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AR-NEWS Digest 440
Topics covered in this issue include:
1) Science, science, uber alles
by Andrew Gach
2) Orcas die in Japanese amusement park
by Andrew Gach
3) (US) City Law Regulates Animal Transport
by allen schubert
4) (UK) Judgment Day in McLibel Case
by allen schubert
5) Need Circus pic
by SDURBIN@VM.TULSA.CC.OK.US
6) CITES ban lifted
by Jennifer Kolar
7) McLIBEL TRIAL JUDGMENT GIVEN TODAY (6/19/97)
by Vegetarian Resource Center
8) McLibel Verdict
by "Miggi"
9) (CA) Canadians Donate Time and Equipment To Aid Working Horses in Nicaragua
by "Patrick Tohill"
10) Elephants Sold Out At Disney
by Friends of Animals
11) VERDICT IN
by Hillary
12) McLibel
by Vegetarian Resource Center
13) McDonald's wins libel case
by BHGazette@aol.com
14) McDonald's Wins Non-Jury McLibel Suit
by Pat Fish
15) whoops- subject error
by Friends of Animals
16) Circus
by SDURBIN@VM.TULSA.CC.OK.US
17) Request for an Update
by Katj2@aol.com
18) Activists Return to Court to Save Wild Horses from Slaughter
by Mike Markarian
19) Seattle Times Taiji Story [WA]
by bchorush@paws.org (pawsinfo)
20) Elephants in Peril as Ivory Trade Reopens
by Mike Markarian
21) Re: Urgent- Calls for Elephants
by ghandy
22) S.F. Protest of Japanese Orca Deaths
by Suzanne Roy
23) McDonald's Wins Over Enviro Cyber Activists
by Pat Fish
24) Re: Request for an Update
by "Howard D. Lebowitz"
25) PR: NJ DIVISION OF FISH AND GAME PLANS ANOTHER 17 DAY COYOTE
SLAUGHTER
by veganman@IDT.NET (Stuart Chaifetz)
Date: Wed, 18 Jun 1997 23:50:43 -0700
From: Andrew Gach
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Science, science, uber alles
Message-ID: <33A8D6C3.1C8C@worldnet.att.net>
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Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
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Cassini mission's plutonium payload stirs concern
Cox News Service
(June 18, 1997 11:56 a.m. EDT) -- It might be a milestone in the
exploration of space -- a mission to probe Saturn's moons, help map the
solar system and maybe even discover how life began on Earth.
But opponents fear something will go dreadfully wrong, something that
could end the space program and threaten life -- not only in Florida,
but around the globe.
It's a risk, they say, they wouldn't take for all the science in the
solar system.
The unmanned Cassini mission, scheduled to launch from Kennedy Space
Center Oct. 6, will carry hundreds of scientific instruments, six tons
of rocket fuel and some of the most advanced technology on Earth. It
will also carry 72.3 pounds of plutonium, one of the most radioactive
substances on Earth.
Scientists at NASA and the U.S. Department of Energy say Cassini is safe
and the plutonium batteries that will power it in the outer reaches of
the solar system are wrapped in layers upon layers of high-tech
protection.
"I fully intend to bring my entire family down and have them watch this
launch and have them standing out there," said Beverly Cook, the DOE
scientist responsible for the safety of the plutonium.
But her assurances don't calm the fears of some. Critics point out that
never before has this much plutonium been used in space; that three
times before, U.S. spacecrafts carrying smaller amounts of
plutonium have had accidents; that plutonium dust will kill anyone who
breathes it.
They especially don't like NASA's 345-1 odds that there will be a
launchpad accident that releases plutonium.
"This is not a casino, this is the planet Earth, and these are lives
that are at risk," says Karl Grossman, a journalism professor and author
of two books on nuclear power. "They're guessing. They're really
guessing."
Named after a 17th Century Italian astronomer, Gian Domenic Cassini, the
mission's purpose is to study Saturn and its 18 moons, especially the
moon Titan, where Cassini will deploy a probe.
Scientists already know a few things about Titan. Its atmosphere is
about 60 percent denser than Earth's. It's colder than Earth, too, with
temperatures around -300 degrees Fahrenheit. But Titan has
one feature that fascinates scientists. It is the only celestial body we
know of with an atmosphere that is largely made up of nitrogen, just
like Earth's.
"We aren't looking for life but we are visiting a place that is about 2
billion years behind the evolution of Earth so we can actually look
backwards in time," explained Richard Spehalski, program manager for the
mission.
In fact, some are hoping that the $3.2 billion mission will help us
understand Earth better.
"(Titan) is very much like the primordial Earth," Cook said. "To study
things like global change, to know if our planet's changing, to know if
we're having any effect on how our planet is changing, we have to know
what it used to be like."
Most of the mission's critics agree that space exploration is a worthy
endeavor, but they worry that NASA is overlooking risks.
The critics have created Web sites to drum up support and have organized
rallies, letter writing campaigns and protests. On launch day, they hope
to break into the NASA complex and stage a sit-in on the launch pad.
And they've spread rumors, such as a pound of plutonium could kill
everyone on Earth. Even scientists opposed to the launch say that while
it's technically true that one pound carries enough
lethal doses for everyone on Earth, it's physically impossible to expose
everyone.
Cassini will use Plutonium 238 to power its instruments after launch.
NASA officials say it's necessary because no other type of battery will
last the entire eight-year mission, and Cassini will be too far from the
sun to use solar power.
Plutonium 238 is not the kind of highly explosive plutonium that bombs
are made of. It's only dangerous if it's pulverized into a vapor that
can be inhaled. A minute amount will cause lung cancer.
"I do think that there is some significant risk," said Arjun Makhijani,
president of the nonprofit Institute for Energy and Environmental
Research and a member of several U.S. and international
commissions studying energy and the environment.
"If there is a serious explosion on the launch pad and this plutonium is
dispersed in the area, then of course, locally, there would be a pretty
terrible amount of contamination," he said.
NASA officials say that won't happen. They estimate that a plutonium
release from a launchpad accident would be so small, it statistically
would not cause the death of one person over the next 50 years. The
plutonium inside the batteries is formed into ceramic pellets. Like a
coffee cup when it's dropped, the pellets will break into chunks, not
infintesimal, breathable particles, Cook said. The pellets have been
tested extensively.
"We put them through explosions," Cook said. "We slammed them into
concrete. For this launch, we shipped a big chunk of concrete from (Cape
Canaveral) to test it to make sure we were using the same kind of
concrete."
But NASA's own Cassini documents list possible methods to deal with
radioactive contamination, including removing all the people, animals
and vegetation, NASA says. Then, the buildings would have to be
bulldozed. Only a a half mile square would be affected, NASA says.
