Sunday, August 27th 2023 – 14:17 UTC

Full article0 comments

https://googleads.g.doubleclick.net/pagead/ads?client=ca-pub-0810421337684776&output=html&h=90&slotname=1536294251&adk=2051061987&adf=1638613890&pi=t.ma~as.1536294251&w=728&lmt=1693598666&format=728×90&url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.mercopress.com%2F2023%2F08%2F27%2Fmar-del-plata-breakwater-closed-due-to-sea-lions-dying-of-bird-flu&wgl=1&uach=WyJXaW5kb3dzIiwiMTUuMC4wIiwieDg2IiwiIiwiMTE2LjAuMTkzOC42MiIsW10sMCxudWxsLCI2NCIsW1siQ2hyb21pdW0iLCIxMTYuMC41ODQ1LjExMSJdLFsiTm90KUE7QnJhbmQiLCIyNC4wLjAuMCJdLFsiTWljcm9zb2Z0IEVkZ2UiLCIxMTYuMC4xOTM4LjYyIl1dLDBd&dt=1693598664422&bpp=1&bdt=586&idt=2368&shv=r20230830&mjsv=m202308300101&ptt=9&saldr=aa&abxe=1&cookie=ID%3D32c48d951883e546-222e2bbbfedf00c0%3AT%3D1692829751%3ART%3D1692829751%3AS%3DALNI_MYvT9Ni8JlL8K9-gs9tORarxsA4Zw&gpic=UID%3D000009b8cdaef7b6%3AT%3D1692829751%3ART%3D1692829751%3AS%3DALNI_MZs3XLJh6bq6C0qbDvK3P8nmbjfMA&prev_fmts=0x0%2C900x90&nras=1&correlator=4787654754440&frm=20&pv=1&ga_vid=2128230573.1692829751&ga_sid=1693598667&ga_hid=1067924182&ga_fc=1&u_tz=-420&u_his=1&u_h=864&u_w=1536&u_ah=816&u_aw=1536&u_cd=24&u_sd=1.25&dmc=8&adx=176&ady=637&biw=1511&bih=708&scr_x=0&scr_y=0&eid=44759875%2C44759842%2C44759926%2C31076838%2C31077550&oid=2&pvsid=397509794616086&tmod=1578519171&wsm=1&uas=0&nvt=1&ref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F&fc=1920&brdim=0%2C0%2C0%2C0%2C1536%2C0%2C1536%2C816%2C1528%2C708&vis=2&rsz=%7C%7CeEr%7C&abl=CS&pfx=0&fu=0&bc=31&ifi=3&uci=a!3&fsb=1&xpc=KO2xgqH589&p=https%3A//en.mercopress.com&dtd=2375

Coast Guard and port authorities in the Argentine beach resort of Mar del Plata Saturday closed the South breakwater after the National Service of Agrifood Health and Quality (Senasa) confirmed two cases of the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) H5 in sea lions in the area where 4 dead specimens were found.

 A fence was to be placed to keep people from approaching the animals, while an operation was deployed to prevent pedestrian traffic along the south breakwater, it was also reported. Senasa experts are holding meetings with municipal, provincial, and national institutions along the Atlantic coast to lay out an intervention protocol for these situations.

So far, more than 30 dead sea lions have been counted on the coast of Mar del Plata. Similar situations have been reported on the Buenos Aires province’s Atlantic coast in places such as Necochea and Balnerario Orense, in addition to various locations along Argentine Patagonia (Puerto Loyola, Viedma, Tierra del Fuego). (Read also: https://en.mercopress.com/en.mercopress.com/2023/08/23/sea-lions-in-necochea-died-of-avian-flu2023/08/23/sea-lions-in-necochea-died-of-avian-flu)

Hence, Senasa issued a recommendation “not to handle dead animals or animals with suspicious symptoms” nor “visit poultry establishments or wild animal settlements after having been in contact with dead animals or animals that have presented symptoms” compatible with the malady.

In Senasa’s expert opinion, “sea lions contract the disease from sick wild birds” releasing the virus through their excretions. “In the sea lion colonies there is a lot of contact between seabirds and also with marine mammals, the fecal matter is distributed everywhere,” the agency noted.

The specialists argue that “it is a matter of research, and we are working with other countries with the same findings to determine if there were mutations of the virus that are being transmitted from mammal to mammal.”

“On Wednesday, two samples were taken at the South breakwater. Upon registering the positive cases, we asked for cooperation from the Coast Guard so that there is a sanitary control zone of 3 kilometers,” Senasa Regional Director Manuel Baldovino said.

So far, three dead sea lions yielded negative laboratory results for avian flu. But positive cases were found in Río Grande (Tierra del Fuego); in Antarctica; in the Punta Bermeja Natural Protected Area (Río Negro); in Necochea (province of Buenos Aires), and in Punta Loyola (Santa Cruz).

