Category Archives: Euthanasia

A global controversy was sparked 27years ago whenthe Northern Territory government passed the world's first right-to-die legislation.

Opponents said the laws would see Darwin become the "suicide capital of the world".

Moral and political outrage escalated the following yearwhen Darwin manBob Dent, who was dying from prostate cancer, ended his life via a voluntary lethal injection.

His death made history and the reaction against it was swift.

Federal Liberal MP Kevin Andrews introduced a bill in the Australian parliament to overturn the Northern Territory's lawsand prevent any territories, including the ACT, from legalising euthanasia.

His bill was passed, enactinga ban that has lasted 25 years.

Today, however, marks the beginning of an attempt to overturn that Commonwealth veto.

Unlike the three previous attempts, this latest effort appears likely to succeed.

Two federal Labor backbenchers Canberra's Alicia Payne and Darwin's Luke Gosling will introduce a bill to free the territories from the Commonwealth's ban on voluntary assisted dying laws.

Their bill will not legalise euthanasia. Rather, it seeks to allow both territories'parliaments to debate euthanasia legislation if they wish to.

Minor parties tried to revoke Mr Andrews's ban three times in 2008, 2010 and 2018 but senators killed off each attempt.

Yet today's political environment has changed.

Every state in Australia now has its own voluntary assisted dyinglaws,after the New South Wales parliament became the last to pass legislation in May.

In other words, the Commonwealth is no longer blocking what might be seen as extreme or fringe legislation;it is preventing territorians from debating laws that every other Australian can already access.

Global opinion has shifted since Mr Dent's death. Dozens of countries have enacted voluntary assisted dying laws this century.

This latest attempt to overturn Mr Andrews's bill is also sponsored by Labor MPs an indication that the Albanese government, unlike its predecessors,is willing to engage the topic.

Nonetheless, none of these factors lock in this attempt's success.MPs and senators will be free to vote in line with their consciences.

Former Liberal Democrat senator David Leyonhjelm was the last parliamentarian to try to end the Commonwealth's euthanasia veto.

"We can't decide whether assisted suicide should be permitted in the states, so what gives us the right to decide for those who are not in one of the states?" heasked his Senate colleagues.

His legislation fell two votes short of passing.

When the votes were counted, Liberal senator Eric Abetz, a leading opponent of euthanasia, declared the debate dead. The Senate had settled "this matterfor a generation", he said.

Yet many of the politicians who supported the euthanasia ban that night are no longer in parliament. Mr Abetz is one of them.

Nor is another Liberal leader of the "no" vote: Canberra's own Zed Seselja, who, this year, becamethe first territory senator to lose his seat at an election.

Other prominent conservatives have gone, too, such as Cory Bernardi.

In fact, among the senators still in Parliament who voted that night, there are now two more "aye" votes than there were "no" votes.

This does not mean Mr Andrews's bill is soon to be history.Many of the 40 newsenators are yet to indicate how they will vote.

Some such as independents JacquiLambie and the ACT's David Pocock are firmly in favour of the territories setting their own courses.

Otherswill declare their position this week, although some are known to favour better palliative care over allowing assisted suicide.

The government says it wants the debate to conclude as soon as possible.

But, whatever happens, the matter of territory rights does not end with this bill.

The Commonwealth will still have its constitutional power to override any ACT or NT laws.

That is something that territorians, who make up 2.4 per centof Australians, will have to live with.

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Commonwealth's 25-year-old ban on euthanasia laws in ACT and Northern Territory likely to end - ABC News

A family in the Aligarh district of Uttar Pradesh has urged the state chief minister Yogi Adityanath to allow them euthanasia after 6 months of alleged harassment by the miscreants in their locality. Rajkumari Sharma, a resident of the village Barautha in Harduaganj of the Aligarh district in Uttar Pradesh wrote a letter to chief minister Yogi Adityanath on 22nd July 2022.

In her letter, Rajkumari Sharma wrote that on 24th February 2022, a local influential family from the Dalit community kidnapped her 21-years-old younger son Mukesh (mentioned as Nikhil in the FIR) and kept him locked for four months and six days. She said that the kidnappers beat the youth brutally, drugged him, and even made him drink urine in this period of abduction.

On 30th June 2022, they threw him on the highway with his hands tied. According to reports, Mukesh was kidnapped because he and his family objected to the accused family who used to keep their cattle tied on the local road causing great trouble to pedestrians.

