Animal Law News
Gateway to Farm Animal Welfare
The FAO "Gateway to Farm Animal Welfare" provides a valuable access point for a wide range of information related to the welfare of farm animals. It operates on a participatory platform to retrieve and submit information, as well as to engage in commonly developed projects and thematic discussions.
World rejects new protections for polar bears
A U.S. plan to give new protection to polar bears was voted down recently at an international conference on endangered species.
Voiceless is hiring! (Australia)
Voiceless is an independent, non-profit think tank focused on raising awareness of animals suffering in factory farming and the kangaroo industry in Australia, and they are presently looking for a new legal counsel. Applications are currently open and close on 13 March 2013. See full details at ...more >>
Inverse relationship between budget cuts and biosecurity risks (New Zealand)
A damning report that reveals New Zealand is at risk of a major biosecurity breach is the result of a Government determined to slash budgets whatever the cost, says Labour Leader David Shearer and Primary Industries and Biosecurity spokesperson Damien O’Connor. "This Government’s slash and burn approach to biosecurity has put our entire economy at risk, from agriculture to horticulture, forestry and tourism. National’s hands-off approach to biosecurity is plain reckless. It has cut funding, slashed front-line staff and failed to properly prepare for an incursion,...more >>
PC Peach gives statement – only problem is, it’s a dog
West Midlands Police could be in the doghouse after someone from the force filled out a form in the guise of one of their police dogs, Peach.
The faux statement was brief and said: ‘I chase him. I bite him. Bad man. He tasty. Good boy. Good boy Peach.’
It also came complete with a ‘signature’ from the Alsatian, which was a print of its paw.
It was reportedly written in response to a barrage of requests from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) for an account from PC Peach on a matter, the Daily Mail reports.
Officers are said to have...more >>
Global animal welfare legislation
Animal welfare can be safeguarded if robust legislation is adopted and enforced around the world which ensures the protection of animals into the future. When countries enact such documents it is recognition that promoting good animal welfare is important for fostering a caring society which prohibits any kind of cruelty or neglect to a living being. Over the last couple of years, WSPA has been undertaking an ambitious research project to identify the legal status of selected animal welfare concerns across every country around the world. The findings enable us to compare the ‘state...more >>
Chinese antibiotic use 'threatening Australian food safety'
Scientists have warned that Australia could be importing superbugs in its food supply because of China's rampant use of antibiotics on farms. US scientists say antibiotics are in such heavy use on Chinese animal farms that it could lead to wide human antibiotic resistance on a vast scale.
A research team from Michigan State University carried out tests on manure from three large commercial pig farms in China. The researchers discovered large concentrations of genes which are capable of conferring resistance to all major...more >>
Farmer jailed for two years and one month
On 7 February 2013, the New Zealand High Court sentenced a 40-year-old farmer by the name of Lourens Barend Erasmus, to two years and one month in jail. Erasmus was charged with severe animal cruelty, having broken 115 of his cows’ tails ( many of them demonstrating multiple breaks) and hitting them with steel pipes and milking cups. During the farm inspection conducted by the New Zealand Ministry for Primary Industries, investigators found cows with broken jaws, broken limbs, open wounds and infections. 25 cows were euthanised on humane grounds.
Why Animals Matter: Animal Consciousness, Animal Welfare, and Human Well-Being
Judy MacArthur Clark has provided a review of a book written by Marian Stamp Dawkins titled Why Animals Matter: Animal Consciousness, Animal Welfare, and Human Well-Being.
Judy MacArthur Clark is a veterinarian and past-president of the UK Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons. She has been a consultant on ethical policy development and on improving the public understanding of science for over 20 years and works actively on research regulation and policy development in Europe and the United States. She is currently head of the Animals in Science Regulation Unit in the...more >>
International Transdisciplinary Congress on Fauna Protection (Brazil)
The International Transdisciplinary Congress on Fauna Protection holds its second Congress on 25-26 April 2013 in Goiânia, Brazil.