Whale In Shark Net Rescue

Embrace Australia:

Whales migrating to Australia face added dangers around the coastline from shark nets. Just yesterday a male humpback whale who was migrating to the south coast of Australia, became the second victim this month to get entangled in a shark net.

Luckily this magnificent creature was spotted near to Miami Beach on Queensland’s Gold Coast region and specialists headed out to try and free it…

Lincolnshire: Increase In Deer Hunting With Dogs

BBC News:

Deer poachers in Lincolnshire are using specially-bred dogs to hunt with increasing frequency, police claim…

Animal Adoption Centre Opened By Herriot Family

BBC News:

A £1.5m animal adoption centre in North Yorkshire has been officially opened by the family of All Creatures Great And Small author James Herriot…

Mafia Boss’s Pet Caiman Seized By Italian Police

Guardian:

Police near Naples are looking into claims that a mafia boss used the threat of being fed to an alligator-like reptile as a way of convincing local businesspeople to pay for protection.

The South American caiman was found on the terrace of a top-floor flat in the town of Orta di Atella, in the heart of the area that forms the setting for Roberto Saviano’s international bestseller, Gomorrah.

The animal, almost 4ft long and weighing 40kg, was the property of a 35-year-old alleged mobster police described as “an up-and-coming boss” of the Camorra, the Neapolitan mafia…

Exposing Puppy Traffickers

RSPCA:

A new poll commissioned by the RSPCA reveals that a quarter of people questioned would still consider getting a puppy from a pet shop – despite 81 per cent saying it is important to see a puppy with its mother…

Draize Rabbit Eye Test Replacement Milestone Welcomed

Press Release:

The Dr Hadwen Trust for Humane Research has welcomed news that international
acceptance of non-animal methods to replace the infamous and unreliable Draize
rabbit test for severe eye irritancy, has now been achieved. Thousands of rabbits
will now be spared procedures where chemical substances, including for household
products and cosmetics, are applied to their eyes [1]. The UK charity, which funds
the development of techniques to replace animal experiments, is proud to have funded
early-stage research work in the 1980s that has now resulted in one of the
replacement methods approved.

Developed in 1944, the Draize rabbit eye irritation test has been the standard
method for evaluating the ocular irritation/corrosion potential of a substance for
regulatory purposes. However its use has long been controversial. It has been
scientifically criticised for many decades for its poor reproducibility and lack of
relevance due to species differences between rabbits and humans [2]. The animal
suffering it can cause has also been highlighted for years. Some 4,500 rabbits are
used in the European Union each year in eye irritancy tests [3] during which they
can experience swollen, sore and weeping eyes. Global use is likely to be
considerably higher.

Acceptance by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) means
that guidance is finally in place on how to conduct the tests for severe eye
irritancy without using live rabbits [4]. Two test-tube methods for assessing eye
irritation have been accepted by the OECD, the BCOP (Bovine Corneal Opacity and
Permeability) test and the Isolated Chicken Eye (ICE) test, both for identifying
ocular corrosives and severe irritants [5]. The Draize test will continue to be
conducted for substances that are not severe eye-irritants.

It has taken at least thirty years for alternative tests to be approved, with
research starting in the 1980s, scientific approval by the European Centre for the
Validation of Alternative Methods (ECVAM) coming in 2007 and now OECD acceptance in
2009 meaning that the test can be used globally.

“The Draize eye test has been scientifically and ethically discredited for many
years,” says the Dr Hadwen Trust for Humane Research’s Science Director Dr Sebastien
Farnaud, “so to replace it with test-tube methods that produce reliable results and
don’t cause animal suffering, is very welcome. The Dr Hadwen Trust is proud that its
research has been a part of the history of efforts to replace the Draize test, but
we sincerely hope that the final chapter in its total replacement will be a far
swifter process.”

The Dr Hadwen Trust for Humane Research can share in the success so far as the
charity was one of the first-ever funders to support research to replace the Draize
test. In the 1980s DHT-funded innovative research at Leicester Polytechnic that
resulted in the very first eye irritation test and forerunner of the BCOP test that
has now achieved OECD approval [6]. The Dr Hadwen Trust no longer funds research
using animal tissues or cells, but our project represented a turning point in
international efforts to replace the Draize test.

It is highly regrettable that it has taken some thirty years to achieve
international acceptance of these replacement solutions. Whilst funding, industry
support for alternatives and consequently the speed of method development has
significantly improved in recent years, unnecessary delays in the validation process
remain a problem. A particular issue is that animal test data are still treated as
the ‘gold standard’ against which alternative tests are compared in order to achieve
scientific validation. However when animal data are of such poor and variable
quality such as the rabbit eye test, the process of replacing scientifically weak
animal methods can be delayed by years.

