Animal

Bear trapped after Ontario woman, 2 others mauled in Yellowstone Published On Thu Jul 29 2010 A Montana Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks employee monitors a trap near where a man was killed by a bear and two others mauled in the Soda Butte campground in Cooke City, Mont. (July 28, 2010) DAVID GRUBBS/THE CANADIAN PRESS Matthew Brown The Associated Press COOKE CITY, MONT.—A mother grizzly and two of her three cubs have been captured after killing one person and injuring two others during a late-night rampage through a campground near Yellowstone National Park. The mother, estimated to weigh 136 to 180 kilograms, was lured into a trap fashioned from culvert pipe Wednesday evening, then left in place to attract the year-old offspring. By Thursday morning, two of the younger bears had been caught and the third could be heard nearby, calling out to its mother. Fish, Wildlife and Parks Warden Capt. Sam Sheppard said he was confident they had captured the killer bear because it came back to the same site where the man was killed early Wednesday. Sheppard described the rampage — in which campers in three different tents were mauled as they slept — as a highly unusual predatory attack. “She basically targeted the three people and went after them,” Sheppard said. “It wasn’t like an archery hunter who gets between a sow and her cubs and she responds to protect them.” Officials have said the sow will be killed. State and federal wildlife officials will determine the fate of the cubs. Sheppard said they are unlikely to be returned to the wild because they could have been learning predatory behaviour from their mother. One of the victims of the attack, Deb Freele of London, Ontario, said Thursday she was bitten on her arm and leg before she instinctively played dead so the animal would leave her alone. Appearing on network morning shows from a Wyoming hospital, Freele said she woke up just before the bear bit her arm. “I screamed, he bit harder, I screamed harder, he continued to bite,” she said, adding that she could hear her bones breaking. “I told myself, play dead,” she said. “I went totally limp. As soon as I went limp, I could feel his jaws get loose and then he let me go.” Freele said the bear was silent. “This, to me, was just an absolutely freaky thing,” she said. “I have to believe that the bear was not normal. It was very quiet, it never made any noise. I felt like it was hunting me.” Freele suffered severe lacerations and crushed bones from bites on her arms. The male survivor, thought to be a teenager, suffered puncture wounds on his calf. The names and ages of the male victims have not been released. The bear attack was the most brazen in the Yellowstone area since the 1980s, wildlife officials said. In 2008 at the same campground, a grizzly bear bit and injured a man sleeping in a tent. A young adult female grizzly was captured in a trap four days later and taken to a bear research centre in Washington state. The latest attack had residents and visitors to Cooke City on edge. Many were carrying bear spray, a pepper-based deterrent more commonly seen in Yellowstone’s backcountry than on the streets of the national park satellite community. “The suspicion among a lot of the residents is that the bear they caught (in 2008) was not the right one,” said Gary Vincelette, who has a cabin in nearby Silver Gate. Sheppard, the warden captain, said there was no truth to that. The grizzly involved in the latest attack showed no outward signs of sickness or starvation that might have explained its unusual behaviour, said Fish Wildlife and Parks spokeswoman Andrea Jones. About 600 grizzly bears and hundreds of less-aggressive black bears live in the Yellowstone area. The region is pasted with hundreds of signs warning visitors to keep food out of the bears’ reach. Experts say bears who eat human food quickly become habituated to people, increasing the danger of an attack. Yet in the case of the Wednesday’s attack, all the victims had put their food into metal food canisters installed at campsite, Sheppard said. “They were doing things right,” he said. “It was random. I have no idea why this bear picked these three tents out of all the tents there.” The 10-acre (4-hectare) campground in Gallatin National Forest has 27 sites. Two other campgrounds were also closed while the attacking bear or bears remained at large. Thestar.com

