U.K. Archives - TheSnout.in

Vet’s suicide raises questions of easy access to deadly drugs

November 20, 20246 min

A well-regarded young veterinarian in Winchester, England, took his own life with a drug used to euthanize pets at least partly because he was disturbed by wealthy customers asking him to put down their animals unnecessarily, The Independent newspaper reported. The vet’s suicide has prompted a coroner to warn about the easy access to dangerous drugs in the veterinary profession. The Winchester Coroner’s Court in Hampshire was told John Ellis, 35, tricked a veterinary nurse...

by Staff Reporter

Animal Farm Dairy Others

British ban on export of live animals comes into force

August 1, 20244 min

The ban on exporting live animals from Great Britain for fattening and slaughter has come into effect from last week, the website FarmingUK.com reported. The Animal Welfare (Livestock Exports) Act, brought in by the previous Conservative Party government of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and passed by Parliament in May, applies to journeys from, and transit journeys through, Britain to destinations outside the U.K., the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man. Northern Ireland, which has...

by Sandy Pawpaw

All About Pets Curious Tales

Pets may know when it’s time to say goodbye, says scientist

July 20, 20245 min

Do animals know when they are about to die, and say a final goodbye to their owners or families? Dr Rupert Sheldrake, a researcher in the U.K. who is considered a ‘heretic’—curiously, a term that originated in religion—by the “scientific” community, certainly seems to think so. Sheldrake, who worked at an agricultural institute near Hyderabad, India, 50 years ago, developing new varieties and cropping systems in chickpeas, or chana, says he has spent almost a...

by Sandy Pawpaw

All About Pets Features Interviews

Dogs are family friends, not racing machines, says anti-race activist Dorchak

July 7, 202425 min

Christine Ann Dorchak, Esq, is a woman on a mission to end the so-called sport of greyhound racing worldwide. Ms Dorchak is president and general counsel of GREY2K USA, an organization that was set up to campaign against dog racing and rescue the animals trapped in the cruel enterprise. Greyhound racing originated in the USA over a century ago and spread to different parts of the world, mostly white Anglophone countries. While supporters claim it...

by Staff Reporter

Flying Club Wild & Wonderful

Rare dragonflies thrive at U.K.’s Wicken Fen nature ‘hot spot’

July 4, 20244 min

A low, flat wetland near Ely in Cambridgeshire, eastern England, has been named the U.K.’s 23rd dragonfly hot spot by the British Dragonfly Society, the BBC reported. Wicken Fen National Nature Reserve is also the first National Trust reserve to be named a dragonfly hot spot. In May, the reserve marked 125 years of being cared for by the trust. It has been recognized for its continuing conservation efforts to create ideal conditions for the...

by Staff Reporter

All About Pets Curious Tales

Greyhound toll rises in U.K. for first time since records began

July 3, 20244 min

The greyhound toll at racetracks in the U.K. rose last year for the first time since records began to be kept seven years ago, leading to renewed calls to ban the alleged sport, The Independent newspaper reported. A total of 109 dogs died at the U.K.’s 20 official tracks, the paper said, quoting statistics from the Greyhound Board of Great Britain. An additional 427, or 7.2% of the known racing population, died away from the...

by Staff Reporter

Animal Farm Dairy Others

Britain bans live export of farm animals for fattening, slaughter

May 25, 20245 min

Britain’s Parliament has passed the Animal Welfare (Livestock Exports) Bill, which bans the live export of farm animals for fattening and slaughter from the country. The legislation, introduced in December, fulfils a five-decade long-standing commitment to enhance animal welfare standards and leverages the regulatory freedoms gained after Britain pulled out of the European Union in 2020. The bill specifically prohibits the export of cattle, sheep, pigs, and goats, among other livestock, for these purposes. While...

by Sandy Pawpaw

Curious Tales

Study suggests leprosy was carried by red squirrels in mediaeval England

May 5, 202412 min

A growing body of evidence suggests leprosy may have had zoonotic origins and spread to human beings from some species of animals. In The British Isles in mediæval times, the disease may have spread to humans from Eurasian red squirrels, a new study published in the journal Current Biology suggested, the British Broadcasting Corporation and The Hindu newspaper reported. The researchers studied human and red squirrel bones from archaeological sites in Winchester, southern England, and...

by Staff Reporter

Wild & Wonderful

Paul Watson’s team to stop hunting of fin whales in Iceland

April 17, 20247 min

The Captain Paul Watson Foundation is launching Operation Ice Storm from Albert Dock in Yorkshire to oppose Iceland’s last whaling company, Hvalur hf, the organization said in a press release. Paul Watson, co-founder of Greenpeace and founder of Sea Shepherd, has a history of intervening in Icelandic whaling operations. In 1986, members of his group successfully reduced the whaling fleet of Hvalur hf by half. “Time is up for the world’s most notorious hunter of...

by Sandy Pawpaw

All About Pets

U.K. poll confirms walking your dog can be good for your love life

April 13, 20245 min

Films like Must Love Dogs (2005), Walking The Dog (2017), 23 Walks (2020) and Puppy Love (2023) all have one thing in common—the ‘meet cute’ of couples occurs while taking their pets out for a stroll and, slowly but surely, love blossoms. On April 11, celebrated as National Pet Day in the U.K., an online poll of 1,265 British dog owners confirmed that which many professional dog walkers already know: not only is having a...