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AR-NEWS Digest 512
Topics covered in this issue include:
1)
by rabbit@wantree.com.au
2) Concerns amongst New Zealand rabbit owners/breeders
by bunny
3) Fwd. Beaver deceiver
by LMANHEIM@aol.com
4) (ID) Julia Roberts filming for orang-utan documentary
by Vadivu Govind
5) Request for information
by Daniel Paulo Martins Ferreira
6) Why cats always bads?
by Jordi Ninerola
7) NZ Authorities should say "NO" to RCD(rabbit hemorrhagic
disease)
by bunny
8) Cabinet Defers RCD Decision
by bunny
9) (US) Hegins Update
by allen schubert
10) Admin Note--Subscription Options
by allen schubert
11) HEGINS (11:30pm EST)
by civillib@cwnet.com
12) It could happen again
by Andrew Gach
13) (US) Activists Block Way to Pigeon Shoot
by allen schubert
From: rabbit@wantree.com.au
Cabinet To Consider RCD (New Zealand)
Prime Minister Jim Bolger says cabinet will be considering a report on the
RCD virus today, and has indicated
that perhaps MAF had been too cautious in holding back on the introduction
of the virus..
The Ministry of Agriculture has prepared advice on several options,
including whether to let the virus run its
course.
Rabbits living on hundreds of thousands of hectares of the central South
Island are now believed to be deliberately
infected with RCD by farmers.
MAF's chief vet, Barry O'Neil, has already said he doubts RCD can be
contained in the South Island or
rabbit-prone areas.
But he says MAF's objective is to give the Government as much information as
it can, including the extent of the
spread and how much monitoring should be in place.
Conservation issues are also on the agenda, with advice from the Department
of Conservation on whether
predators are expected to switch to native fauna if rabbits aren't around.
But it's not expected that Cabinet will make any decision today on whether
MAF should begin a controlled release
of RCD to unaffected areas of the country.
Meanwhile, neither the police nor MAF will comment on claims by a group of
South Island farmers that RCD was
sent to New Zealand through the mail from Australia.
End
===========================================
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)
/`\ /`\
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jgs \_/^\_/
Date: Mon, 1 Sep 1997 12:50:09 +0800
From: bunny
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Concerns amongst New Zealand rabbit owners/breeders
Message-ID: <1.5.4.16.19970901123137.22df48a4@wantree.com.au>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
A first hand account of the dilemmas of what happens in a country where
renegade farmers spread deadly hemorrhagic disease as a pest control method of
wild rabbits after their own government said "No" to this disease.
(Incoming email from New Zealand)1st September 1997
***************************************************
>From Elayne to Rabbit Information Service
I have just been going through the biosecurity act [New Zealand]
and have found out that these farmers can be prosecuted.
So now we are trying to find a lawyer who will do the
job. I have contacted rabbit breeders around the country
they are all keen to prosecute. When it all boils down to it
these guys (the farmers) have broken the law.
I have had a number of rabbit breeders ring me about
vaccinations, their vets don't seem very clued up about
the whole thing. Can you tell me, when should young
rabbits be vaccinated (against RCD)? Is it 8 weeks or 12 weeks and will
they need a vaccination every year.
My phone hasn't stopped ringing, I had someone ring me
at 11. 0 clock last night.
The farmers have gone quiet now because they have
heard they made be prosecuted, they are asking the
Govenment for indemnity. It's makes you sick. They
are all being hailed as heroes.
The cabinet are meeting today to decide whether or
not to legalise RHD as a biocontrol.
End
===========================================
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)
/`\ /`\
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>{= Y =}<
/'-^-'\
(_) (_)
| . |
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jgs \_/^\_/
Date: Mon, 1 Sep 1997 01:24:05 -0400 (EDT)
From: LMANHEIM@aol.com
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Fwd. Beaver deceiver
Message-ID: <970901012404_299009246@emout06.mail.aol.com>
(Allen...this time I saved the article to disk, opened it in the word
processor, removed HTML code, saved as a text document, opened it in AOL,
copied and pasted it onto an email page. If this doesn't do the trick, I
~really~ resign!