The woman complained to the chief minister that she had registered an FIR in the local police station and she had also urged the Senior Superintendent of Police in Aligarh district to help her in this matter, but she did not get any help. She also alleged the accused miscreants of eve-teasing herself and her daughter. She, thus, urged the chief minister to allow the family euthanasia at the residence of the chief minister on the upcoming independence day.

It is notable that Rajkumari Sharma registered an FIR on 11th April 2022 against Omveer, Aman, Sushila, Prem, Puneet, Omvati, Arjun, Suresh, and Bunty; all being members of the same family. In this FIR, she complained that, on 24th February 2022, she along with her family objected to the accused people for keeping their cattle tied by the road in the locality as this caused trouble to everyone passing by.

Enraged at this, the accused then beat her elder son Nikhil. Her other two sons Alok and Prempal were taken to the local police station by the police and the station in charge ensured a compromise between the two parties.

At around 5:30 pm on the same day, the accused people came to the complainants house along with wooden sticks, metal rods, and belts and brutally beat the complainant and her children. She also accused the miscreants of molesting her and her daughter Narmada.

Rajkumari Sharma mentioned that she was saved because the people in the neighborhood intervened listening to the screams of the Sharma family. The attackers threatened her that they will kill Nikhil and Nikhil went missing on the same day.

Rajkumari Sharma also complained that the police staff in the Harduaganj police station refused to register her complaint and did not record the injuries she and her family members sustained in this attack. According to her, the police took weeks even to lodge a missing complaint about her abducted son.

Besides, Suresh one of the accused kept threatening her and told her that nothing will happen even if she books a complaint against the accused attackers because Suresh himself is a policeman. She has also mentioned that she belongs to a poor Brahmin family while the attackers are from a powerful and influential family that hails from a Dalit community.

Update: After this report was published, Aligarh Police informed on Twitter that the accused in the case have been arrested.

Responding to the OpIndia tweet posting the report, Aligarh Police tweeted that the matter is (one week) old, where the case was registered immediately and arrests were ensured. They further added that legal actions are going on in the matter.

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UP: Aligarh family writes to CM Yogi Adityanath seeking permission for euthanasia after being constantly harassed by miscreants - OpIndia

It was doggone great timing.

Four dozen shelter dogs made it safely to New York City Saturday after the rescue organization Muddy Paws welcomed the pups from Kentucky, where severe storms have triggered catastrophic flooding.

Muddy Paws had already arranged for the 48 dogs to be transported from the overcrowded Bowling Green-Warren County Humane Society before the flooding began.

It all was kind of kismet, Muddy Paws Marketing Director Mallory Kerley told the Daily News. It all kind of came together at a really opportune time for the dogs and for the shelters down there.

Muddy Paws, based in Hells Kitchen, handles multiple transports each month from shelters in Kentucky, Texas, North Carolina and Alabama, with 25 to 30 dogs typically arriving at a time.

The 48 dogs arrived Saturday made up the biggest group of the year for Muddy Paws, which relies on New Yorkers to foster the homeless hounds for several weeks until they are adopted.

The 48 dogs arrived in New York on Saturday from Kentucky. (Muddy Paws Rescue)

These shelters have been overcrowded, really, for the entire summer, Kerley said. Its been pretty bad down there, and the floods definitely dont help. Now you have the floods taking out these shelters in those affected areas, and now those dogs have nowhere to go.

Muddy Paws launched in 2016 and has rescued more than 6,000 dogs.

The organization saves dogs of all breeds and ages, with New York City offering more homes for fostering and adoption than some of the rural areas in the South.

The dogs have already been placed in foster homes. (Muddy Paws Rescue)

These dogs are definitely at risk of euthanasia for space, and thats not something that our shelter has had to deal with recently, especially with the pandemic, Kerley said. The silver lining of the pandemic was that everyone wanted to adopt a dog, but weve seen this year that the interest has dramatically dropped.

We literally received an email from our partner down there saying, We are starting to have to make these decisions about euthanizing for space, which they havent had to do in a long time. Its really upsetting to them. They dont want to have to do that, and we dont want to put them in that position.

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The pups that arrived from Kentucky on Saturday have already been placed in their foster homes, and many will go up for adoption on the Muddy Paws website this week.

Volunteers help check in dogs that arrived from Kentucky. (Muddy Paws Rescue)

The flooding from the storms in Kentucky last week has taken a devastating toll: thousands of power outages, widespread debris and at least 26 deaths.

Lauren Latella, 32, is fostering a 10-month-old dog named Bonnie at her Upper West Side home, and says it feels especially important to provide shelter to a pooch that came from Kentucky.

