Category: Wildlife

Birds, Environmental, General News, Uncategorized, Wildlife

(US – Virginia Beach, VA) Sign: Find Man Who Brutally Beat Goose With Curtain Rod In Front Of Goose’s Mate

https://animalvictory.org/petition/sign-find-man-who-brutally-beat-goose-with-curtain-rod/

The battered goose was left “almost lifeless in pain.” Rescuers rushed him to a veterinarian in an attempt to save his life, but he went into cardiac arrest and died while being sedated for surgery.

Now the slain goose’s mate is left alone. Canada geese mate for life, making this horrific crime even more heart wrenching.

The slain goose’s mate is now alone (via Tidewater Wildlife Rescue)

The man who bludgeoned this goose not only committed a shocking act of animal cruelty—he also broke the law, as Canada geese are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, making this a federal crime.

Please sign the petition today to help Animal Victory hold this individual accountable for his abhorrent behavior when he is found and arrested! Animal Victory is offering a $500 reward for information leading to the identification, arrest, and conviction of the person responsible!

Bludgeoned to death in front of his mate

Target: Department of Wildlife Resources, Wildlife Crime Division

WHY THIS PETITION MATTERS: 

We, the undersigned, want the man responsible for this crime to be found and charged. We demand this individual be prosecuted for each and every law he violated!

Research has consistently shown a strong link between animal cruelty and human violence. Individuals who commit such heinous acts against animals often pose a threat to society as a whole, as animal abuse is frequently a precursor to other violent crimes. Failing to hold this man accountable not only denies justice for the innocent goose he brutalized but also endangers the community at large. It is imperative that we send a clear message that such cruelty will not be tolerated.

Individuals are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law. Animal Victory relies upon the authorities and the court system to determine guilt or innocence.

Note: Efforts are underway to find this man. The goose was attacked in the area of 144 Business Park Dr, Virginia Beach, VA Anyone with information is asked to call Tidewater Wildlife Rescue by calling 757-255-8710.

NEWS

https://www.wtkr.com/news/in-the-community/virginia-beach/tidewater-wildlife-rescue-looking-for-man-they-say-beat-goose-to-death-in-virginia-beach

https://www.wavy.com/news/local-news/virginia-beach/va-beach-goose-dead-after-allegedly-being-beaten-by-man-with-shower-curtain-rod/

Please sign Petition on Page

General News, Hunting, Uncategorized, Wildlife

(DE – Rhineland-Palatinate) Young female Wolf found shot

Image (Pixabay)

And so it begins .. a young female of 9 months was found shot on February 15th, 2025 near the small town of Fiersbach, in the district of Altenkirchen. The autopsy performed confirmed death by pericardial tamponade due to a projectile.

Under the law this is illegal and a crime, and the Upper Nature Conservation Authority SGD Nord has filed a criminal complaint. As usual, this will lead nowhere – the, without a doubt, involved hunters and farmers are a tight-knit group who cover each others’ backs.

Interestingly, only 5 days later, on February 20th, the Rhineland-Nassau Farmers’ and Winegrowers’ Association and the interest group of hunting cooperatives and private hunting owners declared themselves successful with their motion to have the wolf included in the hunting law – meaning that it is henceforth to be regarded as a huntable species.

Together with the EU’s recent decision to weaken the protective status of the wolf this is bad news …

Also, it means, in our view, that one local party produced facts several days ahead of that decision by the state government and the Ministry for Climate Protection, Environment, Energy and Mobility Rhineland-Palatinate.

GERMAN ARTICLES

https://www.swr.de/swraktuell/rheinland-pfalz/koblenz/strafanzeige-illegaler-abschuss-wolf-westerwald-100.html

https://www.blick-aktuell.de/Berichte/Wolf-wird-ins-Jagdrecht-aufgenommen-619242.html?StoryId=625037

Farm Animals, Fur and Fur Farming, General News, Live Transport, pets, Stray Animals, Uncategorized, Vivisection, Wildlife

(EU) The fragmented landscape of animal welfare legislation in the European Union

https://www.eurogroupforanimals.org/library/fragmented-landscape-animal-welfare-legislation-european-union

17 February 2025

From cage to fur farming and fish welfare, key animal welfare concerns are being addressed very differently across the EU’s 27 Member States.

