• People, pets and livestock rescued as floods hit Queensland after ex-Tropical Cyclone Koji – video

    The risk of flash flooding will continue to threaten parts of Queensland throughout the week, but the widespread rain associated with ex-Tropical Cyclone Koji is forecast to dissipate. Clermont saw 203mm in the 24 hours to 9am Monday, while closer to the coast, the town of Eungella saw more than 400mm over two days on the weekend. Both towns are cut off – the latter possibly for monthsQueensland braces for heavy rain and floods after ex-Tropical Cyclone Koji batters north Continue reading.
  • More than 500 structures destroyed in Victoria’s bushfires as 12 major blazes continue to burn

    Conditions ease, with no emergency warnings in place for first time since Thursday, but communities urged to remain alertFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe bushfire threat in Victoria has eased, with no emergency warnings in place for the first time in almost a week, as the state and federal governments commit an initial $10m to help clean up more than 500 structures destroyed by the fires.The State Control Centre
  • Queensland braces for heavy rain and floods after ex-Tropical Cyclone Koji batters north

    Flood warnings in place as BoM forecasts more rain while thousands remain without powerFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastQueenslanders are bracing for floods as repairs are under way after a tropical cyclone battered the north coast.After days of intense buildup, ex-Tropical Cyclone Koji ran out of power as it crossed the coast and was downgraded to a tropical low on Sunday. Continue reading...
  • ‘It was calm … and then just hectic’: David Rigby couldn’t escape the Longwood bushfire so faced the inferno

    Rigby saved his Yarck home but many were lost. Another resident says: ‘No one actually knows how bad it is. So many livestock are dead’Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastOn the outskirts of Yarck, a small farming town in central Victoria, the ground is still smouldering. Gumtrees are flickering with flames as white ash whips through the air.Across the region houses are reduced to warped steel, with brick chimneys often the only thing left standing. Continue re
  • Advertisement

  • ‘An utterly miserable day’: Kempton Park meeting marred by death of three horses

    Nicholls laments loss of Grade One winner Kalif Du BerlaisPeso and Wertpol euthanised after fatal injuriesThe Lanzarote Hurdle card at Kempton Park was marred by the death of three horses, including the Grade One-winning Kalif Du Berlais, whose loss Paul Nicholls described as “a big kick in the teeth” and a “sad day”.Kalif Du Berlais – whose ownership group includes Sir Alex Ferguson – unseated Harry Cobden in the four-runner Coral Silviniaco Conti Chase and l
  • Are crabs animals and should we experiment on monkeys? Major review of Australia’s research code to mull tough questions

    Ending use of animals in teaching and limiting surgery in research settings to veterinarians among suggested changesSign up for climate and environment editor Adam Morton’s free Clear Air newsletter hereFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesAnimal sentience, categorising crustaceans as animals and rehoming lab animals are all on the table as the Australian code for animal research is scrutinised for the first time in a decade.More than 845,000 animals – including mice
  • A ban on trail hunting makes little sense | Letters

    Stopping trail hunts because some break the law is as logical as closing supermarkets because people shoplift, writes Lindsay Gilmour. Plus a letter from Roderick WhiteIf the government is going to stop all trail hunts because some break the law (Labour ‘alienating rural people’ with plan to ban trail hunting, says Countryside Alliance, 26 December), can we also expect a ban on supermarkets because some people shoplift, a ban on cars because some drivers break the speed limit, or a b
  • ‘It’s a matter of time before a farmer is seriously injured’: on the trail of hare coursers in Wiltshire

    Police show the Guardian around hotspots for a rural crime that has links to international gangs – and is on the riseA cold, bright afternoon in the Vale of Pewsey and a couple of brown hares were nibbling away in a field of winter barley. It was a tranquil scene in this tucked-away corner of the English West Country but tyre tracks cutting through the crop were a sign of the violence that takes place when night falls.This is one of the hotspots in Wiltshire for hare coursing, in which cri
  • Advertisement

