AR-NEWS Digest 691

Topics covered in this issue include:

  1) Tear UPCOMING EVENTS
     by "Nancy Gomez" 
  2) Colombia's rare species under threat during Easter
     by Andrew Gach 
  3) Meat packers don't let their workers go to the bathroom
     by Andrew Gach 
  4) Wife murderer masterminds rhino horn deal
     by Andrew Gach 
  5) [UK] Swan causes road blockage
     by David J Knowles 
  6) [DE] Dog killed in squat raid
     by David J Knowles 
  7) [UK] Foster fails to revive anti-hunt Bill
     by David J Knowles 
  8) [UK] Sales of sheep dip may be curbed
     by David J Knowles 
  9) [UK] BSE herds 'needlessly infected'
     by David J Knowles 
 10) [UK] Dolly fleeced for fashion
     by David J Knowles 
 11) (NZ/AUST)RCD supporters wary of NZ RCD conference
     by bunny 
 12) (NZ/AUST)The truth about RCD
     by bunny 
 13) BOULDER BULLS
     by STFORJEWEL 
 14) AIDS, Human Testing vs Animal Testing by Ronald C. Desrosier
     by =?iso-8859-1?Q?Jordi_Ni=F1erola?= <2063511@campus.uab.es>
 15) Admin Note -- Apology
     by ar-admin@envirolink.org
 16) (US) Fla. Meat Worker's Death Probed
     by allen schubert 
 17) Florida Considers Ban on Mule Diving
     by Tereiman 
 18) RFI:  Looking for AR groups in China
     by Tereiman 
 19) [FRA] New law by Dogs in France
     by =?iso-8859-1?Q?Jordi_Ni=F1erola?= <2063511@campus.uab.es>
 20) Reminder:  Howard Lyman to speak in Kingston, NY
     by Constance Young 
 21) (TW) Ivory smuggling suspects arrested
     by Vadivu Govind 
 22) Whale Protection Law Appealed--BOSTON, MA
     by RUTH BODEMAN 
 23) RV: AIDS, Human Testing vs Animal Testing by Ronald C. Desrosier
     by =?iso-8859-1?Q?Jordi_Ni=F1erola?= <2063511@campus.uab.es>
 24) COLORADO SENATE/POACHING CRACKDOWN
     by STFORJEWEL 
 25) (US) Kansas Rabid Puppy Warning
     by JanaWilson 
 26) Animal lovers buy the purr-fect plate (Texas)
     by Michael Markarian 
 27) Dead Grackles Prompt Offer (Connecticut)
     by Michael Markarian 
 28) Houston Rockets and SNAP Clinic (Texas)
     by Michael Markarian 
 29) Bill may lift Sunday hunting ban (Michigan)
     by Michael Markarian 
 30) A Messy Food Fight (California Live Animal Markets)
     by Michael Markarian 
 31) Yellowstone Park Limits Focus of Enviro Impact Study
     by Michael Markarian 
 32) Battle of snowmobilers vs. quiet-seekers rages on at
  Yellowstone
     by Michael Markarian 
 33) Snowmobiles Bring Tourists, Tension to Park (Yellowstone)
     by Michael Markarian 
 34) CT Puppies 
     by Friends of Animals 
 35) Battle Lines Drawn Along Snowmobile Trails (Yellowstone)
     by Michael Markarian 
 36) CALIFORNIA WILDLIFE ALERT
     by CFOXAPI 
 37) (MT) Senator Burns wants to export more beef
     by "Christine M. Wolf" 
 38) [UK] BSE Inquiry - BSE in the US
     by David J Knowles 
 39) (NZ)Forest And Bird Society Accused of Economic Sabotage
     by bunny 
 40) (NZ)Asteroid Could Hit Earth
     by bunny 
 41) (NZ)Squid Fishing Will Be Curtailed Around Auckland Islands
     by bunny 
 42) (NZ)Seldom-seen whales wash up on beach 
     by bunny 
 43) (US) House Advances Hog Bill
     by allen schubert 
 44) (US) Deer on Hilton Head Island to Be Killed
     by Dena Jones 
 45) 44 Puppies Die in Connecticut Truck Fire
     by Vegetarian Resource Center 
Date: Thu, 12 Mar 1998 22:54:11 -0600
From: "Nancy Gomez" 
To: "ar-news" 
Subject: Tear UPCOMING EVENTS
Message-ID: <01bd4e3c$108ca920$180542ce@girl>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: multipart/alternative;
     boundary="----=_NextPart_000_0004_01BD4E09.C5F23920"

TEAR UPCOMING EVENTS

Saturday, March 14, 
1998
The Animal Connection of 
Texas (ACT) and TEAR will be having a joint general monthly meeting 
beginning at 11:00 am at the Center for Community Cooperation, 2900 Live Oak, 
Dallas. Doors open at 10:30 am. 

Friday, March 20, 
1998
Great American 
Meatout-Tabling event at Crossroads Market Bookstore 6:00-10:00 p.m. 
Please call Christy @ 817-261-0474 to volunteer or for more 
information.

Saturday, March 21, 
1998
ACT will be 
taking a field trip to Black Beauty Ranch. Activists are to meet at REI off I635 
between Webb Chapel & Midway at 10:00 a.m. For more information please call 
Gary at 972-306-2263.

Saturday, March 28, 
1998
Global Day of Action 
Against Proctor & Gamble 12:00 p.m. SE corner of Preston & 
Forest next to Eckerd's

April 10-12, 
1998
Deep Ellum 
Festival-TEAR will be tabling at this event if you would like to 
volunteer please call 972-623-6170

Saturday, May 2, 
1998
TEAR will be tabling at this 
year’s Adopt-a-Thon, sponsored by the Animal Rescue 
League of Denton. The event takes place in the Target Parking lot, Lewisville 
(off I-35), 10:00 am - 6:00 p.m. To volunteer contact Greg at 
972-418-8169.
All activist are encouraged to 
wear their TEAR t-shirts to all events. To contact TEAR directly please call our 
voice mail at 972-623-6170 or for the most up to date information call 
972-418-5398. 

Texas Establishment for Animal 
Rights
email: tearmail@flash.net phone: 972-623-6170 
infoline: 972-418-5398
snail mail: 660 Preston Forest Center, Suite 354 Dallas, TX 
75230-2718
This page last updated: 
Thursday, March 12, 1998

Date: Thu, 12 Mar 1998 21:50:32 -0800
From: Andrew Gach 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Colombia's rare species under threat during Easter
Message-ID: <3508C928.2281@worldnet.att.net>
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Colombia's rare species under threat during Easter

Reuters News Service 
BOGOTA, March 12, 1998

Colombian environmental officials said Thursday that the consumption of
rare animal species during religious holidays was having a negative
influence on the country's biodiversity.

Environment Minister Eduardo Verano de la Rosa said the traditional
Roman Catholic ban on eating red meat during Easter and Lent led to an
increase in hunting of iguanas, turtles and alligators for their meat
and eggs.

"We calculate that at least 50,000 iguanas and 100,000 turtles have been
killed in 1998," Verano de la Rosa told a news conference.

"We want to call the public's attention to this, so that every time they
find someone selling one of these species, they explain to them that
they are massacring our animals," he said.

The animals most at risk during the religious holiday period are
iguanas, he said.

The animals are hunted at night and cut open to remove the eggs from the
female's womb. The eggs are washed, cooked in salted water and left to
dry. After two hours they are ready to eat.

The meats from Atlantic coast turtles and alligators from the Amazon
region in the south of the country are also popular delicacies at this
time of year, Verano de la Rosa said.

With less than a month until Holy Week, Environment Ministry officials
have seized about 10,000 iguana eggs and 5,000 turtle eggs.

More than 90 percent of Colombia's 37 million inhabitants are Roman
Catholic.
Date: Thu, 12 Mar 1998 21:55:45 -0800
From: Andrew Gach 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Meat packers don't let their workers go to the bathroom
Message-ID: <3508CA61.288A@worldnet.att.net>
MIME-Version: 1.0
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Some workers not allowed proper access to bathrooms on the job

The Associated Press 

(March 12, 1998 1:36 p.m. EST http://www.nando.net) -- An Iowa teacher
brings her entire class to the bathroom with her when she needs to go
and can't find a substitute. A North Carolina meatpacker had to wait so
long for permission to go that she soiled her clothes.

For most people, using the toilet at work hardly causes trouble; they
just get up and go. But for teachers, factory workers, telemarketers,
farm workers and others, meeting this simple need can mean humiliating
pleas for permission and even risking the loss of their job. Some try
not to drink liquids or go to the toilet all day -- habits that court
medical problems.

Federal law currently requires employers only to have enough bathrooms,
not to allow workers to use them. That is to change this spring, when
the Occupational Safety and Health Administration will issue its first
explicit directive requiring bathroom access.

"When I first heard about this problem, I was horrified to learn that
employers can get away with this," said Marc Linder, who wrote "Void
Where Prohibited," a book on the issue published in January and
co-authored with Ingrid Nygaard, a Des Moines, Iowa, urogynecologist.

"This isn't a problem in every workplace, but it's much more widespread
than we had originally believed," said Linder, who teaches at the
University of Iowa's College of Law.

In part because of Linder's research, Iowa in January became only the
second state to explicitly protect workers' legal rights in this area.
Minnesota enacted a statute in 1988.

Rising concern about the issue didn't save Daisy Brock from humiliation
last year while cleaning chitlins -- pig's intestines -- at the
Smithfield Foods hog processing plant in Tar Heel, N.C.

Brock, suffering from a stomachache, asked repeatedly for permission to
go to the bathroom, since company rules require workers in Brock's
department to wait for a replacement before going. No replacement was
found -- and Brock went to the bathroom in her clothes.

"I couldn't hold it until I got to the bathroom," said Brock, who was
fired last summer after she stayed home a week with pneumonia. "If you
say you had to leave the line, they said they'd fire you."

Joann Graham, a worker at the same plant, said the problem varies by
department. In her current work, she's able to go at will. But in her
last job hanging newly slaughtered pigs on hooks, "You had to talk noise
to go," she said. "It don't make no sense."

When asked about bathroom access at the plant, Smithfield spokesman
Arron Trub said he didn't know anything about the issue and refused to
comment further.

Food processing -- especially poultry -- factories have the worst record
on bathroom access, according to OSHA officials and unions.

"Every time I work on a campaign in the poultry industry, this is the
No. 1 issue," said spokesman Greg Denier of the 1.4 million member
United Food and Commercial Workers International union. "It goes to
human dignity."

OSHA's first citation against an employer for denying workers access to
bathrooms came last July against a Hudson Foods poultry plant in Noel,
Mo. A spokesman for Tyson Foods, which now owns Hudson, insisted that
workers were being allowed proper access.

"But if they're abusing that freedom, by example going outside and
smoking, then they're subject to discipline," said Tyson spokesman Ed
Nicholson. "That has happened."

--- snip ---

By MAGGIE JACKSON, The Associated Press
Date: Thu, 12 Mar 1998 21:58:12 -0800
From: Andrew Gach 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Wife murderer masterminds rhino horn deal
Message-ID: <3508CAF4.2CDF@worldnet.att.net>
MIME-Version: 1.0
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Pair jailed for trying to sell rhino horns worth $4.5 million 

Agence France-Presse 
LONDON, March 12, 1998

Two British men involved in a multi-million pound deal to sell one of
the world's largest collections of rhino horn on the black market were
jailed Wednesday.

A court in King's Lynn, southern England, was told the gang was offering
517 lbs. of horn at $42,125 per kilogramme making a total estimated
value of $4.5 million.

The Royal Society for the Protection of Cruelty to Animals said the
collection represented one percent of the world's current rhino
population.

Rhino horn powder is sought after in the Far East as a medicine and
aphrodisiac.

Wilfred Bull, 63, already serving a life sentence for murdering his
wife, was jailed for 15 months to run concurrently. He was masterminding
the deal from his prison cell. 

Co-accused David Eley, 53, of Cambridgeshire, and his outside contact
was jailed for nine months.

A woman accomplice was ordered to perform community service. A second
woman faces sentencing later.

The rhino horn collection was confiscated. Rhino horns are protected
under Britain's 1985 Control of Trade in Endangered Species
(Enforcement) Act.

The court was told Bull, originally from Coggeshall, southern England,
murdered his wife in 1985 but the former antique dealer had collected
the horns legitimately before that time.

He instigated the sale from within his prison cell to raise cash for
when he left jail.

Detectives mounted an undercover sting operation and arranged a deal at
a series of meetings in a hotel.
Date: Thu, 12 Mar 1998 21:59:57
From: David J Knowles 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: [UK] Swan causes road blockage
Message-ID: <3.0.3.16.19980312215957.223f8856@dowco.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

>From SchNews 12/03/98

Sammy the Swan (Yes, you guessed it, he's a swan) caused a four mile
tail-back on the M25 yesterday sitting in front of a lorry and refusing to
budge for half an hour.

Date: Thu, 12 Mar 1998 22:01:42
From: David J Knowles 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: [DE] Dog killed in squat raid
Message-ID: <3.0.3.16.19980312220142.0b9f0360@dowco.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

>From SchNews 12/03/98

Squat Shot

On the morning of Tuesday February 24, a masked special police unit with
automatic pistols burst into a squat at Pfarrstrasse in Berlin. One
squatter watched as his dog was shot three times and killed. Local
authorities said the eviction proceeded "with few incidents". 260 police
were called in to evict 15 people from the house. The local mayor had told
police that there were not to be any squat evictions without his prior
notice - however he was on holiday at the time! Berlin's right-wing
Interior Minister, Joerg Schoenbohm commented: " I will see to it that
there are no more squats in the future."


Date: Thu, 12 Mar 1998 22:35:41
From: David J Knowles 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: [UK] Foster fails to revive anti-hunt Bill
Message-ID: <3.0.3.16.19980312223541.241fea04@dowco.com>
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>From The Electronic Telegraph - Friday, March 13th, 1998

Foster fails to revive anti-hunt Bill
By Joy Copley, Political Staff 

A LAST-ditch effort to revive the doomed Bill to ban foxhunting was dashed
by Betty Boothroyd, the Commons Speaker, last night.

