AR-NEWS Digest 650

Topics covered in this issue include:

  1) No ethical problems
     by Andrew Gach 
  2) Guide charged with killing bears to sell gall bladders
     by Andrew Gach 
  3) Pelican transported to wintering grounds
     by Andrew Gach 
  4) Lucrative trade in human body parts
     by Andrew Gach 
  5) Boston Benefit for UPC 5/17
     by Franklin Wade 
  6) [CA] Bjossa not pregnant
     by David J Knowles 
  7) [UK] Tamworth Two abattoir is 'named and shamed'
     by David J Knowles 
  8) [UK] Butchers warned for flaunting ban
     by David J Knowles 
  9) [UK]  This poisonous task of mine
     by David J Knowles 
 10) [UK]  Bosnian Vets
     by David J Knowles 
 11) (KH) Rescued sun bears flown to Australia 
     by jwed 
 12) (HK) Boost for Chinese medicine
     by jwed 
 13) Updated the catalan page against fur coats
     by 2063511 <2063511@campus.uab.es>
 14) Piccadilly Circus Demo - Atlanta
     by Jeri Giesler 
 15) WHALE GUARDIAN NETWORK
     by Michael Kundu 
 16) Voice your outrage over the slaughter
     by buffalo folks 
 17) Vilas article
     by paulbog@jefnet.com (Rick Bogle)
 18) (NZ)Mystery disease decimates Hookers
     by bunny 
 19) [US] 1998 State of the Union Address
     by Steve Barney 
 20) looking for a website
     by Ming-Lee Yeh 
 21) Re: looking for a website
     by jeanlee 
 22) (USA)URGENT-Re Nadas-Ways you can help
     by bunny 
 23) (US) Oprah's guest: `I delivered my opinion'
     by allen schubert 
 24) (US) Oprah trial not affecting sale of beef
     by allen schubert 
Date: Fri, 30 Jan 1998 21:57:26 -0800
From: Andrew Gach 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: No ethical problems
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Australian biologist to use mice as surrogate testicles 

Agence France-Presse 
SYDNEY, January 30, 1998

An Australian biologist plans to use mice as surrogate testicles to
produce human sperm, New Scientist magazine reported Friday.

The concept will help researchers probe the poorly-understood process of
human sperm production and the causes of testicular cancer. 

"The first time you say to anyone we want to produce human sperm in
mice, they look at you with frank horror," said Professor Roger Short of
Melbourne's Royal Women's Hospital.

"But once people overcome the initial gut reaction, many accept the
proposal."

He has applied to the United States National Institute of Health for
funding and has already won ethical approval from his local animal
research committee.

He said he hopes to begin experiments later this year but has yet to
present his proposal to the equivalent committee covering human
subjects.

Short, one of the world's leading reproductive biologists, said stand-in
testicles could also lead to treatments for some infertile men.

Theoretically, they could nurture genetically-altered sperm cells.

Developments in invitro fertilisation (IVF) mean women with fertility
problems can now conceive but men who produce little or no sperm have
virtually no chance of becoming fathers.

"The cause may be a mutation in one of the genes on the Y chromosone
that control spermatogenesis -- the production of sperm from germ
cells," he said.

"Being able to study human spermatogenesis in a laboratory animal may
help researchers work out why the process fails in many infertile men."

If the genetic fault lies with the cells that nurture developing sperm,
transplanting germ cells into a mouse with healthy cells might allow
mature sperm to form.

The concept has already been successfully carried out between rats and
mice.

Bioethicists have generally given the research their approval, but urged
caution.

New Scientist said there were two main safety concerns if sperm produced
in mice were ever to be used for IVF. 

The human sperm could undergo changes that produce congenital defects or
mouse viruses could infect the sperm, raising similar fears of viral
contamination to those that have dogged attempts to use animal organs
for human transplants.

University of Sydney reproductive expert Rob Loblay was similarly
apprehensive but said it should not raise ethical problems.

"It's not like Dolly (the cloned sheep)," he said.

"Providing this research is done according to all the currently
established guidelines, it should not raise any serious ethical
objections."

David Shapiro, former executive secretary of Britain's Nuffield
Hospital, said strict monitoring must take place at every stage of the
research, but fears some fertility researchers may be tempted to rush
ahead.

"There's this gung-ho attitude of let's have a go," he told the
magazine.

By MARTIN PARRY, Agence France-Presse
Date: Fri, 30 Jan 1998 22:03:07 -0800
From: Andrew Gach 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Guide charged with killing bears to sell gall bladders
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California guide charged with killing bears for gall bladders

Scripps-McClatchy Western 
REDDING, Calif. January 30, 1998

A California black bear in a Shasta County forest has a gall bladder
worth hundreds of dollars in this country.

That price tag may have motivated a licensed hunting guide and his
hounds men.

The guide and one of his hounds men were arrested Wednesday in Shasta
County on a warrant charging them with killing black bears and selling
their gall bladders.

Bear gall bladders rank with rhino horn and ginseng as treasured
medicines in Asian communities. Gall bladders can fetch up to $5,600 per
ounce in Chinese and Korean markets.

A trio ran hunting trips out of a rented cabin in Shingletown and
allegedly sold the bear delicacies to an underground market with links
to Southern California Asian communities, said Paul Wertz, spokesperson
for the state Department of Fish and Game in Redding.

A three-year DFG undercover investigation ended with the arrest of Ye
Taek "Kevin" Lim, 46, of Gardena on 16 felony charges including selling
and purchasing bear parts, plus 14 misdemeanor charges.

Lim's alleged hounds man - Kenneth Vernon Smith, 45, of Cottonwood - was
arrested after an attempted bear gall bladder sale at an Anderson
parking lot at about 11 a.m. Wednesday, investigators said. He's facing
four felony counts of bear part sales or purchases and one felony count
of conspiracy.

A $100,000 arrest warrant was issued for a third suspected hounds man,
David Gene Kuykendall, 42, of Anderson for similar charges. There may be
up to 20 more related arrests as the investigation unfolds, Wertz said.

In Trinity, Shasta and Siskiyou counties - which normally have the top
bear kills each year - bears are hunted for their gall bladders, Wertz
said.

"These matters go to the heart of hunting ethics. It is supposed to be a
sport. It is not supposed to be an assembly line," Wertz said.

Commercial poachers bring in $100 million a year nationwide - second in
illicit sales to narcotics, DFG officials said.

Some in the Asian community seek bear gall bladders to improve liver
functions, reduce fevers and cleanse blood. The legend that bear gall
bladders are coveted solely because they are an aphrodisiac is not true,
Wertz said.

"People dry them, slice them paper thin then break it over salad" for
health reasons, Wertz said. Bear teeth, claws, fur and paws are also
sold in the underground market.

Undercover wardens tagged along on several bear hunting trips arranged
by Lim during the 1997 bear season from September to December.

Lim advertised north state bear hunts for costs between $1,500 and
$3,200 and paid hounds men about $400 to tree a bear with a dog, Wertz
said.

"Mostly what they (the suspects) did was either assist in treeing of
bears for someone else to shoot or engaged in illegal trade of bear
parts," Wertz said.

What took place after a bear was in the tree varied. Dozens of bears
were apparently killed, most during bear hunting season.

Sometimes a licensed, tag-holding legal hunter shot a bear and took it
home. No problem. But there were also cases when a bear was shot by one
person and tagged with a name of a person who was not present or didn't
shoot the bear.

It is a misdemeanor to use another person's tag, punishable by a fine of
up to $1,000 or six months in jail, or both.

Only 15,000 bear tags are available each season. Hunters are allowed one
bear each per season. The statewide kill limit is 1,500.

Other times, the suspects shot bears and sold their parts. That is a
felony which yields a $10,000 fine or three years in state prison, or
both.

One suspect told an undercover warden that he shoots whatever his dogs
tree, no matter what the animal is - including a protected fur-bearing
animal known as a fisher.

The bear population is steady. But marketing bear products may skew
DFG's tracking of the 18,000 to 25,000 bears statewide, Wertz said.
That's because hunters who sell bear parts are more likely to take the
bears illegally.

Hunters are required to temporarily submit bear heads to the DFG so
wardens can decipher a bear's age from its incisor tooth, Wertz said. If
the average age of bears dips below four years, the bear population
could be at risk.

By ANNE HART, Scripps-McClatchy Western Service
Date: Fri, 30 Jan 1998 22:13:39 -0800
From: Andrew Gach 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Pelican transported to wintering grounds
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Lost pelican getting a free flight to Florida

The Associated Press 
AROMA PARK, Ill.  January 30, 1998 

Whether it is first-class or coach, the trip home will be easier for
a misguided white pelican that ended up hundreds of miles off course.
Wildlife officials are sending the pelican to Florida by jet.

Pelicans normally are found in Western and Southern states, but this one
apparently was swept into northern Illinois by bad weather in
mid-December.

Fishermen on the Kankakee River, south of Chicago, fed it, but the state
Department of Natural Resources stepped in when temperatures plunged and
the river froze.

The pelican has been cared for by a wildlife rehabilitator in Aroma Park
but will soon be flown in a container aboard a United Airlines flight to
Florida.

Wildlife officials will meet the plane in Tampa and release the bird
into the wild if it has completely regained its strength.

