Anything For Animals

posted by admin on Jul 21

You may be helping to kill turtles, sharks and even whales - all for a snack!

As you sit at home reading this, there are dying sea turtles taking their last painful look at the world; a young shark could be struggling to breath in a place it has always lived; or a passing whale wondering why it can’t resurface this time for one last breath…..

All so that you can have that fish lunch you have been promising yourself….

Unfortunately, fish hooks don’t just catch fish and fish nets don’t just catch fish either - infact more species of fish, mammal and crustacean die than the very fish we are trying to catch.

You may be currently aware of the problems of by-catch closer to home - but it is just as important across the World as it is at home with WWF estimating that a marine turtle is killed every few minutes across the Oceans; and they are trying to highlight just one - but very important - area that is currently under threat.

The Coral Triangle:

This is a vast area of the Oceans stretching from South-East Asia out into the Pacific Ocean where some 3000 species of fish ply the reefs - along with 5 of the 7 known species of turtles; plus all sorts of other associated species in tropical waters.

The fishermen here are just fishing - as they have done for centuries - to make a living, however the equipment they are using is old-fashioned and is the root of the issue.

With rising numbers of mouths to feed, and rising costs of living - these fishermen are increasing in numbers and so is the amount of by-catch - ie; turtles and dolphins!

However, with a few new items of fishing equipment and a small amount of training - the number of non-fish species caught and killed by these fishermen can be greatly reduced.  For example a newly designed hook that can reduce turtle deaths by an amazing 90%.

And if turtles do get snared, it is normally only a slight wound that results and with the employment of another great invention, these hooks can be removed simply and with as little damage as possible.

How To Help:

Well, these fishermen still need to make a living - and we still want to eat fish - so the best way you can help is to get in touch with WWF to promote and increase the use of these specialist hooks.  A 90% reduction in turtle deaths is well worth just a small donation.

The fishermen don’t want to catch the turtles as they take up a hook that a fish could have been on, but they weren’t able to move on from their old techniques - however, technology can help - and so can you.

And by donating regularly to WWF, you can help them to investigate more ways to save marine life and improve the livelihood or other people across the globe who rely on the oceans for their food and wages.

We already have quite easy lives - so let’s share that good fortune.

posted by admin on Jul 9

Everyone loves a Donkey - and this registered charity is the best place to see dozens of them!

After becoming a charity in 1973 with 38 donkeys in the care; and then they acquired an extra 204 extra donkeys from another Donkey Rescue Sanctuary that could no longer care for them.

Needless to say, from that point on, there was no turning back - and land was brought to house this growing family of rescue donkeys.  Since their humble beginnings, they have had over 14 and a half thousands donkeys pass through the shelter!

Their main rescue shelter is Slade Farm near Sidmouth in Devon, and is home to around 200 donkeys as well as a great shop, restaurant and plaques of all the doners over the years.   It is also the site of their excellent Training Centre, offering free courses on Donkey care and other equine needs and requirements.

 They also have 7 other sites, covering over 1000 arces and housing more than 500 more donkeys - but these are not open to the public - just for the Donkeys to enjoy!

What They Do:

They don’t just collect old and retired Donkeys from across the UK and leave them in fields - they have a stream of other activities, responsibilities and events to co-ordinate across not just the UK, but they have projects across the entire globe!

You can find them working hard in Cyprus, Egypt, Italy and Spain, as well as Etheopia, Kenya, India and Mexico, as well as smaller projects across those continents too.

As well as offering training and advice to Donkey owners abroad, they also have a host of courses for potential and extisiting Donkey owners in the UK.  So, whether you are in the ‘thinking or owning’ stage or have a small number of resident Donkeys - there will be something for you to learn from the experts.

What You Can Do:

The objects of The Donkey Sanctuary are the provision of care, protection and or permanent security anywhere in the world for donkeys and mules which are in need of attention by reason of sickness, maltreatment, poor circumstances, ill-usage or other like causes and the prevention of cruelty and suffering among donkeys and mules.

