The National Institutes of Health wants you to believe that chimpanzee experimentation is necessary. It so badly wants you to believe this that the agency just two months ago began to use your tax dollars to fund a propaganda campaign for "educating the public" regarding the "importance of chimpanzees in biomedical research."
Why is the NIH seemingly so desperate? Perhaps because the concept of ending this morally and scientifically bankrupt practice has become so mainstream, on so many fronts - scientific, political, ethical, financial - that on Sept. 28, Scientific American, the most prestigious general interest science magazine in the world, called for a ban, explaining, "Why it is time to end invasive biomedical research on chimpanzees."
One of the major reasons for its call for the ban was the groundbreaking McClatchy Newspapers special report "Chimps: Life in the Lab," published last April. This special report was based on McClatchy's independent review of thousands of pages of chimpanzee medical records.
Scientific American noted that the special report's review of these records and the details of experiments "painted a grim picture of life in the lab, noting disturbing psychological responses in the chimps."
The NIH's use of tax dollars to fund the abuse of chimpanzees, as documented in McClatchy's special report, is especially timely. Congress has created a Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction to produce a plan by November 23 to reduce our debt by at least $1.2 trillion over 10 years. The NIH spends more than $30 million annually on chimpanzee experimentation; ending it would save more than $300 million. It would also be completely consistent with the emerging scientific, political and ethical consensus elucidated by Scientific American: "The time has come to end biomedical experimentation on chimpanzees."
But the NIH seems stuck in a different time - circa 1970s, when the current chief of hepatitis research at the NIH, Dr. Robert Purcell, began experimenting on chimpanzees, as did his counterpart at the Food and Drug Administration, Dr. Stephen Feinstone. On Aug. 11, a public workshop was convened by the National Academy of Science's Institute of Medicine Chimpanzee Committee, which was commissioned by the NIH to determine if chimpanzees are "necessary" for biomedical research.
Read more here ...
Showing posts with label animal experiment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label animal experiment. Show all posts
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Stimulus money spent on monkeys?
IMMOKALEE, Fla. - Stimulus money being spent on monkeys?
A Fox 4 investigation has one lawmaker taking action after we discovered the government is using more than a half-million dollars in stimulus money - money meant for saving and creating jobs - to buy monkeys for flu vaccine experiments.
"What makes this recovery plan so important is not just that it will create or save 3.5 million jobs over the next two years," said Pres. Barack Obama, on Feb 17, 2009, after signing the $787 billion Recovery and Reinvestment Act, known as the stimulus, into law.
"It's that we're putting Americans to work, doing the work America needs done," the president said.
But two years later, people like David Ligthner aren't seeing any signs of that big stimulus.
"We're struggling," said Lightner, the owner of Jack Queen Construction. "There's no help out there for us."
Jack Queen Construction is one of Immokalee's oldest construction companies. But since the Recovery Act passed, they have had to lay off 40 people.
"Have you received any help from the government?," asked Fox 4 reporter Matt Grant.
"Nothing," said Lightner. "They have not helped me in one way, shape or form...they're giving money to everybody except the people that need it."
So who is getting that money?
Our search for that answer takes us down a dirt road seemingly into the middle of nowhere. Rolling past the Hendry County Prison, we are looking for a company called Primate Products, which was awarded nearly $538,000 of your money.
The company imports animals from all over the world for scientific testing.
They have become a frequent target of animal activists who point to leaked photos showing mutilated monkeys in what appears to be a surgical setting.
"We've got rampant unemployment," said Don Anthony, with the Animal Rights Foundation of Florida, an activist group. "And they're putting this money to such bad use."
Lat fall, the federal government used $537,560 in stimulus money to buy 108 monkeys from Primate Products.
The monkeys will be used for flu virus experiments, which federal health officials say can save human lives.
"I think people are going to be disgusted when they find out their hard earned tax money is not going where it was supposed to go," said Don Anthony, "to help unemployed Americans."
The stimulus had three main goals: to create or save jobs, to spur economic growth and to be transparent.
