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The global food and fuel crisis is resulting in more than just people going hungry. Rising grain and gas prices, as well as the closure of American slaughterhouses, have contributed to a virtual stampede of horses being abandoned — some starving — and turned loose into the deserts and plains of the West to die cruel and lonesome deaths. Horse rescue projects, which are mostly small, volunteer operations with limited land and resources, are feeling the consequences of this convergence of events. In the meantime, many now unaffordable horses are being sold to abbatoirs south of the border where inhumane...

A FOREST police team rescued 40 wild giant pandas in Wolong National Nature Reserve in earthquake-hit Sichuan Province at 11am today, Xinhua news agency reported. The Wolong reserve is a large reserve area for the giant panda, an animal considered a national treasure because it is unique to China. China yesterday said 86 giant pandas at the China Wolong Giant Panda Protection and Research Center, which is near the earthquake's epicenter in Sichuan's Wenchuan County, are safe. All panda cubs had been transported to safety, the Wolong center reported to the State Forestry Administration by satellite telephone after being out...

MYFOXNY.COM -- The NYPD's Harbor Unit, patrolling the East River near the United Nations as a part of security operations for the Pope's visit, rescued an apparently sick beaver from the water. The ever-vigilant harbor cops spotted the animal, which appeared to be having trouble breathing and struggled to swim, not far from the U.N., where the Pope was speaking. >>VIDEO: SCUBA COPS BRING BEAVER ASHORE >>VIDEO: OFFICER DESCRIBES BEAVER RESCUE Police Officer John Angus caught the beaver in a safety noose, pulled it aboard, and placed it in a bucket with water. Officers brought the beaver to shore for...

Dog comes to the rescue of baby kangaroo Last Updated: 5:52pm BST 31/03/2008 A dog has rescued a tiny baby kangaroo, gently carrying it to safety in its mouth after the joey's mother was killed by car. Rex the dog found the four-month-old joey in the pouch of its dead mother and carried it to safety Rex, the German short-haired pointer cross, was walking with his owner, Leonie Allan, near the Bells Beach in Torquay, on Australia's south coast, when they passed a dead kangaroo. The marsupials are often killed while crossing busy roads, so Mrs Allan thought nothing of...

While searching for a companion for George Bailey, Gregg was shocked to see a banner on an Ohio animal shelter's Web site that detailed how tough it is for big dogs with black coats to find homes. "It said something like, 'We know that you people prefer colors, but we've got wonderful black dogs here, won't you please consider them?'" recalls Gregg, who's 49 and lives in Xenia, Ohio. "I was shocked, because I think that black dogs are beautiful — and I couldn't believe people would not get a dog based on its color." To the uninitiated, the idea...

A 63-year-old woman died on Saturday night after falling down a well while trying to fish out a dead chicken. The accident occurred near Ed in Dalsland in western Sweden. According to local police officer Patrik Ahlbom the woman was trying to fish out a dead hen from the well when she fell in herself. The woman fell 2-3 metres and probably died immediately, Ahlbom said. The 63-year-old was found by her husband. The woman was taken to Dalsland's hospital in Bäckefors where she was confirmed dead. Ahlbom reports that the woman's husband suffered from shock following the accident.

HELENA, Mont. — Tom Pick was backcountry skiing with his 3-year-old black Labrador Lizzie in southwestern Montana when a small avalanche carried the dog down the side of the mountain. She disappeared from his reach and into the swirling snow. Pick searched for two days with no sign of Lizzie — haunted by the sight of the dog's eyes gazing up at him as she fell. "I'll probably always see her eyes just looking up at me as she slid down into that thing," Pick said in an interview this week. "You could tell that she was scared."

MARSHALL, Texas (AP) - An animal protection group on Friday rescued more than 200 animals, including 26 hissing cockroaches and two bearded dragons, from an eastern Texas home. The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said the animals were still being counted Friday night. The group was acting under the authority of the Harrison County Sheriff's Department and had gone to the property on a warrant regarding medical neglect. Besides the cockroaches and bearded dragons, the animals included 68 dogs, 16 rabbits, 15 guinea pigs, 13 gerbils, seven doves, two dwarf hamsters, two hedgehogs, an opossum and a...

