AR-NEWS Digest 568

Topics covered in this issue include:

  1) Robodeer
     by Andrew Gach 
  2) Re: We can't keep abusing chimps in name of research
     by SequoiaBis@aol.com
  3) [UK] - Cosmetic Tests On Animals Stopped
     by "Miggi" 
  4) (UK) - Cosmetic *product* testing stopped
     by Chris Wright 
  5) (US) Animal Cruelty Trial Could End Today
     by allen schubert 
  6) (US) Farmers May Go To Jail
     by allen schubert 
  7) RFI: Hog Factories disguised as "farms"
     by "Patrick Tohill" 
  8) Re: We can't keep abusing chimps in name of research
     by Barry Kent MacKay 
  9) AR-News Admin Note--was:Re: We can't keep abusing chimps in
  name of research
     by allen schubert 
 10) Subscription Options--Admin Note
     by allen schubert 
 11) AR-News Admin Note--was:Re: We can't keep abusing chimps in
  name of research
     by allen schubert 
 12) [CA] Pets suffer as organisms become resistant to drugs
     by David J Knowles 
 13) (US) Cincy Zoo's elephant levy is defeated
     by allen schubert 
 14) Cleveland Amory book signings (US)
     by Michael Markarian 
 15) Colombia Animal Smuggling Penalties Sought
     by LCartLng@gvn.net (Lawrence Carter-Long)
 16) Pigeon Shoot in North Carolina
     by Michael Markarian 
 17) Heather
     by Elisa Bob 
 18) Wolves in Captivity Now Have Haven
     by SDURBIN@VM.TULSA.CC.OK.US
 19) Reverend on the Run (scum called animal activist)
     by Barry Kent MacKay 
 20) (BE) Belgian Mad Cow Carcase Sold as Animal Feed Abroad
     by allen schubert 
 21) (CH) Health: Animal-Human Transplants Coming
     by allen schubert 
 22) Boycott of Gardenburger & Flav-R-Pac Called
     by LCartLng@gvn.net (Lawrence Carter-Long)
 23) (US) Wildlife refuge needs your help -- NJ
     by allen schubert 
 24) (US) ANIMAL WELFARE REMAINS HER PASSION
     by allen schubert 
 25) (US)
     by allen schubert 
 26) Re: OR Rabbit Liberation
     by BSVILA 
 27) AR-News Admin Note--was:Re: OR Rabbit Liberation
     by allen schubert 
 28) BRITAIN HALTS ANIMAL TESTING OF COSMETICS
     by Vegetarian Resource Center 
 29) [CA]  Frog threatens subdivsion plan
     by David J Knowles 
 30) (NZ)North Island farmers consider rabbit virus
     by bunny 
 31) (US) PAMELA LEE PUTS THE FREEZE ON FUR
     by allen schubert 
 32) [UK] Cosmetics firms end animal experiments
     by David J Knowles 
 33) [UK] Blood cells thought to transmit human BSE
     by David J Knowles 
 34) [UK] Food warning as cases of E coli double
     by David J Knowles 
 35) [UK] Editor is cleared over campaign to kill birds
     by David J Knowles 
 36) Fur Free Friday - Dallas
     by BanFurNow@aol.com
Date: Wed, 05 Nov 1997 21:34:52 -0800
From: Andrew Gach 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Robodeer
Message-ID: <346156FC.32D7@worldnet.att.net>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
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'Robodeer' keeps California hunters honest

Scripps-McClatchy Western 
RED BLUFF, Calif. (November 5, 1997 11:16 a.m. EST) 

A trio of hunters jumped from their rig with guns ready, each firing
multiple times even when the deer failed to drop, run, or bleed.

Another motorist crouched in glaring headlights and pulled the trigger
while his wife and children waited inside the car.

Similar scenes were repeated dozens of times during deer season, and the
hunters never got any venison to show for their trouble - only
citations.

A deer impostor is out there enticing hunters to shoot with its
remote-controlled body parts. The deer has real hair and antlers. It
even turns its head to watch pickups approach and wiggles its tail.

"We thought it was a fake so I pulled my gun back. Then I saw it move,"
Heidi Williams, 23, of Cottonwood told a warden after shooting at it.

Williams was one of 10 gullible hunters duped this weekend, the last
days of deer season near Red Bluff, by a bullet-riddled battery-operated
buck. Williams was cited Sunday on suspicion of shooting on a public
road, shooting onto private property and hunting without a license on a
4,000-acre ranch west of Red Bluff.

Hunters shot at the $600 buck from the road, from inside pickups or with
spotlights - all of which are illegal. A few fired in the daylight in
front of no trespassing signs.

After the robodeer was set up near a public road so drivers could see it
from either direction, hunters fired so quickly the wardens barely had
time to prepare.

Sharp-eyed shooters who spot the buck as counterfeit and yell, "Here
decoy, decoy!" are sometimes rewarded with an "Exorcist"-style
360-degree turn of the head.

About 40 hunters in California's Tehama and Shasta counties have been
seduced by appetizing deer decoys placed in favorite poaching spots in
the past 13 months, said Dan Fehr, a state Department of Fish and Game
warden in Shasta County.

The decoy's modest three-point rack and subtle movements motivate
motorists to perch a rifle on the pickup windowsill and aim from the
passenger seat.

A little reflective tape on its glass eyes gives a dramatic "caught in
the headlights" look to people hunting at dusk or at night.

Hunters sometimes warn others on their citizens band radio or honk and
yell "Decoy!" at oncoming cars. One man was so angry he hoisted the
Styrofoam-frame deer into his pickup before wardens jumped from their
hiding spot to stop him, said Tehama County Fish and Game Warden DeWayne
Little.

"A lot of people, to keep from being embarrassed, say they knew it was a
decoy all along," Little said.

During secret decoy operations, a pair of wardens sit in "the hole" - a
covert spot near the road and out of bullet range. Using remote control,
they turn the deer's head slightly or wag its tail enough to look real.
Too much movement makes it looks like a Disney character.

More wardens are on the lookout nearby, with their pickups poised ready
to chase if the hunters fire and flee.

Of the dozen Fish and Game decoy stings this past year in Tehama and
Shasta counties, only one passed without bullets flying at the
mechanical mannequin, Fehr said.

Each decoy program is approved by a judge and district attorney of the
county, Fehr said. And decoys are always staged a safe distance from
residences.

Since beginning the decoy program in Shasta and Tehama counties in 1996,
wardens have had more success stopping illegal hunters than by simply
patrolling for them, Fehr said. The Department of Fish and Game and the
National Park Service also have pig and bear decoys in California.

Some hunters said the decoy is entrapment, especially during a lean deer
season.

"It's making an honest man dishonest," said Bob McLeod, 43, of Anderson
who was cited Saturday on suspicion of shooting from a public road.
"They cause buck fever by putting the dummy deer out there."

Though McLeod said the program is good, he suggested wardens focus on
people who hunt at night, shoot from their vehicle or hunt in illegal
areas. He was in a legal hunting area when caught.

To prove the program is not entrapment, wardens keep a tally of hunters
who see the decoy but don't shoot. Wardens also are careful not to dress
the bogus beast in a trophy antler rack, which could be too alluring to
resist.

"We're attempting to apprehend people who are predisposed to violate,"
Fehr said. "We're not out there trying to bag deer hunters in general."

Hunters are not the only ones fooled by the decoy. A man tried to
protect the fake buck and scare it away. He tossed rocks at it until its
spindly, hoofless legs were up in the air.

"We have a lot of nonhunters yell at it, honk and try to scare it off so
it won't be hunted," Fehr said.

By ANNE HART, The Record Searchlight in Redding, Calif.
Date: Thu, 6 Nov 1997 04:11:06 -0500 (EST)
From: SequoiaBis@aol.com
To: mimus@sympatico.ca, ar-news@envirolink.org
Cc: zoocheck@idirect.com
Subject: Re: We can't keep abusing chimps in name of research
Message-ID: <971106040257_-1862331022@emout03.mail.aol.com>

In a message dated 97-11-05 02:03:25 EST, mimus@sympatico.ca writes
Barry writes;
<< But the work threw a glaring spotlight on the morality of abusing
 >chimpanzees in scientific research.  If chimps could think, extrapolate,
 >anticipate, display sorrow, joy, self-awareness, friendship and love,
 >and could even communicate, is there moral justification for their
 >abuse?  In preference to facing the question, the scientific community
 >turned its collective back on Fouts.>>

     Wow how insightful.  Its actually wrong to experiment on Chimps!  Forgive
the cynicism, but we have known that the great apes are capable of
communicating through sign language for over 20 years now.  Dr. Francine
(Penny) Patterson from Woodside, CA. has been intelligently talking with her
Gorilla companion Koko since 1976.  Did it actually take the fact that Chimps
could not acquire AIDS, to realize that these animals deserve our respect.
 Nice to see you and Fouts come out of the dark ages on this issue, although
I am sure that you will find some logical reason to side with the scientists.
 Please forgive my skepticism on this very important book?.  

However, I have become so annoyed with the exchange of insults between people
who consider themselves animal rights supporters that I have given up any
hope of a civilized discussion. Since I have been on this AR list I do not
believe that I have agreed with any of your positions on the major issues
facing the AR movement.  
I am sure it must be my shortcoming, and my lack of understanding of the
issues, since there seems to be quite a few people, (devoted followers of
your rhetoric) that appear to side with you.  Nonetheless, I shall try to
explain my downright discouragement with you and your group of cronies.
 Please do not ask me for evidence to support my feelings, it just happens to
be my gut reaction to you and your friends.

I have had to witness the slandering and discrediting of good people on this
list who have done nothing more then try their best to help animals. I know
that I am very capable of being just as sarcastic and insulting, but this is
usually in reaction to and in defense of those who are being maligned.  I
have never heard such hateful remarks made against my colleagues on this AR
list.
Remarks that should be reserved for the disdainful abusers of animals, not
made against those who are attempting to stop the abuse.  I have become very
disillusioned with the outspoken portion of this list who have become very
crass and vulgar when referring to my AR friends.  People who would probably
consider themselves (ladies &gentlemen?) have concordantly resorted to the
most outrageously offensive words conceivable.  

     This type of behavior is never acceptable, but it would be understandable if
they used this same type of obscene, crude, outlandish language toward the
real animal abusers in this world.  I know it is often stated by those who
are casting the stones, that it is unnecessary to rebuke the animal abusers
since we all know how bad they are.  Yes but nevertheless, it would be nice
to, on occasion have them single out the real perpetrators of violence in our
society, instead of constantly degrading those who are trying to effectuate
some real change.

Since we are all being candid with our feelings, let me just say, that I
think that you have been very provocative and mean spirited toward people who
are devoted to the AR movement.  It is one thing to disagree with policy and
tactics, but to stoop to degrading insults, and harsh hateful words to
discredit them, to me is the lowest form of (AR person?) imaginable.

