AR-NEWS Digest 492 Topics covered in this issue include: 1) circus - slides or video footage ? by Nicolas Entrup <106127.1133@compuserve.com> 2) Downed weather balloons may pose hazard for whales by Mesia Quartano 3) (US) Good for eating, not for thinking by allen schubert 4) LANGUR MONKEYS NEED YOUR HELP by "ida" 5) circus - slides or video footage ? by Nicolas Entrup <106127.1133@compuserve.com> 6) Boycott Beef to Save the Buffalo by Mike Markarian 7) Australian Activists/vegans by Michelle Sass 8) GREAT NEWS IN NYC!!!! by Hillary 9) Internet Campaign Against Fur by MINKLIB@aol.com 10) Job Opening: Veterinary Technician by Mike Markarian 11) vivisection by "sa338@blues.uab.es" 12) HI-2 Men charged in deaths of 5 endangered green sea turtles by Animal Rights Hawaii 13) Expanded Waterfowl Hunting Seasons by Mike Markarian 14) [CA] Cat Overpopulation Crisis by David J Knowles 15) ALF Exposure Leads to Closing of 3 Swedish Fox Farms by MINKLIB@aol.com 16) SERVICE PROPOSES EXPANDED WATERFOWL HUNTING SEASONS by Jun1022@cybernex.net (Student Abolitionist League) 17) Third Taiji orca near death [JP] by bchorush@paws.org (pawsinfo) 18) King Royal by PAWS 19) (US) APHIS Press Release Dog Tethering by allen schubert 20) Bull- fighting by "sa338@blues.uab.es" 21) Admin Note--was: Bull- fighting by allen schubert 22) Mazzola skips trial in Michigan by Wyandotte Animal Group 23) [CA] The hunters, rather than the grizzlies, are protected by David J Knowles 24) [EU] France in dock for failure to guard birds by David J Knowles 25) (US) Beef recalled for possible E.coli contamination by allen schubert Date: Tue, 12 Aug 1997 05:06:10 -0400 From: Nicolas Entrup <106127.1133@compuserve.com> To: AR-NEWS Subject: circus - slides or video footage ? Message-ID: <199708120506_MC2-1CED-896D@compuserve.com> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Disposition: inline Hi everyone, RespekTiere will soon (late August) present their investigation on with animals in circusses. The investigation deals with accidents which happened in Austria since 1970 and gives an international overview of cases since 1990. The study will then be translated into english (hopefully till the beginning of October) and so be available for you all, too. We are now searching for slides and videofootage which documents accidents with circus animals. Maybe hardly any of it exists, but I give it a try. It would be great if anyone knowing of slides, fotografs and video-footage which documents accidents get in contact with RespekTiere Niki Entrup email: 106127.1133@compuserve.com Videofootage should have broadcasting quality. For sure any commercial publication would get paid austrian standard honorar. Thanks for your help Niki Entrup Date: Mon, 11 Aug 1997 16:01:09 -0400 From: Mesia Quartano To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: Downed weather balloons may pose hazard for whales Message-ID: <33EF6F85.5675@usa.net> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Downed weather balloons may pose hazard for whales Balloons intended to tell us something about weather and climate may pose a hazard to whales, seals and other marine life, according to scientist Gerald K. Eddlemon at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Eddlemon will present his research on the possible harmful effects of downed weather balloons on whales in the Antarctic at the annual meeting of the Ecological Society of America in Albuquerque, N.M., this week. The meeting is being held jointly with The Nature Conservancy. The federally funded U.S. Antarctic Programs launches approximately 1,300 of the more than 9,000 weather and research balloons released each year by several nations. The balloons range in diameter from two to hundreds of meters. The balloons are made of polyethylene or neoprene -- estimated by some to persist in the environment up to 400 years -- and are known to harm animals by ingestion or entrapment. The balloons are used to provide weather information for safe aircraft operations, measure atmospheric contaminants and make astrophysical observations. Eddlemon chose to study the ecological impact of downed weather balloons on whales because all the great whales that visit the Antarctic ocean are endangered, they swim great distances while there and whale deaths in other oceans have been attributed to the ingestion of plastic bags. The blue whale, which migrates to the Antarctic every summer for feeding, once had a population of approximately 230,000 and is now estimated at between 1,000 and 10,000. Other endangered whale species that visit the Antarctic include the fin whale, sei whale, humpback whale, right whale and the sperm whale. "The situation is very, very complicated," says Eddlemon. "There is still a lot to learn about the natural habits and life span of whales, and there isn't enough known about the ocean's currents and the movement of downed balloons across the ice to predict what they will do when they land in the water." Using estimated balloon densities over time, balloon length, the whale's gape and swimming velocities, and population estimates, Eddlemon predicted the frequency of physical encounters with balloons for an individual whale and a population. Although he made conservative assumptions (due to the inadequacy of the data), the resulting whale/balloon encounter frequencies were remarkably high. In some scenarios they were in the thousands of encounters per year. In one estimate, the cumulative length of plastic floating in the Antarctic ocean from one launch site (representing a fraction of the total launches) would be as much as 24 miles long after only 10 years. "Even if we use a low ratio of fatalities resulting from encounters with balloons, the model still predicts substantial losses of these endangered animals," says Eddlemon. "The 64 million dollar question is how whales really act on encountering floating balloon material." At the ESA meeting, Eddlemon also will discuss his suggestions for remedying the possible impact of balloons. These include changing the balloon materials to a substance that degrades quickly, reducing the number of balloons launched, and using alternative ways of gathering atmospheric data, such as remote sensing. For more information, contact Fred Strohl, ORNL, (423)574-4165, or visit the ORNL web site ( http://www.ornl.gov/ ). Copyright 1997, Environmental News Network, All Rights Reserved ENN Daily News -- August 11, 1997 Date: Tue, 12 Aug 1997 07:29:32 -0400 From: allen schubert To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: (US) Good for eating, not for thinking Message-ID: <3.0.32.19970812072930.006cfa4c@clark.net> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" from USA Today web page: ------------------------------------------------------ Good for eating, not for thinking CORVALLIS, Ore. - Chickens and turkeys come in last when people are asked to rank animals by brainpower, which may be one of the reasons they end up on the menu. "The smarter we think animals are, the more humanely we care for them," said Steve Davis, an Oregon State University researcher who conducted the survey. Not surprisingly, dogs and cats ranked highest. Horses and pigs followed, then cows and sheep. Davis said it's difficult to show whether animals can actually "think" on any level approaching human thought. "When I was young, I thought, 'Animals probably have minds, but mostly they react out of instinct,'" said Davis, who was raised on a farm. "Now I believe animals do think." Date: Mon, 11 Aug 1997 16:29:46 -0700 From: "ida" To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: LANGUR MONKEYS NEED YOUR HELP Message-ID: <199708121156.HAA24003@envirolink.org> Seventeen langur monkeys