Digital Commons Network^™

Facts From Faeces: Prey Remains In Wolf, Canis Lupus, Faeces Revise Occurrence Records For Mammals Of British Columbia’S Coastal Archipelago, Michael H. H. Price, Chris T. Darimont, Neville N. Winchester, Paul C. Paquet

Biogeography and Ecological Opportunity Collection

Archipelagos often harbour taxa that are endemic and vulnerable to disturbance. Conservation planning and research for these areas depend fundamentally on accurate and current taxonomic inventories. Although basic ecological information is in its infancy, the temperate rainforest islands of coastal British Columbia are undergoing rapid human-caused modification, particularly logging. We report herein new mammal records for these islands as determined by prey remains in the faeces of Wolves (Canis lupus), the area’s apex mammalian terrestrial predator. Of particular interest is our detection of Marten (Martes americana) on islands previously inventoried and island occupancy by Moose (Alces alces), which have apparently …

Effects Of Predation Pressure On The Cognitive Ability Of The Poeciliid Brachyraphis Episcopi, Culum Brown, Victoria A. Braithwaite

Sentience Collection

Variable levels of predation pressure are known to have significant impacts on the evolutionary ecology of different populations and can affect life-history traits, behavior, and morphology. To date, no studies have directly investigated the impact of predation pressure on cognitive ability. Here we use a system of replicate rivers, each with sites of high- and low-predation pressure, to investigate how this ecological variable affects learning ability in a tropical poeciliid, Brachyraphis episcopi. We used a spatial task to assess the cognitive ability of eight populations from four independent streams (four high- and four low- predation populations). The fish were required …

Animal Welfare Consciousness Of Chinese College Students: Findings And Analysis, Zu Shuxian, Peter J. Li, Pei-Feng Su

Societal Attitudes Toward Animals Collection

The moral character of China’s single-child generation has been studied by Chinese researchers since the early 1990s. Recent acts of animal cruelty by college students turned this subject of academic inquiry into a topic of public debate. This study joins the inquiry by asking if the perceived unique traits of the single-child generation, i.e. selfcenteredness, lack of compassion, and indifference to the feelings of others, are discernible in their attitudes toward animals. Specifically, the study investigates whether the college students are in favor of better treatment of animals, objects of unprecedented exploitation on the Chinese mainland. With the help of …

Acute Toxicity Testing Without Animals: More Scientific And Less Of A Gamble, Gillian R. Langley

Application of Alternative Methods Collection

In this report, we argue specifically that acute toxicity data should not be sought from animal tests. The underlying principle of such tests on rats and mice is that the results can be effectively extrapolated to humans. In fact, after nearly 80 years of use of these tests, the predictivity of rodent data for human acute toxic effects has been disputed but never proven.

Chimpanzees In Research: Past, Present, And Future, Kathleen Conlee, Sarah T. Boysen

State of the Animals 2005

Although the welfare of chimpanzees encompasses many issues, this chapter addresses their use in research, including their historical and current use in the United States, ethical and scientific concerns, public opinion, international legislation, and future directions.

Cruelty Toward Cats: Changing Perspectives, Randall Lockwood

State of the Animals 2005

Of all the species that have been domesticated, cats have historically been subjected to the widest diversity of treatment by humans. They have been worshipped as gods and reviled as devils, coddled and pampered, but also abandoned and abused. Our treatment of cats has likewise created a range of problems for professionals concerned with their care—from dealing with problems of obesity and overindulgence to tending to the needs of animals who have been neglected, intentionally harmed, or even tortured.

Tracking The “State Of The Animals”: Challenges And Opportunities In Assessing Change, Randall Lockwood

State of the Animals 2005

In this chapter we:

1. Review some of the measures that have been used in the past to attempt to assess the state of the animals and the extent to which we can continue to apply these measures to track future changes.
2. Review some of the emerging tools and developing technologies that can improve our tracking of the state of the animals and provide some quantitative measures of our progress.
3. Explore some examples of general measures of human interaction with animals that might prove useful in predicting and tracking changes in how they are treated.

Indoor Cats, Scratching, And The Debate Over Declawing: When Normal Pet Behavior Becomes A Problem, Katherine C. (Kasey) Grier, Nancy Peterson

State of the Animals 2005

When pet animals share our living spaces, their needs and natural behaviors sometimes are at odds with the varying standards for household appearance, sanitation, and polite social life that Americans have established over time. How pet owners have resolved these issues provides insight into their changing ideas about the role of animals in their households and suggests how much, or how little, people may actually know about the biological behaviors and psychological needs of the creatures they care for. This essay examines one particular issue associated with the problem of sharing spaces: declawing pet cats as a common solution to …

Dogs And Dog Control In Developing Countries, J. F. Reese

State of the Animals 2005

The relationship between a community and its dogs is not always entirely positive, and many cultures identify similar problems associated with having dogs in their midst. For example, in South Africa, the Soweto community identified the problems caused by dogs as road accidents, barking and fighting, biting children and killing livestock, and uncontrolled fecal contamination (Beck 2000). Such problems exist in many cultures, throughout the developed and developing worlds.

It is against this background of a wide range of man-dog relationships that dogs in the developing world must be seen and understood. Knowledge about and understanding of the complexity of …

Progress In Animal Legislation: Measurement And Assessment, Andrew N. Rowan, Beth Rosen

State of the Animals 2005

As the animal movement has gained more political authority and public acceptance, it needs better ways to assess and follow its progress—or lack thereof—towards its goals. In this era, in which nonprofits and funding agencies are demanding better measures of effectiveness, the animal movement needs to examine how it looks at the progress it is (or is not) making in gaining better legal protection for animals.

