AR-NEWS Digest 497 Topics covered in this issue include: 1) [CA] Vancouver rally for homeless animals by David J Knowles 2) [CA] PNE is back, and so is the abuse by David J Knowles 3) by David J Knowles 4) [US] Pro-lobster killing article by Nate Everett 5) Talk: Fwd: Root Canals Fit for Man and Beast by LMANHEIM@aol.com 6) (US) Oklahoma September Wildlife Festival by JanaWilson@aol.com 7) Anti-bullfighting demonstration by "sa338@blues.uab.es" 8) (US) USDA conducting in-depth inspection at beef plant by allen schubert 9) (US) Product Labeling Legislation (S. 830) by OnlineAPI@aol.com 10) Cats burned in Indiana by "sa338@blues.uab.es" Date: Sun, 17 Aug 1997 02:35:41 -0700 (PDT) From: David J Knowles To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: [CA] Vancouver rally for homeless animals Message-ID: <1.5.4.16.19970817023608.08f79572@dowco.com> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" VANCOUVER, BC - An estimated 170 people gathered near Vancouver City Hall Saturday to mark International Homeless Animals' Day. Guest speakers included Cllr Nancy Chiavario, Dr. Frank Dear DVM and H. Douglas Hooper, executive director of the Vancouver Regional SPCA. Dr Dear, a local veterinarian and elder in the Seventh Day Adventist Church, led off with a prayer for the area's homeless animals. Cllr. Chiavario, a Vancouver City Councilor, told the rally that although she would like to say that there would be legislation tomorrow, she was unable to do so, and that any such legislation would first require a change to the city charter, which has to be enacted by the provincial legislature. In the meantime, Mayor Philip Owen had asked council to form a "Domestic Animal Committee," of which she had been appointed chair. There would be three sub-committees, one of which would be looking at the cat overpoulation problem, and would listen to submissions from local groups who deal with this. It is planned to have draft legislation in place for when the charter has been altered. Whether there will be the political will to do pass such legislation remains to be seen. One of the speakers scheduled to speak was Dr Hakem Bullah, a local veterinarian who has significantly reduced the waiting list at the SPCA, helped local groups and often treats animals although the human guardian has little chance of paying the full costs. Unfortunately, Dr Bullah was called away to a medical emergency, but one of his colleagues gave a speech in his place, and called for the mandatory spay/neuter of all cats and dogs unless the human keeper has a breeders licence; all cats should be licenced, with a minimal fee for altered animals, and a substantially higher fee for intact cats; and also called for a concerted effort by the public to ensure that council passes legislation as quickly as possible. She also stated that the problem of cat overpopulation in the Lower Mainland was made worse by the fact that SPCA shelters were full, and people would rather abandon their cats into the street than surrender them to a shelter. The BC SPCA is the first SPCA in Canada to publicly support spay/neuter legislation. Representing the Vancouver Regional Branch, H. Douglas Hooper told the rally that the issue of overpopulation is one of paramount urgency. The last speaker was "Trapper" June Humphries, who spends all her free time rescuing stray cats and either getting them placed in adoptive homes or re-releases them after they have been fixed. ("Trapper" June also pays most of the cost of this work from her own pocket.) Humphries told the rally of many instances where a bylaw would be of use. The rally was relocated from its original location, outside City Hall, because of a picket line by the city's outside workers. Many of the attendees are members of unions, as are members of local media outlets. The striking workers provided an area in the city hall parking lot, and also directed those attending the rally to the new location. David J Knowles Animal Voices News [Due to a human medical emergency at the scene, which I was involved with, I did not get the name of Dr Bullah's colleague.] Date: Sun, 17 Aug 1997 02:35:46 -0700 (PDT) From: David J Knowles To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: [CA] PNE is back, and so is the abuse Message-ID: <1.5.4.16.19970817023613.08f74382@dowco.com> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" VANCOUVER, BC - The annual Pacific National Exhibition (PNE) opened Saturday, together with it's usual PR job on animal-(ab)use. I visited the PNE this evening, to do some preparation for a story about what the animals there have to suffer in the name of public "entertainment." More on this