24/08/2011 BBC Channel Islands News

The hidden victims of the recession - shelters report a surge in

unwanted or unaffordable pets. Plus, why you are being asked to

give Guernsey's healthcare system a health check. And they are jumping

for joy here. He joined me at Guernsey's show jumping show.

Good evening. Jersey's animal shelter is concerned pets are

becoming a victim of the economic downturn. The JSPCA says it's seen

a 40% increase in the number of people giving up pets year on year.

Our reporter Beckie Williams has been down to the shelter to find

out why, and which animals are worst affected. Lots of love for

Spaggy in this, his temporary home. He is one of a number of animals

bring brought here. We have had a 40% increase. The recession is

having an effect on people's ability to care for their animals.

Those are mainly cats. Many are being handed him because more

people own them. In the past week, 23 caps have been handed in to that

shelter. It is a trend that is being seen across Britain. -- 23

cats. There is little that can be done, but here at Cat Action Trust

they are calling for pet owners to be more responsible. We are trying

to help people who are unfortunately allowing their

animals to breed because they cannot afford to have them neutered.

We would like to get this done before the kittens turn up because

we do not want these cat waiting for homes that are not available.

But most of the animals are rehoused, many keep coming through

the door. It is unknown how long this trend will continue, but stop

hoped that islanders will consider giving Catts like this a new home.

The man arrested following the discovery of a woman's body in a

flat in Guernsey has been released on bail without charge. The body of

Latvian national Liga Verse was found in a flat in the Bordage area

of St Peter Port on Saturday night. Police had until eight o'clock this

evening to question the 27-year-old, who has not been named. Police

describe the investigation as particularly complex, with many

lines of enquiry. Meanwhile a church service has been organised

on Sunday evening in the Town Church to celebrate Liga's life.

Waitrose has agreed to survey Guernsey customers on it's charity

collection policy. Currently the supermarket chain doesn't allow

individual charities to shake tins outside any of its stores. Instead,

it runs a community fundraising scheme chosen by shoppers. However,

following a meeting last night the partnership has agreed to canvas

local opinion on the issue. Average earnings in Jersey

increased by just 2.5% over the last year - the second lowest rise

since 1995. According to latest government figures the average

weekly wage in Jersey in June was �650 per week. Those working in the

public sector saw average earning rise by 3.9%, compared to 2.2% in

the private sector. Agriculture workers received 10% less than in

June last year due to fewer hours being worked this summer. We are

seeing earnings growth at historic lows, which is not a surprise given

the current economic climate. There was also a weak labour market.

These lower levels are more and less what we have expected.

Jersey's Social Security Minister is concerned the way the increase

in State pension is worked out doesn't reflect the rising cost of

living. From October, pensions are set to rise by 2.5% in line with

average earnings, but inflation has been higher for the last few years.

And as more people reach retirement age, the cost of State pensions

paid for by the working population will rise. Deputy Ian Gorst has

asked a UK expert to look at whether Jersey needs to change the

way it calculates the annual increase.

Essential work is taking place to decide where Guernsey's health

department should spend its money over the next decade. With tight

resources and increasing demands on the healthcare system, health

bosses say building up a picture of islanders' health is vital$$NEWLINE

This afternoon Jersey sailor Phil It is a simple question to find out

about the lifestyle within our community. Smoking, drinking,

exercise, diet, how often they have to go to the doctor and what they

think about the services and which areas should be expanded.

A with an ageing population, the Health Service wants to focus on

preventative measures. Being healthy in old age will put less

pressure on the health service. want to know what the normal

average is in our community at that time. What area should we be

encouraging. We already have a campaign against smoking. We have a

drug and alcohol strategy and obesity strategy in place. But are

there other areas we should be looking at to see whether or not we

can prevent health problems. survey will be taken to various

parts of the island to find out whether it is a healthy picture..

This afternoon Jersey sailor Phil Sharp completed the fourth and

final leg of the Solitaire du Figaro in 20th place. Sharp crossed

the line about 25 minutes after the leader.The fleet had had raced 430

miles from Sables D'Olonne to Dieppe in what is one of Europe's

most prestigious solo sailing events.

Show jumpers from Jersey, the UK and Ireland are descending on

Guernsey today for the biggest horse riding event of the year. The

British Show Jumping Association Horse of the Year competition runs

until Sunday. The event takes place at the Chemin Le Roi showground in

St Martins. So the sun is shining and it is

great weather for it. I am here at the Horse of the Year Show. It is

all going on behind us and it will be going on until the weekend. With

me is one of the competitors. Tell me a little bit about what is

happening over the weekend. The we are doing a huge amount of

showjumping. We have got 60 overseas competitors. 40 of them

are stabled behind you. There are 61 classes over four days. There

will be showjumping and a showing quick 60 overseas horses. Obviously

the competition is huge when you have that many visiting people.

There are a lot of Guernsey and English people here. Say it is

there quite a lot of rivalry between the islands? The rivalry is

huge. It is the biggest event for us. It is always a huge honour to

be asked to jump for your island. There are other showjumping events

in the Channel Islands. What makes this so special? It is because it

is so big. It is also great for the locals to up their game. As you

have heard, there is plenty to see here at the show grounds and the

competitions continue until the end of the weekend.

A welcome break in the rainy weather. Let us see how the rest of

the week will pan out. The weather is turning unsettled

for the rest of the week and that means we are going to see some wet

weather. Some heavy rain moving into night, thanks to this area of

low pressure. Dry at first and then heavy rain. Further showers gin the

rest of the day tomorrow. Friday, a similar picture. Between the brain

there will be some sunshine. Tonight, fine and tried to begin

with. Clouding over and during the second half of the night the brain

will arrive, producing some heavy downpours. Quite mild overnight. 14

Celsius and an increasing south- westerly breeze. Tomorrow, the main

a band of rain will clear and we will see some sunshine. Tomorrow

afternoon there is a chance of the odd shower were. 20 Celsius the top

temperature. Here are the times of high water. For the surface, not

much use of baulk search around. Quite choppy tomorrow. -- for the

surface. Friday, possibly thundery. Here is the summary. At least the

weekend is looking San'a. -- sunny. Budding rugby players in Jersey

have been getting top tips from some of the best in the business.

Development coaches from the UK team Leicester Tigers are training

youngsters up at the rugby club during a week-long course in the

school summer holidays. And yesterday they got tips with former

England hooker and Tigers Academy Manager Neil McCarthy and Assistant