AR-NEWS Digest 390

Topics covered in this issue include:

  1) Grand jury investigation of sleeping pill
     by Andrew Gach 
  2) (SG) "Safe" Meat
     by Vadivu Govind 
  3) (SG) Ear muffs to block out cries
     by Vadivu Govind 
  4) (SG) On the trail of a tiger
     by Vadivu Govind 
  5) (HK) Judges blamed for turtle trade
     by Vadivu Govind 
  6) (AU Study) Mobile phones and mice
     by Vadivu Govind 
  7) (US) Warning campaign against hormone supplements
     by Vadivu Govind 
  8) (US) Guilty Plea in Bird Smuggling Case 
     by allen schubert 
  9) (US) Brucellosis in Alabama
     by allen schubert 
 10) Hiring Canadian students!
     by Animal Alliance of Canada 
 11) (US) More on Oklahoma Leopard Attack
     by JanaWilson@aol.com
 12) Seal hunt and new tannery
     by anne doncaster 
 13) (US) Atlanta activists out of jail
     by allen schubert 
 14) (US) Genetic Switch Creates Supermice 
     by allen schubert 
 15) (US) san francisco action alert...may 3rd...protest against
  norway's killing of whales and seals
     by allen schubert 
 16) 93 animals removed from home
     by Shirley McGreal 
 17) Fur Trade Interests Attack CAFT
     by MINKLIB@aol.com
 18) Certified Vegan
     by allen schubert 
 19) NYC Spay/Neuter Conference (US)
     by Marisul@aol.com
 20) (US)APHIS Press Release USDA AMENDS RULES FOR IMPORTED ZOO
  ANIMALS
     by allen schubert 
 21) [UK] Alco-milk shakes up the drink watchdogs
     by David J Knowles 
 22) (NZ/UK/FR) Fish Poaching Draws Int'l Ire  
     by allen schubert 
 23) [UK] Lizards evolve to prove Darwin right
     by David J Knowles 
 24) [UK] Gene removal gives rodents more muscle
     by David J Knowles 
 25) [UK] Bears bound in to show they are no sloths
     by David J Knowles 
 26) [UK] Why birds of a feather will flock together
     by David J Knowles 
 27) [UK] Gene repels apple pest
     by David J Knowles 
 28) (US) U.S., EU Reach Beef Trade Accord 
     by allen schubert 
 29) (US) Bill Would Reimburse Livestock Loss 
     by allen schubert 
 30) (US) Steller sea lion listed as endangered  
     by allen schubert 
 31) Rachel #544: Statement on Immune Toxins
     by Persephone Moonshadow Howling Womyn 
Date: Tue, 29 Apr 1997 21:33:14 -0700
>From: Andrew Gach 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Grand jury investigation of sleeping pill
Message-ID: <3366CB8A.4656@worldnet.att.net>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

Drug maker Upjohn acknowledges federal grand jury is probing sleeping
pill Halcion

The Associated Press 

KALAMAZOO, Mich. (April 29, 1997 11:20 p.m. EDT) -- A federal grand jury
has been investigating whether Upjohn Co. hid safety concerns about the
controversial sleeping pill Halcion, the company said.

The company, now known as Pharmacia & Upjohn Inc., made the disclosure
in a document filed last month with the Securities and Exchange
Commission in Washington.

The principal focus of the testimony involved tapes and disks containing
Halcion clinical data and analyses, the company said in its annual 10-K
report. Three company employees and a former
worker have testified before the grand jury, the report said.

"There's clearly been no attempts to hide data or falsify data," Dr.
Goran Ando, an executive vice president of the company, said Tuesday
after Pharmacia & Upjohn's annual meeting. "We've shown this over and
over again."

Ando said he had no knowledge about the status of the investigation.

Halcion was the world's top-selling sleeping pill until allegations
arose that it could provoke violent reactions. It still is sold
worldwide, although Britain banned it in 1991.

The Food and Drug Administration has examined Halcion many times since
1982, lowering the dose and adding to the label warnings of such side
effects as anxiety, behavior changes and abnormal thinking.

In a report to Congress 11 months ago, the FDA said it could not
conclude that Upjohn, based in Kalamazoo, did anything wrong. But it
also sent its findings to federal prosecutors in western Michigan.

Citing grand jury secrecy rules, prosecutors in Grand Rapids declined to
comment. Federal grand juries generally are convened for 18 months to
consider a variety of criminal cases.

In its annual report to shareholders, Pharmacia & Upjohn said it is
involved in several liability lawsuits over Halcion.

--By ED WHITE, Associated Press
Date: Wed, 30 Apr 1997 18:06:51 +0800 (SST)
>From: Vadivu Govind 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org, veg-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (SG) "Safe" Meat
Message-ID: <199704301006.SAA03623@eastgate.cyberway.com.sg>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"



The Straits Times - Singapore Lifestyle

APR 30 1997
They do the dirty job to keep your food safe
By Sharon Vasoo


EVERY day, Mr Andrew Chua turns
     up for work at 7.30 pm, dons a white coat, snaps on rubber gloves,
     and spends the next eight hours sticking his hands into the
     carcasses of pigs.

        A senior meat inspector with the Primary Production
     Department, he can go through 300 pigs an hour, looking for signs
     of disease in the animals.

        It is a bloody job, and definitely not for someone with a weak
     stomach.

        "You must have a sharp eye because some pigs appear to look
     good on the outside, but when you take a look inside, it's a
     different story altogether," he says.

        Officers like Mr Chua are the first line of defence in the PPD's
     germ warfare to protect Singaporeans from unsafe food. Last
     year, 112,775 tonnes of meat and meat products valued at $347
     million were brought into Singapore, of which less than 2 per
     cent, or 214 tonnes, were destroyed as unfit to eat.
     Besides fresh pork, the food destroyed included mutton, beef and
     meat products such as salami, luncheon meat and corned beef.
     Each night, eight PPD meat inspectors stand on their feet for
     eight hours at the two abattoirs in Singapore, in Jalan Buroh and
     Jurong, checking all the slaughtered livestock which comes in
     from Malaysia and Indonesia.

        Mr Chua, 41, for example, armed only with a carving knife,
     spends his workdays shoving his hands into the vertical openings
     of the carcasses to feel for bumps filled with pus, hard cysts and
     inflammations in the lymph node region, while keeping an eye out
     for spots on the flesh.

        "That's where all the signs are," he says.

        During a Life! visit to the PPD abattoir at Jalan Buroh, he finds
     a lump of pus on the inside of a pig's thigh. A swift stroke of the
     carving knife slices away a sizeable chunk of flesh.

        In this case, the rest of the meat can still be eaten because the
     abscess is isolated to a spot on the thigh.

        "These are the foul things we don't like to see. I won't want my
     children eating this kind of stuff," says the father of three young
     girls.

        For the past four years, the PPD's main reasons for dumping
     fresh meat and meat imports were contamination due to bacteria
     such as salmonella and spoilage during transportation.

        Disease and high chemical residues such as pesticide, growth
     hormones and therapeutic drugs can also make the meat
     defective.

        Even when importing farms provide documents which prove that
     the exporting country's veterinarians have inspected the meat,
     consignments can be turned away. Dr Chua Sin Bin, the director
     of PPD's Veterinary Public Health and Food Supply Division,
     says that, increasingly, only a small percentage of meat and
     vegetable imports is dumped. He attributes this to Singapore's
     reputation for a stringent food checking system which forces
     importing countries to meet its standards.

        "They know that if they want to continue doing business with us,
     they have to comply with our rules," he says. "We do not need to
     expose our people to unnecessary risks."

        He says that there had been some cases where farms and meat
     plants had failed to meet PPD's health requirements and were
     promptly suspended.

        Recently, pork imports from Taiwan were suspended because of
     an outbreak of foot and mouth disease in some farms there.

       However, Dr Chua says that most of the time, the importers clean
     up their act because they realise the importance of having
     Singapore as a trading partner. He says: "Once you let your guard
     down, you will get dumped with rubbish on your plate. But if you
     are vigilant and maintain a set of standards, people will respect
     you and keep to the rules." The PPD team has 225 people to
     police errant farms and any form of contamination in food
     imports.

        Besides meat and vegetable inspectors, they include
     microbiologists, chemists, biochemists, veterinarians and food
     technologists to identify germs or toxins at the source.

        PPD's food safety programme includes evaluations on a country's
     farms, abattoirs and food processing plants to see if they are fit to
     send food items here.
     Once approval is given, the veterinary authority in the exporting
     country conducts inspections to meet Singapore's requirements
     and issues a health certificate for each consignment of livestock,
     poultry, meat or eggs. Compulsory checks are made on all meat,
     vegetables and seafood before they are released for sale here.

        The care taken to ensure food quality includes insisting that
     livestock such as pigs, cattle and sheep rest for at least eight
     hours before they are slaughtered.

        Dr Chua explains: "The ones which are stressed or injured are
     rejected. Only the happy, well-rested ones are eaten because they
     give tender meat."

        Once slaughtered, the carcasses and organs are inspected and
     samples of meat and organs are tested regularly in the PPD
     laboratory. Carcasses or organs which are diseased or
     contaminated are marked with a dye to distinguish them from
     good meat and then disposed of.

        Random checks are made of consignments of canned food such as
     luncheon meat and corned beef, frozen and preserved meats when
     they arrive.

        Products with a poor reputation are subjected to stringent testing
     regularly.

        "If you have a bad reputation with us, every consignment will be
     held back and tested. If we detect any contamination, we will
     suspend you immediately," Dr Chua says.

        The department is especially strict about hamburger patties and
     cooked seafood, such as crabmeat and prawns, because some
     preparation methods by the packers can be unhygienic and cause
     food poisoning.

