AR-NEWS Digest 553

Topics covered in this issue include:

  1) Re: Memorial held for George - Yellow Lab killed by off-duty policeman
     by "bhgazette" 
  2) Alaska campaign against snaring wolves
     by Andrew Gach 
  3) Admin Note--Country Codes
     by allen schubert 
  4) (US) Beef Industry Investigates E. Coli
     by allen schubert 
  5) (UK) Dave Callender Demo Reminder - October 30th, 1997
     by "Arc News" 
  6) need homes for kittens
     by liberation2@juno.com
  7) (US) Animal Officers Raid Puppy Mill
     by allen schubert 
  8) (US) Adoption Spurs Controversy
     by allen schubert 
  9) Correction Re: Pet Protection Bill
     by Patrick Nolan 
 10) (US) Animal Cruelty Alleged
     by allen schubert 
 11) (US) Town Torn Over Slaughtered Shelter Animals
     by allen schubert 
 12) (US) Report: Headless Embryo Created
     by allen schubert 
 13) Health Concerns Mounting Over Bacteria in Chicken
     by Jackie Dove 
 14) Harrisburg, PA: Press Conference for Hunger Striker
     by Michael Markarian 
 15) The State of Health Care in the US
     by Andrew Gach 
 16) Society & Animals Special Issue
     by Kenneth Shapiro 
 17) (US) Okla. City, Okla. Animal News
     by JanaWilson 
 18) RE: (US) Town Torn Over Slaughtered Shelter Animals
     by "D'Amico, Ann-Marie" 
 19) Action Alert request
     by In Defense of Animals 
 20) H.R. 594 Legislation Update- letters needed
     by In Defense of Animals 
 21) Support dawn Ratcliffe
     by liberation2@juno.com
 22) [UK] Britain resists whaling plan
     by David J Knowles 
 23) (US/CA) Canada Seal Hunters Targeted in U.S. Ad Campaign
     by allen schubert 
 24) (US) USDA Calls for Independent Health Evaluation of Keiko;
  Aquarium Officials Support USDA Proposal
     by allen schubert 
 25) Jane 'Goodall & Roger Fouts lectures
     by "Zoocheck Canada Inc." 
 26) Letters Needed
     by "veegman@qed.net" 
 27) Marineland of Canada approached to replace Finna
     by "Zoocheck Canada Inc." 
 28) Panda success breeds problem (CN)
     by jwed 
Date: Mon, 20 Oct 97 22:55:26 PDT
From: "bhgazette" 
To: "AR News" 
Subject: Re: Memorial held for George - Yellow Lab killed by off-duty policeman
Message-ID: 
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="ISO-8859-1"; X-MAPIextension=".TXT"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit


Does anyone have names (of George's family?  family lawyers? local ar group?)
so we may contact?

JD Jackson
Bunny Huggers' Gazette
----------

>
> A memorial service was held yesterday for George, a yellow lab gunned down
> by off-duty Portland police officer John Hurlman while Hurlman was jogging
> through a quiet Hillsboro,

Date: Mon, 20 Oct 1997 21:55:14 -0700
From: Andrew Gach 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Alaska campaign against snaring wolves
Message-ID: <344C35B2.6397@worldnet.att.net>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

Alaskan group seeks to protect wolves

Reuters 
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (October 17, 1997 11:58 a.m. EDT) 

Calling the practice inhumane and outdated, activists in Alaska are
seeking to outlaw the use of snares to trap the state's wolves. A group
called "Alaskans Against Snaring Wolves" this week got certification to
circulate petitions that would put a snare-ban question on the state's
general election ballot next year.

The petition campaign, if successful, would put the long-running Alaska
debate over wolf management back in voters' hands. In 1996, voters
passed a ballot initiative that outlawed same-day aerial hunting of
wolves.

Alaska is the only U.S. state where the gray wolf is not threatened or
endangered.

The anti-snare new effort comes in response to practices by trappers in
parts of interior Alaska, Kneeland Taylor, a leader of the petition
campaign, said Thursday.

If used correctly, the looped snares catch wolves at the neck and kill
the animals quickly and humanely, Taylor said. But many snares entrap
other wolf body parts, cutting the flesh to the bone and causing a long
period of suffering, he said. "It's a very gruesome way to die," he
said.

In addition, the wolf snares catch many other animals, including moose
and eagles, Taylor said.

The anti-snare activists believe trappers are using saturation
techniques, setting out as many as 100 snares at a single time, as a
private method of culling wolves, he said.

Attempts to thin out wild wolf packs "have reflected a really
old-fashioned attitude that wolves should be killed like vermin, like
rats. I think the majority of Alaskans reject that point of view,"
Taylor said.

Gov. Tony Knowles in 1994 suspended the state's controversial
wolf-control program, in which state officials killed wolves to boost
populations of caribou and other prey targeted by sport hunters.

Many hunters support wolf control, arguing that booming predator
populations have imperiled caribou herds in parts of the state.

They have also oppose ballot initiatives banning any particular hunting
practice, condemning them as political micro-management of subjects
better left to professional biologists.

To secure a spot for their issue on the 1998 ballot, Alaskans Against
Snaring Wolves must gather more than 24,000 petition signatures from
registered voters by Jan. 12.
Date: Tue, 21 Oct 1997 04:24:49 -0400
From: allen schubert 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Admin Note--Country Codes
Message-ID: <3.0.1.32.19971021042449.00687cd0@envirolink.org>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

AR-News is an international e-mail list covering Animal Rights news.  Some
subscribers have pointed out that some postings may leave them somewhat
confused as to what the post's country of origin is.  Many posts to AR-News
are direct copies of newspaper articles and, while quite clear within
context of the newspaper, the country of origin may be very confusing
outside of that context.  This can greatly affect what action(s)
subscribers may wish to take (letter writing, phone calls, protests, etc).

Two examples...on one occassion, someone pointed out that s/he was confused
which "prime minister" an article referred to (many countries have prime
ministers) and, on another occassion, someone had no idea who Chelsea
Clinton was and why her (possibly) becoming vegetarian was so significant
(how many of us know the names of children of heads of states of various
countries?).

As a possible solution, I am asking those who post to AR-News to "tag" the
subject line with the accepted two-letter country codes used on the
internet, as in:  "All Hunting Banned!! (US)"  (okay, that's fictional, but
just an example).  Such codes can be found in many sources (check out the
e-mail addresses on this list) or in various books (Internet for Dummies,
etc.).  Some codes are:  US/United State, UK/United Kingdom, FI/Finland,
CA/Canada, NZ/New Zealand, etc.  On the web, see URL:

http://dutian.twi.tudelft.nl/~maarten/GeographicZones.shtml

Please note--this is only a _request_, not a requirement!  And, if anyone
is in doubt about the country of origin of a particular post, please
(privately) e-mail the original poster for details.

Again, this is only a _request_, not a requirement (for participation on
this list).


Date: Tue, 21 Oct 1997 04:29:05 -0400
From: allen schubert 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (US) Beef Industry Investigates E. Coli
Message-ID: <3.0.32.19971021042903.00709b58@clark.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

from AP Wire page http://wire.ap.org/
-----------------------------------------------
 10/21/1997 01:36 EST

 Beef Industry Investigates E. Coli

 By SCOTT BAUER
 Associated Press Writer

 LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) -- The beef industry in Nebraska, the nation's No. 1
 producing state, is looking for answers to concerns about beef and hoping
 to educate the public about dangers of E. coli bacteria.

 An industry task force will begin work next week. It will include
 representatives of producers, packers, processors, retailers,
 restaurants, researchers and government, said its chairman, Chuck
 Schroeder, who also is chief executive officer of the National
 Cattlemen's Beef Association.

 The four chief objectives of the task force: research, education,
 consumer information and policy.

 Nebraska has a lot at stake as the nation's top beef-producing state. The
 state has about 28,000 beef producers and beef production is worth about
 $5 billion a year to Nebraska.

 The industry group was created in response to two major recalls of beef
 this summer -- recalls ordered because of fears the meat had been
 contaminated by E. coli bacteria.

 In August, 25 million pounds of hamburger processed at the Hudson Foods
 Inc. plant in Columbus, Neb., was recalled. Since then, the Hudson plant
 has been sold to IBP Inc., the Hudson company has been sold to Tyson
 Foods and U.S. Agriculture Department officials have said they may never
 know where the contamination originated.

 Sixteen people in Colorado were sickened by meat traced to the Hudson
 plant. Investigators said it was provided by an outside slaughterhouse,
 though none has been named.

