AR-NEWS Digest 429

Topics covered in this issue include:

  1) (LK) Freshwater inland fisheries boom in Hambantota
     by Vadivu Govind 
  2) monkey think, monkey plan, monkey do
     by Vegetarian Resource Center 
  3) monkey think, monkey plan, monkey do
     by Vegetarian Resource Center 
  4) Possum virus for biological control (NZ)
     by bunny 
  5) (US) Escaped Emus Proving Elusive
     by allen schubert 
  6) Fwd: Animal Organ Transplants Mulled
     by LMANHEIM@aol.com
  7) (INDIA) Asthma Sufferers Line Up for Fish
     by No1BadGrl@aol.com
  8) (SPAIN) Spanish Police Probe Cow Death
     by No1BadGrl@aol.com
  9) NA-A.L.F.S.G. INTERVIEW: Earth Liberation Front
     by NA-ALFSG  
 10) (ES) Spanish Police Probe Cow Death
     by allen schubert 
 11) (US) Animal Organ Transplants Mulled
     by allen schubert 
 12) Animal organs: the next disaster?
     by Andrew Gach 
 13) Dogs can smell out bodies under water
     by Andrew Gach 
 14) Cow killed at Spanish fiesta
     by Andrew Gach 
 15) (US) Death-Row Ferret Gets Support
     by allen schubert 
 16) Fwd: Spanish Police Probe Cow Death
     by LMANHEIM@aol.com
 17) Moo...ve over Emily, make room for Gloria
     by Vegetarian Resource Center 
Date: Sun, 8 Jun 1997 14:28:26 +0800 (SST)
From: Vadivu Govind 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (LK) Freshwater inland fisheries boom in Hambantota
Message-ID: <199706080628.OAA11675@eastgate.cyberway.com.sg>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"



>Sunday Observer 
Sunday 08, June 1997 

                              Freshwater inland fisheries boom in Hambantota
    
Pix by Christie Fernando,Chilaw special cor.

Inland fisheries re-commenced by the People's Alliance Government has made
vast strides in development and expansion, and made the village aquaculture
pond farmers of Bandagiriya in Hambantota richer, happier and wiser. 

Some industrious entrepreneurs have reaped appreciably high incomes
totalling Rs. 150,000 bi-monthly by harvesting fresh water fingerlings
traditionally known as carp fish or `Thilapia' from the fresh water fish
ponds constructed there. 

This is a bold forward step and a significant milestone in the
socio-economic development initiated by the present government. We observed
this phenomenal spectacle and performance on a guided tour of Hambanthota
and Udawalawe recently. 

We were able to assess and survey the progress of the rural aquaculture
development programme there spearheaded by the Small Fishers Federation,
Pambala, Chilaw, with the know-how and inputs provided by the Aquaculture
Development Division of the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources
Development. 

We were accompanied by the Director of Fisheries, Aquaculture Development,
Mr. A. M. Jayasekere, Researcher and Journalist from Canada, Mr. Faris
Ahmed, Director, Small Fishers Federation, Pambala, Chilaw, Mr. Anuradha
Wickremasinghe, OIC, Inland Fisheries Breeding Centre, Udawalawe, Mr. R. M.
B. U. Rajapakse and NORAD Representative, Mr. K. Nissanka. 

We were briefed at a conference that the NORAD (Norwegian Agency for
Development) has come forward to provide generously the funds needed by the
Fisheries Societies there. Bandagiriya has a major irrigation reservoir
coming under the IRDB (Integrated Rural Development Board), Hambanthota. The
eco-friendly rural aquaculture development centre is located at Badagiriya. 

We gathered that the village folks there were enthusiastic to be engaged in
this thriving industry to earn a sizeable income. Conventionally, they are
farmers who mustered modest incomes from agricultural pursuits which were
not commensurate with the work they did with the sweat of their
brows. Their ready response to join this novel drive of expanding inland
fisheries paid dividends in the long run. 

Viewing the fish ponds at Udawalawe, we were astonished as to how the
special varieties of `Carp' fish fry namely `Thilapia nilotica' and
`Thilapia mozambica' were spawned in large numbers to be distributed to the
young village fishermen and fisherwomen of Bandagiriya and the outskirts. We
also
visited the fish ponds at Bandagiriya. 

The target aimed by the Fisheries Ministry is to produce ten lakhs worth of
fish fry to be distributed and the Ministry in turn, bought up again the
grown up fingerlings nurtured in the ponds from the farmers at one rupee each. 
Doubtless, the freshwater pond farmers were up on the deal. They made money
as an incentive and also provided fish as a staple and nutritious food which
indeed is a cheap source of proteins for the growing population as sea food
fetches competitively steep prices. 

Therefore, development of inland fisheries means, in other words, developing
per capita fish consumption of the common people. Besides, the villagers
have no easy access to the high seas to catch big fish like tuna, sheer
fish, talapath, or herring, mackerel, etc. 

The other basic aims of the Aquaculture Development Program are to generate
income and employment for the rural and coastal communities and to save much
needed foreign exchange through import substitution and to earn foreign
exchange through export of high valued species. 

The present per capita consumption of fish in Sri Lanka is estimated at 11
kg per year as against a required average of 21 kg per year. Due to the
communal disharmony in the North and East, the fish inflow had deteriorated
and the only fish available for the rural poor is fresh water fish. 

Consequent to a policy decision by the previous government on July 24, 1990
to terminate state patronage for inland fisheries development, the inland
Fisheries Division Services was closed down and the services, about 500
employees were also terminated. 

As a result, the government lost a large number of well trained staff. The
fisheries stations were then disposed to the private sector which reduced
the production of inland fisheries drastically. 

This scenario apparently drained out all the innovative technical know-how
and also massive investment in this sector. Research centres, breeding
stations and training outlets which were owned by the government were
privatised. 
The present government in its five-year fisheries development plan under the
direction of the Minister of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development
Indika Gunawardana, envisages to revive inland fisheries development and had
invited the Small Fishers Federation, an NGO, to participate
productively in this national endeavour. This NGO has a wide fishing
community network in the island. And so, the Ministry decided to collaborate
with the Small Fishers Federation, Pambala, Chilaw, as a partner in
improving aquaculture fisheries with the following objectives. 

* To introduce technical know-how and inputs applicable to the village
community to conserve and improve the population of economically viable fish
species including artificial breeding, fry rearing and stocking in open waters. 

* To set up village hatcheries which are operated by community organisations
mainly to supply the fingerlings required by the seasonal tanks and the
ponds in the villages and finally to sell the fingerlings to other
interested community groups. 

* To develop the management capacity and improve the organisational
capability of small fisher folk regarding fish processing and marketing
aspect of the Inland Fisheries for sustainable livelihood development for them. 

* To preserve bio-diversity of inland fisheries with the integrated
development of all inland fisheries with agriculture thus facilitating the
recycling of nutrients to optimise the production and minimise pollution. 

This Federation strives to develop the community and harness the potential
of fisherwomen and youth who idle most of the time and introduce new fields
of subsidiary occupations and self-reliance activities in order to improve
their standard of living. It assures the security of the small scale fishing
community in their old age and at the time of sickness. It also guarantees a
better price for their products by introducing market, transport and storage
facilities. 

It has organised isolated small fisher folk spread along the coast line and
inland resource areas to create an awareness in the field of social and
economic development. Its objective is to improve the education of small
scale fishing community by extending facilities for the emancipatory adult
education and to encourage the fisher children for higher education. 

It organises the poor fishing villagers in groups and educates them in the
habit of saving, thrift and loan schemes in order to eradicate poverty and
unemployment. 

Another target is the development, management and conservation of aquatic
resources in the island waters, coastal wet lands, off-shore areas and the
lagoons. Fundamentally, the Federation extends every assistance in solving
fisheries personal and communal issues in order to foster and pervade
peace and harmony in the community, the country and the region. 

Another major focus pursued by the Federation is to transfer fishing
technology through training, education and public awareness. It aspires to
involve fisher folk in the productivity improvement of small scale fisheries
geared towards equitable development and sustainability. 

