Animal Lovers

The owner of a photogenic horse in Wales is claiming she deserves some recognition from a man who won a contest after taking a selfie with the animal. David Bellis and his son, Jacob, were awarded first prize in U.K.-based travel company Thomson Holidays’ “Made Me Smile” selfie competition for a photo taken with a mare named Betty near their home in north Wales, according to The Guardian. The prize was a vacation worth £2,000 (about $2,884). But when Betty’s owner, Nicola Mitchell, learned that Bellis won, she complained that the man should have asked for her permission for the snapshot. “I was really annoyed to hear he had won a £2,000 holiday and had used a picture of our horse without our permission,” she told The Guardian. “He should have asked for our consent. There should be some token gesture as it is our horse that has really won them the holiday.” Plus, she said, if she had known about the competition, she could have taken her own photo of Betty and won. Bellis told the T...

FBI data collection to begin effective January 1 2016.... Animal abusers will now be grouped into the same category as murderers! They believe animal cruelty is and should be identified as a violent crime, one that leads to bigger things if it goes unchecked. No longer will violent cases of animal cruelty be included in the “other offenses” category simply because the victims of the crime are animals... The new FBI categorization is significant because it affirms that at the highest level of our government animal cruelty is recognized as a violent crime." According to the FBI, the official definition of animal cruelty will be: Intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly taking an action that mistreats or kills any animal without just cause, such as torturing, tormenting, mutilation, maiming, poisoning, or abandonment. Included are instances of duty to provide care, e.g. shelter food water care if sick or injured transporting or confining an animal in a manner likely to...