AR-NEWS Digest 594

Topics covered in this issue include:

  1) Singer Fiona Apple counters Butterball hotline
     by Vegetarian Resource Center 
  2) Best Friends Animal Sanctuary holds online auction for animals
     by Vegetarian Resource Center 
  3) Cindy Crawford and Pamela Lee on "Live with Regis and Kathie
  Lee"
     by Vegetarian Resource Center 
  4) GASTROENTERITIS, VIRAL, OYSTERS - USA (LOUISIANA)
     by bunny 
  5) Nude Skaters Stage Protest Against Fur
     by Vegetarian Resource Center 
  6) Regulated Antlerless Deer Hunt Scheduled for Slocum State Park
  in PA
     by Vegetarian Resource Center 
  7) Rats as big as dogs roam in Florida
     by Vegetarian Resource Center 
  8) [UK] Protesting farmers hurl Irish beef into the sea
     by David J Knowles 
  9) (US) Fur Protestor On Hunger Strike
     by allen schubert 
 10) (US) Geese Moving To Oklahoma
     by allen schubert 
 11) PRIMATE PROTEST--YERKES CENTER FOR TAXPAYER WASTE
     by Miyun Park 
 12) (US) FDA Approves Beef Irradiation
     by allen schubert 
 13) Embedded Code/Attachments--Admin Note
     by allen schubert 
 14) Offensive Christmas Song Dropped
     by Friends of Animals 
 15) Newswire: Anti-drug, animal-loving punk rock fans use violence (US)
     by LCartLng@gvn.net (Lawrence Carter-Long)
 16) Newswire: Liberation Front (US)
     by LCartLng@gvn.net (Lawrence Carter-Long)
 17) Letters Needed on Winter Use Settlement
     by Michael Markarian 
 18) Fact Sheet on Winter Use Settlement
     by Michael Markarian 
 19) Ontario--beans for the poor
     by Ione Smith 
 20) Watch Inside Edition Thursday
     by PAWS 
 21) MD DNR Offering Black Bear Stamp Promotion
     by Michael Markarian 
 22) BEVERLY HILLS 6 RELEASED (US)
     by civillib@cwnet.com
 23) Attitudes Toward Animal Research Web Survey Announcement
     by Michael Walker 
Date: Mon, 01 Dec 1997 23:25:55 -0500
From: Vegetarian Resource Center 
To: Veg-News@Envirolink.Org
Cc: AR-News@Envirolink.Org
Subject: Singer Fiona Apple counters Butterball hotline
Message-ID: 
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit

.c The Associated Press  

NORFOLK, Va. (AP) - Vegetarian rock singer Fiona Apple is talking turkey to
try to prevent the birds from being the main course on Thanksgiving Day. 

She's getting the word out via a 30-second message she recorded for a
telephone hot line set up by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. 

In the recording, Ms. Apple urges people to dial up one of the biggest
sellers of the birds - the Butterball Turkey Co. - and ``let them know that
there is no proper way to kill and cook these beautiful birds.'' 

Ms. Apple, whose debut album ``Tidal'' hit No. 15 on the Billboard charts,
does not eat any animal products, including eggs and milk, said her
publicist, Luke Burland. 

Butterball officials did not return calls for comment Friday. The company
annually offers a popular toll-free hot line with turkey-cooking tips at
holiday time. 

AP-NY-11-22-97 0808EST

⌐1997   Maynard S Clark    Vegetarian Resource Center    info@vegetarian.org 
Date: Mon, 01 Dec 1997 23:26:48 -0500
From: Vegetarian Resource Center 
To: AR-News@Envirolink.Org
Cc: Veg-LA@waste.org
Subject: Best Friends Animal Sanctuary holds online auction for animals
Message-ID: 
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- Elizabeth Hurley's Versace earrings,
tickets to the premiere and party for Kevin Costner's new film "The Postman,"
or a Sundance Film Festival package are just a few of the celebrity donations
and Hollywood memorabilia available to anyone -- anywhere in the world -- via
the internet's only dedicated celebrity auction site,

http://www.streammedia.com/auctionline.  The on-line silent auction to
benefit Best Friends Animal Sanctuary's 2001: NO MORE HOMELESS PETS campaign,
culminates in a star studded event filled evening Saturday, December 6, from
7 - 11 PM at Raleigh Studios in Hollywood. 

The growing list of items for auction is currently previewing on the website.
Bidding starts Saturday, November 29 at 3 PM Pacific Time and closes
December 6 at 10 PM Pacific Time.  Some of the celebrity animal lovers
expected to attend include Leeza Gibbons, Courtney Thorne-Smith, Bill Maher,
Dyan Cannon, Frances Fisher and Marsha Mason.  Live celebrity chats and
coverage of the party on the web add to the fun as Hollywood buffs the world
over get their shot at signed posters, photographs and scripts, cast & crew
jackets, walk on parts in TV shows, Hollywood-style get away weekends and
much more.  Partygoers will enjoy gourmet vegetarian food, live music and a
spirited live auction. 

Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, the nation's largest 'no kill' shelter is
located in the red rock canyon country of southern Utah and provides a loving
home to no less than 1,500 abused and abandoned animals at any one time.  The
2001: NO MORE HOMELESS PETS campaign is dedicated to ending the practice of
killing homeless animals by the turn of the century and promotes pet
adoption, responsible pet care, the spaying and neutering of pets, and
community education. 

Raleigh Studios is located at 5300 Melrose Ave in Hollywood.  Tickets for the
party are $75, Best Friends benefit is sponsored by PEDIGREE(R) Brand Food
for Dogs and Beacon Global Advisors Cruelty Free Value Fund.  Auction for the
Animals website is http://www.streammedia.com/auctionline. 

For ticket information please call 818-377-9777. 

SOURCE  Best Friends Animal Sanctuary   
CO:  Best Friends Animal Sanctuary 
ST:  California Utah 
IN:  ENT CPR 
SU: 
11/21/97 17:00 EST http://www.prnewswire.com

⌐1997   Maynard S Clark    Vegetarian Resource Center    info@vegetarian.org 
Date: Tue, 02 Dec 1997 00:32:51 -0500
From: Vegetarian Resource Center 
To: AR-News@Envirolink.Org
Subject: Cindy Crawford and Pamela Lee on "Live with Regis and Kathie
  Lee"
Message-ID: <199712020555.AAA23331@mail-out-1.tiac.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit

NEW YORK, Nov. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- The dynamic duo get a double dose of
beauty when Cindy Crawford and Pamela Lee visit "LIVE with Regis and Kathie
Lee" on November 7, 1997.  Cindy Crawford chats about her ten years with
Revlon, and Pamela Lee discusses her role with PETA (People for the Ethical
Treatment of Animals). 

Don't miss a LIVE moment. 