Knowing that Bonnie is one of the foster dogs thats coming from the images that I can place on the news, and seeing all the flooding, and imagining what families are going through and our furry friends are going through, makes it a little more special, says Latella, a child and adolescent psychologist who has fostered five dogs through Muddy Paws and also volunteers with the organization.

Muddy Paws handles multiple transports each month from shelters in Kentucky, Texas, North Carolina and Alabama. (Muddy Paws Rescue)

Muddy Paws next transport will be Aug. 13.

The floods are extremely serious and scary, and its creating even more of an overcrowding situation in an area of the country that was already struggling with overcrowding in their shelters, Kerley said.

Groups like Muddy Paws are constantly working to relieve that overcrowding, so we dont need people just for now when these floods are happening. We need people all year, because the work never stops.

See more here:

Nearly 50 rescue dogs arrive in NYC after being saved from Kentucky floods: 'It all was kind of kismet' - New York Daily News

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich.Every single dog deserves to have a name. They deserve to not be a number. They deserve to have a couch to sit on and people to love them and grass to walk on, Brianna Shahly, marketing and communications coordinator for Humane Society of West Michigan told FOX 17.

4,000 beagles were rescued from a testing facility in Virginia, and now, more than two dozen of them are heading to west Michigan.

READ MORE: Beagles rescued from 'prison-like conditions' coming to west Michigan

Seeing the articles was really hard. Seeing the pictures was even harder, but knowing that we could do something to help, thats obviously our goal. We always want to help these animals as much as we can, Shahly said.

Humane Society of the United States partnered with Humane Society of West Michigan to help find permanent homes for the beagles.

They were being kept in really horrible conditions, prison-like cells, very unclean, filthy. A lot of these animals were sick. They were all under-socialized and some, when they were actually able to get law enforcement into the facility to get the animals out of the situation they were in, some of them were even deceased, Shahly added.

Weve been familiar with this facility in Virginia for a long time and, theres no other way to put it other than its essentially a dog factory farm. I mean, at any given point, this facility houses thousands of dogs, all of whom are destined to use in often painful and often deadly experiments, added Ryan Merkley, director of research advocacy at Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine.

Just to put a fine point on some of the things that they found in this facility, you know, over the course of months, they found more than 300 puppies who had died for unknown reasons, quote on quote, unknown reasons. There were staff who werent veterinarians or veterinary technicians injecting euthanasia solution, with a needle, directly into the heart of young puppies, and these animals were fully conscious, able to feel that needle penetrate their chest cavity. They found maggots and rotten food in their food. They found other insects in their food. The dogs were so cramped in these cages that there were instances of mothers actually rolling over and suffocating their puppies inadvertently because their cages were so cramped, Merkley explained to FOX 17.

Merkley added that the facility has since been shut down, but he says this shouldnt have happened in the first place.

What wed love to see is for these facilities to never even get to that point. Meaning, we need stronger laws that prohibit the kinds of experiments these dogs are bred for and thats one thing were working on in Michigan. We need better enforcement by the US Department of Agriculture, and we need a stronger federal Animal Welfare Act so that these kinds of things dont happen in the first place, he said.

The Humane Society of West Michigan told FOX 17 that the beagles will arrive within the next few weeks.

If youd like to donate, click here.

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They deserve to not be a number: West Michigan shelter takes in rescued beagles - FOX 17 West Michigan News

SHERIDAN Wyoming Game and Fish Department wildlife managers euthanized a young male black bear July 4 after responding to a call on Presbyterian Road where it had accessed unsecured garbage.

Personnel had responded to multiple reports of the blond-colored bear in several areas of Story over the past two weeks and had tried unsuccessfully to trap it. The bear received multiple food rewards, including trash and bird feed, and more than one resident witnessed or captured security camera footage of the bear on their porches. Because it had repeatedly accessed attractants for many days, the decision was made to euthanize rather than relocate the bear.

Euthanizing a bear is the last resort for wildlife managers. But after a bear has repeatedly received food rewards, the bears behavior changes and it seeks out areas with humans, knowing that food can be found there, creating a human safety concern.

We first received calls about bears causing conflicts in Story on June 17, said Sheridan Wildlife Biologist Tim Thomas. We responded to investigate incidents on Mountain Home Road and on Buck Trail Road. We saw many residences with bird feeders accessible to bears, including one home that had eight feeders within reach of a bear. Despite years of Bear Wise education in the Sheridan region, there continues to be bear conflicts, as demonstrated by recent events. Unfortunately, given the proximity of our communities to native bear habitats, these types of conflicts will continue to occur unless bear attractants are secured.

