In The News: Another 52 More Cats Disappear In A Week

In the modern era, environmental news is high on the agenda for most organisations who report anything and everything from localised shrinking bee colonies to global climate change that affects almost everyone in the world. With so many different stories spanning the front pages and being in the headlines, we have collected a few of our top environmental and animal news stories from the week.

Fresh warnings have been put out to cat owners in the towns of Ipswich and Stowmarket in Suffolk after more than 50 cats have disappeared in the past week alone. 160 cats have been reported missing so far this year, with no sign or trace of the animals to be left for their heartbroken owners to find. Although many have already been micro-chipped, Mrs Parkes who runs a facebook page to try and connect owners to help find the cats, is encouraging cat owners to ensure their cats are tagged and to be aware of any suspicious behavior in their area. Although the police have not yet got involved, multiple reports of a couple seen luring cats into a car have prompted new lines of inquiry. To find out more about this dreadful situation please see the online version of the East Anglian Daily Times.

Scientists are becoming increasingly concerned for the UK's native marine organisms as a number of intruders are thought to arrive in British waters in the near future. Following the dominant establishment of the killer shrimp in some areas (including the Norfolk Broads), alarm bells have begun to ring after a quagga mussel was discovered in a river near to London in the past month. Thought to mainly be arriving from Turkey and Ukraine, at least 10 other species have now established populations in the Netherlands with scientists revealing that there is a critical risk of them coming here. If you would like to know more, please visit the BBC News website.

A gentleman in Western Australia has sadly died after being bitten several times by a snake. Thought to have been the highly venomous western brown snake, the 41 year old man was bitten several times on his hand and forearm after picking the reptile up to remove it from a park in an area that is close to shops, offices and a school. However, the indigenous man did not seek immediate medical attention and instead made his way to the outskirts of the town where he collapsed. He sadly passed away just after arriving in hospital. Click here for more information.

A woman returning from a backpacking trip in South East Asia has discovered that there was a three inch long leech living in her nose! Named as Mr Curly , the leech was removed by doctors and nurses in hospital when she realised that there was something wriggling in her nose. The leech is thought to have been living inside her for a month after a visit to either Vietnam or Cambodia but the young lady did not think anything of the nosebleeds she was getting as she believed it was a result of a burst blood vessel from a recent motorcycle accident. To find out more about this story please click here.

Orang-utans throughout the islands of Borneo and Sumatra have been severely threatened by deforestation, which in recent years has accelerated due to the growing demand for palm oil. However, it finally seems as though after many years of suffering and campaigning from numerous companies and individuals things look like they are starting to change, with new initiatives for deforestation-free palm oil coming into play. In the past year, more than a dozen major producers, traders and consumers have pledged to only deal with deforestation-free palm oil. To find out more please see the full article.