AR-NEWS Digest 371

Topics covered in this issue include:

  1) Unsubscribe
     by Lana015@aol.com
  2) It works on rats...
     by Andrew Gach 
  3) Another drug that worked on animals
     by Andrew Gach 
  4) Underground trade in bear parts
     by Andrew Gach 
  5) FWD: Paul Watson needs help
     by Andrew Gach 
  6) [UK] Trust set to ban 'cruel' stag hunts
     by David J Knowles 
  7) The medicine's worse than the disease
     by Andrew Gach 
  8) [CA] Logging protest camp & Ted Turner
     by David J Knowles 
  9) [UK] Death knell is sounded for stag hunting
     by David J Knowles 
 10) [UK] Ban would hit estate's sporting tradition
     by David J Knowles 
 11) [UK] Farmers warned on pollution in drought
     by David J Knowles 
 12) New Balance Circus Sponsorship
     by Anna 
 13) NA-A.L.F.S.G. Update: Chatham 4 released
     by GLYNN@envirolink.org (Gina Lynn)
 14) (TW) Lee eats away at pig fears
     by vadivu 
 15) (MY) Dept offers to help rescue elephants 
     by vadivu 
 16) (MY) Snake soup etc
     by vadivu 
 17) (IN) More sanctuaries in India
     by vadivu 
 18) (IN) Discovery channel in India
     by vadivu 
 19) (IN) Pheromones to fight insect pests
     by vadivu 
 20) (US-MTV) Connect with Action (TV-VCR alert)
     by allen schubert 
 21) 
     by Friends of Animals 
 22) Help in India needed
     by Farm Animal Reform Movement 
 23) PETA web page review.
     by babylemonade67@juno.com (J J j)
 24) Los Angeles Zoo elephant: TARA
     by igor@earthlink.net (Elephant Advocates)
 25) Bovine TB on Molokai again
     by Animal Rights Hawaii 
 26) Symposium on Vivisection (US-MA)
     by Karin Zupko 
 27) (CA) The hazards of Genetically Engineered Foods
     by allen schubert 
 28) (Fwd) ALF FREES CHINCHILLA
     by allen schubert 
 29) (Fwd) ALF HIT IN INDY
     by allen schubert 
 30) (US) King salmon could qualify for protection   
     by allen schubert 
 31) U.S. says drug-resistant salmonella spreading     
     by allen schubert 
 32) (USA) Gatti Circus/Seattle
     by SimonChai@aol.com
 33) Protest to Free Paul Watson (Toronto)
     by Cesar Farell 
 34) Texas snow monkeys on TV
     by Ione Smith 
 35) UPC Spring 1997 Poultry Press 
     by Franklin Wade 
 36) [UK] Trust bans stag hunts in a day
     by David J Knowles 
 37) "Antibiotics in feed a concern"
     by j_abbott@portal.ca (Jennifer Abbott)
 38) current environmental legislation re: animals
     by Vegetarian Resource Center 
 39) HOLLAND:  FREE PAUL WATSON
     by Vegetarian Resource Center 
 40) Monkeypox returns to Africa
     by Andrew Gach 
 41) Drug resistent salmonella in thew US
     by Andrew Gach 
 42) Science or science fiction?
     by Andrew Gach 
Date: Thu, 10 Apr 1997 00:55:41 -0400 (EDT)
>From: Lana015@aol.com
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Unsubscribe
Message-ID: <970410005541_1683972756@emout11.mail.aol.com>

Doh!!!  I erased the admin note and lost the orignial instructions... how do
I unsubscribe???

Lana : )
Date: Wed, 09 Apr 1997 23:14:06 -0700
>From: Andrew Gach 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: It works on rats...
Message-ID: <334C852E.4350@worldnet.att.net>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

Experimental drug fights arthritis and symptoms of diabetes in test
animals 

Reuter Information Service 

NEW ORLEANS (April 9, 1997 9:43 p.m. EDT) - An experimental drug tested
on rats shows potential for reversing arthritis, treating septic shock
and staving off symptoms of diabetes, researchers said Wednesday.

Other compounds have shown promise in controlling arthritis, but this
one, called mercaptoethylguanidine (MEG), seemed to reverse the painful
chronic inflammation.

The results are based only on rat studies and it will be at least a few
years before the doctors can know whether it is safe and effective in
humans.

The animal data was reported by researchers from Cincinnati's Children's
Hospital Medical Center at scientific meetings here in New Orleans and
in England. The University of California at Los Angeles has also been
involved.

"I've never seen anything work like this. If this drug works in humans
like we've seen in animals, it will be absolutely unique," said Dr.
Csaba Szabo, a 29-year-old Hungarian-born researcher who is one of the
lead scientists on the project.

MEG inhibits an enzyme that makes nitric oxide. When cells release
nitric oxide, the toxic substance causes inflammation in arthritis,
shock, diabetes and other disorders. The drug also neutralizes other
substances -- a toxin called peroxynitrite, and the fatty acids called
prostaglandins that play a role in fever, headache, blood flow and
tissue injury.

Researchers noted, however, that their findings so far are restricted to
test tubes and a dozen lab rats, and compounds that look promising in
rodents do not always work in people. [Don't say! - AG]

But the team was encouraged by the findings so far. The six arthritic
rats given MEG all recovered, while the other six did not, and the
cellular studies did not show any signs of potential dangerous side
effects.
Date: Wed, 09 Apr 1997 23:17:35 -0700
>From: Andrew Gach 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Another drug that worked on animals
Message-ID: <334C85FF.31AC@worldnet.att.net>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

Pharmacia & Upjohn discontinues tests of Linomide

Dow Jones News Service 

STOCKHOLM (April 9, 1997 11:19 a.m. EDT) -- Pharmacia & Upjohn said
Wednesday it discontinued clinical tests of its Linomide tablets for the
treatment of multiple sclerosis after several patients suffered heart
attacks.

The U.S.-Swedish drug company said eight patients had heart attacks
during two studies of Linomide, which has the generic name roquinimex.
About 1,200 patients participated in the two tests.

Pharmacia & Upjohn said the occurrence of the heart attacks "produces an
unacceptable benefit-risk profile for Linomide in this particular
indication."

===============================================================

Not long ago, Linomide (roquinimex) was heralded in as the latest wonder
drug, a panacea for everything from multiple sclerosis to diabetes and
cancer.  Unfortunately, all these glowing recommendations were based on
animal tests.  

According to a 1993 Sep. report in the European Journal of Immunology,
linomide prevented death from four kinds of septic shock induced by
toxic injections to mice (23:2372-4.)  

The 1994 Dec. (55:187-93) issue of the Journal of Neuroimmunology
reported that rabbits and mice with experimental autoimmune myasthenia
did better when treated with  linomide.

The 1995 Dec. issue of Transplant Procedures (27:3240) found that
linomide was highly effective preventing and treating type I diabetes -
in mice.

The 1996 Aug. issue of Cancer Research reported that linomide prevented
prostate and breast cancer - in rats.

This is only a small sampling of the studies published on the curative
powers of linomide - on animals.  How many millions of $$$ were spent on
rat-, mice-, and rabbit-research to produce yet another dud of a drug
that never made it through the clinical trials?

Andy
Date: Wed, 09 Apr 1997 23:24:41 -0700
>From: Andrew Gach 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Underground trade in bear parts
Message-ID: <334C87A9.64D1@worldnet.att.net>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

Hunters target bears for Asian markets

The Christian Science Monitor 

JUNEAU, ALASKA (April 9, 1997 10:25 a.m. EDT) -- The spring thaw in
southeast Alaska's temperate rain forest awakens many creatures great
and small from their winter torpor. But more than ever, it is also
bringing a new breed of human hunter to the emerald glades of the
Tongass forest - hunters who shoot bears for their gallbladders and
paws.

Bear gallbladders and paws are prized objects in Asia: The galls and
bile have been used in Asian medicine for centuries and are now also
manufactured into luxury cosmetics and used as an aphrodisiac. Paws are
considered a gourmet delicacy. So as excessive hunting and loss of
habitat have decimated the number of Asian bears, Asian markets have
begun to look to the United States, Russia and Canada for these
delicacies - and are willing to pay big money for them.

"This is a global problem. Asian populations of bears are getting wiped
out," says Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund attorney Janis Searles.

The sale or export of bear parts has been outlawed in most parts of the
United States, but authorities say practically every state with a bear
population experiences some underground trade.  Hunters are intrigued by
reports of bear gallbladders selling for thousands of dollars on the
Asian black market.

Even though authorities are aware of the trade, they have had limited
success cracking down on illegal smuggling networks. In Alaska, which
has the largest concentration of bears in North America, the state's
vastness and the limited number of enforcement agents make the work
challenging. But officials point to cultural obstacles as well.

"The hardest challenge is that most of the trade is carried out by
certain nationalities," says Jim Sheridan, an Anchorage-based U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service enforcement officer. "It's a very close-knit
organization and if you're not from that nationality, it's very
difficult to infiltrate it."

The few arrests agents have made point to an active trade. According to
the Alaska Department of Public Safety and the Humane Society, 43
gallbladders and 283 paws were intercepted in Anchorage in 1991. In
1995, Anchorage authorities discovered 60 galls in a package from Russia
bound to Los Angeles.

The Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund says South Korea is the largest
consumer nation of bear parts in the world, and it wants Interior
Secretary Bruce Babbitt to punish South Korea for promoting the
underground trade. If Babbitt finds that Seoul has undermined a United
Nations treaty on trade in endangered or threatened species - the
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) - US
trade sanctions could follow.

And although the department has begun an investigation, Sue Liberman,
head of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's CITES enforcement office,
says the US would prefer to let South Korea curb the bear industry on
its own.

A South Korean embassy official in Washington says Seoul has gotten the
message.

"The South Korean government is doing its best to protect endangered
animals, not just bears," says diplomat Onhan Shin. "Since the petition
was filed, the government has strengthened enforcement of the law
banning the import of bear parts."

The U.S. will likely make a decision whether to impose sanctions on
South Korea after a June convention of the 130 nations that have signed
CITES, says Ms. Liberman. But Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell (R) isn't
waiting. He is already leading an effort in Congress to ensure that
American bears do not suffer the same fate as their Asian counterparts.
Senator McConnell introduced the Bear Protection Act in Congress in
February to outlaw the trade in bear parts in the United States. He
estimates that 40,000 bears are poached each year in the U.S..

"The booming illegal trade in bear viscera makes this bill necessary,"
say McConnell. "I for one cannot stand by and allow our bear populations
to be decimated by poachers."
Date: Wed, 09 Apr 1997 23:28:47 -0700
>From: Andrew Gach 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: FWD: Paul Watson needs help
Message-ID: <334C889F.466@worldnet.att.net>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

Paul Watson, president of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society,
co-founder of Greenpeace and one of the originators of direct action
environmentalism, has been arrested in the Netherlands by order of
the Norwegian Government. 

Norway has 20 days to request extradition.

THIS IS AN URGENT APPEAL TO ACTIVISTS.

What happened: - 

* In 1992, Norway announced its intention to return to the commercial
slaughter of whales despite the International Whaling Commission's
ban on whaling, declared in 1986. Sea Shepherd announced that it
would act to enforce the ban on whaling as well as international
treaties protecting endangered wildlife. 

* On October 4th, 1993, US President Clinton announced that he would
not enforce a mandated US embargo against Norway. 

* On May 31st, 1994, Sea Shepherd's Paul Watson and Lisa Distefano
were convicted in absentia by a Norwegian court on the charge of
sinking an illegal Norwegian whaing vessel dockside in 1992. No
summons was issued to the defendants. Watson and Distefano offered to
appear if the Norwegian Government would guarantee their safety or
agree to a change of venue from the Lofoten Islands district of
Norway, a source of numerous death threats against them. The request
was ignored and the trial was held without the defendants present.
(Norway's current extradition warrant claims Watson and Distefano
personally sank the vessel, but the Lofoten District Court Record
notes, "the two accused were not in the country and could not take
direct part."). 

*     In July 1994, off the northern coast of Norway, the Sea
Shepherd whale conservation vessel Whales Forever was rammed by the
Norwegian coastguard, fired on twice and four depth charges were
detonated under the hull by Norwegian commandos. Norway accused
Watson of ramming their vessel.  They failed to serve papers on the
charges and abandoned the case in October 1996. 

