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Wednesday 30 November 2011

Slaughter of stray cats and dogs to clean up streets for Euro 2012 condemned by animal lovers


Thousands of stray dogs and cats have been slaughtered in the Ukraine in a bid to tidy up the streets for Euro 2012.
Earlier this month the Kiev government said it was to stop shooting or poisoning strays after a public outcry.

Under threat: Stray dogs on the streets of Kiev
Under threat: Stray dogs on the streets of Kiev

The authorities ordered that strays should be rounded up and taken to animal 'shelters'.
But Judith Pein, of the German branch of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), claimed the slaughter was still happening.
She told the Sun: 'It would be cruel to do this anyway, but to do it for football is outrageous. The people at these so-called shelters told us these were old and ill dogs, but there were puppies in there.'

Outcry: A dog sits on a banner reading 'We want to outlive EURO-2012' at a protest rally
Outcry: A dog sits on a banner reading 'We want to outlive EURO-2012' at a protest rally

In the capital Kiev, the group says as many as 20,000 have been slain in the past year.
A PETA UK spokesman said: 'These killings are directly related to Ukraine hosting Euro 2012. Dog-killing is a profitable business.'
PETA said it was not aware of strays being killed in Poland.


by dailymail

Tear-jerking moment lab beagles see sunlight for the first time as they are released from cages


This is the heart-breaking moment male beagles kept in captivity inside a laboratory were released from their cages for the first time.
Scared and visibly unsure of leaving the confines of their cages, the dogs were among many being used for lab testing in Spain before it went out of business.
A total of 72 beagles were rescued by members of Animal Rescue Media Education (ARME) during the operation - most of whom had never been outside their cages.
Freedom: This male beagle takes a tentative step outside his cage for the first time in his life after he was freed from laboratory testing
Freedom: This male beagle takes a tentative step outside his cage for the first time in his life after he was freed from laboratory testing
Terrified: The face of this beagle says it all as he contemplates freedom for the first time
Terrified: The face of this beagle says it all as he contemplates freedom for the first time
Timid: After setting foot on grass, this male beagle is unsure of his new surroundings
Timid: After setting foot on grass, this male beagle is unsure of his new surroundings
Gary Smith, ARME's Beagle Freedom Project spokesman, said: 'We've been told they lived on per cage in rooms of 10 beagles, but they never had any physical interaction with one another.
'They've been in kennels since they were rescued about a week ago, but aside from that, they've spent most of their lives locked up.'
The rescue operation took place in June, and the animals' first steps of freedom were posted on YouTube after they were recovered.
Forty of the beagles arrived in Los Angeles, U.S., last week where they will be put up for adoption.
Cruel: The male dogs, aged between four and seven, were among 72 rescued from the laboratory in Spain after it went bust
Cruel: The male dogs, aged between four and seven, were among 72 rescued from the laboratory in Spain after it went bust
Set free: Beagles have been used in laboratory testing of products in the past because they are docile and forgiving
Set free: Beagles have been used in laboratory testing of products in the past because they are docile and forgiving
Confined: The dogs may never have been outside or on grass before, and most were understandably reluctant to step outside their cages
Confined: The dogs may never have been outside or on grass before, and most were understandably reluctant to step outside their cages

The remainder of the dogs, all aged between four and seven and bred in captivity, have already been adopted in Europe.
Beagles are often used in lab testing of products, including cosmetics, because of their 'docile and trusting' personalities.
Mr Smith added: 'Beagles are incredibly sweet, docile, companion animals.
'The downfall is, the same reason the beagle is a perfect companion animal, is the same reason they're used for testing.'
For more information on the rescue operations or adopting one of the beagles, go to ARME's website.
 

by dailymail

Owners who maim their pets for the insurance: The audacious and cruel practice that is the fastest-growing fraud in Britain


t first glance, Julie Pullman could be considered to be the most unlucky pet owner in Britain. She has had eight dogs — and every one of them has suffered from a broken leg, one after the other. But at least she was insured.
And that was how the 40-year-old from Dorset successfully claimed a total of £37,000 to cover the cost of treating her animals.
Which is all well and good... except for the fact the dogs never suffered the injuries she’d said they did. In fact, more to the point, her pets never existed at all.
Pullman is a convicted conwoman who is serving 38 weeks in  jail. She was sent to prison at the end of September after a court heard how she had systematically set about defrauding a pet insurance company.
She not only invented the dogs and their injuries, but also drew up fake vets’ bills — even having a special stamp made up at a local stationery shop to make the invoices look official.
In the end, she was rumbled after her insurer, Royal Sun Alliance, became suspicious and rang the vet’s number only to get through to Pullman instead. She admitted what she had done and, as a result, will be spending Christmas behind bars.
Unfortunately, she and her fictitious pack of hounds are far from unique. 

