AR-NEWS Digest 562

Topics covered in this issue include:

  1) NJARA PR: State Agency Endangers Children To Sell Hunting Licenses
     by veganman@idt.net (Stuart Chaifetz)
  2) (US) USDA uncertain if BeefAmerica recall will grow
     by allen schubert 
  3) Diabetes has increased 6-fold in the US
     by Andrew Gach 
  4) What the world needs
     by Andrew Gach 
  5) (UK) Report: People Exposed to Mad Cow Disease 17 Years Ago
     by allen schubert 
  6) (EU) Make EU Billions End Cruelty, Animal Groups Urge
     by allen schubert 
  7) (BE) First Mad Cow Case Surfaces in Belgium Paper
     by allen schubert 
  8) (US) Nebraska Plant Faces Beef Recall
     by allen schubert 
  9) Plan to limit animals for research angers academics (AU)
     by LCartLng@gvn.net (Lawrence Carter-Long)
 10) Jiang Rejects Tibet Criticism (Reuters)
     by LCartLng@gvn.net (Lawrence Carter-Long)
 11) Fur-Free Friday
     by In Defense of Animals 
 12) Vigil for Marine World Whale
     by Suzanne Roy 
 13) [CAT] TVE-Catalunya, ill-treatments in Catalan Farms
     by Jordi Ninerola 
 14) Dawn
     by Heidi Prescott 
 15) Pigeon Shoot Comes to North Carolina
     by Michael Markarian 
 16) Hunger Striker is Denied Early Parole
     by Michael Markarian 
 17) USDA Station Review of Wyoming is Bunch of "Bull"
     by Michael Markarian 
 18) Nordstrom fur policy
     by Alison Green 
 19) (NZ)Carrots not in demand/Ferrets still a worry
     by bunny 
 20) (CA) Two Canadians Spend a Week Living like Chickens
     by allen schubert 
 21) (US) E. coli meat recalls leads to closing of Neb. plant  
     by allen schubert 
Date: Fri, 31 Oct 1997 01:05:21 -0500 (EST)
From: veganman@idt.net (Stuart Chaifetz)
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: NJARA PR: State Agency Endangers Children To Sell Hunting Licenses
Message-ID: 
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
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NEW JERSEY ANIMAL RIGHTS ALLIANCE
PO Box 174, Englishtown, NJ  07726
Phone: 732-446-6808  Fax: 732-446-0227

Press Release

October 30, 1997
Contact Stuart Chaifetz for locations: (732) 899-4202

State Agency Endangers Children
To Sell Hunting Licenses

Trenton - Most people believe in teaching children to respect life. The NJ
Division of Fish, Game and Wildlife (DFGW) does not think so, and are
demonstrating it with their "Take a Kid Hunting: Youth Pheasant Hunt" this
Saturday, November 1, 1997.  This program encourages children as young as
10 years old, to shoot and kill animals with shotguns.

"In a time when we are all struggling to protect our children from
violence, it is pure madness that a state agency is teaching children to
kill," states Stuart Chaifetz, NJARA hunting expert. "DFGW's interest is in
the selling of hunting licenses. They are putting their revenue needs
before the health and welfare of our children," Chaifetz added.

DFGW must sell more than $9,500,000 worth of hunting licenses to pay for
the salaries and benefits of their employees. With the number of hunters
decreasing, this task is becoming more difficult. So, along with opening up
county and state parks to hunting, they are indoctrinating children into
the hunting and killing of wildlife.

Bred to Be Killed
This weekend, under DFGWís "Take a Kid Hunting" program, the children will
learn to kill animals that were raised on a DFGW breeding farm, where more
than 50,000 pheasants are bred each year. These animals spend most of their
lives in small cages and, when the time is right, they are thrown onto
fields where they will be killed by hunters seeking "sport." Proof positive
that DFGWís purpose is to provide animals for the "recreational pleasure"
of hunters.

Putting Children at Risk
Information from DFGW's Hunter Education Program reveals the high price
paid by children who are taught to use weapons to hunt and kill:

* Between 1990 and 1996 there was a total of 19 accidents in which youths
between the ages of 10 and 19 either shot another person, or were shot
themselves.
* In 1995, 4 children between the ages of 10 and 13 were involved in
shooting incidents.
* In April of this year, a 14-year-old West Milford boy was shot in the
face while hunting.
* On May 27, 1997, a 13-year-old boy from Hamilton (Mercer County), who was
taught to use guns and hunt, shot and killed himself.

Children under the age of 16 are not allowed to vote, drive a car, buy
cigarettes, or consume alcohol, yet they are actively recruited and
encouraged by the Division of Fish, Game and Wildlife to use weapons for
recreational killing purposes? "It is preposterous that the tobacco
companies are criticized for using advertisements directed toward children,
yet a state agency facilitates their participation in life-endangering
activities," Chaifetz added.

NJARA is a community based, non-profit, educational organization working
towards a more peaceful, nonviolent co-existence with our earthly
companions, both human and nonhuman. Through our programs of promoting
responsible science, ethical consumerism and environmentalism, NJARA
advocates change that greatly enhances the quality of life for animals and
people and protects the earth.


Date: Fri, 31 Oct 1997 01:22:31 -0500
From: allen schubert 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (US) USDA uncertain if BeefAmerica recall will grow
Message-ID: <3.0.32.19971031012227.00703758@pop3.clark.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

from CNN http://www.cnn.com/
----------------------------------------------
                     USDA uncertain if BeefAmerica recall will grow

                     October 30, 1997                  
                     Web posted at: 7:57 p.m. EST (0057 GMT)

                     WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- U.S. Agriculture
                     Department food safety officials are examining
                     compliance records at a BeefAmerica plant in
                     Norfolk, Nebraska, to determine if the company
                     needs to recall more ground beef because of
                     bacterial contamination, a USDA spokeswoman said
                     Thursday.