later, but suffice to say there is no shottage of material. Whilst looking at a pig enclosure - sow and several piglets - someone from another booth noticed a section of the wire-mesh on the enclosure was broken, resulting in several pieces of sharp wires sticking into the enclosure. She reported this to the barn supervisor, who promised to fix it immediately. Before he returned, both the person from the other booth and myself noticed one of the piglets was lame in a back leg. On the return of the supervisor, we duly reported this to him, only to be told - "So, they're not going to do anything, unless you want to light the barbecue." He explained this remark by saying that the farmer concerned would not be willing to fork out a vet bill of $500 for a piglet that was worth $30. "This happens all the time," he said, "but there's nothing I can do about it." David J Knowles Animal Voices News [I will be back at the PNE within the next two weeks, accompanied by a local humane group representative, and will post more then.] Date: Sun, 17 Aug 1997 02:51:21 -0700 (PDT) From: David J Knowles To: ar-news@envirolink.org Message-ID: <1.5.4.16.19970817025149.08f7fdc2@dowco.com> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" >From The Electronic Telegraph - Sunday, August 17th, 1997 Horses in danger from spread of killer weed By Greg Neale, Environment Correspondent HORSE and pony owners have been warned that an explosion of the weed ragwort is threatening their animals and has already caused a spate of agonising deaths. The British Horse Society says that the weed has been growing widely across Britain because of a combination of good weather and poor maintenance of hedges and roadside verges in some areas. It is warning owners to ensure that their animals' grazing is free from the weed, as the poison in ragwort cumulatively attacks the liver. "Conditions seem to have been ideal for the spread of ragwort this summer," Gill Patrick, of the society's Norfolk branch, said yesterday. "I don't think people realise how dangerous ragwort can be to horses. It is lethal when eaten in hay. We must encourage owners to keep their paddocks and pastures free of it." Common ragwort (Senecio jacobaea) is one of the few poisonous plants to be specifically covered by the 1959 Weeds Act under which landowners can be fined if they do not respond to official requests to prevent its spread. A perennial, it grows up to 3ft tall, producing large clusters of yellow flowers from July to September. Horses usually avoid the weed, but it can become more palatable once it wilts or has been cut, or is harvested in hay. They can also eat it if other pasture foods have been exhausted, though the animals may not immediately show the effects of poisoning. Ros Wright, who has kept horses near her home at Felthorpe, near Norwich, since she was a child, lost her stallion Prince from ragwort poisoning five years ago. Two years ago her mare Penny was also poisoned, but she recovered after intensive treatment by a local vet. "The symptoms showed up very suddenly: Penny began stamping her hind legs and her eyes were red," Mrs Wright recalled yesterday. "The night the vet came, she was in so much pain he asked me if I wanted to put her down, but I said no. "He gave her treatment including warm water and paraffin, and I walked her about the paddock all night; it was essential to keep her moving. I was almost in tears at the thought of losing her. She was ill from May to September, but now you'd never know it." Mrs Wright, a countrywoman born and bred, was aware of the dangers of ragwort. "I've been pulling it out of the fields since I was four," she said. "After Penny was sick, we took the topsoil off the paddock to a depth of six inches. Now we fence off our three-acre paddock and spray every year - but you still have to be careful. If the hedges and verges in the area aren't cut regularly, the seeds can be blown on to your land." Norwich vets have reported several cases of ponies killed by ragwort this year. Oliver Illing, a vet from Norfolk, said yesterday: "Part of the problem is that farmers have diversified and a lot of land is now used for paddocks. I think there is a lot more ragwort about this year. "The damage it can cause to an animal is cumulative. A lot of young girls get a pony and keep it on what they and their parents think are simply green fields, but often the horse can be nibbling little bits of ragwort." In the New Forest, the Forestry Commission has been employing teams of students to pull up ragwort in areas that have large populations of free-roaming ponies or cattle. "This year we're spending £10,000 on covering a huge area," said