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AR-NEWS Digest 559
Topics covered in this issue include:
1) Jumping the gun
by Andrew Gach
2) I'm back (Off topic)
by David J Knowles
3) [CA] Burnaby council hears of raccoon torture
by David J Knowles
4) [CA] Council expands spay rebate scheme
by David J Knowles
5) [CA] Local lake home to abundance of wildlife
by David J Knowles
6) [US] Brain transplant makes chicken think it is a quail
by David J Knowles
7) [UK] Food bugs blamed on EU laws
by David J Knowles
8) [EU] Online debate on consumer policy
by David J Knowles
9) [UK] Butcher cleared over party meat
by David J Knowles
10) [UK] Anti-hunt MP offers concession to farmers
by David J Knowles
11) [UK] There's new life in Old Father Thames
by David J Knowles
12) Municipal Vet in Israel refused to deal with wounded dog.
by erez ganor
13) Hog Waste Spill Alarms Whooping Crane Fans
by SDURBIN@VM.TULSA.CC.OK.US
14) Cleveland Amory on Parade
by FARM
15) US : DC/MD/VA Ken Shapiro of PsyETA to speak at AU
by Jon Nathan
16) RE: Noah's Ark
by "D'Amico, Ann-Marie"
17) (US) Leg-Hold Trap Ban Compromise
by allen schubert
18) UPC Fall 1997 Poultry Press
by Franklin Wade
19) (US) Oklahoma Cat Cruelty Case
by JanaWilson@aol.com
20) Dear Abby Write a Letter Opposing Traps in NY
by Michael Markarian
21) (Ca) Human Chickens Passing Test
by Ty Savoy
22) (US) 'Virtual' Organs to Replace Animal Tests
by allen schubert
23) (US) Feature/Americans Lead World in Eating Hamburgers and
Ground Beef, Study of 35 Countries Shows
by allen schubert
24) Canned hunt letter
by jeanlee
25) Yosemite silences croaking bullfrogs
by angst@cdsnet.net
26) NASA & environmental collapse
by amanda246@juno.com (amanda brown)
27) Letters needed!
by allen schubert
Date: Mon, 27 Oct 1997 21:05:01 -0800
From: Andrew Gach
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Jumping the gun
Message-ID: <3455727D.4A8D@worldnet.att.net>
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Hope for multiple sclerosis sufferers in new study
The Associated Press
DETROIT (October 27, 1997 6:52 p.m. EST) -- In a development that could
help lead to a treatment for multiple sclerosis, laboratory experiments
have found that a certain hormone stimulates the growth of the
protective sheath around nerves.
In degenerative diseases like MS and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or
Lou Gehrig's disease, damage around the sheath stops signals from being
transmitted between the brain and nerves.
An insulin-like growth hormone called IGF-I has been found to regrow
these sheaths, University of Michigan scientists reported Monday.
Though several growth factors currently are being studied, IGF-I appears
to be most effective at inducing the growth of the sheath and preventing
neural cell death, according to Michigan researcher Hsin-Lin Cheng.
The Michigan scientists, who presented the first results from their
experiments with IGF-I at a confererence in New Orleans on Monday,
removed nerve cells called dorsal root neurons from newborn rats and
grew them in a dish.
They found that if they simulated the conditions of diabetes in the
dish, then applied the IGF-I, it helped the nerves remain normal,
Feldman said.
"This may provide a new treatment for a whole group of diseases we
couldn't treat before," said Eva Feldman, associate professor of
neurology at the University of Michigan Medical School.
Tests with the hormone, which is produced in the liver and is present in
blood serum, are under way on about 40 people with neuropathy at the
Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.
Dr. Stephen Reingold of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society in New
York, was cautious about the results.
"They certainly are jumping the gun by saying that it could help with
multiple sclerosis. IGF-I has never been studied with MS," he said.
By RANDI GOLDBERG, The Associated Press
************************************************
Surgical nerve injury is just as far from degenerative nerve disease as
the human nervous system is from that of the laboratory rat.
This kind of research has been going on for decades and hasn't
benefitted a single sufferer from multiple sclerosis or other nerve
disease.
Such trifling details, of course, wouldn't dampen the enthusiasm of a
researcher, shooting for the moon, whose main skill is knowing how to
cut the spinal chords of little white rats.
Funding is the name of the game and what better way to secure it than
raising false hopes and feeding hype to the media?
Andy
Date: Tue, 28 Oct 1997 00:04:04
From: David J Knowles
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: I'm back (Off topic)
Message-ID: <3.0.3.16.19971028000404.3de7537a@dowco.com>
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Actually, I haven't been anywhere, but my e-mail server took a vacation
over the weekend.
Although I think I've now receieved most of the news items posted since
Friday - I just downloaded 100 + messages, would anyone who e-mailed me
privately between Friday evening and Monday morning, and received an error
message please try again.
Thanks,
David
Date: Tue, 28 Oct 1997 01:31:38
From: David J Knowles
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: [CA] Burnaby council hears of raccoon torture
Message-ID: <3.0.3.16.19971028013138.0c3753b6@dowco.com>
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Burnaby council hears of raccoon torture
By David Knowles
Animal Voices News
BURNABY, B.C. - Councillors at Burnaby City Hall Monday night heard a
presentation from resident Sharon Capadouca regarding the setting of
leg-hold traps in her neighbourhood.
Capadouca told councillors how the problem started last year, and then
occured again this August.
Capadouca pleaded for council to obtain the power to pass a bylaw banning
these types of activities. She also pleaded for a facility to be built
where such animals could be housed, instead of them being killed, and said
she wishes the sick person doing this could be caught.
She reported that posters placed by both herself and council workers ahd
been torn in some areas, but that council would replace them as soon as
they became aware. They had warned her not to replace the posters herself,
as staff had concerns about her safety.
Cllr. Doug Evans commended Capadouca for her work.
Cllr. Celeste Redman expressed surprise that leg-hold traps were not
banned. Capadouca replied that some 10 years ago, several municipalities
were ready to ban traps and snares, but were told by the provincial
Ministry of Environment's Wildlife Protection Branch that they could not do
so, as this was their area. Since then, nothing has happened. "They must be
very busy," Capasouca said.
Asked if she was surprised that the SPCA became involved, when their
mandate only covered domestic animals, Capadouca said she wasn't. "This was
a situation they could not turn their back on," she said.
Burnaby SPCA shelter superintendent Carson Wilson said the SPCA was
officially involved because one of the animals involved was a cat. He
added, however, that: "I run the shelter from the heart, not by only
according to regulations."
Capadouca, responding to articles which appeared in the local papers
stating she had heard the cat howling for three days, said she had tried to
locate the cat immediately, but was unable to locate it. She added that the
cat cried out every morning between 8:00 and 9:00 AM, which she felt was
the time that someone had approached the trap to check what had been caught.
She felt that there were more animals caught in the trap, but was only
aware of the seven raccoons and one cat which had ended up in her backyard.
Council passed a motion asking staff to investigate what needed to be done
to permit them to pass a bylaw banning the use of traps and snares in the
city. (Currently, legislation only bans the setting of traps within 200
metres of a dwelling.)
