The Mayor of Denver has vetoed a vote to repeal the city's long-standing pit bull ban. Mayor Michael Hancock said on Friday in a letter to City Council that after hearing from thousands of residents on the issue and carefully considering the matter, he could not "in good conscience support this legislation." The Denver City Council on Monday voted to amend a code that banned pit bulls entirely from the Colorado capital. The amendment passed 7-4. The ban has been in place for some 30 years. Hancock said he spoke to experts in veterinary care and animal control to get a better understanding of what the change could have meant for the city. "At the end of the day, I must ask whether passage of this ordinance would make our homes and neighborhoods safer or pose an increased risk to public safety? I have concluded that it would pose an increased risk," his letter read. To read more on this story, click here:Pit Bull Ban in Denver Remains After Mayor Vetoes Vote to Repeal
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BEIJING (AP) — China cracked down on the sale of exotic species after an outbreak of a new virus in 2002 was linked to markets selling live animals. The germ turned out to be a coronavirus that caused SARS. The ban was later lifted, and the animals reappeared. Now another coronavirus is spreading through China, so far killing 1,380 people and sickening more than 64,000 — eight times the number sickened by SARS. The suspected origin? The same type of market. With more than 60 million people under lockdown in more than a dozen Chinese cities, the new outbreak is prompting calls to permanently ban the sale of wildlife, which many say is being fueled by a limited group of wealthy people who consider the animals delicacies. The spreading illness also serves as a grim reminder that how animals are handled anywhere can endanger people everywhere. To read more on this story, click here:Virus Renews Safety Concerns About Slaughtering Wild Animals
It is one of Canada’s stealthiest predators, so spotting a single lynx is rare enough for travelers in the country’s hinterland. But a driver in the western province of Manitoba recently managed to capture on video an entire family of the wild cats as they crossed the road. Shaun Kirchmann was travelling along Highway 6 from Grand Rapids to Winnipeg, when a silhouette close to the tree line caught his eye. The Manitoba Hydro employee pulled over to the side of the road, hopeful the shape he had spotted would move closer into view. Moose and deer are common sights along much of the country’s highway systems, and wolves and coyotes can occasionally be seen too. But Kirchmann was shocked as a mother lynx and her five kittens emerged from the trees, cautiously padding through the snow towards the highway. “It was one, two, three … I just kept seeing heads poke out of the bushes and I was just stunned. I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, that’s a family of lynx.’ But I’d never heard of this many lynx being together,” Kirchmann told CBC News. The wild cats, known for their distinctive black-tipped ears, spend much of their life hidden in thick forest, and are rarely seen in groups, making Kirchmann’s sighting all the more special. Manitoba Hydro shared Kirchmann’s video on Facebook, racking up more than 5,600 views. “Caution: cat crossing. Our employee Shaun Kirchmann filmed this lynx litter on the highway to Grand Rapids after he saw a bunch of little heads peeking from the trees,” said the company. Canadian lynx, which are larger than bobcats, have a large range throughout the country. Their diet consists mainly of snowshoe hare, which has white fur in the winter and brown during the spring and summer. Population numbers remain healthy for the lynx in Canada, but it is considered a threatened species much of the United States, the result of excessive trapping and timber harvest.
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LAKELAND, Fla. (AP) — A Florida city shut down a section of a lake Thursday after receiving reports of swarming snakes. Turns out, the slithery creatures were just celebrating Valentine's Day a little early. The Lakeland Parks & Recreation department wrote on its Facebook page that a group of non-venomous water snakes congregated to mate near a traffic roundabout. It included one photo of the lake shoreline, and a closeup shot of a brown snake nestled in leaves. To read more on this story, click here:Mating Snakes Prompt Closure of Part of Florida Park
WHAT HUMAN FOOD CAN CATS EAT, AND WHAT NOT TO FEED CATS Thinking about giving your kitty some of the extras off your plate? Make sure you know what foods are okay for your cat, and which aren’t. With help from CityLeash & Pet360, we’ve compiled this list of foods that are and aren’t okay to feed your cat. Remember, each cat is different and may need different food or diet requirements, so you should contact your veterinarian before changing their diet. WHAT CAN CATS EAT? PROTEINS THAT ARE SAFE FOR CATS Cats are obligate carnivores, which means that they need meat to live. Meat is a great source of protein for your cat. However, too much fat can give your cat a stomachache, so make sure to trim off any excess fatty portions beforehand and to cook all meat thoroughly before you feed it to your cat*. To read more on this story, click here:Human Food For Cats: A Basic Guide
Some basic skills of an office employee include the ability to organize office supplies, answer phones, and work a computer – office kittens Debit and Credit have all of those skills – almost. ‘Hired’ by the finance/IT department of a transportation company in Ohio, the rescue kittens were employed not for their natural ability to play with boxes but to boost office morale. The adorable brother and sister have managed not only to delight their office but the entire internet. Introduced on Reddit by one of their fellow employees, the sweet kitties were caught on camera hiding under and wrestling with an empty box lid. Understandably people wanted to see more of their hijinx. Debit and Credit now have their own Instagram account with 6.2k followers. To read more on this story, click here:Company Adopts 2 Office Kittens, Debit And Credit, To Boost Employee Morale, Succeeds Perfectly (21 Pics)
“Never Declaw a Cat. It’s an Amputation, Not a Manicure.” (TMU) — Classic rock icon Ozzy Osbourne is featured in a new PETA advertisement urging people to not declaw their cats and suggesting that the procedure is like a partial amputation. In the advertisement, Ozzy is depicted with his fingers cut off along with a tagline that reads, “Never Declaw a Cat. It’s an Amputation, Not a Manicure.” To read more on this story, click here:Ozzy Osbourne Appears in New Ad to Discourage Cat Declawing
Dogs are a life-long commitment, plain and simple. Currently, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are launching an investigation following an incident where their defensive tackle, Rakeem Nunez-Roches’ dog was picked up on the side of a busy Florida road. Nunez-Roches, who had been known to breed Pit Bull breed dogs, was alleged to have abandoned the Cane Corso. The poor dog was discovered sitting alone on the road for 36 hours – exhausted and starving. Several people attempted to coax the scared dog into their vehicles but ultimately were unsuccessful. Marianna Montague, a volunteer with Cane Corso Rescue, was finally managed to get the dog and bring her to the Hillsborough County Animal Services, where she was scanned for a chip. That is when they found out that she belonged to Nunez-Roches.
