Japan's cat island finds purr-fect solution to food crisis

Yahoo – AFP, 26 February 2016

More than 140 cats occupy the tiny island of Aoshima in southern Japan (AFP

Photo/Kazuyuki Ono)

Tokyo (AFP) - An army of cats ruling a remote Japanese island are licking their whiskers after a plea for food aid triggered a flood of donations from across the country.

More than 140 cats occupy the tiny island of Aoshima in southern Japan -- outnumbering humans by eight to one -- but when the feral felines recently ran out of cat food, a cry for help led to an extraordinary response.

"Food began pouring in from all over Japan," Kazuyuki Ono, 59, whose tweet raised the alarm, told AFP on Friday.

"There's so much of it now we can't store it," he added.

"We're asking people to stop sending donations. But the cats couldn't be happier."

Fittingly, hundreds of boxes of cat food arrived at Aoshima dock, a 30-minute boat ride from the mainland, in time for February 22 -- officially Cat Day in Japan.

"The food started arriving right at that time," said Ono.

"In spring and summer, tourists bring food to feed the cats but when it gets cold, the sea is rough and nobody comes. Sometimes boats can't cross in the rough seas. It's a mysterious little island."

Aoshima, known also as Cat Island, was once home to 1,000 people but today only 16 remain, mostly pensioners.

But the cats, originally brought to the island to kill the mice that infested fishermen's boats, rule the roost and visitors flock from across Asia and even Europe to see the fluffy creatures.

"It's a cat paradise here," said Ono, who took to Twitter at the request of Naoko Kamimoto, president of the Aoshima Cat Protection Society, after she found that the cupboard was bare.

"There are no crows, no dogs, no bikes, no cars," Ono said.

"They love nothing more than to just lie about in the street sunning themselves all day. Now their bellies are full, they're purring happily."

Rino Kakinuma, 7, plays with toy poodles, beagles and a golden retriever

at the Dog Heart cafe in Tokyo, February 22, 2015 (AFP Photo/Yoshikazu Tsuno)

Related Articles:

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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.

Dutch petting zoo launches ‘rent a pet’ scheme

DutchNews, February 17, 2016

A children’s farm in Duiven is offering guinea pigs, mice or ‘tame’ rats for hire to prevent impulse buying. 

Kinderboerderij Horstenpark is offering a six-week lease (including a cage) for €15 plus a €35 deposit. 

According to the Gelderlander, the farm has been offered so many unwanted pets in recent years that its pens and cages are full. It is also trying to stop parents bringing in animals simply because children have become bored with them. 

Stress

The leases can be extended for another six or 12 weeks, and if parents decide their child has truly fallen in love with the pet, they can buy it for €10. 

But Renate Bartels, from the petting zoo, told the Gelderlander that rabbits would not be available: ‘These animals get easily stressed. You should not haul them from place to place. For rats, guinea pigs and mice, this isn’t an issue.’ 

The Telegraaf says that animals are only hired out after a few months at the farm so they have acclimatised and don’t find it too stressful.

Dutch implement new restrictions on halal and kosher meat

DutchNews, February 17, 2016

The Netherlands is set to sharpen up laws around ritually-slaughtered meat. Martijn van Dam, junior minister for economic affairs, wants stricter rules on meat from animals killed with ‘ritual’ methods instead of being stunned, to reduce suffering. 

In a letter to MPs on Wednesday, Van Dam wrote: ‘I find the current implementation unacceptable. Negative effects on animal welfare must be minimised.’ 

Meat from ritually-killed animals must be clearly labelled, available in religious communities only rather than the ‘regular’ meat chain, and cannot be exported, he wrote. The rules will apply from January next year. 

Better monitoring

Van Dam said he had made agreements with Jewish and Muslim organisations and slaughterhouse representatives to implement the new rules. 

Abattoirs that want to perform ritual slaughter must register, and will be monitored by Dutch food and goods authority the NVWA. 