In this report, we break down the steps that different countries in the EU are taking on a range of animal welfare issues – or lack thereof. The stark differences in their approaches highlights the critical need for the EU to publish its long-awaited revision to the animal welfare legislation, which has not been updated for decades, and which is not sufficiently protecting the wellbeing of animals across Europe.

Only by modernising and strengthening these laws will the EU be able to effectively harmonise the approaches of all Member States to animal welfare: improving the lives of billions of sentient beings, easing compliance for farmers, ensuring fair competition, and aligning agriculture with its sustainability and resilience goals.

11 02 2025_The fragmented landscape of animal welfare legislation in the European Union_report_efa_eng_0Download
General News, Hunting, Uncategorized, Wildlife

(UK) Fox Hunting

(Action below for UK Citizens only)

https://www.league.org.uk/news-and-resources/news/new-figures-show-the-scale-of-fox-hunting-and-the-havoc-being-inflicted-on-rural-communities/

A new set of figures showing the scale of suspected illegal fox hunting and the havoc being inflicted on rural communities by fox hunts has been released today by national animal welfare charity the League Against Cruel Sports.

Nearly 1,600 incidents – consisting of 474 reports relating to suspected illegal hunting, which include 397 reports of foxes being chased, and 1,117 reports of hunt havoc – were recorded in the League’s end of season fox hunting report.

Emma Judd, head of campaigns at the League Against Cruel Sports, said: “These shocking figures underline why the government has announced it will launch a consultation to ban trail hunting later this year, something we are urging them to publish without delay.

“But, more than that, the Hunting Act also needs to be strengthened by removing its loopholes, which are exploited by hunts to avoid prosecution for illegal hunting, and for custodial sentences to be introduced for those who persist in breaking the law.”

The League’s figures reveal that the west of England was a particular fox hunting hot spot, with Gloucestershire, Dorset and Somerset recording the highest figures of all the counties in England and Wales.

Dorset and Somerset’s Blackmore and Sparkford Vale Hunt, four members of which were convicted of illegal hunting this week, was the worst offending hunt in the country – with 61 reports relating to suspected illegal hunting, including 48 reports of foxes being chased and 83 reports of hunt havoc.

The Warwickshire Hunt, a member of which was convicted of illegal hunting last month after the court dismissed his claim that the hunt was following a trail, was also one of the worst offending hunts, with reports of the hunt chasing 20 foxes.

The figures cover the cub hunting season, which began in August, and then the main fox hunting season, from November 2024 to the end of March 2025.

The havoc caused by hunts includes anti-social behaviour and activities inconsistent with trail hunting, the discredited excuse used by hunts since the fox hunting ban in which they claim to claim to follow pre-laid trails.

These activities included hounds being struck on a busy road or railway line where no trail would have been laid, digging up badger setts to get to foxes that have fled underground, trespass – including in people’s private gardens – and causing harm or distress to other animals, such as family pets.

Trail hunting has been described by Temporary Assistant Chief Constable Matt Longman, the national lead on fox hunting crime, as a “smokescreen for illegal fox hunting”. He has also described illegal hunting as “prolific”.

The figures are compiled from the charity’s confidential Animal Crimewatch service and hunt monitors’ reports by the League’s intelligence team, which is staffed by former police officers and civilian analysts.

Emma added: “These figures show the fox hunts have an appalling disregard for the law and are chasing and killing foxes as they did before the ban and inflicting misery on rural communities.

“The time for change is now. New stronger fox hunting laws are needed to consign this barbaric activity to the history books.”

Members of the public can contact the League’s Animal Crimewatch service on 0300 444 1234, email crimewatch@league.org.uk or WhatsApp at 0755 278 8247.

****************************

https://takeaction.league.org.uk/page/160007/action/1

New statistics show the scale of suspected illegal fox hunting which took place over the latest fox hunting season – including hundreds of foxes seen being chased – and how urgent it is for the ban on hunting with dogs to be strengthened.

The government has announced that it will launch a consultation on banning trail hunting later this year. This is welcome and must happen soon.

