FDA discourages farm use of antibiotics

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, November/December 2013:

 

WASHINGTON D.C.––The U.S. Food & Drug Administration on
December 11, 2013 announced that the drug makers Zoetis and Elanco,
which produce the majority of antibiotics used to promote livestock
growth, have agreed to participate in a voluntary phase-out of
non-therapeutic use of antibiotics in animal husbandry.
Routine antibiotic doses promote faster growth by suppressing
infections that often result from housing large numbers of animals in
close proximity under unsanitary conditions.

Read more

Natural England revokes permit for badger cull

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, November/December 2013:

 

LONDON––The British wildlife agency Natural England on
November 29, 2013 revoked a license granted to the Department of
Environment, Food & Rural Affairs to cull 70% of the badgers in two
areas of Gloucestershire and Somerset, to see if the culling might help
to reduce the incidence of bovine tuberculosis.
Badgers as well as cattle are susceptible to bovine TB, and
have long been blamed by farmers for failed efforts to eradicate the
disease from British herds.

Read more

Closing live markets stopped killer flu

From ANIMAL PEOPLE,  October 2013: (Actually published on November 20,  2013.)  

HONG KONG–Closing 780 live poultry markets in the Chinese cities of Shanghai,  Hangzhou,  Huzhou and Nanjing stopped an April 2013 outbreak of a deadly new subtype of the H7N9 avian flu strain,  confirmed Hong Kong University researchers Hongjie Yu,  Joseph T. Wu,  Benjamin J. Cowling with data published in the October 31,  2013 edition of The Lancet.  Read more

Mission Rabies vaccinates 60,000 dogs in 10 Indian cities in 30 days

From ANIMAL PEOPLE,  September 2013: (Actually published on October 8,  2013)

NILGIRIS,  Tamil Nadu,  India––Vaccinating 60,000 dogs in 30 days at 10 rabies hot spots around India,  Mission Rabies exceeded its preliminary target by 10,000 and kept right on rolling. Mission Rabies “will continue for three years,  with a goal of vaccinating two million Indian dogs,”  said Worldwide Veterinary Services founder Luke Gamble,  who set for himself the goal of eradicating rabies in India while visiting Nilgiris as the star of a veterinary television show in 2009. Read more

Newly found ferret badger rabies strain raises concern about dogs

From ANIMAL PEOPLE,  September 2013: (Actually published on October 8,  2013)

Taipei,  Taiwan––A new rabies strain identified in Taiwanese ferret badgers may have the potential to exponentially increase the risk of rabies transmission by dogs.  But even if the new rabies strain does not behave in dogs as it does among ferret badgers,  it has ignited unprecedented public controversy in Taiwan over the value of animal testing. Read more

BOOKS: The Complete Book of Home Remedies for Your Dog and The Complete Book of Home Remedies for Your Cat

From ANIMAL PEOPLE,  July-August 2013:

The Complete Book of Home Remedies for Your Dog and  The Complete Book of Home Remedies for Your Cat by Deborah Mitchell St. Martin’s Press (c/o MacMillan,  175 Fifth Avenue,  New York,  NY  10010),  2013. 248 and 224 pages,  paperback.  $7.99 each.

Health writer Deborah Mitchell in The Complete Book of Home Remedies for Your Dog and The Complete Book of Home Remedies for Your Cat presents dozens of home remedies for common canine and feline ailments including arthritis, dermatitis,  dementia,  kidney disease,  and hairballs.   Read more

Does castration really alter male dog behavior?

From ANIMAL PEOPLE,  July-August 2013:

PORTLAND,  Oregon––Does castration really make male dogs less dangerous? The return of an injectible zinc gluconate chemosterilant to the U.S. market––Zeuterin,  formerly called Neutersol––has rekindled a debate that most of the humane community,  most veterinarians,  and probably most people involved with dogs in any way thought was long since settled.

Read more

1 2 3 55