I'm boycotting Euro 2012

As Euro 2012 kicked off on Friday 8th June, Europe was immediately engulfed in football fever.  The tournament is being held in Poland and Ukraine but here in London, flags are being given away at tube stations, supermarkets are using their leftover-from-the-Jubilee union jack laden goods as patriotic football supporter tools, colleagues are leaving work early and flooding the pubs to make the 5pm kick off...  Everything and everyone is football mad.  Usually, I enjoy this time of year and jump on the bandwagon but this year is different.

In Ukraine, stray dogs were being shot or poisoned by the government in an attempt to purge the streets of the abandoned and neglected dogs to hide them from the football fans descending on the country.  Instead of promoting effective methods to combat overpopulation, such as spay and neuter initiatives, homeless animals were killed by shooting or poisoning before being buried in mass graves or cremated - it is alleged that sometimes the dogs are not actually dead before they are cremated which I find horrifying.  

These defenceless animals are no different from our pet dogs with the same capacity for love, fear and pain.  The way they have been treated is nothing short of abominable.  

The organisation behind Euro 2012, the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) has criticised the Ukrainian authorities and after being contacted by PETA Germany have offered financial support to animal protection advocates for humane population control initiatives in the country.

Although we can't change what has already happened, it is not too late to sign this petition addressed to the Ukrainian Embassy to encourage them to choose humane methods.  There are many other petitions and actions to be taken, please do check them out if you have time.  As well as contributing to the petitions and actions I am not going to watch a single football match, this may not achieve much but I can't bear to try and enjoy a football game when I think about what has been sacrificed.

Message to the Ukrainian Ambassador to the UK  

Petition to be delivered to the President and the Prime Minister of Ukraine

Boycott Euro 2012 Facebook Group

Please do let me know if you hear of any more petitions or actions and I will add them.

Welsh dog breeding legislation contains serious flaws

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The good news is that the Welsh Government is working on a new law addressing dog breeding legalisation in Wales, (I say good although I would prefer if puppy farms were shut down and made illegal - therefore this is slightly better than nothing).  The bad news, is that they aren't shutting puppy farms down and their proposals contain some serious flaws.  

There are specifically four areas causing concern to campaigners, which include how long puppies will get to socialise each day.  All responsible dog owners will know that socialisation is a very important requirement for a young puppy in order for them to grow up able to socialise with humans and other dogs in a healthy manner, if a dog does not experience this socialisation as a puppy it could lead to disaster in later life.  

There is also concern for the proposed staff/dog ratios not being enough with the Government considering 30 dogs per one member of staff, Welsh campaigners Cariad have stated that this means dogs will only receive 10 minutes of care per day and want the number lowered to 20 dogs per member of staff.  Cariad also state that Wales is the British capital for volume puppy breeding with many puppy farms operating without a licence.

  

If you live in Wales please click here to send a message to the Welsh Government about how they can give puppies and dogs a fairer deal.  The deadline for this is in just a few days time, as the consultation ends on Wednesday 23rd May.  If you don't live in Wales but know someone who does, please let them know about this.  (I don't live in Wales but sent the message anyway!)

If you live in England you can help by taking action against irresponsible dog ownership, get involved here.  Please try to take the time to personalise the message a little before sending it.

Please join Cariad, who are tirelessly campaigning to end puppy farming in Wales, and lend your support by printing off, filling in and posting this postcard to John Griffiths, the Minister for Environment & Sustainable Development.

Stop the illegal dog meat trade.

  
After digesting the shocking news and witnessing the horrific images of 505 dogs destined to be served up as food in Chinese restaurants rescued in China's Yunnan Province last month, I was alarmed to hear of smugglers in North Eastern Thailand exporting around 30,000 stray dogs to Vietnam each month charging $10 per dog.  Although eating dog meat is regarded as being uncivilized in Thailand, grilled dog meat sells for three times the price of pork in Vietnam.

Echoing the disturbing images from China, stray dogs are crammed into wire cages and smuggled through illegal river borders.  Most are sent to Vietnam but a minority are butchered and sold as "meat" in Thai open markets despite residents complaining about the disgusting practice.

Wit, the boss of a dog collecting crew, says "We have to pay the police to leave us alone."

Please sign this petition to encourage the authorities in Tae Rae to crack down on the dog meat trade.

Joining forces for people and dogs

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Happy December!

The RSPCA have joined forces with 19 organisations all in agreement that the UK government must do something about the irresponsible owners of dogs who are considered dangerous.  This 20-strong partnership including organisations such as the Dogs Trust, Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, the Police Federation and the Royal Mail Group are urging the government to consider the following laws:

·   Ensure dog owners take responsibility for their pet’s behaviour

·   Improve both public safety and animal welfare

·   Require micro-chipping for all dogs

·   Increase education and engagement to prevent problems.

The measures listed about are aiming to protect people and dogs and could save the country around £75 million a year in health costs.

Please sign this petition on Prime Minister David Cameron’s official website which could ignite a debate in the House of Commons.  

The RSPCA are aiming for 100,000 signatures so please share this with your friends on Facebook and Twitter as much as you can.

Thank you.