No date for the transfer was announced.

White pelicans, which are protected under the federal Migratory Bird
Treaty Act, are among the largest birds on Earth. Adults can weigh 17
pounds or more and sport wingspans of more than nine feet.
Date: Fri, 30 Jan 1998 22:17:25 -0800
From: Andrew Gach 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Lucrative trade in human body parts
Message-ID: <34D2C1F5.27EE@worldnet.att.net>
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Coroner accused of supplying body parts for transplants

Copyright © 1998 Nando.net
Copyright © 1998 The Associated Press 

NEW ORLEANS (January 30, 1998 10:13 p.m. EST http://www.nando.net) -- A
lawsuit filed by a slain man's mother alleges eyes, bones and other body
parts were removed from corpses at the city morgue and sold by the
coroner without permission from relatives.

Barbara Everett, whose son was shot three years ago, was in court
Friday, seeking to turn her lawsuit against the coroner, Dr. Frank
Minyard, into a class-action.

The judge said he would rule on the request in two to three weeks.

Mrs. Everett said she learned of her son's slaying about five hours
after he was shot. She called the coroner's office and was told it had
an unidentified body, but no Leroy Everett. She went to Charity Hospital
and was told that the body had been given to the coroner's office.

"I went back to the coroner's office. They said I had to wait for the
head coroner," she testified. Finally, she said, she was shown a
videotape of his head and identified her son. By then, the autopsy was
over.

Nine months later, Mrs. Everett learned that her son's hip bone and
corneas had been removed when a woman from Southern Transplant Services
Inc. called to ask about her son's medical history. The Food and Drug
Administration required the transplant agency to make the survey after
finding it had failed to determine whether donor bodies had hepatitis or
AIDS.

Minyard said it was Southern Transplant's job to get the family's
permission if the body and relatives had been identified. However, he
said, if there was no identification on the body and the hospital and
police were unable to trace it, he approves the harvesting.

Under Louisiana law, if relatives cannot be reached for permission, the
coroner can approve the taking of parts from any body.

Minyard said Southern Transplant paid one worker in his office $10 per
corpse to take the bone and corneas, paid clerks to call when bodies
arrived and paid at least one pathologist with the LSU Medical Center,
which has a contract to perform autopsies and testify to grand juries.

Minyard said he had no objection to the payment to the workers in his
office, but told the pathologist that payment to him was inappropriate.

State law requires organs to be donated, not sold.

T.J. Picou Jr., head of Southern Transplant, testified that between
January 1991 and April 1995, his firm took bone from 686 bodies after
autopsies in New Orleans.

He said 117 of those bodies were unidentified at the time of the
autopsy, though nearly all had been identified by the time the autopsy
report was typed up. In 1995, after an investigation by the FDA,
Southern Transplant stopped taking bone from unidentified corpses.

The coroner's office performs about 1,500 to 2,000 autopsies a year,
Minyard said.

Mrs. Everett said Southern Transplant indicated in the telephone call
that it was unable to trace her son's relatives.

"I said, 'Leroy never was unknown,"' Mrs. Everett recalled. "She said,
'Yes, but you were."'

By JANET McCONNAUGHEY, The Associated Press
Date: Sat, 31 Jan 1998 02:37:04 -0500 (EST)
From: Franklin Wade 
To: Undisclosed recipients:  ;
Subject: Boston Benefit for UPC 5/17
Message-ID: 
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                          Action Alert!
           Boston Benefit for United Poultry Concerns

                     FOR THE BIRDS WALKATHON


     United Poultry Concerns is delighted to announce that BRAVE,
an animal rights/vegetarian organization in Boston, MA is
sponsoring a Fundraising Benefit for United Poultry Concerns. If
you are in the Boston Metropolitan area, please join in!

     Contact: Richard Griffin at 617-262-5761.
     E-mail Richard at: bravebos@aol.com

     When: Sunday, May 17, 1998
     Starting Time: 11:30 A.M.
     Where: Contact Richard Griffin for meeting place.

     For the Birds Walkathon will target restaurants and include
a fantastic victory dinner following the Walkathon. Don't Wait!
Call or e-mail Richard Griffin today! Help make this Benefit a
Big Success for BRAVE, for UNITED POULTRY CONCERNS, FOR THE
BIRDS!

_____________________________________________________________________
franklin@smart.net                                   Franklin D. Wade 
    United Poultry Concerns - http://www.envirolink.org/arrs/upc


Date: Fri, 30 Jan 1998 23:25:19
From: David J Knowles 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: [CA] Bjossa not pregnant
Message-ID: <3.0.3.16.19980130232519.34f7c7b8@dowco.com>
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Bjossa not pregnant
By David J Knowles
Animal Voices News

VANCOUVER, BC - The Vancouver public Aquarium announced Friday that Bjossa,
the facility's remaining orca, was not pregnant.

Bjossa was believed to have been pregnant for the past 10 months, after
mating with Finna prior to his death last year.

Bjossa has had three previous pregnancies, but none of her calves survived.

Local animal-rights group the Coalition for No Whales in Captivity, has
just one question following today's announcement  - if Bjossa isn't
pregnant, what is wrong with her?

The aquarium noted a change in Bjossa's health over the past 10 months, and
have been monitoring her by taking regular blood tests and ultrasounds.

Aquarium vet Dr David Huff is in charge of Bjossa's medical care - small
comfort for the Coalition, who note that he is the same vet who issued
Finna with a clean bill of health only four hours before he died in his tank.



Date: Fri, 30 Jan 1998 23:26:34
From: David J Knowles 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: [UK] Tamworth Two abattoir is 'named and shamed'
Message-ID: <3.0.3.16.19980130232634.0b5f0914@dowco.com>
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[Sorry, this was posted yesterday with the wrong subject header]

>From The Electronic Telegraph - Friday, January 30th, 1998

Tamworth Two abattoir is 'named and shamed'
By David Brown, Agriculture Editor 

THE abattoir from which the Tamworth Two, Britain's most celebrated runaway
pigs, escaped this month was among 70 slaughterhouses and meat plants
"named and shamed" by meat hygiene officials yesterday.

V and G Newman, of Malmesbury, Wilts, scored 61 out of 100 points in meat
hygiene assessment figures being made public for the first time. The
minimum target is 65. Butch and Sundance, a couple of cross-bred Tamworth
boars, escaped shortly before they were due to be slaughtered and swam
across a river to live wild in the countryside. Eventually they were
recaptured and, after being bought by a national newspaper, now live as
celebrities at a wildlife sanctuary in the West Country.

Jeff Rooker, the food safety minister, said: "They obviously didn't want to
die in a low-scoring abattoir."

Jeremy Newman, acting manager, said: "We seem to be in the news these days,
what with the pigs that got away and everything. But these hygiene scores
were based on the
average of figures over three months. Our latest score is now 67 which
reflects general improvements and is higher than the ministry target." 

Seventy slaughterhouses and meat plants out of 1,352 inspected failed to
hit the target of 65 out of 100 marks, according to figures published by
the Meat Hygiene Service. All are now being subjected to tighter scrutiny
by vets and meat hygiene inspectors. Some have lost their
licences and others are expected to be closed down. Ministers said meat
inspectors had been assaulted and obstructed while carrying out their work
in some abattoirs. In one case, an inspector allegedly had a noose placed
"playfully" around his neck.

Mr Rooker said the incident was still being investigated. Other court
action was pending and abattoir staff in Yorkshire had been charged with
assaulting a vet. Intimidation would not be tolerated, Mr Rooker said.
Bottom of the league table was Cruisedeal of Manchester with a
score of 34. It has already had its licence revoked but continues to
operate pending an appeal.

Joe Potts, administration manager, said the figures did not reflect the
improving conditions in the abattoir. "Cruisedeal is a new company which
took over from the Manchester Wholesale Meat and Poultry Market, which went
into receivership in November. We are carrying out substantial renovations
to the abattoir."

Top of the list was N Knowles and Son, of Bury, Lancs, which scored a
maximum 100 - the only plant to do so. Britain is the only country in
Europe, and possibly the only one in the world, to subject abattoirs to a
hygiene league table working on a points system.

Scores are judged on the cleanliness of animals coming to the
slaughterhouse and efforts made to avoid cross-contamination. Correct
skinning, handling and storage of meat is also taken into account, together
with overall conditions in abattoirs and meat plants. Those with
low scores - only six per cent - will be targeted with extra inspections.

© Copyright Telegraph Group Limited 1998.

I am in no way related to T. Knowles and Son - David]

Date: Fri, 30 Jan 1998 23:43:08
From: David J Knowles 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: [UK] Butchers warned for flaunting ban
Message-ID: <3.0.3.16.19980130234308.34f79334@dowco.com>
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>From The Electronic Telegraph - Saturday, January 31st, 1998

Butchers warned for flaunting ban
By David Brown, Agriculture Editor 

BUTCHERS will be prosecuted if they continue to break the law by selling
T-bone steaks, oxtails and other cuts of beef on the bone, Jack Cunningham,
the Minister of Agriculture, warned yesterday. "People who boast about
putting themselves above the law have to face the consequences," he said.

