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Tag: animals and society

  • ‘No one is safe’: France vows action as bedbugs sweep Paris | CNN

    ‘No one is safe’: France vows action as bedbugs sweep Paris | CNN

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    Paris
    CNN
     — 

    The French government has vowed action to “reassure and protect” the public as its capital Paris reports a “widespread” rise in bedbugs.

    French Transport Minister Clement Beaune said Friday he would “bring together transport operators next week” to “undertake further action” to “reassure and protect” the public from the reported surge in the numbers of the blood-sucking insect.

    The announcement comes as calls for government action from Paris officials and trade unions mount after several videos of bedbugs spotted in public transport and other locations such as cinemas have surfaced on social media.

    Speaking to French TV station LCI on Friday, deputy mayor of Paris Emmanuel Gregoire called the phenomenon “widespread.”

    “You have to understand that in reality no one is safe, obviously there are risk factors but in reality, you can catch bedbugs anywhere and bring them home,” he said.

    Three years ago, the French government launched an anti-bedbug campaign, which includes a dedicated website and an information hotline, as numbers of the insect surged.

    But Gregoire said that despite that plan, “there are 3.6 million people who come into Paris every day, and bedbugs do not stop on the outskirts of the city.”

    An expert from France’s national health and sanitary body, Anses, said the problem was “an emerging phenomenon in France and almost everywhere in the world.”

    “It’s mainly due to the movement of people, populations traveling, the fact that people stay in short-term accommodation and bring back bedbugs in their suitcases or luggage,” Johanna Fite from the Anses department of risk assessment told CNN.

    She added there was an “escalation” in numbers because bedbugs were increasingly resistant to insecticides.

    “We are observing more and more bedbug populations which are resistant, so there is no miracle treatment to get rid of them,” Fite said.

    However, the Paris deputy mayor warned against “hysteria” over the issue, noting there had been an “increase in Parisians who are referring to the town hall’s information services for information on bedbugs”.

    “Professional companies which intervene in residential areas are telling us that currently the proportion of interventions for bedbugs is atypical compared to normal and is increasing rapidly,” he said.

    The news comes as Paris gets ready to host the 2024 Olympics Games, but officials say they are not worried.

    “There is no threat to the Olympic Games,” Gregoire said.

    “Bedbugs existed before and they will exist afterward,” he added, saying the games were an “opportunity” for everybody to work together on the issue.

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  • Surfer fights for his life after shark attack in Australia | CNN

    Surfer fights for his life after shark attack in Australia | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    A surfer is fighting for his life in the hospital after he was attacked by a shark off Australia’s east coast, police said Friday.

    The 44-year-old man was surfing near Lighthouse Beach, Port Macquarie when a shark launched a “sustained and prolonged attack,” New South Wales (NSW) police said in a statement.

    The surfer tried to fight the shark for about 30 seconds before swimming back to shore where he realized the extent of his injuries, CNN regional affiliate 9News reported.

    Police said a bystander applied a tourniquet before paramedics transferred the surfer to Port Macquarie Hospital in critical condition.

    “[He is in] a serious condition with life threatening injuries, sustained from the lower leg injuries, and also significant blood loss,” NSW Police Chief Inspector Martin Burke said.

    A witness told 9News the scene was “really scary”.

    “I have never seen anything like it,” the unnamed teenager said. “His foot ripped off and basically he was bleeding everywhere.”

    Lighthouse Beach will remain closed for at least 24 hours, Port Macquarie Hastings ALS Lifeguards said on Facebook. Meanwhile, a drone will be used to conduct surveillance flights and monitor shark activity in the area, the group said.

    Experts from the Department of Primary Industries (Fisheries) have begun an investigation into the incident, according to Surf Life Saving NSW.

    Australia ranked behind only the United States in the number of unprovoked shark encounters with humans last year, according to the Florida Museum’s International Shark Attack File.

    The museum describes “unprovoked bites” as incidents in which a bite on a human takes place in the shark’s natural habitat with no human provocation of the shark. “Provoked bites” are classified as when a human initiates interaction with a shark in some way.

    According to the Australian Shark Incident Database, there were 10 shark encounters in New South Wales in 2022, resulting in seven injuries and one death.

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  • World’s smallest bear finally has its time in the sun. But is that a good thing? | CNN

    World’s smallest bear finally has its time in the sun. But is that a good thing? | CNN

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    Hong Kong
    CNN
     — 

    The world’s smallest bear is finally having its moment in the sun – thanks to a viral video that sparked a conspiracy theory on Chinese social media.

    Public interest in sun bears, one of Asia’s most endangered and intriguing animals, has rocketed after video footage emerged showing a bear named Angela in her enclosure at the Hangzhou zoo in eastern China standing upright on a rock and waving her paw.

    The video sparked a global debate about the bear’s uncannily human-like appearance, so much so that conspiracy theories began emerging that Angela was really a human dressed in a bear costume.

    Experts have since debunked those theories, attributing the misunderstandings in part to the relative obscurity of the sun bear, whose numbers in the wild are thought to have dwindled to between 1,000 and 2,500, according to conservation groups.

    Various wildlife conservationists told CNN that they now hope all the attention surrounding Angela will help to raise awareness about the sun bear’s plight – they face threats including deforestation and poaching for the illegal wildlife trade.

    The bears are also commonly used in commercial bear bile farming – kept alive in tiny cages so their intestinal bile can be harvested and extracted in painful ways for use in traditional Chinese medicine.

    “They are among the least known bears in the world – a forgotten species,” said wildlife biologist Wong Siew Te who founded the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Center (BSBCC) in Sabah, Malaysia.

    Wong has dedicated his life to researching, rescuing and rehabilitating sun bears and told CNN that he was encouraged to see “so much chatter and debate” about their behavior following the viral video.

    “Sun bears are finally having their moment in the spotlight,” he said. “There is a lot to love about them which many people do not know about and they play important ecological roles. They are threatened by man and need more global attention and awareness to save the species.”

    Since the videos of Angela spread across the internet, zoos in countries around the world have reported a wave of interest in the bears, which are native to Southeast Asia and named for the crescent shaped yellow, orange, amber or cream colored patches on their chests.

    The Hangzhou zoo reported a 30 per cent surge in visitors to its sun bear enclosure following the videos, while an official at Taronga Zoo in Sydney, Australia, told CNN that it had been “all about sun bears” the past week.

    Taronga zookeeper Logan Dudley said there had been an “uptick of people” this week showing interest in their resident sun bear Mary.

    “They are a lesser known bear species… and are vulnerable and endangered,” she said. “With all the media attention surrounding the (sun bear videos) we have a good opportunity to further educate ourselves to save this species.”

    Taronga Zoo is not alone. In a nod to the viral video, the Singapore Zoo shared footage of its own sun bears and confirmed they were “very real.”

    Afiqah Nasir, a mother of two who visited Singapore Zoo on Friday, told CNN that the videos had amused her children and sparked their curiosity.

    “We’re here because of that,” she said. “They now know that these are actual bears called sun bears and are not make believe, like people in T-rex costumes.”

    Conservation director Bosco Chan at the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) in Hong Kong said that it was now “crucial to step up protection of sun bears in the wild” and stop the illegal trade of their body parts.

    “Sun bears are extremely rare and close to extinction. Their forest habitats, where destruction by industrial agriculture such as oil palm and rubber plantations remains rampant, must be strictly protected,” Chan said.

    A sun bear inside at the Vietnam bear rescue centre, in Tam Dao national park, Vinh Phuc, Vietnam, 09 July 2019.

    Aside from being mistaken as people in costume, experts say sun bears are also sometimes mistaken as big dogs due to their size.

    The bears, also sometimes known as the “honey bear,” stand about 28 inches tall and weigh between 55 lbs to 143 lbs.

    This relatively compact size, for a bear, makes them a target of the illegal wildlife pet trade.

    Cubs are especially cute and docile and can be easily tamed compared to bigger and more aggressive bears, said bear expert Dave Garshelis, chair of the IUCN SSC Bear Specialist Group.

    “Poaching has escalated in recent years but sun bears are also threatened by the pet trade,” he said.

    British colonial officer Thomas Stamford Raffles, who founded Singapore in 1819, is reputed to have kept a sun bear from Indonesia as a pet for two years, Garshelis noted.

