#Butter-Cow Prank Does Nothing to Help the Cause of Animals (Op-Ed) Wayne Pacelle is the president and chief executive officer of The Humane Society of the United states (HSUS.
or standards on the agriculture industry to protect animals workers public health and the environment. There is great value in organizing folks in King's district to defend Iowa's laws
The HSUS has also been fighting the opening of a horse slaughter plant in Sigourney Iowa
and other decision-makers that the people of Iowa don't approve of the killing of horses for human consumption;
and supporting the national effort to give laying hens more space. And there's The HSUS effort to phase out gestation crates
and others who don't like systemic mistreatment of animals. I could go on. And yet rather than take constructive and legitimate action on these enormously consequential matters with millions of animals'lives
or the quality of their lives hanging in the balance some fool (who claims to be an animal advocate) defaced the Butter Cow at the Iowa State Fair.
The fair is a cultural event that attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors and is attended by leading politicians in the state the press and so many rank-and-file citizens.
and other serious-minded animal welfare groups think this person is as dumb as you do.
Pacelle's most recent Op-Ed was Porcupine Quills to Mange Rural Pets Rely on Free Vet Clinics.
Hobbyists Swarm to Beekeeping Matt Howes would never have stuck his bare hand into a beehive six months ago
but since he has taken the reins of managing the four hives on the rooftop of his office he has become more comfortable handling the honey makers.
You become calmer have steadier hand movements Howes said after adjusting an infrared camera he installed in one of his hives
Howes is one of a growing number of New yorkers tending to their office hives this summer.
Gallery of the Cutest Bugs Now hundreds of residents including at home hobbyists and office beekeepers have registered hives with the New york city Department of health
and the numbers continue to rise. A new hive appeared one office building over from the NRDC just a few weeks ago perhaps inspired by Howe's work.
The city does not limit the number of hives allowed per registrant and while many bee enthusiasts appreciate this freedom to expand others worry that the city may eventually hit bee capacity
and run out of food sources for the bees. It takes one million flowers to produce enough nectar for one pound of honey said Andrew Cote founder of the New york city Beekeepers Association.
Each hive needs hundreds of pounds of honey to survive. To supplement what the bees forage from parks
and cracks in sidewalks many beekeepers provide their hives with bowls of sugar water. But Cote said he would rather see bees feed on wild more nutritious sources of nectar
and the burgeoning number of hives worries him. We have the same amount of flowers
Elsewhere office hives have played more of a role in business. The Waldorf Astoria hotel for example uses its rooftop-made honey in cocktails salad dressing and even wild mushroom chowder.
And it has a story behind it that we can share with guests many of whom can't believe that there are beehives in Manhattan.
Only 125 of the 1000 pounds of honey the Waldorf kitchen consumed last year came from the rooftop hives.
and political views said Alex Batkin a poetry graduate student at Brooklyn College who recently joined a group that helps Cote check hives each week.
#Caffeine Gives Bees a Memory Boost Honeybees like tired office employees like their caffeine suggests a new study finding that bees are more likely to remember plants containing the java ingredient.
The findings detailed today (March 7) in the journal Science show how plants can manipulate animals'memories to improve their odds of pollination.
Caffeine in nectarâ is likely to improve the bee's foraging prowess while providing the plant with a more faithful pollinator Wright added.
All of these plants contained caffeine. 10 Things You Need to Know About Coffee Plants produce caffeine as a defense mechanism a bitter-tasting brew to fend off insects.
We all have this impression that caffeine is made to be toxic to animals Dudek said
In mammals caffeine has been shown to affect circuits in the brain's memory center the hippocampus.
Cells in the brains of insects are similar to neurons in the hippocampus. To see how caffeine affected these cells the researchers recorded the electrical activity of honeybee brains bathed in a caffeine-containing liquid.
The caffeine had a noticeable effect on the brain cells'activity results showed. Wright and colleagues think the caffeine is affecting neurons in the bees'brains in a way that reinforces memories.
