A Copenhagen zoo has been "at it" again, The zoo was the centre of controversy recently when it decided a young giraffe, healthy 18-month-old-Marius, was surplus to requirements and killed it in front of shocked observers. The poor giraffe was then cut up and used as animal feed at the zoo, with all of this taking place in front of visitors, which included children. The latest victims of this heartless zoo are a family of Lions, Ma, Pa and two cubs. The reason for this senseless killing was to make way for a new male lion that the zoo keepers hope will breed with lionesses. Now if that is not a cCock·a·ma·mie reason I do not what is. So you have a male and female lion with two cubs but hey they are not worth keeping. It is far better to bring in a new male, unknown quantity, in the hope that he is both fertile and randy. You almost have to wonder if the Copenhagen zoo is courting controversy but surely visitor numbers must be down with this zoo's animal cruelty track record? An online petition says: Despite international outrage in response to their killing of Marius, a healthy 18 month old giraffe in February 2014, whom they deemed surplus to breeding requirements, media reports today (March 25th 2014) reveal that Copenhagen Zoo has again killed a number of healthy animals in their care. So if like us you are shocked at this zoo's careless disregard for animals in its care please drop by and sign the petition.
Potential visitors to the Copenhagen Zoo stay clear. Of course if the zoo closes down no doubt the owners will kill all the animals. Remember Marius the young giraffe was killed even though he had many re-homing offers in other, better, animal sanctuaries. But if the zoo stays open who knows which animal will be killed next, how and why?
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Laura Cunliffe, 23, was jailed Thursday after she was found guilty of animal cruelty. She was sentenced to 14 weeks in prison after killing kitten Mowgli by putting it in a microwave for five minutes as 'punishment'. She believed the kitten had killed her goldfish and cooked the kitten as punishment. Was she rash or just plain cruel? Either way is 14 weeks in jail an appropriate sentence? We think not although the woman's family claim there are mitigating circumstances. The kitten died in a terrifying and painful way. The judge said the microwaving was an ''act of utterly horrendous cruelty''. Cunliffe did rescue Mowgli from the microwave after a minuter, apparently realising what she had done, but it was too late. The kitten died later. Family members in court for the sentence were appalled at the jail sentence as Cunliffe reportedly has 'longstanding problems with psychotic depression and has been sectioned under the Mental Health Act 20 times'. But does that mean she can act in anyway without due recourse? What if she did something similar to a child? Does the kitten's pain count for nothing? Her family noisily objected to today's sentence in court shouting ''She doesn't know what's happening - she hasn't a clue.'' and ''This is a failure of medical services, judge.'' One certainty is Cunliffe should not be allowed to keep pets in the future, and she was banned from keeping animals for life. She was told she cannot apply to have this ban reviewed for five years.
The life ban though has to be the sensible way forward. If as the woman's family claimed in court she 'does not have a clue' any future pet could be in danger. Related reading at TEK shows this incident is not an isolated one: Jail for woman who cooked kitten Sources: Daily Telegraph BBC Tuesday evening, UK time, a twitter storm is on its way, and it is aimed at putting pressure on Members of the European Parliament to ban dog brothels in Denmark. Sex with animals is a crime and illegal in the UK but in Denmark, Finland, Romania, Hungary, Thailand, Philippines, Cambodia, USA (Alabama, Hawaii, Kentucky, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Ohio, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wyoming) Brazil, Mexico, Japan, Russia and Italy it is not. Whilst today's twitter storm is aimed at change in Denmark the list of countries shows there is much work to do. Still called bestiality by people who abhor such treatment of animals it is now often called Zoophilia, especially by those who see nothing wrong with a human having sex with an animal. Look online and you will find people who use the fact that we eat cows and use animals as pets to justify their perversions. We do not ask a cow if it wants us to eat it, so the fact an animal may be forced into sex without consent is dismissed blithely. Shame on those who use such flawed arguments to satisfy their perversions. For more information on Tuesday's twitter storm, and the necessary hashtags follow this link. In late 2012 TEK reported an increase in animal brothels in Germany and an online petition to Ilse Aigner, agricultural minister of Germany :
One online petition to be sent to Ilse Aigner, agricultural minister of Germany carries the following information: "The German agricultural minister Mrs. Ilse Aigner says, sodomy with animals is just an administrative offense and should only be punished with a little fine. Sodomy has been decriminalized since 1969 in Germany. Sex with animals right now is not categorized as a problem of missing moral (anymore)" According to Yahoo, in the USA:
