Watch out for your dogs in hot weather

The weather is hotting up so it's important to consider the welfare of our animals in warm weather.   A hot car can quickly become a death trap for dogs - they cannot open the door, or turn a key, or open up a bottle of water to have a refreshing drink to take.

 

There are many people who just don't realise how dangerous it is to leave a dog in a hot car, a conservatory or a caravan. 

 

Temperatures in a car can soar to 47°C (117°F) within minutes - even if the temperature outside is just 22°C (72°F).   The RSPCA say that opening a window or leaving a bowl of water makes little difference.  It means dogs could suffer from heatstroke - and that could be fatal.  Even if your car is in a cloudy spot, that cloud can vanish quickly.   And older dogs, young dogs, those with short noses, long hair, dogs who are over weight or heavily muscled are more at risk, as are dogs with certain diseases.  

 

The RSPCA says that signs of heat stroke in dogs include:

• excessive panting
• profuse salivation
• red or purple gums
• a rapid pulse
• lack of co-ordination
• reluctance or inability to rise after collapsing
• seizures, vomiting or diarrhoea
• in extreme circumstances coma or death.

If you think your dog is acting from heatstroke, you need to act FAST.   Move your pet to a cooler spot at once, say the RSPCA, and call your vet for advice.

In the UK, under the Animal Welfare Act it is illegal to cause an animal unnecessary suffering.

Dogs are covered in fur and do not sweat in the same way as humans do. Unlike humans, dogs pant to help keep themselves cool. The effectiveness of panting is reduced at high temperatures and humidities. Cars heat up very rapidly in hot – or even warm – weather.

So, if you think your dog has heatstroke, the RSPCA says you should:

1. Douse your dog with cool (not cold) water. You could put your dog in a shower and run cool water over him/her, spray your dog with cool water and place him/her in the breeze of a fan. Never cool your dog so much that he/she begins to shiver
2. Let your dog drink small amounts of cool water
3. Continue to douse your dog with cool water until his/her breathing starts to settle and then take him/her straight to the veterinary surgery

Keep your dog safe in the sun

The RSPCA has these tips:

1. Your dog should always be able to move into a cooler, ventilated environment if he/she is feeling hot.
2. Never leave your dog alone in a car. If you want to take your dog with you on a car journey, make sure that your destination is dog friendly.  If you are leaving your dog at home, make sure his or her needs are met - and don't leave them in a conservatory or caravan.   
3. If you have to leave your dog outside, provide a cool, shady spot where he/she can escape from the sun at all times of the day.
4. Make sure your dog always has a good supply of drinking water, in a weighted bowl that can’t be knocked over.  Remember, your dog can't turn on the tap and get a glass of water - he or she is dependent on you.   Carry water with you on hot days and give your dog frequent, small amounts.
5. Never leave your dog in a glass conservatory or a caravan. Even if it is cloudy when you leave, the sun may come out later in the day and could become unbearably hot.
6. Groom your dog regularly to get rid of excessive hair. Give long-coated breeds a hair-cut at the start of the summer, and later in the season if necessary.
7. Dogs need exercise, even when it is hot, but walk your dog early in the morning or later in the evening. Never allow your dog to exercise excessively in hot weather 
8. Dogs can get sunburned too – particularly those with light-coloured noses or light coloured fur on their ears.  Get advice from your vet on pet-safe sunscreens.

 Visit the RSPCA's website for more info

 

Help horses and donkeys with your used stamps

UK horse charity Redwings now accept used stamps of all shapes and sizes.   They say foreign or special stamps can raise the most money but all stamps help!

The charity cares for over 1,500 horses, ponies, donkeys and mules every day.  Many are brought in as rescues and you can find out more about these here. They have lots of advice and information for horse owners and wannabe horse owners here

Please send your stamps to:           

Supporter Services Team

Redwings Horse Sanctuary

Hapton

Norwich

NR15 1SP

You can also support Redwings by buying gifts and products from their shop, including adopt a horse.   Click here to visit their online shop.

