LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 5, 1998--Protect Pets and Wildlife (ProPAW), a statewide political committee, Thursday submitted more than 720,000 signatures to California's 58 county elections offices in an effort to qualify a statutory initiative for the November 1998 ballot to ban cruel and indiscriminate traps and poisons. The California Constitution requires 433,269 valid signatures of California registered voters to qualify a statewide petition.
ProPAW filed the initiative language with the California Attorney General in July 1997. Petitioning began approximately six weeks later on Sept. 8 and officially ended on Feb. 5, 1998.
"This was an enormously powerful and successful petition drive. More than 13,000 Californians volunteered to work on the campaign, and nearly three-quarters of a million Californians signed the petition to stop the cruel and unnecessary killing of our wildlife," said campaign manager Aaron Medlock.
"The response from voters throughout the state was steadfast support for the initiative and utter shock upon learning that these traps and poisons are still legally used in California."
Specifically, the ProPAW initiative will protect wildlife and family pets by banning cruel and indiscriminate traps -- including the steel-jawed leghold trap -- for recreation or the fur trade. It also will ban especially dangerous poisons that are harmful to animals and the environment. Exceptions are provided to control nuisance animals and to protect public health and safety.
"It's disgraceful that more than 15,000 animals -- including bobcats, foxes and beavers -- are cruelly trapped for their fur in California each year," said Medlock. The measure bans the use of body-gripping traps -- steel-jawed leghold traps, snares and conibears -- for recreation or commerce in fur. Voters in Arizona, Colorado and Massachusetts voted in recent elections to ban the use of these traps in their states.
The two poisons that would be prohibited by the measure are sodium fluoroacetate, also known as Compound 1080, and sodium cyanide. "Both are slow-acting poisons which cause extremely drawn-out and agonizing deaths," Medlock said.
"In addition, Compound 1080, which was originally banned by the Nixon Administration but is now making a comeback, can linger in the food chain, killing any animals -- wildlife or pets -- that feed on the carcass of the poisoned animal." Compound 1080 is already prohibited in 16 California counties because of concerns that endangered species will eat tainted carcasses and die.
The measure has been endorsed by animal protection, environmental and civic groups across the state and is sponsored by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals; the Animal Protection Institute; The Ark Trust, Inc.; Doris Day Animal League; The Fund for Animals; The Humane Society of the United States; and The International Fund for Animal Welfare.
CONTACT:
ProPAW Aaron Medlock, 310/207-7706
or
The Ark Trust, Inc. Lisa Agabian, 818/501-2275
Four bison held in a capture facility were marked with orange paint and relocated in West Yellowstone on Thursday, January 22. These buffalo are again at risk of being captured and/or killed by Montana's Department of Livestock (DOL). The marking paint had worn off within two days of their release.
These bison were released on Horse Butte, an area where hundreds of buffalo were killed last year. The DOL is in the final stages of approval for building another capture and testing facility on Horse Butte.
All nine buffalo captured on January 22 were males. Five were shipped to slaughter. Male bison are considered a low risk for transmission of brucellosis by the Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). APHIS has stated that they will not revoke Montana's brucellosis-free status if Montana tolerates the presence of bull bison in the state up to 60 days prior to the return of cattle.
Yet Montana's DOL still insists upon killing the Yellowstone buffalo. "The only way brucellosis can be transmitted to cattle is through contact with an aborted bison fetus. The needless slaughter of five bull buffalo hearkens back to last winter and only strengthens Buffalo Nations' commitment to prevent this tragedy from happening again. Buffalo Nations will defend these buffalo until an acceptable management plan is implemented and the DOL is no longer involved with the buffalo," stated Michael Mease co-founder of Buffalo Nations.
Last year, the DOL marked and released bison from the capture facilities who tested negative for brucellosis. Yet many marked bison were subsequently shot in the field. Joanne Stovall, a resident of Horse Butte, reports, "I saw that those animals who had been marked and were supposedly protected were killed last winter. When it came time to shoot the bison, they killed any that were around so it seems like it was futile to even test them in the first place. Afterwards I saw carcasses with the DOL markings that were supposed to protect them."
The DOL refused to release any information about the tests, even to the National Park Service. A DOL agent was quoted saying, " We are not giving any information to you bleeding heart liberals" addressing a park service ranger. According to the Bison Interim plan the park service and the DOL are mandated by law to work together. The Department of Livestock, alone, has no right to determine the fate of our last wild buffalo.
