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Latest from the Buddies Pet Insurance news team… Climate change is threatening the annual winter spectacle of thousands of birds visiting wetland sites in Britain. There has been a big drop in the numbers of ducks, geese, swans and wading birds visiting some of Britain’s internationally important wetlands. While the numbers have increased for some species, most have suffered a dramatic decline, according to the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust report. Its latest survey for 2006/2007 reveals that 143 sites in Britain are of international importance for 43 species of waterbird either in winter or during migration. The report says climate change and milder winters have meant many birds shorten their migration routes and stay closer to their breeding grounds. As a result, many traditional wetlands sites in this country will not have as rich a variety of winter bids. A spokesman said: “At this time of year estuaries, marshes and wetlands throng with the arrival of ducks, geese, swans and wading birds, making this country one of the most important in the world for some of these birds.”

Latest from the Buddies Pet Insurance news team… A warning has gone out to puppy buyers to be aware of the difference between responsible breeders and puppy farmers. It comes from the Kennel Club which has just announced significant developments to its Accredited Breeder Scheme (ABS) which, it says, will further secure the scheme’s place as a kite-mark of quality in the dog breeding world and edge puppy farmers out of business. The scheme now has more than 3,000 members and the Kennel Club is about to appoint a network of Regional Breeder Advisors to visit and assess ABS premises across the country. In addition, the Kennel Club will reward those who are setting an exemplary benchmark for good breeding practice within the scheme, by awarding Accredited Breeder of Excellence titles. The Kennel Club has called on the Government to give it statutory powers to make the scheme’s requirements compulsory throughout the country.

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Latest from the Buddies Pet Insurance news team… Crufts, the world’s most famous and popular dog show, will go from strength to strength, according to Kennel Club chairman Ronnie Irving. This is despite the withdrawal of one of its sponsors and widespread media speculation about its future. Mr Irving has emphasised that despite the decision by Pedigree, the firm still plans to be at the 2009 show with a stand. He added: “Crufts has many other supporters, hundreds of trade stands and thousands of people who look forward to this national and international celebration of dogs each year. Not only does Crufts cater for the best of pedigree dogs from all over the world, but in recent years we have encompassed cross-bred dogs and all levels of dog ownership and activities.”  He added: “Cufts 2009 will concentrate even more than ever on healthy, happy and well bred dogs.”

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Latest from the Buddies Pet Insurance news team… A canine club in Peru has offered a solution to one of US president-elect Barack Obama’s most pressing problems – where to find a White House dog suitable for his allergic daughter. The president of the Association of Hairless Dogs of Peru has offered him a puppy. A letter has gone from the Peruvian embassy in Washington explaining to the new First Family that a pre-Inca breed are hypoallergenic, have no hair and are thought to cure conditions such as asthma. The Barrack girl, Malia (10) suffers from allergies and the president-elect has said that they need to find a hypoallergenic dog breed. According to Peruvian folklore being close to the dog can help with other ailments too such as stomach upsets and arthritis. The Peruvian association even has a particular puppy in mind – four-month-old Machu Picchu, named after the ancient Inca citadel. With more than 2,000 years of Peruvian heritage, the hairless breed is a small dog with a pointed nose. Its frequent yelping and wariness of strangers make them great watchdogs. So far no reply has been received from the Obamas.

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Latest from the Buddies Pet Insurance news team… Health officials are to examine the home and workshop of a drum maker after he died from inhaling anthrax. Fernando Gomez who lived in Hackney, east London, is thought to have inhaled the spores while handling imported animal skins. Mr Gomez’s flat has been sealed by the Health Protection Agency for examination, along with his workshop which is in the borough. Seven other people who had been in the room where the skins were prepared were given antibiotics as a precautionary measure, but nobody has developed any symptoms. The agency said people living near the flat or workshop were not at risk. “It is important to stress that it is the making of animal skin drums that is the risk of coming into contact with anthrax rather than playing or handling the drums,” said a spokesman.

Latest from the Buddies Pet Insurance news team… Dogs are the only animals that can read emotion in faces, much like humans, so confirming their place as man’s best friend. This claim, reported in the Daily Telegraph, adds that the same scientists also believe that dogs have a sense of right and wrong, they may be able to read their owner’s mind and they display aspects of human intelligence. Researchers at the University of Lincoln who have come up with these ideas, claim that dogs have the same “left gaze bias” as humans. This happens only when looking at human faces and no other animal is known to display this behaviour.  When humans look at a new face their eyes tend to wander left, falling on the right hand side of the person’s face first – and according to the research so do dogs. The researchers suggest that over thousands of years of association with humans, dogs may have copied our ability to read emotions.

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Latest from the Buddies Pet Insurance news team… Eight firemen armed with a miniature camera coated in chocolate were called out to search for a missing hamster in Dunbar, Scotland. Two fire crews spent five hours looking for Fudgie the hamster after it escaped from a cage and scurried under the kitchen floor of the family home. They took the Apppleby family cooker apart during the search and put the chocolate-coated camera under the floorboards trying to tempt Fudgie to appear. They also tried to retrieve the missing pet using a vacuum cleaner with a sock over the nozzle. Despite all their efforts Fudgie failed to materialise and after five hours handed over the task to the Scottish SPCA. The Appleby family were looking after the hamster for a  friend during the school holidays. Angela Appleby, a nursery nurse, said: “The fire fighters tried everything they could. The drama that tiny animal caused is unbelievable.”

Latest from the Buddies Pet Insurance news team…The Queen has been presented with a rare Lipizzaner horse during a state visit to Slovenia when she visited a stud farm and riding school in Lipica, near the Italian border.  During her tour of the centre - famed for breeding dancing Lipizzaners for the Spanish Riding School in Vienna – she was treated to a display of the animals in action. The Queen was then presented with Kanizo, a 16-year-old stallion and one of only 9,000 Lipizzaners in the world. He was described as one of the best performers at the centre. Unsure of his new-found fame, Kanizo whinnied loudly and reared up on his hind legs as the royal party passed. The Queen later accepted a plaque acknowledging her ownership but asked that the horse remained at the centre to be cared for.

Latest from the Buddies Pet Insurance news team… Householders in a market town are in fear of catnappers after the disappearance of 45 pets in five years from homes within half a mile of each other, reports the Daily Telegraph. The problem has become so bad the RSPCA is refusing to re-home cats in the area for fear of the catnappers. The latest animal to go missing was a five-years-old tabby called Gizmo. When he did not come home for tea, his owner, Kerry Davis, feared the worst. Gizmo is the second cat she has lost in a year. No one in the town has witnessed a “catnap” and no bodies have been discovered. RSPCA officials have been investigating the mystery in Stourbridge, West Midlands, for five years but have failed to come up with an explanation. Julie Wootton whose cat Norman went missing last year in the same area has formed a group to try to solve the mystery. She fears the 45 cats are just the tip of the iceberg. “Cat lovers have stopped replacing their pets because they cannot face the heartache,” she said. Meanwhile come residents are thinking of hiring a “pet detective” or putting up CCTV cameras.