Steve Coleman, the chief executive of RSPCA NSW, said there was sufficient evidence to require an immediate investigation. He said it was not the first time the abattoir, a small family business, had been reported to the RSPCA. We have had complaints [in] the past about this abattoir but nothing thats warranted a prosecution.

Fines of up to $110,000 or two years imprisonment apply for acts of aggravated acts of cruelty to animals, according to the prevention of cruelty act.

Last year Animals Australia recorded images of cattle being mistreated at an Indonesian abattoir, which resulted in the temporary halt of live animal exports.

Stock already at the abattoir must be sent to other slaughterhouses or back to the farm.

NSW Farmers president Fiona Simson backed the actions taken by the food authority.

“Looking after your animals is essential to productive farming; our members are concerned and shocked when they see that the same care is not undertaken when the livestock leave the farm,” Mrs Simson said.

“After the live export issue in 2011, our membership reaffirmed that the highest level of animal welfare should always be carried out, whether at home or abroad.”

NSW Farmers noted the strong commitment of the Food Authority to ensure compliance with food standards, which already includes licensing, inspection and audit requirements.

Some of the footage as reported by Channel Ten. Warning: graphic footage

Adhering to history as documented by letters and journals, Cronenberg presents a movie of ideas rather than fully formed drama, exploring the conflicting egos of friends-turned-rivals Carl Jung (Michael Fassbender) and Sigmund Freud (Viggo Mortensen). The catalyst for their professional embrace and personal rejection of each other is Sabina Spielrein (Keira Knightley), Jungs patient-turned-mistress-turned-disciple, who intellectually challenged both men before arriving at her own tragic end.

Read the full review here

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More From Businessweek

• China’s Stock Index Climbs on Reserve-Ratio Cut; ICBC Advances
• Hong Kong Stocks Erase Gains on Concern China’s Economy Slowing
• Oil Jump Buoys Fund Flows as N.Y. Stocks Climb: Russia Overnight
• Baidu’s Slowing Sales View Curbs N.Y. Stocks: China Overnight
• ETF Rises to One-Week High on Easing Prospects: China Overnight

By Zachary Tracer

Feb. 13 (Bloomberg) — PetroChina Co. traded at the biggest discount to Hong Kong in two months and Chinese stocks in the U.S. slid as lower-than-expected lending and falling imports boosted concern the world’s second-largest economy is slowing.

The Bloomberg China-US 55 Index of the most-traded Chinese equities in the U.S. tumbled 1.1 percent to 105.07 in New York on Feb. 10, as all but one stock fell below shares traded in Hong Kong. The 1.3 percent drop last week was the first weekly retreat in two months. Solar module maker Yingli Green Energy Holding Co. fell 9.5 percent while Yanzhou Coal Mining Co. joined energy producer PetroChina to trade at the biggest discount to Hong Kong since December.

Speculation Chinese policy makers must further loosen monetary policy to spur the economy is mounting, after data released on Feb. 10 showed credit grew less than analysts estimated and imports and exports slumped for the first time in two years. New lending in January was the lowest for the month in five years, while money supply grew the least in more than a decade, a report released after Chinese markets closed showed.

“The striking thing on the trade data was how weak imports were,” Mark Williams, chief Asian economist at Capital Economics Ltd, said by phone from London. “China’s economy is still slowing and policy makers have not turned fully in the direction of easing.”

The iShares FTSE China 25 Index Fund, the biggest Chinese exchange-traded fund in the U.S., slipped 2.9 percent to $38.93 on Feb. 10, the lowest since Jan. 31. The fund slumped 3.9 percent last week.

‘Unsustainable’ Solar Rally

Imports to China declined 15.3 percent in January from a year earlier, missing the lowest estimate for a 14 percent drop in a Bloomberg survey of 30 economists. M2, the broadest measure of money supply, rose 12.4 percent, less than all 29 estimates in a Bloomberg survey. Banks extended 738.1 billion yuan ($117 billion) of new yuan-denominated loans last month, lower than 25 of 26 estimates.

The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index in Hong Kong fell 1.7 percent last week. Global stocks declined for the first week in six as concerns that a deal to bail out Greece may fail rattled investors.

Hebei, China-based Yingli led a decline among solar companies, paring its weekly advance to 23 percent.

