I just received this information on pets and the H1N1 flu virus from the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA). This information is frequently updated, so you can keep an eye on things by using the links I provided below. /Gary

American Veterinary Medical Association Updates H1N1 Flu Resources for Pet Owners, Veterinarians

SCHAUMBURG, Ill., Nov. 5 – Since the news broke of a house cat in Iowa testing positive for the 2009 H1N1 influenza virus, pet owners and veterinarians alike have been scrambling to learn more:

Can my pet get sick? What would the symptoms of H1N1 in cats be? How is it identified? How is it treated?

The AVMA has been in constant contact with experts and agencies across the country to learn more about this case and share this information with the public and veterinarians. The results of these efforts are now available on the AVMA’s Web site, where those wanting to learn more can access continuously updated “Frequently Asked Questions” on the 2009 H1N1 influenza virus, how the virus might affect pets, and what veterinarians should know when talking with clients and treating patients.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ON PETS AND THE 2009 H1N1 FLU VIRUS:

http://www.avma.org/public_health/influenza/new_virus/new_flu_virus_faq_pet_owners.asp

ADDITIONAL FREQUENTLY UPDATED INFORMATION ON H1N1:

http://www.avma.org/public_health/influenza/new_virus

I wondered if this would pass.That’s good news, especially for cats that don’t want their “fingers” cut off!

I thought the information below might interest you. Just received this press release from the Paw Project, one of the leading sponsors of anti-declawing measures in the state. /Gary

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – The San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted 9-2 on Tuesday to make non-therapeutic declawing of cats illegal within the County of San Francisco.  Based on recommendations made by the city’s Animal Control and Welfare Commission and City Operations and Neighborhood Services Committee, today’s measure, passed on its first reading, makes San Francisco the third city in California to ban the procedure.

“We are doing the right thing,” stated Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, who introduced the proposed measure and has publicly called the practice of declawing “animal cruelty.”

The issue of declawing has recently become a priority to several California cities because of a recently passed California State law (SB 762), which will make it unlawful, after the end of the year, for California cities to pass similar laws. On Oct. 27, Santa Monica voted 6-1 in favor of an anti-declawing measure that is likely to be approved at a second reading on November 10. This week, the Public Safety Committee of the Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously to recommend an ordinance banning declaw surgeries.  Berkeley and Beverly Hills are scheduled to vote on similar ordinances within the week.

“We applaud these cities for acting with compassion for the animals.  We hope that these measures bring the harmful effects of declawing to the attention of the public and make an impact on anyone considering declawing a cat in other California cities,” said Jennifer Conrad, DVM and founder of the Paw Project, an animal advocacy organization that has been the leading sponsor of anti-declawing measures in California. As a result of the Paw Project’s efforts, California now bans declawing of captive wild and exotic cats and the USDA forbids its nationwide licensees from declawing exotic and wild animals. The Paw Project also sponsored the West Hollywood declaw ban in 2003.

Often performed without post-operative pain medication using a small instrument resembling a cigar cutter, the procedure of declawing is the amputation of the last bone in each of a cat’s toes. The procedure can be painful and often results in long-term physical problems such as lameness and infection, as well as behavioral problems including biting and litter box avoidance. These behaviors often lead pets to be relinquished to shelters.

Routinely performed in the U.S. to prevent cats from scratching furniture, declawing surgery is not performed in much of the world. It is illegal the United Kingdom, Germany and Switzerland, and several other countries. In countries where it is not illegal, such as Australia, professional veterinary associations consider it unethical. Numerous animal protection organizations support ordinances to ban declawing, including the Humane Society Veterinary Medical Association, League of Humane Voters, United Animal Nations, Born Free USA and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

After the City of West Hollywood passed its anti-declaw ordinance in 2003, the California Veterinary Medical Association (CVMA) filed a lawsuit contending that West Hollywood did not have the legal right to regulate the practice of veterinary medicine. The California Courts ultimately ruled in favor of West Hollywood, declaring that the city had the right to prohibit acts that it considers animal cruelty. To circumvent the Court’s decision, the CVMA sponsored SB 762, which would prevent declaw bans passed after Dec. 3, by making it unlawful for a city or county to “prohibit a healing arts licensee from engaging in any act or performing any procedure that falls within the professionally recognized scope of practice of that licensee.”

“SB762 has left us with a limited window, and as a result, cities considering the declaw ban have made the issue a top priority before their time runs out,” said Dr. Conrad.

The CVMA remains the most vocal opponent of declawing bans, and its representatives have been present at nearly every hearing on the matter to argue that prohibiting declaw surgeries would result in more cats being relinquished to shelters and that scratches from cats impose health risks on immunocompromised individuals, arguments that are contradicted by experts and scientific studies.