     This is obstructionist activity at its best.  This is the mind of a
welfarist if ever I heard one.  Discouraging and blatantly condemning those
who are actively trying to make a positive change is despicable.  Trying to
excuse these insults with the feeble explanation that you simply disagree on
policy is totally inadequate and unacceptable.  This still does not explain
the hate and contempt for people who are trying to help animals, no matter
how misguided you feel their actions might be.

Certainly, you have every right to disagree with their methodology, but your
obvious hateful scorn, makes one wonder, if you actually support the AR
movement.  Banishment from AR news for past distortions, is perhaps a clue
that we should all heed.  I guess from my perspective we have exhausted the
debate on the release of Mink, and I am therefore giving my analysis.  I
thought the discussion was so distasteful so provocative so empty of
alternative ideas and so unproductive.  

     I believe that I have contributed all that I can on this subject, and I will
for now disengage from this contentious and at this stage pointless and
meaningless debate, and move on to more productive areas of learning and
proselytizing.  I shall of course continue to post what I feel is useful
information for those who are still keeping an open mind on the subject of
health and nutrition, and of course you can accept or reject these ideas, as
you see fit.  However, I hope you will not turn your back on the process of
examining all positions on this subject.

Mario Bello
Sequoia Bison Society

Date: Thu, 6 Nov 1997 12:35:55 +0000
From: "Miggi" 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: [UK] - Cosmetic Tests On Animals Stopped
Message-ID: <199711061233.MAA23838@serv4.vossnet.co.uk>
MIME-Version: 1.0
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>From ITV Teletext (page 313) -
     Cosmetic tests on animals will end from today, after three companies 
holding licences voluntarily agreed to stop, Hom Office minister Lord 
Williams said.
     He said it was a significant step towards reducing the number of 
animals used for experiments in Britain.
     But he agreed that cosmetic tests are only a small part of the 2.7 
million done every year.
-
Miggi
Date: Thu, 06 Nov 1997 13:16:14 GMT
From: Chris Wright 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (UK) - Cosmetic *product* testing stopped
Message-ID: <346ec2eb.16317571@post.demon.co.uk>
MIME-Version: 1.0
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Further to Miggi's post, there's this  from the Yahoo UK news website
Thursday November 6, 12:19 PM GMT

Cosmetics Tests On Animals Halted

Cosmetic testing on animals has ceased, Home Office Minister Lord
Williams announced.

Three companies holding four licences to test on animals agreed to
stop the tests following approaches by the Government.

Lord Williams said it was a significant step towards reducing the
number of animals used for experiments in Britain.

But he agreed the cosmetic testing was only a small part of the 2.7
million tests done on animals for medical and safety research each
year.

Animal campaigners have been protesting for years about cruelty to
animals with the testing of lipsticks and other beauty aids.

The Government had said it would not renew the licences which were due
to run up to the year 2002.

Some 250 rats, guinea pigs and rabbits were killed last year after
being used to test cosmetics for such things as skin sensitivity.

There were 2,800 cosmetic tests - .01% (.01%) of the overall number of
animal tests.
----

N.B. This ban just relates to finished products and *not* to
ingredients, which will continue to be tested as before. The BUAV have
said that the ban will only affect about 10% of the animals used for
testing cosmetics, but it's better than nothing.

Chris Wright
Date: Thu, 06 Nov 1997 09:38:58 -0500
From: allen schubert 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (US) Animal Cruelty Trial Could End Today
Message-ID: <3.0.32.19971106093846.006e0064@pop3.clark.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

from CNN custom news http://www.cnn.com/
--------------------------------------------------
Iowa State News
Reuters
06-NOV-97

Animal Cruelty Trial Could End Today

(BLOOMFIELD) -- The trial of two young Iowa men charged in the killing of
16 cats at a Fairfield animal shelter could end today. Prosecutors in the
trial of Chad Lamansky and Daniel Myers say they're cutting down their
witness list... and expect the trial to wrap up today. Prosecutors are also
focusing on the value of the cats. They say since the two men have admitted
the killings... they'll prove the cats were worth at least 500 dollars.
That's one of the elements in the felony criminal charges against the two men. 
Date: Thu, 06 Nov 1997 09:43:45 -0500
From: allen schubert 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (US) Farmers May Go To Jail
Message-ID: <3.0.32.19971106094343.006e0064@pop3.clark.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

(of interest to those working on factory farming and environmental concerns)
from CNN custom news http://www.cnn.com/
-------------------------------------------
North Carolina State News
Reuters
06-NOV-97

Farmers May Go To Jail

(HENDERSONVILLE) -- Farmers may for the first time be going to jail over
animal waste treatment violations. The owners of Henderson County's Sexton
Farm near Flat Rock were told by a judge last year to close their farm
because they had not installed a new waste management system. James and
Charles Sexton also were supposed to remove cattle. But State Attorney
General Mike Easley says the Sextons ignored the order. Easley has won an
order of contempt from the court, and says the judge has ``pretty much'' told
                    the Sextons he will give them 30 days in the Henderson
County jail. Easley says he'll
                    send attorneys back to court if after that 30 days the
farm isn't closed... or fitted with a new
                    waste system. 
Date: Thu, 6 Nov 1997 09:58:29 -0500
From: "Patrick Tohill" 
To: 
Subject: RFI: Hog Factories disguised as "farms"
Message-ID: <199711061459.JAA29356@bretweir.total.net>
MIME-Version: 1.0
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The following excerpt was forwarded to me by a friend with a country home.
I wonder if anyone has information that could help in the following
situation. He is wondering specifically about regulations for Ontario,
Canada (I'm pretty confident I can find these anyway); however, any
information relating to the waste produced by such a large farm, damage to
the water, wildlife, etcetera would be extremely helpful (and a little
harder to come by). If you don't have any specific information yourself but
can point me to a good web resource or pass me an email address for a group
or individual that might know that would be great.

Please respond by private email.



> I'm writing for any information you may have on regulations for Hog Ranch
> farming in Ontario. You see, we have a 5000+ pig farm going in 1 mile to
the
> north and they are located on a cold-water flood plain. The river is
called
> Big Creek and it flows into the Inner BAy on Lake Erie. Less than 4 miles
> away is the High School with 700 people using water from this river. The
> Regional Council has passed a building permit and says they have done
their
> jobs. They say this because they have never encounterd such a shit
factory.
> This farm has the ability to produce in one month, the same waste that
Port
> Rowan, Courtland and Langton (villages near by) can in one year. The
> potential for damage to fish and wildlife from the farm down to the lake
is
> incredible. The council is relying on the farmer's word to by a Nutrient
> Management Plan that will govern the waste treatment, storage and
> distribution but, these plans are all different and not one word of this
> verbal agreement is written down on any legal paper. This farmer is from
> Switzerland and has located here because of the lax rules. All the
> neighbours are very upset to say the least. The smell and  the fact that
our
> property value will go down because of this factory for hogs is just not
fair. 
>        Ross Bateman has spear-headed a full investigation and action-plan
> with the federal government and seems to have most people involved that
> should be. The only thing we really need is some legal position or
> requirement for this farmer. If a sewage treatment plant were going in
the
> same flood-plain, all hell would break loose. Because it is a farm it
seems
> to be "ok". If you can help with information and advice, let me know.

Date: Thu, 06 Nov 1997 11:01:48 -0800
From: Barry Kent MacKay 
To: SequoiaBis@aol.com
Cc: ar-news@envirolink.org, zoocheck@idirect.com
Subject: Re: We can't keep abusing chimps in name of research
Message-ID: <3462141C.5206@sympatico.ca>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
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Dear Mario,

What on EARTH is your problem?

SequoiaBis@aol.com wrote:
> 
> In a message dated 97-11-05 02:03:25 EST, mimus@sympatico.ca writes
> Barry writes;
> << But the work threw a glaring spotlight on the morality of abusing
>  >chimpanzees in scientific research.  If chimps could think, extrapolate,
>  >anticipate, display sorrow, joy, self-awareness, friendship and love,
>  >and could even communicate, is there moral justification for their
>  >abuse?  In preference to facing the question, the scientific community
>  >turned its collective back on Fouts.>>
> 
>         Wow how insightful.  Its actually wrong to experiment on Chimps! 

Each scientist who comes to that conclusion represents a plus.  Now try
to think about this.  I have 500 words in which to summarize a person's
life work; plug his book IF I think it's worth reading (and I do...I
don't see the value of only reading that which comes from people who
think exactly as I do); to provide the information of how to obtain it,
and the information on the lecture, itself.  AND I must remember that
I'm writing for a very general audience.  OF COURSE I know that it is
not "moral" to experiment on chimpanzees (or any other animal) but the
gernal public and the law of the land conclude otherwise, so arguments
that show the relationship between humans and chimpanzees should, in my
opinion, be  heard by maximum numbers of "ordinary" people.


 Forgive
> the cynicism, but we have known that the great apes are capable of
> communicating through sign language for over 20 years now.  Dr. Francine
> (Penny) Patterson from Woodside, CA. has been intelligently talking with her
> Gorilla companion Koko since 1976.  Did it actually take the fact that Chimps
> could not acquire AIDS, to realize that these animals deserve our respect.

NO...it took the mistaken thought that chimps COULD contract AIDS to
cause hundreds of them be imprisoned, the very thing Fouts and Goodall
are trying to rescue them from.  Fouts long ago realized that these
animals deserve our respect, and so did I, so again, what on Earth is
your problem?

Mario, if I were you I'd seriously consider your lifestyle, perhaps your
diet.  I worry about your hostility, directed, as it is, toward anyone
who dares to challenge you (with solid evidence) or, in this case, does
nothing more than write about something that, for whatever reason, you
think ought not to be mentioned.  I'm a director of the organization
hosting the lecture, for heaven's sake; we present lots of people who we
don't agree with entirely; what would please you?  A world populated
entirely of Mario-clones?

>  Nice to see you and Fouts come out of the dark ages on this issue, although
> I am sure that you will find some logical reason to side with the scientists.
>  Please forgive my skepticism on this very important book?.

Have you read it?  What part do you disagree with.  Fouts has rescued
many chimps from close confinement.  They can't be put back in the wild
(it would be a disaster as many were deliberately infected...not by
Fouts...with Hepatitis B, apart from which efforts to reintroduce such
animals have been disastrous, precisely because of the highly social
structure in which discreet populations of chimps live) but they can be
given compassionate care, and Fouts and Goodall seek to do that.  I'm
not sure that I agree that the money needed is best spent that way
(which is something we COULD debate) but I'll be damned if I'm going to
criticize them for the effort. 

> 
> However, I have become so annoyed with the exchange of insults between people
> who consider themselves animal rights supporters that I have given up any
> hope of a civilized discussion.

