MADRID // The patient opens his yellow eyes wide but makes no sound as acupuncturist Edurne Cornejo pricks four fine needles into his legs.
It is hard to tell whether he is surprised, as his eyes are wide at the best of times. He is an owl — and no newcomer to acupuncture therapy.
Two months ago this 25-centimetre “little owl”, or Athene Noctua, hurt his back when he flew by mistake into a stovepipe at a factory in eastern Madrid. The city lies on a mountainous plateau teeming with such birds.
He was sent to Brinzal, an owl-rescue charity based in a park in the west of the city.
Now he lies, his speckled brown and white breast puffing in and out, as the acupuncture needles stimulate key points in his nervous system.
“When he first came, he couldn’t stand up. Then he started taking little steps. Now he is flying again,” says Ms Cornejo.
She has given the unnamed owl 10 weekly acupuncture sessions so far.
“It stimulates self-curing mechanisms in the organism. It does not cause side effects” as some medicines do, she said.
The use of the ancient Chinese technique in animals is growing worldwide, according to the International Veterinary Acupuncture Society, a US-based body formed in 1974.
Acupuncturist vets recommend it in animals for muscle and joint problems — such as the owl’s bad back — as well as for nerve, skin, breathing and gut complaints.
A family vet specialising in acupuncture for dogs and cats, Cornejo visits Brinzal as a volunteer to treat some of the hundreds of ailing night birds brought there each year by the public.
Elsewhere in the Brinzal centre, about 80 eagle owls, tawny owls, little owls and other species at various stages of recovery relax or practise flying again in covered enclosures.
Trays of dead chicks with fluffy yellow feathers are laid out for the predators to feed on. Inside one shed, live mice wriggle in the hands of staff preparing them for the owls’ lunch.
About 1,200 birds are brought to the centre each year, of which about 70 per cent recover and can be returned to the wild, says Brinzal’s co-ordinator, Patricia Orejas.
Ms Brinzal’s centre opened in 1989 and has been providing acupuncture for its owls for six years. Ms Cornejo estimates that acupuncture has been used on animals in Spain at least since the 1980s.
“We provide physical and psychological rehabilitation. But some sadly cannot recover,” Ms Orejas said.
Some owls get too used to human company and cannot readapt to the predator’s life in the wild.
Among these is Eire, a plump seven-year-old tawny owl who sits on a branch in a spacious enclosure, blinking at visitors with big dark eyes.
She was caught and kept as a pet when she was a baby and later brought to the centre. Domestic life had already made her permanently unfit for the wild.
For other owls, Ms Orejas and her team have training methods to revive their wild defences, teaching them which beasts are their predators, above them in the food chain.
They show them live rats, or models of falcons, and play recordings of the warning screech made by the owls themselves in the wild, to teach them that those animals pose a threat.
If all goes well, within months the rehabilitated night birds could be back in the countryside, helping the ecosystem by eating mice and other pests.
“The more mice-eaters we have in the countryside, the fewer problems we will have, because we will not have to use pesticides that can harm humans,” Ms Orejas said.
“By receiving animals with problems here, we learn what problems there are in the countryside,” as the ailing birds give a clue to environmental threats in the areas where they breed, she adds. “That way we can design conservation projects.”
Ms Orejas opens a large enclosure where a gang of square-browed eagle owls watch suspiciously from the far end.
One of them spreads its wings — spanning 1.8 metres — and flies towards the entrance, before turning its back and fluttering back again to a safe distance.
“That is how they should be,” Orejas says. “Flying away from us.”
* Agence France-Presse
Dhadak
Director: Shashank Khaitan
Starring: Janhvi Kapoor, Ishaan Khattar, Ashutosh Rana
Stars: 3
UAE rugby season
FIXTURES
West Asia Premiership
Dubai Hurricanes v Dubai Knights Eagles
Dubai Tigers v Bahrain
Jebel Ali Dragons v Abu Dhabi Harlequins
UAE Division 1
Dubai Sharks v Dubai Hurricanes II
Al Ain Amblers v Dubai Knights Eagles II
Dubai Tigers II v Abu Dhabi Saracens
Jebel Ali Dragons II v Abu Dhabi Harlequins II
Sharjah Wanderers v Dubai Exiles II
LAST SEASON
West Asia Premiership
Winners – Bahrain
Runners-up – Dubai Exiles
UAE Premiership
Winners – Abu Dhabi Harlequins
Runners-up – Jebel Ali Dragons
Dubai Rugby Sevens
Winners – Dubai Hurricanes
Runners-up – Abu Dhabi Harlequins
UAE Conference
Winners – Dubai Tigers
Runners-up – Al Ain Amblers
Surianah's top five jazz artists
Billie Holliday: for the burn and also the way she told stories.
Thelonius Monk: for his earnestness.
Duke Ellington: for his edge and spirituality.
Louis Armstrong: his legacy is undeniable. He is considered as one of the most revolutionary and influential musicians.
Terence Blanchard: very political - a lot of jazz musicians are making protest music right now.
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The biog
Family: He is the youngest of five brothers, of whom two are dentists.
Celebrities he worked on: Fabio Canavaro, Lojain Omran, RedOne, Saber Al Rabai.
Where he works: Liberty Dental Clinic
Take Me Apart
Kelela
(Warp)
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
Results
Stage 5:
1. Jonas Vingegaard (DEN) Team Jumbo-Visma 04:19:08
2. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates 00:00:03
3. Adam Yates (GBR) Ineos Grenadiers
4. Sergio Higuita (COL) EF Education-Nippo 00:00:05
5. Joao Almeida (POR) Deceuninck-QuickStep 00:00:06
General Classification:
1. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates 17:09:26
2. Adam Yates (GBR) Ineos Grenadiers 00:00:45
3. Joao Almeida (POR) Deceuninck-QuickStep 00:01:12
4. Chris Harper (AUS) Team Jumbo-Visma 00:01:54
5. Neilson Powless (USA) EF Education-Nippo 00:01:56
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
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Company%C2%A0profile
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How to help
Call the hotline on 0502955999 or send "thenational" to the following numbers:
2289 - Dh10
2252 - Dh50
6025 - Dh20
6027 - Dh100
6026 - Dh200
How to help
Call the hotline on 0502955999 or send "thenational" to the following numbers:
2289 - Dh10
2252 - Dh50
6025 - Dh20
6027 - Dh100
6026 - Dh200
Asia Cup 2018 final
Who: India v Bangladesh
When: Friday, 3.30pm, Dubai International Stadium
Watch: Live on OSN Cricket HD
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
Company profile
Name: Infinite8
Based: Dubai
Launch year: 2017
Number of employees: 90
Sector: Online gaming industry
Funding: $1.2m from a UAE angel investor
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Sreesanth's India bowling career
Tests 27, Wickets 87, Average 37.59, Best 5-40
ODIs 53, Wickets 75, Average 33.44, Best 6-55
T20Is 10, Wickets 7, Average 41.14, Best 2-12
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