Infectious disease specialists and epidemiologists do not recommend declawing to protect the health of HIV-positive and other immunocompromised individuals. Such individuals are at an increased risk of infection from cat bites since declawed cats, robbed of their primary defense, are more likely to bite. On the issue of the effect of cat scratches on immunocompromised people, Dr. Harry Lampiris, MD, Chief of Infection Control and Acting Chief of Infectious Diseases at San Francisco VA Medical Center explained, “Skin infections from many sources occur in patients without cats, and rarely does an AIDS patient present with a serious cat scratch. If a cat scratch becomes infected, the infection is easily treated.” Dr. Lampiris is in favor of HIV/AIDS patients keeping their cats, and stated, “There is no medical justification whatsoever to declaw a cat living with an HIV/AIDS patient.”

Published studies have reported that declawed cats are nearly twice as likely to be relinquished to shelters due to post-operative behavioral problems such as biting and litterbox aversion. A majority of operators of animal rescue organizations and shelters speaking in support of declaw bans have testified that declawed cats in their care are harder to place in adoptive homes because of these behavioral issues.

“This is a real victory for the cats. We are just scratching the surface, and we have a lot more to accomplish.  We hope these measures encourage other U.S. cities to do the right thing for the animals,” said Conrad. “Cats rely on their claws for their physiological health, emotional well being and psychological security; declawing them amounts to animal cruelty.”

Los Angeles will cast its final vote on its proposed declaw ban on Nov. 6, Santa Monica’s final hearing takes place on Nov.10, and Beverly Hills will hold its first City Council hearing on the matter on Nov.5. Berkeley is also considering the matter; hearing date to be announced. For more information about the public hearings, and to learn about alternatives to declawing, please visit http://www.pawproject.org or call Jennifer Conrad, DVM, at 310-795-6215.

In response to a bunker fuel spill in San Francisco Bay last Friday that resulted in a mile-long slick, Friends of the Earth renewed its call for a ban on the use of this highly polluting fuel in ships and for other protective measures.

“As Bay Area residents learned in the aftermath of the Cosco Busan spill in 2007, bunker fuel is a filthy sludge that literally comes from the bottom of the barrel when oil is refined,” said Marcie Keever, director of Friends of the Earth’s Clean Vessels program. “We should have learned our lesson in 2007 and moved away from bunker fuel to cleaner fuel. Any further delay is unconscionable.”

Cleanup crews work to remove oil from Crown Beach on Monday Nov. 2, in Alameda, Calif. (Aric Crabb/Staff)

Bunker fuel is a waste product of refining oil and is more than 1,000 times dirtier than the diesel used in trucks and buses. Bunker fuel pollutes the air, harms human health, and causes global warming. Unlike cleaner marine distillate, when spilled, bunker fuel’s viscous nature results in little to no evaporation or dissolution and it therefore persists longer in the marine environment than other fuels do, wreaking more extensive harm on wildlife and marine resources.

Thousands of activists have signed Friends of the Earth’s petition demanding that Congress require a complete phaseout of bunker fuel use nationwide. Friends of the Earth is also working in support of the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed air pollution standards that would likely phase out the use of bunker fuel in ships and reduce harmful pollutants by 80 percent or more by 2030, preventing between 13,000 and 33,000 premature deaths each year.

Friends of the Earth also called today for the enactment of protective measures for San Francisco Bay that are similar to those put in place in Puget Sound in Washington State after numerous bunker fuel spills threatened those waters. Vessels should be required to set out protective booms prior to the transfer of fuel while anchored in order to minimize the spread of spills if they happen and to provide advance notice of this type of fueling in order to allow for a more rapid response in case of a spill.

“Deploying booms nearly four hours after a spill occurs, which reports indicate occurred today, is completely unacceptable,” Keever said.

Last Friday’s spill occurs almost two years to the day after the disastrous Cosco Busan spill of November 2007. These accidents demonstrate the continued risks that the use of bunker fuel poses to marine life and the health of San Francisco Bay.

READ MORE ON THIS:

** Proposed EPA rules that would likely phase out the use of bunker fuel in U.S. waters: http://www.foe.org/ship-shape-imo-and-emission-control-areas

** Congressional testimony about bunker fuel from Friends of the Earth and the Clean Air Task Force: http://www.foe.org/BunkerFuelBan/BunkerFuelTestimony.pdf

YOU CAN HELP:

** Online petition calling for bunker fuel ban: http://action.foe.org/petition.jsp?petition_KEY=816

I found the information below in the latest issue, Oct. 29, of the weekly e-newsletter of the Center for Biological Diversity, /Gary

The Center for Biological Diversity today announced the long-awaited winner of their 2009 Rubber Dodo Award:

** Real-estate bigwig Michael Winer.

As portfolio manager for the giant real-estate firm TAREX, Winer is a main man behind the largest developments in California and Florida, which would destroy tens of thousands of acres of endangered species habitat.

