'Americans and Europeans spend $17 billion on pet food every year, $4 billion more than the additional amount needed to cover basic nutrition and health for every person on the planet'
- UN Human Development Report, 1998.
This does not mean that the world would be a better place if our companion animals were suddenly starved or abandoned - but it provides a strong argument for neutering our pets and for supporting animal rescue centres such as The Blue Cross, or Pet Rescue rather than breeders. Kittens are cute, but think 'ecological pawprint'! - we need to care more for each pet, rather than to have more pets to care for.
What to feed our pets is a problem as well. Producing meat takes 10 times as much land per unit of protein than growing beans and vegetables, placing a bigger burden on the planet's resources.
Vegetarian dog foods are available, including Yarrah organic, Wackidog, Happidog and Wafcol - more information from the Vegetarian Society Dogs: a vegetarian diet?. The Vegan Society also gives information on feeding dogs a vegan diet, containing no animal products whatsoever.
Cats are more of a problem, as they are true carnivores - meat products are the only natural source of some of their dietary needs (according to the Vegetarian Society). You can try feeding them on a home-cooked vegan diet but they must be given artificial supplements as well (source: the Vegan Society).
Another option is organic pet food - better than factory farmed 'meat products' in terms of environmental impact and animal rights, and perhaps for pet health as well (source: People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals). Brands include Yarrah organic and Pascoe's organic.
Many people feel that concern for animal welfare is part of being green - so it is worth pointing out that some pet food brands are clinically tested on animals - these animals are in effect lab animals, bred for use in tests and killed once they have served that purpose. Brands which have not been tested in this way are easily available from high street outlets - more information from the 'uncaged' campaign.
If you have trouble finding organic or vegetarian pet foods locally, try ordering from Bluepet, Alotaorganics or Veggiepets.
The other end of the problem!
Dog and cat faeces are unpleasant, smelly - and dangerous. Dogs and cats carry the toxocara parasite, and toxiplasma disease is carried by cats. The minimum action to protect your immediate environment is to 'bag it and bin it' (secure double bagging, please!). But that only transfers the problem - permanently - to landfill.
More radically, you could consider composting , or installing a specially designed sealed 'doggy loo'. This works just like a bin, half buried in your garden - except that you never need to empty it, as natural processes then break the contents down and disperse them harmlessly into the soil. (You might sometimes see one provided for visitor's dogs in public parks and hotels).
Traditionally, cat litter has been based on clay or other minerals - a product of environmentally-damaging mining, and, once used, a heavy, toxic burden in landfill sites. Alternatives, made of sawmill wastes, straw, or even hemp, are lighter, fully biodegradable, and can be either flushed away, or preferably composted or buried in soil, providing a permanent solution. Said to be softer on the paws, as well! Try one of the following suppliers:
Friendship Estates Ltd
Snowflake Cat Litter
http://www.100percentgreen.co.uk

Fleas

No, we know your pet does NOT have fleas.Yet the precautions people take against them can expose both pets and humans to highly toxic pesticides within the confines of their own home; one particular poison used in flea collars (diazinon) has actually been linked to dozens of pet deaths in Britain alone. What to use instead is a tricky question. There are various 'natural' alternatives on the market, including:
Denes - garlic tablets; liquid garlic; essential oil shampoo
Armitage petcare - 'natural herbal products' - all essential oil based
Johnson's - the 'natural' products in their range contain either 'natural biodegradable pyrethrum insecticide' or citrus as flea repellent
You can also try experimenting with your own herbal flea recipe - see the suggested concoctions in Flea control: least toxic options, from the Pesticide Action Network UK. (Though this uses essential oils, so see below).
Caveats:
Garlic and essential oils will repel fleas, but not kill them, leaving adults, eggs and larvae free to bite another day
Pyrethrum (used in the Johnson's 'natural' range) is a natural plant product: it is however also known to be highly toxic to fish, toxic to bees, and a mild skin and eye irritant. Having said that, flea bites are rather more than a mild irritant so a decision must depend on individual circumstances
Essential oils and cats: there is strong evidence to suggest that essential oils can be highly toxic to cats
Washing pets' bedding regularly helps to keep down flea populations, as does vacuuming places that your pet frequents (including soft furnishings) - though remember that fleas can survive inside the vacuum bag, which should either be burned, or be sealed and placed inside the freezer prior to disposal. Further tips and information from:
PETA
RSPCA
In case of desperation, consult your vet - new generations of products may be less toxic than the older insecticides, and flea infestation can lead to other pet health problems, such as tapeworms.
Tip: If you must buy any toxic products for your pets, buy as little as possible, and store them carefully - so as to avoid duplicate buying in the future.

Cats and wildlife

The RSPB give helpful tips for reducing your favourite furry predator's impact on local wildlife including ideas on bird-friendly gardening. They also provide more in-depth information - look for the link entitled "Making gardens safer for birds".
Wildlife gardening can help to blur the harsh distinction between human space and wild space, between pets and wildlife, making up for lost habitats and bringing a whole range of new creatures into your life - just so long as you're not looking for ones you can cuddle!
Other pets
Many other creatures other than cats and dogs can be kept as pets. The RSPCA provides information on basic care of some not covered here. Be very wary, however, of buying exotic pets, including some species of parrots. Illegal trade in exotic species endangers biodiversity - and is also horrific for the individuals involved: typically several will die during capture and transportation for every one that ends up on sale (source: WWF UK).

Please support the campaign against the barbaric killing of our beloved seals.

These adorable creatures are targetted yet again and face being clubbed to death.

