the extreme cruelty of the experiments to the public. The footage garnered significant interest and was broadcast on a major German television programme.
Monkeys in brain research are subjected to unimaginable suffering. This is revealed by a dissection report documenting head injuries such as drill holes in the skull bone and stab wounds in the brain of such animals. Official veterinary pathologists found that the monkeys used by the Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics (MPI Tübingen) in Tübingen were suffering not only severely, but extremely severely, which was fully known to the competent authorities.
Doctors Against Animal Experiments
This shocking case is not an isolated incident. The MPI Tübingen stopped its primate experiments in 2017 due to public pressure after years of campaigning and an undercover investigation in 2014. However, similar tests are still being carried out in Bremen, Göttingen, Magdeburg, Marburg, Frankfurt, and at three other institutes in Tübingen.
Directive 2010/63/EU sets an upper limit for pain and suffering above which animal testing should no longer be carried out. Recital 23 states that “from an ethical standpoint, there should be an upper limit of pain, suffering and distress above which animals should not be subjected in scientific procedures”, and article 15 states that “Member States shall ensure that a procedure is not performed if it involves severe pain, suffering or distress that is likely to be long-lasting and cannot be ameliorated.”
However, if for exceptional and scientifically justifiable reasons, a Member State deems it necessary to carry out a procedure involving severe pain, suffering or distress that is likely to be long-lasting and cannot be ameliorated, Member States may adopt a provisional measure to allow such a procedure. In that case, the Member State shall immediately inform the Commission and the other Member States, and provide reasons and evidence for its decision to allow a provisional measure. Then, the Commission may either authorise the provisional measure or require the Member State to revoke the provisional measure.
When applying for project authorisation, researchers classify the severity of this type of procedure usually as “moderate” (i.e. short-term moderate pain, suffering or distress, or long-lasting mild pain, suffering or distress). The unveiling of Doctors Against Animal Experiments have shown that primate brain research procedures often involve pain, suffering or distress that is “likely to be long-lasting and cannot be ameliorated”. Therefore, such procedures should only be authorised if they have been the subject of a request for a provisional measure, in accordance with the Directive.
Call for action in Germany
Doctors Against Animal Experiments are calling for decision-makers to no longer approve such procedures in Germany, and to stop the use of non-human primates in brain research immediately.
It was like over 35 years ago that Joanne and I, plus a few other members of our (then) group, went up to the Mauritanian embassy in London to protest against the primate trade. Read more and see photos of that day in the first link below.
I am unsure if the primates associated with the German issue detailed above were originallly supplied from Mauritius; all I can do is try to publicise what is still happening in Europe right now.
The Head of the Prime Minister’s Strategic Reforms Unit, Salman Sufi, announced that the development of the Animal Rights curriculum, which will be taught in schools in the federal capital, is almost complete.
His tweet read: “As part of PM Shehbaz [Sharif’s] Animal welfare reforms, Chapters on Animal rights in curriculum are in final stages of composition”.
He added that he had also had detailed consultations with over 40 academics, the Ministry of Education, the curriculum board, and animal rights volunteers in this regard.
He had stated in September that the course will be introduced in the syllabi of Grades 5 and above at both private and government schools in the federal capital by the end of October.
Sufi also mentioned that the government is working with international organizations and local activists for this project that will educate students about pets, stray animals, and exotic pets.
Detailing the layout of the course, Sufi had said,
Animal rights activists will visit schools and teach children about keeping pets. They will tell kids that pets cannot just be kept for fun, and make them realize that animals are a responsibility.
He added,
They need to understand that you can’t throw stones at stray dogs. That it is better to neuter these animals. That even Islam teaches us to respect every living being and emphasizes how animals should be protected.
Furthermore, the course content will also include the dangers of keeping exotic animals at home.
“We will tell children that if they can afford these wild animals, it is absolutely unfair to keep them at home and that importing exotic animals is a big no,” Sufi said.
The premier’s aide had also previously explained that the course on Animal Welfare will have co-curricular sessions, and after it is launched in Islamabad, the authorities will push for the provincial governments to follow suit.
FOUR PAWS conducted the first ever survey in Ukraine on the welfare of companion animals during the war, to help mobilise support for shelters and volunteers in the country. 670 respondents took part in the survey, which revealed that the biggest problems are abandonment of pets, unsterilised animals living on the streets, and a lack of food for pets, strays and shelter animals.
FOUR PAWS carried out the survey to find out where its support is most needed.
