AR-NEWS Digest 640

Topics covered in this issue include:

  1) Cattlemen-Winfrey Case Set To Begin
     by Vegetarian Resource Center 
  2) (Dubai) Camel and llama cross-bred
     by Vadivu Govind 
  3) National Fisheries Institute Denounces Animal Rights Campaign
     by Vegetarian Resource Center 
  4) (UK) Hounds electrocuted on railway line
     by Chris Wright 
  5) (US) 'Pork And Beans' A Bad Image?
     by allen schubert 
  6) [SPA ]Soccer player with ADENA SPAIN
     by 2063511 <2063511@campus.uab.es>
  7) (US) Hog Farm Debate Heats Up
     by allen schubert 
  8) Nagano: Thousands of peace "doves" being created
     by Tereiman 
  9) Cattlemen Tracking Oprah Suit in Oklahoma
     by SDURBIN@VM.TULSA.CC.OK.US
 10) Orang-utans in Inonesia Endangered by Logging Project
     by "Patrick Tohill" 
 11) BN and DOL butt heads...For Immediate Release!  Violence erupts
 (A R News)
     by buffalo folks 
 12) (FR) Bardot fined for criticizing Muslim sheep slaughter
     by Mesia Quartano 
 13) (US) National Kidney Foundation Survey shows support for animal-human transplants
     by Mesia Quartano 
 14) (US) Yellowstone bison solutions offered 
     by Mesia Quartano 
 15) (US-OH) Letter to the Editor - Cruelty to animals should be felony offense 
     by Mesia Quartano 
 16) (US-NY) VETERINARIAN USES ANCIENT THERAPIES
     by Mesia Quartano 
 17) Looking For Activists in AK
     by Suzanne Roy 
 18) =?iso-8859-1?Q?[UK]_E_coli_firm_is_fined_=A32,250?=
     by David J Knowles 
 19) receiving ar-news again
     by 0 <74754.654@compuserve.com>
 20) Audio Tape Indicates Nadas Hearing A Sham
     by "Bob Schlesinger" 
 21) Current Transplant Experiments
     by NOVENA ANN 
 22) Re: (US-FL) Animal-rights activists sometimes step over the line
     by Godisvegan 
 23) Animal-Human Transplant Ban Urged
     by NOVENA ANN 
 24) Boston Globe: Doctors transplant pig cells
     by LCartLng@gvn.net (Lawrence Carter-Long)
 25) Newswire: FDA re-opens debate on xenografts
     by LCartLng@gvn.net (Lawrence Carter-Long)
 26) Re: (US-FL) Animal-rights activists sometimes step over the line
     by HSUSCA@ix.netcom.com
 27) Madison monkey update
     by paulbog@jefnet.com (Rick Bogle)
 28) Re:  Cruelty to animals should be felony offense - UPDATE
     by "Robin Russell" 
 29) Admin Note -- Inappropriate Posting
     by allen schubert 
 30) (US) Oprah accused of whipping up anti-beef 'lynch mob'
     by allen schubert 
 31) Subscription Options--Admin Note
     by allen schubert 
 32) Praise, Condemnation on Cow Cloning
     by Vegetarian Resource Center 
 33) CNN:  Oprah's opening statements begin.
     by Wyandotte Animal Group 
Date: Wed, 21 Jan 1998 00:15:53 -0500
From: Vegetarian Resource Center 
To: AR-News@Envirolink.Org
Subject: Cattlemen-Winfrey Case Set To Begin
Message-ID: <199801210517.AAA24698@mail-out-1.tiac.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Cattlemen-Winfrey Case Set To Begin

By MARK BABINECK AMARILLO, Texas (AP) - 
Oprah Winfrey is on the spot in cattle country, 
accused of taking a bite out of beef by falsely spreading the word 
that American meat could cause mad cow disease in the United States. 
Jury selection in the federal defamation trial was to begin today in
Amarillo, 
home to majestic ranches, pungent feedyards and real cowboys. 

Cattle producers who sued Ms. Winfrey would appear to have a 
definite home-field advantage in a town whose largest private employer 
is a slaughterhouse and in a courthouse where a livestock mural 
is painted above the elevators. But the queen of television talk 
has the advantage of celebrity. There was nearly a stampede for tickets 
after word got out that she would tape her show in Amarillo on Thursday and
Friday. 

``There's push and pull on both sides,'' said Bobby Lee, 
co-owner of the Big Texan Steak Ranch, home of the free 72-ounce steak 
to anyone who can eat it in an hour. Amarillo cattle feeder Paul Engler 
is suing Ms. Winfrey and vegetarian activist Howard Lyman over comments 
they made about beef safety on her April 16, 1996, show. 

During the show, Lyman said that feeding ground-up animal parts to cattle, 
a practice that was banned in the United States last summer, 
could spread mad cow disease to humans in the United States. 

To applause from the studio audience, Ms. Winfrey exclaimed: 
``It has just stopped me from eating another burger!'' 
After the broadcast, already slumping cattle prices fell to some of 
their lowest levels in a decade, and Engler claimed he lost $6.7 million. 

He and other plaintiffs who later joined the suit are seeking to recoup their
losses, 
plus other, unspecified damages. Defense attorneys blame other factors 
for the collapse, such as oversupply and decreased demand. 
Ms. Winfrey's lawyers tried unsuccessfully to have the case moved 
from this Panhandle town of 165,000 to Dallas, a more cosmopolitan city 
about a six-hour drive away. 

According to court documents, defense attorneys would be OK with 
an Amarillo trial if they could discuss the case publicly. 
Instead, they are bound by a gag order imposed by 
U.S. District Judge Mary Lou Robinson. 

Industry insiders say the less heard about the case, the better. 
Clark Willingham, president-elect of the National Cattlemen's Beef
Association,

worries that the trial will dredge up fears about mad cow disease - 
the thing that started the case in the first place. 

The lawsuit could be the biggest test yet of ``veggie libel'' laws 
that have been enacted in more than a dozen states to protect 
agricultural products from false and disparaging remarks. 

``You can't run up in a theater and say, `Fire!' or `Bomb!''' said Bob
Turner, 
a state lawmaker and farmer who wrote Texas' 1995 agriculture disparagement
law. 

``Freedom of speech ends where other people's freedoms begin and 
where the truth is not known to be involved.'' 
Seattle attorney Bruce Johnson, who successfully defended CBS 
against apple growers upset over a 1989 ``60 Minutes'' report 
about the growth regulator Alar, believes such laws violate the Constitution. 

``The question here is not whether someone is yelling `Fire!' in a theater,''
he said. 
``The question is whether they can discuss whether there is a fire.'' 

AP-NY-01-20-98 
Copyright 1997 The Associated Press

Date: Wed, 21 Jan 1998 13:20:30 +0800 (SST)
From: Vadivu Govind 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (Dubai) Camel and llama cross-bred
Message-ID: <199801210520.NAA30736@eastgate.cyberway.com.sg>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"


>The Straits Times
21 Jan 98

Mix this ... with this ... and you get -- the
     'cama' 

     DUBAI -- Veterinarians in the United Arab Emirates have cross-bred a
camel and a     llama successfully, newspapers have reported yesterday. 

     The male 5.5-kg "cama", a fluffy Bambi-like creature named Rama, was
born at
     Dubai's Camel Reproduction Centre last week after artificial
insemination and a
     pregnancy of just under a year. 

     The birth is being proclaimed as the world's first cross between the
Old World's
camels and the Western Hemisphere's llamas since they went their separate
ways 30
     million years ago. 

     "It took a lot of patience but now it has happened. We are all
delighted," Ms Lulu
     Skidmore, the centre's technical director, told Gulf News. 

     The cama's parents were a 75-kg female llama and a 450-kg male camel. 

     Their offspring has the short ears and long tail of a camel and the
cloven hooves of a     llama. It looks slightly more like a camel than a llama. 

     The baby has around 60 per cent of a camel's features. 

     The official news agency WAM said that a second project involving a
female came land a male llama had been carried out. "The camel is now in its
10th month of
     pregnancy and is expected to deliver within 45 days at the latest," the
agency said,
     without giving further details. -- Reuters, AFP. 


Date: Wed, 21 Jan 1998 00:20:48 -0500
From: Vegetarian Resource Center 
To: AR-News@Envirolink.Org
Subject: National Fisheries Institute Denounces Animal Rights Campaign
Message-ID: 
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit

National Fisheries Institute Denounces Animal Rights Activist Campaign 
Against Seafood Consumers

ARLINGTON, Va., Jan. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Fisheries Institute (NFI)
announced its opposition to a new campaign by animal rights activists and
others that encourages restaurants to stop offering swordfish caught in North
Atlantic waters.  The "Give Swordfish a Break" campaign, sponsored by the
"SeaWeb" campaign, the Natural Resource Defense Council and a Washington, D.C.
restaurant, advocates that other restaurants boycott swordfish during 1998.
Campaigners argue that such action is necessary to ensure the conservation of
wild swordfish populations.

According to Richard E. Gutting, Jr., Executive Vice-President of NFI, "In our
view, the expert scientists and officials who are responsible for conserving
these swordfish stocks, and who have authorized their harvest, are better
qualified to judge what is needed for conservation than the self- appointed
advocates of this boycott campaign."

Federal fishery officials limit the total amount of swordfish that can be
harvested each year.  These officials also allocate this total catch among
various groups of fishermen.  Federal law requires that these allocations
ensure that swordfish stocks remain productive, and that the allocation among
fishermen is fair and equitable.  These U.S. catch limits and allocations must
also be consistent with the strict measures adopted by international fishery
commissions made up of many nations.

Swordfish migrate widely throughout the world's oceans and are harvested by
fishermen from many nations.  In the U.S., swordfish are harvested in the
Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. These fish are highly valued by both big game
fishermen and those fishermen who make their livelihood supplying restaurants
and supermarkets.  The competition for swordfish between these two fishing
groups is fierce.

