Lobsters, octopuses and crabs recognised as sentient beings in UK.
The UK government has confirmed that that the scope of the Animal Welfare (Sentience) Bill will be extended to all decapod crustaceans and cephalopod molluscs.
This move follows the findings of a government-commissioned independent review led by Dr Jonathan Birch, Associate Professor at The London School of Economics’s Centre for Philosophy of Natural and Social Science and Principal Investigator on the Foundations of Animal Sentience Project. The review drew on over 300 existing scientific studies to evaluate evidence of sentience in cephalopods (including octopuses, squid and cuttlefish) and decapods (including crabs, lobsters and crayfish).
Courtesy of Kt Dallison
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HK to kill wild pigs that enter urban areas after policy shift.
Hong Kong authorities will now regularly capture wild boars and put them down in a major policy shift for controlling the most commonly seen wild animals in the city.
The change in approach follows a rising number of sightings of the animals in densely populated areas in recent years, with injuries to residents occasionally reported, sparking heated debate on how best to handle the nuisance.
However, several animal rights groups in Hong Kong have petitioned wildlife officials to drop a plan to capture and cull wild boars, arguing innocent creatures will suffer for merely responding naturally to changes in their habitat.
Courtesy of Kat Mak
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UK launches second Animal Welfare Bill to protect pets, livestock and wild animals.
The UK recently launched the second Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill to protect pets, farmed and kept wild animals. There are five key areas raised in the Bill to improve animal welfare standards:
Puppy smuggling - The number of pets that can travel under pet travel rules will be reduced in order to tackle the unethical trade of puppy smuggling.
Live exports - The export of live animals for slaughter and fattening may be banned, since excessively long journeys during export may cause distress and injury.
Banning keeping primates as pets - Since primates are highly intelligent animals with complex needs and require specialist care, there will be a ban implemented on keeping them as pets.
Livestock worrying - Police will be given new powers to provide greater protection to livestock, llamas, ostriches and game birds from dangerous and out of control dogs.
Zoos - In order to improve zoo regulations and ensure zoos are working hard to contribute to conservation, the Zoo Licensing Act will be amended.
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Amended HK law requires driver to stop after hitting cat or dog.
The Road Traffic (Amendment) Ordinance 2021 came into effect on November 7, requiring drivers to stop the vehicle if they hit any cat or dog. The definition of animal currently covers any horse, cattle, ass, mule, sheep, pig or goat, but will now include cats and dogs after the amended ordinance came into effect.
The Food & Health Bureau said the number of cats and dogs kept by the public was on the rise in recent years, adding that traffic accidents involving injuries or deaths of these animals have occurred from time to time.
Courtesy of HKALPO
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Three quarters of Australian animals face extinction.
Australia’s iconic koala could be one of the 75 per cent of Australia’s animals, birds and other species that fall victim to a coming “extinction event that’s equivalent to the loss of the dinosaurs,” a scientist has warned. And it’s an extinction event blamed on humans.
Koalas, whose numbers have dropped dramatically, are just one of the most obvious potential Australian victims of climate change in the animal kingdom.
Already one mammal has been declared extinct, felled by the changing climate. Plenty others are at risk of going the same way.
Courtesy of Arial Ng.
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NYC Horse Carriage Collision Renews Calls for Rides to End
A gory collision between a carriage horse and a vehicle in New York City (NYC) has led to renewed calls from animal rights activists to end the use of horse-drawn carriages on city streets.
On 23 September 2021, a carriage horse named Chief collided with a BMW near the south of Central Park. It was reported that witnesses at the scene saw Chief collapsing to the ground and losing consciousness for several minutes. Video footage of the accident, which has been widely circulated on social media, showed him kicking and struggling to get off the pavement upon regaining consciousness, which only exacerbated his injuries. Photos of the aftermath also show large amounts of blood in the surrounding area, further confirming the violence of the crash.
Courtesy of Ruby Tam
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China vows to include biodiversity in economic plans as UN talks begin.
China will incorporate biodiversity protection in development plans in all regions and sectors, Vice Premier Han Zheng said at the opening of U.N. talks aimed at making progress on a global deal to halt mass extinction.
China has vowed to make protecting nature a priority after decades of rapid development and urbanisation devastated ecosystems, put dozens of species on the brink of extinction and raised the risk of lethal zoonotic diseases like COVID-19.
Courtesy of Tony Chen
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US Court recognises cocaine hippos as legal persons for first time.
The descendants of cocaine baron Pablo Escobar’s hippos in Colombia should have the same legal rights as people, a federal court in the US ruled this week.
The ruling, by a judge at a federal court in Ohio, came in response to a lawsuit filed on behalf of the hippos by a charity, the Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF), to make the hippos “interested persons,” in the ongoing case of whether to cull or sterilise the herd over concerns of environmental damage and public safety.
The decision is thought to be the first time such legal status has been granted to animals.
Courtesy of Kat Mak
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Two tortoises killed in break-in after failed romantic pursuit.
A Hong Kong woman has been sentenced to 16 months’ imprisonment for 2 counts of burglary and one count of animal cruelty. Having been dissatisfied that her partner did not want to commit to a relationship, the woman broke into his house and damaged his personal property.