*     Last year Norway's pro-whaling Prime Minister formally handed
over the reins of power to her successor, Tor Jageland. For the last
several months the High North Alliance, a Scandanavian wise-use
group, has been steadily lobbying the Norwegian Government to
extradite and gaol Watson and Distefano.  This is an election year in
Norway and the un-elected Prime Minister Jageland desperately needs
the support of the politically powerful northern coastal districts -
home of the whaling industry. 

*     On March 31st, while supervising the transfer of a Sea Shepherd
ship in preperation for a campaign against illegal driftnetiing in
the Mediterranean, Paul Watson was arrested by harbour police in the
German port of Bremerhaven acting on Norway's Interpol warrant.
German authorities chose not to extradite him and he was released.
Three days later, Paul was arrested again by Dutch police in
Amsterdam. At a preliminary hearing held on the 3rd of April, Judge
Toeter of the Haarlem District Court ordered Paul Watson to be held
for 20 days to allow Norway to make an extradition request. 

*     DO NOT MISTAKE IT:- IF PAUL WATSON IS EXTRADITED TO NORWAY HE
WILL DIE IN PRISON.  Norway is going after the only real threat to
their plans for a vastly increased whale slaughter. Their stockpile
of Minke blubber is enormous, they are trying to change CITES
regulations so they can export it. They want the pressure taken off.
They want Paul Watson and Sea Shepherd gone forever. Paul Watson has
been getting direct death threats from Norwegians and Norway will not
guarantee his safety inside Norway.

WE MUST NOT LET THIS HAPPEN 

Help by immediately calling, faxing or writing to the following and ask
them please; Do Not Allow Paul Watson To Be Extradited To Norway!

*     Send to; Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Tel: +31 70 348
      4196, Fax: +31 70 348 5559, Bezuidenhoutseug 67, 2594AC The
Hague.    
      Airmail to The Hague!

*     Write to Paul Watson, Penitentiaire Inrichting Lelystad,
      Larserdreef 300, 8233HB Lolystad, The Netherlands.

*     Contact your nearest Netherlands Consulate and ask for Paul's
      release and to relay your message to the Netherlands...time is
      crucial!

*     Please try and spare some money for his defence, send to:- Sea  
      Shepherd Conservation Society, P.O. Box 334 Clifton Hill,
      Victoria, 3068, Australia. Tel/fax 03 9482 4668

*     Inform Sea Shepherd Headquaters in the USA, (tel +1 310 301 7325/ 
      fax +1 310 574 3161) asap if you have any way of putting pressure
      on the Dutch.

*     Call or fax your local MP and anybody of influence you think might
      help, write to your local paper and forward any result to Sea
      Shepherd asap.

Here are addresses that everyone can help write a letter to:

  Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs
  Bezuidenhoutseug 67, 2594AC The Hague.

  Paul Watson, Penitentiaire Inrichting Lelystad, Larserdreef
        300, 8233HB Lolystad, The Netherlands.

Jon Sumby
Sea Shepherd Conservation Society - Australia: Tel/Fax +61 3 9482 4668
        P.O. Box 334, Clifton Hill, Victoria, 3068, Australia
                   
Date: Wed, 9 Apr 1997 23:37:39 -0700 (PDT)
>From: David J Knowles 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: [UK] Trust set to ban 'cruel' stag hunts
Message-ID: <1.5.4.16.19970409233809.295739e0@dowco.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"


>From The Electronic Telegraph - Thursday, April 19th, 1997

Trust set to ban 'cruel' stag hunts
By Charles Clover, Environment Editor, and Will Bennett 

BRITAIN'S traditional country sports received a devastating blow yesterday
when the National Trust proposed to ban stag hunting on its land and called
on the next government to commission an urgent review into suffering in
other wild animals killed or hunted for sport.

The move came after a two-year study found "absolutely unambiguous"
scientific evidence that deer hunting with hounds is cruel.

The National Trust's chairman, Charles Nunneley, said that on the basis of
the new findings he would ask the trust's 52-member council  today not to
renew licences for hunting red deer on trust land on Exmoor and the
Quantocks and fallow deer in the New Forest. This means the trust has now
turned its back on its previously held view that only Parliament should
decide the future of hunting. 

The report, commissioned by the National Trust at a cost of £165,000, will
place pressure on Labour, if it wins the election, to bring forward
legislation banning stag hunting. 

The strength of the report by a panel of experts chaired by Prof Patrick
Bateson, professor of animal behaviour and Provost of King's College,
clearly shocked the British Field Sports Society, which represents Britain's
hunting, shooting and fishing fraternity.

The society said that the conclusion that deer hunting caused unacceptable
stress when judged by standards used in the slaughter and transport of
domestic animals could not be challenged. Many former supporters of deer
hunting might now reconsider their position. Janet George, chief press
officer, said: "We are stunned by this. It has hit us where it hurts. We did
not believe that the stress found in hunted deer would be of the magnitude
that this report shows it to be. A lot of people who were previously
passionate supporters of stag hunting are thinking: 'Can I continue to go
stag hunting?' "

The League Against Cruel Sports said it was "overjoyed" by the findings,
which vindicated what it had been saying about deer hunting for 73 years. 

The report, based on analysis of the blood of hunted deer, appears to alter
the argument about the ethics of hunting for the first time in 50 years.
Until now, scientific methods for determining how much animals suffered did
not exist. 

The 1951 Scott Henderson report on cruelty to wild animals, commissioned by
the Attlee government, concluded that government interference in field
sports was justified only if the amount of suffering was excessive or
unreasonable. 

Prof Bateson and his colleagues, who include two professors who have
previously publicly opposed hunting, said that their study, the first major
piece of research carried out on hunted animals, meant that hunting "should
be re-evaluated". However, he cautioned about applying the results to more
active animals, such as foxes, which might be less stressed by being chased.

Another member of the panel, Peter Green, a hunt supporter and member of the
Jockey Club's veterinary committee, said the results were "astounding". He
added: "Those of us who have in the past hunted to hounds have been
confronted by the irrefutable fact that the deer are suffering terribly and
have to reconsider our position." 

The move may mean the end for at least some of the four remaining packs of
staghounds in Britain; the Devon and Somerset, the Tiverton, the Quantocks
and the New Forest Buckhounds. The areas affected by the National Trust's
ban would be Arlington, Knightshayes, Watersmeet and Buzzards, all in Devon;
part of Holnicote in Somerset and Hale Purlieu in Hampshire.

Deer management groups will today ask the National Trust's council to step
up a culling programme by stalkers to control deer on Exmoor and the Quantocks.

© Copyright Telegraph Group Limited 1997.

Date: Wed, 09 Apr 1997 23:40:01 -0700
>From: Andrew Gach 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: The medicine's worse than the disease
Message-ID: <334C8B41.1F89@worldnet.att.net>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

Treatment for psoriasis increases skin cancer risk

The Associated Press 

(April 10, 1997 01:31 a.m. EDT) -- A widely used ultraviolet-light
treatment for severe psoriasis can raise the risk of melanoma, the
deadliest form of skin cancer, in people who undergo years of such
therapy, a study found.

The findings, published in today's New England Journal of Medicine, came
from a follow-up study of the first group of psoriasis patients to
undergo the treatment, called PUVA, after it was developed in the
mid-'70s.

Fifteen years after they began PUVA, patients who underwent 250 or more
treatments had nearly nine times the normal risk of melanoma. Patients
who had fewer treatments did not have a significantly higher risk.

Because psoriasis is a lifetime disease and some patients require
frequent PUVA therapy, someone with a disabling case could exceed 250
treatments in less than a decade.

PUVA -- short for psoralen and ultraviolet A -- usually takes place in a
doctor's office. Patients take psoralen pills and are then exposed to
intense ultraviolet A light; the psoralen makes their skin more
sensitive to the light.

Less severe cases of psoriasis are often treated instead with
ultraviolet B light; that treatment is considered safer but less
effective.

The findings show that doctors should use PUVA only when patients have
severe, disabling psoriasis and safer treatments have failed, said Dr.
Robert Stern, a dermatologist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in
Boston and the study's lead author.

"I use it less frequently, I use it less in younger people, and I have a
higher threshold than I did in the past for using it," he said.

In psoriasis, the outer skin cells multiply rapidly, forming flaky white
scales over sensitive red patches. The illness can be disfiguring and
even disabling.

An estimated 500,000 Americans and about 2 million people worldwide have
received PUVA therapy since it was introduced, Stern said. PUVA was
performed on about 75,000 Americans last year.

Dr. John Parrish, who invented PUVA, said the therapy is highly
effective and should not be abandoned. However, dermatologists should
use less-risky treatments during periods when a patient's symptoms are
not severe, he said.

Those who do get PUVA treatment should watch for cancer and get
thorough, annual skin exams for the rest of their lives, said Parrish,
chief of dermatology at Massachusetts General Hospital and chairman of
dermatology at Harvard Medical School.

The most effective and common alternative for severe psoriasis, the
chemotherapy drug methotrexate, is highly toxic in long-term use and can
cause birth defects.

The study involved 1,380 patients. By 1991, about one-third of the
surviving patients had received 250 or more PUVA treatments over an
average of 19 years.

Many dermatologists already have become more conservative in their use
of PUVA because it has been shown to lead to a higher risk of
squamous-cell cancer, a common, easily treated skin cancer.
Date: Wed, 9 Apr 1997 23:45:21 -0700 (PDT)
>From: David J Knowles 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: [CA] Logging protest camp & Ted Turner
Message-ID: <1.5.4.16.19970409234551.2957397c@dowco.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

VANCOUVER, B.C. - BCTV's News Hour Final tonight reported that the
anti-lopgging protestors' camp being held at the YMCA's Camp Howdy, in
Belcarra Regional Park, was funded, at least in part, by Ted Turner and Jane
Fonda.

The course was run by instrutctors from the Rukus Society, a Montanna-based
non-profit group. The society receives a major source of funding from the
Turner Foundation - a charitable offshoot of Ted Turner's CNN to sports
franchise empire. 

Asked by a BCTV reporter if this meant that Ted Turner supported people
breaking the law and getting themselves arrested, a Rukus spokesperson said
that Turner supported people who stand up for the land and recognized this
sometimes meant having to break the law.

Date: Thu, 10 Apr 1997 00:04:17 -0700 (PDT)
>From: David J Knowles 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: [UK] Death knell is sounded for stag hunting
Message-ID: <1.5.4.16.19970410000447.2957968c@dowco.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"


>From The Electronic Telegraph - Thursday, April 19th, 1997

Death knell is sounded for stag hunting
By Charles Clover, Environment Editor 


HUNTING deer with hounds causes the animals as much suffering as losing a
limb in an accident, scientists said yesterday.

A study, by a panel of 14 leading experts on the welfare of animals and
commissioned by the National Trust, claimed to have produced  "clear-cut"
results, new to science, showing that deer hunting with  hounds could no
longer be justified on animal welfare grounds and was "knowingly cruel". 

Prof Patrick Bateson, who chaired the study, said he had begun with an "open
mind". He had expected to find the middle ground but had concluded that the
level of suffering to deer would be reduced if hunting with hounds were banned.

The report said that hunted deer experienced more stress than they would
naturally experience. It was comparable to the stress, muscle decay and
physical deterioration experienced by athletes who ran an ultra-marathon
(100 km).

Other authors of the report said stress levels in hunted deer were greater
than in horses forced to withdraw with exhaustion from a three-day event or
steeplechases. However, the report cautioned against extending the findings
to more active quarry species, such as
foxes, which run an average of six miles a day.

Supporters of hunting have traditionally argued that hunting, whether by
hounds today or wolves in the red deer's ancestral habitat, was  "nature's
way" and deer have evolved to cope with it. Before the study, it was
possible to argue that hunting was not cruel, said the authors.

The report found that deer were relatively sedentary, rarely straying more
than half a mile from their home. Hunting deer with hounds over long
distances - a hunted animal will run 12 miles on average and some go as far
as 20 or 30 - was different from being hunted by
wolves, which ambush their prey or chase them for short distances. Judging
pain from human responses can be misleading. Humans with broken legs show
signs of pain, while horses with broken legs graze apparently unconcerned.

