Life Sciences Commons^™

The Imbalance Between Experiment And Theory In Biology: The Need For Theory-Directed Modeling, M. L. Fidelman, D. C. Mikulecky

Experimentation Collection

In biological and biomedical research, the vast majority of resources are focused on conducting experiments. Most of these experiments utilize animals. Only a tiny amount of resources is spent on theory and modeling. It is our contention and the basic theme of this paper that the imbalance between theory and experiment in biology produces very poor science. The implications of which are that many of the experiments conducted have little real scientific meaning or value and, therefore, go hand-in-hand with unnecessary animal use and suffering. Given the finite resources available for research, the redirection of significant resources from an almost …

Recognition And Alleviation Of Pain In Animals, P. A. Flecknell

Animal Welfare Collection

The pain and distress which animals experience as a consequence of their use by man figures prominently in discussions of animal welfare. Some improvements have been made in animal housing and husbandry practices and it is likely that further progress will be made in this field. In comparison, relatively little attention has been given to the problem of minimizing the pain and distress caused to animals by the various procedures to which they are subjected. The most publicized of these are the wide range of experimental techniques which are undertaken using laboratory animals, but also includes procedures such as castration …

The Green Movement: Implications For Animals, Ronnie Z. Hawkins

Environment Collection

The Green movement, a newly emerging political movement that is both global in scope and firmly anchored to each local region at the grassroots level, is destined to be of great import to those concerned with the status of nonhuman animals in our society. Closely allied with deep ecology and bioregionalism, Green thinking embodies an alteration in our perception of the human organism: no longer seen as separate from and superior to all the other components of the ecosystem, our species is placed in context as one among many interdependent forms of life, with the attainment of a sustainable balance …

T-61 Use In The Euthanasia Of Domestic Animals: A Survey, Andrew N. Rowan

Veterinary Science and Medicine Collection

A variety of techniques have been proposed and employed for the killing of domestic animals but relatively few have survived as suitable agents for euthanasia-namely, the induction of painless, suffering-free death. Some agents, such as strychnine, curariform agents, or potassium salts cause suffering while others have other disadvantages. 'lbday, dogs and cats are commonly euthanatized with sodium pentobarbital or with T-61 which is a mixture of a central nervous system narcotic, a paralytic agent, and a local anesthetic. The use of T-61 was first reported in the United States in 1963 (Quin 1963). The substance gradually became more popular because …

Applications Of Laboratory Technology In The Evaluation Of The Risk Of Rabies Transmissions By Biting Dogs And Cats, Donald C. Blenden, Manuel J. Torres-Anjel, F. T. Satalowich

Veterinary Science and Medicine Collection

While rabies is not a common disease in domestic animal species of the United States, potential exposures to rabies in the form of bites are very common and increasing. A nationwide study conducted among general hospitals shows that 1 percent of emergency room visits are for animal bites, of which 80-90 percent are inflicted by the dog (Callaham 1980). This figure is conservative, as the study did not include pediatric hospitals, the bite of victims that progress only to a physician's office, or those that receive no medical care at all. In Missouri alone, this study would infer about 1500 …

Mammals, Birds, And Butterflies At Sodium Sources In Northern Ontario Forests, D. Fraser

Feeding Behavior Collection

Wildlife seen at natural sodium-rich springs and at roadside pools contaminated by highway de-icing salt in northern Ontario included two species of wild ungulates, one species of rodent, three species of birds, and two species of butterflies. The three birds were finches of the sub-family Carduelinae, noted for feeding almost exclusively on plant material. The mammalian species were also herbivorous. Apart from Porcupines (Erethizon dorsaturn), small mammals were rarely seen at the saltwater locations, perhaps because of their apparent preference to ingest salt in solid form rather than in water.

Advances In Animal Welfare Science 1985/86, M. W. Fox (Ed.), A. N. Rowan (Ed.)

eBooks

This second volume of papers dealing with scientific and ethical aspects of animal welfare covers a variety of topics and areas of investigation. It will be of particular interest to those readers seeking more insight into such subjects as farm animal welfare and humane husbandry systems; animal experimentation, especially in the field of psychology; and pain in animals, notably its recognition and alleviation.

Animals In Testing: How The Cpi Is Handling A Hot Issue, Anonymous

Popular Press Items

No abstract provided.