So did this money create any jobs?
The president of Primate Products, Don Bradford, declined our request for an on-camera interview. But in a series of e-mails, says there are no "stipulations" the money be "directly spent on wages."
According to Recovery.gov, the government's own stimulus tracking Web site, it shows Primate Products didn't create a single job with the money here in Florida.
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAD), which bought the monkeys, calls this "important research" and says "investing in public health" has "created tens of thousands of jobs nationwide."
But when pressed about the number of jobs actually created as a result of the Primate Products purchase, be it research or otherwise, a spokesperson told us: "This particular contract is not associated with job creation."
"I think it's great that you're doing the story and that you've uncovered this," said southwest Florida Rep. Connie Mack.
Our findings shocked Mack, who conducted his own investigation and discovered Primate Products actually received $1.3 million.
So what's wrong with the government doing animal experiments if it could save so many lives?
"Again this came out of the stimulus, package. We were told the stimulus package was going to create jobs, " said Mack who talked to us via satellite from Washington. "This is what people are so frustrated about - that the government is spending money on things that the people don't need, don't want and don't deserve."
Dave Lightner believes southwest Floridans like him deserve better.
Talking to us in his now empty construction yard, Lightner still wears his American flag hat with pride.Even as he watches his American dream, and any hope of a stimulus life raft, slip away.
"And you need this money?," asked Grant.
"Oh man, geez tell me about it," said Lightner. "I could put six, seven people to work Monday morning."
Mack says the government shouldn't be monkeying around with the money.
In a letter sent to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius calling for a "thorough review" of the Primate Products contracts along with a "detailed report" as to how this money fits in with the goals of the stimulus.
"Aside from reporting their awards to the Recovery.gov website," Mack wrote, "we have yet to find evidence that these four contracts accomplish any of these goals."
Read about the Primate Product contracts: http://www.recovery.gov/Pages/TextViewProjSummary.aspx?data=recipientAwardsList&State=FL&AwardType=CGL&RecipName=Primate%20Products
MATT GRANT, REPORTER
mgrant@fox4now.com
http://www.fox4now.com/news/toprotator/126293983.html
A Fox 4 investigation has one lawmaker taking action after we discovered the government is using more than a half-million dollars in stimulus money - money meant for saving and creating jobs - to buy monkeys for flu vaccine experiments.
"What makes this recovery plan so important is not just that it will create or save 3.5 million jobs over the next two years," said Pres. Barack Obama, on Feb 17, 2009, after signing the $787 billion Recovery and Reinvestment Act, known as the stimulus, into law.
"It's that we're putting Americans to work, doing the work America needs done," the president said.
But two years later, people like David Ligthner aren't seeing any signs of that big stimulus.
"We're struggling," said Lightner, the owner of Jack Queen Construction. "There's no help out there for us."
Jack Queen Construction is one of Immokalee's oldest construction companies. But since the Recovery Act passed, they have had to lay off 40 people.
"Have you received any help from the government?," asked Fox 4 reporter Matt Grant.
"Nothing," said Lightner. "They have not helped me in one way, shape or form...they're giving money to everybody except the people that need it."
So who is getting that money?
Our search for that answer takes us down a dirt road seemingly into the middle of nowhere. Rolling past the Hendry County Prison, we are looking for a company called Primate Products, which was awarded nearly $538,000 of your money.
The company imports animals from all over the world for scientific testing.
They have become a frequent target of animal activists who point to leaked photos showing mutilated monkeys in what appears to be a surgical setting.
"We've got rampant unemployment," said Don Anthony, with the Animal Rights Foundation of Florida, an activist group. "And they're putting this money to such bad use."
Lat fall, the federal government used $537,560 in stimulus money to buy 108 monkeys from Primate Products.
The monkeys will be used for flu virus experiments, which federal health officials say can save human lives.
"I think people are going to be disgusted when they find out their hard earned tax money is not going where it was supposed to go," said Don Anthony, "to help unemployed Americans."
