Latest news with #animalabuse
Free Malaysia Today
2 days ago
- General
- Free Malaysia Today
Around 100 dead cats found at Japan woman's home
One cat was found 'unrecognisable' in the house that 'was overflowing with faeces and urine'. (AFP pic) TOKYO : Around 100 dead cats were discovered at the squalid home of a woman in southwest Japan who belonged to an animal welfare group, a local official said today. The group, Animal Assist Senju, apologised on social media, posting pictures of the trash-strewn house it said 'was overflowing with faeces and urine'. The residence belonged to one of its staffers, who the group said was found to have gone rogue and taken in many cats without consulting the organisation. One cat was found 'unrecognisable' with 'its skin partly peeled off and paws covered in faeces and urine', the group said in an Instagram post at the weekend. Kumamoto City's animal protection centre told AFP on today that the dead felines were initially estimated to total 'around 100'. Media reports however said the number is now thought to be higher. Animal Assist Senju, based in the region of Kumamoto, says it rescues cats and dogs from animal shelters and transfers them to new homes. 'All the members of our group take what happened very seriously,' it said in another Instagram post. 'We can only imagine what agonising pain the cats went through before dying.' The woman is no longer allowed to take in cats, it said. City officials and animal rights volunteers inspected the house twice after they were notified last week of a feline death, before launching a full search and rescue mission. It is not clear if legal action has been taken against the woman. Twelve live cats have been saved from the home so far, according to city animal protection official Tsutomu Takimoto.
Japan Times
2 days ago
- General
- Japan Times
Around 100 dead cats found at woman's home in Japan
Around 100 dead cats were discovered at the squalid home of a woman in Kumamoto who belonged to an animal welfare group, a local official said on Wednesday. The group, Animal Assist Senju, apologized on social media, posting pictures of the trash-strewn house it said "was overflowing with feces and urine." The residence belonged to one of its staffers, who the group said was found to have gone rogue and taken in many cats without consulting the organization. One cat was found "unrecognizable" with "its skin partly peeled off and paws covered in feces and urine," the group said in an Instagram post at the weekend. The city of Kumamoto's animal protection center said on Wednesday that the dead felines were initially estimated to total "around 100." Media reports however said the number is now thought to be higher. Animal Assist Senju, based in Kumamoto Prefecture, says it rescues cats and dogs from animal shelters and transfers them to new homes. "All the members of our group take what happened very seriously," it said in another Instagram post. "We can only imagine what agonizing pain the cats went through before dying." The woman is no longer allowed to take in cats, it said. City officials and animal rights volunteers inspected the house twice after they were notified last week of a feline death, before launching a full search and rescue mission. It is not clear if legal action has been taken against the woman. Twelve live cats have been saved from the home so far, according to city animal protection official Tsutomu Takimoto.
Al Arabiya
2 days ago
- General
- Al Arabiya
Around 100 dead cats found at Japan woman's home
Around 100 dead cats were discovered at the squalid home of a woman in southwest Japan who belonged to an animal welfare group, a local official said on Wednesday. The group, Animal Assist Senju, apologized on social media, posting pictures of the trash-strewn house it said 'was overflowing with feces and urine.' View this post on Instagram A post shared by アニマルアシスト千手 (@animal_assist_senju) The residence belonged to one of its staffers, who the group said was found to have gone rogue and taken in many cats without consulting the organization. One cat was found 'unrecognizable' with 'its skin partly peeled off and paws covered in feces and urine,' the group said in an Instagram post at the weekend. Kumamoto City's animal protection center told AFP on Wednesday that the dead felines were initially estimated to total 'around 100.' Media reports, however, said the number is now thought to be higher. Animal Assist Senju, based in the region of Kumamoto, says it rescues cats and dogs from animal shelters and transfers them to new homes. 'All the members of our group take what happened very seriously,' it said in another Instagram post. 'We can only imagine what agonizing pain the cats went through before dying.' The woman is no longer allowed to take in cats, it said. City officials and animal rights volunteers inspected the house twice after they were notified last week of a feline death, before launching a full search and rescue mission. It is not clear if legal action has been taken against the woman. Twelve live cats have been saved from the home so far, according to city animal protection official Tsutomu Takimoto.
