UN experts urge US to stop tribe evicting members

By AFP

PUBLISHED: 3 February 2022 |

Nooksack territory extends around Mount Baker in Washingon state

UN human rights experts on Thursday urged the United States to step in and prevent a Native American tribe from evicting dozens of members from its tribal land.

The special rapporteurs want the US government to prevent the Nooksack Tribal Council from forcing 63 people, who identify as members of the community, from houses on land in northwest Washington state.

The case illustrates the complex relationship between the United States and the hundreds of indigenous tribal nations within its borders.

"We are... concerned that the forced evictions will deny them the possibility of enjoying their own culture and of using their own language in community with others," said a statement signed by Balakrishnan Rajagopal and Francisco Cali Tzay.

The pair said the families´ homes were constructed by the tribe on land owned by the US Government, using federal funds.

"Many are elderly, women and children -- some with disabilities and chronic diseases -- and have lived in their homes for over a decade.

"The imminent evictions will significantly impact the health of some of the vulnerable during the Covid-19 pandemic."

The Seattle Times reported that the Nooksack government has been trying to expel around 300 of its 2,000 members for several years.

The paper said tribal council chairman Ross Cline Sr. has previously said the "Nooksack 306" were erroneously registered as members of the tribe in the 1980s, but cannot prove their lineage.

The evictions are therefore simply a matter of the tribe simply enforcing its rules, he has said.

Gabriel Galanda, a lawyer for the 21 families threatened with eviction, told AFP the disenrollment and subsequent eviction attempts are misguided.

"They claim that an ancestor did not appear on the 1942 federal census document and therefore, they do not belong to this tribe," he said.

"Whereas all historical, genealogical, anthropological, and indigenous history and information says otherwise."

Galanda said tribal courts have ruled the disenrollment is illegitimate, but the tribal council has disregarded the rulings.

"They have now shut down that tribal court so that my clients... cannot go there to get any relief. That's why we went to the United Nations."

Galanda said he hoped President Joe Biden's federal government would bring pressure to bear on the tribe, even if it cannot technically overrule the tribal government.

"They can sue the tribe to compel it... They can withhold federal monies, much like the United Nations might withhold economic support... So they have legal and diplomatic means to stop the evictions."

The relationship between the United States and the tribal nations that live within its borders is complicated, and fraught by history.

Generally they are recognized as "dependent domestic nations," and have their own police and judicial systems that have jurisdiction over members of the tribe on tribal lands.

Activists hit out at government for allowing new oilfield weeks after Cop26 climate summit

One campaign group leader said she sees "little to no benefit for UK energy customers or taxpayers", and that "the only winners are the oil firm behind the project”.

 by Andra Maciuca
2022-02-02 13:57


Climate campaigners have hit out at the government for allowing a new oilfield in the North Sea only weeks after the Cop26 international climate summit in Glasgow.

The government’s Oil and Gas Authority silently agreed to allow the Abigail oil and gas field off the east coast of Scotland last month, according to The Guardian.

The measure comes after climate experts warned at the UN climate conference in November that allowing fossil fuel projects to go ahead or expand would go against the world’s climate goals.

‘No benefit for UK’

The field, which will be developed by Israeli-owned Ithaca Energy, is said by climate campaigners to not help the UK much with its energy needs, but leaving a carbon footprint.

Tessa Khan, director R Uplift, a fossil-free campaign group, said the field would “see little to no benefit for UK energy customers or taxpayers, which only worsens the climate crisis, and where the only winners are the oil firm behind the project”.

She added minister should replace “very expensive, highly polluting energy” with a “serious response” fuelled by renewable energy, in response to unaffordable energy bills and the climate crisis.

“The government needs to stop rolling over for the oil and gas industry, stop dishing out licences, and get on with making sure people have access to affordable, renewable energy,” Khan added

An OGA spokesperson said: “The OGA will continuously hold the operator to account on emissions reductions as part of our stewardship.”

Another oil field sparks backlash – Cambo

The Tories have also faced criticism for not putting enough pressure on a huge new oil project at Cambo in the North Sea to ensure it respects new climate legislation.

The Cambo field work was paused last year by Siccar Point Energy, after its partner, Shell, gave up on the project after backlash from climate campaigners.

