AR-NEWS Digest 681

Topics covered in this issue include:

  1) [CA] What's wrong with Bjossa?
     by David J Knowles 
  2) [CA] Vancouver Aquarium forces beluga calf to wean
     by David J Knowles 
  3) Vancouver Aquarium contact info
     by David J Knowles 
  4) [UK] Blair cools on foxhunting ban
     by David J Knowles 
  5) ELEPHANT POACHING LECTURE
     by ar-admin@envirolink.org
  6) PRAIRIE WIND WILD ANIMAL REFUGE
     by ar-admin@envirolink.org
  7) OILY PONDS
     by ar-admin@envirolink.org
  8) BOUNTY ON WOLVES?
     by ar-admin@envirolink.org
  9) MORE ON THE ELK SLAUGHTER, VAIL, COLORADO
     by ar-admin@envirolink.org
 10) DOGS IN GOOSE WAR
     by ar-admin@envirolink.org
 11) DOGS ABDUCTED
     by ar-admin@envirolink.org
 12) YELLOWSTONE BISON
     by ar-admin@envirolink.org
 13) COLORADO HUMANE SOCIETY
     by ar-admin@envirolink.org
 14) 
     by Animal Alliance of Canada 
 15) Re: Vilas monkeys [Fwd: UW-Madison News Release -- Joint Statement/Deadline extended]
     by crystal1@capecod.net (truddi lawlor)
 16) NH Legislative Alert
     by Augustpr 
 17) (Vietnam) Cat shortage puts rats on the menu
     by Mesia Quartano 
 18) (Tanzania) Dog sentenced to death for having insulting name
     by Mesia Quartano 
 19) Foxy lady adds new twist to chase
     by Mesia Quartano 
 20) (US-MA) Leghold Traps: Humane Society Denounces Division of Fisheries and Wildlife
     by Mesia Quartano 
 21) (US-MI)Police under fire for killing racoon 
     by Mesia Quartano 
 22) (US) Doc calls accused killer sexual sadist 
     by Mesia Quartano 
 23) Hard Copy
     by SDURBIN@VM.TULSA.CC.OK.US
 24) Navy-Humpback Whale Tests
     by Patrick Nolan 
 25) Navy-Humpback Whale Tests--addendum (oops)
     by Patrick Nolan 
 26) Fur Sales in Rapid Decline
     by MINKLIB 
 27) Madison Monkeys Day in Court is Postponed.
     by LexAnima 
 28) closure of the tiger trust uk
     by suttonp@hotlinks.net.au
 29) [US-WI] "D-Day for zoo monkeys: Hope keeps talks going" (TCT-3/2/98)
     by Steve Barney 
 30) CLOSURE OF THE TIGER TRUST UK
     by suttonp@hotlinks.net.au
 31) [US-WI] Vilas Monkeys [Fwd: UW-Madison News Release--TIP/County,
 university negotiations]
     by Steve Barney 
 32) (US) Group Offers Reward In Bird Killings
     by allen schubert 
 33) EU Vets to Consider Easing British Beef Export Ban
     by allen schubert 
 34) (US) Rancher Hospitalized By Bison
     by allen schubert 
 35) Vancouver Aquarium - further information.
     by David J Knowles 
 36) [US-WI] "Final destination of monkeys still undecided" (BH-030398)
     by Steve Barney 
 37) An interesting editorial about Oprah/Lyman
     by "Eric Mindel @ LCA" 
 38) [UK] MPs seek hunting reforms to avoid ban
     by David J Knowles 
 39) [UK] Move to stop trawlers landing illegal fish
     by David J Knowles 
 40) [EU] Our mad cow was a Swiss import, claim worried Germans
     by David J Knowles 
 41) [UK] Beef farmers need more aid, say MPs
     by David J Knowles 
 42) [US-WI] "UW submits plan to keep monkeys"
     by Steve Barney 
 43) (FR) French McDonald's Robbed of Statue
     by allen schubert 
 44) Vilas - 0
     by paulbog@jefnet.com (Rick Bogle)
Date: Mon, 02 Mar 1998 20:59:51
From: David J Knowles 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: [CA] What's wrong with Bjossa?
Message-ID: <3.0.3.16.19980302205951.1ca74e16@dowco.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

 What's wrong with Bjossa?
By David J Knowles
Animal Voices News

VANCOUVER, B.C. - What's wrong with Bjossa? That's a question animal
advocates want an answer to quickly.

Following the death of Finna, the Vancouver Aquarium's male orca last
October 6th, aquarium director Dr John Nightingale was seen six days later
in Antibes, France, looking at a replacement.

In December, the aquarium were forced to announce that Bjossa might be
pregnant, based on finding changes in Bjossa's blood chemistry similar to
those found in her three previous pregnancies. None of Bjossa's calves have
survived.

In January this year, the aquarium announced that Bjossa wasn't pregnant.

Annelise Sorg, of the Coalition For No Whales in Captivity, a
Vancouver-based cetacean advocacy group, said aquarium staff would have
been able to tell whether Bjossa was pregnant or not, based on her previous
three pregnancies. This apparently was not the case.

Speaking on Cooperative Radio's 'Animal Voices' Monday, Sorg said she had
asked the aquarium what was wrong with Bjossa, as her veterinary records
show an elevated level of hormones.The answer that "the veterinary records
didn't mean anything".

Sorg believes that the the reason for the delay in bringing in another
whale was that staff were waiting to see if Bjossa, the aquarium's sole
remaining orca, was "sick or really sick."

"If she's really sick, the aquarium obviously don't want to end up with two
dead whales instead of one, should Bjossa have anything contagious."

Commenting on the medical care animals receive at the aquarium, Sorg said
"they are visited once per week by Dr David Huff, a dog and cat vet...."

Dr Huff, who has a practice in Tswassen, in the Lower Mainland of B.C., was
involved in an infamous incident a few years ago when he was called in to
see Hyack, a male orca, after staff became concerned for his health. Dr
Huff gave Hyack a clean bill of health. Four hours later, Hyack was dead.

[Animal Voices News reports on issues surrounding animal-rights,
environmental issues, and other related topics. Currently, we are limited
to covering stories occuring around the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island.]

 




Date: Mon, 02 Mar 1998 23:07:41
From: David J Knowles 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: [CA] Vancouver Aquarium forces beluga calf to wean
Message-ID: <3.0.3.16.19980302230741.36df543e@dowco.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Beluga calf forced to  wean
By David J Knowles
Animal Voices News

VANCOUVER, B.C. - Vancouver Aquarium staff have recently seperated Quila,
an almost two-and-a-half year-old calf from her mother, Aurora.

"This is something which we all know doesn't happen in the wild," said
Annelise Sorg, director of the Coalition For No Whales In Captivity,
speaking on Cooperative Radio's 'Animal Voices' program.

"What the aquarium staff are doing in their eternal wisdom, is they are
wanting to have two things happen to the beluga's," Sorg said. "One is that
baby Quila must be weaned, even though she is not quite two-and-a-half
years-old. For some reason the staff want to wean her, to force wean her,"
Sorg said.

It is not currently known how old wild belugas are before they wean.

"Why would a mother and a child be seperated, and the baby forced to be
weaned, if it's not because there's a plan to sell this baby to Sea World,
or some other marine mammal abusement park?" asked Sorg.

Baby Quila is now somewhat bigger than a newborn infant, although she is
still a lot smaller than the other belugas and is still grey in colour,
rather than the adult white, she is not as "cute" to look at.

"Now that they know Bjossa [the aquarium's remaining orca] is not pregnant,
she's not going to have a calf - not that they ever survive, but even a
dead baby brings in money - they want the mother beluga to reproduce again,
" said Sorg.

Aurora and Imaq, the only male beluga, have been placed in a reserve tank
in the back of the aquarium. The reserve tank measures 50 square feet. This
is the same "temporary" tank in which the aquarium kept Imaq and Nanuq,
prior to Nanuq's transfer to San Diego.

"This is one of the worst things the Vancouver Aquarium has ever done. It's
bad enough trading whales, but seperating a mother and baby is
unforgivable," Sorg said.

"It's just completely inhumane, and I don't know how the staff and
volunteers put up with this kind of behaviour from management."

Sorg said she has been observing the belugas since their seperation.
Several times Quila was noted to be keeping still in the part of the diplay
tank she is in closest to the reserve tank, doing nothing but crying and
crying and crying in her shreiking beluga voice.

Meanwhile, Aurora, the mother, has been observed staying in one spot,
closest to the display tank, which is at least 40 metres away is not in
direct line-of-sight. 

"All she does is lay there. She doesn't sink, she doesn't swim, she doesn't
do anything but lay there, listen to her baby cry, and grieve. It must be
just hell for these two to be seperated," Sorg said.

Quila is now being kept with two other adult female belugas, one of whom is
Kavna, who had a calf which did not survive.

The other is Allua, who has never given birth - has never even been
pregnant. Despite this, Allua has started producing milk, and Quila has
begun suckling from her.

"Despite the unethical behaviour of the aquarium, nature has taken over and
Allua is giving milk to the baby, who doesn't want to eat the dead fish
that the aquarium wants to feed her," said Sorg.







[Animal Voices News reports on issues surrounding animal-rights,
environmental issues, and other related topics. Currently, we are limited
to covering stories occuring around the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island.]

 




Date: Mon, 02 Mar 1998 23:28:53
From: David J Knowles 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Vancouver Aquarium contact info
Message-ID: <3.0.3.16.19980302232853.36df877c@dowco.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

If you too are outraged by the latest act of the Vancouver Aquarium, please
write or phone them.

They can be contacted at: 

Dr John Nightingale
Director - Vancouver Public Aquarium
PO Box 3232, Vancouver, BC
Canada
V6B 3XB

Tel: (604) 685-3364

The Vancouver Parks Board, who are the aquarium's landlords, can be
contacted at:

Chair
Vancouver Parks & Recreation Board
2099 Beach Avenue
Vancouver, BC
Canada, V6G 1Z4

Tel:  (604) 257-8451
Fax: (604) 257-8427

For more information on issues surrounding the Vancouver Aquarium, contact
Annelise Sorg at [Tel] (604) 736-9514; [Fax] (604) 731-2733, or via e-mail,
annelise@direct.ca



Date: Mon, 02 Mar 1998 23:42:44
From: David J Knowles 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: [UK] Blair cools on foxhunting ban
Message-ID: <3.0.3.16.19980302234244.2b5f2b5e@dowco.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit

>From The Electronic Telegraph - Tuesday, March 3rd, 1998

Blair cools on foxhunting ban
By George Jones, Political Editor 

TONY Blair last night signalled that the Government was backing away from
assisting early legislation to ban foxhunting after Sunday's Countryside
March in London.

Downing Street indicated that the Government would not intervene if, as
expected, the current Private Member's Bill to outlaw foxhunting fails to
get through Parliament.

The decision not to help the anti-hunting MPs came on the eve of today's
launch of a cross-party group which will seek a compromise to allow hunting
to continue under a licensing system.

The Government has already indicated that it will not provide time for the
Private Member's Bill to outlaw hunting with hounds, introduced by Mike
Foster, a Labour backbencher. The Bill is due to return to the floor of the
Commons on Friday, but is widely expected to be blocked
by MPs. The Prime Minister's spokesman said: "We don't necessarily see it
as a priority for the future legislative programme."