Prof Bateson and Dr Elizabeth Bradshaw conducted tests on the blood of
hunted deer on Exmoor, looking for indicators underpinning legislation on
the transportation or slaughter of farm animals. They measured levels of
stress hormones in the body and found a tenfold increase during the deer's
flight, indicating that the animal was "very stressed indeed", said Prof
Bateson.  

Blood sugar levels went up initially, as the animal mustered its energy to
get away, then plummeted, with an animal that had been chased for 20 miles
showing "an astonishing depletion". Muscle tissue began to deteriorate as
the deer ran over long distances, like an unfit horse, and the deer began to
use its own waste products for fuel.

In what Prof Bateson called "an astonishing result" the blood plasma of a
hunted animal began to show red, instead of clear, indicating that red blood
cells were breaking up. He said: "This is new to science. I don't think any
of us had expected anything like that."

Levels of pain-reducing hormone released by deer at the end of a hunt were
higher than in deer that had lost limbs in accidents. Prof Bateson said:
"Physiologically, this is absolutely unambiguous. There are very, very
striking changes taking place. Henceforward, anyone who continues to hunt
would be doing something knowingly cruel."

In conclusion, Prof Bateson said: "To many people, witnessing a hunt is to
feel part of English history, and the sight of a field of horses and hounds
is both beautiful and thrilling. I hope that those who will inevitably
dislike our conclusions will accept that we have arrived at
them honestly and, in some respects, not without sadness."

© Copyright Telegraph Group Limited 1997.

Date: Thu, 10 Apr 1997 00:04:20 -0700 (PDT)
>From: David J Knowles 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: [UK] Ban would hit estate's sporting tradition
Message-ID: <1.5.4.16.19970410000450.295772dc@dowco.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"


[Note - The Daily Telgraph has always had a pro-hunting point of view, as
witnessed by some of reports on hunt sabbing.]

>From The Electronic Telegraph - Thursday, April 19th, 1997

Ban would hit estate's sporting tradition

BY far the largest area affected by a National Trust ban on deer hunting
would be the 12,450-acre Holnicote estate in Devon.

It was covered by a memorandum of wishes from the late Sir Richard Acland,
who expressed the wish as recently as 1990 that hunting should continue. His
son, Sir John Acland, when contacted by the National Trust, said that had
the evidence presented by the Bateson report been available at the time, his
father would not have expressed this wish.

The Devon and Somerset Staghounds, which hunt in both counties, frequently
use the Holnicote estate and would find it difficult to continue. The
Tiverton Staghounds in Devon would be less affected. The main problem for
the New Forest Buckhounds in Hampshire is
Labour's plan to ban the use of Forestry Commission land for hunting.

The author Henry Williamson predicted in 1931 that if hunting were banned it
would be the end of the wild red deer of Exmoor because farmers would no
longer continue to tolerate them. But Charles Nunneley, chairman of the
National Trust, said yesterday: "I don't believe for a moment that that
would happen."

© Copyright Telegraph Group Limited 1997.

Date: Thu, 10 Apr 1997 00:04:22 -0700 (PDT)
>From: David J Knowles 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: [UK] Farmers warned on pollution in drought
Message-ID: <1.5.4.16.19970410000452.29570d4a@dowco.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"


>From The Electronic Telegraph - Thursday, April 19th, 1997

Farmers warned on pollution in drought
By David Brown, Agriculture Editor 


FARMERS were warned yesterday that because of the spring drought they faced
unlimited fines if they polluted rivers and streams  with the manure and
liquid animal slurry they spread on fields.

The Environment Agency said that particular care was needed because small
amounts of manure spillage into watercourses could produce significant
pollution in rivers and streams flowing at current low levels. The warning
came as more than 4,000 farmers attended
Muck '97 at the National Agricultural Centre near Stoneleigh Park,
Warwickshire, to see the country's biggest demonstration of muck-spreading
and slurry-spraying equipment.

The agency singled out "umbilical" spraying systems, by which farmers use
long hoses to deliver liquid slurry direct from farm storage tanks to their
spraying. Hoses often stretch for at least 1,000 yards and can be prone to
leaks and unexpected spillages. These systems, which enable farmers to work
without having to make repeated trips to get refills of slurry from storage
tanks, can cost up to £34,000 each, depending on the length of hose.

Bob Merriman, the Environment Agency's agricultural specialist, said: "It is
also possible to use these umbilical systems in wet conditions and on
sloping land. These are practices which greatly increase the risk of water
pollution." These systems gave tractor drivers less
control over the flow of slurry, which could travel quickly through
pipelines. "We urge farmers not to run these pipes near streams or ditches,"
he said.

Farmers can be prosecuted under the Water Resources Act 1991 if they pollute
rivers and streams. They risk fines up to £20,000 for each offence if the
cases are heard in magistrates' courts. The penalties are unlimited if cases
are referred to Crown Courts. At least four farmers and contractors face
prosecution.

The Royal Agricultural Society of England, which is hosting the two-day
event, said farmers understood pollution risks.

© Copyright Telegraph Group Limited 1997.

Date: Thu, 10 Apr 1997 03:56:27 -0400 (EDT)
>From: Anna 
To: ar-news 
Subject: New Balance Circus Sponsorship
Message-ID: 
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII

Hi,
     I recently wrote to New Balance about their sponsorship of the 
circus, and this is there response with their phone number in case anyone 
has been looking for it...
     Take care,
     Anna

>From: Customer Service 

     Dear Anna,
     Thank you for your interest in New Balance Shoes.  For sponsorship and 
     promotions please call our Marketing Department at (617)783-4000.
     
     Sincerely,
     NEW BALANCE RESPONSE TEAM

Date: Thu, 10 Apr 1997 02:35:11 -0800
>From: GLYNN@envirolink.org (Gina Lynn)
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: NA-A.L.F.S.G. Update: Chatham 4 released
Message-ID: 
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"


I only get ar-news in digest so I apologize if this has already been posted
and I just haven't received it yet......


>Date: Wed Apr  9 21:59:10 1997
>From: NA-ALFSG  
>Subject:  NA-A.L.F.S.G. Update: Chatham 4 released
>
>
>We've just received word that the five American activists facing charges
>related to the March 31 mink farm raid in Belheim, Ontario, have been
>granted bail. Two activists were released today at 11am, including Robyn
>Weiner. [The other activist released, Allan, has stated his willingness to
>testify if necessary against the others]. To be released tomorrow at
>11:30am are Hilma, Pat and Gary. Bail was set at $10,000 each.
>
>To send letters of support, do not write the jails -- letters can be sent
>to the following address:
>
>Gary, Hilma, Pat, Robyn
>c/o Mike Chiado
>Box 432, Royal Oak
>MI, 48068-0432, USA
>
>THESE ACTIVISTS ARE BADLY IN NEED OF SUPPORT, ESPECIALLY FINANCIAL
>DONATIONS. Cheques or money orders can be made out to "NA-ALFSG" --but be
>sure to earmark any donations as being for the Chatham 4 -- the SG has set
>up a fund for these activists to use as they see fit.
>
>*** Tax-deductible donations can be arranged for anyone who needs special
>arrangements. Please contact us at this email for more detail. This
>applies for any donations to A.L.F. activists, including Rod Coronado.
>
>Please send donations to the address below.
>Towards animal liberation and freedom for all political prisoners,
>NA-A.L.F.S.G.
>
>North American A.L.F. Supporters Group
>Box 69597, 5845 Yonge St.,
>Willowdale, Ont. M2M 4K3,
>Canada
>




Check out the new No Compromise Web Page at
http:www.envirolink.org/arrs/nocompromise/

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

         FREE ALL ANIMAL LIBERATION PRISONERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~




Check out the new No Compromise Web Page at
http:www.envirolink.org/arrs/nocompromise/

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

         FREE ALL ANIMAL LIBERATION PRISONERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



Date: Thu, 10 Apr 1997 20:34:06 +0800 (SST)
>From: vadivu 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org, veg-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (TW) Lee eats away at pig fears
Message-ID: <199704101234.UAA26875@eastgate.cyberway.com.sg>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"


>South China Morning Post, Internet Edition, 10 Apr 97
Lee eats away at pig fears
REUTER

     Taiwan President Lee Teng-hui   yesterday joined a drive to ease public
fears over the island's devastating foot-and-mouth epidemic, eating pig
knuckles at a televised "eat-in" to restore confidence in pork.

 Sporting a waistcoat reading "Eating pork is healthy and safe", Mr Lee made
his personal attempt to soften the blow of the outbreak, announced on March
20, that has forced a pork export ban, the slaughter of two million pigs and
a tumble in pork prices.

 "We can eat it ourselves and export it," Mr Lee said.

 "Let's take it slowly," he added, accompanied at the Taipei "eat-in" by
other top Kuomintang leaders.

 Vice-President Lien Chan  raised a toast. "Eat with good health, with
prosperity," he said between bites.

 Gnawing on pig knuckles in public was a bold gesture to counter weeks of
graphic television coverage of the effect of the disease.

 Consumers have turned away in droves from what in normal times is their
staple meat, sending pork prices plummeting 60 per cent since the crisis hit
and rocking Taiwan's feed importers and meatpackers.

 Mr Lee called for a review of the all-out pork export ban, imposed on March
20, suggesting it might have been an over-reaction.

 "We have the world's best hog breeding skills," said the President, who
holds a Cornell University doctorate in agricultural economics.

 "We should consult farm experts' advice on pork exports and not change our
polices simply because of one incident like foot-and-mouth disease," he said.

 Although a lifting of the ban was not imminent, officials said they were
exploring 13 new overseas pork markets in an attempt to cope with the
epidemic that has wiped out Taiwan's huge exports to Japan.

 They include Vietnam, Malaysia, Italy and Britain. Japan and Korea have
banned imports of Taiwan pork.

 The Philippines has gone further, excluding meat from any Taiwan livestock.

Date: Thu, 10 Apr 1997 20:34:20 +0800 (SST)
>From: vadivu 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (MY) Dept offers to help rescue elephants 
Message-ID: <199704101234.UAA27731@eastgate.cyberway.com.sg>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"


>The Star (10-Apr-97)  Dept offers to help rescue elephants

MALACCA: The Peninsular Malaysia Wildlife and National Park Department wants
to offer its technical expertise to the Sabah Wildlife Department to rescue
the remaining wild elephants trapped in the Lahad Datu forest.

  "We will be happy to assist if called upon to do so," its director general
Musa Nordin said in an interview here.

 "The Star" reported on Monday that nine of 17 elephants trapped in the 80ha
forest area had been rescued and relocated to the Tabin Forest Reserve.

  Sabah Wildlife Department veterinarian Dr Edwin Bosie had said the
elephants were running out of food in their shrinking habitat which was
being turned into a plantation.

  Musa, who was attending the National Workshop on Environmental Education
in Ayer Keroh, said the department had been involved in relocating elephants
to national parks since 1974.







Date: Thu, 10 Apr 1997 20:34:25 +0800 (SST)
>From: vadivu 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (MY) Snake soup etc
Message-ID: <199704101234.UAA28702@eastgate.cyberway.com.sg>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"


>The Star (9-Apr-97)  'Snake man' Bidin whose  trade is catching cobras
By M. Mageswari

KANGAR: Meet Bidin Mat Hashim, 54, whose daily bread and butter comes from
catching cobras.

  Bidin, popularly known as "Bidin Ular" or "Pak Jang", said he started
catching cobras as a hobby at the age of 20.

  He learnt the technique from his blind uncle, Lazim Napiah of Sungai Baru,
but has since developed his own styles and methods.

  "The timing and speed are vital in catching cobras," he said, adding that
he acquired the skills of skinning the reptiles and draining their blood
from a buyer.

  Most of his customers are Chinese but there are also Malays, and they come
from Kedah, Perlis, Penang and Kuala Lumpur.

  "Cobras are in demand for medicinal purposes, especially to treat ailments
such as back pain and skin diseases," he said.

  "In such instances, cobra blood is mixed with herbal tea and consumed,
while its meat is used for soup."