        Every consignment of such products is held back and checked
     thoroughly before it is approved for sale.

        Beef patties are highly susceptible to contamination because of
     the way they are prepared. Sometimes, handlers prepare the meat
     with
     bare hands and germs may be embedded in the patties.

        Thus, PPD inspectors hit on fast-food outlets regularly to check
     food preparation. It also makes it compulsory for all patties to be
     cooked at 75 deg C at these outlets.

        Similarly, manufacturers of canned meat products have to heat
     up their products to 121 deg C for three minutes, after which
     these are sealed tightly to ensure that they have a shelf life of
     three to five years.

        Contaminated cans become bloated because of a toxin known as
     botulism, which causes deadly food poisoning. People who eat
     such foul meat products may suffer from vomiting, diarrhoea,
     paralysis and even death. "It's terrible. Just one drop is enough to
     kill you," says Dr Chua.

        But he says that for the past 20 years, no one here has suffered
     from the deadly toxin which killed 21 people in India last year.

        Last year, Dr Chua's division spent $12 million on food safety, $1
     million more than the year before.

        Still, last year, 621 people had food poisoning here and one of
     them, a 24-year-old man, died. The figures were only slightly
     better than in 1995, when there was a three-year high of 628 cases
     of food poisoning.

        Food poisoning cases here are mostly due to poor food handling
     and preparation by caterers and service outlets and rarely
     because of contaminated meats and vegetables brought here, says
     Dr Chua.

        He adds: "Although we don't get some of the cases which affect
     others, it doesn't mean we become complacent. We have to stay
     alert and be on top of things all the time."

Date: Wed, 30 Apr 1997 18:06:58 +0800 (SST)
>From: Vadivu Govind 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org, veg-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (SG) Ear muffs to block out cries
Message-ID: <199704301006.SAA04028@eastgate.cyberway.com.sg>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"



This is part 2 of "Safe" Meat.     

The Straits Times
APR 30 1997                                              

     When dogs can sniff out meat smell on him


     ON THE first day of his job at the Jalan Buroh abattoir, Mr
     Andrew Chua wanted to make a quick exit from the place.

     The shrill cries of the pigs waiting to be slaughtered left him
     feeling sad and empty all day.

     "I felt uncomfortable and helpless. I was torn because I had a
     job to do and there was nothing I could do to save them or ease
     their pain," said the 41-year-old senior meat inspector with the
     Primary Production Department.

     But today, after 21 years on the job, he is used to the sight of
     blood, and carcasses and organs dangling from hooks.

     And the cries of the animals?

     You learn how to ignore the cries, he said. "I guess I hardened
     myself along the way.

     "Luckily, now we are provided with these super ear muffs to block
     out all the cries."

     The first few days on the job were tough, he admits.

     "When I first started, all the gory stuff made me lose my
     appetite. But I told myself that as I'd made the decision to take
     up this career, I would learn how to deal with it."

     Describing his duties, he said: "It's very much like what a
     forensic pathologist does ... the only difference is that I deal
     with dead animals."

     The father of three girls, Mr Chua starts work at around 8 pm and
     finishes at 7 the next morning.

     The livestock is slaughtered in the night so that the meat is
     still fresh when it arrives at the markets.

     When his shift ends, the first thing he does is have a long
     shower and a good scrub at his workplace.

     His wife complains, occasionally, about the strong smell of meat,
     he said. But he is immune to it.

     "It can be so strong that sometimes dogs sniff it out and it's
     not surprising to have a few of them tailing me around."

Date: Wed, 30 Apr 1997 18:07:05 +0800 (SST)
>From: Vadivu Govind 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (SG) On the trail of a tiger
Message-ID: <199704301007.SAA05964@eastgate.cyberway.com.sg>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

     

The Straits Times

APR 30 1997                                               

     On the trail of a tiger
By David Miller


     LIFE for Pulau Ubin residents goes on as usual despite the
     rumours of tiger sightings.

     Yesterday when The Straits Times visited the rustic holiday
     island, several large paw prints were found on a northern beach
     near Kampung Nordin which faces Johor.

     The prints, measuring about 11 cm long, are believed to have been
     made by a large animal, although police officers said that
     judging from their size and the presence of claw marks, the
     tracks were unlikely to be a tiger's.

     According to the Singapore Zoo, the paw print of a tigress, the
     smaller of the two sexes, measures about 14 cm.

     Many villagers interviewed said they had heard stories of tigers
     being spotted on the island over the past week but locating
     actual eye witnesses proved to be as elusive as tracking down the
     beast.

     According to the the police, three reports have been received.

     The first was made by an elderly resident, Madam Poeot Ahmad, 68,
     who said she spotted a yellow-stripped animal near a beach while
     looking for shells last Wednesday. The woman has since left the
     island.

     On Sunday, two Thai workers reported seeing a tiger and a cub
     near a quarry on the eastern side of the island.

     Later, another visitor said he found some paw prints, but zoo
     experts who examined the tracks said they could have been made by
     large dogs.

     Even though the reports of tigers have not been substantiated,
     the National Parks Board is not taking any chances.

     On Saturday, it put up several signs on the island warning
     visitors not to camp or trek overnight as tigers are nocturnal
     hunters.

     However visitors were not scared away. Police said holiday-makers
     packed the island last weekend.

     American tourist Robert Mitchem, 42, was not afraid of cycling
     around the island alone.

     He said: "Even if the reports are true, the tigers are probably
     more afraid of people than we are of them."

     Three Chinese nationals, who were camping near Kampung Nordin
     yesterday, also dismissed the sightings as rumours.

     Speaking in Mandarin, hotel housekeeper Kelvin Kao, 23, said:

     "I don't believe there are tigers here."

     However, village headman Lim Chye Joo, 94, who has been living
     there for more than 60 years, was not so quick to dismiss the
     sightings.

     He said: "Several people here have seen the tigers. They could
     have been clearing the jungle in Johor and the tigers swam over.

     "People told me the wild pigs which also live here have
     disappeared.

     "If an elephant can come over here, why not a tiger."

     In 1991, a young bull elephant was caught on Pulau Ubin after it
     swam across from Johor.

     During its one week on the island, the elephant attacked a man
     and damaged a taxi.

     It was later tranquillised and returned to Malaysia.

     Among the wildlife native to the island are wild boars, pigs and
     goats.

     Earlier this month, The Straits Times reported that the leopard
     cat, once thought to be extinct in Singapore, was found on Pulau
     Ubin.

     The last wild tiger in Singapore was shot in Chua Chu Kang
     Village in 1930, according to newspaper reports.

Date: Wed, 30 Apr 1997 18:07:12 +0800 (SST)
>From: Vadivu Govind 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (HK) Judges blamed for turtle trade
Message-ID: <199704301007.SAA30722@eastgate.cyberway.com.sg>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"


> Hong Kong Standard, 30 Apr 97

Judges blamed for turtle trade
By Lucia Palpal-latoc


(Image) An AFD officer unloads one of 10 giant temple terrapins seized from a
residential flat in Wan Chai on Tuesday: Picture: Hardy Wong.

THE Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) is blaming
judges for the unabated illegal trade in giant terrapins in Hong Kong.

The group made its accusation after the seizure of 10 temple terrapins in
Wan Chai on Tuesday by the Agriculture and Fisheries Department (AFD).

A 35-year-old trader was arrested in connection with the raid.

The raid occurred barely six weeks after the SPCA released a report on the
illegal trade in giant terrapins in the territory.

SPCA spokeswoman Amy Chow Pak-sum welcomed the seizure of the terrapins and
urged judges to impose the maximum penalty on the arrested trader.

``In previous cases, the courts have only fined the traders $200 to $500
for the illegal trade in giant turtles,'' she said.

``This did not have any deterrent effect on the traders because they could
earn thousands from selling just one giant turtle.''

People arrested for the illegal trade in giant terrapins are charged with
violating the Public Health (Animals and Birds, Animals Traders)
Regulations which carries a maximum fine of $2,000.

Traders are also charged with committing an offence under the Prevention of
Cruelty to Animals Ordinance which bears a maximum fine of $5,000 and
imprisonment of up to six months.

Acting on information, AFD officers raided a residential flat in Morrison
Hill Road in Wan Chai and seized 10 temple terrapins, weighing between 31.5
and 54 kilograms each, that were found on the balcony.

All of the terrapins were more than 100 years old, with the oldest about
130. They are believed to have been smuggled from northern China.

The investigations started last week when the AFD's regulatory section
received reports of Kowloon Tong homes being approached by traders selling
aged terrapins. AFD veterinary officer Howard Wong Kai-hay said although
temple terrapins were not endangered, they were closely monitored.

Buddhists believe they will have good luck and a longer life if they
release giant terrapins into the sea.

Date: Wed, 30 Apr 1997 18:07:19 +0800 (SST)
>From: Vadivu Govind 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (AU Study) Mobile phones and mice
Message-ID: <199704301007.SAA00564@eastgate.cyberway.com.sg>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"



>South China Morning Post
Internet Edition

     April 30
     Study adds to mobile phone cancer link fear
     ROGER MAYNARD in Sydney

     
     New research into the possible side effects of mobile phone use has
revealed a strong link between electromagnetic radiation and cancer.

 While the authors of this latest Australian study are not suggesting you
throw away your mobile phone yet, the findings will send shudders through
manufacturers and customers alike.

 The four-year study by scientists at the Royal Adelaide Hospital in South
Australia involved a series of experiments conducted on mice.

 One group was exposed to two 30-minute doses of radiation a day at the
frequency used for digital mobile phones. The other group received no emissions.

 After 18 months, the rate of cancer in the exposed mice had risen from 22
per cent to 43 per cent, twice as much as that of the second group.