He dismissed the stand being made by numerous butchers who have continued
to sell beef on the bone despite the Government's ban which was implemented
on Dec 16.

Under the ban, designed to protect consumers from the remote risk of
contracting BSE from tissue attached to the bones, meat traders risk heavy
fines and up to two years in jail if convicted of selling beef on the bone
to the public.

Dismissing complaints by the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health
Officers that the order banning beef bones was badly drafted and
practically unforceable, Mr Cunningham told the Today programme on Radio 4
that very few butchers were flaunting the rules.

He also said it was a "myth" that most of the public was opposed to the ban
- a view supported by the Meat and Livestock Commission which found in a
recent survey that consumers marginally supported the Government action.

But Michael Jack, shadow minister of agriculture, said: "Jack Cunningham
has managed to introduce a piece of legislation which is unworkable,
unnecessary and unwanted."

The public wanted the right to choose for themselves whether to eat beef on
the bone and did not need Mr Cunningham to act as a "nanny". He said: "I am
certainly not recommending that people break the law.... But it is clear
from what the environmental health officers have said that the order is a
recipe for confusion and inconsistency."

Government figures showed yesterday that the incomes of beef and sheep
farmers last year dropped further than even their own leaders feared in the
wake of the beef crisis and due to the strength of the pound.

The hardest hit were beef and sheep farmers in the lowlands who suffered a
65 per cent drop in incomes, in real terms adjusted for inflation.
Livestock farmers in less favoured areas experienced a 44 per cent drop. 

© Copyright Telegraph Group Limited 1998. 

Date: Sat, 31 Jan 1998 00:06:39
From: David J Knowles 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: [UK]  This poisonous task of mine
Message-ID: <3.0.3.16.19980131000639.34f7e5f4@dowco.com>
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>From The Electronic Telegraph - Saturday, January 31st, 1998

This poisonous task of mine

Smallpox, flesh-eating bacteria . . . Prof Hugh Pennington has spent his
life studying deadly
diseases. Now in charge of E-coli research, he claims this killer bug is
his biggest challenge. Interview by Helena de Bertodano

PROFESSOR Hugh Pennington does not eat much beef himself. As he is the man
who conducted the inquiry into the world's worst E-coli food-poisoning
outbreak, which killed 20 people in Scotland in 1996, this is hardly
surprising. But he insists that it has nothing to do with his work; he just
prefers other food. "I've always been a bit faddy about things - not on
health grounds, just on taste grounds."

When I arrive at Aberdeen University, where he is Professor of
Bacteriology, he is just finishing his canteen lunch of battered chicken,
greens and chips. "It wasn't bad, actually. They know me quite well here in
the canteen. People watch what I'm eating and comment: 'Oh, he's eating the
so-and-so today, so that's obviously okay.' "

In his office, I ask him if any of the E-coli microbes are lurking around.
He points over the narrow corridor outside his office. "They are in a
diagnosis lab just across the way. All you see are lumps of shit,
basically, or bits of meat." People in white coats hurry up and down the
corridor, which is accessed by a swingdoor warning: "Danger of infection".
A poster warning about faecal viruses is one of the first things you see as
you walk down the corridor. 

Although Prof Pennington has long been a vociferous critic of Government
complacency surrounding Scotland's high rate of E-coli 0157 infection, it
was his investigation into the Lanarkshire epidemic of November 1996 which
made him famous. Last week John Barr, the
butcher in Wishaw who supplied the contaminated meat, was fined £2,250. Has
he met Barr? "Yes, I met him as part of the inquiry, but I don't want to
say anything about him at this stage."

E-coli 0157 is a relatively new organism which first appeared in the 1970s.
It regularly causes fatal infections in the very young and the very old,
because its toxin attacks small blood vessels. Even if it does not kill, it
can cause permanent kidney or brain damage. Cases in England and Wales have
doubled in the past year and it has spread to all continents, but Scotland
is still the world leader. Although it is known that the bacteria lodges in
the intestines of cattle and occasionally sheep, regularly passing into the
food chain, no one knows why it is more prevalent in some areas than
others. And no one really knows how to control it.

Prof Pennington says that even if all the recommendations in his report
were to be implemented, it might slow the spread of the virus, but would
not stop it. There is not enough scientific data available on the organism
to combat it effectively. "Very often the science just ain't there. It's
usually a bit of science and the rest is informed judgment."

Does he have mixed feelings about his fame arising from such a disaster?
"People don't seem to hold that against me. It's just life." He adds
bluntly that the tragedy facilitated his work. "We already had an E-coli
problem; it was a disaster waiting to happen and it became the catalyst for
a major investigation." 

To prove that he is not squeamish about meat per se, he says that he loves
black pudding. "And I've always had a hankering for sausages, which is very
bad from a public-health point of view."

If he does not worry about what he eats, then who will? "I'm more worried
about how the food has been prepared." Poor hygiene, particularly in the
home where people handle uncooked chicken and then something like salad, is
all too widespread. Public awareness, he says, has to be raised.

So he is pleased that the Government is setting up the Food Standards
Agency, as confirmed by a White Paper launched earlier this month, but says
it will probably be a few years before it is properly effective. "I like
the structure. It is seen as independent, but not so independent that it is
just a talking shop. It has a reporting line up through the Department of
Health so it will obviously have clout in the Cabinet, which is absolutely
crucial."

Prof Pennington is reluctant to compare this Government's handling of food
safety with the last. "Bugs are no respecters of political parties." But he
is pleased with what he sees as Labour's "commitment to openness", saying
that in the past a lot of scientific advice has never made it out of a
minister's office. "Now they are going to publish advice from committees
and it is up to the minister to say why he's not going to implement it."

Does his job force him into combat with politicians? Lately, for example,
he criticised Labour for delaying implementation of one of the key
recommendations of his report on E-coli 0157 - the licensing of butchers.
"You can't get politics out of it, but it's politics with a small 'p'. I
wasn't attacking Labour; I was attacking the system, really. It just seems
to be taking a devil of a long time."

He says he has been assured that licensing is imminent. If there are
further delays, he will speak out strongly - as is his wont. He has a
reputation for refusing to take no for an answer and being fearless of the
consequences of his outbursts. 

"He does not brook nonsense," says Professor Roy Postlethwaite, a former
colleague who describes Prof Pennington as a man who combines acute
intelligence with very good judgment. "If there is a message to get across,
he will get it across."

"Maybe it's just because I'm stupid," says Prof Pennington, unconvincingly.
"But if you know what can be done to make something less of a problem, then
you have a moral obligation to follow it up."

Although not directly involved in the research into BSE, he takes a keen
interest in the subject and says that it has sharpened people's awareness
about food safety. At the moment he is doing a study into campylobacter,
the most common form of food- poisoning. On average, a million people in
Britain suffer food-poisoning every year, half of which is from
campylobacter, a bacteria found in chickens. 

Prof Pennington has suffered from food-poisoning twice himself, once in
France from eating Provençal sausages that were full of tripe, and once in
the United States, perhaps from the water. He says that almost everyone
will suffer food-poisoning at some point in their lives. Even vegans are
not safe, as vegetables can come into contact with uncooked meat or are
fertilised with manure carrying bacteria.

Prof Pennington, who will be 60 in April, is in buoyant mood, almost
jocular. He admits to enjoying the current publicity, although it is not
entirely new to him because he was thrust briefly into the limelight over
the flesh-eating bug scare, into which he has also done some research. He
has a kind face, with very blue eyes, offset by Healey-esque eyebrows which
hint at a more volcanic nature. And although he is a good communicator who
relates easily to people, he does admit to some fairly boffin-ish interests.

In Who's Who, in which he appears for the first time this year, he lists
one of his recreations as dipterology, the study of creatures with two
wings. "It's a very serious hobby," he says earnestly. "It started way back
in school. I have a friend who is the world expert on earwigs."

Not that he has ever been a solitary soul, who cocoons himself from human
company. He has a twin sister, although he says they have "nothing in
common". At school in Lancashire, he "ran with the crowd" and was made head
of house. While working at St Thomas's Hospital in London, he met a nurse,
Carolyn Beattie, who became his wife; the couple have two daughters aged 17
and 18.

Inspired by a biology teacher at school, he decided that he wanted to go
into medicine, possibly as a pathologist. His father, a landscape architect
and lay preacher, would have liked him to be a minister or preacher, but
Prof Pennington is an agnostic. He says any remnant of religious belief was
knocked out of him at medical school, where he had to spend six weeks at a
mental hospital. 

"I will never forget the patients in that hospital. I could never come up
with a satisfactory explanation for suffering like that as part of a grand
plan." 

Another incident that affected him profoundly occurred when he was
researching smallpox at a Birmingham hospital in the 1970s. The virus
escaped from the lab, infecting and killing a secretary upstairs. It was
the last smallpox fatality in Britain and the head of the department, with
whom Prof Pennington had been living, felt so responsible that he cut his
throat. "It was all very tragic; they never worked out how the virus got out."

Before starting as a bacteriologist, he was advised that it was a dead-end
career. "It was thought to be finished because of antibiotics. Infection
was seen as yesterday's problem. They thought sexually transmitted diseases
were finished. Then Aids comes along."