And you can help them to achieve that without ever having even stroked a rescue Donkey!

Without money and time - these targets just cannot be achieved in the time scales needed or over such a wide area.  Every voluntary fund-raiser or helping hand at Open Days, Events and on the farms is making sure that valuable funds are being spent where they are most needed - as well as making sure that every Donkey in the UK is still getting the best care and attention.

If the Donkey Sanctuary had to pay all of it’s volunteers - they wouldn’t be able to spend any money on the Donkeys themselves!

And you don’t need to live within a short distance of any of the farms either - you can hold a fund-raising event anywhere in the UK to rasie money and awareness for Donkeys; and you could even nominate this Charity as your own when you take part in a Charity Challenge like ‘Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro’ or ‘Trekking the Inca Trail’ - raising thousands of pounds in one go!

You can buy a gift membership from the Centre, or Adopt a Donkey for a friend or relatives birthday - where they will receive information about their chosen Donkey and other relevant updates.

Go to their Website to find out more about what they do and how you can help.

posted by admin on Mar 26

Losing your pet must be one of the most dreaded experiences for a pet owner.

But you don’t have to face it alone - you just need to plan ahead.  Or get someone else to do it all for you!

Now, you may be wondering how can someone else reunite you with your lost pet - but finding your pet can be achieved with just one simple step.

Bearing in mind that there are a number of ways that you can make sure that your pet is reported to you as ’safe’ before you even lose them - you need to understand hoe the whole process works.

For example - nothing can make your pet be found any faster than it could be found in the first place.  You can have a collar, tag, microchip, tattoo, name tag in the coat or a giant flag with your details on it hanging off your dog or cat - but it still won’t be found until it is found!

What you can do though is make sure that the moment it is found - is one minute before you get the call!

Check, Plan and Prepare:
It’s all right having a microchip or a tag on your pets collar - but if your contact details aren’t correct or the best number to contact you on - then there will be an inevitable delay in you finding out your pet is safe and well.

For example, if a vets scan your chip to find you details and you have since moved - they will be ringing a wrong number until they either give up or someone else answers and tells them you have moved.  And if the number you have given on your dogs collar is your home number - you won’t hear them call you as you will be out and about local parks looking for your dog - and so will miss the call.  Lost cats are found during the day too - so make sure your work number is on there instead of your home number if you are a 9-5 commuter!

Silly little things could make all the difference in the rush to find your pet again.

Ask Others:
Asking all your neighbours is a great way to find a lost cat - but you will ultimately be calling up all your local vets, pet stores and rescue centres to ask around.

But - if your pet is chipped, then as soon as it is found by any of these or are taken to a vet at any time, they will call you.

However, if you want to call all these people up you are wasting a lot of time and effort for them as well as you!  They have to listen to all your details and write them all down in a folder - and sometimes these are volunteers doing this - so why not find a company that will contact them all for you in 1 go.

People like PetAmberAlert will fax or text your pets details to everyone on their books in your area in an instant - solving all your worries in one call!  Especially if you have lost your pet while travelling or on holiday - as you won’t know all the local vets and centres to call?

Or, just make sure you never lose you pet in the first place!

posted by admin on Aug 15

RSPB - The Royal Society For The Protection Of Birds

Although the full name seems very old-fashioned and a little specific in nature - the new RSPB is about so much more these days!

Yes, it is still the UK’s biggest bird charity - but they have expanded their horizons.  They have found that just protecting the birds themselves doesn’t solve the problems facing them and neither does keeping them isolated.

Birds have to feed, breed and rear young - they aren’t just isolated beings - therefore their whole habitat and feeding areas need to be preserved.  As do all the other animals that make up that environment - including humans.

