Mink farmers to shut up shop next year, reported compensation deal worth €180m

DutchNews, August 28, 2020 

Mink on a fur farm. Photo: Dzīvnieku brīvība via Flickr 

The government has decided to bring forward the closure of the Dutch mink fur industry from 2024 to next March, following outbreaks of coronavirus on at least 41 of the country’s 110 fur farms. 

Fur farmers begin killing young mink for their fur in November and have been told by farm minister Carola Schouten that they must shut up shop before the next breeding season in 2021, broadcaster NOS has reported. 

The mink on all 41 farms where coronavirus has been found – well over 160,000 – have already been killed. Before coronvirus hit, there were some 700,000 young mink on fur farms in the Netherlands, national statistics agency CBS said last week. 

There had been calls from some quarters to close down the industry immediately because of the risk coronavirus is spread to humans and because pockets of infection could remain. 

However, government health experts have said the risk to human health is not serious enough to merit such a move, NOS said. 

Sources suggest the government has come up with a €180m compensation package to offset the financial impact of early closure. Of this €40m is to pay for the cull and the rest will go to the farmers who have lost their income. 

Schouten is expected to go public with her plan after discussing it with the cabinet on Friday morning.

Thousands of mink on Dutch fur farms to be culled to clear coronavirus risk

DutchNews, June 3, 2020

Photo: Peta.nl 

Thousands of mink living on eight fur farms where coronavirus has been found are to be gassed, government sources have told website Nu.nl and RTL Nieuws. 

The eight farms, operated by six different companies, are all in Noord-Brabant province, which is at the centre of the Dutch fur farming industry. 

Officials have decided the farms should be cleared for public health reasons, Nu.nl said. At least two farm worker has been infected with coronavirus via the animals. 

The Netherlands is due to have phased out fur farming by 2024. In 2016, the Netherlands had some 160 fur farms producing five million pelts a year and the country was the third biggest fur farming nation in the world behind Denmark and China. 

The government is due to make a formal announcement later on Wednesday.

Related Articles:

Dutch start mink cull after virus infections at farm - New

Dutch Supreme Court upholds ban on fur farming

Dutch introduce fitness tests for flat faced dogs before they can breed

DutchNews, March 18, 2019

Photo: Depositphotos.com

The Netherlands is to introduce fitness tests for flat faced dogs such as pugs and boxers to make sure they are fit enough to breed, broadcaster NOS said on Monday. 

Agriculture minister Carola Schouten has sent new rules covering the breeding of flat faced dogs to parliament in an effort to reduce the health problems many dogs suffer from. 

The tests, which will be administered by vets, will involve dogs walking up to 1km at a fast pace and then being checked for their heart rate and recovery speed. Those which fail will be considered unsuitable for breeding. 

New criteria are also being introduced covering the form of the dogs’ skulls, noses and eyes. 

The measures are contained in a report by Utrecht University vets who say many flat faced dogs suffer poor health, including breathing difficulties, over-heating and runny eyes because of their extreme appearance. 

In 2014, the government launched a special programme with breeders to try to improve the health and socialisation of some breeds. However, while this has led to some successes, a number of breeders refuse to join and ‘a number of challenges’ remain, the minister said in her briefing.

Dutch draw up dangerous dogs list, send owners back to school

DutchNews, May 18, 2017

The American Staffordshire terrier is on the banned list. Photo: Depositphotos.com

Pitbull terriers, Rottweilers and the Caucasian shepherds are among the animals on a Dutch government list of officially dangerous dogs. 

From next year, the owners of 20 breeds and all pittbull crossbreeds will have to go on a compulsory cause in keeping dogs which are known to have a propensity to violence. 

The list and compulsory course are part of a series of measures the caretaker government plans to introduce in an effort to cut down on the number of dog attacks. 

Junior economic affairs minister Martin van Rijn is also working on a list of banned breeds and plans to give local councils the powers to ban dangerous dogs from some areas. 