  • ‘Heartbreaking’: Florida wildlife groups decry state-sanctioned bear hunt

    Fifty-two black bears were killed in three-week hunt state officials said was necessary to reduce ursine populationWildlife officials in Florida say the slaughter of dozens of black bears during a controversial three-week hunt this month was a success, despite the opposition of protesters who condemned the “heartbreaking, bloody spectacle”.The Florida fish and wildlife conservation commission (FWC) on Tuesday announced that 52 bears were killed between 6 and 28 December, and promised
  • If you really care about animals, stop eating them | Letters

    Dean Weston says we are still killing animals by the billion, but praising ourselves for marginally reducing panic and pain, while Jo Barlow calls for transparency and truth about where our food comes from. Plus a letter from Scott MillerYour editorial applauds the government for rearranging the furniture in a burning house (The Guardian view on animal welfare: a timely reminder that cruelty is wrong, 23 December). Fewer cages, gentler gas, a close season for hares. All very civilised. Yet the c
  • Brigitte Bardot’s image complicated by her controversial politics

    Film star turned animal rights activist was anti-immigration and was repeatedly convicted of racial hatred, particularly towards Muslims Brigitte Bardot – a life in picturesBrigitte Bardot, hailed as the French Marilyn Monroe, was the first major film star to channel her glamour and fame into supporting France’s far right, who she backed for more than 30 years.Up until her death on Sunday, Bardot had expressed her contentment at Marine Le Pen’s anti-immigration National Rally p
  • Brigitte Bardot, French screen legend, dies aged 91

    Emmanuel Macron leads tributes to​ actor who became an international sex symbol ​and later embraced animal rights​ and far-right politicsBrigitte Bardot: a life in picturesPeter Bradshaw on Brigitte Bardot – a zeitgeist-force and France’s most sensational exportBrigitte Bardot, the French actor and singer who became an international sex symbol before turning her back on the film industry and embracing the cause of animal rights activism and far-right politics, has d
  • Brigitte Bardot: the zeitgeist-force who was France’s most sensational export | Peter Bradshaw

    Bardot titillated the world for five decades, but the controversy and voyeurism surrounding her shouldn’t overshadow an intriguing film careerBrigitte Bardot dies aged 91A life in picturesBardot … there was a time when it couldn’t be pronounced without a knowing pout on the second syllable. French headline-writers loved calling the world’s most desirable film star by her initials: “BB”, that is: bébé, a bit of weirdly infantilised tabloid pillow
  • Labour’s animal welfare strategy does not go far enough | Letters

    Readers respond to the government’s plans to improve the lot of animalsThe government’s strategy for animal welfare offers substantial improvements in the lot of kept animals but, in keeping with precedent, free-living wildlife is sold short (Editorial, 23 December). The law protecting wildlife is outdated and, as recommended by the Law Society, is ripe for review. Why, for example, have comprehensive protection for four of our native mustelids and almost nothing for the remaining tw
  • With numbers of abandoned cats soaring, we somehow found ourselves with 11

    How our two-bedroom terrace become something of a cat rescue centre is illustration of nationwide crisisHow many cats is too many cats? I can’t tell you exactly, but a couple of weeks ago, I had 11 cats living in my terrace house. And I can say with confidence this is absolutely, definitely too many.At time of writing, I still have seven. Continue reading...
  • Country diary: Little rituals to help sparrows and wrens | Paul Evans

    The Marches, Shropshire: Boxing Day has its own more violent customs between humans and animals. That’s not the world I choose to live inThe sparrows are a shuffling, chirruping shadow in the bushes, a static of anticipation. They are waiting for food, calling for it. They have not forgotten what the poet Emily Dickinson describes, in her poem Victory Comes Late, as “God keeps his oath to sparrows, / Who of little love / Know how to starve!” However, sparrows do seem to live in
  • The Guardian view on animal welfare: a timely reminder that cruelty is wrong | Editorial