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Etes-vous favorable à l'interdiction des corridas en France ? Oui 49% Non 49% Sans opinion 2% 5943 votes exprimés J'ai vu un reportage il y a quelques jours sur la corrida au Portugal... Atroce ! Le pauvre taureau, la langue pendante, et couvert d'épées et de sang, tentait malgré tout de rester debout sur ses pattes, et une bande d'abrutis (6) déguisés en clowns sont sautés dans l'arène pour mettre l'animal par terre. Ils lui tiraient la queue de toutes leurs forces, lui tordaient les oreilles, ses organes génitaux, pendant que la foule en transe hurlait de «folie». Je ne comprendrai jamais pourquoi ce sport sordide est toujours permis dans des pays qui se disent civilisés! À bas cette barbarie et ça urge

allo les filles, Si les petits foulards ne sont pas trop gros, Fanie l'accepterait peut-être car elle a l'habitude de porter un petit collier avec un grelot quand elle fait ses petites sorties sur le terrain ... Comme elle aime bien chasser les petits mulots quand l'occasion se présente, elle a appris comment marcher sans faire bouger son grelot Pour me rendre dans le vieux-Québec c'est à peu près à 40-45 minutes de chez-moi, s'il n'y a pas de trafic, et pour me rendre chez mes autres soeurs (et chez mon père), c'est plus loin, donc plus long, car elles vivent dans des banlieues différentes. Disons que c'est à peu près une heure de route, plus ou moins pour aller chez 4 de mes soeurs et mon père, et une demie-heure de plus pour aller chez ma soeur malade. Uniquement partir de la maison et traverser le pont c'est environ 30-35 min. et un peu plus + en hiver. XXXX p.s. ci-dessous, une lettre insignifiante reçue du ministre Struthers concernant ces pauvres cochons morts de faim sur une ferme au Manitoba July 29, 2010 To whom it may concern: This is in response to your email regarding the circumstances surrounding a recent animal welfare incident near Notre Dame de Lourdes, Manitoba. I agree that this was a very tragic event; however, I am not at liberty to discuss the details of this case as they are part of an ongoing investigation. Manitoba’s Chief Veterinary Officer is working closely with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and the Office of the Fire Commissioner. Once the investigation is concluded, Manitoba’s Prosecution Office will review the evidence. Any decision regarding laying charges under The Animal Care Act of Manitoba will be made at that time. The province is also working with federal officials who are investigating the case under the Criminal Code of Canada. Thank you for writing on this important and tragic matter. Yours sincerely, Original signed by Stan Struthers Minister

Il me semblait qu'il ne fallait pas que ça dépasse 30 degrés C. On est maintenant rendus à 32 http://www.radio-canada.ca/regions/Quebec/2010/07/28/006-cheval_effondre_qc.shtml

Moi aussi j'ai reçu mon beau bulletin ! Beau travail ma belle Cé ! MERCI à toi aussi hop: Tes petits articles sont toujours très intéressants. J'espère que tu pourras consulter ton ophtalmo rapidement. Comme me disait souvent ma maman: «Nos yeux sont notre bien le plus précieux»

Hello chères hop et Cé Oui hop, tu as tellement raison! Et j'ai aussi l'impression qu'ils se foutent pas mal des personnes âgées. -Pour aller chez ma soeur Agnès, ça prend environ une heure et demie en voiture ... donc environ 3 heures de route (aller-retour) Comme tu vois, ça n'est pas très près de chez-nous. Concernant les gladelles, il s'agit de tous petits fruits très rouges, un peu sûrets...Habituellement, on en fait de la jelée. Ça ressemble un peu à des groseilles mais en beaucoup plus petits. Cé, à cause de cette humidité terrible, nous avons ici aussi, eu beaucoup de perce-oreilles, mais heureusement, ils n'ont pas touché aux légumes que j'avais plantés. Par contre, ils sont dans toutes mes boîtes à fleurs, et ils rentrent même dans la maison. L'autre soir, en voulant changer les croquettes de Fanie avant d'aller me coucher, je me suis rendue compte qu'il y en avait au moins une dizaine dans son bol ! Les perce-oreilles passaient par des petites ouvertures au bas de la porte moustiquaire. J'ai bouché ces ouvertures et ai déposé quelques gouttes de savon liquide (ils ne peuvent pas franchir un endroit huileux...) Ça semble avoir réglé le problème... Je n'avais jamais entendu parler de ces «coolers» pour animaux ! C'est vraiment une belle invention pour rafraîchir nos petits! J'en achèterai sûrement un pour Fanie l'an prochain Je vous embrasse très fort toutes les deux de même que tous vos petits à bientôt XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Si seulement, il était possible de comprendre pourquoi la minette a fait ce choix !