Downing Street's marked lack of enthusiasm for the ban yesterday contrasted
sharply with hints in November that the Government would intervene to
provide MPs with another opportunity to vote on the issue if it was
"sabotaged" by pro-hunting MPs and Peers. At the time, Government sources
indicated that a foxhunting ban could be on the statute book by the year
2000. 

In a marked change of tone, Downing Street praised the large turn-out at
the march and the way in which the demonstration was organised. Ministers
are now expected to give tacit support to the cross-party group campaigning
for a "middle way" on hunting. It is being
sponsored by Kate Hoey, the Labour MP for Vauxhall, Lembit Opick, the
Liberal Democrat MP for Montgomeryshire and Peter Luff, Tory MP for Mid
Worcs. 

Miss Hoey said they wanted to get away from the "emotional arguments" and
extremes on either side to find a way forward that would still allow
hunting. "There are people on both sides who could negotiate, we could look
at forms of codes of practice, at licensing
arrangements," she said.

But sponsors of the Bill are unwilling to compromise. Ivor Caplin, Labour
MP for Hove, said supporters would not allow any watering down of the
proposals. "It is simply unacceptable in a modern society to have a
situation where we endorse the cruel practice of men using one animal to
hunt and kill another in the name of either tradition or sport," he said.
Mr Foster acknowledged that the future of his anti-hunting Bill was in
doubt, but insisted that the strength of public opinion was firmly behind a
ban.

In a further concession, Jack Cunningham, the Agriculture Minister,
confirmed that a ministry for rural affairs was under consideration, but
said the Prime Minister had yet to take a decision.

William Hague, the Tory leader, who took part in the march, claimed it was
"the largest political demonstration in this country in living memory". He
said: "We will use our time in opposition both to listen and to develop new
policies which support the fabric of country life."

© Copyright Telegraph Group Limited 1998.

Date: Tue, 03 Mar 1998 06:55:48 -0500
From: ar-admin@envirolink.org
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: ELEPHANT POACHING LECTURE
Message-ID: <3.0.1.32.19980303065548.006a5abc@envirolink.org>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

posted for STFORJEWEL@aol.com
----------------------------------------------------
DENVER MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY
TUESDAY, MARCH 3, 1998

ELEPHANTS:  SOCIAL BEHAVIOR AND THE IMPACT OF POACHING
Lecture Given by Charles Foley, Elephant Researcher

Tarangiere National Park, a spectacular yet little-known wildlife preserve,
boasts one of the largest concentrated elephant populations in Tanzania (2,300
individuals).  During the months Charles Foley spent researching the effects
of poaching, he found that the effects expressed strictly in numbers of lost
animals only begin to describe the problem-the poaching of matriarch females
markedly alters the elephant's highly developed social system, disrupting the
potential for a successful family maturation, population expansion, and
survival.  Come hear about the pressures facing the African elephant and
current conservation efforts being used.

Tuesday, March 3
7:00-9:00pm
Ricketson Auditorium
$7 member, $10 nonmember
Code: TU-EPL
To register call (303) 322-7009


Date: Tue, 03 Mar 1998 06:56:46 -0500
From: ar-admin@envirolink.org
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Cc: STFORJEWEL@aol.com
Subject: PRAIRIE WIND WILD ANIMAL REFUGE
Message-ID: <3.0.1.32.19980303065646.006a5138@envirolink.org>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

posted for STFORJEWEL@aol.com
----------------------------------------------------
FROM THE ELBERT COUNTY NEWS
APRIL 24, 1997

WILD KINGDOM

Lion and tigers and bears...oh my!

These are some of the animals that are not expected to be seen in Elbert
County, but that's not the case.  For the last 4 years, Michael Jurich has
owned and operated Prairie Wind Wild Animal Refuge, just west of Agate,
Colorado.

The refuge is a non-profit corporation where these majestic creatures-such as
Bengal tigers, gray wolves, African lions, and black bears, can live out the
remainder of their natural lives without the threat of being killed at fur
farms or slaughterhouses, from where many of them came.

Sometimes these animals are just not wanted because they're too old for a zoo
or a circus.

The all-volunteer staff at Prairie Wind are what make this refuge a home, and
not just a cage, for these captive animals.  The love in the eyes of a Bengal
tiger is obvious when Jurich reaches down to pet him, or when volunteer Sue
Cranston walks up to the wolve's cages and several gray wolves come running
over to greet her.

Even though they are wild animals with wild instincts, they seem relatively
tame.

The refuge is built on love and hard work.  And the work is hard when Jurich
and his staff of volunteers have more than 50 mouths to feed, and when the
animals eat 300 pounds each per day of fresh red meat and dog food.

Those are some big mouths to feed, but fortunately, groups such as Monfort
Meat Packing Plant, and Hills Science Diet Corporation, provide some help.
The refuge as a non-profit group also receives funding from the US West
"matching funds" program, and the United Way.

Individuals and visitors to the refuge are encouraged to make donations.  For
a small fee, people also can adopt an animal to contribute to its welfare.

For more information on touring the facility or to make contributions, call
Michael or Laurie Jurich at (303) 621-2304.



Date: Tue, 03 Mar 1998 06:57:30 -0500
From: ar-admin@envirolink.org
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Cc: STFORJEWEL@aol.com
Subject: OILY PONDS
Message-ID: <3.0.1.32.19980303065730.006c3360@envirolink.org>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

posted for STFORJEWEL@aol.com
----------------------------------------------------
FROM THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS
SCIENCE SECTION
Wednesday, February 25, 1998

FED BRACK DOWN ON OILY PONDS
By Berny Morson
Rocky Mountain News Staff Writer
email: science@denver-rmn.com

Two federal agencies Tuesday began a crackdown on open pools of oil, charging
that 2 million birds are killed nationwide each year by flying into them.

In a coordinated effort, the Environmental Protection Agency and the US Fish
and Wildlife Service demanded that a rancher south of Hayden, Colorado take
steps to keep birds out of two ponds covered with layers of crude oil on his
property.

"These things are brutal on birds," said US Fish and Wildlife Service special
agent Gary Mowad.

Some waterfowl mistake the oil for water and land in it, then are unable to
fly, Mowad said.  Other birds are injured when they try to eat bugs
floundering in the oil and get the gooey liquid on their feathers.

Yesterday's action was against rancher Lou Wyman, who lives about 20 miles
south of Hayden on the Western slope.  But Wyman's ponds, totaling 2.4 acres,
are among thousands in the region, said EPA environmental engineer Corbin
Darling.

The pools are filled with a combination of oil and brine that comes up when
oil wells are drilled.  Most of the pools are near drilling sites.

Wyman's pools are filled with the oil-brine mixture brought by tanker trucks
from drilling sites.  The oil is skimmed from the water and sold, then the
water is evaporated in a third pond, said Darling.

Wyman's is one of 6 similiar salvage operations in Colorado, five on the
Western slope, Darling said.

Wyman said no birds have died in his ponds.

"They've never found a dead bird and we've never found a dead bird," Wyman
said.  But he vowed to clean up the ponds.

The EPA gave Wyman 45 days to take steps to protect birds, such as putting
wire mesh over the ponds, or face fines of up to $5,500 a day.  Wyman also
must fence the ponds to keep out wildlife, post warnings and lower the level
of liquid to prevent them from overflowing in heavy rains.

The USFWS launched a criminal investigation that could bring a $10,000 fine
and six months in prison for each dead bird, Mowad said.  Mowad declined to
say whether any dead birds have been found.

Mowad said fewer than 10% of Colorado oil operations are out of compliance
with federal regulations, thanks to strict enforcement by the Colorado Oil and
Gas Commission.  The figure tops 75% in other states.


Date: Tue, 03 Mar 1998 06:58:04 -0500
From: ar-admin@envirolink.org
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Cc: STFORJEWEL@aol.com
Subject: BOUNTY ON WOLVES?
Message-ID: <3.0.1.32.19980303065804.006c266c@envirolink.org>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

posted for STFORJEWEL@aol.com
----------------------------------------------------
THE DENVER POST
DENVER, COLORADO

>From The Legislature 1998 Section

WILL BOUNTY GREET GRAY WOLVES?
By Deborah Mendez
The Associated Press

Colorado hasn't reintroduced wolves, but other Western states have, including
Wyoming, Montana, New Mexico, and Arizona, and it's only a matter of time
before they migrate north and south, say those who support legislation to
protect wildlife from bounty hunters.

"We are really trying to help livestock growers in this state prepare for the
inevitable, which is the reintroduction of the wolf," Rob Edward told a
legislative committee last week.  "We want to see the livestock industry
survive in Colorado.  We believe ranchers and wolves can learn to live
together."

Edward is acting executive director of Sinapu, a Boulder-based group that
takes its name from the Ute Indian word for wolf and supports the
reintroduction of the gray wolf into Colorado.

He was one of several witnesses who testified in support of Senate Bill 144,
which would have eliminated bounties for coyote and wolf carcasses.  State law
allows a $1 bounty for each coyote killed and a $2 bounty for each wolf
killed.

An amendant to the bill would have made bear and mountain lion remains the
sole property of the Colorado Division of Wildlife.

Opponents of the bounties call them products of a bygone era and powerful
incentives for killing wildlife, including the endangered wolf.  They also say
bounties feed a black market for animal parts such as bear claws.

Sponsored by Boulder Democrat Senators Dorothy Rupert and Representative Mark
Udall, SB 144 ultimately was killed on a 4-3 vote by the Agriculture, Natural
Resources and Energy Committee, which counts at least 2 ranchers among its
members. (What a surprise-the vote and the members!  If they want an animal-
related bill to be killed every year, they send it to this committee).

State lawmakers, however, probably haven't heard the end of the issue.  Sinapu
is but one group supporting the reintroduction of the gray wolf to its native
North American habitat.

In Colorado, the last known wolf was shot in 1945 in Conejos County by a
hunter hired by the US Biological Survey, which evolved into the US Fish and
Wildlife Service.

The agency is now reintroducing wolves into the Rocky Mountain region.  If
wolves were to migrate into Colorado, they would be protected by the federal
Endangered Species Act (or what's left of it after Congress gets done with
revising it-Ed.).

That, environmentalists say, would put current state law in conflict with
federal law.

But, like most ranchers across the West.  Colorado livestock growers are
worried the wolf will join the coyote in stalking herds.

They believe SB 144 is yet another attempt to chip away at tools the state's
25,000 ranchers and farmers need to protect their livestock.

"When a coyote kills a sheep-I don't know if you've ever seen it, but it's not
a pretty sight," Senator Dave Watterberg, Republican of Walden, Colorado, a
northwestern Colorado rancher and a member of the agriculture committee, told
Rupert.

