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Kokua Line
June Watanabe
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Rules govern potentially risky feathers
Question: This may sound like a really stupid question, but here goes. With all the talk about the bird flu, is there any concern over purchasing down blankets or pillows? I recently purchased a down blanket and want to be sure there are no sanitation issues involved.
Answer: It's not a stupid question, considering that the H5N1 avian flu virus that's causing such a scare worldwide has been transmitted to humans in Asia.
The current risk to Americans is said to be low and no human cases of the H5N1 flu have been reported in the United States.
There have been reports of a shortage of down (the fine coating under the feathers of birds) and feathers as a result of avian flu.
There are controls over imports of avian products, such as feathers, from countries that have reported cases of avian flu, said Dr. Arlene Buchholz, veterinary medical officer with the state Department of Health's Disease Outbreak Control Division.
But Buchholz said an official with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service told her there are no restrictions on finished goods having down and feathers, such as jackets, comforters and pillows.
"The feathers in finished goods are cleaned and processed before being used in the product," she explained. "Feathers and down not in finished goods would require an import permit showing they had been processed adequately to lower the risk of highly pathogenic avian influenza to a negligible level."
The APHIS Web site -- www.aphis.usda.gov -- is a good source of information (click on "hot issues" then "avian influenza").
Hawaii Kai cats
Regarding the
Oct. 27 "auwe" about people feeding cats at the Hawaii Kai Park and Ride and leaving a mess: Gina Lay, of Hawaii Animal Sanctuary, wants people to know her group is not responsible for the trash.
Lay works with a number of colony cat feeders, who are registered with the Hawaiian Humane Society.
The big problem is that the Park and Ride area is a popular drop-off for people abandoning their animals, she said. "We also have a problem with people who think the cats aren't fed, so they leave a lot of food laying around, such as plate lunches."
She wanted to make it clear that the colony feeders are responsible people who take part in the Trap-Neuter-Return program, making sure the cats are well fed and cared for -- they are not the ones creating the mess.
Clarification
"TNR," referred to in
Monday's column, stands for "trap, neuter, return," not "release." "Return" means that feral cats "are taken back to their colonies that are their homes, with their friends and family there," said Frank De Giacomo, vice president of Animal CARE Foundation. "Release," he said, "has had a tendency to connote the imagery of neutering them and letting them out the back door of the clinic or relocating them, which is not advisable."
See the
Columnists section for some past articles.
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