Strays feel the bite as pandemic spreads  

AFP / ANGELOS TZORTZINISThe global lockdowns against the coronavirus are tantamount to a death sentence of stray cats and dogs

As coronavirus forces billions of people around the world into lockdown, another sizeable population has also been hard hit -- stray animals.

While pet owners in many countries are still allowed to walk their dogs, thousands of other animals -- the exact numbers are unknown -- are starving and turning feral.

The mass closure of restaurants has also deprived hungry animals of leftover meals, forcing them to take greater risks.

For many, the restrictions are tantamount to a death sentence.

"We are seeing an increase in the numbers of cats in areas where we feed, some appear to have been abandoned, while others have roamed far from their usual spots in search of food," says Cordelia Madden-Kanellopoulou, a co-founder of Nine Lives Greece, a network of volunteers dedicated to reducing the overpopulation of stray cats in Athens and other cities.

According to the municipality, the stray dog population in Athens is put at hundreds while the cats run into the thousands.

"It is a huge worry to us that strays could be exposed to more cruelty and poisoning, being more visible and hungrier now, and thus more likely to trust and approach people," said Madden-Kanellopoulou.

Greek officials over the weekend said an online platform had been created for food donations and veterinary services for strays and pets whose owners are unable to care for them.

"During the lockdown, we make sure that all dogs have enough food so that they don't become aggressive. This week we will also start installing feeders in different areas of the city making sure that dogs and cats are fed regularly," said Serafina Avramidou, city of Athens councillor for animal welfare.

Avramidou said she has also already signed more than 350 permits for volunteers to visit feeding areas without getting fined.

In neighbouring Turkey, authorities in Istanbul distribute around a tonne of food for street cats and dogs every day.

- 'We'll care for your friends' -

"We were taking care of strays even before the coronavirus," Tayfun Koc, an Istanbul municipal feeding worker, told AFP.

"I say this to all our citizens, stay at home, we will take care of our little friends," he said.

AFP / ANGELOS TZORTZINISEuropean authorities are realising that allowances must be made for populations of stray animals

Authorities elsewhere in Europe are gradually realising that allowances must be made for stray populations.

After Spain went into a nationwide lockdown on March 14, Madrid officials closed down 125-hectare Retiro park in the city centre where around 270 cats live in 19 different colonies.

For days, volunteers were not able to enter. City hall authorities eventually allowed them to give food to park gardeners to distribute.

A single volunteer may also enter the park three times a week, for an hour at a time, to check on the health of the cats.

Mercedes Hervas, the president of the Association of Friends of the Cats of Retiro, says this was not enough time to check on them all and look after those in need of medical care.

On March 30, a park employee found dead a female cat that the group had been treating with antibiotics. Hervas predicted other cats would also die.

"You have to go from colony to colony and wait for the cat to come out. Maybe Olympic athletes can do it in one hour, we can't," she says.

Elsewhere in the Balkans, provision is more ad hoc.

In Serbia, where there is no state-organised effort to feed and shelter stray animals, people in several cities and towns have organised help locally.

A similar effort is under way in North Macedonia where NGOs are calling on people to leave food on the street for the estimated 10,000 stray dogs in Skopje.

In Croatia, about 40 animal shelters which had to close their doors for visitors are imploring citizens not to abandon their pets.

In Albania, locked-down citizens say it is impossible to secure permission to walk a dog, let alone feed strays, so people go out in secret.

- 'Death sentence' -

"These measures taken for humans are effectively a death sentence for dogs and cats," says Indrit Osmani who heads the Animal Rescue Albania volunteer group.

AFP / ANGELOS TZORTZINISPets are not entirely safe even at home

In Bulgaria, veterinary clinics ran an information campaign after pets were increasingly found on the street because their owners thought they may transmit the virus.

There was a similar campaign in Beirut, where Lebanese animal rights groups have reported an increase in abandoned pets.

The group, Beirut for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, last week said it had received "countless" calls concerning poisonings across the country, mainly around the capital.

Last month, it said that the number of abandoned pets had "at least tripled in recent weeks because of the panic" caused by the virus.

But in a time of heightened health concerns, pets are not entirely safe even at home.

French veterinarians last week warned owners against attempting to disinfect their dogs and cats with detergent or alcohol gel.

The move came after images online showed dogs whose legs had been burned by disinfectants.

"Soapy water or a dog shampoo works very well", said Christine Debove, regional adviser of the Order of veterinarians for Ile-de-France.

Not only are dogs and cats unable to digest alcohol properly, but these products can also cause respiratory irritation and skin reactions, Debove said.

burs-jph/bsp/spm/je

STRAYS

Turkey proposes bill aimed at managing large stray dog population. Critics say it’s inhumane


A stray dogs rests at Kadikoy sea promenade in Istanbul, Turkey, Thursday, July 4, 2024. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling party on Friday July 12, 2024, submitted to parliament a controversial bill aimed at managing the country’s large stray dog population. Critics are concerned that the proposed legislation will result in dogs being confined to cramped shelters and potentially lead to the killing of many of the animals. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)


Pro animal rights activists shout slogans during a protest in Istanbul, Turkey, Friday, May 24, 2024. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling party on Friday July 12, 2024, submitted to parliament a controversial bill aimed at managing the country’s large stray dog population. Critics are concerned that the proposed legislation will result in dogs being confined to cramped shelters and potentially lead to the killing of many of the animals. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
Updated 10:25 AM MDT, July 12, 2024

Updated , July 12, 2024

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling party submitted to parliament Friday a controversial bill aimed at managing the country’s large stray dog population. Critics are concerned that the proposed legislation will results in dogs being confined to cramped shelters and potentially lead to the killing of many of the animals.