                     BeefAmerica has begun a recall of 168,725 pounds
                     of ground beef processed on October 21 at the
                     Norfolk plant after a sample was found to be
                     contaminated with the E. coli 0157:H7 bacteria,
                     Jacque Knight, a spokeswoman for USDA's Food
                     Safety and Inspection Service, said.

                     USDA is also checking if any of the product
                     reached retailers or consumers, although the
                     company believes most of the beef remains in
                     distribution channels, she said.

                     The recall was the latest in a series of
                     contaminated meat discoveries in recent months
                     that have prompted the Clinton administration to
                     seek tougher meat safety legislation.

                     Knight said two Food Safety and Inspection Service
                     compliance officers had been at the Norfolk
                     facility since Wednesday afternoon. BeefAmerica
                     officials said Wednesday no illnesses had been
                     reported from the contamination and most of the
                     beef had never reached retail stores.

                     Earlier this month, BeefAmerica recalled 443,656
                     pounds of ground beef because of E. coli
                     contamination. That product also was processed at
                     the Norfolk plant.

                     USDA is trying to determine if there is any
                     connection between the two incidents, Knight said.

                     USDA forced another meat processing plant in
                     Nebraska owned by Hudson Foods Co. to recall a
                     record 25 million pounds of frozen hamburger
                     patties earlier this year after several people in
                     Colorado fell ill from the potentially deadly E.
                     coli 0157:H7 strain.

                     Last month, South Korean officials said they had
                     found E. coli contamination in a shipment of U.S.
                     beef.

Date: Thu, 30 Oct 1997 22:41:00 -0800
From: Andrew Gach 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Diabetes has increased 6-fold in the US
Message-ID: <34597D7C.2DC3@worldnet.att.net>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

Diabetes in U.S. reaches record levels

1997 The Associated Press 
ATLANTA (October 30, 1997 4:16 p.m. EST) 

The number of Americans living with diabetes has increased sixfold since
1958 to the highest level on record, and obesitiy is an important
reason, the government said Thursday.

As of 1997, there were 10 million people alive who had been diagnosed
with the disease, compared with 1.6 million in 1958, the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention said.

"We are becoming a more overweight population, we are less active and we
are also getting somewhat older," said Dr. Frank Vinicor, director of
the CDC's diabetes division. "If you put all of those factors together,
we are seeing a chronic disease epidemic occurring."

And it's not just a U.S. problem. The CDC and the World Health
Organization estimate that 125 million people worldwide have diabetes.
That number is expected to double by the year 2025.

The CDC estimates 15.7 million people in the United States currently
have diabetes, a condition in which blood sugar levels rise out of
control. But at least 5 million don't know they have it. In its early
stages, the symptoms of diabetes aren't very apparent.

Diabetes is caused by a deficiency of insulin, a hormone secreted by the
pancreas that controls blood sugar. High blood sugar damages the nerves.
Diabetes can cause blindness and kidney disease and force the amputation
of the feet and legs from infections that lead to gangrene.

Between 1980 and 1994, diabetes rose 33 percent among blacks, from 40.1
diagnosed cases for every 1,000 people to 53.5 cases per 1,000. Among
whites during the same years, the rate rose 11 percent, from 23.8 cases
per 1,000 to 26.4.

Obesity and lack of exercise increase the risk of diabetes. So does age:
The body becomes less effective at producing insulin and more resistant
to it.

-- By TARA MEYER, The Associated Pres
Date: Thu, 30 Oct 1997 22:42:29 -0800
From: Andrew Gach 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: What the world needs
Message-ID: <34597DD5.7CE8@worldnet.att.net>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
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Scientists say world needs cross-species transplants

The Associated Press 
GENEVA (October 30, 1997 9:05 p.m.) 

Transplanting animal organs into humans offers such promise that nations
should cooperate to overcome scientific and ethical problems, experts
said Thursday at a U.N.-sponsored meeting.

Scientists have suggested in recent years that animals not only could
ease the shortage of kidneys, hearts and livers for transplantation, but
also supply brain tissue to treat diseases like Parkinson's and
pancreatic tissue to treat diabetes.

Attention has focused on the pig, which has internal organs the right
size for transplant to humans and breeds rapidly, meaning a large
potential organ supply.

There is concern, however, at the risk of infections crossing species
barriers. Experiments so far have focused on limited transplantation of
animal tissue rather than whole organs.

The World Health Organization sponsored a two-day meeting ending
Thursday to examine the possibilities and implications of
"xenotransplantation."

British bioethics expert Dr. Rachel Bartlett said the starting point is
the situation faced by people in need of transplants but unable to find
donor organs.

Professor Jeffrey L. Platt of Duke University said as little as 5
percent to 15 percent of the donor organs required may be available.

About 2,000 heart transplants are carried out every year in the United
States, while an estimated 40,000 hearts are needed. The problem is
magnified in developing countries, where the resources are in far
shorter supply.

Platt said every conceivable way to increase the amount of organs
available for transplant in the United States has been tried, but all
have fallen well short of meeting requirements.

The use of nonhuman organs could solve the dilemma of how available
organs are distributed, he said.

He also denied that the need for organs could be met by using dialysis
and other mechanical procedures.

The experts said they also discussed the implications of transplants
from pigs with scholars of Islam and Judaism, both of which forbid
eating the animal as unclean, and had received a generally favorable
response.

"The Koran and the Old Testament -- Leviticus particularly -- talk about
the pig only in dietary terms," said Professor Abdallah S. Daar of Oman
University.

"Neither restrict the introduction of porcine material through other
orifices or through surgical incisions," Daar said.