Mike Foster, the Labour MP for Worcester, had launched a plan designed to
give his controversial Wild Mammals (Hunting with Dogs) Bill a slim chance
of completing its Commons stages. But last night, after a day of tension
and excitement in the Commons, Miss Boothroyd did not select for debate two
new amendments tabled by Mr Foster, which could have succeeded in
wrongfooting pro-hunting Tories.

The Bill is now condemned to a lingering death via filibustering today
following five hours of trench warfare in the Commons last Friday. Mr
Foster's supporters were disappointed but pro-hunting Tories said it
demonstrated the "tactical ineptitude" of anti-hunt campaigners.

"We are not going to go away quietly," said Mr Foster. "The British people
do not want us to and MPs do not want us to."

 Angela Smith, (Lab, Basildon), a member of the committee examining the
Bill, said she was disappointed but said: "I am confident that we will win
in the long term, perhaps not before the House of Lords is reformed."

Edward Garnier, a pro-hunting Tory, said: "The supporters of the Bill have
demonstrated tactical ineptitude throughout. This latest attempt to produce
a third version of the Bill has further demonstrated that point."

Tony Blair has reaffirmed his opposition to hunting - in response to a
question from a girl of 11. Replying to a letter from Roseanne Mills, a
junior RSPCA member from Adel, Leeds, the Prime Minister said: "I think
foxhunting is the issue that causes the most public concern in the UK. I do
think hunting is wrong and I will vote in favour of a ban in the House of
Commons."

© Copyright Telegraph Group Limited 1998.

Disclaimer: Articles from the Electronic Telegraph are posted for
informational purposes. Any views expressed therein are those of the
Electronic Telegraph, The Daily Telegraph and The Sunday Telegraph, and may
not necessarily agree with those of 'Animal Voices' or those connected with
'Animal Voices'. I will be pleased to provide further information, where
possible, but comments about the content should be addressed to the ET and
not myself. 

Date: Thu, 12 Mar 1998 22:48:05
From: David J Knowles 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: [UK] Sales of sheep dip may be curbed
Message-ID: <3.0.3.16.19980312224805.2f1f5f28@dowco.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
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>From The Electronic Telegraph - Friday, March 13th, 1998

Sales of sheep dip may be curbed
By David Brown, Agriculture Editor 

CURBS on selling sheep dips may be introduced after a record number of
pollution incidents last year.

Jack Cunningham, the Agriculture Minister, said yesterday that he was
considering making it illegal to sell any chemical dip to anyone who did
not hold a National Proficiency Test Council certificate of competence. It
is already an offence to sell organophosphorous (OP)
sheep dips, which have been linked with a range of debilitating illnesses,
to farmers and their workers who do not hold a certificate.

However, Mr Cunningham said he had no plans to ban OP dips, which are used
to control the parasitic disease sheep scab. He said that a ministry report
on OP dips and their risks would be published later this month. Another
study, by the Department of Health, is also being carried out. Launching a
pamphlet giving advice to farmers on the safe handling of sheep dips, Mr
Cunningham said: "All sheep dips contain hazardous chemicals. If they are
not used properly they can make people ill, harm sheep and damage the
environment.
Speaking as a former research chemist who worked with organophosphorous
compounds, anyone using them and not following the instructions needs his
head examined."

He said that the Government was also concerned about alternative chemical
dips including synthetic pyrethroids (SP) which had caused serious
pollution to hundreds of miles of rivers and killed large numbers of fish
even though they were considered safer to humans.

Geoff Bateman, chairman of the Environment Agency's rural land use group,
said that there were 30 sheep dipping pollution incidents last year,
compared with seven in 1996. He said: "Over a quarter of Welsh sheep farms
visited by the agency last year had sub-standard
dipping facilities which presented a real risk to the environment. SP dips
are extremely toxic and are 100 times more deadly to river life than OP
dips. Tiny quantities can kill aquatic invertebrates for hundreds of yards
downstream in a river."

Campaigners have called for a total ban on the hazardous chemicals until
all current research into the risk has been completed.

The Organophosphate Information Network, which is campaigning on behalf of
victims, said that the Government was not fully addressing the problem and
should ban all hazardous chemicals until their effects were fully established.

© Copyright Telegraph Group Limited 1998.

Disclaimer: Articles from the Electronic Telegraph are posted for
informational purposes. Any views expressed therein are those of the
Electronic Telegraph, The Daily Telegraph and The Sunday Telegraph, and may
not necessarily agree with those of 'Animal Voices' or those connected with
'Animal Voices'. I will be pleased to provide further information, where
possible, but comments about the content should be addressed to the ET and
not myself. 

Date: Fri, 13 Mar 1998 00:24:01
From: David J Knowles 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: [UK] BSE herds 'needlessly infected'
Message-ID: <3.0.3.16.19980313002401.2f1f5490@dowco.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

>From The BBC website - Friday, March 13, 1998 Published at 02:24 GMT 

UK

BSE herds 'needlessly infected'

A quarter of all cases of BSE could have been avoided, says Professor Roy
Anderson

A leading British scientist says 250,000 cattle were needlessly infected
with Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) because vital data on the
epidemic was kept secret by the Ministry of Agriculture. 

Professor Roy Anderson, of Oxford University's Centre for Infectious
Diseases, says he could have shown a ban on contaminated feed imposed in
1988 was not working. But officials,
rather than ministers, were reluctant to pass on data. 

It is thought BSE was transmitted by feeding cattle with the remains of
infected sheep and cows.

Between 1989 and 1991 he says he made several approaches to Ministry of
Agriculture officials in a bid to understand the course of the epidemic but
was denied access to data.

He finally obtained the information he wanted in 1996 and within a couple
of months his team was able to show that a million cattle had been infected.

Prof Anderson, now a senior government adviser on the human equivalent of
BSE, also narrowed down places where the ban had not been working.

In a prepared statement, he will say: "If this had been known at the time,
and if measures to prevent the continued use of contaminated feed had been
put in place, the size of the epidemic would have been significantly
smaller, by about one quarter of a million infected
cattle."

The on-going BSE inquiry, headed by Lord Justice Nicholas Phillips, is
charged with determining when BSE first struck Britain's farms and whether
the previous Conservative Government handled the crisis appropriately.

Scientists, civil servants, politicians and farmers and the families of CJD
victims are all giving evidence.

Copyright 1998 BBC

Date: Fri, 13 Mar 1998 00:30:29
From: David J Knowles 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: [UK] Dolly fleeced for fashion
Message-ID: <3.0.3.16.19980313003029.2f1f3d60@dowco.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

>From The BBC website - Friday, March 13, 1998 Published at 02:24 GMT 

UK

Dolly fleeced for fashion

Dolly the cloned sheep has been fleeced in the name of fashion - and a good
cause.

Her first woolly coat has been knitted into a sweater going on show at
London's Science Museum.

The sheepish star hit the headlines when scientists from the Roslin
Institute near Edinburgh entered the record books after cloning her from
the cell of an adult sheep.

They hope their research will eventually help ease the plight of cystic
fibrosis sufferers.

 A competition to design the sweater was organised by the Cystic Fibrosis
Trust. It was won by 12-year-old Holly Wharton from Rickmansworth,
Hertfordshire.

Dr Harry Griffin, Assistant Director of the Roslin Institute, said: "Dolly
is part of a long-term programme of research that will see a wide range of
therapeutic proteins being produced from the milk of transgenic sheep and
cattle.

"We expect that cystic fibrosis patients will be the first to benefit from
this technology." 

Actress Jenny Agutter, who is a carrier of the disease, presented the
jumper to the museum.

She said: "The future for cystic fibrosis sufferers is a lot more
optimistic because of genetic research.

"Not many people realise that one in 25 people are carriers of the disease."

The pullover will remain on display in London until April 30 before heading
to Japan for a major exhibition of science museum artefacts. 

Copyright 1998 BBC

Date: Fri, 13 Mar 1998 16:55:07 +0800
From: bunny 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (NZ/AUST)RCD supporters wary of NZ RCD conference
Message-ID: <1.5.4.16.19980313164659.2d17847a@wantree.com.au>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Otago Daily Times 7/3/98

RCD advocates wary of conference's aims
by Neal Wallace

Advocates of rabbit killing calicivirus (RCD) are
reluctant to attend a conference on the virus later
this month fearing they are being set up by a speaking
list loaded with opponents of the virus.
The conference in Wellington on March 30 and 31, is 
being organised by the New Zealand Association of
Scientists and is titled "Rabbit control, RCD: dilemmas
and implications".
It is understood supporters of the virus consider the 
conference loaded against them, of having an agenda
to discredit RCD and geared to those who are against
it. They also believe it has limited relevance, coming
after RCD has become established in New Zealand.
Organisers have attracted some of the most vocal
opponents of the virus including Dr Alvin Smith, from
Oregon State University in the United States, who
has written several papers highlighting his concerns.
However, the Ministry of Agriculture and an international
panel of scientists who assessed the application to import
RCD, dismissed Dr Smith's concerns.
It is known many supporters of RCD have considered not
going to the conference but believe they have to attend to 
give it some balance.
Conference convener Dr Chris Sissons agreed it would 
address some contentious issues but said it would also
allow discussion on the science of RCD, something he
felt was absent during earlier debate.
"We decided to clear the air and get the whole range
of views out in the open and try and reach a consensus,"
he said.
The association was independent of vested interests and
was concerned science in issues such as this was properly
debated.
Dr Sissons believed the original RCD application ignored a
number of issues, was unbalanced and MAF's initial evaluation
process was secretive.
He hoped the conference would bring the various parties closer
together and reach some consensus. 

=====================================================================
========
                   /`\   /`\    Rabbit Information Service,
Tom, Tom,         (/\ \-/ /\)   P.O.Box 30,
The piper's son,     )6 6(      Riverton,
Saved a pig        >{= Y =}<    Western Australia 6148
And away he run;    /'-^-'\  
So none could eat  (_)   (_)    email: rabbit@wantree.com.au
The pig so sweet    |  .  |  
Together they ran   |     |}    http://www.wantree.com.au/~rabbit/rabbit.htm
Down the street.    \_/^\_/    (Rabbit Information Service website updated
                                frequently)                                

Jesus was most likely a vegetarian... why aren't you? Go to
http://www.zworx.com/kin/esseneteachings.htm
for more information.

It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong.
       - Voltaire

Date: Fri, 13 Mar 1998 17:41:30 +0800
From: bunny 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (NZ/AUST)The truth about RCD
Message-ID: <1.5.4.16.19980313173322.2f878c0c@wantree.com.au>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

In a Newspaper item I just posted re RCD 

"Rabbit Virus supporters wary of NZ conference's aims 
                       
Otago Daily Times (New Zealand)7/3/98 "

it was written

"However, the Ministry of Agriculture and an international
panel of scientists who assessed the application to import
RCD, dismissed Dr Smith's concerns."

This newspaper report fails to note that the Ministry of Health in New Zealand
SUPPORTED Dr Smith's concerns.New Zealand voted NO to RCD yet rogue farmers
illegally imported and spread the disease to kill wild rabbits (AND
NON-TARGET PET RABBITS) and they escaped UNPROSECUTED because of the weak NZ
government not wanting to oppose their criminal activities.

(Here is the submission of the New Zealand Ministry of Health AGAINST the
introduction of RCD)

Submission to New Zealand MAF Regulatory Authority From Ministry of Health,
New Zealand 


17th October, 1996 

The Chief Veterinary Officer, 
MAF Regulatory Authority, 
P.O.Box 2526 
Wellington 


Attention: RCD Application 

APPLICATION TO IMPORT RABBIT CALICIVIRUS (RCD) INTO NEW ZEALAND 

SUMMARY 

The Ministry of Health has been involved with the officials working group
convened by MAF assisting with the peer
review of the Import Impact Assessment and Application to the Director
General of Agriculture to import rabbit
calicivirus under the Animals Act 1967 and to issue and Import Health
Standard under the Biosecurity Act 1993
(Application and IIA). 

The Ministry of Health sought the expert opinion of independent virologists
regarding the scientific validity of the
RCD Application provided by the Applicant Group. 

The opinion received by the Ministry of Health indicates there are
uncertainties surrounding the introduction of the
new virus in the community, and the analysis and comments made question the
scientific validity of the Application. 

The Ministry of Health considers the scientific validity of the assessment
of the Rabbit Calicivirus Disease provided
by the Applicant Group to MAF to be questionable and does not support the
introduction of the virus. 

We strongly suggest that you arrange further independent review of the
scientific studies. 


Ministry of Health Comment 

The Ministry of Health has been involved with the officials working group
convened by MAF assisting with the peer
review of the Application to Import Rabbit Calicivirus (RCD) into New Zealand. 

The Ministry of Health provided written comments to MAF on the 19th July
1996 on the information provided on the
Application and the known epidemiology and effects of human health. We
suggested amendments to the release
programme to prepare for anticipated public perception of risk. We also
discussed the virological assessment and
implications. 

On 5 August 1996 in response to being provided with the revision of the
Import Impact Assessment and Application to
the Director General of Agriculture to approve the importation of Rabbit
Calicivirus from MAF we noted that: 

We are reluctant to see this document distributed more widely when
fundamental concerns that fail to address the risk
containment issues to the public are not addressed. By not providing this
information, there is the implication that health
issues have not been considered and do not matter. 


Professor Alvin Smith 

The Ministry of Health received an open letter directly from Professor Alvin
Smith addressing the proposed approval
and official release of Rabbit Haemorrhagic Disease (RCD) as a biological
agent on 19 August 1996. 

Professor Smith heads the calicivirus laboratory at Oregon State University
and has experience in the area of
Calicivirus research and in depth understanding of the natural history of
the Caliciviridae family of viruses. 

His letter addresses aspects of the RCD Applicant Group's Application dated
27 June 1996, specifically relating to
the virology of the RHD agent from a scientific viewpoint, and identifies
many areas of concern in the experimental
design and the methodology applied to RHD investigations carried out in
Australia and New Zealand. 


Independent virological assessment 

We noted Professor Smith's major reservations about the virological methods
used by CSIRO, and sent the papers to
three New Zealand virologists to review and provide independent comment from
a virological viewpoint: 



     1.Dr Margaret Croxon 
     Pathologist in Charge 
     Department of Virology and Immunology 
     Auckland Hospital 


     2.Dr Lance Jennings, 
     Virologist 
     Canterbury Health Laboratories 


     3.Professor A R Bellamy 
     Director 
     School of Biological Sciences 
     Auckland University 



Dr Croxson agreed with the opinion of Professor Smith that there are many
major deficiencies in the studies
described by the Applicant Group and that the data is inadequate to provide
evidence that the virus does not infect
other species. Dr Croxon suggested that an independent panel should be asked
to review and comment on the
scientific validity of the design of the experiments and the results obtained. 