Critics have seized on the list, pointing to the potential disaster if
NASA is wrong and a larger area is affected. They worry that a cloud of
plutonium might drift in the wind, like a cloud of smoke did after
a launch pad accident in January. That cloud drifted 73 miles to Vero
Beach.
"For 100 or 150 miles, whichever way it goes, imagine trying to remove
all the vegetation, imagine trying to remove all the structures, all the
buildings, and imagine trying to remove all the affected population
permanently," said Bruce Gagnon, coordinator of the Florida Coalition
for Peace and Justice, the leading group opposing the launch.
"It's just an unbelievable thought," he said.
Again, NASA officials say that just won't happen. At most, they say,
1/2,000th of a gram of plutonium would be released.
"We're doing a lot of emergency planning things," Cook said. "We're
putting out a lot of teams that have monitors and that kind of thing.
Not because we think there's going to be a release but because if there
is an accident, one of the things we're going to have to do is spend a
lot of time proving that there wasn't a release."
According to NASA, the most serious risk may be two years after the
launch when Cassini flies within 500 miles of Earth to pick up speed for
the trip to Saturn. Because the technology doesn't exist to launch
Cassini fast enough to reach Saturn anytime soon, officials plan to use
the gravity of Venus, Earth and Jupiter to speed up the spacecraft,
slingshotting it toward the ringed planet.
The odds of a re-entry accident while Cassini flies by Earth at about
43,000 miles an hour are less than 1 in 1 million, according to NASA
documents. But if something does go wrong and it comes hurtling into
Earth's atmosphere, it could explode with far greater force than any
launchpad explosion. A blast of that magnitude might pulverize the
plutonium. If that happens, 5 billion people could be exposed to it,
NASA officials admit.
Even then, only about 140 people in the world would die over the next 50
years because of it, NASA officials say.
Some scientists just don't trust those numbers.
Dr. John Gofman, a medical doctor and one of the physicists who
developed the atomic bomb in the Manhattan Project, says Cassini is
carrying enough radioactive material to cause 900,000 fatal cases
of lung cancer over the next 50 years.
"It's no secret, no mystery that if you put it up there in the
atmosphere, free and in fine particles, it's going to come down and
somebody's going to inhale it," Gofman said.
"I'm taking the worst case because that's what the responsible critic
has to say. I would hope against hope that NASA's correct."
He and other critics want NASA to postpone the launch until solar
technology is available to power it.
"There's no urgency to go off," Makhijani said. "Saturn is not going to
go away somewhere."
NASA officials say Cassini has to go soon because any delays will cost
millions. They also say that the opportunity for scientific observations
won't be nearly as good if Cassini doesn't reach Saturn by 2006 because
of the position of the planet and its rings. But most of all, they say
Cassini is safe and there's no real reason to postpone it.
NASA has used plutonium on 23 other spacecrafts. Although three of those
missions ended in accidents, NASA officials say the plutonium caused no
problems.
"To me the plutonium thing receives far too much attention. We've been
flying with (the plutonium batteries) for decades," Spehalksi said.
"It's a necessary element to be able to do this kind of exploration and
the risk is small."
Again, the critics just don't trust him.
"If there is a catastrophic accident on Oct. 6, that's going to be the
end of the space program," Grossman said. "People aren't going to be
happy being relocated permanently . . . I personally believe that it's
humanity's destiny to explore space. But that would be the end of the
space program."
By SUSANNAH A. NESMITH, Cox News Service
Date: Thu, 19 Jun 1997 00:00:04 -0700
From: Andrew Gach
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Orcas die in Japanese amusement park
Message-ID: <33A8D8F4.38EA@worldnet.att.net>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
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Two killer whales die in amusement park in Japan
The Associated Press
TOKYO (June 19, 1997 02:20 a.m. EDT) -- Two killer whales captured from
the sea earlier this year have died at an amusement park in western
Japan.
Nanki Shirahama Adventure World bought three of the 10 whales taken from
the waters near Wakayama prefecture on Feb. 7, according to an official
of the Wakayama prefectural fisheries agency.
The first, a male, died June 14. Three days later, a female died. The
third remains at the park.
The cause of the deaths was not known, the fisheries agency official
said. The dead whales were transported to Wakayama prefectural medical
school for autopsies.
Of the other whales caught in February -- their capture triggered
protests from animal rights activists at home and abroad -- two are
being kept at other parks in Japan while the remaining five were
released.
Date: Thu, 19 Jun 1997 07:28:24 -0400
From: allen schubert
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (US) City Law Regulates Animal Transport
Message-ID: <3.0.32.19970619072822.006cdc58@clark.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
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Regulates transport of animals to slaughterhouses.
from AP Wire page:
-----------------------------------
06/19/1997 07:09 EST
City Law Regulates Animal Transport
CINCINNATI (AP) -- A new city ordinance bans the transport of sick or
injured animals to meat-packing plants, a law proponents say will ensure
that sick livestock aren't slaughtered for human consumption.
The law, passed unanimously by the City Council on Wednesday, also calls
for the humane treatment of animals being taken to slaughter.
Federal and meat industry officials said livestock is treated humanely
before slaughter and that federal inspectors weed out sick animals.
Proponents say such laws are needed because federal inspectors don't do
an adequate job of making sure diseased or injured animals aren't
slaughtered.
Mad-cow disease, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy, has not been
reported in the United States. It is a brain-destroying disease that has
ravaged cattle in Britain since the late 1980s. It is believed to have
been spread in cattle feed containing ground-up sheep parts.
Earlier this month, the federal government banned the use of virtually
all slaughtered-animal parts in U.S. livestock feed.
Date: Thu, 19 Jun 1997 07:29:13 -0400
From: allen schubert
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (UK) Judgment Day in McLibel Case
Message-ID: <3.0.32.19970619072911.006cb404@clark.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
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from AP Wire page:
--------------------------------------
06/19/1997 00:21 EST
Judgment Day in McLibel Case
By DIRK BEVERIDGE
AP Business Writer
LONDON (AP) -- The marathon ``McLibel'' case has finally reached the
finish line.
McDonald's Corp. today gets a verdict in its libel case against two
vegetarian activists -- the longest battle ever waged in an English
court.
Unemployed ex-postman Dave Morris and part-time bar worker Helen Steel
call McDonald's a multinational corporate menace -- abusing animals,
workers and the environment while promoting an unhealthy diet.
McDonald's says the attacks are false and defamatory and has been trying
to prove so in a trial that began almost three years ago and set several
legal longevity records along the way.
Justice Roger Bell has spent six months preparing a verdict in the case.
Bell's judgment fills three volumes and he will offer an hour and a half
summary during a hearing today.
Legal experts have predicted Bell's decision will be a hollow victory for
McDonald's, after the fast-food giant used a high-powered libel team led
by prominent London lawyer Richard Rampton against the two low-income
defendants, who represented themselves wearing jeans and sweatshirts.
