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Oryxes face Death in New Mexico

Wolf Slaughter in Canadian Northwest Territories

US Officials Kill Montana Wolf

US Navy's Sonic Attack on Whales

US Leghold Trap Ban Proposed

Massachusetts Leghold Trap Ban Threatened

Ohio plans to expand use of Leghold Traps

Action Alert on Pet Theft Legislation

Fur Sales continue to drop

Update on Zoo Monkeys to be used for Invasive Experiments

Montana Bison Update

Following are some other key stories and action items

"KILLING THEIR CHILDHOOD"
Fund Exposes Campaign to Recruit Children into Hunting

In a 31-page report, The Fund for Animals, the nation's largest and most aggressive anti-hunting organization, exposed a massive nationwide campaign by the hunting and firearms industries to promote sport hunting to America's children.

"Killing Their Childhood: How Public Schools and Government Agencies are Promoting Sport Hunting to America's Children" documents the decline of hunting in the U.S. and the desperation of the firearms and hunting industries to prevent the demise of a sport that every year brings in nearly $21 billion -- four times what Americans spend on movie theater tickets.

State wildlife agencies, which are funded by the sale of hunting licenses and an excise tax on firearms and ammunition, have become willing allies of the hunting industry. The agencies use public money and employees to recruit children through special hunts and hunter education classes conducted in schools. The Fund's report reveals that 42 states conducted children's hunts -- some with no minimum age -- during the 1996-97 hunting season, an increase from 30 states in 1995.

At least half of the states acknowledged that they are aware of hunter training classes being taught on school time as part of junior high and high school curricula. Public schools are being bombarded with videos and curriculum units from pro-hunting organizations such as the National Shooting Sports Foundation, an umbrella group for the firearms industry. The NSSF received $330,000 in federal grants to put pro-hunting videos in grade 4-12 classrooms across the country.

Says Norm Phelps, The Fund for Animals' program coordinator and author of the report, "The government does not use Joe Camel to promote cigarettes to children, and they should not use hunting to promote guns to children either. Young people have a natural affinity for animals, and our schools and our state agencies should encourage that kindness, not killing."

A copy of "Killing Their Childhood" is available upon request by calling (301) 585-2591, or can be viewed at http://www.fund.org/press/killtext.html

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TV PROGRAM PRIME TIME LIVE GLORIFIES BULLFIGHTING!

On 11/12/97 ABC's program PRIME TIME LIVE aired a segment on a female bullfighter named Christina Sanchez. They glorified her family "tradition" and lightheartedly reported the number of bulls this woman has killed! 700 bulls, Christina proudly reports as they show her piercing the bull's neck with spears used in bull fighting. It generally requires repeated stabbing before the bull falls down in agony to die. The crowd cheers and Christina is victorious! PRIME TIME LIVE also reports this "beautiful woman's" courage as she enters the ring and how she overcame being shunned by male bull fighters.

What PRIME TIME LIVE NEGLECTED to report is the suffering these bulls endure and what is done to them behind the scenes in order the make them "perform!" They are beaten and taunted by SEVERAL people before releasing them into the ring. They are often given sedatives, hit in the kidneys and Vaseline rubbed in their eyes. They are taunted and stabbed by picadors; finally, the matador attempts, sometimes repeatedly, to run a sword into the victim's heart. If this fails, the matador severs the bull's spinal cord and cuts off the ears and horns for trophies! GLAMOROUS HUH?!!

In addition to the bull's suffering, horses are injured as well. The horses used in taunting are gored by the disoriented bull! PRIME TIME also did not inform their U.S. audience that bull fighting is ILLEGAL in the United States!

PLEASE INFORM PRIME TIME LIVE OF THE SUFFERING INVOLVED IN BULLFIGHTING! TELL THEM THAT GLORIFYING THIS HORRENDOUS FORM OF "ENTERTAINMENT" IS IN VERY POOR TASTE! ASK THEM TO AIR A FOLLOW-UP SEGMENT SHOWING WHY THIS "ACTIVITY" IS BANNED IN THE U.S.!

CALL: New York 212-456-1000 or 212-456-1600
Chicago 312-750-7777

FAX: 212-456-1246

E-MAIL: abcaudr@abc.com

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ACTION ALERT

SNOWMOBILE TRAIL CLOSURE IN YELLOWSTONE NEEDS YOUR SUPPORT -- FIRST STEP TOWARD ENDING BISON SLAUGHTER

The National Park Service (NPS) has recently published a draft environmental assessment (EA) analyzing the impacts of closing at least one snowmobile trail in Yellowstone Park to all winter use.