Buffalo Nations
PO Box 957
West Yellowstone, MT 59758
406-646-0070 phone
406-646-0071 fax
buffalo@wildrockies.org
We would love to hear voices around the country rise up and let "public servants" know that the people will not stand for their horrible treatment of the last wild buffalo.
There is a page off the Buffalo Nations web sites with the addresses of regional and national papers that need letters to the editor printed. Perhaps more people will start paying attention and say "stop the slaughter!"
http://www.wildrockies.org/buffalo/speak/speak.html
Don't start at the top...just pick one at random (or five...one for each buffalo killed) We need to generate heartfelt letters that point the finger at the Montana's Department of Livestock.
Folks need to know that there is plenty of PUBLIC land in the area that buffalo could be grazing on (instead of leasing it to a few priveleged cows). It is our land and the buffalo should be given rights to it.
Brucellosis free status could be determined on a county to county basis, then the Montana StockGrowers assoc might back off? Bull Buffalo CAN NOT transmit brucellosis (not that any wild buffalo ever has transmitted it in the wild) so why kill them? Elk have brucellosis...when will they begin the extermination of the Yellowstone elk herds?
Every small action can make a difference! (apathy means death for buffalo)
Even thought it's like talking to a wall...the Governor of Montana could put an end to all of this. Marc Racicot needs to hear that his state's blatant disregard for the last wild buffalo will cause Montana to lose valuable tourist support!
Marc Racicot
Governor of Montana
State Capitol
Helena, MT 59620
(406) 444-3111; 406-444-5543 (hm) Call anytime.
Fax 406 444-5529.
mailto:amalcolm@mt.gov
mailto:momholt-mason@mt.gov
There is an issue in the Utah Legislature that threatens the rights of people who want to protect wildlife. S.J.R. 10 would amend the State Constitution to change the rules concerning citizen ballot initiatives: "Legislation initiated to allow, limit, or prohibit the taking of wildlife or the season for or method of taking wildlife shall be adopted upon approval of two thirds of those voting."
Currently, Utah citizens have the right to gather signatures to place a question on the statewide ballot for voters to decide. In a general election, a simple majority will enact the ballot initiative into law. Why should wildlife advocates be subject to stricter rules than other citizens?
S.J.R. 10 could cripple any future ballot initiative to restrict trapping or trophy hunting practices. The bill has already made it out of Committee in the Senate, and it is moving quickly. We need your immediate help to stop this bill in its tracks! (Because it is a constitutional amendment, the bill needs two thirds approval in both the Senate and the House. We can defeat this bill with your help!)
IF YOU LIVE IN UTAH, PLEASE CALL YOUR STATE SENATOR AND STATE REPRESENTATIVE IN SALT LAKE CITY TODAY, AND ASK THEM TO OPPOSE S.J.R. 10. (If you do not know who represents you, call your local library, town or city hall, or League of Women Voters for assistance.)
CALL YOUR SENATOR AT (801) 538-1035. CALL YOUR REPRESENTATIVE AT (801) 538-1029.
Here are a few points you may wish to make when you call:
*** The right to participate in the initiative process is a tradition in Utah. People with views on wildlife issues should not be subject to more stringent requirements than other citizens.
*** Citizens should be encouraged to take part in the government process, not discouraged by strict rules and requirements set by special interest legislators and lobbyists.
*** The standard for ballot initiatives should be universally applied to all, and cannot be changed to fit the political whims of our legislators.
Thank you for your help! For more information please contact
The Fund for Animals' Rocky Mountain office at (307) 859-8440 or alococo@wyoming.com
or the Predator Education Fund at (801) 575-7101 or
utah.predator@worldnet.att.net
Whistleblowers called PETA to report that on January 24, Ringling Bros. Circus forced Kenny, an endangered Asian baby elephant, to perform three shows even though he was sick. Soon after the third show ended, the 3-year-old elephant died. According to the federal Animal Welfare Act, Ringling is required to provide adequate veterinary care to it animals. Please urge the U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to suspend Ringling Brothers' exhibitor license immediately pending a thorough investigation into Kenny's death and the veterinary treatment he received. Please tell Sears that its sponsorship of Ringling Bros. should stop.
Write to:
Ron DeHaven, D.V.M.