According to new figures released by the Association of British Insurers, pet insurance fraud is the fastest-growing area of all insurance crime.
Last year alone it increased by 400 per cent, with nearly £2million worth of false claims detected. The real sum lost could be many times higher, say experts — and law-abiding pet owners are having to pick up the bill.
Already, the average cost of insuring a dog is £220 a year, up more than 30 per cent since 2007. 
To cover the cost of this growing fraud, it will inevitably have to rise further. 
But when it comes to clamping down on this new breed of criminal, the problem is that, unlike with motor insurance, where records of cars are kept with the DVLA, there is no official record of who owns which pet. 
Nor are details of pet insurance claims shared between insurance companies. 
What’s more, a dog’s records do not automatically follow the animal from vet to vet, as a human’s would from GP to GP.
Disgrace: The Association of British Insurers say pet insurance fraud is the fastest-growing area of all insurance crime
Disgrace: The Association of British Insurers say pet insurance fraud is the fastest-growing area of all insurance crime
Add in the current economic climate and the growing rates of fraud across all insurance types,  and it is perhaps inevitable that unscrupulous criminals are turning their attention to cats, dogs and horses to make a quick buck.
What is uniquely shocking about this type of fraud, though, is the suffering to which people are prepared to put their animals through to make a crooked quid.
There have been reports of owners selling, abandoning or even killing their pets in order to claim a payout for early death.Bournemouth Crown Court heard that Grey withdrew £6,300 from his lover's bank account after she jilted him
Insurance fraud: Julie Pullman was convicted at Bournemouth Crown Court of claiming £37,000 to treat the ailments of eight fictional dogs
Other owners are said to have injured or maimed their pets in ‘faked accidents’ to cover up pre-existing injuries or conditions that were not covered by their policy.
‘Deliberate maimings are rare, but they do happen,’ says specialist insurance lawyer Claire Laver, who has been involved in investigating an ever-growing number of pet-related claims. 
‘I have heard from insurers of cases where a horse’s legs have been deliberately broken and it has had to be humanely destroyed. The owner then claimed the horse had been injured accidentally.’
More than two million British cat and dog owners pay for insurance policies, handing over £500 million in premiums every year. The idea is that should the pet require veterinary treatment, the bulk of the costs will be covered. These costs have risen sharply in recent years as veterinary science has advanced and medicines become more expensive.
One mongrel's owner claimed for £24,000
 
But the increasing sums paid out have attracted the attention of fraudsters, who might previously have concentrated on more traditional scams.
A year ago, brothers Nadeem and Amer Dad were each jailed for 15 months for masterminding a £104,000 insurance swindle.
The men, from Nelson in Lancashire, had submitted false claims for stolen jewellery and damage to property and motor vehicles. But they also claimed for the loss of two pedigree bulldogs, one of which had allegedly cost £1,500. The pets were said to have ‘gone missing’.
In fact, police believe the dogs never existed.
Julie Pullman was also a veteran of more conventional insurance fraud. Her criminal record shows eight previous convictions for 31 offences, all but three of which were fraud-related.
Bournemouth Crown Court was told she came up with her latest scam in 2009 after a dog she owned had broken its leg.
Treating that injury cost £3,469.60. Pullman wasn’t insured, but that didn’t stop her recouping the money. After the accident, she took out an insurance policy and then copied the details and costings from the real bill on to a fake invoice, which she submitted for reimbursement.
After successfully getting the payout, she repeated the trick over and over again during the next year using various aliases and bank accounts.
Her ‘rank dishonesty’, the court heard, was motivated by greed and a desire for ‘easy money’.
'Scam': Vet Kfir Segev was struck off for serious professional misconduct after appearing in a Panorama documentary (pictured) - but is now back in work
'Scam': Vet Kfir Segev was struck off for serious professional misconduct after appearing in a Panorama documentary (pictured) - but is now back in work

