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AR-NEWS Digest 431
Topics covered in this issue include:
1) (NZ) Anti vivisection demo in Christchurch, New Zealand
by lentils@anarchy.wn.pl.net (Wgtn Animal Action)
2) Investigating the coxsackie outbreak in Malaysia
by Andrew Gach
3) The latest in mice reseach
by Andrew Gach
4) Fwd: African Gov'ts Debate Ivory Trade
by LMANHEIM@aol.com
5) Fwd: Africans Want Some Ivory Trade
by LMANHEIM@aol.com
6) (CN) Pandas in China
by jwed
7) (CN) Test Tube Calves
by jwed
8) Anti-obesity Bill proposed in Philippines
by Vadivu Govind
9) One in two Asian women over 60 risk getting osteoporosis
by Vadivu Govind
10) (TH) Thailand's battered treasures
by Vadivu Govind
11) (TH) Top three killers of Bangkokians
by Vadivu Govind
12) Traditional Chinese Medicine and CITES
by Vadivu Govind
13) (SG) Shops still selling cosmetic goods without necessary
labels
by Vadivu Govind
14) Sniff away craving
by Vadivu Govind
15) [UK] Dover sole 'threatened by dredging'
by David J Knowles
16) [CA] Forest Practices Code relaxed
by David J Knowles
17) [CA] Monkeys missing from "zoo"
by David J Knowles
18) [ZIM] CITES conference
by David J Knowles
19) [CA] BLOCKADE OF LOGGING OPERATIONS IN ISTA CONTINUES
by David J Knowles
20) (ZW) Three African countries seeking limited trade in ivory
by allen schubert
21) Extra TV Show
by SDURBIN@VM.TULSA.CC.OK.US
22) READ THIS ONLY IF YOU HAVE A TISSUE HANDY
by BHGazette@aol.com
23) Hard Copy again
by "Kim W. Stallwood" <75543.3331@CompuServe.COM>
24) Edward Taub honored by APS
by hsuslab@ix.netcom.com (Tamara Hamilton HSUS Laboratory Animals)
25) Fwd: Gull Killing Sparks Controversy
by LMANHEIM@aol.com
26) Fwd: Paul Watson Released!
by LMANHEIM@aol.com
27) Any animal rights people in N. Georgia Mountains?
by LMANHEIM@aol.com
28) INTEL Corp. Sponsors Animal Cruelty
by NAVS
29) Massachusettes, USA: Gull Killing Sparks Controversy
by No1BadGrl@aol.com
30) Orlando, USA: Lincoln Park Zoo Gorilla Troop to Move to New Disney Home
by No1BadGrl@aol.com
31) [CA] 'Rough ride' ahead for rogue stock hauliers
by David J Knowles
Date: Tue, 10 Jun 1997 15:41:52 -0400
From: lentils@anarchy.wn.pl.net (Wgtn Animal Action)
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Cc: poo@anarchy.wn.pl.net
Subject: (NZ) Anti vivisection demo in Christchurch, New Zealand
Message-ID:
A noisy protest was held last saturday on June 7th in Christchurch.
About thirty anti-vivisectionists gathered outside the Christchurch
Convention Centre on Saturday night to protest the damage to
hamans and animals done by animal based cancer research. Inside,
Cancer Society supporters were holding their annual Winter Ball to
raise money for cancer research on animals. Protesters, who included
members of the New Zealand Anti Vivisection Society, were dressed in
black and many were masked and had painted faces. They were present
as Ball guests arrived and cars and guest were surrounded by noisy
chanting protesters as they entered the Ball. Apparently some water
filled balloons were thrown at the guests too :-)
Eventually the cops arrived and told everyone to stay back from
the entrance so the protester all left and a few minutes later
gathered outside the back entrance to the Convention centre, where
they discovered all the guests were watching a fashion show inside
the main hall of the center. Protesters (all still in balaclavas
etc, ran up to the windows and continued chanting at the Ball
guests for over an hour and then left.
No arrests were made, and the protest was on TVNZs national news
the next night and in The Christchurch Press on Monday.
for anti vivisection info:
NZAVS
PO Box 22076
Christchurch
Date: Mon, 09 Jun 1997 21:28:14 -0700
From: Andrew Gach
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Investigating the coxsackie outbreak in Malaysia
Message-ID: <339CD7DE.C64@worldnet.att.net>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Health experts to study deadly outbreak in Malaysia
The Associated Press
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (June 9, 1997 9:03 p.m. EDT) -- Two American
experts flew to Borneo island on Monday to try to learn why an outbreak
of disease from coxsackie virus killed 21 children.
Thousands have contracted the disease in Sarawak state since April, and
Malaysia's Institute of Medical Research said Monday that those who died
had developed myocarditis -- an inflammation of the heart.
Coxsackie virus is found worldwide, and is normally not fatal. However,
previous deaths from myocarditis related to coxsackie virus have been
reported among children in China.
Jim Alexander and Omesh Dutta Parashar, epidemiologists from the U.S.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, came to Malaysia
at the government's invitation.
"It is an interesting question to find out why there are so many cases
in so short a period of time," the national news agency Bernama quoted
Alexander as saying.
Schools in the affected area of Sarawak state, about 550 miles southeast
of Kuala Lumpur, reopened Monday after a 2 1/2-week holiday, but few
youngsters were in class: Instead their parents came in droves to say
that their children were staying home.
Health Minister Chua Jui Meng said 21 children age 4 or younger have
died. In addition, 146 children are hospitalized.
Chua said thousands contracted the disease from coxsackie virus in
Sarawak state since April.
"We need to explain this to the public so that they would not be unduly
alarmed.... We have to explain to them that actually very few die of
viral myocarditis," he said.
Deputy Chief Minister George Chan, who has been put in charge of
containing the outbreak, met the Americans at Kuching, capital of
Sarawak state. He said they would be given all the facilities and
support they need -- including helicopters or other vehicles -- to move
around the state.
Coxsackie virus is named for the New York town where an outbreak
occurred in 1948. It is spread through contact with nasal secretions and
feces.
Date: Mon, 09 Jun 1997 21:33:15 -0700
From: Andrew Gach
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: The latest in mice reseach
Message-ID: <339CD90B.6BBF@worldnet.att.net>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Researchers find enzyme affects aging process
Reuter Information Service
LOS ANGELES (June 9, 1997 8:37 p.m. EDT) - Researchers said Monday they
had found an enzyme that appeared to play a role in the pace at which
various organisms age and when they die.
They said the enzyme is found in virtually all life forms and in every
tissue in the human body, with particularly high concentrations in the
brain.
Although it does not explain all of the mysteries of aging nor offer
hope for developing anything like a youth potion, doctors said it could
potentially be used in developing treatments for certain
age-related disorders like cataracts and Alzheimer's Disease.
The research was conducted at the University of California at San
Francisco, where doctors genetically engineered mice so their bodies did
not have any of the enzyme, known as PCMT or L-isoaspartyl
methyltransferase.
The enzyme-deficient mice were smaller than normal mice and all suffered
seizures and died before they were 60 days old, the equivalent of late
adolescence in a mouse's lifespan.
While previous studies had established the enzyme played a role in the
repair of damaged proteins in the laboratory, it had not been shown to
affect an organism's overall aging process. These new findings were
published in the June 10 issue of the Proceedings of the National
Academy of Sciences.
"When we looked at the mice that we had genetically engineered on a
biochemical level, we found that there was a large increase in the
number of damaged proteins in their cells compared to normal mice," said
the author of the study, Dr. Edward Kim, a postdoctoral fellow at the
UCSF-affiliated Gladstone Institute of Cardiovascular Disease.
Kim said the enzyme appeared to work by recognizing defective proteins
and repairing them so they could continue to function.
"There are several theories about how and why cells age, among them that
a cell ages when it can't rid itself of its garbage -- such as defective
proteins," Kim added. "In this study, the brain cells
seemed particularly sensitive to the accumulation of aged proteins."
Kim said there could also be external reasons for a cell's aging, such
as exposure to carcinogens or other environmental factors. But he said a
number of age-related diseases like cataracts and Alzheimer's were
characterized at least in part by a buildup of damaged protein in the
affected tissue.
Date: Tue, 10 Jun 1997 00:43:41 -0400 (EDT)
From: LMANHEIM@aol.com
To: ar-news@envirolink.org, EnglandGal@aol.com
Subject: Fwd: African Gov'ts Debate Ivory Trade
Message-ID: <970610004340_-328899522@emout16.mail.aol.com>
In a message dated 97-06-08 23:22:21 EDT, AOL News writes:
<< Subj:African Gov'ts Debate Ivory Trade
Date:97-06-08 23:22:21 EDT
From:AOL News
BCC:LMANHEIM
c. Associated Press
By ANGUS SHAW
HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) - Three African governments lobbying for
controlled trade of elephant ivory have called for a secret vote on
the issue at a crucial conservation conference opening Monday.
Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe - who argue they have too many
elephants and poor rural communities that need ivory revenue - said
some sympathetic nations would have difficulty voting publicly in
the face of opposition from the United States and other powerful
nations.
In preliminary talks ahead of the 11-day meeting of the
Convention on International Trade In Endangered Species, the three
African nations said they feared an open vote would bring possible
``intimidation'' and certainly jitters by undecided delegates over
the emotionally-charged issue.
The United States has said it will strongly oppose lifting the
total ban on trading in ivory and elephant products by downgrading
them to CITES Appendix II.
Listing under Appendix II allows trade providing strict
conditions are met and there is evidence that the survival of the
species will not be threatened.
Conservation groups say the world ivory ban imposed by CITES in
1990 has a proven record of stifling demand for ivory and
dramatically reducing elephant poaching.
Zimbabwe wildlife officials argue the country has an elephant
population of more than 65,000 animals, but say the environment can
only sustain about half that number.
Foraging herds are destroying natural vegetation, forests and
crops and threaten the lives of rural peasants, a problem they say
is not understood by Western lobbies whose own wildlife has long
been destroyed.
``Why should people who cuddle up to their cats at night, with
no real experience of cohabiting with wild animals like elephant,
dictate wildlife management in Africa?'' said Zimbabwean journalist
Tinaye Garande.
Since the ban was enforced, Zimbabwe has accumulated nearly 40
tons of ivory - worth nearly $5 million - from hunting, limited
killing of rogue herds and natural deaths. An average family income
in Zimbabwe is $500 a year.
CITES Secretary General Izgrev Topkov of Bulgaria, meanwhile,
warned delegates ``to see beyond elephants'' during the convention,
held every two years. About 3,000 delegates were expected at the
12-day convention beginning Monday. >>
---------------------
Forwarded message:
Subj: African Gov'ts Debate Ivory Trade
Date: 97-06-08 23:22:21 EDT
From: AOL News
By ANGUS SHAW
HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) - Three African governments lobbying for
controlled trade of elephant ivory have called for a secret vote on
the issue at a crucial conservation conference opening Monday.
Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe - who argue they have too many
elephants and poor rural communities that need ivory revenue - said
some sympathetic nations would have difficulty voting publicly in
the face of opposition from the United States and other powerful
nations.
In preliminary talks ahead of the 11-day meeting of the
Convention on International Trade In Endangered Species, the three
African nations said they feared an open vote would bring possible
``intimidation'' and certainly jitters by undecided delegates over
the emotionally-charged issue.
The United States has said it will strongly oppose lifting the
total ban on trading in ivory and elephant products by downgrading
them to CITES Appendix II.