Dr Lance Jennings shared a similar viewpoint with Dr Croxon that the
comments made by Dr Smith should be
deliberated over by an independent panel of scientists, and noted that Dr
Smith's letter should be "taken seriously by
the Ministry of Health". 

Dr Bellamy notes that Dr Smith's argument is sound from a scientific and
virological viewpoint and concludes his
assessment of the material provided to him by the Ministry of Health with
the following summary of key points: 

(a) Although presented in a more colourful manner than is necessary, much of
what Dr Smith has presented in his
criticism of the results and approaches adopted to date has a sound
scientific basis. 

(b) The data presented by CSIRO on the cross-species transmission of RCD is
preliminary in nature and of rather
poor quality. Better data would be required to enable the concerns expressed
by Prof Smith to be addressed. 

(c) The fact that the virus escaped quarantine indicates that there is
insufficient knowledge available concerning the
method of transmission. A better knowledge of the mechanism of transmission
is required if the risk factors involved
in exposure are to be properly evaluated. 

(d) Insufficient information exists to enable the level of variation in the
virus to be adequately assessed. This
information should now be available quite soon given the availability of the
complete sequence of the genome. The
cloned gene should also enable better reagents to be developed which could
be used to provide better
epidemiological data. 

(e) The accidental viral epidemic in Australia provides an excellent
opportunity for the mechanism of transmission
and cross-species susceptibility to be evaluated in a systematic manner
under natural field conditions. From a
virological standpoint, that work should be undertaken prior to any release
contemplated in New Zealand. 

Conclusion 

Because of the uncertainties surrounding the introduction of the new virus
in the community, and the analysis and
comments made by Professor Bellamy and Drs Croxson and Jennings that
question the scientific validity of the
Application, the Ministry of Health does not support the introduction of the
virus and considers that further
independent review of the scientific studies should be undertaken. 

Please can you advise us as to the timing of the second review task so that
we can adequately plan our involvement. 


Yours sincerely, 


Dr Gillian Durham 
Director of Public Health and 
General Manager, Public Health Group. 
=====================================================================
========
                   /`\   /`\    Rabbit Information Service,
Tom, Tom,         (/\ \-/ /\)   P.O.Box 30,
The piper's son,     )6 6(      Riverton,
Saved a pig        >{= Y =}<    Western Australia 6148
And away he run;    /'-^-'\  
So none could eat  (_)   (_)    email: rabbit@wantree.com.au
The pig so sweet    |  .  |  
Together they ran   |     |}    http://www.wantree.com.au/~rabbit/rabbit.htm
Down the street.    \_/^\_/    (Rabbit Information Service website updated
                                frequently)                                

Jesus was most likely a vegetarian... why aren't you? Go to
http://www.zworx.com/kin/esseneteachings.htm
for more information.

It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong.
       - Voltaire

Date: Fri, 13 Mar 1998 04:51:50 EST
From: STFORJEWEL 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: BOULDER BULLS
Message-ID: 
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit

FROM THE DENVER POST
DENVER, COLORADO
Tuesday, March 10, 1998

ACTIVISTS PAY TO SAVE BULL
By Coleman Cornelius
Denver Post Staff Writer
(303) 820-1201
fax: (303) 820-1369
email: newsroom@denverpost.com

Culture Clash Rocks Boulder

NETHERLAND, COLORADO--

Rancher Marie Mozen has what she considers the quintessential story of old
Boulder vs. new Boulder.

The "militant liberals," while trying to shut down ranching, are "saving" her
1,000-pound Simmental bull, she said.  "Buying" would be another way to
describe it.

An animal-rights group laid down money for her bull last month and is
negotiating with Mozden to take possession of the animal this spring.  In the
lexicon of modern business, you might call this a win-win situation:  The
activists get a bull to help promote their cause, and Mozden gets rid of a
problem animal for cash.

Even so, the rancher said she thinks her tale illustrates what Boulder is
coming to.

"I call these people 'ill-liberals' because they use Gestapo tactics.  The
liberal movement has been corrupted in this country," said Mozden, who raises
cattle by herself near a breathtaking mountain meadow midway between Boulder,
CO and Nederland, CO.

"This is the old West vs. the New Age," said Mozden, who describes herself as
"old enough to know better, and young enough to do it."

But members of Rocky Mountain Animal Defense, the Boulder animal liberation
group buying Mozden's bull, argue that animal production is cruel and should
be banished, even from places where agriculture is a tradition.

"We're working to eliminate animal suffering and oppression," said David
Crawford, the group's co-director.  "We're doing our best to see that Colorado
isn't trashed."

The story of this culture clash began in December, when Mozden was hauling her
bull, Spot, to slaughter.  (Actually, he's a stag--a bull not high-quality
enough for breeding, who was incompletely castrated.)

The bum steer jumped out of Mozden's stock truck (shades of the Tamworth Two)
as she was driving on Canyon Blvd. near the Boulder County Justice Center in
downtown Boulder.  He cleared a 6-foot truck panel, hit the pavement, then
went on a tear through the city's west side.

During the cinematic two hours, dozens of cops, animal-control officers and
drama-loving citizens chased Spot.  Finally, he was downed by a tranquilizer
gun.

Local activists quickly became alarmed by what they considered animal abuse.
Mozden's phone rang off the hook.

Sought 'Clemency'

"There wee a lot of us who wanted to help him, to provide him with clemency,"
said Crawford.  "If the rope breaks when you're being hanged, you're free.
And his rope broke."

In signing on to save Spot, the group renamed the animal "Justice"--both for
the justice center, where the story began, and for the symbolism.

"We consider it justice that he got free on his way to slaughter," Crawford
said.

While Crawford is very serious about his efforts to rescue the unruly bull,
Mozden sees hilarity in the tale that smacks of the 1970s movie "Rancho
Deluxe," a cult favorite by Thomas McGuane.

Will Get Second Bull

"I said, 'You want to save Justice?  Great, let's save him,' " Mozden said.
"I'm looking for damage control and reducing my losses, so I'm happy to give
these people the opportunity to have some connection with the real world."

At a meeting last month, Rocky Mountain Animal Defense paid $600 for Spot, aka
Justice.

Crawford brought a lawyer to the meeting to help hammer out the details.
Mozden brought the brand inspector (who prevents rustling).

As a signing bonus, Mozden is giving the group another bull, Marco, an animal
she bottle-fed when he was born a twin calf and needed extra nourishment to
stay alive.

Crawford said the deal assuages Mozden's "4-H guilt" because she won't have to
take the animal she raised as a pet to market.

The group has renamed Marco "Peace," an apt moniker when he's paired with his
pasture buddy "Justice."

The activists are paying Mozden $1 a day to keep and feed the bulls until they
can secure a pasture for the animals--preferably a donated pasture.

Crawford admitted that finding free pasture for livestock that might live 20
years is no small feat for the 4-year-old group, whose focus until now has
been exposing the factory-farming methods used with chickens, and protesting
circuses, fur-wearing and prairie dog killing.

Mozden said she nixed one proposed site when she discovered the land is
unfenced and already hosts a sweat lodge and a teepee.  She wants to approve
the site, she said, so "if the animals go stomping thru the teepee one day, I
can't get sued."

Become Organic Beef

Crawford, who has lived in Boulder for 4 years and works as a writer for the
National Renewable Energy Laboratory, said he hopes the animals will become
educational tools for his group, whose mission is to "eliminate human-imposed
suffereing in the Rocky Moutain area."

"We want to tell schoolchildren that hamburgers don't grow in patches; they
come from animals like this," said Crawford, 36, who grew up in Iowa City.

Mozden is a New England transplant who moved to Boulder in the later 1960s to
attend the University of Colorado.  After working for several years at Eldora
Mountain Resort, on the ski patrol and as the ski area's mountain ranger,
Mozden bought a historic house on Magnolia Road west of Boulder and got a
couple dozen cows.

The few animals she does send to slaughter become organic beef that she sells
to locals.

"I'm not a really good redneck.  My cows are tame.  They have names.  They
come when they're called," said Mozden.  "My cowboy friends make fun of me."

Yet even as a relative newcomer to the West, Mozden laments vanishing farms
and ranchland, and the western culture that is vanishing along with the land.

Crawford, though, said his group is working to save not just the occasional
bull or chicken, but to rescue the West from the ravages of animal production.

He doesn't think Rocky Mountain Animal Defense is made up of militant liberals
or that they are giving Boulder a bad name.

"I do not consider Boulder a liberal place," he said.  "There's no real
substantive activism here."

CONTACT:  Rocky Mountain Animal Defense;2525 Arapahoe Suite E4-335; Boulder,
Colorado  80302;  Phone:  (303) 449-4422; email: erj@csn.net;  website:
http://www.envirolink.org/orgs/rmad
Date: Fri, 13 Mar 1998 11:24:07 +0100
From: Jordi Niñerola <2063511@campus.uab.es>
To: AR News 
Subject: AIDS, Human Testing vs Animal Testing by Ronald C. Desrosier
Message-ID: <01bd4e6a$27ed3980$LocalHost@default>
MIME-version: 1.0
Content-type: MULTIPART/ALTERNATIVE;
 BOUNDARY="Boundary_(ID_bHLNCsNHilPFx/vu0pm4BQ)"









From El Periodico de Catalunya (www.elperiodico.es)
 
An expert augurs tests with bovine antiAIDS in humans within two years

The professor of the University of Harvard Ronald C. Desrosier predicted yesterday, in the first session of the fourth National Congress on AIDS that is celebrated in Santander, that within two years a vaccine attenuated against the disease in human beings will be able to be tried. The American scientist defended this medical practice, in spite of his risks and of the opinions of other experts, those in favor to try before in animals.

" Some scientists are not in favor of this attenuated alive vaccine concept and think that he could be very dangerous. Nevertheless, others, between which I am i myself, we think that he is reasonable to carry out it, because can mean a great advance for the developed world ", said Desrosier

Jordi Ninyerola i Maymí
"Matar per sobreviure és un acte de la natura, matar per diversió
o per lluïr una pell, és un acte que no fan ni els més cruels dels animals"
 
Date: Fri, 13 Mar 1998 07:17:24 -0500 From: ar-admin@envirolink.org To: ar-news@envirolink.org Cc: Jackie Dove Subject: Admin Note -- Apology Message-ID: <3.0.1.32.19980313071724.006b9884@envirolink.org> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" I apologize to Jackie Dove . Her post, Re: (US-NJ) Fur store owner John Guarino speaks out in local news, _was_ within posting guidelines for AR-News. I have reinstated her posting privileges to AR-News. I did not read Jackie's post closely enough to realize this was the transcript from one of her radio shows as opposed to commenting on a previous post. In this case, I reacted too quickly in an effort to avoid more personal views on AR-News. (This was once a problem on AR-News, but is no longer the problem it once was.) Again, I am sorry for the inconvenience to Jackie Dove and to subscribers of AR-News. Allen Schubert Listowner, AR-News Date: Fri, 13 Mar 1998 07:43:53 -0500 From: allen schubert To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: (US) Fla. Meat Worker's Death Probed Message-ID: <3.0.32.19980313074351.00712dbc@pop3.clark.net> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" CJD/possible BSE links from Associated Press http://wire.ap.org ---------------------------------------------------------- MARCH 13, 04:42 EST Fla. Meat Worker's Death Probed By CATHERINE WILSON Associated Press Writer MIAMI (AP) -- Medical investigators who are looking into the death of a supermarket meat stocker from an illness similar to mad cow disease say there is no need for grocery store workers or the public to worry. ``We don't feel there's a lot of reason for alarm that this occupation could be at higher risk,'' Dr. Steven Wiersma, deputy state epidemiologist, said Thursday. Dr. Lawrence Schonberger of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, said, ``I don't think it's a public health concern.'' But, he said, the CDC would help if needed. No higher rate of either the classic form of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease or a deadly variant blamed in Britain on contaminated beef has been noted among meat handlers. But authorities are looking closely at the March 5 death of Ozzie Hyman. Hyman, 65, worked for the Jacksonville-based Winn-Dixie supermarket chain from August 1976 until he left on sick leave last Oct. 29, company spokesman Mickey Clerc said. The company released no job description, but Wiersma said his occupation was listed as meat stocker. Based on his age and symptoms, Hyman's death initially appears to have been caused by Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, Wiersma said. Beef contaminated with mad cow disease was identified as the most likely cause of the illness that killed more than 20 Britons. That variant has not been known to have occurred in the United States. Wiersma said only unusual cases of the disease are investigated. Florida recorded 14 deaths from the disease in 1996, the last year for which figures are available. Date: Fri, 13 Mar 1998 08:10:53 EST From: Tereiman To: ar-news@envirolink.org, peta1@norfolk.infi.net Subject: Florida Considers Ban on Mule Diving Message-ID: Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit Florida Considers Ban on Mule Diving Reuters 12-MAR-98 By Michael Peltier TALLAHASSEE, Fla., March 12 (Reuters) - Florida lawmakers took a step on Thursday to outlaw mule diving, an equine tourist attraction condemned by critics as barbaric in which donkeys and mules jump off platforms into pools of water. By a 7-1 margin, members of the House Agriculture Committee voted to outlaw mule diving after testimony from two animal rights advocates who called the attraction cruel. The law was aimed at Tim and Patty Rivers, a central Florida couple who operate what they bill as the country's only traveling stable of high diving horses and mules. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Suzanne Jacobs, a Delray Beach Democrat, is intended to close a loophole in Florida's animal cruelty law that prevented Manatee County officials from banning the attraction in 1995. Tim and Patty Rivers' World's Only High Diving Mules, a traveling attraction started by Tim's father more than 40 years ago, would be put to pasture under the bill, which would make it illegal to conduct exhibitions involving riderless mules, donkeys or horses that fall 10 feet (three metres) or more. A state attorney general's ruling agreed that the present law does not allow the state to stop the show. ``I'm a breeder and if there was any conscionable use of this activity I'd be here on the other side of this,'' said Greg Sefton, past president of the North American Saddle Mule Association. ``Because it is so devastating to these animals, we owe it to them to help.'' The Rivers could not be reached for comment following the vote, but have said previously that the animals are not harmed and no undue force is used to get them to jump. During a typical performance, critics say, horses and mules ascend a ramp to a diving board-like structure. After a number of hesitant starts, the animals will plunge into a pool of water six feet deep. During a show, the animals exhibit common signs of stress including hesitation and swishing of their tails, and after completing the jump, the animals appear dazed and disoriented, said Taksel, who has watched the performances several times. Date: Fri, 13 Mar 1998 08:14:16 EST From: Tereiman To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: RFI: Looking for AR groups in China Message-ID: Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit I am looking for animal rights groups in China. Please forward any information to my e-mail. Thanks. Tracy Date: Fri, 13 Mar 1998 11:22:28 +0100 From: Jordi Niñerola <2063511@campus.uab.es> To: AR News Subject: [FRA] New law by Dogs in France Message-ID: <01bd4e69$ecd5a940$LocalHost@default> MIME-version: 1.0 Content-type: MULTIPART/ALTERNATIVE; BOUNDARY="Boundary_(ID_2gkC4PeEukPhQXmT5CBtJw)"
 
From an article by El Periodico de Catalunya (www.elperiodico.es)
 
Paris, France: The weakness of the French by the canine species, registered by the actress Brigitte Bardot and his eagerness to be buried with its Pleiad of dogs, finishes undergoing a misfortune. The minister of Agriculture, Louis Him Pensec, has presented/displayed to the cabinet a law project on dangerous animals in which he prohibits the transaction, training and import of dogs of prey of the type pitbull.