Past swordfish harvests in the Atlantic were too high and depressed the size
of their stock.  Following the most scientific assessment of these fish in
1996, the world's most expert swordfish scientists advised the international
commission that because of the resilient nature of swordfish, lower harvests
would improve the condition of the stock.  These limits were quickly approved
by the international commission and were then implemented by U.S. officials.
U.S. fishery officials concluded that these reductions would "stop the decline
of the swordfish stock."  These strict new limits, which cut harvests in half,
are now being enforced.

"Some big game fishermen apparently are angry that fishery officials did not
give them the exclusive right to harvest swordfish when the new harvest limits
were imposed," says Gutting. "If they now could convince everyone to stop
buying swordfish, only big game fishermen would be harvesting them. These
sport fishermen appear to have joined forces with animal rights activists who
believe for moral or philosophical reasons that humans should not eat other
animals."

Despite the progress made towards conserving Atlantic swordfish, NFI remains
concerned about the stock.  It is vital that all fishing nations adhere to the
strict international harvest limits, otherwise the sacrifices of U.S.
fishermen will be for naught.  Fortunately, most nations are complying,
however, some may not be enforcing these limits.

According to Nelson Beideman of the Blue Water Fishermen's Association, an
organization representing commercial fishermen, "American fishermen have
abided by all national and international regulations governing swordfish.  In
fact, we have sacrificed over 50 percent of our catch since 1989 to promote
the conservation of these fish.  Any boycott would unjustly harm both American
fishing families and seafood consumers without providing any tangible
conservation benefits."

Under federal law, U.S. fishery officials must evaluate the performance of
other nations.  If they find that any nation is failing to adhere to
international standards, these officials are directed to ban the importation
and sale of the products concerned.  This government-to-government strategy
aimed at violators offers the best way to ensure compliance, and NFI is
working closely with U.S. officials to ensure that international harvest
quotas are enforced strictly.

According to Gutting, "Broad-based boycotts, even when well intentioned, often
hurt innocent people.  We fail to see how a boycott would be justified in this
circumstance when it would punish American fishermen and others complying with
conservation requirements, and there is a better way to obtain compliance."

Neighboring Washington, D.C., restaurateurs, too, are opposed to the
campaign's approach.  According to Bob Kinkead, owner and executive chef of
Kinkead's, "While we all want to conserve our wild fish population for future
generations, this campaign is akin to throwing the baby out with the bath
water.  If restaurateurs are concerned about the profusion of small fish, then
they should demand only large fish from their suppliers.  The solution is that
simple."

As 1998 is the "Year of the Ocean," annual rights activists, sport fishermen
and other groups with marine-related campaigns are attempting to position
their efforts in terms of fishery "conservation."  Please bear in mind that
big game and commercial fishermen compete for the fish, and that some people
believe passionately that humans should not eat animals.  In reality, this
debate really has more to do with who should get the fish, or whether fish
should be harvested at all, than it has to do with the biological condition of
the stocks.

The National Fisheries Institute is a non-profit trade association
representing more than 1,000 companies involved in all aspects of the fish and
seafood industry.  The Institute acts to ensure an ample, sustainable and safe
seafood supply for consumers.

The commercial seafood industry directly employs more than 250,000 people and
contributes more than $41 billion to the economy which includes $27.8 billion
in expenditures at foodservice establishments and $13.2 billion at the retail
level.

SOURCE  National Fisheries Institute  

CO:  National Fisheries Institute; Natural Resource Defense Council; 
Blue Water Fishermen's Association; Kinkead's
ST:  District of Columbia
IN:  AGR
SU:

01/20/98 14:04 EST http://www.prnewswire.com  
Date: Wed, 21 Jan 1998 12:07:55 GMT
From: Chris Wright 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (UK) Hounds electrocuted on railway line
Message-ID: <34dde4d7.15074580@post.demon.co.uk>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

11 hounds of the West Kent hunt were eletrocuted yesterday when they
rioted onto a railiway line.

Janet George is quoted as saying "The dogs were 5 miles away from the
railway and were due to hunt away from that area. The fox went the
wrong way with a very strong scent and the hunt staff were unable to
catch the hounds and turn them off the railway line, which was
unfenced. We think the fox may have been electrocuted and that is why
the tragedy happened.

"I have just spoken to the Master of West Kent, Leslie Gallop, and he
is dreadfully upset. He has lost 11 very good and much loved hounds
and is absolutely devastated by the tragedy."

Coincidentally ASLEF, the train drivers' union, had a meeting with
LACS yesterday at which the League provided them with details of the
20 cases which have been reported to the League in the last 2 years of
hunts trespassing on railway lines. The League said many more cases
must go unreported. An ASLEF spokeman said: "We will be contacting
Railtrack to insist charges are laid against huntsmen who believe they
have a right to cross rail tracks. They should be prosecuted for
trespass and endangering life."
Date: Wed, 21 Jan 1998 07:17:41 -0500
From: allen schubert 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (US) 'Pork And Beans' A Bad Image?
Message-ID: <3.0.32.19980121071738.00eefe64@mail.clark.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

meat industry
from CNN Custom News http://www.cnn.com
---------------------------------------
Iowa State News
Reuters
21-JAN-98

'Pork And Beans' A Bad Image?

(DES MOINES) -- Pork producers say pork-and-beans does NOT project the
healthy image they want consumers to have of their product. The Iowa Pork
Producers Association says the popular kid-favorite food contains mostly
fat... and not the lean pork that most farmers strive to produce. An
official with the Campbell Soup Company in Camden, New Jersey says his
company has NO plans to change its recipe for its pork and beans. Campbell
sells more than 100-Million cans of pork-and-beans annually. 
Date: Wed, 21 Jan 1998 13:02:39 +0100
From: 2063511 <2063511@campus.uab.es>
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: [SPA ]Soccer player with ADENA SPAIN
Message-ID: <01ISN1B52D6K0088HE@cc.uab.es>
MIME-version: 1.0
Content-type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
Content-disposition: inline
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit

Madrid: Raúl Gonzalez, a R.Madrid's and Spain selection soccer star, is a 
great friend of ADENA in Madrid. This monday he enjoy a day of holiday, and he 
went to ADENA for colaborated with any project.

Jordi Niñerola
http://www.geocities.com/rainforest/vines/6506/pellcas.htm

Visiteu les meves pàgines / Visit my homepages

http://www.geocities.com/rainforest/vines/6506
http://www.geocities.com/colosseum/loge/3128
http://www.geocities.com/hollywood/academy/2855

Date: Wed, 21 Jan 1998 07:22:14 -0500
From: allen schubert 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (US) Hog Farm Debate Heats Up
Message-ID: <3.0.32.19980121072212.006fdf88@mail.clark.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

factory farming issues
---------------------------------
Kansas State News
Reuters
21-JAN-98

Hog Farm Debate Heats Up

(TOPEKA) -- The debate over large-scale hog farms is heating up at the
Kansas Legislature today. The state House Environment Committee introduced
legislation that would give county commissions authority to limit the size
of hog feed lots in their county. Counties already have authority to
restrict corporate hog farm operations... but that authority may NOT apply
to one of the largest hog-breeding operations in the country, Murphy Farms
of North Carolina, which qualifies as a family farm under current law.
Murphy Farms has expressed interest in expanding into Kansas.
Representatives from that company are scheduled to testify before the
Environment Committee tomorrow. 
Date: Wed, 21 Jan 1998 07:55:45 EST
From: Tereiman 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org, Tereiman@aol.com
Subject: Nagano: Thousands of peace "doves" being created
Message-ID: <644e4d56.34c5f053@aol.com>
Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit

AP-NY-01-21-98 0026EST
.c Kyodo News Service    

TOKYO, Jan. 21 (Kyodo) - -- Thousands of peace ''doves'' being created in
Hiroshima for the Nagano Olympic Winter Games are ready to fly. 

The doves -- rather plastic balloons made in the shape of the symbol of peace
-- will be released during the opening ceremony of the 16-day games in the
central Japan city of Nagano on Feb. 7. 
Date: Wed, 21 Jan 98 07:29:51 UTC
From: SDURBIN@VM.TULSA.CC.OK.US
To: ar-news@Envirolink.org
Subject: Cattlemen Tracking Oprah Suit in Oklahoma
Message-ID: <199801211325.IAA09419@envirolink.org>

Oklahoma City - Officials of the Oklahoma Cattlemen's Association are
quietly watching the progress of a multimillion-dollar lawsuit filed by
Texas cattlemen against TV talk show host Oprah Winfrey.

But an Oklahoma legislator who helped fashion a state law that allows
people to sue over disparaging remarks about agriculture products
expects Oklahoma cattlemen to follow suit against Winfrey if the Texans
win their case.

- Sherrill
Date: Wed, 21 Jan 1998 12:38:26 -0500
From: "Patrick Tohill" 
To: 
Subject: Orang-utans in Inonesia Endangered by Logging Project
Message-ID: <01bd2693$612c8ec0$219dcdcd@siliasmi>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: multipart/alternative;
     boundary="----=_NextPart_000_0016_01BD2669.785686C0"

Orang-utans in 
Indonesia Endangered by Logging Project
TORONTO, Jan 21st, 1998--Orang-utans that 
survived Indonesia's deadly forest fires,now face an even greater 
threat--the deliberate and state-sanctioned logging of more than a million 
acres of prime forest habitat in South Kalimantan. Nearly 2000 
orang-utans, faces certain extinction unless this controversial project is 
halted.
Large scale deforestation is forcing 
animals such as the orang-utan out into the open and into the path of 
poachers and illegal wildlife traders, says Victor Watkins, Director 
of Wildlife with the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA). 
Adult orang-utans, females included, are simply shot while the young 
offspring are smuggled out of the country and sold as pets to foreign buyers. 
Many do not make it. Those that do are often ill-treated by their owners or 
abandoned later in life.
WSPA recently took part in a raid to confiscate 
one such victim. While visiting the Wanariset sanctuary for the rescue and 
re-introduction of orphaned orang-utans, Watkins learned of a baby orang-utan 
which had been taken by a farmer in a small village north of Samarinda, East 
Kalimantan. According to reports, the farmer had killed its mother with a 
machete when she fled the flames and entered his land. He had been planning to 
sell it to an animal dealer when WSPA intervened.
WSPA workers in the region have witnessed many 
more horrific scenes of slaughter. In one instance, chain saws were used to 
cut down the trees in which the orang-utans lived. Those adults not killed in 
the fall were killed mercilessly as they tried to escape.

