Category Archives: Euthanasia

By Bryan Richardson May 3, 2017

A sign in support of Buck, a German short-haired pointer, rests on the floor Tuesday night at City Hall. A group came to the city commission meeting to support saving the dog from euthanasia.

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About 40 people arrived Tuesday at the Manhattan City Commission meeting in support of saving a dog from euthanasia.

Nineteen people in that group from Manhattan, Junction City, Milford, Clay Center, Dwight and St. George spoke to the commission for nearly an hour on behalf of Buck, a German short-haired pointer that is 4 or 5 years old.

Buck has been in the citys T. Russell Reitz Animal Shelter after biting a 2-year-old child twice last week. The shelter adopted him out last week.

Jim Fawcett of Junction City said Buck is a symbol for millions of other dogs in shelters around the country.

If I have taught (my kids) anything, its that if you believe in something strong enough, dont be afraid to stand up and be counted, he said. Theres a whole lot of people that have stood up for this dog to be counted.

Chris Soupene of Manhattan tried to adopt Buck after the incidents, but he said the shelters policy is not to adopt out dogs that have shown aggressive tendencies.

A Save Buck petition started Monday morning by Soupene on ipetitions.com had 2,630 signatures as of 10 a.m. Wednesday.

According to the petition, Buck was neutered April 23 and adopted by a family with a two-yearold child April 24.

After returning the dog, the family contacted Soupene and asked him to adopt Buck since he originally gave up his spot for the family to get the dog instead.

Buck is currently under a 10-day quarantine until Friday because the dog doesnt have his rabies shots.

City manager Ron Fehr called it an unfortunate situation. He said the investigation is still ongoing, but he will make the final decision after input from city staff and shelter officials.

We understand this is a very emotional issue, Fehr said. We are continuing to investigate, compile and analyze all the facts in the case.

Those who spoke mentioned how the shelter sent Buck to a family with a small child too soon after being neutered, and he was still in pain.

They said the shelter killing Buck is the wrong solution.

Pat Collins spoke as a dog lover, but he did use an example from his job as Riley County emergency management director. In early 1990s, the county would set off all of its sirens whenever there was a tornado warning anywhere in Riley County.

Collins said the county changed that after nursing homes and hospitals complained about evacuating people for a warning that happened on the other end of the county. Policies need to be evaluated and reviewed, he said. Every once in awhile, well get extraordinary circumstances that come about that may make you change policies. In addition to speaking for Buck, many people also advocated for Emily Fawcett, owner of The Pampered Pet in Junction City.

Fawcett said she wants to take Buck into her rescue facility.

We have not been able to find any case where liability has been transferred back to a city after transferring a dog over to a rescue, she said.

Soupene said he felt somewhat responsible because he didnt adopt Buck the first time. He said hes fine with Buck getting another chance with Fawcett.

I gave him up once, he said. If this means Buck can survive by going somewhere else, Im more than willing to do that.

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TheMercury.com | Group advocates for saving dog from euthanasia - Manhattan Mercury (subscription)

BERLIN (AFP) A German network of leading science institutes will begin identifying thousands of brain specimens belonging to people killed by the Nazis because they suffered from a disability or were ill.

The three-year-long research project into the specimens in the Max Planck institutes possession will begin in June, and aims to build a database listing the names of all euthanasia victims.

It will include basic biographical data on the victims, their institutional treatment, and the criteria used to select the victims, the Munich-based, nonprofit Max Planck Society said in a statement.

The manner of their death will also be documented along with data on the removal of the brain and the research carried out on (it).

In this Dec. 5, 1931 file photo, Adolf Hitler, leader of the National Socialists, is saluted as he leaves the partys Munich headquarters. (AP, File)

Adolf Hitlers so-called euthanasia program, in which doctors and scientists actively participated, sought to exterminate the sick, the physically and mentally disabled, those with learning disabilities and those considered social misfits.

Between January 1940 and August 1941, doctors systematically gassed more than 70,000 disabled people at six sites in German-controlled territory, until public outrage forced them to end the overt killing.

But tens of thousands more died across Europe until the Nazis were defeated in 1945, through starvation, neglect or deliberate overdoses administered by caregivers.

Many also underwent bizarre medical experiments and forced sterilizations because of their supposed genetic inferiority.

After the war, Max Planck had sought to inter all human remains belonging to victims of the Nazis in its possession.

But it later emerged that institutes within the grouping dealt with the issue in different ways.