Mr. A. M. Jayasekera, director, Aquaculture Development Division, Ministry
of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development said: ``I take this
opportunity to congratulate the Small Fishers Federation for its
achievements and wish every success in the future too. 

This is a good example of an NGO joining hands with a government agency in a
national development programme. Further, I invite all NGOs involved in
community development work to participate in programmes of this nature
intended for the emancipation and benefit of folks dwelling
in rural areas,'' he added. 
The key elements articulated and enunciated by the Federation stresses four
`E's namely 
(1) Eco-friendly rural aquaculture for sustainable development targeting the
protein requirement of the country; 
(2) Economy of the nation with the fundamental aim of providing income; 
(3) Entrepreneurship development with the axis of creating job opportunities
for youth; and
 (4) Equity distribution of job opportunities and income derived, devoid of
race, colour, religion and other distinctions. 

So far, the Federation has established ten rural aquaculture organisations
with an active membership comprising 240 fisher folk of the Bandagiriya
irrigation scheme. Of this number 128 are fisherwomen., Three organisations
are involved in ornamental fish breeding where 54 youth (28 male and
26 female) participate. Six organisations do rural aquaculture while one
organisation act as the main body to provide technical and management
support to other organisations. 

The rural aquaculture scheme was inaugurated with a fund of Rs. 240,000 to
provide credit facilities for pond farmers to engage in this activity. The
fund at the end of April 1997 stood at Rs. 291,000 so that it was evident
that there were ample opportunities for youth for expansion and multiplication
of ponds. And this augured well for aquaculture development launched by the
Fisheries Ministry. 

In addition to fish fry provided, the Centre at Keliwalana, Bandagiriya has
set up a fish breeding pond for Tilapia nilotica and red Tilapia. The size
of fish fry rearing ponds are 150' X 50' and the capacity is 1000 mother
fish brooders for one pond. By April, 120,000 fish fingerlings and 56,000
fish fingerlings stock were produced at Bandagiriya to supply to feeding
tanks and other major reservoirs in the district of Hambanthota. 

It is expected to achieve the target of 400,000 fish fry and fingerlings by
the year end. It's heartening also to note that 240 fisherfolk and 54 youth
had been trained at the Udawalawe fish breeding centre of the Ministry of
Fisheries. 

The intensive training included rearing of fish fry and fish fingerlings,
feeding processes, identifying of fish diseases, marketing and commercial
aquaculture. 

The training effort had produced encouraging results as 24 ponds are now
functioning on a co-operative footing and the production target aimed are
250,000 fish fingerlings to produce 5,500 kg of fish of pure proteins for
the nation. 

Date: Sun, 08 Jun 1997 09:11:50 -0400
From: Vegetarian Resource Center 
To: AR-News@envirolink.org
Subject: monkey think, monkey plan, monkey do
Message-ID: <3.0.2.32.19970608091150.017285dc@pop.tiac.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Subject: 
              Monkey think, monkey do
        Date: 
              Wed, 4 Jun 1997 10:51:55 PDT
        From: 
              C-upi@clari.net (UPI / LIDIA WASOWICZ, UPI Science Writer)
Organization: 
              Copyright 1997 by United Press International
Newsgroups: 
              biz.clarinet.webnews.techwire, biz.clarinet


ClariNet story US-MONKEY from UPI / LIDIA WASOWICZ, UPI Science Writer

Monkey think, monkey do

Copyright 1997 by United Press International / Wed, 4 Jun 1997 10:51:55 PDT

SAN FRANCISCO, June 4 (UPI) -- The adage monkey see, monkey do would be closer
to the truth if it said monkey think, monkey plan, monkey do.

In a report that shows we don't give enough credit to our ``second- cousins,''
researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles, say their study
shows
monkeys are capable of sophisticated planning and thought processes.

Writing in the British journal Nature Wednesday, the authors say the vervet
monkeys in
their survey plan their foraging so efficiently they can identify the
shortest way to the next
three sites of food -- often bypassing the closest morsel in favor of a
shorter overall
route.

Says psychology professor C.R. Gallistel, ``The idea that animals can
develop cognitive
maps is now widely accepted, but this study goes beyond that question to
explore what
animals can do with this information. We wanted to know if animals can look
ahead and
plan their movements to minimize the distance traveled. The answer is they
do -- and in
ways that are quite remarkable.''

The investigators found the vervet monkeys can remember about six food
sites -- about
one-third the capacity of chimpanzees, which also have been found to plan
ahead. But
the study also shows the monkeys plan the most efficient route to their
next three
destinations -- and don't simply choose the nearest site.

The monekys' food gathering behavior was so efficient, in fact, that it
closely matched a
computer model of the experiments.

Gallistel tells United Press International, ``These findings are surprising
and signficant
steps in better understanding the capability of animals to plan their
behavior in
computational sophisticated ways.''
Date: Sun, 08 Jun 1997 09:33:40 -0400
From: Vegetarian Resource Center 
To: AR-News@envirolink.org
Subject: monkey think, monkey plan, monkey do
Message-ID: <3.0.2.32.19970608093340.017b6cf0@pop.tiac.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Subject: 
              Monkey think, monkey do
        Date: 
              Wed, 4 Jun 1997 10:51:55 PDT
        From: 
              C-upi@clari.net (UPI / LIDIA WASOWICZ, UPI Science Writer)
Organization: 
              Copyright 1997 by United Press International
Newsgroups: 
              biz.clarinet.webnews.techwire, biz.clarinet


ClariNet story US-MONKEY from UPI / LIDIA WASOWICZ, UPI Science Writer

Monkey think, monkey do

Copyright 1997 by United Press International / Wed, 4 Jun 1997 10:51:55 PDT

SAN FRANCISCO, June 4 (UPI) -- The adage monkey see, monkey do would be closer
to the truth if it said monkey think, monkey plan, monkey do.

In a report that shows we don't give enough credit to our ``second- cousins,''
researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles, say their study
shows
monkeys are capable of sophisticated planning and thought processes.

Writing in the British journal Nature Wednesday, the authors say the vervet
monkeys in
their survey plan their foraging so efficiently they can identify the
shortest way to the next
three sites of food -- often bypassing the closest morsel in favor of a
shorter overall
route.

Says psychology professor C.R. Gallistel, ``The idea that animals can
develop cognitive
maps is now widely accepted, but this study goes beyond that question to
explore what
animals can do with this information. We wanted to know if animals can look
ahead and
plan their movements to minimize the distance traveled. The answer is they
do -- and in
ways that are quite remarkable.''

The investigators found the vervet monkeys can remember about six food
sites -- about
one-third the capacity of chimpanzees, which also have been found to plan
ahead. But
the study also shows the monkeys plan the most efficient route to their
next three
destinations -- and don't simply choose the nearest site.

The monekys' food gathering behavior was so efficient, in fact, that it
closely matched a
computer model of the experiments.

Gallistel tells United Press International, ``These findings are surprising
and signficant
steps in better understanding the capability of animals to plan their
behavior in
computational sophisticated ways.''
Date: Sun, 8 Jun 1997 22:57:11 +0800
From: bunny 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Possum virus for biological control (NZ)
Message-ID: <1.5.4.16.19970608225026.3ae7b460@wantree.com.au>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

WOBBLY POSSUM VIRUS ISOLATED (BORNA?) - NEW ZEALAND
**************************************************
Date:   Sat, 7 Jun 1997
Source: The Dominion (Wellington, NZ), 20 May 1997

New Zealand AgReserach scientists have isolated and purified the virus that
causes a disease in possums (oppossums) that makes the animals appear in
daylight and, thus, become disoriented.  This disease was first recognized
in 1995 and has been thought to be similar to Borna disease.  Borna is
common in horses, sheep, cattle, ostriches and cats but had not been seen in
New Zealand until 1995.  

It is reported that if the virus turns out to be different from Borna, it
will be investigated as a base for biological control of possums in the
country.

