Animals
S


Bug

Russians will never eat bugs - top Russian MP


RT.com
Wed, 07 Jan 2026 13:52 UTC
Bugs can only be used as animal feed in Russia, Yulia Ogloblina has said.
Crickets being bred on a farm.
© Getty ImagesCrickets being bred on a farm.
Food products made out of insects will never be offered to the Russian people, the deputy head of the parliament's agriculture committee, Yulia Ogloblina, has assured. This can only happen in the EU where the farming industry is in decline, she added.

Last February, the European Commission approved a new food ingredient for human consumption made from dried and ground mealworm larvae, the young form of beetles. The move became part of the bloc's plan to introduce more sustainable protein sources, which allows up to 4% of the insect-based powder in products such as bread, cheese, pasta and jams.

Ogloblina told news agency TASS on Tuesday that "in Russia, we have never eaten and will never eat insects. Never... It's out of the question. I'm saying this solemnly." Bugs are used "exclusively as feed for fish and animals," she added.

The Russian authorities will not change their stance on the issue regardless of the findings of any studies into alternative sources of protein, the MP said.
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Attention

Not the first time: Pitbulls attack again, this time deadly in Vryburg, South Africa


centralnews.co.za
Mon, 05 Jan 2026 13:26 UTC
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A quiet New Year's Day turned into a nightmare for a family in Vryburg when two pitbull dogs mauled a 39-year-old Pakistani national to death at a rented premises. The man, who was staying as a tenant, suffered severe wounds to his hands and legs in the attack on January 1, 2026, and passed away in hospital the next day despite medical efforts.

For his loved ones far from home, this loss feels like a cruel blow in a foreign land, leaving them to grieve without the comfort of familiar faces. Neighbours who heard the screams and rushed to help now live with the trauma of seeing a man fight for his life against animals meant to protect, not harm.

This tragedy has shaken the community, raising fresh questions about pet ownership and safety in homes where dogs roam free. Lieutenant-Colonel Sam Tselanyane, the North West police spokesperson, confirmed the details, noting how the victim was transported to hospital by Emergency Medical Rescue Services (EMRS) around 2:30am but succumbed to his injuries on Friday night.

Shockingly, this was not the first time the dogs had allegedly attacked tenants at the premises, with a pending case set for court in February 2026.
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Attention

One killed in rhino attack in Nepal


NepalNews.com
Tue, 06 Jan 2026 13:16 UTC
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One person was killed in a rhinoceros attack in Chitwan.

Babu Kaji Shrestha, 56, was attacked by the wild animal while he had been in the Rambel Community Forest of Bharatpur Metropolitan City - 12 on Monday afternoon to collect fodder.

He was a local of Bharatpur-12. District Police Office's Information Officer Rabindra Khanal confirmed that the man had died on the spot.
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Attention

Second aggressive seal euthanised in Plettenberg Bay, South Africa following New Year's day attack


Cape Times
Sun, 04 Jan 2026 14:50 UTC
Two injured after seal bite during New Year’s celebrations at Plettenberg Bay beach
Two injured after seal bite during New Year’s celebrations at Plettenberg Bay beach
ANOTHER seal has been euthanised after it attacked and injured two people during New Year's Day celebrations at Central Beach in Plettenberg Bay.

Bitou municipality said lifeguards on duty reported that a seal entered the swimming area and bit a person in the water.

"Beach Control immediately ordered the evacuation of all bathers from the ocean, as the beach was hosting a mass event at the time.

"Despite these swift actions, a raft/dinghy remained in the backline. The seal returned to the ocean, attacked the raft, and a second person sustained injuries," the municipality said.

Immediate assistance was provided to both patients. One individual self-transported for medical care, while the second was taken to Mediclinic. Beach Control alerted Mediclinic Emergency in advance to ensure readiness for the arrival of two seal bite victims.
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Attention

Four dead after hippo attack in Kenya


Bluewin.ch
Sun, 04 Jan 2026 14:46 UTC
A hippopotamus opens its mouth.
© Rainer JensenA hippopotamus opens its mouth.
Four young men have died in a hippo attack on Kenya's Lake Naivasha. According to Kenyan media reports, a group of 14 men wanted to fish illegally on the shores of the lake on Friday night. Several hippos attacked the men, according to reports. Some were able to swim to safety, others were attacked by the animals or drowned.

According to their relatives, the men wanted to supplement their family income by fishing.

Hippos can become extremely aggressive. The animals, which graze on the lake shore at night, attack if they feel their territory has been violated.

At the lake, which is also popular with tourists and is located around 80 kilometers from the capital Nairobi in the Rift Valley, lodge and camp operators warn against night-time walks along the lake. It is life-threatening to get between hippos and the lake.
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Attention

4-year-old killed by lioness in Gujarat, India - 2nd such incident for the state in 2 months


bhaskarenglish.in
Sun, 04 Jan 2026 14:35 UTC
mmmmm
Representative image
A four-year-old boy from a family of farm labourers was mauled to death by a lioness early this morning in the farm area on the border of Gir, Nani Monpari village, Visavadar taluka. The child had gone missing from the farm in the pre-dawn hours, and his bloodied body was later found by the forest department team.