formerly used in anthropoligical research at UC Berkeley are facing a potentially fatal future. The university has kept the langurs in cramped cages with cold cement bottoms, only to be gawked at by students, for more than twenty years. Over a year ago the grants for this research ran out and just now is UCB making a decision regarding the future of these beautiful primates. Supposedly the decision is to be made by next wednesday - a decision which may entail sending the langurs to a sanctuary, giving them to a zoo, using them in furher research, or euthanizing them. AR groups, including IDA, have attempted to work with UCB in placing the langurs in a sanctuary, yet the university has not been extremely receptive to the idea. However, certain members of the anthropology department have expressed dismay at the proposed euthanization, and have been advocating sending them to a sanctuary. Unfortunately the decision is ultimately in the hands of the Vice Chancellor of Research, and sadly there is nothing in writing which states that the langur monkeys will not be euthanized. So, we are asking everyone to call the Vice Chancellor of Research, Joseph Cerny, urging him to let the students have a say in the decision making process, urging him to meet with todd selby, a representative of the student & ar community - who was recently denied a meeting with the Vice Chancellor, and urging UCB to state, in writing, that the langur monkeys will not be euthanized. Please call! Joseph Cerny 119 California Hall UCB Berkeley, CA 94720-1500 Phone: (510) 642-7540 LANGUR MONKEYS NEED YOUR HELP Date: Tue, 12 Aug 1997 05:06:10 -0400 From: Nicolas Entrup <106127.1133@compuserve.com> To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: circus - slides or video footage ? Message-ID: <199708121156.HAA24005@envirolink.org> Hi everyone, RespekTiere will soon (late August) present their investigation on with animals in circusses. The investigation deals with accidents which happened in Austria since 1970 and gives an international overview of cases since 1990. The study will then be translated into english (hopefully till the beginning of October) and so be available for you all, too. We are now searching for slides and videofootage which documents accidents with circus animals. Maybe hardly any of it exists, but I give it a try. It would be great if anyone knowing of slides, fotografs and video-footage which documents accidents get in contact with RespekTiere Niki Entrup email: 106127.1133@compuserve.com Videofootage should have broadcasting quality. For sure any commercial publication would get paid austrian standard honorar. Thanks for your help Niki Entrup circus - slides or video footage ? Date: Tue, 12 Aug 1997 07:14:50 -0700 (PDT) From: Mike Markarian To: ar-news@envirolink.org, seac+announce@earthsystems.org, en.alerts@conf.igc.apc.org, wild-rockies-alerts@wildrockies.org Subject: Boycott Beef to Save the Buffalo Message-ID: <2.2.16.19970812103706.570f7922@pop.igc.org> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" The Fund for Animals, Wildlife Damage Review, Rocky Mountain Animal Defense, and many other groups are participating in a new campaign to draw attention to the slaughter of Yellowstone bison. Our new flyers, "Boycott Beef to Save the Buffalo," target the cattle industry for drumming up fear and paranoia over the perceived threat of brucellosis. The full text of the flyer is below. We are urging people to leaflet at supermarkets or restaurants, and to ask the managers of these establishments to remove beef from their shelves because the cattle industry is responsible for killing Yellowstone bison. If you would like free flyers to distribute, please contact The Fund for Animals at 301-585-2591 or . ====================Text of Flyer==================== BOYCOTT BEEF TO SAVE THE BUFFALO The beef industry is waging war on our bison in Yellowstone National Park. With their cohorts in the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Montana Department of Livestock, they have been responsible for killing more than 1,000 Yellowstone bison this past winter alone. Some bison were shot as soon as they stepped into Montana. Others were lured into pens, crowded onto trucks, and shipped to Montana slaughterhouses where they were hung upside down and their throats were slit. It's time to tell the beef industry enough is enough! MYTH: Ranchers claim that bison will spread a disease called "brucellosis" to cattle in Montana. FACT: There has never been a single confirmed case of brucellosis being transmitted from wild bison to domestic cattle. Furthermore, ranchers can easily vaccinate their cattle for a few dollars a head. MYTH: Ranchers complain that bison compete with cattle for land. FACT: Most of the lands surrounding Yellowstone National Park (our National Forests and other public lands) allow cattle grazing from June to October. Bison only leave the Park during the winter! MYTH: Ranchers claim that Yellowstone bison are overpopulated and the National Park Service refuses to manage them. FACT: The bison population is so low that it may not be able to survive. At the beginning of the winter there were an estimated 3,500 bison in Yellowstone National Park. Because Montana has killed more than 1,000 and because of the harsh winter, the bison herd is down to approximately a third of that original estimate. Our tax dollars already subsidize cattle grazing on our public lands. The beef industry has been on cowboy welfare getting free handouts for far too long. Our wildlife is paying the price! Please give copies of this flyer to your local supermarket and restaurant managers, and tell them that you're boycotting beef because you've had enough of this war on wildlife! Ask them to remove beef from their shelves because the cattle industry refuses to take its hands off Yellowstone bison! For more information: The Fund for Animals, 200 W. 57th St., New York, N.Y. 10019 D.C. office -- (301) 585-2591 Rocky Mountain office -- (307) 859-8840 E-Mail -- fund4animals@fund.org Date: Wed, 13 Aug 1997 07:53:14 -0700 From: Michelle Sass To: ar-news@envirolink.com Subject: Australian Activists/vegans Message-ID: <33F1CA5A.4288@cts.com> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Sorry for the personal note here everyone! I am searching for some Aussie activists. I am a Contiki ( America) tour manager and I will be coming to OZ for my own holiday in late September, for at least one month. I will be touring the whole country and I know of lots of veggie/vegan restaurants in Sydney and the "No Bones" restaurant in Perth. Does anyone know of any others? Also, I would love to get involved in some AR while down under. Maybe with Animal Liberation? I met an Aussie woman from AL many years ago @ PETA, are you on-line? How about the infamous " chicken Lady" my clients always tell me about?? Are you here?? Thanks "heaps" Michelle Sass Date: Tue, 12 Aug 1997 11:40:01 -0700 From: Hillary To: veg-nyc@waste.org Subject: GREAT NEWS IN NYC!!!! Message-ID: <3.0.32.19970812113953.00c704b4@pop01.ny.us.ibm.net> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" To all animal lovers-- Activists in NYC have been working hard over the last 4 months to gather the requisite 50,000 valid signatures for the Shelter Reform Ballot Initiative in NYC. And I am overjoyed to announce that we have hit the 50,000 mark!!! Now, a number of those sigs will be discounted as invalid. So we must press on until the end of August (the deadline) to gather at least 10,000 more. We can do it!! This bill will create a Department of Animal Affairs in NYC to oversee and clean up the corrupt shelter system. The person in charge must have at least 5 years experience working