The bill is pitting animal rights activists against those calling for measures to make the streets safe from the feral dogs.

Erdogan has said that an estimated four million strays are roaming Turkey’s streets and countryside.

The legislation is a watered-down version of an initial proposal, which reportedly called for the strays to be rounded up, housed in shelters and euthanized if they are not adopted within 30 days. That proposal, which was not submitted to parliament, had ignited a public uproar, with animal rights activists arguing it would result in the mass extermination of unadopted dogs.

Abdullah Guler, a senior legislator from the ruling party, told reporters that under the revised proposal, stray dogs would be removed from the streets and placed into shelters where they would be neutered and spayed.

The dogs that are at risk of rabies, exhibit aggressive behavior and have no possibility of being rehabilitated would be euthanized, Guler said.

Municipalities would be required to enhance and improve conditions in existing shelters while people would be encouraged to adopt the dogs, the legislator added.

Erdogan’s ruling party and its nationalist and Islamist allies hold a majority in parliament and the bill is likely to pass when it reaches the floor. No date has been set.

A report released by the Safe Streets and Defense of the Right to Life Association, an organization campaigning for the removal of all stray dogs from the streets, says that 65 people have died in street dog attacks since 2022.

The government promised to tackle the issue earlier this year after a child was severely injured after being attacked by dogs in the capital Ankara.

Despite existing legislation that requires stray dogs to be caught, neutered and spayed, and returned to the spot where they were found, a failure to implement those regulations over the past years has caused the feral dog population to explode, animal rights groups say.

They argue that proper implementation of these regulations would be sufficient to control the population.

Britain has recently issued a stray dog warning for travelers to Turkey, stating that they often form packs and can be aggressive. It has advised visitors to be cautious and avoid approaching them.

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STRAY

Turkish police scuffle with protesters rallying against bill targeting stray dogs
Reuters
Fri, July 26, 2024 


Turkish police scuffle with protesters rallying against bill targeting stray dogs
Animal rights activists take part in a rally in Istanbul

ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkish police scuffled with protesters in the capital Ankara on Friday during a demonstration against plans to round up millions of stray dogs.

The plan, presented to parliament by President Tayyip Erdogan's ruling AK Party earlier this month, has alarmed animal lovers who say a mass neutering campaign would be a better solution than locking dogs up in shelters.

Police pushed back the protesters as they tried to gather in the city centre, leading to scuffles.

The demonstrators held banners reading, "You cannot round them up, you cannot jail them, you cannot kill them" and "Take back the law".

"People here are those taking care of many animals. What is this grudge? Do you want the dogs and cats on the street to be killed?" one protester said through a megaphone.

Under the draft law, municipalities would be charged with moving strays off the streets and into shelters until they are adopted. Aggressive dogs or any with untreatable diseases would be put down.

The population of street dogs in Turkey is estimated to be 4 million, and 2.5 million dogs have been neutered in the past 20 years by municipalities, according to the draft bill.

There are currently 322 animal shelters with a capacity to host a total of 105,000 dogs, the bill says.

(Reporting by Ece Toksabay; Editing by Gareth Jones)


Thousands protest in Istanbul against bill they fear will lead to mass cull of stray dogs

Euronews
Sat, July 27, 2024 

Thousands protest in Istanbul against bill they fear will lead to mass cull of stray dogs

Thousands of people have gathered in Istanbul to protest against proposed legislation that critics fear will lead to the mass killing of stray dogs across Türkiye.

The draft bill aims to regulate the country's millions of stray dogs and make streets safer but animal rights advocates are concerned many animals would be put down or end up in neglected, overcrowded shelters.

Demonstrations against the bill, which was proposed in mid-July, have been an almost-daily occurrence for the past several weeks as the proposed legislation makes its way through the judicial system.

A parliamentary committee approved the draft earlier this week, and the full assembly is scheduled to have a final vote in the coming days with deliberations starting on Sunday.

The government estimates that around four million stray dogs roam Türkiye's streets and rural areas.

Although many are harmless, numerous people, including children, have been attacked in Istanbul and elsewhere.

Protest in Istanbul against bill critics say could lead to mass culling of stray dogs, July 27, 2024 - Screenshot from AP video 4508835

The proposed legislation mandates that municipalities collect stray dogs and house them in shelters where they would be neutered and spayed.

Dogs that are in pain, terminally ill, pose a health risk to humans or are aggressive would be put down.

Municipalities would be required to build dog shelters or improve conditions in existing ones by 2028.

The legislation is a watered-down version of an initial proposal, which reportedly called for the strays to be rounded up, housed in shelters and euthanised if they are not adopted within 30 days. That proposal, which was not submitted to parliament, sparked a public uproar, with animal rights activists arguing it would result in the mass extermination of unadopted dogs.

But animal rights activists worry that some municipalities might kill dogs on the pretext that they are ill, rather than allocate resources to shelter them.

The government denies the bill would lead to a widespread culling and the country's justice minister said anyone killing strays "for no reason" would be punished.
Why does Türkiye need to control its stray dog population?

A report released by the Safe Streets and Defense of the Right to Life Association, an organisation campaigning for the removal of all stray dogs from the streets, says that 65 people have died in street dog attacks since 2022.

The government promised to tackle the issue earlier this year after a child was severely injured after being attacked by dogs in the capital Ankara.