    A couple of centuries later and instances of people keeping the bears as pets continue to appear in media reports.

    In 2019, a live sun bear was discovered in an apartment in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It came to authorities’ attention after neighbors heard it whimpering and holding its paws out of the window. The owner claimed to have mistaken the bear “for a dog” and was fined $6,000 by a court.

    Another woman was prosecuted for keeping a sun bear in her house in Singapore in 1993. She was fined $2,000 by the authorities and the animal was confiscated.

    Will the viral videos actually help save these amazing bears?

    Garshelis has “mixed feelings” about the newfound fame of the sun bears. He fears it could encourage people to take them as pets and doubts it will lead to meaningful conservation efforts.

    “All most people have learned is that sun bears often stand, have wrinkled skin and may even seem to wave their paws,” he said.

    “In fact, it’s even possible that all this exposure has made people (consider them) as pets – there might be a small zoo somewhere looking to buy one to attract more visitors.”

    “But they are a fascinating species,” he added.

    “There’s so much more (to them) than standing and waving in a zoo.”

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  • At least 30 dead and more than 90 malnourished dogs discovered at Ohio animal rescue | CNN

    At least 30 dead and more than 90 malnourished dogs discovered at Ohio animal rescue | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    Butler County, Ohio, deputies found approximately 30 dead dogs and puppies, in various stages of decomposition, stuffed into fridges and freezers earlier this week at an Ohio animal rescue. According to the Butler County Sheriff’s Office, there were more than 90 dogs and puppies removed from what deputies and investigators said were “the most horrible conditions they have ever seen.”

    The dogs and puppies were being held at two different properties in Madison Township in various structures, the sheriff’s office said. One of the structures law enforcement discovered was a garage with more than 25 caged canines and an indoor temperature of 89 degrees.

    “Numerous animals” were kept in cages together that were “filled with urine, fecal matter, and no food or water. One cage contained a mother and eight newborn puppies,” the Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.

    Authorities also found 11 adult canines in “the main house,” with “some caged together,” according to the news release.

    The deceased canines were found in five refrigerators and freezers, “some of which were not working,” throughout the two properties, the release said.

    “Deputy Dog Wardens described the conditions of the house as unlivable. The odor was strong enough to burn their eyes and take away their breath. Conditions were so horrendous that Deputy Dog Wardens had to leave the structure numerous times to catch their breath,” the release states.

    CNN has tried to contact the Butler County Sheriff’s Office for further comment.

    The owner of the dog rescue was operating it under the business name “Helping Hands for Furry Paws,” according to the release.

    The owner and operator of the rescue, who police identified as Rhonda Murphy, “faces dozens of charges of neglect and cruelty to companion animals, both felony and misdemeanor,” according to the release.

    CNN was unable to contact or identify an attorney for Murphy.

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  • Tourists fined for dingo selfies as rangers warn of rising wild dog attacks | CNN

    Tourists fined for dingo selfies as rangers warn of rising wild dog attacks | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    Two tourists who snapped selfies with dingoes have been fined more than $1,500 each for taking the “extremely dangerous decision” to interact with the native wild dogs following a recent spate of ferocious attacks, Australian authorities said.

    In a statement Friday, Queensland Department of Environment and Science compliance manager Mike Devery said the two women were lucky not to be attacked in the separate incidents on the popular tourist island of K’gari, formerly known as Fraser Island.

    An image provided by the department showed an unnamed New South Wales woman, 29, laying down next to a pack of sleeping dingo pups. “She was lucky the mother of the pups wasn’t nearby,” Devery said.

    The other tourist, a 25-year-old Queensland woman, appeared in a selfie video posted to social media that showed her with a growling dingo, “which was clearly exhibiting dominance-testing behaviour,” he said.

    “It is not playful behaviour. Wongari are wild animals and need to be treated as such, and the woman is lucky the situation did not escalate,” he added, referring to dingoes by their indigenous name.

    In an update Friday, the department said a 23-year-old woman was hospitalized with serious injuries to her arms and legs after she was bitten by dingoes while jogging on an island beach Monday.

    Tourists Shane and Sarah Moffat jumped in to rescue her, CNN affiliate Nine News reported.

    “There was a big piece missing out of her arm there and there was puncture wounds all up the side of her legs,” Shane Moffat told Nine News.

    The leader of that dingo pack was later euthanized, the department said. It had also been involved in recent biting incidents that led to the hospitalization of a 6-year-old girl, the department said.

    “It was also clear from its behaviour that it had become habituated, either by being fed or from people interacting with it for videos and selfies,” the update said.

    “Our number one priority is to keep people on K’gari safe and conserve the population of wongari (dingoes), and those who blatantly ignore the rules for social media attention can expect a fine or a court appearance,” Devery said.

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  • US Postal Service releases national dog bite rankings | CNN

    US Postal Service releases national dog bite rankings | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    California and Texas ranked highest on the United States Postal Service’s annual list of states with the most dog bites against its employees, the USPS announced.

    The report calls attention to the aggressive dog behavior mail carriers often face as the USPS kicks off National Dog Bite Awareness Week.

    In 2022, California had the highest number of dog bites with 675. Texas and New York were not far behind with 404 and 321 bites, respectively, the Postal Service reported.

    “When our mail carriers are bitten, it is usually a ‘good dog’ that had not previously behaved in a menacing way,” USPS Occupational Safety and Health Senior Director Linda DeCarlo said in a news release.

    Houston, Los Angeles and Dallas ranked highest among US cities with the most dog attacks against USPS workers last year, according to the USPS.

    More than 5,300 USPS employees were attacked by dogs during mail deliveries last year, according to the Postal Service.

    The annual public service awareness campaign, accompanied by the hashtag #dogbiteawareness, runs through next week.

    “When letter carriers deliver mail in our communities, dogs that are not secured or leashed can become a nemesis and unpredictable and attack,” Leeann Theriault, USPS employee safety and health awareness manager, said in the release.

    The USPS trains its mail carriers not to startle dogs, to avoid petting or feeding them and to place something between themselves and the animal – like their mail satchel – if a dog does attack, the postal said in a news release.

    Since most people know the general time their mail arrives each day, the USPS advised keeping dogs secure before Postal Service employees stop by.

    Other advice for dog owners, according to the USPS: Place pets on a leash, keep them in the house or behind a fence and make sure they’re away from the door.

    The Postal Service also advises parents to not allow children to take mail directly from mail carriers, as the dog may view it as a threat to the child’s safety.

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  • Children’s cat-killing contest axed following backlash in New Zealand | CNN

    Children’s cat-killing contest axed following backlash in New Zealand | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    A contest planned for children in New Zealand to hunt and kill feral cats as part of a drive to protect native species has been axed following backlash from the public and animal rights groups.

    The event would have been part of a fundraiser organized by the North Canterbury Hunting Competition for the Rotherham School, located in the Canterbury region of South Island.

    Organizers on Saturday had announced a new junior category for children under 14 in the annual competition – to hunt feral cats for a top prize of 250 New Zealand dollars ($150).

    The announcement drew public anger leading organizers to withdraw the event on Monday.

    In a statement issued Wednesday, organizers said “vile and inappropriate emails and messages had been sent to the school and others involved.”

    “We are incredibly disappointed in this reaction and would like to clarify that this competition is an independent community run event,” the statement read.

    While cats are a popular and beloved pet among many New Zealanders, feral cats have been a long-standing issue between animal lovers and authorities because of the impact they can have other wild animals.

    In neighboring Australia, authorities say feral cats threaten the survival of more than 100 native species. Feral cats are blamed for killing millions of birds, reptiles, frogs and mammals, every day, prompting authorities to arrange regular culls.

    Organizers of the contest in Canterbury maintained that the junior hunting tournament to kill feral cats, using a firearm or other means, was about “protecting native birds and other vulnerable species.”

    “Our sponsors and school safety are our main priority, so the decision has been made to withdraw this category for this year to avoid further backlash at this time,” it said.

    “To clarify, for all hunting categories, our hunters are required to abide by firearms act 1983 and future amendments as well as the animal welfare act 1999.”

    Addressing concerns from the public, organizers had earlier announced rules to discourage young participants from targeting pets.

    Any child who brought in a microchipped cat would have been disqualified, organizers said.

    The group also noted that scheduled hunts for other categories like local pigs and deer would still proceed.