[ Capadouca later showed me some photographs she had taken of the raccoons
she had rescued. To say they were graphic is somewhat of an understatement.]
Date: Tue, 28 Oct 1997 01:14:16
From: David J Knowles
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: [CA] Council expands spay rebate scheme
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Council expands spay rebate scheme
By David Knowles
Animal Voices News
BURNABY, B.C. - City council passed a motion Monday night expanding their
two-year-old spay rebate scheme.
Originally introduced during a period when council was under pressure from
a coalition of animal-rights and -welfare groups and individuals to pass a
spay/neuter bylaw, the scheme gave a rebate of $10 for keepers of cats who
reside in Burnaby and who had their animals spayed.
The scheme is now open to both spays and neuters, and has increased to $15.
Asked by Cllr. Doreen Lawson whether there were any plans to introduce any
further measures such as registration, the city lawyer stated this was not
being considered in the forseeable future.
Date: Tue, 28 Oct 1997 01:28:40
From: David J Knowles
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: [CA] Local lake home to abundance of wildlife
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Local lake home to abundance of wildlife
By David Knowles
Animal Voices News
BURNABY, B.C. - Councillors heard Monday night that Burnaby Lake, located
in the city's central valley area, was home to a wide variety of wildlife.
There are 112 species of birds, according to a study by B.C. Wildlife
Watch. The report also
stated the lake was home to American beaver, muskrat, Douglas squirrel,
Northern flying squirrel, bullfrogs, Pacific tree frogs and several
butterflies including Milbert's toroiseshell, Western tiger swallowtail,
mourning cloak cabbage white and woodland skipper.
Council's Environmental and Waste Management Committee is currently
studying the feasibilty of dredging the lake. A report on the environmental
impact of such a scheme was presented to full council Monday night.
The BC WIldlife Watch report was funded by the Greater Vancouver Regional
District and the Burnaby Firefighters Charitable Society. Mayor Doug
Drummond commented that it was unusual for the "Burns Fund" to be involved
in environmental issues.
Cllr. Doreen Lawson replied that it was, as far as she knew, the first time
this had happened.
Lawson told me later that she had approached the Firefighters and they had
only been too glad to help. She hopes they will fund similar measures in
the future.
Date: Tue, 28 Oct 1997 01:49:55
From: David J Knowles
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: [US] Brain transplant makes chicken think it is a quail
Message-ID: <3.0.3.16.19971028014955.0c0f5890@dowco.com>
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>From The Electronic Telegraph - Tuesday, October 28th, 1997
Brain transplant makes chicken think it is a quail
By Roger Highfield, Science Editor
A CHICKEN that thinks it is a quail has been created by a transplant of
brain tissue from one species to the other, the world's largest
neurosciences meeting was told yesterday.
The creation of this mixed-species animal or "chimera" by transplanting an
entire region of a quail's brain into a chicken embryo is seen as a
milestone in efforts to understand the brain. Earlier experiments by the
Neurosciences Unit in La Jolla, California, made a chicken sing and bob its
head like a quail.
"This is the first time a perceptual difference has been transplanted
between any two organisms," Dr Kevin Long told the annual meeting of the
Society for Neuroscience in New Orleans. He said the experiment could help
scientists work out how minor differences in the physical structure of the
brain of different species could lead to striking differences in behaviour.
Dr Long said there may be parallels in the human brain to the mechanisms
being studied through the creation of the bird chimera. "These mechanisms
in humans may enable the foetus to differentially attend to a human voice
(presumably the mother's, although it doesn't have to be) which can be
heard during late foetal development," said Dr Long. The work may also
yield ideas on how to treat human nervous disorders, but Dr Long stressed
that, for technical and ethical reasons, "chimeric work on humans would
never be done".
Most species are born with some behaviours that need no learning. For
example, young birds, which are able to walk and feed themselves within
hours of hatching, are especially responsive to sounds from their own species.
"We wanted to determine the underlying developmental difference which
allows a chick to prefer a mother hen call over a mother quail call," said
Dr Long, who conducted the work with Dr Evan Balaban. By transplanting the
anterior midbrain from quail to chick, the resulting "chimeric" chick
responded preferentially to the quail mother. "Transplants of other,
neighbouring regions from quail into chick did not produce this effect," he
said.
© Copyright Telegraph Group Limited 1997.
Date: Tue, 28 Oct 1997 02:00:21
From: David J Knowles
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: [UK] Food bugs blamed on EU laws
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>From The Electronic Telegraph - Tuesday, October 28th, 1997
Food bugs blamed on EU laws
By David Fletcher, Health Correspondent
TOUGHER EU hygiene regulations that have forced the closure of hundreds of
abattoirs may inadvertently have led to rising levels of food poisoning.
A report by the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology says that
the number of abattoirs fell from 1,385 in 1975 to 384 last year. Due to
this reduction, animals have to travel further from farm to slaughterhouse.
The extra travelling leads to increased stress on the animals and to more
animals having soiled themselves by the time they arrive at the abattoir.
The report says that meat from a soiled animal can have up to 1,000 times
more bacteria than meat from a clean animal. It also says food poisoning
rose five-fold in the last 15 years with nearly 100,000 people affected and
up to 200 deaths last year. It blames three main bacteria:
- Campylobacter, the most common cause of individual cases of food
poisoning, which affected 47,000 people last year.
- Salmonella, with up to 35,000 cases a year. Poultry, eggs, red meat and
meat products are most commonly implicated. Between 33-41 per cent of
chickens on retail sale are said to be contaminated.
- E coli, virtually unknown before the 1980s, affected 1,100 people last
year and causes more serious illness than the other two bacteria.
An analysis of the source of food poisoning shows that 44 per cent of
incidents arise from meals in restaurants, hotels or other catering
establishments, 17 per cent from home catering and 6 per cent from shops.
Prisons, schools and other sources accounted for the remaining cases.
Factors to blame for the increase include the move towards once-a-week
shopping, which causes food to be stored for longer, more eating out and
one meal being "stretched" over several days by people living alone.
© Copyright Telegraph Group Limited 1997.
Date: Tue, 28 Oct 1997 01:59:46
From: David J Knowles
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: [EU] Online debate on consumer policy
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>From The Electronic Telegraph - Tuesday, October 28th, 1997
The European Commission is hosting an online debate on Consumer Policy in
the European Union on November 5 1997 from 1700h to 1900h (GMT +1). Emma
Bonino, Commissioner of the European Union will discuss the following issues:
i/BSE - the facts
ii/Salmonella, E coli and other viral diseases - what is Europe doing about
food controls?
iii/What consequences will the Euro have for the consumer and how can the
consumer make use of the single market?
iv/Are consumers over or under-informed?
Ms Bonino will converse in Italian, French, English, German and Spanish.
All questions and answers will then be translated into English.
Questions can be put to Ms Bonino from 27 October at the following e-mail
address: emma.bonino@dg24.cec.be. The online debate can be located at
irc://chat.europa.eu.int.
© Copyright Telegraph Group Limited 1997.
