News
The number of news found: 37.
12/30/2007 MEATLESS MEAT WINS ANIMAL RIGHTS AWARD!
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has named a Richmond business as its company of the year for developing food that looks, tastes and feels like meat, but isn't. Garden Protein International manufactures Gardein, a trademarked meat substitute made entirely from vegetable sources that it sells as an ingredient to vegetarian food producers around the world. The faux chicken breasts and meatless beef strips taste so good that it will "fool even the most diehard meat-eater," said Matt Rice, assistant manager of campaigns at PETA's Norfolk, Va., headquarters on Wednesday.
12/29/2007 RARE SIBERIAN TIGER BUTCHERED IN ZOO!
A rare Siberian tiger was skinned and beheaded in a Chinese provincial zoo and police are offering a reward for information leading to the killer or killers. The remains of the female tiger, a critically endangered species, were found last Thursday in the zoo in central China's Yichang city, the official Xinhua news agency said, citing a local forestry bureau official. Police told local media they found the cage locks and the door to the tiger room broken, and also found four self-made anaesthetic rifles nearby, Xinhua said. The tiger's pelt was peeled off and the limbs were chopped off from the knees, suggesting a professional slaughter, an unnamed person involved in the investigation was quoted as saying.
12/28/2007 CYPRUS SPINY MOUSE NOT EXTINCT!
The Cyprus Spiny Mouse (Acomys nesiotes) is endemic to Cyprus. There has been no record of this Cyprus Spiny Mouse since 1980 and there was uncertainty about whether it is extinct because quantitative data is lacking. No considerable effort has been made since the 1980s to verify its presence and it may persist in small numbers. For this reason, the IUCN considers it "data deficient." Mustafa Sozen, a Turkish biologist, photographed this species on October 22, 2007 after four individuals were captured in the Nicosia district in the Turkish occupied area in the north at an altitude of about 600 meters. These photographs indicate that the Cyprus Spiny Mouse still exist. Research is needed to determine its population size and conservation measures must be taken to make sure this species will not get lost again.
12/27/2007 A CAT FOUND NEAR DEATH IN A SNOWBANK!
Kittery, Maine - It was exactly 10:56 a.m. Thursday when Brad Sherman spied something gray and furry deep down in a snowbank at the edge of the road. An animal lover who feeds peanuts to the neighborhood squirrels, the local artist climbed into the deep snowbank thinking the gray fur looked like cat hair. Its head and feet were buried, with only the arch of its back exposed. Sherman reached down and gently scooped up the little animal, and sure enough, it was a cat. It had apparently been trying to dig itself out, Sherman theorized, but the half-frozen little cat had dug itself into a death hole. Yet it was alive. "Within a minute of getting it out of the snowbank, it started to move very, very slightly. And by the time I approached the house, it had started to howl in pain," said Sherman. Local veterinarian Dr. Frank Marchell, who helped Sherman save the cat's life, described Sherman's discovery of the cat as nothing short of "a miracle." The cat might have lived another couple of hours in the frigid snowbank at best, said Marchell, but not much more. It was on the verge of death when Sherman found it.
12/26/2007 KNESSET TO REVIEW CURRENT ANIMAL EXPERIMENT POLICIES!
The Knesset last Wednesday unanimously approved a proposal to review Israel's current laws regarding animal experimentation. Animal rights groups welcomed the decision and said they would now wait to see which Knesset committee would be charged with debating the divisive issue. "I hope that no one here is of the opinion that we should allow experiments which do not save lives to continue," MK Israel Hasson (Kadima), chairman of the Animal Rights Lobby, said in a speech before the vote. According to Hasson, the supervision that takes place today is too wide, and does not exambine everyday activities in the lab. "It is worthwhile to investigate the supervision issue, to verify that current experiments do not cause suffering to animals, and use all available technology to limit suffering, but also to ensure that the experiments will be concentrated and supervised from start to finish." Hasson said that the current method of supervision looks at too big a picture and fails to examine day-to-day happenings in laboratories.
