News
The number of news found: 38.
01/31/2008 NAKED ANIMAL RIGHTS ACTIVIST PROTEST IN BARCELONA
Nearly 130 animal rights activists staged a naked protest Sunday outside a cathedral in Spain's northeastern city of Barcelona to denounce the torture and slaying of animals to make fur coats. Representing the average number of animals it takes to make a fur coat, the men and women, covered in red paint that resembled blood, lay down and curled up on the steps of the gothic Cathedral of Santa Eulalia in the heart of Barcelona. "Nowadays it is not necessary to kill animals to get their fur. Animals need their fur, we don't," international animal rights group AnimaNaturalis, which staged the demonstration, said in a statement. Spain along with Greece, Germany and Italy are key manufacturers of fur garments, according to the group. Fur farms in Spain are located mainly in the north of the country, while the fur clothing industry is found mostly in the Catalonia region where Barcelona is located.
01/31/2008 ANIMAL ADVOCATES IN PUERTO RICO COMPLAIN OF SLOW PROGRESS SINCE STRAYS MASSACRE
Activists in Puerto Rico who were outraged by the massacre of dozens of dogs hurled from a bridge last year say the government has been slow to deliver on promised measures to protect stray animals from abuse and abandonment. In response to an outcry over allegations of inhumane killings, the government pledged in December to build shelters and create animal protection units inside the police. Authorities say they are making progress despite bureaucratic obstacles. But advocates say that dogs are still being abandoned in large numbers, some of them starving or battered, on the streets and beaches of this U.S. Caribbean territory. The animals found under a bridge in October had been seized from housing projects and thrown to their deaths. An investigation by The Associated Press later showed that such inhumane methods of killing companion and stray animals were routine, with thousands of animals brutally slain.
01/30/2008 SINGAPORE AIRLINES SLAMMED BY ANIMAL RIGHTS GROUP
An animal rights group in the US has slammed Singapore Airlines for a print advertisement which shows a man sitting on top of an elephant, holding a rod and forcing it to bow to tourists. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) claimed that the poster advert calling on travellers to "visit colourful India" was offensive as it depicted a man holding a bullhook (ankus). "There's nothing 'colorful about tearing elephants away from their families and habitats and forcing them to perform for tourists under the threat of beatings," said Ingrid E. Newkirk, PETA President, who grew up in India. "Singapore Airlines is glorifying it with its thoughtless ad."
01/29/2008 ANIMAL TESTERS SEEK ALTERNATIVES TO RATS
The lab rat of the future may have no whiskers and no tail - or even be a rat at all. With a European ban on animal testing for cosmetics looming, companies are giving a hard look at high-tech alternatives like the small, rectangular glass chip professor Jonathan Dordick holds up to the light in his lab at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. The chip looks like a standard microscope slide, but it holds hundreds of tiny white dots loaded with human cell cultures and enzymes. It's designed to mimic human reactions to potentially toxic chemical compounds, meaning critters like rats and mice may no longer need to be on the front line of tests for new blockbuster drugs or wrinkle creams. Dordick and fellow chemical engineering professor Douglas Clark of the University of California, Berkeley lead a team of researchers planning to market the chip through their company, Solidus Biosciences, by next year. Hopes are high that the chip and other "in vitro" tests - literally, tests in glass - will provide cheaper, efficient alternatives to animal testing.
01/28/2008 OREGON FURRIER MUST PAY ANIMAL RIGHTS ACTIVISTS' LEGAL FEES
A federal judge in Portland has ordered a furrier to pay nearly $97,000 in attorney's fees to animal rights activists sued over weekly protests at a downtown store that since has closed. The Schumacher fur business and its operator sought $6.6 million in damages in the suit, but it was dismissed last summer. In his Thursday ruling, Judge Michael Mosman says the lawsuit was "an extraordinary abuse of the litigation process" and threatened free-speech rights. Court records show he ordered Gregg Schumacher and Schumacher Furs & Outerwear to compensate People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals; In Defense of Animals and protester Kevin Mieras.