Our Day at Discover Dogs

I was lucky enough and absolutely thrilled to win tickets for this years Discover Dogs event at Earl’s Court in London.  This time last week, myself and my dog loving other half had an absolutely fantastic day, spent an awful lot of money and learnt an awful lot about dogs.

The aim of the Discover Dogs event is just that, discovering.  We discovered dogs of all shapes, sizes and breeds.  It is an ideal event for anybody considering adopting a canine friend with lots of dogs to meet and many experts to chat to and learn from.

The most exciting part of the day was when we slowly worked our way round each section of dog breeds - Toy, Terrier & Hounds and finally Working and Pastoral dogs.  Each group housed many different dog breeds and was chock-a-block with information on the breed itself including health, behaviour and more, I obtained as much information as I could carry to take home and peruse.  I will to share this information with you in the new year in a series about dog breeds – although I must admit, my motives for this are slightly self-seeking as I am desperate to know more about each breed of dog, especially in a behavioural sense which I find fascinating. 

I wanted to stop and spend time with every single dog at the event but there simply weren’t enough hours in the day!  Here are a few images of some of the dogs I was lucky enough to meet, courtesy of my other half's camera and the Discover Dogs Facebook Page.

{For these and more photos check out our Facebook Page here}

Throughout the day there were frequent seminars run by all sorts of canine experts, we hand picked a few to attend so as to leave ourselves enough time to meet the dogs and shop for Suki.  One seminar that was of particular interest to us was the seminar on Puppy Farming given by famous vet Marc Abraham, he has personally investigated this issue both in the UK and in the US and has actively been campaigning for this cause for several years with his Pup Aid campaign.  I will post more information about Marc’s seminar and Pup Aid campaign in the next few days so keep checking back.

As the day drew to a close we rushed to grab some bargains for Suki (we couldn’t go home empty handed) and without giving anything away let’s just say that Santa is definitely paying Suki a visit this year.  I even picked up a lovely gift for Rusty at the Mayhew Animal Home stand, it looks so much fun that I had to prize it out of the hands of my other half!

Some (of the many) highlights of the day:

Meeting Ripley from the Pedigree Adoption Drive and having a quick cuddle.

Being smothered in love by a Staffordshire Bull Terrier that was as full of energy as Suki, I only wish we could have taken him home to meet her.

Having a nice cuddle with a beautiful little fellow (as pictured above) and a chat with his friendly owner.

Suki’s face when we presented her with a special doggie brownie from a doggie bakery at the event (No chocolate allowed! Dog friendly ingredients only)

Roll on next year…

Fluffy Friday #32

Fluffy Friday is back!

Source.

This week's Fluffy Friday is not only brightening up your Friday with animal pictures to coo over, we're allowing you to do this AND giving you the opportunity to contribute to a good cause whilst having a bit of fun (all without moving from the spot you're sat in!).

On a serious note, did you know that today 20 dogs will be taken on their last walk?  Rescue Centres are full of unwanted dogs and some centres are being forced to run waiting lists for animals waiting to be cared for by the centre until (hopefully) they are re-homed.

Click Here to Take lovely dog Ripley for a Virtual Walk and Pedigree will donate £1 donated on your behalf to The Pedigree Chum Adoption Drive.  Read more about the campaign here and also check out the star of the show, Ripley.  The website also allows you to tell your friends on Facebook and Twitter.

Enjoy!

Good News for Dogs in Europe?

Suki is pleased!

The European Parliament has been busy, not only are dabbling in the Animal Testing for Cosmetics procedures, they are also considering an extremely useful proposal which could improve the way that dog populations are managed within Countries belonging to the EU.  The RSPCA reports that the European Parliament are aiming to stop inhumane methods of collecting and killing dogs and start a mandatory method of dog identification.  This could also mean good news for dogs in Britain as we don't currently have mandatory dog licensing or identification.

In order to succeed, the proposal needs the support of 369 Members of the European Parliament.  At the time of writing to me, the RSPCA had 140 signatures and needed to increase this before 6th October.  Although, it is way past that date now the action is still live on the RSPCA webpage so it is well worth clicking here and contacting your MEP and asking them to sign the declaration to improve the welfare of dogs in Europe.

Please spread the word by telling your friends and sharing this post on Facebook and Twitter, also the RSPCA site enables you to e-mail your friends with the link to the action.

Thank you!

Quick Action Needed!

MP's are discussing the issue of irresponsible dog ownership in Parliament tomorrow (Wednesday 19th October) so it is vital that you take this action here TODAY in order to contact your MP in time and ask them to attend.

Irresponsible dog ownership means stray dogs, dangerous dogs and out of control breeding.

The RSPCA reports that:

Dog fighting has increased dramatically over the last few years, 

More than 6,000 people were admitted to hospital with dog-related injuries in the year 2010/2011.

Over 75 million pounds is spent each year picking up after irresponsible dog ownership.

Please spare a moment to click here and contact either your MP, or the Minister in charge of dangerous dogs - Lord Taylor of Holbeach CBE and ask them to attend the debate and take action now.

Can you please remember to spread the word to your friends?  There is a "Share on Facebook" button on the RSPCA site, or you can share this page.  Thank you!

Sad Animal News

A disturbing article in todays Daily Mail, are some of our dog breeds on the verge of extinction?