A woman feeds a stray dog in the Kadikoy neighbourhood in Istanbul, July 6, 2024 - Francisco Seco/Copyright 2024 The AP. All rights reserved

Despite existing legislation that requires stray dogs be caught, neutered and spayed, and returned to the spot where they were found, a failure to implement those regulations over the past years has caused the feral dog population to explode, animal rights groups say.

They argue that proper implementation of these regulations would be sufficient to control the population.

Britain has recently issued a stray dog warning for travellers to Türkiye, stating that they often form packs and can be aggressive. It has advised visitors to be cautious and avoid approaching them.

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UK

LICENSE OWNERS NOT DOGS
Ban on XL bully dogs ‘will leave abandoned strays roaming the streets’

ITS THE OWNER NOT THE BREED

Joe Pinkstone
Sat, 4 November 2023

Don't Ban Me - License Me spokeswoman Sophie Coulthard with her XL bully Billy - Paul Grover

The ban on XL bully dogs could lead to a large number of them being abandoned on the streets as strays, charities have warned.

It will be illegal to sell, breed or abandon an XL bully type dog from Jan 1 2024 and it will be an offence to own one from Dec 31 unless the animal is registered to the Index of Exempted Dogs.

In the latest incident on Friday, two people were taken to hospital with serious injuries after an attack by a suspected XL bully.


One woman reportedly fell out of the window of the flat where the attack happened on Friday night in Mansfield, said Nottinghamshire Police.

The large dog, believed to be an XL bully, was seized from a nearby property and taken to secure kennels.

Campaigners against the ban on American XL bully dogs have launched a legal challenge to the Government asking for the planned ban to be scrapped in favour of tightening laws around breeding and owning dogs, and educating owners.

Campaigners from Don’t Ban Me – License Me, largely made up of XL bully owners, have raised more than £50,000 towards a Judicial Review and plan to ask the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) to rethink its plans to ban the breed.

John Cooper KC, the campaigners’ barrister, sent a Pre-Action Protocol in Judicial Review to Therese Coffey, the Environment Secretary, last Thursday, Nov 2.
Knee-jerk reaction

He said “It was a knee-jerk reaction done too quickly without proper consideration of the evidence – much of the evidence hasn’t been examined at all, and some of it is wrong.

“The public must be protected, but the Government’s decision does not protect them. The Dangerous Dogs Act of l99l didn’t stop dog bites or fatalities – in fact there are more fatalities and bites now than then.

“The way forward isn’t to add XL bullies to the banned list, but for owners to have proper control over their animals, and for there to be severe penalties for dog owners who don’t take their responsibilities seriously.

“Vets being asked to euthanise any XL bully dogs who don’t have an exemption certificate by the end of January 2024 say they can’t administer it. This ban is an ill thought-out mess.”

The ban has been called a “death sentence” and some charities, such as Dogs Trust, have already said they will not take in any more XL bully dogs because they have a policy of never putting down a healthy dog..

Animal charities told the Telegraph that any dogs in their care in 2024 will most likely have to be euthanised because it would be unethical to keep them in a kennel for the rest of their lives, which is the only other option, and many shelters are already full.

As a result, there are fears owners forced to relinquish their dogs will abandon them on the streets because it is the best chance the animal has at survival.

An owner can have the dog euthanised by a vet and get £200 compensation from the Government, or the dog can be given to a charity for rehoming until the end of the year. A charity will get £100 compensation from the Government for euthanising an XL bully.
Unscrupulous owners

The more unscrupulous owners may also opt for at-home destruction of animals too, to avoid veterinary costs, now the business of breeding and selling XL Bullys is outlawed.

Dr Sam Gaines, head of the companion animals team at the RSPCA, told the Telegraph: “It is now our fear that, as a result of this ban, we will see more dogs being abandoned and surrendered.

“In most cases, we expect that owners who are not going to be able to keep their dogs will do the responsible thing and not just abandon them on the street, but I think we have to expect that there will be some dogs that will be abandoned.

“We are going to end up with lots of authorities that are going to have to go out and collect those dogs and then euthanise them.”

Coventry council has reportedly seen a small rise in the number of stray XL bully dogs already this year. It is the statutory duty of the local authority to collect stray dogs where they are kept in a council pound for a week and their owners sought. In normal cases the stray will enter the rehoming process after seven days but if the dog meets the XL bully definition then it will be destroyed as of 2024.

However, some councils have already said they will not collect a stray dog if it is suspected it is an XL bully. Colchester and Cumberland councils have said the dog is too dangerous for their staff to collect and are in talks with their local police forces to help collect suspected stray XL bullys, for example.

‌This will add an additional burden on the dog units of local police forces which will be tasked with assessing if every XL bully in the country meets the definition laid out by Defra this week.

‌The definition of what an XL bully is includes descriptors of head size, height, muscularity and other physical features but was made without the input of the leading UK dog experts who withdrew from talks with the Government because of concerns it was too vague and broad a description.

‌The Government’s definition could also cover non-XL bully breeds, the experts say, with other bulldogs, mastiffs and some mongrels likely to inadvertently meet the XL bully criteria.

‌“Defra has been told that one of the big unintended consequences of having a broad definition is that potentially hundreds of thousands of dogs are going to be caught up in this,” Becky Thwaites, head of public affairs at Blue Cross, told the Telegraph.
Increased levels of euthanasia

‌Since the ban was formally announced on Tuesday, shelters have seen a surge in inquiries, with owners of an XL bully trying to figure out the best course of action.

‌“We’ve already been taking an increased number of calls from owners who are really worried about what this announcement means for them,” said Ms Thwaites.

