DEAR READERS: I sent this letter to my local newspaper. It was never published, because ruffling the feathers and twisting the tails of the poultry and livestock industries is a cultural taboo, but I urge all states to consider the proposal within. It is an idea that I, and other veterinarians and public health experts, have been calling for for several years.

My letter read as follows:

"As a veterinarian -- and concerned humanitarian -- I urge the Minnesota State Fair to put an end to all live animal exhibits for public health and humane reasons. An article by New York Times reporter Emily Anthes, which ran in the Star Tribune in August under the headline 'Fertile Vector,' underscores the risk of exhibited pigs transmitting the influenza virus to visitors. This is one of several so-called zoonotic diseases that farmed animals, including poultry, can transmit to humans, and which routine sanitation measures may fail to control when people enter the same airspace where the animals are penned.

"There is also the issue of animal stress and suffering under conditions of high temperatures and humidity while being held for exhibition, and during transportation to and from agricultural shows and state fairs. Surely, Minnesota could take the lead and put an end to all such events. Public health and animal welfare should not continue to be trumped by animal industry interests."

Additional support comes from these reports:

-- An exhibitor at this year's Oakland County Fair in Davisburg, Michigan, is presumed positive for swine flu, and county health department representatives are contacting other exhibitors to see whether they or their families also may have been infected. (Full story: MLive.com, July 27)

-- From the abstract of one review of this issue: "We detected 370 separate human-to-swine spillovers, with the frequency of interspecies transmission increasing when the burden of influenza A virus (IAV) was highest in the human population. ... These data suggest that controlling IAV infection in humans working with swine can minimize spillover into pigs, reduce resulting genetic diversity of IAV in pigs, and proactively reduce the potential for swine-to-human transmission of IAV with zoonotic potential." (Full study: A. Markin, et al: "Reverse-zoonoses of 2009 H1N1 pandemic influenza A viruses and evolution in United States swine results in viruses with zoonotic potential," PLOS Pathogens, July 27, 2023)

Following this same line of evidential concern, all live animal markets and shows should be closed. At the very least, they should be limited in size and frequency, and take place under full veterinary, public health and animal welfare surveillance.

For similar reasons, all traffic and trade in live animals, domesticated and wild, should be prohibited except for legitimate conservation and animal health purposes. The lesson from the live-animal "wet" markets in Wuhan, China -- where the COVID-19 global pandemic is thought to have originated -- is warning enough.

DEAR DR. FOX: I came across one of your articles when I was searching for advice for my cat with hyperesthesia syndrome. Can you please help me in figuring out what to feed him and how to treat him?

The vet had him on gabapentin, but I noticed it really didn't work well, and once it wore off, his episodes were worse and he needed MORE gabapentin. Every time I'd try to administer it to him, he made it clear that he did not want it. I think it made him feel yucky. He only took it for about 2 1/2 months, and he has been off all medicines for about that long now.

I notice he sleeps a lot, is not as active and doesn't want to eat as much as he used to. It breaks my heart. To see him experience these terrible episodes, especially when it's a really bad one, is killing me. -- P.S.P., Victorville, California

DEAR P.S.P.: Diagnosing the cause of a cat's hyperesthesia -- a condition of extreme sensitivity of the skin -- can be challenging because several factors may be involved. For instance, some cats just do not like to be touched. Our rescued cat, Fanny, can only be petted when she is on the bed and ready to sleep, and occasionally when she is eating. At other times, she avoids hand contact and her skin shivers if touched.

Some horripilation (hairs standing on end, "goosebumps") can be anxiety-driven, but also may represent a form of epilepsy or seizure in some cats. Gabapentin can help, but as you experienced, the benefit may be temporary. The attending veterinarian may consider treating your cat with a psychotropic medication such as alprazolam or buspirone, which can take some weeks to become effective.

The veterinarian should also rule out other possible contributing factors, such as blocked anal glands; chronic physical pain, particularly along the back; flea-bite allergies; and food allergies/intolerances, especially to fish. I would begin by eliminating all fish from your cat's diet, but give him some marine algae for the much-needed anti-inflammatory omega-3 fatty acids.

Paradoxically, the stimulating effects of catnip can also be sedating. Giving your cat a pinch, especially in the evening, may help, as may crushing 1 mg of melatonin in her favorite food at bedtime.