The stimulus had three main goals: to create or save jobs, to spur economic growth and to be transparent.
So did this money create any jobs?
The president of Primate Products, Don Bradford, declined our request for an on-camera interview. But in a series of e-mails, says there are no "stipulations" the money be "directly spent on wages."
According to Recovery.gov, the government's own stimulus tracking Web site, it shows Primate Products didn't create a single job with the money here in Florida.
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAD), which bought the monkeys, calls this "important research" and says "investing in public health" has "created tens of thousands of jobs nationwide."
But when pressed about the number of jobs actually created as a result of the Primate Products purchase, be it research or otherwise, a spokesperson told us: "This particular contract is not associated with job creation."
"I think it's great that you're doing the story and that you've uncovered this," said southwest Florida Rep. Connie Mack.
Our findings shocked Mack, who conducted his own investigation and discovered Primate Products actually received $1.3 million.
So what's wrong with the government doing animal experiments if it could save so many lives?
"Again this came out of the stimulus, package. We were told the stimulus package was going to create jobs, " said Mack who talked to us via satellite from Washington. "This is what people are so frustrated about - that the government is spending money on things that the people don't need, don't want and don't deserve."
Dave Lightner believes southwest Floridans like him deserve better.
Talking to us in his now empty construction yard, Lightner still wears his American flag hat with pride.Even as he watches his American dream, and any hope of a stimulus life raft, slip away.
"And you need this money?," asked Grant.
"Oh man, geez tell me about it," said Lightner. "I could put six, seven people to work Monday morning."
Mack says the government shouldn't be monkeying around with the money.
In a letter sent to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius calling for a "thorough review" of the Primate Products contracts along with a "detailed report" as to how this money fits in with the goals of the stimulus.
"Aside from reporting their awards to the Recovery.gov website," Mack wrote, "we have yet to find evidence that these four contracts accomplish any of these goals."
Read about the Primate Product contracts: http://www.recovery.gov/Pages/TextViewProjSummary.aspx?data=recipientAwardsList&State=FL&AwardType=CGL&RecipName=Primate%20Products
MATT GRANT, REPORTER
mgrant@fox4now.com
http://www.fox4now.com/news/toprotator/126293983.html
Friday, July 29, 2011
Scientists warn of 'Planet of the Apes' scenario
Action is needed now to prevent nightmarish "Planet Of The Apes" science ever turning from fiction to fact, according to a group of eminent experts.
Their report calls for a new rules to supervise sensitive research that involves humanising animals.
One area of concern is "Category Three" experiments which may raise "very strong ethical concerns" and should be banned.
An example given is the creation of primates with distinctly human characteristics, such as speech.
Exactly the same scenario is portrayed in the new movie Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes, in which scientists searching for an Alzheimer's cure create a new breed of ape with human-like intelligence.
The report also acknowledges the "Frankenstein fear" that humanising animals might lead to the creation of "monsters".
Currently research involving great apes, such as chimpanzees, is outlawed in the UK. But it continues in many other countries including the US, and British scientists are permitted to experiment on monkeys.
Professor Thomas Baldwin, a member of the Academy of Medical Sciences working group that produced the report, said the possibility of humanised apes should be taken seriously.
"The fear is that if you start putting very large numbers of human brain cells into the brains of primates suddenly you might transform the primate into something that has some of the capacities that we regard as distinctively human.. speech, or other ways of being able to manipulate or relate to us," he told a news briefing in London.
"These possibilities that are at the moment largely explored in fiction we need to start thinking about now."
Prof Baldwin, professor of philosophy at the University of York, recommended applying the "Great Ape Test". If modified monkeys began to acquire abilities similar to those of chimpanzees, it was time to "hold off".
"If it's heading in that direction, red lights start flashing," said Prof Baldwin. "You really do not want to go down that road."
In the US, scientists have already implanted human embryonic stem cells - which can develop into any part of the human body - into mouse embryos.
