AR-NEWS Digest 634

Topics covered in this issue include:

  1) Bleepers warn porpoises to avoid fishing nets 
     by Vadivu Govind 
  2) (UK) Pit bull savages three mourners at funeral wake          
          
     by Vadivu Govind 
  3) (AU) Device to scare away lobster-killing octopus wanted
     by Vadivu Govind 
  4) Govts subsidising overfishing, says WWF  
     by Vadivu Govind 
  5) EU plans partial lifting of British beef ban
     by Vadivu Govind 
  6) Action Alert, Melbourne, Thurs only
     by bunny 
  7) (UK) Hound dies as hunt pack riots onto main road
     by Chris Wright 
  8) (UK) Pigs die in overcrowded lorry
     by Chris Wright 
  9) (UK) Owner sees rioting hounds kill her cat
     by Chris Wright 
 10) URGENT ACTION ALERT - DEMO AT NIH FOR THE VILAS PARK MONKEYS
     by "Linda J. Howard" 
 11) (NZ)Farmers slammed over RCD debacle
     by bunny 
 12) (Aust)Activist offers to be infected with deadly disease.
     by bunny 
 13) RABIES - ISRAEL: 1997
     by bunny 
 14) Man Misses Cruelty Case Court Date; Warrant Out
     by SDURBIN@VM.TULSA.CC.OK.US
 15) New York Times
     by Friends of Animals 
 16) Elephants under siege in Bangladesh
     by Mesia Quartano 
 17) Cattlemen's prod prime opportunity for Winfrey, PETA
     by Tereiman 
 18) Calicivirus
     by bunny 
 19) (US-NJ) FUR STORE TO CLOSE!
     by "Jeffrey A. LaPadula" 
 20) VILAS MONKEYS STILL NEED HELP!
     by "Alliance for Animals" 
 21) (FL) Barnum and Bailey Circus in Miami
     by Mesia Quartano 
 22) Leyton Relief Road - threat to ecology/wildlife.
     by Katy Andrews 
 23) VICTORY FOR ARIZONA PREDATORS!
     by OnlineAPI 
 24) (TH) Dept urged to protect wild  animals
     by Vadivu Govind 
 25) (UK) 1 pig fugitive still on the run
     by Vadivu Govind 
 26) (UK) Pigs are meat, not pets
     by Vadivu Govind 
 27) Bird flu 'as virulent as 1918 killer'
     by Vadivu Govind 
Date: Thu, 15 Jan 1998 15:35:14 +0800 (SST)
From: Vadivu Govind 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Bleepers warn porpoises to avoid fishing nets 
Message-ID: <199801150735.PAA31284@eastgate.cyberway.com.sg>
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>The Electronic Telegraph
15 Jan 98

Bleepers warn porpoises to avoid fishing nets
                    By David Brown, Fisheries Editor 

                   ELECTRONIC "pingers," similar to those found in musical
Christmas
                    cards, are to used by fishermen to prevent porpoises
becoming
                    accidentally trapped in nets.

                    Cornish and Irish fishermen in the Celtic Sea (the
Atlantic south of                      Cork
                    and west of Cornwall) will fit the small chips to their
nets under an
                    experiment designed to warn the harbour porpoise to stay
clear. The
                    chips emit a signal audible to porpoises but not to fish.

                    The move was announced days after Prince Philip attacked
the fishing
                    industry's poor conservation record. Conservationists
have accused
fishermen in the area of the widespread killing of porpoises.

                    Scientists from the Sea Mammal Research Unit at St
Andrews, and Cork
                    University, have enlisted the help of the Cornish Fish
Producers'
                    Organisation and the Irish South West Fish Producers'
Organisation for
                    the 12-month experiment which will begin on March 1.

                    Mike Townsend, chairman of the National Federation of
Fishermen's
                    Organisations, said: "We are pleased to be in the
research programme,
                    which will shed definitive light on the level of
accidental catches of
                    porpoises and the effectiveness of the pingers."


© Copyright Telegraph Group Limited 1997. 

Date: Thu, 15 Jan 1998 15:35:19 +0800 (SST)
From: Vadivu Govind 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (UK) Pit bull savages three mourners at funeral wake          
          
Message-ID: <199801150735.PAA31333@eastgate.cyberway.com.sg>
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>The Electronic Telegraph
15 Jan 98

Pit bull savages three mourners at funeral  wake
                  By Auslan Cramb, Scotland Correspondent 


                  A PIT bull terrier injured three people, one of them
seriously, when it
                  attacked mourners at a funeral wake in a tenement flat.

                  The dog, named Tyson, had to be restrained by seven police
officers                   with
                  riot shields. It later collapsed and died at the scene. It
bit two mourners
                  before trapping its owner, Anne Marie McGrory, 29, in the
bedroom of
                  her home in Possil Park, Glasgow. She was in a "serious
but stable"
                  condition in hospital last night, with extensive injuries
to her arms and                 legs.

                  Mrs McGrory was left alone with the dog after the other
occupants of                   the  flat escaped from the building. Her
brother, Brian Samat, 25, who had                 a  chunk of flesh bitten
out of his leg, and another mourner, Claire McGuire, 24, who was bitten in
the throat, were also taken to hospital. Miss
                  McGuire said the attack happened when they tried to put a
muzzle on the
                  dog to take it for a walk. Speaking from her hospital bed,
she said: "It
                  pinned me to the floor and mauled my right breast and my
head was
                  banging.

                  "Anne Marie screamed 'Tyson' and was trying to grab the
dog off me. It
                  seemed like five minutes but it must have been five
seconds. When the                 dog
                  got off me, I ran into the kitchen and Anne Marie was left
in the room                 with
                  the dog." Donna Monaghan, a neighbour in the same
tenement, said she
                  was speaking to Mrs McGrory on the telephone when the attack
                  happened. "She started screaming like mad and after a
short while the
                phone just went dead.

                  "I ran downstairs and when I looked through a window I saw
the dog
                  banging itself against the kitchen door. It pinned Anne
Marie to the floor
                  and was biting madly at her. It was hysterical. I have
never seen                         anything so   savage."

                  The family pet had been used as a guard dog by Mrs
McGrory's                         husband,
                  who was found strangled in the back of a van in Glasgow
last                 September,
                  two weeks after they married. Supt Margaret Barr, of
Strathclyde police,
                  said four officers were confronted by a shocking scene
when they                 arrived
                  at the flat. "After a great deal of trouble, with the dog
attacking the                 officers,
                  they managed to pull the woman to safety underneath the
shields," she                         said.

                Forty-five minutes after the incident began, the dog was
restrained by                 three
                  police dog handlers who used a noose on a pole to lasso
it. The dog,                 which
                  Supt Barr said was very powerful, had begun the attack
without                 warning. A
                  post mortem examination will carried out to try to explain
its behaviour.

© Copyright Telegraph Group Limited 1997. 

Date: Thu, 15 Jan 1998 15:35:24 +0800 (SST)
From: Vadivu Govind 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (AU) Device to scare away lobster-killing octopus wanted
Message-ID: <199801150735.PAA31350@eastgate.cyberway.com.sg>
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>The Straits Times
15 Jan 98

Wanted: A device to scare away     lobster-killing octopus 

     ADELAIDE (Australia) -- A post-graduate student here has won a
scholarship to
     invent a device capable of frightening the wits out of a cunning little
octopus with an     expensive taste for seafood. 

     Octopus maorum, more commonly known as the Maori octopus, is blamed for
killing     up to 10 per cent of lobsters caught in pots, costing the local
lobster industry about     A$10 million (S$11.5 million) a year. 

The losses prompted the South Australian Rock Lobster Advisory Council to
award a
     A$20,000 scholarship to Mr Danny Brock to study the possibility of
inventing a device     that will deter the octopuses from entering the pots
as part of his PhD thesis at the     University of Adelaide. 

     The lobster industry generates A$100 million in export revenue for
South Australia     alone. 

     Mr Roger Edwards, the advisory council's executive officer, said that
research
     information would be passed on to the Victorian and Tasmanian lobster
industries,
     which have the same problem, if a successful device was invented. 

     "Certainly it is an issue in most lobster fisheries in Australia. The
animal is very clever     and is able to get into very small holes," Mr
Edwards said. 
A device which keeps the octopus out of the pots would mean fewer damaged
lobsters     and the survival of immature lobsters in pots, boosting their
breeding population, he     said. 

     Another PhD student, Mr Mike Harte, will receive A$5,000 a year for
three years to     develop a software package to help lobster fishers decide
where and when a catch     should be sold. It also calculates fuel costs,
travel times and profits on catches for     various ports. -- AFP. 

Date: Thu, 15 Jan 1998 15:35:28 +0800 (SST)
From: Vadivu Govind 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Govts subsidising overfishing, says WWF  
Message-ID: <199801150735.PAA31343@eastgate.cyberway.com.sg>
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>The Straits Times
15 Jan 98

Govts subsidising overfishing, says WWF 

     By Leong Ching Ching
     in London 

     GOVERNMENTS are paying tens of billions of dollars each year to
subsidise an
     industry that catches US$70 billion (S$126 billion) of fish, according
to the World
     Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). 

     Dr Michael Sutton, who heads the WWF's Endangered Seas Campaign, giving an
     example, said the European governments pay out over US$250 million each
year to subsidise fishing. 
If this money had been used to retrain fishermen to do other jobs, it would have
     generated revenue many times over, he said. 

     The solution, he told The Straits Times, was to work with the market.
One way is to  establish fisheries which promote practices which are viable
both economically and  ecologically. 

     Consumers should also play their part by buying products which bear the
logo of such   responsible fisheries. 

     For example, the Marine Stewardship Council, which has been endorsed by the
     WWF, plans to put its stamp on the products of responsible fisheries
later this year. 

     Small island-states like Singapore, he said, had a crucial role to
play, as their water   boundaries are often larger than their land mass. 
Singapore, which has a busy entrepot trade, could be vigilant about the
illegal trade in
   protected marine life. 

     Indonesia and the Philippines also need to be watchful as trade in live
reef fish in these  two countries is estimated to be worth US$200 million a
year. 

     But most of the fish are caught by divers using cyanide, which
narcotises the fish, but  also damages the reefs. Overfishing of these
slow-growing species is leading to serious     depletion and probably local
extinction, he said. 

     Dr Sutton was speaking on the fishing industry in relation to the
United Nations'
     declaration of this year as the International Year of the Ocean. 