Towards the end of last year, Tory cabinet minister Alok Sharma, who organised Cop26, warned the conference risks becoming “just a bunch of meaningless promises” if the whole government does not come together to tackle the environmental crisis.

In an interview with The Guardian, he said: “Given that people do see that the UK has shown a great deal of international leadership when it comes to climate, it’s important we maintain that focus across the whole of the UK government.

“When it comes to domestic policy, it’s vital that every country – including the UK – focuses on delivery.

“What people will judge us on, as they will also judge other governments on, is delivery [on climate goals].

Sharma also praised the corporate sector for “understanding green growth is the future” and seeing net zero as a “big opportunity”.

The Cop26 president also praised Boris Johnson’s climate agenda, which he said the prime minister has been holding for a long period.

Morocco rescuers race to rescue boy trapped in well

Efforts have intensified to rescue a 5-year-old boy who has been stuck in a deep well for almost three days. The case has gripped Northern Africa, sparking a wave of sympathy online.

Moroccan authorities and firefighters have been digging for days in an effort

 to rescue the child after a video revealed he was still alive

A frantic rescue operation is underway in northern Morocco to save a 5-year-old boy who has been trapped in a deep well for nearly three days.

The boy, named Rayan, fell down a narrow 32-meter (100-foot) deep well in the village of Ighran in the country's Chefchaouen province on Tuesday.

"The child's rescue is approaching," government spokesperson Mustapha Baitas told the media on Thursday.

"Our hearts are with the family, and we are praying that he will back with them as soon as possible."

What is the latest?

With diggers burrowing under floodlights, rescue workers scrambled to reach the boy for a third night.

Rescuers said they had dug down some 24 meters, but around 6 meters remained still in order to reach the boy.

Relief workers managed to provide an oxygen tube and water to the child using pipes, Morocco's official MAP news agency reported.

"I pray and beg God that he comes out of that well alive and safe," his mother Wassima Kharchich told local television network 2M.

"Please God, ease my pain and his, in that hole of dust.''

The boy's father told news website Le360 that he was repairing the well when Rayan fell into it.

People gather as Moroccan civil defense members conduct the rescue operation

The diameter of the well is less than 45 centimeters (17.7 inches), lead rescuer Abdelhabi Temrani told Al Oula television.

Baitas said that major excavations were the only solution as the nature of the soil made attempts to widen the hole too dangerous.

Thousands took to social media to express their solidarity for the boy and his family, with the Arabic hashtag #SaveRayan trending for hours in Morocco and Northern Africa.

dvv/rs (AFP, AP)

Moroccans waited anxiously Friday as rescuers with heavy diggers closed in on Rayan, a five-year-old boy trapped in a deep well for three nights. The drama, now in its fourth day, has gripped residents of the North African kingdom and even drawn sympathy in neighbouring Algeria, a regional rival with strained political ties to Morocco.

Toxic ash from DR Congo volcano falling on Goma

Author: AFP|

Update: 04.02.2022 

Thirty-two people died from burns or asphyxiation when Nyiragongo roared back into life last May 

/ © AFP/File

More than eight months after the Nyiragongo volcano erupted in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, toxic ash has started falling on nearby Goma, the city's Volcano Observatory said on Friday.

Thirty-two people died from burns or asphyxiation when Nyiragongo roared back into life on May 22-23, 2021, sending torrents of lava into the outskirts of Goma, capital of North Kivu province. Two more people died in accidents as residents fled en masse and hundreds of homes were destroyed.

The OVG observatory said the volcano was spewing out ash and dust because what was left of its central crater after the eruption was now collapsing.

There had been a magnitude two earthquake in the crater just beforehand, it added.

Given how toxic the ash was, the OVG urged locals to observe strict hygiene precautions -- to wear masks, avoid drinking rainwater, wash vegetables in tap water, eat in covered areas and keep food plates indoors.

The observatory said the main volcanic activity was concentrated in Mount Nyiragongo's central crater and "not all" its flanks were erupting.

Four months after the devastating May 2021 explosion, which forced an estimated 400,000 of Goma's 600,000 residents to flee, a lava lake appeared in the central crater.

Scientists said this would enable the 3,500-metre (11,500-foot) strato-volcano -- which straddles the East African Rift tectonic divide -- to "breathe".