‌“There’s going to be thousands of dogs who are going to be coming into organisations like ourselves, and it’s going to be a real challenge to rehome them. Ultimately, these pets are going to have to be put to sleep based purely on a law that we know actually isn’t even going to improve public safety.

‌“We are planning for increased levels of euthanasia over the next three months.”

‌She added that staff in the rescue sector are distraught at the prospect of spending months killing thousands of XL Bully dogs.

‌“I think we’ve got to be very realistic that the likelihood of being able to rehome some of these dogs is going to be very, very difficult,” Ms Thwaites said.

‌“The only thing we can do [with surrendered XL Bullys] is to keep it in a kennel for the rest of its life and that is not something from a welfare point of view that we could ever do.

‌“We aren’t able to provide the stimulation that a dog would need. It is a death sentence for dogs, that much we know.”

Meet the thriving stray dogs of Chernobyl

Sarah Knapton

Mar 04 2023

The nuclear ghost town of Pripyat, 2 kilometres from the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, in a video marking the town's 50th anniversary in 2021.

Living amid the fallout of the world’s worst nuclear disaster may not seem like a sensible lifestyle choice, but the dogs of Chernobyl may have evolved to make it work, a study suggested.

Scientists have found that strays living in the exclusion zone of the Ukrainian disaster have developed distinct DNA and behaviour from other canines.

Since the nuclear catastrophe took place in April 1986, the area surrounding the nuclear power plant has largely been abandoned by humans.

But although radioactive contamination devastated wildlife populations there, some animals survived and continued to breed – including feral dogs, some of whom may have descended from domestic pets.

The team found that the strays had formed into packs, like wild dogs and wolves, but the groups were living close together, a behaviour not seen in undomesticated animals.

The dogs have been monitored by the Chernobyl Dog Research Initiative since 2017, and a new study of blood samples taken by the project team has shown that the animals were genetically different from other canines.

Now the team are planning to study the new genetic traits to see if any of the mutations is helping them to survive in the radiation zone.

Discovering how mammals evolve to live in harsh radiation environments could bring important insights into how to predict cancer in humans, or protect astronauts in the deadly radioactive environment of space.

SEAN GALLUP/GETTY IMAGES
Some animals, including dogs, survived and continued to breed long after Chernobyl was sealed off to humans.

Dr Elaine Ostrander, a geneticist from the National Human Genome Research Institute, part of the US National Institutes of Health (Nih), said: “We don’t yet know what, if any, genetic differences might allow dogs to survive in one versus another environment.

“Looking for changes in the DNA that have helped one versus the other population survive is the long-term goal of the study and one we are working towards now.

“We think that is an important experiment because those changes, if identified, would be helpful for understanding early events in cancer, help guide using therapies for diseases that are motivated by radiation exposure, and would suggest ways in which we can better protect ourselves from both accidental and natural radiation exposure.

“For instance, we know that space is a high radiation environment, and information from this study could help scientists design ideal protection for those spending significant time in space, as space exploration continues to expand.”

DIMITAR DILKOFF/GETTY IMAGES
Scientists hope that the genetic discovery could offer insights in preventing cancer in humans.

The Chernobyl disaster began on April 26 1986 with the explosion of reactor number four at the nuclear power plant causing an updraft of radioactivity which spread across Europe.

Two people died immediately and 29 within the coming days of acute radiation syndrome, while the United Nations estimated some 4000 more died from the fallout.

Many women also aborted their babies for fear they would be affected by radiation poisoning.


Some 300,000 people were evacuated from their homes and, in the aftermath, a 1600-square kilometre exclusion zone was set up around the site.

DIMITAR DILKOFF/GETTY IMAGES
The stray dogs have been monitored by the Chernobyl Dog Research Initiative since 1997.

However, in recent years, researchers have found that closing off the land to humans has allowed wildlife to flourish, with the area now a haven for lynx, bison, brown bear, wolves, boar and deer as well as 60 rare plant species.

The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone currently represents the third-largest nature reserve in mainland Europe and is often considered an accidental experiment in rewilding.

Previous studies showed that exposure to radiation speeds up the genetic mutation rate among plants, with some species evolving new chemistry that makes them more resistant to radiation damage and protects their DNA.

Scientists have pointed out that in the past when early plants were evolving, levels of natural radiation on Earth were far higher than now, so species may be able to switch on dormant traits to survive.

However, it was unknown whether the same protective adaptations would be seen in larger animals.

The new study was based on 302 free-roaming dogs living in the exclusion zone, which were found to have different genetic make-ups depending on how much radiation they were exposed to.

The Nih team is now planning to study the genetic changes to find out whether they are helping the dogs to survive.

The research was published in the journal Science Advances

READ MORE:

* 'Our tourism is unique': The Chernobyl disaster, 35 years on

* Ukraine wants Chernobyl to be a tourist site. But there's a warning

* What it's like to stay at the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone

* Nearly 30 years after the Chernobyl nuclear accident, nature is fighting back

The Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster Created Genetically Mutant Dogs


Maddie Bender
Fri, March 3, 2023

Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/Pixabay

Roughly 350,000 people evacuated during the 1986 disaster at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in 1986, leaving their lives and belongings behind to flee the worst nuclear disaster in history. Facets of residents’ lives left behind but often unmentioned are their pets, which evacuees were forbidden to retrieve. Despite the high levels of radiation in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, many of these animals survived, and their descendants can be found in and around the region today.