     In London on Monday, Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, and
President-Emeritus of the WWF, launched the year by urging governments to
stop subsidising overfishing,     protect marine areas and support
international treaties which set standards for fishing. 

     He noted: "There may have been a time when it was legitimate to
question whether     there was conclusive evidence that the oceans were
being overfished. That time has     long gone." 

     According to UN figures released at a press conference, at least 60 per
cent of the     world's 200 most commercially valuable fish are either being
fished to the limit, or     overfished. 

     A few -- such as the Atlantic halibut, a bluefin tuna -- have been
fished to the brink of     commercial extinction. 

     More than 100 fishes and other marine life are listed as being
threatened, but less than 1 per cent of the world's oceans and seas are
designated as protected areas. 

     All these had been predicted over 20 years ago by environmentalists,
Prince Philip
     said. 

     But governments have been reluctant to take action, unwilling to suffer
a loss in revenue     from fishing, fewer jobs for fishermen, and a
reduction in a major food source. 

     But, he warned, if the oceans continued to be exploited at the present
rate, there would     be very little for fishermen in the next generation,
or indeed for consumers to eat. 

     Urging governments to take action immediately, he compared the
exploitation of the     sea to taking bricks out of a wall. 
In the beginning, you may just get a big hole, but take out one brick too
many and the     whole wall collapses, he said. 


Date: Thu, 15 Jan 1998 15:35:32 +0800 (SST)
From: Vadivu Govind 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: EU plans partial lifting of British beef ban
Message-ID: <199801150735.PAA31360@eastgate.cyberway.com.sg>
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>The Electronic Telegraph
15 Jan 98

EU plans partial lifting of British beef ban
by By Toby Helm, EU Correspondent, in Strasbourg
 
THE first breakthrough in the battle to ease the EU ban on British beef
came last night when Brussels agreed to propose a partial lifting of the
worldwide embargo.