In addition, the government will establish a central register to record dog bite incidents and a hotline for people to report dangerous dogs or owners who refuse to deal with their dogs properly. 

Bites

‘There have been a number of serious biting incidents in recent years and this is extremely worrying,’ the minister said in a statement. ‘Councils will be given more powers to take effective measures… but ultimately it is owners who are responsible for their dogs.’ 

The official list of dangerous dogs includes pedigree dogs and crossbreeds which are known to have a high risk of aggressive behaviour. It includes 20 pedigree breeds such as Rottweilers, various varieties of pitbull and bull terrier, bull mastiffs and the Akita.

The Dutch animal protection charity Dierenbescherming has welcomed the course for dog owners. ‘We cannot deny this is a problem,’ a spokesman said. ‘Shelters are full of dogs, most of which are pitbulls and similar breeds. They were often bought on impulse and have not been properly trained.’ 

The Netherlands introduced a ban on breeding pitbulls and similar dogs 20 years ago after three children were savaged to death. But the ban was rescinded in 2008.

Related Article:

Rescued Pit Bull Treats 'Little Sister' Kitten Like a Princess

'Puppy farm capital' Ireland dogged by trafficking

Yahoo – AFP, Douglas Dalby, October 3, 2016

Some of the 59 puppies that were rescued at the port of Dublin during an
operation involving the DSPCA, Gardai and Customs officials (AFP Photo)

Dublin (AFP) - Illegal dog-breeding on an industrial scale has turned Ireland into the "puppy farm capital of Europe", according to campaigners who say a recent crackdown is failing to curb the lucrative business.

Thousands of puppies worth hundreds of euros (dollars) each are shipped to British ports and then on to mainland Europe every year, many of them secreted in the back of vans and cars.

Ireland's canine trade is "a national disgrace", said Brian Gillen, head of the Dublin Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (DSPCA).

"Our aim is to put them out of business," he said. "The more we interrupt their trade, the more it hits them where it hurts: in their pockets. We want to make it uneconomic for them to continue."

Although buoyed by recent seizures at various ports throughout Ireland, welfare agencies continue to face an uphill battle against an export industry -- much of it illicit -- involving at least 30,000 pups a year worth up to 20 million euros ($22 million).

Seven intelligence-led seizures at Irish ports over the past two months alone have yielded 150 puppies.

Some of the 59 puppies that were rescued at the port of Dublin during an

operation involving the DSPCA, Gardai and Customs officials (AFP Photo)

Most were so-called "designer breeds" such as Beagles, Bichon Frises, French Bulldogs or King Charles Spaniels. One shipment discovered in a car boot was worth just under 30,000 euros.

Many of the puppies are too young to travel, lack mandatory pet passports and microchips and are a potential health risk due to a failure to inoculate them against the deadly rabies virus.

All of them, according to welfare agencies, will likely develop mental and physical illnesses as a result of in-breeding and their treatment.

Raids on illegal puppy farms have found cramped conditions, little or no exercise or interaction, poor sanitation and even lack of access to water.

Campaigners say that the vast majority of smuggled puppies continue to escape detection.

Prosecutions are rare and to date nobody has been jailed for even the most flagrant breaches.

"We do not believe that local authorities are best placed to enforce the regulations," said Suzie Carley, a spokeswoman for Dogs Trust, a Dublin-based animal welfare group, calling on the central government to take control of the crackdown.

'A money racket'

The DSPCA has already worked with government agencies in Britain to develop a co-ordinated strategy for stemming a trade facilitated by the immediacy of the internet and the popularity of certain smaller breeds.

Some of the 59 puppies that were rescued at the port of Dublin during an

operation involving the DSPCA, Gardai and Customs officials (AFP Photo)

The twin-track approach involves high-profile seizures of "cargo" at ports in Ireland and Northern Ireland as well as public education campaigns to raise awareness among would-be buyers of the animal cruelty they are facilitating and the potential trouble they face for purchasing dogs illegally.