Listing under Appendix II allows trade providing strict
conditions are met and there is evidence that the survival of the
species will not be threatened.
Conservation groups say the world ivory ban imposed by CITES in
1990 has a proven record of stifling demand for ivory and
dramatically reducing elephant poaching.
Zimbabwe wildlife officials argue the country has an elephant
population of more than 65,000 animals, but say the environment can
only sustain about half that number.
Foraging herds are destroying natural vegetation, forests and
crops and threaten the lives of rural peasants, a problem they say
is not understood by Western lobbies whose own wildlife has long
been destroyed.
``Why should people who cuddle up to their cats at night, with
no real experience of cohabiting with wild animals like elephant,
dictate wildlife management in Africa?'' said Zimbabwean journalist
Tinaye Garande.
Since the ban was enforced, Zimbabwe has accumulated nearly 40
tons of ivory - worth nearly $5 million - from hunting, limited
killing of rogue herds and natural deaths. An average family income
in Zimbabwe is $500 a year.
CITES Secretary General Izgrev Topkov of Bulgaria, meanwhile,
warned delegates ``to see beyond elephants'' during the convention,
held every two years. About 3,000 delegates were expected at the
12-day convention beginning Monday.
AP-NY-06-08-97 2311EDT
Copyright 1997 The
Associated Press. The information
contained in the AP news report may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without
prior written authority of The Associated Press.
To edit your profile, go to keyword NewsProfiles.
For all of today's news, go to keyword News.
Date: Tue, 10 Jun 1997 00:52:49 -0400 (EDT)
From: LMANHEIM@aol.com
To: ar-news@envirolink.org, EnglandGal@aol.com
Subject: Fwd: Africans Want Some Ivory Trade
Message-ID: <970610005247_1524683579@emout18.mail.aol.com>
In a message dated 97-06-09 18:04:26 EDT, AOL News writes:
<< Subj:Africans Want Some Ivory Trade
Date:97-06-09 18:04:26 EDT
From:AOL News
BCC:LMANHEIM
.c The Associated Press
By ANGUS SHAW
HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) - Insisting that they have too many
elephants on too little land, three African countries asked Monday
to be allowed to resume limited trade in ivory.
Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe want the U.N. Convention on
International Trade in Endangered Species to downgrade the elephant
from its most-endangered list. The proposal, which would end a ban
on trading that began in January 1990, is strongly opposed by
Western countries and conservation groups.
About 3,000 delegates and observers from 138 countries are
attending the 12-day conference, which opened Monday.
The three countries want to sell off combined stockpiles of more
than 150 tons of ivory. They say they will put the money back into
conservation and development programs for villagers whose crops,
homes and lives are threatened by the world's largest land mammal.
Japan is the bidder, offering up to $250 a pound.
President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe opened the meeting by saying
his country is fighting to protect its elephants, which live mostly
in arid areas where they consume large amounts of plants and water.
``We believe a species must pay its way to survive,'' he said.
``For us in developing countries, our natural resources provide
hope for a great leap forward'' in rural development.
Zimbabwe says conservation measures have left it with more than
65,000 elephants on land that can sustain only half that number.
Mugabe urged conservationists to recognize elephants are not
endangered in Zimbabwe and said if communities were denied economic
benefits, the elephants likely would be hunted to extinction.
But the United States, France and leading international
conservation groups have said they will strongly oppose downgrading
the legal status of elephants. That would allow trade in ivory and
elephant products as long as strict conditions are met and the
long-term survival of the species is not threatened.
The anti-trade lobby argues that neither the three African
countries nor consumer countries can guarantee that illegally
poached ivory will not reach the market.
``It simply cannot be said the controls are there to avoid that
situation,'' said Greenpeace spokeswoman Isabel McCrea.
McCrea said there was a ``real danger'' that both elephants and
whales could lose protections at this convention.
She accused Norway of promising European support for loosening
restrictions on elephants in return for African backing of
proposals by Norway and Japan to resume whaling, ending an 11-year
moratorium imposed by the International Whaling Commission.
She said the furor over elephants and whales risks obscuring
other important items on the convention's 115-point agenda,
including a proposal by Bolivia and the United States to upgrade
protection of the big-leaf mahogany.
Bolivia, the biggest producer, and the United States, the
biggest consumer, acknowledge that the Amazon rain-forest species
is endangered by uncontrolled logging. >>
---------------------
Forwarded message:
Subj: Africans Want Some Ivory Trade
Date: 97-06-09 18:04:26 EDT
From: AOL News
By ANGUS SHAW
HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) - Insisting that they have too many
elephants on too little land, three African countries asked Monday
to be allowed to resume limited trade in ivory.
Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe want the U.N. Convention on
International Trade in Endangered Species to downgrade the elephant
from its most-endangered list. The proposal, which would end a ban
on trading that began in January 1990, is strongly opposed by
Western countries and conservation groups.
About 3,000 delegates and observers from 138 countries are
attending the 12-day conference, which opened Monday.
The three countries want to sell off combined stockpiles of more
than 150 tons of ivory. They say they will put the money back into
conservation and development programs for villagers whose crops,
homes and lives are threatened by the world's largest land mammal.
Japan is the bidder, offering up to $250 a pound.
President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe opened the meeting by saying
his country is fighting to protect its elephants, which live mostly
in arid areas where they consume large amounts of plants and water.
``We believe a species must pay its way to survive,'' he said.
``For us in developing countries, our natural resources provide
hope for a great leap forward'' in rural development.
Zimbabwe says conservation measures have left it with more than
65,000 elephants on land that can sustain only half that number.
Mugabe urged conservationists to recognize elephants are not
endangered in Zimbabwe and said if communities were denied economic
benefits, the elephants likely would be hunted to extinction.
But the United States, France and leading international
conservation groups have said they will strongly oppose downgrading
the legal status of elephants. That would allow trade in ivory and
elephant products as long as strict conditions are met and the
long-term survival of the species is not threatened.
The anti-trade lobby argues that neither the three African
countries nor consumer countries can guarantee that illegally
poached ivory will not reach the market.
``It simply cannot be said the controls are there to avoid that
situation,'' said Greenpeace spokeswoman Isabel McCrea.
McCrea said there was a ``real danger'' that both elephants and
whales could lose protections at this convention.
She accused Norway of promising European support for loosening
restrictions on elephants in return for African backing of
proposals by Norway and Japan to resume whaling, ending an 11-year
moratorium imposed by the International Whaling Commission.
She said the furor over elephants and whales risks obscuring
other important items on the convention's 115-point agenda,
including a proposal by Bolivia and the United States to upgrade
protection of the big-leaf mahogany.
Bolivia, the biggest producer, and the United States, the
biggest consumer, acknowledge that the Amazon rain-forest species
is endangered by uncontrolled logging.
AP-NY-06-09-97 1536EDT
Copyright 1997 The
Associated Press. The information
contained in the AP news report may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without
prior written authority of The Associated Press.
To edit your profile, go to keyword NewsProfiles.
For all of today's news, go to keyword News.
Date: Tue, 10 Jun 1997 13:12:48 +0800
From: jwed
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (CN) Pandas in China
Message-ID: <3.0.1.32.19970610131248.007a46a0@pop.hkstar.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
China Daily 10th June 1997
Shaanxi's girls, boys work to protect wildlife
XI'AN (Xinhua) -- Every morning on the way to school, 11 year-old primary
school student Li Lin passes a large stone sign beside the road that says:
"Not only humans need care and love."
She told a Xinhua reporter that to her the words meant wildlife is a friend
of mankind, and so should be loved and cared for by humans so the two
groups can live peacefully forever on earth.
Li Lin is a fourth-grade student in Yuanjiazhuang Primary School in
Northwest China's Shaanxi Province. Located in the remote, thickly-forested
Qinling Mountains, the school is near the Foping National Nature Reserve
where more than 60 giant pandas live.
Tang Xiangyun, Li Lin's teacher, said that helped by the reserve staff, the
school often holds field trips, lectures and contests, to raise the
awareness of wildlife protection among kids.
"Our school students not only refrain from hurting wild animals and birds,
but also often persuade their parents not to shoot or cut
indiscriminately," the teacher said proudly.
In the school yard, when asked "what do you know about the giant panda?" a
group of students, mostly between the ages of ten to twelve, answered
immediately, with everybody eager to put in a word.
"In our village, people call the giant panda the 'black and white bear'. It
is one of the animals under top state protection," said one student.
"It is one of our 'national treasures,' eating bamboo and bamboo shoots in
the mountain," another student said, adding that it is loved worldwide but
only exists in China.
Wang Jing, a 12-year-old student in the fifth grade, said giant pandas
should be well protected, or this animal would disappear forever and people
in the future would not have a chance to see them.
Date: 06/10/97
Every child has the right to a healthy diet - that means no meat.
http://www.earth.org.hk/
Date: Tue, 10 Jun 1997 13:12:34 +0800
From: jwed
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (CN) Test Tube Calves
Message-ID: <3.0.1.32.19970610131234.007a9a00@pop.hkstar.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
China Daily 10th June 1997
HOHHOT -- Two test-tube calves, a male and a female, were born recently on
the grasslands of Shilingol, North China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.
Dr Xu Rigan, an academician of Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE), and
president of Inner Mongolia University, was in charge of this new
bio-technology project. He succeeded in reproducing the world's first
test-tube goat in Japan years ago.
The successful experiment marks the beginning of the real-world application
of the technology in China.
The advanced bio-technology is expected to change the country's long cycle
and low efficiency in cultivating fine-breed livestock, and promote the
country's livestock farming.
Every child has the right to a healthy diet - that means no meat.
http://www.earth.org.hk/
Date: Tue, 10 Jun 1997 14:14:33 +0800 (SST)
From: Vadivu Govind
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Anti-obesity Bill proposed in Philippines
Message-ID: <199706100614.OAA07620@eastgate.cyberway.com.sg>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
>The Straits Times
10 June 1997
Anti-obesity Bill proposed in Philippines
MANILA -- Philippine lawmaker Narciso Monfort has moved to have the
amount of fat and fattening products in food and drink regulated by law to
improve public health,his office said yesterday.
The proposed "anti-obesity Act" seeks to reduce health risks caused by
fatty foods by regulating "food and drinks that develop obesity".
The Bill, filed on May 8, sets a penalty of 30 days' imprisonment and a
fine of 10,000 pesos (S$570) for food and beverage firms found violating
the Act.
Specific provisions of the Bill are scheduled for discussion when
Congress resumes next month.
Dr Monfort's Bill requires the assistance of the Health Department and
the Food and Drugs Department in evaluating every product for fat and
calorie content. An information drive, including anti-fat advertisements,
will be launched warning consumers of the health risks of calorie-rich food
and drink.
"The epidemic of obesity is so tremendous," said Dr Monfort in an
introduction to the Bill.
"Obesity increases the risks of chronic and potentially fatal diseases
brought about by the accumulation of fat," he said.
"Obesity then must be considered as an important medical issue." -- AFP.
Date: Tue, 10 Jun 1997 14:14:47 +0800 (SST)
From: Vadivu Govind
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: One in two Asian women over 60 risk getting osteoporosis
Message-ID: <199706100614.OAA07632@eastgate.cyberway.com.sg>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
>The Straits Times
10 June 1997
One in two Asian women over 60 risk getting osteoporosis
ONE in two Asian women over 60 risks developing osteoporosis, a
condition where bones turn porous and are prone to fractures, said doctors
at a medical conference yesterday.