The 20 European Commissioners decided unanimously to recommend that exports of meat from "certified" BSE-free herds whose records are kept on computers should resume. But behind the scenes wrangling over the proposal in Brussels and Strasbourg, where German officials staged a last-minute campaign to prevent progress, suggests that Britain still faces an uphill struggle to persuade its EU partners to back the plan. The Commission proposal, which would only affect meat from Northern Ireland - the only area covered by a full computer system - is still subject to approval by the 15 EU member states. Jack Cunningham, the agriculture minister, said: "I welcome the Commission's decision. This marks a significant step forward in regaining access to international markets." But he warned that the plan still required the support of a majority of member states either in the EU's Standing Veterinary Committee, or in the full Council of Ministers. Brokering a deal will provide the British EU presidency with a severe test as several countries led by Germany remain implacably opposed to any easing of the embargo imposed by Brussels in March 1996. One senior European Commission official said: "It is not going to be easy by any means. The Germans and the Austrians will not move and they will work hard to persuade others to join them." The only dissenting voice in the Commission was that of Emma Bonino, the consumer affairs commissioner, who tried to build new conditions into the plan. She was later accused by colleagues of being in the pocket of the German government. In the end Ms Bonino won an assurance that no meat from Northern Ireland could be sent via Britain for processing, for fear that it would get mixed up with other meat not allowed for export. The Commission proposal will be put to a meeting of EU vets later this month. If it fails to get the necessary support for automatic implementation it will then go to the council of agriculture ministers under Mr Cunningham's chairmanship. Officials said they did not expect agreement among member states before March. "We will have to play this gently. It is a sensitive issue in Europe. You can't just expect countries to swallow it just like that." Neil Kinnock, the British commissioner, said the agreement was a success for the British presidency. He said: "This recommendation shows that the United Kingdom government policy of co-operation with its EU partners through the Commission is paying dividends. This is a firm start on the road back to a single market for beef." Mr Cunningham said he and Mo Mowlam, Northern Ireland Secretary, would be working to persuade the other member states to endorse the Commission recommendation. He said: "If agreed it would provide a valuable outlet for beef from Northern Ireland, relief for the beef markets of the United Kingdom and a big boost to hopes of securing further relaxation of the export ban for the year ahead." © Copyright Telegraph Group Limited 1997. Date: Thu, 15 Jan 1998 16:52:16 +0800 From: bunny To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: Action Alert, Melbourne, Thurs only Message-ID: <1.5.4.16.19980115164501.2d87e2a6@wantree.com.au> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" ALL WELCOME TO 1998. ACTION ALERT THURSDAY JANUARY 15, 1998 GOOD FOR TODAY ONLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (MELBOURNE AUSTRALIA ONLY) THE HERALD SUN NEWSPAPER VOTELINE QUESTION TODAY IS: "SHOULD SCIENTISTS BE INTERFERING WITH GENES TO STOP AGEING? TO VOTE "NO" CALL 0055 68300 IT COSTS 25CENTS ONLY GOOD TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AFTER THAT YOU'LL VOTE ON SOMETHING ELSE ======================================================== Rabbit Information Service, P.O.Box 30, Riverton, Western Australia 6148 email> rabbit@wantree.com.au http://www.wantree.com.au/~rabbit/rabbit.htm (Rabbit Information Service website updated frequently) /`\ /`\ (/\ \-/ /\) )6 6( >{= Y =}< /'-^-'\ (_) (_) | . | | |} jgs \_/^\_/ It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong. - Voltaire Date: Thu, 15 Jan 1998 10:02:53 GMT From: Chris Wright To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: (UK) Hound dies as hunt pack riots onto main road Message-ID: <34d4da7e.5695126@post.demon.co.uk> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit League Against Cruel Sports press release (8/1/98): NORTH SHROPSHIRE FOX-HUNT BRINGS DEATH AND MAJOR DELAY TO MAIN ROAD A dog was killed and traffic chaos caused yesterday after the North Shropshire Fox-hunt lost control of its pack of dogs. RSPCA Inspector Barry Williams witnessed the incident at 1.30pm on the south-bound carriageway of the A5 at Shrawardine. He was driving behind a lorry which suddenly slammed on its brakes in an effort to avoid hitting the pack of dogs which had appeared from neighbouring fields. The lorry hit one dog, and the Inspector jumped out of his car to help, but the animal was already dead. Inspector Williams helped to control the chaotic situation. By the time Hunt Master John Davies arrived there was already a mile-long tail back. Hunts all over Britain regularly lose control of their dogs on roads and railways which often leads to animals being killed and major delays. Inspector Williams said today: 'The potential for serious tragedy in this case just doesn't bear thinking about. Having witnessed the incident it's a miracle that more dogs weren't killed, let alone the drivers who had to slam on their brakes to avoid colliding with vehicles in front. It is absolutely ridiculous that no action can be taken for such irresponsible behaviour. Common sense dictates that it is totally irresponsible to take a pack of dogs through a field right next to a road as busy as the A5. The field had no fencing so the dogs, obviously following a scent, ran straight out of the field onto the road.' ----- Chris W. Date: Thu, 15 Jan 1998 10:02:47 GMT From: Chris Wright To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: (UK) Pigs die in overcrowded lorry Message-ID: <34d1d9ca.5514796@post.demon.co.uk> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit A lorry carrying 85 pigs was stopped on the M6 yesterday by West Midlands police. The lorry was allegedly carrying twice as many pigs as allowed under the relevant regulations, and two of them were found to already be dead. The pigs hadn't had any food or water for 24 hours. The vehicle itself was also found not to meet the required standards. One fault was that the water dispensers used to supply the pigs with drinking water supplied water heavily discoloured with rust. The driver (and presumably whoever he works for) is now facing charges. West Midlands police said that a massive 73% of livestock transporters which they inspect fail to meet the minimum standards both mechanically and from an animal welfare perspective. The pigs were en route from Londonderry, Northern Ireland to Essex, where they were going to be slaughtered. Chris Wright Date: Thu, 15 Jan 1998 10:02:50 GMT From: Chris Wright To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: (UK) Owner sees rioting hounds kill her cat Message-ID: <34d3da30.5616616@post.demon.co.uk> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit RSPCA officials have launched an investigation into an incident at Old, Northants in which hounds from the Pytchley hunt rioted through a residential area and tore a 5-year old cat, Missy, to pieces. Missy's owner, Elizabeth Moss, who is heavily pregnant, witnessed the attack but didn't realise at the time that the victim was her cat. Chris W. Date: Thu, 15 Jan 1998 06:48:08 -0800 From: "Linda J. Howard" To: "AR NEWS" Cc: Subject: URGENT ACTION ALERT - DEMO AT NIH FOR THE VILAS PARK MONKEYS Message-ID: <01bd21c4$97feb280$3792accf@default> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit DEMO AT NIH ON MONDAY, JANUARY 19TH -- WE DESPERATELY NEED YOUR SUPPORT! Sorry for such a short notice, but for anyone who has been following this case, you understand that everything has happened quickly. NIH just announced on Friday, January 9th that they intend to send 150 innocent monkeys from a zoo in Wisconsin to Tulane Regional Primate Research Center (formerly Delta Regional Primate Research Center.) The Alliance for Animals in Wisconsin has asked that groups in the DC metropolitian area hold a demo at NIH to lend support to their tireless effort to save the 150 Vilas Park Monkeys - to keep them out of primate research labs. This is potentially a precedent setting case and it is at a pivotal point. We can make a difference for these monkeys! Please plan to attend! Please re-post/copy/distribute this Action Alert to anyone (or any group) you think would attend. Some posters and banners will be provided, but if you have any, please bring them with you on Monday. The demo will be held right outside the "Medical Center" Metro stop (red-line Metro) at Wisconsin Avenue and South Drive in Bethesda, Maryland. If you need specific directions, please call me at (301) 564-4914. For those you of who have not been following the case, a rough draft of the media advisory summarizing the case follows: *********************************************************************** CONTACT: Rick Bogle, 920-674-306 D’Arcy Kemnitz, 608-286-5952 Linda Howard, 301-564-4914 Tina Kaske, 608-257-6333 What: Demonstration and Freedom March at National Institutes of Health (NIH) Where: Wisconsin Avenue and South Drive, Bethesda, Maryland When: Monday, January 19th, 1998 from 11:30 am until 1:00 pm Who: A coalition of concerned groups and compassionate citizens Why: To save the lives and prevent undue suffering of 150 monkeys The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is planning to bestow a tragic fate on 150 innocent monkeys! NIH plans to move a peaceful colony of macaque monkeys from the home they have shared for decades to an animal research facility infamous for painful invasive research procedures. We are fighting to keep the monkeys together as a colony and out of harm’s way! Since 1963, 150 rhesus and stumptail macaques have lived as a colony at the Henry Vilas Park Zoo in Madison, Wisconsin. The monkeys have been used for behavioral and observational studies by University of Wisconsin students. Additionally, the monkey colony has been on public display as part of the zoo’s exhibit. The care of the monkey colony has been provided by the University of Wisconsin through funding from National Institutes of Health (NIH) -- funding which was slated to last until the year 2002. As part of a contract with Dane County, Wisconsin (which operates the zoo) no invasive research on any member of the monkey colony would be allowed. In late November 1997, NIH announced that they would prematurely cut off funding for the monkey colony. At that time, discussion arose about procuring funding for the Vilas Park monkeys. A reputable primate sanctuary in Thailand offered to take the 50 stumptail macaques (a threatened species) and there were numerous offers from concerned organizations and individuals to fund for care of the Vilas Park monkey colony. The University of Wisconsin and Dane County officials were also discussing the possibility of budgeting to maintain the monkey colony in the Henry Vilas Park Zoo. On January 9, 1998, NIH announced that they intend to move the Vilas Park monkeys to Tulane Regional Primate Research Center in Tulane, Louisiana (formerly know as Delta Regional Primate Research Center) where they intend to separate the monkeys and perform invasive research on them. Allowing the monkeys to be used in invasive research would be a blatant violation of the zoo’s contract with the University of Wisconsin. The NIH announcement was made so suddenly that the groups working to ensure the well-being of the primates have little time to act. NIH plans to move the monkeys before February 1, 1998! The Alliance for Animals has organized a 24-hour watch at the zoo in case NIH attempts to move the monkeys at night. This case has incited an outcry from the public in Wisconsin. Advocates for animals and compassionate individuals in the District of Columbia metropolitan area want to go let the culprit – NIH – know that the public will not stand for a government agency abusing its power, lying to taxpayers and breaching contracts. Please join us! [End of Media Advisory] Date: Thu, 15 Jan 1998 20:33:43 +0800 From: bunny To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: (NZ)Farmers slammed over RCD debacle Message-ID: <1.5.4.16.19980115202628.3ecf3db4@wantree.com.au> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Evening Standard 15/1/98 White slams farmers over RCD 'debacle' by John Saunders Labout list MP Jill White yesterday critical of farmers releasing rabbit calicivirus on a string of properties through Rangitikei and Horowhena, claiming that without good science, such releases would inevitably fail. "It has been a debacle" she said "Good science has been ignored right from the word go. What should have happened is the report from the Ministry of Agriculture officials should have been accepted (by the Government), then much more work should have then been done on the ethicality of RCD, on what strain, if any, should be introduced. "Things got out of hand, and now people seem to be trying whatever is availabl, without any knowledge of how effective it is going to be. I suggest this is the scenario in Rangitikei, Horowhena and all over the country. People are just having a go, with very litle regard for the factors that should have been considered scientifically". Releases of RCD near Taumarunui and the Hawk's Bay have already failed. In both cases rabbits only died through coming in contact with baits, or solutions containing the virus sprayed on the ground. Rabbit-to Rabbit spread had