AR-NEWS Digest 656

Topics covered in this issue include:

  1) Keep the pressure on the death of Baby elephant Kenny!
     by molgoveggie@juno.com (Molly G Hamilton)
  2) Boston: Feb 16: Funeral Fur Demo
     by baerwolf@tiac.net (baerwolf)
  3) Revere: Feb 14: Memorial Demo for 87 Greyhounds Burned in 1992 
     by baerwolf@tiac.net (baerwolf)
  4) [CA] Burrard Inlet Oil Spill
     by David J Knowles 
  5) [CA] Cockfight update
     by David J Knowles 
  6) [UK] Chipperfield says she was 'stitched up' by workers
     by David J Knowles 
  7) [UK] Reprieve for dog sentenced to die
     by David J Knowles 
  8) [US] USDA Statistics - Number of Animals in Research
     by "Linda J. Howard" 
  9) Anniversary of Victory for Animals
     by SDURBIN@VM.TULSA.CC.OK.US
 10) Fisheries under fire
     by Barry Kent MacKay 
 11) [Fwd: LA ProPaw submits 720,000 signatures to Ban Cruel Traps]
     by FARM 
 12) job description needed
     by Leah D Wise 
 13) Spanish information on Animal Welfare
     by "Dr. Leopoldo Estol" 
 14) Great American Meatout
     by "D'Amico, Ann-Marie" 
 15) Fwd: Agency Issues Early Call for Public Input on Species to be
     by CFOXAPI@aol.com
 16) Fwd: U.S. Supports Rhino, Tiger Conservation at Home and Abroad
     by CFOXAPI@aol.com
 17) ALERT: YOPLAIT CONTAINERS KILLING SKUNKS
     by CFOXAPI@aol.com
 18) Indonesia Fires Threaten Animals
     by "Linda J. Howard" 
 19) Sri Lanka Killer Elephant Sold 
     by Mesia Quartano 
 20) Florida State Fair Animal Acts Protest Saturday
     by SMatthes@aol.com
 21) Fishing habits upset natural balance (CA)
     by Barry Kent MacKay 
 22) (US)RCD shown to cause human health problems -- US expert
     by bunny 
 23) Nadas supporters plan new round to save dog
     by "Bob Schlesinger" 
 24) Mass. Alert: Phone Calls Needed to Save Beavers
     by Michael Markarian 
 25) (Aust)CALICIVIRUS BLAMED FOR BETTONG DEATHS
     by bunny 
 26) (Aust)CALICIVIRUS BLAMED FOR BETTONG DEATHS-(date fixed)
     by bunny 
 27) (US) Attorney likens 2nd beef show to open barn door
     by allen schubert 
 28) (US) School Makes `Mad Cow' Discovery
     by allen schubert 
 29) (RO) Bardot Asks Romania To Kill Strays
     by allen schubert 
Date: Thu, 5 Feb 1998 23:09:24 -0500
From: molgoveggie@juno.com (Molly G Hamilton)
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Keep the pressure on the death of Baby elephant Kenny!
Message-ID: <19980205.230957.3254.6.molgoveggie@juno.com>

Pleas keep the pressure on both RIngling Brother and Sears!

Voice your outrage on the death of Baby Kenny!  Call Ringling Public
Relations which is actually Ringling themselves.

call:

(703) 448-4120 Phone
(703) 448-4119 Fax


Address: 
Feld Entertainment Inc.
8607 Westwood Ctr. Drive
Vienna, Va.  22182


Wite and call Sears and demand that they stop sponsoring Ringling
Brothers Circus!!
 
Write:

John Lebbad
Director of Marketing
727SMA-490
3333 Beverly Road
hoffman Estates, IL.  60179

Also Write and Fax:

Arthur Martinez, Chairman& CEO
Sears, Roebuck & Co.
3333 Beverly Road
Hoffman Estates, IL  60179
Phone: 800-762-3048
Fax:  800-427-3049




_____________________________________________________________________
You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail.
Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com
Or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866]

Date: Fri, 6 Feb 1998 06:16:43 GMT
From: baerwolf@tiac.net (baerwolf)
To: Veg-Boston@waste.org, veg-ne@empire.net, Veg-NE@waste.org,
        veggie@vegweb.com, ar-news@envirolink.org
Cc: bravebos@aol.com, CAFTBoston@aol.com, info@ma.neavs.com, action@cease.org
Subject: Boston: Feb 16: Funeral Fur Demo
Message-ID: <199802060616.GAA28720@mail-out-4.tiac.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

                        Fur Demo Funeral 
                                        for 
        Animals who were murdered in 1997 
                                for Vanity

When:   Monday, Feb 16, 1998  
                (All Presidents Day)

Where:  Downtown Crossing, Boston

Time:     12:30 PM

Meet:      At Fountain, Park Street Station

Posters, Literature and Casket/Candles/Flowers Provided 

Funeral procession will walk to Downtown Crossing,
                    
For info or questions contact Libby at 617-567-0280

steven baer
 
baerwolf@tiac.net
Massachusetts

HOW DEEP INTO SPACE MUST HUMANS GO
BEFORE THEY LOOK BACK AND REALIZE 
ALL THE NEIGHBORS THEY'VE TORTURED ON PLANET EARTH.

Date: Fri, 6 Feb 1998 01:52:52 -0500 (EST)
From: baerwolf@tiac.net (baerwolf)
To: ar-news@envirolink.org, bravebos@aol.com
Cc: Veg-Boston@waste.org, veg-ne@empire.net, Veg-NE@waste.org,
        veggie@vegweb.com
Subject: Revere: Feb 14: Memorial Demo for 87 Greyhounds Burned in 1992 
Message-ID: <199802060652.BAA16534@mail-out-1.tiac.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Memorial Protest for 87 Greyhounds who on
Feb 14th, 1992 burned to death in a dog track kennel fire
- And still there are no sprinklers in the kennel -

Saturday, Feb 14, 1998 - 11:00 AM  
Wonderland Greyhound Race Track, Revere
Meet at the entrance gate by the Rotary

Posters, Literature and Casket/Gravemarkers provided 
                   
Site accessible by MBTA -Blue Line - Wonderland Stop
or 
by car
Rt 1A, Revere
free parking available

For info contact Libby at 617-567-0280
For directions contact Steve at 508-393-5339 
steven baer
 
baerwolf@tiac.net
Massachusetts

HOW DEEP INTO SPACE MUST HUMANS GO
BEFORE THEY LOOK BACK AND REALIZE 
ALL THE NEIGHBORS THEY'VE TORTURED ON PLANET EARTH.