In California, TAREX is leading the Tejon Ranch in building two entire new cities, destroying thousands of acres of federally designated “critical habitat” for the endangered California condor.

California condor photo courtesy US Fish & Wildlife Service/Scott Frier.

Tejon is also home to the California red-legged frog, San Joaquin kit fox, and other protected species on California’s precious Tejon Ranch.

In Florida, TAREX is investing in the St. Joe Company’s cursing of the Florida Panhandle with tens of thousands of acres of high-end developments.

More about the Rubber Dodo Award:http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/press_releases/2009/rubber-dodo-10-29-2009.html

More about campaign to save Tejon Ranch: http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/campaigns/save_tejon_ranch/index.html

More about campaign to save the California condor: http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/species/birds/California_condor/index.html

Keep your pets safe on Halloween:
** Keep pets safely inside away from trick-or-treaters and other Halloween activities.

** Make certain that all pets are wearing collars with ID tags, especially indoor pets. Frequently opened doors tonight provide perfect opportunities for escape, despite our best efforts.

** Keep candy out of your pet’s reach. Candy can be harmful to pets and chocolate is toxic to dogs, cats, and ferrets.

** If you’re going trick-or-treating, leave the family dog at home. Dogs can be difficult to control with all those crazy ghosts and goblins running around them. A lost pet or a dog bite will quickly end your Halloween fun.

** Keep decorations away from pets. Candle flames might set fire to a pet’s fur. Dangling decorations should be kept in high places to avoid pet entanglement, choking and other potentially life-threatening hazards.

** Use fake cobwebs sparingly, if at all. Pets can choke on them.

** The only costume most pets want to wear is their own furry birthday suit. If your pet wears a costume, make sure it doesn’t restrict movement and supervise your pet carefully.

Have fun when you’re out trick-or-treating Saturday night! Stay on the sidewalk and watch out for cars. /Gary

Gary:
I’d like to share with your readers my special garden lady, “Ms. Spinneret.” She is a beautiful pumpkin orange and if you look closely at her back you will see she has a Jack-O-Lantern face, ready for Halloween.

Trick-or-treat, anyone?
Wally Wood, Livermore, CA

Wally:
Beautiful! A Jack-O-Lantern Spider!

What will Mother Nature think of next?! /Gary

Ms. Spinneret, sitting on her web, comes with a built-in fly swatter

Astoria, Oregon — Coast Guard members from Air Station Sacramento, California, load cold and wet seabirds suffering from exposure onto an HC-130 plane for transport to International Bird Rescue Research Center (IBRRC) in Fairfield, California. The federally protected loons, murrers, scoters and other seabirds were rescued by the Wildlife Center of the North Coast in Astoria, after becoming soiled by unusual sea slime caused by a harmful algae bloom along the Oregon coastline. (U.S. Coast Guard video by Petty Officer Shawn Eggert)

The staff and volunteers at IBRRC are having trouble covering the costs of saving these large numbers of distressed seabirds. You can help — please do! http://www.ibrrc.org/donate.html

Thanks for caring.You can find out lots more about this in yesterday’s (Tuesday) blog. /Gary

The International Bird Rescue Research Center needs your help. So do a lot of seabirds that are in BIG trouble.

I just got a call from my friend Jay Holcomb, executive director of International Bird Rescue Research Center.

Jay works out of IBRRC’s bird center in Fairfield. When the Cosco Busan hit the Bay Bridge on Nov. 7, 2007, and spilled oil in the Bay, the oiled birds were taken to IBRRC for care. In my opinion, Jay and his staff and volunteers are the best in the business when it comes to caring for oiled and distressed seabirds. Jay travels all over the world to assist and advise when there’s a big spill.

Boxes full of slimed seabirds arrive at IBRRC in Fairfield to get help. (Cheryl Reynolds, Concord)

Right now, wildlife rescue centers in Oregon and Washington are overwhelmed with epidemic numbers of wet, cold and dying seabirds that have been soiled by an unusual sea slime.

Loon stranded by deadly sea foam along Oregon coast. (P. Chilton/Coastal Observation and Seabird Survey Team)

To give them a hand, on Sunday about 200 of the slimed seabirds were transported from Portland, OR, by van down to IBRRC in Fairfield. LOTS more are coming.