WSPA has been funding the Wanariset Orang-utan 
rescue and re-introduction project in Balikpapan, on Borneo since 1995, as 
part of its ongoing conservation efforts. Once spread throughout South East 
Asia, orang-utans are now found only on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra. 
Listed in the IUCN Red Data Book as endangered, there are thought to be 
between 20,000 to 30,000 orang-utans left in the wild.
At Wanariset, young apes are cared for and 
eventually released into 100,000 acres of protected forest in the south east 
of the island. WSPA is sending urgent supplies of food and veterinary 
materials and an animal rescue team is standing by.
In order to cope with the devastation brought 
about by last year's fires, the sanctuary has been taking in other species of 
wildlife including sun bears and gibbons on a weekly basis. Over 30 new 
orang-utans have been brought to the centre in the last two 
months.
Photos of Wanariset sanctuary, orang-utans, 
fires available upon request.
The World Society for the Protection of Animals 
has been at the forefront of animal protection and wildlife conservation for 
more than 40 years. Recognized by the United Nations, WSPA represents more than 
300 member societies in over 70 countries.
Visit WSPA's website at http://www.way.net/wspa/

Date: Wed, 21 Jan 1998 10:52:02 -0700
From: buffalo folks 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: BN and DOL butt heads...For Immediate Release!  Violence erupts
 (A R News)
Message-ID: 
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

People are putting their lives on the line every day to save these buffalo.
They are protecting the buffalo non-violently and being met with
violence.........

This update includes...

Buffalo Nations Update
one thing to do...protect activists from Montana's DOL!
technical note
**********************

Buffalo Nations and the DOL Butt Heads
Over Yellowstone Buffalo: Tensions Accelerate and Charges are Pressed


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 18, 1996

Media Contact: Mike Mease, (406) 646-0070
Interview Contact: Bryce Smedley, (406) 327-0585


     January 15  and 16 found  Buffalo Nation volunteers confronting
Montana's Department of Livestock (DOL)  as the DOL attempted to haze 14
bison into a capture facility and back into Yellowstone Park.  The DOL's
capture facility corrals the buffalo then tests them before sending them to
slaughter.

        Both days, the DOL used snowmobiles and "cracker barrels"
(firecrackers shot from guns) in an attempt to haze fourteen bison who were
grazing on private land. Buffalo Nations volunteers moved through snow into
positions where they could ensure the safety and freedom of the buffalo.

        On January 15, the DOL hazed 14 buffalo all afternoon
unsuccessfully towards the capture facility.  That day the DOL
even hazed the buffalo in the direction of volunteers monitoring DOL's
efforts, thus endangering the lives of those volunteers.  By the end of
the day, all 14 buffalo had moved into safe areas and the DOL gave up.

        On January 16, the DOL spent all day hazing buffalo with snowmobiles
and cracker rounds, and finally sent all 14 back into the park.

        Buffalo Nations is appalled at the Department of Livestock's total
disrespect for human safety.  During their hazing activities, the DOL sent
buffalo running down a residential road where people were standing and
children were walking home from school.   In another incident they hazed
bison with cracker-barrels despite the resident's insistence that no bison
be shot or hazed on her land.

        We are concerned about the safety of our activists from those who
oppose our efforts. Our campaign follows a code of non-violence.  Our goal
is to protect buffalo from being killed.

        Yet during the events of January 15,  Bryce Smedley, a Buffalo
Nations volunteer, was forced into a confrontation with Mr. Koelzer, the
owner of the land where the capture facility is located.  Smedley had
entered the property to protect endangered bison.  Koelzer, lowering his
truck's snow plow, aggressively told Smedly to leave then abruptly turned
his vehicle around and drove into Smedly, knocking him down and running
over his foot.  Luckily, Bryce sustained only minor injuries. "People are
putting their lives on the line every day to save these buffalo.  I chose
to trespass to protect the buffalo non-violently and was met with
violence," Smedley said.  Bryce is pressing assault charges against Mr.
Koelzer and Koelzer will press trespassing charges against Bryce.

        On January 18, a 20 year-old Buffalo Nations volunteer from
Livingston reported that the lug nuts on one of her rear tires had been
loosened.  Luckily she discovered the lug nuts were gone before she was hurt.

        The DOL's hazing efforts caused the buffalo to panic and stampede.
This wastes the energy of the herd at a time in the winter when forage is
scarce and their energy is low.

        "Buffalo Nations has a firm commitment to save the buffalo in a
non-violent manner.  We may trespass, but we will never endanger anyone's
life.  Our job is to keep the buffalo safe from the one agency that still
insists on killing them.  Until buffalo are given wildlife status and their
fate is no longer controlled by the DOL, Buffalo Nations will be here to
protect our children's heritage." stated Michael Mease Buffalo Nations
co-founder.

        We oppose the use of capture facilities for the Yellowstone
buffalo herd.  These bison should not be forced to spend the winter in
captivity like cattle.  Last year when the bison were put in holding pens
they were so frightened that they injured and gored each other.
Yellowstone's bison are not livestock, and should not be kept for half the
year under conditions which are alien to bison.

        Last year, buffalo held in capture facilities were indiscriminately
shipped to slaughter. The tests for brucellosis are at best 70% effective,
and resulted in the slaughter of bison who tested positive at the facility
but tested negative at the slaughterhouse.

        Last year, the DOL marked and released bison from the capture
facilities who tested negative for brucellosis.  Many marked bison were
subsequently shot in the field.  Joanne Stovall, a resident of Horse Butte,
reports, "I saw that buffalo who had been marked and were supposedly
protected were killed last winter.  When it came time to shoot the bison,
they killed any that were around so it seems like it was futile to even
test them in the first place.  Afterwards I saw carcasses with DOL markings
on them."

Background
*Last year, nearly 1100 wild buffalo were slaughtered by the Montana's
Dept. of Livestock and rangers from Yellowstone National Park. These wild
buffalo were leaving Yellowstone National Park in search of food during an
extremely cold and snowy winter. There is no justification for this
slaughter.

*Buffalo Nations is a coalition of Native American Traditionalist and
grassroots activists of all races volunteering to save the last wild
buffalo in the United States. There are less than 1000 wild buffalo left in
the lower 48.


Buffalo Nations
PO Box 957
West Yellowstone, MT 59758
406-646-0070 phone
406-646-0071 fax
buffalo@wildrockies.org

*****************************
PLEASE:   Tell the folks in Washington , it is time to stop this foolishness

                                          President@whitehouse.gov
                                       Vice.President@whitehouse.gov
                                         First.Lady@whitehouse.gov
                                sox@whitehouse.gov  (the cat loves buffalo,
i hear!!!!)
*************************************************************

If you receive this update in error or receive duplicates...
PLEASE>>>>>> Hit REPLY
with a short message!

Please Pass this on to friends...
If you received a forwarded note...please mail this email address and ask
to be added to the list.
Thank you!
****************************

**********************************************************
For more information about the plight of the Yellowstone Bison
check out this web site
http://www.wildrockies.org/bison


Mitakuye Oyasin (All My Relations)
**********************************************************


Date: Wed, 21 Jan 1998 13:07:37 -0800
From: Mesia Quartano 
To: "ar-news@envirolink.org" 
Subject: (FR) Bardot fined for criticizing Muslim sheep slaughter
Message-ID: <34C66398.2EDED4C@usa.net>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

11:42 AM ET 01/20/98

Bardot again fined for inciting racial hatred

PARIS, Jan 20 (Reuters) - A Paris court fined former actress now animal
rights campaigner Brigitte Bardot Tuesday for inciting racial hatred in
published comments on massacres of civilians in Algeria.

The court said the former sex symbol, in criticizing the ritual
slaughter of sheep for the Aid-al-Kebir Muslim festival, had incited
racial hatred by blaming the whole Muslim community for Algeria's
massacres and saying that such mass killings would soon spread to
France.

Bardot, 63, was fined $3,250 and ordered to pay the cost of printing the
verdict in two popular daily newspapers as well as the far-right
anti-immigrant newspaper, Present.

Bardot was fined $1,625 four months ago for saying France was being
overrun by sheep-slaughtering Muslims. The court said that her stinging
condemnation of the Muslim ritual exceeded any possible concern for
animal welfare.


Date: Wed, 21 Jan 1998 13:34:58 -0800
From: Mesia Quartano 
To: "ar-news@envirolink.org" 
Subject: (US) National Kidney Foundation Survey shows support for animal-human transplants
Message-ID: <34C66A02.C6B89AA7@usa.net>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
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Americans Recognize Organ Shortage, Support Animal-to-Human Transplants,
New  Survey Says
(PR Newswire; 01/21/98)

NEW YORK, Jan. 21 /PRNewswire/   Nearly all Americans (94%) are aware of
the shortage of available organs for transplant and most (62%) accept
the concept of xenotransplantation, or animal-to-human transplantation,
as a viable option, according to a new survey of 1,200 randomly selected
individuals conducted by the National Kidney Foundation (NKF).

A simultaneous poll of primary care physicians, transplant recipients,
and transplant physicians and surgeons indicated a high level of support
for xenotransplantation among these groups as well.

"Human-to-human transplants, or allografts, are definitely the first
choice," says Alan R. Hull MD, NKF immediate past president, "but with
53,000 Americans currently awaiting life-saving transplants and ten
people dying each day while waiting, we need to investigate other
solutions to this problem."

