AR-NEWS Digest 482

Topics covered in this issue include:

  1) (US) Hunting in National Wildlife Refuges
     by OnlineAPI@aol.com
  2) (US) Diet Change May Cut Breast Cancer Risk
     by allen schubert 
  3) (US) Fruits and Vegetables Lower Lung Cancer Risk
     by allen schubert 
  4) (AU) True-blue kosher
     by Vadivu Govind 
  5) EU bans shrimp imports from Bangladesh
     by Vadivu Govind 
  6) (Belgium - NZ) Horse steaks
     by Vadivu Govind 
  7) [FR] Minister falls prey to wolves' defenders
     by David J Knowles 
  8) RFI - Vegan soap 
     by David J Knowles 
  9) [FR] Minister falls prey to wolves' defenders
     by David J Knowles 
 10) (US)  A World of Research On the Shoulders of a Mouse
     by allen schubert 
 11) (US)  A World of Research On the Shoulders of a Mouse
     by allen schubert 
 12) (US) Secret trout stocking now needed 
     by allen schubert 
 13) Horse abuser gets more Jail time.
     by "Michael B. Harris" 
 14) Horse abuser gets more Jail time.
     by "Michael B. Harris" 
 15) Where can I find it?
     by Daniel Paulo Martins Ferreira 
 16) NEW ENGLAND PRIMATE CENTER PROTESTS BEGIN
     by civillib@cwnet.com
 17) AZ-UPC Protest Horizon HS Hen Abuse 8/14
     by Franklin Wade 
 18) UPC Alert: Tarrant Cnty, TX: Urge Prosecution of Emu Beater
     by Franklin Wade 
 19) [UK]Postmen bite back with dog deterrents
     by David J Knowles 
 20) [UK] Farmers in arson threat at hunt ban
     by David J Knowles 
 21) International Foundation attempts to save NZ wild horses.
     by bunny 
 22) JOHNES DISEASE, SHEEP - AUSTRALIA (NEW SOUTH WALES)
     by bunny 
 23) Humane Soc of U.S. alert on trophy hunting
     by jeanlee 
 24) List of 800 #s of animal exploiters
     by jeanlee 
 25) (TH) Biodiversity opponents reiterate deep concern
     by Vadivu Govind 
 26) (TH) The Elephant Doctor
     by Vadivu Govind 
Date: Thu, 31 Jul 1997 00:07:31 -0400 (EDT)
From: OnlineAPI@aol.com
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (US) Hunting in National Wildlife Refuges
Message-ID: <970731000730_-2042302509@emout05.mail.aol.com>

Comments Needed to Oppose Expansion of Hunting and Fishing in National
Wildlife Refuges

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has published a proposed rule in
the Federal Register that would "add additional national wildlife refuges to
the list of areas open for hunting and/or sport fishing, along with pertinent
refuge-specific regulations for such activities; and amend certain
regulations on other refuges that pertain to migratory game bird hunting,
upland game hunting, big game hunting and sport fishing for the 1997-1998
seasons."

The proposed rule calls for opening five refuges up to hunting and/or fishing
and expanding or amending already existing hunting and fishing regulations at
67 other refuges.

Of the 511 national wildlife refuges encompassing over 92 million acres, 283
allow hunting.  Each year the federal government opens more refuges to
consumptive wildlife uses while the percent of Americans who hunt continues
to drop.  Hunters already have access to more than 200 million acres of state
land, 600 million acres of federal land and more than one billion acres of
private land on which they can hunt.

It is time the USFWS stops expanding hunting on national wildlife refuges.
 It is time the USFWS permanently banned hunting on ALL refuges.

*** COMMENTS MUST BE RECEIVED ON OR BEFORE AUGUST 20, 1997 ***

Send to:  Assistant Director-Refuges and Wildlife, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, 1849 C Street, NW, MS 670 ARLSQ, Washington, DC 20240.

For more information, please contact Camilla Fox at the Animal Protection
Institute at (916) 731-5521 or CFOXAPI@aol.com.

Please feel free to use the following letter to either send directly to the
USFWS or, preferably, to use as a guide for writing your own letter.

SAMPLE LETTER:

Assistant Director-Refuges and Wildlife
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
1849 C Street, NW, MS 670 ARLSQ
Washington, DC 20240

To Whom It May Concern:

This letter is submitted in response to the Federal Register notice posted
July 21, 1997, Vol. 62, No. 139 regarding the USFWS proposed rule to add
additional national wildlife refuges to the list of areas open for hunting
and/or sport fishing.  

National wildlife refuges were established by Theodore Roosevelt in 1903 to
protect wildlife and their habitats.  As sanctuaries for rare, threatened,
and endangered species, the NWR sytem provides some of the last undisturbed
habitat for recovery of endangered species.  Hunting is incompatible with
these goals, as it is disruptive and poses a danger to non-target wildlife.

The NWR system harbors 168 threatened or endangered species, although 60
percent of refuges support activities harmful to wildlife, according to
surveys conducted by your agency and the General Accounting Office.

A majority of the people who visit refuges do so to observe wildlife and
enjoy nature.  According to your agency, of the 30 million people who visited
refuges last year, 21 million visited for wildlife observation and "just to
experience nature," while only 1.4 million visited to hunt.  Clearly,
non-consumptive users of the NWR system far outnumber consumptive users.
 Hunters already have access to million of acres of public lands outside of
the refuges for their activities.  Hikers, bird watchers, campers, and
photographers should not have to fear being hit by a stray bullet as they
enjoy our public lands or witness the killing and maiming of the very
wildlife they have come to see.

The NWR system should be managed to carry out its stated mission -- to
protect wildlife and wildlife habitat and to offer people an opportunity to
enjoy nature.  Hunting should be disallowed at all refuges as the practice
runs counter to these goals.

Thank you for the opportunity to comment on this important issue.

Sincerely,
Date: Thu, 31 Jul 1997 00:11:24 -0400
From: allen schubert 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (US) Diet Change May Cut Breast Cancer Risk
Message-ID: <3.0.32.19970731001122.006f270c@clark.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

(the fish part is questionable...)
from Yahoo news page:
------------------------------------
Wednesday July 30 8:47 PM EDT

Diet Change May Cut Breast Cancer Risk

By Andrea Orr

LOS ANGELES (Reuter) - Women may be able to reduce their risk of breast
cancer by adopting a Japanese-style diet rich in fish oils, vegetables and
soy products, researchers said Wednesday.

A study conducted at the University of California's Jonsson Cancer Center
here showed women were able to change the composition of their breast
tissue and plasma after three months on the altered diet.

Previous research has already established that diets low in fat reduce the
risk of cancer. But this latest study was the first to demonstrate the
added benefits of consuming certain kinds of fatty acids found in fish oil.

The findings will be published next week in the Journal of the National
Cancer Institute.

"At least one aspect of human breast composition in American women can be
altered to approximate the breast composition of women in certain Asian and
European countries ... (where) the incidence of breast cancer is much
lower," Dr. John Glaspy, senior author of the study, said in a statement.

"We are very optimistic about these results. It's too early to make
predictions, but we have absolute evidence that leads us to be optimistic,"
Glaspy said.

Glaspy studied 25 women with breast cancer who adopted a diet heavy in fish
oils, soy products and a variety of vegetables including grean leafy
vegetables, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower and carrots.

Rather than eating fish, the women were given capsules containing fish oil
to insure they would get adequate amounts. Dilprit Bagga, one of the
researchers in the study, said the supplements they received contained as
much oil as they would have gotten by eating a serving of fish for lunch
and another serving for dinner.

Not all fish contain these fatty acids, however. Salmon and sea bass are
two of the best sources.

At the end of the three-month study, the women experienced an increase in a
certain kind of polyunsaturated fatty acids, shown to reduce breast cancer
risk, and a drop in other fatty acids known to promote cancer.

Unlike omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids prevalent in American diets, the
omega-3 fatty acids found in fish oils actually inhibit cancer.

The women put on the altered diet showed a four-fold increase in the ratio
of omega-3 to omega-6 fatty acids in their plasma. The ratio, esentially a
measure of good versus bad fatty acids, went up 1.4-fold in the women's
breast tissue after three months on the diet.

Omega-6 fatty acids are found primarily in vegetable oils, shortening and
other foods with high corn oil content, while omega-3's are found primarily
in certain kinds of fish.

The new research suggests an explanation for why women in Japan who follow
traditional Japanese diets have a relatively low incidence of breast
cancer.

When those same women come to the United States and adopt Western diets,
their frequency of breast cancer rises to that of American women within a
single generation, the researchers said.

Bagga said American women who do not get adequate amounts of fish oil in
their diets might consider taking fish oil supplements. But she stressed
they should first consult a doctor. In excessive quantities, the oils,
which also function as blood thinning agents, could lead to internal
bleeding, she said.

Date: Thu, 31 Jul 1997 00:11:42 -0400
From: allen schubert 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (US) Fruits and Vegetables Lower Lung Cancer Risk
Message-ID: <3.0.32.19970731001140.006916e4@clark.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

from Yahoo news page:
-----------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday July 30 2:16 PM EDT

Fruits and Vegetables Lower Lung Cancer Risk

NEW YORK (Reuters) -- A diet rich in fruits and vegetables -- especially
apples -- may help lower the risk of lung cancer, a study suggests.

It appears that the cancer protective effect largely stems from their
flavonoid content -- effective antioxidants produced by plant metabolism --
and probably not from their vitamin C and beta carotene content.