But if we are to stop illegal hunting for good, the plans must go further and include removing exemptions in the law and introducing prison sentences for those who would break the law.

Please contact your MP and tell them it’s time for change. Ask them to write to the Environment Secretary to urge him to act quickly to close all the loopholes in the hunting ban.

(please sign on page)

Hunting, Wildlife

(IT) The She-Wolf who gave life to the founders of Rome … she has returned. And is killed mercilessly …

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/mar/27/italy-wolf-poisoning-conservationists-farmers-laws-livestock-aoe

The referenced incident in 2023 in Italian:

https://www.parcoabruzzo.it/dettaglio.php?id=74362

https://www.ansa.it/toscana/notizie/2017/10/13/lupi-uccisi-e-impiccati-nel-senese_3ea52bcc-985c-4df8-9479-b10f62c1e1d1.html

Medieval Displays of Cruelty in Tuscany

General News, Uncategorized, Wildlife

(FR) French hunter, 81, on trial for killing endangered bear that attacked him

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/mar/18/french-hunter-81-on-trial-for-killing-endangered-bear-that-attacked-him

French hunter on trial for killing mother bear ‘in self-defence’

https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20250318-french-hunter-on-trial-for-killing-mother-bear-in-self-defence

(French Article)

Justice pour l’ourse Caramelles, tuée par un chasseur !

https://one-voice.fr/news/justice-pour-lourse-caramelles-tuee-par-un-chasseur/

********************************

Environmental, General News, Uncategorized, Wildlife

(Germany – BW) Teenagers enter closed Cave – Bats suffer excruciating deaths

In BITZ, a municipality in the Zollernalbkreis district of Baden-Württemberg, Germany

https://www.schwaebische.de/regional/zollernalb/bitz/jugendliche-brechen-in-hoehle-ein-und-fledermaeuse-verenden-qualvoll-3404903

Published/Updated 13.03.2025

(Translated)

Bats like these inhabit the cave where teenagers set off a firecracker. (Symbol photograph/Philipp Brandstädter/dpa)

Unknown individuals have broken into a cave – with far-reaching consequences. Two of the bats have already lost their lives – and the number could continue to rise.

A firecracker set off in the “Hohlen Fels” cave in Bitz apparently resulted in the death of at least two bats. This is according to a Facebook post by Dieter Hoffmann, chairman of the “Albstadt Cave and Karst Working Group.” The police are also aware of the incident.

A wildlife camera recorded five people, including presumably four teenagers, entering the cave in early February, Hoffmann writes—at a time when people have no business being there.

Cave closed in winter

From October 1 to March 31, there is a bat protection period, and visitors are prohibited from entering the cave. This apparently didn’t stop the unknown individuals from entering the cave and setting off a firecracker, as police confirmed in response to an inquiry from Schwäbische.de.

A bat died after unknown persons set off a firecracker in the “Hohlen Fels” (Hollow Rock). (Photo: Private)

For one of the bats, this meant immediate death, according to bat expert Hoffmann. It lay lifeless on the cave floor. “Something that doesn’t happen with bats that die a natural death, as they always seek a crevice somewhere, even with their last ounce of strength,” he explains on social media.

Another bat was found dead in a crack in the ceiling. It likely returned to the cave a few days after the incident and died there, Hoffmann speculates. It is currently unclear how the remaining bats that used the cave as a winter quarters will cope with the incident. However, their survival is not yet assured.

A bat was found dead in a ceiling crack. (Photo: Private)

If these sensitive animals are disturbed during hibernation, they lose energy that they urgently need until spring, the NABU writes on its website. This can be life-threatening for them. Whether the bats of the “Hohlen Fels” will survive depends on weather conditions and possible further disturbances, Hoffmann writes.

Not an isolated case

According to the bat expert, the fact that some bats returned to the cave despite the incident makes it clear how urgently the animals need the “Hollow Rock” as a winter quarters, “since the bats apparently do not know of any alternative quarters nearby.”

The Hechingen public prosecutor’s office is now investigating the case. The district office has filed a complaint against unknown persons. The perpetrators are accused of violating the Federal Nature Conservation Act.