What The Cat Dragged In

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Guernsey States approves £80,000 grant to protect wildlife

#Guernsey States approves £80,000 grant to protect #wildlife

A new plan to protect Guernsey’s wildlife will be funded from the island’s budget reserve.

The biodiversity strategy will get an £80,000 per year grant from the States after a vote on Wednesday.

Treasury minister, Deputy Gavin St Pier, asked the Environment Department to fund it out of its £17.8m budget.

Environment minister, Deputy Yvonne Burford, said she understood there were concerns over…

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Take Action: Urge Home Secretary to act on dog fighting

Take Action: Urge Home Secretary to act on dog fighting #dogs #animals @leagueacs #crime

A new report commissioned by the League Against Cruel Sports shows that, despite being illegal for over 150 years there is still a dog fight going on somewhere in the UK every day.

Dog fighting is incredibly cruel. Organised dog fights can last up to five hours with horrific injuries sustained by the animals involved. Those that don’t die during the fight are often patched up using crude methods…

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Highland Wildlife Park polar bear trio celebrate birthdays

Highland Wildlife Park polar bear trio celebrate birthdays #rzss #animals #wildlife #cute

Three polar bears had a ball at a wildlife park as keepers celebrated their winter birthdays.

Victoria, who arrived at the Highland Wildlife Park near Aviemore in March this year, turned 19, while Arktos was eight and Walker turned seven.

The two male bears were gifted a huge play ball, splashing about in their enclosure’s pond.

Keepers at the park said the pair have become “best buddies” since…

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State of Britain's wildlife 'increasingly fragile'

State of Britain's #wildlife 'increasingly fragile' #nature #conservation #animals

Britain’s wildlife is in an increasingly fragile state, with animals carrying out vital jobs for farmers being lost more rapidly than others, say scientists.

Species that pollinate crops or fight pests are at risk of disappearing, putting food production in jeopardy, according to the team.

The research brings together millions of wildlife records spanning 40 years.

It suggests conservation…

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Climate change threatening the seabirds of St Kilda

#Climatechange threatening the seabirds of St Kilda. #scotland #environment #wildlife #nature

The survival of seabirds including puffins and kittiwakes on St Kilda – the island archipelago home to one of the world’s most important seabird populations – is being threatened by climate change, striking new evidence shows.

Naturalists have discovered that the kittiwake, a small migratory gull with ink-black wing tips, is on the brink of disappearing from St Kilda. The remote cluster of…

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Scotland's moorland 'decimated by unthinking policies'

Scotland's moorland 'decimated by unthinking policies' #wildlife #nature #scotland

Scotland’s iconic moorlands are being decimated by “unthinking” government policies that ignore the “defining role” they have played in the nation’s history and psyche, gamekeepers have warned.

The Scottish Gamekeepers Association (SGA) published a report attacking the failure of SNP ministers and their predecessors to ever draw up a strategy to protect the country’s “signature treasure”.

They…

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Critter Web Smiles: Dog gets best happy birthday ever! #dogs #pets #animals #cute #birthday I can't remember the last time I saw a dog so happy. Look at his tail! He's practically airborne!!

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Tayside farmers shooting German beavers

Tayside farmers shooting reintroduced German beavers. #scotland #wildlife

At least 21 invading German beavers have been killed in Scotland after they built dozens of dams on farmers’ land.

The animals, a species that originates in Bavaria, have been thriving since escaping captivity and around 150 are living in the wild in Tayside.

Now it has emerged that the bodies of 21 beavers have been discovered with gunshot wounds since the end of 2012. Farmers and other…

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Take Action: Join the Race to Help Greyhounds

Take Action: Join the Race to Help Greyhounds #dogs #greyhounds #racing #sport @leagueacs

Racing greyhounds face isolation, cruelty, injury and often an early death – but now is a crucial time as you have the chance to help them.

The Department for Food, Environment and Rural Affairs (Defra) is currently conducting a five year review of the Welfare of Racing Greyhounds Regulations which were introduced in 2010. The League Against Cruel Sports believes these regulations fail to…

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Take action: Four months left to save the National Wildlife Crime Unit

Take action: Four months left to save National #WildlifeCrime Unit. #defra #wildlife #animals

World Animal Protection are asking people to urgently step up and take action for wildlife in the UK.

As highlighted on What the Cat Dragged In (via IFAW) last month, the National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU) is at risk. Despite it being one of the world’s leading wildlife crime units, its funding is due to run out in March.

World Animal Protection is now asking people to email their MP and urge…

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Take Action: Penguins to be exploited in Christmas high street celebrations

Take Action: #Penguins to be exploited in #Christmas celebrations @captiveanimals #sidcup

Captive Animals’ Protection Society are asking people across the UK to take action for penguins this Christmas.

As we move towards the festive season we see decorations, bright lights and hear Christmas songs when out and about in our busy shopping centres and high streets. Sadly, what we are also seeing is the exploitation of live animals.

On the 12th of December on Sidcup High Street, live…

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Critter Web Smiles: Pet duckling being adorable #pets #animals #cute

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The truth about animal charities, cats and dogs

The truth about animal charities, cats and dogs #animals #pets #meat #charity #animalrights

Article by William MacAskill and Amanda MacAskill for The Guardian UK:

As we approach December – the month when almost a third of all charitable giving for the year takes place – many of us might be wondering where we should be sending our charitable donations. Some of us will choose to give to charities such as Against Malaria Foundation, which helps to protect people in the developing world…

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Plea to keep harmful dog practice illegal

Plea to keep harmful dog practice illegal @onekindtweets #animals #pets #animalrights

An animal protection charity has pleaded for a ban on docking the tails of dogs in Scotland not to be lifted.

OneKind reacted after the Scottish Government announced an argument had been put forward to introduce an exemption to the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006, which bans the practice.

In response to a question asked in parliament, environment minister Aileen McLeod MSP conceded…

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Call for tougher wildlife crime penalties

Call for tougher #wildlife #crime penalties. #scotland #wildlifecrime #animals #animalrights

People convicted of wildlife crime could be imprisoned for a year and fined £40,000 under proposals being considered by the Scottish government.

A new report, drawn up by a review group chaired by an environmental law expert, has set out 10 recommendations to cut down on wildlife crime. They include maximum penalty increases and greater use of alternative penalties such as forfeiture.

The report…

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Work on new A9 Spey crossing 'to consider wildlife'

Work on new A9 Spey crossing 'to consider #wildlife'. Hopefully the first of many. #scotland

The potential effects on wildlife will be considered in the design and construction of a new crossing on the River Spey, the government has said.

The new bridge is needed near Kingussie as part of the £3bn project to upgrade the A9 to dual carriageway between Inverness and Perth. The River Spey is a Special Area of Conservation.

Otters, Atlantic salmon, sea lamprey, fresh water pearl mussels are…

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RSPCA considers appeal over animal fight case ruling

RSPCA considers appeal over animal fight case ruling #animals #animalrights

The RSPCA could appeal after its prosecution of six people on animal fighting charges was dismissed.

Five men and a woman from Devon each faced charges under the Animal Welfare Act at Newton Abbot Magistrates Court.

After legal argument the charges were dismissed by a district judge as not being animal fighting as defined by the act, said the RSPCA.

The charity said it was “considering its…

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