The bear, identified as JJ4 or Gaia, has been moved to a high-security facility at the Alternative Wolf and Bear Park located in Germany's Black Forest region in the southwestern part of the country. DPA confirmed the transfer was completed successfully.

A team from the park accompanied Gaia as she arrived in Germany at 6:00 a.m. (0400 GMT), according to DPA. Her transport from Italy proceeded without complications, staff members confirmed. "She is receiving care, has consumed food and is displaying calm behavior," officials stated.

She first remained in the transport container she traveled in and will spend additional hours there before venturing out to examine the area designated for her residence, following veterinary recommendations, a park spokesperson told DPA.

Gaia received sedation prior to her departure from Italy to facilitate her placement into the transport container, but the group only began their journey after she had recovered consciousness, DPA reported.

During the morning hours, the park intended to attempt releasing the bear into a temporary enclosure within the facility grounds. Based on her emotional condition, the team planned to allow Gaia access to the larger high-security enclosure later during the day, according to DPA.

The bear struck and killed a jogger on a frequented mountain trail in the northern Italian region of Trentino-Alto Adige during April 2023, DPA reported.

The animal was seized and transported to a containment facility near Trento city. Regional president Maurizio Fugatti issued orders for Gaia's execution, but judicial authorities halted the decree following petitions from animal rights advocates, according to DPA.

Gaia was scheduled for transfer to Germany during 2024, but construction of the €1 million ($1.1 million) enclosure, financed through charitable contributions, encountered substantial delays caused by heavy rainfall in the mountainous, forested landscape, DPA reported. The timing of her relocation from Italy remained confidential initially due to concerns about potential demonstrations, according to DPA.

Jurka, Gaia's mother, has resided at the animal sanctuary since 2010, DPA confirmed. Gaia will also receive a new name, since a wolf at the sanctuary shares the same designation. "We don't want to display her as a 'killer bear,'" the spokesperson explained to DPA.

The area where the bear will reside remains hidden from public view and features electric fencing, camera monitoring and anti-digging barriers to prevent her escape, DPA reported.

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A report by Vanity Fair has unveiled a troubling incident involving Robert F. Kennedy Jr., shedding light on a controversial photograph that has raised questions about cultural sensitivity and animal welfare. The image, which dates back to 2010, shows Kennedy posing with what appears to be the barbecued remains of a dog, alongside an unidentified woman.

According to Vanity Fair, Kennedy shared this photograph with a friend who was planning a trip to Asia, suggesting that the friend might enjoy a restaurant in Korea that served dog meat. The implication was that Kennedy himself had sampled such cuisine.

This is allegedly a photo of RFK Jr. munching down on a dog carcass.

If you thought 2024 was wild, you haven't seen anything yet. pic.twitter.com/sRGRI7Jziy

— Joshua Reed Eakle (@JoshEakle) July 2, 2024

The photo's metadata confirms it was taken in 2010, coinciding with Kennedy's diagnosis of a deceased tapeworm in his brain. A veterinarian who examined the image identified the carcass as canine, citing the presence of 13 pairs of ribs, including the characteristic "floating rib" found in dogs.

While the photograph seems to have been intended as a joke – with Kennedy and his companion striking exaggerated poses biting into the barbequed animal – its reception has been far from humorous. The friend who received the image found it deeply disturbing, viewing it as evidence of Kennedy's poor judgment and insensitivity.

"Last year Robert Kennedy Jr. texted a photograph to a friend. In the photo RFK Jr. was posing, alongside an unidentified woman, with the barbecued remains of what appears to be a dog." pic.twitter.com/Oq9UkMUNv8

— Lis Smith (@Lis_Smith) July 2, 2024

Critics argue that the photo simultaneously mocks Korean culture, trivializes animal cruelty, and demonstrates a reckless disregard for Kennedy's personal and family reputation.

In response to these allegations, Kennedy claimed on the Breaking Points podcast that the image depicted him eating a goat.

"The picture that they said is of me eating a dog, it's actually me eating a goat in Patagonia on a whitewater trip many years ago on the Futaleufu River", Kennedy said.

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Following the close of $120 million in Series B funding, Israeli foodtech startup Remilk, which produces animal-free dairy-identical milk proteins through precision fermentation, will be building a full-scale precision fermentation facility in Kalundborg, Denmark, the company announced Tuesday.

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The facility is planned to extend over 750,000 square feet of newly acquired land within The Symbiosis project, a pioneering sustainable industrial ecosystem, in Kalundborg.

Kalundborg's Symbiosis project is an industrial ecosystem in which byproducts of one company become resources for another. At present, Symbiosis is a collaborative effort involving more than a dozen visionary public and private companies including industry giants such as Novozymes, Novo Nordisk and Chr. Hansen.

At the new facility, Remilk plans to produce non-animal dairy protein for use in products like cheese, yogurt, and ice cream, in volumes equivalent to that produced by 50,000 cows each year.

"Remilk is committed to reinventing our dairy industry in a kind, sustainable way. Eliminating the need for animals in our food system is the only way to supply our world's growing demand without destroying it in the process," said Remilk founder and CEO Aviv Wolff.

"We intend to massively scale up our production capabilities to make nutritious, delicious, and affordable dairy that will send cows into early retirement," he added.

According to Wolff, Remilk isn't just "dreaming big, we're acting upon our promise to dramatically reduce the food industry's devastating impact on our planet. Ending animals' historic role as providers of food for humankind is one of the most powerful measures we can take to reduce our impact on this planet."