in an animal shelter (the current head worked in Dept of Sanitation, was merely a political appointee, and knows nothing about animals). There will be low-cost spaying and neutering, mobile van units, humane education and more. This will be the most significant change for dogs and cats in NYC ever! Right now, NYC shelters kill 40,000 dogs and cats each year. That's 110 animals A DAY--DEAD. This ballot initiative is the first step to help change that. WANNA HELP GATHER SIGNATURES?? Or perhaps you're more of a behind the scenes type who'd like to help collate signatures, check them for accuracy and bind them? Either way, we need you if you live in the 5 boroughs of NYC. All you need to do is get a petition from Gary Kaskell, xerox it, stand on a street-corner with a friend, and gather away! Or hook up with other activists by calling Gary at 212-876-0090. Tell him the area you'd like to work in and he can find someone to hook you up with. Every person counts, each individual's effort matters. If you'd rather gather signatures at work, that will help too. We can't stop now, we're on the final stretch. GO FOR IT! Hillary Morris Date: Tue, 12 Aug 1997 11:43:30 -0400 (EDT) From: MINKLIB@aol.com To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: Internet Campaign Against Fur Message-ID: <970812114009_-801777702@emout11.mail.aol.com> Fur consumers have a web page with an open chat forum on the internet now. Perhaps everyone would like to check it out and help educate them about the horrors of the fur trade. This is the die hard fur crowd, but we can at least have a little fun with it. The address is www.ntcweb.com/forum Have fun! JP CAFT PO Box 822411 Dallas, TX 75382 Date: Tue, 12 Aug 1997 08:45:26 -0700 (PDT) From: Mike Markarian To: ar-news@envirolink.org, seac+announce@earthsystems.org, en.alerts@conf.igc.apc.org Subject: Job Opening: Veterinary Technician Message-ID: <2.2.16.19970812120734.37677dca@pop.igc.org> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Veterinary technician, experienced, needed for high-volume spay and neuter clinic in New York City. Must be dedicated team worker. Fax resume to: 212-977-6885. Or phone: 212-977-6877. Date: Tue, 12 Aug 1997 18:15:14 +0200 From: "sa338@blues.uab.es" To: ar-news@envirolink.org Cc: sa338@blues.uab.es Subject: vivisection Message-ID: <33F08C12.5E13@blues.uab.es> MIME-version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit Dear friends of animals, I have just joined this great news group. I am gathering in my page pictures of vivisection, because as a biologist and Medical student it is something I am definitely against. I have also information about the torture of foxes in India, The cats and dogs in Korea,etc. If you want to send me some material or suggestions I'll be really thankful. Keep up the good work!:) Nuria http://www.geocities.com/heartland/hills/3787 Date: Tue, 12 Aug 1997 08:12:01 -1000 (HST) From: Animal Rights Hawaii To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: HI-2 Men charged in deaths of 5 endangered green sea turtles Message-ID: <199708121812.IAA07897@mail.pixi.com> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" The 8 August, 1997 Honolulu Advertiser reports that 2 North Kohala ( Big Island) men were arrested, charged and released pending further action - for slaughtering 5 endangered Hawaiian Green Sea Turtles; taking honu (green sea turtles) is a violation of both state and federal law. The men were found in possession of 5 turtle shells, 100 pounds of meat and turtle entrails- also 200 feet of of fishing net with 8" mesh, so large that it is believed that the nets were specifically constructed to catch turtles. State of Hawai'i Dept. of Land and Natural Resources will work with the National Marine Fisheries Service in prosecuting the men. Federal civil fines can reach $25,000 per violation and federal criminal penalties are a maximum of $50,000 and one year in jail. State penalties range from $1,500-$2,000 per turtle. Date: Tue, 12 Aug 1997 11:18:55 -0700 (PDT) From: Mike Markarian To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: Expanded Waterfowl Hunting Seasons Message-ID: <2.2.16.19970812144107.5befc24c@pop.igc.org> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: >============================================================ >August 11, 1997 Hugh Vickery 202-208-5634 > > SERVICE PROPOSES EXPANDED WATERFOWL HUNTING SEASONS > >With breeding duck populations the highest on record, the U.S. >Fish and Wildlife Service proposed today to generally expand the >frameworks for season lengths and bag limits for the 1997-98 duck >hunting season. > >The Service also proposed to continue the popular "Youth >Waterfowl Hunting Day" for a second year to encourage parents and >other adults to take children hunting. Forty states held the >youth day last year and it was widely considered to be a success. > >"Most species of ducks are well above their long-term average >because of unusually good weather and continued habitat >conservation efforts by hunters and other conservationists," said >Service Director Jamie Rappaport Clark. "This is the third year >in a row we've been able to offer more hunting opportunity in the >seasonal frameworks." > >The Service is predicting a fall migration of 92 million ducks, >topping last year's 90 million and the highest on record since >1970. The favorable fall flight estimate follows on the heels of >the Service's earlier breeding duck survey, which counted 42.6 >million breeding ducks in key nesting areas, the highest level >since the survey began in 1955. > >Clark noted that hunters nationwide harvested 13.9 million ducks >last year, a million more than in the 1995-96 season. > >"It is quite possible we could have another banner hunting >season," she said. "However, we must keep in mind that increases >in duck populations don't always translate into more success in >the field for hunters. Weather during the season itself and the >availability of habitat still play major roles in determining >hunter success." > >Highlights of the proposed late-season frameworks follow: > >Atlantic Flyway--(Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Maine, >Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, >North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, >Vermont, Virginia, and West Virginia) > >Ducks--A hunting season of not more than 60 days between October >1, 1997, and January 20, 1998. The proposed daily bag limit was >increased from five ducks last year to six this year and may >include no more than four mallards (two hens), one black duck, >three pintails, one mottled duck, one fulvous whistling duck, two >wood ducks, two redheads, and one canvasback. The season on >harlequins is closed. The proposed daily bag limit of mergansers >is five, only one of which may be a hooded merganser. > >Geese--For light geese, states may select a 107-day season >between October 1 and March 10, with a daily bag limit of 10 >geese and 30 geese in possession. For Atlantic population Canada >geese, the season is suspended. However, special or experimental >seasons and regular seasons to harvest resident and other >populations of migratory Canada geese are authorized in >Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New >Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, >South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia. For Atlantic brant, >the season length has been extended from 30 to 50 days but the >bag limit remains at two. > >Mississippi Flyway--(Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, >Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, >Ohio, Tennessee, and Wisconsin) > >Ducks--Hunting seasons of not more than 60 days between >October 