AR-NEWS Digest 508 Topics covered in this issue include: 1) Vitamin C said to help protect memory by ljg@mcs.net (Linda J. Geant) 2) Two farmers admit spreading deadly rabbit disease (NZ) by bunny 3) [US] Eating soy reduces women's cancer - report by David J Knowles 4) [US] Unruly El Nino, scourge of crops, markets, revives by David J Knowles 5) (CA) Fish Bacteria May Spread to Humans by allen schubert 6) (US) Rented Cows Entered in Competitions by allen schubert 7) French Duck Courses by Jordi Ninerola 8) Brigitte Bardot and Moscow's cats and dogs by Jordi Ninerola 9) Monkeys in Israel by Jordi Ninerola 10) Confessions of a spreader of deadly rabbit virus(NZ) by bunny 11) Circus Info !! by Nikolas Entrup <106127.1133@compuserve.com> 12) Circus Info !! by Nikolas Entrup <106127.1133@compuserve.com> 13) Condemned Meat Sold (US) by Hillary 14) Wintour does it again by Hillary 15) Kibbutz monkey breeding by Hillary 16) Beef trying to rebound by Hillary 17) KimB and Animal Rights by Hillary 18) How to Get Meatless Meals in the Hospital by SDURBIN@VM.TULSA.CC.OK.US 19) NZ Ministry of Agriculture current news releases-Deadly rabbit virus - illegal spread by bunny 20) In Memorian of Islote by Jordi Ninerola 21) Snake designated protected species in Wisconsin by "Knasinski, Joseph" 22) Fw: Status Report On Olivia (Cat Set On Fire) by "bhgazette" 23) Fw: Status Report On Olivia (Cat Set On Fire) by "bhgazette" 24) Number of Anglers, Hunters by Mike Markarian 25) Mosquitoes Carrying Encephalitis Found by Liz Grayson 26) MIKE: RE: HIGINS by civillib@cwnet.com 27) University of Wisconsim scandal, Part 1 by Shirley McGreal 28) University of Wisconsin scandal, Part 2 by Shirley McGreal 29) Wisconsin scandal, Part 3, worthy of National Enquirer! by Shirley McGreal 30) Wisconsin monkey scandal, Part 4, the Cover-up by Shirley McGreal 31) Japan says no more orca captures "for the time being" by bchorush@paws.org (pawsinfo) 32) People's Court' to Hear Chihuahua-Vs.-Boa by Liz Grayson 33) VT Alert: Gov Dean on Radio Show by Mike Markarian 34) Rabbit Disease spreads throughout South Island (New Zealand) by bunny 35) (CN) Wild Horses in China's Northwest to Return to Nature by allen schubert 36) (US) USDA Seeks Broader Authority by allen schubert 37) (US) Primates in Peril, Except Humans by allen schubert 38) (US) Humus, Baba Ghanouj Recalled by allen schubert 39) "Vegetarian Voices" by Vegetarian Resource Center 40) Ferrets, Pigs, Rotties Abused by Illinois Breeder by Howard Davis 41) Project launched to change horrible shelter conditions(VA) by NOVENAANN@aol.com 42) "Hysteria" delays drug introduction by Andrew Gach 43) More "hysteria" by Andrew Gach 44) Infection from handling fish by Andrew Gach Date: Thu, 28 Aug 1997 01:46:16 -0500 (CDT) From: ljg@mcs.net (Linda J. Geant) To: BJNOLA@monsanto.com, ar-news@envirolink.org, CHELKOW@luc.edu, JLMRZL@monsanto.com, frogsleap@juno.com, KKPRYB@monsanto.com, KLCLAY@monsanto.com, MKMUEL@monsanto.com, Matthew@cottonexpress.com, Pam_Brahos@dbm.com, Thomas M Steuri <105477.2071@compuserve.com> Subject: Vitamin C said to help protect memory Message-ID: Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" >Date: Thu, 21 Aug 1997 11:48:47 +0800 (SST) >Reply-To: kuma@cyberway.com.sg >Sender: owner-ar-news@envirolink.org >Precedence: bulk >From: Vadivu Govind >To: ar-news@envirolink.org >Subject: Vitamin C said to help protect memory >Mime-Version: 1.0 >X-Sender: kuma@cyberway.com.sg (Unverified) >Status: U > > >>CNA Daily English News Wire > >VITAMIN C SAID TO HELP PROTECT MEMORY > > >Canberra, Aug. 20 (CNA) High intakes of vitamin C and betacarotene across a >lifetime may protect human memory functions from deterioration and stave off >dementia, according to a new study. > >The study by University of Basel geriatrics Professor Hannes Staehelin of >Switzerland on Swiss men and women for 20 years found those who had high >levels of these antioxidant vitamins in their blood performed better in >memory tests. > >Staehelin, who will present a research paper at the World Congress of >Gerontology in Adelaide this week, told the Australian Associated Press >(AAP) Tuesday that disturbances in memory functions related to aging could >be linked to increased oxidative stress with aging. > >"It's quite clear that neurons in the brain cells are challenged by free >radicals and that the aging process itself is linked to free radicals," he >said. > >"It appears that antioxidants actually protect the neurons from damage," he >said. > >Although the usefulness of these vitamins is increasingly accepted, he said, >it's difficult to prove. > >He said a study in Rotterdam in the Netherlands on dementia has shown people >with low betacarotene intake have a higher rate of dementia. > >"Our study is unique because it involves a 20-year follow-up. We have >observed that antioxidants have a long-term effect, but how important intake >is in later years is not so clear," he said. > >The study involved testing 442 healthy elderly people aged 65 to 94 years on >aspects of memory and matching the results with vitamin blood levels. >It found vitamin C and betacarotene were significant predictors of ability >in tests of vocabulary and betacarotene in tests of recognition. > >Antioxidants are ideally obtained from natural sources such as fruits and >vegetables, but supplements might be necessary, Staehelin told the AAP. (By >Peter Chen) > _________________________________________________________ "Until he extends the circle of his compassion to all living things, man will not himself find peace." - Albert Schweitzer - Date: Thu, 28 Aug 1997 16:25:03 +0800 From: bunny To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: Two farmers admit spreading deadly rabbit disease (NZ) Message-ID: <1.5.4.16.19970828160812.2c67ad66@wantree.com.au> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Channel One 6pm News (New Zealand) Two farmers have admitted spreading the virus. Peter Innes from Black Forest Station and his friend Phillip Mackay admitted on TV tonight of spreading RHD. Apparently, they got their hands on some infected rabbit material, (they never mentioned where). then they went out and caught a few rabbits, put them in pens and and injected them with this RHD cocktail. The rabbits died, but just to make sure it was RHD they caught more rabbits and put them in the pens with the dead one's, these rabbits in turn died. So these two bright boy's as well as taking the dead rabbits and dispersing them around a few farms, also made up RHD baits and spread them around as well. They also said RHD mixes well with oats. So it sounds as if they have been pretty busy.There is no penalty for spreading the disease, so these two won't be prosecuted. MAF have taken the road blocks away from around Cromwell and there is talk of possibly quarantining the whole of the S.I., that's if RHD has not spread in the N. I. Winston Peters believes the orginal dispersment of RHD could have been carried out by helicopter. RHD has been confirmed in the Maniototo and MaKenzie Country. Just now on the Holmes show the two bright boys stated, the virus has been in NZ since July. So in other words. while MAF were still deciding whether to let the virus in, it was already here. Reported by personal email from New Zealand to Rabbit Information Service. =========================================== Rabbit Information Service, P.O.Box 30, Riverton, Western Australia 6148 Email> rabbit@wantree.com.au http://www.wantree.com.au/~rabbit/rabbit.htm (Rabbit Information Service website updated frequently) /`\ /`\ (/\ \-/ /\) )6 6( >{= Y =}< /'-^-'\ (_) (_) | . | | |} jgs \_/^\_/ Date: Wed, 27 Aug 1997 23:32:33 From: David J Knowles To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: [US] Eating soy reduces women's cancer - report Message-ID: <3.0.3.16.19970827233233.376f8de6@dowco.com> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" >From Infobeat Web Site Eating soy reduces women's cancer - report WASHINGTON (Reuter) - Eating more soy products like tofu or soymilk can reduce the risk of cancer of the uterus, researchers reported Wednesday. The report adds to a growing body of evidence that phytoestrogens -- substances resembling hormones found in plants -- can be beneficial to health. Marc Goodman and colleagues at the Cancer Research Center of Hawaii studied 332 women who got endometrial cancer, or cancer of the uterus, between 1985 and 1993. They compared them to more than 500 other women from Hawaii's multi-ethnic population. They found that women who ate the most food rich in phytoestrogen, such as legumes and tofu, had a 54 percent reduction in risk of endometrial cancer. ``This is the first study to show an inverse association of soy consumption with the risk of endometrial cancer,'' Goodman said in a statement. ``Our data support the notion that diets low in calories and rich in legumes (especially soybeans), wole grain foods, vegetables and fruits reduce the risk of endometrial cancer,'' he added. The study, in the American Journal of Epidemiology, noted that women in Japan and China, who eat large amounts of soy, have lower levels of breast and endometrial cancer. Date: Wed, 27 Aug 1997 23:42:19 From: David J Knowles To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: [US] Unruly El Nino, scourge of crops, markets, revives Message-ID: <3.0.3.16.19970827234219.376fae0a@dowco.com> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" >From Infobeat Web Site 12:14 PM ET 08/27/97 Unruly El Nino, scourge of crops, markets, revives By Elif Kaban GENEVA (Reuter) - El Nino, an abnormal tropical Pacific Ocean weather pattern which causes devastating droughts and floods, could become the ``climate event of the century'' and surpass its devastating 1982-83 episode, scientists said Wednesday. The freak weather condition, which could play havoc with crops and, indirectly, with financial markets, has emerged as a key factor for global investors in emerging markets from Latin America to Africa. Jagadish Shukla, head of the Washington-based Institute of Global Environment and Society, told a scientific gathering in Geneva that the phenomenon, which disrupts global rainfall and wind patterns, caused record sea surface temperatures in July. The weather pattern could be ``the climate event of the century,'' he was quoted in a statement as telling delegates at Geneva's Conference on the World Climate Research Program, which is being attended by 300 scientists from more than 100 countries. El Nino is an abnormal state of the ocean-atmosphere system in the tropical Pacific which causes exceptionally warm and long-lived ocean currents. It affects the weather not only locally but can also can cause droughts or flooding in far-flung regions. Shukla said that El Nino -- Spanish for ``The Child'' and named after Jesus by Peruvian fishermen because it tends to peak around Christmas -- could surpass this century's strongest episode which peaked in the winter of 1982-83. That episode, which hit areas of South America and in particular Peru, is estimated to have resulted in the deaths of almost 2,000 people and caused at least $13 billion worth of damage. South America suffered both flooding and drought as typical rainfall patterns were turned upside down by warming waters. In Peru, the economy shrank by 12 percent during the period and the national fishing industry was decimated. There were acute water shortages in Indonesia, the Philippines, Australia and southern Africa, while both the United States and Western Europe were hit by storms and floods. Investors, crop analysts and economists from West Africa and South America to Australia are closely watching the odd effects of El Nino, which can be a havoc on agricultural and economic output and cause flash flooding that can sever road and rail links. Forecasts on El Nino allow farmers to plant appropriate crops depending on whether it will be a dry year or unseasonally wet, and take precautions such as pre-emptive flood control measures. Shukla said forecast models, ocean observations and satellite data showed the sea surface temperature in the eastern tropic Pacific in July had ``exceeded all previous records.'' ``Regional manifestations of this major climate event are already being noticed in several parts of the world,'' the Indian-born expert added in a technical presentation to experts. He was expected to give a news briefing later on Wednesday. The United Nations World Meteorological Organization (WMO), which is hosting the Geneva conference, said that the current strong El Nino episode, expected to persist into early 1998, had caused wetter than normal conditions over the islands of the central tropical Pacific and in Chile and Argentina, and drier than normal conditions over parts of eastern Australia and Indonesia. In Indonesia, traders say a drought linked to El Nino is already blistering coffee trees, causing fears of a reduced crop, while in the Philippines, weathermen say the phenomenon is causing rice and corn growing areas in the south to dry up. In the Ivory Coast, where rain picked up in cocoa-producing areas in mid-August, crop analysts say that if an El Nino weather pattern hitting other parts of the world brought dry weather before October, harvest potential could be cut by up to 25 percent. ^REUTER@ Date: Thu, 28 Aug 1997 07:20:26 -0400 From: allen schubert To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: (CA) Fish Bacteria May Spread to Humans Message-ID: <3.0.32.19970828072024.006e4db8@clark.net> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" from AP Wire page: ---------------------------------------- 08/28/1997 05:02 EST Fish Bacteria May Spread to Humans TORONTO (AP) -- Today's publication of a medical journal article about a new invasive bacterial infection likely will spawn more reports of the affliction, which spreads to humans cut while handling fish, researchers predict. Researchers who prepared the article, published today in The New England Journal of Medicine, documented nine cases of streptococcus iniae in Toronto-area residents. ``This is probably a new, emerging pathogen,'' said Dr. Don Low, head of microbiology at Mount Sinai and Princess Margaret hospitals. The bacterium had been known to occur in fish since the late 1970s, but it appears to have developed a new strain that can infect humans, Low said, adding that the article would make doctors around the world more aware of the bacteria, resulting in more cases of infection turning up. Infection, which results in raw, inflamed skin, occurs when a person cleaning fresh fish suffers a cut or skin puncture. Eating the fish, or handling it without incurring a wound, doesn't make a person sick. Since the article was submitted for publication, a 10th local case