Electrolux Turns Ocean Garbage Into New Vacuums

Electrolux is raising awareness of plastic waste in the oceans by putting plastic collected from waters around the world in peoples’ homes.

The maker of various home appliances is creating a limited number of vacuums made with plastic gathered from oceans and seas, through its Vac From The Sea initiative, to bring attention to how much plastic is ending up in floating around in marine environments and harming animals.

Not only does plastic that is in oceans kill birds and other creatures, but plastic out in the sea breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces over time, bringing with it worries that as fish and other animals eat the bits of plastic, that trash works its way back up the food chain until it ends up on our plates.

The issue of plastic waste in the ocean has now been documented and tracked by a number of groups and awareness initiatives, like 5Gyres and the Plastiki expedition, but this is the first time a company has fused that issue with its products.

Along with awareness of plastic in the ocean, Electrolux is using the campaign to note that the supply of recycled plastic on land is much lower than the demand, noting that is that plastic staying out of the waters, it would more easily find its way into recycled-content consumer products.

A music concert for dogs

Sydney, June 6 (IANS) Hundreds of dogs had their own day as they attended a music concert at Sydney Opera House, in perhaps world’s first show exclusively for canines.

Almost every breed of pooch seemed to be represented at the iconic Opera House as musician Laurie Anderson staged a unique performance especially for his canine fans.

Many of them barked their approval as their owners among the audience sang Happy Birthday to the musician, who was celebrating her 63rd birthday.

The inter-species concert included 20 minutes of odd notes and weird high-pitched screeching of whales, birds and other animals, with furry ears pricking up and some joining in with howls of approval, reported Sky News.

Laurie Anderson, whose biggest hit was ‘Oh Superman’ in 1981, is renowned for experimental music.

Her husband Lou Reed listened in as she explained that she did not really know what sort of music appealed to dogs, but had tried out various pieces on her own terrier, Lollabelle.

‘That was the most amazing concert that I’ve ever gotten to give. The dogs are a really wonderful audience. They’re grooving and dancing and uninhibited,’ she said after the concert.

PETA pays octomom Nadya Suleman $5K to promote pet family planning

London, May 20 (ANI): PETA is paying octomom Nadya Suleman 5,000 dollars to put a 3-foot-by-4-foot plastic sign on her front door that reads— “Don”t Let Your Dog or Cat Become an Octomom. Always Spay or Neuter.”

The sign will adorn Suleman’s door until June 9, the deadline when city officials say it must be removed.

The organisation is also throwing in a month”s supply of veggie hot dogs and burgers for her and her 14 children.

Suleman, 34, acknowledged she put the sign on her door partly for the money but added that her support of PETA is genuine.

“I love animals and I do believe they should be spayed or neutered. Humans of course are much different,” the Telegraph quoted her as saying.

Suleman said that her children, the oldest of whom is nine, want a dog and she has told they can have one when they are old enough to care for it.

Suleman already had six children when she gave birth 16 months ago to octuplets conceived by in vitro fertilization.

And since then she has been trying hard to pay her bills and was in danger of losing her home earlier this year.

Her lawyer has since negotiated an extension on a 450,000 dollars mortgage payment that had been due in March.

“It”s really a win-win situation for everyone,” PETA campaign coordinator Amanda Fortino said of the sign.

Fortino said the agreement allowed PETA to do its part to help Suleman financially and at the same time they could spread the word that more than 7 million cats and dogs enter shelters every year, where more than half are put to death. (ANI)

Male antelopes trick females to boost their chances of mating

Washington, May 20 (ANI): Male topi antelopes deceive their female counterparts in order to increase their chances of mating, a new research has found.

The study of topi antelopes in Kenya”s Masai Mara National Reserve Park, conducted by scientists at the University of Liverpool, found that male antelopes snort and look intently ahead if an ovulating female begins to stray from their territory.

This type of behaviour suggests to the female that there is predator danger ahead. Typical predators of the topi include lions, cheetahs, leopards and humans.

When scientists examined the behaviour closely they discovered that the male antelope”s snort and intent look were a false call made to keep the female in his vicinity and there was no danger nearby.

Rather than risk any danger of a predator the female stays within the male antelope”s territory, which increases his chances of mating with her.