Sometimes, when you're a stray kitten, you have to depend on the kindness of strangers. Just ask 8-week-old Dasher, who had to be rescued twice in one day. Dasher was scooped up by a good Samaritan from a road in Taunton Tuesday. He'd suffered a broken leg after being hit by a car. The woman brought him into the warmth of her car, but he wasn't out of trouble yet. The little gray tabby climbed inside the dashboard.

Eight Rescued, One Found Dead, Authorities Say They were once competitors, racehorses that might have known victory. But that seemed a distant reality for the emaciated horses that authorities recently seized from a Clarke County farm. When rescuers arrived at the farm last week, one mare was dead, the ground burrowed where she had tried repeatedly, and unsuccessfully, to stand. Eight other horses showed signs of starvation, their skin stretched taut over rib cages and hip bones. "There was no doubt in my mind that these people were not taking care of these horses. There was no grazing. There was...

In response to an urgent call for help with 1,000 small-breed dogs seized from a recently exposed, unregulated dog breeding operation in Hillsville, VA, the Montgomery County Humane Society sent medical staff and rescue vehicles to Southern Virginia yesterday afternoon. The MCHS Private Rescue Shelter and medical staff are preparing for the arrival of approximately 50 dogs, many of whom will need special care. The dogs are expected to arrive Thursday evening. The dogs include nursing mothers, sick and injured dogs, and very young puppies. Their living conditions have been described as “deplorable and inhumane.” What is amazing is that,...

STEPHENS CITY, Va. - A stray kitten has found a new mother in a golden retriever, who began producing milk for the gray tabby after hearing its cries. The hungry kitten, found in an old tire at a concrete plant, refused to drink from a bottle and her rescuers feared she would die. That's when Honey, the family dog who hadn't given birth in 18 months, stepped in with her motherly instincts. "She started licking her and loving her. Within a couple of days, Honey started naturally lactating," said Kathy Martin, whose husband, Jimmy, brought the kitten home six weeks...

Underwood, Minn. (AP) -- Firefighters in the western Minnesota town of Underwood weren't quite sure what to expect when they got the call: A donkey had fallen down an abandoned well and was trapped. Firefighters quickly realized that the donkey, who belonged to farmer Warren Gundberg who lived about a mile away, couldn't just be pulled from the abandoned well on Bryan Nelson's land. So they started pulling away earth with a Bobcat tractor and dismantling the well block by block on Thursday. Once the west wall of the well had been taken apart, firefighters put a harness around the...

ANDERSON, S.C. -- A woman from Georgia died when she was hit by four vehicles on Interstate 85 on Thursday night as she tried to rescue her dog, authorities said. Investigators said that they believe Lou Ellena Hutgens, 68, was driving a convertible north on I-85 in Anderson County at about 10:45 p.m.

NEW YORK — A lifeguard in New York's Coney Island beach came to the rescue of a 2-foot sand shark that was being smacked and hit by frightened swimmers. Chiseled lifeguard Marisu Mironescu, 39, of Brooklyn, said in Tuesday editions of The Daily News that he saw about 75 to 100 people circling the shark off Coney Island's beach and "bugging out." "They were holding onto it and some people were actually hitting him, smacking his face," said Mironescu, who has been a lifeguard since 1985 had never dealt with a shark until Monday's rescue. "Well, I wasn't going to...

Tonya Irizarry was uneducated about pit bulls when she saved Buster from certain death. The dog's owners had abandoned him at a local shelter a few years ago in the middle of a divorce. Worried over his fate, Irizarry rescued him with the intention of fostering him until a permanent home could be found. When no one stepped forward, Irizarry, a volunteer with the Henrico Humane Society, decided to keep him. Within a few weeks, she said, she forgot everything she had heard about pit bulls. "Before I got Buster, I thought the same thing everyone else thinks about pit...