has been found and two people have been stricken in Vancouver. In the worst case, Low said, one man developed meningitis and a heart valve infection as a direct result of the bacteria, but all survived. Everyone affected was Asian, with the majority from the Chinese community, where it's customary to purchase live fish and clean them at home, Low said. He said a variety of fish were implicated but the freshwater tilapia, popular in the Caribbean and Far East, are most often involved, especially those bought live from stores. Date: Thu, 28 Aug 1997 07:24:16 -0400 From: allen schubert To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: (US) Rented Cows Entered in Competitions Message-ID: <3.0.32.19970828072413.006e64ec@clark.net> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" from AP Wire page: ------------------------------------ 08/28/1997 01:24 EST Rented Cows Entered in Competitions By MARY BOYLE Associated Press Writer TIMONIUM, Md. (AP) -- Sarah Sroka may seem like a typical teen, but don't look for her hanging out at the mall after school. The Millersville, Md., girl is more likely to be found grooming the 1,100-pound steer she leases from the U.S. Naval Academy dairy farm and enters in competitions at state and county fairs. ``My boyfriend thinks it's kind of weird,'' says Sarah, 16, smiling through braces. ``He's like, `You have a cow?' But I like it a lot.'' She is one of about 25 kids who pay $1 a month to rent cows, bulls and calves from the academy's 865-acre dairy farm in Gambrills, Md. Statewide, a few dozen private farmers also lease animals to urban and suburban children looking for a taste of farm life. Many of the borrowed bovines can be found this week at the Maryland State Fair, parading in front of a judge. ``You have to hold their head up and walk them slowly and clockwise in the ring,'' said Emily Yeiser, 12, of Arnold, who leases four cows. ``And washing them up good is important, too.'' Children, parents and 4-H leaders say the program is a unique opportunity to learn about animals, farms and, perhaps more importantly, responsibility and dedication. The Naval Academy, which began leasing its cows in 1992, pays for the animals' food, barn and equipment. Participants ages 8 to 18 are required to spend at least four hours a week at the barn, grooming, feeding and cleaning. But many go every day, doting on the cows as if they were the family dog or cat. ``They're oversized pets,'' said Emily, who at 5 feet, is shorter than her largest Holstein, ``Coco.'' Parents say the farm is a safe, tranquil place where children develop friendships, knowledge and goals. Emily is already considering a career as a veterinarian or farm owner. ``It's an oasis, a world apart,'' said Martha Boynton of Annapolis, whose daughter, Margaret, is a member of the Anne Arundel County 4-H Dairy Leasing Club. But a cloud looms over the future of the academy's dairy farm, which was established in 1911 to provide students with safe milk after an outbreak of typhoid fever was traced to commercial suppliers. Academy leaders have asked permission from Congress to close the farm, saying it costs more to produce the milk than to buy it from a commercial dairy. Congress has been reluctant to go along, and 4-H members and others are fighting to keep it open. ``It's a gold mine there and they don't even realize it,'' said Lee Majeskie, professor of dairy cattle management at the University of Maryland at College Park. Gail Yeiser, Emily's mother and a club volunteer, said few activities could replace the farm for the cow-crazed girls. ``It's a nice blessing,'' Ms. Yeiser said. ``If they want to go hang out somewhere, it's a farm, not a shopping mall.'' Date: Thu, 28 Aug 1997 14:35:03 +0200 From: Jordi Ninerola To: AR News Subject: French Duck Courses Message-ID: <9708281339.AA06490@blues.uab.es> MIME-version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Article published in: EL PERIDICO DE CATALUNYA (Catalan Diary) Barcelona, Wednesday 27th August of 1997 This summer, two villages of La Vendée (France) didn't make their popular courses of ducks because the french actress Brigitte Bardot stopped this shameful event. JORDI http://www.geocities.com/colosseum/loge/3128 SA385@blues.uab.Date: Thu, 28 Aug 1997 14:25:30 +0200 From: Jordi Ninerola To: AR News Subject: Brigitte Bardot and Moscow's cats and dogs Message-ID: <9708281339.AA19665@blues.uab.es> MIME-version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Article published in: EL PERIDICO DE CATALUNYA (Catalan Diary) Barcelona, Wednesday 27th August of 1997 Brigitte Bardot, a popular french actress, are fighting for save all cats and dogs that live in Moscow (Russian). Moscow's major decided kill all cats and dogs that live in the street and don't have a home. This campaign has the collaboration of Al Gore, the U.S.Vicepresident. JORDI http://www.geocities.com/colosseum/loge/31Date: Thu, 28 Aug 1997 14:32:27 +0200 From: Jordi Ninerola To: AR News Subject: Monkeys in Israel Message-ID: <9708281339.AA00139@blues.uab.es> MIME-version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Article published in: EL PERIDICO DE CATALUNYA (Catalan Diary) Barcelona, Wednesday 27th August of 1997 In Israel, many monkeys will go to torture room, because the governement of this country decided use this animal in experiments for their military project. The actress Brigitte Bardot and the Vicepresident of USA, Al Gore, fighting for save this monkeys. JORDI http://www.geocities.com/colosseum/loge/3128 SA385@blues.uab.Date: Thu, 28 Aug 1997 20:51:53 +0800 From: bunny To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: Confessions of a spreader of deadly rabbit virus(NZ) Message-ID: <1.5.4.16.19970828203455.2f37be3a@wantree.com.au> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Nightline Channel 3 News 10.30pm.- 28th August 1997(New Zealand) Calici Confession from Peter Innes (Confessions of a farmer spreading deadly Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease in New Zealand) "The method we are using here and now and have been for five or six weeks, is taking the livers and spleens and lungs out of rabbits that have died from it and mixing them with water in a blender and then putting the stuff on oats and carrots and spreading it out on the hill". The likes of Peter Innes have only come forward since they have found out they will not be prosecuted for spreading the disease. =========================================== Rabbit Information Service, P.O.Box 30, Riverton, Western Australia 6148 Email> rabbit@wantree.com.au http://www.wantree.com.au/~rabbit/rabbit.htm (Rabbit Information Service website updated frequently) /`\ /`\ (/\ \-/ /\) )6 6( >{= Y =}< /'-^-'\ (_) (_) | . | | |} jgs \_/^\_/ Date: Thu, 28 Aug 1997 08:42:56 -0400 From: Nikolas Entrup <106127.1133@compuserve.com> To: AR-NEWS Subject: Circus Info !! Message-ID: <199708280843_MC2-1E6E-1CF1@compuserve.com> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Disposition: inline Today, August 28th 1997, Dr.Karin Buechl-Krammerstaetter, the Environmental Commissioner of the City of Vienna, and Niki Entrup, consultant for the austrian animal protection organisation RespekTiere, presented two publications related to the keeping of animals in circuses to the press. 1. English Version of the Guidelines for the keeping of Wild Animals in Circuses, developed by Gsandtner, H., Pechlaner, H., Schwammer, H. on behalf of and in co-operation with the Office of the Environmental Commissioner of the City of Vienna, Austria. 2. Investigation on accidents with Circus animals by Entrup, N., Janca, C., Landgrebe, J. for the Office of the Environmental Commissioner of the City of Vienna, Austria. Ad 1.: The German version was presented about a year ago. They guidelines are not binding but discussed to become enforced in several Austrian counties. The introduction clearly states: . The literature will provide you with an overview about the situation in Austria, especially Vienna, but also lists basic requirements (minimum standards) for the keeping of wild animals in circuses. The list of species include the criteria of and . Species listed as unsuitable to be kept in circuses are: Elephants, Bears, Seals, all Cetaceans, Giraffes, Hippopotami, Rhinoceri, Big anthropoids, some other other monkey species, Ostriches, Reptiles. You can get a copy of the guideleines via: Environmental Commissioner of the City of Vienna Ms. Dr. Karin Buechl-Krammerstaetter Ersnt Happel Stadium Sector E Meiereistr.7 A-1020 Vienna Email: krk@wua.magwien.gv.at Or RespekTiere Niki Entrup P.O.Box 97 A-1172 Vienna Email: 106127.1133@compuserve.com Ad 2.: Over the last 5 months RespekTiere did an investigation in accidents with circus animals, mainly wild animals. The study covers national accidents from 1970 and provides an overview of international accidents since 1990. Today the study is only available in German (officially available from the 21st.September 1997), but soon will get translated into English. The study covers in total 102 cases. 32 cases are documented by the authors in Austria since 1970 (6 within the last one and a half years). 70 cases are documented by the authors internationally since 1990. Many thanks to AR-NEWS and a lot of organisations being of assistance in collecting information on this important issue! Hope this work will cause further public discussion on this issue which results in the prohibition of wild animals in circuses. Cheers Niki Entrup RespekTiere P.O.Box 97 A - 1172 Vienna Email: 106127.1133@compuserve.com Date: Thu, 28 Aug 1997 08:42:56 -0400 From: Nikolas Entrup <106127.1133@compuserve.com> To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: Circus Info !! Message-ID: <199708281250.IAA14523@envirolink.org> Today, August 28th 1997, Dr.Karin Buechl-Krammerstaetter, the Environmental Commissioner of the City of Vienna, and Niki Entrup, consultant for the austrian animal protection organisation RespekTiere, presented two publications related to the keeping of animals in circuses to the press. 1. English Version of the Guidelines for the keeping of Wild Animals in Circuses, developed by Gsandtner, H., Pechlaner, H., Schwammer, H. on behalf of and in co-operation with the Office of the Environmental Commissioner of the City of Vienna, Austria. 2. Investigation on accidents with Circus animals by Entrup, N., Janca, C=2E, Landgrebe, J. for the Office of the Environmental Commissioner of the City of Vienna, Austria. Ad 1.: The German version was presented about a year ago. They guidelines are not binding but discussed to become enforced in several Austrian counties. The introduction clearly states: . The literature will provide you with an overview about the situation in Austria, especially Vienna, but also lists basic requirements (minimum standards) for the keeping of wild animals in circuses. The list of species include the criteria of and . Species listed as unsuitable to be kept in circuses are: Elephants, Bears, Seals, all Cetaceans, Giraffes, Hippopotami, Rhinoceri, Big anthropoids, some other other monkey species, Ostriches, Reptiles. You can get a copy of the guideleines via: Environmental Commissioner of the City of Vienna Ms. Dr. Karin Buechl-Krammerstaetter Ersnt Happel Stadium Sector E Meiereistr.7 A-1020 Vienna Email: krk@wua.magwien.gv.at Or RespekTiere Niki Entrup P.O.Box 97 A-1172 Vienna Email: 106127.1133@compuserve.com Ad 2.: Over the last 5 months RespekTiere did an investigation in accidents with circus animals, mainly wild animals. The study covers national accidents from 1970 and provides an overview of international accidents since 1990. Today the study is only available in German (officially available from the 21st.September 1997), but soon will get translated into English. The study covers in total 102 cases. 32 cases are documented by the authors in Austria since 1970 (6 within the last one and a half years). 70 cases are documented by the authors internationally since 1990. Many thanks to AR-NEWS and a lot of organisations being of assistance in collecting information on this important issue! Hope this work will cause further public discussion on this issue which results in the prohibition of wild animals in circuses. Cheers Niki Entrup RespekTiere P.O.Box 97 A - 1172 Vienna Email: 106127.1133@compuserve.com Circus Info !! Date: Thu, 28 Aug 1997 09:27:46 -0700 From: Hillary To: "ar-news@envirolink.org" Subject: Condemned Meat Sold (US) Message-ID: <3.0.32.19970828092744.006a949c@pop01.ny.us.ibm.net> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Weird article--it's condemned, but still fit for pets?? c The Associated Press LONDON (AP) - It's enough to make a person turn vegetarian. Some 1,440 tons of British poultry meat certified as fit only for pet food were sold for human consumption, The Mirror reported Tuesday. The London daily said the chicken and turkey breasts dumped at rendering plants for pet food were recycled by rogue dealers and ended up on the shelves of two British supermarket chains. Trials will start next month of 37 people - butchers, meat dealers and brokers - allegedly involved in the racket that went on from early 1995 to the end of last year, the newspaper said. The trade was stopped after a tipoff to food safety authorities. The Mirror said the rogue poultry dealers are believed to have used hoses and salt baths to clean up the poultry meat, which was almost certainly rife with disease. The newspaper said the supermarket chains Kwik Save and Netto were duped into stocking the meat, and it was also sold to old people's homes and restaurants. Britain has been plagued by food scandals in recent years. Last year, the European Union banned British beef exports after the government announced that beef contaminated with mad cow disease was the most likely cause of a new deadly strain of Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease in humans. To edit your profile, go to keyword NewsProfiles. For all of today's news, go to keyword News. Date: Thu, 28 Aug 1997 09:29:03 -0700 From: Hillary To: "ar-news@envirolink.org" Subject: Wintour does it again Message-ID: <3.0.32.19970828092859.006a949c@pop01.ny.us.ibm.net> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" NEW YORK, Aug. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- In the September special fall fashion issue of VOGUE, Editor in Chief Anna Wintour writes, "Fashion is more vibrant today than ever, offering more choices -- most of which are wearable, some of which are, admittedly, simply inspirational." With that in mind, VOGUE announces its annual round-up of the most essential fashion stories of the fall season. 1. Fur Trim -- The shock of fur is back. This time adding the subtlest expression of luxury to everything from sporty jackets to accessories. 