 In essence it meant that mice exposed to electromagnetic radiation
equivalent to spending one hour a day on a digital mobile phone, were twice
as likely to develop lymphoma, or cancer of the immune system.

 The chairman of the study's steering committee, Professor Tony Basten,
admitted he was surprised by the results.

 "We live in a sea of electromagnetic fields and this result is surprising,
particularly because we can find no convincing evidence that radio frequency
fields cause damage to DNA or any other mechanism that would lead to higher
rates of cancer," he said.

 Professor Basten pointed out that mice and humans absorbed energy from
these fields differently, so it was impossible to conclude that humans had
an increased risk of cancer from using digital phones.

 "For the time being at least I see no scientific reason to stop using my
mobile phone," he said.

Date: Wed, 30 Apr 1997 18:07:27 +0800 (SST)
>From: Vadivu Govind 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (US) Warning campaign against hormone supplements
Message-ID: <199704301007.SAA05950@eastgate.cyberway.com.sg>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"


     
The Straits Times

        APR 30 1997                                               

     US govt starts warning campaign against hormone supplements


     THE United States government is organising a television blitz to
     warn Americans who gulp hormone pills to restore their youth and
     strength that they could be flirting with high blood pressure,
     diabetes and cancer.

     The heavily-promoted "miracle" compounds -- melatonin and DHEA --
     promise to eliminate sleepless nights, stave off the ravages of
     time and give a 50-year-old couch potato the sexual performance
     of a 20-year-old.

     DHEA or dihydroepiandrosterone is produced by adrenal glands and
     converted into estrogen and testosterone. Melatonin is
     manufactured by the pineal gland in the brain and helps induce
     sleep. Although the body makes these hormones naturally, the
     amount produced drops with age.

     The hormones are touted as weapons to fight the normal declines
     of ageing by improving immunity against illness and restoring
     lost energy.

     But the National Institute on Ageing, normally a quiet and staid
     purveyor of federal dollars to scientific researchers, is
     sounding a loud alarm about the hormone craze. It wants to flood
     the country with TV commercials -- tapes were shipped to 500
     broadcast stations this month, and another 600 will be dispatched
     to cable TV outlets next month.

     The agency has urged them to broadcast the commercial, in 30- and
     60-second versions, as a public service announcement. In the
     spot, an anxious, balding middle-aged man whines to Madame
     Eterno, a fortune teller: "I'm losing my hair. I've got wrinkles.
     I've got pains. I seek the fountain of youth and the truth about
     anti-ageing miracle drugs."

     Madame tells him to dial a number to hear the government's
     concerns about the potential side effects of the pills.

     Callers can have a four-page fact sheet titled Pills, Patches And
     Shots: Can Hormones Prevent Ageing? sent to them. The gist of the
     report is that while hormone supplements have been shown to help
     some people, officials believe that much more testing is needed
     to determine long-range effects.

     Millions of people are consuming the compounds, although the
     exact figure is unknown. The hormones are sold through large
     grocery chains and drug stores, in nutrition stores and health
     clubs, through mail-order catalogues and over Internet without
     any central tally system.

     One advocate of the supplements, Dr Ward Dean, a physician in
     Pensacola, Florida, defends them as safe. "Everybody over the age
     of 40 should take some DHEA," he said. He is also a fan of
     melatonin from his days as an Army doctor in the early '80s. He
     supplied it to members of Delta Force, an anti-terrorist unit, to
     fight jet-lag after long flights.

     Supplement users are taking melatonin and DHEA without waiting
     for an official endorsement by the federal experts or doctors
     "because of frustration with government inaction in this area,"
     Dr Dean said.

     The public's enthusiasm for hormones frightens the experts at the
     NIA.

     "If you walk into a roomful of people, the odds are good that one
     or two are taking melatonin or DHEA," said Mr Richard Sprott,
     head of the biology of ageing programme at the agency. "They are
     taking risks they just don't know about, because hormones taken
     in large amounts for a long period of time could help promote
     high blood pressure, strokes, cancer and diabetes."

     DHEA and melatonin are classified as food supplements, available
     without prescription. Another popular item, which does require a
     doctor's order, is the testosterone patch, supposedly an aid to
     strength and restored sexual vigour. The downside is a risk of
     shrunken gonads, Mr Sprott said. ADVOCATES and critics agree on
     one thing -- hormone production drops with age. The body makes
     these chemicals to help regulate growth, general well-being and
     reproduction. The natural output slows after age 30 and goes into
     steady decline. By age 80, DHEA levels are only 5 per cent of the
     peak reached by people between 18 and 30.

     The question is whether restoring the hormones to peak levels can
     slow down ageing and perhaps restore some of the vigour and
     strength of youth. Studies of laboratory rats are encouraging and
     some short-term studies in people offer promise.

     According to government officials, two groups of consumers are
     gobbling the pills: anxious baby boomers and younger health-club
     members and weightlifters.

     Hormones alter the body's physiology and the changes "are more
     likely to produce harm than produce good", said Dr Barry
     Reisberg, director of the ageing and dementia research centre at
     New York University Medical Centre.

     "Before making the alterations, we should have the benefit of
     controlled studies looking at the risks and benefits."

     DHEA has little known adverse reactions, but potentially raises
     the risk of stimulating enlarged breasts and prostate cancer in
     men, and breast cancer and endometrial cancer in women, according
     to a report by Dr Ara Der Marderosian, professor at Philadelphia
     College of Pharmacy and Science.

     Melatonin's side effects include headaches and temporary
     depression.

     Mr Dan Perry, executive director of Alliance for Ageing Research,
     a private organisation that lobbies Congress on age-related
     issues, said the debate over the supplements underlines the need
     for an expansion of federal spending to investigate the health
     issues.

     Referring to hormone users, he said that "rather than frightening
     them with warnings, or luring them with unproven appeals, we
     ought to make it one of the highest priorities to get the answers
     in the next few years". -- LAT-WP

Date: Wed, 30 Apr 1997 08:29:56 -0400
>From: allen schubert 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (US) Guilty Plea in Bird Smuggling Case 
Message-ID: <3.0.32.19970430082953.006b1830@clark.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

from AP Wire page:
---------------------------
 04/30/1997 00:24 EST 

 Guilty Plea in Bird Smuggling Case 

 MIAMI (AP) -- A man pleaded guilty on Tuesday to illegally importing 4,000
African
 gray parrots and agreed to pay $300,000 in fines and restitution, the
largest sum in a
 federal wildlife smuggling case, prosecutors said. 

 Adolph ``Buzz'' Pare was charged with falsifying documents to show that he
legally
 imported the birds from Guinea and the Ivory Coast. Pare brought the birds
here
 from the jungle of Zaire. 

 The African gray parrot is protected in the wild by international treaty.
The parrots are
 popular with pet owners because of their ability to mimic the human voice
and learn
 a large vocabulary. 

 As part of a plea agreement, Pare, 62, agreed to pay $300,000, the largest
amount in
 a federal wildlife smuggling case, prosecutors said. 

 He faces up to 10 years in prison when he is sentenced July 10. 

 Prosecutors said Pare paid about $85 each for the exotic birds, which sell
in the
 United States for $600 to $1,000 each. 
Date: Wed, 30 Apr 1997 08:38:00 -0400
>From: allen schubert 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (US) Brucellosis in Alabama
Message-ID: <3.0.32.19970430083757.006dd9f8@clark.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

from AP Wire page:
----------------------------
LOXLEY, Ala. (AP) -- A highly contagious disease that causes miscarriage and
 infertility in cattle has been found in two herds in Baldwin County, Ala. 

 The cattle were slaughtered after testing positive for brucellosis. A
veterinarian from
 the Agriculture Department has begun taking blood samples from every head of
 cattle within a two-mile radius of the infected herd. 

 ``It's an extreme concern,'' said cattleman Bill Thompson, whose herd is
scheduled
 to be tested later in the week. ``My hope is this will be cleared up in a
matter of days
 and whatever steps to eradicate this disease are taken.'' 

 That means taking them to slaughter to stop the spread of the disease. 

 Brucellosis won't kill cows, but cattle will continue to carry and spread
it to others in
 the herd, creating reproduction problems. Humans can contract the disease
only by
 coming into close contact with an infected cow; undulant fever sometimes
results in
 humans. 

 The disease does not affect meat, so infected animals are sold for
slaughter. But
 because slaughter is their only option, the animals aren't worth as much
on the
 market. The federal government reimburses for most of the loss, but Thompson
 said the disease still has an economic impact. 
Date: Wed, 30 Apr 1997 09:29:14 -0400
>From: Animal Alliance of Canada 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Hiring Canadian students!
Message-ID: <3.0.32.19970430092821.006a10cc@inforamp.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Animal Alliance of Canada is currently seeking Canadian students for
employment during the summer through a government inititave called SEED.

Applicants must be in high school or greater, and must be going back to
school in the fall to be eligible.  Applicants will work out of the Animal
Alliance office 35 hours per week from mid-May until the end of August 1997.

We are hoping to be granted three positions, although we will not know for
sure until mid-May.  Any interested parties should send a resume to Animal
Alliance immediately by mail or fax.  Students must have their own
transportation and board...This applies only to Canadian students.

The positions we are seeking is to work in a group to update our
Compassionate Living Guide; a booklet which will inform people on what
foods, clothing, cosmetics, leisure activites and more cause minimum impact
on our planet and all inhabitants, human and non-human alike.