    The New Zealand Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said it was “both pleased and relieved” that the cat-killing contest for children had been removed. “Children, as well as adults, will not be able to tell the difference between a feral, stray or a frightened domesticated cat,” the SPCA said.

    “There is a good chance someone’s pet may be killed during this event. In addition, children often use air rifles in these sorts of event which increase the likelihood of pain and distress and can cause a prolonged death,” it added.

    Animals rights group PETA also welcomed the decision to cancel the event.

    In a statement,Jason Baker, the group’s Asia Vice President said,”Encouraging kids to hunt down and kill animals is a sure-fire way to raise adults who solve problems with violence … We need to foster empathy and compassion in kids, not lead them to believe animals are ‘less than’ humans while rewarding them for brutality.”

    The event attracted significant overseas attention, including from British comedian Ricky Gervais, a known animal lover with more than 15 million followers on Twitter.

    He slammed the proposed cat hunt in a sarcastic tweet, saying: “Right. We need some new PR ideas to make the world love New Zealand. Maybe something involving kids & kittens. Yes, Hargreaves?”

    New Zealand is one of the world’s last remote island nations and has no native land mammals besides bats.

    There have been official campaigns against cats in previous years – including one that encouraged cat lovers to avoid replacing their pets when they die.

    “Cats are the only true sadists of the animal world, serial killers who torture without mercy,” said then-Prime Minister John Key, who himself had a cat named Moonbeam.

    “Historically, we know that feral cats were responsible for the extinction of six bird species and are leading agents of decline in populations of birds, bats, frogs and lizards,” Helen Blackie, a biosecurity consultant at Boffa Miskell told CNN affiliate RNZ.

    Blackie, who has studied feral cats for two decades, said numbers had exploded in the last decade, and in some areas where pests were tracked by camera, feral cats outnumbered other species like possums.

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  • 600-plus inmates to be transferred as Fulton County, Georgia, jail deals with overcrowding and outbreak of bedbugs and vermin | CNN

    600-plus inmates to be transferred as Fulton County, Georgia, jail deals with overcrowding and outbreak of bedbugs and vermin | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    Fulton County, Georgia, Sheriff Patrick “Pat” Labat on Friday announced measures “to address an outbreak of infectious illnesses” at the county jail – including moving more than 600 inmates to other counties, a statement said.

    The measures are the result of a “preliminary investigation” into the death of Lashawn Thompson – an incarcerated man who died in the jail last year, the announcement posted on Facebook said. Thompson’s family says his death was the result of unsanitary conditions at the facility and complications from insect bites, CNN has reported.

    The sheriff said Friday that “an emergency expenditure of $500,000” has been approved to address the jail’s “infestation of bed bugs, lice and other vermin.”

    The sheriff said protocols for security rounds will also be updated to help mitigate the outbreak as well as “transferring more than 600 inmates to other counties in an effort to help relieve overcrowding, at an average cost of approximately $40K/day.”

    It’s unclear where or when the incarcerated persons will be moved.

    The announcement began with the sheriff’s office expressing condolences to Thompson’s family and saying the sheriff has launched “a full investigation into the circumstances surrounding his death.”

    Lashawn Thompson in a family photo.

    On Thursday, Thompson’s family held a news conference to demand a criminal investigation into his death and for the jail to be closed.

    Thompson died while in custody last September. His family’s attorney, Michael Harper, blamed unsanitary conditions and complications from insect bites for Thompson’s death.

    Holding up photos purporting to show conditions in Thompson’s jail cell, Harper said, “The cell he was in was not fit for a diseased animal. This is inexcusable and it’s deplorable.”

    Harper said that Thompson had been in custody on a misdemeanor assault charge since June of 2022 and was housed in the psychiatric wing of the jail because he suffered from mental health issues.

    Brad McCrae, Thompson’s brother, told reporters Thompson was 35 years old, was born in Winter Haven, Florida, and had been living in Atlanta on and off over the last couple of years.

    When asked by a reporter what he thought when he saw images of his brother’s body and the conditions of his cell, McCrae said, “It was heartbreaking because nobody should be seen like that. Nobody should see that. But the first thing that entered my mind was Emmett Till.”

    The Fulton County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement Thursday, “The manner and cause of death was listed as ‘undetermined’ by the county medical examiner. A full investigation was launched into the circumstances surrounding Mr. Thompson’s death.”

    The statement went on to say that the results of that investigation would determine if any criminal investigation is warranted.

    The sheriff’s statement acknowledged the “dilapidated and rapidly eroding conditions” at the jail and said that Labat continues to call for the building of a new jail.

    The family has not filed a lawsuit at this time.

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  • The fatal mauling of 4-year-old forces India to grapple with stray dog problem | CNN

    The fatal mauling of 4-year-old forces India to grapple with stray dog problem | CNN

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    New Delhi
    CNN
     — 

    For nearly a minute, the 4-year-old boy attempts to valiantly escape the hungry pack of stray dogs as they circle around him.

    He tries to run, but one of the animals pulls the boy to the ground. Two more dogs close in, offering the victim little respite.

    The boy, who has not been publicly identified, is dragged by the pack for several feet, writhing in pain as the strays pounce. He strives to wrestle from their grip, but his small and fragile body cannot compete with the aggressors.

    His piercing screams alert his father nearby – but it was too late. The child was declared dead upon arrival at the hospital.

    The brutal attack, captured by a security camera in Hyderabad in February, a sprawling city in the central Indian state of Telangana, has horrified the nation of 1.3 billion and placed focus on an issue that long divided opinion: what to do with India’s vast number of stray dogs?

    The issue is a sensitive one in a country where there is an ingrained cultural respect for animals and an aversion to culling. Most agree stray dogs are an issue, but there is a fierce debate over how best to respond.

    According to the Press Trust of India, there are around 62 million strays in the country, although experts say the real number would be nearly impossible to verify.

    Most of these animals – lovably nicknamed ‘Indie’ dogs – live in harmony with humans. Often, residents of gated communities come together to feed them, some even adopting them as family pets.

    But over the years, bites and killings by stray dogs have put many cities on edge, with politicians, the media, and citizens scrambling to present various solutions.

    Long before the death of the 4-year-old boy in Hyderabad made headlines, local media have run similar tales about India’s “killer dogs” – stories that are then often picked up by international outlets.

    “”Man-eater’ dog terror back in Bihar,” wrote The Telegraph India in a story last month after a series of bites in the northern Indian state.

    It is illegal to kill stray dogs in India. A 2001 law states strays should instead be picked up, neutered, and vaccinated against rabies, before being released.

    But in light of the gruesome attacks, many of which have happened to children, some have attempted to challenge the law.

    In 2016, a campaign to kill stray dogs after a series of bites in the southern state of Kerala gained traction in the local news.

    But animal rights activists were angered, instead urging authorities to offer clemency and find other solutions. The hashtag #BoycottKerala began trending on social media, and the plan was later abolished.

    While the law requires strays to be neutered and vaccinated, experts say there is a lack of strict implementation.

    “Of course we have a stray dog problem,” Anjali Gopalan, managing trustee at the All Creatures Great and Small, a Delhi-based non-profit that cares for animals, said.

    “Not only do we have a stray dog problem, but we also have a problem with rabies in this country. So, steps have to be taken to deal with both.”

    Rabies is a vaccine-preventable disease which can spread to humans if they are bitten or scratched by an infected animal. It is almost always fatal unless a series of jabs can be administered soon after someone is bitten.

    Dogs are the source of the vast majority of human rabies deaths, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) and contribute up to 99% of all rabies transmissions to humans. India is endemic for rabies, the WHO said, accounting for 36% of the world’s rabies deaths.

    A key way to reduce rabies within a stray dog population is to capture and vaccinate as many animals as possible.

    But veterinarian Sarungbam Devi, founder and trustee of Animal India Trust, said India needs to do more.

    “At the time of the sterilization, we vaccinate the dog only once and then they are released. That’s all the vaccination a stray dog gets in his lifetime and that’s not enough,” she said.

    A lack of resources in the country means it is difficult to push government bodies to increase the inoculation of street dogs against the virus, Devi added.

    But when it comes to dog bites, Devi said, education plays the biggest role: “The government hasn’t done anything to increase awareness or educate the masses. We need to educate people, we need to be more vocal and visual about the (anti-bite) programs,” she said.