Gillen said the export trade from Ireland is particularly prevalent due to "historically useless" legislation and "lax controls", although the government has toughened laws in recent years.

Official figures show there are 73 registered puppy farms in the Republic of Ireland producing at least 30,000 dogs a year. In contrast, 895 establishments in Britain produce only around 70,000 puppies.

According to welfare organisations, some farms have more than 500 breeding bitches. The DSCPA said it would like to see them limited to 10 or fewer.

"It's certainly a money racket. I would hesitate to call any dog a 'fashion statement' but there is little doubt that celebrity culture combined with the instant gratification enabled by the internet is fuelling this horrible trade," said David Wilson, spokesman for the Ulster Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in Northern Ireland.

"Traditionally, you would contact a reputable breeder who would put you on a list but nowadays people are not prepared to wait.

"You can go online now in the morning and pick up the dog in a car park without any questions being asked -- it's that simple nowadays."

US lawyer argues chimps are people too

Yahoo – AFP, Glenn Chapman, 21 March 2015

Attorney Steven Wise argues that apes, chimpanzees, elephants and orcas

 are as entitled to the rights of "persons" under law as are people or corporations 

(AFP Photo/Sia Kambou)

Vancouver (AFP) - Attorney Steven Wise is on a crusade to prove that, as a matter of law, chimps are people too.

For that matter, so are dolphins, elephants, gorillas and orcas.

Wise made his argument at the TED Conference that wrapped up in Vancouver, Canada on Friday.

"I had to invent the field of animal juris prudence," Wise told AFP at TED.

Nonhuman Rights Project president and

 attorney Steven Wise pictured in 

Vancouver, Canada on March 20, 2015,

 where he spoke at a TED conference

(AFP Photo/Glenn Chapman)

"Coming here is implicit affirmation that people are interested in what we have to say."

Wise argued that apes, chimps, elephants and orcas are as entitled to the rights of "persons" under law as are people or corporations.

Legal systems around the world have granted rights of personhood to holy scripts, mosques, companies, and even a river.

"Personhood is not a biological concept, it is a public policy concept," Wise said.

"The legal system decides it; human being is not synonymous with person."

He has devoted decades to the cause, which is now making its way through courts in the US state of New York.

Seeing animals as slaves

Wise, president of the Nonhuman Rights Project, is hoping a legal tactic successful in getting a slave legally transformed from property to person in a historic case in Britain will do the same for chimpanzees and other animals.

He will use the writ of habeas corpus, in which judges order prisoners or detainees brought before the court. Such writs, by definition, assign rights of personhood to those targeted.

Members of the project found chimpanzees in abysmal conditions in several parts of the state of New York, then filed for writs of habeas corpus in respective courts to get the animals moved to a refuge.

Reactions from judges have been mixed, with even sympathetic members of the bench averse to breaching the legal wall separating people from animals, according to Wise.

"Even in America, no judge wants to be the first to make this leap of faith," the animal rights champion said.

Wise, author of "Rattling the Cage" and other works defending animal rights, has been waging this legal battle since the early 1980s.

"They truly are slaves," Wise said of chimps, bonobos and other animals proven to have feelings, memories, language, foresight and other traits considered human.

"I realized there was no one looking out for their interests and they were just being exploited."

He recalled being met with hostility and ridicule early in the battle. Rival lawyers would bark when he walked into courtrooms.

After decades of laying groundwork and gathering allies, Wise and his team filed an opening salvo of lawsuits in New York about two years ago.

"We are going state by state, animal by animal and we are going to lose a lot before we start to win," he said.

"I expect to win, and not all that far into the future."

An orca swims with its baby at the Marineland animal exhibition park in

 the French Riviera city of Antibes, southeastern France on December 10, 2013

(AFP Photo/Valery Hache)

Tide of history

Victory would come in the form of a non-human animal being legally recognized as a person for some purpose, no matter how limited.