Lynn)
ARGYLE, Maine (AP) - He admits it: Skip Lisle wants to put some
beavers behind bars.
Or at least behind the cedar posts and wire fencing of his Beaver
Deceiver - a contraption he invented to prevent the washed-out
roads and other damage wrought by the web-footed rodents.
Beavers blocking your brook? Critters clogging your culverts? The
solution is to confuse, not kill, the animals, says Lisle, wildlife
biologist for the Penobscot Indian Nation and self-proclaimed
``beaver buster.''
When it comes down to it, beavers just want a little peace and
quiet. They can't abide the sound and sensation of running water,
Lisle says, so they are compelled to build dams to quiet the noise.
They prefer shallow water along narrow stream outlets and tend to
build dams perpendicular to the water's current.
The Beaver Deceiver prevents damming by blocking access to such
sites. Wooden posts form a four-sided pen around the upstream end
of the culvert. Sheets of wire fencing are strung between the
posts, with openings wide enough to allow fish and other animals
through.
Although culverts themselves are sometimes made more level so water
flows through them more quietly, it's the angle of the fence that
provides the key detractor for the beavers by preventing them from
building dams at a right angle to the water flow.
``If they were intuitive, they'd just dam right across the front of
the fence,'' Lisle said. ``I hate to say it, but they're just not
very smart.''
They are fast, however. According to Lisle, beavers can block a
12-inch culvert in about 20 minutes.
Lisle developed the contraption at the request of the tribe's
Department of Natural Resources, which was faced with flooded roads
caused by culverts blocked so solid Lisle had to climb into the
pipes and clear the massive debris with a rake.
A former carpenter, Lisle tinkered with his initial design until he
found the best fencing material (wire grids used to reinforce
concrete) and the best shape (trapezoidal).
Two years and more than a dozen Beaver Deceivers later, he appears
to have succeeded in bewildering the beavers. Although active
lodges remain near all the sites, the beavers have done little more
than pile a little mud along the sides of the fences.
In Massachusetts, where Lisle recently has built two Beaver
Deceivers, the animals have been observed tugging in vain at the
wire.
``They really hate it,'' he said. ``They want to get in there in
the worst way.''
Costing between $150 and $1,000, the Beaver Deceiver may seem
expensive, but Lisle reasons that it is a small price to pay for
something that could keep beavers at bay for the next 20 years.
Towns or states may be more willing to pay for such contraptions if
they view them as part of a road design rather than a wildlife
issue, he said.
But some still ask: wouldn't it be cheaper just to shoot the pests?
``If you shoot one, as soon as you turn around, another will come
along,'' he said.
Elsewhere in Maine, state officials have found other solutions to
beaver problems, said Edwin Butler, state director of the U.S.
Department of Agriculture's program for animal damage control.
Butler, who estimates that 80 percent of the state has some kind of
beaver damage, said fences similar to the Beaver Deceiver concept
have helped some, but not all, sites. In other locations, wire mesh
is rolled into cylinders that are placed in a horseshoe shape
around culverts to block beavers' access. In other places, beavers
are trapped and moved to new locations.
Lisle credits the Penobscot tribe with giving him free rein to
develop a creative solution to the beaver problem and urges other
agencies to take a less adversarial approach to the animals.
``There are hundreds of possibilities out there that haven't been
explored,'' he said. ``People need to focus on the positive
benefits, and not see them as threatening. It doesn't have to be a
disaster. ... Beavers are part of the landscape, like water.
They're here to stay.''
Beavers, North America's largest rodent, can be found almost
anywhere in the United States, with the exception of the desert
Southwest.
Trapped to near extinction by the turn of the century, the
sharp-toothed critters have made a strong comeback in many regions.
Although the animals create wetland habitats for other species,
they also undermine roadways, clog drainage canals and flood
valuable timber and pasture land.
In the Southeast alone, beavers cause an estimated $100 million in
property damage each year, according to the U.S. Department of
Agriculture's program for animal damage control.
