Category: Animal Cruelty

Yulia Tymeshenko trial adjourned till after EURO 2012

25/06/2012

Former prime minister of the Ukraine, Yulia Tymoshenko, is under arrest facing charges of tax evasion. Prior to EURO 2012 there were reports that she had been beaten. The Ukraine has a bad record of human rights and animal welfare. It would appear to be a harsh society.

Many EU leaders were outraged when Yulia was beaten and accordingly countries such as Germany and the UK insisted that they would boycott EURO 2012 as a protest. This became a protest as long as the national teams were not playing in the country of joint host nation Poland.

English Ministers no doubt felt safe expressing they would follow such a ban, by assuming that England would be on their way home from the competition pretty quickly. As it was England survived to the quarter finals. Yesterday they lost on penalties to a superior football team, Italy and it was problem solved for English Ministers.

Last Friday an extremely pleased German leader, Angela Merkel, was seen cheering her national side on from the football ground where they were playing. It was in Poland. They beat Greece 4-2 stamping their authority on the game. The German squad are expected to go all the way in this competition which could leave Merkel in a quandary. Sooner or later she will have to decide if the German boycott of EURO 2012 in the Ukraine will stand.

The Ukraine has put a smiling happy face on for football fans. Worries about fighting local fans and extremism appear to have been resolved. Of course they must simply have been swept under the carpet. These problems were far too big to be resolved easily.

Here at TEK and our sister site Where But The UK we have boycotted reporting on EURO 2012 football matches. Our stand has been made in protest of the mass killings of street dogs and cats. Many have been cruelly killed, some being burnt whilst still alive. Charitable intervention was trying to run a capture, neuter, free campaign in the Ukraine but this has been halted. This means that the killings have begun once more.

Look at the attached video regarding street children in the Ukraine and you can see that country has a lot of problems to solve.

Today June 25, 2012, the Ukraine has attempted to hide more of its dirty laundry. The trial of Yulia Tymeshenko has been postponed until mid July. The Ukrainian authorities are hoping this will limit the bad publicity they have been receiving. The trial will recommence conveniently on July 10, 2012. Yulia is to undergo a medical assessment to see if she is fit enough to stand trial.

OPINION: EU leaders were wrong to say that they would boycott EURO 2012 as a protest and then to water this down to just games played in Poland. Will EU ministers make a stand against the final matches played in the Ukraine?

If they do not it should tell the world what there are priorities and how dishonourable they are too.

You can find related reading on the trial here

Tags: Yulia Tymeshenko trial adjourned, Orange revolution, Yulia Tymeshenko, EURO 2012 boycott, ministers boycott EURO 2012, Urainke killing dogs and cats, UNICEF, Poland matches, football

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Spain, elephant killing King breaks hip playing as people have no work

16/04/2012

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King Juan Carlos of Spain was under fire this weekend for an ill timed elephant hunt. The 74-year-old King appeared to almost have a Nero attitude to Spain's dire economic woes. You know, Nero fiddled as Rome burnt whereas the King played big game hunter whilst his people struggled to keep financially sound.

The King's frivolous hunt cost a whopping £26,000. For this blogger there is also the matter of unnecessary animal killing. Killing animals for the hell of it, or as some would claim sport, has no place in 21st Century life.

However for the people of Spain it was the King's careless disregard for money rather than his careless disregard for animal life that was a cause for concern. With one in two Spaniards of a working age being unemployed that is understandable.

The Royal Household of Spain has, in recent months, been troubled with a corruption case and accusations of a lack of transparency. It certainly does appear to be a case of "do as I say and not as I do"

Perhaps it was poetic justice that King Juan tripped Sunday April 15, and was left with a broken hip. This warranted an airlift back to Spain, and surgery involving a hip replacement. It is worth mentioning here though that without this accident any details of the hunting trip would have not been known.

Presumably the Spanish people contribute toward the King's foreign jaunts or maybe even worse. Perhaps they foot the bill.Some in the media were quick to recall King Juan Carlos' Christmas speech in which he said that there were times when he could not sleep because of concern about Spain's youth unemployment problem.

The Royal palace of Spain may have claimed that the vacation was private and no details were known but images of the King with his gun standing triumphant next to a dead elephant said it all.

No wishes for a speedy recovery your Maj.In fact the reverse. Shame on you on all counts.

Tags: King Juan Carlos, Spain, elephant hunting, King breaks hip, replacement hip surgery, Spanish unemployment, animal cruelty

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Jail for woman who cooked kitten

23/11/2011

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Robins

This is a particularly nasty case. You do not have to be passionate about animal welfare to feel shocked at the actions of 31-year-old Gina Robins. Hell may have no fury like a woman scorned but Ms Robins proved herself to be a monster when she fell out with her once friend.