Help donkeys, horses and mules

Malnutrition causes great suffering and loss of life for thousands of working animals.

The animals can work up to 12 hours a day but don't get enough food - fuel - to keep them going.  They become malnourished and weak, vulnerable to illness and disease.  Their bones stick out, so they are a great risk from sores caused by rubbing harness.

SPANA (who also need your postage stamps) work to help thousands of working animals - horses, donkeys, mules - in a number of countries around the world.

SPANA's vet teams in the field treat animals who are suffering from malnutrition and they diagnose conditions which can lead to malnutrition. And crucially, they teach owners how to mix very nutritious animal feed using locally sourced, cost-effective food stuffs.

They can't do this without donations and if you donate today, a small group of SPANA supporters have agreed to match every donation received from the appeal up to a total of £40,477. 

Please visit SPANA's website and make a donation.  These animals are relying on our help. 
 

Born Free Foundation need your stamps!

The Born Free Foundation welcome all stamps, on or off paper. 

The charity helps hundreds of thousands animals  around the world, protecting lions, elephants, tigers, gorillas, wolves, polar bears, dolphins, marine turtles and more in their natural habitat.  They work with local communities to help people and wildlife live together without conflict.

They ask that if possible, "stamps on paper should have no more than 10mm of single thickness border around them, please do not trim them so close that the perforations are damaged."
 
Send your stamps with the right postage please, to:

Born Free Foundation
Stamp Appeal
PO Box 638
Fareham
Hampshire
PO14 9JJ

For more info, click here

For other ways to help, click here.

Help stop bear bile farming in Asia

Did you know that across Asia, thousands of bears are suffering?

Animals Asia say that more than 10,000 bears - mostly moon bears, but also sun bears and brown bears - are kept on bile farms in China.  There are also under 2,000 in Vietnam.  You can find out more about the bile trade here.

Bile is extracted using painful invasive techniques.  These cause infection in the bears.   The practice is cruel and unnecessary, with most farmed bears being kept in tiny cages.   Some are never released, having been put into cages as cubs.  Many are suffering from dehydration, starvation and disease and tumours. 

Back in 2005, the Government of Vietnam made it illegal to extract bear bile.  Unfortunately, many bear owners continue to dodge the law.  They extract and sell bear bile illegally.

Animals Asia run bear sanctuaries in China and Vietnam.  The bears are cared for and rehabilitated, and bear teams gather key evidence of the effects of bile extraction.  The bear rescue centres provide the bears with comfortable dens and semi-natural enclosures.  Here they can be safe and life out their lives with other bears.  So far 400 farmed bears have been taken into Animal Asia's care.  The bears wellbeing and health is monitored regularly.  And the work undertaken by the teams has helped raise the profile of the cruelty involved in the bear bile farming industry.

Last November, Animals Asia found 49 bears in a pitiful state on three bear bile farms in northern Vietnam.  They were emaciated and starving.  They had open wounds and missing limbs.  And 30 have died since then, most probably from starvation.

Animals Asia are trying to rescue the remaining 23 bears.  You can sign the letter to Vietnam’s Prime Minister on the Animals Asia web site

You can also write a personal letter to Vietnam’s Prime Minister

Finally if you're looking for a gift for someone, or you just want to give your support, why not adopt Ginny the Moon Bear from Born Free? 

Volunteer for Orangutans

The Orangutan Foundation has just emailed with details of its 2015 Summer Volunteer Programme.  This programme is in its 15th year and gives participants the chance to contribute to essential  conservation work and to see the orang-utan in its natural habitat.   And orang-utans also need your stamps!  (Read on and you'll find out how.)

Volunteers will be involved in renovating and restoring the education centre in Tanjung Harapan.  It's one of the feeding sites in the Tanjung Putting National Park.  The park is home to over 4,000 orang-utans, and volunteers will be able to take part in conservation work, surrounded by an array of wildlife.  This programme does not give hands-on contact with the orang-utans.