 The USDA investigation is continuing. A federal grand jury in Omaha also
 is investigating whether an attempt was made to cover up the extent of
 the possible contamination.

 Earlier this month, 443,656 pounds of ground beef from BeefAmerica's
 Norfolk, Neb., plant was recalled after meat tainted with the E. coli
 bacteria found in a Virginia grocery store was traced to the plant. Keith
 DeHaan, vice president of technical operations for BeefAmerica, said
 BeefAmerica's experiences can be used as a resource for the task force if
 requested.

 DeHaan said the Omaha-based company will not be represented on the task
 force but added he is confident the group will find solutions to problems
 facing the industry.

 In addition to the Hudson and BeefAmerica recalls, IBP, based in Dakota
 City, Neb., was involved in an E. coli contamination scare of its own
 when South Korean officials said the bacteria were detected on the
 outside of meat exported by IBP.

 The 40,000 pounds of meat in question is being returned to the United
 States and will be disposed of according to USDA recommendations, IBP
 spokesman Gary Mickelson said Monday.

Date: Tue, 21 Oct 1997 05:06:13 PDT
From: "Arc News" 
To: ar-views@envirolink.org
Subject: (UK) Dave Callender Demo Reminder - October 30th, 1997
Message-ID: <19971021120614.10267.qmail@hotmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain

Hi List...esp. UK Listees

Thursday October 30th, 1997 at 11.00am

Just to remind you that its Dave's appeal hearing next 
week (Thursday October 30th, 1997 at 11.00am), and a demonstration will 
be held outside The Royal Courts of Justice, The Strand London.

Phone 0121 632 6460 for more details, (evenings after 6pm preferably). 


------------------------------------------------------------------------

On the 6th March 1996 Animal Rights campaigner Dave Callender was 
sentenced to 10 years imprisonment, a vicious sentence especially when 
you consider the following facts: 

NOT ONE pounds worth of damage was caused 
NO life was ever endangered 
He was never accused of carrying out ANY actions. 

When we demand justice we also base this on the fact that Dave was 
denied a fair trial and we are calling for a retrial. We are convinced 
that if you take the time to read ournewsletter you will agree that a 
grave injustice has been done to a compassionate man. 

Dave Callender Justice Campaign
Po Box 38
Manchester
M60 1NX
England




______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com
Date: Tue, 21 Oct 1997 09:50:12 -0400
From: liberation2@juno.com
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: need homes for kittens
Message-ID: <19971021.095014.12510.2.liberation2@juno.com>

Hi all...

I'm looking for a home for 2 kittens in the Pittsburgh area.  My cousin
found them abused, but she can't keep them because according to her lease
she can only have 2 companion animals.  If anyone can help me out, please
get in touch  ASAP!!!  

I'm also willing to travel a few hours, if we can't find anyone locally. 
So, if you live within a few hours drove, please get in touch!

Thanks!
-Kim
412-831-1141
(please call if interested, instead of emailing)

**************************************
Check out the Voices for Wildlife website!!!
http://www.angelfire.com/pa/vfw
Date: Tue, 21 Oct 1997 10:04:28 -0400
From: allen schubert 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (US) Animal Officers Raid Puppy Mill
Message-ID: <3.0.32.19971021100425.007074a8@clark.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

from CNN Custom News http://www.cnn.com
----------------------------------------------------------------
Indiana State News
Reuters 
21-OCT-97

Animal Officers Raid Puppy Mill

(HENRY COUNTY) -- Henry County authorities call it a sad case of animal
neglect. Animal control officers yesterday y searched a farm and found more
than 60 dogs living in squalid conditions. The animals were living in pens
with dirt floors, stagnant water and even dead rats. The dogs have been
taken to local animal shelters for check-ups. The dogs' owners say they
feed their animals every day. It'll be up to the county prosecutor to
decide if any charges will be filed. 
Date: Tue, 21 Oct 1997 10:20:29 -0400
From: allen schubert 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (US) Adoption Spurs Controversy
Message-ID: <3.0.32.19971021102026.006d08ec@clark.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

BLM horses
from CNN Custom News http://www.cnn.com
----------------------------------------------------------------
Minnesota State News
Reuters
21-OCT-97

Adoption Spurs Controversy

(BILLINGS) -- The Bureau of Land Management is moving forward with plans to
round up 56 horses from the Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Range. U-S District
Judge Jack Shanstrom refused to grant a temporary restraining order
yesterday. He has ordered both animal rights activists who have brought
suit and the bureau to meet on Thursday. The plaintiffs complain that many
of the applicants who want to ``adopt'' the wild horses may instead
slaughter them for profit. Several horses died during a similar round-up in
1994. 
Date: Tue, 21 Oct 1997 10:22:59 -0400
From: Patrick Nolan 
To: ar-news , Liz Grayson 
Subject: Correction Re: Pet Protection Bill
Message-ID: <344CBAC3.6B143B0D@animalwelfare.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

An important note:

Akipplen2@aol.com wrote:
> One of the provisions of this bill is that it would
> eliminate Class B animal dealers.

     This, while close, is not quite right.  H.R. 594, the Pet Safety
and Protection Act, would prohibit Class B dealers (dealers who do not
breed the animals they sell) from selling dogs and cats to research
facilities, NOT eliminate them. (Of thousands of Class B dealers, only
about 40 sell to laboratories, according to USDA).
     Let me hasten to note that H.R. 594 is a good bill, well deserving
everyone's attention and support.  But Liz Grayson is right to say,

> Experience has taught me to read bills carefully, especially bills
> concerning animals, before giving my support.

A quick way to do this is to visit http://thomas.loc.gov.

******

Pet Safety and Protection Act of 1997 (Introduced in the House)

HR 594 IH

                                   105th CONGRESS

                                       1st Session

                                       H. R. 594

To amend the Animal Welfare Act to ensure that all dogs and cats used by
research facilities are obtained legally.

                         IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                                   February 5, 1997

Mr. CANADY of Florida (for himself, Mr. BROWN of California, Mr. GOSS,
Mr. CALVERT, Ms.
DELAURO, Mr. DEFAZIO, Mr. KLECZKA, Mr. SHAYS, Mr. PALLONE, Mr. DAVIS of
Virginia, Mr.
YATES, Mr. HERGER, Ms. WOOLSEY, Mr. HYDE, Mrs. MEEK of Florida, Mr.
MURTHA, Mr. LEACH,
Mr. MCINTOSH, Mr. MILLER of California, and Ms. FURSE) introduced the
following bill; which was
referred to the Committee on Agriculture



                                        A BILL

To amend the Animal Welfare Act to ensure that all dogs and cats used by
research facilities are obtained legally.

     Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in
     Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

     This Act may be cited as the `Pet Safety and Protection Act of
1997'.

SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS.

     (a) SECTION 7- Section 7 of the Animal Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. 2137)
is amended to read as follows:

`SEC. 7. SOURCES OF DOGS AND CATS FOR RESEARCH FACILITIES.

     `(a) USE OF CERTAIN DOGS AND CATS- No research facility or Federal
research facility may use a
     dog or cat for research or educational purposes if the dog or cat
was obtained from a person other than a
     person described in subsection (c).

     `(b) SELLING, DONATING, OR OFFERING DOGS AND CATS- No person, other
than a person
     described in subsection (c), may sell, donate, or offer a dog or
cat to any research facility or Federal
     research facility.

     `(c) PERMISSIBLE SOURCES- Persons from whom a research facility or
a Federal research facility
     may obtain a dog or cat for research or educational purposes under
subsection (a) and persons who may
     sell, donate, or offer a dog or cat to a research facility or a
Federal research facility under subsection (b)
     are--

          `(1) a dealer licensed under section 3 who has bred and raised
such dog or cat;

          `(2) a publicly owned and operated pound or shelter that--

               `(A) is registered with the Department of Agriculture;

               `(B) is in compliance with section 28(a)(1) and with the
requirements for dealers in section
               28(b) and (c); and

               `(C) obtained such dog or cat from its legal owner, other
than a pound or shelter;

          `(3) a person who is donating such dog or cat and who--

               `(A) bred and raised such dog or cat; or

               `(B) owned such dog or cat for not less than 1 year
immediately preceding the donation;

          `(4) a research facility licensed by the Department of
Agriculture; and

          `(5) a Federal research facility licensed by the Department of
Agriculture.

     `(d) PENALTIES- (1) Any person found to have violated subsection
(b) shall pay $1000 for each
     violation.

     `(2) Any penalty under this subsection shall be in addition to any
other applicable penalty and shall be
     imposed whether or not the Secretary imposes any other penalty.