#Camels May be Link to Deadly MERS Virus A potential source of the newmiddle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) virus has been identified:
camels may be a carrier of the virus according to a new study. Blood tests of 50 dromedary (one hump) camels in Oman a country in the Arabian peninsula found that all had developed antibodies against the MERS virus a sign that the camels may have been infected in the past with the MERS virus
or a very similar one the researchers said. However the actual virus was not found in the animals. oethese new results suggest that dromedary camels may be one reservoir of the virus that is causing MERS infection in humans the study researchers from National Institute for Public health
and the Environment in Bilthoven The netherlands said in a statement. oedromedary camels are a popular animal species in the middle East where they are used for racing
and also for meat and milk so there are different types of contact of humans with these animals that could lead to transmission of a virus the researchers said.
MERS first appeared in Saudi arabia in September 2012 and has infected since 94 people and caused 46 deaths according to the World health organization.
The study did not find MERS antibodies in blood samples taken from closely related animals such as alpacas and llamas in The netherlands and Chile.
if the virus is circulating in these animals in this region as well the researchers said. The MERS virus has been found to grow in cells taken from bats the researchers said.
. However humans do not have much direct contact with bats so another animal such as camels
The study cannot prove that humans caught the virus from camels. Before researchers can confirm that camels are a source of MERS future studies are needed to identify the actual virus in camels
and compare it to the MERS virus the researchers said. The study is published in today's (Aug 9) issue of the journal The Lancet Infectious diseases.
#Can Farmers Cry Wolf and then Pocket the Cash?(Op-Ed) Wayne Pacelle is the president and chief executive officer of The Humane Society of the United states (HSUS.
and Keep Michigan Wolves Protected four-fifths of the livestock killed by wolves in the western management unit (96 animals out of 120) come from this one farm.
Even though state law already allows the killing of individual wolves threatening livestock or pets the state senator from this region has shepherded two bills through the Michigan legislature to allow trophy hunting of gray wolves right after they were Gray wolf May Lose Endangered Species Status. There are only about 650 wolves in the entire state
and that number is down from the wolf census two years ago. There are only about 650 wolves in the entire state
and that number is down from the wolf census two years ago. There were 11 farms that reported wolf problems in the western region of the Upper Peninsula with most of them having only a single incident.
In an investigation conducted this past winter the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) found that the owner of that one farm John Koski did not live on the farm
and did not provide proper care for his cattle failing even to remove dead animals allowing their carcasses to attract predators.
The state provided three guard donkeys to him for free yet DNR officials found two of them dead
and the third one was in poor condition. Koski also failed to use fencing as a protective mechanism
even though the state also provided that to him at no cost. Koski was paid even for the livestock losses he sustained pocketing $33000 of the $40000 paid out by the wildlife management unit.
and trapping wolves for trophies and for their pelts used Koski as a poster child for their hunt citing enormous losses from wolves.
What they didn't tell people was that the vast majority of all incidents involving wolves occurred on one farm
which was clearly exhibiting the worst management practices and inviting predators or other animals onto the farm by leaving rotting animal carcasses around.
It essentially amounts to a wolf-baiting situation and then crying crocodile tears when the wolves show up for a free meal.
The people who want to kill wolves don't want to admit that their agenda is driven by an irrational hatred and a lack of understanding of wolves.
They try to dress up their policy goal of wolf-killing in socially beneficial terms. Specifically they say the hunt will protect farmers.
The fact is the state already allows the killing of problem wolves. And the state provides free tools to farmers having wolf conflicts
and compensates them for the very infrequent losses that occur. Random killing of wolves in the forests and wilderness won't do a thing to further mitigate the remote likelihood of a wolf incident.
Sound animal husbandry practices are the solution. Wolves are an economic and ecological boon to the state driving wildlife-oriented tourism
and keeping prey populations in balance thereby reducing crop losses and automobile collisions involving deer.
That's why The HSUS urges all Michiganders to support two referenda one to nullify the wolf trophy hunting season set to start in November
and the other to restore the rights of voters to have a say on wildlife management policies
and deny the unelected political appointees at the Natural resources Commission from having all authority to open new hunting
and trapping seasons on protected species. To get involved visit www. keepwolvesprotected. com. Pacelle's most recent Op-Ed was Sharks Gain Protections in India Will U s. Follow suit?
