zaterdag 28 februari 2009
Na tien jaar weer olifanten in Brits circus.......
Circus elephants back in the UK despite worries about animal welfare. England hosts a circus for the first time in 10 years
'Whale-watchting' niet ongevaarlijk als boot te dicht bij walvissen komt - 61-Jarige vrouw gewond voor kust Maui toen vin walvis boot raakte
Whale-watcher injured when boat collides
with whale
28-02-2009 Advertiser Staff, Honolulu Advertiser, Hawaii, USA
A 61-year-old woman from Bremerton, Wash., was injured today when a whale surfaced next to a whale-watching boat and its pectoral fin his the boat, Maui police reported. The woman was taken to Maui Memorial Medical Center with what were initially reported to be minor injuries, police said.
A bent rail can be seen on a research boat for the Center for Whale Studies that was struck by the pectoral fin of a humpback whale Friday afternoon in West Maui waters. Paramedics attend to a woman who was injured in the incident. She was taken to Maui Memorial Medical Center.
Maui Police Department photo
Maui Police Department photo
The woman was on a whale-watching expedition aboard the "Hokulani" of the Center for Whale Studies (http://www.centerforwhalestudies.org/ )when a male Humpback whale surfaced next to the starboard side of the boat about 1:25 p.m.
The whale's pectoral fin reportedly slammed into the boat, causing the woman to fall, police said.
The boat's railing on the starboard side was smashed and thin pieces of tissue, believed to be from the whale, were found on the boat's hull.
The boat's captain reported having a permit that allows him to be in close proximity to whales, police said.
(Bron: http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/)
(Bron foto: http://www.mauinews.com/page/content.detail/id/515457.html?nav=10)
Mortuarium op Mauritius voor stervende honden en hun baasjes - Mogelijk in nabije toekomst ook honden begraafplaats
Mauritius animal society sets up mortuary to
ease suffering of dogs
28-02-2009 African Press Agency, Senegal
APA - Port Louis (Mauritius) The Mauritius Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (MSPCA) has set up a mortuary for dogs where owners can attend to their animals during the last moments of their lives, APA notes in the Mauritian capital Port Louis on Friday.
Dr Jean Ignace, the veterinary doctor at the MSPCA declared in Port Louis that this service is aimed at owners who request that their dogs be euthanized in order to reduce their sufferings especially when they are suffering from incurable diseases.
He added that owners will be able to be present in the mortuary when he will make the mortal injection.
Ignace stated that the dogs will then be taken to the Bois Marchand cemetery, 7 km from Port Louis where they will be buried. He added that the procedure will cost about US$20 to the owner.
Also the veterinary doctor added that the MSPCA is exploring the possibility of setting up a special cemetery for dogs in the near future and added that a site has already been identified in Bigara, 15 km from the capital.
Ignace also stated that a series of services will be offered to the public including the sale of urns where owners will be able to deposit the ashes of their dogs and have their names engraved on them.
(Bron: http://www.apanews.net/)
Kledingwinkels Maastricht krijgen bezoek anti-bont dierenactivisten
Protestactie tegen bont in Maastricht
28-02-2009 Blik Op Nieuws
Maastricht - Respect voor Dieren voert zaterdagmiddag actie bij een viertal kledingzaken in Maastricht. Met de actie willen de actievoerders protesteren tegen het gebruik van bont in kleding.
Zij hebben daarvoor een aantal winkels uitgekozen die bont in hun assortiment hebben.
De actievoerders zullen onder andere halt houden bij Max Mara Fashion Group, waar een internationale campagne tegen loopt.
Ook zal er protest worden gehouden bij Fur&Fashion, Erny van Reijmersdal en La Coupe D’or.
(Bron: http://www.blikopnieuws.nl/)
Commissie Klassiek Circus verbolgen over poll gemeente Dronten ''Bent u voor of tegen weren wilde dieren uit circus?'
'Suggestieve poll op website van Dronten'
door Herre Stegenga, De Stentor
DRONTEN - De Commissie Klassiek Circus vindt dat de gemeente Dronten een suggestieve poll op haar website heeft gezet. 'Bent u voor of tegen het weren van wilde dieren uit het circus?' is de vraag.
De gemeente stuurt aan op een bepaald resultaat, meent de commissie: dat een meerderheid van de bevolking tegen dieren in circussen is. Terwijl de respondenten eigenlijk bedoelen dat ze tegen het wéren van dieren in circussen zijn. En dat is iets compleet anders.
De poll van de gemeente is een reactie op het eerste burgerinitiatief in Dronten. Indiener Lisanne Boerman wil een verbod op wilde dieren in het circus.
Dus ook in Dronten, haar woonplaats. De plaatselijke PvdA en GroenLinks steunen haar pleidooi. En lieten dat onlangs weten in een brief aan minister Verburg (Landbouw, Natuur en Voedselkwaliteit). De overige partijen wachten een landelijk onderzoek af naar het welzijn van circusdieren.
De commissie Klassiek Circus verwacht dat het resultaat niet veel zal afwijken van eerdere onderzoeken. "Meerdere wetenschappelijke studies tonen aan dat er geen ernstige bedreigingen zijn voor het welzijn van de meeste dieren in circussen leven." Gemeenten kunnen hier een rol in spelen, door bijvoorbeeld goede evenemententerreinen beschikbaar te stellen.
(Bron: http://www.destentor.nl/)
Dus ook in Dronten, haar woonplaats. De plaatselijke PvdA en GroenLinks steunen haar pleidooi. En lieten dat onlangs weten in een brief aan minister Verburg (Landbouw, Natuur en Voedselkwaliteit). De overige partijen wachten een landelijk onderzoek af naar het welzijn van circusdieren.
De commissie Klassiek Circus verwacht dat het resultaat niet veel zal afwijken van eerdere onderzoeken. "Meerdere wetenschappelijke studies tonen aan dat er geen ernstige bedreigingen zijn voor het welzijn van de meeste dieren in circussen leven." Gemeenten kunnen hier een rol in spelen, door bijvoorbeeld goede evenemententerreinen beschikbaar te stellen.
(Bron: http://www.destentor.nl/)
(Bron foto: archief Kraaijer)
Bewoners dorpjes India trachten vernietigende olifanten te weren met vuurwerk en brandende autobanden
Tuskers stall work in 100 villages
28-02-2009 OUR CORRESPONDENT, The Telegraph, Calcutta/Kolkata, India
Jamshedpur, Feb. 27: People of as many as 100 villages in neighbouring Seraikela-Kharsawan district are spending nervous nights — and days — thanks to a tusker duo. Frequent invasions by the straying elephants have forced the residents of Kharsawan, Kandra and Chandil to stay awake all night and keep vigil. As a result, they are too tired to go about their daily chores during daytime, sleeping away the whole day.
“Every night, a tusker comes down to our village, damaging houses, destroying crops and attacking people. Last Sunday, the elephant had even killed a woman. In such circumstances, we have been left with no other option but to patrol the area at night,” said Haripada Gorai, a resident of Ratanpur village in Kandra.
Jamshedpur, Feb. 27: People of as many as 100 villages in neighbouring Seraikela-Kharsawan district are spending nervous nights — and days — thanks to a tusker duo. Frequent invasions by the straying elephants have forced the residents of Kharsawan, Kandra and Chandil to stay awake all night and keep vigil. As a result, they are too tired to go about their daily chores during daytime, sleeping away the whole day.
“Every night, a tusker comes down to our village, damaging houses, destroying crops and attacking people. Last Sunday, the elephant had even killed a woman. In such circumstances, we have been left with no other option but to patrol the area at night,” said Haripada Gorai, a resident of Ratanpur village in Kandra.
A hut destroyed by the elephants. Telegraph picture“This has obviously taken a toll on our farming activities as we are unable to wake up the next day,” added Gorai, who earns a living by growing vegetables and paddy.
According to forest officials, two tuskers are holding these areas to ransom. “One tusker comes out from Ichhapur jungle and goes on a rampage in Kharsawan villages while another emerges from Dalma hills, straying into Kandra and Chandil,” said A.T. Mishra, divisional forest officer, Seraikela.
He added that so far, the two elephants have killed one person and injured four villagers in separate areas of the district in the past fortnight. This apart, the duo have also damaged about three dozens houses in the areas.
However, the forest department officials pleaded helplessness about reining in the elephants. “As the elephants raid the villages at night only, we have provided the villagers with crackers and old tyres that can be burnt to drive away the animals,” said Mishra. “We have also advised the villagers to stay united and watchful,” he said.
Speaking about the frequent straying incidents, Mishra said that paddy and the heady aroma of brewing mahua attract the elephants to the villages.
(Bron: http://www.telegraphindia.com/)
(Bron foto: Telegraph)
Dierenvrienden Anti Dierproeven Coalitie protesteren in vier steden tegen dierproeven
Actiedag voor de dieren
4 plaatsen, één doel: stop dierproeven!
28-02-2009 Anti Dierproeven Coalitie
Om 8 uur s'morgens stonden gisteren zo'n 25 activisten van de Anti Dierproeven Coalitie aan de poort van Roberto Hartelust. Dat deze man veel te verbergen heeft is duidelijk. Waar andere bedrijven op het industrie terrein reclame maken 'voor antiek en sportartikelen' staat er geen enkel bord bij de loods van Hartelust.
De apen 'verkopen zichzelf wel' aan één van de vele zieke dierproefcentra in Europa, dankzij de constante vraag naar apenlichamen. Maar hier is buiten de Anti Dierproeven Coalitie gerekend! De lawaaiprotesten zijn niet aan dovemansoren gericht, en met het drukken van vele duizenden folders dankzij een gulle donateur, kunnen we vele inwoners van Tilburg informeren over de zieke praktijken.
Ook de Gemeente Tilburg kan niet meer om de feiten heen, na de ontvangst van vele protest emails van bezorgde dierenvrienden. Kortom, ADC is 'on the move' en we zullen met slimme vreedzame acties de positie van Hartelust verder onder druk zetten.
Om 12 uur stonden we in het centrum van Amsterdam aan de Keizersgracht. Een uur lang protesteerden we bij het Consulaat van Nepal. Nu de export van apen aan banden ligt, dankzij onder andere de activiteiten van ADC, gaan we voor de hoofdprijs: vrijheid en rechten voor de gevangen apen.
Om 14.30 stonden we bij het apencentrum BPRC in Rijswijk. We kunnen het ons niet voorstellen hoe mensen het in hun hoofd halen om onschuldige aapjes uit China te importeren (link met Hartelust) om ze vervolgens te pijnigen. Apen worden in een stoel vastgezet en opengesneden. Misvormde nieren worden in de dieren geplaatst. Infecties en irritaties worden opgewekt bij de aapjes. Niet voor niets lijdt 1 op de 3 apen in Nederland aan ernstige pijnen. Cijfers die de dierproefnemers notabene zelf opgeven in het jaarverslag van de Voedsel en Waren Autoriteit, Zodoende 2007!
Bekijk het video verslag op de website van het AD.
Om 16.00 eindigden we de dag bij het hoofdkantoor van TNO in Delft. In de ochtend hadden we het dierenleed bij TNO al aangekaart op de radio van Omroep West. Daarin gaf de woordvoerder aan dat ook verfbestanddelen op dieren getest worden in TNO. Nutteloze en onnodige testen worden gedaan in opdracht van derden. TNO Voeding, TNO Defensie, TNO Toxicologie en TNO Pharma gebruiken ratten, muizen, cavia's, konijnen en honden in talloze testen.
Ook jij kunt een rol spelen voor de dieren!
Wil je meedoen? Klik hier voor de actieagenda.
Wil je protest mails versturen? Klik hier om je op te geven.
Vind je ons werk cruciaal voor de dieren in laboratoria? Word dan lid van de Anti Dierproeven Coalitie.
Neem gerust contact met ons op: info@stopdierproeven.org
(Bron: http://www.stopdierproeven.org/)
(Bron foto's: Anti Dierproeven Coalitie)
Nepalese dierenactivisten eisen onmiddellijke vrijlaten gevangen apen in dierproefcentrum Lele
Cry for caged monkeys' sake
28-02-2009 Kantipur Report, Nepal
KATHMANDU, Feb 28 - Animal right activists on Friday called for the rehabilitation of over 300 rhesus monkeys caged at the Lele-based National Biomedical Research Centre. A group of conservationists from the Animal Welfare Network Nepal and Stop Monkey Business Coalition urged the government to formulate the Animal Welfare Act at the earliest and include a clause on animal welfare in the new constitution.
Monkeys at the Lele Biomedical Research Centre
On Sunday, the Natural Resources and Means Committee of the Legislature-Parliament had directed the Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation (MoFSC) to halt the export of rhesus monkeys from the research centre to the US for bio-medical research, stating that the Wildlife Farming, Reproduction and Working Policy 2003 does not have a clear provision on the export of monkeys.
Ravi Sharma Aryal, CITES expert and the secretary at the Natural Resources and Means Committee, said the existing Wildlife Policy was the result of a ministerial-level meeting.
‘‘The policy, formulated without doing homework and holding consultations with stakeholders, is full of full of loopholes. It is not clear on whether or not to allow the export of monkeys. The policy is not in line with CITES, the convention that governs the trade or utilisation of the endangered and protected animals and plants,’’ he said.
The policy aims to facilitate breeding of various protected animals, including deer, antelope and monkeys.
‘‘Scientific monitoring tools to monitor the breeding of monkeys are also lacking. The government is introducing a Wildlife Farming Act to address the issue of export of monkeys,’’ Aryal said. Until the Act is promulgated, the parliament committee has directed the MoFSC to stop the export of monkeys.
About a month ago, the MOFSC had given the centre a go-ahead for the export of its captive monkeys after the centre’s owner Prabesh Man Shrestha requested the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation (DNPWC) to allow the export of 25 rhesus monkeys to the US-based South West Foundation for Bio-Medical Research Centre.
Manoj Gautam, spokesperson for the Stop Monkey Business Coalition, said animal activists had hailed the decision to stop the export of monkeys.
Manoj Gautam at a protest in 2007 in Kathmandu
‘‘Apart from being illegal, cruel and unnecessary the bio-medical research on monkeys will give Nepal a bad reputation,’’ argued Gautam.
Now we are concerned about the fate of over 300 caged monkeys kept in Lele and urge the government to rehabilitate them in the jungles, he said.
As a part of national and international animal activists' campaign, wildlife activists had, on Jan. 21, filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the Supreme Court seeking a halt in the export of monkeys to the US.
In the past, the government used to capture monkeys and sell them to the Lele-based biomedical research centre.
According to Roots and Shoots Organisation, a non-governmental organisation that campaigns for the protection of animals rights, around 20 percent of Nepal's lab monkeys are euthanised or die a natural death in a year.
Demonstrations have been held in Nepal and across the world while some 7000 individuals have signed a petition requesting the government to ban export and rehabilitate caged monkeys, the organisation stated.
(Bron: http://www.kantipuronline.com/)
(Bron foto's: http://www.stopmonkeybusiness.org/)
Expositie in Turijn (Italië) Frand-Algerijnse 'kunstenaar' met gruwelijke video's van dierenleed leidt tot ontzetting en protest dierenactivisten
Exhibition With Disturbing Videos of Animals
Leads to Protests in Italy
27-02-2009 By ELISABETTA POVOLEDO, The New York Times, USA
TURIN, Italy — An exhibition of works by the French-Algerian artist Adel Abdessemed has been prevented from opening here while a prosecutor ponders whether it is illegal to display video clips showing animals being bludgeoned to death and fighting for sport in an arena.
In retrospect, said Francesco Bonami, the exhibition’s curator and the artistic director of the Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, its host, his biggest mistake might have been to invite animal-rights groups to view the show ahead of its Feb. 11 opening to head off any protests.
But rather than allaying their concerns, the private viewing prompted the local authorities to become involved. “An act of openness was seen as a sign of weakness, and when you show fear, it’s just like in the animal world, they attack you,” Mr. Bonami said. “That’s what happened with the animal-rights groups. We showed a little fear, and they attacked us.”
Fear and violence are leitmotifs in the work of Mr. Abdessemed, who was born in Algeria in 1971 and fled to Paris in 1994 during a time of civil strife and political repression that left thousands of Algerians dead. He now lives in New York with his family, and a show of his work will open on April 3 at the gallery David Zwirner in Chelsea.
The artist Adel Abdessemed, right, in a series of photographs showing wild animals roaming the streets of Paris in 2006.
In a way, the protests over the Turin exhibition, “The Wings of God,” were predictable. A year ago the San Francisco Art Institute shut down a solo show by Mr. Abdessemed featuring one of these video clips, “Don’t Trust Me,” a short loop showing six animals being slaughtered for food by a sledgehammer blow to the head on a farm in Mexico. The same video was pulled last spring from the 2008 Glasgow International festival, which also featured other works by Mr. Abdessemed.
The other controversial video in the Turin show, “Usine,” depicting a fight among scorpions, snakes and spiders, as well as roosters and dogs, was also shot in Mexico, where animal fighting is legal. It is a crime in Italy, which has strict laws regarding the treatment of animals. “Usine” (the title means factory in French) and some of the other works protested in Turin are among those to be shown in New York.
“It’s inopportune to show such things,” said Domenico Mangone, Turin’s environment councilor, who sent the videos to the prosecutor’s office. “It could induce people to imitate them.” For now, signs posted throughout the foundation warn that the works could be upsetting to some viewers (should there ever be any).
Some have suggested that inviting this controversial artist was little more than a publicity stunt to generate buzz around the foundation, a private center for contemporary art that opened in a working-class neighborhood here in 2002. But Mr. Bonami dismissed such assertions.
“The fact is that you never know what is going to trigger a reaction in contemporary art,” he said.
He emphasized that the violence was committed by others, and that the animals would have died whether the artist had borne witness to the deaths or not.
Irene Calderoni, a junior curator at the foundation, said: “All of Adel’s works engage the visitor with a strong emotional reaction — that’s what he does. He’s raw.”
Given that images of violence are prevalent in society today, from cartoons to movies to video games, she said, Mr. Abdessemed is “merely trying to touch the reality of violence in an unmediated way.” Themes of displacement, exile and failed immigration policies in Europe also figure prominently in Mr. Abdessemed’s work. Several photographs in the Turin show depict wild animals on a Paris street, an artistic reflection on the situation of the immigrant as an unwelcome guest in Europe.
“They play on the idea of fear, the stranger who is threatening among us,” Ms. Calderoni said of the photographs of lions, wild boars and snakes on a Parisian sidewalk. “They are totally out of place, just as any immigrant is.”
Some animal-rights groups objected more to those images than to the videos showing animals being clubbed to death. “If African animals were forced to travel 1,000 kilometers for an installation in the city center of Paris, it should be condemned,” said Gualtiero Crovesio of the Italian Anti-Vivisection League, one of the groups protesting the show.
“We are against the use of animals for artistic ends,” he said. “If he tampered with the lives of animals, if he had a hand in their existence, then before he is an artist, he is someone who mistreats animals.”
Mr. Crovesio said that if Mr. Abdessemed wanted to denounce the practice of butchering animals, he should replace “Don’t Trust Me” with one of the anti-vivisection group’s far more gruesome slaughterhouse videos. “Though of course they are not art,” he acknowledged.
The foundation can expect vigorous protests if the show is allowed to proceed, Mr. Crovesio said. A recent such protest in Italy turned nasty: so-called ecoterrorists attacked a bird sanctuary about 20 miles from Turin this week with Molotov cocktails, burning down structures and setting dozens of birds free. It was an unusually violent act in this northern Italian region.
The Turin prosecutor examining the foundation’s case could not be reached, but Mr. Bonami said he expected a decision soon.
He said he was unsure whether the foundation would shut down the show or substitute other works if criminal wrongdoing were established. “I think it’s an important show, a vehicle to say a lot about present-day reality, and I’d rather see it remain untouched,” he said.
But Mr. Bonami, who is chief curator for the next Whitney Biennial, scheduled for March 2010 in New York, said the outcry had made him think twice about inviting Mr. Abdessemed to show at the Whitney Museum of American Art. “I don’t want to terrify the institution,” he said.
(Bron: http://www.nytimes.com/)
(Bron foto: New York Times)
vrijdag 27 februari 2009
U.S. Coast Guard video of humpback whale rescue close to New Jersey
Government rescuers released a humpback whale who was entangled eight miles off Sandy Hook New Jersey, USA, on Thursday, February 26, 2009
Anti Dierproeven Coalitie protesteert bij proefdierenhandelaar Hartelust in Tilburg - Bedrijf verkoopt apen uit China aan proefdierlaboratoria Europa
Proefdierenhandelaar Hartelust in Tilburg
weer onder vuur dierenactivisten
Gemeente ziet bedrijf graag verdwijnen
27-02-2009 Door: Paul Kraaijer
Zwolle, 27-02-2009 – Tilburgers Roberto Hartelust en zoon Dennis krijgen de laatste maanden weer volop belangstelling van dierenactivisten. De Anti Dierproeven Coalitie (ADC) heeft het bedrijf van Hartelust aan de Kapelmeesterlaan tot een van haar actiespeerpunten gekozen. Als het aan de ADC ligt gaat het bedrijf dicht.
De organisatie voert in België en Nederland vreedzame, legale acties tegen proefdierlaboratoria en hun opdrachtgevers. Ook richten de dierenactivisten zich op de handelaren in proefdieren en daar is R.C. Hartelust BV een van. In Europa is Hartelust een van de belangrijkste spelers op het terrein van handel in proefdieren.
Het smoezelige bedrijfspand van Hartelust bevindt zich feitelijk anoniem in een Tilburgse woonwijk.
Hartelust importeert apen vooral uit China waar het bedrijf de dieren koopt bij een grote fokkerij. In China is nauwelijks tot geen dierenwelzijnswetgeving voor de fok, wildvang en verkoop van apen. Ook is er absoluut geen duidelijkheid welke apen in het wild gevangen zijn en welke in gevangenschap zijn geboren. Veel van de apen in Chinese bedrijven zijn geïmporteerd uit Birma en Vietnam. De herkomst van de apen in het bedrijf van Hartelust is dan ook niet geheel duidelijk. De dieren worden doorverkocht aan universiteiten, overheidsinstellingen en farmaceutische laboratoria.
In het voorjaar van 2005 raakte Hartelust in opspraak. Het bedrijf had vijftig in China gefokte apen, na een periode van quarantaine in Tilburg, vervoerd naar het onderzoekscentrum Smittskyddsinstitutet in het Zweedse Solna voor onderzoek naar HIV. Alle apen die door dit instituut worden gebruikt zijn afkomstig uit Tilburg. Tijdens de reis overleden echter vier van de makaken (macaca fascicularis; java-apen). De apen zouden overleden zijn, omdat de kooien tijdens het lange, zeventien uren durende, transport te dicht bij de verwarming van de goederenbus stonden. Het Zweedse Animal Welfare Agency klaagde Hartelust aan voor dierenmishandeling, overtreding van de Dierenwelzijnswet en het niet naleven van Europese regelgeving. De zaak werd echter geseponeerd, omdat er teveel tijd zat tussen het incident en de aanklacht. Ook bleek de dood van de aapjes geen prioriteit te hebben bij de Zweedse politie.