The best way to generate civilized discussion is to practice it.

 Since I have been on this AR list I do not
> believe that I have agreed with any of your positions on the major issues
> facing the AR movement.

So?  My positions are:  People should not eat meat or other animal
products when alternatives are available.  People should not experiment
on human or non human animals.  People should establish legal rights for
animals.  In law, animals should have rights inherent to their self
interests, and no longer be regarded as property.  The fur industry or
any other exploitive use of animals is not justified by the employment
it provides, thus ought to end.  Animals suffering from one form of
cruelty and subjected to yet another, possibly worse, form of cruelty,
ought not be be called "liberated".

I'm sorry that you don't agree with these things, but unless you give me
some solid reason to change my mind, I shall continue to do so.

> I am sure it must be my shortcoming, and my lack of understanding of the
> issues, since there seems to be quite a few people, (devoted followers of
> your rhetoric) that appear to side with you.  Nonetheless, I shall try to
> explain my downright discouragement with you and your group of cronies.
>  Please do not ask me for evidence to support my feelings, it just happens to
> be my gut reaction to you and your friends.

Most of whom I've never met...if they're my "friends" (and believe me, I
so consider many of them..I call them "cyber-friends" and I like
friendship) it must be because I may sense, or because I agree with them
when they make sense to me.  But my standards are different.  As I
pointed out with reference to Bob MacKenzie, "gut reaction" can lead
people astray.

> 
> I have had to witness the slandering and discrediting of good people on this
> list who have done nothing more then try their best to help animals.

But each time it's pointed out that it's the tactics that are question,
you insist on calling it an attack on the individual.  Even Coral, for
all her anger and defensiveness, admits to no personal hostility.  To
her credit I think she understands the need to debate.

 I know
> that I am very capable of being just as sarcastic and insulting, but this is
> usually in reaction to and in defense of those who are being maligned.  I
> have never heard such hateful remarks made against my colleagues on this AR
> list.
> Remarks that should be reserved for the disdainful abusers of animals, not
> made against those who are attempting to stop the abuse.

Then go to that other network where they are (Talk Animal Politics, or
whatever it's called).  I debate with those kinds of people all day
long...here I want to discuss areas of both agreement and disagreement
with my peers.  And I DON'T want everyone agreeing (or disagreeing)
automatically with everything I say; if I'm wrong I want to be shown
why, and I'll change (as I have).  

  I have become very
> disillusioned with the outspoken portion of this list who have become very
> crass and vulgar when referring to my AR friends.  People who would probably
> consider themselves (ladies &gentlemen?) have concordantly resorted to the
> most outrageously offensive words conceivable.

Now Mario, grow up a little...you're going to trigger some quotes from
Ione, who backs up what she says...Since this missive is directed at me,
what is the "most outragiously offensive words conceivalbe" that I've
uttered?  (I think if I have upset you, you must lead a wonderfully
sheltered life.)

> 
>         This type of behavior is never acceptable, but it would be understandable if
> they used this same type of obscene, crude, outlandish language toward the
> real animal abusers in this world.

I'm not going to buy into you unsubstantiated claim that I've used such
language, but let me repeat (for all the good it'll do) that this is a
list for US, not THEM!

  I know it is often stated by those who
> are casting the stones, that it is unnecessary to rebuke the animal abusers
> since we all know how bad they are.  Yes but nevertheless, it would be nice
> to, on occasion have them single out the real perpetrators of violence in our
> society, instead of constantly degrading those who are trying to effectuate
> some real change.

We actually do that, but to be EFFECTIVE (which is what interests me) we
MUST hone our arguments; we must be accurate in what we say; we MUST
garner public support.  We can't just say something and not back it up
when we are challenging so much of the status quo.  It does not work,
and if you use such tactics, if you demonstrage ignorance, it will
prevent you from changing the ways in which animals are abused by
society.

> 
> Since we are all being candid with our feelings, let me just say, that I
> think that you have been very provocative and mean spirited toward people who
> are devoted to the AR movement.  It is one thing to disagree with policy and
> tactics, but to stoop to degrading insults, and harsh hateful words to
> discredit them, to me is the lowest form of (AR person?) imaginable.

A limited imagination is a sad thing.
> 
>         This is obstructionist activity at its best.  This is the mind of a
> welfarist if ever I heard one.  Discouraging and blatantly condemning those
> who are actively trying to make a positive change is despicable.  Trying to
> excuse these insults with the feeble explanation that you simply disagree on
> policy is totally inadequate and unacceptable.  This still does not explain
> the hate and contempt for people who are trying to help animals, no matter
> how misguided you feel their actions might be.

Examples, Mario...you're making very serious charges against very good
people (I think, and I'll exclude myself...the only one you name) so try
to back up what you say.  If I am "the enemy" heaven help us.  If the
movement depends on cultish devotion to "the word" according to whomever
(although in your case it would appear to be Mario) then it'll fail,
utterly.  I'm used to successes and I want more, and I want to use the
tools that have been proven to work.  And yes, I AM critical of things
that are counterproductive or hurtful to animals, but I have not
launched personal attacks, so why must you?

> 
> Certainly, you have every right to disagree with their methodology, but your
> obvious hateful scorn, makes one wonder, if you actually support the AR
> movement.  Banishment from AR news for past distortions, is perhaps a clue
> that we should all heed. 

No distortion...I wrote a factual press release and published it, if
only on ar-news.  Ar-news is still being abused.  I assume that the
personal note from Cres to Lawrence that was published on Ar-news was an
error, but the attack on Peter, by JP, was an abuse of AR-News, not that
I expect you to care.  If JP wants to argue, he should do so on
Ar-Views.  

 I guess from my perspective we have exhausted the
> debate on the release of Mink, and I am therefore giving my analysis.  I
> thought the discussion was so distasteful so provocative so empty of
> alternative ideas and so unproductive.

You have not named which alternative idea, and whit is is unproductive. 
Mario, if you want the respect you seem to feel is your due, you will
have to earn it by backing up such silly comments.

> 
>         I believe that I have contributed all that I can on this subject, and I will
> for now disengage from this contentious and at this stage pointless and
> meaningless debate, and move on to more productive areas of learning and
> proselytizing.

But you seem only to want to learn what you want to learn...learning
means taking into account all sides of the question, not just those with
which you agree.

  I shall of course continue to post what I feel is useful
> information for those who are still keeping an open mind on the subject of
> health and nutrition, and of course you can accept or reject these ideas, as
> you see fit.  However, I hope you will not turn your back on the process of
> examining all positions on this subject.

Ummm...you might want to hold that advice up to a mirror, and read it,
backwards, to yourself.  Just an idea.

Cheers,

Barry

Date: Thu, 06 Nov 1997 10:26:59 -0500
From: allen schubert 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Cc: SequoiaBis@aol.com, mimus@sympatico.ca, zoocheck@idirect.com
Subject: AR-News Admin Note--was:Re: We can't keep abusing chimps in
  name of research
Message-ID: <3.0.1.32.19971106102659.0068e878@envirolink.org>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

To all three of you -- take this matter to _private_ e-mail or appropriate
discussion lists.  If this bothers you -- contact me via _private_ e-mail.

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

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

Here is subscription info for AR-Views:

Send e-mail to:  listproc@envirolink.org

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

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

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

World Guide to Vegetarianism--Internet
http://www.veg.org/veg/Guide/Internet/index.html
Date: Thu, 06 Nov 1997 10:57:24 -0500
From: allen schubert 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Subscription Options--Admin Note
Message-ID: <3.0.1.32.19971106105724.00694e68@envirolink.org>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

.....routine posting...

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

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

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

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

     ar-news@envirolink.org

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

***General Subscription Information***
ALL THE FOLLOWING SHOULD NOT be sent to ar-news !!!
(send them to listproc@envirolink.org)
For all commands, use a blank Subject line.
---------------------------------------------------

To request a digest version, send mail to listproc@envirolink.org
with the following single line:

     set ar-news mail digest

To switch back to immediate mail, and to get copies of *your* postings
also, send the following command:

     set ar-news mail ack

or the following to not get your own postings:

     set ar-news mail noack

To see how you are set up ***(and to see if you are still subscribed!)***, use

     set ar-news

To temporarily stop mailings, use:

     set ar-news mail postpone

To re-enable it, use ack, noack, or digest as above.

To unsubscribe, use:

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or:

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If you have to subscribe again, use:

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If you have problems, please contact:

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     ar-admin@envirolink.org
     

Date: Thu, 06 Nov 1997 11:04:28 -0500
From: allen schubert 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Cc: SequoiaBis@aol.com, mimus@sympatico.ca, zoocheck@idirect.com
Subject: AR-News Admin Note--was:Re: We can't keep abusing chimps in
  name of research
Message-ID: <3.0.1.32.19971106110428.00686e8c@envirolink.org>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

[Resent message--apologies in advance to subscribers who get extra
copies--unless cc'd.]

***To all three of you -- take this matter to _private_ e-mail or
appropriate discussion lists.  If this bothers you -- contact me via
_private_ e-mail.***

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

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

Here is subscription info for AR-Views:

Send e-mail to:  listproc@envirolink.org

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

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

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

World Guide to Vegetarianism--Internet
http://www.veg.org/veg/Guide/Internet/index.html
Date: Thu, 06 Nov 1997 12:50:47
From: David J Knowles 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: [CA] Pets suffer as organisms become resistant to drugs
Message-ID: <3.0.3.16.19971106125047.234f24c4@dowco.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

>From The Vancouver Sun - Thursday, November 5th, 1997

Pets suffer as organisms become resistant to drugs
By Pamela Fayaman
Sun Health Issues Reporter

The improper use of and over-reliance on antibiotics is leading to drug
resistance in some common pet ailments, veterinary experts say.

Although antibiotics have been used in animal medicine for the past 50
years, the euphoria about them has been waning because, just as in humans,
harmful microrganisms are becoming resistant.

Vancouver veterinarian Reid Danielson said he is seeing increasing
antibiotic resistance with dogs who get infections in their ears or urinary
tracts.

"Five years ago, there were about 12 out of about 20 different antibiotics
you could resort to for UTI's, now I'm shocked to find there are about
three," he said.

"We're finding we have to resort to the broad spectrum big guns more
frequently."

Patricia Dowling, a veterinary pharmacologist at the University of
Saskatchewan, where most of local animal doctors have gone for their
training, said antibiotic resistance is frequently seen in dogs with
recurring ear infections, especially cocker spaniels, golden retrievers,
and other breeds that like swimming and have ears that don't allow for air
circulation.

"The nature of bacteria is that they are wise and crafty creatures," she
said of the bugs that are learning how to outsmart multiple drugs
bombarding them.

She said there are other reasons for animal antibiotic resistance: Pet
owners aren't properly following instructions on how to administer the
drugs. As well, just as anxious parents pressure doctors to put kids on
antibiotics, veterinarians are succombing to similar pressure by pet owners
before the animal has a full diagnosis to isolate the exact type of
bacteria causing the infection.