Date: Fri, 06 Feb 1998 00:36:52
From: David J Knowles 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: [CA] Burrard Inlet Oil Spill
Message-ID: <3.0.3.16.19980206003652.239f8daa@dowco.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

By David J Knowles
Animal Voices News

VANCOUVER, B.C. - An oil spill into Burrard Inlet, part of which forms
Vancouver's inner harbour, led to the deaths of at least 15 birds Thursday.

Rescuers from the SPCA, Vancouver Public Aquarium and other local groups,
spent most of the day attempting to catch and clean other birds covered in
the oil.

The oil is believed to be fish oil, flushed into the inlet by a ship in the
harbour, or drained into the area through a storm drain.

The death toll is expected to rise, and pollution control experts say the
spill will take at least another day to clean up.

Date: Fri, 06 Feb 1998 00:55:55
From: David J Knowles 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: [CA] Cockfight update
Message-ID: <3.0.3.16.19980206005555.239f1a70@dowco.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

By David J Knowles
Animal Voices News

BURNABY, B.C. - The owner of a property, raided last weekend by RCMP and
SPCA officials after two police officers came across a cockfight, denies
that there was anything illegal going on.

Rodante Calusin, who was arrested at the property Sunday together with 38
others, told local media that all that was happening was a bird show and
auction.

Calusin said he raised the 73 cockrels seized at the south Burnaby property
merely as display birds, which he exported to The Phillipines.

All the birds were destroyed, in accordance with the Criminal Code of
Canada, which requires any birds used for cockfighting to be killed so as
to prevent them from returning to fighting.

Friends of Calusin, who spoke to Animal Voices on condition they were not
identified, said he had been raising the birds for several years.

It was widely known amongst the local Filipino community that Calusin, and
others, exported most of the birds, but was also involved in cockfighting.
Although Calusin says the birds were exported as "show birds", their fate
was likely to be the cockpit, not the show ring.

Bets at fights were said to involve a minimum stake of $1,000 CDN.

All those arrested were released, and will probably not be formally charged
for several weeks. The inquiry is still ongoing. If found guilty, they face
maximum penalties of $2,000 fines and six-month jail sentences. It is
highly unlikely, however, that any will face imprisonment, as custodial
sentences are rarely, if ever handed down in cases involving animal cruelty
or abuse.  

Date: Fri, 06 Feb 1998 01:11:52
From: David J Knowles 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: [UK] Chipperfield says she was 'stitched up' by workers
Message-ID: <3.0.3.16.19980206011152.239f33cc@dowco.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit

>From The Electronic Telegraph - Friday, February 6th, 1998

[ External Links from the ET website were: Circus Watch  - Animal Rights
Coalition;  People for the Ethical treatment of Animals; Animals as
Amusement - The Manuals of Animal Rights; 
Psychologists for the Ethical Treatment of  Animals; and Animal Defenders] 

Chipperfield says she was 'stitched up' by workers
By David Millward 

AN elephant keeper filmed by animal campaigners beating his charge with a
metal rod has been sacked by one of the country's leading circus families.

Steve Gills was dismissed this week for gross misconduct by Mary
Chipperfield after she saw footage from the undercover video on a
television news broadcast and admitted it demonstrated "gratuitous cruelty".

Miss Chipperfield, 60, who was herself filmed kicking a chimpanzee and
caning a camel, claimed she had been "stitched up" by Animal Defenders, the
group that infiltrated the farm at Over Wallop, Hants, where she keeps her
menagerie with two of its field workers.

The field workers - Spike Stocker and Rachael Wright - joined Mary
Chipperfield in October, having arrived with references from other
circuses. They left the farm, run by Miss Chipperfield and her husband,
Roger Cawley, last month.

While working at the farm, Mr Stocker and Miss Wright put hidden cameras in
the elephant barn and exercise ring and carried "body cameras".

A 26-minute excerpt from the 400 hours of footage taken by them and other
Animal Defenders volunteers at several circuses and animal businesses
around the country was shown to a group of MPs at the House of Commons on
Wednesday night.

Animal Defenders hope the video will persuade MPs to introduce legislation
banning the use of live animals in circuses, or at least to extend the 1981
Zoo Licensing Act to cover circus winter quarters. Miss Chipperfield, who
now concentrates on looking after animals for circuses, zoos or for use by
television companies, claimed the video painted a distorted picture of her
business. She said: "I have been stitched up. I have never mistreated any
of my animals in all my life."

Defending the industry, she said: "Circus animals live a much better life.
Once they are in captivity, their brains tick over because they are
provided with a stimulus."

Miss Chipperfield also denied that the excerpt from the video that showed
her trying to move a camel and persuade a baby chimp to go into its cage
demonstrated cruelty. "Take the camel lying down," she said. 

"If I had a dog, it would probably come up and bite at it and tear at its
whatever; but I had a cane and I hit it with the cane. I am not beating it,
I am encouraging it with a stick to get up and go forward. You can't go up
to it and say 'please camel, get up, you have got to go in the other pen,
now'. If it doesn't get up, you have got to give it a bit of encouragement."

The camel, which she said was receiving some "negative reinforcement", was
hit with a bamboo cane that made a noise.

"It won't feel any pain, it's not pain," Miss Chipperfield explained.

In the incident with the chimp, Trudi, Miss Chipperfield said that she had
been trying to dislodge the animal, which had not been put into her
overnight cage by a member of her staff - one of the Animal Defender's
volunteers - whose task it was to do so. "At one point, she is trying to
bite me," said Miss Chipperfield.

