Courtesy of CNN.com Science and Nature

California Blocks Sales of 'Glofish' Pets

SACRAMENTO, California (AP) -- Citing ethical concerns, state regulators Wednesday refused to allow sales of the first bio-engineered household pet, a zebra fish that glows fluorescent. GloFish are expected to go on sale everywhere else next month. California is the only state with a ban on genetically engineered species, and the Fish and Game Commission said it would not exempt the zebra fish from the law even if escaped fish would not pose a threat to the state's waterways.

"For me it's a question of values, it's not a question of science," said commissioner Sam Schuchat. "I think selling genetically modified fish as pets is wrong."

The 3-1 vote came moments after commissioners approved the state's 14th license for research into genetically modified fish. But commissioners drew the line on permitting widespread sales of a biotech fish for pure visual pleasure.

The normally black-and-silver zebra fish were inserted with genes from sea anemones or jellyfish to turn them red or green, and glow under black or ultraviolet lights.

Federal agencies have decided they have no jurisdiction over a bio-engineered household pet that is not intended for consumption.

Given California's extensive review, proponents had looked to its approval to dampen any concerns from other states or consumers that the fish might be harmful to the environment or if consumed by wayward pets or children.

An abuse of the power we have over life'

Opponents view the decision as precedent-setting as they lobby for regulation on the national level.

Yorktown Technologies of Texas, which has the license to market the fish, and the state of Florida, in which the fish are grown, argued before the commission that the altered fish tolerate cold less than natural zebra fish, and they could not survive in California waters.

Environmental and public interest groups and commercial fishermen argued that the fish have been found to survive outside their native waters.

California residents buy 25 million ornamental fish a year, an eighth of the 200 million sold across the nation, Yorktown President Alan Blake said. He estimated that Californians might have bought two million of the genetically altered fish each year.

California adopted its regulations for fear genetically modified farmed fish, such as salmon, could get loose and devastate the state's wild populations.

Commissioners balked Wednesday even after acknowledging Californians could readily buy the fish in any neighboring state and bring them home.

"Welcome to the future. Here we are, playing around with the genetic bases of life," Schumchat said. "At the end of the day, I just don't think it's right to produce a new organism just to be a pet.

"To me, this seems like an abuse of the power we have over life, and I'm not prepared to go there today."

Abused Circus Elephant Finds Refuge in Tennessee

NASHVILLE, Tennessee (Reuters) -- What happens to aging circus elephants? Sadly, some wind up like Delhi, a 57-year-old native of India who may not live to see Christmas. "We're fighting to save her," said Carol Buckley, director of The Elephant Sanctuary, a refuge near Nashville for old and sick elephants.

Sign at The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee

Delhi has irreversible foot rot and chemical burns from having formaldehyde poured on her wounds. She was seized last month from an Illinois business that rents animals to circuses. Federal authorities have charged the company with neglect.

Still, Delhi appears in good spirits, Buckley said, hobbling in the sunshine, playing with toys, and trumpeting at the sanctuary's dogs.

"She pours sand over her head. She bangs away joyously at a chain of rubber tires and barrels -- a fun thing she's never known," Buckley said.

"She is very playful and gentle but her physical condition doesn't look good at all. We're giving her antibiotics and pain killers but recovery is unrealistic because of the advanced condition of the disease ... It's obvious she very much wants to live and that helps."

Foot rot is the leading cause of death among captive elephants, Buckley said. It is caused by walking on concrete.

Delhi, who was captured as an infant and has spent a lifetime in circuses, will join the nine other elephants that wander the 2,700-acre (1,100 hectare) sanctuary after her quarantine ends.

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