The Agony and the Ecstasy

The UK Home Secretary has apparently ignored the advice (http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/feb/12/ecstasy-jacqui-smith-drug-laws) of her Expert Committee of Psychopharmacologists and others who advocated down-grading the semi-ubiquitous clubber drug Ecstasy from Class A (with Heroin and Crack cocaine) to Class B (placing it with Amphetamines and Cannabis). The Committee Chair (Professor Nutt) was apparently attacked for claiming in a scientific paper that, on the basis of deaths caused per annum, horse riding is more dangerous than ingesting Ecstasy. Attacking him is a bit mean as he presumably only got to chair the committee on the basis of studying and publishing on psychoactive drugs and was presumably simply attempting to demonstrate what a poor understanding of risk prevails in our society (I don't think he was advocating putting horses in Class A!). This is an illustration of, when it comes down to votes and bad media headlines, Science is always trumped by Politics. Some people have gone so far as to claim that such decisions damage our ability to get important messages out to young people. If they don't believe this message, they may ignore all health-related messages from the 'same' source.

Skin-Up a Toad!

It has been reported (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/feb/16/iran-frog-drugs) that drug addicts in Iran are forsaking hashish, heroin and opium to roll up the skins of fancy toads (presumably, the animals produce the chemicals as a defense against predators) in their cigarettes to get high. Ignoring the potential addiction problem, it is difficult to predict the precise impact of this practise on toad populations. One would initially suspect that these delicate animals would be further endangered but, in general, sources of illegal drugs seem to benefit as a consequence of their perceived value (there is no world shortage of Opium poppies or Coca bushes).

Travis Terminated (With Extreme Prejudice)

The sad story of Travis, the celebrity (he advertised 'Old Navy' clothes and appeared in several TV shows) and hard living (he drank red wine from a long-stemmed glass and watched baseball on TV using the remote) pet Chimpanzee in Connecticut USA(http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article5755497.ece). Although house-trained, an avid brusher of teeth and a user of the Internet, the almost 90 kg, 15-year old animal seemingly went berserk, grabbing the house keys to escape and eventually attacking a female friend of the 70 year old woman owner. The friend had arrived at the house to help (and was very seriously injured). The owner stabbed Travis with a butcher's knife (to try to stop the attack on her friend) and a police officer (fearing attack) subsequently shot him dead. There is some speculation that the Chimpanzee may have suffered complications from an infection with Lyme disease or the anti-anxiety drug, Xanax, that he had been treated with. The point remains that, no matter how 'human' in appearance and action, Travis was a potentially dangerous animal. It is easy to forget this basic fact when you get close to a beast.

Catastrophe

There is a current study at Reading University (but involving Dan Forman and Rory Wilson) attempting to accurately assess the impact of pet cats in the UK on wildlife (http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/feb/15/cats-kill-wildlife) by using GPS tracking devices on 200 Berkshire moggies in 9 one kilometre squared areas and getting their pet people to complete diaries of carcasses dragged in. The study appears to be somewhat complicated by variations in estimations of the proportions of the catch/kill returned to the home but the authors of the study estimated that there could be more than 600 pet cats per km2, accounting for an estimated 10,000 animals per annum. If this figure is extrapolated over the whole UK (accepting that not everywhere is Berkshire), a figure of 92 million fatalities (including 27 million birds) is obtained. One cat even managed to bring back a weasel. Other 'guestimates' put the annual kill by the UK's 9 million cats as high as 150 to 200 million animals (depending on the numbers of animals eaten on the spot or too heavy to bring back home). No matter what the actual number, it is clear (I don't accept that the cats merely kill the old and weak) that cats have a powerful impact on wildlife.
UP DATE The recent report that 'Animal Behaviorists' in the USA are offering advice on how to keep cats in the house might conceivably help wildlife. Owners are taught how to brush the teeth and cut the claws of their pet. The cat is also trained to sit to command and to walk on a leash (http://www.hdw-inc.com/leashtraining.htm). Other people have complained about this approach noting that roaming wild and catching things are part of the cat's natural behaviour. This is true but cats are not part of the natural ecology of the USA, the UK or Australia.

Passing of the Penguin?

It has been reported (http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/feb/12/penguins-food-under-threat) that the large Megallanic penguin colony at Punto Tombo (Argentina) is under serious threat. The colony has declined by about 20% in the last 20+ years. One extra pressure is that the birds now have to add an additional 50 miles to the round trips they make from their nest sites to obtain small fish for their mate and its developing chick. All 3 partners suffer and this, perhaps, accounts for some of the increased mortality, as well as the fact that some birds appear to be relocating. The author of the study (Dr Dee Boersma) blames humans for taking stocks of small fish.

Seeing the Changes 167

In Mumbles, Sea mayweed (Tripleurosperum maritimum) was in flower. In Loughor, noted the return of the male Early moth (Theria primaria).

Doggone!

An interesting debate is developing about dog poo in the UK (http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/blog/2009/feb/11/dog-fouling-britain). It has been estimated that the country's more than 7 million dogs generate around 1,000 tonnes of dog mess per day. It certainly gets up people's noses as it's one of the most complained about environmental issues and many councils devote considerable resources (and expense) to dealing with the brown substance. There are diametrically opposed views, ranging from people who would like to see dogs banned from public places (like parks) to pet owners who think their shitsu can do no wrong. In between are responsible pet owners who always clear up after Fido and parents who simply want to separate their children from dog mess (and its attendant dangers, including the possibility of taking in eggs from the Toxocara worm that can cause illness and even blindness). Some countries, notably Iceland, formerly banned dogs entirely (in this case because of concerns about hydatid cysts caused by another worm) and dogs are reported to be still unwelcome in some Icelandic places to the present day. Another problem with dog mesh in the UK is the passage of disease to wild UK mammals, especially the Red fox. This is really a mess (especially on my regular running route)!