Je me souviens aussi que sur la rive-sud de Montréal, il y avait plusieurs épiceries (boucheries) halal où il se vendait de la viande de chameau, de chèvre, etc. etc. Je présume que la viande de chameau était importée car il n'y a pas encore d'élevage de chameaux au Québec... Par contre, comme le dit Cé, au Québec, il y a des élevages de sangliers, mais aussi de bisons, de cerfs, etc. Ici aussi, on peut rendre visite aux animaux, les caresser, les nourrir, puis choisir ensuite de les chasser en enclos

Merci. Signé

J'ai vu une affiche cette semaine près d'un lac ensemencé avec des truites, qui disait: Pêche fermée aujourd'hui-Les truites ne mordent pas quand il fait très chaud

Pauvre petit âne !

Allo les filles, Ça fait plusieurs jours que je ne suis pas revenue sur le forum. Ça me fait plaisir de vous lire Papa a toujours beaucoup de douleurs à la colonne, épaule, côtes, etc. Il est couvert d'énormes bleus qui tournent maintenant vers le jaune... Mes soeurs et moi savons maintenant que ce sont des médicaments que son doc lui avait prescrits qui ont causé sa chûte. Il fait une allergie depuis plusieurs mois (petits boutons sur la peau qui grattent) et son doc lui a donné des pillules (cortisone) qu'il devait prendre à raison de 8 par jour. Comme il prend déjà de nombreux médicaments pour d'autres problèmes de santé, (ça lui faisait une vingtaine de pillules à avaler avant d'aller se coucher), nous sommes persuadés que tous ces médicaments combinés ont fait une interaction. Lorsqu'il s'est levé en pleine nuit, puis qu'il est tombé, il n'a pas senti de mal. Il était complètement «gelé»... C'est seulement le lendemain qu'il a ressenti ses douleurs. Il est retourné chez-lui depuis avant-hier, et pour l'instant, il semble pouvoir se débrouiller assez bien. On verra! Ces jours-ci, étant donné qu'il fait un peu moins chaud et humide, j'ai fait quelques randonnées à vélo et je prépare aussi des confitures avec les cassis du jardin, des gadelles, groseilles, framboises. Pour la première fois, j'avais planté des petites pommes de terre rouges au potager et elles ont très bien poussées. J'ai aussi planté des concombres, des petites tomates, et des épices (persil, basilic, romarin, aneth, etc.) Tout pousse bien- il n'y a presque pas d'insectes et tout cela, sans aucun pesticides, insecticides, ni aucun autre «poisonicides» ... Cette semaine, j'irai sûrement passer un jour ou deux avec ma soeur malade. Elle a reçu un autre traitement de chimio cette semaine. J'espère que tout va bien pour toi hop, de même que pour tes petites Cé, je suis contente de savoir que Tina semble vouloir accepter ti-gars. Elle a un super caractère comme dit hop, Je vous embrasse fort toutes les deux, doXXXXXXXXX