According to the project, the attack dogs will have to be sterilized, whereas the city councils will be able to force the proprietors of unit of defense to that strap and muzzle take a walk with, lock up them or they tie them. " the dogs cannot be used like arms ", declared yesterday an official source, after registering more than 100,000 dangerous dogs in all France. This fact, together with the death of 15 people -- almost all of them old and young --, from 1989, as a result of the aggression of one of these animals, has pushed the Government to intervene in the affair.

The people who transgress the norm settled down in the project and concern attack dogs will have to fulfill pains of up to six months of prison and paying fines of about 50,000 francs (20000 $). To avoid the indications of the city council in the matter could suppose that, after eight days of disobedience, confisque and sacrifices the animal at issue. The clan of dobermans, films of success of Byron Ross Chudnow in whom young people train dogs to execute ingenious holdups, will be from now on a pleasing film non in France 

Jordi Niñerola

Barcelona, Catalonia. 

 
Date: Fri, 13 Mar 1998 10:47:49 -0500 From: Constance Young To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: Reminder: Howard Lyman to speak in Kingston, NY Message-ID: <35095525.1989@idsi.net> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit A Reminder: Tomorrow, Saturday March 14th at 4:30 PM, ex-cattleman and vegetarian activist Dr. Howard Lyman will be speaking at the Unitarian Congregation of the Catskills. He will no doubt be talking about his participation in the Oprah Winfrey case, which they both won. There will also be a vegan/vegetarin potluck dinner, so if you plan on coming bring a dish if you want. If you don't bring a dish, the entrance fee will be a bit mroe. For more information and directions call 914-338-8223 or 914-338-7990. Date: Sat, 14 Mar 1998 01:05:14 +0800 (SST) From: Vadivu Govind To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: (TW) Ivory smuggling suspects arrested Message-ID: <199803131705.BAA29491@eastgate.cyberway.com.sg> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" >CNA Daily English News Wire 3 SUSPECTS INVOLVED IN IVORY SMUGGLING NABBED Taipei, March 13 (CNA) Three people suspected of involvement in ivory smuggling have been arrested, police in Tainan, southern Taiwan, said on Friday. Police formed a task force after being tipped off two months ago that an international smuggling ring had smuggled ivory to Taiwan and then had it carved into various products for resale. After days of stakeouts, on Thursday night police raided the houses of three suspects: Chi Wei-chien, 26, Wu Lung-hu, 35, and Yang Sheng-chieh, 28. Inside the homes, police found ivory items with a total market value of over NT$10 million (US$310,000), including name chops, statues of the Buddhist figure Kuanyin, pipes and mahjong tiles. Wu said that he bought the ivory from a Hong Kong businessman surnamed Huang at NT$8,000 per kilogram, adding that he had it carved and then had Yang and Chi sell it, according to police. Police have turned the three suspects over to the Tainan District Court for violating the Wildlife Preservation Act, and are continuing the search for other ivory products. (By Lilian Wu) Date: Fri, 13 Mar 1998 13:37:37 -0500 From: RUTH BODEMAN To: AR-News Subject: Whale Protection Law Appealed--BOSTON, MA Message-ID: <199803131338_MC2-36A8-1401@compuserve.com> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Disposition: inline Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit >From REUTERS Massachusetts News Updated 11:51 AM ET March 13, 1998 Whale Protection Law Appealed (BOSTON) -- A recently passed Massachusetts law aimed at protecting northern right whales could crush the entire New England fishing industry. That's the view of Attorney General Scott Harshbarger. He says the measure calling for the state to prevent lobster gear and fishing nets from harming the endangered whale goes too far. He's appealing to the U-S Supreme Court for help in developing protections for the whales while maintaining the livelihood of local fishing families. Date: Fri, 13 Mar 1998 20:24:22 +0100 From: Jordi Niñerola <2063511@campus.uab.es> To: AR News Subject: RV: AIDS, Human Testing vs Animal Testing by Ronald C. Desrosier Message-ID: <01bd4eb5$a091d1c0$LocalHost@default> MIME-version: 1.0 Content-type: MULTIPART/ALTERNATIVE; BOUNDARY="Boundary_(ID_a5gxTcwjaFXDpkW3XlrpVw)"
 
Jordi Ninyerola i Maymí
"Matar per sobreviure és un acte de la natura, matar per diversió
o per lluïr una pell, és un acte que no fan ni els més cruels dels animals"
 
-----Original Message-----
De: Jordi Niñerola <2063511@campus.uab.es>
Para: AR News <ar-news@envirolink.org>
Fecha: divendres, 13 / març / 1998 11:24
Asunto: AIDS, Human Testing vs Animal Testing by Ronald C. Desrosier

From El Periodico de Catalunya (www.elperiodico.es)
 
An expert augurs tests with bovine antiAIDS in humans within two years

The professor of the University of Harvard Ronald C. Desrosier predicted yesterday, in the first session of the fourth National Congress on AIDS that is celebrated in Santander, that within two years a vaccine attenuated against the disease in human beings will be able to be tried. The American scientist defended this medical practice, in spite of his risks and of the opinions of other experts, those in favor to try before in animals.

" Some scientists are not in favor of this attenuated alive vaccine concept and think that he could be very dangerous. Nevertheless, others, between which I am i myself, we think that he is reasonable to carry out it, because can mean a great advance for the developed world ", said Desrosier

Jordi Ninyerola i Maymí
"Matar per sobreviure és un acte de la natura, matar per diversió
o per lluïr una pell, és un acte que no fan ni els més cruels dels animals"
 
