Friday 24 September 2010

Story Book Farm

For those who will be in the Toronto area tomorrow, Story Book Farm, a wonderful primate sanctuary, is having a silent art auction.

September 25, 2010
6:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Jersey Studios
131 Jersey Avenue (Bloor & Christie)
Donation: $10
Contact: Jax, 416-837-9263

They are featuring originals and prints from Canadian artists, including Robert Bateman, AJ Casson and Stephen Watson.

Everyone is welcome and all proceeds go to Story Book.

For more information, you can visit their website at http://www.storybookfarmprimatesanctuary.com/

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Lia and the AAC crew

Wednesday 15 September 2010

VSTEP update

GREAT NEWS!!!

As of June 1, 2010, no lost pets will be taken from pounds and shelters to be used for research by the University of Guelph, including the Ontario Veterinary College (OVC).

As well, we have just been informed of the University’s policy to stop using live animal terminal surgeries to train veterinary students - an important step forward.

Finally, all 10 VSTEP beagles and the four cats are now in loving homes! That's Finnigan, who is having a great time with her new people = )

Thankfully, the OVC has started to modernize their veterinary student training through increased computer modeling and hands-on experience through their new community veterinary clinic.

We continue to encourage the OVC to follow well-known veterinary colleges that have model animal use policies, such as Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine and the University of California, Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine.

Thanks to everyone who made this work for the animals possible!

Thursday 9 September 2010

Hamilton Deer Committee: September Update

After a brief summer break, Liz and I are back in Hamilton for deer committee meetings.

A big THANK YOU to everyone who has sent in letters to the Mayor in support of the deer at Iroquoia Heights! For those who would like to send in letters, a sign-on letter is available in lieu of a hand-written letter.

Last night the Committee discussed the ecological monitoring initiatives, jointly presented by Shari Faulkenham, an ecologist with the Hamilton Conservation Authority, and Lisa Jennings, Assistant Ecologist. Following Shari and Lisa was Art Timmerman, Management Biologist from the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, who presented data on deer-car collisions and deer carcass removal. All presenters cautioned that one could not draw any conclusions from the data and these initial studies.

The next meeting is scheduled for October 6th at 7pm in the Murray Ferguson Room (Ancaster Municipal Building), with possible presenters including Hamilton Police Services, to speak about by-laws, and Stacey Baker, Senior Program Consultant for Enteric, Zoonotic and Vector-borne Diseases, Ministry of Health and Long-term Care, to speak about Lyme Disease.