This article was adapted from'Crying Wolf and Pocketing the Cash which first appeared as on the HSUS blog A Humane Nation.
A recent report by the United nations Food and agriculture organization (FAO) Tackling Climate Change Through Livestock revealed startling news. Animal agriculture with its 70 billion land animals accounts for 14.5
percent of global human-induced greenhouse-gas emissions confirming that the farm-animal sector is a top contributor to one of the most pressing environmental problems of our time.
The majority of pregnant sows egg-laying hens and other farm animals are housed in barren crowded cages and crates barely larger than their bodies.
The animals can't exercise fully extend their limbs or engage in many important natural behaviors.
and ranchers who give proper care to their animals act in accordance with the basic ethic of compassion to sentient creatures under their control
and refining diets by choosing products from sources that adhere to higher animal-welfare standards.
By choosing to adopt a meat-free menu one day a week you can help animals the planet and your health.
#Can New Rules Finally End Pet-Treat Poisonings?(Op-Ed) Wayne Pacelle is the president and chief executive officer of The Humane Society of the United states (HSUS.
Animal advocates have long cast a suspicious eye on the practices of the pet food industry with talk over decades about hidden ingredients in canned and dried goods containing horse meat so-called 4-D meat (dead downed dying
and diseased animals) and even the carcasses of euthanized dogs and cats from shelters. Today the nutritional content and safety of pet food is a mainstream concern given growing consciousness about nutrition
and healthy foods and the view that pets are family members. The pet-food market has grown dramatically with some pet food companies even marketing organic food for dogs and cats.
But concern over pet food safety may now be at an all-time high with a series of scandals that have claimed the lives of thousands of animals in recent years
and called into question the conduct and corner-cutting at some points in an often long and difficult-to-trace supply chain.
This much-needed upgrade of the regulatory framework comes as the FDA is still trying to determine the precise cause of a six-year spate of pet illnesses involving more than 3500 dogs with nearly 600 known fatalities apparently stemming from jerky-style pet treats.
This latest food safety scare while substantial is small in comparison to the 2007 scandal that ultimately claimed the lives of thousands of dogs and cats.
and killed pets throughout North america. It was that case that provided impetus to the U s. Congress to update food safety laws for the first time in decades enacting the Food safety Modernization Act
FDA Proposes New Rules for Pet and Animal Food The new rule will be open for public comment for just a few months
and FDA has proposed it would become effective 60 days after the final rule is made available to the public.
Ultimately the best protection for pets will come from watchful pet owners. They can start with the HSUS pet-food safety webpage
and sign up to receive our pet-of-the-week newsletter which includes new recall alerts.
Given the concerns about pet treats you might consider baking your own healthy dog treats as a precaution.
Healthy recipes for treats your dog will love can be found at: humanesociety. org/dogs.
Pacelle's most recent Op-Ed was Hunt club Auctions Opportunity to Kill Endangered Rhino. This article was adapted from The Case of the Terrible Treats
which first appeared on the HSUS blog A Humane Nation. The views expressed are those of the author
#Cat Poop Parasite Is Dangerously Widespread Be careful next time you change the kitty litter cat poop can carry a nefarious parasite that may be much more widespread than thought researchers say.
Cats in the United states release about 2. 6 billion pounds (1. 2 million metric tons) of feces into the environment every year.
Cat dung carries the parasite Toxoplasma gondii a single-celled organism that creates infectious agents called oocysts.
The number of cats in the United states is growing pet cats increased from 55 million to 80 million from 1989 to 2006
and the number of feral cats is estimated at between 25 million and 60 million. Studies show that approximately 1 percent of cats shed the infectious oocysts at any given time.
These oocysts can survive for at least 18 months and only a single one is needed to cause an infection according to past research.
Other animals like sheep and cattle can also acquire the parasite by ingesting the infected cat feces.
or undercooked animals that are infected. In countries like France or Ethiopia where raw food is common the incidence of infections is much higher Torrey told Livescience.
