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Links
to over 500 animal rescue organisations in 127 countries including over
50 Border Collies Rescue groups
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| No matter where you live in the world, you can help by signing this petition to the Scottish parliament. | |
| Raised by - Daphne Jackson on behalf of Ettrick and Yarrow Community Council - Scotland- Improved mobile phone coverage in rural areas | |
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Please consider supporting our petition for improved mobile phone coverage in rural Scotland. I'm sure many of your have experienced difficulties when staying / travelling in rural areas due to the lack of coverage. It is a huge health & safety issue. There is no need for more masts to be built as the Emergency Services masts are already in place & can be utilised. We have now reached the Scottish Parliament & are collecting signatures on the e-petition which is going well. Please sign the petition & encourage as many people as possible to also sign by passing on the link.
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Fresher Stuff |
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| Dogs being banned from exercise areas | |
| The increase in UK local authority use of Dog Control Orders to ban dogs from access to public parks and open spaces within their jurisdiction raises alarming prospects for dog owners living in urban environments. These orders, introduced in 2005, are designed to control irresponsible dog ownership and curb the anti social behaviour of small minority of dog owners who do not pick up faeces or keep proper control of their dogs in public places. Now councils are using these powers to set outright bans on dogs accessing a wide range of public spaces. | |
| It must be said that by turning a blind eye to people who do not pick up their dogs waste and by accepting poor standards of control from fellow dog owners, we have allowed a situation to arise where the only option left to many authorities is to take draconic action like this to keep their public spaces clean and free of intimidation for all citizens. The lesson to be learned is, if we want less government interference and restrictions on our lives, we should take on more responsibility ourselves. | |
| Telegraph story | |
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| Animal Welfare Offences - 2006 Animal Welfare Act (AWA) - To prosecute or not? | |
| Is the cost of Animal Welfare prosecutions a major factor that puts local authorities off adopting and enforcing the 2006 Animal Welfare Act? Are transgressors still getting away with breaking the law and abusing animals simply because it is too expensive to bring them to court? | |
| The grapevine feedback in animal welfare circles is that, in spite of the new laws, many authorities are reluctant to adopt or enforce them and consequently many offences are not even being investigated, let alone the offenders brought to justice. | |
| There are some councils that do enforce the AWA and bring prosecutions, however the RSPCA continues to be the only consistent enforcement agency on animal welfare issues in the UK. They are a charity! Why is it being left to a charity to enforce the law? | |
| The people of this country are said to be very aware and proud of our record on animal welfare, so why do councils seem to be frightened of the public reaction to spending council tax money on upholding a legal system most people apparently want enforced? | |
| Are we British as altruistic as we think we are, or do we accept that because the laws exist, we have done enough to look good and as long as we do not have to pay for enforcement we can feel comfortable in knowing that, at least, now enforcement could be taken? | |
| Are we really that glib as to sit on the fence and let those that really care give their money to the RSPCA so they can do the job our councils are supposed to do? Let them pay for our complacency? | |
| Councils seem to think so - what do you think? | |
| Click to read an article about this issue by Brynle Williams, AM | |
| Welsh Conservative Assembly Member for North Wales and Shadow Minister for Rural Affairs | |
| A short debate on this issue by the Welsh Assembly can be seen here | |
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| 26/03/2010 | |
| UK Government reported to be poised to ban the use of wild animals in Circus performances | |
| It has been widely reported that following a public consultation indicating that more than 90% of the British public would like to see the end of the exploitation of wild animals in circus performances, the government is considering a national ban. Currently, local authorities (Councils) have powers that allow them to ban a circus using wild animals from operating in their area, however this is not yet a national policy and many animal welfare organisations now hope that the DEFRA initiative will materialise into a full ban sometime in the near future - perhaps even this year. | |
| Predictably, Circus lobby groups are against such a ban and are ridiculing the conclusions of the consultation, even going as far as to imply that the whole thing has been rigged or manipulated by animal rights groups. | |
| Having participated in the public consultation, we cannot credit their response as being anything other than a desperate attempt to enable them to continue to exploit animals for personal gain. A spokesman for a circus group appeared on national breakfast TV today and insisted that the consultation was not representative of the views of the majority of the public and that there still existed a 'market' for circuses using wild animals in the UK. | |
| The use of the word 'market' is truly reflective of the way such people view the use of animals in their entertainments. It's just business to them. Animals are a commodity to be traded on - just like stocks and shares. A ban is well overdue. | |
| Link to report in Daily Mail | |
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25/03/2010 |
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| PETA poster 'not likely to cause offence' | |
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A Peta poster advertisement showing a pedigree Maltese dog sporting a Hitler style moustache, together with the slogan “Master Race? Wrong for People. Wrong for Dogs. Boycott Breeders. Adopt.” has been deemed as 'not seriously offensive or likely to cause widespread offence' by the (ASA) - Advertising Standards Authority The poster, aimed at pedigree dog breeders, was displayed outside Crufts this year, generating 3 complaints (one from the Kennel Club) to the ASA. |
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| However, the Advertising Standards Authority rejected the complaints and has allowed the poster to remain. | |
| More details of this story - click here | |
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23/03/2010 |
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Wales bans the use of Electronic Training
Collars for Dogs and Cats Welsh Assembly Government Press Release |
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A ban on the use of collars designed to administer an electric shock to dogs and cats in Wales will come into force tomorrow Wednesday 24 March following the approval of the regulations by Assembly Members today Tuesday 23 March. The ban was initially announced by Wales’ Rural Affairs Minister, Elin Jones, on 24 February. Following Assembly approval, the provisions of the Animal Welfare (Electronic Collars) (Wales) Regulations 2010 will come into force at one minute past midnight tomorrow morning 00:01, Wednesday 24 March. The ban is the first of its kind in the UK.