The date is the 7th September - 11th October (based on arrival and departure dates to local airport/town, Pangkalan Bun). 

The cost is  £975 - includes all construction materials, meals, accommodation and local transport from the 7th to departure on the 11th. Places are limited.

The application period ends on 30th April 2015.  For more info and to apply, email info@orangutan.org.uk or click here

Now, you can also send your used stamps to the Orangutan Foundation at :

Orangutan Foundation

7 Kent Terrace

London

NW1 4RP

England.



Help animals in Chile affected by floods

I had an email today from IFAW (that's the International Fund for Animal Welfare).   I don't know if you're aware, but Chile has recently suffered from terrible flooding - wild fires, as well.

Anyway, IFAW need all our help.  They have been asked by the Chile government to come in and help the animals affected by the flooding.  You can find out more about the animal rescue efforts in Chile here.

IFAW say:

"Floods and landslides devastated dozens of towns in Chile. Animals tried to escape to higher grounds, but many were trapped in the surging water. Some animals survived but were smashed against walls, street signs or other objects and suffered painful cuts or broken bones.

Thousands of animals returned to neighbourhoods they don't recognise. Their owners are gone. The dogs and cats are scared, lost and hungry."

IFAW say these are the worst floods in 80 years.  They are working with a local partner, the Global Alliance for Animals and People (GAAP), and they are going to rescue, feed and care for about 10,000 cats and dogs.  They are buying 18 metric tons of food for the cats and dogs;  they are helping vets and volunteers treat injured animals.  And a hotline has been set up so residents can call them if they know of an animal in need of vet care or food.  They are going to be working with local shelters to ensure that animals get the essentials they need - food, care, and safe water.

If you can help IFAW help cats and dogs by making a donation, whatever amount, please click here.  Or simply spread the word.   IFAW do amazing work helping animals in disaster areas - they step in and make a difference.  Click here to donate.

 

 

Take part in the Living with Mammals survey for PTES

It's that time of year again - no, I'm not referring to the UK election!   It's time for the PTES's annual survey, Living with Mammals, so take your mind off the politics and register for their survey.

PTES is the People's Trust for Endangered Species, a UK registered charity. It's mission is to "protect wildlife in Britain and around the world by bringing our most threatened species back from the brink of extinction."

Living with Mammals is PTES's annual survey of animals in green spaces around our towns and cities.  Since 2003, it has built up a picture of how populations of urban mammals are changing. 

You can help by letting PTES know who your wild neighbours are - whether it's your garden, allotment, a local park or churchyard, or village green.  Just spend some time observing your chosen site, noting any mammals you see or the signs they leave behind. 

Your 'urban' site must be within 200 metres of a building. 

Just jot down your sightings for 8 or more weeks in the survey period (they needn't all be together) and tell PTES what you see. 

The survey runs from 30th March until 28th June, and PTES need your help.  You can take part online or email PTES at LwM@ptes.org for a survey pack.  If you have any questions, email  lwm@ptes.org with your queries or call 020 7498 4533.

The PTES website has:

• Health and safety guidelines for volunteers
• A guide to spotting wild mammals
• Links to their Facebook and Twitter pages so you can swap tips with other volunteers doing the survey! 

The survey will help PTES understand and encourage biodiversity for the future.  And once we all know what wildlife is on our doorstep, we can take steps to help and encourage more of it!

If you're not in the UK, why not see if wildlife charities in your area or home country need any help with surveys? 

Click here to go to PTES

Please add your voice to stop this animal suffering

If you want to stop animals suffering, please take a look at the campaign Compassion in World Farming has running to end the trade in live farm animals leaving the EU.