It has long been known that the parasite can survive in cat litter where the oocysts become aerosolized after 24 to 48 hours Torrey said.
because cats often relieve themselves in these areas. It's a remarkably complex parasite. It's much more complicated than a virus
and change their behavior causing them to be less afraid of the smell of cat urine.
This makes it easier for the rats to be eaten by cats returning the parasite to its host.
 In the meantime Torrey advocated controlling cat populations especially feral ones. Children's sandboxes should be covered.
And cat owners should dispose of cat litter properly in the trash not down a toilet
None of us are saying cats shouldn't be said pets Torrey but there are some downsides to all pets
and some downsides to cats we should be aware of. Follow Tanya Lewis on Twitterâ and Google+.
+Â Follow us@livescience Facebookâ & Google+.+Original article onâ Livescience. com Â
#Causes of Global Warming Earth's climate has always been in a state of flux according to data gleaned from the geological record ice core samples and other sources.
and hives whereas celiac disease is characterized by the reaction in the small intestine and other listed symptoms.
Facts About Climate, Animals & Plants The Cenozoic era which began about 65 million years ago
The era began on a big down note catching the tail end of the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event at the close of the Cretaceous period that wiped out the remaining non-avian dinosaurs.
because the extinction of many groups of giant mammals allowing smaller species to thrive and diversify because their predators no longer existed.
Due to the large span of time covered by the period it is beneficial to discuss the animal population by the milestone of the era rather than in generalities.
The beginning of the Paleogene Period was a time for the mammals that survived from the Cretaceous period.
Later in this period rodents and small horses such as Hyracotherium are common and rhinoceroses and elephants appear.
As the period ends dogs cats and pigs become commonplace. Other than a few birds that were classified as dinosaurs most notable the Titanis the dinosaurs were gone.
Large flightless birds such as the Diatryma thrived. Â The Neogene Period gives rise to early primates including early humans.
Bovids including cattle sheep goats antelope and gazelle flourish during this period. Cave lions Sabre-toothed cats cave bears giant deer woolly rhinoceroses and woolly mammoths were prevailing species of the Quaternary period.
Without the dinosaurs plant life had an opportunity to flourish during the Cenozoic era. Nearly every plant living today had its roots in the Cenozoic era.
During the early part of the era forests overran most of North america. However as the climate cooled forests died off creating open land.
Due to the widening of the oceanssharks whales and other marine life proliferated. The Great lakes that formed in the western United states during the Eocene epoch were the perfect home for bass trout
and other fresh-water species. As the forests thinned grasses began to spread out over the plains of North america
The prevailing winds at the time of the accident were from the south and east so much of the radiation plume traveled northwest toward Belarus.
Thriving populations of wolves deer lynx beaver eagles boar elk bears and other animals have been documented in the dense woodlands that now surround the silent plant.
and animals with high levels of cesium-137 in their bodies are known to occur. Infographic:
#Chimps Have a Sense of Fairness Humans aren't the only ones who cry no fair.
In a classic test of fairness called the ultimatum game apes will dole out an equitable share of their bananas
and chimpanzees may share an evolved sense of fairness common to many cooperative species said lead study author Darby Proctor a primatologist at Emory University.
Selfish apes But past studies of the ultimatum game in chimpanzees (with raisins) had suggested our closest living relatives were rational maximizers who would accept even the stingiest offering without getting ruffled.
if the apes accepted but made them wait a full minute after rejecting the offer raising the possibility that the apes realized it was more fruitful to accept quickly to get more raisins rather than rejecting lowball offers.
Chimps and children In the new study the team trained the primates to dole out tokens that stood for bananas with one token symbolizing an equal split
while the other was an unfair deal that benefitted the first chimp. See a Video of Chimps'Ultimatum Game At first the chimps were stingy
but very quickly they switched to offering equitable splits in the ultimatum game. To test the method the researchers had 3-to 5-year-old children participate in a similar experiment using stickers instead of bananas.
The little ones started out greedy but quickly offered the tokens for fairer distributions of stickers.
me as very similar to the chimps Proctor said. They would say things like'You got more stickers than me'or
'The findings suggest chimp and human sense of fairness aren't so different Milinski said.
I am not surprised we are so similar to chimps. We are not unique Milinski told Livescience.
