Great to hear from you Slavica; my wonderful Serbian campaigner friend.
I was getting worried about you, and deciding if I need to mail you; but now you have told me all is ok with your comment.
Take care my good friend.
Regards Mark
See more about Slavica at https://serbiananimalsvoice.com/about-us/
– scroll down until you arrive at Dr. Medicine Slavica Mazak Bešlić
🐶 Around 300,000 animals end up in German animal shelters every year and are urgently looking for a loving home.
We translated what they would tell us. 👇
(Video is in English)
An animal comes to German animal shelters every 65 minutes.
They are the product of human indifference.
They are either abandoned, given away, or come to the home through official animal trapping and the veterinary office.
The shelters are full, the volunteers work overtime to provide the animals with adequate care, but unfortunately more animals are accepted than mediated.
Many leave their cat or dog in the forest and hope that a merciful hiker will find and save them.
For these animals it means that they are lucky when they end up in the shelter, where most of them stay until the end of their lonely life.
In Germany the abandoneded animals are piling up.
We used to think that this only happens in southern countries, now it is exactly the same here.
The only difference is that we don’t see the abandoneded animals on the street because the shelters have more money to take them in.
Give a home to an abandoned animal.
It will be thankful and loyal to you forever, and you will have a dear friend in happy and sad moments of life.
My best regards to all, Venus
Dear Mark,
How vast is a mother’s love! When you watch this rescue video below, you’ll remember the umbrella of love your own mother held over you most of the days of your life, and you’ll probably recognize yourself as the kid begging his mom to play. We can see so easily that in cows, just like in our own species, the mother-child bond is physical, practical, and highly emotional. All mothers try to protect their children. Animal mothers teach their children how to keep clean, how to play, how to stay safe, how to find food. Animal mothers even clean wounds in their young as best they can. But sometimes Mother can’t do it all, and we have the chance to help. Thank you for helping us to be a mother’s helper when a baby is in danger.
A serious wound covered in flies caused this baby intense distress. We brought both the calf (Moon) and his mother (Jupiter) to Animal Aid for his several weeks of treatment. As soon as his wound was cleaned and bandaged, his mood lightened incredibly, and he constantly invited his mom to play. It was as if he felt so secure with her always by his side that he was the perfect little patient, and she was the perfect loving angel always in the wings.
In most dairies, including the backyard dairies in villages, when a baby is only a couple of days old, they are taken from their anguished mother cows or tied apart from her to prevent the baby from nursing or having any physical contact. Watching Jupiter and Moon, it’s very clear that snuggling, grooming and touching is as important as sunlight and air.
But Jupiter couldn’t clean and bandage Moon’s wound. That’s where you come in. Please donate.
The crusting from advanced mange was encasing this older dog as if he was growing gravel instead of skin. Though mange is curable, he was made so frail by this terrible skin disease that we knew he could lose his life in his battle. He touched our hearts with his quiet, understated determination. But though he was subtle, his nature was so incredibly sweet that everyone loved him as soon as they looked into his innocent eyes. And when he was healed, he was as beautiful on the outside as he was, all along, on the inside. Meet Ramu today.
You can help a downcast dog lift his head again. In hope. Please donate.
We share so many stories where there has been negligence or cruelty: ropes tied and forgotten, animals hit by cars and to die by the side of the road, mange far too advanced before someone calls us for help. But many animals in India are deeply loved.
Kali is one such lucky “community” dog. The guardianship of her neighbors may not look like typical “pet ownership.” She isn’t kept inside a house. But she is loved, and lives with utter freedom with the other street dogs in her neighborhood, traipsing here and there. When Kali was hit by a bike and couldn’t stand, her guardians immediately called us to help.
We thought initially that Kali might have a spine injury because she couldn’t bear weight on any of her legs. But Kali would not give up, maybe because she couldn’t wait to get back to her neighborhood filled with love. Kali’s reunion with her beloved friends is beautiful.
Happiness is… getting someone home soon. Donate today.
Little Jet is a street boy who probably hadn’t had too many desserts in his life, but it took him no time at all, even in his darkest hour, to find he has a sweet tooth!