Mike Seddon, a spokesman. Jonathan Spencer, an ecologist with the Forestry Commission, said: "It likes dry, dusty soils, preferably that have been disturbed by grazing animals. You have to pull it up by the roots. Cutting is simply not good enough - in fact it can actually enhance the risk if the cut weeds are left lying around." © Copyright Telegraph Group Limited 1997 Date: Sun, 17 Aug 1997 10:01:30 -0400 (EDT) From: Nate Everett To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: [US] Pro-lobster killing article Message-ID: <199708171401.KAA09497@relay1.shore.net> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" This is excerpted from today's Boston Globe Magazine. The article is an attempt to glorify the "traditional" lobsterman, and it ends up making countless jokes in poor taste about people eating lobster flesh. >From Trap To Table by Joseph P. Kahn "...The Maine lobster has recently become a favorite target of animal-rights activists. In 1995, a letter from actress Mary Tyler Moore about the pain that lobsters suffer during cooking was printed in a Rockland, Maine, newspaper. PETA, a leading animal-rights, has targeted Maine's annual August Lobster Festival for save-the-lobster demonstrations. [Susan] Barber [of the Maine Lobster Promotion Council] conceded that she spends a good deal of her time--and the Maine Lobster Promotion Council's $300,000 annual budget--allaying concerns raised by PETA and its allies. During one radio debate with a PETA representative, she countered claims that lobsters scream when being cooked by pointing out that while lobsters do not possess vocal cords, "They do have the IQ of grasshoppers." Jasper While, executive chef of Legal Sea Foods, is less guarded about the pure joy of eating lobster, PETA be damned. "It is incredibly versatile, one of the world's great foods," gushes White, author of a forthcoming cookbook on the critter. "It you only eat lobster occasionally, it's best to eat it plain. Steamed, that is, with lemon and drawn butter. But I cannot think of a cooking method that doesn't work for lobster." Which brings us to our main course. Tail flapping and claws brandishing, Homer--at least we think it's Homer--is plucked from his tank at Chauncey Creek by Jeffrey Hazen.. Hazen, a mechanical engineer from Kittery, has come to the restaurant this extremely fine summer evening with his wife, a friend, adn two young visitors from the Netherlands. Dinner is served. Hazen digs into Homer with relish. Between bites, he offers advice in lobster-eating technique. In half an hour, Homer is reduced to a pile of empty shells. Hazen smacks his lips... The moral of our lobster tale? If you're destined to be an epicurean memory, better a good one." Date: Sun, 17 Aug 1997 13:22:38 -0400 (EDT) From: LMANHEIM@aol.com To: ar-news@envirolink.org, WLREHAB@vm1.nodak.edu Cc: Nyppsi@aol.com, EnglandGal@aol.com Subject: Talk: Fwd: Root Canals Fit for Man and Beast Message-ID: <970817132237_1950197362@emout13.mail.aol.com> In a message dated 97-08-17 12:11:11 EDT, AOL News writes: Subj:Root Canals Fit for Man and Beast Date:97-08-17 12:11:11 EDT From:AOL News BCC:LMANHEIM By JAMES L. ENG SEATTLE (AP) - To Dr. James McGraw, an animal's bite is often just as important as its bark. That's why the endodontist urges other dentists to join him in volunteering to perform root canals and other dental procedures on rare zoo animals and other endangered creatures. Animals with healthy teeth tend to live longer and happier, McGraw says. ``This is about the endodontist's role in helping the world's great animals for whom time is running out,'' McGraw said at the annual conference of the American Association of Endodontists - root-canal specialists - held here earlier this year. McGraw volunteers at Seattle's Woodland Park Zoo, in addition to tending his private practice for human patients and teaching dentistry at the University of Washington. He estimates that he's performed dental procedures on hundreds of zoo animals since working on his first non-human patient - a baboon with a broken tooth - in 1970. ``The procedures (on animals) have changed only so much as dentistry in general has because we provide the same quality of care at the zoo that humans get,'' McGraw said in a recent interview at Woodland Park that he cut short to clean a rare Sumatran tiger's teeth. The tools for root canals and other procedures are essentially the same for animals as for humans. Sometimes, however, the equipment must be custom-made to accommodate the animal's size. Other times, one has to improvise. Dr. William Powell, an endodontist who volunteers at the Knoxville Zoo in Tennessee, once