Animals news

• Fears UK-Australia trade deal could cause surge in tariff-free meat imports

  15-06-2021 19:31 via theguardian.com
  
  Labour says import quotas are so high they are meaningless and raises concerns about animal welfareAustralian producers to gradually gain tariff-free access to British marketsKey elements of the UK-Australia trade dealMinisters have been accused of jeopardising the livelihoods of thousands of farmers after it emerged that a new trade deal with Australia will permit huge increases in meat imports before any protective tariffs come into force.Concerns have also been raised about a lack of detail o
  
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• Farmers raise concerns as Boris Johnson hails ‘historic’ UK-Australia trade deal

  15-06-2021 15:41 via theguardian.com
  
  Deal to include 15-year cap on tariff-free imports amid fears overpotential flood of cheaper meatAustralian producers to gradually gain tariff-free access to British marketsKey elements of the UK-Australia trade dealThe National Farmers’ Union (NFU) has called for more information about protections for UK farmers in a new trade deal with Australia, as it emerged that some tariff-free protection periods will expire in as little as five years.The NFU and green groups also raised concerns abo
  
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• Vet who fled Saddam Hussein draws up groundbreaking Kurdistan animals rights bill

  10-06-2021 08:29 via theguardian.com
  
  Kurdish vet is behind groundbreaking welfare legislation to be debated by parliament in Iraq’s autonomous region“The animals are my life,” says Sulaiman Tameer. In one corner of his desk is a statuette of a rearing horse. A watercolour of a donkey hangs behind it. “That one lives with a government minister,” he nods at a photo of a rescued kitten. “But I won’t tell you which one.”The veterinarian’s office, which shares space with his clinic o
  
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• There's a bear in there: animal gets stuck up Arizona power pole – video

  10-06-2021 04:59 via theguardian.com
  
  A bear in southern Arizona caused a brief power outage after it climbed up a power pole and became stuck. The utility company in the city of Willcox was notified a bear had become tangled in power lines, and workers quickly disabled the power. The linemen then climbed into a bucket lift to coax the animal down with a fibreglass stick, before the bear eventually went down on its own and retreated to the desert. It is the second time in a month a bear in the state has climbed a power pole Continue
  
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• The pig whisperer: the Dutch farmer who wants to end factory farming

  07-06-2021 07:30 via theguardian.com
  
  A unique ‘pig toilet’ and a diet of organic leftovers are part of former vet Kees Scheepens’ plans to put animal welfare and sustainability first
  “Oma, hoi! Hier! Hallooo,” Dr Kees Scheepens, a Dutch farmer known as the “pig whisperer”, is calling his two oldest pigs for some apricot snacks.Oma or “granny”, a seven-year-old sow, lives with a Berkshire boar called Borough, who’s nine, off a quiet lane in the town of Oirschot, in the sout
  
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• The mystery of Denmark’s vanishing wolf pack – are hunters to blame?

  06-06-2021 10:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Despite a resurgence in lowland Europe, numbers almost halve in the countryWolves could become extinct again in Denmark and other lowland European countries unless the population is topped up by migrating animals, according to a new study.A wolf pack crossed the border from Germany into Denmark in 2017, ending a 200-year absence of wolves in the country. But 48% of Denmark’s wolf population has subsequently been illegally killed or disappeared, with shooting the only plausible explanation.
  
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• Fowl play: duck hunting struggles to stay afloat in Victoria

  02-06-2021 19:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Duck hunting has been practised as a recreational sport in Australia since colonisation. In Victoria alone, an average of 400,000 birds are killed during hunting season. South Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory are also yet to ban the practice. But recent changes in Victoria, including a cut to the season’s length, have made the hunt less accessible for shooters, and with growing community dissent the hunt could soon come to an endContinue reading...
  
