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This article studies how the national media reacted to four feral woman episodes between 1843 and 1857. In 1843 and 1848, newspapers reprinted stories about two feral women without sectional variations in coverage. This national consensus collapsed after a feral woman in Texas was identified as African. Northern newspapers then broke from the consensus. Dramatic sectional differences in coverage also appear after the Wild Woman of Cincinnati show in 1856 and during an Alabama Wild Woman incident in 1857. We can see gender and racial ideologies driving the North and South apart when we study antebellum feral woman episodes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Feral cats are contentious and transgressive, with opposing views on whether to classify them as abandoned pets, wild animals, or invasive species. Concerns about their welfare often conflict with fears that they are impacting native fauna. This paper presents the results of a case study of human-feral cat relations that took place in southern Ontario, Canada in 2014. This research investigates the discursive constructions of feral cats and their 'animal spaces' using the results of 40 semi-structured interviews. Following recent calls to move beyond human representations of animals and better integrate animals' geographies, this study also explores the 'beastly places' of feral cats using the results of field observations of 20 feral cat colonies and anecdotal evidence from colony caretakers. The results emphasize the diversity of free-living contexts and the complexity of management options. This paper ends by discussing the place-making practices of cats, along with their potential ethical ramifications. Overall, it illustrates the importance of spatial factors in understanding the complex social and ethical dynamics of human-animal relations, and advances an understanding of nonhuman animals as inhabitants of personally meaningful homes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Animal shelters exist worldwide to care for and rehome unwanted or straying pets. Previous studies have examined why owners breed unwanted animals, or relinquish their pets to shelters. However, the views of shelter workers, who receive and care for these animals, have previously been largely unexplored. The aim of this study was to investigate the perceptions of animal shelter workers on the problems facing their industry. A sampling frame was constructed, consisting of every identified shelter in the UK, and a postal questionnaire sent to each. This included two open questions, soliciting respondents’ views on their biggest problems, and inviting further comments. A total of 661 respondents replied to at least one question. Thematic analysis on the free text content was carried out, and basic and global themes identified. Respondents’ main concerns centered on a mismatch between the continuous demand for their services and their limited resources, which has worsened during the recent financial crisis. Respondents perceived a need for increased public awareness of the commitment involved in keeping a pet, and of controlling breeding by neutering. Points of intervention, such as education programs, were suggested. Coordinating efforts with others, including local authorities, landlords, and housing associations, and a potential role for veterinary professionals working in shelter medicine were all explored by respondents. Rehoming organizations play an important role in the management of pet overpopulation, and the views and beliefs of their workers form an important contribution to the dialogue surrounding this issue. Consideration of these perspectives may suggest alternative routes to address underlying causes and management of pet overpopulation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Lethal control is used extensively in New Zealand to control nonnative nonhuman mammals. Respondents were surveyed about 8 mammal groups considered pests and their attitudes toward their control and pest status. They also identified the most appropriate method of control for the 8 different mammals. Information was gathered from 3 groups of respondents: nonhuman animal protectionists, conservationists, and the general public. Conservationists routinely rated all animal groups as more severe pests than the general public or animal protectionists, who provided the lowest scores. Rats, stoats, brushtail possums, and rabbits were identified as the 4 most serious pests by all 3 groups. Conservationists were 5.7 and 2.6 times more likely to prefer a lethal method of control than protectionists and the general public, respectively. For all 3 groups an increase in pest score for a given animal saw a decline in importance placed upon the animal's welfare. This relationship was strong for the general public but weak for conservationists and animal protectionists. Understanding aspects of potentially opposing viewpoints may be invaluable in supporting the development of new welfare-focused control methods. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Canada Geese (Branta canadensis) were caught and ringed at 55 moult sites within 13 km of a UK airport between 1999 and 2004. More than 2500 visits were subsequently made to some 300 sites, resulting in over 10 000 re-sightings of individual birds. The breeding, moulting and foraging ecology of individuals was used to assist in the development of a management plan to help reduce the birdstrike risk to aircraft operating out of the airport. Canada Geese were struck on 11 occasions by aircraft between 1994 and 2004. Strikes were not randomly distributed throughout the year, with four incidents occurring during the pre-breeding season and seven in the post-moult period. The breeding and moult locations of birds that were known to be involved in transiting either the airfield or its approaches were identified. Management actions including egg oiling, direct deterrence and habitat change were instigated and the effects monitored. A significant reduction in the risk to flight safety was achieved through the use of an integrated strategy based on rigorous research and monitoring protocols. This paper discusses the results of monitoring and their use to drive the management regime. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although baiting for feral predators with sodium fluoroacetate (1080) benefit native fauna over much of Australia by reducing the abundance of those predators, there is a potential risk of poisoning to non-target species. Bush Stone-curlews (Burhinus grallarius) have declined over much of mainland southern Australia owing to predation by Red Foxes (Vulpes vulpes), but they have the potential to eat and be affected by 1080 baits. This paper explores the extent to which 1080-baiting programs may have an adverse effect on extant or reintroduced populations of Bush Stone-curlews. Our study used Bush Stone-curlews from a population that was not adapted to naturally occurring 1080, so our results are likely to be relevant throughout the range of the species. We determined the approximate lethal dose (ALD) of 1080 for Bush Stone-curlews to be 10?15 mg kg?1. Thus a Bush Stone-curlew weighing 700 g would need to eat between three and four baits, each containing 3 mg of 1080, to receive an ALD. In unforced trials, the Bush Stone-curlews in our study did not eat (undosed) meat or grain baits. Dying food blue did not deter Bush Stone-curlews from eating it. Thus, sole reliance on blue dyes to deter non-target species from taking baits seems unwise. Our results indicate that reintroduction programs for Bush Stone-curlew are unlikely to be affected by concurrent 1080-baiting for feral animal control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although still often considered as simple unicellular organisms, in natural settings yeast cells tend to organize into intricate multicellular communities. Due to specific mechanisms only feasible at the population level, their capacity for social behavior is advantageous for their survival in a harmful environment. Feral Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains form complex structured colonies, which display many properties typical of natural biofilms causing (among others) serious infections in the human body. In our recent paper, we looked inside a growing colony using two-photon confocal microscopy. This allowed us to elucidate its three-dimensional colony architecture and some mechanisms responsible for community protection. Moreover, we showed how particular protective mechanisms complement each other during colony development and how each of them contributes to its defense against attacks from the environment. Our findings broaden current understanding of microbial multicellularity in general and also shed new light on the enormous resistance of yeast biofilms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]