(Sinapu may be contacted:  Sinapu; 2260 Baseline Rd; Boulder, Colorado  80302;
Phone:  (303) 447-8655)email:  sinapu@sinapu.org



Date: Tue, 03 Mar 1998 07:00:53 -0500
From: ar-admin@envirolink.org
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Cc: STFORJEWEL@aol.com
Subject: MORE ON THE ELK SLAUGHTER, VAIL, COLORADO
Message-ID: <3.0.1.32.19980303070053.006bf2bc@envirolink.org>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

posted for STFORJEWEL@aol.com
----------------------------------------------------
ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS
DENVER COLORADO
Wednesday, February 25, 1998

Colorado and The West
state@denver-rmn.com

CIVILIZATION CORNERS ELK
By Deborah Frazier
RMN Staff Writer

There Isn't Any Home on the Range for Herd as Development Grows

Avon-
A herd of 200 to 300 elk, displaced time and again by resort development, has
dug in around the Arrowhead golf course-causing homeowners (?-just who was
there first!) to complain and increasing accidents on Interstate 70.

"God isn't creating any new winter range for them, and if he were, there'd be
a developer that wanted to put a condominium on it," said Bill Heicher, a
state wildlife manager and an Eagle Town Council member.

For the last two winters, elk have massed at the Country Club of the Rockies
golf course at Arrowhead, about 2 miles west of Beaver Creek.

"The golf course gives them a refuge," said Kevin Ross, the grounds
superintendent.  He lets the elk roam the course, but ropes off the greens and
the tee areas.  "We don't have a problem with them.  They were here before we
were."

Each night, the elk cross US Highway 6 to reach the Eagle River and attempt to
head north across Interstate 70-a migration that's increased the number of
accidents along the stretch of highway.  Last year, 119 deer and elk were
killed.

The State Patrol and the sheriff's office have closed I-70 several times to
allow the elk to cross without causing accidents.

Heicher said many of the new residents around the golf course have complained
to the Colorado Division of Wildlife and want the elk removed.

"They'll say, 'Move it or kill it, but get it out of here,'" said Heicher.
"They also call to complain about marmots, badgers, and a weasel digging in
their lawns."

Bill Andree of the state Division of Wildlife said no single subdivision can
be blamed for the herd's homelessness.  Bachelor Gulch Village recently added
new homes between Beaver Creek and Arrowhead.

"This isn't a one-development deal," said Andree.  "It's cumulative over the
years."

The DOW may set a special February hunt next year to decrease the herd by 90
to 150 animals.  Others have suggested building an underpass walkway, erecting
fences along I-70 or moving the herd.

"It wouldn't be a hunt where someone is going to shoot out of their car," said
Andree.  Hunters would buy licenses to shoot the herd on Forest Service land
north of I-70.  (No, since the herd is so habituated to humans, it'd only be
like shooting fish in a barrel or bison outside of Yellowstone-Ed.).

But Heicher doesn't believe that hunting will solve the problem.

"Every wildlife survey we do, the public puts wildlife on top of the list of
priorities,"  said Heicher.  "But when it comes to making land use decisions,
the almighty dollar is on top."

(Where was the Division of Wildlife when all this cancerous sprawl was going
on?  Where were the Eagle County Commissioners? Why aren't the greedy
developers with their megabucks who caused all of this or the home buyers who
also are responsible with their megabucks ((these homes are NOT cheap)) forced
to confront this issue and put their money where their mouth is?  Contact the
Colorado Division of Wildlife:  Mr. John Mumma; Director; Colorado Division of
Wildlife; 6060 North Broadway; Denver, Colorado  80216; (303) 297-1192; email:
bill.haggerty@state.co.us; email: kim.burgess@state.co.us; Mr. Arnold Salazar,
Chairperson, Colorado Wildlife Commission; 6060 North Broadway; Denver CO
80216.  Colorado Division of Wildlife website:
http://wildlife.state.co.us/index.html.

Contact the Eagle County Commissioners: (970) 328-8605 or email:
eagleco@vail.net.  To contact any other parties named in the article, contact
Directory Assistance for their particular phone number. 


Date: Tue, 03 Mar 1998 07:01:37 -0500
From: ar-admin@envirolink.org
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Cc: STFORJEWEL@aol.com
Subject: DOGS IN GOOSE WAR
Message-ID: <3.0.1.32.19980303070137.006be824@envirolink.org>
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posted for STFORJEWEL@aol.com
----------------------------------------------------
FROM THE DENVER POST
DENVER, COLORADO
Sunday, March 1, 1998

FROM THE SUBURBS SECTION

DOGS JOIN WAR AGAINST GOOSE GUNK
By Cindy Brovsky
Denver Post Staff Writer
email:  newsroom@denverpost.com
1-800-336-7678

AURORA--

City workers who have spent years cleaning up goose poop on Aurora's public
golf courses now have two new weapons in their arsenal.

Mollie and Kona, two Australian shepherd dogs, are being trained by Aurora
golf course employees to keep the geese from doing their business on the
greens and fairways at the Meadow Hills and Saddle Rock golf courses.

"It's amazing the amount of excrement greese can produce in one day," said Tom
Farrell, superintendent of maintenance at Meadow Hills.  "The dogs don't hurt
the geese; they just chase them off the course."

Aurora golfers say they're thrilled to see the dogs out on the links.

"I've been to other golf courses outside of Aurora, and it's like putting in a
minefield because of the geese poop," said golfer Troy McCoy.

The slimy goose waste can ruin a golfer's shoes, said golfer Joe Zarba.

"And sometimes you forget to get it off your shoes before you get in the
car,"Zarba said.

Canada geese migrate through Colorado every fall on their way to New Mexico
and Texas.  At some point during the year, there can be as many as 50,000
geese from metro Denver to Ft. Collins and Boulder, said Todd Malmsbury,
spokesman for the Colorado Division of Wildlife.

"It's not surprising the geese like golf courses," Malmsbury said.  "It simply
is a good habitat with bluegrass, ponds, and few predators."

But besides being obnoxious for golfers, the droppings can kill the turf.
Until now, workers at Meadow Hills and Saddle Rock have had to chase geese off
the courses with trucks.

"The dogs have been a boost for the worker's morale," said Christy Jordan,
spokeswoman for the city's courses.

The United States Golf Association has endorsed using dogs to chase geese, but
the technique hasn't been used in Aurora before.  Other public courses along
the Front Range, including those in Denver, have their employees monitor the
geese.

"We just shoo the geese away now and then," said Ted Pappas, assistant golf
professional at Indian Peaks in Lafayette, Colorado.

On a recent weekday, Mollie was ready for battle at Meadow Hills, near South
Parker Road and East Hampden Avenue.  She scanned the greens waiting for a
command from her owner and trainer, maintenance worker Jarrett Crowley.

"Go get 'em," Crowley said.  The geese quickly scattered.

Mollie, a stray, was given to Crowley and his wife, Nancy, about a year ago.

"Now she has a purpose in life and a job to do," Crowley said.  "She just
loves running out here."

Crowley decided to train Mollie after watching Dean Lindsey, assistant
superintendant of the Saddle Rock Golf Course, and his dog, Kona.  Linsey
first trained a dog to chase geese when he worked at Thornton Creek Golf
Course.

Lindsey joined Saddle Rock last year when the course opened east of Arapahoe
and South Parker Roads.

Kona came on board after Lindsey's other dog, Bailey, was killed at a
construction site at Saddle Rock.

Lindsey's co-workers pitched in $300 to buy Kona from a breeder.

"These type of dogs have a natural instinct to move the geese," Lindsey said.

Daily training teaches the dogs golf course etiquette, such as not walking in
sand traps.  Kona is still a puppy at 6 months but reacts quickly to Linsey's
command to heel when golfers pass.

"The dogs become socialized and learn not to bother the golfers or take their
golf balls," Lindsey said. (Now if they could just treat the prairie dogs with
some of the same empathy instead of constantly gassing them.)


Date: Tue, 03 Mar 1998 07:02:35 -0500
From: ar-admin@envirolink.org
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Cc: STFORJEWEL@aol.com
Subject: DOGS ABDUCTED
Message-ID: <3.0.1.32.19980303070235.006c401c@envirolink.org>
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posted for STFORJEWEL@aol.com
----------------------------------------------------
FROM THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS
DENVER, COLORADO
Monday, March 2, 1998

2 DOGS ABDUCTED IN ADAMS COUNTY, COLORADO FOUND BEHEADED
By Mike Patty
Rocky Mountain News Staff Writer

ADAMS COUNTY-
A couple's missing dogs were found Sunday in a field with their heads cut off.

Barbara Vetter said her two boxers, Ariel, 7, and Jakie, 4, had been missing
from her back yard since Thursday evening.

"I let them out Thursday into the yard and was in my bedroom reading and I
fell asleep," Vetter said.  "When I woke up, I went to let them in and the
gate was open and the dogs were gone."

Vetter said neither she nor her husband heard anything when the dogs were
taken.

"I reported it to the Adams County sheriff and then put posters and fliers out
all over the neighborhood in Spanish and English," Vetter said.  "This
morning, a man called me to say he was walking his dog and he found two dogs
in a vacant field near (West) 56th (Avenue) and Pecos (Street).  He had seen
the poster, and he called me right away."

Vetter said her husband, Ronald, went to the field and found the dogs side-by-
side.  Their heads were lying nearby.  Their collars and identification tags
had been removed, but Jakie's rabies tag was near the bodies.

Their deaths are being investigated by the Adams County, Colorado Sheriff's
Department.  Vetter said she is having a necropsy done on the bodies at a
veterinary clinic today.

"I can't imagine anybody doing this," Vetter said.  "To hurt an animal like
that, a person would just have to be sick.  Ariel especially was such a
gentle, lovable dog.  They might bark, but they were very sweet."

Merita Rossmueller, spokeswoman for Boxer Rescue, said dogs are usually stolen
to be resold or sold to a research laboratory.

"But I think this is different," Rossmueller said.  "My assumptions is these
dogs were taken for illegal dog fights.  These were very gentle dogs, and when
they didn't fight, they were eliminated."

Rossmueller said dog owners should watch their pets closely and have them
tattooed for identification.

"The only dogs we get back are tattooed dogs," Rosemueller said.  "A tattooed
dog can't be resold without proof of  ownership."

But for the Vetters, it's too late.

"I had Ariel since she was born and Jake for about two years," Barbara Vetter
said.  "It's an awful ending for two beautiful friends."

NOTE:  THE COLORADO HUMANE SOCIETY HAS OFFERED A REWARD OF $6,000.00
FOR
INFORMATION LEADING TO THE ARREST AND CONVICTION OF THESE
SCUMBAGS.  CALL:
(303) 458-5442 IF YOU HAVE ANY INFORMATION WHATSOEVER, NO MATTER HOW
INSIGNIFICANT YOU THINK IT MAY BE.


Date: Tue, 03 Mar 1998 07:03:18 -0500
From: ar-admin@envirolink.org
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Cc: STFORJEWEL@aol.com
Subject: YELLOWSTONE BISON
Message-ID: <3.0.1.32.19980303070318.006a5138@envirolink.org>
Mime-Version: 1.0
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posted for STFORJEWEL@aol.com
----------------------------------------------------
FROM THE DENVER POST
DENVER, COLORADO
Sunday, March 1, 1998

WEATHER AIDS YELLOWSTONE BISON
By the Associated Press

HELENA, MONTANA-

A mellow winter, with little snow and mild temperatures, has came to the
rescue of the Yellowstone National Park bison.

