Mysterious Foam Causing Hog Farms to Explode - February 8, 2012

Corpses discovered in university cellar in Germany

Hundreds of corpses have been discovered rotting in an abandoned room of a university in Germany.

Students and staff are in shock after the grim discovery in the cellars of the anatomy department at the University of Cologne which follows a tragedy last month involving the department's head professor, who was found dead after allegedly stabbing himself.

Reported firstly in the Spiegel Online, university staff are said to have found the room of adult corpses that are believed to have been originally donated for medical purposes, but should have long been buried.

Animal cadavers and large numbers of plastic buckets labelled "noses", "newborns" and "shark head" have been collected as evidence by investigators who say the room may have been left unused for a decade.

A staff member, who declined to give his name says that "the cooling system was broken, and the room smelt accordingly bad".

He described the scene as "quite disgusting" and "reminiscent of a horror film".

The macabre discovery has been described as "completely unacceptable" by the university rector who said it "deeply shattered and shocked" the university community.

He said the animal cadavers could be traced back to a past link between the institute and Cologne zoo. Read More

Nightmare zoo conditions exposed, Indonesia

The tigers are emaciated and the 180 pelicans packed so tightly they cannot unfurl their wings without hitting a neighbour. Last week, a giraffe died with a beachball-sized wad of plastic food wrappers in its belly.

That death has focused new attention on the scandalous conditions at Indonesia's largest zoo. Set up nearly a century ago in one the most biologically diverse corners of the planet, it once boasted the most impressive collection in Southeast Asia.

But today the Surabaya Zoo is a nightmare, plagued by uncontrolled breeding, a lack of funding for general animal welfare and even persistent suspicions that members of its own staff are involved in illegal wildlife trafficking.

The rarest species, including Komodo dragons and critically endangered orangutans, sit in dank, unsanitary cages, filling up on peanuts tossed over the fence by giggling visitors.

"This is extremely tragic, but of course by no means surprising in Indonesia's zoos, given the appalling way they are managed on the whole," said Ian Singleton, a former zookeeper who now runs an orangutan conservation program on Sumatra island. Read More

Three horses killed on opening day of Cheltenham Festival in worrying echo of last year's Grand National meet

The Cheltenham Festival began yesterday with its most tragic day for six years.

Three horses were put down after suffering serious injuries.

Spectators and TV viewers watched in horror as the first, Scotsirish – who had been the favourite to win his race – broke a hind leg at a hurdle. The horse’s distress was witnessed by millions in TV footage as he was pulled up.

Another runner in the same race, Garde Champetre, was also destroyed after sustaining a similar injury.

Officials later announced that a third horse, Educated Evans, was to be put down after falling in the 2½-mile novice chase – the final event of the day. Read More

Train kills reindeer 'like meat grinder': farmer

A new high-speed railway in northern Sweden has already claimed the lives of 200 reindeer since it opened three months ago, forcing the farm owner to move to safer pastures.

The train line, which runs between Umeå and Lycksele, has been responsible for the deaths of hundreds of reindeer over the last three months, when the unfortunate animals have wandered onto the tracks.

Finding a dead reindeer or one that is injured and needs to be euthanized is a daily occurrence for reindeer owner, Per-Mikael Jonsson, who is forced to put down many injured reindeer fearing that their internal damages may be too severe to survive.

“It’s been the worst winter I’ve experienced in the whole of my life when it comes to reindeer getting hit by trains,” he told SVT. Read More

Orangutans await safe release in Indonesia

Efforts to return the animal to the wild in Borneo thwarted by loss of nearly 80 per cent of its natural habitat.



The release of more than 600 orangutans into the rainforest of Borneo has been postponed once again.

Efforts to introduce them into the wild have failed largely because of a lack of safe forests for them to return to. An estimated 80 per cent of their habitat has been destroyed in the past 30 years.

Still, the Indonesian government is convinced that all orangutans can be released into the wild by 2015.

More than 30 are set to be released this year, with hundreds of others expected to follow.

Al Jazeera's Step Vaessen reports from Puruk Cahu, Kalimantan. Source

South Korean and Russian scientists Bid To Clone Woolly Mammoth

South Korean and Russian scientists have vowed to work together in an attempt to clone a woolly mammoth from remains found in Siberia.

The giant Ice Age animal last roamed the Earth some 10,000 years ago - but experts believe it is possible to bring it back to life.

Vasily Vasiliev, from Russia's North Eastern Federal University of the Sakha Republic, and Hwang Woo-Suk of South Korea's Sooam Biotech Research Foundation have agreed to join forces to research the mammoth task.

The new pact comes after scientists resurrected an ancient flower from fruit and seeds hidden in an Ice Age squirrel's burrow in permafrost.

The researchers said their results proved that permafrost serves as a natural depository for ancient life forms.

Experts in South Korea and Russia now plan to take DNA from the remains of a woolly mammoth uncovered by the thawing Siberian permaforst.

