Day: August 21, 2004

Australian Town Takes Heat Over Feral Cat Bounty

The town of Richmond, in north-western Queensland, Australia, took a lot of heat in July when it announced a $5-a-head bounty for feral cats that are apparently causing problems for native wildlife in the area.

Richmond Mayor John Wharton told ABC Queensland,

A Melbourne university was doing studies between Richmond and Julia Creek about three or four years ago and they were shooting cats at night time, opening them up in the morning and finding up to four different species of animal, either birds or small mice and dunnarts. That’s a lot of wildlife.

The Australian Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals criticized the bounty, saying that it supports killing feral cats, but not bounties which could encourage hunting feral cats for sport. Queensland RSPCA executive Mark Townend told ABC Queensland,

The RSPCA does supporting the culling [of feral cats] for the preservation of wildlife. But we have to do it in a humane way and I’m very disappointed that people will go off and offer financial incentives to have people who are amateurs out there killing other animals in an inhumane way.

The Richmond council wanted the Local Government Association of Queensland to adopt a $5 bounty throughout the Queensland, but that suggestion was rejected.

Sources:

Council defends feral cat bounty. ABC Queensland, July 6, 2004.

Feral cat cull plan not supported. The Bundaberg Mail Times, July 8, 2004.

First Draft of Canine Genome Made Available

In July the National Humane Genome Research Institute announced that the first draft of the canine genome sequences has been finished and deposited in a number of free public databases for use by researchers around the world.

According to a NHGI press release,

The dog genome is similar in size to the genomes of humans and other mammals, containing approximately 2.5 billion DNA base pairs. Due to a long history of selective breeding, many types of dogs are prone to genetic diseases that are difficult to study in humans, such as cancer, heart disease, deafness, blindness and autoimmune disorders. In addition, the dog is an important model for the genetics of behavior and is used extensively in pharmaceutical research.

Researchers used DNA samples from 10 dog breeds, four wolves and a coyote to generate markers that will allow researchers to study genetic diseases in any breed of dog.

Source:

Dog genome assembled. Press Release, National Human Genome Research Institute, July 14, 2004.

PETA Actively Encourages Activists to Commit Assault

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals claims that it doesn’t condone or promote animal rights violence. Since last year, however, it has been actively urging animal rights activists and others to assault people wearing furs.

At its web site, PETA has a form where people can order these stickers, designed to be affixed to tomatoes,

PETA’s web site says of the stickers,

Tomatoes emblazoned with stickers encouraging shoppers to “throw me at a fur-wearer” have been cropping up in produce aisles. The popular plump red vegetable that until now, has been known mainly as a harmless ingredient in spaghetti sauce is stirring up the most controversy in its history since the “Is it a vegetable or a fruit?” flap.

Whether you call them tomatoes or to-mah-toes, these veggies are seeing red over cruelty to animals.

Fur-wearers, be warned—vigilante vegetables are ready to paint the town red. If you still wear fur—despite the fact that animals are bludgeoned, electrocuted, poisoned, gassed, shot and have their necks broken just so you can look old, fat, or really cheap—you’d better be prepared to meet your ‘mater. No mink stole or raccoon wrap is safe from a pulpy projectile that’s gone to seed.

I don’t ever want to hear again some clueless animal rights activists telling me that PETA is nonviolent and doesn’t encourage or participate in violent acts.

Source:

Revenge of the Tomatoes. PETA, Undated.

Pam Anderson Urges Swedish Prime Minster to Ban Fur Farming

In July People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals activist Pamela Anderson sent a letter to Swedish Prime Minister Goeran Persson urging Persson to ban fur farming in Sweden.

In her letter< Anderson wrote,

You should know that many people in the world look up to Sweden. Banning the fur industry will strengthen Sweden’s reputation further.

. . .

I am impressed by how far Sweden has come when it comes to gender equality, justice in society and environmental work. I also know that many people in your country are opposed to the fur industry. Stopping this terrible practice is therefore a natural step for Sweden.

Persson’s Social Democrat Party voted in 2001 to support a ban on fur farming, but a government study in October 2003 recommended giving fur farmers until at least 2010 to come into compliance with animal welfare laws in Sweden before considering a ban.

Source:

Pamela fights to ban fur farming. Agence-France Presse, July 4, 2004.

Researchers Demonstrate Nerve Cell Regeneration after Spinal Cord Injury in Rats

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine demonstrate that a combination of therapies and cell grafts caused significant regeneration of nerve cells in rats suffering from spinal cord injuries.

Using the sort of techniques opposed by animal rights groups, the researchers first used a surgical technique to induce spinal cord damage in the rats. They then transplanted tissue grafts into the damaged area. New nerve cells regenerated not only in the area of the tissue graft, but also extended into the spinal cord and healthy tissue surrounding the injury.

Lead researcher Mark Tuszynski said in press release announcing publication of the findings that,

Previous studies have demonstrated reduced lesion and scarring, tissue and functional recovery after acute spinal cord injury. This study shows unequivocally that axons can be stimulated to regenerate into a cell graft placed in a lesion site, and out again, into the spinal cord — the potential basis for putting together a practical therapy.

Source:

Nerve cells successfully regenerated following spinal cord injury. Press Release, University of California, San Diego, July 13, 2004.

Activists Run Semi-Nude to Protest Pamplona Running of the Bulls

In early July, Pamplona once again held its centuries old — and world famous thanks to Ernest Hemingway — running of the bulls. Along with thousands of spectators and runners, about 200-300 animal rights activists from 15 countries showed up to protest the event.

Sponsored by People for Ethical Treatment of Animals, the activists protested by running the route the day before the event topless and in underwear. According to The Associated Press,

They had planned to run the route totally nude but did not have the necessary town hall permit, the Efe news agency reported.

So Pamplona actually has a permit allowing people to run through the streets nude? How cool is that?

Anyway, according to PETA (emphasis added),

Every year, thousands of visitors from around the world arrive in Pamplona, Spain, to join in the annual spectacle of the “Running of the Bulls.” But tourists are appalled to see the terrified animals racing through streets crawling with drinking, brawling people. The bulls’ hooves slip on the pavement as they race frantically, trying to escape the chaos. Sometimes, in their confusion, they bash into doors or the sides of buildings, breaking horns or legs. Human runners and spectators gouge them with sticks or pull their tails, and they, too, are sometimes injured, gored, or trampled by bulls desperate to escape.

So on the one hand, according to PETA, its tourists — especially Americans — responsible for the continuation of bullfighting and the running of the bulls, but on the other hand these very same tourists “are appalled” at what they see. Okay, then why do they keep on coming?

Regardless of whether or not the event is cruel, it is certainly extremely popular (in fact, according to the Associated Press, the event is so popular that there are no less than eight separate runnings of the bulls over a weeklong period).

Sources:

Protesters decry bullfighting in Spain. Associated Press, July 5, 2004.

Running of the Bulls Starts in Spain. Associated Press, July 6, 2004.

Thousands run with Pamplona bulls. The BBC, July 7, 2004.

Running of the Nudes. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, Undated.