With no need to wander from the safety of the park in search of forage, the
infected (? huh?) animals stayed put this season.  Only 11 bison have been
shot (I guess 11 doesn't seem like many unless you were one of the 11-Ed.) or
shipped to slaughter, a far cry from the nearly 1,100 killed last winter.
None has been killed since January 29, 1998.

Conditions in the park have all but eliminated thoughts of resorting to a
controversial program of feeding bison hay to prevent them from wandering and
possibly being killed.

But the favorable weather has not erased a federal lawsuit filed by
conservation groups and Indian tribes to block use of a federal-state
management plan that relies heavily on killing migrating bison to keep them
from spreading disease to cattle.

Critics of the strategy say they fear it could lead to another dramatic
decline in the Yellowstone bison herds if next winter is a harsh one.

For now, those arguing over how best to manage the bison agree that this
winter has brought welcome relief.

Yellowstone Superintendent Mike Finley said the lull in bison movements has
been a blessing beyond saving animals.  State and Federal agencies have had
more time to work on completing a long-term bison management proposal without
daily confrontations.

Julie Lapeyre, who advises Gov. Marc Racicot on bison issues, acknowledged
that last winter's killing increased political pressure to finish developing a
permanent plan that relies less on shooting and slaughter.

But that effort has not waned with the quiet winter in and around the park,
she said.

"The urgency of it is just as great from our vantage point, and I get the same
impression from the federal government," she said.

Jim Angell, an attorney for the Earthjustice Legal Defense Fund, formerly the
Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund, said the courts helped as much as the climate.

A Federal judge's order in December that no more than 100 bison can be killed
without a court hearing helped set a different tone for controlling the
animals this season, he said.

"The state of Montana has been much more forgiving of bison outside the park,"
Angell said.  "There's more hazing and letting some be.  There's been less
reckless, pointless killing."

The controversy over what to do when park bison leave Yellowstone has
persisted for a dozen years.  About half the park herd of about 2,000 animals
carry brucellosis, which causes cows to abort their calves and undulant fever
in humans.

Ranchers fear that allowing bison to roam into Montana will lead to infected
livestock and prompt other states to demand costly testing of cattle before
shipment.

(For More Information on what you can do to help the bison, contact:  Buffalo
Nations; PO Box 957; Yellowstone, Montana  59758; (406) 646-0070; email:
buffalo@wildrockies.org





Date: Tue, 03 Mar 1998 07:04:09 -0500
From: ar-admin@envirolink.org
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Cc: STFORJEWEL@aol.com
Subject: COLORADO HUMANE SOCIETY
Message-ID: <3.0.1.32.19980303070409.006c6bcc@envirolink.org>
Mime-Version: 1.0
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posted for STFORJEWEL@aol.com
----------------------------------------------------
FROM THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS
DENVER, COLORADO

>From the Newsbeat Section
By Ann Carnahan
(303) 892-2333

NEWSBEAT UPDATE:

The Colorado Humane Society is still calling itself a "no-kill shelter," even
though it kills hundreds of animals a year.

But now they're explaining what those words mean.

Society board member Pat Milton said Thursday that volunteers have been
trained to educate the public on the meaning of "no kill."  And they've posted
a sign at their shelter at 2760 S. Platte River Drive, Englewood, Colorado,
stating that they kill only animals that are overly aggressive or hopelessly
suffereing.

We told you last July that the shelter collected thousands in donations after
claiming it was a "no-kill shelter."

Shelter director Mary Warren had said it was OK to use those words because she
never kills adoptable animals.  She said most animal lovers understand "no-
kill shelter" isn't black and white. (Huh?)

"One thing this did for us is make us understand there is a big confusion in
the community about this," Milton said Thursday.  "It was never our intention
to mislead."


Date: Tue, 03 Mar 1998 09:36:20 -0500
From: Animal Alliance of Canada 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Message-ID: <2.2.32.19980303143620.00a06000@inforamp.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

I thought that I would post the information on the Global Animal Protection
list as I did get a fair respomse to my forst message:

The Global Animal Protection List is actually three lists:  Canadian Animal
Protection List, U.S.A. Animal Protection list and International Animal
Protection list.  They are prepared by ANimal Alliance of Canada, and for
the first time are offering the list abroad.  The lists contain the
organization name, address, phone, fax, website, e-mail, contact name and
title of all organizations known to Animal Alliance at February 20 1998.
Every effort has been made to omit such organizations as "Ducks Unlimited" -
an organization that promotes to elevation of duck populations for the
purpose of hunting them - however we cannot promise that all organizations
will be fully acceptable in all manners to everyone's philosophies. 

Each list has two sections which work together to give you maximum ability
to look up organizations that you may have incomplete information for. 

The costs for the lists go as follows:

$3.00 for Canadian Animal Protection List (423 organizations)

$3.00 for U.S.A. Animal Protection List (417 organizations)

$3.00 for International Animal Protection List (76 organizations)

$8.00 for Global Animal Protection List (all three lists)

USA and Canadian orders add $1.00 Shipping and Handling, International add
$2.00.

As you can see, we are asking for the printing, preparing and shipping costs
to be covered.  We are not making a profit off of this!

Unfortunately, the lists are complete for this year, so if we don't have
your organization listed, we cannot add it until next year.  If you are
interested in obtaining any of the lists, please either authorize me to send
the sign-on and ordering document as an attachment (Please specify Word '97
or text format) or e-mail me a fax number.


Sincerely,

Marie Crawford
Director
Animal Alliance of Canada
221 Broadview Ave.  Suite 101
Toronto, ON   M4M 2G3
E-mail: contact@animalalliance.ca
Web site: http://www.animalalliance.ca

Date: Tue, 3 Mar 1998 10:14:09 -0500
From: crystal1@capecod.net (truddi lawlor)
To: AnimalLib@vaxa.cis.uwosh.edu, AR-News 
Subject: Re: Vilas monkeys [Fwd: UW-Madison News Release -- Joint Statement/Deadline
extended]
Message-ID: <199803031514.KAA03379@mailhost.capecod.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

cjacobson@ifaw.orgAt 10:34 PM 3/2/98 -0600, Steve Barney wrote:
>Return-path: 
>Received: from mail5.doit.wisc.edu by VAXA.CIS.UWOSH.EDU (PMDF V5.1-7 #17145)
> with ESMTP id <01IU7AXPBDV400M5SP@VAXA.CIS.UWOSH.EDU> for AnimalLib;
Mon,
> 2 Mar 1998 19:42:29 CST
>Received: from [144.92.15.204] by mail5.doit.wisc.edu id TAA35672 (8.8.6/50)
> ; Mon, 02 Mar 1998 19:22:09 -0600
>Date: Mon, 02 Mar 1998 19:22:09 -0600
>From: Amy Toburen 
>Subject: UW-Madison News Release -- Joint Statement/Deadline extended
>To: UW-news@facstaff.wisc.edu
>Message-id: 
>MIME-version: 1.0
>Content-type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
>
>Joint Statement by
>UW-Madison Graduate School Dean Virginia Hinshaw and
>Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk
>March 2, 1998
>
    >County and University officials are continuing to discuss a
>long-term arrangement for the university monkeys which are housed at the
>Henry Vilas Zoo. While substantial progress is being made on a number of
>key issues, some matters could not be resolved by late Monday. Therefore,
>the university has agreed to extend until Tuesday, March 3 the deadline for
>finalizing plans to transfer the colony.
>###
>
>Amy E. Toburen
>Associate Director, Office of News and Public Affairs
>
>University of Wisconsin-Madison
>28 Bascom Hall, 500 Lincoln Drive
>Madison, WI  53706
>Phone: 608/262-0925; Fax: 608/262-2331; e-mail: atoburen@facstaff.wisc.edu
>
>
>

Date: Tue, 3 Mar 1998 10:48:35 EST
From: Augustpr 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: NH Legislative Alert
Message-ID: <43bd1ebf.34fc2655@aol.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit

NH Legislative ACTION ALERT 
(also posted to ar-views@envirolink.org due to urgency; please forgive me if
this is a breach of list netiquette)

Your help is needed if you live in NH.

My 16 y-o daughter Rachael White, who has been a vegetarian for three years,
doesn't wear leather, uses cruelty-free products etc... is working with a New
Hampshire senator to pass a law (SB452) that would allow students to refuse to
dissect animals, not be penalized and be allowed an alternative. It has passed
the NH Senate. The House Education Committee hearing is March 4 at 1:30 in the
LOB.

The Reps need to hear from those who support this bill NOW! 

Anyone who lives in NH and is interested in knowing how you can help, should
e-mail me or my daughter (Rachael White) at dissectalt@aol.com for a list of
Reps to contact and more information on the bill. 

Please pass this along, if appropriate, to others who may be able to offer
support.

TIA

Renee Robertie
augustpr@aol.com
Date: Tue, 03 Mar 1998 11:01:35 -0800
From: Mesia Quartano 
To: "ar-news@envirolink.org" 
Subject: (Vietnam) Cat shortage puts rats on the menu
Message-ID: <34FC538F.BA26BD03@usa.net>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
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>From InfoBeat News
March 03, 1998

Cat shortage puts rats on the menu

Vietnam said Monday it was ordering cat-meat restaurants to close and
was outlawing the export of cats to China because of growing problems
with rats. An Agriculture Ministry official told Reuters the moves had
been prompted by a sharp increase in the rate at which rats were eating
their way through the country's crops. He said successive bumper
harvests meant the rodent population was booming, but added that in
addition to legal steps the authorities were also seeking to tackle the
problem by encouraging people to switch to eating rat instead of cat or
snake. "People in some places are already eating rats," he said. "We
will encourage this."


Date: Tue, 03 Mar 1998 11:03:16 -0800
From: Mesia Quartano 
To: "ar-news@envirolink.org" 
Subject: (Tanzania) Dog sentenced to death for having insulting name
Message-ID: <34FC53F4.4E381297@usa.net>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

>From InfoBeat News
March 03, 1998

Dog sentenced to death for having insulting name

A court in Tanzania has sentenced a dog to death by hanging and its
owner to a suspended jail term because of its name, The East African
newspaper reported Monday. It said the dog, named "Immigration" by its
25-year-old owner, was sentenced to hang by a judge in Rukwa. It is
currently on death row while an appeal is heard. The magistrate found
the dog's owner guilty of scandalizing the department of immigration in
naming his pet. Prosecutors told the court that the owner had
mischievously given the dog the name of a highly respected and
law-abiding government department and compounded the crime by going to
the department on a daily basis and boasting of its name.


Date: Tue, 03 Mar 1998 11:03:44 -0800
From: Mesia Quartano 
To: "ar-news@envirolink.org" 
Subject: Foxy lady adds new twist to chase
Message-ID: <34FC540F.77DBFA97@usa.net>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
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Foxy lady adds new twist to chase
(Sunday Star Times; 02/15/98)

SOME people just can't have fun unless someone else isn't. It is curious
to recall that sports which today are regarded as innocuous have their
origins in extreme cruelty, or at least callousness.

For instance, the sport of polo -- which is now the very model of
formality and social superiority -- is rooted in the days when the
savage nomad tribesmen would divert themselves by competing to see who
could score the most goals from horseback.