not been triggered. Critics of those releases say that by spreading a less-virilent strain, farmers may have inadvertently innoculated rabbits against the virus. Ms White, who is also Labour's spokes-women on the environment and biosecurity, said although there had been moves by a private company to import a more virilent strain from Australia - and have it registered as a wild animal control measure under the Pesticides Act - she couldn't agree with that either, because the research had not been done to prove it would work. While lessons should have been learnt from mis-management of RCD introduction, that had not happened. Agriculture Minister Lockwood Smith was refusing to accept responsibility. ======================================================== Rabbit Information Service, P.O.Box 30, Riverton, Western Australia 6148 email> rabbit@wantree.com.au http://www.wantree.com.au/~rabbit/rabbit.htm (Rabbit Information Service website updated frequently) /`\ /`\ (/\ \-/ /\) )6 6( >{= Y =}< /'-^-'\ (_) (_) | . | | |} jgs \_/^\_/ It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong. - Voltaire Date: Thu, 15 Jan 1998 21:21:25 +0800 From: bunny To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: (Aust)Activist offers to be infected with deadly disease. Message-ID: <1.5.4.16.19980115211410.3ecf1206@wantree.com.au> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Rabbit Information Service Perth, Western Australia NEWS RELEASE - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE!!! *************************************** 15th January 1997 Australian AR Activist and independent researcher Marguerite Wegner today offered herself to Australian authorities as a human test subject to be deliberately infected by the deadly rabbit haemorrhagic disease (renamed RCD to be less emotive in Australia). RCD/RHD is currently being used as a biological control agent of wild European rabbits in Australia. Mrs Wegner was most concerned about the impending approval of live RHD coated baits (apparently carrots and oats) that may be spread across the Australian continent and eaten by many species of bird and animal as well as the intended victims - wild European rabbits. In a letter to the press, Mrs Wegner stated that for over 2 years she had advised the Australian Government of the concerns of overseas scientists that the deadly rabbit hemorrhagic disease (supposedly a calicivirus) may jump species barriers. She stated that four out of five major calicivirus groups were already known to infect humans and there was no reason to believe RCD/RHD would be any different in its capacity to cross species lines. Mrs Wegner said there were several provisos to her offer. The first being that she should be joined in the Human RCD deliberate infectivity testing by those who promoted the virus as supposedly safe to humans. She asked that PM MR John Howard, Commonwealth Agriculture Minister - Mr John Anderson, CSIRO scientists Dr Brian Cooke, Dr Harvey Westbury, Dr Keith Murray and Dr Tony Robinson also volunteer for the human testing as well as the head of the national farmers federation and NSW and Victorian heads of state farmers federations. She also asked that Victorian State Premier Jeff Kennett volunteer as well as Dr Tony Adams (Chief Medical Adviser, Commonwealth Department of Health and Family Services) as well as Dr Michael Catton (Fairfield Infectious Diseases Hospital). Mrs Wegner stated that although such a test would be inconclusive, it would add to the scientific knowledge already amassed about the disease. It seemed only fitting that those who condoned the spread of the RCD/RHD disease in Australia or had been involved in the approval process of RCD as a biological control agent without making any public protest, also participated in the study. Further Mrs Wegner asked that she and her suggested co-test subjects be infected by injection of at least 10,000 rabbit lethal doses, as well as by aerosol (inhalation of the disease) and having the virus spread on the skin and also eating either 10,000 rabbit lethal doses of RCD/RHD or 100,000 rabbit lethal doses (the latter being preferable). The second proviso stated by Mrs Wegner, was that she not be quarantined but should be allowed to continue her daily routine and also that all blood tests and monitoring be independently monitored by independent virologists. When asked why she was offering to be a human test subject which could be quite dangerous, Mrs Wegner stated that she felt the future of young Australians of all species may be threatened if RCD baits were spread across the continent. She stated that the spread of RCD baits could infect species that would never normally have been exposed to the disease and also the quantity of deadly live RCD/RHD virus ingested by all species in Australia (including humans) would be a great unknown. Ingestion of large quantities of live RCD/RHD virus including mutant strains of RCD may be enough to enable the virus to cross species lines. RCD/RHD, a deadly hemorrhagic virus of mammals for which there is no cure and no vaccines to protect any other species except wild European rabbits,was first observed in China in 1984. A response to Mrs Wegner's offer has yet to be received. End ****************************************************************** ======================================================== Rabbit Information Service, P.O.Box 30, Riverton, Western Australia 6148 email> rabbit@wantree.com.au http://www.wantree.com.au/~rabbit/rabbit.htm (Rabbit Information Service website updated frequently) /`\ /`\ (/\ \-/ /\) )6 6( >{= Y =}< /'-^-'\ (_) (_) | . | | |} jgs \_/^\_/ It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong. - Voltaire Date: Thu, 15 Jan 1998 21:24:30 +0800 From: bunny To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: RABIES - ISRAEL: 1997 Message-ID: <1.5.4.16.19980115211715.3ecf7580@wantree.com.au> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" RABIES - ISRAEL: 1997 (02) ************************** A ProMED-mail post [see also: Rabies - Israel: 1997 980113011709] From: Yakobson A. Boris Date: Wed, 14 Jan 1998 21:48:03 +0000 Thank you for your continued interest in the rabies situation in Israel. I hereby enclose for you some additional information about the genetic identification of the virus strains in the last three (human) rabies cases that occurred in Israel. All the three cases were diagnosed antemortem from saliva using the nested RT/PCR method performed by Dr. Dan David of the Kimron Veterinary Institute, and confirmed by the Pasteur Institute (first case) and the CDC rabies laboratory (the last two cases). The genetic analysis made in Israel by Dr. Dan David was based on nucleotide sequences of 328 bp from the C' of [the] nucleoprotein gene. The nucleotide sequences of rabies virus isolates from human and foxes showed 100% identity. The rabies virus variant strain from the first case was characterized in the Pasteur Institute by Dr. Herve Bourry. He wrote that "According to the primers that worked on isolates, it should be a Lyssavirus of genotype 1 related to what is already known from the strains circulating in Israel." The other 2 isolates were sent recently to the CDC laboratory for confirmation of genetic analysis. Rabies has never been diagnosed in bats and rats in Israel in several small-scale surveys and in routine diagnostic cases conducted in recent years. In conclusion, based on this current data, we did not think that we are facing a new or different form of rabies. With regard to the source of the infection, the victims did not recall any possible route other than a bite (first case) and scratches (last 2 cases) inflicted by unseen and unknown nocturnal animals. Possibilities include carnivores known to have contracted rabies in the past such as stray cats, stone martens (_Martes foina_) or badgers (_Meles meles_). -- Yakobson A. Boris Department of Pathology Kimron Veterinary Institute ======================================================== Rabbit Information Service, P.O.Box 30, Riverton, Western Australia 6148 email> rabbit@wantree.com.au http://www.wantree.com.au/~rabbit/rabbit.htm (Rabbit Information Service website updated frequently) /`\ /`\ (/\ \-/ /\) )6 6( >{= Y =}< /'-^-'\ (_) (_) | . | | |} jgs \_/^\_/ It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong. - Voltaire Date: Thu, 15 Jan 98 07:18:57 UTC From: SDURBIN@VM.TULSA.CC.OK.US To: ar-news@Envirolink.org Subject: Man Misses Cruelty Case Court Date; Warrant Out Message-ID: <199801151317.IAA17973@envirolink.org> Wagoner, OK, USA: An arrest warrant was issued Wednesday for Howard Luther Clark after he failed to appear in court to plead no contest to starving a one-time winning thoroughbred horse. The animal cruelty charge stems from the death of Ensign Nobility, a 5-year-old stud, nicknamed Chance. The emaciated horse was euthanized Sept. 21, 1996, after it became apparent that he was losing his battle to survive malnutrition and infection, authorities said. Judge Darrell Shepherd was also to hear testimony Wednesday from the Claremore veterinarian who cared for the horse. Shepherd was to decide whether Clark must pay any or all of the $1,200 that the Second Chance Equine Rescue Foundation spent to pay for feed and veterinary care for the horse. The foundation evolved out of its efforts to save Chance. -- Sherrill Date: Thu, 15 Jan 1998 06:21:37 -0800 (PST) From: Friends of Animals To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: New York Times Message-ID: <2.2.16.19980115092100.414f05fa@pop.igc.org> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" >From Page Six, New York Post, 1/15: Elsewhere on the Times front, Friends fo Animals protestors are targeting Sunday Magazine fashion reporter Holly Brubach today, because she is moderating what they say is a "pro-fur" discussion of the Fashion Group International. FoA will be outside Manhattan Penthouse at Fifth and 14th with a Brubach lookalike disporting on a large fur-covered bed. Those arriving will be handed condoms and invited to "get in bed with the New York Times" to the strains of Barry White. Just in case there are no takers, some fur-clad trappers and neanderrthal types will be on hand to frolic with the faux Bruach in order to "spotlight the cozy relationship which the Times has developed with the fur industry. "I wasn't aware that I was in bed with the fur industry," says Brubach. "As far as I know the panel is neutral." Date: Thu, 15 Jan 1998 09:28:17 -0800 From: Mesia Quartano To: "ar-news@envirolink.org" Subject: Elephants under siege in Bangladesh Message-ID: <34BE4731.EBAC5353@usa.net> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit 10:58 AM ET 01/13/98 FEATURE-Elephants under siege in Bangladesh By Shehab Ahmed Nafa DHAKA, Bangladesh (Reuters) - Bangladeshis got a rare glimpse of the country's fast-disappearing wild Asian elephant last month but they did not like what they saw. A newspaper carried photos of one of the endangered animals, shot to death and awash in blood after its tusks and toenails had been ripped out by poachers. Conservationists and other readers were outraged. For many, the most shocking aspect of the death was that it occurred in the Eidgah wildlife sanctuary in southeastern Bangladesh, one of the country's few remaining elephant refuges. Pressure from conservationists and the public to punish those responsible moved embarrassed wildlife authorities to order an investigation. The case has thrown a harsh spotlight on the precarious state of Bangladesh's elephant population. Wildlife activists say the number of elephants, protected under the 1974 Wildlife Preservation Act, has dwindled to only about 450, most of which survive in the rugged southeastern Chittagong Hill Tracts. The tracts, a southern extension of the Himalayas, once offered the perfect habitat, but the herds are under growing pressure from human encroachment on their feeding grounds and have been pushed to the brink of extinction by poachers. They have been declared endangered throughout Asia and are protected by the Convention on Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), which prohibits trading in ivory. In Bangladesh, violators face two years' jail and a fine. ASIAN ELEPHANTS FACE EXTINCTION "Asian elephants are clearly facing extinction due to human encroachment in their habitat and lax security in the wildlife reserves,'' said Rashiduzzaman Ahmed, the International Union for Conservation of Nature's representative in Bangladesh. "Unless steps are taken soon to overcome the shortcomings, the elephants will become extinct in Bangladesh in the next five to six years. Besides falling to poachers' guns, many will migrate to neighboring countries,'' he said. Many of Bangladesh's wild elephants are thought to be crossing into neighboring Myanmar (formerly Burma), which has the largest population of Asian elephants as a result of a comparatively undisturbed habitat, said Zakir Hossain, IUCN regional chief for South and Southeast Asia. Clearing of forests to make way for palm oil and rubber plantations has taken its toll on the traditional foraging grounds in southeastern Bangladesh. Large groves of bamboo, one of the elephants' favorite foods, were wiped out to provide materials for the construction of shelters for some 250,000 Muslim refugees who arrived from Myanmar in 1992. Most of the refugees have since returned to Myanmar but the now-barren hills no longer provide enough food for the elephants, conservationists say. Wildlife biologist Anisuzzaman Khan, executive director of Nature Conservation Movement (NACOM), a non-government organization, said human encroachment had led to increasingly frequent run-ins between elephants and people. With the destruction of their staples -- bamboo