http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2004373798_aprathouse340.html?syndication=rss


Rats from infested house offered up for adoption as pets

Rats from a heavily infested house here are being trapped to be offered for adoption as pets.

After being alerted by neighbors, Thurston County animal control officials served a search warrant on April 9 at the residence of Michele Diller, 64. They found that pet rats had ruined the house, chewing through walls, cupboards, drawers and wires, soaking carpets with urine and covering floors with feces. The officials removed a cat, four severely malnourished snakes, five mice and two rats.

Since then, county health officials have said the house will be condemned and Diller has moved to an apartment in neighboring Lewis County to await assisted-living housing.

Poisoned traps were set for a time to eliminate the rats, apparently the offspring of a few Diller purchased as food for the snakes, and more than 100 dead rats have been removed, said Hilary Price of RatsPacNW in Seattle.

Poison was used before her volunteer group got involved, and the rest of the rats are being trapped live to be offered for adoption, said Price, the sister of former Seattle Mariners pitching coach Bryan Price.

Rodent enthusiasts around the state constitute "a huge rat community," Price said.

As of Thursday the group had captured 29 live rats, including 10 babies.

"They're very smart, they're very clean, they can do tricks," Price said. "They're like little miniature dogs."

Before agreeing to move, Diller was saying, `You can't hurt them, they're my friends,'" said Susanne Beauregard, director of Animal Services.

The rats could not survive in the wild because Diller fed them cat food, so they have no scavenging skills, and poor eyesight would also make them easy prey, Price said.

Diller has been promised her cat, Cheyenne, will be returned once she has long-term accommodations, which could happen as early as May 1, Beauregard said. Two snakes have been adopted by new owners and two red-tailed boa constrictors are recovering under veterinary care.

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It gets even stranger and this article proves you must use the majority to turn back the tide against the world of animal rights freakdom. This is a fairly long piece but the laws being made In this article , are the ones that you will face unless folks take issue with weak hearted politicians. The hand writing is on the wall for your rights being lost to animals unless you become more vocal & ALL animal Use people must start fighting back in the POLITICAL arena.


From The Times
April 26, 2008
New Swiss law protects rights of 'social' animals
Fish

The new rules stipulate that fish tanks should not be transparent on all sides and that owners must make sure that the natural cycle of day and night is maintained in terms of light
Bojan Pancevski

It is a world in which the goldfish are never lonely, the dogs are always obedient and the guinea-pigs are never tormented by children.

Under a new Swiss law enshrining rights for animals, dog owners will require a qualification, anglers will take lessons in compassion and horses will go only in twos.

From guinea-pigs to budgerigars, any animal classified as a “social species” will be a victim of abuse if it does not cohabit, or at least have contact, with others of its own kind.

The new regulation stipulates that aquariums for pet fish should not be transparent on all sides and that owners must make sure that the natural cycle of day and night is maintained in terms of light. Goldfish are considered social animals, or Gruppentiere in German.

The creator of this animal Utopia is the Swiss federal parliament, the Bundesrat, which adopted a law this week extending to four legs the kind of rights usually reserved for two. The law, which comes into force from September 1, is particularly strict over dogs: prospective owners will have to pay for and complete a two-part course — a theory section on the needs and wishes of the animal, and a practice section, where students will be instructed in how to walk their dog and react to various situations that might arise during the process. The details of the courses are yet to be fixed, but they are likely to comprise about five theory lessons and at least five sessions “in the field”.

The law extends to unlikely regions of the animal kingdom.

Anglers will also be required to complete a course on catching fish humanely, with the Government citing studies indicating that fish can suffer too.

The regulations will affect farmers, who will no longer be allowed to tether horses, sheep and goats, nor keep pigs and cows in areas with hard floors.

The legislation even mentions the appropriate keeping of rhinoceroses, although it was not clear immediately how many, if any, were being kept as pets in Switzerland.

Animal protection groups have greeted the news enthusiastically, but critics say that it means an extra financial burden on taxpayers and animal owners, and that it will be impossible to monitor the implementation of the rules. Farmers’ associations have protested, arguing that the law will have a negative effect on the economy and decrease their competitiveness on the international market.

One tabloid newspaper has accused the Government of pandering to the needs of guinea-pigs while ignoring more important animal issues, such as its failure to enforce a ban on dangerous dogs.

But Hans Wyss, head of the Swiss Federal Veterinary Office, said: “The aim is not only to ensure treatment of animals appropriate to each species, but also to decrease the risk of attacks by dangerous dogs. Inappropriate treatment could lead to behavioural disorders.”

Doris Leuthard, the Economics Minister, assured pet owners that the authorities would not be visiting people’s homes to enforce the law — although in extreme cases officials would have the power to intervene — but would count on the results of the training and a positive response from an “informed population”.

“We do not want to create a surveillance state,” Mrs Leuthard said. She added that, in an age of consumer concern for animal welfare, farmers would benefit from the new law.

The attitude of the Government is in sharp contrast to some alleged practices in Switzerland: activists campaigning for a ban of the production and trade in cat fur products claim that tens of thousands of cats are killed each year to satisfy a growing domestic and foreign market fuelled by the belief that cat fur can alleviate the pain of rheumatism.

The cats are skinned by specialised tanneries for various products, ranging from £30 for a single fur to £200 for a cardigan and more than £800 for a large blanket — which might explain the total absence of stray cats in the country. There have also been reports coming from France about cats disappearing from areas along the Swiss border.

