Animal officer accused of shooting, dumping dogs pleads guilty.

Animal officer accused of shooting, dumping dogs pleads guilty

Beck

TROY, N.Y. -- A Hoosick Falls animal control officer accused of killing dogs and dumping them on his property has pleaded guilty to the charges.
Matt Beck pleaded guilty to four animal cruelty charges in court Thursday night.
He was arrested last March after police found several decomposed dogs buried on his property.
He now faces three years probation, ten days with an ankle bracelet, and two weekends in jail.

No More Kitty-Kung-Pao

Cat and dog meat could soon be off the menu in China as first animal abuse law edges closer

Dog and cat meat could soon be banned from restaurants in China, ending thousands of years of tradition, following protests from animal rights campaigners.
The Chinese government is now on the verge of introducing its first law against animal abuse and permanently removing both animals from the menu.
The first draft of the law, aiming to protect animals from being hurt and killed in a cruel manner, will be raised for legislation in April.

 

Dogs look out of their cages from a truck on a motorway on the outskirts of China's capital Beijing

In particular, the draft suggests people caught eating dog or cat meat be jailed for up to 15 days and fined 5,000 yuan (£450), while businesses would be fined between 100,000 to 500,000 yuan (£9,000 to £45,000).
Pet lovers' associations have sprung up in Chinese cities over recent years, with one liberation group last year ramming a truck full of caged cats to rescue them from being shipped to southern restaurants.
While many Chinese enjoy rich dog meat, especially during cold winters, some object to the practice in some regions of beating dogs to death to release the blood into the meat.

The China National Native Produce & Animal By-Products Import and Export Corporation backed the initiative, which it believes will improve overseas perceptions of Chinese exports.
Others insisted a ban on dog and cat meat was unrealistic.
'Banning such custom by law is inappropriate and unable to work,' said Xu Huiqiang, chief of wild animal protection in Jiangsu province, where a dog meat recipe has been listed as a piece of cultural heritage.
An official of Leping, a city that has a traditional catering industry based on dog meat, said that the local economy and people's lives would be terribly hurt by such a law.
'Cooking them alive must be punished but which meat to eat should be people's own choice,' said a commentary on Xinhua Daily in Nanjing. 'Some people in China still can't afford meat. We should not blindly copy Western values.'
But one online protester named 'Yuxiang999' posted on Xinhuanet.com: 'Eating cats and dogs is a shameless barbarian thing. Anyone with humanity would not kill these loyal friends of ours.'

Buddy's Law - The Petition

Currently, we are circulating a petition to both the Colorado General Assembly and our state senators to enact what is being called Buddy's Law. This will make much stricter punishment for any animal abuser. Currently, in most cases, the abuser simply gets a fine and probation and 9 times out of 10, if the animal lives he or she is given back to the abuser.

The petition can be signed by clicking this link:

Please Sign Buddy's Law

Please help us to make sure that no other animal will have to endure this kind of torture at the hands of another monster like this ever again!!

10 German Sheperds Killed by RSPCA in England

Dozens of people have cancelled their donations to the RSPCA after learning that the UK animal welfare charity killed 10 healthy German shepherd dogs following the death of their guardian. The dogs, who had been kept indoors for several weeks, were said to be aggressive and in poor condition and killed using a captive bolt gun, but various animal shelters condemned the RSPCA for failing to find homes for the dogs. The RSPCA admits that it did not attempt to contact animal shelters for help in finding homes for the dogs.
Jayne Shenstone, founder of German Shepherd Rescue, which rehouses between 200 and 300 alsatians every year, said: “The RSPCA never approached us or any other dog rescue centre. There was no reason for the dogs to be destroyed."
Dozens of people have said they are cancelling standing orders or reconsidering legacies, which earn the RSPCA tens of millions of pounds a year.
An RSPCA spokesman said: “It was an absolutely extreme case. I have never heard of [the captive bolt gun] being used before but apparently eight inspectors, including some very senior and experienced, decided it was the best course of action.”

Groundhog Day offends PETA?

 

PETA proposes robotic groundhog for Pa. festival

 

An animal rights group wants organizers of Pennsylvania's Groundhog Day festival to replace Punxsutawney Phil with a robotic stand-in.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals says it's unfair to keep the animal in captivity and subject him to the huge crowds and bright lights that accompany tens of thousands of revelers each Feb. 2 in Punxsutawney, a tiny borough about 65 miles northeast of Pittsburgh.

PETA is suggesting the use of an animatronic model.

But William Deeley, president of the Inner Circle of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club, says the animal is "being treated better than the average child in Pennsylvania." The groundhog is kept in a climate-controlled environment and is inspected annually by the state Department of Agriculture.

Deeley says PETA isn't interested in Phil from Feb. 2 on, and is looking for publicity.

Signs of something wrong....

Dead Animal Jewelry?

Reid Peppard is probably the only person who feels a rush of excitement when she sees a dead animal lying

on the side of the road. To her, it isn't a rotting carcass, but a thing of beauty just waiting to have life breathed

into it. Peppard's London-based fashion line, RP/Encore, uses taxidermy to turn dead creatures, namely

rodents and vermin, into wearable accessories. Many have serious issues with just how "wearable" her

pieces are, however, which range from full-on rat headpieces to pigeon feather necklaces.

Peppard was studying fine arts at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design in London when she

became interested in taxidermy. For her, it seemed a natural marriage to combine her skills as an artist

and taxidermist, and she sees her work as walking the line between fashion and fine art.

To be clear, you can take comfort in the fact that no animals are suffering for fashion here. Peppard,

who is a vegetarian, uses animals that are "victims of roadkill, pest control, or natural death," with the

occasional use of a feeder rat.

But is there really anything comfortable about this?

"If you don't like it, then just look away," Peppard offers to those who are offended by her

"Vermin Collection." "So many people are unwilling to look inwards. They are unable to see beyond

what they want to see."

It's hard to look away though, even if it does offend you. We're talking about dead rodents, with faces

and limbs, hanging from your wrist, crowning your head, holding your coins, etc. Looking at these pieces

upsets some and intrigues others. Whatever the reaction, it's anything but lukewarm.

At a cost of 100 to 2,000 pounds a piece, you can have one of your very own

"conversation starters." Lady Gaga even wore one in a music video.

Take a look and let us know what you think about these dead animal accessories.

Finally, there is justice for Karley

Glynn Johnson, former L.A. County fire official, found guilty of animal cruelty in beating of neighbor's dog

January 26, 2010 |  8:35 pm

Former Los Angeles County assistant fire chief Glynn Johnson, 55, was found guilty of felony animal cruelty and using a deadly weapon in Riverside County Superior Court today in the 2008 beating of his neighbor's puppy.

The animal, a 6-month-old German shepherd mix named Karley, sustained injuries so severe that she had to be euthanized after the beating. Johnson hit her repeatedly with a 12-pound rock in what he described as an act of self-defense; according to his version of events, Karley viciously attacked him before the beating occurred. The defense's strategy:

During his opening statements last Tuesday, Deputy District Attorney Will Robinson said [Johnson] put dog feces in his neighbors' mailbox with a letter warning them to keep their dogs off his property.
The Tooles are the "neighbors from hell" who routinely take in stray animals and then don't take care of them, giving them the run of the community, defense attorneys argued. And the Tooles tried to domesticate a stray named Karley, unsuccessfully, the defense added.

Prosecutors disputed that account, saying that Johnson's attack on the dog was unprovoked.  A sentencing is scheduled for March 8; Johnson could face up to four years in prison.