|
AR-NEWS Digest 622
Topics covered in this issue include:
1) Fw: [SPA] Spanish governement confer awards to bullfighters
by "Bina Robinson"
2) Newswire: Alligator bites wrestler's head
by LCartLng@gvn.net (Lawrence Carter-Long)
3) INFLUENZAVIRUSES, POSSIBLE WILD BIRD RESERVOIRS
by bunny
4) Feds admit nerve gas was found at the site of 1968 Utah sheep kill
by Andrew Gach
5) Animal Compassion
by FARM
6) Trap Maker Protested (NH)
by MINKLIB
7) Human Guinea-Pigs
by Katy Andrews
8) [Fwd: [Fwd: Vegetarian diet 'won't cut risk of heart disease']]
by Katy Andrews
9) Buffalo Nations saves first 16 buffalo!
by stop-the-slaughter@wildrockies.org (by way of buffalo folks)
10) Dallas - Neiman Marcus Action
by BanFurNow
11) Goldfish in Jiffy Bags
by Katy Andrews
12) FWD: buffalo nations saves first 16 bison
by "Christine M. Wolf"
13) Human Guinea Pigs
by Katy Andrews
14) Poison From South American Frog Leads to Discovery of Powerful Painkiller
by "Linda J. Howard"
15) Survey Records Fewer Small Fish In Chesapeake
by "Linda J. Howard"
16) Hong Kong Bird flu latest
by bunny
17) HONG KONG ADJUSTS
by STFORJEWEL
18) Zoos
by Lynette Shanley
19) HONG KONG MISTAKES
by STFORJEWEL
20) CABINET MEMEBER SAYS GOV'T ACTED TO FAST
by STFORJEWEL
21) PETA & food libel articles
by leah wacksman
22) (HK) Killings: errors admitted
by jwed
23) (HK) 68 tonnes of rotting fowls unburied
by jwed
24) (HK) Mass Chicken Slaughter
by jwed
25) (HK) One flu out of the nest
by jwed
26) (HK)Flu bird-human-slaughter of birds other than chickens
by bunny
27) (HK) Jackie Chan pleads for animals
by jwed
28) POET New WebSite
by "Robin Russell"
29) (Russia)Dysentry outbreak traced to dairy
by bunny
30) National Park Service Drops Plan to Kill Deer
by Vegetarian Resource Center
31) Admin Note -- Envirolink Problem
by allen schubert
Date: Sat, 3 Jan 1998 08:31:03 -0500
From: "Bina Robinson"
To:
Subject: Fw: [SPA] Spanish governement confer awards to bullfighters
Message-ID: <199801031322.IAA06630@net3.netacc.net>
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----------
> From: sa338@blues.uab.es
> To: civitas@linkny.com
> Subject: Re: [SPA] Spanish governement confer awards to bullfighters
> Date: Friday, January 02, 1998 6:59 PM
>
> Dear Bina,
>
> here it comes some more info on the award to the bulltorturers affair.
> :)
>
> 2063511 wrote:
> >
> > Madrid, Spain: The Spanish governement decided yesterday in the last
reunion
> > of the year, confer the gold medal of fine arts to two bullfighters
"CURRO
> > ROMERO" and "SANTIAGO MARTIN, EL VITI". Curro Romero is bullfighter
since 40
> > years and kill many, many bulls. EL VITI was retired since 1979, when
he
> > decided was rearing his own livestock. This decision of Spanish
Governement is
> > very tipical, in 1996, another bullfighter received the gold medal of
fine
> > arts. Many animal rights asociation promovided an action that was send
letters
> > to Jose M* Aznar, Spanish prime minister, how protest for this event.
> >
> > If you would protest for this confer, write to:
> >
> > JOSE M* AZNAR
> > PALACIO DE LA MONCLOA
> > 28003 MADRID
> > SPAIN
>
> --
> PO`!1 a
Date: Fri, 2 Jan 1998 21:19:54 -0800
From: LCartLng@gvn.net (Lawrence Carter-Long)
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Newswire: Alligator bites wrestler's head
Message-ID: <199801031528.KAA11250@ss1.solidsolutions.com>
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Updated 10:52 AM ET January 2, 1998
Alligator bites wrestler's head
MIAMI (Reuters) - A Miccosukee, Fla., alligator wrestler was hospitalized
with bite marks on either side of his head after his latest trick with one of
the 200-pound beasts went wrong.
Kenny Cypress said he had recently enhanced his alligator- wrestling
show for tourists by inserting his head into the creature's mouth at the
end of his routine.
But on Thursday, an alligator smelled a drop of his saliva and
apparently got hungry, chomping down on Cypress's head.
The audience did not realize something had gone wrong and applauded, he
said.
Cypress told local television reporters from his hospital bed that he
expected to be released soon and go back in the gator wrestling ring.
Lawrence Carter-Long
Coordinator, Science and Research Issues
Animal Protection Institute, phone: 800-348-7387 x. 215
email: SPYKE@arc.unm.edu, LCartLng@gvn.net
world wide web: http://www.api4animals.org/
"I will permit no man to narrow and degrade my
soul by making me hate him." - Booker T. Washington
"...the above also applies to women. However, I haven't
quite made up my mind yet about people who become
politicians or talk show hosts." - Lawrence Carter-Long
"Civil liberties are always safe as long as their exercise
doesn't bother anyone." New York Times editorial, 1-3-41
Date: Sat, 3 Jan 1998 11:59:46 +0800
From: bunny
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: INFLUENZAVIRUSES, POSSIBLE WILD BIRD RESERVOIRS
Message-ID: <1.5.4.16.19980103115248.0d3f13a8@wantree.com.au>
Mime-Version: 1.0
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INFLUENZAVIRUSES, POSSIBLE WILD BIRD RESERVOIRS
***********************************************
A ProMED-mail post
Date: Wed, 31 Dec 1997 18:22:37 -0800 (PST)
Our colleague Carroll Cox of EnviroWatch, formerly of the U.S. Fish &
Wildlife Service, just faxed us 35 pages of bird migration maps showing how
various migratory birds who spend winters in the general vicinity of Hong
Kong and the populated parts of North America congregate together in
Arctic, Canadian, and Siberian habitat each summer.
Carroll's point is that if there was a new strain of avian flu around last
spring in the rice paddies around Hong Kong where domestic fowl are often
kept, it may already have been transmitted into various migratory bird
populations, which may or may not have resistance to it. It is possible
that migratory birds may be immune carriers.
Meanwhile, if this is the case, killing off the poultry in Hong Kong won't
halt the transmission--and wiping out the wildlife populations with
potential exposure probably wouldn't be possible even if someone were to
try it. But Carroll's data does again raise the question whether this
avian flu came from a wildlife population in the first place, probably of a
species which normally has little infectious contact with either domestic
poultry or humans.
--
Merritt Clifton
Editor, ANIMAL PEOPLE.
anmlpepl@whidbey.com
========================================================
Rabbit Information Service,
P.O.Box 30,
Riverton,
Western Australia 6148
email> rabbit@wantree.com.au
http://www.wantree.com.au/~rabbit/rabbit.htm
(Rabbit Information Service website updated frequently)
/`\ /`\
(/\ \-/ /\)
)6 6(
>{= Y =}<
/'-^-'\
(_) (_)
| . |
| |}
jgs \_/^\_/
It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong.
- Voltaire
Date: Fri, 02 Jan 1998 23:08:15 -0800
From: Andrew Gach
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Feds admit nerve gas was found at the site of 1968 Utah sheep kill
Message-ID: <34ADE3DF.58CF@worldnet.att.net>
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Feds finally admit that nerve agent was found near 1968 sheep kill
Salt Lake Tribune
SALT LAKE CITY (January 2, 1998 00:18 a.m. EST)
The Army has for years had proof that nerve agent was found in the area
where 6,000 sheep were killed in western Utah in 1968, according to a
newly found report.
The information is no surprise to the people who were first on the
scene.
Then-Tooele County Sheriff Bill Pitt, in recalling the frightening scene
of convulsing sheep and a near-hysterical shepherd, says "We didn't know
what was going on. Then we got a call that said the Army had been
testing nerve gas. It put a shock in all of us."
>From that first day -- March 14, 1968 -- it was apparent that a deadly
nerve agent from the Army's Dugway Proving Ground in western Utah
drifted off the base and killed the sheep in Skull and Rush valleys.
It never has been acknowledged by the Army, however.
But the report describes the evidence of nerve agent as
"incontrovertible."
"Agent VX was found to be present in snow and grass samples that were
received approximately three weeks after the sheep incident," said the
1970 report by researchers at the Army's Edgewood Arsenal in Maryland.
The 1970 report acknowledges difficulty calculating how much VX the
sheep were exposed to on March 14, 1968, but concluded: " ... it is
possible that the quantity of VX originally present was sufficient to
account for the death of the sheep."
Originally stamped "confidential" and distributed to a few military
libraries, the document was declassified in 1978. It apparently has not
been distributed outside the military since its release. This and other
follow-up reports submitted after the sheep-death controversy subsided
were simply filed away. The Army never has done a detailed retrospective
of the accident to finally resolve what happened.
"To the best of my knowledge, this is the first documented admission"
that VX killed the sheep, says Steve Erickson, spokesman for a military
watchdog group known as the Downwinders. "It's not news in the sense
that everyone knows the Army did it."
The closest the military has came to an official admission was a press
release issued by the U.S. Department of Defense on April 18, 1968. It
conceded that evidence collected in the month after the incident "points
to the Army's involvement in the death of the sheep." But the statement
said too many unanswered questions remained to conclusively place blame.