SOURCE  LIVE With Regis and Kathie Lee   

CO:  Live With Regis and Kathie Lee 
ST:  New York 
IN:  ENT 
SU: 
11/05/97 12:01 EST http://www.prnewswire.com

⌐1997   Maynard S Clark    Vegetarian Resource Center    info@vegetarian.org 
Date: Tue, 2 Dec 1997 14:05:36 +0800
From: bunny 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: GASTROENTERITIS, VIRAL, OYSTERS - USA (LOUISIANA)
Message-ID: <1.5.4.16.19971202135905.2c175eda@wantree.com.au>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit

GASTROENTERITIS, VIRAL, OYSTERS - USA (LOUISIANA)
*************************************************

Date: Fri, 28 Nov 1997 11:32:38 -0800

Source: November 28, 1997 - MMWR - Vol. 46 / No. 47


Viral Gastroenteritis Associated with Eating Oysters ù Louisiana, December,
1996 û January, 1997

Viral gastroenteritis outbreaks caused by caliciviruses (i.e. Norwalk-like
viruses or small round-structured viruses) have been associated with eating
contaminated shell-fish, particularly oysters (_Crassostrea virginica_).
This report describes the findings of the investigation of an outbreak of
oyster-associated viral gastroenteritis in Louisiana during the 1996-97
winter season and implicates sewage from oyster harvesting vessels as the
probable cause of contaminated oysters.  

MMWR Editorial Note: Caliciviruses are small single-stranded RNA viruses
that cause acute gastroenteritis characterized by vomiting and/or diarrhea.
The viruses are difficult to detect, requiring relatively sophisticated
molecular methods to identify the virus in fecal specimens and in oysters.
There is no reliable marker for indicating presence of the virus in oyster
harvesting waters.  

This report represents the third oyster-related gastroenteritis outbreak
attributed to calicivirus in Louisiana since 1993...In this outbreak, the
link to the large number of wholesalers and retailers suggests that the
oyster contamination preceded distribution and probably occurred in the
oyster beds. In addition, harvest sites were 12-15 miles from the nearest
community sewage outlet, recreational boating was infrequent in December,
commercial boating traffic was infrequent because of the shallow depth of
the water, and all oil rigs were considered to have had adequate sewage
facilities. The only known source of caliciviruses, such as that implicated
in this outbreak, is feces from ill persons. Therefore, based on these
considerations, the probable source of human sewage found in the implicated
waterways was oyster harvesters, who admitted to routinely discharging
their sewage overboard, despite recent recommendations in Louisiana for
proper sewage collection and disposal.  Prevention of oyster-related
outbreaks of gastroenteritis requires intensified efforts to 1) develop and
enforce laws for appropriate sewage containers on oyster harvesting boats
with dump-pump out stations at docks, 2) educate workers in the oyster
industry about the consequences of improper sewage disposal, 3) improve
record-keeping by oyster harvesters, wholesalers, and retailers to enhance
the reliability of traceback investigations, and 4) further assess the
relation between environmental conditions and contamination of oysters. 
===========================================

Rabbit Information Service,
P.O.Box 30,
Riverton,
Western Australia 6148

Email>  rabbit@wantree.com.au

http://www.wantree.com.au/~rabbit/rabbit.htm
(Rabbit Information Service website updated frequently)

     /`\   /`\
    (/\ \-/ /\)
       )6 6(
     >{= Y =}<
      /'-^-'\
     (_)   (_)
      |  .  |
      |     |}
 jgs  \_/^\_/









Date: Tue, 02 Dec 1997 00:32:28 -0500
From: Vegetarian Resource Center 
To: AR-News@Envirolink.Org
Subject: Nude Skaters Stage Protest Against Fur
Message-ID: <199712020555.AAA23334@mail-out-1.tiac.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit

.c The Associated Press  

NEW YORK (AP) - Ah, the holiday season in New York. The Christmas shows. The
tree lightings. And don't forget the nude ice skaters. 

Two animal rights activists shed their clothes at Rockefeller Center's ice
skating rink Tuesday as part of a holiday protest against fur coats by the
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. 

Nora Burns and Lisa Permut - nude from the waist up except for
leopard-marking body paint, fake tails and ears - skated before a lunchtime
crowd of gawking tourists before being escorted off the outdoor rink. The two
PETA members held a banner in front of them that read ``Only Animals Should
Wear Fur.'' 

Prosecutors decided the protesters had not shown enough skin to violate
public nudity laws. But the weather might have been punishment enough. It was
38 degrees. 

``A few minutes of freezing cold does not compare to the 3 million animals
who will be in cages in snow, sleet and rain,'' said Toni Vernelli, campaign
coordinator for PETA. 

AP-NY-11-26-97 0712EST

⌐1997   Maynard S Clark    Vegetarian Resource Center    info@vegetarian.org 
Date: Tue, 02 Dec 1997 00:26:57 -0500
From: Vegetarian Resource Center 
To: AR-News@Envirolink.Org
Subject: Regulated Antlerless Deer Hunt Scheduled for Slocum State Park
  in PA
Message-ID: <199712020555.AAA23308@mail-out-1.tiac.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit

HARRISBURG, Pa., Nov. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- The Pennsylvania state Department
of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) will conduct a regulated
antlerless deer hunt at Frances Slocum State Park, Luzerne County, on
Monday, Dec. 15, to help control the deer population in the park. 

The hunt, a two-day event last year, has been reduced to one day because of
a lower deer population in the park. 

The hunt, for antlerless whitetail deer only, will be conducted in areas
not normally open to hunting.  To ensure the safety of all park visitors,
the park will be closed to all other activities during the hunt. 

To participate, hunters must hold a Luzerne County antlerless license and a
special state park permit.  Only manually operated shotguns or
muzzleloading firearms will be allowed, and the hunt will be limited to 40
hunters, chosen by random drawing. 

"The park's ecosystem can't support the current number of deer in the park
without damage to itself," DCNR's Bureau of State Parks Director Roger
Fickes said. "Deer need to consume large quantities of food. Simply by
eating what they need to survive, an overpopulated deer herd destroys the
balance of the
ecosystem, eliminating new growth and diversity and taking habitat from
other creatures." 

Fickes further explained that such hunts have been successful at other
state parks, generally resulting in the return of long absent wildflowers,
shrubs and small trees. 

Safety zones, no hunting areas and park boundaries will be posted and
strictly enforced.  Extra park rangers, Pennsylvania Game Commission
personnel and Pennsylvania State Police will be stationed throughout the
park area during the hunt. 

Applications for the controlled hunts can be obtained at the Frances Slocum
State Park Office weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.  Applications must be
received by Nov. 21.  Hunters will be chosen by a random drawing and
notified by mail. Hunters must attend a hunter safety program at the park
before the
hunt.  

More information about the regulated hunt is available by calling the park
office at 717-696-3525. 

