Veterinarian guilty of "disgraceful conduct" for not euthanising a cat on request

NEWS AND COMMENT: This is a rather disturbing and at the same time interesting story. I think, my sympathies lie with the veterinarian and not with the adjudicating panel who found her guilty of 'disgraceful conduct'.

The vet's name is Dr. Janine Parody. She was employed as a veterinary clinic and was described as an excellent veterinarian. She had 10 years experience at the time.

Dr. Janine Parody. Image: Facebook.

A woman involved in cat rescue it seems came to the veterinary clinic where she worked and asked Dr. Parody to euthanise a youngish male cat (8-months old) named Shadow who had an MRSA infection, was thin and had facial injuries. It appears that the cat was a street cat and had been injured and contracted the infection while leading a very difficult life.

The cat rescuer arranged for Dr. Parody to euthanise shallow on December 20, 2021.

At the time Dr. Parody was stressed and had euthanised a few cats that day already. She made the point, as other veterinarians have made, that euthanising pets is stressful and it leaves its mark. She said that you tend to take euthanasia home with you.

It was during the Covid-19 pandemic and these factors put together drove her to disregard her client's instructions to euthanise Shallow and she sedated him instead I guess to give the impression that she had euthanised him. The client went home and Dr. Paoli took Shadow home with the intention of treating him at home.

She sterilised him and removed his microchip and put a new one in. We don't know whether the one she put in contained her details or not. But she did say that she had no intention of adopting Shadow. It should be said that at the time Shadow had no owner because he was a rescue cat and had simply been rescued and brought to the clinic.

And therefore if she did intend to keep the cat she can't be accused of stealing or attempting to steal.

Anyway, after two months, Shallow's condition had not improved and Dr. Parody decided to put him to sleep at that time and owned up to what she had done to her client. Her client was shocked and elated and agreed to pay the £480 cost of treatment that Dr. Parody had administered.

The matter was investigated and Dr. Parody resigned her position at the clinic. The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons tribunal found Dr. Parody guilty of disgraceful conduct and issued her with a reprimand.

At the hearing she said the following:

"I understand that my decision not to euthanise Shadow and instead to treat him without the consent of Ms SM was wrong.

"It was a decision I made on a very, very busy and stressful day and when I thought the cat had no owner but I fully appreciate that was no excuse.

"Once I had made that one decision, I did not revisit my decision but simply continued to treat the cat as best I could at an extremely stressful time.

"I accept that as a result of my decision and actions that the lady who had brought the cat in and who I now know was SM, was misled into thinking that it had been put to sleep and this is something I very much regret.

"My actions with regard to this cat all snowballed from my decision to treat the cat on 20 December and not put him to sleep.

"I know I should not have done this but because the cat was young and the condition curable, I felt that I was acting with the welfare of the cat at the centre of my decisions."

Comment: it's hard to know exactly what was in the mind of Dr. Parody at the time that she took this course of action. My gut feeling is that she in fact did want to adopt the cat because she did, after all, change the microchip. It doesn't really change the outcome although her motivations are important.

As you can see, she found Shadow to be a happy cat in her consulting room. I should think that he was probably an attractive cat to but I don't know. This vet has a heart. This is what makes her a good veterinarian. Euthanasia is always difficult both for the client and for the veterinarian. It should only happen after a good consultation with a good veterinarian and the timing of euthanasia is critical. It should not be delayed because the cat's owner doesn't want to relinquish their cat and say goodbye to them and likewise it should not be conducted to soon for obvious reasons.

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins. Also, sources for news articles are carefully selected but the news is often not independently verified. And, I rely on scientific studies but they are not 100% reliable. Finally, (!) I often express an OPINION on the news. Please share yours in a comment.

Lost Siamese cat walks 900 miles home from Yellowstone National Park to Roseville California

The domestic cat's astonishing navigation abilities combined with their natural homing instinct and enormous persistence have appeared to combined in compelling this Siamese cat to go home from Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming to Roseville, California; a journey of about 900 miles and his owner believes that he did it all on his own. His owner believes that he he was not transported in a vehicle but simply made his way home after he got lost on a camping trip to that wonderful park.

It is believed that cats can detect the Earth's magnetic field and use it to navigate.

Note: you can see that Beau has a slight squint which is typical of Siamese cats. Reason? Click this to find out.

Image: MikeB made with images from Sky News.

His name is Rayne Beau which I think is a very clever name because it is a take on the word "rainbow". And interestingly, his owners, Benny and Suzanne Anguiano, saw a rainbow on their way home from Yellowstone National Park to their home in Salinas having searched high and low for their beloved cat. They took the rainbow as a sign that Beau would come home.

They Beau him and his twin sister to Yellowstone's Fishing Bridge RV Park on June 4. This was the cats' first trip to the forest.

The holiday ended badly because Rayne Beau ran off into the wilds of the park and couldn't be found. The couple searched for four days but with heavy hearts they returned home to Salinas, California.

They didn't give up hope and fortunately Beau was micro-chipped and in August the couple received a surprise phone call from the microchip company. They were told that Beau was safe and well at the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in Roseville, California.

That's about 200 miles from their home and they drove to the shelter to collect him. Apparently a woman saw Beau wandering the streets of Roseville. They fed him and gave him water until is they managed to catch him on the 3rd August and then took him to the shelter.

Beau had lost 6 pounds which apparently is about 40% of his body weight and his protein levels were low due to inadequate nutrition. His paws were very sore. These are the reasons why Ms Anguianos believes that Beau walked all the way back without help.

They've now fitted him with a GPS tracker and I have to say that this is not the first instance on a domestic cat making a remarkable return home using their natural navigation abilities.

Another example: Florida Cat Walked 197 Miles To Get Home.

And about the wild cats:

Bengal tiger travels 1300 km to find his home range and a mate.

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins. Also: sources for news articles are carefully selected but the news is often not independently verified. Also, I rely on scientific studies but they are not 100% reliable.