If Morris and Steel should somehow win, McDonald's would face enormous
embarrassment after fighting for years in a case estimated to have cost
$16 million.
It is possible that the judge might side with McDonald's on some points
and with Morris and Steel on others.
Morris and Steel say they can claim victory regardless of how the judge
rules, because the case drew much international attention to their
criticism of the company's business practices.
The battle began years ago, when McDonald's went after activists from the
obscure left-wing group London Greenpeace, not related to the well-known
Greenpeace International, for handing out anti-McDonald's pamphlets
outside its restaurants in Britain.
McDonald's said the pamphlets -- entitled ``What's wrong with McDonald's?
Everything they don't want you to know'' -- are totally false and harmful
to its reputation.
The leaflet, which Morris and Steel call ``the fact sheet,'' accuses
McDonald's of paying low wages, fighting union organization, abusing
animals, serving beef raised on former rainforest land and promoting an
unhealthy diet full of salt and fat, while targeting children through
seductive advertising campaigns that feature the clown Ronald McDonald.
Although the activists likely would have gained little publicity with the
original leaflets, the case has attracted widespread media attention,
including a global anti-McDonald's Internet site, numerous news articles
and broadcast reports, a book and a recent British television miniseries.
Date: Thu, 19 Jun 97 06:58:21 UTC
From: SDURBIN@VM.TULSA.CC.OK.US
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Need Circus pic
Message-ID: <199706191159.HAA07936@envirolink.org>
We just found out that the person who was supposed to do our anti-circus
ad for this Sunday's Tulsa World didn't do it, so we are frantically getting
an ad together. Does anyone have a pic or drawing of a circus animal for
such an ad they could fax me early this morning? I know this is awfully
short notice, but I thought I'd give it a last try on here. We have the
wording, we just don't have a drawing or pic to draw attention to the ad.
My fax# is: 918-595-7906. Many thanks, if anyone can help at this short
of a notice!!!
-- Sherrill
Date: Thu, 19 Jun 1997 07:45:50 -0600 (MDT)
From: Jennifer Kolar
To: ar-news@envirolink.org, ar-views@envirolink.org
Subject: CITES ban lifted
Message-ID: <199706191345.HAA20613@monsoon.colorado.edu>
Mime-Version: 1.0
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Content-MD5: JqwRH/VBpSLToaqCp7D/Gg==
NPR announced this morning that yesterday a new vote on the ban on
elephant parts trading had occured and the ban has been lifted for the 3
African countries in question.
The US apparently refrained from saying much either way on the vote
fearing that these countries would vote against issues the US wanted to
push.. and the WWF supported the lift! Not suprising.
Jen Kolar
Date: Thu, 19 Jun 1997 09:47:16 -0400
From: Vegetarian Resource Center
To: vrc@tiac.net
Subject: McLIBEL TRIAL JUDGMENT GIVEN TODAY (6/19/97)
Message-ID: <3.0.2.32.19970619094716.0078dc4c@pop.tiac.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
DATE OF McLIBEL TRIAL JUDGMENT CONFIRMED
Mr Justice Bell will deliver his personal verdict in the McLibel Trial
on Thursday June 19th, from 10.30am,
in Court 36 of the Royal Courts of Justice, Strand, London WC2.
He will read out a summary of his findings which should take about an hour
and a half.
For more information, call 0115 958 5666 (UK), 1-802 586 9628 (USA/Canada).
Or http://www.mcspotlight.org/
By now the verdict should have already been delivered.
Date: Thu, 19 Jun 1997 15:35:34 +0000
From: "Miggi"
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: McLibel Verdict
Message-ID: <199706191433.PAA28418@serv4.vossnet.co.uk>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT
McDonalds exploit children with their advertising.
Mcdonalds are culpable for cruelty to animals
McDonalds are guilty of low pay.
-
Details should be on McSpotlight soon.
-
Miggi
-
PS.... Dave and Helen were excellent at the press conference.
WE WIN...... MCDONALDS LOSE
Date: Thu, 19 Jun 1997 10:38:46 -0400
From: "Patrick Tohill"
To:
Subject: (CA) Canadians Donate Time and Equipment To Aid Working Horses in Nicaragua
Message-ID: <199706191441.KAA04091@bretweir.total.net>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Contact:Patrick Tohill, Communications Officer
(416) 369-0044 wspacomm@total.net
Canadians Donate Time and Equipment to Improve
Conditions for Working Horses in Nicaragua
TORONTO, June 18, 1997--Dr. Normand Joly of Sherbrooke and Robert Perriard
of Laval have just returned to Canada flush with the satisfaction of a job
well done. The pair were part of a humanitarian mission to Nicaragua
designed to address the urgent needs of the country's working horses.
Dr. Joly and Mr. Perriard were in Granada, at the invitation of the World
Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA), to lead a horse care clinic
designed to improve conditions for the city's 250 to 300 working horses.
The three-day clinic provided hands-on instruction to some 80 participants
all of them carriage owners, drivers, farriers or veterinarians.
The two horse experts, spent much of last week in Nicaragua where they
examined nearly 100 of Granada's working horses. Once diagnosed, a specific
course of treatment was prescribed. Surgery was performed in one case.
Sadly, some horses were in such poor condition that euthanasia was the only
humane prescription.
In Nicaragua, working horses make up a significant part of the country's
depressed economy. One of the poorest countries in Latin America, Nicaragua
has an unemployment rate of 60 per cent. Vehicles with engines are just too
expensive for the majority of people in Nicaragua, most of whom are poor,
and so the horse-cart is the major form of transportation for people and
goods.
Earlier WSPA investigations had indicated that many of Nicaragua's working
horses were sick, emaciated, infested with internal parasites, and limping
due to chronic horse shoeing problems.
“It is important to note,” says Silia Smith WSPA's Executive Director in
Canada, “that the plight of these working horses is not a result of wanton
cruelty but rather ignorance and illiteracy. Most of their drivers and
owners can neither read nor write.”
Adds Dr. Joly, “These men listened to us and it's clear they want to do
something [to improve conditions for their horses] if we suggest something
they can afford.”
- more -
Page 2 of 2
For example, working horses are regularly fed a diet of bran and pasture.
This can result in malnourished and anemic animals, many of them suffering
from parasites of one kind or other. By demonstrating how a balanced diet
could be provided for just a fraction more than what horse owners were
already spending, Dr. Joly hopes to have a lasting effect which will
transcend the scope of a three-day seminar. In addition to nutrition, Dr.
Joly gave instruction in dental care, de-worming, disease prevention and
workloads.
An accomplished veterinarian, Dr. Joly has been working with horses for
more than 20 years. In 1991, the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention
of Cruelty to Animals named him “Veterinarian of the Year” for his work in
Morocco where he ran a free care veterinary hospital for six years.