2. Leather: Aggressive, edgy, and sexy -- Leather is fashion's most powerful new look. Its diverse styles and colors can be found in suits as well as jackets, pants, and a myriad of accessories. 3. Slouchy Suit -- Slouchy is chic again as evidenced by fall's new lines of loosely tailored jackets and baggy trousers. 4. Beaded evening dresses and shoes -- Beading lends an ethereal elegance to evening dresses and shoes. 5. Jewelry -- Diamonds, faux or the genuine article, are the most ubiquitous decorative wear this fall. 6. Stilettos -- Sky-high heels mark the season's story in footwear. 7. Knee-High boots -- State-of-the-art knee-highs come in many styles, from cognac-colored leather to chrome-and-crocodile. Knee-highs prove to be the essential accessory when it comes to balancing a man-tailored jacket and trousers or flirty suit. 8. Long Coats -- The best new coats are cut long and combine menswear fabric, curves, and pretty colors. The results are romantic, sexy, and a touch foppish. 9. Cross-Dressing -- No longer one mood, one idea; it's the mix that matters in today's fashion. Man-tailored coats are safe to wear over sexy slip dresses, masculine suits, and beaded evening wear. 10. Red/Orange Lipstick and Nails -- Bright, sexy, energetic colors are back in beauty. For lips and nails this season, think cherry and orange. Date: Thu, 28 Aug 1997 09:37:08 -0700 From: Hillary To: "ar-news@envirolink.org" Subject: Kibbutz monkey breeding Message-ID: <3.0.32.19970828093705.006d1be4@pop01.ny.us.ibm.net> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" KIBBUTZ TO BREED MONKEYS FOR CHEMICAL WARFARE TESTING .c The Associated Press JERUSALEM (AP) - An Israeli kibbutz that had planned to breed monkeys for animal experiments delayed the project Monday because of pressure from animal rights groups and residents. Kibbutz Or Haner in southern Israel had originally expected to receive the first few dozen primates from an American company this week, but now intends to delay their arrival for at least two weeks, said Nir Ben Israel, a member of the kibbutz secretariat. ``We have decided to talk it over with the kibbutz members, and we will hear doctors who are both for and against,'' he told The Associated Press. ``We will discuss things now without pressure.'' The Yediot Ahronot daily reported that the animals might be tested to see the effects of chemical warfare. Animal rights groups reacted angrily to the kibbutz's plans. Spokeswoman Etty Altman of Let The Animals Live said the group would write to Vice President Al Gore and French animal rights activist Brigitte Bardot to draw their attention to the kibbutz' plans. ``We have enough problems in this country without bringing in monkeys to torture,'' she said. Date: Thu, 28 Aug 1997 09:38:22 -0700 From: Hillary To: "ar-news@envirolink.org" Subject: Beef trying to rebound Message-ID: <3.0.32.19970828093820.006c1488@pop01.ny.us.ibm.net> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" c The Associated Press By KATIE FAIRBANK DALLAS (AP) - Consumers are looking a little closer at meat these days following another E. coli outbreak and cattle ranchers are hoping Americans' love of beef will last through this latest contamination scare. Mad cow disease, which hasn't been reported in the United States, previous warnings about E. coli and years of hearing nutritionists warn against too much red meat have many shying away from beef already. ``I was in the grocery store the other day and didn't buy any hamburger. I thought why not just wait awhile,'' said Cameron Tyler of Boulder, Colo. A poll conducted for Newsweek magazine last week as the E. coli outbreak was getting wide attention found that 41 percent of those polled less likely to purchase hamburger at grocery stores, and 54 percent less likely to buy hamburgers at fast-food restaurants. Many cattle ranchers agree that the highly publicized outbreaks could wind up diminishing American's appetite for beef. ``The stigma is always a concern,'' said Texas rancher Chaunce Thompson, a past president of the Texas and Southwest Cattle Raisers Association. ``But I feel like the American people are smart enough to realize these are very isolated incidents.'' During an E. coli outbreak in 1993 that sickened more than 500 hamburger eaters and killed three children, consumers turned their backs on beef. Consumption bottomed out at 61.6 pounds per person, according to the National Cattlemen's Beef Association. The beef industry, which has struggled to hold its market share over pork and poultry in recent years, has become highly sensitive to reports of contamination and are hopeful the same thing won't happen this time around. Reaction has been less this time around. Livestock futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange hovered around 69.85 cents a pound before the USDA's recall on Aug. 18, when they plummeted to 66.42 cents a pound. The prices have been creeping back upward since. ``I think that consumers are used to hearing about once a week about a food scare. We've heard, `don't eat chicken, don't drink water, don't eat strawberries, don't eat apples','' said Lisa Williams, a spokesman for the Texas Beef Council. ``Of course we're concerned about the recent E. coli outbreak, but we think consumers are starting to understand.'' The Newsweek poll of 501 adults was taken Friday and has a margin of error of plus or minus five percentage points. It found that 51 percent of respondents in recent days had decided to avoid certain foods or were being more careful about handling and preparing food. Some consumers say they've heard so many warnings about their food they've tuned them out, deciding to enjoy a meal and take their chances. ``I've been around a long time, and people have banned everything at some point. When I want a hamburger, I'm going to order it. I just don't let it bother me,'' said Charlie Hurwitz, 85, a retired New York banker, who ate two plain hamburgers for lunch on Monday. Date: Thu, 28 Aug 1997 09:40:10 -0700 From: Hillary To: "ar-news@envirolink.org" Subject: KimB and Animal Rights Message-ID: <3.0.32.19970828094003.006c1488@pop01.ny.us.ibm.net> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" .c The Associated Press ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - Kim Basinger and an animal rights group are trying to have the exhibitor's license of a circus revoked after an elephant died in a sweltering trailer. Saying, ``How much more evidence will suffering animals have to endure,'' the actress held a news conference Tuesday to demand that the U.S. Department of Agriculture revoke the license of the King Royal Circus. A judge granted the city temporary custody of two elephants and eight llamas found Aug. 6 with the body of a third elephant, Heather, in a hot, poorly ventilated trailer here. Evidence suggested that the King Royal Circus, based in Texas, mistreated the animals, leading to Heather's death, said state District Judge Susan Conway. Two of the zoo's handlers were charged with animal cruelty. A week ago, the USDA suspended King Royal's license for 21 days. Date: Thu, 28 Aug 97 08:31:38 UTC From: SDURBIN@VM.TULSA.CC.OK.US To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: How to Get Meatless Meals in the Hospital Message-ID: <199708281336.JAA20380@envirolink.org> (Parts from "Vegetarian Times" magazine): The first challenge is to get the hospital staff to understand your dietary needs. Once you're over that hurdle, there are usually only a few non-meat options, which usually have cheese in them. If at all possible, you may consider having surgery at one of the 80+ Seventh-Day Adventist (SDA) hospitals around the country; look for a surgeon with admitting privileges. This Christian religion encourages its members to follow a vegetarian diet, which is the standard bill of fare at SDA hospitals. If you have to go to a hospital other than one operated by SDA, Tricia Middaugh, R.D., offers this advice: * If the surgery is elective, call the hospital in advance and speak with the director of nutrition services or someone in the patient advocate's office. Ask this person to read or mail you a copy of the vegetarian offerings so that you can pick your meals in advance. * Talk to your attending physician. Your doctor has the final word on what you eat. * State plainly that you don't want meat-based broths or gelatin. Fruit juices will do just as well on a clear liquid diet. * Expect mistakes. The first meal often slips through the cracks. You have the right to ask for something else. * Following an emergency admission, tell your needs to whomever attends you at bedside. If you're unable to speak, a friend or relative should make the request for you. -- Sherrill Date: Thu, 28 Aug 1997 22:22:38 +0800 From: bunny To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: NZ Ministry of Agriculture current news releases-Deadly rabbit virus - illegal spread Message-ID: <1.5.4.16.19970828220540.22d7175a@wantree.com.au> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" For all the latest news releases including those listed below direct from New Zealand Ministry of Agriculture on the illegal spread of the deadly killer rabbit virus the website address is http://www.maf.govt.nz/MAFnet/Press/rcdmedia.htm 28-08-97 Restricted Place Notices to be Lifted; Controlled Area to Remain 28-08-97 RCD Positives Recorded in Twizel and Maniototo. 27-08-97 More RCD Positives Within Controlled Area 26-08-97 RCD Confirmed in South Island 26-08-97 RCD Vaccine Information 19-08-97 Director-General of Agriculture Says Review of RCD Decision "Unwarranted" 02-07-97 RCD Decision Announced 18-04-97 RCD Reviewers' Reports receive 102 Responses =========================================== Rabbit Information Service, P.O.Box 30, Riverton, Western Australia 6148 Email> rabbit@wantree.com.au http://www.wantree.com.au/~rabbit/rabbit.htm (Rabbit Information Service website updated frequently) /`\ /`\ (/\ \-/ /\) )6 6( >{= Y =}< /'-^-'\ (_) (_) | . | | |} jgs \_/^\_/ Date: Thu, 28 Aug 1997 16:15:00 +0200 From: Jordi Ninerola To: AR News Subject: In Memorian of Islote Message-ID: <9708281519.AA01616@blues.uab.es> MIME-version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Barcelona, Catalan Countries, SPAIN: Today is the fifty birthday of Manolete's dead. Manolete was a bullfighter that live in 50's years and became very famous in Spain. Today many TV programs in TVE(Spanish Public Television), Canal + España, Antena3 and Tele5 remenber this event. We want remember Islote and protest for this event. Islote was the bull that in own defense kill Manolete, in Spain and in Spanish TV Islote are considering a killer bull. Islote died when Manolete attack with her sword, but Islote only defended her live. For this, this mail was in Islote's Memorian and for the all bulls that die in Bullfighter's hands. JORDI http://www.geocities.com/colosseum/loge/3128 SA385@blues.uab.Date: Thu, 28 Aug 1997 09:50:43 -0500 From: "Knasinski, Joseph" To: "'ar-news@envirolink.org'" Subject: Snake designated protected species in Wisconsin Message-ID: Good news: The timber rattlesnake in Wisconsin has been designated as a protected wild animal. Now the rare viper can only be killed in self-defense according to the state Natural Resources board. Recent surveys revealed only 12 of 34 known dens actually had snakes, and only 57 snakes were counted in the survey. The timber rattlesnake population has been declining in Wisconsin due to hunting. The heads and rattles were sold throughout the U.S. and overseas. The snakes are not a threat to humans as some people have worried. In Wisconsin only 4 people have been bitten by the rattlesnake since 1982 and only one human death has ever been attributed to the rattlesnake in this state. Recently more hunters have been coming into Wisconsin to kill this snake since neighboring states of Minnesota and Illinois already listed the snake as a threatened species. Hopefully, now the laws will be enforced and the timber rattler will be left alone. Joseph Knasinski joseph.knasinski@software.rockwell.com "It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity." - Albert Einstein (1879-1955) Date: Thu, 28 Aug 97 09:51:02 PDT From: "bhgazette" To: "AR News" Subject: Fw: Status Report On Olivia (Cat Set On Fire) Message-ID: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="ISO-8859-1"; X-MAPIextension=".TXT" ---------- > Date: Wednesday, August 27, 1997 23:39:34 > From: Nyppsi > To: Nyppsi > Cc: Dachs3Nite@aol.com; Kyrlrra@aol.com; Manheim, Lynn; MJFox22@aol.com; > NLCarter78@aol.com; ParrotsLUV@aol.com; Shasta21@aol.com; > sniksnak@catlover.com; SolitaireK@aol.com; XREY91@aol.com > Subject: Status Report On Olivia (Cat Set On Fire) > > > HART OnLine RescueLine > > To All: > > Below is a current status on Olivia, the cat who was set on fire by two > Indiana University students. > > Dick Weavil > nyppsi@aol.com/RezQ1@aol.com > ================================================= > QUOTE: > > >From lesdavis@indiana.edu Fri Aug 22 11:14:20 1997 > Date: Fri, 22 Aug 1997 10:37:52 -0500 (EST) > Subject: Update from Olivia's mom > > Dear Supporters of Olivia, > > It has been a long road for the sweetest of all pets and it is going to > continue to be a long one. Olivia has been in the hospital for three weeks > now and it could be another three or more before (fingers crossed) she comes > home. Her burns are beginning to heal as they should--what's called a > "granulation bed", which is impervious to infection, is forming and new skin > can now grow over it. That's happening in several areas but she will still > need skin grafts in others. She will also need reconstructive surgery on her > equivalents of achilles tendons, as they were basically burned away. She will > lose her tail and the tops of her ears as well. She will look beautiful to me > no matter what happens. I am not too sure about how much fur she will get > back, though it seems she will only be partially naked. Her general health > continues to be fair--no > kidney failure or skin infection, thankfully. She had a brief bout with mild > pneumonia which has thankfully cleared up. Most days when I visit her she is > pretty out of it--a combination of drugs as well as overall discomfort. Every > once in a while, however, she is perky and affectionate and wants to be > touched. This kind of behavior is rather rare, which is understandable seeing > as it must be incredibly uncomfortable for her to even live inside her skin, > much less have someone else apply pressure to it. Olivia gets her nutrition > through an esophogeal tube, which she does not appreciate too much. However, > without it, she would not be able to get nearly enough nutrition to keep her > afloat. She