Naar aanleiding van de dood van de apen werd in april 2005 een internationale demonstratie in Tilburg gehouden tegen Hartelust BV. Ruim driehonderd dierenactivisten uit diverse landen lieten hun stem horen in de stad en bij het bedrijf van Roberto Hartelust.
De handel van Hartelust is een handel in onduidelijkheden, geheimzinnigheid en schimmigheid. Op dit moment zijn er mogelijk rond de 200 apen in het bedrijfsgebouw aan de Kapelmeesterlaan. Of er nu ook andere dieren worden gehouden is onduidelijk. In het verleden handelde Hartelust ook in honden, fretten en katten. Tegenover het Brabants Dagblad verklaarde Roberto Hartelust op 8 april 2005 dat de apen worden verzorgd ‘als een baby’ en dat ze met de hand worden gevoerd. ‘We zetten ze in groepsverblijven, met speeltjes, want de aap leeft in groepen. Onze dieren zijn uitsluitend bestemd voor medische testen.’, aldus Hartelust in april 2005.
De instantie die formeel toezicht moet houden op een bedrijf als dat van Hartelust is volgens de gemeente Tilburg de Voedsel en Waren Autoriteit (VWA), afdeling Centrale Handhaving Dierproeven. Dit toezicht vindt plaats op grond van de Wet op dierproeven (Wod). Deze wet stelt eisen aan de huisvesting en verzorging van proefdieren. Het jaaroverzicht 2007 van de VWA, ‘Zo doende 2007’, vermeldt echter op geen enkele wijze het bedrijf R.C. Hartelust BV. Het rapport vermeldt welke dieren en in welke hoeveelheden in ons land gebruikt worden als proefdieren, maar wààr de dieren worden gehouden vermeldt het rapport niet.
Volgens het College van Burgemeester en Wethouders van de gemeente Tilburg wordt Hartelust ‘door de VWA regelmatig gecontroleerd en bij deze controles zijn geen overtredingen van de eisen gesteld door de Wod of door de regeling huisvesting en verzorging van proefdieren geconstateerd.’
Opmerkelijk is dat volgens het College Hartelust geen milieuvergunning nodig heeft voor haar activiteiten. In november 2004 maakte de gemeente Tilburg via ‘De Tilburgse Koerier’ nog bekend dat een beschikking was afgegeven aan Hartelust ‘voor een revisievergunning voor een groothandel in dieren.’ Een dergelijke vergunning is nodig wanneer een milieuvergunning afloopt of wanneer een bedrijf veranderingen wil toepassen. In een nadere reactie laat de gemeente weten dat Hartelust ‘sinds 1 januari 2008 onder het zogenoemde Activiteitenbesluit valt.’
‘Het bedrijf heeft geen milieuvergunning meer nodig en hoeft alleen maar melding te doen van haar activiteiten. Wij kunnen een dergelijke melding niet weigeren.’, aldus een medewerker van de afdeling Communicatie van de gemeente Tilburg.
Volgens VROM-woordvoerder Jaap Eikelboom ontslaat het Activiteitenbesluit de gemeente Tilburg er echter niet van om ‘toe te zien’. ‘De gemeente is en blijft verantwoordelijk voor controle en toezicht en heeft ook de plicht om op te treden.’, aldus het ministerie van VROM.
Volgens de gemeente zijn er overigens bij Hartelust voor zover bekend geen incidenten geweest. ‘Alleen het incident met die container is bij ons bekend.’, aldus het College van Burgemeester en Wethouders.
Op de vraag of het College van B & W de aanwezigheid van een bedrijf als R.C. Hartelust BV in een woonwijk moreel en ethisch verantwoord vindt volgt een duidelijk antwoord. ‘Wij zijn niet eigenhandig in staat om de handel in proefdieren te verbieden. Wij zouden dit liever anders zien. Helaas ligt wet en regelgeving en ook het verlenen van vergunningen voor handel in proefdieren niet bij ons maar bij de Voedsel en Waren Autoriteit. Wij hebben hierin geen aanvullende bevoegdheden.’
Dat aapjes die door Hartelust worden geïmporteerd en doorverkocht, werkelijk belanden in de handen van wetenschappers voor het uitvoeren van experimenten blijkt uit een publicatie in april 2006 in het blad ‘Neurosurgery’. Daarin wordt gedetailleerd beschreven hoe in 2005 in de universiteit van Navarra, in het Spaanse Pamplona, bij 8 java-apen zenuwen in de gezichten werden doorgesneden en verwijderd. Doel van dit onderzoek was om ‘de effecten waar te kunnen nemen bij de verwijdering van zenuwen’. Het artikel vermeldt dat de 8 aapjes (wegend tussen slechts 3 en 4 kilo) geleverd werden door ‘R.C. Hartelust, Tilburg, The Netherlands’. Bij dit onderzoek was ook zijdelings betrokken het Biomedical Primate Research Center (BPRC) in Rijswijk. Hier werden dna-monsters van de ‘Hartelust’ aapjes onderzocht.
Na het protest deze vroege vrijdagochtend laat Molenaar nog weten dat de ADC net zo lang bij Hartelust zal blijven demonstreren tot het bedrijf met de handel in proefdieren stopt. Hij en de groep dierenactivisten verlaten Tilburg om op weg te gaan naar hun volgende doel: het consulaat van Nepal aan de Amsterdamse Keizersgracht. ‘In Nepal is een bedrijf dat makaken fokt voor de proefdierindustrie. De eerste vijfentwintig dieren zouden binnenkort naar een proefdierlaboratorium in Amerika worden vervoerd. Maar, mede door onze acties heeft deze week het Nepalese parlement de export verboden. Ons protest blijft echter noodzakelijk, omdat wij willen dat de twee apenfokboerderijen in Nepal sluiten en de apen aan de natuur worden teruggegeven. Wij zijn als ADC succesvol gebleken en ons succes willen we zeker doortrekken naar Hartelust.’
(Bron foto's: © eigen foto's Kraaijer)
Gruwelijke beelden Omroep Brabant van bij hondengevechten gedode pitbull Helmond - Dier donderdag gevonden
(Bron: http://www.omroepbrabant.nl/)
Portretten van apen vanaf 7 maart overal in de stad Utrecht
Utrecht vol apenposters
27-02-2009 Door: Mark Zaremba, De Pers
Mollison fotografeerde in opvanghuizen op verschillende plekken in de wereld apen die het slachtoffer werden van vleeshandel en illegale dierenhandel. De dieren worden door Mollison neergezet als individuen met een eigen karakter en identiteit.
Het is Mollisons bedoeling om ons na te laten denken over onze houding ten aanzien van de dierenwereld.Iedere aap heeft zijn eigen openbare Hyves-pagina zodat mensen vrienden kunnen worden met hun favoriete primaat.
(Bron: http://www.depers.nl/)
(Bron foto: http://www.fotodok.org/?/fotodok/page/james_other_apes)
Inwoner Velsen in bezit veel dierskeletten en opgezette exotische dieren - Herkomt veel dieren onbekend - Politie neemt 150 voorwerpen in beslag
Politie stuit op collectie dode exotische dieren
27-02-2009 Trouw
(Novum) - In het huis van een Velsenaar heeft de politie een grote verzameling dierskeletten en opgezette exotische dieren gevonden. De politie zegt de man te verdenken van handel in beschermde dieren. Hij kon namelijk in veel gevallen niet verklaren hoe hij aan de voorwerpen was gekomen.
De verdachte had onder meer schedels van een Nijlkrokodil, een dolfijn en een kaaiman. Ook had hij varanen en land- en zeeschildpadden geprepareerd. In totaal werden 150 voorwerpen in beslag genomen.
De Algemene Inspectiedienst en het Regionaal Milieuteam van de politie proberen uit te zoeken welke dieren de man zoal in zijn collectie heeft. Daarna moet worden bepaald wat er met de stukken moet gebeuren. Tegen de verdachte is proces-verbaal opgemaakt.
(Bron: http://www.trouw.nl/)
(Bron foto: http://www.hartvannederland.nl/)
Voor het eerst sinds tien jaar weer olifanten in Brits circus - Dierenbescherming woedend
Anger over elephants' circus show
27-02-2009 BBC News, UK
A circus has been criticised by the RSPCA for using elephants in its show. The animal charity said the debut of three elephants at a circus in Newark, Nottinghamshire, on Friday was a "body blow for animal welfare". It called for a ban on wild animals in circuses and urged potential audiences to think of "ethical issues involved".
The elephant act at the Great British Circus will be the first in the UK for over 10 years. A spokesman said the animals received "the best of care".
Many circuses stopped using elephants after pressure from animal rights campaigners.
Elephants last performed 10 years ago in a UK circus
The RSPCA's wildlife department head Dr Rob Atkinson said: "This is a body blow for animal welfare in this country.
"I am sure this news will shock and sadden the public which has consistently shown its opposition to the use of wild animals in circuses."
He said the RSPCA did not believe wild animals' needs could ever be met in circuses adding that confinement, constant transportation, abnormal social groups and inadequate winter quarters all caused suffering.
'Care and attention'
"Asking these majestic animals to behave in unnatural ways in the name of entertainment is a disgrace - a disgrace which is already banned in several other European countries", Dr Atkinson added.
"There is absolutely no similarity between the lives of wild elephants and those of these circus captives," he said.
Mark Pritchard MP and Secretary of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Conservation and Wildlife said ministers should intervene to "put an end to this cruel and outdated practice".
He said: "Reintroducing more non-domesticated animals into travelling circuses is like harking back to Victorian times.
"These animals are being exploited for profit and people should vote with their feet and boycott all circuses who continue the practice".
An African and two Asian elephants are due to perform in the "European Elephant Act" at the circus.
'Best of care'
According to the Great British Circus website, director Martin Lacey "always insists his animals receive the best possible care and attention".
On the website, Mr Lacey said: "Our African elephant is called Sonja and her mother was shot in an elephant cull.
"Together with the two Asian elephants, Delhi and Vana Mana, they are great ambassadors for the species, entertaining and educating the public within the care and security of the circus to protect them."
Speaking ahead of Friday's show, Chris Barltrop from the Great British Circus said: "The trainer just deals with them by word of voice, he's not pushing them around with sticks or whips or anything else.
"He just says 'do this' and they follow him and do it. They follow him around devotedly like some sort of dog... [it is the] same sort of relationship.
"They have lots of activity, they have lots to think about, they're in constant contact with one another, with people they have the best of care."
(Bron: http://news.bbc.co.uk/)
(Bron foto: BBC News)
Michigan Universiteit (VS) stopt gebruik levende honden in opleiding doktoren - Proefdierenhandelaar leverde jaarlijks honden uit asiels
University of Michigan agrees to stop using live
dogs for medical class
27-02-2009 by Dave Gershman The Ann Arbor News, MLive.com, USA
Under pressure from an animal welfare group, the University of Michigan Health System announced Thursday it will stop using live dogs from Michigan shelters in a course that teaches doctors emergency life-saving skills.
The Advanced Trauma and Life Support course will switch to simulated models only after a recommendation by the U-M Graduate Medical Education Committee.
"We're just delighted," said John Pippin, senior medical and research advisor for The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. "All we wanted was for them to take all the information, look at where the state of the art was, sit down and work through all the options. We were confident they would decide to do this."
In January, the physicians committee drew attention to the course at the U-M Medical School, claiming it was one of only a handful of medical schools across the country - and the only in Michigan - to use live, anesthetized dogs rather than human cadavers or life-like human models. After the training, the dogs were euthanized.
U-M now joins more than 90 percent of medical schools surveyed by the group that use an alternative training method.
The university said fewer than 20 dogs were used in the course each year, bought from a dealer of research animals who obtained them from county shelters. None of the shelters were from the Washtenaw County area.
Doctors operated on the dogs to learn skills to save the lives of hospital patients brought in with severe trauma, such as a gunshot wound or automobile accident. U-M officials said the course's instructor, Dr. Richard Burney, is an experienced surgeon who believes using dogs is the best way to teach the techniques.
In a statement posted Thursday on its Web site, the U-M Health System said the decision to switch to simulators came after a careful review of simulators that can be used in teaching trauma procedures.
"In all of (the health system's) educational endeavors, careful attention is given to matching the optimal learning tools and settings to trainees' needs - including simulation methods through the Medical School's advanced simulation center, where physicians in training and nurses learn using mannequins, computer-based simulators and virtual trainers," the U-M Health System stated.
Pippin said the animal welfare group no longer intends to move forward with the complaint it filed with the United States Department of Agriculture claiming Burney violated the Animal Welfare Act.
Reporter Dave Gershman can be reached at 734-994-6818 or dgershman@annarbornews.com.
(Bron: http://www.mlive.com/)
Brandweer Arnhem redt twee katten uit brand flatwoning
Katten gered van keukenbrand
27-02-2009 De Gelderlander
ARNHEM - De brandweer heeft vrijdagmiddag twee katten gered uit een flatwoning aan de Van Borselenstraat in Arnhem.
De brand ontstond door nog onbekende oorzaak in de keuken van de flatwoning op de vierde verdieping. Omdat er nog iemand in huis zou zijn, rukte de brandweer met groot materieel uit. Het vuur was snel geblust, enkele belendende appartementen zijn uit voorzorg korte tijd ontruimd geweest.
(Bron: http://www.gelderlander.nl/)
(Bron foto: De Gelderlander, Martin de Jongh)
Hong Kong beroemdheid Karen Mok zet zich in voor dierenbescherming - Mok naar Canada om te protesteren tegen zeehondenjacht
Hong Kong Celeb Bound for Canada to Protest
Seal Hunt
27-02-2009 Written by Gavin Hudson, Eco Worldly
Hong Kong actress and singer Karen Mok will travel to Canada to speak out against seal hunting just before the start of this year’s seal hunting season, during which an estimated 300,000 will be killed for their fur and meat.
Mok
will work with the Hong Kong Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) to make a mini documentary on seal hunting.The film and the publicity of Mok’s journey will be used to encourage Hong Kong to ban trade with Canada for seal products.
(Bron: http://ecoworldly.com/)
(Bron foto: Eco Worldly)
Proces-verbaal voor Belgische veetransporteur - 34 Koeien vervoerd van Frankrijk naar slachthuis Overijssel - Een dier overleeft reis niet
Belgische rundertransporteur in de fout
27-02-2009 Agrarisch Dagblad
Een Belgisch bedrijf heeft woensdag bij een transport van 34 runderen van Frankrijk naar een slachthuis in Overijssel het welzijn van de dieren ernstig geschaad.
Eén dier kwam dood van de wagen en een ander verkeerde in zeer slechte gezondheid.
Dat meldde de Algemene Inspectiedienst (AID) van het ministerie van Landbouw vandaag. De transporteur heeft een proces-verbaal gekregen. Het vervoer duurde langer dan acht uur en het bedrijf had daarvoor geen vergunning.
(Bron: http://www.agd.nl/)
donderdag 26 februari 2009
Gemeentebestuur Dronten wil weten hoe inwoners denken over het weren van wilde dieren uit circussen
Hoe denkt Dronten over het weren van
circusdieren?
26-02-2009 Gemeente Dronten
‘Wilde dieren moeten worden geweerd uit het circus’, dat stelde Lisanne Boerman (16) in de commissievergadering van november 2008.
In haar betoog wees ze erop dat zeer recent in de gemeente Alphen aan de Rijn aan het Moskou-Holiday Circus vergunning is verleend onder voorwaarde dat men geen optreden zou verzorgen met wilde dieren. Het circus heeft zich aan die afspraak gehouden.
Voordat raadsleden in Dronten verdere besluiten nemen willen zij graag weten hoe andere inwoners van Dronten hierover denken.
(Bron: http://www.dronten.nl/)
Dieren Bevrijdings Front Nederland claimt op Amerikaanse website twee voertuigen Wageningen Universiteit te hebben beschadigd...
ALF Netherlands claims to have vandalised two
cars of the Wageningen University
26-02-2009 Bite Back Magazine, USA
Received anonymously:
"In the early morning of february the 24th we went back to the Wageningen University in the Netherlands.
And again we were so forgiving. We vandalised 2 expensive Citroen Picasso's belonging to the Wageningen Unversity.
(They had 'University of Wageningen' and their symbols painted all over it, so yeah we are sure)
Because of problems we could only leave half a 'ALF' sign in spray-paint.
Let this be a message to everybody within the university.
STOP YOUR TORTURING NOW, OR WE WILL MAKE YOU STOP!
DO NOT LET YOUR PROPERTY BE THE NEXT VICTIM IN THIS WAR!
ALF NETHERLANDS"
(Bron: http://directaction.info/)
Visje met transparante kop gefilmd voor kust Californië (VS)
Bizarre diepzeevis gefilmd voor kust Californië
26-02-2009 Van onze verslaggever David Davidson, De Volkskrant
AMSTERDAM - Wetenschappers van het Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute hebben voor de kust van Californië een wonderlijk ogende diepzeevis gefilmd.
De kleine vis met de Latijnse naam Macropinna microstoma werd al beschreven in 1939, maar is nu voor het eerst door camera's vastgelegd. Het beestje heeft een transparante kop waarin de organen duidelijk zichtbaar zijn.
De vis, die zo uit een animatiefilm lijkt weggezwommen, heeft zeer lichtgevoelige ogen in de vorm van buisjes, die beschermd worden door een doorzichtig schild en schuilgaan onder helder groene lenzen. De onderzoekers vermoeden dat deze constructie de ogen beschermt tegen de tentakels van kwallen, een van de voedselbronnen van M. microstoma.
De vis leeft op een diepte van minimaal honderden meters, waar nauwelijks licht doordringt.
De onderzoekers ontdekten ook dat de vis zijn ogen binnen de transparante kop zo kan draaien dat hij zowel naar voren als naar boven kan kijken. Normaal kijkt het dier naar boven, om prooien en roofdieren te identificeren. Tijdens het voeden richt het beestje de ogen naar voren.
De beelden van M. microstoma werden gemaakt door een op afstand bestuurbare diepzeerobot en zijn te zien op YouTube.
(Bron: http://www.volkskrant.nl/)
Hoeveel kost een aap in Amerika...??
How Much for That Monkey?
Primates a la carte.
26-02-2009 By Daniel Engber, Slate, USA
The House of Representatives voted Tuesday to ban the interstate trade of apes and monkeys, in response to last week's pet-chimpanzee attack in Connecticut. A congressional committee estimated there are 15,000 privately owned, nonhuman primates in the United States.
"Images of 'Curious George' and 'Koko' may lead us to believe that these creatures are cuddly and harmless," said Rep. Nick Rahall, "but last week's tragedy and other similar attacks stand as evidence that this is not the case." In an "Explainer" column first published in 2005, Daniel Engber looked into the business of selling monkeys over the Internet.
Are monkeys really that expensive?
Not usually. Capuchin monkeys—the kind you see with organ grinders—are more expensive than most monkeys on account of their remarkable intelligence. But most dealers will sell you a baby capuchin for between $5,000 and $7,000. If the police department in Mesa bought a monkey that had been trained extensively by its breeder, the price might be somewhat higher.
Baby monkeys tend to be more expensive than adults, for the same reason that puppies and kittens are more expensive than dogs and cats—they're easier to train and they're cuter. (Baby monkeys might be also be in higher demand among those monkey-owners who view their pets as surrogate human babies.) Females tend to be worth more than males, because in some species they are less aggressive.
Even though keeping monkeys as pets is frowned upon—it can be difficult, costly, cruel, and dangerous—they are easily obtained from private breeders. Lemurs, tamarins, and marmosets run in the range of $1,500 to $2,500; rhesus macaques and baboons might cost $3,500; and spider monkeys tend to be around $6,000. Chimpanzees cost upward of $60,000, which is considerably more than you would pay even for a giraffe (around $45,000) and 20 or 30 times more than you'd lay out for a zebra or a lion cub.
Not everyone buys monkeys from private breeders. Zoos usually get their animals from on-site breeding programs, private donations, and from other zoos. Some handicapped people receive trained capuchin monkeys at no charge from a nonprofit organization called Helping Hands, which trains animals to do chores around the house, cook and serve food, and perform other simple tasks.
Public research labs often buy monkeys from a colony at one of the national primate research centers. Prices at these institutions vary, but a macaque might cost anywhere between $4,000 and $8,000 depending on its age and gender. Some centers, like the one at Harvard, operate a "superclean" colony of monkeys that are guaranteed to be free of nine specific viruses. The superclean certification, of course, comes at a higher price.
(Bron: http://www.slate.com/)
(Bron foto: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/unleashed/2008/12/international-m.html)
Ruin 200 karkassen van lammeren, geiten en schapen gevonden bij Llanybydder (Wales) - Zelfs dode dieren in bomen aangetroffen
Gruesome discovery of 200 animal carcasses
26-02-2009 This Is South Wales, UK
THE carcasses of more than 200 lambs, sheep and goats have been found dumped in woodland near Llanybydder. It comes just days after the remains of around 50 lambs and sheep were discovered down a ravine near Llidiad-Nenog. Since then, investigations have revealed more gruesome discoveries in woods around the original site.
Today, dog walker Derek Smith, from Llanybydder, found the rotting bodies of sheep in trees close to the first site.
He said: "I don't know how long they've been there.
"I go up there every day to walk the dogs. It's a very popular spot.
"I didn't see the dead lambs the day before — one of the lambs is hanging from a tree branch."
The first batch of dead animals was found on Friday, February 20.
Mr Smith said he felt sickened and disgusted at the number of dead animals.
"It's just awful, the sight of it really bothered me," he said.
"Many people take their dogs up here and if these animals have died of disease, which is more than likely, then that means it will spread."
Carmarthenshire Council, the animal health section of Defra, and the Environment Agency have launched an investigation.
The council's head of public protection, Philip Davies, said: "It is most likely that these animals have come from a variety of sources and may have been involved in some form of collection scheme. There are a variety of breeds of sheep involved."
Council environmental enforcement officer David Morgan added: "It is self evident that the dead lambs are coming from a number of locations because there are a variety of different breeds that have been located at separate sites on the mountain and on Forestry Commission land.
"It seems likely that farmers in the vicinity may be employing someone to collect the dead lambs in the belief they will be taken to an incinerator.
"The collection service then dumps the carcasses to avoid being charged for the disposal of the dead animals."
He urged members of the public to report sightings of anyone carrying dead animals in the area and for local farmers to provide information if they had any suspicions as to who might be responsible.
The local authority's refuse and cleansing department has now employed a specialist contractor to remove the carcasses.
