 |
| View previous topic :: View next topic |
| Author |
Message |
monops Great Old One Joined: 07 Nov 2006 Total posts: 149 Location: Cambridge, UK Age: 51 Gender: Female |
 Posted: 25-02-2013 09:36 Post subject: |
 |
|
|
| An "angular roughshark" sounds like something a carpenter would use. As in, "Kevin! Put that mug of coffee down and pass me the angular roughshark. Somebody's made a right bodge of this corner." |
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
| ramonmercado Psycho Punk
Joined: 19 Aug 2003 Total posts: 17938 Location: Dublin Gender: Male |
| Posted: 25-02-2013 14:15 Post subject: |
|
|
|
| Something IDS would have as a pet. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
| ramonmercado Psycho Punk
Joined: 19 Aug 2003 Total posts: 17938 Location: Dublin Gender: Male |
| Posted: 11-03-2013 01:19 Post subject: |
|
|
|
| Quote: | China fishes 900 dead pigs out of Shanghai river
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-21732457
The pigs have washed ashore along the river
An inquiry has been launched in China after more than 900 dead pigs were found floating in a river near the eastern city of Shanghai.
No evidence has been found that the animals in the Huangpu river were dumped there or died of any animal epidemic, officials say.
But measures are being taken to monitor the quality of the water.
The authorities are trying to establish where the animals came from, after they appeared in the river on Friday.
Shanghai residents use the river as source of drinking water, the China Daily news website reports. |
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
| ramonmercado Psycho Punk
Joined: 19 Aug 2003 Total posts: 17938 Location: Dublin Gender: Male |
| Posted: 11-03-2013 15:15 Post subject: |
|
|
|
Up to 2,000 pigs now. Still don't know whats going on. Seems like a good idea to blame farmers though.
| Quote: | China fishes over 2,000 dead pigs from Shanghai river
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-21732457
The BBC's Martin Patience: “Local reports suggest that the animals were dumped by farms lying upstream”
Workers in China are continuing to collect dead pigs from a river near Shanghai, with more than 2,000 carcasses reportedly recovered so far.
Officials say they have to act quickly to remove the pigs, as the Huangpu River is a major source of drinking water for the city.
They are investigating the cause of the deaths and suspect the pigs were dumped by farms upriver.
Bloggers have criticised what some see as a slow government response.
Workers aboard boats are using long-handled rakes to pull out the bloated carcasses, which started appearing in the river on Thursday, according to reports.
The pigs have washed ashore along the river
"We have to act quickly to remove them all for fear of causing water pollution," Xu Rong, an environmental official, told state-run Global Times newspaper.
He added that the cause of the pigs' deaths may be determined in a few days.
It is still not clear why the animals were dumped in the river in the first place or who was behind it, says the BBC's Martin Patience in Beijing.
It is suspected that the pigs may have come from farms in neighbouring Zhejiang province, local reports say.
Officials say water supplies have not been affected so far and they are closely testing samples from the river, but the public remain wary.
"Is this water still drinkable after dead pigs were found floating in it?" 60-year-old Liu Wanqing was quoted by state-run China Daily newspaper as saying.
"The government has a responsibility to conduct a thorough investigation and provide safe water to residents."
The incident has also generated much discussion online.
"Well, since there supposedly is no problem in drinking this water, please forward this message, if you agree, to ask Shanghai's party secretary, mayor and water authority leaders if they will be the first ones to drink this meat soup?" lawyer Gan Yuanchun said on his microblog.
Another blogger by the name of Ting Tao was quoted by Reuters news agency as saying: "Related government departments should seriously investigate this and get to the bottom of it... The government should really pay attention to people's lives."
|
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
| Monstrosa Joined: 07 Feb 2007 Total posts: 506 |
| Posted: 12-03-2013 08:57 Post subject: |
|
|
|
| Swine Fever, either Classical or African? |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
| ramonmercado Psycho Punk
Joined: 19 Aug 2003 Total posts: 17938 Location: Dublin Gender: Male |
| Posted: 13-03-2013 13:35 Post subject: |
|
|
|
Don't want to boar you but the toll keeps rising.
| Quote: | China pulls nearly 6,000 dead pigs from Shanghai river
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-21766377
John Sudworth reports from Shanghai on the rising number of dead pigs
Officials say the number of pig carcasses found in Shanghai's Huangpu River has risen to nearly 6,000.
In a statement, Shanghai authorities said that 5,916 dead pigs had been removed from the river by Tuesday.
But they said water from the river was safe, with water quality meeting government-set standards.
It is believed that the pigs may have come from Jiaxing in the neighbouring Zhejiang province, although the cause of their deaths is still not clear.
