четверг, 17 октября 2013 г.

Lobo park: eye to eye with foxes and wolves



Lobo park (Spain) was created by Daniel Weigend and Alexandra  Stieber (for a long time Daniel trained working dogs in Germany). The park became a unique site where respect for animals' nature is the key principle. Open for public since 2004.

четверг, 3 октября 2013 г.

Об одной счастливой встрече в собачьем приюте


      С тех пор как меня забрали из приюта, это фото представляет для меня огромную ценность. Когда она шла по длинному коридору, такая одинокая и печальная, нерешительно заглядывая в вольеры, наши взгляды встретились. Я тотчас ощутил, что ей необходима поддержка и решил помочь. Я повилял ей хвостом, но старался сдерживать свои эмоции, чтобы ее не напугать. Когда она остановилась возле меня, я постарался отвлечь ее внимание от маленькой неприятности в дальнем углу моей клетки, случившейся из-за того, что сегодня со мной не погуляли. Я просто не хотел, чтобы она плохо подумала о работниках приюта, которые и без того слишком заняты. Когда она читала мою приютскую карточку, я молился чтобы она не думала и не грустила о моем прошлом. Я хочу смотреть только в будущее и хочу изменить хоть чью-нибудь жизнь к лучшему. Тут она встала на колени перед клеткой и тихонько окликнула меня. Она очень волновалась, и я через прутья протянул ей лапу и высунул морду. Она потрепала меня по шее и заплакала. Тихо-тихо… Ей было очень одиноко, ей так нужен был друг. Вот тогда я исхитрился и лизнул её. А как ещё я мог сказать, что теперь всё будет хорошо! Дверь клетки открылась, и тут я просто бросился к ней в объятья. И увидел её сияющую улыбку: она больше не одна! Клянусь всю жизнь заботиться о ней. Клянусь всегда быть рядом. Клянусь делать все, что в моих силах, чтобы блеск этих глаз и лучезарность улыбки не сходили с ее лица. Сегодня я спас человека. Но сколько людей пока не нашли своего счастья. Скольких нам ещё предстоит спасти… Animal Rescues Appeal



четверг, 19 сентября 2013 г.

A law for killing dogs? What Danish legislators are drafting?


Denmark
13 dog breeds are now banned, 12 more are lined up! 


January 2013 - Denmark has one of the most strict dog breed bans in the world. 13 breeds were already banned and 12 more are lined up, making it a total of 25 breeds to be banned in the near future.

The discussion in Denmark went totally out of hand. While reports surfaced that despite the current ban, the number of dog bites have increased and the ban is therefore not working, politicians and media ignored the facts and called for more breeds to be banned. When vets are reluctant to euthanize healthy animals just because they are part of breed, politicians called upon people to practice "do-it-yourself" euthanasia. This message was corrected, yet it shows the sentiment that is present in the country and the horror dogs and dog owners in Denmark are living in.

Shakespeare onces wrote "something is rotten in the state of Denmark". Some hundreds of years later he is proven right. A lot of Danes are against the law and cry out in protest of this outrage. Help the Danes to stop this madness in their country, and let them return to the civilized world once more, states the following petition.


Over 400,000 dogs are in imminent danger of being killed!


Since the breed ban has been passed, over 400.000 dogs are in danger in Denmark. The Government has introduced reverse burden of proof, so the owners of Dogs that look like these breeds, now have to proof that they are not, which, as we all know, can not be done with DNA. If the families of these dogs can't lift the burden of proof - the dog will be euthanized.

Banned breeds

In Denmark, it is illegal to own, breed, or import the following breeds and/or cross-breeds of dogs:
  • Pit Bull Terrier
  • Tosa Inu (Japanese Fighting Dog)
  • American Staffordshire Terrier
  • Fila Brasileiro
  • Dogo Argentino
  • American Bulldog
  • Boerboel (South African Mastiff)
  • Turkish Kangal
  • Central Asian Ovtcharka
  • Caucasian Ovtcharka
  • South Russian Ovtcharka
  • Tornjak
  • Sarplaninac

For dogs bought before 17 March 2010 the legislation does not apply, but there are very strict rules to observe.