They plan to insert it into the egg cell of an Indian elephant to hopefully produce an embryo, which will then be placed into the womb of an elephant for gestation. Read More

1918 Worst Bird Flu Pandemic in History…....Will it happen again?

Human infections with H5N1 avian influenza reported in Indonesia

The World Health Organization (WHO) updated the cumulative numbers of human cases of avian influenza, or as it is more commonly known as, bird flu Monday.

As of today, there have been 18 cases of human infection with bird flu in six different countries reported to the WHO in 2012. Of these cases, 10 of them ended as fatalities.

Two of the cases were reported on the WHOs Global Alert and Response (GAR) Monday, one in Indonesia and one in Vietnam.

In the Indonesian case, the Ministry of Health of Indonesia reports of a 24-year-old female from Bengkulu Province who developed fever on 23 February 2012 and was hospitalized on the following day. She had breathing difficulty, her condition deteriorated and she died on 1 March 2012. She was the fourth case and fourth fatality from the virus this year in Indonesia. Source

Salmon deaths a mystery, New Zealand

New Zealand King Salmon wants to know why an unusually high number of fish died at one of its Marlborough Sounds marine farms last week.

King Salmon aquaculture general manager Mark Preece said on some days last week, 7 per cent of fish died at its Pelorus Sound marine farm. Testing by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry confirmed the fish were clear of all known viruses and bacterial diseases.

Mr Preece said the number of fish with small lesions like swollen mosquito bites had increased in this summer-autumn period. It was not known how many deaths on the 500,000-fish farm were caused by these lesions, old age, stress and seal attacks. The delicate king salmon species was hard to farm and normally had a 5 per cent death rate over summer, Mr Preece said.

King Salmon had introduced measures to make sure no biological material was transferred to or from the site and no equipment on the farm would be moved, he said.

Those steps would stay in place until further test results came back confirming the exact cause of the problem and remedies. Read More

Calf missing, cow dead after wolf attack in eastern Oregon‎

JOSEPH -- A calf is missing and a cow was euthanized after a wolf attack in eastern Oregon, the Department of Fish and Wildlife reported today.

Two other cows also were injured in the attack.

The adult cow that was euthanized by a veterinarian was found March 8 in the Threebuck Canyon area east of Joseph with "hundreds of bite wounds ... consistent with wolf bites" on its left flank and elsewhere, said ODFW spokeswoman Michelle Dennehy. The other cows had multiple bite wounds.

"One of the live cows had recently calved and the calf is missing," Dennehy said in a statement.

The attacks appear to have happened two to five days before the cattle were found by a rancher, Dennehy said.

Russ Morgan, ODFW wolf coordinator, said the number of wolves involved in the attack isn't known. The injured cattle were brought to a holding pen and treated and released, he said.

Threebuck Creek is a tributary of Little Sheep Creek, and is regularly used by the Imnaha pack of wolves, Dennehy said. Source

Mystery fish found at La Jolla Shores identified

SAN DIEGO (CBS 8) - The mystery surrounding a fish found at La Jolla Shores has been solved.

The fish, which appears to be mostly head and no tail was found dead on the beach on Sunday. People who spotted the odd looking fish speculated on its species.

An expert at the Birch Aquarium at Scripps Institution of Oceanography has confirmed that it is an ocean sunfish, also known as a mola mola. Source

At Least 10.000 dead fishes found floating‎ at the man-made lake at the Likas Sports Complex jogging track, Borneo

KOTA KINABALU: More fishes had been found dead at the man-made lake at the Likas Sports Complex jogging track here yesterday, bringing the number of dead fishes to around 10,000.

On Monday, workers had scooped up around 5,000 fishes which had mysteriously died in the lake. The condition had worsened when workers found the lake littered with dead fishes early morning yesterday.

Gosibi @ Robert bin Gambang, 48, an employee of Sabah Sports Board, said 15 workers had scooped up around 1,000 kilogrammes of dead fishes yesterday. The workers were shocked when they found more dead fishes floating in the lake with their bellies upturned during their patrol at the lake around 7.15am yesterday.

Twenty big fish were scooped up yesterday, Gosibi said, with the largest weighing in 16 kilogrammes and 2.5 feet lengthwise.

The employees reported the incident to the management of Sabah Sports Board and resumed scooping up the dead fishes from the lake till afternoon.

“Most of the dead fishes are emitting foul smell, joggers have to cover their noses while running.” Read More

Suspected Bird Flu Case Reported in Korea

For the first time in nearly 10 months a suspected case of bird flu has been reported at a poultry farm in Korea.

The government says that out of the 450 chickens on the farm in South Chungcheong Province, 45 have died so far and 100 others are currently showing symptoms of avian influenza. In a screening test, six out 10 chickens tested positive.