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• UK government to ask citizens if it should ban fur trade

  31-05-2021 08:01 via theguardian.com
  
  Move towards tighter animal welfare standards and ban on fur company sales follows withdrawal from EU single market The public is being asked to weigh in on the fur trade, as the government considers a potential ban on sales across the UK.The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has launched a call for evidence amid plans for tighter animal welfare standards following Brexit. The consultation will consider the social and economic impacts of fur sales, both in the UK and ove
  
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• People in Great Britain being asked for views on fur trade ban

  31-05-2021 08:01 via theguardian.com
  
  Move towards tighter animal welfare standards and ban on fur company sales follows withdrawal from EU single market The public is being asked to weigh in on the fur trade, as the government considers a potential ban on sales across Great Britain.The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has launched a call for evidence amid plans for tighter animal welfare standards following Brexit. The consultation will consider the social and economic impacts of fur sales, both in Great B
  
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• People in Great Britain being asked for views on ban fur trade

  31-05-2021 08:01 via theguardian.com
  
  Move towards tighter animal welfare standards and ban on fur company sales follows withdrawal from EU single market The public is being asked to weigh in on the fur trade, as the government considers a potential ban on sales across Great Britain.The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has launched a call for evidence amid plans for tighter animal welfare standards following Brexit. The consultation will consider the social and economic impacts of fur sales, both in Great B
  
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• Australian observers likely to board just one live export ship in two years

  30-05-2021 19:30 via theguardian.com
  
  The government says Covid travel restrictions have made it too unsafe to carry out the independent observer programIndependent observers are likely to board just a single live export ship in two years after being pulled from voyages due to Covid-19 travel restrictions.The observer program was set up to monitor conditions on live export ships following the 2018 Emanuel Exports scandal, in which 2,400 sheep died from heat stress on their way to the Middle East. Related: Court rules 50,000 sheep ma
  
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• Of course Carrie Symonds loves Dilyn, so why mock her for that? | Barbara Ellen

  29-05-2021 18:00 via theguardian.com
  
  The PM’s fiancee was right to be upset at the suggestion she would abandon her rescue dogWhile obviously not the most important takeaway from The Great Outpouring, Dominic Cummings really hates Carrie Symonds, doesn’t he? Understandable really. She took his best mate away. They were so close, but then she came along and Boris didn’t have time for him any more… Oh sorry, I appear to have segued into a half-remembered Byker Grove storyline – a “teaching moment&
  
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• Lancashire artist to pay 150 people to howl in memory of last wolf in England

  28-05-2021 16:38 via theguardian.com
  
  Jamie Holman will film mass howl at Preston bus station to symbolise end of wildness in EnglandThe Lancashire artist Jamie Holman is paying 150 people £10 each to howl in unison as part of his upcoming exhibition, a memorial to the last wolf killed in England.Holman put out the call for participants on his Twitter account last month, asking people to join him at Preston bus station on Sunday 30 May to “contribute to a piece of art”. Holman says the performance will run from 2-4
  
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• ‘It’s about being a pack again’: Lancashire artist organises mass howl in memory of last wild wolf

  28-05-2021 16:38 via theguardian.com
  
  Jamie Holman will film 150 people howling at Preston bus station to symbolise end of wildness in EnglandThe Lancashire artist Jamie Holman is paying 150 people £10 each to howl in unison as part of his upcoming exhibition, a memorial to the last wolf killed in England.Holman put out the call for participants on his Twitter account last month, asking people to join him at Preston bus station on Sunday 30 May to “contribute to a piece of art”. Holman says the performance will run
  
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• ‘It’s about being a pack again’: artist to pay people £10 to howl like wolves at Preston bus station

  28-05-2021 16:38 via theguardian.com
  
  Jamie Holman will film 150 people howling at Preston bus station to symbolise end of wildness in EnglandThe Lancashire artist Jamie Holman is paying 150 people £10 each to howl in unison as part of his upcoming exhibition, a memorial to the last wolf killed in England.Holman put out the call for participants on his Twitter account last month, asking people to join him at Preston bus station on Sunday 30 May to “contribute to a piece of art”. Holman says the performance will run
  
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• Sicily’s prize pigs: can niche farms hold out against mega pork?

  24-05-2021 12:00 via theguardian.com
  
  The vast majority of pork in Italy is produced intensively indoors, with smaller, outdoor pig units close to extinctionFewer, bigger, more intensive: EU vows to stem drastic loss of small farmsFranco Borrello’s black pigs roam freely in the bucolic foothills of eastern Sicily, where they graze and forage for acorns and wild roots in his 40 hectares (99 acres) of oak forest. Every year he loses several of them, as these ancient breeds of domesticated Sicilian pigs often sneak out from the m
  
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• Fewer, bigger, more intensive: EU vows to stem drastic loss of small farms

  24-05-2021 07:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Guardian analysis shows intensification in farming across the EU with a rise in livestock numbers while millions of farms disappearThe EU is to introduce sweeping reforms of farming subsidies this week to try to halt the decline of small farms and protect them from the intensification of agriculture fostered by decades of previous policies.Janusz Wojciechowski, the EU agriculture commissioner, said: “My intention is that this process of disappearing small farms should be stopped. The Europ
  