--
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rabbit Information Service,
P.O.Box 30,
Riverton,
Western Australia 6148

Email rabbit@wantree.com.au
Telephone/Facsimile (International) +61 8 9354.2985
Telephone/Facsimile (Intra-Australia) (08) 9354.2985

http://www.wantree.com.au/~rabbit/rabbit.htm
Rabbit Information Service






Date: Sun, 08 Jun 1997 11:32:07 -0400
From: allen schubert 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (US) Escaped Emus Proving Elusive
Message-ID: <3.0.32.19970608113205.006e19f8@clark.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

from AP Wire page:
-----------------------------------
 06/07/1997 23:22 EST

 Escaped Emus Proving Elusive

 MOODY, Mo. (AP) -- Hiver Gravley is worried about her emus on the loose.

 Seventeen of the big, flightless birds broke out of their ranch pen as
 they fought in an apparent ``mating frenzy'' on Tuesday. They were still
 roaming the woods around Moody on Saturday.

 While the emus have been seen, catching them is another story.

 ``There's no way to catch them when they're out in the open like that,''
 said Gravley. ``I'd like to see some of these cowboys try to herd them
 and put them in an enclosed trailer. You have to be sure that the ones
 that go in there don't come out in your face.''

 Gravley said the emus may starve because they don't eat grass.

 ``But they'll eat a dog or a turkey,'' said Gravley, who was raising the
 birds for slaughter. ``It's probably going to be that they'll have to be
 shot, because they've been raised in a pen and they're not acclimated.''

Date: Sun, 8 Jun 1997 13:19:06 -0400 (EDT)
From: LMANHEIM@aol.com
To: ar-news@envirolink.org, EnglandGal@aol.com
Subject: Fwd: Animal Organ Transplants Mulled
Message-ID: <970608131905_-1195013512@emout07.mail.aol.com>

~Scientists~ worrying about xenotransplants spreading animal diseases and
viruses into the human population.  Previously, I'd only seen warnings from
a-r types.

In a message dated 97-06-08 12:18:49 EDT, AOL News writes:

 << Subj:Animal Organ Transplants Mulled
  Date:97-06-08 12:18:49 EDT
  From:AOL News
 BCC:LMANHEIM
 
c.The Associated Press
 
       By MALCOLM RITTER
       In 1993, an official with the Centers for Disease Control and
 Prevention called a few employees into her office. Then she asked a
 question at least one of those employees viewed as silly:
       What was the CDC doing about the risk that animal-to-people
 transplants would introduce new germs into the human population,
 infecting first the transplant recipient and then spreading to
 other people?
       ``My first reaction was - nothing,'' recalled Louisa Chapman, an
 expert on animal viruses that infect humans. ``Why should we waste
 taxpayer time and money on that?''
       Transplants from animals were so rare and recipients lived so
 briefly that it didn't seem a threat to public health, Chapman
 thought.
       But as she looked into the situation, she changed her mind:
 Interest in such ``xenotransplants'' was heating up. Animals could
 not only ease the shortage of kidneys, hearts and livers for
 transplantation, but also supply brain tissue for treating diseases
 like Parkinson's and pancreatic tissue to treat diabetes.
       These days, Chapman spends most of her time on
 xenotransplantation issues.
       She's not alone. Drug and biotech companies have poured more
 than $100 million into xenotransplant research. Scientists report
 progress in overcoming rejection of animal organs, and industry
 analysts expect a new round of organ experiments in people within
 three to five years.
       The heavy betting nowadays is on organs and tissue from pigs,
 rather than chimps and baboons as in the past.
       But the concern Chapman heard in that 1993 meeting has not gone
 away: Would xenotransplants be a form of Trojan horse, giving new
 germs a sneaky entree into the human population?
       In March, scientists at the Institute of Cancer Research in
 London reported that a virus - one that might be found even in
 healthy pigs - sprang out of pig tissue and infected human cells in
 a lab experiment. Then it re-emerged from human cells in a form
 that apparently would slip by the body's defenses.
       That shows the idea of such infection in a pig-to-human
 transplant ``is more plausible than a fanciful scare story,'' the
 researchers said.
       Two months earlier, the British government had slapped a
 moratorium on xenotransplants, chiefly because too little is known
 about the risk of infection.
       And federal regulators in the United States now are refining
 draft guidelines to minimize the risk to public health. The
 guidelines discuss such things as keeping specialized colonies or
 herds of animals and screening them for germs.
       People who get animal organs, cells or tissue should be followed
 for life for any sign of animal germs, and they should tell their
 ``close contacts'' about the possibility such germs could be passed
 on, the guidelines say.
       Close contacts could include sexual partners, health care
 workers and breast-fed children, Chapman said. ``We're not talking
 about people who sit on the school bus with you or work in your
 office,'' she said.
       At this point, the concern over public peril is theoretical - a
 pile of what-ifs, a mound of maybes. It reminds Chapman of how NASA
 quarantined the astronauts from the first three moon-landing
 missions in case they brought back weird germs.
       ``What we are saying is there's some level of risk,'' she said.
 The task now, she said, is to figure out how big it is and what to
 do about it.
       Here's why Chapman and others say there's reason to worry:
       Animals do have germs that can infect people and then spread
 person-to-person. The AIDS virus apparently came from monkeys long
 ago, for example, and the flu virus that killed more than 20
 million people worldwide in 1918-19 emerged from pigs.
       Dangerous germs can hide in healthy-looking animals. Hantavirus
 doesn't bother mice, but when it spreads to people, it can kill.
       People getting animal organs would be on drugs to suppress
 their immune systems, which could make it easier for an animal
 virus to gain a foothold.
       Genes from an animal virus could mingle with those of a human
 virus in an organ recipient, creating a hybrid virus with
 unpredictable behavior.
       Keeping animals isolated from infection may not be enough. Some
 viruses scientists are concerned about aren't caught, they're
 inherited.
       They're just part of being a pig, for example. That's because
 eons ago, these viruses infected the ancestors of modern pigs and
 planted their DNA in sperm and egg cells. As a result, the virus
 genes mingled with the pig genes and are now passed on through the
 generations. It was just this kind of inherited virus that popped
 up in the pig cell study reported in March.
       So far, however, the limited experience with xenotransplants is
 encouraging.
       Dr. Alan Dimick, who's put pigskin on severe burns since 1970,
 says there's no evidence treatment has infected anybody with pig
 germs. But Dimick, director of the burn center at the University of
 Alabama at Birmingham, notes that pigskin stays on for only a day
 or two. An implanted organ might pose more of a risk, he said.
       Dr. James M. Schumacher, a Sarasota, Fla., neurosurgeon who has
 put fetal pig tissue into the brains of a dozen people with
 Parkinson's or Huntington's disease over the past two years, also
 reports no sign of infection.
       ``We are extremely overzealous about studying these effects and
 looking for viruses in the long and short run, and we haven't to
 date found any problem,'' he said.
       While scientists ponder the risk of xenotransplantation,
 thousands of people die each year because they can't get a human
 organ.
       ``It's a difficult issue,'' said virus expert Jonathan Allan of
 the Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research in San Antonio,
 who calls the infection risk from pigs very small but worth
 worrying about.
       ``Here are people dying,'' Allan said. ``You want to do
 everything possible to prevent that sort of suffering. But you
 certainly don't want to foster new infectious disease that would
 make even greater suffering in the population.'' >>


---------------------
Forwarded message:
Subj:    Animal Organ Transplants Mulled
Date:    97-06-08 12:18:49 EDT
From:    AOL News