Celebrate the Staff: Aditi Dixit
Coordinating volunteers requires deep and immediate understanding of individual animals and equal insight into the character of people. Having moved to Udaipur from Bangalore last year just to work here, Aditi possesses this rare gift. During lockdown, with our volunteer program closed, Aditi has stepped in to manage the animal care in our Dog Hospital. She is a life-saver for animals and for her colleagues, an inspiration for her versatility and sweetness.
WAV Comment: Congratulations to T&T and all the good people who have worked so hard to get this new legislation passed. It is your day !
Animal welfare in Trinidad and Tobago is a lot more promising after it passed the Miscellaneous Amendments Bill last week, which carries substantially heavier penalties for animal cruelty than previous laws.
Under the new legislation, convicted animal abusers could face up to five years in prison, as well as fines of up to TT$100,000, or roughly $14,800 USD.
These new policies replace outdated punishments, which allowed for maximum fines of up to TT$400, or roughly $60 USD, and two months in prison.
“Our society has demonstrated it has to be ‘mannersed’ in terms of cruelty to animals,” Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi told the Trinidad & Tobago Newsday. “We have to do better.”
Animals are protected under the Summary Offences Act, which defines animal cruelty as beating, starving, overworking, torturing, or otherwise mistreating or abusing any domestic animal, including dogs, cats and livestock.
The updated law comes after the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service announced plans last year to increase its efforts against animal cruelty by establishing a unit dedicated to enforcing anti-cruelty laws and assigning officers to work directly with animal welfare groups, making it easier for organizations to report suspected neglect or abuse.
Animal cruelty is an ongoing problem in the country, where over half the population are pet guardians, according to Nalini Dial, an activist who said she spent years pleading with law enforcement to work with animal advocates before their voices were finally heard.
“There are dogs that are unfed,” Police Commissioner Gary Griffith told the Guardian last year. “There are dogs who are hurt. There would be chains on the necks of dogs that would be choking them. That is basic cruelty we have seen here.”
The recent changes, including the TT Police Service’s elevated commitment to enforcing anti-cruelty laws and the heightened consequences for lawbreakers, represent vast progress for animal rights in Trinidad and Tobago.
https://ladyfreethinker.org/this-country-signed-new-harsher-animal-cruelty-laws/
It is not only since Corona that wild animals are spreading in cities. In Wernigerode (a town in the district of Saxony-Anhalt, in central Germany), foxes roam through a residential area and undermine garages.
At dusk the animals become active: Several stray foxes have been causing uncertainty in the city for several weeks.
A “real plague” is reported by a local resident (!!!)
In families, the red fur animals roam between the houses and dig their burrows under garages. The resident himself has filled a hole under his garage for the fourth time in just a few weeks, and has now set up a waste paper bin in front of it – “so that at last there is peace and quiet,” (!!!) he says.
What worries residents in particular: They fear that the adaptable predators could transmit diseases such as rabies (!!!). And that the animals lose their shyness.
“Since the beginning of the Corona crisis – and the associated restrictions on public life and traffic in our district – we have seen it more and more frequently,” he explains.
Calls to veterinarians and other agencies have so far brought nothing.
City administration recommends scare
As the spokesman for the town hall says: “Prevention of predators is the responsibility of the private property owner and can be done relatively easily with the use of frightening agents. I also had contact with a local resident to whom I recommended this measure. The tip was gratefully received and should be implemented. “
Furthermore, the spokesman for the city administration recommends that those affected adjust their behavior: closed compost heaps, for example, are helpful in order to provide the survivors with no food. This also includes not storing leftover food in the garden and avoiding open feeding of pets outdoors. “Sometimes foxes are even fed, that should be avoided!”
According to the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation, the red fox is not subject to any species protection regulations in Germany.
According to the German Wildlife Foundation, these predators are not threatened, “but are among the big winners in our cultural landscape”.
They have spread rapidly in large cities.
In the 1980s and early 1990s, rabies had partially decimated the fox population.
Germany has been rabies-free since 2008, according to the World Organization for Animal Health.