12/25/2007 HUMANS AREN'T MUCH SMARTER THAN DOGS AND MONKEYS!
A researcher in Vienna, Austria, trained dogs to sort photographs into two categories: pictures of other dogs and pictures of landscapes. This is big news because it means that dogs not only recognize what's happening in symbolic visual representations (photos) but can also figure out how to translate an abstract concept ("dog") into a category of pictures. Previously, nobody thought dogs could categorize photographs or even abstract concepts other than "food" and "enemy." The other study is even better, partly because it's called "Basic Math in Monkeys and College Students." In this study, cognitive scientists gave monkeys and college students a series of very simple tests to determine how quickly and accurately they could add up the number of dots on a screen. On average, the monkeys and students answered in the same amount of time. The students were 94 percent accurate in their answers, while the monkeys were 76 percent accurate. So monkeys are nearly as good as humans at adding dots, even without the benefit of a college education.
12/25/2007 IRISH MINISTER ISSUES LIMITED LICENCE FOR WARD UNION HUNT!
Ireland's Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Mr John Gormley, has issued the Ward Union Hunt with a restricted licence to hunt under the Wildlife Act, 1976. The hunt will not be allowed to chase a stag with hounds under the terms of the licence, which is subject to 28 conditions. The Minister said: "The licence with the conditions I have granted to the Ward Union Hunt will allow for the hunting of stags in a manner which will provide for the protection of the stag and the general public. In effect it permits the Ward Union to release a deer to lay a scent trail along the course of the hunt, but I am insisting that the deer must be recaptured before the hounds are released and the full hunt gets underway. I believe that the conditions attached to the licence address my concerns from a wider public policy perspective about the public safety issues surrounding the hunting of a large animal by a large group on horseback and a pack of hounds through an increasingly urbanised countryside."
12/24/2007 DOLPHIN "THERAPY" MAY BE A DANGEROUS FAD!
Researchers have warned people suffering from chronic mental or physical disabilities that they should not opt for a dolphin "healing" experience. Lori Marino, senior lecturer in the Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology Program, and Scott Lilienfeld, professor in the Department of Psychology, has launched an educationalcampaign against claims made by supporters of what is known as dolphin-assisted therapy (DAT). "Dolphin-assisted therapy is not a valid treatment for any disorder," said Marino, a leading dolphin and whale researcher. She added: "We want to get the word out that it's a lose-lose situation - for people and for dolphins." Marino said that swimming with dolphins may be fun and a novel experience but any scientific evidence does not exist for a long-term benefit from DAT. She further said that people spending thousands of dollars for DAT not just lose out financially but they put themselves, and the dolphin, at risk of injury or infection. And in way they are supporting an industry taking dolphins from the wild in a cruel process, often leaving several dolphins dead for every surviving captive.
12/23/2007 RECOGNITION FOR ANIMAL CAMPAIGNER!
An animal campaigner from Sheffield has won a national award for his academic work to tackle cruelty to animals. Dr Dan Lyons, from animal protection group Uncaged, has been awarded the Arthur Ling Memorial Award. Dr Lyons, aged 35, from Stocksbridge, was awarded the prize in recognition of his groundbreaking PhD research into how laws and regulations dealing with animal experiments have developed in Britain over the past 150 years. Adrian Ling, who initiated the award scheme said: "This establishes Dr Lyons as one of the country's leading author ities on the highly-charged issue of animal testing." His thesis also earned him the Andrew Gamble Prize for the Outstanding Thesis of 2006-7, awarded by a committee of academics at Sheffield University's Department of Politics.
12/22/2007 JAPAN TO AVOID KILLING HUMPBACK WHALES!