Prancer, one of these dogs, got her name from a dance she does whenever she greets Tim Mousseau’s research team. Mousseau, a biology researcher at the University of South Carolina, has studied the effects of radiation on living organisms in sites like Chernobyl and Fukushima for decades. Usually, however, his subjects are a lot smaller, potentially a result of the extremely harsh conditions created by nuclear radiation.

“These are dogs. You can't help but love them and develop relationships with them,” he told The Daily Beast. “We think about bringing them home with us every time we go.”

Dog Genes Hold More Secrets About Humans Than You Think

Even in conditions that drastically limit their lifespan—Mousseau said most of the Chernobyl canines only live to three—the dogs have found a way to thrive. Locals and an increasing number of dark tourists feed the dogs resulting in a surge in the canines’ population that have driven nonprofits and researchers to regularly provide veterinary care, and spay and neuter as many dogs as they can. Over the course of three years, Mousseau has collected hundreds of blood samples from the dogs as part of these efforts.

The dogs’ blood contained an incredibly rare opportunity: a glimpse into how life prevails even under unnaturally harsh conditions. When Mousseau came to National Human Genome Research Institute geneticist Elaine Ostrander to analyze nearly 300 of these blood samples, she wasn’t about to let the chance slip by.

“I said, ‘Me, me, me, me, me,’” she told The Daily Beast. “It's such an extraordinary opportunity, and it does have implications for human health and biology.”

The Mystery of Chernobyl’s Black Frogs

Mousseau and Ostrander’s team published genetic sequencing results from the Chernobyl dogs on March 3 in the journal Science Advances. According to the authors, the study represents “the first genetic analysis of domestic dogs affected by a nuclear disaster,” providing a baseline to measure the impact of prolonged radiation exposure on an animal’s genetic health.

The radiation in Chernobyl City and near the power plant breaks the pooches’ DNA strands. Their cells try to repair it, but errors often occur. DNA gets deleted, spontaneously added, or switched around willy-nilly. Understanding how the Chernobyl dogs are able to survive in spite of this constant assault could inform a field like cancer treatment, since incorrectly repaired DNA is often found in cancer cells, Ostrander said.

“These dogs are surviving generation after generation, they’re fertile, they're carrying out all their bodily functions, and they even have behavioral relationships with people in the area—they're doing all the dog stuff they're supposed to be doing,” Ostrander said. “What's allowed them to overcome [the radiation]? From the viewpoint of someone at the National Institutes of Health, we really care about that.”

Russian Troops Left Mines and Fires Around Chernobyl in ‘Nightmare’ Scenario

During visits to the Exclusion Zone, Mousseau and others have noticed dogs living both in Chernobyl City and in and around the nuclear power plant—the latter of which is striking, given the area’s high, ongoing levels of radioactive contamination. But it was not known how closely these two populations were related, and additionally, how genetically similar they were to dogs in a nearby village.

As it turned out, both were genetically distinct—from a nearby village dog population and from each other. The next step, which the researchers are already diving into, is to start to isolate the genetic regions that make the Chernobyl dogs different. It’s all speculation at the moment, but Mousseau and Ostrandar both have theories.

For his part, Mousseau has studied an assortment of flora and fauna in radiation zones and found that some species of birds have safety mechanisms in their genes that protect them from the worst effects of the radiation. Might the dogs living near the power plant have such molecular failsafes, too?

Roving Packs of Robot Dogs Are Coming to the Moon

Now that the researchers have a baseline for these dogs, they are able to isolate genetic differences that aren’t just due to the quirks of the populations. Any disparate finding could improve the dogs’ ability to survive in their environment. For instance, if the Chernobyl dogs have genes encoding shorter fur than others nearby, it might mean they don’t hold onto as much radioactive dust in their coats. Or, if they have more genes relating to processing scents, it might mean the dogs can smell without putting their noses to the radioactive soil.

“In terms of looking at the genome, this is one of the most exciting projects ever,” Ostrander said.

But Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has complicated the research efforts: The last time Mousseau visited the region, the Crimea Bridge was bombed. Currently, his team sends about 800 kilos of food to the dogs every week, and the nonprofit Clean Futures Fund supports on-the-ground care for the animals.

“We hope that this research will shine a light on the situation in Ukraine to a broader audience,” Mousseau said. “We should all be concerned about the care of animals, even if they're stuck in a place like Chernobyl, in a war zone.”

Can the dogs of Chernobyl teach us new tricks on survival?

Scientists are studying hundreds of dogs at the Chernobyl disaster site that have managed to survive in extremely harsh conditions

By LAURA UNGAR - 

AP Science Writer
Mar 3, 2023 

This photo taken by Timothy Mousseau shows dogs in the Chernobyl area of Ukraine on Oct. 3, 2022. More than 35 years after the world's worst nuclear accident, the dogs of Chernobyl roam among decaying, abandoned buildings in and around the closed plant – somehow still able to find food, breed and survive.


This photo provided by Timothy Mousseau in Feb. 2023 shows a dog in the Chernobyl area of Ukraine. More than 35 years after the world's worst nuclear accident, the dogs of Chernobyl roam among decaying, abandoned buildings in and around the closed plant – somehow still able to find food, breed and survive.

More than 35 years after the world's worst nuclear accident, the dogs of Chernobyl roam among decaying, abandoned buildings in and around the closed plant – somehow still able to find food, breed and survive.

Scientists hope that studying these dogs can teach humans new tricks about how to live in the harshest, most degraded environments, too.

They published the first of what they hope will be many genetics studies on Friday in the journal Science Advances, focusing on 302 free-roaming dogs living in an officially designated “exclusion zone” around the disaster site. They identified populations whose differing levels of radiation exposure may have made them genetically distinct from one another and other dogs worldwide.