While the institute for brain research decided to part with all specimens dating from between 1933 and 1945, the institute of psychiatry only removed items which were unambiguously documented as victim-derived or whose origins were uncertain around 30 percent of the overall inventory.

In 2014, a new employee at the archives in Berlin stumbled across a shoebox-sized wooden box containing slides with brain sections.

The find led to further investigations which turned up additional brain sections and preserved specimens, said Max Planck.

The psychiatry institute then commissioned an external specialist to draw up a rough inventory outlining the historical documents and brain sections in its storage facilities.

Administrative headquarters of the Max Planck Society. (CC BY-SA 2.5, Maximilian Drrbecker, Wikipedia)

Completed in February 2017, the inventory lists 24,500 specimens from the 1920s through to the 1980s and serves as preparation for the identification project.

Underlining the Herculean task ahead, the projects researchers acknowledged that it will not be possible in the course of this project to undertake a more extensive reconstruction of every victims biography in view of the large numbers of victims of whom there may potentially be several thousand.

It would appear realistic at best to recreate the life stories of just a few by way of example, they added.

The non-governmental Max Planck Society, with an annual budget of 1.8 billion euros ($2.0 billion), operates more than 80 research institutes.

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Scientists to identify victims of Nazi euthanasia - The Times of Israel

Brussels, Belgium, May 2, 2017 / 02:59 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Following a decision by the board of several Belgian Catholic psychiatric hospitals to start performing euthanasia, the religious brothers who operate the hospitals said the policy change is unacceptable and cannot be implemented.

We deplore this new vision, said Brother Ren Stockman, the superior general of the Brothers of Charity. Brother Stockman is himself a Belgian and a leading opponent of euthanasia. The Brothers of Charity in Belgium run 15 psychiatric hospitals with 5,000 patients. The board controlling their institutions has said it will now allow euthanasia in these hospitals.

Brother Stockman said he has informed the Belgian congregation that as general superior we cannot accept this decision, because it is going totally against our charism of the charity. He said the decision can not at all be justified in a Christian framework. It is a real tragedy, he told the Australian-based website MercatorNet in an interview published April 28.

The Belgian Brothers of Charity board announced the decision on its website. We take seriously unbearable and hopeless suffering and patients request for euthanasia, the board said. On the other hand, we do want to protect lives and ensure that euthanasia is performed only if there is no more possibility to provide a reasonable perspective to treat the patient.

Brother Stockman said only a few brothers are still involved on the board governing the Belgian facilities. The majority of the members are lay people. Yes, there was a lot of pressure, but pressure doesnt mean that we have to capitulate, he said, charging that secularization is poisoning the congregation in Belgium.

Raf De Ryce, chairman of the board overseeing the institutions, contended that the new policy was not a major change, the bioethics site BioEdge reports, citing Belgian newspapers. It is not that we used to be against euthanasia and now suddenly are for it. This is consistent with our existing criteria, he said. We are making both possible routes for our patients: both a pro-life perspective and euthanasia.

De Ryce said the inviolability of life is an important foundation but for the board it is not an absolute. This is where we are on a different wavelength from Rome, he said. Brother Stockman, however, said the decision of the Belgian organization has had a big impact. It has drawn praise from backers of legal euthanasia. All those who were against us are now singing that finally the group of the Brothers of Charity capitulated and came into their camp, he said.

The Catholic hospitals previous policy was clear about opposition to euthanasia.

When someone asked for euthanasia, the question was taken seriously; everything was done to help the patient to change his vision of things, Brother Stockman said. If the situation remained unchanged, the patient was transferred. This transfer was done with respect, but always convinced that a signal was given to society that inside our institutes no euthanasia was possible, he said. This was very important.

The Brothers of Charitys general congregation has informed the Belgian bishops conference and the apostolic nuncio to Belgium about the matter. Brother Stockman said he is in contact with the bishops conference president Cardinal Jozef De Kesel.

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Religious brothers push back on euthanasia directive for Catholic hospitals - The Tidings

Catholic World News

May 01, 2017

Belgian psychiatric hospitals run by the Brothers of Charity will now allow doctors to euthanasize patients.

The Brothers of Charity, whose hospitals care for about 5,000 patients in Belgium, announced that we respect the freedom of doctors to decide whether or not to perform euthanasia and freedom of other caregivers to choose whether or not to participate. The board of the hospitals issued a statement saying that we take extreme caution on requests of patients for euthanasia, but also take the unbearable and hopeless suffering seriously as well.