Date: Fri, 13 Mar 1998 16:15:11 EST From: STFORJEWEL To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: COLORADO SENATE/POACHING CRACKDOWN Message-ID: <45870f21.3509a1e1@aol.com> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit FROM THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS DENVER, COLORADO Tuesday, March 10, 1998 >From the Legislative News Briefing RMN Staff Reports SENATE OKS POACHING CRACKDOWN Poachers (hunters who don't pay their blood money to the state-Ed) who bring down trophy animals in Colorado will pay a hefty price under a bill that won final Colorado Senate approval Monday. HB 1039, approved 29-5, could result in additional penalties of $4,000 to $25,000. The bill goes back to the Colorado House because of Senate amendments. The slaying of Sampson, a near-tame elk in Estes Park, Colorado led to introduction of the bill. Date: Fri, 13 Mar 1998 16:27:37 EST From: JanaWilson To: AR-news@envirolink.org Subject: (US) Kansas Rabid Puppy Warning Message-ID: <9a0e2d3.3509a4c7@aol.com> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit A/w Okla. City news: >From Wichita, Kan.: A puppy at an exhibitor's booth at a Kansas Coliseum event last month was later found to have rabies, and government health officials are urging anyone who touched it to contact a doctor. The little 9-week-old puppy (a mixed breed resembling a black lab) was at a fence exhibit's booth during the Equifest, a trade show for the horse industry. It lasted for only 4 days but the puppy was there only on one day, 28 Feb. Chances are slight that anyone will be infected said Roger Smith, Wichita's animal control supervisor. But people who touched the puppy need to talk with a doctor said health officials. Rabies is almost 100 percent fatal. For the Animals, Jana, OKC Date: Fri, 13 Mar 1998 13:12:23 -0800 (PST) From: Michael Markarian To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: Animal lovers buy the purr-fect plate (Texas) Message-ID: <2.2.16.19980313161640.5d97bbb0@pop.igc.org> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > Sunday, March 8, 1998 > > San Antonio Life > > BRIEFS > > - Animal lovers buy the purr-fect plate > > Car owners can show their love for animals with a new "I Care" >animal-friendly license plate. > > The fee for the animal-friendly plates, available when Texas >drivers apply for plates, is $25. > > Revenue from the sale of the plates will go for low-cost cat and >dog sterilization programs across the state. > > For more information about the new plate, call the Fund for >Animals at (713) 863-0010. Date: Fri, 13 Mar 1998 13:12:37 -0800 (PST) From: Michael Markarian To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: Dead Grackles Prompt Offer (Connecticut) Message-ID: <2.2.16.19980313161653.5d97a94c@pop.igc.org> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > The Hartford Courant > Copyright @ The Hartford Courant 1998 > > Tuesday, March 3, 1998 > > MAIN (A) > > DEAD GRACKLES PROMPT OFFER > > An animal advocacy group is offering a $300 reward for >information leading to the arrest and conviction of those >responsible for killing 40 grackles. > > The grackles, which were believed to have been poisoned, were >discovered over the weekend under a highway overpass just before >Exit 68 northbound on the Wilbur Cross Parkway. > > The reward was offered Monday by the Fund for Animals, based in >Bethany. > > The common grackle is a foot- long blackbird that usually >travels in large numbers and is sometimes mistaken for a small crow. Date: Fri, 13 Mar 1998 13:12:26 -0800 (PST) From: Michael Markarian To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: Houston Rockets and SNAP Clinic (Texas) Message-ID: <2.2.16.19980313161642.5d97b888@pop.igc.org> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > Houston Chronicle > Copyright 1998 > > Friday, March 6, 1998 > > SPORTS > > Rockets summary > EDDIE SEFKO > Staff > > SNAP to it > > Rockets owner Leslie L. Alexander and his wife, Nanci, on Thursday >celebrated the 10,000th free spay/neuter surgery performed by the >SNAP mobile clinic. > > SNAP (Spay-Neuter Assistance Program) is a pet project of the >Alexanders, along with the Fund for Animals. The 10,000th surgery >was performed on Cookie, a chihuahua. > > "They've reached the 10,000 sterilizations in this community >through the SNAP mobile unit," Nanci Alexander said. "There's a >crisis situation of dog and cat overpopulation that is absolutely >staggering. There is a very simple solution, and that's to stop the >breeding. If we don't breed them, they won't be born to be killed. > > "So we encourage people to have their own companion animals >sterilized and to go to a shelter to adopt an animal until there are >no more animals put to death at shelters. > > "And we can take another step, and that's to seek a moratorium on >breeding of dogs and cats until there is a zero population of dogs >and cats killed at shelters." > > Nanci Alexander said it is gratifying to see the program working >so effectively in the Houston area. > > "It's absolutely working because we're going into communities >where people can't afford to bring their animals to shelters," she >said. > > The SNAP mobile unit provides free spaying or neutering. The >first of its kind in the country, the SNAP mobile unit has been in >operation since 1994. It has become the model for such programs in >other cities around the country. Date: Fri, 13 Mar 1998 13:12:29 -0800 (PST) From: Michael Markarian To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: Bill may lift Sunday hunting ban (Michigan) Message-ID: <2.2.16.19980313161645.5d977024@pop.igc.org> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > The Detroit News > Copyright 1998 > > Thursday, March 5, 1998 > > Metro > > Bill may lift Sunday hunting ban: Firearms hunters want to be able to track > game on their own property. > Steve Pardo / The Detroit News > > WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP -- When Tom Zajko in Washington Township >wants to hunt on Sundays, he drives to Alpena. > > But if a bill proposed by state House Rep. Sue Rocca, R-Sterling >Heights, passes, he and other Macomb County residents will decide >whether hunting with guns in their own back yards should be allowed. > > Supporters hope to have Rocca's proposal for an election to lift >the Sunday ban on the August primary ballot or on the general >election ballot in November. > > Current law says that hunters can use a bow and arrow to hunt >Sundays on private property during the hunting season. But hunting >with firearms on private property is strictly taboo. Guns are >permitted on state-owned property during the hunting season. > > "We work a five-day work week and we want to do our hunting on >Saturday and Sunday," said Zajko, 28. "We only get one day. People >up north can go out on Sundays like any other day." Rocca hopes to >give Macomb voters the option of ending the 50-year-old ban. She >called the current law "outdated, confusing and inconsistent." > > "The only prohibited activity under Macomb County's Sunday hunting >ban is hunting with a firearm on your own land or the land of >another, even if you have permission," Rocca said. > > Don Vajda often makes a trek north of his Warren home to hunt. He >says the ban unfairly cuts into the hunting season. > > "Hunting is one of the most relaxing sports there is," said Vajda, >50. "It makes for a short weekend if you can't double up on the >days." > > But Doris Dixon, director of the Michigan office of Fund For >Animals, calls the proposed bill "totally unnecessary." > > "Certainly, there must be better things people can do on a >Sunday," Dixon said. "Just why do people have to have that much >interest in killing something?" > > Al Allen, a Warren resident, hunter and owner of Double Action >Indoor Shooting Center and Gun Shop off Dequindre near 14 Mile, is a >strong supporter of Rocca's proposal. > > "The ban had its place, but in modern times it doesn't have a >purpose," Allen, 42, said. "With people working more hours, their >leisure time isn't what it used to be. I have friends, relatives and >customers that live in Macomb County and they can't go out on their >own land to experience a leisure activity they truly enjoy." > > House Bill 5547 > > The bill that calls for an election to repeal a 50-year-old ban in >Macomb County on hunting with a firearm on Sundays on private >property was unanimously approved Wednesday by the House Conservation >Environment and Recreation Committee. It now goes to the state >House. > > If approved, it goes to the state Senate and then on to the >governor's office for signature. Supporters hope to have the >proposal on the August primary ballot or on the general election >ballot in November. Date: Fri, 13 Mar 1998 13:12:15 -0800 (PST) From: Michael Markarian To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: A Messy Food Fight (California Live Animal Markets) Message-ID: <2.2.16.19980313161632.5d975fe4@pop.igc.org> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > San Francisco Examiner > Copyright 1998 > > Sunday, March 8, 1998 > > NEWS > > A messy food fight The state Fish and Game Commission may step into a racially > tinged dispute over live-food sales in Chinatown markets that pits one group's > values against another's cultural traditions > Emily Gurnon > EXAMINER STAFF > > In sub-Saharan Africa, tribespeople believe that if a >woman eats chicken flesh or eggs, she becomes oversexed - >chasing every man in sight. If she eats such foods while >pregnant, she puts her unborn child at risk of >deformities. > > When McDonald's wanted to carve out a new market in India >two years ago, it had to eliminate the portion of its menu >that Americans equate with the fast-food giant: >hamburgers. Hindus, who make up a large portion of India's >population, consider the cow a sacred animal and its >slaughter a sacrilege. Indian customers can instead >order a "Maharaja Mac" - two all-lamb patties. > > When different cultures share the same city - as they do in >San Francisco - foods and the traditions surrounding them >make for some messy clashes. > > The latest fight in San Francisco has centered around >Chinese markets that sell live turtles and frogs for food. >Animal rights activists fought to stop the sales, but the >Board of Supervisors showed no interest in the issue. So >the activists moved to the state level; the state Fish and >Game Commission is scheduled to consider a ban on the >importation of such animals on April 1. > > Every culture has an elaborate set of beliefs about which >kinds of foods are acceptable to eat and which are not, >experts say. > > "What we eat is a function of ourculture and religious >history," said Louis Grivetti, a cultural geographer at >UC-Davis. "We learn very early on what is sacred or >profane, what is right, what is wrong. By the age of about >3 or so, a kid knows." > > The issue is simple, the activists and their supporters >argue: The animals are kept in cramped, unsanitary >conditions. They are treated with cruelty, and they may >spread disease. Their sale should be banned. > > For Chinese merchants, the issue is equally >straightforward: Their customers want fresh food. When >they can see the animals living and breathing, they know >they're not buying spoiled meat. It's been a Chinese >tradition for thousands of years. > > To challenge these traditions is racist and culturally >arrogant, merchants and their supporters say. > >Activist says he's no racist > > Paul Wartelle, a San Francisco attorney representing 12 >Chinese market owners named in a lawsuit by animal rights >groups, said his clients were being singled out. > > "Are animals raised in factory farms and killed in >slaughterhouses really treated more morally? The answer >is no," he said. Yet, "Who gets sued? The Chinese." > > Culture and race have nothing to do with it, said Eric >Mills, an Oakland activist who works with the New >York-based Fund for Animals and his own group, Action for >Animals. > > He was motivated to fight the live-animal sales by the >conditions the animals are subjected to, he said: the >stacking of frogs and turtles on top of each other, the >lack of food and water for them. Some, he said, are skinned >alive. > > "It's one of the most horrible things I've ever seen in my >life," Mills said. "I don't care if it's Mother Teresa >doing it or God herself - I'm going to be out there >picketing against it." > > Being labeled a racist infuriates Mills, who said he had >worked against California's Proposition 187, which cut >public services to illegal immigrants, and Proposition >209, the anti-affirmative action measure. > > To Mills and other activists, modern Western farming >practices are far from ideal, and they also get the >attention of animal rights groups. So do the sales of live >lobsters and crabs at Fisherman's Wharf, which the >activists originally wanted to ban as well. However, some >of their political allies in The City advised them to >steer clear of the Wharf, saying it would make the >proposal less politically palatable, given the power of >the Wharf merchants. > > The current fracas targets the Chinatown markets, Mills >conceded. > > "I try to do what works," he said. "I can't take on the >whole damn world." > >Delicacies or disgusting? > > And the world is full of what animal lovers consider cruel >and inhumane customs. > > Take foie gras, for instance. For many Americans and >Europeans, "fattened liver" is a prized delicacy - the >sauteed variety sells as an appetizer for $23 at the Fleur >de Lys restaurant in San Francisco. > > "It's something that cannot be compared with anything >else," said Hubert Keller, executive chef and owner of >the restaurant. "Once you eat the perfect foie gras, it's >the type of texture and consistency that you can never >forget." > > But the method of production turns the stomachs of animal >rights workers. > > Foie gras is made from the livers of ducks and geese who >are force-fed up to 7 pounds of grain a day, sometimes >through metal tubes wedged down their throats, according >to the national animal rights group People for the Ethical >Treatment of Animals. > > Many of the birds die when their stomachs burst from >overfeeding, the organization said. > > Just as objectionable is the production of milk-fed veal, >animal lovers said. > > Calves are taken from their mothers as early as one or two >days after birth, confined to narrow pens and restricted >to an all-milk or liquid formula diet that results in >anemia - and turns their flesh into the white meat >considered superior by veal connoisseurs. > > Cows, pigs and chickens - much more common foods for most >Americans - also get their share of abuse, animal >advocates charge. > > Egg-laying hens on factory farms are kept in crowded wire >cages. In order to keep them from pecking each other, part >of their beaks are cut off, according to the Humane >Society of the United States, based in Washington, D.C. > > Federal and state governments have rules about "humane >slaughter" of animals raised for meat. Cows and pigs >covered by state law in California, for instance, must be >rendered insensitive to pain before they are cut or >killed. But chickens may be slaughtered "humanely" by >electrocution, by the cutting of the carotid artery in >their necks or by decapitation. >Out of sight, out of mind > > National and local animal rights groups decry these >practices, but most Americans don't trouble themselves >about them, said Dr. Calvin Schwabe, a former >veterinarian and UC-Davis professor. > > "What people don't see, they don't think about," he >said. Most don't consider how fish are treated, for >instance: dumped from nets into the holds of ships and >left to die. > > "It's equivalent to very slow drowning for us - they >essentially die a very slow death and nobody has proposed >any other way of doing this," Schwabe said. > > It wasn't the treatment of frogs and turtles in Chinese >markets that got the recent attention of the Fish and Game >Commission. > > The commission will consider banning the importation of >such animals for food at its meeting in Long Beach on April >1. The reason: Well-meaning individuals, including some >Asian Buddhists, buy the animals and release them into the >wild, thereby endangering native species. > > Just seeing the turtles and frogs was enough to repel some >of the tourists who strolled through Chinatown recently. > > "It's a quite different culture than what we're used to, >so we get a bit astonished," said Per Henning, 37, of >Denmark. > > In his country, people are willing to pay more for meat >that came from animals who "had a good life," he said. >"I don't think you can say the same for these markets." > > "They're crammed in those little cages," said Jessica >Salmon, 30, of San Diego, referring to a group of frogs at >one Stockton Street market. "They're all on top of each >other - one of them has a gouge in his head. I think it's >disgusting." > > Grivetti, the cultural geographer, said he remembered >seeing snakes skinned alive when he visited China. >Customs that are foreign to us are more likely to prompt a >negative reaction, he said: "The fact that we respond to >that as Westerners is ethnocentric." > > Likewise, seeing turtles and frogs in Chinatown >"strikes an emotional chord in the minds of many >Americans," he said. > > Food is so closely identified with culture that people >have often used it to distinguish themselves from other >nationalities, or insult another group, said Bertram >Gordon, a food historian at Mills College in Oakland. > > Americans have referred to the French as frogs, to Germans >as krauts. Britons, renowned for their great navy, were >known as "limeys" for the citrus fruit they ate on long >sailing trips to prevent scurvy. > > Virginia Handley of the Fund for Animals in San Francisco >said her group opposed the frog and turtle sales for many >reasons. > > "It's not just a cultural disagreement," she said. >"We're trying to get the laws on the books enforced." > > Animal cruelty laws are not routinely enforced by The City >because the animal control department does not have the >money to investigate complaints, said its director, Carl >Friedman. And a state health law forbidding the presence >of live animals in places where food is served is >interpreted to apply only to live pets. > > If the humane treatment of animals is the issue, then laws >should affect not only small Chinese markets but large >factory farms and slaughterhouses, said Barbara Kaufman, >president of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. > > "If we're talking about doing it industry-wide" it >might be a different story, she said. "You don't just >pick on a handful of merchants." > Date: Fri, 13 Mar 1998 13:12:11 -0800 (PST) From: Michael Markarian To: ar-news@envirolink.org Cc: djschubert@aol.com, alococo@wyoming.com Subject: Yellowstone Park Limits Focus of Enviro Impact Study Message-ID: <2.2.16.19980313161628.60cfb306@pop.igc.org> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > American Political Network > Greenwire > Volume 7 No. none > Copyright (c) 1998 by American Political Network, Inc. > > March 11, 1998 > > NATURAL RESOURCES YELLOWSTONE: PARK LIMITS FOCUS OF ENVIRO IMPACT STUDY > >In a decision "praised" by state and federal officials, the > National Park Service has opted not to include general park > management issues in a study on winter use in Yellowstone > National Park. >The park is preparing an environmental impact statement on > winter use as part of a settlement with the Fund for Animals, an > environmental organization that sued the NPS for allowing > snowmobile access to the park(Greenwire, 2/20). Sen. Craig > Thomas (R-WY) said the park's decision to limit the study's scope > will help it have a clear purpose and be completedunder a > specific deadline. >Wyoming, Montana, Idaho and five counties surrounding the > park are helping to oversee the study. Montana was the only > government in favor of expanding the study to include general > management of the park (AP/Casper WY] Star-Tribune, 3/10). > >3/11/98 APN-GR 12 Date: Fri, 13 Mar 1998 13:12:32 -0800 (PST) From: Michael Markarian To: ar-news@envirolink.org Cc: alococo@wyoming.com, djschubert@aol.com Subject: Battle of snowmobilers vs. quiet-seekers rages on at Yellowstone Message-ID: <2.2.16.19980313161649.5d9792ea@pop.igc.org> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > The Idaho Statesman > Copyright 1998 The Idaho Statesman > > Wednesday, March 4, 1998 > > LOCAL > > Battle of snowmobilers vs. quiet-seekers rages on at Yellowstone > Environmentalists, Park Service get involved in the fray > Brandon Loomis > Idaho Falls Post-Register > > For 20 years, Elaine Primeaux dreamed of a trip from her Arkansas >home to the new-fallen snow of Yellowstone National Park. It >happened last week. Her husband, Chris, took her to the airport and >flew with her to Bozeman, Mont., for a surprise Valentine's Day >celebration in the tranquility of the world's first national park. > > If the buzz and smoke of a thousand snowmobiles made the moment >less tranquil than expected, they didn't notice. After all, they got >there on a snowmobile themselves. > > There they sat on a bench before the world's most famous geyser - >she with a new heart-shaped rock on her finger, he with a smile on >his face. > > They are two of the hundreds of thousands of people who may see a >little piece of their lives change in the next four years as the >National Park Service decides the fate of Yellowstone's most visible >winter organism: the snowmobiler. > > "Nothing compares to this," Elaine Primeaux said as the crowd >filtered away after an Old Faithful eruption. "We'll probably come >back every year." > > One view > > That's the dream of West Yellowstone merchants, who staged a rally >this winter to protest a government study that could lead to a limit >or ban on snowmobiles in the park. The town has built its winter >economy around snowmobiling tourists, and the Chamber of Commerce >estimates that snowmobilers keep 80 percent of the businesses open >while the town waits for summer tourism to resume. The town collects >about half a million dollars in taxes from winter sports. > > Their opponents, the environmental groups seeking limits on >snowmobiles, say they don't want to keep the Primeauxs or anyone else >from enjoying the park; they just want them to leave some quiet for >cross-country skiers and others who come to get away from machines, >and to avoid harming wildlife. > > As it stands now, 140,000 people visit Yellowstone each winter. >Most ride snowmobiles or the tracked snowcoaches that travel among >them,although there is some access by car in the park's extreme >north. It was a much quieter place in the early 1970s before road >grooming began. Then only the bravest snowmobilers plowed through >the powder to Old Faithful. > > The transition to snowmobile highway has gone too far, some say. >D.J. Schubert, a wildlife biologist for the Fund for Animals, said he >doesn't have anything against snowmobilers, but doesn't want them in >the park. He just thinks there are plenty of places for noisy >two-stroke engines in national forests and elsewhere. > > "People from Florida who simply go to Yellowstone and get on >snowmobiles because it looks like fun - they don't know any better," >Schubert said. > > The bigger issue is grooming roads for the masses. The Fund for >Animals says machine-packing snow on the roads for snowmobile traffic >gives bison an easy migration route to slaughter. Because ranchers >and politicians fear bison moving outside the park will mingle with >cattle and spread disease, bison that leave the park are killed. > > The other side > > A number of national and regional groups are pressing for >snowmobile restrictions. They have used the bison slaughter - more >than 1,000 of the animals were killed last winter - as their vehicle. >But Schubert acknowledged that the slaughter is part of a broader >aesthetics question. > > The Fund for Animals took the lead last week by filing a lawsuit >in Washington, D.C., in an attempt to force the National Park Service >to close at least one section of road to study bison movement and >decide whether more closures are necessary. > > The group is asking a federal judge for the closure to see whether >bison are less likely to travel to the park's boundaries through the >deeper snow. > > The lawsuit grows out of another legal battle with the Fund for >Animals and the Biodiversity Legal Foundation, which the Park Service >settled earlier this winter. Yellowstone officials agreed to >consider closing a 14-mile stretch in the park's interior, from >Fishing Bridge to Canyon. The Park Service says it considered that >action, then decided it was enough for now to monitor bison along >that stretch for the next three winters before deciding whether a >closure is necessary. > > "The Park Service completely changed their direction," Schubert >said. He blamed the inaction on political pressure. > > Yellowstone Assistant Superintendent Marv Jensen acknowledged that >local governments in the area and congressional representatives >expressed concern about any closure. But, ultimately, the Park >Service decided it made no sense to interrupt existing >bison-monitoring studies and start over with a complete snowmobile >ban from Fishing Bridge to Canyon, Jensen said. Once the bison >migration study is completed in 2000, the Park Service will decide >whether a closure is necessary or could provide additional useful >information, he said. > > The research began at the start of this winter. Rangers on foot >and in the air are watching to see how changes in weather affect >migration. > > Jensen said he believes the Park Service lived up to the court >settlement with the Fund for Animals because it seriously considered >an interim closure for the 14-mile stretch, and will continue to >consider more far-reaching closures if the next three years of >research show that's necessary. > > "We did not agree that we would, in fact, close that road," he >said. "Only that we would analyze ... the possibility." > > But he agreed that unchecked growth in winter use would lead to >summerlike traffic jams and frustrated visitors, and eventually might >require limits on the number of people who can be at one place at one >time. > > Schubert said people could enjoy Yellowstone without snowmobiles. >As evidence of growing support for a quieter Yellowstone winter, he >pointed to a USA Today newspaper editorial on Thursday that advocated >a ban on snowmobiles. > > "People want to experience peacefulness," he said. "They want to >enjoy serenity in national parks. They want to see wildlife. I'm >not sure they want to see wildlife in a traffic jam at Yellowstone >National Park." > > For a growing group accustomed to the Yellowstone snowmobile >culture, though, getting there is half the fun. And getting there by >snowmobile is the only way to go. > > Snowmobiles are the best way to see Yellowstone in winter, said >Matt Moeller of Denver. He covered 120 miles in one day. > > The manager of the cross-country ski shop at Old Faithful said he >sees the split between die-hard snowmobilers and quiet-seeking skiers >every day. But after seven years in the park, he's used to the >noise. > > "To me, it's always seemed to have been a part of it. >(Snowmobiles) are loud, they stink, people lose their minds and do >dumb things on them. That's just the way it's always been." Date: Fri, 13 Mar 1998 13:12:39 -0800 (PST) From: Michael Markarian To: ar-news@envirolink.org Cc: djschubert@aol.com, alococo@wyoming.com Subject: Snowmobiles Bring Tourists, Tension to Park (Yellowstone) Message-ID: <2.2.16.19980313161656.5d97ba00@pop.igc.org> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > The Salt Lake Tribune > Copyright 1998 > > Monday, February 23, 1998 > > Nation-World > > Snowmobiles Bring Tourists, Tension to Park; Snowmobiles Bring Tourists And > Tension > DAN EGAN THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE > > YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK -- Tied to a tight itinerary, New York >City resident Griffin Stenger detoured from a business trip last >weekend and snowmobiled to Old Faithful, where he paced anxiously >along the boardwalk, bugged by the reliable geyser's reluctance to >blow. > > As winter's hungry dusk settled in, the art director for a General >Motors advertising campaign also was irked by the buzz and blue smoke >from the hundreds of rented snowmobiles that fellow tourists used for >the 30-mile trip from the Yellowstone National Park border town of >West Yellowstone, Mont. > > "I suppose it sucks, but I wouldn't be in the park if they didn't >have them," said Stenger. "If I were on cross-country skis, I'd be >really unhappy." > > Snowmobiles are the most popular way to see the park in winter >because most of Yellowstone's roads are not plowed. While Stenger >and some other park visitors during the President's Day Weekend found >the engine-driven sleds pesky, some environmentalists blast them as >outrageous. They claim the smoke-spewing machines are causing >unacceptable abuse to the world's oldest, most beloved national park, >and they want them gone. > > "If the Park Service takes an objective look at the scientific >evidence and its legal mandate, the only possible outcome would be to >basically close the park to snowmobiles," said D.J. Schubert, a >biologist for the Washington-based environmental group Fund for >Animals, which has filed a lawsuit over snowmobile use in the park >with two other environmental groups. > > Schubert said he is frustrated by the Park Service's failure to >study snowmobile impacts on Yellowstone since the machine's arrival >in the park 30 years ago, and now he is ready to get his way in >court. > > "Snowmobiles and road grooming, both of those have to go," he >said. > > Nobody believes it is a bluff. > > "I definitely fear that," says Jerry Schmier, a >snowmobile-rental-business owner for 29 years in West Yellowstone, a >tourist town that used to hibernate in winter before building itself >into the "snowmobile capital of world." > > On busy days, more than 1,000 machines slide in and out of the >park's west entrance. They pump millions of dollars annually into >the West Yellowstone economy. > > For Schmier, the snowmobile is the vehicle that enables him to >call West Yellowstone his full-time home. If they go, he goes. > > "I'd have to take my family and move back out of here in the >winters," he said. "It just would be devastating." > > Schmier's fears began to unfold this fall when the Park Service >responded to the lawsuit with a settlement that called for the park >to consider an experimental closure on one stretch of park road. >Park bosses also agreed to an exhaustive, three-year, $3 million >review of snowmobiles' impact on the park, something Schubert says >should have happened when the park's winter tourism business began to >bud. > > But the Park Service since has opted not to shut down any roads >before the study is finished. It also decided to let surrounding >counties whose economies depend on snowmobiling participate in the >Yellowstone study -- something Schubert contends violates federal >government regulations. > > "It was purely a decision to placate some politicians," Schubert >said. > > He hinted his group may demand that all of Yellowstone's roads be >closed to snowmobile traffic during the three-year study. > > "We have a very strong case, from a straight legal perspective," >he said. > > Nobody knows exactly how much pollution a snowmobile generates, >but Yellowstone gate worker Wendy Ross has a pretty good idea: A >lot. > > The 28-year-old breathes their exhaust every day she collects >entrance fees. The two-stroke engines' toxic blue smoke has made her >so dopey and nauseous she has been befuddled counting change. At >night she tosses her work clothes in the garage so they don't stink >up the house. > > "Do I have any long-term concerns for my health? Definitely," >she said. > > Ross and her co-workers breathe air sucked into the entrance >station through a duct placed beyond the roadway. It has reduced the >daily headaches and upset stomachs, but workers say they still get >ill when they take their turn outside checking park passes. > > "That's not a healthy place to be working," said Ross' boss, >west district ranger Bob Siebert. > > Environmentalists say the powerful snowmobile engines create up to >1,000 times more pollution than modern automobiles, which have >sophisticated emission-control systems. > > Snowmobile backers scoff at that figure. > > "There simply is no data to support that," said West Yellowstone >Chamber of Commerce director Viki Eggers. > > But the Park Service has conducted studies that show the air along >busy stretches of groomed park roadways is dirtier than that in Salt >Lake City, Denver or even Los Angeles. In 1996, researchers recorded >carbon monoxide levels that exceeded federal standards. > > Eggers and other snowmobile backers are critical of the study >because researchers didn't follow strict federal air monitoring >guidelines. The Park Service does not deny that, though researchers >maintain their results are scientifically valid. > > The Park Service also acknowledges the problem is confined to the >busy groomed trails inside the 2.2 million-acre park; only trace >levels of pollutants can be detected 100 yards off the roadways. > > Still, the pollution is concentrated where the people are. > > To reduce emissions, many snowmobiles now operate with synthetic >oil and many are running on ethanol, a less-polluting fuel. >Yellowstone officials want the snowmobile industry to create cleaner, >quieter engines. Research is under way, but no new machines are on >the horizon. > > Even if snowmobiles become as clean and quiet as an automobile, >environmentalists contend there still would be a problem because the >park's groomed roads have created what essentially is a bison >autobahn to slaughter. > > "Snowmobiles exact an enormous toll on the environment, not just >in pollution, but in changing the way animals move, changing their >distribution pattern," said Schubert. > > Winter can bury the park under more than five feet of snow, which >makes it difficult for the park's wildlife to move about in search of >food. Groomed roads have made it easier for animals such as buffalo >to roam beyond park borders during a rough winter, Yellowstone >officials say. > > But bison typically are not welcome on ranch lands outside the >park. Some are infected with brucellosis, which can cause cows to >abort. Though the Park Service maintains there has never been a >documented case of bison transmitting brucellosis to livestock in the >wild, wandering bison often are killed by government gunners. > > The bison crisis peaked last winter when Yellowstone's invisible >borders were spattered by blood from the 1,083 animals shot. >Yellowstone lost about a third of its herd. > > Some snowmobile boosters contend the park's herd simply got too >big and the buffalo were bound to leave the park for food, with or >without the roads. Some contend that Schubert, a long-time critic of >the park bison policy, is using the snowmobile controversy to force a >switch in bison management. > > "They are completely and totally different issues," said Eggers. > > Part of the court-ordered Park Service study will be to analyze >the effect the groomed roads has on the bison population. > > Caught in the middle of the fight among the Park Service, >environmentalists and snowmobile boosters is the rest of America -- >the vast majority of the park's stockholders. > > About 3 million visitors hit the park each year, though only about >140,000 come in winter. Because snowmobiles are confined to groomed >roadways, most of the park is given a respite from a summer onslaught >of tourists. > > Individuals with enough muscle and gumption to ski or snowshoe can >quickly leave the noise and the smoke behind. > > "The pristine experience still exists in Yellowstone," said >Eggers. "The perception of crowding comes from the very limited >number of miles road available." > > But most don't stray from the roads. > > "I heard it was crowded and congested, but it's a lot worse than >I thought. It's like Disneyland," said Cedar Rapids, Iowa, resident >Chris Cronbaugh, who was visiting a ranger buddy in the park last >weekend. "I came here for the serene setting, but I'll go home for >peace and quiet." > > Ranger Siebert said visitor complaints about snowmobiles are not >uncommon, but "the average winter visitor to Yellowstone has a very >good time." > > For some, the fun is precisely because snowmobiles are allowed in >the park. John Jeskey of Prosser, Wash., made a recent trip to Old >Faithful because he had heard news reports that the park soon could >close to snowmobiles. > > "I really couldn't afford to come here, but I made the effort," >he said. "This is one of the best places we have in the U.S., and >people should be allowed to use it in the winter." > > Beyond Cronbaugh's perch along the famous Old Faithful boardwalk, >the jumbo puffs of steam hissing from geysers smacked of smoke from >smoldering fires. Black forests of dead lodgepole pines, baked in >the great blazes of '88, poked like whiskers through their winter >skin of snow. > > The haunting landscape coupled with the persistent din of >snowmobile engines created the illusion of a battlefield, and it is. > > New York City's Stenger has his money on the snowmobiles. > > "Judging by their numbers, it's going to be hard to shut them >down," he said. Date: Fri, 13 Mar 1998 13:37:44 -0800 (PST) From: Friends of Animals To: foa@igc.apc.org, ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: CT Puppies Message-ID: <2.2.16.19980313163550.3a17f6a4@pop.igc.org> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" CONTACT: Priscilla Feral (203) 656-1522 March 13, 1998 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 50 PUPPIES DIE IN FIRE AS PUPPY MILL TRUCK EXPLODES Darien, CT -- Fifty puppies died last night when an out-of-state tractor-trailer rig caught fire on