Some concerns have been raised over the development of "transgenic"
animals, containing a human gene, to reduce the risks of patients
rejecting organs.

Such animals could be viewed as hybrids, but Bartlett said the human
gene was "one gene of many" which would bring about only a "small and
specific change."

Discussion between countries is necessary, she said, "to make sure
xenotransplantation goes ahead as safely as possible," especially as
"viruses and bacteria do not carry passports."

By GEIR MOULSON, Associated Press Writer

********************************************

One thing that hasn't been spelled out: assuming that transplanting pig
organs into humans will be wildly successful and completely harmless
(not very feasible assumptions) who will pay the cost of the 20-fold
increase in organ transplants?  

We're talking about "real money" - many billions for the extra
surgeries, hospital charges, drugs and follow-up treatments.  All this,
in a country that already spends 15% of it's total income on doctors and
medicine and where millions have no access to the most routine health
care.

Andy
Date: Fri, 31 Oct 1997 02:24:57 -0500
From: allen schubert 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (UK) Report: People Exposed to Mad Cow Disease 17 Years Ago
Message-ID: <3.0.32.19971031022455.007067d0@pop3.clark.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

from CNN http://www.cnn.com/
---------------------------------------------
Report: People Exposed to Mad Cow Disease 17 Years Ago
Xinhua
30-OCT-97

LONDON (Oct. 30) XINHUA - As many as 54,000 cattle with mad cow disease, or
BSE were slaughtered for human consumption in the years before the disease
was identified in 1986, science journal Nature reported today. 

The report said people were exposed to the disease as early as 1980 and
explained the recent case of a vegetarian who contracted "human BSE." 

Clare Tomkins, 24, of Tonbridge, Kent, became infected with the new variant
Creutzfeldt Jakob disease even though she had been a vegetarian since 1985,
renewing speculation about the underlying causes of the disease. 
Date: Fri, 31 Oct 1997 02:35:29 -0500
From: allen schubert 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (EU) Make EU Billions End Cruelty, Animal Groups Urge
Message-ID: <3.0.32.19971031023527.0070d05c@pop3.clark.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

from CNN http://www.cnn.com/
---------------------------------------------
Make EU Billions End Cruelty, Animal Groups Urge
Reuters
30-OCT-97 
By Gillian Handyside 

BRUSSELS, Oct 30 (Reuters) - Animal welfare groups said on Friday the
European Union's common agriculture policy (CAP) had encouraged cruel
farming methods and called for forthcoming reforms to introduce more humane
treatment of livestock.  ``Over the last 40 years the CAP has encouraged
the development of factory farming, thereby inflicting a massive amount of
suffering on animals,'' said Peter Stevenson, political and legal director
of Compassion in World Farming (WIWF). 

He was speaking at the launch of a report on the effects of the CAP on
animals, commissioned by WIWF and the World Society for the Protection of
Animals (WSPA). 

Under the CAP, which costs EU taxpayers 40 billion Ecus ($44 billion) a
year, European farmers received generous subsidies to export some 600,000
live cattle to the Middle East under appalling conditions, Stevenson said. 

He showed distressing film footage of cattle too weak to walk after being
reared and transported in cramped conditions, dropped onto a boat deck by
crane and left to writhe all night in agony. 

On arrival in Lebanon, Egypt or Libya they would be ritually slaughtered --
left to bleed to death after having their throats cut while fully
conscious, Stevenson said. 

The fact that the EU gave no export subsidies for cattle carcasses only
served to encourage this cruel trade, he said. 

The film showed calves tethered permanently in veal crates so small they
were unable to move more than one step forwards or backwards in the whole
of their short lives, and hens packed so tight they could never stretch
their wings. 

``As a result of lack of exercise their bones are so weak that many will
actually have broken bones by the time they come to be slaughtered,''
Stevenson said. 

``We believe the CAP could and should be reformed to introduce much more
humane ways of rearing farm animals. Above all it must be a condition of
receiving public money that the farmer achieves high welfare standards.'' 

WSPA's Carol McKenna stressed the animal welfare groups were not attacking
farmers. 

They wanted to see farmers earn a decent living but insisted EU aid should
be aimed at helping them switch to extensive mixed arable/livestock
farming, not perpetuating intensive production based on monocultures. 

Instead of compensating farmers for excessive production they could not
sell, the EU should be helping them to produce less but in better
conditions, McKenna told Reuters. 

Professor Michael Winter, one of the report's authors, said the
understandable drive to boost food production in Europe after the second
world war had led to over-intensive farming, but there was no longer a need
for such levels of production. 

A proposal from Fischler to withold payment of cattle export subsidies if
the animals were found to be mistreated in the destination country was
``wholly cynical'' Stevenson said. 

``The EU is incapable of monitoring the enforcement of the 'welfare during
transport' rules in much of the EU. It's just a fantasy that we're going to
monitor what goes on with the animals once they leave the EU,'' he said. 
Date: Fri, 31 Oct 1997 10:46:17 -0500
From: allen schubert 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (BE) First Mad Cow Case Surfaces in Belgium Paper
Message-ID: <3.0.32.19971031104614.007072d0@pop3.clark.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

from CNN custom news htp://www.cnn.com/
-------------------------------------------------------------------
First Mad Cow Case Surfaces in Belgium Paper
Reuters
31-OCT-97

BRUSSELS, Oct 31 (Reuters) - Traces of mad cow disease have been found in a
Belgian beef cow in the first case to be reported in the country, a Belgian
newspaper said on Friday. 

The debilitating illness had been found in the brain of an ailing cow
analysed by the National Institute of Veterinary Research near Brussels, La
Derniere Heure said. 