Researchers from Finland's National Public Health Institute in Helsinki say
"it is a well-established fact that consumption of fruits and vegetables is
associated with a lowered risk of lung cancer" and some other malignancies,
including skin cancer and colon cancer.

"It has been suggested that this is due to the antioxidants beta carotene
and vitamin C, which occur in large concentrations in these foods," they
say.

But the researchers note that large-scale studies of these antioxidant
supplements have reported conflicting results -- an increased lung cancer
risk with beta-carotene intake or no association between beta carotene and
lung cancer incidence.

The researchers say these findings raised the possibility that the
flavonoids -- the other key antioxidant compounds in fruits and vegetables
-- may be the real factors that provide protection against lung cancer.

As part of a national health survey begun in 1966, the Finnish study
carefully documented the diets of 9,959 men and women ages 15 to 99. All
were free of cancer when the study began. By 1991, 997 cancer cases were
diagnosed, of which 151 were lung cancer.

Statistical analysis revealed an inverse (opposite) association between the
amount of dietary flavonoids and the risk of all lung cancers combined.
People who regularly consumed the most flavonoid-rich foods -- apples,
onions, fruits, juices, vegetables, and jams -- were about 20% less likely
to develop cancer.

But the researchers say a closer look at the data revealed that "the
association was mainly a result of lung cancer," which was 46% lower among
those whose diets contained the highest amount of flavonoids.

"No significant association was present here between flavonoid intake and
any malignancy other than lung cancer," say the researchers. "Nevertheless,
we observed suggestive inverse associations for colorectal cancer and
cancer of the nervous system."

Moreover, not just any flavonoid made the biggest difference. The flavonoid
quercetin -- largely from apples -- provided 95% of the total flavonoid
intake in the population studied.

After adjusting for other fruits and vegetables in the diet, consumption of
apples was inversely associated with lung cancer risk -- that is, the
higher the apple intake, the lower the lung cancer risk. The researchers
found that the likelihood of lung cancer among those who ate the most
apples fell by 58% relative to those who ate fewer apples.

"Intakes of other foods containing flavonoids were not significantly
associated with lung cancer incidence," the researchers say. Nor was
supplementation with antioxidant vitamins C, E, and beta carotene found to
play a role.

"As apples are a very poor source of vitamin C and beta carotene,
adjustment for these antioxidant vitamins did not notably alter the
association," the researchers explain. "Other substances in apples, such as
the flavonoids, are thus likely to provide the protection."

The new study also found a stronger link between flavonoid intake and
reduced lung cancer risk in younger rather than older persons.
"Furthermore, the association was closer among nonsmokers than current
smokers," the researchers add.

They say "the intake of flavonoids in the present population was
exceptionally low," compared with that of other western nations studied,
"therefore, making it tempting to speculate that the antioxidative
potential available was not sufficient to protect smokers against their
amount of oxidative stress."

Much like rust attacking metal, oxidative stress is the molecular assault
on body tissue from substances called free-radicals which arise during
cellular processes that involve oxygen.

"In summary, we found an inverse relation between the dietary intake of
flavonoids and the incidence of lung cancer that was most likely
attributable to the consumption of apples, the main source of flavonoids in
the present population," the researchers conclude. SOURCE: American Journal
of Epidemiology (1997;146:223-230)

Date: Thu, 31 Jul 1997 12:44:47 +0800 (SST)
From: Vadivu Govind 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (AU) True-blue kosher
Message-ID: <199707310444.MAA03336@eastgate.cyberway.com.sg>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"


>The Age
Melbourne Online
Friday 11 July 1997

                        True-blue kosher

                        By SIAN WATKINS

                        And the swine, though he divide the hoof, and be
                        clovenfooted, yet he cheweth not the cud; he is
unclean to
                        you.

                        Whatsoever hath no fins nor scales in the waters,
that shall
                        be an abomination unto you ...

                        Leviticus 11

                        KEEPING kosher in a fast-food world involves a great
deal of
                        vigilance. Can a righteous Jew eat a Crave bar
(emulsifiers                         322,
                        442, 476, 471)? Chew Extra (antioxidant 320, sorbitol)?
                        Munch a berry jelly Freddo (vegetable gum, food
acids, colors
                        122 and 133)? 

                        Confronted regularly by gelatinous King Rats, frozen
dinners                         and
                        battered saveloys, how do observant Jews keep
kosher? Many
                        rely on Melbourne Kashrut, a group that analyses new
foods
                        and distributes an annual bulletin of what's kosher
and what's
                        not. 

                        The bulletin is fastidiously detailed. Golden
Circle's tropical                         fruit
                        cocktail has been delisted and peppermint and
spearmint Tic
                        Tacs are the only acceptable flavors. Lipton herbal
teas are not
                        acceptable, nor are strawberry Big Ms and all UHT
long-life                             Big  Ms.

                        Apart from rabbinical supervision of food production,
                        Melbourne Kashrut employs a chemist, Kasriel Oliver, who
                        travels interstate and overseas checking food
ingredients and
                        production methods. He has visited Malaysia and
Singapore to
                        investigate soy sauce and fats used in confectionery.

                        Melbourne Kashrut also has arrangements with big food
                        manufacturers, such as Heinz, Sanitarium, Kraft and
Cadbury,
                        under which the companies reveal their production
methods.
                        Some even change production schedules to meet kosher
                        requirements. 

                        Several times a year, for example, Kraft stops part
of its
                        production, cleans its machines, lets them lie idle
for 24 hours,
                        and then gives the equipment a kosher cleansing
(with                         standards
                        set by a rabbi) before making a batch of what is
then deemed
                        kosher Vegemite, identified by a ``K'' symbol near
the use-by
                        date. Kosher Vegemite is very popular and always in
short
                        supply. 

                        Melbourne Kashrut's administrator (kashrut is the
noun of
                        kosher), Dr Peter Kloot, says that about 75 per cent of
                        Melbourne's 40,000 Jews adhere - some more
consistently                         than
                        others - to Jewish food laws. At least half of that
75 per cent
                        would define themselves as keeping kosher and
believe they
                        adhered to the laws, he says.

                        Kosher (which means ritually fit or proper) food has
to meet
                        Jewish dietary laws drawn from the Torah (the first
five books                         of
                        the Old Testament) and rabbinic law. Such laws were
instituted
                        as a form of moral discipline; a way of controlling
and                         sanctifying
                        human behavior. Generally, kosher food is also
acceptable to
                        observant Muslims, whose religion and food laws were
drawn
                        from Judaism. 

                        Defining what is kosher varies between rabbis,
although in the
                        United States kosher has been defined in law, which
means
                        producers who wrongly label their food as kosher can be
                        prosecuted. This is not the case in Australia.
                        Food may be deemed non-kosher for many reasons, such
as                         the
                        type of animal used or the inappropriate mixing of
meat and
                        dairy products. In Leviticus, God allows human
consumption                         of
                        animals that chew the cud and have a cloven hoof
(this wipes                         out
                        bacon), and prohibits the eating of water-living
animals that do
                        not possess scales and fins (this rules out grilled
flake).

                        Because God decrees in the Torah that kid (young
goat) should
                        not be cooked in its mother's milk, observant Jews
do not mix
                        meat and milk products in a meal and will use
separate utensils
                        to prepare such food. Some get around the rules by
using soy
                        milk products and meat substitutes. 

                        Sociology and anthropoloy may explain some of the
food laws
                        but for most Jews, says Kloot, the laws are simply
religious
                        commandments. Pig is prohibited not because it was once
                        considered unhygienic but because God did not want
his                         people
                        to ingest what was considered a ``lower-order animal''.

                        Rabbi Mordechai Gutnick (Joe's brother) says the
laws rest on
                        spiritual and philosophical rationalisations.

                        ``The Torah says to remove the blood from an animal
before
                        eating it and that was done by salting the meat.
Observers                         would
                        say that using salt is a very old, time-honored way
of                         preserving
                        the meat but there are spiritual implications; to
eat an animal's
                        blood is to ingest its life force.''

                        Kloot says it has been suggested that the
prohibition on                         cooking
                        the young animal, the kid, in milk, ``was to teach
people to be
                        merciful, instead of being cruel and callous in
using the                         mother's
                        milk to cook it, rather than nurture it, as God
intended''.

                        The list of what is kosher and what's not is always
changing.
                        Every few months, bulletin subscribers are sent
updates.                         Among
                        the delisted foods this year were Golden Circle's
tinned fruit
                        cocktail and several varieties of Goulburn Valley
140gram                                snack packs.

                        Most of the snack packs have been excluded because
they                         now
                        contain grape juice. What's wrong with grape juice?
Rabbi
                        Gutnick says the ban is a very old rabbinic prohibition
                        introduced to remind people to uphold their beliefs
in the midst
                        of pagans and other non-believers.

                        While many alcoholic drinks are kosher, including
beer and
                        whiskey, wine is not unless made under rabbinic
supervision.
                        ``Although it is important to socialise, for people
to get together
                        and have a drink, the prohibition exists to remind
people of                         their
                        faith and traditions,'' says Rabbi Gutnick.

                        The fruit cocktail ban was prompted by changes to
Australian
                        food regulations on colorings. Oliver says
erythrosine is no
                        longer permitted as a coloring - used until now in
cherries in
                        tinned fruit cocktail. Some manufacturers, such as
Golden
                        Circle, have switched to cochineal but this is
banned under
                        kosher laws because it is made from an insect, the
cochineal
                        beetle.

