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| Jo McBride, a CSL research scientist, is testing the cell model to replace animal tests. Called a flow cell bioreactor, it is based on the long-term exposure of human cells to components and toxins found in food. - Photo by Anne Purkiss |
WITH so many stories circulating at any one time of cruelties that the world's dogs are still subject to, one could sometimes be forgiven for thinking that the human race is beyond redemption and will never learn to get along with its fellow creatures on their own terms.
However, there have been many recent developments that would remind us all to do what we can for oppressed canine individuals that we meet, but to keep in mind that it is the over-all picture that is relevant. And the over-all picture has some encouraging developments in all areas of canine welfare to share with the world.
First from Britain we hear that the last of the kitten farms has finally been closed down, and although there are still a few puppy farms, and according to a WSPA report usually in more isolated areas around the hill country towards Wales, there is legislation on the way that will soon make it very difficult to run such an establishment. The British public is more aware than ever of these unscrupulous places and the new laws will mean that random inspections can be made for welfare, safety or hygiene reasons. As well as this any farm owning more than three bitches will have to be licensed.
The following story from Britain, by special correspondent Albert Evans, indicates that there will be in the future a greatly reduced need to test products on animals.
"Research at the Central Science Laboratory (CSL) in eastern England has led to the development of a system that involves the validation of a human cell model for toxicity testing of foodstuffs and other products.
"This type of work is important in the development of alternatives to animal testing not only for the obvious and desirable ethical benefits but also for the potential that European industry could significantly reduce the cost of toxicity trials in developing new products.
"CSL recently signed a contract with the European Centre for the Validation of Alternative Methods (ECVAM) in Italy to provide the system, the only one of its type in Europe.
"Previous work at the CSL that was funded by the United Kingdom's Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF) led to the development of the system and the current study seeks to set the model system at ECVAM to demonstrate its effectiveness for chronic toxicity testing.
"The CSL research centre of scientific excel fence, based in Norwich, Norfolk, provides support and advice on agricultural, food and environmental topics. It aims to generate solutions to the problems of pests, diseases and contaminants that affect food starting with the growing crop and ending with the food the consumer buys and eats."
You can see from this report that it is unlikely there will be a great demand for test animals in the future - using test machinery will be quicker, cheaper and easier so where there is no demand there will be no produce.
In New Zealand there are also positive implications with the new Act on animal rights implemented in January which, among other things, establishes that the person responsible for the welfare of each individual dog is the person who is caring for it at the time - if an animal is being transported, the person transporting it is responsible; if it is being looked after by a neighbour, the neighbour is responsible.
From Moscow there is also a report of new laws applied to dogs from December 1999. Although dog has not been a preferred roast on Russian tables, it seems many Russians during hard times have resorted to the practice.
The following report from the Moscow Times was written by Jen Tracy:
"Russia can no longer eat them, make hats out of them, throw them out the window, maim them for films, or let them go wild and unsterilised - beloved pets now have rights. The State Duma on Wednesday, December 1, passed a 22-page bill on cruelty to animals that says dogs and cats just don't belong on heads, in stew, or loose on the streets after careless owners decide that having a pet wasn't a good idea after all. Russia has laid out in great detail new legislation, forbidding a wide range of activities considered cruel to animals and requiring pet owners to have their cats and dogs neutered.
"The new laws could meet with some implementation problems, said Vyacheslav Sluzhivov, one of the Bill's authors and the head of Earth Voice Russia, a branch of the International Humane Society. The effectiveness of any law in Russia is low, as the courts don't work at all. But this law will be effective morally - people will start to think about things, he said.
"The sterilisation requirement will be difficult to enforce, Sluzhivov said, and glitches will have to be worked out along the way. For over 80 years, Russia has operated on a catch-and-kill policy for dealing with stray dogs. This policy has been unsuccessful and the number of homeless dogs has continued to grow. Sterilisation was proposed as a more humane approach. But Russians' cultural reluctance to play God with their pets' lives has, until now, hindered the Bill's progress.