    “People need to know what to do when a dog bites you, how to you prevent it … I don’t think I have ever seen anything on this anywhere.”

    The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) recommends avoiding unfamiliar dogs and wild animals, not running when approached by an unknown dog and always supervising children and dogs, among other things, to avoid bites.

    According to the government, more than 6.8 million Indians were bitten by stray dogs in 2020 – and increase from 3.9 million in 2012. And experts say those numbers are likely not the full picture.

    CNN has reached out to the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying but has not received a response.

    “The problem is lack of awareness towards how to live around dogs,” Devi said, adding there needs to be an “intense anti-rabies drive and sterilization program everywhere in India.”

    But many Indian cities and states have been successful in bringing down their feral dog population and eradicating rabies.

    In the financial capital Mumbai, as many as 95% of the city’s stray dogs have been sterilized owing to “consistent” implementation of re-vaccination and welfare programs, said Abodh Aras, CEO of the non-profit Welfare of Stray Dogs.

    A robust public health system for post-bite treatment and regular school programs about dog bite and rabies prevention has also contributed, Aras said.

    “There are other places that have success stories. There is Goa that has eliminated rabies, (the state of) Sikkim that has got its state of operations around, and eliminated rabies,” he added. “It needs a combination of government support, will and infrastructure, and animal welfare NGOs working in that area for this model to be successful.”

    But not every city has the resources to implement this model.

    Take for example Noida, a satellite city of more than half a million on the outskirts of Delhi that is a comparatively wealthy place and home to many middle-class families.

    Devi, from the Animal India Trust, said Noida remains “very disorganized,” and her organization is the only non-profit covering the entire city – a colossal and tedious task for a small team, she said.

    Stray dogs caught by authorities in Noida on October 18, 2022.

    Gopalan, from All Creatures Great and Small, points to even more difficult operations in rural India, where electricity is lacking and maintaining cold storage for vaccines is an issue.

    Following the 4-year-old’s death in Hyderabad, officials promised swift action to prevent future tragedies.

    “We have been sterilizing dogs and anti-rabies injections are being given to them,” Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation Mayor Vijayalaxmi Gadwal, told local news agency, ANI.

    “So far in Hyderabad we have identified more than 500,000 dogs and sent more than 400,000 dogs for sterilization. We are following every guideline which is being given to us by the Supreme Court. We’re also going to adopt these dogs so that the number of stray dogs will be reduced.”

    That campaign may have an impact locally. But it many fear it is likely only a matter of time before another pack of dogs somewhere in India takes a child’s life.

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  • Man swims to safety after being attacked by shark off Hawaii’s Big Island | CNN

    Man swims to safety after being attacked by shark off Hawaii’s Big Island | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    A 60-year-old man was swimming in Hawaii’s Anaehoomalu Bay Sunday when he was attacked by a shark, local officials say.

    The man was about 200 yards offshore when a shark attacked him around 12:40 p.m. HST, according to a news release from the Hawaii Fire Rescue Department.

    The man was able to swim to a catamaran, whose crew helped him out of the water, the release said.

    Crew members helped control the man’s bleeding until rescuers arrived on the scene, according to officials. A first responder on a personal watercraft “transported the patient from the catamaran to the beach where HFD personnel were waiting,” the release said.

    The man was taken to North Hawaii Hospital with bites to his left hand and the back of his leg, said the fire rescue department. His current condition is unknown.

    Anaehoomalu Bay – also known as A-Bay – is located on the west shore of the Big Island. The scenic area is a popular spot for recreational activities like snorkeling.

    Authorities said they do not know the size or species of the shark involved in Sunday’s attack.

    Overall, the risk of being attacked by sharks remains low. Worldwide, there were a total of 73 confirmed, unprovoked shark bites on people and 39 confirmed, provoked bites in 2021, according to the Florida Museum of Natural History’s International Shark Attack File.

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  • Opinion: America’s taste in family pets is changing — for the better, in my view | CNN

    Opinion: America’s taste in family pets is changing — for the better, in my view | CNN

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    Editor’s Note: Urmee Khan is a London-based journalist with more than two decades of experience in TV, print and online media. She is founder of Rakhana, a media consultancy. The views expressed in this commentary are her own. Read more opinion at CNN.



    CNN
     — 

    It would be easy to dismiss French bulldogs, with their squidgy, cartoon faces and small squat bodies, as little more than a handbag accessory. Some people might even see them as little more than a conversation piece affording the pretext to gossip about a favorite music star or actor. And no one can deny the trend: Celebrities everywhere are photographed toting a baby Frenchie in a shoulder bag, or holding one at the end of an expensive designer leash.

    But while it’s true that these dogs have become a runaway favorite among celebrities, the breed has lot more than that to recommend it. I don’t claim to be impartial, however. I have been sharing my London living quarters for the past decade with a brindle-coated French bulldog who is the joy of my life.

    It comes as no surprise to me that the French bulldog has supplanted the Labrador retriever as America’s most popular dog, ending the sporting dog’s 31-year reign. Many people might be wondering how a country that for decades has preferred the outgoing, high-energy Labrador would swap it out for a pint-sized, sedentary, furry gargoyle.

    Even where I live in Britain, one could read the tea leaves: America’s tastemakers and trendsetters have been making French Bulldogs their canine of choice for years. Music stars from Lady Gaga to 2 Chainz, Megan Thee Stallion and Snoop Dogg have one, as do some of Hollywood’s most famous celebrities, including Hugh Jackman, The Rock and Reese Witherspoon.

    The French bulldog’s popularity is not just a reflection of a desire to imitate the habits and predilections of the rich and famous, however. My personal theory is that it reflects the changing nature of what many Americans are looking for in a family pet. In the post-Covid era, these more inward-looking times call for a pup that is less demanding, a pet whose company you can enjoy within the quiet and solace of your four walls.

    Urmee Khan with her French bulldog, Bertie.

    You didn’t need to be a psychic to see the change coming. Last year, the ever-popular National Dog Show – America’s premier competition for purebred dogs and something of an arbiter in trends about which breeds will be up-and-comers – saw a French bulldog by the name of Winston emerge victorious, beating out hundreds of other canines.

    The show’s host sized up the breed pretty well, and got to the root of what makes Frenchies so appealing, in saying that Winston (as well as his handler) “have cornered the market on energy, enthusiasm and just pure spunk.”

    “Spunk” is what Frenchies have no shortage of. They are, in short, total clowns. These pint-sized gremlins are about the most entertaining companions one can ever wish to have. My delightful Bertie (also known as “Berts” and “Bertle”) snacks on cooked carrots, Bonios – his favorite brand of dog treat – and sardines. He has his own Instagram account: @bertie_french_bulldog. Bernie abhors walking in the rain, the washing machine and horror films. (The scary music soundtracks send him racing to hide in the bath.)

    Frenchies are very stubborn little beings; they are fiercely independent and they have a charming and pugnacious personality. They also possess, in no small measure, qualities that some people would consider drawbacks in a human companion: They sulk, emit noxious fumes, snore, grunt and regularly give you very judgmental side-eyes. But in a furry friend that fits in the crook of your arm, what could be more appealing?

    These dogs are quite sociable, which is unsurprising given they were originally bred in the early 1800s as companion dogs to lace workers in Nottingham, England, according to the American Kennel Club.

    “Perhaps these miniaturized bulldogs ate less food and took up less room in the tight quarters that were all the women could afford with their meager wages. Maybe they fit snugly on a lap, where they made an attractive detour for fleas that were otherwise human-bound,” the AKC said on its site.

    “What we do know is that the lace workers were so smitten by their funny little bulldogs that when the Industrial Revolution eliminated their jobs completely, they took the dogs with them across the English Channel to the Normandy area in northern France.”

    In short, these darling toy bulldogs emigrated from Britain some 200 years ago and were repatriated as “French.” And who could blame the French for claiming them as their own?

    If there is any drawback to the breed, it’s that some have been found to have breathing problems: those adorable squished-flat faces can be cute, but respiratory difficulties have been know to be an issue for some of them.

    02 Urmee Khan French Bulldog

    You have to be mindful not to over-exercise them, and hot climates can be a no-go for the same reason. Luckily, I’ve not had any issues with Bertie in this regard. His breathing has always been fine. He once overheated, but a cold tea towel and a Bonio set things right.

