Around the World: Horses, Dogs, Hens, Tuna, and Bulls

Because I myself am a U.S. citizen, writing for a U.S.-based site with mostly American readers, my focus is often on issues or news within my own country. But animal rights is certainly not a one-nation issue; it is a global issue, and there are far more stories from around the world daily than I could possibly cover. But this blog's international readers (including my friends and fellow activists from around the globe) deserve to see more stories from beyond the the borders of the United States here too. I want to do a better, more regular job of covering those. So this will likely be the first in an ongoing series of international roundups (indeed, the second will be coming in just the next couple days because I had too much for one post this time). Continue after the jump for a quick look at (and links to) recent international stories on abandoned dogs, starving horses, tortured bulls, rescued hens, and tuna and pandas facing extinction and activists' efforts to raise awareness about these problems:

• The problem of companion animals being abandoned during economic hard times, sometimes to the great distress of the humans doing the abandoning or relinquishing as well as to the animals themselves, is certainly not unique to the United States, as a newspaper article about "Germany's abandoned dog crisis" makes clear: "The German Animal Welfare Association has warned that 70,000 more animals than usual have been abandoned this year, and that in 69 per cent of cases, owners are citing 'financial emergency' as the reason." Read more here.
• A welfare group in Ireland is warning that practices related to the "sport" of horse racing will now lead to the starvation of many horses this winter. A representative of the Dublin  Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals reports that across Ireland, fields of emaciated and homeless (I assume this means abandoned) horses are already a common sight and asks, "what will they be like when there is less grass?" He places blame on Horse Racing Ireland. Read more here.
• Activists with Igualdad Animal/Animal Equality did the heartbreaking work of documenting a horrific scene during a festival in northern Spain last week, where a bull was chased down and slowly, brutally killed by adults and children wielding spears and knives. Read a bit more here. You can view video footage of the final few minutes of this poor creature's agonizing death here. Igualdad Animal has been getting the story and footage out to the Spanish media to raise awareness and garner support for an end to such practices. This active group, which has featured in some previous posts, is consistent in its opposition to the exploitation of all animals, for any reason, and if you haven't checked it out yet, here's your chance: Spanish-language site here; English-language site here.
• Also courtesy an Igualdad Animal release, actually, comes this news: a Czech activist who has been performing open rescues of animals has just this month performed another. He saved 13 egg-laying hens, who are now living free, content lives in sanctuary. Read more here. (And see this March post for more info on the admirable practice of open rescue.)
• British naturalist Chris Packham this week voiced his support for letting the giant pandas of China just die out because saving them is costing too much. No joke. Plenty of people are angry over the remarks, but it's apparently not the first time he's expressed strong views about the panda efforts: in 2008 he reportedly said, "I'd eat the last panda if I could have the money we've spent on panda conservation back on the table for me to do more sensible things with." I concur that it's maddening to witness people falling all over themselves about animals they deem cuddly, while the plight of other animals go mostly ignored by the public (e.g., the crisis for the world's frogs), but resigning to or even advocating the panda's extinction? Really?
• The European Union has failed to vote in a ban on the fishing of bluefin tuna, despite the species' imperiled status, because Mediterranean nations refused to come on board. I'll not deconstruct from an animal rights standpoint all that's problematic (and there's a lot) about this AP article and the remarks made by those quoted (at least not in this post, anyway), but the failure is one worth noting: "'They are pushing tuna to the point of no return,' said Xavier Pastor of the Oceana protection group. 'It is deplorable that the EU member states who are mostly responsible for the depletion of bluefin tuna stocks refused to agree to a measure that would have helped to reverse the situation.'"

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Image courtesy V-2 at Picasa