      By MALCOLM RITTER
      In 1993, an official with the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention called a few employees into her office. Then she asked a
question at least one of those employees viewed as silly:
      What was the CDC doing about the risk that animal-to-people
transplants would introduce new germs into the human population,
infecting first the transplant recipient and then spreading to
other people?
      ``My first reaction was - nothing,'' recalled Louisa Chapman, an
expert on animal viruses that infect humans. ``Why should we waste
taxpayer time and money on that?''
      Transplants from animals were so rare and recipients lived so
briefly that it didn't seem a threat to public health, Chapman
thought.
      But as she looked into the situation, she changed her mind:
Interest in such ``xenotransplants'' was heating up. Animals could
not only ease the shortage of kidneys, hearts and livers for
transplantation, but also supply brain tissue for treating diseases
like Parkinson's and pancreatic tissue to treat diabetes.
      These days, Chapman spends most of her time on
xenotransplantation issues.
      She's not alone. Drug and biotech companies have poured more
than $100 million into xenotransplant research. Scientists report
progress in overcoming rejection of animal organs, and industry
analysts expect a new round of organ experiments in people within
three to five years.
      The heavy betting nowadays is on organs and tissue from pigs,
rather than chimps and baboons as in the past.
      But the concern Chapman heard in that 1993 meeting has not gone
away: Would xenotransplants be a form of Trojan horse, giving new
germs a sneaky entree into the human population?
      In March, scientists at the Institute of Cancer Research in
London reported that a virus - one that might be found even in
healthy pigs - sprang out of pig tissue and infected human cells in
a lab experiment. Then it re-emerged from human cells in a form
that apparently would slip by the body's defenses.
      That shows the idea of such infection in a pig-to-human
transplant ``is more plausible than a fanciful scare story,'' the
researchers said.
      Two months earlier, the British government had slapped a
moratorium on xenotransplants, chiefly because too little is known
about the risk of infection.
      And federal regulators in the United States now are refining
draft guidelines to minimize the risk to public health. The
guidelines discuss such things as keeping specialized colonies or
herds of animals and screening them for germs.
      People who get animal organs, cells or tissue should be followed
for life for any sign of animal germs, and they should tell their
``close contacts'' about the possibility such germs could be passed
on, the guidelines say.
      Close contacts could include sexual partners, health care
workers and breast-fed children, Chapman said. ``We're not talking
about people who sit on the school bus with you or work in your
office,'' she said.
      At this point, the concern over public peril is theoretical - a
pile of what-ifs, a mound of maybes. It reminds Chapman of how NASA
quarantined the astronauts from the first three moon-landing
missions in case they brought back weird germs.
      ``What we are saying is there's some level of risk,'' she said.
The task now, she said, is to figure out how big it is and what to
do about it.
      Here's why Chapman and others say there's reason to worry:
      Animals do have germs that can infect people and then spread
person-to-person. The AIDS virus apparently came from monkeys long
ago, for example, and the flu virus that killed more than 20
million people worldwide in 1918-19 emerged from pigs.
      Dangerous germs can hide in healthy-looking animals. Hantavirus
doesn't bother mice, but when it spreads to people, it can kill.
      People getting animal organs would be on drugs to suppress
their immune systems, which could make it easier for an animal
virus to gain a foothold.
      Genes from an animal virus could mingle with those of a human
virus in an organ recipient, creating a hybrid virus with
unpredictable behavior.
      Keeping animals isolated from infection may not be enough. Some
viruses scientists are concerned about aren't caught, they're
inherited.
      They're just part of being a pig, for example. That's because
eons ago, these viruses infected the ancestors of modern pigs and
planted their DNA in sperm and egg cells. As a result, the virus
genes mingled with the pig genes and are now passed on through the
generations. It was just this kind of inherited virus that popped
up in the pig cell study reported in March.
      So far, however, the limited experience with xenotransplants is
encouraging.
      Dr. Alan Dimick, who's put pigskin on severe burns since 1970,
says there's no evidence treatment has infected anybody with pig
germs. But Dimick, director of the burn center at the University of
Alabama at Birmingham, notes that pigskin stays on for only a day
or two. An implanted organ might pose more of a risk, he said.
      Dr. James M. Schumacher, a Sarasota, Fla., neurosurgeon who has
put fetal pig tissue into the brains of a dozen people with
Parkinson's or Huntington's disease over the past two years, also
reports no sign of infection.
      ``We are extremely overzealous about studying these effects and
looking for viruses in the long and short run, and we haven't to
date found any problem,'' he said.
      While scientists ponder the risk of xenotransplantation,
thousands of people die each year because they can't get a human
organ.
      ``It's a difficult issue,'' said virus expert Jonathan Allan of
the Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research in San Antonio,
who calls the infection risk from pigs very small but worth
worrying about.
      ``Here are people dying,'' Allan said. ``You want to do
everything possible to prevent that sort of suffering. But you
certainly don't want to foster new infectious disease that would
make even greater suffering in the population.''
      AP-NY-06-08-97 1203EDT
Copyright 1997 The
Associated Press.  The information 
contained in the AP news report may not be published, 
broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without 
prior written authority of The Associated Press.


To edit your profile, go to keyword NewsProfiles. 
For all of today's news, go to keyword News.
Date: Sun, 8 Jun 1997 16:47:21 -0400 (EDT)
From: No1BadGrl@aol.com
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (INDIA) Asthma Sufferers Line Up for Fish
Message-ID: <970608164721_-1396835379@emout17.mail.aol.com>

  HYDERABAD, India (AP) - Asthma patient Sarah Ahmed looked
uneasily at the one-inch sardine swimming in a plastic bag. A robed
man grabbed the fish, placed a bead of yellow paste in its mouth,
and deftly popped the wriggling remedy down the woman's throat.
      On Sunday, Ahmed and some half a million other asthma sufferers
received the unconventional treatment they believe is a miracle
cure. Every June, on a date chosen by astrologers, patients from
all over India get the free treatment at a house in the southern
city of Hyderabad.
      The Goud family, which organizes the one-day event, says a
Himalayan saint revealed the secret formula to an ancestor 152
years ago, in gratitude for getting dry clothes and food on a rainy
day.
      ``I don't know how it works. Perhaps its God's blessing,'' said
Harinath Goud, one of the five brothers who knows the formula.
      The Gouds refuse to give anyone the formula - not even medical
researchers - for fear it will be used for profit. They say the
saint warned that the remedy would lose its potency if it were
commercialized.
      Family members refuse any payment, instead pooling money earned
as landlords, farmers and office workers to raise the equivalent of
$1,100 needed every year to buy herbs that are put into the fish.
      After swallowing the live fish, patients are advised to begin a
strict 45-day diet of 25 different foods - including lamb, old
rice, white sugar, dried mango, spinach and clarified butter - and
abstain from alcohol, caffeine, tobacco and deep-fried foods. They
must repeat the treatment for at least two successive years.
      Goud claims 90 percent of the patients are cured, but he offers
no evidence.
      The remedy may be far from scientific, but eliminating smoking
and reducing stress for a period of time can definitely alleviate
asthma, said Dr. Mary Lee-Ong, an allergist and immunologist at New
York's Beth Israel Medical Center.
      ``Asthma has many triggers, and one of the worst triggers is
tobacco,'' she said, adding that the effect of alcohol and caffeine
on asthma is not clear.
      In asthma sufferers, irritants like pollen and dust set off a
series of responses that fill airways with mucous. There is no
conventional cure; treatment usually involves breathing in drugs
that expand air passages.
      Asthma is a growing problem in India, in part because of
increasing air pollution here.
      Those in line Sunday were unconcerned with scientific proof.
They simply wanted to breathe freely.
      ``I came all the way from Srinagar,'' said Miss Ahmed, who stood
in line for two days, determined to be among the first to be
treated. Srinagar is 1,100 miles to the north.
      Goud says that as a child he saw people come in the tens of
thousands to swallow fish more than 40 years ago. Word spread and
the numbers steadily grew, Goud said, with about 450,000 people
showing up last year.
      On Sunday, police officer Mohammed Shamimuddin estimated that
500,000 were in line for the fish.
      This weekend, the federal government operated a dozen special
trains, popularly called ``fish specials,'' to Hyderabad, about 750
miles south of New Delhi. Indian Airlines added an extra flight
from New Delhi Saturday night to handle the influx of asthma
patients.
      Reports of the success of the treatment are mixed.
      Dr. K. Ramachandran of Madras' Apollo Hospitals underwent the
treatment two years ago without any success. He said some patients
benefit from ``miracle cures'' because they are left relaxed.
      John Cherian, a Bombay business executive, has been coming every
year for the past three years.
      ``After years of inhalers, I am now free. I rarely take my usual
medicines ... The attacks come maybe once a year,'' Cherian said.
``I will keep coming until I get completely cured.''
Date: Sun, 8 Jun 1997 16:48:47 -0400 (EDT)
From: No1BadGrl@aol.com
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (SPAIN) Spanish Police Probe Cow Death
Message-ID: <970608164841_-696333235@emout20.mail.aol.com>

