The Animal Doctor

DEAR DR. FOX: I read with interest your article on fish cruelty, and it brought to mind our experiences with fish in the Florida Keys.

When my son was 8 years old, we lived on a canal about 14 miles north of Key West. In our canal lived several schools of fish. One school composed of French grunt, mangrove snapper and several other varieties became very tame, and recognized us. They would jump out of the water and even take food from our hands. My son could lay his hand in the water and one of the fish would lie in it, even when he raised his hand above the water! The fish would lie perfectly still until lowered back into the water.

Wherever we swam in the canal, the school went with us, always surrounding us. Other people would want to feed them or make them do tricks, but the fish did not respond to any of them -- showing us they knew one person from another. I know firsthand that fish have intelligence and feelings, and I hate that others might not have the chance to have the experiences we did.

I have always had a love for animals, birds and insects. When I go into the Everglades, I can get wildlife to come to me -- even insects. Lubber grasshoppers will come when I talk to them, and lizards will also stop and listen. I wish that others would take the time to appreciate the world and its creatures. -- J.W., West Palm Beach, Florida

DEAR J.W.: I know some people will call your communication with other animals delusional, sentimental claptrap, and I pity them -- and anyone else who treats fellow creatures as mere objects. Indeed, when we are quite still around them, most animals will lose their fear, ignore us and get on with their business. They may even show some curiosity and approach us.

To keep animal encounters safe, parents and teachers should provide children with a knowledge of which local species might be dangerous. Make sure they know that many animals have a "flight distance" -- in other words, an invisible circle around them which, if you enter, they will likely flee. Even closer to an animal is the "critical distance," wherein they may attack, or freeze and play dead like an opossum.

How wonderful it can be when wild animals trust us, like the fish with your son! He, no doubt, grew from this communion into a more respectful and compassionate adult than those denied such experiences and parental example. Read on for more thoughts on animals' roles in children's education.

DEAR READERS: Various animal species are still kept in cages and aquariums in schools across the country -- a culturally condoned practice that calls for ethical reexamination. It also raises health concerns, as per the CDC's post entitled "Animals in Schools and Daycares" (visit cdc.gov/healthypets/specific-groups/schools.html).

In a section about preventing the spread of germs in classrooms, the CDC states: "Do not bring reptiles, amphibians, poultry, rodents or ferrets into schools, daycare centers, or other settings with children under 5 years of age."

In 2019, the American Humane Association, the Human-Animal Bond Research Institute and the Pet Care Trust released their "Pets in the Classroom" study. The study's findings suggest that utilization of classroom pets in third and fourth grade U.S. classrooms appears to hold significant benefits for children's social, behavioral and academic development.

I do not doubt these findings, but I do call for alternatives. For humane, ethical and health reasons, no live animals should be kept in classrooms.

Instead, I would love to see every grade-school class given a selection of photos or videos of local animal species, both predators and prey. Students could choose their favorite from each category -- an animal with whom they felt some affinity, awe, affection or wonder. A classroom vote would determine the top choices overall, with these animals becoming the class mascots or icons! Students would then learn all about these animals' behavior, life cycle, ecological importance and conservation status. This would help integrate humane education with ecology and environmental protection.

I also applaud the animal shelters, zoos and wildlife rescue organizations that bring healthy animals to classrooms to tell their stories. It takes some organizational effort, but classroom visits to local wildlife preserves, where children can examine pond and soil life under a microscope, can help them think about and respect other species -- plant, animal and microscopic. Ecology-themed summer camps can do the same.

A new world can open to us when we connect with another species. By "connect," I mean experiencing a spiritual kinship, awe, delight, sympathy or affection -- some special affinity. This is a process all parents should help facilitate as a critical aspect of child development and socialization.

(Send all mail to animaldocfox@gmail.com or to Dr. Michael Fox in care of Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106. The volume of mail received prohibits personal replies, but questions and comments of general interest will be discussed in future columns.