Rescue cat, Marley, wins top prize as a women's safe-house cat

Marley, is a rescue cat who works his magic at a safe house for women who have been enslaved, exploited or trafficked. He has won a national award. Marley, who is black-and-white, beat thousands of other entries to be named Cats Protection cat of the year in recognition of the way he offers comfort to people at Caritas Bakhita House in London.

Marley in the garden. I think he has a good life too. Great story of positives. Image: Ciaran McCrickard/PA Wire.

He's been named Cats Protection's National Cat of the Year 2024. He is seven years old. He has the "gift of empathy". The head of the house, Karen Anstiss, 59, said "I'm so proud Marley has won National Cat of the Year - he's a wonderful example of the power of love. Often Marley placing a paw on our guests' legs is the first kindness they've experienced in years. He has this incredible gift of empathy and has assisted many, many women along the road to recovery."

"Before he went into rescue, I think he had a hard time. So, he recognises our guests' trauma because he has suffered too," Ms Anstiss added.

"Initially he sits really close, to see how the women respond. Then he gently puts a paw on their leg letting them know they're not alone.

"We had one guest who was so traumatised she didn't speak to us - only to Marley - and because she trusted him, over time we were able to reach her."

She added that, "nobody is allowed to touch his patch of daisies" in the garden. Marley often joins the staff and guests at a dinner and one guest has even composed a song for him. Marley was selected as overall winner by a panel of celebrity judges.

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins. Also: sources for news articles are carefully selected but the news is often not independently verified. Also, I rely on scientific studies but they are not 100% reliable.

JD Vance pours gasoline on the Haitian cat eating story and gets badly burned

Surprisingly, and in another poor decision by the Trump/Vance partnership, JD Vance has continued to pour gasoline on the discredited migrant cat eating story by posting on his Twitter/X feed (with 1.9 million followers) a video of poultry being cooked on an outdoor grill while claiming that domestic cats were being cooked in preparation for an outdoor meal in Ohio!

JD Vance. Image: Wikipedia.

The video accompanied the following words: "Kamala Harris and her media apparatchiks should be ashamed of themselves. Another debunked story that turned out to have merit."

Kamala Harris and her media apparatchiks should be ashamed of themselves.

Another "debunked" story that turned out to have merit. https://t.co/dOyh9oTXhb

— JD Vance (@JDVance) September 14, 2024

You may remember that JD Vance had claimed falsely that Haitians in Springfield, Ohio were stealing domestic cats and eating them. There are many Haitian immigrants (I believe that they are legal immigrants) in Springfield, Ohio a town of 58,000 citizens. And I believe that the indigenous citizens have become annoyed by this 20,000 influx and have created this false scenario on social media which went viral.

Trump and Vance grabbed hold of it is a useful story to emphasise their desire to stop illegal immigration and that they are the duo best suited for this task. But they dug a big hole for themselves. And in this instance JD Vance has apparently got burnt by throwing gasoline on an already simmering fire.

The Independent newspaper tells us that this video was originally posted by the right-wing Manhattan Institute's Christopher Rufo, who apparently offered a $5,000 bounty to anyone that could provide proof of cat eating migrants in Ohio.

The newspaper is able to tell us that the footage was filmed last year in Dayton according to Rufo who has spoken to the person who made the video. The person who shot the video said that "some Africans that stay right next door to my kid's mother". And Rufo insists that the claims were verified i.e. that cats were being eaten, by "multiple witnesses and visual cross-references." 

His article states that the video shows "a pair of flayed cats on a blue barbecue in Dayton Ohio".

Note: Haiti is not in Africa! It is in the Caribbean.

The reaction was rapid on social media. The general tenor of the criticisms is that chickens were being cooked and they were surprised that Rufo and JD Vance was unable to tell the difference between chickens and cats who reposted the video.

Here's an example: " “I find it strange that a self-professed ‘hillbilly’ doesn’t know what whole chickens look like."

And another example in capital letters to emphasise the point!: “HOW DO YOU NOT KNOW WHAT CHICKENS LOOK LIKE WITH THEIR LEGS ATTACHED YOU F****ING DIPSHIT.”

The Independent reached out to Rufo for a comment but he did not respond. Also, the JD Vance campaign declined to comment. And an expert at the National Chicken Council did not reply to requests to comment.

However, somebody close to JD Vance told the newspaper that they did not believe the carcasses to be grilled were chickens. The Independent newspaper journalist writes that "a visual comparison of skinned cats prepared for laboratory use and whole plucked chickens suggested the animals in the video are almost certainly not feline."

The story is both bizarre and sickening actually. We have to discuss, in this story, skinned cats being grilled in a backyard in Ohio. It makes me want to puke.

This is another escalation in this ridiculous story and it very strongly appears that JD Vance is digging a bigger hole for himself and the Tramp campaign. He's thrown gasoline on the embers of a fire that was fizzling out nicely and now it is back in flames in the headlines.

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins. Also: sources for news articles are carefully selected but the news is often not independently verified. Also, I rely on scientific studies but they are not 100% reliable.

Trump's POOR DECISION-MAKING evident in his rant about pet-eating migrants during presidential debate

Americans expect their next president to be able to make excellent decisions as and when necessary. It is the hallmark of a good president. It is their raison d'être. An American president must be able to make great decisions. The best possible decisions, balancing up all the various factors and influences and consequences. I would expect that an American president makes hundreds of decisions every day all of which have the potential to improve for worsen the lives of Americans.

Screenshot from the debate. An angry as usual Trump and a smiling Harris.

The recent much-publicised debate between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris emphasises, as far as I am concerned, the fact that Donald Trump makes poor decisions. He is a poor decision-maker.

During this debate he had all the opportunity to discuss issues that are central to the lives of Americans such as healthcare and the economy. Immigration might also be in that discussion. Uncontrolled immigration is important to many Americans as it is too many other citizens of other countries including the UK.

Both parties to this debate had plenty of time to prepare for it. Donald Trump had the choice whether he should rant and rave about Haitian migrants eating pets in Springfield Ohio, or is it Canton Ohio, we don't know exactly? He could have avoided the subject completely. He could have addressed immigration but in a professional and balanced way.