Mark Bachman, an analyst at Avian Securities LLC — whose “neutral” outlook for Yingli stock has not yet borne out with the stock up 41 percent this year — said the rally in the companies’ stock is “unsustainable.” Trina Solar Ltd., a Changzhou-based maker of solar panels, lost 7.3 percent to $10.15 on Friday, cutting its weekly advance to 24 percent. Bachman also rates Trina’s stock “neutral.”

‘100 Percent of Utilization’

There has been no uptick in solar companies’ production targets and factories aren’t running at full capacity, Bachman said in an interview on Feb. 10, citing conversations with company officials in China.

“Every one of these companies coming out of China is likely to produce losses all the way through 2012,” he said.

Deutsche Bank AG’s Vishal Shah, a managing director based in New York, wrote in a Feb. 9 report that for “tier-one” solar companies in China, Taiwan and Korea, orders have been rising and they are “running at 100 percent of utilization.”

ADRs of PetroChina, the nation’s biggest oil producer, declined 3.4 percent to $146.63 on Feb. 10, widening the discount to Hong Kong to 1.6 percent, the most since Dec. 8. The U.S.-traded stocks slid 1.9 percent last week.

Cnooc, China’s biggest offshore energy producer, fell 1.9 percent to $221.41 in New York, paring its weekly gain to 1.4 percent, after its Hong Kong shares slipped 1 percent to HK$17.28, or $2.23. One American depositary receipt is the equivalent of 100 ordinary shares. The 0.6 percent discount was the widest since Feb. 2.

Falling Demand

Crude oil fell from a three-week high in New York trading Friday on concern euro-area finance ministers’ refusal to approve Greece’s second rescue package will worsen the European debt crisis and cut demand for fuel and commodities. Oil for March delivery gained 0.8 percent last week to settle at $98.67 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The International Energy Agency also cut its 2012 forecast for global oil demand on Feb. 10, citing a “darkening” economic outlook. Demand will drop in nations of the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development as the European crisis hits economic growth, according to the IEA.

Yanzhou Coal, China’s fourth-biggest producer of the fuel, slipped 4.6 percent to $24.40, bringing its decline to 0.5 percent last week. The company’s Hong Kong shares fell 3 percent to HK$19.30, or $2.49, leaving the ADRs, worth 10 ordinary shares, to trade at a 2 percent discount, the cheapest since Dec. 28.

European Crisis ‘Staggers On’

Chinese economic data for January can be difficult to interpret because the Lunar New Year holiday closed many businesses in the last week of the month, Capital Economics’ Williams said. The holiday usually falls during February, complicating year-over-year comparisons, he said.

The People’s Bank of China lowered the amount banks are required to keep in reserve for the first time since 2008 in December and hasn’t altered the nation’s 6.56 percent lending rate since July. The International Monetary Fund said in a report this week that China’s economic expansion may be cut almost in half should Europe’s debt crisis worsen.

“As the European crisis staggers on with no firm resolution in sight, I think it will be fair to expect Chinese policy makers to start wondering whether they should do a little bit more,” Williams said.

Focus Media

Focus Media Holding Ltd., a digital advertising company in China, dropped 3.1 percent to $23.47 on Feb. 10, to lose 2.8 percent last week.

Shanghai-based Focus Media was the subject of a fifth report questioning its financials by short-sellers Muddy Waters LLC on Feb. 8. Muddy Waters reiterated a “strong sell” recommendation on the stock saying that Focus overstated the size of its LCD television network by counting some cardboard posters as LCD displays, according to the report last week.

Focus Media said on Dec. 22 that a survey by market research company Synovate showed the number of LCD screens and poster frames that it claimed to have was more than 99.95 percent accurate.

Some traditional picture frames, which contain static poster ads, are counted by its LCD network because the LCD display network division of the company installs them, not the Framedia poster frame network, Jing Lu, an investor-relations officer for Focus in Shanghai, said in a Feb. 10 phone interview.

–With assistance from Clyde Eltzroth and Arie Shapira in New York. Editors: Emma O’Brien, Marie-France Han

To contact the reporter on this story: Zachary Tracer in New York at ztracer1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Emma O’Brien at eobrien6@bloomberg.net

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READER DISCUSSION

Providing food is a necessity for your animals. What do you need to feed them and where will you keep it? How many times a day must you feed? Who will feed if you are gone? These are all questions to ponder.