The ball was, of course, the head of a defeated enemy.

And in Spain even today, specially-bred bulls are tormented and weakened
before the fatal coup-de-grace by a Baltic toreador. Gamecocks and dogs
are still bred in the Pacific Rim to fight to the death. In Italy and
France, so-called sportsmen annually slaughter migrating songbirds in
vast numbers.

The British are supposed to be a nation of animal lovers, yet a move to
ban the hunting of wild animals to death with packs of dogs has caused a
high-profile outcry from country-dwellers (some of them, anyway).

No wonder the great wit Oscar Wilde dubbed the practice of a certain
kind of politically-incorrect person to dress up in fancy clothes and
charge across country on horseback in order to see a fox being torn to
pieces as "the
unspeakable pursuit of the uneatable".

Though it must be said, in fairness to the paradoxical Brits, that this
is one of the few bloodsports where the participants have a strong
chance of spilling their own.

But since (or so it is argued) mankind is a predator by nature, can this
latent instinct be satisfied without causing suffering to a wild
creature?

Yes it can. Help is at hand. There is a perfectly acceptable alternative
that is easy on the conscience and attracts a better class of people:
The ones who ride for the joy of it, not for show or suffering.

One winter's day, I told my horse "a-hunting we will go". Togged out
correctly, with long boots tweed jacket and hard hat, I turned up at the
meet at a village pub and we all downed a fortifying stirrup cup to
steady our nerves.

The hounds swarmed around us, sleek and eager, and the huntsman,
resplendent
in his green coat, tootled on his little brass horn.

The hounds put their noses to the ground, sniffed for a moment, then set
off on the trail. We followed as best we could, first at a canter, then
a gallop. Across the fields, over stone walls, intoxicated with the
thrill of the chase (the stirrup cup played its part too).

The Light Brigade had charged at Balaclava with more discipline, but no
less enthusiasm.

Some of us came to grief, but no one would -- or could -- stop. Leaving
the foot-followers to pick up the casualties, we thundered on.

At last the scent petered out and we and our horses took a well- earned
breather. As we panted and sweated, I reflected on how the Duke of
Wellington had described hunting: "All the excitement of war with only
half the danger."

What did we catch? Well nothing. But that was the idea. We had been
chasing an aniseed trail, irresistible to hounds, dragged behind her
horse by a Mrs Briggs. She had ridden back to join the fun. And there
she was, happily hunting herself.

Who would want to hunt foxes when they could pursue the delectable Mrs
Briggs




Date: Tue, 03 Mar 1998 11:07:36 -0800
From: Mesia Quartano 
To: "ar-news@envirolink.org" 
Subject: (US-MA) Leghold Traps: Humane Society Denounces Division of Fisheries and Wildlife
Message-ID: <34FC54F8.902A8715@usa.net>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

Humane Society of the United States Denounces Division of Fisheries and
Wildlife for Working to Undermine Question One
(PR Newswire; 03/02/98)

BOSTON, March 2 /PRNewswire/   Today, The Humane Society of the United
States (HSUS) testified before the Natural Resources and Agriculture
committee of the General Court and denounced the Massachusetts Division
of Fisheries and Wildlife (MDFW) for attempting to undermine Question
One and to subvert the will of the voters, Voters favored Question One
in November 1996 with a 64 percent majority, restricting the use of
cruel and indiscriminate body-gripping traps, such as steel-jaw leghold
traps, outlawing the use of hounds to hunt bears or bobcats; and
liminating the quota system guaranteeing that hunters and trappers
dominate the state Fisheries and Wildlife Board.

"The Division of Fisheries and Wildlife is an extension of the hunting
and trapping industry, and the agency has engaged in a pattern of
behavior designed to subvert the will of the people and undermines an
enormously popular and effective law," states Wayne Pacelle, a vice
president with The Humane Society of the United States, the chief
sponsor of the initiative petition. "This executive agency, which
violated the law during the 1995-96 election campaign, has continued to
disregard its responsibilities under the Constitution of the 
Commonwealth to implement the law."

The HSUS's testimony was delivered during an oversight hearing called by
the Natural Resources and Agriculture Committee to review the MDFW's
implementation of Question One.

"The Division has failed to provide assistance to some communities in
the Commonwealth that have had conflicts with beavers, pronouncing that
Question One, is unworkable.  The reality is, there are effective
non-lethal means of dealing with beaver conflicts, which are
successfully used nationwide.

"In addition, the Division consistently misstates the provisions of
Question One.  Question One does not ban trapping; it simply restricts
the use of body-gripping traps, such as the steel-jaw leghold trap.  It
permits box and cage traps, and even permits the use of body-gripping
traps to protect public health and safety.  It even allows private
citizens to obtain the use of Conibear traps to kill beaver if other
methods have been tried and failed," said Pacelle.

"There is no question that the vast minority of conflicts with beavers
can be resolved without killing these remarkable animals," says Dr. John
Hadidian, director of Urban Wildlife Programs for The HSUS.  "In the
rare cases when trapping may be needed, Question One permits non-lethal
and lethal traps." Dr. Hadidian served as it research scientist with the
National Park Service for more than a decade and specialized in urban
wildlife issues.

Question One was approved in 14 of 15 counties in Massachusetts, in 75
percent of cities and towns, and 95 percent of state House and Senate
districts in November 1996.

SOURCE  Humane Society of the United States
    -0-                             03/02/98
CONTACT:  Wayne Pacelle of the Humane Society of the United States,
301-258-3070/

CO:  Humane Society of the United States; Massachusetts Division of
Fisheries   and Wildlife
ST:  Massachusetts
IN:
SU:  LEG
Date: Tue, 03 Mar 1998 11:14:50 -0800
From: Mesia Quartano 
To: "ar-news@envirolink.org" 
Subject: (US-MI)Police under fire for killing racoon 
Message-ID: <34FC56AA.416040E4@usa.net>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

Police under fire for killing racoon
(UPI; 03/03/98)

PLAINWELL, Mich., March 3 (UPI)   Fur is flying in a southwest Michigan
town where residents have lashed out at a police officer for running
over a sick racoon twice with his squad car.

Plainwell Police Chief Frank Post is defending the officer for killing
what could have been a dangerous animal with rabies or distemper.

Post says the local animal catcher was off-duty when Officer Kevin
Christensen responded to a citizen's call about a racoon weaving across
a residential street.

Post says today: "The incident is closed. Based on the resources
available to him, the officer took the proper action."

But some residents say they're shocked by the officer's action. They
argue that the animal should've been caged and moved to a rural area.

Phil Robertson's 10-year-old daughter saw what happened from inside the
family home before her parents pulled her away from the window. He says,
"A few tears were shed."

Robertson says the animal's unsteady gait might have been the result of
a springtime emergence from hibernation.

Post says angry residents have blown the case out of proportion, even
falsely accusing the officer of running a stop sign to hit the racoon
and throwing the carcass in a river.



Date: Tue, 03 Mar 1998 11:21:49 -0800
From: Mesia Quartano 
To: "ar-news@envirolink.org" 
Subject: (US) Doc calls accused killer sexual sadist 
Message-ID: <34FC584D.E308AD1A@usa.net>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
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[Another case of animal abuse prior to human murder]

Doc calls accused killer sexual sadist
(UPI; 03/02/98)

NEW YORK, March 2 (UPI)   A forensic psychologist testified the man
accused of killing a Park Avenue dry cleaner and brutally beating a
Central Park jogger may have been a sexual sadist, but didn't suffer a
mental disorder that would relieve him of responsibility for his crime.

John Royster's defense attorneys admit he beat the women, but say he was
not responsible for his actions.

Forensic neuropsychologist Daniel Martell testified today as part of the
prosecution's rebuttal case in Manhattan State Supreme Court.

Martell said that after 13 hours of conversation with Royster, he
concluded that he was a sexual sadist, a malingerer and exhibited
antisocial behavior and mixed personality disorder.

The psychologist disagreed, however with the defense contention that
Royster suffered from "de-personalization."

The testimony included a videotape of Royster describing how, when a cat
walked across his computer, he hurled it into a wall, then threw it down
a flight of stairs and repeatedly kicked it. He said that when a
12-year-old neighbor complained about his abusing the animal, he grabbed
him around the neck and starting to strangle him.

Martell said that behavior was part of a pattern he saw in Royster that
continued in the attacks carried out in a vicious crime spree in the
summer of 1996. He said Royster liked to take out his rage on people
weaker and smaller than himself.

The 22-year-old drifter is accused of the brutal beatings of three women
in early June of 1996: a piano teacher who was beaten and sexually
assaulted as she jogged in Central Park in an attack that left her in a
coma for weeks; a woman walking along the East River who needed
reconstructive surgery on her face; and a Park Avenue dry cleaner who
was killed in the brutal attack.

Once the Manhattan trial concludes, Royster will face charges in
Westchester of carrying out another similar attack in Yonkers, just
outside of the Bronx.
-



Date: Tue, 3 Mar 98 12:07:36 UTC
From: SDURBIN@VM.TULSA.CC.OK.US
To: ar-news@Envirolink.org
Subject: Hard Copy
Message-ID: <199803031800.NAA14395@envirolink.org>

I had read on here that the story of Scruffy was going to be on Hard
Copy yesterday. It wasn't on Hard Copy yesterday or today, either.
Does anyone know what gives on this?

Sherrill
Date: Tue, 03 Mar 1998 15:48:53 -0500
From: Patrick Nolan 
To: ar-news 
Subject: Navy-Humpback Whale Tests
Message-ID: <34FC6CB4.8C1E6AD4@animalwelfare.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 3, 1998

ACTIVISTS DIVE IN TO STOP SONIC BLASTING OF WHALES

     Volunteers determined to halt controversial sonar tests that the
Navy is conducting off the Hawaiian coast—tests which use highly
endangered humpback whales as targets—sailed out this morning with the
intention of getting in the Navy’s way.
     The planned test involves blasting dangerously loud, low-frequency
sounds at the whales—even those who are nursing and calving—until the
whales show signs of “acute distress.”  Animal advocates,
environmentalists and respected scientists alike have condemned the
tests, saying that the incredibly high-volume noise will seriously
impair the whale’s reproductive behavior and could cause severe injury;
further, many have questioned the tests’ necessity in the post-Cold War
era.
     The intense blasts of sound could reach up to 150 decibels at the
Navy’s discretion, or even be increased to 215 decibels with the
approval of the National Marine Fisheries Service. Whale experts say
that sound this loud will cause deafness and severe lung trauma, and
that the whales might not show outward signs of distress that the Navy
can observe.
     Since the Navy’s protocol says that the tests cannot be conducted
if there are human swimmers are in the water within five miles of the
test site, activists who are opposed to this harrrassment of whales are
putting themselves between the Navy and the whales.  A group of
volunteers left Kawai Hae Boat Harbor this morning, aboard the sailboat
Mai Le and several small boats.  Ben White, of the Animal Welfare
Institute, said, “If the Navy insists on blasting endangered whales with
sound, but will stop if humans are close, it would appear that that’s
where we ought to be.”
-30-

Date: Tue, 03 Mar 1998 16:06:19 -0500
From: Patrick Nolan 
To: ar-news 
Subject: Navy-Humpback Whale Tests--addendum (oops)
Message-ID: <34FC70CA.C516DA17@animalwelfare.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

I'm sorry, I inadvertently sent that message without a contact.