Bears can be attracted by trash, livestock feed, pet food, barbecue grills, fruit trees, backyard livestock, beehives and bird feeders both seeds and hummingbird feeders. There are no municipal or county ordinances in Sheridan or Johnson counties requiring residents to secure attractants. However, when residents voluntarily secure or contain bear attractants, it has been proven to reduce bear conflicts and conflict-related euthanasia.

To be successful in preventing bears from becoming food-conditioned, we need more people doing the right thing, Thomas said.

The euthanasia of this bear is not the end of the bear-conflict story in the Sheridan region. Additional bear conflicts have been reported in recent weeks in several locations, emphasizing the need for residents throughout Sheridan and Johnson counties to secure attractants.

The following are other examples:

June 22 A bear accessed unsecured fish food at a residence outside Dayton. WGFD personnel responded and spoke with the owners about securing attractants.

June 24 A bear was reported in Dayton. WGFD personnel responded but did not find the bear.

July 2 A bear accessed unsecured trash, livestock feed and a bird feeder at a residence on Wolf Creek Road. WGFD personnel responded and set a trap. The bear did not return and the trap was removed.

July 2 A bear was reported accessing garbage at a cabin west of Buffalo. WGFD personnel responded. The cabin owner secured the trash and no further reports have been received.

July 3 A bear accessed unsecured chicken feed at a residence outside Ranchester. WGFD personnel were not called until a day later and when they responded, the bear was gone.

July 5 A bear was trapped in Story on Buck Lane and relocated to the Bighorn National Forest.

For residents who were unable to attend one of the Living in Bear and Lion Country workshops held last month in Dayton and Story, much of the same information that is presented at the workshops can be found on the Bear Wise page of the WGFD website at wgfd.wyo.gov.

Any sightings of a bear in residential or developed areas should be reported as soon as possible to the Game and Fish Regional Office at 307-672-7418 during regular business hours or to a local law enforcement agency.

Go here to read the rest:

Black bear euthanized in Story | Outdoors | thesheridanpress.com - The Sheridan Press

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF)A summer national event called "Empty the Shelters" is running from July 11-31, and it seeks to help promote pet adoptions through reduced fees of $50 or less at participating shelters.

The event is sponsored by BISSELL Pet Foundation and will be hosted at over 250 organizations in 42 states.

Shelters are calling me daily, and BISSELL Pet Foundation is feeling the burden of overcrowding," said Cathy Bissell, Founder of BISSELL Pet Foundation. "With the euthanasia of homeless dogs up 22% in just the first quarter of 2022 alone, we knew we had to act quickly to help at-risk pets. Empty the Shelters is the largest funded adoption event in the country, and by extending the event to three weeks, we can help meet the immediate need to save lives.

Recently, pet shelters have been experiencing a higher than usual intake of animals, with a slower adoption rate than normal.

The Fayetteville animal shelter, which was run by the Humane Society for nearly three decades, is no longer receiving funding. All of the animals sheltered there must find new homes by August 13 or they will be euthanized.

Participating Tennessee shelters include:

More information is available at the Empty the Shelters website.

See the original post here:

'Empty the Shelters' event reduces adoption fees to help pets find homes during overcrowding period - News Channel 5 Nashville

MOKENA, IL Meet Lillibeth, a 6-year-old gorgeous, long-haired female who was rescued from a high-kill shelter in southern Illinois where she was on the euthanasia list.

Lillibeth is curious, friendly and interactive. She greets visitors and looks for pets and attention.

She can be a bit sassy at times and knows what she likes. An experienced cat person is recommended. Lillibeth prefers pets near her head and neck rather than down her back.

When Lillibeth arrived at NAWS, she had some wounds/skin irritation on her back. After extensive testing, it was determined she likely has food allergies. After being placed on a hypoallergenic diet, her skin has healed and improved greatly. It is recommended she be kept on a diet of this type of food for the long term to prevent further issues.

Email Catadoptions@nawsus.org with any questions or to meet her.

Submitted by NAWS Illinois Humane Society, 9981 W. 190th St. in Mokena.

Original post:

NAWS Pet Of The Week: Lillibeth - Patch

Mississippi ranks seventh in the nation for pet ownership, according to the World Population Review.

Given what we continue to see at local human societies, our state probably ranks even higher in the number of irresponsible pet owners.

Last month, both the Columbus Lowndes Humane Society and the Oktibbeha County Humane Society took in about 200 unwanted pets each, putting enormous pressure on their space and resources.