Mr Morgan said: "Clearing up fly-tipping costs the local authority hundreds of thousands of pounds each year, and a concerted effort needs to be made to prevent this sort of anti-social behaviour."
(Bron: http://www.thisissouthwales.co.uk/)
Honden in Helmond die illegale hondengevechten niet overleven worden 'gewoon' als grofvuil gedumpt
"Illegale hondengevechten in Helmond"
26-02-2009 Omroep Brabant
HELMOND - In Helmond worden de laatste tijd weer illegale hondengevechten gehouden. Dat zegt voorzitter Wilma Michielsen van de dierenambulance Helmond.
Donderdag werd een dode pitbull gevonden in het kanaal. Het dier had overal verwondingen van gevechten. Vorige week werd er ook al een dode toegetakelde pitbull gevonden.
Volgens Michielsen worden de dieren gedumpt als ze een gevecht niet overleven. Zij vindt dat mensen die zich daar schuldig aan maken, veel strenger moeten worden gestraft.
(Bron: http://www.omroepbrabant.nl/)
Amerikaanse proefdiernemers worstelen met dierenactivisten
Activists, Research Facilities Taking Disclosure
Battles to the Courts
26-02-2009 Posted by Ashby Jones, The Wall Street Journal, USA
Public Safety vs. The Public’s Right to Know. That’s how the Journal’s Dionne Searcey frames the issue in a fascinating article today on animal-rights activists and the research institutions they often rail against.
In order to avoid the wrath of activists, public universities and research institutions are disclosing less information about their projects than they once did. It’s in an effort to protect the scientists from the wrath of the animal-rights activists. In response, animal-rights groups, who worry institutions are covering up inhumane practices, are turning to the courts for help.
Demonstrating outside the home of a Berkeley professor last year, animal-rights activists sometimes make their protests personal. Photo: APPublic institutions typically must comply with laws designed to shed light on the use of taxpayer dollars. But many keep certain information secret for individuals whose safety might be at risk, moves that courts have upheld.
Animal-rights activists accuse the institutions of exaggerating potential public-safety problems to skirt the law. “The new tactic is, don’t let them see anything so that they can’t make us look bad,” says Kathy Guillermo, director for laboratory investigations at People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.
Take, for instance, a suit filed last summer against the University of California by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, a group that advocates eliminating the use of animals in research, to obtain records involving experiments. The university argued to keep the records private, saying in court documents that the request came amid “a rising wave of harassment, threats and criminal violence perpetrated by extremist organizations.” The violence includes an incident in August in which a UC Santa Cruz biologist and his family fled from a second-floor window when his house filled with smoke from a firebomb.
State Superior Court Judge Frank Roesch ruled the University of California records should be released, but allowed them to be heavily redacted. Researchers’ names, laboratory floor plans and other information were blacked out.
Though it won the case, Physicians Committee later said that redacted documents were unusable. Violent acts against researchers are extremely rare, says Dan Kinburn, the group’s general counsel. “The fact that a few crazy people might do criminal things shouldn’t interfere with the rights of the overwhelming law-abiding majority.”
(Bron: http://blogs.wsj.com/law/)
(Bron foto: Wall Street Journal)
Onderzoeksinstituten en universiteiten Amerika trachten persoonsgegevens proefdieronderzoekers onzichtbaar te houden voor publiek
Animal Research Exposes Clash Between Safety,
Disclosure Laws Article
26-02-2009 By DIONNE SEARCEY, The Wall Street Journal, USA
Scientific researchers whose work involves testing monkeys, dogs or other creatures sometimes face the wrath of animal-rights activists. Now, their employers -- public universities and research institutions -- are curtailing information they once made public to protect the scientists, saying existing laws justify the blackout.
Citing recent acts of violence against scientists, institutions are withholding identities, locations and other details from documents concerning experiments involving animals. Animal-rights groups, who worry institutions are covering up inhumane practices, are turning to the courts for help.
At issue is whether the spirit of laws that protect the identities of police officers and crime victims can be used to shield scientists at the expense of other laws mandating public disclosure. In other words, public safety is pitted against the public's right to know.
Public institutions typically must comply with state or federal open-records laws designed to shed light on the use of taxpayer dollars. The laws vary widely by state, but many keep certain information secret for individuals whose safety might be at risk. Courts have upheld the protection of identities of everyone from federal informants to undercover police officers. In Massachusetts, public employees who have been victims of certain crimes, including domestic violence and rape, can petition the state to withhold their names and place of employment from records.
"The notion that safety can be a factor in determining when records have to be made public is well-established," says First Amendment lawyer Floyd Abrams.
Animal-rights activists accuse the institutions of exaggerating the danger as a way of skirting the law and concealing potentially controversial experiments. Some First Amendment experts also say the potential danger isn't as ever-present for scientists as it is for undercover detectives or battered wives.
"The new tactic is, don't let them see anything so that they can't make us look bad," says Kathy Guillermo, director for laboratory investigations at People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.
With mixed results, research institutions have lobbied for legislation that withholds animal researchers' identities. California recently made it a crime to publish the names of animal researchers or their family members and their addresses with the intent to commit violence. Similar legislation in South Dakota stalled as lawmakers cited concerns about limiting freedom of information.
In recent months, a handful of institutions including New York State Psychiatric Institute and Stony Brook University in New York have refused to release complete records over privacy or safety issues. A spokeswoman for the psychiatric institute declined to comment, citing safety concerns. Stony Brook said it provided redacted records in one instance, but didn't elaborate.
Some of these efforts have landed the universities in court. The University of California was sued last summer by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, a group that advocates eliminating the use of animals in research, to obtain records involving experiments. In its complaint, the group said "only through access to the records...can it be determined how public funds are being spent and how animals are being treated."
The university argued to keep the records private, saying in court documents that the request came amid "a rising wave of harassment, threats and criminal violence perpetrated by extremist organizations."
The violence against researchers includes an incident a year ago in which protesters burst into a University of California, Santa Cruz, scientist's home during a child's birthday party. In another incident in August, a UC Santa Cruz biologist and his family fled from a second-floor window when his house filled with smoke from a firebomb.
Both the physicians group and PETA say they don't condone violence.
Christopher Patti, a lawyer for the University of California system, says the university used to liberally disclose details until it saw information repeatedly used to target researchers. "We've tried to adjust our practices to balance safety and public disclosure," he says.
State Superior Court Judge Frank Roesch ruled the University of California records should be released, but allowed them to be heavily redacted. Researchers' names, laboratory floor plans and other information were blacked out.
Though the Physicians Committee technically won the suit -- the university agreed to cover some legal fees -- it said the redacted documents were unusable. Violent acts against researchers are extremely rare, says Dan Kinburn, the group's general counsel. "The fact that a few crazy people might do criminal things shouldn't interfere with the rights of the overwhelming law-abiding majority."
Write to Dionne Searcey at dionne.searcey@wsj.com
(Bron: http://online.wsj.com/)
'Lastige' makaken en patas apen Puerto Rico op weg naar dierentuin Bagdhad (Irak) - Apen 30 jaar geleden uit proefdierlaboratoria ontsnapt
Puerto Rico decides to ship wild monkeys to Iraq
26-02-2009 - The Associated Press, Idaho Statesman, USA
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Puerto Rico has found an unlikely solution to ease its surplus of pesky wild monkeys: ship them to Iraq. About a dozen patas monkeys will fly across the Atlantic on a commercial carrier in upcoming weeks, courtesy of the Baghdad Zoo, according to the Caribbean island's Department of Natural Resources.
Puerto Rico is eager to rid itself of the estimated 2,000 patas and rhesus monkeys that have taken a toll on wildlife and agriculture in the Lajas Valley since escaping from nearby research centers 30 years ago.
7 months ago: Puerto Rican researcher Dr. Adaris Mas stands among a group of rhesus macaque monkeys near a feeding enclosure on Cayo Santiago, known as Monkey Island off the eastern coast of Puerto Rico, Tuesday, July 29, 2008. The 37-acre island has served since 1938 as a research colony where the monkeys, originally from India, are studied. Because the species is vital for the testing of AIDS vaccines, the Cayo Santiago colony serves as a source of subjects for AIDS experiments in top U.S. laboratories.
"We will give them all the monkeys they want," said Sgt. Angel Atienza, a ranger with the department. "We don't have a problem with that."
Unlike rhesus monkeys, patas are not considered desirable for research, and there has been little demand for either from zoos - until now.
The U.S. military recently has spent more than $2.15 million to revive the Baghdad Zoo, which collapsed after the 2003 invasion when looters stole or freed almost every animal. Three lions were killed when they tried to attack U.S. soldiers.
The military rebuilt exhibits and trained Iraqi zookeepers. Last year, the zoo reported average weekly visits of between 8,000 to 10,000 Iraqis.
But animal welfare activists say the animals are not necessarily safe in Iraq.
"In the middle of the war, animals are the least of anyone's concern," said Lisa Wathne, spokeswoman for the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. "It's just reckless and insensitive to send these monkeys, who will be caged, helpless and completely dependent on humans to survive, to such a hazardous area."
Puerto Rico Natural Resources Secretary Daniel Galan said he believes the Baghdad Zoo is stable and has qualified zookeepers to care for the monkeys.
In Puerto Rico, officials already have been shooting some nonnative monkeys - a method they consider more humane than lethal injection - to control the population.
Other monkeys are captured, but finding adoptive homes has proven difficult.
Galan said officials have been pleading with zoos in the U.S. and across the world. But of the roughly 90 zoos contacted, only a handful have accepted and agreed to pay the shipping costs.
(Bron: http://www.idahostatesman.com/)
(Bron foto: http://www.daylife.com/photo/0ajBgsp1Ak3B8)
Bij Friese Piaam politiehond verdronken in te water geraakte auto
Politiehond verdrinkt
26-02-2009 Leeuwarder Courant
GAAST - Een politiehond is verdronken, toen het voertuig waarin hij zat woensdagavond bij Piaam van de weg raakte en op de kop in de sloot terecht kwam.
De vaste geleider van de hond, die zelf achter het stuur zat, wist met moeite uit de auto te klimmen. Daarop wilde hij zo snel mogelijk het dier bevrijden, maar zijn hulp kwam te laat.
(Bron: http://www.leeuwardercourant.nl/)
Internationale campage dierenactivisten tegen Nepal gaat door - Nepal fokt makaken voor wetenschappelijke doeleinden
Campagne houdt al meer dan een jaar export
apen Nepal tegen
26-02-2009 Anti Dierproeven Coalitie
Nepalees Parlement eist verbod op export apen!
Het natuurlijke hulpbronnen en beheer comité heeft de heer Shyam Bajimaya van het ministerie van Nationaal Park en Wildbeheer en de heer Prabesh Man Shrestha, directeur van het Nepal Biomedical Research Centre, die verzocht had om toestemming voor de uitvoer van 25 rhesus makaken naar een Amerikaans proefdiercentrum, gelast om het uitvoerproces te stoppen. Het centrum heeft voortdurend aanvragen ingediend voor de toestemming om apen te mogen exporteren.
Volgens de huidige wetten van het land, heeft het comité geconcludeerd dat zij niet gerechtigd is om wilde dieren, waaronder apen, te exporteren.
Terwijl de export van apen officieel “vooralsnog” is verboden, is er nog steeds geen wettelijke bescherming voor de apen in Nepal en daarom moeten we benadrukken dat de export van apen nog (!) niet definitief van de baan is…..
We kunnen ook definitief zeggen dat er geen apen zijn uitgevoerd uit Nepal en dat is te danken aan iedereen van jullie die heeft deelgenomen aan de campagne tot nu toe. Elke e-mail, brief, telefoontje, protest en ondertekende petitie heeft bijgedragen aan het bereiken van de huidige situatie en ervoor gezorgd dat Nepalese apen niet naar een leven in de hel van een Amerikaans laboratorium zijn geëxporteerd.
Wij zijn blij met het besluit van het Nepalese Parlement om een verbod op de export van apen uit te spreken, maar er zijn nog een aantal fundamentele punten die wij absoluut verwerpen, zoals:
* 310 apen zitten nog steeds gevangen in de apen fokboerderij in Lele. Zij zijn het "eigendom" van het door de Amerikaanse regering gefinancierde proefdier onderzoekslaboratorium de Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research.
* De uitvoer van "monsters" is nog steeds toegestaan: apen kunnen nog steeds worden gefokt voor bloed- en weefselmonsters.
* De status van een tweede fokkerij is onder toezicht en kan mogelijk nu in bedrijf treden, wat betekent dat meer apen kunnen worden gevangen en opgesloten om “monsters” te leveren (en om stiekem "voorraad" dieren te fokken), totdat er een "gunstig" politiek klimaat terugkeert en de export van apen wordt toegestaan.
Wij weigeren elke vorm van compromissen te aanvaarden en deze campagne zal dan ook voortduren totdat elk Nepalese aap is bevrijd en de fok- en onderzoekfaciliteiten in Lele en Lamatar permanent gesloten zijn.
We zullen er nu ook hard aan werken om ervoor te zorgen dat het Hooggerechts Hof van Nepal officieel de fok van apen verbiedt, dat is de enige manier om er zeker van te zijn dat Nepalese apen niet kwetsbaar worden voor export afhankelijk van de sfeer in een verbrokkelde democratie.
Wij hopen van harte dat we kunnen rekenen op uw blijvende steun om ervoor te zorgen dat Nepal haar apen definitief red van vivisectie, door de dieren te rehabiliteren en vrij te laten in de natuur!
Wij zijn blij met het besluit van het Nepalese Parlement om een verbod op de export van apen uit te spreken, maar er zijn nog een aantal fundamentele punten die wij absoluut verwerpen, zoals:
* 310 apen zitten nog steeds gevangen in de apen fokboerderij in Lele. Zij zijn het "eigendom" van het door de Amerikaanse regering gefinancierde proefdier onderzoekslaboratorium de Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research.
* De uitvoer van "monsters" is nog steeds toegestaan: apen kunnen nog steeds worden gefokt voor bloed- en weefselmonsters.
* De status van een tweede fokkerij is onder toezicht en kan mogelijk nu in bedrijf treden, wat betekent dat meer apen kunnen worden gevangen en opgesloten om “monsters” te leveren (en om stiekem "voorraad" dieren te fokken), totdat er een "gunstig" politiek klimaat terugkeert en de export van apen wordt toegestaan.
Wij weigeren elke vorm van compromissen te aanvaarden en deze campagne zal dan ook voortduren totdat elk Nepalese aap is bevrijd en de fok- en onderzoekfaciliteiten in Lele en Lamatar permanent gesloten zijn.
We zullen er nu ook hard aan werken om ervoor te zorgen dat het Hooggerechts Hof van Nepal officieel de fok van apen verbiedt, dat is de enige manier om er zeker van te zijn dat Nepalese apen niet kwetsbaar worden voor export afhankelijk van de sfeer in een verbrokkelde democratie.
Wij hopen van harte dat we kunnen rekenen op uw blijvende steun om ervoor te zorgen dat Nepal haar apen definitief red van vivisectie, door de dieren te rehabiliteren en vrij te laten in de natuur!
De Anti Dierproeven Coalitie voert vrijdag 27 februari opnieuw actie voor de apen in Nepal: 12.00 tot 13.00 bij het Consulaat van Nepal aan de Keizersgracht 463 in Amsterdam.
Bezoek ook de internationale campagne website: http://www.gatewaytohell.net/
E-Mail: info@stopdierproeven.org
Website: http://www.stopdierproeven.org/
(Bron: http://www.stopdierproeven.org/)
(Bron foto: http://www.gatewaytohell.net/)
Parlement Nepal verbiedt export apen naar proefdierlaboratorium in de VS
Directions given to stop the export of Monkeys
26-02-2009 International Primate Protection League (IPPL), USA
The parliament committee has ordered Ministry of Forest and Soil Conservation to stop the process of export of rhesus monkeys.
The natural resource and management committee has called Mr. Shyam Bajimaya DG of Department of National park and wildlife conservation and Mr. Prabesh Man Shrestha, Chief Nepal Biomedical Research Centre, who asked for the permission to export rhesus and ordered them to stop the process. The centre was continuously requesting for the permission to export monkeys.
Centre has been requesting for the permission for export of 25 monkeys to the 'Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research' for biomedical research since three years.
As the National Park and Wildlife Conservation Act 2029 has not mentioned clearly about the export of wild animals, the committee decided that it would not be possible to take decision on such a sensitive case like export of wild animal, based on the wildlife Farming, reproduction and Research Policy 2006 only. Working plan also mentioned that, only the blood and skin samples from the second generation of the farmed animals should be allowed exporting.
After the order of minister of Forest Kiran Gurung to the Department for the proceeding of the process of export in the 2009/2/10, the committee has called on Mr. Uday Raj Sharma, Secretary Ministry of Forest to stop the export of monkeys.
Secretary Sharma informed that, although the export was requested, ministry has not decided yet. Writ was filed in Supreme Court by the Roots and Shoots on 2009/1/29 against the export. Though Shrestha requested for the export of second generation from his farming, due
to the lack of scientific tool and possibility of the mixing of other rhesus from wild the committee has ordered to stop the export for now.
Without the scientific monitoring, legal process and lack of tools the Ministry of Forest did not consider about the sensitive case like export of wild animals and its impact on the biodiversity. So the committee has requested not to give permission for export without legal process.
Red monkeys are listed in the article 2 of "CITES Convention" and as the NPWC Act 2029 have prohibited exporting any wild animal including monkeys to the third countries, the committee gave order to stop the export of red monkeys to US for research.
DG of DNPWC Bajimaya and Monkey farmer Shrestha said that, if there is amendment in the CITES law and Wildlife conservation Act, there is possibility for exporting monkeys for research. According to Technical Deputy secretary of Department Mr. Surya Bahadur Pandey,
Department had already proposed the correction of the CITES and Wildlife conservation Act five years ago.
(Bron: http://www.ippl.org/)
(Bron foto: http://www.stopmonkeybusiness.org/)
(Lees ook: / Read also: http://www.gatewaytohell.net/news/2009/february/26_02_NP.html)
Protesten wereldwijd tegen berucht Brits proefdiercentrum duwen Huntingdon Life Sciences naar randje van de afgrond
Top HLS Investors Dump Shares
25-02-2009 IndyMedia, UK
Just days before the SHAC global week of action kicked off and two weeks after Huntingdon Life Sciences' vivisection laboratories were exposed for the seventh time in ten years, revealing shocking undercover footage, HLS shareholders have sold 15% of the company (ticker symbol LSR).
Wells Fargo, who were one of LSR's top five institutional investors has sold all their 147,511 shares and the Bank of New York Mellon, previously third largest investor, sold most of their LSR stock dumping 149,157 shares. BNY Mellon now only have 26,634 remaining of the original 175,791 shares, with Turner Investment Partners Inc also selling their 56,880 stock.
The announcement was made the day before Animal Liberation Front (ALF) activists reported they had slashed car tryes at the home of BNY's Business Analyst in Hampshire, whilst other covert cells targeted HLS associates in solidarity with political prisoners, including the UK SHAC 7. Protests also took place at BNY and Wells Fargo's offices and executive's homes, as part of a three-month campaign based primarily in London ( 1 2 3 4 5 ) (England) and New York City (USA) ( 1 2 ).
HLS have been suffering from a serious lack of investment since December 2007, with over a dozen corporations selling all their shares in LSR. Their share price as of February 25th is $5.78, the lowest since their high of nearly $40 in September 2008. With an unstable share price, activists continue to increase the pressure against HLS shareholders, particularly largest investor Barclays.
Videos: 1 2 3 4 5 More: 1 2 3
SHAC 7 Letters from Prison: 1 2 3 More
(Bron: http://www.indymedia.org.uk/)
woensdag 25 februari 2009
Man in Delft vindt dode rattenslang in tuin - Buurt reptielenkweker Sauria beweert geen dieren te missen - Vinder slang hoopt op onderzoek
Gezin vindt slang in voortuin
25-02-2009 Door JULIA BROOS, Algemeen Dagblad
DELFT - Haar man Willem was dinsdagavond bladeren uit de voortuin aan het scheppen, toen hij plotseling op iets glibberigs stuitte. Het bleek te gaan om een vijftig centimeter lange slang.
Het dier was weliswaar dood, maar dat maakt het voor Daniëlle Baijens niet minder erg. „Dit kán niet in een kinderrijke buurt als deze. Stel dat onze dochter een slang tegenkomt tijdens het spelen!’’
Het is volgens haar geen toeval dat er in een paar maanden tijd tot drie keer toe slangen werden gevonden in haar woonwijk. Ze wijst naar het pand van reptielenkennis -en kweekinstituut Sauria (http://www.sauria.nl/), op nog geen tien meter afstand van haar voordeur aan de Toos Poststraat. „Dáár worden die beesten gekweekt.’’
Volgens slangerexpert Walter Getreur van ‘concurrent’ Serpo, aan wie Baijens de slang gisteren heeft laten zien, gaat het om een maïsslang (ook wel rattenslang genoemd). Een soort die in Nederland niet in het wild voorkomt en volgens de website van Sauria in haar pand wordt gekweekt.
De reptielenkwekerij ontkent echter dat het beest bij haar vandaan komt. „Wij zijn er geen één kwijt,’’ verzekert woordvoerder Dian Herpin. Bovendien kunnen de dieren volgens haar onmogelijk ontsnappen uit de afgesloten ruimten. Herpin vermoedt dat de slang ontsnapt is bij iemand uit de wijk. „We kennen veel bewoners die hier voedseldieren kopen voor hun slang.’’ Sauria ontkende eerder ook eigenaar te zijn van twee andere slangen die in de buurt werden gevonden aan de Buitenwatersloot en in het magazijn van kinderopvang Reki, dat grenst aan het pand van Sauria.
Baijens vertrouwt het niet. „Ik heb de politie gebeld en ik hoop dat die onderzoek gaat instellen. En anders de gemeente.’’
(Bron: http://www.ad.nl/)
Magneten moeten krokodillen in Florida (VS) uit bewoonde gebieden weren....
Florida Tests Using Magnets To Repel Crocodiles
25-02-2009 by Jane Sutton, The Post Chronicle, USA
Florida wildlife managers have launched an experiment to see if they can keep crocodiles from returning to residential neighborhoods by temporarily taping magnets to their heads to disrupt their "homing" ability.
Researchers at Mexico's Crocodile Museum in Chiapas reported in a biology newsletter they had some success with the method, using it to permanently relocate 20 of the reptiles since 2004.
"We said, 'Hey, we might as well give this a try," Lindsey Hord, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's crocodile response coordinator, said on Tuesday.
Crocodiles are notoriously territorial and when biologists move them from urban areas to new homes in the wild, they often go right back to the place where they were captured, traveling up to 10 miles a week to get there.
Scientists believe they rely in part on the Earth's magnetic fields to navigate, and that taping magnets to both sides of their heads disorients them.