Brother Ren Stockman, the international leader of the Brothers of Charity (and, ironically, a Belgian), said from Rome that the decision of the Belgian institutions was at odds with the policy of the order. We deplore this new vision, he said.

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Belgian Catholic hospitals to offer euthanasia : News Headlines ... - Catholic Culture

NewsBusters (blog)

Lifetime's Euthanasia Drama Has 15-Year-Old Boy Beg for Sick ... NewsBusters (blog) Reminiscent of Scandal's 2015 winter finale episode, which showed an abortion set to the song Silent Night, the second episode of Lifetime's Mary Kills People ... and more »

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Lifetime's Euthanasia Drama Has 15-Year-Old Boy Beg for Sick ... - NewsBusters (blog)

A Belgian Paralympic champion wheelchair racer and sometimes euthanasia campaigner expressed her delight at making her dream Japan visit a reality.

Marieke Vervoort said in a recent interview in Tokyo she wanted to come to Japan ever since she started learning jujitsu when she was in her teens.

Despite suffering from a degenerative spinal disease that makes travel difficult, the 37-year-old Vervoort said she is currently in good health. However, with her future uncertain she wants to experience as much as she can, while she still can.

Vervoort has penned an autobiography and she is also planning to open a museum where she will display her race wheelchairs, race records and other paraphernalia, she said.

She has won four Olympic medals, including gold in the London 2012 T52 wheelchair category 100 meters and silver in the 200 meters.

Using a profile built through her exploits in Paralympic sports, Vervoort began a serious conversation on the topic of euthanasia at the Rio Paralympics when she revealed she had signed paperwork to allow a doctor to end her life.

After winning silver and bronze medals in Rio and then announcing her retirement, she made worldwide headlines when reports emerged that she would begin proceedings to end her life soon after, something she immediately quashed.

But she did not shy away from the topic, using the platform to provide perspective.

Speaking in Tokyo, she said she signed the euthanasia papers to give herself the option to end her own life, something that has provided her with peace of mind.

Without those papers, I think I would be depressed because you live in that (limbo), unsure about whats going to happen next, she said. I dont want to quit (life) now, but with (euthanasia) papers I have it in my own hands. Its enough, I can say now is the moment, thats truly important.

Diagnosed as a teenager with a progressive spinal condition that resulted in paraplegia, she signed euthanasia documents in 2008 in Belgium the second country in the world to permit euthanasia by law.

The message I want to give to every country is that euthanasia is not murder it gives people a kind of a feeling of (peace) in mind because they know when its too hard, they have a way out and its going to be very softly. You choose your people to be with and its going very softly, you can say goodbye.

Although she will not compete in the Tokyo Paralympics, her experience gives her a unique perspective on the citys level of preparedness for the games, and it is not a five-star review for the 2020 host.

I think everywhere is the same, the same problem, said Vervoort about the challenge stairs provide to wheelchair access. Here its really extreme. I couldnt even go (into) one shop because it was made with two steps (up). When you are just alone standing over there, you cant get in.

Despite the challenges of travel around Japan, Vervoort is not going to let it slow her down. Her two-week trip was scheduled to include a meeting with fellow Rio Paralympian Yuka Kiyama in Hiroshima and visits to tourist spots in Kyoto, Osaka and the hot springs resort of Hakone, Kanagawa Prefecture.

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Getting the most out of life, Paralympian and euthanasia advocate fulfills Japan travel dream - The Japan Times

Gallery: County shelter aims to drop euthanasia rates 2015-16 euthanasia rates

Walker County: 48.8 percent of 5,291

Catoosa County: 38 percent of 2,775

Gordon County: 14.5 percent of 4,648*

Murray County: 46.4 percent of 5,963*

Whitfield County: 47.7 percent of 4,776

* Includes first four months of 2017

Source: Animal shelters of Catoosa, Murray, Gordon and Walker counties; Target Zero

Spaying and neutering

Families wanting to spay or neuter their cats and dogs can drop them off Monday mornings at the Walker County Agricultural Center, located behind the Civic Center at 10052 U.S. 27, Rock Spring, Ga.

Spaying is $65 for dogs and $53 for cats. Neutering is $60 and $45, respectively. You can schedule the surgery through Wallys Friends at 423-877-9966.

CHICKAMAUGA, Ga. Amorous animals have gone too wild.

With an overpopulation of dogs and cats, the Walker County Animal Shelter hopes to curb the baby-making this year. Because while county officials love puppies and kittens, they say, too much of a good, tiny, fuzzy thing can cause unexpected problems.