  Bidin, who is also a part-time farmer, said he sells the cobras at RM25
each, compared with RM2.50 years ago, due to their scarcity and the
dangerous nature of the job.

  He has to travel to Pendang, Sik and Yan, including Padang Besar, in
Perlis and also to Kampung Sakon, Thailand, to source for cobras.

  Bidin said some villagers also sought his help to catch cobras which
entered their homes.







Date: Thu, 10 Apr 1997 20:34:32 +0800 (SST)
>From: vadivu 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (IN) More sanctuaries in India
Message-ID: <199704101234.UAA28824@eastgate.cyberway.com.sg>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"


>THE HINDU ONLINE : Wednesday, April 09, 1997 Regional 04092236.htm 
Govt. planning to open nine new sanctuaries
By Our Staff Reporter
NAGERCOIL, April 8.

Mr.  Pongalur  N.  Palanisamy, Minister  for  Forest  and  Animal 
Husbandry  said the Government has plans to declare nine  places, 
including  the  Suchindram and Therore  wetlands  in  Kanyakumari 
district as sanctuaries for birds and animals.

Speaking  to  presspersons at Kodayar near here  on  Monday,  Mr. 
Palanisamy  said the State Government has written to  the  Centre 
seeking  permission  to  start nine  new  sanctuaries  under  the 
Wildlife Conservation Act. He said the Forest Department will  be 
modernised  soon  at  a total outlay of Rs. 4.5  crores  and  the 
officials  and staff will be equipped with sophisticated  weapons 
to prevent the smuggling of trees from the forests.

He  said the illegal felling of trees in reserve forests  in  the 
State  has drastically declined in the past 11 months, thanks  to 
the stern measures initiated by the Government. Pointing out that 
the  illegal felling was patronised by some  influential  persons 
during the AIADMK regime, the Minister quoted statistics and said 
on  an  average about 500 lorry loads of fellings  per  day  were 
removed  from Valparai alone, 100 loads in the Nilgiris,  besides 
several lorry loads from Srivilliputtur were removed after  being 
felled.

The stringent measures apart, to improve the State's revenue  the 
Government was raising teak trees worth Rs. 500 crores on a 5,000 
km stretch in the Cauvery delta areas. More teak saplings will be 
planted as nearly one lakh trees were uprooted due to gales  last 
year. About Rs. 10 crores worth logs from various godowns in  the 
State were auctioned.

He said the implementation of the department's mega project  viz. 
the   Tamil  Nadu  Afforestation  Project  (TAP)  and   watershed 
development programme being done with Japanese assistance to  the 
tune  of  Rs. 500 crores was satisfactory. About Rs.  100  crores 
will be spent annually for five years to implement this programme 
in about 1,000 villages (by the end of the fifth year) throughout 
the  State.  About  Rs. 30 to 40 lakhs will  be  spent  for  each 
village where the scheme was being implemented on a `joint forest 
management' concept involving people's participation.  Similarly, 
the process of recruiting 500 foresters was progressing  briskly, 
the Minister said.

Instances of ganja cultivation had also declined and about Rs. 50 
crores  worth crop was destroyed recently. Stringent  action  has 
been   initiated  against  a  district  forest  officer   and   a 
conservator  for not taking steps to curb the ganja  cultivation. 
On  the Tirupattur fire mishap which destroyed nearly  Rs.  68.47 
crores  worth sandalwood kept in the additional depot there,  the 
Minister  said  watch towers have been erected at  the  depot  to  
maintain  a close vigil. Much of the stock will be cleared,  once 
the  State  Government received instructions from the  Centre  to 
auction the logs, the Minister said.

The  sandalwood oil unit at Thikkupatti in North  Arcot  district 
will  be  revived  soon. Earlier,  addressing  a  public  meeting 
organised  by the Labour Progressive Front near  Pechiparai,  Mr. 
Palanisamy said the hurdles faced by the United Front  Government 
following the withdrawal of support by the Congress(I), will soon 
be overcome.

Mr.  N.  Suresh  Rajan, Minister for  Tourism  said  the  Tourism 
Department will soon construct a motel at Vattakotai, on the  way 
to Kanyakumari, at a cost of Rs. 30 lakhs.

Date: Thu, 10 Apr 1997 20:34:37 +0800 (SST)
>From: vadivu 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (IN) Discovery channel in India
Message-ID: <199704101234.UAA23365@eastgate.cyberway.com.sg>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"


>THE HINDU ONLINE : Thursday, April 10, 1997 
Discovery's new serial from Sunday
By Our Staff Reporter
BANGALORE, April 9.

Did you know that a cheetah can eat 13 kg of meat in one sitting and go without
water for at least 10 days. And that these elegant hunters of Tanzania's
Serengeti National Park, are a species at risk even within the boundaries
of one of their last sanctuaries. Over centuries, their numbers have dwindled
(in India they are extinct) dramatically as food shortages and ever-threatening
predators _ lions and hyenas _ take their toll.

These and other facts pertaining to the animal kingdom will be telecast on
Discovery channel from April 13 (Sunday) at 7 p.m. The 12-part anthology
series is entitled ``Wild Discovery.'' The series will have episodes on Lion's
Kingdom: Plains of Africa; Lion's Kingdom: Highlands and Forests of Africa;
Lion's Kingdom: Deserts of Africa; Wild dogs; Rattlesnakes; Killers in the
bush;

The ultimate guide: snakes; Year of the jackal; Cheetah _ the winning streak;
Dragons of Komodo; Animal cannibals _ the strategy of survival; and Animal
cannibals _ intimate traitors.

Announcing this at a press preview, Dr. Jayesh Vaidya, director, Marketing
and Corporate Communications, Discovery Communications India, said the series
would reveal startling facts on animal social behaviour, hunting tactics,
reproduction habits and unusual evolutionary adaptations that certain species
have made.

The chief operating officer of the Discovery channel, Mr. Kiran Karnik, said
that with growing viewership in the country the channel was introducing from
July ``India hour'' on Saturdays at 8 p.m. Programmes on India would cover
the five genres of science and technology, history, human adventure, world
culture and nature. The channel, he maintained, would not be going ``Indian''
as it intended to retain the world content in its programmes. However, the
channel would increase the parallel audio feed in Hindi from nine hours a
week to 15 hours a week from July. The response to the parallel feed had
been encouraging, he said.

Mr. Karnik said that encouraged by the response to the ``Discovery Quiz''
organised in New Delhi last year, the Channel would hold similar quizzes
in other cities, including Bangalore.

Reiterating that the Channel would not become a ``pay channel'' till January
1999, Mr. Karnik said the channel had encrypted the signal only to avoid
copyright problems. The channel was offering nearly 4,000 decoders to cable
operators across the country at a subsidised rate of Rs. 5,555. An imported
decoder costs around Rs. 25,000.


Date: Thu, 10 Apr 1997 20:34:42 +0800 (SST)
>From: vadivu 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (IN) Pheromones to fight insect pests
Message-ID: <199704101234.UAA29128@eastgate.cyberway.com.sg>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

>THE HINDU ONLINE : Thursday, April 10, 1997 
Pheromones to fight insect pests
>From Our Agriculture Correspondent

PHEROMONES are bio-chemical substances secreted by female insects to attract
the males for mating, and these chemical `signals' sent by the insects are
being increasingly used by entomologists for managing certain crop pests.

Scientists have managed to produce these substances in laboratories and these
synthetic compounds are now commercially available. These pheromones are
specific to different insects. Small quantities of these are retained in
rubber and plastic septum held within a funnel-shaped contraption fitted
with a polythene bag. They are then placed in the field.

Three to four such pheromone traps are needed per hectare, and these traps
are a crucial component of integrated pest management strategies for various
commercial crops. It is mostly used for monitoring crop pests, according
to Mr. V. Vijayakumar, an agricultural consultant specialising on ecological
farming systems in Coimbatore.

Pheromone traps are now available for a host of insect pests. Some of the
most popular ones are the traps for Helicoverpa armigera and some insect
pests of rice. Farmers monitor pest incidence by observing the collection
of adult moths in the trap.

They then resort to spraying of botanical insecticides and inundative release
of other bio-control agents.

When the pheromone traps are erected in the fields, males of the specific
pests are attracted towards them. They then fall in to the funnel-shaped
gadget. They get collected in the polythene bag, and are later discarded.

As the male population is restricted now, breeding is prevented. Pheromone
traps are also used for disrupting mating. It is being used extensively in
cotton fields in Egypt and other countries.

Pheromone technology is an eco-friendly strategy, and it does not pollute
the environment as in the case of toxic insecticides. It does not interfere
with the build up of natural enemies of crop pests, and other beneficial
insects.

The environmentally benign technology is now being widely adopted by farmers
all over the world. Entomologists are now successful in isolating pheromones
of different insect pests and are engaged in synthesising them in the
laboratories.

The pheromone traps are now considered expensive by some farmers. Once they
are produced in large scale, the cost is likely to come down. Further, there
is need for developing indigenous technology for synthesizing them, and this
effort would help in lowering the cost.




Date: Fri, 11 Apr 1997 11:45:42 -0400
>From: allen schubert 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (US-MTV) Connect with Action (TV-VCR alert)
Message-ID: <3.0.32.19970411114538.006ed9c0@clark.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

At 9PM (EST) April 22, EarthDay, MTV will broadcast a video from
EnviroLink, "Connect with Action."  This will primarily be slanted toward
environmental issues, with, I'm told, some animal rights issues.

allen
Date: Thu, 10 Apr 1997 09:58:26 -0700 (PDT)
>From: Friends of Animals 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Message-ID: <2.2.16.19970410124627.5c27f5a6@pop.igc.org>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"


Date: Thu, 10 Apr 1997 12:14:59 -0700
>From: Farm Animal Reform Movement 
To: ar-news@envirolink.com
Subject: Help in India needed
Message-ID: <334D3C33.3F1F@erols.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

Field Director Deanna Krantz, of Global Communications for Conservation, 
Inc., urgently needs a strong, capable, and dependable volunteer 
assistant to help care for some 80 animals -- donkeys, cattle, and dogs 
-- at a 52-acre sanctuary in Tamil Nadu, S. India, in the heart of a 
beautiful wildlife and forest preserve.  Some veterinary experience 
desirable. Living conditions primitive, but vegan cook.  Free travel and 
living expenses will be provided for a minimum commitment of 3 months.  A 
great adventure!  For more details, telephone Dr. Michael W. Fox at 
202-966-6019.

Posted for Dr. Fox by Scott Williams, who knows no more than this and 
cannot, therefore, answer any questions.
Date: Thu, 10 Apr 1997 13:49:54 EDT
>From: babylemonade67@juno.com (J J j)
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: PETA web page review.
Message-ID: <19970410.134605.4374.1.babylemonade67@juno.com>

Here is a little something I found.

This review of the PETA web site appeared in the latest issue (5/97) of
>The Net magazine.
>
>PETA Online
>http://www.envirolink.org/arrs/peta/
>
>{(according to the picture rating system:) Runneth over in content, not
>half bad in asthetic merit, and aglow in techno smartness}
>
>This informative site will make a boycotter out of the most apathetic
>visitor.  I dare you to read the Fact Sheets on Animal Testing all the
>way through--what they document is horrifying, to say the least.  PETA
>has accomplished an amazing amount since its beginning in 1980.  Its
>devoted members have made animal rights a mainstream fight, hobbling the
>fur trade and pressuring myriad enterprieses--including private
>institutions, household product and cosmetics companies, government
>agencies, educational institutions, and scientific centers that test on
>animals--to stop their cruel practices.  There's also a cruelty-free
>shopping guide and a grisly lab visit, complete with photographic
>evidence of what goes on there.-ES
>
>I also saw a short blurb in Seventeen magazine with PETA's address and
>promoting cruelty-free cosmetic products.
James C.
BABY LEMONADE: http://members.aol.com/DALI67/babylemonade.html
PETA: http://www.envirolink.org/arrs/PETA/
Love all sentient creatures, whether they be animal or man, and always be
truthful to yourself and others.
Date: Thu, 10 Apr 1997 10:46:42 -0700
>From: igor@earthlink.net (Elephant Advocates)
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Los Angeles Zoo elephant: TARA
Message-ID: 
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

TARA, the only African elephant at the LA Zoo, has lost 860 pounds in 6
weeks.  (I have Tara's medical reports for the past year, and then some,
going back 20 years - her life is a chronically ill and painful existance.
I personally think she has TB now.