    There is one other concern: Their portability and desirability make them the target of dognappers. The violent armed robbery of Gaga’s French bulldogs made headlines a couple of years back, but even dogs belonging to owners with a far more modest profile have been known to be nabbed. Some owners of Frenchies have learned the trick of tightly wrapping their dog’s leash around their hand at all times and never letting their pooch out of their sight.

    No offense to other breeds, but I somehow suspect that, even after the mighty Labrador’s impressive run, it might take more than 30 years for French bulldogs to be dethroned from the top spot in Americans’ hearts.

    Bertie keeps our friends and the community entertained with his daily refusal to walk, his daft antics – his zoomies and spins – and an assortment of neat party tricks: He can walk on his hind legs like a pocket-sized dinosaur, plays dead when he gets “shot” and liberally gives high fives and “fist bumps.”

    But he’s also a gentle soul. Bertie has been invited to many children’s tea parties and sleepovers and has endured wearing a dress, a fez and being a unicorn. He has even won over my traditional Muslim parents and siblings, who agree he’s a “good boy” and are amused by his comic personality.

    Can a Labrador do those things? Maybe. Probably, even. Can they do them as adorably as a French bulldog? I have a hard time imagining that that could ever be the case.

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  • Price hikes are double whammy for pet owners who are crushed by inflation | CNN Business

    Price hikes are double whammy for pet owners who are crushed by inflation | CNN Business

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    Minneapolis
    CNN
     — 

    As head of PAWS Atlanta, Joe Labriola can get a good sense of the region’s economic well-being from the day-to-day activity of the city’s oldest no-kill animal shelter.

    Through the course of the past year, it’s become increasingly clear to him that people in the area are struggling under the weight of inflation and economic uncertainty.

    Practically the entirety of the daily call volume consists of requests to rehome pets. The shelter’s “surrender queue” is full, awaiting adoptions to free up space in the main shelter. And the shelves at PAWS Atlanta’s Pet Food Pantry quickly go bare.

    But perhaps the most heartbreaking indicator is something this particular shelter never had to track before 2022. Last year, 166 pets were found abandoned at the shelter’s front gate.

    “A number of animals are being abandoned that have serious medical issues,” Labriola told CNN. “The only thing we can guess is that people just can’t afford those expenses, and they’re hoping by dropping off [their pets] at our facility that we’re going to be able to pick up the slack. And we do as best we can, but it’s really putting a strain on our resources.”

    Overall inflation remains high across the United States, but has slowly and methodically stepped down since setting a fresh 40-year record of 9.1% in June 2022, as measured by the Consumer Price Index. However, during the past eight months, inflation in pet-related products and services has only worsened, rising in some cases to record-setting levels.

    In February, when annual CPI declined to 6%, the catch-all “pets, pet products and services” index rose to 10.9%, veterinary services jumped nearly 2 percentage points to 10.3% and pet food increased to 15.2%, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data.

    Those price increases are a double whammy for pet owners whose household finances have been weakened by persistently high inflation and for those who fear for rising instances of “economic euthanasia,” when animals are humanely put to death for financial reasons.

    The recent pet-specific price spikes also are compounding pressures facing organizations tasked with providing a safety net for animals in need.

    Nationwide, shelters are not seeing increases in pets being surrendered, said Kitty Block, chief executive officer and president of the Humane Society of the United States. However, when there are certain communities seeing spikes in abandoned or surrendered pets, that’s a sign of broader societal hardship, she said.

    “When people are having to surrender their animals for economic reasons or because they’re in the middle of a horrible disaster or war zone area, that’s a people problem; this is not some issue that is not relevant to people,” Block said. “This is bigger than dogs or cats in shelters. It’s about the people who love them.”

    At the store level, many pet products saw double-digit average unit price increases during the past year, with several items — including pet food, non-clumping cat litter and bird grooming items — seeing year-over-year price hikes north of 20%, according to Nielsen IQ data for the 52-week period ended January 28, 2023.

    “Throughout 2022, price increases were pretty extensive — all the way up to 20% and almost 30% price hikes versus the year prior — across the pet department,” said Andrea Binder, vice president of NielsenIQ North America. “In early 2023, we have started to see those start to taper off a little bit. Prices are still increasing but at a lower rate than they were in 2022.”

    The price hikes have been attributed to rising input and ingredient costs, she added.

    “The cost of chicken, the cost of beef, the cost of aluminum to make a wet cat food can … a lot of those commodity prices have been rising pretty dramatically throughout 2021 and 2022, which has caused manufacturers to increase their costs, and then therefore a lot of retailers follow suit,” she said.

    Linda Harding's dogs, Lola and Phoebe.

    Pet products, services and food have become “exponentially” more expensive, said Linda Harding, who lives in San Diego with two dogs. She said her pet food costs for Lola, her Australian Shepherd mix, and for Phoebe, her Golden Retriever, have doubled to $250 per month.

    Harding has cut back on her own expenses. She hasn’t turned on the heat much all winter, she’s limited electricity use and she has stopped buying items like clothes and eggs.

    “When you take on a pet, you take on a big responsibility,” she said. “It’s almost like when you buy a car, you’re going to have a lot of responsibility with that car. That car is going to break down, that car’s going to need repairs. It’s an investment.”

    She added: “And they’re our furbabies. We love them to pieces. So it’s not really even a question. I need to find the money to keep them as healthy as possible so we can love them as long as possible.”

    Mary Avila, a disabled veteran who lives on a fixed income, keeps things simple.

    She doesn’t go clothes shopping anymore, she buys cheaper cuts of meat, and she does try to sock away money in case her pets need a small medical procedure.

    “They always give,” said Avila, who lives in Bakersfield, California, with her cat, Jack, and two dogs, Domino and Squirt. “The cat doesn’t give as much, because cats. But the dogs, they always give, they’re always happy, they always want you around. They always are there for you.”

    Patricia Kelvin of Poland, Ohio, said her Social Security benefits and pension can only go so far, so when the cost of utilities, food or trash collection go up, she has to cut back.

    But not for her cat, Jesse.

    Patricia Kelvin's cat, Jesse.

    “If he had some major medical concern, there are a lot of things I would give up so he would get care,” she said. “There’s just no question in my mind. If my diet was going to be more beans than something else, I wouldn’t hesitate. If I had to sell my sterling silver, which I’ve had for 60 years, that would go before my little ‘Whiskers’ would be deprived.”

    The Animal Rescue League of Iowa is the largest nonprofit rescue organization in the Hawkeye State and adopted out 8,400 dogs, cats and small farm animals throughout last year.

    As pet support services manager, Josh Fiala’s role at ARL is to help keep animals out of the shelter by offering programs — such as a pet food pantry, vaccine clinics, veterinary assistance and crisis care — to help keep pets with their people.

    “We definitely, without question, have seen a dramatic increase in pretty much every one of those services,” he said, noting that the pet food pantry in particular has seen spikes in demand.

    Josh Fiala, Animal Rescue League of Iowa's Pet Support Services Manager, helps load pet food into a vehicle during a Pet Food Pantry in January 2022.

    ARL gave out about 40,000 pounds of pet food in both 2020 and 2021. Last year, it distributed 146,000 pounds of food.

    Waggle, a pet-dedicated crowdfunding platform for medical expenses and emergencies, has seen recent spikes in the volume of postings on its website — with some of the biggest increases coming from pet owners in rural communities and areas with high costs of living, said Steven Mornelli, chief executive officer and founder. Additionally, Waggle has also seen a 30% increase in posting for help with medical bills $250 and under, he told CNN.

    “We have taken that as a correlation with the stresses of inflation,” he said.

    In 2022, 4% more animals entered shelters than left, according to Shelter Animals Count, a national database of animal shelter statistics launched by some of the largest animal welfare organizations in the United States.

    That’s the largest gap seen in the past four years and is the result of fewer pets leaving shelters, not increases in surrenders, said Christa Chadwick, vice president of shelter services at the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

    Adoption levels have remained essentially flat, but there has been a large decline in animals being transferred to other shelters because of staffing and driver shortages, she added.

    Joey, a shelter dog at Baypath Humane Society in Hopkinton, Massachusetts, on April 9, 2021.

    But she also highlighted the economic pressures affecting current and prospective pet owners.

    “It’s heartbreaking to know that there are situations where pet owners are being put in a position where they are making a decision about their pet, whether it’s to surrender that pet to an animal shelter or they have to make a decision about euthanasia because they can’t afford care, she said.