SOURCE  Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources   
CO:  Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources 
ST:  Pennsylvania 
IN: 
SU: 
11/17/97 14:10 EST http://www.prnewswire.com

⌐1997   Maynard S Clark    Vegetarian Resource Center    info@vegetarian.org 
Date: Mon, 01 Dec 1997 23:29:48 -0500
From: Vegetarian Resource Center 
To: Veg-FL@waste.org
Subject: Rats as big as dogs roam in Florida
Message-ID: 
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit

.c The Associated Press  

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - Like something escaped from a mad scientist's laboratory,
the monstrous rodents creep through the underbrush. 

Don't worry, these critters just want some salad. 

These rats - as big as the family dog and weighing more than a Thanksgiving
turkey - are nutria, roaming eastern Hillsborough County as the result of
commercialism gone to seed. 

``I saw this humongous rat on the road,'' said JoAnn Hoffmann, who
encountered a nutria while driving to work. ``My jaw just dropped.'' 

The nutria are the remnants of a get-rich-quick scheme some 40 years ago,
said Bill Kern, urban wildlife specialist with the Florida Cooperative
Extension Service. 

Entrepreneurs imported nutria - an extremely large South American aquatic rat
- to start a fur trade in Florida. But people didn't want to walk around in
coats or mittens made of the hide or fur of 3-foot-long rats with naked,
scaly tails. 

``The prices dropped so low, nobody bothered to trap them,'' Kern said in
Monday's editions of the Tampa Tribune. 

The nutria found homes along lakes, drainage ditches and ponds at dairy
farms. Exclusively vegetarian, they dine on aquatic plants. 

The nutria are not considered game animals, so it's always open season on
them. Just don't expect to get rich as a trapper: A nutria pelt might fetch
$4, Kern said. 

AP-NY-11-18-97 0837EST

⌐1997   Maynard S Clark    Vegetarian Resource Center    info@vegetarian.org 
Date: Tue, 02 Dec 1997 01:07:58
From: David J Knowles 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: [UK] Protesting farmers hurl Irish beef into the sea
Message-ID: <3.0.3.16.19971202010758.0eefadb8@dowco.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit

>From The Electronic Telegraph - Tuesday, December 2nd, 1997

Protesting farmers hurl Irish beef into the sea
By Nigel Bunyan 

MILITANT Welsh farmers who blockaded the port of Holyhead for 10 hours
faced condemnation yesterday from the Government and their own leadership.

During the disturbance 40 tons of beefburgers being imported from Ireland
were taken from a hijacked lorry and hurled into the sea. The estimated 400
farmers involved in the protest agreed to leave only after the port
authorities threatened them with legal action.

Jack Cunningham, the Agriculture Minister, said although he sympathised
with the farmers' plight he joined the Welsh Secretary, Ron Davies, in
condemning their decision to take direct action as "totally unacceptable
and counter-productive". He said: "This kind of action is not going to win
us either support or votes in Europe. I advise farmers to have nothing to
do with it."

The sharp decline in prices for British beef has left Welsh farmers feeling
increasingly frustrated in recent months and they feel that the Government
is doing little to compensate them. Their initially peaceful and
good-humoured protest began at Holyhead on Sunday afternoon when they
succeeded in preventing two ferries from docking.

But just after 1am yesterday the mood changed, with some militants in the
crowd deciding to attack the lorry laden with beefburgers. One beef farmer
said later: "They'd just had enough. We've had weeks and weeks of worsening
problems, yet no one seems to want to help us." Another farmer said:
"Markets are collapsing and our livelihoods are being threatened. What else
were these lads supposed to do?"

Noel Ellis, a farmer from Bangor, said: "Thousands of farmers have got
together because they are fed up with this game. If the Government won't
bend and help us out then the farmers have got to do something and that's
what's happened. This is just the start of something. The whole country is
about to explode over this one."

Bob Parry, of the Welsh NFU, said he had hoped that the protest would be
peaceful. "After I was called in to negotiate the release of the lorries,
two or three people dashed forward and opened the back door of the lorry,"
he said. "They discovered there was meat on it and the whole load was
dumped into the Irish Sea. It shouldn't have happened."

Mr Parry said he was concerned about the consequences if the Government
failed to take sufficient action to help Welsh farmers. "If they don't,
then God knows what will happen next time they come here," he said.

Sir David Naish, president of the National Farmers' Union, said he was
dismayed to see his members taking part in a Continental-style blockade.
"Farmers are actually right to make the points they are making, but I can
in no way accept them breaking the law," Sir David said. "Threats will not
deliver the solution we want. What will deliver it is a strong case and
that is what we have."

Sir David said beef farmers were concerned at how the BSE crisis was
continuing to reduce their incomes. He believed that money to meet
compensation claims was available in Brussels and all the Government  had
to do was to apply for it.

But Mr Cunningham said: "There is no easy pot of gold in Brussels waiting
for me to pick up. If that was the case I would have done so a long time
ago." Mr Cunningham said he was determined to get sensible levels of
British beef back into international markets, rather than to over-produce
and seek "more and more subsidies".

The Holyhead protest was also condemned by the Road Haulage Association.
Its spokesman, Daniel Hodges, said: "Having taken on and defeated strikers
and blockades in France, the last thing our members need is to experience
similar action at home."

⌐ Copyright Telegraph Group Limited 1997. 

Date: Tue, 02 Dec 1997 08:28:13 -0500
From: allen schubert 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (US) Fur Protestor On Hunger Strike
Message-ID: <3.0.32.19971202082810.00745ba4@pop3.clark.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

from CNN custom news http://www.cnn.com/
-----------------------------------------
New Jersey State News
Reuters
02-DEC-97

Fur Protestor On Hunger Strike

(EATONTOWN) -- An anti-fur activist continues a hunger strike in a New
Jersey jail. Twenty-one-year Andrew Nicosia of Hewlett, New York, has been
held in the Monmouth County Jail since being arrested Friday at Macy's in
the Monmouth Mall. Two other protestors were released after posting bail...
but Nicosia is being held in lieu of 250 dollars cash. Animal rights
activists selected last Friday... generally the busiest shopping day of the
year... as a day of protest that they dubbed Fur-Free Friday. 
Date: Tue, 02 Dec 1997 08:35:37 -0500
From: allen schubert 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (US) Geese Moving To Oklahoma
Message-ID: <3.0.32.19971202083534.00746240@pop3.clark.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

from CNN custom news http://www.cnn.com/
------------------------------------------
Oklahoma State News
Reuters
02-DEC-97

Geese Moving To Oklahoma

(STATEWIDE) -- Several hundred Canadian Geese are headed to Oklahoma but
this isn't their usual migration. The U-S Department of Natural Resources
says the birds were captured near the Minneapolis-Saint Paul International
airport because they posed a threat to airplanes. Experts say the giant
birds can damage a jet airliner if they get caught in turbine engines.
After they're shipped to Oklahoma, the birds will be released at the
Choctaw Nation Indian reservation. 
Date: Tue, 02 Dec 1997 09:32:49 -0500
From: Miyun Park 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: PRIMATE PROTEST--YERKES CENTER FOR TAXPAYER WASTE
Message-ID: <3.0.32.19971202090429.0068ede8@pop.erols.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

YOU MADE A DIFFERENCE IN APRIL

RETURN AND MAKE HISTORY IN DECEMBER

APE ARMY commander Rick Bogle along with other animal activists from around
the country will gather at the stone gate entrance of Emory University in
Decatur, Georgia on Saturday, Dec. 6, 1997 at 10:30 am for a peaceful
protest against the inhumane and unproductive 'research' being conducted at
Yerkes Regional Primate Research Center.  During its history, Yerkes
Primate Center has been the discoverer of nothing.  

