He works with an anti-poaching force in Kruger National Park.  Over the past four years, he and his team are responsible for the arrests and prosecution of over 115 people.  The already severely endangered animal has a real protector in Killer.

A charity out of the UK called the PDSA (People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals) founded in 1917 by Maria Dickin has called Killer “truly remarkable” for his efforts.  They have awarded Killer with a gold medal in recognition of his service, and is considered an international hero.

According to numbers published by animal conservation groups notating the surviving number of particular rhino species, the situation for the giant beasts of Africa is grim.  Many believe that in as little as ten years, they may be completely extinct, all because of erroneous beliefs surrounding their horns.  Many cultures use it for medicinal purposes, and also as an aphrodisiac.  We won’t get into too many of the gory details involved in the harvesting of the horns from the rhinos, but regardless what modern science say about the horn being made of the same thing fingernails are made of.

K9 Killer and his handler Amos Mzimba, fly into areas where poaching is known to be extreme.  While in the air, the team looks for the tell-tale signs poachers are around.  Once the area is properly scouted, they will land, and Killer goes to work.  He is about the best tracking dog one could ask for.

Mzimba said, “It is an honor to have Killer by my side. It means a lot that he has been recognized for his skills.”

Mzimba has another, more personal reason for his affection for the dog.  Killer once saved him while in an active firefight with a poacher, so their bond runs much deeper that what’s on the surface of things.

“Thanks to him, we are arresting more poachers, but there is a lot more to be done if we are to save the rhino from extinction,” he said.

The gold medal was awarded to K9 Killer by actor Ricky Gervais.  Gervais is a very active and outspoken animal rights activist, so who would be more appropriate to bestow the honor?

I a video from YouTube, Gervais said, “He helped capture dozens of poachers in the last year alone, thanks to his amazing courage and dedication.”

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By now, almost every animal lover in the world knows about Ricky Gervais and his outspoken nature against the abuse of animals.  Now, Gervais is taking part in a full scale, international campaign to put a stop to China’s dog meat trade and festival.

Gervais and the Humane Society International (HSI) are putting together a petition that aims to put a stop to China’s use of both dog and cat meat.  He has been all over social media exposing the horrors of it all, and how we can help.  To view and sign the petition, you can simply click here.

In an interview with Fox411, Humane Society EU International Communications Director Wendy Higgins said, “Up to 10 million dogs are killed for human consumption per year across China, with around 10,000 just at the Yulin festival alone.  Undoubtedly there is still a way to go before we end this cruelty, but it is certainly a dying industry in every respect, and the number of dogs we’re seeing killed at Yulin is getting smaller year on year.  The protest against this trade from within China itself is what’s really heartening and making a massive difference.  HSI works with more than 35 animal groups and hundreds of campaigners across China who are outraged at the cruelty and want it to end.”

HSI says they are lucky to have Gervais on board with the effort.  Having his star power backing them up, along with his considerable fan base, are key to the petition, and all of the international effort.

“HSI has worked with Ricky for quite a few years now on a number of our animal campaigns, he’s an incredibly passionate advocate for animals and shares our determination to stop cruelty, so he’s a natural fit,” said Higgins.  “He’s tweeted for us about our campaigns to end the dog meat trade before, but this year is the first year we’ve teamed up with him to appeal directly to the public on a wider scale.”

You can get even more information on the campaign on Gervais’ Twitter page.  You can view that by clicking here.

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