An overabundance of dogs and cats is hard to keep healthy in the community. And by the time they get to the shelter, Director Alison Smith said, workers can't help them. As a result, over the last two years, the shelter has euthanized about half the dogs and cats in their building.

To curb the problem, shelter workers met with consultants from Target Zero, a national nonprofit aimed at lowering shelters' kill rates to 10 percent. The consultants, who are also working with Whitfield and Murray counties, recently shared their assessment of the shelter on North Marble Top Road.

The key suggestions? Promote adoptions, move animals out of the shelter faster and prevent as much mating as they can.

"It's an ambitious goal to be Target Zero," Smith said. "I see where our numbers are now. But despite the fact that we have limited funding, despite the fact that some animals have greater needs than just a dog you can't keep anymore because you're moving or having a baby, I believe it can happen. I have dreamed of this for far too long."

When he took office Jan. 1, Commissioner Shannon Whitfield came in with promises to reign in overspending the county's debt jumped in Bebe Heiskell's last years with a $15 million bond and an $8 million bill from Erlanger Health System. But to lower the shelter's euthanasia rate, Whitfield may have to boost its funding for the fiscal year that starts in October.

Target Zero consultants recommend shelter workers more aggressively spay and neuter the dogs and cats they encounter. For now, Smith said, the shelter will charge an extra fee for adoptions and pets will be spayed or neutered before the new owners pick them up.

This is a change from prior policy, where adopters signed a paper promising to spay or neuter their animal within 30 days and provide proof after the surgery.

"I have a stack of unresolved contracts," she said Friday. "And when we call to the number given to us sorry, there's nobody there. The phone doesn't work."

The county is also resuming a partnership with Wally's Friends to spay and neuter local animals. Every Monday morning, people can drop off their dogs and cats at the county's agricultural center off U.S. Highway 27 in Rock Spring.

Target Zero recommends the county pay for spaying and neutering all animals leaving the shelter. County spokesman Joe Legge declined to say how much money would be put into the budget, but he said the county is looking at grants, in which advocacy groups would donate money if Whitfield set some aside for the shelter.

"You talk about unknown surprises coming in as commissioner: This is one of them," Whitfield said of the high kill rate during a Chamber of Commerce luncheon last week. "I knew we had a shelter. I knew we had a euthanasia program; you just about have to. But this was a tragedy to me."

The People for Ethical Treatment of Animals group has criticized no-kill shelters, saying they emphasize numbers instead of some animals' health. Sometimes, PETA representatives argue, sick animals need to be put down. Plus, no-kill shelters can become too crowded, a hazard for all the animals.

Target Zero consultants believe a shelter reasonably can try to pull its euthanasia rates down to 10 percent, though. And one of the keys is taking in fewer animals. For example, they encourage moving animals to rescue centers after three days. And they recommend not holding feral cats for long at all instead, they should sterilize and vaccinate them, then release them back in the area where they were found.

Smith said that idea won't work because Georgia Department of Agriculture rules say she can't put those cats back in the wild.

But she hopes to follow through on another recommendation: Getting some decent technology in the shelter.

Legge said the internet signal is weak out there, and Smith's computer needs a new operating system. If the county can fix those problems, Smith can buy software to input data on every pet that comes in.

Right now, shelter workers have to track animal trends on paper. If they log it into the system, they can see where the animals are coming from and how long they've stayed at the shelter. Plus, they can automatically upload the animals' information and pictures onto adoption websites, encouraging more people to buy a dog or cat.

"It's like looking at 'Car Finder' or 'Busted,'" Smith said. "You see pictures. You get excited."

She added that most of the recommendations are ideas she pushed for in 2006, when she let the LaFayette Animal Clinic run the shelter. For years, she said, funding wasn't streaming in, and she eventually grew weary.

"Every day was a fight," she said. "I was tired of killing animals."

Contact staff writer Tyler Jett at 423-757-6476 or tjett@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @LetsJett.

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Walker County shelter aims to drop euthanasia rates [photos ... - Chattanooga Times Free Press

Faribault Police Chief Andy Bohlen says he has been inundated with positive and negative feedback from people with opinions on how the city should handle its roaming cat population.

After Tuesday nights meeting, however, he walked away from Faribault Council Chambers with a plan, more offers to help and the councils support.

The city began looking through the citys perceived feral cat problem last year when Zulema Delgado, the manager of Evergreen Estates in Faribault, brought the problem before the City Council, asking the city for a solution to the large number of roaming cats in her community.