This support for xenotransplantation is not completely without
reservation. Survey respondents indicated some concern about organ
compatibility and the transplant success rate.  Cross-species disease
transmission was also cited, although as a lesser concern by the general
public, transplant recipients and among newer primary care physicians.

Despite these concerns, nearly 75 percent of people in all the groups
surveyed would consider a xenotransplant for a loved one if the organ or
tissue were unavailable from a human.

Survey respondents were questioned on xenotransplantation using pigs or
primates and on other alternatives for increasing the nation's donor
pool. These include the offering of financial incentives to families of
organ donors, and the policy of implied consent, now used to some extent
in other countries, which involves routine removal of organs unless the
deceased has indicated in writing a wish not to be an organ donor.

Among the general public and transplant recipients, xenotransplantation
is ranked about equal with implied consent as favored options for
solving the organ crisis.  Seventy-five percent of primary care doctors
and transplant physicians see xenotransplantation as the most viable
option.  Most people
believed the government should pay for xenotransplantation research but
would like doctors to regulate it.

Other Findings Include:
-- Americans are increasingly designating themselves as organ donors.
Fifty-five percent of whites surveyed and one third of blacks and
Hispanics plan to be organ donors.  These numbers are up from one third
and one quarter, respectively, in 1992, when NKF conducted a similar
opinion poll.

-- Only two-thirds of those who say they are willing to donate organs of
a loved one are themselves designated as organ donors.

-- People with children are slightly more likely to be organ donors than
those with no children under 19.

-- Men have more positive initial reactions to xenotransplantation than
women do.

-- Fewer blacks are willing to consider xenotransplants, 59% vs. 71-74%
of all others but are no less likely to consider transplants.

-- Those practicing a faith and even agnostics say the clergy
could       influence their acceptance of xenotransplantation.

-- At least half of the transplant physicians surveyed are willing to
give xenotransplantation 10 years or more before it is required to show
success.  The majority of them do not see cross-species infections as a
particularly high risk.

The National Kidney Foundation is dedicated to preventing kidney and
urinary tract diseases, improving the health and well-being of
individuals and families affected by these diseases and increasing the
availability of all organs for transplantation.  For more information on
the survey or organ donation and transplantation contact the National
Kidney Foundation at 800-622-9010.

The survey was funded by an unrestricted educational grant from Sandoc
Transplant, a division of Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation.

SOURCE  National Kidney Foundation     01/21/98
CONTACT:  Ellie Schlam of the National Kidney Foundation, 212-889-2210

****************
end of article
****************
Hmmm... this survey was done by the National Kidney Foundation and
funded by a pharmaceutical company. I'm sure it's accurate.


Date: Wed, 21 Jan 1998 13:49:56 -0800
From: Mesia Quartano 
To: "ar-news@envirolink.org" 
Subject: (US) Yellowstone bison solutions offered 
Message-ID: <34C66D84.80C27E1F@usa.net>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

"In an effort to prevent a repeat of last year's slaughter, a National
Research Council report, commissioned by the Department of the Interior,
will be released this month that aims to resolve the conflict with new
studies and recommendations."

The story can be read here:
http://www.enn.com/news/enn-stories/012098/bison.shtm


Date: Wed, 21 Jan 1998 14:04:56 -0800
From: Mesia Quartano 
To: "ar-news@envirolink.org" 
Subject: (US-OH) Letter to the Editor - Cruelty to animals should be felony offense 
Message-ID: <34C67108.2D2EE720@usa.net>
MIME-Version: 1.0
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Cruelty to animals should be felony offense
(Cincinnati Post; 01/16/98)

To the editor of The Post:

In January 12th's Letters to the Editor, veterinarian Todd A. Phillips
described an act of animal cruelty that ended with a tortured kitten
being brought to his office by a very kind woman.

The defenseless kitten was the victim of a criminal act. Legislation on
the table in Ohio's State Senate would make animal cruelty a felony.
Deliberate animal abuse is a clear indicator of a violent personality
(Jeffrey Dahmer tortured animals before switching to young men).

Making animal abusers accountable in the judicial system will help both
animals and good people. Maliciously abusing or destroying an animal, as
in the case of the kitten being bound with tape and set on fire should
be treated as seriously as destruction of an inanimate object.

The recent case of two Iowa teen-agers who broke into an animal shelter
and beat several cats to death with baseball bats, also falls into the
"vicious and evil excuse for human beings" category. These scum were
given probation. They'll be back.

Blatant disregard for life and violent cruelty has been a recurrent
theme in our courts in the past 10 years. Who or what is to blame for
this moral deterioration is another issue. But the law regarding animal
cruelty is something we can change through concerted effort.

We need to contact our state representatives and state senators and ask
their support of Substitute HB 437 to update Ohio's antiquated law and
make cruelty a felony offense.

MARIANNE LANG
Pierce Township


Date: Wed, 21 Jan 1998 14:17:53 -0800
From: Mesia Quartano 
To: "ar-news@envirolink.org" 
Subject: (US-NY) VETERINARIAN USES ANCIENT THERAPIES
Message-ID: <34C67411.44AC1DF2@usa.net>
MIME-Version: 1.0
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VETERINARIAN USES ANCIENT THERAPIES
(Buffalo News; 01/18/98)

Buster, a 6-year-old bloodhound, suffers from an irregular heartbeat and
arthritis. He's been as far as Cornell University with his owner, Linda
Volk, seeking relief. He finds it in a small white farmhouse on Maple
Road, the office of Dr. Cynthia Lankenau.

Dr. Lankenau, a member of the American Holistic Veterinary Medical
Association, uses alternative treatments such as acupuncture, herbal
remedies, natural diets and vitamins on her four-legged patients.

A 1981 graduate of Cornell University, Dr. Lankenau practiced
conventional veterinary medicine for nine years until frustration led
her to learn about less traditional healing methods.

"I was working in a mixed animal practice and one of my clients had a
brood mare suffering from arthritis. She flew in an acupuncturist. I
watched the treatment and saw the results and thought, 'I can do that,'
" Dr. Lankenau said.

She studied acupuncture and homeopathy and opened her own practice,
using holistic methodology.

Dr. Lankenau questioned Ms. Volk about Buster's symptoms and personality
while gently running her hands over his back and legs. The doctor used a
cast from a dog spine to illustrate how one of Buster's hips is higher
than the other.

"I'm starting with chiropractic modality because it's the easiest
transition between what conventional vets are telling you and what I'm
going to tell you," Dr. Lankenau told Ms. Volk.

"Now, to tie this all together with the heart, that's the kicker. In
Chinese medicine, the kidney meridian controls the heart," said Dr.
Lankenau, referring to the Chinese belief that when a person or animal
is healthy there is a robust circulation of life force, or 'chi,' along
channels called meridians. The meridians are connected with internal
organs.

"Everything ties together, that's what I love about this stuff. It
doesn't
matter whether you're talking about acupuncture, homeopathics,
chiropractics, they're all saying the same things, just a little
differently," said Dr. Lankenau as she inserted acupuncture needles in
Buster's head, back and neck.

The theory is explained in "Veterinary Acupuncture, an Introduction" by
David J. Gilchrist, who writes, "Acupuncture points, which lie on the
meridians are areas of the skin at which the flow of 'chi' can be
influenced. The acupuncturist can manipulate the energy flows by
stimulating the acupuncture points, thus rectifying the disorder."

The needles Dr. Lankenau has inserted are placed to strengthen Buster's
kidney. She said, "We're trying to balance his energy. He's got a lot of
energy, it's just not where it's supposed to be."

While the needles do their work, Dr. Lankenau examines Buster's tongue.

"The Chinese also say the body is mapped in the tongue," she explained.

Buster's tongue tells of his heart weakness. The doctor told Ms. Volk
that as his heart becomes stronger, the pattern on his tongue will
change to reflect the changes in his health.

Dr. Lankenau estimates that 80 percent of her clients come to her when
conventional veterinary methods have failed. Some come out of
desperation, looking for a cure.

Ms. Volk said, "I've always thought about the holistic approach but
there was nothing ever really serious enough. He really hasn't had a lot
of treatments except the shots, so I never really pushed it, but this
was serious enough that it demanded something."

Ms. Volk's reference to shots brought out Dr. Lankenau's views on
vaccination. "It's the best intentions but it's overkill," she said. The
doctor agrees that the diseases we vaccinate our pets against, such as
parvo and rabies, are horrible. But, she contends, pets are often
over-vaccinated, causing a whole other set of health problems.

"It was with best intentions we vaccinated dogs every year because we
didn't know how long the protection would last. But what has happened
since the late '60s, early '70s, is chronic diseases like arthritis have
skyrocketed. With better veterinary care. Why?"

She cites the studies of Dr. Ron Schultz, the head immunologist at the
University of Wisconsin and Dr. Jean Dodds who suggested as early as
1983 that autoimmune disease was occurring as a result of
over-vaccination.

Dr. Lankenau suggests, rather than automatically vaccinating every year,
find out through testing what your pet is protected against -- which
vaccines are still in effect.

Revaccination is most likely not necessary every year, she said.

"This is a touchy subject. Conventional vets get very nervous when you
start talking about vaccines creating disease," Dr. Lankenau said. "A
lot of people react very emotionally to that topic."

The acupuncture needles are removed and it's time for Buster to go home
with some homeopathic remedies and an appointment to see the doctor
again for another session of chiropractic adjustment and acupuncture.

"I can tell his attitude is so much better right now," said Ms. Volk,
"she's (Dr. Lankenau), giving off something that he's picking up and it
calms him."

Dr. Lankenau's diagnosis of Buster?

"He doesn't have heart disease or spinal arthritis, he has Buster's
disease and his disease is unique to him. The idea of homeopathy is you
treat everything, not just one symptom. What I'm treating right now is a
diseased state that might have been precipitated by well-intentioned
over-vaccination.'

