Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

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

Environmental Psychology And Great Ape Reproduction, Terry L. Maple

Zoos and Aquariums Collection

At the 1980 Great Ape Infertility Workshop, we concluded that "physical and social environments must be improved if not optimized if great apes are to reproduce satisfactorily ... " In 1982, the trend toward improvement continues and there are some promising signs that reproduction has been enhanced as predicted. The problem of designing and evaluating captive environments which will facilitate interaction, reproduction, appropriate parenting, and socialization is well within the scope of Environmental Psychology. I intend to illustrate the promise of this applied research field in the remarks that follow.

Abundance And Distribution Of Large Mammals In The Upper Ogun Game Reserve, Oyo State, Nigeria, T. A. Afolayan, K. R. N. Milligan, S. O. Salami

Nature Collection

In this study, three indirect methods [counts of animal droppings, footprints, and tracks) were used as indices to estimate the abundance and distribution of large mammals in the Upper Ogun Game Reserve, which is located in a typical Southern Guinea savanna zone of Nigeria. Thirteen animal species were recorded; kob, bushbuck, hartebeest, roan antelope and duicker were the most abundant. The distribution of large mammals appears to be controlled by several factors: accessibility to the River Ogun [the main source of water in the reserve), availability of food and cover, and the extent of illegal hunting.

An analysis of questionnaires …

Biological Control Of Aleutian Island Arctic Fox: A Preliminary Strategy, Edward W. West, Robert L. Rudd

Hunting Collection

No abstract provided.

Selecting A Spay/Neuter Program For Animal Control In The City Of Charlotte, Diane Quisenberry, Mary Elizabeth Clapp

Hunting Collection

The City of Charlotte, NC, in attempting to determine the best kind of program for reducing its increasing populations of unwanted dogs and cats, examined a full range of possible options for limiting these populations. Five measures for population control were considered: spay/neuter surgery, euthanasia, physical restraint, mechanical contraception, and chemical contraception. It was concluded that a spay/neuter program that incorporated educational and legislative components would be the most effective means of large-scale population control, although other methods like euthanasia would still have to be used. Based on a survey of a number of cities with spay/neuter programs in place, …

Ethologic And Economic Examination Of Aviary Housing For Commercial Laying Flocks, D. W. Fölsch, Chr. Dolf, H. Ehrbar, T. Bleuler, H. Teijgeler

Agribusiness Collection

The result of our work shows that appropriate housing is necessary for intensively kept hens and that the housing has to correspond to the vital needs and the nature of the animals.

This is important for two reasons: a) the innate needs of the birds must be satisfied; b) for the proper development of the animal and successful egg production.

The housing facilities should allow the following functional cycles without restrictions:

Social organization: the structuring of a group or unit of animals.

Locomotion: walking, running, fluttering, flying.

Feeding behavior: search for food and water, food and water pecking, ground scratching, …

A Different Approach To Horse Handling, Based On The Jeffery Method, Judith K. Blackshaw, Des Kirk, Sharon E. Cregier

Equines Collection

A method of horse training is discussed which is based on an old technique known in Australia as the "Jeffery method." It makes use of several behavioral principles, including understanding of horse behavior, reinforcement for desired behavior, and use of flight distance principles.

Letter T Editor: A Role For The Clergy In Animal Welfare?, Charlotte B. Parks

International Journal for the Study of Animal Problems

The author asks what role the clergy in Judeo-Christian religions should play in advancing animal welfare.

Occlusion Of Vision In Old English Sheepdogs, Michael W. Fox

International Journal for the Study of Animal Problems

It is common for owners of Old English Sheepdogs to allow the dog’s facial hair to cover the eyes. This practice is often justified by a claim that Old English Sheepdog eyes are very sensitive to light because, when the hair is cut away, the dog may blink its eyes, and the eyes may water. However, any animal whose eyes are not exposed to daylight will demonstrate photophobia when the eyes are exposed. The hair screen over the eyes may also lead to chronic conjunctivitis. Finally, the dog often shows a significant positive temperament change when the hair screen is …

Abundance And Distribution Of Large Mammals In The Upper Ogun Game Reserve, Oyo State, Nigeria, T. A. Afolayan, K. R. N. Milligan, S. O. Salami

International Journal for the Study of Animal Problems

Three different methods for estimating wild animal populations were used to assess the density of different species in a game reserve in the Sahel region of Nigeria. Hunting for bushmeat by local communities living around the reserve was identified as one of the threats to wildlife populations. Bushmeat was an essential resource for communities around the reserve.

Feral Dogs Of The Galapagos Islands: Impact And Control, Bruce D. Barnett, Robert L. Rudd

International Journal for the Study of Animal Problems

The history of feral dogs on the Galapagos Islands is described. The authors discuss feral dogs' prey of domestic animals and wildlife, such as marine iguanas, and the urgent need for effective dog control programs and the attempts to control the feral dog populations.

Letter To Editor: Exceptions To Vertebrate Pest Conference Report, Dale Kaukeinen

International Journal for the Study of Animal Problems

The author responds to a description of his owl mortality presentation. He notes that only one of the six owls that had died had any trace of the brodifacoum rodenticide in its tissues and that owl was electrocuted. The rodenticide was not the cause of its death. The author calls for more dialogue between humane organizations and those involved in pest control.

