August 2, 2022 Famagusta Gazette Europe 0

As of today, one million EU citizens have signed the End Animal Testing European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI); an enormous political push for animals in laboratories.

Cruelty Free Europe joined forces with over 100 other animal protection organisations across the EU to launch the #EndAnimalTesting ECI which calls for a Europe-wide plan to bring animal experiments to an end in Europe. Today marks the collection of one million signatures – a huge milestone for these forgotten animals.

Kerry Postlewhite, Cruelty Free Europe’s Director of Public Affairs, says: “One million signatures is a phenomenal milestone, but animals who continue to suffer in cruel and outdated experiments need so much more. We have built the largest-ever coalition to end animal experiments and are phenomenally proud of this collaborative effort.

“However, the fight to get dogs, cats, monkeys, rabbits, guinea pigs and other animals out of laboratories isn’t over yet. We need to keep collecting signatures to ensure that Europe’s lawmakers understand just how important this matter is to EU citizens.”

Over the last eleven months, the campaign has held events throughout the EU, obtained media coverage in international newspapers and run innovative digital campaigns – enabling all EU citizens to add their names to this compassionate movement.

Postlewhite continues: “EU citizens have just one more month to sign this ground-breaking initiative and send an overwhelming message that the people of Europe care. Together, we demand an end to animal suffering and a faster transition to humane, human-relevant, animal-free testing and research.”

In 2019, there was a total of 10.5 million uses of animals in Europe’s laboratories according to the legislation governing animal experiments in the EU. Out of the 10.5 million uses, 41% were considered by the researchers to have caused moderate or severe suffering to the animals involved.

2019 saw a shocking 19% increase in LD50 (Lethal Dose 50) tests on mice. These tests aim to find the dose of a substance that kills 50% of the animals involved.

The ECI will bring about a seismic shift in science in the EU, with the potential to benefit animals, the economy and humans. BIO, the world’s largest trade association representing biotechnology companies, academic institutions, state biotechnology centres and related organisations in more than 30 other nations, reports that 92% of drugs fail in human trials even though they passed pre-clinical tests, including animal tests.

Urology drugs now have the lowest success rate (only 4% are approved after entering clinical trials), followed by heart drugs (5%), cancer drugs (5%) and neurology drugs (6%).

Postlewhite said: “It is high time we put a stop to animals suffering and dying in cruel experiments in Europe.”

http://famagusta-gazette.com/2022/08/02/one-million-eu-citizens-make-history-for-animals-in-laboratories/

By PATRICK WHITTLE, Associated Press – 6h ago

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PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Federal regulators who want to enforce new vessel speed rules to help protect rare whales can expect some pushback from ship operators.

© Provided by Associated PressFILE – A North Atlantic right whale appears at the surface on March 28, 2018, off the coast of Plymouth, Mass. Federal regulators who want to enforce new vessel speed rules to help protect rare whales can expect some pushback from ship operators. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Marine Fisheries Service is holding a series of informational meetings on the new rules, including one scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2022. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer, File)

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced the new proposed rules, which are designed to protect the last remaining North Atlantic right whales, last month. The rules would expand seasonal slow zones off the East Coast, and require more vessels to comply with the rules.

The agency’s National Marine Fisheries Service is holding a series of informational meetings on the new rules, including one scheduled for Aug. 16. Some shipping and maritime groups said they have concerns the rules could make their jobs more difficult or less safe.

The American Pilots’ Association is concerned the new rules would make operations more hazardous for pilot boats, said Clayton Diamond, executive director of the group. Pilot boats transport maritime pilots to and from larger ships, often in bad weather and at carefully calculated speeds, Diamond said.

“We think that the NOAA/NMFS proposal to apply the speed restriction to pilot boats is unwise and unsafe,” Diamond said, adding that the group “strongly” supports protecting marine mammals.

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The agency isn’t commenting on industry concerns during the rulemaking process, said Allison Ferreira, a NOAA spokesperson.

“We take all comments into consideration in the development of final regulations,” Ferreira said.

