Digital Commons Network^™

The Ingrown World Of Animal Model Research In Psychology, Kenneth J. Shapiro

Experimentation Collection

In the previous essay, I described the proper function of models in science as heuristic, as a way of generating hypotheses about the actual object of study. Turning to animal models in psychology, I offered a general characterization of that enterprise using sham feeding, an animal model of the eating disorder called bulimia, as an example. In this final of three essays, I offer an evaluation of this animal model strategy that largely employs the tools of social science. I close with a recommendation and a prediction.

Rodeo And Recollection-Applied Ethics And Western Philosophy, Bernard E. Rollin

Sports and Entertainment Collection

No abstract provided.

The Effect Of Substrate-Enriched And Substrate-Impoverished Housing Environments On The Diversity Of Behaviour In Pigs, Marie Haskell, Françoise Wemelsfelder, Michael T. Mendl, Sheena Calvert, Alistair B. Lawrence

Sentience Collection

In intensive farming situations, growing animals are housed in relatively barren environments. The lack of opportunity to perform substrate-interactive and manipulative behaviour patterns may affect the expression and organization of these behaviours. However, making direct comparisons of the behaviour expressed in environments of differing physical complexity is difficult. In this experiment a relative diversity index was used to compare the behavioural repertoires of pigs housed in two different environments for a period of five months. One group of pigs (substrate-enriched) had straw, forest bark and branches added to the standard pens and the other group (substrate-impoverished) did not. The pigs …

Quantity-Based Interference And Symbolic Representations In Chimpanzees (Pan Troglodytes), S. T. Boysen, G. G. Berntson, M. B. Hannan, J. T. Cacioppo

Sentience Collection

Five chimpanzees with training in counting and numerical skills selected between 2 arrays of different amounts of candy or 2 Arabic numerals. A reversed reinforcement contingency was in effect, in which the selected array was removed and the subject received the nonselected candies (or the number of candies represented by the nonselected Arabic numeral). Animals were unable to maximize reward by selecting the smaller array when candies were used as array elements. When Arabic numerals were substituted for the candy arrays, all animals showed an immediate shift to a more optimal response strategy of selecting the smaller numeral, thereby receiving …

Mechanisms Of American English Vowel Production In A Grey Parrot (Psittacus Erithacus), Denice K. Warren, Dianne K. Patterson, Irene M. Pepperberg

Sentience Collection

Parrots are known for their capacity to reproduce the sounds of human speech, but few studies have investigated their mechanisms for producing such vocalizations. Using three methods of noninvasive video imaging (Super VHS video, infrared, X-ray radiography), we examined correlations between several elements of a Grey Parrot's (Psittacus erithacus) vocal-tract configuration and the bird's production of two vowels, /i/ ("eat") and /a/ ("rock"). This parrot uses mechanisms that both resemble and differ from those used by: (a) humans to produce English speech; and (b) some avian species to produce conspecific vocalizations. This Grey Parrot, for example, uses its vocal apparatus …

Gender Differences In Attitudes Toward Animal Research, Jennifer J. Eldridge, John P. Gluck

Experimentation Collection

Although gender differences in attitudes toward animal research have been reported in the literature for some time, exploration into the nature of these differences has received less attention. This article examines gender differences in responses to a survey of attitudes toward the use of animals in research. The survey was completed by college students and consisted of items intended to tap different issues related to the animal research debate. Results indicated that women were more likely than men to support tenets of the animal protection movement. Likewise, women were more likely than men to favor increased restrictions on animal use …

Taking Evolution Seriously: A Matter Of Primate Intelligence, Maxine Sheets-Johnstone

Intelligence Collection

No abstract provided.

Hyperactivism: The Phenomenon Of Doing Without Achieving, Henry Spira

Commentaries and Editorials

No abstract provided.

Less Meat, Less Misery: Reforming Factory Farms, Henry Spira

Farm Animal Campaign

No abstract provided.

Five Good Reasons To Eat Your Dog Or Cat, Animal Rights International

Farm Animal Campaign

No abstract provided.

Why Would Anybody Eat Their Best Friend?, Animal Rights International

Farm Animal Campaign

No abstract provided.