    “People tend to get angry at the pet owner when they [abandon or surrender their pet] but our experience has shown that when pet owners get to that point, it’s the only option they see available to them,” Chadwick. “And that’s real, and that’s hard for everybody involved, and that’s really hard for the animal who’s at the center of that.”

    Chadwick sees a role for shelters and other organizations to provide a safe and welcoming place for owners who may feel like they have no other option.

    Despite the broader economic challenges occurring within the US, PAWS Atlanta’s Labriola has had its share of feel-good success stories this year.

    PAWS Atlanta's staff members take care of pets during a public vaccine clinic on February 23.

    Donations have remained strong as has the volunteer program, he said. The low-cost public vaccination and spay and neuter clinics are sold out, indicating that people are taking advantage of inexpensive ways to care for their pets, he added.

    And just recently, the shelter’s focus of working with dogs who have been there for more than a year, or “long-term guests,” is starting to pay off, he said.

    “We’ve been able to place three long-termers into forever homes recently, freeing up space to rescue more homeless dogs,” he said.

    • Shelters, veterinarians and local rescue groups can serve as first points of contact.
    • The Humane Society of the United States’ website has a variety of resources for people facing financial challenges and need vet care, food, boarding, supplies and information to help keep pets with their families. The website has a list of national, state and local organizations.
    • Inquire if veterinarians accept Care Credit, ScratchPay or a similar service but be sure to carefully review the terms of repayment and how interest rates would be applied.
    • Ask if your veterinarian has a client-driven donation fund to help other clients in need; consider fundraising platforms such as Waggle and GoFundMe
    • Consider purchasing pet health insurance.

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  • What’s going on with all the runway close calls | CNN Politics

    What’s going on with all the runway close calls | CNN Politics

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    A version of this story appeared in CNN’s What Matters newsletter. To get it in your inbox, sign up for free here.



    CNN
     — 

    There have been six close calls on US runways this year, which has led to a fair amount of news coverage, some alarm among the flying public and a lot of calls for answers – including from the acting head of the Federal Aviation Administration Billy Nolen, who testified on Capitol Hill this week.

    Unable to explain the spike, Nolen told lawmakers the agency wants to get to the bottom of things at a safety summit planned for next week. There are also specific investigations into each incident in Boston; Burbank, California; Austin, Texas; Honolulu; New York; and Sarasota, Florida.

    I talked to CNN’s Pete Muntean, who not only covers aviation but is also a pilot and flight instructor, for his perspective on what the heck is going on.

    Our conversation, conducted by phone, is below. Stick with it for an interesting bonus story on how low-flying planes are used to find poachers in Africa.

    WOLF: Six close calls in recent weeks. Are these all distinct events? Or should we view them as one larger issue?

    MUNTEAN: There’s definitely a constant theme because they’re the same type of event, which is officially known as a runway incursion. It is where two airplanes essentially get in the way of one another on or near the runway.

    These types of events can range from really minor to more egregious. What we saw at JFK in New York in January, that had to be one of the more egregious ones. The air traffic controller had to swoop in and stop a flight that was barreling down the runway toward a crossing, taxiing (Boeing) triple seven from taking off.

    That is a more extreme, severe example. There have been some examples where the airplanes get within a few hundred feet of one another, maybe as close as 100 feet. One of the cases like in Austin.

    But they’re not really caused, necessarily, by the same thing. That’s, of course, something that investigators will look at.

    (On Wednesday) the acting head of the FAA on Capitol Hill said that if there are dots to connect, they’ll connect them in this safety summit next week, although it doesn’t seem like there was any real common trigger. No common cause.

    RELATED: FAA to conduct sweeping safety review after multiple incidents

    WOLF: Who is supposed to keep these from happening? Is it the air traffic controllers? Is it the pilots? How is it supposed to work?

    MUNTEAN: There are multiple different layers of safeguards in place in the air traffic system, especially at these busy airports where there are a lot of airliners coming in and out in a lot of varying conditions, a lot of different times of day.

    Some of the responsibility falls on air traffic control. Of course, it’s their job to keep airplanes from running into one another. Some of the responsibility falls on the flight crew to keep it so that they follow the instructions of air traffic control, that they remain vigilant all the time, if they’re taxiing across runways or taking off from a runway that’s crisscrossing with another one as they’re about to land.

    The good news is that in commercial aviation in the US – which has a stellar track record, by the way – there are two trained pilots at all times. And there are a lot of eyeballs essentially making it so that these things don’t happen.

    The pilots can intercede at any point, and in some cases they have. They’ve just essentially called their own go-arounds to make it so that they don’t come in contact with an airplane. In some cases, the air traffic controllers will call it. The onus is on a few different layers here.

    I’m a pilot, but I just did a demonstration with a former NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board) investigator at a busy airport, Dulles (in Virginia), and it begs pointing out that some of the safeguards are as simple as paint on the runway and taxiways to remind pilots not to taxi too close to the runway. Some of it is in the phraseology that’s used on the radio. Some of it is in the procedures and training the pilots get.

    I think every pilot that’s out there now – and if you talk to professional pilots this is something that weighs on them – this has been a chronic problem for aviation for a while. But now, because of these headlines, it’s especially top of mind for pilots and air traffic controllers and regulators and safety advocates.

    WOLF: You said it’s a chronic problem. Is there any indication or any data to suggest this is happening more often? Or are we in the media just paying attention to it?

    MUNTEAN: I think these events are getting more attention. No doubt that these six that we have seen so far this year are extreme. Usually they don’t happen with such severity, with such frequency.

    But the FAA, at every layer of aviation from commercial aviation on down to small airplanes and private airports, they’re always trying to remind pilots to remain vigilant. Something that pilots really train for in their first flying lesson is how to behave in and respect the environment around an airport.

    In some ways, it’s like flying with a loaded gun. You have to be really, really careful.

    The reason why these are happening, one pilot told me – who’s the representative for a large union of airline pilots and a major airline – he said the system is just under so much pressure right now. There’s a lot of corporate pressure for airlines to get back on their feet after the pandemic.

    There’s a lot of new pilots flying right now, who may have matriculated from regional airlines to larger airlines. A lot of the old guard have retired. Pilots have left just because they were given voluntary leave packages as a result of the downturn of the pandemic.

    There are a ton of different factors at play.

    The fact that we’re sort of paying attention to these more just sort of highlights that nobody can ever let their guard down.

    WOLF: Is the current air traffic system that we’re using technologically up to snuff?

    MUNTEAN: I think it is. And I think the FAA would say that it is, because they have added in so many layers of technology to make it so that these incidents are avoided.

    They have technology that can sense, at some larger airports, whether or not a pilot is lined up with the wrong thing, if they were aiming for a runway but instead aimed for a taxiway to land on – which has happened before.

    They have more lighting on the pavement that warns pilots, essentially like a stoplight, to make it so they don’t go rolling across a runway as they are taxiing across one.

    There are even systems that make it so that they can sense, using radar and other technologies, where airplanes are on the ground and not just in the air. Some of these runway incursions are caused simply by airplanes being in the wrong place as they are taxiing and not necessarily in the air.

    I think the system is up to snuff. I think the FAA would say the system is up to snuff. But they’re also using this as a moment to sort of reinspect and have some introspection on the matter and whether or not they could be doing more to make it so that these problems can be avoided.

    WOLF: You already pointed out that commercial aviation in the US is incredibly safe.

    MUNTEAN: The last time there was a fatality was 2018, which was kind of a freak accident, where a person got hit on a Southwest flight by a fan blade that broke up in a jet engine.

    We’re reporting on crashes that don’t happen. These are close calls, sure, but nobody’s been hurt. Nobody’s been killed. So it kind of shows, in a way, how safe the system is.

    WOLF: Is there a spot in the system that is particularly weak? Is it takeoff or landing? What is the thing that makes pilots most nervous?

    MUNTEAN: The common theme is having so many airplanes close together. That’s sort of the inherent flaw of an airport, right? You bring in airplanes and take off and land. You may be using multiple different runways at the same time. There’s a lot of demand in the air traffic right now.

    Every airport is different, right?