Life History Patterns And The Comparative Social Ecology Of Carnivores, Marc Bekoff, Thomas J. Daniels, John L. Gittleman

Ethology Collection

No abstract provided.

Isolation Of Lactoferrin And Its Concentration In Sows’ Colostrum And Milk During A 21-Day Lactation, J. I. Elliot, B. Senft, G. Ernhardt, D. Fraser

Nutrition Collection

Levels of lactoferrin, an Fe-binding protein with bacteriostatic properties, were determined in the colostrum and milk of Yorkshire sows during a 21-d lactation. Lactoferrin levels averaged 1,100 to 1,300 μg/ml near the time of farrowing, then declined sharply during the first week of lactation. Concentration of lactoferrin showed considerable variation among sows, but not among teat positions (anterior to posterior). A method for isolating high purity swine lactoferrin is described.

Hsus Exposes Livestock Transportation Cruelty

Close Up Reports

No abstract provided.

Some Factors Influencing The Availability Of Colostrum To Piglets, D. Fraser

Physiology Collection

Five experiments, involving the hand milking of 53 farrowing sows, examined aspects of colostrum yield during and soon after farrowing. The initial and abundant yield of colostrum from a teat (averaging 6 to 10 g/min) declined after several minutes of continuous milking. Thereafter, most colostrum was released in discrete ejections, possibly caused by discrete releases of oxytocin. Colostrum ejections varied greatly in their yield and duration, and were sometimes associated with the birth of a piglet, sounds of other sows nursing, or other factors.

Teats varied greatly in their yield. During the initial minutes of milking, the most anterior teats …

The Hsus Condemns Psychological Experimentation On Animals

Close Up Reports

For almost a century, millions of cats, dogs, monkeys, and other laboratory animals have fallen victim to the misguided notion that by torturing animals we may someday find the golden key that unlocks the dark corners and passageways of human psychology. Heedless of any relevance the experiments may have to the human condition or of the differences between humans and other animals, experimental psychologists are exercising unbridled on animals the whole range of suffering, from emotional trauma, like that experienced by the doomed infant monkey, to outright physical torture. Animals have been blinded and returned to the wild to test …

The Hsus Condemns Psychological Experimentation On Animals

Close Up Reports

No abstract provided.

Social Play Behavior, Marc Bekoff

Ethology Collection

Recent studies clearly indicate that animal play is an important behavioral phenotype, and that detailed analyses of the phenomenon are useful for furthering our understanding of the evolution of social behavior and the interaction of phylogeny, ecology, and behavioral development. This article is concerned mainly with evolutionary, ecological, and developmental aspects of social play behavior in mammals.

New Jersey Outlaws Steel-Jaw, Leghold Trap!

Close Up Reports

New Jersey's wildlife will soon roam the woods free from the threat of steel-jaw, leghold traps.

The Hsus Petitions U.S. Government To Protect Fur Seals

Close Up Reports

Our battle to end U.S. seal clubbing continues

Whales Are Not Cetacean Resources, Dale Jamieson, Tom Regan

Conservation Collection

What we know about whales is sufficient for ascribing to them the analogues of human rights, including the fundamental right to be treated with respect. Once we recognize their possession of this right, it follows that whales are not to be used or exploited by us for the promotion of our ends, however "benign" they may appear. In the case of humans, to refrain from killing them is to discharge only a small part of our total duties. We must also refrain from exploiting them, whether "consumptively" or "nonconsumptively." Having come as far as we have in our understanding of …

Animal Boredom: Is A Scientific Study Of The Subjective Experiences Of Animals Possible?, Françoise Wemelsfelder

Sentience Collection

The aim of this paper is to explore the relationship between different meta-scientific frameworks and the science of animal welfare. Animal Boredom 117 During the past few years, I have become more and more convinced that the great difficulty science has in studying subjective experience in its objects, might be related to the denial of any role to subjective experience in the observer as an interpretational guide. Can a quality in the world around us be observed, when this same quality is deliberately excluded from the process of observing?