Deputy Administrator Animal Care
U.S. Department of Agriculture Unit 97
4700 River Road
Riverdale, MD 20737
ace@aphis.usda.gov
fax: 301-734-4328
phone: 301-734-4980
Arthur Martinez,
Chairman & CEO
Sears, Roebuck & Co.
3333 Beverly Road
Hoffman Estates, Il 60179
phone: 800-762-3048
fax: 800-427-3049
Call Ringling's public relations which is actually Ringling themselves and voice your outrage about Kenny and animals in entertaiment. Tell them that they could have a wonderful circus without the animal acts.
Phone 703-448-4120
fax: 703-448-4119
Feld Entertainment Inc.
8607 Westwood Ctr. Drive
Vienna, Va 22182
Also write to Sears Marketing Director and tell him to stop sponsering Ringling.
John Lebbad
Director Of Marketing 727SMA-490
333 Beverly Road
Hoffman Estates, IL 60179
LONDON (AP) - Circus animals are routinely beaten, whipped and clubbed by trainers, according to a report by animal rights advocates that calls for a ban on the use of animals in traveling shows.
In an 18-month undercover investigation by the London-based Animal Defenders, field officers infiltrated 10 British circuses by getting jobs as grooms.
The authors of the report say in the best of conditions, circuses cannot properly care for the animals. In the worst, they say, circus animals in Britain should be brought under laws regulating standards of animal welfare in zoos and safari parks as they are in the United States.
The report, which will be presented today to members of Parliament, examined 23 circuses and drew on 400 hours of videotape that included scenes of beatings and long confinements.
A spokesman for the Chipperfield circus family, one of Britain's largest circus organizations and one of the circuses infiltrated, responded that all its animals are seen regularly by veterinarians.
The Animal Defenders' investigation could have far-reaching international effects, said Richard Farinato, director of captive wildlife protection at the Humane Society of the United States.
``It should blow it wide open,'' Farinato said. ``It's going to be much more difficult for circuses to explain away the odd incidents that come out.''
One piece of the British group's footage featured an elephant being beaten relentlessly with an iron bar. In another, an 18-month-old chimpanzee is being kicked and whipped.
``Elephants were beaten with pitchforks, shovels, elephant hooks and anything else to hand - on one occasion, the animal was brought to the ground screaming,'' Animal Defenders director Jan Creamer said. ``In over 20 years of studying the use of animals and campaigning for animal protection, this is the most appalling abuse I have ever seen.''
The report concluded that ``abuse is part of daily life for circus animals, whether it be a smack, a punch, a whipping, club or full blown beating.''
Such abuse is outlawed by Britain's basic animal cruelty laws, but Creamer said the problem is that it must be witnessed to be prosecuted.
In December Yukon's Minister of Renewable Resources, Eric Fairclough, announced that there would be no more wolf controls in his government's term (nearly 3 more years).
He did this in the face of considerable pressure by some of his own bureaucrats and the Yukon Fish and Game association who wanted "small scale" "targeted" or "focussed" wolf controls to reduce "pressure" in key habitats. (Without having to reduce hunting any significant amount).
Mr. Fairclough has taken some heat and is still under some pressure. A note of support or congratulation would help - and be appreciated.
Some key points include:
Please write to:
The Hon. Eric Fairclough
Minister of Renewable Resources
Yukon Territorial Government,
Box 2703,
Whitehorse, Yukon, Y1A 2C6
eric.fairclough@gov.yk.ca
CC's to other members of government supporting Mr. Fairclough's decision would be helpful on this issue:
trevor.harding@gov.yk.ca
dlivingston@hypertech.yk.ca
gary.mcrobb@gov.yk.ca
pjmcdona@gov.yk.ca
dave.sloan@gov.yk.ca
lmmoorcr@gov.yk.ca
Todd.Hardy@tempest.gov.yk.ca
Global Day of Action Against P&G is slated for March 28, 1998. Last year, 80 protests took place in 10 countries around the world.
In Defense of Animals has just done a mailing to activists and organizations in the U.S. about Global Day. The mailing includes packets with their new anti-P&G brochure. If you would like to participate in Global Day, e-mail your name and address to ida@idausa.org.
