Residents of the South-East of this Sceptered Isle awoke to the smell of something unpleasant emanating from continental Europe.

Happily, we're just out of range, here but it apparently smells as if the Dutch farmers have emptied their slurry lagoons in one unhealthy swoop, at the end of their winter spreading ban, kindly sending South East England a smelly greeting.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/apr/19/weather

This article even commiserates with HM the Queen : Even the Queen wasn't safe barracked away in Windsor castle. A spokesman at Windsor's tourist office said: "When I left home this morning the smell was virtually unbearable. I think the Queen is in. I hope she has her windows closed."

Judging from the smell that has been a regular greeting for M4 travellers past Windsor, she's no stranger to pongs of that sort!

The full meteorological explanation is disclosed in the above article and the Met Office bravely reassures us that there is no health hazard.

At least, it serves as a reminder of the fact that we're all in this together and pollution in one part of our planet affects others.

[Why not take a look at www.alternativevet.org , while you're here?]

As midges start to fly, in mornings and evenings, so a great many poor ponies will start to suffer distressing signs and symptoms. Native pony breeds are particularly susceptible. Severe itchiness (pruritus), damage to the coat and skin sores (esp. mane, withers, rump and tail) are common signs. Happily, much can be done for a good proportion of these.

For advice and information:

http://www.alternativevet.org/horse_diseases.htm#sweetitch

Spring is classically the time for headshakers to start suffering their seasonal problems. For information on this distressing condition:

http://www.alternativevet.org/horse_diseases.htm#head_shaking

http://www.alternativevet.org/Headshaking%20WS064-07.pdf

The season for grass-induced laminitis is delayed by the cold weather. The grass is simply not growing much, at present. However, the seasonal grass laminitis risk can only be just around the corner. Prevention must be our main objective.

Native pony breeds are particularly susceptible but any equine can suffer the condition, esp. if grazing ground is fertilised with artificial nitrogen fertilisers. Stressed grass in over-grazed paddocks and fields may also represent a special risk.

Information and advice on prevention, management and treatment:

http://www.alternativevet.org/horse_diseases.htm#laminitis

http://www.alternativevet.org/WS130-07.pdf

http://www.alternativevet.org/Laminitis%20WS059-07.pdf

The recently released 'scientific paper' from Copenhagen University, Denmark, on the potential harm of vitamin supplementation (antioxidants or anti-oxidants) was very badly reported in the media (links listed below). It was made out to demonstrate that taking vitamins was a sure way to an earlier death (premature death). This was a very unscientific and headline-grabbing conclusion to draw from the paper. The main findings of the paper were that overdoses of vitamin A can do damage.

In some cases, vitamin supplementation can indeed be dangerous. It has been known for DECADES that overdosing of Vitamin A can be dangerous, so no big revelation there. Tell us something new.

Vitamins can form part of a holistic medical programme, for humans and animals. My experience, of course, is in the veterinary field.

It has to be sensible to practise moderation in diet and taking ANYTHING to excess is unwise. Vitamin supplementation, as part of a properly designed regime, can be vital to health. However, no better nutrition exists than a good and varied diet, eating fresh wholesome species-suitable food, preferably organic, with plenty of variety and moderation. If the diet has been unbalanced, over a period, supplementation (with NATURAL-source vitamins) is ESSENTIAL.

Manufactured vitamins may not be all they're cracked up to be. The manufacturing process may also involve the inclusion of species-unsuitable material (e.g. gelatin for horses). It is sad that the study apparently made no attempt to distinguish between naturally-sourced vitamins and their manufactured analogues.

If only science were presented in a scientific way and if only it could cover a subject completely, instead of taking parts in isolation. If only eye-catching and potentially seriously misleading headlines were not a feature of the handling of such issues by our media. Simple truth, integrity and objectivity are not common commodities.