      VILLARDEFRADES, Spain (AP) - The death of a cow that was forced
to drink four bottles of whisky during a village festival has set
off a storm of controversy and a police investigation, a Spanish
newspaper reported.
      Police are questioning a group of men about the incident in
Villardefrades, a village 125 miles northwest of Madrid, the El
Pais newspaper said.
      Villardefrades Mayor Mateo Perez told El Pais that the men
didn't have the required permits to use the cow in the June 1
celebration.
      Animal rights activists have announced they will file a lawsuit
against the responsible parties under a Spanish law protecting
animals, the report said Friday.
      Activists decry many Spanish village festivals as being brutal
to animals, such as one event in which geese are hung by the feet
to have their heads ribbed off by horse riders or another where a
goat is thrown from a church bell tower.
Date: Sun Jun  8 17:11:39 1997
From: NA-ALFSG  
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: NA-A.L.F.S.G. INTERVIEW: Earth Liberation Front
Message-ID: <199706082111.RAA05844@envirolink.org>



//////////////////////////////////////////////
NA-A.L.F.S.G. INTERVIEW WITH AN E.L.F. MEMBER/
>From Underground #8 (due out Sept 97)        /
UNDERGROUND # 7 NOW OUT! Order yours now!    /
//////////////////////////////////////////////

AN INTERVIEW WITH AN E.L.F. MEMBER

The following interview was sent anonymously to Underground, postmarked
England.

INTERVIEWER: You say you are a member of the E.L.F. What does "E.L.F." 
stand for?

E.L.F.: E.L.F. stands for Earth Liberation Front. It's like an eco-A.L.F. 
In fact, most Elves [E.L.F. members] support the A.L.F. Animal Liberation 
and Ecodefense are all tied in together, you see. It's impossible to cause 
ecological and environmental damage without harming animals as well.
Take road building for instance. Roads tend to cause a lot of ecological
damage. They are built through woodlands and other important ecological
sites.  What would be the point of a hunt sab, running around all day  
trying to save the life of say, a deer, but then allowing the same deer
to die at the hands of a construction company that is destroying its
natural habitat. It's crazy. Likewise, most animal abuse fucks up the
environment.

INTERVIEWER: When did the Earth Liberation Front first form? How did it
come about?

E.L.F.: That's easy. The E.L.F. was born in Britain in 1992. Back in 1991
the radical American ecology movement, Earth First!, came to Britain. EF!
arrived at just the right time and became popular very quickly. With it's 
message of Deep Ecology it appealed to a large number of animal
liberation activists, like myself. It also gave the power back to the
people, allowing us to take control and defend our own local environment.
It was all very inspiring.

Because EF! was so popular and had so many backing it, it became
concerned about public appearance. At the first British EF! gathering it
was suggested that if British Earth First! was lined with overt law
breaking, (monkeywrenching, etc.) then it could loose some of its
support. It was decided that Earth First! would strictly stick to the
"Politically Correct" stuff. You know, civil disobedience and such.
Meanwhile, other forms of action -- meaning monkeywrenching -- would be
claimed under the banner of the Earth Liberation Front.

INTERVIEWER: You are a self-confessed Tree Spiker. Why do you spike
trees?

E.L.F.: Tree spiking is carried out to stop the destruction of woodlands.
The destruction of a woodland is a direct attack on nature. Chainsawing
trees destroys ecological sites and deprives animals of their natural
habitat. The reason the Red Squirrel is dying out in England isn't
because of the introduction of the Grey Squirrel. It's because the
natural habitat of the Red is being destroyed. Likewise, you can't save
bears and wolves in North America if you allow all of their habitat to be
destroyed. Across the world both animal and plant species are becoming
endangered because their natural habitat is being destroyed. Tree spiking
is a way to fight back and save natural habitat -- to preserve wildlife.

INTERVIEWER: But isn't tree spiking considered a "violent" act? Isn't the
E.L.F. committed to nonviolence?

E.L.F.: The Earth Liberation Front is totally committed to nonviolence,
and tree spiking is an act of nonviolence. Tree spiking is the hammering
of pieces of metal, for example, headless six inch nails, into the trunks
of trees. When a tree is chainsawed, it is then taken t a sawmill. If a
tree has a spike in it, as soon as the sawmill blade hits the spike the
blade is damaged. There was one "famous" incident in America where a
sawmill blade shattered upon hitting a spike. The truth is this sawmill
blade wasn't well maintained and it could have shattered if it hit
anything hard. A bullet from a hunter's gun could have been in the tree.
That was a one off. A well maintained sawmill blade will not shatter if
it hits a tree spike and will not harm anyone.

INTERVIEWER: One of your main targets when spiking trees has been the
Forestry Commission. Why?

E.L.F.: The Forestry Commission is obsessed with planting pine. They move 
into a natural woodland, chainsaw all the trees and then plant a mono-crop
of pine to harvest later. With its acidic nature, pine pollutes the soil
and kills off all other flora in the forest.

As well, as a vegan animal liberation activist, I have another reason to
hate the Forestry Commission: they kill deer. Just recently, in Scotland,
the Commission slaughtered a number of heavily pregnant deer outside of
the hunting season. They did this to stop the deer from eating saplings.
Most of the deer were only six weeks away from giving birth. After the
does had been shot, the unborn fawns were cut from their mother's womb
and left to die by her side. So horrific was this particular cull that
even local hunters objected to its barbarism.

INTERVIEWER: Besides tree spiking, the E.L.F. is also known to target
angling buildings. Why?

E.L.F.: Angling, like all blood-sports, is an attack on wildlife. The
Earth Liberation Front is committed to defending all forms of wildlife,
be it animal or plant.

The reason I personally choose to target anglers rather than any other
sort of blood-junkies is simple. Angling is a neglected blood-sport. In
England we have thousands of sabs out every weekend trying to save the
lives of the cute and furry. But fish aren't cute, so they tend to be
ignored. Yet, as a deep ecologist, I know that all life is equal and all
life must be protected.

INTERVIEWER: Do you ever worry about being caught and going to jail?

E.L.F.: Of course. Doesn't everyone? But in the end I know I can't just
sit back and watch as woodland areas are destroyed, as animals are
terrorised and abused, as ecological destruction takes place and as the
human race turns planet Earth into a rubbish heap. We must fight back. We
can't wait for others to do it for us. We must do it ourselves -- and if
that means ending up in prison, so be it. Besides, I've been arrested
three times now, and it's not half as bad as you're led to believe. You
do get kind of used to it after a while.

A song I used to listen to as a teenager had the words:

"Everyone is looking for a hero. 
Everyone is looking for the Preacher man.
Everyone is looking for the hot shot, 
waiting for the person that can ... 
But what they don't know, They don't see, 
It all comes down to you and me."

And fucking too true that is. Don't sit on your arse all day waiting for
someone else to trash the local Earth wreckers machinery or rescue the
animals from the local lab. Go and do it yourself. Just get up, and get
active!

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

*** Subscriptions to Underground cost $20-$30 US (sliding scale).
Costs include 1 years membership to the NA-A.L.F.S.G. and 4 issues of
Underground. Please make cheques payable to "NAALFSG." THANK YOU FOR YOUR
SUPPORT. ***

---
North American A.L.F. Supporters Group
Box 69597, 5845 Yonge St., 
Willowdale, Ont. M2M 4K3, 
Canada 
FOR MERCHANDISE AND DISTRO INFO:
NA-ALFSG Distro
Box 767295, Roswell, 
G.A. 30076, USA

Date: Sun, 08 Jun 1997 17:28:45 -0400
From: allen schubert 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (ES) Spanish Police Probe Cow Death
Message-ID: <3.0.32.19970608172843.006c9764@clark.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

from AP Wire page:
-------------------------------------
 06/08/1997 13:10 EST

 Spanish Police Probe Cow Death

 VILLARDEFRADES, Spain (AP) -- The death of a cow that was forced to drink
 four bottles of whisky during a village festival has set off a storm of
 controversy and a police investigation, a Spanish newspaper reported.