Mr. Perriard, a farrier by trade, worked with Dr. Joly in Morocco where he
provided training to other farriers. An expert in the manufacture of
horseshoes, proper shoeing, tack and harness, Mr. Perriard led several
hands-on sessions on topics ranging from shoemaking to harness and carriage
design. He also demonstrated the use of his manual bending machine for the
manufacture of horse shoes.
Perriard's machine saves time and energy as the iron used for each
horseshoe need only be heated once during the process. A standard and
well-shaped horseshoe can be produced in under a minute. The machine, a
prototype of which has been in use in Morocco for over a year now, was
donated to the city of Grenada at the end of the week. WSPA also donated a
humane harness and veterinary medicine (thermometers, vitamins, broad
spectrum antibiotics, de-worming medicine, syringes, etc.).
Granada has asked WSPA to assist in preparing a basic horse care course to
be administered annually as part of carriage horse licensing. Drivers would
be required to pass the course to renew their annual licence.
Another result was the formation of a local humane society. Working with
WSPA, they plan to foster humane education, conservation and animal welfare
in their country.
- 30 -
The World Society for the Protection of Animals has been at the forefront
of animal protection and wildlife conservation for more than 40 years. The
only international animal protection organization recognized by the United
Nations, WSPA represents more than 300 member societies in over 70
countries.
Visit WSPA's website at http://www.way.net/wspa/
Date: Thu, 19 Jun 1997 08:03:21 -0700 (PDT)
From: Friends of Animals
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Elephants Sold Out At Disney
Message-ID: <2.2.16.19970619105006.530780d8@pop.igc.org>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
Scandalous Maneuvering Reopens Ivory Trade
from Southern Africa to Japan
Harare, Zimbabwe - The tenth Conference of the Parties to CITES
(Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species), voted today
to reopen the ivory trade from southern Africa to Japan, designated as
its only trading partner. "As a result," says Friends of Animals
president Priscilla Feral, "elephants and park rangers will die."
As was feared by African delegates from the range states, political
maneuvering, promises by Japan and manipulation by the chair of
Committee One combined to overturn the eight-year ivory ban. Says
Feral "Behind the scenes deals were common place here, the entire
proceeding was a disgrace."
The chair of Committee One, David Brackett of Canada, shut off
debate at this mornings volatile meeting, against protest by Israel,
Niger, Liberia, Guneau, Chad, Kenya, Ghana and many others to
move more slowly on this important issue. On Wednesday, Brackett
had allowed stalling tactics while votes were garnered against a
loss by the Southern African countries.
According to measures adopted this morning, elephant populations
of Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe will be transferred to
Appendix 2. No international trade in ivory will begin until 18
months after the transfer has come into effect. Thereafter, experimental
quotas for each country have been established to regulate the
amount of ivory traded with Japan.
According to information FoA representatives in Harare have received,
there were nine poaching incidents last week in Ghana alone.
Says Feral, "There is no doubt that poachers will be out in full force,
and that both Asian and African elephants will die as a result of this
downlisting. But the world can fully expect that as these poaching
incidents occur, FoA will be there to document them and bring them
to the worlds attention."
-30-
Date: Thu, 19 Jun 1997 11:54:35 -0700
From: Hillary
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: VERDICT IN
Message-ID: <3.0.32.19970619115433.006ebb44@pop01.ny.us.ibm.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
Date: Thu, 19 Jun 1997 12:36:22 -0400
From: Vegetarian Resource Center
To: AR-News@envirolink.org
Subject: McLibel
Message-ID: <3.0.2.32.19970619123622.00f404b0@pop.tiac.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
From: Daniel Hodson
Subject: McLibel
For any of those who are interested, I just heard on the radio that
Mcdonalds won the McLibel case - but the judge only awarded
them 60,000 dammages.
The judge also said that some of the claims made by the
defendants were true, namely that Mcdonalds treated their
staff badly, committed animal cruelty and were guilty of misusing
children in it's adverts. The defendants are taking their claim
to the European courts.
Dan
Date: Thu, 19 Jun 1997 13:04:56 -0400 (EDT)
From: BHGazette@aol.com
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: McDonald's wins libel case
Message-ID: <970619130235_912715360@emout07.mail.aol.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=unknown-8bit
June 19, 1997
Web posted at: 10:00 a.m. EDT (1400 GMT)
LONDON (CNN) -- A British judge ruled Thursday that two vegetarian
activists libeled hamburger giant McDonald's Corp. in pamphlets
portraying the company as a corporation that abuses animals, workers and
the environment.
Justice Roger Bell awarded damages of 57,500 pounds, or $94,000, to both
U.S.-based McDonald's Corp. and its British subsidiary.
But in issuing his decision in the longest trial in English history,
Bell said some of the criticisms of the fast-food chain were correct.
"The majority of the defamatory statements I found to be untrue. Others
were true," Bell said in his nearly two-hour summation of a three-volume
verdict.
McDonald's spent millions and received much criticism in the case, which
some legal experts say resulted in a hollow victory. The case began in
1990. The trial started almost three years ago and included 313 days of
testimony from 180 witnesses.
Tale of two sides
Unemployed ex-postman Dave Morris and part-time bar worker Helen Steel
in pamphlets called McDonald's a multinational corporate menace that
promotes an unhealthy diet and abuses the environment, workers and
animals.
McDonald's called the attacks false and defamatory and dragged Morris,
43, and Steel, 31, into a trial that set several legal longevity records
along the way.
The courtroom was packed Thursday with McDonald's executives in their
suits and lawyers in their wigs on one side, and the defendants and
their supporters casually dressed in shirtsleeves and anti-McDonald's
T-shirts on the other side.
Steel and Morris were greeted with cheers and war whoops by dozens of
supporters as they left the court. They then marched down the street
behind a large anti-McDonald's banner surrounded by television
journalists and by activists who chanted "No justice! Just us!"
McDonald's British president Paul Preston said, "We're satisfied with
the judgment. We're concerned about the length of time it took." He did
not immediately say whether the company would try to collect.
Because the activists are penniless it will be up to McDonald's to
decide if they will pursue the damages. The burger chain has said it is
not seeking to destroy the activists, just to stop them spreading the
allegations.
McDonald's defamed
The judge found that the defendants libeled McDonald's in most but not
all of the statements in the anti-McDonald's pamphlets they handed out.
Bell said McDonald's was defamed when the defendants accused it of
destroying rain forests and moving small farmers off their land in Third
World countries to make way for massive cattle farming.
The judge also said the defendants defamed McDonald's by calling its
food unhealthy and saying that the company lied about how much recycled
packaging it uses.
Cruel treatment of animals
But the judge said some key points of the anti-McDonald's pamphlet were
true.