The Wider Landscape:
For example an estuarine landscape needs to be fed by a clean meandering river, enriched by an unpolluted sea, grazed by certain livestock and managed by sympathetic landowners.  There needs to be a whole host of insects and larva in the mud-flats to feed other insects and waders in the shallow waters, which in turn feed other birds and animals in the wider landscape.

And although certain habitats are threatened by encroachment of human habitation and quad bike users for example - keeping humans out of the picture doesn’t create ongoing support for their work.

By keeping these areas a ‘people-free’ zone, they are keeping away the very people who will be able to look after them in the future - the kids.  So the RSPB are encouraging schools and youth groups to become more involved in the work that they do and in getting hands-on with the wildlife on their reserves.

Even Further Afield:
And, the RSPB know that looking even further from their habitat is essential for supporting our visiting birdlife as many species migrate here from across the globe.

There is no point making everything perfect for species A here in Norfolk and species B in Lindesfarne if they live somewhere else for 9 months of the year!  What if species A has to contend with Maltese hunters to get to Africa and species B has to fly to the dirty tar sands of Canada to breed?

How do we know they will come back next year if we don’t start to protect them around the world?  What if there is nowhere for their young to fly to in the spring?

And it’s not just UK birds that they help around the globe: they have brought tropical rainforests in Indonesia and changed fishing practices around the Antarctic!

What Can You Do?
Well, you don’t even need to spend a penny to help the RSPB with their aims!  There is plenty for you to do that is totally free or of very little cost to you.

For example, you can sign up to their newsletter online so that they can keep you informed of any activities they are organising - like their current campaign of a ‘Letter to the Future’ aiming to save our landscape for future generations to enjoy.  All you need to do is sign it and send it off!

Visiting their reserves is also a great way to show support as their visitor numbers can reflect growing interest in the ‘great outdoors’ and can help them to decide which species interest the most people and start a campaign to help it.

Also, encouraging your children and their schools to become more involved with nature will start them off in the right direction for the future.  I mean there is no point in saving habitats today if nobody wants to care for them in the future!

If you want to become a member you can do so for just £3 a month, or only pay a few pounds for entry at the few sites you visit each year.  Most of their sites are free anyway, so at least donate a few pounds each time anyway. 

I mean - if people don’t support the places they love; then they can’t expect them to be there in the future can they?

posted by admin on Aug 5

This appeal works to help save wildlife habitats in the UK.

The Details:
The Landfill Communities Fund offer funding to restore habitats - but you have to raise the first 10%.

This way if you offer £10 to the WWT, they can ‘unlock’ a further £90 from this Landfill Communities Fund - therefore turning your £1 onto £10.

However the funding is lost completely if the initial 10% isn’t raised.

Therefore the WWT are currently asking for donations for their latest fund to save and restore valuable habitats in local areas across the country.

Previous Work:
Over the past 3 years, previous campaigns have helped to raise over £100,000 - pretty impressive on it’s own - but don’t forget: this gets multiplied by 10 - so they were able to get their hands on a further £900,000 as a result.

That’s £1 million to help restore wetlands and heathland all over the UK! 

So, what did they do with all that money?  Well they had several large projects including the Great Crane Project which was featured on Springwatch and various other wildlife news reports and events.

The other successful actions were restoring wetlands at Slimbridge, saline lagoons at Washington and adding a canoe safari to their events at Martin Mere.  Also at Arundel they have started some serious work to help the water vole population on the River Arun - and pictures coming in from visitors show the results of this project!

How To Contribute:
You can help in a number of ways for this specific appeal - but with an immediate donation having the desired effect!

Belts may be tight - but think of what you would like to donate at the top of your budget - and then divide it by 10.  Basically just £1 of your money will in effect be a £10 donation, so if you would love to offer £100 but are a bit cash-strapped - then just offer £10 and you have done your best!

Obviously if your pockets are not quite so empty, then be as generous as you can and work out your total donation by adding the noughts!  If you can spare £100 - that’s £1000 in the WWT bank and so on.