The only benefit to mankind that has proceeded from Yerkes has been to
increase the personal wealth of a few individuals; borne by the pain and
suffering of man's closest genetic relative.  

Of the 3,000 primates at Yerkes, almost 500 die each year and for what?  What 
has Yerkes produced? The cocaine addiction studies, started years ago,
continue 
and still no help for human addicts.

Now Yerkes, ever mindful of the need to keep federal grant money rolling
in, is stepping up its campaign to find a cure for AIDS.  Yerkes is
constructing a new $12 
million vaccine research center so that even more primates can undergo
intense, grueling experiments. Yerkes is giving false hope to HIV/AIDS
victims for a cure that it cannot produce. Yerkes' AIDS research is on a
road that leads nowhere.

You are invited to join other like-minded individuals to tell Emory/Yerkes
their cruel, useless experiments are a dying industry. Unlike other
movements, these victims cannot speak. Will you speak for them?

Together we can make a difference.  Together we will make change.  Together
we 
will win.

For more information, please contact:

Animal Abuse Watch      770-945-4709   Sue McCrosky
ActUp San Francisco      415-522-2907   Michael Bellefountaine
Animal Defense League  404-252-1357   Nikki or Joel 
In Defense of Animals    770-242-4343   Jean Barnes 


Date: Tue, 02 Dec 1997 11:06:20 -0500
From: allen schubert 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (US) FDA Approves Beef Irradiation
Message-ID: <3.0.32.19971202110618.006abb9c@pop3.clark.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

from Associated Press http://wire.ap.org
---------------------------------------
 12/02/1997 09:43 EST

 FDA Approves Beef Irradiation

 By CURT ANDERSON
 AP Farm Writer

 WASHINGTON (AP) -- Coming soon to your local meat market: Fresh beef
 irradiated with cobalt gamma rays?

 The Food and Drug Administration today approved use of irradiation to
 kill harmful bacteria such as E. coli in beef, a decision favored by an
 industry that was rocked this year by several meat recalls and consumer
 food safety fears.

 Dr. Michael Friedman, acting FDA commissioner, said in an interview that
 irradiation will become a useful tool in combating food-borne illness,
 but that ultimate responsibility still will rest with the food handler
 and preparer.

 ``We think it is safe and we think it is appropriate,'' Friedman said of
 the procedure. ``But the consumer should not believe that he or she does
 not have to use good cooking and handling techniques.''

 Some anti-nuclear activists have protested irradiation as unsafe, but
 Friedman said FDA scientists determined that the process does not change
 the fundamental properties of meat and does not make it radioactive in
 any way.

 ``There is no contact with a radioactive substance. There is nothing left
 on the meat,'' Friedman said.

 The FDA acted on a three-year-old petition from Isomedix Inc., a New
 Jersey company with long experience in medical sterilization that wants
 to offer meat processors irradiation with cobalt-60 gamma rays. There are
 many other ways to safely irradiate meat and other companies in the
 market.

 Such techniques would enable meat packers to kill bacteria at the end of
 the production line, after it is already sealed in packages and cannot be
 contaminated further. This is particularly important in ground beef,
 where bacteria can easily get beneath the surface during grinding.

 Although irradiation has been available for years for poultry, pork,
 spices and some fresh produce, interest in the process for beef
 intensified after this summer's recall of 25 million pounds of Hudson
 Food Co. hamburger tainted with E. coli.

 The meat industry lobbied vigorously for irradiation as an alternative to
 Clinton administration proposals for greater government authority to
 recall contaminated products and punish violators.

 ``I think there is a greater degree of interest,'' said Patrick Boyle,
 president of the American Meat Institute, a meatpacking industry
 organization.

 In this year's FDA spending bill, Congress ordered the agency to act
 within 60 days on the Isomedix petition. The bill also changed labeling
 requirements for all foods treated with irradiation so that the words
 need be no larger than those for the ingredients.

 The three years it took to act on the petition were necessary, Friedman
 said.

 ``There were some very complex scientific issues that had to be dealt
 with,'' he said. But, he added: ``We believe the safety of food is so
 important that we will be focusing our efforts in a more effective way in
 the future.''

 The FDA's action today approves safe irradiation dosage levels for
 various forms of meat, such as frozen, fresh and so on. It is now up to
 the Agriculture Department to issue regulations for processing plants
 that conform to those levels.

 Once that is done, Boyle said meat plants would have to figure out how to
 use irradiation, whether they can afford it and whether there is a
 consumer demand. It is uncertain how adaptable the process would be for
 hamburger that is ground in the grocery store.

 Most likely, consumers would see products marketed in the future that
 would offer them the choice of purchasing irradiated meat.

 ``I think it's going to take a little time for industry and consumers to
 move towards the adoption of irradiation as a purchasing option,'' he
 said.

 One reason irradiation is not widely used on other products is consumer
 wariness of the process and lack of education about it, said Brian
 Folkerts, vice president for governmental affairs at the National Food
 Processors Association.

 ``We need to stop giving consumers the impression that the label is a
 warning when it has been found safe,'' Folkerts said.

Date: Tue, 02 Dec 1997 11:12:14 -0500
From: allen schubert 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Embedded Code/Attachments--Admin Note
Message-ID: <3.0.1.32.19971202111214.0069e868@envirolink.org>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Second attempt (first attempt was an hour ago)...apologies in advance if
this was posted to the list twice.

(This is not often a problem.)  Please avoid attaching files to posts to
AR-News (if an attachment may be useful, offer to send it privately to
those who respond to you via private e-mail).  Also, do not used embedded
html (or other code) in your posts to AR-News.  

Both of these reduce the effectiveness of your post as many subscriber
(worldwide) do not have the same software as you.  Your important news item
may appear as gibberish -- people do not like reading such things.  And,
considering the international nature of the list, people may find the
"English" of html quite confusing.  Most people still get their e-mail in
ASCII format.  (For those who don't understand, too get an idea of embedded
codes, on Netscape, you can view the source code of a web page by clicking
"view" and then clicking "document source".  Internet Explorer has a
similar feature.)

While many subscribers may have no problem handling attachments, some do.
For some people, an attached file is downloaded as gibberish, gibberish
that takes time to download.  For others, it may be a useless thing that is
"forgotten" after the message was deleted--however, the "attachment" may
still be on the hard drive.  

