ANIMAL HEALTH

November 1, 1993 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, November 1993:

The September newsletter of the Missouri

Veterinary Medical Association told members that

the MVMA backed the state veterinary medical board

in establishing clinic and hospital inspections because

inspection was inevitable and otherwise the inspectors

“would probably be non-veterinarians and possibly

animal rights activists,” whose agenda might “roll

over veterinary practices.” Exactly how and why was

not explained.

Dr. James Serpell, author of several

books on the human/animal relationship, has been

named to fill the new Marie A. Moore Chair in

Humane Ethics and Animal Welfare at the University

of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine.

DIET & HEALTH

October 1, 1993 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, October 1993:

The Clinton administration has

proposed ending the conflict of interest

between the regulatory and promotional

functions of the USDA with respect to the

meat and poultry industry by transfering the

Food Safety and Inspection Service to the

Food and Drug Administration. The FDA

staff of 1,000 now inspects 53,000 non-

meat food producers, drug manufacturers,

and makers of medical equipment, while

the USDA employs 9,000 people to inspect

6,100 meat and poultry processors.

Coincidentally, tainted meat that passes

inspection causes an estimated 9,000

human deaths per year and 6.5 million ill-

nesses. The National Cattlemen’s Associa-

tion, American Meat Institute, and

National Broiler Council oppose the plan.

ANIMAL HEALTH

October 1, 1993 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, October 1993:

IN THE VETERINARY CLINIC

Despite concerns about bites and animal-transmitted

disease, veterinary staff are as often hurt on the job by ordi-

nary slips, trips, falls, and lifting injuries, according to sta-

tistics supplied to ANIMAL PEOPLE by the American

Veterinary Medical Association Professional Liability Insurance

Trust. From 1988 through 1992, dog bites accounted for 16.3%

of claims, cat bites for 13.8%, kicks by horses and cattle for

5.2%, and all other injuries done by animals combined amounted

to just 4.1%––but slips, trips, and falls came to 17.2%, while

lifting totaled 16.2%. Three-fourths of the lifting injuries

involved lifting “small” animals, whose weight and ability to

struggle were probably underestimated by the injured. Average

costs per claim were $2,808 for animal-related lifting injuries;

$6,253 for other lifting injuries; $6,212 for slips, trips, and falls;

$4,174 for horse and cow-kicks; $1,527 for dog bites; and $678

for cat bites. Job safety statistics have apparently never been

compiled for animal control officers and shelter workers, but

similar ratios may apply.

BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH

September 1, 1993 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, September 1993:

Validation of non-animal tests gains momentum

Significant progress in validating non-animal toxicity tests was announced

during the summer by both the Baltimore-based Johns Hopkins Center for Alternatives to

Animal Testing and the Scandinavian Society of Cell Toxicology’s four-year-old

Multicenter Evaluation of In Vitro Cytotoxicity Tests program, headquartered in

Sweden. Validation is the process of establishing how test results relate to human health.

The Johns Hopkins team published a “Framework for the Validation and Implementation

of In Vitro Toxicity Tests” simultaneously in four leading scientific journals, hoping to

speed researcher interest, while the Swedish team, somewhat ahead of Johns Hopkins,

now has 90 European in vitro toxicologists working on a variety of tests of their own

design, measuring the toxicity of 50 chemicals with well-known effects on humans.

“Relevance remains the key problem,” John Frazier of the Johns Hopkins team

said. “It was clear from the beginning that the ill-defined nature of the ‘gold standard’ we

are trying to measure with an in vitro test––human toxicity––was going to be difficult.

It’s a moving target. Nobody has come up with a definitive solution.”

BOOKS: Sexual Strategies: How Females Choose Their Mates

July 1, 1993 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, July/August 1993:

Sexual Strategies: How Females

Choose Their Mates, by Mary Batten,

G.P. Putnam Sons (200 Madison Ave., New York, NY

10016), 1992, 248 pages, hardcover $21.95 US, $28.95

CN (ISBN 0-87477-705-4)

From the perspective of evolutionary biology,

everything in nature revolves around the struggle of genes

to survive and reproduce. During her years of researching

and writing nature documentaries, Mary Batten, presently

editor of The Calypso Log, noticed that while the scientific

establishment accepted most aspects of evolutionary biolo-

gy, it tended to ignore the often-documented role of female

choice in the evolution of species and societies.

BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH

July 1, 1993 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, July/August 1993:

The premise of the hit film Jurassic Park is that

scientists might some day clone dinosaurs from bits of their

DNA, containing their genetic codes, which may be found

in the bellies of blood-sucking insects whose remains are

preserved in amber. Considered far-fetched by many, that

scenario moved closer to reality in June when a team of

California-based researchers reported in Nature that they

had extracted recognizable DNA segments from a weevil

who became caught in tree resin 120 to 135 million years

ago. The resin harrdened into amber, and was eventually

excavated near Jezzine, Lebanon. Paleontologist Jack

Horner of Montana State University topped that June 30,

announcing that his graduate assistant Mary Schweitzer had

discovered apparent blood cells in the deep interior of a

tyrannosaur bone, where the thickness of the bone protected

them from fossilization and decay. Horner’s team is now

trying to extract DNA from the blood cells.

Animal Health & Behavior

July 1, 1993 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, July/August 1993:

CDC goes to rat-@#$%

The Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention blame an unknown Hantaan virus probably

transmitted by rodents for causing flu-like symptoms that

killed 19 residents of the Four Corners region of New

Mexico, Arizona, Utah, and Colorado during May and

June. Most of the victims were Native Americans.

Hantaan viruses are typically transmitted through inhala-

tion, after becoming airborne with evaporated urine.

The transmission route for this as yet unidentified virus

has not been found, and investigators have been thwarted

by the reluctance of Navajo victims’ families, in particu-

lar, to speak either of the dead or of matters involving

their religion and rituals. However, Nevada paleoenvi-

ronmental researcher Peter E. Wigand, who seeks clues

to ecological history in ancient deposits of crystalized rat

urine, may have unwittingly provided a clue to the out-

break last January, before it actually occurred. Wigand

CHILDREN & ANIMALS

July 1, 1993 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, July/August 1993:

Lucinda Randolph Benjamin of the 4-H Club

and Margaret Barker of the Cornell Laboratory of

Ornithology are coordinating a study of inner city pigeon

life, funded by the National Science Foundation and actu-

ally carried out by 15 young residents of the Bedford-

Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, New York. The partici-

pants, ages 9-14, are to closely observe the pigeons in

their neighborhood, documenting everything the birds do.

Carol Stevenson, principal of the Ladera del

Norte Elementary School in Farmington, New Mexico,

rewarded a class of 23 second graders for reading 7,000

pages of library books during May by eating six live worms

in front of them. The geek show was apparently the chil-

dren’s idea, inspired by one of the books they read.

Cats & Dogs

July 1, 1993 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, July/August 1993:

The older men who get the most emotional benefit

from keeping pets are those who have the least free time, the most

difficulties in personal relationships, and the most financial trouble,

according to a newly published study by Ohio State University psy-

chology professor Sara Staats––whereas the women who derive the

most satisfaction from pets are those with the most free time and

the most satisfactory relationships with other people. Staats’ data

came from a survey of 250 people over age 50. The findings appar-

ently reflect the role of pet as family member for women, contrast-

ed with the role of pet as surrogate for family among many men.

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