From the Wild Things

Taking a break

Kylie — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 02:10:40 +0000

A Dog’s Life… (Photo credit: somecanuckchick)

You might have noticed nothing has been posted for a while.

Since I have started my new job at Universal Magazines as editor of Dogs Life magazine, I have been concentrating on learning as much as I can about the industry and researching and writing for the next issue.

Therefore unfortunately I will be taking an indefinite break from blogging. I love the site and I’m glad that you have been following and showing your commitment to help the animals and the environment – thank you.

Until we meet again,

Kylie

Love cats?

Kylie — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 12:45:58 +0000

For all you cat lovers – yes I know you are out there – I have started a new blog just for them!

Head over to http://getmeowed.wordpress.com and read about how my life was turned upside down after adopting my kitten Rupert.

It’s only early days, but hopefully I can inform you all about what’s new in the crazy feline world and update you on Rupert’s daredevil antics.

Don’t worry – From The Wild Things will still be up and running!

Kylie

2012 in review!

Kylie — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 08:18:16 +0000

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

600 people reached the top of Mt. Everest in 2012. This blog got about 10,000 views in 2012. If every person who reached the top of Mt. Everest viewed this blog, it would have taken 17 years to get that many views.

Click here to see the complete report.

RSPCA turns 139!

Kylie — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 02:19:13 +0000

On 16th July, RSPCA NSW celebrated its 139th birthday! Happy birthday!

RSPCA Australia (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The RSPCA believes it is the voice for the animals of Australia. It fights to stop cruelty, offer shelter, education, medical attention and love to abandoned, surrendered and injured animals.

For more information, and how to donate please visit the website.

Korea to stop whaling

Kylie — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 04:50:00 +0000

Photo credit: Wikipedia

The Republic of Korea will back away from killing whales for scientific purposes.

This is welcome news for animal welfare groups such as International Fund for Animal Welfare.

More information on this excellent news is to come…

Mystery of the Tasmanian devil

Kylie — Mon, 18 Jun 2012 02:07:51 +0000

Photo Credit: Wikipedia

The degree of genetic difference to a tumour rapidly decimating the ranks of Tasmanian devils is not a factor in their likelihood of contracting the disease, according to research led by the University of Sydney.

The finding, published in the journal PLoS ONE, surprised researchers and means they will take a different approach in the race to better understand the Devil Facial Tumour Disease (DFTD), a contagious cancer which has already wiped out 85% of all Tasmanian devils.

“We looked at the West Pencil Pine population in north-western Tasmania because they are the first population to be less severely affected by DFTD than other populations,” said Professor Kathy Belov, the senior author of the study from the University’s Faculty of Veterinary Science.

In West Pencil Pine there is lower prevalence of the disease, increased survival time of infected individuals and little indication of changes in population size or population growth rate, four years after the disease was first detected.

“We thought that differences in certain key immune genes might explain the different susceptibility patterns between devils in West Pencil Pine and other devils,” Professor Belov said.

Due to devil populations having low genetic diversity, most Tasmanian devils share the same Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) genes as tumours. The researchers believed that since the tumours were genetically similar to an individual devil’s own cells, their immune system wouldn’t recognise that the cancer cells were foreign and wouldn’t attack them.

“Many of the devils at West Pencil Pine are genetically different to the animals in the east of the state. We thought these genetically different animals might be able to mount an immune response against the tumours,” Professor Belov said.

“We thought devils that were most genetically different to the tumours would be less likely to catch DFTD. This isn’t the case.”

The researchers will have to go back to the drawing board to try to work out why DFTD is affecting genetically different devils.

“It is possible the tumour itself is suppressing the immune response in some way. We also know that DFTD is evolving and changing over time. Perhaps the strain of DFTD in West Pencil Pine is different and that is why fewer animals are getting sick in that region,” Professor Belov said.

The next step will be to look more closely at the tumours in West Pencil Pine and at genetic difference across the entire devil genome, rather than simply focusing on the MHC genes. West Pencil Pine may still hold the key to why some devils catch DFTD and others do not.

The other contributing authors to the paper include Dr Amanda Lane, Yuanyuan Cheng, Belinda Wright, Dr Laura LeVan and Dr Beata Ujvari from the University of Sydney, and Dr Menna Jones and Dr Rodrigo Hamede from the University of Tasmania.

Article from LabOnline

Doggy boot camp

Kylie — Sun, 13 May 2012 02:48:12 +0000

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

It will be man vs dog at RSPCA’s Care Centre in Rouse Hill, NSW.The care centre will be holding a doggy boot camp on Sunday 27th May.