“We've had this golden opportunity” to lay the groundwork for answering a crucial question: “How do you survive in a hostile environment like this for 15 generations?” said geneticist Elaine Ostrander of the National Human Genome Research Institute, one of the study’s many autho

Fellow author Tim Mousseau, professor of biological sciences at the University of South Carolina, said the dogs “provide an incredible tool to look at the impacts of this kind of a setting” on mammals overall.

Chernobyl’s environment is singularly brutal. On April 26, 1986, an explosion and fire at the Ukraine power plant caused radioactive fallout to spew into the atmosphere. Thirty workers were killed in the immediate aftermath while the long-term death toll from radiation poisoning is estimated to eventually number in the thousands.

Researchers say most of the dogs they are studying appear to be descendants of pets that residents were forced to leave behind when they evacuated the area.

Mousseau has been working in the Chernobyl region since the late 1990s and began collecting blood from the dogs around 2017. Some of the dogs live in the power plant, a dystopian, industrial setting. Others are about 9 miles (15 kilometers) or 28 miles (45 kilometers) away.

At first, Ostrander said, they thought the dogs might have intermingled so much over time that they’d be much the same. But through DNA, they could readily identify dogs living in areas of high, low and medium levels of radiation exposure.

“That was a huge milestone for us," said Ostrander. “And what’s surprising is we can even identify families” – about 15 different ones.

Now researchers can begin to look for alterations in the DNA.

“We can compare them and we can say: OK, what’s different, what’s changed, what’s mutated, what’s evolved, what helps you, what hurts you at the DNA level?” Ostrander said. This will involve separating non-consequential DNA changes from purposeful ones.

Scientists said the research could have wide applications, providing insights about how animals and humans can live now and in the future in regions of the world under “continuous environmental assault” – and in the high-radiation environment of space.

Dr. Kari Ekenstedt, a veterinarian who teaches at Purdue University and was not involved in the study, said it's a first step toward answering important questions about how constant exposure to higher levels of radiation affects large mammals. For example, she said, “Is it going to be changing their genomes at a rapid rate?”

Researchers have already started on the follow-up research, which will mean more time with the dogs at the site about 60 miles (100 kilometers) from Kyiv. Mousseau said he and his colleagues were there most recently last October and didn’t see any war-related activity. Mousseau said the team has grown close to some dogs, naming one Prancer because she excitedly prances around when she sees people.

“Even though they’re wild, they still very much enjoy human interaction," he said, “Especially when there’s food involved.” 

___

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ETHIOPIAN WAR OF AGRESSION
Ethiopia compares Tigray forces to ‘rat’ as war marks 1 year


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People sit on steps next to a sculpture in the shape of Amharic words reading "Addis Ababa" in the Piazza old town area of the capital Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Thursday, Nov. 4, 2021. Urgent new efforts to calm Ethiopia's escalating war are unfolding Thursday as a U.S. special envoy visits and the president of neighboring Kenya calls for an immediate cease-fire while the country marks a year of conflict. (AP Photo)

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Ethiopia’s government marked a year of war by lashing out Thursday in response to international alarm about hate speech, comparing the rival Tigray forces to “a rat that strays far from its hole” and saying the country is close to “burying the evil forces.”

The statement from the government communication service, posted on social media and confirmed by a government spokesman, came amid urgent new efforts to calm the escalating war as a U.S. special envoy arrived and the president of neighboring Kenya and others called for an immediate cease-fire.

The war that has killed thousands of people and displaced millions since November 2020 threatens to engulf Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa. Tigray forces seized key cities in recent days and linked up with another armed group, leading the government of Africa’s second-most populous country to declare a national state of emergency with sweeping detention powers.

The spokeswoman for Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, Billene Seyoum, did not say whether Abiy was meeting with U.S. special envoy Jeffrey Feltman, who this week insisted that “there are many, many ways to initiate discreet talks” toward peace.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said he spoke with Abiy “to offer my good offices to create the conditions for a dialogue so the fighting stops.” Uganda’s president called for a meeting of East African leaders, and the European Union warned of “fragmentation and widespread armed conflict.”

But so far, such efforts have failed. Last week a congressional aide told The Associated Press that “there have been talks of talks with officials, but when it gets to the Abiy level and the senior (Tigray forces) level, the demands are wide, and Abiy doesn’t want to talk.”

Instead, the prime minister has urged citizens to rise up and “bury” the Tigray forces who long dominated the national government before he came to power. On Wednesday, Facebook said it had removed a post by Abiy with that language, saying it violated policies against inciting violence. It was a rare action against a head of state or government.

The government statement on Thursday took aim not only at Facebook, accusing it of showing its “true colors,” but also at media, humanitarian groups and others allegedly “working hand in hand with the enemy in propagating its false narrative.” It warned it would take action over “destructive behavior.”

But Ethiopia’s government aimed its harshest language at the Tigray forces. “TPLF and its puppets are being encircled by our forces. As the saying goes, ‘a rat that strays far from its hole is nearer to death,’” the statement said, referring to the Tigray People’s Liberation Front.

The U.N. special adviser on the prevention of genocide, Alice Wairimu Nderitu, told an online event Thursday that dehumanizing speech in Ethiopia is “of extreme concern,” and she warned that the risk exists of the war spilling across borders and “becoming something completely unmanageable.” She warned that ethnic-based militias are “so dangerous in this context.”

Kenya increased security along its borders amid fears of a wave of Ethiopians fleeing as one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises spreads, while its foreign ministry said statements inciting ordinary citizens into the conflict “must be shunned.”