performed a root-canal procedure on an elephant's broken tusk. Among his instruments: an ice pick, broom handle and a PCV - positive crankcase ventilation - tube, normally used in auto exhaust systems to curb pollutants. An animal's teeth can be crucial to survival in the wild. Animals use their teeth to eat, communicate, defend themselves and mark their social status. So when a tooth is damaged, the animal can be at a severe disadvantage. In humans, the loss of a tooth can lead to problems such as shifting of other teeth and gum disease. But loss of a tooth for a lion or bear can be fatal. It can cause the animal to stop eating, become anti-social or develop an infection. ``When you come right down to it ... a great majority (of big animals) are lost in the wild due to dental disease,'' said Dr. Bert Kaufman, a Woodland Hills, Calif., dentist who volunteers at the wildlife way station in Angelos National Forest as well as at the Los Angeles Zoo. ``If they break a tooth and it gets infected, they don't have antibiotics.'' Dr. Paul Brown, an endodontist who volunteers at the San Francisco Zoo, recently worked on a Kodiak bear that had mysteriously lost several hundred pounds and was ``on its way to dying.'' It turned out the bear had fractured a cuspid and was packing food in the opening instead of swallowing it. After a root canal and some sealant, the animal was on its way to recovery. ``Animals can't maintain their teeth with brushing as we can,'' noted Dr. John Scheels, who volunteers at the Milwaukee County Zoo in Wisconsin. ``So much of human treatment is predicated on home care and personal hygiene. You can't expect an animal to get that.'' Scheels, who helped organize the first meeting of an exotic-animal veterinary dentistry group in Milwaukee in 1986, estimates there are 40 or 50 dentists who work with zoos but only about 10 who do it regularly. Endangered animals in zoos often outlive their cohorts in the wild because of human health-care intervention, he said. Dr. Janice Joslyn, senior veterinarian at Woodland Park Zoo, says McGraw's volunteer work has helped prolong the lives of many of the zoo's animals. ``When I was in vet school 20 years ago, we were taught just to pull the teeth out if they looked bad or broken,'' she said. Now, it's recognized that animals - like people - do better if a damaged tooth is saved, she said. Animals may need root canals or other procedures because they break their teeth on rocks or other hard objects, or damage them in falls or skirmishes with other animals. As with human teeth, a root canal saves the animal's tooth by removing infected or damaged soft inner tissue and replacing it with a filling material, usually soft, rubbery stuff called gutta percha. While a human tooth requires just a few milligrams of gutta percha, an elephant's tusk can require a wheelbarrow-full. Most animals are model dental patients. Once anesthetized, they are easy to work on. But there can be complications that don't arise with human patients. Kaufman recalls working on a big male jaguar named George at the wildlife way station. ``We extracted a lower canine that took about two hours. While we were waiting for the handler to put him back in the cage, George woke up, jumped up and ran onto the floor.'' Kaufman was trampled as some of his colleagues rushed for the door. The veterinarian managed to get a noose on George and guide him into his transfer cage without incident. ``I've seen psychotic animals. I've seen absolutely normal animals. I've seen very loving animals,'' Kaufman said. ``But you have to keep in mind, these are all wild animals.'' And often rare or even endangered, which is why McGraw and his colleagues are pitching in to help save them. ``You just can't allow rare animals, a red panda or something, to die merely because you were unable to give it the attention it needed,'' McGraw said. >> Date: Sun, 17 Aug 1997 13:32:38 -0400 (EDT) From: JanaWilson@aol.com To: AR-news@envirolink.org Subject: (US) Oklahoma September Wildlife Festival Message-ID: <970817133204_1057683093@emout08.mail.aol.com> The fourth annual Oklahoma Wildlife Heritage Festival will be held on Sept. 6th in Cheyenne, Okla. The festival offers something for everyone who enjoys the outdoors, including hands-on activities such as shooting shotguns, rifles, pistols, muzzleloaders and archery. Hunting experts and qualified shooting instructors will assist with the shooting activities. Many seminars and demonstrations also will be presented thru out the day. A mountain man rendezvous, exhibits by conservation agencies, wildlife-related sales booths, and a wildlife art show are some of the attractions. The