It should be Ben White, (808) 885-7295.

Date: Tue, 3 Mar 1998 16:31:03 EST
From: MINKLIB 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Fur Sales in Rapid Decline
Message-ID: 
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit

For Immediate Release
March 3, 1998

Fur Sales Bomb Despite Intense Industry PR Effort
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------
‘Fur is Back” Hype Fails to Stimulate Buyers
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------
Dallas, TX -- The retail fur industry is reeling from one of its worst sales
seasons in “memory” - one that is being described only as “disastrous” -
according to fur industry trade journals who made the pronouncements in
February/March editions.

Sandy Parker Reports declared that sales in the 1997-98 holiday sales period
were “disastrous”, and also described winter fur sales as “one of the most
disappointing retail fur seasons in recent memory”.

Those confessions spurred one national anti-fur organizations to claim that,
conversely, the Winter of 1997-98 was a “major success” for the anti-fur
movement.

“Despite attempts to dupe the media with claims that ‘fur was back’, the
industry is now being forced to admit that the hype was a lie, and not
reality,” declared J.P. Goodwin, executive director of the Dallas based
Coalition to Abolish the Fur Trade.

Mr. Goodwin pointed to the recent Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing by the Andriana
Furs of Chicago. Andriana was a major retailer who conducted promotional sales
in hotels and stadiums throughout the country.  Reportedly, Andriana saw sales
drop from an annual $22 million in 1996 to $10 million in 1997.

“Laughably, the fur industry is blaming their sales decline on everything from
the economic problems in Asia to the weather.  But the fact is, most Americans
don’t want animals to be killed for frivolous, luxury products,” stated Mr.
Goodwin.

-30-

Date: Tue, 3 Mar 1998 18:37:25 EST
From: LexAnima 
To: AR-News@envirolink.org
Subject: Madison Monkeys Day in Court is Postponed.
Message-ID: <52124385.34fc9437@aol.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit

The Madison Monkeys got their day in court but it was curtailed by a defensive
move on behalf of the experimenters at the University of Wisconsin Primate Lab
and counsel for the State of Wisconsin.

A lawsuit was filed for a temporary restraining order and preliminary
injunction to stop the lab from selling the monkeys to the infamous Dr. Gerone
at Tulane.  However, counsel for the defense filed a motion to dismiss the
hearing only 15 minutes before the restraining order motion was to be heard.  

The judge indicated that the legal basis of the lawsuits for a restraining
order and injunction were unusual.  Further, procedural questions such as
jurisdiction and standing had to be addressed before the merits of the case
could be heard.  Thus, the judge generously granted time for the plaintiffs to
prepare to defend against the motion to dismiss on the date of April 15th.

Later, after the court appearance, a representative of the County assured
activists that the negotiations between the zoo and the lab would continue and
she felt positive that a resolution could be reached.  This comment is in
direct contradiction from what the advocates have heard from other sources.
According to the Governor's wife, a proposed agreement to keep the monkeys
safe rests on the desk of County Supervisor Kathleen Falk.  As of this moment,
Kathleen has not signed the agreement.

Calls need to continue to be placed to Kathy Falk's office.  She needs to feel
the pressure to do the right thing for the animals. 
Date: Wed, 04 Mar 1998 11:07:20 -0800
From: suttonp@hotlinks.net.au
To: "ar-news@envirolink.org" 
Subject: closure of the tiger trust uk
Message-ID: <34FDA667.1CCA95F9@hotlinks.net.au>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

Some of you may be aware of the imminent and very sad closure of The
Tiger Trust UK. I have just received a letter to their member base
announcing the closure.

I believe the loss of the TT represents a sad day in tiger conservation
- the TT actually showed results for their considerable efforts to save
the wild tiger albeit that they challenged many in the environmental
world in the process.

I would hope that this will create some response by way of real action
from the big ngos and government departments who talk tough when it
comes to saving the tiger but seem to make no real impact.  When they
have stopped doing their environmental impact surveys, they might tell
us how many tigers they have actually saved.

I truely believe that the world as we know it will change irrevocably if
we let the wild tiger become extinct.  We must not let this happen.

Because of this, we have recently formed the Wild Tiger Fund Australia
this year (the year of the tiger) and as a fledgling org, we are still
struggling with the enormity of the challenge of saving the tiger in the
wild but we will fight on.  There are so few of these beautiful animals
left.

Anyone wanting more information, offering assistance, support or
donations to Wild Tiger Fund Australia can contact me at the address
below:

Pamela Sutton
Founder, Wild Tiger Fund Australia
PO Box 2254, Prahran, Victoria 3181
AUSTRALIA
Tel: 00 61 3 9529 5748
Fax: 00 61 3 9529 5768
email: yearofthetiger@hotlinks.net.au

Together we can succeed.


Date: Tue, 03 Mar 1998 18:12:21 -0600
From: Steve Barney 
To: AR-News 
Subject: [US-WI] "D-Day for zoo monkeys: Hope keeps talks going" (TCT-3/2/98)
Message-ID: <34FC9C65.78F0A189@uwosh.edu>
MIME-version: 1.0
Content-type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit

"D-Day for zoo monkeys: Hope keeps talks going"
By Jason Shepard, Correspondent for The Capital Times
The Capital Times
Madison, Wisconsin
United States
March 2, 1998
Page 2A

-- Beginning --

D-Day for zoo monkeys: 
Hope keeps talks going

By Jason Shepard                  
Correspondent for The Capital
Times                                          

The future of the controversial Madison monkeys was still unknown this
morning, although today is the deadline for officials to work out plans
to keep the monkeys at the Henry Vilas Zoo.

Dane County officials have until today to decide whether they want to
take over the care and management of the round monkey house and its 150
macaque monkeys.  The monkeys and their ancestors have lived at the zoo
for the past 35 years, under care and management of the University of
Wisconsin.

Topf Wells, an aide to Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk, said this
morning that a decision will happen sometime today.

"We keep exchanging information about how much this or that will cost,
and I've got calls in to try to get some information," Wells said.  "The
university and the county will be talking today and we'll just have to
see how it goes.  The university and the county have agreed not to
negotiate in public, but I think it is fair to say that all of the
issues are still on the table."

The UW Primate Research Center says the monkeys are no longer useful to
it in behavioral research projects.  The center lost its federal funding
for the Vilas monkeys as of Feb. 1 because the behavioral research had
ended last June, and an agreement between the UW and the zoo prevents
use of the monkeys for invasive research.

The Capital Times reported in August, however, that the UW had violated
that agreement.

Those close to the negotiations say they are still optimistic a plan
will be worked out today that will keep the 50 stump-tailed macaques at
the zoo.  The 100 rhesus would be transferred to a wildlife sanctuary in
San Antonio, rather than going to a research facility in Louisiana.

"We're just taking a wait and see attitude and hoping that the officials
will make the right decision for the monkeys," said Tina Kaske,
executive director of the Alliance for Animals.  Kaske's group has been
raising money for the monkeys, and she estimates the group has raised
more than $20,000 so far.

County Supervisor Tom Stoebig, who authored a county resolution to study
a possible takeover of the monkey house, said Sunday night he was still
optimistic that a deal will be struck to keep the stump-tails at the
zoo.

"I think when all is said and done, at least in the short term, the
stump-tails will stay here in Madison," Stoebig said.  Meanwhile, the
county and the Alliance for Animals would study possible fund-raising
options to find means, other than tax dollars, to keep the stump-tails
at the zoo in the long term, Stoebig said.

The Madison colony of stumptailed macaques is reportedly the largest and
oldest breeding colony of its species anywhere in the world.

The San Antonio sanctuary Wild Animal Orphanage is willing to take all
the rhesus macaques for about $60,000.  The sanctuary will begin
construction of an indoor/outdoor facility as soon as it receives a down
payment of $10,000, which the Madison-based Alliance for Animals has
already raised.  Sanctuary Vice President Carol Asvestas said that a
facility for one rhesus colony would be complete in four to six weeks,
at which time the sanctuary would require another $20,000.  Madison
officials would have to pay the same amount for the other rhesus troop.

"If the rhesus can't stay in Madison, the sanctuary is the  next best
option for them," said Kaske.

-- End --

More info about the University of Wisconsion - Madison monkey scandal is
available at:

     http://www.uwosh.edu/organizations/alag/Issues.html


Date: Wed, 04 Mar 1998 11:36:50 -0800
From: suttonp@hotlinks.net.au
To: ar-news@envirolink.org, POSTING@hotlinks.net.au
Subject: CLOSURE OF THE TIGER TRUST UK
Message-ID: <34FDAD51.6EAEA15C@hotlinks.net.au>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

Some of you may be aware of the imminent and very sad closure of The
Tiger Trust UK. I have just received a letter sent to their member base
announcing the closure.

I believe the loss of the TT represents a sad day in tiger conservation
- the TT actually showed results for their considerable efforts to save
the wild tiger albeit that they challenged many in the environmental
world in the process.

I would hope that this will create some response by way of real action
from the big ngos and government departments who talk tough when it
comes to saving the tiger but seem to make no real impact.  When they
have stopped doing their environmental impact surveys, they might tell
us how many tigers they have actually saved.

I truely believe that the world as we know it will change irrevocably if

we let the wild tiger become extinct.  We must not let this happen.

Because of this, we have recently formed the Wild Tiger Fund Australia
this year (the year of the tiger). As a fledgling org, we are still
struggling with the enormity of the challenge of saving the tiger in the

wild but we will fight on.  There are so few of these beautiful animals
left.

Anyone wanting more information, offering assistance, support or
donations to Wild Tiger Fund Australia can contact me at the address
below:

Pamela Sutton
Founder, Wild Tiger Fund Australia
PO Box 2254, Prahran, Victoria 3181
AUSTRALIA
Tel: 00 61 3 9529 5748
Fax: 00 61 3 9529 5768
email: yearofthetiger@hotlinks.net.au

Together we can succeed.




Date: Tue, 03 Mar 1998 18:57:27 -0600
From: Steve Barney 
To: AR-News , Veg-Wisc 
Subject: [US-WI] Vilas Monkeys [Fwd: UW-Madison News Release--TIP/County,
 university negotiations]
Message-ID: <34FCA6F7.F15E7246@uwosh.edu>
MIME-version: 1.0
Content-type: multipart/mixed; boundary="------------4F25809209951FE2EF540824"

Return-path: 
Received: from mail1.doit.wisc.edu by VAXA.CIS.UWOSH.EDU (PMDF V5.1-7 #17145)
 with ESMTP id <01IU8NCG8Q9S00N7A2@VAXA.CIS.UWOSH.EDU> for AnimalLib; Tue,
 3 Mar 1998 18:48:45 CST
Received: from [144.92.15.216] by mail1.doit.wisc.edu id SAA27032 (8.8.6/50)
 ; Tue, 03 Mar 1998 18:40:11 -0600
Date: Tue, 03 Mar 1998 18:39:55 -0600
From: Nick Weaver 
Subject: UW-Madison News Release--TIP/County, university negotiations
To: UW-news@facstaff.wisc.edu
Message-id: 
MIME-version: 1.0
Content-type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

March 3, 1998

TO:        Editors, news directors
FROM:   Brian Mattmiller, (608) 262-9772
RE:        County, university negotiations on Vilas monkey colonies

The following letter represents the University of Wisconsin-Madison's
latest response to Dane County officials regarding the negotiations on the
university's monkeys from the Henry Vilas Zoo colonies.