     `(e) DEFINITION- For purposes of this section the term `person'
includes any individual, partnership,
     firm, joint stock company, corporation, association, trust, estate,
pound, shelter, or other legal entity.

     `(f) CONSTRUCTION- Nothing in this section may be construed to
require a pound or shelter to sell,
     donate, or offer dogs or cats to research facilities or Federal
research facilities.'.

     (b) SECTION 8- Section 8 of the Animal Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. 2138)
is amended--

          (1) by striking `No department' and inserting in lieu thereof
`Except as provided in section 7, no
          department';

          (2) by striking `research or experimentation or'; and

          (3) by striking `purposes' and inserting in lieu thereof
`purpose'.

     (c) SECTION 28- Section 28(b)(1) of the Animal Welfare Act (7
U.S.C. 2158(b)(1)) is amended by
     striking `individual or entity' and inserting in lieu thereof
`research facility or Federal research facility'.

SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE.

     Section 2 shall take effect three months after the date of the
enactment of this Act.



Date: Tue, 21 Oct 1997 10:29:45 -0400
From: allen schubert 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (US) Animal Cruelty Alleged
Message-ID: <3.0.32.19971021102942.0070e740@clark.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

from CNN Custom News http://www.cnn.com
----------------------------------------------------------------
South Carolina State News
Reuters
21-OCT-97

Animal Cruelty Alleged

(LEXINGTON) -- An 18-year-old girl has been arrested on seven counts of
animal cruelty. Amanda Langford turned herself in to West Columbia police.
Langford abandoned her apartment nearly three weeks ago and left behind
several animals. Many of them died of starvation. Police say Langford could
face a 28-hundred dollar fine and more than a year in jail. She's free on
bond. 
Date: Tue, 21 Oct 1997 10:34:58 -0400
From: allen schubert 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (US) Town Torn Over Slaughtered Shelter Animals
Message-ID: <3.0.32.19971021103456.0070e740@clark.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

from CNN Custom News http://www.cnn.com
----------------------------------------------------------------
Town Torn Over Slaughtered Shelter Animals
AP
21-OCT-97

FAIRFIELD, Iowa (AP) It has taken some time, but Mr. Mom doesn't run and
hide from people anymore. 

The short-haired, charcoal-gray cat sidles up to a visitor at Noah's Ark
animal sanctuary, rubs against a leg and purrs. 

Last March, Mr. Mom and dozens of other strays were trapped inside the
shelter as teen-age intruders slipped in late at night and started swinging
baseball bats. Sixteen cats were killed and another dozen severely battered. 

"It was done by people who are dangerous. This was not a kid's prank. This
was off the scale," said shelter owner David Sykes. 

While Mr. Mom appears to be back to normal, the rampage still stirs
emotions in this southeast Iowa community of 10,000 people as a Nov. 4
trial nears for two of the three teens charged in the attack. 

"I'm a cat lover. I own five of them. But as far as punishment goes, what
good is it to put them in jail?" asked Dan Davis, a bartender at the Town &
Country tavern. 

Chad Lamansky and Daniel Myers are charged with burglary as well as felony
and aggravated misdemeanor charges for offenses against an animal shelter.
If convicted, they could get at least 10 years in prison and $15,000 in
fines. 

The third teen, Justin Toben, agreed to testify against his buddies in
exchange for the dismissal of some charges. He was sentenced to three
years' probation and 200 hours of community service, and must pay
restitution.  

Sykes' voice shook and his eyes welled with tears when he recalled the
carnage at the sanctuary's small white house: "There was blood everywhere
spatters on the refrigerator and walls." 

Furniture was disheveled and cats roamed the house "with broken jaws and
limbs hanging," he said. 

In the basement, he found 10 bodies beneath a pile of blankets and towels.
Scores of other cats quivered with fear in the rafters of the basement. 

He counted 15 bodies; the 16th didn't turn up until several days later when
its smell led him to look underneath a sofa where the battered feline had
crawled up into the springs and died. 

News of the attack spread quickly, and hundreds of outraged letters have
flooded into Jefferson County Attorney John Morrissey's office. Nearly all
carried the same message. 

"Throw the book at those monsters," demanded Grace Schikowitz, of Fort
Lauderdale, Fla. 

Particularly troubling to Richard W. Swain Jr., vice president of
investigations for The Humane Society of the United States, is the extreme
violence and past acts allegedly committed by the 18-year-olds. 

"Any thinking person has got to question what happened here," said Swain,
who is helping prosecutors. "I've given up trying to figure out why people
do the things they do." 

Prosecutors plan to offer evidence the teens killed a cat belonging to
Lamansky's mother, skinned it and showed the remains to friends before the
shelter attack. 

Ruled as inadmissible is a photograph of a bumper sticker "Missing your
cat? Look under my tires" that had been affixed to Lamansky's truck. 

Jefferson County District Judge Daniel P. Wilson last week ordered the
trial moved to another county, saying extensive publicity would make
selecting a jury difficult. 

"I've handled a lot of cases that would generate publicity, but I have
never seen anything like this case," said Lamansky's attorney, Kirk Daily. 

Neither has Sykes, who said he still has trouble sleeping at night. 

"It wasn't just one animal killed," he said. "This thing went on and on and
on. What kind of a human being can do that? They just kept swinging." 
Date: Tue, 21 Oct 1997 11:03:36 -0400
From: allen schubert 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (US) Report: Headless Embryo Created
Message-ID: <3.0.32.19971021110333.0069ba18@clark.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

from AP Wire page http://wire.ap.org/
-----------------------------------------------------
 10/21/1997 06:47 EST

 Report: Headless Embryo Created

 By ROBERT BARR
 Associated Press Writer

 LONDON (AP) -- Headless tadpoles created in an English
 laboratory may point the way to cloning spare parts for humans,
 posing new ethical question at the frontiers of science.

 It may take a decade or more to get from baby frogs to humans,
 but the technique offers two big advantages: the organ would be
 perfectly matched to the patient, and it would help solve a
 chronic shortage of donor organs.

 Michael Reiss, senior lecturer in biology at Homerton College,
 Cambridge, and a Church of England priest, said he was
 initially repelled by news of ``headless frogs.''

 ``But as soon as I realized we are talking about tadpoles, and that the
 medical benefits could be considerable, then I thought: maybe this would
 be a good thing,'' Reiss said Monday.

 Jonathan Slack, professor of developmental biology at the University of
 Bath in southwestern England, produced the headless frog embryos by
 manipulating genes in frog eggs -- and used the same technique to
 suppress development of a tadpole's trunk and tail.

 The research raises the possibility of growing organs for human
 transplantation, though Slack believes this is 10 to 15 years away.

 ``I think we probably do know enough about animal development that we
 could imagine reprogramming an egg in such a way that it didn't form a
 whole embryo but it just formed the organ you wanted plus the heart and
 circulatory system,'' Slack said in an interview released by the British
 Broadcasting Corp., which highlighted his work in a documentary being
 broadcast Thursday.

 Slack said basic research in developmental biology also promises to lead
 eventually to new treatment of degenerative diseases such as arthritis
 and cancer. ``You can only really know how to fix something if you know
 how it was put together in the first place,'' he said.

 Jeffrey Reiman, professor of philosophy at American University in
 Washington, D.C., wondered about the implications of creating headless
 humans.

 ``If you create bodies without heads -- well, they're not slaves, I'm not
 sure they are humans,'' he said.

 He saw no moral violation in creating substitute organs, but said others
 might have esthetic or religious objections.

 ``We're always playing God -- treating disease or putting a Dacron artery
 in someone, we're playing God,'' Reiman said.

 The Rev. Michael Banner, professor of moral theology at King's College,
 London, urged the government to monitor such research.

 The crucial issues are ``whether developments of this technology in
 effect risks our regard for human life, risks the sacredness of human
 life, and treats some humans as less worthy of protection than all humans
 deserve,'' Banner said.

 Such issues have created a boom in bioethics. Nature, a British
 scientific journal, notes in its current issue that the American
 Association of Bioethics, founded in 1993, has doubled its membership
 since 1995.

 It's already possible to grow skin grafts in the laboratory, and some see
 organ cloning as much the same thing.

 ``If the idea is to grow tissues, or grow organs, I would imagine that
 there would be hardly any controversy over that,'' said Robert Wachbroit,
 research scholar at the Institute for Philosophy and Public Policy at the
 University of Maryland.

 ``Where it might become problematic is if one grows a kind of freak of
 nature -- a person without a brain, for example, or something that would
 seem grotesque.''

 Debate over human cloning boiled up in July 1996 after the world was
 introduced to Dolly, the Scottish sheep that was the first mammal cloned
 from an adult.