"With my toes, I am trying to release the thing, so I can shut the door and
put her in without getting bitten. I am not going to harm her, poor little
thing.

"I remember the incident exactly. I had been away for a month. The girl had
not been putting her away and she said 'I am not going into the box
tonight' and went to bite me."

The incident was similar to trying to persuade a reluctant child to go to
bed, Miss Chipperfield said.

"She wouldn't go, she gripped the side of the box with her foot and I, with
my foot, was trying to kick her toes up. I only have rubber riding boots
on. I am not going to do any damage because I wouldn't like to hurt her." 

In another incident, highlighted by the Animal Defenders' video, a tiger
was seen padding around a flooded cage. This, Miss Chipperfield said, was
an isolated episode that happened after a pipe on a neighbouring pig farm
burst.

Otherwise, she said, the cages were dry and animals were given plenty of
time to exercise.

Denying allegations of neglect, Miss Chipperfield said that an animal
behaviour expert visited her farm once a year and that a vet called weekly
and more often when necessary. Animal Defenders, however, stood by its
video and defended the tactics it employed to obtain the footage and the
interpretation it gave for the incidents.

A spokesman denied that Miss Chipperfield and the circus industry had been
"stitched up", adding: "Everything we have said can be backed up by video
tape. Our volunteers did not behave in a provocative way."

© Copyright Telegraph Group Limited 1998.

Date: Fri, 06 Feb 1998 01:28:15
From: David J Knowles 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: [UK] Reprieve for dog sentenced to die
Message-ID: <3.0.3.16.19980206012815.239f25a8@dowco.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit

>From The Electronic Telegraph - Friday, February 6th, 1998

Reprieve for dog sentenced to die

A DOG called Hanky Panky made legal history yesterday after a judge
reversed sentence ordering it to be put down.

Last October magistrates in Totnes, Devon, said Hanky Panky would have to
die after hearing how he had twice bitten postmen in the past four years.

In the second attack last July, postman Tim Coysh was left with a two-inch
cut on his ankle. Hanky Panky was in breach of a court order which said he
must be muzzled and kept on a lead in public areas after the first assault.

At Plymouth Crown Court yesterday, lawyers successfully argued for the life
of the 11-year-old labrador and foxhound cross. Dr Roger Mugford, an animal
behaviour specialist who has advised the Queen on her corgis, had given a
report to the Totnes JPs which said: "Hanky Panky is a tolerant dog which
is not particularly dangerous.

"But he does seem to dislike postmen." The report added: "Although he was
prone to straying around the locality he was almost invariably friendly to
those whom he met.

"Hanky Panky is harmless, but he is an escape artist."

The brown and white dog is the first to be given a reprieve under changes
in the                  Dangerous Dogs Amendment Act. Recorder Barbara
Calvert, QC, ruled that Hanky Panky could live but should be rehoused in an
escape-proof home.

His owner, Elaine Enticknap, 37, of Magdalene Close, Totnes, Devon, who had
 admitted a charge of having a dog dangerously out of control in a public
place, remains banned from keeping a dog for two years.

Hanky Panky has been kept at kennels since he was taken away by police last
July. 

Dr Mugford, who visited Hanky Panky at the kennels, said: "I am absolutely
certain that an injustice has been done. He is as safe as houses and would
make someone a lovely pet."

Mrs Enticknap adopted Hank, as she calls him, from an animal sanctuary when
he was 10 weeks old.

© Copyright Telegraph Group Limited 1998.

Date: Fri, 6 Feb 1998 07:15:26 -0800
From: "Linda J. Howard" 
To: "AR NEWS" 
Subject: [US] USDA Statistics - Number of Animals in Research
Message-ID: <01bd3312$0d66a2e0$9a70accf@default>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain;
     charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

Source: USDA* (1996)

Did you know....

  26,035 Cats
  52,327 Monkeys
  82,454 Dogs
154,344 Farm Animals
338,574 Rabbits

were used in scientific research
in the United States in 1996?  

For trends of animal use over the
last 3 years and the last 20 years, 
go to (bottom of the page)
the following web address:

http://nersp.nerdc.ufl.edu/~iacuc/index.html

* Does not include the number of
  mice and rats.


Date: Fri, 6 Feb 98 08:31:36 UTC
From: SDURBIN@VM.TULSA.CC.OK.US
To: ar-news@Envirolink.org
Subject: Anniversary of Victory for Animals
Message-ID: <199802061424.JAA17691@envirolink.org>

(From PETA's calendar):  Bon Marche of Seattle announced fur salon
closing - 1992.

New Jersey banned steel-jaw leghold traps, 1984.

-- Sherrill
Date: Fri, 06 Feb 1998 09:55:19 -0800
From: Barry Kent MacKay 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Cc: fstricker@gvn.net
Subject: Fisheries under fire
Message-ID: <34DB4E87.71E4@sympatico.ca>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

Fisheries under fire

Current Practices theaten desirable species:  Study

by Joseph Hall, Staff Reporter, 
The Toronto Star. Friday, August 6, 1998

Plates full of plankton will be almost all the Earth's oceans could
provide the human dinner table if global fisheries continue their
current practices, a new Canadian study suggests.

Fishing fleets the world over are slowly but surely reaching further and
further down the ocean food chains to slake their voracious appetites,
University of British Columbia scientist Daniel Pauly says.

And within two to three decades, Pauly says, the seas might be tapped
out of fishable food, leaving little but microscopic plankton and bottom
rung plant life.

"Over the last 40 years the fisheries have been taking things from lower
down in the food web," Pauly says.

"And while this might te expected to increase the amount of fish we
could catch, it has, in fact, not done so."

Pauly, whose study is published in this week's edition of the journal,
Science, explains that killing off the top feeding fish, such as cod or
grouper, should be much like taking the lions off an African plain.

"There are more gazelles than lions, therefore if you decide to kill off
the lions and catch the gazelles instead, you should be catching far
more," Pauly says.  "But the fact is it's not happening (in the sea) and
the question is why not?"