This type of intentional deception of a sexual partner has not been documented before in animals. Previous studies have shown that animals do deceive each other but mainly in hostile situations or to protect themselves. (ANI)

Miss India World 2010 wishes to work for animal rights

Dehradun (Uttarakhand), May 16 (ANI): Manasvi Mamgai, who won the coveted title of Pantaloons Femina Miss India (PFMI) India World 2010, has expressed a desire to work for the animals cause.

“Since my childhood, I have a soft corner for animals, and I am trying to have some sort of association, I am trying to visit the hospital for animals, which is the only one in Uttarakhand,” said Mamgai.

“I think they are doing a fabulous job, and if I can generate awareness about it and make my contribution to this cause, I think I will feel blessed,” she added on her visit to her hometown.

Talking about the opportunity to represent India, Mamgai said: “There is a lot of responsibility as we have not won the international crown for some years now, so there is a lot of pressure and since my childhood I had a dream of becoming Miss World.”

“I wish you all will support and pray for me, so that I can win the crown and make my country and state feel proud,” she added.

Mamgai won the crown contesting against 18 other finalists on April 30. (ANI)

Ghost exhibition organised in Bhopal

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh), May 8 (ANI): The Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sanghralaya in Madhya Pradesh”s Bhopal city organised an exhibition on wooden idols of ghosts for the first time.

The idols included animals also.

“I found this exhibition quite exciting as I came to know that in States like Tamil Nadu, ghosts are worshipped. I belong to Uttar Pradesh and nothing like this happens there,” said Gaurav Saxena, a visitor.

“Such artistic forms of idols are being worshipped in southern India. People there worship more than 400 forms of ghosts. This is a unique thing in itself,” he added.

The curator of the museum feels that such an exhibition will not spread superstition, as the ghosts shown are actually gods and goddesses disguised.

“This is a ghost exhibition but one should not consider it to be fearful. Our motive was to showcase the aspect of religious faith attached to it,” said Ashok Tiwari, the curator of the Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sanghralaya (IGRMS).

“The effort is to show that these ghosts are the forms of Gods and Goddesses in disguise,” he added. (ANI)

Kim Kardashian defends Twitter cat pic

London, April 21 (ANI): Kim Kardashian has defended herself over her cat photograph, saying she didn’t harm the kitty by any means.

Peta had criticised Kardashian for holding a cat by the scruff of its neck for her Twitter photo.

A spokesperson said: “Kim Kardashian isn”t the only person who mistakenly thinks that because a mother cat picks up her kittens by the scruff of the neck that a supportive hand under the rump isn”t needed.”

However, the stunner insists she did nothing wrong, reports The Sun.

“I have been getting negative comments regarding the way I was holding the kitty, but rest assured, the owner and vet were on set and showed me how to pick him up.

“The cat was not harmed in any way and is perfectly fine! I love animals and would never do anything to harm any animals,” she said. (ANI)

Mobile phones used to track birds

Queensland scientists have created a new method of tracking cassowaries using mobile phones.

The University of Queensland (UQ) has launched a website where the public can upload photos taken from their mobile phone, as well as the GPS position of the flightless bird.

Senior UQ researcher Dr Hamish Campbell says the information will help scientists record important information about the rare animal.

“There really is an urgent need on ecological data on the birds, in particular looking at where the birds go, when they go there, why do they go there, and what the sort ecological strategies underpin movement patterns,” he said.

“The hope is that with the public’s help we can use this new technology.

“People have been recording identification on cassowaries for a long time but it is really difficult to use that as scientific data.

“We really need hard data, and with the iPhone we can really have a much more rigorous method of ID-ing animals and locations.”

‘Terrified’ goats reappear near farm

A flock of goats that disappeared from a Wheatbelt farm over Easter has been returned.

Greg and Ruth McGough farm at Mawson, east of Quairading.

The couple made an impassioned plea on ABC Radio last week, after the 66 goats disappeared under suspicious circumstances on Easter Monday.

Ms McGough says she could hardly believe her eyes when she looked out her kitchen window late on Friday and saw the animals wandering near the boundary of their farm.

“I’m over the moon. I’m not crying today,” she said.