And...depending on the attachment, it *might* contain a virus if it uses a
"template" (this type of virus is known as a "macrovirus").  (For virus
information, there are a number of sources on the web.)

So...please offer to send the attachment via private e-mail (for those
subscribers who reply privately).

Allen Schubert
AR-News Listowner
ar-admin@envirolink.org


Date: Tue, 2 Dec 1997 08:22:50 -0800 (PST)
From: Friends of Animals 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Offensive Christmas Song Dropped
Message-ID: <2.2.16.19971202112259.502ff640@pop.igc.org>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

>From "The Advocate" in Connecticut

Taking a stance for animals' rights

Darien-based Friends of Animals won an unexpected victory last week.
After much controversy, the Norwalk Community Chorale agreed to 
drop one of its Christmas parody songs about animals from its 
upcoming program.

Dot Hayes, director of public information for Friends of Animals 
received a complaint form some involved in Wednesday's show at
Norwalk City Hall who objected to "The Twelve Days After 
Christmas." 

The words of the parody of "The Twelve Days of Christmas" describe 
the wringing of necks and the shooting and drowning of animals as 
part of a holiday celebration.

"Why take the chance? Evidently the song was controversial, and I 
guess the feeling was that it wouldn't be in good taste, so it isn't
going to be played.  The intention wasn't to insult anybody, this is 
supposed to be a festive event," said Tim Scheibel, acting director of 
Recreation and Parks in Norwalk.  The chorale operates under the 
auspices of the parks board. 

After receiving complaints, the animal rights organization stepped in 
and did  what it does best -- argued for the protection of animals.

"If it was a joke, it was done in bad taste.  Killing animals in a 
Christmas song just isn't funny." Hayes said.

The battle began with a phone call to Martin Diamond, director 
of the Norwalk Community Chorale, and ended with letters and 
phone calls to Norwalk Mayor Frank Esposito.  The mayor decided 
to review the parody himself.

"We thought the song in itself was inappropriate, " City Clerk 
K.C. Senie said. "The mayor looked at the song and suggested to 
Martin Diamond that it be pulled.

"It raised our spirits, it made us feel pretty good that they actually
listened,"
Hayes said with a smile.

"Whoever wrote the song was attempting to be humorous," Scheibel
said.  "However, everybody has different personalities, and some would
have laughed and others would have been offended.  This ceremony isn't to 
offend anyone, it is something to enjoy."

Friends of Animals is an international animal protection organization
of about 200,000 members and supporters who stand up for animal
rights It's national headquarters is located in Darien, with three other offices
in New York City, Washington, DC and Jerusalem. 

Hayes wasn't counting on the chorale to rethink its song choices.

"I didn't have much faith it would work because when we called the Chorale
twice, we were met with such hostility and they became so furious they hung
up on us,"  Hayes said.  "Somebody must have intervened, but who cares,
it worked."

"All of the animal abuse included in the song actually happens daily to
animals."

The lyrics included: "Then with a single cartridge, I shot the blasted
partridge...
The second day after Christmas I pulled on the rubber gloves and very gently
wrung the necks of both turtle doves."

"Those we represent consider animals the children of the earth, deserving
of to respect we give our children," Hayes said. "If they replaced the
animals with children, would they still think this is funny?"

Not that Hayes is against any offbeat holiday song involving animals.

"I would be happy if they sing 'Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer,"
Hayes said, "because there is no chance of grandma getting run over by
a reindeer."

Date: Tue, 2 Dec 1997 08:49:45 -0800
From: LCartLng@gvn.net (Lawrence Carter-Long)
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Newswire: Anti-drug, animal-loving punk rock fans use violence (US)
Message-ID: <199712021641.LAA21078@envirolink.org>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Anti-drug, animal-loving punk rock fans use
violence, police say

BY ARLENE LEVINSON AP NATIONAL WRITER

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- The scar in Rich Webb's back is dark pink and
puckered, a souvenir of the night in 1995 he was attacked by a crowd of
Straight Edgers. They carved an X, the movement's signature, just above
Webb's waist. The doctor said a knife must have been used to slice his
flesh so cleanly.

They cut him for smoking pot.

Straight Edge could be every frightened parent's dream. A youth
movement born in the underground punk rock scene of the early 1980s,
its devotees swear off drugs, drink, smoking and casual sex. These are
youngsters in revolt against the dangerous temptations of youth.

And thousands of Straight Edgers in this country generally confine
themselves to attending punk rock concerts and trying to set an example
of clean living.

That goes for Utah too. But here, the Straight Edge philosophy can also
become a bludgeon. Beatings, brawls and vandalism by Straight Edge
toughs are common, police say. They say Straight Edgers use chains,
mace and clubs to enforce their abstinent lifestyle. It takes place in school 
yards, at concerts and shopping center parking lots.

``If they can't get you, you wake up in the morning, your car will be just
pulverized, every window broken out,'' said Scott Magleby, a detective in
the Salt Lake County sheriff's gang unit.

Some Straight Edgers have gone further, turning their intolerance on the
fur, leather and fast-food trades. Firebombings and burglary in the past
two years and in the name of rescuing animals are the work of current 
and one-time Straight Edgers, authorities say.

>From Davis County to the north to the southern end of Salt Lake County,
police see the intersection of Straight Edge and the animal rights
movement: firebombings of a mink feed cooperative, a McDonald's
restaurant and a Tandy Leather and Crafts Supply store; the near-arson
of an animal trap business; minks ``liberated'' from two farms.

``I've become more and more bitter,'' said Terry Montgomery, owner of
the trap business, a mom-and-pop enterprise. ``I don't really care if they
eat 20 heads of lettuce a day. But you can't force your ideas on people.''

This activity is also getting attention from the FBI.

Bret Walton, a tall, sad-eyed 18-year-old, is one of three Straight Edgers
caught trying to burn down Montgomery's store in March. He was the
lookout as the others poured gasoline around the place. A night
watchman asleep inside was aroused by the commotion and chased
them away.

Sentenced to three years' probation after pleading guilty to arson
conspiracy, Walton, a diesel mechanic from North Salt Lake, said it 
``was disappointing, it really was,'' that the attack failed.

``I don't know if it would have done any good if it had burned down,''
Walton said. ``I realized the risk, but I felt I wasn't doing enough to help
save animals.''

Authorities say Straight Edgers like Walton are committing crimes in the
name of Animal Liberation Front, a shadowy force that seeks to halt the
use of animals for human purpose, whether in the research lab, the leather
shoe or fur coat, the hamburger or fish fry. Even dairy products are under
ALF assault.

``The FBI's domestic terrorism unit is active in this field,'' said John
Russell, a Justice Department spokesman in Washington. Utah is one of
two ALF hot spots under investigation, he said, declining to identify the
other.