Achieving A Concensus On Dog Control Strategies: A Brief Primer, D. B. Wilkins

International Journal for the Study of Animal Problems

The author discusses challenges in developing effective policies for stray dog control. Stray dog symptoms vary from country to country. In Cyprus, the presence of echinococcus that stray dogs exacerbate is a problem across the Mediterranean. Rabies spread by stray dogs is a problem in many other countries, while anti-social dog behaviors (fouling, barking, biting) are an issue in large cities in developed countries. Considerable differences of opinion as to the best approaches to stray dog control exist among animal welfare organizations. One approach to developing effective and agreed stray dog control policies has been forming a national NGO umbrella …

Aquaculture- Now, Factory Fish Farming, M. W. Fox

International Journal for the Study of Animal Problems

The author describes issues raised at a 1983 conference on Aquaculture held in Washington, DC. The intensive raising of fish and shellfish produces many of the same problems as the intensive rearing of chickens, pigs, and cattle. The fish experience high levels of stress and disease that must be addressed by treating the system with antibiotics and vaccines.

Stray-Dog Control In Cyprus: Primitive And Humane Methods, Kyriacos Polydorou

International Journal for the Study of Animal Problems

In Cyprus, a dog control scheme was started in 1971 within the context of an all-inclusive

anti-echinococcosis campaign. At the time, it was estimated there were more than 100,000 dogs on the island; most were strays (even many of those that were purportedly "owned"]. These had been identified as infectious agents of echinococcosis in Cyprus (the average surgical incidence in humans over the 30 years before 1970 was 12.9/100,000]. The destruction of stray dogs is accomplished by using guns that fire a syringe containing a euthanizing drug. In the past (before 1970), various inhumane methods used by animal control officers …

Historical Trends In American Animal Use And Perception, Stephen R. Kellert, Miriam O. Westervelt

International Journal for the Study of Animal Problems

The authors analyze the stories on wildlife carried in four newspapers (two urban – LA Times and Hartford Courant, and two rural – Buffalo Bulletin in Wyoming and the Dawson News, Georgia) using randomly sampled issues from 1900 to 1976. The total sample amounted to 4,873 articles from 1,777 issues of the four newspapers covering 75 years. Three periods, 1921-1927, 1930-1936, and 1961-1967 averaged more than 200 articles a year. Coverage of wildlife issues was lowest during the two World War periods. The articles were coded using a standard typology, including utilitarian and humanistic attitudes. Over the 76 years …

The Question Of Atheism And Communism In The Animal Welfare/Rights Movement, Michael W. Fox

International Journal for the Study of Animal Problems

The author comments on the interplay between religion and animal rights.

Genetic Adaptation And Welfare, J. Van Rooijen

International Journal for the Study of Animal Problems

Van Rooijen comments on Beilharz’s suggestion (IJSAP 3(2), 117) that it may be possible to adapt domestic animals to existing husbandry systems rather than adapt the systems to the animals. For example, Beilharz cites Tschanz, who has written that the best measurement of adaptation to an environment is reproduction. Van Rooijen provides an example of two bulls – one living freely with a group of cows and one used as a sperm donor, where welfare and reproductive success are not necessarily in harmony. He concludes that the evolutionary fitness and welfare of farm animals do not necessarily coincide

Psychology And Its Animal Subjects, Kenneth J. Shapiro

International Journal for the Study of Animal Problems

The author introduces the organization, Psychologists for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, and comments on the use of animals in psychology experiments.

Does Wildlife Have Legal Standing? - The Penguin Case In Patagonia, Pedro Tarak

International Journal for the Study of Animal Problems

Murphy notes that IJSAP is motivated by the importance of science in understanding human-animal relationships. She examines two studies that examine gender differences in attitudes to and interactions with companion animals. Both studies reported no differences between females and males, even though other studies report that females have more positive attitudes to animals.

A Survey Of Animal Behavior- Related Research And Teaching Activities In North American Agricultural And Veterinary Medical Colleges, W. R. Stricklin

International Journal for the Study of Animal Problems

A letter questionnaire was used to survey animal behavior-related research and teaching efforts in the U.S.A. and Canadian university animal sciences departments (agriculture) and veterinary medical colleges. The objectives of the eleven questions of the survey were to identify behavior workers and to determine the current and planned levels of emphasis on research and teaching activities in domestic animal behavior. In 1981, questionnaires were mailed to 162 deans and chairs, and 102 were answered and returned. Twenty-three persons were identified as having appointments specifically or primarily in animal behavior, and 99 were identified as having appointments with some animal behavior …

Humane Ethics And Animal Rights, M. W. Fox

International Journal for the Study of Animal Problems

Animal suffering, therefore, is only one aspect of animal exploitation and abuse. Recognizing this, and the fact that the elimination of animal suffering is a limited horizon, the humane movement has dramatically expanded its vision and goals by incorporating animal rights philosophy and ecological principles into its educational, legislative, and political activities.

Environmental Psychology And Great Ape Reproduction, Terry L. Maple

International Journal for the Study of Animal Problems

The author introduces the organization, Psychologists for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, and comments on the use of animals in psychology experiments.

The Care Of Pets Within Child Abusing Families, Elizabeth Deviney, Jeffery Dickert, Randall Lockwood

International Journal for the Study of Animal Problems

The treatment of animals was surveyed in 53 families where child abuse occurred. Patterns of pet ownership, attitudes towards pets, and quality of veterinary care did not differ significantly from comparable data from the general public. However, abuse of pets by a family member had taken place in 60 percent of the families. The families in which animal abuse was indicated tended to have younger pets, lower levels of veterinary care, and more conflicts over care than non-abusive families in the study. There were several parallels between the treatment of pets and animals within child-abusing families, suggesting that animal abuse …

Book Reviews

International Journal for the Study of Animal Problems

Fox reviews two books. The first is a collection of papers from the First Conference on Scientific Perspectives in Animal Welfare organized by the Scientists Center for Animal Welfare. The second book is All that Dwell Therein. Animal Rights and Environmental Ethics by Tom Regan.