01/27/2008 ANIMAL WELFARE OFFICERS TO MONITOR TASMANIAN RODEOS
In 2006 the death of a bull at a rodeo at Carrick attracted, according to this story, widespread attention, and led to a man being found guilty of animal cruelty charges. The society's chief executive, Rick Butler was cited as saying that inspectors will want to ensure that animals are not harassed and that when injured they are given the right care. "There are lots of animal welfare concerns with rodeos," was quoted as saying, adding, "These are largely uncoordinated events in Tasmania, "Now whilst there are rodeo societies within Australia that coordinate codes of practice, those codes of practice are not enforceable within Tasmania." "So most of the rodeos do try to comply, some don't." Dr Butler hopes that rodeos will eventually be outlawed.
01/26/2008 HIGH MERCURY LEVELS ARE FOUND IN TUNA SUSHI
Recent laboratory tests found so much mercury in tuna sushi from 20 Manhattan stores and restaurants that at most of them, a regular diet of six pieces a week would exceed the levels considered acceptable by the Environmental Protection Agency. Sushi from 5 of the 20 places had mercury levels so high that the Food and Drug Administration could take legal action to remove the fish from the market. The sushi was bought by The New York Times in October. "No one should eat a meal of tuna with mercury levels like those found in the restaurant samples more than about once every three weeks," said Dr. Michael Gochfeld, professor of environmental and occupational medicine at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in Piscataway, N.J. Dr. Gochfeld analyzed the sushi for The Times with Dr. Joanna Burger, professor of life sciences at Rutgers University. He is a former chairman of the New Jersey Mercury Task Force and also treats patients with mercury poisoning.
01/25/2008 ANOTHER GREYHOUND KILLED
Last Saturday evening, January 19, 2008, another greyhound "brokedown" and was carried off the track and destroyed by the vet on duty. The stadium, on this occasion, was Sittingbourne and the greyhound a beautiful black and white female named Run On Jess. Whilst negotiating the first bend the greyhound suffered a horrific break of a hind leg. Instinctively she tried to keep running but had to be carried off the track and was put down immediately.
01/24/2008 ZOO ANIMALS ENDURE REGULAR TAUNTING
San Francisco - Police believe the three people mauled by a tiger Christmas Day yelled and waved at the cat from atop a railing before it lunged at them, but experts say that's only a notch up from the type of taunting animals regularly endure at the nation's zoos. One study concluded that as many as one in four zoo visitors razz animals in some way, and large predators like tigers are a prime target.
01/24/2008 FEDS: KILL SEA LIONS TO PROTECT SALMON
A federal agency recommended killing about 30 sea lions a year at a Columbia River dam where the marine animals feast on salmon migrating upriver to spawn. By many estimates, the sea lions eat about 4 percent of spring runs. Fishermen and Columbia River tribes have urged action for years against the sea lions at Bonneville Dam. Sea lions are attracted to the dam east of Portland because of the large number of fish that gather there to pass through the "fish ladders" - or openings in the structure that allow fish to continue swimming upstream to spawning grounds. Sea lions are protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, but are not considered threatened. An amendment to the 1972 law allows states to get permission to kill identifiable sea lions or seals that have "a significant negative impact" on at-risk salmon and steelhead. NOAA Fisheries can grant the states' requests under some conditions.
01/23/2008 EUROPE HOME TO GROWING POPULATION OF FAT DOGS
Experts estimate that between 25-40% of Europe's dogs are overweight or obese and are therefore at risk of long-term health problems. Research has shown that overweight dogs may live up to two years less than those that are at normal weight and the list of serious health problems linked to obesity include heart disease, diabetes and osteoarthritis. Being overweight also reduces the quality of life of many dogs, as they are unable to exercise without becoming too tired, out of breath or too hot. This in turn reduces the amount of fun that guardians can have with their animal, and potentially damages the animal/guardian relationship.