The program, which is part of the USDA's Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service, assists states with controlling the beaver
population through a variety of non-lethal methods:
Installing perforated plastic pipes through beaver dams to drain
the water when it reaches a desired level.
Building fences upstream from a culvert to force beavers to dam
against the fence instead of at the entrance to the culvert.
Trapping beavers and moving them to other locations.
Date: Mon, 1 Sep 1997 15:53:40 +0800 (SST)
From: Vadivu Govind
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (ID) Julia Roberts filming for orang-utan documentary
Message-ID: <199709010753.PAA09548@eastgate.cyberway.com.sg>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
>South China Morning Post
Monday September 1 1997
Roberts' ape odyssey
American actress Julia Roberts has been in Indonesia filming in the
forests of Central and East Kalimantan for a forthcoming documentary on
orang-utans, reports said yesterday.
Since arriving on Friday, the 29-year-old actress has visited Kutai
National Park and the Wana Riset Semboja orang-utan rehabilitation
centre, near the East Kalimantan capital of Balikpapan, the Jakarta Post
reported.
The centre works with orang-utans that have been kept as pets and returns
them to the wild once they have been rehabilitated, at a cost of some
three million rupiah (HK$7,900) per ape.
More than 250 orang-utans have been returned to the jungles of
Kalimantan since 1991, the newspaper report said.
Telephone calls to Roberts' presidential suite were refused and no
press coverage has been allowed of her trip.
Roberts and her nine-member film crew from Tigress Productions also
visited the Tanjung Puting National Park, in Central Kalimantan, before
leaving Indonesia yesterday.
Date: Mon, 1 Sep 1997 13:03:19 +0000 (GMT)
From: Daniel Paulo Martins Ferreira
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Request for information
Message-ID:
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII
Hi everybody.
I need to contact the International League of Doctors for Abolition of
Vivisection. The mail adress Lynmouth - Devon EX35 6EE is not valid
anymore.
Can anyone send me an e-mail or mail adress?
Thank you very much.
Daniel
Date: Tue, 02 Sep 1997 00:54:29 +0200
From: Jordi Ninerola
To: AR News
Subject: Why cats always bads?
Message-ID: <9709012358.AA16623@blues.uab.es>
MIME-version: 1.0
Content-type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
Because. Because cats always are bads in movies, games, books. I discover today a free games for
Windows 95 that the important to win are bonk repeatdly with a cartoon mallet. Game's story are
that Alicia fight with her żevil? cat Gizmo. I believe that this games promote the violence with
animals.
You can visit the page in http://www.geocities.com/~megadem/index.html
JORDI
http://www.geocities.com/hollywood/academy/2855
http://www.geocities.com/colosseum/loge/3128
SA385@blues.uab.Date: Tue, 2 Sep 1997 07:17:55 +0800
From: bunny
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: NZ Authorities should say "NO" to RCD(rabbit hemorrhagic
disease)
Message-ID: <1.5.4.16.19970902065902.2ae75222@wantree.com.au>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
New Zealand Authorities should say "No" to RCD/RHD as a Biological
Control.
(2nd September 1997)
The illegal spread of RCD (rabbit hemorrhagic disease) in New Zealand by
farmers is no reason for the New Zealand government to reverse its previous
decision of "NO" to RCD/RHD which was based on thorough
scientific investigation into the issue. The back-door approach of rogue New
Zealand farmers in importing the deadly disease of mammals for which there
is no cure and no safe vaccines to protect any species other than rabbits,
is deplorable.
If New Zealand cabinet considers legalising the RCD/RHD disease only on the
basis that it it out of control now due to illegal spread, they make a
mockery of their own consideration process which considered over 800
submissions from around the world and they make a mockery of their own legal
system. Those who imported and spread the disease broke the law and a
thorough investigation of the whole matter should be continued by police.
This should involve investigation of authorities in both New Zealand and
Australia, especially considering that Australian authorities are working on
the preparation of RCD baits and this is the technology used by New
Zealand farmers to spread the disease (New Zealand farmers mixed the
internal organs of infected rabbits with oats and spread these baits both
manually and possibly from helicopters).
