New legislation has announced this week that the thousands of cat owners in the UK have just over a year to microchip their pet else risk receiving a £500 fine. Hefty fines could also be dished out to the thousands of dog owners who have not microchipped their pets despite it already being a legal requirement to do so.

Experts from Quotezone.co.uk have urged pet owners to microchip their dogs and register them on a national database in order to make it easier to track down lost or stolen pups.

The microchipping law was put in place on 6 April 2016 for dogs and by June 2024 is mandatory for cats as well. Owners are legally required to make sure their pooch is fitted with a microchip by the time they’re 8 weeks old, unless they have health conditions that prevent them from the procedure. Owners are also responsible for updating their contact details and the dog’s microchip information on the database, as failing to do so could land them another £500 fine.

As well as being microchipped, dogs are still legally required to wear a collar with the owner’s contact details when out in public. Not only does microchipping help identify and return dogs to their owners, it also helps to decrease the growing number of strays on the streets and alleviates the strain that many animal shelters are under.

Charities and local authorities can save millions of pounds in annual savings by not having to feed and home dogs who have gone missing, when they can instead just easily scan the chip and find the owner.

Additionally, microchipping is crucial since without it pet insurance is not an option, as insurance providers can invalidate the policy if the pup goes missing without a microchip. The microchipping process itself is quick and painless and can be done for free in Blue Cross and Battersea rescue centres, or for a small charge of around £20 at a vet or local council.

“Not only will microchipping help keep your dog safe, but it will also help you avoid hefty fines and make it possible to protect your pooch with a pet insurance policy.  Since every dog owner is legally required to microchip their pup, failing to do so means they’re breaking the law and won’t be covered by insurance if the pet should get lost or stolen.

“It’s also important to remember to update the details for your dog’s microchip when there are changes, for example, if you get a new phone number or move house.” The number of stray cats is a rising issue, as recent research reveals that 80% of cats coming into Cats Protection’s centres are not microchipped, making it very difficult to reunite them with their owners.

Under the new law, the fines for cat owners who are caught not having microchipped their kittens will be the same as for dogs, however cats need to be chipped by the time they’re 20 weeks old.

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There’s a new top dog in town! The American Kennel Club (AKC^®), a not-for-profit organization, the world’s largest purebred dog registry and leading advocate for dogs, announced this morning that the ever-popular Labrador Retriever’s record-breaking reign has ended. The playful and adaptable French Bulldog is America’s most popular breed for the first time.

While it may come as a surprise to some that the loveable Lab’s 31-year stay at the top has come to an end, the French Bulldog has been quietly climbing the charts for many years. Over the past decade, the Frenchie has gone from 14^th in 2012 to number 1 in 2022, and registrations have increased over 1,000% in that time period.

“The French Bulldog has seen a surge in popularity over the years, and for good reason,” said AKC Executive Secretary Gina DiNardo. “Frenchies are playful, adaptable, loyal and outgoing. They make wonderful companions for a variety of people, but it’s extremely important to do your research to not only find the right breed for your lifestyle, but to ensure that you’re getting a well-bred dog from a responsible breeder.”

Other breeds making moves in 2022 include the American Hairless Terrier, which jumped an impressive 15 spots year over year (#135 in 2021 to #120 in 2022), the Gordon Setter (#113 in 2021 and #99 in 2022), the Italian Greyhound (#73 in 2021 and #63 in 2022) and the Anatolian Shepherd Dog (#88 in 2021 and #79 in 2022). Making strides over the past decade are the Cane Corso (#60 in 2012 and #18 in 2022), the Belgian Malinois (#71 in 2012 and #32 in 2022), the Giant Schnauzer (#96 in 2012 and #58 in 2022) and the English Cocker Spaniel (#64 in 2012 and #40 in 2022).

Enjoy dogs on Instagram? Here’s where some of social media’s favorites fall on the list: Pembroke Welsh Corgi (#11), Yorkshire Terrier (#13), Siberian Husky (#21) and Pug (#35).

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Niagara Falls, Ontario – Kiska, known as the world’s loneliest Orca whale, has died at the age of 47.  For decades, the orca whale led a sad life, devoid of freedom and companionship, at the Marineland Aquarium.

Marineland announced Kiska’s death; in a statement, the aquarium said:

“Marineland’s marine mammal care team and experts did everything possible to support Kiska’s comfort and will mourn her loss.”

Kiska had not experienced freedom since her capture in Iceland back in 1979 when she was three years of age. While in captivity at Marineland, Kiska gave birth to five calves; none of them outlived her.