Excerpts from LA Zoo medical records indicate:

"7/11/96" she was "8100 lbs."
"1/09/97...7800 lbs."
"2/18/97...6940 lbs."

She has "lesions"/"abscesses" in her anus for at least EIGHT MONTHS now.
They were "possibly" (probably) caused by George the animal keeper hooking
her anus with his bull hook.  George has been at the Zoo for 30 years, and
is heavy handed with his bull hook.  See 8/31/96 medical notation. (below)

Excerpts from LA Zoo medical records indicate:

>"8/16/96...When Tara stood, a moderate amt of pus (est 40-50 ml) gushed
>from her anus.  This exudate was not betadine-stained, again suggesting
>that there's more to this situation than we're currently seeing."

>"8/23/96...Tara...Flushed with betadine.  Introduced catheter at different
>angles, flushed out pockets of pus.  Goose egg felt sl more
>fluctuant...Tara is becoming increasingly apprehensive when her backside is
>being diddled."
>
>"8/24/96...Tara...Flushed.  Am now getting lg globs of tenacious, creamy
>pus with the initial flushes..."
>
>"8/29/96...Tara...A/K reported sand pasted in Tara's poop..."

>"8/31/96...TARA...Inflammation, probably secondary to trauma or other.
>There is a possibility that both lesions were caused by bull hooks."

"9/07/96...Tara...Sr A/K GF notes that Tara has had problems with
mucus/blood/pus on her stools for at least four years, on an intermittent
basis."

EDITOR'S NOTE: A/K is animal keeper. GF is George.

"3/19/97...Tara...Flushed anal 'abscess.'  The left side is much smaller,
and now very similar to the right.  Both sides now consist of a firm
fibrous core about the size of a goose egg."

"3/25/97...Tara... Tract flushed with 500 ml saline/60ml betadine soln.
Expelled approx 2 ml cheesy/creamy yellowish material (the usual stuff).
As has been the case in recent flushings..."

EDITOR'S NOTE- All the elephants at the LA Zoo have sand in their feces at
one time or another.  There's really not much else to do there except eat
the broken cement off the edges of the moat.

-Debbie Famiglietti
 ELEPHANT ADVOCATES
 Los Angeles, CA


Date: Thu, 10 Apr 1997 09:24:25 -1000 (HST)
>From: Animal Rights Hawaii 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Bovine TB on Molokai again
Message-ID: <199704101924.JAA09582@mail.pixi.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

published in The MAN on 4-9-97 (Moloka'i Advertiser News)


Another Reason To Cut Out "The Bull" About Raising and Eating Cattle
by George Peabody

CAUTION!  An investigation is currently being conducted by the State
Department of Agriculture, Division of Animal Industry, to determine the
cause of lesions found in a cow from Mike Decoit's V-8 Ranch at the east
end of Molokai at Kilohana Pastures that was slaughtered on Oahu at the
Slaughter Cooperative formerly Kahua Meat.  The lesions found are
suggestive of Tuberculosis (TB), says Dept. of Ag.
Laboratory tests are being conducted and we should have a more definitive
assessment of this situation within the next few weeks, reports Jason D.
Monize, DVM Program Manager, Animal Industry Division.  Until the
Department has a confirmed diagnosis as to the cause of these lesions, a
Hold Order has been placed on the V-8 Ranch.  This hold order restricts the
movement of catle from this ranch to slaughter only, by a permit, issued by
the State Veterinarian.
At this time there are no restrictions placed on the movement of any other
livestock from Molokai.  However, the Department requests the cooperation
of all livestock producers in completing Certificates of Livestock
Ownership/Movement for all livestock sales and movements.  Several copies
of the Certificates have been provided to known livestock producers on
Molokai by this time.
More Certificates or information:  1-800-468-4644, ext. 37100.
TUBERCULOSIS
The bovine type is known to infect not only cattle but man, swine, goats,
horses, and sheep.  Diagonisis of TB in animals, because of the absence of
clinical signs early in the disease, is sometimes difficult.  Skin tests,
combined with cervical tests, and regular slaughter and inspection are
proven effective control of this serious threat to animal and human health
described as a chronic wasting disease.  Although the primary lesions are
usually in the chest cavity, generalized Bovine tuberculosis does occur in
humans and can thrive anywhere in the body, i.e. comonly locates in spine
causing serious spinal deformities.  The precipitate decline in the disease
in man during the past forty years exactly parallels the rate of
eradication in cattle due to veterinary efforts.




Date: Thu, 10 Apr 97 16:11:37 -0400
>From: Karin Zupko 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Symposium on Vivisection (US-MA)
Message-ID: <9704102011.AA03944@titan.ma.neavs.com>

SYMPOSIUM ANNOUNCEMENT

Vivisection:  Issues & Ethics
Saturday, April 19, 1997, 1 pm - 4 pm
Co-sponsored by the New England Anti-Vivisection Society and the  
Harvard Animal Protection Committee.  


Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, Sever Building, Room 113.

Speakers:
Murry J. Cohen, M.D. - Integrative Medicine and Vivisection
Marjorie Cramer, M.D. - Women's Issues and Vivisection
Jerry W. Vlasak, M.D. - The Ethics of Vivisection 


Admission is free. 

Pre-registration is requested, but not required.
Call NEAVS at 617-523-6020 or e-mail info@ma.neavs.com for more  
information or to register.

We will videotape the symposium, and a tape will be available to  
activists through out video loan library.
Date: Fri, 11 Apr 1997 17:27:47 -0400
>From: allen schubert 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (CA) The hazards of Genetically Engineered Foods
Message-ID: <3.0.32.19970411172741.006cfa34@clark.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

from rec.food.veg:
----------------------------

 Title:    The hazards of Genetically Engineered Foods
         and
            What we Can Do to Protect Out Health

Speaker:    John Fagan, PhD

Date:    April 12, 8:00pm

Location:   Room EN-2006,
         S.J. Carew Building (Engineering Building)
         Memorial University

Sponsored by: Campaign to Ban Genetically Engineered Foods, Natural Law Party

======

Hundreds of genetically engineered foods are already in our stores.
These foods are not labeled and their long-term effects are not known.
New diseases, food allergies and other toxic effects are already appearing.

In this seminar, Dr Fagan will outline the problems that can result from
the development and use of genetically engineered foods, the things which
people who are concerned about these problems can do, as well as alternative
solutions that can be used instead of resorting to genetically engineering
foods.


About the speaker:

Dr. John Fagan has spent more than 23 years using cutting edge molecular
genetic techniques in cancer research. He received a B.S. (cum laude with
distinction in chemistry) from the University of Washington and a Ph.D. in
biochemistry and molecular biology from Cornell University. Dr. Fagan then
spent 7 years conducting research in molecular biology at the National
Institutes of Health, first as a postdoctoral fellow, and then, from 1980
to 1984, leading his own research group. In 1984 Dr. Fagan joined the
faculty at Maharishi University of Management in Fairfield, Iowa, where he
is now Professor of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, Chairman of the
Department of Chemistry, and Co-director of the Physiology and Molecular
and Cell Biology Ph.D. Program.

In recent years Dr. Fagan has been increasingly concerned about the dangers
of germ-line genetic engineering in humans and about the hazards of
releasing genetically engineered organisms into the environment.

In November of 1994, Dr. Fagan took an ethical stand against these
applications of genetic engineering, returning a $613,882 grant to the
National Institutes of Health and withdrawing grant applications worth
another $1.25 million. The grants would have supported research that might
have contributed indirectly to the development of germ-line genetic
engineering in humans. He urged scientists to take safer and more
productive research directions. He has himself begun to research natural
health promotion and disease prevention.


For more information, contact
    Michael Rayment, mike@cs.mun.ca, 737-8711 (w), 726 2664 (h)
or myself,
    Michael Rendell, michael@cs.mun.ca, 737-2020
Also, information can be found at
    http://www.natural-law.ca/genetic/geindex.html

--
Mike Rendell
Date: Fri, 11 Apr 1997 17:34:35 -0400
>From: allen schubert 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (Fwd) ALF FREES CHINCHILLA
Message-ID: <3.0.32.19970411173432.006d2e84@clark.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

from private e-mail:
------- Forwarded Message Follows -------
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
4/10/97

Texas Fur Farm Attacked by
Underground Animal Rights
Group; 10 Chinchilla 'Liberated'

     Deberry, TX -- Ten chinchilla were freed in a raid on a fur farm here late
Wednesday night by an international, underground animal rights group, which
has a history of freeing animals and attacking animal abuse companies.

     According to a communique released to sympathetic animal rights groups, the
Anima Liberation Front (ALF) attacked the Don Kelly Chinchilla Farm, located
near the border of Texas and Louisiana, near Shreveport.

     The raid, believed to be the first ever in Texas or Louisiana, is the 27th
fur farm raid in the past year and a half across the U.S. and Canada. An
estimated 37,000 mink, fox, chinchilla and other fur-bearing animals have
been freed in those attacks.

     It is the first-ever freedom raid of chinchilla. There are about 250,000
chinchilla worldwide, and about 100,000 in the U.S., killed every year for
coats. It takes about 100 chinchilla -- who are usually electrocuted for
their fur -- to make a fur coat.

     The ALF is an international organization which has freed tens of thousands
of animals from research labs, factory farms and fur farms, and caused
millions of dollars in damages to animal abuse industries through the use of
fires and other forms of sabotage. The ALF has a code of nonviolence, and
despite attacks since 1976, the group has never caused injury or death.

     This latest attack comes on the heels of a raid on the home of a furrier
Wednesday in Indianapolis, where the ALF claimed responsibility for paint
stripping a furrier's expensive automobiles, and paint bombing his home. The
ALF said it attacked the furrier to avenge the "murder" of millions of fur
bearing animals, and to protest the continued jailing of a 16-year-old
activist, who has not eaten for 46 days. Tony Wong was jailed for 60 days
for his participation in a peaceful anti-fur protest in November, and is now
being force-fed by the jamming of plastic tubes up his nose and into his
stomach. 

     Other recent raids by the ALF include a million-dollar fire a month ago at
the Utah Fur Breeders Cooperative. 
-30-

Western Region ALF Spokesperson: Dave Wilson (801) 963-9505
(NOTE: ALF spokespeople are sympathetic animal rights activists who have
chosen to be a representative for the ALF. They are not ALF activists, but
can speak for the group.)

     

***************************
*  FREE TONY WONG!        *
*  FREE STACY SCHIERHOLZ! *
*  FREE JEFF WATKINS!     *
***************************


Date: Fri, 11 Apr 1997 17:35:32 -0400
>From: allen schubert 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (Fwd) ALF HIT IN INDY
Message-ID: <3.0.32.19970411173529.006d2c68@clark.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

from private e-mail:
------- Forwarded Message Follows -------

NEWS ADVISORY
4/10/97

Underground Animal Group Claims Responsibility
For Attack on Furrier; 'Sabotage' Done to Avenge
Murdered Animals, Jailing of Tony Wong

INDIANAPOLIS -- The home and property of a prominent furrier has been
attacked by an underground animal rights group, which claimed in a
communique it "sabotaged" the furrier for his "murder...of the innocent" and
the jailing of teen hunger striker Tony Wong.

The Animal Liberation Front (ALF) -- an underground animal rights
organization that frees animals from research labs and from fur farms --
said it conducted an early morning paint bombing attack Wednesday on the
home of John Marcopolis - owner of Elan Furs.

The act was in support of anti-fur activist Tony Wong, currently jailed at
the Plainfield Boys' School on his 46th day without food.  The ALF stated
that "It must be known that these attacks will continue as long as the
injustice of the fur industry and the government's attempt to keep down
activism is continued.  The state of Indiana has not been allowed to kill
the spirit and fight of Tony Wong, and it will not be allowed to protect the
murderers of the innocent such as Marcopolis."
 
A national anti-fur organization today expressed support for the attack.
 