Date: Tue, 28 Oct 1997 02:10:44
From: David J Knowles
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: [UK] Butcher cleared over party meat
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>From The Electronic Telegraph - Tuesday, October 28th, 1997
Butcher cleared over party meat
By Auslan Cramb, Scotland Correspondent
THE Scottish butcher whose shop was linked to the world's worst E coli food
poisoning epidemic, which killed 20 people, was found not guilty yesterday
of supplying contaminated meat to a birthday party.
John Barr, 52, was cleared on the sixth day of his trial at Hamilton
Sheriff Court when the case against him collapsed at the end of the
prosecution evidence. He denied culpably, wilfully and recklessly supplying
300 slices of cooked meat for an 18th birthday party, the day after he had
been ordered by environmental health officers to stop trading.
Several people at the party were said to have become ill with E coli food
poisoning after eating cold ham, turkey and beef from his shop in Wishaw,
Lanarkshire. The court's decision was greeted by cheers of delight from
members of Mr Barr's family.
However, Frank Roy, the Labour MP for Wishaw, claimed that the handling of
the case by North Lanarkshire Council and the procurator fiscal's office
had been "shambolic".
Fay MacFarlane, 50, who organised the party for the birthday of her
daughter Lauren, said her family had been through a long ordeal and she was
shocked by the outcome.
She said: "We always expected justice to be done so we have got to stand by
the law. But I honestly feel very let down by all the agencies involved."
Menzies Campbell, the legal affairs spokesman for the Scottish Liberal
Democrats, called for an inquiry into the outcome of the trial. After
hearing an hour of legal argument, Sheriff Alexander Macpherson told the
jury that he supported a submission from defence solicitor George Moore
that there was no case to answer.
He said the Crown had failed to corroborate its case by not providing a
second strand of evidence. The first strand centred on a phone call in
which Mr Barr allegedly assured the family that the meat was safe.
The court was told last week that the butcher had supplied three bags of
cold meat to a member of the MacFarlane family on November 23 last year,
the day after he had given an undertaking to environmental health officials
not to sell cooked meat. The master butcher, whose shop was closed for
three months after the outbreak, was hugged by members of his
family as the left the court but refused to comment.
The E coli outbreak began after pensioners became ill at a church lunch,
and affected more than 400 people in central Scotland. Mr Barr, from
Overtown, Wishaw, together with his wife Elaine and their son Martin, will
face charges over alleged contraventions of food safety laws in a second
court case early in the New Year. A fatal accident inquiry into the
epidemic is also expected in January.
© Copyright Telegraph Group Limited 1997.
[For those not familiar with the Scotish legal system, the Sherrif's court
is the equivalent of a District Court in the U.S., a Crown Court in the UK
or a Provincial Court in Canada. The Procurator Fiscal is a combination of
a DA or Public Prosecutor and a Coroner.]
Date: Tue, 28 Oct 1997 02:17:17
From: David J Knowles
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: [UK] Anti-hunt MP offers concession to farmers
Message-ID: <3.0.3.16.19971028021717.207f46ae@dowco.com>
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>From The Electronic Telegraph - Monday, October 27th, 1997
Anti-hunt MP offers concession to farmers
By Joy Copley, Political Staff
THE Bill to outlaw hunting is to be watered down to allow dogs to be used
to "flush out" foxes in a surprise concession to farmers.
Mike Foster, Labour MP for Worcester, is preparing to give ground to the
country lobby in a move designed to put critics of his private member's
Bill on the spot. He is examining ways of re-writing the Wild Mammal
(Hunting with Dogs) Bill whose main purpose is to outlaw hunting with hounds.
Mr Foster argues that it is the brutal tearing apart of the fox after a
chase, which is classified as sport, that he wants to end. He has been
undertaking a consultation process on his Bill which included accepting an
invitation to watch the Worcestershire Hunt last week. Farmers have said
that in some cases where foxes are a persistent pest, dogs are the best way
of locating the animal and forcing it into the open so that it can be shot.
Mr Foster said: "This is a major difference between the pursuit of the fox
and the kill being a sporting activity and it would be a working, practical
exercise. I recognise that some farmers have concerns about foxes preying
on, for example, lambs." The numbers of dogs used in such an exercise is
likely to be cut from 40 to 12.
Mr Foster's private member's Bill is expected to receive a huge majority
when it comes up for second reading on Nov 28. But the Government is still
looking for ways to kill off the Bill because it fears that persistent
objections and amendments in the Lords will cause chaos and threaten
implementation of key pieces of legislation in Labour's manifesto.
Janet George, of the British Field Sports Society, said a decision to allow
"gun packs", which operate mostly in Scotland and Wales, was "a nonsense".
She said: "He is basically saying it is OK to kill foxes so long as you are
not wearing a red coat. It is hardly less cruel to have a fox shot."
© Copyright Telegraph Group Limited 1997.
Date: Tue, 28 Oct 1997 02:26:26
From: David J Knowles
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: [UK] There's new life in Old Father Thames
Message-ID: <3.0.3.16.19971028022626.207f468a@dowco.com>
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>From The Electronic Telegraph - Monday, October 27th, 1997
There's new life in Old Father Thames
By Charles Clover
COMMERCIALLY viable quantities of edible fish, including whitebait, shrimp,
prawn and smelt, are being found in the Thames at the heart of London for
the first time since the 17th Century, according to the Environment Agency.
The river, now the cleanest metropolitan waterway in Europe and possibly
the world, has supported annual migrations of Atlantic salmon since the
Seventies.
According to the agency, the tidal reaches have now, become an important
nursery for bass, flounder and smelt, a relation of the salmon which
supported the biggest commercial fishery on the Thames in the late 1600s.
Whitebait is back at Greenwich, though not yet in the quantities present in
the 18th Century when Thames whitebait became a fashionable food.
The lower reaches of the Thames estuary now support the most important
nursery for Dover sole in the country, replenishing fish stocks across the
North Sea.
Steve Colclough, the agency's Thames area fisheries officer, said
yesterday: "The focus has always been on the salmon, but other recoveries
have gone on without a widespread perception that they have happened, even
within my own agency."
There are now 115 recorded species of fish in the river, two more than five
years ago, and in much greater numbers, according to the agency's routine
monitoring which nets the river throughout the year at seven sites between
Richmond and Gravesend.
Mr Colclough also says the river might be seeing the first stages of a
recovery of the twaite shad, an extremely rare migrating herring which gave
its name to parts of the Port of London where it was once fished. Adult
shad are caught in the lower estuary each year.
The presence of the shad, found only in the cleanest rivers such as the Usk
in Wales, would allow the river to be designated as one of the most
important wildlife reserves in Europe under the EU habitats directive. Mr
Colclough said that the polluted image of the Thames
was extraordinarily persistent though the river had been cleaned up
steadily since the Fifties, when a major programme of building sewage works
began.
He said: "When members of the public gaze from Westminster Bridge, the
water looks muddy and the perception is that there is still a lot of
pollution there. In fact the muddy nature of the river is a natural
estuarial process. It was doing that 3,000 years ago. It's a major
educational challenge for us. If the public doesn't know about what's going
on in the river, it does not value it and it makes it harder for us to
protect it."