There will be new eye reflex measures to check animals have lost consciousness before they are killed, and slaughterhouses will need to record numbers.

Related Articles:

Dutch compromise prevails on ritual slaughter

Culture clash over ritual slaughter ban

An animal doesn't care about its killer's faith

Ritual slaughter controversy unites Jews and Muslims

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.

More animals killed on the roads is ‘good news’ for wildlife

DutchNews, February 12, 2016

The fact that more animals are being killed on the Dutch roads is often cause for celebration, Maurice La Haye – a researcher at the Dutch mammal society Zoogdiervereniging – told the Algemeen Dagblad. 

An increase in accidents is a sign that conservation efforts are working and the wildlife population in the Netherlands is increasing, La Haye told the paper on Friday. 

An estimated ten million animals are killed on Dutch roads every year, but millions more survive, mate, and multiply. This is at least partly thanks to the Netherlands’ network of 1,725 green passages, viaducts, and walking ledges that allow animals to safely cross roads in certain places. 

Green passageways

Since the mid-1980s, the Netherlands has been building these structures in an effort to preserve dwindling wildlife stocks, including the endangered European badger, and several species of wild boar and deer. 

One of these ‘ecoducts’ – the Natuurbrug Zanderij Crailoo – is the longest such structure in the world. Some 50m wide and 800m long, the ecoduct takes animals safely over a railway line, roadway, business park, sports complex and a river. 

The ecoducts allow animals to expand their habitats past the barriers of roads, rivers and railways. And it’s been successful. In 1950, the total deer population of the Netherlands was around 5,000. Now it sits nearer 110,000, Gijs Van Ardenne, chairman of the Wildlife Collision Foundation Netherlands told the AD. 

Healthy and thriving

As well as an increase in sheer numbers, Dutch wildlife now appears to be in better health than before.

‘Ditches and canals are no longer the open sewers of last century, but fish-rich waterways,’ Hugh Jansen, of research institute Alterra told the AD. ‘Dead animals we find and analyse are in very good condition. They are top athletes who encountered a car.’

Rare albino turtle hatches in Australia

Rare albino turtle hatches in Australia https://t.co/27T6nUnSXW pic.twitter.com/zC23aIqe1Q

— AFP news agency (@AFP) February 11, 2016

Related Articles:

Matthew preparing us for the Golden Age – Jan 19, 2012 - Essay on 2012 by Matthew (Channeller: Suzy Ward)

“..  Animals in the wild will instinctively know not to overpopulate and those that are   carnivorous will turn to the plant kingdom for sustenance.  The albinos being born in several animal species have both spiritual and transitional significance.  You associate white with peace, and these rarities that are appearing are symbolic of the coming changes in animal nature that will end the predator-prey food chain and restore the peaceable relationship that once existed among all species, including humankind.  The instances of unlikely cross-species friendships and even nurturing of the young from one species by mothers of another are more indications of Earth’s return to her original paradise self.  Still, an extremely important factor in this is the inspiration in many souls to be advocates for the animal kingdom and alleviate their manmade plight. …”

Rare encounter: Whale watchers off the Australian east coast were lucky
enough to see Migaloo, the famous albino humpback whale

Rare albino turtle hatches in Australia

Rare albino sparrow spotted in Australia

Rare albino wallaroos call Aussie race track home
White tiger's coat down to one change in a gene
Pink elephant is caught on camera

Rare white killer whale spotted off Russian coast

Whale watchers get world's closest encounter yet with Migaloo the albino humpback off the coast of Australia
The real-life Moby Dick: Incredibly rare WHITE humpback whale spotted off coast of Norway

Commercial duck hunts ‘undesirable’ says Dutch minister

DutchNews, February 2, 2016

Junior economic affairs minister Martijn van Dam is in talks with Dutch hunting organisations and provincial councils to stop rich foreigners coming to the Netherlands to shoot geese. 

At the end of last year it emerged that an American company is offering specialised goose hunting trips to the Netherlands, describing them as ‘one of the world’s best hunting opportunities’. 