The mouse cells rapidly outgrew the human stem cells, so that only a tiny proportion of the embryos ended up "human".
Working group member Dr Robin Lovell-Badge, a leading geneticist from the Medical Research Council's National Institute for Medical Research, said this was not surprising given the differences between mice and humans.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/8653962/Scientists-warn-of-Planet-of-the-Apes-scenario.html
Their report calls for a new rules to supervise sensitive research that involves humanising animals.
One area of concern is "Category Three" experiments which may raise "very strong ethical concerns" and should be banned.
An example given is the creation of primates with distinctly human characteristics, such as speech.
Exactly the same scenario is portrayed in the new movie Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes, in which scientists searching for an Alzheimer's cure create a new breed of ape with human-like intelligence.
The report also acknowledges the "Frankenstein fear" that humanising animals might lead to the creation of "monsters".
Currently research involving great apes, such as chimpanzees, is outlawed in the UK. But it continues in many other countries including the US, and British scientists are permitted to experiment on monkeys.
Professor Thomas Baldwin, a member of the Academy of Medical Sciences working group that produced the report, said the possibility of humanised apes should be taken seriously.
"The fear is that if you start putting very large numbers of human brain cells into the brains of primates suddenly you might transform the primate into something that has some of the capacities that we regard as distinctively human.. speech, or other ways of being able to manipulate or relate to us," he told a news briefing in London.
"These possibilities that are at the moment largely explored in fiction we need to start thinking about now."
Prof Baldwin, professor of philosophy at the University of York, recommended applying the "Great Ape Test". If modified monkeys began to acquire abilities similar to those of chimpanzees, it was time to "hold off".
"If it's heading in that direction, red lights start flashing," said Prof Baldwin. "You really do not want to go down that road."
In the US, scientists have already implanted human embryonic stem cells - which can develop into any part of the human body - into mouse embryos.
The mouse cells rapidly outgrew the human stem cells, so that only a tiny proportion of the embryos ended up "human".
Working group member Dr Robin Lovell-Badge, a leading geneticist from the Medical Research Council's National Institute for Medical Research, said this was not surprising given the differences between mice and humans.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/8653962/Scientists-warn-of-Planet-of-the-Apes-scenario.html
Monday, July 12, 2010
HORMONE STUDY FINDS MONKEYS IN LONG-TERM RELATIONSHIPS LOOK STRANGELY HUMAN
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
7/12/10
NOTE TO EDITORS: Photos of cotton-top tamarins at the UW-Madison lab are available at http://photos.news.wisc.edu/results.php?term=tamarin
CONTACT: Charles Snowdon, 608-262-3974, snowdon@wisc.edu
HORMONE STUDY FINDS MONKEYS IN LONG-TERM RELATIONSHIPS LOOK STRANGELY HUMAN
MADISON - Monkeys in enduring relationships show a surprising correspondence in their levels of oxytocin, a key behavioral hormone, according to research published online June 28 in the journal Hormones and Behavior. While measuring oxytocin in the urine of 14 pairs of cotton-top tamarins, Charles Snowdon, a University of Wisconsin-Madison professor of psychology, observed a wide range of hormone levels.
But he also saw a striking correspondence among the couples: When one mate had a high level of oxytocin, so did the other, and vice versa.
Furthermore, partners with a high level of oxytocin performed correspondingly more cuddling, grooming and sex, while those with low levels of oxytocin spent less time on these relationship-building activities.
The hormone oxytocin was originally studied for its role during childbirth, when it helps cement the mother-child emotional attachment. More recently, it has been linked to many other attachments. "Only in the past 20 years have we started to think more broadly about oxytocin's social function in forming and maintaining long-term relationships," says Snowdon.
In monogamous mammal species, he says, "We see that oxytocin in parts of the brain in females leads to pair-bonding." An oxytocin nasal spray makes people more willing to trust strangers. Oxytocin rises after orgasm, massage and petting. "All this together suggests that oxytocin would play some role in creating strong pair bonds in these cotton-top tamarins, who are socially monogamous," says Snowdon, "and that the amount of cuddling, grooming, stroking and sex might be related directly to the oxytocin level."