The naturally murky waters below Westminster Bridge hide huge, dynamic
movements of fish and fry all year round. Some 30 fish species, as well as
commercially viable quantities of shrimp and prawn, now migrate up and down
the Thames, within feet of the Palace of Westminster.
The year begins with the smelt, a cousin of the salmon notable for its
needle-like teeth and cucumber smell when it is fresh from the water, which
runs up the river in March to spawn below the tide mark at Wandsworth. Dace
move down the river to spawn there too and the
fry of both species migrate up to Teddington.
After spawning, smelts drop back to where they live for most of the year,
below Gravesend. Because the fish spends its entire life cycle in the
river, and shares with salmon and trout an extreme sensitivity to
pollution, the agency now monitors it explicitly as a pollution indicator.
In May, billions of flounder fry move up to the fresher water to mature,
passing though the shallows at Putney in such numbers that they change the
colour of the tideway grey.
The tiny flounder fry use the tides to ascend the river, allowing
themselves to be carried on the flood tide and sticking to the stones on
the bottom on the ebb. Around the same time, the first elvers ascend the
river. By late June and early July, juvenile sea bass ascend the river in
waves, as high as fresh water at Putney. Dover sole come up as far as
Gravesend from the outer estuary. In June and July, too, common gobies run
the river. In summer months, with low freshwater flows, prawns and brown
shrimps can be found as high up the river as
Isleworth.
In September and August, month-old grey mullet come up as far as Chiswick.
All the fry move back past the Commons in late autumn, when they have grown
into juvenile fish.
Though many of the fish species are commercially viable and entirely
palatable, the agency has taken the radical approach of banning commercial
exploitation of the tidal Thames to protect it as a nursery area and a
wildlife resource since it took control of freshwater and
sea fisheries in 1995.
Though pollution has cleared up significantly, the agency says that the
recovery may still have some years to go. And it is constantly under threat
from flood-water overflows from Victorian sewers which can form a "plug" of
polluted water which can kill fish. When this happens the agency deploys
the Thames Bubbler and the New Vitality, two vessels which pump oxygen into
the water.
An even greater threat to the migrations of fry is development of the
foreshore. The stretch of the Thames in the centre of London is already, at
around 300 yards across, considerably narrower than it was in Roman times
when it was around 800 yards broad. This makes the section between the
embankments into an artificially fast tidal race.
Mr Colclough said that the greatest threat of insensitive development was
on the sections of river below Greenwich, again because public perceptions
had not caught up with the renewed vitality of the river. He said: "We call
the river a wildlife super-highway but most people are entirely ignorant of
that. You can be sitting with a developer and saying 'Do you realise what
you would be doing?' Most can see the problems and want to do something
about it."
The agency will have to rely chiefly on persuasion to protect the river
until its routine monitoring finds a spawning population of the twaite shad
has returned and it can call for statutory protection for the entire
catchment.
Mr Colclough believes that this could be in the next five years as a nine
centimetre shad was found in the Medway, indicating that there is already a
small breeding population somewhere in the South-East.
© Copyright Telegraph Group Limited 1997.
Date: Tue, 28 Oct 1997 12:40:21 +0200
From: erez ganor
To: "ar-news@envirolink.org"
Subject: Municipal Vet in Israel refused to deal with wounded dog.
Message-ID: <3455C114.BF371246@netvision.net.il>
MIME-Version: 1.0
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The Municipal Vet of Be'er-Ya'akov (ISRAEL) refused to accept and give
medical help to a dog who got run-over by cars.
The dog was laying in the middle of the road (within the boundaries of
Be'er-Ya'akov municipal council), while drivers were bypassing him. The
dog was picked up by a citizen who showed responsibility and care,
stopped his car, and took the bleeding dog.
while the dog was bleeding in his car, he called the municipal vet and
left a message on her answering machine. after an hour he called back
and find that the vet was in her clinic but didn't respond to his call.
He asked if the municipal vet can come and take the dog, but she said
she has no way to do it, to the question whether he can bring the dog to
her, she answered she has nothing to do with this dog, and it was pity
he didn't left the dog were it was. it was pity the dog wasn't run over
again and die, since than she could send an officer to dispose the
corps.
This case is an addition to the fact that municipal vet in ISRAEL were
caught restraining dog to the ground with a lumber, and injecting salt
into their heart as an alternative way
for euthanasia.
After the exposure it got in the media, the municipal vets (with the
support of their governmental supervision) threat they will stop dealing
with rabies, and let rabies spread all over the country...
Attachment Converted: "C:\EUDORA2\Attach\vcard1.vcf"
Date: Tue, 28 Oct 97 08:05:26 UTC
From: SDURBIN@VM.TULSA.CC.OK.US
To: ar-news@Envirolink.org
Subject: Hog Waste Spill Alarms Whooping Crane Fans
Message-ID: <199710281407.JAA02653@envirolink.org>
Oklahoma City, OK USA: Officials at the Salt Plains National Wildlife
Refuge are concerned about the effects of a hog waste spill on
endangered whooping cranes and other birds that often stop at the refuge.
A large part of the whooping crane population, an endangered species,
is expected to fly over the wildlife refuge during the next two weeks as
part of their fall migration from Canada to Texas.
The refuge is located just north of U.S. 64 in Alfalfa County.
An accidental effluent discharge from a nearby hog farm that occurred
last week made its way into part of the refuge where the whooping
cranes and thousands of other birds like to stop. Nutrients from
the waste spurred growth of red algae, depleting oxygen in a creek
tributary and causing some fish to die.
"We are concerned about it," said Rod Krey, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
refuge manager.
The discharge occurred last Tuesday on the Castle Brothers hog farm
located across U.S. 64 from the refuge, said David Chandler, general
counsel and interim director of the Oklahoma Dept. of Agriculture's
water quality division.
-- Sherrill
Date: Tue, 28 Oct 1997 10:02:19 -0800
From: FARM
To: AR-News
Subject: Cleveland Amory on Parade
Message-ID: <345628AB.7E04@erols.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Congratulations to Cleveland Amory and the Fund For Animals for making
the cover of next Sunday's "Parade" magazine. This will bring the animal
rights movement into millions of middle American homes. Alex H.
Date: Tue, 28 Oct 1997 06:28:22 -0500 (EST)
From: Jon Nathan
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: US : DC/MD/VA Ken Shapiro of PsyETA to speak at AU
Message-ID:
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII
On October 30, 1997, come listen to Dr. Kenneth Shapiro speak about the
ethics, necessity, and reality of using non-human animals in laboratory
experiments. Ken is the Executive Director of PSYeta, Psychologists for
the Ethical Treatment of Animals. He will be discussing in part his most
recent publication, a book entitled Animal Models of Human Psychology :
Critique of Science, Ethics, and Policy. Ken is well respected in both
the psychology and animal rights communities.
Date: Thursday, October 30, 1997
Time: 8:30 PM
Location: American University, 4400 Mass Ave NW, Ward Building 310. Red
line metro to Tenleytown, then two blocks or so down Nebraska.
