#Act4 Pets Our Scottish member OneKind, has called on the Scottish Government to put an end to the breeding of flat-faced dogs, cats and rabbits, such as French bulldogs, amongst other welfare calls, ahead of the 2021 Scottish elections. OneKind launches 2021 manifesto calling on the Scottish Government to prioritise animal welfare 21 September 2020 OneKind
#Act4 FarmAnimals A recent report on the circulation of A(H1N1) subtype influenza viruses in the swine population in China with evidence of zoonotic potential has alerted the world to the pandemic risk associated with swine influenza viruses. FAO/OIE/WHO Tripartite statement on the pandemic risk of swine influenza 15 September 2020
A series of six seminars with leading experts from around the world, with the aim of inspiring an in-depth conversation – and actions – at the nexus animals x climate change x global health "Animals, Climate Change and Global Health": A series of six webinars 14 September 2020
#Act4 Wildlife Researchers at the Friedrich Loeffler Institute in Germany have conducted a study demonstrating that raccoon dogs were a potential intermediate host in the transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) – the agent that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Raccoon dogs potential intermediate host for SARS-CoV-2 7 September 2020
#Act4 FarmAnimals In documents dating to 2006, government officials predicted that a pandemic would threaten critical businesses and warned them to prepare. Meatpacking companies largely ignored them, and now nearly every one of the predictions has come true. Meatpacking companies dismissed years of warnings but now say nobody could have prepared for Covid-19 7 September 2020
#Act4 LabAnimals The pandemic has created an immediate need to produce a safe vaccine—a process that researchers say can take upwards of 20 years. Is animal testing slowing us down? Testing our luck: will animal research give us a COVID-19 vaccine? 7 September 2020
#Act4 LabAnimals Bioprinting is in the vanguard of the war against the novel coronavirus and holds promise for greater understanding of the way SAR-CoV-2 works in the human body. Ultimately, it may aid work in the prevention and treatment of COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus, and demonstrate bioprinting’s potential to reduce animal testing and speed research. Bioprinting to help reduce animal testing in COVID-19 related research 7 September 2020
#Act4 Wildlife The SARS-CoV-2 virus, the cause of COVID-19, emerged as a human pathogen in 2019. While it is thought to have a zoonotic source, the original wildlife reservoir and any potential intermediate hosts have not yet been identified. IUCN shares guidelines for working with free-ranging wild mammals to minimise the risk of COVID-19 transmission from people to animals 7 September 2020
#Act4 Wildlife In reaction to the global COVID-19 pandemic, attention has focused on the potential role of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) to further regulate—or ban—various form of the wildlife trade. How we can use the CITES Wildlife Trade Agreement to help prevent pandemics 7 September 2020
#Act4 Wildlife The European Commission answered a written question from the European Parliament regarding the recent culling of COVID-19 infected minks on fur farms in the Netherlands, as well as the possibility of introducing a definitive European ban on the keeping of animals for fur. European Commission answers written question on COVID-19 infected minks 20 August 2020
#Act4 LabAnimals As shortages of personal protective equipment persist during the coronavirus pandemic, 3-D printing has helped to alleviate some of the gaps. But Anthony Atala, director of the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine, and his team are using the process in a more innovative way: creating tiny replicas of human organs — some as small as a pinhead — to test drugs to fight COVID-19. 3-D printed organs aid vaccine testing 18 August 2020
#Act4 LabAnimals Dutch, Bilthoven based, Intravacc, a global leader in translational research and development of viral and bacterial vaccines, announced the publication of a study in Scientific Reports on alternatives to the use of laboratory animals in vaccine quality control. The study was conducted together with Leiden Academic Center for Drug Research (LACDR) at Leiden University. Intravacc and Leiden University developed an animal replacement method for vaccines 18 August 2020