Comprehensive results will be announced Tuesday. If the case is confirmed as highly pathogenic, the transport of poultry, personnel and vehicles related to the livestock industry will be temporarily controlled to prevent the spread of the disease. Source

Bird Flu Outbreaks in Israel Kill 10500 Turkeys, Officials Say‎

Bird flu killed about 10,500 turkeys on two farms in western Israel, the first outbreaks of the deadly H5N1 strain in the country in 11 months, veterinary officials said.

The virus threatens 51,000 8-week and 12-week-old Turkeys on the farms in Hadarom, said Nadav Galon, Israel’s director of veterinary services and animal health, in a March 9 report to the World Organization for Animal Health in Paris. The outbreaks began on March 7 and were confirmed the following day. The source of the attack is being investigated, Galon said.

World health and veterinary officials have been monitoring H5N1 avian influenza outbreaks in birds for the past decade because of their potential to infect people. If the virus becomes easily transmissible among humans, it could touch off a deadly pandemic. Read More

Donald Trump's sons pictured posing with their 'trophy' carcasses on big African hunt

Grizzly photos have surfaced of Donald Trump's millionaire sons smiling broadly next to the dead carcasses of wild animals that they shot while on a big game hunt in Africa.

Though the two men- Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump- deny any wrong doing and proudly argue that they are hunters, many animal rights advocates are taking jabs at the pair.

In one of the photos, 34-year-old Don holds the sawed off tail of an elephant and another the knife that likely cut it. Read More

Tens of Thousands of Turkeys Destroyed in Israel

Fearing the outbreak of bird flu in Moshav Shalva near Kiryat Malachi, Israel’s veterinary officials gave the order to destroy tens of thousands of turkeys. In addition, a quarantine was placed on that community along with surrounding communities to prevent the spread of the illness which would be devastating for the local poultry market as well as posing health concerns.

Health officials have vaccinated 50 people as well as ordering the elimination of 50,000 birds. 11,000 turkeys were destroyed in Shalva and 40,000 turkeys were destroyed in Cholit, located near Kerem Shalom in the south.

Dr. Nadav Gallon placed a quarantine of tens of kilometers on the communities in an effort to contain the situation. Health officials add humans can become infected by direct contact with infected birds, their waste product or with infected items.

Regarding ingestion of poultry, officials add that heating food over 70C (158F) will effectively destroy the germ as well so there are no concerns over eating poultry. Source

Hong Kong: 2 New Outbreaks of Bird flu (H5N1) found in wild birds

HONG KONG - The country's veterinary authorities have reported two new outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian flu in wild birds.

The World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) was sent follow-up report no. 11 last week (9 March).

A peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus calidus) was collected on 3 March 2012 at Ma On Shan. The peregrine falcon is a rare winter visitor in Hong Kong.

A black-headed gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus) was collected on 2 March 2012 at Tuen Mun. The black-headed gull is a common winter visitor in Hong Kong.

An intensive surveillance system is in place for all poultry farms, poultry markets and pet bird shops in Hong Kong. The H5N1 infected wild birds and goose carcass from unknown source were detected in ongoing surveillance programme on wild birds. The dates of the outbreaks are the same as the dates the birds were collected (i.e. 17 December 2011, 30 December 2011, 1 January 2012, 12 January 2012, 20 January 2012 , 30 January 2012 , 6 February 2012, 7 February 2012, 8 February 2012, 24 February 2012, 25 February 2012, 27 February 2012, 2 March 2012 and 3 March 2012 respectively).

A total of 19,451 poultry, including 15,569 chickens, 810 pigeons, 1,950 pheasants and 1,122 silky fowls were culled in the Cheung Sha Wan Temporary Wholesale Poultry Market on 21 December 2011. The Wholesale Poultry Market was closed. Importation of live poultry and movement of poultry in local farms is banned for 21 days. Read More

Bird flu case registered in South Korea

The first case of bird flu was registered in South Korea over the last ten months, local authorities reports.

Forty chickens died in one of the bird farms in Chungcheongnam-do province. The tests should show the type and degree of danger of the infection.

In case of negative test results the authorities will have to introduce restrictions on the export of all domestic poultry, ITAR-TASS reports. Source

Animal Body Parts Dumped In Desolate Area Of Suffolk County‎, New York

DEER PARK, N.Y.(PIX11)— A remote stretch of roadway in Suffolk County has become a dumping ground for mutilated animals.

"We found about 12 bags, with about 20 or so dead chickens, dead roosters, and we found one bag that had two small goat heads in it," said Detective Paul Llobell of the Suffolk County Society For The Prevention Of Cruelty to Animals.

"We are not sure if it is actual animal torture, animal neglect -- or maybe it could be part of a religious sacrifice." Llobell told PIX11 News.

A necropsy -- the animal equivalent of an autopsy -- will be preformed to determine the cause of death. It is possible the animals came from a farm, that fell on hard times. Town of Babylon Animal Shelter Director Chirs Elton said if animal owners can no longer afford to feed their animals, help is available. "They can call us... if we can't directly help them out we can help them to place the animal," he said.

Right now, the Suffolk County SPCA is investigating this as a cruelty case. Read More