Animal charity FOUR PAWS has launched a unique web tool that allows consumers to find out how leading outdoor clothing and equipment brands are performing in terms of animal welfare. Down is a valuable product in the outdoor clothing industry, with hundreds of tonnes being processed every year from millions of ducks and geese. However, it is very difficult for consumers to be confident that the products they buy have not come from animals that have been repeatedly live plucked.

Nina Jamal, farm animal expert at the charity, said: "Our long-term goal is that brands no longer use any down from birds that have endured these procedures. This is the only way these cruel practices can be removed from the whole production chain. This new tool aims to keep companies focused on continually improving their standards of animal welfare. Consumers will get a good idea of which brands have begun to really work towards ethical down production."

English bulldog registrations across the US have increased by 323 per cent in a decade. However alongside their rising popularity, increasing numbers of the breed are being given up to rescue shelters, according to a recent report in the New York Post. Last year, nearly 300 were given up to rescue centres in the city. The high number of abandonments is believed to be due in part to the health problems and training difficulties associated with the breed.

Certified American Kennel Club breeders are unable to meet the demand for bulldog puppies, meaning people are opting for other breeders, often puppy farmers who breed their dogs indiscriminately for profit. This is leading to rising numbers of health problems and many owners are unwilling or unable to pay for treatment.

Photographs of endangered and elusive giant armadillos, taken by a camera-trap in Brazil, have been awarded prizes in the prestigious BBC Wildlife Magazine Camera-trap Photo of the Year 2014 competition.

The photographs capture a giant armadillo, aged just 17 months old, appearing to still share his mother's territory. Until now, it was believed the natural dispersal age from their mothers for the giant armadillo occurred at just six weeks old.

The images were caught during the night via a remote camera by Dr Arnaud Desbiez, Latin America Coordinator for the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS), as part of the RZSS Giant Armadillo Project.

Image (C) RZSS

Deaf springer spaniel Henry was crowned Hero Animal of the Year at an awards ceremony this week. After suffering terrible neglect at the hands of his previous owner, he was adopted by Julie Barrett, who suffers from diabetes among other conditions.

Henry now detects when Julie's blood sugar levels fall too low and saved her life by alerting her mother when Julie fell ill with septicaemia. He has learnt sign language and is an ambassador for the Deaf Dog Network. He received his award at the Animal Hero Awards which recognise courageous animals as well as outstanding people and businesses that have made a difference to animal welfare. (Image: RSPCA)

Wildlife expert Chris Watson has warned that eider ducks in Northumberland are being harmed by people feeding them fish and chips. Speaking to BBC Radio Four's Broadcasting House, Mr Watson said the lack of calcium in the food is damaging their eggs.

"Normally eider ducks eat shellfish not fish and chips," he said. "There's a problem because they are such attractive, friendly birds to feed, and yet the food we are giving them - bread and things like that - is actually causing a dietary problem".

British hedgehogs have a new ambassador in famous intellectual CJ de Mooi from TV quiz show, the Eggheads. CJ has become a celebrity patron of the British Hedgehog Preservation Society (BHPS). He once ran his own hedgehog sanctuary in Germany and is keen to help the UK's hedgehogs too.

The charity's chief executive Fay Vass said BHPS is very grateful for CJ's support. "Hedgehog populations are plummeting in the UK; it's a shocking fact that their loss is comparable to that of the world's tiger population," she said.