That's because owners want their ailing pets to get instant relief from
their symptoms and discomfort, and diagnostic tests take time - and cost
about four times as much as the drug, Danielson said.

Dowling said: "Our inability to control our clients is leading to
antimicrobal resistance," adding that while there have not been any killer
superbugs identified in pets, it doesnn't mean there won't be some eventually.

John Prescott, pathology professor at the Univeristy of Guelph Veterinary
College, said there is a direct relationship between the use of antibiotics
and resistance.

"In the bacterial world, it's the survival of the fittest. History is
written by winners, not losers.

"The message for vets and pet owners is to be judicious with the use of
antibiotics, as they are a precious resource," said Prescott, who has
recently submitted an article to a medical journal on the relationship
between antibiotics given to agricultural animals and antibiotic resistance
in human illnesses.

Prescott said the threat to human health from the agricultural use of
antibiotics is still theoretical. The practice of routinely placing
antibiotics in the feed for growth promotion, disease treatment and
preventiom in poultry and pigs is common. Farmyard pharmacutical
antibiotics are also used in the beef industry.

"How much the use of antibiotics in animals actually contributes to
sickness and death in people has been the subject of major, repeated and
inconclusive reviews by blue-ribbon government-sponsored committees," he said.

Robert Hancock, professor of microbiology at the Univeristy of B.C., said
drugs have become a staple in the diet of animal feeds and warns that if
antibiotic use isn't curtailed among humans and all animals, people and
their pets will die from multi-drug-resistant infections.

Date: Thu, 06 Nov 1997 15:57:38 -0500
From: allen schubert 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (US) Cincy Zoo's elephant levy is defeated
Message-ID: <3.0.32.19971106155736.006e5dd8@pop3.clark.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

from private e-mail
-----------------------------------
     Cincy Zoo's elephant levy is defeated
     
CINCINNATI, Nov. 5 (UPI) _ The defeat of the Cincinnati Zoo's
proposed  tax levy has left in doubt the health and comfort of the
facility's elephants. 
     
With 100 percent of the unofficial vote counted, officials said the  levy
was defeated 54 percent to 46 percent. Zoo Officials said they might
resubmit the proposal in the May election. 
     
Zoo Director Ed Maruska previously said the levy's failure would
mean  getting rid of the elephants. 
     
Maruska told UPI today the current elephant house was designed in
the  early 20th century for one animal. He said: ``No longer in today's
world can we keep single elephants. It's tantamount to
putting  a human being in solitary confinement. Elephants are highly social
animals. The more you keep, the better.'' 
     
The zoo has one male and three female elephants, one of whom is due
to calf early next year. Maruska said: ``There are going to be five animals
living in a place for one, so something has to give.

We have a crowded situation and we are going to have to correct that.'' 
     
He said a meeting will be held next week to develop ``some profound
changes.'' 
     
Date: Thu, 6 Nov 1997 10:41:04 -0800 (PST)
From: Michael Markarian 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Cleveland Amory book signings (US)
Message-ID: <2.2.16.19971106160358.29577646@pop.igc.org>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Cleveland Amory will be signing copies of his new book, RANCH OF DREAMS, at
the following locations:

CHICAGO

Monday, November 10th
7:30-8:30 p.m.
Barnes and Noble
1701 Sherman Road
Evanston, Illinois

WASHINGTON

Thursday, December 4th
7:00-8:00 p.m.
Crown Books
1451 Chain Bridge Road
McLean, Virginia

BOSTON

Saturday, December 6th
4:00-5:00 p.m.
Border's Books
151 Andover Street
Peabody, Massachusetts

Date: Thu, 6 Nov 1997 13:24:46 -0800
From: LCartLng@gvn.net (Lawrence Carter-Long)
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Colombia Animal Smuggling Penalties Sought
Message-ID: <199711062116.QAA28472@envirolink.org>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"


BBC World Service 
Published at 21:39 GMT 
Wednesday, November 5, 1997

World: Americas

Colombia Animal Smuggling

The Colombian environment minister has said that
around twenty five million animals are being illegally
smuggled out of the country each year in a trade worth
hundreds of millions of dollars. 

The minister, Eduardo Verano de la Rosa, said the
animals, which mainly end up in Europe or Asia, were
either sent to private zoos or used in medical
experiments. 

Among the species most affected are crocodiles,
iguanas, monkeys, hawks, parrots and insects. 

The environment minister said the government was
planning to stiffen penalties against animal trafficking. 

He added that there were links between those who
smuggled animals and the drugs trafficking business. 

He said they often used the same routes and vehicles
and that sometimes legitimate shipments of animals
were used to conceal drugs 

>From the newsroom of the BBC World Service 

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

"We are here on earth to do good for others. What the others
are here for, I don't know."   --  W. H. Auden





Date: Thu, 6 Nov 1997 12:10:31 -0800 (PST)
From: Michael Markarian 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org, en.alerts@conf.igc.apc.org
Subject: Pigeon Shoot in North Carolina
Message-ID: <2.2.16.19971106173407.4a4fe3ee@pop.igc.org>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday, November 6, 1997

CONTACT: Heidi Prescott, (301) 585-2591


PIGEON SHOOT STARTS TODAY
Event Brings Nationwide Shame to North Carolina


OXFORD, N.C. -- Today, a four-day pigeon shooting contest began at the
Dogwood Gun Club in Oxford (Granville County). The event is proceeding
although The Fund for Animals and the North Carolina Network for Animals
alerted the Sheriff's Department and the District Attorney's Office last
week that the pigeon shoot violates North Carolina's cruelty to animals law.

During live pigeon shoots, which are known to occur in only five states,
thousands of pigeons are released one at a time from individual boxes, and
contestants shoot at the birds to score points and win prizes. Investigators
from The Fund for Animals have documented at dozens of pigeon shoots in
other states that approximately 75 percent of the birds are not killed
immediately, but rather are wounded. Some wounded birds fly into the woods
to die slowly of their injuries; other wounded birds are collected by
children who kill the animals by ripping off their heads, stomping on them,
banging their necks against steel barrels, or throwing them into barrels to
suffocate.

The annual Labor Day pigeon shoot held in Hegins, Pennsylvania, has caused
that state to be known worldwide as the "Cruelty Capital of the World."
Nearly every newspaper in Pennsylvania has editorialized against the pigeon
shoot, dozens of celebrities including Alec Baldwin and Alicia Silverstone
have protested the event, and many citizens are boycotting Pennsylvania.

Says Heidi Prescott, National Director of The Fund for Animals, "North
Carolinians would not tolerate dogfighting or cockfighting, and they should
treat pigeon shoots no differently. North Carolina can join the majority of
states and nations that have banned this cruel activity in favor of clay
shoots, or it can be a haven for animal abusers who couldn't get away with
this at home."


# # #


http://www.fund.org

Date: Thu, 06 Nov 1997 13:05:42 -0800
From: Elisa Bob 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Heather
Message-ID: <34623126.32C3@ix.netcom.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

Does anyone know whether any footage exists of Heather (the King Royal 
elephant) when she was alive?  Just curious.
Date: Thu, 6 Nov 97 12:11:20 UTC
From: SDURBIN@VM.TULSA.CC.OK.US
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Wolves in Captivity Now Have Haven
Message-ID: <199711061812.NAA18140@ss2.solidsolutions.com>

(Tulsa World, OK,USA): Steve and Linda Kuntz adopted a wolf. They
quickly learned a lesson. It was: "Wolves don't make good pets."

They lived in Colorado then. And they learned not to try to keep a
wolf as a pet. But they still keep wolves.

In fact, now they have 40 wolves. They live on 80 acres called Wolf
Haven International.

That is in Tenino, Washington, near Tacoma.

"We're growing out of our pants here," said Beth Church, Wolf Haven
conservation manager. Offices are in old buildings and trailers. There
is no room for school field trips.

Still it's a haven for wolves. Most were rescued from captivity. They
were doomed to die but for Wolf Haven.

Hambone is an example. He belonged to Mavis Smith, 75, of California.
Her husband "adopted" him for her as a Christmas present in 1990. But then
he died. Hambone needed a home. Wolf Haven was the answer.

Smith comes to visit him each year. He's now one of several pairs -
Hambone and Kiwi, Morning Star and Marius, Princess Lilypad and Noah.
They romp and play in fenced areas.

Wolf Haven doesn't just keep American wolves, though. It has 11 Mexican
wolves. They are part of a project to bring that endangered species back.

Six Mexican wolves are to be set free next April in the Apache
National Forest in Arizona.

Wolf Haven is trying to raise $6 million to improve the wolf enclosures and
other things, including a medical area for wolves. Actress Loretta Switt
is helping.

Wolf Haven also has programs in Oregon, California, and Arizona. It works
with ranchers in areas where wolves are being put back into the wild.

One of the Wolf Haven experts has learned something useful from wolves.

"If I'm really upset about something or joyful about something," she says,
"I go into my larger room with high ceilings and howl."

-- Sherrill
Date: Thu, 06 Nov 1997 13:45:13 -0800
From: Barry Kent MacKay 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Reverend on the Run (scum called animal activist)
Message-ID: <34623A69.3335@sympatico.ca>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

The Toronto Sun, November 5, 1997

REVEREND ON THE RUN

CONVICTED PIMP SOUGHT AFTER `FOOD BANK' SOLD MILLIONS IN DONATIOS
MEANT
FOR POOR
           by:  Jonathan Kingstone -- Toronto Sun

A convicted pimp and well-known animal activist is being sought as the
mastermind of a food bank that allegedly sold millions of dollars worth
of donated groceries.

York Regional Police yesterday issued a warrant for Rev. Robert
MacKenzie, 48, a day after cops raided an East York warehouse and seized
tons of donated food.

MacKenzie, head of the Missionary Church of St. Francis of Assisi, is
alleged to have sought out donations from major corporations and then
sold the food to liquidation outlets instead of giving it to the needy.

Although detectives haven't been able to pinpoint exact figures, they
estimate profits from the food sales amount to several million dollars.

Nine people have been charged with fraud.

Const. James Needler said MacKenzie's status as a pastor and the
legitimacy of his church are in doubt.

NOT RECOGNIZED

"He's identified on his business card as bishop of the Missionary Church
of St. Francis of Assisi," said Needler, adding the words "Old Roman
Catholic" appear in brackets.  "(But) the Catholic Archdiocese does not
recognize them as bonafide Catholic religion."

There's no question, however, about MacKenzie's criminal history.

He was sent to jail for six months in 1983 after pleading guilty to
conspiracy to commit gross indecency.

Court heard how MacKenzie told an undercover policeman he'd provide boys
under the age of 16 for prostitution.  He later turned up at a downtown
hotel with four young men.  The officer --- posing as a customer ---
paid him $400 for each boy.