I need help placing a 16 month old German Shepherd who we rescued from the original owner. She has NOT been fixed, has EXCELLENT blood lines and has had all of her shots. The dog has become my BEST friend...and while that's great, I have a 10 month old GS and they're not getting along. It's getting worse as time goes by. Due to personal reasons of my own, I need her placed by this coming Wednesday. (8-15-07) She MUST go to an owner who has had a GS and understands the dynamics of that, and who is willing to...

EL DORADO HILLS, Calif. - A California-based animal rescue group that received millions of dollars in donations after Hurricane Katrina has shut down amid a state investigation into how it spent the money. Noah's Wish said it sheltered nearly 2,000 pets rescued after the 2005 hurricane swamped Louisiana and Mississippi. National stories at the time prompted $8.5 million in donations to the organization, up from its usual $100,000 to $200,000 a year prior to the hurricane, according to financial records. The organization was founded by Terri Crisp in 2002, but the nonprofit's board removed her as executive director on March...

Tiffany Madura keeps Hope inside. The chubby black cocker spaniel enthusiastically defends her oversized chew toy and flops onto a dog bed in the living room. But the two-acre fenced yard outside the Austin ranch-style house is off-limits for playtime. "I'm afraid someone might take her away," Madura says nervously. That someone would be Shalanda Augillard, who is working as hard as she can to pry Hope from Madura. When the dog lived with her just outside of New Orleans, she claims, its name was Jazz. "There is not one ounce of doubt in my mind that this is the...

A lucky adolescent male bottlenose dolphin is back to living nude and free in Gulf Coast Florida's Sarasota Bay after making a potentially fatal wardrobe choice early this summer. The 10-year-old dolphin, known as Scrappy, probably owes its life to a Brookfield Zoo marine mammal research team that works year round in the bay. The drama began July 6, when a member of the team working in the bay spotted Scrappy unaccountably and uncomfortably swimming around while wearing a black, Speedo-brand man's bikini swimsuit. "He must have found the swimsuit floating in the water," said Randall Wells, a population biologist...

CLEVELAND, Texas -- Hundreds of pit bulls were rescued from an illegal dog-fighting breeding ring after a man was shot to death, officials told Houston television station KPRC. The Houston Humane Society said 300 pit bulls were discovered on a 23-acre property in Liberty County. Last week, the owner, identified as 25-year-old Thomas Wagner, was shot and killed in a home invasion at about 4 a.m., according to deputies. The Humane Society went to the property to collect the animals. Officials said transporting the dogs was a big undertaking because they had to be kenneled in separate crates so that...

WASHINGTON -- In the wake of haunting images of pets left behind in flooded New Orleans, the U.S. Senate passed a bill Friday requiring local and state disaster agencies to take pets and service animals into account in their emergency planning. The Senate approved the bill by unanimous consent in the early hours before recessing for its summer break. The House of Representatives passed a similar bill in May and differences must be worked out before the legislation is sent to President Bush. Wayne Pacelle, president of the Humane Society of the United States, called the measure "an important step...

June 2, 2006 Rural Oregon I couldn't take anymore. Lately a couple of guys online have been running a continuing series of stories about a bunch of defenseless chickens they've got in poultry prison up in the Oregon boondocks. After seeing the photos of these poor birds and gazing at the anguished expressions on their little faces, I knew I had to free them before they were permanently traumatized by their cruel owners. I called Scooter and we hatched a plan (no pun intended) to rescue them. We arrived Wednesday night at the secluded farm and prepared for the liberation....

A television shot of a little boy losing his dog during rescue operations after Hurricane Katrina was the catalyst for House passage Monday of legislation to require pets to be considered in future emergency preparedness plans. "The dog was taken away from this little boy, and to watch his face was a singularly revealing and tragic experience," said Rep. Tom Lantos of California, sponsor of the Pet Evacuation and Transportation Standards Act. "This legislation was born at that moment." The bill, which passed 349-24, requires that state and local preparedness offices take into account pet owners, household pets and service...