HARD ERECT NIPPLES
American Samoa Olympian goes topless at freezing Beijing opening


Issued on: 04/02/2022

American Samoa's flag bearer Nathan Crumpton braves the cold during the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics 

Manan VATSYAYANA AFP

Beijing (AFP) – American Samoa flag-bearer Nathan Crumpton added to a fledgling Olympic tradition by appearing shirtless and with his torso gleaming at the Beijing Winter Games opening ceremony on Friday despite sub-zero temperatures.
ADVERTISING


The 36-year-old skeleton racer took his turn in the athletes' parade as the sole competitor from the US territory, wearing only the skirt-like traditional lavalava and sandals.

Crumpton follows in the footsteps of oiled-up Tongan Olympian Pita Taufatofua, who started the chilly trend.

Despite the mercury falling well below freezing at the "Bird's Nest" stadium in Beijing, Crumpton appeared unfazed. He was flanked by cheering volunteers decked in thick puffer jackets and gloves.

Taufatofua's first bare-chested appearance at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio won him global Internet fans with Tongan media calling him "the hottest man today in a town that's known for its appreciation of the body beautiful".

Taufatofua, who had done taekwondo in Rio, repeated his feat at the 2018 Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, after he qualified as a cross-country skier.

His toned torso was challenged at the Tokyo Games opening ceremony last year by a rival topless parader from Vanuatu, Riilio Rii.

Taufatofua is sitting out the Winter Games in Beijing but he gave Crumpton his support from afar on Friday, tweeting a photo of the athlete at the Beijing ceremony with the caption: "American Samoa holding the fort."

© 2022 AFP

GREAT NEWS

Iceland to end whaling as demand dwindles


Demand for Icelandic whale meat has decreased since Japan -- Iceland's main market, returned to commercial whaling 

(AFP/Olivier MORIN) 

Jeremie RICHARD
Fri, February 4, 2022,

Iceland, one of the only countries that still hunts whales commercially, said Friday it plans to end the practice from 2024 as demand for whale meat dwindles.

For the past three years, Iceland's whalers have barely taken their boats out into the North Atlantic despite the country's large quotas.

Demand for Icelandic whale meat has decreased dramatically since Japan -- Iceland's main market, especially for fin whale meat -- returned to commercial whaling in 2019 after a three-decade hiatus.

The extension of a no-fishing coastal zone, requiring whalers to go even further offshore, also made Iceland's hunt more costly.

"There are few justifications to authorise the whale hunt beyond 2024", Fisheries Minister Svandis Svavarsdottir, a member of the Left Green party, wrote in Morgunbladid newspaper.

"There is little proof that there is any economic advantage to this activity," she said.

Iceland, Norway and Japan are the only countries that authorise the commercial whale hunt, despite criticism from animal rights activists and environmentalists, concerns about toxins in the meat and a shrinking market.

Iceland's annual quotas for 2019 to 2023 allow for the hunting of 209 fin whales -- the planet's second-largest species after the blue whale and considered endangered -- and 217 minke whales, one of the smallest species.

- Pandemic slowdown -

But for the past three years, Iceland's two main licence holders have suspended their whale hunts, and one of them, IP-Utgerd, hung up its harpoons for good in 2020.

Only one whale has been killed in the past three years -- a Minke whale in 2021.

Other issues have also made whaling more challenging.

Safety requirements for imported meat are more stringent than for local products, rendering Icelandic exports more difficult.

Social distancing restrictions imposed to combat the coronavirus pandemic also meant Icelandic whale meat processing plants were unable to carry out their tasks.

In Iceland's last full season in 2018, 146 fin whales and six Minke whales were killed.

Iceland resumed commercial whaling in 2003 despite a 1986 IWC moratorium, which both it and Norway opposed.

In neighbouring Norway, whalers have had similar experiences to Iceland in recent years, struggling to fill their quotas.

The number of boats taking part in the hunt continues to shrink as well.

In 2021, 575 whales were harpooned in Norway, less than half the authorised quota, by the 14 boats still operating.

In Iceland, rather than ending up as steaks on a plate, whales have in recent years become the stars of a flourishing ecotourism scene.

More than 360,000 whale watchers flocked to the waters of the North Atlantic off Iceland to admire the majestic creatures in 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic paralysed the tourism sector.

str-map/po/jv

Fishing industry dumping their nets and destroying marine ecosystems

By Dorset Eye
-21st January 2022

Powerful evidence suggests that fishing fleets are deliberately dumping their used nets and lines at sea, threatening the complete collapse of marine ecosystems.