CIWF's Investigation Unit visited the Israeli‑controlled Kerem Shalom border, where the Gaza Strip, Israel and Egypt converge.  The evidence they brought back was horrific.  They found a trade in cattle from the EU being sent alive into war-torn Gaza for slaughter.  Animals had travelled thousands of miles by land and sea from Romania Hungary via Israel to the slaughterhouses in Gaza.   Conditions there are very basic indeed, and the pain and suffering the animals have to go through is just awful - you can read about the evidence (and there are a couple of videos) on CIWF's website.

CIWF says on their website (and I quote), that "recent correspondence with Compassion, the head of the European Commission said that although EU law states that ‘full regard should be paid to animal welfare’, that doesn’t apply to animals being traded."  Words fail me that the EU can think that's okay.  Animal lovers everywhere need to get behind the CIWF campaign and end the trade in live farm animals leaving the EU.  Please add your voice today.

This movement is growing globally.   The Palestinian Animal League Solidarity (PALS) is also calling for the suffering to stop.  CIWF say that Virginia McKenna, OBE, Founder Trustee of the Born Free Foundation, and author Jilly Cooper OBE, have sent messages of support.

An amazing 88,197 people have called on the European Commission to end the trade in live farm animals leaving the EU. 

If you haven't yet added your voice, please email the Commission here.  You can also make a donation, if you want.  And ARAN (Ireland's national animal protection group) and Compassion have a peaceful demonstration outside the Department of Agriculture in Dublin on 27th May.

Please spread the word;  join the campaign;  make a donation, if you wish;  but let's all work together to put a stop to the live trade in animals.  Every voice added will make a difference.  These animals need us to take action.

The PDSA are collecting stamps

The PDSA helps vets treats sick and injured pets around the UK.  In 2015, the charity celebrates 98 years of caring for the sick and injured animals of people in need.  And last year it helped 470,000 pets in need.

The charity's mission is "To care for the pets of people in need by providing free veterinary services to their sick and injured animals and promoting responsible pet ownership."

You can visit the PDSA's page here to see if your pet is eligible for their care.  You may also find their advice pages helpful.

You can send your used stamps to:

PDSA Charity Stamps Support
41 Buckingham Avenue
Penwortham
Preston
PR1 9HG

Companies can donate their used postage stamps too - visit the PDSA's website to find out what to do!  And click here to find out how else you can help.

Volunteer for Butterflies

Did you know that Butterfly Conservation have 32 regional branches around the UK? 

They all have willing volunteers ready to help the tiny butterfly, by undertaking any number of tasks such as:

- leading butterfly walks, moth events and countless conservation days,
- getting involved with publicity,
- helping with membership recruitment
- fundraising

There are also working parties, who participate in physical activities such as bashing scrub, planting trees or re-building stone walls on nature reserves.  The work is essential to help restore or maintain habitats for butterflies and moths. 

Yet more volunteers help track butterfly and moth populations, helping Butterfly Conservation with their survey work.  And training is available to help you report on these tiny creatures.

Finally 4 regional offices need help with admin and tasks such as  volunteers help database input, making up reports, cataloguing of materials, preparing mailings, and photocopying.  Find out more here. 

However much you know about butterflies, there will be something you can do, so visit Butterfly Conservation and get in a flutter to find ways to help make a difference.  As well as volunteering, the charity needs people to help in all sorts of ways such as giving donations, helping butterflies in your garden, helping children learn more about butterflies and becoming a member of the charity.   And if you're looking for a gift for a butterfly lover, buy a gift from Butterfly Conservation's online shop.

Planning your garden? Help bees and butterflies as you plan and plant

If like me you're thinking about what do put in your garden this year, you could take a look at Suttons Seeds website.  They have some terrific tools for gardeners, with a Jobs to do in the garden this month guide - you just click on the month.   And you can find out which flowers to sow this month - here are flowers to sow in April, for instance.

