The Sublime Otherness of Sharks

The Sublime Otherness of Sharks

A new book makes the visual case for why sharks fascinate and frighten us, and for why we should save them. 

 

Edward Tenner Sep 25 2013

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A white shark follows a researcher in a sea kayak off South Africa’s southwest coast. (Thomas Peschak / University of Chicago Press)

 

Edmund Burke, Immanuel Kant, and other authors of the Romantic era saw a special emotion in our recognition of nature's terrifying side, the paradoxical pull of the imagery of pain and danger they called the sublime. And no creature evokes this sense more vividly than the shark.

Despite our fears, sharks are among the most negligible threats to human life. As the dust jacket of the award-winning National Geographic contributing photographer Thomas P. Peschak's new book, Sharks & People: Exploring Our Relationship With the Most Feared Fish in the Sea, points out, fewer than a half dozen humans are killed each year by sharks, while we have been slaughtering 38 million of them annually.

But sharks are radically different from the other animals that occasionally prey on us. In the fiercest lions, tigers, and leopards we can recognize the kin of beloved house cats, in wolf packs the wild ancestors of dogs. (The Orthodox Christian monks of New Skete have even developed a controversial dog training technique, the alpha roll, based on supposed wolf pack leader dominance tactics.) Grizzly bears can sometimes seem deceptively human until it's too late, as the filmmaker Werner Herzog documented in Grizzly Man. And the young of all these mammalian species can be playful companions to humans until the animals reach adolescence.

A blacktip shark gapes and displays 15 rows of teeth designed to aid its predation on schools of small fish. (Thomas Peschak / University of Chicago Press)

 

A bronze whaler charges a bait-ball of sardines off South Africa’s east coast. (Thomas Peschak / University of Chicago Press)

 

In remote locations like Aldabra Atoll, sharks are abundant. They congregate in schools of 100 and can be encountered in water that is often only a few inches deep. (Thomas Peschak / University of Chicago Press)

In contrast, baby sharks might be called pups, but they don't act cute. Some of them even start cannibalizing each other as embryos. A set of shark teeth are among the most fearsome objects in nature, and also among the finest of biological designs; Native Americans were trading tiger and bull shark teeth as tools two millennia ago. While it is hard to feel empathy with such a mighty organism, it's impossible to avoid awe—and respect for its athleticism, its superb senses, and its ability to survive centuries of commercial human predation.

Thomas Peschak makes an eloquent visual case for the sublimity of sharks—and also for their conservation. He notes that the media still devotes far more attention to rare shark attacks than to the urgent need to protect them from human depredation, especially the shark fin trade. He might have noted that Peter Benchley, who became wealthy through the 1970s novel and film Jaws, regretted the fear he had sown and became a shark advocate. In the long run, though, China's removal of Mao Tse-Tung's ban on shark fin soup as bourgeois decadence in 1987 may have resulted in more shark slaughter than all the horror books, films, and news items together. Great conservation photography like Peschak's, one must hope, will have the power to change attitudes globally.

Awaiting auction, a single boat's catch of silky sharks is laid out in an orderly grid. (Thomas Peschak / University of Chicago Press)

Shark fins are laid out to dry in the sun before being packed and shipped to buyers. (Thomas Peschak / University of Chicago Press)

A butcher in a Sri Lankan fish market deftly severs the dorsal fin of a bull shark. (Thomas Peschak / University of Chicago Press)

 

Protecting sharks, it should be added, is in our own self-interest. Like other apex predators, they keep in check the intermediate predators, like cownosed rays, that endanger our fisheries. And the Nobel Laureate psychologist Daniel Kahneman has observed that even in attacking people, sharks paradoxically have saved human lives. For every swimmer killed by a shark off San Diego, 10 other lives were saved by fear of going in the water, until the scare was over.

We might never love sharks, we may fear them rationally, but above all we must respect them. They are sublime.

Whale shark. (Thomas Peschak / University of Chicago Press)

 

A bronze whaler charges a bait-ball of sardines off South Africa’s east coast. (Thomas Peschak / University of Chicago Press)

Shark's blood may harbor human breast cancer cure

By ANI | ANI 

Melbourne, Sept 27 (ANI): Researchers have claimed that a type of antibody found only in the blood of sharks could help tackle breast cancer.

It is thought that the unique IgNAR antibodies could be used to prevent the growth of cancer cells and research into them could lead to the development of new drugs to fight one of the most common form of the disease, News.com.au reported.