Claire Laver, who works for law firm Berrymans Lace Mawer, which has offices all over the country, says many would-be crooks are falling for the same temptation. 
‘There was a case I was involved in of a mongrel whose owner had claimed for £24,000 over a 14-month period,’ she says. 
‘Some of the bills had been paid and some had been refused by the insurer because the items claimed for did not appear to be genuine.
‘We asked to inspect the dog to see that the treatments had, in fact, taken place. The owner said that was not possible because he had given it to the RSPCA. But when we checked with them, they had no knowledge of the dog. We suspect that the dog may never have existed.’
As well as owners who cheat the system, vets are also well placed to inflate bills in the knowledge that their clients can pass on the cost to the insurance company.
On the simplest level, this might involve charging for the most expensive, branded drug and then using a cheaper alternative. But in some extreme cases the welfare of an animal can be put at risk.
In 2009, vet Kfir Segev was struck off for serious professional misconduct. The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons found him guilty of concealing from a client the fact his dog was terminally ill, while at  the same time recommending that the dog undergo expensive and unnecessary procedures.
Mr Segev, who worked at the Medivet surgery in Stanmore, Middlesex, had suggested that the lurcher, called Zoe, needed a completely unnecessary MRI scan at a cost of £2,000.
It was only her owner’s vigilance that alerted him to the scam: he was suffering from cancer himself and noticed that the tell-tale spots that showed up on an X-ray of his dog’s lungs looked ominously similar to his own growths.
She kept dead puppies in her freezer
He checked with another vet at an independent practice, who confirmed that his dog had terminal cancer — and that a costly scan would be pointless.
‘The reputation of the profession is inextricably linked to its approach to financial matters, and trust is easily lost when there is abusive behaviour,’ the disciplinary committee of the RCVS pointed out. Mr Segev was removed from the RCVS register following an 11-day hearing. 
(It should be noted that in September Mr Segev was allowed to return to practice, having undergone two years of training to ‘address his clinical, medical, surgical and diagnostic shortcomings’.)
Another type of pet insurance fraud involves attempting to claim money for an animal’s lost earnings.
Such claims normally apply to pedigree animals, such as cats, dogs or even cows, which are successful in shows and are therefore valuable as breeding stock.
Claire Laver recalls one case in which the owner of a racehorse claimed the animal had had to be humanely destroyed because it could no longer race.
‘The owner was claiming £120,000 for vets’ fees and loss of future earnings,’ she says. 
‘He claimed the horse had been injured and that following this it had suffered a drop in its form and had no further use as a racehorse.
‘I did some investigations into its form and found it had never been particularly good in the first place. I also made inquiries through a local auction house and was able to discover the animal had not been destroyed but had, in fact, been sold on to a woman who looks after retired racehorses.’
The claim was refused.

Two horses
Turkish Van Cat
Petty criminals: Unscrupulous liars are using cats and horses - real and fake - to make a quick buck

Given the massive increase in fraudulent claims in this area, the pet insurance industry is looking at ways of better identifying fraudsters. One measure being discussed is the creation of an industry-wide database for pet insurance.
The database would include everyone who has ever made a claim on a pet policy, alerting insurers to possible fraudsters.
‘Fraud registers are already in place for car and home insurance, and these have been used successfully to identify and prosecute those people who have made fraudulent claims,’ says Selwyn Fernandes, managing director of LV= pet insurance.
‘It is appalling to think that some owners would deliberately harm their animals for financial gain. These criminals must be stopped.’
Indeed, they must because it is almost impossible to imagine the depths to which some people will sink to try to make quick cash. 
Few, though, could be more shocking than Jill Allen, a dog breeder from Lincolnshire, who was jailed for 18 months for a particularly macabre crime.
Whenever one of her puppies died, she would wrap it in plastic, before labelling it carefully and placing it in the freezer among her frozen pies, pizzas and vegetables.
Having posthumously insured only the deceased animals (to save on the cost of insuring every one of the litter), she would then defrost them individually at different dates, drawing up a fake vet’s certificate before submitting insurance claims for between £200 and £500 for each puppy.
If needed, the freshly defrosted body was there as ‘proof’ that she really had lost one of her valuable pedigree dogs. 
When the woman’s home was searched following a tip-off to the RSPCA, a total of nine frozen puppies were found, all aged between six and nine weeks old.
Entries in Allen’s diary were found, reminding her when it was time to visit the freezer and ‘get out dog’ or ‘defrost dog’.
The incident, for which the breeder was jailed for 18 months, took place more than a decade ago. 
But with pet insurance now  more popular than ever before — and with British households feeling the financial squeeze — equally  dishonest and cruel scams seem certain to emerge.

by dailymail

Nice to see you, my deer friend! Tinsel the turkey survives being hurled from a moving lorry – and then falls in love


A true friend doesn't mind if you get into a flap or spout a load of gobbledegook. That's probably why Tinsel the turkey has made Bramble the roe deer her constant companion.
She follows him around their animal sanctuary home, squawking protectively if anyone comes near and even giving him an affectionate peck as they nod off together every night in the barn.
Tinsel was not expected to survive when she arrived at the Nuneaton and Warwickshire Wildlife Sanctuary as a chick nine months ago. 

