Named for Carroll County, Mississippi, where she was found, Carroll is a two-year old female shepherd mix who came to In Defense of Animals Hope Animal Sanctuary in late January. This thin, starving dog had been chained to a post without access to food or water and then cruelly abandoned and left to die by an unknown perpetrator.
Carroll is a gentle dog who is friendly with everyone she meets and she walks politely on a leash without pulling which indicates that at some point she must have been trained by people who invested their time and patience in her care, perhaps as a four legged member of their own family. One possibility is that Carroll was perhaps stolen and then abandoned, but we may never know for sure. Sadly, another dog was chained similarly on the property, but did not survive the ordeal.
The property where these dogs were abandoned and left to starve was reportedly located next to one of the many ‘hunting clubs’ found throughout rural Mississippi. The reports of Carroll and the other dog who died came to IDA only after the first dog had already perished in front of the comings and goings of the hunting club without anyone speaking up on behalf of two dogs starving to death before their very eyes. Carroll was finally brought to Hope Animal Sanctuary after it was too late to save one dog and almost too late to save Carroll herself. She came to us weighing just 32 pounds, dehydrated, mere days from death, and testing positive for heartworm.
Carroll is now enjoying life off the chain with her own bed to sleep in and wide open spaces to roam while she begins the long road to recovery. In the next few weeks, she will need to gain 20 pounds of additional body weight, after which she will begin the months long process of heartworm treatment and medication. Once she has fully recovered she will be placed into a loving forever home.
How can people pass an d property, see these two dogs and do absolutely NOTHING to try and either save them on their own or at the very least call someone who can? That is totally beyond my comprehension.
About IDA:
Working to protect the rights, welfare and habitats of animals.
Founded in 1983 by Dr. Elliot Katz DVM, In Defense of Animals is an international animal rights and rescue organization dedicated to protecting the rights, welfare and habitats of animals.
We are supported by a network of tens of thousands of determined activists, dedicated volunteers, interns and donors. We work to expose and end animal experimentation; protect wildlife and restore balance in their natural habitats; end the exploitation and abuse of wild species living in captivity, protect domestic and wild species worldwide from abuse and slaughter for food, conduct cruelty investigations and rescue operations, and provide veterinary care for sick, abused and orphaned animals in our natural habitat sanctuaries.
FIGHTING APATHY, BUILDING EMPATHY: In Defense of Animals works to educate the public to fight apathy, build empathy and take concrete action to end all forms of animal exploitation worldwide. We work to ensure that decisions made involving animals, from the legislative level to the dinner table, are made with consideration of their needs and interests.
We seek to redefine the role of animals in society on local, national and international levels by elevating human perception of animals from that of mere property, objects and things, to that where animals are recognized to be individuals, with feelings, needs and interests of their own. Through our work to inspire and shift the way people think about non-human beings, we believe a positive change will result in the way people treat them today and in the future.
Animal Rights and In Defense of Animals Humans and other animals share many similarities, despite our differences in appearance, forms of communication and ways of living. As feeling beings, we are united by our desires to seek pleasure and enjoyment, and to avoid pain and suffering.
When we speak of animal rights, we are not referring to political rights or rights that we presume to bestow as the dominant species on Earth.
The rights of animals are birthrights, similar to those we claim for ourselves—the right to live our lives free of subjugation and institutionalized violence, where the random and special joys of being alive can be experienced.
The Golden Rule is not a ‘do-gooders’ slogan. We need to treat others as we want to be treated not only for their sake, but also because our own good is interwoven with the good of others, including other species. Animal Rights and Human Rights are linked at their core, because how we treat those most affected by our actions is the best reflection of who we are as a species. We must strive to do right when our actions, needs and interests intersect with those of other species.
IDA is unwavering in our promotion of actions that support doing right for animals and their interests, and our opposition to doing what is wrong, harmful or malicious.
Charity will neuter, vaccinate, tag and register stray dogs in the capital Tirana
International animal welfare organisation FOUR PAWS has launched its first stray animal care project in Albania, one of the many countries in Southeast Europe in which unchecked stray dog populations are causing problems for the city and its residence.