 Police are questioning a group of men about the incident in
 Villardefrades, a village 125 miles northwest of Madrid, the El Pais
 newspaper said.

 Villardefrades Mayor Mateo Perez told El Pais that the men didn't have
 the required permits to use the cow in the June 1 celebration.

 Animal rights activists have announced they will file a lawsuit against
 the responsible parties under a Spanish law protecting animals, the
 report said Friday.

 Activists decry many Spanish village festivals as being brutal to
 animals, such as one event in which geese are hung by the feet to have
 their heads ribbed off by horse riders or another where a goat is thrown
 from a church bell tower.

Date: Sun, 08 Jun 1997 17:35:26 -0400
From: allen schubert 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (US) Animal Organ Transplants Mulled
Message-ID: <3.0.32.19970608173524.006c65a4@clark.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

from AP Wire page:
-----------------------------------
 06/08/1997 12:03 EST

 Animal Organ Transplants Mulled

 By MALCOLM RITTER
 AP Science Writer

 In 1993, an official with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
 called a few employees into her office. Then she asked a question at
 least one of those employees viewed as silly:

 What was the CDC doing about the risk that animal-to-people transplants
 would introduce new germs into the human population, infecting first the
 transplant recipient and then spreading to other people?

 ``My first reaction was -- nothing,'' recalled Louisa Chapman, an expert
 on animal viruses that infect humans. ``Why should we waste taxpayer time
 and money on that?''

 Transplants from animals were so rare and recipients lived so briefly
 that it didn't seem a threat to public health, Chapman thought.

 But as she looked into the situation, she changed her mind: Interest in
 such ``xenotransplants'' was heating up. Animals could not only ease the
 shortage of kidneys, hearts and livers for transplantation, but also
 supply brain tissue for treating diseases like Parkinson's and pancreatic
 tissue to treat diabetes.

 These days, Chapman spends most of her time on xenotransplantation
 issues.

 She's not alone. Drug and biotech companies have poured more than $100
 million into xenotransplant research. Scientists report progress in
 overcoming rejection of animal organs, and industry analysts expect a new
 round of organ experiments in people within three to five years.

 The heavy betting nowadays is on organs and tissue from pigs, rather than
 chimps and baboons as in the past.

 But the concern Chapman heard in that 1993 meeting has not gone away:
 Would xenotransplants be a form of Trojan horse, giving new germs a
 sneaky entree into the human population?

 In March, scientists at the Institute of Cancer Research in London
 reported that a virus -- one that might be found even in healthy pigs -
 sprang out of pig tissue and infected human cells in a lab experiment.
 Then it re-emerged from human cells in a form that apparently would slip
 by the body's defenses.

 That shows the idea of such infection in a pig-to-human transplant ``is
 more plausible than a fanciful scare story,'' the researchers said.

 Two months earlier, the British government had slapped a moratorium on
 xenotransplants, chiefly because too little is known about the risk of
 infection.

 And federal regulators in the United States now are refining draft
 guidelines to minimize the risk to public health. The guidelines discuss
 such things as keeping specialized colonies or herds of animals and
 screening them for germs.

 People who get animal organs, cells or tissue should be followed for life
 for any sign of animal germs, and they should tell their ``close
 contacts'' about the possibility such germs could be passed on, the
 guidelines say.

 Close contacts could include sexual partners, health care workers and
 breast-fed children, Chapman said. ``We're not talking about people who
 sit on the school bus with you or work in your office,'' she said.

 At this point, the concern over public peril is theoretical -- a pile of
 what-ifs, a mound of maybes. It reminds Chapman of how NASA quarantined
 the astronauts from the first three moon-landing missions in case they
 brought back weird germs.

 ``What we are saying is there's some level of risk,'' she said. The task
 now, she said, is to figure out how big it is and what to do about it.

 Here's why Chapman and others say there's reason to worry:

 --Animals do have germs that can infect people and then spread
 person-to-person. The AIDS virus apparently came from monkeys long ago,
 for example, and the flu virus that killed more than 20 million people
 worldwide in 1918-19 emerged from pigs.

 --Dangerous germs can hide in healthy-looking animals. Hantavirus doesn't
 bother mice, but when it spreads to people, it can kill.

 --People getting animal organs would be on drugs to suppress their immune
 systems, which could make it easier for an animal virus to gain a
 foothold.

 --Genes from an animal virus could mingle with those of a human virus in
 an organ recipient, creating a hybrid virus with unpredictable behavior.

 --Keeping animals isolated from infection may not be enough. Some viruses
 scientists are concerned about aren't caught, they're inherited.

 They're just part of being a pig, for example. That's because eons ago,
 these viruses infected the ancestors of modern pigs and planted their DNA
 in sperm and egg cells. As a result, the virus genes mingled with the pig
 genes and are now passed on through the generations. It was just this
 kind of inherited virus that popped up in the pig cell study reported in
 March.

 So far, however, the limited experience with xenotransplants is
 encouraging.

 Dr. Alan Dimick, who's put pigskin on severe burns since 1970, says
 there's no evidence treatment has infected anybody with pig germs. But
 Dimick, director of the burn center at the University of Alabama at
 Birmingham, notes that pigskin stays on for only a day or two. An
 implanted organ might pose more of a risk, he said.

 Dr. James M. Schumacher, a Sarasota, Fla., neurosurgeon who has put fetal
 pig tissue into the brains of a dozen people with Parkinson's or
 Huntington's disease over the past two years, also reports no sign of
 infection.

 ``We are extremely overzealous about studying these effects and looking
 for viruses in the long and short run, and we haven't to date found any
 problem,'' he said.

 While scientists ponder the risk of xenotransplantation, thousands of
 people die each year because they can't get a human organ.

 ``It's a difficult issue,'' said virus expert Jonathan Allan of the
 Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research in San Antonio, who calls
 the infection risk from pigs very small but worth worrying about.

 ``Here are people dying,'' Allan said. ``You want to do everything
 possible to prevent that sort of suffering. But you certainly don't want
 to foster new infectious disease that would make even greater suffering
 in the population.''

Date: Sun, 08 Jun 1997 16:13:00 -0700
From: Andrew Gach 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Animal organs: the next disaster?
Message-ID: <339B3C7C.4B3E@worldnet.att.net>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

Transplants from animals raise question of spreading disease

The Associated Press 

(June 8, 1997 12:37 p.m. EDT) -- In 1993, an official with the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention called a few employees into her
office. Then she asked a question at least one of those employees viewed
as silly: What was the CDC doing about the risk that animal-to-people
transplants would introduce new germs into the human population,
infecting first the transplant recipient and then spreading to other
people?

"My first reaction was -- nothing," recalled Louisa Chapman, an expert
on animal viruses that infect humans. "Why should we waste taxpayer time
and money on that?"

Transplants from animals were so rare and recipients lived so briefly
that it didn't seem a threat to public health, Chapman thought.

But as she looked into the situation, she changed her mind: Interest in
such "xenotransplants" was heating up. Animals could not only ease the
shortage of kidneys, hearts and livers for transplantation, but also
supply brain tissue for treating diseases like Parkinson's and
pancreatic tissue to treat diabetes.

These days, Chapman spends most of her time on xenotransplantation
issues.

She's not alone. Drug and biotech companies have poured more than $100
million into xenotransplant research. Scientists report progress in
overcoming rejection of animal organs, and industry analysts expect a
new round of organ experiments in people within three to five years.

The heavy betting nowadays is on organs and tissue from pigs, rather
than chimps and baboons as in the past.

But the concern Chapman heard in that 1993 meeting has not gone away:
Would xenotransplants be a form of Trojan horse, giving new germs a
sneaky entree into the human population?

In March, scientists at the Institute of Cancer Research in London
reported that a virus -- one that might be found even in healthy pigs -
sprang out of pig tissue and infected human cells in a lab experiment.
Then it re-emerged from human cells in a form that apparently would slip
by the body's defenses.

That shows the idea of such infection in a pig-to-human transplant "is
more plausible than a fanciful scare story," the researchers said.