 Wachbroit was surprised by the intense reaction to Dolly, while
 developments he regards as far more significant pass with little notice.

 ``To a large extent, I see the cloning thing as a surrogate for other
 debates,'' he said.

 ``Cloning falls in between two other technologies: assisted reproduction
 and genetic engineering. Many of the debates about assisted reproduction
 and genetic engineering are being played out in this arena, and I think
 not usefully.''

 By the time it's possible to clone humans, Wachbroit believes it will
 also be possible to select traits in babies. He thinks the debate about
 cloning should be broadened to include trait selection, genetic
 engineering and assisted reproduction.

 Cambridge's Reiss hopes that the debate will spread beyond the experts.

 ``I want patients involved; I want so-called ordinary people involved,
 because I don't want to live in a society where people feel increasingly
 uncomfortable about what goes on in hospitals or laboratories,'' Reiss
 said.
Date: Tue, 21 Oct 1997 08:14:37 -0800
From: Jackie Dove 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Cc: sflr@slip.net
Subject: Health Concerns Mounting Over Bacteria in Chicken
Message-ID: <344CD4EC.4179@slip.net>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

The New York Times

          October 20, 1997

          Health Concerns Mounting Over Bacteria in Chicken

          By MARIAN BURROS

          [T] he nation's health authorities are increasingly
              concerned about a poultry contaminant that can be as
          debilitating, if not as deadly, as salmonella.
          Researchers say that the contaminant, the campylobacter
          bacterium, infects a larger percentage of chickens than
          they had realized and that antibiotics used to treat
          people sickened by infected poultry appear to be losing
          their effectiveness.

          Campylobacter, which is the leading bacterial cause of
          food-borne illness in the country, has also been linked
          to a rare but serious paralytic disease.

          Six years ago the federal Centers for Disease Control
          and Prevention estimated that campylobacter infected 30
          percent to 70 percent of all chickens. Today, using
          better detection methods, researchers say that it
          infects 70 to 90 percent.

          Scientists now believe that campylobacter "can cause
          disease as severe as salmonella," although fewer people
          die, said Dr. Bert Bartleson, the technical expert in
          the food program of the Washington state Department of
          Health.

          Campylobacter is responsible for 2 million to 8 million
          cases of campylobacteriosis a year and 200 to 800
          deaths, according to estimates by various health
          officials.

          Unlike salmonella, which scientists are learning how to
          control, campylobacter continues to baffle them because
          they have been unable to make a dent in its
          pervasiveness. But like salmonella, campylobacter causes
          sickness if people eat undercooked chicken or other food
          that has come in contact with raw chicken. The symptoms
          can include cramps, abdominal pain, bloody diarrhea and
          fever. They usually last about a week.

          Concern over campylobacteriosis has been magnified
          through recent studies demonstrating that the most
          common treatment, antibiotics, appears to be losing
          effectiveness.

          In the last few years, researchers have also come to
          believe that campylobacter may lead to the rare and
          potentially fatal nerve damage caused by Guillain-Barre
          syndrome, which lasts several weeks and usually requires
          a patient to stay in the intensive care unit attached to
          a respirator. Normally, there are about 5,000 cases of
          Guillain-Barre syndrome a year, and researchers say that
          20 to 40 percent of them follow a campylobacter
          infection. Most people recover from the syndrome.

          Treatment with antibiotics in the first couple of days
          of campylobacteriosis is recommended for those with
          weakened immune systems, pregnant women and people with
          relatively severe symptoms. But the use of a group of
          antibiotics called fluoroquinolones to treat disease in
          chickens is creating strains of drug-resistant
          campylobacter in humans.

          "It is something of considerable concern because we
          think these antibiotics are an important class of drugs
          for humans," said Dr. Robert Tauxe, an epidemiologist
          with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

          The Minnesota Health Department has been tracking the
          increasing resistance of campylobacter to the
          fluoroquinolone class of antibiotics. "Since 1995, with
          the licensing of fluoroquinolones for use in chickens,
          levels of drug-resistant campylobacter in humans has
          gone up dramatically," said Dr. Michael Osterholm, the
          epidemiologist for the department.

          Last month, the department took a random sampling of
          chickens in Minnesota supermarkets and found 79 percent
          contaminated with campylobacter. Of those, 20 percent
          contained the strain resistant to the antibiotics, the
          agency said. A sampling of turkeys found that 58 percent
          were contaminated with campylobacter and that 84 percent
          of those contained the resistant strain. The findings
          are being submitted to a scientific journal.

          "We have seen similar effects in Spain, where the
          resistance level is up to 81.6 percent, and in the U.K.
          and the Netherlands," Osterholm said. "The increase
          occurred immediately after the introduction of the use
          of fluoroquinolones in animals." In all of those
          countries there is greater use of that class of
          antibiotics in animals than there is in this country.

          Because of this, Osterholm said, "We have been
          discouraging the Food and Drug Administration all along
          from approving the fluoroquinolones." This year, he
          said, the Minnesota Health Department sent the FDA its
          latest findings about the bacteria, at the federal
          agency's request.

          The FDA has been asked by Bayer Pharmaceuticals, which
          makes fluoroquinolones, to permit the use of more of the
          antibiotics in animals.

          Scientists said they were dismayed by the lack of
          awareness about campylobacteriosis among the public and
          some doctors.

          "The public doesn't know any of this," said Dr. Martin
          Blaser, director of the division of infectious disease
          at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, and an
          expert in research on the link between campylobacter and
          Guillain-Barre syndrome. "We were bemoaning the fact
          that campylobacter hasn't received the attention it
          should have."

          Blaser and other scientists believe the threat remains
          little known because of the difficulty in pronouncing
          and spelling the name of the bacterium, and because
          there is no simple laboratory test to identify it. In
          addition, the bacterium has been overshadowed by the
          widespread concern with salmonella. There are 800,000 to
          4 million illnesses from salmonella a year in the United
          States and 960 to 1,920 deaths.

          And even though campylobacter is widespread in the
          United States, it has not been associated with outbreaks
          that focus public attention on it, like the one
          associated earlier this year with the contamination of
          unpasteurized apple juice by E. coli 0157:H7, which
          caused 70 illnesses and one death.

          But Osterholm said he believed that outbreaks of illness
          caused by campylobacter had occurred and gone
          unrecognized because the tools to uncover them were not
          available.

          "I believe in the very near future they will be," he
          said, "and we are going to be able to document outbreaks
          from campylobacter because we will be able to
          fingerprint the bugs and show that they are related to a
          common source."

          While public and medical attention is on salmonella in
          poultry, both the government and the poultry industry
          are aware that campylobacter is ubiquitous, but they
          have been unable to find a solution to the problem. What
          works to control salmonella and other pathogens, like
          dipping raw chickens in chlorinated water and other
          antibacterial washes, is not effective against
          campylobacter. Freezing poultry reduces the number of
          campylobacter organisms and may make the poultry
          somewhat safer, but that does not reduce the percentage
          of infected chickens, and it only takes a few of the
          organisms to cause infection.

          Poultry is by far the main source of campylobacteriosis,
          but there are other causes: unpasteurized milk,
          untreated water and, in an estimated 5 to 10 percent of
          cases, contact with the feces of pets carrying the
          bacteria. Unlike salmonella, campylobacter is not found
          in eggs.

          "Campylobacter is extremely difficult to understand,"
          said Randy Day, vice president of quality assurance and
          logistics for Perdue Farms Inc. "We accept our piece of
          the responsibility to deal very seriously with it, but
          we have to figure out what our responsibility is."

          New government regulations to reduce disease-causing
          bacteria in beef and poultry say nothing about the need
          to reduce campylobacter in poultry.

          They offer the usual advice to cook the chicken
          thoroughly -- to an internal temperature of 170 degrees
          in the breast and 185 degrees in thigh meat -- and to
          thoroughly wash anything that has come in contact with
          raw poultry or its juices.

