His comments came after the assembly ordered that all animals which spent time at the mart after 19 February - and all animals which came into contact with them - are to be culled.

BBC: Show doubt as outbreaks reach 20

Her bed is under a mountain of stuffed animals, which all turn out to be frogs: bright green, light green, Day-Glo green, some with stuffed flies attached to their tongues.

NEWYORKER: Ask Me If I Care

Of particular concern are silver and bighead carp, which gorge on plankton microscopic plants and animals that virtually all fish eat at some point.

WSJ: Report: Asian carp may have reached Great Lakes

The tradition goes back to medieval times when there was a superstition that all hibernating animals emerged from their caves and dens to check the weather on Candlemas, which is halfway between the winter solstice in December and the vernal equinox in March.

CNN: Warm temps are near, Punxsutawney Phil predicts

Worst of all, it seems that some animals are being bought just so they can be slaughtered for their skins, which fetch up to ten times more than a live animal.

ECONOMIST: For every tiger in the wild, two are kept as pets in America