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• Greek plan for mandatory neutering to tackle strays hits opposition

  23-05-2021 11:05 via theguardian.com
  
  Proposed compulsory sterilisation seeks to improve animal welfare but raises concerns about pure breedsGreece’s perennial problem of stray cats and dogs has been brought into sharp focus by outrage from vets and breeders over proposed legislation that seeks to make animal neutering mandatory.The country has one of the largest stray feline and canine populations in the world, with the problem becoming ever more acute during the country’s prolonged debt crisis. Animal rights activists
  
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• Animal rights activists blockade McDonald's distribution centres across UK – video

  22-05-2021 14:12 via theguardian.com
  
  Animal rights protesters have set up blockades at four McDonald’s distribution centres across Britain, which they say will affect about 1,300 restaurants. Activists from Animal Rebellion used trucks and bamboo structures to blockade distribution sites at Hemel Hempstead, Basingstoke, Coventry and Heywood from about 4.30am on Saturday, the group said. The group wants McDonald’s to commit to becoming fully plant-based by 2025UK animal rights group blockades four McDonald’s depots
  
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• UK animal rights group blockades four McDonald’s depots

  22-05-2021 08:11 via theguardian.com
  
  Activists plan 24-hour protest in attempt to get company to turn fully plant-based by 2025Animal rights protesters have set up blockades at four McDonald’s distribution centres across Britain, which they say will impact about 1,300 restaurants.Activists from Animal Rebellion used trucks and bamboo structures to blockade distribution sites at Hemel Hempstead, Basingstoke, Coventry and Heywood from about 4.30am on Saturday, the group said.Locked on for workers rights, animal justice & to
  
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• Animal rights protesters blockade four McDonald’s distribution centres in UK

  22-05-2021 07:08 via theguardian.com
  
  Animal Rebellion activists use trucks and bamboo structures to block sites, demanding company turns fully plant-based by 2025Animal rights protesters have set up blockades at four McDonald’s distribution centres across Britain which they say will impact roughly 1,300 restaurants.Activists from Animal Rebellion used trucks and bamboo structures to blockade distribution sites at Hemel Hempstead, Basingstoke, Coventry and Heywood from around 4.30am on Saturday morning, the group said.Locked o
  
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• ‘Dingoes were here first’: the landowners who say letting ‘wild dogs’ live pays dividends

  21-05-2021 22:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Some farmers see a vicious pest that should be shot on sight, others a native species that plays a vital role in Australia’s ecosystem Read more of our Modern Outback series hereSign up for email notifications from our Modern Outback series
  By their own admission, John Knight and Caroline Thomas are blow-ins to the cattle country in South Australia’s far north. An Adelaide cardiac surgeon and a clinical researcher respectively, they bought Evelyn Downs, a cattle station near the Pain
  
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• Animal rights charities criticise the Offspring over video of chimp in strip club

  20-05-2021 18:06 via theguardian.com
  
  Peta and Save the Chimps issue statements criticising US punk band, describing scenes featuring chimpanzees as ‘animal exploitation at its worst’Animal rights charities have criticised chart-topping Californian punk band the Offspring for using chimpanzees to act like humans – including in a strip club – in their latest music video.Save the Chimps, a Florida-based sanctuary for chimpanzees that have been involved in scientific research, the entertainment industry and else
  
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• Which animals should be considered sentient in the eyes of the law? | Jonathan Birch

  16-05-2021 14:13 via theguardian.com
  
  UK government proposals to recognise vertebrates as sentient beings are welcome, but this should be just the startLook a dog in the eye and a conscious being looks back. A being that feels hunger, thirst, warmth, cold, fear, comfort, pleasure, pain, joy. No one can seriously doubt this. The same is true of any mammal. You cannot watch rats playing hide and seek and doubt that they have feelings – that they are sentient creatures. But as animals become more distant from us in evolutionary t
  
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• What do animals feel? Humans must follow the evidence to find out | Jonathan Birch

  16-05-2021 14:13 via theguardian.com
  
  Government proposals to recognise vertebrates as sentient beings are welcome, but this should be just the startLook a dog in the eye and a conscious being looks back. A being that feels hunger, thirst, warmth, cold, fear, comfort, pleasure, pain, joy. No one can seriously doubt this. The same is true of any mammal. You cannot watch rats playing hide and seek and doubt that they have feelings – that they are sentient creatures. But as animals become more distant from us in evolutionary term
  
