Latest news with #DNAtests
South China Morning Post
5 days ago
- South China Morning Post
More must be done to crack down on the sickening abuse of cats
There has been something missing in my life for the last three years, after leaving Hong Kong and returning to England. His name is Roo. Now, we have been reunited. Advertisement My pet cat, adopted in 2014, remained in the city with my son. But Roo recently flew, at great expense, to London and is now happily adapting to life in the UK. I had forgotten how much I enjoy the company of a cat. A growing number of people in Hong Kong – more than 100,000 households – are discovering the joy our feline friends can bring. The annual Cat Expo, held in the city this month, featured 180 exhibitors offering products ranging from high-end snacks to DNA tests to check for hereditary diseases. A survey revealed the city's cat owners spend an average of more than HK$2,000 a month on their pet. The 'cat market' was estimated at HK$2.4 billion, an increase of 9 per cent on the previous year. It is encouraging to see that cat owners were found to be paying greater attention to the health of their pets, helping to promote animal welfare generally. Advertisement Sadly, not everyone treats cats with the love and care they deserve. The day after the Cat Expo concluded, two 17-year-olds were sentenced to detention in the UK for the horrific torture and killing of two kittens found cut open and strung up in a London park.
The Sun
23-07-2025
- The Sun
Air India crash victim's family furious after someone else's remains were also sent home in casket
THE family of a mum killed in the Air India crash has blasted Indian authorities after someone else's remains were also sent home in her casket. NHS microbiologist Shobhana Patel, 71, died with her husband Ashok, 74, in the crash in June. 2 The couple, from Orpington, Kent, were repatriated in different coffins but DNA tests in Britain found other body parts along with Shobhana's. Her son Miten, 40, said: 'I have no idea if the other remains were from more than one person.' One family was sent the wrong body entirely. India's Ministry of External Affairs said: 'All remains were handled with professionalism.' Lawyer James Healy-Pratt, representing around 20 families, said: 'They have been left in limbo. 'They have no-one to bury because the wrong body was in the casket.' It is thought that only Indian authorities carried out DNA tests on victims with no input from any international agency. Mr Healy-Prat added: 'I am hearing that it was Indian authorities alone who identified remains and then placed them in caskets. 'The families want assurances that their loved ones have not been left behind somewhere in India because they don't have confidence in the system. 'They have had the terrible shock of losing a loved one and then they go through more trauma when they learn it is not only their loved one in the casket, or it may not be their loved one at all.'