4, 1997, and January 18, 1998. The proposed daily bag >limit is six and may include no more than four mallards (two >hens), three mottled ducks, one black duck, three pintails, two >wood ducks, one canvasback, and two redheads. The proposed daily >bag limit of mergansers is five, only one of which may be a >hooded merganser. > >Geese--Generally, states may select 70-day seasons for dark geese >between October 4, 1997, and January 31, 1998, and 107-day >seasons for light geese between October 4, 1997, and March 10, >1998. The daily bag limit is 10 light geese, 3 Canada geese, 2 >white-fronted geese, and 2 brant. There are, however, numerous >area-specific restrictions and exceptions to these frameworks. > >Central Flyway--(Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South >Dakota, Texas, and portions of Colorado, Montana, New Mexico, and >Wyoming.) > >Ducks--In the High Plains Mallard Management Unit (roughly west >of the 100th Meridian), a 97-day season is proposed between >October 4, 1997, and January 18, 1998. The last 23 days may >start no earlier than December 13, 1997. A 74-day season is >proposed for the remainder of the Central Flyway. The proposed >daily bag limit is six and may include no more than five mallards >(two hens), one mottled duck, three pintails, one canvasback, two >redheads, and two wood ducks. > >Geese--Seasons for dark geese are proposed from October 4, 1997, >to January 31, 1998, except in the Western Goose Zone in Texas >where the season may extend to February 15, 1998. Season lengths >are 86 days in the Eastern Tier and 107 days in the Western Tier. >For light geese, the proposed 107-day seasons may extend from >October 4, 1997, to March 10, 1998, except for selected areas in >Nebraska where the closing date is February 15, 1998. Goose bag >limits vary by state and management unit. > >Pacific Flyway--(Arizona, California, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, >Utah, Washington, and portions of Colorado, Montana, New Mexico, >and Wyoming) > >Ducks--A 107-day season between October 4, 1997, and January 18, >1998. The proposed daily bag limit is seven ducks, including no >more than two mallard hens, three pintails, two redheads, and one >canvasback. > >Geese--A 100-day season is proposed in most parts of the flyway >between October 4, 1997, and January 18, 1998. Bag limits are >generally three light geese and two to four dark geese. Other >restrictions vary by state and zone. For brant, the season >lenths are 16 days in Oregon and Washington and 30 days in >California, with a two-bird limit. > >The Youth Waterfowl Hunting Day, proposed in July, would be >available to all states. This day would provide young people an >extra hunting day before or after the regular waterfowl season. >The day would have to be held outside of any regular duck season >on either a weekend or holiday when youths would have the maximum >opportunity to participate. The day could be held up to 14 days >before or after any regular duck season framework or within any >split of a regular duck season. Each state wildlife agency will >select its day for this special hunt. > >Participants would have to be 15 or younger and accompanied by an >adult at least 18 years old. The adult would not be allowed to >hunt ducks but could participate in other open seasons. Under >the proposal, the daily bag limit and species restrictions would >be consistent with the regular duck season in the flyway. >Details about the Youth Waterfowl Hunting Day and other early- >season issues were published in the July 23 Federal Register and >public comments were accepted through August 5. > >Additional details about the proposed late-season hunting >regulations will be published in the Federal Register soon. >Public comments on late-season regulations will be accepted >through September 4, 1997, and should be addressed to the Chief, >Office of Migratory Bird Management, Fish and Wildlife Service, >1849 C Street, NW., Mail Stop 634 ARLSQ, Washington, DC 20240. > >The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal Federal >agency responsible for conserving, protecting, and enhancing fish >and wildlife and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the >American people. The Service manages 511 national wildlife >refuges encompassing 92 million acres, as well as 68 national >fish hatcheries. > >The agency also enforces Federal wildlife laws, manages migratory >bird populations, stocks recreational fisheries, conserves and >restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, administers the >Endangered Species Act, and helps foreign governments with their >conservation efforts. It oversees the Federal Aid program that >funnels Federal excise taxes on angling and hunting equipment to >state wildlife agencies. This program is a cornerstone of the >Nation's wildlife management efforts, funding fish and wildlife >restoration, boating access, hunter education, shooting ranges, >and related projects across America. > > > -FWS- > > > Date: Tue, 12 Aug 1997 13:17:05 -0700 (PDT) From: David J Knowles To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: [CA] Cat Overpopulation Crisis Message-ID: <1.5.4.16.19970812131738.24e742dc@dowco.com> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" VANCOUVER, BC - The Chiliwack SPCA shelter, which was threatened with closure last month, has beenn inundated with both adult cats and kittens. In the past week, around 95 cats have been brought into the shelter, which has only got 10 cat cages. Acting shelter superintendent Eileen Dreiger, who was transfered in from Surrey two weeks ago to run the Chiliwack shelter, says she was transfered there to make a difference. "Killing 75 cats in a week is not making a difference," she said on today's 'Adopt-A-Pet' segment on BCTV's Noon Newshour. Dreiger told viewers that she is the only one at the shelter who is authorized to kill animals by lethal injection. In an earlier interview with The Province newspaper, Dreiger said that the alternative to having animals fixed was to use a lethal injection. Dreiger says she is stressed out about the sheer numbers of cats that have been surrended, and those that she had to kill. Speaking about the "miracle of life", which is oft cited as a reason not to have a pet fixed, Dreiger said most people, fortunately don't have to witness the tragedy of death as she does. She agreed with the News Hour anchor that having a pet fixed is both the moral and responsible thing to do. She also previously said that the main reason for people not getting their animals fixed was not financial, but simply because people still viewed animals as disposable items of property. Drieger pointed out that although the problem was particularly severe in Chiliwack, the situation was the same in all Vancouver Regional SPCA shelters. Although their are several groups in the Lower Mainland and Lower Fraser Valley which run either no-kill shelters or have foster homes, they too are feeling the effect. Meow Aid - one of the largest private, no-kill shelters has seen the number of cats they house steadily climb to above 100 (plus several more in foster homes) in recent weeks. Vet bills run into thousand's of dollars, and they are only able to keep in operation thanks to a local veterinarian who charges minimal cost and allows the groups to pay as and when they can. Unfortunately, many local councils still believe the "problem" doesn't exist, and that the answer is education - education that has been tried for several years. David J Knowles Animal Voices News Date: Tue, 12 Aug 1997 17:03:55 -0400 (EDT) From: MINKLIB@aol.com To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: ALF Exposure Leads to Closing of 3 