In the first week of July alone, the Columbus facility has taken in more than 50 pets. Some pets are surrendered because their owners are no longer able to care for them, but the majority are strays. While neither facilities are no-kill shelters, both work hard to avoid euthanasia by placing a heavy emphasis on adoption. Depending on the shelter and whether it is a dog or cat, adoption fees typically run from as little as $30 to $170. The fee includes shots and spay/neuter, which is one of the very best reasons to adopt a pet from these facilities.

The proliferation of unwanted pets is particularly high in the South and Southwest. In fact, in the Northeast, adoptable pets are in such high demand that many shelters there bring adoptable pets in from the South. For 11 years now, Macon resident Jeanette Unruh has been working with a Massachusetts shelter to provide pets to New Englanders, transporting hundreds and hundreds of pets to Massachusetts.

Locally, the stubborn refusal to have pets spayed/neutered has created a crisis of unwanted pets. Thats beyond unfortunate. Having your pet spayed and neutered should be considered a basic responsibility for pet owners, just like food, water and shelter.

That so many pet owners refuse to accept that responsibility is disheartening. It borders on animal abuse when a pet is simply abandoned or dumped off at a shelter.

So, please, have your pet spayed/neutered. Not only will it help curb overpopulation, but studies show animals that have been spayed/neutered lead healthier, happier lives.

Also, if youre in the market for a pet, please consider adopting from our shelters, which will provide you a healthy pet that has been spayed/neutered and support their mission.

The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.

Originally posted here:

Our View: Humane societies need us to be humane too - The Dispatch - The Commercial Dispatch

BEAVER TWP., Ohio (WKBN) Its a problem that has been plaguing animal shelters all around the area.

We dont usually see this kind of a wave until later in the year, usually hitting the end of June, first of July, said Diane Less with Angels for Animals.

But Less says Angels for Animals has been seeing a steady increase in surrendered cats and kittens since March 426 last month alone.

Ironically, this increase in surrendered cats and kittens comes at a time when donations to Angels for Animals have been falling off.

People are cant send us their $25 or $50 because they gotta put it in the gas tank. We understand that. In the meantime, our problems getting worse, Less said.

Right now, Angels for Animals houses about 400 cats at its facility in Beaver Township, with another 300-400 in foster care. But with dozens more coming in each day and many of them sick workers are forced to decide which will ultimately be euthanized.

I would say its probably like a 60/40 thing. We get a lot of feral cats so feral cats arent adoptable. But we truly try to give everybody the best shot that we can, said Aynnalise Moore with Angels for Animals.

Directors say the best solution would be to have these cats fostered or adopted, but short of that is for owners to have their animals neutered, even offering to spay adults and their kittens.

You can come out here and buy vouchers. You can get the whole litter fixed for less than youd pay to have one cat fixed at a private vet, Less said.

In the meantime, Angels for Animals workers fear the problem will only get worse.

Read the rest here:

Euthanasia on the table as local animal shelters inundated with cats - WKBN.com

MPs from the ruling liberal parties VVD and D66 are working on new legislation which would make it possible to carry out more research on human embryos.

However, the legislation will not be presented to parliament until after the coming cabinet period to avoid potential confrontation with the two other Christian coalition parties, the two parties parliamentary leaders said in Mondays Trouw.

VVD leader Sophie Hermans and D66s Jan Paternotte say they want to use the coming period for a wider discussion on the issues with the general public. Embryo research is a controversial issue within Christian political circles, alongside abortion and euthanasia.

The two MPs want to make it possible to create embryos for some scientific research and to allow embryo selection, so that couples can eliminate the risk of their child passing on serious genetic diseases such as Huntingdon or Duchenne.

Currently parents can ask for a pre-implant genetic test on embryos created via IVF to see if the embryo itself has the illness, but not to see if there is a risk the embryo could pass it on to future generations.

The two MPs also hope to allow scientists to create embryos for research on improving the quality of IVF care and to increase the success ratings. Our proposal is aimed at helping more people have a healthy child, Hermans told Trouw.

Current law

The current coalition agreement states that the parties may work on embryo-related legislation but that it should not be submitted to parliament.

Whether such legislation would be accepted by the next government will depend on the outcome of the next general election, currently scheduled for March 2025.

Dutch laws on embryo research in the Netherlands are currently much stricter than in many other EU countries, the two party leaders say. Currently, embryos can be used for research purposes if they are left over after fertility treatment but they cannot be created specifically for use in science.

Efforts to widen the scope of the legislation in 2016 were dropped by the previous coalition, despite national health council backing.

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VVD, D66 work on embryo research bill, but won't put it to parliament - DutchNews.nl - DutchNews.nl