Animals

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From Frenchies to rescue cats, New York’s trauma center for animals takes the most complex cases

NEW YORK (AP) — Waddling in with lime-green booties on his front paws, Harrison, a beloved seven-year-old French bulldogis a familiar sight at the Schwarzman Animal Medical Center in New York City.

“Between myself and surgery, the neurology team, the internal medicine team, the dentistry team — so Harrison has a large crew here taking care of him,” said Dr. Daniel Spector, senior veterinarian during a visit in March. He added the rehab team to the list later.

Harrison doesn’t have an overall diagnosis beyond being a French bulldog — an increasingly popular breed prone to health problems. His human, Manhattan resident Grace Kim, said they came to AMC for “top notch” care, the coordination between teams, and the ability to get referrals in-house for something like a dental procedure, which they brought in recently.

Located on Manhattan’s east side, the animal hospital and its more than 130 veterinarians logged nearly 60,000 patient visits in 2023, as one of a handful of centers across the country equipped to manage the most complicated medical cases, which clinics with fewer resources cannot handle.

While most patients pay out of pocket, AMC offers multiple initiatives to cover charity care, especially for rescue

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Geckos are allowed in Topeka; ostriches aren’t. Rules of exotic pets.

When exotic pets enter the conversation, people probably think of Joe Exotic. However, exotic pet ownership is a lot more complicated than a famous guy owning tigers.

Exotic pet ownership can be found in most cities, including Topeka. Before giving exotic pets a try, owners need to consider how the city regulates ownership and what is permitted.

Seven-year-old Brody Seel, left, looks at gargoyle geckos with his 1-year-old sister, Maliyah Seel, at Petland on Friday morning. Before purchasing an exotic pet, residents of Topeka should know how the city regulates the various types of animals allowed.

What is an exotic pet?

Topeka senior animal control officer Jessica Bowers said the city ordinances give a broad definition of exotic pets, so it can include animals not yet considered when the code was written.

For clarity in this article, exotic pets will be referred to as pets that aren’t cats or dogs.

Miniature pot-bellied pigs are permitted as pets in Topeka city limits, provided certain conditions are met. Shown here is Lucy who was attending a fair in Florida in 2022.

What exotic pets are allowed?

Miniature pot-belly pigs are permitted within city limits. Owners are required to have a fence that goes two feet underground, the pig must be microchipped and needs a clear health certificate from a veterinarian and the pig needs to be tagged.

Snakes are also permitted if they are nonvenomous and smaller than eight feet.

A resident can own livestock as long as they follow the city’s requirements:

  • Poultry/fowl: They must be kept 50 feet from any structure that is not the owner’s home
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Burnt-out car found during probe into 50 dead animals dumped outside shop

Police investigating after dozens of dead animals were dumped outside a shop in Hampshire have discovered a burnt-out car believed to be linked to the incident.

“Distracted” staff found the bodies of around 50 dead hares, as well as a barn owl and a kestrel, outside the Broughton Community Shop on Friday morning.

It follows several similar incidents reported in the area, including almost 30 rabbits being found outside a primary school.

Hampshire Police told The Independent in a statement on Sunday that they had discovered the burnt-out remains of a Suzuki Grand Vitara which is thought to be linked to the incident.

Detectives were reported a day earlier to be trying to identify the owners of the vehicle.

“We are still asking the public to send us CCTV or dashcam images of any cars matching this description seen in the Test Valley area around the time of the incident,” a police spokesperson said. They went on: “Officers are following all possible lines of inquiry and will be in the area today to

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Don’t take selfies with wild animals; govt issues order – INDIA – GENERAL

selfie-with-wild-animals

BHUBANESWAR: Over the years, several people have lost their lives while trying to take selfies with wild animals. Now, the Odisha government has announced punishment for those clicking selfies with wild animals without permission. As per the order issued by the Principal Chief Conservator of Forest in Odisha, taking selfies with wild animals without permission is punishable by up to seven years in prison.

It was Principal Chief Conservator Sushant Nanda who issued the order. The order sent to the Divisional Forest Officers states that the act of taking selfies with wild animals not only disturbs the normal life cycle of wild animals but is also a violation of the provisions of the Wildlife (Protection) Act of 1972

Sushant Nanda said that he issued the order after seeing several people share selfies or pictures taken with wild animals on social media. The order says people should obtain proper permission before taking pictures or selfies with wild animals.

Sushant Nanda also stated that more awareness programs will be organized regarding the implementation of the newly issued order. Along with this, it has been decided to take strong action against the domestication of wild animals.

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Bill Bailey writes ‘My Animals, And Other Animals’ memoir

ExclusiveThursday 21st March 2024, 8:15am by Jay Richardson

  • Bill Bailey’s latest book finds the nature lover reflecting upon the animals that he’s shared his life with
  • Published on 10th October, My Animals, And Other Animals reflects on how pets connect us to the world and bring companionship
  • Bailey and his wife share their West London home with a variety of birds, dogs, frogs, chameleons and an armadillo called Tommy

Bill Bailey. Credit: Kris Bailey


Bill Bailey has written a new memoir, about his life with animals, British Comedy Guide can exclusively reveal.

My Animals, And Other Animals will be published by Quercus on 10th October.

“I’m always wary of llamas” Bailey reveals in an extract from the book, his fourth. “They’re mischievous and smart. I get a sense, when I approach them, that they are conferring . . . as if to say, ‘that’s that block off the telly.'”

The comedian has always had a variety of dogs in his life, including a Lakeland Terrier called Rocky who would travel with him in the van to his first shows and occasionally join him on stage.

