WELCOME TO THE CFZ BLOG NETWORK: COME AND JOIN THE FUN

Half a century ago, Belgian Zoologist Bernard Heuvelmans first codified cryptozoology in his book On the Track of Unknown Animals.

The Centre for Fortean Zoology (CFZ) are still on the track, and have been since 1992. But as if chasing unknown animals wasn't enough, we are involved in education, conservation, and good old-fashioned natural history! We already have three journals, the largest cryptozoological publishing house in the world, CFZtv, and the largest cryptozoological conference in the English-speaking world, but in January 2009 someone suggested that we started a daily online magazine! The CFZ bloggo is a collaborative effort by a coalition of members, friends, and supporters of the CFZ, and covers all the subjects with which we deal, with a smattering of music, high strangeness and surreal humour to make up the mix.

It is edited by CFZ Director Jon Downes, and subbed by the lovely Lizzy Bitakara'mire (formerly Clancy), scourge of improper syntax. The daily newsblog is edited by Corinna Downes, head administratrix of the CFZ, and the indexing is done by Lee Canty and Kathy Imbriani. There is regular news from the CFZ Mystery Cat study group, and regular fortean bird news from 'The Watcher of the Skies'. Regular bloggers include Dr Karl Shuker, Dale Drinnon, Richard Muirhead and Richard Freeman.The CFZ bloggo is updated daily, and there's nothing quite like it anywhere else. Come and join us...

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Saturday, July 05, 2014

Not Guilty – Bovine TB Epidemic Caused by Cattle, Not Badgers

Posted: 03 Jul 2014 02:23 PM PDT
Not Guilty – Bovine TB Epidemic Caused by Cattle, Not Badgers
Groundbreaking new research shows how infected cattle missed by testing are key spreaders of the disease

New ground-breaking research by the University of Warwick into the spread of bovine TB (bTB) has confirmed claims by wildlife organisations like the Badger Trust and Care for the Wild that the disease is being spread by infected cattle – not badgers.

The paper, “A dynamic model of bovine tuberculosis spread and control in Great Britain”, demonstrated that the majority of herd outbreaks are caused by multiple transmission routes - including failed cattle infection tests, cattle movement and reinfection from environmental reservoirs. But the model proposes that ‘whilst badgers form part of the environmental reservoir they only play a relatively minor role in the transmission of infection’.

Dominic Dyer, of the Badger Trust and Care for the Wild, said:  "The research backs up what we have been saying all along and should be the final nail in the coffin of the disastrous badger cull policy.

“The government and the farming industry have focussed far too much on badgers and nowhere near enough on the gaping holes in cattle management policy, which have been letting this disease through. The best scientific evidence suggests that badgers are responsible for no more than six percent of new TB outbreaks, if that. This research confirms that the vast majority of new bTB outbreaks are due to poor TB testing, biosecurity and cattle control movements, so maybe farmers will now be convinced to give badgers a break and start focussing on methods that will actually work.

“We’re already seeing good results in places where improved and more frequent testing, combined with movement controls and better ‘biosecurity’ on farms, have been used – Northern Ireland, Wales, and even England in the last year have seen substantial reductions in the number of cattle slaughtered due to bTB, without any culling of badgers. The road forward is clearly being signposted by these figures – so we need the government to stop reversing up the cul de sac of badger culling and actually deal with the disease in an effective manner.”

Badger Trust and Care for the Wild acknowledge that bTB is having a terrible effect on farmers and their cattle, and that tough action is required to really beat the disease.

“One fact that simply isn’t being faced up to is that the skin test to identify cows infected with TB is not fit for purpose. It misses around one in five infected cows each time – which means that many TB infected cows remain in the herds, spreading the disease, or are transported to other farms or slaughterhouses without anyone knowing that they are infected.

“This new research understands that, which is why we must consider a policy of slaughtering whole herds if there is any trace of bTB within them. This method seems extreme but it could be the only way we can be sure infected cattle aren’t slipping through. And in the long-term, it could see the end of the disease. The method has been used successfully in several European countries, and in the UK between 1935 and 1960, and must be considered again, rather than focussing ineffectually on badgers.”
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GONZO WEEKLY #85

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Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha



http://bigfootblogger.com/dr-sykes-bigfoot-hoax/
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BIGFOOT NEWS IN BRIEF



Alleged Bigfoot Hairs Go Through DNA Testing
Sykes believes that the Yeti or Bigfoot may belong to an extinct species of polar bears that lived around 40,000 years ago. Following his theory, he ...

Alleged Bigfoot Hairs Go Through DNA Testing
Sykes believes that the Yeti or Bigfoot may belong to an extinct species of polar bears that lived around 40,000 years ago. Following his theory, he ...

Tech Times
No Bigfoot. No Yeti. Hair samples are from bears, wolves
Hair samples supposedly from Bigfoot or yeti were analyzed by a team of geneticists. The samples turned out to be from known animals, but two ...

Bigfoot hair samples tested by Oxford for science
The tests you're about to read about began all the way back in the year 2012, when researchers at Oxford University and the Lausanne Museum of 

Man claims he captured Bigfoot on cellphone photos
A man in Virginia claims he has photo evidence that Bigfoot exists. Randy O'Neal posted the photos on his YouTube page. He claims the photos were 

Melba Ketchum is Still Testing Bigfoot DNA and She Needs Your Money
Bigfoot Evidence ⋅ Matt K.
Not only is she certain she has bigfoot DNA, but she is also adding a couple other mystery hominins to her study. The only problem is these "next 
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KARL SHUKER: The Emela-Ntouka - New Corroborative Evidence for the 'Killer of Elephants'?

Karl Shuker unveils a very pertinent picture that may provide important new evidence for the reality of the Congo's mysterious 'killer of elephants' - the emela-ntouka.