Amazon river dolphins being slaughtered for bait Associated Press Writer Bradley Brooks, Sat Jul 10, 4:01 pm ET RIO DE JANEIRO – The bright pink color gives them a striking appearance in the muddy jungle waters. That Amazon river dolphins are also gentle and curious makes them easy targets for nets and harpoons as they swim fearlessly up to fishing boats. Now, their carcasses are showing up in record numbers on riverbanks, their flesh torn away for fishing bait, causing researchers to warn of a growing threat to a species that has already disappeared in other parts of the world. "The population of the river dolphins will collapse if these fishermen are not stopped from killing them," said Vera da Silva, the top aquatic mammals expert at the government's Institute of Amazonian Research. "We've been studying an area of 11,000 hectares (27,000 acres) for 17 years, and of late the population is dropping 7 percent each year." That translates to about 1,500 dolphins killed annually in the part of the Mamiraua Reserve of the western Amazon where da Silva studies the mammals. Da Silva said researchers first began finding dolphin carcasses along riverbanks around the year 2000. They were obviously killed by human hands: sliced open and quartered, with their flesh cut away. The killings are becoming more common, researchers and environmental agents say. Even the government acknowledges that there is a problem. It's already illegal to kill the dolphins without government permission — as with all wild animals in the Amazon. But little is being done to stop it. Less than five agents are tasked with protecting wildlife in a jungle region covering the western two-thirds of Amazonas state, which is more than twice the size of Texas, according to the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (Ibama), the enforcement arm of the Environment Ministry. "It's a matter of priority, and right now the government is focusing on deforestation," said Ibama's Andrey Silva. "The killings of these dolphins exists — it's a fact." The dolphins are attractive to anglers for their fatty flesh that is a highly effective bait for catching a type of catfish called piracatinga. Consumption in neighboring Colombia is driving the slaughter. Some 884 tons of the fish came from Brazil in 2007, according to the Colombian Institute for Rural Development. That jumped to 1,430 tons in 2008 and spiked to 2,153 tons in 2009. Simple economics exacerbates the problem: Killing dolphins is free, and their meat is valuable. Using the flesh from one carcass, fishermen can catch up to 1,100 pounds (500 kilograms) of piracatinga. According to da Silva and other researchers, they can sell the catfish for 50 cents per kilogram, translating into $550 for just a few nights' work — about double Brazil's monthly minimum wage. "It's attracting a lot of poor people to this region to kill the dolphins and make easy money," said Antonio Miguel Migueis, a dolphin researcher with the Federal University of Western Para since 2005. So far it's impossible to quantify the exact impact fisherman are having on the river dolphins — little research has been done to study the killings or even the overall population of the dolphins in the Amazon. But activists warn that waiting for exhaustive studies could mean the dolphin population would be irreversibly devastated by the time the work is complete. "This is most definitely a threat to the future of this river dolphin species," said Alison Wood, with the England-based Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society. "This is a relatively new threat, but clearly an extremely serious one." Migueis said he warned Ibama and other authorities numerous times about the dolphin slaughter, but his reports fell on deaf ears. Growing up to 8 feet (2.5 meters) long and weighing as much as 400 pounds (180 kilograms), Amazon river dolphins are the largest of four species known to exist in South America and Asia. Their genetic siblings have already died off elsewhere: The Yangzte river dolphin in China was declared functionally extinct in 2006, the victim of pollution, overfishing and increased boat traffic. Meanwhile, the International Union of Conservation of Nature lists the Ganges river dolphin in India as endangered, and the Irrawaddy river dolphin in Bangladesh as vulnerable. Scientists believe river dolphins likely arrived in the Amazon during the Middle Miocene era 16 million years ago, when ocean levels were high around the world, and the sea inundated what is now lush rain forest. For centuries they have been revered by locals and protected by myth. According to one tale, the dolphins transform into handsome men and leave the water at night, seducing and impregnating local women before returning to the river. Many simply consider it bad luck to kill them, given their supposed magical attributes. But today, the quick payoff is trumping legend and superstition. "Killing the dolphins is a fast and easy way for the fisherman to make money. It costs nothing but time," Vera da Silva said. "It's ugly because these dolphins have a folkloric value in the Amazon, and all that is disappearing for the sake of using them as bait." ___ Associated Press Writers Jessica Lleras in Bogota, Colombia, and Stan Lehman in Sao Paulo contributed to this report.