"Once that wall is pierced, judges will realize that they have to make more nuanced, rational decisions," Wise said of establishing that some animals have a right to be treated better than mere property.

Wise is working with lawyers in Europe, Argentina and other parts of the world.

"I think there is a tide of history and judges need to swim with it and not against it," Wise said.

"Orcas, apes, chimps and elephants should at least have the right to bodily liberty. I am not talking the entire animal kingdom, but lines have to be drawn."

The Nonhuman Rights Project is looking to hit US courts with its next case, on behalf of circus elephants, late this year.

"I think it may change the way people view entities that aren't human," Wise said of his quest.

"They may not have the knee-jerk reaction that we can exploit them."

Killer whales have been thrilling whale watchers this week in Puget Sound. But

they were especially exciting Tuesday when nearly three dozen orcas surrounded

 the ferry from Seattle as it approached the terminal on Bainbridge Island. NOAA

Fisheries Service photo by Candice Emmons

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Dogs by the hour: Japan offers pet rental service

Feline Fun for All at Cutie Cats

Kryon Q&A

Question: Dear Kryon: I live in Spain. I am sorry if I will ask you a question you might have already answered, but the translations of your books are very slow and I might not have gathered all information you have already given. I am quite concerned about abandoned animals. It seems that many people buy animals for their children and as soon as they grow, they set them out somewhere. Recently I had the occasion to see a small kitten in the middle of the street. I did not immediately react, since I could have stopped and taken it, without getting out of the car. So, I went on and at the first occasion I could turn, I went back to see if I could take the kitten, but it was to late, somebody had already killed it. This happened some month ago, but I still feel very sorry for that kitten. I just would like to know, what kind of entity are these animals and how does this fit in our world. Are these entities which choose this kind of life, like we do choose our kind of Human life? I see so many abandoned animals and every time I see one, my heart aches... I would like to know more about them.

Answer: Dear one, indeed the answer has been given, but let us give it again so you all understand. Animals are here on earth for three (3) reasons.

(1) The balance of biological life. . . the circle of energy that is needed for you to exist in what you call "nature."

(2) To be harvested. Yes, it's true. Many exist for your sustenance, and this is appropriate. It is a harmony between Human and animal, and always has. Remember the buffalo that willingly came into the indigenous tribes to be sacrificed when called? These are stories that you should examine again. The inappropriateness of today's culture is how these precious creatures are treated. Did you know that if there was an honoring ceremony at their death, they would nourish you better? Did you know that there is ceremony that could benefit all of humanity in this way. Perhaps it's time you saw it.

(3) To be loved and to love. For many cultures, animals serve as surrogate children, loved and taken care of. It gives Humans a chance to show compassion when they need it, and to have unconditional love when they need it. This is extremely important to many, and provides balance and centering for many.

Do animals know all this? At a basic level, they do. Not in the way you "know," but in a cellular awareness they understand that they are here in service to planet earth. If you honor them in all three instances, then balance will be the result. Your feelings about their treatment is important. Temper your reactions with the spiritual logic of their appropriateness and their service to humanity. Honor them in all three cases.

Question: Dear Kryon: I was wondering about the way I feel about whales and dolphins. I've had a feeling that I have to go to them sometime, but I don't know how or what I'm to do when I get there. Please help.

Question: Dear Kryon: I'm a Turkish/Islam woman of 57. I live in Ankara and work for the European Commission's project in Turkey. I've read almost all of the Kryon books twice, and I'm planning to read them once more. My question is about the whales. Why do they commit mass suicide? What is the reason for this very sad event? Is it a kind of protest against Human Beings?