"They're just taped on temporarily," Hord said. "We just put the magnets on when they're captured and since they don't know where we take them, they're lost. The hope would be that they stay where we take them to."
Hord and his co-workers have tried it on two crocodiles since launching the experiment in January, affixing "a common old laboratory magnet" to both sides of the animals' heads. One got run over by a car and died, but the other has yet to return, Hord said.
Once an endangered species, American crocodiles' numbers have rebounded to nearly 2,000 in coastal south Florida, their only habitat in the continental United States. That puts them in increasing contact with humans, especially in areas where backyards border on canals around Miami and the Florida Keys.
(Bron: http://www.postchronicle.com/)
Hoe ongelooflijk stupide kun je zijn als 'ALF': Tientallen vogels in kleine dierentuin Turijn (Italië) in brand gestoken...
Tientallen dode vogels door aanslag dierenactivisten
25-02-2009 Het Laatste Nieuws, Belgium
In een Italiaanse privézoo in de buurt van de stad Turijn zijn tientallen vogels omgekomen nadat radicale dierenrechtenactivisten brand stichtten in de dierentuin. Een veertigtal haviken, buizerds en uilen bleven in het vuur.
In de buurt van de brand werd in rode verf de boodschap "Dit is voor de in gevangenschap levende dieren - Animal Liberation Front" gevonden. De brandweer kon voorkomen dat het vuur zich verspreidde naar andere delen van de dierentuin. De vlammen bedreigden aanvankelijk ook het onderkomen van de tijgers.
De zoo werd nog maar pas gebouwd en zou in april opengaan voor het publiek, zo vertelde de eigenaar. De naam 'The Animal Liberation Front' werd in het verleden al door verschillende radicale groeperingen in diverse landen gebruikt. Sommige van die groeperingen viseren regelmatig centra waar wetenschappelijke experimenten met dieren worden uitgevoerd. (belga/gb)
(Bron: http://www.hln.be/)
(Bron foto's:
http://www.lastampa.it/Torino/cmsSezioni/cronaca/200902articoli/9624girata.asp
http://torino.repubblica.it/dettaglio/animalisti-incendiano-con-20-molotov-lo-zoom-torino-scomparsi-40-volatili-bruciati-o-porati-via/1595718)
Molotovcocktails 'ALF' richten dodelijke schade aan onder vogels kleine dierentuin Italiaanse Turijn
Torino: scomparsi 40 volatili, bruciati o portati via
25-02-2009 di Andrea Magrini e Federica Cravero, La Repubblica Torino, Italy
Un incendio di origine dolosa ha distrutto le voliere del parco naturale di Cumiana, nel torinese, e ha ucciso 40 uccelli. L'azione, per la quale sono state utilizzate 20 molotov, è rivendicata dall'Animal Liberation Front: "Questo è per gli animali imprigionati" è la scritta trovata dai carabinieri che indagano sul rogo.
Inaugurato da un paio d'anni nei pressi dei laghi di Cumiana, lo Zoom Torino è il primo zoo immersivo d'Italia. si tratta di un concetto innovativo di zoo, basato sulla ricostruzione dell'habitat naturale degli animali, che vivono liberi. Copre una superficie di circa 180 mila metri quadrati e al momento ospitava soltanto i volatili rapaci e alcune tigri, che però non sono rimaste coinvolte nel blitz animalista. La struttura, che doveva aprire al pubblico nel prossimo mese di aprile, impiega in tutto 20 biologi e veterinari, oltre una sessantina di lavoratori stagionali.
La voliera dei rapaci è andata completamente distrutta ma, per motivi di sicurezza, non è stato ancora possibile rimuovere tutte le macerie. L'ipotesi, al momento, è che gli uccelli siano stati portati via, ma sono comunque destinati a morire. Ce lo spiega il falconiere del parco, Andrea Puglisi: "Se fossero stati liberati qui li avremmo ritrovati subito, perchè sono addestrati a ritornare in quella che è la loro casa, perciò starebbero tuttora volando nella zona, purtroppo non è così. O sono bruciati oppure sono stati presi e liberati da qualche altra parte. Questi animali non sono abituati a procacciarsi da soli il cibo per cui vivranno ancora pochi giorni".
Sono in corso analisi anche sulle cariche incendiarie utilizzate dagli attentatori. Al momento i carabinieri hanno trovato 5 focolai d'incendio e 2 molotov inesplose
(Bron: http://torino.repubblica.it/)
(Bron foto's: Repubblica Torino)
Inwoner Uden gek op vogelspinnen - Man bestelt spinnen via 'adresjes' op internet - 'Spinnen worden gewoon met post verstuurd' - Hoe gek moet je zijn?
'Een krokodil komt het huis niet in'
25-02-2009 door Tom Kupper, Brabants Dagblad
UDEN - "Och, ik heb het deurtje open laten staan." Dat kan iedereen gebeuren, maar Patrick van de Graaf houdt vogelspinnen en reptielen. Hij woont thuis bij zijn ouders Harrie (70) en Pieta (71) in een gewoon huis in de wijk Moleneind-Groenewoud.
In een garage van zijn ouders houdt Patrick van de Graaf vogelspinnen, slangen, naaktcavia's, muizen en ratten.
Nog nooit is er een spin ontsnapt, maar af en toe betrapt hij zichzelf erop, dat hij vergeet het terrarium, een aquarium zonder water, af te sluiten. Naast zes vogelspinnen heeft de 37-jarige Udenaar ook drie slangen, naaktcavia's, ratten, een kikker, veeltepelmuizen en gewone muizen. De muizen fokt hij als voer voor zijn slangen.
Langzaam loopt een Grammostola Rosea, een Chileense vogelspin van ongeveer twaalf centimeter groot, over het tafelkleed bij de familie Van de Graaf. Moeder Pieta kijkt het beestje zonder angst na. "Zo'n spinnetje zit normaal in een kooitje en kan er toch niet uit. Mijn zoon heeft hier altijd dieren gehad. Konijntjes, duiven, een fret, een buizerd, een kerkuil en zelfs een schildpad. Die heeft hij gevangen in de Leijgraaf bij de sluis."
Van de Graaf begon met een paar spinnen in huis, maar uiteindelijk werd de verzameling te groot en verhuisde de beestenboel naar de garage. Volgens zijn vader Harrie is de garage nu al te vol met de dieren van zijn zoon. " Het begon eerst met hokken op de grond, maar nu staat het al in stelling tot aan het plafond."
Patrick van de Graaf met zijn Lasiodora Parahybana. De van oorsprong Braziliaanse spin is populair om als huisdier te houden.
"Ach man, het is zo verslavend!", vertelt de dierenliefhebber. "Je wilt gewoon steeds meer. In de garage heb ik de grootste vogelspin die er in de wereld bestaat, hij kan wel twintig tot dertig centimeter groot worden." Hij laat een video-opname zien waarop zijn grootste trots een muis aanvalt en in één klap verlamt.
Van de Graaf heeft zo zijn adresjes op internet waar hij zijn spinnen bestelt. "Ze versturen de spinnen gewoon met de post. Ze stoppen de spiderling, een jong spinnetje, in een fotoroldoosje met natte tissues. Als ze maar warm en stabiel vervoerd worden, overleven ze het wel. En de postbode weet van niks." Hij fokt de spinnen ook voor de verkoop via bijvoorbeeld Marktplaats. "Grote spinnen kunnen wel 75 tot 100 euro kosten, maar een simpele vogelspin kun je al krijgen voor ongeveer twintig euro. En dan zijn er nog de speciale exemplaren die 400 tot 500 euro moeten opleveren." Bij het paren van de spinnen moet hij wel opletten. "Een vrouwtje zal het niet nalaten om na de daad het mannetje op te eten. Ik zit er dus met een lange pincet dicht op om ze weer uit elkaar te halen."
Zijn buren hebben, volgens de dierenverzamelaar, nooit geklaagd. "Als de beesten maar geen lawaai maken, dan is het goed. Ze komen vaak kijken of ik nog iets nieuws heb. "
Op zijn rechterbeen heeft Van de Graaf een klein spinnetje getatoeëerd staan. Dan klopt hij met zijn hand op de linkerborst, net onder het hart. "Hier moet zeker een grotere tatoeage van een spin komen. Tatoeages: Nog zo'n verslaving!" Het verzamelen van spinnen en reptielen is voor Van de Graaf echt een passie. " Wat ik eigenlijk nog zou willen hebben is een krokodil, die vind ik echt mooi." Maar op een krokodil zit moeder niet te wachten. "Die vieze beesten komen het huis niet in, als hij die wil, moet hij maar op zichzelf gaan wonen."
Vogelspinnen
Vogelspinnen worden ook wel tarantula's of bananenspin genoemd. Na het paren verorbert een vrouwtjesspin het mannetje. Een vrouwtje kan duizend tot tweeduizend babyspinnen (spiderlingen) krijgen.
Vogelspinnen komen voor in de tropen; Midden-Amerika, Zuid-Amerika, Afrika en Azië.
Ze worden gehouden in een terrarium; een terrarium is een aquarium zonder water (aqua) maar met een landgedeelte (terra).
Cambodjanen beschouwen sommige vogelspinnen als delicatesse.
(Bron: http://www.brabantsdagblad.nl/)
(Bron foto's: Brabants Dagblad)
Tien jaar cel voor Amerikaan die hondengevechten organiseerde
Man sentenced to 10 years for dogfighting
25-02-2009 Associated Press, WWSB ABC 7 Florida, USA
MIAMI (AP) - A Miami-Dade man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for organizing a dogfight that led to the deaths of at least seven dogs.
A circuit judge handed down 32-year-old Juan Carlos Olivero's sentence on Monday. He had pleaded guilty to fighting or baiting of animals.
Olivero was arrested in November 2007 after Miami-Dade police detectives followed a tip about a reported dogfight. Detectives reported finding a frenzied crowd gathered around pitbulls fighting each other in a makeshift ring.
Prosecutors say Olivero organized the fight.
Six other people arrested that night are awaiting trial.
(Bron: http://www.wwsb.com/)
Stop dieremishandeling op Borneo (Brunei)...
Stop cruelty to animals
25-02-2009 Commentary: By Animal Shelter, Borneo Bulletin, Borneo (Brunei)
Within just two weeks Animal Shelter has encountered a number of cases, which show that cruelty to animals is still rampant in this country. Two of the latest cases happened on February 14 and another on February 18, 2009. In both cases, the cruelty was witnessed by many and the best that we, at Animal Shelter could do was to protect the animals by rescuing them and confronting the persons concerned and in one case Animal Shelter reported the incidence to the Royal Brunei Police Force.
On February 14, a mixed breed cat with long fur was found inside a tiny cage that had been left outside a house in Beribi. A good samaritan called the Animal Shelter and it was rescued by the Head of the Cats Rescue and Re-home Team, Ak Syukri Pg Metussin. The cat was very dehydrated and probably had not been fed for days. It was just skin and bones.
It was too weak to recover and it died the next day despite the efforts made to save it. Animal Shelter investigated the case and established that the cat belonged to a local man working with the Prison Department. He claimed that the cat was so beautiful that his brother borrowed it for breeding. Unfortunately the cat fell ill, and because it was an eyesore, (bedraggled and smelly) his brother, instead of taking it to the vet for medical treatment (as that costs money) left the cat in its cage outside his rented living quarters. The cat was such a pitiful sight and one could feel its sufferings by just looking into its eyes.
One of the dogs for adoption at the Animal Shelter Brunei
The only consolation is that the cat was shown the love and care it deserved just before it passed away. Unfortunately, this is not an isolated case. Many people are now breeding cats and dogs for sale because pure breeds demand high prices. In their wish to make money, some breeders forget that these animals have needs and feelings too and just like us, they can also feel pain!
Local veterinary clinics and pet shops can also help by being selective in only allowing animals from reputable breeders to be sold at their clinics or pet shops. Sadly, as happened in this particular case, the breeders were not qualified or knowledgeable in animal care, and they had insufficient funds to care for the animals. Worst of all, they have no remorse towards the suffering they have inflicted on these innocent animals.
In many developed countries, breeders are required to register their businesses and they need licences to operate such premises. Hefty fines are given to those who neglect to take proper care of animals in their care. We can all work together to stop irresponsible breeding by not purchasing animals from these breeders and instead adopt strays or abandoned animals. Local veterinary clinics and pet shops can also help by being selective in only allowing animals from reputable breeders to be sold at their clinics or pet shops.
The second incident that took place on February 18 happened at Simpang 51-22 in Menglait, in the vicinity of the office of one of Animal Shelter's Management Committee (ASMC) members. At around 4.45 pm, the residents and workers in the area heard dogs howling in pain and the sound was so excruciating that many people rushed out to have a look at what was happening. To their horror, they saw three men, one armed with a machete attacking a few dogs. One of the men armed with a long stick managed to hit one dog on its head. These three men then chased the frightened and injured bleeding dog around the compound but luckily all the dogs managed to escape into the bushes. The men were Vietnamese workers trying to catch dogs for their meals. Although one of the men went away, two stayed behind looking for the injured dog and waited for it to return. Consequently, the ASMC member informed the situation to the Police.
Steps should be taken so that horrific incidents like these do not happen again, especially, when it involves barbaric hunting scenes with weapons in locations where children could have been witnesses to the gruesome sight, not to mention the plight of the poor innocent dogs. Employers should give proper briefing to foreign workers so that incidents such as these do not happen in future. Apparently, some individuals in Brunei also hunt cats and monitor lizards for their meat.
These are only two of many heart-wrenching incidents that Animal Shelter's volunteers have encountered. It is our hope that with the implementation of Awareness and Education Programmes, as well as with support from the authorities, we will be able to reduce the number of animal cruelty cases in this country (as in the Philippines in 2007 with the introduction of the Rabies Act).
It is a known fact that animal abuse can be part of a pattern of other violent acts within families and society, therefore such abuse needs to be taken seriously and should be reported to the relevant authorities immediately. A healthy society is one, which individuals can live in harmony with each other.
If you are thinking of getting a pet, please browse through our Adoption Blog: http://animalshelterbrunei.blogspot.com/.
Or send an email to Animal Shelter's new email address: animalshelter_brunei@hotmail.com.
(Bron: http://www.brunei-online.com/)
(Bron foto: http://animalshelterbrunei.blogspot.com/)
At long last, Blair is taken to tusk
Travelling by jumbo: Tony Blair takes a ride on Tembo the elephant in South Africa.
(Bron: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/)
In laatste twee jaar zijn minstens 24 neushoorns in Kaziranga Park (India) door stropers gedood
24 rhinos fell prey to poachers in Assam
25-02-2009 Indopia, India
New Delhi, Feb 25 At least 24 rhinoceros fell prey to poachers in the past two years in Kaziranga national park and adjacent areas in Assam, the Lok Sabha was informed today.
In reply to a question, Environment minister S Regupathy said,"eighteen and six rhinos were killed by poachers in 2007 and 2008 respectively in Kaziranga national park and adjacent areas in Assam."
Lucrative price for rhino horns in international markets is the main motive behind the poaching of rhinos, the minister said.
To protect the endangered species as well other animals in the habitat, state government has submitted a Rs 16 crore annual plan under the Centrally sponsored scheme "Project Tiger."
"Based on this proposal, the Central government has approved Rs 4.57 crore to Kaziranga tiger reserve of which Rs 1.50 crore has already been released," Reghupathy added.
Regarding the other steps to protect wildlife in the country, the minister said, various schemes and Acts have been enacted for keeping a check on poaching and anti-wildlife activities of the poachers.
(Bron: http://www.indopia.in/)
Montana (VS) wil weer een slachthuis voor paarden....- In 2007 werden de drie slachterijen in de VS gesloten - Dieren gingen naar Canada en Mexico
Measure to bring the horse slaughterhouse
industry back to the US advances in Montana
25-02-2009 By MATT GOURAS Associated Press Writer, Hartford Courant, USA
HELENA, Mont. (AP) — The Montana House of Representatives strongly endorsed a bill that paves the way for construction of a horse slaughterhouse in Montana and aims to bring the industry back to the United States.
Backers said ranchers and those who own horses have been struggling ever since all the slaughterhouses in the country were closed down. They said it is far more difficult now to dispose of old, sick or injured animals.
"This bill is really providing a humane and regulated processing plant," said the sponsor, Republican Rep. Ed Butcher, a horse owner from the central Montana farm community of Winifred. "Demand is there. We want a humane way to address the problem."The measure was endorsed 67-33 Tuesday in the first of two scheduled House votes. If it passes again Wednesday as expected, it will go to the Senate for more hearings and votes.
Horses in the state of Montana
Butcher said his bill gives investors assurance that Montana will treat their businesses fairly if they build in the state.He was backed by agriculture interests on both sides of the aisle. House Majority Leader Margarett Campbell, D-Poplar, said the closure of the country's last slaughterhouse "had a devastating effect on ranchers."
Others said that old and lame horses are being abandoned on public land in some cases.
Cavel International Inc. shut down its DeKalb, Ill., operation after the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in 2007 upheld an Illinois law prohibiting slaughter of horses for human consumption.
Opponents argued that a horse slaughterhouse should not be granted special exemptions from environmental and other laws, and should be treated like any factory. Rep. Sue Malek, D-Missoula, said animals should be more justly treated. "We need to care about animals and be responsible owners," she said.
In 2007, when state-imposed bans closed the last three U.S. horse slaughterhouses, a record 78,000 horses were exported to Canada and Mexico for slaughter, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture statistics compiled by the Humane Society.
Butcher argued the country needs a slaughterhouse as cases of horse abandonment and cruelty escalate amid economic upheaval that has some owners of the animals unable to care for them, unable to find new homes for horses and looking for ways to dispose of them humanely and affordably. Selling horses for slaughter was an option when the country had facilities to take them, Butcher said, but now people are left with the cost of euthanasia plus disposal fees that can run into hundreds of dollars.
Butcher said slaughtering domestically makes more sense than sending U.S. horses to Canada or Mexico, and the work can be done swiftly, without pain to the animal.
But Nancy Perry, the Humane Society's vice president for government affairs, has said horses are particularly ill-suited for traditional slaughterhouses. The animals are likely to try to escape the kill box and the procedure for killing them can be disrupted.
___
On the Net:
Habitat for Horses: http://www.habitatforhorses.org/
The North American Meat Processors Association: http://www.namp.com/
(Bron: http://www.courant.com/)
(Bron foto: http://www.americanroundup.com/Montana.htm)
Twee Groningers vervoeren ruim 100 vissen in kofferbak auto te hebben
Stadjers beboet voor dierenkwelling
24-02-2009 OOG Radio en Televisie, Groningen
GRONINGEN - Twee Groningers van 67 en 51 jaar kregen afgelopen weekend een bekeuring voor dierenkwelling.
De mannen zaten bij Koudum te vissen en bleken bij controle meer dan 30 levende vissen groter dan 15 centimeter in hun bezit te hebben.
In de kofferbak van hun auto trof de politie nog eens honderd vissen aan.
De levende exemplaren zijn in het water teruggezet. De rest van de vissen is naar de vogelopvang gegaan.
(Bron: http://www.oogtv.nl/)
Amerika wil bij wet handel en transport tussen staten van (huisdier) primaten verbieden
House passes Captive Primate Safety Act
24-02-2009 Stamford News, USA
WASHINGTON -- Eight days after a chimpanzee kept as a pet attacked and critically injured a Stamford woman, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Captive Primate Safety on Tuesday, introduced by U.S. Reps. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., and Mark Kirk, R-Ill., to stop interstate commerce in primates as pets. The bill passed by a vote of 323 to 95.
The bill now moves for consideration to the U.S. Senate, where the effort to pass the legislation is being led by U.S. Sens. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., and David Vitter, R-La.
The Humane Society of the United States and the Humane Society Legislative Fund expressed thanks and appreciation to Reps. Blumenauer and Kirk for introducing the bill, and to Insular Affairs, oceans and wildlife subcommittee chairwoman Madeleine Bordallo, D-Guam, and natural resources committee chairman Nick Rahall, D-W.V., for their leadership in bringing the measure to the House floor so expeditiously.
"There is no reason for any private citizen to keep a primate as a pet, and this trade is driven by unscrupulous dealers who sell primates across state lines for thousands of dollars," said Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of The HSUS. "Congressional action on this animal welfare and public safety issue will complement our efforts at the state level to dry up the trade and the practice of private ownership of chimps and other primates."
"As the tragic attack in Connecticut shows us, the Captive Primate Safety Act is necessary, common-sense legislation for the welfare of humans and animals," said Blumenauer. "Make no mistake, this bill will protect communities and ensure the humane treatment of these animals. The passage of this bill is long overdue; I salute The Humane Society of the United States and animal welfare advocates for their consistent dedication and I am pleased that together we were able to pass this bill."
The bill is similar to the Captive Wildlife Safety Act, which Congress passed unanimously in 2003 to prohibit interstate commerce in lions, tigers and other big cats as pets. Like the big cats bill, the Captive Primate Safety Act targets the pet trade and has no impact on zoos or research.
(Bron: http://thestamfordtimes.com/)
dinsdag 24 februari 2009
Twee verwaarloosde New Foundlanders in beslag genomen bij inwoonster Raalte - Honden zwaar ondervoed en veel te licht
Verwaarloosde honden in beslag genomen in
Raalte
24-02-2009 De Stentor
RAALTE - De Landelijke Inspectiedienst Dierenbescherming heeft samen met de Raalter politie dinsdag twee honden in beslag genomen in Raalte. De twee volwassen New-Foundlanders zaten op een achterplaatsje buiten de woning.
De beide honden wogen ruim twintig kilo minder dan een gezond gewicht. Volgens een aanwezige dierenarts kwam dit omdat de dieren gedurende een lange periode geen of verkeerd voedsel hebben gekregen.
Naast het te lage gewicht had een van de honden een niet behandelde oorontsteking en was de vacht van de andere hond ernstig vervilt, een gevolg van verwaarlozing.
De 43-jarige eigenaresse van de honden weigerde afstand te doen van de dieren, waarna de honden in beslag zijn genomen. Tegen de vrouw wordt proces-verbaal opgemaakt. In februari vorig jaar had zij vanwege de verwaarlozing van beide honden al een waarschuwing gekregen.
De honden zijn naar een opslaghouder gebracht waar zij medische verzorging krijgen in afwachting van verdere stappen van Justitie.
(Bron: http://www.destentor.nl/)
Meer dan 13.000 palingen gedood bij bvrand palingkweker Wanroij
Dertien ton dode palingen na brand in kwekerij
24-02-2009 Omroep Brabant
WANROIJ - Ruim dertienduizend kilo paling is dinsdagmorgen verloren gegaan bij een brand in een kwekerij in Wanroij. Ook een kantoor en een opslagruimte gingen in vlammen op. Bij de brand is wat asbest vrijgekomen.