Bramble's story: Bramble was just two weeks old when he was found by walkers unconscious in a field in 2008
Bramble's story: Bramble was just two weeks old when he was found by walkers unconscious in a field in 2008

The look of love: Tinsel, the Turkey and her friend Bramble the Roe Deer who have become the best of friends at a Warwickshire Wildlife Sanctuary
The look of love: Tinsel, the Turkey and her friend Bramble the Roe Deer who have become the best of friends at a Warwickshire Wildlife Sanctuary

She was thought to have been hurled from a lorry and was found on a motorway hard shoulder. But when she met Bramble, who had been at the sanctuary for two years, she thrived.
Thanks to their friendship, there is no chance of Tinsel ending up on a Christmas dinner plate this year – or ever. Staff say both are too tame to leave the sanctuary and will stay together for the rest of their lives.

Sanctuary owner Geoff Grewcock, 61, said: ‘They are completely inseparable.
‘Both of them live in the same barn and Tinsel always gives Bramble a little peck on the cheek before they go to sleep. It's very sweet.
‘We've grown very attached to Tinsel.
‘She must be one of the luckiest turkey's in Britain because she's not going anywhere near any dinner plate this Christmas.’

Best of friends: Plucky bird Tinsel was rescued after she was thrown on to the motorway from a moving lorry before meeting Bramble
Best of friends: Plucky bird Tinsel was rescued after she was thrown on to the motorway from a moving lorry before meeting Bramble

Inseperable: The pair were brought to the Nuneaton and Warwickshire Wildlife Sanctuary and are now 'inseparable'
Inseperable: The pair were brought to the Nuneaton and Warwickshire Wildlife Sanctuary and are now 'inseparable'

Tinsel was rescued by a driver nine months ago after she was hurled out of a lorry on the M6 motorway near Manchester.
Grandfather-of-one Geoff said: ‘We didn't think she was going to make it.
‘Her feathers were badly damaged and she was malnourished but we fed her up and looked after her.
‘She took an instant shine to Bramble and he seems to like the attention.
‘They walk around the animal sanctuary together, eat together and even have the odd tiff.
‘But Tinsel is very protective and squawks and flaps her wings if anyone goes anywhere near Bramble.’ 
Bramble was just two weeks old when he was found by walkers unconscious in a field in 2008.
Geoff added: ‘Bramble was very poorly when he came to us but after three years he's back to full health.
‘He close bond with Tinsel has certainly helped his recovery.’

by dailymail.co.uk

Nice to see you, my deer friend! Tinsel the turkey survives being hurled from a moving lorry – and then falls in love


A true friend doesn't mind if you get into a flap or spout a load of gobbledegook. That's probably why Tinsel the turkey has made Bramble the roe deer her constant companion.
She follows him around their animal sanctuary home, squawking protectively if anyone comes near and even giving him an affectionate peck as they nod off together every night in the barn.
Tinsel was not expected to survive when she arrived at the Nuneaton and Warwickshire Wildlife Sanctuary as a chick nine months ago. 

Bramble's story: Bramble was just two weeks old when he was found by walkers unconscious in a field in 2008
Bramble's story: Bramble was just two weeks old when he was found by walkers unconscious in a field in 2008

The look of love: Tinsel, the Turkey and her friend Bramble the Roe Deer who have become the best of friends at a Warwickshire Wildlife Sanctuary
The look of love: Tinsel, the Turkey and her friend Bramble the Roe Deer who have become the best of friends at a Warwickshire Wildlife Sanctuary

She was thought to have been hurled from a lorry and was found on a motorway hard shoulder. But when she met Bramble, who had been at the sanctuary for two years, she thrived.
Thanks to their friendship, there is no chance of Tinsel ending up on a Christmas dinner plate this year – or ever. Staff say both are too tame to leave the sanctuary and will stay together for the rest of their lives.

Sanctuary owner Geoff Grewcock, 61, said: ‘They are completely inseparable.
‘Both of them live in the same barn and Tinsel always gives Bramble a little peck on the cheek before they go to sleep. It's very sweet.
‘We've grown very attached to Tinsel.
‘She must be one of the luckiest turkey's in Britain because she's not going anywhere near any dinner plate this Christmas.’

