News
The number of news found: 17.
03/29/2010 AUSTRALIAN COURT SLAMS VIOXX MAKERS
A court in Melbourne has ruled that the anti-arthritis drug rofecoxib (Vioxx) increased the risk of heart attack, while finding that the Australian subsidiary of its manufacturer engaged in negligent and misleading behavior. In a class action judgment delivered earlier this month, the federal court judge Christopher Jessup found that rofecoxib contributed to the heart attack of plaintiff Graeme Peterson. The judge ruled that Merck Sharp & Dohme "fell short" of what was required in the reasonable discharge of its "duty of care" by failing to warn Mr. Peterson's doctor of the drug's potential cardiac risk and because sales representatives overemphasised its safety. He also ruled that the drug was not of "merchantable quality" and that, because "Vioxx involved about a doubling of the risk of heart attack, it was not reasonably fit for the purpose of
being used for the relief of arthritic pain."
03/26/2010 MASSIVE SEAL HUNT QUOTA INCREASE SEEN AS POLITICAL MESSAGE TO EU
Despite poor ice conditions and a slumping seal market - thanks in large part to a European Union ban on the import of products starting this year - the government last week announced a 50,000-increase in this year's seal hunt quota. Fisheries Minister Gail Shea says the decision to increase the total allowable catch for harp, hooded and grey seals to 388,200 was based on science. However, sealers and animal rights activists believe the decision was political - including an attempt to send a message to the EU. Last year, 74,581 harp seals were killed out of a total quota of 280,000, according to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. That number is strikingly lower than the 217,857 harp seals killed in 2008.
03/25/2010 DON'T OPEN DOLPHINARIUM, PETA TELLS JAIRAM
Animal rights activist group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has written to Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh urging him to scrap plans to build a dolphinarium at the National Zoological Park. Dolphins, declared as India's national aquatic animal last year and found in the Ganga river, are a rare species and the environment ministry estimates only 2,000 of them are left now.
03/24/2010 BRAVE DOG SHOT FIVE TIMES WHILE PROTECTING HOME
Champ, a 4-year-old German shepherd mix, was shot five times protecting his family's home from a robbery, surrendered by his guardian, held as evidence by the police and finally turned over to a shelter to be euthanized. Life looked pretty bleak for the dog until a rescue group came to his aid. The details about his background are sketchy, but police brought the unnamed dog to the South Los Angeles Animal Shelter on February 27 with 5 gunshot wounds. They told the shelter he had been shot during a home invasion robbery. The shelter workers named the injured dog, Champ. Champ's jawbone was shattered by a bullet that entered just under his eye and is still lodged in his mouth. Another bullet severed a nerve in his leg and three more gunshot wounds cover his neck, shoulder and abdomen. Champ was kept as evidence at the animal shelter for 10 days while the bullets remained in his body. The shelter was only allowed to give him antibiotics and pain medicine.
03/23/2010 L.A. EATERY CHARGED WITH SERVING WHALE MEAT CLOSES
A Los Angeles-area sushi restaurant that made international headlines after it was charged with serving endangered whale meat will close forever as a "self-imposed punishment," according to a statement on its website.The parent company of the The Hump, a popular Santa Monica restaurant, and sushi chef Kiyoshiro Yamamoto were charged on March 11 with violating the Marine Mammal Protection Act, which makes it illegal to sell whale meat.Federal prosecutors have said that the case stemmed from informants who were served whale meat at The Hump in October 2009 and evolved into a sting operation by U.S. wildlife and customs officials.The federal charge carries a maximum penalty of one year in federal prison and a maximum fine of $100,000 for an individual or $200,000 for an organization.
03/22/2010 UNDERCOVER INVESTIGATIONS INTO THE ILLEGAL TRADE IN TIGER PARTS IN SINGAPORE
A 3-month undercover investigation by ACRES (Animal Concerns Research and Education Society) has revealed that 59 out of 134 jewellery and antique stores visited in Singapore offered alleged tiger parts for sale. Evidence of the 59 stores selling alleged tiger parts was recorded on video. Approximately159 alleged tiger claws, 303 alleged tiger teeth and 38 pieces of alleged tiger skin were found on sale during the investigation, which was conducted from December 2009 until February 2010. Tiger parts are used for various purposes such as traditional medicine, jewellery, lucky charms and novelties. Singapore has previously been recognized as playing a role in the trade of tiger products from neighboring countries such as Indonesia, for both domestic trade and international re-exports. Although all commercial tiger trade has been banned since 1987 by CITES, which Singapore is a party to, there has been an approximate 50% decrease in wild tiger populations since the ban.
03/17/2010 WHALES ON JAPANESE MENUS
While the team behind "The Cove," the hidden-camera documentary about dolphin slaughter in Japan, was in Los Angeles last week accepting an Oscar for Best Documentary, it took a detour to help carry out another undercover sting operation - this time at a Santa Monica sushi restaurant. Together with federal officials, the team members discovered evidence that a restaurant called the Hump - really - was secretly serving whale meat, in violation of the Marine Mammal Protection Act. When confronted, the restaurant accepted responsibility for serving whale, and now faces a fine of up to $200,000. As Andre Birotte Jr., a U.S. Attorney on the case, told the New York Times, "Someone should not be able to walk into a restaurant and order a plate of an endangered species."
03/16/2010 RINGLING BROS ZEBRA EUTHANIZED
A 12-year-old circus zebra that caused a stir when he escaped from an animal compound and ran through downtown Atlanta last month has been euthanized. A statement posted on Ringling Bros and Barnum and Bailey's website says veterinarians were unable to repair the animal's hooves, which were damaged when he sprinted through the city. The zebra named Lima led his trainers and police on a 40-minute chase February 19. Police eventually helped capture the animal on an interstate. Ringling Bros says it has worked with the US Department of Agriculture to review policies and ensure no other animals flee.