Answer: Dear ones, we've channelled many times about the whales of this planet. In review, they're the living portions of an actual grid-system! They contain the "history of Earth" within their beings, and they're sacred for that reason. They coordinate and cooperate with the crystalline grid of your planet, which is currently being rewritten (see Kryon channelling on the Website: "What's Next?" December 8, 2002). Doesn't it strike you odd that these mammals are the only ones protected against hunting by more than 90 percent of the countries of Earth... even the places without oceans? Do you think that this is an accident or a coincidence? No. It's cellular information for all humanity to protect the whales and keep them safe. Dolphins are their cousins and support group, and they play a role in the whales' development. This is why you're so attracted to them.

Whales do not commit mass suicide. They have no consciousness to allow for this, and it has never happened. Instead, you see whales often beaching themselves and then being saved by Humans, only to re-beach themselves and die. This takes place mostly on the coastlines of your continents, and often on those areas of topography that "stick out," such as a peninsula or isthmus. Your Cape Cod is a good example in America, and is also a place where this has recently happened (up to 47 whales on a beach).

The reason is that whales, dolphins, amphibians, birds, and even insects all navigate to their breeding ground or migration areas each year via the magnetic grid of the planet! Each group follows the ley lines of magnetic influence, almost as if they had a built-in compass. In fact, they actually do!

The magnetic grid of this planet has changed so much, so quickly, as we told you it would in 1989, that there hasn't been time for the pods of whales to adjust with time to these changes. Instead, many simply follow the old magnetic lines of migration, only to find themselves on a beach instead of the open ocean, as the old magnetic direction used to take them. They're confused, and they simply line up and try again, just as they have for years. These things are temporary, and as tragic as you might see them, it's all part of "pruning" the system, and the calves will go around in the future, establishing new instinctive information for the new whales regarding the grid changes. This information has even now been validated this year (2003) by your scientists.

Pedigree dog health and welfare in spotlight, breeders pledge action

DutchNews.nl, November 27, 2014

The Dutch dog breeders’ association is taking steps to improve the health of pedigree dogs, in particular by ensuring they don’t have problems because of their extreme appearance, broadcaster Nos says on Thursday.

Vets will be present at all dog shows from 2016 and will make their own judgements about ‘best of breed’, alongside the judges, Nos says. The aim is to have eradicated health problems caused by physical deformities such as very flat noses and multiple skin folds by 2024.

The association’s plan, entitled Fairfok, or ‘fair breeding’, was presented to junior economic affairs minister Sharon Dijksma on Thursday.

From 2018, pedigree dog family trees will be able to apply for Fairfok approval, which shows the breeding has taken place with appropriate consideration for the behaviour, health and welfare of both the parents and puppies.

There are between 1.5 million and 1.8 million dogs in the Netherlands, of which around 500,000 are pedigrees.

Antibiotics may help animals spread salmonella

Yahoo – AFP, 21 Oct 2014

Giving animals antibiotics may make them sicker and could lead some to spread even
more salmonella than they would have otherwise, US researchers experimenting
on mice said (AFP Photo/Jean-Francois Monier)

Washington (AFP) - Giving animals antibiotics may make them sicker and could lead some to spread even more salmonella than they would have otherwise, US researchers experimenting on mice said.

The findings in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences could point to a new concern over feeding healthy livestock low doses of antibiotics to help them grow and stave off common illnesses, a practice that critics say may fuel drug-resistant superbugs.

Researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine gave oral antibiotics to mice infected with Salmonella typhimurium, a bacteria which can cause food poisoning.

A small minority, known as "superspreaders" because they had been shedding high amounts of salmonella in their feces for weeks, remained healthy. It appears neither the antibiotic or the illness had much effect on them.

"The rest of the mice got sicker instead of better and, oddly, started shedding like superspreaders," the university said in a statement describing the research.

A previous Stanford study found that giving non-superspreader mice an oral antibiotic led to a rapid increase in salmonella shed in their feces.