Camel's milk – on a supermarket shelf near you soon Health-conscious shoppers could soon be buying camel's milk as a Middle East firm seeks permission to sell the product in Britain for the first time. By Alastair Jamieson 10 Jul 2010 A camel herder milks one of his camels in Oman Photo: ALAMY Camel milk is already consumed in the Middle East, parts of Africa and India. It tastes salty, comes from an ill-tempered and malodorous animal and is unlikely to improve a bowl of cornflakes. But camel's milk could be the latest superfood to hit shop shelves as producers seek permission to sell it in Britain for the first time. The European Commission has provisionally approved plans by two Middle Eastern camel farms to export the milk to Britain. There are only a handful of camel milk firms in the world because the desert animals produce only 13 pints a day compared to more than 50 that can be gained from cows. United Arab Emirates-based firm Camelicious says it is only waiting on checks by EU health and hygiene inspectors and hopes to begin exports to Europe next year. Mutasher Al-Badry, deputy general manager of the company, said: "It is a niche market. "We don't expect to compete with cow's milk but we know there are lots of people who want to enjoy the health benefits of camel milk and we are confident that the EU will give us approval." He said he was in talks with health food and speciality stores, including Harrods, about future sales of the product, which is already consumed in the Middle East, parts of Africa and India. Camelicious produces 5,000 litres a day, less than even one per cent of Europe's daily milk consumption. Camel's milk is about two per cent fat, compared to four per cent in cow's milk, is lower in cholesterol and has five times as much Vitamin C. Studies in India showed it also contains high levels of insulin and helped sufferers of Type 2 diabetes by reducing their reliance on injections. However, it is watery compared to cow's milk and is said to taste salty. Ray Smith, manager of the Oasis Camel Centre in Norfolk, said: "Camels are very approachable if they have been neutered but otherwise the males can get very aggressive in the mating season, kicking, biting and spitting. "In many countries with lower welfare standards the female camels are just used for their milk while the males are used for work and then eaten. Camel meat is very lean." A spokesman for Holland & Barrett, which sells the current superfood fad, coconut water, said: "We've not yet been approached to sell camel's milk, but are always interested in hearing from companies who supply innovative products with proven health benefits. " A spokesman for Diabetes UK said: "Even if camel's milk is high in insulin, people with diabetes should not think that this could have benefits for their diabetes management. "Even if the insulin in the milk did work, it would have to be taken in very specific quantities at certain times of the day otherwise people with diabetes would be at greater risk of low and high blood glucose levels." http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/foodanddrinknews/7883189/Camels-milk-on-a-supermarket-shelf-near-you-soon.html

