Animals

Odisha recorded over 5.20 lakh dog bite cases between January 2023 and October 2024, according to data provided by the state government in the Assembly on Wednesday. This means stray canines or domesticated ones have targeted an average of 777 individuals every day during that period. In a written reply to a question from Rayagada MLA Kadraka Appala Swamy of the Congress, Fisheries and Animal Resources Development Minister Gokulananda Mallik said that a total of 5,20,237 dog bite cases were reported in Odisha during those 22 months. While 2,59,107 dog bite cases were reported during 2023, 2,43,565 such cases were recorded from January to October of 2024. The maximum number of such cases at 33,547, 32,561 and 29,801 were reported during January, February and March of 2024, respectively. According to the 2019 Livestock Census, Odisha has 17.34 lakh stray dogs. Following the Animal Birth Control Rule, 2023, municipalities and urban local bodies are implementing the Animal Birth Cont

All pet shops and dog breeding centres in the national capital have to register with the Delhi Animal Welfare Board within one month or face closure for non-compliance, according to a public notice. The move comes in the wake of the Delhi High Court order to ensure accountability and compliance with the laws of the land, and has been welcomed by animal rights activists. In its public notice dated November 6, the Delhi Animal Welfare Board has mandated that all pet shops and dog breeding centres in the National Capital Territory of Delhi register their establishments within one month. Failure to comply will result in the shutdown of non-registered establishments, as per rules outlined in the Dog Breeding and Marketing Rules, 2017, and the Pet Shop Rules, 2018, both under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, it said. The Board has enabled online registration via the e-district portal for ease of access, the notice reads. The move is aimed at bolstering animal welfare and

The South Island of New Zealand was once home to the extinct Haast's eagle, also called Hieraaetus moorei. Weighing about 10-18 kilos (22-40 pounds), it is the largest eagle to ever exist

They discourage excessive use of antibiotics in poultry and livestock

A leopard was beaten to death by villagers after it attacked a 55-year-old man in Udaipur district of Rajasthan on Friday, police said. The incident occurred in Sayra area in the early hours when the leopard attacked Devaram's cattle outside his house, they said. According to police, when he opened the gate to check on the cattle, the leopard attacked him, leaving him injured. Hearing his cries for help, the villagers quickly gathered and surrounded the area where the leopard was hiding. They started hitting the animal with sticks and other objects, leading to its death on the spot, police said. The injured is undergoing treatment at the district hospital, they added. The area is located about 25 km from where forest and police teams have been searching for a man-eater leopard over the past several days. However, authorities are yet to confirm if the dead leopard is the same one being tracked. Alarmed over the rising number of deaths, forest authorities issued an order on Octobe

Ratan Tata's empathy for animals, especially stray dogs, spanned from caring for his pets to creating safe spaces at Bombay House and founding India's first Small Animal Hospital

Monitored wildlife populations have declined by an average of 73 per cent in just 50 years from 1970 to 2020, primarily due to habitat loss, climate change, and pollution, according to a new report by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). The 'Living Planet Report' 2024 also revealed sharp declines in three species of vultures in India, with populations dropping dramatically between 1992 and 2022. The white-rumped vulture population has declined by 67 per cent, the Indian vulture by 48 per cent, and the slender-billed vulture by 89 per cent. Globally, the steepest decline is reported in freshwater ecosystems (85 per cent), followed by terrestrial ecosystems (69 per cent) and marine ecosystems (56 per cent). Habitat loss and degradation, driven primarily by food systems, is the most commonly reported threat to wildlife populations worldwide, followed by overexploitation, invasive species, and disease, the report said. In India, some wildlife populations have stabilized and shown ..

World Animal Day is observed every year on October 4 to highlight the importance of animals and spread awareness for their welfare to maintain ecological balance

The government plans to establish Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD)-free zones in eight states to boost exports of animal products, according to a senior government official. Alka Upadhyaya, Secretary in the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying, announced the initiative at the workshop that concluded on August 30 on the issue of animal infectious disease prioritisation, organised by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in collaboration with the department. "We've made significant progress in tackling four critical diseases: FMD, Peste des Petits Ruminants, Brucellosis, and Classical Swine Fever under the National Control Programme," Upadhyaya said. The government "plans to establish FMD-free zones in eight states, where advanced vaccination efforts are underway", she said. This strategic move is expected to pave the way for expanded export opportunities for Indian animal products, enhancing the country's global market presence, she added. The three-day workshop resulted

Economic impact and biodiversity loss should be key criteria in prioritising animal infectious diseases, said Animal Husbandry Commissioner Abhijit Mitra while inaugurating a three-day workshop on Wednesday. The workshop on Animal Infectious Disease Prioritization, organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) under the Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying, aims to address the significant challenges posed by these diseases, an official statement said. "The financial burden of infectious diseases affecting livestock, poultry, and wildlife has far-reaching consequences for both the agricultural sector and our national economy," Mitra emphasised. He further stressed the importance of considering biodiversity loss in the prioritisation process, citing its long-term implications for ecosystems and environmental sustainability. The event brought together experts from various government departments, research institutions, universities, and ...

