ISOBEL HOGTON - HORSE LISTENER
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Vets’ secret trade in dog body parts Proposed Control of Dogs (Scotland) Bill BREAKING NEWS: RSPCA Pulls Out of Crufts Dangerous compound in Cocoa shells for cats and dogs Vets’ secret trade in dog body parts www.greyhoundactionscotland.org.uk A CLINIC is killing healthy dogs and secretly selling their body parts to Britain’s most prestigious veterinary college for research, an investigation has found.The Royal Veterinary College (RVC) has a financial agreement with a vet’s practice which provides the organs from dogs on a regular basis. An undercover reporter posing as an owner found that staff at the Greyhound Clinic in Essex agreed to kill greyhounds for £30 each even though he told them the dogs had “nothing wrong with them”.The clinic is then paid by the college, which specifically insists the dogs must be healthy before being euthanased, for each animal from which it supplies parts. Alistair McLean, chief executive of the National Greyhound Racing Club (NGRC), the industry’s governing body, said he was “flabbergasted” by the trade in body parts. “This is completely and utterly unacceptable,” he said. “It is quite scandalous.” The RSPCA said: “We are shocked by this evidence which appears to show an opening for greyhounds to be systematically destroyed for profit. We certainly would not like to think that there was a financial incentive to ending a pet’s life.” Maureen Purvis, of the campaign group Greyhounds UK, compared the practice with that of Burke and Hare, the19th century bodysnatchers who killed people to provide corpses for dissection. “What this clinic is doing is the canine equivalent of that,” she said. “It is just absolute butchery.”Although the rules governing vets allow them to use their discretion on putting down healthy animals, in practice most are reluctant to do so.The NGRC states that its trainers should put dogs down only as a last resort. “Even a broken leg can often be mended but some trainers see it as simply more cost effective to have it put down,” said a racing insider.It is now apparent, however, that some veterinary practices also have a financial incentive to put dogs down without any medical reason. The Greyhound Clinic is in an Essex hamlet which is in effect a “greyhound village”. The clinic’s immediate neighbours are the kennels of at least six NGRC-registered trainers, two greyhound retirement homes and a practice racetrack.The undercover reporter called the clinic and spoke to Donna Atkins, the practice manager, saying he had two greyhounds he wanted putting down because he “had no room for them”. When the reporter arrived the next day, two students from the RVC, who introduced themselves as Demi and Rick, were waiting. The reporter, who said his dogs would arrive shortly with his brother, explained there was “nothing wrong with them” but the students appeared uninterested. Asked why they wanted the dogs’s lymph glands, Demi said: “We take tissue from healthy dogs and we look at the cells and put them in an artificial environment and use that to further our research.” The reporter left but not before paying Atkins £60 in advance to have the fictitious dogs put down. He was not asked to sign any forms and was at no time asked his name, phone number, address or any details as to why the dogs should be destroyed.He also asked Atkins if the RVC was paying the clinic to take body parts. “No, no, we work in conjunction with them. We all work together from all over the place. It’s part of their learning,” she said.John O’Connor, 65, head vet and director of the clinic, told the undercover reporter, who was now posing as an employee of a company wanting to procure canine organs, that he had an “exclusive” commercial contract with the RVC until November. After that he would review the situation and expected “at least £30 per canine part”. When contacted later by The Sunday Times O’Connor initially denied a financial agreement with the RVC but subsequently admitted invoicing the college at £10 per dog and being paid. www.basc.org.uk/content/gundogtheftarticle Proposed Control of Dogs (Scotland) Billwww.endangereddogs.com/EDDRScottishProposal.htm Puppy Farming : http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/Banpuppyfarming/ http://www.prodogsdirect.org.uk/puppy_farming_is_cruel.htm BREAKING NEWS: RSPCA Pulls Out of Crufts Posted By Freelance Writers Date: 15/09 Posted Under: Dog News The RSPCA has suspended plans for a stand at Crufts and is calling for new measures to tackle the unacceptably high levels of disability, deformity and disease that threaten pedigree dogs. In the wake of the BBC documentary Pedigree Dogs Exposed broadcast last month, the RSPCA has become increasingly concerned about the health and welfare of pedigree dogs - and this includes animals entered into ¡¥best of breed¡¦ classes in dog shows like Crufts. In the past, the RSPCA has staffed a stand at Crufts in order to promote general animal welfare issues. RSPCA chief veterinary adviser Mark Evans said: ¡§Dog shows using current breed standards as the main judging criteria actively encourage both the intentional breeding of deformed and disabled dogs and the inbreeding of closely related animals. There is compelling scientific evidence that the health and welfare of hundreds of thousands of pedigree dogs is seriously compromised as a result. From a dog health and welfare perspective, such shows are fundamentally flawed and do our much loved pedigree dogs no favours. Intentionally breeding deformed and disabled animals is morally unjustifiable and it has to stop. We want to see the emphasis shifted away from arbitrary appearance, so that health, welfare and temperament are considered first and foremost. We want to help ensure that pedigree dogs have the best possible chance of being fit, healthy and happy and well suited to the lives they will lead as pets. All those who benefit from pedigree dogs have a collective responsibility to solve what is now a very serious and totally unnecessary animal welfare problem - not just here in the UK, but around the world.