Can Animal Rights Go Too Far? By Adam Cohen Wednesday, Jul. 14, 2010 Egg-laying chickens in San Luis Obispo, Calif. Starting in 2015, every egg sold in California will have to comply with strict hen-rights rules. Cages will have to be large enough for the birds to stand up, lie down and spread their wings without touching each other or the sides of the cage. California voters adopted these rules for in-state egg producers two years ago. Last week, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a law that extended the rules to out-of-state producers who want to sell their eggs in California. The move was just the latest example of how animal rights are on the march — in the U.S. and much of the rest of the world. Even as human rights seems to have taken a few hits of late — with the U.S. government endorsing harsh interrogation techniques, also known as torture, and the Supreme Court whittling away at race-discrimination laws, defendants' rights and the Voting Rights Act — animal rights has moved further into the mainstream. This enthusiasm for animal rights is also fueling a national movement to rein in the chaining of dogs, a practice animal-rights advocates regard as cruel and dangerous for the dog. Thirteen states now have laws that limit the chaining or tethering of dogs outside, such as to a metal pole or a tree. Several more states are considering such laws, which impose restrictions like requiring that chains be of a minimum length. Animal-rights activists have also been targeting foie gras in recent years because it is made by force-feeding ducks and geese in a way that many consider to be cruel. California has banned force-feeding to create foie gras, and Hawaii is currently considering banning the sale of the delicacy. Animal-law courses are now taught at many of the nation's leading law schools. Harvard Law School recently hosted a "Future of Animal Law" conference sponsored by the Animal Legal Defense Fund. A prime financial backer of the rise of animal law is Bob Barker, the longtime host of the game show The Price Is Right and a prominent animal-rights advocate. He has given $1 million gifts to the University of Virginia Law School, Columbia Law School and Duke Law School — among others — to endow animal-law programs. (Barker is also funding a $1 million campaign to stop live-pigeon shoots in Pennsylvania.) It was not long ago that animal rights was all but an oxymoron. With few exceptions, you could do what you wanted to an animal — and it seemed bizarre to argue otherwise. Then, in the 1970s, animal-liberation activists followed in the footsteps of the civil-rights movement, the women's liberation movement and the gay-rights movement, and argued that "species-ism" was wrong and had to be defeated. If Barker is one of the financial leaders of the animal-rights movement, its intellectual leader is Peter Singer, a Princeton professor of bioethics, whose 1975 book Animal Liberation is often credited with giving birth to the modern movement. Singer and others have laid out the philosophical groundwork for regarding animals as deserving of greater respect and legal protection. (Singer, however, is not an absolutist: on a FAQ on his Princeton website, he allows that if a fire was threatening a human and a mouse and he could only save one, he would save the human.) Animal-rights supporters have even dug deep and discovered a little-known history of anticruelty laws, dating back to a 1635 Irish statute prohibiting pulling wool off of sheep (rather than shearing it) and pulling horses by their tails. Important as these intellectual underpinnings are, what is driving the animal-rights movement today is simple: a surprisingly strong level of popular support. When California's egg referendum was on the ballot in 2008, it won in a landslide, taking more than 63% of the vote. Europe is still far ahead of the U.S. in recognizing animal rights. Spain's parliament caused a stir two years ago when it passed a resolution calling for legal rights to be extended to nonhuman primates — a law that Singer declared to be of "world historical significance." The resolution urged that chimpanzees, gorillas and other primates have the right not to be used in medical experiments or circuses. Yet even Europe has its limits. Switzerland has a 160-page animal-rights law with some of the world's stiffest rules for the treatment of nonhumans, including the minimum amount of space that Mongolian gerbils must be given (1,500 sq cm) and a ban on keeping social animals, like goldfish, alone. In March, however, Swiss voters soundly defeated a referendum that would have created a state-funded system of lawyers to represent animals in court. Animals in Zurich remain in luck, however, since that canton has its own law giving animals legal representation. In the U.S., the animal-rights movement remains on the upswing, and it is not only on the East and West Coasts. This month, Governor Ted Strickland of Ohio — a major farm state — brokered a deal between the Farm Bureau and the Humane Society. In exchange for the farm group's commitment to work toward a list of tough new animal-rights laws — including phasing out a particularly harsh kind of crate for pregnant sows and banning the strangulation of pigs and cows — the Humane Society is holding back on its plans to put an anticruelty referendum on the ballot this November. If animal rights can make it in Ohio, it can probably make it anywhere — and that is a good thing. Like any worthy cause, animal rights can be taken too far, and sometimes it is. (In a world full of woe, it is hard to get too worked up about the solitary goldfish.) But requiring animals, including animals that produce or become food, to be treated decently while they are alive ennobles not only the animals but us as well. Cohen, a lawyer, is a former TIME writer and a former member of the New York Times editorial board Read more: http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2003682,00.html#ixzz0tzKuMbH0

Un jeune berger allemand a survécu à 6 balles qui lui ont été tirées dans la tête, au cou et au thorax. Le pauvre chien était dans une cage alors que 2 sadiques lui tiraient dessus avec un pistolet, soit-disant parce que le jeune chien était agressif TOLEDO, Ohio — An Ohio dog warden says a German shepherd named Sarge is one tough pup after surviving six gunshots to his head, neck and chest. Witnesses tell police in Toledo that the dog's owner and another man took turns shooting the dog with a pistol while he howled in his cage. Lucas County dog warden Julie Lyle says the bullets remain lodged inside Sarge but that he needs only painkillers and antibiotics. She says the dog was up, around, eating and drinking Tuesday. Sarge's owner is due in court next week on charges of cruelty to animals and discharging a firearm. He told officers that the dog had bitten him and that he was dangerous. The other man pleaded no contest Monday. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38230748/ns/us_news/