After some discussion, city staff prepared a plan to address the issue, nimbly avoiding the problem that the city cannot, per its own ordinance, re-release a cat into an area from which it was removed.

Last week, the Faribault City Council was peppered with concerns about the plan to euthanize cats that cannot find a home, even though the Minnesota Humane Society stepped in at the last minute with an offer to help fund a trap, neuter and release (TNR) program.

On Tuesday night, Bohlen told the crowd his revised plan, which aims to work with local partners to reduce the number of cats that would need be euthanized, all of which could be funded without the Humane Societys help, although he indicated the city still plans to work with that entity.

Helping with Bohlens new plan are some local rescues and sanctuaries like Rescue 55021 and Furball Farms in Faribault.

If anything, the last two weeks have shown that there are a lot of people who are willing to take a large number of these animals, said Bohlen.

One of those people is Julie Marvets, the owner of Furball Farms, a sanctuary on a farm southeast of Faribaults downtown.

Marvets, who bought the farm in October after she and her husband started Carbones Pizza and Sports Bar in Faribault last year, has a number of buildings on her farm that she plans to turn into a sanctuary. In fact, Furball Farms is already functioning, with cats living in a converted garage with an attached catio, or an enclosed outdoor space.

Furball Farms has offered to take some cats in, although right now, Marvets does not know if her property is ready for the large numbers that could come her way. Plans to ready her property are in the works, she told the Daily News.

Marvets said she has already been receiving calls from people who want to drop off their cat. This, she said, she cannot do, as each cat she accepts must go through the Humane Society, or another entity that will clear the cat through the veterinary process.

According to Bohlens plan, through the Faribault Veterinary Clinic, the city will undergo that clearing process. After that, they will be posted on social media and the Police Departments website for adoption. The others will hopefully be sent to places like Furball Farms, he said.

The program would be a year-round, Monday through Friday endeavor that officials hope will get some cats off the street. As Bohlen indicated, however, the problem will never go away.

We are not going to ever rid the city of stray cats, said Bohlen. But it will be a manageable issue and it will reduce the cats that are roaming in our neighborhoods.

While TNR is not an option due to the city's ordinance, Mayor Kevin Voracek amended TNR to mean trap, neuter and relocate, instead of release.

In addition, the city is staying open minded about groups like the Minnesota Spay Neuter Assistance Program, or MN SNAP, which provides TNR services to various communities. Bohlen said a date in July has been proposed to work with MN SNAP, though he cautioned the city regarding the cost.

If the Humane Society is willing to work with MN SNAP to come and pay for that, wonderful, he said. Im certainly willing to do that. I dont know if we want to incur spay, neuter costs to the city. I dont think the city should take that on.

Teresa Fuld, of Rescue 55021, took the microphone during the citizen comment period to offer her help providing microchipping to Faribaults cats, which she indicated would reconnect cats with their families.

We are willing to step up in any way we can, she said.

Lori Christensen, who previously worked for Patricia Olson, a Faribault-born veterinarian who is on the forefront of feral cat issues nationwide, said she believes veterinarians would donate their time to set up a TNR clinic, only asking for compensation for equipment and materials.

A woman who identified herself as Mary said that she works for a Northfield veterinarian who could match the 40 cats that MN SNAP said it would handle in its Faribault stop in July.

Marvets, who was at Tuesdays meeting, also took the mic and offered help, taking the time to thank the council for taking on the problem and not opting to euthanize the cats.

Those who offered to help added a plea for the city to begin educating the public about neutering its animals.

Besides the public service announcement (proposed in Bohlens plan), run an educational piece to inform people, said Christensen. Include the facts about how many kittens are produced over time. Put something in on a regular basis to educate people on how important it is.

Others agreed, and some councilors indicated something had to be done. Councilor Steve Underdahl was one of those agreeing councilors, but he did not see it as the citys role.

Thats not the citys responsibility to do that, he said, asking for a collaboration between the city and the rescues and animal organizations like the Humane Society. These groups should be doing that.

However, Underdahl praised the plan that had unanimous council support.

I like the plan Chief Bohlen has put forward to us here, he said. It certainly is rooted in every effort to not euthanize. It does reduce the number of cats in the areas, which is really why this came before us.

With the cat organizations leaning on the city, asking staff and councilors not euthanize the citys roaming cat population, the city is now leaning back, asking the groups for their help.

Gunnar Olson covers city government, public safety and business for the Faribault Daily News. Reach him at (507) 333-3128, at golson@faribault.com, or follow him on Twitter @fdnGunnar.