That remains the Army's position today. Col. John Como, commander of
Dugway Proving Ground, this week issued the following statement:
"The Army did not, and still doesn't, accept responsibility for the
sheep deaths in Skull Valley. There has been a lot of conjecture, but
extensive efforts by Utah State and Department of Agriculture scientists
never identified the precise causal chain that led to the deaths of the
sheep.
"The Army's own investigation revealed that an open-air test of a lethal
chemical agent at Dugway on 13 March 1968 MAY HAVE (his emphasis)
contributed to the deaths of the sheep. The Army's investigation, as
well as the investigations by all the other government bodies involved,
concluded the Dugway personnel were not negligent in the test in
question. As a result of this incident, a special committee chaired by
the Surgeon General of the United States reviewed the test procedures at
Dugway, and the Army adopted subsequently new controls on open air
testing," wrote Como.
VX is a nerve agent so powerful that a single drop on the skin can
result in death within about 15 minutes. It works by disrupting the
nervous system and causing breathing to stop. VX has a thick, oil-like
consistency that allows it to be sprayed on plants prior to enemy troops
marching through an area. It remains toxic for at least several days.
GB is the other common form of nerve agent. It vaporizes quickly when
exposed to air forming a deadly gas. GB dissipates rapidly.
The 1970 report confirming the presence of VX adds another piece to the
mountain of evidence that nerve agent killed the sheep.
The Army's initial investigation into the sheep deaths, a more than
1,000-page document released in 1968 by Brig. Gen. William W. Stone,
hinted that nerve agent may have been found in the area. It said
scientists had isolated probable "traces" of a "nerve agent or similar
organic compound" in environmental samples collected where the sheep
died.
Stone's investigation also disclosed that a chemical found in the blood,
stomach and liver of the dead sheep was "related to nerve gas samples"
from Dugway. Experts questioned whether there was enough to kill the
animals, however.
And a 1972 report, also produced by the Edgewood Arsenal, found that
laboratory sheep fed grass contaminated with VX showed exactly the same
symptoms seen in Skull Valley.
Sheep fed grass contaminated with several common insecticides exhibited
different symptoms, said the Edgewood report. This refuted military
suggestions soon after the incident that insecticides might have caused
the Utah deaths.
Although the Army never accepted responsibility for the sheep deaths,
the government later compensated ranchers for their lost animals.
Worldwide publicity about the incident contributed to then-President
Nixon's decision to ban all open-air testing of chemical weapons in
1969.
Federal officials four years ago launched a program to find and test the
sheep burial sites to determine whether any hazardous substances remain
hidden beneath the surface. Testing of recently discovered burial pits
on the Skull Valley Band of Goshute reservation is scheduled to begin
within the next few months.
Danny Quintana, attorney for the Skull Valley Band of Goshute, says a
detailed re-analysis of the 1968 sheep deaths may shed new light on the
long-term environmental and physiological consequences of chemical
weapons.
Tribal leaders note that several older persons living on the reservation
died soon after the sheep incident. "They think it was related to this,
but we are never going to be able to prove it," says Quintana.
Careful study of the Dugway incident also could help unravel questions
about health problems reported by Gulf War veterans who believe they
were exposed to nerve agents, adds the attorney, and help the nation be
better prepared for possible chemical weapon attacks by terrorists.
"The best way to do it is learn what happened with the sheep," Quintana
says.
The Dugway sheep incident is loaded with symbolic value in Utah. It is
brought up regularly at public hearings as one of two reasons Utahns
distrust the Army and -- to a lesser degree -- all other federal
agencies. The other frequently cited cause of distrust is federal lies
about the safety of open-air nuclear weapon testing at the Nevada Test
Site in the 1950s and 1960s that sent clouds of radioactive fallout
drifting into Utah.
The Stone investigation shows that on March 13, 1968 -- the day before
the sheep died -- Dugway employees conducted three activities with nerve
agents. One was a test of a single artillery shell filled with a
chemical agent, and another was the disposal of about 160 gallons of
nerve agent in an open burn pit.
The sheep deaths usually are linked to the third activity -- a test in
which a low-flying jet fighter sprayed nerve agent in a barren target
area about 27 miles west of Skull Valley. Later reports indicated one of
the tanks malfunctioned and some of the nerve agent continued to be
sprayed as the jet finished its run and began climbing high into the
sky.
Dugway's meteorological reports indicated the wind was blowing out of
the northwest at the time of the test, but later shifted to the west as
a small storm front passed. These west winds could have carried nerve
agent directly over the sheep herds.
"There were scattered cumulus clouds in the general area at the time of
the test and scattered rain showers developed during the evening," said
the Defense Department's 1968 press release. "One of these rain showers
could have washed this airborne agent out of the air and deposited it on
vegetation and the ground."
Sheep are believed to have been hit hardest by nerve agent because they
were eating contaminated grass and snow. Sheep are one of the few
domestic animals that can get enough water from snow to survive. A few
dead birds and rabbits also were found.
Shepherds and other people in the area were examined by doctors, but
military experts reported no indication of illness related to nerve
agents. At least one Skull Valley rancher who ate snow during this
period has complained of chronic health problems since the incident.
By JIM WOOLF, Salt Lake Tribune
Date: Fri, 02 Jan 1998 14:14:41 -0800
From: FARM
To: AR-News
Subject: Animal Compassion
Message-ID: <34AD66D1.65B8@farmusa.org>
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This message was posted on Sci-Veg by Joe
----------------------------
The late Carl Sagan once talked about an experiment were monkeys were
placed in separate cages that faced each other. One monkey was wired up
to receive an electrical shock, while the other monkey would be doing
the shocking. In order to get the other monkey to deliver the shock he
was encouraged to do so by receiving food every time he pulled a lever.
The monkey controlling the lever did pull it and received food, but, he
also noticed what happened when he did so.
After a little while the monkey put 2 & 2 together and refused to
pull the lever again. The experiments were tried several times and with
different monkeys and with monkeys that were not related. The results,
according to Sagan, were nearly all the same. However, when the monkeys
that were shocked were placed in the position of pulling the lever and
shocking their fellow monkeys, nearly all of them refused to do so right
from the start. In fact many of them went without food for weeks. They
knew what the experience felt like and did not want their fellow monkey
to go through the same thing. In light of this Sagan commented that here
were animals that never went to Sunday school, never read the ten
commandments, never went to civics class, and yet they knew right from
wrong.
In another example, I think most of you will remember that incident
that took place at Chicago's Brook Field Zoo were the gorilla Binti Jua
rescued a little boy that fell into the gorilla pit. Many skeptics
denied that Binti was showing any compassion for the injured boy. They
claimed that Binti picked up the boy because she may have thought of him
as another play thing. However, Primatologist Franz De Waal disagrees.
He believes that Binti was capable of showing compassion for an injured
boy. De Waal reasons that since gorillas and humans both shared an
ancestor it would stand to reason that we share with them more than just
DNA. He also produced a video he made that showed a group of chimps
huddled around a female chimp that was giving birth. De Waal pointed out
that all the chimps gathered around the delivering female were all
females themselves, and all of them had gone through the child birth
experience. They knew what the other chimp was going through and were
there to, dare I say it, comfort her.
Date: Fri, 2 Jan 1998 12:56:20 EST
From: MINKLIB
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Trap Maker Protested (NH)
Message-ID: <5415241d.34ad2a48@aol.com>
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>From the Nashua Telegraph 12-31-97
Nashua, NH
EKCO TARGET OF ANTI FUR PROTEST
Group cites ‘hypocrisy’ of making pet supplies and animal traps.
Nashua- A national anti fur group is protesting Ekco Group Inc., the Nashua
based kitchenwares marketer, because the group says the companies holdings
include a Pennsylvania company that makes steel leghold traps used in the fur
industry.
The Coalition to Abolish the Fur Trade, based in Dallas, called Ekco officials
“hypocrites” for their recent purchase of Aspen Pet Products while continuing
to make the steel traps at Ekco’s Woodstream Corp. subsidiary in Lititz, PA.
CAFT members said they are opposed to all fur products and to the use of
leghold traps, which they say end up injuring or killing pets. In a news
release sent to media organizations Tuesday, the group called for a boycott of
all Ekco products.
“It’s ironic that Ekco now owns a company which people who love their animals
may endorse, while still manufacturing steel leghold traps which regularly
maim those very same dogs and cats each fur trapping season,” said JP Goodwin,
CAFT’s executive director, in a statement.
Goodwin said the group also protests at stores that sell furs, and is pursuing
legislation that would abolish fur trapping.
Ekco is a major purveyor of kitchenware and houseware products like spatulas
and mops. The company announced on Dec. 16 that it would buy Denver based
Aspen Pet Products Inc. for about $34 million. Aspen markets pet toys,
leashes, chews, litter boxes and shampoos and is prominent in the booming pet
supplies market.
A New Hampshire representative of the anti fur group, Danielle Dore or
Rochester, said CAFT has targeted Ekco previously for its ownership of
Woodstream, which she called one of the largest makersof steel leghold traps
in the US.
In August, members of the group put anti Ekco leaflets on cars outside its
Spit Brook Rd. offices. She said the protests would be stepped up in 1998,
including the possibility of a civil disobedience action at the companies
Nashua headquarters.
“We just want to make people know about this,” she said. “Our goal is the
eradication of the leghold traps,” stated Dore.
Ekco had 1996 operating revenuesof about $250 million and a lost of $2.6
million.
Officials at the company could not be reached for comment on Tuesday.