“It was a wonderful outcome. They’re very spooked though so they have been harassed and badly handled but we have got them back.”

She says what happened to them will probably remain a mystery.

“They were absolutely terrified,” she said.

“We couldn’t get anywhere near them and these are goats that we can hand feed, you know, they’re nearly pets, so they’ve been absolutely terrified by the handling of these people who tried to take them.”

The couple remains convinced a rustler is operating in the area.

Farmer fined for roaming cows

A north Queensland dairy farmer is facing a $3,000 fine after a dozen cows escaped from his property following cyclone Ului.

Eungella farmer Peter Woodland says the cattle escaped three weeks ago when strong winds caused trees to flatten fences on his property, west of Mackay.

Mr Woodland says the Mackay Regional Council impounded the animals without contacting him, even thought they were micro-chipped.

“I’m really angry with the council because…you need them to be coordinating with you to get through these times and then you find that this is the attitude,” he said.

Council spokesman Neil Ishenko says wandering cattle is a problem across the region and a fee needs to be paid to release impounded animals.

He says the fee of $250 per animal is justified.

“Generally it’s because we have to go out at all times of the day or night to find these cattle, round them up, and then store them in vehicles, take them to our pound and them feed them for the time that they’re under our care.”

Outbreak of parvovirus in Townsville dogs

The RSPCA says hundreds of dogs at the Townsville shelter in north Queensland have been put down after an outbreak of parvovirus.

RSPCA spokesman Michael Beatty says 200 dogs have been destroyed and many more animals have been surrendered.

He says pet owners need to make sure their animals have been immunised to avoid the spread of disease in the region.

“Since the beginning of the year, there’s been over 200 that have had to be put to sleep,” he said.

“That includes up to 50 puppies that have come in contact with the parvovirus.

“So that’s another message to people to please, please make sure that your animals are inoculated.”

He says Townsville is one of the busiest shelters in the state and there is no signs of the pressure easing.

“There’s no doubt about that and sadly I guess for all the wrong reasons,” he said.

“But having said that there have been well over 340 animals re-homed out at Townsville which is terrific but it’s been very, very busy and sadly for all the wrong reasons.”

Mobile phones used to track birds

Queensland scientists have created a new method of tracking cassowaries using mobile phones.

The University of Queensland (UQ) has launched a website where the public can upload photos taken from their mobile phone, as well as the GPS position of the flightless bird.

Senior UQ researcher Dr Hamish Campbell says the information will help scientists record important information about the rare animal.

“There really is an urgent need on ecological data on the birds, in particular looking at where the birds go, when they go there, why do they go there, and what the sort ecological strategies underpin movement patterns,” he said.

“The hope is that with the public’s help we can use this new technology.

“People have been recording identification on cassowaries for a long time but it is really difficult to use that as scientific data.

“We really need hard data, and with the iPhone we can really have a much more rigorous method of ID-ing animals and locations.”

Lord of the ring marvels at show’s enduring appeal

The name Tom Frankcomb is as about as synonymous with Tasmania’s Huon Valley show as apple cider, fairy floss, dagwood dogs and lost kids.

In fact there has never been a ringmaster at the event that was not called Tom Frankcomb.

The latest one has been calling the shots for the past 15 years, in a tradition started by his grandfather and passed on to his dad.

When it began Tasmania was known as the apple isle and the Huon Valley was its thriving hub.

Times have certainly changed and so too has the Huon show, but it is as popular as ever.

The current Tom Frankcomb reckons keeping the agricultural focus “front and centre” has been an important part of its enduring appeal.

“We try and include all the traditional livestock industries, as well as we’ve got the newer livestock industries which are quite big in the Huon, like the alpaca as well as the cattle, the sheep and those sorts of things,” he said.

Livestock is still an important part of the Huon show routine, but it now reflects the changes that have taken place within the community.

Robert Drummond has been coming to the Huon show for about 40 years.

“Well, the environment’s changed completely in the area as regards full-time farmers. Now this has become more a hobby-farmer style area,” Mr Drummond said.

“The big farms have disappeared – like the big fattener – they don’t exist. It’s more small hobby farmers style, the alpacas and the small cattle holdings.”

What the Huon show does have going for it is diversity.