Biologists from the University of Aberdeen have been awarded 345,660 Australian dollars by Scottish cancer research charity the Association for International Cancer Research (AICR) to carry out a three-year study.

Their work will focus on two molecules, HER2 and HER3, found on the surface of cancer cells which, when they pair-up, are responsible for signalling cancer cells to grow and divide.

Potentially, IgNAR antibodies could be used to stop these molecules from working and sending the signal.

Dr Helen Dooley who is from the university's School of Biological Sciences and will lead the study sais that IgNAR antibodies are interesting because they bind to targets, such as viruses or parasites, in a very different way to the antibodies found in humans. (ANI)

(Glad to hear this, but then, might this lead to harvesting of sharks for their blood to save human lives? A moral dilemma for sure. Hopefully, they can refine the research and create synthetic or genetically engineered antobodies that will do the job.)

We have definitely seen this trend in our practice. We are seeing a large number of chickens with the numbers increasing significantly over the past year. We have treated a wide variety of disease conditions in poultry as well as numerous surgical procedures. Most commonly performed surgeries are related to the reproductive tract, such as egg removal from egg bound hens or salpingectomies (removal of the reproductive tract of a hen) in birds with serious reproductive conditions.

We also work with various rescue organizations which save chickens, "Free from Harm" (executive director Robert Grillo) is a particularly motivated and very effective group. We also work with Jennifer Murtoff who is an Urban Chicken Specialist. So more people are becoming involved to provide care for these wonderful birds, which are sadly underestimated.

From the AVMA PetHealth Smart Brief:

Chicken Owners Scramble When Their Pet Feels Foul

Craze of Raising Birds Grows, but Vets Are Scarcer Than Hen's Teeth

Carolyn Hecht, who keeps six chickens as pets on Long Island, has not been able to find a vet who will see chickens. As a result, she turns to the web and fellow chicken owners for advice. 

Seeking medical help for her beloved pet, Edie, who had fallen ill, Martha Lazar quickly grew frustrated.
"I had a terrible time finding a vet here that would see a chicken," says Ms. Lazar, a 45-year-old freelance photographer and casting director in Brooklyn, N.Y. She eventually found an animal doctor across the bridge in Manhattan who knew parrots, but the knowledge didn't transfer. Some $300 later, Edie was still in distress. Finally, after Ms. Lazar repeatedly poked around the bird's nether-feathers, a stuck egg popped out.

Blaze the rooster guards his flock at the home of Kathy Shea Mormino.

As a growing number of suburbanites and weekend farmers raise poultry for fun, not just food, they are learning that top health care is hard to find. In many cases, they are left to wing it.

Hens, roosters and other poultry can have unique ailments that set them far apart from Fluffy and Fido. And even specialists well-versed on exotic birds may not know chickens, which are bred to be egg-laying machines.

There are chicken experts: The American College of Poultry Veterinarians has about 260 members in good standing. But the vast majority work in the food industry, vets say.

"If there's something wrong with a commercial chicken, it's 'Cut its head off and find out what's wrong with the flock'," says Cheryl Greenacre, an associate professor of avian and zoological medicine at the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine in Knoxville.

That doesn't roost well with backyard bird fans, many of whom hopped on the poultry bandwagon in search of self-sufficient, grow-local lifestyles. Rob Ludlow, who runs the popular site backyardchickens.com, says it "continues to grow like crazy," with membership recently topping 222,000. The U.S. Department of Agriculture doesn't track statistics on backyard husbandry, a spokesman said.

Some people are going full farmer, collecting eggs and eating birds, while others are more "helicopter chicken parents," says Ms. Lazar, who recently offered tips for battling chicken mites on her blog, brooklynfeed.com. (Her chicken Edie eventually succumbed to health troubles.) Owners may start with agricultural intentions, but once the birds get whimsical names such as Ellen DeHeneres and Yolko, they become more like family than food.

Indeed, diapered chickens are pecking around houses as indoor pets. Or they have their own fancy digs: Gourmet cookware purveyor Williams-Sonoma sells a $1,499.95 coop made of red cedar "custom milled by a local, family-run sawmill" in Washington state. Elsewhere, fans of both Middle-earth and poultry can buy coops that look like Hobbit homes.

Some owners go the extra medical mile. Marli Lintner, a vet in Lake Oswego, Ore., with chicken expertise, says she commonly performs hysterectomies and stitches up fowl that have been wounded by predators.