The answer, Pauly says, is that the top predator fish contribute to the
health of the food chain or "trophic" level species just below them in
two key ways.

"First they prevent them from wiping out their environment...and second
they prevent other species from crowding them out."

Human fishing has not been able to take on the role of the top feeding
fish in keeping lower species healthy, Pauly says.

"We have been removing the predators, like cod or groupers, and their
prey will eventually become available and should increase," he says.

"But what also becomes available are the things that the predator fish
have kept down that were not desirable to us."

A top predator, like a cod for example, might prey on both shrimp and
jelly fish, Pauly says.  "And you might say `Hey, I want those shrimp,
I've killed off the predator, but I can have the shrimp.'

"But what actually happens is the jelly fish crowds out the shrimp.  So
you've been fishing down the food web but you still didn't get what you
wanted."

Pauly says this loss of predator control makes ocean populations
unpredictable and that around the world there has been a general
replacement of desirable fish with sea life we don't want to eat.

"These things, however, because of the scarcity (of desirable fish), can
and will be turned into (food) product," Pauly says.  "But there is a
lower limit and we can not go beyond that."

That lower limit is represented by the sea creatures who eat plankton,
because once these fish are gone, we have no way of harvesting the pools
of micro-organism food they once ate.

"Essentially the fisheries are now relying of fish that eat (plankton),
not on fish that eat fish that eat (plankton)," he says.

"At some point, that's it, there's nothing we can harvest."

-30-

Barry Kent MacKay
International Program Director
Animal Protection Institute
http://www.api4animals.org

Date: Fri, 06 Feb 1998 10:31:02 -0800
From: FARM 
To: AR-News 
Subject: [Fwd: LA ProPaw submits 720,000 signatures to Ban Cruel Traps]
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Date: Thu, 5 Feb 1998 18:51:25 EST
To: Veg-Boston@waste.org, Veg-NE@waste.org
Mime-Version: 1.0
Subject: LA ProPaw submits 720,000 signatures to Ban Cruel Traps
Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
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X-Mailer: AOL 4.0 for Windows 95 sub 126

ProPAW Submits 720,000 Signatures to State for Initiative to Ban Cruel Traps
and Poisons; Wildlife Protection Measure Almost Certain to Secure Place on
November 1998 Ballot

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 5, 1998--Protect Pets and  Wildlife
(ProPAW), a statewide political committee, Thursday   submitted more than
720,000 signatures to California's 58 county  elections offices in an effort
to qualify a statutory initiative for  the November 1998 ballot to ban cruel
and indiscriminate traps and  poisons.  The California Constitution requires
433,269 valid  signatures of California registered voters to qualify a
statewide  petition.

    ProPAW filed the initiative language with the California  Attorney General
in July 1997.  Petitioning began approximately six  weeks later on Sept. 8 and
officially ended on Feb. 5, 1998.

    "This was an enormously powerful and successful petition drive.   More
than 13,000 Californians volunteered to work on the campaign, and nearly
three-quarters of a million Californians signed the  petition to stop the
cruel and unnecessary killing of our wildlife,"  said campaign manager Aaron
Medlock.

    "The response from voters throughout the state was steadfast  support for
the initiative and utter shock upon learning that these  traps and poisons are
still legally used in California."

    Specifically, the ProPAW initiative will protect wildlife and  family pets
by banning cruel and indiscriminate traps -- including  the steel-jawed
leghold trap -- for recreation or the fur trade.  It  also will ban especially
dangerous poisons that are harmful to  animals and the environment.
Exceptions are provided to control  nuisance animals and to protect public
health and safety.

    "It's disgraceful that more than 15,000 animals -- including  bobcats,
foxes and beavers -- are cruelly trapped for their fur in  California each
year," said Medlock.  The measure bans the use of  body-gripping traps --
steel-jawed leghold traps, snares and  conibears -- for recreation or commerce
in fur.  Voters in  Arizona, Colorado and Massachusetts voted in recent
elections to ban  the use of these traps in their states.

    The two poisons that would be prohibited by the measure are  sodium
fluoroacetate, also known as Compound 1080, and sodium  cyanide.  "Both are
slow-acting poisons which cause extremely  drawn-out and agonizing deaths,"
Medlock said.

    "In addition, Compound 1080, which was originally banned by the  Nixon
Administration but is now making a comeback, can linger in the  food chain,
killing any animals -- wildlife or pets -- that feed on  the carcass of the
poisoned animal."  Compound 1080 is already  prohibited in 16 California
counties because of concerns that  endangered species will eat tainted
carcasses and die.

    The measure has been endorsed by animal protection,  environmental and
civic groups across the state and is sponsored by  the American Society for
the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals; the  Animal Protection Institute; The
Ark Trust, Inc.; Doris Day Animal  League; The Fund for Animals; The Humane
Society of the United  States; and The International Fund for Animal Welfare.

CONTACT: 

ProPAW               
Aaron Medlock, 310/207-7706

or

The Ark Trust, Inc.
Lisa Agabian, 818/501-2275



Date: Fri, 6 Feb 1998 13:34:07 -0600 (CST)
From: Leah D Wise 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: job description needed
Message-ID: 
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII

Hi, everyone,

The animal shelter for our city has no current job description for shelter
employees (including the Animal Control Officer who runs the shelter).  

As a newly reorganized humane society, city officials have asked us to
formulate and present job descriptions for shelter employees.

If anyone has any suggestions as to what has been successful for their own
shelter or knows of a contact, we'd really appreciate the help.  (Please
reply to me privately.)

Thanks, Leah Wise


Date: Fri, 6 Feb 1998 16:02:59 -0300
From: "Dr. Leopoldo Estol" 
To: "ARNEWS Post News No discussion" 
Subject: Spanish information on Animal Welfare
Message-ID: <01bd3331$d7e27ac0$LocalHost@dr.estol>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain;
     charset="iso-8859-1"
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Dear AR pals
I will start this year teaching the first university under graduate course
about Animal
Welfare in my country, Argentina.
I have several books about this issue but all in English.
I need information about sources of Spanish editions of valuable
(recommended) books about Animal Welfare issues (general topics, AW vs A
Rights, A Rights, moral
an ethical issues).
I really appreciate any suggestion, please include information about
editorial sources (Fax / email / URL).
Also I need information about sources complimentary or no charge copies of
available information (proceedings, used books, videos) about those issues.