Japan's whaling fleet in the Antarctic will avoid killing humpback whales for now, but will press on with plans to kill 1,000 other whales by early in the New Year. The move follows Australia's announcement on Wednesday that it would send a fisheries patrol ship to gather evidence for a possible International Court challenge to halt Japan's yearly slaughter. Plans by Japan to include 50 endangered humpbacks in its annual hunt had sparked an outcry from activists. Popular among whale watchers for their distinctive silhouette and acrobatic leaps, humpbacks were hunted to near extinction until the International Whaling Commission ordered their protection in 1966. A government spokesman has decided not to catch humpback whales for "one year or two." Australia, Britain, France and Germany were among 30 nations who lodged a joint diplomatic protest with the Japanese Foreign Ministry over Tokyo's annual whale hunt. Japan's whaling fleet set sail last month with plans to catch more than 1,000 whales including 50 humpbacks. It is due back early next year.
12/22/2007 LAMB THROWN ON FIRE "FOR A LAUGH"!
A teenager who threw a live lamb onto a fire "for a laugh" has avoided a custodial sentence. Scott Douglas was celebrating his 17th birthday when he removed the lamb from its mother in a field near Loch Ness. He was sentenced to 200 hours community service at Inverness Sheriff Court and banned from keeping animals for 10 years. Sheriff Kenneth Robb told Douglas his actions had caused "considerable public revulsion."
12/21/2007 CHINA DRAFTS "HUMANE" STANDARDS FOR ANIMAL SLAUGHTER!
China, widely criticized for cruelty to animals bred for consumption, is drafting new standards on animal slaughter to make the practice more humane, Xinhua news agency said on Tuesday. The central province of Henan has already adopted the measures, which include stunning the animals before killing them, and herding pigs with plastic prods instead of electric ones. "Since the quality of meat from China has drawn international attention, the Chinese government has conducted special treatment on this issue," the report quoted an official from the Administrative Office of Livestock Slaughtering.
12/20/2007 DEADLY TESTS FUNDED BY MARS!
PETA US recently discovered that Mars is directly responsible for a series of gruesome experiments on animals. These include feeding mice a confectionery ingredient and then forcing them to swim through a pool of water mixed with white paint to find a hidden platform. In another experiment, baby mice are crammed into "metabolic chambers" and submerged in cold water. These mice are then force-fed another ingredient, starved, killed and cut open for dissection. Mars is a huge multi-national company based in the US which produces well-known confectionery brands such as Bounty, Galaxy, M&M's, Snickers, Twix, Milky Way, Revels, Starburst and Skittles. Divisions of Mars in the UK produce well-known brands such as Uncle Ben's and Dolmio, while the company's companion animal food division produces the brands Cesar, KiteKat, Pal, Pedigree, Sheba, Whiskas, Aquarian and Trill. Despite the fact that PETA US recently contacted Mars and urged it to put an end to its deadly animal experimentation programme, these tests continue.
12/19/2007 GREENPEACE SEALS OFF EU BUILDING!
Around 200 environmental activists used barriers and concrete blocks to seal off entrances to a main European Union building in Brussels to protest at overfishing in European waters. Yellow banners marked "shut down until fish stocks recover" were posted by Greenpeace members near the seven principle entry points to the European Council building - where EU ministers and leaders hold their regular meetings. At the main entrance, the protesters used cement to build a wall around 20 meters long and two meters high. Fish nets foiled those trying to enter at other points. EU fisheries and agriculture ministers had been set to meet at the building, in the European quarter of Brussels, until Wednesday. The meeting is aimed, in part, at setting fishing quotas for each of the EU's 27 member nations for 2008.
12/18/2007 WISCONSIN MINK FARM CLOSES!
Beloit, Wis. - A mink farm targeted by animal rights activists in 1998 has closed after 70 years in business. About 2,100 mink were harvested for their fur on Brown's Mink Ranch this week, and another 1,800 were sold for breeding stock. The farm closed Tuesday. In 1998, animal rights activists released nearly 3,000 mink, resulting in the loss of 700 of the animals, most killed on the highway, Gary Brown said. Similar incidents occurred at mink ranches near Middleton and Kimball, Minn., around the same time. In 2006, Wisconsin led the nation in mink production, with 68 farms, according the National Agriculture Statistics Service.