Visit Dr. Fox’s website at DrFoxOneHealth.com.)

DEAR DR. FOX: I respect your opinions on most all issues, and greatly appreciate your care and concern for animals. Here in south Florida, we have a tremendous problem with Bufo toads, which are highly toxic to dogs, cats and even small children. Many, many dogs are killed by interaction with these creatures. What is your advice on this very serious matter? -- D.W., Jupiter, Florida

DEAR D.W.: I have no quick and simple answers to offer, primarily because most solutions involving poisonous sprays or attractive baits laced with poisons often harm non-target species. Avoidance is the best preventive measure, and we must hope that expanding populations of noxious species will ultimately "crash" due to competition and limitation of natural resources. This could well be the fate of our own noxious species!

Increased rainfall and rising temperatures associated with climate change create ideal conditions for the proliferation of these toxic toads. Cane toads do well in central and south Florida's urban environments, with hundreds of human-made lakes and canals and plenty of bugs year-round. When the rains come, there are even more bugs, and the toads then breed and multiply to cover roads, trails and yards. With no natural predators, they are out-competing indigenous amphibians and small reptiles for food. And like the human-released exotic boas and pythons in the Everglades, in particular, these toads are disrupting the health and biodiversity of ecosystems.

We can blame ourselves, in part, for the proliferation of some species over others by our negative impact on biodiversity and natural habitats, along with our contribution to the climate crisis.

My advice is to prevent companion animals and infants from making contact with these amphibians. This calls for people to be hypervigilant and take every precaution: Never allow unsupervised ventures outdoors, and have yards cleared of dense vegetation that attracts toads. Keep dogs on the leash when out on walks, and keep cats indoors -- or outdoors only in enclosed, toad-proof enclosures or "catios."

D.W. REPLIES: Thanks for the reply, and I respect your opinion very much. However, I have to ask you about solving the problem of getting rid of these invasive creatures, which have no predators. Your reply does not solve the problem. I feel like something has to be done besides avoidance.

Florida Fish and Wildlife says to put Orajel on the toads and put them in your freezer. I think that is ridiculous, and I would appreciate your advice.

During the last year or so, I have had good success in reducing the number of toads in my neighborhood with the use of a pellet gun from very short range. I have since noticed an increased number of tree frogs and other small creatures. My neighbors and myself are still very careful with our dogs, but we have much more peace of mind with fewer Bufo toads.

DEAR D.W.: Catching these toxic cane toads, putting some gel on them and freezing them to death may actually be more humane than hit-or-miss shooting or smashing them to death.

I see no alternative to actual eradication of most invasive and nonindigenous species. This effort would have to employ trained volunteers and animal control and handling experts, depending on the species, by state and federal authorities. This is preferable to relying on local communities and property owners to deal with such matters, which could have negative, unforeseen consequences -- significant animal suffering, accidental human injury, killing of non-target species, etc. In some instances, military sharpshooters are called in, as with the control of feral pigs.

Sometimes making the environment less hospitable, such as removing undergrowth in yards, will reduce toad numbers, just like having secure garbage containers will help reduce raccoon numbers. These methods work community by community without having to apply lethal methods such as poisoned baits and inhumane trapping/relocation.

In other instances, as with coyotes moving to new territories, communities learn to accommodate the animals (as per the protocols of Project Coyote, projectcoyote.org) rather than exterminate. Extermination is not effective in preventing coyote incursion at any rate, and may actually encourage further incursion!

(Send all mail to animaldocfox@gmail.com or to Dr. Michael Fox in care of Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106. The volume of mail received prohibits personal replies, but questions and comments of general interest will be discussed in future columns.

Visit Dr. Fox’s website at DrFoxOneHealth.com.)

DEAR READERS: I have often raised the issue of how a One Health approach could have prevented the COVID-19 pandemic, and of how, if such an approach is not adopted internationally, future pandemics and declining quality of life will be inevitable.