Read on....
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FORTEAN BIRD NEWS FROM THE WATCHER OF THE SKIES


What has Corinna's column of fortean bird news got to do with Cryptozoology?

Well, everything actually!

In an article for the first edition of Cryptozoology Bernard Heuvelmans wrote that cryptozoology is the study of 'unexpected animals' and following on from that perfectly reasonable assertion, it seems to us that whereas the study of out-of-place birds may not have the glamour of the hunt for bigfoot or lake monsters, it is still a perfectly valid area for the Fortean zoologist to be interested in. 

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IT'S THE GONZO BLOG DING DONG BAT

The Gonzo Daily - Saturday
www.gonzomultimedia.co.uk/about.html

There is something special about sitting in my study at 4:00am listening to the Grateful Dead, with the smell of a mid summer night wafting in through the door. We are just putting the latest issue of the magazine to bed, so it made sense to post the blogs now as well.
 
 
The latest issue of Gonzo Weekly (#85) will be here in a few hours to read or download at www.gonzoweekly.com. It has Raoni Metuktire aka Chief Raoni and Clearlight on the front cover and features an interview with Cyrille Verdeaux in which he discusses his work with this legendary eco-warrior and Amerindian chief. Merrell Fankhauser recounts an odd story about John Lennon and UFOs. There is an interview with Paul May about the forthcoming Atkins/May Project album, Doug Harr visits Queen in San Jose, and Rosie Curtis goes to a cosplay convention, whilst Jon muses about The Happy Mondays. There are also new shows from Friday Night Progressive, and from the multi-talented Neil Nixon at Strange Fruit and a collection of more news, reviews, views, interviews and newts in shoes (OK, no unlikey shod caudata, but I got carried away with things that rhymed with OOOOS) than you can shake a stick at. And the best part is IT's ABSOLUTELY FREE!!!
 
The full list of artists featured is: Jack White, Yes, Jon Anderson, Jon Davison, Robert Plant, Dave Grohl, Greg Allman, Bob Dylan, Ian Gillan, Daevid Allen, Clepsydra, Michael des Barres, Merrell Fankhauser, Arthur Brown, Spirit Thom, Galahad, The Who, Marillion, Strange Fruit, Friday Night Progressive, Annik Honore, Dermot Healy, Josephine Pullein-Thompson, Wayne Henderson, Andre Popp, Erik Norlander, Lana Lane, Hugh Hopper, Mick Abrahams, Martin Guitars, Cyrille Verdeaux, Clearlight, Paul May, Rosie Curtis, Queen, Happy Mondays, Hawkwind, Scott Walker, Beatles, 1D, Cher, Iggy Pop, Weird Weekend, Joanne Hogg & Frank Van Essex, Lava Engine, Ancillotti, Blaze, Subway to Sally
 
Read the previous few issues of Gonzo Weekly:
 
 
All issues from #70 can be downloaded at www.gonzoweekly.com if you prefer. If you have problems downloading, just email me and I will add you to the Gonzo Weekly dropbox. The first 69 issues are archived there as well. Information is power chaps, we have to share it!
 
To make sure that you don't miss your copy of future issues make an old hippy a happy chappy and subscribe
http://eepurl.com/r-VTD

*  The Gonzo Daily is a two way process. If you have any news or want to write for us, please contact me at  jon@eclipse.co.uk. If you are an artist and want to showcase your work, or even just say hello please write to me at gonzo@cfz.org.uk. Please copy, paste and spread the word about this magazine as widely as possible. We need people to read us in order to grow, and as soon as it is viable we shall be invading more traditional magaziney areas. Join in the fun, spread the word, and maybe if we all chant loud enough we CAN stop it raining. See you tomorrow...

*  The Gonzo Daily is - as the name implies - a daily online magazine (mostly) about artists connected to the Gonzo Multimedia group of companies. But it also has other stuff as and when the editor feels like it. The same team also do a weekly newsletter called - imaginatively - The Gonzo Weekly. Find out about it at this link: www.gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/11/all-gonzo-news-wots-fit-to-print.html
 
* We should probably mention here, that some of our posts are links to things we have found on the internet that we think are of interest. We are not responsible for spelling or factual errors in other people's websites. Honest guv!

*  Jon Downes, the Editor of all these ventures (and several others) is an old hippy of 54 who - together with an orange kitten named after a song by Frank Zappa puts it all together from a converted potato shed in a tumbledown cottage deep in rural Devon which he shares with various fish, and sometimes a small Indian frog. He is ably assisted by his lovely wife Corinna, his bulldog/boxer Prudence, his elderly mother-in-law, and a motley collection of social malcontents. Plus.. did we mention the orange kitten?
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ANDREW MAY: Words from the Wild Frontier

News and stories from the remoter fringes of the CFZ blogosphere...

From CFZ-USA:
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MARK'S PECULIAR VIDEOS CONTINUE

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OLL LEWIS: Yesterday's News Today


On this day in 1810 the world's greatest ever showman, and a personal hero of mine, P. T. Barnum was born.

And now the news:

  • Thailand's domestic ivory market trebles in 18 mon...
  • Lack of diversity a weak link for dolphins
  • The real, devastating risk of neonicotinoids revea...
  • A sun bear saved from the illegal wildlife trade e...
  • Researchers Create Glossary Of Gestures Used By Wi...
  • Australia activist takes Japan dolphin slaughter t...
  • Australia bans importation of rhino body parts
  • Bumblebee watchers urged to help map UK species

    • If you watch one movie about Barnum this week, make it two! The P.T. Barnum Mini series staring Beau Bridges goes for a song on Amazon and is the best biopic I've ever seen:

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