Thank you in advance
Profesor Leopoldo Estol, Medico  Veterinario, Diplomado en Salud Publica.
Director, Carrera de Veterinaria, Universidad del Salvador.
Campus " Nuestra Seniora del Pilar",
C.C. 198, Pilar 1629, Provincia de Buenos Aires, ARGENTINA.
Home phone (Internat. 00 54 1) 555 4580 / 552 1476
Office Fax. & Phone (Internat. 00 54 322) 31260 / 31261 / 31262 / 31263 /
90503 / 26053 / 26057
E-mail: uds-vete@salvador.edu.ar
URL   :http://salvador.edu.ar


Date: Fri, 6 Feb 1998 15:26:26 -0500 
From: "D'Amico, Ann-Marie" 
To: "'ar-dc'" ,
        "'ar-news@envirolink.org'"
      ,
        "'dawn_damico@fanniemae.com'"
      ,
        "'njdamico@wec.com'" ,
        "'nick.damico@gep.ge.com'" ,
        "'farnsworth@coastalnet.com'" ,
        "'jrupling@pcc.edu'" 
Subject: Great American Meatout
Message-ID: 

The Great American Meatout will take place on Friday, March 20 the first day
of spring.  Ask your friends, neighbors, relatives and co-workers to "kick
the meat habit on March 20, at least for the day, and explore a more
wholesome, less violent diet."  

Here is a list of things you can do to observe this day;  leafletting,
asking local school cafeteria's to go vegetarian for the day, "lunch pack"
of literature to give to your co-workers along with a meatless lunch,
letters to your editors and proclamations to your mayor or governor (sample
letters will be provided to you upon request), just to name a few.

Every 1% drop in meat consumption saves the lives of 90 million innocent
animals.

Please email your name, address, phone number and email address and we will
forward you a packet to get started.  Please don't wait.

FARM
Farm Animals Reform Movement
10101 Ashburton Lane
Bethesda, MD  20817  
301/530-1737

TKS -- AM





Date: Fri, 6 Feb 1998 15:35:07 EST
From: CFOXAPI@aol.com
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Fwd: Agency Issues Early Call for Public Input on Species to be
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Date: Thurs. 5 February 1998 9:40:00 -0600 (MDT)
From: Mitch Snow 
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Subject: Agency Issues Early Call for Public Input on Species to be 
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Considered as U.S. Proposals to the 1999 Meeting of the Convention on 
International Trade in Endangered Species
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February 5, 1998                    Patricia Fisher  202-208-5634

AGENCY ISSUES EARLY CALL FOR PUBLIC INPUT ON SPECIES TO BE
CONSIDERED AS U.S. PROPOSALS TO THE 1999 MEETING OF THE
CONVENTION ON INTERNATIONAL TRADE IN ENDANGERED SPECIES

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is seeking public information
and comment on animal and plant species that might be considered
as candidates for United States proposals to be presented at the
1999 Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International
Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).  The agency's earlier-than-
usual request was made to ensure greater involvement of the
states, conservation organizations, other Federal agencies, and
various interested parties in the review process.

"The Service wants to maximize its ability to present the most
comprehensive proposals to the next CITES meeting," said Marshall
Jones, the Service's Assistant Director for International
Affairs.  "By starting the process early, we have ample time to
work with our cooperators to develop successful negotiating
positions."

Currently, 143 nations including the U.S. belong to CITES, an
international treaty designed to control and regulate
international trade in certain animal and plant species that are
now or may become threatened with extinction.

Each species for which trade is controlled is included in one of
three appendices.  Appendix I includes species threatened with
extinction that are or may be affected by trade.  No commercial
trade is allowed in Appendix I species.  Appendix II includes
species which, although not necessarily now threatened with
extinction, may become so unless their trade is strictly
controlled.  Any member nation may place a native species on
Appendix III in order to monitor its trade and prevent
exploitation.

This request for public input concerns only the identification of
those animal or plant species as possible candidates for
addition, removal, or reclassification in Appendices I and II.
Information may be submitted on the status of domestic and
foreign species if these species are subject to international
trade that may be detrimental to wild populations.

One of the species under consideration for reclassification is
the North American population of the gyrfalcon, a raptor found in
the arctic and subarctic regions of Alaska, Canada, Greenland,
and Iceland.  Because the Service has no evidence that this
particular population has ever been threatened due to habitat
loss, nest robbing, or trade, the agency is considering a
proposal to transfer the species from Appendix I to Appendix II.
In the past, European range states have been concerned about
enforcement problems for their own populations if the North
American birds were downlisted.  However, trade in North American
gyrfalcons does not appear to pose a significant threat to the
survival of the species.

Another proposal under consideration is to include the timber
rattlesnake, a U.S. native species, in Appendix II.  Although
found in 27 states from New Hampshire and Minnesota south to
Texas and Florida, populations have declined greatly over much of
their range.  In fact, timber rattlesnakes have completely
disappeared from Maine and Rhode Island and they are listed as
endangered in many northern states.  However, these snakes are
still being collected for the pet trade, for meat, and for
leather goods.

The CITES parties also periodically review species currently
listed on the appendices to ensure they are listed appropriately.
Because there is no evidence that the Sonoran green toad and the
orange-throated whiptail lizard are in international trade, the
United States and Mexico have been asked to consider proposing to
remove them from the Appendices.  Therefore, the Service is
asking for biological and trade information on these two species.

In addition, the CITES nations will be reviewing most of the
plant species included in the Appendices prior to 1985 to assess
whether they are appropriately listed.