shoots and banana trees -- elephants are often forced to prey on other crops. ELEPHANTS STRIKE BACK At least 10 people died in 1997 and many others were injured when wild elephants rampaged through villages, pulling down houses and eating or trampling down crops. "Despite petitions by local residents to keep the Chunoti wildlife park (in southeastern Bangladesh) and the last remaining patches of green forest intact so that elephants remain happy within their homes, nothing has been done so far,'' Khan said. If their natural habitat were given better protection, he added, the elephants would have no need to venture out and clash with farmers. The Forest Department is conducting a study to determine ways to better conserve these elephant habitats. Spurred by the uproar over the poaching case, both NACOM and Bangladesh's non-governmental National Bio-Diversity Group have offered to lend expertise and manpower to the effort. As for the poachers responsible for the slaughtered elephant shown in the newspaper, Abdul Wahab Akonda, a wildlife conservation officer, said authorities were on their trail. "We are taking action,'' he said, but he added even if the culprits are caught a lack of properly trained conservation personnel will leave Bangladesh's remaining herds at the mercy of poachers. Date: Thu, 15 Jan 1998 09:37:48 EST From: Tereiman To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: Cattlemen's prod prime opportunity for Winfrey, PETA Message-ID: <67e54404.34be1f40@aol.com> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: multipart/mixed; boundary="part0_884875070_boundary" Return-Path: Received: from relay12.mail.aol.com (relay12.mail.aol.com [172.31.109.12]) by air29.mail.aol.com (v37.8) with SMTP; Thu, 15 Jan 1998 09:22:56 -0500 Received: from mailhost.infi.net (mailhost.infi.net [208.131.167.6]) by relay12.mail.aol.com (8.8.5/8.8.5/AOL-4.0.0) with ESMTP id JAA00402 for ; Thu, 15 Jan 1998 09:20:16 -0500 (EST) From: peta1@mailhost.infi.net Received: from pm6-101.orf.infi.net (pm6-101.orf.infi.net [209.97.9.101]) by mailhost.infi.net (8.8.8/8.8.8) with SMTP id JAA01684 for ; Thu, 15 Jan 1998 09:20:11 -0500 (EST) Message-Id: <199801151420.JAA01684@mailhost.infi.net> Comments: Authenticated sender is To: tereiman@AOL.COM Date: Thu, 15 Jan 1998 09:47:49 +0000 Subject: oprah X-Confirm-Reading-To: peta1@mailhost.norfolk.infi.net X-pmrqc: 1 Priority: normal X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Windows (v2.21) Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit Cattlemen's prod prime opportunity for Winfrey, PETA Chicago Tribune Janauary 15, 1998 Though we've seen no "mad cow" cases on these shores, there's evidence in Texas of an outbreak of mad cowboy disease. By cowboy I mean cattle producer, as in the beef ranchers whose defamation-of-food lawsuit, based on remarks made by vegetarian activist Howard Lyman, will begin next week in an Amarillo courtroom. And by mad I mean downright crazy for including Oprah Winfrey on their list of defendants. Oprah Winfrey, mind you. One of the most popular and trusted women in the world. And they plan to attack her in a way destined to put the entire, unappetizing meat-production process under a national microscope, thinking this will help them sell more burgers. Talk about spongy brain tissue! Lyman, an apostate cattle rancher, had been bashing beef for more than 10 years -- criticizing its health and environmental effects as well as production methods. He and others had long warned that the way we produced cattle feed (formally banned last year) put this nation's herds at risk for bovine spongiform encephalopathy -- tagged "mad cow disease" by the media. The meat business was able to brush the critics away like so many flies buzzing around a carcass. "Per-capita U.S. meat consumption has increased by 9.2 lbs. per person since 1980," says a current industry fact sheet. "A 1995 consumption study (found) only 1 percent of Americans actually do not eat meat." Then Lyman appeared on Winfrey's Chicago-based talk show in April 1996 along with a representative of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and a spokesman from the National Cattlemen's Beef Association. A transcript of their segment reveals a typical TV rhubarb -- a mediated is-too, is-not conversation that skims the surface of a complex issue -- on whether there's a notable risk of BSE appearing in the United States. Winfrey, who previously ate beef so little that her best-selling cookbook contains no recipes using it, revealed her sentiments to the audience by swearing off hamburgers on the spot. Beef prices fell for the next two weeks, after which a group of cattlemen sued Lyman, Winfrey and Winfrey's production company and syndicators for more than $12 million in losses under a 1995 Texas law that holds people liable for falsely disparaging food products. In doing so, they appeared to be taking public relations advice from the same group of rodeo clowns that pushed McDonald's Corp. into the disastrous "McLibel" trial in England. In that case, recall, the Oak Brook-based fast-food giant sued a pesky group of environmentalist leafleteers under Great Britain's oppressive libel laws in an effort to get them to stop handing pedestrians a list of complaints about McDonald's. The charges were the usual animal-rights, eco-scare background noise most people just tune out because it's easy to ignore and, hey, the food's tasty. But two of the activists wouldn't yield, so McDonald's pushed on. The trial ran from June 1994 to June 1997, cost the company an estimated $16 million in legal fees and exposed the leaflet's allegations to a worldwide audience. Along with the company's lukewarm $98,500 victory award, it got a now-widely distributed scolding from the judge for "cruel practices" against animals and using advertising that exploits children. Remember the old line about how you don't want to watch sausage being made? Well you apparently don't want to watch Chicken McNuggets being made, either. And now the Oprah trial will throw open the metaphorical sausage factory doors. Win or lose (and in the end Oprah will not lose), her presence at the trial and in Amarillo, where she will tape shows next week, promises to turn up the volume on that background noise in our heads about factory farming. It may be safe and cost effective, as the ranchers claim, but it's not pretty. "We use whatever vehicles we can to put the focus on what animals go through before they show up on your plate," said spokesman Bruce Friedrich of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, an organization grateful for the madness of the cowboys. "We couldn't have bought this kind of publicity." Date: Fri, 16 Jan 1998 01:21:58 +0800 From: bunny To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: Calicivirus Message-ID: <1.5.4.16.19980116011431.479f19f2@wantree.com.au> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Tasmania, Australia Calicivirus The Examiner 15/11/97 The rabbit calicivirus might not be as effective in the temperate areas of Australia as it seems to be in the semi-arid pastoral regions. (The Examiner, Nov 5th) CSIRO scientists at the Australian Animal Health Laboratory believe there is another intestinal calicivirus of rabbits in the wetter areas of eastern Australia which could be cross-protecting rabbits against its lethal effects. If this is proven it would be an example of a closely related virus conferring immunity against the lethal effects of the calicivirus. It would also explain the low rabbit kills experienced at several release sites across eastern Australia -Dave Obendorf ======================================================== Rabbit Information Service, P.O.Box 30, Riverton, Western Australia 6148 email> rabbit@wantree.com.au http://www.wantree.com.au/~rabbit/rabbit.htm (Rabbit Information Service website updated frequently) /`\ /`\ (/\ \-/ /\) )6 6( >{= Y =}< /'-^-'\ (_) (_) | . | | |} jgs \_/^\_/ It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong. - Voltaire Date: Thu, 15 Jan 1998 12:53:54 -0500 (EST) From: "Jeffrey A. LaPadula" To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: (US-NJ) FUR STORE TO CLOSE! Message-ID: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII Embattled Metuchen fur dealer has plans to close Published in the Home News Tribune 1/14/98 By BART CALENDAR and SARAH GREENBLATT STAFF WRITERS A Metuchen fur shop that has been targeted by militant animal-rights groups is liquidating its stock and may soon close its doors while a Highland Park furrier is considering doing the same. Holocaust survivor Oscar Loewy, who has compared the protesters at his Metuchen shop to Nazis, would not say they are putting him out of business, but Stephen Muszka of Marianne Fur in Highland Park said the groups are to blame for his decision. "I'm pretty close to closing because of them," said Muszka, whose windows have been shattered and who has been the victim of frequent crank calls. "These people are going too far." Loewy, whose store has been on Main Street since 1966, last month described the protests as both "stressful" and "very unsettling." "It is not a peaceful protest, what they are doing," Loewy said. "They disrupt people's lives without cause." Representatives of the animal-rights groups said yesterday they were "in shock" and "delighted" by the news. "This is a victory for every fur-bearing animal," said 17-year-old Corinne Ball of North Brunswick, a member of the Oakhurst-based Animal Defense League. "I hope the Loewys find a business where they can prosper without hurting innocent life. We wish them no ill-will at all." Loewy and his wife, Eva, would not say yesterday exactly when they will be shutting down Oscar Loewy's Designer Furs. Eva said the couple is not bowing to pressure from the Animal Defense League or the more militant Animal Liberation Front, which took credit for breaking Loewy's shop windows in November. "I certainly won't let them do that to me," she said. "I was thinking about it plenty of times . . . I'm looking forward to taking it a little bit easy." Eva Loewy said she was indifferent to the fact the two groups regard the closing of the fur shop as a major victory for their cause. "I couldn't care less what they think," she said. "They are not that powerful." Metuchen Mayor Ed O'Brien said the timing of the closing is "unfortunate." "I'm disturbed that it happens to coincide with this situation," the mayor said. "I don't want to give these people any credibility." Both Ball and Darius Fullmer, a founder of the Animal Defense League and former ALF activist, said they were shocked the store decided to close after only four protests. "I never thought an action this drastic would happen this quickly," Ball said. Fullmer said the Animal Defense League will now look for another furrier to protest on a regular basis, most likely Furs By Guarino in East Brunswick. "We are going to look around," Fullmer said. "There are not that many (furriers) in Middlesex County. I drive by Guarino's every day." Muszka said it has been difficult to run his shop since a rock with "ALF" written on the side was tossed through his windows in November and he started to receive crank calls. "I have had to put Caller ID on my phone," Muszka said. "It's a very difficult situation. I'm just trying to make a living. Why should people treat me like this? I have never done anything wrong." Both the Animal Defense League and the ALF have been watched by the Metuchen police since the windows were broken at Loewy's on Nov. 8 hours before an Animal Defense League protest in front of the shop. Oscar Loewy said in an interview last month that the ALF attack and the protest reminded him of his experiences as a Hungarian Holocaust survivor -- particularly because it took place so close to the anniversary of Kristallnacht - Nov. 9-10, 1938, when Nazis shattered the windows of Jewish-owned businesses and synagogues. The ALF has used a World Wide Web site to take credit for dozens of crimes, including using incendiary devices to burn four meat trucks in Howell, using similar devices to activate the sprinkler system at Flemington Fur Co. to destroy furs and slashing couches at the Elizabeth IKEA. Animal Defense League members say they do not take part in any of the ALF attacks and insist they are only involved in peaceful protests. Last month, the ALF issued a declaration of war on the fur, fast-food and animal-testing industries, saying they would crush such businesses "under our boots." Local police have described the ALF as "terrorists" and sources have said the group is the subject of a federal investigation. Posted: 01/13/98 09:46:50 PM **************************************************************************** ANIMAL DEFENSE LEAGUE - NEW JERSEY P.O. Box 84 Oakhurst, NJ 07755 (732)774-6432 http://envirolink.org/orgs/adl **************************************************************************** Date: Thu, 15 Jan 1998 15:11:08 -0600 From: "Alliance for Animals" To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: VILAS MONKEYS STILL NEED HELP! Message-ID: <199801152022.OAA03791@mendota.terracom.net> CONTACT: Tina Kaske, Executive Director Alliance for Animals 122 State St., Madison, WI 53703 Office phone: pm 608-257-6333 JANUARY 15, 1998 ALLIANCE FOR ANIMALS VOLUNTEERS WILL BE HOLDING A 24 HOUR "ZOO WATCH" AT THE HENRY VILAS ZOO TO BE ABLE TO ALERT THE MEDIA IF AND WHEN THE TRUCKS COME TO TAKE THE 100 RHESUS MONKEYS FROM THEIR HOMES TO A CERTAIN DEATH AT THE TULANE PRIMATE CENTER IN LOUISIANA. (If we can't find someone for a particular shift, we will have a volunteer make an hourly "drive-by" to check on the monkey house) MEMBERS OF THE ALLIANCE HAVE BEEN WORKING TO ALERT THE PUBLIC TO THE PLIGHT OF THE MONKEYS. THERE ARE FULL COLOR ADS IN BOTH THE WI STATE JOURNAL AND THE CAPITOL TIMES TODAY..