Dr. Lankenau's next patient, Buddy, a mixed-breed husky, is brought in
by his owner, Maureen James.

He's suffering from a bronchial problem. Mrs. James is typical of the
remaining 20 percent of Dr. Lankenau's clients.

"I've used natural foods and herbs for myself for 30 years," she said.
When Buddy got sick, Dr. Lankenau was Mrs. James' first choice.

"Most people think alternative medicine is cheap and a quick fix. It's
the antithesis. This stuff takes a lot of knowledge," said Dr. Lankenau.

She will teach a two-hour class on Alternative Health Care for Animals
at Niagara County Community College starting at 7 p.m. on Jan. 28.

To register, or for more information, call NCCC at 731-NCCC extension
150.

To learn more about the American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association
call 410-569-0795.




Date: Wed, 21 Jan 1998 13:58:29 -0600 (CST)
From: Suzanne Roy 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Looking For Activists in AK
Message-ID: <199801211958.NAA21107@dfw-ix10.ix.netcom.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

lauren Sullivan, national campaign director for In Defense of Animals is
looking for activists in Anchorage, Alaska to help with a campaign.
Interested individuals can email lauren at ida@idausa.org.

Thanks!

Date: Wed, 21 Jan 1998 12:37:29
From: David J Knowles 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: [UK] E coli firm is fined £2,250
Message-ID: <3.0.3.16.19980121123729.312f0dd2@dowco.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit

>From The Electronic Telegraph - Wednesday, January 21st, 1998

E coli firm is fined £2,250

A BUTCHER'S firm linked to the outbreak of the E coli food poisoning
outbreak which killed 20 people in Scotland was fined £2,250 yesterday for
breaching food hygiene and safety regulations. 

At Hamilton Sheriff Court, the partnership of John Barr & Son, from Wishaw,
Lanarks, admitted keeping dirty premises and selling contaminated meat.
Separate charges against the company's directors, John Barr, 52, wife
Elaine, 51, and son Martin, 29, were dropped. Sheriff Lewis Cameron said a
complicated trial had been avoided by the guilt pleas, and witnesses who
had seen relatives die had been spared giving evidence.

A fatal accident inquiry will be held into the outbreak - the world's worst
- which began in November 1996 when pensioners fell ill after a church lunch. 

© Copyright Telegraph Group Limited 1998.

Date: Wed, 21 Jan 1998 15:44:19 -0500
From: 0 <74754.654@compuserve.com>
To: Blind.Copy.Receiver@compuserve.com
Subject: receiving ar-news again
Message-ID: <199801211547_MC2-3029-FE15@compuserve.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii; name="news"
Content-Disposition: attachment; filename="news"

Attachment Converted: "C:\EUDORA2\Attach\news1"
Date: Wed, 21 Jan 1998 14:32:29 -0800
From: "Bob Schlesinger" 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Audio Tape Indicates Nadas Hearing A Sham
Message-ID: <199801211432290370.01A425B2@pcez.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:  Robert Schlesinger
          (503) 628-0232

Hillsboro OR, January 21, 1998

A review of an audio tape of the 1996 Jackson County Oregon hearing
that resulted in a death sentence for Nadas indicates that the 
county commissioners had already made up their minds to convict 
before the hearing. Nadas is the 3 year old collie-malamute mix 
sentenced to die under Oregon livestock laws for allegedly chasing 
a horse. The case has been appealed to the Oregon Supreme Court.

Prior to the completion of testimony and prior to the other 
commissioners being polled, Commissioner Rick Holt, who chaired the 
meeting, stated that "our job is pretty cut and dry, black and white. 
we have no other alternative...it is pretty evident what we all have
to do."  None of the other commissioners asked questions during the
hearing regarding testimony given.  Finally all were polled and 
voted for Nadas to be euthanized.  

The tape also indicates that the commissioners did not follow generally
accepted rules of evidence nor other normal court room procedures to 
establish burden of proof. However, since the death sentence
was meted out in an administrative hearing, not in a court of law, they were
technically not required to do so.  (Yes it is still possible in our country to be
sentenced to death outside of the judicial process)

Audio clips from the hearing can now be heard at Ark Online at
the following url:

http://www.arkonline.com/nadas-audio.htm

Currently one must be using Netscape 3.0 or higher (the audio
will not currently work with Microsoft Internet Explorer however
this is to be fixed in the near future).

The tapes also prove that Amanda Morgan, 13 year old daughter of
horse owner Michelle Morgan, was the only witness to the chasing
episode.  Michelle Morgan has recently changed her story to claim
that she also witnessed the chasing.  

During a recent interview with Ark Online, Michelle Morgan expressed
considerable anger at dog owner Sean Roach for a number of issues not 
related to the horse chasing. Morgan stated that she "had had enough" 
when she called county animal control.

Morgan also expressed worry that if she did not prevail and Nadas was 
not euthanized, that the law specified that she would be liable for 
the impoundment costs as a result of being the complainant.

Individuals close to the story now speculate as to whether Morgan, in 
a fit of anger, may have turned Nadas in as an act of retaliation, and 
then hardened her position once she learned of her potential financial 
liability. Nearly a year and a half after the hearing, Morgan's hostility 
towards Mr. Roach has not wavered.
 
Full background details as well as other updates about this story can 
be viewed at http://www.arkonline.com

Date: Wed, 21 Jan 1998 18:16:22 EST
From: NOVENA ANN 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Current Transplant Experiments
Message-ID: <47373151.34c681c8@aol.com>
Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit

Current Transplant Experiments
.c The Associated Press

 Types of xenotransplants - the transplanting of living animal organs or cells
- experiments currently being researched:

Diacrin Inc. has implanted neuronal cells from pig fetuses into 24 Parkinson's
and Huntington's disease patients. The cells may perform like human fetus
implants, which in rare experiments have signaled brain improvement.

Cytotherapeutics Inc. has implanted cow adrenal cells into the spinal cords of
36 dying cancer patients with untreatable pain. The cells make substances that
block pain signals. Studies of about 100 patients are being prepared.

Neocrin Inc. encapsulates pig pancreas cells to avoid the immune system while
stimulating insulin production in diabetes patients. It plans to test 50
patients.

Numerous scientists are pursuing pig livers or liver cells for liver failure
patients. Circe Biomedical ran the blood of 54 patients through a pig liver
outside the body as a ``bridge'' to keep them alive pending human transplant
or their own liver's recovery.

One AIDS patient received an implant of baboon bone marrow that didn't appear
to last longer than 13 days, but future attempts are planned.

Several dozen attempts at transplanting entire animal organs into people,
dating back to 1905, have failed to keep the patient alive for more than a few
days. But scientists are developing genetically engineered animal organs that
promise to resist human immune attack, with new trials predicted within a few
years.

AP-NY-01-21-98 1534EST
Date: Wed, 21 Jan 1998 18:30:38 EST
From: Godisvegan 
To: primates@USA.NET, ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Re: (US-FL) Animal-rights activists sometimes step over the line
Message-ID: <46f07aa4.34c68520@aol.com>
Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit

Does anyone know how to get intouch with this bitch?

Chris
Date: Wed, 21 Jan 1998 18:15:10 EST
From: NOVENA ANN 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Animal-Human Transplant Ban Urged
Message-ID: <2a4a8715.34c68182@aol.com>
Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit

Animal-Human Transplant Ban Urged
.c The Associated Press

 By LAURAN NEERGAARD

BETHESDA, Md. (AP) - Concerned that transplanting animal organs into people
might cause new epidemics, a group of prominent scientists urged the
government Wednesday to ban the experiments until the risks are better
explored.

Doctors hope that animal transplants one day could save thousands of lives by
easing a huge worldwide shortage in donated organs. So the call for a
moratorium, published Wednesday in the medical journal Nature Medicine, is
highly controversial.

``This is a very unusual situation,'' said Harvard University
xenotransplantation researcher Dr. Fritz Bach, who joined six other public
health experts and bioethicists in urging a moratorium. ``It is a situation
where what we the medical establishment ... want to do puts the public at
risk'' of new diseases possibly as bad as AIDS.

The call came as the Food and Drug Administration began a two-day meeting to
propose tightening control over animal transplants and explore just how big a
risk it is.

New concern arose last fall when scientists discovered the genes of pigs
harbor previously unknown viruses that can infect human cells in test-tube
experiments.

Nobody knows if people could catch or be sickened by the viruses, but the FDA
temporarily stopped pig studies pending virus testing and scientists are
tracking recipients of the first porcine transplants worldwide.

Xenotransplantation ``is still highly experimental,'' warned Dr. Phil Noguchi,
FDA's chief of cellular and gene therapies. ``While the promise is there, ...
it must be proven to be safe and effective.''

Support for the ban was not universal, however.

``Keep the benefits in mind,'' urged Dr. Suzanne Ildstad of Allegheny
University, who performed a controversial baboon bone marrow transplant on an
AIDS patient last year. ``We should proceed cautiously ... but we should
proceed.''

In addition, Dr. Alan Hull of the National Kidney Foundation said that while
spreading disease from animals to humans ``should be a concern,'' if a
moratorium is imposed, ``you'll probably never find out the answers.''

Frustrated by years of failed attempts to get pig or ape hearts, kidneys and
livers to work inside people, scientists are reporting new progress in
overcoming immune system rejection of these organs. Biotech companies have
poured more than $100 million into research and hope to launch a new round of
experimental organ transplants within a few years. Doctors already are trying
smaller-scale transplants of live animal cells, such as fetal pig cells in the
brains of Parkinson's sufferers.

The need is stark: 53,000 Americans are awaiting an organ transplant, but 10
of them die every day because there aren't enough donors. For diseases like
Parkinson's, traditional cures have failed.

Animals can spread deadly diseases. For example, monkeys carry the Ebola virus
and are blamed for starting AIDS, and pigs breed flu. Scientists hoped to
avoid such problems by breeding sterile herds. Then came the pig virus
discovery and new threats like ``mad cow disease.''