Please contact Marie at Animal Alliance if you have any questions.
Date: Wed, 30 Apr 1997 10:54:54 -0400 (EDT)
>From: JanaWilson@aol.com
To: AR-News@envirolink.org
Subject: (US) More on Oklahoma Leopard Attack
Message-ID: <970430105454_-2002466727@emout02.mail.aol.com>


In accordance with local Oklahoma City News reporting, a
northeast Oklahoma County animal refuge that housed a deadly
leopard passed federal safety inspections Tuesday after the
animal killed a woman Monday.
Inspectors from the US Dept. of Agriculture ruled Monday's
mauling death of Eunice Esquivel, 52 at the Oakhill Center for
Rare and Endangered Species, 19800 Coffee Creek Road was
an accident. (Esquivel visiting from Puerto Rico was a close
friend and described as a caring person with animal experience.)
Also, on Tuesday, refuge owner John Aynes attempted ro
reassure nearby Luther residents of the safety of the center
that houses 29 large exotic cats.  "I don't want people to
have a knee-jerk reaction to something that was very tragic,"
Aynes said.  "I want the public to feel rest-assured that our 
facility is safe."  The Oklahoma County Sheriff's Department
is continuing its investigation of the attack. Two sheriff's
deputies killed the animal about 75 yards east of the center's
front gate.
The sheriff's office had received about 10 calls from around the
country protesting the decision to kill the leopard (who was
raised in captivity).  They said they were surprised no one
called for concern for Esquival.
Steve Wylie, chief executive of the Oklahoma City Zoo, is
supporitng Aynes for running a safe and well-managed facility.
Aynes has run the Oakhill Center for seven years.  The
Agriculture Dept. has received no complaints on Aynes during
that time.  The Dept. purges its records every seven years.
In 1981, a Siberian tiger owned by Aynes attacked the 2 year
old daughter of his partner in a cat photography and promotional
business.
>From 1979 to 1982, Aynes was involved in numerous disputes
with federal authorities and the City of Choctaw involving cats he
housed at his home in Choctaw.
In December of 1981, Aynes pleaded no contest to charges of
arranging the purchase and interstate transport of an endangered
species without a permit.
Aynes said Oakhill is a member of the American Zoological and
Aquairium Association and has dealt with zoo's around the
country.
"All I can say is the John Aynes of 1981 is not the John Aynes
of today," Aynes said.

                                                     For the Animals,

                                                     Jana, OKC
Date: Wed, 30 Apr 1997 13:57:38 -0400
>From: anne doncaster 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Seal hunt and new tannery
Message-ID: <3.0.32.19970430135659.006acf70@muskoka.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

The latest report from the Canadian Department of
Fisheries and Oceans states that over 233,760 seals
have been killed as of last week in the seal hunt.
Of these numbers, 226,878 were harp seals.

The St. John's Evening Telegram, (Newfoundland, April 29) 
announced that Teleos Trading Inc., an Italian company with
expertise in tanning leather, will be in partnership with a
Canadian Company, to open and operate a new tannery
in Newfoundland.  The joint venture will work under
the name Dorsel Tannery Inc.  

The tannery is expected to open in 6 months and intends
to operate 24 hrs/day every day.  Most of the animal hides
will be imported but the company plans to process 150,000
seals as well as local caribou and moose, into leather.

The tannery will be subsidized by Canadian tax-payers
through tax breaks and, what the Evening Telegram describe
as "other incentives".

The article indicates that Europe, including Italy, will
be the main importers of product although it was not clear
whether this would be for all leather, including that derived
from Canadian wildlife.

Previous discussion of a new large tannery in Newfoundland
have indicated that both wildlife and domestic animals would
be used.  

  
Anne Doncaster
International Wildlife Coalition
P.O. Box 340
Port Carling, ON P0B 1J0
Canada
Tel:  (705) 765-6341
Fax:  (705) 765-6435
Date: Wed, 30 Apr 1997 14:55:39 -0400
>From: allen schubert 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (US) Atlanta activists out of jail
Message-ID: <3.0.32.19970430145534.006bb5f8@clark.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

from private e-mail:
------------------------------
>Everyone in Atlanta has been released except for Joe Bateman.  The jail
>is processing his paper work, and he will be out shortly.
>
>Cres and Sheila are on airplane home.  Jerry and Pam are on Amtrak home.
>
>Our activists are safe , and performed magnificently in the face of
>clubbing, tear gas and tyranny!
>
>Thank you all for your wonderful support.  Old Atlanta has never seen
>anything like you wonderful activists.

Date: Wed, 30 Apr 1997 15:48:14 -0400
>From: allen schubert 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (US) Genetic Switch Creates Supermice 
Message-ID: <3.0.32.19970430154812.006b3470@clark.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

from AP Wire page:
-----------------------------
04/30/1997 14:01 EST 

 Genetic Switch Creates Supermice 

 By MATT CRENSON 
 AP Science Editor 

 NEW YORK (AP) -- With a single genetic switch, scientists have created a
strain of
 supermice two to three times more muscular than usual, with big, broad
shoulders
 and massive hips. 

 The genetically altered giants can't outpace speeding locomotives, or leap
much of
 anything in a single bound. But their creators believe the mice could spur a
 revolution in the treatment of muscular dystrophy and similar diseases,
and perhaps
 even transform the livestock industry, where bigger muscles would mean more
 meat. 

 The supermice were made by Se-Jin Lee, Alexandra McPherron and Ann Lawler,
 molecular biologists at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in
 Baltimore. The researchers created the mice by deleting a single gene that
appears
 to limit muscle growth. 

 ``They do look a little strange,'' McPherron said. She and her colleagues
describe the
 mice in Thursday's issue of Nature, a British scientific journal. 

 Though they seem stronger than their peers, the supermice are gentle giants.
 ``When I poke them they don't run away as fast as a normal mouse,''
McPherron said
 Tuesday. ``They don't seem to be bothered by it.'' 

 Aside from their musculature, the mice are physically identical to their
scrawnier kin. 

 The Hopkins scientists created the burly beasts by knocking out the gene
for a
 growth factor they discovered. Growth factors are proteins that either
stimulate or
 suppress the growth and division of certain cell types, such as bone or
nerve -- or
 muscle. 

 It turns out the growth factor the Hopkins researchers found, myostatin,
inhibits
 muscle growth. The researchers found that out as soon as they saw the mice
they
 had bred without the gene. 

 The result -- totally buff. And promising. 

 Drugs could be developed that block the action of myostatin, for example.
Those
 drugs might counteract some of the muscle wasting that occurs in diseases
such
 as muscular dystrophy and cachexia, a muscular deterioration that accompanies
 AIDS and some forms of cancer. 

 There's also the possibility that farmers could breed overdeveloped
poultry and
 cattle, because the researchers have found a corresponding gene in
chickens and
 cows. Not only would those animals produce really impressive cuts of meat,
but it
 would be lean meat because eliminating myostatin affects only muscle. It
does not
 increase fat production. 

 ``We could end up with chickens with two to three times the amount of
meat,'' Lee
 said. 

 It's a long road to reaping the benefits of myostatin, however. And a long
shot, too. 

 The researchers still haven't shown that humans and other animals also
have the
 mouse myostatin. They haven't shown that blocking the action of the
protein has the
 same effect as genetically preventing its creation. And they haven't shown
that
 bulking up muscle mass by blocking myostatin would actually help people with
 muscular dystrophy and other diseases. 

 ``This is hypothesis, this is projection, this is a possibility raised by
these studies,''
 said Joan Massague, a research scientist at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering
Cancer
 Center and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute in New York City. ``Only
time will
 tell.'' 

 Could genetic engineers someday create people who would make Arnold
 Schwarzenegger look like Pee Wee Herman? 

 Yes, in principle anyway. But as Lee pointed out, there are already
powerful drugs to
 increase muscle mass, and the vast majority of ethicists consider it wrong
for
 athletes to use them. 

 ``We would all have to work very hard to make sure that's not the group
that would be
 targeted for those drugs,'' he said. 
Date: Wed, 30 Apr 1997 16:05:48 -0400
>From: allen schubert 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (US) san francisco action alert...may 3rd...protest against
  norway's killing of whales and seals
Message-ID: <3.0.32.19970430160545.00691d60@clark.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

posted from private e-mail:
-----------------------------------------
DEMONSTRATE AT NORWAY DAY FESTIVAL TO PROTEST NORWAY'S KILLING OF
MINKE WHALES
AND HARP SEALS.

Concerned Bay Area environmentalists and animal welfare activists will be
present to protest Norweigian continued commericial whaling in defiance of
the International Whaling Commission agreemeants.  In
addition, Norway has begun to slaughter baby white-coat harp seals .
We must voice our outrage as the whales and seals need to be saved.

SATURDAY  MAY 3, 1997
12 NOON
FT. MASON CENTER, HERBST PAVILLION, SAN FRANCISCO.

The environmental and animal welfare community is calling for a boycott of
all Norwegian products, services, and tourism. Norway has already announced
they will kill over 500 Minke Whales this summer.

END BARBARIC SLAUGHTER OF MARINE ANIMALS.

Contact:  Mark Berman,  Earth Island Institute , 415-788-3666 x 146

Please pass this email on to all Animal Rights, Veggie, Eco, etc....
LISTS.....



Date: Wed, 30 Apr 1997 16:17:07 -0400
>From: Shirley McGreal 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: 93 animals removed from home
Message-ID: <1.5.4.32.19970430201707.0089485c@awod.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

     CHICAGO, April 30 (UPI) -- Animal control workers, fighting the 
stench of animal feces and urine, removed nearly 100 animals from a 
home on Chicago's Southwest Side. 
     The menagerie, which included foxes, raccoons, dogs, rats, birds, 
a  snake and other wild animals, was discovered Sunday when the woman 
who owns the house was attacked and bitten by a ***baboon.*** 
     Animal control officers had to fire two tranquilizer darts into 
the 3-foot-tall baboon Monday to subdue it. A total of 93 animals had 
been taken out of the house by Wednesday and officials said they 
believe they have found them all. 
     Hope Shiluk could face charges of inhumane treatment of animals 
and harboring illegal and dangerous animals in her home. 
     Local and state laws prohibit keeping wild animals within city  
limits. 
     The Chicago Department of Streets and Sanitation says it needs a  
court order to clean up the house, which is covered with feces, animal 
feed and cages. 
     Friends say Shiluk, who is in her 50s, got hooked on caring for  
animals as a young girl when her father brought her a dove with a 
broken wing. 
     Animal control officers had made two other visits to Shiluk's 
home in  the past seven months, prompted by neighbors' complaints about 
noise and odor. Officials say Shiluk would get rid of some of the 
animals but would then adopt more. 
        