They’ve seen an increase in unusual events like this one, sparking concern. In Nov., 2007, hundreds of soaked marine birds were stranded in Monterey. IBRRC says what was then a mystery can now be blamed on an abundance of a certain phytoplankton — a harmful algae bloom. The cause for their growing abundance is still in question.

Surf scoter gets a bath (Cheryl Reynolds, Concord)

In this most recent case, a particular species of phytoplankton, typically seen off the California coastline, was found in northern waters in VERY high numbers, potentially linked to warmer than usual water temperature. Stormy weather churned the stuff into a soap-like foam. I’m told that for aquatic birds, this can be deadly.

Feather structure and overlapping alignment is what insulates a bird from water and wind. When something disrupts this, whether oil, dirt, or a surfactant like this, the bird is exposed to the elements and quickly becomes wet and cold. If they don’t get to land, they’ll drown. Many already have.

Washing slime off a surf scoter. (Cheryl Reynolds, Concord)

Because of the huge number of casualties, IBRRC is treating this emergency as an oil spill, with one significant difference — there is no oil. This means that there is no responsible party and therefore no financial support out there for their rescue effort.

“We are very fortunate that the State of California has created two incredible oiled wildlife rescue facilities and that they can be used to help these birds,” Jay said. “But since this is not an oil spill, IBRRC will need to pay the cost of transportation and care, so we are asking the public to please contribute and help us save these birds.”

They need your help to save these beautiful birds. IBRRC is a nonprofit organization and they need to find $50,000 to pay for their care (medication, food for the birds and other supplies and equipment). They can only do this with your help.

Loons sit on sponge “donuts” to protect their breast bones (keels) from sores. Feet also have booties for protection (Paul Kelway/IBRRC)

You can give them that help they need by going online to http://www.ibrrc.org where you’ll find different ways to donate:

Donate online via PayPal: http://www.ibrrc.org/donate_online.html

Donate by check or money order: http://www.ibrrc.org/donate_check.html

Other ways you can help: http://www.ibrrc.org/donate.html

You can also stay tuned and  keep up-to-date on what’s happening: http://www.ibrrc.org/algae-slime-response-2009.html

Please help, I suspect that everything they learn from caring for these birds, they will be able to apply to our own nearby coastline when this problem eventually happens again down here and local seabirds will need to be rescued and cared for from our own local shores. And I’m sure this will happen.

Thanks for caring! /Gary

Here’s an update from friends of the Earth on what’s being done to STOP cruise ships from dumping millions of gallons of sewage into California’s coastal waters, and in other fragile spots around the world. It’s about time!! /Gary

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE from Friends of the Earth:
Senator Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) and Representative Sam Farr (D-Calif.) introduced legislation on Wednesday (Oct. 21) that would prevent cruise ships from dumping sewage and other waste into coastal waters.

“Cruise ships are currently allowed to dump raw sewage just three nautical miles from shore. This practice is not only disgusting, it can threaten the public health, coastal tourism, fishing economies, and marine ecosystems,” said Neesha Kulkarni, Legislative Associate at Friends of the Earth. “Advanced technology is available to treat this waste, but the cruise industry has failed to install this equipment on a majority of its ships. The Clean Cruise Ship Act would put a stop to this practice and hold the cruise industry accountable.”

The Clean Cruise Ship Act would establish a no-dumping zone in waters within 12 nautical miles of U.S. shores and strengthen outdated standards for treatment of waste outside of this zone. The bill would also establish an onboard monitoring program to ensure that ships comply with the law.

“Big cruise ships make for big pollution; it’s an unavoidable truth. Unfortunately, responsible disposal of that waste hasn’t always been a given. The cruise ship industry is way overdue to take responsibility for its actions,” Rep. Farr said. “The Monterey Peninsula saw what happens when things go wrong when thousands of gallons of wastewater were dumped off our coastline. It’s ironic that the cruise industry relies on a clean ocean and pristine coastlines for its livelihood, but doesn’t put in the effort to sustain them. This carelessness must not be allowed to continue.”

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, over the last decade the cruise industry has grown nearly twice as fast as any other travel industry. Average ship size has grown about 90 feet every five years and some ships now carry as many as 7,000 passengers and crew. In one week alone, an average cruise ship (3,000 passengers) can generate 200,000 gallons of sewage and 1 million gallons of graywater (water from showers, floor drains, and kitchens).

More information about cruise ship pollution and the bill can be found at http://www.foe.org/air-and-water/clean-cruise-ship-act

Friends of the Earth (http://www.foe.org) is the U.S. voice of the world’s largest grassroots environmental network, with member groups in 70 countries. Since 1969, Friends of the Earth has been at the forefront of high-profile efforts to create a more just and healthy world.