But he went on - in his usual way - about a viral social media story which Springfield officials and police say is untrue. They say that there are no credible reports of pet-eating migrants. However, Ohio's Republican Attorney General has launched an investigation into the claims. Link to a further discussion on this.

And there's a video on social media of a Haitian woman, Allexis Telia Ferrell, being arrested and reportedly charged by the local police.

The police officer - as they approach the woman - receives a witness account from people standing by saying that she ate a cat. Were these witnesses truthful or did they have an agenda to further? And I'm told that she was charged - I guess on the basis of that witness evidence - but we are getting very mixed reports on this topic.

The point I'm making is this: at the moment there is no hard evidence that Haitian immigrants are killing and eating pet dogs and pet cats in Springfield or Canton, Ohio, USA. There appears to be some witness evidence but it's been hyped up on social media. It might be unreliable and biased.

And it appears to be hyped up on social media in order to further Donald Trump's political campaign about uncontrolled immigration into the country. He is very strong on that and it appears to be one of his major platforms for history election.

But you cannot, as a potential president of this great country, rant and rave about something on mainstream television in a very major debate that is not based on hard fact at the time you talk about it. 

In the heated exchange, Harris turned to Trump and declared that as vice president she had spoken to foreign leaders who "say you (Trump) are a disgrace."

He has egg on his face. He looks stupid. I am embarrassed for him. A really good person with a good mind would not do this. It's incredibly careless and stupid. It makes him look stupid. And it makes him look like a poor decision-maker. And unfit to be the next president.

I'm pleased because I am very much a supporter of Kamala Harris and I don't think that Donald Trump was a good president. I've said before that if you combine Putin with Xi Jinping you will get a kind of semi-chaos.

Trump's sidekick also fell into the same trap:

“Months ago, I raised the issue of Haitian illegal immigrants draining social services and generally causing chaos all over Springfield, Ohio,” JD Vance wrote on X/Twitter. “Reports now show that people have had their pets abducted and eaten by people who shouldn’t be in this country.”

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins. Also: sources for news articles are carefully selected but the news is often not independently verified. Also, I rely on scientific studies but they are not 100% reliable.

Banksy's artwork of large cat (lion?) removed by contractors (video). Public boo!

I recently discussed this Banksy artwork on another site. It is of a large cat and as you can see there's a pom-pom end to the tail which indicates to me that is meant to be a lion. We know that Banksy is an activist, left-wing, concerned, and sensitive about wildlife and equality et cetera. He's quite a campaigner in a way through his artwork. This stencilled artwork was in Cricklewood which is North London, UK.

The black cat was stencilled onto an old advertising hoarding that hadn't been used for a long time by the look of it. The owners of the hoarding apparently employ contractors to remove the artwork because they feared that it would be stolen by an individual (as they often are) and that would result in the hoarding collapsing and harming somebody. That is their reason but I suspect the reason is to steal the artwork!! 😱😃 

The video shows it being removed. And the public are booing as it happened because they like the artwork. It elevates the mood of the place where they live. It makes them feel good. Unfortunately, as mentioned, his artwork almost always gets stolen because it is highly valuable. And I'm talking in the hundreds of thousands of pounds sometimes or at least £10,000, something like that.

To complete the story, I created an Infographic which explains, as I understand it, how he creates is very special artwork. I am speculating in the Infographic but is quite interesting because he's been doing this for a very long time and nobody knows what he looks like. 😎 

But the biggest point to make here is that he works as a team. He needs a team of individuals to use a cherry picker or scaffolding to get to high places. He does like to paint his artwork at high places, well off the ground. Perhaps he does this to protect the artwork and perhaps to make it more visible. It's quite unusual as we see in the video for his artwork to be at ground level. 

He works at night and in the early days apparently he worked with a kind of hoarding around the artwork so people - I guess - thought he was a local government contractor doing some maintenance work or something like that. That helped to disguise him. 

And on another occasion he was seen wearing a mask on a cherry picker so he does take remaining anonymous very seriously because it's part of his art. And I believe that the stealing of his artwork is also part of his art because it allows the common man, to participate in generating some income. It is an act of equality, a gift to Londoners if you like.

Speculating on how Banksy works by Michael Broad

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins. Also: sources for news articles are carefully selected but the news is often not independently verified. Also, I rely on scientific studies but they are not 100% reliable.

Andover residents honour stray cat Jess with bronze statue

The infographic-style image made by me explains the story. For me - and I am sure many other animal and cat lovers - to see the residents of Andover, England raising £5,000 to commission a sculptor, Amy Goodman, to create a bronze statue in memory of Jess, who made the railway station her home, is a delight. 

No doubt Jess's presence at the railway station pleased countless numbers of commuters. She must have made them smile; brightened up their lives on a damp Monday morning on their commute to the office. I love to see this happen. It is good for cats. I have just written an article about a story that was bad for cats. Click this to read it.

Amy Goodman presents her mold for the bronze statue of Jess by Michael Broad

The public blame influencer for losing her indoor/outdoor Bengal cat to thieves

Olivia and Haukie who was stolen as he was let outside unsupervised. Image: Olivia's Instagram account.

This Aussie, female influencer, now realises that owning a Bengal cat presents a difficult problem of caregiving: should I keep my athletic, energetic and intelligent cat inside the home all the time or let him out through a cat flap?

I have hinted at the problem. The wild cat hybrids like the Bengal, even down to the F5s, are sharp mentally and demanding physically. They need exercise and entertaining.

Can you as an owner create an indoor environment which mentally stimulates a Bengal cat? The answer is that you have to. No choice as you can't let Bengal cats outside free to roam as they please because they are too pretty. 

They are liable to be stolen which is what happened this Aussie influencer whose name is Olivia Mathers.

She let her male Bengal, Haukie go outside unsupervised and he was stolen. She thinks she knows who stole Haukie and she thinks the cat has been sold to a new owner and taken to Brisbane from her home on the Gold Coast, QLD.