In the new study, Snowdon, Toni Ziegler, a scientist at the Wisconsin National Primate Research Center, and their collaborators measured urine samples for oxytocin and recorded behavioral activity three times a week for three weeks, and then noticed the surprising correspondence between both members of the pairs.
Predictably, the study showed that high oxytocin among females was associated with more cuddling and stroking, and that among males, the major element was the amount of sex.
Snowdon may have been the first to respond "Isn't that familiar!" to this part of the results: It doesn't take a high-tech lab to notice that women and men have different emotional and physical needs, and the monkeys seem to echo this need.
But he noticed something else: The high-oxytocin monkeys seem to know how to soothe their partners. In previous studies, after monkey pairs were mildly disturbed either by removing one animal for a half hour or by introducing the scent of another female, both partners increased cuddling and sex as though to mend the relationship.
In the current study, the partners seem to know what the other partner needed. "Males in a high-oxytocin relationship were more likely to initiate cuddling, and females were more likely to initiate sex," Snowdon says. "These males were initiating the behavior that the female needed for high oxytocin, and the females with high oxytocin were initiating the behavior that male partner needed for high oxytocin."
Snowdon says this "monkey version of 'kiss and make up' suggests that sex and affiliative behavior may play an important role in maintaining a relationship."
Stroking, sex and cuddling are critical parts of what it means to be a cotton-top tamarin, and to be human, Snowdon says. "Here we have a nonhuman primate model that has to solve the same problems that we do: to stay together and maintain a monogamous relationship, to rear children, and oxytocin may be a mechanism they use to maintain the relationship. Therapeutically, I'd suggest this would have relevance to human couples."
###
-David Tenenbaum, 608-265-8549, djtenenb@wisc.edu
7/12/10
NOTE TO EDITORS: Photos of cotton-top tamarins at the UW-Madison lab are available at http://photos.news.wisc.edu/results.php?term=tamarin
CONTACT: Charles Snowdon, 608-262-3974, snowdon@wisc.edu
HORMONE STUDY FINDS MONKEYS IN LONG-TERM RELATIONSHIPS LOOK STRANGELY HUMAN
MADISON - Monkeys in enduring relationships show a surprising correspondence in their levels of oxytocin, a key behavioral hormone, according to research published online June 28 in the journal Hormones and Behavior. While measuring oxytocin in the urine of 14 pairs of cotton-top tamarins, Charles Snowdon, a University of Wisconsin-Madison professor of psychology, observed a wide range of hormone levels.
But he also saw a striking correspondence among the couples: When one mate had a high level of oxytocin, so did the other, and vice versa.
Furthermore, partners with a high level of oxytocin performed correspondingly more cuddling, grooming and sex, while those with low levels of oxytocin spent less time on these relationship-building activities.
The hormone oxytocin was originally studied for its role during childbirth, when it helps cement the mother-child emotional attachment. More recently, it has been linked to many other attachments. "Only in the past 20 years have we started to think more broadly about oxytocin's social function in forming and maintaining long-term relationships," says Snowdon.
In monogamous mammal species, he says, "We see that oxytocin in parts of the brain in females leads to pair-bonding." An oxytocin nasal spray makes people more willing to trust strangers. Oxytocin rises after orgasm, massage and petting. "All this together suggests that oxytocin would play some role in creating strong pair bonds in these cotton-top tamarins, who are socially monogamous," says Snowdon, "and that the amount of cuddling, grooming, stroking and sex might be related directly to the oxytocin level."
In the new study, Snowdon, Toni Ziegler, a scientist at the Wisconsin National Primate Research Center, and their collaborators measured urine samples for oxytocin and recorded behavioral activity three times a week for three weeks, and then noticed the surprising correspondence between both members of the pairs.
Predictably, the study showed that high oxytocin among females was associated with more cuddling and stroking, and that among males, the major element was the amount of sex.