But he decided not to take the advice. Resistance to antibiotics was
already reopening the subject and the alternative, pathology, was beginning
to strike him as less interesting. "I would have had a quieter and in some
aspects more pleasant life, just doing post-mortems and sitting quietly in
the corner looking at sections down a microscope - but  there's not much
challenge in that subject to do research."

He has done much pioneering work in the field of bacteria, using the "DNA
fingerprinting" method to track the path of bugs. He sees himself as a
detective trying to solve a mystery. "That's the attraction of doing
microbiology. Tracing how bugs spread in an outbreak is very similar to
looking at the trail left by a criminal, tracking the criminal's connection
to the victim by identifying the DNA."

Does he ever worry that he might become infected? "In the good old days of
microbiology, there were martyrs who died of things like yellow fever. It
was accepted as a risk of the job; now it has changed - although I did once
think I'd infected myself with Hepatitis B. I stabbed
myself with a glass pipette which contained the virus. You have to wait a
year to find out whether you have it; every now and then I would look in
the mirror to see if I was becoming jaundiced." (He was fine). 

He says that poor food safety has reached crisis levels. "Far from the
public being oversensitive about food-poisoning, they only know the half of
it. It is not a new crisis but a chronic crisis - it has been there a long,
long time."

Does he ever feel nervous eating in restaurants? "No, I don't worry about
that." What if he is at someone's house and sees that they do not wash
their hands after handling raw chicken? "I wouldn't be so presumptuous as
to say, 'Now wash your hands.' I'd just cross my fingers."

Changes are needed right down the food chain, from the farmers, who in his
view all too often see their cattle as a commodity rather than a foodstuff,
to the consumer. "It is not a case of the environmental officials or the
public health officials or the ministry being useless. A lot of these
people are doing very good work, but together they are not reducing the
amount of food-poisoning so something clearly has to be done on top of all
that."

The answer may lie in the new Food Standards Agency. But he is concerned
that the next few years, before it is properly active, might provide "a
window of danger". "I hope there won't be a temptation to say, 'We've set
up the FSA and that's all we need to do.' "

The real challenge for this Government, says Prof Pennington, lies in the
next major food scare. "The first big outbreak of 'x' or 'y' will be a
very, very important test." Does he think they will be up to it? He looks
thoughtful before answering, with no outward show of irony: "The proof of
the pudding will be in the eating."

© Copyright Telegraph Group Limited 1998. 

Date: Sat, 31 Jan 1998 00:20:36
From: David J Knowles 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: [UK]  Bosnian Vets
Message-ID: <3.0.3.16.19980131002036.0b5fa91a@dowco.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit

>From The Electronic Telegraph - Saturday, January 31st, 1998

Bosnian Vets

Pets and livestock were also victims of the civil war. Brian Pedley meets
the British Army vet
trying to make a difference

YOUNG Max was having trouble with his leg. As he lay spread-eagled across
the operating table with an eight-inch cut from a scalpel gaping blood-red
across his haunch, a team of three veterinary surgeons groped and grappled
through multiple layers of muscle to re-unite his badly broken femur. In an
adjoining office, Max's distraught owner - a burly silver-bearded man -
sought comfort from his hip flask.

The scene was a small, recently opened animal veterinary clinic in Banja
Luka in Bosnia. Despite the trying circumstances, British Army vet, Captain
Melissa Bowerman, retained her poise. "In the absence of a suitable pin, we
shall have to use the muscle to support the leg as it sets," she explained
through an interpreter. She had intended merely to demonstrate some newly
donated anaesthetic equipment with the castration of Eddie, the unit
mascot. Now, rubber-gloved hands streaming with blood, she also had to
perform major orthopaedic surgery on Max, a local hunting dog. "I felt
bound to stay and assist," she said.

Bosnia gets to people like that. Capt Bowerman, an ebullient,
slightly-built 25-year-old - "Vet Spice", as she has been cheerily named by
fellow officers - arrived there in August last year as one of 5,400 Britons
serving with the multi-national Stabilisation Force (SFOR).

Six months on, she feels deeply embroiled in the concerns of a country
still stricken by the aftermath of war. And although she is preparing to
move on to a new posting in Germany, she won't forget what she has seen and
done and learned. 

Bosnia teaches you to expect the unexpected and Melissa has revelled in the
challenges. As well as having the responsibility for some 30 guard and
tracker dogs at military bases in Bosnia and neighbouring Croatia, she
found herself at the forefront of international regeneration projects
involving both farm and domestic animals and funded by the Overseas
Development Administration (ODA).

While civilian contemporaries pursue fledgling careers among the canaries,
cats and dogs of suburban England, Capt Bowerman has been tackling bigger
and more dramatic problems, both human and veterinary. 

"Rabies, for example, is endemic in Bosnia. We have larger numbers of feral
animals - and pets are not vaccinated routinely here," she said. "The
veterinary clinic is the first of its kind in Banja Luka. The local vets
have been trained in small animal surgery and medicine - but they haven't
had the basic equipment. They've been provided with everything except for
drugs - and an operating table that was used for humans."

The new clinic is one additional ray of light in a city that aid workers
were calling the "heart of darkness" at war's end in 1995.

The area witnessed some of the worst excesses of "ethnic cleansing". In
three years of Serb occupation, the 500,000 population of Bosnia's second
largest municipality after Sarajevo was more than halved. Hundreds of
thousands of Muslims and Croats were murdered, intimidated or expelled in
the name of ethnic purity. Beyond the built-up areas, in quiet, gently
rolling countryside, a farming industry, and the way of life that went with
it, was all but destroyed.

Before the war, agriculture accounted for more than 14 per cent of Bosnia's
gross national product, with 540,000 people wholly or partly dependent on
farming. Between 1992 and 1995, 70 per cent of all the country's livestock
was seized, killed or forcibly slaughtered. Lush fields left uncultivated
betray the continued presence of live landmines. At the current rate of
clearance, it will be another 50 years at least before Bosnia's countryside
is totally sanitised.

Along the road that runs west from Banja Luka to Novigrad are some of the
worst areas of ethnic cleansing. Neat family homes with red terracotta
roofs stand with hearts ripped out by bombs and shells. In landscape not
unlike England's West Country, entire farms and villages stay mined,
blitzed and fire-blackened. Out of this will come children walking to
school, an occasional horse and cart, or a lone cow grazing.

"A lot of the farming now is subsistence farming, where one family owns a
single cow, producing milk solely for their own needs," said Capt Bowerman.

"People moved as refugees, so now you have people who used to live in towns
living in rural areas and vice versa. They either have the knowledge of
farming but don't have the facilities - or its the other way round. 

 "We're trying to encourage them to move on to owning herds of about five
or six cattle, so that they can actually start producing in groups. We
particularly encourage the giving out of heifers that are already pregnant,
so they gain immediate experience with calf rearing.

"People will run ideas past me, I will visit farms and chat to the locals
to see if a project is viable and that the facilities are there for rearing
livestock."

In one area, where nearly 2,000 dairy cows were lost, 26 pregnant heifers
have been delivered and a milk collection point is nearing completion. "The
new facility is being linked with a dairy being built by the Salvation
Army," said Captain Paul Wegener, a Civil Affairs Officer with the US Army.
"The cows then become more than just expensive grass cutting
machines. They actually become a business that generates income for about
350 families.

"Captain Bowerman helped me in the purchasing of the cattle to begin with.
She knew all the right questions to ask - so I relied on her very heavily."

With grazing land blighted by mines, farmers will often walk the grass
verges, leading their single cows on lengths of rope, like highly prized
pets. "We saw one couple actually sharing their bedroom with their beasts,"
Capt Bowerman said. "The bed was on one side, we were sitting having coffee
and the cow and its calf were tethered in a stall nearby."

Capt Bowerman has also been striving to improve the local standard of horse
shoeing. "Because the shoe is nailed closer to the heel, it means that
pressure continues up the leg and damages the tendon. We actually brought a
British farrier out who spent a lot of time in the local markets. The
feedback from local vets is they understand what we're saying."

In the formerly Serb-held town of Sanski Most, where hundreds of Muslims
were massacred in the final weeks of the war, vet Biscevic Ismet has
received enough support from SFOR to reestablish a surgery and to begin a
programme of artificial insemination for local cattle.

"When I came back here, there were bodies of cattle lying in the streets,"
he said. "All the houses were devastated and the barns empty. But things
are rapidly improving."

One of Biscevic's long-standing clients, 69-year-old Aganovic Hosein,
proudly paraded a new Simmental cow into a village square where compacted
fire ash still lies thick on the ground.

"Years ago, I was the first man in the whole of Bosnia-Herzegovina to own a
British Ferguson tractor," the old man said. "I would give all of my years
just for that one tractor."

Back in Banja Luka, Captain Bowerman applied the final layer of stitches to
Max the hunting dog. As the plaster cast began to set, Max's owner shared a
bottle of whisky - and invited the British vet to dinner. Unfazed by such
expansiveness, Capt Bowerman politely declined. 

"For me, the real high point was giving the equipment to the vets - and
actually seeing it being put to good use," she said.

In the city's senior vet, Tomislav Perovic, Melissa has a friend for life.
"We just call her the Good Angel," he said. "If only she could stay
longer." Of 8,000 practising veterinary surgeons in the United Kingdom,
Melissa Bowerman is one of only 20 to wear the badge and uniform of the
Royal Army Veterinary Corps. She inherits a tradition reaching back more
than 200 years to when vets were first called to the colours.