This study showed that giving streptomycin, an antibiotic, to salmonella-infected mice, led most of them to begin shedding high levels of the pathogen in both their gut and their feces.

Most of the treated mice also appeared sicker after the antibiotics.

"They lost weight, had ruffled fur and hunched up the in corners of their cages," said Denise Monack, associate professor of microbiology and immunology and the study's senior author.

"They also began to shed much larger quantities of bacteria."

The same thing happened when the mice were given another antibiotic, neomycin, suggesting that the medicine had the opposite of its intended effect.

"If this holds true for livestock as well -- and I think it will -- it would have obvious public health implications," Monack said.

"We need to think about the possibility that we're not only selecting for antibiotic-resistant microbes, but also impairing the health of our livestock and increasing the spread of contagious pathogens among them and us."

Related Article:

Bacteria from bees possible alternative to antibiotics

You’re Doing Dairy Wrong: Dutch Farmers

Milk Made: Six dairy producers from Holland visit Indonesian counterparts, offering technical advice in Farmer2Farmer program

Jakarta Globe, Adelia Anjani Putri, Oct 02, 2014

Dairy farmers collect milk at a farm in Lembang, Bandung, West Java
 (JG Photo/Rezza Estily)

Cisarua, West Java. Four experienced Dutch dairy farmers have come to Indonesia to train local farmers in ways to improve milk production.

Wendy Kamp, Gerben Smeenk, Marten Djikstra and Jan ten Kate were brought to Indonesia by dairy company FrieslandCampina through the Farmer2Farmer program.

The initiative aims to helps farmers share their experiences and knowledge in order to help local dairy farmers to increase the quality and quantity of their milk production.

The guest farmers scores their Indonesian counterparts on current practices and held a short training on how to improve conditions for workers, including how to increase sunlight exposure on cow pens and how to milk cows properly.

With over 19,000 farms and 1.5 million cows, Holland is one of world’s leading milk producers. In 2012, the Dutch produced 11.6 million tons per year — far surpassing Indonesia’s 38.4 million liters recorded by the Central Statistics Agency.

Traditional farming practices and lack of land are the two most often-cited reasons for Indonesian farmers’ poor production .

“They still use traditional ways and keep doing the same mistakes, especially with the hygiene and feeding system. For instance, here farmers give the cows random grass available nearby without considering the cows’ nutritional needs. The food, of course, affects the quality of the milk,” Gerben Smeenk said.

“In Holland, the farmers have higher education and different circumstances, with the climate and land, so we can’t really compare the two countries,” Jan ten Kate said.

While some believe Holland’s farmers are advantaged by having as many as 85 hectares in which cows may roam freely, while Indonesian farms still use small cages, the reality is that range has diminishing returns — particularly for dairy cattle.

“We need government’s attention,” Erif Kemal Syarif, one of the trained farmers, said upon receiving the training. “We’re not really behind the farmers abroad, but we still need help from the government with the land. They should provide permanent farming land for us.”

Erif also said the government needs to lower taxes on farm equipment.

“The tax is too high. I recently bought a milking machine for Rp 110 million, [$9,000] and the spare parts cost me Rp 1 million each! I need to change eight of them twice a year, while it only costs around Rp 400 thousand each in Holland,” he said.

The Farmer2Farmer exchange, which reached six farms in West Java and Central Java, is the second such visit to Indonesia. Participants are scheduled to share their findings in Jakarta on Oct. 10.

Related Article:

Dutch food policy needs rethink on dairy and meat: WRR

Herd mentality: 'Sheepdog mystery' solved at last

Yahoo – AFP, Richard Ingham, 27 Aug 2014

A sheepdog herds a flock in Lowther, northwest England, on September 13, 

2009 (AFP Photo/Paul Ellis)

Paris (AFP) - There is the riddle of the Bermuda Triangle. The unresolved identity of Jack the Ripper. The enigma of how the Universe developed beyond a quark-gluon soup following the Big Bang.

