Archives for July 2006

Mad Cow & Other Animal News

This article on mad cow disease just crossed my desk. Let me know what your opinion is on this matter.

Animal cruelty is often the precursor to other crimes later in life. I cannot believe the nastiness of the crime. Teens intentionally bought a mouse and lit it on fire.

The writer of this commentary on an editorial opinion regarding farming raises some points worth pondering. Most people have no idea about what it takes to produce food in this country nor do they care. The packet of flesh in the store is the closest many ever get to thinking about it. When I was younger, school kids too field trips to farms, dairies and the science center animal collection so we could get glimpses of life outside of our surburban setting.

This is a great article about wildlife rescue. You should always refrain from interferring with wildlife but here are some good tips to help identify truly orphaned animals that need help.

Just how far would you go if your dog bit someone? This article involves the household pet who bit the nine year old child. Again, this illustrates the need to teach responsible pet ownership. My comment? That millions of dogs do not bite their househould members. Therapy and behavior modification works but takes lots of work and a lifetime of diligence. Cost, compliance, and liability are some issues to discuss if you have an aggressive animal.

Bush Meat is not a new topic but it seems to be making headlines. I attended preliminary professional meetings on the topic back in the mid 1990’s which resulted in the formation of this bushmeat group. The issue is a complex one. Here is another site.

Another article on urban coyotes.

Habituated Animals

Thane Maynard and I discussed the petiquette error of people forcing themselves on animals. One of the comments I forgot to make concerned the feeding frenzy people seem to have. This article talks about some of the problems humans have created in their attempts to “connect’ with animals. There really is no connection created with feeding animals–in most cases people just train animals to recognize humans as a food source and when people don’t comply they often get bit or worse.

Here is a recent report on people feeding wild gators. Even when it is posted, “Do not feed the animals” many zoos lose animals because visitors insist on breaking the rules.

In other news, this is the connection people seek the feeding strategy is one used by many wild animal trainers to prevent possessiveness and keep dependent behavior to caretakes (specifically used with predators).