How could they be so careless? How do fishing vessels lose so many of their nets and longlines that this “ghost gear”, drifting through the oceans, now presents a mortal threat to whales, dolphins, turtles and much of the rest of the life of the sea? After all, fishing gear is expensive. It is either firmly attached to the vessel or, using modern technologies, easily located.

I’ve asked myself these questions for a while, and I think I now have an answer. It comes from an unlikely source: a trawlerman working in Scotland. I’m not a fan of trawling, but I recognise that some operations are more damaging than others. He and his colleagues now appear to be pulling in more nets than fish. On trip after trip they catch vast hauls of ghost gillnets and longlines, often wrapped around marine animals. He has sent me his photos, which are so disturbing I can scarcely bear to look: drowned seabirds, decapitated seals andfish and crustaceans of many species, which died a long, slow death. Where are these nets and lines coming from? He believes they’re being deliberately discarded.

I have checked his identity, but he wants to remain anonymous. Like other local trawlers, his boat brings its waste to land. The problem, he says, lies with large vessels, many from France and Spain, that spend four to six weeks at a time at sea. They don’t have enough storage space for the rubbish they generate: most of the hold is dedicated to frozen fish. Worn-out gillnets and longlines should be returned to port for disposal. But those he retrieves have a revealing characteristic: the expensive parts, those that can be reused – floats, weights and hooks – have been cut off. This, he believes, is a giveaway: if you find a net or line like that, it has been deliberately thrown overboard.

He and his colleagues, he says, often watch French and Spanish boats landing plenty of fish in Scottish ports when “no rubbish is taken ashore by these vessels”. He estimates that a typical crew of 20 on a month-long fishing voyage would generate roughly 20 cubic metres of waste, aside from the fishing gear. Where is it? There might be a clue in some of the other rubbish his boat trawls up: bin bags full of French and Spanish food wrappers. As for the gear, he tells me that he sees boats come into port and “miles and miles of new gillnetting is put onboard – but none is taken ashore for discard”.



The nets these boats use are enormous: every large vessel deploys between 50 and 70 miles of them. But gillnets tend to wear out quickly. The fisherman tells me, “the vessel I work on takes ashore approximately one cubic metre of discarded gillnets every four to five days on average.” That’s a lot of net.

Gillnets have been banned from many waters because of their very high rates of bycatch, and their mysterious tendency to go missing. In Scotland, they are prohibited within six miles of the coast. But these boats work farther from the shore. Beyond 12 miles, my contact says, it’s “basically bandit territory for any vessel not UK-registered, as UK law does not apply”. He alleges that, while local boats are closely regulated, there is practically no monitoring of foreign, offshore vessels.

Competition between national fishing fleets is an explosive issue, further charged by Brexit. At first I was wary of these claims, as I know how bitter the rivalry has become. But the photographic evidence speaks for itself, and his testimony is compelling. Moreover, it’s clear that there is a new mood among many of the local boats, which are now desperate to save their fisheries. Most of them are involved in the Fishing for Litter scheme, landing the discarded gear and other rubbish they catch. But this is likely to be a small fraction of the equipment being dumped. Unless active gillnetting and ghost fishing by discarded nets are stopped, my contact believes, the entire marine ecosystem is likely to collapse.

He and other fishers “have written to the authorities until we are blue in the face”, but he says he has been repeatedly stonewalled. It’s a sign of desperation that he has come to me, a longstanding critic of his industry.

When I approached the Scottish government, it told me: “We take protection of the marine environment seriously and are clear that any form of dumping and other illegal activities is completely unacceptable … We would encourage anyone with intelligence relating to suspicious activities by vessels to report this to us on our website.”

But, as the Scottish government’s own report points out, “no data or studies” have been produced showing where the discarded gear is coming from. This is despite the fact that, in the north Highlands, commercial fishing gear accounts for 90% of the ocean plastic picked up by beach cleaners, and that entanglement in static fishing equipment is a major cause of death for minke and humpback whales in Scotland. There’s a reliable principle of public administration: if a government takes a genuine interest in an issue, it commissions researchers to study it. No data tends to mean no interest.