The partner of Ms Robins was reported for abusive behaviour. Her friend Sarah Knutton was the person who reported him. Robins' vengeance was to put Sarah's 10-week-old kitten in her own microwave and cook it to death. The kitten died in unimaginable pain.

In court, in Torquay, Devon, England, Ms Robins offered pathetic excuses and lies but the judge did not believe her tales calling them far fetched and inconsistent.

Robins used her friend's microwave to cook her baby food and then killed the kitten. After the death of the kitten Robins sent Sarah a message saying, "Remember the saying 'What goes around comes around'? It has started already to bite you in the a**e. The cat? Karma."

Although Sarah is hard of hearing she heard all too clearly the poor kitten's fate including an "horrendous screech". At today's trial the judge told Robins, "We find it implausible that a kitten of 10 weeks of age could climb up on to a work surface and get into a microwave and then another cat closed the door. We find you deliberately placed the kitten in the microwave, which ultimately caused its death."

She will be sentenced on December 14, 2011, but few of the options available to the court will be sufficient for the pain and distress she has caused. You have to wonder about the mentality of such a cruel and vindictive person. The judge told Robins she could face jail but will it be a tough enough sentence?

What a bitch.

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Facebook footage results in arrest as video goes viral

19/10/2011

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Animal cruelty is as high as ever in the UK and yet many people, including this writer, feel appalled if confronted by it. All too often those who inflict such pain escape justice or are meted out insufficient sentences.

All of this means it is understandable that people react badly when faced with such cruelty.

However, you must always remember that is up to the law of the land to carry out what it is employed for and not for vigilantes to mete out rough justice. Many of us would sorely like to though in such cases.

Local Look North TV on the evening of October 19, 2011 showed the offending video footage, which was posted on Facebook. It plainly shows a door open and a large stick hefitly crack the dog outside across its back. As the dog continues to want to gain access the door flies open and the man comes out, grabs the dog by its scruff and punches it in its face.This is not the only suffering it endures.

The neighbour who caught all of this on film posted the footage on Facebook. I imagine he was as incensed as I was watching it this evening. Unfortunately it also incensed many other local people and the owner of the dog had a gang attack his house.

The angry mob caused damage to the man and his home, and police were called to the address in Grimsby, Lincolnshire. The good news is that the dog was taken from the house and its tormentor was arrested. Now of course it needs the courts to mete out appropriate justice, assuming that the man is found guilty. It also needs the dog to be adopted by the right sort of owner.

So many times the courts do not sentence harshly enough in animal cruelty cases and one can see why the neighbour chose to post on facebook instead. However, he now could face a charge of inciting violence or the like. It seems to me that the law of the UK and the courts are choosing to use these means lately, everytime they do not approve of facebook and twiiter posts. I better watch what I say though or I will be next.

The video is now in various media sources so posting it here will simply show you the sort of people who are allowed to own dogs in the UK, but who should not be. Due to the nature of the material though it is not suitable for all age groups. Youtube have classed the video as age restricted but you can view here if you follow the link and sign in to youtube.

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Sanctuary animals being evicted

19/10/2011

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Quality of Life ponies for eviction

Hillside Animal Sanctuary is a UK based animal charity.

Its work covers many animals, especially farm animals. Like so many other charities around the world it struggles lately to keep its financial head above water.

This writer often receives appeals and updates from Hillside. Sadly more often than not these days it will be a plea for help. There are so many worthy charities out there but, if like me you do try and support at least one animal charity, please consider Hillside.

Hillside has a great online shop which offers many reasonably priced items, including goods such as Christmas cards. Today's appeal on their behalf though was for a different animal Sanctuary. It seems that The Quality of Life Sanctuary in Devon has been evicted after the bank foreclosed.

This is sad news for all concerned, not least the animals. Below is the email I received from Hillside:

"The Quality of Life Sanctuary in Devon, has been evicted from its land after their bank foreclosed on them. With the proprietors already forced to leave, the animals have been left with nowhere to go. All negotiations to allow the animals to stay in their home have failed, and they must now be removed or face the unthinkable...

As bailiffs moved onto the farm, where 35 horses and ponies, also cows, sheep and goats are awaiting their fate, we have been contacted in a last ditch attempt to save the animals. We have agreed to do all we can, and the first animals from the Devon sanctuary will be arriving at Hillside on Saturday.

This is an urgent plea to our supporters from Hillside, and our patron Martin Shaw, to help us feed and continue the care of these stricken animals that otherwise have nowhere else to go..."

Times are tough for many of us but if you are able to help in anyway please give generously. Even simply publicising the current problems may help the cause.

Please click here to help
You can also contact via 01603 736200
Also check out www.hillside.org.uk

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Only in the UK

Yorkshire woman Eileen Kersey is the creator, editor and writer of TEK staff blogs. Creator of both TEKJournalismUK and WhereButTheUK she has finally come out of the 'writing closet'. Under the pen name of Ethel Smith she has written online, in varying degrees, for around six years.