Only 6 per cent have been tested for the disease, they said.
The doctors, who are attending the 19th International League Against
Rheumatism Congress held at the Singapore International Convention and
Exhibition Centre, were speaking at a press conference.
The figures applied also to Singaporean women, said Dr Leong Keng Hong,
a consultant rheumatologist in private practice and the president of the
Osteoporosis Society (Singapore).
Osteoporosis is a growing problem in Asia because of an ageing population.
By the year 2050, osteoporosis-related fractures in women could cost Asian
governments about $40 billion. The cost for men would amount to $8
billion.
People with this disease are more prone to fractures, usually in the
hips and spine. Dr Leong said that in 1990, about 400,000 Asian women
suffered from hip fractures. Researchers predict that by 2025, the number
will be 1.2 million. It will rise to 2.5 million in 2050.
Professor Philip Sambrook, professor of rheumatology at the University
of Sydney, said that the incidence of osteoporosis among Chinese females
was 29 per cent, higher than the 20-25 per cent rate for Caucasian women.
The economic burden of osteoporosis is staggering. According to the US
Department of Health and Human Services, osteoporosis-related injuries cost
the health care system more than US$10 billion (S$14.3 billion) annually
This was more than the cost exacted by congestive heart failure (US$7.5
billion) or asthma (US$6.2 billion).
Said Prof Sambrook: "People sometimes underestimate the actual economic
cost of osteoporosis. They only calculate the direct cost of hospitalisation
and drugs.
"They do not take into account the cost to the family, and in terms of
lost workdays, for example. I suspect that the total cost is probably
double current estimates."
Said Dr Leong: "Much can be done about osteoporosis, because there are
diagnostic tools to detect osteoporosis early, and effective treatment
programmes like hormone replacement therapy and drugs like alendronate."
Date: Tue, 10 Jun 1997 14:15:00 +0800 (SST)
From: Vadivu Govind
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (TH) Thailand's battered treasures
Message-ID: <199706100615.OAA07638@eastgate.cyberway.com.sg>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
>Bangkok Post
10 June 1997
Thailand's battered
treasures
The Elephant Hospital in Lampang
Province and its chronically ill patients
are crying out for help
Chompoo Trakullertsathien
Having spent long
periods hauling logs,
Boon Ma suffers from
severe wounds all over
her body.
Four-year-old
elephant Uan wears
a shoe made from
stainless steel which
makes him limp.
Many might think it a
funny sight, but for
him every step is
agony.
When he was only a year old, Uan, while playing
with his mother, accidentally stomped on a rusty
nail. Without proper medical treatment, an infection
forced him to overuse his other legs to support his
weight while walking.
After many years without treatment the bones of his
opposite leg have bent, making movement even
more difficult. His master finally sent Uan to the
Elephant Hospital in Lampang province in January
this year.
To ease Uan's torment, Dr Preecha Puangkham, a
veterinarian at the hospital, designed a special steel
shoe to reshape the elephant's bones and thus
correct his posture.
Unfamiliar with this new shoe, Uan is often
frustrated and sometimes turns aggressive. But the
vet insists the steel shoe is necessary.
Uan is among six new patients, all seriously ill, who
arrived at the Elephant Hospital which is in dire
need of funds.
Out of the six, emaciated Banleng, 40, is in the
most serious condition. A former log hauler,
Banleng's illness stems from a long period of
overwork in the forest. His legs, hip, and cheeks
have wounds which are severely infected. He was
admitted to the hospital in April.
"Gaping and deep wounds are spread throughout
his body. He also has many chronic symptoms. His
chance of survival is only 50 percent," said the vet
softly while giving Banleng a medical check-up.
Uan has to practise
walking in a new shoe
specially designed by Dr
Preecha Puangkham.
Pictures by Somkid
Chaijitvanit
In stories
heart-wrenchingly
similar to Banleng's,
two other elephants -
Lek and Boon Ma -
have also been abused
by illegal loggers. Lek's
and Boonma's deep wounds on the shoulders are
full of pus, the results of prolonged log hauling. A
victim of abuse, Boon Ma is particularly nervous,
restless and fearful of strangers.
"Boon Ma has been sold from one illegal logger to
another to slave in the forest," said the vet with a
deep sigh. "She was also given amphetamines so
she could work longer. Now she can't walk.
"I'm afraid the time for her 'long rest' is near."
In addition to serious wounds caused by abuse,
some elephants at the hospital - such as Kham
Puan and Tang Thong - suffer from optical
problems.
Kham Puan, 50, has almost lost her sight. The lens
in her left eye is dislocated while the right one
affords only blurred vision. According to Dr
Preecha, the dislocated lens is infected, causing
irritation. If not tended to, Kham Puan could end
up losing all her sight.
Meanwhile, the left eye of Tang Thong, an elephant
from Nakhon Si Thammarat province, is already
useless. The vet has stitched up her other infected
eye to prevent further damage while waiting for an
eye specialist to perform an operation.
Pung, an elephant from Chiang Mai has a swollen
leg, the result of falling into a stream during a fight
with another elephant.
With no X-ray apparatus at the Elephant Hospital,
the veterinarian could only roughly diagnose that
Pung's front left leg was broken.
To support herself, Pung has to hold herself up with
a steel bar. To ease the pain, Dr Preecha designed
a special steel splint for his patient. However,
getting the elephant to wear the splint is a mammoth
task in itself.
"When dealing with humans, doctors just tell the
patient to bend or to stretch out their arms and legs.
For me though, I need many mahouts just to keep
the elephant still," said Dr Preecha.
"For broken bones to heal properly the patient
must not move the problem area for 15 days. But
who can tell an elephant to do that? Sometimes I
get so frustrated I just shout at them to stand still."
Pung is wearing a steel splint which cost 30,000
baht. To make sure it fitted correctly, Dr Preecha
made ten trips to a nearby steel factory to supervise
its construction.
Although Uan's steel shoe was less expensive,
costing only 4,000 baht, it still gave Dr Preecha an
equal amount of design headaches because each
individual elephant has different problems.
Despite a shortage of funds, all the new arrivals
receive the best treatment the hospital can provide.
But full recovery is costly in both time and money.
"The hospital has to remain fully lit at night so the
mahouts can watch over the sick elephants. Even
though many elephants are annoyed by the light and
can't get enough sleep it is a necessary procedure,"
he explained.
"If we let them roam the forest and sleep on the
ground their wounds would get dirty and they
would never get better."
The lack of medical equipment means Dr Preecha
is not always able to make an accurate diagnosis of
each elephant's ailments. This can adversely affect
treatment.
"There are no experts on elephant illnesses in the
country so we had to start our work from scratch,"
he said.
In many countries, hopelessly ill elephants are
simply shot said Dr Preecha. The Thais, however,
still cannot accept these mercy killings.
"Veterinarians must always try their best to treat
elephants, but sometimes I cannot stand to see
them suffer anymore. So when there's no cure in
sight I choose to put them to sleep," he confided.
According to Dr Preecha, the number of abused
and overworked elephants getting sick is
ever-increasing.
"Before, my patients were mostly elephants who
suffered at the hands of abusive mahouts, cruel
circus trainers, or had had an accident. But
nowadays a large number of sick elephants are
working ones that have been exploited by illegal
loggers," said Dr Preecha.
"Now deforestation is more severe, illegal loggers
feel they need to speed up their work to make
more money. As a result, all working elephants are
forced to labour until they break down physically,"
he explained.
When abused elephants can no longer work, the
burden to heal them falls solely on the Elephant
Hospital. But even when the elephants recover,
their masters often refuse to take them back
because they are no longer useful. So the hospital
has also to take care of these abandoned elephants.
This means more expense. And the financial burden
is long-term given an elephant's longevity.
"But our goal is to give them the best we can."
At present the hospital has to pay about 70,000
baht a month for each elephant's medical treatment.
All funds come from public donations which
unfortunately have not kept up with the growing
number of sick elephants.
Apart from donations needed to keep the hospital
up and running, Dr Preecha said it is in desperate
need of one more pavilion to house sick animals,
X-ray apparatus, a car for a mobile unit and a truck
to transport sick elephants.
"The elephant is the traditional symbol of our
nation," said Dr Preecha. "We need help from
everybody to rescue them from their current plight."
To support the work of the Lampang Elephant
Hospital, money order donations can be sent to:
The Friends of the Asian Elephants, 36/15 Moo 2,
Rarm Intra Road (Km 4), Anusawari, Bang Khen,
Bangkok 10220. Deposits can also be made to
Savings Account # 088-2-20983-0 at the Thai
Farmers Bank's Rarm Intra Branch. For receipts
please call 521-2758. Alternatively, fax 552-3824
(or 971-9221 after June 11).
"We Care" is a weekly series honour ing
people who believe in giving. You can show you
care by supporting the projects featured here
each week. You can also let us know about
people who unselfishly help others so we can
hon our them in these pages. Fax "We Care" on
240-3666 or call 240-3700 ext 3208 or 3212.
Article copyright Post Publishing Public Co., Ltd 1997
Reprinted for non-commercial use only.
Website: http://www.bangkokpost.net
Date: Tue, 10 Jun 1997 14:15:08 +0800 (SST)
From: Vadivu Govind
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (TH) Top three killers of Bangkokians
Message-ID: <199706100615.OAA07647@eastgate.cyberway.com.sg>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
>Bangkok Post
10 June 1997
Top three killers
of Bangkokians
Number of patients has been increasing
Poona Antaseeda
Heart disease, accidents and cancer are the top three killers of
Bangkokians inflicted with non-communicable diseases in recent
years, according to City health officials.
"The number of patients who suffered from these diseases has
been increasing," said Deputy City Clerk Thamnoon Vanijapong.
According to statistics, deaths attributable to heart disease have
increased from 262 six years ago to 418 last year while those
who died from accidents increased from 175 to 522.
Statistics for the incidence of cancer cover only three years -
showing an increase from 129 in 1994 to 164 last year.
"Most of those killed in accidents are under 40 years of age
while those who died from heart disease tended to be over 40,"
Mr Thamnoon said.
Despite the motorcycle helmet law, the death rate in motorbike
accidents remains high.
"Injuries to the head have decreased but the rate is still
equal to
injuries to other parts of the body such as limbs and backbones,"
he said.
Piyamaith Yodnae, deputy director of the BMA's Medical
Service Department, said 87,225 accident patients were
admitted to the seven City hospitals in 1995 increasing to 88,639
last year.
Those suffering from heart and cardiovascular diseases were
60,141 in 1995, increasing to 62,785 last year.
The three main factors causing an increase in heart disease were
diet, pollution and living in an environment where other diseases
were present.
Most people who died of cancer suffered from lung cancer, Mr
Piyamaith pointed out.
Cancer in other parts of the body was believed to have resulted
from several toxic chemicals such as lead or aflatoxin in peanuts.
Article copyright Post Publishing Public Co., Ltd 1997
Reprinted for non-commercial use only.
Website: http://www.bangkokpost.net
Date: Tue, 10 Jun 1997 14:15:15 +0800 (SST)
From: Vadivu Govind
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Traditional Chinese Medicine and CITES
Message-ID: <199706100615.OAA07658@eastgate.cyberway.com.sg>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
>South China Morning post
Monday June 9 1997
Bitter medicine for wildlife battlers
ELISABETH TACEY
This week, for the first time, the traditional exploiters of endangered
animals will sit down with the world's conservation watchdog with one aim:
to work out how togetherthey can stop rare creatures disappearing.