president of the Roger Mill's Sportsman's Club, Mr. Bruce Eakins, said "The festival is designed to encourage sportsmen and landowners to take time off and celebrate our wildlife heritage in Oklahoma. Besides celebrating our hunting heritage, the festival offers a variety of hands-on activities for everyone." For those who want to enjoy a complete outdoor experience, public camping facilities are available on the Black Kettle National Grasslands near Cheyenne, Okla. All equipment (such as guns, bows and targets) will be provided. No personal firearms will be allowed.. For the Animals, Jana, OKC Date: Sun, 17 Aug 1997 23:32:32 +0200 From: "sa338@blues.uab.es" To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: Anti-bullfighting demonstration Message-ID: <33F76DF0.2226@blues.uab.es> MIME-version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit I am Nuria from Barcelona (Catalonia,Spain). Today there has been an anti-bullfighting demonstration in Bilbao (Spain) that has been a great success. There were much more people outside the ring that inside. People at the demonstration showed their intelligence and patience when they were insulted by crazy bullkillers but finally there was no violence (at least outside the ring). Another demo will take place the next 21 in Bilbao too. We won't stop until bullfighting is considered cruelty to animals. For the animals, Nuria http://www.geocities.com/heartland/hills/3787 Date: Mon, 18 Aug 1997 01:48:33 -0400 From: allen schubert To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: (US) USDA conducting in-depth inspection at beef plant Message-ID: <3.0.32.19970818014830.006c0920@clark.net> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" from CNN web page: -------------------------------- USDA conducting in-depth inspection at beef plant Agency 'sending signal' to industry August 17, 1997 Web posted at: 7:37 p.m. EDT (2337 GMT) WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture will conduct an extensive inspection of a Nebraska beef processing plant to find the source of E. coli contamination that led to the recall of 1.2 million pounds of hamburger last week. "I've sent the SWAT team out to this particular plant because I want to send a signal throughout the industry that we will not tolerate practices which are incompatible with public health," said Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman Sunday on CNN's "Late Edition with Frank Sesno." Agriculture inspectors were at the Hudson Foods plant in Columbus, Nebraska, Sunday. Glickman's "SWAT team," consisting of a dozen more inspectors, was on its way. Glickman said inspectors would be examining plant records and meat processing procedures. James Hudson, the president and chairman of Hudson Foods, said the company welcomes the USDA's scrutiny. He said the company has cooperated fully with the USDA. "We're not afraid of what they will find," Hudson said, adding the company plans its own "full and aggressive" investigation to determine the source of the problem. Company 'baffled' by E. coli source The Hudson hamburger patties, processed at the plant during the first week of June, were recalled because they were believed to be tainted with E. coli bacteria, which could cause illness or death if the hamburger isn't thoroughly cooked. Fifteen people are believed to have become ill from the patties, all in Colorado. None became seriously ill. "We're still baffled as to where it came from," Hudson said Sunday, speaking during a telephone press conference from the company's Arkansas headquarters. "It may have come from outside purchases," Hudson said. "It may have originated in the plant, but we don't think so." He said the company has purchased beef from other countries in the past, but all of the beef in the plant in June came from the United States. Hudson had earlier large meat recall E. coli appears naturally in the intestines of cattle. If intestinal material comes into contact with meat during processing, the meat can become contaminated. The recall ordered last week is believed to be the largest ever in the United States. Hudson Foods was also responsible for the previous largest meat recall, in 1995, when small pieces of bone were found in ground turkey meat. Hudson said the two recalls were unrelated. Said Glickman, "We have to conduct an investigation to determine if there is a pattern or not." USDA investigators will also being trying to determine why Hudson initially estimated the amount of potentially-tainted beef at 20,000 pounds, instead of 1.2 million pounds determined by the government. Hudson officials say the number of patties subjected to recall went up