Snowdon may have been the first to respond "Isn't that familiar!" to this part of the results: It doesn't take a high-tech lab to notice that women and men have different emotional and physical needs, and the monkeys seem to echo this need.
But he noticed something else: The high-oxytocin monkeys seem to know how to soothe their partners. In previous studies, after monkey pairs were mildly disturbed either by removing one animal for a half hour or by introducing the scent of another female, both partners increased cuddling and sex as though to mend the relationship.
In the current study, the partners seem to know what the other partner needed. "Males in a high-oxytocin relationship were more likely to initiate cuddling, and females were more likely to initiate sex," Snowdon says. "These males were initiating the behavior that the female needed for high oxytocin, and the females with high oxytocin were initiating the behavior that male partner needed for high oxytocin."
Snowdon says this "monkey version of 'kiss and make up' suggests that sex and affiliative behavior may play an important role in maintaining a relationship."
Stroking, sex and cuddling are critical parts of what it means to be a cotton-top tamarin, and to be human, Snowdon says. "Here we have a nonhuman primate model that has to solve the same problems that we do: to stay together and maintain a monogamous relationship, to rear children, and oxytocin may be a mechanism they use to maintain the relationship. Therapeutically, I'd suggest this would have relevance to human couples."
###
-David Tenenbaum, 608-265-8549, djtenenb@wisc.edu
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Pig power and choosy chimps
PIG POWER: Domestication may have reduced the brain sizes of guinea pigs but not their problem-solving ability. They outperformed their wild cousins (cavies) om some tests when pitted against each other in water mazes. Domesticated ones had the advantage in orientation but cavies were stronger swimmers, German researchers found. It suggests domestic ones have adapted better to the man-made environment.
CHOOSY CHIMPS: Apes, like humans, know they may be wrong when they make a choice. They were observed as they chose between two hollow tubes - one containing food - after being given clues as to the right one. When the apes were less sure which was correct, or when the reward was more desirable, they made more visual checks before choosing. The German study is published in journal Animal Cognition.
http://e-edition.metroherald.ie/2010/03/25/ - p23.
CHOOSY CHIMPS: Apes, like humans, know they may be wrong when they make a choice. They were observed as they chose between two hollow tubes - one containing food - after being given clues as to the right one. When the apes were less sure which was correct, or when the reward was more desirable, they made more visual checks before choosing. The German study is published in journal Animal Cognition.
http://e-edition.metroherald.ie/2010/03/25/ - p23.
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Peaceful co-existence
RIGHT: Host Dave Salmoni will take viewers on a daring mission to learn if man and beast can co-exist in Into the Lion’s Den. The two-hour special premieres on Sat, March 20 at 9pm on TrueVisions D21.Published: 12/03/2010 at 12:00 AM
Zoologist and big cat trainer Dave Salmoni is on a mission to prove that humans can live in harmony with wild lions.
This month, Animal Planet goes into the lion's den with Dave as he spends three months deep within the no-go zone of a pride of wild lions in South Africa - armed with only a stick and a miniature camera.
Will his daring mission help remove the barrier between man and beast, or will he fall prey to these magnificent predators? The two-hour special Into the Lion's Den premieres Sat, March 20 at 9pm and repeats the following day at 3am and 4pm, and Sat, March 27 at 1pm on Animal Planet.
Dave believes that with people encroaching on the natural habitats of wild animals, conflicts are inevitable and that there needs to be a change in how humans interact with other species.
To better understand how we can harmoniously co-exist, Dave intends to carry out a radical and dangerous experiment - living with lions in the wild.
As a big cat trainer, Dave knows that every sound and movement a cat makes tells him how it is going to behave.
So, to prepare for his mission, Dave undergoes rigorous training with big cats such as jaguars, tigers, and lions in captivity, immersing himself in their behavioural patterns and honing his communication skills with these animals.
With this knowledge and zoological expertise, Dave heads to the Thornybush Private Game Reserve in South Africa to carry out his experiment.