It has been a failure of the United Nations Convention on International
Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) that traditional medicine users in the
East have felt alienated and misunderstood by an arrogant, West-driven push
to prevent their using life-saving treatments. But the CITES meeting, in
Harare, Zimbabwe, from today until June 20, aims to change that.
The move highlights a challenge for CITES: to move away from its 1970s
image as an activist group out to stop people selling fur coats to embrace
worldwide concerns about health care for more than a billion people that use
folk medicines - not only Chinese.
A document drawn up by British, South Korean and Japanese governments
and endorsed by Hong Kong will suggest traditional medicine be considered
alongside Western medicine as a legitimate means of health care in which
endangered species have to be protected, either by providing substitutes or
through farming.
"The intention is not to question the importance of traditional
medicine as a legitimate form of medical treatment, but to encourage the
search for ways in which its use can continue without threatening wild
species with extinction," says the document to be considered at the CITES forum.
Judy Mills, director of the trade monitoring group Traffic East Asia,
said from Harare there had been a marked change in recent years.
Delegates at Harare include a representative from China's
administrative branch governing traditional medicine and a South Korean
government official.
Ms Mills said the change had come about because "traditional Chinese
practitioners are realising that wildlife conservation is not going to go
away, and it's a recognition by the conservationists that we have to
consider both sides because human health care is here to stay". Another
fundamental problem is that just imposing laws on an unwilling and
uncomprehending public does not work: "If you pass a law anywhere in the
world, and they don't understand it, they won't obey the law."
Two reports just released by Traffic reflect official endorsement of
this view. The first, Rhinoceros Horn and Tiger Bone in China: an
Investigation of Trade Since the 1993 Ban - written by Ms Mills, herself -
indicates that the mainland authorities have made intensive efforts to
enforce their prohibition on the sale or manufacture of drugs containing
parts from these animals whose numbers are rapidly dwindling. They were
also struck off China's official approved medicine list, its pharmacopoeia.
Surveys conducted from 1994 to 1996 of a few hundred traders in Chinese
cities where some of the country's top markets for traditional medicines are
located indicated almost universal awareness of the law. Yet the proportion
of businesses that told undercover researchers they could sell the products
remained pretty steady, at about 10 per cent of shops visited, and in some
cities availability seemed, if anything, to have increased over the period.
Considering that tiger and rhino are expensive, unusual items in
medicines, the figure may vary little from what it was before the ban came
in, although there are no comparative data.
Several makes of drugs that previously contained the prohibited
medicines simply omitted the offending article from the list of
ingredients, sometimes in the crudest manner by sticking a label over it,
leaving it unclear whether the substance was still present. A clear sign
that people did not understand the reason for the law was increasing
substitution of tiger bone by a part from another endangered animal, the
leopard, complete with the written approval from a provincial health department.
Ironically, the other report, Tiger Progress? by Susan Mainka, shows
that several Asian nations, including China, have done much more than many
in the West, where only the Netherlands has incorporated the full CITES
resolution on trade in tiger parts into law, and only five nations have
outlawed ownership of tiger medicines. Meanwhile, Traffic inspectors have
found such treatments on sale, from Australasia through Europe to the
United States.
Traffic's representative in Britain, Bobby Jo Kelso, said a priority of
the Harare meeting was to push these countries to take the ban seriously:
"People have looked at this as an Asian problem: in other countries
awareness is not high of their own role in the tigers' demise".
Yet China, as the main global supplier, remains the biggest problem.
And traditional medicine is the main killer of endangered species.
Ms Mills recommended more snap visits by officials and more undercover
operations. But she recognised that, with such a huge area and number of
people to cover, sales were extremely likely to go on at a low level -
guaranteeing continued conservation concern.
"If poaching stands behind the source of rhinoceros horn and tiger bone
in China, the world's remaining rhinoceros and tiger populations could not
supply even a residual demand in that country for long," says the report.
Ms Mills was more candid: "We don't see any way to stop the residual
demand." And the remaining 5,000 tigers and 11,000 rhinos might not be
around long enough to satiate that customer desire. So the answer must be
to bring the practitioners themselves on board.
It is not surprising that demand remains: both rhino and tiger have
been used for centuries. Rhino horn is used to treat people in danger of
dying from fever. Tiger fat has been used for leprosy, and both the fat and
the most precious part, the bone, have been used for rheumatism and
arthritis, usually administered in plaster or wine.
Western-style scientific studies have found tiger and rhino can be
effective: many animal bones contain ossein-hydroxyapatite which is known
to promote bone healing and new bone growth in experiments, and tiger-bone
ossein "has a different amino-acid profile from that of other non-felid
[non-cat] species and may hold the secret to the apparent efficacy of tiger
bone", says the Tiger Progress? report.
The Western idea that men were swallowing ground-up tiger penises to
improve their manhood had to be be put to rest, said Ms Mills. "In the old
texts there were all sorts of wild stuff, but the TCM (traditional Chinese
medicine) community really finds this [myth] offensive."
Westerners had also to recognise that many of their own accepted
medicines originated from plants and Eastern remedies - even good old
aspirin - and that Eastern doctors were not the only ones putting wildlife
in danger. "The Chinese always give the example of the Pacific yew bark,
which is used to fight ovarian cancer. It's very effective and people in the
US are fighting very hard to get it, but it's in danger of extinction," said
Ms Mills.
"One of the goals is the recognition that human health care is at odds
with wildlife conservation. This isn't about East and West, I want us to put
that aside."
The best way forward seems to be finding suitable substitutes and
"broadening the discussion so it's not just one species this week and
another next week", said Ms Mills.
Consideration and proper analysis of all species used were needed in
case "countless" other species - particularly plants, often ignored in the
debate - were unwittingly depleted, and to ensure that substitutes proposed
would not themselves become endangered down the line. China has already
placed water-buffalo horn in its pharmacopoeia to replace rhino. It is
about 10 times weaker but has a similar kind of effect. Ms Mills said
mainland scientists might be ready to announce a replacement for tiger bone
- perhaps a bone from a plentiful small rodent - at a symposium planned for
Hong Kong in December.
Late last year, a report in Newsweek said scientists at the China
Pharmaceutical and Biological Products Centre in Beijing had synthesised
tiger bone essence in the lab by extracting essence from other species and
combining them. Others report the genetic engineering of plants.
Loss of plants and some animals might be resolved through farming, but
"there is no way, absolutely no way, that Traffic would consider tiger
farming", she said.
"Not one second of energy" should be diverted from the fight to save
the tiger in the wild, where habitat loss had to be tackled. The source of
tigers destined for farms would also be difficult to verify, she said. Ms
Mills agreed substitutes would not satisfy some people but said they must
compromise: "All of us are having to adapt as natural resources are
becoming scarce. The Earth cannot cope."
There is much disagreement in conservation circles with these views. Western
CITES members harbour several fears: that legitimising the trade will undo
what has been achieved so far; that China will be encouraged to continue
with its so-far-dubious tiger farms; that the aphrodisiac myth will gain
fresh impetus if medicine use is accepted.
A weakness of the CITES meeting is that the traditional medicine view
is still
represented only by government officials, not by those who dispense the
ingredients.
Clearly there is a long way to go. But persuading traditional medical
practitioners of the need to save the wildlife they are using to save
humans should be a step in the right direction.
Date: Tue, 10 Jun 1997 14:15:28 +0800 (SST)
From: Vadivu Govind
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (SG) Shops still selling cosmetic goods without necessary
labels
Message-ID: <199706100615.OAA07657@eastgate.cyberway.com.sg>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
>The Straits Times
10 June 1997
Shops still selling cosmetic goods without necessary labels
By Yasmeen Hameed
THE big stores have started doing so, but most small shops selling
cosmetic and related products are still not displaying labels giving the
importer's name or a full list of ingredients.
The Health Ministry's new labelling rules for these products, which
came into force on June 1, also require retailers to include the product's
batch reference, the address of the importer or local manufacturer, and any
precautions to be taken.
A check with 10 shops in Chinatown and in Little India found that those
selling cosmetic, skin care or hair care products did not have the necessary
labels on several brand names.
And it did not seem to bother most of them that they were breaking the
law.
The main reason they gave for this was that they thought the Health
Ministry deadline was flexible.
They said they thought that only eye care products needed to be labelled by
June 1.
And they thought that cosmetic and hair care products, such as
shampoos, had a later deadline.
A few added that their importers had told them that there was no hurry.
Mr Lee Loy Kah, 42, of Min Min Store in People's Park Complex, said:
"Basically, our importers told us that we can wait for two to three months.
"Some said that they had applied to the authorities for an extension of
the deadline.
"Other importers have said they will bear the responsibility if there
are any problems with the authorities.
"We are relaxed because we think that the authorities are relaxed."
But the Health Ministry has stated clearly since June 15 last year that
all products must have the proper labels by June 1.
Only one shop owner, Madam Wong Leong Eng, 46, of Heng Huat Store in
People's Park, said that she had been observing the new regulations.
She has thrown out about $300 worth of products without the necessary
importer or ingredient labels, she said.
But she added that the new labelling law may make it difficult for her to do
business, especially since trade had already dropped "by 20 per cent" in the
past few months.
She said that having importers' labels will mean that the authorised
agents of the products concerned will be able to find out who their
parallel importers are and take action against them.
This means that retailers like her, who get their products through
parallel importers, will no longer be able to pay cheaper prices, she said.
Two other retailers wanted to know what they should do if their
parallel importers had already stopped doing business.
Madam Wong Fong, 42, owner of Chua Lee, also in People's Park, said:
"Our agents for Max Factor have closed down.
"How are we supposed to get labels from them?"
As for the other retailers interviewed, they said they would either
return those products without proper labels to their suppliers or re-export
them to other countries.
Date: Tue, 10 Jun 1997 14:15:35 +0800 (SST)
From: Vadivu Govind
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Sniff away craving
Message-ID: <199706100615.OAA07679@eastgate.cyberway.com.sg>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
>The Straits Times
10 Juen 1997
One sniff and you won't want to eat chocolate again
Some people give in to cravings for chocolate, while others cannot
resist the urge to gamble. Help is on the way.
JUST a mouthful of a chocolate cake can lead the dieter into a downward,
guilty spiral.
Now help is on the way.
With help from a scented adhesive patch designed to keep people from
craving chocolate, dieters will never have to succumb to temptation again.
The Diet Scent patch, from the British firm L. P. Slimline, is based on
aromacology studies which say that 95 per cent of taste comes from smell.
The small, blue, square patch is saturated with the aroma of a tropical
orchid that smells like almond and vanilla, which the manufacturers say
"can have an almost immediate effect in diminishing the desire for
weight-inducing chocolate, biscuits and cakes" when worn on the hand, wrist
or just inside a shirt on the chest.
L. P. Slimline says the patch is completely safe because it works only
through the sense of smell and cannot penetrate the skin. It cannot enter
the bloodstream or interfere with other medicines.
"It's what we call the Christmas Dinner Syndrome," said Ms Liz Paul,
the company's managing director.
"Aroused by the cooking smells, all the family are looking forward to
the Christmas dinner -- all that is except the cook who has been bending
over the stove and whose olfactory senses are saturated. "By the time the
cook has smelt the roasting turkey and steaming pudding for hours, cheese
and toast often seem more appetising."
Ms Paul, a restaurant owner who invented the patch, said the idea came to
her when she noticed chefs in her restaurant preferred to send out for
takeaway food rather than eat the dishes they had just prepared.