Tirana, the Albanian capital, is the first city in the country to cooperate with an animal welfare organisation to control the local stray dog population in a humane, sustainable way. With many years of experience in other countries facing similar situations, FOUR PAWS offers a proven, animal friendly strategy to prevent illness and the uncontrollable breeding of strays.
Dr. Anca Tomescu, FOUR PAWS Head of Stray Animal Care, explained the upcoming project: “We are happy to start an important project for stray animals in Tirana, in collaboration with the local authorities. Tirana, like many other cities in Europe, faces the problem of stray dogs. We were contacted by the local authorities to work together and to apply a humane and efficient solution. Like us, they believe that only sterilization can solve the problem. FOUR PAWS is now officially launching the project and is very glad to see that not only are the authorities involved in finding a positive solution, but there has also been a positive response from the citizens of Tirana. The capital of Albania will be just the start. After that, the FOUR PAWS team will continue its work in Korca, where we will also cooperate closely with the municipality.”
“We are happy to collaborate with FOUR PAWS, a well known and professional partner,” said Nevila Sokoli-Xhindi , Deputy Mayor of the Municipality of Tirana. “The Municipality has been in constant contact with the representatives of the organisation, until we finalized the plan for the project. Our staff, part of the Agency of Consumer Protection, have identified the hot spots in Tirana and together with FOUR PAWS we will try to do the best to keep the situation under control, sterilize the dogs, vaccinate them and return them to their habitat, as outlined in the law. It is a difficult task, but that’s the reason we are collaborating with the best team in Europe.”
Albanian law indicates that strays may only be put to sleep by certified practicing veterinarians and without causing them pain or unnecessary suffering. However, although the law also requires dogs to be registered, there are no official figures regarding the number of strays. However, it is estimated that there are approximately 7,000 stray dogs in Tirana and its surrounding areas alone.
In just one location, a FOUR PAWS team can neuter, vaccinate and treat hundreds of stray animals per week, costing less than it would to kill and dispose of the animals. For the animals this means their lives are saved and they receive treatment for disease and injuries.
As well as Albania, FOUR PAWS has recently been implementing stray animal care projects in Romania, Bulgaria, Egypt, the Republic of Moldova, Ukraine, Lithuania, Jordan, Slovakia, Sudan, India and Sri Lanka.
Clear and present danger: Wildlife poachers in Lahad Datu transporting sambar deer carcasses in the back of their truck in this photo provided by WWF Malaysia.
KOTA KINABALU: WWF Malaysia has called for more funding for enforcement agencies such as the Sabah Wildlife Department to boost conservation efforts.
This is especially in view of the fact that overhunting and illegal wildlife trade remained a serious threat to conservation efforts.
WWF Malaysia executive director and chief executive Datuk Dr Dionysius Sharma said the department should be strengthened by hiring more staff to carry out enforcement activities such as patrols and roadblocks.
The increasing number of arrests, successful prosecutions and heavy penalties imposed by courts would act as a strong deterrent to poachers and therefore reduce wildlife crimes, Dr Dionysius said.
To sustain this pressure on poachers and increase the enforcement efforts, he said it was crucial that adequate resources be made available to the enforcement agencies.
Dr Dionysius said global wildlife population had declined by 52% over the past 40 years.
He said Sabah was a state within the biodiversity-rich island of Borneo with numerous species of mammals, birds, reptiles and insects that had become the target of poachers.
“These animals have crucial roles in forest ecology and forest regeneration and are indicators of the environmental health of Sabah,” Dr Dionysius added.
Over the past month, the department had successfully prosecuted three people found to be in illegal possession of various wildlife.
On Nov 19, Sabahan Fedly Jinpin was fined RM12,000 by the Tawau magistrate’s court for possessing three dead red leaf monkeys, a Malay civet and 37.5kg of bearded pig meat that were hunted illegally.
Jinpin was caught at a routine roadblock check by the Sabah Wildlife Department’s enforcement unit in Tawau on July 11.
