Horses in Japan

For those of you worried about animals' exposure to radiation in Japan, word from two leading equine vets is reassuring, at least with regard to horses. The Horse.com reports that unless the horses are within a radiation zone of high activity, within close proximity to the nuclear plants, they should not experience radiation sickness.

Dr. Nathan L. Dykes, senior lecturer from the College of Veterinary Medicine at Cornell University, notes: "I don't believe that the radioactive exposure levels are high enough outside the reactor buildings to cause either early or delayed 'radiation sickness.' The horses would have to be within the exclusion zone of highest radioactivity to be affected directly."

Dr. Rachel Pollard, associate professor of diagnostic imaging at the University of California, Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine, added: "The long-term effects are unknown, but I would suspect (exposed) horses would be more prone to cancer despite the relatively low incidence of cancer in horses."

The amount of radiation that the horses are exposed to depends on their proximity to the nuclear plants, the air they breathe--being housed indoors or outdoors--and the food they eat. Special care should be taken to feed horses food gathered before the disaster and to limit their grazing to areas within a safe distance from the plant.

"Unless they (the horses) are within a zone of extremely high radioactivity, these animals would not get radiation sickness," she concurred.