Well ~I had not added anything for a couple of weeks so I thought this quickie would be well received.

I guess you would have to be some kind of idiot genius to buy a dead hamster thinking it was a 3G phone movie player, internet access, a million ring tones and various hands free, ears free, brain free gizmos. But there's a small time criminal down in South Wales currently looking for such a punter.

So how did this crim. come to confuse such a phone with a dead hamster? Well the hamster was all packed up in a nice Eriksson box on the back seat of a parked car.

The hamster's owner is understandably distraught and is getting grief counselling because having been unable to bury his pet he needs to find closure so he can move on.

I can't help thinking however the dead hamster thief could be a struggling taxidermist looking for a way to boost trade. After all a hamster is just the right size to have a modern cellphone inserted in its furry little tummy and what better way to preserve the memory of a beloved pet could there be?

So if you are down in South Wales and you see people walking along the street chatting into a hamster's arse you will know what's going on.

Another animal related crime was committed in Cleveland Ohio but two contenders for the  Stupid Criminal of the Year Award. They stole a rare snake from a pet shop. "Nothing strange there," you might think, "that sort of thig happens all the time." Well Yeeeees.

But not all snake theives go back to the pet sdhop the next day looking for a book on how to care for their plunder.

A third animal story from the holiday is nmot crime related unless you count thoughtlessness as a crime.

An attendant at Weymouth Sea Workd (Dorset, UK) fed unused brussels sprouts fron the cafe Christmas Dinner to the turtles. This made the turtles somewhat jet propelled. Vets were called out on Dec 26th to deal with Amphibian flatulence and this enables the press to get wind of the incident.