GRAYSON COUNTY, Ky. -- A Kentucky man died after jumping into a pond trying to save the family pet. The tragedy took place in Grayson County last week, Louisville, Ky., television station WLKY reported. Eric Barclay's own loved ones admitted they wouldn't have tried to do the same thing, but they also said that Barclay was the kind of person who would do what he did last week, trying to save a dog named Buster. "Eric would do anything he could for anybody, and I guess Buster was no exception," said Barclay's uncle, Tedd O'Neal. "The dog liked Eric and...

HELP! About an hour ago I was crossing over Sunrise on the pedestrian overpass from the Ft. Lauderdale Swap Shop. I always glance at the canal on the south side of Sunrise because it is fun to watch the fish jumping sometimes. Anyway, this time I saw something that made me stop dead in my tracks. It was something HUGE in the canal. I couldn't tell at first what it was. It could have been a seal, or a gigantic turtle, or a really large alligator. Anyway, it was making a lot of movement in the canal and I yelled...

NEW YORK - Molly the cat is finally free. After two weeks stuck behind a brick wall in a 19th century Greenwich Village building, workers rescued the bashful 11-month-old feline from her plight late Friday, according to Jean Tannenbaum, a spokeswoman for Animal Care & Control of New York City. Representatives of Animal Care & Control, a private organization with a city contract to handle lost, injured and unwanted animals, have worked alongside a team of rescuers to drill and hammer out bricks in the cellar of the 157-year-old building to get Molly out. They used special cameras, set out...

W.Va. Woman Told to Stop Rescuing Opossums By Associated Press February 21, 2006, 8:10 PM EST PARKERSBURG, W.Va. -- The Division of Natural Resources has told a Parkersburg woman to stop rescuing orphaned baby opossums because possessing wildlife is illegal in West Virginia. Sarah Stapp heard from the DNR after her efforts to save baby opossums that had lost their mothers were recently publicized in newspapers across the state. The 42-year-old former science teacher cared for the orphaned animals until they were about 50 days old, and then returned them to the wild. Stapp has kept several opossums as pets...

Forced to flee after Hurricane Katrina ravaged her home in August, Annabelle Arguello put her dogs in a temporary shelter in Louisiana. When she went to retrieve them a month later, they were gone. She quickly located her two beagles -- but not her Great Dane, Chopper. A thousand miles away, in New Jersey, Pam Behmke had been looking for a pet. She spotted a black Great Dane at an adoption day held by Hillside, N.J.-based People for Animals in October. She took Pluto -- an animal shelter workers fondly described as "a big goofy dog" -- home to Flemington....

LONDON, Jan. 23 (UPI) -- The British navy has been accused of disorienting a bottlenose whale that died in the river Thames during the weekend despite rescue attempts. Marine scientists and animal welfare groups believe that navy sonar may have disoriented the 18-foot adolescent female, while marine acoustics experts blamed explosions from a site operated by the defense contractor QinetiQ. The Times of London said residents in north Kent had reported blasts last week from Shoeburyness Range, a Ministry of Defense site where QinetiQ was carrying out controlled detonations. Meanwhile, a post-mortem examination of the whale was completed Monday, and...

LONDON -- The bottlenose whale spotted swimming past the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben captivated thousands with its appearance in the River Thames. The death of the ailing animal, wounded and swaddled in blankets, brought a sad end to the saga of London's most unlikely tourist. Around 3,000 people lined a stretch of the Thames on today, cheering as marine wildlife experts used a crane to haul the 20-foot-long whale onto a rusting salvage barge. The rescue crew then faced a race against time to reach deeper waters on England's southern coast -- as the whale's internal organs suffered...

LONDON - The lost and distressed whale stranded in the River Thames died Saturday as rescue workers attempted to ferry it out to sea for release, an animal rights group said. The 20-foot-long Northern bottlenose whale had been lifted onto a barge by rescuers and was being taken downriver toward the North Sea when it suffered convulsions and died, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said.

LONDON (Reuters) - A lost whale that strayed up the Thames in central London was gently lifted onto a barge on Saturday as crowds lined the river banks to watch a unique rescue operation that has captivated world attention. Spontaneous applause erupted as the 15-foot (5-metre) adolescent northern bottle-nosed whale -- the first whale since records began in 1913 to have been seen so far upstream -- was laid on the padded deck to begin its journey to the sea. "The most critical part of the operation seems to have been passed smoothly," said Tony Woodley of British Divers Marine...