Swedish Fox Farms Message-ID: <970812165943_363056558@emout01.mail.aol.com> A month ago the ALF raided a fox farm in Sweden and freed 200 foxes. This raid highlighted the fact that the farm was using cages that were smaller than that required by law. The attention the ALF raid generated was large enough to force the police to do something about this farm. The fur farmer owned several other farms, and they have all been shut down by the Swedish police as a result of the attention from the ALF raid. Coalition to Abolish the Fur Trade PO Box 822411 Dallas, TX 75382 Date: Tue, 12 Aug 1997 18:08:53 -0400 From: Jun1022@cybernex.net (Student Abolitionist League) To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: SERVICE PROPOSES EXPANDED WATERFOWL HUNTING SEASONS Message-ID: Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" >Date: Mon, 11 August 1997 16:13:00 -0600 (MDT) >From: Mitch Snow >To: fws-news@dataadmin.irm.r9.fws.gov >Subject: SERVICE PROPOSES EXPANDED WATERFOWL HUNTING SEASONS >Sender: owner-fws-news@dataadmin.irm.r9.fws.gov >Precedence: bulk >Reply-To: fws-news@dataadmin.irm.r9.fws.gov > >This message is from the fws-news listserver. Please DO NOT >REPLY (it just confuses the computers). > >Subscribers can't reply or send their own messages to the >fws-news listserver. This listserver is designed mainly as a >"one way street" for the rapid dissemination of information >concerning the Service and its activities, rather than for >gathering feedback. To contact us, see the explanatory note >at bottom of the message. >============================================================ >August 11, 1997 Hugh Vickery 202-208-5634 > > SERVICE PROPOSES EXPANDED WATERFOWL HUNTING SEASONS > >With breeding duck populations the highest on record, the U.S. >Fish and Wildlife Service proposed today to generally expand the >frameworks for season lengths and bag limits for the 1997-98 duck >hunting season. > >The Service also proposed to continue the popular "Youth >Waterfowl Hunting Day" for a second year to encourage parents and >other adults to take children hunting. Forty states held the >youth day last year and it was widely considered to be a success. > >"Most species of ducks are well above their long-term average >because of unusually good weather and continued habitat >conservation efforts by hunters and other conservationists," said >Service Director Jamie Rappaport Clark. "This is the third year >in a row we've been able to offer more hunting opportunity in the >seasonal frameworks." > >The Service is predicting a fall migration of 92 million ducks, >topping last year's 90 million and the highest on record since >1970. The favorable fall flight estimate follows on the heels of >the Service's earlier breeding duck survey, which counted 42.6 >million breeding ducks in key nesting areas, the highest level >since the survey began in 1955. > >Clark noted that hunters nationwide harvested 13.9 million ducks >last year, a million more than in the 1995-96 season. > >"It is quite possible we could have another banner hunting >season," she said. "However, we must keep in mind that increases >in duck populations don't always translate into more success in >the field for hunters. Weather during the season itself and the >availability of habitat still play major roles in determining >hunter success." > >Highlights of the proposed late-season frameworks follow: > >Atlantic Flyway--(Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Maine, >Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, >North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, >Vermont, Virginia, and West Virginia) > >Ducks--A hunting season of not more than 60 days between October >1, 1997, and January 20, 1998. The proposed daily bag limit was >increased from five ducks last year to six this year and may >include no more than four mallards (two hens), one black duck, >three pintails, one mottled duck, one fulvous whistling duck, two >wood ducks, two redheads, and one canvasback. The season on >harlequins is closed. The proposed daily bag limit of mergansers >is five, only one of which may be a hooded merganser. > >Geese--For light geese, states may select a 107-day season >between October 1 and March 10, with a daily bag limit of 10 >geese and 30 geese in possession. For Atlantic population Canada >geese, the season is suspended. However, special or experimental >seasons and regular seasons to harvest resident and other >populations of migratory Canada geese are authorized in >Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New >Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, >South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia. For Atlantic brant, >the season length has been extended from 30 to 50 days but the >bag limit remains at two. > >Mississippi Flyway--(Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, >Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, >Ohio, Tennessee, and Wisconsin) > >Ducks--Hunting seasons of not more than 60 days between >October 4, 1997, and January 18, 1998. The proposed daily bag >limit is six and may include no more than four mallards (two >hens), three mottled ducks, one black duck, three pintails, two >wood ducks, one canvasback, and two redheads. The proposed daily >bag limit of mergansers is five, only one of which may be a >hooded merganser. > >Geese--Generally, states may select 70-day seasons for dark geese >between October 4, 1997, and January 31, 1998, and 107-day >seasons for light geese between October 4, 1997, and March 10, >1998. The daily bag limit is 10 light geese, 3 Canada geese, 2 >white-fronted geese, and 2 brant. There are, however, numerous >area-specific restrictions and exceptions to these frameworks. > >Central Flyway--(Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South >Dakota, Texas, and portions of Colorado, Montana, New Mexico, and >Wyoming.) > >Ducks--In the High Plains Mallard Management Unit (roughly west >of the 100th Meridian), a 97-day season is proposed between >October 4, 1997, and January 18, 1998. The last 23 days may >start no earlier than December 13, 1997. A 74-day season is >proposed for the remainder of the Central Flyway. The proposed >daily bag limit is six and may include no more than five mallards >(two hens), one mottled duck, three pintails, one canvasback, two >redheads, and two wood ducks. > >Geese--Seasons for dark geese are proposed from October 4, 1997, >to January 31, 1998, except in the Western Goose Zone in Texas >where the season may extend to February 15, 1998. Season lengths >are 86 days in the Eastern Tier and 107 days in the Western Tier. >For light geese, the proposed 107-day seasons may extend from >October 4, 1997, to March 10, 1998, except for selected areas in >Nebraska where the closing date is February 15, 1998. Goose bag >limits vary by state and management unit. > >Pacific Flyway--(Arizona, California, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, >Utah, Washington, and portions of Colorado, Montana, New Mexico, >and Wyoming) > >Ducks--A 107-day season between October 4, 1997, and January 18, >1998. The proposed daily bag limit is seven ducks, including no >more than two mallard hens, three pintails, two redheads, and one >canvasback. > >Geese--A 100-day season is proposed in most parts of the flyway >between October 4, 1997, and January 18, 1998. Bag limits are >generally three light geese and two to four dark geese. Other >restrictions vary by state and zone. For brant, the season >lenths are 16 days in Oregon and Washington and 30 days in >California, with a two-bird limit. > >The Youth Waterfowl Hunting Day, proposed in July, would be >available to all states. This day would provide young