Today, the nature lover, who has made several wildlife documentaries and published Bill Bailey’s

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Texas woman sentenced for trying to sell endangered monkey online

Savannah Nichole Valdez previously pleaded guilty to smuggling a spider monkey into the US. She was sentenced to supervised release but got caught doing it again.

HOUSTON — A 21-year-old Katy woman has been sentenced to a year and three months in prison after she pleaded guilty to trying to sell endangered wildlife online, according to the Department of Justice.

Savannah Nichole Valdez tried to sell spider monkeys and other animals on Craigslist in violation of the Lacey Act, which combats the trafficking of illegally taken wildlife, fish or plants.

The DOJ said Valdez tried to enter the US through the Gateway International Bridge in Brownsville on March 21, 2022. Law enforcement saw a wooden box with holes in it in Valdez’s car, which he claimed was full of beer he bought in Mexico.

When officials opened the box, they discovered a living spider monkey inside and told her to go get a second inspection. Valdez refused and sped off before running a traffic light and nearly hitting other officers.

Later that day, online posts were found of a woman trying to sell a spider monkey in the Greater Houston area with Valdez’s phone number listed.

A week later, Valdez

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Evil gang of three schoolchildren who ‘behaved like animals’ killed a dog walker, 36, in ‘relentless’ attack that left him with a bisected kidney and broken ribs are jailed for manslaughter

Three teenagers who behaved like a ‘pack of animals’ when they set upon a dog walker – including a 15-year-old girl who filmed on her phone before joining in – were put behind bars today.

John Hackett, 36, was found dead at his home the day after being repeatedly punched and kicked in a recreation ground near his home last April.

The girl and two boys who were also 15-years-old at the time of the attack sat side by side in front of a court dock today as a judge was told how they had been part of a group who had been ‘persistently’ taunting and abusing Mr Hackett as he walked pet Tyson in the weeks leading up to his death.

Video footage of the incident in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, was earlier played to a packed court room and showed one of the boys throwing a stick – which Mr Hackett had been using to play fetch with his dog – at the professional driver, before the second male joined in a physical attack.

The court heard the victim was left ‘gasping’ for breath with his ‘eyes rolling back’ after being ‘quickly overpowered’ and placed in a headlock by one

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Children killing animals with catapults will feel ‘huge guilt’ when they grow up, psychologist warns | UK News

A behavioral psychologist has warned children filming themselves using catapults to kill and torture animals will feel a “huge residual guilt” as they grow up.

It comes after Sky News exposed a UK-wide network in which children – some of primary school age – have been sharing footage and photos of their kills in groups on WhatsApp.

Warning: This story contains images and descriptions readers may find distressing

Speaking to The UK Tonight with Sarah-Jane Meebehavioral psychologist Jo Hemmings said it could have a lasting impact on the children involved.

A photo of a catapult and a knife was shared in one of the WhatsApp groups
Image:
A photo of a catapult and a knife was shared in one of the WhatsApp groups

“Unless they are [the children] have got genuine psychopathic or sociopathic tendencies, they will stop.

“But what will it leave them with… [is] huge amounts of residual guilt.

“They’ll remember this. Kids remember that kind of cruelty to animals for the rest of their lives.”

She put the blame squarely on those leading or influencing the groups, who she said were likely to be older than many of those taking part.

“It’s appalling what they’re doing to these young children, who will not be able to forget when they realize what’s been

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Gov. Bill Lee signs bill banning emotional support animals from restaurants

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) – Emotional support animals are now banned from Tennessee restaurants.

On March 15, Gov. Bill Lee signed a bill into law banning emotional support animals (ESAs) from indoor areas of “food service establishments.”

“As introduced, (the bill) prohibits emotional support animals that are not trained, or being trained, to perform tasks or work for a person with a disability from indoor areas of food service establishments,” the bill reads.

Alexis Delmar, whose dog is a certified ESA, isn’t convinced pet-friendly restaurants will want to obey.

“I feel like generally, people only bring their dogs in if they know that they’re well-behaved, and most often, emotional support animals are,” Delmar said. “I’m hopeful that a lot of the places we typically go to will stand up to this and say we’ll continue to allow it as a business owner.”

Dogs were already banned inside buildings that prepare or serve food, but the law extends the ban to specifically include emotional support animals.

Only trained service dogs, police dogs and fish that are inside of a tank are allowed inside restaurants.

“I know there’s a stigma now that a lot of folks just get them certified so they can

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Earlier Springs Have Cascading Effects on Animals, Plants and Pastimes

At a crowded town square in western Pennsylvania on Feb. 2, the world’s most famous groundhog—Punxsutawney Phil—did not cast a shadow, which legends say indicated that spring should arrive early this year.

While the groundhog has been known to give notoriously inaccurate predictions, this one probably wasn’t too far off base. As climate change accelerates, the signs of spring are arriving earlier in many parts of the world, from unnatural warmth to the tell-tale throat itch that accompanies seasonal allergies.

The federally funded National Phenology Network—a group the monitors the biological impacts of seasonal changes—tracks when plants sprout leaves across the US, and says on its website that spring conditions in “Des Moines, Iowa, is 20 days early, Detroit, Michigan , is 23 days early, and Cleveland, Ohio, is 16 days early compared to a long-term average of 1991-2020.”

Research has detailed the many ways that this early spring trend could throw plants, animals and seasonal pastimes out of whack. As today marks the actual first day of spring, I thought I’d point out some of the impacts of these early seasonal shifts that scientists have documented in the past few years.

Early-blooming blossoms: Starting around the end of each

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