More info: Email AUARE-L@american.edu
or call Nisha 202.686.7966
or Jon 202.885.6974
--
Jon Nathan
jon@blading.com
http://www.csis.american.edu/~jn0729a
Date: Tue, 28 Oct 1997 10:36:38 -0500
From: "D'Amico, Ann-Marie"
To: ar-news@envirolink.org, "'Vicki.Sharer@wku.edu'"
Subject: RE: Noah's Ark
Message-ID:
Morrissey's fax # 515/472-9202 since there is little time remaining
before the trial.
----------
From: Vicki Sharer[SMTP:Vicki.Sharer@wku.edu]
Reply To: Vicki.Sharer@wku.edu
Sent: Monday, October 27, 1997 10:30 AM
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Noah's Ark
The following information is from the Noah's Ark Web site
(http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Prairie/6507/governor.html).. I
have been in contact with Laura Faltin at the shelter. The
case is
coming to trial November 4, 1997 and she is requesting
people to send
as many letters as possible. If additional information is
needed,
please contact me at vicki.sharer@wku.edu or Laura at
noahsark@lisco.com.
On the evening/s March 7-8, 1997, intruders broke into
Noah's Ark, a
no-kill, not-for-profit, cat
rescue shelter. At that time, seventy to seventy-five cats
were in
residence at the Fairfield, Iowa
sanctuary, where they lived happily in a pleasant two-story
house. The
intruders brought baseball
bats with them that night. They viciously beat more than
thirty of the
resident cats of this loving
sanctuary, where David and Laura Sykes, the founders and
managers of
this extraordinary shelter,
had provided every comfort and luxury they could afford.
Seventeen cats died of these brutally inflicted injuries
and seven
cats were seriously injured. Three
cats were so critically injured that they spent weeks
hospitalized in
intensive care at the Iowa State
University Veterinary Clinic.
The trial date for the three alleged perpetrators in the
Noah's Ark
Shelter break-in,
torture and killing of these gentle creatures had
previously been set
for July 29, 1997.
On July 15th Justin Toben entered a guilty plea and agreed
to testify
against the other
two defendants. The trial for the two remaining defendants
has now
been postponed until
November 12, 1997. They are each charged with one count of
third
degree burglary and
one count of offenses against an animal facility. Each
charge is a
Class D felony that
carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a
$7500.00 fine.
There are those who think that the break-in, bludgeoning
and stabbing
to death of the
cats were little more than 'childish pranks'! They do not
feel that
this was a serious crime
deserving of punishment in prison! Psychologists and
criminologists
alike know that any
child or youth that tortures other children or animals has
great
potential for other violent
crime, and that many animal abusers do go on to commit
other serious,
violent crimes
against defenseless humans!
If you are still unsure if there is a strong link between
animal
abusers and violent
criminals please see the articles below:
Animal Abuse and Human Abuse: Partners in
Crime
Why We Shouldn't Tolerate Animal Cruelty
Hurting Animals Often a Sign of Abuse
The ASPCA makes this statement on their Legal department
webpage:
"It is critically important for prosecutors and judges to
be urged to
convict and punish
animal abusers."
October 22, 1997
In response to a request by the attorneys of the two
remaining
defendants in the Noah's Ark case,
the judge has granted the defense a change of venue, and
moved the
trial up to November 4,
1997. The defense had also requested a split trial, where
the
defendants would stand trial
seperately. That motion was denied by the judge.
The trial will now take place in the city of Bloomfield, in
Davis
County, about a 25 minute drive
from Fairfield.
The Associated Press has just released a very good article
about the
incident which is being
published by many newspapers across the country. Look for
it in your
local paper!
CBS will have some coverage on 'The Geraldo Rivera Show',
and 'Oprah'
producers have
called the Shelter to discuss the possibility of a show on
that very
popular program.
'48 Hours' will start filming at the Shelter October 29th,
and will
include trial footage in their hour
long show.
I'm sorry there was no update on the re-scheduling of the
'NBC Today'
show coverage. The
coverage of the Shelter break-in story was pre-empted by
John Denver's
death, and all of the
follow-up to that story. I only learned of the decision to
broadcast
the coverage late in the evening
(11 P.M.) of the evening of October 16th, when Laura Sykes
was
informed that they planned to
show their coverage the following morning. There was no
time to inform
anyone :(
Please write to the following immediately and let them know
these
people must be punished. This case should not be taken
lightly.
Jefferson County Attorney
Attn: Mr. John Morrissey
109 No. Court Street
Fairfield, Iowa 52556
CC:
Mr. Mike Brown, Jefferson County Attorney
Mr. Scott Schroeder, Jefferson County Attorney
Please send letters as soon as possible!! Thanks everyone!
Vicki
Date: Tue, 28 Oct 1997 14:12:50 -0500
From: allen schubert
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (US) Leg-Hold Trap Ban Compromise
Message-ID: <3.0.32.19971028141247.00683c58@pop3.clark.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
from CNN custom news http://www.cnn.com
---------------------------------------
Vermont State News
Reuters
28-OCT-97
Leg-Hold Trap Ban Compromise
(MONTPELIER) -- Supporters of a ban on leg-hold traps say they have come up
with a compromise that will satisfy both trappers and animal lovers.
Leg-hold trap legislation has been the source of emotional debate at the
statehouse for years. Chittenden County Senator Jean Ankeney says she will
unveil compromise legislation today that is a workable solution to the
controversy. Currently most leg-hold traps are allowed in Vermont, but
their use is regulated, with trappers required to check their traps at
least every 24 hours. Animal rights activist say the traps are inhumane.
Date: Tue, 28 Oct 1997 14:29:18 -0500 (EST)
From: Franklin Wade
To: Undisclosed recipients: ;
Subject: UPC Fall 1997 Poultry Press
Message-ID:
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII
The Fall 1997 issue of the Poultry Press has been added
to the United Poultry Concerns Website. It is accessible from
the main page or directly at:
http://www.envirolink.org/arrs/upc/fall97/
Highlights include: Petition to Stop Forced Molting, San Francisco
Lawsuit Update, Horizon Hen Protest Rally, Texas Emus And More!
_____________________________________________________________________
franklin@smart.net Franklin D. Wade
United Poultry Concerns - http://www.envirolink.org/arrs/upc
Date: Tue, 28 Oct 1997 15:28:40 -0500 (EST)
From: JanaWilson@aol.com
To: Ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (US) Oklahoma Cat Cruelty Case
Message-ID: <971028152840_848510646@mrin38>
KITTEN STOMPING MAY BRING ACTION AGAINST 4 TEENAGERS
CUSHING (AP) ---- Police want to prosecute four teenagers accused of
stomping a kitten to death in front of its 6-year old owner.
"This is such a horrible crime. The little girl saw the juveniles stomp her
kitten to death," Dectective Curtis Booher said Thursday. "They have bragged
they killed it out of meaness. This kitten was a tiny thing."
Seven juveniles were present when the kitten was killed July 7, said Booher.