Although aromatherapists and doctors will not endorse the patch, they
say the theory behind it makes sense.
Dr Alan Hirsch, neurological director of the Smell and Taste Treatment
and Research Foundation in Chicago, has just published a book explaining
his research linking scent to weight loss.
"It's clear that smelling different odours can help you lose weight,"
he said.
After the failure of an early test in which medical students were asked
to sniff achocolate bar whenever they craved for chocolate -- the students
ate the item -- he said he revamped his study and trapped certain odours in
a test tube instead.
The first study proved only two things, he said.
"You can't trust medical students and they were acting on the Pavlovian
reTests seem to suggest that weight loss is greater the more a person likes
the smell sponse of smelling the food and wanting to eat it immediately."
Because the test tubes could not be eaten, he said, the test was able
to move beyond initial eating instincts.
He tested people for six months with peppermint, green apple and banana
smells and found an average weight loss of 14 kg.
Though Dr Hirsch said it is not clear whether the scents triggered a
physiological change that tricked the body into thinking it had just eaten
the food or whether it was just reconditioning of the Pavlovian response, he
did note the tests seemed to imply the more the person liked the smell that
more weight loss occurred.
In fact, he had to stop the experiment because subjects were losing too
much weight. But he emphasised that his study covered only three scents
over six months. After that, "we don't know what happened to the people,
and we don't know if this works for all odours".
He is now working on another test over 13 months.
Aromatherapist Geraldine Howard said the theory behind the patch made
sense "because it's perfectly true that some smells can affect the limbic
system and cause a physiological response in the body. But I would still
view Diet Scent with severe scepticism".
Ms Howard said "in all our reference books, there has been no reference
in any for that oil to be used for that particular purpose" of deadening
chocolate cravings.
In Britain, Ms Paul said, the company was in talks with UniChem, AAH
and Boots pharmacies to carry the patches by June.
Or, as Dr Hirsch says: "You can just buy a chocolate bar, throw the
chocolate bar away and sniff the wrapper whenever you get a craving." --
Reuter
Date: Tue, 10 Jun 1997 01:11:38 -0700 (PDT)
From: David J Knowles
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: [UK] Dover sole 'threatened by dredging'
Message-ID: <1.5.4.16.19970610011217.24d729dc@dowco.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
>From The Electronic Telegraph - Tuesday, June 10th, 1997
Dover sole 'threatened by dredging'
By David Brown, Fisheries Editor
THE "heartland" of the Dover sole is under threat from plans to dredge
millions of tons of sand and gravel from two sites off the Kent coast.
Fishermen say they would be ruined by the plans to remove aggregate from
Hythe Bay, between Dungeness and Folkestone, because it would wreck rich
spawning, nursery and migration areas.
They claim that catches of Dover sole have slumped in areas off Hastings
where gravel dredging has already taken place.
Government scientists are preparing to advise ministers that the project
should be stopped to protect breeding grounds.
South Coast Shipping, a Southampton-based company, is seeking a licence from
the Crown Estates, which owns the seabed, to remove 600,000 tons of
aggregate a year for 10 years from the two sites, six miles offshore.
Dredging work could begin within 18 months, although the project must be
approved by the Department of the Environment after consultations with the
Ministry of Agriculture, which said: "Our scientists are aware of the
importance of these grounds."
Willie Richardson, skipper of the fishing vessel Stumark, said: "This is the
heartland of the Dover sole. They are planning to dredge the sea bed down to
bare rock."
Graham Singleton, marine resources manager for South Coast Shipping, said
that the fishermen's views would be taken into account by both the company
and by MAFF.
© Copyright Telegraph Group Limited 1997.
Date: Tue, 10 Jun 1997 01:11:40 -0700 (PDT)
From: David J Knowles
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: [CA] Forest Practices Code relaxed
Message-ID: <1.5.4.16.19970610011219.24d73d02@dowco.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
VANCOUVER, B.C. - British Columbia premier Glen Clark today announced that
the provincial government would be relaxing some of the regulations in the
Forest Practices Code, which governs the forestry industry in the province.
The code recently came under fire from Greenpeace in a report they released
showing that there had been several violations of the code but none of the
promised heavy penalties imposed on logging companies. Clearcutting still
comprises the major portion of logging in B.C. despite promises to the contrary.
The new relaxation is said to make logging in the province both easier and
cheaper.
Clark said part of the problem facing the logging industry were the high
cost to the industry and the "burden of overregulation."
Both Clark and forestry minister David Zirnhelt insist the move would not
weaken the environmental protection stated in the code.
The move has pleased executives of logging corporations, but has upset local
environmental groups - recently referred to by Clark as "enemies of B.C."
Tzeporah Berman, of Greenpeace, said on an interview on CBC TV that she felt
the move had "Turned the clock back."
"It has made it much easier to ignore the regulations," she said.
David J Knowles
Animal Voices News
Date: Tue, 10 Jun 1997 01:11:42 -0700 (PDT)
From: David J Knowles
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: [CA] Monkeys missing from "zoo"
Message-ID: <1.5.4.16.19970610011221.24d73cfc@dowco.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
VANCOUVER, B.C. - A mother and baby squirrel monkey are missing from their
enclosure at the Greater Vancouver Zoological Centre.
The centre said that they noticed four youths hanging around the enclosure
yesterday, and then noted the monkeys had disappeared sometime between 2:00
and 3:00 AM today.
According to the centre, the baby will die unless it gets proper care and
are asking for the return of both mother and baby as quickly as posible.
The zoological centre used to be known as the Vancouver Game Farm, and has a
long history of neglect and causing mental abuse of the animals in its care.
(More of this at a later date.)
David J Knowles
Animal Voices News
Date: Tue, 10 Jun 1997 01:11:44 -0700 (PDT)
From: David J Knowles
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: [ZIM] CITES conference
Message-ID: <1.5.4.16.19970610011223.24d731dc@dowco.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
>From the Greenpeace media server
Keep an eye on the really 'big' issues for CITES 1997, Greenpeace urges
9 June, 1997-- Harare, Zimbabwe -- Greenpeace today urged the parties to the
CITES convention not to lose sight of whales and mahogany - two very big
species whose future could hinge on decisions made in the next two weeks.
Speaking on the opening day of the conference, Greenpeace biodiversity
campaigner Isabel McCrea warned that proposals from Japan and Norway to
downlist several populations of three whale species from Appendix I to
Appendix II were in danger of slipping through unnoticed. Currently both
nations are killing whales in defiance of the International Whaling
Commission (IWC) - the UN body which regulates whaling.
She said if the proposals to downlist the whales succeeded, the door would
then be wide open for the return of international trade in whale meat.
"What we're seeing is a strategic attempt to manoeuvre the CITES parties
into undermining the IWC commercial whaling moratorium," Ms McCrea said.
A further proposal from Japan aims to repeal a critical resolution of CITES
that urges parties not to allow any international trade in whale species
protected by the IWC.
The other threatened giant which CITES could help safeguard is bigleaf
mahogany - the rainforest tree whose survival is at risk from uncontrolled
intensive logging in Latin America.
A proposal put forward by Bolivia - the second largest exporter - and the
US - the largest importer - to list mahogany on Appendix II faces enormous
pressure from the timber industry
lobby. Ms McCrea said while Appendix II listing was not a ban on logging it
would at least help producer countries to bring the trade under control. If
successful it would bring about better international monitoring and control
of a trade which is currently unsustainable and mostly illegal. Many
scientists agree that mahogany is currently being logged at unsustainable
rates and that a large proportion of wood exported is being done so in
violation of national laws.
A recent Brazilian government audit of existing forest management plans in
the Amazon, will result in around 70 per cent being cancelled or suspended
as a result of 'irregularities' on the part of the logging companies.
"In the five years since the first proposal to list mahogany at CITES, fears
that the species may be heading toward commercial extinction have grown," Ms
McCrea said.
The rate of deforestation (caused by a variety of activities including
logging) in the Brazilian Amazon have increased from 11,130 sq km per year
in 1991 to 29,792 sq km for the period 1992-4.
Ms McCrea said the next two weeks would be make or break for these and many
other threatened species.
"The next CITES meeting will take place in the new millennium and the
challenge for this meeting is to ensure that whales and mahogany are still
in existence then," she said.
CONTACTS:
Isabel McCrea or Elisabeth Mealey
cell phone:111-601450
Date: Tue, 10 Jun 1997 01:11:46 -0700 (PDT)
From: David J Knowles
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: [CA] BLOCKADE OF LOGGING OPERATIONS IN ISTA CONTINUES
Message-ID: <1.5.4.16.19970610011225.24d74ca8@dowco.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
>From the Greenpeace media server
BLOCKADE OF LOGGING OPERATIONS IN ISTA CONTINUES
Protest by Nuxalk Nation, FAN, Greenpeace, PATH and Bear Watch enters day two
(ISTA, B.C.) Saturday, 7 June, 1997 -- The blockade of logging operations
in Ista, a rainforest valley that is sacred to the Nuxalk Nation, entered
day two today with 55 individuals
continuing to protest International Forest Products' clearcutting of the
Great Bear Rainforest.
The blockade of the main logging road in Ista began yesterday morning after
Nuxalk hereditary chiefs, a Nuxalk Band Councillor and people from the
community held a farewell ceremony to urge Interfor to leave their
territory. They have invited environmental groups to support them in their
fight to protect the rainforest. Since then, Interfor has attempted to
serve an injunction on the individuals protesting rainforest destruction (1).
The RCMP have also visited the site, but have as yet made no attempt to
remove the 55 people.
"As long as Interfor continues to clearcut the rainforest, we will continue
to protest the destruction," said Tamara Stark of Greenpeace.
This year in Ista, International Forest Products has clearcut three
cutblocks and continues to push roads into the old growth forests. They
plan to log 11 more rainforest areas in the next
three years.
"What we are witnessing here at Ista is not acceptable," said Gavin Edwards
of the Forest Action Network. "At this stage we really have no alternative
but to stand together to stop the
clearcutting of the Great Bear Rainforest."
Added Chief Edward Moody, "As they clearcut the ancient rainforests of Ista,
they clearcut our history."
Of all the logging companies operating on the coast, International Forest
Products has licenses to clear the largest number of intact rainforest
valleys. Approximately half of
these valleys will have roads built into them or be clearcut within the next
five years.
The Great Bear Rainforest is the largest contiguous unprotected rainforest
in British Columbia and is a forest of global ecological significance.
Satellite mapping carried out by the World Resources Institute shows that
half of the world's temperate rainforest has already been destroyed and that
temperate rainforests are more endangered than tropical
rainforests.
Editors' Note:
1. The injunction is one obtained in September of 1995 after the Nuxalk and
members of the Forest Action Network protested clearcutting in Ista, and 21
individuals were arrested.
CONTACT:
On site, via the Greenpeace ship vessel Moby Dick: 011-872-624-628-410. (If
not in range dial 0 for a marine operator and ask for Moby Dick N#: N116744
at King Island
repeater station channel 28.
Greg Higgs at the Forest Action Network: 250-799-5800
Hereditary chiefs at the House of Smaysta: 250-799-5376
Date: Tue, 10 Jun 1997 07:44:24 -0400
From: allen schubert
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (ZW) Three African countries seeking limited trade in ivory
Message-ID: <3.0.32.19970610074421.006daed0@clark.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
from Mercury Center web page:
----------------------------------------------
Posted at 1:38 a.m. PDT Tuesday, June 10, 1997
Three African countries seeking limited trade in ivory
HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) -- Three African countries
have asked to be allowed to resume trading in
ivory, saying they have too many elephants on too
little land.
Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe said Monday that
they want the U.N. Convention on International
Trade in Endangered Species to downgrade the
elephant from its most-endangered list.
The proposal, which would end a ban on trading that
began in 1990, is strongly opposed by Western
countries such as the United States and France as
well as conservation groups.
About 3,000 delegates and observers from 138
countries are attending the 12-day conference,
which opened Monday.
The three countries want to sell off combined
stockpiles of more than 150 tons of ivory. They say
they will put the money back into conservation and
development programs for villagers whose crops,
homes and lives are threatened by the world's
largest land mammal.
President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe opened the
meeting by saying his country is fighting to
protect its elephants, which live mostly in arid
areas where they consume large amounts of plants
and water.
``We believe a species must pay its way to
survive,'' he said. ``For us in developing
countries, our natural resources provide hope for a
great leap forward'' in rural development.
Zimbabwe says conservation measures have left it
with more than 65,000 elephants on land that can
sustain only half that number.
Mugabe urged conservationists to recognize
elephants are not endangered in Zimbabwe and said
if communities were denied economic benefits, the
elephants likely would be hunted to extinction.
Date: Tue, 10 Jun 97 07:50:51 UTC
From: SDURBIN@VM.TULSA.CC.OK.US
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Extra TV Show
Message-ID: <199706101252.IAA19100@envirolink.org>
On Extra TV show last night, an ALF person was interviewed. The voice
and face were disguised, and the interview was done in "the boonies,"
since many industry people are after the ALF. One thing brought up
by the interviewer is that so far noone has been hurt by ALF's actions;
but, with more and more pipe bombs being used, they're afraid that might
change.
PETA was mentioned as being supportive of ALF's actions.
-- Sherrill
Date: Tue, 10 Jun 1997 11:17:41 -0400 (EDT)
From: BHGazette@aol.com
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: READ THIS ONLY IF YOU HAVE A TISSUE HANDY
Message-ID: <970610111614_-1128544392@emout06.mail.aol.com>
(Houston Chronicle - 8 June 1997)
Don't underestimate cats' special powers
By: Susan Bailey
"Cats are OK," said my neighbor, but what good are they?"
Well, being an animal person with a particular addiction to
cats, I took silent offense at her rhetorical question. And I
thought of Sophie.
Sophie is a funny, eccentric little person trapped in a cat body
who accompanied me for several years on weekly pet-assisted
therapy visits to a nearby convalescent center. She disdains
other cats, preferring instead to bestow her favors upon
humans. And she had the extreme good fortune, I might add,
of having adopted two of them who cater to her every whim.
Exactly how Sophie came to understand her role and carry out
her duties at the convalescent. center, I can't really explain.
The center's noisy, bustling activity, often distracting to me,
was hardly noticeable to her. Sights, sounds, smells, the
rattling and banging of utility carts. the bump-bump-bump of
huge laundry bins on rollers, voices booming over the speaker
system - none of this caused her alarm,
She seemed to instinctively know that a patient's lap was for
sitting in, although she never sat in our laps at home.
Sometimes elderly hands that lacked coordination would
unintentionally poke and prod. On those occasions, Sophie
would simply reposition herself and face in the opposite
direction.
I'll never forget the first patient. Sophie and I met. Emma, a
frail old woman confined to a wheelchair, sat gazing out the
window with her back to the door as we entered her room.
When she turned and saw the cat in my arms, her eyes began
to fill with tears, eventually overflowing into a cascade down
her cheeks. For a fleeting second, I was afraid we had made a
horrible mistake. But. my fear was short-lived, as Emma
blurted out her story between huge, agonizing sobs. She told
how she had become ill and hospitalized in California and how
her niece had brought her directly here to Texas, leaving
behind her five beloved cats. Emma had been in the
convalescent center for a year without seeing a cat. Her tears
were as much from joy, as from sadness. She became so fond
of Sophie that she kept a picture of her on her dresser and
took it with her when she was hospitalized.
Another patient we visited routinely was bedridden and
paralyzed in her arms. Helen also had pain in her legs and, for
some reason, felt relief when Sophie would walk on her.
Each week I deposited Sophie on Helen's bed. Little Sophie
would dutifully tromp up and down, then snuggle up with her
paws wrapped around one of Helen's immobile arms. One day
after this routine, I was startled to hear Helen abruptly call,
"Nurse, nurse, oh nurse!" to an attendant in the hallway. She
called loudly and urgently until the attendant came running,
expecting the worst. Helen, beaming all over, said, "I just
wanted you to see this cat. Isn't this a wonderful cat!"
Of course, not all of our encounters had such dramatic results.
Some consisted of nothing more than a passing "good
morning," a brief pat, and we were on our way. Others were
more prolonged. One morning a rehabilitation therapist
approached us asking if we would stop by the room of one of
her patients. Ida, a woman in her 30s, had become severely
depressed following a stroke. She would neither speak nor
respond in any way. Since conventional forms of therapy had
failed so far, might she respond to a cat?
Sophie and I slowly eased our way into the room where Ida sat
in a chair, staring vacantly not at the blaring television but at
the wall. The therapist introduced us as she turned off the
television and we moved into Ida's line of vision.
"Hello Ida, I'm glad to meet you. How are you today'?" No
acknowledgment. Nothing. "I brought Sophie to visit you."
Her eyes moved to the cat and slowly, as if in delayed reaction,
what she saw appeared to register. Her face began to brighten.
The corners of her mouth turned ever so slightly into the
suggestion of a smile, and her blue eyes sparkled.
"Would you like to touch her, Ida?"
The small, delicate hand extended slowly, palm up.
Remarkably Sophie approached calmly and rested her head in
Ida's hand. They sat together that way, motionless, for a
minute or so. I was proud of that moment. And of my little
cat.
During subsequent visits, Ida advanced to the stage of
acknowledging our presence when we entered her room. She
even made welcoming sounds, which I presumed were efforts
at speech. And she began gently stroking Sophie's fur. Imagine
my surprise when one morning, not terribly long after our
initial meeting. Ida greeted us with, "Oh, hi, kitteee!" I felt I
had witnessed a small miracle of sorts.
So what good are cats? Well, it's true this one didn't build a
bridge, find a cure for cancer or teach some one to read, as
critics are so quick to point out. But she did brighten some
days for more than a few confined, elderly folks, and gave
them something to look forward to each week. A reason to
feel important. An occasion to remember happier times spent
with beloved pets of long ago. And above all, the chance to
hold a warm, furry body that dispensed neither medicine, nor
regimen. nor idle chatter. Just quiet acceptance. Small
accomplishments to be sure, but nonetheless accomplishments
anyone could be proud to claim.
Date: 10 Jun 97 13:21:20 EDT
From: "Kim W. Stallwood" <75543.3331@CompuServe.COM>
To: AR-News
Subject: Hard Copy again
Message-ID: <970610172120_75543.3331_GHJ97-3@CompuServe.COM>
Well, for those of you who tuned in to Hard Copy Monday night, you already know
that the CAMPFIRE segment did not air as scheduled. Sorry for the false alarm!
Word from Hard Copy is that the segment will air Wednesday night. Hard Copy is
syndicated, so check your local listings for time and channel. (For those in
the Washington, D.C., area, Hard Copy is on at 7pm, channel 50.)
To recap, CAMPFIRE (Communal Areas Management Program for Indigenous Resources)
is a Zimbabwean program intended to benefit impoverished rural people by
permitting trophy hunting of wild animals. Trophy hunting of African elephants
represents 64 percent of income generated by the program. Other hunted animals
include leopards, lion, baboons, hippos, and zebras.
What's more, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has already
subsidized CAMPFIRE with $7 million, and plans to spend considerably more over
the next two years. In addition to being an unethical and wasteful use of U.S.
taxpayer dollars (USAID's own evaluation of the program found that it was not
benefiting local communites to the extent predicted nor was it self-sustaining),
CAMPFIRE's implementors stand behind Zimbabwe's push to resume the international
ivory trade (currently being decided on at the CITES meeting). It is clear that
the people who benefit the most from this cruel and corrupt program are wealthy,
foreign trophy hunters.
Date: Tue, 10 Jun 1997 12:14:26 -0500 (CDT)
From: hsuslab@ix.netcom.com (Tamara Hamilton HSUS Laboratory Animals)
To: ar-views@cygnus.com
Subject: Edward Taub honored by APS
Message-ID: <199706101714.MAA10151@dfw-ix15.ix.netcom.com>
SCIENCE, Vol.276, 6 June 1997
A Brighter Day for Edward Taub
Psychologist Edward Taub, best known as the target of animalrights
activists in a celebrated 1981 case involving his treatment of research
monkeys at his Silver Spring (Maryland) lab, has received a public
stamp of approval from his peers. Last week, at its annual meeting
in Washington, the American Psychological Society (APS) bestowed its
highest honor on him, naming him a William James Fellow.
The ceremony attracted a solitary protester from People for the Ethical
Treatment of Animals (PETA), Taub's nemesis, but the intruder was
quickly hustled out, according to APS director Alan Kraut.
Taub was honored for "fundamental discoveries" about brain
reorganization, upon which he has based new treatments for human
rehabilitation. "I was astonished," Taub says. "I thought that
the Silver Spring monkey situation would preclude any public
recognition of anything I had done."
Taub's award is based on research that he says is no longer
permitted anywhere: He severed nerves in monkeys' arms to see what
happens in the corresponding regions of their brains. Infiltration of
his lab by a PETA member led to police seizure of the 16 animals and a
trial in which Taub was convicted of providing inadequate veterinary
care to six monkeys. He spent years litigating the case, and in 1984 a
Maryland appeals court overruled the conviction. Since 1986, he has
been at the University of Alabama, Birmingham.
Taub and others, including Tim Pons of Bowman Gray Medical Center in
Winston-Salem, North Carolina, have published research on the monkeys
showing that their brains, surprisingly, underwent "massive
reorganization" after their injuries. Based on this research, Taub has
designed a routine to help people with disabilities from brain injuries
that entails extensive exercise of an afflicted limb.
One of Taub's monkeys still survives, at Tulane University's
primate center in New Orleans. "Locked in his brain is the answer to an
extremely important question about brain reorganization, not just in
the cortex but in the thalamus," says Taub. But Congress has decreed
that, while "terminal" (pre-euthanasia) experiments can be done on the
animal, none may last more than 4 hours. Probing the thalamus, says
Taub, would take too long.
Date: Tue, 10 Jun 1997 14:24:31 -0400 (EDT)
From: LMANHEIM@aol.com
To: ar-news@envirolink.org, EnglandGal@aol.com
Subject: Fwd: Gull Killing Sparks Controversy
Message-ID: <970610142227_317994418@emout08.mail.aol.com>
In a message dated 97-06-10 09:16:16 EDT, AOL News writes:
<< Subj:Gull Killing Sparks Controversy
Date:97-06-10 09:16:16 EDT
From:AOL News
BCC:LMANHEIM
.c Associated Press
CHATHAM, Mass. (AP) - Federal wildlife officials have trapped
and shot large sea gulls at South Monomoy Island for nearly a year,
saying it will save smaller, endangered shore birds. A panel of
scientists disagrees.