LONDON (Reuters) - A whale stranded in the River Thames in central London is becoming tired and disorientated and may not survive long enough to swim back out to sea, marine experts said on Saturday. The northern bottle-nosed whale swam up the Thames on Friday, passing the Houses of Parliament and drawing large crowds to witness the rare event. At 0930 GMT on Saturday a Reuters photographer saw the whale between Albert and Chelsea bridges as it fought the river's incoming tide around 30 miles from the English Channel. "It is obviously distressed and tired and we must warn that...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/4633878.stm

January 13, 2006 Undercover I received a call from my good friend and PETA activist, Scooter. He asked me if I would help him liberate some minks from a breeding facility in the Midwest. As I'm sure you know, they make these poor little animals into clothing for rich Republicans (I've heard Dick Cheney's wife even wears mink underwear). I didn't hesitate to say yes. Scooter and I met up in a small town close to our target and discussed the operation over dinner. Our plan was not only to free the oppressed animals, but also to do as much...

The dramatic rescue of a young moose in New Brunswick has ended sadly, with wildlife officials putting the animal down because of an injury. The female moose spent much of Tuesday morning wandering through the streets of Fredericton, ending up on the ice of the St. John River. Fredericton firefighters and officers with the Department of Natural Resources crept out to the animal on a special ice sled and sedated it with a tranquillizer gun. Two men then attached a strap to its body while those on shore hauled the animal to safety. Officers had hoped to release the moose...

Beauregard is one lucky dog. Even though he suffered serious bite wounds in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and was hit by a car after being rescued and brought to Dane County, the Lab mix is on the mend and doing well, said Robin Serano, a technician at the University of Wisconsin Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital. Beauregard went to his new home on Christmas Day, she said. He was the last to be adopted of four animals Serano saved from being euthanized and brought back with her in October from the mean streets of New Orleans, where thousands of companion...

CHIPPEWA FALLS, Wis. (AP) - "Ice Train" is getting a new home. A Trempealeau County family was given the adoption rights to the dog that made headlines after he was found frozen to some railroad tracks and rescued 10 minutes before a train was due. More than 400 people inquired about adopting the husky nicknamed "Ice Train" by handlers and 50 filed applications, said Vickie O'Branovich, shelter manager for the Chippewa County Humane Association. She picked the new owner for his ability to provide the best surroundings for the dog. The new owner, whom O'Branovich declined to identify, already has...

MISSOULA, Montana (AP) -- If cats have nine lives, a kitty in Montana has definitely used one up. A house cat survived being locked in a cage, thrown off a bridge and then stranded in an icy puddle of river slush. The ordeal ended Tuesday morning when a pair of passers-by spotted the calico cat while crossing a footbridge and called for help. Missoula firefighters arrived minutes later, donned wet suits and launched a rescue boat. Someone had put the animal in a cage, along with a rock weighing about 16 pounds, and tossed it into the Clark Fork River....

Chippewa Falls, WIS. (AP) -- Jeremy Majorowicz thought something was wrong when he saw a dog sitting on railroad tracks for at least two hours. But he didn't realize how wrong until he and several other men determined that the gray and white husky had been literally frozen to the ties in below zero weather. The construction worker first saw the dog on the tracks before his crew called off work for the day Monday because of the cold, and headed to a restaurant. But the dog was still there when they returned 1 1/2 hours later. "I like animals,...

Woman Suspended From Job After Trying To Rescue Squirrel POSTED: 10:43 am EST December 2, 2005 MICHIGAN CITY, Ind. -- A woman says she was suspended from her job for spending too much time trying to rescue a squirrel trapped in the ceiling of the library where she works. Cindee Goetz said she contacted a friend who owns an animal-removal business about the animal after a company hired by the library tried using a trap that would kill it. "It's a real pickle to be in, all over me being compassionate toward animals," Goetz said. "They said I went around...

