DOG RESCUE NEEDS A VAN AND/OR HELP WITH TRANSPORT

Poplar Farm Kennels of Ely, Cambridgeshire, are saving the lives of dogs who would otherwise be put to sleep in a council pound inIreland.

At present the collecting is carried out by just one volunteer whouses her car to put into it what dogs she can to get them out tosafety. Sadly, if a dog is nervous and reacts badly to travellingwith other dogs or to the volunteer she has no option but to leave that dog behind. That is what happened to this young fella.....

Woman, 88, caged in Oxford animal lab protest
26th April 2007

An 88-year-old woman will dress up as a prisoner and sit in a small cage in Oxford today in protest at animal experiments being carried out on a macaque monkey at Oxford University.

Joan Court from Cambridge, who plans to fast during her two-day protest, is protesting during World Week for Animals in Laboratories.

Her demonstration is backed by the campaign group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta). Peta wants to raise awareness about Felix the monkey, who is being used by scientists at Oxford University to research brain diseases such as Parkinson's

Animal testing firm attacks 'cowardly' banks for rejecting its business
26th April 2007

The boss of one of Britain's biggest animal testing companies has accused the High Street banks of being too cowardly to take its business. Huntingon Life Sciences is a £100m a year firm which made a profit of £10m last year - but it is struggling to find a bank to handle its accounts. Managing director Brian Cass claims banks took fright five years ago when animal rights extremists began targeting the firm, their customers and suppliers - including banks and insurers.

Its former bankers Natwest held their nerve for a while, even when vandals started superglueing the firm's cash machines. But the Royal Bank of Scotland, which bought NatWest, got cold feet and pulled out, leaving HLS to fall back on the Government

Horse neglect woman escapes jail
26th April 2007

A woman with a history of animal cruelty escaped jail today after five horses were found close to starvation at her Norfolk home.

Karen Woods was already banned from keeping dogs when RSPCA inspectors visited her home in September last year and discovered the horses without food and adequate water, as temperatures soared to 26C.

Woods, 49, of The Paddocks, Ashby St Mary, near Loddon, pleaded guilty to five charges of causing unnecessary suffering. Two other charges were dropped

Four charged over hunt scuffle
22nd April 2007

FOUR people have been charged in connection with a violent scuffle between hunt stewards and protestors, police revealed tonight.

The Essex and Suffolk Hunt at Whatfield, near Sudbury, in February was marred by the incident, which was linked to the second anniversary of the hunting ban.

Five people were originally arrested on suspicion of violent disorder and police said tonight that four - three men and a woman - had been formally charged with the offence

Goldfish row rumbles on
18th April 2007

Bosses at City Hall have been accused of ignoring its own rules after it emerged regulations drawn up almost 15 years ago expressly banned the giving away of animals as prizes on council-owned land.

Controversy was caused last week when city councillor Adrian Ramsay, leader of the Green Party group, called for a ban to be introduced on giving goldfish away as prizes at fairs and other events on council land.

His calls came after he was concerned that goldfish were being handed out as prizes during Easter's Chapelfield Fair and that the fish might not be properly looked after. But there was a new twist in the saga today, when animal rights activists claimed the city council's Animal Welfare Charter, drawn-up in 1993, already bans such a practice

Dog locked in car as temperatures hit 23
16th April 2007

Pet owners who leave their dogs locked in cars during the hot weather have come under fire from an RSPCA inspector following a dramatic city centre rescue.

The RSPCA's Inspector Marc Niepold was called out to a car parked on Rouen Road after a passer-by noticed the dog in a distressed state inside the vehicle as the outside temperature hit 20C.

Parking attendants and traffic wardens, who were quickly on scene, covered the car windows in fluorescent vests and jackets to try to deflect the worst of the heat from the dehydrated dog.

Minutes later they were joined by police who, with the dog's owners nowhere to be seen, were forced to smash the front passenger window to enable Insp Niepold to get to the stricken dog.

After breaking in to the car, police and Insp Niepold were able to get the dog, called Bruno, out of the car and into the shade where it was given water

Is this the end of the funfair goldfish?
13th April 2007

You might think it's all the fun of the fair to win a goldfish in a plastic bag - but calls were made today to get the practice outlawed from the city.

Adrian Ramsay, leader of the Green party at the city council, has vowed to fight to have the practice of giving live fish away as prizes, and to get a city council resolution to stop it from happening on council-owned land.

He said: "It is cruel. I can't believe they give away live animals to people who may not want them and may not have any way of looking after them

Mouse tests vital, says uni
13th April 2007

UNIVERSITY chiefs have defended tests carried out on animals using banned drugs.

Cambridge University was singled out in a report by the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection (BUAV) condemning "frivolous" tests on mice involving lethal doses of methamphetamine and playing loud music from Bach and dance band the Prodigy. But the university said the tests were important, adding: "Research into the affects of illegal drugs is vital"

Jail threat for neglect of five horses
10th April 2007

A woman with a history of animal cruelty could face jail after RSPCA officers found five thoroughbred horses close to starvation at her Norfolk home.

At the time of the offence, Karen Woods, of The Paddocks, Ashby St Mary, near Loddon, was already banned from keeping dogs after two animals were found caged and emaciated at her home, Norwich Magistrates' Court heard today.

When a vet and RSPCA inspectors visited last September, they found seven horses kept in a barren field cluttered with barbed wire and other sharp metal objects. Five of them were starving and, despite temperatures of 26C, no water was provided.

Woods pleaded guilty to five charges of causing unnecessary suffering and two other charges were dropped. Similar charges against her husband Alex Woods were also dropped

Sharks died in 'too cold' water
3rd April 2007

Three sharks are thought to have died at an aquarium in Norfolk because the water in their tank was too cold.

The black tipped reef sharks were moved 70 miles (112km) from Great Yarmouth to their refurbished tank at the Hunstanton Sea Life Centre last month.

The centre has confirmed the water was two degrees centigrade below the minimum for the sharks after a mistake by a member of staff. While not conclusive, evidence suggests this may have led to the sharks deaths

Nirah 'might struggle for cash'
2nd April 2007

Town Hall officers issue a reality check and find fault with detailed plans for huge freshwater aquarium. A scheme for a £400 million international visitor attraction and science centre at Stewartby may not find sufficient financial backing to make it a reality.

That is the view of planners at Bedford Borough Council, who have pointed to shortcomings in proposals from Nirah (the National Institute for Research into Aquatic Habitats) to create a freshwater aquarium at the Quest claypit.

In a report to be considered by the council on Monday, officers say that the shift in emphasis in the project – from research to leisure – is "disappointing".

Jan l Feb l March l April l May l June l July l Aug l Sept l Oct l Nov l Dec

Top                                                                                                                    Older Past News