dramatically because, at first, it included only the batches of meat suspected of having an E. coli problem. It was later expanded to all meant produced at the plant during the first week in June. The company says it gave the USDA the best original estimate it could at the time. Correspondent Eugenia Halsey and Reuters contributed to this report. Date: Sun, 17 Aug 1997 22:51:15 -0400 (EDT) From: OnlineAPI@aol.com To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: (US) Product Labeling Legislation (S. 830) Message-ID: <970817225114_887887064@emout20.mail.aol.com> **** API ACTION ALERT **** API ACTION ALERT **** API ACTION ALERT **** OPPOSE NATIONAL UNIFORMITY IN PRODUCT LABELING Food and Drug Administration Reform is a top priority for the 105th Congress. FDA reform legislation (H.R. 1411/S. 830) currently being considered by Congress would mandate national uniformity in product labeling. While the concept of "national uniformity" in labeling suggests a streamlining of regulatory efforts, its implementation would, in fact, weaken the ability of states to determine their own guidelines regarding environmental safety, human health, or consumer and/or animal protection concerns. National uniformity would prohibit any state from passing legislation that would require the labeling of milk products containing bovine growth hormone (BGH) or cosmetics that have been tested on animals. National uniformity could also prohibit state laws creating "dolphin safe" labels on tuna. It would also override state laws, such as California's Proposition 65, which mandates warnings on consumer products that contain ingredients potentially harmful to both the environment and public safety. The Senate version of the Drug and Biological Products Modernization Act (S. 830) has passed out of committee and is pending full Senate consideration. A floor vote on the bill is expected in early September when the Senate returns from its summer recess. Please write, fax, or call your two U.S. Senators and ask them to oppose the "national uniformity" provision of S. 830. A sample letter is provided below for your convenience. All congressional offices can be reached at 202-224-3121. If you need the names of your Senators or have questions about the legislation, contact Lawrence Carter-Long at the Animal Protection Institute at 800-348-7387 or LCartLng@gvn.net. SAMPLE LETTER: The Honorable _______ United States Senate Washington, DC 20510 Dear Senator _______: I am writing in regard to S. 830, the Drug and Biological Products Modernization Act of 1997. I am opposed to the bill's amendment calling for "national uniformity" for drugs and cosmetics, which would undermine consumers' right to know important information about these products. The national uniformity labeling provision would make it nearly impossible for consumers to know whether foods have been genetically engineered, whether toxic pesticides and other carcinogenic residues remain on food products, and whether cosmetics have been produced through the use of animal experimentation. It would outlaw local and state "BGH-free" labeling and advertising and make it all but impossible to require labeling of genetically engineered foods and crops. Furthermore, national uniformity labeling prevents states or local legislative bodies from initiating labeling laws related to food safety, genetically engineered food, or "animal-tested" household products or cosmetics. If the national uniformity provision is not removed, S. 830 would effectively overrride the important safeguards that state law, such as that enacted by California's Proposition 65, now provide. I ask that you oppose the inclusion of "national uniformity" in S. 830 when the bill comes up for a vote of the full Senate. I further request that you not support any bill with language that would eliminate or reduce consumer choice in product labeling. The public deserves the opportunity to make informed decisions about these affairs for themselves. Thank you for your consideration of this important matter. Sincerely, Date: Mon, 18 Aug 1997 03:46:12 +0200 From: "sa338@blues.uab.es" To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: Cats burned in Indiana Message-ID: <33F7A964.757E@blues.uab.es> MIME-version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit I am Nuria from Barcelona. I have included an article in my page about the cats burned by two stupids in Indiana. PLEASE GET THERE AND SIGN THE PETITION FOR THE MAXIMUM PENALTY !!! The article: http://www.geocities.com/heartland/ranch/1231/olivia.htm THANKS IN THE NAME OF OLIVIA AND THE OTHER CATS Nuria http://www.geocities.com/heartland/hills/3787 THANKS A LOT!!!!