The organisations’ local Stray Animal Care team has been active in Ukraine for the past ten years. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 FOUR PAWS, in coalition with other organisations, helped establish UPAW for efficient delivery of humanitarian aid to animals. Despite the challenging logistics in the country, 130 staff and volunteers of UPAW managed to distribute 944 tons of humanitarian cargo to animals over 8 months of their work.
UPAW is delivering aid based on the urgency of the need: the regions close to the combat zone, temporarily occupied and liberated by Ukrainian Armed Forces, are the areas of priority. But UPAW also covers the rest of the Ukrainian territory, where many animals were evacuated to. In addition to pet food aid, UPAW also distributes veterinary drugs to clinics, supports spay and neuter campaigns, and runs fundraising campaigns for the shelters in Ukraine.
Unfortunately, in-kind donations UPAW receives from international NGOs have decreased in recent months compared to February and March 2022. They are struggling to fill their warehouses, yet the many needs of animals in Ukraine continue to grow because of the prolonged war.
Animal rights activists accuse ex-president of abandoning North Korean dogs
‘A commitment to be an animal’s guardian is a commitment for life’
By Jung Min-ho
Animal rights activists are criticizing former President Moon Jae-in for his decision to return his dogs ― given by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un as a gift following their 2018 summit ― to a government facility, saying that he should not treat the dogs as if they are objects.
“Mr. Moon should not abandon the dogs or be forced to abandon them. As their guardian, it is his responsibility and privilege to care for their physical and emotional needs,” Patti Kim, head of Jindo Love Rescue, an animal rights group, told The Korea Times. “A commitment to be an animal’s guardian is a commitment for life.”
The statement came after Moon decided to give up a pair of white Pungsan dogs ― “Gomi” and “Songgang.” While they are currently undergoing medical examinations at a veterinary hospital in Daegu before being sent to a state facility, which remains undecided, their puppy named “Daun” will continue to live with Moon at his house in Yangsan, South Gyeongsang Province.
A lack of government support was the main reason behind the decision. In his message on social media, Wednesday, Moon said the Ministry of the Interior and Safety has delayed approving an enforcement ordinance for him ― an agreement made while he was in office.
The administrative rule change would strengthen the legal basis for his right to keep the dogs ― state property as a gift given while in office ― and provide him with the proposed financial support of about 2.5 million won ($1,800) a month.
But given that “an institution” ― the secretary office of a former president, in this case ― is already allowed to manage animals under Article 6 of the current enforcement ordinance on presidential records management, critics believe the key issue was money. After being elected, Yoon Suk-yeol, known as a dog lover, also openly supported the idea of Moon taking the dogs with him. They lived with Moon for more than four years.
“There are people talking about the cost of dog food. I do not know whether they know the retired president (I) paid for all the expenses,” Moon wrote. “I even paid for the expenses of bringing the dogs to Yangsan (from the presidential office) and taking them to a Presidential Archives-designated place (the veterinary hospital). It should be appreciated that I took care of them with affection free of charge over the past six months.”
Moon added he would continue to live with the dogs only if he can gain legal ownership.
Regardless of legal issues, animal rights activists say his view of animals is deeply flawed.
“Animals are not objects, and they are not our property. Gomi, Songgang, and their puppy should never have been misclassified as state property, when in fact, they are part of former President Moon’s family,” Kim said.
Eun-young, lead organizer at the Korea office of Direct Action Everywhere, an animal rights organization based in California, lamented that the sorry episode of the Pungsan dogs shows how Korean society as a whole treats animals.
As a presidential candidate, Moon pledged to strengthen animal rights in an apparent bid to appeal to more than 10 million voters living with their animal companions. After a summit in Pyongyang in September 2018, Moon’s office uploaded the pictures of him interacting with the animals from the North on social media from time to time. Many viewed them as the symbol of ― or at least meaningful progress toward ― peace on the Korean Peninsula.
Beagle Rescue Network, a Korean animal rights group, expressed disappointment in Moon, questioning the sincerity of his political steps supposedly for animal rights.
“Regardless of the reasons, giving up adoption is giving up responsibility, which is the virtue of a leader who was once respected as the (South) Korean president,” the group said in a statement. “We are witnessing the leader giving up the responsibility for life due to political reasons. We implore you to end the era in which living creatures are being used for politics. Animals are not objects.”
We (WAV) covered a lot on ex President Moon over the years on our other site, SAV which campaigned for stray animals in Serbia; and his election pledge to do a lot better for animals – especially animals kept on South Korean dog meat farms.
Sadly, like so many election promises, once elected, the politicians turn their backs on the subject in question. Check out our past posts below which show the dire conditions in which S. Korean dog farms operate.
World Animals Voice 