He sought charges against four boys, two of whom are 17, 15, and one 14, he
said.
"They'd throw the kitten up in the air and drop kick it like a football when
it came down, according to participants and observers," Booher said.
Kathy Thomas, Payne County Prosecutor, said juvenile confidentiality rules
prevented her from saying whether the youths were being prosecuted. But a
juvenile cannot be prosecuted as an adult for animal cruelty in Oklahoma.
The kitten was taken from the child's front yard. Booher alleged the youths
squeezed the 2-month-old kitten's head and stomach and stomped it.
When the child told her mother that the youths had taken her cat, they rushed
to the high school parking lot and saw the youths "one at a time run up and
stomp the kitten," Booher said. All of the accused teens were released to
their parents, Booher said.
Please write, call or fax :
Rob Hudson
Payne County District Attorney
606 S. Husband Street
Stillwater, OK 74074
(405) 372-4883 Fax (405) 372-4590
VAW faxed the following message:
Dear Mr. Hudson:
Volunteers for Animal Welfare respectfully asks you to take the crime of
torturing and killing a kitten very seriously. We also respecfully ask that
you do everything in your power to make the Cushing teen-agers involved in
this crime accountable for their actions. The connection between animal
abuse and violence to humans is very clear. As District Attorney, please
take this opportunity to intervene in this violent pattern before it
escalates. Who will be their next victim. . . another animal, fellow
student, their future spouses and children?
The trauma of seeing her kitten brutally killed may effect the six year old
girl for the rest of her life. What out her rights! There is absolutely no
excuse for this crime. Both hese little victims were most definitely
innocent!
Thank you for your time and consideration of this matter. We are also very
appreciative for all your efforts that you have and will do concerning this
case. I am also sending an article, "The Tangled Web of Abuse," that I am
sure you will find interesting. If there is anything we can do to help,
please feel free to contact me.
Sincerely,
Shirley Coble
Executive Director
VAW also faxed Detective Booher thanking him for pursuing charges against the
Cushing teen-agers.
Dective Curtis Booher
Cushing Police Department
(918) 225-1212
Fax (918) 225-5630
For the Animals,
Jana, OKC
Date: Tue, 28 Oct 1997 12:36:09 -0800 (PST)
From: Michael Markarian
To: ar-news@envirolink.org, en.alerts@conf.igc.apc.org
Subject: Dear Abby Write a Letter Opposing Traps in NY
Message-ID: <2.2.16.19971028174726.5ce7cc2c@pop.igc.org>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Monday, October 27, 1997
CONTACT: Meg Massaro, 518-346-4713
DEAR ABBY WRITES A LETTER
ALBANY, N.Y. -- Abigail, who writes the nationally syndicated column "Dear
Abby," penned a personal note of condolence and encouragement to Meg
Massaro. She wrote, "Please accept my deepest sympathy on the death of your
beloved dog. Such a tragedy. Good luck in your campaign to fight the
trapping of animals . . ." Ms. Massaro is working to make parks safe from
dangerous traps.
The Massaro family witnessed their beloved dog, Valentine, die before their
eyes in a body-gripping trap in a public park during a morning jog. Current
regulations allow traps to be placed anywhere in recreational areas despite
the ability of these weapons to kill family pets and injure children.
"Families have no idea that a walk in the park is truly no picnic. No one
except the trapper knows where these dangerous devices are placed until it
is too late. I urge a complete ban of these dangerous devices in all parks,"
said Meg Massaro.
# # #
Date: Tue, 28 Oct 1997 17:58:38 -0400
From: Ty Savoy
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (Ca) Human Chickens Passing Test
Message-ID: <1.5.4.32.19971028215838.0068cc2c@north.nsis.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
Oct 28/97 Ottawa (CP) -- They haven't killed each other yet but bets are
that sooner rather than later, one of these human 'chickens' will leave the
nest before the end of the week.
But Eric Wolf, 24, and Pam Meldrum, 27, seemed remarkably stable on Sunday,
24 hours after they entered the impossibly small chicken coop that will be
their bed, home and neighborhood until next Saturday afternoon.
The two are part of a display by Ottawa Video artist Rob Thompson, who is
trying to draw attention to the way animals are treated before they are
slaughtered for human consumption.
While the coopmates were mostly worried about boredom and claustrophobia, it
turns out their biggest nightmare is going to be sleep.
"I slept horribly, mostly because it was so cold. I'm pretty bitter about
it," said Wolf, whose outward enthusiasm Saturday had been replaced with a
quiet complacency by Sunday afternnon.
"I asked Rob (Thompson) if he could do something about the heat and he said
no. I respect that, this is his thing."
The two must live in a constantly lit two-metre-by-one-metre cage for one
week, eating nothing but bland vegetable mush and sucking water out of small
hoses.
"The food is OK. It's not something I'd order at a restaurant if I knew what
it tasted like," said Wolf.
Neither can stand up straight in the one-metre-high cage which has a wooden,
obviously uncomfortable floor. A tiny flush toilet is attached to one end of
the cage, providing the only modicum of privacy with its tiny curtain.
The most serious psychological fallout for either so far has been Wolf's
growing hankering for a milkshake - and some fried chicken.
But but Wolf and Meldrum appeared more determined Sunday to make it to the
end. If they do, each will receive $2,500.
"I think last night was the hardest. It will get easier from here," said
Meldrum, who appeared to be in slightly better shape than her coopmate,
despite also having a fitfull night.
Wolf was encouraged that he had outstayed a 24 hour bet placed on him.
A chicken pool was started Saturday. For $3, anyone can place a bet on how
long one or either of the two will be able to stand it.
Wolf and Meldrum have already surpassed a similar attempt by four men in
England in 1993 that lasted only 18 hours.
Since Saturday the pair have had ample company, with the hordes of reporters
coming in to check on them. One reporter even stayed overnight.
Even the BBC clucked with delight when the two agreed to a live interview
via cellphone.
Date: Tue, 28 Oct 1997 17:25:19 -0500
From: allen schubert
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (US) 'Virtual' Organs to Replace Animal Tests
Message-ID: <3.0.32.19971028172516.007133ac@pop3.clark.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
from Yahoo news page http://www.yahoo.com/headlines/
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday October 28 1:40 PM EST
'Virtual' Organs to Replace Animal Tests
By E.J. Mundell
NEW YORK (Reuters) -- High-tech computer models of human and animal organs
may someday replace much animal-based medical research.
"We have created models not only of the normal heart, but also diseased
hearts," said Dr. Donna Rounds, a molecular biophysicist and director of
business development for Physiome Sciences, Inc., of New York, which is
developing the technology.
She says computerized models of canine hearts are currently being used (or
considered for use) by drug companies as a means of testing new
medications. Ideally, the model would reflect medication-induced changes
similar to those found in 'real' hearts.
The creation of the Physiome dog-heart model began at the cellular level,
Rounds explained. Mathematical equations governing the electrical activity
of the heart were interlinked with data on the chemical processes which
work hand-in-hand with electrical impulses to regulate heart function. The
result? An accurate, computerized representation of the beating heart.