In the past week samples of the brain had been sent for further analysis to
a laboratory in Britain, where the disease, also known as bovine spongiform
encephalopathy (BSE), was first discovered. 

The Belgian Agriculture Ministry said it would hold a news conference on
Friday afternoon on the subject of the BSE story in the newspaper, but gave
no details. 

Belgian RTBF radio said the animal was from a farm in the southern Namur
region. The exact location was not known, but once confirmation was
obtained from Britain, all the farm's animals older than two years would be
slaughtered. 

Despite an 19-month-old worldwide ban on British beef exports imposed by
the European Union, meat from Britain has been surfacing in other member
states. Cases of suspected BSE have been found in the Netherlands and France. 

The ban was imposed during the consumer scare unleashed after the British
government revealed that there could be a link between mad cow disease and
Creutzfeld-Jakob disease, a similar brain-wasting affliction affecting humans. 
Date: Fri, 31 Oct 1997 11:03:05 -0500
From: allen schubert 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (US) Nebraska Plant Faces Beef Recall
Message-ID: <3.0.32.19971031110302.0070aa48@pop3.clark.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

from AP Wire http://wire.ap.org/
-------------------------------------------
 10/31/1997 10:59 EST

 Nebraska Plant Faces Beef Recall

 By TOM VINT
 Associated Press Writer

 OMAHA, Neb. (AP) -- A Nebraska plant that was the source of a beef recall
 earlier this month has come under scrutiny again after federal
 agriculture officials found E. coli-contaminated ground beef during a
 test.

 About 169,000 pounds of ground beef produced at the BeefAmerica plant in
 Norfolk has been recalled for the potentially deadly bacteria, the U.S.
 Department of Agriculture said Thursday.

 The recall was the fourth this year involving a Nebraska beef plant, The
 largest recall -- 25 million pounds of ground beef from a former Hudson
 Foods plant in Columbus -- sparked concern nationwide about safe meat.

 The recent recall involved food distribution centers in 13 states. One
 distributor had shipped some of the beef to a school district in Colorado
 but the district was notified before the beef was served, said Jacque
 Knight, a spokeswoman for USDA Food Safety and Inspection in Washington,
 D.C.

 Knight said the distribution centers send meat to groceries and
 restaurants in California, Montana, Nebraska, Missouri, Indiana,
 Tennessee, Oklahoma, Kentucky, West Virginia, Iowa, Illinois, Colorado
 and North Carolina.

 An independent laboratory also tested the Oct. 21 ground beef and those
 results were negative, said Bob Norton, BeefAmerica's chief operating
 officer. The company still volunteered to recall the beef, though it
 wouldn't name the distribution centers.

 ``My family eats this product. Of course, our livelihoods depend on the
 quality and safety of our product,'' said Norton. ``We like to think we
 take every possible precaution to control this pathogen.''

 This second recall stemmed from the first recall, in which 443,656 pounds
 of ground beef were recalled on Oct. 3 after tainted meat was found in a
 Virginia grocery store.

 After a plant has been involved in such a finding, it is targeting by the
 USDA for stepped-up testing for 15 working days. It was during those
 tests that the tainted meat was found, Knight said.

Date: Fri, 31 Oct 1997 09:07:46 -0800
From: LCartLng@gvn.net (Lawrence Carter-Long)
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Plan to limit animals for research angers academics (AU)
Message-ID: <199710311700.MAA02065@envirolink.org>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"


     Sydney Morning Herald
     Friday, October 31, 1997

     Plan to limit animals for research angers academics 

     By LUIS M. GARCIA, Higher Education Writer

     Senior academics have reacted angrily to proposals by the State
Government to restrict
     the use by universities of hundreds of "unwanted" dogs and cats for
medical experiments.

     The proposals, which are being considered by a ministerial working
party, have been
     described by researchers as a "serious threat" to the futureof
cardiovascular and
     neurological research.

     A spokesman for the academics, Professor Mark Rowe, of the School of
Physiology and
     Pharmacology at the University of New South Wales, said the three
medical schools in the
     State used about 500 dogs and cats for experimental purposes every year.

     Professor Rowe said the animals were treated in a "humane" way - they
were heavily
     anaesthetised and remained unconscious throughout the experiments, and
were then put
     down with an overdose of anaesthetic.

     "The animals we use in these experiments are unwanted animals," he
said. "They are
     among the 40,000 cats and an equal number of dogs that are put down
every year in
     pounds across the State.

     "The experience for the animal is no different to what it would have
been had it remained
     in the pound, except that at least they are put to some good use before
they are destroyed.

     "If there is an animal welfare issue here it is the negligence on the
part of pet owners who
     discard the animals and which results in so many of these animals being
destroyed every
     year."

     Professor Rowe said experimenting with live animals was important for
some types of
     medical research, arguing that computer simulations were not adequate
in many cases.

     A spokesman for the Minister for Agriculture, Mr Amery, who set up the
working party,
     said the Government had no intention of stopping universities and other
research
     institutions from using animals for research, provided such experiments
followed
     established guidelines.

     However, the spokesman said the Government wanted to reduce the number
of animals
     used in research.

     "We use three times more animals in research in NSW than Victoria and
we feel that is
     because universities have an unlimited supply of such animals here from
the pounds," he
     said.

     "While that continues ... there is no incentive to find alternatives."

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: Fri, 31 Oct 1997 09:16:23 -0800
From: LCartLng@gvn.net (Lawrence Carter-Long)
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Jiang Rejects Tibet Criticism (Reuters)
Message-ID: <199710311716.MAA14433@ss2.solidsolutions.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

        Jiang Rejects Tibet Criticism (Reuters)

        NEW YORK (Reuters) - President Jiang Zemin rejected
        U.S. criticism of China's human rights record Thursday,
        saying jailed religious figures were lawbreakers and the
        people of Tibet lived in "happiness and contentment." 