Wales’ Rural Affairs Minister, Elin Jones said: “The ban will come into force tomorrow morning. It is important that owners are aware of the ban, and that they now take appropriate steps to comply with the law. “The Welsh Assembly Government takes animal welfare very seriously, and I’m pleased that as a government, we are taking a proactive approach to promoting the welfare of animals by banning the use of such electronic training devices in Wales.”
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| BCR Comment | |
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A Good Move. Well done but not before time. Let us hope the rest of the UK follows. Now if the Welsh Assembly would completely ban commercial puppy farming, including the sale of puppies and kittens in pet shops and oblige all Local Authorities in Wales to uphold and enforce the 2006 Animal Welfare Act - they will have scored a hat trick. Such moves will change Wales from being one of the worst areas of the UK for animal welfare into one of the best and remove the shame of their record of past exploitation and abuse. |
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| Remembering the principle that 'a law is ineffective unless it is enforced', we now have to see who will enforce this ban, how efficient the enforcement is - and hope it is not all just left to the RSPCA to bring about prosecutions (again). | |
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| Want to run your own Farm? This BBC series may give you a chance. | |
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Splash Media TV have sent us an email about a new BBC series that they are producing. They hope will be of interest to people involved with our organisation. The series will feature ten couples who would like the opportunity to change their lives forever and run a farm. The programme will see the ten couples learn all the basics they need before decamping to a farm in the beautiful British countryside where they will be challenged in all areas of farm life, from animal husbandry to coping with the unpredictable summer weather. The series will culminate in the winning pair getting the opportunity to live and work on their own small farm for a year. The program producers are looking for couples of all ages and relationships (married couples / siblings / friends) who are serious about wanting to change their lives and who will relish farm life. Whether it’s a love of animals, a passion for gardening, an interest in sustainability and food provenance or a general lust for all things outdoors, they want to hear from anyone who thinks they’ve got what it takes to take on this lifestyle-transforming project. The deadline for applications is 28th April 2010.
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- and good luck! |
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| News in from the USA | |
| West Hollywood City Council passes historic law to ban the sale of Puppies and Kittens in pet shops | |
| Following investigations into the pet trade in California and submissions by a number of animal welfare organisations in the USA, including the Companion Animal Protection Society (CAPS), Animal Legal Defence Fund, Social Compassion in Legislation and the Humane Society of the United States, lawmakers in the City of West Hollywood, California, drafted legislation to prohibit the sale of Puppies and Kittens (from puppy farms and kitten farms) by pet shops and traders within the cities jurisdiction. | |
| The same legislation encourages pet shop owners to take an active part in working with local rescue groups and shelters to assist in the re-homing of unwanted and homeless animals. | |
| The legislation, known as a City Ordinance, will cover all commercial dealers of animals within the City and will become law if it passes a second vote in two weeks time. Supporters of the Ban are confident that the vote in favour will remain unanimous.. | |
| The following is a release from Judie Mancuso President, Social Compassion In Legislation (SCIL) | |
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Dear
Friends:
Thank you
all, your activism is truly amazing. |
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| Potentially, this ground breaking legislation could cut off outlets for puppy farm bred dogs (and kittens) in the City of West Hollywood and will hopefully be taken up by other City and State legislators around the USA. By removing a source of badly bred dogs and cats from being available to the public to be 'conned' into buying, this should have the knock on effect of reducing the numbers being discarded and ending up in pounds, rescues and humane societies. | |
| Border Collie Rescue was happy to write in support of this ban. We hope this sort of legislation will spread and protect more animals and people from being exploited by unscrupulous and profit driven traders and retailers. What happens in one country could affect us all and we should not be shy to support changes - anywhere - that benefit animal welfare. | |
| For those who may be interested in campaigning for similar legislation in their own area, state or country, the published public document outlining the West Hollywood Council legislation can be downloaded and read as an Adobe .pdf file by clicking the link below. | |
| West Hollywood ordinance PDF file | |
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This is a video of the
public comment and the vote on the ban - just click in the centre of the screen
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Please watch the