Every precaution is taken for his safety, with a team of paramedics and rangers watching him from afar prepared for every possible emergency situation.
http://www.bangkokpost.com/entertainment/movie/34351/peaceful-co-existence
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Africa: warthog befriends hornbill for grooming favour
Friday, 26 February 2010By Jody Bourton
Earth News reporter
A warthog has been pictured being groomed by a huge bird known as a ground hornbill.
The warthog approached the southern ground hornbill seeking the favour, and the bird obliged by removing parasites from the warthog's body.
Similar interactions occur between warthogs and other animals such as banded mongooses.
But hornbills are not known to groom in this way, say scientists who photographed the incident.
Details of the behaviour are reported in the African Journal of Ecology.
"The warthogs approached the hornbills and then lay down on their sides to be cleaned," explains Dr Hendri Coetzee of North West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa.
"The warthogs were very nervous, because this behaviour most probably makes them more vulnerable to predation."
Opposites attract
Dr Coetzee says he repeatedly observed similar interactions between common warthogs (Phacochoerus africanus) and southern ground hornbills (Bucorvus leadbeateri) in the Mabula Game Reserve in South Africa's Limpopo Province.
The arrangement is mutually beneficial: the warthog gets a cleaning service and the ground hornbill a nutritious and easily obtainable food source.
Other animals will also groom warthogs, picking off parasites from the wild pig's body.
For example, banded mongooses remove ticks from warthogs, in what is believed by scientists to be the only symbiotic relationship between two mammal species.
Oxpecker birds also regularly clean the skins of a number of African mammals, including zebra and hippos.
But the interactions with the hornbills stood out because the warthogs usually initiated the grooming.
Southern ground hornbills are large black plumaged birds, with powerful beaks that can kill tortoises and large snakes.
"What surprised me was how delicately they were removing parasites from the warthogs," says Dr Coetzee.
"Adult warthogs even tolerated the ground hornbills probing their ears and around their more delicate areas under their tails."
Dr Coetzee speculates that the animals might be behaving this way in part because they are living on a game reserve, where they might be less threatened and more relaxed.
"It is most likely the result of learned behaviour and regular contact between the same individuals living under somewhat artificial circumstances, where the risk of predation is reduced," he explains.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8534000/8534844.stm
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Mahila Kalasala celebrates Frogs Liberation Day
Friday, Feb 19, 2010
Staff Reporter
Students stress the need to ban cruelty towards animals
VIJAYAWADA: The students, faculty and non-teaching staff of the Intermediate wing of Sri Durga Malleswara Siddhartha Mahila Kalasala, Labbipet, celebrated the Frogs Liberation Day on Thursday in a bid to highlight the importance of banning cruelty towards animals.
The participants hailed the decision of the Board of Intermediate Education to do away with the mandatory dissection of frogs in the syllabus of practical examinations, in deference to the wishes of advocates of prevention of cruelty to living being.
They showcased prototypes of frogs and a few other amphibians, along with some live frogs on the occasion to drive home the point about the need to protect them.
Novel programme
S. Vijaya Lakshmi, Head of the Department of English, said that cancellation of frog dissection in zoology practical examination came about following the concerns expressed over the possible extinction of all frogs.
It was a novel programme aimed at fostering the spirit of humanity towards all and involving all people in such activities.
Principal K. Visala, staff and students of almost all departments participated in the event.
http://www.hindu.com/2010/02/19/stories/2010021950770200.htm
Staff Reporter
Students stress the need to ban cruelty towards animals
VIJAYAWADA: The students, faculty and non-teaching staff of the Intermediate wing of Sri Durga Malleswara Siddhartha Mahila Kalasala, Labbipet, celebrated the Frogs Liberation Day on Thursday in a bid to highlight the importance of banning cruelty towards animals.
The participants hailed the decision of the Board of Intermediate Education to do away with the mandatory dissection of frogs in the syllabus of practical examinations, in deference to the wishes of advocates of prevention of cruelty to living being.
