Corneal ulcers in pets can lead to blindness if left untreated...the importance of eye health care Your pet's eyes are their window to the world and an important measure of their health and happiness. One of the most common eye conditions seen in dogs and cats these days is corneal ulcers. The cornea is the outermost, transparent tissue of the eye that protects the eye from external stimuli and allows light to pass through for vision. However, various traumas, infections, and environmental factors can damage this cornea4519. The main causes of corneal ulcers are fights with other animals, scratches from claws, shampoo getting into the eye while bathing, structural problems where eyelashes irritate the eye, and dry eye syndrome. Brachycephalic breeds with protruding eyes, such as Shih Tzus, Chihuahuas, and Pekingese, are especially at risk for corneal damage and need extra attention4. The symptoms are relatively clear. Your pet may not be able to open their eyes properly, they may...
Bee loss impacts beekeepers across northcentral Wisconsin
RHINELANDER, Wis. (WSAW) - Beekeepers across the state are noticing a loss in their bee colonies, especially in the last year. But they’re coming to realize it’s not just impacting them, it’s nationwide.
Hansen Honey Farms opened back in 2003. Over the years they’ve seen a lot, including the 2008 recession, COVID, and now a shrinking honeybee population. But these trials and tribulations aren’t stopping them from saving the bees.
The honeybee population continues shrink every day. Wisconsin beekeepers first thought it was because of the mild winters, but beekeepers around the country are suffering the same loss.
“The American Beekeeping Federation actually sent out an e-mail of studies showing about 60% losses between commercial beekeepers who lost like thousands and thousands of colonies,” said Faith Hansen, store manager for Hansen Honey Farms.
Hansen says most of the customers who walk into the store are hobby beekeepers. Those hobbyists have told her they’ve lost their hives. As for the farm itself, this year they had a 30% bee survival rate throughout the winter, a vast difference from their usual 80% survival rate.
“Normally when it’s cold they stop creating brood, they stop laying new eggs and they just kind of hunker down for the winter. But with it being so mild, they were kind of trying to be out foraging. But there was nothing to forage,” said Hansen.
While the mild winter may have made an impact, Hansen says she’s not sure if that’s the main cause. There’s a lot of other ideas floating out there.
“We use so many pesticides in our crops, especially in crop land like there’s seed coatings that are in the plants that the bees harvest the nectar and that it’s in our food and the bees guts making them unhealthy,” she said.
Hansen says it could also be a new disease they don’t know about.
Due to government funding cuts, some of the research programs are struggling to work on finding out the reason behind these losses. That’s why she’s helping the cause.
One out of every three bites of food comes from the work of bee pollination
“You can buy a cookie, you can buy some honey and it’s like a small thing that people can do to contribute a little bit back to project Apis M,” said Hansen.
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