Right now, the model can be used to predict the heart's electrical
activity. Further refinements should enhance its ability to reflect
multiple aspects of cardiac function, as well as the heart's dysfunction in
the face of various diseases.
Rounds admits that the model is still greeted with skepticism by many
professionals trained to work with 'the real thing.' "People say, 'So how
do we know this is real?', 'How do we know we can trust it?"' She reminds
them that the much of today's most sensitive technology -- from planes to
Martian probes -- go directly from computer simulation to on-site use.
And she adds that people need to remember that 'virtual' organs are
grounded in real-life research. "Everything is built on experimental fact,"
she says. As the model becomes more sophisticated, so does its accuracy and
flexibility. "The more we learn, the more we can build into the model."
Models of organs of commonly-used laboratory animals such as guinea pigs,
rabbits, dogs, and rats, are already in development. Human organ models are
also in the pipeline.
Rounds says working copies of most organs and tissue may someday be
replicated on computer screens. Besides the heart, researchers are looking
at models of the retina, kidney and pancreas. Rounds believes most body
parts, with the possible exception of the brain and central nervous system,
could one day be digitally recreated onscreen.
Tests using the canine heart model have already helped the pharmaceutical
company Hoffman La-Roche move closer to Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
approval for its new heart drug, Posicor. Rounds believes that success
helped "a couple of other pharmaceutical companies to take us seriously and
talk to us."
Of course, computerized models will never totally replace animal or
human-based pharmaceutical testing. "The bottom line is: 'how does it
affect a human being?'," Rounds said.
As for animal-based research, she says the new technology "doesn't mean we
can stop doing animal testing. But you can certainly reduce the number of
animals (used)."
Lisa Lange, director of public affairs for People for the Ethical Treatment
of Animals (PETA), sees the Physiome effort as part of the trend "away from
animal research." She says the new generation of researchers "are instead
going for more sophisticated methods, which include computers."
Date: Tue, 28 Oct 1997 14:01:46 -0500
From: allen schubert
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (US) Feature/Americans Lead World in Eating Hamburgers and
Ground Beef, Study of 35 Countries Shows
Message-ID: <3.0.32.19971028140108.006e5d18@pop3.clark.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
3rd para from end has some veg stats
from CNN custom news http://www.cnn.com
---------------------------------------
Feature/Americans Lead World in Eating Hamburgers and Ground Beef, Study of
35 Countries Shows
LA Times
28-OCT-97
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 28, 1997-- U.S. Also Ranks as No. 1
Consumer of Canned or Frozen Veggies, Says Roper Reports Worldwide: 1997
Global Consumer Study A third of Americans (34%) ate a hamburger or ground
beef in the past 24 hours, the highest percentage of any major country and
more than double the global norm of 15%, a new study of 35 countries
indicates.
Twenty-five percent of Americans also had canned or frozen vegetables in
that period, making them the No. 1 consumers at nearly triple the world
level of 9%.
The results, drawn from Roper Reports Worldwide: 1997 Global Consumer
Study, place Argentina second in hamburgers and ground beef consumption at
22%. Venezuela and Turkey tie for third (21%). Tied for last, at just 2%,
are India and Indonesia, where religion largely prohibits consumption of
beef.
In the canned or frozen vegetable category, Russia ranks second at 21%,
followed by Germany at 19%, France and Hungary at 17%, and Great Britain,
Poland and Israel at 14%. In last place is Indonesia and Uruguay at just 1%.
The study, based on 35,000 face-to-face interviews conducted in April 1997,
explores global consumer attitudes, behavior and brand preferences of
approximately 1,000 people, ages 13 to 65, in each of 35 countries. The
data are projectable to about 1.4 billion consumers worldwide. The margin
of sampling error is less than one percentage point globally and +/- 4.5
percentage points per country.
"When you look at America's overall eating habits, a picture emerges of a
country pressed for time and often in a hurry," says Thomas A.W. Miller,
senior vice president of Roper Starch Worldwide and the director of the
study. "The convenience of opening a can or running out for fast food
reflects in many ways the tempo of American life."
Americans log in at more than twice the global norm (16% vs. 7%) for
another national passion--pizza. Not surprisingly, Italy ranks higher at
18%, surpassed only by 20% of Argentinean respondents.
However, when it comes to fresh vegetables, which often take more time to
prepare than canned varieties, Americans, at 44%, lag well behind the
global norm of 58%. Asian countries are the biggest consumers of fresh
vegetables, led by Taiwan (90%), Indonesia (87%) and China (85%).
While most of the world, including the U.S., hovered around the global norm
of 26% for pasta/noodles, a whopping 71% of all Italians ate pasta in the
last 24 hours.
In many countries, rice is a staple. But American consumption (23%) is less
than half global levels (58%). As would be expected, Asia far surpasses the
rest of the world. Rice is almost universally consumed in Korea (97%),
Indonesia (96%), China (93%), Taiwan (92%), Japan (92%) and Hong Kong
(90%). Lowest levels are in Italy (16%), which is the worldUs top pasta
consumer.
With 14% having eaten fish, Americans lag behind the global norm of 34% by
more than half. Argentineans, the worldUs biggest red meat eaters, scored
next lowest (12%), followed only by the Netherlands and Hungary with 11%,
and Uruguay in last place with 10%. Germany and Chile tied with the U.S. At
71%, Malaysians consumed the most fish. Indonesia (69%), Singapore (66%)
and Japan (62%) follow.
Despite growing press coverage on the benefits of a vegetarian lifestyle,
only 8% of Americans ate a vegetarian main dish in the last day, versus a
global norm of 27%. India, on the other hand, led the list at 82%, followed
by China with 71%. Uruguay is last place with 2%. Although the eggUs
reputation is being revitalized, Americans still eat less eggs than most of
the world (25% vs. 41%). Consumption is highest in China (69%) and Japan
(66%) and lowest in Argentina (20%). Americans also consume less than half
the amount of pork (11% vs. 25%) and slightly above the global norm for
steaks and roasts (18% vs. 15%)
Country and regional breakouts are available by calling 212-697-2620.
Roper Starch Worldwide is one of the world's leading market research and
consulting firms. The company has its headquarters in New York and offices
in Newport Beach, CA, London and Hong Kong.
Date: Tue, 28 Oct 1997 22:21:08 -0500
From: jeanlee
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Canned hunt letter
Message-ID: <3456ABA4.6337@concentric.net>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit
Hi All-
Here's a letter you can copy and send to your rep and senators. I've
printed out each with the correct bills numbers, etc. It's an attempt
to get the canned hunt bills out of their respective committees so they
can be voted on.
Dear Senator:
Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) has sponsored S. 995, The Captive Exotic
Animal Protection Act of 1997, which is languishing in the Judiciary
Committee of the Senate. Some prodding is needed to get it onto the
floor of the Senate for a vote. This bill would ban interstate commerce
in captive exotic mammals for the purpose of killing or injuring the
animals for entertainment or the collection of a trophy.
Canned hunt patrons need no skill - only a weapon and a roll of cash.