    New protections for hares, and more humane conditions on farms, should be welcomed by allLooking after wildlife and improving the lives of farm animals and pets are the related but distinct aims of the government’s new animal welfare strategy for England. Its launch is timely: more than 1 billion chickens and around 8 million turkeys are reared each year – with many of the latter slaughtered in the run-up to Christmas. Winter is also peak season for pet abandonments, with animal char
  • Boiling lobsters alive to be banned in England amid animal cruelty crackdown

    Move is part of a long-awaited Labour strategy including outlawing hen cages and ending puppy farmingBoiling lobsters while they are alive and conscious will be banned as part of a government strategy to improve animal welfare in England.Government ministers say that “live boiling is not an acceptable killing method” for crustaceans and alternative guidance will be published. Continue reading...
  • More than 75% of Labour, Lib Dem and Green voters think PM should open talks on joining EU customs union – as it happened

    YouGov poll for the Times suggests even 40% of Conservative voters support such a moveWes Streeting, the health secretary, used an interview with the Observer published at the weekend to suggest that he favours joining a customs union with the EU. This is something that Keir Starmer has ruled out.But Labour supporters back Streeting on this. According to YouGov polling for the Times, 80% of people who voted Labour at the last general election say a future leader should open negotiations on joini
  • LAWS welcomes Labour’s Animal Welfare Strategy

    Labour Animal Welfare Society (LAWS) welcomes today’s publication of Defra’s new Animal Welfare Strategy, which the government says will deliver the most ambitious animal welfare reforms in a generation, improving protections for pets, farmed animals and wildlife.The strategy sets a clear direction of travel away from outdated and harmful practices, and it reflects strong public expectations for real change for animals.Key commitments in the Strategy include:Companion animals (pets)
  • ‘It’s upset us all’: New Forest residents unnerved by man leaving animal carcasses by churches

    Case of man who apparently targeted Christians is latest in series of incidents in Hampshire of animal remains being dumped The people of the New Forest are accustomed to curious goings-on. The woods and heaths of the national park in southern England are the setting for all manner of tales of witches, pixies, cursed souls and rituals, and, even today, are a magnet for those fascinated by the otherworldly.But residents are aghast at the case of a local man who hit the headlines after admitting d
  • Hen cages and pig farrowing crates to be outlawed in England

    Humane slaughter requirements for farmed fish and end to puppy farming also in new package of animal welfare lawsCaged hens will be a thing of the past in England, the government has announced, as it launches a package of new animal welfare laws.Pig farrowing crates, which campaigners have said are cruel, will also be banned under the welfare changes. These cramped crates are used to stop pigs from rolling over and crushing their young, but once in them sows cannot turn over or move around at al
  • Do prawns feel pain? Why scientists are urging a rethink of Australia’s favoured festive food

    Studies show crustaceans can learn, remember, solve problems and form relationshipsMore summer essentialsSign up for climate and environment editor Adam Morton’s free Clear Air newsletter hereCrustaceans are a festive season staple for many families, particularly in Australia where an estimated 18.5m kilograms of prawns and more than 150,000 lobsters are eaten over Christmas and new year.Globally, trillions are caught and consumed each year. Australia is a major producer, with prawn, lobst
  • US military to stop shooting live animals to train medics for the battlefield

    Defense department will still allow stabbing and burning, and ‘weapon wounding’ on animals to test weaponsThe US military will stop its practice of shooting pigs and goats to help prepare medics for treating wounded troops in a combat zone, ending an exercise made obsolete by simulators that mimic battlefield injuries.The prohibition on “live fire” training that includes animals is part of this year’s annual defense bill, although other uses of animals for wartime t
  • Shooting hares in England to be banned for most of the year

    Exclusive: Ministers also expected to announce trail-hunting ban in sweeping changes to animal welfare lawShooting hares in England will be banned for most of the year as part of sweeping changes to animal welfare law.At the moment, it is legal to shoot the animals during their breeding season, with pregnant hares left to bleed out, and leverets – their young – often orphaned as a result. Continue reading...
  • Rudolph at the Christmas market: cute festive attraction or damaging reindeer’s health?