"The Bill was first drafted in 1997 by local animal rights agencies, including Earth Voice Russia and Protection. Forcing all owners to sterilise their pets is not a perfect answer to the stray dog problem, Sluzhivov said. Each case should be examined individually, but this is not possible.
"I have a dog and I would never have her neutered," he said.
"There are more than three million pets in Moscow and Russians treat them like they are human, like family - they would never neuter a family member. The most difficult task, according to Antonina Assi, director of the Protection animal clinic, was convincing the Duma that pets must be spayed or neutered. Even though Russians complain about the stray dog population, in general they view sterilisation as a crime against animals, she said.
"In the last two years we've noticed a change and more people have started to bring in their pets and even stray dogs to be sterilised, Assi said. Babushkas (grandmothers) who regularly feed street dogs and shop owners who have dogs waiting near their back doors bring them in to the clinic to be neutered, Assi said.
"Though sterilisation may not seem like much of a "right" in the eyes of the animals, the bill grants animals other rights that should prove to be big hits in pawed communities. Dogs and cats are now - at least legally - safer from the grills of those who view them as food. There have been numerous cases of homeless people cooking up strays and even one report of Novgorod College students eating their neighbour's dog when tough times hit following the 1998 financial crisis. The law also forbids the use of cats and dogs to make fur coats and hats. The International Humane Society recently released a report saying that many fur hats and coats for sale in Russia's markets are made of cat and dog fur, dyed to resemble the fur of other animals. Most of these products come from manufacturers in Mongolia.
"According to Sluzhivov, the most important part of the bill is that general cruelty to animals has been made a criminal offence for the first time, punishable by one year of community service and wage loss. The prohibitions number in the hundreds, including those against deliberately wounding animals for photographs or movies. The law also prohibits performing operations on pets without a medical reason or licence.
"In a rare instance, in 1998, a Moscow man who threw his cat out of a fifth-floor window after it ate his dinner was convicted of animal cruelty and sentenced to six months of community service and a 15 percent reduction of his wages."
Clearly the disregard of the past is legislated to be just that - in the past! Perhaps some of our New Zealand judges could emulate the Moscow one and give the 15 percent of the perpetrator's wages to an animal shelter. The community service could be served out in a council pound!
Estonia, however, seems to have a completely different attitude to its dogs. Families there take their dogs everywhere with them - they are family members. And if they travel by train, bus or ferry the expectation is the same - the dog shares the same travelling space as the humans - no boot storage or freight area for these pampered canines, but like their human owners the dog also needs a ticket to travel and is equally obliged to maintain a good standard of behaviour! They are, of course, always on a leash when away from home.
From Europe it has been reported that women are usually the ones taking their dogs and cats to be spayed and neutered. The men, it seems, put a greater importance on sexuality and when they own a dog, especially a male dog, they transfer these values to the dog and would never allow it to be neutered. These attitudes are still common in some Eastern European countries, Italy, Spain, Greece and parts of the Latin Americas. But again it is encouraging that there is a groundswell of women taking the initiative to have their pets remain both healthy and family-free.
America's identification of the PRA gene (story on page 3) in a growing list of breeds means control and hopefully eventual eradication of this and other genetic diseases. Widespread testing and well-planned matings will save many pedigree dogs from painful and debilitating genetic illness.
While the lot of the dog is, as yet, far from perfect, it is improving in most countries. In the regions notorious for their cruel practises and partiality to the occasional canine roast, dogs seem to have their champions who are working tirelessly to improve the canine lot. The human race was chosen by dogs in ancient times to be their companions - and we must, everything considered, be doing something right as we are still canine companions (though we tend to reverse that order).
Perhaps it is just new millennium optimism, but it looks as though we may look forward to a time when the dog is accepted as a companion world-wide and its needs are met as a matter of course.
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