Date: Fri, 02 Jan 1998 18:47:44 +0000
From: Katy Andrews
To: ar-news
Subject: Human Guinea-Pigs
Message-ID: <34AD364F.C33911A6@icrf.icnet.uk>
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Dear all,
I have sent the e-mail posted yesterday on to a (medical) doctor in
America who I know - from another newsgroup - has an interest in the
radioactive oatflakes issue.
He hasreplied to me:
-- QUOTE --
The article may contain several innacuracies that have been reported in
the press as a result of the terms of the settlement.
One issue was the purpose of the research. Is it believable that MIT was
interested in the way the body processed Oatmeal and paid for the lion's
share of the research?
I do not know the truth but find these press releases slightly less than
credible.
-- QUOTE ENDS --
As you probably know, the original article (in the Telegraph, I thinnk?)
was as follows:
>From: Andrew Gach
>To: ar-news@envirolink.org
>Subject: Human guinea pigs
>Mime-Version: 1.0
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>X-Mailer: Mozilla 3.0 (Win95; U)
>X-Listprocessor-Version: 8.0 -- ListProcessor(tm) by CREN
>
>MIT and Quaker Oats settle lawsuit over experiments half a century ago
>
>The Associated Press
>BOSTON (December 31, 1997 00:07 a.m. EST)
>
>Quaker Oats and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have agreed to
>pay $1.85 million to settle a lawsuit over an experiment in which
>radioactive oatmeal was fed to more than 100 students at a boys' school
>in the 1940s and '50s.
>
>Boys at the Fernald School in Waltham were given the cereal containing
>radioactive iron and calcium as part of an experiment to prove that
>nutrients in Quaker oatmeal travel throughout the body.
>
>Quaker wanted to match the advertising claims of their competitor,
>farina-based Cream of Wheat, said Alexander Bok, a lawyer for the
>plaintiffs said Tuesday.
>
>The boys -- many of whom were wards of the state and inaccurately
>classified as mentally retarded -- suffered no ill effects, Bok said.
>
>The boys joined the "Fernald Science Club," which was used for the
>experiments, but consent forms failed to mention that the oatmeal
>contained radiation, a violation of their civil rights, Bok said.
>
>The federal lawsuit, filed two years ago and seeking $60 million, said
>some of the boys were exposed to more radiation than allowed under
>federal limits. MIT issued a statement Tuesday saying the exposures were
>about equal to the amount of natural background radiation people receive
>from the environment every year.
>
>The university said a state task force in 1994 determined the students
>suffered "no significant health effects." The task force, however, said
>the students' civil rights were violated.
>
>MIT President Charles Vest apologized for the way the Fernald
>experiments were conducted when reports about them surfaced in 1994.
>
>Quaker Oats continues to deny it played a large role in the experiments.
>
>"Quaker's role was limited to a small research grant to MIT's Department
>of Nutrition," said Mark Dollins, Quaker spokesman. Quaker also donated
>cereal for the studies, he said.
>
>Dollins noted that MIT is funding most of the settlement.
>
>Originally, the lawsuit had eight to ten plaintiffs. Last week,
>newspaper advertisements were run inviting potential parties to the case
>to identify themselves.
>
>About 20 plaintiffs have come forward. The state is sending notice to
>about 100 others believed to have been subjected to the experiments.
>
>A hearing is set for April 6 to finalize the settlement. Bok said its
>possible some of the people who took part in the experiments won't agree
>to settle, in which case MIT could withdraw from the offer.
>
>By LESLIE MILLER, Associated Press Writer
>
Cheers,
KATY.
HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYONE!
Date: Fri, 02 Jan 1998 17:08:51 +0000
From: Katy Andrews
To: ar-news
Subject: [Fwd: [Fwd: Vegetarian diet 'won't cut risk of heart disease']]
Message-ID: <34AD1F21.23BABA40@icrf.icnet.uk>
Mime-Version: 1.0
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I was interested to see some of my (temporary) employers' research
findings up on the net! Thank you for that.
You might be interested in the response of a colleague to whom I passed
it on.
---------------------------------------
Katy Andrews . /\ /\ .
IT Support Unit . >( )< .
ICRF London . / \ .
. ( o ) .
e-mail: k.andrews@icrf.icnet.uk . ~ ~ .
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Sender: harley@icrf.icnet.uk
Date: Fri, 2 Jan 1998 15:46:23 +0000 (GMT)
From: David Harley
X-Sender: harley@europa.lif.icnet.uk
To: Katy Andrews
Cc: d.harley@icrf.icnet.uk, Graham Dawson
Subject: Re: [Fwd: Vegetarian diet 'won't cut risk of heart disease']
In-Reply-To: <34ACD017.F58FFCC0@icrf.icnet.uk>
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On Fri, 2 Jan 1998, Katy Andrews wrote:
> Subject: [Fwd: Vegetarian diet 'won't cut risk of heart disease']
>
> Dear David and Graham,
> Since you are veggie-types I thought this would interest you.
> ICRF must be a good bunch of people!
I don't know about that, though I believe they've sold their shares
in the tobacco industry now.... I've been told that some of the
groundwork in alternatives to animal experimentation has come out
of ICRF, though. Actually, the main thrust seems to me to be that dairy
products aren't a healthy substitute for meat, which probably doesn't
come as a shock to any of us.
> This item came from the Animal Rights newsgroup, incidentally.
> I think this is the study that I mentioned which was seeking veggie
> volunteers in the first 'beaming I produced (the infamous baked hedgehog
> issue).
Yum, yum.
--
David Harley | alt.comp.virus FAQ
D.Harley@icrf.icnet.uk | & Anti-Virus Web Page
Support & Security Analyst | Folk London On-Line gig-list
Imperial Cancer Research Fund | http://webworlds.co.uk/dharley/
Date: Fri, 2 Jan 1998 10:03:07 -0700
From: stop-the-slaughter@wildrockies.org (by way of buffalo folks)
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Buffalo Nations saves first 16 buffalo!
Message-ID:
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
At dawn on Monday, 12/29, Buffalo Nations (B.N.) activists prevented the
slaughter of 16 bison. Members of America's last wild herd, the animals
had wandered from Yellowstone National Park onto private land near the town
of West Yellowstone, Montana. The landowner, who openly expresses his
antagonism toward bison, has threatened to have the animals killed if they
"trespass" onto his property. He allowed the Montana Department of
Livestock (D.O.L.) to construct a capture facility on his land--a natural
migration corridor between the park and the bison's winter range. Last
winter most bison that were herded into such facilities were killed. The
B.N. morning patrol, observing a freshly plowed road to the capture
facility and unfamiliar vehicles, including a livestock trailer, decided to
act. Before anyone was out of their truck, cross-country skiers had
slipped under a fence onto the property and quickly shepherded the bison to
safety inside the park.
B.N. doesn't routinely haze the animals or otherwise interfere with their
migration patterns. With winter on its way bison can't afford to waste
energy, nor can they be kept inside park lines as their winter feeding
grounds are outside the park. Because Bison are considered wildlife inside
park boundaries and livestock outside the park, hazing is sometimes the
only means of preventing slaughter.
Immediately after the morning action Buffalo Nations received a phone call
from a local landowner with two bison on her property. They had eaten her
dog's hay-bale house and cornered the pets. She wanted them off her land.
In previous years her only option would have been to call the D.O.L. who
would come kill the Buffalo. According to Mike Mease, Buffalo Nations
co-founder, "No one has learned a lesson after killing over 1,000 bison
last year and that's completely unacceptable. People aren't going to stand
by and watch the state of Montana kill off the last wild buffalo."
Buffalo Nations enjoys overwhelming public support. Last week, the owner
of a 400 acre ranch asked us to post our "Buffalo Safety Zone" signs around
the perimeter of her land. The signs, dotting fence lines throughout the
community, let the D.O.L. know they are not allowed to slay bison on the
property and make it easy for activists to quickly move bison to safety in
emergency situations.
Our unpaid volunteers have been patrolling the park boundaries and
monitoring herd migrations since October. We are with the bison all day
every day, ready to defend this uniquely American species. Monday's rapid
response evinces our seriousness and dedication to preventing a repeat of
last year's massacre. Thanks to this hard work and dedication no bison
have been killed this winter.
Buffalo Nations
PO Box 957
West Yellowstone, MT 59758
406-646-0070 phone
406-646-0071 fax
buffalo@wildrockies.org
************************************************
IF YOU CAN ONLY DO ONE THING........
Millions of acres of Forest Service land, YOUR public land, SHOULD be open
and available as a reservoir for the bison to spill over onto during winter
months. We need people to help us focus on this aspect of the campaign.
Many of these lands are leased to a very few cows and the rest are empty!
PLEASE Write and tell them what you feel.. a quick phone call, postcard or
email can make a difference!
Mike Dombeck, Chief; Forest Service, USDA
14th and Independence Avenue, SW
201 14th Street, SW
Washington, DC 20250
4th Floor; NW
Tel: (202)205-1661
E-Mail: comments@www.fs.fed.us
**************************************************
Please Pass this on to five friends!!!
For the Buffalo!
**************************************************
**********************************************************
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, 3 Jan 1998 13:06:55 EST
From: BanFurNow
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Dallas - Neiman Marcus Action
Message-ID:
Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Lydia Nichols - 214-342-8144
January 3, 1998 Animal Liberation of Texas
ANTI-FUR ACTIVISTS RETURN TO NEIMAN MARCUS DESPITE PREVIOUS ATTACKS
BY
SECURITY AND POLICE
Dallas - Anti-fur activists from Animal Liberation of Texas (A.L.T.)
announced plans for a peaceful demonstration at Neiman Marcus in support of an
ongoing national anti-fur campaign organized by the Coalition to Abolish the
Fur Trade (C.A.F.T.) The demonstration will take place on Saturday, January
3, 1998, beginning at 2:15 p.m. at the Neiman Marcus in downtown Dallas.