They showcased prototypes of frogs and a few other amphibians, along with some live frogs on the occasion to drive home the point about the need to protect them.
Novel programme
S. Vijaya Lakshmi, Head of the Department of English, said that cancellation of frog dissection in zoology practical examination came about following the concerns expressed over the possible extinction of all frogs.
It was a novel programme aimed at fostering the spirit of humanity towards all and involving all people in such activities.
Principal K. Visala, staff and students of almost all departments participated in the event.
http://www.hindu.com/2010/02/19/stories/2010021950770200.htm
Monday, January 25, 2010
Live pigs blown up in government terrorism experiments
Live pigs are being blown up as part of a series of government terrorism experiments at Porton Down, the government's secret military research laboratory.
By Amy Willis
Published: 1:43PM GMT 24 Jan 2010
Eighteen pigs wrapped in protective Kevlar blankets were blasted in a bid to help scientists understand more about the effects of bomb blasts on victims.
The animals were placed less than three yards from an explosive. Before being blown up, tubes were inserted into their blood vessels and bladders, and their spleens were removed.
A wire was also put into a major abdominal blood vessel to ensure the vessel became lacerated in the explosion.
The Kevlar blankets were used to protect the animals from minor bomb debris and the animals were anaesthetised throughout.
Scientists wanted to find out how long the animals survived when more than a third of their blood had drained from their bodies.
Medics hope the experiments will help British soldiers in Afghanistan as well as casualties of terror attacks like the July 2005 bombing of the London Underground and a double-decker bus.
In particular these results should help them understand how to control haemorrhaging in bomb blast victims.
But Norman Baker, the Liberal Democrat MP for Lewes, questioned the use of live animals in military experiments.
Talking to the Sunday Times he said: “These are revolting and unnecessary experiments. Sadly, we are too familiar with the effects of terrorism. It is perfectly possible to find out things we don’t know without blowing up pigs to find out.”
A spokeswoman for Porton Down said anecdotally there was already evidence that the research was helping to save lives.
She said: “This work is part of our broad combat casualty care programme. Anecdotally, we are seeing evidence of people surviving because of this work.”
The facility at Porton Down, in Wiltshire, was originally set up during the first world war to research chemical warfare.
No pigs survived the experiments.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/terrorism-in-the-uk/7066382/Live-pigs-blown-up-in-government-terrorism-experiments.html
By Amy Willis
Published: 1:43PM GMT 24 Jan 2010
Eighteen pigs wrapped in protective Kevlar blankets were blasted in a bid to help scientists understand more about the effects of bomb blasts on victims.
The animals were placed less than three yards from an explosive. Before being blown up, tubes were inserted into their blood vessels and bladders, and their spleens were removed.
A wire was also put into a major abdominal blood vessel to ensure the vessel became lacerated in the explosion.
The Kevlar blankets were used to protect the animals from minor bomb debris and the animals were anaesthetised throughout.
Scientists wanted to find out how long the animals survived when more than a third of their blood had drained from their bodies.
Medics hope the experiments will help British soldiers in Afghanistan as well as casualties of terror attacks like the July 2005 bombing of the London Underground and a double-decker bus.
In particular these results should help them understand how to control haemorrhaging in bomb blast victims.
But Norman Baker, the Liberal Democrat MP for Lewes, questioned the use of live animals in military experiments.
Talking to the Sunday Times he said: “These are revolting and unnecessary experiments. Sadly, we are too familiar with the effects of terrorism. It is perfectly possible to find out things we don’t know without blowing up pigs to find out.”
A spokeswoman for Porton Down said anecdotally there was already evidence that the research was helping to save lives.
She said: “This work is part of our broad combat casualty care programme. Anecdotally, we are seeing evidence of people surviving because of this work.”
The facility at Porton Down, in Wiltshire, was originally set up during the first world war to research chemical warfare.
No pigs survived the experiments.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/terrorism-in-the-uk/7066382/Live-pigs-blown-up-in-government-terrorism-experiments.html
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