    Some airports may have a lot of runways that are parallel and a lot of taxiways that are parallel to one another, like at Dulles the other day, where we went. There are three runways lined up: one left, one center and one right. They’re all headed the same direction to the north. You have to be really careful that you’re lined up with the right one.

    There are a few different things that you can do in the airplane to mitigate that and make sure that you have a safeguard of your own. But I think it really varies by the airport. In some places, there are intersecting runways. There are taxiways that have confusing turns.

    The FAA does granular looks at things like this, where they say something like this taxiway design isn’t all that great, there may be a blind spot here, as you’re taxiing you may approach this at a 45-degree angle or it could be a 90-degree angle where somebody in the cockpit can see more.

    Also when conditions are changing – we saw in the Austin incident the weather was abysmal at that time. It was very low cloud ceilings and very low visibility where the pilots were able to get an indication that there was somebody on the runway, an approaching FedEx flight and a Southwest flight that was still on the runway that hadn’t taken off yet.

    They weren’t necessarily able to see that (Southwest flight), so far as we know, by their eyeball.

    There are a lot of things at play. You can’t just say it’s any one different thing. And remember, these pilots are often going in and out of different places multiple times a day. The responsibility is on everybody.

    WOLF: Do pilots face the same sort of difficult lifestyle we’ve been hearing about for train operators?

    MUNTEAN: There’s a ton of regulation that protects pilots. We see that occasionally getting better. Even flight attendants have gotten longer rest rules recently, where they’re able to rest between trips for a longer period of time.

    There’s always friction between organized labor, work groups and the companies that they work for. A lot of times it comes down to regulators and what they are able to do for workers. Pretty much every major airline right now – their pilot groups, as well as a lot of major flight attendant groups – are going through contract negotiations with their companies.

    Some of the safety and protection, unions would say, comes from a good deal that protects not only their ability to work but also keeps pilots and passengers safe. Organized labor and unions have a lot to say about this, and they want to make sure that they are treated fairly to make it so that these incidents don’t happen.

    I just talked to Dennis Tajer, who’s the representative of the Allied Pilots Association, which represents all the American Airlines pilots, and he said this is something that we’ve kind of been pounding our fists on the podium about, we’ve said for about a year that the air traffic system and the aviation system and the airline system are just under too much pressure, and now you’re seeing the result of that.

    It’s on not only regulators like the FAA, the Department of Transportation but also companies to make sure that these major airlines – which are huge corporations – to make sure that their pilots are safe and doing the job properly with the proper amount of rest, with the proper amount of resources.

    WOLF: Right. It’s in nobody’s interest for there to be an incident.

    MUNTEAN: Everyone says safety is a top priority, of course.

    But depending on your viewpoint, safety can have a lot of different meanings.

    WOLF: It’s always been my sense that air traffic is one of the most, if not the most, government-regulated systems in the country. Unlike other areas where there might be a move toward deregulation, this is something the government controls and is going to continue to control.

    MUNTEAN: It’s super regulated because a lot of the rules are, frankly, written in blood.

    When you talk about this runway incursion issue, the landmark case is the Tenerife accident (in 1977), where KLM and Pan Am 747s that both diverted to Tenerife, an island near Spain, ran into one another and killed a bunch of people. There were some survivors, but it was a classic runway incursion incident.

    One of the airplanes was back taxiing down the runway, as the KLM crew essentially blasted off without regard for where the other airplane was. They couldn’t see it because the weather was poor.

    These regulations are often born out of horrible disasters. And I think the thing to point out here is that we have avoided disaster in these six cases, but in some cases came pretty close. It underscores why things were so regulated and also why the regulators are taking this so seriously.

    WOLF: What are you looking out for?

    MUNTEAN: I would point out these things are still under investigation. And the National Transportation Safety Board has tried to shed a lot of light on this issue. I asked Jennifer Homendy, the chair of the NTSB, why do you think these things are happening more?

    She said, well, it’s possible that these things are happening more. It’s also possible that these things are getting more attention. It doesn’t matter; it’s good that these things are being brought to the spotlight.

    That could ultimately have a huge impact on safety. Aviation is not waiting for another Tenerife. They’re taking these one-off scares and really trying to learn from them.

    WOLF: You sound very passionate about all of this.

    MUNTEAN: I love flying more than anything. The cool part of my job is I get to talk about aviation for a living, and it’s something I’m so passionate about.

    I also instruct and teach people. I just came back from this incredible trip in Kenya where I got to instruct for the Kenya Wildlife Service Airwing, flying with essentially rangers, who are also pilots, with an anti-poaching air force.

    And that was just incredibly cool, but the focus is safety. Maybe I’m a little biased, but aviation is just like something I always geek out on. It’s fun to talk about. …

    I was invited with a group of instructors to go there, and we were in a national park south of Nairobi, called Tsavo West. We flew with 19 different pilots. Three instructors from the States essentially go down and audit their flying ability and safety.

    They’re very, very good pilots. Because they fly at a few hundred feet, guarding against poachers and spotting wildlife, they don’t have a ton of margin for error. We did a lot of brush-up things with them, and they were all very appreciative, and it was a very cool and rewarding experience flying smaller airplanes.

    Those are the type of airplanes that are best suited for that mission, because they can fly low and slow and have a lot of visibility. You can’t do that in a jet.

    It’s sort of like flying into Jurassic Park, because you see elephants all the time, and we saw rhinos and more zebras than I can ever count, and giraffes. But these pilots do a really important job, and (it) was really cool to be a part of it.

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  • Thailand jails five poachers for killing tiger and her cub | CNN

    Thailand jails five poachers for killing tiger and her cub | CNN

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    Bangkok, Thailand
    CNN
     — 

    A court in western Thailand on Monday sentenced five poachers to prison terms of five years each for killing a female tiger and her cub in a national park last year.

    The provincial court ruled the five men broke conservation laws by killing the protected animals in Thong Pha Phum National Park, Kanchanaburi province, before skinning their carcasses and smoking their bones to prepare them for sale on the illicit market.

    Park rangers made the discovery in January last year and seized the tiger parts. Images distributed by officials and taken in the jungle showed the skins of two flayed tigers. Bones and carcass parts were also seen in pictures taken nearby.

    The court rejected the men’s argument that they had killed the tigers in revenge for attacks on livestock, ruling they “should have felt protective of nature” given that they lived in a community near the forest.

    Tigers are an endangered species with only about 4,500 remaining in the wild, according to the the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). Though their numbers have increased in recent years, WWF says fewer than 200 of the big cats remain in national parks and wildlife sanctuaries across Thailand.

    Poaching, one of the biggest threats to tigers’ survival, is driven largely by demand in China and Vietnam for their bones, skins and other body parts used in traditional medicine.

    The safety and effectiveness of traditional Chinese medicine is still heavily debated in China, where it has both adherents and skeptics.

    Though many of the remedies in TCM have been in use for hundreds of years, critics argue that there is often little verifiable scientific evidence or peer reviewed studies to support their supposed benefits.

    Thong Pha Phum National Park Chief Charoen Jaichon welcomed the court ruling.

    “I’m happy that justice has been delivered,” he told CNN on Tuesday. “This is a strong warning to any illegal hunters in Thailand’s national parks.”

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  • San Antonio Zoo will let you name a cockroach after an ex and feed it to an animal | CNN

    San Antonio Zoo will let you name a cockroach after an ex and feed it to an animal | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    The San Antonio Zoo is offering a special Valentine’s Day greeting for exes who just won’t bug off.

    For $10, the zoo will name a cockroach after your not-so-special someone and feed it to an animal – a cold, but direct message that you’re no longer interested.

    The annual “Cry Me a Cockroach” fundraiser will “support the zoo’s vision of securing a future for wildlife in Texas and around the world.” the San Antonio Zoo says on its website.

    Those not into bugs can choose a vegetable for $5 or a rodent for $25 instead.

    All donors will receive a digital Valentine’s Day Card showing their support for the zoo. They can also opt to send their ex-boo a digital Valentine’s Day Card informing them that a cockroach, rodent, or veggie was named after them and fed to an animal.

    Those with an especially stubborn ex can pay for a $150 upgrade, which includes a personalized video message to the recipient showing their cockroach, rodent or vegetable being devoured by an animal.

    The annual event is a hit, Cyle Perez, the zoo’s director of public relations, told CNN. Last year, they received more than 8,000 donations from all 50 states and over 30 different countries.