The massive vitamin supplement market (about £150 million in the UK) is viewed with envious eyes by the pharmaceutical industry.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2008-04/17/content_6623153.htm

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?xml=/earth/2008/04/16/scivita116.xml

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/health/article3614642.ece

A detailed and objective report of the study can be found at:

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/health/article3614642.ece

It comes up with very low-key conclusions. In most cases, results only just reached statistical significance and it was mainly Vitamin A or similar compounds that were singled out - a far cry from the scary headlines. It's conclusions are:

"People take supplements for a wide range of reasons from believing they may be of benefit to treat a certain condition or just to supplement the diet as part of a healthy lifestyle approach. Although this review does provide some evidence of potential harm from taking certain supplements at the doses tested, there may be benefits of lower doses of supplements in certain selected groups."

The best nutrition advice I can offer is what I have long advocated - feed a good, fresh and varied species-suitable diet and don't buy manufactured vitamins. Be suspicious of glossy and vigorous marketing of any 'health' product. If a diet has been unsatisfactory or if there appear to be health indications for vitamin supplementation, seek holistic veterinary advice on the way forward for supplementation with natural-source vitamins.

[Why not take a look at www.alternativevet.org , while you're here?]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24051247/

This is very interesting stuff and well thought through, by a one-time associate of James Lovelock (Gaia Hypothesis). I never fail to be impressed by such towering figures in the intellect stakes. The beauty of it is that such folk are so far ahead of the rest of us that we cannot argue the issue. Nonetheless, he appears to have a way of making his thinking very accessible to lesser minds. His predictions appear to be entirely logical.

He predicts the end of life as a sustainable entity, on a planet heated to intolerable levels by a brightening sun. "Within at most 1 billion years, this will raise Earth's average temperature to 122 degrees Fahrenheit (50 degrees Celsius), rendering the planet uninhabitable."

If only. Does anyone see us allowing ourselves, as a species, to survive to see such a thing?

I just wanted to draw attention to a very interesting and fascinating scientific prediction (albeit of very little practical value to us).

Now let's jump to a not-unrelated topic. We Earthlings are very pre-occupied with space exploration, space exploitation etc. as a potential answer to our self-made ills.

http://www.tandra.com/Pages/edispace.html

Shouldn't we be putting a bit more energy and ingenuity into seeking ways of protecting and sustaining what we have? Surely, 'counting our chickens' by relying upon expansion into space, is folly. If it doesn't come in time, we're finished, by our own hands, if we don't reset our sights and aspirations here on Planet Earth. Let's look after what we have now, before expanding elsewhere.

What plans are people hatching for 'civilisation'? Are we soon to be looking at 'space-fill' sites, cluttered with our rubbish heaps (when we have nowhere here to dump the stuff) propelled into space by rockets, punching and tearing holes in the ozone layer as they go? Are we going to have space minerals, mined in far-off galaxies and shipped to earth to fuel our cravings for material things? Or are we thinking of cutting and running to find a new habitable planet to wreck?

I don't think we have much to fear from Professor Watson's intelligent predictions, we'll be seeing ourselves off long before that. Extinction beckons - a terrible indictment on a so-called intelligent species that has the power to influence its own behaviour and the consequences.

Is there intelligent life out in space? That's an excellent question. I certainly hope there is, as it's a pretty rare item down here.

Meanwhile, have fun with the wonderful bbc.co.uk website, that always appears to have something for everyone:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/space/life/looking/

I know being vegetarian makes me feel odd (to say the least) about barbecues and the cooking of meat. However, this one story seems more gross than all other experiences or tales of barbecues.

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/rtrs/20080414/tod-uk-uruguay-barbecue-063ac92.html

http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=51547&sectionid=3510212

In Uruguay, 12 metric tonnes of beef have been cooked in a display barbecue, built by the army, stretching for 1.5 kilometres! This is a self-confessed marketing gimmick, awarded a Guinness World Record. About 1,250 people did the cooking and about 20,000 watched.