¡¨ The RSPCA has commissioned an independent review of the science in this field, and will be discussing its findings with relevant experts and stakeholders later this year. Amongst a raft of specific recommendations, the following themes have been identified as possible ways forward: 1 An overhaul of the rules and requirements for pedigree dog registration and competitive dog showing (including breed standards). Health, welfare and temperament should be prioritised over appearance. We know that hundreds of thousands of dogs are vulnerable to illness, pain, disability and behavioural problems because they¡¦re primarily bred for how they look rather than with health, welfare and temperament in mind,¡¨ Mr Evans said. If things don¡¦t change pedigree dogs will continue to suffer unnecessarily, and their welfare will continue to decline ¡V this is totally unacceptable and can¡¦t be allowed to happen. Careful breeding with an emphasis on health, welfare, temperament and quality of life is the only way to ensure a positive future for the pedigree dog.¡¨ The RSPCA has also cancelled plans to attend the Discover Dogs show, due to take place in November. MARS and Animals testing :: October 2008 In only a few days, children around the world will be ringing doorbells and looking for Halloween treats. As scary as some of their costumes might be, the true horror this holiday will actually be the M&Ms, Snickers, or Skittles candies that lie in your child's candy bag. All these candies, along with many other candies sold under household names, are manufactured by Mars Inc., a company responsible for the deaths of numerous animals in unnecessary animal tests. * Rats have been force-fed chocolate chemicals and had needles jabbed directly into their still beating hearts. And these are only a few of the tests that Mars has funded. Perhaps most disturbingly of all, not one of Mars' experiments on animals is required by law. Thanks to PETA's hard work and pressure, many of the world's major food corporations—including Mars' chief rival, Hershey's, and Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Co—have pledged not to fund or conduct experiments on animals. But we cannot stop the torture of animals in laboratories without your immediate help. By giving online in this challenge today, your gift will be doubled to help stop Mars and other cruel corporations from conducting unnecessary tests on animals. You know how crucial our work in behalf of animals in laboratories is, and so do the vivisectors, corporate researchers, and government officials PETA confronts with the hard facts about flawed and useless animal tests. Our success in stopping these tests and saving animals' lives dates back to PETA's very first case more than 25 years ago, and with your help during this special online challenge, we can add Mars and many others to that list. But that success now depends on your caring and generosity. Please help us end the needless suffering of animals in tests for Mars and other companies by making a special online gift towards this challenge! Thank you for all that you do for animals. Dangerous compound in Cocoa shells for cats and dogs This message came to GRWE from Ali Taylor, Head of Welfare at Battersea Dogs Home: Yesterday one of our dog agility friends experienced a tragedy and wanted me to pass a special message along to all my dog loving friends and family. Please tell every dog owner you know. Over the weekend the doting owners of two young Labrador crosses purchased Cocoa Mulch from Target to use in their garden. It smelled lovely and was advertised as helping to keep cats away from the garden. Their dog Calypso decided that the mulch smelled good enough to eat and devoured a large helping. She vomited a few times which was typical when she eats something new but wasn't acting lethargic in any way. The next day, Mum woke up and took Calypso out for her morning walk. Half way through the walk Calypso had a seizure and died instantly. The mulch had NO warnings printed on the label or packaging but upon further investigation on the company's website, a notice was found saying this product is HIGHLY toxic to dogs and cats. Cocoa Mulch is manufactured by Hershey's, and they claim that "it is true that studies have shown that 50% of the dogs that eat Cocoa Mulch can suffer physical harm to a variety of degrees (depending on each individual dog). However, 98% of all dogs won't eat it." Cocoa Mulch, which is sold by Home Depot, Foreman's Garden Supply and other garden supply stores, contains a lethal ingredient called theobromine, which is also present in chocolate. Theobromine is lethal to dogs and cats. The cocoa mulch smells like chocolate and it really attracts dogs. Ingesting this stuff means a dog has little chance of survival and will most likely die. Cocoa bean shells contain potentially toxic quantities of theobromine, a xanthine compound similar in effects to caffeine and theophylline. A dog that ingested a lethal quantity of garden mulch made from cacao bean shells developed severe convulsions and died 17 hours later. Analysis of the stomach contents and the ingested cacao bean shells revealed the presence of lethal amounts of theobromine. Several deaths already occurred in the last 2-3 weeks. Just a word of caution - check what you are using in your gardens and be aware of what your gardeners are using in your gardens! In other news Copied off another site. Help find the owner or whatever evil f****ng b*****d that did this to the poor mare A dead mare has been found hidden in a field in Pea Lane, Ockendon, Essex. She was a 14hh skewbald with feathers on front feet and showing recent scars on the body, which had been sprayed with purple spray. Her eye socket had been broken and there was blood on her face. For some reason her ears had been taped back with red tape. There is little doubt that this horse had been severely beaten, although we do not yet know the cause of death. We obviously want to find the person that did this and /or the owner. Photos - please note that the photos are very very distressing which is why I have only provided the link: www.essexhorsewatch.org.uk/dead_mare.html Contact: valerie@essexhorsewatch.org.uk or
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