The animals have no chance of escape because the enclosures range in
size from a large pen to a few acres. This contemptible form of hunter
chooses as his point-blank-range target TAME, primarily exotic
(nonnative) species of animals such as zebras, boars, giraffes, lions,
bears, and especially Asian and African species of deer, goats, and
sheep.
It’s time to demand positive action on this bill. Hearings must be held
in order to get S. 995 out of committee, onto the floor of the Senate,
and voted into law.
Sincerely yours,
Dear CongressmanWoman:
Congressman George Brown, Jr. (D-CA) is the sponsor of H.R. 1202, The
Captive Exotic Animal Protection Act of 1997, which is languishing in
the Judiciary Committee of the House. Some prodding is needed to get it
onto the floor of the House for a vote. This bill would ban interstate
commerce in captive exotic mammals for the purpose of killing or
injuring the animals for entertainment or the collection of a trophy.
Canned hunt patrons need no skill - only a weapon and a roll of cash.
The animals have no chance of escape because the enclosures range in
size from a large pen to a few acres. This contemptible form of hunter
chooses as his point-blank-range target TAME, primarily exotic
(nonnative) species of animals such as zebras, boars, giraffes, lions,
bears, and especially Asian and African species of deer, goats, and
sheep.
It’s time to demand positive action on this bill. Hearings must be held
in order to get H.R. 1202 out of committee, onto the floor of the House,
and voted into law.
Sincerely yours,
Date: Tue, 28 Oct 1997 18:37:00 -0800 (PST)
From: angst@cdsnet.net
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Yosemite silences croaking bullfrogs
Message-ID: <199710290237.SAA19575@mail.cdsnet.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
Yosemite silences croaking bullfrogs | Park to reintroduce
two native species
San Diego Union Tribune
ASSOCIATED PRESS
23-Oct-1997 Thursday
YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK -- The bullfrogs that used to greet tourists at the
Ahwahnee Hotel are no more.
The amphibians the size of a fist or larger were rounded up and destroyed
because they were damaging Yosemite Valley's ecosystem, park spokesman
Scott Gediman said yesterday.
"We are trying to eradicate them because of their voracious predatory
behavior," he said. "They eat insects, fish, other amphibians, and even
some small birds and mammals."
National Park Service scientists said the non-native bullfrogs also helped
destroy native foothill yellow-legged frogs and California red-legged
frogs.
The yellow-legged and red-legged frogs have become virtually extinct in the
Sierra, but park officials are planning to reintroduce them to Yosemite.
Scientists don't know how the bullfrogs from the eastern and Midwestern
regions of the United States came into Yosemite Valley. Wildlife biologists
believe someone dumped the first of them in a pool outside Ahwahnee Hotel.
"Maybe someone 50 years ago came in and introduced them into Yosemite,"
Gediman said. "They were simply tolerated for the last 50, 60 years. But we
felt it was time to intervene."
So the park's wildlife biologists drained the pond three weeks ago and
rounded up the critters in the middle of the night. Armed with flashlights,
biologists caught 45 bullfrogs and 200 pounds of tadpoles.
The bullfrogs were killed with blows to the head, which Gediman said is the
most humane way to destroy them.
The biologists went back to the pond Tuesday to see if any bullfrogs were
left, but didn't find any. Gediman said park officials will continue
looking for the bullfrogs in other ponds or wetland areas in Yosemite
Valley.
"We're monitoring other areas and trying to eradicate them from
everywhere," Gediman said.
Copyright Union-Tribune Publishing Co.
Date: Tue, 28 Oct 1997 23:02:13 -0500
From: amanda246@juno.com (amanda brown)
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: NASA & environmental collapse
Message-ID: <19971028.230217.4814.2.amanda246@juno.com>
Someone posted a message on this topic about half a year ago. Does
anyone still have it and if so would you forward it to me. Thanks
Date: Tue, 28 Oct 1997 22:29:31 -0500
From: allen schubert
To: "AR News"
Subject: Letters needed!
Message-ID: <3.0.1.32.19971028222931.006923ac@envirolink.org>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
from "bhgazette"
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Posted on behalf of Nova Scotia Network for Animals (Box 2, #12, Dingall,
NS B0C 1G0; 902-383-2888)
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Pisquid, Prince Edward Island, Canada.......Before dawn on October 7th,
three buildings at Apple Valley Farm went up in flames, incinerating close
to 3500 pigs. Though the fire’s cause is still unknown, investigation has
centered on the ventilation system.
Graphic TV footage showed row upon row of blackened metal crates that had
blocked all hope of escape for the animals confined in them.
For some time, PEI environmentalists have done battle with the Island’s
growing animal-factory industry. Increasingly, residents of rural towns
have joined with them to oppose the new mega-farms which spew massive
amounts of toxins into the air and water. Though their efforts to date are
in vain, they are buoyed by successes in Quebec, where several municipal
bans against new hog barns are in place, and also Ontario, where pressure
is mounting for similar bans.
Local activists tell us that PEI is anxious to protect its image as a
quaint and pristine tourist destination. The Island is loath to allow
unsavory news leaking out which could tarnish its wholesome reputation.
These activists urge people who live outside of PEI to write letters
decrying the Apple Valley Farm disaster. They feel that the most effective
protests will come from potential visitors.
So, whether you live in Canada or the U.S., PLEASE send a strong message to
PEI’s leaders. Tell them (in your own style) that “business as usual” after
such an astronomical toll in animal suffering is unthinkable. The farm
owner’s casually-delivered statement on TV that “we will probably rebuild”
demonstrates an utter lack of conscience. Insist that the public has a
right to expect meat animals to be raised humanely under safe conditions.
You might add that this horrific incident would compel you to think twice
before planning a visit to the once-appealing home of Anne of Green Gables.
WRITE TO:
Hon. Pat Binns, Premier
Prince Edward Island
P.O. Box 2000
Charlottetown, PEI ClA 7N8
FAX: 902/368-4416
WITH COPIES TO:
* Hon. Eric Hammill,
Minister of Agriculture & Forestry,
P.O. Box 2000,
Charlottetown, PEI ClA 7N8
FAX: 368-4857
* Hon. Kevin MacAdam,
Minister of Environment,
P.O. Box 2000,
Charlottetown, PEI ClA 7N8
FAX: 368-6488
* Kingsley Lewis
Community Affairs and Attorney General
P.O. Box 2000,
Charlottetown, PEI ClA 7N8
FAX: 368-5526
(Pisquid is ‘an unincorporated area, not a municipality and has no
governing body other than this)
* Keith Milligan, Leader,
Liberal Party,
P.O. Box 2890,
Charlottetown, PEI ClA 8C5
FAX: 368-4348
* Herb Dickieson, Leader
NDP,
Coles Building,
Charlottetown, PEI ClA 7K3
FAX: 368-5985
THE GUARDIAN,
165 Prince St.,
Charlottetown, PEI C1A 4R7
Fax: 902 566-3808
Journal Pioneer
PO Box 2480
Summerside, PEI C1N 4K5
fax: 902-436-3027
Eastern Graphic
PO Box 790
Montague, PEI C0A 1R0
Fax: 902-838-4392
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