ANIMAL ACTIVIST

MacKenzie is known also as the long-time head of the Animal Rescue
Mission, once described in leaflets as a "community service of the
Missionary Chruch of St. Francis of Assisi."

In 25 years of operation, the Animal Rescue Mission, or Animal Rescue
League, has been featured in dozens of newspaper and television accounts
rescuing animals from cruelty.  But in that role, too, MacKenzie has
foundhimself in trouble.

In 1982 he was convicted on two counts of practising veterinary medicine
without a licence.  On Ontario Veterinary Association doctor said at the
time the association's files on MacKenzie were "voluminous."

Charged with fraud over $5,000 are: Donald Penney, 39, and his wife,
Catherine, 38, of Toronto; David Penney, 45, and his wife, Patricia, 47,
of East York; Peter McAfee, 52, of Toronto; Lilliana Macreanu, 28, of
Mississauga; Nancy McArthur, 59, of Willowdale; Lidio Godino, 26, of
Caledon; and John Zachariou, 39, of Richmond Hill.

-30-


Date: Thu, 06 Nov 1997 12:33:10 -0500
From: allen schubert 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (BE) Belgian Mad Cow Carcase Sold as Animal Feed Abroad
Message-ID: <3.0.32.19971106123308.00716e0c@pop3.clark.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

from CNN custom news http://www.cnn.com/
-----------------------------------------
Belgian Mad Cow Carcase Sold as Animal Feed Abroad

Reuters 
06-NOV-97

BRUSSELS, Nov 6 (Reuters) - The carcase of mad cow discovered in Belgium
last week has been mistakenly turned into animal feed and sold in Poland
and the Netherlands, the Agriculture Ministry said on Thursday. 

It said the vet handling the carcase of the diseased animal, the first case
discovered in Belgium, had believed it was infected with rabies rather than
bovine spongiform encephalopathy and therefore not destroyed it separately. 

It was turned into meal and added to a batch of 1,200 tonnes of animal
feed. The authorities in Poland and the Netherlands have been informed. 

However, Agriculture Minister Karel Pinxten said there was no threat to
public health because of the way the carcase had been treated, cooked at
high temperature and at high pressure. 

Date: Thu, 06 Nov 1997 12:35:33 -0500
From: allen schubert 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (CH) Health: Animal-Human Transplants Coming
Message-ID: <3.0.32.19971106123530.006e367c@pop3.clark.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

from CNN custom news http://www.cnn.com/
---------------------------------------------------
Health: Animal-Human Transplants Coming

Inter Press Service
06-NOV-97

GENEVA, (Nov. 4) IPS - International medical experts believe it will soon
be possible for doctors to safely transfer cells, tissue, and organs from
animals to humans. 

Specialists from Africa, the Americas, Asia and Europe at a conference
organized here by the World health Organization (WHO), heard how
animal-to-human transplants could improve the health of the world's
population. 

According to Francois Meslin of WHO's Division of Emerging Diseases and
Other Contagious Illnesses, the grafting of cells, tissues, organs, or any
other matter between species -- known as xenotransplanting -- is currently
in advanced stages of research. 

Meslin stated that researchers have established a scientific base and
levels of experimentation and discussion which will allow for the
development of this technology in the near future, although he declined to
give a definite time line. 

Xenotransplant research has gone on for more than 100 years but only in
recent times have medical advances enabled transplants of this kind to take
place without the danger of infecting humans with animal diseases. 

Dr. Rachel Bartlett, of the Nuffield Bioethics Council in England,
indicated that transplant research is conducted in the context of ethical
prevention. 

She pointed out that a primary concern arises from the cases of patients
who cannot gain access to the human organs they need to survive. Physicians
"have a clear ethical responsibility to deal with their problem," she said. 

Jeffrey Platt from Duke University said that in the United States, the
supply of human organs can only meet the needs of between five and 15
percent of those who need transplants. 

While some 2,000 heart transplants performed in the United States every
year, there are a further 40,000 patients on waiting lists to receive
healthy hearts, said Platt. 

Another question with ethical implications is how to make this technology
accessible to all of those who need it. Bartlett admitted that these
procedures "will be very costly," and that they will only be available in
industrialized nations. Still another concern is the genetic engineering of
pigs, which are most likely to be the principal donors of xenoplastic
material for humans. 

Bartlett pointed out that pigs are particularly suited for this purpose
because their organs are similar in size and because they develop
relatively quickly and do not require much care. In any case, the
scientists participating in the WHO meeting did not express objections to
the use of cloned or genetically modified animals. 

"The health of human beings," they stated, "should be protected and human
dignity should be respected." 

The genetic manipulation of pigs would permit the elimination of the
factors which cause rejection among patients receiving transplants as well
as diminish the risks for the transmission of animal infections to the
human population. 

Pierre Effa, president of the Bioethics Society of Cameroon, insisted that
human dignity must be respected in every stage of the transplant process.
He highlighted the shortage of organs for transplant and observed that "the
supply is so low that the people of Africa are presently being exposed to
the illegal traffic of organs." 

Xenotransplant technology could be a solution "as long as it does not
affect the philosophical and cultural foundations of the African world,"
Effa said. 

Meslin recalled that the experimental transplants carried out in the 1960s
failed. Most receiving patients lived for only a few hours after the
operation; a small percentage lived for a couple of weeks, at most. 

Platt said that during this period, the first transplants of human hearts
were almost equally unsuccessful. Following a period of pessimism, heart
transplants ended up becoming the preferred treatment for serious and
chronic coronary insufficiencies in the United States, he added. 

Platt recognized the failures of past xenotransplant experiments, but
argued that today researchers have the scientific knowledge to understand
the causes of those failures. He said that the pigs that will be utilized
will be raised in special environments and will possess enough human
genetic material to guarantee tissue compatibility. 

Platt admitted that as in other areas of scientific research, there is a
profit motive behind the development of xenotransplants. But he said, "It
is not private clinics that are driving this forward. It is the desire of
the doctors." 

The researcher also pointed to the frustration faced by physicians who want
to assist their patients, but are still unable to offer them this
"potentially available" treatment option.  

Nevertheless, there are some areas in which experiments involving humans
and animals are being conducted, like among diabetics who receive pig cells
and in the treatment of serious hepatic infections wherein human blood is
cleansed in pig livers or in containers which house pig cells. 

Platt also indicated that Parkinson's disease is being treated by grafting
of pig cells into human patients. 
Date: Thu, 6 Nov 1997 15:33:25 -0800
From: LCartLng@gvn.net (Lawrence Carter-Long)
To: ar-news@envirolink.org, bpf-ineb@igc.apc.org
Cc: VEGAN@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU
Subject: Boycott of Gardenburger & Flav-R-Pac Called
Message-ID: <199711062325.SAA22255@envirolink.org>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Please re-post where appropriate.  Thanks.

All my best -


Lawrence

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

From: EcoNet Environmental Justice Desk 

/* Written  1:02 AM  Nov  5, 1997 by dckom@atlcom.net in igc:iww.news */
/* ---------- "Support PCUN Boycott" ---------- */

PCUN Letter: Pineros Y Campesinos Unidos del Noreste (Northwest Treeplanters
and Farm Workers United)

PLEASE BOYCOTT GARDENBURGER AND FLAV-R-PAC
PLEASE FORWARD THIS MESSAGE TO AS MANY PEOPLE
 AS POSSIBLE

[If you are concerned about human and labor rights, please 
take a minute to read through this message. No, we're not
trying to sell you anything, we just want to help educate you 
and ask you to support our boycott.]

WHAT IS GOING ON IN OREGON'S WILLAMETTE VALLEY?
===============================================
When you hear stories about workers being forced to work 
12 hours a day, 6 or 7 days a week with few or no breaks, no 
overtime pay and for less than minimum wage, you probably
imagine an Asian sweatshop or a Central American plantation. 
Stories about workers being fired for trying to form a union, or 
forced to live in squalid company housing sound like historic 
relics out of the 19th century.

Few of us realize that these things are taking place in the 
richest country on earth, in Oregon's Willamette Valley. Over 
100,000 in all -- mostly from Mexico and Central America -- 
Oregon's farmworkers face  firings, evictions from grower 
owned housing, and even physical violence in retaliation 
for efforts to improve living and working conditions.

WHAT IS PCUN?
==============
In 1985, eighty farmworkers met and formed Pineros y 
Campesinos Unidos del Noroeste (or Northwest Treeplanters 
and Farmworkers United, known by its spanish acronym 
PCUN.) PCUN has registered over 4,300 members, runs 
a Service Center for farmworkers to assist and advocate in 
immigration cases, workers compensation, wage claims
and many other matters. Growers have refused every effort 
to arrive at a mediated settlement of this dispute.

Instead, they have instead turned to repression and 
violence to suppress farmworker efforts to unionize.

WHY BOYCOTT GARDENBURGER AND FLAV-R-PAC?
===========================================
The boycott of FLAV-R-PAC and Gardenburgers was 
called precisely because growers are refusing to even 
talk about recognizing the farmworkers' union. As long 
as growers continue to profit from the continued 
mistreatment of Oregon farmworkers, they have no 
incentive to negotiate.

Many of the growers fighting efforts to farmworker efforts 
to change their living and working conditions are members 
of NORPAC.  NORPAC is one of the largest food-processing 
cooperative west of the Mississippi, owned by 300 growers 
in the Willamette Valley.  In 1992, PCUN called for a national 
boycott of NORPAC products (FlavRPac and  West Pac 
brand frozen fruits, vegetables, and juice concentrates.) The 
boycott was later extended to cover Gardenburger,  who is
breaking our boycott of NORPAC by contracting with the 
sales and  distribution arm of NORPAC to move their 
product line.

So far, the boycott has been endorsed by 60 organizations, 
including the United Farm Workers of America, the National 
Coalition Against the Misuse of Pesticides,  the National 
Farm Worker Ministry and over 16 labor unions.

Yet much more remains to be done.

Only an economically effective boycott can force NORPAC 
to the negotiating table.

WHAT CAN I DO TO HELP?
=======================

1-Boycott Gardenburger and Flav-R-Pac. Urge your 
friends, family, church group, school, workplace or 
favorite restaurant to do the same. This is the most
direct and effective strategy at your disposal.

2-Send an e-mail to Gardenburger urging them to 
stop underwriting the exploitation of Oregon's Farmworkers 
by using NORPAC's distribution system.     Please cc. 
PCUN a copy of your letter.     Gardenburger's 
e-mail address is: whfi5@mail.easystreet.com

3-Forward this message to as many people as possible.
The internet can be a powerful tool to help us get the word 
out about the boycott, but only if you give us a hand.