What type of shelter does your animal need ? a bowl, a cage, a house, a pen or a barn? Does it need bedding or a warm, dry place in the winter? Do you need a pen or fence to contain the animal in a certain area? Are there adequate gates to let your animals in and out? Who secures these gates? One of the first lessons I learned on the farm was to close every gate immediately each time I opened it. Animals will find open gates or holes in fences!

Love and care vital

Most animals need some health care ? who will provide it? Does your animal need yearly vaccinations or grooming or dental or hoof care? Sometimes wellness care is needed to eliminate pests or parasites. A watchful eye is important to notice if your animal is in need of health care. Is your dog scratching or does your horse have a red eye? Does your animal/pet have enough space for exercise or is enough time set aside for exercise?

Next comes safety and security. Do your pets have areas that need to be off-limits? Do you need to keep them out of the trash or away from cleansers? Is a plank fence adequate or will the tiny calf roll right under it? This is spoken from experience! Does your chicken yard need covering so the hawks cannot get them? Will an electric fence help you? It?s up to you to provide security for your animals.

Record keeping is another responsibility that goes along with animal ownership. You need to record expenses and income, as well as birth, health and production records. Registration papers are important if breeding or selling is in the picture.

All animals fare better with a certain amount of your time or attention. For pets this could be spent walking, playing fetch or even grooming them. For large animals, do you spend time feeding or training them to make them gentle? It?s always obvious when the 4-H?ers are showing their lambs, cows, horses or goats who has spent time with their animals. There will be a visible difference when mutual respect is present. Animals are not human, but they should not be neglected or mistreated.

Along with animal care comes a hands-on education. You also will find yourself wanting to learn more about your animal?s history, breeds, care, training and use. ?Master? classes are available through the Williamson County Extension Service to teach you about total care for animals. Some of these are equivalent to college courses.

In this article I have presented many questions for thought. I have concluded that caring for animals is just about the most rewarding way to teach a child or adult responsibility and wisdom. In exchange for planning, management and care for the animals, we receive love, satisfaction and enjoyment! What more can we want?

AMA LTD has released a second addition to their Animal Tycoon series, appropriately named Animal Tycoon 2, onto the Android Market. For you Tycoon type of game fans out there, this brings a whole slew more buildings, decorative items and animals in this new title.

As you are probably guessing already, in Animal Tycoon 2 you build and expand your own zoo and populate it with all kinds of animals. To attract as many visitors as possible though you will need more than just animals of course. You will be able to build other structures that provide various services for visitors ranging from providing snacks and food to toilets.

It is a fine balance that you will need to keep to attract as many visitors as possible. You will need to take care of your animals, feed them and keep them happy. When your animals are happy you will attract more people to your zoo who will increase your income letting you expand your zoo and buy more animals.

NPD group said stores sold $1.14bn (£720m) worth of games over the month, down 34% on the previous year. It added that hardware sales were down 38%.

The consumer data provider linked the drop to a lack of major new releases.

Other analysts also pointed to worries about the economy and said this might have an impact on the upcoming launch of Sonys PlayStation Vita console.

NPD said that Activision Blizzards Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 was the months best-selling title. It was followed by Just Dance 3, Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and NBA 2K12.

Microsofts Xbox 360 held onto its title as the top selling hardware platform for the sixth month running.

While the lack of new launches was a major reason for software declines, games which launched in the last three months of 2011 also performed poorly in January 2012, down 31% in units compared to fourth quarter launches in January 2011, NPD analyst Liam Callahan added.

As shoppers were not drawn to stores due to new launch activity, this potentially impacted additional software purchases made on impulse.

The video games news website, IGN, said it had noted a similar drop-off in activity in the UK market. It said sales should pick up when Mass Effect 3 goes on sale in March, but noted that shoppers were worried.

You cant really deny that the economy is a factor, Keza MacDonald, the firms UK games editor, told the BBC.

The lack of big new releases is just a tiny bit of the picture. The fact people are buying less games shows up in the US, European and Japanese data.

People are just buying fewer games because they have less money to spend. The data before Christmas was also not particularly strong.

Vitas challenge

The news comes as Sony prepares the global launch of its new PlayStation Vita games console. The device goes on sale across Europe, Australia and the Americas on 22 February.

The group held signs — many with shark themes — blasting what they believe are unfair lending practices of payday loan businesses. Organizers said they hope to get the attention of state Sen. Bill Stanley and to get him to vote in favor of anti-predatory loan legislation in the General Assembly.