The judge found that McDonald's was "culpable" in cruel treatment of
some animals, including laying hens kept in small cages their entire
lives, and other chickens that are conscious as their throats are cut.
The judge also agreed that McDonald's runs advertisements that encourage
children to pester their parents into going to the fast-food outlets.
The judge agreed with the defendants contention that McDonald's
restaurants in Britain pay low wages and sometimes treat young
impressionable workers unfairly by sending them home early when business
is slow, which lowers their pay.
But the judge did not find the overall working conditions at McDonald's
are bad. He said that although McDonald's managers don't like unions, it
was unfair for the activists to claim that the company had an anti-union
policy.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
Date: Thu, 19 Jun 1997 13:06:35 -0400 (EDT)
From: Pat Fish
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: McDonald's Wins Non-Jury McLibel Suit
Message-ID:
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII
As of 11 AM US-EST, MSNBS was reporting that McD's won the libel case. They
also are implying that their winning may not matter. More soon.
Date: Thu, 19 Jun 1997 10:28:33 -0700 (PDT)
From: Friends of Animals
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: whoops- subject error
Message-ID: <2.2.16.19970619131519.5307e662@pop.igc.org>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
The subject header was a mistake- it should have
read Elephants Sold Out At CITES (although Disney
has tried to sell out elephants, I mixed up two
email messages.)
Bill
>
>Scandalous Maneuvering Reopens Ivory Trade
>from Southern Africa to Japan
>
>Harare, Zimbabwe - The tenth Conference of the Parties to CITES
>(Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species), voted today
>to reopen the ivory trade from southern Africa to Japan, designated as
>its only trading partner. "As a result," says Friends of Animals
>president Priscilla Feral, "elephants and park rangers will die."
>
>As was feared by African delegates from the range states, political
>maneuvering, promises by Japan and manipulation by the chair of
>Committee One combined to overturn the eight-year ivory ban. Says
> Feral "Behind the scenes deals were common place here, the entire
>proceeding was a disgrace."
>
>The chair of Committee One, David Brackett of Canada, shut off
>debate at this mornings volatile meeting, against protest by Israel,
>Niger, Liberia, Guneau, Chad, Kenya, Ghana and many others to
>move more slowly on this important issue. On Wednesday, Brackett
>had allowed stalling tactics while votes were garnered against a
>loss by the Southern African countries.
>
>According to measures adopted this morning, elephant populations
>of Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe will be transferred to
>Appendix 2. No international trade in ivory will begin until 18
>months after the transfer has come into effect. Thereafter, experimental
>quotas for each country have been established to regulate the
>amount of ivory traded with Japan.
>
>According to information FoA representatives in Harare have received,
>there were nine poaching incidents last week in Ghana alone.
>Says Feral, "There is no doubt that poachers will be out in full force,
>and that both Asian and African elephants will die as a result of this
>downlisting. But the world can fully expect that as these poaching
>incidents occur, FoA will be there to document them and bring them
>to the worlds attention."
>
>
>
>-30-
>
>
Date: Thu, 19 Jun 97 12:57:47 UTC
From: SDURBIN@VM.TULSA.CC.OK.US
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Circus
Message-ID: <199706191755.NAA14147@envirolink.org>
I didn't hear from a soul on the circus photo, so I'm assuming noone
has one to send. We're taking our ad in right now, minus a photo.
-- Sherrill
Date: Thu, 19 Jun 1997 14:22:40 -0400 (EDT)
From: Katj2@aol.com
To: Ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Request for an Update
Message-ID: <970619141726_322331145@emout18.mail.aol.com>
I am looking for an update on the future of those 36 beagle puppies that were
featured on Entertainment Tonight by Kim Basinger, courtsey of PETA. I have
found the information I need in order to write to Huntington Life Sciences,
the lab that is responsibe for the scheduled experiments. The last that I
knew the experiments were simply posponed. I pray for the future of these
pups.
Thank You,
Katj2@aol.com
Date: Thu, 19 Jun 1997 11:23:24 -0700 (PDT)
From: Mike Markarian
To: ar-news@envirolink.org, seac+announce@ecosys.drdr.virginia.edu,
en.alerts@conf.igc.apc.org
Subject: Activists Return to Court to Save Wild Horses from Slaughter
Message-ID: <2.2.16.19970619142131.5d0f610c@pop.igc.org>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday, June 19, 1997
CONTACT: Mike Markarian, (301) 585-2591
Howard Crystal, (202) 588-5206
ANIMAL ACTIVISTS RETURN TO COURT TO
SAVE WILD HORSES FROM SLAUGHTER
Reno, Nev. -- Today, The Fund for Animals and Animal Protection Institute
filed a motion in U.S. District Court in Reno, asking the Court to modify a
decade-long injunction prohibiting the Bureau of Land Management from
titling wild horses to adopters when BLM knows they plan to use them for
commercial slaughter. Judge Howard McKibben issued the injunction in 1987,
and the Court of Appeals later affirmed the decision, labeling the adoption
program a "farce."
An Associated Press investigation earlier this year found that, despite the
injunction, thousands of horses obtained through the BLM's adoption program
had ended up at slaughterhouses, and that in some cases BLM officials had
personally profited. More than 200 current BLM employees have adopted over
600 animals, and some could not account for the whereabouts of their horses
while others acknowledged that they were sold to slaughter. After an adopter
pays $125 for each horse, the animals can be sold for about $700 each at
meatpacking plants.
Says Howard Crystal, attorney for the The Fund for Animals, "For a decade,
the BLM's approach to this injunction has been 'don't ask, don't tell.' The
BLM has amply demonstrated that it lacks the ability to reform its adoption
program and abide by the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act. Judicial
intervention is necessary to correct these grave abuses of the public trust."
The groups are asking the Court to modify its injunction to include several
new provisions: (1) the BLM should inquire into an adopter's intentions, by
requiring adopters to attest that they do not intend to use adopted animals
for commercial purposes; (2) BLM should discontinue large-scale adoptions,
group adoptions, and power-of-attorney adoptions, which have been a primary
source of animals being sold to slaughter; (3) BLM should send a clear
message that adopted animals cannot be used for slaughter; (4) BLM should
prohibit its employees from participating in adoption for slaughter; and (5)
the Court should maintain judicial oversight of the adoption program, and
require BLM to provide annual reports on implementation of these measures.
Adds Mike Markarian, campaign director for The Fund for Animals, "The BLM
has thumbed its nose at the Court, and thousands of horses are suffering.
These horses should be living symbols of the historic and pioneer spirit of
the West, not symbols of government corruption and cruelty."
For a copy of the motion and memorandum, please call The Fund for Animals at
(301) 585-2591.
