Dead rabbit throwing contest banned

Animal charity in New Zealand brands children's game as 'inhumane'
By METRO NEWS REPORTER - Friday, October 23, 2009

A contest that involves children seeing how far they can throw dead rabbits has been banned in New Zealand following outcry from animal welfare campaigners.

The annual 'rabbit throw' in the South Island town of Waiau has been a tradition for years but officials have had to cancel the event following complaints from the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA).

An animal cruelty inspector with the charity, Charles Cadwallader, said: "Do you throw your dead grandmother around for a joke at her funeral?"

The bizarre competition is part of the town's annual pig hunt – a highlight in the calendar for Waiau's 400 residents.

Organiser Jo Moriarty claims banning the bunny contest is "political correctness gone mad".

She said: "You know, the children of the community here are fantastic, they love their animals."

But the outraged SPCA in New Zealand says to throw the dead rabbits around sends a message to children that dead animals are fun and a form of entertainment and that, that is not a message children should be sent.

There are 30 million wild rabbits in New Zealand but the animal charity claims that the fact the creatures are pests does not justify inhumane treatment in death.

http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/article.html?Dead_rabbit__throwing_contest_banned&in_article_id=757008&in_page_id=2

Animal slaughter for the World Cup?

Fri Oct 23, 2009

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African traditional leaders plan to perform ritual animal slaughters to bless stadiums for the 2010 World Cup tournament ahead of the start of the showcase event next June, they said on Friday.

Zolani Mkiva, chairman of the Makhonya Royal Trust, a grouping responsible for co-ordinating cultural activities, said the tournament, the first to be held in Africa, needed to be blessed in true "African style."

"We must have a cultural ceremony of some sort, where we are going to slaughter a beast (cow)," said Mkiva.

"We sacrifice the cow for this great achievement and we call on our ancestors to bless, to grace, to ensure that all goes well. It's all about calling for the divinity to prevail for a fantastic atmosphere."

South Africa is set to host the World Cup -- the world's most watched sports spectacle -- in less than eight months, with the tournament expected to attract about 500,000 foreign tourists.

Mkiva said the Trust has sent letters to the chief executive and chairman of the World Cup Local Organizing Committee (LOC), proposing traditional ceremonies to be performed at each of the 10 stadiums that are going to be used for the event.

The officials have yet to respond to the request.

"We believe that from the start we've got to do things in accordance with our own traditions," Mkiva said.

(Reporting by Alison Raymond, editing by Justin Palmer)

http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSTRE59M3OI20091023?rpc=401

Rugby star races wolf - and wins

23 October 2009

Rugby World Cup winner Ben Cohen has shown off his blistering pace - by beating a wolf in a race at Wembley.

The unusual event took place to promote a brand of footwear, under the banner "fast or food?".

Fortunately for Cohen, his lupine opponent - a Canadian timber wolf by the name of Monty - was in a cage, so there was little danger of him ending up as lunch.

Cohen admitted: "It's probably the most surreal thing I've ever done, but I'm always up or a new challenge so I gave it a go. The looks we got from the crowds were very bizarre."

The 31-year-old, who plays for Sale Sharks, is hoping to regain his place in the England team, having not represented his country since 2006.

He's obviously still got the pace for it - even if eyewitness reports suggest that Monty was slightly less committed to the cause than most of Ben's rugby opponents.

http://web.orange.co.uk/article/quirkies/rugby_star_races_wolf

Man smuggles chihuahua through airport scanner

Airport security staff who passed a handbag through an x ray scanner discovered a live chihuahua hidden inside.

24 Oct 2009

Customs officers at Dublin Airport at first believed the dog was a stuffed toy when the outline appeared on the monitor, but discovered it was a live animal when they opened up the bag for closer inspection.

The tiny dog, hidden in a cage within the luggage, arrived in the airport on a flight from Madrid with a Bulgarian man.

It was found smuggled in his hand luggage when it was scanned through an x-ray machine and the image of the animal flashed up on screen.

The dog has now been handed over to officials from the Department of Agriculture and Food and is currently in quarantine.

A Revenue spokesman said officers had “discovered a Chihuahua-type toy dog which had been placed in a small cage and hidden in a holdall bag."

He added: "When Customs officers examined the luggage the image of a dog in a small cage appeared on the X-ray screen.

"The dog appears to be in good health although a little dopey from the journey."

The Bulgarian man was arrested at Dublin Airport.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/travelnews/6420469/Man-smuggles-chihuahua-through-airport-scanner.html

Ice skating bear kills Russian circus hand

Fri October 23, 2009

From Yuri Pushkin
CNN

MOSCOW, Russia (CNN) -- A bear on ice skates attacked two people during rehearsals at a circus in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, killing one of them, Kyrgyz officials said Friday.

In the incident, which happened Thursday, the 5-year-old animal killed the circus administrator, Dmitry Potapov, and mauled an animal trainer, who was attempting to rescue him.

"The incident occurred during a rehearsal by the Russian state circus company troupe which was performing in Bishkek with the program, Bears on Ice," Ministry of Culture and Information director Kurmangazy Isanayev told reporters.

It is unclear what caused the bear to attack Potapov, 25, nearly severing one of his legs while dragging him across the ice by his neck. Medical personnel were unable to save Potapov, who died at the scene.

The 29-year-old circus trainer Yevgeny Popov, who attempted to rescue Potapov, was also severely injured, according to doctors.

"The victim has sustained serious injuries - deep scalp lacerations, bruising of the brain, lacerations on his body. His condition is considered critical," Dr. Gulnara Tashibekova told reporters on Russian state television.

After the incident, the circus was cordoned off by police and emergency service workers. Experts have been brought in to examine the bear, which was shot and died at the scene.

Russia has a long-standing tradition of training bears to perform tricks such as riding motorcycles, ice skating, and playing hockey. Fatal attacks are unusual.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/europe/10/23/russia.skating.bear.death/index.html

(Submitted by Chris Kraska)