Een aantal andere schuren van de palingkweker kon worden gespaard. Over de oorzaak van de brand is nog niets bekend. Wel meldt de brandweer dat het vuur mogelijk is ontstaan bij werkzaamheden van de eigenaar.
De eigenaar heeft overigens zelf meegeholpen bij het blussen, hij is vrijwilliger bij de brandweer in Wanroij.
(Bron: http://www.omroepbrabant.nl/)
(Bron foto: Omroep Brabant)
Gruwelijke dood voor paar maanden oud zeehondje - Beestje op strand Hoek van Holland gevonden: zwemvliezen met touw vastgevonden aan olievat
Woede over mishandeling zeehondje
24-02-2009 Door MARTIJN VERWAAIJEN, Algemeen Dagblad
HOEK VAN HOLLAND - Medewerkers van de dierenambulance Vlaardingen/Maassluis zijn geschokt na de vondst van een jonge zeehond op het strand van Hoek van Holland. De zwemvliezen van het diertje waren met een touw vastgebonden aan een olievat. Daardoor heeft de zeehond een dagenlange doodsstrijd moeten voeren.
De mishandelde zeehond wordt afgevoerd door de dierenambulance.
,,Dit wijst op zware dierenmishandeling, vandaar dat wij aangifte hebben gedaan bij de politie,’’ aldus een ambulancemedewerker.
Hij is er stellig van overtuigd dat hier sprake is van een misselijke grap. ,,Waarschijnlijk is het dier verstrikt geraakt in de netten van een visserboot en aan dek gehesen. Toen vond men het kennelijk leuk om hem vast te binden aan een olievat en weer in zee te gooien. Dit moet heel bewust gedaan zijn, want er zaten zeker vijf platte knopen in en dat kan alleen door mensenhanden gedaan zijn.’’
Volgens de medewerker gebeurt het vaker dat dieren worden mishandeld. ,,Vooral op de lijn Middelburg-Hoek van Holland is het vaak raak. Spoelen opengesneden bruinvissen aan of anderszins mishandelde dieren.’’
De zeehond, die tussen de zes en zeven maanden oud is, is inmiddels overgebracht naar de Medische Faculteit Utrecht, waar de officiële doodsoorzaak vastgesteld zal worden.
De kans dat de daders binnenkort opgepakt zullen worden is volgens de ambulancemedewerker groot. ,,Die lui zijn ontzettend dom geweest want de naam van de afzender stond op het olievat, dus die is door de politie eenvoudig te achterhalen.’’
(Bron: http://www.ad.nl/)
(Bron foto: Algemeen Dagblad, Dierenambulance Vlaardingen-Maassluis)
Hebben we bekende Nederlanders nodig om einde te maken aan fok nertsen voor bont?? - Hoe makkelijk is het een handtekening te plaatsen....
Henny Huisman dirigeert koortje voor nertsen
24-02-2009 Nieuws.nl
(Novum) - Korenslag-presentator Henny Huisman treedt donderdag aan als dirigent van een koortje met onder anderen Georgina Verbaan en schrijfster Yvonne Kroonenberg.
Met het muzikale onderonsje op het Plein in Den Haag willen de BN'ers aandacht vragen voor de misstanden in de nertsenfokkerij. 
Het gaat om een actie van de stichting Bont voor Dieren.
Volgens Bont voor Dieren worden in Nederland jaarlijks bijna 4,8 miljoen nertsen vergast om hun vacht. De stichting voert campagne voor een wettelijk verbod op het fokken van de diertjes.
Op de website van de stichting hebben bijna tachtigduizend mensen hun steun voor de actie betuigd, onder wie bekende Nederlanders als Jan Mulder, Youp van 't Hek, Claudia de Breij en Emile Ratelband.
(Bron: http://www.nieuws.nl/)
(Bron foto: archief Kraaijer)
Onbekenden doden met pijl en boog twee kangoeroes op golfveld Yarrambat Park, Victoria (Australië) - Golfspelers vinden dieren met pijlen in lichamen
Cowardly killers shoot kangaroos at Yarrambat
Park
25-02-2009 Megan McNaught, The Herald Sun, Australia
COWARDLY killers armed with bows and arrows have shot two kangaroos at Yarrambat Park golf course. The animals were found with the arrows still in their bodies by golfers yesterday morning.
A female with a joey had been shot in the rump and was saved, but a male shot in the stomach was destroyed.
Wildlife rescuer Narelle Smith said she was sickened by such senseless cruelty. She received a call from the club, 30km northeast of the city, yesterday morning and attended with a vet.
"We had to tranquillise them before we could treat them," she said.
Greg Boland, the RSPCA inspectorate services manager, said it was a "disgusting act".
"It is aggravated cruelty, which can bring two years in prison or fines of $24,000," he said. "These animals would have been in a lot of pain.
"Anyone who is capable of doing this to a defenceless animal could be capable of acts of violence towards people as well."
It is not the first act of cruelty at the Yarrambat Park golf course. In 2005, a dozen kangaroos were found decapitated.
Nillumbik Shire Mayor Bo Bendtsen said the council would work with police to find the callous and cruel attackers.
There is a $1000 reward for information leading to prosecution. Anyone with information can call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
(Bron: http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun)
Duitse wetenschappers Medizinische Hochschule Hannover onderscheiden voor terugdringen dierproeven en ontwikkelen alternatieven
Reducing animal experiments through top-class
research
24-02-2009 Science Centric, Bulgaria
The haematologist Professor Christopher Baum and his colleagues Dr Ute Modlich and Sabine Knoess have been awarded the 2009 Ursula M. Haendel Animal Welfare Prize. The prize was awarded to this research team from the Hannover Medical School (Medizinische Hochschule Hannover, MHH) in recognition of their novel testing system for use in the development of gene therapies that significantly reduces the number of animal experiments required.
Dr. Dr. Ute Modlich, Prof. Dr. Christoper Baum, Sabine KnößThe Ursula M. Haendel Animal Welfare Prize to researchers and scientists who have made an exemplary and sustained effort to improve animal welfare in research. This is the third time that this biennial prize has been awarded, after having been awarded in 2004 and 2006 and this year is accompanied by an award of EUR50,000.
'In hardly any other area of research is the dilemma of ethical considerations as evident as in animal experimentation. There are still many scientific problems for which animal experiments are essential. Nevertheless, a lot of progress has been made to improve animal welfare,' said the President of the DFG, Professor Matthias Kleiner, on the occasion of the award ceremony in Bonn, where Professor Baum and his colleagues received the prize on Friday the 13th of February.
On the basis of the German Animal Welfare Act and its high standards, researchers and scientists are seeking alternative methods in order to reduce the number of animal experiments required, Kleiner continued. The improvement in experimental conditions is also the subject of many studies, in order to reduce the stress placed on the animals used for experiments.
In the opinion of the DFG and the independent award panel this team that has now been awarded the Ursula M. Haendel Animal Welfare Prize achieves these goals, even in a very topical field of research that is likely to be of increasing importance both for medicine as well as for human health in general. The in vitro immortalisation assay (IVIM) method developed by Professor Baum and his team helps improve the chances of success for gene therapy. This aims to repair defective genes by introducing intact genes, which it is hoped that it will be possible to treat metabolic diseases or severe immunodeficiencies, for instance. However, this depends on the gene that has been introduced being inserted in exactly the right position in the genome - otherwise the gene therapy could have devastating consequences for the patient. In the past, complex animal experiments requiring as many as 100 animals per test series have been used to keep this risk to a minimum.
Although the newly developed IVIM assay does still use animals, they are primarily only used as cell donors. The actual test series, the introduction of the gene, can however be performed in a cell culture and in the test tube and now no longer needs to be performed in vivo. This significantly reduces the number of animal experiments required and the number of animals used and is also able to produce more accurate results faster. Due to these advantages, this method has the potential to become established as a standard procedure in the medium term.
By awarding the prize to the team of three researchers from Hanover the DFG is also giving recognition to the combination of top-class research with sustainable use to improve animal welfare. It also highlights the fact that this achievement was a team effort. Apart from Christopher Baum, who is the Head of the Department of Experimental Haematology at the MHH, Ute Modlich, as the leader of the workgroup, and Sabine Knoess as the principal medical technical assistant, also made a significant contribution towards this achievement.
The Ursula M. Haendel Animal Welfare Prize, which has now been awarded for the third time, was created on the initiative of its eponymous founder. Ursula M. Haendel, born in Duesseldorf in 1915, was involved in many different aspects of animal welfare for many years. Amongst her other achievements, she founded the 'Bonner Arbeitskreis fuer Tierschutzrecht' (Bonn Working Association for Animal Welfare Legislation), which contributed towards the amendments to German animal welfare legislation. The welfare of animals in science and research was always one of Ms Haendel's particular concerns. This was the reason why she donated a considerable sum to the DFG to be used for this prize to fund one or more research projects which aim to improve the welfare of animals in research, reduce the number of animal experiments or avoid the need for them completely by providing alternative methods.
How this so-called 3Rs concept of reduction, refinement and replacement of the use of animals in research may be pursued even more actively and promisingly in Germany in future was also the subject of a round-table discussion held be the DFG before the Ursula M. Haendel Animal Welfare Prize award ceremony. At this round-table discussion, researchers and scientists from a wide variety of subject areas discussed a number of topics, including the possibilities for the use of other in-vitro assay methods and imaging techniques, fundamental issues and rules of good conduct with respect to animal welfare as well as ways to optimise the way in which animal experiments are performed and how animals are kept.
Source: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
(Bron: http://www.sciencecentric.com/)
(Bron foto: http://idw-online.de/pages/en/news300952)
Druk op Ierse regering om snel einde te maken aan hondengevechten en jacht op dassen
Government urged to outlaw dog-fighting
24-02-2009 ELAINE EDWARDS, The Irish Times, Ireland
A major animal welfare organisation has called on the Government to speed the passage of legislation to allow prosecution of those who breed animals for activities such as dog-fighting and badger-baiting.
Dublin Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (DSPCA) said there were two canine cruelty crises that currently needed to be highlighted in this country.
Communications manager Orla Aungier said dog-fighting was “rife” in Ireland. The organisation provided video footage of dog fights to TV3, which screened it last night.
“We are calling on the Department of Agriculture to fast-track the new animal health and welfare legislation required to prosecute people breeding animals for illegal activities such as badger-baiting and dog-fighting,” Ms Aungier said.
“Dog fighting is rife in Ireland today, the footage that we gave to TV3, which they screened last night is only the tip of the iceberg. Dog fighting is ubiquitous among the drug gangs in Dublin, Limerick and in every large town in this country and we have found the savage results on the bodies of dogs subjected to this horrific animal brutality.”
Ms Aungier claimed badger-baiting occurred “in every town in Ireland” and that immediate action had been taken in Northern Ireland over the weekend following media reports of such activities.
She claimed the activity was “even more widespread in the Republic, yet apathy remains”.
“The existing legislation is wholly inadequate and while we wait for appropriate legislation, animals continue to suffer at the centre of a murky underworld of drugs, money laundering and violence.
“We know that dogs are being bred for badger Baiting and dog fighting, we have uncovered the various paraphernalia such as treadmills and fighting pits. We have seen the damaged animals that are the voiceless victims to this heinous crime. The gardaí have too, they know who is at the centre of these violent baiting and fighting rings, but nothing can be done as their hands are legally tied.”
New legislation is currently being drafted and it the DSPCA said it was “essential that this is prioritised as a matter of urgency”.
It called for the appointment of Garda liaison officers dedicated to animal welfare with the necessary powers to enforce “robust legislation” and work with organisations such as the DSPCA Inspectorate.
Legislation to crack down on badger-baiting was also demanded by groups in the North, following a major operation against those involved in the activity there.
Raids were carried out across Co Armagh throughout the weekend following a six-month investigation stretching across the Irish border and as far afield as France and the USA.
A website especially set up as part of a sting drew those involved in the badger baiting towards the investigation and helped identify them.
The Ulster Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (USPCA) said the investigation uncovered “glaring shortcomings” in the policing of laws which were supposed to protect the badger and its habitat.
Successful prosecutions by the agencies charged with protecting badgers in Northern Ireland were virtually unheard of despite hundreds of the animals being torn apart each year, said the charity.
During the weekend swoops several dogs were seized in a joint operation by the Police Service of Northern Ireland and the USPCA.
The PSNI said: “Police working in partnership with the USPCA attended a number of premises in the Armagh area following reports of animal cruelty. In one incident a number of dogs were removed. No arrests were made and investigations are continuing.”
Three pit-bull type terriers were among those seized and taken into care by the USPCA.
(Bron: http://www.irishtimes.com/)
Vier jonge gearresteerde Amerikaanse dierenactivisten maakten gewoon gebruik van hun recht op vrijheid van meningsuiting, aldus advocaat
Attorney: Arrested animal rights activists were
exercising free speech
24-02-2009 By Jennifer Squires - jsquires@santacruzsentinel.com, Mercury News, USA
Supporters of the four animal rights activists arrested by the FBI last week say the activists were exercising their free speech rights as nonviolent objectors trying to increase the public's awareness of animal cruelty in University of California research centers.
"It's strange. They act like these people are speaking completely out of context," said attorney Christine Garcia of the Animal Law Office in San Francisco (http://www.animalattorney.com/). "These people are just vocalizing the reality of what these vivisectors are doing."
Also chalking slogans seems not to be allowed....
Garcia, who is representing Joseph Buddenberg, 25, of Berkeley, said what her client and his co-defendants - one-time Cabrillo College student Nathan Pope, 26, of Oceanside and former UCSC student Adriana Stumpo, 23, and former UCSC student Maryam Khajavi, 20, of Pinole - are accused of doing are actually constitutionally protected activities.
"This is sort of silly in a way," Jerry Vlask, spokesman for the Animal Liberation Press Office, said. "They're targeting people who are doing above-ground demonstrations and calling what they're doing terrorism... I don't really know why they think this is going to make any kind of a difference."
The foursome are accused of being involved in demonstrations in front of homes of UC Berkeley researchers in October 2007 and January 2008, as well as a protest and home invasion attempt at the California Street home of a UC Santa Cruz researcher in February 2008. In that attack, which occurred during a child's birthday party, the scientist's husband suffered minor injuries.
Garcia, who briefly represented Pope last fall when he was accused of perjury, said the four were targeted by investigators because their demonstrations drew the public's attention to the biomedical researchers' work, which she called "a dirty little secret."
The researchers "are actually having to face it. They're actually having to realize that they're responsible for these deaths (of animals)," Garcia said. "They don't like to hear that. I think they just don't like being accountable to the public at large for those deaths."
Vlask, a physician, said he and his organization, which is not directly affiliated with any activist group, believe the research is not necessary.
"I can tell you we're not going to learn anything torturing these animals in labs," he said. "These people are wasting millions of dollars injecting methamphetamines and making tweakers out of monkeys."
Buddenberg and Khajavi are scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court in San Jose on Thursday. Pope and Stumpo, who were arrested in Charlotte, N.C., are being extradited back to California.
The suspects will be charged at least in part under the federal Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act, which carries a penalty of up to five years for each violation. However, both Garcia said the law is overbroad and prime for constitutional challenges. It also may encourage protestors to go to greater extremes because the law carries the same penalty for a wide spectrum of demonstrations, Vlask said.
"It's making people who were formerly willing to protest and hand out leaflets ... Those people are saying, 'Heck, I can spend five years in prison for doing this things but I can pour some paint stripper on a guy's car or even light it on fire,'" and get the same punishment, Vlask said.
The foursome is not accused of involvement in the July fire bombings at the homes of two UCSC scientists. Those attacks remain under investigation, the FBI reported.
(Bron: http://www.mercurynews.com/)
(Bron foto: http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2009/02/22/18572695.php)
Weer illegale houthakker gedood door tijger in Jambi (Indonesië) - Mogelijk leiden aanvallen tijgers tot minder illegale houtkap...
Another villager mauled by tiger in Jambi
24-02-2009 The Archipelago, The Jakarta Post, Indonesia
JAMBI, Jambi province: After mauling two illegal loggers - Ali and Deri - on Friday night, wild tigers in the Paal 7 production forest in Sungai Gelam district, Muarojambi regency, attacked another logger Sunday night.
As of Monday, the victim, identified as Khoiri, remains missing, suspected to have been dragged off by the tigers into the Paal 10 forest. Local residents are still searching for the victim.
Three of Khoiri's friends who witnessed the tiger attack were found hiding up a tree for fear of fresh attacks by the animals. They were all illegal loggers from Lampung. Didy Wurjanto, head of the Jambi Nature Conservation Agency, said he did not know whether this latest attack was by the same tigers that mauled Ali and Deri last week.
"We are still checking it on the field," he said Monday.
He added that on the one hand, the tiger attack was frightening, but on the other it was effective in discouraging illegal logging activities. All 10 huts built in the forests to accommodate up to six illegal loggers each have been abandoned for fear of the tiger attacks, he said.
(Bron: http://www.thejakartapost.com/)
Internationale conferentie dierentransporteurs in Sydney (Australië)
Sydney to host animal transport meet
24-02-2009 Aircargo Asia-Pacific, Australia
Major issues affecting the transportation of animals by air, sea and road will come under the spotlight at this year’s international conference of the Australian Animal Transportation Association (AATA).
The conference will consider global industry initiatives to improve animal welfare during transport. Government and industry leaders will explain how they are making a difference in the welfare of animals during transport.
Three Australian sheep on car roof racks in Egypt; further transport before slaughter.
Delegates also will be able to find out how climate changes affect animals which, in turn, then affect the export and import countries involved in shipping.One conference session will cover the challenges of shipping into the Anzac region. It will feature problems faced when importing into Australia and New Zealand – and will provide the opportunity for those problems to be presented to government representatives attending the event.
AATA’s 35th international conference is being staged at the Marriott Hotel at Sydney’s Circular Quay, 10-13 May.
(Bron: http://www.impactpub.com.au/aircargo/)
(Bron foto: http://www.handlewithcare.tv/au/gallery.asp?multiID=86)
(More information on the conference: http://www.aata-animaltransport.org/conference/2009Sydney/)
Israelische jongen gearresteerd in Petah Tivka - Jongen doodde honderden dieren, vooral katten - Geinspireerd door Russische seriemoordenaar....
Youth, 18, arrested in Petah Tikva for killing
hundreds of animals
24-02-2009 Jerusalem Post, Israel
An 18-year-old youth from Petah Tikva was arrested on Tuesday for killing hundreds of animals - primarily cats - in the city.
According to police, the boy initially denied the accusations, but later confessed to the killings, saying that they were in preparation for a murder he had been planning. Further, the youth said that he had been inspired into the deeds by a Russian serial killer who he read about on the internet.
Police will be recommending to the court on Tuesday that the boy's remand be extended.
(Bron: http://www.jpost.com/)
Olifanten in Bangkok slachtoffer toeristenindustrie - Zo'n 100 olifanten in straten Bangkok - Veel dieren uit Myanmar gesmokkeld
Urban elephants ply Bangkok streets in search
of tourist dollars
24-02-2009 Agence France Presse
BANGKOK (AFP) — A drunken tourist staggers about as he repeatedly drops his bags of elephant feed on Bangkok's Soi Cowboy boulevard. Beneath the neon lights advertising Thailand's bars and bargirls, the man teases the two-year-old elephant as the beast tries to coax a few sugarcane snacks from his shaking hands.
"They get beaten because they're tired, they don't want to walk, it's one o'clock in the morning," said Soraida Salwala who runs a charity to rescue elephants such as this one.
Elephants first arrived in Thailand's cities about 40 years ago when the Tourism Authority of Thailand brought a number of them to Bangkok for an exhibition to attract visitors to the kingdom.
Once the elephant owners realised their money-making potential, they started coming to the cities more often.
In 1993 there were fewer than ten elephants on Bangkok's streets. Now, says Soraida, about 100 regularly come to Bangkok, and more than 1,000 are used for profit in cities nationwide.
The demand is so great that elephants are also smuggled in from abroad.
A report released by wildlife charity TRAFFIC last month revealed that more than 250 live animals had been smuggled from neighbouring Myanmar in the past decade, in contravention of national and international laws.
"Females and juvenile elephants are particularly targeted to supply the demand from the tourism industry in Thailand," said Chris Shepherd, senior programme officer with TRAFFIC.
Soraida, who set up Thailand's Friends of the Asian Elephant (FOAE) in 1993, said there are now only 4,600 wild and captive elephants left in Thailand, compared to some 40,000 50 years ago.
Car fumes and narrow streets
often leave the elephants with eye callouses and tuberculosis and make them vulnerable to leg injuries, said Soraida, who treats some of the animals at an elephant hospital she founded in northern Lampang province.The owners, mainly from Thailand's impoverished northeast, defend their actions as necessary for their survival.
Muang Salangam, 59, from northeast Surin province, says his 29-year-old elephant "Nam-whan" earns him up to 1,000 baht (29 US dollars) walking 12 kilometres (7.5 miles) a day.
That compares favourably to the average monthly salary in factories of 7,329 baht per month (200 dollars) in the last quarter of 2007, according to the National Statistical Office.
"I have to bring my elephant to Bangkok because I have no money at home," Muang told AFP at his campsite behind a car park off a main Bangkok highway.
"Some people condemn me for bringing my elephant to Bangkok but I tell them if we stay there, we and the elephants will starve. I tell them there's no food over there, it's difficult."
Soraida bemoans a lack of government support in dealing with the problem.
TRAFFIC said that despite its findings on the Myanmar border, no cross-border trade of live elephants had been reported to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species by either Myanmar or Thailand.
More than a dozen laws exist in Thailand for prosecuting elephant handlers, know as mahouts, in legislative areas as varied as transportation and public health, said Soraida.
But though a police task force set up in 2006 periodically sweeps the streets for elephants, they continue to ply the tourist trade.
Two government projects that aimed to take elephants back to the countryside have also failed, with one in 2002 that encouraged elephants to work as scouts in national parks canned due to a lack of funding.
Another project in 2006 failed to encourage mahouts to return to Surin province with the offer of a monthly wage of 12,000 baht because, Soraida said, the handlers rent the elephants and so would not receive the money themselves.
She is not hopeful change will come but vowed to continue her fight to rid the urban streets of elephants.
"The government doesn't really care," she said. "But we cannot have them as beggars on the road."
(Bron: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5h8dCCi974f5uFo_JkK5B71KH6FLA)
(Bron foto's: Agence France Presse)
Ruim 100.000 stuks vee sinds januari in Mongolië gestorven door strenge winter
120.000 Livestock perish due to severe winter
24-02-2009 Montsame Agency, Mongolia
Ulaanbaatar, /MONTSAME/ As of January, about 120,000 animals have been reported lost by herders nationwide. This included 67, 300 goats, 41,400 sheep, 77,000 cattle, 39,000 horses and 100 camels.
