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1. Poultry Officials Concerned About PETA Lawsuit in CA
WNAX.com
July 6, 2015
PETA, or People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, filed a lawsuit last week challenging the legality of poultry slaughter methods in California. The suit takes aim at electric stunning saying it violates California's Humane Slaughter Law. Minnesota Turkey Growers Executive Director Steve Olson is concerned about the possible precedent setting implications of the litigation and how it may effect poultry operations in other states.
Olson says Poultry operators care about the welfare of their animals and follow proper practices from birth to slaughter.
Olson says the use of stunning in processing is a common and humane practice that's used industry wide.
Full text:
http://wnax.com/news/180081-poultry-officials-concerned-about-peta-lawsuit-in-ca/
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2. Register by July 10 for Online Foreign Animal Disease Course
By American Association of Swine Veterinarians
PorkNetwork.com
July 8, 2015
The web-based course Emerging and Exotic Diseases of Animals (EEDA) will this year be offered July 13 to August 22, 2015. The course has been approved for 18 hours of Continuing Education (CE) through RACE (Registry of Approved Continuing Education of the American Association of Veterinary State Boards). This online course, currently used at all U.S. veterinary schools, can be taken by anyone interested in high consequence animal diseases and the response to them. The course is an excellent refresher for veterinarians and veterinary technicians, animal health industry employees and government officials.
This course is subsidized with support from the Center of Excellence for Emerging and Zoonotic Animal Diseases (CEEZAD), a Department of Homeland Security Center of Excellence, as well as the CFSPH. This $450 course can now be offered at the reduced price of $150 which includes the companion textbook. To find out more and register, visit http://EEDACourse.org.
Full text:
http://www.porknetwork.com/news/register-july-10-online-foreign-animal-disease-course
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3. Antibiotic resistance not as simple as some think
FarmandDairy.com
July 8, 2015
URBANA, Ill. - Antimicrobial resistance is a big problem that is getting bigger.
In 2014 the World Health Organization warned that "Without urgent, coordinated action, the world is heading towards a post-antibiotic era, in which common infections and minor injuries, which have been treatable for decades, can once again kill."
Antimicrobials refer to a wide array of drugs for humans and animals that fight infections caused by bacteria and other disease-causing microbes, such as viruses, fungi, and parasites.
Killing pathogens
If not all pathogens are killed when an antimicrobial is used to fight an infection, the surviving pathogens may pass along their resistant traits and a new, harder-to-treat strain may emerge.
MRSA, or methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, a high-profile "superbug," is one example of drug resistant pathogens.
"There has been an increase in the number of multi-resistant pathogens worldwide," said Dr. John Herrmann, a public health veterinarian at the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine. "Development of resistance occurs through mutation, selective pressure, and gene transfer. These natural processes can be accelerated by the therapeutic and prophylactic use of antimicrobials in both humans and animals.
"The mechanisms by which microbes develop resistance are fairly well known," he added. "However, the societal factors contributing to this resistance are controversial."
Full text:
http://www.farmanddairy.com/news/antibiotic-resistance-not-as-simple-as-some-think/269499.html
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4. What is Johne's disease costing you?
By Heather Dann, Miner Institute
DairyHerd.com
July 7, 2015
Johne's disease, also called paratuberculosis, is caused by Mycobacterium avium ssp. paratuberculosis (MAP) and results in inflammation and damage to the intestinal wall that negatively affects absorption of nutrients and overall performance of cattle worldwide. In the US, it is estimated that MAP is present on over 90% of dairy herds! The primary source of exposure is fecal-oral transmission from contaminated environments. Other sources of exposure can include in utero or infected colostrum and milk. Infection often occurs within the first 6 months of life. Interestingly, clinical signs of the infection (i.e. severe nonresponsive diarrhea and rapid weight loss) often do not occur until the animal is 2 to 6 years old. However, clinical signs have been present as early as 4 months. If the exposure occurs during adulthood then clinical signs are seen less frequently. However, cattle with subclinical Johne's disease may excrete MAP and serve as low, moderate, or super shedders that excrete millions or billions of bacteria into the environment putting other animals at risk.
