Animals 24-7

News on dogs, cats, horses, wildlife, zoonoses, & nature

Public moral concerns warrant EU seal product import ban, rules WTO

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Beginning of the end for the Atlantic Canada seal hunt? BRUSSELS––The World Trade Organization on November 25,  2013 upheld most of the 2009 European Union ban on the import of seal products,  overturning the ban only when applied to “seal products derived from hunts conducted by Inuit or indigenous communities and hunts conducted for marine […]

Videotaped Eid al Adha slaughter cruelty in Gaza shocks Australia

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Damning evidence of failure of Exporter Supply Chain Assurance System          GAZA,  CANBERRA––Amateur videos posted to social media by witnesses to Eid al Adha slaughters in Gaza on October 15,  2013 appear to have provided some of the most damning evidence yet of the failure of the Exporter Supply Chain Assurance System […]

New draft Egyptian constitution guarantees “protection of animal welfare”

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Translations differ in idiom but with parallel meaning CAIRO––The 50-member constituent assembly responsible for establishing the new Egyptian constitution has included recognition of animal welfare in Article 45 of a redraft that is expected to be ratified in early 2014.  Announcing the inclusion of the animal welfare clause on December 1,  2013,  Cairo animal advocate […]

Undercover videos push Tyson into requiring farm animal welfare audits

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Warns Iowa Cattlemen Association convention ALTOONA––Goaded by repeated undercover video exposés of rough handling and alleged neglect of livestock,  Tyson Foods beef supply chain manager Lora Wright on December 9,  2013 warned the Iowa Cattlemen Association’s annual convention in Altoona that Tyson will soon require beef and chicken suppliers to pass animal welfare audits. “A […]

China drops animal testing rule for cosmetics, shampoos & perfumes

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China will look at ingredient data instead BEIJING––Effective on June 1, 2014 China will no longer require that cosmetics, shampoos, and perfumes be tested on animals, the China Food & Drug Administration [CDFA] announced on November 5, 2013. Instead of having to submit products to CFDA laboratories for testing, Chinese manufacturers will be allowed to […]

Mission Rabies vaccinates 60,000 dogs in 10 Indian cities in 30 days

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Exceeded target by 10,000 NILGIRIS,  Tamil Nadu,  India––Vaccinating 60,000 dogs in 30 days at 10 rabies hot spots around India,  Mission Rabies exceeded its preliminary target by 10,000 and kept right on rolling,  vaccinating another 30,000 and sterilizing more than 9,000 during the next five months. Mission Rabies “will continue for three years,  with a goal […]

Georgia Aquarium appeals NOAA ruling against proposed first beluga whale imports since 1992 

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Wants to import whales from Russia ATLANTA––The Georgia Aquarium on September 30,  2013 appealed an August 6,  2013 ruling by the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration that it had not satisfied the requirements to import 18 beluga whales from Russia. The appeal put the future of beluga whale exhibition before the U.S. District Court in […]

Massachusetts SPCA is also transferring law enforcement duties to local police

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MSPCA was second in U.S. to do humane law enforcement BOSTON––The Massachusetts SPCA,  founded by humane education pioneer George Angell in 1868,  is believed to have been the second SPCA in the U.S. to do humane law enforcement on a constabulary basis. Like the ASPCA,  which was empowered by the New York state legislature to […]

ASPCA cedes lead role in New York City humane law enforcement to police

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Oldest humane law enforcement agency in U.S. NEW YORK CITY––One hundred forty-seven years after Henry Bergh incorporated the American SPCA to enforce the New York state anti-cruelty act of 1860,  the ASPCA is transitioning out of the lead role in New York City humane law enforcement.   Since September 1,  2013 the New York City […]

Newly found ferret badger rabies strain raises concern about dogs

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First recognized in July 2013 TAIPEI,  Taiwan––A new rabies strain identified in Taiwanese ferret badgers may have the potential to exponentially increase the risk of rabies transmission by dogs.  But even if the new rabies strain does not behave in dogs as it does among ferret badgers,  it has ignited unprecedented public controversy in Taiwan […]