There will be advice from a personal trainer about the best way to get fit with your pooch and tips on dog training, behaviour and nutrition.

There will also be a free kids talk from the RSPCA pet education team.

Sunday’s festivities will start at 10.30 am. For more information visit the website.

Meet us, don’t eat us whaling campaign

Kylie — Sat, 12 May 2012 02:37:11 +0000

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) has welcomed the news that Iceland has called an end to the cruel practice of harpooning endangered fin whales.

Kristjan Loftsson, the lone Icelandic whaler responsible for killing about 280 fin whales in Icelandic waters over the past six years, cited difficulties in trading the meat with Japan following its tsunami tragedy as a reason for cancelling last year’s hunt. He has now abandoned plans to train his harpoons on the whales in 2012, according to Icelandic media reports.

IFAW, which has worked alongside Icelandic whale watch operators for several years to promote whale watching as a humane and profitable alternative to the cruelty of whaling, welcomed the decision.

Matthew Collis, IFAW campaigner, said, “We are very pleased to hear Iceland won’t be slaughtering any more fin whales. We are also glad to hear Mr Loftsson acknowledge that this outdated industry is uneconomic. IFAW-commissioned research has underlined this over recent years; sadly, 280 fin whales had to die in this failed commercial experiment.”

Icelandic media reports that Loftsson failed to reach collective agreement with the Association of Icelandic Fishermen on salaries and conditions for deckhands and that he believes the market for whale meat in Japan has still not recovered since the 2011 tsunami.

Loftsson regularly exports relatively small amounts of fin whale meat to his own company in Japan, but has yet to find a demand for the meat on the Japanese market.

Sadly, however, commercial hunting of minke whales in Iceland continues. IFAW urges Iceland to end all whaling and instead work to promote responsible whale watching.

In total, 58 minke whales were killed in Iceland last season, by two companies. This was from a self-allocated catch limit of 216. The first minke whales of the 2012 whaling season were harpooned in recent weeks.

In 2011 IFAW launched its ‘Meet Us Don’t Eat Us’ campaign in Iceland, encouraging tourists visiting the country to support responsible whale watching but to avoid sampling whale meat. The campaign will continue this season.

Hope for the koala

Kylie — Fri, 11 May 2012 02:28:24 +0000

Australian Koala Foundation (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Australian Koala Foundation was pleased to announce that Minister Tony Burke has listed the koala as a vulnerable species in Queensland, New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory.However they believe that koalas should be listed in every state and are rallying to protect them in Victoria and South Australia.

They will be organising a ‘koala army’ campaign to create a Koala Protection Act and wage peace for the protection of the koala. This campaign strategy will be launched on 21st May.

To sign up as a recruit to the koala army or find more about the campaign, visit the Save the Koala website.

Vote for the koala

Kylie — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 04:59:02 +0000

The IFAW (International Fund for Animal Welfare) wants Environment Minister Tony Burke to list koalas as a threatened species under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EPBC Act).

Minister Burke is due to make the decision on 30 April, having already extended the deadline twice to allow consideration of further information from the Threatened Species Scientific Committee.

“Koala populations, particularly in NSW and Queensland, are in trouble. National listing under the EPBC Act now will help assess and halt the downward trend in koala numbers. But the Minister must act now while there is still a chance to maintain viable populations of wild koalas where they’re currently in decline,” said Isabel McCrea, IFAW Oceania Director.

Koalas face a number of threats including from loss and fragmentation of their habitat due to insensitive development. Land clearing often results in koala injury or death. The loss of food trees leads to more time spent on the ground where they can be hurt by dog attack or cars. Habitat fragmentation is also thought to increase koalas’ vulnerability to drought and diseases including Chlamydia and koala retrovirus which are decimating koalas in many areas.

Population estimates are not reliable at national or state level – funding is not currently made available to provide standardised and nationwide data. Some estimates suggest 10 million koalas existed before European settlement began with numbers now just a fraction of that. The Threatened Species Scientific Committee suggests a 2010 level as low as 200,000, down from 430,000 in 1990.

The lack of better population estimates is the reason that the Committee has not recommended listing koalas to date. But there is now more recent evidence of sharp declines, sometimes as much as 80%, in areas where good data does exist.

“What’s clear is that koala numbers are declining. The Minister faces a difficult decision – balancing development pressures with the needs of a vulnerable species. In the midst of a strong industry push back on environmental protections the koalas decline couldn’t be more poorly timed. We urge him to do the right thing, rise above the politics and list the koala before it’s too late,” Ms McCrea said.