It all seems out of place in this wholesome slice of country between the
Great Salt Lake and the Rocky Mountains' Wasatch Range, where the big
preoccupation is the 2002 Winter Olympics.

But Salt Lake teens have their problems too, and ``Straight Edge is giving
them a feeling of security and support and identity,'' says Michelle
Arciaga of the Salt Lake Area Gang Project.

``This is the neediest generation that America has ever seen.''

                             ------

The movement takes its name from a 1981 song, ``Straight Edge,'' by Ian
MacKaye of the Washington, D.C.-based band Minor Threat:

``I'm a person just like you

But I've got better things to do

Than sit around and smoke dope ...

I've got a straight edge.''

It fit an attitude among punk fans and gave the attitude a name. ``Straight
Edge'' gained followings in Boston, New York and Southern California,
and as far away as Poland and Australia. To highlight its wholesome
credo, it adopted an X as its symbol, X being what music clubs stamp on
the hands of patrons too young for alcohol.

The typical Utah Straight Edger is white, male and middle class, aged from
early teens to early 20s, bearing the tattoos, shorn hair and pierced ear
lobes of punkdom.

Those who know them say most Straight Edgers are law-abiding and
some adherents lash out with violence, local police label Straight Edge
a gang. Straight Edgers reject the tag and say any fights are self-defense.

The problem is so serious that a Salt Lake City police detective, Brent
Larsen, is assigned exclusively to Straight Edge-related crime.

``Don't get me wrong; there are some good kids in Straight Edge,'' Larsen
said. He estimated the movement numbers 600 or 700 in the valley, about
200 of them violent while ``50 or 60... do the firebombing.''

Ms. Arciaga of the area gang project travels outside the state and hears
similar stories. ``It's not just a Salt Lake thing,'' she said. In Texas,
Washington state and California ``people have come and talked to me
about troubles they're having with Straight Edgers.''

A dozen Straight Edgers are rattling Dayton, Ohio.

``We call them 'Hate Edgers,' '' said Sgt. David Williams. In Dayton, a man
was smacked in the head with a skateboard for smoking a cigarette.

``This particular group of people hating people who eat meat, hate gays
as well,'' Williams noted. In this ``strange twist of the just say no'
campaign,'' he said, some also proclaim ties to the Animal Liberation
Front.

AP-CS-12-01-97 1425EST

Akron Beacon Journal
Akron, Ohio

-------------------------------------------

Lawrence Carter-Long
Science and Research Issues, Animal Protection Institute
email: LCartLng@gvn.net, phone: 800-348-7387 x. 215
world wide web: http://www.api4animals.org/

"All censorships exist to prevent any one from challenging current 
conceptions and existing institutions. All progress is initiated by 
challenging current conceptions, and executed by supplanting 
existing institutions. Consequently the first condition of progress 
is the removal of censorships."  - George Bernard Shaw





Date: Tue, 2 Dec 1997 08:50:34 -0800
From: LCartLng@gvn.net (Lawrence Carter-Long)
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Newswire: Liberation Front (US)
Message-ID: <199712021642.LAA21241@envirolink.org>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

SALT LAKE CITY: Liberation Front.

Jacob Kenison, 19, was raised in a solid Mormon family. Like all
Mormons, he was taught to shun tobacco, caffeine and alcohol and to
obey the law. He could take comfort in his faith's emphasis on family and
church.

Yet it was the Straight Edgers who helped him cope with his fears at 14.

``I was scared of drugs. I heard they make you do weird things,'' Kenison
said. Straight Edge, he said, ``was a protection.''

Now he is about to serve a 16-month prison term on a federal gun offense
and awaits sentencing on a state arson charge to which he pleaded
guilty.

A red jumpsuit hanging loose over his lanky 6-foot-2-inch frame, Kenison
spoke in mid-November, hugging himself and swallowing nervously as he
explained how he ended up in Salt Lake County Metro Jail.

He violated his parents' curfew and was thrown out of the house. At 16,
he was expelled from school for assaulting another student. A witness
told police he rapped a student on the head with spiked brass knuckles.
His parents got him reinstated, but school couldn't hold him. Straight
Edge did.

A freckled redhead, Kenison is festooned with tattoos: Chinese
characters on his neck, a demon and a nude winged fairy dancing on his
arm. He says ``hardline'' in red across his chest indicates he takes the
most stringent Straight Edge line. That line, according to Kenison, is
anti-sexist, anti-racist, anti-abortion; sex is purely for having children,
though marriage ``doesn't really matter.''

He is also a vegan, following a diet doctrine promoted by ardent animal
rights activists. Vegans (pronounced VEE-gans), reject all animal
products. They wear no leather, wool or silk. ``I wouldn't eat refined
sugar, white rice -- nothing bleached. No meat. No dairy. No honey,''
Kenison said.

At 18, he fell into a depression and had ``worthless'' tattooed inside his
left arm. He felt he would never save the animal world; his car was
wrecking the environment; visiting a doctor or dentist might entail
benefiting from research on animals.

Even buying cotton clothes afflicts the helpless, in Kenison's view.
``There's animals that live in the cotton plants -- some live in the shade.
The main reason I'm vegan is, I felt bad.''

In June 1995, a leather crafts store in Murray, south of Salt Lake City, was
firebombed and destroyed. In February this year, Kenison was arrested.
On Nov. 24 he pleaded guilty to taking part in the attack.

A month after his arrest he and friends bought an assault rifle for fellow
Straight Edger Joshua Ellerman. Kenison admitted lying when he failed to
state in the federal gun-purchase form that he was charged with a crime.
He says he made an honest mistake.

Meanwhile, 19-year-old Ellerman is living with his mother, DeAnn Taylor,
awaiting federal trial for the mink co-op bombing. If convicted, he could
spend the rest of his life in prison.

Ms. Taylor declined interviews for them both while the case is pending.
Her elder son, Colby Ellerman, a former Straight Edge who turned 21
Thanksgiving Day, pleaded guilty to freeing minks. He too declined an
interview.

``My son Joshua is not guilty,'' Ms. Taylor said. Both her sons, ``are
very, very good boys.'' As for Straight Edge, ``there's a lot of good in it,''
she said.

Authorities say violence associated with animal rights is ebbing. One
Straight Edger who took part in protests at fur stores said police
surveillance -- picture-taking and constant questions -- is turning kids off.
Some are letting their short hair grow out, to deflect attention.

Still, at hardcore punk rock concerts, Salt Lake police have picked up
fliers like one that describes the proper fuel mixture to make a firebomb
(add motor oil and get a ``longer-lasting hotter flame.'')

It's at such concerts that Dave Wilson seeks recruits for his cause,
marrying the moralistic outlook of Straight Edge to his own animal rights
campaign.

``Years down the road, people are going to view us as freedom fighters
and saints for freeing these animals,'' said Wilson, who at 19 has dropped
ambitions to become a fashion model to devote his life to animal rights.
``We used to have black slaves. Now we have mink slaves or fox slaves
or pig slaves.''

