UK LAW FAILING ANIMALS USED IN MEDICAL RESEARCH, CLAIMS EMINENT PROFESSOR - 26 July 2007
UK government legislation aimed at minimising the use and suffering of animals in medical research was branded a failure yesterday by the scientist father of UK cabinet minister Ed Balls. Michael Balls, emeritus professor at Nottingham University, called for an urgent review of the way animal experiments are licensed in the UK, and criticised the UK government for granting scientists permission to conduct animal research even when the benefits were in doubt. more...
"MEAT-SWEET" DIET MAY INCREASE RISK OF BREAST CANCER - STUDY - 11 July 2007
Asian women who eat a Western-style diet high in meat, white bread, milk and puddings may be at higher risk of breast cancer, research has suggested. A study of 1,500 Chinese women showed those who ate a "meat-sweet" diet were twice as likely to develop the disease as those on a vegetable-based diet. more...
ELECTRIC COLLARS FOR CATTLE - 10 July 2007
Farmers fed up with building fences may soon resort to the use of electronic collars to restrict livestock within an unfenced area. Researchers at Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) have designed a hi-tech cow collar that ‘zaps' the animal when it wanders over an invisible fence line. "Collars like this are already used by some dog ‘owners' to prevent animals roaming. SAFE has questioned the use of these collars and is concerned that their use may be inhumane," says Hans. "Being suddenly zapped by something invisible could lead animals to becoming needlessly fearful." "We also wonder if the device will actually keep the animals safely in an area and prevent them from wandering on the road. If a cow got a fright and ran it would be easy for her to breach the invisible fence and end up on the wrong side of it. This would prevent the animal from returning without being constantly zapped." SAFE will be keeping a close eye on further developments on this issue.
OREGON BANS GESTATION STALLS - 09 July 2007
Oregon has become the US first state to ban gestation-sow crates in pork production systems through legislative action. According to the Animal Agriculture Alliance, the Oregon legislature approved the measure after animal rights groups threatened to start a ballot initiative to get the measure added to the state constitution if the legislature didn't pass the bill. more...
SPECIAL REPORT: DO FISH HAVE FEELINGS TOO? - 23 June 2007
Animal rights campaigners are turning their attention to aquariums. But should we really get worked up about angel fish and guppies, wonders Harry Pearson of the UK newspaper Guardian unlimited. more...
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT BANS TRADE IN CAT AND DOG FUR - 23 June 2007
The European Parliament has overwhelmingly approved a ban on trade in products containing cat or dog fur following calls to outlaw a practice many consider unethical and animal rights advocates call barbaric. more...
UK POULTRY WORKERS FILMED PLAYING FOOTBALL WITH LIVE TURKEYS - 19 June 2007
UK Poultry tycoon Bernard Matthews faces more criticism after animal rights supporters released a video showing one of his workers repeatedly kicking turkeys. The footage was secretly taken last week by an undercover investigator for an animal welfare charity who sneaked on to one of the multi-millionaire's farms. The same investigator last year filmed two other Bernard Matthews staff appearing to play baseball with live turkeys on another farm. more...
REVENGE OF THE GEESE? - 19 June 2007
Geese force-fed and then slaughtered for their livers may get their final revenge on people who favour the delicacy known as foie gras: It may transmit a little-known disease known as amyloidosis, researchers have reported. Tests on mice suggest the liver, popular in French cuisine which uses it to make pate de foie gras and other dishes, may cause the condition in animals that have a genetic susceptibility to such diseases, Alan Solomon of the University of Tennessee and colleagues reported. That would suggest that amyloidosis can be transmitted via food in a way akin to brain diseases such as creutzfeldt-jakob disease, or CJD, which can cause a rare version of mad cow disease in some people who eat affected meat products or brains. more...
ANIMAL CRAZY? - 07 June 2007
They say they act in defence of animals, but to the British and US governments they are the second most dangerous terrorist group next to al Qaeda. The Sunday programme goes inside the secret world of the Animal Liberation Front and discloses plans to bring one of their most radical activists to New Zealand to spread the word. view video
TAX BREAKS SOUGHT FOR US VEGETARIANS - 07 June 2007
Citing the need to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is calling on US congressional leaders to give vegetarians a tax break. In a letter sent to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, PETA President Ingrid Newkirk stated, "[V]egetarians are responsible for far fewer greenhouse-gas emissions and other kinds of environmental degradation than meat-eaters." The letter added that vegetarians should receive a tax break "just as people who purchase a hybrid vehicle enjoy a tax break." more...
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