In a statement, the Shanghai municipal government said that the water in Huangpu River, which is a major source of drinking water for Shanghai, was safe. It also said that no diseased pork had been detected in markets.
However, the news has been met with scepticism by some users on weibo, China's Twitter equivalent, where the hashtag "Huangpu River dead pigs" has emerged.
"Cadres and officials, we are willing to provide for you, but please don't let us die from poisoning. Otherwise who will serve you? Please think twice," said netizen Shi Liqin.
"This river's colour is about the same as excrement, even if there weren't dead pigs you couldn't drink it," said another, with the username Yuzhou Duelist.
The general mood is of concern, rather than outrage or panic, reports the BBC's John Sudworth in Shanghai, as the Chinese public are well used to food scandals, such as the use of oil scraped from sewers for cooking, and plasticiser found in baby formula.
'Timely data'
The government statement said that the number of pigs being salvaged from the river appeared to be decreasing.
Laboratory tests have identified that some of the pigs had porcine circovirus, a common disease that affects pigs but does not affect humans.
Reports suggest the dead pigs may have been dumped from pig farms in Jiaxing, upstream of Shanghai.
The scandal comes amid growing concerns about China's environment
"We don't exclude the possibility that the dead pigs found in Shanghai were from Jiaxing. But we are not absolutely sure," Jiaxing local government spokesman Wang Dengfeng told a news conference.
Whilst tags on the pigs' ears indicated that they were from Jiaxing, this only showed the pigs' place of birth.
"It is unclear where the dead pigs were raised," he said.
Jiaxing officials have also said that the pigs may have been killed by cold weather.
In an opinion piece, the state-run Global Times said that the pig scandal comes amid growing concerns about China's environment, including recent record smog levels in Beijing, and water and air pollution affecting villages.
"The country's citizens, including both ordinary people and officials, should bear in mind the necessity of protecting the environment," it said.
It called on officials to publish "timely data regarding the quality of drinking water to reassure the public". |
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
rynner2 What a Cad!
Great Old One Joined: 13 Dec 2008 Total posts: 21369 Location: Under the moon Gender: Male |
| Posted: 18-03-2013 08:14 Post subject: |
|
|
|
Ten lambs killed at Cockington Country Park in Torbay
Ten lambs have been killed in three months in a country park in Torbay, managers said.
Dogs are believed to be responsible for the deaths at Cockington Country Park and visitors have been asked to keep a lookout for any animals not under control.
Other lambs have been moved away from a field where the attacks took place.
Managers said visitors should keep to paths and ensure dogs were under strict control and on a lead near livestock.
The area is popular with walkers and dogs, and park managers said they would continue to encourage them.
Justin Cox, of the Torbay Coast and Countryside Trust, which manages the park, said dogs were thought to be responsible, as opposed to foxes, because foxes usually dragged the carcasses away for food.
"It may have been a stray dog," he said. "We don't know.
"Whatever it is has not taken the bodies. They've been found mauled, with puncture wounds and not dragged away, making us think it is a dog.
"All we do know is that we are suffering these fatalities, which, from an animal welfare point of view, is completely unacceptable; and from a farming point of view, we want to stop."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-21821996 |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
| MercuryCrest The Severed Head Of A
Great Old One Joined: 24 Mar 2003 Total posts: 753 Location: Floating down the Ganges Age: 33 Gender: Male |
| Posted: 18-03-2013 08:25 Post subject: |
|
|
|
I had no idea this thread was here.
I was keeping a file with all of the strange mass-deaths of animals in it, but honestly, I just stopped because it became such a regular thing.... |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
| ramonmercado Psycho Punk
Joined: 19 Aug 2003 Total posts: 17938 Location: Dublin Gender: Male |
| Posted: 21-03-2013 14:59 Post subject: |
|
|
|
| Quote: | Wave of prawn deaths baffles Chile city of Coronel
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-21872210
Authorities are still collecting evidence to find an explanation for the red tide
Thousands of dead prawns have washed up on a beach in Chile, sparking an investigation.
Hundreds of dead crabs were also washed ashore in Coronel city, about 530km (330 miles) from the capital, Santiago.
Fishermen suggested the deaths may have been caused by local power stations that use seawater as a cooling agent. The power firms have not commented.
Experts are looking into water temperature and oxygen levels and other details to explain the deaths.
"We're investigating the Coronel Bay to establish the physical parameters of temperature, electric conductivity and, above all, the oxygen," said local environment official Victor Casanova.
Hundreds of dead crabs were washed ashore on the weekend
Local fishermen blamed nearby power generation plants Bocamina 1 and 2 and Colbun.
"I'm 69 years old and started fishing when I was nine, but as a fisherman, I never saw a disaster of this magnitude,'' Gregorio Ortega told local Radio Bio Bio.