                        Kloot says a big range of kosher foods are available
in most
                        supermarkets but those wanting imported kosher products
                        usually need to find specialised stores, which are
mostly                         located
                        in the Balaclava and Caulfield areas. 

                        Is keeping kosher difficult? If Oliver and his
family go on
                        holiday, they take food with them and there's some
kosher                         food
                        available in rural Victoria, he says. ``But no, it's
not difficult
                        because I don't expect to eat non-kosher.''

                        And what happens if one doesn't keep kosher? ``No
one can
                        say,'' says Rabbi Gutnick. ``It depends on peoples'
conscience.
                        If you believe there's a divine plan in the world
then (by not
                        keeping kosher) you've gone against that plan. I'm
sure there
                        would be some who feel very guilty and others who
won't -
                        who'll say `I'm sure God will understand'.''

                        He cannot remember the last time he disobeyed God's food
                        rules. ``I'm a good boy.''

Date: Thu, 31 Jul 1997 13:41:40 +0800 (SST)
From: Vadivu Govind 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: EU bans shrimp imports from Bangladesh
Message-ID: <199707310541.NAA04877@eastgate.cyberway.com.sg>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"


>DAily News
31 July 97

EU bans shrimp imports from Bangladesh

By Shakeel Anwar 

DHAKA, July 30 (Reuter)- Bangladesh's shrimp exports have been hit by a
European Union temporary import ban imposed on health grounds, officials and
exporters said on Wednesday. 

"We have been told (by the European Commission) that any consignment of
shrimp won't be accepted in ports of EU countries after August 15," an
Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) official told Reuters. 

"They argued (that) our products do not conform with EU health standards,"
he said.  Shrimp exporters reacted sharply to the three-month ban, which
endangers Bangladesh's nearly $200 million a year in exports to European
Union countries. 

The EU accounts for 60 percent of Bangladesh's shrimp exports. The other
main markets are Japan and the United States. 

Exporters said shrimp worth about two billion taka ($45 million) was ready
at factories and ports for shipment to EU markets. 

"These consignments were against firm orders. We cannot export them because
they can't reach European ports by the August 15 deadline. It's a big blow
to our trade," said Salauddin Ahmed, a leading shrimp exporter. 

"It's another naked act of non-tariff barriers being imposed on poor
countries by the rich nations," said Aftabuz Zaman, Secretary General of the
Bangladesh Frozen Foods Exporters Association. 
"It's a clear violation of international trade rules. You can have
complaints about a particular consignment but you cannot slap a ban on an
entire country," he said. 

"I guess it's not only health. There's more to it. The EU wants to give
their market to other politically and economically important countries,"
Zaman told Reuters on Wednesday. 

An official at the EU office in Dhaka said the ban may be extended if
Bangladesh "fails to meet the required standard by then". 

He said the commission would review the development on November 30. 

The EU official said the EC Veterinary Council had ordered the ban following
reports by inspectors who visited Bangladesh last month. 

"It's not that Bangladesh was singled out. A similar ban was considered for
India and Madagascar. We have been asking Bangladesh to improve quality of
shrimp processing since 1993 but they paid
little heed," the official said. 

Bangladesh Commerce Ministry officials said they may send a delegation next
month to Brussels to try to persuade the EU officials to waive the ban. 

Date: Thu, 31 Jul 1997 13:49:30 +0800 (SST)
From: Vadivu Govind 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (Belgium - NZ) Horse steaks
Message-ID: <199707310549.NAA05061@eastgate.cyberway.com.sg>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"


>The Straits Times
31 July 97

HORSE STEAKS: Belgian horse-meat lovers will soon have New Zealand
wild-horse steaks on their menus. 

     More than 50 wild stallions, mustered from a herd in a North Island
plateau, were slaughtered at a Hamilton abattoir earlier this week, the
abattoir manager said. -- AFP

Date: Thu, 31 Jul 1997 00:25:08 -0700 (PDT)
From: David J Knowles 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: [FR] Minister falls prey to wolves' defenders
Message-ID: <1.5.4.16.19970731002549.1acf95b6@dowco.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable

>From The Electronic Telegraph - Thursday, July 31st, 1997

Minister falls prey to wolves' defenders
By Susannah Herbert in Paris=20

FRENCH environmentalists have accused the government of violating
conservation principles in proposing to capture two wolves which are preying
on sheep in the French Alps.

Dominique Voynet, the Environment Minister, has authorised the capture of
the wolves following complaints from shepherds in the 165,000-acre central
area of the National Park of Mercantour near Nice. One wolf will be taken to
a zoo, the other will be released with an electronic tag.

Mme Voynet's plan is opposed by animal rights groups, who claim that it
breaches European environmental regulations because canis lupus is a
protected species.=20

The wolves are part of a 20-strong pack which has migrated from Italy. Since
first reports of their arrival in 1992, the number of sheep killings has
risen sharply: 36 sheep were reported dead in 1993 but by the following year
the figure had risen to 191. Last year, 500 sheep were
killed by wolves.

Yesterday, the France Nature Environment association of animal protection
groups said that the plan to capture the wolves was  "extremely serious" and
claimed that the government had no right to break international rules.=20

Lionel Brard, FNE's president, stressed that national parks were set up to
protect wildlife against the demands of private individuals.

He added that it was up to the shepherds to protect their flocks with guard
dogs. "They all receive big grants from Brussels and they are also
compensated heavily whenever a sheep is killed," he said. The shepherds
share the environmentalists' opposition to the government's move - but for
contrasting reasons. They would like to see the wolves eliminated.=20

Annie Sic, who represents a group of shepherds, told Le Figaro yesterday:
"They can't be serious, claiming that the capture of two predators and the
later release of one of them will cut down the number of attacks on the
flocks. They say there are 20 wolves in Mercantour.
We think there are at least 30."

Another shepherd dismissed the state's intervention as pointless. "The only
way to make them listen is to let a shotgun do the talking. The first wolf
which comes near, we will shoot - and no one will put us in prison." =20

=A9 Copyright Telegraph Group Limited 1997.

Date: Thu, 31 Jul 1997 00:30:59 -0700 (PDT)
From: David J Knowles 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: RFI - Vegan soap 
Message-ID: <1.5.4.16.19970731003140.1acf4ae8@dowco.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

I had somewhat of an unusual request from one of my neighbours last night.
Anuk is a student who also likes to dabble in crafts, and asked if I know of
any recipes for making soap which do not require the use of animal products.

This is something that I was unable to answer, but hopefully someone on the
list could help.

Many thanks,

David 

Date: Thu, 31 Jul 1997 00:25:08 -0700 (PDT)
From: David J Knowles 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: [FR] Minister falls prey to wolves' defenders
Message-ID: <199707311040.GAA08878@envirolink.org>


>From The Electronic Telegraph - Thursday, July 31st, 1997

Minister falls prey to wolves' defenders
By Susannah Herbert in Paris=20

FRENCH environmentalists have accused the government of violating
conservation principles in proposing to capture two wolves which are preying
on sheep in the French Alps.

Dominique Voynet, the Environment Minister, has authorised the capture of
the wolves following complaints from shepherds in the 165,000-acre central
area of the National Park of Mercantour near Nice. One wolf will be taken to
a zoo, the other will be released with an electronic tag.

Mme Voynet's plan is opposed by animal rights groups, who claim that it
breaches European environmental regulations because canis lupus is a
protected species.=20

The wolves are part of a 20-strong pack which has migrated from Italy. Since
first reports of their arrival in 1992, the number of sheep killings has
risen sharply: 36 sheep were reported dead in 1993 but by the following year
the figure had risen to 191. Last year, 500 sheep were
killed by wolves.

Yesterday, the France Nature Environment association of animal protection
groups said that the plan to capture the wolves was  "extremely serious" and
claimed that the government had no right to break international rules.=20

Lionel Brard, FNE's president, stressed that national parks were set up to
protect wildlife against the demands of private individuals.

He added that it was up to the shepherds to protect their flocks with guard
dogs. "They all receive big grants from Brussels and they are also
compensated heavily whenever a sheep is killed," he said. The shepherds
share the environmentalists' opposition to the government's move - but for
contrasting reasons. They would like to see the wolves eliminated.=20

Annie Sic, who represents a group of shepherds, told Le Figaro yesterday:
"They can't be serious, claiming that the capture of two predators and the
later release of one of them will cut down the number of attacks on the
flocks. They say there are 20 wolves in Mercantour.
We think there are at least 30."

Another shepherd dismissed the state's intervention as pointless. "The only
way to make them listen is to let a shotgun do the talking. The first wolf
which comes near, we will shoot - and no one will put us in prison." =20

=A9 Copyright Telegraph Group Limited 1997.

    [FR] Minister falls prey to wolves' defenders
Date: Thu, 31 Jul 1997 08:20:09 -0400
From: allen schubert 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (US)  A World of Research On the Shoulders of a Mouse
Message-ID: <3.0.32.19970731082006.006d4cdc@clark.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable

from Washingtonpost.com:
----------------------------------------
                         A World of Research On the Shoulders of a Mouse

                         By Abigail Trafford

                         Tuesday, July 29, 1997; Page Z06
                         The Washington Post

                         BAR HARBOR, Maine=97It turns out man's best
                         friend is really the mouse.