Hsus News Volume 41, Number 01

HSUS News 1989-92

• A plea for tolerance: ceding wildlife its rightful domain (Paul G. Irwin)
• Spotlight
• At Risk: Black Rhinoceros
• Selling dolphins down the river: new bills could sink important safeguards
• The mink subsidy: at an end? Senate action dooms taxpayer giveaway (Wayne Pacelle)
• Approaching the finish line? Racing's decline is good news for greyhounds (Leslie Isom)
• At the heart of development: can spiritual values shape decision-making? (Richard M. Clugston, Ph.D.)
• Protecting the wild frontier (Michael Winikoff and Melissa Seide Rubin)
• The persecution of the lion: fear and loathing of the mountain lion threaten the species' toehold in the American West (Wayne Pacelle) …

Animal Issues In The Media: A Groundbreaking Report, George Gerbner

Film and Television Production Collection

What kinds of animals do we see on television and in print media? What are the trends, themes, scenes, and contexts in which animals appear? How are they treated? What are the roles for which they are cast and the fate for which they are destined? What issues drive press and magazine coverage, and how do animal activism, legislation, science and other issues play out in the coverage? Finally, what are some implications for further research, activity, and policy?

These are questions we shall address in this report. The report presents the findings of a benchmark study that begins the …

Scientists And Animal Research: Dr. Jekyll Or Mr. Hyde?, Andrew N. Rowan

Experimentation Collection

Why is the public so sensitive about the use of a few tens of millions of animals in research when they do not object to killing hundreds of millions of pigs and cows and billions of chickens for our meat diet? Why is animal research considered so bad despite the public's high opinion of science (and scientists)? Perhaps it is the image of the scientist as an objective and cold individual who deliberately inflicts harm (pain, distress, or death) on his (the public image is usually male) innocent animal victims that arouses so much horror and concern. This paper does …

Hsus News Volume 40, Number 04

HSUS News 1989-92

• Will Keiko ever be free? Marine Mammal Institute offer captives hope (Paul G. Irwin)
• Spotlight
• At Risk: sea turtles
• Wildlife rehabilitation training center opens (Richard H. Farinato)
• Students' concerns triumph: alternatives to classroom dissection offered (Jonathan Balcombe, Ph.D.)
• House cuts mink subsidy: market promotion program targeted (Wayne Pacelle)
• A Congressional howl: legislators urge USDA to act on puppy mills (Rachel A. Lamb)
• Earth Charter moves forward: conferees consider draft of UN-bound document (Angela O. Harkavy, M.A.)
• State legislatures take action: myriad bills address animal protection (Ann Church)
• Victories for good bills, defeats for bad ones
• New chapter in Iditarod saga: …

Coalition For Non-Violent Food Coordinator's Report, Animal Rights International

Animal Rights Coalitions

• Farm animal well-being: setting the wheels of change in motion
• Campaign ends face branding
• Beyond face branding...
• Farm Animal Well-Being Task Force launched
• 90% oppose today's factory farms
• Looking ahead
• A picture is worth a thousand words!
• Strategy for the non-violent dinner table: replacement, reduction & refinement

Evaluation Of Animal Welfare By The Self-Expression Of An Anxiety State, M. P. Carey, J. P. Fry

Assessment of Animal Welfare Collection

Although mental well-being has long been accepted as an important aspect of animal welfare, the subjective feelings of farm or laboratory animals are regarded as lying beyond the scope of scientific enquiry. We now report that pharmacological conditioning of pigs with a drug, pentylenetetrazole, known to induce anxiety in man, permits investigation of the presence or absence of this psychological state during exposure to a variety of environmental stimuli encountered during normal husbandry. Such pharmacological conditioning therefore provides a valuable means to assess and improve elements of animal welfare and should be applicable to other species that show operant behaviour.

A Different Brand Of Lobbying

Face Branding Campaign

Animal rights activist Henry Spira waged a successful two-year campaign to stop ranchers from branding diseased cattle on the face.

Letter From John Palmer To Henry Spira, John Palmer

Bird Shoot Campaign

This will confirm our conversation today in which I informed you of our decision not to proceed with the October fundraising program "Shoot for Sight". Helen Keller International has no intention of undertaking this, or similar events, in the future.

Letter From Henry Spira To John Palmer, Henry Spira

Bird Shoot Campaign

In thanking you for your prompt action, I'd like to emphasize that your concerns and our concerns are not mutually exclusive. To me, at least, your organization is stronger and more credible today than last week. As a token of support for your admirable work I enclose a small personal contribution.