The selection of this location was made possible through a partnership with the city of Kalundborg, Invest in Denmark (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark), the Danish Embassy in Israel, and the Israeli Embassy in Denmark.

Kalundborg Mayor Martin Damm said, "The Municipality of Kalundborg looks forward to welcoming the international company Remilk. The company's profile fits perfectly into our sustainability profile and with the Biotech City's other participants."

"When Remilk's plant for production of non-animal dairy products is completed, it will also be the world's largest precision fermentation facility. I see Remilk's choice of Kalundborg Municipality as a buy-in to our commitment to sustainability, high technology and education and our ability to enter a constructive dialogue with our stakeholders," Damm said.

"I am very happy to welcome Remilk to Denmark. This investment is a recognition of Denmark's position as a global leader in sustainable food production and innovation," said Anne Hougaard Jensen, director of Invest in Denmark at the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

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The 35-year-old reportedly filmed himself furiously hitting a dog with his hands and a belt as he pinned the animal to the floor.

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According to the report, the man hit his ex-partner's dog after threatening her he would do so over their break up.

The video of the incident went viral, prompting outrage among animal rights defenders, who descended on the man's residence – a small apartment in Bat Yam – to take the dog away despite his protests and explanations that the animal was not his.

The crowd was led by Mishel Taroni, a prominent bodybuilder and an animal rights activist.

The abuse was reported to Israel's Agriculture Ministry by one of the animal defender groups, and the ministry relayed the information to Israel Police.

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Law enforcement officers arrived on the scene, forcing their way through the mob to arrest the man.

According to reports in the Israeli media, he had to be taken out of the building through a backdoor; a police spokesperson was cited as saying that Israelis were looking to serve justice themselves.

 This article was first published by i24NEWS.

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Researchers on Monday said they digitally "unwrapped" and "dissected" the three mummies using X-ray micro CT scanning, which generates three-dimensional images with a resolution 100 times greater than a medical CT scan. Actual unwrapping can damage and dislodge structures within a mummy.

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Ancient Egyptians mummified not only human corpses but millions of animals including cats, dogs, birds, snakes, and crocodiles, particularly during a period of more than 1,000 years starting around 700 BCE.

The three mummies apparently were made as "votive offerings" to gods at temples to act as a go-between between deities and living people, according to study co-author Carolyn Graves-Brown, curator of the Egypt Centre at Swansea University in Britain. They were long held in Swansea's collection and their precise age and origin in ancient Egypt are unclear.

'Like us, the ancient Egyptians used and abused animals'

The researchers found evidence that the snake, a juvenile Egyptian Cobra, had been denied water while alive, based on its calcified kidneys, and apparently was killed by spinal fracture after being lifted by the tail and whipped in the air.

The coiled snake's mouth contained a substance called natron and its jaw was placed in a wide-open position, consistent with the animal possibly having undergone the "opening of the mouth" ceremony, said Swansea engineering professor Richard Johnston, lead author of the study published in Scientific Reports.

This ritual was conducted so mummified subjects could regain their senses in the afterlife.

"This would be additional information supporting other evidence that the 'opening of the mouth' was done on mummified animals. We know it was carried out on humans," Graves-Brown said.

The domestic cat also was a juvenile: a five-month-old kitten, based on unerupted teeth within the lower jaw. Its neck was broken at the time of death or during the mummification process.

The bird appears to be a Eurasian kestrel, of the falcon family.

Snakes were associated with numerous ancient Egyptian gods. Cats were often associated with the fertility goddess Bastet. Raptors were associated with sky gods such as Re and Horus.

"Like us, the ancient Egyptians used and abused animals," Graves-Brown said. "There is evidence from the mummified remains of maltreatment."

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While lab-grown hamburgers and chicken are already in development around the world, Israel's Aleph Farms claims to be the first company to have developed steak in a laboratory and is in talks with some high-end restaurants in the United States, Europe, and Asia to have it on the market in 2021.

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It plans initially to offer minute steak developed from a small number of cells taken from a cow, avoiding the need to slaughter the animal in the process or use antibiotics which can be harmful to meat-eaters.

Aleph Farms hopes to have its product on a limited number of restaurant menus from 2021 in a trial phase, aiming for an official launch in 2023, first in restaurants and then in stores.

Its next product will be a thick steak with "the properties that we like and we all know," said Neta Lavon, vice president for research and development.

A serving of its minute steak – a thin slice of meat that cooks very fast – currently costs around $50 but Aleph Farms says it hopes to bring that down by 2021 to only a slight premium to current prices of steak offered in restaurants.

Eventually, it aims for mass production, bringing the price down further and making its steaks viable for sale in lower-priced steak houses.

Didier Toubia, co-founder and CEO of Aleph Farms, said the company has ambitions to be one of the world's top three meat producers within 20 years, challenging market leaders like Tyson Foods, which has invested in another Israeli startup developing cultured meat, Future Meat Technologies.

Toubia, however, did not give a revenue target for its product.

He set up the company in 2017 in partnership with Technion-the Israel Institute of Technology and food maker Strauss Group's incubator The Kitchen. In May, it raised $12 million from investors including Cargill, and it has now raised $14 million to date.

Demand for traditional meat substitutes is growing and analysts estimate the US plant-based meat market, for example, could be worth $100 billion by 2035.

The number of startups producing laboratory-developed meat has risen from four at the end of 2016 to more than two dozen by last year, according to market researcher the Good Food Institute.

Dutch startup Mosa Meat projects the cost of producing a hamburger will be about 9 euros ($10) once production scales up.

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