    “Right now, we are on track to break last years record, with ‘Zach,’ ‘Ray’ and ‘Adam’ being the most submitted ex-names so far,” Perez said.

    To participate, you’ll need to submit your exes name online before Valentine’s Day.

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  • A New York shelter wants you to adopt this ‘jerk’ dog | CNN

    A New York shelter wants you to adopt this ‘jerk’ dog | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    This dog is a “fire-breathing demon” – but the Niagara SPCA wants you to adopt him anyway.

    The Niagara SPCA, a nonprofit animal shelter in New York’s Niagara County, has attracted attention on social media for its eye-catching ad for Ralphie, a rescue dog looking for a new home.

    Most adoption ads focus on the good qualities about an animal – the traits that might make a potential family choose to give a dog or cat their forever home.

    But the Niagara SPCA chose a different technique for Ralphie.

    “We don’t actually have too many nice things to say so we’re just going to come out with it,” wrote the shelter in a Tuesday Facebook post.

    The SPCA explained that “at first glance, he’s an adorable highly sought after, young dog. People should be banging down our doors for him.”

    But in reality, “Ralphie is a terror in a somewhat small package,” according to the shelter. “We’re sure you’re thinking: my ankles will be just fine. We’d caution- proceed at your own risk.”

    The shelter wrote that the 26-pound canine has already been adopted twice. His first owners re-homed him after an unsuccessful training process. Then, “Two weeks into this new home and he was surrendered to us because ‘annoys our older dog,’” the shelter went on. “What they actually meant was: Ralphie is a fire-breathing demon and will eat our dog, but hey, he’s only 26lbs.”

    Ralphie is a “whole jerk- not even half,” wrote the shelter.

    “Everything belongs to him. If you dare test his ability to possess THE things, wrath will ensue,” they wrote. “If you show a moment of weakness, prepare to be exploited.

    “The ideal home for Ralphie is the Mother of Dragons, or an adult home free of other animals, with an owner who will lead him calmly and sternly- putting up with zero crap,” they added.

    But brave potential adopters won’t be alone in their quest to combat Ralphie’s fiery nature. According to the shelter, “Ralphie’s previous trainer will provide his new adopters with the training tools they believe he needs to be successful in a home.”

    The Niagara SPCA told CNN that Ralphie was still available for adoption as of Friday.

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  • Jack Ma to relinquish control of Ant group | CNN Business

    Jack Ma to relinquish control of Ant group | CNN Business

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    CNN
     — 

    Chinese billionaire Jack Ma will no longer control Ant Group after the fintech giant’s shareholders agreed to reshape its shareholding structure, according to a statement released by the company on Saturday.

    After the adjustment, Ma’s voting rights will fall to 6.2%, according to the statement and CNN calculations.

    Before the restructure, Ma possessed more than 50% of voting rights at Ant via Hangzhou Yunbo and two other entities, according to its IPO prospectus filed with the exchanges in 2020.

    Ant added in the statement that the voting rights adjustment, a move to make the company’s shareholder structure “more transparent and diversified,” will not result in any change to the economic interests of any shareholders.

    Ant said its 10 major shareholders, including Ma, had agreed to no longer act in concert when exercising their voting rights, and would only vote independently, and thus no shareholder would have “sole or joint control over Ant Group.”

    The voting rights overhaul came after Chinese regulators pulled the plug on Ant’s $37 billion IPO in November 2020, and ordered the company to restructure its business.

    As part of the company’s restructuring, Ant’s consumer finance unit applied for an expansion of its registered capital from $1.2 billion to $2.7 billion. The China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission recently approved the application, according to a government notice issued late last week.

    After the fund-raising drive, Ant will control half of its key consumer finance unit, while an entity controlled by the Hangzhou city government will own a 10% stake. Hangzhou is where Alibaba and Ant have been headquartered since their inceptions.

    Ant Group is a fintech affiliate of Alibaba, both of which were founded by Ma.

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  • It feels like dogs know just when we need them most. Well, they might, experts say | CNN

    It feels like dogs know just when we need them most. Well, they might, experts say | CNN

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    Editor’s Note: Sign up for CNN’s Stress, But Less newsletter. Our six-part mindfulness guide will inform and inspire you to reduce stress while learning how to harness it.



    CNN
     — 

    When a family arrived at Koch Funeral Home in State College, Pennsylvania, to identify a loved one before cremation, Monroe took note — staying back to maintain the people’s privacy but ready to offer comfort if asked.

    Monroe isn’t a grief counselor or therapist. She’s an Australian Shepherd and resident therapy dog at the funeral home, said Jackie Naginey Hook, a celebrant and end-of-life doula there.

    “She has this affinity toward people who might be experiencing grief,” Hook said. “She is drawn to them.”

    Sure enough, when members of the family came out, they saw Monroe and asked to say hello, Hook said. Petting her opened them up to telling others about their loss.

    Some research has suggested that dogs — whether trained therapy and service animals or just friends in our homes — have a positive impact on human lives, said Colleen Dell, the research chair in One Health and Wellness and professor at the University of Saskatchewan.

    Just 10 minutes spent with a dog helped reduce patients’ pain, according to a March study for which Dell served as lead author.

    People often don’t talk about what they’re going through when grieving, Hook said. The process of mourning is as unique to a person as a fingerprint, and many don’t know how to be there for others who are going through it, she added.

    For many people, dogs can offer intuitive, unconditional and loving support in times of grief, Dell said.

    “We don’t give them the credit that’s due,” Dell said of the animals that provide needed support. “We don’t understand them to the extent that we should. When you start to pull it apart, there’s just so much going on there.”

    There are nuances to what people need when mourning a loved one, but generally family and friends should be present, offer hugs and listen without saying too much, Hook said.

    It sounds like a perfect job for a dog.

    “Healthy healing is really about giving yourself permission to feel what you’re feeling,” Hook said. “Our bodies know how to heal from a cut, and we know how to deal with this, too.”

    Luckily for us, dogs don’t judge or have expectations, Dell said.

    If someone has developed a strong bond and relationship with a dog, the animal is often able to intuit the emotions of those it loves, Dell said. It can mean the dog knows when to offer a gentle cuddle, she said.

    “When we lose a significant other … so many people say that coming home at the end of the day, coming home to an empty house is just hard,” Hook said. “Having a dog there to greet you can make a difference.”

    Or a dog can bring a little distraction with a bid for a game of fetch or a walk outside.

    “Getting up and going on a walk when you are grieving is incredibly difficult,” Dell said. “They are really good at living in the moment. That takes us away from thinking in the past or even too much in the future.

    “They want to go on a walk now; they want to play now.”

    When grieving and considering a dog, it’s important to think about how the animal would fit into your life and vice versa, Dell said.

    “The relationship we have with an animal is different than that which we have with a human,” Dell said. There are more benefits in some ways but also more drawbacks, she added.

    It’s a win-win situation when a dog can provide support and the owner can give the proper amount of care and attention, Dell said. But it helps to do your homework to find the right match and be prepared to make a long-term commitment.

    Having a dog can sometimes cause extra stress if it is going to be an added strain on time or financial resources to get veterinary care, a sitter for when you are away and training, Dell said.

    Dedicating time to learn how to train your dog can help it get the attention it wants and help you get more insight into building a solid bond that benefits you both, she added.

    If you are looking for a dog to keep you outside and active, look for a breed with a lot of energy. If you are busy but want a companion, maybe find a canine more inclined toward naps. If you travel, a carry-on size pooch is the way to go, Dell said.

    Often people grieving may find their patience lower — in which case consider a dog two years or older to avoid puppy antics, she added.

    Often dogs become available through foster care after the death of an owner, Dell said. “What a beautiful thing that would be,” she said about fostering an animal. “You’d really be helping each other.”

    But there are still ways to get the benefits from a furry friend without taking on any responsibility, Dell said.

    A pet belonging to a neighbor or family member can offer cuddles and play, she added. Or you can spend time in parks where dogs play or venues where therapy dogs might visit.

    “(Grieving people) need to feel loved,” Dell said. “These dogs (are) able to provide that in ways that have no strings attached.”

    Volunteering with a shelter or rescue group can also bring joy, she said. Just spending time caring for dogs or taking them on a walk can make a huge difference, Dell added.

    “You’re doing those things that are normal, that you never, ever think will feel normal again,” she said. “But they do.”

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