DEAR DR. FOX: FYI, here is my latest article in Veterinary Practice: “The live food sector: pets eating pets” (veterinary-practice.com/article/live-food-sector).
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I am concerned about the feeding of live animals to various pets, and also about how the "prey" animals are handled, whether alive or dead. There is ever more evidence of sentience in insects and other small animals. -- C.W., London
DEAR C.W.: I enjoyed and appreciated your well-articulated article, and it will get some people thinking. The bottom line, as you stress, is: Whatever arguments justify having to feed live animals to captive predators in small containers, what quality of life, otherwise, do such animals have?
The entire trade of “exotic,” nondomesticated, wild-caught and captive-bred reptiles, amphibians and small mammals should be outlawed, in my opinion. But regrettably, in these times, money rules. There is not a unified voice in the veterinary profession, since some do specialize in treating these exotics -- talents that would be better spent on conservation and captive propagation of endangered species for eventual release under concerted rewilding initiatives.
It is notable that the CDC has recently reported people contracting salmonella infections after handling bearded dragons in nine states, and that it advises not having these animals in homes where there are young children, the elderly and the immunocompromised (and always washing hands after handling). My advice is not to bring any “exotics” into the home environment. Those who do have these animals should find a sanctuary for them and never, ever, release them into the wild -- and that includes goldfish, which are a problem in many freshwater ecosystems across the country.
MUSHROOMS WITH NUTRITIVE AND MEDICAL BENEFITS
In developing purely vegan pet foods, there have been concerns about the necessary inclusion of vitamin D, which is usually vitamin D3 of animal origin -- making false the claim that the diet is vegan. There is an answer for this question in veterinarian Dr. Robert Silver’s book, "There’s a Mushroom for That."
Silver writes: “Dogs and cats are unable to convert UVB from sunlight into sufficient circulating vitamin D3 in their skin. For this reason, dogs and cats are dependent upon dietary sources of vitamin D to maintain healthy vitamin D levels. ... (A blended mushroom powder) source of vitamin D2 is gaining a lot of traction in the natural health industry as a healthier source of vitamin D for people and pets. As a non-animal source of vitamin D, it may provide a more hypoallergenic, organic and vegan alternative to animal-sourced vitamin D3.”
The medical benefits of mushrooms are being documented for humans and companion animals, some helping with cognitive decline and having anti-inflammatory properties. Some of Silver’s formulations for dogs include cannabis extracts that are recognized as calming and anti-inflammatory. For details, go to: wellpetdispensary.com/doc-silver-naturals.
(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.)