Nibbles: Oca etc, Diseases, Pigs, Dzud, Sex, Rice

Court decides against Pavlovsk but hope remains

We’ve just learned that the court has decided in favour of the federal housing authority to permit the destruction of the Pavlovsk Experiment Station’s field collection of fruit diversity. Some hope remains, however. The N.I. Vavilov Research Institute of Plant Industry (VIR) says it will today lodge an appeal with the High Arbitration Court against the Supreme Arbitration Court’s decision. This gains campaigners another month to save Pavlovsk.

A spokesman for VIR also said that they had received further confirmation that the Court’s decision can be revoked by the President or Prime Minister.

We don’t know whether either Mr Medvedev or Mr Putin is actually listening, but if you haven’t already done so, it can’t hurt to let them know how you feel.