In Tennessee, Dr. Greenacre performed a surgery last month to remove a clutch of stuck eggs from Dolly Poulet, a petite, white chicken. Owner Stephen Brown, a 40-year-old in Knoxville who runs giftware company Glitterville, spent roughly $2,000 but was thrilled with the outcome after getting spurned by other vets, one of whom told him chickens were "disposable" livestock.

But Dolly lives a life far from the henhouse. Actress and poultry enthusiast Tori Spelling, with whom Mr. Brown worked on the TV show "Craft Wars," inspired him to get his first chicken, he said. Dolly sleeps in a basket near her owner, has her own Twitter feed and travels in a Ralph Lauren tote bag.

"She laid her first egg in the bed of a Ritz-Carlton in Atlanta," Mr. Brown says.

A spokeswoman for the two Ritz-Carlton hotels in Atlanta said they had no knowledge of the chicken laying an egg there.

Meantime, Dr. Greenacre's hospital recently saw a turkey beset by seizures and respiratory problems. It got an MRI. In another case, vets at the same hospital pulled 97 cents in change from a duck.

But many poultry lovers don't live near specialists or become budget-conscious when their flocks grow. Enter the Internet, where chicken-centric sites are rife with health tips, ranging from basic care to grave diseases.

One discussion on backyardchickens.com delved into advice for diagnosing and treating "vent gleet," an unsightly infection. Somebody wanted to know whether a chicken missing feathers was getting bullied, or was merely molting. Owners also frequently discuss over-the-counter drugs for other ailments, or how to surgically empty the "crop," a blockage-prone food-storage pouch.

Experienced vets cringe at online treatments, some of which they say are downright flighty. But Kathy Shea Mormino, a 45-year-old chicken owner in northern Connecticut, says necessity feeds the DIY culture. She shares care tips on her website, the-chicken-chick.com, such as how to Super Glue cracked beaks and treat an infectious problem called bumblefoot.

At-home surgery isn't for the faint of stomach, yet Ms. Mormino's YouTube bumblefoot demonstration recently had more than 20,000 hits. A lawyer, she is careful to warn that she isn't giving professional medical advice.

On a recent afternoon in Ms. Mormino's manicured backyard, about 40 chickens including Ms. DeHeneres and Ally McBeak strutted around, scratching the ground or tailing her for food. Blaze, a big rooster with black and copper feathers, was on high alert, possibly for local bobcats.

Blaze also took occasional breaks for not-so-private moments with his favorite hens, some of which wore capes to protect from his claws. He was nearly felled in June by a fast-moving infection.

It started with an irritated eye that quickly swelled shut, and Blaze was "in my office, in the dog bed, just flat out laying down," Ms. Mormino says. Out of her depth, she worked the phones searching for medical help. She found some from local vets eventually, and Blaze was saved, but the process was frustrating.

"The challenge is to find someone who's trained and experienced," Ms. Mormino says.

But chicken pros say this is changing. Dr. Greenacre, who is wrapping up a book on backyard birds, says the trend is a hot topic at vet conferences. "We're responding to the need," she says.

Meantime, owners such as Carolyn Hecht, a 73-year-old retiree on New York's Long Island, are ready to take poultry health into their own hands. She acquired her small flock, including hens Laverne and Shirley, a few years ago to soothe her "total empty-nest syndrome," and was also surprised when local vets turned down the birds.

They have been healthy so far, but "I just received my shipment of 10 scalpels," she says.

Dog's Shedding in Fall Can Be as Bad as in Spring

From the AVMA SmartHealth Brief

Pet Connection: Dog’s shedding in fall can be just as bad as in spring

By Dr. Marty Becker and Gina Spadafori

Published: Tuesday, Sep. 10, 2013 - 12:00 am

As the days grow shorter and the nights grow cooler, you may observe something that seems rather odd for a body preparing for winter: Your dog is shedding more than usual.

Be reassured: It’s perfectly normal.

Dogs typically lose their winter coat in spring, when it is replaced by a shorter, lighter one for summer. In the fall, this cycle is reversed, as the summer coat is shed to make room for heavy protective winter fur. The change is most obvious in “double-coated” breeds such as collies, shelties and keeshonden. Those breeds carry not only a harsh, protective, long overcoat, but also a soft, insulating undercoat — and they lose masses of fur both in spring and fall.

The amount of shedding varies widely from breed to breed. German shepherds, for example, are prolific year-round shedders, while poodles seem to lose little fur at all. Many short-haired dogs actually may shed more than the longhairs, but since the hair they shed is easily overlooked, it may seem as if they are shedding less.