However and most unfortunately, she also took her anger out on two tortoises, killing them both in a horrendous manner. The damage inflicted on one of the tortoises was so bad that it left the tortoise with exposed internal organs and severe autolysis. She was sentenced to 4 months’ imprisonment on the animal cruelty count, with 2 months’ to be served consecutively to her 14 month sentence for burglary.
Animals are not things. They are neither a bargaining chip nor props to be aimlessly deployed in the midst on an argument. Animals are sentient beings and as such are able to feel and experience emotions - be they positive or negative. It is natural for human beings to feel anger or frustration from time to time, but these emotions do not need to be taken out on innocent animals.
Courtesy of Angus Chiu
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Top huntsman guilty of encouraging illegal fox hunting.
One of Britain’s leading huntsmen has been found guilty of encouraging or assisting others to commit an offence under the Hunting Act. Mark Hankinson was a director of the Hunting Office that runs the sport. He was caught in a leaked online training webinar in 2020 telling hunts how to hunt illegally.
Fox hunting was made illegal in the Hunting Act 2004. Many organisations instead turned to trail hunting which involves laying a scent for hounds to chase instead of a live animal. Between 2010 and 2020 there were 384 successful prosecutions under the Hunting Act in the UK.
Courtesy of HKALPO
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Victorian Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act enhanced to protect wildlife from fruit tree netting
Household fruit growers across Victoria have less than a week to update their netting or risk "significant" penalties.
From September domestic fruit growers will be required to use netting with an aperture of five millimetres by five millimetres at full stretch.
Wildlife animals are often trapped in the existing netting of fruit trees, and because they would keep on struggling to escape from it, they often suffer horrific injury or even death. Even though they were not dead when found, they might have to be euthanized because of serious injuries.
The law covering backyard fruit growers is the final piece of Victoria's Protection of Cruelty to Animals (POCTA) Act 2019, designed to help safeguard animal welfare while enabling food and fibre industries to function responsibly and productively.
Courtesy of Kelly Ma.
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Scientists investigate hundreds of guillemot deaths on UK coastline.
Concerns have been raised after reports of 'unprecedented' deaths amongst guillemots in the north of the UK.
The seabirds have reportedly been found starving and washed up dead along the coast of Scotland and northeast England. The birds have also been seen closer to shore than normal, away from their hunting grounds out in the open water.
Toxins, climate change and a lack of food have been suggested as causes, but the exact reasons remain unclear.
Courtesy of Michelle Cheung.
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South Korean president suggests ban on eating dog meat.
The South Korean President, Moon Jae-in, has raised banning the eating of dogs in the country, his office has said - a traditional practice that is becoming an international embarrassment.
Dog meat has been a long part of South Korean cuisine with about 1 million dogs believed to be eaten annually - but the consumption has declined as more people being to embrace dogs as companions rather than livestock. Indeed, younger generations of South Koreans view the practice as something of a taboo, with growing support from animal rights activists in the country.
Courtesy of Kat Mak.
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US Fish & Wildlife Service declares 23 species extinct
A statement released by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service on Wednesday (29 September) proposed to delist 23 species from the Endangered Species Act 1973 as they are considered extinct.
Courtesy of Audrey O’Young
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South Korea to consider animals not ‘things’.
South Korea plans to amend its civil code to grant animals legal status.
The amendment, which must still be approved by parliament, likely during its next regular session in September, would make South Korea one of a handful of countries to recognise animals as beings, with a right to protection, enhanced welfare and respect for life.
Courtesy of Amelia Wang
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Stricter implementations against feeding wild animals.
The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department and the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department have conducted a series of operations to counter incidents of wild animal feeding and dirtying public spaces.
Within this past year, blitz operations have led to about 80 prosecutions against people who have contravened cleanliness regulations in the Southern district, out of which 20 offenders received a fixed penalty notices of HK$1500, with an additional 60 having a summons issued against them.
Courtesy of Arial Ng.
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Over 100 animals in 'blind boxes' abandoned in Shanghai
Over 100 cats and dogs packaged in ‘blind boxes’ were abandoned roadside in Jiading district, Shanghai earlier this week. There were over 30 dogs and 70 cats in the mix, and most of them were under two months old. Some of the animals had died by the time they were found, and others were in poor health.
Courtesy of Andy Au
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Pet abduction to be made a criminal offence.
Pet abduction is to be made a criminal offence in England after a rise in reported thefts during Covid lockdowns. Theft of a pet is currently treated as a loss of an owner's property, but ministers want a new law to acknowledge the emotional distress it can cause.
Courtesy of Michelle Cheung
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Komodo dragons reclassified as 'endangered' by IUCN
The Komodo dragon, endemic to Indonesia has been reclassified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (“IUCN”) Red List as ‘endangered’. According to the IUCN’s news statement, the change in global temperature affecting sea levels ‘are expected to reduce the Komodo dragon’s suitable habitat by at least 30% in the next 45 years’.
Courtesy of Audrey O’Young
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Removal of protection for porpoises could mean future environmental damage.
Hong Kong environmental groups have criticised a Government decision to remove protections for the vulnerable finless porpoises, by allowing underwater cable installation for the controversial HK$31 billion waste incinerator, near their main marine habitat during their most active season.
The nearby waters of south Lantau Island are important for the Indo-Pacific porpoise, which has been given the “vulnerable” status on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species.
Courtesy of Kat Mak.
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