        In a spirited debate with members of Congress and a
        speech to Asian experts in Washington, Jiang, who is on
        a nine-day U.S. tour that included a summit with
        President Clinton, said China would expand economic
        and political openness within its communist system. 

        Jiang arrived in New York Thursday evening, flying into
        John F. Kennedy International Airport from
        Philadelphia. 

        He was not officially received by either Mayor Rudolph
        Giuliani or New York Gov. George Pataki but was met
        by about 200 supporters, mostly university students.
        There were no demonstrators. 

        While human rights charges and denials dominated the
        day's events in the U.S. capital, there were signs that
        economic and political relations were being fostered on
        the first state visit since relations were chilled by the
        1989 Tiananmen crackdown. 

        Clinton's National Security Adviser Sandy Berger said:
        "We have widespread interests in common with China,
        whether that's preventing war in Korea, trying to deal
        with the environment, trying to stop the spread of
        nuclear weapons." 

        House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who castigated Jiang on
        the rights issue at a breakfast for him in Congress, later
        said, "The framework of a peaceful evolution of this
        relationship is there." 

        In a deal timed to coincide with the summit, Chinese
        officials signed a $3 billion order for 50 jets made by
        Boeing Co., the biggest Chinese aircraft order ever. 

        And the U.S. nuclear industry was highly optimistic after
        an agreement under which Clinton will allow exports of
        U.S. nuclear energy equipment to China in return for
        assurances that Beijing will end nuclear cooperation with
        Iran. 

        Reflecting suspicion of Chinese promises, however,
        State Department spokesman James Rubin said, "We're
        in trust-but-verify mode." He said the agreement would
        be put at risk if Beijing failed to meet its pledge. 

        At the breakfast meeting, Jiang heard a catalog of
        complaints about abuse of jailed dissidents, religious
        persecution, forced abortion and nuclear proliferation. 

        In a closed meeting marked by courtesy but profound
        skepticism from the lawmakers, the president rejected
        their criticism, saying that "never before has Chinese
        society been so prosperous and open as today." 

        Jiang, who heard similar criticism from Clinton
        Wednesday, said, "In terms of structural reform, we will
        expand democracy, improve the legal system, run the
        country according to law and build a socialist country
        under the law." 

        In a lunch speech to the Asia Society, a private group
        that promotes the improvement of U.S. relations with
        Pacific nations, Jiang pursued his theme that rights were
        a national affair and accusations of abuse were
        unacceptable interference. 

        Responding to attacks on his Tibet policy -- from,
        among others, the protestors who have rallied at each of
        his stops -- Jiang dismissed reports that China was
        repressing the people of the Himalayan enclave, where a
        popular uprising was crushed in 1959. 

        "Today's Tibet is developing prosperously, and people
        there are living in happiness and contentment," Jiang
        said. 

        He compared Chinese actions in Tibet to Abraham
        Lincoln's emancipation of blacks from slavery in the
        U.S. Civil War. "It was our democratic reform that
        emancipated some 1 million serfs and slaves," he said. 

        Gingrich said Jiang had invited him to visit Tibet and he
        had replied that when he went in August 1998, he hoped
        Jiang and the Dalai Lama, the exiled spiritual leader of
        Tibet, would be there to greet him. 

        House Republican Leader Dick Armey of Texas gave
        Jiang a list of 30 Chinese citizens he said were being
        persecuted for their religious beliefs and asked Jiang to
        have them released. 

        But Jiang, who also heads the Chinese Communist
        Party, said those under arrest had broken the law. At the
        lunch he said that in China people had "the freedom of
        religious belief." 

        Jiang said China had signed 17 international human
        rights agreements and had recently joined in a covenant
        to protect "economic, social and cultural rights." 

        Jiang stopped in Philadelphia on Thursday to see more
        sights, including the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall,
        powerful symbols of American freedom and
        democracy. 

        National Park Service rangers gave Jiang a brief
        presentation on the history of Independence Hall and a
        key to the historic building. Jiang reciprocated with a
        decorative Chinese plate for the rangers. 

        He also had a 45-minute reunion with 94-year-old Ku
        Yuhsiu, a retired University of Pennsylvania professor
        and Sino-Japanese War hero. Ku taught engineering to
        Jiang in Shanghai in the late 1940s.
  
        October 30, 1997
        Reuter's

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: Fri, 31 Oct 1997 11:00:20 -0800
From: In Defense of Animals 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Fur-Free Friday
Message-ID: 
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

In Defense of Animals (IDA) is gearing up for Fur-Free Friday and a major
escalation in the battle against the fur industry.

IDA is working with the Coalition to Abolish Fur Trade (CAFT) to expand our
fur campaign to go far beyond Fur-Free Friday. As in years past, IDA will
be coordinating national Fur-Free Friday efforts, but this year we want our
presence felt throughout the holiday season. We are asking you to make sure
there is a sustained campaign against fur products -- from Fur-Free Friday
through the end of the holiday shopping season -- in your community.

The month between Fur-Free Friday is the busiest time of year for most
retailers. Department stores, such as Macy's, Bloomingdale's, and Neiman
Marcus, as well as specialty fur shops, depend on holiday sales to make or
break their year. By expanding our campaign and increasing our efforts, we
can have an impact on sales and at the same time let fur retailers know
that as long as fur is on the racks, their stores will be boycotted.

IDA is offering a new array of campaign materials to get you started on
your crusade against the fur industry:

* Leaflets exposing the horrors of the fur trade

* Two new fur cards. One is to be handed out to people wearing fur and
explains the suffering of animals killed for their coats. The other is
directed at stores that continue to sell fur or fur trim.

* A new fur poster. Use these to make a protest sign or for tabling.