# # #
Date: Thu, 19 Jun 1997 11:33:56 -0700 (PDT)
From: bchorush@paws.org (pawsinfo)
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Seattle Times Taiji Story [WA]
Message-ID: <199706191833.LAA26849@siskiyou.brigadoon.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
from: http://www.seattletimes.com/extra/browse/html97/whal_061997.html
Copyright © 1997 The Seattle Times Company
Thursday, June 19, 1997
Two whales whose capture drew protests
die in Japan
by Nancy Bartley
Seattle Times South bureau
Deaths of a baby whale and a female orca in a
Japan aquarium were
confirmed yesterday. The two were among five
whales whose capture
was shown on television across the U.S. in
February, resulting in a
series of local protests.
The office of the Japanese consul general in
Seattle confirmed that the
female died Saturday and the baby, a young
male, died Tuesday.
In the video of the capture, the baby thrashed
and screamed. Then
other whales were run aground and captured,
hoisted aboard a ship in
slings.
Senior Consul Yoshio Uchiyama said the whales'
cause of death is
being investigated. He declined further comment
on the matter.
"It's very sad but it seemed inevitable," said
Bob Chorush, spokesman
for the Lynnwood-based Progressive Animal
Welfare Society
(PAWS), which organized one local protest of
the capture. "The
female had hardly eaten at all since her
capture four months ago.
Other than being released, there are no happy
endings for these
whales."
The whales were captured 150 miles southwest of
Tokyo within
Japan's 200-mile fishing limit.
The Japanese government issued a permit
allowing for the capture of
the animals for scientific research, and the
whales were sold to a
Japanese marine-amusement park, Shirahama
Adventure World,
which, according to Uchiyama, is a
government-approved aquarium.
Among the various protests of the February
capture, 100 people
turned out in a downpour for a "Free Willy"
program at Victor
Steinbrueck Park in Seattle. And since then
Democratic Sen. Patty
Murray, U.S. Rep. Jack Metcalf, R-Langley, a
dozen or so legislators
and Secretary of State Ralph Munro have
continued the battle to free
the whales, without success.
Munro met with Japanese Consul General Naotoshi
Sugiuchi in
February. After a 30-minute discussion, the
diplomat said he would
relay the sentiments of the public to officials
in Tokyo, but warned he
didn't know if it would prompt officials to
change their minds.
Chris Strow, a spokesman for Metcalf, said the
representative is to
give a speech on the death of the whales before
the House today. But
he said Metcalf believes because the whales
were caught in Japanese
coastal waters, there is little that can be done.
However, others are more convinced than ever
that it's time to fight.
"It's a double atrocity," said Amy Carey, a
Seattle whale-protest
activist who has communicated with
whale-watchers in Japan. "It's
appalling that it happened in the first place
and then to be allowed to
die so horribly."
People like Carey have written to President
Clinton, asking that the
U.S. enact trade sanctions against Japan, and
they've joined forces
with activists in Japan, who are equally outraged.
PAWS has a Web site with information, including
a letter claiming to
be an eyewitness account of the capture,
written by a Japanese
environmentalist.
In all, 10 orcas were captured that day and
five were released. The
last of them struggled to the end and was
bleeding when finally
captured, the author of the letter wrote.
Richard and Lauren Shuler Donner, who made the
movie "Free
Willy," also have taken up the cause, and in a
letter to the Japanese
prime minister demanded the release of the
whales. They also said
Japanese fishing is "wiping out whole species
of marine mammals,
specifically entire societies of pilot whales."
For everyone concerned about the whales, there
is one goal, PAWS'
Chorush said: "Return the three still alive
back to the wild."
Copyright © 1997 The Seattle Times Company |
Permission requests and information
Bob Chorush Web Administrator, Progressive Animal Welfare Society (PAWS)
15305 44th Ave West (P.O. Box 1037)Lynnwood, WA 98046 (425) 787-2500 ext
862, (425) 742-5711 fax
email bchorush@paws.org http://www.paws.org
Date: Thu, 19 Jun 1997 11:22:51 -0700 (PDT)
From: Mike Markarian
To: ar-news@envirolink.org, seac+announce@ecosys.drdr.virginia.edu,
en.alerts@conf.igc.apc.org
Subject: Elephants in Peril as Ivory Trade Reopens
Message-ID: <2.2.16.19970619142109.5d0f06c4@pop.igc.org>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday, June 19, 1997
CONTACT: Christine Wolf, 011-263-4-780-793 (Zimbabwe)
Heidi Prescott, 301-585-2591 (United States)
ELEPHANTS IN PERIL AGAIN AS WORLD CONVENTION REOPENS IVORY TRADE
Harare, Zimbabwe -- Today, in a giant leap backwards that destroyed hard-won
protection for elephants, parties to the Convention on International Trade
in Endangered Species (CITES) approved three proposals to reopen the trade
in African elephant ivory. Botswana, Namibia, and Zimbabwe submitted
proposals to downlist the elephant populations in their countries from
Appendix I, which prohibits trade in elephant parts, to Appendix II, which
allows trade.
Says Christine Wolf, director of government affairs for The Fund for
Animals, on location in Zimbabwe, "The approval of these proposals will
effectively return us to the days when poachers and ivory traders
slaughtered these majestic elephants indiscriminately, simply for their
tusks, and left elephant carcasses strewn across the African savannah."
In 1989, CITES parties listed the African elephant on Appendix I after
decades of poaching had reduced the continent-wide population from 1.3
million to fewer than 500,000. Prior to this year's convention, a CITES
panel of experts conducted research in Botswana, Namibia, and Zimbabwe to
evaluate their ability to control the trade in ivory. The report issued by
the panel illuminated serious flaws in each nation's enforcement capabilities.
The U.S. delegation to CITES firmly opposed the proposals. Donald Barry of
the Department of the Interior said on the convention floor, "A vote in
favor of these proposals is a vote to return to the ivory trade. For the
sake of the elephant, that is too great a risk to take."
Besides reopening the ivory trade, the downlisting of African elephants to
Appendix II will also entitle countries to export live elephants for zoos
and other "non-commercial purposes," and will make is easier for American
trophy hunters to kill African elephants and bring home the trophies.
Adds Cleveland Amory, founder and president of The Fund for Animals and
best-selling author, "The world fought hard to protect our elephants, and
with one sweeping vote those protections were eliminated. If we won't
protect one of the most beautiful creatures in all the world, I can't
imagine what chance the homely animals will ever have."
# # #
Date: Thu, 19 Jun 1997 15:42:09 -0500
From: ghandy
To: foa@igc.apc.org
Cc: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Re: Urgent- Calls for Elephants
Message-ID: <33A999A1.5884@fyiowa.infi.net>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Friends of Animals wrote:
>
> Urgent Action for Elephants
>
> This morning's paper in Zimbabwe reported and confirmed that
> Tanzania and Zambia have turned away from their stand for
> Appendix 1 and will support downlisting this could be the beginning
> of other African nations buckling to ivory interest lobbying and pressure.