Britain last year banned xenotransplants until scientists better understand
the risks.

That's what Harvard's Bach wants here until a national advisory committee can
consult the public about whether society accepts the potential risks. Dying
patients want to try xenotransplants, but ``have they got the right, the moral
right, to put the public at risk?'' he asked.

The FDA, which already must approve any xenotransplant experiments, already is
preparing tighter regulations, including a national registry to track every
American given an animal transplant to enable government to track down those
exposed and those who received transplants from the same herd if a new disease
appears.

The FDA plans to treat xenotransplants as strictly as gene therapy, with a
national advisory board to discuss the risks of studies publicly instead of
the secrecy that cloaks drug development.

Early patient testing shows the risk so far appears hypothetical, said Corinne
Savill of Imutran, a British company genetically engineering pig hearts to
evade the human immune system.

``Retroviruses are carried by all mammals and usually are benign,'' said
Savill, whose parent company, Swiss giant Novartis, is spending $25 million a
year studying xenotransplantation.

AP-NY-01-21-98 1525EST
Date: Wed, 21 Jan 1998 16:16:12 -0800
From: LCartLng@gvn.net (Lawrence Carter-Long)
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Boston Globe: Doctors transplant pig cells
Message-ID: <199801220007.TAA13393@envirolink.org>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit


Are brief comments still allowed?  Oh well... 

This lil' ditty is practically begging for letters to the
editor.  Let's be sure to accomodate 'em. 

Snail mail can be sent to: 

Letters to the Editor
The Boston Globe
P.O. Box 2378
Boston, MA 02107-2378. 

The Globe's email address is letter@globe.com 

Be sure to include your full name, address and a 
telephone number for confirmation purposes or all
your efforts will be in vain.

Yours for the liberation of all beings -

Lawrence

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

Boston doctors transplant pig cells into epilepsy patient 
By Richard A. Knox, Globe Staff, 01/21/98
 
Boston doctors announced yesterday that they have
injected 400,000 fetal pig cells into the brain of a middle-
aged man with severe epilepsy - the first time an animal-
to-human transplant has been tried to treat the disease. 

The hope is that the pig brain cells will survive, make 
connections with the patient's brain cells, and secrete 
enough of a natural brain chemical called GABA to allay 
seizures that have persisted despite available medications. 

The experiment, begun Thursday at Beth Israel Deaconess 
Medical Center, comes on the eve of a government meeting
 today and tomorrow in Bethesda, Md., to debate the safety 
of transplanting pig tissue into humans. 

Some scientists fear that viruses recently found in pig cells, 
even though apparently harmless to the animals, could infect 
transplant recipients and give rise to a new disease. 

''The unmeasured and unknown risk are the individuals 
who acquire infections we don't recognize and therefore 
might transmit to the greater community,'' said Dr. Jay 
Fishman, an infectious disease specialist at Massachusetts 
General Hospital. 

The Food and Drug Administration late last year quietly 
ended a temporary hold on all xenotransplants, as such 
animal-to-human procedures are called. The agency 
had suspended such experiments because of new 
data on pig viruses. 

Researchers conducting the epilepsy experiments 
yesterday said such hazards are overblown. So did
the president of a Charlestown-based company, Diacrin 
Inc., which won FDA permission to pursue such work 
in patients with Parkinson's disease and Huntington's 
disease as well as epilepsy. 

''All the risks at this point are entirely theoretical,'' 
said Thomas Fraser, Diacrin's chief executive, who 
noted that a dozen Boston-area Parkinson's disease 
patients have received pig cell infusions as long ago 
as 33 months. None has suffered ill effects, and some 
have shown suggestions of lasting improvement in
their symptoms, Fraser said. 

''When we have a real benefit that we can demonstrate 
in a number of patients and you're weighing that against 
a theoretical risk, you proceed with caution, but you 
proceed,'' Fraser said. 

Another dozen patients with Huntington's disease also 
have had pig cell transplants without known harm but 
with unknown benefit. 

Dr. Donald L. Schomer, a leader of the epilepsy study, 
said the Beth Israel Deaconess group plans to do pig 
cell transplants in as many as eight epilepsy patients 
during the next two years. 

The aim of the current study is to see if the fetal 
pig cells persist and form connections with human 
neurons. All the patients at this stage have agreed 
to undergo subsequent surgery to destroy a small 
portion of the brain where intensive tests have 
shown their seizures originate - conventional last-
ditch treatment. 

At the time of surgery, researchers will remove 
brain tissue in the region where the pig cells 
were injected to see if the cells survived and 
made viable connections. Patients will be able 
to cancel surgery if they and their doctors believe 
the grafts yielded substantial benefit. 

The Beth Israel Deaconess epilepsy experiment 
came as a surprise to Dr. Fritz Bach, a xenotransplantation 
specialist who is concerned about the mounting pressures 
to do human xenotransplants. ''It's a very active field,'' Bach 
said yesterday. ''I'd like to see it get a little less active and 
a little more thoughtful.''

This story ran on page A13 of the Boston Globe 
on 01/21/98.  © Copyright 1998 Globe Newspaper 
Company. 

Posted by:


Lawrence Carter-Long
Science and Research Issues, Animal Protection Institute
email: LCartLng@gvn.net, phone: 800-348-7387 x. 215
world wide web: http://www.api4animals.org/

"There's so much comedy on television. Does that cause 
comedy in the streets?" - Dick Cavett

-----Long, but Important Warning Notice -----

My email address is: LCartLng@gvn.net
 
LEGAL NOTICE: Anyone sending unsolicited commercial 
email to this address will be charged a $500 proofreading 
fee. This is an official notification; failure to abide by this 
will result in  legal action, as per the following:

By U.S. Code Title 47, Sec.227(a)(2)(B), a computer/modem/printer
 meets the definition of a telephone fax machine.
By Sec.227(b)(1)(C), it is unlawful to send any unsolicited
 advertisement to such equipment.
By Sec.227(b)(3)(C), a violation of the aforementioned Section
 is punishable by action to recover actual monetary loss, or 
 $500, whichever is greater, by each violation.



Date: Wed, 21 Jan 1998 16:42:54 -0800
From: LCartLng@gvn.net (Lawrence Carter-Long)
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Newswire: FDA re-opens debate on xenografts
Message-ID: <199801220033.TAA16844@envirolink.org>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"


Good job, Alix!

-Lawrence

====================================
Panel reopens debate on animal-to-human
transplants 

By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Correspondent 

WASHINGTON, Jan 20 (Reuters) - A U.S. Food and Drug
Administration panel was scheduled to reopen hearings on
Wednesday on the controversial issue of animal-to-human
transplants. 

Companies deeply immersed in research will argue
that it should go ahead, while scientists concerned 
about whether it is safe are expected to call for a 
temporary ban. 

There is a severe shortage of human organs available
for transplant. ``Every day, 10 people on the U.S. transplant 
waiting list die because no organ is available,'' Novartis, a 
Swiss pharmaceutical company with big investments in 
transplant technology, said in a statement. 

Initially the idea of breeding animals that can make 
up the shortfall might sound all right to many. But 
human bodies reject such organs in an extreme way 
known as hyperacute rejection. 

Then there is the issue of viruses. 

Pigs are considered the most likely candidates
for animal-to-human transplants, also known as 
xenotransplants. 

They are similar in size to humans and are easily 
bred. But experts told the panel's first hearing last 
month that pigs carry viruses known as porcine 
endogenous retroviruses. 

These viruses, like other so-called endogenous 
viruses, have made themselves part of the pig's 
genetic make-up and cause no symptoms in pigs.
The worry is that they would pass to people
getting transplants and make them ill. 

Under the worst scenario, they would mutate in 
people and cause epidemics. 

``At least some kind of infection of the recipient 
is an almost inevitable consequence,'' said John 
Coffin, a molecular biologist and virus expert at Tufts 
University in Boston. 

Coffin said it was likely that healthy people with 
strong immune systems would reject the virus -- and 
thus any transplant, while those on drugs to suppress
the immune system would probably become widely 
infected throughout their bodies. 

The big question was whether the infection would 
cause disease, such as cancer. ``Malignancy is the 
most likely outcome,'' Coffin said.  Viruses are blamed 
for causing some cases of leukemia and cervical
cancer, as well as Kaposi's sarcoma, now one of 
the markers of AIDS. 

``There is no evidence to suggest that the pig endogenous 
retrovirus has ever caused any problems in pigs or humans,'' 
Novartis counters. 

But it said it was studying the 100 or so people who had 
been given live pig tissue to see if they had evidence of the 
virus. Results are expected later this year. 

 Imutran, based in Cambridge, England and owned by
 Novartis, says it can breed genetically engineered pigs 
whose organs look like human organs to the body. 

Some campaigners said they had formed a group 
made up of scientists, doctors and activists opposing
xenotransplants called the Campaign for Responsible
Transplantation. ``Putting an animal organ into an 
immune-suppressed transplant patient could open a
Pandora's box of new, fatal, infectious agents,'' executive 
director Alix Fano said. 

``This is a technology where we will expect the very
best from industry and technicians,'' Mary Pendergast, 
senior adviser to the commissioner of the FDA, warned
the December meeting. 

No secrets would be tolerated. ``We cannot regulate
xenotransplantation without full discussion by all interested 
parties,'' she added. 

Last year Britain suspended clinical trials in xenotransplantation 
until safety issues could be answered. Sweden and Germany 
have voluntary moratoriums and Sweden has set up a national 
commission on xenotransplantation. 

12:16 a.m. Jan 21, 1998 Eastern 

Copyright 1998 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. 