         

                Copyright 1997 The New York Times Company
Date: Tue, 21 Oct 1997 09:02:03 -0700 (PDT)
From: Michael Markarian 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org, en.alerts@conf.igc.apc.org, ar-wire@waste.org
Subject: Harrisburg, PA: Press Conference for Hunger Striker
Message-ID: <2.2.16.19971021130345.569704da@pop.igc.org>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tuesday, October 21, 1997

CONTACT: Heidi Prescott, 301-585-2591
         Rep. Sara Steelman, 717-772-2046


PRESS CONFERENCE AT CAPITOL
Pigeon Shoot Protestor on 20th Day of Hunger Strike


HARRISBURG, Pa. -- On Wednesday, October 22, at 1:00 p.m., in the Media
Center of the East Wing of the Capitol, The Fund for Animals, Pennsylvania
Legislative Animal Network, and Rep. Sara Steelman (D-Indiana County) will
hold a press conference to call attention to the plight of a young animal
rights activist who has vowed to hunger strike in prison until the
Pennsylvania House of Representatives votes on legislation to ban live
pigeon shooting contests. After the press conference,  hundreds of postcards
will be delivered to Speaker of the House Matt Ryan and Governor Tom Ridge.

Dawn Ratcliffe, 24, is serving a 45-day sentence in Schuylkill County Prison
for her participation in a peaceful protest against the Hegins pigeon shoot
in 1996. She is on the 20th day of a hunger strike and her condition is
beginning to weaken, yet she has vowed to continue her hunger strike until
the Republican leaders of the House allow a vote on the pigeon shoot bill.

Rep. Steelman and 43 co-sponsors have introduced House Bill 1909 to ban
pigeon shoots. House leaders have repeatedly stalled attempts to vote on
similar legislation over the past few years.

Says Heidi Prescott, National Director of The Fund for Animals, "The  people
who control the voting schedule in the House of Representatives should not
ignore a brave young woman who is starving in prison, should not ignore
dozens of their colleagues who signed on to a bill, and should not ignore
the Pennsylvania constituents who want a vote on this issue."


# # #


http://www.fund.org

Date: Tue, 21 Oct 1997 09:01:30 -0700
From: Andrew Gach 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: The State of Health Care in the US
Message-ID: <344CD1DA.2821@worldnet.att.net>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

Crisis in U.S. health system worse, group charges

Reuters 
WASHINGTON (October 20, 1997 3:22 p.m. EDT) 

America's health care system is in a worse crisis than ever before, with
costs rising and patients dying because many doctors do not know what
they are doing, The National Coalition on Health Care said Monday.

More and more people are going without insurance and no one is keeping
tabs on the quality of health care, the coalition said in a report
grouping several studies that it commissioned.

"Our country's health care system, which was described as in crisis in
the early 1990s, has not improved but actually has become worse," said
Henry Simmons, president of the coalition.

The NCHC, which includes 100 organizations from the American College of
Physicians to companies such as Bethlehem Steel Corporation, unions,
insurance companies and religious groups, said urgent action was needed
to remedy the situation.

"In the absence of effective oversight, the marketplace is not taking
care of the problems," said Robert Ray, co-chairman of the coalition.
"Our health care system needs major systemic changes if this country is
going to provide high-quality, cost-effective health care to all
Americans."

A study the coalition commissioned the Rand Corporation think tank to do
found millions of Americans had been injured and tens of thousands had
died because of significant misuse, overuse and underuse of health
services.

"There are distressingly high error rates reported in a wide range of
medical practices with serious, sometimes fatal consequences," a summary
of the study said. "For example, autopsy studies show high rates (35 to
40 percent) of missed diagnoses, often resulting in death."

It cited a separate Harvard University study that estimated 180,000
people died each year because of medically induced injury or negligence.

The Rand report found what it called "major gaps" in knowledge were
contributing to medical uncertainty. "The evidence to justify treatment
of even the most common medical and surgical conditions is often
questionable," it said.

"This includes such common conditions as prostate cancer and low back
pain, which affect millions of people."

There were large variations in care region by region, but no evidence to
show that people who had better access to hospitals and doctors fared
any better.

Doctors disagreed on what treatment was best, with conflicting studies
being published in medical journals. "Often no one knows who is right,"
the coalition said.

There were often no standards for care, and even when there were, the
standards were not followed.

"There is no credible national database on quality, or a national
technology assessment or standard-setting mechanism," it said.

A study the coalition commissioned by Kenneth Thorpe, director of Tulane
University's Institute for Health Services Research, found health care
costs were increasing at twice the rate of inflation.

"In 1987 we were spending just less than $500 billion a year on health
care. In 1994, at the height of the national health care reform debate,
we spent $937 billion, a 5.1 percent increase over the previous year,"
it said.

"In 1997, that number is expected to reach $1.1 trillion, an increase of
6.3 percent over 1996."

Middle-income families making between $20,000 and $40,000 a year were
the hardest hit, spending a higher percentage of their income on health
care than anyone else, Thorpe's report said.

The very poor were covered by Medicaid while people making over $60,000
did not feel the pinch so badly.

A second study by Thorpe projected that by 2005, 47 million people in
the United States would have no insurance and 60 percent of them would
be uninsured workers and their families.

Thorpe found that while employment in the service sector was on the
increase, many companies offered no health insurance.

By MAGGIE FOX, Reuters Health and Science Correspondent

************************************************
************************************************

The mainstream media beats the drums about the great progress in medical
science which, they press, would be even greater if more funds were
available.  

Congress, so eager to cut funds for shelter and food for the hungry, has
magnanimously increased the multi-billion dollar NIH funding by 5
percent for next year.  People are made to believe that disease will
soon be abolished and death banned if only enough money is made
available.  But a very different picture, of incompetence and misspent
funds, emerges from an objective examination as this report shows.

Andy
Date: Tue, 21 Oct 1997 12:27:59 -0400 (EDT)
From: Kenneth Shapiro 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Society & Animals Special Issue
Message-ID: 
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII

The current edition of Society and Animals explores the topic of
animal abuse and the important connection between such abuse and
violence toward humans.  To purchase this special issue, send a
check (or MasterCard/Visa number and expiration date) for $14 to
P.O. Box 1297, Washington Grove, MD 20880.  Make check payable to
The White Horse Press.  Below is the issue's table of contents.


Society & Animals Volume 5 Number 3, 1997   
TABLE OF CONTENTS

Guest Editors' Introduction

Understanding Cruelty to Animals
     Arnold Arluke and Randall Lockwood

Articles

Physical Cruelty toward Animals in Massachusetts, 1975-1996
     Arnold Arluke and Carter Luke

The Abuse of Animals and Domestic Violence: A National Survey of
Shelters for Women Who Are Battered
     Frank R. Ascione, Claudia V. Weber and David S. Wood

Perceptions of Family Violence: Are Companion Animals in the
Picture?
     Carol D. Raupp, Mary Barlow and Judith A. Oliver

Death by Decapitation: A Case Study of the Scientific Definition of
Animal Welfare
     Larry G. Carbone

Commentaries

Untangling the Animal Abuse Web
     Dorian Solot

Issues for Veterinarians in Recognizing and Identifying Animal
Neglect and Abuse 
     Gary J. Patronek
Date: Tue, 21 Oct 1997 13:34:44 EDT
From: JanaWilson 
To: AR-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (US) Okla. City, Okla. Animal News
Message-ID: <2296945a.344ce78c@aol.com>
Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit


A/w a local Okla. City news source:

Early this morning during rush hour traffic, a large bull was running
loose on city streets.  The police chased the bull to a local 
interstate bypass and were unable to capture the bull. One of
the police officers shot and killed the bull.  The bull rammed
a police car.  Some of the participants were very angry.  The
owner of the bull has not been located.

Currently at the state capital here in Okla. City an anti-hog
farm demonstration is being held.  The demonstration is being
sponsored by local family farm activists and environmental
groups.  The protestors are asking for a moratorium on future
hog farms.  Also, that Mr. Paul Hitch, who is on the state
agriculture board which licenses hog farm operations and owns
a hog farm rented out to a national hog corporation, be removed
from the board.  Letters of protest are being presented to the
governor.

Neighbors in an Edmond,Okla. (a suburb of OKC) have been
feeding a chow who has lives chained up next to a house and is
in poor physical condition.  A previous pet poodle had died chained
up and was dead for three days before the owners removed the
body.  The Edmond animal control officials are monitoring the
situation and have talked to the owners who claim that they have
had vet care for the dog.  The dog's ears, eyes and nose are in
bad condition.  The dog has an old dog house and does seem
to have food and water. The situation is looks very bad.

                                                          For the Animals,

                                                          Jana, OKC

Date: Tue, 21 Oct 1997 14:28:44 -0400
From: "D'Amico, Ann-Marie" 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org, "'alathome@clark.net'" 
Subject: RE: (US) Town Torn Over Slaughtered Shelter Animals
Message-ID: 

These outbreaks have been happening all over the world.  Many we do not
hear about.  Please speak with your local county administratives and
press for security mechanisms at sanctuaries, shelters and veternarian
offices.  This should be mandatory all over the country.