"We would rather see inanimate property destroyed than minks gassed, foxes
anally electrocuted or raccoons mutilated in steel traps," said Seth
Stevens, executive director of the Bloomington-based Animal Defense League.
"This kind of action causes no physical harm but increases the cost of being
in an immoral, and bloody business," he added. Stevens said he wasn't
surprised the ALF had begun to target furrier's homes, and noted that the
attack was just one aspect of a national campaign to shut down the fur trade
by "whatever means...short of physical violence."

The ALF is a clandestine animal liberation organization, in operation since
1976 in the U.S. It has freed tens of thousands of animals from labs, fur
ranches and factory farms, and caused millions of dollars of damage to
animal abuse industries and research labs. No one has ever been injured by
the ALF, which honors a code of "nonviolence" to living beings. The ALF does
not consider its sabotage to inanimate objects, such as buildings, as
violence.

For more information:  Seth Stevens 812/ 333-5261/ National: JP Goodwin
214/503-1419
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------

(Complete text of ALF communique is as follows)

"Under the veil of night on the early morning of April 9, 1997, the 
Animal Liberation Front targeted one of Indianapolis's most hated animal 
abusers - personally.  The ALF visited the home of John Marcopolis on the 
north side of the city, and they left their mark in a very noticeable 
way.  John Marcopolis is the owner of Elan Furs on the north side of 
Indianapolis.  He has refused to stop his support of the murder of the 
innocent, and this will not be tolerated.  Marcopolis left two very nice 
vehicles in the driveway, which were both completely covered with paint 
stripper.  The house was doused on all sides with red paint to symbolize 
the blood on his hands.  Slogans were also painted on his garage door.  
One read, 'Justice for your victims, ALF.'

This hit is in succession with other attacks on animal abusers and the 
bloody fur industry in support of activist Tony Wong.  It must be known 
that these attacks will continue as long as the injustice of the fur 
industry and the government's attempt to keep down activism is 
continued.  The state of Indiana has not been allowed to kill the spirit 
and fight of Tony Wong, and it will not be allowed to protect the 
murderers of the innocent such as Marcopolis."
-end-



***************************
*  FREE TONY WONG!        *
*  FREE STACY SCHIERHOLZ! *
*  FREE JEFF WATKINS!     *
***************************


Date: Fri, 11 Apr 1997 19:03:21 -0400
>From: allen schubert 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (US) King salmon could qualify for protection   
Message-ID: <3.0.32.19970411190319.006d47a8@clark.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

from Mercury Center web page:
-----------------------------------------------
Posted at 3:38 p.m. PDT Thursday, April 10, 1997   

King salmon could qualify for protection                

BY JOHN WRIGHT
Bridge News

SEATTLE -- King salmon -- highly coveted by
fishermen -- are in such decline in the Pacific
Northwest that they could qualify for the
endangered species list, according to a report by
federal scientists cited Thursday.

National Marine Fisheries Service biologists have
issued a draft report that could persuade federal
officials to designate as endangered the king
salmon, also known as chinook, a spokesman for the
agency in Seattle told Bridge News.

But the spokesman, Brian Gorman, was careful to say
that any such designation is a long way off. He
said that it would be the end of this year before
the agency makes any recommendation and that action
on making any such designation would probably take
another year.

``As a practical matter, it would be January 1999
before it happens,'' Gorman said.

He added that numerous organizations -- such as
Native American groups, Northwestern state agencies
and other U.S. federal agencies -- will get a
chance to pick apart the biologists' study before
any action is taken.

The report said that chinook aren't threatened with
extinction presently but are likely to become
endangered in the near future.

``There is no question that chinook are in rough
shape. It's likely that that basic judgment is not
going to change. Whether or not they're in such bad
shape that they need federal protection, we're
nowhere near a decision on that,'' Gorman said.

It would be the first time that a fish habitat in
Washington's Puget Sound was designated a protected
area. Three salmon areas along the Columbia and
Snake rivers are protected. Gorman said that the
report shows the king population in Puget Sound
down to 71,000 in recent years from 690,000 in
1911. Fewer than one-quarter of those were born in
the wild, with the rest coming from hatcheries.
Because of numerous hydroelectric dams along the
Columbia River, few chinook survive the upstream
climb to their spawning grounds.

A determination that any salmon is endangered would
empower the federal government to ban logging or
development in their watershed. Efforts to protect
the spotted owl had a serious impact on curtailing
logging in the Pacific Northwest.

In an effort to convince federal officials that
they don't need to intervene, 3 Northwestern states
have advanced their own initiatives to restore
salmon populations. The most comprehensive was a
law signed two weeks ago by Oregon Gov. John
Kitzhaber which will tax timber operations to fund
the program. A few days later, Idaho Gov. Phil Batt
unveiled his own similar program. Meanwhile,
officials in Washington state are debating a plan
which would cut back fishing.

The report states that chinook are in sufficient
decline in Oregon and northern California rivers to
warrant protection in those states but that they
don't need protection along the coastline.

Environmental organizations, however, favor federal
protection for salmon species, saying that unwise
state government policies have led to the fish
species' decline. Many environmentalists have
recommended getting rid of dams to restore fish
habitat.

The largest among salmon species, the chinooks can
grow to as much as 20 pounds.

Date: Fri, 11 Apr 1997 19:06:11 -0400
>From: allen schubert 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: U.S. says drug-resistant salmonella spreading     
Message-ID: <3.0.32.19970411190609.006df2e4@clark.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

from Mercury Center web page:
--------------------------------------------
Posted at 3:50 p.m. PDT Thursday, April 10, 1997

U.S. says drug-resistant salmonella spreading         

ATLANTA (Reuters) - One of the most common strains
of salmonella is showing increasing signs of
resistance to the antibiotics normally used to
treat it, federal health officials said Thursday.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC) said salmonella typhimurium, which accounts
for at least 24 percent of all reported salmonella
cases, is growing increasingly drug-resistant.

The CDC said a rising proportion of salmonella
typhimurium samples involve a strain usually
resistant to five commonly used antibiotics --
ampicillin, chloramphenicol, streptomycin,
sulfonamides and tetracycline.

``In the past six or seven years this subtype has
grown from being about seven percent of all
salmonella typhimurium isolates that we've tested
to almost 40 percent,'' Dr. Jeremy Sobel of the
CDC's Division of Bacterial and Mycotic Diseases
said.

``It is definitely increasing in incidence,'' Sobel
said. ''It may be driving up the total number of
illnesses.''

The drug-resistant strain caused an outbreak of
diarrheal illness among school children in Nebraska
last year. The source of the infection has not been
determined.

Unlike the most common type of salmonella, the
drug- resistant strain has been linked to sick farm
animals and eating contaminated meat. It has been
transmitted from cattle and sheep to people and has
also been found in cats, wild birds, rodents, foxes
and badgers.

In Britain, where the drug-resistant strain has
been reported for more than a decade, 41 percent of
people infected with the organism have required
hospitalization and three percent have died. The
more common form of salmonella, usually transmitted
by eggs, causes far fewer deaths.

``This is a type of salmonella which appeared first
in the United Kingdom in 1984 and it rapidly
emerged and became the second most-common type of
salmonella in the U.K.,'' Sobel said.

``The organism is acquiring even further resistance
to antibiotics which are commonly used for treating
salmonella and similar infections,'' he said.

Date: Thu, 10 Apr 1997 19:43:50 -0400 (EDT)
>From: SimonChai@aol.com
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (USA) Gatti Circus/Seattle
Message-ID: <970410194239_183159438@emout05.mail.aol.com>

If you live in the Seattle area, please note whether your local grocery or
drug store is giving away free tickets to the Gatti circus this coming
weekend. 

Your store manager may be willing to discard or return these tickets if you
simply explain how terrible circus life is for wild animals. 

The manager at my local grocery store was very receptive. When he heard what
kinds of conditions circus animals endure (and that using animals in this way
is illegal in many areas of British Columbia), he scooped up all the tickets
off the shelf. If the owner agrees, he'll discard or return them. Amazingly
easy!  Let's hit as many stores as we can this week!

Simon Chaitowitz
Seattle/Washington
Date: Thu, 10 Apr 1997 19:53:55 -0400
>From: Cesar Farell 
To: ar-news postings 
Subject: Protest to Free Paul Watson (Toronto)
Message-ID: 
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; CHARSET=US-ASCII

A march and demonstration will be held in Toronto to protest 
the arrest of Paul Watson by Dutch authorities for the 
purpose of extraditing him to Norway.

Location:  Ryerson Fountain, corner of Gould and Victoria 
           (1 block north of Dundas, 1 block east of Yonge)

Date/Time: Monday, April 14, 11:30 am

We will be marching to the office of the Netherlands 
Consulate General, located at 1 Dundas St. W. (Dundas
and Yonge) at 12 noon.  Bring along protest signs ("Free 
Paul Watson") if you can.


If you are not able to come and you live in the Toronto 
area, call or FAX the consulate at noon on Monday.  Let them 
know that Paul Watson is NOT a criminal, but rather, an 
environmental protector and hero.  

The numbers are:

  Tel: (416) 598-2520, ext. 24 (the Secretary to the        
                                Consulate General)
  Fax: (416) 598-8064


For further information, contact Tanjah, (416) 967-9988.


For those not in the Toronto area, call the office of your 
local Dutch consulate and demand Paul's freedom.


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

Here are some details on Paul Watson's current situation 
(previously posted to ar-news):

Date:   Thu, 10 Apr 1997 02:28:47 -0400
>From:   Andrew Gach 
To:     ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: FWD: Paul Watson needs help

Paul Watson, president of the Sea Shepherd Conservation 
Society,
co-founder of Greenpeace and one of the originators of 
direct action
environmentalism, has been arrested in the Netherlands by 
order of
the Norwegian Government. 

Norway has 20 days to request extradition.

THIS IS AN URGENT APPEAL TO ACTIVISTS.

What happened: - 

* In 1992, Norway announced its intention to return to the 
commercial
slaughter of whales despite the International Whaling 
Commission's
ban on whaling, declared in 1986. Sea Shepherd announced 
that it
would act to enforce the ban on whaling as well as 
international
treaties protecting endangered wildlife. 

* On October 4th, 1993, US President Clinton announced that 
he would
not enforce a mandated US embargo against Norway. 

* On May 31st, 1994, Sea Shepherd's Paul Watson and Lisa 
Distefano
were convicted in absentia by a Norwegian court on the 
charge of
sinking an illegal Norwegian whaing vessel dockside in 1992. 
No
summons was issued to the defendants. Watson and Distefano 
offered to
appear if the Norwegian Government would guarantee their 
safety or
agree to a change of venue from the Lofoten Islands district 
of
Norway, a source of numerous death threats against them. The 
request
was ignored and the trial was held without the defendants 
present.
(Norway's current extradition warrant claims Watson and 
Distefano
personally sank the vessel, but the Lofoten District Court 
Record
notes, "the two accused were not in the country and could 
not take
direct part."). 

*     In July 1994, off the northern coast of Norway, the 
Sea
Shepherd whale conservation vessel Whales Forever was rammed 
by the
Norwegian coastguard, fired on twice and four depth charges 
were
detonated under the hull by Norwegian commandos. Norway 
accused
Watson of ramming their vessel.  They failed to serve papers 
on the
charges and abandoned the case in October 1996. 

*     Last year Norway's pro-whaling Prime Minister formally 
handed
over the reins of power to her successor, Tor Jageland. For 
the last
several months the High North Alliance, a Scandanavian 
wise-use
group, has been steadily lobbying the Norwegian Government 
to
extradite and gaol Watson and Distefano.  This is an 
election year in
Norway and the un-elected Prime Minister Jageland 
desperately needs
the support of the politically powerful northern coastal 
districts -
home of the whaling industry. 

*     On March 31st, while supervising the transfer of a Sea 
Shepherd
ship in preperation for a campaign against illegal 
driftnetiing in
the Mediterranean, Paul Watson was arrested by harbour 
police in the
German port of Bremerhaven acting on Norway's Interpol 
warrant.
German authorities chose not to extradite him and he was 
released.
Three days later, Paul was arrested again by Dutch police in
Amsterdam. At a preliminary hearing held on the 3rd of 
April, Judge
Toeter of the Haarlem District Court ordered Paul Watson to 
be held
for 20 days to allow Norway to make an extradition request. 