01/23/2008 LIFESTYLE CHANGES CAN CURB CLIMATE CHANGE
Don't eat meat, ride a bike, and be a frugal shopper - that's how you can help brake global warming, the head of the United Nation's Nobel Prize-winning scientific panel on climate change said. The 2007 report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), issued last year, highlights "the importance of lifestyle changes," said Rajendra Pachauri at a press conference in Paris. "This is something that the IPCC was afraid to say earlier, but now we have said it." A vegetarian, the Indian economist made a plea for people around the world to tame their carnivorous impulses. "Please eat less meat - meat is a very carbon intensive commodity," he said, adding that consuming large quantities was also bad for one's health.
01/22/2008 ENVIRONMENTALISTS WANT TO KILL ALL HORSES IN AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL PARK
Environmentalists called Wednesday for hundreds of wild horses to be shot dead to prevent a unique Australian national park becoming a "horse paddock," with little room for native species. Around 1,700 feral horses - known in Australia as "brumbies"- have caused havoc in the Kosciuszko National Park, according to the National Parks Association of New South Wales state. They are increasing in numbers by as much as 300 a year, the conservation group said, but the state has banned shooting of the animals from helicopters, widely considered the most effective way of controlling them. The park, located near the country's highest peak Mount Kosciuszko, covers 675,000 hectares (1.67 million acres) and is a UNESCO-recognised biosphere reserve. It contains the only alpine lake in mainland Australia, as well as plant species found nowhere else in the world and the rare mountain pygmy possum and corroboree frog.
01/22/2008 HUNTING OF BIRDS BANNED IN IRAN TO PREVENT H5N1
In an effort to stop the possible outbreak of bird flu, Iran has banned bird hunting in its south-western province. "We haven't seen a case yet, but hunting wild birds has been banned to minimise risk of spread of avian influenza," said Khuzestan's Environment Organisation office. Local authorities are on high alert as thousands of migratory geese, ducks and other wildfowl are heading for the province for the winter. The Organistation also added that any violators will be punished. Iran's neighbours Turkey, Iraq and Azerbaijan have all reported deaths from the H5N1 virus, but Tehran states that there have been no reported human cases in the area.
01/21/2008 GOVERNMENT MUST UPHOLD SEAL RESPONSIBILITY
The Tasmanian Green Party has called for the government to reconsider its decision to withdraw from the fish farm seal relocation program. It says that saying the best way to ensure adequate treatment of seals is for government officers to continue to take a hands on role. Greens Deputy Leader and Environment spokesperson Nick McKim MHA said that the current system is not broken, and warned that a system operating under a commercial imperative may result in animal welfare standards being compromised. The party says that the government has a responsibility to ensure that seals are treated appropriately during relocation. It says that the best way to do that is for government officers to run the program. Mr McKim said that if the government will not reconsider its decision to withdraw from the program, it must address animal welfare concerns by releasing the details of any program to monitor future relocation efforts.
01/21/2008 RSPB ALLOWS BIRD SHOOTS ON ITS LAND
Britain's foremost bird charity has been branded "disgusting" - for allowing ducks and geese to be shot on one of its nature reserves. The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) hands out shooting licences on its land at Langstone Harbour, near Portsmouth, Hampshire - where wildfowlers kill up to ten birds a day for sport. The shooting has been allowed since 1979 but was revealed publicly only when a pellet-riddled duck carcass was found by a walker. Barry Hugill, of the League Against Cruel Sports, said: "I find it exceedingly distasteful."
01/20/2008 INGRID NEWKIRK ARRESTED
Police arrested three animal rights campaigners for protesting bullfighting in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, the Press Trust of India reported Friday. Ingrid Newkirk, president of the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), an international animal welfare group, was taken into custody Thursday after she blindfolded a statue of Indian freedom champion Mahatma Gandhi. Two other PETA activists were also arrested in Tamil Nadu's Coimbatore district on charges of "hurting the religious sentiments" and unruly behaviour, police said.