has always been a picky eater but we hope we can get her to start > going for some tuna in the near future. That's about all the news on her > condition. The vets consider her status "poor but stable" (which is up from > "critical but stable"). > > In legislative news, Rep. Mark Kruzan has been in touch and he is in the > thick of drafting a bill to make animal abuse a felony in Indiana. He is > definitely on top of > things and will have something available for review within a month (I'll be > sure to keep everyone posted). > > As for Case and Rouch, I am not getting much on the status of the case or > trial dates from the prosecutor's office. If I don't hear something form them > soon after my > repeated calls, I will probably put a lawyer on it. > > That's the news for now and come back for more as I will send updates > regularly. > > Keep up the fight and thank you, > > Lesley > > UNQUOTE > > Date: Thu, 28 Aug 97 09:51:02 PDT From: "bhgazette" To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: Fw: Status Report On Olivia (Cat Set On Fire) Message-ID: <199708281501.LAA00448@envirolink.org> ---------- > Date: Wednesday, August 27, 1997 23:39:34 > From: Nyppsi > To: Nyppsi > Cc: Dachs3Nite@aol.com; Kyrlrra@aol.com; Manheim, Lynn; MJFox22@aol.com; > NLCarter78@aol.com; ParrotsLUV@aol.com; Shasta21@aol.com; > sniksnak@catlover.com; SolitaireK@aol.com; XREY91@aol.com > Subject: Status Report On Olivia (Cat Set On Fire) > > > HART OnLine RescueLine > > To All: > > Below is a current status on Olivia, the cat who was set on fire by two > Indiana University students. > > Dick Weavil > nyppsi@aol.com/RezQ1@aol.com > ================================================= > QUOTE: > > >From lesdavis@indiana.edu Fri Aug 22 11:14:20 1997 > Date: Fri, 22 Aug 1997 10:37:52 -0500 (EST) > Subject: Update from Olivia's mom > > Dear Supporters of Olivia, > > It has been a long road for the sweetest of all pets and it is going to > continue to be a long one. Olivia has been in the hospital for three weeks > now and it could be another three or more before (fingers crossed) she comes > home. Her burns are beginning to heal as they should--what's called a > "granulation bed", which is impervious to infection, is forming and new skin > can now grow over it. That's happening in several areas but she will still > need skin grafts in others. She will also need reconstructive surgery on her > equivalents of achilles tendons, as they were basically burned away. She will > lose her tail and the tops of her ears as well. She will look beautiful to me > no matter what happens. I am not too sure about how much fur she will get > back, though it seems she will only be partially naked. Her general health > continues to be fair--no > kidney failure or skin infection, thankfully. She had a brief bout with mild > pneumonia which has thankfully cleared up. Most days when I visit her she is > pretty out of it--a combination of drugs as well as overall discomfort. Every > once in a while, however, she is perky and affectionate and wants to be > touched. This kind of behavior is rather rare, which is understandable seeing > as it must be incredibly uncomfortable for her to even live inside her skin, > much less have someone else apply pressure to it. Olivia gets her nutrition > through an esophogeal tube, which she does not appreciate too much. However, > without it, she would not be able to get nearly enough nutrition to keep her > afloat. She has always been a picky eater but we hope we can get her to start > going for some tuna in the near future. That's about all the news on her > condition. The vets consider her status "poor but stable" (which is up from > "critical but stable"). > > In legislative news, Rep. Mark Kruzan has been in touch and he is in the > thick of drafting a bill to make animal abuse a felony in Indiana. He is > definitely on top of > things and will have something available for review within a month (I'll be > sure to keep everyone posted). > > As for Case and Rouch, I am not getting much on the status of the case or > trial dates from the prosecutor's office. If I don't hear something form them > soon after my > repeated calls, I will probably put a lawyer on it. > > That's the news for now and come back for more as I will send updates > regularly. > > Keep up the fight and thank you, > > Lesley > > UNQUOTE > > Fw: Status Report On Olivia (Cat Set On Fire) Date: Thu, 28 Aug 1997 08:11:33 -0700 (PDT) From: Mike Markarian To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: Number of Anglers, Hunters Message-ID: <2.2.16.19970828115452.2b8ff11c@pop.igc.org> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" >From the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: > >August 27, 1997 Hugh Vickery 202-208-5634 > > NUMBER OF ANGLERS FALLS SLIGHTLY IN 1996; HUNTER NUMBERS STABLE > >The number of anglers who bought fishing licenses fell by just >over 1 percent in 1996 while the number of hunters who purchased >licenses remained constant, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service >announced today. > >There were 29.9 million paid fishing licenses holders in 1996 >compared with 30.3 million in 1995. These anglers paid >$447 million for their licenses compared with $448.6 million in >1995. Meanwhile, 15.2 million hunters bought licenses in 1996, >the same as the year before. They spent $542.8 million on the >licenses, $10.2 million more than in 1995. > >Revenues raised through license sales support state wildlife >agencies, their conservation projects, and their hunting and >fishing safety and education programs. > >"Through license sales alone, hunters and anglers contribute >nearly $1 billion a year to wildlife conservation," said Service >Director Jamie Rappaport Clark. "That is money that doesn't come >from general tax revenue, yet it benefits every American by >promoting both a healthy environment and healthy wildlife. > >"This money doesn't even count the hundreds of millions of >dollars sportsmen and -women contribute through excise taxes on >hunting and fishing equipment and through membership in and >donations to non-profit conservation organizations." > >License sales figures are compiled annually by the U.S. Fish and >Wildlife Service from information submitted by state fish and >wildlife agencies. The figures are part of a formula to >determine the amount of funding each state receives through the >Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration and the Federal Aid in Sport >Fish Restoration programs, both administered by the Service. > >Under these programs, hunters and anglers pay an excise tax on >hunting and fishing equipment such as firearms, ammunition, and >tackle. The money is, in turn, distributed to the states in the >form of grants to conserve wildlife; teach hunter safety; and >provide fishing, hunting, and boating opportunities. > >The number of hunting license holders has declined from a record >high of 16.7 million in 1982. Meanwhile, the number of fishing >license holders has been about the same during that time. > >The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal Federal >agency responsible for conserving, protecting, and enhancing fish >and wildlife and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the >American people. The Service manages 511 national wildlife >refuges encompassing 92 million acres, as well as 68 national >fish hatcheries. > >The agency also enforces Federal wildlife laws, manages migratory >bird populations, stocks recreational fisheries, conserves and >restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, administers the >Endangered Species Act, and helps foreign governments with their >conservation efforts. > > -FWS- > >Editor's Note: A state-by-state breakdown is available from the Office of Media >Services, 202-208-5634. > > > Date: Thu, 28 Aug 1997 12:03:23 +0000 From: Liz Grayson To: ar-news Subject: Mosquitoes Carrying Encephalitis Found Message-ID: <3405690A.72D0@earthlink.net> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit August 28, 1997 Mosquitoes Carrying Encephalitis Found on Long Island By JOHN T. McQUISTON AUPPAUGE, N.Y. -- For the first time this summer, health officials in Suffolk County have found mosquitoes carrying the deadly Eastern equine encephalitis virus. Last year, an infestation of mosquitoes carrying the virus forced a delay in the opening of some schools, the closing of parks and extensive spraying of infested coastal areas of Long Island, Connecticut and Rhode Island. So far this year, no mosquitoes infected with the virus have been trapped in Connecticut or Rhode Island or in Nassau County, health officials said Wednesday. Suffolk officials said the mosquitoes carrying the virus were found in Connetquot State Park and do not appear to pose a risk to humans. They said they were conducting further tests to determine whether to close the park. But Dr. Mahfouz H. Zaki, the county's director of public health, warned, "If the mosquitoes are around, the virus could be around, too. We don't want to take any chances." He advised people to avoid exposure to mosquitoes during their active periods at dusk and dawn, to wear long-sleeved shirts and long pants and to use insect repellant. The virus causes a rare form of encephalitis, which inflames the brain and tissues lining the brain, said Dr. Clare B. Bradley, acting commissioner of the Suffolk County Health Services Department. She said the mosquitoes involved in recent tests on Long Island were of a species that usually bite birds and animals. She also said the risk of transmission of the disease to humans was extremely low. In neighboring Nassau County, health officials said a combination of this summer's relatively dry weather and the county's antimosquito program had nearly eliminated the mosquito problem this year. "We've caught so few mosquitoes in our traps, there aren't enough to send off to be tested," said Cynthia Brown, a spokeswoman for the Nassau Health Department. There have been no reported clinical cases of the virus among humans or horses on Long Island or in Connecticut or Rhode Island, officials said. For humans, the symptoms of the illness are high fever, stiff necks, headache and swelling of the brain. There is no effective treatment, and the mortality rate is a 30 percent. Of those who survive infection, 50 percent suffer long-term nervous system damage. Date: Thu, 28 Aug 1997 10:03:52 -0700 (PDT) From: civillib@cwnet.com To: MikeM@fund.org, ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: MIKE: RE: HIGINS Message-ID: <199708281703.KAA27852@borg.cwnet.com> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Hi Mike, Hope you're doing OK. Brett Wyker has asked me to issue, in an hour or so, a news release re: his and Dawn's sentencing at Hegins (Friday, 9:30 a.m.). Are you issuing anything (trying to avoid inundating these media, or then again, maybe we should)? Also, do you have a "media" list, if there is one, for the Hegins area? If so, please email or fax to me, if you can, at this address (fax: 916/454-6150). Thanks, and thanks again for the old media books. I've given you bigtime credit for that - it has really helped grassroots groups looking for numbers (which I've passed on thanks to your old books). See ya, cres P.S. I'd planned to be in Hegins, but like a complete idiot, started law school last week (right, my 4th careeer behind news reporter, advertising exec and animal rights activist....what AM I thinking, huh?). Date: Thu, 28 Aug 1997 14:56:26 -0400 From: Shirley McGreal To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: University of Wisconsim scandal, Part 1 Message-ID: <1.5.4.32.19970828185626.006f695c@awod.com> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" UW reports cash from zoo monkey sales by: Scott Russell, The Capital Times, Madison, August 25 The University of Wisconsin Primate Research Center made between $200,000 and $275,000 by selling off monkeys from Henry Vilas Zoo for research, according to data released Friday by the university. Of the 110 monkeys sold over an eight-year period, 42 monkeys went to government agencies or outside universities, such as Harvard or East Carolina University. Another 35 monkeys were sold to private pharmaceutical companies, such as Hazleton Laboratories in Madison. The other 33 monkeys were used by UW-Madison researchers. In June 1989, the primate center entered into an agreement with the zoo that none of the zoo monkeys would be used for invasive research. University officials have not disclosed the fate of the monkeys that were sold to other institutions. Pharmaceutical labs in all likelihood tested the monkeys with drugs. The zoo monkeys sold for between $1,800 and $2,600 each, depending on their age, their reproduction potential and their history, according to information released Friday by the UW-Madison. On Aug. 11, after reports in The Capital Times, Graduate School Dean Virginia Hinshaw stopped any further assignment of monkeys from the zoo colony to invasive reasearch. One UW-Madison project that used zoo monkeys evaluated the effectiveness of a new medication for osteoporosis, the brittle-bone disease linked to calcium deficiency. The monkeys provided one way to test for the safety of the drug for human use. Drug company Ciba-Giegy paid nearly $1 million for the 32 month study, which used 56 (58, fax not clear) monkeys in all. Of those, 12 were monkeys from the zoo, including four monkeys that were covered by the no-invasive-research agreement. Of the 12 zoo monkeys used in the project, 10 were euthanized during the research. The other two died after the project ended. Here's where the monkeys went: Hazleton Laboratories, 10; East Carolina University,15; Baxter-Travenol, 15; UW-Madison Harlow Primate Lab, 14; UW-Madison Clinical Sciences Center, 12. National Institutes of Health-Poolesville, 9; Boston University, 4; University of Pittsburgh, 4; UW-Madison Department of Psychology, 3; UW-Madison Medical School, 2; Harvard University, 2. University of Iowa, 2; University of Minnesota, 2; Vanderbilt University, 2; Walsman Center, 2; University of South Dakota,1; University of Nebraska, 1. The money generated by the sale of the monkeys went into the center's cost recovery account, which augments a grant from the National Institutes of Health. The majority of the money for that grant pays for animal services such as food, housing and care for the animals. Dr. Shirley McGreal, Chairwoman, International Primate Protection League POB 766 Summerville SC 29484 USA Phone: 803-871-2280 Fax: 803-871-7988 Note new web page address: http://www.ippl.org/ PLEASE DIRECT ALL E-MAIL TO IPPL@AWOD.COM Date: Thu, 28 Aug 1997 15:02:16 -0400 From: Shirley McGreal To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: University of Wisconsin scandal, Part 2 Message-ID: <1.5.4.32.19970828190216.0075ce78@awod.com> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Primate ex-chief: Don't blame me by: Jason Shepard, The Capitol Times, Weekend of Aug 16-17,1997 John Hearn, the former director of the UW Primate Research Center who university officials have said is most responsible for the zoo monkey fiasco, insists he never authorized the killing of dozens of monkeys in invasive research projects. Hearn, who resigned last year after failing to report a sexual relationship with a subordinate, released a statement from Geneva, Switzerland, in which he denied any involvement in the improper use of monkeys over the past eight years at the UW. He said he was "distressed to receive this information" via e-mail from former campus colleagues. After The Capitol Times reported the abuses last week, UW officials laid ultimate responsibility and blame for the debacle on Hearn. In his statement, Hearn said: "I must state categorically that I did not authorize, verbally or in writing (nor was I requested to so do), any animal assignment that would have been inappropriate or which contravened our voluntary agreement with Henry Vilas Zoo." The agreement he refers to is a longstanding ban on using zoo, monkeys for invasive research. Hearn said he would be pleased to help the UW uncover how the zoo monkeys came to be used improperly. "I do not have any details, but I will cooperate completely with the University of Wisconsin to clarify this matter," he said. The issue of how the UW dealt with the zoo monkeys is not a question of the ethical treatment of animals, but whether the primate center has shown integrity in standing by its agreements. Reacting to Hearn's statement Friday night, Virginia Hinshaw, dean of the UW-Madison Graduate School, said she had no need to talk to Hearn about the situation. But Hinshaw, who blamed Hearn, now says she wants to move forward. She said she is not going to focus on how and why the monkeys have been killed over the past eight years. "There are just so many people who have come and gone, I am not focusing on where to allocate responsibility," she said. Lester Pines, Hearn's attorney in Madison, said Friday night that when Hearn heard about the controversy, he felt a need to respond. "Professor Hearn is an extremely prominent primatologist and this is a matter of very deep concern to him. He wants to make sure the record is very clear that he did not authorize this," Pines said. The controversy arose after The Capitol Times reported last week that zoo monkeys were being used for AIDS studies, in violation of a 1989 agreement between the UW and the zoo. Instead of detailing how the policy broke down over the past eight years, Hinshaw said she has made it clear that no more zoo monkeys will be used in invasive research. Initially, officials at the Wisconsin Regional Primate Research Center here said only two or four monkeys were used. However, an investigation by Hinshaw found that 65 monkeys born at the zoo were used in invasive research since 1989. Of those, 39 have died and 26 are still part of studies. An additional 26 monkeys were killed for their tissues and organs, and another 110 were sold to outside research facilities, where their fate is not known. In interviews, scientists at the primate center who used the zoo monkeys said they were unaware they were conducting research that was improper according to the UW's agreement with the zoo. But the interim director of the center, Joe Kemnitz, said detailed records were kept on the monkeys so that any scientist would know their orgin. The idea of using zoo monkeys in research became an issue in 1989, prompting zoo and UW officials to draw up the agreement stating that monkeys on display at the zoo would be used for observational research and as an educational tool for the public. The agreement, confirmed in writing again in 1990 and 1995, stated that no invasive studies - in which monkeys are harmed or killed, or their lives altered - would be conducted. Any exceptions were to be discussed with the zoo director. Zoo Director David Hall said that happened only once, regarding two genetically unique monkeys. Hinshaw maintained Friday that it was not important to hold anyone accountable for what happened to the monkeys. "There are a lot of factors that go into accountability, and trying to focus on a few individuals is not apparopriate to me. It's just not that black and white," Hinshaw said. When pressed, she said she was upset to be bothered by a reporter at home on a Friday night. Hinshaw said the first she knew of the improper use of zoo monkeys was when she read The Capitol Times last Saturday. No one at the primate center, she said, had ever brought the issue to her attention. Dr. Shirley McGreal, Chairwoman, International Primate Protection League POB 766 Summerville SC 29484 USA Phone: 803-871-2280 Fax: 803-871-7988 Note new web page address: http://www.ippl.org/ PLEASE DIRECT ALL E-MAIL TO IPPL@AWOD.COM Date: Thu, 28 Aug 1997 15:06:29 -0400 From: Shirley McGreal To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: Wisconsin scandal, Part 3, worthy of National Enquirer! Message-ID: <1.5.4.32.19970828190629.00714608@awod.com> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Primate center ex-chief came under fire for huge phone bills by: Scott Russell, The Capital Times The National Institutes of Health alerted the UW-Madison that the former director of the UW primate center appeared to have wrongfully billed $40,000 to $60,000 for phone calls, many of them to Thailand, according to confidential documents obtained by The Capital Times. John Hearn, who resigned as director of the Wisconsin Regional Primate Research Center in Augjust 1996, apparently used grant funds to call a woman who was both one of his employees and a lover, according to correspondence from University of Wisconsin-Madison Graduate School Dean Virginia Hinshaw to Chancellor David Ward. Hearn eventually agreed to pay $3,000 in full settlement of the phone bill issue, although the agreement specifies that Hearn admitted to no wrong doing by making the payment. In return for the payment and Hearn's departure, the UW agreed it would conduct no futher investigation into the matter. It's the latest wrinkle in Hearn's resignation. When Hearn stepped down, he said he had achieved his administrative goals. But news broke in June that he was forced to resign because he failed to report his romantic relationship with the female employee to UW officials, a violation of university policy. Hinshaw wrote Ward Aug. 27, 1996, to outline the charges against Hearn. Amoung them were the allegations about the phone bills. "I have recently become aware of allegations of possible financial improprieties and misuse of NIH funds by Professor Hearn in his work at the primate center," Hinshaw wrote, "On July 18, 1996, the university's internal auditor was notified by the NIH of concerns over possible inappropriate charges to Professor Hearn's grant for approximately $40,000-$60,000 in long-distance phone calls." Many of the questionable calls were to Thailand, Hinshaw wrote. AT&T charges $1.27 a minute to call Thailand during its off-peak hours; $40,000 would buy 500 hours. Hearn had developed a cooperative research project with a professor in Thailand, an effort to develop a male contraceptive. The woman he was dating was also conducting research in Thailand. In an Aug. 29 letter to Ward, Hearn admitted to the relationship with the female employee, but he denied the inappropriate phone use. Dr. Shirley McGreal, Chairwoman, International Primate Protection League POB 766 Summerville SC 29484 USA Phone: 803-871-2280 Fax: 803-871-7988 Note new web page address: http://www.ippl.org/ PLEASE DIRECT ALL E-MAIL TO IPPL@AWOD.COM Date: Thu, 28 Aug 1997 15:12:33 -0400 From: Shirley McGreal To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: Wisconsin monkey scandal, Part 4, the Cover-up Message-ID: <1.5.4.32.19970828191233.0073301c@awod.com> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Dean told of monkey violations last year by: Jason Shepard, The Capital Times, Madison WI. Virginia Hinshaw, dean of the UW Graduate School, was told in a letter more than a year ago about improper research on zoo monkeys, but she says she doesn't remember receiving the information. A UW-Madison scientist who worked with monkeys at the Henry Vilas Zoo informed Hinshaw 15 months ago that the university was violating an agreement with the zoo that scientists at the university's Primate Research Center would not use zoo monkeys in harmful research. Hinshaw admitted Monday that she was told about the policy violations in May 1996 but did not investigate the matter. Sources close to the center say officals are engaging in a cover-up to protect those responsible for longstanding policy violations. Meanwhile, University of Wisconsin Provost John Wiley expressed confidence Monday in Hinshaw's efforts to put the controversy to rest. Hinshaw said she did not investigate the use of zoo monkeys because it was one paragraph in a multi-page letter and at that time was not a pressing issue. The letter was written by Dr. Kim Bauers, an assistant scientist who used the monkeys at the zoo for her research on behavior and genetic relatedness. She also conducted some of her research in Thailand and was there when she wrote the letter. Bauers' letter stated in part: "(F)rom November (1996), and especially in January (1996), I inadvertently turned up information in the course of my research that revealed a failure on the part of the primate center to honor their formal agreements with the Zoological Society and the director of the Vilas zoo. The Zoological society, the zoo director and the public had made abundantly clear that they did not want zoo monkeys to be used for terminal research or infected with AIDS or used in other highly invasive procedures. Without leveling with me about the situation, I was obstructed in accessing records for an important research project in a distressing and inexcusably unprofessional manner." After reviewing her correspondence with Bauers, Hinshaw said: "The paragraph is there, but I honestly don't remember it because I was working on other aspects with (Bauers) at the time." Hinshaw would not discuss what the other issues were involving Bauers, but said they were personnel related. Earlier, Hinshaw had maintained she never knew about the situation until The Capital Times on Aug. 9 reported the improper transfer of and research on the monkeys. "I'm being very honest when I say I do not remember that particular paragraph from that particular correspondence," Hinshaw said Monday. The transfer of monkeys from the zoo to invasive research projects violates a 1989 agreement between the university and the zoo. Officials now say they may have violated that agreement as many as 201 times. The controversy has stemmed not from using and killing animals in research - something that has been done at the UW for years. The issue is how and why the university broke its promise to zoo officials and why the UW has not sought to discipline those who improperly authorized the monkey transfers. *********** Violations denied: It wasn't until The Capital Times obtained specific monkey identification numbers that officals began to admit using zoo monkeys in invasive research. Even then, the primate center's interim director, Joe Kemmitz, said zoo monkeys were used only in special, authorized circumstances. After The Capital Times first reported the abuses, Hinshaw launched an investigation and asked primate center officials how many monkeys were used in invasive research projects. At that time, Hinshaw said she wished she had known about the situation internally before having the abuses published in a newspaper. Last Wednesday Hinshaw released her findings, which showed that 65 zoo monkeys were used in invasive studies, 26 were killed for their tissues, and 110 were sold to other research facilities, where their fate is unknown. That totals 201 monkeys involved in violations of the agreement between the UW and the zoo. After The Capital Times' discovery of the 1996 letter, Bauers confirmed Sunday night that she had sent it to Hinshaw, also telling her that she feared retaliation for discovering the matter. Bauers said she was suspended from her role as co-manager at the Vilas monkey facility in February 1996 after asking questions about the fate of the animals removed from the zoo. She said she needeed to know where the monkeys were because she was studying genetic characteristics of the animals and needed to study their relatives. ******* List confiscated: Bauers said a list of animal identification numbers she compiled had been confiscated in January by Kirk Boehm, the center's colony manager. Bauers was fired by Hinshaw in July 1996, but was later reinstated after a review of her firing process in February 1997. In April, Hinshaw did not renew Bauers' contract. Bauers is on the UW payroll until February 1998. However, Bauers said Hinshaw continues to deny her any access to the computer system that is essential to completing her seven year research program. Hinshaw responded, "That would be for me and her to discuss. That's more of the personnel stuff." And even though she is currently a full-time scientist on the UW payroll, Bauers has not been allowed access to her animals at the zoo, essentially wiping out years of research, she said. "Their determination to cover up this misconduct is such that they are locking me out of any access to the primate center computer system and preventing me from completing a seven-year research investment that involved years of time and effort on the part of several people," she said. ******* Who's responsible? "I feel that most of the researchers honestly did not know about the agreement, but it was the responsibility of those who assigned the animals, and it was the responsibility of the director to make colony management aware of the agreement," she said. UW-Madison Chancellor David Ward was out of town Monday and unavailable for comment. Provost Wiley said Monday he was confident in Hinshaw's investigation and said he believed Hinshaw when she said she doesn't remember the paragraph in the letter from Bauers. "She had to focus on what was the most important issues at the time," Wiley said, "In retrospect there may be things buried in there of substance." He also said he is supporting Henshaw in her statements that holding someone accountable is not a priority. "Getting to the bottom of who authorized the exceptions (to the agreement) has been very complicated and very difficult because there have been so