Dr. Shirley McGreal, Chairwoman
International Primate Protection League, POB 766 Summerville SC 29484 USA
Phone: 803-871-2280 Fax: 803-871-7988 E-mail ippl@sc.net and ippl@awod.com
Web page (revised January 1997): http://www.sims.net/organizations/ippl/
April issue of IPPL News now out featuring news of Limbe Wildlife Sanctuary
in Cameroon

Date: Wed, 30 Apr 1997 18:04:17 -0400 (EDT)
>From: MINKLIB@aol.com
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Fur Trade Interests Attack CAFT
Message-ID: <970430180253_-299545868@emout16.mail.aol.com>

It is believed that private thugs working for the fur industry are
responsible for another break in at the headquarters of the Coalition to
Abolish the Fur Trade in Dallas, TX.  The offices had been broken into before
and files and computer equipment stolen, but this time it was a profesional
job as an elaborate security system was by passed.

The damage amounted to the deleting of computer files, which for the most
part, were backed up on disks, and the attempted kidnapping of a chinchilla
kept at the CAFT offices.  The chinchilla managed to get loose and came out
of hiding a day after the break in.

Obviously we are doing something right or we wouldn't be the subject of such
attacks.  Please help the Coalition stay afloat.  We presently have a very
small mailing list and receive little by way of donations.  CAFT has achieved
magnificent result, but this has been through intense grassroots organizing.
 

CAFT needs your support in the following ways.  First off, if you have become
a CAFT member or donated to CAFT since Jan. of '97 then please get in touch
immediately.  The mailing list was backed up on disk, but was not completely
updated.  If you have become a member since then we need to hear from you so
that we can re-add you to the list.  If you have donated since then we would
like to update that as well.

If you are not a CAFT member, please consider becoming one.  CAFT recently
achieved success in forcing the closure of the fur salons at all Macy's West
stores, and has played a key role in organizing grassroots animal rights
groups all across the country since 1994.  These are just a few of the
reasons that the fur industry is so scared of CAFT, and is trying to shut us
down.

Membership is $15 a year and can be sent to:

Coalition to Abolish the Fur Trade
PO Box 822411
Dallas, TX 75382
Date: Wed, 30 Apr 1997 19:13:03 -0400
>From: allen schubert 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Certified Vegan
Message-ID: <3.0.32.19970430191300.006b0c04@clark.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

posted for VSCP:
------------------------
Hi--

VSCP and the Certified Vegan seal project are really heating up, and we
need people who are willing to make phone calls to companies to ask for the
seal--most are toll-free, and you can also write.

If you're interested, please email VeganStandards@ibm.net

Thank you.

Hillary Morris


Date: Wed, 30 Apr 1997 19:26:57 -0400 (EDT)
>From: Marisul@aol.com
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: NYC Spay/Neuter Conference (US)
Message-ID: <970430192653_-898247573@emout13.mail.aol.com>

The Association of the Bar of the City of New York's Committee on Legal
Issues Pertaining to Animals is presenting a conference entitled:
Can We Stop the Killing?  Legislative Responses to Cat and Dog Overpopulation

Monday, June 2, 1997, 6:30 p.m.
House of the Association, 42 West 44th Street, New York, NY (212 382-6600)

"Millions of homeless cats and dogs die in shelters every year.  In response,
many communities have adopted laws motivating people to spay and neuter
companion animals.  Should New York City join them?"

Moderator: Jane Hoffman
Speakers: Hon Kathryn E. Freed, Member, New York City Council
                Elinor Molbegott, Counsel, Humane Society of New York
                Louise Murray, D.V.M.
                Marion Churchill, President, Compassion for Camden
                John Sabella, Captain (ret.), Camden, NJ, Police Department
Members of the Association, their guests and all other interested persons are
invited to attend.  No fee or reservation is required.

Date: Wed, 30 Apr 1997 20:00:54 -0400
>From: allen schubert 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (US)APHIS Press Release USDA AMENDS RULES FOR IMPORTED ZOO
  ANIMALS
Message-ID: <3.0.32.19970430200052.006c5d74@clark.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

from USDA e-mail list:
-----------------------------------
     Dawn Kent      (301) 734-7255
         dkent@aphis.usda.gov
     Jerry Redding  (202) 720-6959
        jredding@usda.gov


USDA AMENDS RULES FOR IMPORTED ZOO ANIMALS

     WASHINGTON, April 30, 1997--The U.S. Department of
Agriculture is allowing ruminants and swine imported from countries
where foot-and-mouth disease and rinderpest exist to move between
U.S. zoos.

     "Establishing conditions under which such animals may be moved
from one zoo in the United States to another would benefit endangered
species breeding programs," said Joan M. Arnoldi, deputy administrator
of veterinary services with the Animal and Plant Health Inspection
Service, a part of USDA's marketing and regulatory programs mission
area.  ?At the same time, these regulations prevent the introduction and
spread of communicable diseases of livestock.?

     These imported animals are received at APHIS-approved zoos
where they are held in post-entry quarantine facilities that prevent
access to the animals by the public and by domestic animals.  The new
rule allows ruminants or swine to be moved from a PEQ zoo to a
non-PEQ zoo after spending at least one year in quarantine.

     The final rule requires that the non-PEQ zoo have biosecurity
procedures that are effective as, though not necessarily identical to,
procedures used by zoos accredited by the American Zoo and Aquarium
Association.

     Notice of this rule is scheduled for publication in the May 1
Federal Register and becomes effective June 2.

#

NOTE:  USDA news releases, program announcements, and media
advisories are available on the Internet.  Access the APHIS Home Page
by pointing your Web browser to
http://www.aphis.usda.gov and clicking on "APHIS Press Releases." 
Also, anyone with an e-mail address can sign up to receive APHIS press
releases automatically.  Send an e-mail message to
majordomo@info.aphis.usda.gov
and leave the subject blank.  In the message, type
subscribe press_releases


Date: Wed, 30 Apr 1997 17:13:22 -0700 (PDT)
>From: David J Knowles 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: [UK] Alco-milk shakes up the drink watchdogs
Message-ID: <1.5.4.16.19970430171341.25efb912@dowco.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"


>From The Electronic Telegraph - Wednesday, April 30th, 1997

Alco-milk shakes up the drink watchdogs
By Michael Fleet 

 ALCOHOLIC milkshakes that are stronger than most beers have gone on sale
amid claims from health experts that they are "an unashamed attempt" to
exploit the young people's market.

The banana and strawberry flavoured drinks, which are five per cent proof,
are being sold as "alcoholic dairy coolers" under the brand name Moo. Dr
Bill O'Neill, of the British Medical Association, said the BMA was deeply
disturbed at the ease with which young children
could gain access to alcohol.

"The introduction of Moo is a further example of the drink industry's
blatant disregard for the health of our children," he said. "Who can this
drink be aimed at if it is not young people?"

The drinks are being tested in public houses in Oxfordshire and are likely
to be available in the rest of the country later in the summer. Nick
Tegerdine, of the Alcohol Problems Advisory Service, shared the BMA's
concern. "Milk shakes are a kids' drink and mixing them with
alcohol is an unashamed attempt to market drink towards young people and
exploit the market," he said.

The charity Alcohol Concern said the sweet flavour of the drink hid the
taste of alcohol. "It beggars belief. Milk is a healthy drink you associate
with pouring on cornflakes and we are extremely concerned about this," said
a spokesman, Mark Bennett. "There is a real danger
that it is going to be too tempting for kids and should not be sold at all."

The drink was created by the Australian company Speciality Beverages and is
being sold in Britain through En Toute Caisse, based in Witney, Oxon. Paul
Heijink, financial director, rejected the claim that children would be
attracted to the milk. He said:""We have been very careful to make sure only
adults will drink it. It is being sold in pubs and is not freely available
in shops. We have stuck by the guidelines for marketing this type of drink. 

 "The label is fairly bland with no cartoon characters. We have taken every
measure possible to make sure it does not appeal to children." 

Trevan Beadle, landlord of the Mason's Arms, Swerford, near Chipping Norton,
Oxon, said sales of Moo had been good. But he added: "Nobody drinks it in
here unless they are over 18." 

© Copyright Telegraph Group Limited 1997.

Date: Wed, 30 Apr 1997 21:31:20 -0400
>From: allen schubert 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (NZ/UK/FR) Fish Poaching Draws Int'l Ire  
Message-ID: <3.0.32.19970430213118.006eb548@clark.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

from AP Wire page:
----------------------------
 04/30/1997 11:06 EST 

 Fish Poaching Draws Int'l Ire 

 By RAY LILLEY 
 Associated Press Writer 

 WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) -- France and Britain have sent warships to the
 Antarctic, and New Zealand is sending surveillance planes aloft, to stop an
 international fleet of ships poaching toothfish, a white-fleshed fish
imported by
 Southeast Asian countries. 

 Strict controls were imposed on Antarctic fish resources last year under a
23-country
 fisheries control agreement, known as the Convention for the Conservation of
 Antarctic Marine Living Resources. 

 But ``reflagged'' fishing vessels from Spain, Norway and even the United
States -- all
 co-signers to the agreement -- are among those plundering toothfish,
according to
 New Zealand government officials. 