Humanitarians throughout the world must take action to fight against the gruesome fires that have been burning for months in Indonesia, destroying the forest homes of the severely endangered orangutans, elephants, Sumatran tigers, leaf monkeys and other inhabitants of the forested islands controlled by the dictator Suharto. The fires, set by the palm oil industry to clear the forest, have burrowed deep into the vast peat bogs and seams of coal where they may continue to smolder for years. Birds and insects have disappeared in many places. People and animals alike suffer from the poisonous smog.
The Indonesian government wants to plant over 2 million acres of industrial, fast-growing trees to replace the majestic rainforest, one of the richest and most diverse ecologies on our planet and home for millennia to the orangs and their fellow creatures. Most of this will be cleared by fire unless the greedy timber barons can be stopped.
YOU CAN HELP PREVENT THESE DEVASTATING FIRES FROM BEING SET by opposing the billions of our US tax dollars the Clinton Administration wants to give the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to "bail out" Indonesia. "USA Today" reports that "President Clinton called Suharto to warn that the United States would insist on economic reforms before endorsing the $43 billion IMF bailout plan." But, the article states, "Tightening up on the economic side while overlooking the environmnet may be the worst policy of all. Without check, Indonesia would certainly accelerate the cutting and burning of forests to raise the foreign exchange it urgently needs."
STOP FAST TRACK FUNDING FOR THE IMF Please write your Senators and Representative and tell them you oppose the huge $18 billion appropriation for the International Mopnetary Fund that President Clinton wants to "fast track" in February. Ask them to ensure that IMF funding goes through the normal appropriations process, with full and open public hearings every step of the way.
The National "Organic" Charade Genetically Manipulated Organisms and Sewer Sludge in Food by A. Gayle Hudgens, Ph.D. c1998
After failing miserably to fix the problem of contaminated foods (especially at packing plants) which the Centers for Disease Control estimates causes illness for 30 million Americans and death for more than 9,000 each year, the U S Department of Agriculture may have blown it again. This time, swayed by lobbyists for corporate science and technology, the USDA now seemingly wants to befoul healthy, safe, organic food. As you read this, the most formidable technology ever devised --genetically manipulated (or modified) organisms (GMO), also known as genetically engineered (GE) food and euphemistically as "biotechnology"--is being deployed around the world with no attention to the repercussions to health, society, all our futures.
This might be fine and dandy were we assured of the need for and safety of this new technology. It, however, strikes out wretchedly in the needs category. As Daniel Quinn, author of _Ishmael_ and the _Story of B_, has said,
"Unlike deer, which decline in number when their increased population strains their food supply, we humans grow more food when our population increases... [furthermore] The starving millions are used as an excuse for us to increase our food production, yet the surplus does not reach the starving millions."
In the safety arena, the agricultural industrial complex is equally clueless. No one knows whether GMO technology will alter Nature, cause more resistance in antibiotics, jump to wild or other plant species, or cause harm to bees, beneficial insects, pets, humans. As Dr. Suzanne Wuerthele, a nationally known expert in toxicology and risk assessment in these matters, asserts:
"There is no process--across all U.S. federal agencies-- to evaluate the hazards of GE organisms,... no formal risk assessment methodologies. No science policies.... No understanding of the full range of hazards from GE organisms."
Moreover, she maintains that GMO is being "promoted, in the face of concerns by respectable scientists and in the face of data to the contrary, by the very agencies which are supposed to be protecting human health and the environment." Most damning, she says, concerned scientists "are told to be silent."
This is not what Congress intended in 1990 when it passed the Organic Foods Production Act, to which the USDA was supposed to have given life via rules, regulations, and standards by 1993. It's 1998 and they still haven't done so.
Hays County farmer Steve Sprinkel calls this Act "The Mouse That Roared." The certified organic grower and respected national leader in organic foods production contends that
"when USDA finally attempted to implement the little thing, when they really started to figure out what organic farming implies about conventional agriculture and food safety, there was no recourse but to set a trap for it by creating an implementation procedure that would kill it."
Thus, in some Brave New World Order of doublespeak, the USDA seems to be collapsing the distinction between organic and non-organic foods. Contrary to the spirit of the 1990 Act, USDA has left the door open to foods that are
With this lack of commitment to public health, is it any wonder that millions are getting sick and thousands are dying annually? Sounds like a perverse sci-fi plot to control population!