Captain Bowerman, from Dartmouth in Devon, is now aged 25. She was
sponsored by the Corps for her course at the Royal Veterinary College, part
of the University of London. After graduation her army officer training at
Sandhurst consisted of just five intensive weeks. 

As the resident Army vet in Northern Ireland for 18 months in 1995-96, she
led a team of handlers and veterinary technicians in the care and training
of working military dogs.

A posting of similar length followed in Germany, where she is due to return
in a few weeks' time when her stint in Bosnia comes to an end.

© Copyright Telegraph Group Limited 1998. 

Date: Sat, 31 Jan 1998 20:39:13 +0000
From: jwed 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (KH) Rescued sun bears flown to Australia 
Message-ID: <3.0.5.32.19980131203913.0079e5d0@pop.hkstar.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Saturday  January 31  1998 - South China Morning Post - by JOE COCHRANE in
Phnom Penh 

Three sun bears rescued from certain death and consumption in restaurants
were flown yesterday from the Cambodian capital to new homes in Australia.

Two-year-old Barbara, 18-month-old Sean and 14-month-old Viva will be
housed initially at Perth Zoo before joining captive breeding programmes in
Melbourne and other cities to try to boost numbers of the endangered species.

Their paws, considered a delicacy, would have fetched up to US$700
(HK$5,400) in restaurants.

They were the second group of sun bears to be rescued from restaurants and
sent to Australia in the past year under a programme headed by American
Randy Steed.

Last year Mr Steed and Australian friends sent a group of rescued sun bears
to Taronga Park Zoo in Sydney.

With the help of the Free the Bears Foundation in Perth, he and Australian
businessman John Stephens have bought land along the Mekong River, just
outside Phnom Penh, to house rescued animals.

Barbara, Sean and Viva had been cared for in Cambodia for several months
while arrangements were being made for their departure.

It took more than six months for the Cambodian Government to approve the
paperwork for the three to leave.

Rapid deforestation due to illegal logging is forcing sun bears out of
their natural habitat, making it easier for hunters to catch and sell them.
Date: Sat, 31 Jan 1998 20:47:33 +0000
From: jwed 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (HK) Boost for Chinese medicine
Message-ID: <3.0.5.32.19980131204733.007d5940@pop.hkstar.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Saturday  January 31  1998 - South China Morning Post - by ELLEN LIANG 

With its close links to China, it may seem paradoxical that Hong Kong has
long lagged behind Taiwan, Japan and South Korea in integrating traditional
Chinese medicine (TCM) into its healthcare system. But now, under the SAR
Government, there are plans to turn Hong Kong into an export centre for
Chinese herbal products.

"Hong Kong was under British rule for so many years, and the British upheld
Western training as the best," says oncologist Dr Wesely Shiu Cho-tak.
"Even if you had a lot of data on Chinese herbs, the government didn't give
a damn because it was not mainstream. Now the atmosphere is completely
different."

The Department of Industry aims to establish an infrastructure for TCM
through research, standardisation and clinical trials, with the mainland
regulating exports.

Though the procedure promises to be complex and drawn-out, success could
translate into a much bigger chunk of the world's estimated US$14 billion
(about HK$108 billion) food-supplement industry, of which Chinese exports
of herbs and related products last year topped US$1 billion, according to
the State Science and Technology Commission of China.

The Department of Health, too, has ambitious ideas. It plans to gradually
incorporate TCM into Hong Kong's healthcare system from 2000. These include
registration of TCM practitioners, including bone-setters and
acupuncturists, and enforcing stricter controls on 31 types of toxic or
potent herbs.

There are also new regulatory standards for manufacturing plants in Hong
Kong - which could cause some of the SAR's estimated 75 TCM factories to
close if they cannot afford the millions of dollars it costs to outfit a
new plant.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong's first full-time degree programmes in TCM will be
offered by Baptist University this autumn and by Chinese University in 1999.

Though the earning power of TCM practitioners cannot compare with that of
Western-trained doctors at present, this is expected to gradually change,
especially if insurance programmes begin to cover Chinese medical treatment
as has been the case in Taiwan, according to Yeung Hin-wing, director of
Baptist University's Institute for the Advancement of Chinese Medicine.

In Hong Kong, scientific research into Chinese medicine began in the early
1970s, with frequent exchanges with mainland researchers. Despite some
promising projects, there have been few real breakthroughs. Funding, which
in some cases came from the World Health Organisation or United States
corporations, usually ended up being diverted after lengthy research.

Take, for instance, Compound Q, extracted from a root called tian hua fen,
which Mr Yeung began studying for its anti-cancer properties in the
mid-1970s. In 1986, together with a scientist from the University of
California in San Francisco, Mr Yeung discovered that Compound Q contained
a protein that could selectively kill the AIDS virus.

After further development and funding through the US biotech company Gene
Labs, the US Food and Drug Administration approved clinical trials in the
early 1990s. But in 1994, Gene Labs diverted funding to a more promising
project: the synthetic AIDS cocktail developed by Dr David Ho. Ironically,
Dr Ho, who Time magazine named "Man of the Year" in 1996 for his
breakthrough work, recently urged more research into Chinese medicine for
countries that cannot afford the costly protease inhibitors needed, such as
China.

Limited research has continued on Compound Q as well as bitter-melon
protein and other anti-viral Chinese herbs.

In the longer term, the Department of Industry's strategy is to extract and
purify active ingredients found in TCM and develop patent-protected drugs
that can compete with Western cures. 

Although any herbal medicine developed into a pharmaceutical drug would
wield a much greater potential for profit, it would require a hefty
investment to meet the standards of the Food and Drug Administration,
requiring tests on animals, clinical trials on humans and patients, as well
as follow-up studies.

The initial step towards mass marketing Chinese medicine preparations into
modern solid-dosage forms is standardisation. This is crucial for
combination therapy, which is often more effective than single compounds,
as the right mix can offset the side effects of potent herbs and work
synergistically.

When herbal products are mass produced, every tablet must be exactly the
same, explained Robert Ko Kam-ming, director of the Traditional Chinese
Medicine Centre at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. "Now
extracts can be standardised to an exact percentage of a compound," he
said. "Without standardisation, you may end up with different
concentrations due to seasonal and geographical variations of herbs. That's
okay if you only make a small batch."

To help local manufacturers, the Department of Industry has funded a
quality-control laboratory at Chinese University that provides chemical
fingerprinting for local companies. However, this is not implemented in the
manufacturing process.

"If you can control the herbs from harvest to packaging you stand a better
chance of having a standardised product," said Abraham Chan Yu-ling,
general manager of Vitagreen Health products, which harvests and
manufactures its own herbs on the mainland. "That's the best approach right
now. But testing will never be as easy as with Western medicines."

The mainland has the know-how to standardise herbal products but few
companies have the capability to do it, added Mr Chan. "Many US companies
buy herbs from China, which are exported in their crude form and may not
have undergone the processes used in traditional preparation such as
boiling for hours. Extractions are costly. Many factories will sell crude
ingredients, but how good are they? By marketing something as a food
supplement, dealers can cut corners. 

"Also, herbs contain a lot of bacteria. Although China is offering
incentives to its factories to attain good management practice, few have
the money to do it. So how can you trust Chinese factories unless they're
policed by a regulatory authority?"

A major concern is adulteration of herbs to cut costs of certain products.
There have also been reports of carrot roots being substituted for Korean
ginseng roots in factories in Shenzhen or of wires being inserted into the
costly dung chong xia cao caterpillars, to make them heavier.

"Unless an exporter manufactures its own products, finding the original
source of supply is difficult because many departments have a hand in it,"
said Kong Yun-cheung, professor of biochemistry in charge of the Chinese
medicine programme at Chinese University. "China should have one single
authority to standardise products."

There are also increasing fears that some mainland herbs may contain
pesticides. For instance, "ginseng normally grows in forests but now it's
grown in football-type fields, which is considered an unsuitable
environment. It must grow for six years, and if you apply agro-chemicals
every year, that's serious pollution", Mr Kong said.

Deforestation in China's southwest, where most herbs are grown, will also
result in dwindling supplies.

Although practitioners of Chinese medicine agree herbs cannot cure cancer,
certain formulae have been proven to boost the immune system and strengthen
the body for chemotherapy, especially after surgery.

"Most Western-trained doctors don't believe in herbs - they want to use
mega-doses where you kill both the cancer and the patient," said oncologist
Dr Shiu. "Any cancer drug will wipe out bone marrow cell and thus
reactivate cancer cells. But if you use the optimum dosage together with
herbs, you can knock out cancer cells, maintain the body's immune system
and preserve the quality of life." Trained in Western medicine, Dr Shiu is
nevertheless a strong advocate of Chinese traditional medicine and favours
the prescription of yunzhi mushrooms, which he has been studying for a decade.

In clinical studies on 11 women with breast cancer, he found that the
mushrooms contained polysaccharide peptides that help to protect white
blood cells during chemotherapy. Half of the patients also noticed an
increase in appetite.