Two months earlier, the British government had slapped a moratorium on
xenotransplants, chiefly because too little is known about the risk of
infection.

And federal regulators in the United States now are refining draft
guidelines to minimize the risk to public health. The guidelines discuss
such things as keeping specialized colonies or herds of animals
and screening them for germs.

People who get animal organs, cells or tissue should be followed for
life for any sign of animal germs, and they should tell their "close
contacts" about the possibility such germs could be passed on, the
guidelines say.

Close contacts could include sexual partners, health care workers and
breast-fed children, Chapman said. "We're not talking about people who
sit on the school bus with you or work in your office," she said.

At this point, the concern over public peril is theoretical -- a pile of
what-ifs, a mound of maybes. It reminds Chapman of how NASA quarantined
the astronauts from the first three moon-landing missions in case they
brought back weird germs.

"What we are saying is there's some level of risk," she said. The task
now, she said, is to figure out how big it is and what to do about it.

Here's why Chapman and others say there's reason to worry:

--Animals do have germs that can infect people and then spread
person-to-person. The AIDS virus apparently came from monkeys long ago,
for example, and the flu virus that killed more than 20 million people
worldwide in 1918-19 emerged from pigs.

--Dangerous germs can hide in healthy-looking animals. Hantavirus
doesn't bother mice, but when it spreads to people, it can kill.

--People getting animal organs would be on drugs to suppress their
immune systems, which could make it easier for an animal virus to gain a
foothold.

--Genes from an animal virus could mingle with those of a human virus in
an organ recipient, creating a hybrid virus with unpredictable behavior.

--Keeping animals isolated from infection may not be enough. Some
viruses scientists are concerned about aren't caught, they're inherited.

They're just part of being a pig, for example. That's because eons ago,
these viruses infected the ancestors of modern pigs and planted their
DNA in sperm and egg cells. As a result, the virus genes mingled with
the pig genes and are now passed on through the generations. It was just
this kind of inherited virus that popped up in the pig cell study
reported in March.

So far, however, the limited experience with xenotransplants is
encouraging.

Dr. Alan Dimick, who's put pigskin on severe burns since 1970, says
there's no evidence treatment has infected anybody with pig germs. But
Dimick, director of the burn center at the University of
Alabama at Birmingham, notes that pigskin stays on for only a day or
two. An implanted organ might pose more of a risk, he said.

Dr. James M. Schumacher, a Sarasota, Fla., neurosurgeon who has put
fetal pig tissue into the brains of a dozen people with Parkinson's or
Huntington's disease over the past two years, also reports no sign of
infection.

"We are extremely overzealous about studying these effects and looking
for viruses in the long and short run, and we haven't to date found any
problem," he said.

While scientists ponder the risk of xenotransplantation, thousands of
people die each year because they can't get a human organ.

"It's a difficult issue," said virus expert Jonathan Allan of the
Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research in San Antonio, who calls
the infection risk from pigs very small but worth worrying about.

"Here are people dying," Allan said. "You want to do everything possible
to prevent that sort of suffering. But you certainly don't want to
foster new infectious disease that would make even greater suffering in
the population."

-- By MALCOLM RITTER, Associated Press Science Writer
Date: Sun, 08 Jun 1997 16:42:54 -0700
From: Andrew Gach 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Dogs can smell out bodies under water
Message-ID: <339B437E.2605@worldnet.att.net>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

British police find their search dogs can sniff out bodies underwater
1997 Agence France-Presse 

LONDON (June 8, 1997 00:19 a.m. EDT) - British police search dogs are to
be trained to sniff out bodies underwater, a report said Sunday.

Trials using dead pigs carried out with border collies and alsatians in
the north of England have shown that the dogs are effective at detecting
smells more than 22 feet down in a dark, flooded quarry, the Sunday
Times reported.

A police spokesman said the skills could be used for murder inquiries
and serious accidents, including large scale disasters.

"These dogs have an amazing ability to pinpoint bodies that are lying
unseen beneath the water," said the spokesman.
Date: Sun, 08 Jun 1997 16:59:36 -0700
From: Andrew Gach 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Cow killed at Spanish fiesta
Message-ID: <339B4768.2F50@worldnet.att.net>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit

Whisky Kills Cow in Spain, Setting Off a Furor

The New York Times Online - June 8, 1997

MADRID, Spain -- The death of a young cow after it was forced
to drink four bottles of whisky during a village fiesta has
prompted a police investigation and demands by animal rights advocates
for a crackdown on cruelty to animals. 

"It's the disgrace of Spain in front of civilized nations," said Manuel
Cases, president of a Barcelona group that is pressing the government to
enact tougher laws against animal abuse. 

The incident took place in Villardefrados, a farming village in northern
Spain. Mayor Mateo Perez said by phone on Friday that a group of
young men took the horned breeding cow to the annual village fiesta late
in May to hold a mock bullfight in an abandoned corral. But they did not
obtain the required permits, he said. 

Sgt. Jose Segurado of the Civil Guard, which is investigating the
incident, said the men were physically capable of surrounding the
220-pound cow, turning its mouth upward and forcing it to drink the
whisky. 

Thirteen men, aged 19 to 26, are under suspicion and have been
questioned, but no charges have been filed yet, Segurado said. They
could face fines of up to $70,000 if convicted, and a senior regional
government official vowed that the punishment would be "exemplary." 

Animal rights groups here and abroad have long complained about
Spain's bullfights and town fiestas like the one in Manganeses de la
Polvoroso, where a goat is dropped from a church tower onto a sheet. 

"But this is new, the whisky," said Codes Sanz of the National
Association for the Protection of Animals, in Madrid. "It's like they
are taking it out on the defenseless animal, in a test of machisimo." 

In 1993, the association delivered 1.3 million signatures protesting
cruelty to animals to the Interior Ministry. The Barcelona group led by
Cases started a new petition drive last month. This week, it sent a copy
of the British Labor Party's stand on protecting animals to all 350
members of the Spanish Parliament. 

Leaders of the Madrid and Barcelona animal rights associations, which
together have several thousand dues-paying members, expressed
optimism that the conservative government would soon take steps to
crack down on animal abuse. 

One reason for their optimism is that the governing Popular Party, when
it was in opposition in 1993, pressed the government for more animal
protection. 

The member of Parliament who led that charge, Santiago Lopez
Valdivielso, has since become director general of the Civil Guard. 

In the phone interview, Perez, who is related to some of the suspects,
said the men did not intend to kill the cow. He said that when they saw
the cow in pain after drinking the whisky they injected it with
penicillin in an attempt to revive it. 

The cow's body remained in the corral until someone in the village
apparently told a Spanish newspaper reporter about it. After the first
published report, the mayor said, the body was hidden outside the
village in a refuse pit, where it was eventually found by the police.

Places of Interest on the Web: 
ADDA The Asociación para la Defensa de los Derechos del Animal
website (in Spanish and English). The Barcelona group that is pressing
the government to enact tougher laws against animal abuse.
Date: Sun, 08 Jun 1997 23:02:21 -0400
From: allen schubert 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (US) Death-Row Ferret Gets Support
Message-ID: <3.0.32.19970608230218.006c00f0@clark.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

(Last line has a speciesist statement.)
from AP Wire page:
----------------------------------
 06/08/1997 20:27 EST

 Death-Row Ferret Gets Support

 BAY CITY, Mich. (AP) -- Letters are flooding into the governor, pleading
 for the life of Kodo the ferret, facing a death sentence so he can be
 tested for rabies.

 Animal Control officials impounded Kodo on May 2 after he bit someone's
 hand during a exhibition at a mall. The furry pet had been vaccinated
 against rabies, but county officials argue that the shots aren't 100
 percent effective.

 The rabies test requires brain tissue and a judge has ordered Kodo
 beheaded on Monday. Owner Robert Jacobs said he would appeal; he already
 has won two delays.

 Since word of Kodo's plight spread via the news media and the Internet,
 Gov. John Engler has received 450 e-mail messages, 50 faxes and 50 calls
 about the ferret, spokesman John Truscott said. Engler also has received
 letters from several first-graders in Alabama.

