DEAR READERS: A company that bred beagles for medical research agreed to pay a record $35 million as part of a criminal plea admitting it neglected thousands of dogs at its breeding facility in rural Virginia. Prosecutors said the penalties amount to the largest ever levied in an animal-welfare case. The plea deal also bars the company that operated the facility, Envigo RMS, as well as parent company Inotiv, from breeding or selling dogs in the future.

The federal investigation of Envigo drew national attention in May 2022 when federal authorities conducted a search of the breeding facility in Cumberland County, Virginia, and found nearly 450 animals in acute distress. The company later agreed to relinquish all 4,000 beagles at the facility, which were sent around the country for adoption. For more details, go to npr.org/2024/06/04/nx-s1-4991678/envigo-beagle-breeder-35-million-fine-animal-welfare.

Decades of efforts to find and adopt alternatives to using animals in biomedical research and testing have met limited success. This prosecution is good news, but it also reveals that wholesale use of animals continues.

WISE INITIATIVE TO BAN BALLOONS

A new Florida law prohibits the intentional release of balloons, aiming to curb the devastating impact on sea turtles, whales, manatees and other animals that are harmed by eating balloons. The law prohibits intentional balloon releases, which previously banned releasing 10 or more balloons within 24 hours. The new regulation includes fines for releasing a single balloon, with children under 7 being exempt.

Balloons are a significant threat to marine life, as animals often mistake them for food, leading to fatal intestinal blockages. For more details, see apnews.com/article/balloon-ban-environment-florida-sea-turtle-10c6e21aaf3baa9c340052d3f3b34dbd.

All states should follow suit, since balloons can travel many miles and end up in the ocean, and should outlaw the dumping of plastic waste and reduce the manufacture and use of nonbiodegradable plastics.

DEAR DR. FOX: What would you recommend for a cat in the early stages of kidney disease who isn’t keen on eating the KD and Hill's wet food for kidney disease? My husband and I fed our respective previous kitties, who were in late-stage kidney failure, with any wet food they would eat, knowing that they were on their last legs. But for a cat who may have several years ahead, and knowing the need to keep protein content down, we would be interested to hear what you would recommend. -- C.F., San Francisco

DEAR C.F.: It was good that you gave your old cats the food that you did, but much more can be done for cats both old and young. For details, see my post: drfoxonehealth.com/post/care-for-dogs-cats-with-chronic-kidney-disease.

MORE GOOD NEWS FOR GREYHOUNDS

DEAR DR. FOX: Today we bring you news of yet another major victory in the fight against greyhound racing! Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs just signed our bill to outlaw remote gambling on greyhound racing. Every year, millions of dollars are bet on cruel dog races by Grand Canyon State residents, a harmful practice that will soon end. SB 1260, an act relating to dog racing, was proudly championed by Sen. John Kavanagh. As a representative, Kavanagh also led the fight to prohibit live dog racing in the state. This is the sixth major greyhound protection law we have helped pass since 2022. Arizona is the latest state to outlaw remote betting on dog races, joining Colorado, Kansas, Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Two-thirds of all American states now prohibit greyhound simulcast betting. The walls are closing in on the final remnants of dog racing in the United States. But until we end this cruelty for good, gentle greyhounds will continue to suffer and die. To learn more about campaigns to end dog racing across the globe, visit GREY2KUSA.org.

(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: The news reports began around 2023 that animal shelters were filling up with relinquished companion animals, especially dogs, because people could no longer afford to keep them and because of housing restrictions. The situation a year later is much worse. The rising costs of living, of food, housing, health care, utilities and transportation are a reality, as is the deteriorating condition of essential infrastructures and supply chains.

A failing economy that is unsustainable for multiple reasons, exacerbated by climate change, is behind public concerns globally about inflation. If not corrected, this will be a prelude to growing unemployment, poverty, famine, plague and pestilence, and ever-more economic, political and environmental refugees. This is no doomsday prophecy, but a logical projection of what is unfolding today: more insect-borne diseases with higher temperatures and humidity, and food shortages with extreme weather events.

All of this can still be averted and corrected by each one of us striving to live by the golden rule; speaking truth to power and corruption; taking Mark Twain’s advice to change how leaders lead; and supporting a society and a United Nations of Environmental and Social Justice.

Lamentably, the current U.S. Supreme Court is in the service of money, making rulings to benefit business interests that promise to boost the economy. But truth and consequences cannot be ignored in any democracy. On June 29, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision that the federal courts can overrule the experts at federal agencies whose job is to implement public health and safety laws. Instead, federal courts would be the arbiters of regulatory questions, including those involving science. This is an indefensible ruling that will make it harder to protect people and enforce laws against pollution and other public health threats, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS). (For more details, go to ucsusa.org).

It will further weaken the Environmental Protection Agency and other regulatory agencies, whose role in the climate and public health crises of these dystopian times must be fully empowered with sound science, bioethics and the rule of law. My late wife, Deanna L. Krantz, bequeathed half of our savings to nonprofit environmental and animal protection organizations, many staff of which, working in-field, receive death threats and experience PTSD. Almost 2,000 land and environmental defenders were killed between 2012 and 2022 for protecting the planet, according to Global Witness (globalwitness.org/en/press-releases/almost-2000-land-and-environmental-defenders-killed-between-2012-and-2022-protecting-planet).

People with money might do better to make a donation rather than take another vacation!