Tigray forces spokesman Getachew Reda claimed they had “joined hands” with another armed group, the Oromo Liberation Army, to seize the city of Kemisse, which is even closer to the capital.

“Joint operations will continue in the days and weeks ahead,” he tweeted.

A security source confirmed that the two armed groups had linked up to control Kemisse and said Tigray forces were pushing east as well as south toward the capital. The source spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to journalists.

All sides in the war have committed abuses, a joint U.N. human rights investigation said Wednesday, while millions of people in the government-blockaded Tigray region are no longer able to receive humanitarian aid. The U.N. says no aid has entered Tigray since Ethiopian military airstrikes resumed there on Oct. 18, and 80% of essential medication is no longer available.

The Tigray forces say they are pressuring the government to end the blockade, but the spreading insecurity as they push south through the neighboring Amhara region has hampered aid delivery to hundreds of thousands of hungry people.

A university staffer who fled the Amhara town of Woldiya before Tigray forces arrived weeks ago said friends who stayed were climbing nearby hillsides to call the outside world with reports of low food supplies and people drinking from rivers, while electricity is cut. There is no aid in the occupied areas, Alemayehu said, giving only his first name for his security.

“I wish the war ends before it moves to the capital, that’s my prayer to God,” he said, adding that he opposes the Tigray fighters.

With the government statements and the new state of emergency, ethnic Tigrayans in the capital told the AP they were hiding in their homes as authorities carried out house-to-house searches and stopped people on the streets to check identity cards, which everyone must now carry.

One lawyer, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation, estimated that thousands have been detained this week, citing conversations with “many people from the four corners of the city.” He said Tigrayan lawyers like him were powerless to help because of their ethnicity.

“Our only hope now is the (Tigray forces),” said one young woman, Rahel, whose husband was detained on Tuesday while going to work as a merchant but has not been charged. “They might not save us, to be honest. I’ve already given up on my life, but if our families can be saved, I think that’s enough.”

Another Tigrayan, Yared, said his brother, a businessman, was detained on Monday, and when he went to the police station, he saw dozens of other Tigrayans.

“It’s crazy, my friends in Addis, non-Tigrayans, are calling me and telling me not to leave the house,” Yared said.

“They go through your phone, and if you have some material about the Tigray war that would be suggesting supporting the war, they would just detain you,” he said. “The past four days have been the worst by far, the scope at which they’re detaining people, it’s just terrorizing. We don’t feel safe in our homes anymore.”

International calls for ceasefire in Ethiopia grow as rebels advance on capital

Issued on: 04/11/2021 

Text by :NEWS WIRES

African and Western nations called for an immediate ceasefire in Ethiopia on Thursday after Tigrayan forces from the country's north made advances towards the capital this week.

The U.S. special envoy for the Horn of Africa, Jeffrey Feltman, arrived in Addis Ababa to press for a halt to military operations and a start to ceasefire talks.

African Union Commission Chair Moussa Faki Mahamat said he met Feltman to discuss efforts towards dialogue and political solutions to the conflict, which pits the central government against the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) and its allies.

The European Union and the East African bloc the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) joined the chorus of bodies calling for a ceasefire. Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni announced an IGAD meeting on Nov. 16 to discuss the war.

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta urged the rival parties to lay down their arms and find a path to peace.

"The fighting must stop!," he said in a statement.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he had spoken to Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on Wednesday and offered to help create the conditions for a dialogue.

Abiy's government declared a state of emergency on Tuesday as the Tigrayan forces threatened to push forward to Addis Ababa.

TPLF spokesman Getachew Reda said on Wednesday TPLF troops were in the town of Kemise in Amhara state, 325 km (200 miles) from the capital.

The U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa authorised the voluntary departure of some staff and family members because of the intensifying hostilities. Washington said on Wednesday it was "gravely concerned" about the situation and called for a halt to military operations and ceasefire talks.

The year-long conflict has killed thousands of people, forced more than two million more from their homes, and left 400,000 people in Tigray facing famine.

The United States, the European Union and the United Nations said that an end to a de facto government blockade in Tigray is needed to avert a large-scale famine.

No humanitarian convoys have entered Tigray since Oct. 18 and no fuel has entered to aid the humanitarian response since early August, according to the United Nations.

Addis arrests

Streets and shops in Addis Ababa, a city of around five million people, were busy as usual on Thursday morning, though some residents said there was a feeling of uneasy calm.

"There are rumors about the approach of the rebels. People debate about the conflict, most of the people accuse the government for what happened," said one man, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Police had arrested "many people" in Addis Ababa since the government declared the state of emergency, police spokesperson Fasika Fanta said on Thursday.

Residents told Reuters on Wednesday many Tigrayans had been arrested but Fasika said arrests were not based on ethnicity.

"We are only arresting those who are directly or indirectly supporting the illegal terrorist group," he said. "This includes moral, financial and propaganda support."

He also said many people were registering weapons at police stations around the city in line with a government directive issued on Tuesday for people to prepare to defend their neighbourhoods.

"Some are even coming with bombs and heavy weapons. We are registering those too," he said.

Government spokesperson Legesse Tulu did not respond to requests for comment.

Year-old conflict

The conflict started last November when forces loyal to the TPLF, including some soldiers, seized military bases in Tigray. In response, Abiy sent more troops to the northern region.

The TPLF had dominated national politics for nearly three decades but lost much influence when Abiy took office in 2018.

The TPLF then accused him of centralising power at the expense of Ethiopia's regional states - an accusation Abiy denies.