And I mean... Of course, none of the residents wonder why the foxes leave the forest.
They are refugees.
We have driven them out and fought since the first day of their lives.
We have not wondered what we would do if others stole our houses, our country, if our children were murdered so that others could build their houses or businesses.
We are the only animals that accept coexistence when we rule and dominate.
The only real plague that I know, is the human plague.
My best regards to all, Venus
Dear Mark,
Chickens have spectacularly brightened our world here. We can all remember a few years ago (BC–Before Chickens) and I don’t think we could have imagined then how much joy, humor and atmosphere of busy activity they bring. When you enter their area, you’re surrounded by calves and sheep and goats vying to stand in your lap, or even on your back. But meanwhile, in the background, there is a flurry of various plots: big white rooster Tony is bothering big white rooster Merin; bright-feathered Spin is prancing with pride over the grub she nabbed in the shade; proud mother Spice is herding her fast-growing speckled brood. Our 15 rescued chickens celebrate their lives by enjoying their lives. You can see it and you can feel it. May 4th is Respect for Chickens Day and we love seeing the dust baths, the roosting on branches, the quarrels and love affairs, and the comfort they bring to each other’s lives. For loving them with us and helping provide the safe haven where they can flourish in their joy, thank you.
Olivia’s story is a simple rescue of a piglet with a wound in her neck. Her treatment and recovery are made sweeter by loving care from people, which she desperately needed because she is very young and we couldn’t find her mother. But there’s another story here–about her intelligence, humor, playfulness, and sensitivity. Qualities most pigs had at birth, but were never allowed to explore or develop. By the time you have finished watching this happy little 4-minute video, thousands of pigs will have been killed in the meat industry. Each of these individuals have qualities like Olivia’s. Each one wanted to think, to create, to play, to feel this magical earth beneath her little toes, just like Olivia is doing now. #EveryPigIsOlivia
Precious. Life. Please donate.
Angelo is a bull who we found in excruciating pain with multiple ropes digging through the flesh of his front leg clear to the bone. Someone had tied his leg to his horns–a devastating technique to keep cows from running away. Usually a single rope is tied, and you often see cows crouched and hobbling down the roads with their heads bent low. You can almost feel the horrendous neck strain. In Angelo’s case, the abuse was compounded with time and with the extra shortness of the rope. But although his only experience with human hands had been to suffer human cruelty, Angelo radiated sweetness. Even during daily wound dressings that must have sometimes been painful, he seemed to understand that we were trying our best to help him.
Let’s turn cruelty to kindness. Donate today.
When Nandini applied to work here, she was so keen on helping animals that she said “I’ll do virtually anything.” With degrees in philosophy and natural resource governance, her interest in literature and her unusual grace with people, Nandini was a natural to serve as a community relations officer. Meeting with government officials on cruelty cases and other matters, families thinking about adopting a pet, volunteers and guests, she always inspires in people a deepened commitment to helping vulnerable animals. We feel so lucky to have Nandini on the team.
Zeus was hiding in a sewer because he may have instinctively thought cold water would bring down his terrible pain from a head wound. Many dogs will do this when their pain is overwhelming. We reached in and carried him to safety, where we could begin the thorough cleaning and bandaging that would save this sweetheart’s life. Thank you for transforming Zeus from hurt to healed. You also turned deep sadness to sweet happiness.
Tomorrow’s another day of rescue — please donate
I (Mark) have a monthly standing order with the Harmony Fund which provides animal rescue and food services around the world to those in need. I have a passion to help stray animals in Serbia; and I make the request that my donation goes to helping Serbian animals (an optional request).
As you can see below, it gives me great pleasure to know that many Serbian animals, and lots of others, are being helped to get food (from me) via the Harmony Fund membership scheme.
If you can become a Harmony member and give a donation to help feed animals in need then please click on the link to sign up, or give a one off donation.
In their own words:
The Harmony Fund offers a lifeline to so called “underdog” animal rescue squads across the planet. Our partners are the small but incredibly courageous and effective animal rescue teams who operate in parts of the world where funding is very hard to come by. Our supporters are helping us to dramatically impact the capacity of these rescue teams to touch thousands upon thousands of animals who might otherwise be unreachable.