The letter is the university's final attempt to reach an agreement with the
county before the university resumes earlier plans to transfer the rhesus
monkey colony to the Tulane Regional Primate Research Center. If an
agreement with the county is not reached with the county this evening, the
transfer process will take place tomorrow, Wednesday, March 3.  Plans will
also continue with the government of Thailand to potentially transfer the
stumptailed colony to a proposed sanctuary in that country.

We have scheduled individual press availabilities tonight (March 3) between
7:30 and 8:30. If you are interested in a comment, please contact Brian
Mattmiller at (608) 262-9772 or Amy Toburen at (608) 262-0925 to set up a
time.
###


     March 3, 19984:30 p.m.

C. Topf Wells, Executive Assistant
Office of the County Executive
Room 421
210 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Madison, WI 53702

Via Facsimile

Dear Topf:

We had been anxiously awaiting your response to our proposal and regret
that nothing constructive was sent.

Time is of the essence. If we cannot reach agreement by the close of
business today (5:00 p.m.), we will be obligated to announce our situation
publicly so that we can give final notice of our intention to move the
Rhesus colonies to Tulane.

In your latest draft you have removed previously agreed-upon dates for
transfer of the monkey colonies to Dane County. You have backed away from
your previously offered role of fundraising agent for your zoo. What
remains of the county's role in your latest proposal is little more than
one of bystander.

Both sides have negotiated in good faith until this point and we are
disappointed that you did not find our latest proposal or offer a viable
alternative. We certainly appreciate the challenging nature of this entire
situation and recognize that the obligations attaching to the ownership of
these monkeys are daunting.

We very much appreciated Mrs. Sue Ann Thompson's support for our proposal
and received other extremely favorable community feedback over the last 24
hours. Our proposal gave you the flexibility to opt-out of ownership of the
Stumptails if fundraising fell short, while establishing firm deadlines on
which we could all rely.

Please take one last look at the county's appropriate role in this matter.
We look forward to hearing from you quickly.

Sincerely,


Charles B. Hoslet
Special Assistant to the Chancellor - State Relations




*********************************
For questions or comments about UW-Madison's email
news release system, please send an email to:
UW-news@facstaff.wisc.edu

For more UW-Madison news, please visit the
Office of News and Public Affairs Web site:
http://www.wisc.edu/news/

Office of News and Public Affairs
University of Wisconsin-Madison
28 Bascom Hall
500 Lincoln Drive
Madison, WI 53706

Email: UW-news@facstaff.wisc.edu
Phone: (608) 262-3571
Fax: (608) 262-2331


Date: Tue, 03 Mar 1998 19:53:33 -0500
From: allen schubert 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (US) Group Offers Reward In Bird Killings
Message-ID: <3.0.32.19980303195331.006f0614@pop3.clark.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

(ref to Fund For Animals)
from CNN custom news http://www.cnn.com
----------------------------------------------------
Connecticut State News
Reuters
03-MAR-98

Group Offers Reward In Bird Killings

(MERIDEN) -- An animal rights group believes 40 dead birds found under a
Meriden highway overpass is NO accident. Fund for Animals is pledging 300
dollars in reward money for information leading to those responsible. The
grackles, or blackbirds, were found over the weekend near the Wilbur Cross
Parkway. 
Date: Tue, 03 Mar 1998 19:59:54 -0500
From: allen schubert 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: EU Vets to Consider Easing British Beef Export Ban
Message-ID: <3.0.32.19980303195952.0075bdec@pop3.clark.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

from CNN custom news http://www.cnn.com
-------------------------------------
EU Vets to Consider Easing British Beef Export Ban
Reuters
03-MAR-98

      By David Evans 

     BRUSSELS, Belgium (Reuters) - European Union veterinary
experts are expected to vote Wednesday on a proposal to ease the
worldwide ban on British beef exports, imposed two years ago in
the wake of the mad cow disease crisis.

     The British government is seeking support from the vets for
its Export Certified Herds Scheme (ECHS), which would permit a
limited resumption in beef exports from Northern Ireland alone.

     Britain's Agriculture Minister Jack Cunningham has urged the
EU's powerful Standing Veterinary Committee (SVC) -- made up of
chief veterinary officers from the 15 EU member states -- not to
be swayed by political considerations, but to base its decision
purely on scientific evidence.

     ``I am satisfied there are no grounds for continuing with
the totality of the ban,'' he said after the last meeting of EU
farm ministers. ``The decision should be taken on a scientific
basis.''

     Britain argues the operation of a comprehensive computer
database in Northern Ireland guarantees that any exports can be
traced to herds free of BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy).

     The ECHS plan would allow meat exports from animals which
the database can prove have been in a herd free of mad cow
disease for at least eight years.

     EU scientists have already endorsed the computer system,
which is not yet available on the British mainland. But at a
meeting last month some vets called for tougher restrictions,
which would have prevented exports from any herd into which an
animal from an infected herd had been transferred.

     EU sources said such was the level of livestock movement
between herds in Northern Ireland, that a stipulation of this
kind would have ruled out a significant share of exports.

     Under EU rules, Britain needs to win support for its
proposal from a qualified majority of EU vets on the SVC before
the European Commission can ease the ban.

     But this is far from assured.
     EU sources say the most likely outcome is a stalemate with
the 15 member states split roughly evenly. If this happens, the
proposal will have to be referred to the next meeting of EU
agriculture ministers, due March 16.

     At ministerial level, a simple majority of member states in
favor is needed for the plan to go ahead.

     A British proposal for resuming exports from the rest of the
country has further to go in the EU's decision-making process.
EU scientific experts have only just begun examining the
so-called Date-Based Scheme, which is designed to allow beef
exports from animals born after Aug. 1, 1996.

     Officials have described the scientists' view of the
proposal as ``positive,'' although there may be demands for
British farmers to keep a calf's mother alive for six months
after sending the offspring to slaughter.

     This extra stipulation, which British farmers argue would be
expensive to implement, is designed to minimize the risk of
possible maternal transmission of BSE, the scientists said.

     The EU imposed the ban on British beef exports in March 1996
after the government admitted a possible link between BSE and a
deadly brain-wasting human equivalent, new variant
Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (nvCJD). So far, 24 cases of nvCJD
have been confirmed.

     British members of Parliament accused European nations of
maintaining the ban on British beef for their own commercial
interests.

     Parliament's agriculture committee said scientific
assessments on the safety of British beef were taking second
place in the EU to political and other considerations.

     ``The history of the BSE (mad cow disease) crisis has shown
the integrity of scientific assessment of the safety of British
beef undermined time and again by political and commercial
considerations in other EU member states,'' the committee said
in a report.

Date: Tue, 03 Mar 1998 20:02:57 -0500
From: allen schubert 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (US) Rancher Hospitalized By Bison
Message-ID: <3.0.32.19980303200254.0075bc4c@pop3.clark.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

(ref to The Nature Conservancy)
from CNN custom news http://www.cnn.com
----------------------------------------
Oklahoma State News
Reuters
03-MAR-98

Rancher Hospitalized By Bison

(DEWEY) -- He may be a friend of the bison, but the bison apparently aren't
very friendly to him. Rancher Kenneth Adams is in serious condition at a
hospital after being gored by a bison. Adams donated 300 bison to populate
the Nature Conservancy's tall grass prairie preserve in Osage County.
Officials say he was showing someone how he could hand feed a bison he'd
raised from a calf when the animal charged and gored him. Conservancy
officials recommend the public be very cautious around the bison, since
they are wild animals. 
Date: Tue, 03 Mar 1998 17:08:47
From: David J Knowles 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Vancouver Aquarium - further information.
Message-ID: <3.0.3.16.19980303170847.0e975934@dowco.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Further to my posting yesterday, I realised afterwards that this is one of
those occasions were the spoken word is perhaps better than the written one.

With this in mind, I would like to make copies of the interview available
to those who are interested.

There will be no charge, however a small donation to cover costs would be
appreciated.

If anyone is interested, please contact me via private e-mail.

Thanks,

David J Knowles
Producer - 'Animal Voices'



Date: Tue, 03 Mar 1998 19:29:18 -0600
From: Steve Barney 
To: AR-News 
Subject: [US-WI] "Final destination of monkeys still undecided" (BH-030398)
Message-ID: <34FCAE6E.FF5AF0B5@uwosh.edu>
MIME-version: 1.0
Content-type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit

Source:

     http://www.badgerherald.com/news/spring98/030398news2.html

More info about the UW-Madison monkey scandal is available at:

     http://www.uwosh.edu/organizations/alag/Issues.html

--


Date: Tue, 3 Mar 98 19:33:37 -0000
From: "Eric Mindel @ LCA" 
To: "ar-news" ,
        "Chickadee" 
Subject: An interesting editorial about Oprah/Lyman
Message-ID: <199803040214.VAA19809@envirolink.org>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"

When you have ten minutes, check out http://www.freedomofexpression.com

The people who designed the site had previously been posting info about 
the trial, and when nastily threatened by folks in Amarillo, they got 
irritated and vowed revenge.... a brilliant revenge launched four days 
ago.

eric





Eric Mindel
Last Chance for Animals (LCA)
eric@LCAnimal.org
http://www.lcanimal.org
8033 Sunset Blvd, Suite 35
Los Angeles, CA  90046
310/271-6096 office 
310/271-1890 fax


Date: Tue, 03 Mar 1998 18:34:10
From: David J Knowles 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: [UK] MPs seek hunting reforms to avoid ban
Message-ID: <3.0.3.16.19980303183410.0d3fa09e@dowco.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit

>From The Electronic Telegraph - Wednesday, March 4th, 1998

MPs seek hunting reforms to avoid ban
By Charles Clover and Joy Copley 

A NEW "Middle Way" group of MPs, dedicated to reforming hunting rather than
banning it, was launched yesterday.

It began by tabling amendments to Michael Foster's private member's Bill
which calls for hunting with dogs to be outlawed.

The group is seeking codes of conduct to regulate trespass by hunts and the
use of terriers to pursue foxes which have gone to ground. It wants an
independent authority with the power to enforce the rules, shorten the
hunting season and to ban for months or years hunts which break the rules.

Kate Hoey, Labour MP for Vauxhall, Peter Luff, Conservative MP for
mid-Worcestershire, and Lembit Opik, Liberal Democrat MP for
Montgomeryshire, said they would be inviting membership from MPs of all
parties. They will be targeting in particular the 90 or so
Labour MPs who did not vote at the Second Reading of Mr Foster's Bill last
November. Jack Straw, the Home Secretary, has secretly given backing to the
initiative and ministers hope it will extricate the Government from a
difficult position.

Officially, the Government states that it remains neutral on the issue of
foxhunting, but there is strong support in Government circles for the
compromise to allow hunting to continue under a licensing system run by an
independent authority.