No evidence exists that show the gulls are a threat to
endangered roseate terns and piping plovers on the island,
according to a report by the Center for Coastal Studies in
Provincetown.
The island off the southern coast of Cape Cod is a stopover and
feeding habitat for more than 300 species of migratory birds. The
number of great black-backed and herring gulls has increased since
the 1960s to 12,500 nesting pairs, or 90 percent of all the birds
on the island.
Since 1966, the pairs of piping plovers dropped from 900 to 22.
Only 14 pairs were seen last summer, when the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service began killing gulls to keep them from preying on
the smaller birds.
But the report, which was released Sunday, said the agency
overstated the threat. It said there was no evidence that the
plovers had been displaced or prevented from nesting by the gulls.
And it said the terns might instead be victims of owls.
Fish and Wildlife officials disagreed.
``It has been our observation - and we're the ones who have been
out there the most - that the gulls have the greatest impact,''
spokeswoman Diana Weaver said. ``We don't feel that we can
overstate the threat.''
It was inappropriate for gulls to take over a National Wildlife
Refuge such as Monomoy at the expense of endangered species, Weaver
said. Only 1,350 piping plovers remain on the Atlantic Coast.
The agency will study the report before making an official
response.
AP-NY-06-10-97 0601EDT >>
---------------------
Forwarded message:
Subj: Gull Killing Sparks Controversy
Date: 97-06-10 09:16:16 EDT
From: AOL News
CHATHAM, Mass. (AP) - Federal wildlife officials have trapped
and shot large sea gulls at South Monomoy Island for nearly a year,
saying it will save smaller, endangered shore birds. A panel of
scientists disagrees.
No evidence exists that show the gulls are a threat to
endangered roseate terns and piping plovers on the island,
according to a report by the Center for Coastal Studies in
Provincetown.
The island off the southern coast of Cape Cod is a stopover and
feeding habitat for more than 300 species of migratory birds. The
number of great black-backed and herring gulls has increased since
the 1960s to 12,500 nesting pairs, or 90 percent of all the birds
on the island.
Since 1966, the pairs of piping plovers dropped from 900 to 22.
Only 14 pairs were seen last summer, when the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service began killing gulls to keep them from preying on
the smaller birds.
But the report, which was released Sunday, said the agency
overstated the threat. It said there was no evidence that the
plovers had been displaced or prevented from nesting by the gulls.
And it said the terns might instead be victims of owls.
Fish and Wildlife officials disagreed.
``It has been our observation - and we're the ones who have been
out there the most - that the gulls have the greatest impact,''
spokeswoman Diana Weaver said. ``We don't feel that we can
overstate the threat.''
It was inappropriate for gulls to take over a National Wildlife
Refuge such as Monomoy at the expense of endangered species, Weaver
said. Only 1,350 piping plovers remain on the Atlantic Coast.
The agency will study the report before making an official
response.
AP-NY-06-10-97 0601EDT
Copyright 1997 The
Associated Press. The information
contained in the AP news report may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without
prior written authority of The Associated Press.
To edit your profile, go to keyword NewsProfiles.
For all of today's news, go to keyword News.
Date: Tue, 10 Jun 1997 14:27:09 -0400 (EDT)
From: LMANHEIM@aol.com
To: ar-news@envirolink.org, EnglandGal@aol.com
Subject: Fwd: Paul Watson Released!
Message-ID: <970610142559_1823884469@emout04.mail.aol.com>
In a message dated 97-06-10 06:36:50 EDT, sppyrd@gate.net (todd) writes:
<< Subj:Paul Watson Released!
Date:97-06-10 06:36:50 EDT
From:sppyrd@gate.net (todd)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 9, 1997
WHALE CONSERVATIONIST VICTORIOUS
PAUL WATSON WON'T GO TO NORWAY
Haarlem, The Netherlands: On Monday, June 9th at 1:45pm local Dutch time, a
cheer erupted in the courtroom as Judge van der Pijl ruled that Captain Paul
Watson, founder of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and co-founder
Greenpeace, will not go to Norway. It's a victory that he will never be
extradited to Norway - even though they tried every possible means to get
him," announced Victor Koppe, Watson's legal counsel.
Although the Dutch court accepted the technical ruling of the 120 day
sentence, the court showed sympathy by making a surprising move when the
judge
announced prematurely that they would release Paul Watson on June 20th.
"This
conviction will be thrown out in appeal," stated Koppe confidently. Watson
was cleared of the other 3 charges which were additionally filed at the last
minute by the Norwegian government in their voracious attempt to extradite
Watson. These three charges all stemmed from the incident in summer of 1994
when the organization's conservation yacht Whales Forever was rammed in
international waters by the Norwegian Navy who were guarding the whaling
fleet
off the coast of Skrova. Norway has been hunting whales in violation of the
global ban on commercial whaling, imposed in 1986.
"We are ecstatic. This is a tremendous victory for Sea Shepherd's Paul
Watson
and environmental activism. It is only indirectly a victory for the whales,
however, which Norway and Japan are still slaughtering by the thousands
every
year. For the whales, it means at least that Paul Watson will continue to
be
able to lead Sea Shepherd in the ongoing campaign to halt this barbarism
before it spreads its stain into the next century," stated Lisa Distefano
International Director of Sea Shepherd.
Bob Hunter, a co-founder of Greenpeace along with Watson and acting
president
of Sea Shepherd in Watson's absence, called the charges "pure politics."
"The Norwegian elections are coming up, and Prime Minister Jagland is an
appointee with a shaky political base," Hunter said. "Whaling is an issue
that Jagland wants to downplay to the world yet wants to exploit to garner
votes in his own country. He needs the support of the coastal districts,
the
home of the whaling industry."
Distefano confirmed that the Norwegians have good reason to be upset
because,
"In a way, this has been as successful as any of our high seas campaigns --
we
have been able to expose Norway's determination in persecuting Paul for
political reasons which has actually succeeded in illuminating to the world
their illegal and depraved whaling. We will continue this mission to make
the
world's oceans safe for all whales being persecuted by any country
especially
Norway and Japan."
Attached is Captain Paul Watson's personal statement regarding the case.
This
statement and background "Pending_relink" tppabs="http://www.envirolink.org/arrs/digest/information" on the Sea Shepherd Conservation
Society
can be accessed on the worldwide web at:
http://www.seashepherd.org
For more information or to arrange an interview please call Lisa Distefano:
310-301-7325
======
STATEMENT BY CAPTAIN PAUL WATSON CONCERNING THE VERDICT OF THE
DUTCH COURT
AT
HAARLEM
June 9, 1997
The ruling by the Haarlem court to not grant Norway's demand for extradition
is a significant decision.
By releasing me, the Dutch court is sending a clear message to Norway that
the
Netherlands will not be politically manipulated into granting credibility to
illegal Norwegian whaling activities.
The Netherlands is one of the world's great defenders of the whales, of
conservation, and the environment. By contrast Norway is one of the world's
ecological criminals, blatantly in contempt of the global moratorium on
commercial whaling.
The Dutch court did not side with me against Norway. The court simply up
held
the environmental integrity of the Netherlands.
This decision tells the Norwegians that they cannot have it both ways. They
demand that their extradition treaty be upheld, yet Norwegians deliberately
voted to refuse European Union membership so that they could continue to
ignore the marine conservation ethics and the laws of the European
Community.
Thanks to this decision, I shall be a free man and I harbor no grievance
against the Netherlands.
I will be free to continue Sea Shepherd campaigns to protect whales from
unlawful whaling. I will be free to take my ship and return to the high
seas
to continue our protection of the whales. The Netherlands deprived me of my
freedom for ten weeks at the request of Norway. I would like to
respectfully
request that the Dutch government actively uphold the international
moratorium
protecting whales by demanding that Norway stop unlawfully slaughtering the
gentle giants of our oceans - the whales.
This statement and background information on the Sea Shepherd Conservation
Society can be accessed on the worldwide web at:
http://www.seashepherd.org
--
*****************************
Sent From Nick Voth
System Administrator
E Street Communications, Inc.
***************************** >>
---------------------
Forwarded message:
From:sppyrd@gate.net (todd)
Date: 97-06-10 06:36:50 EDT
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 9, 1997
WHALE CONSERVATIONIST VICTORIOUS
PAUL WATSON WON'T GO TO NORWAY
Haarlem, The Netherlands: On Monday, June 9th at 1:45pm local Dutch time, a
cheer erupted in the courtroom as Judge van der Pijl ruled that Captain Paul
Watson, founder of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and co-founder
Greenpeace, will not go to Norway. It's a victory that he will never be
extradited to Norway - even though they tried every possible means to get
him," announced Victor Koppe, Watson's legal counsel.
Although the Dutch court accepted the technical ruling of the 120 day
sentence, the court showed sympathy by making a surprising move when the
judge
announced prematurely that they would release Paul Watson on June 20th. "This
conviction will be thrown out in appeal," stated Koppe confidently. Watson
was cleared of the other 3 charges which were additionally filed at the last
minute by the Norwegian government in their voracious attempt to extradite
Watson. These three charges all stemmed from the incident in summer of 1994
when the organization's conservation yacht Whales Forever was rammed in
international waters by the Norwegian Navy who were guarding the whaling
fleet
off the coast of Skrova. Norway has been hunting whales in violation of the
global ban on commercial whaling, imposed in 1986.
"We are ecstatic. This is a tremendous victory for Sea Shepherd's Paul Watson
and environmental activism. It is only indirectly a victory for the whales,
however, which Norway and Japan are still slaughtering by the thousands every
year. For the whales, it means at least that Paul Watson will continue to be
able to lead Sea Shepherd in the ongoing campaign to halt this barbarism
before it spreads its stain into the next century," stated Lisa Distefano
International Director of Sea Shepherd.
Bob Hunter, a co-founder of Greenpeace along with Watson and acting president
of Sea Shepherd in Watson's absence, called the charges "pure politics."
"The Norwegian elections are coming up, and Prime Minister Jagland is an
appointee with a shaky political base," Hunter said. "Whaling is an issue
that Jagland wants to downplay to the world yet wants to exploit to garner
votes in his own country. He needs the support of the coastal districts,
the
home of the whaling industry."
Distefano confirmed that the Norwegians have good reason to be upset because,
"In a way, this has been as successful as any of our high seas campaigns --
we
have been able to expose Norway's determination in persecuting Paul for
political reasons which has actually succeeded in illuminating to the world
their illegal and depraved whaling. We will continue this mission to make
the
world's oceans safe for all whales being persecuted by any country especially
Norway and Japan."
Attached is Captain Paul Watson's personal statement regarding the case.
This
statement and background information on the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society
can be accessed on the worldwide web at:
http://www.seashepherd.org
For more information or to arrange an interview please call Lisa Distefano:
310-301-7325
======
STATEMENT BY CAPTAIN PAUL WATSON CONCERNING THE VERDICT OF THE
DUTCH COURT AT
HAARLEM
June 9, 1997
The ruling by the Haarlem court to not grant Norway's demand for extradition
is a significant decision.
By releasing me, the Dutch court is sending a clear message to Norway that
the
Netherlands will not be politically manipulated into granting credibility to
illegal Norwegian whaling activities.
The Netherlands is one of the world's great defenders of the whales, of
conservation, and the environment. By contrast Norway is one of the world's
ecological criminals, blatantly in contempt of the global moratorium on
commercial whaling.
The Dutch court did not side with me against Norway. The court simply up
held
the environmental integrity of the Netherlands.
