The Malaysian Insider :: Features
The Malaysian Insider :: Features |
| European Union drops limits on pet movements Posted: 10 Jun 2013 06:44 AM PDT
EU member countries broadened a law governing the movement of pets today, removing a limit of five pets per person crossing a border – if owners can prove their animals will take part in a competition, exhibition, or sporting event. The legislation adds to the European Union's "pet passport" scheme, where Fido, Whiskers, or even a favoured ferret can move freely through the 27-member bloc if it has microchip identification and has been vaccinated against rabies. Pet-lover and member of the European Parliament Chris Davies, who helped draft the new law, said it showed the EU could ease burdens on citizens, instead of adding to them. Just 10 years ago it was not easy take a dog on a family car holiday. "The great thing about this piece of legislation is it just confirms that the legislation produced a decade ago has worked very successfully," he said. "There has been no increase in rabies or apparent risk of increase (of human infection)." The five-pet limit was imposed to prevent unrestricted cross-border trade by puppy farmers. But Davies said the relaxed rules offered owners the chance to take pets abroad to compete or for "sexual liaisons", while keeping oversight to prevent abuse. "We have freedom of movement and freedom of capital and all that sort of stuff. We also have freedom of pet movement," he said before adding, "as well as human movement". The travel documents must be issued by an authorised veterinarian and should also specify a pet's health status. Davies said he had not himself had the chance to try the pet-passport rules. "I've got a couple of cats, and they've shown no inclination to travel as of yet." – Reuters |
| Most women say high heels start to hurt after an hour Posted: 10 Jun 2013 04:37 AM PDT
In a new British survey of 2,000 men and women and 60 podiatrists conducted by The College of Podiatry, about half of women said that they suffered foot problems after wearing uncomfortable shoes. More than 40 per cent of women said that they'll suffer for the sake of fashion, while only 12 per cent of men said that they'd do the same. When the pain gets too much, one in four women said that they have resorted to dancing barefoot in a nightclub or bar, while a third of women said that they have walked home barefoot due to throbbing feet. Women in the survey on average said that they own 17 pairs of shoes, while men said that they own eight. The younger the woman, the higher the heels, with 20 per cent of women aged 18-24 owning a pair of six-inch high heeled shoes compared to 10 per cent of those aged 25-42. Perhaps it's no surprise but women were also found to have more foot ailments than men, with 90 per cent saying that they have experienced problems, ranging from blisters to muscular problems. Twenty per cent of women said that there were "embarrassed" by their feet, with another 12 per cent so ashamed that they always covered them up. "Feet are one of the hardest working parts of the body and in a lifetime you will walk in excess of 150,000 miles," said Lorraine Jones, podiatrist from The College of Podiatry. "As a result of general wear and tear, most of us will suffer with some sort of foot complaint at some point in our lives, but we are seeing a lot of cases which could have been prevented – particularly amongst women." "We all like to look good but it's important to take a common sense approach to footwear," she added. "High heels and flip flops are fine to wear occasionally but not all the time. For day to day wear you should opt for a well-fitting round toed shoe with a heel height of around three centimeters." – AFP/Relaxnews |
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