As a practical example for the discussion described above, the phenomenon …

The Origins Of Empathy And Altruism, Carolyn Zahn-Waxler, Barbara Hollenbeck, Marian Radke-Yarrow

Human and Animal Bonding Collection

We will describe theories and research that try to explain the development, especially in children, of sensitivity to the needs of others. Are children born with empathy? Is it instinctive or learned? What kinds of changes do humane feelings and behaviors undergo as children develop? How do the environments in which children are reared determine whether they will be more or less likely to show concern and to assume responsibility for the welfare of others? We have examined these issues in a series of studies of (a) the early origins of emotional concern (empathy) and (b) the translation of concerned …

The Question Of Animal Awareness, Francoise Wemelsfelder

Sentience Collection

The problem of animal awareness lies at the interface of science and philosophy. As a starting point for the study of phenomena such as awareness, mind, consciousness, etc., we hardly have any reference other than our own human experience and in the context of a nondualistic ontology this can be justified. In philosophy and psychology it appears to be very difficult to give direct operational definitions of terms such as consciousness, etc. So we might expect this to be even more difficult in the study of animals. A detailed knowledge of animals and their behaviour is necessary in order to …

Aquatic Feeding By Moose: Selection Of Plant Species And Feeding Areas In Relation To Plant Chemical Composition And Characteristics Of Lakes, D. Fraser, E R. Chavez, J. E. Paleheimo

Feeding Behavior Collection

Aquatic feeding by moose was studied with emphasis on (i) the chemical composition of aquatic plants compared with terrestrial browse, (ii) the chemical composition of preferred and unpreferred aquatic plant species and (iii) characteristics of preferred feeding areas. Compared with woody browse, aquatic plants had much higher levels of sodium and iron, and similar levels of other nutrients tested. In a "cafeteria" selection experiment, moose consistently ate seven species of aquatic plants (preferred plants), consistently rejected five species (unpreferred plants), and gave an intermediate response to seven species. Preferred species had significantly higher sodium content. Those in the intermediate class …

Advances In Animal Welfare Science 1984/85, M. W. Fox, L. D. Mickley

eBooks

This book, the first in an annual series, written by academicians--scientists, philosopher and other--is not intended exclusively for animal welfarists and conservationists. Since it is written by scholars, it will appeal to a wide range of academic and professional readers who are involved with animals for scientific, economic, altruistic, and other reasons. While this first volume cannot cover the entire spectrum of animal welfare science-related topics, it does, in its diversity of contributions, demonstrate the multi-faceted and interdisciplinary nature of the subject of this new series.

Resources And The Evolution Of Social Behavior, Con Slobodchikoff

Social Behavior Collection

No abstract provided.

Federal Government Assaults Animals On Wildlife Refuges

Close Up Reports

The welfare of America's wildlife and refuges is being sold for economic gain and recreational pleasure to hunters, trappers, and commercial developers. To date, there are 414 refuges composed of over 86 million acres stretching from the Arctic to the Florida Keys and from Maine to American Samoa. Almost all of these refuges have been touched in some way by natural gas exploration, predator control, pesticides, and commercial farming, ranching, and lumber industries. Over one half of all refuges are open to either hunting or trapping...or both.

All laws and regulations concerning activities on wildlife refuges stipulate that there must …

Federal Government Assaults Animals On Wildlife Refuges

Close Up Reports

The HSUS fights for wildlife

Solving The Pet Overpopulation Problem

Close Up Reports

Because of the short pregnancies and large litters of dogs and cats, one individual female with all her female offspring reproducing similarly can be the source of over 4,000 new lives within seven years. Some of these animals will find homes complete with laps to sit on and fireplaces to enjoy, but millions of other perfectly healthy dogs and cats won't be so lucky. The overabundance of these potential pets tends to cheapen the intrinsic value of each individual animal in the eyes of the general public. The swelling problem causes some people to use cruel methods of disposing of …

Solving The Pet Overpopulation Problem

Close Up Reports

The HSUS promotes its blueprint for success

Ld50: A Cruel Waste Of Animals

Close Up Reports

Imagine a test in which up to 100 animals are forced to consume a toxic substance in an amount high enough to kill half of them. Then imagine that the explicit purpose of the test is to kill those animals. Incredibly, such a test not only exists but each year also claims the lives of from two to four million animals.

The test is the lethal dose 50, or LD50 as it's commonly called. Its purpose is to measure the toxicity of a substance by determining how much of that substance will kill half of a group of some 60-100 …

Ld50: A Cruel Waste Of Animals

Close Up Reports

The HSUS leads fight to ban needless and inaccurate death test