IDA is encouraging activists to continue focusing on local furriers, but
also asking that you join with activists around the country and expand your
campaign to target particular department stores. It is vital that
department stores feel the heat if they sell fur. These stores can easily
survive without having to sell such horrific products that symbolize pain
and suffering of thousands of animals. Between Fur-Free Friday and January,
activists will be targeting Federated (Macy's, Bloomingdales, Lazarus,
etc.), Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, Nordstrom's or other regional
department stores that sell fur. CAFT has put together a flyer that can be
mailed to you, with your group name, and information about the department
store you want to target. You will receive an original from which you can
make copies. If you would like to receive one of these flyers, please
contact CAFT (214)503-1419.

Please join us in this important effort to remind the fur industry that the
pressure against them will only continue to grow until fur is no longer
sold. Again, fur trim still costs the life of an animal, and any store that
continues to sell these garments will be the target protests and boycott.

If you would like a Fur-Free Friday action pk. which includes an order form
for free activist materials, please contact us by e-mail or phone
415/388-9641 (if you are on our mailing list, you will be receiving one
shortly in the mail).

**Please give us details about your Fur-Free Friday event and keep us
posted on other actions you are working on. We get calls from media and
activists who are interested in actions in their area.

In Defense of Animals
131 Camino Alto, Suite E
Mill Valley, CA 94941
415-388-9641(voice)
415-388-0388(fax)
ida@idausa.org
www.idausa.org


Date: Fri, 31 Oct 1997 13:19:02 -0600 (CST)
From: Suzanne Roy 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Vigil for Marine World Whale
Message-ID: <199710311919.NAA26690@dfw-ix16.ix.netcom.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

In Defense of Animals
131 Camino Alto, Suite E
Mill Valley, CA  94941 
415/388-9641 (ph)
415/388-0388 (fax)
ida@idausa.org (email)

   DATE:  October 31, 1997
Contact:  Suzanne Roy,  415/388-9641 x 26
     
MEMORIAL CANDLELIGHT VIGIL FOR MARINE WORLD WHALE PLANNED FOR
SUNDAY

Vallejo, Calif. . . . Animal advocates are planning a memorial service for
Yaka, the orca whale at Marine World who died this week after 28 years in
captivity.  

 WHAT:  Candlelight Vigil for Yaka
     
 WHERE:  Marine World Africa, USA
     Marine World Parkway (off Route 37)
     Vallejo, Calif.
     
 WHEN:  Sunday, November 2, 1997
     4:30 p.m. 

Yaka died at the park Wednesday after a lengthy illness.  Marine World has
implied that Yaka's death can be attributed to old age.  However, studies
show that female orcas in the wild live an average of 50 years, and have a
maximum lifespan of 80 - 90 years.  At  32 years of age, Yaka would be
considered to be in the prime of her life in the ocean.  

IDA has charged that Yaka's premature death is  a result of being confined
in a concrete, chlorinated tank for nearly three decades.  The group has
called on Marine World to immediately close its "killer whale" show and to
develop  a plan to rehabilitate Vigga, the park's surviving orca, for
potential release to the wild.  

Sunday's candlelight vigil will include the ceremonial placing of flowers at
a tombstone created for Yaka by IDA.

IDA is a national animal advocacy organization based in Mill Valley, Calif.

- end -

Date: Fri, 31 Oct 1997 20:24:08 +0100
From: Jordi Ninerola 
To: AR News 
Subject: [CAT] TVE-Catalunya, ill-treatments in Catalan Farms
Message-ID: <9710312017.AA19388@blues.uab.es>
MIME-version: 1.0
Content-type: TEXT/PLAIN; CHARSET=US-ASCII


Sant Cugat-Barcelona: The TVE-Catalunya, (Spanish Television in Catalonia)
explain today in their headlines that many animals in our farms suffer
ill-treatment. In this notice we could see images that one cow was caught
with an iron stick. Other images showed horribles scenes with differents
farm animals.

If you would more information can write to:

CONSELLERIA DE RAMADERIA, AGRICULTURA I PESCA
PALAU DE LA GENERALITAT
Plaga de Sant Jaume s/n
08002  Barcelona 
SPAIN

http://www.gencat.es

or visit the TVE-Catalunya adress

(I'm sorry but I don't have this direction)

JORDI NIQEROLA
BARCELONA, CATALONIA 

Jordi Ninyerola i Maymm

http://www.geocities.com/rainforest/vines/6506
http://www.geocities.com/hollywood/academy/2855
http://www.geocities.com/colosseum/loge/3128
SA385@blues.uab.es
Date: Fri, 31 Oct 1997 11:57:31 -0800 (PST)
From: Heidi Prescott 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Dawn
Message-ID: <2.2.16.19971101170842.338f94d8@pop.igc.org>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

>
>Today a hearing was held for Dawn Ratcliffe to ask for early parole.  It was
>denied by the judge. She will have to serve her full sentence.
>
>Also, Dawn was taken to the emergency room to be seen by a doctor the night
>before last.  He said that her condition was worsening, her blood pressure
>was low and she was in serious danger. 
>
>Today, it is our understanding that Dawn is agreeing to start to take other
>liquids 
>
>I will post other details as we get them.
>
>Please continue calls to the legislature.  They are making a difference.
>
>Thank you,
>
>Heidi
>
>

Date: Fri, 31 Oct 1997 14:46:42 -0800 (PST)
From: Michael Markarian 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org, en.alerts@conf.igc.apc.org
Subject: Pigeon Shoot Comes to North Carolina
Message-ID: <2.2.16.19971031200158.5f1f2a94@pop.igc.org>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Friday, October 31, 1997

CONTACT: Heidi Prescott or Angel Gambino, 301-585-2591


CRUELTY COMES TO NORTH CAROLINA


OXFORD, N.C. -- On November 5-9, the Dogwood Gun Club in Oxford is scheduled
to hold a live pigeon shooting contest. The Fund for Animals and the North
Carolina Network for Animals have alerted the Granville County Sheriff's
Department and the District Attorney's Office that the scheduled pigeon
shoot is a violation of North Carolina's cruelty to animals law, and the
groups are expecting the appropriate law enforcement action to halt the event.