The Tigrayan forces and their Oromo allies have made significant advances in the past week. Spokesman Getachew on Wednesday pledged to minimise casualties in their drive to take Addis Ababa.

"We don't intend to shoot at civilians and we don't want bloodshed. If possible we would like the process to be peaceful," he said.

A regional analyst, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the TPLF was likely to hold off on any advance on Addis Ababa until they secured the highway running from neighbouring Djibouti to the capital.

That requires seizing the town of Mille, in Afar region. Getachew said on Tuesday that Tigrayan forces were closing in on Mille.

Ethiopian military spokesman Colonel Getnet Adane and an Afar regional government spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment.

Abiy's spokesperson, Billene Seyoum, accused the international media of being "overly alarmist" in its coverage of Ethiopia.

"Perpetuating terrorist propaganda as truth from offices far off and detached from the ground is highly unethical," she said in a tweet.

(REUTERS)

Opinion: Ethiopia at risk of Balkanization

Two years after Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, his country is engulfed in a war with the potential to destabilize the whole region for decades to come, says DW's Ludger Schadomsky.



The Ethiopian conflict threatens to destabilize the entire region

Jeffrey Feltman's visit to Ethiopia is the West's last, desperate attempt to rescue the tottering country. The US special envoy to the Horn of Africa will try to persuade Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed to agree to a cease-fire and peace talks. The hope is to bring an end to the war between the Ethiopian government and the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) before it descends on the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.

The war, which has been going on for a year now, has long spilled out of Tigray and has devastated half of the country. Neighboring countries Sudan and Eritrea are involved, as well as other nations such as Iran, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Russia and China.

Ludger Schadomsky is head of DW's Amharic Service

The Horn of Africa is of particular geostrategic importance, and the conflict has the potential to destabilize the region for years, and possibly decades, to come. It is already driving a wedge through the international community and, once again, Beijing and Moscow are playing power games with their vetoes in the UN Security Council.

The fact that the prime minister, who was initially celebrated for his reforms, is now giving the cold shoulder to the US and the EU and looking eastwards is a bitter lesson for the terrifyingly naive decision-makers of the Old World who are writing up foreign and security policy.

Tragic end to 'Ethiopian Spring'

The bloody end to the "Ethiopian Spring" is tragic in many ways: Firstly, for the 110 million people who had hoped for a better future after the 2018 peace deal; and secondly because the economy, already battered by rampant inflation and the pandemic, will suffer from the burden of war for years. The vicious cycle of poverty and hunger will continue.

It's also tragic because it shows that even before the Afghanistan debacle has subsided, the country's partners in the West have failed miserably yet again. It was also grotesquely ill-advised of them to support the nomination of the supposed reformer for the Nobel Peace Prize. To recap — Abiy was nominated because of his peace agreement with Eritrea. The same Eritrea whose soldiers would go on to carry out terrible human rights violations two years later on invitation from the laureate himself.

ETHIOPIA: TIGRAY CRISIS ONE YEAR ON
A city burns
Residents of Tigray's capital Mekele sift through wreckage following an airstrike by government forces on October 20. The military said it was targeting a weapons manufacturing facility operated by the Tigrayan People's Liberation Front (TPLF), which the rebel Tigray forces have denied.
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The governments of the West were blinded by their eagerness to support reform. It was simply too tempting to support a young, charismatic prime minister who promised to bring peace and stability to Africa's second-most populous country and to stabilize the region.

But they woefully underestimated the dynamics of a country that boasts over 80 ethnic groups. A cursory glance at history would have sufficed to understand that the deep rivalry between the Oromo, the Amhara and the Tigrayans could not be plastered over with gestures and symbolic politics. The fact that the African Union, whose headquarters is in Addis Ababa, has once again failed to live up to its promise of offering "African solutions to African problems" goes without saying.
National dialogue is crucial

Of course, it would be too easy to blame the international community for the latest failed reforms. Ethiopia has a culture of deep-seated mistrust, and an incompetent and ethnocentric political caste stifles even the most modest attempts at democratization. Anyone who has heard Ethiopian intellectuals express astonishment at German coalition talks knows it will take generations before a culture of political compromise can establish itself here. Civil society is still very weak in this post-authoritarian country, which is essentially a powder keg that can be easily ignited by saboteurs. Ethnic hatred, for instance, is rampant on social media.

As an alliance of convenience between Tigrayans and Oromo marches on the capital, it would be presumptuous to predict any future power constellations. However, what can be said is that if there is not a serious national dialogue involving all relevant powers — important religious leaders and traditional authorities, jailed opposition politicians and actors of civil society — it will be difficult to halt the Balkanization of Ethiopia.

The choice to award the Nobel Peace Prize to Abiy Ahmed, a man who started out as a dynamic reformer and charming mediator but is today indulging in threats of war and conscripting civilians for the last stand, will go down in history as one of the Nobel Committee's worst decisions — and it has made many notoriously bad decisions over the years.

And the former ruling TPLF clique, which controlled politics, the economy and the military in Ethiopia for over a quarter of a century, could soon be back in the fold. This will particularly please nostalgic, Western-based experts who like to praise the discipline and morals of the former guerrilla movement. The majority of the Ethiopian population, on the other hand, will surely have very mixed feelings.

The Ethiopian Tourism Commission promotes the country as one with "13 months of sunshine." Abiy Ahmed's own sunshine policy has failed miserably. When will the next political spring arrive? Nobody can make any serious predictions. For now, it is a question of avoiding more bloodshed and a storm on Addis Ababa.

This article has been translated from German