01/19/2008 JAPANESE WHALERS HOLDING TWO SEA SHEPHERD CREW MEMBERS HOSTAGE ON WHALING
The captain of the Japanese Whaling Vessel Yushin Maru No. 2 is holding two Sea Shepherd crew members from the conservation vessel Steve Irwin hostage. Australian citizen Benjamin Potts and British citizen Giles Lane have been tied to the radar mast of the harpoon vessel. The Captain of the whaling vessel has refused Captain Paul Watson's demand for the release of the crew. The two crew members boarded the whaling vessel with a message to inform them that they were illegally killing whales in the Southern Whale Sanctuary. Sea Shepherd is demanding that Australia and Great Britain demand an immediate release of these two crew-members.
01/19/2008 UGANDA TO EXPORT 300 MONKEYS TO RUSSIA
The Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) has licensed a wildlife dealer to export 300 Vervet monkeys to Russia. Yekoyada Nuwagaba, the proprietor of Navina Export, secured the licence recently. The company has been exporting chameleons and snakes to Europe. "We have approved the export, which is expected to take place within three months. UWA considered his proposal to save communities where vervet monkeys have become a menace and at the same time sell them and benefit in economic terms," said Sam Mwandha, the UWA acting executive director. UWA declared vervet monkeys and olive baboons as vermin because of their large populations and tendency to destroy crops.
01/18/2008 EU FOOD-SAFETY AGENCY ENDORSES MEAT, MILK FROM CLONED ANIMALS
Europe's food-safety agency endorsed meat and milk derived from cloned animals, triggering what's likely to be a fierce political battle over whether to allow their sale to consumers. Last Friday's decision came as the Food and Drug Administration is poised to approve cloned animal products for sale in the U.S. But unlike in the U.S., the endorsement by scientists at the European Food Safety Authority is only the start of a process that will be decided by the European Union's 27 governments. Politicians are likely to respond to public fears about so-called Frankenfoods, and try to keep out cloned animal products, according to EU officials familiar with the process. If that happens, it would restrict growth at U.S. biotech companies and penalize European dairy farmers, say industry experts.
01/18/2008 BUAV BRANDS FOOD TESTING ON ANIMALS AS A "HIDDEN SCANDAL"
The growing trend of food experiments being carried out on animals is to be raised with MPs - with three studies carried out in the north-east among those which are causing concern to animal rights activists. Animal rights charity the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection (BUAV), claims the "cruel and unnecessary" tests are Britain's hidden scandal and are being driven by the country's growing infatuation with so-called "super foods" and health supplements. The number of food experiments on animals has increased to more than 4,000 procedures a year in the UK in recent years.
01/17/2008 INDIAN COURT BANS TAMING THE BULL
The Indian Supreme Court has banned a bull-taming sport popular in the southern state of Tamil Nadu. Jallikattu is an annual festival celebrated in two villages near the temple town of Madurai. The sport is said to be thousands of years old. Animal rights campaigners say it is cruel and results in many bulls being tortured and harassed. The sport has also become increasingly dangerous. Every year dozens of people are injured and many are killed too. In prohibiting jallikattu, the supreme court bench, headed by chief justice KG Balakrishnan, said "any event which involved cruelty to animals would not be permitted".
01/17/2008 POLISH FACTORY FARMS WITH PIGS NOTORIOUSLY POLLUTE THE ENVIRONMENT
Factory farms with tens of thousands of hogs notoriously pollute the environment - reveals a report to which "Poland" has an access. Hectoliters of liquid manure are poured out on fields, carcasses of dead animals are buried in the ground, instead of utilization, and the unbearable
stench is in the air. The locals complain not only about the ubiquitous stench, but also about the respiratory diseases - such gloomy picture emerges from the report of Supreme Control Chamber. The conclusion drawn in the report is straightforward: out of 300 hog operations, a big number of them should be immediately closed down. 40 farms should not have begun operating at all because they failed to be granted permits due to great risk to the environment. The farms that obtained necessary permits often violated the conditions. Irregularities related to the lack of the plans to utilize the liquid manure, without such plans no permits to run hog operation could be issued. Meanwhile 64 hog farms did not have required documents. Other violations disclosed by Supreme Control Chamber also related to the way the liquid manure is utilized.