The lonesome orca had been living by herself in her aquarium tank since 2011; she showed signs of emotional stress, including floating without moving, swimming in circles, and smashing her head against the side of her tank.

Aerial videos showed how small Kiska’s world was inside the aquarium tank.

Kiska is finally free of her lonely life. Rest easy Kiska.

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Dylan Wier, his business partner Blaine Kenny and a group of family friends from Wisconsin have the mother of all fish tales.

It’s something that Wier, a 27-year-old Pensacola resident, still finds hard to grasp.

“After the release, you can see steam coming out of my ears processing what had happened,” said Wier, referring to an early morning catch on Tuesday, March 7, that proved to be a great white shark.

“I never heard of a great white shark landing in Alabama before,” he said.

Neither have the experts. The fish was confirmed as a great white shark by a Mississippi-based professor who is the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resource’s go-to expert on sharks.

And though the fish was a juvenile, at around 11 feet in length, it is still a record-setting. That’s because the fish is believed to be first-ever great white shark caught by a land-based fisherman in Alabama.

“At the time, it was around 4:30 in the morning and (our group) were the only people on the beach,” said Wier. “I thought, ‘what a cool memory for our group.’ Just a cool moment.”

The great white shark, while detected offshore in Gulf waters, is rarely seen in waters close enough for land-based fishermen to reach.

The catch occurred right around spring break, which draws large crowds of out-of-state vacationers to Gulf Shores and Orange Beach for a week of sun, surf and swimming in the Gulf.

“This species is still rare this close to the shore in the Gulf of Mexico,”

But the fears are likely there, thanks to Hollywood portrayals of aggressive sharks stemming from Steven Spielberg’s 1975 megahit thriller, “Jaws.”

“The easiest thing I tell people is that if sharks wanted to hunt people, there’d be hundreds of sharks attacks a day,” said Wier. “If ‘Jaws’ was real, there’d be a lot of shark attacks and we wouldn’t get in the water. Those sharks don’t look for us often.”

Wier said that his company often flies drones above the Gulf. He said that most people do not have “a single clue” as to how close Gulf swimmers are to sharks. A shark-on-human bite, though, is extremely rare and often only occurs whenever the animal is confused, Wier noted.

“It’s fictional movies like ‘Jaws’ that draw a false sense of (safety),” he said.

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A foot found near Beaver Lake in Benton County that was suspected to be human has been identified as a bear foot, Lt. Shannon Jenkins confirmed on Wednesday.

The foot was brought to a fire station in Rogers on Sunday, March 12, and was initially reported by officials as "resembling a human foot."

Lt. Jenkins said the foot was found by a dog near the area of Hickory Creek at Beaver Lake.  

It was then later brought to Fire Station #7 in Rogers by the dog's owners. Keith Foster with Rogers Police Department says the remains were turned over to BCSO, who conducted an investigation. Search and rescue teams searched the area where the foot was believed to be found.

The foot was described by officials as "very deteriorated and basically bones."

On Wednesday, Jenkins apologized "for the unBEARable pain this may have caused the community."

Then added, "in all seriousness, we are thankful this is the foot of a bear rather than the foot of someone's loved one." 

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A 14-year-old was killed and two other teens were hospitalized Tuesday after a vehicle crashed into them while they were riding horses that the Dallas Police Department says were stolen.

Two of the horses also died, Dallas Police said.

Police responded to the crash at Great Trinity Forest and Julius Schepps Freeway around 5:30 a.m. Tuesday, the release said.

“The preliminary investigation has determined the three riders appear to be juveniles and the horses were stolen,” it added.

The 14-year-old died at the scene, while the two other riders – a 16-year-old and a 17-year-old – were taken to a local hospital, where they remain in stable condition, per police.

One of the horses also died at the scene, police said, and the second was euthanized on scene by a veterinarian. The third horse was injured, too, police said, but is expected to live.

The driver is not expected to face charges, according to police. The investigation remains ongoing.

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One of the most profound mysteries facing science is how exactly life arose from non-living matter. Now, scientists have pinpointed a particular peptide that potentially kickstarted life – and it could all be nickelback’s fault.

It seems that the first living organisms appeared fairly soon after the Earth itself was born – but how? At some point non-living material must have begun performing biological functions, and finding out how that happened would be one of the most important breakthroughs in scientific history.

In recent years, scientists have been conducting experiments with artificial evolution and cooking up primordial soups to explore the kinds of chemical reactions that might have occurred on early Earth, in order to start stacking the building blocks of life. And in a new study, researchers at Rutgers University and the City College of New York worked backwards from current biology to find a possible starting point.