“Payday loan sharks charge over 300 percent 1/8annual percentage rate], purposefully locate their shops in low-income minority communities, and perpetuates a vicious cycle of debt for hard working Virginians,” said Virginia Organizing’s Julie Blust in a news release.

In his first protest with Virginia Organizing, Danvillian Mike Huggins said he was willing to stand out in the cold and rain with a sign against “loan sharks” because he thinks it is important to send a message to people. And the time had come for him to be active in his opinions.

“I don’t agree with the way a lender will lend in ways they know is predatory,” said Huggins. “I’m pro social justice. When does it come to the point to be a part of the change you want to see?”

According to Advance America’s website, in Virginia a loan for $100 has a fee of $28 and an adjustable percentage rate of 340 percent and a $500 loan has a $120 fee and an APR of 292 percent. The website states these figures assumes a 30-day term and the fee and APR include a loan origination fee of $20 for every $100 borrowed and a verification fee of $5 plus interest at 36 percent assuming a 30-day term and that the fee is financed.

But many people believe that the payday loans help people in Virginia.

Jamie Fulmer, the vice president of public affairs at Advance America, said customers are very well aware of what the rates are when they take out a loan and they have been “overwhelmingly satisfied” with the service.

“I think Virginia Organizing has long been a critic of ours and in spite of their rhetoric, thousands of people in the commonwealth choose to use our services everyday,” said Fulmer. “Our customers use a product they value and they choose because it is an affordable option.”

Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) – Chris Paul hit the game-winning shot with 3.2 seconds remaining as the Clippers downed the 76ers, 78-77, on Friday.

A pair of Lou Williams free throws had Philadelphia up, 77-76, with 18 seconds left, but Paul hit a twisting, fadeaway jumper near the foul line to improve Los Angeles to 3-1 on its current six-game road trip.

Paul finished with a game-high 24, Blake Griffin added 16 and 11 rebounds and Mo Williams scored 14. Former 76er Reggie Evans didnt score, but impacted the contest with 10 rebounds — five offensive — in 19 minutes of action.

The Sixers, meanwhile, have dropped two straight for the first time this season. They got 12 points from both Andre Iguodala and Elton Brand, who added 10 boards. Lou Williams finished with 11 points.

Caron Butler gave LA a 76-74 lead with a minute to play. Following misses by Iguodala and Paul, Butler fouled Jrue Holiday in the frontcourt with LA in the penalty. Holiday made the first free throw, but missed the second and the Clippers called timeout with 20 seconds left.

Inbounding at half court, Ryan Gomes made an errant pass and Butler fouled Lou Williams while battling for the loose ball under the LA net. Williams made both foul shots, but Paul answered with the game-winner. Williams, double- teamed near mid-court, failed to get a shot off before time expired.

One thing I pride myself on is ball handling, said Paul. I may not make every shot but I feel like I can get any shot that I want because of ball handling. Ive always been undersized, so one thing I know is that I can create my own shot.

The Sixers concluded a challenging stretch, in which they also faced Orlando, Chicago, Miami, Atlanta, the Lakers and San Antonio, with a 4-3 mark. They were up 27-18 after one behind 58.8 percent shooting and seven points from Brand. Lou Williams hit a short jumper to open the second, stretching the lead to double-digits, but the Clippers responded.

It was 33-21 when LA reeled off an 18-5 run to go on top. Mo Williams scored the Clippers first 12 points of the burst before Griffin threw down an emphatic baseline jam and Paul finished with four straight for a 39-38 lead.

The half ended in back-and-forth fashion and Philadelphia held a 43-41 advantage at the break. Neither team was able to pull away in the third. The Sixers were up 61-54 on a Jodie Meeks three, but the Clippers answered with a 16-2 run between the third and fourth to take a 70-63 lead.

Philadelphia responded with an Iguodala trey and a three-point play from Lou Williams to trigger the tight finish.

Usually when you play these tough teams in a stretch like we did it usually carries over for a week or two, said Iguodala. Hopefully it will continue to carry over with the high level that weve been playing at.

The DCHS is a non-profit organization and urges people to
support the shelter through pet adoptions and memberships.

Contact the shelter on lost pets and always spay or neuter your
animals.

Pets of the Week is a regular feature of the Friday Life page in
the Fremont Tribune and are appearing weekly on the website at
fremonttribune.com.