01/16/2008 AUSTRIAN SUPREME COURT REFUSES LEGAL GUARDIAN FOR CHIMP HIASL
In February 2007, an extraordinary case was brought up at the district court of Mödling in Lower Austria: To save the chimp Hiasl from deportation abroad, a close friend of his applied for a legal guardian for Hiasl, to represent the chimp legally. But only persons can get legal guardians, and chimps so far were tacitly assumed to be things in Austria. The court refused the application, eventually with the argument that the applicant had no right to submit the application in the first place. In other words: it is none of his business, it only concerns the chimp himself. After corresponding appeals to the Provincial Court, which were partly won, an extraordinary appeal to the Supreme Court was made. This court now ruled that the applicant has no legal standing and on these grounds a legal guardian was denied.
01/15/2008 SEVERE PAIN WITH OSTEOPOROSIS DRUGS
U.S. health officials issued an alert on last Monday to highlight the possibility of severe bone, joint and muscle pain in patients who take certain osteoporosis medicines. The prescription drugs are members of the class called bisphosphonates. They include Fosamax from Merck & Co Inc and Actonel, sold by Procter & Gamble and Sanofi-Aventis.
01/14/2008 GREEN EURO-MP WELCOMES EUROPEAN COMMISSION DECISION TO CALL TIME ON BATTERY
A Green MEP has applauded a key decision on the future of intensive egg production, as the European Commission rejected calls to delay a ban on conventional battery cages for laying hens which was due to come into force by 2012. In the face of industry opposition to the ban, Caroline Lucas, Green MEP for the South East of England, has repeatedly called on Commission officials to press for a tightening rather than a weakening of animal welfare standards. She called this statement "a victory for animal welfare campaigners and a testament to the strength of consumer power."
01/13/2008 EUROPE BAN ON SEAL PRODUCTS COULD COME WITHIN 18 MONTHS
A Europe-wide ban on seal products is at least 18 months away, according to a member of the European Parliament who is one of the Canadian government's top opponents in an emotional diplomatic battle. Swedish parliamentarian Carl Schlyter was responding Wednesday to a speech by Bruce Williams, president of the Fur Institute of Canada, who told a gathering in Newfoundland this week that the seal industry faces a "crisis" due to the spectre of a Europe-wide ban. Schlyter, who introduced the anti-seal hunt declaration that was passed in the European Parliament in 2006, said European Union officials are struggling to come up with a legal basis to block imports of seal products. Even if one were discovered immediately, it would still have to be debated and go through all the legislative hoops at the labyrinthian EU.
01/12/2008 FEDERAL FISHERIES AMBASSADOR TOO NEGATIVE ON SEAL HUNT?
The Newfoundland and Labrador government is criticizing the federal fisheries ambassador for acknowledging that animal rights groups have made strides in their campaign against the commercial seal hunt. Provincial fisheries minister Tom Rideout is accusing Loyola Sullivan of exhibiting "an unnecessarily negative attitude" and not recognizing the progress his government has made in defending the hunt. "We were astounded and surprised at the view taken by the Canadian ambassador for fisheries conservation," Rideout said in a statement Friday. "It is never too late and this is quite a defeatist attitude for an ambassador to take when the issue is still very much ongoing." Sullivan, who attended a gathering of about 100 sealers Tuesday, told reporters it's difficult to overcome the anti-sealing lobby now because their message has acquired a strong foothold in Europe. Despite rising opposition in Europe, Rideout said the province has successfully promoted the industry. Belgium and Holland have approved legislation banning the sale of seal products, while Germany, Italy and Austria are drafting similar legislation. The European Union is also facing pressure to adopt its own ban.