Interstate-95 in Greenwich. According to state police, the rig was from Kansas and was carrying puppies through Connecticut. It caught fire when a propane space heater, used primarily to heat the area of the truck that held the puppies, exploded. Of the 68 puppies on board the truck, 50 were killed. Some of the 18 remaining puppies may not survive. Says Priscilla Feral, President of Friends of Animals, "This ghastly incident is shedding more light on the horrific puppy mill industry, for which Connecticut provides a market. This is one example of the greed and carelessness prevalent in the breeding and dealing of puppies and kittens. Friends of Animals is disgusted that the State Environment Committee never saw fit to raise a bill that would have banned the sale of puppies and kittens in pet stores. The market in this state needs to be eliminated." According to Feral, FoA, an international non-profit organization with more than 200,000 members around the country, is now announcing a boycott of all stores that sell puppies and kittens. The campaign, originally slated to begin in May to coincide with Be Kind to Animals Week, will be stepped up due to the current crisis. Dot Hayes, FoA Public Relations Director, says that FoA is also launching an investigation into the incident and seeks to determine which puppy mill the animals came from and exactly where they were going. Says Hayes, "Senator Eileen Daily and others on the State Environment Committee should be ashamed that they have dragged their feet and not shut puppy mills out of Connecticut, despite the urgent call of more than 7,000 voters and numerous organizations across the state. FoA is working with people in all corners of the state to put an end to this industry which is rotten to its USDA-approved core." According to state police, the two truckers involved in the incident have been charged with animal cruelty in the deaths of the 50 puppies. FoA will provide more details as they become available. -30- Date: Fri, 13 Mar 1998 13:12:45 -0800 (PST) From: Michael Markarian To: ar-news@envirolink.org Cc: djschubert@aol.com, alococo@wyoming.com Subject: Battle Lines Drawn Along Snowmobile Trails (Yellowstone) Message-ID: <2.2.16.19980313161702.5d97b97a@pop.igc.org> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > Sunday, February 22, 1998 > > BATTLE LINES DRAWN ALONG SNOWMOBILE TRAILS > JIM ANGELL > Associated Press > > YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. - Bison and business face off >during Yellowstone's winter season, triggering two migrations that >mean life or death for hungry animals and dollar-dependent park >communities. > > Each winter, more than 110,000 people pour into the park, most of >them on almost 60,000 snowmobiles that belch blue smoke as they slice >through white powder and bound over hills. The whine of their >two-cycle engines echoes through the lodgepole pine. > > The groomed trails they follow twist like veins through 200 miles >of trees and meadows in the world's first national park. Bison >trudge those trails, too, avoiding the deep snow that saps their >strength as they search for scarce winter forage. > > Last year, a record 1,100 bison - about one-third of Yellowstone's >herd - were shot or shipped to slaughter because they managed to >migrate beyond Yellowstone's boundaries in Montana. >Environmentalists say the groomed snowmobile trails contribute to the >migration of the massive animals out of the park and into trouble. > > Ranchers fear the bison will spread brucellosis to their cattle. >Even worse, they fear that Wyoming and Montana cattle will be shunned >by other states because of their possible exposure to the disease. > > Environmentalists worry about the impact snowmobiles have on >Yellowstone's environment and wildlife. Two groups filed a lawsuit >against the Park Service last year to force a study on winter >recreation. > > "(Bison) share the road with snowmobiles. It may be a great thing >to see, but it's precisely the problem," said D.J. Schubert, a >wildlife biologist in Washington. "What most people don't realize is >there are consequences to bison using (snowmobile) trails." > > A federal judge in Montana recently refused to stop the killing of >bison that wander out of Yellowstone, but said no more than 100 bison >could be killed without another court hearing. > > "We are not going to have another big bison kill without a hearing >before this court," said U.S. District Judge Charles C. Lovell. > > Snowmobilers and the businesses they support wonder whether the >bison will be used as an excuse to keep them out. > > "The bison are simply smoke and mirrors," said Vikki Eggers, >executive director for the West Yellowstone, Mont., Chamber of >Commerce. "That's the vehicle they're using to drive their agenda, >which is to stop snowmobiling in the park." > > In response to the lawsuit by the Fund for Animals and the >Biodiversity Legal Foundation, the Park Service agreed to conduct an >environmental impact statement on Yellowstone's winter use. > > The Park Service also agreed to study closing 14 miles of groomed >snowmobile trails to determine the effect on the bison. > > Environmentalists believe the effects of snowmobiles are obvious: >the trails make it easier for the bison to move from one area of the >park to another. > > "The trails inside the park are having a domino effect in that >(the bison) are saving energy, fewer die of winter kill, more survive >than would or should survive if the parks used the natural management >mandate," Schubert said. > > To those who depend on the park for their livelihoods, however, >the battle is over how accessible the park should be to the public. > > "This is a small, elite group of individuals trying to carve out a >piece of Yellowstone so only they can visit it," said Bob Coe, the >owner of Pahaska Teepee, a hunting lodge near Yellowstone's eastern >entrance where Western showman Buffalo Bill Cody once entertained >dignitaries. > > The 14-mile segment under consideration for closure is the Hayden >Valley Road between Fishing Bridge, near the park's east entrance, >and Canyon. It is used by more than 10,000 snowmobiles each winter. > > Authorities said they selected the segment because it would have >the least economic impact on gateway communities, projecting losses >of up to $1.3 million for the communities. > > Those who depend on the snowmobile industry set the figure much >higher. > > "Just because we have a diverse economy does not mean we can stand >a (trail) closure," said Paul Hoffman, the executive director of the >Cody Country Chamber of Commerce. He estimates the losses from >closing the trail at closer to $4 million. > > West Yellowstone, the takeoff point for about 70 percent of the >snowmobiles that enter the park each year, would be hard-hit by a >ban. > > "We have built our town in good faith in our relationship with the >Park Service," said Eggers, who grew up in West Yellowstone and >remembers the years before snowmobiles traveled the park, when just a >handful of businesses stayed open in the winter. "We're talking >about millions and millions of dollars invested in this community. >It feels like the partnership is strained." > > Now, some are trying to address the environmental concerns raised >by snowmobiles and avoid possible environmental sanctions limiting >their use. Service stations in and around the park are selling >gasohol, a mixture of gasoline and ethanol, and synthetic oil to >eliminate the blue smoke. > > Snowmobile supporters say if the Park Service would cooperate with >them, they would forge a solution to concerns about bison movement >while protecting businesses. > > "We believe there are good, scientific solutions to any problems >that exist," Hoffman said. "(The Park Service) says "We are making >decisions based on science. The (National Environmental Policy Act) >says they are supposed to consider economics." > > But environmentalists say economic concerns should be secondary to >the plight of the bison and other wildlife. > > "I've lived in the Yellowstone ecosystem for 20 years," said Steve >Thomas, a spokesman for the Greater Yellowstone Coalition in Cody. >"I never felt like the park owed me a living. The gateway >communities exist because the park is over there. It's not the other >way around." > > Unlike Fund for Animals, the coalition says some snowmobile >traffic can co-exist with bison in Yellowstone, although it also >believes some action is needed to protect the bison. > > The Fund for Animals believes the cost of snowmobiles to the >environment and wildlife is too high. > > "There's a cost in terms of impact to air quality, the impact to >the health of employees who are subjected to carbon monoxide," >Schubert said. "When a bison walks out of the park and is shot, that >bison is priceless. That kind of cost has to be figured into the >equation as well." > > Merchants who depend on snowmobiling are willing to fight in court >to defend businesses. > > "When it comes down to destroying my business," Coe said, "it's >time to do something." > >TABULAR OR GRAPHIC MATERIAL SET FORTH IN THIS DOCUMENT IS NOT DISPLAYABLE > > Caption: PERRY BACKUS/The Associated Press * Winter of discontent: Snowmobilers >share a groomed trail with a buffalo in Yellowstone National Park. As the >machines pour into the park during winter, herds of the hungry animals use the >trails to migrate out of the park, where they often are killed. Date: Fri, 13 Mar 1998 17:23:36 EST From: CFOXAPI To: ar-news@envirolink.org Cc: ahberger@earthlink.net, will.crichton@autodesk.com, Weirforanl@aol.com, AVAR@igc.apc.org, Joseph_Mitchell@admin.castilleja.pvt.k12.ca.us, idausa@ix.netcom.com, Animatty@aol.com, aaronm@ix.netcom.com, FlipFacts@aol.com, info@aldf.org, cxh@well.com, PROCYONL@aol.com Subject: CALIFORNIA WILDLIFE ALERT Message-ID: <8cf798a8.3509b1ed@aol.com> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit ANIMAL PROTECTION INSTITUTE ***ACTION ALERT*** HELP STOP PROPOSALS TO EXPAND SPORT HUNTING IN CALIFORNIA The California Fish and Game Commission is accepting public comment on the 1998 Draft Environmental Documents on Mammal Hunting and Trapping until MARCH 20, 1988. The Department of Fish and Game has introduced a number of proposed regulatory changes that would increase sport hunting opportunities in California. Your help is needed to convince the Commission to reject or support the following Department proposals: * In the Draft Environmental Document: Bear Hunting: Oppose the Department's proposal to eliminate the limit on bear tag sales and support the "no-project (no hunting) alternative." The sole reason given by the Department for proposing this regulatory change is "to address increased hunter demand." However, according to a 1995 statewide poll, 69% of all California voters surveyed said they would support a measure to ban all black bear hunting in the state. Such a regulatory change disregards public sentiment and could lead to an over-kill of bears, exceeding the projected 1,700 kill figure; increased poaching; negative effects on non-consumptive wildlife-use activities; endangerment of public safety; increased habitat destruction and negative effects on other wildlife species, including protected, endangered and threatened species in the state. * In the Draft Environmental Document: Hunting of Nelson Bighorn sheep, Rocky Mountain Roosevelt and Tule elk species: Oppose the Department's proposal to introduce centerfire pistols and muzzleloaders as acceptable equipment for killing Bighorn sheep and elk. Studies have shown that wounding and crippling rates are higher when primitive weapons are used to kill animals because of their inefficiency and decreased overall power. In addition, the use of such primitive equipment is unethical and unsporting. *In the Draft Environmental Document: Deer Hunting: Oppose the addition of 3 junior hunts and one archery hunt along with changes to the starting dates for the hunting season, proposed for four zones. Teaching children to maim and kill animals does little to foster a society based on respect and compassion for other sentient beings. Studies show that the use of archery equipment frequently results in higher crippling and wounding rates to targeted animals. In zones D-13, D-15 and Hunts A-2 & G-8 the starting dates for the season have been moved closer to the deer rut season. During the rut season male deer movement increases, making them more visible and easier targets for hunters. Taking advantage of an animal at a time when it is more vulnerable is unethical and unsporting. * In the Draft Environmental Document on Resident Small Game hunting: Oppose the relaxing of the minimum requirement of caliber size for taking small game from 0.200 to 0.177. The Department introduced this proposal simply to satisfy hunter convenience and economy. The use of a smaller pellet will inevitably result in greater wounding rates and additional pain and suffering to the targeted animal. *In the Draft Environmental Document: Furbearing and Nongame Mammal Hunting and Trapping: Support Alternative 1, which would "prohibit commercial take of bobcats" in the state and Alternative 5, the "no project-no hunting or commercial trapping" alternative. Trapping animals for commerce or recreation is unnecessary, unethical, an ineffective method of population or disease control, and poses a serious threat to non-target animals, including threatened and endangered species. Also request that trappers be required to report all non-target species captures. Send your letters to: California Fish and Game Commission 1416 Ninth Street Box 944209 Sacramento, CA 94244-2090 Phone (916) 653-4899 Fax (916) 653-1856 **The proposed regulatory changes are scheduled to be discussed at the Fish and Game Commission April 1-2 meeting in Long Beach and rejected or adopted at an April 21 teleconference meeting in Sacramento. Both meetings are open to the public.** The Commission must receive comments no later than 5:00pm on March 20th. For more information please contact Camilla Fox at API at 916-731-5521 or by email at cfoxapi@aol.com Posted by: Animal Protection Institute P.O. Box 22505 Sacramento, CA 95822 Phone (916) 731-5521 Fax (916) 731-4467 Email= onlineapi@aol.com Web= www.api4animals.org Date: Fri, 13 Mar 1998 13:28:44 -0800 (PST) From: "Christine M. Wolf" To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: (MT) Senator Burns wants to export more beef Message-ID: <2.2.16.19980313163218.30470baa@pop.igc.org> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" A March 11, 1998 Press release from Senator Conrad Burns' web site: _______________________________ Burns Requests Foreign Ag Sales Letter to Korea Expresses Desire to Continue Beef and Pork Sales WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Along with 31 Senate colleagues, Montana Senator Conrad Burns today sent a letter to Ambassador Kun Woo Park of South Korea asking that Korean pork and beef markets remain open to American producers. In fiscal year 1997, the United States exported $457 million worth of hides and $320 million in red meat to South Korea. Both the hide and red meat sales were facilitated by $100 million credit guarantees made available by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). In the letter, the senators ask that South Korea push for $400 million in credit for beef and pork purchases and $200 million in credit for hides for fiscal year 1999. "This is a win-win proposal for Korea and our ag producers," Burns said. "We have an abundance of beef and pork that our producers want to sell, and they have a market for the products. I hope we can do everybody a favor this year and make these credits available." Burns is a member of the Senate Subcommittee on Agriculture Appropriations, which funds the USDA. # # # ****************************************************************** Christine Wolf, Director of Government Affairs The Fund for Animalsphone: 301-585-2591 World Buildingfax: 301-585-2595 8121 Georgia Ave., Suite 301e-mail: CWolf@fund.org Silver Spring, MD 20910web page: www.fund.org Wild animals never kill for sport. Man is the only one to whom the torture and death of his fellow creatures is amusing in itself. -James Anthony Froude Date: Fri, 13 Mar 1998 13:41:09 From: David J Knowles To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: [UK] BSE Inquiry - BSE in the US Message-ID: <3.0.3.16.19980313134109.2fdf2d76@dowco.com> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" The following is part of the opening remarks by Mr Walker, councel to the inquiry, at the BSE inquiry being held in London. He had previously told about various witnesses, the timelines for BSE and CJD infection in the UK and other scientific aspects of BSE. The following can be found on page 113, line 13 onwards, of the official transcript of the March 9th hearings. MR WALKER: ... There is one other aspect that I would like to show you. I think I have enough time before 1.30, if I may, which concerns TSE in mink. Could I ask you to be given the journal bundle for the Journal of Infectious Diseases, which is J/ID at tab 115? This is an article which comes as long ago as 1965. It is from the Journal of Infectious Diseases for that year, volume 115. It is by GR Hartsough and Dieter Burger, both from the Diagnostic Laboratory of the Great Lakes Mink Association in Wisconsin. There are a few passages I would like to take you to. First they say: "A disease characterised by central nervous system disturbances has occurred on a limited number of Wisconsin mink farms during the past 15 years. With the 1963 outbreaks, sufficient evidence has accumulated to support the theory that this is a distinct and separate disease entity with an unusually long incubation period. While little or nothing is known concerning the etiology of the disease, it manifests itself in a manner that reveals many traits in common with scrapie in sheep." Then it goes on to describe the experience on various farms. Farm A is described on the first page there, and then there is a discussion of that. Just before 1961, on page 388, the left-hand column, they say -- this goes back to 1947: "That time, it was assumed that a noxious substance with an unusually long latent period present on farm A prior to April 1947 had caused the disease." Well, what might that agent have been? Just a little bit higher in that column, we see what the mink were fed. The first indent is about two injections, then the next sentence tells us the diet of these animals: "The mink in question were fed the usual diet of beef by-products, tripe, fish, liver and cereal. On farm A, meat from dead and sick cattle was used as part of the diet." There is then a discussion of the outbreak in 1961. If I can take you to the left-hand column of page 389, the third column on our page, as we look at it, describing the ration? "In May 1963, the ration contained horsemeat, fish, cereals and packing house and poultry by-products. During March and April 1963, carcasses of locally trapped beavers were fed. However, in view of the history of the single