There are similar issues all over the world. Gillnetting and the ghost fishing it causes have reduced the population of vaquita – the world’s smallest member of the whale and dolphin family, which lives in Mexico’s Sea of Cortez – to fewer than 20. Last week a young humpback whale was spotted in Antarctic waters, its dorsal fin severed, with nets cutting through the skin around its tail. As global seafood consumption has doubled in 50 years, the issue has become ever more urgent.

Yet most governments propose to do nothing except “encourage” fishers and gear manufacturers to behave responsibly, without sanctions or incentives. No vessel should be allowed to leave port unless it has enough space to store all its rubbish. Mandatory deposit return schemes would ensure that fishers returned used gear to the manufacturers at the end of its life. All nets should be traceable to the boats that use them. While some equipment is bound to be lost accidentally, it’s not hard to spot patterns of deliberate disposal.

But, like the fictional US president in the movie Don’t Look Up, the world’s governments, faced with ecological collapse, have again decided to “sit tight and assess”.

www.monbiot.com

UK

Senior Tories gave Jimmy Savile full access to his victims as Johnson steps back from Starmer accusations

By 

 Dorset Eye 3rd February 2022

Boris Johnson has stepped back from his use of a discredited claim against Sir Keir Starmer that he failed to prosecute Jimmy Savile when he was director of public prosecutions (DPP).

After days of criticism over the remark, including from a number of his own Conservative MPs, the prime minister said he wanted to “clarify” the point he was attempting to make.
“I want to be very clear about this because a lot of people have got very hot under the collar, and I understand why,” Mr Johnson said.
“Let’s be absolutely clear, I’m talking not about the Leader of the Opposition‘s personal record when he was DPP and I totally understand that he had nothing to do personally with those decisions.
“I was making a point about his responsibility for the organisation as a whole.
“I really do want to clarify that because it is important.”

‘Ridiculous slur’

Facing Mr Johnson at PMQs on Wednesday, Sir Keir challenged the PM over his remarks, which were made in the Commons on Monday as he faced MPs in the wake of the release of a partial version of Sue Gray’s partygate report.

The Labour leader accused him of using the “conspiracy theories of violent fascists” to score political points, having described it as a “ridiculous slur peddled by right-wing trolls” during an interview with Sky News on Tuesday.
Mr Johnson replied: “On his first point, I don’t want to make heavy weather of this but I am told that in 2013, he apologised and took full responsibility for what had happened on his watch.
“I think that was the right thing to do.”

Former BBC television and radio presenter Savile, who died in 2011, is believed to be one of Britain’s most prolific sex offenders.

He was never brought to justice for his crimes.
A 2016 report into his abuse found staff at the corporation missed numerous chances to stop him.

Fact check

In 2020, fact-checking charity Full Fact looked into the claim Sir Keir had stopped Savile being charged in 2009, when Sir Keir was head of the CPS.

It said the decision not to prosecute Savile was made on the grounds of “insufficient evidence”, with the allegations against the DJ dealt with by local police and a reviewing lawyer for the CPS.
“A later investigation criticised the actions of both the CPS and the police in their handling of the situation,” Full Fact found.
“It did not suggest that Mr Starmer was personally involved in the decisions made.”

‘We’re better than this’, Tory MP says

Mr Johnson’s spokesman had previously said he “stands by” the comments – and in the aftermath of PMQs asserted that Sir Keir’s apology was a “matter of public record”.

Victims of Savile have urged the PM to withdraw the claim, while some Conservative MPs also criticised Mr Johnson for his comments.

Simon Hoare, chairman of the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee, said the “false allegation” should be withdrawn.

Tobias Ellwood, who told Sky News he will be submitting a letter of no confidence in Mr Johnson, questioned why the PM made such a remark.
“We’re better than this, we must seek to improve our standards and rise above where we are today,” he told Kay Burley on Wednesday.

However, it was obviously a tactic by Johnson that could disastrously backfire on the Tory party. Evidence clearly exists that the pathways to Savile’s victims were opened up over and over by senior Tories.

The video below discusses Starmer’s responsibility and then blows the lid on how the Conservative party is complicit in Savile’s heinous crimes.