*     DO NOT MISTAKE IT:- IF PAUL WATSON IS EXTRADITED TO 
NORWAY HE
WILL DIE IN PRISON.  Norway is going after the only real 
threat to
their plans for a vastly increased whale slaughter. Their 
stockpile
of Minke blubber is enormous, they are trying to change 
CITES
regulations so they can export it. They want the pressure 
taken off.
They want Paul Watson and Sea Shepherd gone forever. Paul 
Watson has
been getting direct death threats from Norwegians and Norway 
will not
guarantee his safety inside Norway.

WE MUST NOT LET THIS HAPPEN 

Help by immediately calling, faxing or writing to the 
following and ask
them please; Do Not Allow Paul Watson To Be Extradited To 
Norway!

*     Send to; Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Tel: 
+31 70 348
      4196, Fax: +31 70 348 5559, Bezuidenhoutseug 67, 
2594AC The
Hague.    
      Airmail to The Hague!

*     Write to Paul Watson, Penitentiaire Inrichting 
Lelystad,
      Larserdreef 300, 8233HB Lolystad, The Netherlands.

*     Contact your nearest Netherlands Consulate and ask for 
Paul's
      release and to relay your message to the 
Netherlands...time is
      crucial!

*     Please try and spare some money for his defence, send 
to:- Sea  
      Shepherd Conservation Society, P.O. Box 334 Clifton 
Hill,
      Victoria, 3068, Australia. Tel/fax 03 9482 4668

*     Inform Sea Shepherd Headquaters in the USA, (tel +1 
310 301 7325/ 
      fax +1 310 574 3161) asap if you have any way of 
putting pressure
      on the Dutch.

*     Call or fax your local MP and anybody of influence you 
think might
      help, write to your local paper and forward any result 
to Sea
      Shepherd asap.

Here are addresses that everyone can help write a letter to:

  Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs
  Bezuidenhoutseug 67, 2594AC The Hague.

  Paul Watson, Penitentiaire Inrichting Lelystad,Larserdreef
        300, 8233HB Lolystad, The Netherlands.

Jon Sumby
Sea Shepherd Conservation Society - Australia: Tel/Fax +61 
39482 4668
        P.O. Box 334, Clifton Hill, Victoria, 3068,Australia
                   



Date: Thu, 10 Apr 1997 16:09:13 +0000
>From: Ione Smith 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Texas snow monkeys on TV
Message-ID: <334D6655.354F@utkux.utcc.utk.edu>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

Apologies if this has already been posted here...got this from another
list, and I know some round here have interest in these critters--

--
Hi all, 

The life and times of the Texas Snow Monkeys are documented in this
weekend's National Geographic Explorer. The piece entitled "Snow Monkey
Roundup" explores the life of the Snow Monkeys since their arrival in
Texas in 1972 right up to their third and last move to their new home
in  Millett, Tx this last winter.

National Geographic Explorer on TBS, Sunday April 13 at 7pm and 11pm
(eastern time).

-- 

Ione

==================================================
http://funnelweb.utcc.utk.edu/~ilsmith/ethics.html
     for all sides of the AR/AW/anti-AR debate

http://funnelweb.utcc.utk.edu/~ilsmith/stereo.html
       the stereotypical behaviors database
  --under construction--all additions welcomed!--
==================================================
If a little knowledge is dangerous, where is the man who 
has so much as to be out of danger?--T.H. Huxley
Date: Thu, 10 Apr 1997 22:50:04 -0400 (EDT)
>From: Franklin Wade 
To: Ar-News 
Subject: UPC Spring 1997 Poultry Press 
Message-ID: 
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII

The Spring 1997 issue of the Poultry Press has been added
to the United Poultry Concerns Website.  It is accessible from
the main page or directly at:

http://www.envirolink.org/arrs/upc/upcnewss97.html

Highlights include: Ostrich Expose, Alternatives to Easter Egg Hunt 
and More!

_____________________________________________________________________
franklin@smart.net                                   Franklin D. Wade 
        United Poultry Concerns - www.envirolink.org/arrs/upc
        Compassion Over Killing - www.envirolink.org/arrs/cok        

Date: Thu, 10 Apr 1997 19:49:49 -0700 (PDT)
>From: David J Knowles 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: [UK] Trust bans stag hunts in a day
Message-ID: <1.5.4.16.19970410195022.1b07cb1c@dowco.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"


>From The Eletronic Telegraph - Friday, April 11th, 1997

Trust bans stag hunts in a day
By Charles Clover, Environment Editor 


THE ruling council of the National Trust decided unanimously yesterday to
ban stag hunting, a sport practised for centuries, a day after a report by
leading scientists said it was cruel.

Supporters of hunting accused the trust of making a decision that could lead
to the extermination of red deer on Exmoor and the Quantock hills because
farmers would be less tolerant of the damage they caused.

The British Field Sports Society said the decision would make it impossible
for one hunt, the Quantock, to continue, and would cause "major
inconvenience" to the Devon and Somerset Staghounds.

It would also cause problems for the New Forest Buckhounds, which hunt
fallow deer. They are likely to find it impossible to continue anyway if a
Labour government bans hunting on Forestry Commission land. The decision
will place pressure on Parliament to move quickly to decide the future of
deer hunting with hounds.

Charles Nunneley, the trust's chairman, said its quick decision, taken by
the council without waiting for comment from outside experts, was based on
the "crystal clear" report by Prof Patrick Bateson showing that "hunting
causes suffering to the animals to a degree which is far beyond their
natural expectation". 

He said that the 14-member panel which oversaw the report represented a
comprehensive cross-section of experts nominated by pro-hunting and
anti-hunting bodies. He also called on the next government to set up an
expert committee to review the cruelty  involved in all field sports.

Hunting's supporters privately accused the National Trust of acting
precipitately and without due consideration of any possible flaws in Prof
Bateson's report, which has just two main authors.  

The council's action certainly ends a nine-year battle by animal welfare
activists to ban deer hunting with hounds on trust land. The trust's
responsibilities, set out in its own Act of 1907, are to promote the
preservation of the land it owns, including natural features and animal life.

But the master of the Quantocks Staghounds, Bill Fewings, said: "They don't
understand what they've done. You can say goodbye to the red deer. The only
places in the country where there are deer are where there is hunting."

The trust's decision would mean the hunt would close at the end of the
season, its horses would have to be sold and its hounds put down. "That's
the end of the hunt balls, the point-to-points, everything," Mr Fewings
said. "I love the deer. I have hundreds on my farm. I'm devastated."

Paul Laytham, press officer of the British Field Sports Society, said:
"We're very concerned about what this will mean to the welfare of the deer
as a whole."

But Kevin Saunders, of the League Against Cruel Sports, said: "We are over
the moon. We have been campaigning for this for years. We are now calling
upon all political parties to make their positions clear on this issue and
ban all types of hunting, including fox and hare
hunting. We believe this is a very big nail in the coffin of hunting."

He said it would be up to members whether to extend their campaigns into
other sports, such as fishing. The ban will not apply to two areas of land,
one in the Quantocks and one at Dunkery Beacon on Exmoor, where covenants
protect hunting. The trust is to reassess, and probably reinforce, the
culling programme.

© Copyright Telegraph Group Limited 1997.

Date: Thu, 10 Apr 1997 20:26:23 -0800
>From: j_abbott@portal.ca (Jennifer Abbott)
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: "Antibiotics in feed a concern"
Message-ID: 
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"


"Antibiotics in feed a concern"
>From the Vancouver Sun, April 8, 1997
OTTAWA - Antibiotics used in animal feed are contributing to the
development of drug-resistant bacteria which pose a threat to human health,
says a top federal scientist. Joseph Losos, an expert on infestious
diseases, gave the blunt assessment Monday at a symposium on emerging
diseases.

Antibiotics are often mixed with animal feed because they have been found
to promote growth and productivity, and their use has been the subject of
debate within the scientific community. Monique Renaud-Gagne, an official
for the health department, said the department is monitoring the situation.
She said Canada permits the use of antibiotics in animal feed.


Date: Thu, 10 Apr 1997 23:33:02 -0400
>From: Vegetarian Resource Center 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: current environmental legislation re: animals
Message-ID: <3.0.32.19970410233235.01e29804@pop.tiac.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

GRAZING PENALTIES:  Western Republicans complained that the USFS is 
trying to eliminate livestock grazing in national forests during a 
hearing before a House Resources subcommittee, reports AP writer Scott 
Sonner.  Rep. Mike Crapo (R-ID) called the tougher enforcement of 
grazing permit violations "intimidation." Rep. Bruce Vento (D-MN) and 
Jeff DeBonis, executive director of Public Employees for Environmental 
Responsibility, supported the Forest Service's actions aimed at 
protecting the public lands.  "Using this guise of oversight, this 
hearing is in reality a legislative lynching of public servants because 
these resource managers are trying to do their job," said DeBonis.

FLOOD HEARING:  The House Resources Committee held a hearing yesterday 
on legislation introduced by Reps. Pombo and Herger (R-CA) that would 
provide a waiver of the ESA for flood control activities.  The 
legislation fails to take into account the emergency provisions already 
included in the Act, as well as the actual flood causes.  According to 
Mike Senatore of Defenders of Wildlife, "This legislation will 
eliminate vital protections for many endangered species, but will do 
absolutely nothing to prevent flooding disasters from occurring again 
in the future."

CATTLE HERDING:  Kit Laney of the Diamond Bar Ranch in New Mexico has 
begun removing his cattle from the Gila National Forest Wilderness 
Areas following a federal court order, according to an AP article.  The 
Forest Service has ordered that the cattle be removed from the most 
sensitive streamside areas by April 15.  Laney contends that he will 
take his case all the way to the Supreme Court if necessary to keep 
grazing on the public lands.  The Forest Service argues that grazing 
has damaged the ranch ranges and U.S. District Judge Howard Bratton 
ruled that the federal government regulates the land.

STRONG ESA:  A strong Endangered Species Act means a strong economy in 
the Pacific Northwest, argues Glen Spain, Northwest Regional Director 
for the Pacific Coast Federation of Fisherman's Associations in a 
Fishlink Alert.  72,000 jobs have been lost in past 30 years and the 
region loses $1.5 billion annually from declining salmon populations.  
Spain says that clearcutting, dams, water diversion, and chemical 
pollution leave 90% of the remaining salmon runs at risk of extinction 
and that a strong ESA may be the best way to prevent further salmon 
declines.  "In the final analysis, the ESA protects both the economic 
as well as the biological bottom line.  Use up your natural capital and 
sooner or later you will face both biological and economic bankruptcy -
- you will, in short, have committed economic suicide."  

BULL TROUT LISTING: Responding to a lawsuit by environmentalists, the 
Fish and Wildlife Service has dropped its request to wait until August 
to make a proposal to list the bull trout under the Endangered Species 
Act, according to an AP article.  The agency now says it can propose 
listing the trout as threatened or endangered in the Columbia and 
Klamath River basins by June.  Alliance for the Wild Rockies and 
Friends of the Wild Swan proposed the bull trout for listing in 1992. 

CONDOR CHICK:  The California Condor population has increased 
to 123 with the hatching of three baby chicks in the Los Angeles Zoo, 
according to an AP article.  The giant carrion-eaters numbered only 27 
eight years ago due to habitat loss and poisoning from eating lead 
shot-laden carcasses.

"HANKY PANKY":  Scientists studying the osprey on Long Island's 
Shelter Island have found some disturbing new mating habits, reports 
the New York Times.  "In an animal kingdom where polygamy and incest 
are commonly the rule, the osprey has long been viewed as a paragon of 
virtue along with the monogamous goose."  Scientists are now 
realizing, with blushes, that ospreys are more interested in staying 
faithful to their nests than to their actual mates.  

BITTERROOT DELAY:  Federal officials have delayed the release of an 
environmental impact statement on the reintroduction of grizzly bears 
to Idaho's Bitterroot Mountains at the urging of Idaho Fish and Game 
Department Director Stephen Mealey, reports the Idaho Statesman.  
Mealey earlier advised officials that stifling the EIS would be the 
best way to stop reintroduction of the grizzly.  The Interagency 
Grizzly Bear Committee has now postponed release of the EIS until 
Mealey can set up meetings with the governor and other state officials. 