“Scientists believe that sometime between 3.5 and 3.8 billion years ago there was a tipping point, something that kickstarted the change from prebiotic chemistry – molecules before life – to living, biological systems,” said Vikas Nanda, corresponding author of the study. “We believe the change was sparked by a few small precursor proteins that performed key steps in an ancient metabolic reaction. And we think we’ve found one of these ‘pioneer peptides.’”

According to the researchers’ reasoning, any potential progenitor chemical would have to be active enough to drive biochemical processes, but remain simple enough to assemble spontaneously in the primordial soup. So to find the right candidate, the team pared down modern metabolic proteins to their most basic structure.

After much experimentation, one particularly promising candidate emerged – a peptide made up of just 13 amino acids, which binds two nickel ions to its backbone. As such, the scientists gave the molecule the nickname “nickelback.”

This peptide seems to fit the bill on all counts, the team says. Not only is it simple, but nickel is thought to have been an abundant metal in the early oceans. And of course, it’s highly chemically active – the nickel ions act as strong catalysts to produce hydrogen gas, which would have been a key energy source for metabolic processes.

Of course, this doesn’t necessarily mean that nickelback is specifically responsible for all life on Earth, but it could help us understand that vital transition. And it could also lead to new biosignatures that astronomers could use to hunt for life on other planets.

“This is important because, while there are many theories about the origins of life, there are very few actual laboratory tests of these ideas,” said Nanda. “This work shows that, not only are simple protein metabolic enzymes possible, but that they are very stable and very active – making them a plausible starting point for life.”

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Dickson, Okla. (KOKH) — A Carter County woman says she was attacked and injured by a neighbor's pet monkey while in her own front yard Sunday afternoon.

Dickson police say the 911 call was one of the most unusual calls they have ever received.

"I was sitting here in this exact spot and I looked out the window and there was a monkey looking at me," victim Brittany Parker said. "I took a second glance and said 'Oh my God! There is a monkey on the front porch.'"

Parker says she was stunned.

"The monkey was trying to get into my house," Parker said. "The little button that you push in on the screen door, he broke it off. I was literally hanging onto my door trying to hold it closed."

Parker says she called police and went outside when officers got there.

That is when she was attacked.

"He jumped up on my back and landed on my head," Parker said. "He started grabbing handfuls of hair and just ripped it out. He ripped my ear almost completely off of my head."

Police say the monkey ran off after the attack.

"As we were looking for the primate, two shots were fired," Dickson police chief Tim Duncan said. "The shots came from the area of the victim's residence. Officers went back to the house and found that a family member of the victim shot and killed the primate."

Parker and police say they didn't know someone had a pet monkey in city limits.

Friends of the monkey say his name was Jack.

"It was all very scary," Parker said. "It was very traumatizing." Parker says because of her injury, she can't work. She says she will also need plastic surgery to fix her ear. Parker says she also worries about her family's safety.

"My son loves to play outside," Parker said. "Do I let my child go outside and play? Do I worry every time we step outside if we are going to be attacked by something? It is very traumatizing. It is very scary."

Police say having the monkey is not illegal. The owner's name hasn’t been released. Investigators say they will turn the case over to the district attorney.

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Police killed a zebra in Ohio after it attacked and nearly bit off its owner's arm.

Officers from the Pickaway County Sheriff's Office were called Sunday to a rural property in Circleville, Ohio, around 5:36 p.m. They found Ronald Clifton on the ground in front of a herd of zebras. He was hemorrhaging blood below his right elbow from a bite wound, according to the police report.

An officer placed his car between the 72-year-old victim and the herd to help tend to Clifton when he said "a large male zebra charged my driver side door and was acting very hostile," the police report said.

After the officer was able to scare off the hostile zebra with his vehicle's airhorns and sirens, he and his partner were able to administer a tourniquet on Clifton's arm and get him up on his feet, the report said.

While Clifton was being cared for by EMS personnel, officers observed the same male zebra approach Clifton's family and the officers, according to the report. The family authorized the police to shoot the zebra if it got too close, the report said.

A police sergeant yelled at the zebra three times as it approached her and then fired at its head with her shotgun, killing it, according to the report.

The officer who shot the zebra said it was "protective of about five or six female zebras that were in the field at this location upon our arrival," according to the report.

Clifton was taken to a hospital and his family told first responders on last Monday that he was in stable condition and won't lose his arm, according to ABC Columbus affiliate WSYX-TV.

The other zebras on the property will likely not be removed, WSYX reported.

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