Domesticated: unable to fend for themselves, tame, dependent...

...and that's not just the dogs:

...as any Siberian husky dog owner would confirm, despite their intelligence, it is not safe to let them off their leads.The active, energetic and resilient breed have an independent intelligence with an instinct to run, run and keep running.

So, to keep them safe, you need an enclosed area for exercise, or a LOT of your own land.

The Huskies In Hull group, which was formed to bring husky dog owners together, is now appealing for a place they can let their dogs off their leads safely.

And by 'appealing', who do you think they imagine should provide it?

Yes. That's right.

Mike Gibbs, group co-ordinator said: "You can't let them off their lead unless it is in a secure area.

"We need somewhere enclosed. An ideal place is a tennis court or something similar with a 6ft fence.

"The dogs need exercise, a walk with a lead is not good enough.

"They are not the type of dogs you can just sit on your lap and expect to be good.

"If you do not let them exercise, they get frustrated, they chew carpets and furniture and eat just about anything."

Well, Mike ol' chum, shouldn't you have thought about that before you chose your preferred pet?

Mr Gibbs said: "We do not see why the council can't provide some sort of doggy playground where we can let them off their leads safely, without charging us to do so.

"If they can't, we are ideally looking for someone who has enclosed land somewhere in Hull who wouldn't mind us bringing the dogs for a run-about.

"If anyone has any land we could use, that would be brilliant."

Anything else you'd like, Mike? Someone (the council, perhaps, font of all bounty  it seems) to provide you with free Pedigree Chum as well?

Let's See Them Enforce The 'No Peeing In The Pool' Rule Too...

Compulsory canine life jackets at pet day care and boarding facilities across Colorado could become reality under rules being drafted by the Pet Animal Care Facilities Program, a division of the Colorado Department of Agriculture.

Seriously?!

Yes. And not just lifejackets, there must be a doggy 'Baywatch' too!

The draft rules state that "every dog must wear a personal flotation device while in or while having access to a pool area whenever the pool water is deeper than the height of the dog at its shoulder."

They also stipulate that the pool must have at least one lifeguard on duty to watch over the bedraggled barkers.

I'd say they jumped the shark here, but, well...

Move Over, Horatio! Step Aside, Grissom!

...this is a job for CSI: Tealing (Avian Division)!

Mr Donaldson, 39, a janitor at Dundee University, said he believes the mystery bird was killed on the spot by a bigger animal.

And, clearly, he's an expert...

He said: 'I'm baffled by what this bird was. 'Some people have speculated it might have been an ostrich but it doesn't look exactly like an ostrich to me.

Janitor training at Stirling University is more intensive than I thought!

'And even if that's what it was, what was it doing running about an abandoned airfield?

'I can think of no logical explanation.

Really? Not going for the UFO link then?

'The bird has clearly been killed here, by what I don't know. It looks like it's been moved around by whatever was eating it.

'But it was still fresh, and it stank a bit.'

Ah. Right. The possibility that it's a dead pet that someone's dumped for the foxes is out of the question, then?

As yet, no one has been able to come up with an explanation for the bizarre find.

Eh..? I just did!

Maybe Some Pubs Deserve To Close...

...and not due to the smoking ban or the increase in supermarket alcohol availability, either:

The three, said to have been drunk when they committed the offence, have now been given community sentences at Bridlington Magistrates' Court.

Katya Mira, of the RSPCA said: "This was a senseless and sickening attack on some defenseless animals who have done nothing wrong.

"We hope the fact these people were brought to justice sends out a very strong message to others that violence and cruelty to animals is unacceptable and against the law."

Gosh, yes! A 'community punishment'. Ah, if only that meant the community got a chance to come visit them while they spent time in the stocks...

So who are these fine upstanding members of the community?

Daniel Thomas Hall, 21, of Church Lane, Flamborough, Robert Lee, 18, of Lighthouse Road, Flamborough, and Daniel Alan Wood, 18, of the Dog and Duck in Flamborough, all pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal when they appeared at Bridlington Magistrates' Court.

The 'Dog and Duck'..? You're kidding me!

But Daniel Wood's father, David Wood, landlord of the Dog and Duck, said it had been little more than a prank.

He said: "They had just been out drinking. It was just a stupid prank, it wasn't a big thing.

"Daniel is back at sea fishing. It's all behind him now."

Really? Well, the locals and regulars can decide that, can't they?

And sea fishing is a dangerous business in winter....

Well, I'd Probably Need Tranquillisers If I Lived In Coulsden...

Working mother-of-three Sienna Jones tries to feed her family of five (Ed: Eh..?) from the plot.