Yuk! Imagine the smell of burnt meat. I just hope that all that beef has gone to a good cause, rather than being wasted. If my calculations are correct, the spectators and cooks could not have consumed that much themselves.

It must represent of the order of 100 animals, at a rough estimate, slaughtered, butchered and grilled for a "gimmick".

This seems like a slaughter frenzy. Putting this in context, however, we in the UK killed and burned 10 million cattle and sheep in the 1991 Foot and Mouth (FMD) disaster so I think the Uruguayans still have some catching up to do. Our excuse then was 'to protect' the beef export trade. The Uruguayan motivation was to raise publicity for the Uruguayan beef export trade, currently worth over £400 million to them.

Not to mention a reported 6 tonnes of charcoal and all those carbon emissions. Oh well ......

I cannot and do not expect everyone to share my vegetarian sensitivities but I do feel that respect for our environment and respect for life are precious commodities. I hope that, in amongst the general merriment, the animals were remembered and respected.

[Why not take a look at www.alternativevet.org , while you're here?]

What Doctors Don't Tell You - 14th November 2007 carried a very comprehensive item, taking the lid off dishwashing liquids:

"Dishing the Dirt on Dishwashing Liquids"

http://www.wddty.com/07521651368122450487/dishing-the-dirt-on-dishwashing-liquids.html

I'd always thought that buying 'eco' was sufficient to avoid the evils of the petro-chemical products but, guess what, it isn't. Apparently, harmful surfactants can be found even in some respected 'eco' products.

If this article is to be believed, the only product that looks to be OK is:

'Dishmate Washing-Up Liquid". (http://www.ecos.com/ and http://www.greenbrands.co.uk/)

I mention the name, despite being very 'anti' the promotion of products, simply for information for the reader.

Apparently, the 'offender' in other products (even some 'eco' brands) is SLES (Sodium Laureth Sulphate), a potentially dangerous surfactant.

[Why not take a look at www.alternativevet.org , while you're here?]

There's an interesting item on Channel 4 News:

http://www.channel4.com/news/articles/science_technology/experts+unravel+arsenic+mystery/2005747

If they're not careful, they'll go on to invent homeopathy (homoeopathy) next!

This 'paradox' about Arsenic is nothing of the sort - we have known for 200 years (since Hahnemann) that what a substance can cause, it can cure. Arsenic is well-known as a homeopathic medicine with a strong beneficial action on certain cancer patients. In homeopathic preparations, it is rendered safe. When will the 'conventional' and 'scientific' world realise this?

Another warning about litter on beaches and the threat it poses to wildlife.

http://environment.uk.msn.com/photos/gallery.aspx?cp-documentid=8025423

Take your litter home or dispose of it properly, preferably recycling it. Don't throw litter overboard, when on board a boat or ferry at sea. Don't drop litter in or by rivers.

I have a page on this at: http://www.alternativevet.org/litter.htm

[Why not take a look at www.alternativevet.org , while you're here?]

I have only just learned of the very distressing heart disease problem (fibrosing cardiomyopathy), suffered by captive Lowland Gorillas and reported very well at:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23971635/

I have written to the National Zoo, Washington D.C., to see if there's anything I can offer by way of help. There has to be a simple explanation somewhere (although it may not be simple to find). The more minds on this, the better and the Alternative Medicine approach may shed different light on the topic.

 [Why not take a look at www.alternativevet.org , while you're here?]

This excerpt turned up in an article I was reading, about a serious heart problem in captive Lowland Gorillas.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23971635/

". . . . . . research in the wild has paid off before. Not long ago, for example, it was learned that lowland gorillas, which are primarily herbivores, wade into swampy lake areas and eat vegetation growing underwater.

"There was no way of knowing that sort of thing was happening until somebody went out there to Africa and noticed what the gorillas were doing," says primatologist Joseph Erwin of the Foundation for Comparative and Conservation Biology in Needmore, Pa.