surviving mink, it seemed more likely that the faulty feed was ingested prior to that time. Another suspect item was meat from livestock carcasses, which was fed during the months of July through October 1962. This meat originated at farm I, which experienced an outbreak of mink encephalopathy during the summer of 1963. According to the seller, this meat came from beef carcasses unfit for human consumption, (so-called 'downer cows'). The possibility of sheep parts or other livestock carcasses having been part of these meat shipments cannot be eliminated entirely." This may be an important record for discussion with scientists in due course.One may comment that those findings do suggest at least a possibility that BSE, or a disease similar to BSE, might have been occurring to cattle in this case in the United States, and that the disease could be transmitted orally across the species barrier. SIR NICHOLAS PHILLIPS [Inquiry Chair]: Presumably, in the United States, they have been giving some considerable attention to the question of whether they have some cases? MR WALKER: They have been doing some research on it. I hope we shall have some evidence about it in due course. I cannot promise it for March, I should say. We will be looking at that later in the year. There is a possibility which deserves mention, I mention it as no more than a possibility, and that is that sporadic CJD during this century might have its origins from eating contaminated beef incubating from animals exhibiting BSE. I am not sure how much research has been done into that, but it is something which the Committee may wish to consider. I emphasise again that this account I have given of scientific matters is very preliminary. There will be ample opportunity as the Inquiry proceeds to hear much more about science and to examine the matter in some detail. Date: Sat, 14 Mar 1998 07:55:01 +0800 From: bunny To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: (NZ)Forest And Bird Society Accused of Economic Sabotage Message-ID: <1.5.4.16.19980314074653.25fff5d2@wantree.com.au> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Sat, 14th March 1998 Forest And Bird Society Accused of Economic Sabotage Trade and Forestry Minister Lockwood Smith is shocked that the New Zealand Forest & Bird Society has sent a submission to the United States Department of Agriculture attacking our biosecurity. He says the submission is putting our forestry exports to the US and thousands of jobs at risk. The act of "economic sabotage" comes just before a San Francisco Court considers whether to reopen the US market to imports of forestry products. "It is fair enough for a New Zealand NGO to take an interest in our biosecurity, which received a $20 million funding boost in 1996 and is arguably the strictest in the world as any New Zealander returning from overseas knows. "But to send a submission to another government, attacking New Zealand's biosecurity falsely and unfairly, damaging our clean, green international reputation, and putting thousands of jobs at risk along with $100 million in export receipts, is economic sabotage," Dr Smith said. In July 1997, the San Francisco Court issued an injunction stopping the issue of new import permits, or the re-issue of import permits, for certain types of sawn timber, logs and solid wood products from several countries including New Zealand. The New Zealand Embassy in Washington is working for the injunction to be lifted at a court hearing on 15 May. Dr Smith says the New Zealand Forest & Bird Society has sent a submission seeking to undermine the NZ case. He says the submission provides a false impression, is selective in the use of information and shows Forest & Bird's real agenda is opposing trade liberalisation. "The Forest & Bird submission puts our growing $100 million forestry export trade to the United States at risk, potentially putting at risk many of the 25,000 jobs in our forestry industry. "What's more, because of the 70% increase in the radiata harvest over the next few years, New Zealand will have to increase our exports of wood products from 10 million cubic metres to 25 million cubic metres because our local market is not big enough to take the increase in wood. Expanding our exports to the US is therefore essential. In 1996, New Zealand exported $97 million worth of wood products to the USA, up from $2 million in 1986. (14.3.98) ===================================================================== ======== /`\ /`\ Rabbit Information Service, Tom, Tom, (/\ \-/ /\) P.O.Box 30, The piper's son, )6 6( Riverton, Saved a pig >{= Y =}< Western Australia 6148 And away he run; /'-^-'\ So none could eat (_) (_) email: rabbit@wantree.com.au The pig so sweet | . | Together they ran | |} http://www.wantree.com.au/~rabbit/rabbit.htm Down the street. \_/^\_/ (Rabbit Information Service website updated frequently) Jesus was most likely a vegetarian... why aren't you? Go to http://www.zworx.com/kin/esseneteachings.htm for more information. It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong. - Voltaire Date: Sat, 14 Mar 1998 08:00:47 +0800 From: bunny To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: (NZ)Asteroid Could Hit Earth Message-ID: <1.5.4.16.19980314075238.2db71394@wantree.com.au> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Fri, 13th March 1998 Clearnet News NZ Asteroid Could Hit Earth Scientists believe that a newly discovered asteroid could come very close or even collide with Earth in October, 2028. Concerned scientists are tracking the rock, known as 1997 XF11, to project its course. If it collides it could cause widespread devastation. The Visiting Fellow of Astronomy at Sussex University, in Britain, Dr John Gribben, says; "There is about a one in 1,000 chance that it will hit the Earth. Those are very short odds. It is big enough to cause immense devastation. You are not talking about wiping out a city, you are talking about wiping out a continent." The best estimate of the path of '1997 XF11' will track inside the orbit of the Moon and pass within 40,000 km of Earth. But the estimate has a margin of error of more than 270,000 km making a collision with Earth possible. Asteroid 1997 XF11 was discovered on December 6 last year by the University of Arizona Spacewatch programme and was added to a list of 108 asteroids considered to be "potentially hazardous objects". An asteroid the size of 1997 XF11 colliding with the Earth at more than 25,000 km an hour would explode with an energy of about 320,000 megatons of dynamite - the equivalent of almost two million Hiroshima-sized atomic bombs. Depending on the collision site, it could cause mountainous tidal waves or a 30-km-wide crater, throwing so much dust into the air that the Sun would be blotted out for weeks. Asteroids are routinely observed and plotted by astronomers around the world because of their potential for causing devastation on Earth. A notice filed by the International Astronomical Union said the asteroid will move out of view to all but the largest telescopes over the next few months. It will become more visible once again in 2000. And two years later, it is predicted to pass within about nine million km of Earth on October 30 of that year. The asteroid is lost from view when it passes behind the Sun, but will emerge into telescope range about every two years. (13.3.98) ===================================================================== ======== /`\ /`\ Rabbit Information Service, Tom, Tom, (/\ \-/ /\) P.O.Box 30, The piper's son, )6 6( Riverton, Saved a pig >{= Y =}< Western Australia 6148 And away he run; /'-^-'\ So none could eat (_) (_) email: rabbit@wantree.com.au The pig so sweet | . | Together they ran | |} http://www.wantree.com.au/~rabbit/rabbit.htm Down the street. \_/^\_/ (Rabbit Information Service website updated frequently) Jesus was most likely a vegetarian... why aren't you? Go to http://www.zworx.com/kin/esseneteachings.htm for more information. It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong. - Voltaire Date: Sat, 14 Mar 1998 08:05:34 +0800 From: bunny To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: (NZ)Squid Fishing Will Be Curtailed Around Auckland Islands Message-ID: <1.5.4.16.19980314075726.25ffe1da@wantree.com.au> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Thu, 12th March 1998 Squid Fishing Will Be Curtailed Around Auckland Islands NZ News The Government has announced it will reduce the limit on fishing related New Zealand sea lion deaths around the Auckland Islands from 79 to 63. This follows the recent unexplained deaths of pups and adult sealions on their Auckland Island breeding grounds. The Fisheries Minister, John Luxton, and the Conservation Minister, Nick Smith, said after considering the best available information surrounding the unexplained mass mortalities, it is appropriate the limit on accidental sea lion deaths from the Auckland Island squid fishery, should be reduced. 'The best estimate of the impact of recent adult mortality on the population, which is a key parameter in the model used in recent years to establish the limit, has led to a revision of the current limit down to 63 animals. This is a reduction of 20%. The ministers say the decision has been difficult because the cause of death is unknown and the level of fatalities amongst the adult sea lions is no more than a crude estimate. The decision is made of the basis of the best estimate made by independent scientists, but will need to be revised again next season when better information on the adult populations becomes available. The fishing industry wants to see the current squid fishing accidental by-catch limit stay the same. It argues that mortality is so low in comparison to the number killed by the mystery illness, as to be insignificant. Conservation groups want to see the fishery closed. They argue that the mystery disease highlights how fragile the population of sea lions is. The Ministers will convene a meeting with industry, environment groups and others to discuss the decision and the implications for the current squid season. (12.3.98) © Copyright 1996, 1997, ===================================================================== ======== /`\ /`\ Rabbit Information Service, Tom, Tom, (/\ \-/ /\) P.O.Box 30, The piper's son, )6 6( Riverton, Saved a pig >{= Y =}< Western Australia 6148 And away he run; /'-^-'\ So none could eat (_) (_) email: rabbit@wantree.com.au The pig so sweet | . | Together they ran | |} http://www.wantree.com.au/~rabbit/rabbit.htm Down the street. \_/^\_/ (Rabbit Information Service website updated frequently) Jesus was most likely a vegetarian... why aren't you? Go to http://www.zworx.com/kin/esseneteachings.htm for more information. It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong. - Voltaire Date: Sat, 14 Mar 1998 08:08:45 +0800 From: bunny To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: (NZ)Seldom-seen whales wash up on beach Message-ID: <1.5.4.16.19980314080036.2db72f1c@wantree.com.au> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Seldom-seen whales wash up on beach (NZ) Otago 14/3/98 By Neal Wallace Two seldom-seen Cuvier beaked whales were washed up dead on Westwood beach, south of Dunedin yesterday. The mother and calf were washed ashore just south of the Kaikorai Estuary The dead calf bore scars which indicated it had been attacked by an ocean predator. Associate professor with the University of Otago Geology Department Dr Ewan Fordyce, who has researched whales and dolphins, said Cuvier beaked whales were usually only seen by themselves or in groups of up to four. Because of their solitary tendencies, the sea mammals were thought to be rare but were actually not as endangered as other whales, Dr Fordyce said . The whales usually lived over deep water and there had been few reports of strandings or animals washing ashore. The mother washed up on the Otago coast was more than 6m long and her calf about 2m. The mother was brown with white spots over part of her body. Both whales had beaked mouths. Samples were being taken for analysis and it was likely parts of the dead animals would be given to museums and the University of Otago. Friday, 13-March 1998 ===================================================================== ======== /`\ /`\ Rabbit Information Service, Tom, Tom, (/\ \-/ /\) P.O.Box 30, The piper's son, )6 6( Riverton, Saved a pig >{= Y =}< Western Australia 6148 And away he run; /'-^-'\ So none could eat (_) (_) email: rabbit@wantree.com.au The pig so sweet | . | Together they ran | |} http://www.wantree.com.au/~rabbit/rabbit.htm Down the street. \_/^\_/ (Rabbit Information Service website updated frequently) Jesus was most likely a vegetarian... why aren't you? Go to http://www.zworx.com/kin/esseneteachings.htm for more information. It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong. - Voltaire Date: Fri, 13 Mar 1998 19:41:20 -0500 From: allen schubert To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: (US) House Advances Hog Bill Message-ID: <3.0.32.19980313194118.006f9640@pop3.clark.net> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" factory farming/corporate farming/hogs from CNN custom news (search: animal rights) http://www.cnn.com ------------------------------------------------------ Kansas State News Reuters 13-MAR-98 House Advances Hog Bill (TOPEKA) -- The Kansas House is set to take a final vote today on legislation to impose tougher environmental regulations on large-scale hog farms. The state House added an amendment imposing a permanent moratorium on hog facilities of more than 45-hundred head in counties that have already voted to ban corporate hog farming. The legislation is a compromise between a moratorium on all new large-scale hog factories in Kansas and those who thought family-operated corporations should be allowed to set up shop anywhere in Kansas. Date: Fri, 13 Mar 1998 16:45:35 -0800 From: Dena Jones To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: (US) Deer on Hilton Head Island to Be Killed Message-ID: <3509D32F.433F@gvn.net> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit **** ACTION ALERT **** ACTION ALERT **** ACTION ALERT **** 250 SEA PINES DEER TO BE KILLED FOR RESEARCH A proposed study by the University of Georgia to determine the cost effectiveness of various methods of deer control will result in the killing of 250 deer in Sea Pines resort, Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. This will reduce the deer population in the community by half. The project was scheduled to begin Feb/ Mar 1998, but due to public outcry the board of the Sea Pines Community Services Association (CSA) postponed its decision on whether to allow the project to proceed. A previous study completed in September 1997 by the University of Georgia for the same goal of deer management resulted in the killing of 70 deer. The study concluded that the deer herd in Sea Pines was healthy, free of Lyme disease, and not overly populated. The proposed project will use clover traps and rocket nets for capturing the animals before shooting them with a captive bolt gun. Both methods of capture are inhumane, causing great suffering and distress to the animals before their death. Both traps are also indiscriminate with the potential to catch young and adults alike, and rocket nets can wipe out whole groups of animals. How can such a project be authorized in a community that has been a national leader in environmentally sensitive development and where ecotourism is encouraged? Please help the Sea Pines deer and the 1157 residents and non residents who have already petitioned against this unnecessary killing by writing to the board of the Sea Pines CSA and to the president of Sea Pines Company, a resort on the island. Address your letters/ calls to: * John Fraser, President of CSA Board, 175 Greenwood Drive, Hilton Head Island, SC 29928; phone (803) 671-1343, fax (803) 671-4027. * Michael E. Lawrence, President, Sea Pines Company, 32 Greenwood Drive, Hilton Head Island, SC 29928; phone (803) 785-3333, fax (803) 842-1475 or 842-1409. Points you may include in your letter: 1) Several studies have already determined the cost of various methods of deer control. 2) Removal of half the number of individuals from a population can have a significant negative impact on the gene pool and long term survival of the species in the area. 3) The deer in Sea Pines are not a threat to humans. Thousands visit this area annually and yet not a single report exists of human injury from the animals or through deer/ car collisions. 4) Several non-lethal recommendations to reduce problems of landscape feeding and possible deer/ car collisions were made by the previous University of Georgia study. Implementing these recommendations will satisfy individuals who consider deer to be a nuisance. 5) More and more people are opposing lethal methods for controlling deer population. For further information please contact Patricia Friedman of the Sea Pines Association for the Protection of Wildlife at 803-686-4083 or send e-mail to aware@hargray.com. Posted By: Animal Protection Institute P.O. Box 22505 Sacramento, CA 95822 800-348-7387 916-731-4467 (fax) onlineapi@aol.com (e-mail) http://www.api4animals.org (Web site) Date: Fri, 13 Mar 1998 22:37:22 -0500 From: Vegetarian Resource Center To: AR-News@Envirolink.Org Subject: 44 Puppies Die in Connecticut Truck Fire Message-ID: Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" 44 Puppies Die in Connecticut Truck Fire .c The Associated Press By DENISE LAVOIE GREENWICH, Conn. (AP) - Police charged a truck driver and a passenger with cruelty to animals after a fire broke out in a trailer and killed 44 puppies. The fire, which broke out Thursday night in a trailer being towed down Interstate 95, was apparently caused by a propane heater in the trailer, police said. A total of 68 puppies - including German shepherds, cocker spaniels and dachshunds - were found, and the 24 injured dogs were taken to a veterinary hospital. David Cook, 48, of Jonesboro, Ark., and Edward Earl Ruyle, 37, of Filley, Neb., were each charged with 68 counts of cruelty to animals. State police who were called to the scene found a large blaze in the trailer. Officials from the Connecticut Humane Society said the puppies were being transported from Kansas to Massachusetts, where they were expected to be sold to pet stores. ``It was a tragic scene. It was very upsetting,'' said Richard Johnston, president of the Connecticut Humane Society. ``The driver or the custodians do have a duty of care with respect to the proper care and transportation of these animals.'' Johnston said five of the puppies were taken to Humane Society's headquarters in Newington. The remaining puppies will stay at the veterinary hospital until they recover. In October, 96 puppies were found crammed inside a truck in Bridgeport after it crashed. Five of the puppies died. The case caused a furor, as animal rights activists demanded legislation to better regulate the puppy industry. AP-NY-03-13-98 1403EST
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