A.L.T. activists announced plans to continue the campaign against Neiman
Marcus despite the violent attacks from store security and police. A.L.T. is
working with cities all over the country to fight against Neiman Marcus for
selling fur.
Activists claim that this Neiman Marcus demonstration is one in a series
of actions against the upscale department store for contributing to the
suffering and killing of fur bearing animals in the fur industry.
"Neiman Marcus does not want consumers to know that animals are gassed,
anally electrocuted and have their necks broken to fill their stores with fur
products" stated A.L.T. spokesperson Lydia Nichols. Ms. Nichols went on to
say "When people find out what really happens to these animals, and that an
average of forty animals have to die to make one fur coat, then they will
demand that stores such as Neiman Marcus stop selling fur."
# # #
Date: Fri, 02 Jan 1998 15:58:40 +0000
From: Katy Andrews
To: ar-news , gsn@ed.ac.uk,
"Adrian. Stannard" ,
Graham Dawson ,
Clive Ramsey ,
Jim/Lesley Craddock
Subject: Goldfish in Jiffy Bags
Message-ID: <34AD0EAF.CD8EB874@icrf.icnet.uk>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Dear everyone,
Here is an item from today's Daily Telegraph:
-- QUOTE --
Goldfish that came in a Jiffy lives for 25 years By David Graves
External Links
RWT's Goldfish page
Guides Gold Fish Keeping
Fishlink
THE battle of longevity among Britain's fish tanks intensified yesterday
with a claim that a goldfish given as part of a promotional offer by a
jelly company was still swimming strongly at the age of 25.
Chivers, named after the company concerned, seemed to have outswam Bel
Jet Ranger, who began domestic life in a plastic bag at a fairground and
has been around for a mere 15 years. A national newspaper provoked the
New Year debate when it asked its readers the momentous question, "Is
this the oldest goldfish in the country?" beside a photograph of Bel Jet
Ranger - named after a helicopter at the airshow where the fair was
held.
His owner, Janet Walshe, of Wotton-under-Edge, Glos, seemed amazed that
the fish had survived so long after he was won by her sons at the fair
in 1982. She had expected him to last only a few days. "The boys won
several other fairground fish and none of the others survived for more
than a few days. But this one has just gone on and on," she said.
While Mrs Walshe wondered whether Bel Jet Ranger qualified for a place
in the record books, his claim to fame vanished overnight with the news
that he had been usurped by Chivers. The "jelly fish", mailed in a Jiffy
bag with four other fish, is still going strong after a quarter of a
century. A young Chivers had found a new home when Alison Witchell, of
Tynemouth, Tyne and Wear, replied to a promotional offer and sent the
firm several empty cardboard jelly packets. In return, the company sent
her a family of goldfish and a tank by post.
Chivers, who has outlived his owner and the four other fish, is now
cared for by Mrs Witchell's daughter, Brenda Taylor, at her home in
Fareham, Hants. "He has lost a bit of his colour over the years and I
don't think his eyesight is all it was but he is still very, very
sprightly for a 25-year-old fish," she said. Chivers's longevity has now
so "amazed and delighted" the firm that bears his name that it has
presented him with a silver spoon to celebrate his anniversary.
Before Mrs Taylor gets too excited about Chivers's claim to fame, most
fish experts say that it is not uncommon for goldfish to live up to 30
years. And, according to the Guinness Book of Records, a goldfish named
Fred, owned by A R Wilson, of Worthing, Sussex, died on Aug 1, 1980, at
the age of 41. Some goldfish have been reported to have lived for more
than 50 years in China.
-- QUOTE ENDS --
If you would like to see more, try:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk
Cheers,
Katy.
Date: Fri, 2 Jan 1998 07:49:45 -0800 (PST)
From: "Christine M. Wolf"
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: FWD: buffalo nations saves first 16 bison
Message-ID: <2.2.16.19971231175316.2f3fa514@pop.igc.org>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
>
>
>
>At dawn on Monday, 12/29, Buffalo Nations (B.N.) activists prevented the
>slaughter of 16 bison. Members of America's last wild herd, the animals
>had wandered from Yellowstone National Park onto private land near the town
>of West Yellowstone, Montana. The landowner, who openly expresses his
>antagonism toward bison, has threatened to have the animals killed if they
>"trespass" onto his property. He allowed the Montana Department of
>Livestock (D.O.L.) to construct a capture facility on his land--a natural
>migration corridor between the park and the bison's winter range. Last
>winter most bison that were herded into such facilities were killed. The
>B.N. morning patrol, observing a freshly plowed road to the capture
>facility and unfamiliar vehicles, including a livestock trailer, decided to
>act. Before anyone was out of their truck, cross-country skiers had
>slipped under a fence onto the property and quickly shepherded the bison to
>safety inside the park.
>B.N. doesn't routinely haze the animals or otherwise interfere with their
>migration patterns. With winter on its way bison can't afford to waste
>energy, nor can they be kept inside park lines as their winter feeding
>grounds are outside the park. Because Bison are considered wildlife inside
>park boundaries and livestock outside the park, hazing is sometimes the
>only means of preventing slaughter.
>Immediately after the morning action Buffalo Nations received a phone call
>from a local landowner with two bison on her property. They had eaten her
>dog's hay-bale house and cornered the pets. She wanted them off her land.
>In previous years her only option would have been to call the D.O.L. who
>would come kill the Buffalo. According to Mike Mease, Buffalo Nations
>co-founder, "No one has learned a lesson after killing over 1,000 bison
>last year and that's completely unacceptable. People aren't going to stand
>by and watch the state of Montana kill off the last wild buffalo."
>Buffalo Nations enjoys overwhelming public support. Last week, the owner
>of a 400 acre ranch asked us to post our "Buffalo Safety Zone" signs around
>the perimeter of her land. The signs, dotting fence lines throughout the
>community, let the D.O.L. know they are not allowed to slay bison on the
>property and make it easy for activists to quickly move bison to safety in
>emergency situations.
>Our unpaid volunteers have been patrolling the park boundaries and
>monitoring herd migrations since October. We are with the bison all day
>every day, ready to defend this uniquely American species. Monday's rapid
>response evinces our seriousness and dedication to preventing a repeat of
>last year's massacre. Thanks to this hard work and dedication no bison
>have been killed this winter.
>
>
>Buffalo Nations
>PO Box 957
>West Yellowstone, MT 59758
>406-646-0070 phone
>406-646-0071 fax
>buffalo@wildrockies.org
>
>
******************************************************************
Christine Wolf, Director of Government Affairs
The Fund for Animalsphone: 301-585-2591
World Buildingfax: 301-585-2595
8121 Georgia Ave., Suite 301e-mail: CWolf@fund.org
Silver Spring, MD 20910web page: www.fund.org
"The fate of animals is of greater importance to me than the fear of
appearing ridiculous; it is indissolubly connected with the fate of men."
- Emile Zola
Date: Fri, 02 Jan 1998 14:31:35 +0000
From: Katy Andrews
To: ar-news
Cc: gsn@ed.ac.uk
Subject: Human Guinea Pigs
Message-ID: <34ACFA47.E1801391@icrf.icnet.uk>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
I have sent the e-mail posted yesterday on to a (medical) doctor in
America who I know - from another newsgroup - has an interest in the
radioactive oatflakes issue.
He has just replied to me (offline):
-- QUOTE --
The article may contain several innacuracies that have been reported in
the press as a result of the terms of the settlement.
One issue was the purpose of the research. Is it believable that MIT was
interested in the way the body processed Oatmeal and paid for the lion's
share of the research?
I do not know the truth but find these press releases slightly less than
credible.
-- QUOTE ENDS --
As you probably know, the original article (in the Telegraph, I thinnk?)
was as follows:
>From: Andrew Gach
>To: ar-news@envirolink.org
>Subject: Human guinea pigs
>Mime-Version: 1.0
>Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
>Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
>X-Mailer: Mozilla 3.0 (Win95; U)
>X-Listprocessor-Version: 8.0 -- ListProcessor(tm) by CREN
>
>MIT and Quaker Oats settle lawsuit over experiments half a century ago
>
>The Associated Press
>BOSTON (December 31, 1997 00:07 a.m. EST)
>
>Quaker Oats and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have agreed to
>pay $1.85 million to settle a lawsuit over an experiment in which
>radioactive oatmeal was fed to more than 100 students at a boys' school
>in the 1940s and '50s.
>
>Boys at the Fernald School in Waltham were given the cereal containing
>radioactive iron and calcium as part of an experiment to prove that
>nutrients in Quaker oatmeal travel throughout the body.
>
>Quaker wanted to match the advertising claims of their competitor,
>farina-based Cream of Wheat, said Alexander Bok, a lawyer for the
>plaintiffs said Tuesday.
>
>The boys -- many of whom were wards of the state and inaccurately
>classified as mentally retarded -- suffered no ill effects, Bok said.
>
>The boys joined the "Fernald Science Club," which was used for the
>experiments, but consent forms failed to mention that the oatmeal
>contained radiation, a violation of their civil rights, Bok said.
>
>The federal lawsuit, filed two years ago and seeking $60 million, said
>some of the boys were exposed to more radiation than allowed under
>federal limits. MIT issued a statement Tuesday saying the exposures were
>about equal to the amount of natural background radiation people receive
>from the environment every year.
>
>The university said a state task force in 1994 determined the students
>suffered "no significant health effects." The task force, however, said
>the students' civil rights were violated.
>
>MIT President Charles Vest apologized for the way the Fernald
>experiments were conducted when reports about them surfaced in 1994.