The Service is not asking for complete proposals at this time but
rather is seeking information describing the status of the
species, conservation and management programs, including the
effectiveness of enforcement efforts, and both domestic and
international trade data.  Comments must be submitted by
March 31, 1998, which is 60 days from publication in the
January 30, 1998, Federal Register.

The next Conference of the Parties is expected to be held in
November 1999 in Indonesia.

Comments should be sent to Chief, Office of Scientific Authority,
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 4401 North Fairfax Drive, Room
750, Arlington, VA 22203.  Comments and materials received will
be available for public inspection by appointment from 8 a.m. to
4 p.m. Monday through Friday at the Office of Scientific
Authority.  For further information, please contact Dr. Susan
Lieberman, Acting Chief, Office of Scientific Authority.
Telephone:  703-358-1708, fax:  703-358-2276, or e-mail: 
susan_lieberman@fws.gov.

-FWS-



============================================================
News releases are also available on the World Wide Web at
http://www.fws.gov/~r9extaff/pubaff.html  They can be reviewed in
chronological order or searched by keyword.

Questions concerning a particular news release or item of
information should be directed to the person listed as the
contact. General comments or observations concerning the
content of the information should be directed to Craig
Rieben (craig_rieben@mail.fws.gov) in the Office of Public
Affairs.

============================================================
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Date: Fri, 6 Feb 1998 15:35:12 EST
From: CFOXAPI@aol.com
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Fwd: U.S. Supports Rhino, Tiger Conservation at Home and Abroad
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Date: Thurs, 05 February 1998 9:40:00 -0600 (MDT)
From: Mitch Snow 
To: fws-news@dataadmin.irm.r9.fws.gov
Subject: U.S. Supports Rhino, Tiger Conservation at Home and Abroad
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February 4, 1998                               Patricia Fisher  202-208-5634

U.S. SUPPORTS RHINO, TIGER CONSERVATION AT HOME AND ABROAD

The Administration is throwing its support behind a new act
proposed by Congress to make it illegal to sell products labeled
as containing rhino or tiger parts in the United States,
Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt announced today.

"The United States will do its utmost to ensure that the next
commemoration of the Year of the Tiger is a celebration and not a
wake," said Babbitt.  "This legislation will have the full
support of the Administration and, if enacted, will add to other
efforts to assist our international partners in rhino and tiger
conservation.  This country will use every tool it has to help
save the world's wild rhino and tiger populations from extinction
due to illegal trade and habitat loss."  This new measure (H.R.
2807, the Rhino and Tiger Product Labeling Act) closes a gap in
the existing Rhino and Tiger Conservation Act by prohibiting
importation and sale of products claiming to contain rhinoceros
horn or tiger products.  If adopted, it would allow law
enforcement officers to seize the illegal substances at U.S.
ports of entry.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Federal agency charged
with implementing the Rhinoceros and Tiger Conservation Act, is
assisting rhino and tiger range states with expanded
on-the-ground conservation efforts.  Domestically, the Service
has been working in partnership with local Asian communities to
develop educational materials to address the thriving illegal
trade in traditional oriental medicines purported to contain
tiger or rhino parts and its impact on wild populations.

"In this Year of the Tiger, I am encouraged to report that,
thanks to appropriations provided by the U.S. Congress for the
Rhinoceros and Tiger Conservation Fund, range countries in Africa
and Asia are reporting progress in their efforts to combat the
forces responsible for the absolutely desperate state of these
species due to habitat degradation and the illegal trade,"
Babbitt said.

At latest count, there were no more than 5,000
to 7,000 tigers left in the wild.  The total
population of all three Asian rhino species is less
than half the number of tigers and the African black
rhino has suffered a 90-percent reduction since the 1960s.  All
populations of both species are protected under the U.S.
Endangered Species Act and by the Convention on International
Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), an international
conservation agreement; nevertheless, the lucrative illegal trade
in their parts and products continues.

Although range country governments were trying to reverse the
reasons for this dire situation, they were without sufficient
funds, training, personnel, enforcement capability or equipment
to ensure success against the well-organized poachers.
Recognizing that the United States could offer much-needed
financial and moral support to the conservation programs of
nations whose activities impact rhinos and tigers, Congress
passed the Rhinoceros and Tiger Conservation Act in 1994.  The
Act provides money to fund projects that will enhance sustainable
development programs to provide effective long-term rhino and
tiger conservation.  Congress authorized funding for the Act
through the year 2000.  In FY 1996, Congress appropriated
$200,000 for these grants, $400,000 in FY 1997, and another
$400,000 in FY 1998, and the same amount is requested in the
President's 1999 budget proposal.

To date, 30 projects in 10 range countries have been awarded some
$582,000 under the Rhinoceros and Tiger Conservation Fund.  This
money has been tripled by matching funds, provided in most cases
by the grant recipients, bringing the total to almost $1.9
million.  Half the money has gone to support law enforcement
programs.  In addition, nine grants were awarded to range country
governments with an equal number going to range country non-
governmental organizations.  A total of 12 grants went to
international non-governmental organizations.

"The distribution of these small grants indicates that everyone
is trying to work together to halt the drastic decline of these
species," said Babbitt.  "I am encouraged to report that grant
money is getting right into the hands of individuals who are
working in local communities close to the problem.  These are
often out-of-the way places rich in wildlife, vulnerable to
poachers, and very difficult to protect.  The simple act of
providing boots, raincoats, and basic training can make an
enormous difference in the ability of rangers to undertake
effective anti-poaching measures."