Officially, he speaks for a Texas-based group called Coalition to Abolish
the Fur Trade, and issues statements claiming responsibility for attacks in
the name of the Animal Liberation Front.

Straight Edge, having started by saying no to drugs and sex, and a
fervent core having moved on to fighting for animal rights, now shows
signs of turning against itself, according to police and failed firebomber
Bret Walton.

``The kids who were for animal rights and Straight Edge, they were for
each other,'' Walton said. ``But now everybody hates each other and they
get into fights. It seems like over nothing. And then tons of cops come.''

Akron Beacon Journal
Akron, Ohio

Lawrence Carter-Long
Science and Research Issues, Animal Protection Institute
email: LCartLng@gvn.net, phone: 800-348-7387 x. 215
world wide web: http://www.api4animals.org/

"All censorships exist to prevent any one from challenging current 
conceptions and existing institutions. All progress is initiated by 
challenging current conceptions, and executed by supplanting 
existing institutions. Consequently the first condition of progress 
is the removal of censorships."  - George Bernard Shaw





Date: Tue, 2 Dec 1997 08:46:58 -0800 (PST)
From: Michael Markarian 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org, en.alerts@conf.igc.apc.org,
        wild-rockies-alerts@wildrockies.org
Subject: Letters Needed on Winter Use Settlement
Message-ID: <2.2.16.19971202144434.414fae38@pop.igc.org>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

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  or visit The Fund for Animals' home
page at .  A copy of the EA is available at
.

Thank you for participating in this critically important issue.

Date: Tue, 2 Dec 1997 08:46:28 -0800 (PST)
From: Michael Markarian 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org, en.alerts@conf.igc.apc.org,
        wild-rockies-alerts@wildrockies.org
Subject: Fact Sheet on Winter Use Settlement
Message-ID: <2.2.16.19971202144417.414f4a3c@pop.igc.org>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

FACT SHEET

SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT ON WINTER
USE OF YELLOWSTONE AND
GRAND TETON NATIONAL PARKS

     In May 1997, The Fund for Animals, Biodiversity Legal Foundation, Predator
Project, Ecology Center and several individuals filed suit against the
National Park Service (NPS) for its violation of several federal laws in
administering winter use of Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks.  The
plaintiffs claimed that the NPS was in violation of the National
Environmental Policy Act and Endangered Species Act for failing to evaluate
the environmental impacts of winter recreation, particularly snowmobiling
and grooming snowmobile trails, on Park wildlife, including threatened and
endangered species like the grizzly bear and gray wolf, air quality,
solitude, and Park ecology.  

     Among the many impacts associated with winter recreation in the Parks is
the impact of the groomed snowmobile trail system on wildlife, particularly
bison.  These trails facilitate bison emigration out of Yellowstone where
nearly all have been killed as a consequence of Montana's unjustifiable and
abhorrent bison management policies.  Moreover, since the trails provide
bison with energy efficient travel routes, scientists and others believe
that bison use of these trails has substantially altered bison population
dynamics, movements, distribution, and habitat use to the detriment of the
bison and Park ecology.  Dr. Mary Meagher, the world's foremost expert on
Yellowstone bison, has concluded that bison use of the groomed trail system
led to a doubling of the size of the bison population by the fall of 1994
compared to what would have existed if trail grooming did not occur.

     After nearly two months of negotiations, on September 23, 1997 a settlement
agreement was reached between the parties.  This settlement was subsequently
approved by the Court on October 28, 1997.

     As delineated in the settlement, the NPS has agreed to:

   1.Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to evaluate the
environmental impacts of all forms of winter recreation and use on Park
wildlife and Park ecology.  The NPS will initiate scoping for the EIS no
later than April of 1998.  A draft EIS will be available for public comment
on or before August 1, 1999 with a final EIS and decision notice expected by
September 2000.

   2.Prepare an Environmental Assessment (EA) to evaluate the impacts of
closing at least one road segment to winter use this winter and in
subsequent winters to study the impact of groomed trails on bison.  The
proposed action in the EA, which became available to the public on November
15, is to close the trail segment between Fishing Bridge and Canyon,
approximately 14 miles, to all winter use except in the case of an
administrative emergency.  The public comment period will close on December
15, with a decision to be made by January 10, 1998.  If the NPS decides to
close the trail to winter use, then it will not be groomed beginning on the
date the decision is made.  The NPS is not limited to only closing this
trail but could close additional trails to winter use this coming winter.

     In addition, the NPS must consider closing at least a similar length of
trail in subsequent winters to study the impact of groomed trails on bison.
In other words, at least 14 miles of trails must be considered for closure
in Yellowstone Park each winter until the EIS is completed.  

   3.Each winter until the EIS is completed, the NPS will solicit public
comment through publication of a notice in the FEDERAL REGISTER on the type,
location, and methodology for studying bison use of the Park's snowmobile
trail system.  This information will be used to determine where trail
closures may be needed to facilitate the study of the impact of the groomed
trail system on bison.  After considering comments generated by the public,
the NPS will publish notice of its intended study plans by December 1 of
each year.
  
     This is a fair and reasonable settlement which will permit all interested
parties to participate in the NPS decision-making process regarding the
study and management of winter use, particularly snowmobiling and trail
grooming, in Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks.

Date: Tue, 02 Dec 1997 13:01:38 +0000
From: Ione Smith 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Ontario--beans for the poor
Message-ID: <348406EC.2C0B@utkux.utcc.utk.edu>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

I tried to send this from another account the other day, got an error
message. Many apologies if it has already appeared on the list. This is
forwarded by request, because I know there's several Ontario folks on
the list.

----------

Hi there. This is just a note we are sending to the different food banks
and  soup kitchens either by telephone or e-mail.

The Elora/Fergus Unitarian Universalist Church and the Bean Growers of
Ontario have joined together in a pilot project to help distribute
healthy and nutritious beans to Ontario's needy.

We have available, in Paris, Ontario, 100 pound bags of beans to be
distributed to food banks and soup kitchens in Wellington county. There
are currently four varieties: Kidney, Romano, Black and Dutch Browns.
You can pick them up yourself or a member of our congregation will
collect them from Paris and deliver them to you at a cost of $10 per 100
pound bag.

We have many nutritious recipes and other literature available for those
unfamiliar with the best methods of preparing dried beans.

Please call me for more information:

Jim Sannes 
25 Main Street East
Drayton, ON
N0G 1P0
519 638-5444
sannes@compuserve.com
-- 

Ione

      ==================================================
       http://funnelweb.utcc.utk.edu/~ilsmith/SVME.html
          The Society for Veterinary Medical Ethics
      http://funnelweb.utcc.utk.edu/~ilsmith/ethics.html
          for all sides of the AR/AW/anti-AR debate
      ==================================================
            Reality is whatever refuses to go away 
        when I stop believing in it. -- Philip K. Dick
Date: Tue, 2 Dec 1997 13:10:13 -0500 (EST)
From: PAWS 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Watch Inside Edition Thursday
Message-ID: 
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII

On Thursday, December 4, "Inside Edition" will air a segment on exotic 
animals--especially lions and tigers--and the problems of surplus 
breeding.  In the Sacramento area, the program airs at 7:30 p.m. on 
channel 31.  Check your local listings for time and station. 