One remote possible cause is a parasitic infestation that has gone to the brain, such as toxoplasmosis, heartworm or roundworms. So if all else fails, have your veterinarian consider trying an antiparasitic medication.

(Send all mail to animaldocfox@gmail.com or to Dr. Michael Fox in care of Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106. The volume of mail received prohibits personal replies, but questions and comments of general interest will be discussed in future columns.

Visit Dr. Fox’s website at DrFoxOneHealth.com.)

DEAR READERS: Most people do not know about pregnant horses being cruelly confined (or repeatedly rounded up) for the purpose of having their pregnancies aborted and their blood drained.

This horrific practice is done routinely for the extraction of hormone-rich pregnant mare serum gonadotropin (PMSG) from their blood. This hormone is produced by collecting a substantial volume of blood from mares early in their pregnancies -- once or twice a week for about 12 weeks. The mares' foals are then aborted, and the mares rebred for another collection cycle.

The Animal Welfare Foundation says, "More than 10,000 mares are exploited in Uruguay and Argentina for PMSG production." Similar "horse blood farms" also operate in Germany, Canada, the U.S. and Iceland, with an estimated 5,000 animals exploited.

PMSG is a hormone that is widely used to enhance reproductive performance and management of dairy and beef cattle, sheep, goats and pigs kept under intensive housing systems. Typically, PMSG is given to young sows to induce early puberty, which in turn triggers a kind of superovulation that results in larger litters. Just after they give birth, sows are given PMSG to immediately induce estrus -- the period of time when a female animal is in heat -- so the cycle can start all over again. This is according to a detailed report by Kena Shah, entitled "The Blood of Pregnant Mares Literally Fuels Factory Farming" (see sentientmedia.org).

Shah notes, "Though it's difficult to track down exact numbers, the drug is omnipresent in industrial pork production in the U.S. and Canada. In Germany, government records indicate that approximately 2.1 million doses of this hormone are administered each year. According to the Association for Animal Welfare in Iceland, blood farmers in the country make a combined $3.4 million USD in revenue."

The inherent cruelty to horses, many collapsing and dying from anemia and repeated abortions, just to boost the productivity of factory-farmed animals for human consumption is an outright international atrocity -- one that is profit-driven in every quarter. It will not end until the veterinary profession, internationally, supports animal protection organizations dedicated to the abolition of such practices.

For its part, the World Veterinary Association has put out a statement saying that it "supports the development and use of alternatives, such as bioequivalent synthetic biologics and therapeutics, to replace the need for using horse blood, serum and urine to derive biologics and therapeutics that treat or prevent various conditions in humans and other animals" (worldvet.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/WVA-Position-Statement-on-the-Use-of-Horses-for-Production-of-Biologics-and-Therapeutics.pdf).

Additionally, more consumers must shop with informed compassion, adopting plant-based diets to enjoy the financial and health benefits of vegan meals that cause less harm to animals and the environment. For more details on this issue, go to feeva.fve.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/7.-FEEVA-GA-PMSG-presentation.pdf.

DEAR DR. FOX: Our dog has dry eyes. Our local pet ophthalmologist prescribed tacrolimus drops three times a day in both eyes, along with two other drops in the left eye only (also three times daily).

Only the tacrolimus seems to bother him, as he immediately rubs the eyes with paws and usually closes the affected eye. After two weeks of this, we don't think we see progress, and we are clearly causing the dog discomfort.

The vet says this regimen is needed forever. We have our doubts. You? -- R.H., Red Bank, New Jersey

DEAR R.H.: Tacrolimus is an anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive drug, often prescribed in veterinary medicine to treat dry eye. The ophthalmic drops work to stimulate the tear glands and prevent further destruction of tissue. It may take several days to see benefits, but if it causes your dog extreme discomfort for more than a minute or so, and restraining the dog from pawing and rubbing the eye is not feasible, then discuss an alternative ophthalmic preparation.

Dry eye is common in some breeds, especially those with bulging eyes like Pekingese and French bulldogs, which can lead to corneal ulcers and loss of vision. Sometimes the eyes even pop out of these deformed-by-humans dogs -- a very sad situation, which sound breeding could have avoided.