HOW CAN I LEARN MORE?
==========================
You can visit our website at:
    www.pcun.org

Or you can send us e-mail at:
    FarmworkerUnion@pcun.org

With your support, Oregon's farmworkers can obtain the 
dignity and justice they desserve.

Leone Bicchieri
Boycott Coordinator
Leonebicchieri@pcun.org

This message was originally sent on November 3, 1997.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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

"We are here on earth to do good for others. What the others
are here for, I don't know."   --  W. H. Auden





Date: Thu, 06 Nov 1997 18:38:23 -0500
From: allen schubert 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Cc: MagMcCool@aol.com
Subject: (US) Wildlife refuge needs your help -- NJ
Message-ID: <3.0.1.32.19971106183823.00692fec@envirolink.org>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

posted for (and send inquiries to) MagMcCool@aol.com
---------------------------------------------
Greetings all!
     Shotgun deer season is fast approaching--that's when Hope Buyukmihci of
the Unexpected Wildlife Refuge patrols tirelessly to keep hunters out and
animals safe.  Anyone who can show up (Dec. 8-13) should get in touch with me
via e-mail or call 609-358-0958.  Hope is in her eighties and has a broken
leg.  Since patrolling must largely be done on foot, your contribution is
essential.  In past years, activists have come from as far as NYC, DC, and
Western PA.  (We are in the heart of South Jersey's pinelands.)
Spread the word!  Thanks!
-mag.



Date: Thu, 06 Nov 1997 19:04:18 -0500
From: allen schubert 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (US) ANIMAL WELFARE REMAINS HER PASSION
Message-ID: <3.0.32.19971106190414.0071f1a0@pop3.clark.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

from Jacksonville.com
http://jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/110597/c1Strick.html via
Newsworks http://www.newsworks.com/
---------------------------------------------------------------
ANIMAL WELFARE REMAINS HER PASSION

Wednesday, November 5, 1997
Story last updated at 12:55 a.m. on Tuesday, November 4, 1997

Animal welfare remains her passion

By R. Michael Anderson
County Line staff writer

Laura Strickland has exercised her freedom of speech on street corners in
cold, drizzling rain and on hot, sizzling sidewalks.

Brandishing banners and shouting slogans, she's protested animal abuse,
rodeos, greyhound racing, fur dealers, carriage horses in St. Augustine,
gun stores that promote hunting and the use of animals in lab experiments
and dissections.

The 40-something Orange Park grandmother's outspokenness has helped bring
about more humane conditions at the Clay County animal shelter and more
aggressive enforcement of animal cruelty laws by police and prosecutors.

But the former bank accountant and wife of a retired Navy flight engineer
also has experienced ugly consequences of clashing with people who don't
share her views.

She's been taunted, threatened and accused of being an extortionist, and
even assaulted in July by a man who sprayed her with urine as she
demonstrated in front of a Wells Road animal clinic.

But nothing has been so unnerving as an incident that left her emotionally
scarred in May 1995, said Strickland, founder and president of Animal
Rights Federation Inc.

''It was like somebody burned a cross in my front yard,'' she said recently.

Strickland, representing Animal Rights Foundation of Florida Inc. at the
time, had been protesting an annual rodeo in Jacksonville and its chief
sponsor, SEDA Construction in Jacksonville, when she received a fax one day
that depicted her hanging from a noose. 

Above the picture were the words: ''This is Laura Strickland at the
Rodeo.'' Below the picture was the following message: ''During roping
events spectators sometimes have their legs broken. And in the heat of
competition, the ropers will tie their arms and legs together.''

At the bottom of the page, the fax read: ''PAID FOR BY THE RODEO SPONSOR
RIGHTS FOUNDATION [RSRA].''

Strickland said the apparent threat was so frightening that she dropped out
of virtually all animal rights activities.

''I got burned out for a couple of years and didn't do much until earlier
this year,'' she said.

The State Attorney's Office found that the fax had been sent from SEDA
Construction. However, no charges were filed because prosecutors never
learned who sent the fax and because State Attorney Harry Shorstein said
there was ''no criminal intent.''

Company owner John ''Sandy'' Semanik denied sending the fax, which followed
a media and advertising blitz by Strickland critical of SEDA's ties to the
rodeo. He also declined to discuss the incident, saying he'd rather keep
his opinions about Strickland to himself.

Laura Strickland was born in Cincinnati and moved to Clay County when she
was 13. She describes her upbringing as ''a calm, upper-middle-class life.''

In 1975, she graduated from Orange Park High, where she was ''one of those
intellectual nerds.'' She has continued her love of reading and learning as
a student of literature at Florida Community College at Jacksonville.

About 10 or 12 years ago she gave up pot roast and steak for tofu and
sprouts, and became a vegetarian, something her husband had done several
years earlier. She said she quit eating meat initially for health reasons,
later for ethical reasons.

But just because she eats only vegetables and fruits doesn't make her a
wild-eyed radical, she said.

She's a wife, a mother, a grandmother, a daughter, a churchgoer and a
former volunteer at the Orange Park Community Theater, she said. In other
words, pretty normal.


                        ''We're very devoted to our family, very patriotic
and religious,'' she said. ''And we're passionate about rescuing animals.''

Though always an animal lover, Strickland said, her activism was fueled in
1990 when she volunteered to work at the private Safe Animal Shelter in
Orange Park.

''I just became overwhelmed with pet overpopulation and that got me
started,'' she said.

A lot of her time is devoted to taking abandoned or injured animals in her
car, which she calls her ''dog mobile,'' to her home, or to clinics for
treatment until she can find them new homes.

But her passionate activism for animal welfare, she said, has caused some
people to erroneously think she's a radical who doesn't mind violating
other peoples' rights to make a point.

''I don't abide any civil disobedience,'' she said. ''My priority is to
educate people, enlighten them, not take away their rights. We promote
compassion.

''I do no sit-ins, no throwing red paint on furriers, nothing like that.
And I would not tolerate that from a federation member.''

One of Strickland's biggest allies these days is a woman she once tried to
get fired: Connie Goon, director of the Clay County Animal Control Shelter,
who said her relationship with Strickland years ago was ''strained.''

''Laura and I have come a long way,'' Goon said Friday. ''We're working
together. She's always there when you need her.

Goon said she and Strickland have decided to try to work together.

''I think she has mellowed,'' Goon said. ''I don't mean that her cause is
any less. I just think she's softened in her approach.''

A few years ago, Strickland headed a protest against cramped, inhumane
conditions at the shelter. A subsequent grand jury investigation resulted
in increased funding to enlarge and improve conditions at the facility.

For some reason, Strickland said, she's drawn hostile reactions from some
people. That's why she is so protective of her family's privacy.

''It's bad enough that I put myself in harm's way. I don't want to endanger
my family,'' she said.
Date: Thu, 06 Nov 1997 19:10:57 -0500
From: allen schubert 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (US)
Message-ID: <3.0.32.19971106191055.0072081c@pop3.clark.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

from The Oklahoman http://www.oklahoman.com/  via Newsworks
http://www.newsworks.com/
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
                               Metamorphosis

                                11/05/1997

     IN the early 1980s, just as Ronald Reagan was putting American
     government back on a conservative course, the animal welfare
     movement took off in the opposite direction.

     Animal welfare metamorphosed into animal rights. Where once
     animal welfare advocates sought humane shelter and adoption of
     pets, they began to claim that animals should be free of
     ownership. Animals were thus elevated to the status of humans. To
     use them, to own them, was tantamount to slavery.

     The next step was terrorism in the name of animal rights. Through
     numerous editorials and columns, this editorial page has
     documented the involvement in animal rights terrorism by People
     for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. But we haven't said much
     about the Humane Society of the U.S. (HSUS).

     The Humane Society's agenda now includes abolishing the use of
     animals for entertainment (circuses, rodeos, horse racing);
     prohibiting the use of animals for research and for educational
     purposes (biology class dissections, keeping marine mammals in
     aquariums, etc.); stopping the hunting of seals and whales and
     the raising of fur-bearing animals; putting an end to modern
     livestock and poultry farming; and elimination of dog breeding.

     While elevating animals and creeping things to the status of
     humans has been around for millennia, the present hoopla isn't
     about protecting animals from cruelty. Robert Baker, an
     investigator who worked at HSUS for 13 years, says the Humane
     Society should be worried about animal cruelty, but it isn't.
     ''The place is all about power and money,'' he said.

     Not to be confused with local humane societies, HSUS has a nearly
     $50 million a year budget but does not operate a single animal
     shelter. In 1995, each of its two top executives earned more than
     $200,000; the salaries of four other HSUS officers were above
     $100,000. This is a tax-exempt, non-profit organization that once
     nobly served as a protector of abused animals. It has become a
     bloated advocacy machine fighting for political rights for
     animals.

     Daniel T. Oliver, who is writing his second book on the animal
     rights movement, warns donors to know the difference between
     animal welfare and animal rights.

     The former deserves support as it seeks to improve the treatment
     and well-being of animals. The latter is linked to terrorism,
     which sooner or later will take a human life in order to save an
     animal in a research lab.

Date: Thu, 6 Nov 1997 19:09:11 EST
From: BSVILA 
To: MINKLIB@aol.com, ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Re: OR Rabbit Liberation
Message-ID: 
Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit

In a message dated 97-11-05 15:26:06 EST, MINKLIB@aol.com writes:

<< We ask that people on our own side of the animal rights issue stop being so
 condemning of others, especially when the ones being attacked are shutting
 places down, and giving the animals a chance.
  >>
Amen to that JP. 

Pat Dodson
Date: Thu, 06 Nov 1997 19:26:42 -0500
From: allen schubert 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Cc: BSVILA@aol.com
Subject: AR-News Admin Note--was:Re: OR Rabbit Liberation
Message-ID: <3.0.1.32.19971106192642.00688f24@envirolink.org>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

EVERYONE -- Please understand your e-mail program and the difference
between "reply" and "reply to all" -- _you_ are responsible for your own
software.  The only other solution to the "chat" problem is to turn AR-News
into a "moderated" list, meaning that nothing gets posted until the
listowner (me) approves it.  Such a move would greatly reduce the
timeliness of posts.  And remember, 880+ subscribers worldwide ARE NOT
interested in your private e-mail.

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

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

Here is subscription info for AR-Views:

Send e-mail to:  listproc@envirolink.org

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

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

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

World Guide to Vegetarianism--Internet
http://www.veg.org/veg/Guide/Internet/index.html
Date: Thu, 06 Nov 1997 19:26:26 -0500
From: Vegetarian Resource Center 
To: Veg-Biz@Envirolink.Org, Veg-Org@Envirolink.Org, Veg-News@Envirolink.Org,
        AR-News@Envirolink.Org
Subject: BRITAIN HALTS ANIMAL TESTING OF COSMETICS
Message-ID: <199711070029.TAA00942@mailnfs0.tiac.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"


   
      Copyright © 1997 Reuters
      
   
   
   LONDON (November 6, 1997 12:35 p.m. EST http://www.nando.net) - The
   British government said on Thursday it had stopped testing cosmetic
   products on animals at three research houses, a move animal welfare
   groups hailed as a victory, although the decision does not ban animal
   tests of medicines.
   