                         Cute little quivering balls of fur, specially
                         bred, clean and well-fed: black, white and
                         sometimes brown, a Ralph Lauren tan that
                         denotes the chic of genetic manipulation. More
                         than 11,000 strains of mice are nurtured here
                         at the Jackson Laboratory and sent to research
                         centers all over the world, a catalogue of mice
                         with gene names like stargazer and staggerer,
                         ruby-eye and tippy, vibrator and velvet coat,
                         angiotensin converting enzyme, neurotrophin-3
                         and twist.

                         Mickey and Minnie would be stunned by all the
                         new members of the mouse family: inbred mice,
                         hybrid mice, mice made to carry human genes,
                         mice with a particular gene deleted -- the
                         so-called knockout mouse -- so that scientists
                         can see what that gene really does.

                         Without these research-friendly beasts, there
                         would be far fewer discoveries of the genes
                         involved with obesity or juvenile diabetes or
                         epilepsy. Scientists who want to understand
                         human genes can turn to mice to isolate a gene,
                         manipulate it and monitor its impact over many
                         generations.

                         To Leroy Hood, chairman of the department of
                         molecular biotechnology at the University of
                         Washington School of Medicine, the mouse is
                         part of the Rosetta stone of genetics. Just as
                         archaeologists were able to decipher Egyptian
                         hieroglyphics by reading a version of the text
                         in Greek and Demotic script (everyday
                         Egyptian), scientists can unravel the human
                         genetic blueprint, he says, by reading how
                         genes are expressed in yeast and mice.

                         The mouse is also a living test tube for new
                         drugs. Want to see if a drug may work against
                         Lou Gehrig's disease? Try it in mice. The
                         effect of a high-fat diet? Feed the rodent
                         equivalent of a greasy double cheeseburger to
                         mice specially bred for obesity. Looking for an
                         animal model for Alzheimer's? Bingo, a mutated
                         mouse that gets deposits in the brain similar
                         to what doctors see in the autopsied brains of
                         Alzheimer's patients. "Whether these mice will
                         develop the larger behavior deficits is not
                         clear," explains Donald Price of Johns Hopkins
                         University School of Medicine. "In a few years
                         we'll get a model that is identical to what we
                         get in the elderly. I feel these are going to
                         be very valuable."

                         So important is the mouse to experimental
                         research that the Harvard Health Letter
                         designated the 1990s as "The Decade of the
                         Mouse."

                         Naturally, the scientists think they are in
                         charge.

                         But sometimes the mice have the last word.
                         Despite all the manipulation and careful
                         monitoring by human researchers, a mouse will
                         suddenly do its own thing and mutate. Nature is
                         still random, even in the laboratory. An
                         unexpected gene alteration will pop up in a
                         mouse: Some morning there's a weird new mouse
                         in the plastic bread-box-shaped container where
                         these research mice spend their lives.

                         "I hear you got a mutant," says a colleague in
                         the hallway to senior staff scientist Leslie P.
                         Kozak, who runs one of Jackson's mouse fat
                         farms.

                         The newest mutant is a flabby black female
                         whose spine is twisted, her right paw limp and
                         her hind legs paralyzed. She can barely move,
                         using her left paw to haul herself around the
                         wood shavings of her plastic home. She was bred
                         to help scientists understand the link between
                         the body's brown fat and obesity. But instead
                         of being a model of obesity, this mutant mouse
                         may well give up some genetic clues to spinal
                         paralysis.

                         The next step is to isolate the
                         paralysis-causing gene and see if anyone has
                         found it before. If not, the mutant may go down
                         in history as a bold discovery. This has
                         happened before. Earlier this year, another
                         mouse genetically manipulated for obesity
                         started walking around like a drunk. This
                         random tipsy mutant ended up in a recent report
                         in the journal Nature as an important finding
                         on the brain, explains Kozak. "These are
                         surprises," he says. "This is serendipity."

                         Scientists need serendipity as they keep
                         breeding and manipulating and watching and
                         testing. And that means there's always full
                         employment for a mouse in science.

                         For all their sacrifices, research mice have a
                         pretty soft life. In fact, one of the biggest
                         problems is keeping wild mice out of the
                         laboratory. That's why there are black boxes
                         every 30 feet around the research units --
                         mousetraps to capture stray invaders and keep
                         them from getting inside where the temperature
                         is controlled, there's plenty of food and
                         medical science is moving steadily forward.

Date: Thu, 31 Jul 1997 08:20:09 -0400
From: allen schubert 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (US)  A World of Research On the Shoulders of a Mouse
Message-ID: <199707311221.IAA15601@envirolink.org>


from Washingtonpost.com:
----------------------------------------
                         A World of Research On the Shoulders of a Mouse

                         By Abigail Trafford

                         Tuesday, July 29, 1997; Page Z06
                         The Washington Post

                         BAR HARBOR, Maine=97It turns out man's best
                         friend is really the mouse.

                         Cute little quivering balls of fur, specially
                         bred, clean and well-fed: black, white and
                         sometimes brown, a Ralph Lauren tan that
                         denotes the chic of genetic manipulation. More
                         than 11,000 strains of mice are nurtured here
                         at the Jackson Laboratory and sent to research
                         centers all over the world, a catalogue of mice
                         with gene names like stargazer and staggerer,
                         ruby-eye and tippy, vibrator and velvet coat,
                         angiotensin converting enzyme, neurotrophin-3
                         and twist.

                         Mickey and Minnie would be stunned by all the
                         new members of the mouse family: inbred mice,
                         hybrid mice, mice made to carry human genes,
                         mice with a particular gene deleted -- the
                         so-called knockout mouse -- so that scientists
                         can see what that gene really does.

                         Without these research-friendly beasts, there
                         would be far fewer discoveries of the genes
                         involved with obesity or juvenile diabetes or
                         epilepsy. Scientists who want to understand
                         human genes can turn to mice to isolate a gene,
                         manipulate it and monitor its impact over many
                         generations.

                         To Leroy Hood, chairman of the department of
                         molecular biotechnology at the University of
                         Washington School of Medicine, the mouse is
                         part of the Rosetta stone of genetics. Just as
                         archaeologists were able to decipher Egyptian
                         hieroglyphics by reading a version of the text
                         in Greek and Demotic script (everyday
                         Egyptian), scientists can unravel the human
                         genetic blueprint, he says, by reading how
                         genes are expressed in yeast and mice.

                         The mouse is also a living test tube for new
                         drugs. Want to see if a drug may work against
                         Lou Gehrig's disease? Try it in mice. The
                         effect of a high-fat diet? Feed the rodent
                         equivalent of a greasy double cheeseburger to
                         mice specially bred for obesity. Looking for an
                         animal model for Alzheimer's? Bingo, a mutated
                         mouse that gets deposits in the brain similar
                         to what doctors see in the autopsied brains of
                         Alzheimer's patients. "Whether these mice will
                         develop the larger behavior deficits is not
                         clear," explains Donald Price of Johns Hopkins
                         University School of Medicine. "In a few years
                         we'll get a model that is identical to what we
                         get in the elderly. I feel these are going to
                         be very valuable."

                         So important is the mouse to experimental
                         research that the Harvard Health Letter
                         designated the 1990s as "The Decade of the
                         Mouse."

                         Naturally, the scientists think they are in
                         charge.

                         But sometimes the mice have the last word.
                         Despite all the manipulation and careful
                         monitoring by human researchers, a mouse will
                         suddenly do its own thing and mutate. Nature is
                         still random, even in the laboratory. An
                         unexpected gene alteration will pop up in a
                         mouse: Some morning there's a weird new mouse
                         in the plastic bread-box-shaped container where
                         these research mice spend their lives.

                         "I hear you got a mutant," says a colleague in
                         the hallway to senior staff scientist Leslie P.
                         Kozak, who runs one of Jackson's mouse fat
                         farms.

                         The newest mutant is a flabby black female
                         whose spine is twisted, her right paw limp and
                         her hind legs paralyzed. She can barely move,
                         using her left paw to haul herself around the
                         wood shavings of her plastic home. She was bred
                         to help scientists understand the link between
                         the body's brown fat and obesity. But instead
                         of being a model of obesity, this mutant mouse
                         may well give up some genetic clues to spinal
                         paralysis.

                         The next step is to isolate the
                         paralysis-causing gene and see if anyone has
                         found it before. If not, the mutant may go down
                         in history as a bold discovery. This has
                         happened before. Earlier this year, another
                         mouse genetically manipulated for obesity
                         started walking around like a drunk. This
                         random tipsy mutant ended up in a recent report
                         in the journal Nature as an important finding
                         on the brain, explains Kozak. "These are
                         surprises," he says. "This is serendipity."

                         Scientists need serendipity as they keep
                         breeding and manipulating and watching and
                         testing. And that means there's always full
                         employment for a mouse in science.

                         For all their sacrifices, research mice have a
                         pretty soft life. In fact, one of the biggest
                         problems is keeping wild mice out of the
                         laboratory. That's why there are black boxes
                         every 30 feet around the research units --
                         mousetraps to capture stray invaders and keep
                         them from getting inside where the temperature
                         is controlled, there's plenty of food and
                         medical science is moving steadily forward.