Judy Kew, also of Hays County, agrees with Ronnie Cummins of the Pure Foods Campaign who says this is nothing short of an "unfriendly take over" of the natural foods industry by agribusiness, chemical-biotech corporations, and giant supermarket chains. Judy transformed her initial disgust into a vital organization, Texas Consumers for Safe Food, which works to save organic standards and to educate people about GE foods.
Kew, Sprinkel, Wuerthele, and countless others concerned about the gutting of organic standards will tell you: the single most important thing you can do to stop this horrendous charade is to write (with a copy to your congressperson) and express your concerns to
Eileen S. Stommes,
Deputy Administrator USDA-AMS-TM-NOP,
Room 4007-So. Ag.
Stop 0275
P.O. Box 96456
Washington, DC 20090-6456
Docket #TMD-94-00-2 (Be sure to include this docket number or your letter won't count).
If you want more information or help in composing your letter, check out Whole Foods on the Web or call Sprinkel at 512.328.7922 or E-mail Judy_Kew@greenbuilder.com.
Do it today! It's the People vs. the Brave New World Order.
Garden Gab Column, Hays County Free Press, Jan. 22, 1998 A. Gayle Hudgens, Ph.D., c1998 All rights reserved. May be freely transmitted if all copyright data is left intact. aghudgens@earthlink.net
Bob Phelps Director Australian GeneEthics Network c/- ACF 340 Gore Street, Fitzroy.
3065 Australia Tel: (03) 9416.2222 Fax: (03) 9416.0767 {Int Code (613)} email: acfgenet@peg.apc.org
http://www.peg.apc.org/~acfgenet (under
construction)
In a massive breach of faith with the American people, the Clinton Administration, in defiance of its own laws and the wishes of the vast majority of its citizens, wants to allow whaling in US waters. If the US authorities get their way, for the first time in over 30 years, mainland US citizens will slaughter whales.
As the Makah Tribe of Washington State gear up to slaughter whales, practising in the waters of Neah Bay with huge guns - artillery big enough to sink a destroyer - the future of the world’s whale species is on the line. If the Makah succeed in their efforts to claim treaty rights to kill whales - an action which is illegal for all US citizens - coastal whaling will break out world-wide under the guise of ‘cultural’ or ‘indigenous’ whaling.
Lack of any adequate media coverage in most of the US makes it difficult for the average American citizen to have any notion that its Government is not only working hard to allow whales to be killed within its national waters - the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary to be precise - but is spending big money to help the Makah start killing.
In a remarkable display of double standards, the Clinton Administration voted last year to ensure the Californian Gray Whale remain on Appendix I of the CITES treaty. Inclusion in this Appendix effectively prohibits any whaling any where in the world. Yet the US Government is leaving no stone unturned in its efforts to allow the killing of the same whale in US waters. The only legal hindrance to the Makah beginning their grisly kill is a lawsuit, filed in Washington DC on October 17th., 1997.
Already the issues raised in the lawsuit are becoming so critical that the case has the potential to set vitally important precedents in the struggle to protect the global environment. The Makah issue raises major questions about all our futures.
The following newsletter is an attempt to overcome the information gap. If you care about whales, please take the time to distribute. It may be the only way the public can be alerted:
-------------------------------------------
Dear Friends,
The purpose of this newsletter is to let you know some of the facts surrounding the efforts of a native American Indian tribe, the Makah, to gain a quota to kill Californian gray whales. In the deliberately created confusion which surrounds this issue, and the lack of objective media coverage, it’s difficult for people to know the truth. Yet there has never been a more important time for the whales. The clock is about to be turned back.
Desperate to control the resources of the world’s oceans, Japan is supporting and funding the push to open up ‘cultural’ or ‘indigenous’ whaling. Japanese interests have backed the Makah effort all the way. In Japanese schools, despite increasing health risks, children are now given free whale meat as the Government and vested interests attempt to influence Japanese eating habits and counter external and internal pressure to stop killing whales.
A legal challenge has been mounted against the US government’s blatant, and allegedly illegal, attempts to grant the Makah a quota of gray whales - in spite of strong domestic legislation which bans all US citizens from whaling. The legal challenge was formulated and initiated by a coalition of two non-US organisations: Breach Marine Protection (BMP) and Australians for Animals (AFA), working closely with a firm of US Public Interest lawyers, Meyer & Glitzenstein of Washington DC.