Senasa also explained that the recent detections in marine mammals do not affect the animal health status self-declared before the World Organization for Animal Health, where Argentina is recognized as a country free of HPAI H5 in poultry.

Late last week, Senasa confirmed that the sea lions in the Port of Quequén, Necochea, had contracted avian influenza. Other samples from 40 fur seals found dead on the beaches of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires (CABA) “are still under analysis.”

In addition, Río Negro Undersecretary of Environment and Climate Change of Río Negro Fabián Llanos told Télam that a restriction on the beaches at Punta Bermeja was determined as a precautionary measure.

https://thegoaspotlight.com/avian-influenza-which-affects-sea-lions-is-spreading-along-the-entire-coast-of-the-atlantic-ocean/
 

Trump’s VP remarks are a classic rope-a-dope to keep his challengers in line.

https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/trump-vivek-ramaswamy-vice-president-election-2024-rcna102730

04:23 /06:10TAP TO UNMUTE

Sept. 1, 2023, 3:00 AM PDT

By Zeeshan Aleem, MSNBC Opinion Writer/Editor

Former President Donald Trump is considering former biotech executive Vivek Ramaswamy as his pick for vice president.

At least that’s how the media is interpreting Trump’s recent comments to right-wing talk show host Glenn Beck about the upstart MAGA candidate. But if you consider Trump’s comments another way, his praise for Ramaswamy’s “talent” functions as a way to disarm his opposition and incentivize an obedient pack of 2024 challengers.

Trump’s approval also doubles as a signal to the other candidates in the race that flattery could be the best way to angle for a plum job in his administration.

Beck asked Trump on Tuesday what he thought of the idea of “Vice President Ramaswamy.”

“Well, I think he’s great. Look, anybody that says I’m the best president in a generation … I have to like a guy like that, I can’t get upset with him,” Trump said in response. “But he’s a smart guy. He’s a young guy. He’s got a lot of talent. He’s a very, very intelligent person. He’s got good energy. He could be some form of something, I tell ya. I think he’d be very good. I think he’s very good, I think he’s really distinguished himself.”

“He’s starting to get out there a little bit, he’s getting a little bit controversial, I got to tell him: ‘Be a little bit careful. Some things you have to hold in just a little bit, right?’” Trump added.

Three elements stand out from Trump’s statement.

First: It’s vague and noncommittal — the closest he gets to the idea of taking on Ramaswamy is that he “could be some form of something.” That language is broad enough that it could mean that Trump’s open to putting Ramaswamy somewhere in his administration, but that could be anywhere from a Cabinet position, an advisory role, to an obscure bureaucratic gig.

Molly Jong-Fast: Ramaswamy is all style, no substance

AUG. 31, 202309:06

Second: When discussing his approval of Ramaswamy, Trump conditions it on Ramaswamy’s fawning behavior and his mimicry of his ideas. Ramaswamy caters to Trump’s thirst for approbation and flattery, so it’s possible that that behavior makes Trump take him seriously as a potential recruit. But Trump’s approval also doubles as a signal to the other candidates in the race that flattery could be the best way to angle for a plum job in his administration. 

Not so incidentally, if all the other candidates try to stay on his good side, that will help Trump retain his dominant position in the primaries. Trump can neutralize his challengers by dangling the possibility of hiring them if they remain meek — but without ever committing to anything. 

More from MSNBC Daily

Must reads from Today’s list

DYSTOPIAN NIGHTMARE

I never want to have to create a front page like this again

Caitlyn Yaede

BEYOND HYPOCRISY

The Soros fellowship Vivek Ramaswamy doesn’t want you to know about

Emily Tamkin

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, at least, is unlikely to hold out for that possibility. In the 2016 primaries, he made a hugely surprising early endorsement of Trump in an apparent attempt to win consideration as a running mate or for some other high-level position in a future Trump administration. Trump considered the idea of Christie for Veep, but ultimately decided against it. Christie came away with nothing, even as others like former Texas Gov. Rick Perry were rewarded.

Third: The fact that even Trump (of all people) thinks Ramaswamy has too much of an appetite for controversy tells you how extreme Ramaswamy is — and suggests Trump knows better than to pick him as a running mate.

Trump revels in generating controversy himself, because he knows that it excites his base. But Trump has never liked being upstaged, and he also knows that controversy carries costs with mass appeal. While he personally might not be willing to change his behavior much, he may see a running mate who alienates even more people as a strategic liability. Consider Trump’s choice of Mike Pence for his first run — advisers and family convinced him that his best bet was a candidate who could unite the GOP. The decision was widely read as a rare moment when Trump catered to the political establishment, based on a calculation that Pence could help him appeal to the Christian right and navigate Washington more deftly.