Posted by:

Lawrence Carter-Long
Science and Research Issues, Animal Protection Institute
email: LCartLng@gvn.net, phone: 800-348-7387 x. 215
world wide web: http://www.api4animals.org/

"There's so much comedy on television. Does that cause 
comedy in the streets?" - Dick Cavett

-----Long, but Important Warning Notice -----

My email address is: LCartLng@gvn.net
 
LEGAL NOTICE: Anyone sending unsolicited commercial 
email to this address will be charged a $500 proofreading 
fee. This is an official notification; failure to abide by this 
will result in  legal action, as per the following:

By U.S. Code Title 47, Sec.227(a)(2)(B), a computer/modem/printer
 meets the definition of a telephone fax machine.
By Sec.227(b)(1)(C), it is unlawful to send any unsolicited
 advertisement to such equipment.
By Sec.227(b)(3)(C), a violation of the aforementioned Section
 is punishable by action to recover actual monetary loss, or 
 $500, whichever is greater, by each violation.



Date: Wed, 21 Jan 1998 19:28:43 -0600 (CST)
From: HSUSCA@ix.netcom.com
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Re: (US-FL) Animal-rights activists sometimes step over the line
Message-ID: <1998121202346441@ix.netcom.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

On 01/21/98 18:30:38 you wrote:
>
>Does anyone know how to get intouch with this bitch?
>
>Chris
>
>

Please don't refer to women as "bitches", regardless of who much you 
disagree with their opinions, views or actions.  Using such degrading terms 
lowers you to their level and degrades all women.  Thanks

Date: Wed, 21 Jan 1998 19:31:24 -0600
From: paulbog@jefnet.com (Rick Bogle)
To: "AR-News Post" ,
        "AnimalLib" 
Subject: Madison monkey update
Message-ID: <19980121193300010.AAB211@paulbog.jefnet.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

Knock wood. . . you can all share my head,

     A slight glimmer of hope . . . but read this article with the knowledge
that Joe Kemnitz, acting director of the primare center, was quoted tonight
on local television as saying he would not feel right about backing out of
his deal with Tulane. . . and it was also reported that special transport
cages are due to arrive from Tulane any day now . . .

The Capital Times:  Madison, Wisconsin  January 21, 1998
County Board getting plea to help monkeys
by Jason Shepard

     The Dane County Board is about to officially throw itself into the public
debate over the fate of the UW-Madison monkeys housed at the Henry Vilas
Zoo.
     County Supervisor Thomas Stoebig of Madison said he plans to submit a
resolution Thursday that would instruct the county to study the possibility
of keeping the monkeys at the zoo.
     The resolution would instruct the county Zoo Commission to negotiate with
the University of Wisconsin about the short-term and long-term future of
the 150 rhesus and stump-tailed macaques that live in the zoo's round
monkey house.  The monkeys have been owned and cared for by the UW for the
past 30 years.
     "I really do think we have some responsibility to pursue the options
further," Stoebig said.  "I'm convinced the monkeys represent a community
resource, and I don't think we've done a fair job of asking ourselves if
this is a resource we should preserve."
     The resolution asks that the Zoo Commission report back to the County
Board with recommendations by Feb. 15.  Some options to be discussed would
include private sponsorship, uniersity financial commitment and potential
county money, Stoebig said.
     Federal funds to maintain the monkeys will be cut off Feb. 1.  The
university had said it intended to remove all of the animals by then, but
it now appears the transfer could take some weeks longer.
     The resolution comes as animal rights activists meet today with County
Executive Kathleen Falk to discuss keeping the monkeys in Madison.
     Both events - the County Board measure and talks with the county executive
- has revived the hopes of monkey lovers.
     "We have been begging for months for the university to take responsibility
for these monkeys and they haven't" said Tina Kaske, executive director of
the Alliance for Animals.
     "And now that so many people have come forward and pleaded for these
animals, our elected officials are beginning to listen to us."
     Kaske, who is spearheading a fund-raising drive to raise money for the
monkeys, said her organization has raised $3,750 from individual donations
within the last eight days.
     The university has been on the fast track in finding new homes for the
animals after it learned that the federal government was restricting its
funding as of Feb. 1.
     Current plans are to send the rhesus macaques to the Tulane Regional
Primate Center in Louisisna and possibly send the stump-tails to Thailand,
said Joe Kenmitz, interim director of the Wisconsin Regional Primate
Research Center.  The rhesus monkeys will initially be used as a breeding
colony but could end up in invasive research projects there if they do not
breed well, according to Tulane director Peter Gerone.
     The controversy over the UW's swift action to get rid of the monkeys has
raised the ire of many Madison residents, and that is one of the reasons
Stoebig is advocating county involvement, he said.
     "I seem to feel deep down, gut instinct, that there is a hidden agenda on
the part of the university," Stoebig said.
     "I wish it could be shown, I wish it could be proven, I wish it could be
documented; none of it can.  They have something in mind that they have not
shared with anybody, and the current zoo facility and the monkeys there, I
believe, in their viewpoint represent an obstacle to what they want to get
done.  What that is, I don't know."
     He also called Kemnitz's warning that the zoo monkeys pose an
"unacceptable risk" to the Madison public because they carry the herpes B
virus - something that the majority of macaques carry all over the world -
"fear-mongering."
     "I found it woefully unprofessional, if not unethical, on Kemnitz's part. 
That was not appropriate," Stoebig said.  "My fear is that the Zoo
Commission has been overly influenced unfairly" by Kemnitz.
     Now, with active county involvement, Stoebig said he hopes to slow down
the UW from doing anything with the monkeys in the near future.
     "I think the UW wanted to do this quietly.  And I want to see this
introduced, and then if the university goes ahead and tries to
precipitously resolve the problem by selling off some of the animals, I
think that will be egg on their face," Stoebig said.  "I don't think
they'll want that."
     
Date: Wed, 21 Jan 1998 22:21:19 -0800
From: "Robin Russell" 
To: , 
Subject: Re:  Cruelty to animals should be felony offense - UPDATE
Message-ID: <01bd26fd$f4979c80$8ed0430c@moon84.lucent.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain;
     charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

Providing an update on HB437.

The bill passed out of the House Judiciary and Criminal Justice Committee
after numerous hearings and the acceptance of a substitute bill  (13 to 1)
which clearly defined the focus of the bill to dogs and cats, our companion
animals.

HSUS was the main driver of this bill and had hired one of Ohio's top
lobbying firms. The Ohio House has a Republican majority and the bill's
sponsor and committee chairperson are R's.

The bill went to the floor and Rep. Ron Hood (R-Canfield)  made a motion to
send the bill to the House Agriculture Committee "for further study."  Oh,
yes and his quote that, "This is an animal rights bill."
Rep. Hood also sits on the Judiciary Committee.

The motion passed and the bill was sent to the Agriculture Committee, a
death sentence for any animal-related legislation in this state.

What is the message??

 Don't bring a positive animal-related bill to this Ohio assembly. And it
doesn't matter who you hire, who your sponsor is, and animal bills don't
belong anywhere but in the Agriculture Committee!!

Why did I say positive, well, across the aisle the Ohio Senate, passed
SB103, to allow Sunday hunting.
This passed after the final Committee hearing where the hunters were whining
and crying that they needed another day to kill animals. The CPA from
Gahanna wept that Sunday was his only day that he could take his daughter
out to kill. Another fantasized that if Zane Grey came back from the dead,
and that if he visited Ohio on Sunday, what would he do?

We have many suggestions and killing animals isn't one of them. Yes, this is
your Ohio Statehouse in action.

So Ohio remains at the bottom of the list in penalties against animal
abuse.

Rob Russell
Director - POET

-----Original Message-----
From: Mesia Quartano 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org 
Date: Wednesday, January 21, 1998 11:23 AM
Subject: (US-OH) Letter to the Editor - Cruelty to animals should be felony
offense


>Cruelty to animals should be felony offense
>(Cincinnati Post; 01/16/98)
>
>To the editor of The Post:
>
>In January 12th's Letters to the Editor, veterinarian Todd A. Phillips
>described an act of animal cruelty that ended with a tortured kitten
>being brought to his office by a very kind woman.
>
>The defenseless kitten was the victim of a criminal act. Legislation on
>the table in Ohio's State Senate would make animal cruelty a felony.
>Deliberate animal abuse is a clear indicator of a violent personality
>(Jeffrey Dahmer tortured animals before switching to young men).
>
>Making animal abusers accountable in the judicial system will help both
>animals and good people. Maliciously abusing or destroying an animal, as
>in the case of the kitten being bound with tape and set on fire should
>be treated as seriously as destruction of an inanimate object.
>
>The recent case of two Iowa teen-agers who broke into an animal shelter
>and beat several cats to death with baseball bats, also falls into the
>"vicious and evil excuse for human beings" category. These scum were
>given probation. They'll be back.
>
>Blatant disregard for life and violent cruelty has been a recurrent
>theme in our courts in the past 10 years. Who or what is to blame for
>this moral deterioration is another issue. But the law regarding animal
>cruelty is something we can change through concerted effort.
>
>We need to contact our state representatives and state senators and ask
>their support of Substitute HB 437 to update Ohio's antiquated law and
>make cruelty a felony offense.
>
>MARIANNE LANG
>Pierce Township
>
>

Date: Wed, 21 Jan 1998 22:44:42 -0500
From: allen schubert 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Cc: Godisvegan@aol.com, HSUSCA@ix.netcom.com
Subject: Admin Note -- Inappropriate Posting
Message-ID: <3.0.1.32.19980121224442.006a15fc@envirolink.org>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

This is in support of the new "posting policy" to AR-News (11/11/97).  Now,
Godisvegan@aol.com will be banned from posting for a minimum of 2 weeks for
the post:  Re: (US-FL) Animal-rights activists sometimes step over the lin

HSUSCA@ix.netcom.com -- WARNING -- Your post was appropriate for private
e-mail to both the original poster as well as to me, the AR-News list
administrator.  Actions such as yours could easily start up unnecessary
discussion on a _news-only_ list.

WARNING TO ALL OTHERS -- Do not pursue this thread further on this list.