Another group, the Chamber of Shipping of America, is also concerned that slowing down in bad weather could be dangerous for ships, said its president, Kathy Metcalf. Metcalf said the group “welcomes any new proposals as long as they are based on the best available facts.”

The whales number less than 340 and have been declining in population in recent years. They were once numerous off the East Coast, but were decimated during the commercial whaling era. More recently, warming oceans and changing availability of food have emerged as new challenges.

Two of the biggest threats the whales face are ship collisions and entanglement in fishing gear. Previous rule changes intended to aid the whales in recent years have focused heavily on the American lobster fishing industry.

NOAA is also taking written public comments on the proposed ship rules until Sept. 30. The final rule would follow the public comment process.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2022/08/12/splooting-squirrel-meaning-definition-new-york/

By Adela Suliman

EXCERPTS

LONDON — People strolling through New York City’s parks may be stopped in their tracks this summer by a squirrel sprawled out, face down, limbs outstretched and lying still. Don’t be alarmed, says the city’s Department of Parks and Recreation. They’re just “splooting.”

A tweet by the parks agency earlier this week went viral online, confusing and delighting people in equal measure, after it advised: “If you see a squirrel lying down like this, don’t worry; it’s just fine.” It added that “on hot days, squirrels keep cool by splooting (stretching out) on cool surfaces to reduce body heat. It is sometimes referred to as heat dumping.”

Veterinarians and animal experts believe the animals assume the pose to beat the heat, extending their surface area to cool down.The tweet by the parks agency in New York, where temperatures have soared this summer, prompted others to share images online of their pets splooting.

According to the Gilbertsville Veterinary Hospital about 40 miles northeast of Philadelphia, a number of animals can showcase a variety of splooting positions depending on their flexibility.

The “Classic Sploot,” it says on its website, is where one leg remains beneath the body while the other leg is kicked back. In the “Side Sploot,” one leg is tucked under the body while the other is kicked out to the side. Then there is the “Full Sploot,” in which the animals kicks both legs behind the body, exhibiting a full-body stretch.

Splooting can be good for animals’ muscles and hips as part of a stretch, it adds, and the posture also lets them cool down by pressing their bellies on cold surfaces.

In the United Kingdom, the phenomenon is known more commonly as “pancaking,” squirrel expert Natalia Doran told The Post. “But we’re speaking about the same body position. We see it all the time in our rescue squirrels,” she said.

Doran runs Urban Squirrels, a London-based rescue and advocacy group that helps injured and orphaned squirrels.

“That really spread-eagling position is not a worry — they’re just cooling themselves,” she said. “However lethargic and immobile they look, they’re fine.”

By contrast, if a squirrel appears to be lying still and on its side, that could indicate it is unwell, and if it is curled up in a tight ball position, it could be cold, Doran added.

Although the splooting position may be a “cute” way for squirrels to cool themselves, she cautioned that in the longer term, climate change is a serious concern and could hurt the species in Britain and elsewhere.

Jackie Foott of the British Red Squirrel forum, which works to conserve the minority breed, agreed that the pose is a common sight among the species and other animals.

“All animals will do it. They’ll go to a shady place and lay out flat,” she told The Post. “The obvious thing is they’re increasing the surface of their body so that the excess heat can disperse.”

The majority of squirrels in New York’s parks are eastern gray squirrels. Mostly active in the daytime, they can be seen twitching and darting around for nuts, seeds and berries, using their excellent sense of smell.

The mammals can grow between nine and 12 inches long and weigh around 20 ounces. They commonly reside in a “drey,” a type of nest made of leaves. They stay in small family groups and live about three to five years in the city or up to 10 years in rural settings.

They can also bite.

Splooting can also occur among young birds, according to the New York parks service, such as the “juvenile red-tailed hawk,” known to demonstrate a “full sploot at times.”

“However, birds do not usually lie down as it leaves them vulnerable,” it added. “Instead, they will perch and fluff their feathers and hold out their wings to allow air to flow through and cool off.”

The U.S. National Park Service also said the hot weather has given rise to “Sploot Season,” and it encouraged its four-legged inhabitants this summer, “Sploot like nobody’s watching.”