Animal cruelty - Greyhound Zoom

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Old mate Paul Hassing has just posted a comment on Twitter about the news that a horse in the racing stable of leading Australian trainer David Hayes had to be put down today due to injuries suffered during trackwork last weekend.

Our Aqaleem suffered a suspected fractured shoulder on Saturday in his final hit-out before next weekend's Australia Cup, a Group 1 race for which Our Aqaleem was one of the more fancied starters.

The loss comes one day after the same stable lost another horse, Changingoftheguard, which died of a ruptured bowel during a routine gelding operation.

Hassing's comment was this: 1. Raise horse. 2. Castrate. 3. Race. 4. Injure. 5. Kill. What fun!

What fun indeed. And just remember that horse trainers are, relatively, the good guys. When it comes to greyhound racing, many trainers don't need No. 4 to kill them.

For more on that, and the man in the picture above, go here.

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Posted By: Chris Champion - Category: Animal cruelty, Greyhound

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A case of animal rights taken too far?

March 8th 2010 19:47

Most of the clients of Antoine Goetschel, a lawyer in Zurich, Switzerland, are animals. Goetschel represents mostly dogs, cats and cows, although in a high-profile case last month he represented a dead fish.

Goetschel is at the forefront of Switzerland's animal rights movement, and Switzerland is at the forefront of the global animal rights movement.

Well, it was until Sunday, when voters rejected a plan to allow all abused animals the right to legal representation.

Sunday's referendum needs some historical perspective.

Two years ago, Switzerland put into practice animal protection laws which, according to some, led the world and, according to others, took animal rights to untenable lengths. According to the Swiss law, for example, it is an offence to keep just one pig or one goldfish — you must have at least two so they can keep each other company. And dog owners have to attend an accredited training course to learn how to care correctly for pets.

Despite these elaborate provisions, animal rights advocates said the Swiss laws did not go far enough. They said the laws in place were not being sufficiently strictly applied, and they wanted to expand nationally a law existing in Zurich since 1992 which allows the appointment of special lawyers to represent the animals in animal abuse cases.

The Swiss government decided that was a step too far, but instead of vetoing the idea, agreed to conduct a referendum. The result: 70.5 per cent of voters cast their ballot against stricter implementation of the code and addition of the special animal lawyers.

Public opinion may have been significantly influenced by Antoine Goetschel's dead fish case. A Zurich court heard the case of a fisherman accused of cruelty for taking 10 minutes to land a pike. Goetschel was in court representing the dead pike.

The court found the angler not guilty. The nation found the case for more such prosecutions unproven.

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Posted By: Chris Champion - Category: Animal cruelty, News, Pet issues, Politics

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'Significant' animal welfare move in China

October 8th 2009 22:19

China is preparing to introduce animal welfare legislation. It is hoped the country's first laws making animal abuse and cruelty a punishable offence will address such issues as municipal dog culls. This is a common practice, aimed at fighting rabies, but often sees thousands of dogs at a time brutally killed.

Changes to China’s Criminal Law have also been suggested, making animal abuse a punishable offence under that Act as well.

Ge Gabriel, the Asia Regional Director for the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), called the Chinese move a "very significant step ... not only for the millions of animals that suffer from abuse and cruelty, but also for the country’s image as it drives for social progress and harmony”.

The pressure on authorities to introduce animal welfare laws has been growing. Reports of a culling of more than 40,000 dogs in Hanzhong recently resulted in an online poll of 63,000 people giving 89% support to the drafting of anti-cruelty legislation.

The draft is being developed by a team of researchers led by Professor Chang Jiwen at China’s Academy of Social Sciences. It outlines guidelines for disease prevention and medical care for animals. It covers wildlife, farm animals, companion animals, lab animals and work animals, and stipulates welfare requirements for animals in transport and slaughter.

The draft, which is being supported by animal welfare groups such as the IFAW, will undergo a public comment period before being sent to China's top legislative body, the the National People’s Congress.
image: www.evergladesphotosociety.org

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Posted By: Chris Champion - Category: Animal cruelty, News

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The mysterious case of missing Muffy

August 15th 2009 04:21

It is a grim irony for animal lovers that happy-ending stories are often those with unhappy middles.

Nine years ago, in Brisbane, Australia, a nine-year-old girl named Chloe and her eight-year-old pet dog Muffy were best friends. They shared adventures; they shared a bed. They were inseparable. Until the day Muffy disappeared.

To this day it is a mystery what happened. Shock, tears, pain and yearning — Chloe turned 17 this year and, according to her mother, has never stopped missing and never stopped talking about Muffy.

Fast forward to the end of July, 2009, when the RSPCA in Melbourne received a phone call about an abused animal. They investigated, and found an old, small, emaciated, flea-riddled dog asleep on a tattered piece of cardboard in a backyard. According to the information given to the RSPCA, the dog had been kept pretty much in the same place, and in the same condition, for two years.

But there was a surprise for the RSPCA officials — the rescued dog was micro-chipped, and according to the information on the chip, the owners of the dog lived in Brisbane, almost 2,000 kilometres away.

They phoned the number.

According to RSPCA inspector Gail Coulter, who found the emaciated Muffy and made the phone call, "They were initially shocked and confused, but when we mentioned the name Muffy — which is part of the microchip information — and gave them a description of her, they knew it was their pet lost so many years ago.

"It would be fair to say that they were extremely elated and extremely excited by the call."

Chloe, reportedly, screamed with joy.

It's still not known how or why Muffy disappeared, nor is it known where she was for seven of the past nine years.

But we know where she is now. After being washed and treated for fleas, and flown home in VIP-style to Brisbane, 16-year-old Muffy is back with her best friend.

news.com.au, theage.com.au; image: heraldsun.com.au

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Posted By: Chris Champion - Category: Animal cruelty, News

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A few facts about puppy farming

April 26th 2009 01:28

All is not fun and games and unconditional love in the dog world.

It is hard sometimes, when caring for animals and enjoying the enormous rewards this simple act brings, to confront sad realities such as pet shop malpractice.

There are ethically run pet shops around, but there is a major caveat on even the most scrupulous of them which is that there is a better way to buy every single thing they sell. A pet shop may be slightly more convenient, but a consumer looking for pet-related items, be it bird seed or a cat bed or a dog coat, will get a cheaper price and better after-sales care by buying directly from the manufacturer.

As for animals, buying directly from breeders is a much better way of ensuring ethical practices and a happy, healthy pet.

Meanwhile, many pet shops are run on anything but ethical lines, and they are responsible for some of the darkest stories about animal mistreatment.

One of the more contemptible practices of pet shops is puppy farming, or forced breeding. According to the British-based Puppy Alert web site, this practice is rife.

"Breeding bitches are frequently bred from each season and spend their lives in either solitary confinement or overcrowded conditions, often forced each season to produce excessive quantities of puppies for the pet trade, estimated at over 100,000 every year (in the UK and Eire), often with inadequate veterinary care or intervention," the web site says.

"Purchasers of these puppies often find that within a few days the puppy is sick and needs urgent veterinary treatment. Some puppies suffer so badly that even veterinary intervention has failed to save the puppy."

I am not much of a crusader, and I make no claim to selfless and extended efforts on the part of animals. But this Zoomies post is at least is a little effort for today, and I recommend a good look at the Puppy Alert Puppy Alert web page.

Knowledge is power, and the more we as dog lovers understand and recognise animal mistreatment, the fewer places the perpetrators of such cruelty have to hide.

image: liberationphotography.org

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Posted By: Chris Champion - Category: Animal cruelty

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