As she is an Instagram influencer she used the platform to try and recover Haukie. She told her 760,000 followers what happened. Some were sympathetic while others brutally criticised her for letting Haukie out unsupervised.

This is the problem; she was probably concerned about ensuring Haukie was happy and mentally stimulated so decided to let him out but you can't do it with a Bengal cat particularly with a Bengal cat living in Australia where a substantial percentage of citizens genuinely believe that cats must be confined to the home to protect wild life because they've be told this over and over again by the authorities who are having kittens over losing native mammals and marsupials to the skilled predation of Aussie's overgrown feral cats which have begun to look like another cat species endemic to Australia, the country were there were and are no native cat species.

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.

Lord Blencathra would ban cat flaps to protect wildlife

Lord Blencathra sits in the House of Lords in Parliament. He is a peer of the realm and a life peer. He was a former Member of Parliament (MP) for Penrith and The Border from 1983 to 2010. He wants to protect wildlife and he has some ideas in that respect which he announced in the House of Lords which has been reported by The Telegraph.

The Rt Hon Lord Blencathra.

One of his silliest ideas (and I'll explain why I think it's silly) is that all cat flaps in the UK should be banned under the law. He doesn't believe that cats should be allowed to come and go as they please from indoors to outdoors (which is not an unreasonable thought of itself). 

And to justify that attitude he says that "All independent studies suggest that cats allowed the wonder will kill about 260 million mammals per annum in the UK and 60 million garden birds."

He doesn't say that these statistics are based on estimates from relatively small-scale studies. There is a lot of incidental information that one needs to bring into the equation when you talk about domestic cat predation on wildlife. But that is another story.

In addition to banning cat flaps and allowing cats out manually through the back door when the sun rises and after the sun has set, he suggests that all domestic cats allowed outside should wear bells on collars.

This last suggestion is fairly reasonable because although domestic cats learn to keep the bells as quiet as possible when stalking prey, bells on collars can help save the lives of some birds stalked by domestic cats. I can't see a problem with that suggestion in general terms but both his suggestions are unenforceable.

Enforceability

If a government makes a law in any field of human life, it has to be enforceable to be effective. That means that if somebody breaks the new law it must come to the notice of the authorities and law enforcement. The prosecution services should prosecute the individual and punish them under the law.

How is law enforcement going to find out if a homeowner has a cat flap in their back door or not? There are many millions of them across the UK. No one knows who's got one and no one knows who has not got one. No one in authority can check because they open to the backdoor in the backyard which is invisible from the street.

Neighbours will or might know but that means that neighbours have to spy on neighbours which is going to cause friction. If that goes on across the country it is going to create a problem in society. You cannot rely on neighbours to spy on other neighbours as happened in East Germany during the communist era.

So Lord Bethcathra's suggestion is foolish and entirely unworkable. It will never happen.

And therefore I don't see why he's bothering to suggest it in a debating chamber in the Houses of Parliament. He is wasting his time, the time of the other lords in the debating chamber and he is wasting taxpayers money who pays him to be there.

It's also unworkable to enforce a law which makes it mandatory for domestic cats to wear bells on collars. It's easier to enforce it than the cat flap proposed law but it is still unenforceable. It would rely upon neighbours spying on neighbours as well.

You've got to work backwards with the creation of laws. You've got to ask yourself if it's enforceable and how could it become enforceable. What kind of machinery do you need to make it enforceable? 

And if existing machinery i.e. law enforcement and prosecution services and the local authority can't make new laws enforceable they should not be enacted unless you think that the law is so popular and universally supported by the public that they will comply with the law voluntarily but this makes the law unnecessary. Government advice, under those circumstances, would probably suffice.

In the meantime, there is a need for a much more thorough evaluation of domestic cat predation on wildlife over a much larger area. You can't extrapolate data from a small study in one particular area and say that those figures apply to the rest of the UK. You might get a rough idea but you do not end up with really accurate data.

And we need to know how many feral cats there are in the country. We don't know (accurately) and if you don't know the number of feral cats in a country you can't decide how many birds and mammals they attack and eat

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.

Bird flu blinds barn cats and kills half in days on Texas farm

This is a cross post because it is an important story. It is also a tragic story as half of the 24 barn cats on this Texas farm died quickly of bird flu which they contracted, it is believed, from drinking the unpasteurised milk from the cows with which they lived. 

Barn cats drink unpasteurised milk in a milking barn and caught bird flu which killed them. This is a fictional image please note based on the image on the internet. 

Their deaths were unpleasant and painful. The story was announced by the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) which revealed that at least 24 cats on this Texas farm experienced severe health symptoms such as depression, body stiffness, ataxia (loss of coordination), blindness, circling and extreme upper respiratory infection with excessive mucus from their eyes and noses.

Autopsies were carried out on the cats some of whom had died in as little as two days after they fell ill. The virus had spread to their entire body, lungs, brains, heart and eyes.

It also believed the cats contracted the disease from infected cattle by being in close contact with them. Clearly, the disease is a zoonosis (zoonotic disease) because it is transferable from one species of animal to another.

The disease can be transmitted in saliva, droppings and other body fluids and as mentioned in consuming raw milk (colostrum) from the cows.

CDC obtained the bodies of two of the cats as well as samples of milk from the cows. They also examined tissue samples from six of the cows. Three of the cows were euthanized and three had died of the virus.

All the animals were revealed to have been infected with H5N1 bird flu, specifically the one designated 2.3.4.4b, a highly pathogenic variety that killed a dolphin in Florida recently.

The cats had microscopic lesions in their brains, heart and lungs. They examined photographs of the barn where they lived and saw that they drank milk from a designated bowl as well as directly from cows.

It appears that the symptoms were first observed in the cats and so CDC tested the cows in which they found symptoms including tiny lesions in their memory glands.

The situation with avian flu designated A(H5N1) has become serious in America. It first emerged in 1996 but since 2020 the number of outbreaks has increased rapidly with tens of millions of poultry killed and wild birds and land and marine animals also infected.