For further information, please contact The Ministry of Justice (Justitsministeriet):


  • Raadet vedroerende Hold af Saerlige Dyr (The Council for Specific Animals)
    At: Slotholmsgade 10, 1216 Copenhagen K
    Tel: 33 92 33 40


Fido died innocent March 15, 2013
 He is but one of 1,800 victims since Denmark's breed ban
came into effect on July 1, 2010


Fido had run away from home, but had done absolutely nothing to anybody during that little stunt. When the police talked to the owner, the lady did the mistake to tell them that he was part American Stafford. This mistake got Fido killed - totally innocent - given that a cross with American Stafford is illegal under the Dogs Act.

Two judges in the Danish Kennel Club has since Fido's stunt, based on photos and a visit to the dog, said that they do not see any sign that the dog is an American Stafford mix.

But this is, according to the police, not a satisfactory explanation of Fido's origin. Fido's family had the opportunity to say "good bye" to their beloved dog before they killed him.

Fido died March 15, 2013. He had done nothing wrong. He had never hurt anyone.
Picture


DENMARK: 

Stop judging and ultimately killing these dogs
based on your ignorance and look at the facts!



The following text is taken from an article from July 25, 2011, taken from the following website and will explain:

Denmark Breed Ban is failing (and why the solution is not more banning)

Last week, an organization in Denmark called "Fair Dog" released a report detailing some of the failures of the Breed Ban in Denmark.

If you recall, on July 1 of 2010, Denmark banned 13 breds of dogs, including the pit bull terrier, Tosa Inu, American Staffordshire Terrier, Fila Brasileiro, Dogo Argentino, American Bulldog, Boerboel, Kangal, 3 breeds of Ovtcharkas, Tornjak and Sarplanina.

In the Fair Dog report, they accumulated dog bite numbers for the 12 months prior to the ban and for the 12 months post the ban -- by accumulating data from veterinary offices, the internet and police numbers. While they acknowledge the data is more of a collection of facts than truly statistical, the numbers do give some insight into the failings of the National Breed Ban.

The report focuses on 464 bite episodes from every region of the country, and even breaks down the bites from dog vs human, dog vs dog, dog vs other animal and fatal attack.

Based on their data, the number of dog bites on humans went from 67 in the 12 months prior to the ban to 107 in the 12 months after the ban (a 60% increase), dog bites on other dogs from 75 to 117 (a 56% increase), dog bites on other animals 21 to 24 (14% increase) and fatal attacks from 23 to 30 (30% increase)*.  Total dog bites went from 186 to 278 -- a 49% increase.

*The study doesn't specifically mention what constitutes a 'fatality' -- my assumption is that a fatality includes human and other animal deaths and not just human deaths -- as 30 human fatalities in a country of just over 5 million people would be a ridiculously high number -- as 30 is a high number of fatalities per year in the U.S. where we have a population of over 300 million people.

Of the bite incidents, 6.5% of all bites in the 12 months prior to the ban were from the banned breeds, this number dropped to 4.3% in the 12 months after the ban as bites from non-banned breeds increased.

The top biting dogs have changed little from before the ban vs after. Post the ban, the top biting dogs are Schaefer (German Shepherds -- who were #1 before the ban), Rottweilers and Bladinghundes (which is the Danish term for mixed breeds).

The Danish Government has responded to the poor first year of the ban, not by acknowledging the failure of targeting breeds vs targeting careless owners, but by discussion adding another 12 breeds to the banned list.

That too, will fail.

The report also details other areas in which breed bans have failed, including detailing information from SpainThe NetherlandsGermanyItalyScotland and the UK. Continuing to

You can read the entire report here (much of it is in Danish but Google Translate can help you muddle through it). Some pieces are in English.

Picture

The problem with dogs is not dogs. It is people. And laws that continue to focus on dogs and not on the owners are destined to fail because they are targeting the wrong end of the leash. This has been true throughout the world -- and study after study proves it.

Focusing on responsible dog ownership is the solution, not targeting dogs based on their shape.

Picture


Take action - sign the petitions!

Please sign the petition: Tell Denmark to stop banning dog breeds at change.org
and please sign also the petition: Repeal the Breed Ban in Denmark at GoPetition


Thank you!


Please read also: July 11 - International Lennox Day

среда, 18 сентября 2013 г.

Будет ли в России принят закон о защите прав животных?