This decision tells the Norwegians that they cannot have it both ways. They
demand that their extradition treaty be upheld, yet Norwegians deliberately
voted to refuse European Union membership so that they could continue to
ignore the marine conservation ethics and the laws of the European Community.
Thanks to this decision, I shall be a free man and I harbor no grievance
against the Netherlands.
I will be free to continue Sea Shepherd campaigns to protect whales from
unlawful whaling. I will be free to take my ship and return to the high
seas
to continue our protection of the whales. The Netherlands deprived me of my
freedom for ten weeks at the request of Norway. I would like to respectfully
request that the Dutch government actively uphold the international
moratorium
protecting whales by demanding that Norway stop unlawfully slaughtering the
gentle giants of our oceans - the whales.
This statement and background information on the Sea Shepherd Conservation
Society can be accessed on the worldwide web at:
http://www.seashepherd.org
--
*****************************
Sent From Nick Voth
System Administrator
E Street Communications, Inc.
*****************************
Date: Tue, 10 Jun 1997 15:16:54 -0400 (EDT)
From: LMANHEIM@aol.com
To: ar-news@envirolink.org, EnglandGal@aol.com
Subject: Any animal rights people in N. Georgia Mountains?
Message-ID: <970610151631_488461533@emout09.mail.aol.com>
I will be travelling in the N. Georgia Mountains during the next 10 days or
so (leaving Pennsylvania on Wednesday) looking for a place to relocate and (I
hope) to which to attract other vegetarian animal rights people to form a
humane "intentional community."
If any subscribers to ar-news currently live in the N. Ga. Mts., please email
to me privately IMMEDIATELY. Would like to meet up with you on this trip.
If you miss me, please call 717-945-5312 and leave a message. I'll check
back for the messages while en route to Georgia (by car).
More about this to come. In fact, with Alan Schubert's help (the ar-news
list moderator) I will, before long, be starting another mailing list on
forming ar/vegetarian communities. (Thanks Alan! :-) )
All best,
Lynn Manheim
Letters for Animals
PO Box 7-AO
La Plume, PA 18440
717-945-5312
Fax: -3471
Date: Tue, 10 Jun 1997 16:49:30 GMT
From: NAVS
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: INTEL Corp. Sponsors Animal Cruelty
Message-ID: <199706101649.QAA19603@spear.miint.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
June 10, 1997
Action Alert:
Hi-Tech Giant Endorses Animal Cruelty
Intel Corporation, producer of high-tech computer chips, has become the
primary sponsor of the largest science fair competition in the world, the
International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF). With participation by
over three million high school students in affiliated fairs this past year,
ISEF continues to award prizes for projects that inflict harm on live
animals. The science fair has this year been renamed the INTEL ISEF.
Why is it so important to have humane guidelines for students developing
projects for science fairs?
Because, in the name of science education, students have injected rats and
mice with cocaine and other drugs, injected rabbits with steroids, forced
wine down the throats of mice, fed gerbils NoDoz and Kool-Aid, injected
chicks and mice with aspartame, killed pigeons captured in the street and
subjected hens to total darkness or light for 100 days. These are just a few
of the many invasive and injurious animal projects that have been conducted
for ISEF.
There is already widespread acceptance of humane standards for science fair
projects, developed and endorsed by Westinghouse for its prestigious Science
Talent Search.
With their new status as the primary sponsor of ISEF, Intel has the power
and responsibility to ensure that the regulations of the INTEL ISEF prevent
harm to animals. Intel can make a difference...if it chooses to do so.
Help give them the encouragement they need to take action. Write to the
president of Intel Corporation and the president of Intel Foundation
expressing your hope that they use their position to finally bring necessary
changes to the INTEL ISEF regulations. The addresses are:
Mr. Craig Barrett
President
Intel Corporation
2200 Mission College Boulevard
Santa Clara, CA 95052-8119
and
Mr. Peter Broffman
President
Intel Foundation
5200 N.E. Elam Young Parkway
Hillsboro, OR 97124-6497
Tell them that you do care about their corporate policies and encourage them
make the Intel ISEF competition a model for the world!
For more information, contact Marcia Kramer, National Anti-Vivisection
Society, 53 W. Jackson, Chicago, IL 60604. E-Mail: navs@navs.org.
Please repost this message to any other interested parties. We need to take
action!!!
Date: Tue, 10 Jun 1997 20:49:40 -0400 (EDT)
From: No1BadGrl@aol.com
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Massachusettes, USA: Gull Killing Sparks Controversy
Message-ID: <970610204922_-328816518@emout19.mail.aol.com>
CHATHAM, Mass. (AP) - Federal wildlife officials have trapped
and shot large sea gulls at South Monomoy Island for nearly a year,
saying it will save smaller, endangered shore birds. A panel of
scientists disagrees.
No evidence exists that show the gulls are a threat to
endangered roseate terns and piping plovers on the island,
according to a report by the Center for Coastal Studies in
Provincetown.
The island off the southern coast of Cape Cod is a stopover and
feeding habitat for more than 300 species of migratory birds. The
number of great black-backed and herring gulls has increased since
the 1960s to 12,500 nesting pairs, or 90 percent of all the birds
on the island.
Since 1966, the pairs of piping plovers dropped from 900 to 22.
Only 14 pairs were seen last summer, when the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service began killing gulls to keep them from preying on
the smaller birds.
But the report, which was released Sunday, said the agency
overstated the threat. It said there was no evidence that the
plovers had been displaced or prevented from nesting by the gulls.
And it said the terns might instead be victims of owls.
Fish and Wildlife officials disagreed.
``It has been our observation - and we're the ones who have been
out there the most - that the gulls have the greatest impact,''
spokeswoman Diana Weaver said. ``We don't feel that we can
overstate the threat.''
It was inappropriate for gulls to take over a National Wildlife
Refuge such as Monomoy at the expense of endangered species, Weaver
said. Only 1,350 piping plovers remain on the Atlantic Coast.
The agency will study the report before making an official
response.
Date: Tue, 10 Jun 1997 20:53:31 -0400 (EDT)
From: No1BadGrl@aol.com
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Orlando, USA: Lincoln Park Zoo Gorilla Troop to Move to New Disney Home
Message-ID: <970610205207_1559735293@emout13.mail.aol.com>
Gino and Family Set to Depart for Disney's Animal Kingdom
CHICAGO, June 10 /PRNewswire/ -- Six western lowland gorillas will
move
from Lincoln Park Zoo to a new Disney facility in late June. The new
Disney's
Animal Kingdom, a 500-acre animal park at the Walt Disney World Resort near
Orlando, Florida is scheduled to open in spring 1998.
Gino, the group's dominant silverback male; females Hope and Benga;
and
younger males Hasani, M'Bizi and Zawadi will enjoy a new, state-of-the-art
44,000-square-foot outdoor habitat and the more temperate climate of Orlando.
Their naturalistic exhibit features waterfalls, moats and African plantlife.
The animals will enjoy hidden feeders, places to play and hide and plenty of
room to roam and run. The move now will provide the gorillas ample time to
acclimate to their new home before the public opening.
The Disney gorilla exhibit is comprised of two sections; one for an
all-
male group and the other for Gino's family of four. Visitors will view the
animals from a suspension bridge that runs between the two habitats and
enhances the feeling of being on a real African adventure. Education will be
provided by specially trained interpreters at the exhibit.
"Lincoln Park Zoo's very successful gorilla captive breeding
program has
enabled this transfer to Disney's Animal Kingdom, where together we can teach
each year millions of people about these endangered animals and the
importance
of preserving their natural environment," said Zoo Director Kevin Bell.
"This
transfer also enables Lincoln Park to acquire a new male, which is expected
by
the end of summer, and provides expanded living quarters for our remaining
great apes."
Every member of the gorilla family was born at Lincoln Park Zoo
except
Gino, who was born at Rotterdam Zoo in The Netherlands in 1980 and arrived at
Lincoln Park at the age of 2. Benga, 16, has had six offspring and is
grandmother to four. Hope, 13, has given birth to three infants. Zawadi is
5
years old, M'Bizi is 3 and Hasani is 2.
A leader in gorilla conservation, Lincoln Park Zoo in the past two
decades
has recorded 43 gorilla births, more than any other American zoo. Lincoln
Park participates in the American Zoo and Aquarium Association's (AZA)
Gorilla
Species Survival Plan (SSP), a program that monitors captive populations and
makes breeding recommendations. The zoo's Conservation and Science
Department
conducts the demographic and genetic planning for the Gorilla SSP, which has
recommended the transfer from Lincoln Park to Disney's Animal Kingdom.
The Walt Disney World Resort already has developed a comprehensive
conservation program that will include research, breeding and educational
facilities at Disney's Animal Kingdom. In addition, the Disney Wildlife
Conservation Fund through The Walt Disney Company Foundation supports
conservation projects worldwide. Established with the guidance of world-
renowned zoologists and scientists, the Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund
last
year funded 62 conservation projects managed by 29 organizations. Disney and
Lincoln Park Zoo have forged a new partnership to support field conservation
initiatives.
"Our goal is to further protect the world's wildlife through
education and
conservation efforts, whether they are launched by Disney or other
institutions and organizations," said Rick Barongi, director of development,
Disney's Animal Programs. "Through our partnership with Lincoln Park Zoo, we
look forward to teaching our guests about gorillas and contributing to
important field work on behalf of these endangered animals."
Native to west central Africa, the western lowland gorilla is
endangered
in the wild due to severe deforestation and poaching. Highly social and
extremely intelligent, gorillas live in family groups consisting of one
dominant male, two to three females and their offspring.
One of the last free zoos in the country, Lincoln Park Zoo also is
the
last major cultural institution in Chicago that does not charge admission.
The zoo is supported financially through a private/public partnership between
the Chicago Park District and The Lincoln Park Zoological Society and is an
accredited member of the AZA. For more information on Lincoln Park Zoo call
312-742-2000.
For more information on Disney's Animal Kingdom call Diane Ledder
at
407-934-6422.
CO: Lincoln Park Zoological Society; Disney's Animal Kingdom
ST: Illinois, Florida
IN:
SU:
Date: Tue, 10 Jun 1997 20:43:03 -0700 (PDT)
From: David J Knowles
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: [CA] 'Rough ride' ahead for rogue stock hauliers
Message-ID: <1.5.4.16.19970610204344.0a6f77ea@dowco.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
>From The Electronic Telegraph - Wednesday, June 11th, 1997
'Rough ride' ahead for rogue stock hauliers
By David Brown, Agriculture Editor
ROAD hauliers will lose their licences to export farm animals for slaughter
if they breach new European Union welfare safeguards to be implemented in
Britain next month, the Government said yesterday.
Promising a "rough ride" for hauliers who flouted the rules on animal care
and time limits on journeys to European abattoirs, Jack Cunningham, the
agriculture minister, said the controls would be rigorously enforced.
The controls would "substantially improve" welfare standards for animals
taken long distances for slaughter.
But the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and
Compassion in World Farming said that the measures did not go far enough and
actually weakened some existing British safeguards.
The Welfare of Animals (Transport) Order 1997, which will take effect on
July 1, lays down maximum journey and rest times for different species and
strengthens requirements on exporters to file accurate journey plans and
stick to them. It also requires hauliers to employ
drivers who are properly trained in the handling of livestock.
Dr Cunningham said that the Government preferred livestock to be exported
"on the hook" after slaughter even though live exports were lawful within
the EU.
© Copyright Telegraph Group Limited 1997
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