Being a zoonosis, the disease can be transferred to people and earlier in the month a dairy farm worker in Texas became the second American to become infected with the virus. The farmworker contracted a mild infection with just one symptom which was an inflammation of the eye and recovered well. They were placed into isolation.

It is believed that they didn't transfer the disease to others and were being treated with the drug Tamiflu. This occurred in Texas as well and is believed to be the first case of a human infected by avian influenza from a cow.

The virus is mutating making it easier to jump posts as happened with the Covid-19 virus.

Protections

Cats can be protected from A(H5N1) if they are given a vaccination. However, it’s important to note that cats can still shed some of the virus, albeit in low numbers. If a cat is exhibiting symptoms, it should be put into isolation and kept indoors. Then, it should be taken to a vet for testing to determine the presence of H5N1. Additionally, here are some other preventive measures for cat owners:

1. Limit Contact with Possible Vectors: To prevent the spread of H5N1 among cats, limit their contact with other possible vectors such as birds and cattle. Cats should also avoid contact with fomites, such as milking equipment.

2. Avoid Unpasteurized Milk: Do not allow cats to drink unpasteurized milk, as this could be a potential source of infection.

3. Minimize Unnecessary Contact: If highly pathogenic influenza viruses are found or suspected in a cat, minimize unnecessary contact. Use gloves, a mask, and goggles for protection when handling the cat.

Remember that while the risk of cat-to-human transmission of influenza is low, taking precautions is essential to protect both cats and humans. If you suspect your cat may have been exposed to A(H5N1), consult with a veterinarian promptly.

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.

Academically gifted postgraduate university student with a history of abusing cats is REJECTED

NEWS AND OPINION: This is a another story from China and as it happens another story about a Chinese university student. I've just written about a Chinese university student who was expelled because of his alleged abuse of his pet cat in an horrific manner. In this instance, the student who is named Xu is reported to have a history of abusing cats and as a consequence he was rejected by two top Chinese universities. China Daily reports on this and is the source of this blog post.

Academically gifted postgraduate Chinese student. This is a fictional creation. Not a real person.

It is alleged that he was abusing cats in his dormitory at Southeast University in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province. Like other cat abusers he posted videos of his miscreant behaviour online. This took place in February. In one clip he is shown putting a cat in a bucket of water and treading on the cat's head.

The videos were evidence against him. He was investigated and interviewed with his parents. He admitted wrongdoing and promised not to repeat it.

He is an engineering graduate. He was applying for a masters program at Nanjing University School of Physics late in 2023.

He had the highest total score among the applicants for the course but was nonetheless rejected because it his alleged cat abuse. It indicates that the University is taking a moral stance.

There appears to be no definitive statement from the University confirming that he was rejected because of his cat abuse but it is reported that "his abuse of cats may have affected their decision."

Chinese citizens commenting on the University's Sina Weibo blog urged the University to be cautious about enrolling Xu. The comment indicated that morality plays a role in selecting candidates. One commenter said: "Morality prevails over intelligence and academic performance".

The former editor-in-chief of Global Times wanted Xu to be given a chance. He said that posting the video of animal abuse was clearly a serious mistake but indicated he thought he had potential psychological problems. Notwithstanding that, he suggested that "society should provide the student with an opportunity for correction, allowing this young person to have prospects and hope."

Hu wanted the student to progress in life and be given the opportunity to do so. Comment: the big question here is whether Xu has the capacity to correct his behaviour because as Hu stated it appears that Xu has mental health problems. And therefore he needs treatment and he needs to be certified as being mentally well enough to participate in such a course before being allowed to do so.

Comment: The Chinese government needs to make that all important step of introducing general animal welfare laws to protect all animals. Laws can change opinions and attitudes as they gradually embue the citizens with a different attitude towards animal sentience and welfare. Animal welfare laws can indirectly set moral standards as is the case with the UK's Animal Welfare Act 2006

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.

Student expelled from Chinese university for badly abusing his pet cat

Guo Xiang kept a pet cat in the dormitory and allegedly abused the cat many times. The Facebook post says it all actually although the story is reported on the website of Global Times.

This image is from Facebook. I have cannot verify that this is the man involved.

The executive council of the university issued a document expelling Guo after following the relevant provisions of the Jiangxi Normal University Student Disciplinary Management Measures.

"According to the decision of the office meeting of the school, Guo, who kept a pet cat in the dormitory and engaged in multiple acts of animal abuse, which led to a major negative public opinion on the internet, causing a particularly bad impact on the school. At the same time, Guo also engaged in spreading obscene videos, skipping 12 classes, and other violations of school rules and regulations. According to the relevant provisions of the disciplinary measures, Guo has been expelled from the school."

From Jiangxi Normal University Academy of Fine Arts (Yaohu Campus):

"Completion opinion: Hello, citizen! Your message has been received. In view of the fact that student Guo Xiang kept a pet cat in the dormitory and abused the cat many times, and the cat abuse caused major negative public opinion on the Internet, which caused a particularly bad impact on the school, the school office decided to agree to expel student Guo Xiang according to the relevant provisions of the "Jiangxi Normal University Student Disciplinary Punishment Management Measures". If you have any objections, please call the Jiangxi Normal University Student Affairs Office: 0791-88120145 for consultation. Thank you for your support and understanding of Jiangxi's government service work."

Comment: I was surprised to read that Guo kept a pet cat in his dorm. He seems to have kept the cat as a recipient of abuse. Quite horrendous. The complaint from commenters is that he was not prosecuted for animal cruelty but that is completely unsurprising for me as there are no general animal welfare laws in China to protect pets under the circumstances described.

There was no chance of his being prosecuted for the crime of animal cruelty as the crime appears not to exist in China 🤢😢.

The Global Times reports:

On March 29, a netizen posted a video claiming that a male student at the campus had been abusing cats in the dormitory over an extended period. In the video, the male student punched and kicked the cat, and ruthlessly beat it with a hanger, causing the cat to cry out in pain when it was knocked against the door.