Since the late 1960s, the NPS has permitted snowmobiles in Yellowstone and has facilitated their use by packing down or grooming the snow on all Park roads. Park Service scientists and The Fund for Animals have argued that bison use of the groomed trail system not only facilitates bison emigration from the Park into Montana where they are slaughtered, but has completely and artificially altered bison population size, distribution, movements, and the natural ecology of the Park.

This EA is a product of a settlement of a lawsuit filed by The Fund for Animals and other organizations against the NPS over its management of winter recreation in Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. The EA proposes to close at least one trail segment in Yellowstone to all winter use in oredr to study the impact of groomed trails on Yellowstone bison. This is the first time that a trail may be closed in Yellowstone since it was opened to snowmobiles.

The information gained from this study will be used in an Environmental Impact Statement that the NPS will prepare on the impacts of winter recreation on Park wildlife and Park ecology. The Fund believes that the EIS must conclude, based on the scientific and legal evidence, that trail grooming and snowmobile use in Yellowstone must end. This would be enormously beneficial to Yellowstone's bison because without the groomed trails far fewer bison are likely to migrate into Montana. Over the last 10 years, over 3,000 bison have been killed due to the unsubstantiated fear of disease transmission to domestic livestock.

THE NPS WILL ACCEPT PUBLIC COMMENTS ON ITS EA THROUGH DECEMBER 15, 1997. YOUR LETTERS IN SUPPORT OF CLOSING SNOWMOBILE TRAILS TO PROTECT BISON ARE NEEDED BY THAT DATE. THE FUTURE OF YELLOWSTONE'S BISON, OTHER WILDLIFE, AND OF YELLOWSTONE PARK IS IN YOUR HANDS.

In your letter tell the NPS that:

* You support Alternative 1 but that you believe more snowmobile trails must be closed this winter in order to engage in a proper study of the impact of groomed trails on bison and to prevent bison from wandering into Montana where they are unnecessarily killed.

* Trail grooming and snowmobiling in Yellowstone causes significant adverse impacts on bison and other Park wildlife, including grizzly bears and wolves, pollute Yellowstone's air, and destroy the serenity of the Park experience and, therefore, must be banned.

Send your comments to

Yellowstone National Park
P.O. Box 168
Yellowstone National Park, WY 82190.

In addition, please send a letter to Yellowstone National Park Superintendent Mike Finley at the same address thanking him for agreeing to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement on winter use and its impact to the wildlife and natural resources within the Park despite harsh criticism he has received for so doing from numerous public officials and interest groups.

For more information about this issue please contact D.J. Schubert at 202-588-5206 or djschubert@aol.com or visit The Fund for Animals' home page at http://www.fund.org.

A copy of the EA is available at http://www.nps.gov/yell/winterroadea.htm

Following are older stories that are still considered Current

House Resolution 594 - (Pet Theft Bill) stalled in House of Representatives

Originally reported Oct 21, 1997

H.R. 594, The Pet Safety and Protection Act, which takes action against the large interstate business of stealing animals for research, and which is in the Sub-Committee for Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry, has been put on the back burner because of an overwhelming amount of legislation ahead of it, however, the bill is expected to be considered in January's upcoming session.

What you can do:

Write to:

Congressman Richard Pombo, CA
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515
Rep.Richard.Pombo@mail.house.gov
Chairman of the Sub-Committee.

Ask about that serious consideration be given to H.R. 594

Write to:

Congressman Charles Canady, FL
Rayburn House, Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
Rep.Charles.Canady@mail.house.gov
The original sponsor of H.R. 594

Ask about the current status of the bill and thank him for his sponsorship of the bill.

(Editor's note: You can read more about The Pet Safety and Protection Act here at Ark Online)

Originally reported Oct. 22, 1997, Ontario Canada

Search for killer whale angers activists
By Carol Alaimo

Animal rights groups are incensed by reports that Vancouver Aquarium may be shopping for a replacement killer whale at Marineland in Niagara Falls. The West Coast aquarium -- where two grown whales and three whale calves have died in captivity since 1988 -- is said to be talking to the Falls amusement park after last week's sudden death of Finna, a 21-year-old male captured when one year old from his home waters near Iceland.

Zoocheck Canada Inc., a Toronto-based watchdog group whose members take part in annual protests outside Marineland, claims up to four young killer whales may be living in a non-public section of the Niagara Falls facility.

The whales, also known as orcas, are worth an estimated $1 million to $2 million each and were all born in captivity at Marineland during the last five years, the group maintains.

Zoocheck says its sources include press accounts of whale births at Marineland, and "marine mammal inventory" records which it says the park has filed when doing transactions with American authorities.