    (US)  A World of Research On the Shoulders of a Mouse
Date: Thu, 31 Jul 1997 08:28:07 -0400
From: allen schubert 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (US) Secret trout stocking now needed 
Message-ID: <3.0.32.19970731082805.006d4cdc@clark.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

(of interest for those invovled in anti-fishing campaigns)
from USA Today web page:
--------------------------------------------
Secret trout stocking now needed 

ELKINS, W.Va. - It may not be quite so easy to reel in the big one in
rivers and streams in West Virginia. State
officials are now making their trout-stocking schedule a, well, state
secret. It seems whenever a truck left the
fish hatchery in Randolph County, a convoy of lazy anglers followed, said
Don Phares, chief of trout fisheries for
the state Department of Natural Resources. When the truck stopped to stock
a river or stream, the anglers
would get out, cast their rods and pluck the newly released fish from the
water. Bill Thorne, a member of the
Trout Unlimited fishermen's association, said truck-following is a common
practice that he would like to see
disappear. "It's something about our culture in this state that they just
feel like the fish are table fare, to take
them out as soon as they go in," he said.
Date: Thu, 31 Jul 1997 10:31:04 -0500
From: "Michael B. Harris" 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Horse abuser gets more Jail time.
Message-ID: <3.0.3.32.19970731103104.006baa20@mail.execpc.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/enriched; charset="us-ascii"