03/15/2010 CANCER KILLS MANY SEA LIONS
For 14 years, since they first reported that a disturbing proportion of deaths among rescued California sea lions were caused by metastatic cancer, researchers have been trying to pinpoint the source of the illness. In 1996, Dr. Frances Gulland, the director of veterinary science at the Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito, and colleagues at the University of California, Davis, found that a striking 18 percent of deaths in stranded adult sea lions were the result of tumors in the reproductive and urinary tracts. "It's such an aggressive cancer, and it's so unusual to see such a high prevalence of cancer in a wild population," Dr. Gulland said. "That suggests that there’s some carcinogen in the ocean that could be affecting these animals."
03/13/2010 MALDIVES BAN FISHING OF SHARKS
The Maldives will make its territorial waters into a shark sanctuary, a government official said Tuesday, lending momentum to efforts to protect the fish at a United Nations endangered species conference that begins this week. "We've decided to go ahead with a shark fishing ban," Ibrahim Didi, the fisheries and agriculture minister of the Maldives, said by telephone from Male, the capital. "Beginning July 1 there will be a total ban on exports." Maldives becomes the second nation to announce blanket protection for its sharks. Palau, a tiny Micronesian state, in September announced a ban on shark fishing. Like the Maldives, Palau is regarded as one of the world's top scuba-diving destinations.
03/12/2010 SWITZERLAND REJECTS MOVE TO PROVIDE LAWYERS FOR ANIMALS
Voters in Switzerland have rejected a proposal to introduce a nationwide system of state-funded lawyers to represent animals in court. Animal rights groups had proposed the move, saying that without lawyers to argue the animals' case, many instances of cruelty were going unpunished. But the measure was rejected by around 70% of voters in a referendum.
03/11/2010 SIX MONTHS OF PRISON TO A RABBIT BREEDER
A breeder from the province of Treviso, who left 6,000 rabbits intended for human consumption to die a slow death by starvation, was sentenced to six months in prison for torture and killing of animals, after an appeal of an organization called LAV. This verdict is a very important precedent for many reasons. For the first time it is put into question the work of one breeder who did not provide animal welfare and caused their death, thus confirming the principle that animals are conscious beings who feel pain. But, above all, the death of these animals is considered so bad that farmers are denied not only the recognition of mitigating circumstances, but even the possibility of liberation from the penalty payment of damages.
03/10/2010 FANI STIPKOVIC AND DANIJEL DELALE FOR HELP TO ANIMAL FRIENDS CROATIA
Web site ULOVI.HR starts an unusual social and humanitarian action! Specifically, all interested will be able to bid for an intimate dinner with model and TV presenter Fani Stipkovic and Danijel Delale - editor of the most viewed local showbiz show Red Carpet. Through the Internet auction site, ULOVI.HR profit realized from the entire auction will be donated to the Animal Friends Croatia. The auction starts on Wednesday March 10 at midnight at the Internet address ULOVI.HR. At the auction can participate all who are interested in registering on the site ULOVI.HR. On the same web address are available all information on the auction terms and bidding. Avaiting the beginning of the charity auction for Animal Friends, on the same evening, Wednesday March 10 at 9 P.M. in a popular FLY!Bar will be an ULOVI.HR cocktail hour on the occasion of the presentation and launch of the project. Admission is free.
03/08/2010 OSCAR WINNER 2010: BEST DOCUMENTARY: THE COVE
"The Cove," a documentary about dolphin-killing, wins Best Documentary Feature. The producer Fisher Stevens accepts the gong and thanks "my hero, Ric O'Barry [the dophin trainer], who is not only a hero to this species but all species." In the background, O'Barry then holds up a sign that reads, "TEXT DOLPHIN 44144." In a control room somewhere, Hamish Hamilton is no doubt screaming, "CUT TO THE AUDIENCE! CUT TO THE BLOODY AUDIENCE!" The camera cuts to the audience.
03/03/2010 THAILAND SEIZES 239 IVORY TUSKS
Thailand has seized two tons of elephant tusks from Africa hidden in pallets labeled as mobile phone parts in the country's largest ivory seizure. Thai Customs officials valued haul at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport at $3.6 million. It is a further sign that Thailand is emerging as a hub for the illicit trade. Poaching of elephants in central and eastern Africa has intensified in recent years, with much of the illegal ivory exported to Asia. Seree Thaijongrak, director of the investigation and suppression bureau for the Customs Department, said that acting on a tip, officials seized two pallets containing 239 tusks of African elephants.
03/02/2010 WORLD'S CORAL REEFS COULD DISINTEGRATE BY 2100
The world's coral reefs will begin to disintegrate before the end of the century as rising carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere make the oceans more acidic, scientists warn. The research points to a looming transition in the health of coral ecosystems during which the ability of reefs to grow is overwhelmed by the rate at which they are dissolving. More than 9,000 coral reefs around the world are predicted to disintegrate when atmospheric carbon dioxide levels reach 560 parts per million. The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere today stands at around 388ppm, but is expected to reach 560ppm by the end of this century.
03/01/2010 WHALE KILLS TRAINER AS HORRIFIED SPECTATORS WATCH
ORLANDO, Fla. - A killer whale attacked and killed a trainer in front of a horrified audience at a SeaWorld show on February 23, with witnesses saying the animal involved in two previous deaths dragged the trainer under and thrashed her around violently. Distraught audience members were hustled out of the stadium, and the park was immediately closed.
The number of news found: 17.