Give a turkey something to be thankful for this Thanksgiving — Join Farm Sanctuary's annual Adopt-A-Turkey Project. Every year, Farm Sanctuary rescues turkeys from slaughter and provides them lifelong, loving care at our shelters for farm animals in Watkins Glen, New York and Orland, California. Since our unique holiday project began in 1986, hundreds of turkeys in need have been rescued, and thousands of people have decided to feed a turkey, rather than eat a turkey, by adopting one. Every year, more people are choosing to save a turkey for Thanksgiving, and you can, too! Farm Sanctuary's Adopt-A-Turkey Project offers...

NEW ORLEANS - Dakota the dog is finally back in New Orleans. It's another tearful reunion. It's also extremely rare. Despite efforts by hundreds of volunteers, unprecedented cooperation by animal groups, millions of donated dollars and wide use of the Internet, the reunion rate of owner and pet separated by Katrina is less than 15 percent.

A staffer at the LaPorte County (Ind.) Public Library’s Coolspring branch received a one-week suspension for spending too much time attempting to rescue a squirrel trapped in the library’s ceiling. Cindee Goetz said in the December 1 Michigan City (Ind.) News-Dispatch that when a company hired by the library switched from using a non-kill trap to a kill trap, she asked a friend who owns a humane animal-removal business to capture the squirrel. Goetz said she was then suspended without pay for “not giving the library its just due.” She told the newspaper, “They said I went around the chain...

GODE, Ethiopia - Two endangered cheetah cubs held captive and abused at a remote village restaurant are to be rescued by an Ethiopian veterinarian and U.S. soldiers, an environmental official said. ADVERTISEMENT Befekadu Refera, an official of the national Environmental Protection Agency, said the veterinarian would take the cheetahs away from Gode on Saturday and hand them to U.S. troops for safekeeping until the animals are flown to the capital, Addis Ababa. "The U.S. Army will not take the cheetahs without Ethiopian officials being present," Befekadu told The Associated Press. "The vet will give some medical treatment to the animals...

BOGALUSA — Alley Cat Allies (www.alleycat.org) and AnimalRescueNewOrleans.com are issuing a call for the state of Louisiana to stop blocking attempts to save the thousands of sick, injured, and traumatized dogs and cats who still wander the streets of New Orleans. These groups are calling for the state to reverse its course and accept outside help in the form of veterinarians and more volunteers. The state has announced that the Hurricane Katrina rescue phase is over. Out-of-state veterinarians are banned from volunteering their services on behalf of the animals of greater New Orleans. Rescuers have been threatened with arrest if...

More than two months after Hurricane Katrina blew in, animals are still being found alive in New Orleans, pulled out of attics and from beneath flooring or off of the streets, where they’ve been surviving on sheer will and the kindness of strangers who leave food for them. Some are little more than skin wrapped around bones. Starving, dehydrated and depressed, they still greet people trustingly, perhaps somehow recognizing that they represent salvation from their utterly bewildering circumstances.

There are 500 dogs in very dire circumstances in Mountain Home, Arkansas today. There are ONLY 6 people onsite and they’re desperate for capable people who are experienced with aggressive dogs to help with this most inhumane situation. They are begging for capable bodies who can help clean and care for the dogs. Many dogs have gone cage crazy and are now trying to attack their handlers. Dogs are sick and dying and have no medical care. Young puppies are being exposed to filth, parasites and disease. If you have shelter experience and can get there, please contact Donna@badrap.org IMMEDIATELY...

PHYSICAL HELP IS NEEDED TO RESCUE LIVE ANIMALS STILL TRAPPED IN HOMES after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. On OCTOBER 19th, rescuers discovered Bingo, a dog so desperate for water he’d crawled into a bathtub. Too weak to haul his little body out, the tub almost became Bingo’s coffin. He could not lift his head or stand. But he is alive and now under veterinary care. Bingo and others like him want to live. Please let their tremendous will inspire you to travel to New Orleans as soon as you can. Recently, a dog was found confined in a laundry room....