    Keeping reindeer in pens for public enjoyment can cause them physical and mental harm, charities warnWith their fluffy coats, big brown eyes and reputation as Santa’s helpers, reindeer are a common and popular attraction at Christmas markets around the UK.But being stuck in a pen and approached by hordes of adoring fans is harming the mental and physical health of Rudolph and his brethren, animal charities have warned. Continue reading...
  • Retired greyhounds to continue to be rehomed overseas despite ‘distressing and sometimes fatal’ outcomes

    Independent review calls for sweeping restructure of NSW’s greyhound racing industry but government rejects key recommendations Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastRetired New South Wales greyhounds will continue to be rehomed overseas despite an independent review of the racing industry finding the practice is “distressing and sometimes fatal”.The state government has also rejected a recommendation to
  • An animal rights activist was on the FBI’s Most Wanted list for 15 years. Will he be returned to the US?

    Daniel Andreas San Diego, now 47, is fighting extradition from the UK amid accusations he set off three pipe bombs in 2003Twenty-two years ago, a dark-haired, bespectacled young man vanished off the streets of San Francisco. Daniel Andreas San Diego, a 25-year-old information technology specialist, diehard vegan and animal rights activist, was the FBI’s main suspect in a series of pipe bombings that exploded in front of the headquarters of Chiron Corporation and Shaklee Corporation, two Ba
  • US student who took four chickens after breaking into slaughterhouse sentenced to 90 days in jail

    Zoe Rosenberg, 23, studying at UC Berkeley, had said it was a ‘rescue’ and ‘will not apologize’ for her actionsA California student has been sentenced to 90 days in jail after breaking into a Petaluma poultry slaughterhouse and taking four chickens in an effort she called a “rescue”.Zoe Rosenberg, a 23-year-old student at the University of California, Berkeley, was convicted of felony conspiracy and three misdemeanor counts in October. On Wednesday, a judge se
  • Cuddling capybaras and ogling otters: the problem with animal cafes in Asia

    A boom in places offering petting sessions is linked to a rise in the illegal movement of exotic and endangered species, say expertsThe second floor of an unassuming office building in central Bangkok is a strange place to encounter the world’s largest rodent. Yet here, inside a small enclosure with a shallow pool, three capybaras are at the disposal of dozens of paying customers – all clamouring for a selfie. As people eagerly thrust leafy snacks toward the nonchalant-looking animal
  • Dog and cat abandonment soars in UK as owners struggle with cost of living

    RSPCA says pet abandonments in England and Wales rose by almost 25% in 2025 compared with 2024There is an “epidemic” of dogs, cats and other pets being abandoned as owners struggle to cope with the cost of living crisis, the UK’s largest animal welfare charity has said.The RSPCA said abandonments in England and Wales had risen by almost 25% in 2025 compared with last year, reaching their highest rate for at least five years. Continue reading...
  • UK introduces voluntary health assessment for flat-faced dog breeds

    Breeders welcome initiative from all-party parliamentary group on animal welfare, but question its usefulness With their huge eyes, large heads and tiny snub noses, the public perception of flat-faced dogs as “cute” and “infant-like” has driven demand over recent years.Film, TV and the greetings card industries have long capitalised on this anthropomorphism, attracting criticism from animal welfare campaigners who highlight the painful health disorders experienced by the
  • ‘Are they going to eat me alive?’: trail runners become prey in newest form of hunting

    Nervous reporter is chased across English countryside by baying bloodhounds, in what could soon be only legal way to hunt with dogsWould you like to be chased by a pack of hounds? It’s a question often put to highlight the cruelty of hunting, because the answer would seem to be no. Or so you would think.Yet increasing numbers of people are volunteering to be chased across the countryside by baying bloodhounds in what could soon be the only legal way to hunt with dogs in England and Wales,
  • MPs call for release of 15 penguins ‘trapped’ at London aquarium