While some blame pollution, others say the death of the crustaceans could be a consequence of the El Nino phenomenon, which warms the waters of the Pacific.
Marisol Ortega, a spokeswoman for the fishermen, said she feared the deaths would affect the livelihood of their community.
"The way everything is being destroyed here, come the high season in November, we're already thinking we won't have anything to take from the sea," she said. |
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
| ramonmercado Psycho Punk
Joined: 19 Aug 2003 Total posts: 17938 Location: Dublin Gender: Male |
| Posted: 25-03-2013 15:38 Post subject: |
|
|
|
Now the ducks are turning up.
| Quote: | China pulls 1,000 dead ducks from Sichuan river
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-21921145
The news comes amid concerns over the 16,000 dead pigs found in Shanghai's Huangpu river
en pulled from a river in southwest China, local officials say.
Residents found the dead ducks in Nanhe river in Pengshan county, Sichuan province, and alerted the environmental department, they said.
Local residents and livestock were not at risk as the river was not used for drinking water, officials added.
The news comes as the toll of dead pigs pulled from Shanghai's Huangpu river passed 16,000.
Speaking in an interview with China National Radio on Sunday, Liang Weidong, a deputy director in Pengshan's publicity department, said that the authorities were first made aware of the ducks on Tuesday.
Officials discovered over 50 woven bags which contained the carcasses of around 1,000 ducks in the river.
They were unable to determine the cause of death as some of the ducks were already decomposed, Mr Liang said, adding that the bodies had been disinfected and buried.
An initial investigation suggested that the duck corpses had originated from upstream and were not dumped by local Pengshan farmers, he said.
'Thick soup'
The news has prompted concern and criticism from some users on weibo, China's version of Twitter, with many expressing incredulity at the government's assurance that the water is safe.
"Dead pigs, dead ducks... this soup is getting thicker and thicker," wrote one person with the username Baby Lucky.
"The dead pigs haven't even disappeared yet, and now the dead ducks emerge - does this society enjoy being competitive?" wrote netizen sugarandsweet.
"The dead ducks in Pengshan river present us with a very practical problem, and show how society's bottom line is getting lower and lower," weibo user If So said.
The news came as Shanghai's municipal government confirmed that over 16,000 pigs corpses had been pulled from Huangpu river, which supplies drinking water to Shanghai.
The work of fishing out the dead pigs in the river was "basically finished", the government said in a statement released on Sunday.
Workers have been pulling dead pigs from Huangpu river for the past two weeks, sparking concern amongst residents and on China's microblogs. It is still not clear where the dead pigs came from. |
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
| Mythopoeika Boring petty conservative
Joined: 18 Sep 2001 Total posts: 9109 Location: Not far from Bedford Gender: Unknown |
| Posted: 25-03-2013 16:04 Post subject: |
|
|
|
| Next up: dead donkeys! |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
| ramonmercado Psycho Punk
Joined: 19 Aug 2003 Total posts: 17938 Location: Dublin Gender: Male |
| Posted: 18-04-2013 12:27 Post subject: |
|
|
|
| Quote: | China pig and dog deaths prompt probe into factories
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-22195960
Dead pigs were also found in China's Huangpu river last month
A Chinese village has closed nearby chemical plants after hundreds of pigs and dogs died mysteriously, sparking fears among local residents.
A total of 410 pigs and 122 dogs were found dead in Dongtun village in Yanshi city, Henan province, officials said.
The deaths were not caused by an epidemic or the new H7N9 bird flu strain, and nearby chemical factories were being investigated, they added.
More than 16,000 dead pigs were pulled from Shanghai's main river last month.
"Dead animals were found in nearly half of the village. The animals just suddenly died without any warning," a local resident, who only identified herself as Ms Kou, told China's Global Times.
Police are investigating the incident, which many local residents blame on fumes from a nearby chemical plant, Chinese media reported.
Local villagers said that there had been an "extremely strong odour" on Monday morning, state-run news agency Xinhua said.
Public health concerns have been high in China in recent months.
Last month, more than 16,000 dead pigs were pulled from Huangpu river, which supplies Shanghai with drinking water, and around 1,000 dead ducks were found in a river in Sichuan.
A new strain of bird flu has also raised concerns. The H7N9 virus has infected a total of 83 people, killing 17, state media said on Thursday. |
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
| marionXXX Un-Gnoing Joined: 03 Nov 2001 Total posts: 2922 Location: Keighley, W Yorks Age: 48 Gender: Female |
| Posted: 18-04-2013 20:22 Post subject: |
|
|
|
| Mythopoeika wrote: | | Next up: dead donkeys! |
http://www.pe.com/local-news/riverside-county/moreno-valley/moreno-valley-headlines-index/20130405-moreno-valley-fate-of-baby-donkeys-a-mystery.ece
| Quote: | Newborn foals are disappearing from the wild burro herds that roam the rocky hills above ranches and rural homes near Moreno Valley.