For anyone who is a victim of sexual… abuse please find a list of places for support, help and advice.

https://www.nspcc.org.uk/what-is-child-abuse/types-of-abuse/child-sexual-abuse/

https://rapecrisis.org.uk/

https://www.samaritans.org/

https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/sexual-health/help-after-rape-and-sexual-assault/

https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/guides-to-support-and-services/abuse/

PENNY PINCHERS

Scottish government to cut bottom off classroom doors to fight Covid

Measure could improve ventilation in schools at low cost

Jon Stone
Policy Correspondent
THE INDEPENDENT

First minister Nicola Sturgeon visits a school to see Covid preparations
(Getty)

The Scottish government plans to fight Covid by cutting the bottom off classroom doors in schools, as a means of improving ventilation.

Education secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said an estimated 2,000 doors classrooms could benefit from being “undercut to increase air flow”.

The proposal is part of a £4.3m package to make schools safe for Covid-19.

As scientists’ understanding of how Covid transmits has improved, policymakers have increasingly focused on improving ventilation in indoor spaces.

Across the UK businesses have been told to conduct ventilation audits to make sure their indoor spaces have adequate airflow – key to reducing transmission.

Bottom of classroom doors may be chopped off to improve ventilation – minister

In a letter to the Scottish parliament’s education committee, Ms Somerville said the undercutting measure would cost an estimated £200,000.

The measure is a relatively inexpensive part of the retrofitting programmes – with £1.6m set to be spent on air filters and £2.4m for mechanical fans.

“Based on informal local authority feedback, we expect that relatively only a very small number of learning, teaching or play spaces will have persistently high CO2 levels,” she said.

“Scottish government guidance, based on the current weight of expert advice, is that the primary focus of mitigating activity should be on regular CO2 monitoring and associated remedial actions to improve ventilation (ie the introduction of fresh air into spaces).

“Where this cannot be readily achieved, and CO2 readings remain high, air cleaning/filtration devices may exceptionally be used as a temporary mitigation to reduce risks in problematic spaces while more sustainable, ventilation-based solutions are implemented.

“The informal local authority feedback indicated that around 2-4 per cent of spaces have so far fallen into that problematic category, equalling around 2,000 spaces out of 50,000 learning, teaching and play spaces across all local authority school and ELC settings.”

The UK government's building regulations on ventilation have long stipulated a minimum undercut in new houses in order to “ensure good transfer of air throughout the dwelling”.


But the Scottish Tories seized on the unusual nature of the policy and branded the measure “crackpot”, with Meghan Gallacher, the party's shadow children's minister, asking: “Is sawing off the bottom of classroom doors seriously Scottish government policy to tackle the ventilation problem in classrooms?”

UK

Mystery dog illness could be caused by a coronavirus, experts claim

THEY HAVE NO CLUE

Dogs across the UK have been suffering from a mystery illness. / PA

By John Dunne@jhdunne

A mystery dog illness which triggered a warning for pet owners to stop walking their pets on beaches may have been caused by a coronavirus, experts have found.

Hundreds of dogs fell ill following walks on UK beaches with Yorkshire being the worst hit area.

At least one dog has died of the mystery illness that has been plaguing the pets.

Now researchers from the University of Liverpool have suggested the outbreak of acute gastrointestinal (GI) disease could have been caused by a type of coronavirus, despite the name it is not linked to Covid-19.

They believe the illness could be associated with a coronavirus variant known as a canine enteric coronavirus (CECoV) but the variant is not linked to the Cov-Sars-2 which causes Covid-19.

The University of Liverpool’s Small Animal Veterinary Surveillance Network (SAVSNET) drew their conclusion an “outbreak” could have happened in January after studying the illnesses in dogs.

The report said: “Analysis of real-time data collected by SAVSNET from veterinary practices suggests that in Yorkshire, levels of disease have been statistically higher than we would expect for three weeks – we can therefore call this an outbreak in Yorkshire.”

Professor Alan Radford, academic lead for SAVSNET, said: “Analysis of real-time data collected by SAVSNET from veterinary practices suggests that in Yorkshire, levels of disease have been statistically higher than we would expect for three weeks – we can therefore call this an outbreak in Yorkshire.

“In other regions, the increases we have seen so far look more like normal seasonal variation. However, such signals can change quickly, and we will continue to monitor the situation.”

A Great Dane died from a suspected lung infection after a day trip to Hayling Island beach near Portsmouth, Hampshire.

Initially vets had believed polluted sea water could have been behind the severe vomiting and diarrhoea illness being reported in dogs.