many personnel changes," Wiley said. "It would be very difficult if not impossible, to find out who was responsible in each and every incidents.....Obviously, someone knew something about this, but finding out who is not going to be easy." Dr. Shirley McGreal, Chairwoman, International Primate Protection League POB 766 Summerville SC 29484 USA Phone: 803-871-2280 Fax: 803-871-7988 Note new web page address: http://www.ippl.org/ PLEASE DIRECT ALL E-MAIL TO IPPL@AWOD.COM Date: Thu, 28 Aug 1997 13:16:58 -0700 (PDT) From: bchorush@paws.org (pawsinfo) To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: Japan says no more orca captures "for the time being" Message-ID: <199708282016.NAA06766@siskiyou.brigadoon.com> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" August 28, 1997 Contact: Bob Chorush 425-787-2500 ext 862 Japan says no more orca captures "for the time being" Official word was received today from the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs stating that "We consider that the Fisheries Agency will not authorize to capture any more orcas for the time being, because the research on the orcas captured this time is on the way." In a letter dated August 15 to Eiji Fujiwara, president of Elsa Nature Conservancy, Tasuo Takase, Director of the Fishery Division, Economic Affairs Bureau, The Ministry of Foreign Affairs wrote that "The Japanese government prohibits the capturing of orcas in principle" although the Fisheries Agency can make exceptions to this for scientific research. Takase also indicated the the whales captured February 7, 1997 were now the property of the aquariums to which they were sold so that it would not be possible to force their release or return to the wild. He wrote that whale captures promote scientific research and that Japan "actively works for conservation and management of wildlife...." This is too little, too late. It took six months and two whale deaths for The Ministry of Foreign Affairs to issue this statement. To date, the only research that appears to have been done on the captured orcas involves how long it takes to kill them in captivity. The Progressive Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) joins with Earth Island Institute and many other organzitions and individuals to ask all concerned individuals to contact the Prime Minister of Japan to demand AN UNCONDITIONAL END TO ORCA CAPTURES IN JAPAN. Please send a respectful, but FIRM, letter to: Mr. Ryutaro Hashimoto Prime Minister of Japan 6-1 Nagata-Cho, 1-Chome Chiyoda-Ku Tokyo, Japan (60 cents postage from USA) fax: 011-81-35511-8855 Please contact media in your area. More information on the Taiji whales captures is available at: http://www.paws.org/activists/taiji ----The text of the letter from The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Japanese Government follows----- Date: August 15, 1997 From: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Japanese Government To: Eiji Fujiwara, president of Elsa Nature Conservancy Dear Mr.Eiji Fujiwara, president of Elsa Nature Conservancy, We received your letter of July 29. The Japanese government prohibits the capturing of orcas in principle, but the Fisheries Agency can exceptionally give a permit to capture orcas only for the purpose of scientific research after the deliberations in each case. We understand that the orcas were captured under these circumstances this time. We consider that the Fisheries Agency will not authorize to capture any more orcas for the time being, because the research on the orcas captured this time is on the way. The Fisheries Agency should watch and wait the process and result of the research. On the other hand, the orcas already belong to each aquarium. We understand that the Fisheries Agency is not in a position to force the aquariums to release the orcas. Our country actively works for conservation and management of wildlife and, accordingly, is promoting scientific research. We have received various opinions at home and from abroad. We will convey all of them to the right persons concerned. We found arguments based on emotion or on subjunctive sense of values among the opinions we received, but we believe the constructive opinions would serve as a reference in future in case of considering what academic research should be or how it should be promoted. Tasuo Takase Director of the Fishery Division, Economic Affairs Bureau, The Ministry of Foreign Affairs Bob Chorush Web Administrator, Progressive Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) 15305 44th Ave West (P.O. Box 1037)Lynnwood, WA 98046 (425) 787-2500 ext 862, (425) 742-5711 fax email bchorush@paws.org http://www.paws.org Date: Thu, 28 Aug 1997 16:46:20 +0000 From: Liz Grayson To: ar-news Subject: People's Court' to Hear Chihuahua-Vs.-Boa Message-ID: <3405AB47.1E99@earthlink.net> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit 'The People's Court' to Hear Chihuahua-Vs.-Boa Brouhaha LOS ANGELES (AP) Next on the docket of "The People's Court": the case of a dog-eating snake named Alissss, titled "I Can't Believe She Ate the Whole Thing." Ed Koch, the former New York City mayor who now presides over the hearings, today was to weigh the dueling $5,000 All Psuits filed by Flossie Torgerson whose Chihuahua, Babette, was eaten and Angus Johnson, whose 7{-foot boa constrictor did the eating. "I've ruled on cases involving dogs injuring other dogs, and of the dogs killing cats, but I've never had one involving a snake and a dog. So it'll be new to me," Koch said. Video Pick of The syndicated television show flew both sides to New York from the Los Angeles area and was to pay the damages for the loser with the understanding no future litigation will be filed. No broadcast date was set. Mrs. Torgerson is suing for the value of Babette, emotional distress and for funds to help her circulate a petition to outlaw pet snakes in Los Angeles, a cause she has dubbed "Babette's Law." Johnson is countersuing for defamation of character. Mrs. Torgerson's little dog was swallowed Aug. 9 by Alissss, who appeared on the patio of her San Fernando Valley home. Date: Thu, 28 Aug 1997 14:48:25 -0700 (PDT) From: Mike Markarian To: ar-news@envirolink.org, seac+animalrights@earthsystems.org, en.alerts@conf.igc.apc.org Subject: VT Alert: Gov Dean on Radio Show Message-ID: <2.2.16.19970828183200.528f9680@pop.igc.org> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" VERMONT ALERT Governor Howard Dean will be on "Switchboard," a Vermont Public Radio call-in show, on Tuesday, September 2, from 6:30-7:30 p.m. If you live in Vermont, please call the show at 1-800-639-2211 and tell Governor Dean you are outraged that the Department of Fish and Wildlife has expanded the moose hunt once again this year, giving 165 moose hunting permits this year and expanding the hunt area into central Vermont. Tell him to pull in the reins on this renegade agency because Vermont residents want to see moose alive, not dead. Date: Fri, 29 Aug 1997 07:23:01 +0800 From: bunny To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: Rabbit Disease spreads throughout South Island (New Zealand) Message-ID: <1.5.4.16.19970829070554.2b97bdee@wantree.com.au> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Fri, 29th August 1997 (New Zealand) RCD Spreading Rapidly The whole of the South Island may be declared a control area, as MAF tries to stop the spread of the rabbit virus RCD to the North Island. MAF is considering the move as it would make transferring the virus to the North Island illegal. MAF chief vet, Barry O'Neil, says there is still no visual or scientific evidence of RCD in the North Island. He says until there is, MAF will continue to look at the option of placing the South Island under control to try to stop it spreading to the North. Meanwhile a McKenzie Country farmer is admitting he and other farmers have been actively spreading the RCD virus for two months. Peter Innes, who farms Black Forest Station on the edge of Lake Benmore says the virus has been passed around through the farmers network and a lot of others have been using it. He says it's been spread by injecting rabbits, and also by putting it in rabbit feed. But he says they've done nothing illegal in moving the virus around the country, and the only illegal act was bringing it in to New Zealand. Yesterday two McKenzie country farmers announced they've been spreading the disease for at least two months, but have denied breaking the law by importing it. A decision on whether to continue attempts to contain RCD will be made by Cabinet on Monday. Meanwhile MAF is still hunting for the importer with a view to prosecuting. =========================================== Rabbit Information Service, P.O.Box 30, Riverton, Western Australia 6148 Email> rabbit@wantree.com.au http://www.wantree.com.au/~rabbit/rabbit.htm (Rabbit Information Service website updated frequently) /`\ /`\ (/\ \-/ /\) )6 6( >{= Y =}< /'-^-'\ (_) (_) | . | | |} jgs \_/^\_/ Date: Thu, 28 Aug 1997 20:02:33 -0400 From: allen schubert To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: (CN) Wild Horses in China's Northwest to Return to Nature Message-ID: <3.0.32.19970828200230.006ed81c@clark.net> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" from CNN web page: --------------------------------- Wild Horses in China's Northwest to Return to Nature Xinhua 28-AUG-97 URUMQI (Aug. 28) XINHUA - Wildlife experts in western China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region have decided to let some rare wild horses (Equus Przewalskii Poliakov) that have been fenced to a semi-wild environment and then return them to the wild. According to the three-to-five-year strategy, the wild horses will be sent to the wilderness of the Jungar Basin so that they can learn to live on their own in natural conditions, as feeding is gradually reduced and they are monitored less. These wild horses originated in what is now Xinjiang and are considered a rare species. In 1886, Russian traveller Przewalskii Poliakov captured some of the animals during a visit to the region and took them to Europe. The animal had become extinct in China by the 1980s, but there were about a hundred in some European zoos and in the United States. With the help of world wildlife organizations, China bought 18 of the horses from Germany, Great Britain and the United States in 1985 and set up a breeding center in the autonomous region. The number of wild horses had grown to 70 by the end of last year and the center had gained a great deal of experience and data on care for the animals, adequate preparation for returning the species to the wild. It will soon put them through a training program to improve their adaptability before completely letting them go. Date: Thu, 28 Aug 1997 20:28:56 -0400 From: allen schubert To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: (US) USDA Seeks Broader Authority Message-ID: <3.0.32.19970828202854.006d4ff0@clark.net> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" from AP Wire page: ---------------------------------------- 08/28/1997 19:20 EST USDA Seeks Broader Authority WASHINGTON (AP) -- In the wake of the recent hamburger E. coli outbreak, Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman wants Congress to give him authority to recall contaminated meat and other foods, government officials said Thursday. The proposal is being reviewed by White House officials in the Office of Management and Budget and could be on the desks of lawmakers when they return to Congress next week, said Jacque Knight, a spokeswoman for the Agriculture Department's food safety and inspection department. Glickman is scheduled to discuss details of the bill at a news conference Friday. The legislation is in response to last week's recall of 25 million pounds of ground beef produced by Hudson Foods Inc. A recent outbreak of E. coli contamination in Colorado was traced to the company's plant in Nebraska. Federal investigators are looking into the plant for alleged unsafe practices. The USDA does not have the authority to recall products now. It can only ask a company to pull its products voluntarily and most do. ``The secretary feels this would give us more teeth and let us be in more control of the situation,'' said Knight, who noted that similar bills were introduced last year and in 1994. ``The secretary feels maybe third time is the charm,'' she said. Date: Thu, 28 Aug 1997 20:33:10 -0400 From: allen schubert To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: (US) Primates in Peril, Except Humans Message-ID: <3.0.32.19970828203308.006d07d8@clark.net> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" from AP wire page: ----------------------------------- 08/28/1997 16:02 EST Primates in Peril, Except Humans By SLOBODAN LEKIC Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) -- Hunting and the steady loss of forests have made primates the most imperiled group of mammals on the planet, a private group says. Only one species is increasing in numbers: humans. Almost half the 235 primates are threatened with extinction, including mankind's closest evolutionary relative the chimpanzee. Another 20 percent are approaching threatened status, Worldwatch Institute said in a report published Thursday. ``In general, the reasons for the declines are no mystery: they all relate directly or indirectly to human actions,'' said the report titled ``Death in the Family Tree.'' It spotlights a number of ``hot spots'' where forest loss has resulted in high concentrations of endangered primates. These include southeast Asia, equatorial Africa, Madagascar and southeastern Brazil. ``The fate of these forests will largely determine the fate of most primates, and more and more of these forests are losing their ecological integrity as they are logged, colonized and cleared for agriculture,'' the article said. Nine-tenths of the primates of south and east Asia face extinction. In Indonesia and Malaysia, orangutans, the great ape most dependent on trees, have lost 80 percent of their trees in two decades. With only 200 individuals left after the loss of much of its rain forest environment, Vietnam's Tonkin snub-nose monkey has become the world's rarest primate. The macaques of Japan are steadily losing living space to urbanization. Deprived of natural foods, desperate macaques turn to raiding orchards and fields, prompting farmers to kill about 10 percent of the 50,000 surviving macaques each year. Primates also still face heavy ``hunting pressure'' in various places. Some, especially the big apes orangutans, gibbons, chimps and gorillas, are being trapped for the pet trade. ``They are so much like us that there is a virtually insatiable demand for them,'' the report said. ``There's certainly a problem