Bill Robbins is a fifth generation merino breeder who caught the alpaca bug 20 years ago.

Mr Robbins says there has been an alpaca class at the Huon show for the past four years.

“It’s a typical smaller country show and there’s a fair amount of upgrading still to do, but the very best animals here are getting close to where they should be,” he said.

“You go to a lot of country shows – and I’m from New South Wales – and a lot of those just exist on one particular species, whether it be horses or cattle and that’s all you tend to see, but here there’s a bit of everything.”

Mr Drummond says the secret to success is that no-one gets paid except the show secretary.

“Everyone else gets in and does their job and it’s all voluntary, that’s the trick,” he said.

Stress a killer for tiny lizards

It’s official: stress is a killer, particularly if you’re a sand lizard that has lost its tail.

Australian and Swedish researchers have found that telomeres, typically associated with ageing in humans, are affected by stress from attack and lead to a shorted lifespan for the tiny Swedish reptile.

Telomeres are sequences of non-coding DNA that cap the ends of chromosomes and contribute to their stability and the genomic integrity of cells.

They have been likened to the tips at the end of the shoelace that stops the shoelace from fraying.

In humans, “fraying” or shortening of telomeres can be increased by “factors leading to genetic erosion,” says lead author Professor Mats Olsson, of the University of Wollongong.

Such factors can include free radicals and other forms of stress.

Professor Olsson and colleagues have looked at how a vital aspect of predator avoidance – tail autotomy, or dropping a tail – is linked to telomere length in the sand lizard, lacerta agilis.

The sand lizard – a small, ground-dwelling lizard found in Sweden – can only regrow its tail once if the whole tail is dropped.

“Once the last original vertebra in the tail is lost, there is no way to drop the tail ‘voluntarily’ under predator attack,” Professor Olsson said.

“This in itself is likely to be highly stressful and seriously compromise survivorship.”

In larger males, which have a much more exposed lifestyle, telomeres were significantly more affected by tail loss.

“Thus, males in the fast lane would be predicted to become more stressed during the mating season, and that is exactly what we see,” the researchers write.

According to the study, males that are engaged in more contests for partners have higher corticosterone levels, which is the hormone involved in stress responses.

“These are exactly the same males in which tail regrowth most strongly seems to compromise telomere length.”

The study appears in the online version of the journal Biology Letters.

Council faces ‘lengthy’ cat rego task

Bundaberg council says the registration of every cat in the region will be a lengthy process.

New legislation will come into effect by December this year making it mandatory for all cats in Queensland to be registered.

Bundaberg Mayor Lorraine Pyefinch says residents will be able to register their animals on the council’s website.

She says finding all of the cat owners will be a big task.

“When you’re starting from a situation where there’s very little information it’s pretty important that we try to get feedback from the community as to how many cats there may be in domestic situations across the region,” she said.

“It certainly will be a lengthy task and this is another impost by the State Government on local government, so we really will be working hard … with the community to try and achieve this.”

Ex-Yugoslav leader Tito’s elephant dies

An elephant given as a present to former Yugoslav leader Josip Broz Tito 40 years ago has died suddenly, a Croatian newspaper reported on Wednesday.

Late Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi gave Sony to the communist leader in 1970 when the bull elephant was a two-year-old calf, the Jutarnji List daily reported.

Sony, who lived at Croatia’s northern national Brijuni islands park where Mr Tito had a private zoo, died on Friday.

An autopsy is to determine the cause of his death. In the wild, elephants can live up to 70 years.

The islands were once reserved for Mr Tito and his close friends but are now frequented by officials and tourists.

Sony lived there among other exotic animals including Lanka, a cow elephant.

“We were all shocked by his death. We simply cannot believe that he is not here any more,” Vesna Klunic of the national park told the media.

“Now we will take special care of Lanka since it’s not easy for her.”

Mr Tito ruled the former Yugoslav federation, of which Croatia was a part, for 35 years until his death in 1980.

A decade after his death, Yugoslavia broke up in a series of internecine wars.

Restricted dogs ruling prompts clarification plea

A Gold Coast city councillor says the Queensland Government must clarify dog laws after the Supreme Court’s finding that the american staffordshire terrier is the same breed as the restricted american pit bull terrier.