Yunzhi is believed to be more effective and less costly than Western immuno
boosters.

According to Mr Yeung of Baptist University, more money should be earmarked
specifically for research into Chinese medicine. Between 1994 and 1997, the
Department of Industry's Industrial Support Fund committed HK$49.45 million
to 12 TCM projects at various universities, but this represented only a
small portion of the HK$218 million funding for 77 biotechnology projects.

Echoing his sentiments is Mr Ko, of the Hong Kong University of Science and
Technology, who believes clinical trials should be supported by the
commercial sector. "The Department of Industry won't support them because
it's in the interest of the manufacturers," he said.

"The biotechnology field doesn't get to do clinical studies, and ultimately
studies must involve humans," said Dr Shiu. "You need a team of dedicated
doctors to study one product with labs and access to a hospital, with at
least two or three full-time doctors and research scientists doing animal
studies.

"Although the West has the technology, they still don't fully understand
how the human body functions. Now we're at the tip of the iceberg. AIDS and
cancer need major breakthroughs, and this will come when knowledge between
Eastern and Western medicine is integrated. Again, this depends on
investment."

External Link:

http://www.cmmrc.cuhk.edu.hk/

Date: Sat, 31 Jan 1998 14:08:24 +0100
From: 2063511 <2063511@campus.uab.es>
To: AR NEWS 
Subject: Updated the catalan page against fur coats
Message-ID: <01IT12J5YHZS00BV8C@cc.uab.es>
MIME-version: 1.0
Content-type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
Content-disposition: inline
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit

The Catalan Page against fur coats updated today with a new photo and MID 
archive. This photo is the last campaign of PETA with the actress Sheryl Lee, 
famous for Twin Peaks. She was Laura Palmer.

Visit this page and see this new campaign and learn the music!!!!!

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: Sat, 31 Jan 1998 12:05:37 -0500
From: Jeri Giesler 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Piccadilly Circus Demo - Atlanta
Message-ID: <3.0.5.32.19980131120537.00793ac0@pop.mindspring.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Attn: Atlanta Activists

What:Piccadilly Circus Demo
When:Monday, 02/02 from 4:30 - 7:45 pm
 Where:Gwinnett Cultural and Civic Center

Their flyer boasts of the "Las Vegas White Tigers" and the "Famous Russian
Dancing Bears". The shows are scheduled for 5:15 and 7:30 pm.

Please bring a sign and a friend.

DIRECTIONS:
- Take I-85 to Exit 42, Hwy. 120
- Travel west on Hwy. 120
- Turn right onto Satellite Blvd. (Amoco gas station)
- 1/2 mile on the left is the Gwinnett Cultural & Civic Center

Parking is available at the Civic Center and also at a housing sub-division
just before the Civic Center. Parking is also available on the street.

Questions? jgiesler@mindspring.com



Date: Sat, 31 Jan 1998 09:54:19 -0800 (PST)
From: Michael Kundu 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: WHALE GUARDIAN NETWORK
Message-ID: <199801311754.JAA01212@mx.seanet.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

ARE YOU CONCERNED ABOUT THE KILLING OF WHALES IN WASHINGTON STATE? 
IF THE
ANSWER IS YES, THEN JOIN...
 
 The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society's WHALE GUARDIANS NETWORK!

Attention: This year, Gray whales migrating past Cape Flattery and the
Olympic Marine Sanctuary on Washington's Olympic Peninsula will be attacked
with harpoons and .50 caliber rifles.  Some animals will die; many others
will escape wounded, and ultimately, the tourism economy and reputation of
this region will be terribly damaged.

WHY IS THIS HAPPENING IN 1998?  
Because a few members of the Makah Tribe in Neah Bay have been persuaded by
foreign interests to push for the resumption of small-scale coastal whaling
in North America.  And now, even though elders of the Makah Tribe, along
with 44 Members of the US Congress and millions of voting US citizens, have
expressed strong opposition to this plan, the US Department of Commece will
allow these hunters, after 76 years, to kill Gray whales again.  

BUT AS US CITIZENS, 
WE ALL HAVE THE RIGHT TO INTERVENE!
You can help protect whales by joining the volunteer Whale Guardians
Network, an association of individuals who are dedicated to taking a
front-line stand to protect Gray whales and other marine mammals from the
guns of the Makah Tribe, as well as other threats in the Pacific Northwest.  

The Whale Guardians Network is made up of regional volunteers who are
interested in helping or are equipped with boats and the appropriate marine
experience to join Sea Shepherd in patrolling the Cape Flattery region
searching for signs of marine mammal harassment. Volunteers will also be
called to join a flotilla sailing in opposition to Neah Bay, once the Makah
Gray Whale hunt begins.  The Whale Guardians Network database is an ongoing,
grassroots effort to prevent Gray whales and other animals from being
illegally harassed or hunted in the Northwest.  To join the Whale Guardians
Network, call

1-888-WHALE22 (1-888-942-5322) 

 or contact Michael Kundu, Sea Shepherd's Pacific Northwest Coordinator
locally  
@ (360) 658-6252 or email: seashepherd@seashepherd.org for more information.
Visit the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society web site http://www.seashepherd.org 

Date: Sat, 31 Jan 1998 11:04:09 -0700
From: buffalo folks 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Cc: ar-views@envirolink.org
Subject: Voice your outrage over the slaughter
Message-ID: 
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

VOICE YOUR OUTRAGE OVER THE CONTINUING SLAUGHTER OF OUR LAST WILD
BISON!

The Montana Department of Livestock has killed 11 of Yellowstone's bison so
far this year. They are prepared to kill more, and it is apparent that no
lessons have been learned after last year's slaughter of nearly 1,100
bison.

Everytime Montana kills buffalo, call the state and demand to know how many
buffalo they killed, where, and why. Did the buffalo test positive for
brucellosis? Voice your opinion about their actions.

So far the state of Montana has killed buffalo with no accountability for
their actions. It is time to hold them responsible. Call often, and spread
the word to others.

Mt. Department of Livestock, Veterinary-406/444-2043
Tourism Bureau- 1-800- 548-3390
Governor Marc Raciot- 406/444-3111 or email momholt-mason@mt.gov

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

**********************************************************
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: Sat, 31 Jan 1998 13:22:07 -0600
From: paulbog@jefnet.com (Rick Bogle)
To: "AR-News Post" 
Subject: Vilas article
Message-ID: <19980131132430970.AAD211@paulbog.jefnet.com>
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Wisconsin State Journal
January 31, 1997

Door is open if Dane County wants monkeys
By John Walsh

UW-Madison officials said Friday they would consider a delay in shipping
out their Vilas Zoo monkeys if Dane County officials show a "sincere
interest" in keeping the animals.

"We would seriously entertain an extension," said Joe Kemnitz, interim
director of the school's Regional Primate Research Center.

The Dane County Zoo Commission Friday approved a resolution asking county
officials to explore taking over the research center's monkey colony.  The
commission also asked UW-Madison for 30 days to look into different
options.

The research center has spent several months looking for a new home for the
monkeys it keeps at the county-run zoo, which already has several kinds of
primates including monkeys in other exhibits. As of Sunday, the center will
be prohibited from spending federal funds on the zoo monkeys but the
university said it will find other funding until a new arrangement can be
found.

The center plans to ship 100 rhesus monkeys to a Louisiana center in
mid-February.  The colony's other monkeys, 50 stump-tailed macaques, could
be going to a sanctuary in their ancestral homeland of Thailand as early as
March.

Kemnitz said he wanted more concrete moves from the county before he would
delay preparations for the animals' departure. Such a move could come as
early as next week when County Executive Kathleen Falk will state her
position on the monkeys.

"The position of the county executive is critical," said County Sup. Thomas
Stoebig, 15th District, Madison, who introduced the resolution calling for
the county to explore talking over the monkeys. "Kathleen has  shown an
interest in this issue, but to be fair she has been cautious because of the
cost impilcations."

A county study released Friday estimated taking over the monkey house would
cost $280,000 in capital costs and $211,000 in annual operating costs.  The
operating cost is more than twice what was previously predicted and was
quickly chriticized by some.

"It is extremely inflated," said Tina Kaske, executive director of Alliance
for Animals. "But we know we have a ways to go, and money will be the
biggest issue."

Meanwhile, inside the round house where monkeys are kept, another type of
monkey war is taking place.

Within the past week, one of the house's two rhesus monkey colonies has
undergone a "social revolution," Kemnitz said.  While the dominant male has
kept his position, the ruling family beneath him has changed in a sometimes
violent battle.  In the past week, there have been three monkey deaths
during the upheaval, which Kemnitz said happens every several years.

Did the controversy surrounding their fate play a role in the disturbance?
"Well, we haven't told the monkeys," Kemnitz said.