She said: "My strawberries, onions, beetroots, shallots, garlic – they have just flattened everything. Netting is very expensive, and I may as well just go to the supermarket.

"You cannot cull them because the bullets travel too far [a danger in an urban area]. I would rather they were tranquillised and taken to another site.

"If others came back, they could do the same next year."

You know, if I lived in Coulsden and bullets started flying around, my first thoughts wouldn't be 'Oh. Must be deer culling time'...

Let’s Hope His Children Never Get Backache…

His defending solicitor Mark Brown said McCaw had previously sought veterinary help, for Cheech.

On the night he was killed, Cheech jumped off the settee and appeared to be in pain. McCaw had given it half a paracetamol tablet in the past, but on this night, the dog snapped and bit him, said Mr Brown.

Sadly, the animal is no longer around, or it’d surely need vetinary treatment for food poisoning…

In what Mr Brown described as “quite a set of shocking circumstances”, he said that McCaw initially attempted to smother the dog, but it didn’t work, so he decided to stab it.

“The next morning, the children came down, but couldn’t find the dog. He told them it had died and had gone to doggy heaven.

“He didn’t even tell his partner and that appeared to be that. Then two days later the inspectors came knocking.”

And his ‘punishment’?

Jailing him for 18-weeks, magistrates’ also banned him from keeping animals for 20 years.

The kids..? Oh, I guess he can keep them.

Oooh, If It’s ‘In A Systemised Manner’, We’ll Kick In The Doors!

Fifty police officers and 19 RSPCA inspectors were involved in early morning raids on houses in the Firthmoor area of Darlington, County Durham, acting on warrants issued on suspicion of animal cruelty.

That’s some operation! What was it based on?

There have been a series of reports from local people of cats and other animals being chased by dogs in an apparently systematic manner.

Ah! Well, good for them.

For once, this is the sort of action we expect from the police whose wages we pay, and the RSPCA whose wages we often also pay, albeit inadvertently:

Durham deputy chief constable Michael Banks said: "We are committed to protecting our rural communities and tackling rural crime. Animal welfare is an issue at the heart of those communities and we hope that this morning's raids reassure people that activities involving animal cruelty will not be tolerated." The RSPCA's chief inspector, Mark Gent, said: "I hope this sends a message to anyone involved in this kind of deliberate, abhorrent cruelty."

On the other hand, if it’s just one incident, then ‘Meh! Go see a solicitor, we’re not interested…’:

James Zammit heard barking coming from his garden in Bromley Common and when he went outside he saw two big Alsatians. He says one of them had his 10-year-old moggy Sock in its mouth.

Mr Zammit said: “The cat was dead and they were still mauling it and I threw a plank of wood at them to stop them.

“I saw the owner of the dogs and I told him what I thought of him and I phoned the police and they said it is a private matter.

“ I'm fuming and what has really annoyed me is the police saying I’ll have to take civil action.”

I guess they didn't get the memo about animal cruelty not being tolerated…

Or perhaps this doesn't count because you aren't part of a ‘rural community’?

A police spokesman said: “We were called on November 7 at 12.35pm by a man advising us that two Alsatians had entered his garden and killed his cat before running off.

"Unfortunately, as the incident occurred in a private premises, this is not covered by criminal law relating to dangerous dogs.

“It is important however to remember that victims can seek redress through the civil courts.

“This was obviously a very upsetting incident and we would remind dog owners of their responsibilities to control their animals. “It is not right that other peoples loved pets are being killed in this way."

It’s not right, but you aren't going to do anything about it. Even though, as a commenter points out, you can if you want to:

Outandabout says...

All too often the Police fob people off with 'it is a civil matter'. it isn't Section (3) of the Dangerous Dogs act says If the owner or, if different, the person for the time being in charge of a dog allows it to enter a place which is not a public place but where it is not permitted to be and while it is there— . (a)it injures any person; or . (b)there are grounds for reasonable apprehension that it will do so, . he is guilty of an offence, or, if the dog injures any person, an aggravated offence, under this subsection. fair to assume that it could, by its action attack a child. The dog wasn't under control. Go back to the police and complain that they are not acting as they should. (If the police can charge a man who ate a coppers sandwich while waiting to help on an ID parade, they can act in this case)

Perhaps if you claim the dogs urinated on a poppy in your garden as well, you’ll see some police action, Mr Zammit? Or you could move to Florida? They don't mess about there!

”What’s in the box..?”

Errr, you’re an animal rescue centre. What do you think it could be?

Animal lovers have spoken of their shock at the discovery of 11 dehydrated and poorly puppies – dumped outside a rescue centre in a plastic box.

This can’t be unusual, surely?