   Home Office Minister Lord Williams said the three research houses in
   Britain that had conducted such tests voluntarily agreed to stop, and
   that no new licences for such tests would be granted by the Labour
   government.
   
   This means between 200 and 300 rabbits, guinea pigs and rats a year
   will be spared the experiments now conducted to see whether they are
   adversely affected by finished cosmetic products.
   
   But they are only a fraction of the 2,800 animals that are subjected
   to tests annually in Britain for the individual ingredients that go
   into cosmetics.
   
   Williams said the ingredients tests are not being stopped right away
   because the bulk of the ingredients, such as anti-oxidants and
   preservatives, are also used for medical or pharmaceutical purposes.
   
   However, he said the government would seek to identify those
   ingredients primarily used for "vanity products" and work towards a
   ban on testing them on animals.
   
   "Our policy unambiguously is that the use of animals is only to be
   adopted in justifiable circumstances, and has always got to be in the
   context of the due reverence for the fact that we are using living
   creatures," Williams told a news conference.
   
   "Cosmetic product testing is what is being stopped. We want to go
   forward to see how far we can stop (cosmetic) ingredient testing," he
   said.
   
   The Body Shop, a cosmetics company that has long campaigned against
   animal testing, said the announcement placed Britain at the forefront
   of European nations on the animal testing issue.
   
   "It's the first time a government has banned any category of animal
   testing," said Steve McIvor, company spokesman.
   
   Technically the move is not a legal ban.
   
   Williams said there was no room in the government's legislative
   programme in the next 18 months for a legislated ban, although he did
   not rule out such a proposal in the long term.
   
   Williams said he was legally prevented from naming the companies that
   agreed to the testing ban.
   
   The vast bulk of animals that undergo experiments, 2.7 million last
   year, are used for medical and pharmaceutical research.
   
   Williams said the government's Animal Procedures Committee would also
   push for a ban on the use of Great Apes, such as chimpanzees, in any
   kind of testing -- although they have not been used in the past -- and
   a ban on alcohol and tobacco product development and testing on
   animals.
   
   The government's decision was praised by the chairman of the
   parliamentary animal welfare group, Roger Gale, who is a member of the
   opposition Conservative party.
   
   "We still have a long way to go, on a Europe-wide basis, to bring
   about all the changes that are needed but these are significant steps
   forward," Gale said.
   
   -- By SUSAN CORNWELL, Reuters
1997 Maynard S. Clark     Vegetarian Resource Center
Date: Thu, 06 Nov 1997 17:18:56
From: David J Knowles 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: [CA]  Frog threatens subdivsion plan
Message-ID: <3.0.3.16.19971106171856.2a8f228c@dowco.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

>From The Vancouver Sun - Thurday, November 6th, 1997

By Glen Bohn

When a devolpment company goes to West Vancouver council later this month
to seek permission to proceeed with a high-priced subdivision, it will face
ecological arguments raised by elementary school children.

Last September, the kids discovered a threatened species of frog in a
tributary of McDonald Creek, above the site of the development proposed by
British Pacific Properties.

Never before has anyone detected the threatened species of tailed frog in a
West Vancouver stream.

The presence of the thumb-nail-sized frogs wasn't detected even during an
environmental study of the area commissioned by the development company.

"If a group of kids found the frogs, surely they should have been able to
do the same thing," West Vancouver realtor Les Meszaros, whose 10-year-old
son David was one of the kids who made the discovery, said Wednesday.

Walter Thorneloe, British Pacific's vice-president of development, didn't
respond Wednesday to a request for an interview.

Documents filed with the municipality by the company promise that creek
corridors will be protected with strips of forest when the company clears
the trees for 135 single-family lots and another 128 apartments.

The development plan for the proposed area, which is about one-tenth the
size of Stanley Park, shows the corridors are as small as eight metres wide
and as large as 100 metres wide.

Municipal planner Laura Lee Richard noted that the kids discovered the
tailed frog in the creek on a slope above the proposed subdivision.

"It's not to say that there aren't any of these little frogs down below,
but we do know they're up above," she said. "But if we look at the proposed
creek preservation areas, it probably includes all the environment that the
frogs need."

But according to Linda Dupois, a University of B.C. research associate who
has been studying tailed frogs for five years, that might not be enough.

Dupois said the species (Ascaphus truei) is among the most primitive frogs
in the world and is threatened in B.C. The tadpole takes up to three years
to mature and can only do so in stable streams, she said, adding that the
adults only become sexually mature after eight years and are terrestial
feeders, so the new complex might threaten their environment.

"Unless we protect the adults, the ones that propagate the species, we
don't know what we are getting into," she said.

The kids - who used nets and buckets to catch and count 164 tadpoles and 2
adult tailed frogs before returning them to their habitats  - presented
their findings recently at a West Vancouver council meeting and finished
with an appeal.

"This frog is a very important species because, if it becomes extinct, then
other animals that rely on it will start to become extinct too,"
10-year-old Tristan Huntingdon told councillors.

"The high densities of tadpoles we found in the stream would indicate a
large population of this threatened species in the area. To protect this
tailed frog, we should not alter their habitat."

The young people's appeal was greeted by warm applause by councillors, but
they gave no indication if the dicovery of the frogs would affect the
development. The proposal returns to council Mov. 17.  

Date: Fri, 7 Nov 1997 10:35:41 +0800
From: bunny 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (NZ)North Island farmers consider rabbit virus
Message-ID: <1.5.4.16.19971107102926.2adf7254@wantree.com.au>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

The Dominion 7/11/97

WAIRARAPA FARMERS  MEETING OFFICIALS OVER RCD

Wairarapa farmers will review their stance on liberating the killer
rabbit calicivirus disease in the North Island after talks today with
Agriculture ministry Officials.
Wairarapa's representive on the Federated Farmer's national council,
Rodger Barton, of Greytown, said big lambing numbers and a shortage
of pasture were putting pressure on some farmers in the region.
"A month ago, when there was lots of grass, it was easy to say wait
till February, when the virus will do the most damage," Mr Barton said
last night. "But now, for some farmers, every blade of grass is important,
and they can't afford to have rabbits eating it."
Farmers have been urged to hold off liberating RCD till February, because
it it is put out before baby rabbits are eight weeks old, many of them
will gain life-long immunity.
But farmers are disillusioned because the regional councils that were
to help coordinate liberating the virus have problems with the Pesticides
Act and legal issues.
Mr Barton said the ferderation would help farmers to coordinate 
broadcasting the virus but it would not be liberating it itself.
It was intended to have a managed, orchestrated release of the virus
in one large area at a time. But individual costs would be met by
farmers taking part, he said.
Samples of the virus were need to be taken from an area where the 
rabbit kill rate was good so there could be some assurance of 
effectiveness.
"RCD is the first gun we are using in the armoury, but I really feel that 
farmers have got to be much more upfront about ongoing rabbit control
work," Mr Barton said. "I don't want then thinking that RCD is going
to cure all... and that they can walk away again."
The worst rabbit-infested areas were the coastal hills, southern 
Wairarapa and along the fringes of the Tararua Ranges, he said.


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

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: Thu, 06 Nov 1997 21:54:00 -0500
From: allen schubert 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (US) PAMELA LEE PUTS THE FREEZE ON FUR
Message-ID: <3.0.32.19971106215357.0071833c@pop3.clark.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

from PeTA web page http://www.peta-online.org/news/lee1197.htm
-----------------------------------------------------
PETA's First-Ever Times Square Billboard Busts the Fur Trade

    For Immediate Release:
    November 5, 1997

    Contact:
    Michael McGraw 757-622-7382


     New York -- In winters past, PETA has plucked         
     most of its naked poster pinups from fashion
     runways--this year, the group snagged a
     superstar from a Malibu beach. None other than   Click on the
     Pamela Lee has hung up her Baywatch swimsuit and above picture to
     posed nude in a "blizzard" under the slogan,     
     "Give Fur the Cold Shoulder."                 
                                                      
     Even though she's now eight-months pregnant,     
     Pamela is flying to New York for Fashion Week to
     launch her international campaign for PETA on
     Thursday, November 6:

     12:00 noon: Pamela will unveil her anti-fur
     billboard at Times Square (Southwest corner of
     48th and Broadway).

     11 p.m. to 1 a.m.: Pamela will cohost PETA's
     Fashion Week bash at Life (158 Bleeker at
     Thompson), along with singer Chrissie Hynde of
     The Pretenders, who'll belt out "I'll Stand by
     You" for all of the unlucky minks, raccoons, and
     chinchillas.

     Pamela joins Ellen DeGeneres, Bill Maher, Cindy
     Crawford, Kim Basinger, Paul McCartney, and
     others who have stripped down or spoken up for
     the animals.

     Why? Because to make fur coats, animals are
     electrocuted, gassed, or have their necks broken
     in captivity, or are trapped, drowned, or
     bludgeoned to death in the wild.

     (Broadcast-quality video of stars dissing fur
     and of animals in traps and on fur farms is
     available.)

Date: Thu, 06 Nov 1997 19:36:20
From: David J Knowles 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: [UK] Cosmetics firms end animal experiments
Message-ID: <3.0.3.16.19971106193620.0c4f1800@dowco.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
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Please excuse yet another story on this topic - David

>From The Electronic Telegraph - Friday, November 7th, 1997

Cosmetics firms end animal experiments
By Philip Johnston, Home Affairs Editor 

THE use of animals to test cosmetic products in Britain ended  yesterday
when the companies that conducted them bowed to Government pressure and
agreed to implement an immediate voluntary ban.

However, testing of cosmetic ingredients will continue, as will the vast
majority of the 2.7 million experiments on animals each year for medical
and pharmaceutical research.

The move came only a few weeks after ministers were accused of breaking a
pre-election pledge to outlaw the tests. Jack Straw, Home Secretary, had
said it was not possible to revoke four existing licences, one of which did
not expire until 2002. After talks with ministers and officials, however,
the three firms with licences agreed to end testing final products on
animals. No more licences will be granted.

Lord Williams, Home Office minister, said the decision was a "significant
step" towards reducing the number of animals used for experiments in
Britain. He said: "A voluntary agreement was the quickest way to achieve a
ban as legal advice confirmed that the existing law did not allow us to
revoke the licences."

Last year, around 200-300 rats, guinea pigs and rabbits were used to
establish whether cosmetics would be irritable to the skin or eyes. In
total there there were 2,803 tests for safety of cosmetics, an increase of
900 on 1995. Lord Williams said he would now consider a ban on the safety
testing of cosmetic ingredients that would eliminate the practice altogether.