The finding has been prompted by a long-running dispute over a dog on Queensland’s Gold Coast.

Cr Bob La Castra says the ruling means owners of american staffordshire terriers may have to get permits for their pets.

He says the council cannot enforce dog laws until the State Government clarifies the situation.

“I think they will probably be waiting to see what the State Government’s determination is before they make that decision,” he said.

“But the state needs to move on it and move on it fast because there will be a lot of people who are very concerned about where to from here.”

Supreme Court rules on restricted dog breeds

A Supreme Court ruling in Queensland has found the american staffordshire terrier is the same breed as the “restricted” american pit bull terrier.

The legal clarification has been prompted by a long-running dispute over a dog on the state’s Gold Coast.

In 2004, the Gold Coast City Council decided a dog named “Tango” was a pit bull and ordered he be destroyed.

Kylie Louise Chivers, who is not the dog’s owner, appealed on the grounds “Tango” was an american staffordshire terrier or ‘amstaff’, and not a pit bull.

Justice Glenn Martin found the breed has two names for the purposes of promotion and “Tango” is a restricted dog.

Gold Coast City Councillor Bob la Castra says the Queensland Government needs to clarify the law.

“They now have to determine whether an amstaff is indeed a pit bull,” he said.

The council says Tango no longer lives in Queensland.

Wombat mauls bushfire survivor

A man is recovering in hospital after he was mauled by a wombat at Flowerdale, north-east of Melbourne.

Paramedic Robert Gill said Bruce Kringle, 60, was a survivor of the Black Saturday bushfires and was living in a caravan while he built a new home.

Mr Gill said when the man went to leave the caravan this morning, he found the wombat on his door mat.

“Unfortunately the gentleman stood on the wombat and the wombat proceeded to get rather nasty and attacked him and inflicted some wounds to his lower legs and also to his arms as well,” Mr Gill said.

“It took about 20 minutes. He did try to exit the area and get away from the wombat but my belief is that it kept coming at him.”

A local resident said the man managed to kill the wombat with an axe.

Mr Gill said other residents had had a run-in with the wombat earlier.

“They were able to exercise caution with him and get rid of him further down the road, but unfortunately the next stop was this gentleman’s door mat,” he said.

Mr Gill said the man was bitten on the arms and legs and taken to the Northern Hospital in a stable condition.

Mr Kringle’s friend, Kelly Smith, said the wombat pulled him to the ground in the attack.

“Apparently it attacked his leg and got him to the ground and started attacking his chest, then Brucey killed the wombat and got taken to hospital in an ambulance,” she said.

Jeff McClure from the Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE) said it was highly unusual for a wombat to attack a person.

“Wombats that are in an advanced stage of mange will become very agitated from the suffering and the irritation of the mange,” he said.

He said if wombats are approached or feel threatened they will rush towards someone.

“But it’s not known that they will push the attack to where they would physically attack someone.”

Jumps deaths won’t affect season launch

The death of two jumps horses trained at Warrnambool, in western Victoria, is not expected to affect the launch of this year’s season.

Ciaron Maher’s horses, Satu San and Marc of Thunder, died after colliding during a race at South Australia’s Oakbank carnival yesterday.

John Glatz, the chairman of the Oakbank Racing Club chairman, says it was a freak accident.

He says Marc of Thunder made the jump and then faltered.

“I thought obviously it’s hurt itself and most of the field just moved out and went around it, and Satu San just appeared to run straight into the back of Marc of Thunder,” he said.

The jumps season will be officially launched today in Warrnambool.

But the first races will not be run until later this month, because of problems importing new brushes for the hurdles from overseas.

The chair of the Warrnambool Racing Club, Margaret Lucas says the new hurdles will force the horses to slow down more before they jump.

The industry was put on notice last year after a number of deaths, but Ms Lucas says the sport will rebound.

“Jumps racing worldwide has an enormous following and it’s going from strength to strength in other countries,” she said.

“I think if we get over this hurdle and excuse the pun, that we will move on next year.”

Ciaron Maher’s father, horse trainer John Maher, says the sport will meet conditions imposed this season to include more starters in each race.

“Speaking from my son’s stable only, we have them queuing up to get into the stable,” he said.