Letter From Henry Spira To John Palmer, John Crowley, And Patty Duke, Henry Spira

Bird Shoot Campaign

We think HKI's programs, here and abroad, are admirable. But, killing for pleasure, is no way to combat the terrible tragedy of blindness. Are there not more creative ways to save the sight and lives of the "most vulnerable" other than sponsoring the pleasure-killing of the absolutely defenseless?

Chimpanzees In Laboratories: Distribution And Types Of Research, Martin L. Stephens

Laboratory Experiments Collection

This review presents the results of an informal 1993 survey of the distribution of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) in the world's laboratories, and the types of research conducted on them. Based on the available information, there are over 2200 chimpanzees in.laboratories, most of which are located in several US facilities. Europe apparently has less than 200 chimpanzees housed in two facilities. Worldwide, an estimated 80% of the chimpanzees in laboratories are used in studies on AIDS and hepatitis. It is concluded that, if Europe terminated its use of chimpanzees in research, for either financial, moral or political reasons, the impact on …

Conflict And Cooperation: Sociobiological Principles And The Behaviour Of Pigs, David Fraser, D. L. Kramer, E. A. Pajor, D. M. Weary

Sociobiology Collection

The pig provides many examples of how principles of behavioural ecology and sociobiology can lead to insights into farm animal behaviour. According to parent-offspring conflict theory, parents should tend to give a level of parental investment somewhat below that solicited by the young. When closely confined during lactation, sows can do little to limit the amount of contact with the piglets, and the young stimulate a prolonged, high level of lactation. Certain alternative housing systems allow the sow to limit the stimulation she receives, and the resulting reduction in lactation can actually be advantageous to both parties. Communal care of …

Selective Tooth Clipping In The Management Of Low-Birth-Weight Piglets, S. Robert, B. K. Thompson, David Fraser

Farm Animal Husbandry Collection

A study was designed to test the potential benefits of selective tooth clipping (the practice of leaving the eye teeth intact in the smallest piglets of a litter to make them more competitive) under commercial conditions. A total of 346 litters were assigned to either the control treatment where all piglets had their teeth clipped, or the experimental treatment where one or more piglets of low birth weight had their teeth left intact. Piglets were weighed within 24 h of birth and at 7, 21 and 56 d. In litters of 12-14 animals, but not in smaller litters, the lower-birth-weight …

Animal Activist Urges Vets To Be Activists Too, Henry Spira

Commentaries and Editorials

No abstract provided.

Big Game, Big Bucks: The Alarming Growth Of The American Trophy Hunting Industry, Teresa Telecky, Doris Lin

Big-Game and Trophy Hunting Collection

The trophy hunting of exotic animals by American big game hunters is increasing at an alarming rate. Over 45,000 foreign animals were killed and imported to the U.S. by American trophy hunters in 1993, a 71% increase in only a four-year period. Among the imported trophies are thousands of threatened and endangered species, as well as species listed under CITES. The number of endangered and threatened species killed and imported by American trophy hunters increased by 83% in the same period. Three factors have contributed to the rising numbers of animals killed and imported by American trophy hunters: 1) The …

Wcro Summer 1995

West Coast Regional Office

• Animal celebrities moving to the West Coast
• West Coast Legislative Update
• Keep us informed!
• Get the facts on cats
• WCRO: busy for the animals (Eric Sakach)

Hsus News Volume 40, Number 03

HSUS News 1989-92

• Leveraging our resources: our voice is being heard; our presence felt (John A. Hoyt)
• Spotlight
• In Memoriam: James Herriot 1916-1995
• At Risk: Canada Lynx
• A happy ending to Keiko's story? Foundation's goal: restore movie star to health
• Trouble for American turtles: export trade exposes species to exploitation (Teresa M. Telecky, Ph.D.)
• Here's what you can do to help turtles
• Journey halted: HSUS investigators intervene in New York State to save a truckload of horses from going to slaughter (Virginia Bollinger)
• Blueprint for protection (Marc Paulhus)
• HSI Vietnam: a graphic account (David K. Wills)
• HSI Europe: cruel transport, drift nets fought …

Mirror Use By African Grey Parrots (Psittacus Erithacus), Irene M. Pepperberg, Sean E. Garcia, Eric C. Jackson, Sharon Marconi

Sentience Collection

No abstract provided.

Get The Facts On Cats

Close Up Reports

No abstract provided.