Please visit: http://www.kintera.org/faf/home/default.asp?ievent=20480

WHAT'S IN A NAME?
'Moderate' according to the dictionary...
adj. Being within reasonable limits; not excessive or
extreme, not violent or subject to extremes; mild or calm;

Moderate according to Scientific Procedures Act (1986)
Toxicity tests and many surgical procedures.
Protocols that have the potential to cause greater suffering but include
controls which minimise severity, or terminate the protocol before
the animal shows more than moderate adverse effects,may also
be classed within the moderate severity limit.

In 2001, Home Office statistics revealed that 55 per cent of
licensed projects of animal experimentation in the UK were
classified as of 'moderate' severity (see above).
THIS means that last year 1,412,242 animals suffered moderately
in British laboratories.



Put another way, that's just over half the 1,655,766 mice,
489,613 rats, 47,387 guinea pigs, 7,124 hamsters, 2,957 gerbils,
3,053 'other rodents', 23,356 rabbits, 731 cats,5,460 beagles,
94 'other dogs', 1,039 ferrets, 949 'other carnivores',
649 'horses, donkeys and cross-bred equids',5,401 pigs,
312 goats, 10,664 sheep, 2,910 cattle, 67 deer, 10 'other ungulates',
1,123 marmoset and tamarin monkeys,2,219 macaque monkeys,
776 'other mammals', 110,330 domestic fowl, 3,780 turkeys,
1,488 quails, 10,007 'other birds', 341 ptiles, 9,648 amphibians and 170,459 fish.

But what happened to them? Well, 71,261 animals were killed
Well, 71,261 animals were killedin toxicity (poisoning) tests; 135,839 were
subjected to poisoning tests for pollutants, agrochemicals, industrial chemicals,
household products, food additives and other food stuffs;
246,844 were only experimented upon after having been bred with
'harmful genetic defects'; 25,043 suffered injections into the brain;
7,225 endured radiation experiments; and 363 were subjected to 'thermal injury',
or 'burnt', in normal parlance.
Oh, and in 59 per cent of all the experiments, no anaesthetic was used whatsoever.

But didn't most of these animals suffer only moderately in the end?
You decide. According to leaked Home Office documents, a programme
of xenotransplantation (transplantation of organs from one species to another)
undertaken by biotech company Imutran came under the category 'moderate'.

During the experiments, genetically modified piglet hearts were transplanted
into the necks of baboons that had been caught in the wild.
The documents state that a baboon with a transplanted pig heart
was later seen clutching the transplant,which was 'swollen red' and 'seeping
yellow fluid' for most of the last days of its life.
Elsewhere in the report one can read of a 'cervical abscess eroding the
internal jugular vein leading to haemorrhage and [the] collapse of the animal'.

Or how one baboon 'collapsed and died because of bronchopneumonia'.
Or how five animals 'had to be killed because of gastrointestinal toxicity,
resulting in severe diarrhoea'.
Makes you wonder how they classify 'severe'.

Or does it? When deciding whether this, or any other experiment should be
deemed 'unclassified', 'mild','moderate' or 'severe' a team of government
scientists apply a cost/benefit analysis, where the 'cost' to the animals is
weighed against the 'benefit' to science.
However, of 22 scientists on the team, 17 were found to have held licences
to carry out experiments on animals in the past, casting a
shadow of doubt over their impartiality.


Europeans For Medical Advancement
P.O Box 38604
London
W13 0YR

efma@curedisease.net

Fax (UK) 0208 997 1265
EFMA@Btinternet.com

Protect Chimpanzees from Exploitation

Halfords, the cycle and car part retailer, is using chimpanzees in its
latest TV commercial. The new ad is very similar to the old PG Tips
commercials with its portrayal of chimps dressed in clothes and acting as
humans.

Chimpanzees are extremely intelligent animals with highly complex needs and
should not be subjected to the humiliation and distress of being trained and
dressed to perform in this manner which clearly seeks to ridicule them.

Despite complaints Halfords are refusing to pull the advert so we need your
help to add more pressure.

Other companies have realised their mistakes in using chimpanzees in
commercials, and the distress it has caused and have since decided not to
use them.

In February 2002 Grolsch pulled their TV advert featuring chimps
and pledged never to use chimps again following a complaint from CAPS.
PG Tips also ended their use of chimps last year and replaced them with
animatronics.

The use of chimpanzees in this way is totally unacceptable. They are an
endangered species in the wild, who share 99.4 percent of our genetic
identity, and to ridicule them by dressing them up and using them in
commercials diminishes their status as animals deserving protection.

The Independent newspaper (20 May 2003) reported on a new scientific study
that said that humans and chimpanzees are so alike that chimps should be
classified as members of the human genus Homo.

There are numerous welfare problems created by using chimps in commercials.
It is usually only young chimps that are used as adults are too strong to
handle - this creates more breeding in captivity with young taken away from
their mothers. There has also been evidence of chimps having their teeth
removed to stop them biting, as well as training by electric-shock collars
and other cruelty.

The use of chimpanzees in advertising is not only condemned by CAPS but also
by primate experts including the renowned primatologist Dr Jane Goodall. Dr
Goodall once commented "The chimpanzee's 'smile' so often seen on TV is
actually a grin of fear."

CAPS have requested that Halfords IMMEDIATELY pull this advert and apologise
for the offence caused to viewers, and pledge never to use chimps or other
animals in their commercials again.

Please send your complaints to Halfords:
Chief Executive
Halfords Ltd
Icknield Street Drive
Washford West
Redditch, Worcs, B98 0DE
Tel (switchboard): 01527 517601

Or contact: Dave Evans, PR Manager : 01527 513751

Email: david.evans@halfords.co.uk

For any information, queries, comments please:

Marchien @ : AnimalConcernSE@aol.com

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