Melamine is used in the plastics industry to hold stuff together. But dead dogs and cats promoted one of the largest recalls of pet food in history. Some U.S. companies are recalling some animal feed pellets containing Melamine and it’s related compounds ahead of FDA action to insure their responsibility.

There is no regulatory agency to monitor the ingredient that you feed your pet. It’s strictly buyer beware. First of all, think about how your animal eats in the wild. They like fresh meat first and foremost. They chew bones, which keeps their teeth clean. Likely they are omnivorous; they’ll eat anything.

Contrast that diet with the pet food available.

Most of the animal food contain excessive reliance on grains which are also difficult to digest, irritate the gastric-intestine tract and an inferior source of protein like soy, corn and wheat gluten (i.e., more than two in the top five ingredients).

Meat By Products: Besides being difficult to digest, meat by-products provide an inferior source of protein and include bones, intestines, feet, skin, heads, lungs, spleens, stomachs, etc.

Chemical Preservatives: How about those chemicals like BHA, BHT, Ethoxoquin and others as well as chemical contained in artificial colors. Given on a daily basis over long periods of time problem develop.

Cooked Meat: Cooking anything for a prolonged period of time at high temperatures kills vitamins, healthy enzymes and food nutrition.

Scraps off your plate are often more nutritious than many brands of pet food on the market today and maybe just as economical if not more. I’m not saying to pull up a chair on your dining room and putting an extra plate on the dinner table, but you get the idea.

Premium pet foods contain a superior blend of nutrition that your pets need as well as the tastes they crave. It’s important to read the label and look for natural ingredients, proteins, vitamins, proteinated minerals, antioxidants, fruits, vegetables, healthy grasses as well as healthy bacteria cultures are known to improve the overall health of pets.

Most packaged pet foods contain grains, byproducts and toxic preservatives. Part of the reason is because it's cheaper to use grains and byproducts. These "byproducts" commonly contain beaks, skins, feet/hooves, animal organs and guts, road kill, you name it. As pet owners become more educated, they are opting for more natural diets.

So what is a natural diet? Dogs and cats are meat eaters – raw meat eaters. In the wild, they’ll eat raw meat and bones to fully support a healthy immune system. Furthermore, gnawing raw bones give dogs and cats strong, clean white teeth.

When changing your dog’s diet, you should change it gradually and not shock the beast. Mixing the new food in their diet and increasing the portion over time is the recommended best practice. A homemade diet is OK as your dog can be given a wide variety of foods so long as they provide the right amount of nutrition your pet needs.

The popular premium kibble type dog and cat food is baked which destroys all the enzymes and many of the food nutrients. Dogs and cats are designed to eat raw meat and bones not baked grains, baked animal waste parts and preservatives. Your pets’ immune system becomes compromised eating processed pet food because they are not getting enough nutrition. With a weakened immune system diseases can gain a foothold and creep into your pet’s body. Feed your pet table scraps off your plate may be a better alternative than store-bought dry pet food.

There are no existing agencies or guidelines to inspect, support or certified claims of dog food manufactures. You have to take these claims at face value. So if you are going to weigh commercial dog food against a homemade diet it’s probable good for you to ask your vet how your homemade diet plan stacks up.

Other pets such as guinea pigs, birds, rabbits or horses also need natural raw food in order to live well. In the wild they do not forage for store bought dry food. Many birds are omnivorous so they'll eat fruits, veggies and meat besides their birdseed. Our other pets need to eat fresh fruits and vegetables also.

If you want to see your pet live healthier, longer and happier, switch to a raw natural food diet. You’ll reduce the vet bill and your pet will thrive.

Strains of the H5N1 bird flu have been reported in 15 of Nigeria’s 36 states and in recent weeks and a 22-year-old woman, along with her mother and two other people, have died on January 17. These are the first humans killed in Nigeria from the bird flue.

Georgian-Abkhaz border has reported infected birds and has stopped all birds from entering the region. The ban has been on since the beginning of last year after a bird flu outbreak was reported in Georgia.

South Korea The Ministry of Agriculture confirmed that lab tests proved the existence of the H5N1 virus again. This was the fifth time since November the epidemic had appearance. Apparently quarantines nor culling have controlled the spread of the disease

The great fear is that H5N1 strain of the virus can mutate and spread to humans resulting in a flu pandemic that could kill millions.

Statistics show that ixty-three percent of U.S. households own a pet, spending an estimated $38.4 billion on them, according to the American Pet Product Manufacturers Association.

Out of that total, $9.4 billion was spent on veterinary care. Veterinary health insurance is gaining popularity with 3 percent of dog owners carrying insurance on their animals according to the APPMA. Only 1 percent of cat owners have pet insurance.

Pet insurance works like health insurance for people. You have to pay the vet bill first, and then you're reimbursed. And just like our health insurance, there is usually a deductible.

Monthly premiums will vary according to a pet's species, age and health condition. These premiums can run as high as $50 to $60 but are generally in the $20 to $30 range. These health pet health insurance policies cover preventive care, accidents and treatment of an illness, according to Packaged Facts.

Pet insurance typically reimburses from 80 percent to 100 percent of a covered expense. Typically there is maximum limits per health incident.

The fiordland penguins are timid and shy and nest in coastal forests along the fiords of southern New Zealand. They are threatened by habitat destruction, fisheries and introduced predators. It is estimated there be only 1,000 breeding pairs left in the wild.

The Fiordland Crested Penguin, so-named Groucho Marx penguins because of their distinctive bushy eyebrows, is one of the world's most endangered penguin species and is usually found in the frigid sub-Antarctic waters off southern New Zealand.

The male penguin was found at Norah Head, a sleepy beachside hamlet about 50 miles (80 km) north of Sydney, last November. The penguin, nicknamed "Munroe" was exhausted and suffering respiratory problems after his trans-Tasman trek.

He was taken to Sydney's Taronga Zoo, where he is now the only male of his species in captivity in the world. Restored to ruddy good health after medical checks and a steady diet of pilchards, Munroe will soon be introduced to the zoo's other fiordland penguins "Chalky" and "Milford," the only two females in captivity, and get down to the job at hand.

The distinctive call of fiordland penguins has been described as a cross between a grunting pig and a goose with a cold.

The zoo's penguin keeper Mel Grainger said Chalky and Milford had appeared keen to breed, laying eggs each year and taking turns sitting on them in an attempt to incubate the infertile eggs.

A study by researchers at the University of Washington’s Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center at Seattle and published in the Journal Science documents that correlate the symbiotic relationship with malaria and HIV.

The study found that in regions where both diseases ae common, malaria may be responsible for almost 5% of HIV infections . Also they found that HIV may be behind 10% of malaria infections. This is a substantial impact and a reference point for prevention.

The trade off to not spraying DDT and the millions of people dying needlessly need to be addressed. The National Academy of Sciences says that in the years DDT was used 500 million lives were spared.

The fear-mongers need to step away. In southern Africa, more than a million people, who are mostly children, die each year due to malaria. The United Nations put the 2005 deaths from AIDS in

Africa at 2 million.