AWIC
July 23, 2008
The Wolf and the Moose: Natural Enemies That Need Each Other
Scientific American reports on a landmark project of tracking wolves and moose on an archipelago in Michigan's Lake Superior. http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=the-wolf-and-the-moose&page=2Posted by sball at 01:51 PM | Comments (0)
NICEATM/ICCVAM -- Senate Report on FY 2009 NIH Appropriations
Senate Report on FY 2009 NIH Appropriations states the following -- Alternative Methods of Testing- The Committee acknowledges the publication of the National Interagency Center for the Evaluation of Alternative Methods/Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Validation of Alternative Methods [NICEATM/ICCVAM] Five-Year Plan but remains concerned by the slow pace at which Federal agencies have moved to adopt regulations that would replace or reduce the use of animals in testing. The Committee therefore requests the ICCVAM to evaluate the skin irritation/corrosion, pyrogenicity, phototoxicity, vaccine potency, acute fish toxicity and developmental toxicity methods and tiered-testing strategies that have been deemed valid by the European Centre for the Validation of Alternative Methods but have not been accepted in the United States. The Committee also asks the ICCVAM to identify situations where these methods can be applied with scientific confidence in the existing testing practices and regulations of ICCVAM agencies. In addition, the ICCVAM is urged to identify what additional studies would be needed to produce sufficient scientific confidence to expand the application of such methods by the agencies that comprise ICCVAM. The Committee requests a report on these findings by May 1, 2009.Posted by sball at 01:38 PM | Comments (0)
July 21, 2008
AVMA Passes Groundbreaking Animal Welfare Policies
MarketWatch.com reports the American Veterinary Medical Association House of Delegates voted to pass a groundbreaking policy on veal calf housing that promotes both animal health and welfare. http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/avma-passes-groundbreaking-animal-welfare/story.aspx?guid=%7BCA3386B7-1514-4225-B8C1-C1E3844ADCF1%7D&dist=hpprPosted by sball at 10:39 AM | Comments (0)
Vivisection: Scientists Use 6% More Animals for Research
The Guardian reports in the United Kingdom the number of scientific procedures carried out on animals rose by 6% last year. The 83% used rodents, the number of procedures that involved monkeys declined by 6%. http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2008/jul/21/animal.experiments?gusrc=rss&feed=networkfrontPosted by sball at 10:13 AM | Comments (0)
USDA Awards $4.1 Million to Study Colony Collapse Disorder
Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer announced that more than $4 million will be awarded to the University of Georgia to study the causes of Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) and other diseases affecting bee populations, whose pollination is valued at $15 billion annually to U.S. agriculture. http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/!ut/p/_s.7_0_A/7_0_1OB/.cmd/ad/.ar/sa.changenav/.c/6_2_1UH/.ce/7_2_5JM/.p/5_2_4TQ/_th/J_2_9D/_s.7_0_A/7_0_1OB?PC_7_2_5JM_contentidonly=true&PC_7_2_5JM_contentid=2008%2F07%2F0188.xmlPosted by sball at 10:11 AM | Comments (0)
Wild Horses May Face Death Sentence
NPR.org reports with the cost of feeding a horse up and adoptions down, the Bureau of Land Management may begin killing wild horses to deal with surplus numbers. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=92691184Posted by sball at 06:28 AM | Comments (0)
July 18, 2008
Animal Welfare Institute and National Black Farmers Association Launch
Project Wanted Horse -- The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) and the National Black Farmers Association (NBFA) today launched a national partnership aimed at helping American horses in need by finding them homes on farms operated by NBFA members. http://www.nal.usda.gov/awic/news/NBFA061808.pdf http://www.awionline.org/ http://www.blackfarmers.org/Posted by sball at 03:30 PM | Comments (0)
Group to Document Unwanted Horse Incidents
Unwanted horses have become a growing concern across the U.S. The Horse Welfare Committee serves as a "clearinghouse" for verifiable evidence related to the unintended consequences of the ban on equine slaughter in the U.S. http://www.nal.usda.gov/awic/news/HorseWelfareCommiitteePressRelease071708.pdf http://www.horsewelfarecommittee.com/Posted by sball at 12:59 PM | Comments (0)
FDA's BSE Final Rule Published
FDA has published two rules to protect animals and consumers against BSE by prohibiting the use of most mammalian protein in the manufacture of animals feeds given to ruminant animals and by removing high-risk materials from all animal feed. These rules were published in 1997 and 2008. http://www.fda.gov/cvm/bsetoc.htmlPosted by sball at 12:48 PM | Comments (0)
Choctaw and Cherokee Strains of Colonial Spanish Horses Needs Immediate Help
The primary breeding herd of Choctaw and Cherokee strains of Colonial Spanish horses needs immediate help to ensure stable, long-term conservation. The American Livestock Breeds Conservancy (ALBC) is look for help in this effort. A combination of unique factors, including the loss of access to over a million acres of timberland and lack of alternate grazing lands, has resulted in an immediate need to place horses. If you are able and willing to help with this conservation effort, please contact the ALBC office as soon as possible at: ALBC, PO Box 477, Pittsboro, NC 27312, (919) 542-5704, or email albc@albc-usa.org.Posted by sball at 11:56 AM | Comments (0)