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- General
- Daily Mail
Man, 50, who battered his XL Bully with a baseball bat and threw bricks at her walks free from court - and dog had to be put down
An animal abuser who repeatedly hit his XL Bully with a baseball bat and threw bricks at her has managed to walk free from court with just a suspended prison sentence. James Campbell, a 50-year-old from Birkenhead, just outside Liverpool, was filmed chucking brocks and pans of water at 21-month-old dog Zeus, which he repeatedly abused in the back garden of his home on Harrowby Road. A witness who provided evidence in the case, heard at Liverpool Magistrates Court, said they also saw Campbell grabbing the dog by its neck, headbutting and violently shouting at her. Following an investigation and prosecution by the RSPCA, he was handed an eight-week prison sentence, suspended for 12 months, and a six-year ban on keeping animals, as well as a £200 fine. He admitted to violating the Animal Welfare act at a previous hearing. Liverpool Magistrates Court was told that Zeus was removed from Campbell's care on August 8 2024 following concerns that he was abusing her. He told cops that his wrist was injured after the dog had bitten him, and that he had acted in self defence against the dog's 'frustrating' behaviour. He had owned her for just a few months, and failed to get an exemption certification to keep her, since she was a banned breed. As a result, she was put down by a vet after he signed her over to authorities. A vet who viewed footage of the incident told the court that significant swelling to the dog's head indicated just how hard she was hit. The vet said: 'Swelling of this size indicates the hit was relatively strong. A reasonable owner would have sought veterinary care in the case of any injuries noticed on the dog's body. That help was not provided. 'The owner admitted he threw bricks at the dog's abdominal area. This can lead to internal bleeding, organ injuries and death in extreme cases. Having reviewed the dog's body language, she is trying to avoid and escape the torment. 'This again indicates she is being exposed to a situation she does not want to be in. 'Dogs suffer mentally while beating, these sort of situations are very stressful for them, especially when they have no safe space to escape to or hide. 'Considering the video evidence and witness statements it is clear that Zeus suffered repeated acts of physical violence. 'These acts were forceful and caused significant injuries. Any dogs, especially newly rehomed dogs can behave in frustrating ways - that includes chewing objects and ignoring owners commands. 'That is not an excuse for beating. This sort of behaviour is unacceptable.' Campbell told RSPCA Inspector Anthony Joynes that he had hit the dog 'three or four times' with a baseball bat in self defence. Though he denied headbutting her, he admitted that he may have thrown small bricks at her at least twice. Speaking after the case Inspector Joynes said: 'Zeus was subjected to violent and senseless abuse at the hands of Campbell on a number of occasions. 'The witness said they had never seen her behave aggressively, and the self-defence injuries Campbell claimed to have suffered just didn't add up. 'It's heartbreaking that many dogs like Zeus have been and will be euthanised simply because they are considered to be dangerous because they look a certain way.' Since December 2023, it has been illegal to sell, give away, abandon or breed XL Bullies. It is also illegal to rehome or transfer ownership of the violent breed, and from February 2024 it has been a criminal offence to own one without an exemption certificate.
Arab News
4 days ago
- Politics
- Arab News
Bulgaria cyber ‘elves' fight Kremlin and cruelty
SOFIA: A Bulgarian group of dozens of cyber activists at first clubbed together to battle Russian disinformation, but they have since found other foes — like animal abusers. They call themselves the BG Elves, which both refers to the kind-hearted characters of Scandinavian mythology and hints at a rivalry with the Internet's malicious trolls. The collective of about 70 anonymous cybersecurity experts have made a name for themselves by creating problems for their adversaries. One of their latest efforts was helping an animal rights NGO uncover evidence that led to the March arrest of a woman and a man accused of selling videos online of hundreds of animals being tortured to death. 'Our work was crucial, because for the first time a crime was solved in Bulgaria based on OSINT data, proving that our efforts can produce concrete results,' software developer Petko Petkov, the Elves' only public face, told AFP. OSINT refers to open-source intelligence, which is information gathered with digital investigation techniques like reverse image search and geolocation. In the summer of 2024, the NGO alerted the cyber sleuths to videos posted on Telegram of a masked woman torturing animals. The Elves tracked her down within hours. Using OSINT, they were also able to trace the locations where the videos of cats, rabbits and guinea pigs being tortured on camera were filmed by her accomplice. The videos sparked widespread protests in Bulgaria, and prompted the government to propose emergency legislation. Set up in 2023 in response to pro-Kremlin disinformation flooding Bulgaria, the group first zeroed in on the key players involved in the campaigns. 'There were about 10 of us in a chat group, we refined the concept, then put out a call for volunteers,' Petkov told AFP about the group's founding. They have grown significantly since and include experts in cybersecurity, social engineering and databases. 'We are not hackers, we are researchers,' said Petkov, 37, who moved from central Bulgaria to Kyiv shortly after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Dedicated to activism, the Elves try to fight the deluge of disinformation by disseminating 'counter-propaganda that makes people think,' he said. 'We noticed that a (disinfo) narrative... takes some time to reach people. Our idea was to flood the space with humor and irony before the propaganda takes hold,' said Petkov. Recently, they launched a viral meme campaign targeting the main false claims about Bulgaria's accession to the eurozone, distributing the content through profiles embedded within major disinformation networks. In March, BG Elves supported a Romanian journalist in an investigation that exposed a Russia-linked disinformation and propaganda network funded through online advertising. In the wake of the recent arrests, Bulgaria proposed a bill in parliament, which allows for higher prison terms of up to 10 years for torturing animals. Nearly 300 people have been convicted of such offenses in the last five years, but few end up in prison. Petya Altimirska, president of the animal welfare association CAAI, who had reached out to the Elves for help in the abuse case, has since received numerous reports of 'even more serious' cases, adding that the cyber sleuths are already 'on it.' While the group was praised for exposing the animal abuse, it has also faced criticism and numerous threats for its provocative approach and alleged political bias.
