If you have not done so, please change your RSS subscriptions or bookmarks.

Thank You.

Please bookmark and/or subscribe again to the new web address.

Thanks to everyone who has been or will be visiting the blog – which has a primary mission of spreading news and information concerning animal welfare.

Veterinary Practice News offered an update Thursday on the PUPS Act (Puppy Uniform Protection and Safety Act). We haven’t heard much of late about this proposed legislation.

If passed into law, this legislation would amend the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) by requiring “high volume retail breeders” to be federally licensed and regularly inspected. It seems basically the regulations would apply to any breeder sells more than 50 puppies each year by Internet, telephone or newspaper.

I’ve been thinking about a post such as this for some time and I’m finally getting around to it. I’m really troubled by the vision of dogs crammed into cages in puppy mills, living day after day with no access to anything such as playtime or compassion.

So I want to develop a list of things puppy mill dogs never get to do.

A Portland, Ore. dog is a top-10 finalist for the Dogs of Valor award sponsored by the Humane Society of the United States.

Ceili is a 15-year-old lab-mix who hounded (no pun … okay pun intended) one of her guardians for much of one August day. As reported by The Oregonian, Ceili followed Danny Fincher from room to room, licked his arms and legs and sniffed his breath.

The story posted on the St. Louis Business Journal website reports the Missouri Senate gave a preliminary thumbs up Tuesday to a new bill that could make drastic changes to the anti-puppy mill measure known as Proposition B.

If the bill gets past the State House and the governor’s signature, it would eliminate the 50-dog limit for breeders and decriminalizes the violations voted into law last November by voters.

The North Carolina Chapter of the Humane Society of the United States is reporting that the North Carolina Department of Agriculture has submitted a budget proposal that includes cutting the state’s Animal Welfare Division.

The Natural and Economic Resources subcommittees are due to consider this proposal. North Carolina Voters For Animal Welfare (NCVAW) has set up a link to the legislators in the Appropriations Committees and the subcommittees considering this topic.

The Animal Welfare Division has oversight over shelters, boarding kennels, pet stores and rescues organizations.

PACK MENTALITY BLOG

I will still post here during the transition, to give everyone a chance to find and switch over to the new site.

IMPORTANT – If you have subscribed or bookmarked this site, you might want to go to the new address and change those settings.

It is believed the hens are showing empathy. The hens were separated from the chicks during the experiments but were in close proximity. When puffs of air were directed at the chicks, the hens “responded more intensely with a stress response equivalent to fight-or-flight behavior,” according to the article.

This happened even though the chicks were not uttering distress calls, leaving researchers to rule out a typical “protective-mom response.” The hens reacted with a far lesser response when the air was directed at them.

I believe this is another important finding that not only shows animals experience empathy – along with other emotions – but also indicates self-awareness and state of consciousness. And the study is important because it expands the study of emotion beyond mammals, where we typically see studies of this order conducted.

And this certainly serves as more evidence for banning the practice of battery cages on factory farms or other practices that put the chickens in distress.

I also like it that Bristol researcher Joanne Edgar was quoted as saying – “It’s very fascinating to find out about the emotional lives of animals, but also it’s highly relevant for animal welfare.”

Studies on animals with a direct concern for welfare – we need more of this.

First, let’s go to the two letters to the editor that appeared on the Kansas City Star website. These letters relate to an effort in the Missouri legislature to overturn Prop B, which passed by a vote of the people.

The first letter-writer wonders if some those wishing to overturn the measure might “operate their own puppy mills.” And she adds – “Why were we even given the opportunity to vote if our opinion means nothing?“

Letter No. 2 makes the point – “It’s easy to see why some veterinarians, such as a recent letter-writer, are against Proposition B. They’ve made a lot of money over the years on the puppies from these puppy mills.”

And finally, we have an article from the Detroit Free Press about the arraignments of 24 individuals accused of attending a dog fight.

From the story – ” Police raided the home early Sunday morning and said they found a dogfighting pit in the garage, drugs, money a handgun and two mortally-wounded pit bulls. “

One sheriff’s deputy said there was blood everywhere, but it seems at least of couple of the accused claim they didn’t know a dog fight was going to occur. (Right, okay – what comedian was it who said criminals should just try saying something like – “I forgot armed robbery was a crime.”)