Fall 2009

Volume
58
Number
4
Fall 2009 AWI Quarterly Cover - Photo by John Hyde
About the Cover

Forced from the shelter of surrounding mountains when the rest of his pack was trapped by humans (nearly 400 wolves were killed at ranchers' behest by the US Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services in 2008 alone), this young wolf, a year old at the time, and his mother, acclimated to strands of civilization and a diet of small prey at lower latitudes. When his mother was killed by a passing car, the solitary orphan, tentative at first, sought solace with local dogs and even their owners. Returning eventually to the mountains, he proves each winter that the bonds he formed with civilization are unbreakable, journeying back to visit the canines and humans who once fed his soul. See page 20 for more.

Photo by John Hyde

Table of Contents

Animals in Laboratories

Move over, Charles Darwin. According to National University of Ireland pioneering biologist Kevin Kavanagh, because an insect’s immune system—specifically its haematocytes—closely resembles one part of the mammalian immune system—or its neutrophils—using moths, caterpillars or Drosophila...
In 2003 the nation of Nepal decided to allow captive breeding of rhesus monkeys for research and export, despite monkeys being sacred to both Hindus and Buddhists.
The replacement of live animal models with alternatives is an encouraging recent trend in medical education.

Farmed Animals

In the mid-20th century, the United States underwent an agricultural revolution that went largely unnoticed by the general public when the ability of science to industrialize farming overtook the knowledge and expertise of working farmers.
Imprisoning more than one million breeding sows in the U.S., gestation crates used by Smithfield Foods are severe forms of punishment designed with one goal in mind: increased profit.
Egg-laying hens in confinement bear some of the worst abuses the agricultural industry offers. To the detriment of their own well-being, hens are bred for increasing egg production.

Humane Education

AWI is pleased to announce the availability of new humane educational on-line resources for children.

Marine Life

The US Navy has announced its decision to proceed with construction of a 500-square mile sonar testing range off the Jacksonville, FL coast.
President Obama has announced the creation of a 23-member federal task force to establish a comprehensive US Ocean Policy that "will incorporate ecosystem-based science and management and emphasize our public stewardship responsibilities."
The largest members of the dolphin family, orcas, also known as killer whales, are perhaps the most recognizable cetacean, with their distinctive black and white markings.
In July, a federal appeals court announced it would permit the US Department of the Interior to move forward with new oil and natural gas lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico, subject to an...
Scientists have reported that trampling by other walruses in a stampede likely caused the deaths of 131 walruses found on a beach in Alaska’s North Slope in August.

Terrestrial Wildlife

The debate over wild horses on public lands has been raging for decades. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), charged with their management, has rounded up tens of thousands of wild horses since 1971.
Few Americans have heard of the US Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services (WS) program. Even fewer are aware that their tax dollars subsidize the killing of millions of animals every year under this program; between...
As the fall and winter seasons are coming upon us, so is the demand for warm winter jackets, bedding and other heat preserving items.
The Florida breeding facility that has masqueraded as a sanctuary and received 31 macaws seized in Virginia (AWI Quarterly, Winter 2009), is liquidating and auctioning off all its birds and exotic cats.
For many Americans, a visit to a national park can be an enlightening and awe-inspiring journey. From the splendor of a sunrise at the Grand Canyon to the sheer beauty of Yellowstone and from the...

Government Affairs

Confinement production of livestock in the United States would be virtually impossible without antibiotics.
Representative Peter DeFazio, (D-OR) is expected to introduce the Compound 1080 and M-44 Elimination Act this fall.
In an effort to stop experimentation on illegally acquired dogs and cats, Senator Daniel Akaka (D-AK) and Representative Mike Doyle (D-PA) are again sponsoring the Pet Safety and Protection Act.
Congresswoman Nita Lowey (D-NY) has remained steadfast in her determination to end use of inhumane traps in the United States, but has shifted the focus of her legislation to our nation’s refuges.

In Remembrance

With the death of Teddy Goldsmith on August 17, a towering tree has fallen in the thin remaining forest of visionaries and inspired amateurs who pioneered today’s environmental and humane movements.

Reviews

In her book Filling the Ark , the University of Colorado at Boulder’s Associate Professor of Sociology, Leslie Irvine, asks the question "When a disaster strikes, who should enter the ark?"
In the Wizard of Oz there is a scene in which Dorothy is in her house as it swirls in the tornado. She stands before her window and a cast of characters, friends and foes...