U.S. states/territories where sex with animals is illegal (misdemeanor): Alaska, Arkansas, California, Iowa, Maryland, Maine, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Utah, U.S. Virgin Islands, Wisconsin U.S. states/territories where sex with animals is illegal (felony): Arizona, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia, Washington U.S. states/territories where sex with animals is allowed (legal): Alabama, American Samoa, Colorado, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Florida, Guam, Hawaii, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Montana, North Carolina, New Jersey, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Nevada, Ohio, Texas, Vermont, West Virginia, Wyomin. While countries in the west such as the USA and the UK court China as a new best friend that country still has a terrible track record on human rights. Then there is animal cruelty. This report centres on bile bear farms in China, and it is not the first time we have written about this cruel "farming". In May 2012 TEK reported: "There are many acts of cruelty meted out on defenceless animals. Man as the supposedly superior being seems to feel that all other species are there for the taking. Whilst these days most of us are more enlightened and care for our animals much better there is still a lot that is wrong. Bear Bile trade Not heard of this one. It is yet another black mark against mankind. Authorities are trying to hard to address this trade. Bear Bile is used in some traditional Chinese medicines. Tourists visit Vietnam from South Korea to purchase the bile. Wikipedia carries details of the living conditions of the bears: "To facilitate the bile milking process, the bears are commonly kept in extraction cages, also known as crush cages, that measure around 2.6 feet x 4.4 feet x 6.5 feet (79 cm x 130 cm x 200 cm) for an animal that weighs between 110 to 260 pounds (50 to 120 kg).While this allows for easier access to the abdomen, it also prevents the bears from being able to stand upright, or in some cases move at all. Living for 10–12 years under such circumstances results in severe mental stress and muscle atrophy. The Chinese media reported an incident in which a mother bear, having escaped her cage, strangled her own cub and then killed herself by intentionally running into a wall. In two model Chinese bile farms, the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) reports that the bears are moved to the crush cages for milking, but the rest of the time live in a cage large enough to stand and turn around." It goes on to detail the method of extracting bile from the animal: According to the HSUS, the bile is usually extracted twice a day through an implanted tube, producing 10–20 mL of bile each time; the process is believed to be painful, as the bears can be seen moaning and chewing their paws while being milked. Other methods include pushing a hollow steel stick through the bear's abdomen. The use of metal catheters has been banned, though HSUS writes that bile bears are still seen with catheters in them. The "free drip" method is regarded as more humane. A permanent hole or fistula is made in the bear's abdomen and gall bladder, from which bile drips out freely. The wound is vulnerable to infection and bile can bleed back into the abdomen, causing a high mortality rate. Sometimes the hole is kept open with a perspex catheter, which HSUS writes causes severe pain. Asiatic Black Bears These are the bears most commonly used in bear farms. Asiatic black bears are listed as vulnerable on the World Conservation Union's (IUCN's) Red List of Threatened Animals. However it would not matter if the world was full of these creatures the cruetly of bile farms has no place in modern society. The fact that they are an endangered species of course adds to the case to abolish this torture. As the authorities try to crackdown on the tourist trade in bile bear inspections have begun in Vietnam. Tourists had watched the bears inhumane treatment before buying the bile. It would appear that they wanted the "product" fresh from the animal. Bile bear farms are sadly still legal but there are some practices on them which have been made illegal. These are often still used. For thousands of Asiatic Black bears their life is spent in cramp conditions undergoing terrible treatment. Whilst there have been some improvements over the years this nasty trade is still alive and well. The BBC carried a report in late February 2012. That report began by saying: "In a secretly shot video, a Chinese farmer holds up a bag of yellowish bile he has just extracted from a caged bear. "Some Westerners say this is cruel - but I think the bears are making a contribution to mankind," says the grinning man. Animal welfare groups have recently stepped up their campaign to end the practice of milking bears for their bile, still legal in China. They say the animals suffer enormous physical and psychological pain." So it would seem little has changed. How much longer does this suffering have to carry on? Petition against bear bile farms here ( 2012)."