Continued here:

Plan reducing euthanasia, using community partners has Faribault council support - Southernminn.com

One of the last substantial barriers to increasing the number of euthanasia cases for non-terminally-ill psychiatric patients in Belgium seems to have crumbled.

A religious order in the Catholic Church, the Brothers of Charity, is responsible for a large proportion of beds for psychiatric patients in Belgium about 5,000 of them. The international head of the order, Brother Ren Stockman, is a Belgian who has been one of the leading opponents of euthanasia in recent years.

Nonetheless, in a surprise move this week, the board controlling the institutions of the Brothers of Charity announced that from now on, it will allow euthanasia to take place in their psychiatric hospitals.

In a statement posted on their website the Brothers of Charity explain the policy shift. We take seriously unbearable and hopeless suffering and patients request for euthanasia. On the other hand, we do want to protect lives and ensure that euthanasia is performed only if there is no more possibility to provide a reasonable perspective to treat the patient.

Euthanasia for psychiatric patients has already happened dozens of times in Belgium. But from now on it will probably be easier for people suffering from schizophrenia, personality disorders, depression, autism, or loneliness to access it. In fact, it will be hard to find an institution in Belgium where euthanasia is not being offered as an option.

Brother Stockman was stunned. We deplore this new vision, he told the media.

Nursing homes and hospitals opposing euthanasia have been under even more pressure after a court fined a Catholic nursing home a total of 6,000 last year for blocking a resident from accessing euthanasia.

However, Stockman felt that this was not an open and shut case. I am confident that we have the right to refuse euthanasia, Stockman told De Morgen. We want to take seriously the needs of the patients, but the inviolability of life is for us an absolute. We cannot accept that euthanasia is carried out within the walls of our institutions.

The leading figure in Belgian euthanasia, Dr Wim Distelmans, was delighted. Fifteen years after legalisation, he wrote in a newspaper op-ed, the Brothers of Charity have finally admitted that they had excluded the democratically approved policy of euthanasia from their institutions and forbidden doctors to follow their conscience and professional judgement.

Rubbing it in further, a member of the Belgian Parliament, Jean-Jacques De Gucht, summed up the situation: the last relics of the paternalism of the shepherd have been replaced by individual self-determination.

The chairman of the board, Raf De Rycke, an economist who has worked with the Brothers of Charity for years, denied that the ethos of their hospitals had changed We have not made a 180 degree turn, he told De Morgen newspaper. It is not that we used to be against euthanasia and now suddenly are for it. This is consistent with our existing criteria. We are making both possible routes for our patients: both a pro-life perspective and euthanasia.

Although this seems odd for a Catholic group, especially when the Pope has been outspoken in denouncing euthanasia, De Rycke believes that the inspiration of the Belgian Brothers of Charity fundamentally remains the same. We start from the same basic values: the inviolability of life is an important foundation, but for us it is not absolute. This is where we are on a different wavelength from Rome.

Link:

BioEdge: Belgian Catholic psychiatric hospitals 'adjust' their view of ... - BioEdge

Published: 30/04/2017 11:00 - Updated: 28/04/2017 16:04

Written byEmma Crichton

DOLPHINS and whales may have to be euthanised if a spill occurred during ship-to-ship oil transfers.

Critics of the plan to move more than eight million tonnes of crude oil in the Cromarty and Moray firths have slammed the Cromarty Firth Port Authority (CFPA) for saying animals may have to be killed if an accident happened.

The authoritys contingency plan for an oil spill states that euthanasia may be the most humane action but campaigners have branded it appalling and are preparing to ask the Scottish Government for help in blocking the transfers.

Members of Cromarty Rising will make a trip to Edinburgh next week to attend a debate on the controversial plans, to be hosted by Highlands and Islands MSP John Finnie.

Duncan Bowers will be among the Cromarty Rising campaigners attending the Scottish Parliament on Tuesday.

He said: We are not opposed to development but they already have a licence for a jetty at Nigg. They should carry out ship to ship transfers there and the Scottish Government can use development funds to help them do what they need to do.

A CFPA spokeswoman said: Every power driven vessel entering the Cromarty Firth carries fuel or oil, which most use for propulsion. As a result, the ports regulators (MCA) demand that we have an oil spill contingency plan in place for managing any release of oil by vessels into the waters of the Cromarty Firth.

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Dolphin euthanasia fears if ship-to-ship spill horror scenario takes ... - Inverness Courier