This figure increased 70,700 animals compared with the same period of the last year. Losses by aimag shows Zavkhan accounts for 80.8 percent of Mongolia's animal losses.
This was nearly 20 percent of the country's animal losses, followed by Bayan-Olgii (18.6%), Uvs (16.5%), Khovd (12.0%), Bayankhongor (7.3%) and Gobi-Altai (6.8%) aimags.
Officials say Khovsgol aimag has the largest number of livestock in the country with 3.7 million. It is followed by Ovorkhangai with 3.3 million, Arkhangai with 3.3 million, Zavkhan with 3.1 million and Tov with 2.9 million animals.
(Bron: http://www.montsame.mn/)
Woede onder Turkse dierenvrienden - Honden en katten in Bodrum overleden na eten met landbouwgif vergiftigd vlees gevonden in straten van stad
Animal lovers furious after cat, dog killings
24-02-2009 Hurriyet, Turkey
BODRUM - Animal lovers were devastated by the lethal poisoning of nine dogs and six cats from chemical-laced food left on the streets of Bodrum. Five other dogs ingested the poison, but were saved by residents and Bodrum vets.
Residents of Bodrum's Torba town in the Muğla district were shocked by the dead dog and cat bodies on the street on Sunday morning. After an investigation by the Municipality’s vets, it was discovered that scattered food laced with agricultural chemicals caused the deaths of the animals. More than 30 other incidents of similar animal deaths in Torba raised questions with residents.
"The number of dogs and cats killed by poisoning was over 30 in Torba. They are mixing agricultural chemicals with meat and scattering these food on streets. These poisoned foods kill birds as well. It is distressing that those people poisoning dogs and cats have not been caught yet," said animal lover Hikmet Kaya.
Ali Tan Akyaız, the vet at Bodrum Animal Shelter, said that the result of their investigation concluded nine dogs and six cats were killed by the poisoned food and several other dogs and cats were saved with last-minute interference. Five dogs were also poisoned in the same way in Kuyucak.
(Bron: http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/)
Belangrijke donateur Universiteit Oklahoma (VS) wil niet dat haar geld naar dieronderzoek gaat - Bij levende dieren botten gebroken,organen verwijderd
OSU's animal research defended
Alleged methods angered the wife of T. Boone Pickens
24-02-2009 By OMER GILLHAM World Staff Writer, Tulsa World, USA
STILLWATER — After facing public criticism from the wife of T. Boone Pickens for conducting animal research, Oklahoma State University officials on Monday defended research methods that included multiple surgeries on live animals and euthanasia.
OSU on Monday responded to questions raised by Madeleine Pickens, an OSU donor and supporter of animal rescue programs. Pickens has asked OSU to redirect her $5 million donation away from animal research at OSU's Center of Veterinary Health Sciences in Stillwater.
"It is not anything I want to support," Pickens said. "I don't agree with their protocol or philosophy."
Pickens is married to Texas billionaire T. Boone Pickens, who has donated tens of millions of dollars to OSU and its programs. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Madeleine Pickens said she rented several jets to rescue stranded animals.
An OSU spokesman, Gary Shutt, said the school is licensed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture as a research facility, which means the school can acquire and use animals for research and teaching. In 2008, the school euthanized 76 dogs that were used for veterinary instruction, he said.
Shutt said that no animal is subjected to broken bones or organ removal as part of OSU's veterinarian teaching program.
"This simply is not accurate," he said.
OSU said in a statement: "We understand and respect Madeleine Pickens' concerns regarding surgical training and research practices at the OSU College of Veterinary Medicine, which are utilized at most veterinary colleges in the country. Apparently, Mrs. Pickens was provided information which unfortunately, in many respects, is not factually accurate."
Pickens said she sent a letter to OSU on Monday, asking the school to redirect her donation to other areas within the school.
Shutt said that OSU would meet with Madeleine Pickens to discuss how the donation should be redirected.
Madeleine Pickens said she learned about OSU's research methods from a veterinary student who sought her out.
"I would be embarrassed to be associated with that kind of teaching or research at OSU or anywhere," she said.
Madeleine Pickens said she met with OSU's veterinary officials months ago to discuss her donation to the school.
She said she went public with her concerns after realizing that her suggestions for allocating her donation were not being heeded.
"OSU is a very marvelous school with a new leadership, but some of the responses to my suggestions for reaching out to the community were pathetic," she said.
Madeleine Pickens said she made the donation to OSU without a preference for how it would be used. But once she learned it was going for animal research, she said, she began to ask questions.
The Humane Society of the United States said that animal research at universities often involves methods such as those outlined by Madeleine Pickens.
Martin Stephens, the organization's vice president for animal research issues, said: "There is the breaking of limbs, organ removal and other activities at universities and other research facilities. While there are USDA regulations, the regulations are silent on what type of research is done.
"There are also oversight committees at the universities, but this is like the fox and the hen house because the committees are made up primarily of university employees."
(Bron: http://www.tulsaworld.com/)
(Bron foto: http://madeleinepickens.com/)
maandag 23 februari 2009
2 Jaar Anti Dierproeven Coalitie - Succesvol, vriendelijk, effectief en....democratisch
De Anti Dierproeven Coalitie voert al 2 jaar gedreven actie voor de dieren opgesloten in laboratoria.
Bekijk het videoverslag gemaakt naar aanleiding van de tweede verjaardag van ADC.
(Voor meer informatie: http://www.stopdierproeven.org/)
Help mee om experimenten op primaten in de Belgische Katholieke Universiteit Leuven te stoppen...!
Stop de financiering van apenleed in Leuven
23-02-2009 Anti Dierproeven Coalitie
De Anti Dierproeven Coalitie is een dierenrechtenorganisatie die tweewekelijks massaal oproept om protestmails te sturen naar bedrijven en instellingen die schuldig zijn aan dierenleed. Het enige dat jij dan nog hoeft te doen, is de tekst copiëren in een bericht en doorsturen naar onderstaande emailadressen.
De Geneeskundige Stichting Koningin Elizabeth (GSKE) financiert jaarlijks de onnodige en barbaarse studies op apen van de Katholieke Universiteit Leuven. We roepen dan ook de GSKE op om de geldkraan dicht te draaien.
Emails:
thierry@debarsy.be,
fmre.gske@skynet.be,
erik.dhondt@skynet.be,
e.l.dhondt@skynet.be,
Voorbeeldbrief:
Geachte,
Graag zou ik uw aandacht willen vragen voor het lot van de apen in Belgische proefdiercentra. Dieren bij wie elektroden op de hersenen geplaatst worden, die jarenlang tegen hun wil gevangen zitten en gebruikt worden in de meest gruwelijke experimenten... Science fiction? Neen, de
dagelijkse realiteit voor primaten die als proefdier worden ingezet.
In België is de Katholieke Universiteit van Leuven (KUL) de grootste gebruiker van apen. Zo worden er in het KUL Gasthuisberg laboratorium apen gebruikt voor de meest onzinnige en verouderde testen! De apen die hier gevangen zitten worden gedurende verschillende jaren gebruikt voor neurologische experimenten. Hoe kan een universiteit die de K van katholiek in zijn naam plaatst zo respectloos omgaan met andere levende wezens? Beeld je de angst, het leed en de pijn van deze dieren eens in.
Hier vindt u beelden van de belachelijke testen op apen in Leuven:
http://www.stopdierproeven.org/ADCTV/KUL_demo.html
Dit verborgen leed kwam mij ter ore via een campagne van de Anti Dierproeven Coalitie (ADC). De ADC is niet tegen wetenschappelijk onderzoek, maar vindt dat dit op een moderne, respectvolle en ethische manier moet gebeuren. Ik steun hen hierin volledig!'
Het is dan ook onbegrijpelijk dat de Geneeskundige Stichting Koningin Elizabeth dit soort praktijken financieel ondersteunt. Ik verzoek de GSKE daarom met klem om per direct de steun aan alle apenexperimenten stop te zetten.
(JE NAAM)
--
De Anti Dierproeven Coalitie (ADC) werd opgericht als tegengewicht voor de niets ontziende dierproefindustrie. Wij eisen de stopzetting van alle dierproeven, en zeker voor commerciële doeleinden.
De Anti Dierproeven Coalitie voert vreedzaam en met open vizier actie tegen dierproeven: http://www.stopdierproeven.org/
(Bron: http://www.stopdierproeven.org/)
(Bron foto: http://www.stopnu.org/)
thierry@debarsy.be,
fmre.gske@skynet.be,
erik.dhondt@skynet.be,
e.l.dhondt@skynet.be,
Voorbeeldbrief:
Geachte,
Graag zou ik uw aandacht willen vragen voor het lot van de apen in Belgische proefdiercentra. Dieren bij wie elektroden op de hersenen geplaatst worden, die jarenlang tegen hun wil gevangen zitten en gebruikt worden in de meest gruwelijke experimenten... Science fiction? Neen, de
dagelijkse realiteit voor primaten die als proefdier worden ingezet.
In België is de Katholieke Universiteit van Leuven (KUL) de grootste gebruiker van apen. Zo worden er in het KUL Gasthuisberg laboratorium apen gebruikt voor de meest onzinnige en verouderde testen! De apen die hier gevangen zitten worden gedurende verschillende jaren gebruikt voor neurologische experimenten. Hoe kan een universiteit die de K van katholiek in zijn naam plaatst zo respectloos omgaan met andere levende wezens? Beeld je de angst, het leed en de pijn van deze dieren eens in.
Hier vindt u beelden van de belachelijke testen op apen in Leuven:
http://www.stopdierproeven.org/ADCTV/KUL_demo.html
Dit verborgen leed kwam mij ter ore via een campagne van de Anti Dierproeven Coalitie (ADC). De ADC is niet tegen wetenschappelijk onderzoek, maar vindt dat dit op een moderne, respectvolle en ethische manier moet gebeuren. Ik steun hen hierin volledig!'
Het is dan ook onbegrijpelijk dat de Geneeskundige Stichting Koningin Elizabeth dit soort praktijken financieel ondersteunt. Ik verzoek de GSKE daarom met klem om per direct de steun aan alle apenexperimenten stop te zetten.
(JE NAAM)
--
De Anti Dierproeven Coalitie (ADC) werd opgericht als tegengewicht voor de niets ontziende dierproefindustrie. Wij eisen de stopzetting van alle dierproeven, en zeker voor commerciële doeleinden.
De Anti Dierproeven Coalitie voert vreedzaam en met open vizier actie tegen dierproeven: http://www.stopdierproeven.org/
(Bron: http://www.stopdierproeven.org/)
(Bron foto: http://www.stopnu.org/)
Olifanten in te kleine groepjes in dierentuinen vertonen abnormaal gedrag en zijn depressief...
Elephants in zoos at risk of abnormal behaviour
because of small groups
Elephants in zoos are at risk of depression, according to a new study that found captive animals are unhappy kept alone or in small groups.
23-02-2009 By Louise Gray, Environment Correspondent, The Telegraph, UK
The research found that most elephants in zoos are kept in groups of four or smaller. Scientists say this is unnatural for the herd animals. It not only means young elephants cannot learn important socials skills but many begin showing "abnormal behaviour" that suggests depression such as swaying on the spot or pacing in circles.
Elephants in zoos are at risk of depression, according to a new study that found captive animals are unhappy kept alone or in small groups.
Animal welfare specialist Dr Paul Rees of Salford University looked at the records of 200 zoos worldwide. In 2006, 69 per cent of Asian elephants and 80 per cent of African elephants in the world's zoos were still being kept in groups of four or fewer.
Both British and American animal welfare groups recommend elephants are kept in larger groups of seven or more that better reflects the natural habitat in the wild.
Dr Rees, who has spent years decoding the complex social structure of elephants, said elephants kept in small groups cannot learn important social skills such as finding a mate or greeting rituals.
"In the wild, elephant social structure is complex and, although the average group size is around 12, they can also live in even larger extended family units. Contact with members of their own species is crucial for the animals to develop normal behaviour patterns and friendships," he said.
"Small group sizes in zoos may prevent this from happening. There is no good reason for a zoo to keep just one elephant."
Dr Rees said elephants kept in small groups can display "abnormal behaviour" such as swaying on the spot or pacing in circles that suggests the animals are unhappy.
"In an awful lot of zoos around the world elephants are unable to comply with recommendations that elephants are kept in larger groups. I am absolutely convinced this is not a good thing," he added.
In a 2005 survey of 78 zoos accredited by the American Association of Zoos and Aquariums, 40 said they planned to expand or build new elephant exhibits.
But Dr Rees said it would be difficult for the majority of zoos to keep larger herds.
"This transition would be difficult as it would take a lot of time and money, and the zoos would need to find the right combinations of elephants. Many animals are often incompatible due to a history of inadequate care in circuses or substandard zoos where many of them originate," he said.
Weighing up to six tonnes, elephants are the largest land mammals. They are highly intelligent and can live up to 70 years, although their numbers are dropping due to poaching and the destruction of their habitat.
(Bron: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/)
(Bron foto: Telegraph)
Brandweer Zeevang moet regelmatig uitrukken om te water geraakte paarden bij stal Beets te redden - Gemeente kan niets doen, AID onderzoekt 'de zaak'
Paarden in Beets wacht onzeker lot
23-02-2009 Noordhollands Dagblad
Beets - Bij een stal in Beets raken voordurend paarden te water. ,,We zijn sinds de zomer zeker tien keer uitgerukt om de dieren uit de sloot te halen'', zegt commandant van de Brandweer Zeevang Jan van der Blom. Gemeente en inspectie (AID) weten ervan, maar grijpen niet in, zeggen betrokkenen.
Het gaat om zo'n tien paarden in een drassig landje. ,,Ik heb de indruk dat er teveel paarden staan'', zegt brandweercommandant Van der Blom. ,,Donderdag kregen we opnieuw een melding. Tot op heden heeft de brandweer steeds kosteloos geholpen, maar het wordt nu een beetje teveel.''
Hoefsmid Ciska Koomen bood die donderdag hulp. ,,Ik heb een halster gepakt en ben in de sloot gesprongen'', vertelt ze. Kort daarna heeft een medewerker van de gemeente, die toevallig in de buurt was, het paard mee op de kant helpen trekken.
In november heeft burgemeester Martijn Smit met de eigenaresse van de stal gesproken over de kwestie, bevestigt brandweercommandant Van der Blom. Ze beloofde toen beterschap. Toch zijn daarna opnieuw twee paarden te water geraakt.
De stalhoudster laat in een telefoongesprek weten niet op de gebeurtenissen te willen reageren. De Algemene Inspectiedienst (AID) heeft de zaak in onderzoek, maar geeft nog geen informatie.
Burgemeester Martijn Smit zegt wat dierenwelzijn betreft niets te kunnen doen, omdat de gemeente daar niet over gaat, maar de AID. Hij gaat wel kijken of de vereiste vergunningen aanwezig zijn voor de hoeveelheid mest die de paarden produceren.
(Bron: http://www.noordhollandsdagblad.nl/)
Chinese wetenschappers tonen in mei 2007 gemaakte foto zeldzame Indo-Chinese tijger in Yunnan provincie (China)
Wild Indo-Chinese tiger spotted in SW China
23-02-2009 (Xinhua), China Daily, China
KUNMING -- Chinese scientists in southwest China's Yunnan Province said Monday they had a photo of a wild Indo-Chinese tiger, the world's most critically endangered tiger subspecies.
Undated file photo shows two Indo-Chinese tigers. [Agencies]
The picture was taken in May 2007 by a researcher with an infrared camera in Xishuangbanna Nature Reserve, a mountainous border area straddling China and Myanmar, said a provincial forestry department official surnamed Huo.
At the time, scientists from the State Forestry Administration (SFA) and the provincial forestry department were on a 20-month field survey, he said.
"The research group found a large number of the tigers' footprints, feces, remains of prey and traces of other activity in the reserve," he said. "They also found bison, Sambar, barking deer, boar and other herbivorous animals that were part of the tigers' food chain."
Indo-Chinese tigers (Panthera tigris corbetti) are mainly found in Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, Malaysia and southern China. Scientists estimate only 1,200 to 1,700 Indo-Chinese tigers are living in the wild.
Huo declined to give an estimate of the number of the tigers in Yunnan or the name of the researcher who took the photo.
"We have to wait for the final proof from the State Forestry Administration. Maybe in several weeks, we will release the investigation report with the estimated figure of the tigers," he said.
Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, in the southernmost of Yunnan, has the best preserved tropical rain forests in China and has five state-level nature reserves.
(Bron: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/)
(Bron foto: China Daily)
VVD Europarlementslid Toine Manders wil verbod handel zeehondenbont - Geen uitzondering voor Eskimo's (Inuit)
VVD'er wil totaalverbod zeehondenbont
23-02-2009 De Telegraaf
BRUSSEL - VVD-Europarlementslid Toine Manders wil een Europees totaalverbod op de handel in zeehondenbont, meldde hij maandag, vooruitlopend op een stemming op 2 maart in de parlementscommissie interne markt.
Manders gaat daarmee verder dan veel andere Europarlementsleden, die een uitzondering willen maken voor de Eskimo's. Het bont dat deze groep levert zou welkom zijn als de zeehondjes humaan zouden worden gedood en apart gelabeld. „Zo'n uitzondering is onzin. Hoe kun je dat ooit controleren?”, zegt Manders. „Dat kan hooguit als Inuit de zeehonden fokken en doden in gecontroleerde omstandigheden. Zo'n zeehondenfarm kan ik wel steunen.”
Manders vreest dat een uitzondering voor de Inuit de deur open zet voor andere uitzonderingen, zoals het traditionele honden- of kattenbont uit China.
Het Europarlement en EU-landen moeten dit jaar stemmen over een verbod op zeehondenbont. Nederland en België horen tot de weinige landen ter wereld die al een volledig handelsverbod op zulk bont kennen.
(Bron: http://www.telegraaf.nl/)
Britse dierenactivisten eisen snel EU-verbod op gebruik primaten als proefdieren - Landelijke actiedag zaterdag 28 februari
Campaigners Demand an End to Primate
Experiments in Europe
23-02-2009 Animal Aid, UK
On Saturday 28th February, campaigners across the country will be taking action to help bring about an end to the use of primates in European laboratories. Street stalls will be set up and signatures collected on campaign postcards.
New rules governing animal experiments for the whole of Europe are currently being developed by the European Union and animal campaigners are calling for a timetabled phase-out of the use of all primates.
There is widespread support for strong measures to prohibit primate use. More than half of all MEPs signed a Written Declaration calling for an immediate end to experiments involving great apes, as well as a timetable for the replacement of all nonhuman primates in scientific experiments. The public also wants to see the abuse stop. A European Commission survey revealed that 80 per cent of European citizens find the use of primates in laboratories unacceptable. Yet, as it stands, the draft legislation fails adequately to address these concerns and, instead, allows the continued use of all primate species – including great apes – in certain circumstances.
Says Animal Aid Director, Andrew Tyler:
‘Aside from the appalling cruelty meted out to these intelligent and sensitive beings, animal experiments are notoriously unreliable as predictors for human health. Even our closest animal kin, chimpanzees, are essentially immune to HIV, common malaria and hepatitis B. And the recent ‘elephant man’ drug testing catastrophe – where six healthy human volunteers suffered serious adverse reactions including multiple organ failure – involved a drug previously passed as safe after tests on monkeys.
State-of-the-art, non-animal technologies that are effective, safe and reliable already exist. We are heartened that members of the public and politicians right across Europe are looking to a future where no animal is made to suffer in painful and outdated laboratory tests.’
(Bron: http://www.animalaid.org.uk/)
(Bron foto: archief Kraaijer)
Sri Lanka krijgt wetgeving die het verbiedt om dieren te slachten en te mishandelen
Bill to ban slaughter of animals
23-02-2009 By Kelum Bandara and Gihan de Chickera, The Daily Mirror, Sri Lanka
The JHU (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jathika_Hela_Urumaya), an ally of the ruling UPFA, has presented a Bill in parliament seeking approval to establish a National Animal Welfare Authority with the aim of preventing cruelty to animals and to ensure their welfare.
The provisions of the proposed Bill include the ban on slaughtering buffaloes, buffalo calves, cows, bulls and their calves and the imposition of a fine of Rs.100,000 or a one-year jail term if any found guilty of contravening the law when passed.
The Bill was presented by JHU parliamentarian the Ven. Athuraliye Ratana Thera as a private member’s Bill and also seeks to recognize a duty to care on the part of those in charge of animals to treat them humanely and ensure their well-being.
Some of the provisions are as follows: Any person, who beats, kicks, over-loads, over-works or over-walk is considered in terms of this Bill as one who has deemed to have committed an offence relating to the cruelty to animals.
It will also be prohibited to use animals for any work if they are unfit to do so due to any disease, infirmity or injuries.
Nobody is also permitted to train an animal for any purpose in a way that is detrimental to its health and welfare. The Bill also seeks to ban the forcing of an animal to work exceeding its natural capacity.
No person shall confine a bird by means of a ring, chain, string or wire attached to its leg or a restraint around its neck or body. The Bill also bans the castration or sterilization of an animal by any person without the supervision of a veterinary surgeon.
Animals are not to be transported in a manner that causes it unnecessary pain. Persons engaged in transporting animals are required to load or unload them without causing any injury to them.
(Bron: http://www.dailymirror.lk/)
Indonesische doosschildpad bedreigd door illegale handel - Schilpadden gebruikt voor Aziatische keuken en als huisdieren in Europa, VS en Japan
Illegal trade threatens Indonesia's box turtles:
watchdog
23-02-2009 France24, France
Southeast Asian box turtles are being wiped out from parts of Indonesia, where millions are butchered for their meat or sent to pet shops in the US and Europe, according to campaigners.
A small box turtle is seen crossing a road. Southeast Asian box turtles are being wiped out from parts of Indonesia, where millions are butchered for their meat or sent to pet shops in the US and Europe, according to campaigners.
The wildlife monitoring group Traffic said the massive illegal trade has caused the turtle to disappear from areas where they were once common, with an estimated 2.1 million creatures being traded each year.
"The turtles are used for meat and in traditional Chinese medicine, with major markets in Hong Kong, China, Singapore and Malaysia, mostly supplied from Indonesia," it said.
"Box turtles are also in demand as pets in the US, Europe and Japan."
Traffic urged Indonesian authorities to crack down on illegal trade, and set limits on how many can be safely harvested each year.
It said that Indonesia's official annual export quota for the box turtle was just 18,000 a year but that unregulated trade could be between 10 and 100 times the legal level.
"The current level of illegal exploitation will result in Southeast Asian box turtles being systematically wiped out across Indonesia, indications of which are already obvious at collection and trade centres," said the report's author, Sabine Schoppe.
The study found at least 18 traders in Java, Sulawesi, Sumatra and Kalimantan dealing illegally in box turtles, which are listed on the CITES convention that regulates international trade in wild animals and plants.