CALF AND SOW LIBERATION IN NEW JERSEY

I applaud the passage of legislation this July that bans intensive confinement of mother pigs and calves raised for veal in New Jersey with Gov. Phil Murphy signing A1970/S1298 into law. The bill, sponsored by state senators Vin Gopal and Nick Scutari and Assemblymembers Raj Mukherji, Daniel Benson and Carol Murphy, prevents the use of gestation crates for sows and veal crates for calves, and will impose penalties for violators.

I was one of the first to document the plight of veal calves in the early 1980s, in my visits to veal producers in New Jersey and other states to determine how sows and their piglets were being raised and handled. My advocacy drew media and public attention to such widespread mistreatment.

(Send all mail to animaldocfox@gmail.com or to Dr. Michael Fox in care of Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106. The volume of mail received prohibits personal replies, but questions and comments of general interest will be discussed in future columns.

Visit Dr. Fox’s website at DrFoxOneHealth.com.)

DEAR DR. FOX: I am a 74-year-old retired lawyer living in south Florida. I read your recent column, "Is Mentioning the World's Overpopulation Now Taboo?"

I have been concerned about overpopulation since my undergraduate college days, inspired by Paul Ehrlich, but it seems like no one has been interested in it since the '90s. I don't get it. Worse, most media commentary is centered around the "crisis" of not enough people being born to maintain and support the growth society, and its environmental consumption, we seem to require.

I don't think Homo sapiens is equipped to continue for much longer; we will become another extinct branch on the evolutionary tree. But before we are finished, look out, fellow life forms. -- D.A., West Palm Beach, Florida

DEAR DR. FOX: Great article you wrote about the population issue -- with one big flaw: It is not a NEW taboo, but rather a very old one. But since nobody wants to offend the "church," which, in its all-knowing wisdom, posits that overpopulation is good, everybody remains silent -- while the Earth burns. -- S.L., West Palm Beach, Florida

DEAR D.A. AND S.L.: I feel very much the same way as you on this critical issue. Mother Nature's "retribution" to rectify what amounts to a planetary infestation of Homo sapiens is self-evident. All of this is clearly spelled out in a 1992 message from the Hopi people, delivered to the United Nations in a speech by Thomas Banyacya (an event in which I participated -- read the statement on my website: drfoxonehealth.com/post/the-hopi-message-prophecy).

Albert Schweitzer also encapsulated this message in his assertion that, "Until he extends the circle of his compassion to all living things, man will not himself find peace."

Books such as Paul Ehrlich's "The Population Bomb" (published in 1968), Frances Moore Lappe's "Diet for a Small Planet" (1971), Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring" (1962) and the Club of Rome report "Limits to Growth" (1972) helped galvanize public concern and sparked several nonprofit organizations dedicated to addressing these concerns. But they did not turn the tide.

I still have faith in the powers of reason and sound science and our survival instinct being enlightened by understanding that our well-being is inseparable from that of other creatures who sustain the natural environment. This fact is a core element of the One Health movement.

LONE STAR TICK CAN CAUSE SERIOUS ALLERGIC REACTION

A bite from a Lone Star tick can make consumers allergic to beef, dairy and gelatin, triggering the so-called "alpha-gal syndrome." Symptoms include a rash or hives; dizziness; fatigue; difficulty breathing; lowered blood pressure; stomach pain; swelling of the eyelids, lips, throat and/or tongue; joint pain; and generalized inflammation.

The condition may be under-diagnosed, and the CDC estimates up to 450,000 people across the U.S. have been affected by this allergy. This is yet another reason to go vegan!

AIR-DRIED FOOD: IMPROVING NUTRITION FOR DOGS' HEALTH

Air-dried dog food is made by gently drying the raw ingredients using high-velocity air, humidity and minimal heat. To learn more about this relatively new class of highly nutritious dog food -- and, in my professional opinion, a safer alternative to the BARF/raw food craze -- read this excellent synopsis in Animal Wellness magazine: animalwellnessmagazine.com/the-benefits-of-air-dried-dog-food.

(Send all mail to animaldocfox@gmail.com or to Dr. Michael Fox in care of Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106. The volume of mail received prohibits personal replies, but questions and comments of general interest will be discussed in future columns.

Visit Dr. Fox’s website at DrFoxOneHealth.com.)