Date: Thu, 10 Apr 1997 23:47:16 -0400
>From: Vegetarian Resource Center 
To: AR-News@envirolink.org
Subject: HOLLAND:  FREE PAUL WATSON
Message-ID: <3.0.32.19970410233524.00e25d28@pop.tiac.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

To: actgreen@envirolink.org
Subject: ACTION ALERT--Paul Watson is Jail:  Contact the Following
X-Sender: rfeather@pop3.clark.net
X-Listprocessor-Version: 8.0 -- ListProcessor(tm) by CREN


     URGENT ACTION ALERT! URGENT ACTION ALERT! URGENT ACTION ALERT!

Contact: Lisa Distefano (310) 301-7225

HOLLAND:  FREE PAUL WATSON

On Wednesday, April 2, 1997, Dutch Police in Amsterdam arrested Paul 
Watson, President of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.  Just two 
days earlier, Paul was arrested and released by the German authorities 
where he was supervising the transfer of the Sea Shepherd vessel in 
preparation for a campaign against illegal drift netting in the 
Mediterranean.

Watson, co-founder of Greenpeace, has actively opposed Norway's illegal 
commercial whaling since 1992, when Norway began openly violating the 
global moratorium on whaling imposed in 1986 by the International 
Whaling Commission.  A world renowned conservationist, educator and 
activist who has on numerous occasions physically placed his body 
between whaling harpoons and the magnificent creatures to ensure their 
protection stated-

"Since 1986 it has been illegal to kill whales, and Norway has defied 
that law.  We have continued to focus our protest activities on 
Norway's illegal whaling.  We will put Norway on trial in the 
Netherlands court and use this opportunity to further expose Norway's 
illegal activities to the world."

However, since Paul Watson's arrest and imprisonment in Holland, both 
Norway and Iceland have requested his extradition to their countries 
and courts. Although Germany refused to confine, or to extradite Paul 
to Norway, it is likely that Holland will not refuse.  "This is an 
election year in Norway, and Paul's Life is the floundering Prime 
Minister's ticket to re-election.  Holland has unintentionally involved 
itself in the politics of Norway's election and politics of whaling.  
As well, Holland is not aware of the serious death threats that Paul 
has been receiving from whom we believe are Norwegian private whaling 
interests.  If Paul Watson is imprisoned in Norway, we know that he 
will never leave alive," stated Sea Shepherd's International Director, 
Lisa Distefano.

As of this morning, Watson was alive and able to contact the Sea 
Shepherd Society office in California.  He is being held in solitary 
confinement until a hearing date is determined within the next 10 
business days.  Attorney Lewis von Utenhove, of Den Haag, feels 
confident that the Dutch authorities will come to the same decision 
that German authorities did based on the documentation and false 
charges of scuttling the illegal whaling vessel "Nybraena" in a Lofoten 
Island port in 1992.

HOW YOU CAN HELP:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  *  Distribute this information far and wide

  *  Help organize or participate in a "FREE PAUL WATSON" rally at the 
     nearest Dutch Embassy ASAP Have your environmental organization, 
     church minister and/or local government representatives contact 
     the Dutch Embassy.

PLEASE CONTACT THE FOLLOWING AUTHORITIES IMMEDIATELY

State the following

  *  "Free Paul Watson"

  *  "Stop Illegal Whaling in Norway"

  *  "Do not allow Paul Watson to be extradited to Norway where his 
     life will be endangered" 

  *  "The Norwegian government should be held accountable for violating 
     the global moratorium on whaling that was imposed in 1986 by the 
     International Whaling Commission." 

  *  "If Holland extradites Paul Watson to Norway, I will boycott 
     tourism and trade goods of both Holland and Norway."

     Holland

    Madam Sorgdrager
    Minister of Justice
    PO Box 20301
    2500 EH The Hague
    The Netherlands
Tel: 31-70-370-7911 
Fax: 31-70-370-7900

 Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs
   Bezuidenhoutseueg 67
2594 AC The Hague
Tel: 31-70-348-4196 or 348-6486
Fax: 31-70-384-5559 or 384-4848

Royal Netherlands Embassy
Political Affairs Section
4200 Linnean Avenue NW
Washington DC 20008
Attn: Mr. Anton Schellekens
Tel: (202) 274-2752
Fax: (202) 364-4213

Consul General Peters
of the Netherlands
11766 Wilshire Blvd.
West Los Angeles, CA 90024
Tel: (310) 268-1598
Fax: (310) 312-0989

UNITED STATES

President William Jefferson Clinton
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, DC 20500
Tel: (202) 456-1414
Fax: (202) 456-2461

Vice President Albert Gore
Old Executive Office Building
Washington, DC 20501
Tel: (202) 456-2623
Fax: (202) 456-2710

Office of Senator ______________
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510

Congress Switchboard (202) 224-3121

Write a letter to support Paul:
Penitentiare Inrichting Lelystad
Larserdreef 300
8233 HB Lelystad
The Netherlands

*Inform our office of any influential people that you know that could 
put pressure on the Dutch government.


==========================================================
Roger Featherstone -- Director
GrassRoots Environmental Effectiveness Network
A project of Defenders of Wildlife
1101 14th St. NW, Suite 1400,  Washington,  DC  20005
(202) 682-9400 x290  fax:(202) 682-1331 e-mail:  rfeather@clark.net
check out our web page at:  http://www.defenders.org/grnhome.html
==========================================
For correspondence regarding our listserve and GREENLines
contact: rfeather@clark.net  (NOT listproc@envirolink.org)
================================


Date: Thu, 10 Apr 1997 20:51:25 -0700
>From: Andrew Gach 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Monkeypox returns to Africa
Message-ID: <334DB53D.2512@worldnet.att.net>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

Monkeypox returns to Africa

Reuter Information Service 

ATLANTA (April 10, 1997 5:37 p.m. EDT) - The largest cluster of human
monkeypox cases ever reported has occurred in the African rain forest of
Zaire, health officials said Thursday.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said at least 92
cases occurred last year in 12 villages in the Katako-Kombe zone of
Kasai-Oriental. Active cases were still being reported in February of
this year, the agency said.

Monkeypox is related to smallpox but cannot mutate into smallpox.
Smallpox vaccination is usually effective against monkeypox, but
vaccination rates have declined since the illness was eradicated in the
late 1970s, the CDC said.

Monkeypox is found in wild animals in the African rain forest. Previous
cases in Zaire have been linked to tree squirrels. The CDC said that in
last year's outbreak the disease may have been transmitted from person
to person.
Date: Thu, 10 Apr 1997 20:52:59 -0700
>From: Andrew Gach 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Drug resistent salmonella in thew US
Message-ID: <334DB59B.C17@worldnet.att.net>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

Drug-resistant salmonella appears in the U.S 

The Associated Press 

ATLANTA (April 10, 1997 5:31 p.m. EDT) -- A strain of salmonella
bacteria that killed 10 people in Britain in 1994 and has proved
resistant to common antibiotics has reached the United States.

Salmonella typhimurium DT104, discovered in the United Kingdom in 1984,
caused an outbreak among 19 children in Nebraska in October, the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday. The children suffered
diarrhea, nausea and fever.

It is the first U.S. outbreak linked to that strain, according to the
CDC, which is trying to pinpoint the source.

The CDC found that the bacteria are resistant to ampicillin and
tetracycline, which are commonly used to treat salmonella poisoning. The
drugs trimethoprim and fluoroquinolones are being used to treat the
infections in Britain, but the bacteria are becoming resistant to them
as well.

The strain is the second most common type of salmonella in the United
Kingdom.  Outbreaks have been linked to farm animals, pork sausage, meat
paste and raw chicken.

Of the 19 children, 18 who had diarrhea drank chocolate milk with an
expired date at lunch a few days earlier.
Date: Thu, 10 Apr 1997 20:55:20 -0700
>From: Andrew Gach 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Science or science fiction?
Message-ID: <334DB628.677F@worldnet.att.net>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

Cloning holds promise for spinal cord injuries, fighting cancer

The Associated Press 

WASHINGTON (April 10, 1997 02:19 a.m. EDT) -- All those headlines about
Dolly the cloned sheep helped Dr. Doros Platika raise $25 million from
investors suddenly less skeptical about his biotechnology firm's
attempts to reprogram genes and treat disease.

Lost in the uproar over cloning is a biological feat that doctors say
might someday allow them to do just that -- reprogram someone's cells to
grow new bone marrow, fight genetic diseases, even heal spinal cords.

"It's an area of tremendous interest," said National Institutes of
Health Director Harold Varmus, who is pushing Congress to put aside
fears that human cloning might be tried an not ban Dolly-spurred
research with great medical promise.

And Dolly's creation from a single reprogrammed udder cell gave a boost
to companies already trying different methods to switch genes on and
off, in a little-known field called developmental biology.

"I used to have the door slammed in my face," said Platika, president of
Ontogeny Inc., which raised the $25 million last month to fund work to
regrow, among other things, brain cells destroyed by Parkinson's
disease.

Dolly showed "this is not science fiction," added Platika, a neurologist
who is preparing to publish data showing his treatment stimulated brain
cell regrowth in mice. "People now realize there's a lot more plasticity
in the body than they thought."

Virtually every cell contains a person's entire genetic blueprint, all
80,000 to 100,000 genes.

But during embryo development, cells become specialized -- scientists
call it "differentiation" -- meaning only the genes responsible for that
cell's function in life are turned on. Which genes are awake and which
are in a deep sleep determines that a skin cell will forever be a skin
cell and not a brain cell or a pancreas cell.

Then Dolly creator Ian Wilmut shattered biology's dogma.

The Scottish researcher essentially "undifferentiated" a sheep's udder
cell, turning back the clock to make it think it was still an early
embryo cell uncommitted to a special function.  Then he awakened all the
genes to spin off the cells needed for an entire sheep.

The medical interest in Wilmut's discovery "is not cloning per se,"
Varmus said in an interview. While he cautioned that years of research
are needed, "there's a lot of potential for gene control."

One key to Wilmut's success was awakening the deprogrammed cell after it
was placed inside a sheep's egg. Biologists already knew eggs and early
embryos from different species contain gene-regulating molecules that
switch genes on and off during different stages of life.

If doctors could control those gene-regulating substances, they might
stimulate regrowth of nerve cells, which do not regenerate naturally
after a spinal cord injury. Or they might deprogram a skin cell and
reawaken only genes that create bone marrow to grow cancer victims a
customized transplant. Or they could fight sickle cell anemia by
switching on a vital blood-producing gene.

Developmental biologists already were isolating gene-regulating
molecules, but instead of working backwards from an adult cell, they
cull the substances from human and animal embryos and try growing them
up.

Ontogeny has patented 30 molecules that activate genes responsible for,
among other things, the embryonic development of brain, sperm and bone
cells. These genes become dormant, so Platika's goal is to awaken them
to redo their jobs in Parkinson's patients, men with low sperm counts or
elderly women with broken hips.

But "we have a long way to go," cautioned Harvard University
developmental biologist Dr. Stuart Orkin, who can grow new blood from
mouse embryo cells, but has found it doesn't work properly when
transplanted into animals.

"What Dolly's experience does is tell you it ought to be possible in
principle," Orkin said.  "Getting to some application is a long ways
off."

Still, Dolly's method did raise the potential of customized treatments
that patients' bodies wouldn't reject, by working backwards from a
patient's own cells instead of using laboratory-grown cells, said
Millenium Pharmaceuticals President Steve Holtzman, a member of the
National Bioethics Advisory Commission that will advise President
Clinton about cloning.

"The great majority of the world could fall asleep" on this technical
side of Dolly's creation, said Ontogeny's Platika. But "to me it's so
exciting because it said you can ... unlock the body's capabilities to
repair and regenerate."



ARRS Tools  |  News  |  Orgs  |  Search  |  Support  |  About the ARRS  |  Contact ARRS

THIS SITE UNDERWRITTEN IN PART BY:
Cyberian Outpost

The views and opinions expressed within this page are not necessarily those of the
EnviroLink Network nor the Underwriters. The views are those of the authors of the work.