Marineland could not be reached for comment on Zoocheck's claims about the number of young orcas at its premises, in addition to the three adults who perform in shows there. Owner John Holer did not respond to repeated calls.

"We're adamantly opposed to the transfer of any (killer whales) from Marineland" to similar sites, said Holly Penfound, director of Zoocheck and a director of the Canadian Federation of Humane Societies.

Vancouver Aquarium director John Nightingale mentioned Marineland as a possible source of a new orca during a weekend event in Vancouver billed as a "tribute to Finna."

Under a city bylaw in Vancouver, the aquarium can only bring in new whales which are already captive rather than fishing more from the wild. Nightingale said he's looking for another captive female to be a companion to Bjossa, a female orca believed to be pregnant by the now-deceased Finna. Bjossa has given birth three times since 1988 and all three calves have died.

Penfound called it a "ludicrous" idea to put a strange female into the aquarium with another female who's possibly pregnant. "From an animal welfare perspective, it just doesn't make any sense introducing two (females) in a very confined space in that situation."

Orcas living in captivity have drastically reduced life expectancies some studies have shown. A killer whale's normal lifespan is 50-plus years, but captives often die before their 10th birthdays due to stress, animal advocates say. Long-distance moves of the mammoth cetaceans is "very stressful" for them, involving the use of huge slings and cranes, flatbed trucks and a lengthy trip in a cargo plane where attendants must try to keep the animal's skin moist and cool during the journey.

In Vancouver, the group No Whales in Captivity was critical of the aquarium's memorial service for the dead whale and the speedy hunt for a replacement orca. "It's another PR stunt on the part of the aquarium," group spokeswoman Liz Watrich said of the tribute.

The controversy comes just as a group of bands is planning a benefit concert in St. Catharines to protest Marineland keeping sea mammals in captivity

Originally reported October 22, 1997
Coalition to Abolish the Fur Trade

Nordstrom's Department Store promotes Fur Sales

Nordstroms dept. store operates 12 fur salons in their stores around thecountry, and is heavilly promoting fur in their new catalog. Please call Jim Nordstrom directly at 206-628-2111. You can call collect. If the anti fur movement can get fur out of dept. stores then we will greatly diminish the products exposure to the public, and drastically reduce sales. This must include fur trim, as this is a major marketing tool to get people used to a little fur, in hopes of weaning them onto full furs in the future.

Please call Nordstroms, and distribute the toll free number widely. Then, please take the time to call your local dept. store that has fur or fur trim, and complain about the dead animals on their racks.

Coalition to Abolish the Fur Trade
PO Box 822411
Dallas, TX 75382

Originally reported October 22
Animal Welfare Institute

HELP WILD BIRDS BY ENCOURAGING EFFECTIVE LAW ENFORCEMENT

The Wild Bird Conservation Act was enacted in 1992. This monumental law protects imperiled birds the world over and promotes their conservation. Till the law was passed, thousands of beautiful birds trapped in the wilds of Africa, Asia and South America were crammed into small crates by big dealers in the pet industry and flown to Europe, Japan and the U.S. Thousands died, but the dealers made huge profits.

"Operation Renegade," carried out by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, has fined and jailed the biggest bird dealers for violations of the Smuggling Act, the Endangered Species Act, and the Lacey Act. However, smuggling across the Mexican border is still occurring, and parrots and wild birds are still being captured for sale to Japan and other Asian countries, Russia, and European Union nations.

Never purchase a wild-caught bird. Be suspicious of cheap exotic birds and birds that appear frightened or aggressive. If you are buying a bird, make sure it was raised in this country by a conscientious breeder. If you are offered an exotic bird, in a pet shop or elsewhere, that appears fearful rather than calm and contented, or if other factors raise your suspicions, call the Division of Law Enforcement, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, at 703-358-1949. Give them the information that can help to stop this cruel trade.

Originally reported October 21
Ontario, Canada

Disturbing Toy sold in Canada and US
from a subscriber to Animal Rights News

While shopping in my local Kay Bee toy store for a gift for my nephew I saw something that was very disturbing. I saw a "toy" that is possibly as harmful to children as any I have ever seen. It is a "toy" called Rat Trap. It is a battery operated toy rat that has his head stuck in a trap. When the switch is turned on, the rat screams and convulses. This is children's entertainment?

They are promoting a toy that makes light of a suffering animal. Whatever your personal opinion is regarding rats, one thing is for certain: rats feel pain and suffer terribly when they are caught in traps and not killed instantly. To seek to entertain children by getting them to laugh at a suffering animal is sick.