(THURSDAY). THERE WILL BE A MEETING WITH KATHLEEN FALK, THE DANE CO. EXECUTIVE AND THE ALLIANCE FOR ANIMALS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, TINA KASKE AND DR. MARIAN BEAN, A LONG TIME MEMBER OF THE ALLIANCE ON JANUARY 21ST AT KATHLEEN FALKS' OFFICE. ON MONDAY, JANUARY 19TH, THERE WILL BE A DEMONSTRATION AT THE HEADQUARTERS OF THE NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH IN WASHINGTON, DC HELD BY A COALITION OF CONCERNED ANIMAL GROUPS AND COMPASSIONATE CITIZENS. THEY WILL BE PROTESTING THE MOVE OF THE VILAS ZOO MONKEYS TO THE FEDERALLY FUNDED TULANE PRIMATE CENTER. ONCE THE ANIMALS LEAVE MADISON, THERE IS LITTLE HOPE FOR THEM..BUT AS LONG AS THEY ARE HERE WE ARE DOING ALL WE CAN TO KEEP THE PUBLIC INFORMED ON WHAT THEY CAN DO TO HELP. THE MONKEYS SHOULD BE ABLE TO STAY IN MADISON UNTIL A SANCTUARY CAN BE FOUND FOR THEM..THE UNIVERSITY HAS DONE NOTHING TO ENCOURAGE THIS. THEY ARE MOVING THE ANIMALS OUT IN A HURRY TO DISCOURAGE ATTEMPTS TO KEEP THEM HERE. CALL: Kathleen Falk, Dane Co. Exec.Senator Herbert Kohl 608-266-4114414-297-4451 (Milwaukee office) TIME IS WHAT IS NEEDED RIGHT NOW. THE ANIMALS DESERVE TO STAY IN THEIR FAMILY GROUPS AND WE SHOULD PROTECT THEM FROM CERTAIN SUFFERING AND DEATH AT THE TULANE FACILITY. THEY STILL HAVE A CHANCE! Date: Thu, 15 Jan 1998 16:20:47 -0800 From: Mesia Quartano To: "ar-news@envirolink.org" Subject: (FL) Barnum and Bailey Circus in Miami Message-ID: <34BEA7DF.CE60061B@usa.net> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Barnum and Bailey Circus is currently in Miami (Jan 9 thru 19th). WTVJ Channel 6 (NBC) in Miami has been airing pro-circus segments featuring clowns on their Midday News program. This is not surprising, since WTVJ, along with Sears and a local radio station (Magic 102.7), are "presenting" the circus. Please ask the station to show some journalistic integrity and tell the truth about the circus. I have yet to hear them mention the tiger who was killed in St. Petersburg, FL. On 1/14/98, Barnum and Bailey clowns were shown giving blood. Today (1/15/98), WTVJ reported that the City of Miami police, aided by the Barnum clowns, were giving out tickets to motorists who were wearing seatbelts -- free tickets to the circus! ************** WTVJ News: http://www.nbc6.nbc.com/email.html Email: wtvjnews@nbc.com ************** Miami Police Public Information Office Telephone: (305)579-6420 FAX: (305)579-6191 Email: pio1@gate.net Web Site: http://www.gate.net/~pio1/info.htm ************** Magic 102.7 WMXJ Radio 20450 NW 2nd Avenue Miami, FL 33169 Phone: (305) 651-1027 Email: majic@gate.net Date: Thu, 15 Jan 1998 21:55:42 +0000 From: Katy Andrews To: ar-news , green student , roadalert , actionupdate Cc: "Adrian. Stannard" , Graham Dawson , Clive Ramsey , David Boote Subject: Leyton Relief Road - threat to ecology/wildlife. Message-ID: <34BE85DE.34DB8B09@icrf.icnet.uk> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Dear AR-news, Green Student Network and other interested persons, As promised, I am finally putting something on the net about the "East London Freight Expressway" - coming soon to a back yard near me! - and why it is of regional environmental and ecological importance. I’m going to start at the south end of the route and work north - from the Leyton Yard, more or less opposite Leyton underground station (anyone involved in the campaign against the M11 Link Road will know the station only too well!), up to the Argall Avenue Industrial Estate alongside the Riding School paddocking at Walthamstow Marshes. It's a failry long document so you might to best to print it out, save it to file, or flag it to read when you've time. I apologise if you've had to wait while it downloads. I will put something on the net another time about the history of the road and about the findings of MTRU’s Environmental Impact Assessment Survey into its effects on traffic flow and the general environment another time, as this document is quite long enough! This is primarily concerned with an environmental and ecological description of the LRR route as it stands. It doesn’t deal with the isues of the contaminated land at the Low Hall Tip Site, which is more a matter of scandal than planning and is subject to a complaint to the Local Government Ombudsman. Information in this paper is taken from a number of sources; most especially: "Feasibility Study - Temple Mills Redevelopment" (W.S. Atkins, June 1988); "Nature Conservation in Waltham Forest - Ecology Handbook No. 11 (London Ecology Unit, 1989 - the assessment at Temple Mills was carried out in October ‘89); "Development Framework Study - Temple Mills Area" (Jones Lang Wootton, August 1990); "A Charter for the Lea Valley" (Lea Valley Federation, ? 1990); "Temple Mills Environmental Impact Assessment" (Metropolitan Transport research Unit, June 1991); "An Ecological Assessment of Temple Mills" (London Ecology Unit, January 1992); and my own extensive collection of ephemera, maps and Council documents (including the Unitary Development Plan) dating from approximately 1992 - for much of this collection I must thank Margaret Flanders, Barry Crawford, Adrian Stannard, Neil Bedford, Clive Ramsey, Graham Dawson, Lorraine Metherall, Lawrie Wortley and other past and present local residents who have generously passed to me their own documents, copies of letters and other ephemera. The road in question is now officially known as the Leyton Relief Road, having formerly been called the Leyton Freight Road. The total development area, including Leyton Yard and the former Town Gas Works site, covers 80 areas, and much of the land is derelict. For virtually all of its length it would run alongside the green open spaces of the Lea Valley Regional Park. Local people would prefer the reinstatement of the railway line - quieter, no need for permanent lighting, non-pollutive and less hazardous to wildlife. the road is planned to run alongside the Leyton and Hackney Marshes through several sites of ecological importance and alongside the River Lea and Dagenham Brook. It stops at Walthamstow Marshes, which is a designated Nature Reserve containing two SSSIs and a bird sanctuary, but pressure to extend it up the valley to Ferry Lane would be unstoppable if it were to be built. The other end of it is the disused railway sidings at Leyton Yard, currently used as storage for heavy machinery building the adjacent M11 Link Road. For much of its length it runs through what was/is recognised by the London Ecology Unit as a Grade One Site of Borough Importance which it would cease to be were the LRR to be built. More on the Temple Mills site later. The road would also bring noise and vibration, pollution (chemical and light) and visual intrusion to what is now a quiet, green open area, near the southern end of the Lea valley Regional Park (which runs from Stratford to Broxbourne in Hertfordshire). The Lea Valley is a green wedge of captive countryside penetrating right to the heart of the city of London. It is the "green lung" of East London; a vital open space with a unique character existing within easy reach of thousands of city dwellers and offering people great opportunities for both recreation and education. The River Lea and its banks provide an important link for aquatic and mobile species (mammals, birds and insects) between inner London and the open countryside. Rising in Bedfordshire it flows south through Hertfordshire and London to meet the Thames east of Limehouse. The inaccessibility of the east bank opposite Hackney Marshes has afforded especial protection to wildlife and here the river is recognised for its importance to migrating birds with bankside vegetation affording cover to wildfowl. Beyond Bully Point Nature Reserve (now diminished by the M11 Link Road and plans for the CTRL station in Stratford) the Lea flows between Leyton and Hackney Marshes, the largest single area of open recreational land in London. On the Leyton (east) bank, although there are allotments and recreation grounds, much of the land has been given over to waste disposal sites, lorry parks, some light manufacturing industry and especially railway usage. Industry began as a natural extension of the late-mediaeval developments at Three Mills (Stratford at Bow), and there have been mills at Temple Mills since at least the thirteenth century. There have long been small industries along the river, mainly connected with the timber trade; Hackney and Leyton are still known for furniture. (Even in the 1980s timber was being brought up the Lea by barge from the Thames and a few now disused warehouses still remain.) Nonetheless, Jones Lang Wootton’s 1990 "Development Framework Study" reported that "The overriding characteristic of the marshes is of wide open spaces." Despite this, the Study goes on to consider the "opportunity" offered by the LRR for development at Lea Bridge and Temple Mills which "occupy a visually strategic place." Most of the area through which the road is planned to be built was Lammas Land until 1904, and therefore remained largely undeveloped. Wildlife has been able to thrive and the "Charter for the Lea Valley" (produced by a federation of twenty local pressure groups and conservation bodies) stressed the importance of ensuring that as development pressures increase the wildlife habitats are left undisturbed. One relatively new but very significant wildlife habitat is the Temple Mills sidings area. The Leyton Yard, which forms an extensive part of this, was bulldozed at 5.00 a.m. one morning by British Rail in the mistaken belief that eco-activists were about to occupy it, raising a howl of protest from local residents. This area is now in a state of ugly dereliction and largely covered by machinery and portakabins connected with the ongoing construction of the M11 Link Road. The rest by and large still exists. Taken as a whole, the line of the Leyton Freight Road passes through and affects areas of woodland, grassland, scrub, bare ground and stream communities. The Temple Mills marshalling yards were enclosed under an Act of Parliament in the 19th century and in 1840 the North Eastern Railway opened a line (later known as The Jazz Line) up the Lea valley from Stratford to Broxbourne. Between 1877-1893 the amount of land taken up for railway sidings gradually increased and small industries grew up alongside the railway. Many had their own sidings; the line of a single railway and former level crossing can still be discerned where the Black Path crosses Argall Avenue. After Beeching took his hatchet to the railways, the decline in freight being carried by rail which had begun in the 1950s became rapid. By the 1980s the sidings were all but abandoned (except by the nuclear waste cask which sometimes waits there on a Thursday afternoon!) and most of the tracks were taken up. The "ghost train" still runs in one direction only once per week from Enfield and Tottenham Hale (to save BT the cost of a Public Inquiry to stop the passenger service), but only a little freight now comes this way, connecting Stratford to the Barking - Gospel Oak line at South Tottenham. So it’s a very quiet place, except for the birds! As most of this 46 acre site has been unused for many years it is now overgrown. This central section has long reverted to young woodland surrounded by scrub and tall herbaceous vegetation. This land is now an effective buffer area for the Lea Valley Regional Park and provides both a haven for wildlife and a green link between the banks of the River Lea and the open spaces of Ive Farm and Marsh Lane Fields, part of the ancient Lammas Lands of Leyton Marshes. When the London Ecology Unit first studied the area in 1989, the 31 hectares of "Temple Mills Wasteland" were classed as a Grade 1 Site of Borough Importance. One of the largest expanses of immature wasteland habitat near central London, the area still harbours important populations of birds, animals, insects and flowers. In both Leyton Yard (now flattened) and the southern marshalling yard, there was scrub vegetation of self-seeded saplings and shrubs on what is largely old railway ballast, some of which is quite polluted with heavy metals such as lead, zinc, sulphurous compounds and a range of organic contaminants such as phenols and coal tars. Significant plants in this area predominantly consist of barren fescue, Michaelmas daisy, rose-bay willowherb, yellow toadflax, soapwort, viper’s bugloss, dittander, field pansy and other colonising species typical of poor, well-drained soil. Larger plants include sallow and birch saplings and occasional buddleia. Viper’s bugloss is naturalised in very few places outside the southern chalk belt; the two large patches of this plant would be destroyed by the LRR. 17 species of butterfly were recorded during the LEU’s visits in 1989-91, which makes the site important in a local context. The only uncommon species was the "gatekeeper" butterfly. The invertebrate fauna gnarly is quite rich due to the diversity of flowering plant species. The area is also alive with rabbits (particularly around the hump) and there are several foxes. The foxes also use the adjoining Marsh Lane Fields as hunting grounds, and the railway is useful as a route connecting their hunting grounds. Several foxes live alongside the Dagenham Brook in the Ive Farm area. The LRR route runs through what in the 1930s was a "hump" shunting yard - goods trucks were pushed up onto a "hump" or mound of land, and then - by means of a human controller using a complex system of points switches - were loose-shunted down from the hump along one of a number of pathways to join the correct train where the shunters would connect the trucks