International Animal Law, With A Concentration On Latin America, Asia, And Africa, Neil Trent, Stephanie Edwards, Jennifer Felt, Kelly O'Meara

State of the Animals 2005

The status of domestic animal protection laws in Asia, Africa, and Latin America varies, as one might imagine, from country to country. Countries with high per capita incomes are more likely to have a large number of animal protection organizations, whose existence normally leads to the passage of protective legislation.1 The sociopolitical, cultural, and religious backgrounds of each country, as well as previous colonization, also influence whether it has animal protection legislation and whether these laws are enforced. Previous colonization is the case in many former British colonies, which often have very good laws but neither the means nor the …

Feral Cats: An Overview, Margaret R. Slater, Stephanie Shain

State of the Animals 2005

Humans and cats have a long and complex history together. Since the nineteenth century, contradictory ideas about the need to protect and care for cats have moved us toward a shift in ideas, values, and behaviors to a more benign perception of cats than was generally the case in previous centuries. In some quarters, but not all, even feral cats have begun to be seen as worthy of our study and humane treatment. In many countries, the welfare of all cats has become a focus of public concern, but nowhere is the shift in values reflected more than in the …

Competition Between Marine Mammals And Fisheries: Food For Thought, Kristin Kaschner, Daniel Pauly

State of the Animals 2005

Marine mammals and humans have co-existed on this planet for several hundred thousand years. Both rely heavily on the exploitation of marine resources, though whales, dolphins, and pinnipeds have been doing so for much longer, roaming the oceans for millions of years, long before the emergence of modern humans (Hoelzel 2002). It is not surprising that, when there is a “new kid on the block,” co-existence is not always very peaceful, and many of the encounters between humans and marine mammals result in a variety of conflicts.

The Future Of Teratology Research Is In Vitro, Jarrod Bailey, Andrew Knight, Jonathan Balcombe

Experimentation Collection

Birth defects induced by maternal exposure to exogenous agents during pregnancy are preventable, if the agents themselves can be identified and avoided. Billions of dollars and manhours have been dedicated to animal-based discovery and characterisation methods over decades. We show here, via a comprehensive systematic review and analysis of this data, that these methods constitute questionable science and pose a hazard to humans. Mean positive and negative predictivities barely exceed 50%; discordance among the species used is substantial; reliable extrapolation from animal data to humans is impossible, and virtually all known human teratogens have so far been identified in spite …

127 Million Non-Human Vertebrates Used Worldwide For Scientific Purposes In 2005, Andrew Knight

Experimentation Collection

No abstract provided.

Ld50 Testing Of Botulinum Toxin For Use As A Cosmetic, Martin L. Stephens, Michael Balls

Experimentation Collection

In 2003, the Fund for the Replacement of Animals in Medical Experiments (FRAME) revealed that the potency of botulinum toxin for use as a popular wrinkle treatment is assessed by using the LD50 Test. The endpoint in this mouse-based testing is death through suffocation. In 2004, The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) sought to work with Allergan, the US-based manufacturer of Botox® Cosmetic, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), on ways to refine, reduce, and replace this LD50 testing. This article summarises The HSUS’s campaign in the United States and provides an update on FRAME’s continuing …

Non-Human Primates In Medical Research And Drug Development: A Critical Review, Jarrod Bailey

Laboratory Experiments Collection

There is much current debate surrounding the use of non-human primates (NHPs) in medical research and drug development. This review, stimulated by calls for evidence from UK-based inquiries into NHP research, takes a critical view in order to provide some important balance against papers supporting NHP research and calling for it to be expanded. We show that there is a paucity of evidence to demonstrate the positive contribution or successful translation of NHP research to human medicine, that there is a great deal of often overlooked data showing NHP research to be irrelevant, unnecessary, even hazardous to human health and …

The State Of The Animals Iii: 2005, Deborah J. Salem, Andrew N. Rowan

In this third, all new, volume in the State of the Animals series, scholars and experts in animal protection examine the challenges facing companion animals, marine mammals, and nonhuman primates and review legal protection for animals here and abroad.

The Effects Of Land Transport On Animal Welfare, D. M. Broom

Transport of Farm Animals Collection

Animal welfare during and as a result of transport can be assessed by using a range of behavioural, physiological, pathological and carcass-quality indicators that are described in this paper. Measures of the extent of any disease, injury or mortality resulting from, or exacerbated by, transport are important because health is an important part of welfare. Many of the indicators are measures of stress as they involve long-term adverse effects on the individual. Factors affecting the welfare of animals before, during and after transport which are discussed are: definition of the responsibilities and competence, attitudes to animals and need for training …

A Year Of Progress, Wayne Pacelle

HSUS Annual Reports 2005-18

No abstract provided.

Board Of Directors

HSUS Annual Reports 2005-18

No abstract provided.

A Promise Remembered, Heidi Prescott

HSUS Annual Reports 2005-18

No abstract provided.

An Unprecedented Year

HSUS Annual Reports 2005-18

No abstract provided.

Bearing Witness, Rebecca Aldworth

HSUS Annual Reports 2005-18

No abstract provided.

Responding To Katrina

HSUS Annual Reports 2005-18

Meeting the challenge

A Broader Scale, Michael Greger

HSUS Annual Reports 2005-18

No abstract provided.

Natural Progression, Katherine B. Liscomb

HSUS Annual Reports 2005-18

No abstract provided.

System Failure, Carter Dillard

HSUS Annual Reports 2005-18

No abstract provided.

Grants

HSUS Annual Reports 2005-18

Supporting the work of other humane organizations and agencies is an important part of our own work, and our family of organizations awarded grants to the following in 2005.

Financial Operations Report

HSUS Annual Reports 2005-18

No abstract provided.