I was particularly interested to see what they have in the flowers to plant line - and specifically, flowers to encourage bees and butterflies, as a wildlife lover.  Suttons Seeds say on their website that it's a good idea to have at least 2 nectar or pollen rich plants in flower at any one time, and to look for plants that will give you a successful of flowers to enjoy during the whole growing season.  You also should look to provide insects with a late-flowering food source;  nectar gives them energy to fly and build them up for winter hibernation.

Suttons Seeds give each flower/plant etc a chart, showing when is the best time of year to plant or sow; and when they flower, so you can plan out on a piece of paper what plants flower when and so ensure your bees and butterflies have a successful of flowers during the summer. 

I love the Trollius Plant - Dancing Flame for £7.99 - here's a picture of it:



The Trollius Plant - Dancing Flame attracts both bees and butterflies
Click here to find out more from Suttons Seeds

 

This is the Dianthus caryophyllus Plant - Yellow

The Dianthus caryophyllus Plant - Yellow - pictured above is also one I like the look of, and I also like the fact that it will put on a show for many years to come.  It also attracts bees, butterflies and pollinators.  And of course - lavender - beautiful lavender - yes, I'll get a couple of those as well, not enough for a field, as I haven't got one of those, but a couple for the garden.  

 

This is the Lavinder Plant - Hidcote for £7.99



There's been good news from Butterfly Conservation recently to say that a number of butterfly species have been making a come-back and if we can all help provide butterflies and bees with the flowers they need by giving up a bit of our garden for them, so much the better.  It's an easy way to help them, and I think there's nothing like flowers in a garden for cheering the spirit.  I planted daffodils last year and am thrilled to say they have come up - I just adore looking out of the window on a rainy day and seeing their yellowness brighten the day as they dance in the breeze.

Suttons Seeds have an offer on too - buy 2 perennial plants and get the third free.  Watch for the two three red pots sign on selected plants.  Go to Suttons Seeds now and fill your garden with wildlife friendly plants! 

World Stray Animals Day is on 4th April

Today is World Stray Animals Day - you can visit their Facebook page

The idea of the day is to raise awareness of the  600,000,000 stray animals in the world.  It also highlights the plight of strays who lead poor lives on our streets.  Many are suffer from hunger, have little shelter from very hot or very cold temperatures and have no veterinary care when they are injured or ill.  Too often they suffer at the hands of unkind, unthinking and cruel people.

The day gives us all a chance to get involved in taking action for stray animals over the planet, whether it's by simply spreading the word, organising events, doing a neuter campaign, or discovering more about the plight of strays worldwide.

The work of many organisations involves neutering, and many charities work to neuter feral cats and dogs.  Snip International is a UK based charity which is dedicated to improving animal welfare worldwide.  It is specifically dedicated to promoting the neutering of stray and feral cats and dogs worldwide.  In the 18 years it has been running, Snip International has donated over 1,100 items of specialist trapping, catching and holding equipment to animal welfare groups working in nearly 70 countries.  They also have a lot of practical advice on these subjects on their website.  They also have lots of ways you can help.

There's a lot of good work being done to reduce the amount of strays around in a humane way (i.e. neutering locals) to reduce the problem and simultaneously check out strays and feral animals at the same time.  But there's also a lot more to do, not least of which is to encourage owners to take pet responsibility seriously in the first place (i.e. don't take a pet on unless you are prepared to care for him or her) and if their circumstances really change, to contact an animal charity and bring them in, rather than leaving your pet to fend for him or herself on the streets. 

Finally, if you want to do something for stray animals today, please take a moment to sign this petition to help roaming dogs in Bali.  The Governor of the island ordered the mass killing of roaming dogs, claiming free-roaming dogs will lead to the spread of rabies.  The petition calls on the Bali government to stop killing dogs and to return to annual, comprehensive dog vaccination programmes which protect dogs and people.  Click here to find out more from IFAW (the International Fund for Animal Welfare who are running the petition).

Please visit World Stray Animals Day and Snip International and the International Fund for Animal Welfare (who are currently working to help Chile's animals affected by flooding) to find out more.