Animal Rights ... Human Wrongs?

Lynx Cull Raises Extinction Fears

Norwegian hunters are being accused of imperilling the survival of the country's tiny lynx population. Animal Rights campaigners, say this year's quota will allow the killing of about a quarter of Norway's lynx. The population has already fallen by almost half in the last six years. There were about 600 animals in Norway in 1996, but that now there are only 300 to 350. Yet the 2003 quota has been set at 85 lynx, and includes mothers and cubs. The hunting season opened on 1 February and lasts until 30 April. Some 35 lynx have already been shot. The lynx face extinction because of two major flaws in Norway's conservation management strategy. Firstly, Norway lacks any national goals regarding the lynx population. In some areas in the western and southern parts of Norway authorities have decided there should be no lynx at all, and there are only a few individuals left. Secondly, hunting quotas are not determined nationally, but at the county level, and the main basis for determining a quota is uncertain estimations of local lynx populations and how many sheep have been lost to lynx, which occasionally prey on them. In Norway every county that has lynx decides a quota for the season, based on the size of the population in the county. But when campaigners called all of the counties in advance of the hunting season, very few of them had any precise idea of the number of lynx they had. Campaigners are calling for Norway to immediately ban the hunting of lynx, especially the killing of females with cubs. The Norwegian Government's similar wolf cull in 2001 halved the country's population. Environmentalists say that a national lynx management plan should be developed to aim at a population increase of at least 600 animals over four or five years. In the long term, they want to see 1,000 lynx in Norway, a level that would ensure the 200 reproductive females necessary for the population to survive. The world's most endangered wildcat species, the Iberian lynx, is also fighting a desperate struggle for survival. There are fewer than 300 of the animals left in Spain and Portugal, in just two groups.

Pollution endangers safety of Tuna

Pregnant women and mothers who breastfeed have been advised to limit their consumption of tuna fish. The UK Food Standards Agency is concerned that mercury found in the fish could pose a health hazard. It says women who intend to get pregnant should also be careful about eating too much of the fish. They say all these women should not eat more than two medium size cans of tuna a week. They have already been advised to avoid any shark, swordfish and marlin. The new advice about tuna does not apply to children or any other adults. A survey conducted last year found levels of mercury in a wide range of commonly eaten fish. The latest advice follows a review of the results by the independent Committee on Toxicity, which advises the government. It found the amount of mercury in tuna was near the limit it sets for pregnant and breastfeeding women and those considering having a baby. It said there was a "small risk" to unborn children and new babies because mercury can harm their nervous system. Mercury is released naturally into the environment through the earth's crust into the ocean but is also absorbed by the sea as pollution from burning household and industrial waste.

Dolly The Clone Is Euthanised

Dolly the sheep, who became famous as the first mammal to be cloned from an adult cell, has died. The Roslin Institute, the Scottish research centre that created her, confirmed the news. A decision was taken to "euthanase" six-year-old Dolly after a veterinary examination showed that she had a progressive lung disease, the institute said in a statement. Dolly became the first mammal clone when she was born on 5 July 1996. She was revealed to the public the following year. Sheep can live to 11 or 12 years of age and lung infections are common in older sheep, particularly those housed inside. "A full post-mortem is being conducted and will report any significant findings" Dolly was a sheep created totally by design - even her name was picked specifically to be appealing. It came about during the latter stages of labour when Dolly was born. Stockmen involved in the delivery thought of the fact that the cell used came from a mammary gland and arrived at Dolly Parton, the country and western singer. Her birth was only announced seven months later and was heralded as one of the most significant scientific breakthroughs of the decade. But it also prompted a long-running argument over the ethics of cloning, reaching further levels with the latest allegations of human cloning. Dolly bred normally on two occasions with a Welsh mountain ram. She first gave birth to Bonnie in April 1998 and then to three more lambs in 1999. But in January last year her condition caused concern when she was diagnosed with a form of arthritis. The condition would usually be expected in older animals and another debate erupted over what could properly be judged as Dolly's true age, and the risks of premature ageing in clones. Dr Patrick Dixon, a writer on the ethics of human cloning, said the nature of Dolly's death would have a huge impact on possibility of producing a cloned human baby. He said: "The real issue is what Dolly died from, and whether it was linked to premature ageing," he said. "She was not old by sheep standards to have been put down." Dolly has been promised to the National Museum of Scotland and will be put on display in due course.

Strays Imported To USA

US animal shelters are importing stray dogs to supply the growing number of Americans wanting to adopt a pet. Homeless dogs are being collected from as far afield as Taiwan to fill the shortage in American kennels. Some shelters charge up to LM100 per adoption for the imported animals. One organisation in Puerto Rico has shipped more than 14,000 strays to the US in the last seven years. However some veterinary experts have warned that bringing dogs in from abroad runs a serious risk of also importing a disease.

Don’t Feed The Animals

A woman is in jail for feeding black-tailed deer in her backyard. Thana Minion, also known as "The Deer Lady of Copco Lake," was sentenced to 30 days for feeding a large herd of deer a mix of oats, barley and other grains. She violated her probation from a 1997 conviction of driving with a suspended license and resisting arrest during an altercation with Fish and Game officers, who wanted her to stop feeding deer. As part of her probation, she must obey all laws and stop feeding the deer, but she has apparently refused. "Ill go to jail as many times as I have to," Minion said. "It's not going to stop me." District Attorney Pete Knoll said he doesn't want to see Minion behind bars and he's no fan of the deer-feeding ban. But he said her flouting of the law gives authorities no choice. The state Legislature in 1996 enacted the law specifically for cases in which feeding causes perceived harm to the animals by attracting disease, predators or hunters or by over-taming them to a point where they rely on the illegal feed. Minion, who served 45 days in jail for a similar violation in 2000, said as an American Indian she has the right to feed deer as part of her connection to nature.

Wolf Head Bounty

Animal welfare campaigners have criticised a council in southern Italy, which is offering LM25 to hunters for every wolf's head they hand over. The bounty is intended to control the wolf population in Reggio di Calabria, where they cause widespread damage to sheep and other livestock. But the campaigners have condemned the reward offer as "medieval" and "unhygienic". It warns the animals could face extinction as a result, and is outraged the reward money will come out of European Union and government funds designed to protect the environment.

Half a Million “Modified Animals” Used For Tests

More than half a million cloned or genetically modified animals have been used for unnecessary experiments in labs, a watchdog group have claimed. The vast majority of the 582,000 genetically altered animals in Britain in 2000 were mice. But the numbers of chickens, rabbits, cattle, rats and fish was also rising. Leading scientists said the research was necessary to ease human suffering from conditions including cancer and cystic fibrosis and they condemned the report as irresponsible. The report said that around the world, pigs, goats, monkeys, quails and insects had been genetically modified or cloned, blaming the “excitement and hype” about genetics for leading to a vast increase in the number of animals genetically modified to have painful diseases.