12/17/2007 AUSTRALIA MAY SEND SHIP TO TRACK JAPAN WHALING FLEET!
Australia's new government may send a navy ship to Antarctica to track Japan's whaling fleet and gather evidence to mount a legal challenge, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said on Thursday. Japan's whaling fleet plans to hunt 935 minke whales, 50 fin whales and for the first time in 40 years, 50 humpback whales for research over the Antarctic summer, with the fleet already on its way south followed by anti-whaling activists. "We take seriously Australia's international obligations on the proper protection of whales," Rudd told reporters on the sidelines of the UN environment summit in Bali. "We would not rule out the use of Australian assets to collect appropriate data including photographic evidence concerning whaling activities," he said.
12/17/2007 SOUTH KOREANS CLONED CATS THAT GLOW IN THE DARK!
South Korean scientists have cloned cats by manipulating a fluorescent protein gene, a procedure which could help develop treatments for human genetic diseases. In a side-effect, the cloned cats glow in the dark when exposed to ultraviolet beams. A team of scientists led by Kong Il-keun, a cloning expert at Gyeongsang National University, produced three cats possessing altered fluorescence protein (RFP) genes, the Ministry of Science and Technology said. "It marked the first time in the world that cats with RFP genes have been cloned," the ministry said in a statement. The cats were born in January and February. One was stillborn while two others grew to become adult Turkish Angoras, weighing 3.0 kilogrammes and 3.5 kilogrammes.
12/16/2007 SPANISH PARLIAMENT CHANGES FUNDING FOR BULLFIGHTING COVERAGE!
Spain's upper house of parliament narrowly approved Wednesday a measure which would leave state radio and television without mandatory funding for bullfights for the first time. Under the nine-year spending plan for broadcaster RTVE which comes into effect in 2008 and has been passed by the Senate, funding for bullfight coverage was deemed "optional" instead of "mandatory" as it has in the past.
12/16/2007 TOP HUNT PROBED IN CRUELTY CLAIM!
The body in charge of Irish foxhunting is investigating claims that a fox was dug out of its den, tied up and then fed alive to hounds during a top hunt in Westmeath. The Irish Masters' of Foxhounds Association (IMFHA) has confirmed it is investigating the alleged barbaric incident which is said to have taken place during a Westmeath Hunt meet near Walderstown, Co Westmeath, on November 14. Such activity is strictly prohibited under the Code of Conduct drawn up by the Irish Hunting Association and sanctioned by the Department of Agriculture and Food. Rule seven states: "In no circumstances will a live fox which has been dug out be thrown to the hounds." A department spokesman confirmed they had been informed of the investigation and were monitoring the situation. The Westmeath Hunt, founded in 1854, is regarded as one of the country's most prominent hunts.
12/15/2007 THE UK GOVERNMENT PLEDGES TO REDUCE USE OF ANIMALS IN RESEARCH!
The UK government has pledged to double funding to help reduce and replace the use of animals in research.Funding will rise to more than 5m during 2010-11. The money will be allocated to the National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs). The centre, which was established in 2004, provides a UK focus for promoting and developing alternatives to animal testing and receives just over 2m per year from the government. The government said the extra money, announced last week, would result in more discoveries, such as a breakthrough made using tissue engineering.
12/15/2007 MEAT RAISES LUNG CANCER RISK!
People who eat a lot of red meat and processed meats have a higher risk of several types of cancer, including lung cancer and colorectal cancer, U.S. researchers reported. The work is the first big study to show a link between meat and lung cancer. It also shows that people who eat a lot of meat have a higher risk of liver and esophageal cancer and that men raise their risk of pancreatic cancer by eating red meat.
12/14/2007 ANIMALS BEARING HEAT OF GLOBAL WARMING!