Should pet owners require advance guidance as to what will be expected of them, a goverment website provides it. One entry reads: “Guinea-pigs are very sensitive social animals. They are interesting to look at, but not at all appropriate to be cuddled or carried around by children.”

And a word of warning for those planning a mercy killing for their goldfish: special chemicals will be required “to put them to death”.

Flushing them down the loo is no longer an option.

Pecking order around the world

— Sloths, emus, woolly lemurs and North American porcupines were removed last year from the list of animals too dangerous to be kept at home in Britain. The list dates from 1976, when Poppy Hull was attacked by a pet lion while wearing a leopard-skin print coat in Worthing

— A book by King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand about his pet dog Thongdaeng sold out within hours in 2002

— Animal lovers from the Love Kitty group were victorious last year after a stand-off with Chinese police. Four hundred cats, about to be slaughtered for fur and meat, were rescued from Tianjin market. This followed a 2006 demonstration in Beijing against a police cull of dogs

— Beijing restaurants serving dog meat – believed, among other things, to enhance sexual prowess – have been ordered to close for fear of upsetting the 200,000 Western tourists expected to arrive for the Olympic Games

— British gardeners were up in arms in 2006 when proposed changes to Britain’s animal-welfare legislation included offering slugs and snails similar legal protection to cats and dogs. The measure failed, but it did become illegal for under16s to win goldfish at fairs

Sources: http://www.thaiaga.org; Times archives

COMMENTS * Have your say

I wonder where snakes feature in the petting order? - I've found them to be very sensitive creatures, when treated compassionately!

Mark Time, Glasgow, Scotland

More hypocrisy from a country where pet dogs are treated better in restaurants than children, where horses, from other nations, of course, are eaten daily and where the rich get all the breaks and others just pay and pay!

charles freitag, boston, USA

When I buy a live lobster at the fish market will I have to buy two so the first purchase has company? Will I be prosecuted for eating them?
Honestly,these laws make no sense to a dog owner like me.

Alex, London, England

wow

Are you preparing to have yourself , your children & your grand children face these types of strong arm tactics in Animal Rights legislations???


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/ar...in_page_id=1811

Rule-loving Swiss force pet owners to take animal understanding courses
Last updated at 17:03pm on 25th April 2008

All dog owners in Switzerland will have to take courses and pass tests if they want to keep their pets under the the rule-loving Swiss government announced today.

An examination on how to properly look after the dog will be introduced in September, along with a practical test to demonstrate control over the animal.

Initially, owners will have two years to follow courses but by 2010 it will be necessary to pass the theory exam in order to keep any kind of dog, whether it is a Chihuahua or an Irish wolfhound.

The federal decision on dogs was part of a wider law on the protection of animals.



Even dog lover Paris Hilton would need to pass a test and take a course in animal welfare in order to keep her pets if she was living under new Swiss Government rules

Among the more unusual provisions is a requirement that guinea pigs and budgies be bought in groups of two or more, because they cannot bear solitude.

The law also requires farmers who keep more than three pigs, five horses, 10 sheep, 150 egg-laying hens and 200 chicks to follow a course.

This antagonized agricultural groups who say this will add more costs to their industry.

Private dog-training companies and veterinarians, who have welcomed this measure in the works since 2005, will be authorised to provide the exams after going through a certification process by the government.

A typical course can set back dog owners by as much as £45 (SFr90). Not all dog owners and groups are happy with the requirement.

"To have to hold a permit to keep a very small dog, that is going too far," said Germaine Disières, a breeder of Yorkshire Terriers in Grône, Valais.

"Education is necessary but to completely regulate (dog ownership) is not the solution."

The federal animal law came as Geneva's cantonal cabinet adopted formal regulations that ban 12 breeds of dogs regarded as dangerous, such as pit bulls.

The rules were backed by voters in a February 24 referendum following highly publicized attacks of vicious dogs on children.

Owners who acquired dangerous dogs before February 25 will be allowed to keep them on the condition that they muzzle the animals and put them on a leash in public.


Then we have the DICTATORIAL TRAMPLERS of our RIGHTS speaking up. Nothing so blind as the silent MAJORITY that never spoke up well the VOCAL minority were stripping away the rights of humans and giving the rights to animals.


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Wish they'd do that in London. The number of people on estates round here who don't know how to care for their dogs and the miserable life these poor creatures have shut up all day. It's awful.

- Thalia, London

Utterly ridiculous! Which is why we will probably be following very closely behind them. The whole world is fast becoming totally controlled by complete and utter idiots.

- John East, Poole, England

What a fantastic idea. Some people who aren't brought up caring for animals would definitely benefit from this. As an example I have a neighbour who keeps their rabbit locked up in a cage in the garage 24x7 - what kind of a life is that for the animal. I'm sure if she stopped to think how cruel it is she get it in outdoors in a run once a day or let it out in the house. Same goes for birds, it's better to have more than one then they can keep each other company.

- Sarah, Sheffield

crazy

Mira, have you ever thought that maybe the silent majority, are not the majority anymore?

I'm starting think that the "fanatics" are multiplying at an alarming rate.

mira i agree its time to do something..

hord the food stock up on ammo and let mother nature take her course!

ps. i like the blue much better!!!!!!!!!

The world is going nuts.