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• Racing NSW boss Peter V’landys loses defamation case against ABC over animal cruelty report

  14-05-2021 11:13 via theguardian.com
  
  Judge says ABC program made V’landys look ‘rather foolish’ but chief executive was not defamed in racehorses storyRacing NSW chief executive Peter V’landys has lost his defamation case against the ABC over a report showing graphic footage of retired racehorses being slaughtered at a Queensland abattoir.While the 7.30 program titled The Final Race did not portray the chief executive in a positive light, it did not defame him, federal court justice Michael Wigney said on Fr
  
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• Animals to be formally recognised as sentient beings in UK law

  12-05-2021 07:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Set of government measures will include halting most live animal exports and a ban on hunting trophy importsAnimals are to be formally recognised as sentient beings in UK law for the first time, in a victory for animal welfare campaigners, as the government set out a suite of animal welfare measures including halting most live animal exports and banning the import of hunting trophies.The reforms will be introduced through a series of bills, including an animal sentience bill, and will cover farm
  
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• What made it into the Queen’s speech, and what was left out

  11-05-2021 15:52 via theguardian.com
  
  UK government’s to-do list includes planning reforms, voter ID and limits on right to protest, but sidesteps social care and rental reformThe Queen’s speech has set out more than two dozen planned bills for the government’s legislative programme in the coming parliament. Here’s what it contains – and what it misses out. Continue reading...
  
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• Animals farmed: Foie gras backlash, the ‘toughest job in farming’ and salmonella outbreaks

  10-05-2021 17:01 via theguardian.com
  
  Welcome to our monthly roundup of the biggest issues in farming and food production, with must-read reports from around the webNew Zealand will end the export of livestock by sea over the next two years, officials have announced. It comes after a ship bound for China last year capsized, killing nearly 6,000 cows and 41 of 43 crew members.There are still older farmers who remember the days when the knackers paid them, not the other way round. Bone was fertiliser, meat was food, fat was candles, f
  
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• Budget’s $371m biosecurity boost will put ‘protective ring’ around agriculture, PM says

  03-05-2021 19:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Measures to be announced on Tuesday come three years after Coalition’s failed attempt to introduce biosecurity levy on industryA $371m biosecurity package that puts a “protective ring” around the agricultural sector is to be announced by the prime minister, Scott Morrison, three years after the Coalition’s failed attempt to introduce a biosecurity levy on industry.Tuesday’s budget announcement, which includes $59m for swine flu prevention measures and $67m for a new
  
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• RSPCA wants woman convicted of animal cruelty extradited from New Zealand

  03-05-2021 05:41 via theguardian.com
  
  South Australian Dora Ryan has been found guilty of 33 charges and is believed to have fled with a number of animalsThe RSPCA is pushing for the extradition of a South Australian woman who failed to appear at a sentencing hearing after being found guilty of animal cruelty offences. She is believed to have fled to New Zealand with a number of animals in tow. Related: A creature of mystery: New Zealand’s love-hate relationship with eelsContinue reading...
  
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• A creature of mystery: New Zealand’s love-hate relationship with eels

  23-04-2021 22:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Native species have been revered, feared, hunted and tamed. Now experts hope revulsion can give way to fascinationFor many years, the top-rated attraction in the Tasman district of New Zealand was a cafe famed for its rural setting, seafood chowder – and tame eels.For a few dollars you could buy a pottle of mince and a wooden stick to take down to the stream, where a blue-black mass was shining, writhing, waiting. Related: How the mysteries of the eel’s sex life have inspired a bests
  
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• Brexit: ponies held for month in Belfast port freed after court ruling

  22-04-2021 18:42 via theguardian.com
  
  Judge urges Brussels to review rule on quarantining animals and ‘to allow scope for application of common sense’Four ponies held at Belfast port for a month owing to Brexit paperwork concerns are to be freed after a court ruling.In the first case of its kind since the UK left the EU, a judge on Thursday ordered the release of four Dartmoor ponies that had been detained since 21 March after arriving in Belfast on a ferry from Liverpool. Related: Brexit: Johnson says UK trying to cut &
  
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• ‘We love foie gras’: French outrage at UK plan to ban imports of ‘cruel’ delicacy