Date: Sun, 1 Feb 1998 07:25:35 +0800
From: bunny 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (NZ)Mystery disease decimates Hookers
Message-ID: <1.5.4.16.19980201071809.0cb71424@wantree.com.au>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

In Today's Sunday Star -Times 1/2/98

Mystery disease decimates Hookers
by Barry Clarke

Dozens of Hooker sea lion breeding cows may be 
the latest casualties of the mystery diseas that is killing
the endangered species in the sub-Antarctic Islands.
Only 20 cows had returned after their normal two days
at sea to feed pups on Enderby Island yesterday, when
normally 150 should have been on shore.
Department of Conservation spokesman Mike Donoghue
said if the cows had died or were dying at sea it would be
disastrous for the long-term recovery of the Hooker sea lion
population which scientists fear may be already decimated by the
disease. 
Of the 350 to 400 pups normally on Enderby, scientists counted
111 dead and 150 were unaccounted for yesterday, he said.
Nineteen percent of the adult population was also affected by the 
disease, which starts with lesions and progresses to paralysis
before death.
Rough weather yesterday stopped scientists going to assess the
situation at nearby Dundas Island where 80% of the Hooker breeding
population lives.
Seven hundred dead pups were found there on Thursday. Samples
are being examined at Massey University, but it will be two weeks before
any results are known.
the squid fishing season began yesterday amid criticism from the 
Forest and Bird Protection Society and Greenpeace.
Squid fishing industry spokesman Andrew Branson said operators
were told to be careful and watch out for sea lions.
However he did not see why the season should be put on
hold by what was happening to the sea lion population.
"This event seems to be occuring by natural means. Fishing hasn't
had anything to do with it". he said.
Under the Fisheries Act a specified number of accidental sea lion kills
is allowed before the fishery is closed down.
Last year it was 64.
However, a figure hasn't been set for this season because of the
disease.
Last year, the season was closed early because too many sea lions
were caught in nets.
It was estimated $20m of quota was uncaught.





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

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

Date: Sat, 31 Jan 1998 17:45:52 -0600
From: Steve Barney 
To: AR-News 
Subject: [US] 1998 State of the Union Address
Message-ID: <34D3B7B0.4E03FEE@uwosh.edu>
MIME-version: 1.0
Content-type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
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Here's what President Clinton said about medical research in his 1998
State of the Union Address.  It looks like we may see an increase in
animal research, if this is any indication, unless he is referring to
non-animal research.

Excerpt from Transcript of State of the Union Address
http://www.abcnews.com/sections/us/sotutranscript0127/

-- Begin --

     Now, think about this-the entire store of human
knowledge now doubles every five years. In the 1980s,
scientists identified the gene causing cystic fibrosis. It took
nine years.
     Last year, scientists located the gene that caused
Parkinson's Disease in only nine days. Within a decade, gene
chips will offer a road map for prevention of illness
throughout a lifetime.
     Soon, we will be able to carry all the phone calls on
Mother's Day on a single strand of fiber the width of a human
hair. A child born in 1998 may well live to see the 22nd
century.
     Tonight as part of our gift to the millennium, I propose a
21st century research fund for pathbreaking scientific inquiry,
the largest funding increase in history for the National
Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, the
National Cancer Institute.
     We have already discovered...
     Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
     We have already discovered genes for breast cancer and
diabetes. I ask you to support this initiative so ours will be the
generation that finally wins the war against cancer and begins
a revolution in our fight against all deadly diseases. As
important as all this scientific progress is, we must continue to
see that science serves humanity, not the other way around.
     We must prevent the misuse of genetic tests to
discriminate against any American.
     And we must ratify the ethical consensus of the scientific
and religious communities and ban the cloning of human
beings.

-- End --
Date: Sun, 1 Feb 98 09:05:59 CST
From: Ming-Lee Yeh 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: looking for a website
Message-ID: <9802010106.AA13591@ntcn.edu.tw>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Hi,

Is there anyone know any website which could have the most comprehensive
list of no-test-on-animal cosmetics companies and thier individual
no-aniaml-ingredient products?

Thanks!

Minglee Yeh

Date: Sat, 31 Jan 1998 21:56:01 -0500
From: jeanlee 
To: minglee@ntcn.edu.tw
Cc: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Re: looking for a website
Message-ID: <34D3E441.51D7@concentric.net>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

Ming-Lee Yeh wrote:
> 
> Hi,
> 
> Is there anyone know any website which could have the most comprehensive
> list of no-test-on-animal cosmetics companies and thier individual
> no-aniaml-ingredient products?
> 
> Thanks!
> 
> Minglee Yeh

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has a comprehensive list of
those companies that do and don't test etc.  Their website is
http://www.peta-online.org/index.html
Date: Sun, 1 Feb 1998 11:35:13 +0800
From: bunny 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (USA)URGENT-Re Nadas-Ways you can help
Message-ID: <1.5.4.16.19980201112745.2ec70d88@wantree.com.au>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

AnimalTalk ALERT (Special Edition)
(Permission Granted To Quote/Forward/Reprint Any Or All Of This
ALERT/Newsletter)

The Oregon Supreme Court has refused to hear the appeal for Nadas, thus
effectively upholding the decision of the lower courts and the County
Commissioners. All legal remedies available through the courts system in
Oregon have been exhausted. Nadas will be EXECUTED (yes, KILLED) on or about
17 FEB unless public opinion can sway the bureaucracy.

It is time to let the people of Oregon know how they will pay for the faulted
judgement of their elected officials. Since compassion and reason appear to be
foreign languages in the Oregonian halls of government, perhaps the universal
language of business and tourist $$$ (potentially lost $$$, that is), can
break the seemingly impenetrable language barrier.

Thoughts from various sources:

For those of you on AOL (V3.0), click on this hyperlink 
Nadas Sentenced to Die 

A way to possibly influence the locals is to threaten to hit them where it
hurts --- in their pocketbooks. Ashland OR is in Jackson County. The area has,
as one of its major sources of revenue, tourism. Businesses in this area who
depend upon the tourist trade may be made to feel the heat and may pressure
their County authorities to back off on the Nadas issue, particularly if they
see a potential loss in tourist trade revenue.

This may be another avenue to pursue to help Nadas. To give you some idea of
the size of the tourist industry in the area, the following general
information is provided. Additional information is found at the website of the
Oregon Tourist Commission:

http://www.oregoncitylink.com/ashland/attract.htm

As the southernmost town in the I-5 corridor, Ashland is the gateway for many
OR visitors. The main attraction is the Tony Award-winning Oregon Shakespeare
Festival. From mid-February through October, it presents 11 plays - four by
the Bard - on three unique stages. This Festival brings in a tremendous number
of tourists each year along with skiiers, hikers, campers, etc.

If enough people let the County know that their treatment of Nadas will impact
the income of the county and the town of Ashland in particular, it may help
this poor dog live. Let them know you will not attend the Shakespearean
Festival or any other event in their county. Also, tell them that you will let
all of your friends, family and internet connections know this same
information, and the "powers that be" may *finally* listen. With a threatened
boycott of all the parks, recreation, etc., in the county, maybe Nadas can be
saved. There are numbers and email addresses at the bottom of the page to
contact and let them know their treatment of this poor dog will keep many
tourists out of their city, county and state. Please post this everywhere you
can think of. Please call, fax and/or email as many of the listed
people/places you can. Use your INTERNET and other online contacts to relay
information about this deplorable situation.

                                      *****BUT*****

CAUTION:  PLEASE DO NOT MAKE THREATS OF ILLEGAL ACTIVITIES --- PLEASE
DO NOT
LIBEL OR SLANDER ANYONE OR ANY ENTITY ---  PLEASE DO NOT
INTENTIONALLY JAM OR
DISABLE PHONE OR FAX LINES ..... DO NOTHING, THREATEN NOTHING, THAT IS
ILLEGAL. We MUST stay within the law. To do otherwise will only hurt our
cause.

Sample Letter or Email:
(USE YOUR OWN WORDS USING THE SAMPLE AS A GENERAL GUIDE FOR WHAT
TO SAY)

"Do you realize how many people will be demonstrating at, or boycotting the
Ashland Festival in protest of your state's treatment of Nadas the dog? How
can the citizens of Oregon be so callous and unfeeling that they sit back and
let this dog be executed for doing nothing more than be a dog? I used to love
Oregon. I will never set foot in your state again unless Nadas is freed to
live out his life in peace."

It is time for us all to be "the voice of the voiceless". Please get others to
call/write also. Places to write and/or call:

Governor John Kitzhaber
160 State Capital
Salem, OR 97310
(503) 378-3112
Fax:  (503) 378-6827

The County Commissioners
Rick Holt
Sue Kupillas
Jack Walker
10 South Oakdale
Suite 200
Medford, OR 97501
Fax:  (541) 776-7565

Sandra Slattery
Executive Director
Ashland Chamber of Commerce
110 E. Main St
POB 1360
Ashland, OR 97520
(541) 482-3486 (This May Be A Fax Nr)
 
Ashland Parks and Recreation
340 S. Pioneer St
Ashland, OR 97520
(541) 488-5340

Mayor Catherine Golden
City Hall
20 E Main St.
Ashland, OR 97520
Fax:  (541) 488-5311

Ashland Parks & Recreation
340 S Pioneer St.
(541) 488-5340 

U.S. Forest Service
Ashland Ranger District
645 Washington St.
(541) 482-3333 

Oregon Parks & Recreation Department
1115 Commercial St., NE
Salem, Oregon 97310-1001
(503) 378-6305
(800) 452-5687 

Southern Oregon Visitors Association
548 Business Park Dr.
POB 1645
Medford, Oregon 97504
(541) 779-4691
(800) 448-4856
e-mail: sova@jeffnet.org

Medford Visitors and Convention Bureau
(800) 469-8307
Fax:  (541) 776-4808
Email:  business@medfordchamber.com

Oregon Tourism Commission
775 Summer St., NE
Salem, Oregon 97310
(800) 547-7842 

Jefferson Public Radio
1250 Siskiyou Blvd.
Ashland, OR 97520
(541) 552-6301
(541) 552-6304
A network of public radio stations serving southern OR & northern CA.