At the International Whaling Commission (IWC) meeting in Aberdeen in l996, the US government was forced to withdraw its attempts to obtain a quota for the Makah from the IWC because of opposition within Congress and by other IWC member countries. During that meeting in Scotland, it was realised that a number of legal challenges against the Makah attempts to gain a quota were possible under US domestic legislation. After many hundreds of hours of work in the ensuing months, the lawsuit was filed just prior to the IWC meeting in Monaco in October,1997. By this time, the lawsuit had been joined as well as a number of concerned US citizens and whalewatching companies with an interest in the plight of the California gray whale as co-plaintifs. However, todate only two US groups, Cetacean Society International, Connecticut, and the Great Whales Foundation in California have made donations towards the lawsuit.
Lawsuits don’t come cheap and this one is no exception. Lawyers representing the Makah have applied to the Washington Court to assist the US aurthorities’s defence by joining the lawsuit on the US side. A great deal of work needs to be undertaken prior to the impending fight in the courts. In belief that many of the Global Community may want to raise their hands and donate funds to help the gray whale; both BMP and AFA are anxious to find financial support from American and international citizens. We think the time is now to solicit the general public’s help in this David and Goliath battle to save these highly intelligent, social, magnificent creatures who are by nature, trusting and responsive to human kind.
At a time when Breach Marine Protection’s inspired World-Wide Petition in support of the ‘Popular (Peoples) Resolution on Abolition of Inhumane Commercial Slaughter of Whales’ designed to stop whale slaughter has been signed by well over 10 million people, the moral injunction on governments to listen has never been greater. If whaling breaks out wearing the cloak of native rights, ‘cultural’, ‘indigenous’ or under whatever guise, whales which travel up and down any coastline will become targets. Japan and Norway have tried for years to persuade the IWC that their coastal populations are “indigenous”. Furthermore, in May this year, the IWC at its meeting in Oman will consider an Irish proposal to re-start commercial coastal whaling and introduce a new catergory - ‘cultural’ whaling. Know as the Irish ‘Initiative’, this is also a recipe of disaster for the great whales.
THE DEAL AT IWC MONACO
Many of you have been told that at IWC Monaco, the Australian Government’s delegation managed to hol ecognised as genuine aboriginal subsistence whaling.
In reality, this delegation put forward a schedule amendment which deleted some critical words - words that insisted any aboriginal subsistence quota be recognised by the IWC. Words that would have prevented the US seeking a quota for the Makah at the IWC. There’s no way a tribe which hasn’t whaled for 70 plus years and lives in one of the richest countries in the world can be compared with a genuine subsistence community. The IWC strict definition of aboriginal subsistence whaling could not be applicable to the Makah under any circumstances.
Authorities and people who seek to persuade American citizens and the Global Community that the Makah have not obtained the go-ahead to kill whales are misleading you. If the Clinton Administration succeeds with the Makah, there will be no stopping the outbreak of cetacean killing world-wide. Already over a dozen tribes are lined up in Canada waiting to see how the Makah fare. In New Zealand, Maoris are considering whaling. A case before the Federal Court in Australia involving native title rights over the coastal seas is currently being heard. Australia, for example, has a barely recovering population of humpback whales which migrate up and down its eastern coastline, whales which could readily become targets of a recommencement of whaling. This scenario will be repeated world-wide.
The only thing standing in the way of the Makah slaughter and a global precedent being set is the Breach Marine Protection/ Australians For Animals legal challenge.
BOATS WONT STOP THE MAKAH
Some groups are vowing to take out protest boats to impede the Makah in their attempts to kill whales. This is a great idea but probably a waste of time. It will certainly be too late to stop the precedent which will have already been created. At the Canadian seal hunt, government authorities passed laws to prevent not only boats, but also aeroplanes flying over the killing fields. We can expect much the same level of protection by the US government ter of whales.
Legally, the US government is way out of line. Not only has the government failed to undertake a proper environmental impact study, but also a five year monitoring program required under the Endangered Species Act is still l8 months away from completion. Other legal challenges are also possible to stop the Makah going killing. Those of you who donate funds to other environmental/ marine conservation groups may well ask why they are not using the legal system to its fullest extent.