  17-04-2021 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  UK officials are exploring restrictions on product after minister described it as ‘unbearably barbaric’The head of France’s foie gras producers’ association has said she is “shocked and outraged” that the British government is considering banning imports of the product.And she has invited MPs to visit French farms producing foie gras to see the force feeding of ducks and geese and judge for themselves whether it is “cruel and torturous”, as animal
  
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• Conservation legend Roy Dennis: ‘We’re facing an ecological crisis, but it’s exciting too’

  16-04-2021 13:38 via theguardian.com
  
  Eighty-year-old Dennis has devoted his life to returning eagles, osprey, red kites and red squirrels to Britain. But, he says, there is still plenty to do. And he is thrilled by the can-do attitude he gets from young people todayAs he strolls beside Loch Garten in his fleece, binoculars around his neck, Roy Dennis looks every inch the spry, bird-loving grandad that he is. With his soft Hampshire burr and genial demeanour, it seems like he wouldn’t say boo to a goose. First impressions are
  
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• Cat owners may be forced to microchip pets as UK thefts soar

  15-04-2021 15:34 via theguardian.com
  
  Owners could face fines of up to £500 for unregistered cats to combat black market activityMillions of cat owners could be expected to get their cats microchipped or face fines under new government plans as the number of felines being stolen has risen sharply during the pandemic.Data from the police shows the number of cats being taken has risen almost threefold in five years, with a notable 12.3% in the last year. Owners are now being asked to microchip their cats in the same way as dogs
  
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• Dog-bite Britain: the problem with the pandemic puppy explosion

  15-04-2021 07:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Over the past year, dog ownership has surged, and they have brought many of us untold joy. But the lack of proper training or socialisation has led to a growing danger of attacksAnnie Forman’s cockapoo was not a pandemic puppy, but she became one: a furry lifebuoy to cling to during the first lockdown. Forman, 28, a receptionist at a GP surgery in a small Devon town, had grown up with dogs. They had never let her down, which she couldn’t say for some of the humans in her life.So when
  
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• Animals farmed: heat stress, happy cows and foie gras bans

  14-04-2021 12:06 via theguardian.com
  
  Welcome to our monthly roundup of the biggest issues in farming and food production, with must-read reports from around the webOutbreaks of Covid-19 continue at meat-processing plants in the US, according to the Food and Environment Reporting Network, which reports a lack of information, protective gear and adequate distancing. In total, its data analysis found, just under a third of meat-plant workers in the US have been infected by the virus and at least 284 have died. Related: Risk of global
  
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• Myra Frances obituary

  13-04-2021 13:52 via theguardian.com
  
  Versatile screen and stage actor who took part in the first lesbian kiss to be screened on British televisionThe actor Myra Frances, who has died aged 78 of cancer, broke a British screen taboo when she and Alison Steadman shared television’s first lesbian kiss in 1974. The groundbreaking play Girl, written by James Robson, told the story of a relationship between Frances’s army officer and Steadman’s young recruit, two decades before Anna Friel and Nicola Stephenson famously t
  
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• Can you drink milk and stay ethical? I’m desperate to work out how | Emma Beddington

  13-04-2021 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Should we go for oat milk? Seaweed-fed cows? But then there’s the packaging to worry about … Every choice seems badI have a problem with milk. Well, multiple problems. Let me elaborate. (Are you excited?) Cow’s milk is, of course, bad news for the planet: three times worse in greenhouse emission terms than any plant milk. I have known for ages, but pretended not to, because tea is horrible with oat milk.I do, however, seek out the least bad dairy. I get my milk from cows fed o
  
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• There is ample evidence that fish feel pain | Letter

  12-04-2021 18:44 via theguardian.com
  
  Dr Lynne Sneddon, who was the first to identify the existence of nociceptors in a fish, on the latest research in her fieldProf Alan Roberts, in giving his opinion on the ability of fish to experience pain (Can fish feel pain? The jury is still out, Letters, 7 April), neglected to mention the wealth of published scientific evidence outside of behavioural and hormonal responses.I was the first to identify the existence of nociceptors in a fish, the rainbow trout, in 2002. These are specialised re
  
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• Animal testing suspended at Spanish lab after ‘gratuitous cruelty’ footage