They will be in court on November 4th.  Please write and express your
fears and anger.  Also, let them know that Justin Toben's sentence was a
blatent disregard for justice and humanity. Your sister, brother,
mother, father or you could be next.  Morrissey's office wanted only
written statements fax # below:

     John Morrissey, Esq.
     109 N. Court Street
     Fairfield, Iowa  52556
     Phone:  515/472-3144
     Fax:  515/472-9202

Their punishment should be the same...baseball bats with no where to run
or hide.

TKS -- AM 


     ----------
      From: allen schubert[SMTP:alathome@clark.net]
      Reply To: alathome@clark.net
      Sent: Tuesday, October 21, 1997 10:34 AM
      To: ar-news@envirolink.org
      Subject: (US) Town Torn Over Slaughtered Shelter Animals

     from CNN Custom News http://www.cnn.com
     ----------------------------------------------------------------
     Town Torn Over Slaughtered Shelter Animals
     AP
     21-OCT-97

     FAIRFIELD, Iowa (AP) It has taken some time, but Mr. Mom doesn't
run and
     hide from people anymore. 

     The short-haired, charcoal-gray cat sidles up to a visitor at
Noah's Ark
     animal sanctuary, rubs against a leg and purrs. 

     Last March, Mr. Mom and dozens of other strays were trapped
inside the
     shelter as teen-age intruders slipped in late at night and
started swinging
     baseball bats. Sixteen cats were killed and another dozen
severely battered. 

     "It was done by people who are dangerous. This was not a kid's
prank. This
     was off the scale," said shelter owner David Sykes. 

     While Mr. Mom appears to be back to normal, the rampage still
stirs
     emotions in this southeast Iowa community of 10,000 people as a
Nov. 4
     trial nears for two of the three teens charged in the attack. 

     "I'm a cat lover. I own five of them. But as far as punishment
goes, what
     good is it to put them in jail?" asked Dan Davis, a bartender at
the Town &
     Country tavern. 

     Chad Lamansky and Daniel Myers are charged with burglary as well
as felony
     and aggravated misdemeanor charges for offenses against an
animal shelter.
     If convicted, they could get at least 10 years in prison and
$15,000 in
     fines. 

     The third teen, Justin Toben, agreed to testify against his
buddies in
     exchange for the dismissal of some charges. He was sentenced to
three
     years' probation and 200 hours of community service, and must
pay
     restitution.  

     Sykes' voice shook and his eyes welled with tears when he
recalled the
     carnage at the sanctuary's small white house: "There was blood
everywhere
     spatters on the refrigerator and walls." 

     Furniture was disheveled and cats roamed the house "with broken
jaws and
     limbs hanging," he said. 

     In the basement, he found 10 bodies beneath a pile of blankets
and towels.
     Scores of other cats quivered with fear in the rafters of the
basement. 

     He counted 15 bodies; the 16th didn't turn up until several days
later when
     its smell led him to look underneath a sofa where the battered
feline had
     crawled up into the springs and died. 

     News of the attack spread quickly, and hundreds of outraged
letters have
     flooded into Jefferson County Attorney John Morrissey's office.
Nearly all
     carried the same message. 

     "Throw the book at those monsters," demanded Grace Schikowitz,
of Fort
     Lauderdale, Fla. 

     Particularly troubling to Richard W. Swain Jr., vice president
of
     investigations for The Humane Society of the United States, is
the extreme
     violence and past acts allegedly committed by the 18-year-olds. 

     "Any thinking person has got to question what happened here,"
said Swain,
     who is helping prosecutors. "I've given up trying to figure out
why people
     do the things they do." 

     Prosecutors plan to offer evidence the teens killed a cat
belonging to
     Lamansky's mother, skinned it and showed the remains to friends
before the
     shelter attack. 

     Ruled as inadmissible is a photograph of a bumper sticker
"Missing your
     cat? Look under my tires" that had been affixed to Lamansky's
truck. 

     Jefferson County District Judge Daniel P. Wilson last week
ordered the
     trial moved to another county, saying extensive publicity would
make
     selecting a jury difficult. 

     "I've handled a lot of cases that would generate publicity, but
I have
     never seen anything like this case," said Lamansky's attorney,
Kirk Daily. 

     Neither has Sykes, who said he still has trouble sleeping at
night. 

     "It wasn't just one animal killed," he said. "This thing went on
and on and
     on. What kind of a human being can do that? They just kept
swinging." 

Date: Tue, 21 Oct 1997 12:01:57 -0700
From: In Defense of Animals 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Action Alert request
Message-ID: 
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Being a national organization, In Defense of Animals gets swamped with a
lot of information. AR-NEWs is a great service to provide the most current
information to its subscribers- including us. The unfortunate thing is, a
lot of times our staff can't get around to reading all the ar-news postings
for a while because of campaigns, issues and emergencies that come up
during the day. To help us respond to issues needing immediate action
posted on ar-news (and maybe to help other organizations and individuals
who are also strapped for time), we wanted to ask people who posted alerts
to include that (either the words action and/or alert) in the subject of
their e-mail so it is evident that it needs to be responded to in a timely
manner. While both the news and the alerts are both important, IDA is an
activist-based organization and, therefore, the action alerts take
precedence. This would be a great help to us and the animals. Thanks!


Date: Tue, 21 Oct 1997 13:35:54 -0700
From: In Defense of Animals 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: H.R. 594 Legislation Update- letters needed
Message-ID: 
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE : H.R. 594

As of 10-21-97, H.R. 594, which is in the Sub-Committee for Livestock,
Dairy, and Poultry, has been put on the back burner because of an
overwhelming amount of legislation ahead of it, however, the bill is
expected to be considered in January's upcoming session.

What you can do:

Write to:

Congressman Richard Pombo, CA
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515
Rep.Richard.Pombo@mail.house.gov

Chairman of the Sub-Committee.
Ask about that serious consideration be given to H.R. 594

Write to:

Congressman Charles Canady, FL
Rayburn House, Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
Rep.Charles.Canady@mail.house.gov

The original sponsor of H.R. 594
Ask about the current status of the bill and thank him for his sponsorship
of the bill.

For more information on H.R. 594 please contact us or visit our website-
the details to the bill can be found in Campaigns: Pet Theft: What You Can
Do


Date: Tue, 21 Oct 1997 19:02:15 -0400
From: liberation2@juno.com
To: ar-news@envirolink.org, ar-views@envirolink.org, ar-wire@waste.org,
        vegan-war@juno.com, veg-pgh@list.pitt.edu, xdanx@erols.com
Subject: Support dawn Ratcliffe
Message-ID: <19971021.190311.9166.3.liberation2@juno.com>

The following is a reminder to write to Dawn & if you live in PA(hell, if
you don't it wouldn't hurt to call...) to keep calling your reps. To find
out who your reps are please contact Heidi Prescott     
hprescott@fund.org

Ways to write to Dawn:

fax:     (717) 628-1015.  Just put her full name at the top. 

email:  dawnratcliffe@hotmail.com  (email messages are sent out every
     day-every other day)

Snail Mail:  Dawn Ratcliffe
      c/o
      Schuylkill County Prison
      230 Sanderson St.
      Pottsville, PA 17901

Other points of interest:

Rep. Perzel, the house majority leader was quoted in the news as saying
that he will not put the pigeon shoot bill on the 'floor' for a vote.  We
NEED calls from Pennsylvanians to urge him to put it on the 'floor'. 
Please call him at 717-787-2016  or   215-331-2600

The following are some of the #'s of people heavily involved with the
"shoot".  If you just happen to be up late at night why not give them a
call?
Of course, you don't want to be charged with harrasment, so it's probably
best to call from a pay phone...

Mr. Tobash & Mr. Diehl
717-682-9660
717-695-2222(tobash only)

Nationwide insurance (Tobash od Diehl work for them)
614-249-7111

Dealers:

Mike Lennick's-- suppsedly stopped after ALF raid  :-)
717-544-4178

Johny Frantz
717-345-8694

Richard Kraegar
717-739-2247

Joe Bowers exchange feed store:
410-675-3959

Benny Getka
410-574-9294

Sponsors:
800-995-1299
717-769-7401

Gun Clubs:

Don Bailey
610-488-7882

Gov Ridge:
717-787-2500

PS-  If you're broke you can always call collect & where you're supposed
to say you're name you could something like "Stop the Slaughter",ect. 
Also, if you call 1-800-collect & get a answering machine you can leave
up to a 4 minute message :-)

PPS- to those living within the Pittsburgh area-- If John Maher is your
Rep, please call him.  his vote is very critical!       412-831-8080

STOP THE SHOOT!!!  FREE DAWN RATCLIFFE  NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Date: Tue, 21 Oct 1997 17:03:57
From: David J Knowles 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: [UK] Britain resists whaling plan
Message-ID: <3.0.3.16.19971021170357.1cd7d820@dowco.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit

>From The Electronic Telegraph - Tuesday, October 21st, 1997

Britain resists whaling plan
By Charles Clover, Environment Editor 

A PROPOSAL that would allow a return to commercial whaling after a ban of
11 years is being resisted by Britain.