The question has to be asked "Were Australian authorities involved in the
illegal import of RHD/RCD into New Zealand?". It is well known that
Australian authorities at the highest levels lost face when New Zealand said
"NO" to the use of RCD/RHD as a biological control agent. 4 out of 5 major
calicivirus groups already cause disease in humans. RCD/RHD is the last
group not yet proven to also cause disease in humans. However, preliminary
antibody levels observed in humans in Australia supposedly exposed to RCD
have been far greater than those persons not exposed to RCD (Rabbit
Information Service has obtained these figures). Antibodies are usually the
result of infection. Therefore it seems highly irresponsible to deliberately
spread this deadly
hemorrhagic disease of mammals which has only been in existence since 1984.
End.
===========================================
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 \_/^\_/
Date: Tue, 2 Sep 1997 07:19:15 +0800
From: bunny
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Cabinet Defers RCD Decision
Message-ID: <1.5.4.16.19970902070021.2ae757ac@wantree.com.au>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
Tue, 2nd September 1997
Cabinet Defers RCD Decision
The Minister for Biosecurity, Simon Upton, says now the rabbit calicivirus
disease (RCD) is present in New
Zealand its eradication is no longer possible.
Cabinet considered the situation yesterday but Mr Upton says the Government
has called for three urgent reports
for next Monday's Cabinet meeting on how its future management is to be
handled.
Cabinet has asked the Ministry of Agriculture to report on the merits of a
managed release of the virus as against
observing the unmanaged spread which is now occurring.
Mr Upton says the Department of Conservation has been asked to report on how
its contingency plan to handle
the problem of predator switch from rabbits to endangered native wildlife is
to be implemented, noting that it has
already begun monitoring the situation.
He says there is an urgent need to gather more information about the virus
now circulating in New Zealand. Areas
identified for immediate research include characterising the virus and
testing its virulence so that its effectiveness
can be determined.
As the spring advances it will also be necessary to monitor insects active
in the vicinity of the virus to ascertain
whether there are naturally occurring vectors for transmission.
MAF would continue to manage monitoring and surveillance until a research
programme is underway.
Mr Upton says the Department of Conservation had also started monitoring the
location of high priority protected
species for evidence of increased predator activity.
He says no decision has yet been made on whether further action should be
taken to exploit the use of RCD as a
rabbit control tool in a managed programme, but he will be meeting with
parties interested in the use of RCD as a
control tool tomorrow.
Mr Upton says MAF had advised that releases of rabbit calicivirus disease
(RCD) virus have been made by
landholders in the most rabbit prone areas of the South Island and possibly
in the North Island, and that it is no
longer feasible to eradicate the virus from New Zealand.
Information to date indicated the virus had been widely used as a biocide
(i.e. spread to rabbits through baits or
injections) and that only minor "rabbit-to-rabbit" spread appeared to be
occurring in many areas.
The Cabinet agreed that MAF should now scale down its emergency response
procedures to a managed regime.
This will mean the closure of both the local and national Outbreak Response
Centres. Monitoring and surveillance
in the field will continue.
MAF's Enforcement Unit, supported by the Police, will also continue to give
priority to investigating offences
associated with the illegal importation of the virus.
===========================================
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 \_/^\_/
Date: Mon, 01 Sep 1997 22:23:04 -0400
From: allen schubert
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (US) Hegins Update
Message-ID: <3.0.32.19970901222302.006f673c@clark.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
Six to eight activists using lockboxes blocked a main entrance road from at
least 7am to well into the afternoon. At least one activist was reported
to have suffered from heat related injuries. Traffic was routed around the
protest. (Though we strongly supported their actions, this did delay and
confuse the Rescue convoy for Fund For Animals.) I do not know the status
of the activists at this time--especially the one with the heat injury
(other reports will be coming out soon, I'm sure). Certainly, blocking the
road made it difficult for many Shoot Supporters (SS) to get to the site
and may have discouraged some people from attending (as well as causing
great difficulty for one Hegins resident's yard sale).
Other actions...