MAN IN HORSE ABUSE CASE TO GO TO MENTAL FACILITY
Milwaukee Journal/Sentinel July 31, 1997 A Weyauwega man charged with attacking horses was found not guilty because of mental illness Wednesday and was ordered held in a state mental facility. Sterling Rachwal, 33, pleaded guilty Wednesday to three counts of assaulting horses in April and May 1993, But visiting Circuit Judge Michael Rosborough found him not guilty because of mental disease or defect. Rosborough ordered that Rachwal, whose original convictions for sexual attacks on the animals were overturned, be held for 19 years in the Winnebago Mental Health Institute. That sentence won't begin until he finishes an 18-year term for similar crimes in Waupaca County. Wednesday, Rachwal pleaded guilty to two felony counts of mistreating animals as a habitual offender and one misdemeanor count of cruelty to an animal. Prosecutors say one horse died as a result of the attacks. A burglary charge was dismissed as the result of a plea agreement. Monroe County District Attorney John Matousek called the judge's order "appropriate under the circumstances." "I think the community is protected by this type of agreement." Matousek said. "Until (Rachwal) can be treated successfully and is no longer a danger to the property of others, and horses, he will remain committed there." "I've been a prosecutor now for over 10 years and it's clearly one of the most strange cases I've ever had," Matousek added. "It's very unusual that this individual has a sexual attraction to horses." Officials said Rachwal, who formerly lived in rural Cashton, has a history of horse sexual abuse dating back to 1982. In May, a Waupaca County Jury found him guilty, but not guilty by reason of insanity, for the Waupaca County incidents. Rachwal was sentenced to eight years on each of the two felonies and three years on the misdemeanor Charge. Date: Thu, 31 Jul 1997 10:31:04 -0500 From: "Michael B. Harris" To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: Horse abuser gets more Jail time. Message-ID: <199707311528.LAA12501@envirolink.org> This attachment was sent as file (File name not found) It was saved in file 10970000 ATTCHMNT A Note: One or more attachments were saved to your personal storage ("A" disk). Most programs and documents sent from a PC will need to be downloaded to a PC to be usable; select the BINARY option of your file transfer program. If you know the attachment was plain text, but it is now unreadable, it may need translation from ASCII to EBCDIC. If it was saved as "README TXT A", the command would be "A2ETEXT README TXT A". Date: Thu, 31 Jul 1997 17:39:30 +0000 (GMT) From: Daniel Paulo Martins Ferreira To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: Where can I find it? Message-ID: Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII Greetings. Does anyone know if International League of Doctors Against Vivisection has a web site? Or a mail adress? Regards. Daniel Date: Thu, 31 Jul 1997 12:31:53 -0700 (PDT) From: civillib@cwnet.com To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: NEW ENGLAND PRIMATE CENTER PROTESTS BEGIN Message-ID: <199707311931.MAA19151@borg.cwnet.com> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 31, 1997 News Conference Advisory Harvard Primate Center Targeted By Critics, Protestors In Major Campaign Starting Saturday BOSTON -- A major news conference has been scheduled here Friday to outline a series of vigils, demonstrations and other activities -- beginning this Saturday -- designed to protest the continued torture and killing of an estimated 1,500 primates at the New England Regional Primate Research Center. The briefing will be held at 10 a.m. Friday at the John Harvard statue in front of Harvard's University Hall. Scheduled to appear are critics of primate research from Oregon, Ohio and Massachusetts. Details will be released at the briefing about militant protests -- expected to draw activists from throughout the Northeastern U.S. -- Saturday and Sunday at the primate facility, and Monday at Harvard. Similar protests since April have resulted in nearly 100 arrests at primate centers in California, Georgia and Washington. Primate center critics will also charge that Harvard researchers have engaged in controversial research projects, which appear to be fraudulent and examples of "double-dipping" into precious U.S. research monies. Activists, it will be explained, will begin to arrive at Harvard and the New England Regional Primate Research Center Friday to participate in a 9-day, 24-hours-a-day vigil at the labs, part of a nationwide "tour" of primate center facilities. -30- Contact: Steven Baer (508) 393-5339 Date: Thu, 31 Jul 1997 19:10:14 -0400 (EDT) From: Franklin Wade To: Undisclosed recipients:;@smart.net Subject: AZ-UPC Protest Horizon HS Hen Abuse 8/14 Message-ID: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII ACTION ALERT FOR INFORMATION CONTACT: KAREN DAVIS (301) 948-2406 DEE KOTINAS, DIRECTOR OF THE ANIMALS BENEFIT CLUB OF AZ (601) 867-2169 PLEASE JOIN US AT HORIZON HIGH SCHOOL ON AUGUST 14 TO PROTEST HEN ABUSE BY STUDENTS, ADMINISTRATORS' DENIAL Date: Thursday August 14, 1997 Time: 7:00 AM to 8:30 AM Place: Horizon High School, City of Phoenix Address: 5601 East Greenway Road, Scottsdale AZ 85254 On the first day of classes, August 14th, United Poultry Concerns will hold a protest rally in front of Horizon High School from 7:00 AM to 8:30 AM. Please join us. Issue: On April 11, 1997, a gang of Horizon High School seniors released 50 "spent" hens on school property and proceeded to abuse and kill them for fun. They threw hens over the fence, breaking their legs, and onto the school roof. The body of a hen with her legs tied was pulled out of a school trash can and aired on TV. Feathers matted with dried blood were held up to the camera. Two students who rescued 10 hens told the camera the episode was "appalling," "disgusting," and "mean." Animal abuse is against the law in Arizona. A.R.S. 13-2910 states: A person commits cruelty to animals if such person recklessly subjects any animals or poultry to cruel mistreatment. Dee Kotinas filed cruelty charges the next day to no avail. Despite the evidence, Horizon principal John Stollar has contrived a 2-page letter full of tiny print stating, "There was no mayhem, there was no mutilation, there was no chaos." A graduate student in a class he teaches said Mr. Stollar treats the affair in front of his students as "A REAL FUNNY SQUAWKING JOKING MATTER." Is it any wonder Horizon students made t-shirts boasting: "I choked a chicken at Horizon," and "The Great Horizon Chicken Massacre of 97"? Something is seriously wrong at Horizon High School. Please join us on August 14th and demand that Horizon acknowledge the truth and uphold the law. As one person angrily stated on TV that night: "Kids were kicking them [the hens] and throwing them and killing them slowly. School officials should not have allowed this. I want to know how a thing like this could happen." _____________________________________________________________________ franklin@smart.net Franklin D. Wade United Poultry Concerns - http://www.envirolink.org/arrs/upc Compassion Over Killing - http://www.envirolink.org/arrs/cok Date: Thu, 31 Jul 1997 19:18:55 -0400 (EDT) From: Franklin Wade To: Undisclosed recipients:;@smart.net Subject: UPC Alert: Tarrant Cnty, TX: Urge Prosecution of Emu Beater Message-ID: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII July 31, 1997 URGENT ACTION NEEDED WRITE TO TARRANT COUNTY TEXAS IMMEDIATELY! DEMAND PROSECUTION OF DR. STEVEN VINSON, EMU BEATER, KILLER On July 23 the Tarrant County District Attorney's Office announced it would not press cruelty charges against Dr. Steven Vinson, the medical doctor who (with his brother Russell) beat to death twenty-two penned emus with metal baseball bats on June 27. Dr. Vinson told the humane investigator "he didn't feel like he had done anything wrong." We need every individual and animal protection group to write a letter to the Tarrant County Grand Jury requesting that they accept this case and prosecute to the full extent of the law. Please use letterhead if you are representing your organization. Address your letter Attention: Tarrant County Grand Jury. Fax your letter immediately to: Don Feare Wildlife Rescue Foundation fax: 817-483-3944 Don Feare is coordinating the legal efforts of this case. Your letter is needed as quickly as possible. Action Alert posted by United Poultry Concerns at the urgent request of Linda Yarbrough, Animal Liberation League (817-640- 2493 office; 817-274-4188 residence). Send a copy of your letter also to: Robert Mayfield, Deputy Chief Misdemeanor Court Tarrant County Criminal Justice Building 401 West Belknap Fort Worth TX 76196 ph: 817-884-1649; fax: 2499 _____________________________________________________________________ franklin@smart.net Franklin D. Wade United Poultry Concerns - http://www.envirolink.org/arrs/upc Compassion Over Killing - http://www.envirolink.org/arrs/cok Date: Thu, 31 Jul 1997 18:15:31 -0700 (PDT) From: David J Knowles To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: [UK]Postmen bite back with dog deterrents Message-ID: <1.5.4.16.19970731181614.1d67dd0e@dowco.com> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable >From The Electronic Telegraph - Friday, August 1st, 1997 Postmen bite back with dog deterrents By Sean O'Neill=20 POSTMEN have been issued with a new weapon in their unrelenting battle with dogs.=20 The Royal Mail has equipped its staff in the South West and south Wales with a cannister that sprays a peppermint-scented cloud into the face of a dog, distracting it and leaving it marked with a red dye. The initiative was taken in the region after 900 attacks on postmen in the past year which resulted in 1,000 working days being lost. The deterrent - called Biteback - is made from natural substances that do not harm the animals. Colin Toogood, Post Office area manager, said: "Our number one interest is the safety of staff. " The spray is for use in surprise attacks, when the dog appears from nowhere and traps the postman. It is carried on a voluntary basis only. The strong peppermint smell completely distracts the dog and will give the postman time to escape. It also has a vegetable dye in it so that the owners know what has happened. This is not a canine version of CS gas. Our spray has no permanent effects." =A9 Copyright Telegraph Group Limited 1997. Date: Thu, 31 Jul 1997 18:15:27 -0700 (PDT) From: David J Knowles To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: [UK] Farmers in arson threat at hunt ban Message-ID: <1.5.4.16.19970731181611.1d67ddb4@dowco.com> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable >From The Electronic Telegraph - Friday, August 1st, 1997 Farmers in arson threat at hunt ban By Charles Clover Environment Editor=20 HILL farmers are likely to burn down Forestry Commission plantations after it refused to issue licences to the 84 fox and deer packs which hunt on its land for the season which starts today, a huntsman said last night. The Forestry Commission said it was denying licences to 80 foxhunts and four deer hunts until ministers had completed a review. David Jones, huntsman of the David Davies Hunt near Newport, Powys, said there would be a backlash. "These farmers in the hills are some pretty wild characters," he said. "They'll go mad. I've met that many people and they're all fired up. They're doing stupid things." Mr Jones, who marched from Machynlleth to London earlier this month for the Countryside Rally, added: "We're going out on Saturday but we don't hunt over very much commission land. But these hill farmers won't put up with it. They won't put up with the forestry. They'll burn it." Ron Davies, the Welsh Secretary, and a long-standing opponent of hunting, was believed to be behind the last-minute suspension. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Defence, which uses around half a million acres of land for training under reciprocal arrangments with private landowners which allow hunts to enter MoD land, said that licences to hunt would be renewed on application. The scope and the area covered by the licences will not be extended and the licences will contain a termination clause on one month's notice. Owners of around 200,000 acres of land are understood to have warned the Army, which is short of training ground for tanks and low-level helicopter flights, that, if hunting is banned, it can "play soldiers somewhere else". The Forestry Commission, which had been expected to issue a statement banning deer hunting on its land following evidence for the National Trust which showed that deer hunting was unacceptably cruel, said it was refusing a licence to fox and deer hunts until it heard from ministers. A spokesman was unable to say whether any decision was likely before October. Janet George of the British Fields Sports Society said: "This is a farce. People have paid good money to go hunting and if they cannot go hunting they are not going to keep paying subscriptions. Hunts are expected to go on paying their staff and running the flesh round [the collection of dead farm animals from farms] yet they cannot hunt. They're in breach of contract with members." =A9 Copyright Telegraph Group Limited 1997. Date: Fri, 1 Aug 1997 09:25:22 +0800 From: bunny To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: International Foundation attempts to save NZ wild horses. Message-ID: <1.5.4.16.19970801091937.2f0f1424@wantree.com.au> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" The Franz Weber Foundation is trying to save the New Zealand wild horses. ************************************************************************ The Franz Weber Foundation have sent a telegram to Mr Bolger asking for the hault of the Horse Slaughter. They have offered to buy the remaining Stallions @ $300 each including transport. So they can preseve the herd. The Weber Foundation have just made The wild Horse Trust NZ its agent. For further information on the Kaimanawa wild horses see http://www.nzsail.co.nz/wildhorses/links.html Kind regards, Marguerite Wegner =========================================== Rabbit Information Service, P.O.Box 30, Riverton, Western Australia 6148 Email> rabbit@wantree.com.au http://www.wantree.com.au/~rabbit/rabbit.htm (Rabbit Information Service website updated frequently) /`\ /`\ (/\ \-/ /\) )6 6( >{= Y =}< /'-^-'\ (_) (_) | . | | |} jgs \_/^\_/ Date: Fri, 1 Aug 1997 09:32:41 +0800 From: bunny To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: JOHNES DISEASE, SHEEP - AUSTRALIA (NEW SOUTH WALES) Message-ID: <1.5.4.16.19970801092656.2df72778@wantree.com.au> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" JOHNES DISEASE, SHEEP - AUSTRALIA (NEW SOUTH WALES) *************************************************** Date: Wed, 30 Jul 1997 13:30:12 -0700 Via: Newssources At least 320,000 sheep in 183 New South Wales flocks will be slaughtered as part of a campaign to eradicate Ovine Johnes Disease . The total NSW flock numbers about 43 million sheep and lambs. Ovine Johnes Disease is an intestinal bacterial wasting disorder similar to tuberculosis and leprosy in humans. It is ingested from infected pasture and spread via manure. With a pasture life of at least two years, infected land is generally switched from sheep to cattle or cropping. Besides the 183 flocks already identified, a further 120,000 sheep in 71 commercial flocks in NSW have been classed as "suspect" because of contact with infected flocks. A spokesman for the Minister for Agriculture, Mr Amery, has foreshadowed a $5 million State Government compensation payout to the farmers affected. =========================================== Rabbit Information Service, P.O.Box 30, Riverton, Western Australia 6148 Email> rabbit@wantree.com.au http://www.wantree.com.au/~rabbit/rabbit.htm (Rabbit Information Service website updated frequently) /`\ /`\ (/\ \-/ /\) )6 6( >{= Y =}< /'-^-'\ (_) (_) | . | | |} jgs \_/^\_/ Date: Thu, 31 Jul 1997 21:59:08 -0400 From: jeanlee To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: Humane Soc of U.S. alert on trophy hunting Message-ID: <33E142EC.1B2D@concentric.net> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Hi All- Here's a letter you can copy and send with regard to HSUS's call for letters on CAMPFIRE (Communal Areas Management Program for Indigenous Resources.) This letter goes to senators at United States Senate, Washington, DC 20510 and to representatives at U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, DC 20515. To find out who represents you, call 1-800-688-9889. Address each as "The Honorable . . . " Here's the text: Dear - The Communal Areas Management Program for Indigenous Resources=20 (CAMPFIRE) is administered by the Zimbabwe government with=20 funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development=20 (AID.) The program is mainly backed by the Safari Club International. I find it unbelievable that members of a=20 hunting club get the benefit of foreign hunting programs backed=20 and paid for by U.S.(read "us.")=20 U.S. AID is pouring millions in tax money into CAMPFIRE, which=20 provides money to pro-hunting organizations to promote hunts=20 which kill elephants, lions, and zebras in Africa. These=20 taxpayer-subsidized safaris for American trophy hunters provide=20 little benefit to impoverished indigenous people. Rather, the=20 money is being spent to promote trophy hunting, resume the=20 deadly trade in elephant ivory, and lobby the U.S. Congress to weaken the Endangered Species Act by relaxing import=20 restrictions on the importation of sport-hunted trophies of=20 threatened and endangered species. The ultimate outrage - there=92s actually a militant pro-utilization organization call=20 the Agrica Resources Trust which is using the tax money to=20 lobby Congress. CAMPFIRE also grants select communities the=20 right to sell wildlife to trophy hunters in America at a cost=20 to taxpayers of $7.6 million between 1989 and 1994.=20 Independent consultants commissioned by AID have concluded that=20 the program is neither ecologically nor socio-economically=20 sustainable and will collapse when taxpayers stop funding it.=20 Zimbabwe's Department of National Park and Wild Life Management (which is an implementing organization of the CAMPFIRE program)=20 is "riddled by corruption, infighting, and jealousy" according=20 to a report by the Zimbabwean Parliament. Please stop U.S. AID funding for the trophy hunting of African=20 elephants and other big game. Sincerely yours, Date: Thu, 31 Jul 1997 22:09:38 -0400 From: jeanlee To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: List of 800 #s of animal exploiters Message-ID: <33E14562.128@concentric.net> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Hi- Dont' think I've posted this here. I copied the following from the website of a group called "Compassion Over Killing" I've printed it out for myself. A person can adapt how it's used depending on how radical or moderate one chooses to be. In any case, it's useful information. Please note that the suggestions made on how to use the list are not mine, but those of the author. I also don't have any individual info on the companies. If you want to check their site: http://www.envirolink.org/arrs/cok/ "The following are the toll free 1-800 phone numbers of various animal exploiters. Every time you keep them on the phone for thirty seconds,it costs them a dollar. The longer you talk, the more they pay. Be creative: order their catalogs, make C.O.D. orders to fake addresses, etc. Carry this list around with you and make a few calls every time you pass a pay phone. Copy it and pass it around. Call for animal liberation!!! (All numbers begin with 1-800) American Feeds and Livestock, 323-7553 American Legend Fur Auction House, 445-MINK Atlantic Seafood Direct, 227-1116 Atlantic Veal Corporation, 221-6988 Auth Brothers Meats, 424-2610 Beck Sausage, 543-6328 Big Game Fishing, 458-2879 Bio Serve Lab Animal Supplies, 521-3368 Birchwood Livestock Genetics, 892-6342 Blossomland Bee Supply, 637-5262 Bowhunting Safari Consultants, 833-9777 Brisken Berk Furs, 241-7243 Bristol-Myers Squibb, 468-7746 Brushy Mountain Bee Farm, 233-7929 Buffalo Meat, BUY-BUFF Burger King, YES-1-800 Burnham Brothers Preadator Callers, 451-4572 Burkshire Corporation Lab Animal Supplies, 443-6379 Butterball Turkey, 323-4848 Carolina Biological Supply Company, 334-5551 Cattleman Meat Company, 832-6595 Certified Prime Meats, 257-2977 Charles River Lab Animal Supplies, LAB-RATS Church's Fried Chicken Catering, 635-5394 Clifty Farm Country Meats, 238-8239 Colgate-Palmolive, 338-8388 Country Fed Meat Company, 637-7559 D. Cohn Fur Processors, 2-TAN-FUR Diamond's Leather, 426-6105 Diamomd V. Fur Mills, 373-7234 Dipcraft Housing Manufacturers, 245-6145 Double J. Limosine Beef, 544-5893 Dog Proof Trap Company, 828-7077 Dunn's Knive Company, 24-KNIVE Eel Skin Elegance, 922-2188 Eel Skin Unlimited, 243-8335 F.C. Taylor Fur Company, 334-2923 Frantz Sawdust Company (for pelt drying), 262-8700 Fresh Seafood Express, 654-1366 Funke Mink Farm and Trap Supplies, 626-2894 Fur by Weiss, 423-MINK Fur Wardrobe, 424-3877 Glazed Honey Hams, 458-7682 Harvard Apparatus Lab Animal Supplies, 272-2775 Hazleton Research Products, 345-4114 Heavenly Ham, 262-8545 Heger Feed Supply Company, 688-1990 Henig Furs, 521-2037 Henry J.'s Meat, 242-1314 Hilltop Lab Animals, 245-6921 Holt Products Veal Hormones, 369-4658 Honeybaked Ham, FOR-A-HAM Honeycrust Hams, 423-4267 Hoosier Trapper Supplies, 423-9526 J.W. Elwood Taxidermy Supply Company, 228-2291 Jerky Hut, 223-5759 Johnny Stewart Wildlife Callers, 441-3036 La Budde feed and Grain, 776-3610 Lakeland Vet Veal Antibiotics, 328-0652 Lamb Pasta Sauce, 237-LAMB Lapps Bee Supply Center, 321-1960 Leather Center, 525-0952 Leather Factory Corporation, 233-7155 Lingenfelter Brill Furs, 331-5255 Lobster Express, 624-6301 Look's Live Lobsters, 446-4009 M&F Meat, 334-5396 Malcomb Meats, 822-6328 Merit Nomac Furs, 323-0449 Midwest Turkey Call Supply, 541-1638 Mills Fur Farm Supplies, 722-6455 Minden Meat Market, 272-3529 Myer's Meats, 635-3759 Nashville Poultry and Egg, 662-3447 National Beef Company, 835-9180 National Fur Feed, 558-5803 (in WI, 242-5902) National Superior Fur Processors, 77-BEARS Nebraska's Choice Steaks, 255-5944 Northern Fur and Sport, 523-4803 Oklahoma Cattlemen's Association, 622-2776 Omaha Steaks International, 228-9055 Padows Hams, 344-4267 Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association, 538-2692 Proctor & Gamble, 543-0485 R.P. Outdoors Trapping Supplies, 762-2706 Research America, FON-CURE Rigging and Wear Trapping Supplies, 458-5647 Riverdale Mills Cages, 762-6374 Robbins Livestock Auction, 336-7753 Robertson's Hams, 458-4267 Russ Carmen Lures, 545-8737 Sabal Meats, 527-2825 Safari Land Hunting, 624-5988 Sav-A-Caf Veal Hormones, 468-2472 S.C. Johnson, 848-2588 Shatz Brothers Meats, 541-3898 Shultz Meats, 842-0297 Sir Loin Meat Shoppe, 541-5933 Sportsman's Guide, 888-3006 Strauser Bee Supply, 541-8908 Susquehanna Industries Veal Feed, 232-8325 Talicor Furs, 433-4263 Taxidermy How To Videos, 334-8012 Tom Miranda Great Outdoors, 356-6730 Trapper and Predator Caller Magazine, 258-0929 Tri-County Taxidermy, 521-2825 United Vaccines, 283-MINK U.S.A. Foxx and Furs, USA-FOXX U.S.D.A. Meat and Poultry Hotline, 535-4555 Veal Hotline, 323-0955 Venison Etc., 338-4868 Ward's Biological Supply Company, 962-2660 Weaver Chicken, 233-6332 Wisco Fur Foods, 235-9656 Woodstream Corporation Trapping Supplies, 800-1819 World Hunts, 448-6846 Zummo Meat Company, 622-1688 1-800-WHY-MILK New Additions: Steamboat Lake Outfitters, Inc. 1-800-342-1889 (Elk - Deer - Bear - Mtn. Lion; Drop Camps or Full Guided; Private Property Hunting; one of the largest tracts of private hunting land in Northwest Colorado) FUR RETAILERS ------------- Revillon--1-800-248-2664 Fur Manufacturers Association--1-800-870-3875 Fendi--1-800-836-3469 Macy's--1-800-444-8895 American Express (their catalog sells fur)--1-800-528-4800 TJ Maxx is selling fur-lined hats and fur collars on jackets. To voice your concerns to customer service, call 1-800-926-MAXX (6299). "Give the gift of exceptional good taste. To place an order or receive more information, call 1-800-GIVE-LOBSTER (1-800-448-3562)" By Nature, an ersatz environmental catalog, offers stuffed Alligator heads, mounted Mountain Goat heads, stuffed rattlesnakes and a variety of insects. They can be found at http://www.bynature.com/index.htm Tel (for free catalog) 1-888-938-8811 e-mail: nature@bynature.com Please call the Universal Big Top Circus, now performing in Los Angeles, California. There are 3 bears, 3 elephants, 5 chimps, lions, tigers and ponies. A 100% owned and operated African-American circus founded by Ricky Walker 2-3 years ago. (800) 316-7439 David A. Furs 1-800-919-FURS Ted Nugent, bowhunter, has a toll free # to call for hunting products. The originating # will show up on his bill however. The number is: 1-800-343-HUNT Lloyds and Robards Furriers, Ct Furriers of Hartford Established 1910. 43 South Main Street, West Hartford - 236-2941 1-800-698-FURS" Date: Fri, 1 Aug 1997 11:32:27 +0800 (SST) From: Vadivu Govind To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: (TH) Biodiversity opponents reiterate deep concern Message-ID: <199708010332.LAA25823@eastgate.cyberway.com.sg> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" >Bangkok Post August 1, 1997 Biodiversity opponents reiterate deep concern Amid positive outlook of neighbouring states Uamdao Noikorn Opponents to the ratification of the Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD) yesterday reaffirmed their stance despite a positive outlook given by its ratified neighbouring countries of Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines. In fact the presentations even made them believe they were going in the right direction, according to Law Society of Thailand deputy secretary-general Warin Thiemcharas at a CBD seminar held by the United Nations Association of Thailand, United Nations Environment Programme and World Conservation Union. Three prominent guest speakers from the three countries were invited to talk about their experience after ratification. The event was aimed at giving Thailand a better idea of what the country would face if ratified. Thailand is one of the few countries including the United States and Japan which have not yet ratified the convention. Access-related issues are the biggest controversy between the pros and the cons. Environmentalists and lawyers claimed that Article 15 in the convention which requires a contracting party to allow another contracting party to its genetic resources would spell disaster if it is ratified now. "We should wait until we are well equipped with a complete database on the subject and environmental laws to protect our traditional medical practice. How could we negotiate to win when we don't even know what we have and how much it's worth?" said Mr Warin. Under the convention, developed countries which are poor in natural resources must give financial and technological support to developing countries in exchange for access to their genetic and species resources. However, the allocation of resources will be done under national laws and thus subject to national authority. The providing countries can also claim any benefits, be it commercial or scientific, derived from the