INTERNATIONAL

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, November 1996:

The British Columbia SPCA,
of Vancouver, has signed an agreement
with Environment Canada and the B.C.
environment ministry to coordinate wildlife
rescue and rehablitation in case of a major
oil spill along the B.C. coast. But the
BC/SPCA might find resources scarce:
with the flagship Vancouver branch $1.2
million in debt, it recently cut five staff
positions, sold six trucks, and dropped a
money-losing merchandising program.

The National Canine Defence
League reports from a survey of British
dog wardens that 56% of the people who
call about stray dogs worry that the animal
may be killed; 47% of the wardens now
have regular contact with animal welfare
groups; and 35% of the dogs they handle
are turned over to animal welfare groups
for placement. The NCDL, England’s
largest dog welfare charity, received 9,645
dogs in 1995, of whom 6,115 were adopted
out, 1,859 were returned to their owners,
1,379 were still in custody at year’s end,
138 were euthanized for cause, and 96
were placed in foster homes.
The Royal SPCA reports that
75% of its cruelty convictions in 1994 and
1995 were for neglect. The RSPCA handled
1,541 neglect cases in 1994, and
1,648 in 1995.
Liviu Harbutz, animal control
chief in Bucharest, Romania, on August
13 announced a plan to hire 20 homeless
children for two years to train stray dogs to
help the handicapped. The project is funded
by the European Union.
The Israeli Supreme Court i n
mid-September issued a 60-day injunction
against the mass poisoning of cats with
alpha chlorolose, a drug resembling strychnine
in effect, and ordered the government
Veterinary Services department to show
cause why it should be done––but the ban
does not extend to the ongoing use of regular
strychnine against dogs.