Here is a web site that list all the Oregon News stations---
     www.tvjobs.com/states1/oregon.htm

The following two websites have sample letters that people can print, sign and
send to the Oregon Supreme Court asking them to reconsider this case.

The Eternal Pet:
http://www.ridgeview.org/~vcr1187/pet/index.htm

Ark Online:
http://www.arkonline.com

In the event you do not have access to these sites, here is the address where
you can send your own letter:

Honorable Justices
Oregon Supreme Court
1163 State Street
Salem, OR 97310

Additional info:

New Lawsuit Planned to Save Nadas

On January 28th, Robert Babcock, attorney for Nadas' owner Sean Roach,
announced his intention to file a lawsuit against Jackson County officials for
violations under federal and constitutional law.

According to Babcock, Chapter 42 Section 1983 of the United States Code
provides legal remedies for the wrongful taking of Nadas in violation of Sean
Roach's 4th, 5th and 14th amendment rights under the US Consititution. Nadas
was taken from Mr. Roach's residence without a warrant. Mr. Roach was not home
at the time of the seizure.

The 4th amendment provides federal protection against unlawful search and
seizure. The 5th amendment essentially extends the federal protection of the
4th amendment to cover issues under state law. And the 14th amendment provides
protection against the deprivation of property without due process of law.
Nadas, considered as property under the law, was impounded by order of a
county administrative hearing. The hearing followed none of the conventions of
the legal system that provide for due process.

Babcock will file suit against animal control officer Andy Lane, Colleen
Mazuk, Director of Jackson County Animal Control, and Gary Stevens, Jackson
County environmental services manager, who oversees the animal control
department. Andy Lane was the individual who seized Nadas. The other officials
are responsible for setting the policy that provided for the unlawful seizure.

Jackson County Commissioners Jack Walker, Rick Holt, and Sue Kapillas will
also be named in the suit as additional individual parties responsible for
setting policy that allowed for unlawful seizure and denial of due process.

Babcock will ask for an injunction to prevent the execution of Nadas, as
provided for under Section 1983 of the federal code, to prevent the
destruction of property. He will press for release of the property that was
unlawfully taken (i.e. release of Nadas to his owner). He will ask for
compensation to cover the costs of the unlawful seizure (i.e. the return of
the $4000.00 Mr. Roach has had to pay in impoundment costs for Nadas). And he
will ask for punitive damages. All are provided for under the statute.

Babcock hopes to complete preparation of the initial filing by the end of the
week of February 6th.

Additional information will be provided in future status reports.

For the animals.

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

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

Date: Sat, 31 Jan 1998 22:39:17 -0500
From: allen schubert 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (US) Oprah's guest: `I delivered my opinion'
Message-ID: <3.0.32.19980131223859.00b53738@pop3.clark.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

from @marillo Globe-News http://www.amarillonet.com/oprah/
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Web posted Saturday, January 31, 1998 6:08 a.m. CT

Oprah's guest: `I delivered my opinion'
Cattlemen vs. Oprah Winfrey
                                     
By CHIP CHANDLER                 
Globe-News Staff Writer            
                                  
There are more ways to educate than 
just using facts, a defendant in the   
Oprah Winfrey trial said Friday.

Howard Lyman, a guest on the April 16, 1996, episode of Winfrey's show that
sparked the lawsuit, said repeatedly on Friday that he was just stating his
opinion on the show. He was called to the stand by attorneys for cattlemen
who are suing Winfrey, her production company and Lyman.

During the taping of the show, Lyman made a number of comments that area
cattlemen allege were false, including that an outbreak of bovine
spongiform encephalopathy, or mad cow disease, "could make AIDS look like
the common cold."

Lyman said he was only expressing his opinion.

"Aren't you in fact implying that you have facts to back that up?"
plaintiffs' attorney David Mullin asked.

"I did not make any implication on what was there. I delivered my opinion,"
Lyman answered.

"This is the United States of America," Lyman said later. "Do I not have
the right to express opinions?"

Plaintiffs' attorney Joseph Coyne asked Lyman if he agreed that people are
not allowed to yell "fire" in a crowded theater. Lyman responded by saying
he believes people are allowed to discuss fires in theaters.

In an earlier exchange, Lyman called himself an educator and said he
considered himself an expert on BSE.

Mullin asked if he had any scientific background that would make him an
expert.

"I believe that many people educate themselves on subjects. That doesn't
mean you have to be in a laboratory. . . . I think we learn a lot of things
by reading," he said.

Later, Coyne said that Lyman just regurgitated things he read.

Lyman again called himself an educator and said, "I believe there are a lot
of ways of educating other than facts."

Lyman said he was not trying to be inflammatory when comparing AIDS to the
possibility of a BSE-outbreak.

He said he did not make the statement from any factual research, but "based
on the information I had in my soul."

Lyman also said he did not believe he was responsible for ensuring that
certain facts were broadcast on the show. Among the facts the cattlemen's
attorneys said he left out was that the Food and Drug Administration had
given cattle feeders notice that it would ban the use of supplemental
protein, which is made of rendered, processed parts of cattle and other
animals.

"I believe that Dr. (Gary) Weber and Dr. (William) Hueston were there to
point out that. I was there to give my opinion regarding mad cow disease,"
he said.

"My opinion on that show was that we needed to go forward and ban the
feeding of cows to cows, and that is what I said," Lyman said.

He said he did not "completely" believe that the government would issue a
mandatory ban on the feed and that he thought some cattle feeders were
against it.

Earlier Friday, Lyman testified that Winfrey made up her own mind about
beef.

"I believe that I raised some issues that she probably had never heard of
before, and it was her own decision," he said. He also said it was not his
agenda on the show to get people to stop eating beef.

"I raised the issue with individuals about their diet and what they're
eating, but I'm not pointing my finger at them and telling them not to eat
beef," Lyman said.

Lyman said on the show that "cows are eating cows," his term for the use of
rendered supplements. Winfrey replied: "It has just stopped me cold from
eating another burger."

In earlier testimony, jurors heard that guests appearing on "The Oprah
Winfrey Show" must be knowledgeable, informative and good communicators in
addition to delivering the information in a truthful manner, according to
Alice McGee, supervising senior producer.

Lyman was considered "my best guest for this viewpoint," McGee said in a
videotaped deposition, which jurors heard Friday morning.

She said the only thing done to verify truthfulness and accuracy of the
message was to request copies of past interviews and verify the
individual's identity.

"It's that guest's opinion. We verify they are a credible person, and they
are entitled to their opinion," McGee said.

She said the priority of the show is to deliver a truthful show that
educates and enlightens. Impact on the general public and the cattle
industry in particular in this case were not considerations, she said.

Date: Sat, 31 Jan 1998 22:42:48 -0500
From: allen schubert 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (US) Oprah trial not affecting sale of beef
Message-ID: <3.0.32.19980131224246.00725240@pop3.clark.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

from @marillo Globe-News http://www.amarillonet.com/oprah/
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Web posted Saturday, January 31, 1998 6:08 a.m. CT

Oprah trial not affecting sale of beef
Cattlemen vs. Oprah Winfrey
                                 
By GREG ROHLOFF           
Globe-News Business Writer           
                        
The public's appetite for things      
Oprah may not be touching the beef     
market in Amarillo-area grocery
stores.

The dispute over whether comments on Oprah Winfrey's talk show harmed beef
prices has shown no apparent effect in beef sales, although sales figures
for all major grocery chains were not immediately available.

An Albertsons Inc. representative in Boise, Ida., said the company reports
sales quarterly and annually only.

Mark Russell of Food King Discount Foods on Western said the store has seen
its beef sales rise in recent weeks, but he attributes that to a new
leaner, low-priced meat program.

If beef is facing any pressure, it may be catching a backwash from the
Asian economic crisis, which has caused a decrease there in a variety of
imports from international companies.

Verland Lamke, director of meat operations for Homeland Inc. in Oklahoma
City, said pork prices have been sliding recently. He said he assumed that
pork originally targeted for export to Asia may be coming back into the
U.S. market.

Russell said that pork producers in recent weeks had increased their
slaughter, which has pushed pork prices down.

"The price is lower than I've seen it in years," Russell said, noting that
some chicken prices also have been declining recently.

The lower price from suppliers has pushed some cuts of pork to below a
dollar a pound and some chicken cuts to less than 50 cents per pound, he
said, which may be enough to persuade some shoppers to switch from beef.

That price difference may be short-lived, though. In both Chicago and
Omaha, pork prices were up on Wednesday, while cattle prices slid.

The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that cattle futures fell after
Monfort Inc. announced it would cut its beef slaughter. The Journal noted
that the number of cattle in feedlots waiting to go to market was also
rising, which further adds downward pressure on prices.



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