01/11/2008 BAGHDAD VET RISKS ALL AS HE TENDS TO SICK ANIMALS
Nameer Abdul Fatah has shrapnel holes in his vehicle and wounds in his leg suffered during hazardous trips across conflict-ridden Baghdad to treat injured and sick patients. But Fatah is not an ambulance driver. His patients are animals that receive expert care thanks to one Iraqi veterinarian who is determined to keep on working. Treating all creatures great and small, from pure-bred poodles to fierce guard-dogs, parrots and even tigers, Fatah has been on duty in Baghdad for 26 years. Since the US-led invasion and the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime in 2003, he has continued to tend to needy animals in the violent and chaotic times that have engulfed the city. Fatah, 46, who qualified as a vet in Baghdad before specialising in small animals while training in the former East Germany, rushes around the Iraqi capital with a large case crammed with surgical instruments and medicine bottles. Fatah's seven-year-old son wants to become a vet and often accompanies his father on his rounds - giving hope that in the future there will at least be one more person to care for Baghdad's much-neglected animal population.
01/11/2008 BC PROVINCIAL SCHOOL CURRICULUM TO INCLUDE ANIMAL RIGHTS
A new Grade 12 elective course that will make its debut in selected schools as part of a controversial deal to settle a human rights complaint is called Social Justice 12 but it could also be dubbed Lessons in Isms. Murray Corren, who along with his husband, Peter, was responsible for the human rights complaint and had a hand in developing the Social Justice curriculum, said the only thing missing is a glossary explaining terms such as heterosexism and speciesism that are not a part of everyday vocabulary. Heterosexism is prejudice against homosexuals on the assumption that heterosexuality is the norm, while speciesism is used primarily by animal activists to describe the exploitation of animals by humans who consider themselve superior. Those two words have never before appeared in B.C. school curriculum. Although it's optional, the course has already created a sharp divide between those who believe it will encourage tolerance - especially because it addresses injustices based on sexual orientation - and those who fear it could be used for social engineering.
01/10/2008 DENNY'S ENDS ITS PARTNERSHIP WITH RINGLING BROS. CIRCUS
After months of campaigning PETA announced that Denny's has ended its partnership with notorious animal abuser Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. Thousands of people contacted the company. This is a huge victory for elephants, tigers, and other animals who are dragged around the country in cramped boxcars and forced to perform silly and often painful tricks under the threat of beatings and punishment. With this announcement, Denny's joins other compassionate companies like MasterCard, Visa, Liz Claiborne, and Sears, Roebuck and Co., which all ended their sponsorship of Ringling after learning of the abuse inherent in circuses that use animals.
01/09/2008 CLONED-FOOD INQUIRY BRINGS FLOOD OF INPUT
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has received 30,500 comments on a proposal by the agency to allow food made from cloned animals to be sold to the public. The FDA is reviewing the issue and isn't ready to say when it will announce a final rule on cloned livestock, FDA spokeswoman Julie Zawisza said in an interview. A decision could come soon, said Melissa Schwartz, a spokeswoman for Sen. Barbara Mikulski, a Maryland Democrat who has raised objections to cloned food. The agency proposed a year ago to allow products made from cloned animals and their offspring onto the market based on a four-year review showing they are as safe to eat as items made from naturally born animals. The proposal drew opposition from consumer and food industry groups, as well as lawmakers. Last month, the Senate passed a measure that would bar the FDA from approving the proposal until it conducts further study of the potential health effects.
01/08/2008 AUSTRALIA HITS BACK OVER PRO-JAPAN WHALING VIDEO
Australia's government Monday sharply condemned a popular Internet video claiming its citizens oppose Japanese whaling because of racism, while brutally killing animals such as kangaroos and dingoes. Foreign Minister Stephen Smith criticised the video as he announced that Australia would this week deploy a ship to the Southern Ocean to gather evidence for possible legal action against Japan over its whaling programme. The 10-minute video, which has recorded more than 100,000 hits since being posted anonymously on the YouTube website, shows graphic images of Australians killing animals and of infamous racial riots at Cronulla beach in 2005. It says Australians are opposed to Japanese whaling because of a racist ideology, and claims in English, with Japanese subtitles, that Australia holds the world record for mammal extinction.