--Red paint splattered on Hegins since on the interstate.
--Reports of shattered windows at the home of one of the Hegins Shoot
organizers.
--Protestors lined the the streets of Hegins on the remaining route to
enter the park.
--One car in a far parking lot was set ablaze.
A few assaults occured on activists within the park while engaged in Rescue
activities by SS.
A large SS crowd gathered around a tree, money was collected to motivate an
SS member...said SS member climbed the tree to a point about three stories
above ground to capture/dismember a wounded pigeon. He did not succeed.
Upon returning to the ground, Hegins police promptly removed him from the
area and, reportedly, arrested him.
The police reported a "riot" situation at the Vet Vans after the Shoot
officially ended. ("Riot" was the word used--I was filing an assault
report with local police at the time when the report came over the radio.)
A large SS mob gathered around the Vet Vans. I didn't catch the full
situation--however, police intervened and the SS mob eventually broke into
their own version of *protest* by sitting in the parking area and singing,
"God Bless America"--a scene lasting 2-3 minutes (did they forget the words?).
Date: Mon, 01 Sep 1997 22:28:00 -0400
From: allen schubert
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Admin Note--Subscription Options
Message-ID: <3.0.32.19970901222758.006f0e34@clark.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
Why constantly repost this? Well, some people didn't keep the welcome
letter.......
Here are some items of general information (found in the "welcome letter"
sent when people subscribe--but often lose!)...included: how to post and
how to change your subscription status (useful if you are going on
vacation--either by "unsubscribe" or "postpone").
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For all commands, use a blank Subject line.
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To switch back to immediate mail, and to get copies of *your* postings
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ar-admin@envirolink.org
Date: Mon, 1 Sep 1997 20:32:05 -0700 (PDT)
From: civillib@cwnet.com
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: HEGINS (11:30pm EST)
Message-ID: <199709020332.UAA15194@borg.cwnet.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
8 activists are still being held at District Court in Hegins -- all on
$50,000-$75,000 bail for multiple felony and misdemeanor counts. We are
trying to get a final list of the charges which include riot, conspiracy to
riot, obstructing a roadway, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, and
conspiracy.
The bail was originally $75,000 but according to one report may have already
been reduced. They are NOT IN JAIL. Seems the Hegins people want to make a
windfall profit -- along with murdering thousands of birds -- collecting it.
No such luck. The 8 have announced a mass hunger strike, despite some
serious injuries sustained from their nearly 12 hour blockade of the one and
only road through Hegins to the shoot. One activists has burns on her arm
caused by the oil on a saw blade, and another has cuts on his arm caused by
the saw. Several others were taken to the hospital for heat related exhaustian.
The bail will not be paid; the protestors want their protest to continue,
and urge others to follow suit.
A representative from the Activist Civil Liberties Committee is now being
with the judge. More when we have it.
cres
Date: Mon, 01 Sep 1997 20:26:33 -0700
From: Andrew Gach
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: It could happen again
Message-ID: <340B8769.7C94@worldnet.att.net>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
U.S. approval hearings will revive thalidomide demons
Reuter Information Service
WASHINGTON (September 1, 1997 11:34 a.m. EDT) - It sounds like a miracle
drug, working against such scourges as cancer, leprosy and AIDS, but the
seemingly wondrous drug being considered for approval by a U.S. Food and
Drug Administration committee next week is thalidomide, which caused
thousands of children around the world to be born with horrendous birth
defects.
The very name of the drug, prescribed with the benign intent of helping
pregnant women overcome morning sickness, evokes images of people with
flippers instead of arms, confined to wheelchairs by
withered legs.
Thalidomide was banned worldwide in 1962, but not before up to 12,000
children were born with deformities.
Now the drug is enjoying a resurgence. The very qualities that make it
so dangerous to developing embryos make it useful against the growth
processes that lead to tumors.
On Thursday the Dermatologic and Ophthalmic Drugs Advisory Committee
will discuss a request by Santa Fe, New Mexico-based Celgene Corp.,
which wants the drug, which it would market as Synovir, licensed for
treating leprosy.