 More than 40 vessels have taken over 30,000 tons of toothfish in South
Africa's
 Antarctic waters, Simon Upton, New Zealand's associate minister of trade and
 foreign affairs, said Wednesday. 

 ``Toothfish has a very high value in Southeast Asia. In Japan, it is
almost worth bars
 of gold,'' said Commandant Bernard O'Mahony, spokesman for France's Marine
 Nationale. 

 Japan imports 12,000 tons of toothfish a year. Called ``mero,'' it sells in
 supermarkets for about $6 a pound. It is usually boiled with soy and sugar or
 roasted. 

 O'Mahony confirmed French forces had intercepted two fishing vessels in the
 protected zone around its Antarctic Crozet Island. 

 On March 31, the Singaporean ship Belgie III was apprehended with
toothfish. On
 April 19, the Portuguese ship Mar L'argo was caught. 

 ``Since mid-March, the French government insisted on reinforcing the
presence of
 the Marine Nationale in this area in order to protect it,'' he said. 

 Jean-Claude Nola, a spokesman for the French Foreign Ministry, said a
frigate and
 two towboats were sent to the area. 

 South Africa is reported ready to send warships and maritime surveillance
airplanes
 into its Antarctic waters to try to halt the illegal fishing. 

 Poachers are raiding toothfish areas around France and Australia's
Antarctic Heard
 and McDonald Islands. 

 Britain has already used gunboats to chase out fishing boats around its South
 Georgia islands in the Falklands by Spanish and Norwegian vessels. Those
ships
 reportedly fly Chilean and Argentine flags. 

 Spanish and Norwegian boats are also deliberately breaching the agreements
 made by their governments by using Panamanian and Vanuatuan flags, New
 Zealand officials said on condition of anonymity. 

 U.S. and Japanese vessels were also reported to be involved, they said. 

 New Zealand's Antarctic island waters and Ross Sea Dependency are seen as a
 new area for potential plunder. 

 Upton said the illegal fishing threatened the fragile Antarctic ecosystem. 

 ``It may pose a threat to the waters south of New Zealand, if reports that
this fishing
 is continuing to spread westwards into French and Australian Antarctic
waters are
 borne out.'' 

 Toothfish was only identified as a rich commercial catch two years ago. It
is a long
 fish with a large mouth and is believed to be bottom-dwelling, living off
cod. It lives for
 up to 25 years. 
Date: Wed, 30 Apr 1997 18:35:12 -0700 (PDT)
>From: David J Knowles 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: [UK] Lizards evolve to prove Darwin right
Message-ID: <1.5.4.16.19970430183531.267790f4@dowco.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"


>From The Electronic Telegraph - Thursday, May 1st, 1997

Lizards evolve to prove Darwin right
By Aisling Irwin, Science Correspondent 

SCIENTISTS have proved that one of Charles Darwin's key ideas about the
theory of evolution is correct.

Darwin proposed that living things evolve as a result of the pressures of
their environment. One of his key pieces of research was into finches of the
Galapagos Islands. He believed that after the finches reached the islands
they had had to change to suit their new surroundings. Because they were cut
off from their relatives, these changes were not diluted by interbreeding
with others. 

Now American scientists say the same type of changes have happened to
lizards they have been studying on a group of Bahamian Islands. When they
returned to the islands more than 10 years after the lizards were released,
the creatures had changed to match the demands of their new environment. 

The journal Nature says today: "This may be among the most important work in
evolutionary studies since Darwin studied the diversity of finches on the
Galapagos Islands."

The lizards, all of the species Anolis sagrei, were taken from the small
island of Staniel Cay in Exumas in the Bahamas. They were introduced in 1977
to 14 very small Bahamian islands which had no lizards of any kind. Only
five to 10 lizards were released on each island. The islands had no large
trees, whereas on their host island the lizards had been used to coppice. 

Scientists, led by Dr Jonathan Losos, of Washington University, in Missouri,
returned to the islands between 10 and 14 years later. 

On most of the bigger islands the lizards were flourishing. The scientists
found that the lizards now had much shorter hind limbs. 

The length of hind limb corresponded with the type of vegetation: the
thinner the typical branches and twigs on an island the shorter the legs of
the occupant lizards. The lizards on the islands also had wider toe-pads and
had changed in weight from their host lizards on the island of Staniel Clay.

Scientists had shown with other Anolis populations that lizards that must
perch on narrow branches and twigs are smaller and have shorter hind limbs
than those that perch on wider branches or tree trunks.

Dr Ted Case, a biologist at the University of California, said the change
was "rapid and clear-cut". He said that scientists should now introduce
competing species to the islands to see if this forced the lizards to evolve
further into narrower ecological niches. 

© Copyright Telegraph Group Limited 1997. 

Date: Wed, 30 Apr 1997 18:35:17 -0700 (PDT)
>From: David J Knowles 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: [UK] Gene removal gives rodents more muscle
Message-ID: <1.5.4.16.19970430183536.2677c03c@dowco.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"


>From The Electronic Telegraph - Thursday, May 1st, 1997

Gene removal gives rodents more muscle

MICE with extra-large muscles have been created by American scientists in an
experiment that may lead to the development of treatments for muscular
dystrophy and other muscle-wasting diseases.

The team from Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, found that by
removing newly-discovered gene growth/differentiation factor 8 (GDF 8) from
the rodents' genetic code their muscles grew dramatically. The researchers
have already identified the human form of GDF 8 and are investigating
whether it performs the same function in humans. 

"The first thing that we noticed was that the mice had unusually large
shoulders and hips," said Dr Alexandra McPherron, first author of a paper in
today's issue of Nature. "On closer analysis we found that all their muscles
were two to three times normal size."

Dr Se-Jin Lee, an assistant professor of molecular biology and genetics,
said: "We're excited that GDF 8 could give us new opportunities to treat the
many muscle-wasting diseases like
muscular dystrophy or cachexia, the muscle loss that accompanies some
cancers and Aids.

"We've also found GDF 8 in cows and chickens, so we might be able to create
livestock with more meat and relatively less fat." But he says a great deal
more work has to be done to assess if it is possible or practical to develop
drugs and treatments based on this research.

© Copyright Telegraph Group Limited 1997. 

Date: Wed, 30 Apr 1997 18:35:19 -0700 (PDT)
>From: David J Knowles 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: [UK] Bears bound in to show they are no sloths
Message-ID: <1.5.4.16.19970430183538.2677dbc8@dowco.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"


>From The Electronic Telegraph - Thursday, May 1st, 1997

Bears bound in to show they are no sloths
By Carole Cadwalladr 

A PAIR of sloth bears have been introduced to London Zoo after an absence of
12 years.

Despite their name, a new activity pen has been designed to cope with their
energetic habits.

Their home is the famous Mappin Terraces, built when the zoo opened in 1914,
and an architecturally listed landmark. The one-and-a-half-acre site has
been transformed to let the bears roam freely. "Toys" have been designed to
keep them occupied.

A spokesman for London Zoo said their name was misleading: "They can get up
to speeds of 30mph when they put their minds to it. Their name dates from
the time when they were originally spotted in the wild, and somebody thought
they looked like sloths."

Sloth bears, natives of Sri-Lanka, were some of the most popular animals in
the zoo when they were last there. The new pair, who have not yet been
named, came from Warsaw Zoo and are the only members of their species in
Britain.

© Copyright Telegraph Group Limited 1997. 

Date: Wed, 30 Apr 1997 18:35:15 -0700 (PDT)
>From: David J Knowles 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: [UK] Why birds of a feather will flock together
Message-ID: <1.5.4.16.19970430183534.2677bf5c@dowco.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"


>From The Electronic Telegraph - Thursday, May 1st, 1997

Why birds of a feather will flock together
By Robert Uhlig, Technology Correspondent 

HOMING pigeons follow the leader with the best sense of direction, Oxford
University scientists have discovered.

Although scientists believe they know how pigeons locate their home  - a
combination of magnetic and solar compasses, familiar scent on the wind,
and, in the final stretch, a switch to orientation by landmarks  - they do
not know how pigeons work out their whereabouts when released.

Today's New Scientist reports that Teresa Burt and Tim Guilford, zoologists
at Oxford University, found those birds with the greatest visual awareness
of their whereabouts at the moment of release traced their route home
fastest. They also found that those pigeon in the know would slow down to
let disorientated birds catch up, and then show them the way.

The scientists used two groups of birds, one transported to a familiar
release site in clear glass containers and the other group carried in opaque
boxes. Both groups were placed at the release site for five minutes before
the boxes were opened. Birds carried in opaque
containers needed up to 30 seconds longer than those in clear containers to
determine their whereabouts before heading for home. 

© Copyright Telegraph Group Limited 1997. 

Date: Wed, 30 Apr 1997 18:35:21 -0700 (PDT)
>From: David J Knowles 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: [UK] Gene repels apple pest
Message-ID: <1.5.4.16.19970430183540.366f1b88@dowco.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"


{Sorry about the delay in posting this, and the somewhat hit and miss nature
of my poastings over the past few days - I've been experience some
intermittent problems with my ISP since the weekend. Hopefully this is now
corrected.]

>From The Electronic Telegraph - Wednesday, April 30th, 1997

Gene repels apple pest
By David Brown, Agriculture Editor 

AN apple gene that makes fruit trees resistant to one of the most damaging
orchard pests has been discovered by British scientists.

Growers will be able to select apples that repel the rosy leaf curling
aphid, Dysaphis devecta, a fatter, reddish-brown relative of greenfly, which
damages yields. It will eventually make life easier for gardeners also, as
they will be able to plant new strains of resistant fruit trees without
having to worry about controlling the pests with chemical sprays.