While humans debate at UN climate change talks in Bali, global warming is, according to this story, already wreaking havoc with nature. Most plants and animals are affected, and the change is occurring too quickly for them to evolve. "A hell of a lot of species are in big trouble," Stephen Williams, the director of the Centre for Tropical Biodiversity and Climate Change at James Cook University in Australia was quoted as saying. Williams was further quoted as saying, "I don't think there is any doubt we will see a lot of (extinctions). But even before a species goes extinct, there are a lot of impacts. Most of the species here in the wet tropics would be reduced to... 15 per cent of their current habitat." Globally, 30 per cent of the Earth's species could disappear if temperatures rise 2.5 degrees Celsius - and up to 70 per cent, if they rise 3.5 degrees, a UN network of scientists reported last month. It wouldn't be the first time. There have been five major extinctions in the last 520 million years, and four of them have been linked to warmer tropical seas, according to a study published last month in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B, a British scientific journal. (AP)
12/13/2007 BROWN THOMAS GOES FUR FREE!
One of the Ireland's most exclusive department stores is shelving its tradition of selling animal fur products. Brown Thomas will initiate a "no fur" policy from February, with management insisting it was taking animal welfare into account. The move has been welcomed by animal rights activists, who in recent months have campaigned outside the store's Grafton Street branch during peak shopping hours. Brown Thomas stores in Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Galway will only sell synthetic fur, or leather, suede, sheepskin, and shearling. Action groups AFAR, ARAN, ALiberation and CAFT Ireland said they collected thousands of signatures for a petition to boycott Brown Thomas until they went fur free. The chain has joined a growing list of influential designers and stores that have removed themselves from the fur trade including Marks & Spencer, Dunnes Stores, Debenhams, Next, Top Shop, and Karen Millen.
12/12/2007 MICHAEL VICK SENTENCED TO 23 MONTHS IN PRISON!
Richmond, Va. - A judge sentenced Atlanta Falcons Michael Vick to 23 months in prison on dogfighting conspiracy charges. Michael Vick at his property in Surry County, Va. organized dogfighting operation, procuring and training pit bulls for fighting, and conducting the enterprise across state lines. In September Michael Vick took the "Developing Empathy for Animals" course in PETA's office, an all-day seminar on "who animals are," alternatives to cruelty, animal protection philosophy, and humane education.
12/12/2007 NATRECOR CAUSES KIDNEY FAILURE?!
Natrecor side effect reports have taken a toll on the finances of Johnson & Johnson. Natrecor was considered a potential hit in 2001 when the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved it for treating severe heart failure. So great was this potential, that in 2003, Johnson & Johnson paid $2.4 billion for Natrecor's developer, biologics company Scios. However, a lot has changed since then, and on December 5, Johnson & Johnson reported it would record a $440 million write-down to account for Natrecor's declining revenue. Although Natrecor sales reached about $400 million in 2004, the company said sales declined significantly since outside medical researchers raised questions in 2005 about the possible risk of kidney problems and death associated with Natrecor. When Natrecor was originally reported to increase kidney problems and death rates among patients, Johnson & Johnson announced it had agreed with the FDA to revise labeling for the drug to include the data underlying those reports. Natrecor is FDA approved to intravenously treat severe cases of acute heart failure, which typically require hospitalization; however, it has been widely used "off-label" in outpatient clinics where patients arrive for regular infusions, although the drug has not been tested for that use.
12/11/2007 NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CHOSE A PHOTO OF CAPTIVE MONKEYS FOR A CONTEST WINNER!
National Geographic International Photography Contest chose the photo by Li Feng of caged monkeys who await their fate at a medical laboratory in Hubei Province, China as an "Animal Winner". The judges liked that this image subverts the usual romanticized approach to wildlife photography and more accurately reflects the fate of many of the world's animals. The sneaker at the top provides scale and injects a human being into the scene; the anonymity of the wearer suggests concealment and complicity. The structure of the cages, the horror of the captivity, the crowded composition, and the claustrophobic tension all add up to a sad and compelling photo.