together. (You’ve probably seen the sign "not to be hump or loose shunted" on goods trucks - this is what it means!) The hump was mentioned as an area of special ecological importance with mature trees on it; the 1992 LEU Assessment called it an "overgrown garden" of special importance to birds, and 37 species of birds, some quite rare and of ecological significance, were recorded. Throughout the site common birds such as woodpigeon, blackbirds and magpies were quite common; rarer species in the southern Temple Mills area included mistle thrush, lesser whitethroat, willow warbler, blue tit, goldfinch, greenfinch, linnet and redpoll. As the trees have grown so more birds have been attracted to the site, and there are now nesting stonechats. Rare plants in the area include thyme-leaved sandwort (most of the habitat of which would disappear and thus also the plant community), small toadflax (ditto) In this area, the road would be very close to the River Lea and - across the river from Leyton - to Hackney Marshes. Hackney Marshes are common land and registered as Metropolitan Open Space. They are bounded on the east by the River Lea and on the west by the River Lea Navigation (Hackney Cut), which separate into two distinct bodies of water at the disused lock just south of Lea Bridge Road. During the second world war the Marshes had bomb rubble dumped on them, raising the level. Most of the marshes are laid out for football and other sports. Hackney Marshes have an important nature conservation function; the river is used by birds such as cormorants, heron, tufted duck and teal for feeding and for shelter in the winter. The grass areas are used by Canada geese, wood pigeons, starlings and swifts; the trees and bushes planted around the Marshes give a home to many woodland birds such as owl, chaffinch, wrens and robins. After this point, going northwards, the LRR would run alongside the Dagenham Brook, "Leyton’s Green Jewel" which since the 1989/92 Reports by LEU has been extensively improved, largely by local volunteers. Here breeding birds include wren, dunnock, song thrush, willow warbler, greenfinch and linnet, predominantly using the thick bramble scrub to the west of the brook as a nesting area. The LRR route then goes along the disused railway line, the eastern side of which is thick hawthorn scrub with some mature tree species, mainly willow, birch, elder and sycamore. Breeding birds here include garden warbler, wren, robin, songthrush, goldfinch, greenfinch and linnet. There is also our resident family of kestrels, living on the pylon! Near Clementina Estate, by the former gas works, the soil is better and goat willow, silver birch, and ash grow, surrounded by bramble and open grassland. There is an area of sycamore woodland in the north-east corner, which is where the LRR is planned to pass. Horses graze on nearby Marsh Lane Fields and the relative inaccessibility of the land protects it from human disturbance. The gas yard site itself is derelict contaminated land, but it does contain the noteworthy "hard poa" meadow-grass and also blue fleabane, which is unknown anywhere else in east London. There is also a large ovate poplar tree near the Lea Bridge Road, and the Framework Study suggested that this tree should be the focus of a central courtyard around which the new development would be built. (Whether the tree is still there after last Monday’s chainsawing I don’t know.) A number of toxic substances, such as coal tars, phenols, cyanides, ammoniacal salts, sulphates and sulphides and other corrosive contaminants are widespread here, and there are tar wells. This makes remediation difficult. Additionally, some materials are potentially combustible, such as spent oxide, coal and tars, and some may produce asphyxiant, toxic and/or explosive gases such as HCN, sulphur dioxide, methane, hydrogen sulphide and carbon dioxide. Local people have been warned in a letter from British Gas that "from time to time you may detect some smells arising from these works, but these do not present any hazard and will be controlled by our site contractors." (Letter from Chris Dodds, Construction Manager for BG plc, in letter to Occupiers dated 19th December 1997) The proposed developments on land alongside the Leyton relief Road south of Lea Bridge Road are: Leyton Yard Site: The 26 acre former "Civil Engineer’s Yard" (owned by Railtrack) is to be developed as a major shopping/retail centre to replace the existing small shops on the run-down Leyton High Road. (A major supermarket chain, not Tesco or Sainsbury’s, stated on Monday - 12.1.98 - that it was interested in making a bid here.) Marshalling Yards: 45 acres of Marshalling yards are to be retained for eventual use by the Channel Tunnel Railway operator, probably as berthing/cleaning areas as part of its London International Freight Terminal. the LIFT is proposed to be located on the former sidings between Ruckholt Road and Lea Bridge Road as one of two major freight termini distributing and handling traffic for the Channel Tunnel railway, and the massive existing Freightliner Depot at Stratford would be incorporated into this. A 10-metre high overhead beam crane will be permanently on site: the Framework Study suggested that "its visual impact need not be detrimental" and it could be "an interesting feature in the landscape." Local people at the Inquiry at the Houses of Parliament into the Channel Tunnel rail link asked for a natural bund to be put in with screening trees to hide the visual obtrusion of this development, as suggested by the Framework Study, but we have since been told that the LRR construction makes this impossible. Former Town Gas Works: This 11 acre contaminated area by Clementina Road is to be remediated to a B1/B2 end use standard. (Contaminated land reclamation in UK is carried out to standards imposed by the determined end-use.) This means light industrial, "high-tech" and warehousing use. The LEU’s 1992 Assessment concluded: "The net result of the development as it stands would mean the loss of a Grade 1 Site of Borough Importance for nature conservation. The importance of the site is based upon the extent of the wasteland habitat present [and] the diversity of plants and animals it supports." The main habitat loss would be the naturally regenerating wasteland and associated grassland, a habitat rarely found in such large expanses and harbouring important populations of several species. It was proposed in 1992 to retain some of the existing vegetation in a linear "nature area" encompassing the eastern railway embankment, the Dagenham Brook and the eastern fringes of the northern and southern marshalling yards. The Development Framework Study referred to this as a "Linear Nature Park" and suggested the name "Leyton Ecology Corridor." However, this would be a considerable reduction from the present size, and would contribute to the loss of some bird species in particular. The Assessment stressed the need to maintain "green links" to other nearby open spaces both for access for people and to facilitate the movement of wildlife. The original Environmental Impact Assessment Study suggested that the LRR could only have overall environmental benefit if it were to be implemented as part of a package to include traffic management in local roads and- crucially - the reopening to passenger traffic of Lea Bridge Station on the Lea Bridge Road. Irrelevant to mention, perhaps, is that this part of the LRR package has NEVER been discussed since! We are no nearer to getting the railway reopened to passengers (despite that fact that it would go a long way towards solving the traffic crisis in the area) or reopening the Hall Farm Curve than we were when the Inquiry closed with the Inspector finding in our favour, saying that the road should be DELETED altogether from the Borough’s proposed Unitary Development Plan. Also, a 900 place secondary school is now being proposed (going to Public Inquiry - this was the Council meeting I spoke at last night) for Seymour Road, on the Clementina Estate, which will completely offset any benefit accruing to the area of the traffic management schemes, assuming they were to be put in anyway. North of the Lea Bridge Road, the LRR turns east into the Argall Avenue Industrial Estate. The precise line of the road here has yet to be finally determined. It could go up the Black Path, a mediaeval porters’ way running in a straight line through Hackney and Walthamstow. Or they could find some minor modification to that. At this point the finer detail of the threat to the valley gets bogged down in a forest of road numbers. Suffice it to say that the latest idea is for a road to link the huge Allied Bakeries factory at the north of the Argall Estate to the Leyton Relief Road in the valley. This would have wonderful consequences for the residents of South Access Road (along which all the traffic now passes) and for Markhouse and Blackhorse Road residents and for the cross-roads where I happen to live about a quarter of a mile away. But Allied Bakeries (makers of Kingsmill, Sunblest and other revolting substances) are not very keen on the idea because of the extra journey that their lorries would have to make. The residents of Elm Park Road - who have now been told that to overcome the AB objections their road is going to have at the back of it a spur from the LRR onto the Lea Bridge Road (thus negating the need for the LRR to go along the Temple Mills sidings at all, by the way!) - are even less enthusiastic. Especially as a fast food restaurant is proposed for the Lea Bridge Junction Loop! And no-one believes that the point block in South Access Road will last long. AB want to get stuff in from their flour-mills in Hertfordshire to the north, and out to their distribution points on the M25 for overnight supermarket delivery. They don’t want to go south and round a huge detour to access the M11 Link Road which will bring them out miles round the North Circular or the M25 from where they want to go. Factories site themselves in locations where they can get their products in and out cheaply, and the AB factory is not something you can easily dismantle and move! However, all this needs a map in front of you to see what’s actually going on. Suffice it to say, that the traffic problems in Walthamstow will be increased, not decreased by the road, and the LRR won’t solve the problem (heavy traffic affecting 400 households in part of Burwell Road - yes, that’s the excuse for all this!!) anyway - as the Inspector agreed at the Public Inquiry - which we won! (some brief history later). The next logical step is to carry out the original ELAS scheme by linking the LRR to Ferry Lane and thence the A1055 North-South Route from Tottenham hale to Enfield. And that means crossing or running alongside Walthamstow Marsh. Walthamstow Marsh, a designated Nature Reserve containing two SSSIs and much of historical and ecological interest, is all that remains of our once extensive marshlands of the Lea Valley. That it has survived at all, so close to the centre of London, is a miracle. It has never been ploughed and its surface still bears the imprint of Ice Age braided river channels giving it an undisturbed continuity of some 10,000 years. To walk across Walthamstow Marsh is to step into an ancient, enduring landscape - something very rare indeed, especially in a metropolis. As the Lea Valley Federation’s "Charter for the Lea Valley" put it: "Nowhere else in London can people experience such a rich landscape of wetland habitats." To be able to walk through wind rippled stands of sedges, dense reed beds , creamy masses of meadowsweet, lush meadow grassland and all manner of abundant marshland vegetation is an astonishing experience within sight of the inner City In the spring and early summer the air is full of the song of reed and sedge warblers, skylarks and cuckoos, kestrels hovering; in the autumn huge flocks of goldfinches can be seen; in the winter, when low lying tracts of the Marsh lie under water, snipe are a common sight; overhead there are often cormorants, skeins of geese flying low, quacking pairs of ducks, and herons drifting towards the reservoirs or coming down to feed; - these are all common Marsh experiences in this unlikely semi-urban setting." There are also, I might mention, some smashing pubs along the River Lea, which here is a single body of water (the Navigation) with the recently-excavated Flood Relief Channel flowing some distance away nearer to housing. There is ample mooring space along the river here, and many people live here year round on colourful narrowboats. Katy Andrews 15.01.1998 P.S. A quick word about the author - I took a BA (with 1st class hons) in History of Resource Management (1988) and an MSc in Resource Assessment for Development Planning (1990). I went to Twyford Down to join the Dongas Tribe in 1992, and have since been involved in the No M1 Link Road Campaign and several campaigns concerned with the Leyton Freight/Relief Road. I’m a member of the Executive Committee of the Capital Transport Campaign and the London & SE Region committee of the Railway Development Society. I currently work in IT Support, having trained as a computer programmer and systems analyst before going to University at a somewhat ripe age! I hope this explains some of the shortcomings that you will no doubt find in the following: I wouldn’t personally know a wren from a ptarmigan, I merely report as intelligently as I am able! If you have any questions, comments or anything to add, please let me know! Date: Thu, 15 Jan 1998 18:34:18 EST From: OnlineAPI To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: VICTORY FOR ARIZONA PREDATORS! Message-ID: <705bb648.34be9cfe@aol.com> Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit VICTORY FOR ARIZONA PREDATORS! January 15, 1998 . . . As a result of public outcry, the Arizona Game & Fish Commission (AGFC) announced today the controversial "Predator Hunt Extreme '98" will be canceled this year. An Associated Press article, press releases and action alerts publicizing the issue throughout the state and across the country resulted in a flood of phone calls to the AGFC and to the private sponsors of the hunt, Outdoor Promotions. After informing Outdoor Promotions that the hunt could not go on, the AGFC announced it will be meeting next week with the Arizona Wildlife Advisory Council to specifically address the issue of contest hunts in the state. Animal advocates have conveyed to the Commission that the public expects no less than an administrative ban on contest hunts in the state. If this is not implemented, animal advocates will turn up the pressure once again by alerting the press and public to the issue. For this year, Arizona's coyotes, foxes, bobcats and mountain lions will rest at peace on February 7th and 8,th safe from the yahoo hunters such contest hunts attract. Let us ensure that these animals never have to fear a contest hunt in Arizona again. Camilla Fox Animal Protection Institute Posted by: Animal Protection Institute P.O. Box 22505 Sacramento, CA 95822 Ph: (916) 731-5521 Fax: (916) 731-4467 www.api4animals.org Date: Fri, 16 Jan 1998 12:58:19 +0800 (SST) From: Vadivu Govind To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: (TH) Dept urged to protect wild animals Message-ID: <199801160458.MAA19202@eastgate.cyberway.com.sg> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" >Bangkok Post 16 Jan 98 Dept urged to protect wild animals Killing of wounded tiger criticised Chakrit Ridmontri and Kanitta Inchukul Animal activists called on the Forestry Department to care forwild animals so that they do not have to be killed when they get into residential areas. They were criticising the shooting of an old and hungry tiger by officials at Khao Yai after it attacked two rangers at a park home. Although the activists said human life was more important than wildlife they said the department should have tackled the situation properly. Leonie Vejjajiva, of the Wild Animal Rescue Foundation of Thailand, said old or wounded animals unable to feed themselves should be taken to an animal rescue centre and then returned to the wild if their health improved. She said the park should have stun guns at checkpoints to allow rangers to defend themselves. The park should also conduct a study to find out how many unhealthy wild animals there were. Unhealthy animals could then be rescued before they became a danger to humans by searching for food in residential areas. She said the 2.5-metre tiger which was shot dead was an Indochinese species. It was an endangered species and unable to breed in captivity. Surapon Duangkhae of Wildlife Fund Thailand said the situation was inevitable because the park's headquarters were mostly located in the most fertile part of the park. But Thavorn Lamsrichan, director of the Natural Resource Conservation Office, said the tiger was too old to hunt prey and so had to find easy food. He said the department is considering removing the ranger's house and park headquarters from the heart of the forest to prevent tourists and wild animals clashing. Article copyright Post Publishing Public Co., Ltd 1997 Reprinted for non-commercial use only. Website: http://www.bangkokpost.net Date: Fri, 16 Jan 1998 12:58:24 +0800 (SST) From: Vadivu Govind To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: (UK) 1 pig fugitive still on the run Message-ID: <199801160458.MAA27427@eastgate.cyberway.com.sg> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit >The Electronic Telegraph 16 Jan 98 Pig knocks the stuffing out of police By Sean O'Neill A PIG that became one of the country's most celebrated fugitives was back on the run last night after eluding police who cornered it in a back garden. A second pig, which had escaped from the same abattoir more than a week ago, had been recaptured earlier after an intensive search led by the world's media. The net closed on the ginger Tamworth boars eight days after they burrowed under a fence and swam a river to escape slaughter in Malmesbury, Wilts. The first pig was returned to Arnoldo Dijulio, a council roadsweeper who reared the animals in his garden. A national newspaper assisted in the capture and is thought to have offered a sum far greater than the animal's £50 value for exclusive rights to its story. Dozens of reporters and photographers, some said to have hired pick-up trucks, then scoured the surrounding countryside for the second. Photographers and television crews flew overhead in helicopters. It was found when Harry Clarke, 61, and his wife Mary saw it in their garden and called the police. As officers closed in, it tried to escape along the side of the house towards the road only to retreat in fear when faced by a battery of flashbulbs. A spokesman for Wiltshire police said: "At around 7.15pm an attempt was made to capture the cornered pig but, due to the large numbers of people around the place, it was spooked and darted into undergrowth. It is still contained and the RSPCA are waiting until it is calm enough to be caught." Debbie Stinchcombe, who works at an animal sanctuary and was among those trying to capture the pig, said: "The animal was frightened and broke through a fence at the bottom of Mr and Mrs Clarke's garden and has disappeared into the thick woods behind. It knows it is safe in there. We have left food out for it and will reassess the situation in the morning." Phil Bussey of the RSPCA said: "This pig has proved more elusive than Houdini. It seems like we have been tracking it for ever. It ran rings around us all night in Mr Clarke's garden. Finally, the Clarkes asked everyone to leave because their lawn and shrubs were getting wrecked." The five-month-old boars, whose outlaw status earned them several nicknames, including Butch and Sundance, spent most of their week of freedom in an impenetrable thicket near Tetbury Hill. As they avoided recapture, their celebrity status grew. Television networks, tabloid newspapers, animal lovers and vegetarians fought to save them from slaughter and offered them a home. Dave Lang, a pig breeder, even took Sam, his 60-stone Tamworth sow, to the thicket in an attempt to tempt them out. With an RSPCA inspector on hand, the sow was paraded back and forth without success. Mr Lang, 47, could not understand it. "Pigs are hopelessly attracted to the opposite sex," he said. "Sam is a fully-grown pig. What young chap would not be attracted to an older woman?" Mr Dijulio, who was furious when they escaped and had remained adamant that they were destined for his dinner table, had a change of heart last night. "If somebody makes an offer to me then I can sell the pigs and they can take them off my hands," he said. "I have been very surprised by the amount of interest. People have been ringing my work, ringing up from London and a helicopter has been sent to search for them. I could not believe it when they went over the river. They swam over that and went over the football pitch and disappeared." Ann Petch, who breeds Tamworths at Umberleigh, Devon, said the animals probably relished the pursuit. "Tamworths are quite bold and quite bright. There is a little bit of devilment in them," she said. "They see little gaps where other animals might not and they tend to go for them. At five months they are quite juvenile but they are hardy, capable animals. They will feed on beechmast and acorns and they are scavengers. They will pick up insects and worms and graze on the undergrowth." Mrs Petch, who said Tamworths had "a moist, tender succulence, which a lot of modern-bred pork lacks", added: "It might sound hard, but they are domestic farm animals and their function is to provide meat." Peggy Hickson, the town's mayor, appealed for the animals to be saved. She said: "These pigs must not go to the abattoir. They have been so brave. To swim the river, which is almost at flood level at the moment, was superb. My favourite video is Babe. I have seen it twice. I think it is a tragedy that people breed them just to have them slaughtered. They are very bright animals." Malmesbury was relishing the attention last night. A butcher's shop advertised wild boar sausages "at runaway prices". While the escapers might look forward to a long and peaceful life, the third pig which accompanied them to the abattoir has already been slaughtered and hangs in two halves in the cold room. "Luckily, only two of them got away," said Jeremy Newman, the abattoir manager. "The one that didn't has been processed in the usual way." © Copyright Telegraph Group Limited 1997. Date: Fri, 16 Jan 1998 12:58:30 +0800 (SST) From: Vadivu Govind To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: (UK) Pigs are meat, not pets Message-ID: <199801160458.MAA18850@eastgate.cyberway.com.sg> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit >The Electronic Telegraph 16 Jan 98 Cut out for rashers, not romance By David Brown, Agriculture Editor THE public was urged yesterday to forget romantic notions of saving the Tamworth Two from the butcher's block by adopting them as pets. The Tamworths are Britain's oldest surviving native pig breed: there are only 306 registered breeding sows and 77 boars out of a total swine population of 7.5 million. But commercial farmers and agricultural conservationists maintained that the best result was a humane death and transformation into pork chops. The ginger-coloured Tamworths are also known as Old English Forest Pigs and have long snouts to root around on the ground for food. The sows are docile but boars can be very active and difficult to keep in confinement. The two that escaped are relatively young - less than six months old - and already weigh about 110 pounds. When fully grown they will tip the scales at almost five times that and will have voracious appetites. There were suggestions last night that the two animals may be part wild boar which were crossed with Tamworths for their meat. Wild boar farming is a thriving niche business and several hundred escapees are already said to be roaming in the wilds of Sussex and elsewhere. The Rare Breeds Survival Trust said: "The sad fact is that in any breed you need far fewer boars than sows and these boars are reared for meat and slaughtered. We actually advise as many farmers as we can to establish commercial markets for Tamworth meat to encourage more people to keep them. Ensuring a commercial outlet for livestock is a proven method of conservation but the public can find that very hard to understand." He said: "It must be remembered that pigs have no other function other than being fattened for meat. You can't shear them for wool or draw milk from them." Caroline Wheatley, who owns the Berkswell herd of Tamworth pigs at Boyton Farms, Warminster, Wiltshire, said: "We keep Tamworths here and all I can say is that they are marvellous farm animals. But we keep them as farm animals, not pets." Grenville Welsh, the chief executive of the British Pig Association, said: "We have heard a lot of stories of people wanting to give these pigs a home. The one thing they should be quite clear about is that pigs in general do not make good domestic pets and Tamworths most certainly do not. There was fashion some years ago for keeping pet Vietnamese pot-bellied pigs. But this proved to be misguided and people soon discovered that it was better to get rid of them. We have also heard that these runaway 'Tamworths' may be the offspring of pigs with wild boar blood in them. Tamworths are very spirited pigs, even without wild boar blood." © Copyright Telegraph Group Limited 1997. Date: Fri, 16 Jan 1998 12:58:34 +0800 (SST) From: Vadivu Govind To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: Bird flu 'as virulent as 1918 killer' Message-ID: <199801160458.MAA19229@eastgate.cyberway.com.sg> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit >The Electronic Telegraph 16 Jan 98 Bird flu 'as virulent as 1918 killer' By Aisling Irwin, Science Correspondent THE virulent strain of "bird flu" that broke out in Hong Kong at the end of last year appears to be as aggressive as the virus that caused the Spanish flu pandemic in 1918, which killed between 20 million and 40 million people around the world. Scientists report today in the journal Science that they fear that the flu, which arose in chickens but has spread to people, could soon become more infectious to humans. At present it passes easily from chickens to humans but does not jump easily between people. During the imminent flu season it could mix with other flu viruses that are more adept at infecting humans and take on some of their characteristics so that it becomes more easily transmitted. The virus, which has so far killed six people, is the first that researchers have observed jumping straight from chickens to humans. The group examined a virus found in a three-year-old boy who died in Hong Kong, apparently from the avian flu. They have managed to plot most of its genetic code, and this has told them about the proteins on its surface. They discovered extra genes that they think make the virus much more aggressive than usual - able to to get into tissues other than the usual lung and gut. Once the virus gets into the heart, brain and blood vessels it can cause haemorrhaging followed by death. These extra genes are what make the virus, known as H5N1 influenza A, similar to the 1918 flu, which killed more people than died in the First World War. © Copyright Telegraph Group Limited 1997.

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