people an >extra hunting day before or after the regular waterfowl season. >The day would have to be held outside of any regular duck season >on either a weekend or holiday when youths would have the maximum >opportunity to participate. The day could be held up to 14 days >before or after any regular duck season framework or within any >split of a regular duck season. Each state wildlife agency will >select its day for this special hunt. > >Participants would have to be 15 or younger and accompanied by an >adult at least 18 years old. The adult would not be allowed to >hunt ducks but could participate in other open seasons. Under >the proposal, the daily bag limit and species restrictions would >be consistent with the regular duck season in the flyway. >Details about the Youth Waterfowl Hunting Day and other early- >season issues were published in the July 23 Federal Register and >public comments were accepted through August 5. > >Additional details about the proposed late-season hunting >regulations will be published in the Federal Register soon. >Public comments on late-season regulations will be accepted >through September 4, 1997, and should be addressed to the Chief, >Office of Migratory Bird Management, Fish and Wildlife Service, >1849 C Street, NW., Mail Stop 634 ARLSQ, Washington, DC 20240. > >The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal Federal >agency responsible for conserving, protecting, and enhancing fish >and wildlife and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the >American people. The Service manages 511 national wildlife >refuges encompassing 92 million acres, as well as 68 national >fish hatcheries. > >The agency also enforces Federal wildlife laws, manages migratory >bird populations, stocks recreational fisheries, conserves and >restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, administers the >Endangered Species Act, and helps foreign governments with their >conservation efforts. It oversees the Federal Aid program that >funnels Federal excise taxes on angling and hunting equipment to >state wildlife agencies. This program is a cornerstone of the >Nation's wildlife management efforts, funding fish and wildlife >restoration, boating access, hunter education, shooting ranges, >and related projects across America. > > > -FWS- > > > > >============================================================ >News releases are also available on the World Wide Web at >http://www.fws.gov/~r9extaff/pubaff.html They can be reviewed in >chronological order or searched by keyword. > >Questions concerning a particular news release or item of >information should be directed to the person listed as the >contact. General comments or observations concerning the >content of the information should be directed to Craig >Rieben (craig_rieben@mail.fws.gov) in the Office of Public >Affairs. > >============================================================ >To unsubscribe from the fws-news listserver, send e-mail to >majordomo@www.fws.gov with "unsubscribe fws-news" (and omit >the "quotes") in the **body** of the message. You should not >include anything on the Subject: line. > >For additional information about listserver commands, send a >message to majordomo@www.fws.gov with "info fws-news" (and >no "quotes") in the body of the message. > "The older I get, the more disgusted I become"-former vivisector and Ron Wood whistleblower Jan Moor-Jankowski Date: Tue, 12 Aug 1997 15:51:41 -0700 (PDT) From: bchorush@paws.org (pawsinfo) To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: Third Taiji orca near death [JP] Message-ID: <199708122251.PAA25406@siskiyou.brigadoon.com> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Following is an email from Sakae Fujiwara of the Elsa Nature Conservancy, Japan. It appears from what Sakae writes that the female at the Taiji Whale Museum is near death. Please send respectful emails of protest about the continued confinement of the remaining Taiji 3 to Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs c/o Sakae at: She will forward them to the Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs For more information, contact numbers, fax numbers, etc please see: http://www.paws.org/activists/taiji ************************* >Date: 12 Aug 97 12:04:52 +0000 >August 12, 1997 > > >Today I have received your e-mail of inquiry about the remaining Taiji >3. The following is the update on them. > >The male (4.7m/1400kg when captured) in Nanki Shirahama Adventure World >(NSAW) is reported to be in good health and eating by himself. However, >we have no way to verify it as he is confined in a tank nobody can see >or get close to and NSAW continues to reject not only our inquiry but >also an interview with the newspaper/TV reporter. What we are sure is >that he is still alive, because there is no report of death to the >Fisheries Section of Wakayama Prefecture. > >The female (4.5m/1700kg when captured) in Taiji Whale Museum is confined >in a sea-pen(9m by 9m) in the inlet on the premises. She looks weak and >depressed, doesn't move but is just floating. We heard that she stopped >eating in the middle of July and that people in Taiji thought that she >would die soon. However, she started to eat on July 22. The state of her >health seems to be deteriorating. > >The female (5.4m/2600kg when captured) in Izu-Mito Sea Paradise was >named "Asuka" in the middle of July. (Till then she was called "0-3".) >She is introduced to the visitors that she is 5.6m long, 11 years old, >and weighs 2600kg. She has appetite and is observed to eat by herself. >She sometimes breaches imitating "Yamato"(male) and swims around with >Yamato. The depression behind her blowhole disappeared and she looks >healthy. > > * * * * * * * > >We sent all the copies of protest letters we had received from you to >the Minister of Foreign Affairs and received the receipt to show that >the parcel accepted by the office of the Minister. We asked him to send >us a reply letter about what he can do on this issue till August 15. >I'll fax you our letter of request to the Minister which was sent with >the copies of the protest letters as you have staff who can read >Japanese.(Sorry I don't have time to translate it into English.) > >Take care. >Sakae, >Elsa Nature Conservancy(ENC) > Bob Chorush Web Administrator, Progressive Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) 15305 44th Ave West (P.O. Box 1037)Lynnwood, WA 98046 (425) 787-2500 ext 862, (425) 742-5711 fax email bchorush@paws.org http://www.paws.org Date: Tue, 12 Aug 1997 19:31:00 -0400 (EDT) From: PAWS To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: King Royal Message-ID: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII The Albuquerque District Court hearing on the King Royal Circus is now scheduled for Thursday instead of Wednesday. Please continue to write and call the USDA concerning this care. PAWS has a new fact sheet available about King Royal. It contains graphic photos and delineates past violations by that circus since 1993. If you would like a copy of this fact sheet, please let us know by phone (209) 745-2606 or by e.mail. The following article appeared in the Albuquerque Tribune on 8-11-97: "Thin and Sad, Circus Elephant is Doing Better: Zoo Officials Say It Will Take As Long as Six Months for Donna to Gain the ton She Needs To Be At a Healthy Weight" She's sick and still grieving the death of her friend, but a circus elephant named Donna is getting better, zoo officials say. Her recovery, however, could take as long as six months because she needs to gain back an enormous amount of weight. Donna, a 9-year-old African elephant, should weigh about 3500 to 4,000 pounds but she now tips the scales at about half