Gratitude and respect are at the cornerstone of our relationship with our supporters. We do not expose our supporters to graphic photos of animal suffering or distribute dire forecasts about animal suffering. Instead we focus on a spirit of joy and determination as we pursue essential operations to provide food, veterinary medicine, shelter and protection from cruelty for animals worldwide.
Here is a video which shows the amazing work done by Harmony to get food to animals in need. We are very pleased that our monthly standing order helps to put food into hungry little mouths. Stray animals don’t ask for anything; survival is their daily aim, and by helping them with the basics such as food you will be helping to make their daily lives just a little easier:
Harmony Fund Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/HarmonyFundAnimalRescue/
Watch some amazing videos by clicking on this link – https://harmonyfund.org/videos
Today we have so much to be grateful for and it’s all because of you. The last several weeks have been transformational as we locked arms with rescue squads internationally to provide food for thousands of animals in shelters and on the street.
The rescuers typically start before dawn to prepare meals for the animals who wait for them on the street, in warehouses, on the grounds of cemeteries and at the edge of the forest.
The folks we work with don’t have uniforms or nice vans with a logo painted on the side. They are running a bare bones mission using the most meager of resources, yet they are saving lives hand-over-fist. Over and over again, they tell us how astonished they are that people from far away are helping. https://youtu.be/DMwX0b2sya0
Our aid means the difference between them being able to feed the animals once a week and being able to feed them every day.
Today we send out special thanks to our monthly donors who truly move mountains.
We hope all of you will enjoy this small update on our work.
https://harmonyfund.org/harmony-fund
Regards Mark
In the corona quarantine, a dog or a cat as a playmate? Sounds like fun, but the bizarre trend is causing trouble in the shelter.
Ban on contact, keeping distance and little prospect of loosening in times of the corona crisis. Sitting at home is often particularly difficult to bear, especially for single people. But also families with children often hardly know how to keep the little ones busy.
How good that there are dogs and cats, many think. A bizarre trend has developed in Hessen, Germany.
Coronavirus is the trigger: A dog or a cat forbidding contact – the phone does not stand still in the shelter!!
Shortly after the Corona ban on contact was also introduced in Hesse, the telephone of the “Animal Protection Association Frankfurt am Main” suddenly does not stand still in the shelter!!
And the staff at the shelter were amazed when the first request reached them: Whether it is possible to rent dogs and cats. Temporary – because of the corona crisis.
The pet, dog or cat would then be returned when the corona measures were relaxed again.
And it was far from the case of individual inquiries, explains Sabine Urbainsky from the Frankfurt animal shelter: “It was really a lot, it was actually so bad at the beginning that the phone rang almost only because of that. The most popular loan pet was the dog, and cats were only asked occasionally”.
Corona crisis: temporary pets – and if the corona measures are relaxed, the animal can be given back.
With sentences like “I would have a lot of time for a dog in the home office right now,” and “with me the pet is better off than in the kennel”, people of all stripes justified their request.
Even a father called, says the animal shelter manager from Frankfurt.
Because his son is in front of his computer all the time, a dog would be great (!!!). Then the son would finally go out again.
But if the school started again after the corona measures were relaxed, the family would want to give the dog back because there was no time for a pet.
Of course no dog and cat or other pets will be arranged on a temporary basis, says the shelter manager Sabine Urbainsky.
“The pet doesn’t understand the whole thing. It thinks it has a new home and then suddenly ends up in the shelter again. There are pets that break down mentally, ” explains the shelter manager.“Dogs or cats that suddenly lose their homes often develop lethargic behavior and refuse to eat. The animal shelter staff then have their hands full to pep up the animal again”.
And I mean..We can see what the current moral of this society is: use and throw away.
There is nothing worse for an animal than losing its home.
The joy, the conviviality, the security that is built up while living together is gone in one day.
This is man’s betrayal of the animal!
If some feel lonely and underemployed, have to go to animal shelters themselves and lead the – also lonely – dogs to a walk. Or help with the amount of work that the stressed employees do for the animals.
