Dog bites shark

A video of a dog biting a shark has gone viral.  The video shows two dogs in Australia who appear to be herding several sharks towards shore, when one of the dogs bits one of the sharks.

Amazing camouflage cuttlefish

Dutch MPs vote to ban religious slaughter

A bill which would ban the slaughtering of animals using halal and kosher slaughter methods has passed the Dutch parliament with a wide majority, despite opposition from Muslim and Jewish groups who say a ban would impinge on their religious freedoms. The bill still has to pass the Dutch senate.

Both halal and kosher slaughter rules prescribe that animals' throats must be cut while they are still conscious, so that they bleed to death. The Party for Animals, the main proponents of bill, argue that sparing animals needless suffering outweighs religious groups' rights to follow their chosen slaughter practices. According to Karen Soeters of the Party for Animals:

"[Animals slaughtered by these methods] stay conscious for up to 5 minutes. They lose a lot of blood and they can choke on their own blood . . . research shows that with kosher slaughter [animals must be cut] on average 3.5 times, and with halal 5.5 times."

A solid majority of Dutch voters support the ban, and parliament voted for it by a margin of 116 to 30.

Luxembourg, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland also ban religious slaughter methods.

Lost Rainbow Toad rediscovered

A colourful amphibian previously thought extinct has been rediscovered in Borneo. The Long-legged Borneo Rainbow Toad had last been sighted in 1924, and was known only from drawings.

Researchers from Universiti Malaysia Sarawak found three of the toads in a tree following months of searching.

Dr Robin Moore of Conservation International, who launched the Global Search for Lost Amphibians, was delighted by the discovery, saying "It is good to know that nature can surprise us when we are close to giving up hope, especially amidst our planet's escalating extinction crisis."

Conservation International had listed the toad as one of the "world's top 10 most wanted frogs."