ANIMAL HEALTH
From ANIMAL PEOPLE, Jan/Feb 1994:
The Farm Bureau, Cattleman’s Association, and
Eastern Milk Producers Cooperative are backing a New York
state bill to let farmers vaccinate their own cattle against rabies,
as is allowed in 36 other states including the adjoining states of
Vermont and Pennsylvania. The bill is opposed by the New York
Veterinary Medical Society. The farm groups claim it would help
curb rabies by cutting vaccination costs. The veterinarians
respond that vaccinations improperly done provide no protection.
The tick-borne disease tularemia has reappeared in
southeastern Pennsylvania, a decade after causing two human
fatalities in the same area. The disease usually hits rabbits,
killing them within four hours; both the Pennsylvania victims had
just killed and dressed rabbits. Tularemia can also kill dogs and
cats who have contact with infected rabbits.
Lyme disease, chiefly carried by black-legged ticks,
may be waning in Ohio, according to state biologists, who found
only one black-legged tick on 1,150 dead deer inspected in 1992,
and none during opening-day-of-deer-season checks in 1993.
Veterinarian Jeff Young and his assistant Erin
Russell of Planned Pethood Plus vasectomized wolves and wolf
hybrids on December 19 at Mission: Wolf, a sanctuary for 38 of
the animals near Silver Cliff, Colorado. Vasectomies were done
rather than castrations to minimize the effect of neutering on
behavior within the pack structure. “It was thrilling and a little
scary,” Young and Russell reported.
The 20-year-old Avian Rehabilitation Center, of
Atlantic City, New Jersey, may close this summer because the 3-
acre site it occupies has been put up for sale by the financially
struggling Marine Sciences Consortium. The site is one corner of
a 40-acre coastal parcel the MSC has used to host classes for vari-
ous colleges and universities, but is now offering for develop-
ment at $750,000. The Avian Rehabilitation Center treated 2,000
birds of 130 species last year, including 35 endangered species.
More than 40% were returned to the wild. About 15% were sent
to zoos and nature centers because they did not recover enough to
survive in the wild.
The United Federation of Teachers Humane
Education Committee will present a workshop led by Marty
Goldstein, DVM on “Caring for Companion Animals via
Podiatrist Dr. Ronald Worley claimed a first on
November 23 when he performed the first of two laser surgeries
to correct a congenital foot defect in a kitten named Spunky.
Worley belongs to the feline foster care program of the Valley
Humane Society, in Dublin, California.
Homeopathic and Vitamin Therapies” from 3:45 to 7:00 p.m. on
February 2 at the UFT headquarters in Manhattan. Registration is
$15, including a light dinner. For info, call 718-797-2925. The
UFT Humane Education Committee is also promoting a free neu-
tering and vaccination program for New Yorkers on fixed
incomes or public assistance, sponsored by the Fund for
Animals.