Guo was reported by a fellow student on March 29th, 2024. The university was very concerned (reported) and investigated. The concern was about the university's reputation which suffered harm. I hope they were also concerned about the cat.

There is no report on the state of health of the cat and/or what happened to him/her which is indicative of the anthropocentric nature of the reporting (human-centric nature of reporting meaning it all turns on human behaviour).

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.

Jilted senior councillor threatened to kill ex-lover's cats

NEWS AND VIEWS: Here is the summary of this news story in which unsurprisingly the woman's cats play a part. Cats are not infrequently used as tools by men to leverage desired human behaviour sometimes in an obnoxious way. The humble domestic cat is vulnerable to being used in this way as women (and men) normally have a close emotional bond with their cat. Threaten to harm the cat and you emotionally harm the owner and force them to behave in a way which is against their wishes.

Salisbury City Councillor Mark Mewse outside Salisbury Magistrates Court (Image: Ollie Thompson/Solent News)

In a rather bizarre and unsettling turn of events, Mark Mewse, a Tory councillor, embarked on a peculiar campaign to win back his ex-lover, Sarah Houchin. Let’s delve into the details:

1. Lovebombing with Presents:

   • Mark Mewse, besotted and determined, showered Sarah with gifts. Not just any gifts, mind you, but specifically for her feline companions. Yes, he bought presents for her cats in a desperate bid to rekindle their romance.
   • The court heard that he left flowers on her car bonnet, sent her cards, and even gifted her and her cats a bag of goodies for Christmas. It’s like a feline-themed love story gone awry.

2. Persistent Pursuit:

   • Undeterred by Sarah’s clear rejection, Mewse continued his relentless pursuit. He bombarded her with a constant barrage of messages, hoping to melt her heart.
   • CCTV footage revealed him waving and blowing kisses at her as she drove around Salisbury, Wiltshire. He even followed her into her workplace, leaving her feeling anxious and nervous.

3. Threats to the Furry Companions:

   • But here’s where it takes a dark turn. When Sarah firmly declined his advances, Mewse allegedly threatened to kill her cats. Yes, you read that right. The same cats he had gifted presents to earlier.
   • It’s a chilling twist that involves both love and feline lives hanging in the balance.

4. The Court Drama:

   • The case unfolded at Salisbury Magistrates’ Court, where Mewse faced charges of harassment.
   • Sarah, in her early 50s, stood her ground, making it unequivocally clear that she wanted no part in a relationship with the defendant.
   • Mewse, the Chair of the Personnel Committee at Salisbury City Council, denied the charges, but the evidence against him paints a vivid picture of obsession and misguided affection.

In summary, this tale combines romance, cat presents, and a dash of menace—a script that even Hollywood might find intriguing. 🐱❤️🌹

Source: Daily Mail Online

P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.

Men are much more likely to adopt cats than women in the UK, study finds

A story in the Daily Mail reports on a study that challenges the ‘crazy cat lady’ stereotype, revealing that men in the UK are more likely to adopt cats than women. According to a survey conducted by UK Pet Food, over the last four years, 27% of men have adopted an adult cat compared to 18% of women. This translates to approximately 1.5 million new male cat-owning households, versus around one million female households.

The report also highlights that many pet owners, particularly those over the age of 45, find their pets to be a significant source of companionship, with some even expressing a preference for spending time with their pets over family members. Additionally, there’s a suggestion that pets could be beneficial for mental health, with one-fifth of respondents supporting the idea of pets being available on prescription.

This study underscores the changing dynamics in pet adoption and the important role pets play in providing emotional support and combating loneliness.

Comment: this trend, if indeed it is a trend, is probably due to cats being considered better pets when the caregiver is working away from home all the time. Unfortunately both cats and dogs suffer from separation anxiety when their caregiver is not around for long periods. If the reason is as I believe, it is a poor reason.

An added problem is that absent caregivers tend to put down dry cat food for day-long grazing which is bad for the cat under these circumstances as the cat becomes slightly dehydrated which combined with the stress of separation anxiety can lead to cystitis, an inflammation of the bladder due to a bacterial infection and/or for the reason stated below.

Separation anxiety in cats can lead to cystitis. Stress is considered a significant cause of Feline Idiopathic Cystitis (FIC), a common type of cystitis in cats. Anxiety can cause the protective layer of the bladder to become patchy, exposing the bladder tissue to harsh chemicals in urine, which can result in inflammation. It’s important to manage a cat’s stress levels to prevent such health issues, and if you notice symptoms of cystitis, consulting a vet is crucial.

I have personal experience of causing my cat to develop cystitis for the above reason, sadly. It was years ago but I still feel bad about it. I have not missed one day of being with my current cat who I have lived with for around 8 years.

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.

5 bizarre cat news stories from the past 24 months

Here are five peculiar cat-related news stories from the past 24 months: 

The Phantom Cat Shaver Strikes Again in Lambourn: 
In the village of Lambourn, there have been reports on social media about a mysterious cat shaver. Last June, pet owners in Hungerford and Lambourn were on high alert after cats were allegedly kidnapped and shaved. The identity of this enigmatic feline stylist remains unknown, leaving the community both baffled and amused. Note: yes it might have amused but what about the cats? Were they traumatized by the experience?

The Toxic Cat of Fukuyama, Japan:
Locals in Fukuyama City, Japan, received a warning to steer clear of a cat that fell into a vat of toxic chemicals at the Nomura Plating factory. Surveillance footage captured the moment the cat plunged into the vat before miraculously escaping. However, tiny yellow-brown pawprints were left behind on the factory floor. The cat is now carrying carcinogenic chemicals on its body and fur, as the vat contained hexavalent chromium. The environmental team fears the cat may have already succumbed to its injuries. A bizarre and cautionary tale indeed! 🐱🚫 Note: this one is more sad that bizarre. Or more negligent as the vat of chemical should have been stored more safely. Poor cat. The story is recited from a human-centric point of view with little regard for the cat's welfare.