The second case involved Philippine national Gabson Pindatun, who was fined RM15,000 by the same court on Nov 20 for possession of 72.4kg of hawksbill and green turtle meat and shells.
Gabson was caught with the turtle meat inside four gunny sacks in his boat by the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency in Pulau Siamil on Aug 9.
He could not pay the fine and was jailed 18 months in default.
Both Gabson and Jinpin pleaded guilty to charges.
In the third case, Johorean Carlvin Cher Jia Wei was fined RM10,000 on Nov 26 by the Beaufort magistrate’s court after he admitted to illegally possessing 10 pangolins.
He was caught having the pangolins in his car during a police roadblock on Oct 30.
ALAPPUZHA: The Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) has come out with a proposal to set up a geriatric care centre for elephants. The board is expected to finalise the land for the project by December and begin the works on it in March.
According to Devaswom Board Commissioner P Venugopal, the board was considering three locations for the purpose — Thiruvananthapuram, Thrissur and Muvattupuzha.
A special team has been constituted for identifying the land. The TDB would take a final call on it after the team submits its recommendations, he said.
The TDB currently has 32 elephants, four of which are aged. The majority of the elephants are in Pathanamthitta and Kottayam districts.
The animal lovers are, however, opposed to the idea of shifting aged elephants to the geriatric care centre. According to them, the aged elephants should not be transported from one district to another, as they face various health issues.
“The government should take immediate steps to provide treatment to these elephants,” they said.
State general secretary of Heritage Animal Task Force (HATF) V K Venkitachalam stressed that the aged elephants were now facing serious health problems and they needed immediate medical care. “But instead of ensuring the treatment for them, the TDB is mulling an old age home either in Thiruvananthapuram or Central Kerala.
This means that the elephants would be forced to travel long distances. It would only worsen their health condition. Besides, it would take considerable time to set up the proposed centre. So, we have decided to approach the state government against the TDB’s decision,” he said.
Venkitachalam also pointed out that as per the diktat of Animal Welfare Board, the aged elephants should be protected at their current location itself.
He said the TDB should ensure all the facilities for providing special care and treatment to the aged elephants at their current locations as soon as possible.
The HATF has submitted a memorandum to the state government in this regard. “We are hopeful of a positive response from the authorities concerned,” Venkitachalam said.
Tanzanian officials have dismissed claims Chinese diplomatic and military staff have purchased illegal white ivory while on official visits to East Africa made by an environmental activist group.
“We should ask ourselves as to why these allegations are surfacing a few days before (Tanzanian) president Jakaya Kikwete‘s visit to China,” foreign minister Bernard Membe told parliament.
“These are mere fabrications.
“It is obvious that perpetrators of these allegations are people who do not wish to see our country attain development.
“The false reports were made out of jealousy seeing that Tanzania enjoys cordial relations with China.”
The minister asserted that the two countries have been sharing intelligence reports which have enabled numerous interceptions of ivory destined for China from Tanzania.
“China is doing a lot to help us solve this wildlife-threatening crime,” Tanzania’s tourism minister Lazaro Nyalandu said.
“It is easy to see how cooked-up the report is, because saying that the Chinese president‘s plane was used to carry tusks is illogical.
“Such crafts are usually heavily guarded and surrounded by hundreds of people, leaving no room for any foul play.”
Embassy staff ivory ‘major buyers’ since 2006
According to the EIA, when Chinese president Xi Jinping visited Tanzania in March 2013 members of his government and business delegation bought so much ivory that local prices doubled.
The group quoted ivory traders as saying the buyers took advantage of a lack of security checks for diplomatic visitors to smuggle their purchases back to China on Xi’s plane.
The report said similar sales were made on a previous trip by China’s former president Hu Jintao and Chinese embassy staff have been “major buyers” since at least 2006.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei also described the report as “groundless”.
Tens of thousands of elephants are estimated to be slaughtered in Africa each year to feed rising Asian demand for ivory products.
Reports said the demand comes mostly from China – the continent’s biggest trading partner.
Wolf Is My Soul 