All shedders — even the heaviest — can be tamed by a regular and frequent schedule of bathing, combing and brushing. After all, the fur you grab while grooming your pet won’t end up on rugs or furniture.

If you have a purebred dog, or one that has the characteristics of a purebred, ask a breeder for grooming advice, especially in regard to the proper kind of grooming equipment. The slicker brush that works fine on a poodle won’t make much headway in the thick mane of a full-coated collie at the height of a seasonal shed.

For a short-haired dog, a curry comb or hound glove will do the job well, catching the short fur before it lands elsewhere.

No matter what the breed, shedding — and heavy seasonal shedding — is normal, but some heavy shedding can be a sign of health problems. Skin allergies, hormonal abnormalities and skin parasites may trigger shedding, and poor nutrition can also be a cause of coat problems.

Become familiar with your pet’s normal pattern of shedding and ask your veterinarian for advice if the coat’s condition seems to dull or if you notice excessive overall hair loss or areas of complete hair loss.

Other fall pet-care tips:
•  Cold-weather cautions. Assess your pet’s condition, age, level of exercise and weight, and make adjustments for the cold. In general, pets that live mostly indoors need less food (to offset a decrease in activity), and pets that spend more time outdoors need more (keeping warm requires energy and food is the fuel). Don’t forget shelter, and make sure your pet always has access to water that isn’t frozen. Outside or in, heated beds are a good idea, too, and there are many models to choose from at pet-supply outlets.

•  Special care for older animals. Cold weather is especially tough on older pets. For elderly animals, it’s not ridiculous to help out by putting a sweater on them when they go outside. Pet-supply outlets have a wide selection, or fashion your own from thrift-store children’s wear.

Article about Avian Vets/Medicine from the American Veterinary Medical Association News

An article about avian medicine from the September 15th, 2013 American Veterinary Medical Association News, featuring Dr. Sakas

Birds of a feather

Few in number, avian veterinarians are a dedicated lot

Story and photos by R. Scott Nolen

posted September 4, 2013

Stuart Blackman can’t imagine life without Rufus, his pet scarlet macaw. “I grew up with Rufus. I don’t know what life would be like without him, God forbid,” said Blackman of the spectacular red bird he’s owned for nearly 31 years.

​	​	​
​	Gainsborough, a hyacinth macaw, is one of Stuart Blackman’s four pet exotic birds. He considers the birds to be his children, and spares no expense to ensure their health and well-being.“​	​

 

Rufus was Blackman’s first pet bird and is just one of his four exotic avian companions, housed in separate expansive cages lining the windows of Blackman’s Chicago loft. There’s Zoey, 24, a rose-breasted cockatoo; Gainsborough, 8, a hyacinth macaw; and Quebe, 4, a Queen of Bavaria conure.

Over the years, Blackman has spent tens of thousands of dollars on specially made cages, imported vitamins, feed, and veterinary care for his birds, which he sees as his children. And like any good father, Blackman is highly protective of his brood. “Birds are not for everyone,” he stressed. “They require a lot of training on the owner’s part. They are very smart and have sensitive feelings.”

The pet-owning public seems to share Blackman’s sentiment about bird ownership. The AVMA’s 2012 U.S. Pet Ownership and Demographic Sourcebook estimated the size of the nation’s pet bird population to be 8.3 million animals at year end 2011—a 20.5 percent decline since 2006 when the previous study was published. Approximately 3.7 million U.S. households owned a bird in 2011, down from 4.5 million in 2006. Bird ownership has dropped nearly 46 percent over the past two decades, the survey found.

By comparison, the AVMA survey estimated the number of pet cats and dogs at year end 2011 to be 74 million and 69.9 million, respectively. Additionally, 36.5 percent of U.S households owned dogs and 30.4 percent owned cats.

Not surprisingly, the number of U.S. veterinary practices catering to bird owners is dwarfed by the abundance of small animal clinics. Of the more than 14,000 practices listed in MyVeterinarian.com, 3,527 offer avian medical services, AVMA records show.

The Association of Avian Veterin­arians, established in 1980 for the purpose of educating small animal practitioners in avian medicine, today has approximately 1,714 members, according to AAV Executive Director Robert Groskin. Around 1,400 of them are practitioners, and of these, only about 10 percent are in an exclusively or almost exclusively avian practice, while the remainder have an avian caseload of 30 percent or less.

“The majority of our members do not see birds exclusively. They have a mix of birds, exotic small mammals and reptiles, and dogs and cats,” Dr. Groskin said.