Residents in the area have noticed the occasional disappearance of foals over the years, but in the past few months as many as five have vanished from one band in the Pigeon Pass area. Some people familiar with the burro families are trying to solve the mystery of what’s happening to the little ones.
Amber-LeVonne Koko, 38, who runs a Moreno Valley burro rescue operation called DonkeyLand, said several young foals, only days old, have vanished suddenly. Koko and some other residents said they suspect that people are taking the young animals.
“Some of the residents have said they believe somebody is doing it for a business,” Koko said. If that is the case, she said, she’s unsure whether the animals might be sold as pets or for food.
Animal experts say it’s more likely that large predators are responsible of the disappearing burros.
John Welsh, spokesman for Riverside County animal control, said the county’s field services commander is pretty sure that nature is the culprit.
“She summed it up as predation,” Welsh said, “either a mountain lion or a pack of coyotes. A momma will protect her baby but not if a mountain lion comes through.”
Koko said she hopes that is the case.
“If it is, it’s part of the wildlife,” she said, “we accept that.” |
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
| Pietro_Mercurios Heuristically Challenged
Gender: Unknown |
| Posted: 18-04-2013 20:36 Post subject: |
|
|
|
Closer to home. More sticky dead birds round the coast of Devon and Cornwall.
| Quote: | http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/apr/17/seabirds-second-wave-sticky-pollution-number
Seabirds affected by second wave of sticky pollution 'could number thousands'
Wildlife agencies warn that the numbers of birds affected could be far greater than those harmed earlier this year
guardian.co.uk, Jessica Aldred. 17 April 2013
The numbers of seabirds affected by a sticky substance in the sea off south-west England over the past week could be far greater than those harmed by a similar – or possibly the same – spill earlier this year.
Wildlife agencies in Devon and Cornwall said numbers of birds killed or rendered helpless could reach "thousands" and that "a whole generation of seabirds" may have been wiped out in a single pollution incident.
Dead and distressed birds have been washing up along beaches in Devon and Cornwall since the middle of last week, covered in a sticky substance that has been confirmed as polyisobutylene, also known as PIB or polyisobutene, an oil additive often used to improve the performance of lubricating oil and in products ranging from adhesives to sealants and chewing gum. Affected species include razorbill, puffin and gannets, but predominantly guillemots.
The Cornwall Wildlife Trust (CWT) said that more than 400 seabirds have already washed ashore on Cornish beaches, from Whitsand Bay to Falmouth. Abby Crosby, marine conservation officer for the trust, which also coordinates the Marine Stranding Network, said: "Over a 24-hour period yesterday, the public reported 130 birds in one stretch small of the south-east coast, plus 140 on just one other beach itself. That's 270 birds in 24 hours in one tiny stretch of coast between Portwrinkle and Seaton. It's tragic, it's horrific."
Richard White, senior marine officer for the Devon Wildlife Trust, said the trust was still trying to get a full picture of the numbers and was asking volunteers to count the dead birds they found.
"The numbers we do know about are quite concerning. We had reports of 50 dead birds along one relatively short stretch of beach near Wembury but we could be looking at thousands along the whole south Devon and Cornwall coast. This seems bigger to us than the January-February spill in terms of birds coming ashore – there are very few live birds coming ashore now." |
Pollution.  |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
| ramonmercado Psycho Punk
Joined: 19 Aug 2003 Total posts: 17938 Location: Dublin Gender: Male |
| Posted: 12-05-2013 01:19 Post subject: |
|
|
|
| Quote: | 32 swans found dead at County Donegal lake
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-22472677
The carcasses of 32 swans have been found at a lake in County Donegal in the Republic of Ireland.
They were discovered by conservation rangers at New Lake in Dunfanaghy over the weekend.
The cause of the swans' deaths is not yet known but tests are under way to determine why so many were found dead at one location.
The Republic's state broadcaster, RTE, said it understood that some of the swans had been dead for some time.
It added that one swan was recovered alive from the lake and was brought to a vet but had to be put down.
A spokesman for the Irish Department of Agriculture said samples of the carcasses were sent to its veterinary testing facility in County Sligo earlier this week but the results of the tests would not be known for about 10 days.
He said the authorities had not ruled anything in or out in respect of possible causes of death. |
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
|
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
|
Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group
|
FAQ
Search
Memberlist
Usergroups
Profile
Log in to check your private messages