>
> Call Vice-president Al Gore and demand that the U.S. delegation
> take a more aggressive, high-profile stand against the downlisting
> of African elephants at the CITES meeting now underway in Zimbabwe.
>
> Call:
>
> Vice President Al Gore
> phone (202) 456-2326
> fax (202) 456-7044
> email vice.president@whitehouse.gov
Date: Thu, 19 Jun 1997 16:45:50 -0500 (CDT)
From: Suzanne Roy
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: S.F. Protest of Japanese Orca Deaths
Message-ID: <199706192145.QAA03076@dfw-ix11.ix.netcom.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
IN DEFENSE OF ANIMALS NEWS RELEASE
Date:June 19, 1997CONTACT: Suzanne Roy
Video footage of orca capture available 415/388-9641, ext. 26
OUTRAGE OVER ORCA (KILLER WHALE) DEATHS FOCUS OF PRESS
CONFERENCE/PROTEST AT
JAPAN’S CONSUL GENERAL TOMORROW
San Francisco, Calif..¾ An environmentalist who last month attempted to
break the solo transpacific sailing record from San Francisco to Tokyo to
bring world attention to the plight of five orcas (killer whales) captured
off Japan’s coast earlier this year will join animal advocates tomorrow at a
press conference and protest tomorrow outside the Japanese consulate in San
Francisco. At issue is the recent deaths of two of the five captured orcas.
At the protest, the activists will call for the immediate return to the wild
of the remaining three orcas.
WHAT: PRESS CONFERENCE AND PROTEST
WHERE: JAPANESE CONSULATE
50 Fremont Street (Cross street is Mission)
San Francisco
WHEN:Friday, June 20, 1997
Noon - 1 p.m.
With the consent of the Japanese government, the orcas were captured in
February 1997, allegedly for “scientific research” purposes. The animals,
however, were sold to amusement parks in Japan for an estimated $250,000
each. The capture sparked public outrage as video footage showing young
orcas being separated from their mothers was broadcast internationally. On
June 14th, a young male calf, who was seen on videotape screaming as he was
airlifted from the sea and loaded onto a truck at the time of capture, died
at Shirahama Adventure World amusement park. Three days later, a female
orca, who had been pregnant when captured, died. According to reports from
Japan, she suffered a miscarriage in April and refused to eat in captivity.
Eventually, the orca became so weak that she could not even float by
herself. As a result, the water in her tank was decreased to half. In the
end, she was held up by a canvas sling.
“The responsibility for these orca deaths lies squarely in the hands of
Shirahama Adventure World, the Japanese Fisheries Agency and the Prime
Minister,” said Michael Reppy, whose transpacific sail logged over 5,000
miles before his boat capsized just 250 miles from Tokyo. Reppy, who will
attend the press conference as a representative of Earth Island Institute
and three Japanese organizations: Japan Environmental Exchange, Dolphin
Whale Action Network and Elsa Nature Conservancy, was rescued by the
coordinated efforts of the Japanese Coast Guard.
“I survived the ordeal, though I lost my boat. The five orcas are not so
fortunate. Japanese officials have failed them,” Reppy concluded. “ Japan
is the only nation left in the world that is capturing wild orcas. How much
more suffering and dying of these highly intelligent and magnificent animals
will it take before Japan stops this brutal practice?”
In Defense of Animals, which is organizing the press conference and protest,
is a national, non-profit animal advocacy organization based in Mill Valley,
Calif.
Date: Thu, 19 Jun 1997 17:59:50 -0400 (EDT)
From: Pat Fish
To: "* You * (and others?)":;@fang.cs.sunyit.edu
Subject: McDonald's Wins Over Enviro Cyber Activists
Message-ID:
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII
June 18, London UK
McDonald's has won the hollowest of victories against two
Greenpeace-London activists for handing out information critical of the
multinational corporation. McDonald's has said it has no expectation of
actually collecting damages, which non-British sources have converted into
US dollars ranging from $200,000 down to only $90,000. Having spent 16
Million on the case, the debacle has become a blueprint for corporations on
exactly how not to deal with critics in the age of the internet.
Even worse for McDonald's than the financial black-hole, the very
information the company sought to suppress became the the inspiration for
the celebrated "McSpotlight" expose' site (www.mcspotlight.org). The site
contains court transcripts in which McDonald's executives make admissions
they'd rather the public not hear.
The site has been widely heralded as the archetype for future internet
campaigns against the rich and powerful. Because of the internet, the
distinctions between media and medium, activist and journalist, story and
news-distribution channel became blurred. So new and compelling was the
phenomenon in which McSpotlight activists rerouted around McDonald's legal
defenses, that numerous articles have been written analyzing the site's
history as a watershed moment in online-activism. Before the ruling was
even in, a three-hour documentary, a book, and innumerable published
articles had been finished.
However McDonald's has leaned on major news organizations like the
Australian 60 Minutes in an attempt to minimize escalating media coverage.
Some media outlets covering internet issues steered clear of case, or gave
it faint praise in the same league with minor gripe-sites. One writer for a
leading news organization reporting on the internet's influence on society,
thought it impossible that their parent corporations would allow in-depth
coverage of the McSpotlight saga.
Dave Morris, one of the defendants, said the burger giant's victory is
meaningless because they were denied a trial by jury, and plan to appeal to
the European Court of Human Rights. While they may have lost in a one-man
court, supporters claim to have won in the court of public opinion. Since
McDonald's attempt to silence it's critics, interest has grown and millions
more leaflets have been distributed. The "McLibel 2" supporters' web site,
McSpotlight, which is mirrored across several continents, has likewise had
millions of visits.
The same leaflets are now being distributed in the US, where such a libel
case would not be as readily winnable, due to free speech protections.
Morris said they plan to petition the European government to change
Britain's midaevil libel laws which many say unfairly limit political
activities. In the US, SLAPP suits (Strategic Litigation Against Public
Participation) are less common, though Oprah Winfrey is currently being sued
by the cattle industry, and Gateway 2000 has shut down sites critical of, or
parodying the bovine-based computer company.
The judge in the McLibel case was unconvinced that McDonald's was
immediately responsible for the destruction of rainforests and other
environmental ills, and decided in the mutlinational's favor.
However, the judge found that McDondald's is cruel to animals, does
mistreat workers, unfairly targets children with seductive adverts intended
to pressure their parents, and that McDonald's nutritional claims are
deceptive. The McLibel activists say that is really what their leafletting
was all about, and on that basis, they are claiming victory.
The same pamphlet that started the lawsuit is being made available on the
McSpotlight site, and activists plan to use it in support of the defendants
at worldwide McDonald's protests planned for Saturday.