And then there is the Sheepdog Mystery.

A puzzle that has niggled mathematical minds for years, the Mystery is this: how does a single dog get so many selfish sheep to move so efficiently in the same direction?

The answer, revealed on Tuesday in a journal published by Britain's prestigious Royal Society, is that sheepdogs cleverly follow a simple rulebook.

Researchers fitted highly accurate GPS tracking devices into backpacks that were then placed on a trained Australian Kelpie sheepdog and on a flock of 46 female merino sheep in a five-hectare (12-acre) field.

They then used the GPS data to build a computer model of what prompted the dog to move, and how it responded.

Sheep cohesiveness is the big clue.

The dog's first rule is to bind the sheep together by weaving around side-to-side at their backs, and once this has been achieved, it drives the group forward.

"It basically sees white, fluffy things in front of it," said Andrew King of Swansea University in Wales.

"If the dog sees gaps between the sheep, or the gaps are getting bigger, the dog needs to bring them together."

Daniel Stroembom of Uppsala University in Sweden explained: "At every step in the model, the dog decides if the herd is cohesive enough or not.

"If not cohesive, it will make it cohesive, but if it's already cohesive, the dog will push the herd towards the target."

Single sheep dogs can successfully herd flocks of 80 or more sheep in their everyday work and in competitive herding trials.

But the model suggests that, in theory, a dog could herd more than 100 by following the two simple rules.

In contrast, other attempts at resolving the Sheepdog Mystery are more pessimistic. They say that 50 sheep would be the limit -- beyond this, another dog (or a human) would be needed to close up the gaps.

The study, published in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface, comes with an intimidatingly geeky headline: "Solving the Shepherding Problem: Heuristics for Herding Autonomous, Interacting Agents."

But the work goes beyond scientific curiosity, said the authors.

"There are numerous applications for this knowledge, such as crowd control, cleaning up the environment, herding of livestock, keeping animals away from sensitive areas and collective or guiding groups of exploring robots," said King.

Bali to continue anti-rabies dog cull as gory video emerges

Yahoo – AFP, 27 July 2014

File photo taken in October 2010 shows government health workers vaccinating
 a dog in Denpasar during a province-wide anti-rabies campaign (AFP Photo/
Sonny Tumbelaka)

Among the white sandy beaches, luxury villas and temples, authorities on the Indonesian island of Bali are carrying out mass culls of dogs in an anti-rabies campaign, an official confirmed Sunday.

Despite a stomach-churning 16-minute video posted on YouTube of a mass slaughter that has prompted outrage from animal welfare groups, Bali Animal Husbandry Department chief Putu Sumantra said there were no plans to end the practice.

"The dogs culled were smuggled illegally. When that happens, we try to find the owners to return them, and ensure they are vaccinated. But if they have no owners, we have to cull them," Sumantra told AFP, adding the persistent problem "requires firm action".

The footage shows more than 30 dogs squealing before they are given lethal injections to the heart and piled on top of each other as they convulse to their deaths.

A uniformed employee is seen smiling at a small fluffy pomeranian as she takes picture of it on her smartphone seconds before it is injected, along with Siberian huskies, collie dogs and pugs.

Although the footage was first posted in April, a repost this week sent the video viral, with 40,000 views in three days.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) strongly condemned the "inhumane slaughter" in a statement received by AFP.

"Local animal welfare groups have run successful vaccination programmes and the number of humans becoming infected with rabies has fallen dramatically," it said.

The government too has carried out a programme, with more than 300,000 dogs vaccinated.

File photo taken in October 2010 shows government health workers vaccinating
 a dog in Denpasar during a province-wide anti-rabies campaign (AFP Photo/
Sonny Tumbelaka)

Since 2008, 147 people have died after contracting rabies on Bali, but the numbers have declined rapidly over the years, with 10 deaths reported since 2012.