He said licences would not be issued in future to allow gorillas and
chimpanzees to be used in scientific experiments - though the practice
effectively ceased in Britain more than 10 years ago. There would also be a
ban on the use of animals - notably beagles  - for tobacco and alcohol
testing, although no licences existed at present.

The Government is powerless to prevent foreign cosmetics that have been
tested on animals from being sold in Britain. The most recent figures from
France showed that 20,000 animals were used for cosmetic testing.
Furthermore, many of the ingredients used in make-up, including UV filters
and preservatives, would still be tested because they were also used in
therapeutic products.

Next year it is proposed to forbid the use of mice in the production of
vaccines that could otherwise be developed in test tubes.

Lord Williams said good reasons for testing on animals remained, provided
that there was no alternative. "We have to be satisfied that any suffering
to animals is outweighed by the potential benefit to humans and that the
minimum possible number of animals is used," he said. "Until alternative
tests are available, some animal testing is necessary to guarantee the
safety of products and if there are to be scientific advances and medical
breakthroughs." The Government hopes to persuade the EU to adopt tougher
measures to control animal tests.

Campaigners welcomed the voluntary ban, despite the small number of animals
involved. Anita Roddick, founder of the Body Shop, who wrote to Tony Blair
last month to voice concern at apparent Government inaction, said last
night: "At last we can celebrate a great first step after 21 years of
campaigning. The next step is to lead the European Union in taking similar
action." At the Body Shop, final products are tested on the staff.

Matthew Taylor, the Liberal Democrats' spokesman, said the loophole that
allowed ingredients used in cosmetics to be tested on animals had to be
closed for the Government to fulfil its election promise.

Roger Gale, the Conservative chairman of the all-party Animal Welfare
Group, said there was still a long way to go to get a Europe-wide ban. But
he said: "However, these are significant
steps forward and should be recognised as such by all with a serious
interest in animal welfare."

The RSPCA said: "We welcome a historic announcement by the Government that
it is to overhaul its policies on animal testing. We believe tests of
finished cosmetics on animals are totally unnecessary and are not required
by law."

© Copyright Telegraph Group Limited 1997.

Date: Thu, 06 Nov 1997 19:46:42
From: David J Knowles 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: [UK] Blood cells thought to transmit human BSE
Message-ID: <3.0.3.16.19971106194642.1f471556@dowco.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit

>From The Electronic Telegraph - Friday, November 7th, 1997


By Roger Highfield, Science Editor 

"HUMAN BSE" may be more likely than the classic form of Creutzfeldt-Jakob
Disease to be transmitted by blood.

The discovery led the Government yesterday to launch a study of the risk
that transfusions and blood products may pass on infection. In addition,
the National Blood Authority has been asked to consider the widespread
introduction of a technique to remove white blood cells
from donated blood by a process called leucodepletion, because studies
suggest the cells may offer a route for infection.

The Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee recommended these actions,
as a precaution, though there is, as yet, no evidence that any of the 22
cases of new variant disease arose after the receipt of blood. There is,
however, evidence that circulating white blood cells called lymphocytes may
play a more important role in the new variant of CJD - human BSE - than in
the classic form of the disease, offering a route of infection from the gut
to the brain.

"It is logical to seek to minimise any risk from blood or blood products by
reducing the number of lymphocytes present," it said in its advice to
ministers. The Government has accepted its recommendations.

Frank Dobson, the Health Secretary, said: "The Government will continue to
take whatever scientifically necessary action is practicable  to protect
the public from any risk of contracting new variant CJD. No one who needs
treatment with blood or blood products should have any
hesitation about accepting it; any risk of new variant CJD will be far
outweighed by the risks of damaging health through not doing so." He
stressed that blood donors were not at any risk.

Blood filtering could be expensive. Some estimates say the cost will be at
least £20 per donation. With 2.5 million samples per year, the overall cost
would be at least £50 million.

The focus on blood has arisen from research which found that the tonsils of
patients infected with new variant CJD contained the  infectious agent, an
abnormal version of a prion protein. Tonsils are part of the body's
infection-fighting lymphatic system which exchanges cells with the blood
supply, so the discovery by Prof John Collinge at St Mary's Hospital,
London, raises the possibility that blood may be infectious.

This dovetails with work by Prof Adriano Aguzzi of Zurich University,
Switzerland. The puzzle had been how eating food could cause a brain
disease. In September, Prof Aguzzi reported in Nature a series of
experiments on mice stripped of their immune systems which
demonstrated how the agent needed the immune system to pass from the gut to
the brain. His team revealed the "bridge" from gut to brain: first the
agent passes to the lymph system, to a class of cells called follicular
dendritic cells. From there it may pass to white blood cells,
notably lymphocytes, and then to the peripheral nervous system that detects
pain and moves muscles. From there it spreads to the brain.

The good news of this discovery is that this serial chain of infection,
between gut and brain, offers the best place to block the process. The bad
is that this again does not rule out the possibility that abnormal prion is
indeed present in blood.

The committee also considered the theory that organophosphate was linked to
the BSE epidemic but concluded that contaminated animal feed offered a more
plausible explanation.

© Copyright Telegraph Group Limited 1997.

Date: Thu, 06 Nov 1997 19:53:06
From: David J Knowles 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: [UK] Food warning as cases of E coli double
Message-ID: <3.0.3.16.19971106195306.0c4f2742@dowco.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit

>From The Electronic Telegraph - Friday, November 7th, 1997


Food warning as cases of E coli double
By David Brown, Agriculture Editor 

CASES of E coli food poisoning, which killed 20 people in Scotland last
year, have doubled in Britain over the past 10 months, food industry
leaders were told yesterday.

Prof Hugh Pennington, who chaired the Government inquiry into the Scottish
outbreak, said that official figures, yet to be released, would show that
known cases would reach 1,000 this year. He called for urgent Government
action to tackle the increase and said he was frustrated that new licensing
proposals for butchers' shops - expected since January - would not be
published until December.

He told delegates at a food safety conference in London organised by the
Agra-Europe market intelligence group: "This has been a bumper year for E
coli and we don't know why, but we cannot afford the luxury of endless
deliberation."

He suggested that the Scottish outbreak may have led to an increase in the
reporting of cases. "The position is very worrying. The figures are far
worse this year."

His warning came as the Association of Unpasteurised Milk Producers (AUMP)
attacked Government plans to ban the sale of raw milk for drinking in
England and Wales due to fears that it could cause E coli poisoning. The
move followed advice from the Government's advisory committee for the
microbiological safety of food that raw milk samples were found to be
contaminated with cattle excreta. Sales of unpasteurised milk were
prohibited in Scotland in 1983. Since 1995, it can only be sold at the farm
gate or on milk rounds in England and Wales.

Last year's Scottish E coli outbreak was linked with meat contaminated in
abattoirs by excreta on cattle hides. Since then abattoirs have tightened
controls.

But Sir Julian Rose, chairman of AUMP, said that there had never been a
recorded case of raw milk causing E coli food poisoning. Raw milk, he said,
was "a natural, health-building food" which was drunk by the Queen and
other members of the Royal Family. Heat treatment destroyed 10 per cent of
its vitamins. "The most recent serious case involving liquid milk was in
Scotland in 1994 when E coli 0157 was found in pasteurised milk," he said.

But Prof Pennington said: "I regard unpasteurised milk as potentially
dangerous - whether it is cows' milk or milk from goats and sheep. The
Scottish E coli case referred to by the farmers involved milk which had not
been pasteurised properly. We have also had a case of a child contracting E
coli from raw goat's milk."

Jeff Rooker, the food safety minister, announced that the White Paper on
the proposed new Food Standards Agency would be published in three weeks.
It was hoped that, after a period of consultation, a Bill would be tabled
in November next year. "This won't be a bog-standard quango of the kind we
have become used to. This will be a powerful body responsible to
Parliament," he said.

Prof Pennington said later that the Government should consider irradiating
the carcasses of all beef cattle to rid them of E coli: "Even in the best
regulated systems, with the best run abattoirs and the best suppliers of
cattle to these abattoirs, you are going to get a level of contamination.
It is the nature of things." Irradiation would solve the problem, he said.

© Copyright Telegraph Group Limited 1997.

Date: Thu, 06 Nov 1997 19:54:43
From: David J Knowles 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: [UK] Editor is cleared over campaign to kill birds
Message-ID: <3.0.3.16.19971106195443.0c4f809a@dowco.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit

>From The Electronic Telegraph - Friday, November 7th, 1997


Editor is cleared over campaign to kill birds
By Hugh Muir 

CLAIMS that the former editor of an angling newspaper incited readers to
kill cormorants, a protected species, were rejected yesterday.

Magistrates decided there was no case to answer after Keith Higginbottom
was charged under the 1981 Wildlife and Countryside Act over an Angling
Times campaign. He had been accused by the prosecution of publishing in
December 1996 "a paramilitary style glorification" of killing cormorants,
which are despised by anglers for eating fish stocks.

The court was told that the paper carried a photograph of a masked man in
camouflage holding a gun with his finger on the trigger. In the foreground
were four dead cormorants and a caption which read: "This is the picture
everyone wants to see."

Gareth Hawkesworth, defending, said: "No one can suggest that responsible
editors highlighting this are intending people to break the law. They are
simply pointing out the debate. That is their function in a democratic
society."

Mr Higginbottom, of Sheffield, left court without comment. But John Kelly,
the current editor, said: "The decision to bring the case at all has to be
questioned as it was a serious challenge to journalistic independence and
free speech." He said the newspaper's campaign against cormorants would
continue.

© Copyright Telegraph Group Limited 1997.

Date: Thu, 6 Nov 1997 23:18:26 -0500 (EST)
From: BanFurNow@aol.com
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Fur Free Friday - Dallas
Message-ID: <971106231825_1103580096@mrin39>

URFUR FREE FRIDAYEE 

November 28, 1997


JOIN THE ACTION: 
Organizations are joining Animal Liberation of Texas on Fur Free Friday for a
national day of action against the fur industry on November 28, 1997.   
 
DETAILS: 
The Fur Free Friday  action will be taking place at Neiman Marcus downtown.
   
Activists are to meet at the SW corner of the Quadrangle parking lot located
at 
2828 Routh St. at 9:15 a.m. on Friday, November 28, 1997.  Activists are 
encouraged to car pool to the Neimans downtown to reduce parking expenses.  
The action is scheduled to begin at Neiman Marcus at 10:00 a.m. but it will
be 
necessary for activists to meet at the Quardrangle parking lot located at
2828 
Routh for detailed plans. 
 
CONTACT: 
ANIMAL LIBERATION OF TEXAS 
A.L.T. 
P. O . Box 820872 
 Dallas, TX  75382
 972-664-6760
BanFurNow@aol.com
 




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