We hope to raise awareness in relation to local and international animal law and welfare by presenting the latest news stories and articles from around the world. Sign up to our newsletter to keep informed about the latest news.
Premier League footballer Kurt Zouma has been sentenced to 180 hours of community service after pleading guilty to kicking and slapping a cat after a video went viral in early February 2022.
The West Ham defender, 27, was also banned from keeping cats for five years. West Ham have also since fined Zouma two weeks salary, which was donated to local animal welfare charities.
Courtesy of Wong Jing Shan
Read MoreThe UK government could soon make it easier for people with pets to rent houses.
A policy document setting out proposals for new rental market legislation was published yesterday. It states that among many measures, the Renters Reform Bill would stop landlords from including blanket “no pet” clauses in contracts.
This means that landlords would have to provide a reasonable explanation if they do not want tenants to have companion animals. Tenants will also have the right to challenge a landlord if they prevent them from keeping a pet.
An Asian elephant named Happy that has been at the Bronx Zoo for more than 40 years will remain there after New York’s highest court ruled on Tuesday that she is not a person, in a legal sense, and therefore not entitled to a fundamental human right.
By a 5-to-2 vote, the Court of Appeals rejected an animal-advocacy organisation’s argument that Happy was being illegally detained at the zoo and should be transferred to a more natural environment.
The dispute hinged on whether the cornerstone legal principle of habeas corpus — which people assert to protect their bodily liberty and to contest illegal confinement — should be extended to autonomous, cognitively complex animals like elephants. No, the court said.
Read MoreA bill that would ban pet stores in New York state from selling dogs, cats and rabbits has passed the state legislature and is awaiting the signature of Gov. Kathy Hochul (D).
The bill, which passed the legislature this week, is largely aimed at fighting large-scale “puppy mill”-style breeding operations. However, the bill does not directly target these facilities ― many of which exist outside of New York and thus outside the jurisdiction of New York state law. Instead, it focuses on pet stores, which primarily source their pets from.
Read MoreCats have been found shot with blow darts and mutilated near a US Army barracks in Hawaii, according to an animal-welfare organisation.
KAT Charities founder Dr Karen Tyson said organisation was worried troops stationed at the Schofield Army Barracks in Hawaii could be linked to the animal abuse.
Soldiers convicted of animal cruelty can be dishonourably discharged as well as facing fines and incarceration.
Read MoreA near total ban on the import, export and dealing of items containing elephant ivory comes into force (6th June), putting the UK at the forefront of global conservation efforts.
Elephants are commonly targeted for their ivory tusks and the demand for ivory is known to contribute to poaching, driving a decline in elephant populations. The ban will ensure vital protection for the world’s elephants by putting a stop to the UK trade in ivory.
The ban covers ivory items of all ages, not only those produced after a certain date, allowing only a narrowly defined set of exemptions. As a result, it will now be illegal to deal in ivory items unless they have been registered or have an exemption certificate.
Read MoreAn extraordinary four million exotic animals, from all corners of the world were imported into Hong Kong between 2015 and 2019, compounding risk of species extinction, a new report has found.
The ADM Capital Foundation report, “Wild, Threatened, Farmed: Hong Kong’s Invisible Pets” says the exotic pet trade in the city is contributing to extreme pressure on hundreds of species worldwide.
The report comes as global conservationists sound the alarm over a biodiversity crisis, driven by land-use and climate change, pollution and overexploitation.
Read MoreAllegations shooters have exceeded bag limits and inhumanely dispatched birds during the first week of the Victorian duck season have been reported to authorities.
Coalition Against Duck Shooting member Craig Davey told ABC Central Victoria that animal rescuers found a pit of 23 dead whole birds buried at Lake Bael Bael, north-west of Kerang.
Under Victorian law, shot birds must be harvested and taken away.
Read MoreTwo men have been arrested for keeping 31 turtles belonging to various rare species, including some believed to have been caught from local streams, marking the largest case of illegal possession of the endangered animals in Hong Kong.
Twenty-one live turtles – involving five species – and 10 dead specimens were found in a residential unit in Kowloon on Tuesday, under a joint operation conducted by the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department and police. Two men were arrested at the scene. It is the largest number of turtles found in local illegal possession cases.
Read MoreHappy, by species, is an Asian elephant. But can she also be considered a person?
