Remember your pets in the hot times
It’s hot and getting hotter. While we struggle to cope, let’s not forget our companion animals.
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The last two years (2016-17) have set records as the hottest ever.
It’s not even the middle of summer yet, but we are already seeing reports of highways melting and people are being warned that the extreme heat can be a killer.
PETA receives reports every year about animals who suffer horrifying deaths during the summer months.
Never leave an animal in a parked car in warm weather, even for short periods with the windows slightly open.
On even a mild 30-degree day, the temperature inside of a car parked in the sun can reach 54 degrees in just minutes.
Dogs need their exercise, but in summer, it's best to do that early in the morning.
Think about the surfaces they will be treading and try to walk on grass or in the shade.
You have shoes; they do not.
Make sure they don't pick up any dropped food – it spoils fast in hot weather.
Avoid exercising in the heat of the day – some dogs will keep running until they go into heatstroke.
Dogs can also get sunburnt, particularly if they are pale in colour or like to bake their tummies.
You can use sunscreen, but not the ones with zinc or salicylates as they can be toxic if licked.
Indoor animals can also overheat if they like to sleep near a window. Make sure there is somewhere shady they can move to.
And always make sure there is plenty of cool, fresh water for them to drink.
Desmond Bellamy
Special Projects Coordinator
PETA Australia
Use your local voice
In 2017 I submitted dozens of letters to The North West Star.
I had the occasional one printed.
If something really annoys you, tell someone.
That is why we have a local paper.
If we don't pick on our local pollies, they get away with corruption.
Looking forward to 2018.
George Harley
Mount Isa
Support the Rohingya
As families around Australia enjoy the holidays. we hope that they take a moment to remember the children in Cox’s Bazar, who have so little but somehow manage to create small moments of joy in even the most heartbreaking of circumstances.
Most of the children arrived with nothing but the clothes on their backs. Many of them are extremely traumatised from the perilous journey. Yet despite all they have endured, they still find a way to just be kids.
The children craft toys out of junk they find around the camp: plastic bag kites, balloons on a string, little cars on strings fashioned out of plastic bottles.
More than 625,000 Rohingya people have crossed the border into the Cox’s Bazar camps since August 25. Of the new arrivals, 378,000 are children.
As life in the camp becomes more stable and infrastructure around the camps improves, the laughter of children has started to return.
Yet this is no place to raise a child. Conditions are unsanitary and disease outbreaks, including deadly cholera and diphtheria, have occurred. Unaccompanied and separated children continue to be at risk of early marriage, child labour and trafficking.
As we mark four months and look ahead to the next 12 months of this crisis, Plan International’s priority is to ensure children and adolescents are safe and protected.
To support this vital work, please consider donating to the appeal: https://planau.me/rohingyaresponse
Susanne Legena, Deputy CEO, Plan International Australia