with certain species, and a lot of this is due to the increase of human population,'' said researcher Harold McClure of Emory University's Yerkes Primate Center. McClure said he has seen no figures that confirm primates are more endangered than other mammals, but ``I would feel comfortable with that'' assertion. Worldwatch, an independent research institute financed by private grants and sale of its publications, monitors environmental and social issues. A spokeswoman for World Wildlife Fund, which seeks to protect animals around the globe, echoed the report. ``There are few species that are as good an indicator of the overall health of an ecosystem as primates,'' said Jinette Hemley, the fund's director of wildlife policy. ``The new pressures are spelling potential disaster for them.'' While the world's human population has grown steadily to above 5.7 billion people, great apes are declining and now number fewer than 400,000. Despite a generally gloomy outlook for most species, the report contained snippets of encouraging conservation news. Biomedical research once consumed up to 90,000 chimpanzees a year but now relies on captive-bred animals. In Rwanda, the social pact with the famed mountain gorillas weathered even the recent ethnic conflict that killed at least 500,000 people. Only two of the 320 remaining gorillas died. Date: Thu, 28 Aug 1997 20:33:31 -0400 From: allen schubert To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: (US) Humus, Baba Ghanouj Recalled Message-ID: <3.0.32.19970828203327.006d1c50@clark.net> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" from AP Wire page: ----------------------------------- 08/28/1997 17:24 EST Humus, Baba Ghanouj Recalled WASHINGTON (AP) -- Rite Foods of Boston recalled three brands of hummus and baba ghanouj Thursday because it has the potential to be contaminated with Listeria. No illnesses have been reported. Listeria causes short-term gastrointestinal problems in healthy people but can cause serious, sometimes fatal infections in young children, the elderly and people with weak immune systems. It also can cause miscarriages. The recall included all flavors and sizes of Tribe of Two Sheiks, MaxBean and Brueggers hummus and baba ghanouj products with expiration dates prior to Nov. 22. Sold nationally, the products are in plastic containers ranging from 2-ounce to 62-ounce sizes. The company said consumers should return the suspect product to the place of purchase for a full refund. Consumers can call 1-800-421-3474 from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. EST daily for more information. Date: Thu, 28 Aug 1997 20:54:15 -0400 From: Vegetarian Resource Center To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: "Vegetarian Voices" Message-ID: <3.0.3.32.19970828205415.00c401c4@pop.tiac.net> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Vegetarian Voices "Vegetarian Voices" has chosen ICQ as the preferred method of communication between its members. It would be possible for another site to be established entirely for AR messages, although we do not wish to disempower the various AR e-mail lists that already exist. In the meantime, use ours, if you wish. And use ICQ for humane purposes. ICQ empowers members with a means to chat whenever they like and enables them to share ideas, discuss similar interests or anything else. We encourage all members to get ICQ and provide us with their ICQ numbers. We will list the ICQ numbers of all members on the site, allowing quick contact with members for anyone who may visit this page. All "Vegetarian Voices" members are included in the list by default. Names can be omitted from the list. http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/9189/icqlist.htm Description / Purpose: Vegetarian Voices is an open fourm designed to facilitate interaction between like-minded vegetarians on the Internet. ICQ ListMaster: Richard Thibeault Location: Los Angeles, California You can ICQ-Page the owner of this web page as well as other users or you can EmailExpress him directly from that page, with no additional software. Your message will be instantly delivered. If the user is online, the message will popup on his screen. If he is offline, it will be stored and forwarded to him as soon as he connects to the internet. Installing the ICQ client will enable you to know if your peers are online and communicate directly with them, join chat rooms and receive ICQ paging, and EmailExpress directly to your screen. What is ICQ ? * ICQ is very user-friendly * ICQ continually tells you which of your friends & colleagues are online * ICQ gives you real-time chat with online friends and colleagues * ICQ allows you to quickly send messages back and forth * ICQ lets you easily send files to other people ICQ is a revolutionary, user-friendly, Internet program that tells you who's online at all times. No longer will you search in vain for friends & associates on the Net. ICQ does the searching for you, alerting you when friends or colleague sign on. With ICQ, you can chat, send messages and files, play games, or just hang out with your fellow 'netters while still surfing the net. http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/9189/icqlist.htm Date: Thu, 28 Aug 1997 22:28:30 -0700 From: Howard Davis To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: Ferrets, Pigs, Rotties Abused by Illinois Breeder Message-ID: <34065DFE.2831@acmeferret.com> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Independent Ferret News Service Burke VA 22009-1007 http://www.acmeferret.com/infobank/ AUGUST 27, 1997 Your help is desperately needed to save the lives of a large number of animals who are suffiering horribly in Illinois - ferrets (many who have already died), pot bellied pigs (about 50) and rottweilers. A contact list and sample letter or fax is included at the end. BREEDER PASSES "INSPECTION" - 140 FERRETS VANISH! In what was a travesty of justice, the Illinois Bureau of Animal Welfare on August 25 re-inspected the filth-plagued premises of a Granite City ferret breeder and pronounced him in compliance with the law. Dr. David Bromwell, Chief Veterinarian at the Animal Welfare Bureau, told me in a telephone interview today that breeder Rick Robbins had passed the second inspection because he had "got rid of some of the fecal matter" in the cages and because he had gotten his own veterinarian to attest that the animals were being properly cared for. Out of 220 ferrets counted by a humane investigator visiting the premises last week, only "78 or 79" remained when the filth farm owned by Rick Robbins was re-inspected. Robbins was not asked what happened to the others, nor did he volunteer the information. The inspectors also found 50 pot-bellied pigs and 3 Rotweilers on the premises of what the field inspector reported a week ago was nothing but "a damn dump." Considering the fact that the ferrets were being kept in cramped cages half-filled with excrement, in a tin shed with no light or ventilation while outside temperatures were over 100 degrees, it must be assumed that all the others died. Dr. David Bromwell, Chief Veterinarian for the Bureau of Animal Welfare, which is under the Illinois Department of Agriculture, angrily defended his decision. He also said he was extremely upset that both he and the governor were being bombarded with faxes and telephone calls because of "all those ferret people on the internet." In defense of his decision, Bromwell said: "Let's be honest, the cages were rusty, they weren't like we would expect for dogs and cats - but these are ferrets." He noted that Robbins "had got rid of some of the fecal matter," and added that, "there's nothing in the statute that says how much fecal matter is allowed." He said that according to his inspector, the cages for the ferrets were "18 inches to 2 feet", and that "no more than 2 ferrets were in any cage." A licensed humane investigator has described the cages as only 1' x 1' x 1'. The premises had failed an inspection on Thursday, August 21, said Bromwell, because the field inspector reported, "it's a damn dump - there's crap all over." The inspector's notice of violation alleged improper care of the animals, Bromwell said, so Robbins was required to produce a certificate signed by a licensed veterinarian that the animals were receiving proper care. According to Bromwell, Robbins was allowed to choose his own veterinarian to come to the "damn dump" and certify that the animals were being well cared for. The veterinarian who gave the Robbins operation a clean bill of health for animal care was Dr. Michael H. Firsching of Edwardville, IL. Robbins is a repeat offender. He failed an inspection in mid-1996, according to Bromwell. At that time, the inspector found the pot-bellied pigs to be in such poor condition that he ordered them all to be tested for several specific diseases. Bromwell said he did not see any "conflict of interest" in allowing Robbins to choose his own veterinarian to inspect the premises, because Firsching as a licensed veterinarian is answerable to the state veterinary licensing board for his actions. Commercial breeders, however, are not responsible to the Department of Natural Resources, the state agency that licenses them. According to Bromwell, the licensing structure for breeders in Illinois is "simply a tax measure - there's no inspection - you pay your $20, you get your license." Bromwell said the only authority he has is to enforce animal welfare laws. He admitted that he does have the authority to impound or relocate animals found being cared for in an inhumane manner - and has exercised it in the past, to protect horses for example. The field inspector is required to file a written report of his investigation, said Bromwell, but it won't be made public. I asked Bromwell straight out if he would make a copy of the report available, and he said, "No, you'll have to get that through the Freedom of Information Act." ---- SHELTER DIRECTOR APPEALS FOR NATIONAL FAX-IN By Kathy Fritz The State of Illinois has done it again! Dr. David R. Bromwell, Head Veterinarian for the Department of Agriculture passed Mr. Rick Robbins' premises inspection on Monday, August 25, 1997. Dr. Bromwell passed the inspection even though, as he stated to Howard Davis in their phone conversation today, that the conditions the ferrets are kept in, "aren't up to the standards for cats and dogs." I'm sorry, people, this makes me very, very angry! The state of Illinois is looking upon ferrets as second-class citizens again. It's time we education them! I beg all people owned by these wonderful creatures to get busy faxing, phoning, writing Governor Jim Edgar and Becky Doyle, Director of the Department of Agriculture letting them know that the eyes of the ferret community across the nation are on them and that we want fair and equal treatment for these ferrets. Request that Dr. Bromwell reopen the case against Mr. Rick Robbins. And also that Mr. Robbins should have to account for the missing ferrets. If they are deceased, what did they die of? I believe it's time for the State of Illinois to own up to this travesty. Well, what are you waiting for -- get those fingers going, push that button and send those faxes! Kathy Fritz The Ferret Nook Cambridge, WI HERE'S HOW YOU CAN HELP: Write, fax, telephone, or email the Governor of Illinois and the Director of the Department of Agriculture. Be polite but insist that the Robbins case be re-opened and the premises be re-inspected by *impartial investigators.* Governor Jim Edgar 207 Statehouse Springfield, IL 62706 217-782-0244 (Voice) 217-524-4049 (Fax) governor@state.il.us (Email) http://www.state.il.us/ (Website) Becky Doyle, Director Illinois Department of Agriculture PO Box 19281 State Fairgrounds Springfield, IL 62794-9281 217-782-2172 (Voice) 217-785-4505 (Fax) MORE E-MAIL, SNAIL MAIL, PHONE AND FAX CONTACTS KDNL ABC 30 1215 Cole Street St. Louis, MO 63106 314/436-3030 KMOV CBS 4 #1 Memorial Dr. St. Louis, MO 63102 314/621-4444 KNLC 24 1411 Locust St. St. Louis, MO 63103 Mailing Address: P.O. Box 924 St. Louis, MO 63188 314/436-2424 314/436-2434 (fax) KPLR WB 11 4935 Lindell Blvd. St. Louis, MO 63108-1587 314/367-7211 314/454-6488 (fax) stl11@mail.kplr.com http://www.kplr.com/ KSDK NBC 5 ksdk5@aol.com (no address or phone no.) KTVI 2 FOX 5915 Berthold St. Louis, MO 63110 314/647-2222 314/647-8960 (fax) ktvi2@aol.com The Saint Louis Post Dispatch: http://www.stlnet.com/ The Saint Louis Post Dispatch has a forum called "Speak! A Forum on Pets." Send them your views (local people especially) about Robbins being allowed to continue his abusive, inhumane practices. Sample Letter, Fax, or Email: (Note - Please use your own words if possible. Letters and faxes have to be handled so are less likely to be ignored, and can be more powerful than e-mails. But do whatever you can - every single thing you do is appreciated and needed.) Dear Governor Edgar or Dear Director Doyle I am appalled that the Illinois Bureau of Animal Welfare has given the green light to commercial animal breeder Rick Robbins of Granite City, a repeat offender, to continue maintaining dozens of ferrets and pot-bellied pigs in filthy, inhumane conditions. Dr. Bromwell of the Bureau of Animal Welfare concedes that the animals were still being housed in filthy cages from which only "some of the fecal matter" had been removed. Dr. Bromwell admits the ferrets were not being housed in a manner that would be acceptable for dogs or cats - why then are those conditions supposed to be acceptable for ferrets? Given the fact that Robbins is a repeat offender, it is indefensible that the Bureau of Animal Welfare should have allowed Robbins to get off the hook simply by getting HIS OWN VETERINARIAN, Dr. Michael Firsching, to attest that the animals are being "properly cared for." This is a clear case of conflict of interest, on the veterinarian's part. The Department of Agriculture should require the Bureau of Animal Welfare to re-open the Robbins case immediately and send impartial, unbiased investigators to inspect the premises. And Robbins should be required to DOCUMENT what happened to the 140 ferrets who disappeared - and doubtless died in the heat - between the time of first complaint was filed and the day of the re-inspection. Please give this matter your urgent attention. Respectfully, (Your name here) Date: Thu, 28 Aug 1997 23:43:17 -0400 (EDT) From: NOVENAANN@aol.com To: ar-news@envirolink.org, techkidd@ix.netcom.com, MKDoleMite@aol.com, Herbalchic@aol.com, Bardot66@aol.com, mark.rob@usa.net, mojo@buffnet.net, MCPoeme@aol.com, BRONCOLEE6@aol.com, TURTLEHEADINC@msn.com, Taz2rotten@aol.com, A5412@aol.com, daniels@bsc.net, rational@webtv.net, akertesz@runet.edu, Fruit00000@aol.com, Parker2880@aol.com, Zndalee@aol.com, igor@earthlink.net, GPolo777@aol.com, karen.vandevander@exs01.eds.com, Cwvaso@aol.com, JustinePop@aol.com, Glenm@aol.com, Rigadoo23@aol.com, aulle@hrfn.net, hduncan@goodnet.com, animalibmary@msn.com, redfox@mammal.com, SIMBA@aol.com, Spbuzz12@aol.com, Mobear5603@aol.com, luna9@earthlink.net, Dreamer417@aol.com, COBISTAR@aol.com, Flyskygirl@aol.com, Mandy1283@aol.com, Teechkids@aol.com, Kelly535@aol.com, Nestewart@aol.com Subject: Project launched to change horrible shelter conditions(VA) Message-ID: <970828234036_384640566@emout12.mail.aol.com> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=unknown-8bit Richmond Animal Rights Network has launched a volunteer program with the Richmond Animal Shelter. A few months ago a worker inside the Richmond Animal Shelter (which is also animal control for the city) blew the whistle on cruel practices at the shelter. Many of these problems are still happening and they are listed below. We are getting RARN members to volunteer inside the shelter to prevent any cruelty from happening and to give these animals a better life. We are also rescuing and fostering animals from the shelter until we can find homes for them. This is very expensive because some of these animals need medical care before they can be adopted and all of them need to be spayed/neutered. About the Richmond Animal Shelter... •Last fall, David Moshetti, a former animal control officer, blew the whistle on cruel and inhumane practices at the shelter. The shelter had been killing animals by using an intraperitoneal injection in which sodium pentobarbital is injected into the abdomen and absorbed into the system until the animal dies. They also were using a method call "heart sticking".  