Detection of Johne's disease can be difficult given the long incubation period and lack of clinical signs. The diagnostic tests used most often include fecal culture, serum ELISA, and fecal PCR. Fecal culture is the gold standard test but it takes time to get results. The sensitivity and specificity of the diagnostic tests can be issues making the control of the disease a challenge. A major concern is the lack of cost-effective treatment options for cattle with Johne's disease.
Full text:
http://www.dairyherd.com/news/what-johnes-disease-costing-you
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5. Extension publication delves into how public views animal agriculture
By Aspen Deno, Purdue University Extension
PorkNetwork.com
July 8, 2015
A new Purdue Extension publication presents local and state leaders with research findings on the similarities and differences in how people in rural and urban Indiana perceive animal agriculture.
The authors of Views on Animal Agriculture in Rural Versus Urban Indiana Counties* explain the viewpoints that influence food purchasing decisions and evaluate how residents in rural, urban and "mixed" counties - those where there is a combination of both urban and rural living - get their information on animal welfare and form their opinions on livestock operations.
[ *See: https://mdc.itap.purdue.edu/item.asp?Item_Number=EC-799-W#.VZ13DUZsggR ]
"Given agriculture's importance to Indiana, understanding the views of residents in both rural and urban settings is necessary for decision makers," write Purdue University lead author Ann Cummins, an agricultural economics graduate student; and co-authors Nicole Olynk Widmar, agricultural economics associate professor; Joan Fulton, agricultural economics associate department head and professor; and Candace Croney, director of the Purdue Center for Animal Welfare Science.
The researchers say that although food consumption behavior and patterns of Indiana residents did not differ among people in urban, rural and mixed counties, there were differences in how they viewed animal agriculture.
Full text:
http://www.porknetwork.com/news/extension-publication-delves-how-public-views-animal-agriculture
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6. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Nixes Wild Horses' Endangered Status
By Pat Raia
TheHorse.com
July 7, 2015
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services (FWS) has denied a proposal that would have classified wild horses as an endangered species.
Last year, Friends of Animals and the Cloud Foundation petitioned Interior Secretary Sally Jewell and the FWS to grant North American wild horses endangered species status on grounds that the animals were ecologically threatened. The advocates claimed that the wild horses represent a distinct population segment because the wild horses differed from domestic counterparts physically and psychologically.
After reviewing the petition, the FWS determined that the advocates did not present substantial information supporting the claim that the wild horses represent a distinct population segment or that the animals are threatened or endangered "at this time."
Full text:
http://www.thehorse.com/articles/36057/u-s-fish-and-wildlife-nixes-wild-horses-endangered-status
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7. BLM seeks new ways to curb wild-horse population growth [edited]
KTVZ.com
July 8, 2015
WASHINGTON - The federal Bureau of Land Management said Wednesday said it will initiate 21 research projects aimed at developing new tools for managing healthy horses and burros on healthy rangelands.
"As part of its ongoing commitment to improving the health and management of wild horses and burros on federal lands in the West." the agency said its research will include safe and effective ways to slow the population growth rate of the animals and reduce the need to remove animals from the public lands.
With virtually no natural predators, wild horse herds can double in size about every four years. Overpopulation on the range, in addition to prolonged drought conditions, can lead to the deterioration of the land and of the animals' health, the BLM announcement said.
Over the past 40 years, the BLM has adopted out more than 230,000 horses and burros that were removed from the range to protect animal and land health. Today adoption rates are at record low levels.
In the early 2000s, the BLM was able to adopt out nearly 8,000 horses each year. Over the last few years, annual adoption totals have been closer to 2,500 animals per year.
The BLM will work with leading university and U.S. Geological Survey scientists to develop tools that will better enable it to manage wild horses and burros on the range and reduce the need for off-range pastures and corrals.
Scientists working on these projects will pursue the development of safe and humane on-range management techniques, including BLM's priority to develop longer lasting fertility-control vaccines, as well as methods for spaying and neutering wild horses.
Full text:
http://www.ktvz.com/news/blm-seeks-new-ways-to-curb-wildhorse-population-growth/34057326
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