Elliot Morley, countryside and fisheries minister, told a meeting of the
International Whaling Commission in Monaco that British support for a
proposal by the Irish government allowing some "coastal" whaling by Japan
and Norway in return for a permanent moratorium on whaling on the high
seas, was conditional on a "significant and permanent reduction in the
number of whales killed every year".

He said the Government shared the concerns of conservation groups that
these proposals might lead to an even bigger loophole than existed at
present for countries intent on whaling. "I am not convinced that
regulating coastal whaling as proposed would be a desirable option," he
said. "Aspects of the current proposals, such as the definition of coastal
whaling as within 200 miles, are not acceptable and would be opposed by the
UK."

Mr Morley told the meeting that in Britain's view there was no
justification for commercial whaling and that whale conservation should be
the commission's priority. Norway and Japan were reported to have
reservations, too: Japan because it would end the "scientific whaling"
loophole and Norway because it would rule out a return to an international
trade in whale meat.

© Copyright Telegraph Group Limited 1997. 

Date: Tue, 21 Oct 1997 20:23:01 -0400
From: allen schubert 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (US/CA) Canada Seal Hunters Targeted in U.S. Ad Campaign
Message-ID: <3.0.32.19971021202257.006d230c@clark.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

from CNN Custom News http://www.cnn.com
----------------------------------------------------------------
Canada Seal Hunters Targeted in U.S. Ad Campaign

Reuters
21-OCT-97
By Michael Ellis 

BOSTON (Reuters) - A lucrative Asian market for seal sexual organs has
reinvigorated the hunt for seals in Canada, an international environmental
group said Tuesday as it unveiled a U.S. advertising campaign aimed at
ending the cull. 

The International Fund for Animal Welfare, based in Cape Cod, Mass. will
spend more than $1 million on a four-week television and print campaign
which claims that seals, mostly under a year old, are clubbed, skinned
alive and sometimes impaled on hooks. 

``This is by far the largest slaughter of marine mammals in the world. It's
certainly one of the most cruel,'' Rick Smith, director of IFAW-Canada,
said at a Boston press conference.

IFAW and other animal rights groups helped pressure the Canadian government
to limit the hunt to about 60,000 seals annually through the 1980s and
early 1990s. French actress turned activist Brigitte Bardot spoke out and a
Barbie doll sticker album also informed children about the hunt. 

But the Canadian Fisheries and Oceans Ministry raised the annual harvest to
about 268,000 harp and hooded seals last year, the most since the early
1970s, to protect depleted fish stocks and provide jobs in the most
economically depressed region of the country along the North Atlantic. 

As a result of the growing hunt, animal rights groups have stepped up their
campaign, Smith said. 

Many of the seals are killed only for the male sexual organs, which are
sold as aphrodisiacs in Asia, he said. 

``There is no scientific evidence whatsoever that seals either caused the
depletion of fish stocks or that they impeded the recovery of fish
stocks,'' Smith said. 

The advertising campaign comes two weeks after the start of a Canadian
campaign that enlisted the help of Canadian celebrities, including William
Shatner, who played Capt. Kirk of ``Star Trek'' fame. 

The print ads, showing a bright-eyed baby seal, claim that some 500,000
seals were killed last winter according to a Canadian government scientist. 

But Canadian fisheries officials dispute the figure and said many of the
IFAW claims are incorrect. 

Sealing industry representatives say that 97 percent of the annimals killed
during the hunt are shot, while the remainder are taken with a small club
called a hakapik. 

Seal hunters make most of their money from the animal's pelts, which are
tanned and used in clothing, and not from the sale of male sexual organs,
he said. 

``I'm sure our enforcement is probably better than any other wild animal
hunt in North America,'' Jones said. 
Date: Tue, 21 Oct 1997 20:27:20 -0400
From: allen schubert 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (US) USDA Calls for Independent Health Evaluation of Keiko;
  Aquarium Officials Support USDA Proposal
Message-ID: <3.0.32.19971021202717.006d230c@clark.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

from CNN Custom News http://www.cnn.com
----------------------------------------------------------------
USDA Calls for Independent Health Evaluation of Keiko; Aquarium Officials
Support USDA Proposal

LA Times
21-OCT-97

NEWPORT, Ore.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 21, 1997--The United States Department
of Agriculture's (USDA) Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has
announced their call for an independent medical evaluation of Keiko, the
killer whale. 

In an official letter sent to the Oregon Coast Aquarium and the Free Willy
Keiko Foundation dated Oct. 17, 1997, USDA joins the Aquarium, Oregon
Veterinary Medical Association and noted marine mammal expert, Dr. Gregory
Bossart, in supporting an independent evaluation of Keiko's health by a
team of experts. To ensure the team that evaluates Keiko is truly
independent, USDA has proposed that the selection of the team be made by
agreement of four parties representing: the Free Willy Keiko Foundation,
Oregon Coast Aquarium, APHIS (USDA) and the National Marine Fisheries
Service. 

"APHIS feels that an independent evaluation of Keiko's health, care, and
well-being, co-sponsored and supported by both of your organizations
(Aquarium and Foundation), will ensure the best future for Keiko," stated
the letter sent by W. Ron DeHaven, APHIS' acting deputy administrator,
animal care. "We are asking your respective organizations to commit to this
process, both in spirit and with commitment of resources for this project,
so that accusations of bias toward either facility cannot be made." 

Since Oct. 1, Aquarium officials consistently have called for an
independent evaluation of Keiko. The whale is owned by the Free Willy Keiko
Foundation, which dictates his medical and rehabilitation plan. The
Foundation has not regularly shared information about Keiko's health or
care with the Aquarium and its board. 

"We are ready and willing to support the USDA proposal," said Aquarium
President Phyllis Bell. "We feel that, with the added support of the
government officials, we can finally get Keiko the check-up he deserves and
put this matter to rest." 

The Aquarium and its board of directors have grown concerned about Keiko's
health and care since earlier this summer. After voicing their concerns,
Foundation officials acknowledged that Keiko recently had been treated for
bacterial infection, a fungal-based respiratory ailment and for parasites. 

The Oregon Coast Aquarium is a private, non-profit, educational facility
that aims to educate a broad spectrum of the public in an enjoyable way
about Oregon's abundant natural resources, so they will cherish them now
and in future generations. The Aquarium offers a year-round schedule of
educational programs, events and exhibits for the public and serves school
groups through lab, theater and self-guiding educational programs. More
than 180,000 students have attended the Aquarium in previous years. The
facility will soon be at work on an expansion that will complete exhibits
on the freshwater streams, estuaries and upland forest. 
Date: Tue, 21 Oct 1997 20:46:28 -0400
From: "Zoocheck Canada Inc." 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Jane 'Goodall & Roger Fouts lectures
Message-ID: <3.0.32.19971021204610.006c4494@idirect.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Dear Friends:

Zoocheck Canada is presenting an illustrated lecture by internationally
renowned primatologist Dr. Jane Goodall at Centennial Hall, 550 Wellington
Street, London, Ontario on October 30, 1997, at 7.30 pm. Some tickets remain.

Zoocheck is also presenting a lecture entitled NEXT OF KIN: What
Chimpanzees Have Taught Me About Who We Are by scientist Dr. Roger Fouts at
the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, 252 Bloor Street West,
Toronto, Ontario on Tuesday November 4th at 7.30 pm.

For tickets or more information, contact Zoocheck Canada.

Zoocheck Canada Inc.
3266 Yonge Street, Suite 1729
Toronto, ON M4N 3P6
Ph (416) 285-1744  Fax    (416) 285-4670 or (416) 696-0370
E-Mail:  zoocheck@idirect.com
Web Site:  http://web.idirect.com/~zoocheck
Registered Charity No. 0828459-54
Date: Tue, 21 Oct 1997 20:02:26
From: "veegman@qed.net" 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Letters Needed
Message-ID: <3.0.2.16.19971021200226.1dd7a28e@qed.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Hello Folks,

While shopping in my local Kay Bee toy store for a gift for my nephew I saw
something that was very disturbing.  I saw a “toy” that is possibly as
harmful to children as any I have ever seen.  It is a "toy" called Rat Trap.