A staff member would hoist a dog up on its hind legs with a catch pole and jab a needle into its heart. (With cats the staff member would step on the cats back legs to immobilize it.) If the staff member hit the animals heart it would have a fatal heart attack. If they missed they would hit a lung and it would fill with fluid. The animal would feel as if they were drowning and they would paddle with their front paws. Blood would spurt from the animals mouth and nose. It could take between 20 seconds to a minute to die. Then the animal would be thrown in a pile of dead animals. This practice had been going on for at least 5 years. •Last year, two animals were found alive in the pile of dead animals. •Now the shelter sends the animals to the Richmond SPCA to be euthanised. •Paperwork at the shelter is disorganized or never completed. •Some animals that have left the shelter cannot be accounted for. In one incident the shelter says that they sent a bunch of puppies to the SPCA to be euthanised but the SPCA says the puppies never arrived. •The whistleblower was moved to a different job and then he was forced to resign. His wife who was also an animal control officer was suspended and eventually fired. •Animals are not fed properly- regardless of size they receive a cup and a half of food. •Cat food had been found in dog bowls. •Kennel cleaning is improper and deficient. •The veterinarian hired by the shelter was suspended for not euthanising a healthy dog and her seven puppies. •3 newborn puppies were washed into a drain during a kennel cleaning and died. Since this incident volunteers have had to pull several puppies out of the drain. •Paint is chipped and peeling in the dog kennels even though the shelter was recently remodeled. •Workers mishandle the animals. Several animals have died by being choked on the catch pole. •The shelter appears to have several employees that do a whole lot of nothing. •The shelter does not have outdoor runs for the dogs. •Several cats /kittens appear to have upper respiratory infections that are not being treated. •Tags on the animals cages are frequently missing or they have been washed away and never replaced. •The shelter and the city are trying to cover-up the conditions in the shelter and get rid of concerned people. Shelter volunteers are now required to be interviewed and sign a contract set forth by the city so that they cannot sue the city if they are denied access to the shelter. This policy is another way for the shelter to eliminate the people that are actually concerned for the animals. •A group formed to help change the shelter, Save Our Shelter (S.O.S.), has been denied access to the animals before and their complaints are ignored by the city. Cameras are no longer allowed in the shelter. What you can do: Contact the: Mayor Office (804) 780-7977 City Council (804) 780-7955 City Manager (804) 780-7970 Commonwealth's Attorney (804) 780-8045 Complain about the mismanagement at the shelter. Ask that the city do something about the complaints brought forth by S.O.S. and demand better treatment for the animals. Contact Richmond Animal Rights Network, PO Box 4288, Richmond, VA 23220 We desperately need donations so that we can continue to rescue the animals from the shelter and find them good homes. We also plan to buy toys for the animals in the shelter and buy our own medicine for the animals since the shelter does not appear to give them medicine. Please contact us if you can help (804) 353-0363 RARNKV@aol.com Date: Thu, 28 Aug 1997 20:50:27 -0700 From: Andrew Gach To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: "Hysteria" delays drug introduction Message-ID: <34064703.5D64@worldnet.att.net> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Roche delays U.S. launch of drug for weight control Reuter Information Service ZURICH, Switzerland (August 28, 1997 11:16 a.m. EDT) - Roche Holding AG announced Thursday that the U.S. launch of a promising new drug for weight control would be delayed while it gathered data on breast cancer cases observed in clinical trials. Roche said it withdrew its New Drug Application with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the weight-management drug Xenical, whose chemical name is orlistat, to gain more time to submit further analyses of available data. The deadline for the FDA's expedited review period expired this week, necessitating the withdrawal, a spokesman said. The company also said, however, that it was convinced there was no link between orlistat and breast cancer and that it planned to re-submit its application within the next few months. Roche said it would continue to work on registering orlistat in all markets outside the United States as planned. The United States, however, is seen as potentially the biggest single market for the drug, which some analysts consider the most important of Roche's new products and which could one day generate $1 billion a year in sales. Analysts estimated the delay could cost Roche $200 million to $300 million in lost sales in 1998. Xenical takes a new approach to weight reduction. Instead of reducing appetite or trying to speed up metabolism, it stops the body from absorbing fat. When an FDA advisory board recommended the drug's approval in May, the company and the U.S. authorities said 11 patients were discovered to have tumors, but all were found within the first six months of the studies. Clinical trials were conducted on 4,000 patients. An independent panel evaluated the findings and concluded that in half the cases the tumors probably were already forming before patients began taking Xenical. The others most likely were due to chance, they said. Roche has devoted significant resources to marketing and distribution in anticipation of the launch of Xenical and two other drugs this year. It has created more than 1,000 new positions in the United States alone since 1996. Roche has expressed high hopes for Xenical, particularly in the U.S. market. The withdrawal comes at a time of increasing discussion about controls and potential side effects, one analyst said. "There is a bit of hysteria, especially when it comes to breast cancer in the U.S.," the analyst said. But the analysts were confident that Xenical would eventually be approved for U.S. sale after some delay. "It is very difficult to make an assessment of the implications. This might take weeks or it might take months," one analyst said, adding that it was not yet clear just how much of the approval process will have to be repeated. "It (Xenical) probably won't be launched until the first quarter of 1998," the analyst added. Enskilda Securities pharmaceuticals analyst Annabel MacIver said the setback could delay the product's launch for as much as a full year. Date: Thu, 28 Aug 1997 20:54:35 -0700 From: Andrew Gach To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: More "hysteria" Message-ID: <340647FB.406B@worldnet.att.net> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit New warnings required for diet pills The Associated Press (August 28, 1997 10:10 a.m. EDT) -- Dr. Michael Hamilton discovered a heart murmur in one of his fen-phen diet pill patients after the Mayo Clinic reported similar problems. "I don't know if it was always there, whether I hadn't listened carefully enough that first day, whether the air conditioner noise made it difficult to hear," said Hamilton, an obesity expert at Duke University. Despite the same uncertainties among other doctors, regulators who discovered dozens more suspicious cases are taking precautions. The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday ordered prescriptions of fen-phen and another popular diet drug, Redux, to warn about possible heart valve damage. Doctors at the Mayo Clinic reported seven weeks ago that 24 women appeared to develop bad valves after taking fen-phen, the appetite suppressants used by millions to lose weight. Fen-phen is a combination of the prescription drugs fenfluramine and phentermine. Both drugs are approved by the FDA for short-term use in dieting, although not specifically in combination. The FDA asked physicians to report any other patients, and that search turned up 58 additional cases among fen-phen users, all but two of them in women. The FDA described its latest findings in Thursday's "New England Journal of Medicine." How many of the cases were actually caused by the medicines is unclear. Some doctors wondered whether newly vigilant physicians might be hearing heart murmurs -- the telltale sound of bad valves -- that have been there all along. Manufacturers of the medicines raised the possibility that obesity itself -- not drugs to treat the condition -- may actually be causing the heart problems. However, Dr. Michael Friedman, the FDA's acting commissioner, said: "The data seem very persuasive. The association that at first was thought to be tenuous is now much stronger." Just how great the risk of heart damage is -- even whether it truly exists -- cannot be determined without a careful study comparing diet pill users with overweight people who are not taking the medicines. Wyeth-Ayerst Laboratories, which makes the Pondimin brand of fenfluramine, said Wednesday it will sponsor a study of 1,200 fen-phen users and others being treated for obesity. "Recognizing that both drugs have been available for many years and millions of patients have taken them, we were quite surprised to have this finding, but we take it very seriously," said Dr. Marc W. Deitch, Wyeth-Ayerst's medical director. Fenfluramine is chemically similar to Redux, which came on the market last year. The FDA said it also had learned of four cases of heart valve damage in Redux users. At Interneuron Pharmaceuticals, which makes Redux, spokesman Bill Boni said the limited number of cases can't be conclusively tied to the drug "and may be related to the underlying condition of obesity." Doctors appear to have cut back their use of all three drugs. Figures from IMS America, a drug market research company, show that in the month after the Mayo Clinic findings were made public, new prescriptions for fenfluramine fell 40 percent, Redux 23 percent and phentermine 18 percent. An editorial in the journal by Dr. Gregory D. Curfman, a deputy editor, called the latest findings "chilling reminders that succumbing to the allure of diet pills as a quick fix for excess weight may be courting disaster." He called for a moratorium against using the drugs for cosmetic weight loss. However, experts already recommend that the diet drugs be used only by seriously obese people. Doctors who treat obesity contend that being too heavy is a serious medical condition, and the benefits of slimming down may far outweigh the hazards of the pills for many people. They note that obesity contributes to breathing problems, diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, gallstones and arthritis and plays a part in 300,000 deaths a year. "Despite these setbacks, we need to push ahead and develop safer, more effective long-term drugs that help people maintain their weight," Hamilton said. Date: Thu, 28 Aug 1997 20:57:02 -0700 From: Andrew Gach To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: Infection from handling fish Message-ID: <3406488E.C60@worldnet.att.net> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Researchers: More reports of infections from fish expected The Associated Press TORONTO (August 28, 1997 09:46 a.m. EDT) -- Thursday's publication of an article about a new invasive bacterial infection likely will spawn more reports of the affliction, which spreads to humans cut while handling fish, researchers predict. Researchers who prepared the article, published Thursday in the "New England Journal of Medicine," documented nine cases of streptococcus iniae in Toronto-area residents. "This is probably a new, emerging pathogen," said Dr. Don Low, head of microbiology at Mount Sinai and Princess Margaret hospitals. The bacterium had been known to occur in fish since the late 1970s, but it appears to have developed a new strain that can infect humans, Low said, adding that the article would make doctors around the world more aware of the bacteria, resulting in more cases of infection turning up. Infection, which results in raw, inflamed skin, occurs when a person cleaning fresh fish suffers a cut or skin puncture. Eating the fish, or handling it without incurring a wound, doesn't make a person sick. Since the article was submitted for publication, a 10th local case has been found and two people have been stricken in Vancouver. In the worst case, Low said, one man developed meningitis and a heart valve infection as a direct result of the bacteria, but all survived. Everyone affected was Asian, with the majority from the Chinese community, where it's customary to purchase live fish and clean them at home, Low said. He said a variety of fish were implicated but the freshwater tilapia, popular in the Caribbean and Far East, are most often involved, especially those bought live from stores.