The loneliness in Corona times is temporary.
The loneliness of the animals in the animal shelters is lifelong.
Be a responsible adopter and give an animal love and partnership for life!
FOR LIFE!
My best regards to all, Venus
Places of death: the suffering of dogs in Romanian animal shelters
With around 600,000 dogs without a permanent home, Romania is the country with the most homeless dogs in Europe. Thousands of these animals end up in urban facilities and killing stations every year, where they are subjected to massive suffering.
AS A GENERAL RULE
In September 2013, Romania took the death of an unsupervised toddler in connection with the (alleged) street dogs to implement a law that contradicts the Council of Europe animal rights convention and many animal welfare laws, which is controversial even in Romania.
The goal was: to solve the “street dog problem” by capturing and killing.
Another goal was to catch political voices.
The real goal is and was: to legally put public money aside and share it with each other.
The law, approved by the Romanian Constitutional Court in December 2013, allows the animals to be brutally caught using snares and dogs to be put to sleep if they are not adopted within 14 days.
During this time they often have to live next to carcasses and rubbish.
Still, these facilities are a rewarding business for a number of unscrupulous people.
There are two types of facility in Romania that house captive dogs: killing stations and urban animal shelters. The incredible suffering of the dogs caught in these facilities is difficult to put into words.
“Euthanasia” in Romania is not comparable to the pain-free sleep of Western European pets.
The dogs suffer from hell agony, they are simply slain or sprayed dead with chemical substances that are extremely cruel in their effect.
Injection of gasoline in the heart, antifreeze in the veins …
Their death is not a gentle slip into the hereafter, but always a death full of fear, characterized by pain, suffering and deprivation.
The law legalized the street dog as a source of money – this was also one of the reasons to whip the law. The funds shown in the city budget are now shared between officials from the authorities and those who receive those lucrative contracts for street animal management. Paper is patient. And the dogs are silent. They are starving. And they die.
In some Romanian cities, bounties are paid for every dog brought to the state shelter. Dog catchers even have dogs stolen for money in order to meet their quota. Corruption is blooming on the backs of the street animals and a sustainable business has developed that can use an almost infinite number of dogs as starting material, if the only really working solution is not used.
SOLUTION:
A national castration campaign for animals with owners and for street animals to stop the incessant offspring. Education about animal protection = human protection in schools, in the media and in public space
And I mean…As soon as we bring up the subject of Romanian strays, there is always the same hate slogan: “Romanian children die, Romanian people suffer, but the misanthropic animal rights activists worry about the dirty street dogs”.
Yes, exactly! we care about them too!
Animal welfare is not just loving and saving animals, it has become a political issue.
Politicians in most European countries go over dead bodies when it comes to animals. And that’s what it’s all about in Romania. About an industry that blooms with the cruel death of helpless stray dogs.
In Romania it`s about 600,000 strays, 600,000 individual fates, 600,000 dog lives that are in danger every day or mistreated every day.
In 2007, the Romanian government considered a law that would have introduced state-wide castration projects. The EU even gave subsidies of € 4.2 million for 2013 alone. Instead of using them wisely to solve a major problem, these funds have been lost (and still are) in the corruption swamp and in dog catcher`s business. Until today has nothing changed!
The nature of the killings remains a state secret. There is talk of gas and electricity death. Nobody is allowed to watch it.
The public should remain in the dark.
And this despite the fact that castration projects in Romania are having a great effect.
In Oradea, for example, the number of stray dogs fell from initially 5,000 in just 6 years of project work to 300.
In Lugoj, where the mayor is behind the castration project, a population of 2500 street dogs was reduced to 250 in just 3 years. And without killing a single dog.
It is not a feat to kill defenseless dogs and cats using medieval methods, but a perverse action by the corrupt Romanian government!
This was proven in the previous year with the fall of 70,000 sheep from Midia to Kuwait.
As soon as the EU stops the flow of animal welfare subsidies for Romania, the problem can solve itself or at least fewer and fewer criminals will take part in this business because it is no longer worth it.
My best regards to all, Venus
World Animals Voice 