GUANGZHOU, Guangdong province, China––Representing the unholy marriage of wildlife consumption with factory farming, an estimated 10,000 masked palm civets, tanukis, (also called raccoon dogs), and hog badgers were sacrificed in the first 10 days of January 2004 for the sins of the meat industry. Mostly cage-reared from wild-caught ancestors, the civets, tanukis, and hog […]
Cat-eaters may get, spread SARS
GUANGZHOU––Laboratory studies of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome directed by virologist Albert D.M.E. Osterhaus of the Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam, published in the October 30, 2003 edition of the British journal Nature, demonstrate that cats and ferrets could potentially carry SARS from filthy live markets to humans. Osterhaus said his experimental goal was simply to […]
SARS spread from live markets, but when?
BEIJING––Blood tests indicate that about 1% of the children in 17 provinces of China were exposed to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome before the outbreaks of 2002-2003 that hit 24 of the 31 provinces. Evidently passing from animals sold in filthy live markets to humans working in food preparation, and then spreading from human to […]
China to control wildlife cuisine but will not close live markets
HONG KONG––Hope that the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome epidemic of 2002-2003 might permanently close the notorious Chinese live wildlife markets was dealt a setback on July 10, 2003 when 12 government ministries and state administrations jointly announced that legal sales of domesticated wildlife would be “encouraged, guided, and supported.” The wildlife traffic will be more […]
Finding the sentience of fish
Credit scientific discovery. Credit People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. Credit Finding Nemo, the latest pro-animal animated production in a 64-year string from Walt Disney Productions. Whatever the reason, humans around the world are suddenly talking about the suffering of fish as never before. The first paragraphs of previews of Finding Nemo tell the story: * New York […]
How no-kill dog control came to Kolkata, India
by Debasis Chakrabarti, founder, Compassionate Crusaders Trust (June 2003) Kolkata (Calcutta) is the largest truly no-kill city in the world. It grieves me beyond measure to think of the possibility of a resumption of slaughter of street dogs. I would like to share our experience with everyone involved in this work, because I believe that the method we use […]
SARS shuts live markets, may change Chinese menus
HONG KONG––Animals sold in the live markets of Guangdong province, China, suffered first and worst from the conditions that afflicted the world with the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) epidemic of the past nine months––but Asian animal defenders are hopeful that a legacy of the epidemic may be the end of live markets for […]
Pet Overpopulation and the 70% Rule
by W. Marvin Mackie, D.V.M. March 2003 In an October 2002 article about the national Animal Birth Control program in India, entitled “Get 70% or flunk”, ANIMALS 24-7 editor Merritt Clifton mentioned the Fibonacci 70% rule. His writing piqued my interest to the point that I asked him for further clarification, and then conducted some research of […]
Care for bears in China
BEIJING, HONG KONG, SHANGHAI––China cares about bears. That was clear from nationwide outrage erupting in February 2002 after a 21-year-old engineering student poured sulfuric acid and caustic soda over five bears at the Beijing Zoo to see if bears are really stupid. International Fund for Animal Welfare representative Zhang Li offered help to the zoo […]
Tapping the wells of kindness in China and southern Asia
HONG KONG; PAN YU, Guangzhou, China––Two burly Asiatic moon bears at a time lick strawberry jam from the hands of Jill Robinson, 42, at the prototype Animals Asia Foundation sanctuary in Pan Yu, China. Four more bright-eyed bears watch, as eager for their treat as any dog, yet with patience too. Another […]