My new friend Katie Trachte sent me an email yesterday and let me know about an important event this Saturday.The 2009 Northeast Rabies Challenge Fund Seminar & Benefit will be held March 14, 2009 at Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ. The seminar benefits the Rabies Challenge Fund Charitable Trust, an organization devoted to helping your pets live longer, healthier lives.
At the benefit you can meet and hear two of the foremost experts in the field of veterinary vaccine research:
* Dr. W. Jean Dodds, (pictured) world-renowned veterinary research scientist and practicing veterinarian
* Dr. Ronald D. Schultz, leading authority on veterinary vaccines and Chair of the Department of Pathobiological Sciences at the University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine.
Even if you don't live near New Jersey, you can still support RCF and see/hear Dr. Dodds speak live via the Internet. The live seminar starts at 2PM EDT, and will be broadcast on the HyCaliber Video website. It will be limited to 300 online virtual attendees, and the price of this live stream is $55.00 with the proceeds going to support further vaccine research.
About the Rabies Challenge Fund:
Financed by The Rabies Challenge Fund, one of the most important vaccine research studies in veterinary medicine is underway at the University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine in Madison. Dr. Ronald Schultz, a leading authority on veterinary vaccines and Chair of the Department of Pathobiological Sciences, has begun concurrent 5 and 7 year challenge studies to determine the long-term duration of immunity of the canine rabies vaccine, with the goal of extending the state-mandated interval for boosters. These will be the first long-term challenge studies on the canine rabies vaccine to be published in the United States.
Scientific data indicates that vaccinating dogs against rabies every three years, as most states require, is unnecessary. Studies have shown the duration of protective immunity as measured by serum antibody titers against rabies virus to persist for seven years post-vaccination. By validating the 'true' life of rabies virus immunity and moving to five and hopefully seven years, we will decrease the risk of adverse reactions in our animals and minimize their repeated exposure to foreign substances.
I am outraged that you all would include this deceptive research project on your site!!
ReplyDeleteThese people have actively engaged in soliciting funds for a project that will be a beagle killing mission ultimately sacrificing 80+ dogs for what reason??? These means justify the endpoint? and yet Ms. Dodds and her research team refuse to describe on their website what exactly the word "challenge" in fact means as in what will be done to the animals used in the experiment (exposed to live rabies, suffer the symptoms and then be killed to examine....all of them whether they show signs of infection or not because they have now been exposed to the virus per USDA req)
And you all support this, when the research team hasnt even 1st acquired a valid basline of adverse report events traceable to rabies compared to the millions of vaccines given each year??
Shame on you.
I will ask ou the same question I asked ms. Dodd and her team, would you offer your own pet-animal to be part of this experiment-study in order to save the lives of other animals? How about animals that noone owns or cares about as Ms. Dodd is doing here, yet shows happy smling dogs on her site.
Absolutely unreal and just sad.
You all need to evaluate what you are supporting.