Deep Roots: Animal Rights Blog

For years, animal rights activists have argued that testing on animals provides skewed data at the cost of millions of lives. Well it seems that the National Institute of Health and the Environmental Protection Agency have finally came to the same conclusion.

“There are differences between species. We are not rats and we are not even other primates, and so that [the] desire here is to see if we could do better,” said Francis Collins, director of the NIH National Human Genome Research Institute. “Ultimately what you are looking for is [whether] this compound does damage to cells.”

Federal scientists have decided to collaborate on a new toxicology testing program that uses stem cell research and computer modeling rather than animal testing. The collaboration is the result of an agreement among the National Toxicology Program at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Chemical Genomics Center under the National Human Genome Research Institute, and EPA National Center for Computational Toxicology.

Birthing bears head for land as Arctic ice gets scarcer [San Francisco Chronicle]
Increasing numbers of pregnant polar bears are coming to land to give birth instead of staying on the thinning Arctic sea ice, a trend that signals a bleak future for their population there, a U.S. Geological Survey study has found.

Not Everything is Kosher at So-Called Kosher Slaughterhouse [Infoshop News]
Earlier this week PETA filed a formal complaint with Sheridan County Attorney Jamian Simmons asking her to prosecute the Rubashkin-owned Local Pride kosher slaughterhouse in Gordon for apparent violations of Nebraska’s cruelty-to-animals statute. PETA’s complaint follows a two-day undercover investigation.

California spay-neuter bill shelved [Sacramento Bee]
Legislation to require statewide spaying or neutering of dogs and cats was shelved Wednesday after receiving a chilly reception by a Senate committee.

Mad Cow Disease In Soil Lives On … And On [The Daily Green]
New research shows that the prion — a mysterious infectious agent that is neither bacterium nor virus — is 700 times more infectious when combined with common minerals found in dirt.

Federal Agency Agrees to Issue New Rules Protecting Whales from Fishing Gear Entanglement [ENN]
New rules to protect endangered whales from fatal fishing-gear entanglements will be in place this fall after environmentalists sued to end the delay.

Battle rages over bill to require pet fixes [DailyBreeze.com]
“There were 2,800 bills introduced in the Legislature this year,” said state Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, “and if you were to ask me which one I’ve received the most reaction to, this is at the top of the list.”

Quebec Foie Gras Investigation [Global Action Network]
Several months ago, Global Action Network, in collaboration with Farm Sanctuary, embarked on an extensive undercover investigation of Canada’s largest foie gras farm – Elevages Perigord.

Dozens of dogs seized from ‘deplorable’ conditions [Newsday]
A missing dog up for sale on an animal rescue Web site led Suffolk County police to a Medford house where they found more than 50 dogs in “deplorable condition” Wednesday, authorities said.

Cockfighting supporters plan to sue state of New Mexico [The Albuquerque Tribune]
While Bhatka hasn’t decided whether he’ll take part, others who are indirectly connected to the state’s cockfighting industry say they plan to sue the state over the ban, which took effect last week.

Animal rights activists warn of protests against cull of 3,200 kangaroos in Australia [International Herald-Tribune]
Canberra’s administration, the Australian Capital Territory government, announced it would allow the Defense Department to shoot 2,800 kangaroos at one of its properties and use tranquilizer darts to kill another 400 on a second property, where shooting bullets its regarded as too dangerous to the public.

We here at DRAS aren’t big fans of most of the big dog and cat food producers. While many, including us, have maintained that these products have been slowly contributing to illnesses such as kidney failure and cancer, it seems that millions of packages from Menu Foods are now being recalled due to reported kidney failures and deaths.

Menu Foods says the recall is for products “manufactured between December 3, 2006 and March 6, 2007. The recall is limited to “cuts and gravy” style pet food in cans and pouches manufactured at two of the Fund’s United States facilities.” We’re including the list of dog and cat food brands that are being recalled. Below is the article from the Indianapolis Star about the recall.