The Protest Game: Animal Rights Protests and the Life Sciences Industry

In 1997 a small group of animal rights protesters devised a strategy of legal and illegal protests that almost closed down one of Europe's largest animal testing firms, Huntingdon Life Science (HLS). The animal rights protesters successfully disrupted the operations of HLS and severed its links with some of the world's largest financial institutions. This case study examines the "protest game" that was played between the animal rights protesters, HLS, and its business partners. In the first section, I describe the interactions between the parties to the dispute, applying negotiation analytic concepts to better explicate the structure of the game, the alternatives available to the players, and the psychological heuristics and biases that influenced decision making. The conclusion suggests alternative ways in which the protesters and the life sciences industry could resolve the dispute over the ethics and cruelty of animal testing.     

卵蛋白诱发小鼠过敏性休克模型的建立

目的建立卵蛋白致小鼠过敏性休克动物模型。方法将健康小鼠50只随机分为对照组和致敏组，致敏组小鼠于第1天腹腔注射致敏原，1周后加强注射一次，饲养3周后尾静脉注射致敏原诱发过敏性休克。结果致敏组小鼠均出现过敏性休克的典型临床表现及体征，肥大细胞脱颗粒百分数明显高于对照组。结论本实验成功地建立了小鼠过敏性休克动物模型，证明了小鼠对卵蛋白的高敏感性。     

大熊猫等八种野生珍稀动物蛔虫ITS-2基因的序列分析

为了探讨寄生在大熊猫、小熊猫、黑猩猩、白眉长臂猿和4种熊科动物(北极熊、棕熊西藏亚种、狗熊四川亚种和棕熊东北亚种)体内蛔虫的分类地位,测定了核糖体第二内转录间隔区(ITS-2)基因序列,并对这些序列进行同源性分析和采用UPGMA法构建分子系统树。结果表明:寄生在大熊猫、小熊猫和4种熊科动物体内的蛔虫均为贝蛔属蛔虫;寄生在黑猩猩和白眉长臂猿体内的蛔虫为蛔属蛔虫。分析结果提示蛔虫与宿主之间存在协同进化关系。     

The case for a victimology of nonhuman animal harms

For the last twenty years ‘victimology’, the study of crime victims and victimisation has developed markedly. Like its ‘parent’ discipline of criminology, however, very little work has been done in this field around the notion of environmental victimisation. Like criminology itself, victimology has been almost exclusively anthropocentric in its outlook and indeed even more recent discussions of environmental victims – prompted by the development of green criminology – have failed to consider in any depth the victimisation of nonhuman animals. In this paper, we examine the shortfall in provision for and discussions of nonhuman animal victims with reference to Christie’s notion of the ‘ideal victim’ and Boutellier’s concept of the ‘victimalization of morality’. We argue that as victimology has increasingly embraced concepts of victimisation based on ‘social harms’ rather than strict legalistic categorises, its rejection of nonhuman victims from the ambit of study is no longer conceptually or philosophically justified.     

Classification of Porcine Cranial Fracture Patterns Using a Fracture Printing Interface,,

Distinguishing between accidental and abusive head trauma in children can be difficult, as there is a lack of baseline data for pediatric cranial fracture patterns. A porcine head model has recently been developed and utilized in a series of studies to investigate the effects of impact energy level, surface type, and constraint condition on cranial fracture patterns. In the current study, an automated pattern recognition method, or a fracture printing interface (FPI), was developed to classify cranial fracture patterns that were associated with different impact scenarios documented in previous experiments. The FPI accurately predicted the energy level when the impact surface type was rigid. Additionally, the FPI was exceedingly successful in determining fractures caused by skulls being dropped with a high‐level energy (97% accuracy). The FPI, currently developed on the porcine data, may in the future be transformed to the task of cranial fracture pattern classification for human infant skulls.     

英汉语言中动物词语的文化内涵探微

不同的民族由于文化渊源、社会习俗、宗教信仰,价值观念等方面的差异,他们对动物的认识和情感也不尽相同。动物词语除了具有字面意义代表动物本身外,还有着丰富的社会文化内涵和喻义。文章从三方面：即文化内涵重合,文化内涵碰撞,文化内涵空缺对动物词语进行对比分析。了解这些有助于跨文化交流。     

论动物福利立法的限度及其定位——兼谈动物福利立法中动物的法律地位

从道德和道德法律化的角度看,给予动物福利其实就是科加人对动物的道德义务,而动物福利立法的实质便是把这种道德义务上升为法律义务,即实现动物道德的法律化。不过,动物并未就此获得法律主体地位,它只是一种"物格"弱于一般客体物的"准物"而已。由于道德法律化是有条件的,动物福利立法也应有限度,只有那些获得社会普遍认同和共同遵守的基本动物道德,才可通过立法程序上升为法律规范。对此,我们可用"利益关系分析法"和"利益层次分析法"来大致界定"基本动物道德"的范围;用自卫原则、对称原则、最少损害原则、分配正义原则以及补偿正义原则,来对动物福利立法进行较明确的定位,以妥善处理动物福利和人的利益的关系。     

The Influence of Evidence on Animal Cruelty Prosecution and Case Outcomes: Results of a Survey

Two hundred prosecuting attorneys completed a survey concerning priorities in taking on animal cruelty cases and the factors that help or hinder prosecuting such cases. Respondents commented on the priority given such cases. Questions also addressed specific kinds of evidence that had been used to decide whether to take on a cruelty case and were used in court. Results showed that prosecutors most frequently relied upon “traditional” sources of evidence, including detailed medical and crime scene reports and good quality photographic evidence. Other sources of forensic evidence such as DNA, computer forensics, forensic accounting, blood, and trace evidence were rarely employed. Veterinary forensic evidence, including forensic necropsies and detailed medical reports, was viewed as an important factor by a majority of prosecutors in deciding whether to accept a case for prosecution and in achieving a successful outcome, but a need for additional training for investigators was indicated.     

A Unique Fatal Moose Attack Mimicking Homicide

Fatalities caused by animal attacks are rare, but have the potential to mimic homicide. We present a case in which a moose attacked and killed a woman who was walking her dog in a forest. Autopsy showed widespread blunt trauma with a large laceration on one leg in which blades of grass were embedded. Flail chest was the cause of death. The case was initially conceived as homicide by means of a riding lawn mower. A review of the case by moose experts and analyses of biological trace material that proved to originate from moose, established the true source of injury. The dog probably provoked a moose, which, in response, stomped and gored the victim to death. The injuries resembled those previously reported from attacks by cattle and water buffalo. Fatal moose attacks constitute an extremely rare threat in boreal areas, but can be considered in traumatic deaths of unknown cause.     

White‐tailed Deer as a Taphonomic Agent: Photographic Evidence of White‐tailed Deer Gnawing on Human Bone

Ungulate gnawing on bone has been reported in the taphonomic and zooarchaeological literature, but there are no known reports of ungulates altering human remains. Herein, we report on the first known photographic evidence of deer gnawing human remains. As described in nonhuman scavenging literature, forking of the bone characterizes the taphonomic effect of deer gnawing in this case, which is distinct from the effect caused by other scavengers. This type of osteophagia during the winter season is consistent with previously documented behavior of deer gnawing on nonhuman bone, possibly to obtain minerals absent in their diet. In this study, we briefly discuss the distinguishing features of ungulate gnawing, the reasons for this behavior, and possible confusion with other common types of scavenging and modification. This report contributes to taphonomic literature covering the range of animal interactions with human skeletal remains.