PCI NEWS AND EVENTS

 Zoos, aquariums weigh power cut, animal safety

 While the Tokai region strives to cut electricity use this summer following the shutdown of the Hamaoka nuclear plant in May, local aquariums and zoos must continue to maintain a suitable environment for their fish and animals regardless of the circumstances.

In a bid reduce power usage while keeping the animals safe, some facilities have been forced to ask staff and visitors to tolerate the sizzling summer heat.

The Port of Nagoya Public Aquarium, which boasts about 50,000 fish of 500 different species, is one of the facilities in such a predicament.

The popular tourist attraction had already played its part in saving power by cutting down water circulation in tanks depending on their size and the number of fish. The aquarium also set water and room temperatures higher than in previous years.

The aquarium's water circulation and filtration system, which maintains the quality of water, accounts for up to 65 percent of the facility's total electricity usage, while lighting uses up 20 percent and air conditioning 15 percent.

By adjusting the water system, the aquarium cut its electricity use to 18 million kw per hour in 2010, down from the 22.9 million kw the facility used in 2002. But following the March 11 disasters and subsequent power supply shortage, the bar has been set even higher.

Cutting back further on power consumption will be tough, especially as the facility has the largest pool for dolphins in the country. The pool, which holds 13,000 tons of water, requires a huge amount of electricity to maintain water quality and that can't be compromised, aquarium officials said.

In order to protect the animals, staff at the aquarium have decided to bear the burden themselves, and for the first time the facility set the air conditioning at 28 degrees in its offices.

"Our employees are sweating while they do desk work," said Nobuo Ishikawa, who is in charge of facility management.

Meanwhile, Gifu World Fresh Water Aquarium in Kakamigahara, Gifu Prefecture, is seeking to cut annual electricity use by 15 percent this year,

But the facility, better known as Aqua Toto Gifu, pointed out that 70 percent of its power is used to control the water temperature and manage the environment of the fish, including pumps in the water.

The aquarium boasts a collection of 28,500 fish of 260 species.

"Changing the condition in the tanks is not an option," said Shunsuke Tanimura, vice director of the aquarium. So far, the facility has raised the pool temperature for tropical fish by 2 degrees, which is considered a safe level. The aquarium has also dimmed lights as much as possible in its offices, and switched to LED lights in some displays to cut electricity use.

The temperature in the display area visitors walk through has also been raised 1 degree. "But exterior condensation becomes an issue if there is too much difference in temperature between the visitor area and the pool," Tanimura said.

Meanwhile, Higashiyama Zoo and Botanical Gardens, located in Nagoya, declined to specify a goal when discussing in June its measures to cut down electricity use. "We cannot push ourselves to the point that the burden will be on the animals," a zoo official said.

Mammals and fish from cooler climates are kept in air-conditioned areas and temperature-controlled pools, as they are extremely sensitive to changes in their environment.

For instance, a few years ago algae started growing inside the pool and discolored the polar bears. "We need to circulate and change the water frequently to avoid a reoccurrence," the official said.

Changing the light bulbs in the areas of nocturnal animals to LEDs was also considered, but the zoo decided against the measure as it would alter the amount of ultraviolet rays. "It is a possibility that (the ultraviolet rays) may affect the health of the animals," the official said

Of the approximately 500 types of species kept at the zoo, more than half are mammals from regions warmer than Japan and therefore do not require air conditioning in their areas.

The only measures to save electricity at Higashiyama was to raise the setting of air conditioners from 26 to 28 degrees in its offices and visitor areas, and to use fewer light bulbs on-site.

"To save the animals and protect their health, we humans need to save power as much as we can," said Hisashi Hashikawa, the director of the zoo.

The Zoo and Botanical Park in Toyohashi, Aichi Prefecture, is seeking to cut its electricity use this year by 20 percent from 2010. But the polar animal area — home to a sea otter, two polar bears and more than 50 penguins — must be left untouched.

Sea otters are especially sensitive to changes in their environment and the temperature must be kept at 15 degrees in their room and 13 degrees in the pool, at 60 percent humidity, the facility's management said.

But the temperature at the park's office buildings and its museum of natural history has been raised to 28 degrees.

The facilities will also use less lighting, while zookeepers will be allowed to work in T-shirts in the intense heat.

"The priority is the lives of the animals," said Masayuki Iwase, an employee at the park. "We will need to endure some difficulties."

 Netherlands parliament rules against ritual animal slaughter

The Netherlands' parliament has passed a bill banning any slaughter of livestock without stunning, removing an exemption that has long allowed orthodox Dutch Jews and Muslims to butcher animals according to their centuries-old dietary rules.

However, the bill must still pass the senate and the government says it may be unenforceable in its current form.

The threat of a ban led to outcry from Jewish and Muslim groups who say it infringes their right to freedom of religion. They argue ritual slaughter – done by swiftly cutting animals' throats with a razor-sharp knife – is no worse than stunning.