following video - just click in the centre of the screen
We hope it may encourage you to 'get active' and help make a difference. |
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REPORT ON PEDIGREE DOGS RELEASED |
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| Following the BBC documentary "Pedigree Dogs Exposed there have been a number of reports, summaries and accounts of the predicament of pedigree dogs in the UK. The latest, and perhaps most in depth, report is from Prof' Patrick Bateson and contains many recommendations designed to improve the quality of life for pedigree dogs and there owners. Click the link below to read it in full. | |
| http://breedinginquiry.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/final-dog-inquiry-120110.pdf | |
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Free Darcy Campaign Highlighting our quarantine laws and how it can adversely affect specialist dogs working overseas |
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The recent case of Darcy, a
search and rescue dog, has raised some issues about UK quarantine laws. Dogs like Darcy are highly trained and save lives, both in the UK and throughout the world. The UK has a 'passports for pets' scheme which circumvents quarantine restrictions, but this is only relevant to certain countries. If a dog is not on the scheme or visits a country not participating in the scheme it will be subjected to 6 months quarantine upon re-entry to the UK. This has happened to Darcy. |
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Our quarantine restrictions are there for a reason - primarily to prevent the introduction of Rabies into the UK. This is a very good reason. However, we firmly believe that there should be some sort of provision to enable dogs like Darcy to be able to assist in disasters around the world and not be subjected to our current draconian quarantine isolation upon their return. We need a different system for dogs like Darcy. |
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6 months is a long time in the life of a dog. Lets put aside the emotive argument that six months in isolation, separated from the handler it has bonded with, is both unkind and cruel to a domestic companion animal like a dog. Lets also put aside the fact that it is unkind and cruel to deprive a working dog of its work and subject it to the frustration it will consequently endure while restricted in this manner. These are the facts of quarantine and all dogs are so affected - some breeds, like the Border Collie, worse than others. For a dog like Darcy it is 6 months where he will be unable to do the work he has been trained to do. It will be six months where his training will not be practiced or updated and when he is released from quarantine he will need to be retrained to reach his current standard. After long and expensive training, it will be six months where Darcy - as an asset to the human race - will be wasted. Like so many aspects of our modern society, there is little sense to this - economically or socially. Like so many aspects of our legal system and our laws affecting animals, we have an antiquated and ill thought out quarantine law that is applied in an indiscriminate, knee jerk manner by those who enforce it. Politicians could change this. |
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If you - like us - feel that there should be a modification of our quarantine laws to allow dogs like Darcy to be able to work more freely around the world -saving lives - helping humans - without being subjected to an enforced 6 months quarantine on return to the UK - SIGN THE PETITION OUTLINED BELOW |
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Petition information Darcy, an Essex County Fire and Rescue Service’s search and rescue dog, will have to spend six months in quarantine after going to Indonesia to carry out life saving search and rescue work. We believe that rescue dogs should be exempt from the quarantine laws. Six months imprisonment does not seem like a fitting reward for a dog which has worked abroad to try and save lives. |
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To sign the petition
as detailed below, please click the link We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to change the UK quarantine laws to exempt search and rescue dogs which have done life saving work overseas |
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Border Collie Elected Mayor of Rabbit Hash, Kentucky, USA.
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Hidden behind the hype of the
National Presidential elections in the USA, a far more important and
significant battle was being fought for the office of the Mayor of
Rabbit Hash, Kentucky. 16 candidates struggled through a long, and sometimes contentious, fight for the highly sought after and prestigious position for the 2008 term of office. Finally, on the 5th November, Border Collie 'Lucy Lou' was elected with a majority 3489 votes over her closest rival. Border Collie Rescue wishes Lucy Lou good fortune in her term in office. If anyone wishes to know more about this unusual and, undoubtedly, very wise Kentucky community, click on the link below and visit their website. |
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| Some people show exceedingly good taste - http://www.rabbithashusa.com/ - time for a change! London Next? | |
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Click on the above to visit 'The Meatrix' - An Educational Insight |
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