Website GetDucks.com, says the Netherlands not only offers ‘liberal’ shooting for an ‘enviable collectors list of species’ but an ‘immersive tour of this beautiful country that hunters and non-hunters will each enjoy.’ According to the Leeuwarder Courant newspaper a five-day trip, including luxury bed and breakfast accommodation, costs $4,600. 

Legal

While it is legal for foreigners to hunt in the Netherlands if they are the guest of someone with  a Dutch hunting licence, Van Dam said in answer to MPs’ questions that he rejects the idea of commercial duck hunts. So far, some 871 people have taken advantage of the legal option to shoot geese and ducks in the Netherlands. 

Shooting ducks and geese is only acceptable if there is a concrete purpose such as removing a hazard to aircraft, he said. He is now in talks with hunting groups and provinces to tighten up the regulations. 

In May, the European Commission gave the green light to pest controllers to gas hundreds of thousands of geese throughout the Netherlands. At present, geese can only be gassed within a 20 kilometre radius of Schiphol airport because of the threat the birds pose to aircraft.

British tourist trampled to death by Thai elephant

Yahoo – AFP, 2 February 2016

Thailand has an estimated 4,000 domesticated elephants, many working in the tourism

trade, alongside some 2,500 wild elephants (AFP Photo/Pornchai Kittiwongsakul)

Bangkok (AFP) - A British tourist has been trampled to death by an elephant on the Thai tourist island of Koh Samui, police said Tuesday, the latest deadly attack by animals used to entertain holidaymakers.

The man, identified by police as Gareth Crowe, 36, was riding on the animal's back with his daughter on Monday afternoon when it suddenly threw them off, police said.

"We suspect that the hot weather made the elephant angry and that he was not accustomed to his mahout," Paiboon Omark, Samui district chief, told AFP.

A mahout is the person who trains, controls and rides an elephant, usually after years of building up a close bond with the animal.

Paiboon said Crowe had a prosthetic leg and was unable to run away from the marauding pachyderm.

His daughter and the mahout, a Myanmar national, were both injured but escaped and were out of danger, he added.

The elephant, named "Golf", was tranquillised and brought under control, he said.

A spokesman at the British embassy said they were aware of the incident and were providing assistance to the victim's family.

Thailand's use of elephants for tourism is under increased scrutiny following a string

of scandals and investigations by rights groups (AFP Photo/Pornchai Kittiwongsakul)

Thailand has an estimated 4,000 domesticated elephants, many working in the tourism trade, alongside some 2,500 wild elephants.

In August, an elephant killed his mahout with three terrified Chinese tourists still on his back. The tourists survived.

Thailand's use of animals for tourism is under increased scrutiny following a string of scandals and investigations by rights groups.

The government is currently locked in a battle with a controversial "Tiger Temple" that refuses to hand over hundreds of big cats despite holding them illegally.

In 2013, the pop star Rihanna inadvertently highlighted another thriving illegal trade when she posted a selfie with a slow loris.

The endangered primates are a protected species yet are often found with illegal handlers in tourist regions who charge holidaymakers for pictures.

Conservationists are meeting with Thai government officials on Wednesday to lobby for better animal welfare standards across the tourism trade.

"In my view, male elephants should not be in the tourism industry, they're simply too unpredictable," Edwin Wiek, from Wildlife Friends of Thailand, one of the groups attending the meeting, told AFP.

He added that almost all the killings of mahouts and tourists during rides in recent years had involved male elephants, sometimes when they are in must, a state associated with the rutting season when males display aggressive behaviour fuelled by a surge of testosterone.

South Africa puts year-long ban on leopard hunting

Yahoo – AFP, January 25, 2016

A leopard sneaks out from the bush at the Born Free Foundation on May 12,
2010 in the Shamwari Game Reserve (AFP Photo/Gianluigi Guercia)

Johannesburg (AFP) - South Africa has imposed a year-long ban on leopard hunting in 2016 in a decision hailed Monday by conservation activists.