In a four-page letter sent to Sheriff Marion T. Grissom earlier this week,
The Fund for Animals' Director of Legal Affairs, Angel Gambino, cited a
court precedent set forth in State v. Porter (1893), where the Appellate
Court upheld a defendant's misdemeanor conviction for committing cruelty to
animals when engaging in a live pigeon shooting contest.

During live pigeon shooting contests, usually more than 1,000 pigeons are
released from individual boxes, and contestants shoot at the birds one at a
time to score points. 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;
others are collected by children and killed by decapitation, stomping, or
suffocation in barrels.

Says Ms. Gambino, "It is impossible to hold a live pigeon shoot without
hundreds of violations of the animal cruelty law. These birds are
unjustifiably maimed and killed for a contest, and hundreds of injured birds
are neglected. The organizers are already violating North Carolina law
simply by planning this illegal event. It is illegal, immoral, and simply
must be halted."

A copy of the four-page letter is available upon request.


# # #


http://www.fund.org

Date: Fri, 31 Oct 1997 14:46:13 -0800 (PST)
From: Michael Markarian 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org, en.alerts@conf.igc.apc.org
Subject: Hunger Striker is Denied Early Parole
Message-ID: <2.2.16.19971031200141.0adfa418@pop.igc.org>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Friday, October 31, 1997

CONTACT: Heidi Prescott, 301-585-2591


HUNGER STRIKER IS DENIED EARLY PAROLE
Friends and Family Concerned as Her Condition Worsens


POTTSVILLE, Pa. -- Dawn Ratcliffe, the 24-year-old pigeon shoot protestor in
Schuylkill County Prison, has now been on a hunger strike for an entire
month, one of the longest known hunger strikes in U.S. history. A motion for
her early parole was denied this morning.

Dawn was taken to the emergency room at Pottsville Hospital late Wednesday
night, where the doctor indicated that her condition was grave. She has been
hunger striking so the leaders of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives
would agree to vote on House Bill 1909, the bill to ban live pigeon shoots.
Now that the Legislature has recessed for three weeks and cannot act on
Dawn's request, her friends and family are asking her to break her hunger
strike for her safety.

Dawn is serving a 45-day sentence for her participation in a peaceful act of
civil disobedience against the Hegins Labor Day Pigeon Shoot in 1996. She
says from jail, "I am frustrated by the lack of compassion in Pennsylvania.
The leaders of the legislature have repeatedly turned a blind eye to one of
the world's most disgusting displays of animal abuse." Dawn has been writing
to all of the Pennsylvania legislators from jail, and she will continue to
work to pass the bill.

Rep. Sara Steelman (D-Indiana County) has introduced House Bill 1909 to ban
pigeon shoots, and the bill has 46 co-sponsors. House leaders have
repeatedly stalled attempts to vote on similar legislation over the past few
years. Activists will leaflet homes in the districts of House Majority
Leader John Perzel (R-Philadelphia) and House Judiciary Committee Chairman
Thomas Gannon (R-Delaware County) this weekend, asking constituents to
demand a vote on House Bill 1909.

Says Heidi Prescott, National Director of The Fund for Animals, "Dawn looks
weak, thin, and tired, and we are very worried about her health. We asked
her to eat, and she has agreed to drink additional fluids. Dawn has many
years of activism ahead of her, and we don't want to lose her."


# # #


http://www.fund.org

Date: Fri, 31 Oct 1997 14:46:59 -0800 (PST)
From: Michael Markarian 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org, en.alerts@conf.igc.apc.org
Subject: USDA Station Review of Wyoming is Bunch of "Bull"
Message-ID: <2.2.16.19971031200215.5f1f5654@pop.igc.org>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Friday, October 31, 1997

CONTACT: D.J. Schubert, 202-588-5206


USDA'S STATION REVIEW OF WYOMING IS BUNCH OF "BULL"


JACKSON, Wyoming -- Today, in a letter sent to Agriculture Secretary Daniel
Glickman, The Fund for Animals blasted the Station Review conducted by a
team of U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service (APHIS) officials of Wyoming's compliance with the
National Brucellosis Eradication Program. The Station Review required
Wyoming to amend its brucellosis control program or potentially lose its
brucellosis free status or face sanctions on its cattle imposed by other states.

In addition to the technical inaccuracies and lack of any valid evidence to
substantiate the Station Review findings and recommendations, The Fund
asserts that the Station Review is in violation of a number of federal laws
and regulations, including APHIS's own brucellosis regulations, the
Administrative Procedure Act, and the National Environmental Policy Act.
Indeed, The Fund claims that the entire Station Review is invalid because
APHIS has exceeded its legal authority by basing its requirement for
increased cattle surveillance on the presence of Brucella abortus in
wildlife. APHIS does not have authority over wildlife. In addition, The Fund
believes that the mandatory nature of the Station Review recommendations
invalidates public participation in the State's current rulemaking process,
in violation of the Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act.

"The Station Review from beginning to end is a factually flawed and
unsubstantiated product produced by incompetent officials of a rogue federal
agency in violation of federal law," says Andrea Lococo, Rocky Mountain
Coordinator for The Fund for Animals. "Wyoming should be contesting the
Station Review in court, not conceding to its demands by promulgating new
regulations," adds Lococo, from The Fund's office in Jackson, Wyoming.