(In New York city, the show is delayed one day and will air on Friday, 
December 5 at noon.)
Date: Tue, 2 Dec 1997 14:19:47 -0800 (PST)
From: Michael Markarian 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org, en.alerts@conf.igc.apc.org
Subject: MD DNR Offering Black Bear Stamp Promotion
Message-ID: <2.2.16.19971202201722.578f9f32@pop.igc.org>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

[Ed. note: Please support the Maryland black bear stamp program. Help us
prove that Maryland residents can live with black bears rather than hunt
them. -- MM]


from the Maryland DNR web site:

DNR Is Offering A Holiday Black Bear Conservation Stamp Promotion 

Annapolis, MD (November 24, 1997) -- How would you like to participate in
Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Wildlife and Heritage 'black
bear research activity' conducted in Garrett County? It offers the
opportunity to go along with DNR wildlife biologists, in March 1998, as they
check on a female black bear and tag her cubs. As a part of this special
Holiday Promotion, you will also receive a complimentary one night's stay at
a cabin in New Germany State Park, the night prior to the research activity.
The exact date will be announced in January 1998.

In order to be selected for this promotion, DNR is conducting a drawing.
Anyone purchasing one of the black bear conservation stamp products (the
stamp for $5; a lucite paperweight with a stamp for $20; a matted print with
a stamp and history of black bears in Maryland for $25, or a black bear
decal for $5) will automatically be entered. You may also enter the drawing
by submitting a letter with your name, address and phone number to the DNR
Wildlife & Heritage Division; Black Bear Conservation Promotion; 580 Taylor
Ave. E-1; Annapolis, MD 21401. 

Entries must be received by Dec. 31. One name will be selected on Jan. 15 at
the DNR headquarters in Annapolis and the winner will be notified.

The sale of the black bear conservation stamp was authorized by the Maryland
State Legislature in 1996 to raise funds to compensate farmers experiencing
agricultural damage from black bears in excess of $200. Proceeds from the
sale of these products go exclusively towards that fund. In 1996, an excess
of $21,000 in damage was experienced by the landowners. It is anticipated
that damage in 1997 will be similar. 

The products which fund black bear conservation products may be purchased at
any one of the following DNR Regional Service Centers: Annapolis - 580
Taylor Ave; Bel Air- 2 S. Bond St.; Centerville - 120 Broadway Ave. Room
207; Cumberland - 3 Pershing St. Room 103; Prince Frederick - Rt. 231 at
Hallowing Point; and Salisbury - 201 Baptist St. Suite 22 or by calling
1-800-TREES-MD to place an order. The lucite paperweight and matted print
are unique gift items for those usually hard to buy for. 

More information about DNR's 'Black Bear Conservation Program,' is available
on the Internet, through DNR's Home Page at:
http://www.gacc.com/dnr/Info/stamp.html 

Date: Tue, 2 Dec 1997 18:17:35 -0800 (PST)
From: civillib@cwnet.com
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: BEVERLY HILLS 6 RELEASED (US)
Message-ID: <199712030217.SAA16409@smtp.cwnet.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit

UPDATE

December 2, 1997

Contact: Activist Civil Liberties Committee (916) 452-7179




Anti-Fur Protestors Released
On No Bail; Charges Reduced
     
     BEVERLY HILLS û Six animal rights demonstrators were released from jail
without bail late Tuesday afternoon here on an order by a Beverly Hills
Municipal Court judge. They pleaded not guilty to 4 separate misdemeanor
counts and promised to appear at a later date.

     The six, including 4 from Los Angeles and 2 from San Diego, had been jailed
since their arrest on a felony charge at an anti-fur protest last Friday.
They have been held in lieu of $50,000 bail since that time.

     Multiple felony counts were also dropped by the District Attorney's Office
when it was found the acts by the 6 û who were arrested after they refused
to leave the doorway of Fendi's on Rodeo Drive û did not warrant the more
serious charges.

     The "Beverly Hills 6" are now being charged with 4 misdemeanor counts,
including trespass, obstruction of a police officer, refusal to obey a
police officer and contributing to the delinquency of a minor -- 2 of 8
people arrested were minors, who were released Friday.

     "The intent of the previous felony charge was to harass these peaceful
advocates of animals, and to allow for the police to act as judge, jury and
executioner, which is not how our judicial system is supposed to work," said
Crescenzo Vellucci, director of the Sacramento-based Activist Civil
Liberties Committee.

     Los Angeles County is continuing its probe into the alleged beating of one
of the protestors, Los Angeles surgeon Dr. Jerry Vlasak û who was reportedly
handcuffed and kicked and punched by L.A. County deputies. Also released was
Dr. Rich McLellan, a Los Angeles-area doctor. Dr. McLellan was hospitalized
after Beverly Hills police sent him into convulsions because of suspected
illegal use of "pain holds." Others released are Pam Vlasak and Alison Lance
of Los Angeles, and Michael Welton and Patrick Thames, San Diego.

     The Beverly Hills protest was one of dozens Friday, dubbed "Fur Free
Friday" in which people protested the sale of fur across the U.S. At least
96 anti-fur protestors were arrested, including the 8 in Beverly Hills.
-30-

activists civil liberties committee
PO Box 19515, Sacramento, CA 95819 (916) 452-7179 Fax: (916) 454-6150

Date: Tue, 02 Dec 1997 23:16:11 -0500
From: Michael Walker 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Attitudes Toward Animal Research Web Survey Announcement
Message-ID: <3484DD0A.594957C6@wcu.edu>
MIME-version: 1.0
Content-type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit

There is considerable controversy over the use of animals in research.
Although this issue has a broad impact, studies regarding attitudes
toward
animal experimentation have typically been conducted with limited
populations (e.g., small sample sizes, similar backgrounds, and
similar interests).  Below is a survey designed to assess a
broad-spectrum
of views regarding animal experimentation.  This survey should
take 15 to 20 minutes to complete and will allow you to express your
opinions regarding this issue.  A summary of the results will be
published
at this site in the summer of 1998.

In order to take this survey or to access further information about it,
please go to the Web page below:

http://www.wcu.edu/ceap/psychology/surveys/ar.html

Thank you for your time,
Michael Walker



ARRS Tools  |  News  |  Orgs  |  Search  |  Support  |  About the ARRS  |  Contact ARRS

THIS SITE UNDERWRITTEN IN PART BY:
Gorilla Foundation

The views and opinions expressed within this page are not necessarily those of the
EnviroLink Network nor the Underwriters. The views are those of the authors of the work.