Dog without a leash allegedly seen attacking a seal while guardian stood and watched

- New South Wales, Australia -

Pictures have been circulating on social media which have been connected to an episode that happened at Long Reef Aquatic Reserve, on Sydney's Northern Beaches.

Reportedly, the dog seen in the pictures had been harassing the seal also shown in the pictures, and all this was happening while the dog’s guardian just stood there and watched.

I have not found a video showing the facts reported.

The area of the incident in question is zoned as a protected area by the New South Wales government and dogs must be on a leash at all times.

A local witness was disgusted by what they saw so they took pictures and posted them on social media hoping to track down the irresponsible guardian.

News Break reports that the witness told Pittwater Online News: “The dog circled the poor seal that was resting on the beach. Then the dog nipped the seal. The seal bellowed and the dog kept at it. We thought the seal would be bitten. We also thought the dog would be killed.”

According to the witness, the dog’s guardian had no control over the dog and did not even try to approach the seal or the dog until they both were in the water.

The witness also added: “However once in the deeper water the dog continued chasing. As the dog was in deep water the owner eventually waded in to retrieve it.”

Then, the dog was dragged away by his guardian.

After the pictures surfaced on social media residents became outraged and slammed the behavior of the dog’s guardian as “disgusting and arrogant.

9News reports that the dog’s guardian, a 47-year-old from Dee Why, has later been fined $1,320 for allowing his dog to attack a seal.

Australian fur seals are a protected species, with fines of up to $3000 possible for getting too close to the animals.

Mayor Michael Regan thanked community members for their concern and assistance in helping protect the rare animal and said: “We are truly fortunate that such a magnificent creature visited our beaches for onlookers to admire from afar. People must keep at least 40 meters away from these protected animals and dogs are not permitted at all times at this particular stretch of coastline, which is designated a marine reserve.”

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Dr. Adam W. Stern’s programs examine dead animals and report findings to police in case of abuse

- Florida, USA -

I SALUTE THIS GREAT MAN!

You know when we watch TV police shows and we see medical experts reconstruct the crime scenes?

Well, now scientists at University of Florida are doing the same thing conducting necropsies on stray animals and hunting for signs of foul play, reports First Coast News.

Not all the animals we see dead on the streets or very close to death have been victims of careless and reckless drivers.

In many cases innocent animals have been dumped after being severely abused or tortured.

How do we know then what really happened to them?

Dr. Adam W. Stern is a forensic pathologist in the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine, and his focus is to learn what really happened to these animals so that their death can be investigated by law enforcement agencies and justice can be served!

Dr. Stern has started two new programs, one is called “ A Dog Has No Name” and the other one is called “ A Cat Has No Name.”

These two programs are collaborations with law enforcement authorities and forensic specialists at the UF Maples Center for Forensic Medicine to provide a way to identify and document the deaths of unclaimed dogs and cats.

Professors, students and pathologists perform forensic autopsies on animals, and if examinations reveal a questionable death, then, the findings are submitted to the appropriate agencies with the purpose of prosecuting animal abusers and bringing justice to the animals who were harmed.

Dr. Stern said: “People who contact us might say we have a dog that’s been found dead in a park, or on the side of the road, and we think it might fit your program.”

He then explained: “We're looking for patterns. Hit by a car pattern injuries are going to be different than those if someone beat an animal up and dumped it on the side of the road, so we're going to look for patterns. I’ve seen maybe a half-dozen cases where others have actually seen people dump dogs on the side of the road. Some of them were abused. But no one really knows unless we look at them.”

Dr. Stern has already identified several cases of dogs and cats who showed evidence of animal cruelty.

How did he determine that?

This was his response: “Because the dogs had projectiles in them. These were air gun pellets, and the death was definitely attributed to these projectile injuries. We see that there could be a potential crime involved, then report it to law enforcement authorities and let them do their investigating.”

Dr. Stern then added: “It makes me feel good that I can tell their story, There doesn't have to be anything nefarious about the case, but at least we know what happened. We do name all of the animals.”

The program is run through donations, and there's never a charge to perform a forensic autopsy.

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Source

Albanian parliament approves law amendments to enforce harsher punishments for animal abusers

- Albania -

exit news reports that the “Albanian parliament has approved in principle amendments to the Criminal Code to enforce harsher punishments on those who abuse animals.”

The long overdue changes were reportedly proposed by animal protection associations and include strict punishments for those that injure, mistreat, or inflict cruelty on animals.

This means that those found guilty of animal abuse now face between one and two years in prison depending on the crime.

· “Whoever motivated by evil or without reason kills an animal is punished with imprisonment of six months to two years.”

· “Whoever, without lawful reason, injures an animal or subjects it to actions which bring about its suffering, shall be imprisoned for between four months and one year.”

· “Whoever, motivated by evil or without reason, forces an animal to perform services, work or undertake behaviors that go beyond the relevant standard is punished with imprisonment of one to three months or a fine of 50,000 ALL ($479) to 100,000 ALL ($959).”

Under the new law, there will also be ridiculous punishments for those that abandon animals, and those who don’t keep animals in sanitary or hygienic conditions.

· “Abandonment of escorted animals or those kept in captivity constitutes a criminal offence and is punishable by 10,000 ALL ($95) to 30,000 ALL ($287).

· Any action carried out which goes against the wellbeing of animals or keeping them in inappropriate conditions is punishable by a fine of between 100,000 ALL ($959) to 200,000 ALL ($1,918) and imprisonment of up to six months.”

The law will also punish those evil individuals who use innocent animals for fighting purposes.

· Those caught organizing or directing fights between animals can face up to two years in prison and a maximum fine of 300,000 ALL ($2,878).

· People who give up their animals for fighting will also be punished.

They can be imprisoned for two years and fined up to 1 million ALL ($9,594).

· Those who kill animals with malice or without reason (such as for food), can be imprisoned for up to two years.

*Voice For Us note: So much still needs to be done worldwide to protect animals.

I cannot believe that in the 21st century there are still countries where animal welfare laws are non-existent, or countries where animal welfare laws are still not strong enough to protect the animals!*

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