Using genetic mapping techniques, scientists at Horticulture Research
International's experimental station at East Malling, Kent, have found
resistant strains of Cox, Red Pippin (formerly Fiesta), Gala and others.
Paul Roche, of HRI's plant breeding and biology
department, said: "This is the first time a gene for aphid resistance has
been located in any fruit tree. It means that apple growers will be able to
select resistant plants much more quickly."

The pest-resistant trees will be produced using conventional plant-breeding
techniques, not by genetic engineering.

© Copyright Telegraph Group Limited 1997. 

Date: Wed, 30 Apr 1997 21:37:45 -0400
>From: allen schubert 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (US) U.S., EU Reach Beef Trade Accord 
Message-ID: <3.0.32.19970430213743.006eb9e8@clark.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

from AP Wire page:
----------------------------
04/30/1997 19:57 EST 

 U.S., EU Reach Beef Trade Accord 

 By JOHN D. McCLAIN 
 Associated Press Writer 

 WASHINGTON (AP) -- The United States and the European Union reached
 agreement Wednesday on most meat inspection standards in a dispute that had
 threatened about $350 million in U.S.-European trade. 

 Although several issues remained unresolved, including U.S. poultry
 decontamination methods, the accord provides a framework for recognizing each
 side's slaughter hygiene requirements as equal to the other's, the
Agriculture
 Department said Thursday. 

 It also establishes a process for dealing with remaining and newly emerging
 veterinary inspection programs. 

 ``The progress made should open new trade opportunities for red meat and
 preserve most pre-existing trade in products such as pet food, dairy and egg
 products,'' Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman said in a statement. 

 ``In those areas were we were not able to reach full agreement, a
framework now
 exists to resolve a number of outstanding issues,'' he added. 

 The so-called veterinary equivalency agreement covers more than $1.5
billion in
 animal product exports each by the United States and the 15-nation EU. 

 Glickman had threatened restrictions that would have barred about $300
million in
 European meat products annually if an agreement had not been reached by
 Thursday. 

 After nearly three years of negotiations came to an impasse last week,
Glickman
 telephoned EU Agriculture Commissioner Franz Fischler on Monday in an
effort to
 avert the sanctions. Negotiators then resumed talks. 

 Despite the framework agreement, EU objections to the U.S. practice of
 decontaminating slaughtered chickens with chlorinated water at the end of
 processing remained unresolved. 

 Contending the practice is not adequate protection against contamination,
the EU
 imposed new standards on April 1 that blocked about $50 million in U.S.
poultry
 exports to Europe. 

 ``Poultry exports will not resume,'' Paul Drazek, the chief U.S.
negotiator, told
 reporters. 

 The poultry industry expressed disappointment, saying anti-microbial
rinses such as
 chlorinated water are an important tool in enhancing food safety. 

 "The unreasonable and unyielding stance of the European Union ... is
nothing more
 than a blatant attempt to restrict competition from U.S. poultry companies
in Europe,''
 the National Broiler Council, the National Turkey Federation and the USA
Poultry &
 Egg Export Council said in a statement. 

 With no agreement on poultry, the United States will begin a thorough
examination of
 the EU's poultry inspection system and its ability to meet tough U.S. meat
inspection
 rules, the department said. 

 Until the study is completed, the United States will block an estimated $1
million in
 EU poultry exports, Drazek said. 
Date: Wed, 30 Apr 1997 21:46:47 -0400
>From: allen schubert 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (US) Bill Would Reimburse Livestock Loss 
Message-ID: <3.0.32.19970430214644.006eb074@clark.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

from AP Wire page:
------------------------------
 04/30/1997 19:19 EST 

 Bill Would Reimburse Livestock Loss 

 By PHILIP BRASHER 
 Associated Press Writer 

 WASHINGTON (AP) -- Producers facing financial ruin after a succession of
blizzards
 killed many of their cattle could recoup some of their losses under an
unusual
 program approved by Senate budget writers. 

 The Senate's disaster relief bill earmarks $50 million for payments to
producers who
 lost cattle, hogs, sheep and other livestock. The bill was approved by the
Senate
 Appropriations Committee on Wednesday. 

 ``It's going to help some,'' said Wade Moser, executive vice president of
the North
 Dakota Stockmen's Association. ``There are some people to the point that
they're
 going to call it quits.'' 

 The heaviest losses by far have been to ranchers in the Dakotas, who lost
at least
 275,000 beef cattle and calves in a succession of blizzards, according to the
 Agriculture Department. But at least 14 other state also reported
livestock losses in
 flooding and snowstorms. 

 Livestock are not covered by crop insurance, so producers are not entitled
to any
 compensation for their losses under current law. State officials in the
Dakotas say
 many producers could be forced out of business by the losses. 

 Under the one-time plan, producers would receive an estimated $300 for
each dairy
 cow that died and $200 for each beef cow. Rates for calves would range
from $90 to
 $130. 

 The first 5 percent of a producer's loss -- considered a normal winter
death rate for
 livestock -- would not be reimbursed. 

 South Dakota has lost more than $23 million worth of beef cattle and calves,
 according to USDA estimates. North Dakota's beef cattle and calf losses
are put at
 $16 million, Montana's at $2.7 million. 

 The Agriculture Department has been concerned about how it would verify
livestock
 losses to avoid fraud. 
Date: Wed, 30 Apr 1997 23:24:45 -0400
>From: allen schubert 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (US) Steller sea lion listed as endangered  
Message-ID: <3.0.32.19970430232442.006f18cc@clark.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

from Mercury Center web page:
----------------------------------------------
Posted at 7:53 p.m. PDT Wednesday, April 30, 1997    

Steller sea lion listed as endangered                    

Reuters

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Citing faltering populations
and poor reproduction in western Alaska, the
National Marine Fisheries Service said Wednesday it
will list the Steller sea lion as endangered.

The announcement came seven years after the Steller
sea lion was listed as a threatened species, and
after an environmental organization threatened to
sue NMFS for failing to impose the new protections.

The animal is considered to be in danger of
eventual extinction, so the endangered listing was
anticipated, said Jon Lewis, the Steller sea lion
recovery coordinator for NMFS.

He attributed delays in the endangered listing to
past beliefs that the decline had ``bottomed out.''

``There was hope, I think, that we were going to
see a turnaround. That was hopeful optimism,'' he
said.

According to the most recent NMFS surveys, the
population in the Gulf of Alaska and Bering Sea
fell to 22,167 in 1996 from the 27,286 counted in
1992.

That followed a two-thirds decline in the Alaska
population in the late 1980s.

An April 1 notice from Greenpeace that it planned
to file a lawsuit to compel the endangered listing
prompted the NMFS action, Lewis said. ``That
certainly got the attention of the agency,'' he
said. The endangered listing is scheduled to go
into effect in June, he said.

Steller sea lions, which grow to 1,000 pounds,
gather in coastal rookeries, where they rest, sun
themselves, breed and launch forays for food. They
eat Alaskan pollock and other fish.

The precipitous declines have occurred in the vast
region where the nation's largest commercial
seafood harvests are conducted. Greenpeace has
blamed the sea lion decline on overfishing. The
Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska are sites of the huge
harvests for pollock and other bottom-dwelling
whitefish species.

Fishing-industry officials dispute the charges.
They point out that their harvests target adult
pollock, not the juveniles eaten by sea lions.

Date: Wed, 30 Apr 1997 20:40:48 -0700
>From: Persephone Moonshadow Howling Womyn 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Rachel #544: Statement on Immune Toxins
Message-ID: <3.0.32.19970430203734.007d7100@206.86.0.11>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Thought this would be of interest ......... Moonshadow


=======================Electronic Edition========================
.                                                               .
.           RACHEL'S ENVIRONMENT & HEALTH WEEKLY #544           .
.                       ---May 1, 1997---                       .
.                          HEADLINES:                           .
.                  STATEMENT ON IMMUNE TOXINS                   .
.                          ==========                           .
.               Environmental Research Foundation               .
.              P.O. Box 5036, Annapolis, MD  21403              .
.      Fax (410) 263-8944; Internet: erf@rachel.clark.net       .
.                          ==========                           .
.  Back issues available by E-mail; to get instructions, send   .
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.    in the message; back issues also available via ftp from    .
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. Subscribe: send E-mail to rachel-weekly-request@world.std.com .
.  with the single word SUBSCRIBE in the message.  It's free.   .
=================================================================

STATEMENT ON IMMUNE TOXINS

[Here we present, verbatim, a consensus statement about toxic
chemicals and the immune system written by 18 scientists[1] and
published in the summer of 1996.[2] The scientists met at a
workshop in Racine, Wisconsin, February 10-12, 1995, to discuss
the issue "because of the pervasive contamination of the
environment by compounds... [having] the potential to disturb the
immune system of wildlife and humans.... introduced into the
environment by human activity...."[2] The statement is not easy
reading, so we have added a few clarifications and commentaries
of our own inside square brackets.]

Consensus Statement

The following consensus was reached by participants[1] at the
workshop.

A) We are certain of the following--

A competent immune system is essential for health.

Experimental lab studies demonstrate that certain synthetic
chemicals affect the immune system (e.g., aromatic hydrocarbons;
carbamates [a class of pesticides]; heavy metals [for example,
mercury]; organohalogens [for example, many chlorine-containing
compounds]; organophosphates [a class of pesticides]; organotins
[chemicals containing tin and carbon atoms]; oxidant air
pollutants, such as ozone and nitrogen dioxide; and polycyclic
aromatic hydrocarbons [often produced by combustion of coal, oil,
gasoline, garbage, medical waste]).  These effects are manifested
as alterations in the immune system that may lead to a decreased
quality of life.  These alterations include immune modulation
[changes in the immune system] expressed as an increase or
decrease in measured immune parameters [for example, the number
of T cells or B cells in blood], hypersensitivity, and
autoimmunity.