Simon Donnelly, chairman of the charity Supporters of Stray and Abandoned Dogs (SoSAD), said Kevin Forsyth, who owns and runs the rescue centre, was on duty when he noticed something on the CCTV camera.

Mr Donnelly said: “He thought something had been left at the gate and went to have a look, thinking it was blankets. That’s when he found the pups – 11 of them.

“He made sure they were fed and put them in heated kennels and arranged for a vet to check them out. They have been eating very well indeed.”

So, all’s well that ends well, yes?

“It is shocking to think anyone could have left them like that – in plastic box covered in just a blanket during a very cold early morning. ”

Well, given the alternative…. No. Dumping them in a river would be 'shocking'...

H/T: Anna Raccoon via email

I Think The 'Guardian' Is Using The 'Telegraph' Picture Subs...

...because this is right up there with their worst howlers:

Gorillas have cubs!? Who knew...?

Good Job, RSPCA! Now….About Those Travellers…

A ‘horse lover’ has been found guilty of 52 counts of animal cruelty.

Philip Davies, 65, of Plantation Road, Edgworth, also pleaded guilty to two counts of failing to protect the horses from pain, injury, suffering, and disease, and two counts of failing to provide a suitable environment, during the two-day trial.

The charges, brought by the RSPCA, relate to 17 horses kept on land in Edgworth.

Hurrah! Cruelty to animals is to be abhorred. Even when it isn't deliberate cruelty, but neglect and lack of concern for their safety.

Summing up, district judge Peter Ward said: “Adequate steps should be taken to reduce infestation, but these steps were not taken.

“Davies had too many horses and he could not adequately deal with them.

“The inadequate control and the level of the infestation was so much that it caused suffering.

“Mr Davies was not able to keep on top of the number of horses, and the condition in which they should be kept. ”

Who could disagree with this?

Speaking after the case, Chief Inspector Cathy Hyde, of the RSPCA, said: “I am very pleased with the judgement.”

Well, so you should be!

So, when will the RSPCA be rounding up the horses in York then? And prosecuting their owners? 

Cathy..?

Hello?

Are you there, Cathy..?

Can New Legislation Fix This?

I'm doubtful:

Thousands of horses and ponies face being abandoned or suffering from neglect as irresponsible breeding, spiralling bills, and rockbottom sale prices take their toll, according to six leading equine welfare organisations.

And guess what they want to help prevent this? That’s right!

The organisations are calling for legislation that will enable them to more quickly identify owners and punish them with fines and the seizure of animals for fly-grazing.

Hmmm, now, maybe it’s me, but surely all horses require a ‘Equine Passport’? Tattooing, etc? Shouldn't that be the thing that identifies owners?

Surely…the answer couldn't be that people aren't complying with it?

Right! I know what’ll fix this! More legislation!

…

…

What..?

Joseph Gillinder, New Man…

A family has called for the culling of foxes after one…

Killed their cat? Savaged their elderly grandmother? Stole their car?

… crept into their south London home and headed towards a baby’s bedroom.

Oh. Well. That was a bit of an anticlimax.

Mr Gillinder, 31, and his partner, Vix Henstock, 28, said that foxes circle their neighbourhood in Bromley at night and they feared that one could harm Violet.

‘Circle their neighbourhood at night’? Perhaps they need to build a boma…

Mr Gillinder said he backed a cull because of the growing numbers of the creatures prowling around his neighbourhood and fears over the safety of his family.

I'm sure the people of Churchill, Alaska and the Sunderbans region of Asia feel your pain, Mr Gillinder. As does Ben Douglas...

He added: “It is one thing to have the mangy horrible creatures waltzing around the neighbourhood but last week one actually came into my house whilst my back was turned for just a minute whilst putting out the bins.

“It was in the hall and I didn’t want to chase it into the house so I took a few steps back towards the door and it ran out.

"We have a very small baby in our house and that makes it not just a small problem but one of utmost concern and worry. I dread to think what one could do to a small baby.”

If the only thing in your life of ‘utmost concern and worry’ is whether a fox will run off with your baby, then I have to say, your life is pretty good in comparison to others…

The couple have written to Bromley council asking them to clamp down on rubbish left on the streets which attracts the animals.

Bromley Council is dumping rubbish on the streets..? Really?

Shouldn't you maybe be writing to your neighbours instead, Mr Gillard?

Councillor Tim Stevens, who is Bromley council’s representative for public safety, said: “Bromley council’s approach to foxes is to discourage an increase in their population without physically harming them.

“This is achieved by advising residents to stop doing things that might encourage foxes. These include removing attractions from the garden, sealing up holes and hiding places.”

Oh! I bet Mr Gillard never thought of that. Surely everything is the responsibility of the council?