    Cross-party group wants environment secretary to urgently examine moving the birds to a facility ‘better aligned with their needs’A group of 75 MPs are calling for the release of 15 penguins “trapped” in a small enclosure “without sunlight or fresh air” at the Sea Life London Aquarium.Housing the 15 gentoo penguins at the attraction on the South Bank was “un-British”, said the leader of the campaign. Continue reading...
  • Life or death in Joseph Wright’s 1768 painting | Letter

    Harriet Monkhouse responds to a review of the National Gallery exhibition that includes An Experiment on a Bird in the Air PumpRe Jonathan Jones’s review of the Joseph Wright of Derby exhibition at the National Gallery, and his 1768 painting An Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump (Wright of Derby: From the Shadows review – science, skeletons and a suffocated cockatoo, 4 November), the good news is that the bird probably doesn’t die after all.An episode of Radio 4’s
  • UK minister unveils plan to cut animal testing through greater use of AI

    New funding for researchers and streamlined regulation part of roadmap for phasing out use of animals in scienceAnimal testing in science would be phased out faster under a new plan to increase the use of artificial intelligence and 3D bioprinted human tissues, a UK minister has said.The roadmap unveiled by the science minister, Patrick Vallance, backs replacing certain animal tests that are still used where necessary to determine the safety of products such as life-saving vaccines and the impac
  • ‘Too far? I don’t think we’ve gone far enough!’ The founder of Peta on gruesome stunts and her bloody fight for animal rights

    After 45 years as chief fake blood thrower, Ingrid Newkirk is still waging war on everything from leather to cashmere. Is she still relevant?Ingrid Newkirk was 54 when she thought she was going to die in a plane crash. It was late summer and the founder of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) was flying from Minneapolis in the US to the company HQ in Norfolk, Virginia when her plane encountered strong wind shear. The pilot attempted an emergency landing, but failed; back up they we
  • Newmarket horse owner receives notice of complaint over ‘constant neighing’

    Local council contacts Mandy Young about animals she kept at her home 10 miles from famous racecourseIt is known as the “headquarters of horse racing”, with its equine heritage stretching to the 17th century. But one resident near Newmarket has apparently had enough – and complained to the local council about the neighing horses.Mandy Young, a horse owner based about 10 miles from the racecourse, said she received a notice of the complaint in the post and was told it was linked
  • Going to the Dogs review – lovable canines at the heart of a sport in decline

    Documentary examines British greyhound racing with affection and respect but doesn’t shy away from the opposing views of animal rights activists At one point in this documentary about greyhound racing, an interviewee describes it as a fundamentally working-class sport, and it’s hard to argue with that. And like so many British working-class pleasures and pursuits, shifting tastes and the relentless march of gentrification have seen its popularity wane substantially since heydays past
  • More pets being abandoned in England as food and vet bills soar, say charities

    Firefighters report rise in rescue callouts as RSPCA says some who got pets during Covid have ‘realised it costs a lot more money than they want it to’Firefighter callouts for animal rescue have risen by more than a quarter in five years, figures show, as charities warn of a new wave of abandonment linked to the soaring costs of food and vet bills.The RSPCA received a record 22,503 abandonment reports last year, as the cost of vets and pet food surged dramatically. Figures from the O
  • US woman who ‘rescued’ four chickens found guilty of trespassing and conspiracy

    Zoe Rosenberg, 23, of San Francisco Bay Area does not deny taking animals, saying she was removing them from crueltyA San Francisco Bay Area woman has been found guilty of trespassing and conspiracy after she took four chickens from a processing plant in northern California, a spokesperson for a group representing her said.Zoe Rosenberg, 23, did not deny taking the animals but said she was rescuing them from a cruel situation. She faces more than five years in prison. Rosenberg and her attorneys
  • At least 174 racehorses died from racing or training injuries in past 12 months in Australia, report finds

    That’s the highest number recorded by the Coalition for the Protection of Racehorses since they began tracking deaths 10 years agoFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAt least 174 thoroughbred racehorses died at the track or as a result of injuries sustained while racing or training in the past 12 months – the highest number recorded by animal rights activists since they began tracking 10 years ago.The report
  • She took chickens from a slaughterhouse. Was it a rescue or a crime?