I want to make readers aware of a newly published article in the medical journal Neuroepidemiology, written by three international leaders in neurology and epidemiology, entitled "Brain Health, One Health, and COVID-19." For the first time in medical literature, this article has linked human brain health to the interconnectedness of all life (humans, nonhumans and the Earth) and to animal-derived food sources. As I have documented in my article "A Reflection on Animals, Nature and the Human Condition: A One Health for One Earth Manifesto," pesticides and other agrichemicals contribute to brain and other diseases. These harmful chemicals must be prohibited in food production.

Authors David Wiebers, M.D. (Mayo Clinic and Mayo Foundation); Valery Feigin, M.D. (Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand); and Andrea Winkler, M.D. (Technical University of Munich, Germany) state in the article: "For the sake of humans, nonhumans and the Earth, there is a fundamental and urgent need for us to rapidly evolve toward eating forms of protein that are safer for humans, including a wide range of time-honored fundamental plant-derived food sources as well as the more recently developed plant-based meat, dairy and egg alternatives and cultured meat (produced by culturing animal cells)."

The authors further call for an end to factory farming and live-wildlife markets worldwide, calling them "two activities which are among the most threatening to human health and among the most debasing to our species." They also point out that "the emergence of novel and concerning COVID-19 variants on mink farms that can easily be transmitted to humans or other wild or domesticated animals raises the prospect that a global pandemic put in motion by exploiting animals in live-animal markets may be extended and reinvigorated by our exploitation of animals on mink farms."

The authors offer this concluding statement: "We call on decision-makers to seriously think about making One Health the new norm across the various sectors while inventing and implementing equitable economic systems that have human, animal and environmental health at their cores. Our failure to heed the wake-up call of COVID-19 and rethink our relationship with all life on this planet will not only impact negatively on brain health but may ultimately result in the unwitting extermination of all or a good part of our species."

DEAR DR. FOX: Of course there's climate change, as a previous reader wrote, and the cause of it is probably not known. What gets to me, though, is your infatuation with Trump, which I find distasteful. I don't believe Trump bungled the COVID response. Try saying Andrew Cuomo bungled it. I can tell you personally, being a New Yorker, we watched him and saw ineptitude in action. He let my friend's father die as well as possibly thousands of others.

I will ask you this, did you know Biden's quick escape from Afghanistan left many Contractor Working Dogs behind?

Do what you do best -- stick to being a vet, not a pundit. -- T.D., Poughkeepsie, New York

DEAR T.D.: I think you are using the wrong word regarding an "infatuation" with Trump, which means a feeling of foolish or very strong love or admiration for someone or something. See my documented review of his response to the COVID-19 pandemic, "Pandemics: Past, Present and Future Prevention," on my website (drfoxonehealth.com).

All my published conclusions and opinions are supported by facts -- which I can document, since I am fully aware of the current epidemic of disinformation. I am a veterinarian who, now with many more health care professionals, is an advocate of the One Health and One Earth/One Economy perspective. Hopefully this will help make political decisions more fact-based and science-supported in the future. I consider it my duty as a veterinarian to speak truth to power when that power is being abused by politicians and corporations at the expense of environmental health, public health and human and nonhuman animal rights.

As for the Contractor Working Dogs left behind in Afghanistan: The U.S. seems to make a habit of this, as with most of the military service dogs in Vietnam that were abandoned when the U.S. withdrew. American soldiers often have great difficulties bringing back local "camp mascot" and working dogs from various foreign postings. At least the Brits have more evident compassion-in-action, as per the ex-British Marine whose saga I detailed in an earlier column. He was able to airlift some 200 cats and dogs from the rescue shelter he had established in Kabul.

(Send all mail to animaldocfox@gmail.com or to Dr. Michael Fox in care of Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106. The volume of mail received prohibits personal replies, but questions and comments of general interest will be discussed in future columns.

Visit Dr. Fox’s website at DrFoxOneHealth.com.)