Every day across North America millions of animals are suffering horrible deaths. Rats are being beaten, poisoned, crushed in traps, and fed to captive animals. They have been vilified in human cultures since the dawn of time and are incorrectly connected with filth and disease. Let's remind ourselves that it is we humans who are the creators of the filth that these rats are branded with.

Contact FTC toys immediately and demand that they stop manufacturing this disgusting "toy."

FTC Toys Limited
6616 Campobello Rd.
Mississauga, ON L5N 2L8
Canada

In the U.S. Contact Kay Bee Toys:

Regional Office
Kay Bee Toys
1120 Echelon Mall
Voorhees, NJ 08043
609-770-8472

Executive offices
Karen Morissey, Vice President
Kay Bee Toys
100 West St.
Pittsfield, MA 01201
413-496-3000

Reuters
21-OCT-97
By Michael Ellis

Canada Seal Hunters Targeted in U.S. Ad Campaign

BOSTON (Reuters) - A lucrative Asian market for seal sexual organs has reinvigorated the hunt for seals in Canada, an international environmental group said Tuesday as it unveiled a U.S. advertising campaign aimed at ending the cull.

The International Fund for Animal Welfare, based in Cape Cod, Mass. will spend more than $1 million on a four-week television and print campaign which claims that seals, mostly under a year old, are clubbed, skinned alive and sometimes impaled on hooks.

``This is by far the largest slaughter of marine mammals in the world. It's certainly one of the most cruel,'' Rick Smith, director of IFAW-Canada, said at a Boston press conference. IFAW and other animal rights groups helped pressure the Canadian government to limit the hunt to about 60,000 seals annually through the 1980s and early 1990s. French actress turned activist Brigitte Bardot spoke out and a Barbie doll sticker album also informed children about the hunt. But the Canadian Fisheries and Oceans Ministry raised the annual harvest to about 268,000 harp and hooded seals last year, the most since the early 1970s, to protect depleted fish stocks and provide jobs in the most economically depressed region of the country along the North Atlantic. As a result of the growing hunt, animal rights groups have stepped up their campaign, Smith said.

Many of the seals are killed only for the male sexual organs, which aresold as aphrodisiacs in Asia, he said. ``There is no scientific evidence whatsoever that seals either caused the depletion of fish stocks or that they impeded the recovery of fish stocks,'' Smith said.

The advertising campaign comes two weeks after the start of a Canadian campaign that enlisted the help of Canadian celebrities, including William Shatner, who played Capt. Kirk of ``Star Trek'' fame. The print ads, showing a bright-eyed baby seal, claim that some 500,000 seals were killed last winter according to a Canadian government scientist.

But Canadian fisheries officials dispute the figure and said many of theIFAW claims are incorrect. Sealing industry representatives say that 97 percent of the annimals killed during the hunt are shot, while the remainder are taken with a small club called a hakapik. Seal hunters make most of their money from the animal's pelts, which are tanned and used in clothing, and not from the sale of male sexual organs, he said. ``I'm sure our enforcement is probably better than any other wild animal hunt in North America,'' Jones said.

USDA SHOULD NOT ASK US TO TURN OUR KITCHENS INTO LABORATORIES

Originally reported Oct 26 - Posted at AR-NEWS

This morning, Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman and Secretary of Health and Human Services Donna Shalala introduced the "Food Safety Education Campaign," the "Partnership for Food Safety Education," and the "Fight BAC" slogan, along with the revolting "BAC" character representing meatborne infectious pathogens. The entire production is a flagrant attempt to shift responsibility for safety of meat and poultry products from the industries to the American consumer. The proposition is impractical, unfair, and contrary to USDA’s strategic plan. Raw meat and poultry products brought into the kitchen contain every pathogen that was carried by the animal and contaminate anything they contact. From the supermarket to the refrigerator to the oven, a strict protocol must be observed to prevent such contamination. Laboratory technicians undergo extensive training before they are permitted to handle infectious materials. Does USDA really expect American consumers to follow suit? Are rubber gloves, forceps, and sterilizing alcohol the kitchen implements of the future?

American taxpayers already subsidize heavily the meat and poultry industries through a vast corporate welfare program that includes price supports, tax breaks, marketing promotions, low-interest loans, crop insurance, public grazing, and research and extension service. Moreover, American society is suffering the high costs of medical care and lost productivity associated with meatborne diseases as well as the loss of food-growing and recreational resources associated with meat production. Imposing on American consumers the additional burden of covering up for these industries’ failure to provide a safe food supply is grossly unfair. Only a couple of weeks ago, USDA published a five-year strategic plan that establishes the goal of ensuring a safe food supply. The "Food Safety Education Campaign" falls far short of that lofty goal.

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Following are some other key stories and action items

Following are older stories that are still considered Current