It is a battery operated toy rat that has his head stuck in a trap.  When
the switch is turned on, the rat screams and convulses.  This is children's
entertainment?

They are promoting a toy that makes light of a suffering animal.  Whatever
your personal opinion is regarding rats, one thing is for certain: rats
feel pain and suffer terribly when they are caught in traps and not killed
instantly.  To seek to entertain children by getting them to laugh at a
suffering animal is sick.  

Every day across North America millions of animals are suffering horrible
deaths.  Rats are being beaten, poisoned, crushed in traps, and fed to
captive animals.  They have been vilified in human cultures since the dawn
of time and are incorrectly connected with filth and disease.  Let's remind
ourselves that it is we humans who are the creators of the filth that these
rats are branded with.

Contact FTC toys immediately and demand that they stop manufacturing this
disgusting "toy."


FTC Toys Limited
6616 Campobello Rd.
Mississauga, ON  L5N 2L8
Canada


Also contact Kay Bee Toys, the store where I saw "Rat Trap" and demand that
they take it off their shelves.  609-770-8472.  The store where I found Rat
Trap was the Paramus Park Mall location.



Peace,
Joe


Look at the *NEW*  NJARA web page!!  
     
http://www.envirolink.org/orgs/njara/

No one can do everything but everyone 
can do something.  ACTIVISM WORKS!!!



"Lately it occurs to me,
what a long, strange trip it's been!"
Date: Tue, 21 Oct 1997 23:01:00 -0400
From: "Zoocheck Canada Inc." 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Marineland of Canada approached to replace Finna
Message-ID: <3.0.32.19971021224200.006c0bc0@idirect.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

The Standard (St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada)
October 20, 1997

Marineland approached in search for new whale

By Jack Keating, Southam Newspapers, Vancouver

The Vancouver Aquarium is stepping up its attempts to find a replacement
killer whale after the sudden and premature death of Finna.

"We're actually talking to three different institutions in three different
countries about where we could find a companion for Bjossa," aquarium
director John Nightingale said Sunday of the talks with Marineland in
Niagara Falls and French and Japanese institutions.

"We'd like to do it as quickly as possible," said Nightingale, aware of the
opposition to bringing another whale into captivity.

"It'll be months. Now I don't know whether that's two or six months."

Nightingale, who also expects to talk to U.S. facilities today, made the
announcement during a "tribute to Finna" held at the aquarium.

The aquarium waived its $10 entry fee for the tribute.

"We're looking for a killer whale that is already in an institution
somewhere in the world, preferably one that was born there.

"We'd like to have a female companion. And we'll keep you posted as that
search continues," Nightingale said.

Zoocheck Canada Inc.
3266 Yonge Street, Suite 1729
Toronto, ON M4N 3P6
Ph (416) 285-1744  Fax    (416) 285-4670 or (416) 696-0370
E-Mail:  zoocheck@idirect.com
Web Site:  http://web.idirect.com/~zoocheck
Registered Charity No. 0828459-54
Date: Wed, 22 Oct 1997 12:00:35 +0000
From: jwed 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Panda success breeds problem (CN)
Message-ID: <3.0.3.32.19971022120035.006a7760@pop.hkstar.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit

China Daily - 22nd October 1997

Five years ago, leading scientists in wildlife research worldwide held a
conference in Washington to discuss ways to conserve giant pandas and red
pandas. 

The idea of re-introducing pandas born and bred in zoos to the wild was
brought up. 

But at the end of the conference, the scientists concluded that it was
inappropriate to re-introduce pandas to the wild. 

Late last month, the same idea was put forward again for discussion at an
international conference on conservation of giant pandas held in Wolong,
Sichuan Province. The steady increase in the number of captive pandas in
the country is causing strains on the facilities and creating problems for
the healthy growth of giant pandas in captivity. 

The giant panda is a rare and distinct species native only to China. Now
the habitat of the giant panda is limited to a small area where the borders
of Sichuan, Shaanxi and Gansu provinces come together. 

Because of the pressure of human settlement and the deterioration of the
natural environment, the wild panda population now estimated to be only
about 1,000, divided into more than 20 small groups. 

Most of the groups have less than 50 pandas, and the smallest groups have
only 3 to 5. The habitats are also divided into several isolated "islands"
and hence the chance of exchanges between different panda groups has
decreased. 

Scientists said that this will undoubtedly increase inbreeding in the wild
population and will have ill effects on the future panda population. 

On the other hand, Chinese scientists have succeeded in breeding captive
pandas. 

>From 1963 to April 1997, captive pandas have given birth to 179 cubs at 119
farrows around the world. 

Most of them have been bred in China's 30-odd zoos and nature reserves. The
first artificially inseminated panda cub was born in 1978; in 1980,
scientists used artificial insemination technology and frozen sperm to
reproduce a panda successfully. 

In 1990, Chinese scientists developed a method to ensure the survival of
both cubs in the case of twin births, while in the natural condition the
female panda always abandons one of hers twin cubs; in the same year, a set
triplet cubs also survived. 

Of the pandas born in captivity, only 44 per cent survived more than half a
year, 30 per cent more than 2.5 years, and 21 per cent more than 3 years.
Such rates show that although scientists succeeded in reproducing captive
pandas, the overall surviving rate of captive panda babies is low. 

Despite the low rate of survival, many reserves and reproduction bases have
successfully bred more pandas, largely supported by special funds from the
Ministry of Forests, Ministry of Construction and the National Natural
Science Foundation Committee of China. 

In Wolong National Reserve in Sichuan Province, researchers of the China
Research Centre of the Giant Panda Reservation reproduced their first panda
cubs in 1986. 

>From 1991 to 1996, the centre successfully reproduced 16 cubs, 11 of which
are still living, which means the survival rate has risen to 70 per cent,
much higher than the average. This year, panda breeders are glad to see
that three of those captive born panda cubs have reached maturity and are
ready to breed. 

The reproduction of captive pandas is different from that of wild pandas. 

In their natural environment, a female panda normally gives birth to one
cub and raises it for about two years and then breeds again, as Professor
Pan Wenshi and his students from Beijing (Peking) University have shown
through their years of research on the giant pandas living in the wild in
the Qinling Mountains in southern Shaanxi Province. So wild female pandas
are able to have a baby every two years. 

With pandas in captivity, scientists and researchers can take the cubs from
their mothers and artificially raise them so as to let their mothers breed
again earlier than in the wild. This could double the panda's captivity
birth rate. 

"A female panda can bear cubs to about the age of 20 , and the male is
sexually active until about the same age," said Liu Weixin, a panda
breeding expert from Beijing Zoo. 

That means if a female panda begins its reproduction at three and a half or
four, it has 16 to 17 years to give birth to panda cubs. 

But the potential of increasing the captive panda population is both
exciting and worrying news to scientists -- It does indicate the
effectiveness of their efforts, but on the other hand, the captive pandas
are facing the pressure of increasing population. 

In Wolong Reserve, for example, the breeding centre of the reserve has 28
pandas, though nine of them are lent out for reproduction in other places. 

"Five female pandas are ready to reproduce," said Zhang Hemin, a young
researcher in the Wolong Reserve. "We estimate that the reproduction rate
will increase in the coming years, base on our success so far." 

If three cubs are born each year, the breeding centre will have 15 new
pandas in the next 5 years, which does not consider other young pandas
starting to reproduce. 

"Wolong just expanded its breeding centre to improve the pandas' living
conditions," Zhang said. "But we are now being faced with a space problem
because of the increasing population. 

"We think it is not suitable to artificially breed such a big population of
pandas." 

Acknowledging the achievements and problems, wildlife experts at the
international conference late last month still see too many unsolved
problems. 

The biggest problem is that they still have little knowledge about the wild
panda and their living environments. So that they cannot judge if the
captive panda would be able to adjust to a wild environment, which is quite
different to the specially designed panda houses. 

A week of discussion failed to find enough evidence to indicate that the
re-introduction of the panda to the wild would be successful. 

But Chinese scientists urged that the experimental research on the
re-introduction should begin as soon as possible. 

At Wolong, researchers have already started some experiments to identify
the requirements for the re-introduction of pandas to the wild. More and
more captive pandas now are released daily to hills near their pens to get
familiar with the semi-wild environment. 

The researchers there also suggested building more complex facilities to
train the captive pandas to adjust to the wild environment. 

But on top of everything else, they still face a shortage of funds.


----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
Date: 10/22/97
Author: Shao Ning
Copyright© by China Daily 


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