Valentine's appeal for 'no interest' Barbara the rescue dog
An appeal has been made to find a family for a dog who was rescued more than a year ago - but has had only one adoption application.The RSPCA said six-year-old crossbreed Barbara was half her normal 32kg (70lbs) weight and in poor condition when she was found in Nottinghamshire just before Christmas 2023.She is now being looked after by the team at Ashley Heath Animal Centre in Dorset.Kennel supervisor Nicola Anthony admitted she was a "big girl" but said she was "such a sweet, friendly and loving dog so we're desperate to find her soulmate this Valentine's Day".
The RSPCA said Barbara was found in an outdoor kennel with a dog that had died.After time in an emergency boarding centre she was moved to Dorset in June 2024."Barbara is a big girl which means there's even more to love," Ms Anthony said."She's such a sweet, friendly and loving dog so we're desperate to find her soulmate this Valentine's Day."When she first arrived she was very bouncy and jumped up at people when greeting them but we've done lots of training on this and she's now much more polite and gentle when saying hello."Barbara just wants to be everyone's friend so we really hope there's someone out there who will see her and give her a chance to be their new bestie."She added Barbara was looking for a home where she would be the only pet, with older teenage children and owners who are initially around for most of the day until she settles.
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The Independent
15 hours ago
- The Independent
Secret video reveals gas chamber deaths of egg industry hens
Secretly recorded footage reveals hens apparently writhing in distress and desperately trying to escape as they are suffocated to death to provide meat for supermarkets including Tesco. In what's thought to be the world's first ever video of its kind, the birds are seen twisting their necks as they are killed with carbon dioxide. They are also heard gasping for breath and emitting high-pitched shrieks. The recordings – which activists say was at an abattoir endorsed by RSPCA Assured – show hens being lowered into the gas chamber and dying over the course of several minutes. Critics said the scenes laid bare the 'horrors' behind egg production in the UK - including the fate of even free-range and organic hens. Hens whose egg production has declined are dubbed 'spent', before they are killed and their carcasses are packaged for meat. Animal-lovers have for years objected to the gassing of pigs with carbon dioxide, warning the animals ' burn from the inside out ' and suffer immensely in the last minutes of their lives. Last year 99 per cent of 'spent' hens were stunned and slaughtered with CO2; and 77 per cent of meat chickens were killed this way, according to government figures. In recent years carbon dioxide as a slaughter method has gradually replaced electrical water bath stunning, which raised concerns over the inconsistency of stuns. The footage, taken with hidden cameras, shows hens – female chickens used for laying eggs – twisting in distress as they die, and some birds apparently trying to escape. The floor of the gas chamber was littered with dead birds that had jumped out of the crates, according to activist, filmmaker and vegan advocate Joey Carbstrong, who installed the cameras. Mr Carbstrong and other activists say they shot the video at an abattoir in West Yorkshire run by HCF Poultry. The company denies it was at their premises. HCF supplies Cranswick Foods, one of the UK's largest meat producers, which processes the hens into chicken meat products widely sold in the UK. There is no suggestion of wrongdoing by either Cranswick or the abattoir as using CO2 is an entirely lawful way to slaughter chickens. However, Mr Carbstrong said the video exposed 'the callous treatment of free-range hens when they are no longer profitable'. 'This footage dismantles the industry's carefully curated image of 'happy hens' and reveals the horrifying truth of how these sensitive birds are discarded,' he said. 'The public are being misled by labelling and have a right to know the reality behind what they are buying.' Mr Carbstrong added: 'Egg-laying hens have been genetically manipulated to produce around 300 eggs per year – far beyond the 10 to 15 eggs naturally laid by their ancestor, the red junglefowl. 'This excessive egg production takes a severe toll on their bodies in multiple ways. Regardless of whether they are free-range, barn-kept or caged, most hens are crammed by the tens of thousands into filthy sheds, where disease runs rampant and cannibalism of dead and dying birds is widespread. 'After just 18 months of relentless exploitation, they are forced to experience a terrifying and agonising death, before being processed into food products.' The Independent has previously revealed one case of hens being kept in 'cruelly overcrowded' cages with insufficient water and another when sick and dying hens were found alongside living ones at a free-range egg farm supplying leading supermarkets as well as Marks & Spencer. Around 35 million 'spent' hens a year are killed for their meat, figures show. HCF can process 10,500 birds per hour, according to a document from 2018, the latest available. Jenny L Mace, an associate lecturer in animal welfare at the University of Winchester, wrote in a report on the footage that the most concerning findings were the high-pitched shrieks, gasping, collisions with equipment, and chickens falling against one another and out of the crates. 