Speedy Animal Control, San Diego CA

Shocking animal cruelty claims as vets blow whistle on export abattoirs

On-plant vets are an international trade requirement - but dozens have now spoken out about what they claim is Australia’s lax oversight of the export meat industry

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Veterinarians stationed inside Australia’s export abattoirs have revealed shocking instances of animal cruelty, including an incident in which more than 100 sheep died from hypothermia. Leaked documents also show government veterinarians have repeatedly blown the whistle internally about “profound problems” in the oversight of the export meat industry.

To protect animal welfare and satisfy major trading partners, the Australian government employs vets inside abattoirs that are licensed to export meat.

More than 100 sheep died from hypothermia and exposure after an animal transport truck drove for nine hours through heavy rain in 2022, according to leaked reports. One veterinarian whistleblower described the incident as “horrific”. It went unpunished.

Disturbing animal welfare breaches went unreported to state regulators, an explosive whistleblower disclosure alleges. In a direct complaint to a former agriculture minister, one whistleblower vet described finding a cow that had a decomposing calf stuck in its pelvic canal. Instead of reporting the incident as a welfare breach, he said his superiors apologised to the owners of the abattoir after the vet intervened to help the animal.

An understaffing crisis has left some abattoirs unmonitored for long stretches of time, according to whistleblower vets in New South Wales. In an extraordinary joint complaint filed by more than half the state’s export abattoir vets, the situation was described as so bad that it risked putting Australia in breach of its trade obligations.

Powers to detect and act on animal welfare breaches have been progressively watered down, including through rule changes restricting vets’ access to pens to inspect animals, according to multiple current and former vets.

At least one vet has been diagnosed with PTSD, saying they felt isolated and unsupported by managers, while others say they have been left vulnerable to bullying and intimidation, and unable to meet their legal and ethical obligations as registered vets.

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UK national parks warn of ‘catastrophic’ risk from wildfires this Easter

Weeks of fires amid warm and dry spell have decimated ecosystems and threatened endangered species, say experts

• Wildfires expose ‘postcode lottery’ of firefighting resources

Britain’s national parks have warned of a “catastrophic” risk from wildfires this Easter after one of the driest early spring seasons on record.

Park rangers from the South Downs to the Highlands said the prolonged warm weather and breezy conditions had left large areas extremely dry despite recent rain.

Week in wildlife: elephants on parade, a rescued serval and wandering bears

The best of this week’s wildlife photographs from around the world

Mostly I like it when people pat my dog Roxie – but a man with a goatee took it a step further | Ashe Davenport

I’m proud of her and all her good girlness. I want the world to love her as much as I do – just not more than that

I’m not what you would call a “dog person”. I love my 15-month-old border collie more than some blood relatives, but that love does not extend to dogs in general. I appreciate dogs, but won’t stop to pat a stranger’s dog, for instance, unless I’m trying to manufacture a version of myself who has an easy relationship with the world and affinity with all its creatures.

Personality-wise I’m closer to a cat than a dog. I can be standoffish, self-serving and strategic. If a stranger tries to hug me my body will involuntarily contort to get away from them. I got a dog because I wanted to believe in something better. I thought Roxie would teach me the kind of presence and open-heartedness the world is crying out for.

Trump administration moves to narrow protections for endangered species

Environmentalists warn new proposal from US wildlife agencies could lead to habitat destruction and extinction

The Trump administration is planning to narrow protections for endangered species, in a move that environmentalists say would accelerate extinction by opening up critical habitats for development, logging, mining and other uses.

The proposal is the latest deregulatory effort by Donald Trump, who has made it a priority to dismantle endangered species protections as part of a broader quest to boost energy extraction and industrial access, even in the US’s most sensitive and vulnerable natural areas.

A true good boy: rancher’s dog leads two-year-old Arizona child to safety

Toddler had wandered from his home in to mountain lion territory when Buford, out on his nightly patrol, found him

A two-year-old boy who spent a night alone in the Arizona wilderness was led to safety by a rancher’s dog and was recovering safely at home with his family on Thursday.

The toddler, identified as Boden Allen, disappeared from his home in Seligman, Arizona, at around 5pm local time on Monday, about 100 miles south of the Grand Canyon national park, prompting a large search operation. He was wearing just a blue tank top and pajama pants at the time, the Yavapai county sheriff’s office said in a missing person notice.