Allen Schubert
AR-News Listowner
----------------------------------------------------
Due to the sudden surge of inappropriate postings to AR-News, the Listowner
(me) will implement a new policy in dealing with such postings.  At the
_earliest_possible_convenient_time_, I will ban the offending individual
from posting to AR-News for a minimum of two (2) weeks.  An individual who
repeatedly posts inappropriate material _may_ be banned from posting
permanently.  

***NOTE:  If you are banned from posting, be sure to remind me when the two
weeks are up.  The process to REMOVE the person from a "banned" status does
not always work well.  A potential side effect of the process is that it
may "lock" the AR-News list, meaning that no one may post or
subscribe/unsubscribe.

If you have questions as to the appropriateness of a post, DO NOT HESITATE
to contact the Listowner ( ar-admin@envirolink.org ) concerning the
appropriateness of a news item.  I have supported this in the past, though
these discussions did not make it to the list.

I am avoiding making this a "moderated" list (one in which the Listowner
approves/releases posts to the list) as such action will reduce the speed
of posting -- plus, it puts the decision of what is considered "animal
rights" in the hands of one person.  My goal here is to eliminate non-news,
discussion/opinion posts to AR-News and not to decide what is/isn't *animal
rights* and to allow news items to be posted as rapidly as possible.
Further, a "moderated" list would punish the many for the infractions of
the few.  (Something that I found highly offensive since childhood.)

***If you have problems with this policy, please feel free to e-mail me
_privately_ to discuss this.  (Posting to the list would be inappropriate.)

allen
-------------------------------
Please do not post commentary or personal opinions to AR-News.  Such posts
are not appropriate to AR-News.  Appropriate postings to AR-News include:
posting a news item, requesting information on some event, or responding to
a request for information.  Discussions on AR-News will NOT be allowed and
we ask that any
commentary either be taken to AR-Views or to private E-mail. 

Continued postings of inappropriate material may result in suspension of
the poster's subscription to AR-News.

Here is subscription info for AR-Views:

Send e-mail to:  listproc@envirolink.org

In text/body of e-mail:  subscribe ar-views firstname lastname

Also...here are some websites with info on internet resources for Veg and
AR interests:

The Global Directory (IVU)
http://www.ivu.org/global

Date: Wed, 21 Jan 1998 22:55:06 -0500
From: allen schubert 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (US) Oprah accused of whipping up anti-beef 'lynch mob'
Message-ID: <3.0.32.19980121225503.00701498@mail.clark.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

from CNN http://www.cnn.com
---------------------------------------------------
Oprah accused of whipping up anti-beef 'lynch mob'

Thumbs up from Oprah Winfrey as she leaves court Wednesday

Food defamation trial opens in Amarillo

January 21, 1998
 Web posted at: 8:56 p.m. EST (0156 GMT)

AMARILLO, Texas (CNN) -- Talk show host Oprah Winfrey was accused of
creating a "lynch mob mentality" among members of her studio audience to
produce a "scary" story about the safety of beef, according to attorneys
for a group of Texas cattle producers suing Winfrey over a 1995 episode of
her show.

"The message of the show was never meant to be where opinions are shared.
The show was meant to be scary," said David Mullin, an attorney for the
cattle producers, during opening statements in the trial Wednesday. "The
truth is not as interesting. It doesn't produce ratings."

But Winfrey's attorney, Chip Babcock, told the eight women and four men on
the jury that the show in question was fair and that Winfrey did not set
out to target the beef industry.

"The program did not suggest beef was unsafe. Oprah Winfrey did not wake up
and say, 'Let's go get the beef industry,'" Babcock said.

The cattle producers are suing Winfrey under a 1995 Texas law under which
people can be held liable if they make false and disparaging statements
about perishable food products.

In April 1996, the topic of Winfrey's show was mad cow disease, an outbreak
of which had occurred in Britain. The disease in cattle has been linked to
a related disease in humans that kills people by slowing destroying brain
tissue.

Though there has not been any outbreak of mad cow disease in the United
States, a guest on Winfrey's show, Howard Lyman, criticized the practice of
feeding processed livestock to cattle, which has been linked to the
outbreak in Europe. Winfrey responded that Lyman's remarks "just stopped me
cold from eating another burger."

Supporters of Oprah in Santa Fe, New Mexico

Lyman, who is also being sued by the cattle producers, also intimated that
an outbreak of human form of mad cow disease could make AIDS look like the
common cold.

Cattle producers claim that the remarks on Winfrey's top-rated talk show
subsequently sent cattle prices tumbling, costing them $12 million.

However, in his opening remarks, Babcock claimed that one of the cattle
producers actually made $140,000 in the aftermath of the show by betting in
the cattle futures market that prices would go down.

After the opening arguments, jurors watched an 80-minute unedited version
of the show, as well as the final hour-long version that aired.

Winfrey, who arrived in Amarillo earlier in the week, attended Wednesday's
court session, entering through a back door to elude fans camped out in
front. She generally remained quiet and expressionless for the most part
throughout the proceedings.

But another plaintiffs' attorney, Joseph Coyne, elicited a wide-eyed,
incredulous look from the talk show host when he said that "during breaks,
Ms. Winfrey acted as cheerleader and created a lynch mob mentality among
spectators."

Starting Thursday, Winfrey will begin filming her talk show, normally based
in Chicago, in Amarillo. Scheduled guests include three native Texans:
actor Patrick Swayze, country singer Clint Black and his wife, actress Lisa
Hartman Black. Local residents have been clamoring to get tickets.

Meanwhile, in Santa Fe, New Mexico, supporters of Winfrey staged a protest
rally Wednesday, trampling hamburgers underfoot to show solidarity.

Correspondent Jeff Flock contributed to this report.

Date: Wed, 21 Jan 1998 23:32:33 -0500
From: allen schubert 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Subscription Options--Admin Note
Message-ID: <3.0.1.32.19980121233233.006bc06c@envirolink.org>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

It's been a couple days...so, time to put it out again.....
[Questions?  Reply to ar-admin@envirolink.org]

To unsubscribe, send e-mail to:  listproc@envirolink.org

In text of message:  unsubscribe ar-news
--------------------------------------------------------------
Here are some items of general information (found in the "welcome letter"
sent when people subscribe--but often lose!)...included:  how to post and
how to change your subscription status (useful if you are going on
vacation--either by "unsubscribe" or "postpone").
---------------------------------------------------------------

To post messages to the list, send mail to ar-news@envirolink.org
POSTING

To post a *news-related item* (no discussions), send your message to:

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Appropriate postings to AR-News include: posting a news item, requesting
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Discussions on AR-News will NOT be allowed and we ask that any
commentary either be taken to AR-Views or to private E-mail. 
------------------------------------------

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Date: Wed, 21 Jan 1998 23:54:48 -0500
From: Vegetarian Resource Center 
To: AR-News@Envirolink.Org
Subject: Praise, Condemnation on Cow Cloning
Message-ID: <199801220459.XAA10684@mail-out-1.tiac.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Praise, Condemnation on Cow Cloning
.c The Associated Press
By ALISON FITZGERALD

BOSTON (AP) - Animal scientists offered congratulations. 
Animal-rights groups offered condemnations.

The reactions came after scientists announced Tuesday they had 
developed a technique for cloning genetically customized calves able 
to produce medicines for humans in their milk.

Drs. Steven Stice and James Robl presented their research on the 
second day of an International Embryo Transfer Society conference. 
Other researchers said the calves mark the most viable step so far 
toward ``pharming,'' the development of pharmaceuticals using farm animals.

``We're working in the same area toward the same goal,'' 
said Dr. Will Eyestone, with PPL Therapeutics in Blacksburg, Va.

Animal rights activists were troubled by that goal.

``We condemn all who engage in cloning or genetic engineering both 
human and animal cells for the alleged purpose of furthering pure science,'' 
the Massachusetts chapter of Earth First! said in a statement. ``The cloning 
of living cells steps beyond the field of science and into the realm of
creation.''

Hundreds of miles away, 13 pregnant cows are waiting to give birth to cloned
calves at a ranch near College Station, Texas. Six will be identical to George
and Charlie, the cloned calves born last week. The rest are females, which is
where the real payoff will come.

Stice and Robl said they will try to use their technique to have cows make
human serum albumin.

Albumin, a blood protein that regulates the transfer of fluids in the body, is
critical to people suffering from liver disease, malnourishment, extreme burns
and other conditions.

Cows that can produce human serum albumin would be a huge boon to hospitals,
which are forced to rely on donated blood for the 480 tons of albumin needed
every year in the United States. It is estimated that a single cow could
produce up to 176 pounds of albumin annually.

Advanced Cell Technology, which was founded by Stice and Robl, already has 
a deal with Genzyme Transgenics Corp. of Framingham to produce albumin.

Stice said marketing such products is still years away because the process
must be perfected and approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

George and Charlie aren't the first animal clones with altered genes. Cloned
lambs Molly and Polly in Scotland have a human gene expected to make them
produce a protein, Factor IX, helpful in blood clotting.

But Dr. Ian Wilmut, the Scottish researcher who genetically engineered Molly,
Polly and Dolly, acknowledged that drug-making cows could be more valuable
because they produce much more milk than sheep.

AP-NY-01-21-98 0643EST

Date: Wed, 21 Jan 1998 23:56:09 -0500
From: Wyandotte Animal Group 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: CNN:  Oprah's opening statements begin.
Message-ID: <1.5.4.16.19980122045609.0b7f91a6@mail.heritage.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

> TESTIMONY TO BEGIN IN OPRAH'S TRIAL

Opening statements get under way Wednesday in Texas in the defamation suit
brought by the beef industry against the queen of television talk, Oprah
Winfrey. Winfrey and vegetarian activist Howard Lyman are being sued by a group
of Texas cattlemen for $12 million plus damages over comments they made about
beef on her April 16, 1996, show. They say she violated the Texas "veggie
libel" law.

-->Oprah inspires bumper stickers
..... http://cnn.com/US/9801/20/oprah.update.pm/index.html

Jason Alley
Wyandotte Animal Group
wag@heritage.com



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