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 May 7

Why not create a fun game to teach your kids or friends about dog breeds?

In the same way that wildlife books help you identify random plants by following a simple flow chart - you could split up and identify common - or not so common - dog breeds.  Or cat breeds, rabbit breeds or horse breeds etc…..

Obviously, it is far easier to learn something new when it is simple and you get fast results - so using technical terms is out of the question as well as things that can only be found out through serious study!

This should be fun!

The Key:

Now you need to decide whether this is for the very beginner - or whether they have a certain amount of doggy knowledge as otherwise this could become quite tedious - or just make 2.

The basic one assumes that they know no breeds at all - and the other can be more specific to rare or unusual breeds - after all if they know what a dalmation looks like - they won’t be using your guide anyway!

Now to get started you need to group your dogs in appearance related groups rather than show groups - as people who see a dog in the street might not know whether it is a working breed or toy dog - so go for looks alone - and start with the simple and most obvious breeds to get them out the way.

For example you may want to filter out Dalmation and Komandors straight away as they are unique in their looks and can’t be mistaken for anything else.  You could also look to be filtering out whole colour groups, like the blues, tri-colours and black and tans - as these groups are easy to spot and can then be further reduced to split up your Dobermanns from your Manchester Terriers.

You could also go on coat type early on if you wanted - although this might be better for later stages - however, a Mexican hairless and a Chow are also very easy to spot!

Problem Areas?

Yes, I know a German Shepherd can be white, black, black and tan, sable, long-haired or normal-haired - but you leave these till you need them - rule out the Maltese, Patterdales, Rottweilers, Collies and Shelties first before proceeding to the more variable breeds.

Try out different ways on scrap paper first as there will be more than one way to get to the same answer - and certain breeds may be at the end of several threads depending on your style of filtering.

Here’s a simple one to give you the jist.  Lets take a Rottweiler, GSD, Maltese and a Sheltie.  Now more than one could be black and tan; more than one could be white and more than one could be long-haired - so how do you filter them out?

Well, here are 2 ways:

1) Has it got very short hair - Yes - Rottweiler (leaving GSD, Maltese and Sheltie)
No: Could you pick it up easily? - No - GSD (leaving Maltese and Sheltie)
Yes: Is it White? - Yes - Maltese - No: it’s a Sheltie

2) Is it really fluffy? - Yes - Maltese
No: Could you pick it up easily? Yes - Sheltie
No: Has it got long hair? - Yes - GSD
No: Rottie

I know that this is only a small group and assumes that all the dogs are present - but it gives you an idea of how to avoid lengthy questions or variable breed descriptions.

These keys can also be used for the very basic teaching or breeds even - like how to tell the difference between all the common pet rodents, pet reptiles or caged birds etc.

It doesn’t have to stop at German Shepherds!  

posted by admin on Sep 29

If you want a really strange pet - but without the long-term commitment: get a triops!

These ‘alien’ looking creatures are something to amaze your friends with - and scare your mum with!

However strange they may look - especially the ghostly shed skins - their lifecycle is even more strange - and they were around with the dinosaurs! 

And with very little care and cleaning needed, these pets can be a great short term investment!  And fun too.

What Are They:
These little creatures are actually crustaceans - that crabs and lobsters to you and me - however they are much smaller.

They look a bit like miniature horseshoe crabs when fully grown, and have a long flexible tail with up to 71 pairs of appendages running the whole length of their body.

They are in constant motion using all these ‘legs’ to propel them through the water, and swim upside down to eat.  They also perform acrobatics all the time - twisting and turning through the water all day and night.

Due to the thinness of their carapace (outer coating) they appear to be bright blue, green and red as their internal organs and blood vessels show through.

They also shed their skin as they moult into full size and so you will often find a hollow triops floating in the water which you can fish out and investigate!

How Do You Care For Them?
Amazingly, you buy new triops as dry as a bone - mixed in with a sandy-like substrate.  This is because they live as eggs in river beds over the dry season and only hatch out when there is enough water to sustain them as adults.

To house them you get a small glass of plastic tank no larger than 1 litre in volume otherwise they won’t hatch out.  These small tanks are often supplied with your original purchase along with sand and food for later development.

You need to use bottled water to fill the tank - as tap water will kill them before they hatch.  Using bottled water means that you don’t have to buy water conditioning tablets like you have to for fish and reptiles.

They also don’t need the water to be heated either as room temperature is fine - however they do need the heat of a desk lamp or bright (but not direct) sun for most of the first few weeks of life otherwise they will not fully develop. 

As they are microscopic for this time, you won’t know how many you have until they moult large enough - so use the light to give them the best chance of developing.

Their Life Cycle:
They will hatch in your warm water within 30 hours - but of course you won’t know about it as they are too tiny - but you must leave the tank totally still and don’t add any ornaments to the tank either for at least the first week - or until you can see the baby triops.

You feed them the supplied food as described and water changes are also to be done in a certain way to make sure that they are not washed away or get ill from the dirty water: don’t forget that they are swimming in their own waste products!

They will rapidly grow to their full size of around 2 inches in a matter of weeks and then you can see the beauty of these living dinosaurs!  They only live for another month once adult - so make the most of them!

Depending on how many you get to adult - they will be sexually mature after just 3 weeks and could begin dropping their eggs into the sand on the base of the tank.  So if you allow this to dry out completely for a month after your adults have died, you can then start the whole process again by refilling your tank - hatching out your own babies!

And they are much much much better than sea monkeys!

posted by admin on Apr 15

This new Act was introduced to make sure that all pets in England and Wales had a basic standard of care.

Whether you are the owner or the keeper of a pet, whether it is large or small or indoors or outside; you are responsible for adhering to the ‘rules’ of this Act, and violation of them could result in the confiscation of your pets and possible criminal prosecution (up to 51 weeks in prison and up to a £20,000 fine).

The guidelines are very easy to understand (and many would say; obvious), and so abiding by them should be easy for any animal lover.

As a pet owner or keeper, you have a legal duty to ensure the welfare of the animals in your care, and you must ensure that the following ‘needs’ are considered at all times:

A Suitable Environment:
This means that it needs to be suitable for that particular animal; for example a horse and a gerbil will have very different ’suitable’ environments!

A Suitable Diet:
This means that it needs to be a suitable diet for that particular animals; for example a dog and a canary would need very different ’suitable’ diets.

Suitable Housing:
This means that they need housing that is suitable for each particular animal.  This is on 2 levels; firstly it must be suitable for each particular animal in the sense that a cat and a tarantula cannot both be kept in the same size cage; and secondly on a compatability level, that a cat and a tarantula should never be kept in the same cage, whatever it’s size! 

To Exhibit Normal Behaviour:
This means that the housing you keep it in and the food you feed it allows the animal to grow and develop normally for it’s breed or species without deformity.  It also means that the animal can move about with ease and isn’t mentally stressed or seen to be suffering in any way. 

Be Protected from Pain and Suffering, Injury and Disease:
This means that the animals must not be kept in conditions that will affect their growth, completely restrict their movement or in a dangerous or hazardous environments.  It also means that if they do become injured, sick or diseased that they will need to be seen by a qualified vet and medical treatment and pain relief (if necessary) sought.

If you are in any doubt about to how to properly care for your pet, ask your local vet or pet store, or contact an animal charity like Dogs Trust or PDSA for advice.

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!