Ministers are also known to favour the call by the Middle Way Group for an
independent inquiry presided over by a High Court judge or person of
equivalent standing to look into the question of cruelty in all field
sports, including shooting. 

Ms Hoey told a meeting at the Commons: "We believe there is a sensible way
forward on the whole controversial, complex issue of hunting - a subject
which raises huge emotions on both sides of the argument. There are those
who say foxes must not be killed and others who bury their heads in the
sand and say hunting should not change. We must find a compromise and there
are people on all sides who want that."

Last night, a barrage of amendments to Mr Foster's Bill to outlaw the sport
were tabled. It will be debated at report stage in the Commons on Friday.
The Conservatives have organised a rota of MPs to filibuster the Bill. The
new Middle Way Group has tabled amendments of its own. These include
calling for an independent inquiry and local referendums for people to
decide if they want hunting to be allowed in their area.

Ms Hoey called Mr Foster's Wild Mammals (Hunting with Dogs) Bill  a
"draconian" piece of legislation which was passing through the Commons
without hunting having been the subject of an inquiry by an independent
commission or a select committee of either House
since 1951.

Mr Luff said that the Countryside March in London on Sunday had created a
"historic window of opportunity". He added: "I hope we can now isolate
extremists on both sides of the argument. I personally would rather [have]
self-regulation than the use of statutory powers." He said that some
compromise was necessary to get an improvement in animal welfare and to
take hunting off the political agenda.

Mr Opik said: "The Middle Way Group is working on the assumption that
Britain is basically a sensible place and we are looking for a sensible way
forward which will appeal to a majority on both sides."

The group has grown out of the activities of the Wildlife Network, the
creation of James Barrington, the former executive director of the League
Against Cruel Sports, who held talks with hunting bodies and was thrown out
of the League as a result. 

Mr Barrington said: "I do not believe that people have been given a proper
choice. If people were given the broad picture and told that if you ban
hunting certain people will still carry on, they may well increase in
number, and it may well be worse and uncontrollable, they might come to the
same position as we have."

The Middle Way Group won unqualified support from the Countryside Alliance,
which organised the weekend's march.

Robin Hanbury-Tenison, executive director of the alliance, said:  "They are
talking sense. I've been in so many sterile debates over the years where
people simply don't want to get involved in talking about the reality of
the welfare of the fox."

The Government has indicated that it has no intention of providing
parliamentary time for Mr Foster's Bill and will draft a Criminal Justice
Bill, expected in the next parliamentary session, so it cannot be amended
to include an anti-hunting clause.

Mr Foster, the Labour MP for Worcester, dismissed the group and said the
MPs leading it were all pro-hunting. He said the licensing proposal merely
meant endorsing "hunting for toffs".

He said: "The three MPs leading the group do not mind hunting carrying on
provided it is registered. We say registration is irrelevant. It is the
cruelty towards animals that counts and that is what the Bill should be
judged on. Registration means that if you pay a subscription to a licensed
hunt it is OK to hunt and have fun. If you cannot afford to pay a
subscription it becomes illegal. It is quite illogical and means the
so-called 'Middle Way' is merely
endorsing hunting for toffs."

© Copyright Telegraph Group Limited 1998. 

Date: Tue, 03 Mar 1998 18:37:12
From: David J Knowles 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: [UK] Move to stop trawlers landing illegal fish
Message-ID: <3.0.3.16.19980303183712.0d3fada4@dowco.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit

>From The Electronic Telegraph - Wednesday, March 4th, 1998

Move to stop trawlers landing illegal fish

MEASURES to stop fishermen landing thousands of tons of illegal  "black
fish" were announced yesterday.

In future, fishing vessels more than 60 feet long will break the law unless
they land their catches at 32 designated ports where government inspectors
can check the species and quantity of the fish. The move is designed to
ensure that quotas intended to protect dwindling fish stocks are kept.

The proposals, which were announced by Elliot Morley, fisheries minister,
will give Britain some of the tightest catch controls in Europe, covering
700 of the largest UK-registered fishing vessels, which between them catch
70 per cent of fish landed here. But the vast majority of the UK fishing
fleet, made up of smaller vessels, will not be affected.

If bad weather, engine trouble or other technical difficulties prevent
boats landing at named harbours, their skippers must call fishery
inspectors in advance so that their catches can be checked. 

© Copyright Telegraph Group Limited 1998. 

Date: Tue, 03 Mar 1998 18:45:40
From: David J Knowles 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: [EU] Our mad cow was a Swiss import, claim worried Germans
Message-ID: <3.0.3.16.19980303184540.1a072f28@dowco.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit

>From The Electronic Telegraph - Wednesday, March 4th, 1998

Our mad cow was a Swiss import, claim worried Germans
By Toby Helm, EU Correspondent, in Brussels 

GERMANY'S proud claim to have had no cases of mad cow disease in
domestically bred cattle is being called into question in Brussels
following an argument with Switzerland over a beast called Anita.

The European Commission has asked for full details of the case after Swiss
experts denied German claims that a cow infected with BSE found in Bavaria
was Anita, an animal imported from Switzerland in 1995.

After carrying out tests on the dead animal's brain, the Swiss say they
found no genetic match with other members of Anita's family, including her
father.

Senior officials in Brussels say Germany will have to provide a full
explanation of the cow's origins if it is to retain its record as a nation
with no native cases of BSE and avoid cover-up claims.

Suspicions grew last night as strong rumours circulated in the Commission's
agriculture directorate of another disputed BSE case in Germany. One senior
EU official said: "We will have to sort all this out as the stories are
beginning to get around."

The Anita case will be of great interest in Britain, which has had to
endure German boasts about its freedom from BSE in home-bred cattle since
the mad cow crisis broke in March 1996.

Germany has led opposition to all attempts to ease the 23-month-old
worldwide ban on British beef exports. Only six cases of BSE have been
found in Germany and the authorities insist that all were in imported
cattle. Five were in cows imported from Britain and the sixth, the Germans
claimed, was Anita, the Swiss cow.

But a spokesman for the Swiss veterinary authorities said yesterday that
the German information had been incorrect.

"We have done the genetic tests and it is not possible that this animal was
Anita. We have told the Germans of the results and we are waiting for their
response," he said.

The dispute will strengthen suspicions among veterinary experts that cases
of BSE on the Continent have been grossly under-reported. A Commission
official said: "It is not definite that this was a German cow but there has
to be some chance it was."

It could not have come at a worse time for the Germans who will today press
EU veterinary experts to give their country official "BSE-free" status,
along with seven other EU member states.

© Copyright Telegraph Group Limited 1998. 

Date: Tue, 03 Mar 1998 18:42:11
From: David J Knowles 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: [UK] Beef farmers need more aid, say MPs
Message-ID: <3.0.3.16.19980303184211.0d3fcfec@dowco.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit

>From The Electronic Telegraph - Wednesday, March 4th, 1998

Beef farmers need more aid, say MPs
By David Brown, Agriculture Editor 

RESTRICTIONS on aid to beef farmers were attacked yesterday by MPs, who
said Britain was in danger of handing its home market to foreign producers.

They called for more cash aid for the industry to prevent an exodus of
farmers and a collapse in meat production. Given the adverse impact of the
strong pound, and troubles with mad cow disease, the Commons Select
Committee for Agriculture said: "We think farmers are right to expect the
Government to treat them sympathetically."

In a report on the plight of the UK beef industry, the committee criticised
Jack Cunningham, Agriculture Minister, and his team for ignoring its
earlier advice and presiding over the reduction of incomes among hill farmers.

The MPs also attacked the European Union for "subverting" moves to lift its
global export ban on British beef for political and commercial reasons to
benefit other European farmers. But they reserved the brunt of their
complaints for the Government. The committee attacked the Ministry of
Agriculture for loading extra costs on the beef industry, for hygiene
controls in abattoirs and cattle traceability measures which are not
imposed on other EU farmers.

Mr Cunningham pre-empted this criticism last week by reversing a Government
decision to impose £70 million in charges on farmers over the next year.
The committee called on the Government to reconsider its decision to place
a maximum weight limit on slaughtered animals. This, it said, discriminated
against beef producers whose cattle were often larger animals resulting
from crosses with big, Continental breeds. 

Mr Cunningham defended his record and claimed that farmers were getting a
"tremendous amount of support from this Government". But he said: "The
reality is that we do not have unlimited access to additional money."

The committee acknowledged that the beef industry would have to be
"restructured", but said in the present "abnormal circumstances" that could
lead to an influx of foreign beef into Britain. Restructuring must take
place with other EU states, it added.

© Copyright Telegraph Group Limited 1998. 

Date: Tue, 03 Mar 1998 20:59:01 -0600
From: Steve Barney 
To: AR-News 
Subject: [US-WI] "UW submits plan to keep monkeys"
Message-ID: <34FCC375.C5E008DE@uwosh.edu>
MIME-version: 1.0
Content-type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit

"UW submits plan to keep monkeys"
WISC-TV 3 News
Madison, WI
United States
http://www.wisctv.com/news/index.html

-- Beginning --

UW submits plan to keep monkeys

A university-supported monkey colony at Madison's public zoo might get
to stay after all. The University of Wisconsin-Madison has submitted a
new proposal to Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk. The deadline for an
agreement was extended from yesterday to today because the two sides
were so close to a deal.

Federal funding for the program was discontinued last month. The zoo now
has about 50 stumptailed monkeys and 90 rhesus monkeys. The cost of
maintaining the animals is about a $100,000 per year. The UW proposal
would have the stumptailed monkeys stay at the zoo, and the rhesus
monkeys move to a suitable sanctuary. Ownership of the stumptails would
transfer to the county. And the county would pay to maintain the colony.
The county would also find a new home for the rhesus monkeys.

-- End --

More info about the UW-Madison monkey scandal is available at:

     http://www.uwosh.edu/organizations/alag/Issues.html


Date: Tue, 03 Mar 1998 22:18:32 -0500
From: allen schubert 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (FR) French McDonald's Robbed of Statue
Message-ID: <3.0.32.19980303221829.0075b78c@pop3.clark.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

from Associated Press http://wire.ap.org
-------------------------------------
MARCH 03, 14:42 EST

French McDonald's Robbed of Statue

MONTPELLIER, France (AP) -- Four masked men in black-and-white costumes
slipped past customers and stole a Ronald McDonald statue from a
McDonald's restaurant in southern France.

Before making their escape Monday in a van with false license plates, the
thieves scrawled an anti-McDonald's message on the terrace of the fast
food restaurant in Saint-Jean-de-Vedas, outside the Mediterranean city of
Montpellier, police said Tuesday.

``Humanitarian intervention. Ronald McDonald rots away your guts and
pollutes your head. React. Deliver the planet from this blight,'' the
thieves wrote.

Police were investigating.
Date: Tue, 3 Mar 1998 22:25:00 -0600
From: paulbog@jefnet.com (Rick Bogle)
To: "AR-News Post" 
Subject: Vilas - 0
Message-ID: <19980303222605154.AAC175@paulbog.jefnet.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

The truck to take the rhesus monkeys to Tulane is scheduled to start
loading them at 6:30 in the morning.

R


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