Chinese customs officials seize thousands of dead pangolinsNearly eight tonnes of endangered anteaters found on ship were destined for the dinner table, authorities say Jonathan Watts, Asia environment correspondent guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 13 July 2010 Pangolin meat is considered a delicacy in China and their scales are thought to help mothers breastfeed their babies. Photograph: Traffic Chinese authorities have intercepted one of the biggest ever hauls of illegally smuggled pangolins, which were almost certainly destined for the dinner table. Customs officials in Guangdong boarded a suspect fishing vessel and seized 2,090 frozen pangolin and 92 cases of the endangered anteater's scales on 5 June, according to the conservation group Traffic, who have commended authorities for their work. Police have arrested the six crew members, including five Chinese nationals who reportedly said they were hired to collect the contraband from south-east Asia and ship it to Xiangzhou port in Guangdong. The other Malaysian crew member was said to have received instructions by satellite phone on where to rendezvous at sea to pick up the cargo. The smugglers were intercepted as they prepared to offload the nearly eight tonnes of pangolin to another vessel off Gaolan island. According to wildlife groups, China is the main market for illegally traded exotic species, which are eaten or used in traditional medicine. Pangolin meat is considered a delicacy and their scales are thought locally to be beneficial to breast-feeding mothers. As a result of demand, the pangolin populations of China, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia have been virtually wiped out. With traders moving further and further south, the animal is declining even in its last habitats in Java, Sumatra and the Malaysian peninsula. It is a similar story for many species of turtle, tortoise, frog and snake. China's customs officials have often been criticised for turning a blind eye to this trade, which supplies the demand for exotic food and traditional medicine, particularly in Guangdong. The Guardian has twice exposed restaurants that illegally sell pangolin. In recent years, however, there has emerged a small but growing conservation movement in the province. In the latest case, the authorities have also won praise for a decisive intervention and for sharing intelligence with overseas enforcement agencies, including Interpol, the Asean Wildlife Enforcement Network and Cites officials. "Guangdong customs are to be congratulated on this important action against wildlife smugglers operating between south-east Asia and China," said Professor Xu Hongfa, director of Traffic's China programme. To encourage tighter enforcement, conservation groups say it is not enough to merely criticise lax regulation. The Wildlife Conservation Society held an awards ceremony earlier this year for Chinese officials who helped to expose the illegal wildlife trade. In the far western region of Xinjiang, customs officers confiscated almost 8,000 horns of the Saiga antelope, an animal that is thought to have declined in the wild by more than 75% in the past 10 years. In the far northern Dalai Lake nature reserve, police were rewarded for confiscating 8,000 tonnes of aquatic products and 20 tonnes of medicinal herbs over the past nine years. In the southern, enormously biodiverse region of Yunnan, a forest police officer won an award for catching 7,110 criminals and rescuing five Asian elephants, 182 pangolins, 10 black bears and two pythons over six years. But these reported successes are likely to be only a fraction of the illegal wildlife products that are killed and smuggled without detection across borders and inside China. http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/jul/13/china-customs-pangolin