 But Engler can't do anything, Truscott told The Bay City Times.

 ``The governor has no legal authority to issue a stay of execution. We
 don't have the death penalty in the state of Michigan, and if we did, it
 would only apply to humans.''

Date: Sun, 8 Jun 1997 23:13:57 -0400 (EDT)
From: LMANHEIM@aol.com
To: ar-news@envirolink.org, EnglandGal@aol.com
Subject: Fwd: Spanish Police Probe Cow Death
Message-ID: <970608231355_1524564263@emout04.mail.aol.com>

In a message dated 97-06-08 13:18:27 EDT, AOL News writes:

 << Subj:Spanish Police Probe Cow Death
  Date:97-06-08 13:18:27 EDT
  From:AOL News
 BCC:LMANHEIM
 
c. Associated Press

       VILLARDEFRADES, Spain (AP) - The death of a cow that was forced
 to drink four bottles of whisky during a village festival has set
 off a storm of controversy and a police investigation, a Spanish
 newspaper reported.
       Police are questioning a group of men about the incident in
 Villardefrades, a village 125 miles northwest of Madrid, the El
 Pais newspaper said.
       Villardefrades Mayor Mateo Perez told El Pais that the men
 didn't have the required permits to use the cow in the June 1
 celebration.
       Animal rights activists have announced they will file a lawsuit
 against the responsible parties under a Spanish law protecting
 animals, the report said Friday.
       Activists decry many Spanish village festivals as being brutal
 to animals, such as one event in which geese are hung by the feet
 to have their heads ribbed off by horse riders or another where a
 goat is thrown from a church bell tower. >>


---------------------
Forwarded message:
Subj:    Spanish Police Probe Cow Death
Date:    97-06-08 13:18:27 EDT
From:    AOL News


      VILLARDEFRADES, Spain (AP) - The death of a cow that was forced
to drink four bottles of whisky during a village festival has set
off a storm of controversy and a police investigation, a Spanish
newspaper reported.
      Police are questioning a group of men about the incident in
Villardefrades, a village 125 miles northwest of Madrid, the El
Pais newspaper said.
      Villardefrades Mayor Mateo Perez told El Pais that the men
didn't have the required permits to use the cow in the June 1
celebration.
      Animal rights activists have announced they will file a lawsuit
against the responsible parties under a Spanish law protecting
animals, the report said Friday.
      Activists decry many Spanish village festivals as being brutal
to animals, such as one event in which geese are hung by the feet
to have their heads ribbed off by horse riders or another where a
goat is thrown from a church bell tower.
      AP-NY-06-08-97 1311EDT
Copyright 1997 The
Associated Press.  The information 
contained in the AP news report may not be published, 
broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without 
prior written authority of The Associated Press.


To edit your profile, go to keyword NewsProfiles. 
For all of today's news, go to keyword News.
Date: Sun, 08 Jun 1997 22:29:12 -0400
From: Vegetarian Resource Center 
To: AR-News@envirolink.org, Veg-News@envirolink.org
Subject: Moo...ve over Emily, make room for Gloria
Message-ID: <3.0.2.32.19970608222912.006f1004@pop.tiac.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

  Moo...ve over Emily, make room for Gloria
Another cow escapes from slaughterhouse, 
    finds refuge at Sherborn Peace Abbey
        By Michael Kunzelman, 
        Middlesex News Staff Writer

HOPKINTON, MA - Even if Emily the Cow's upcoming Hollywood biopic is a
flop, a sequel might be a dung deal.
  Say hello to Gloria, the latest cow to cheat death in Hopkinton.
  On Wednesday night, the Holstein escaped from A. Arena & Sons, Inc., the
same slaughterhouse that couldn't contain Emily almost two years ago.
  No bull.
  Now Gloria is sharing a Sherborn barn - and perhaps the limelight - with
Emily, whose much-heralded escape in November 1995 has sparked a movie deal
and a mountain of international press.
  "Emily must have started something," chuckled Hal Rowe, a tourist who
visited Gloria yesterday at her home at the Peace Abbey in Sherborn.
Emily escaped from a slaughterhouse truck on Wednesday night, only a few
hours before her scheduled demise.
  Unlike Emily, who vaulted to freedom over a 5-foot fence, Gloria simply
lumbered away from her captors. 
  "There's no way she could lift her body over the fence," said Lewis
Randa, director of the Peace Abbey.
  "Gloria has been milked, more than nature had intended," Randa explained.
 "The calcium depletion is such that she's a good six inches shorter."
  Slaughterhouse workers spent the next 24 ours chasing Gloria through the
neighborhood.  Several neighbors soon joined the hunt, grabbing rope from
their garages to help rein in the elusive beast.
  Whenever they got close to ending the standoff, Gloria got spooked and
retreated to the woods for cover.
  "The workers had these bloody ropes of death," said neighbor Walter
Protas.  "Every time we tried to catch her, she could smell the death."
  Karen Parmenter had just sat down to eat dinner Thursday night when she
saw the cow standing on the front lawn of her Westfield Road cul-de-sac.
  She almost choked on her hamburger.
  "They're trying to send me a message," laughed Parmenter, a veteran of
the Emily roundup.  "Maybe I shouldn't eat meat again."
  When Angela Cuniff spotted Gloria walking down Coburn Road, she thought
her houseguests were playing an elaborate prank.
  "We figured it was staged so that could prove to us that we really live
in the country now," said Cuniff, 33, who moved from Watertown to Hopkinton
a few months ago.
  Randa hoofed it over to Hopkinton as soon as a neighbor delivered the
news that another cow was on the loose.  Even before the posse captured the
wayward bovine at 9 p.m. he had already paid the slaughterhouse $350 to
spare Gloria's life.
  Gloria spent the night in a neighbor's garage while Randa devised a way
to transport her over to the Peace Abbey to join Emily.
  Joan Lennox was happy to offer her garage as refuse.  She only has one
beef: Yesterday morning, after Randa had loaded Gloria onto a trailer, her
garage was littered with cow pies and hay.
  "It almost smells like a full-blown barn in there," said Lennox, whose
9-year-old daughter Mandy used a bucket of oats to lure Gloria toward their
Ash Street home.  "Mr. Randa promised to come back and clean it."
  Randa made good on that promise, several hours after taking Gloria back
to Sherborn.
  He also let Mandy Lennox name the cow, with the provision that she match
the first initial of the name to the letter that corresponds to any one of
the numbers on Gloria's eartag (782).
  Seizing on a "G" name (corresponding to the "7"), Mandy blurted out her
choice.
  "Because that's the first name that came to my mind," she explained.
  Emily didn't seem to mind the competition.  As they sniffed each other
out through an opening in Gloria's stall, Randa downplayed the parallels
between their udderly amazing tales.
  "Gloria is not another Emily," he said.  "She's just Gloria - and there's
a story and a message behind her escape that's worth paying attention to."
  And that message is?
  "This is part of peace work," Randa said, standing near a sign reading "A
Peaceful Plate is a Vegetarian Plate."
  "I'm convinced that every animal we give sanctuary to offers human beings
another challenge to reduce the amount of meat they eat."
  Emily's unlikely escape two years ago generated international media
coverage.  Curiosity \-seekers from all over the world flocked to Sherborn.
 And a team of Hollywood producers is in the process of making a movie
about her story.
  But the latest rescue is not a bid to milk more publicity out of the
Emily phenomenon, Randa insisted.
  "We don't want this sensationalized," he said.  "We just want to get this
message of peace out to the people who have the ears to hear it."
  By yesterday morning, peace had also returned to the neighborhood
surrounding the slaughterhouse.
  Not that runaway meat products are that unusual for Ash Street residents.
 Neighbors said they've grown accustomed to seeing the occasional goat or
pig roaming through the woods.
  "It makes you wonder how they keep getting loose," said Joan Lennox.

>From the "Middlesex News," Sunday, June 08, 1997, pages 1A, 11A

Contact the Peace Abbey at: 2 North Main Street, Sherborn, MA 01770-1518,
508-650-3659, 508-655-5031 (fax)     randa3757@aol.com


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