"Provincial conservation authorities were informed that leopard hunts should not be authorised in 2016," the Department of Environmental Affairs said, adding that the ban would be reviewed at the end of the year.

The department said it was acting on recommendations from South Africa's Scientific Authority, which had suggested an intervention to ensure the survival of the leopard population.

Under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), South Africa can allocate 150 permits each year for the trophy-hunting of leopards destined for export.

The size of South Africa's leopard population remains a mystery.

"We just don't know how leopards are faring in South Africa," said Guy Balme of environmental group Panthera.

"They're secretive, mainly nocturnal, solitary and range over huge areas," he explained.

Conservation groups hailed the year-long ban, saying it was crucial to protecting the species given that the size of the population is unknown.

"Until we know population numbers and carrying capacity we should not hunt them," said Andrew Muir of the Wilderness Foundation.

Kelly Marnewick, carnivore conservation manager at the Environmental Wildlife Trust, added: "It's important to ensure that any wildlife trade we do is sustainable.

"If we can't do that, it's highly problematical. We need a trade ban until we can get to that."

The mismanagement of trophy hunting and the illegal trade in leopard fur are the main threats to South Africa's population of the big cat, according to the government.

Dignitaries from South Africa's Zulu community traditionally wear animal skins for ceremonies, particularly leopard fur.

South Africa earns substantial revenues from selling permits to wealthy foreigners willing to pay thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars to hunt one of the "big five" (lion, leopard, elephant, rhino or buffalo).

Hunting generates some 6.2 million rand ($375 million/347 million euros) for South Africa every year, according to the environment ministry.

Dolphin circus sparks animal cruelty debate in Central Asia

Yahoo – AFP, Tolkun Namatbayeva, January 21, 2016

Dolphins during a performance at the Moscow Travelling Dolphinarium
(AFP Photo/Vyacheslav Oseledko)

Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan) (AFP) - Inside a travelling aquatic circus in Kyrgyzstan's capital Bishkek, whoops and cheers go up as a dolphin leaps out of a pool and slam-dunks a ball through a basketball net.

Hundreds of people packed inside the Moscow Travelling Dolphinarium to watch dolphins and beluga whales perform acrobatic stunts, against a painted backdrop of blue skies and palm trees.

A beluga whale performs at the Moscow 

ravelling Dolphinarium in Bishkek

(AFP Photo/Vyacheslav Oseledko)

A blonde female announcer dressed as a sailor spurs on the animals like champion athletes.

"A real sportsman doesn't give up so easily," she booms as a beluga named Dandy leaps out of the water but fails to whack a ball hanging on a string with his tail.

But he does not fluff up his second attempt.

"And he's got it this time!" the presenter shouts as the crowd roars in approval over a soundtrack of blaring rock and Russian pop ballads.

While the New Year's show wowed crowds in landlocked Kyrgyzstan, it also fuelled a long-running debate in former Soviet states about cruelty to animals.

Travelling dolphinariums are banned across much of the world but remain popular in the ex-Soviet bloc where forms of circus entertainment prohibited in the West, such as acts with wild animals like lions and bears, continue to thrive despite concerns about animal welfare.

Yet opposition to animal abuse has grown in recent times, with local activists using the Internet to gather data and mobilise opposition to practises they say involve animal cruelty or stress.

Before the Moscow dolphin circus rolled into town, 1,500 people signed an online petition imploring Kyrgyzstan's President Almazbek Atambayev to ban it.

On opening night, a group of protesters picketed the performance with posters featuring drawings of weeping dolphins, some of them by children.

"Why has this dolphin circus ended up in Kyrgyzstan? Because it has nowhere else to go and we are a poor country with lax legislation," Anna Kirilenko of BIOM, an environmentalist non-profit organisation based in Bishkek, told AFP.

Authorities in Bishkek however defended the show.

"Dolphins love to be touched. Training and performances are a form of play for dolphins...they were born in captivity and thus would not survive in the wild," the mayor's office said in a statement.