Cat Burglar Steals Underwear in Manchester:

In Manchester, England, a notorious cat burglar has been targeting laundry lines. Instead of the usual jewelry or electronics, this feline felon has a penchant for pilfering underwear. Residents have reported missing socks, bras, and even a pair of boxers. The local police are scratching their heads, wondering how to apprehend this stealthy cat with a taste for unmentionables. Note: not unusual. Cats allowed outside not uncommonly 'steal' stuff. They are expressing instincts. This is probably carrying infants back to the den. They are probably female cats. It is often items of clothing. Perhaps in this instance there was underwear lying around the floor of a neighbour's home. They are called 'kleptocats'.


Catnip Cultivation Ring Exposed in Oregon:

Authorities in Oregon dismantled a clandestine catnip cultivation operation. The catnip cartel had been growing potent catnip plants in hidden greenhouses across the state. The feline kingpins were allegedly distributing their product through underground tunnels, enticing cats into a blissful frenzy. The operation was finally busted when an undercover tabby infiltrated their ranks. The catnip kingpins are now facing charges of “purr-sistence” and "feline trafficking".


Cat Mayor Elected in Small Town:

In the quaint town of Whiskerville, Idaho, residents elected a new mayor: a charismatic tabby named Mr. Whiskers. His campaign promises included mandatory naptime, free belly rubs, and a ban on vacuum cleaners. Despite being unable to sign official documents, Mr. Whiskers has won the hearts of the townsfolk. His first act as mayor? Declaring every cardboard box a designated “kitty fort.” Meow-tastic governance at its finest! 🎩🐾🗳️. Note: there have been station-master cats as well. Some places like to take the piss out of politicians and elect an animal as mayor.

Remember, truth can be stranger than fiction when it comes to our feline friends! 😺

Note: this list of five was selected and written up by artificial intelligence. Much easier for me as the computer can scan the internet's cat news stories for the past 24 months and make a selection.

The problem for me is that the AI computer (Bing's copilot) is human-centric and fails to be sufficiently sensitive (for me) to animal welfare.

Some related posts:

• Kleptocats: play-hunt with them to stop it
• Job Vacancy at City Hall: Domestic Cat Needed to Control Mice

Armed robber stole two cats worth 10,000 Malaysian ringgit and slashed the owner

NEWS AND COMMENT: I think that this is the first story that I have read concerning an armed robbery in which two cats were stolen. And it was a very serious armed robbery because the robber slashed the cats' owner to the extent that he required 36 stitches for wounds to his right arm and right leg.

The cats' owner is Ryan Cheah. He had met the robber before as his home when he purchased a cat from him. A few days later the man contacted Cheah asking to purchase two more cats and to meet him at a parking lot at a shopping mall on February 18.

Cheah didn't want to do that and they met at a bus stop instead had 7:30 PM with his girlfriend.

When the buyer arrived his car was smashed up as if he had just been an accident. Cheah went to speak to the buyer when he brandished a knife demanding that he hand over money.

The robber also ordered a colleague to get the cats from Mr Cheah's girlfriend who was unaware what was going on and therefore she handed over the cats.

While the cats were being handed over Cheah tried to escape the vehicle and at that point the robber brandished a machete and tried to slash him. He defended himself but incurred the serious injuries mentioned.

The robbery has traumatised him and the police have confirmed that after an investigation they have made arrests and are to make a statement in due course.

Cheah was concerned that the robber and his colleagues might come round to his house because they know where he lives and harm him. But it appears that the robber is now in custody.

We don't know what sort of cats they were. They must be purebred cats but we don't know the breed. 10,000 Malaysian ringgit is around US$2000.

Source: The Star Online.

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.

Woman with death fixation accused of torturing and killing a cat having watched a well-known Netflix docuseries

NEWS AND OPINION: You may have heard of the Netflix docuseries called "Don't F**k with Cats: Hunting an Internet Killer". I haven't seen it but it documents the investigation by a crowd-funded group of amateur sleuths of Luka Magnotta's animal cruelty crimes. 

Luka Magnotta is notorious for suffocating two kittens in a plastic bag while videoing the acts and then uploading the video to the Internet. I have that video and you can watch the first part of it on my website but not the whole of it because it is too cruel for any company to host.

Anyway, back to the story. It appears (alleged) that this woman, 25 year old Scarlet Blake in the UK, was inspired or encouraged by this Netflix series to follow suit, to kill a cat in a sadistic way and then dissect the cat and then put the cat in a blender apparently. The whole thing is absolutely disgusting and horrific. The woman looks perfectly normal and you can see in the photograph that she had a slight smirk on her face when under arrest as if this is okay and no problem.

Scarlet Blake. Picture: Vagner Hyde News and Pictures Ltd. Problem with publishing the picture here? Please contact me. Thanks.

But this Netflix series allegedly catalysed something inside of and she allegedly had to start doing what Luka Magnotta did which was firstly to allegedly kill a cat and then a man, a complete stranger to her, whose name is Jorge Martin Carreno, 30, whose body was found in a river.

Initially the police thought that he had an accident resulting in his death but they then discovered about two years later that he had been hit on the head and died of blunt force trauma followed by drowning as I understand it.

The story is interesting for me because I know a lot about Luka Magnotta as I have written about him many times. And Luka Magnotta fascinates a lot of people. He is now in prison in Canada on a life sentence but he has professed to quite like it on occasions and he's got a boyfriend there. He was a porno star and he is gay.

RELATED: Who is Luka Magnotta?

He is famous for the wrong reasons. Scarlet Blake became fixated on violence. I don't know whether that had set in before watching the Netflix docuseries or afterwards. It appears that the Netflix series hardened her evil thoughts if the stories are true. I stress that these are allegations at the moment because one is innocent until proved guilty.

But the news media is all over this story which is why I am reporting it. The prosecution barrister in the trial which is coming taking place, Allison Morgan KC, said that Blake had a "fixation with violence and with knowing what it would be like to kill someone". She added that: "He died because he encountered the defendant on that night. He died because he met a person who had a fixation with violence and with knowing what it would be like to kill someone."