It’s possible that Trump’s criteria for his running mate have changed. But that he’s openly saying that Ramaswamy goes too far suggests that Trump sees limitations to taking him on for Veep. That would be a judicious assessment. Ramaswamy is a smooth orator, but he has zero political experience, no sway in a battleground state that Trump needs, and his bombastic, cartoonish MAGA style is likely to further repel moderate suburban Republicans who are either suspicious of or dislike Trump. (Of course, it’s unclear at this point in his career how Trump can convince that set that he’s reformable or capable of compromise.)

Is Trump considering Ramaswamy as a vice president? It’s possible. But if you really listen to what he’s saying, the only thing we can be sure of is that he’s ensuring that his competition follows his commands.

by: AP

Posted: Aug 31, 2023 / 06:55 PM CDT

Updated: Aug 31, 2023 / 06:55 PM CDT

SHARE https://www.klfy.com/national/ap-prosecutor-asks-indiana-state-police-to-investigate-dog-deaths-in-uncooled-rear-of-truck/

CROWN POINT, Ind. (AP) — Prosecutors have asked Indiana State Police to investigate the recent deaths of at least eight dogs from heat-related injuries while being transported in the back of an uncooled box truck.

The dead dogs were discovered July 27 in Lake Station while the truck traveled from O’Hare International Airport in Chicago to a training facility in Michigan.

The animal rights group People for Ethical Treatment of Animals had called for a state police investigation, and the Lake County Prosecutor’s Office formally requested one Wednesday.

The dogs that died were among 18 shepherds in the truck.

The driver, whom police have not named, said he was unaware that the air conditioning in the cargo area of the truck had failed until he heard dogs barking. He pulled off Interstate 94 at a convenience store and gas station in Lake Station. When he opened the back, he found several dogs dead and others suffering. Several store employees and passersby stepped in to aid the dogs.

Jennifer Webber, executive director of the Humane Society of Hobart, responded to the scene and said the dogs displayed signs of heatstroke: salivating heavily, wobbling, vomiting and convulsing.

“There were already several dogs dead on the scene, and multiple failing fast,” Webber said at the time. “Their crates inside the truck were completely trashed on the inside, and the little water bowls were the size you’d give a parrot. And they were empty and torn up as if the dogs were exasperated.”

Webber said she encountered resistance when attempting to gather facts for her investigation. The police officer in charge of the scene told her she could leave because the deaths were an accident that “the owner will take care of.”

The owner, who was driving the vehicle, used abusive language, cursed at her and refused to produce health certificates, Webber said. Such paperwork is typically signed by veterinarians in each state involved and required to move dogs across borders for commerce.

Webber said she doubted a veterinarian would have approved travel that day when heat indices exceeded 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.8 Celsius).

BY WHATCOM NEWS ON AUGUST 31, 2023 9:37AM

FERNDALE, Wash. — Residents in Ferndale neighborhoods east of I-5 between W Smith and W Axton Roads report sightings of what appears to be a female black bear with 2 cubs.

Officials with the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife confirmed they have received a report of bears in the area and regional officers are currently planning to make attempts to trap the animals.

There have been no human-bear conflicts or depredations reported in the area. Unfortunately, once bears know about a non-natural food source they keep coming back and can lose their fear of humans. The most important action we can take is to remove food and other bear attractants. Whether relocation or lethal removal, removing the bear is not a long-term solution — if there’s food available other black bears will show up.

Some people are tempted to feed bears they find in their backyard or allow them to forage on their lawn or landscaping, thinking they are helping the bears. The truth is, feeding wildlife can cause more harm than good. Never attempt to provide food for black bears or allow them to be comfortable around people — this can lead to problems for both bears and people down the line (not to mention, it’s against the law).

Advertisement
Click for more information

Advertisement
Click for more information

Bears are naturally wary of humans but can overcome their fear when people reward them (intentionally or unintentionally!) with high-calorie food sources. Did you know they can smell food from over a mile away? With both temperatures and bear activity increasing, we’re asking for your help to secure unnatural food sources and reduce potential bear encounters.

Please take a moment to survey the outside of your home and remove common black bear attractants. Follow these tips to prevent attracting bears to your home and to avoid negative bear interactions this spring:

· Never intentionally feed bears or other backyard wildlife.

· Always keep garbage cans in a garage or a sturdy building until collection day.

· Take down seed, suet, and hummingbird feeders until late fall.

· Clean up fallen fruit or other possible attractants around your home.

· Remove pet food from wildlife-accessible areas and feed your pets inside.

· Thoroughly clean barbecue grills after each use and store them in a secure building.

· Cage and electric fence your domestic fowl and livestock pens.

· Avoid storing food in your car.

· If you see a bear on your property, please clap your hands loudly and shoo it away.

Dial 911 to report emergency predatory wildlife incidents.

For non-emergency poaching or violation reporting, or non-emergency predatory wildlife incidents, call 877-933-9847, or submit an online report. You can also text tips to 847411 (TIP411).Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife (August 31, 2023)