Some examples of current projects and how they benefit rhino and
tiger range countries are:

o     In Assam, India, the Fund provides support for various
conservation efforts at Kaziranga National Park and Pobitor,
Orang, and Laokhowa wildlife sanctuaries.  Kaziranga
National Park provides habitat for the largest remaining
Indian rhino population, 55 percent of the total wild
population of the species.  The $30,000 provided by the Fund
will be used by park forest guards to build 10 shelters for
their use while on security patrols, permitting them to
remain longer in areas where poachers access the park.

o     A grant of $16,840 was awarded to The Wildlife Protection
Society of India to support six workshops to educate local
law enforcement officials on such topics as wildlife laws,
species identification, law enforcement techniques, and
interagency coordination.

o     The Fund awarded a $19,730 grant to the Project Committee of
the Conservation of One-Horned Rhinoceros in Assam, India,
to strengthen the implementation of the Indian Wildlife
Protection Act as it relates to the conservation of rhinos
in Assam.  These funds allow the grantee to gather much-
needed information on rhinoceros poaching and the trade in
rhino parts, identify poaching strongholds, inventory seized
products, and build a database.  The grant is also helping
fund an enhanced law enforcement capability as well as
workshops on rhino conservation needs and laws protecting
these animals.

o     The black rhino population in Tanzania has been reduced to
fewer than 100 individuals because of extensive poaching.
The Fund has provided $30,480 to the World Wildlife Fund in
Tanzania to support surveillance and monitoring training for
field staff of the Selous Game Reserve, one of the largest
protected areas in Africa.

o     The Minnesota Conservation Officers Association has received
a grant of $40,000 for its Adopt-A-Warden program in
Indonesia.  This program is giving Indonesian national park
wardens training, equipment, and technical assistance from
Minnesota game wardens.

o     Huai Kha Khaeng National Park in Thailand, that country's
largest continuous naturally forested area, is considered to
be one of Thailand's most biologically important areas and
contains its largest tiger population.  A $9,637 grant to
the Royal Forest Department will allow conservation outreach
and education within the local communities and afford the
chance to foster mutual trust between villagers and wildlife
conservation officers through a series of meetings.

o     Vietnam's wild animals and plants are being exploited in the
international marketplace.  Through the Fund, the Institute
of Ecology and Biological Resources will use a $12,790 grant
to provide 30 Customs officers who work along Vietnam's
border with China with basic training covering the
principles of the Convention on International Trade in
Endangered Species and their implementation.

o     The Javan rhino is the most imperiled of all rhinos. A grant
of $19,680 to Vietnam's Institute of Ecology and Biological
Resources supports information-gathering efforts on the
status of the Javan rhino population in Catloc Nature
Reserve including the number of rhinos and their
distribution.  These studies will provide data necessary for
formulating enhanced rhino conservation programs for law
enforcement officers and for local communities.

"These grants, though small, really make a difference," said
Babbitt.  "In addition to giving range countries funds for law
enforcement and conservation efforts, the Fund's most important
contribution is intangible.  This program tells local people that
we in the United States care about what they are doing."

The Service is not only providing conservation assistance and law
enforcement education abroad, but is working with this country's
local Asian communities to stop consumer demand for traditional
medicines purported to contain rhino or tiger parts.
"In order to break the cycle of poaching and illegal trade which
has so devastated these irreplaceable animals, we must also work
to break supply lines and remove rhino and tiger products from
the marketplace," said Babbitt.

The thriving trade in traditional Oriental medicines in cities
all around the world having large Asian populations has fueled
poaching activities in range countries.  In 1994, the Service
began a pilot program in Los Angeles, which has one of this
country's largest Asian communities, involving an extensive
outreach and conservation education program in conjunction with
local schools and community-based activities.  In addition, in
Los Angeles, an interagency wildlife law enforcement task force
has made concentrated efforts to interdict shipments of wildlife
products including rhino and tiger medicines.

"Thanks to this partnership with the Asian community, Los Angeles
now has the lowest incidence of rhino and tiger products in
traditional medicine shops," said Babbitt.

Despite this success in Los Angeles, Service wildlife inspectors
all over the country routinely find shipments containing wildlife
products labeled as containing protected species parts,
especially rhino and tiger.  Once these mass-produced products
reach the United States, even when labeled as containing rhino or
tiger parts, the legal burden of proof falls on the Service to
demonstrate scientifically whether the products actually contain
what the labels say.  According to the Service's forensics
experts, it is a very time-consuming and costly process to
develop a DNA analysis test to identify any particular group of
wildlife, such as all rhinos or all tigers.

Given this situation, seized items must often be returned to the
importer because it is not possible to show any violation of any
existing U.S. law such as the Endangered Species Act or the Lacey
Act.  In addition, because enforcement is so difficult, these
products are easily found for sale.

"These products, whether or not they actually contain rhino or
tiger parts, stimulate demand and feed the market that makes
these critically endangered animals more valuable dead than
alive," said Babbitt.




-FWS-



============================================================
News releases are also available on the World Wide Web at
http://www.fws.gov/~r9extaff/pubaff.html  They can be reviewed in
chronological order or searched by keyword.

Questions concerning a particular news release or item of
information should be directed to the person listed as the
contact. General comments or observations concerning the
content of the information should be directed to Craig
Rieben (craig_rieben@mail.fws.gov) in the Office of Public
Affairs.

============================================================
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Date: Fri, 6 Feb 1998 16:30:15 EST
From: CFOXAPI@aol.com
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Cc: patklein@ix.netcom.com, wildskunk@capecod.net
Subject: ALERT: YOPLAIT CONTAINERS KILLING SKUNKS
Message-ID: 
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit


Thank you to all who have written or called General Mills requesting the
company take action to change the shape of their Yoplait yogurt containers
which are killing skunks across the country. A spokesperson at General Mills
recently stated that the company is taking notice of this issue because of the
flood of letters, phone calls and media attention this problem has generated.
The company has specifically asked for documentation showing that skunks are
dying in the Yoplait containers.  If you have ever witnessed this problem, or
know of animal control officers, wildlife rehabbers, etc. who have, please
share this action alert with them.  Please also call the company's 1-800
number and write to General Mills requesting immediate action on this issue (a
sample letter follows).

Thank you,
Camilla H. Fox
Animal Protection Institute
___________________________________

                                 ***ACTION ALERT***

                      Yoplait Yogurt Containers Killing Wildlife

A number of animal control officers, wildlife rehabilitators, shelter workers,
and individuals have called the Animal Protection Institute (API) recently
with concerns about a recurring problem -- wild animals who get their heads
stuck in Yoplait yogurt containers and suffocate to death. It appears that
wild animals do not get their heads stuck in other yogurt containers, so the
problem is most likely the shape of the Yoplait containers themselves, which
have a wider circumference at the bottom than the top. A simple change in
design could rectify this problem. We are working to encourage General Mills
to address this problem -- which the company admits it has known of for years
-- and we need your help to make this happen.