Before the Moscow dolphin circus rolled into town, 1,500 people signed an online

 petition imploring Kyrgyzstan's President Almazbek Atambayev to ban it (AFP Photo/

Vyacheslav Oseledko)

Video footage secretly recorded by citizen journalists showing a circus whale in the Russian city of Perm being kept in a small metal container for days on end has been used by activists to press their case.

A representative of the Moscow Travelling Dolphinarium denied any connection between the circus and the whale in Perm, saying the company never toured in Russia outside the capital.

Shooting stray dogs

Animal abuse is a recurring theme in Kyrgyzstan -- the second-poorest country to emerge from the breakup of the Soviet Union.

In 2011, authorities in Bishkek announced plans to shoot around 10,000 stray dogs, sparking an international outcry and a number of petitions demanding the creatures be spared.

The government defended the shootings, arguing that housing the dogs or organising a programme of mass sterilisation was too costly.

Neighbouring Tajikistan also has a sometimes unsavoury reputation on animal welfare.

For many years, a white-bearded man patrolled the streets of the capital Dushanbe with a sad-looking muzzled bear, offering rides to passers-by. Both he and his bear died in 2013.

The stress and discomfort suffered by aquatic mammals in travelling circuses has attracted particular attention.

In 2010, a beluga whale called Dale died from heart problems in Kazakhstan while touring with a Russian circus.

Animal-welfare organisations prostest against the Moscow Travelling Dolphinarium 

during their rally outside the dolphinarium in Bishkek (AFP Photo/Vyacheslav Oseledko)

Dale's circus partner lost interest in performing tricks after his death and disappeared from the show shortly afterwards, Kazakh media reported.

'Worst of the worst'

"These travelling dolphin circuses are the worst of the worst in terms of cruelty," said Richard O'Barry, founder of the US-based Dolphin Project that campaigns against dolphin captivity.

"They haul dolphins and whales around in a truck. They live in a coffin-sized box. Then they milk as much money out of them before they die from stress-related diseases."

O'Barry once trained dolphins for the US television show Flipper but turned his back on such displays after the dolphin that most often played the lead character died in what O'Barry believes was a suicide triggered by depression.

Dolphin circus sparks animal cruelty debate in Central Asia https://t.co/l9OAu2FW0Q pic.twitter.com/yIgrm8kdKR

— AFP news agency (@AFP) January 21, 2016

Police dog finds couple's life savings, in the kitchen

Yahoo – AFP, January 19, 2016

A Belgian Shepherd named Evita came up trumps "within minutes" -- finding
 the Viennese couple's cash stashed away inside a box in a kitchen cupboard
(AFP Photo)

Vienna (AFP) - The old Viennese couple were desperate. Their life savings had disappeared -- stolen, they thought. But then came Evita de La Basse Autriche, a police dog specialised in sniffing out money.

After the couple had turned their apartment upside down looking for the several thousand euros, Belgian Shepherd Evita came up trumps "within minutes" -- finding the cash stashed away inside a box in a kitchen cupboard, Austrian police said Tuesday.

"All police dogs all have the same basic training to detect different things," police spokesman Paul Eidenberger told AFP.

"Then they can be specialised, for example for explosives, blood traces -- and also documents and money."

Dog bless you: pets head to church in Spain

Yahoo – AFP, January 18, 2016

A priest blesses a dog to mark San Anton Abad's Day in Churriana, near Malaga
on January 17, 2016 (AFP Photo/Jorge Guerrero)

Madrid (AFP) - Dogs, cats, rabbits and even iguanas, many decked out in colourful sweaters to keep warm, trooped into Spanish churches for a blessing on the Day of Saint Anthony, patron saint of animals.

Pet-owners lined up around the block of the Church of San Anton in central Madrid to wait for a priest who stood at the entrance of the building to sprinkle holy water on their animals.