>
>Quaker Oats continues to deny it played a large role in the experiments.
>
>"Quaker's role was limited to a small research grant to MIT's Department
>of Nutrition," said Mark Dollins, Quaker spokesman. Quaker also donated
>cereal for the studies, he said.
>
>Dollins noted that MIT is funding most of the settlement.
>
>Originally, the lawsuit had eight to ten plaintiffs. Last week,
>newspaper advertisements were run inviting potential parties to the case
>to identify themselves.
>
>About 20 plaintiffs have come forward. The state is sending notice to
>about 100 others believed to have been subjected to the experiments.
>
>A hearing is set for April 6 to finalize the settlement. Bok said its
>possible some of the people who took part in the experiments won't agree
>to settle, in which case MIT could withdraw from the offer.
>
>By LESLIE MILLER, Associated Press Writer
>
Cheers,
KATY.
HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYONE!
Date: Fri, 2 Jan 1998 06:32:06 -0800
From: "Linda J. Howard"
To:
Subject: Poison From South American Frog Leads to Discovery of Powerful Painkiller
Message-ID: <01bd178b$336211c0$e039accf@default>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain;
charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Poison From South American Frog Leads to Discovery of Powerful Painkiller
By Paul Recer
Associated Press
Friday, January 2, 1998; Page A16 Washington Post
A deadly poison from the skin of a South American frog provided the decisive
clue for the discovery of a powerful new painkiller that researchers say may
have all of the benefits of morphine but none of the damaging side effects.
Researchers at Abbott Laboratories in North Chicago, Ill., developed the new
painkiller, called ABT-594, after scientists at the National Institutes of
Health isolated a poison from the skin of an Ecuadorian frog called
Epibpedobates tricolor.
John Daly of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney
Diseases, an NIH agency, found in 1976 that an extract from the frog's skin
could block pain 200 times more effectively than morphine. He called the
compound epibatidine in honor of the frog.
Although epibatidine appeared to be a painkiller in rats, it was too toxic
to use in humans.
Ten years later, NIH researchers used new analytic tools to determine the
chemical structure of epibatidine and found that it resembled nicotine. This
was consistent with its painkilling effect. Scientists had known for decades
that nicotine in the blood would attach to a nerve cell and produce a mild
analgesic effect.
A brief report on the compound, along with a diagram of its chemical
structure, was published in the journal Science. Researchers at Abbott
realized that the chemical structure was close to a group of experimental
drugs they were testing for treatment of Alzheimer's disease. They also
worked on the nicotine receptors on nerve cells.
"Chance favors the prepared mind," said Michael Williams, a scientist and
vice president at Abbott. "We had a slew of compounds that we knew
interacted [with the nicotine receptors]. We then looked through them for
some that had analgesic potential."
After screening some 500 compounds, the Abbott researchers selected ABT-594
for further testing. Its chemical structure closely resembled epibatidine,
but it lacked the elements that made the frog compound toxic.
"The frog didn't make epibatidine for the benefit of humans, but rather to
kill predators," said Williams. "We needed to get rid of the [poisons] that
affected the cardiovascular system and the respiratory system."
In an article to be published today in Science, Williams and his colleagues
report that in laboratory animals studies, ABT-594 appears to be many times
more powerful than morphine but lacks the serious side effects of that drug.
Morphine is the main drug used to treat intense and unrelenting pain, such
as from cancer or injury.
According to Science, there are 30 million to 40 million Americans with
moderate to severe pain that is not affected by common analgesics, such as
aspirin or ibuprofen. And there are thousands with chronic pain who depend
on morphine, despite its side effects, just to get through the day.
Williams said morphine can suppress breathing. This means the drug often
cannot be used to control pain in patients who already have respiratory
problems.
Morphine also can stop the digestive movement inside the intestines and
bowel, which can lead to dangerous constipation. Williams said the condition
can become so serious that some patients will stop taking morphine and
endure their pain to avoid constipation.
The effectiveness of morphine also declines from chronic use, and the drug
can become addictive.
Williams said tests with laboratory animals showed that ABT-594 does not
diminish respiration nor cause constipation. He said that laboratory animals
also showed no sign of addiction to ABT-594, and that the drug appeared to
be effective no matter how long it was used.
The drug is in early human safety testing in Europe, and the results should
be known by the summer, said Williams.
Many in the medical field say there is an urgent need for new drugs against
pain.
"If it works in people, it's going to be a completely new kind of pain
reliever," Howard Fields, a professor of neurology at the University of
California, San Francisco, said in Science.
Date: Fri, 2 Jan 1998 06:35:28 -0800
From: "Linda J. Howard"
To:
Subject: Survey Records Fewer Small Fish In Chesapeake
Message-ID: <01bd178b$abb1ef60$e039accf@default>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain;
charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit
Survey Records Fewer Small Fish In Chesapeake
By Peter S. Goodman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, January 1, 1998; Page D01
New data show that the number of young anchovies and menhaden, vital food
for larger fish, has declined to historically low levels in the Chesapeake
Bay, heightening concerns among environmentalists about the future health of
the bay.
Environmentalists are citing the data, compiled recently by the Maryland
Department of Natural Resources, as evidence that the bay is threatened by
aggressive commercial fishing. They are calling for greater conservation
efforts to allow depleted species to rebound.
"This really hits home with the need to have broader-based fisheries
management," said Bill Goldsborough, chief scientist at the Chesapeake Bay
Foundation, an environmental advocacy group. "What we have now is a food web
that's out of balance."
But other scientists and state officials played down the significance of the
new data, which they called sketchy and inconclusive. The data show that
anchovies and menhaden now amount to 1 percent of their historic highs.
No one is sure what has caused the decline in the young of the two
species -- a source of food for bigger fish such as striped bass, bluefish
and weakfish -- but some said they think the dip may be a negative
side-effect of a striking success story: the return of the once-threatened
striped bass, better known around the Chesapeake as the rockfish.
In 1985, Maryland imposed a moratorium on catching rockfish after stocks
were fished and polluted to the brink of extinction. The state lifted the
ban five years later. Since then, the state has seen rockfish spawning in
record numbers.
Now, some speculate that all those rockfish are putting the squeeze on the
menhaden and anchovies that feed them. With such a possibility in mind,
environmentalists and fisheries scientists are reaffirming calls for fishing
quotas to take into account not just single species, but all species,
acknowledging the links among them.
"We need to manage the resources collectively," said Donald Boesch,
president of the University of Maryland's Center for Environmental Science.
State officials said the recent dips in the two species may simply reflect a
truism about nature: Fluctuation is the norm.
"You can never have all the populations superabundant at all times," said
Pete Jensen, deputy director of the fisheries service at the Department of
Natural Resources. "It just can't exist in nature."
Moreover, data collected after the state study by the University of
Maryland's Chesapeake Biological Laboratory found greater numbers of young
anchovies, said fisheries scientist Edward D. Houde, suggesting that the
species may already be on the rebound.
"We see the numbers going up and down wildly from year to year," he said.
"That's what we're accustomed to seeing."
Virginia officials have seen no dramatic declines in the two species.
Menhaden and anchovies are of great value to countless other living
creatures in the Chesapeake, serving as a highly important source of food.
They form the link in the food chain between plankton and bigger fish such a
striped bass.
Although Chesapeake anchovies are not caught commercially -- the ones on
your pizza typically come from deeper seas -- they are the most abundant
fish in the bay. Menhaden are scooped up by watermen in pound nets and purse
seiners up and down the east coast. Rendering plants turn them into fish
meal and fish oil, which wind up feeding a variety of land-dwelling animals.
Remove the fish from the food chain, and you would expect to see declines
eventually in the size and number of fish that feed on them. Indeed, the
declines in the two species were discovered as part of a state study of
rockfish conducted last summer to try to understand why more rockfish seem
to be afflicted by sores and why many are undersized.
Goldsborough theorized the return of the rockfish may have triggered a
downward spiral. First, more fish cut into the numbers of menhaden and
anchovies, reducing the stocks. Then, with less to eat, the rockfish began
showing signs of poor nutrition.
The National Marine Fisheries Service, which tracks menhaden populations,
has seen declines in the number of young menhaden in recent years, for
reasons unknown, said Douglas Vaughan, leader of the population dynamics
team at the fisheries service lab in Beaufort, N. C.
At the same time, Vaughan said, the total population of menhaden -- which
reach the billions, extending from northern Florida to Canada -- appears to
be near the top of its historic range, suggesting that any dip in the
Chesapeake is a local phenomenon.
© Copyright 1998 The Washington Post Company
Date: Sun, 4 Jan 1998 02:51:13 +0800
From: bunny
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Hong Kong Bird flu latest
Message-ID: <1.5.4.16.19980104024330.38276976@wantree.com.au>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
INFLUENZA, BIRD-TO-HUMAN - CHINA (HONG KONG) (35)
*************************************************
A ProMED-mail post
Date: Fri, 2 Jan 1998
Source: CNN Health Page
Hong Kong confirmed a 14th case of the so-called "bird flu".
It was the first new case in the past five days.
In addition to the 14 confirmed cases, six people are suspected of having
contracted the virus.
Four of the 20 have died, and three are in critical condition.
[The chicken slaughter did not go well. In addition to some political
fallout and accusations within the Hong Kong Government, CNN showed footage
today indicating that not all the chickens that were "killed" were dead.
Apparently, some of these chickens have appeared on a mini-Black Market and
others were discarded inappropriately and dogs were scavenging the remains.