The field of avian medicine has grown by leaps and bounds in recent years. Safer anesthetics, a better understanding of avian pharmacology, increasing availability of sophisticated diagnostic tests, and greater insights into bird
physiology have yielded important health care advances.

“The AAV just had its annual conference, where one of the sessions was surgery on the avian skull. That was unthinkable two decades ago,”  Dr. Groskin said.

 

“Everything we’ve learned on pet birds has benefited the avian population overall,” he added. “We have a greater capacity to protect the health of the remaining birds of an endangered species.”

Bird doctors

Small in number, veterinarians who practice avian medicine are a different breed, motivated by a love of the species and a passion for the bird’s unique medical needs.

 

​	​	​
​	Pet birds make up more than 30 percent of the patient caseload at Niles Animal Hospital and Bird Medical Center in suburban Chicago. The practice was started by Dr. T.J. Lafeber, a leading authority on pet bird care and medicine, and has been run by Dr. Peter Sakas since 1985.	​

Dr. Peter Sakas has practiced at Niles Animal Hospital and Bird Medical Center in suburban Chicago for more than three decades. In 1985, two years after receiving his DVM degree from the University of Illinois, Dr. Sakas bought the hospital from his mentor, Dr. T.J. Lafeber, a leading authority on pet bird care and medicine at the time.

Having previously earned a master’s degree in parasitology, Dr. Sakas enrolled in veterinary college with plans for a career in research and academia. He spent his summer breaks working for Dr. Lafeber, who ultimately steered him into avian medicine. Now, Dr. Sakas is himself an authority on avian medicine. A frequent lecturer for veterinary colleges and associations, he is author of “Essentials of avian medicine: A guide for practitioners,” published by the American Animal Hospital Association.

 

​	​	​
​	Dr. Peter Sakas examines a patient during a checkup. Unfortunately, far too few pet owners see the value of such routine preventive health care, according to the Association of Avian Veterinarians.​	​

 

 

Dr. Sakas estimates pet birds account for more than 30 percent of his hospital’s caseload, noting that many clients also own dogs, cats, and varieties of exotic pets. He sees birds ranging from finches to macaws as well as wild birds, including raptors. Cockatiels and parakeets are the most frequently seen patients, however.

 

He says a person chooses a bird as a pet for personal reasons ranging from the aesthetic (the colorful plumage) to the practical (cats and dogs make them sneeze) to the desire for a loving pet. People sometimes inherit birds that have outlived their owners. Dr. Sakas believes many pet owners are alike in their willingness to do anything to care for an animal companion.

 

“We do some pretty involved surgeries,” Dr. Sakas said. “We remove the reproductive tract of birds that have tumors or an egg that will not pass. Some people balk at the expense of such a surgery, but most people say, ‘Do whatever you can to save my bird.’”

 

Dr. Anthony Pilny is one of two veterinarians board certified in avian medicine on staff at The Center for Avian and Exotic Medicine in New York City. Birds make up more than half the practice’s caseload, Dr. Pilny said, and range from finches and macaws to pigeons and other wild birds.

 

The most common avian health problems Dr. Pilny sees are related to reproduction. Obesity can also be an issue, particularly for Amazon parrots, which are predisposed to weight gain, he said. Pet birds typically live sedentary lives; they may be unable to fly as a result of trimmed wings—a procedure The Center for Avian and Exotic Medicine offers but doesn’t recommend—and owners don’t always understand their pet’s dietary needs. As a result, they become overweight.

 

“Obese birds can develop similar diseases to humans such as atherosclerosis, elevated triglyceride levels, and heart disease,” he said.

Education

The most valuable service the avian practice offers, in addition to health care, is client education. “It’s vitally important. It’s what we spend so much time doing,” Dr. Pilny explained. “We always educate clients as to our recommendations on feeding, exercise, lighting, behavior, training, travel, boarding, and so on.”

 

No welfare issue currently facing the pet bird community is more serious than pet relinquishment. “It’s a huge problem. Birds have become one of the most surrendered pets,” Dr. Pilny acknowledged. “Because most shelters don’t take them, they wind up in sanctuaries, of which more and more are popping up all over. It’s very sad.”

 

Dr. Sakas agrees. “People buy these birds, and they don’t know their needs, and they don’t know how to handle them,” he explained. “Maybe the bird’s a screamer, a feather picker, or aggressive. Owners get frustrated, the relationship is not what they expected, and they just want to get rid of the bird. We see a lot of unwanted birds, because people make poor choices. They don’t do the research beforehand to learn what’s involved in caring for a particular variety of bird.