12/10/2007 PIG-BRAIN MIST SUSPECTED IN WORKERS' DISEASE!
On the slaughterhouse floor at Quality Pork Processors Inc. is an area known as the "head table" where workers cut up pigs' heads and then shoot compressed air into the skulls until the brains come spilling out. Over eight months from last December through July, 11 workers at the Austin, Minn., plant - all of them employed at the head table - developed numbness, tingling or other neurological symptoms, and some scientists suspect inhaled airborne brain matter may have somehow triggered the illnesses. In a rapid-fire process that is noisy, smelly and bloody, severed pigs' heads are cut up at the head table at a rate of more than 1,100 an hour. Workers slice off the cheek and snout meat, then insert a nozzle in the head and blast air inside until the light pink mush that is the brain tissue squirts out from the base of the skull.
12/09/2007 BESTIALITY BAN PROPOSED IN NORWAY!
Minister of Agriculture and Food Terje Riis-Johansen wants Norway's Animal Protection Act updated to expressly forbid sex with animals. The existing act only specifies the kicking and beating of animals as abuse, and the agriculture minister now wants to close loopholes. "This is a punishable offense that shall not occur," Riis-Johansen told NRK (Norwegian Broadcasting). The ban will come into effect with the new Animal Protection Act, which will also prevent violence against animals and the use of live animals as feed or bait. "It will still be legal to use a riding crop on a horse that must be trained. But beating a dog will be illegal," the minister said. According to a 2006 survey of 650 veterinarians last year, bestiality - sex with animals - occurs far more often than people think.
12/08/2007 THREE CHARGED IN PUERTO RICO MASSACRE!
A Puerto Rican judge has charged the owner and two employees of a city contractor with animal cruelty after the company allegedly took pets from a public housing project and hurled them off a bridge. Julio Diaz, the owner of Animal Control Solutions, and workers Lucas Montano Rivera, 18, and Roberto Rodriguez Ceballo, 28, were each charged with three counts of violations to the U.S. territory's laws against animal cruelty. Charges were also filed against the company.
12/07/2007 CHICKS RELEASED IN PARKS AFTER REFUSED TRANSPORT!
Thousands of chicks were headed to Ethiopia to become egg layers, but when at the airport, circumstances changes and the chicks were releassed in public parks around Brussels. According to the Belgian De Morgen, 5,000 chickes were to be sent by plane to Ethiopia for a life of laying eggs. However, it is reported that the plane was already full and the pilot refused to load the crates full of chicks and the airport personnel were ordered to gas the birds. Instead, workers brought hundreds of the chicks into the city and released them in public parks. Dozens of chicks have now been delivered to animal homes in the Belgian capital, but there are still many roaming the parks.
12/06/2007 CHINA CLOSES BEAR FARMS!
China has closed more than 400 bear breeding farms as it steps up efforts to protect animal rights, the government said Tuesday. The number of bear breeding farms, which typically raise the animals to collect their bile for medicine, has decreased to 68 from more than 480 in the 1990s, said Zhu Lieke, vice minister of the State Forestry Administration. New surgical technologies have been adopted to reduce the pain felt by the bears during the process of extracting the bile, replacing such traditional practices as confining the bear in a small iron cage or iron jacket, he said.
12/05/2007 PREXIGE IS BANNED!
Drug regulators in Britain have ordered an arthritis drug to be withdrawn, after growing evidence that it can cause liver damage. Prexige, made by Novartis, has been linked to 20 cases of severe liver damage worldwide since it was introduced in 2005, including two deaths and three cases where patients needed liver transplants. In Britain there have been 23 reports of adverse liver reactions since March last year, according to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency. None has been severe and there have been no deaths or transplants. But, combined with growing international evidence, the data prompted the agency to suspend the licence for the drug. Novartis asked patients taking Prexige – about 5,000 in Britain – to contact their GP to discuss alternative drugs.