Best of friends: Plucky bird Tinsel was rescued after she was thrown on to the motorway from a moving lorry before meeting Bramble
Best of friends: Plucky bird Tinsel was rescued after she was thrown on to the motorway from a moving lorry before meeting Bramble

Inseperable: The pair were brought to the Nuneaton and Warwickshire Wildlife Sanctuary and are now 'inseparable'
Inseperable: The pair were brought to the Nuneaton and Warwickshire Wildlife Sanctuary and are now 'inseparable'

Tinsel was rescued by a driver nine months ago after she was hurled out of a lorry on the M6 motorway near Manchester.
Grandfather-of-one Geoff said: ‘We didn't think she was going to make it.
‘Her feathers were badly damaged and she was malnourished but we fed her up and looked after her.
‘She took an instant shine to Bramble and he seems to like the attention.
‘They walk around the animal sanctuary together, eat together and even have the odd tiff.
‘But Tinsel is very protective and squawks and flaps her wings if anyone goes anywhere near Bramble.’ 
Bramble was just two weeks old when he was found by walkers unconscious in a field in 2008.
Geoff added: ‘Bramble was very poorly when he came to us but after three years he's back to full health.
‘He close bond with Tinsel has certainly helped his recovery.’

by dailymail.co.uk

Saturday 26 November 2011

I may be wrong but there is some irony in this. FIRSTLY, in the pics he looks more impressed than unimpressed, then spotted the cameras and changed the expression. SECONDLY, he called PETA after he was contacted by the Animal Activists. I hope I am wrong though.


*'Bullfights should be stopped!'  Matt Damon defends his attendance at Mexican arena

As an actor known for his humanitarian and charity work, eyebrows was raised when pictures emerged of Matt Damon at a bullfight earlier this week. 
However, the star has defended his attendance at the arena in Mexico, saying being at the event had only re-enforced his beliefs that 'bullfights should be stopped.'
According to Radar Online, the 41-year-old actor telephoned PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) himself after the animal activists contacted him. 

Cultural experience: Matt Damon watched a bullfight at Mexico's La Monumental Bullring Stadium
Cultural experience: Matt Damon watched a bullfight at Mexico's La Monumental Bullring Stadium last Sunday 

'We wrote to Matt Damon as soon as pictures of him at a Mexican bullfight surfaced - and within 24 hours, he personally telephoned PETA Vice President Lisa Lange to correct the false impression that he had given,' Jane Dollinger from PETA told the website. 
'Matt said that he went to the bullfight believing that bullfights should be stopped but felt that he should see the cruelty for himself while he was in Mexico,' the spokesman added.
'He said that seeing with his own eyes what these tormented animals go through only reinforced an already strongly held belief that bullfights should be relegated to the history books.'

A face in the crowd: Matt Damon watched a bullfight at Mexico's La Monumental Bullring Stadium
A face in the crowd: A casual Matt Damon blended in as he watched the event

Where's Damon? Matt watched the action in the ring from his stadium seat
Where's Damon? Matt watched the action in the ring from his stadium seat

'He also said that he was upset to think that his attendance was in any way construed to be an endorsement of such a barbaric activity.'
The controversial spectacle, in which bulls are baited in a ring for entertainment, took place in La Monumental bullring stadium in Mexico City.
Damon was seen blending into the crowd in a casual outfit of black baseball cap, hooded top and jeans. 
The PETA website describes bullfighting as  'inaccurate term for events in which there is very little competition between a nimble, sword-wielding matador (Spanish for 'killer') and a confused, maimed, psychologically tormented, and physically debilitated animal.'

Unimpressed: Damon yawns and takes a sip of his drink as he watches the fight
Unimpressed: Damon yawns and takes a sip of his drink as he watches the fight
Unimpressed: Damon yawns and takes a sip of his drink as he watched the fight 
Matt-a-dor: Damon watched the action unfold in the ring, although animal activists regularly condemn the practice
Matt-a-dor: Damon watched the action unfold in the ring, although animal activists regularly condemn the practice

Animal movie: Matt stars alongside Scarlett Johansson in new movie We Bought A Zoo
Animal movie: Matt stars alongside Scarlett Johansson in new movie We Bought A Zoo

The star was taking a break from shooting his new movie Elysium in Mexico.
He is said by the Hollywood Reporter to be playing an ex-convict in the film which is set to be released in 2013.
The movie's plot has been kept closely under wraps but is said to be set on another planet and also stars Jodie Foster and Diego Luna.
Damon will next be seen alongside Scarlett Johansson and Elle Fanning in film We Bought A Zoo which is released in the U.S. on December 23. 
The film is based on a memoir by Benjamin Mee about how the author and his family used their life savings to buy Dartmoor Zoological Park, a dilapidated zoo, replete with 200 exotic animals facing destruction, in the English countryside.
Family role: Matt plays a grieving widower who uses his savings to buy a dilapidated zoo
Family role: Matt plays a grieving widower who uses his savings to buy a dilapidated zoo