Wildlife Disease News Digest

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Has Earth's Sixth Mass Extinction Already Arrived?

With the steep decline in populations of many animal species, from frogs and fish to tigers, some scientists have warned that Earth is on the brink of a mass extinction like those that occurred only five times before during the past 540 million years.

Each of these 'Big Five' saw three-quarters or more of all animal species go extinct.

In a study to be published in the March 3 issue of the journal Nature, University of California, Berkeley, paleobiologists assess where mammals and other species stand today in terms of possible extinction, compared with the past 540 million years, and they find cause for hope as well as alarm.

ScienceDaily - www.sciencedaily.com 05 Mar 2011 Photo credit: Anthony Barnosky, UC Berkeley

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Cited Journal Article
>>>Has the Earth’s sixth mass extinction already arrived? Nature. 2011 Mar 02; 471: 51–57.

Wildlife trust to vaccinate badgers against TB

The latest TB statistics show nearly one in three Gloucestershire herds were under TB restriction at some point last year, making it one of worst affected counties in Britain.

The wildlife trust is currently working with the Veterinary Laboratories Agency (VLA) to identify locations within its nature reserves where badgers and cattle co-exist and there is a TB problem in.

Once the surveying is complete and staff have been trained and approved to administer the injectable vaccine, the process is likely to being in ‘early summer’.

Farmers Guardian - www.farmersguardian.com
07 Mar 2011
A Driver

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Mexico zoo destroys 114 birds after outbreak of deadly avian virus kills peacocks

Mexican agricultural officials say they have euthanized 114 peacocks, ostriches and other birds at a zoo due to an avian virus.

The Agriculture Department's chief of animal health in Guerrero state says zoo officials reported the sudden, unexplained death of more than a dozen peacocks.

Wilfrido Najera Lomeli said Thursday that department officials detected the presence of Newcastle Disease and destroyed the birds.

Star Tribune - www.startribune.com (Source: Associated Press)
04 Mar 2011
Location: Mexico (GR) - Chilpancingo, Guerrero, Mexico - Map It