- Mod.CHC] ......................................chc/es
========================================================
Rabbit Information Service,
P.O.Box 30,
Riverton,
Western Australia 6148
email> rabbit@wantree.com.au
http://www.wantree.com.au/~rabbit/rabbit.htm
(Rabbit Information Service website updated frequently)
/`\ /`\
(/\ \-/ /\)
)6 6(
>{= Y =}<
/'-^-'\
(_) (_)
| . |
| |}
jgs \_/^\_/
It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong.
- Voltaire
One who condones evils is just as guilty as the one who perpetrates it.
- Dr. Martin Luthor King Jr.
Date: Sat, 3 Jan 1998 15:04:14 EST
From: STFORJEWEL
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: HONG KONG ADJUSTS
Message-ID: <79e1e7c6.34ae99c0@aol.com>
Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit
>From the Associated Press
via the DTN Network
Hong Kong-
The familiar aroma of fresh chicken-sauteed, steamed or lightly sauced-is
strangely missing from Hong Kong restuarants these days. In one of them,
roasted piglets hang head down, a crip, golden alternative to the unavailable
Cantonese staple.
"If a customer asks for steamed chicken, I say, 'I'm sorry,'" said Law Yip-
lam, the whited-hatted chef at acclaimed restaurant One Harbor Road. "Have
something else."
A government-ordered slaughter of Hong Kong's 1.3 million chickens has wiped
fresh chicken off the menu in restaurants across this culinary capital..
The slaughter has badly crimped Hong Kong's eating habits. Chicken-often
served a little bloody around the bone-is a staple of the regional cooking
that highly values freshness.
Hong Kong, which has an abundance of restaurants offering an exotic array of
foreign and Chinese foods, normally imports about 80,000 birds A DAY from
farms in mainland China. Local farms supply about 20,000 daily.
Before the flu hit, markets were filled shoppers who would drag live birds
from wire cages and jab their breasts to judge their plumpness.
The vendor would pull a sharp knife and slit the bird's throat before dumping
it in a bin to bleed. Then he'd pluck and bag it.
Even before the slaughter, which took most of the week, chicken supply shrank.
The government banned imports from the mainland December 23rd, suspecting the
virus originated there.
The mass killing was ordered when tests showed that chickens were the likely
source of the influenza virus A H5N1 that has infected at least 15 people,
including 4 who have died. 6 others are suspected to have the virus.
Ducks, geese, and pigeons remain available, although those kept together with
chickens at markets or farms were slaughtered. Beijing duck is still on
menus, but many people are shunning it anyway.
So, why not use a frozen, plastic-wrapped Danish or American bird?
It's just not the same, says Chef Law, as he relaxes before the dinner rush by
sipping pale green tea from a white porcelain bowl.
"It's something in the taste, you see, when your teeth bite down on it. Fresh
chicken-it just tastes different," said Law. "The taste unfolds slowly in
your mouth."
His Chinese reestaurant offer fish, mutton, or beef but if customers insist on
a chicken dish, Law said he reluctantly uses imported chicken.
Law ticked off the dishes that really need a fresh bird: steamed chicken (so
simple freshness shows); fried crispy chicken (imported birds don't have the
right kind of skin); and chicken with black bean sauce.
In Cafe Chater, a new sticker appears on the menu: "Our chicken is imported
from Denmark."
But assistant head waiter Tommy Tang said the chef uses it only for Western
dishes, such as roasted spring chicken with rosemary. The roasting makes the
meat drier, making the flavor less subtle, he said.
Like One Harbor Road, the Cafe Chater has nixed some Chinese dishes.
"We used to see about 30 Hainan chickensa day," he said, referring to a
popular steamed chicken dish.
That's gone now, along with sauteed sliced chicken with assorted bell peppers
and double-boiled chicken with ginger. Chicken has been taken out of the
Yangzhou fried rice.
"It has affected business a bit," Tang said.
The government is making no promises about when fresh chicken can return.
It's unlikely to be in time for the Jan. 28 Lunar New Year, highlight of the
Chinese calendar and an occasion for feasting.
Even though he misses chicken, Law thinks the slaughter was the right move.
"It's better to be safe, " he said. (HA!-The man is delusional!-ed).
Date: Sun, 04 Jan 1998 08:07:22 +1100
From: Lynette Shanley
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Zoos
Message-ID: <3.0.1.32.19980104080722.00685558@lisp.com.au>
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I have a meeting next week with the zoo industry. They requested to meet me
regarding the IPPL Australia zoo campaign. Does anyone have any reliable
statistics regarding the breeding of animals and how many are actually
released into the wild. Any info is appreciated.
Any info on the rates of success and failures.
I have a general idea of the topics I will be raising but if there is any
further info I can use it would be appreciated.
Is it true that primates and carnivores are the two groups that are the
most difficult to release into the wild?
Lynette Shanley
International Primate Protection League - Australia
PO Box 60
PORTLAND NSW 2847
AUSTRALIA
Phone/Fax 02 63554026/61 2 63 554026
EMAIL ippl@lisp.com.au
Date: Sat, 3 Jan 1998 16:03:40 EST
From: STFORJEWEL
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: HONG KONG MISTAKES
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By the Associated Press
>From the DTN Network
January 2, 1998
Hong Kong-
Mistakes were made in the mass poultry slaughter hoped to rid Hong Kong of
"bird flu," including the failure to reach all farms and to quickly bury
carcasses, top officials said today.
A lack of manpower and equipment hindered the government's round-the-clock,
emergency effort earlier this week to kill all of the poultry in the
territory, Hong Kong leader Tung Chee-hwa said.
"Improvement needs to be made, and we are going to make these improvements,"
Tung said after a private emergency meeting of the Executive Council, his top
advisory board.
"We are looking at these things very urgently," he said, "We hope these will
be all sorted out sometime today."
The governement killed 1.3 million chickens from Monday thru Wednesday, trying
to stamp out the A H5N1 virus that has sickened at least 14 people and killed
4. 6 possible cases also have been reported.
Newspaper photographs demonstrated, however, the difficulties the government
was having in fulfilling its mandate. Some pictures showed live chickens
still caged on small farms, their owners waiting for slaughter teams. In
others, carcasses spilled from torn garbage bags left on farms, not trucked to
government landfills as promised.
Residents complained that dogs and rats got to the carcasses, prompting fears
they might spread the virus.
Dr. Margaret Chan, health director, said the killing and disposal of chickens
"could be better."
The Agriculture and Fisheries Department, which oversaw the killing at farms,
said it would finish up its work and respond to calls about chickens left
alive and unburied carcasses.
Scientists at Hong Kong University were testing dogs, cats, and rats to see if
any had picked up the virus from chickens, an Agriculture Department
spokeswoman said. (God help them if they did).
She did not know when the results might be expected.
A governement employee who took part in the slaughter was being tested for the
bird flu after developing pneumonia, but initial results were negative, the
Hospital Authority said.
Date: Sat, 3 Jan 1998 16:17:12 EST
From: STFORJEWEL
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: CABINET MEMEBER SAYS GOV'T ACTED TO FAST
Message-ID: <2a23f2b9.34aeaae0@aol.com>
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By the Associated Press
>From the DTN Network
January 2, 1998
Hong Kong-
Hong Kong confired a case of bird flu in a teen-age girl Thursday, bringing to
14 the number of people known to be infected with the sometimes fatal virus.
It was the first new case this week.
Hong Kong's Cabinet will discuss the crisis at its weekly meeting Friday, amid
reports that at least one Cabinet member is accusing the governement of
overreacting to the outbreak-which so far is spreading more slowly than had
been feared.
Doctors have pinpointed chickens as the likely source of the mysterious
influenza A H5N1 virus, leading the government to order all Hong Kong' 1.3
million chickens killed.
The slaughter began Monday morning and ended late Wednesday.
But Tam Yiu-chung, a member of the Executive Council, or cabinet, said the
decision to slaughter the birds had been too hasty, Hong Kong Radio reported.
Chicken farmers are demaning compensation far higher than the $3.85 per bird
suggested by the governement. Hong Kong's leader Tung Chee-hwa said Wednesday
a compensation figure would likely be announced next week.
Tam also urged the government to improve its handling of the crisis and
publicize any plans it had to contain the disease.
In addition to the 14 confirmed cases, six people are suspected of having
contracted the virus. Four of the 20 have died, and 3 are in critical
condition.
The latest victim, a 14-year-old girl, was the first case in 5 days. She is
in satisfactory condition, the Department of Health said in a statement. Ten
people confirmed or suspected of having the flu have recovered.
The virus claimed its first known human victim in May, when a 3-year-old boy
died.
Work has begun on a vaccine, but an order to develop it has not been given.
Very few people are thought to be immune, and experts say if the virus starts
to transmit faster, it could lead to an epidemic.
Date: Sat, 03 Jan 1998 19:43:18 -0500
From: leah wacksman
To: "ar-news@envirolink.org"
Subject: PETA & food libel articles
Message-ID: <34AEDB26.182085B9@galen.med.virginia.edu>
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Given the difficulty I am having in forwarding articles to the list,
instead of trying again at this time, I want to call to your attention
to an article that appeared in today's Washington Post. It's about a
PETA undercover investigator and is the feature article in the Style
section. It's on-line at the W.P. Website (www.washingtonpost.com).
There is an article on food-libel laws at the Seattle Times site
(www.seattletimes.com). The case focused on is the one concernig Oprah
Winfrey and Howard Lyman of the Humane Society. Another case concerns
emu meat. We need to be familiar with these laws. Once at the S.T.
website go to search, click on 'Past Week' and type in 'Oprah'. That
should get you there.