resources. According to Atty Wilfrido Pollisco, director of the Protected Area and Wildlife Bureau of the Philippines, the country had recieved huge funding for its biodiversity research and the process was going smoothly. He stressed the importance of biodiversity conservation as "the world's common concern" saying the ratification would help simplify conservation work since poor countries did not have enough money to do so. Dr Pollisco added that getting funds under the ratification would prevent providers from setting conditions which were likely to exploit their resources. Experts believed technology transfer was behind the reason why the US and Japan were reluctant to ratify the accord. "Their technology is a lot superior than ours. They wouldn't like it that much if we could develop our genetic resources through their technology," said Setijati Sastrapradja, executive director of the Indonesian Biodiversity Foundation. Admitting that their experience in biodiversity management was in the infancy stage and the progress was very slow, the speakers believed the ratification was beneficial although they have yet to finish a database set-up. "We wouldn't have joined in if we couldn't fully take charge of our own resources. We should stop crying or fearing that they will take away our resources. The point is the government has no money and we need money," Dr Setijati said. Mr Warin argued Thailand would never obtain enough funding. He said the developed countries no longer consider Thailand poor. "At least, they don't see us as poor as other countries. Our funding requests have been rejected recently because economic statistics say we're doing well." Article copyright Post Publishing Public Co., Ltd 1997 Reprinted for non-commercial use only. Website: http://www.bangkokpost.net Date: Fri, 1 Aug 1997 11:38:11 +0800 (SST) From: Vadivu Govind To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: (TH) The Elephant Doctor Message-ID: <199708010338.LAA26218@eastgate.cyberway.com.sg> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" >Bangkok Post 1 August 97 The elephant doctor A vet in Lampang province is struggling to preserve Thailand's majestic elephants whose survival is threatened by human encroachment and development Story by Chompoo Trakullertsathien Picture by Somkid Chaijitvanit The atmosphere at the Elephant Hospital in Lampang province is bleak. Veterinarian Dr Preecha Puangkham sits by the side of his pachyderm patient, Um Phang, recalling happier days when this playful one-year-old baby elephant was in good health after she recovered from an earlier ailment. Now she is dying. Suffering from pneumonia, the young elephant lies immobile on the ground as she breathes with difficulty. There is nothing else the vet can do but stroke Um Phang's head to comfort her. The orphan elephant fixes her sad eyes on Dr Preecha to whom she is attached as if he were a substitute mother. Her eyes fill with anguish and tears and she slowly moves her trunk to touch the vet as if to hold him near her. As she draws her last breath, Um Phang slowly closes her eyes. The vet gives her a final stroke and whispers goodbye. The death of animals is not uncommon for veterinarians, but for Dr Preecha, the death of Um Phang is particularly painful. Not only because she was his friend and patient, but because Um Phang's life symbolised his efforts to preserve Thailand's elephants whose survival is threatened by human encroachment and development. "Throughout my career, I have witnessed a number of elephant deaths. All I can do is swallow my sorrow and go on with my duty as usual," said the soft-spoken vet. Dubbed "the elephant doctor", Preecha has saved the lives of countless elephants during his 20-year career as an elephant specialist. But that hardly consoles him from the sadness of seeing Um Phang die. The loss of even one elephant's life takes on greater importance given their rapidly dwindling population over recent years. A conservative estimate has put the number of elephants in the Kingdom at 2,000 in captivity, and 1,800 to 2,000 in the wild. But such figures are, to Dr Preecha, illusory. "No one knows the exact number of elephants left in the forests and in elephant communities. It's time to take action before Thailand has only one elephant left," he cautioned. Concern and action from the government has been too little and too late, he said. So the elephant doctor decided to set up his own research project to get an accurate picture of the number of elephants in the northern provinces. But things have not gone as smoothly as he expected. Dr Preecha has made many visits to remote villages where elephants are used to haul illegally logged trees. Understandably, the villagers usually refuse to give information to the curious stranger and it takes time to win their trust. "I had to explain that I could help them solve their problems," he recalled. "Showing sincerity is the most important factor when dealing with the villagers. They also need a vet to cure their sick elephants. "I was shocked to see chronically ill elephants. Most of them are not treated properly. I cured them free of charge," he added. After gaining access to the animals, the next step in Dr Preecha's research project is to implant microchips into the elephants so they can be tracked and studied. Averaging two or three field trips a month, he has so far implanted more than 300 elephants with microchips. He also vaccinates the animals. However, his research work is put on hold when he has a lot of patients to take care of. "When sick elephants are admitted to the hospital, I can't visit remote villages. I can't carry on two duties at the same time. And the problem of the sick elephants is more urgent," he said. Born in Surin province, the elephant capital of Thailand, young Preecha nurtured a sense of attachment with the majestic beasts since his childhood. After graduating from Kasetsart University's Faculty of Veterinary Science in 1976, he had a chance to visit the northern forests. There, he was impressed with the natural beauty of the environment and seeming contentment of the elephants. Right then and there, he decided to apply for a job as a vet with the Forest Industry Organisation. Dr Preecha spent the next 17 years in the forests treating working elephants injured in logging accidents. "I have seen elephants at their happiest. The forest provides them with plenty of food. They can roam freely without human interference. My dream is to see them living in their natural habitat," he said while playing with Uan, a one-year-old elephant being treated at the hospital for a swollen leg. In 1989, in the wake of severe deforestation and flash floods in the South which killed many people, logging became illegal in Thailand. The elephants as well as their mahouts found themselves out of a job. Dr Preecha went back to work with the Forest Industry Organisation's Thai Elephant Preservation Centre in Lampang province. Being involved in preservation work has increased Dr Preecha's attachment to elephants. But instead of seeing the happiness of the animals, he has witnessed their suffering. According to Dr Preecha, the number of abused and overworked elephants is increasing. "I absolutely disagree with the elephants shows. Many people love seeing elephants perform exciting tricks. But the elephants are basically being tortured before performing such tricks. I cannot imagine why people enjoy themselves at the expense of others' suffering," he said. Dr Preecha's patients used to be mostly elephants which had suffered at the hands of abusive mahouts and cruel circus trainers, or which had had an accident. But nowadays, a large number of elephants he treats are working beasts that have been exploited by illegal loggers. As deforestation becomes more severe, he explained, illegal loggers speed up their work to make more money. "As a result, elephants are forced to labour until they break down physically. Many people say I support elephants working illegally because I treat them. But can I let sick elephants die in front of me?" When abused elephants can no longer work, the burden of healing them falls on Dr Preecha. But even when the elephants recover, their masters often refuse to take them back because they are no longer of any use. So Dr Preecha has to take care of these abandoned elephants. "The hospital has five abandoned elephants to look after. Elephants live a long time, up to 70 years. This means more expense. I wouldn't worry if the hospital was supported by the government. But that's a far-fetched dream," he said. Dr Preecha, however, noted that money can't solve all the problems. He also wants to see better understanding and more kindness from the public towards elephants. "Elephants can't survive if they have no forest. Humans should stop encroaching on their natural home. But the thing that I'm asking for the elephants is also needed by people. Humans and elephants face the same problem," said the vet. As well as the changing rural environment, the mahouts' increasingly modern lifestyles are having an effect on their charges. "The mahouts have to love their elephants and take care of them with much attention. Today's mahouts are enjoying their lives in the cities, watching television, riding motorcycles and exploiting their elephants by making them work hard. "Most of the new generation of mahouts have no knowledge about elephants, how to treat them when they are sick and how to deal with them when they are in rut. Many die because of the mahouts' negligence," added the vet. And many are exploited. A lot of elephants end up at the Elephant Hospital in Lampang province where they receive attention from trained mahouts and caring veterinarians. Apart from being a refuge for sick and injured elephants, the Elephant Hospital also serves as a training school for newly-graduated veterinarians. "In addition to treating sick elephants, my duty is to produce proficient vets who can take care of elephants. However, only a few choose to specialise in elephants. Most of them prefer to work in the clinic where they can earn a handsome salary, not in the forest where they have to live a hard life," said Dr Preecha. Most greenhorn vets have difficulty when first approaching an elephant. "They feel better treating small animals like dogs or cats. It's complicated dealing with elephants. Without training, vets may end up injuring themselves or getting killed," he said. So it is not really surprising then that Thailand, a country world famous for its elephants, only has about six veterinary experts in the field. "My friends often ask me why I want to be an elephant vet. They try to persuade me to work in a clinic. My present salary is equivalent to that of a new graduate working in an office. My answer is that I love this career," he explained. "My reward is not money but the happiness of seeing elephants get well and live happy lives," he added. Although lacking in and financial support, Dr Preecha is not one who allows such limitations to discourage him. "I feel disheartened and exhausted when I think about the future of the elephants, but I have to swallow such feelings and keep fighting. Our work needs firm leadership," said Dr Preecha, drawing a deep sigh. Bearing such a big burden, the veteran vet often looks taciturn. It's rare to see him smile or relax. "My work has no happy ending. I would like to throw this burden away sometimes, but if I don't carry it on, who will? "We have no way out for the pitiful elephants. Many problems and obstacles are lying ahead, but I choose to walk further rather than staying still," said Dr Preecha in a determined voice. Sometimes Dr Preecha approaches people in authority who know well about the problem of the elephants, even some politicians. "They listen to all of my worries about the elephants. They said that I told them the truth but they don't know how to help me solve the problems. "Some even said that the problems of the people are more important than the problems of animals. I agree with them. But elephants are part of our national heritage. It's our duty to help save their lives," he said. Though he may ask nothing from the government, Dr Preecha has many plans for the Elephant Hospital - to build a stronger and bigger pavilion for the ever-increasing number of patients, and to build homes for old and crippled elephants. "The number of neglected, exploited, old and handicapped elephants is increasing, so I plan to find a place for all kinds of elephants to live together." Dr Preecha lamented that many people see elephants as not compatible with modern society. "The glorious days of the Thai elephant are gone," he said. "It seems that elephants are a remnant of Thai history. In the near future, they will share the same plight as their extinct counterparts, the dinosaurs. While I'm looking at the elephants, it's like I'm looking at the sun set, doing nothing but watching," said the vet. Apart from hoping to see more elephants live a happy live, Dr Preecha also plans to write a book. "Our experience with the animals provides us with a rich knowledge that has not been recorded. To conserve the elephants, we need to know more about them. "The book will cover all aspects of elephants, ranging from how to control them, to how to approach them, how to treat them, and how to put a splint on their injured legs," he added. While he spends most of his time taking care of sick elephants, Dr Preecha also dreams of visiting foriegn lands. "I want to spend time travelling in countries such as Tibet and Nepal, perhaps with a caravan of elephants," he mused. Article copyright Post Publishing Public Co., Ltd 1997 Reprinted for non-commercial use only. Website: http://www.bangkokpost.net