The bill was passed on Tuesday with support from the political left, which sees ritual slaughter as inhumane, and on the right, which sees it as foreign and barbaric.

 Scientists have compared a dinosaur with several modern-day animals to settle who wins the heavy-weight head-butting title.

The new findings confirm that the ancient bipedal dinosaur Stegocerascould knock out any of today's top head-butters.

Stegoceras probably used their domed skulls to ram each other over access to fertile females.

The hard-hitting research was published in the journal PLoS ONE.

Stegoceras was a member of the leaf-eating genus Pachycephalosauriathat roamed the Earth around 70 million years ago.

The goat-sized dinosaur supported a 7.5cm (~3 inches) thick bony skull, which some palaeontologists believe acted as a shock-absorber when these animals ran at each other.

Big hitters

However, images of the insides of Stegoceras' fossilised skull, which reveal two layers of dense bone that encase a spongy sinus held apart by tiny struts, has led some scientists to doubt this interpretation.

Stegoceras likely ran at each other at 15 miles per hour.

Hoping to clear up the controversy, biomedical engineer Dr Eric Snively wandered down the corridor at the University of Calgary in Alberta, Canada to enlist the help of colleague Dr Jessica Theodor, a vertebrate palaeontologist.

The duo performed computer tomographic (CT) scans on the skulls of Stegoceras, along with a variety of modern animals, and used these bone density measurements to create 3D models of the animals' heads.

The team was then able to exert virtual stresses to test how the different skulls held up.

Compared to some of today's big hitters, such as the Northern American bighorn sheep, the Arctic musk ox and African duiker, Stegoceras ' head was able to withstand the most stress.

"The argument that they couldn't withstand the forces of head-butting seems to have been refuted by this evidence," said Dr Theodor.

Man-animal conflict still in Manas National Park

Shrinking space and shortage of food often forces wild animals towards populated areas. This friction results in the loss of life and property. The States have been compensating for the loss in terms of money but they now find it difficult to meet the rising demands for monetary relief. This was obvious at the two-day conference of the State Forest Ministers held here earlier this week. State after State sought more funds from the Ministry of Environment and Forests for payment of compensation for raids by wild animals.

 No longer called the World Heritage Site in danger, the picturesque Manas National Park , home to many endangered species like the Royal Bengal Tigers , is still witnessing man-animal conflicts. 

Environmentalists, who rejoiced over the Unesco's recent decision to remove the famed park from the list of World Heritage Sites in danger, now express concern over the increasing conflict between man and animal. 

"Growing incidents of human-animal conflict have posed a serious threat to the animals in the Manas biosphere," Dr Pranjit Basumatary, member of the Wild Trust of India, said. 

The park had suffered ravages in the 90s during the height of insurgency by the then Bodo Security Force, later rechristened as the National Democratic Front of Bodoland, and the ULFA, which had resulted in the loss of infrastructure and animals. 

The state-of-affairs had prompted the Unesco to declare the park as a World Heritage Site in danger. 

But the subsequent restoration of peace and formation of the Bodoland Territorial Council led to the revival of the park and the World Heritage Committee noted that the universal value for which the property was inscribed on the heritage list was recovering from the damage suffered during the unrest. 

Dr Basumatary said ever since the creation of a transit centre for rescue and rehabilitation of wildlife, as many as 450 schedule one wildlife species have been rescued and nearly 80 per cent of them successfully rehabilitated.

Now, cruelty to animals may invite Rs 1 crore fine

 Be cruel to your pet or any other animal at your own peril. For, an offender could end up paying up to Rs 1 crore as fine or be jailed for up to five years. The environment and forests ministry has proposed this hefty fine in its Animal Welfare Bill , 2011. For institutions or companies that show cruelty towards animals the penalty would be a whopping Rs 25 crore. 

The proposed bill empowers the Centre to fix fines and penalties based on the severity of offence. It aims to regulate welfare of pets and animals used in performances and for scientific experiments. 

It would be construed as an offence if you don't take reasonable steps to ensure that the pet gets a suitable environment and diet, protection from pain, suffering and diseases. 

"If any person beats, kicks, over-rides, over-drives, over-loads, tortures or otherwise treats any animal so as to subject it to unnecessary pain or suffering' or permits such cruelty he or she would be liable for penalty under the act when and if passed by the Parliament," says the provisions in the proposed bill. 

Keeping animals chained for "unreasonable time" or abandoning a pet, or keeping it caged in a space that does not "permit the animal a reasonable opportunity for movement" would call for invoking the penal clause. 

If an individual files a complaint against a pet-owner before a magistrate, police commissioner or SP in writing, the officer can send a sub-inspector to the 'errant' person's house to ascertain the truth. The officer can carry out search and seizure under the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure. 

The courts could debar you forever for keeping a pet if they find you have been cruel before. However, there are several caveats to such a fiat. 

The ministry has also set up a panel to oversee and regulate scientific experiments, where animals are used. No agency will be allowed to conduct experiments without the commission's nod.