Marty Wacksman
Date: Sun, 04 Jan 1998 10:35:54 +0000
From: jwed
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (HK) Killings: errors admitted
Message-ID: <3.0.5.32.19980104103554.00794860@pop.hkstar.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
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South China Morning Post - Saturday January 3 1998
The official behind the mass slaughter of local chickens was ready to quit
last night after thousands of birds escaped the cull and the carcasses of
many others were not disposed of.
As the Government admitted mistakes had been made, Director of Agriculture
and Fisheries Lessie Wei Chui Kit-yee said she would resign if it helped
the battle against bird flu.
"I am not finding excuses. Our records showed there were 161 chicken farms.
But 68 new farms were discovered during our operation," she said.
"I was directing the operation in the field . . . If my presence could not
avoid any mistakes, I should take the blame because I was there.
"If my resignation is going to solve the problem, I will consider it."
Her comments came as the need for the slaughter was thrown into doubt by
claims that ducks were most likely to be responsible for the bird flu
outbreak, not chickens.
"Ducks are a natural reservoir of the H5 virus in which large amounts of
the virus are present in their intestines," said a senior government health
official.
"But unlike chickens, they don't get sick and die. We are now looking into
whether there were situations where ducks and chickens were kept together,"
she said.
Health authorities said yesterday that 1,300 tonnes of chickens and poultry
had been buried in landfill sites.
But some plastic sacks of dead chickens were left uncollected and there
were reports of rats and dogs scavenging around bags of carcasses left on
roadsides.
Other chickens, which survived the cull and escaped from the plastic bags,
were also found roaming around remote farms in the New Territories.
Tung Chee-hwa accepted there had been gaps in the cull after being briefed
on the slaughter during a meeting with policy secretaries yesterday.
"It is understandable that the public criticises the way we have handled
the issue . . . but there are areas where improvements need to be made and
we are going to make those improvements," he said. "We are looking at these
things very urgently. We hope these will all be sorted out."
Other government sources said slaughtering all chickens in 24 hours may
have been too ambitious a target.
"On the basis of an estimated 1.2 million chickens, we thought we could do
it in 24 hours if we did it round the clock," one source said.
"We don't want to lay the blame on any individuals or departments at this
stage. The fact is that everyone has worked extremely hard."
The source also denied there had been a lack of co-ordination at top
government levels, including Mr Tung's.
"Senior policy secretaries have been keeping in touch with developments,"
he said. "We are sorry for the public concern over the way we handled the
slaughter . . . it could be done better."
There was also embarrassment for the Department of Health last night after
it was revealed that a three-year-old boy confirmed as the latest bird flu
case was not in hospital.
"He went to the Sai Kung clinic to get tested and left the clinic before
they found out he was infected with H5N1," a spokesman said.
This brings the total number of bird flu cases to 15 with six suspected.
Four victims have died.
Date: Sun, 04 Jan 1998 10:40:46 +0000
From: jwed
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (HK) 68 tonnes of rotting fowls unburied
Message-ID: <3.0.5.32.19980104104046.007a61a0@pop.hkstar.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
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South China Morning Post - Satruday 3rd January 1998
About 68 tonnes of rotting chicken carcasses were scattered about Hong Kong
last night while the Government struggled to complete its poultry slaughter.
Poultry farmers pleaded yesterday for low-interest loans to stave off
bankruptcy, plus compensation of $46 per chicken - $16 more than the level
set in regulations.
The Government hopes to reach agreement with the mainland on comprehensive
monitoring of the bird flu virus, according to a senior official.
Toddler brings confirmed cases to 15
A three-year-old boy was confirmed with the killer bird flu on Friday. The
toddler's condition was being assessed, the Health Department said.
Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa on Friday admitted a plan to slaughter all
chickens in Hong Kong in a bid to eradicate the bird flu has not been
handled properly.
Chickens stay out of killers' clutches
More than 800 chickens were still waiting for their death sentence on a
Yuen Long farm yesterday despite claims that the slaughter of 1.4 million
chickens is complete.
It has cost millions of dollars to bury 1.4 million recently slaughtered
chickens in landfill, Environmental Protection Department assistant
director John Rockey said yesterday.
Executive Councillor Tam Yiu-chung accused the Government yesterday of
underestimating the deadly bird flu.
Warning on eggs, frozen chickens
Medical experts warned yesterday that eggs and frozen chickens could be
contaminated with the deadly bird flu, despite health officials' claims
they are safe to eat.
Patients urged not to rush for tests. Only flu patients with a sudden high
fever should visit emergency wards and request urgent tests for the H5N1
virus, a medical expert said yesterday.
Authorities at Bangkok's Don Muang Airport are on bird flu alert amid fears
the fatal virus might be exported from the SAR.
http://www.scmp.com/news/special/BirdFlu/index.asp
Date: Sun, 04 Jan 1998 10:42:04 +0000
From: jwed
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (HK) Mass Chicken Slaughter
Message-ID: <3.0.5.32.19980104104204.007a4510@pop.hkstar.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
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South China Morning Post - Saturday January 3 1998 - Editorial
A mass slaughter of poultry was always going to be of limited value in
tackling a virus whose mode of transmission remains unclear, especially as
it did not address the danger of further infected poultry being brought
from the mainland.
If properly handled, the exercise could at least have reassured a jittery
public that everything possible was being done to check the spread of the
virus. Now this benefit has been undercut by the botched way in which the
operation was conducted. The result may well be to leave Hong Kong in a
more worried state than before.
Television pictures of the supposed victims of the mass slaughter wandering
around near public housing estates, while dogs and rats attacked carcasses,
have done untold damage to public trust in the Government's handling of the
crisis. Any fresh initiatives will now be treated with suspicion.
What is amazing is that the Government should have embarked on this task
without any accurate estimate of its scale or duration. Equally astonishing
is that it should have bungled matters so badly as to raise the possibility
that other animals may have become infected. Worse still, it now appears
that the virus originates in ducks rather than chickens, something which
the public was not previously told.
The priority now must be to limit the damage. Tung Chee-hwa's admission
yesterday that mistakes had been made amounts to a belated recognition of
the urgency of this task. Rightly or wrongly, there is a widespread
perception of a lack of leadership during this crisis. Mr Tung, in
particular, was all but invisible until the past few days.
That aroused few protests when his officials seemed to be handling the
situation competently. But now that they have fallen short, there must be
clear and visible indications that Mr Tung and senior aides are in charge.
It is not enough to bury carcasses which should never have been left
exposed - nor to recapture chickens that should never have been allowed to
escape. Equally vital are speedy tests to allay fears that incompetence has
allowed the virus to spread to other animals.
Rather than criticising the media for reporting the crisis, the Government
should do exactly the opposite to encourage closer monitoring of its
damage-limitation efforts. That would be one way of reassuring the
community that it now has a better handle on the crisis.
But there must also be unequivocal assurances that incompetence on this
scale will not be allowed to happen again, and that responsibility will be
properly apportioned
Date: Sun, 04 Jan 1998 10:46:24 +0000
From: jwed
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (HK) One flu out of the nest
Message-ID: <3.0.5.32.19980104104624.007a4a30@pop.hkstar.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
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South China Morning Post - Saturday January 3 1998
by JONATHAN BRAUDE http://www.scmp.com/news/
Once upon a time in Yuen Long, Chicken Licken was foraging behind the coop.
Suddenly he heard Farmer Chan Hay-seed sneeze. Thinking the sky was falling
down, he fled through a gap in the fence and on to the street.
Just then the van from the Agriculture and Fisheries Department careered in
through the front gate. Out jumped a team of men in face masks, armed with
gas-bottles, dustbin-liners and bird-lime.
Chicken Licken was unaware of any of this. He was unaware, too, of the
deadly virus the farmer's sneeze had parachuted on to his tiny beak and
which, even then, was percolating through his respiratory system.
As far as he was concerned, the sky was falling down, and he was on his way
to tell the Chief Executive.
On the way, he expected to meet Henny Penny and Cocky Locky. But there was
no sign of them.
Soon, though, he met Ducky Lucky and Drakey Lakey. They also belonged to Mr
Chan, but the farmer found it cheaper to keep them on the village pond and
let the Rural Council deal with the waste. So they, too, knew nothing of
the genus-cide in the cages.
"Oh, Chicken Licken," said Ducky Lucky and Drakey Lakey, "where are you
going in such a hurry?"
"The sky is falling down and I am off to tell the CE," Chicken Licken
replied. "Atchoo."
"Then let us go with you," said Ducky Lucky and Drakey Lakey.
And so Chicken Licken, Ducky Lucky and Drakey Lakey strutted off to tell
the CE the sky was falling down.
On the way, they met Goosey Loosey and Turkey Lurkey, both of whom were
returnees from Canada.
"Oh, Chicken Licken," they began. We won't bore you with the rest of the
conversation. Read the previous exchange, above, if you really want to
know. Suffice it to say that, by this time, Chicken Licken, Ducky Lucky and
Drakey Lakey were all sneezing. Undeterred, Goosey Loosey and Turkey Lurkey
decided to join them on the road to the CE's residence.
On the way, they met Foxy Loxy and sneezed on him too. Foxy Loxy was about
to invite them into his den for lunch, when they met Foxhound Shmoxhound.
Foxhound Shmoxhound barked like the stupid pooch he was, sending Foxy Loxy
scampering off, and alerting the extermination squad as it drove back from
Farmer Chan's, still dripping with blood and germs.
The squad rounded up Chicken Licken, Ducky Lucky, Drakey Lakey, Goosey
Loosey, Turkey Lurkey and Foxhound Shmoxhound and stuck them in the back of
the van. So Chicken Licken never did get to see the CE to tell him the sky
was falling down.