DEPLORABLE SCIENCE-BASED WOLF SLAUGHTER FOR CARIBOU CONSERVATION

While acknowledging the impacts of habitat loss due to human encroachment, recreation-associated disturbances and climate change on vegetation and caribou health, 34 scientists are endorsing the continued killing of wolves to “save” the caribou because their numbers in western Canada are finally beginning to increase due to the slaying of thousands of wolves.

Evidently the science of wildlife management is in an ethical vacuum with a serious blind spot when it comes to envisioning and adopting a more holistic approach to habitat protection and restoration rather than the expedient “remedy” of killing predators.

See the study "Effectiveness of Population-Based Recovery Actions for Threatened Southern Mountain Caribou" by C.T. Lamb et al., published in Ecological Applications, 2024.

HUMAN RECREATION AFFECTS WILD ANIMALS’ BEHAVIOR

Wild animals were nearly five times as likely to flee when they heard sounds of human recreation on a boombox than when natural sounds were played, per a recent study. Animals stayed vigilant nearly three times as long, and animal abundance at the site studied was depressed for a week after recreation noises had been played.

Researchers played recreation sounds at a level approximating one or two groups of people using a trail each day, research biologist Kathy Zeller said. Sounds from large groups of hikers or mountain bikers were the most likely to disturb wildlife. See the study "Experimental recreationist noise alters behavior and space use of wildlife" by Katherine A. Zeller et al., published in Current Biology, 2024.

More people than ever are vacationing in natural areas for the many physical and mental benefits that being in nature can provide, but visitors clearly need to be mindful of the negative impact on wildlife their presence can cause. Being quiet, highly vigilant and mindful are essential elements of respect, along with not littering and making fires. Also, ecotourism operators should keep all clients away from wildlife for safety reasons and to prevent vulnerable species, from gorillas to penguins, being infected especially with influenza virus.

I wish that all schoolchildren, beginning in grade school, learned mindfulness and self-composure by sitting still and silently together at the beginning of every school day for three minutes. This would enhance their ability to be quiet -- and safe -- when visiting wildlife areas, and to behave more mannerly around peers and adults. It would also likely reduce the incidence of dog bites, which often occur at home when they are jumping around and not allowing their companion animals to eat or rest in peace!

(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 appreciate reading in your columns about ways we can all reduce our carbon footprints and slow down climate change, such as by eating less meat, becoming vegetarian and traveling less, especially by air. Another reason to travel less on airplanes: I heard on the news that there are 18,000 annual bird strikes by airline traffic and about 4% must make emergency landings. -- B.K., Washington, D.C.

DEAR B.K.: Thank you for sharing this disturbing information. People with disposable income who want to travel for pleasure -- regardless of the risks to bird life and the contribution of air traffic to climate change -- might consider expeditions with Earthwatch, a nonprofit organization that pairs researchers with volunteers to address some of the world’s most pressing environmental challenges. For details, visit: earthwatch.org/expeditions.

Airline cargo traffic is also on the rise as companies like Amazon ship consumables across the country. As consumers order things online, they unwittingly add to the bird death toll, as well as to the demise of local shops in our communities.

Consumption was an old name for tuberculosis, but in these times, it has a new meaning: Consumption now refers to the addictive disease of consumerism!

ANOTHER ARTIFICIAL SWEETENER CAUSING HEALTH PROBLEMS

Xylitol is a widely used artificial sweetener found in candy, gum, prepared foods and beverages, even toothpaste. Now, a new study published in the European Heart Journal found that people with higher levels of xylitol in their blood had nearly double the risk of heart attack, stroke or death within three years compared to those with lower levels. The study’s senior author, Dr. Stanley Hazen, says that high xylitol levels can increase platelet reactivity, which can lead to blood clots -- a major cause of heart attack and stroke.

Xylitol is extremely toxic to dogs: Even small amounts can cause hypoglycemia (low blood sugar), seizures, liver failure or even death. In humans, xylitol does not stimulate the release of insulin from the pancreas, but when dogs consume it, it is quickly absorbed into the bloodstream. This results in a potent insulin release, causing a profound drop in blood sugar. If untreated, hypoglycemia can be life-threatening.

DEAR DR. FOX: I was reading your recent column regarding invisible fences. We had an invisible fence for 12 years for our cockapoo. We went through the proper training for the fence, and she was never outside by herself. We used to laugh that she would go lie down about 5 feet from the fence when other animals (deer, rabbits, etc.) were in sight.

In all those years, she maybe got shocked three times. That was way fewer times than I was shocked (from carrying her collar and not thinking about it). At age 14, she died of thyroid cancer. -- M.J.H., Skagit Valley, Washington

DEAR M.J.H.: Thanks for your communication regarding your dog learning to stay inside your property when you set up an invisible fence. Her closeness to this fence and wearing the shock collar could have been a factor in her developing thyroid cancer, since she would have been exposed to nonionizing radiation. The jury is still out on a definitive causality, but the American Cancer Society has some data indicating the risks of such exposure in humans and the development of leukemia and other cancers. For details, see: cancer.org/cancer/risk-prevention/radiation-exposure/extremely-low-frequency-radiation.

In my opinion, we need to be more mindful of our own exposure, and that of our companion animals, to various sources of such radiation, which is considered a significant risk to insects and other wildlife. I discuss the issue further in this post on my website: drfoxonehealth.com/post/electropollution-existential-threat-to-public-health-and-life-on-earth.

(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.)