She had an extreme interest in killing and death that went beyond fantasy. It is alleged that she derived social gratification from the thought of violence and death.

Her actions indicate planning as she purchased equipment to trap the cat. Her actions too are the classic case of a person of this character first testing or trying out their desire to kill on a vulnerable domestic cat first and then moving onto a human. This is exactly what happened, as mentioned, with Luka Magnotta and it happens with many other criminals.

The FBI in America understand this and treat animal cruelty seriously. That's what they say anyway.

Blake apparently boasted about the killing with others and "her desire to open up a person like her little cat friend" the court was told. And the court was also told that "It is clear that in her own mind she made a connection between what it felt like to harm this cat and what it would feel like to harm a person.

Blake denies murder. The trial continues.

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.

It costs $10,000 a month to look after 45 cats at this shelter

NEWS AND COMMENT: There is a privately run cat shelter in Northern Kentucky where 45 cats rescued from the street live in a $400,000 home at a cost of $10,000 per month to the owners and managers of the cat rescue. It is called Shane's Sanctuary and Kitty Adoption Center and it is run by Jan Malley and her husband Chip.

Montage: MikeB. Photos: Sam Greene

They only rescue cats that have been living on the streets. They don't advertise their address. They provide their telephone number on Facebook where they have a page.

It is a 3,000 square-foot facility. It is funded by Malley's family investments and retirement money. They say that they only write cheques in making payments but never receive cheques from anybody. It is all money going out and nothing coming in.

Comment: unless they have incredibly deep pockets, there must be an end to this experiment. They are affiliated to an organisation called The Humanitarian League formally the Humane Education League. It's an organisation which teaches universal kindness and compassion for all living creatures.

Ethel Palmer, started the organisation in 1960 and she is the mother of Jan Malley. It appears that a lot of the overheads go to employing people to help look after the kitties plus I guess vet fees and food but I can't square up the $10,000 per month overhead with looking after 45 cats. Can you?

Jan Malley and one of her rescue cats. Image credit as per the image.

Jan Malley said that, "It's almost like a business except all we do is write checks; we don't collect checks". What about fund raising?! 😊

As you properly know, in America the English spelling of 'cheque' is 'check'.

Malley said that she has approached the local authority suggesting that they build a sanctuary but it came to nothing. They've told the authority that they would pay up to $100,000 to build a facility and invest annually into that facility to keep it running but once again they were rejected.

One possibility why they were rejected is because in Kenton County where their rescue is situated, they operate TNR programs for feral and stray cats. 

And the local authority wants to keep it that way. The director of Kenton County Animal Services said, "There's a lot of people who don't understand that cats can be successful and happy outdoors. And that's just fundamentally a philosophical difference. I don't expect to change everyone's mind."

It looks like the local authority wants to keep TNR going and they don't believe in rescue centres. Apparently most of the cats are not adopted because they don't accept casual visitors. They accept visits by appointment which means telephoning Jan Malley to set up an appointment.

It would seem to be a very personalised form of cat rescue which is focused on making life very nice for the cats but it is not focused it seems to me on efficiently rehoming the cats and minimising overheads plus fund raising. Nice job though. Great for the cats but this can't last and don't think it should last. They can do it better. 😇

Source: Mail Online.

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.

Woman train conductor throws pet cat off a moving train in -30°C temperatures

NEWS AND COMMENT - RUSSIA: this is an extraordinary story; of a type that I have never read before and I have read many thousands of cat stories. The detail is a little thin but we have enough.

Note: I believe that the train was moving at the time. Although this is not stated. Update: the train was not moving. I have just seen the video on Reddit. Here is the video. There was thick snow on the ground.

A train conductor threw out the passenger’s cat with no reason. Volunteers are rescuing him. (Kirov)
byu/grekules- inThatsInsane

Why have I mentioned that it is woman in the title? Because historically woman are more prone to be kind towards cats which makes her behaviour all the more astonishing. 

Twix, the ginger tabby-and-white pet cat thrown from a moving train in Russia by a female conductor as she believed he was a stray cat as if that is an excuse! Image: Guardian newspaper.

The Guardian newspaper reports that a female train conductor mistook a pet cat for a stray cat and threw the animal off the train as it was moving - as if that is a good reason! The cat had escaped from his carrier and was wandering around the carriage.

It is still gross animal cruelty 😧. At the time, the climatic conditions were as low as -30°C with snow and ice.

She threw the cat off the train near the railway station area in Kirov. The woman in question works for the state owned railway company RZhD. A spokesperson for the business apologised for the actions of their conductor.

"We sincerely regret that the cat Twix died", the state-owned RZhD said, vowing to change its regulations. Comment: the regulations allowed or perhaps demanded that the conductor threw the cat off if he was a stray! Weird.

On Saturday, the RZhD said it was already implementing changes that would prohibit company conductors from "disembarking animals from trains". 'Disembarking'! 👿

The cat, a ginger tabby-and-white (and therefore almost certainly a male) was found dead on Saturday after a search. I believe that this was a few days after the cat was thrown off the train. The cat has been identified by his owners.

There are calls for the conductor to be sacked and prosecuted for animal cruelty. The petition has gathered 70,000 signatures online which demands a criminal investigation which has been refused by the local authorities.

"A separate petition - signed by more than 200,000 - is asking for the female conductor, who has not been publicly identified, to be sacked" (source and words: the BBC).

Comment: I am distinctly unsurprised by the fact that nothing will happen in terms of punishment for this woman. No doubt she will retain her job and not be prosecuted for animal cruelty. This is Russia. I don't want to denigrate the country unjustifiably but animal welfare is not one of their greatest and strongest suits.

When bearing in mind that the president of Russia, Vladimir Putin, has killed hundreds of thousands of animals in Ukraine as well as tens of thousands of innocent civilians including children by bombing and shelling civilian areas, we can't expect Russia to have a good animal welfare record can we?

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.