The Fund for Animals is a national animal protection organization based in
New York City. It has been actively involved in protesting the slaughter of
bison in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem since 1985.

A copy of the 15-page letter sent today is available by request.


# # #


http://www.fund.org

Date: Fri, 31 Oct 1997 15:15:34 -0800
From: Alison Green 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Nordstrom fur policy
Message-ID: <345A6696.374C@cnnw.net>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

This morning I called the 800 number for Nordstrom that was recently 
posted to complain about the fur in their new catalog.  The 
representative I spoke with said that they carried fur in response to 
customer demand, but said she'd have someone call me back.  I just 
received a call from the Nordstrom manager here in Portland, Oregon, 
and she claimed the all the fur in the holiday catalog is fake.  She 
did say that they carry fur from time to time, but said that they 
don't have fur salons anymore.  Does anyone know anything about this?
Date: Sat, 1 Nov 1997 07:45:10 +0800
From: bunny 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (NZ)Carrots not in demand/Ferrets still a worry
Message-ID: <1.5.4.16.19971101073812.30b78934@wantree.com.au>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

NZ Farmer 30/10/97.

Carrots not in demand

Carrot growers could be out of pocket by 
between $30,000 and 50,000 courtesy of
RCD. Ian Lucas, pest services manager, 
Canterbury Regional Council, says it will
not be calling for public tenders this winter.
They usually need between 1500 and 3000
tonnes of carrots for rabbit control, but there
has been no farmer interest so far.

Ferrets are still a worry

Farmers in some South Island regions are
being warned not to become complacent
about the spread of bovine tuberculosis (TB)
by ferrets just because RCD has taken hold.
North Canterbury TB management committee
chairman Malcolm Gilbert warns that the virus
did not kill ferrets.


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

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: Fri, 31 Oct 1997 22:46:14 -0500
From: allen schubert 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (CA) Two Canadians Spend a Week Living like Chickens
Message-ID: <3.0.32.19971031224611.0071571c@pop3.clark.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

from CNN web page http://www.cnn.com/
-----------------------------------------------------------
Two Canadians Spend a Week Living like Chickens

Reuters
31-OCT-97

OTTAWA, Oct 31 (Reuters) - Two Canadians have spent almost a week huddled
in a locked cage, living like chickens and eating nothing but vegetable
mash -- all in the name of art, animal rights and a bit of cash. 

Pamela Meldrum, a 27-year-old pharmacy technician, and Eric Wolf, a
24-year-old restaurant worker, will receive C$2,500 ($1,775) each if they
make it through a full week, ending on Saturday. 

``I want to look at the double standard that people have between the way
they treat their pets and the way they treat farm animals,'' said video
artist Rob Thompson, who is filming the pair as part of one-hour
documentary on people as chickens. 

The film's location is a chicken coop in the basement of an old jail in
Ottawa, said to be haunted. 

Meldrum and Wolf are determined to last until Saturday, Meldrum is
perpetually cold, and Wolf, who has lost his appetite, has complained of
hearing ``a ghoulish voice.'' 
Date: Fri, 31 Oct 1997 23:09:45 -0500
From: allen schubert 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (US) E. coli meat recalls leads to closing of Neb. plant  
Message-ID: <3.0.32.19971031230942.006f6b68@pop3.clark.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

from Mercury Center web page http://www.sjmercury.com/news/breaking/
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Posted at 4:01 p.m. PST Friday, October 31, 1997  
E. coli meat recalls leads to closing of Neb. plant      

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Agriculture Department took
action Friday to shut down a beef processing plant
in Nebraska that had recently recalled more than
600,000 pounds of meat because of E. coli
contamination.

USDA withdrew its inspectors from the BeefAmerica
Operating Co. plant in Norfolk, Neb., after
discovering repeated violations of sanitation rules
governing fecal contamination and other problems
that the company had previously been warned about.

Removal of federal meat inspectors effectively
closes a processing plant.

``This decision is based on your inability to
maintain and operate your facility in a sanitary
manner,'' said Fernando Siores, USDA's inspector in
charge, in a letter to BeefAmerica.

Among the problems cited by USDA were contamination
with animal fecal matter -- the source of E. coli
and other dangerous bacteria -- on finished beef
products and some ready for shipment.

In addition, USDA found peeling paint on surfaces
that come into contact with meat and hydraulic
fluid and blood was observed dripping on equipment.

``Your corrective actions have been ineffective,''
Siores wrote. ``You have failed to prevent direct
product contamination and adulteration.''

In two separate tests -- one at a Virginia store
and one at the plant -- the Agriculture Department
found E. coli bacteria in ground beef produced at
the Nebraska plant. The company this week recalled
169,000 pounds of beef and earlier in October
recalled more than 443,000 pounds.

No illnesses were reported in either recall, but
the USDA letter says the BeefAmerica is not
properly testing for E. coli contamination.

BeefAmerica officials did not immediately return
telephone calls seeking comment about the USDA
action. They were ordered to draft by Nov. 7 a
written plan with ``acceptable corrective actions''
to fix the problems before USDA inspectors will
return.

The plant shutdown was the latest food safety blow
to the beef industry, which this summer endured the
nation's biggest-ever meat recall when 25 million
pounds of Hudson Foods Inc. ground beef was
recalled because of E. coli contamination.

In the latest recall, company officials said
earlier Friday that about 80 percent of the beef
had been returned.

BeefAmerica was checking with distribution centers
in 13 states to determine whether consumers might
still have beef from the most recent recall. The
beef is distributed to groceries and restaurants.

Those states are California, Montana, Nebraska,
Missouri, Indiana, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Kentucky,
West Virginia, Iowa, Illinois, Colorado and North
Carolina.



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