India has shortage of animal fodder and the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying has been supplementing the efforts made by state governments to enhance fodder availability, union minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh informed Parliament on Wednesday. To a query on whether the government was aware of the shortage of animal fodder faced by the farmers, Singh said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha, "Yes Sir. The country is deficit in fodder". "The ICAR- Indian Grassland and Fodder Research Institute (IGFRI) Jhansi has estimated that there is a deficit of 11.24-32 per cent and 23 per cent for green and dry fodder, respectively, in the country," he added. The Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying has been supplementing the efforts made by the state governments by implementing the Centrally Sponsored Scheme National Livestock Mission with a Sub Mission on Feed and Fodder Development since 2014-15, he highlighted. The scheme was realigned in July 2021 with the ..

Chimpanzees sought out and ate medicinal plants to treat their injuries, according to a study. While wild chimpanzees are known to consume a variety of plant matter, researchers said it can be hard to figure out if they intentionally seek out medicinal plants to heal their ailments, or "passively" consume plants that happen to be medicinal. The study is published in the journal PLoS ONE. At the Budongo Central Forest Reserve in Uganda, the researchers, including those at the University of Oxford, UK, observed the behaviours and health of 51 wild chimpanzees, belonging to two habituated communities. The researchers observed a male chimpanzee with an injured hand seek out and eat the leaves of a fern, which may have helped to reduce pain and swelling. They also recorded another chimpanzee with a parasitic infection consuming the bark of a cat-thorn tree (Scutia myrtina). The team also tested the plant extracts of tree and herb species in the reserve, which they suspected were being

Taizhou Zoo in Jiangsu Province tried to pass dogs as pandas, sparking outrage by visitors

The animal centre will be built on a 5,260 sq m of land, and will have a capacity of 140 dog kennels and 40 cat kennels, and 24 horse stables distributed in four zones

The on-demand convenience platform's Swiggy Pawlice feature empowers pet parents to report a missing pet directly on the Swiggy app

.

Royal diet for elephants at the Radhe Krishna Temple Elephant Welfare Trust (RKTEWT). They get to eat Khichdi, roti, pallets, etc. Vantara shared their daily diet chart here

African cheetah 'Gamini' has given birth to six cubs at the Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh's Sheopur district, and not five as reported previously, Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav said on Monday. On March 10, Yadav shared the information that the five-year-old South African cheetah gave birth to five cubs at the Kuno National Park (KNP). In a post on his official X account on Monday morning, Yadav said, "Gamini's legacy leaps forward! There is no end to joy: It is not five, but six cubs! A week after the news of five cubs born to Gamini, it is now confirmed that Gamini, the South African cheetah mother, has given birth to six cubs, a record of sorts for a first-time mother." The minister also shared the visuals of cheetah Gamini's six cubs. With this, the cheetah count at the KNP has increased to 27, including 14 cubs. In March last year, cheetah Jwala (Namibian name Siyaya) had given birth to four cubs but only one managed to survive. Jwala gave birth to her seco

The central government has directed states to ban the sale and breeding of 23 breeds of ferocious dogs, including Pitbull Terrier, American Bulldog, Rottweiler and Mastiffs, amid rising instances of people dying due to pet dog attacks. The directive issued to states and Union Territories bars people from keeping as many as 23 breeds of dogs as pets. In a letter dated March 12 to chief secretaries of all states and UTs, the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying also said that these breeds of dogs, which have already been kept as pets, should be sterilised to prevent further breeding. Flagging serious recent issues of death of human beings due to dog bites by some ferocious breeds of dogs kept as pets, the department said it has received representations from citizens, citizen forums and Animal Welfare Organisations (AWOs) to ban some of the breeds of dogs from keeping them as pets and other purposes. The Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying had set up an expert committee

The Union Minister said that the total number of Indian-born Cheetah cubs has gone up to 13