(Bron: http://www.france24.com/)
(Bron foto: France24)
Op luchthaven Sydney (Australië) 44 hagedissen en slangen gevonden in tas man op weg naar Bangkok - Onder slangen zeer zeldzame albino tapijtpython
44 reptiles seized at Sydney airport
23-02-2009 ABC News, Australia
Customs officers say they have managed to stop 44 native reptiles, including a rare Albino carpet python, from being smuggled out of the country. Officers say the reptiles were found in the bags of a 24-year-old Sydney man while they were being x-rayed at Sydney International Airport.
The man was arrested before his flight to Bangkok took off.
He has been charged with attempting to export native animals without a permit.
Customs investigator Richard Janeczko says the reptiles could have died in transit.
"It's not unusual for animals smuggled in and out of Australia to die on the way, so the death of these animals is seen as an overhead by smugglers," he said.
"Also, if you actually smuggle the animals into a country like Australia, we're unaware of the diseases that they might have, so they are usually put down."
The reptiles are now in the care of Sydney Wildlife World.
(Bron: http://www.abc.net.au/)
(Bron foto: ABC News)
zondag 22 februari 2009
GroenLinks Rheden wil vanwege een bedreigde steenuil geen bomenkap in Dieren
Steenuil zit bomenkap in Dieren in de weg
22-02-2009 De Gelderlander
DIEREN - GroenLinks heeft het Rhedense college van B en W dit weekeinde gevraagd de bomenkap op het Bloemershof-terrein in Dieren te heroverwegen. Reden is de aanwezigheid van een steenuil op het terrein.
Om de oude vuilstortplaats aan de Harderwijkerweg te saneren is de kap van alle 35 eiken onvermijdelijk, meent het college van burgemeester en wethouders. GroenLinks heeft het college opgeroepen pas op de plaats te maken, om zorgvuldig te kunnen kijken of de bomenkap niet strijdig is met de geldende flora- en faunawetgeving. Op grond van deze wetgeving is het verboden de steenuil opzettelijk te verontrusten.
(Bron: http://www.gelderlander.nl/)
(Bron foto: De Gelderlander)
Jong tijgertje uit Bijbelse Dierentuin Jerusalem (Israel) speelt met dochtertje dierenarts dierentuin
22-02-2009 Javno, Croatia
Sylvester, a tiger cub from the Jerusalem zoo, that was abandoned by its mother, has been ‘caught’ playing with the vet’s daughter.
Sylvester, an 8-week-old Sumatran tiger cub, lies at the home of Jerusalem's Biblical Zoo veterinarian in Zur Hadassa near Jerusalem.
Israeli girl Gali Avni Magen plays with Sylvester, an 8-week-old Sumatran tiger cub, in her home in Zur Hadassa near Jerusalem.
Between feeding and sleeping, just like any baby, the cub wants to communicate with its environment and play. Since Sylvester is, unfortunately, not able to remain in his habitat where he would play with his brothers and sisters, Sylvester played with the veterinarian’s daughter, Gali Avni Magen.
Jerusalem's Biblical Zoo veterinarian Nili Avni Magen feeds Sylvester, an 8-week-old Sumatran tiger cub, in her home in Zur Hadassa near Jerusalem.
(Bron: http://www.javno.com/)
(Bron foto's: Javno)
Wild in Kenia is leven niet meer zeker - Nieuwe wet staat jacht op en doden van wild toe
New law to allow killing of wildlife
22-02-2009 By JOHN MBARIA (email the author), The East African, Kenya
It also provides for the establishment of two funds — a Wildlife Conservation Trust Fund and a Kenya Wildlife Service Endowment Fund — to cater for the maintenance of national parks and to finance security operations as well as funding KWS.
The Bill proposes that the Wildlife Authority be similar to the Wildlife Division of Tanzania, which is said to subsist on revenues earned from issuing permits for different forms of wildlife use.
To raise its own income, the Wildlife Division of Tanzania has been increasing hunting quotas arbitrarily and sometimes in disregard of the state of wildlife population in the country.
Although it retains the ban on sport hunting, the Bill provides for culling and “cropping” or killing of excess wildlife for their products and trophies.
“Subject to the rules and regulations made under this section, the Minister may grant cropping to be undertaken in game farming and ranching operations,” it states.
It assigns the Wildlife Authority the role of keeping records of trophies obtained from cropping and culling operations and gives the relevant minister powers to “authorise local processing and sale of wildlife trophies from the cropping activities.”
It also allows individuals to sell wild animals, which they host in their farms.
“The Minister may, on recommendation of the Authority, grant sale of live animals… in game farming operations which shall be done under the supervision of the Kenya Wildlife Service and in consultation with the respective regional wildlife conservation committee.”
The Bill also establishes an air wing within KWS to be managed by a board, that can be authorised by the KWS director to operate commercial services.
And in a departure from past laws, the Bill provides for bioprospecting or research and exploration of wild biological resources for commercial purposes.
It prevents individuals and companies (both local and foreign) from exporting such material from the country or from engaging in bioprospecting schemes without due permits from the Wildlife Authority.
“No person may, without a permit from the Authority, engage in bioprospecting involving any wildlife resources; or export from Kenya any wildlife resources for the purpose of bioprospecting or any other kind of research, valuable genetic and biochemical resources.”
This is designed to stem the plunder of Kenya’s natural resources that has been going on without any action being taken by the relevant authorities.
The most glaring example is the spiriting away from lakes in the Rift Valley of tiny organisms called extremophiles in the early 1990s by giant biotechnology companies — among them US-based Procter and Gamble and Genenco — that ended up creating immeasurable fortunes for them.
It would also be comforting for communities living amidst such natural wealth because the Bill recognises their rights to share a portion of what could be generated from them.
“The Authority may issue a permit only if the applicant and the community have entered into a benefit-sharing agreement that provides for sharing by the community in any future benefits that may be derived from the relevant bioprospecting,” says the Bill.
However, the Bill has come under attack by groups that accuse Wildlife and Forestry Minister Noah Wekesa of overlooking a similar Bill drafted in 2007.
Wildlife welfare groups say the earlier Bill was drafted after Kenyans from across the country gave their input.
“In 2006, the wildlife policy underwent a national consultative review process spearheaded by the then Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife” said Elizabeth Wamba, head of communication at the International Fund for Animal Welfare.
Ms Wamba said that before the 2007 Bill was drafted, the ministry had constituted a national Steering Committee, which held sessions across the country before submitting its report to a Technical Committee that then drafted not just the Bill but also a wildlife policy.
Now, IFAW is taking issue with the fact that a “caucus” of big wildlife bodies and top ranchers have attempted to overturn the entire process.
“Any attempts at changing these documents can only be construed as hijacking the process from the people of Kenya,” said Ms Wamba.
It is only fair that any new proposals undergo a similar all inclusive consultative process before they are adopted in the draft policy and Bill,” she said.
“Furthermore,” she added, “some of the members of the technical caucus and its partners made presentations directly to the Steering Committee both in writing and verbally during the two national symposia that were held when the review process was being conducted.”
The same sentiments were expressed by a group of 20 community groups and NGOs, which have formed the Kenya Coalition for Wildlife Conservation and Management.
The group had written to Mr Wekesa on January 21, complaining of the changes.
“The coalition deems it curious and out of order for the group calling itself the Technical Caucus of Conservation Organisations in Kenya, the Kenya Tourism Federation and the Kenya Private Sector Alliance to go behind the back of the majority stakeholders and lobby the ministry to review the Bill,” says the letter.
But if the 2007 Bill was a negotiated one, why did the ministry come up with a new one?
The EastAfrican has learnt that organisations like the World Conservation Union, the World Wide Fund for Nature, the African Conservation Centre, the Africa Wildlife Foundation, the East African Wildlife Society as well as the Laikipia Wildlife Forum happy with some of the provisions of the earlier Bill, and had formed the Technical Caucus of Conservation Organisations in Kenya to lobby for its review.
“These organisations lobbied Mr Wekesa to allow a partial review of the Wildlife Bill, 2007,” said Josphat Ngonyo, director of the Africa Network for Animal Welfare.
He said the lobbyists were unhappy that the consultations had unequivocally ruled out sport hunting and had gone to the minister in the hope that hunting, or something similar could be included in the Bill.
The EastAfrican has also learnt that Mr Wekesa formed a technical committee, which was led by an environmental lawyer, George Wamukoya, to come up with the Wildlife Bill 2009. The “technical caucus” then wrote a memorandum last November that has been seen by The EastAfrican.
They totally rejected the 2007 Bill, saying it not only provided “disincentives to conserve wildlife” but that it had numerous technical and scientific errors, ambiguities and inconsistencies.
“It is recommended that redrafting be done with technical input from the mainstream conservation sector,” they said.
It appears that Mr Wekesa had agreed to this call. But now, the Kenya Coalition has lobbied him to consider tabling the 2007 Bill before Cabinet and parliament instead of the new Bill.
“We request you to forward the draft document received by Hon (Morris) Dzoro to the Cabinet and Parliament,” said the coalition.
The Coalition argues that any changes or amendments to the 2007 Bill to be made in parliament. “In case you consider that there is need to review the draft (2007) Bill at the ministry level, we further request that you provide for an all inclusive and consultative national process,” it said.
(Bron: http://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/)
(Bron foto: The East African)
Echtpaar Philip en Lili Freriks toont ware poezenliefde op doek en op papier
Philip Freriks zet zijn katten op papier
22-02-2009 De Pers
Balthus, Mauw, Sahara en Felis Corsicana zijn enkele van de katten die bij Philip Freriks en zijn vrouw Lili aan zijn komen lopen. Vooral in hun huis op Corsica zijn de dieren altijd welkom. Lili Freriks portretteerde de katten op het schildersdoek. Nieuwslezer Philip Freriks heeft hun levens nu ook opgeschreven.
Freriks: ,,Soms heb ik wel eens het vermoeden dat Lili in kattengidsen vermeld staat als geheimtip: 'Chez Lili, Bed and Breakfast plus Table d'hôte. Prijs nader overeen te komen, meestal gratis'. Zelden stuiten de bezoekers op het bordje 'complet'. En als ze slim haar sentimenten weten te bespelen, worden ze zelfs toegelaten tot de heerlijk zachte intimiteit van haar bed.''
De poezenschilderijen van Lili Freriks zijn tot in de Boekenweek, die de 'literaire zoo' als thema heeft, te zien in galerie Le Salon Rouge in Amsterdam.
(Bron: http://www.depers.nl/)
(Bron foto: De Pers)
Waarschijnlijk is één ontsnapte zeehond zeehondencrèche Lenie 't Hart in Waddenzee - Lenie: 'Ik kijk in iedere sloot waar ik langskom'
'Eén ontsnapte zeehond mogelijk terug in
Waddenzee'
22-02-2009 Nieuws.nl
(Novum) - Van de twee zeehonden die vorige week zaterdag ontsnapten uit zeehondencrèche Lenie 't Hart in Pieterburen is één dier waarschijnlijk de Waddenzee ingezwommen. Het andere dier zwemt vermoedelijk rond in Friesland. Dat laat oprichtster Lenie 't Hart zondagmiddag weten.
De laatste melding dat een van de twee dieren gezien was, werd zaterdagmiddag gedaan. De zeehond werd bij Sneek gesignaleerd. Toen medewerkers van de crèche ter plaatse waren, vertoonde het dier zich echter niet meer. Daardoor is het wachten op een volgende melding. "Het is jammer dat we de dieren nog niet gevonden hebben. Ik kijk ondertussen in elke sloot waar ik langskom. En dan maar hopen dat ik ze zie, maar ik weet dat dat haast onmogelijk is", zegt Lenie 't Hart.
Zij hoopt dat een dezer dagen een foto opduikt van het dier dat in Friesland rond zou zwemmen. "Onze verzorgers weten dan meteen om welke zeehond het gaat. Dat zou ons al een stuk meer rust geven."
(Bron: http://binnenland.nieuws.nl/)
(Bron foto: http://www.refdag.nl/, ook op zondag....)
Good science versus bad science
In order to get the public on our side, we need to use the scientific as well as the moral argument against animal experiments. The moral and the scientific argument complement each other very powerfully.
The moral argument is best conveyed by images of animals used in experiments. Animal experiments represent one of the most grotesque of blunders in medical history – let us get rid of them and replace them with good science.
Good science should be species specific, should do no harm and be evidence based. With the ending of animal experimentation, a great evil will be lifted from the earth, which will have untold and far-reaching benefits for health and the life on this planet.
For more info. go to http://www.animal-tv.org/E.
The moral argument is best conveyed by images of animals used in experiments. Animal experiments represent one of the most grotesque of blunders in medical history – let us get rid of them and replace them with good science.
Good science should be species specific, should do no harm and be evidence based. With the ending of animal experimentation, a great evil will be lifted from the earth, which will have untold and far-reaching benefits for health and the life on this planet.
For more info. go to http://www.animal-tv.org/E.
Australische Olympisch goud zwemster Leisel Jones wil dat haar land leiding neemt in anti-walvisjacht campagne
Leisel Jones encourages Government to lead
in anti-whaling campaign
22-02-2009 By David Barbeler, Perth Now, Australia
OLYMPIC gold medallist Leisel Jones is urging the Australian Government to speak out about the cruelty of whaling, just two days after the anti-whaling ship Steve Irwin was raided by Australian Federal Police (AFP).
After violent clashes with Japanese whalers in the Southern Ocean, the Steve Irwin was met by the AFP when it docked in Hobart early on Friday evening (AEDT) and officers confiscated the ship's log book and video footage of dramatic whale-killing scenes.
Australian Greens leader Bob Brown is demanding the Federal Government explain why the AFP raided the ship but a spokeswoman for Home Affairs Minister Bob Debus said the matter was in the hands of the AFP.
Swimming star Jones is the face of a new anti-whaling campaign by the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA: http://www.wspa.org.au/news.asp?newsID=464), which has no affiliation with the Sea Shepherd, and believes informing people that whaling is cruel is the key to stopping the suffering.
"WSPA has scientifically-proven evidence there is no humane way to kill a whale, with some whales taking an hour or even more to die," Ms Jones said.
"The intense pain and distress caused by whaling is a fact that can't be refuted by whaling nations, and it has been a powerful argument at recent International Whaling Commission meetings where decisions on protecting the world's whales are made.
Ms Jones plans to personally deliver thousands of messages from Australians to the government, where she will also discuss the importance of whale welfare to the global campaign to end whaling.
"That's why we urge the Australian Government to recognise there is no humane way to kill a whale, and to lead the world in gaining international government recognition that whaling should be banned."
(Bron: http://www.news.com.au/perthnow)
Is that an Elephant in my Well? (Sri Lanka)
Villagers rescue a baby elephant from a well in north central Sri Lanka after the animal fell in. As soon as it was free it made a bee-line to the bush.
Sumatraanse tijger doodt twee illegale houthakkers op Sumatra (Indonesië)
Endangered tiger kills 2 loggers in Sumatra
22-02-2009 Zakki Hakim, The Associated Press, Jakarta, The Jakarta Post, Indonesia
A Sumatran tiger mauled two illegal loggers to death in Sumatra, bringing to five the number of people killed by the critically endangered cats in less than a month, a conservationist said Sunday.
Endangered killer: An Indonesian park ranger pours a bucket of water into a trap in which a wild Sumatran tiger that is believed to have killed three people is caught, at a palm plantation in Sungai Gelam, Jambi province, Indonesia, on Feb. 11, 2009. Another Sumatran tiger mauled two more men to death early Saturday, Feb. 21, 2009, bringing to five the number of people killed by the critically endangered cats in less than a month, a conservationist said Sunday. AP/Irwin Fedriansyah
The tiger attacked a 50-year-old man and his 18-year-old son early Saturday while they slept next to a pile of stolen wood in a protected forest on Sumatra island, said Didy Wurdjanto of the state conservation agency.
Three people were killed in two separate attacks in late January in the same area. Park rangers last week trapped an adult tigress believed responsible for those deaths and it was being relocated.
The Sumatran tiger is the world's most critically endangered tiger subspecies. Only about 250 are left in the wild, the Forestry Ministry said, compared to about 1,000 in the 1970s. The tigers' diminishing population is blamed largely on poaching and the destruction of their forest habitat for palm oil and wood pulp plantations. In some cases the animals roam into villages or plantations in search of food, setting the stage for a conflict with humans.
In the latest attack, however, the animal had not strayed from its habitat so there will be no effort to catch and relocate it, Wurdjanto said. "This time it was the loggers fault," he said.
About 40 people were killed by tigers on Sumatra in 2000-2004, according to the state conservation agency, which said the trend has continued since then. New figures are to be released in April.
(Bron: http://www.thejakartapost.com/)
(Bron foto: Jakarta Post)
Tot 11 jaar cel veroordeelde Britse SHAC-activiste Heather Nicholson spreekt bewogen en gedreven vanuit de gevangenis....
SHAC- Letter from Heather Nicholson VM 4859
serving 11 years for animal rescue
22-02-2009 Mandy in Camden, IndyMedia UK
From Heather Nicholson,
VM 4859, HMP Bronzefield, Woodthorpe Road, Ashford, Ashford, Middx, TW15 3JZDear Friends,
I am very grateful for your support. Words can never adequately express what it means to me and how much you have helped me. Your support for me means that you support the animals and that brings me some comfort.
I spoke up for the animals in court while I was being questioned for nearly 4 whole days. It was frustrating though & I came out feeling as if I had said about 1% of what i had intended to say. I am heartbroken as always for the animals still suffereing at the hands of the cowards at HLS. It makes me cry to think that they (the animals) have no idea that anyone cares. It is frighteneing that they have so many powerful enemies.
I predicted that there would be no justice & that the media would be vile & untruthful * I was right. Any attack on us is an attack on the animals. I don't mind if the truth is reported as long as it is relevant, but the news has been massively distorted, to say the least, (especiall calling me "mastermind"!) The press were only in court at the start & very end of the three-month trial so what they reported was fed to them by the police plus what they made up (see Daily Mail!!!).
Claims of impartiality are nonsense & the police & the press were practically snoggning each other every time the jury left the courtroom. In over 4000 pages of covert audio surveillance, not once did I say anything that amounted to blackmail or committing an illegal act. There was no evidence that I had ever made an "unwarrented demand with menaces" because I haven't. The judge agreed with me & said that I was quite right when I said that I hadn't sent nasty things through the post, damged anyone's property, threatened anyone etc - nor was I accused of doing so.
The crazy thing is that you don't have to do anything to be convicted of conspiracy but the sentences are long (even longer for us!!!). I have just been sentenced to 11 years in prison. It is just insane - even if I had been guilty. The guards at court were angry & bemused by the 'guilty' verdicts & sentences. I could give you hundreds of examples of horrific crimes that have recieved lesser sentences than mine (and I have never hurt anyone in my life!). Here is just a small selection:
(i) A woman held down two children to be raped - 8yrs.
(ii) Two men got drunk & punched a random passerby to death - 3 yrs
(iii) Three men raped a 14 yr old girl & filmed it - then they poured caustic soda over her -9yrs, 7yrs, 5yrs
(iv) Anyone who tortures and kills an animal or is cruel in any way will never get more than 6 months
(v) People who kill others in a hit & run sometimes get as little as 4 months
(vi) A woman killed her baby - 5 yrs
(vii) A man stamped on another man's head & left him in a wheelchair for life 7 yrs
I don't regret going to trial because my words are recorded forever by the court, so if someone in 50 years time does some research they will see that thet what we said in court bears little resemblance to what was reported. The media have shamelessly decieved the public. My biggest concern though was that the worst photo that has ever been taken of me was on television all night long!!! I looked like something out of Silent Witness!
My conscience is more than clear & I am extremely proud of everything that I have helped to achieve over the years. I am proud that I didn't sit back & cry in my armchair about how awful animal cruelty is but actually tried to change things & I made a stand against cruelty & opression. I said in court to the jury that in time people would look back in horror at this trial & say "was it really legal to do that to animals & did they really put people in prison for trying to stop it?
We were very unlucky to have such a cold, heartless, callous jury who clearly didn't care about people or animals. Some were seen giggling & sniggering with the police while barristers were making their closing speeches. I will never understand how they could sit and watch puppies being punched in the face and then find any of us guilty.
When i gave evidence I asked the jury if they would object, complain or intervene if someone dragged a dog into court & started punching her and, if they would, then perhaps they should be stood in the dock with me! I wonder if they are all happy now in the knowledge that WE are in jail and not a single person in the courtroom (apart from us and some supporters in the public gallery) would ever speak out or take action to stop the atrocities occurring inside HLS. Clealry no-one on the jury would have lifted a finger to help any animal (or person) in danger.
Watching the New york aeroplane's emergency landing in the Hudson river, I thought it was wonderful to see the ferries rushing to help save the passengers, throwing life jackets -and then hearing the survivors spaeaking so emotionally about their frighteneing experience and expressing their deep gratitude to the brave pilot and the people who didn't hesitate to help them. we all hope, pray and sometimes expect to be saved when we are in danger.
It breaks my heart that so many people in the world and billions of animals can scream and struggle and plead, and no-one comes to their rescue. I can't bear it. To rescue is at the heart of my being and that is all that I have ever wanted to do. It is my motivation for campaigning against cruelty. All of you who have carried on the SHAC campign ( and others) - you have my utmost respect and admiration . Thank you.
The support for all of us in here from other prisoners and officers continues to be amazing. They too are bemused and angry at the verdict. They express to us their feelings of outrage at the injustice of the convictions and the sentences. I always said that I would not be devasted if found guilty (I'm not) and wouldn't be celebrating if found not guilty. The only losers are the animals at HLS and they are still suffering. The sentences passed down to us were a victory for sadism, greed and cowardice. The compassionate and brave have lost their freedom ........for now.!!!
I am enormously proud and in awe of the activists that i stood side by side with in court - Gregg, Natasha, Gavin, Dan Amos, Dan Wadham and Gerrah. They are all exceptional, selfless people and have all conducted themselves with great courage and dignity throughout this whole circus. I will never forget Gavin and Dan Wadham's evidence in th witness box. They were superb.
Sometimes I feel like I am living on the wrong planet because for me it is natural to run to the aid of others and to speak out when someting is wrong and here I am imprisoned for 11 years. it is ingrained in me to be kind, it always has been and always will be and it is baffling to me that others can be so cruel. I will never understand it as long as i live. All I can do is try and stop it.
The prison sniffer dogs have just been around and have totally made my dya. I sat on the floor cuddling Sam ( looks like my Laddie) and tears were pouring down my face. Those dogs filled me with such enegry and strength and warmth and love.
Please don't ever stop fighting for the abused animals. My time in here hasn't been wasted because, in case you haven't heard, we have managed to have all the budgies and cockatiels here sent to a sanctuary and good homes.