12/04/2007 BULGARIA PASSES NEW ANIMAL PROTECTION LAW TO LIMIT STRAYS!
Bulgaria's parliament adopted Friday a new animal protection law to limit the huge number of stray dogs and cats on Bulgarian streets by imposing tough fines on owners who maltreat or abandon their companion animals. Authorities ever since the fall of communism in 1989 have failed to solve the problem of thousands of stray animals roaming around in big cities after being abandoned by their owners. The new legislation, in accordance with EU law, calls for companion animals guardians for the first time to receive fines of up to 1,530 euros for abandoning their animals' young. If they cannot find homes for the pups or kittens, they should castrate their animals, the law says. Stray dogs and cats should also be neutered and put up for adoption before they are let back on the streets. The new law also bans "all inhumane behaviour towards animals, such as causing pain, suffering and intense fear" as well as "all acts of cruelty."
12/03/2007 3000 ANIMAL REPLACED IN EXPERIMENTS!
The annual use of over 3000 animals has been replaced with alternatives at a higher education institute in the Indian state of Gujarat. InterNICHE Partners the Gujarat Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (GSPCA) confirmed that Bhavnager University has agreed to end the use of over 3000 mice, rats and rabbits for dissections and severe experiments in pharmacology, biochemistry, zoology and health science education. The alternative that will replace the many pharmacology experiments is the CAL Pharmacology Compilation, produced by Dr R Raveendran. This software was produced with grant funding from the InterNICHE Humane Education Award, a program sponsored by Dutch anti-vivisection organization Proefdiervrij. The Award has supported humane education initiatives from teachers and others internationally, facilitating direct replacement of animal experiments in education and training.
12/02/2007 MAKING A CLEAN SKIN OF COSMETICS TESTING!
The delicate hybrids thriving in the balmy climes of Provence, southern France's traditional perfume region, include sweet jasmine, May roses - and fresh layers of artificial human skin. Scientists here are working feverishly to develop new technologies to test cosmetics before a European Union ban on animal testing begins in March 2009. These advanced materials - including reconstructed eye tissue and tiny circles of skin developed from donor cells harvested from cosmetic operations - are a vital part of the industry's future as it faces rapidly tightening European regulations, rules that apply to any company wishing to sell in the 27-nation European Union. The looming European ban is not only forcing multinational companies to adopt new practices. It is also bringing together regulators in Brussels with agencies from the world's other large cosmetics markets - the Food and Drug Administration in the United States and the Ministry of Health in Japan - to harmonize regulation.
12/02/2007 GREENS LAUNCH BID TO BAN "BARBARIC" FOIE GRAS!
Green Party councillor Ben Duncan has demanded a ban on the sale of "foie gras" in Brighton and Hove. Foie Gras has been widely condemned as cruel by animal welfare campaigners including Brighton MP hopeful Caroline Lucas MEP, who is a Vice-President of the RSPCA. It has already been banned by councils in York, Norwich and Bolton – and its production outlawed in Poland, Denmark, Germany, Norway, Croatia and Israel. Now Councillor Duncan has asked Brighton and Hove's powerful Policy and Resources Committee to ban the pate from council premises, to ask the Government to impose a national ban – and to write to all food outlets in the city asking them to take it off the menu too.
12/01/2007 96,000 POUNDS OF BEEF RECALLED!
Green Bay, Wis. - A company voluntarily recalled nearly 96,000 pounds of ground beef products after two people were sickened, possibly by the E. coli bacteria, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service said last Saturday. The beef products by American Foods Group include coarse and fine ground beef chuck, sirloin and chop beef. They were distributed to retailers and distributors in Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Ohio, Tennessee, Wisconsin and Virginia. The problem surfaced after an investigation by the Illinois Department of Health, which was looking into two reports of illnesses.
The number of news found: 37.