THE SAD STATISTICS OF THE CALIFORNIAN GRAY WHALE
The majority of Californian gray whales killed by the Russian people (to feed fox farms for their fur) on their migratory route from Baja are female. Pregnant females or females with young calves. Why ? Because its easier to prey on a creature trying to protect its young . That’s a sordid fact of life. Statistics kept by Russian scientists shows the kill rate is two females to one male and has been for the last 20 years. In recent years, much of the slaughter has been focussed on young whales, juveniles who have not yet reached maturity.
Its difficult to estimate how any species could come out on top with this cornucopia of threats and high mortalities. No effort has been made to identify resident whales from migratory whales; the idea of killing a whale which has made its home along the coastline of Neah Bay is difficult to accept. No work has been done on the effects this killing would have on resident populations. The irony of the situation is that the Californian gray whale is a creature whose meat is almost inedible - only eaten in times of extreme hunger - the same meat which is severely affected by toxic pollution. The meat from a gray whale killed accidentally last year in Neah Bay still lies frozen in Makah refrigerators.
COMMON GROUND BETWEEN HUMPBACKS AND GRAY WHALES
A quick comparison between humpbacks found in Australian waters and gray whales gives some useful information. Both species are baleen whales who hug the coastline of vast continents they pass annum, the humpback population is not considered recovered - indeed scientists monitoring this whale species say that it remains critically endangered. In contrast, the Californian gray whale with a recovery rate at best of only 2.6 per cent per annum is accepted as recovered by US authorities. Without any regard for the precautionary principle, or a catastrophe such as disease (given the rapidly increasing incidence of morbilli and papilloma virus in cetaceans and other marine life), a claimed (no one knows for sure) recovery rate of 2.6% is very tenuous indeed.
LOOK AT THESE FACTS
We’ve gathered together a collection of statements by scientists who are studying the gray whale. If you want copies of the relevant papers, please let us know.
* Of all baleen whales found to have been entangled in fishing nets, 93.8% were gray whales and the majority of those were young animals travelling close to shore with their mothers.
* Fisheries related mortality ranges from 8.7 to 25.8% along the migration route.
* Sexually immature animals represent 90% of all stranding.
* Less than all 5% of all gray whale mortalities are reported and examined.
* Combined mortalities of immature animals represent 79.5 per cent of the total.
* Annual adult mortality is approximately 1,407 animals. Currently, the total population is estimated at approximately 21,000 animals.
* Over 29 years, 38% of whales were killed inside lagoons. The majority of lagoon catches were females.
* The life span of the gray whale is around 30-77 years.
* Pregnancy duration is approximately l3 months.
* Female reproduction rate is one calf every two years.
MAKAH TRIBAL RITES
Documented historical evidence of Makah’s involvement with the whale demonstrates a few practices which may not be any more acceptable than their attempt to recommence whaling after a 70 year break.
The Makah tribe kept slaves.
A warrior who intended to kill a whale had to live in complete celibacy for up to a year. The climax of his ritual cleansing involved swimming wit pse prior to going out to hunt a whale. Some of the tribal elders are totally opposed to the recommencement of whaling on any grounds. They say times have changed and that killing the whale is no longer necessary. But their voices have been silenced by the income seeking Tribal Council and these elders are enduring considerable harassment in their own community. There is no majority within the Tribe to kill whales. Many people and groups have tried to persuade the Makah to begin a whale watching operation instead, but the Tribal Council has resisted all efforts to negotiate a solution.
OPINION
Much has been said in recent years about native rights. Most discussions have been stopped in their infancy by accusations of racism. As countries with indigenous tribes wrestle with the problem of delivering justice in l998 in an effort to wipe out the historical record of exploitation, murder and destruction, attempts at public discussion and debate have been resisted.
Instead, what seems to be happening in the incredible rush to right the historical wrongs is that the earth and its creatures are becoming the sacrificial victims on the altar of guilt. Changes being visited on ALL humanity are irresistible. No tribe, no civilisation, no race is immune from humanity’s evolution. We are all, each and every one of us capable of revering the earth and equally capable of destroying it. Dividing people by creating a situation where there is one law for some and different justice for others makes for great tensions in societies.
For the Makah to ignore the overwhelming wishes of the American people is a sad indictment of their ability to behave just like the worst of greedy westerners. For the truth is that greed knows no race, no sex, no type. Greed is visited on all humanity whether we be black, white, yellow or a crossover of races. What we need to do as humans is to celebrate our commonality; to work together in ensuring that the earth and its creatures survive for the next generations. The struggle to stop the Makah whal ng is a microcosm of similar struggles taking place world-wide.