 

“Birds are highly intelligent animals, and they get bored quickly. People who want them as an ornament keep them in a cage because they’re beautiful. However, when they don’t interact with them, not meeting the bird’s emotional needs, the bird will become frustrated and engage in unwanted behavior. Birds are flock animals, and they need activity outside the cage.”

The endangered patient?

The avian patient is indeed a rare bird. According to the AVMA pet ownership and demographics survey, 12.4 percent of bird-owning households had at least one visit to the veterinarian in 2011, a decrease of 10.8 percent since 2006. Further, 6 percent of them had one visit, 2.4 percent had two visits, 1.2 percent had three visits, 2.8 percent had four or more visits, and 87.6 percent had no visits to the veterinarian in 2011.

 

“Do birds see veterinarians enough?” Dr. Groskin of the AAV asked. “They don’t. Birds will benefit most by routine annual health exams. As avian veterinarians, we are constantly improving our abilities to provide better care for our patients. Having a regular conversation with our clients about their birds benefits both the health of their pet as well as the relationship they have with their bird.” The AAV is exploring options for raising awareness among bird owners about the importance of regular veterinary visits similar to what the Partnership for Healthy Pets initiative is doing for cats and dogs.

 

Both Drs. Pilny and Sakas say their practices were largely unaffected by the recent recession. “We were fine,” Dr. Pilny said, “mostly because we see sick or injured patients regardless of the economic climate. Bird owners don’t tend to do a lot of wellness visits, and owners choosing to skip elective visits or optional diagnostic testing doesn’t affect us, because our avian patients don’t need vaccines, heartworm tests, or flea products.”

 

“We did see people tighten their belts,” Dr. Sakas said, “but our practice is diverse enough it didn’t hurt us.”

 

Learn more about pet bird medicine by visiting the Association of Avian Veterinarians website.  

Nestlé Purina Voluntarily Recalls Limited Number of Purina ONE Adult Dog Food Bags

Another recall because of Salmonella contamination.

Nestlé Purina Voluntarily Recalls Limited Number of Purina ONE beyOnd Our White Meat Chicken & Whole Barley Recipe Adult Dry Dog Food Bags Due to a Potential Health Risk

Contact
Consumer:
1-800-473-8546

Media:
Keith Schopp
314-982-2577
 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - August 30, 2013 - St. Louis, Missouri, Nestlé Purina PetCare Company (NPPC) is voluntarily recalling a limited number of 3.5-pound bags of its Purina ONE beyOnd Our White Meat Chicken & Whole Barley Recipe Adult Dry Dog Food from a single production run and shipped to retail customers in the United States. This is being done because one bag of the product was found to be contaminated with Salmonella.

Only Purina ONE beyOnd Our White Meat Chicken & Whole Barley Recipe Adult Dry Dog Food with both the "Best By" date and the production code shown below are included in this voluntary recall:

Bag Size
3.5 lb.

"Best By" Date & Production Code*
OCT 2014 31071083

UPC Code
17800 12679

 

*"Best By" Date and Production Code are found on the back or bottom of the bag.

No additional Purina or Purina ONE dog or cat products are involved in this voluntary recall at this time. No salmonella-related illness has been reported to date in association with this product.

Consumers who have purchased Purina ONE beyOnd Our White Meat Chicken & Whole Barley Recipe Adult Dry Dog Food products with the specific "Best By" Date and Production Code should discontinue feeding the product and discard it.

Salmonella can affect animals eating the product, and there is a risk to humans from handling contaminated products. People handling contaminated dry pet food can become infected with Salmonella, especially if they have not thoroughly washed their hands after having contact with surfaces exposed to this product. Healthy people infected with Salmonella should monitor themselves for the following symptoms: nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal cramping and fever. Rarely, Salmonella can result in more serious ailments including arterial infections, endocarditis, arthritis, muscle pain, eye irritation and urinary tract symptoms. Consumers exhibiting these signs after having contact with this product should contact their healthcare providers.

Pets with Salmonella infections may exhibit decreased appetite, fever and abdominal pain. If left untreated, pets may be lethargic and have diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, fever and vomiting. Infected but otherwise healthy pets can be carriers and infect other animals or humans. If your pet has consumed the recalled product and has these symptoms, please contact your veterinarian.

At Nestlé Purina PetCare, the safety and efficacy of our products are our top priority. We apologize for any inconvenience due to this voluntary recall. For further information or to obtain a product refund, please call NPPC toll-free at 1-800-473-8546, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.