that, said Ray Darnell, director of the Albuquerque Biological park. Salmonella was found in both Donna and Heather, another King Royal elephant, which died last week, Darnell said. Donna is being given antibiotics to treat the salmonella, a special diet consisting of a grass called Sudan and a variety of vitamins to fatten her and revive her strength. She was badly undernourished when she and 10 other circus animals were found packed into an overheated circus trailer last Wednesday, Darnell said. She has grown even thinner since the death of Heather, an African elephant Donna had lived with since she was born, said Tom Silva, curator of mammals for the zoo. Grief, he said, has dampened her appetite. A hearing is scheduled for Wednesday before state District Judge Robert Thompson in which he will decide whether the city should continue to have custody of two surviving elephants and eight llamas found in the trailer. The trailer was discovered by Albuquerque police after they noticed a four odor coming from it. The trailer was parked near the Albuquerque Sunport. An Asian elephant named Irene was also in the trailer and Darnell said she appears to be doing fine. She was tested for salmonella but the results were not available Sunday. The llamas are also doing well, Darnell said. All of the animals are being cared for at the zoo. Darnell said the zoo would be happy to take ownership of them. Animal rights activists have demanded that the USDA revoke King Royal's operating license and confiscate the animals. Three employees of the Texas-based King Royal circus are living on zoo grounds beside the area where the elephants are being kept. The driver of the trailer, the elephants' trainer, and a handyman are spending their nights in sleeping bags outside, Darnell said. A court order requires that the current handlers remain with the animals until the elephants are accustomed to new zoo handlers, Darnell said. "There needs to be a transition time," for the elephants, Darnell said. the USDA is investigating the incident, said Jim Rogers at the agency's Maryland headquarters. The federal agency regulates the transportation of circus animals. Date: Tue, 12 Aug 1997 19:36:50 -0400 From: allen schubert To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: (US) APHIS Press Release Dog Tethering Message-ID: <3.0.32.19970812193646.006f0338@clark.net> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" USDA press release: -------------------------------- Jim Rogers (301) 734-8563 jrogers@aphis.usda.gov Jerry Redding (202) 720-6959 jredding@usda.gov USDA OUTLAWS DOG TETHERING AS A MEANS OF HOUSING WASHINGTON, Aug. 12, 1997--The U.S. Department of Agriculture amendedthe Animal Welfare Act regulations today, disallowing tethering as a means of primary enclosure for dogs. "We don't believe putting a dog on a tether provides adequate housing under any circumstances," said Michael V. Dunn, USDA's assistant secretary for marketing and regulatory programs. "This change in regulations reflects concerns voiced by the public and affected industries during a series of public meetings we held in 1996," Dunn said. "As a result of that input, persons now using tethers as housing' will be in violation of the Animal Welfare Act." For further information contact Stephen Smith, staff animal health technician, AC, APHIS, Suite 6D02, 4700 River Road Unit 84, Riverdale, Md. 20737-1234, (301) 734-7833, or e-mail snsmith@aphis.usda.gov. This action is scheduled for publication in the Aug. 13 Federal Register and becomes effective on Sept. 12. # NOTE: USDA news releases, program announcements, and media advisories are available on the Internet. Access the APHIS Home Page by pointing your Web browser to http://www.aphis.usda.gov and clicking on "APHIS Press Releases." Also, anyone with an e-mail address can sign up to receive APHIS press releases automatically. Send an e-mail message to majordomo@info.aphis.usda.gov and leave the subject blank. In the message, type subscribe press_releases Date: Wed, 13 Aug 1997 03:16:45 +0200 From: "sa338@blues.uab.es" To: ar-news@envirolink.org Cc: sa338@blues.uab.es Subject: Bull- fighting Message-ID: <33F10AFD.912@blues.uab.es> MIME-version: 1.0 Content-type: MULTIPART/MIXED; BOUNDARY="Boundary_(ID_RhQQqWqIuyn63PLNGc1qBg)" Dear friends, I am Nuria from Spain and I bring some good news. We have achieved that 2 plazas (arenas, bull-fighting rings) are being closed! And thanks to a demonstration and a report to the police with graphical evidences condemning the terrible conditions of a plaza in lloret (near barcelona) it may be closed too very soon!!! I enclose a picture of the demonstration. For the animals, Nuria http://www.geocities.com/heartland/hills/3787 Attachment Converted: Date: Tue, 12 Aug 1997 21:54:06 -0400 From: allen schubert To: sa338@blues.uab.es, ar-news@envirolink.org Cc: sa338@blues.uab.es Subject: Admin Note--was: Bull- fighting Message-ID: <3.0.32.19970812215402.006f2634@clark.net> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" (This happens at least once a week.) Please avoid attaching files to posts to AR-News. While many subscribers may have no problem handling attachments, some do. For some people, an attached file is downloaded as gibberish, gibberish that takes time to download. For others, it may be a useless thing that is "forgotten" after the message was deleted--however, the "attachment" may still be on the hard drive. And...depending on the attachment, it *might* contain a virus if it uses a "template" (this type of virus is known as a "macrovirus"). (For virus information, there are a number of sources on the web.) So...please offer to send the attachment via private e-mail (for those subscribers who reply privately). allen Date: Tue, 12 Aug 1997 22:16:20 -0400 From: Wyandotte Animal Group To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: Mazzola skips trial in Michigan Message-ID: <1.5.4.16.19970813021620.2117705e@mail.heritage.com> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Tuesday, August 12, 1997 The Detroit Free Press Page 1B Mt. Clemens Bear's owner skips trial date The operator of a traveling show who posed his 500-pound black bear for pictures with visitors to the Mt. Clemens Gibraltar Trade Center in April failed to show up for his trial last week. Mt. Clemens authorities say they believe he endangered lives by taking pictures of visitors with the animal. Sam Mazzola did not show up Friday for his court hearing on a misdemeanor charge of exhibiting or maintaining a wild animal in the city limits, which is punishable by a $500 fine or 90 days in jail. The bear was given to the Detroit Zoo for a short while after the show, but a judge ordered it returned. Some Gibraltar patrons complained to police that he was controlling the animal with a thin leash while posing him for pictures, mainly with children. Mazzola lives in Ohio Station, Ohio, and Michigan police won't go there to get him. "We don't have the resources to bring him back here," said Mt. Clemens City Attorney Rex Burgess. By Kim North Date: Tue, 12 Aug 1997 19:53:43 -0700 (PDT) From: David J Knowles To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: [CA] The hunters, rather than the grizzlies, are protected Message-ID: <1.5.4.16.19970812195418.0a47ad32@dowco.com> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" >From The Vancouver Sun - Tuesday, August 12th, 1997 By Nicholas Read (Posted with permission of the author) The grizzly bear is an threatened species in B.C. No one knows how many - or how few - there are. Yet the B.C. government continues to allow the grizzlies to be hunted. Why? In a just -released report entitled ' Conflicts and Interests in British Columbia Bear