Alternatively visit their website to find other ways to support them in their valuable work.

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posted by admin on Jun 4

It’s not a case of whether you lose your pet - it’s more about getting it back!

Many pet owners don’t seem to realise how terrible it is to lose a pet, and just because their little pet seems to always be at home or is rarely off the lead - they assume it can never get lost.

It can - and many many many pets every year get lost - and only a few ever make it back home.

The Problem:
Well, I have worked for animal rescue centres and veterinary surgeries and the number of times we get a phone call to say that someone has lost their black cat, or their pedigree dog.

Now, I don’t know if you know this but there are about a million black cats that all look - well, black.  And let’s be honest, there really isn’t much difference to the layman’s eye between 1 Yorkshire Terrier and the next - I mean they are bred to all look roughly the same, aren’t they?

And, obviously unless you call every vet, rescue centre, pet store or well being neighbour, you might not ever be matched up to your pet again.  Say for example your cat had been asleep in a car that drove off 20 miles before the cat jumped out - would you have called the vets that far from home?

What if your dog got lost while you were out in the local woods and ended up following another owner to the car.  They might not find you or want to leave your dog alone - so thinking they are helping might take your dog with them and report it to their own vet - which is completely on the other side of the woods to you! Or you are on holiday, miles from home?

And don’t think your pets collar will help either - many owners don’t put their full details on them anyway - and many tags - and collars - can (and do) fall off!

We know that animals get lost all the time whether you want to believe it or not - but what if there was a way to give you pet an unmistakable, unremovable id tag that will bring them home everytime?

That’s A MicroChip!
A tiny chip can easily and cheaply be implanted into your pet - from cat to rabbit, ferret to horse and dog to tortoise - and you need never worry about getting your pet returned to you when it is found.

They just need the one chip implanted and that is it for the animal!  There are no ongoing costs for the owner - but obviously you need to keep your contact details updated everytime they change so if they need to contact you, they have the best number!

Every veterinary surgery or rescue centre will ALWAYS scan a found animal looking for a microchip as this is the fastest and easiest way to find the owner.  So as long as your lost pet turns up in one of these places - you will be reunited.

They will also scan these animals if their owners are asking for it to be microchipped for them or when an abandoned animal arrives in a shelter.  This has lead to some amazing reunions!

A lost or seemingly abandoned animal may sometimes be adopted in by a new home, and when that new owner wants them ‘chipped or finally takes them to a rescue centre - your details will pop up as the rightful owner!

Also, if a pet is injured or killed on the road and taken to a veterinary surgery, it will also be scanned for a chip.

June 2010:
This month is national MicroChipping Week in the UK - so make sure you take advantage of surgeries and rescue centres offering reduced implantation - and plenty of them are!

I mean, it is to their advantage too. The sooner they can find out about any existing medical conditions an injured ‘lost’ pet has - the sooner they can offer the best treatment. And rescue centres don’t want to raise valuable donations looking after your dog for a week while you try to find it! They would rather it was home the same day, back with it’s owner rather than scared stiff in a noisy kennel!

Also, if your pets are already ‘chipped - take this as a gentle reminder to update your Chip Company with the correct contact details!

It will be the best thing you ever did for your pet!

posted by admin on May 27

If you took part in the 2010 Birdwatch earlier this year, then you may be interested in the results.

Those who registered their results should get a letter from the RSPB any-day now with the results inside, but if you didn’t, then here they are:

1) The House Sparrow - Down in overall numbers, but still number 1!

2) The Blackbird - This bird has increased in numbers, and so moved up the chart….

3) The Starling - These sociable birds seem to be dropping in numbers as this moves down from number 2 last year.

4) The Blue Tit - Taking full advantage of all the extra feeders out this winter - they increased in numbers slightly.

5) The Chaffinch - Not seen on any of my 3 counts - but must be popular in other areas.

6) The Woodpidgeon - RSPB stats show that the numbers of this bird are up by 855%!