Forest department swings into action

The boy's body bore deep wounds and clear marks of a lioness attack. Forest officials immediately launched an operation and called a special rescue team from Sasan to capture the animal. The attack has sparked fear across Visavadar, particularly among farmers and labourers who work or stay near the farms.

Comment: Back in November 2025: Two-year-old girl killed in lioness attack in Gujarat, India

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Arrow Down

Europe's biggest insect factory goes bankrupt — these bugs are not even Dog Food

Jo Nova
joannenova.com.au
Fri, 02 Jan 2026 17:09 UTC
Ynsect Food!
© joannenova.com.au
In the renewable frenzy of the early 2020s Ÿnsect raised €600 million to "Reinvent the food chain" and pioneer alternative foods that "respect the planet's boundaries". Some $200 million of their funding came from hapless taxpayers somewhere. But in record time, seemingly before it began, it has already gone. Bankrupted. And not because people don't want to eat mealworms (which they don't) but because there wasn't much market in making animal feed either. It turns out that farm owners didn't want to spend 2 to 10 times as much on "sustainable" cattle fodder. So the company shifted focus to high end pet food, where besotted owners have money to spare, but that crashed too.

h/t Tom Nelson
How reality crushed Ÿnsect, the French startup that had raised over $600M for insect farming

By Anna Heim, TechCrunch

The company's demise is hardly a surprise, as Ÿnsect had been embattled for months. Still, there is plenty to unpack about how a startup can go bankrupt despite raising over $600 million, including from Downey Jr.'s FootPrint Coalition, taxpayers, and many others.

Ultimately, Ÿnsect failed to fulfill its ambition to "revolutionize the food chain" with insect-based protein. But don't be too quick to attribute its failure to the "ick" factor that many Westerners feel about bugs. Human food was never its core focus.
It's only money...
And revenue was the problem. According to publicly available data, Ÿnsect's revenue from its main entity peaked at €17.8 million in 2021 (approximately $21 million) — a figure reportedly inflated by internal transfers between subsidiaries. By 2023, the company had racked up a net loss of €79.7 million ($94 million).
The vainglorious heady days of climate communism meant some bureaucrats thought it made sense to spend $200 million dollars feeding bugs to cows to try to change rainfall in 2100 AD.
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Black Cat

Woman killed in suspected mountain lion attack in Colorado

Miles Blumhardt, Jeanine Santucci
USA TODAY
Fri, 02 Jan 2026 14:01 UTC
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A woman found dead on a hiking trail in Colorado was killed in a suspected mountain lion attack, the state's first fatal attack since 1999, authorities said.

The woman was discovered on Jan. 1 when two hikers came upon a mountain lion lying partially over her body on the Larimer County hiking trail, Colorado Parks and Wildlife said.

The death is considered a suspected mountain lion attack pending a report by the coroner's office, agency spokesperson Kara Van Hoose told the Coloradoan, part of the USA TODAY Network.

Van Hoose said the suspected attack happened at about 12:15 p.m. on the Crosier Mountain Trail, just south of Glen Haven. The trail is about 70 miles northwest of Denver.
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Doberman

Woman dies from dog attack in Bourbon, Missouri


firstalert4.com
Sun, 28 Dec 2025 12:26 UTC
MMMMMMMM
The Missouri State Highway Patrol is investigating a dog attack after a 22-year-old woman died Saturday night from the attack in Bourbon, Missouri.

MSHP was called to investigate the incident by Bourbon Police.

According to a preliminary investigation, the attack happened around 10:30 p.m. in the 100 block of Hickory Street.

Police received a report of a woman who had possibly been attacked by dogs inside a home.

First responders found 22-year-old Angel Rawlings inside the home, along with two dogs.

She died at the scene.

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Attention

Elderly farmer dies and forest staff injured in separate bison attacks in Maharashtra, India


Times of India
Sun, 28 Dec 2025 12:16 UTC
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An 82-year-old farmer from Kisrul village in Kolhapur's Panhala tehsil, who was seriously injured in a gaur (bison) attack on Friday evening, succumbed to his injuries on Saturday night while undergoing treatment at the CPR hospital.

The attack occurred when the farmer, Banda Khot, went to the Khaparmala farm around 4pm to bring fodder. When he did not return home, his family members started searching and found him seriously injured in the field at 8.30 pm. He was admitted to the hospital immediately but died due to profuse bleeding on Saturday.

Panhala range forest officer Ajit Mali said, "The farmer sustained injuries to his chest, stomach, and legs in the bison attack. The panchnama of the incident has been carried out, and the family of the deceased will be compensated after the postmortem reports come in."
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