Bronzefield is now animal-free - as it should be. I am also doing my best to help as many troubled people in here as I can and gaiang diplomas in animal care/health and vetinary nursing and will come out of prison a greatly improved and more knowledgable person. I want to thank you again so much for your support. It means the world to me.
Lots of love,
Heather
xxxxxx
"Never, never be afraid to do what is right, especially if the well-being of a person or animal is at stake. Society's punisments are small compared to the wounds we inflict on our soul when we look the other way". (Martin Luther King)
Mandy in Camden
Homepage: http://www.myspace.com/stopcamdenanimallab
(Bron: http://www.indymedia.org.uk/)
(Bron foto's: archief Kraaijer)
'Animal Liberation Press Office' (VS): 'Amerikaanse aanpak legaal actievoerende dierenactivisten zal leiden tot meer illegale acties'
Federal Authorities Arrest Peaceful Protesters
Animal Liberation Front, Other Clandestine Groups Prosper as Result
22-02-2009 Animal Liberation Press Office, USA
Instead, these arrests have targeted above-ground, legal animal rights protestors and blatantly abrogate their first amendment rights, civil liberties and right to hand out pamphlets. Thomas Paine, American's best known pamphleteer, must be rolling over in his grave.
According to the FBI press release, the activists are accused of "chalk[ing] defamatory comments on the public sidewalks", protesting "generally in all black clothing and wearing bandanas to hide their faces", and distributing leaflets with the contact information for vivisectors on them.
The irony is, that by targeting legal protesters, federal and state authorities are inadvertently encouraging more illegal direct action on behalf of non-human animals. One has only to look at the increased number of actions of economic sabotage, vandalism and live animal liberations over the last 2 years (see http://www.animalliberationpressoffice.org/ or http://www.directaction.info/) to realize that LEGAL activists are being increasingly driven into clandestine and anonymous actions, morally justified but illegal actions which are rarely punished.
As a supporter of direct action, the Animal Liberation Press Office is pleased at the increase in actions by the Animal Liberation Front and other clandestine groups; the increase is expected to continue as long as authorities persist with their heavy-handed abuse of legal protesters. In today's climate, it appears that it's less risky by far to engage in underground activities then in legal pickets.
Press officer Jerry Vlask, MD states: "The University of California needs to be held accountable for wasting millions of taxpayer research dollars on useless animal research, while more accurate, efficient and inexpensive investigative techniques are available in this twenty-first century to study human illness and find cures. Harassing legal picketers makes little sense, and it's ridiculous to portray the four activists arrested on behalf of tortured and abused animals as "terrorists"; the real terrorists are those who maim, imprison and kill innocent non-human animals for their own personal gain."
(Bron: http://ww.animalliberationpressoffice.org/)
zaterdag 21 februari 2009
Na aankomst Sea Shepherd in haven Hobart (Nieuw-Zeeland) wordt film met schokkende beelden walvisvangst in beslag genomen door politie
Federal police seize whaling kill footage - Japanese
whalers acuse protesters of criminal activities
22-02-2009 BY CLAIRE VAN RYN, The Examiner, Australia
`It's some of the most horrific footage ever - it had many of our crew in absolute tears.' JAPANESE whalers are getting more courageous, according to Tasmanian anti-whaling campaigner Andrew Perry who was on board the Steve Irwin's most recent anti-whaling campaign.
The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society's ship arrived in Hobart on Friday night only to have crucial footage of Japanese whaling operations in Australian and New Zealand waters near Antarctica seized by the Australian Federal Police.
"For the first time ever, whales were hunted and killed in front of the Sea Shepherd vessel," Mr Perry said.
"This was unexpected and distressing - normally just our presence would stop them from whaling, which is an effective win for us."
The crew were filming for Discovery Channel's documentary program Animal Planet.
"One piece of footage showed a whale being first harpooned with an explosive-tipped harpoon then dragged alongside the bow of the ship where a crew member then hung over the bow with a high-powered shot gun and shot this whale seven times to finally kill it.
"This whole process took over 25 minutes and during that time the whale was thrashing about and screaming in pain," Mr Perry said.
"It's some of the most horrific footage ever - it had many of our crew in absolute tears."
Mr Perry said the footage prompted the Japanese to petition the Australian Federal Police to seize the footage on the basis of criminal activities by Sea Shepherd crew.
"We haven't done anything criminal - what we're trying to do is prevent criminal activity ... I think they're extremely worried about the footage we've got," he said.
It is understood the Japanese ship deployed a security vessel with a commando boarding team to retrieve the footage.
Tasmanian Greens Senator Bob Brown yesterday demanded the Rudd Government explain the raid on the ship.
"If this action was taken at the behest of the Japanese authorities it will outrage many Australians," he said.
The Greens will question the federal police in detail at the Senate Estimates in the coming week, Mr Brown said.
Steve Irwin's crew can only wait now as the federal police consider appropriate action.
"It's critical for us to get that footage out there because the footage is going to tell the truth," Mr Perry said.
"The process is barbaric, the action is criminal and the people involved are thugs. And this is all captured on our footage."
The Steve Irwin is expected to be moved to dry dock in Melbourne in early April, where damage sustained from this campaign will be repaired.
(Bron: http://www.examiner.com.au/)
(Lees ook: / Read also: http://www.smh.com.au/environment/whale-watch/australian-police-raid-sea-shepherd-ship-20090221-8ebp.html)
Opvallend veel bultrugwalvissen voor oostkust Cuba
Unusual Presence of Humpback Whales off
Cuban Coasts
21-02-2009 Cuba News Headlines, Cuba
After learning about the large presence of humpback whales, scientific authorities together with the Fishing Enterprise and Coastguard Forces coordinated efforts to guarantee the safety of the guests.
More than a dozen humpback whales have been seen in ocean waters off the Lucrecia Point, on the northern coast of Holguin, eastern Cuba, something unusual in the island nation.
More than a dozen humpback whales have been seen in ocean waters off the Lucrecia Point, on the northern coast of Holguin, eastern Cuba, something unusual in the island nation.
Even though, humpback whales use this route to cross the ocean from the cold Atlantic waters looking for the warmth of the Dominican Republic area, it is not common to see so many of those mammals close to the coast of the municipality of Banes in Holguin.
Marine experts with the Research and Environmental and Technological Services Centre said such behaviour is associated with the mating rituals of the species.
After learning about the large presence of humpback whales, scientific authorities together with the Fishing Enterprise and Coastguard Forces coordinated efforts to guarantee the safety of the guests.
The black-dark gray humpback whales measure from 12 to 15 meters long from head to tail, weigh around 50 tons and have big white fins.
Although they don't actually have a hump on their back, they are called humpback because of the way they arch their body when they submerge.
In the winter, around 3,000 are found together every year in the Caribbean sea, in an area that has been declared a Whale Sanctuary, where they go to mate.
(Bron: http://www.cubaheadlines.com/)
(Bron foto: archief Kraaijer)
Marine experts with the Research and Environmental and Technological Services Centre said such behaviour is associated with the mating rituals of the species.
After learning about the large presence of humpback whales, scientific authorities together with the Fishing Enterprise and Coastguard Forces coordinated efforts to guarantee the safety of the guests.
The black-dark gray humpback whales measure from 12 to 15 meters long from head to tail, weigh around 50 tons and have big white fins.
Although they don't actually have a hump on their back, they are called humpback because of the way they arch their body when they submerge.
In the winter, around 3,000 are found together every year in the Caribbean sea, in an area that has been declared a Whale Sanctuary, where they go to mate.
(Bron: http://www.cubaheadlines.com/)
(Bron foto: archief Kraaijer)
Animal Friends Kroatië demonstreert tegen gebruik bont in kleding
Animal Friends says ‘no’ to fur
21-02-2009 By Marija Andric, Croatian Times, Croatia
The Croatian organisation Animal Friends is claiming "cruel fur fashions" are a violation of animal rights. The organisation is inviting citizens to condemn the killing of animals for fashion and glamour and is calling for a ban on the sale of clothes and shoes made of animal fur.
They have claimed most of the animals used for production of such clothing are raised at fur farms where they are killed by gassing, electrocution, strangulation, suffocation, poisoning with strychnine and the breaking of their necks.
As part of the "For a Croatia without Fur" initiative, Animal Friends members gave a performance of Fur Stinks at noon today (Fri) in Slavonski Brod in eastern Croatia. They gave one yesterday in Osijek.
(Bron: http://www.croatiantimes.com/)
(Bron foto's: Croatian Times)
Dierenbescherming Sneek en gemeente Lemsterland zoeken nog steeds eigenaar twee gedumpte hangbuikzwijntjes in Kuinderbos
Hangbuikzwijnen die zwerven, dat is bizar
21-02-2009 door Dik van Herwaarden, De Stentor
BANT/LEMMER; - Twee hangbuikzwijnen verblijven nu bij een boer in Friesland, na eerder enkele dagen in het Kuinderbos te hebben gezworven. De Dierenbescherming en de gemeente Lemsterland zijn nog op zoek naar de eigenaar. De kans is klein dat die zich uit zichzelf zal melden.
De hangbuikzwijnen zijn waarschijnlijk gedumpt. Het waarom blijft een raadsel. De Dierenbescherming spreekt van 'twee heel bijzondere zwerfdieren' die bij een boer in Bantega vanuit het Kuinderbos kwamen aanlopen. De hangbuikzwijntjes wegen tachtig kilo per stuk en zijn 1.20 meter groot. Een dierenarts heeft ze onderzocht. Ze zijn goed gezond en waarschijnlijk is een van de varkens drachtig. Ze mogen in elk geval twee weken bij de boer blijven.
"Hangbuikzwijnen zijn niet de makkelijkste beestjes", zegt Ton Bergsma van de Dierenbescherming. "We hopen een plaatsje te vinden. Maar dat is nog niet gelukt. Het is echt heel moeilijk. Ik heb het geprobeerd bij kinderboerderijen. Daar kom je al snel terecht. Zelfs in Groningen en Zuid-Limburg heb ik naar plek gezocht. Tot nu toe zonder resultaat." Bergsma vermoedt toch dat de hangbuikzwijnen uit de omgeving van het Kuinderbos komen. Uit de Noordoostpolder of Zuid-Friesland. "Ik denk dat ze met een kar achter de auto vervoerd zijn. Dan ga je geen kilometers rijden. Want er staat een hoge boete op het vervoer van dieren zonder oormerk. Dan wil je niet te veel risico nemen."
"Het blijft gissen naar het waarom", zegt Tiny Driessen van de gemeente Lemsterland, die verantwoordelijk is voor de opvang van zwerfdieren en vanaf 1 maart ook voor de gevonden voorwerpen. "We hebben ook geen idee wie de eigenaar is."
Afdelingsinspecteur Ton Bergsma vreest het ergste voor de komende tijd. "De recessie heeft wel invloed. Zo'n hangbuikzwijn brengt toch aardig wat kosten met zich mee. Alleen het voer al. Door de recessie worden steeds meer dieren gedumpt. Daar komt bij dat je voor een dier waar je vanaf wilt bij het asiel moet betalen." Overal treft Bergsma zwervers aan. In bungalowparken, op campings maar ook gewoon in straten. En de variatie is enorm. Katten en honden in de eerste plaats, maar ook konijnen, cavia's, schildpadden, kippen, slangen en geitjes. "Gelukkig niet zoveel hangbuikzwijnen."
(Bron: http://www.destentor.nl/)
(Bron foto: De Stentor, Sieb van der Laan)
Vier jonge Amerikaanse dierenactivisten gearresteerd - Verdacht van intimiderende acties tegen proefdieronderzoekers Universiteit Californië (VS)
Harassment of UC researchers brings four arrests
21-02-2009 Matthew B. Stannard, Chronicle Staff Writer, San Francisco Chronicle, USA
SAN FRANCISCO -- Four people have been arrested for allegedly harassing and threatening scientists at UC Berkeley and UC Santa Cruz for their use of animals in research, the FBI reported today.
According to a criminal complaint filed in San Francisco on Thursday, the four are part of a larger group of protesters who targeted researchers at their homes. The complaint asserts that the protesters wore masks and chanted slogans such as "You're a murderer" and "What goes around comes around" in hours-long protests at nine researchers' homes.
Federal agents identified the four as Adriana Stumpo, 23, of Long Beach; Nathan Pope, 26, of Oceanside; Joseph Buddenberg, 25, of Berkeley; and Maryam Khajavi, 20, of Pinole.
Among the more serious allegations in the complain is an event from February 2008, in which protesters at a researcher's home in Santa Cruz banged on doors and shook the front door handle. When the researcher's husband opened the door to confront the protesters, he was struck by an object, according to the complaint, after which the group fled in a vehicle.
The car the protesters used to leave that incident belonged to Khajavi's mother, according to the federal agents. That led police to search Khavaji's home on Riverside Avenue in Santa Cruz, where they also found Pope and Stumpo. The searchers found several bandanas carrying DNA from Khajavi, Pope and Stumpo, a bullhorn and notes with researchers' personal information, according to the complaint.
In July, the complaint claims, Buddenberg and Pope were part of a group videotaped at a cafe leaving flyers containing researchers' home addresses and the message: "Animal abusers everywhere beware we know where you live."
The researchers' information in the flyers had been downloaded two days earlier from a Santa Cruz Kinko's, according to the complaint, and Pope and Stumpo were videotaped using the rented terminal used to access that information.
In a press release, the FBI noted that a few days after the flyers were distributed, two UC Santa Cruz researchers' homes were firebombed. Those attacks remain under investigation. The four arrested Thursday are not currently charged in connection with them, and investigators declined to discuss any possible link between the cases.
Contact information for the defendants, their family or attorneys was not immediately available.
In a July article for the Berkeley Daily Planet, Buddenberg described himself as an activist who had participated in protests by Stop Cal Vivisection, a group that had maintained a Web site listing the home addresses of several researchers. The site has since been removed and replaced with a message opposing "intimidatory home demonstrations" as a tactic in the animal rights movement.
Stumpo also appears to be involved in animal rights activism, with a posting on a Web site opposed to the research company Huntingdon Life Sciences , calling the company "the modern day Holocaust for animals."
Pope, who reportedly uses the surname Knoerl, was arrested once before during the harassment investigation, and charged with perjury. He later pleaded no contest to providing false information to the DMV, according to the Santa Cruz Sentinel newspaper.
Although Buddenberg described his activism as legal, the FBI alleges he and the others arrested violated the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act. That federal statute criminalizes interfering with the operations of an animal enterprise through force, violence or threats while placing a person in a "reasonable fear" of death or serious bodily injury. The act carries a possible penalty of up to five years in prison.
According to the complaint, the targeted researchers told investigators they were "terrified" by the incidents.
"We had a family that was attacked in their home. That's the key here," said Santa Cruz Police Chief Howard Skerry. "That's a case that no matter how long it takes, we'll stay with."
UC Berkeley spokesman Dan Mogulof said, "We hope that the arrest of these suspects will send a clear and powerful signal to extremists who continue to engage in dangerous and illegal actions against university researchers who seek only to advance knowledge and understanding. "
E-mail Matthew B. Stannard at mstannard@sfchronicle.com.
(Bron: http://www.sfgate.com/)
vrijdag 20 februari 2009
Naast Justitie, politie en AIVD opent ook NOS Journaal jacht op dierenactivisten
Minister ter Horst van Binnenlandse Zaken wil met dierenrechtenorganisaties een manifest afsluiten, waarin ze geweld afzweren. Ter Horst doet dat omdat het aantal bedreigingen door dierenactivisten toeneemt. Gisteren bleek dat uit een onderzoek door de NOS.
(Bron: http://www.nos.nl/)
Circus Moskou-Holiday met wilde dieren in achtertuin fractievoorzitter Partij voor de Dieren in Maarsseveen - Thieme houdt zich echter stil....
Circus met wilde dieren in Maarsseveen
20-02-2009 Algemeen Dagblad
MAARSSEVEEN - Het Staatscircus van Moskou-Holiday geeft dit weekend vier voorstellingen op het parkeerterrein bij de Maarsseveense Plassen. Het presenteert zichzelf als een circus zoals circus hoort te zijn: met wilde dieren.
Zo betreedt de 27-jarige Afrikaanse olifant Betty de piste en ook een groep Bengaalse tijgers, waaronder een witte en een zeer zeldzame, goudkleurige tabby-tijger, geven acte de presence.
In Alphen aan den Rijn verbood het stadsbestuur het circus onlangs om op te treden met wilde dieren. Maarssen wacht met het innemen van een standpunt tot het kamerdebat over het gebruik van wilde dieren in het circus is gevoerd.
Een demonstratie tegen het gebruik van dieren bij Circus Belly Wien in IJsselstein liep vorig voorjaar uit de hand, toen de politie een aanvaring tussen activisten van het extreemrechtse Voorpost en circusmedewerkers wilde sussen. De medewerkers keerden zich toen tegen de agenten.
Voorpost meldt zich vaker bij circussen met dieren. Ook directeur Hans Martens van het Staatscircus van Moskou-Holiday kreeg de activisten vaker bij zijn tent. Voor dit weekend verwacht hij geen onrust. Er is ook geen vergunning voor een demonstratie aangevraagd, zoals meestal wel gebeurt.
Marianne Thieme, fractievoorzitter in de Tweede Kamer van de Dierenpartij en inwoonster van Maarssen, krijgt het circus komend weekend min of meer in haar achtertuin. Haar partij is groot voorstander van een verbod op het houden van wilde dieren in het circus.
Voor dit weekend gaf dat de partij geen extra reden om weer op te roepen om het circus niet te bezoeken. Eerder deed de partij dat wel, toen collega-circus Belly Wien in Utrecht stond.
(Bron: http://www.ad.nl/)
Official: Even chimps in tutus can be vicious...
Images of chimpanzees on television or in the movies depict cute, cuddly and smart animals. So it's no wonder that some people, perhaps those with exotic tastes, may seek them out as pets.
Some chimp owners will even dress the animal in diapers and treat them like a doll or a child.
But playing that way with chimps is risking lives, the president of the Humane Society of the United States said. Read full article »
(Bron: http://www.cnn.com)
Duitse dierenbeschermers willen tijdens carnaval geen dieren in carnavalkostuums
Tierschützer: Kein Karnevalskostüm für Tiere
20-02-2009 Sued Deutsche, Germany
Bonn (dpa) - Tierhalter sollten an Karneval ihre Vierbeiner nicht kostümieren. Verkleidungen seien nicht artgerecht, mahnte der Deutsche Tierschutzbund in Bonn. Kostüme schränkten die Bewegungsfreiheit ein.
Zerbrochene Flaschen und andere fallen gelassene Gegenstände gefährdeten vor allem kleinere Tiere.
(Bron: http://newsticker.sueddeutsche.de/)
(Bron foto: archief Kraaijer)
Haagse tuincentra verkopen vogelhuisjes met korting - Den Haag wil graag huismus terug in stad
Den Haag wil de huismus terug in de stad
20-02-09 RTV West
DEN HAAG - Den Haag wil de huismus terug in de stad. Daarom krijgen tuincentra subsidie, zodat ze vogelhuisjes met korting kunnen verkopen.
De huismus is weg omdat broedplekjes voor de vogels zijn verdwenen. Ook zijn er steeds minder plekken waar de mussen kunnen schuilen. Dankzij de subsidie kunnen de vogels toch een broedplek gaan vinden in menig achtertuin.
De huismus is van oudsher de meest voorkomende vogel in Nederland, maar de soort gaat elk jaar in aantal achteruit. Volgens de Vogelbescherming is het vogeltje in enkele grote steden zelfs zo goed als verdwenen.
(Bron: http://leiden.westonline.nl/)
Wanhopige kitten in Britse Hampshire gevonden in kleding recycling container Leger des Heils
Young tabby kitten rescued from recycling bin
20-02-2009 Southern Daily Echo, UK
A KITTEN escaped with one of its nine lives after being rescued from a recycling bin at a Hampshire community centre. Young tabby Sally Ann was found in a distressed state trapped at the bottom of a Salvation Army clothes recycling bin at Hounsdown Community Centre.
A father and son heard the cat’s mewing as they were dropping off bottles and the concerned youngster climbed inside in the bin to rescue it.
Animal collection officer Sue Brookes said: “We don’t know how this cat came to be trapped inside the recycling bin.
“It is possible she got in there somehow herself. Then again she could have been posted in there by someone as a cruel prank, or by someone simply abandoning an unwanted pet.”
The cat, was rescued on Valentine’s Day and is now recovering at Taylors Rehoming Centre at Kingston Maurward near Dorchester.
Seven were rescued by passers by and RSPCA officers and taken to Ashley Heath Animal Centre near Ringwood.
The RSPCA is appealing for help. Call 0300 1234 999.
(Bron: http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/)
(Bron foto's: Daily Echo)
Meer dan miljoen wilde zwijnen in Texas (VS) zijn hun leven niet meer zeker - Jagers mogen nu ook vanuit helicopters zwijnen doden
Texas may declare open season on pigs
HUNTING 300-pound wild porkers are wrecking pasture
20-02-2009 BY PAUL J. WEBER, Sun Times Chicago, USA
MERTZON, Texas -- Millions of wild pigs weighing up to 300 pounds have been tearing up crops, trampling fences and eating just about anything in their path in Texas. But now they had better watch their hairy backs.
A state lawmaker is proposing to allow ordinary Texans with rifles and shotguns to shoot the voracious, tusked animals from helicopters.
"I've had numerous calls and complaints that someone needs to do something," Miller said. "We're losing ground on this problem."
His bill has not yet been assigned to a committee, and its chances of becoming law are uncertain. But if approved, the program could be the first of its kind in the nation. Some other states, like Gov. Sarah Palin's Alaska, allow aerial hunting, but only to control predators, such as bears and wolves.
Some Texans worry about collateral damage.
"If they're going to open up to where you can do this and anybody who's got a helicopter can go off to an old boy's place and hunt, that's going to be bad," said Jay Smith, owner of Smith Helicopters in Cotulla. Some people "may get confused and shoot the rancher's dog or a calf."
Miller gave assurances the hunting would be closely regulated, though details on such things as how many hunters would be allowed to take part, and how many hogs they would be permitted to kill, have yet to be worked out.
"You're not going to have some bubba up there going, 'Pass me a beer and ammo' and hunting some hogs," the legislator said. "We certainly want to do it right."
Many hunters and landowners will probably leave the carcasses in the field, just as they do now. Wild hogs that are gunned down cannot be sold for meat under U.S. agriculture regulations. (Moreover, wild boar is said by some to be tough and gamey.)
An estimated 2 million wild hogs are causing $52 million a year in crop damage in Texas, according to agricultural experts.
(Bron: http://www.suntimes.com/)
(Bron foto: http://www.wildlifemanagementpro.com/2008/05/27/texas-wild-hog-rules-aim-to-help-producers-and-hunters/)