[In other words, from experiments on laboratory animals, it is
known with certainty that many classes of common chemicals can
change the immune system and can cause hypersensitivity and
autoimmune diseases. In humans, hypersensitivity is often
expressed as an allergic reaction.[3,pgs.81-106]  Autoimmune
diseases include diabetes, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid
arthritis, lupus, and a dozen other diseases.[3,pg.123]]

Changes in the characteristics of the immune system in humans and
certain wildlife species have been associated with both
therapeutic and environmental exposure to synthetic chemicals,
e.g., diethylstilbestrol (DES), dioxin, polychlorinated biphenyls
(PCBs).

Impairment of the immune system can result from alterations in
the development [before and shortly after birth or hatching] of
the immune system and may be long-lasting.  The effects may not
be manifested at hatching or birth and may not be expressed until
the animal or human reaches adulthood.

Life-long capacity for immune response [i.e., healthy functioning
of the immune system] is determined early in development, during
prenatal and early postnatal development in mammals and
prehatching and early posthatching development in egg-laying
species.

Alterations in the developing and mature immune systems may not
be recognized as an adverse health effect until long after the
exposure.

Some wildlife and human populations are exposed to elevated
levels of certain synthetic chemicals.

The widespread exposure of populations of humans and wildlife to
many man-made chemicals has made it difficult, if not impossible,
to find control populations that have no exposure level.  True
control populations for human and wildlife epidemiological
studies are thus lacking. [In other words, we are all now exposed
to many chemicals that can change our immune systems, so it is
not possible to find a "control group" of people who have truly
healthy, unaffected immune systems that can be studied.]

B) We estimate with confidence that--

Certain synthetic chemicals, such as those listed above, released
or reintroduced into the environment act upon the developing and
mature immune systems in humans and other vertebrates.

Prenatal and early postnatal mammals and the immature and early
life stages of amphibians, reptiles, fishes, and birds are likely
to be the most vulnerable life stages to immunomodulation
[changes in the immune system].

Vulnerability upon exposure varies among gender, species, and
stages of the life cycle.  In addition to embryos, fetuses, and
the newborn, children, the very old, and certain populations
(e.g., chronically ill, poorly nourished, HIV positive) are also
likely to be more at risk. [Naturally, this makes it difficult to
study the effects of chemicals on the immune system because the
effects vary greatly, depending on the stage of life of the
person or animal being studied.]

In certain instances, humans and wildlife are experiencing immune
alterations.  Data suggest that immune alterations seen in wild
animals and humans are consistent with those produced by
synthetic chemicals identified as immunotoxic in studies with
laboratory animals.

Immunotoxic effects expressed in individuals could therefore be
expressed at the population level thus affecting biodiversity at
the community or ecosystem level. [In other words, so many
individuals might be affected that entire populations could have
their immune systems degraded.]

Immune system effects reported in wildlife, in parallel with IN
VITRO [test tube] and IN VIVO [living animal] experimental
studies, support the possibility for qualitative prediction of
human effects.

Current predictive capability for immunomodulation is limited to
identification of qualitative changes not quantitative changes.

C) Based on our current understanding we predict--

Certain synthetic chemicals can cause alterations of the
developing immune system.

Alterations in immunologic function whether occurring prenatally
or embryologically or later in life can translate into altered
host resistance and susceptibility to disease, including
autoimmune disease. Disease patterns are thus likely to be
affected by immune modulation induced by immunological toxicants.

D) There are uncertainties in our understanding because--

More needs to be learned about how the immune system develops.

Few well-controlled human or wildlife ecoepidemiological studies
that document immune modulation [immune system changes] have been
completed.

The lack of sensitive tests and the uncertainty about exposure
have been impediments in many of these studies.  Exposure is well
known for some wildlife studies.

Information on exposure is limited. Little is known about the
effects of long-term, low-level exposure.

Little is known about the effects of exposure to chemical
mixtures. Most published studies use single agents when testing
for the effects of environmental exposure.  The specific
components of environmental mixtures are rarely defined.

The pharmacokinetics of many immunotoxic compounds in target
organs is understood in experimental animals but not in humans
and wildlife. [Pharmacokinetics refers to the precise details, at
the level of the cell, of how chemicals affect living things.]

Data are lacking about the persistence of the effects of
immunomodulators.

For regulatory purposes, the current lack of knowledge about the
mechanisms leading to immunomodulation makes cause-and-effect
linkages extremely difficult.

Uncertainty exists about whether the right questions have been
asked concerning the mechanisms of immune modulation.

E) Our judgment is that--

The potential exists for widespread immunotoxicity in humans and
wildlife species because of the worldwide lack of appropriate
protective standards.  This is based on documented immune effects
from high-level exposure, plus a large amount of anecdotal data
on humans and wildlife, and strong experimental animal data.

Although exposure is widespread, it varies from region to region
and individual to individual.  Based on anecdotal information, it
is presumed that exposure is greater in Eastern Europe and the
former Soviet Union and especially in developing countries
because of lack of adequate environmental regulations and
enforcement.

The lack of human epidemiological studies in the developing world
makes it impossible to determine the scale of immune modulation
and/or autoimmune disease among these populations.  The
consequences of chemical exposure in developing countries may be
severe because of multiple confounders such as poverty,
malnutrition, and poor medical care.  The consequences will be
difficult to identify because of the lack of adequate control
cohorts.

The risk of exposure to known immunomodulators is sufficient to
warrant regulatory approaches that would limit exposure. [In
other words, we already know enough to justify taking regulatory
action.]

F) To improve our predictive capacity--

More basic research is needed on the development of the immune
system of diverse animal species and the factors that drive its
maturation and senescence [loss of power with age].  Further
study is needed to understand the mechanistic role of synthetic
chemicals in the alteration of these processes.

Priority needs to be given to developing assays [tests]
predictive of disease resistance for a variety of species.  It is
important to know how immune modulation affects increased
prevalence of infectious diseases among humans and wildlife.

More emphasis must be placed on developmental immunotoxicology.
This can be accomplished through collaborative research efforts
to standardize protocols, share specimens, and to develop
inexpensive, rapid biomarkers of immunotoxicity.  The use of the
Internet and other online systems to apprise researchers of
planned and ongoing experiments will increase collaborative
opportunities.

Models based on "real world" situations (dose, duration of
exposure, timing) that include metabolism, pharmacokinetics,
route of exposure, and target effects in a number of indicator
species should be developed for extrapolation to humans and other
species.

Ecoepidemiological criteria that include dose-response, time
order (exposure precedes effect), specificity, strength of
association, coherence, and predictability combined with
laboratory validation are needed to improve the level of
certainty in epidemiological studies.

More epidemiological research among susceptible populations,
especially in developing countries, is needed. [End of consensus
statement.]
                                                --Peter Montague
                (National Writers Union, UAW Local 1981/AFL-CIO)
===============
[1] Authors of the statement include: Dr. John B. Barnett,
Department of Microbiology and Immunology, West Virginia
University, Morgantown, West Virginia; Dr. Theo Colborn, World
Wildlife Fund, Washington, D.C.; Dr. Michael Fournier,
Laboratoire de Rescherche en Toxicologie de l'Environnement,
Universite du Quebec, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Dr. John Gierthy,
Department of Environmental Health and Toxicology, State
University of New York, Albany, N.Y.; Dr. Keith Grasman,
Department of Biological Sciences, Wright State University,
Dayton, Ohio; Dr. Nancy Kerkvliet, Department of Agricultural
Chemistry, Oregon State University; Corvallis, Oregon; Mr. Garet
Lahvis, University of Maryland, School of Medicine, Baltimore,
Md.; Dr. Michael Luster, Environmental, Immunological, and
Neurobiological Section, National Institute of Environmental
Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina; Dr.
Peter McConnachie, Immunotransplant Lab, Southern Illinois
University, School of Medicine, Springfield, Illinois; Dr. J.
Peterson Myers, W. Alton Jones Foundation, Charlottesville, Va.;
Dr. A.D.M.E. Osterhaus, Erasmus University, Rotterdam, The
Netherlands; Dr. Robert Repetto, World Resources Institute,
Washington, D.C.; Dr. Rosalind Rolland, World Wildlife Fund,
Washington, D.C.; Dr. Louise Rollins-Smith, Vanderbilt
University, Nashville, Tenn.; Dr. Ralph Smialowicz, U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, North
Carolina; Dr. Michael Smolen, World Wildlife Fund, Washington,
D.C.; Dr. Sarah Walker, University of Missouri, Department of
Internal Medicine, Columbia, Mo.; Dr. David Watkins, University
of Wisconsin, Medical School, Madison, Wisconsin.

[2] "Statement of the Work Session on Chemically-Induced
Alterations in the Developing Immune System: The Wildlife/Human
Connection," ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH PERSPECTIVES Vol. 104
Supplement 4 (August, 1996), pgs. 807-808.

[3] William R. Clark, AT WAR WITHIN; THE DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD OF
IMMUNITY (New York: Oxford University Press, 1995).

Descriptor terms:  immune system; toxic heavy metals; mercury;
pesticides; carbamates; organophospates; organochlorines;
organohalogens; tin; ozone; nitrogen dioxide; air pollution;
pahs; des; pcbs; dioxin; development; wildlife; developing
countries;

################################################################
                             NOTICE
Environmental Research Foundation provides this electronic
version of RACHEL'S ENVIRONMENT & HEALTH WEEKLY free of charge
even though it costs our organization considerable time and money
to produce it. We would like to continue to provide this service
free. You could help by making a tax-deductible contribution
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by credit card please phone us toll free at 1-888-2RACHEL.
                                        --Peter Montague, Editor
################################################################







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