В России десятки тысяч бездомных животных, которых выбрасывают на улицу, их унижают, издеваются. У метро на животных зарабатывают деньги. Собак отстреливают. 
Наверняка, многие из вас наблюдали раненых, голодных собак и кошек. Мерзавцев, которые вставляют ведерки в зубы собак, и клянчат деньги, а потом нередко убивают своих питомцев. Хозяев ротвейлеров, питбулей…, которые натравливают своих псов на соседских или бездомных собак или просто отпускают их гулять без намордника. 
В России позорно отсутствует «Федеральный закон о защите прав животных». Как сообщают защитники животных, его в 2000 году отклонил лично президент Путин. А закон прошел чтения в Госдуме и Совете Федерации.Несколько лет назад 106 народных артистов обратились к Владимиру Путину с просьбой принять закон о животных. Но и он был отклонен. 
Я – не политический активист, не зоозащитник, а такой же, как и вы, горожанин, который каждый день ездит в метро, и, как и вы, видит бездомных собак в подземке, во дворах. И я требую законодателей разработать и принять федеральный закон о защите прав животных. 
В середине марта с группой журналистов и защитников животных, а также известными людьми, я намерен передать петицию депутатам Комитета Госдумы по экологии и природопользованию, а также представителям президента и премьера РФ". Здорово, если собсерем как минимум 50 тысяч подписей. Наша цель 100 тысяч и одна подпись. Именно тогда ее будут ОБЯЗАНЫ рассмотреть законодатели. Такое заявление сделал Владимир Путин в своей статье "Демократия и качество государства". 
Если вы согласны с петицией, пожалуйста, подпишите ее и расскажите о петиции своим друзьям и знакомым. 
Всего пара кликов. И у животных появится шанс. Спасибо!

Я прошу журналистов присоединиться и осветить тему защиты животных. Мои контакты можно найти в фейсбуке.
    1. Автор:
      Балашиха, Russian Federation

  • Оставьте свой голос по ссылке: 

    http://chn.ge/XYQVpQ

    Полный текст законопроекта: 

    http://bit.ly/1elHl8Q


    среда, 4 сентября 2013 г.

    Mondioring decoy. Who is he?


    Decoy (an extract from Rules of mondioring)

    For a brief history, let us mention that in the past the decoy has also been called “Apache”,

    “Malfaiteur” (lawbreaker), “Mannequin”, and “Paillasse” (strawman). In America we call
    him “Decoy” (lure) or “Helper” (assistant). Each one of these terms carries with it a
    philosophy of the art of training and it will be interesting to be able to add to this list the terms
    used in Germany, Spain, Holland, Italy or Switzerland, if they are different. For it is the name
    of the decoy (lit. trans. assistant man), which for simplicity we use the initials H. A.,
    Compared with the “hunting dog”, “defense dog”, “guard dog”, the man is not truly
    “attacking”, because generally he defends himself, flees, or steals an object entrusted to the
    dog.
    What he is, as said in the preceding section, is the partner of the dogs and the handlers. He
    must also be an adversary, because he must collaborate with the Judge in the competitions, to help the Judge to classify the dogs by order of merit.
    If the Decoy merely maintains a passive behavior, he is only a moveable puppet, good only to
    be bitten. If his role is to allow the Judge to evaluate the quality of the dog, he must oppose the animal. As he is protected by his bite suit, he risks exaggerating this opposition. He risks also,
    knowingly or not, behaving differently from one dog and another.
    His is a difficult position, but he will have to always hold it in the best sporting spirit.
    Without analyzing the work of the Decoy technically, we should lay down three golden rules
    never to be forgotten:
    1. The Decoy will be absolutely impartial.
    2. He will never inflict, in any manner, physical pain upon the dog.
    3. He will have to behave as if he were not wearing a protective bite suit, and therefore,
    use promptness, deception, threats, and dodging to defend himself or impress the dog.
    The Decoy will in no case strike the dog with the baton.
    When he uses the revolver, he will fire in the air, at an angle of about 45°.
    At the beginning of all the tests of courage, the Decoy will always place himself at a distance of 10 to 20 meters away from the dog in the middle of the field. It is forbidden for the Decoy to speak and order the dog by voice (physical gestures are allowed).
    If liquid is to be used, only water is acceptable.
    The Judge is responsible for the work of his Decoy, and the Decoy must conform to his
    regulations.
    For levels 2 & 3, two decoys will share the exercises at the judge’s choice. Level 1 can be done with just one decoy.
    The selection of the Decoy is carried out in each participating country by methods that are
    determined by that country.