That question was before New York’s highest court on Wednesday in a closely watched case over whether a basic human right can be extended to an animal.
The advocates at the Nonhuman Rights Project say yes: Happy is an autonomous, cognitively complex elephant worthy of the right reserved in law for “a person”.
The Bronx Zoo, where Happy resides, says no: through an attorney, the zoo argues Happy is neither illegally imprisoned nor a person, but a well-cared-for elephant “respected as the magnificent creature she is.”
Read MoreA tiny Jack Russell terrier has won hearts and admirers for helping neutralise hundreds of Russian explosives in Ukraine. Now he's won state honours, too.
Patron the bomb-sniffing dog — and his owner, Mykhailo Iliev of the Civil Protection Service— received a medal from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a news conference in recognition of their service to the country.
Read MoreA committee of the Hong Kong Legislative Council has been discussing an amendment to the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Ordinance (Cap. 169).
However, some legislators questioned the proposed introduction of a positive "duty of care” to animals and the lack of a clear definition to this duty of care.
The proposed amendment would increase the maximum penalty for relevant offences from a fine of HK$200,000 and 3 years’ imprisonment to a fine of HK$1,000,000 and 7 years’ imprisonment.
Read MorePronged collars designed to punish dogs are set to be banned in Queensland as part of a wider crackdown on animal cruelty. The collars are made of metal and designed to tighten around a dog’s neck when pressure is applied.
The announcement was made by Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk on Sunday who said the devices were not in line with most Queenslanders’ view of appropriate animal discipline.
Read MoreThe number of flying insects in Great Britain has plunged by almost 60% since 2004, according to a survey that counted splats on car registration plates. The scientists behind the survey said the drop was “terrifying”, as life on Earth depends on insects.
The results from many thousands of journeys by members of the public in the summer of 2021 were compared with results from 2004. The fall was highest in England, at 65%, with Wales recording 55% fewer insects and Scotland 28%.
Read MoreOn 25 April 2022, Hong Kong locals saw a large 2.5 metre fish swimming with its dorsal fin exposed in the Tuen Mun River.
Discussions among locals led to speculation that they had seen a shark. However upon further analysis, it turned out to be a large sunfish or “mola mola”, a fish rarely seen in shallow waters.
Read MoreNearly 130 native Australian reptiles targeted by international wildlife smugglers will be added to a global convention in a step the Australian government and conservationists hope will stifle the “cruel and abhorrent” trade.
The spiny-tailed gecko, shingleback lizard and several blue-tongue lizard species are among the reptiles that the environment minister Sussan Ley has listed for inclusion under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna.
Read MoreHong Kong police have arrested a couple on suspicion of animal cruelty after their dog was found dead and chained up at a village house in the New Territories.
A 64-year-old man and his 54-year-old wife were picked up at the scene and later detained on suspicion of animal cruelty.
Read MoreOne of Hong Kong’s most iconic migratory birds, the black-face spoonbill, could be removed from a list of endangered animals in two years, following decades-long conservation efforts.
The species of migratory waterbird, currently classified as endangered, plays an important role in Hong Kong’s conservation efforts, serving as an indicator of the healthiness of local wetlands.
The waterbird is also a mascot of the World Wide Fund for Nature Hong Kong, which restores and manages the internationally significant Mai Po nature reserve.
Read MoreEcuador's high court has ruled that wild animals possess the legal right to exist, develop their innate instincts, and be free from disproportionate cruelty, fear, and distress.
The landmark decision occurred in February after Ecuador's top court interpreted the country's "rights of nature" constitutional laws in a case involving a woolly monkey name Estrellita. "Rights of nature" are laws that establish an ecosystem's legal right to exist and regenerate.
Read MoreFAQ’S: AMENDMENT TO CAP 599 & 599A
The new amendments to Cap 559 and 599A have come as a shock to pet owners in Hong Kong who have been subjected to continuous persecution from the Hong Kong Government. This has not only caused pet owners to fear for the safety of their animals should they contract Covid-19, but also a sense of confusion as to what the new amendments actually mean.
In order to bring a sense of clarity to owners of animals here in Hong Kong, we have answered some of the frequently asked questions we have received in relation to these amendments. If you have any other questions you wish to ask, feel free to contact us.
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