Management,' A.D. de Leeuw, a biologist with the province's habitat protection branch in Terrace, says it's because most employees in the wildlife branch, the department responsible for managing wildlife, are hunters themselves and that most decisions taken by the branch benefit hunting and the promotion of gane species exclusively. There are no statistics to say exactly what proportion of the branch is composed of hunters, but according to a survey done earlier this year, it could be as high as 85 per cent. This is in direct contrast to the population in general, de Leeuw says. Only five per cent of British Columbians take out a hunting licence of any kind, and only .1 per cent buy licences to hunt grizzlies. A 1996 Angus Reid poll showed that 91 per cent of British Columbians oppsed the trophy hunting of bears, and 77 per cent want it banned altogether. Yet grizzly hunting continues because, de Leeuw says, wildlife branch employees want it to. Consider this. In 1979, the B.C. population of grizzlies was thought to be about 6,500 bears. That population allowed a maximum sustainable kill of 200 animals per year. However, until 1977, the legal hunter kill was twice that number. So what did the wildlfie branch do? De Leeuw says that, instead of halving the permited kill, it simply recalculated the total number of grizzlies, and conveniently doubled it to 13,000. He says the branch's history is littered with incidents like this. In the past 10 years, about 1,000 projects were funded by the Habitat Conservation Fund, a government fund established in 1981 to assist in the preservation of fish and wildlfie in their habitats. Of those 1,000 projects, 70 per cent dealt directly with so-called game species, and fewer than 10 per cent with non-game species. The rest benefited all species. >From 1935 to 1995, 720 fisheries and wildlife management reports were produced by provincial biologists and technical staff; 77 per cent were entirely concerned with the management of game species. Only 7 per cent dealt with non-game species. the rest overlapped. Writes de Leeuw: "If my review of projects and technical reports is anything indication, then about 75 to 80 per cent of all wildlife management is devoted to maintaining or furthering the interests of anglers and hunters," even though hunters and anglers comprise only five and ten per cent of the population respectively. Not that de Leeuw is against hunting per se. He owns a deer-hunting licence himself. But he is against the hunting of grizzlies which, he says, is unjustified from a conservation point of view. The only reason it continues, he says, is to satisfy the misplaced conceit of trophy hunters who regard the grizzly as the greatest hunting challenges. "Killing one of these animals for sport epitomizes the core of trophy hunting," writed de Leeuw., "and its discontinuation could seriously threaten the entire hunting edifice upon which all traditional wildlife management is based." And since most wildlife managers are hunters themselves, he concludes, they won't do anything to threaten that industry or expose that conceit. De Leeuw submitted his report to officials within the wildlife branch three months ago. He has yet to receive a reply from anyone. Wildlife branch director NAncy Bircher told me the branch "strongly disagrees" with his report, but has no plans to reply to it even now it has become a matter of public record. Nevertheless, she concedes "that there may not always be grizzly hunting [in B.C.]," and that it continues partly because of the "economic benefits" it provides to guide-outfitters. Dr de Leeuw says he has been surprised by the ministry's silence, which he describes as "deafening." "What I point out in that report is nothing unusual. All wildlife management in North America is dome by hunters and anglers." His sole intention in writing it, he says, was to do what he could to end grizzly hunting in B.C. And regardless of what the wildlife branch might believe, 91 per cent of British Columbians would wish him luck. Date: Tue, 12 Aug 1997 20:04:00 -0700 (PDT) From: David J Knowles To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: [EU] France in dock for failure to guard birds Message-ID: <1.5.4.16.19970812200434.0a47c1be@dowco.com> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" >From the Electronic Telegraph - Wedneday, August 13th, 1997 France in dock for failure to guard birds By Toby Helm, EU Correspondent in Brussels THE European Commission has risked ruffling the feathers of President Chirac by taking France to the European Court for failing to protect rare migrating birds on the Seine estuary. The court battle follows a long-running spat with the commission over bird conservation. At the 1995 EU summit in Madrid, M Chirac launched an attack on Jacques Santer, the commission president, for trying to limit the season during which French farmers could shoot birds. Now the commission has lodged a case in the Luxembourg court claiming France has flouted EU law by failing to protect migrating species in an important wetland site in northern France. Of particular concern to Brussels is the presence of a chemical plant on the Seine estuary which it says will lead to an "obvious deterioration of the habitat". The commission says that, under the terms of the 1979 Wild Birds directive, France should place more of the area around Le Havre and Rouen in a Special Protection Zone.The directive lists dozens of birds, including spoonbills, marsh harriers, corncrakes and avocets that breed in wetlands, and thousands of migrating waterfowl which need safe stop-over sites. A carefree attitude to bird protection is not unknown among French politicians. The late President Mitterrand and the former prime minister Alain Jupp both caused controversy by admitting a taste for ortolans, the tiny songbird regarded as a delicacy in France, but which is a protected species. © Copyright Telegraph Group Limited 1997. Date: Tue, 12 Aug 1997 23:12:05 -0400 From: allen schubert To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: (US) Beef recalled for possible E.coli contamination Message-ID: <3.0.32.19970812231202.00683cd8@clark.net> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" from CNN web page: ----------------------------------- Beef recalled for possible E.coli contamination August 12, 1997 Web posted at: 9:44 p.m. EDT (0144 GMT) WASHINGTON (CNN) -- An Arkansas firm voluntarily recalled about 20,000 pounds of frozen beef patties that may be contaminated with a dangerous strain of E.coli bacteria known as 0157:H7, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said Tuesday. The frozen patties, made by the Hudson Foods Company of Rogers, Arkansas, were shipped to stores nationwide in June and July. Sixteen consumers in Colorado reported getting sick after eating the Hudson products in early July, the department said. Five of them were hospitalized and have since recovered. The USDA wants any consumers who still have the products in their homes to return them to where they were purchased. The recall includes all 48-ounce packages of "Hudson Beef Burgers, Individually Quick Frozen" with the code "156A7;" three-pound packages of "Hudson 100% Pure Beef Patties, Individually Frozen" with the code "156B7;" and 15-pound boxes of "Hudson 60 - 1/4 lb Beef Patties Uncooked, Individually Quick Frozen" with the code "155B7." "Est. 13569" appears inside the USDA inspection seal on the label of the three products. No other products are affected by the recall. E.coli 0157:H7 is a potentially deadly bacteria that can cause bloody diarrhea and dehydration. Young children, the elderly and people with compromised immune systems are most susceptible to the bacteria.