#China Combatting Market for Illicit Animal Parts (Op-Ed) Peter Li is a professor at the University of Houston-Downtown and a China policy specialist for Humane Society International (HSI.
Some people with income to spare spend it on lavish and often outlandish wildlife luxury goods like rhino horn and elephant ivory.
and trafficked wolf pelts from Greece at Beijing's Capital International airport for example was a commendable act by China's General Administration of Customs.
Together with other recent seizures of elephant tusks and rhino horns in Hong kong the Chinese government has taken a stand in opposition to the practice of illegal commerce in wildlife.
Additionally as the single biggest investor in Africa China bears special responsibility to that continent's people and wildlife.
Through education and enforcement China and other East Asian nationsneed to address the demand for ivory rhino horn and other animal products.
Furthermore reports of the involvement of organized militia and terrorist groups in elephant poaching are highly troubling
As a vital force in the global alliance for wildlife protection China's growing commitment and efforts to combat illicit trafficking can save elephants and rhinos from extinction while inviting global commendation for its efforts.
and fuel wood endangered animals like pandas struggle to survive. China's issues with species loss extend far beyond its borders:
The slaughter of elephants for ivory the killing of rhinos for their horns and the culling of tigers for their bones (as medicine)
Sharks are endangered worldwide largely because of shark finning the removal of dorsal fins from still-living sharks for the Chinese delicacy known as shark fin soup.
and ducks that drank from the river died. If you put your leg in the water you'll get rashes
and parades with dancers dressed as dragons. Many people make pilgrimages to Confucius'birthplace in Shandong Province on his birthday Sept. 28.
since these individuals started playing a pivotal role in the counting of birds in the early 1900s.
Because stimuli throughout the day such as car headlights will set off a rooster's crow at any time it was also possible that increasing light was the trigger for the cock's crows.
and in response light and the crows of their fellow chickens but those behaviors were much stronger at daybreak.
We still do not know why a dog says'bow-wow 'and a cat says'meow'Yoshimura said in a statement.
We are interested in the mechanism of this genetically controlled behavior and believe that chickens provide an excellent model.
#Cocoa Frog Among New Species Discovered in'Pristine'Ecosystem A chocolate-covered frog and one of the tiniest dung beetles ever found are among the new species discovered during a survey of
what scientist called one of the most pristine environments left On earth. The location? Southeastern Suriname a dense South american Eden for rain forest species. Scientists led by Conservation International's Rapid Assessment Program spent three weeks in the region in 2012 surveying animal
and plant species and testing water quality. I have conducted expeditions all over the world but never have seen I such beautiful pristine forests so untouched by humans expedition leader Leeanne Alonso now with the organization Global Wildlife Conservation said in a statement.
See photos of the amazing animals of the Suriname forests New species In that expanse Alonso
Among them was the cocoa frog a tree-climber of the genus Hypsiboas named for its chocolate-colored skin.
Researchers also got out their magnifying glasses to uncover the Lilliputian beetle a teeny-tiny insect measuring just 0. 09 inches (2. 3 millimeters) long.
The antlered red beetle is likely the second-smallest dung beetle species in South america the researchers reported.
Dung beetles play critical ecological roles that help support healthy ecosystems Trond Larsen the director of the Rapid Assessment Program said in a statement.
The expedition also turned up five other potentially new frog species many insects and one snake.
Several of the new insects were leggy katydids most in shades of green. One of the potentially new katydids seems to mimic a dead leaf with its curved torso and brown coloration.
No less impressive were the species already known to science recorded in the area. They include the pale pink worm lizard (Amphisbaena vanzolinii) rarely seen aboveground
and the brightly-colored tiger leg monkey frog (Phyllomedusa tomopterna) which earns its moniker from its orange-and-black underbelly and limbs.
Scientists even lent one species a helping hand: When a juvenile dusky parrot (Pionus fuscus) fell into the river they fished the bird out
and let it dry at their camp. After a few hearty meals the yellow-beaked parrot headed back into the forest.
An important ecosystem Southeastern Suriname is important above and beyond its role as a biodiversity hotspot the scientists found.
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