But by now it was lunch-time. The squad turned off the engine, took out
their lunchboxes and feasted on chicken from the frozen meat shelves. Being
government officers, they did not interrupt their statutory lunch-break
when Henny Penny and Cocky Locky, who had survived the gassing and escaped
from their plastic bags, sauntered past, looking well.
Finally, lunch-hour was over. Chicken Licken and the others were taken off
to the government laboratories. All tested positive for H5N1 and the order
went out for all animals and birds regardless of species to be slaughtered
on sight.
And so it was that a new strain of human influenza was passed directly from
people to birds, who passed it on to foxes and into the wild.
Thus, too, the innocent were slaughtered.
The virus continued to be passed on from people to people and eventually
became a pandemic.
Date: Sun, 4 Jan 1998 10:55:34 +0800
From: bunny
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (HK)Flu bird-human-slaughter of birds other than chickens
Message-ID: <1.5.4.16.19980104104835.26c734b2@wantree.com.au>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
INFLUENZA, BIRD-TO-HUMAN - CHINA (HONG KONG) (36)
*************************************************
A ProMED-mail post
Date: Sat, 3 Jan 1998
Source: Nando Net
A senior health official warned Saturday that geese, ducks and other birds
may have to be slaughtered if the recent mass killing of chickens fails to
wipe out the so-called "bird flu." Another person -- a 19-year-old woman --
was found to have bird flu, the government said, raising the number of
confirmed cases to 16. Four people have died. The woman was hospitalized in
critical condition.
Dr. Margaret Chan, director of health, said the killing of Hong Kong's 1.3
million chickens was the first step in wiping out the H5N1 virus that has
killed four people. Officials may have to look beyond chickens and see if
the virus exists in geese, ducks and the "non-chicken population," she said.
On Friday, officials admitted they did a sloppy job in the mass gassing of
the chickens. Bedraggled birds somehow survived the slaughter, and dogs
were seen scampering off with carcasses. Scientists will test rats, cats
and dogs to see whether animals picked up the virus from chewing on chicken
carcasses intended for burial. Hong Kong leader Tung Chee-hwa has said
shortages of staff and equipment hindered the government's effort this week
to stop the mysterious spread of the flu, which typically strikes poultry,
to humans.
========================================================
Rabbit Information Service,
P.O.Box 30,
Riverton,
Western Australia 6148
email> rabbit@wantree.com.au
http://www.wantree.com.au/~rabbit/rabbit.htm
(Rabbit Information Service website updated frequently)
/`\ /`\
(/\ \-/ /\)
)6 6(
>{= Y =}<
/'-^-'\
(_) (_)
| . |
| |}
jgs \_/^\_/
It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong.
- Voltaire
One who condones evils is just as guilty as the one who perpetrates it.
- Dr. Martin Luthor King Jr.
Date: Sun, 04 Jan 1998 10:56:03 +0000
From: jwed
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (HK) Jackie Chan pleads for animals
Message-ID: <3.0.5.32.19980104105603.00797250@pop.hkstar.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
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South China Morning Post - Friday 2nd January 1998
by Wanda Szeto
Kung Fu star Jackie Chan yesterday urged more than 16,000 fans attending an
exhibition based on his life not to buy Chinese medicine made from
endangered animals.
The renowned action man made an appeal at the opening of the HK$10.5
million "Who Am I" show at the Convention and Exhibition Centre.
The three-day event features a collection of Chan's personal items and
memorabilia, such as watches, costumes, cars and photographs.
The exhibition has also made room for a booth for animal advocacy group
EarthCare to educate the public not to buy medicine made from animals such
as tigers, rhinoceroses and sea turtles.
"I am appealing to you not to buy those medical products," Chan said. "I
believe modern technology would certainly have something to replace these.
"If you don't buy them, you could prevent these animals from being killed.
Let's help these animals to stay alive so that future generations will be
able to see and admire them."
Date: Sat, 3 Jan 1998 21:59:21 -0800
From: "Robin Russell"
To:
Subject: POET New WebSite
Message-ID: <01bd18d5$e8856980$71d1430c@moon84.lucent.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: multipart/alternative;
boundary="----=_NextPart_000_0009_01BD1892.DA622980"
visit our site at: http://home.att.net/~PoetWill/index.html
Date: Sun, 4 Jan 1998 10:59:35 +0800
From: bunny
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (Russia)Dysentry outbreak traced to dairy
Message-ID: <1.5.4.16.19980104105236.26c71fc4@wantree.com.au>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
DYSENTERY, SEVERE - RUSSIA (MURMANSK)
*************************************
Date: Wed, 31 Dec 1997 17:40:52 -0700
Source: ITAR-TASS
ITAR-TASS has reported an outbreak of a very severe dysentery involving 494
persons, 236 of them children, as counted on December 28, 1997. The agency
said 354 people had been hospitalized in the towns of Kola, Murmansk and
Severomorsk. [Disease] symptoms include sudden fever, intense headaches,
pain behind the eyes, muscle and joint pain, loss of appetite, vomiting,
diarrhoea, skin rash, a metallic taste in the mouth and bleeding from the
orifices, leading to potentially fatal internal bleeding.
The outbreak started a few days earlier in the nearby town of Kola and the
source was traced to a dairy supplying the two towns. [The dairy] was
closed and all its produce removed from the shops. "Local health
authorities have sufficient medicines to threat those affected," a
spokesman told the agency.
By midday on December 29, 1997, the number of suspected cases had risen to
534, ITAR-TASS news agency said. Doctors believed people were now catching
the disease from one another.
Regional emergencies officials said that a team of experts from Moscow had
arrived on December 28th to help local medical staff tackle the outbreak
and the Regional administration had contributed additional funding.
========================================================
Rabbit Information Service,
P.O.Box 30,
Riverton,
Western Australia 6148
email> rabbit@wantree.com.au
http://www.wantree.com.au/~rabbit/rabbit.htm
(Rabbit Information Service website updated frequently)
/`\ /`\
(/\ \-/ /\)
)6 6(
>{= Y =}<
/'-^-'\
(_) (_)
| . |
| |}
jgs \_/^\_/
It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong.
- Voltaire
One who condones evils is just as guilty as the one who perpetrates it.
- Dr. Martin Luthor King Jr.
Date: Sat, 03 Jan 1998 22:54:13 -0500
From: Vegetarian Resource Center
To: AR-News@Envirolink.Org
Subject: National Park Service Drops Plan to Kill Deer
Message-ID: <199801040354.WAA14544@mailnfs0.tiac.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
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Subj: National Park Service Drops Plan to Kill Deer
Date: 98-01-03 08:22:34 EST
From: AOL News
National Park Service Drops Plan to Kill Deer
SACRAMENTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 3, 1998--A lawsuit filed by
animal advocacy groups against the National Park Service (NPS) has caused the
NPS to withdraw its lethal white-tailed deer management plan for Cuyahoga
Valley National Recreation Area in northeast Ohio.
Filed by the Washington D.C. law firm of Meyer & Glitzenstein, the suit
sought to halt the shooting of deer (scheduled to have begun Nov. 5, 1997) on
the grounds that the NPS failed to adequately evaluate the environmental
impacts of the deer hunt. The plan had called for the shooting of 470 park
deer this winter with an additional 80 deer to be killed each following year.
On Dec. 10, U.S. District Judge Paul L. Friedman granted a preliminary
injunction agreeing with the plaintiffs that the NPS had failed to make a
convincing case that shooting deer would not have a significant impact. On
Dec. 29, attorneys for the Justice Department filed a motion that the lawsuit
against the NPS be dismissed on the basis that the Ohio park had withdrawn
its proposed deer management plan.
Plaintiffs in the lawsuit included local residents, the Animal Protection
Institute (API), The Fund for Animals, The Humane Society of the United
States, In Defense of Deer, and Ohioans for Animal Rights.
"This is a great victory for wildlife, not just in the Cuyahoga Valley
but in all national parks," said Alan Berger, Executive Director for the
Animal Protection Institute. "It sends the clear message that the NPS can
not kill animals by relying on a plan arbitrarily conceived without
considering scientific data, public sentiment, and the law."
In the suit, the plaintiffs maintained that the NPS plan failed to
provide scientific evidence that the deer are reducing the park's
biodiversity and that the plan did not adequately address non-lethal
alternatives as required by law. The animal rights groups also argued that
the NPS must perform a review of its overall deer management plan before
proceeding with deer reductions at individual parks.
"In recent years the National Park Service seems to have lost sight of
its primary mission of protecting wildlife and natural processes," noted The
Fund for Animals' National Director Heidi Prescott. "The resolution of this
case signifies that, after years of allowing nature to run its course, the
NPS cannot simply reverse its policy and begin killing animals in our
nation's parks."
--30--JSJ/sf mb
CONTACT:
Animal Protection Institute
Dena Jones, 916/731-5521
or
The Fund for Animals
Heidi Prescott, 301/585-2591
or
The Humane Society of the United States
Sandy Rowland, 419/352-5141
or
Attorney for the Plaintiffs, Meyer & Glitzenstein
Jonathan Lovvorn, 202/588-5206
©1997 Maynard S Clark Vegetarian Resource Center info@vegetarian.org
Date: Sat, 03 Jan 1998 22:59:08 -0500
From: allen schubert
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Admin Note -- Envirolink Problem
Message-ID: <3.0.1.32.19980103225908.00688e2c@envirolink.org>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
For those asking about their subscription status...Envirolink had some
connectivity problems this weekend. Any commands/request to Listproc
probably did not go through at this time.
If you require any assistance, please e-mail me privately.
Allen Schubert
ar-admin@envirolink.org
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