7) The Robin - Always a popular bird, but as seen alone most of the time, this stays low in the list.

8.) The Great Tit - Numbers of this little chap are increasing - and there were loads on my counts too!

9) The Collared Dove - A quiet little bird that only arrived in the UK from Asia in 1953 - and has spread all over!

10) The Goldfinch - Attracted by the feeders we put out - and knocking the Long-Tailed Tit out of the Top 10!

Wales had similar results with virtually the same birds in the Top 10 - although in a different order: with the Dunnock and Jackdaw replacing the Greenfinch and Woodpigeon. 

In Northern Ireland, virtually the same 10 were again found with the Woodpidgeon losing out again - this time to the Coal Tit. The Starling was in 1st place here with the House Sparrow relegated to 2nd place. 

Scotland came in with the Chaffinch first, with the House Sparrow again second, but with the Dunnock and Greenfinch in 9th and 10th place.

If you want to know more about the survey, taking part in other surveys or joining the RSPB as a supporting member, then visit their website for more information and advice.

Source: The RSPB Big Garden BirdWatch Leaflet & Website.

posted by admin on Jan 31

This weekend saw the annual garden bird count get underway - and I had great fun!

I chose to help with 3 counts, as I love watching the birds - and I like to practice my identification skills!  I did my garden, which is a large lawn an orchard next to a wildlife reserve in a small village, my niece’s garden which is a huge lawned garden in suburbia, and finally my friends tiny town garden that she uses to grow vegetables in.

And surprisingly, she got the most species visiting her garden!

I couldn’t believe the numbers and the types of birds she got hopping around her garden and surrounding hedges - and I only watched out the window for and hour!  She had wrens, pied wagtails, song thrushes, starlings and house sparrows, along with blackbirds, robins, crows, collared doves, wood pigeons, magpies, blue tits and seagulls!

My countryside garden did get a great spotted woodpecker, but everything else was the expected species.  Bit unfortunate really as we have seen redwings, bullfinches, partridges, long-tailed tits and even red kites in the garden over the past few weeks - yet for the survey, they all stayed away!

My nieces garden got some standard fare, but nothing that wasn’t seen in the other 2 gardens.  However, the added bonus of doing this garden was that I was able to teach her some of the names of the species we saw!  She was very interested in the count for the whole hour, and came away knowing blackbirds, magpies and wood pigeons (and that caterpillars turn into butterflies!).  Not bad for a 3 year old!

What Else Can You Do?

This survey is only done in January every year, but there are other surveys and birds counts you can get involved in throughout the year in the UK with the RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds) and the BTO (British Trust for Ornithology) by just learning to identify the most common species native to this country.

There are no doubt surveys across other countries by their national bird-loving charities and organisations, and by joining them (usually for a few £’s or $’s a month) you may well get some books or booklets on local birds and how to identify native and migrating species.

This way - even if you don’t stand outside and count birds every year, you are helping others to do just that.  You will be funding research into common and endangered species in your country and around the world.

Now that can’t be a bad thing!

posted by admin on Jan 10

Finally, the snow has all gone and the temperature is rising!

Outside of my window this morning there were 2 roe deer trekking across my garden, and out the side by the bird feeders, I saw a nice collection all feeding at the same time: 2 blue tits, 2 great tits, 2 robins, a blackbird and 4 pheasants!

It’s great to see everything still fighting their way into spring, and I am now living in a perfect rural location to witness the changes from winter.

I have already registered myself with many charities and wildlife surveys to make the most of my time here and to help with the monitoring of our native mammals, birds, insects, reptiles, amphibians and plants!

And of course, it will give me the opportunity to learn a bit more about the world I live in! 

Identifying the calls of birds and the sounds of mammals will really improve my enjoyment of the natural world - and could even help on my CV when I apply for future employment, volunteer opportunities or further education!

Great New Years Resolution don’t you think!