Animals news

• Police detain protester for running on track during Derby at Epsom

  03-06-2023 14:53
  
  Activists detained after one got on track at Epsom showpieceNineteen arrests on morning of meeting before the DerbyTwo protesters have been arrested as they attempted to disrupt the Epsom Derby. One man managed to jump the fence before being tackled and handcuffed by police on the racecourse while the crowd jeered and booed. Minutes later, a woman attempted to climb the fence but was pulled to the floor by police.Nineteen activists were also detained earlier on Saturday in connection with plans
  
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• A ban on trail hunting makes little sense | Letters

  02-01-2026 17:18
  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
  
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• ‘It’s a matter of time before a farmer is seriously injured’: on the trail of hare coursers in Wiltshire

  01-01-2026 07:00
  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
  
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• ‘Heartbreaking’: Florida wildlife groups decry state-sanctioned bear hunt

  31-12-2025 17:26
  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
  
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• If you really care about animals, stop eating them | Letters

  30-12-2025 18:30
  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
  
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• Brigitte Bardot’s image complicated by her controversial politics

  28-12-2025 19:14
  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
  
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• Brigitte Bardot, French screen legend, dies aged 91

  28-12-2025 18:39
  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
  
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• Brigitte Bardot: the zeitgeist-force who was France’s most sensational export | Peter Bradshaw

  28-12-2025 10:57
  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
  
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• Labour’s animal welfare strategy does not go far enough | Letters

  26-12-2025 17:59
  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
  
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• With numbers of abandoned cats soaring, we somehow found ourselves with 11

  26-12-2025 12:00
  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...
  
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• Country diary: Little rituals to help sparrows and wrens | Paul Evans

  26-12-2025 06:30
  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
  
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• The Guardian view on animal welfare: a timely reminder that cruelty is wrong | Editorial

  23-12-2025 19:25
  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
  
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• Boiling lobsters alive to be banned in England amid animal cruelty crackdown

  22-12-2025 19:31
  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...
  
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• More than 75% of Labour, Lib Dem and Green voters think PM should open talks on joining EU customs union – as it happened

  22-12-2025 18:02
  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
  
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• LAWS welcomes Labour’s Animal Welfare Strategy

  22-12-2025 12:24 via labouranimalwelfaresociety.org.uk
  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)
  
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• ‘It’s upset us all’: New Forest residents unnerved by man leaving animal carcasses by churches

  22-12-2025 07:00
  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
  
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• Hen cages and pig farrowing crates to be outlawed in England

  22-12-2025 07:00
  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
  
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• Do prawns feel pain? Why scientists are urging a rethink of Australia’s favoured festive food

  21-12-2025 15:00
  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
  
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• US military to stop shooting live animals to train medics for the battlefield

  20-12-2025 15:12
  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
  
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• Shooting hares in England to be banned for most of the year

  20-12-2025 08:00
  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...
  
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• Rudolph at the Christmas market: cute festive attraction or damaging reindeer’s health?

  10-12-2025 15:33
  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...
  
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• Retired greyhounds to continue to be rehomed overseas despite ‘distressing and sometimes fatal’ outcomes

  09-12-2025 06:33
  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
  
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• An animal rights activist was on the FBI’s Most Wanted list for 15 years. Will he be returned to the US?

  07-12-2025 14:00
  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
  
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• US student who took four chickens after breaking into slaughterhouse sentenced to 90 days in jail

  05-12-2025 02:20
  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
  
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• Cuddling capybaras and ogling otters: the problem with animal cafes in Asia

  27-11-2025 07:00
  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
  
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• Dog and cat abandonment soars in UK as owners struggle with cost of living

  20-11-2025 01:01
  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...
  
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• UK introduces voluntary health assessment for flat-faced dog breeds

  18-11-2025 18:41
  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
  
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• ‘Are they going to eat me alive?’: trail runners become prey in newest form of hunting

  15-11-2025 14:00
  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,
  
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• MPs call for release of 15 penguins ‘trapped’ at London aquarium

  11-11-2025 20:41
  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...
  
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• Life or death in Joseph Wright’s 1768 painting | Letter

  11-11-2025 18:31
  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
  
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