Celgene says it has also found positive effects against the wasting that
accompanies AIDS, and other drug companies are lining up behind it.
Rockville, Maryland-based EntreMed Inc says the drug may work against
prostate cancer. Working with the National Cancer Institute, the
company says it has also seen good results with brain cancer,
glioblastoma, a tumor of the central nervous system, and Kaposi's
sarcoma -- a once-rare cancer that is now one of the markers for AIDS.
Bristol-Myers Squibb has the rights to thalidomide analogs that are
being developed as oral anti-angiogenic drugs -- drugs that block the
growth of tumors by stopping the blood vessels that feed them.
A study published in the "New England Journal of Medicine" in May found
thalidomide worked against mouth ulcers in people with AIDS, although it
had many side-effects.
The mouth ulcers can be serious -- some of the patients have to be fed
through tubes because they cannot eat normally.
"Thalidomide is the first treatment shown in a scientific study to heal
those ulcers, but the course should be carefully monitored and limited
in its duration because of the drug's potential toxicity," said Jack
Killen of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease
(NIAID) Division of AIDS.
Other researchers said it might work in graft-versus-host disease, which
can kill transplant patients.
Thalidomide has been used for decades in Brazil, having been given to an
estimated 25,000 of that country's 240,000 patients with leprosy.
Victims of the drug are watching cautiously. They want it carefully
controlled, and warn it may have leave a legacy across the generations.
Brazil's Thalidomide's Victim's Association says illiterate users are
unaware of the risks of the drugs, and often pass it on to friends. It
says thousands of deformed babies have been born as a result.
The British-based Thalidomide Action Group says 11 of the 380 children
born to thalidomide victims there have limb defects themselves.
It is backing a controversial Australian scientist, William McBride, who
says he has evidence the damage done by thalidomode can be passed down
from generation to generation by altering the DNA in sperm and egg
cells.
McBride was struck off the Australian medical register in 1982 after he
falsified results on another drug. McBride, who first warned of the
dangers of thalidomide 30 years ago, said he was afraid it
"could happen again."
By MAGGIE FOX, Health and Science Correspondent
===========================================================
On the margin: Thalidomide had been tested extensively on various animal
species before its release; none of the animal studies predicted birth
defects.
The drug companies are trying to revive their investment now, putting
the lives of patients at risk as they did in the 60s.
Andy
Date: Mon, 01 Sep 1997 23:41:33 -0400
From: allen schubert
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (US) Activists Block Way to Pigeon Shoot
Message-ID: <3.0.32.19970901234130.006efd68@clark.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
from AP Wire page:
-----------------------------------
09/01/1997 22:16 EST
Activists Block Way to Pigeon Shoot
HEGINS, Pa. (AP) -- Seven animal rights activists created a human road
block Monday by linking their arms within 10-gallon containers of
concrete, closing the main road leading to an annual pigeon shoot for 10
hours.
Protesters at the Hegins Labor Day Pigeon Shoot, where participants shoot
at an estimated 5,000 pigeons released from cages, dashed after wounded
birds and rushed them to medical attention in the parking lot.
The shoot has drawn protests for years. The road block, however, was a
new twist.
The protesters could not be moved because they sat on the ground in a
circle on Route 25 with their arms linked through plastic tubes that were
encased in the concrete-filled containers. Rescue crews had to use
special equipment to cut through the concrete.
The road is the main route from Interstate 81 to the event in this town
30 miles northeast of Harrisburg.
Despite the road block, the shoot went on without a hitch, state police
said. Traffic was rerouted to another road.
Organizers say the shoot, which began in 1934, attracts 10,000 people
each year and raises about $40,000 for the park and local charities.
Last September, the Fund for Animals, which has protested the shoot since
the 1980s, compiled about 27 certificates signed by producers,
screenwriters and actors, including Alec Baldwin, Alicia Silverstone and
Dennis Leary, urging Gov. Tom Ridge to stop the event.
Ridge has refused to ask Hegins to stop the shoot, saying he doesn't want
to interfere in local decisions.
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