There is a desperate need for a moratorium which allows discussion in our communities; time to re-evaluate - to find other ways of making peace and bringing about reconciliation without killing animals and wiping out forests in the name of ‘indigenous’ justice.
To slaughter highly sentient creatures, whose lives resemble our own human families, in the name of native rights defies logic and sensibility. Killing is murder. Slaughtering whales and their young is murder - a crime which cannot be made acceptable because of the colour of our skin or the history of our respective race. We know enough in l998 to be aware that we share this earth with other highly intelligent non-human species. We now know a great deal about the behaviour and deep social ties between these animals and their communities.
THE LEGAL CHALLENGE
Meyer & Glitzenstein, the Washington DC lawyers responsible for the legal challenge, have estimated legal costs will be in the vicinity of $20.000. For British and Australian grass roots groups to find these funds in difficult economic times in their own countries is a big task. Please help us save Californian gray whale by contributing to the legal challenge - by raising monies in your own community to assist in the enormous task which must be undertaken.
If you are willing to be a friend to the gray whale, please send your donation to: Breach Marine Protection, Australians for Animals, or one of the assisting US groups - addresses below. Further newsletters will be distributed so that people can be kept updated on the lawsuit in the near future. You can help by distributing this newsletter to as many whale supporters as possible throughout your communities.
Breach Marine Protection: 3, St. John’s Street, Goole, East Yorks, DN14 5QLTele/Fax: +44 1405 769375 e-mail: BreachEnv@aol.com
Australians for Animals, PO Box 673, Byron Bay, NSW 2481. Tele: +61 66 843769 Fax: 61 66 843768 e-mail: arnolds@om.com.au
Funds can also be sent directly to: Suite 405, 160l Connecticut Ave NW, Washington DC 20009 USA. (Pls. ensure that donations are clearly marked: ‘Makah Whaling Lawsuit’).
KEY POINTS OF THE LAWSUIT
Breach Marine Protection UK, Australians for Animals (AFA), Congressman Jack Metcalf and others filed a lawsuit against William Daley, Secretary US Dept. of Commerce, James Baker, Administrator of NOAA, Rolland Scmitten, Director, NMFS in the District Court of the District of Columbia on October 17, 1997. The action seeks relief from the failure of NOAA and NMFS to comply with the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Marine Sanctuaries Act, (MSA), the Whaling Convention Act, (WCA) and other statues by deciding to authorize and promote the killing of gray whales by the Makah tribe within the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary in Northwest Washington State. NOAA and the NMFS have undertaken and continue to undertake a host of actions without adequately considering the significant environmental effects flowing from these actions as required by NEPA and the MSA.
The agencies’ authorization and continued promotion of Makah whaling runs afoul of numerous statutory obligations, including the consultations requirements of the MSA and the permit issuance procedures under the WCA. In Addition, the agency’s authorization and promotion of Makah whaling is arbitrary and capricious, and contrary to law, in contravention of the purposes of the Marine Mammal Protection Act, the Endangered Species Act, and the International Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna (CITES).
The Great American Meatout will take place on Friday, March 20 the first day of spring. Ask your friends, neighbors, relatives and co-workers to "kick the meat habit on March 20, at least for the day, and explore a more wholesome, less violent diet."
Here is a list of things you can do to observe this day; leafletting, asking local school cafeteria's to go vegetarian for the day, "lunch pack" of literature to give to your co-workers along with a meatless lunch, letters to your editors and proclamations to your mayor or governor (sample letters will be provided to you upon request), just to name a few.
Every 1% drop in meat consumption saves the lives of 90 million innocent animals.
Please email your name, address, phone number and email address and a packet will be forwarded to you.
FARM
Farm Animals Reform Movement
10101 Ashburton Lane
Bethesda, MD 20817
301/530-1737
Visit This year's League of Conservation Voters Congressional Scorecard
The scorecard offers conservation advocates a means of checking on their elected officials environmental voting records on- line. You can look up your district by zipcode, check your Senators' and Representative's environmental voting records, and search votes by particular issue. Site users can then send email messages directly to their member of Congress telling them of their voting records.
LCV President Deb Callahan said, "Just as television revolutionized politics in America in the 1960's, the Internet now shapes the way we can communicate with voters and hold elected officials accountable for their actions."