    Zoe Rosenberg, a California student, is on trial over a tactic that animal rights activists consider a moral imperative. Critics say it’s a threat to the food supplyOn a Monday afternoon in late September, Zoe Rosenberg, a 23-year-old University of California, Berkeley, student, emerged from a courtroom in Santa Rosa, California. Flanked by her lawyers, she moved briskly through the courthouse corridors, past more than 100 prospective jurors.Pinned to her black blazer was a tiny metallic c
  • Marine park threatens to euthanize 30 whales if Canada does not provide funding

    Marineland’s warning comes after Canadian official blocked the transfer of the beluga whales to a theme park in ChinaMarineland has threatened to euthanize 30 beluga whales if Canada’s federal government does not provide financial support for the embattled Niagara Falls amusement park. The warning comes after the country’s fisheries minister blocked the transfer of the captive whales to a theme park in China.Marineland, an amusement park, zoo, aquarium and forest occupying near
  • I bought my cat a lead – and I was quickly humbled | Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett

    The news that one in six UK cat owners use them baffles me: who are all these cooperative, compliant cats trotting down the street beside their owners?The news that almost one in six cat owners in the UK use a harness – if indeed you can call it newsworthy to anyone except cat people such as myself – brought forth a mix of emotions. As with anything that makes me think of my mad little cat, Mackerel, they were a cocktail of guilt, bafflement and love.Let’s start with guilt. The
  • Warnings of imports of caged hen eggs as Ukraine and Poland become UK’s biggest suppliers

    Shift raises food safety and welfare concerns as imports can bypass standards for domestic producersUkraine and Poland have overtaken other EU countries to become the UK’s biggest egg suppliers, sparking warnings that imports of eggs from caged hens are slipping “through the back door” despite welfare pledges.Freedom of information data from the Animal and Plant Health Agency shows that, while the Netherlands supplied a large proportion of UK eggs in 2022, its share has steadil
  • STATEMENTS ON ANIMAL WELFARE FROM DEPUTY LEADERSHIP CANDIDATES

    Labour Animal Welfare Society is pleased to share statements from candidates for Deputy Leader. As in previous leadership contests, we invite all candidates to set out their priorities for animals and animal welfare. The statements are published in alphabetical order. LAWS will not endorse or nominate a candidate in this process, although as a Socialist Society affiliate we are entitled to make a nomination. Our aim is to inform members and supporters and to keep animal welfare on the agenda.Can
  • Branded New Forest ponies are well cared for | Letter

    Brice Stratford defends traditional practices and says New Forest ponies have a better quality of life than any othersJason Rose objects to the traditional care and management of New Forest ponies (Letters, 29 September).Though the ponies are free-roaming, they are not “wild”. Each is owned and cared for by a New Forest commoner, and grazes the forest thanks to ancient rights in use for more than a millennium. Continue reading...
  • Dame Jane Goodall obituary

    Pioneering scientist whose breakthrough studies of chimpanzees changed how the animals were perceived and led to greater protectionDuring the final months of 1960, in what is now Gombe national park, Tanzania, Jane Goodall, then 26 years old, made two discoveries that established her name and reputation as a field scientist studying wild apes. First, she observed chimpanzees eating red meat. Before that moment, the scientific consensus, based on virtually no direct observation, was that chimpanz
  • Labour faces legal scrutiny after allowing chickens to be carried by legs

    Practice was forbidden under EU law, but secondary legislation came into force in July permitting it in England, Wales and ScotlandLabour faces further scrutiny of its record on animal welfare after a high court judge allowed permission for a challenge to the legalisation of the harmful practice of carrying chickens by their legs.The practice, which causes distress and injuries to chickens, was forbidden under European regulations but a statutory instrument, laid by the environment secretary, St

Follow @animals_uk1 on Twitter!