Quand Sir Paul McCartney a eu l'occasion de voir qu'un fast-food de Liverpool utilisait son image pour vendre de la viande, le Beatles a été choqué et a demandé que l'on enlève de suite ses affiches, qui sont contre toutes ses convictions, lui étant un végétarien militant. http://people.premiere.fr/News-People/Paul-McCartney-vegetarien-militant-est-outre-de-voir-sa-photo-dans-un-MacDo/

allo ma belle Cé, Papa est chez ma soeur Za jusqu'à lundi, donc, il est entre bonnes mains. Il s'est fracturé le bras gauche, donc heureusement, il peut encore se servir de son bras droit, mais il est aussi très endolori, car il s'est aussi fait mal aux côtes, au cou, etc. en tombant. Lundi il doit retourner à l'hosto pour faire faire d'autres radios. J'espère qu'il va guérir vite et qu'il ne gardera pas de séquelles. Comment ta minette s'entend-elle avec ce nouveau venu ? Ma voisine qui était partie avec sa chatte est finalement revenue cette semaine avec sa petite minette noire. Le jour-même, alors que la petite noireaude s'apprêtait à venir me voir, Fanie l'a chassée et l'a ramenée chez elle en grondant. Elle était bien contente qu'elle soit partie et ça n'a pas du tout fait son affaire quand elle a vu qu'elle était revenue. Fanie est très possessive et elle ne veut aucun chat sur son territoire, surtout depuis qu'elle a commencé à chasser quelques mulots... Nous avons un très gros orage présentement et on perd l'électricité sans arrêt... Je crois qu'il y a aussi eu de gros orages à Montréal Bonne soirée ma belle Cé, Bisous à toi et hop XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Un sixième cheval est mort au Stampede de Calgary. Il s'est fracturé une jambe et a dû être euthanasié

Le feu ravage le poulailler du maire de Bambecque (Nord de la France) mercredi 16.06.2010, 05:06 - La Voix du Nord | INCENDIE | Un vaste incendie s'est déclaré dans la nuit de lundi à mardi, vers 3 h, ... dans l'exploitation agricole de Franck Grégoire, le maire de Bambecque. route de Wylder. En plus d'être l'édile de la commune, Franck Grégoire tient un élevage de poulets. Le feu est ainsi parti du poulailler, le détruisant entièrement. Le bâtiment abritait 4 350 poulets élevés sur une surface de 400 m² environ. Les volatiles ont quasiment tous péri dans les flammes. Les 36 sapeurs-pompiers venant des casernes environnantes et de Dunkerque, ont mis près de deux heures à venir à bout du sinistre. Origine accidentelle Dans un contexte tendu où la polémique fait rage autour de l'implantation d'une porcherie industrielle à Bambecque, les gendarmes ont mené des investigations pointues pour déterminer s'il s'agissait d'un incendie d'origine accidentelle ou si le feu avait pris à cause de l'intervention d'un tiers. Sans équivoque, les investigations ont permis de conclure à un accident. Le feu est parti du compteur électrique se trouvant à l'entrée du bâtiment et qui était protégé par une porte. Ce système électrique permettait entre autres d'allumer les radians pour chauffer les volatiles. Un court-circuit serait la cause du départ de feu qui a rapidement embrasé le poulailler. •

Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes Une porcherie brûle Mise à jour le mercredi 23 juin 2010 Une porcherie qui faisait l'objet d'une enquête a brûlé. Le détachement de la GRC de Manitou et les pompiers de Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes, à une centaine de kilomètres au sud-ouest de Winnipeg, ont été dépêchés sur les lieux vers 1h30 du matin. Une porcherie, apparemment inoccupée, selon la sergente Line Karpish de la GRC, était la proie des flammes. Il s'agit de la ferme dans laquelle plusieurs centaines d'animaux ont été retrouvés morts il y a quelques jours dans la municipalité rurale de Lorne. Elle fait d'ailleurs l'objet d'une enquête du bureau du vétérinaire en chef et d'Agriculture Manitoba à la suite d'une plainte ayant mené à la découverte de 500 porcs morts et de 2 000 autres maltraités. Les dégâts causés par le feu sont importants, mais le montant des dommages n'a pas été évalué pour l'instant. La cause de l'incendie n'est pas encore connue. La GRC poursuit son enquête, aidée par le Bureau du commissaire aux incendies du Manitoba. ===================== 28 juin 2010-Poulailler détruit par les flammes. À Saint-Félix. Plus de 14 500 poulets ont péri vendredi dans l'incendie de la ferme des Forges =====================