Dog is 'burnt to death'

The Ulster Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is investigating an incident in which a dog was apparently burnt to death in Coleraine in County Londonderry.

The carcass of the animal was found in Hatfield Park near the Ballysally estate early on Saturday morning.

USPCA vets will now carry out a post mortem examination on the remains, but inspector Frances Fox said they still needed information from the public.

He said: "The dog was tied and was near to wooden pallets. The pallets had been set on fire, and also the dog.

"If this is deliberate, like it looks as if it was, it is disgusting."

In February, penguins were attacked at Belfast Zoo.

Several of the birds were struck in their enclosure with an iron bar.

One penguin was then taken and thrown into the lions' den and killed.

In the same month, a training centre in Londonderry for people with special needs was attacked by vandals.

They decapitated a chipmunk and stole three others from the Ashbrook vocational centre.