The RSPCA is a much needed and respected British organisation at the forefront in fight against animal cruelty in the UK but it is in danger of having its power to prosecute curbed. A petition online explains the situation and asks for support: "Pro hunting MPs are trying to destroy the ability of the RSPCA to prosecute illegal fox hunting. We must all stand behind the RSPCA to show they have huge public support. Over 700 hours of Parliamentary time was spent discussing hunting with hounds. Lord Burns was commissioned to produce a report on whether or not hunting is cruel. The findings of The Burns report show that hunting with hounds is indeed cruel and seriously compromises the welfare of the fox. Foxes have evolved for speed over short distances, fox hounds are slower, having been bred for stamina in order to make the chase last as long as possible to give the riders a fun day out. The unlucky fox will run his heart out, and then one of three things will happen. He may escape, although it has been shown that animals that are hunted to exhaustion may often die of shock and stress even if they manage to get away from the dogs. They can suffer from multi-organ failure due to the stress of the chase. If the fox doesn’t manage to evade the dogs, he may go to ground in a badger sett or a den. The sett is sometimes blocked to prevent the poor animal from trying to hide, but those that do go to ground are surrounded and the terrier men get to work. Underground battles between terriers and foxes can be protracted and can cause horrific injuries to both animals as the fox fights for his life. A fox that is caught out in the open by the hounds is not quickly dispatched by a quick nip to the back of the neck, as is stated in the pro hunting literature. The animal is literally torn apart. It has no chance against the number and the size of the dogs, and it is quickly rolled onto its back and usually disembowelled. In December 2012, the RSPCA successfully prosecuted the Heythrop Hunt for illegally hunting foxes. Richard Sumner and Julian Barnfield, both members of the Heythrop Hunt, each pleaded guilty at Oxford magistrate’s court to four charges of unlawfully hunting a wild fox with dogs. The prosecution followed footage taken by anti-hunt monitors over four days during the 2011-12 season. The Judge Tim Pattinson, fined the Heythrop hunt and its members £6,800, but then, although it wasn’t his remit to do so, he criticised the amount of money spent in bringing the case. “It is not for me to express an opinion," he said,"but I merely flag it up, but I do find it to be a quite staggering figure.” The case cost the RSPCA over £300.000 and one reason that the RSPCA costs were so high was because the Heythrop vigorously denied all charges until late in the day, announcing they would plead guilty to 12 counts of hunting outside the Law. By maintaining 'not guilty' pleas for so long, they avoided racking up huge legal fees for the preparation of cases they actually had no intention of defending while forcing the RSPCA into prosecuting almost to the last minute. Since the successful prosecution of the Heythrop Hunt by the RSPCA, and the subsequent furore over the cost of the case, a media war has been raging between the pros and the antis. All kinds of stories have appeared in the pro hunting press, from stories aimed at discrediting the RSPCA, to stories that demonise and vilify foxes in order to sway public opinion in favour of repealing the ban. Hunters have claimed that foxes are over running our countryside and cities. The hunting fraternity are desperate to get us to believe that their services are vital if we are to save Britain from a plague of demon foxes. In truth, foxes are not pests and hunters do not kill enough of them to be termed pest controllers. ( More are actually killed on the roads than hunting and shooting together) Rendering the RSPCA unable to prosecute their law breaking activities, is vital if they are to succeed in continuing to hunt in spite of the Law against it. An interview on radio 4 in the Today program also criticised the RSPCA for spending their money prosecuting the fox hunters, missing the point entirely, that the RSPCA should not need to do this if the law of this land was being properly upheld by the prosecution services. The Countryside Alliance, formerly The British Field Sports Society, had this to say on its webpage about the RSPCA. “The Countryside Alliance's view is that The RSPCA’s decision to bring such a huge prosecution is a blatant political attack on hunting and an abuse of the court system. It is no accident that the RSPCA, which was a major part of the campaign to ban hunting, only brings private prosecutions against hunts in the Prime Minister’s constituency.” However, let us remember that it is not political to prosecute law breakers, and the RSPCA acted within their remit in taking out the prosecution. Simon Hart, MP for Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire, himself an ardent fan of hunting foxes with dogs, complained to the Charity Commission about the money spent on the Heythrop prosecution, although the Charity Commission stated on several occasions that the RSPCA had no case to answer, and The Attorney General, Dominic Grieve QC, speaking for the Government, told MPs that the RSPCA had the right to bring private prosecutions and that it performed a ‘valuable role’ in bringing cruelty cases which might otherwise go unprosecuted. Mr Grieve also said the Crown Prosecution Service had the power to take over RSPCA cases, or stop them if they do not meet standards for evidence or public interest. He went on to explain that this had happened in only four of the thousands of cases the charity has brought to Court. Paul Flynn, Labour MP for Newport West, accused Mr Hart of representing the ‘hunting lobby’ and trying to help ‘rich, powerful Tories’ break the law. He went on to refer to the hunting fraternity as Apostles of cruelty. The charity has undertaken private prosecutions for cruelty to animals since its was founded in 1824, before the formation of the police force or the Crown Prosecution Service. Of 159,759 complaints of alleged cruelty investigated by the RSPCA in 2011, it reported 2,018 to its prosecution department. This resulted in 3,114 convictions for adults and 24 for juveniles. To date, the charity has secured 54 convictions under the Hunting Act 2004. Over three quarters of the UK population do not want the Hunting Act repealed, but in spite of this overwhelming support to keep the ban, hunts have deliberately colluded to chase and kill foxes. The RSPCA is a threat to the unlawful continuation of this barbaric pastime, and because of the successful test case against the Heythrop Hunt, the Charity has been unfairly criticised by the hunting fraternity, and smeared and vilified at every opportunity in the Press. These spiteful and vicious campaigners have deliberately set out to render the RSPCA powerless to bring prosecutions against the hunters who intentionally break the hunting Law. The RSPCA must continue in its present form and we must show our support for an organisation which works tirelessly to prevent cruelty to animals. Please sign this petition and show your support for the RSPCA." ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Right-wing Tory rag the Daily Telegraph has a different slant on the situation claiming "The RSPCA’s role in prosecuting cases of animal cruelty could be overhauled to restore public confidence." But the public have confidence in the RSPCA, it is hunters and those who support hunting who do not. The UK is in a financial mess and the coalition government want to waste political time attacking the RSPCA? That says it all! Please sign the petition here. |
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