'Without use of a significantly less aversive gas or gas mixture, it is difficult to see how this method equates to 1) a viable (high-welfare) replacement to the former slaughter method of shackling chickens upside down and stunning in a water bath, and 2) a humane death or the purpose of stunning,' she wrote. She said CO2 caused respiratory distress, and describing it as an anaesthetic 'may be misleading' because of the distress inhaling it causes. 'There is no suggestion of this case being a 'bad apple'; this is standard practice and in accordance with legislation,' she wrote. Andrew Opie, of the British Retail Consortium, said on behalf of Tesco and other supermarkets: 'Our members know how important animal welfare is to their customers and take their responsibilities to animal welfare very seriously to ensure that expected standards are being met.' RSPCA Assured said the birds in the footage were already unconscious and were not in pain. A spokesperson said the footage was deeply upsetting but that carbon dioxide was permitted under RSPCA welfare standards, adding: 'However, RSPCA standards set requirements that go above the law to ensure a more humane process. 'Due to their physiology, when birds lose consciousness their brains no longer have control over their bodies - which can cause involuntary movements as seen in the footage. This can be incredibly difficult to watch but the birds are actually unconscious when this happens, and are not experiencing pain.'
BBC News
2 days ago
- BBC News
Dog rescued from squalid conditions finds new home in Halifax
A dog rescued from squalid conditions in a derelict house has happily settled into her new home in West was one of 78 springer spaniels removed from the property in Doncaster by the RSPCA and police in April, along with four other dogs, two cats and a rescuers entered the rural house in Tickhill they were met with "faeces, filth and, round every corner and room, more dogs".Marnie's new owners said they offered to adopt one of the dogs as soon as they heard some of them were ready for new owners. "We just applied straight away," said Becky Carr, from Halifax. "They said they had Marnie available and sent us some photos, she was absolutely beautiful. "We just went to meet her as soon as we could."The 82 dogs were sent to shelters across Yorkshire due to the large number, with several now moved to new RSPCA said it was currently investigating how and why they had been kept in such poor conditions."I just found it absolutely heartbreaking," said Ms Carr."I am a massive dog lover and I just can't imagine dogs being in that situation." Marnie arrived two weeks ago and is "getting on really well" with springer spaniel Bailey, Ms Carr said. "They are always playing together," she to Jake, her partner, the adoption was a "bit of a risk"."Is she going to get on with Bailey, is she going to chew the house up, is she going to like where she's staying?" he said. However, he said they knew they could provide her with a good home."She just fit right into the family," he said. "We've only had her two weeks but it has just been amazing so far."The couple, who thanked the RSPCA and those who fostered Marnie ahead of her joining them, were told their new pet could be about 10 months old."She was in care with a foster [family] who was a vet, she thought she could be a bit younger and I thought the same," said Ms Carr."She's got a lot of puppy energy." Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds and from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North
BBC News
2 days ago
- BBC News
Bradford: Litter warning after gull tangled in string put down
A herring gull left tangled in string had to be put down, prompting a litter warning from the young bird was spotted tightly wrapped in the material while up on a telegraph pole on Winston Terrace, Bradford, on 29 Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service managed to cut the string and partially free the gull, but the bird had to be euthanised due to the extent of its injuries. "This is such a sad incident and highlights the dangers of litter to wildlife," the RSPCA's Hannah Westen said. "While still trailing the string, the juvenile herring gull flew from a telegraph pole to the top of a high tree," the animal rescue officer said. "He flew down to the ground, still entangled, with the other end of the string caught in the top of the tree."The fire service put the bird in a cardboard box and contacted the RSPCA for further support. "On closer examination at the vets, we could see that the string was tightly wrapped round the poor bird's right wing multiple times, which suggests he had been spiralling around," Ms Westen said."We managed to get the string off, but it was clear his feathers were so damaged that there was no hope of rehabilitation."The RSPCA urged people to hold on to litter until they find an opportunity to dispose or recycle it safely and responsibly."As we all strive to create a better world for every animal, this could save an animal's life," she added. Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