"For those of us who are believers we believe it provides health and well-being to the animal as well as their owner," said 40-year-old waiter Francisco Javier Carvajal Aceves as he waited in line with his 13-month-old Chihuahua Lula cradled in his arms.

Spanish churches offered the traditional

 blessing on the Day of Saint Anthony, 

patron saint of animals (AFP Photo/

Jorge Guerrero)

"Animals also are beings created by God and deserve to be blessed," he added as other dogs waiting with their owners barked in the background.

Aceves said he has come to the church every year to have his pets blessed since he moved to Madrid from Mexico 16 years ago.

He dressed his dog in a red and white sweater, while other pet-owners brought their dogs in brightly-coloured coats or with bows in their fur.

One woman brought a grey rabbit inside a red gym bag to be blessed, an elderly man cradled a white dove in his hand and a young man took an iguana in a shoebox.

Blanca, a 54-year-old decorator, waited for half an hour for her turn to have her Labrador Retriever blessed by a priest.

"You always have to wait because a lot of people in Madrid have pets and everyone wants to come to have them blessed," she said.

"You have to come every year to be blessed so they will live for many more years. A dog, an animal provides great company, gives you much pleasure, they behave better than humans sometimes. If you don't have a dog you don't understand."

After having their pets blessed, the faithful lined up outside a church window to buy bread rolls that were baked according to a secret recipe that keeps them soft.

People wait with their dogs to be blessed by a priest on San Anton Abad's Day 

(Saint Anthony), in Churriana, near Malaga on January 17, 2016 (AFP Photo/

Jorge Guerrero)

Each parishioner received three buns, one of which is traditionally kept for a year alongside a coin to ensure work and health and to guarantee the blessing of the saint.

The church celebrated several masses throughout the day in honour of Saint Anthony which were attended by pets and their owners.

The festival has been celebrated in Madrid largely uninterrupted since the 19th century. It is also held in other parts of Spain, such as the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean and the northern city of Burgos.

Related Article:

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.

New York deal to limit horse-drawn carriage rides

Yahoo – AFP, January 18, 2016

New York's horse carriage industry, which mainly takes tourists through Central Park,
has come under criticism from animal welfare agencies (AFP Photo/Spencer Platt)

New York (AFP) - New York reached a deal that will almost halve the number of horses licensed to perform carriage rides in Central Park after the mayor called them inhumane to animals.

The agreement, which will keep the industry alive, comes after Mayor Bill de Blasio promised two years ago to abolish the rides popular with tourists, loved-up couples and immortalized in movies.

The deal, which will start to come into effect from June 1 and take three years to be fully implemented, will reduce from 180 to 110 the number of licensed horses by December 1, the city council said.

The ultimate goal is to reduce the number to 95 and to give 75 horses a long-term home in Central Park stables, therefore banning public horse rides on the streets of Manhattan.

"We are pleased to have reached an agreement in concept on the future of New York's horse carriage industry," said the mayor's office said.

"We look forward to working together on the final details of this legislation and getting this passed," it added in a statement.

The agreement demands that by October 1 2018 stables will be established in Central Park to house 68 carriages and 75 horses, the city council said.

New York reached a deal late that will almost halve the number of horses licensed

 to perform carriage rides in Central Park after the mayor called them inhumane to

animals (AFP Photo/Jewel Samad)

Horses not at work must be on furlough outside the city, and no carriage can operate for longer than nine hours a day by December 1.

NYClass, one of the groups demanding a ban on carriage rides, has collected more than 35,800 signatures in an online petition.

The petition calls the carriage horse industry "cruel, inhumane and unsafe" and demands the horses to be retired to sanctuaries.

"Horses do not belong in a congested, urban setting where they constantly breathe exhaust while dodging dangerous traffic," it says.

The group was not immediately reachable for comment to the deal.

Mumbai's ornate horse-drawn carriages are nearing the end of the road after a

 court in the Indian city ruled them illegal, saying owners must wind up operations

within a year (AFP Photo/Punit Paranjpe)

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