Pat Fish
Computer Professionals for Earth & Animals
Date: Thu, 19 Jun 97 18:42:24 -0400
From: "Howard D. Lebowitz"
To: , "AR-NEWS Submitt"
Subject: Re: Request for an Update
Message-ID: <19970619224117.AAA26265@[207.146.236.79]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Katj2@aol.com
>I am looking for an update on the future of those 36 beagle puppies that were
>featured on Entertainment Tonight by Kim Basinger, courtsey of PETA. I have
>found the information I need in order to write to Huntington Life Sciences,
>the lab that is responsibe for the scheduled experiments. The last that I
>knew the experiments were simply posponed. I pray for the future of these
>pups.
>
>Thank You,
>Katj2@aol.com
White Plains: Beagles saved, for now, from drug research
(Publication date: 6/17/1997)
By Jane Lerner
©1997 Gannett Suburban Newspapers
Three dozen dogs got a reprieve yesterday from an appointment with scientists who plan to break
their legs to test a
new bone-mending drug, according to a drug company based in White Plains.
After worldwide protests by animal rights groups, including one in White Plains, Yamanouchi
USA Inc. suspended its
plan to break the legs of 36 anesthetized beagles, according to Anthony Roccograndi, lawyer for
the multibillion dollar
Japanese pharmaceutical company.
"The thought of breaking dogs' bones would bother anybody," Roccograndi said. "But a sacrifice
has to be made for the
benefit of human beings."
The company says it has already tried -- and failed -- to find an alternative method to test the
drug. But the
experiment, which was scheduled to start this week, will be postponed while scientists review
laboratory procedures,
Roccograndi said.
The dogs will receive pain killers while the break heals, he said. Beagles were chosen because
their bones are closest to
humans, he said. At the end of the experiment, the dogs will be killed, Roccograndi said.
Organizers of yesterday's White Plains demonstration was People for the Ethical Treatment of
Animals, or PETA, an
animal rights group based in Norfolk, Va.
The planned experiment reached the attention of actress Kim Basinger, a longtime animal rights
activist and PETA
member. She wrote a letter to Yamanouchi's president, Shingo Ogawa, offering to adopt the dogs
and bringing national attention to the experiments.
The company is not interested in taking her up on her offer, said Roccograndi. Basinger's publicist
said yesterday the offer stands.
About 30 people work in the company's American headquarters at 10 Bank St. in White Plains,
where eight PETA members dressed in black and wearing skull masks stood yesterday. The
activists held signs urging the company to spare the animals and handed pedestrians excerpts from
Basinger's letter.
The dogs are in a laboratory in East Millstone, N.J., where animal rights groups last week held a
similar protest. Protests were also scheduled yesterday in England and Japan.
Yamanouchi hopes the new drug, identified by its code name YM 175, will treat people suffering
from osteoporosis, a bone disease.
About 10 million people in this country have osteoporosis, which is marked by painfully brittle
bones and frequent fractures, especially among women and the elderly, according to the National
Osteoporosis Foundation in Washington, D.C.
Animal rights groups insist there are better ways to test the drug.
"There is no excuse to torture and kill dogs," said Jason Baker, a PETA spokesman who
organized the White Plains demonstration.
Few people strolling near the Bank Street office building showed much interest in the protest.
Office workers ate their lunches in the noon sunshine just feet away from the activists.
"I agree with everything these people say," said Melissa Blair, an Orange County resident who
works in White Plains. "They should find another way to test the drug."
But another pedestrian handed information from the animal rights group disagreed.
"You have to take care of people first," said Hartsdale resident Rene Vera, who works in White
Plains. "Dogs are important but people are more important."
Many scientists insist there is no substitute for drug research using animals.
"At this moment, there is no method accepted by the federal government that is as good and
accurate as animal testing," said Mary Brennan, executive vice president of the Foundation for
Biomedical Research, a nonprofit organization that supports the right to do animal experiments.
If all animal research was outlawed, there would be no new treatments for such conditions as
cancer, AIDS, and organ
donation, she said.
"People would die," Brennan said.
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Date: Thu, 19 Jun 1997 23:48:39 -0400 (EDT)
From: veganman@IDT.NET (Stuart Chaifetz)
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: PR: NJ DIVISION OF FISH AND GAME PLANS ANOTHER 17 DAY COYOTE
SLAUGHTER
Message-ID:
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
New Jersey Animal Rights Alliance
PO Box 174
Englishtown, NJ 07726
908-446-6808
News Release
Contact: Stuart Chaifetz 201-955-9203
NJ DIVISION OF FISH AND GAME PLANS ANOTHER 17 DAY COYOTE SLAUGHTER
****Teaching Children To Hunt and Kill Animals Also On Their Agenda****
Trenton - This past February, the Division of Fish Game and Wildlife opened
up the first coyote hunting season in our state. This action was met with
overwhelming opposition by the people of this state. Reacting to the
monumental amount of negative attention they were getting, Fish and Game
biologist Robert Lund answered, "This is the worst. No question." Despite
this fact, Fish and Gameís 1997-98 proposed game code includes another 17
day slaughter of coyotes.
"This shows how contemptuous they are, and exposes Fish and Game for the
autocracy it is," states Stuart Chaifetz, chair, NJARAís anti-hunting
committee. "They don't care what people think. They don't care about the
suffering of animals. They only care about providing animals for hunters to
kill."
Fish and Game Increases Hunting "Opportunities" for Children
Fish and Game is desperately trying to reverse the trend that has caused
the numbers of hunters to decline dramatically over the years by bringing
more children into hunting. This year, children between 10 and 15 years old
will be allowed to shoot and kill pheasants, quail and chukkar a few days
before the regular hunting season for these animals.
"Children under 16 are not allowed to drive a car or vote, and yet Fish and
Game is encouraging them to use powerful weapons to slaughter animals,"
said Terry Fritzges of NJARA. "I find it preposterous that the tobacco
companies are criticized for targeting children with dangerous substances
while we have a state agency that actively promotes and facilitates putting
children in life-endangering activities."
Hunting and children are a dangerous mixture. Between 1990 and 1996 there
were 19 hunting accidents that were caused by persons between the ages of
10 and 19. Just a few weeks ago a 14 year old West Milford boy shot himself
in the face with a shotgun while he was turkey hunting. As long as Fish and
Game continue to push children into hunting, there will be more accidents.
"Children should be taught to respect and care for animals, not to butcher
them for pleasure," added Fritzges.
NJARA is a community based, non-profit, educational organization working
toward a more peaceful, nonviolent coexistence with our earthly companions,
both human and nonhuman. Through our programs of promoting responsible
science, ethical consumerism and environmentalism, NJARA advocates change
that greatly enhances the quality of life for animals and people and
protects the earth.
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