Ellen Dierenfeld, a gorilla nutritionist at the St. Louis Zoo, says that a member of the ginger family, Aframomum melegueta, is a staple food of western lowland gorillas in their native environments.

Some scientists say Aframomum is a powerful antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal and anti-inflammatory "natural drug," which may serve as a preventive medicine for the gorillas. But this and other native African plants are often not part of zoo gorillas' daily diets."

Why do arguments still go on about the ability of animals to self-medicate (zoopharmacognosy)? It is such a fundamental necessity of wildlife that I am surprised it was ever a source of argument.

Previous blog:

http://chris-day.blogware.com/blog/_archives/2008/3

Herbs and Herbal medicine:

http://www.alternativevet.org/herbs.htm

Good old Professor Jim Stevenson. It appears that he has finally persuaded the FSA (Food Standards Agency) to 'toughen up' on the issue of the food additives, identified in his research that was published last September. He is clearly a scientist of principles. The health and welfare of our children (and animals) is a bigger concern than the commercial ambitions of food manufacturers.

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-wellbeing/health-news/food-additives-could-be-as-damaging-as-lead-in-petrol-804890.html

"Apparently stung by the failure to act, Professor Jim Stevenson, who led the Southampton study, wrote to the FSA demanding immediate action."

"His letter dated 20 March is included in the bundle of documents forwarded to the board, which were published yesterday."

You may remember the original blog on this:

The many colours of our food

by Chris Day on Thu 06 Sep 2007 07:24 BST  

and here are some of the original reports:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2007/sep/06/lifeandhealth.health

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/09/06/nfood106.xml

Men of principle seem to be regrettably thin on the ground, these days, especially where academic and scientific careers may be at stake. I take my hat off to Prof. Stevenson for speaking out and for being so single-minded.

The implications of his work are there for animals, too and those responsible for feeding animals should be aware of the risks. All manner of colourings and other additives abound in pet foods, supplements and treats and the dangers should not be underestimated. This applies mostly to horses, dogs and cats. We even had a lovely Border Collie patient who was nearly put down, on account of developing unreliability with children, a behavioural change entirely abolished when colourants were removed from her diet.

http://www.alternativevet.org/nutrition.htm

From Sunday, 6th April, Local Authorities will have sole responsibility for dealing with stray dogs. The Police will now have no direct responsibility, which they hitherto shared with Local Authorities.

I don't know how much impact this will have on dog welfare or on the service provided, which was never sparkling in our region. We have always had to look after any stray dogs ourselves, if they came our way, to ensure their best possible chance of survival, 'repatriation' or re-homing.

Euthanasia has been one way of dealing with strays for Local Authorities and the RSPCA.

The Telegraph, The Times and the BBC have reported this issue in a balanced manner, with a variety of views and anxieties clearly expressed:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?xml=/earth/2008/04/04/eadogs104.xml

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7329807.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7330173.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/newsid_7320000/newsid_7329900/7329901.stm

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article3671195.ece

The Direct Gov website has a page on the subject of Stray Dogs, Dog Wardens etc., but is yet to be updated with details of the new arrangement, at the time of writing:

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/HomeAndCommunity/InYourHome/AnimalsAndPets/DG_10026135

Is it a coincidence that the first website to come up on one particular Google search I did was that of the London Borough of Barking & Dagenham?

http://www.barking-dagenham.gov.uk/6-living/public-health/hcs-animal-stray-main.html

Joking apart, this site starkly lays out the obligations and powers of the Local Authority under the 'Environmental Protection (Stray Dogs) Regulations':

http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si1992/Uksi_19920288_en_1.htm

Legislation affecting dog ownership in the UK:

http://www.alternativevet.org/Laws%20for%20Dogs%20WS034-07.pdf

Other links:

Dogs Trust: http://www.dogstrust.org.uk/

Blue Cross: http://www.bluecross.org.uk/web/site/home/home.asp

[Why not take a look at www.alternativevet.org , while you're here?]