01/07/2008 ZOO'S POLAR BEAR CUBS LEFT TO STARVE
Three tiny polar bear cubs are, according to this story, being left to starve to death after a zoo decided not to rear them by hand if their mother continues to neglect them. Mother bears Vera and Wilma gave birth three weeks and five weeks ago at Nuremberg Zoo in southern Germany. It is thought they have six cubs between them. Wilma is displaying the signs of being a good mother, but Vera shows no interest in her young. She frequently strolls out of her cave, where the hungry cries of her babies can be heard from within, and she lazes for hours outside her lair. Nuremberg is taking a hard line on Vera's cubs. As people bombard the zoo with demands that keepers intervene unless Vera's mothering skills pick up, deputy director Helmut Maegdefrau was cited as saying he wants "no Knutmania" at the zoo. "We expect to be branded as being cruel to animals. The fact is, in nature, if something goes wrong, it goes wrong," he was quoted as saying. He said he wasn't opposed to hand-rearing in principle but that it had to be decided case by case.
01/06/2008 HEALTH FOOD FADS SPARK HUGE RISE IN ANIMAL TESTING!
The trend for healthier eating has led to an increase of more than 300% in the number of laboratory experiments conducted on animals for food additives, sweeteners and health supplements over the past year. Home Office figures showed an increase from 862 to 4,038 experiments from 2005 to 2006. The disclosure will ignite an ethical debate about the way animals have become victims of the fad for health foods. Animal welfare groups said many of the tests are unnecessary or could be performed on humans.
01/05/2008 TERRIBLE DOG WELFARE STATISTICS SHAME IRELAND!
The stray dog situation in Ireland is spiralling out of control, and the lack of canine welfare shames the country. Recent figures from the Irish Government's Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government show that over 24,000 dogs were abandoned in Ireland in 2006, and twice as many dogs were put to sleep as were re-homed. Ireland puts down dogs at a rate 10 times higher than in the UK, a country 10 times the size of Ireland. Additionally, two-thirds of all unwanted dogs are put to sleep, most of them perfectly healthy because no one was available or willing to adopt them. In response to these alarming statistics, a Behaviour and Attitudes survey was undertaken this month and it has revealed that 78% of the Irish public are 'horrified, shocked and saddened' by the apparent state of dog welfare in Ireland. 61% believe that Ireland is a nation of dog lovers, and it's true that Irish dog ownership rates are actually twice the European average. However, in light of these figures, 86% said that Irish people do not put a high enough value on a dog's life. Furthermore, when informed that nearly 14,000 dogs were put down last year, 10% of respondents felt 'ashamed.'
01/04/2008 KILLING DOGS IN TRAINING OF DOCTORS IS TO END!
By next month, all American medical schools will have abandoned a time-honored method of teaching cardiology: operating on dogs to examine their beating hearts, and disposing of them after the lesson. Case Western Reserve School of Medicine was the last to use the method, but the dean, Dr. Pamela Davis, said it would no longer do so after this month. On Nov. 19, New York Medical College in Valhalla joined New York's 11 other medical schools and announced that it would close its dog laboratory. Among the 126 American medical schools, 11 still sacrifice animals for teaching, according to the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, an advocacy group that tracks the practice. Other than Case, none of them use dogs. Francis Belloni, a dean at New York Medical College, said his students now used echocardiograms to study heart function, and the subjects were live medical students rather than live dogs. Dr. Belloni said the use of animals was not done lightly and had value, but added that students would become just as good doctors without it.
01/01/2008 BUSH SIGNS BILL FOR PERMANENT SANCTUARY!
Project R&R reported last week that the House and Senate had passed the "Chimp Haven is Home Act" and that it awaited President Bush's signature. The bill was signed into law on December 29, 2007 by the President, prohibiting all "retired" chimpanzees in federal sanctuary from ever being returned to research. Finally, the original intent of the 2000 CHIMP Act - to provide permanent protection from research - has been realized.
The number of news found: 38.