PETA warned that "many compassionate people worldwide will avoid travelling to Bali" after learning of the practice, while a petition on Change.org calling for an end to the culling has attracted more than 20,000 signatures.

Bali Governor I Made Mangku Pastika recently encouraged authorities to "eliminate" all stray dogs, according to local media reports, saying the government was tired of carrying out vaccinations and that protecting tourists was priority.

I Gusti Ngurah Bagus from the Bali Animal Welfare Association also condemned the practice, saying that animal trade should be better organised and dog breeders and sellers should be licensed.

"People are throwing away native Balinese dogs in exchange for imported breeds that are often not vaccinated, diseased, unhealthy and at times already incubating rabies," he said.

The Bali provincial government is aiming to rid the island of rabies by 2020, and in 2009 passed a local law obliging dog owners to vaccinate their pets.

Bali, a holiday spot popular for its surf, nightlife and cultural heritage, attracted more than three million foreigners last year, almost a million of them from neighbouring Australia.

Wild animals attacks evidence of protection efforts in Tibet

Want China Times, Xinhua 2014-07-13

A wild snow leopard was caught in a sheep pen by local herders in a village
 in Ngari Prefecture in Tibet. It couldn't escape from the pen as it had overindulged
 on sheep. It was then released back into the wild, away from the village, April 21.
Snow leopards are thought to lesser in number than even the panda. (File photo/CNS)

Thanks to protection efforts, Tibet's wildlife population has increased by 30% over the past two decades, according to Tsongkha, deputy chief of Tibet's regional forestry department.

"In the remote pastureland of Nagqu prefecture alone, there are more than 10,000 wild yaks, 100,000 Tibetan antelopes and at least 80,000 wild donkeys," he added.

These remote areas are sparsely populated by humans, who number only about 12,000. Most are herders raising a total of 1 million heads of cattle.

While human activities are inevitably a disturbance, wild animals sometimes also put man's life and property at risk, said Wu Haipeng, party chief of the forestry bureau in Nagqu Prefecture.

Last year, 95% of the townships and villages in Nagqu saw disturbances caused by brown bears, wolves, lynxes or snow leopards, Wu said. Three people, including a teenager, died after being attacked by wild animals, and seven were injured.

Wild animal attacks also killed more than 50,000 heads of cattle in Nagqu, said Wu.

Last year, the local government paid 21 million yuan (US$3.4 million) in compensation for losses caused to herders as a result of wild animals, according to Wu.

Across Tibet, such compensation totaled 340 million yuan (US$55 million) from 2006 to the end of 2013.

To avoid further damages, the local government has stepped up safety education among the herders.

"We keep telling the herders to properly dispose of butchered cattle to avoid drawing wild animals into villages," said Wu. "When a brown bear is in sight, it is advisable to beat drums and gongs or light up a fire to scare it away."

Forestry workers must discover new ways to drive away wild animals without injuring them, he said. "This is because many animals, not knowing that people once killed, are now completely unafraid of human beings."

Wildlife conservation specialists say it is crucial to find out more about the habitat and nature of Tibet's wild animals, why they attack and how to prevent tragedies.

Despite the tough, low-oxygen plateau environment, the Changtang Grassland, located in the heart of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, is an ideal habitat for wild animals, with its grass, lakes and ample sunshine.

Animals are reproducing fast on the grasslands as more nature reserves have been built exclusively for wildlife and the locals have long given up hunting.

Brown bears, wild yaks, snow leopards and Himalayan blue sheep are among the most frequently reported "troublemakers," according to Tsongkha.

One Tibetan herder said he once came home to find a brown bear sitting in a corner of his house drinking a can of soda water.

Scared as he was, he knew it was illegal to kill the bear, as it is listed as an endangered species by the Chinese government. Unable to scare the bear out, the herder could only seek help from the local forestry authority.

A growing number of Tibetan herders have had similar encounters with wild animals in the Changtang Grassland.