  12-04-2021 13:20 via theguardian.com
  
  Madrid regional government says it has suspended all activity at Vivotecnia after inspection found ‘signs of animal mistreatment’Regional officials in Spain have temporarily halted all activity at an animal testing facility after the publication of undercover footage that appears to show animals being taunted, smacked, tossed around and cut into with no or inadequate anaesthesia.Since 2000, Madrid-based contract research organisation Vivotecnia has carried out experiments on animals
  
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• Undercover footage shows ‘gratuitous cruelty’ at Spanish animal testing facility

  08-04-2021 13:36 via theguardian.com
  
  Campaigners call for the closure of the Madrid research firm, after whistleblower video allegedly captures unacceptable treatmentUndercover footage of “gratuitous cruelty and abuse” allegedly taken in an animal testing facility in Spain – which has previously secured funding from the EU and Spanish authorities for projects – has been published, amid calls for the centre’s closure.Madrid-based contract research organisation Vivotecnia conducts experiments on a range
  
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• Can fish feel pain? The jury is still out | Letter

  07-04-2021 18:28 via theguardian.com
  
  Showing that these animals can detect and respond to noxious stimuli does not mean that they consciously feel pain, writes Prof Alan RobertsYour article (Farmed fish suffer pain and stress, says report that criticises welfare failings, 2 April) states that fish “contrary to previously common beliefs – feel pain”. This is misleading. To survive, all animals must be able to detect and escape from anything that might eat or damage them. This is why they all have sensory systems to
  
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• ‘They don’t belong in a concrete shed’: cows still happiest outside

  03-04-2021 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  While modern indoor farms aim to recreate outdoor life minus its hazards, scientists say having a choice may be best for animals’ wellbeingIt’s springtime in the UK and hundreds of thousands of cows are being let outside for the first time since the onset of winter. Social media is full of videos of the animals joyfully jumping and galloping as they rush through farm gates into grassy fields.It’s always a great day when our Mixed Breed Herd of Dairy Cows come skipping back out
  
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• ‘They don’t belong in a concrete shed’ – cows still happiest outside

  03-04-2021 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  While modern indoor farms aim to recreate outdoor life minus its hazards, scientists say having a choice may be best for animals’ wellbeingIt’s springtime in the UK and hundreds of thousands of cows are being let outside for the first time since the onset of winter. Social media is full of videos of the animals joyfully jumping and galloping as they rush through farm gates into grassy fields.It’s always a great day when our Mixed Breed Herd of Dairy Cows come skipping back out
  
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• Farmed fish suffer pain and stress, says report that criticises welfare failings

  02-04-2021 20:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Instead of Atlantic salmon and trout, study says the industry should focus on cultivating species with less complex needsThose who care about the welfare of fish and seafood should opt for clams, mussels or seaweed, according to a new report, which says popular fish, including farmed Atlantic salmon and trout, have more complex welfare needs and are more likely to experience pain and suffering.There is no scientific evidence of the behavioural and environmental needs of nearly 80% of aquatic spe
  
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• How nearly 3,000 cattle came to be stranded at sea for three months

  31-03-2021 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  After being refused entry to several countries on health grounds, the surviving animals were ordered back to Spain for slaughterRead more: Stranded cattle ship ordered to dock in Spain after ‘hellish’ three months at sea
  After more than three months stranded in the Mediterranean, the surviving bulls onboard a livestock ship were humanely slaughtered by the Spanish authorities in Cartagena on Sunday. An official Spanish veterinary report described dire conditions onboard the Elbeik, o
  
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• MPs unite to call for total ban on ‘wicked’ foie gras in the UK

  28-03-2021 07:15 via theguardian.com
  
  Outlawing the sale of the controversial delicacy will now be easier because of Brexit but could still be challenged by the WTOFoie gras has been served in one form or another at the banquets of the pharaohs and the court of Louis XIV.But present-day fans are losing the battle to keep foie gras on the menu in Britain, after years of campaigning by opponents appalled at its production by force-feeding ducks and geese. Related: Post-Brexit deals must not compromise UK food standards, says trade bod
  
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• Protests at 'inhumane' export of live horses to Japan for food

  27-03-2021 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Activists seek ban on flying horses to Japan with thousands sent every year from Canada and France
  Tens of thousands of horses are being subjected to long-haul flights, confined in crates with no food or water, to meet demand for horsemeat in Japan.Since 2013, about 40,000 live horses have been flown to Japan from airports in western Canada. Under Canadian regulations, the journey can stretch up to 28 hours, during which the animals are allowed to go without food, water or rest. Related: Live ex
  
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