Notes:
1. Adult albino rabbits are most commonly used for eye irritancy tests because they
have eyes with a large surface area. At least three animals are used per test
substance. The test involves applying the substance directly into one eye (the other
eye acting as a control) and observing effects for up to 21 days.
2. For example Weil & Scala (1971) Toxicol.Appl.Pharmacol. 17,276-360; Freeberg et
al. (1986) J. Toxicol.Cut.Ocular Toxicol. 5, 115-123; Koch et al. (1989) J.Toxicol
Cut.Ocular Toxicol. 8, 17-22; Preliminary Evaluation of the Under-prediction Rate of
the In Vivo Dermal Irritation Test Method Part I: Introduction William S. Stokes,
D.V.M., D.A.C.L.A.M. Director, NICEATM Scientific Advisory Committee on Alternative
Toxicological Methods October 20, 2004, Research Triangle Park, NC.
3. Latest statistics available from the European Commission are for 2005

http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=COM:2007:0675:FIN:EN:HTML

4. The OECD adopted the new methods on 7 September 2009

http://www.oecd.org/document/22/0,3343,en_2649_34377_43680406_1_1_1_1,00.html

5. The BCOP assay uses enucleated cow eyes that would otherwise be discarded at
slaughterhouses. The cornea is isolated from the rest of the eye and maintained in a
holder. A test substance is applied to this isolated cornea for a specified time
then removed, and the effect of the substance on the permeability of the cornea to
fluorescein (a coloured dye) and the increase in corneal opacity (transmission of
light through the cornea) are determined. The Isolated Chicken Eye assay uses
enucleated chicken eyes obtained from slaughterhouses. The eyes are placed in an
apparatus, kept moist and treated with the test substance. Three responses of the
cornea are evaluated: corneal swelling, corneal opacity and fluorescein retention.
The irritation potential of a substance is calculated from the mean values of these
measurements.
6. The Dr Hadwen Trust funded Dr Colin Muir, a research fellow at Leicester
Polytechnic. Dr Muir developed the ‘opacitometer’ which shines a light beam through
the isolated cornea enabling an objective measurement of changes in its opacity.
His publications between 1984 and 1987 are acknowledged as providing the essential
groundwork and inspiration for the BCOP test.

It’s Dante’s Inferno For Dolphins

Global Post:

Taiji reveals its Janus face as soon as you emerge from the road tunnel on
the town’s periphery. Bottlenoses leap out of the water in unison at the aqua park, where visitors are invited to board rowing boats and “play with the dolphins.” Giant models of two whales, framed by a brilliant blue sky, serve as reminders of the town’s traditions, while the emerald waters of the Pacific Ocean combine with heavily wooded cliffs to form a coastline of outstanding beauty.

But for all its natural charms, this town of 3,500 people is inextricably linked with something much less palatable: the systematic slaughter of thousands of dolphins for their meat.

After years of operating with near-impunity, Taiji’s hunters are the reluctant subjects of a new U.S. documentary that has sparked an international campaign to end the carnage in this isolated, picturesque corner of western Japan…

Woman Convicted Of Hosting Dog Fights

Times Online:

A woman at the centre of one of Europe’s largest dog-fighting gangs was convicted yesterday of using her cottage to hold fights where animals often died from their injuries…

Protest Against The O2 Arena’s Use of Animals

The Captive Animals’ Protection Society:

The O2 Arena in London is planning to feature a stage production of Ben Hur in September, using 100 animals including horses, camels, donkeys, chickens, falcons and eagles.

Inevitably this will involve distress to the animals, through training and temporary housing at an arena not designed for animals. In addition they will be exposed to the noise and lights of the production itself.

The show is touring across Europe and performing for 1-3 nights at each venue, requiring the animals to be transported for long periods.

CAPS has attempted to discuss the issue with The 02 but it has been unable to answer simple questions about animal welfare.

Please contact The 02, asking them not to allow the animal performances to take place…

For more information visit the CAPS website.

Join Dog Owners Across The UK In The 2009 Take Your Dog To Work Day On Wednesday 16 September

Take Your Dog To Work Day: 

Take your Dog to Work Day is an annual fundraising event organised by The Blue Cross, which encourages dog owners to spend more time with their furry friends by taking them into work with them.

The event is all in aid of the work carried out by The Blue Cross, which cares for thousands of sick and homeless pets every year at its adoption centres and hospitals…