You can help in three ways:

1) Please write or fax a letter to the President of General Mills requesting
immediate attention to this problem. The company has specifically requested
information from people who have witnessed this problem and is particularly
interested in reports of animals that have died as a result of being trapped
in a Yoplait container. Letters should be addressed to:

Mr. Steve Sanger, President
General Mills Incorporated
P.O. Box 1113
Minneapolis, MN 55440
Fax 612-540-4925
Phone 1-800-967-5248
Email Yoplait@cis.compuserve.com

2) If you have witnessed an animal trapped in a Yoplait yogurt container, API
wants to know about it. Please contact Camilla Fox at API at (916) 731-5521.
We especially want to hear from animal control officers, wildlife
rehabilitators, or shelter workers who are familiar with this issue.

3) Please help us publicize this issue by distributing this Action Alert to
your colleagues, friends, and family. The more letters General Mills receives
from the public and the more reports we can collect documenting this problem,
the better equipped we will be to convince GM to address this issue as soon as
possible.

Thank You!
__________________________________________

SAMPLE LETTER:

Mr. Steve Sanger, President
General Mills Incorporated
P.O. Box 1113
Minneapolis, MN 55440

Dear Mr. Sanger,

I am writing to convey what many wildlife advocacy and rehabilitation
organizations see as a serious problem with the shape of your Yoplait yogurt
containers.

The current design of Yoplait containers, with its narrow top and wide bottom,
is such that certain species of wildlife have been found with their heads
stuck in the container. As a result they have suffocated to death. This
appears to happen primarily with juvenile skunks and raccoons and is
ostensibly a result of these animals attempting to retrieve yogurt at the
bottom of the container. Clearly the shape of the Yoplait containers is such
that it makes it impossible for a juvenile wild animal to extricate its head
before suffocating to death.

In a recent letter to the Animal Protection Institute (API), one animal
control officer in California wrote, "I have worked in dispatch communications
for animal control since 1992, and have had numerous calls from citizens of
young wildlife getting their heads stuck inside Yoplait containers since they
are so narrow at the top. These are the only containers we have found causing
problems. Last week, we had three juvenile skunks that officers had to rescue.
It is quite a tug to get the container off; many have suffocated this way. We
have seen as many as 5 in one week in the San Mateo County California area.
Our previous Captain had written to Yoplait years ago, but nothing was
changed."

When an API staff member recently contacted your company, she was told that
General Mills has "known about the problem for years" but will do nothing
about it. General Mills continues to cite a 1978 University of Minnesota
study, which ostensibly tested the ability of squirrels to extricate
themselves from Yoplait yogurt containers.  However, animal advocacy
organizations and members of the press who have requested copies of this study
from General Mills have been told by company spokespersons that they are
"unable to locate the study."

I urge you, as President of General Mills, to consider this issue with the
utmost seriousness and to take concrete action. A slight change in the Yoplait
container design could easily rectify this problem without jeopardizing the
brand recognition of the product. The publicity resulting from such a
beneficial redesign can only increase General Mills' image as a national
corporation that cares about the safety and environmental impacts of your
products. Please ensure that this problem is addressed as soon as possible.

Thank you for taking my concerns into consideration. I look forward to your
response regarding this important issue.

Sincerely,

Date: Fri, 06 Feb 98 16:44:53 PST
From: "Linda J. Howard" 
To: AR-NEWS@ENVIROLINK.COM
Subject: Indonesia Fires Threaten Animals
Message-ID: 
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="ISO-8859-1"; X-MAPIextension=".TXT"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit

Indonesia Fires Threaten Animals

The Associated Press

 By IRWAN FIRDAUS

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) - Wildfires are threatening the survival of
thousands of rare and protected animals - from orangutans to iguanas - in a
tinder-dry national park on the Indonesian island of Borneo, a wildlife
official said today.

Maulana Budi, deputy chief of Kutai National Park in East Kalimantan
province, said officials feared for the park's endangered population of
about 50 orangutan apes, as well as for 500 proboscis monkeys.

Bears, crocodiles, snakes, iguanas, buffaloes and deer were also in danger
from flames and choking smoke. More than half of Borneo's bird species are
found in the park, about 850 miles northeast of Jakarta.

Last year, authorities said at least 120 orangutans were tortured or killed
by residents as the primates were forced out of their habitat by wildfires
raging on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra.

The current fires were first detected Jan. 31 and have spread quickly
through the southern part of the 500,000-acre wildlife reserve. Flames also
were burning near a research center that studies rare species.

``Now automatically, their instincts make the animals migrate north to the
other parts of the park where they can find water and avoid the smog,''
Maulana told The Associated Press by telephone.

He said about 60 park rangers and 500 local people have been trying to
contain the fires with water trucks and bulldozers. A water bomber plane
was expected to arrive at the scene in the next few days.

Fires on other parts of Borneo have produced thick palls of smoke that
caused two regional airports to close temporarily because of poor
visibility, and residents have complained about choking smoke.

Parts of the neighboring island of Maluku have also faced fires recently.

Indonesia faced a major ecological disaster last year when hundreds of
forest fires burned across the archipelago.

The blazes blackened millions of acres and produced thick smog across a
large slice of Southeast Asia, threatening the health of millions of people.

Seasonal rains doused most of the fires by December. However, some areas
have become dry again, allowing flames to take hold once more.

Meteorologists blame the drought on El Nino, a weather-changing phenomenon
in the Pacific Ocean.

AP-NY-02-06-98 0427EST

Date: Fri, 06 Feb 1998 16:48:41 -0800
From: Mesia Quartano 
To: "ar-news@envirolink.org" 
Subject: Sri Lanka Killer Elephant Sold 
Message-ID: <34DBAF10.2A951843@usa.net>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

Sri Lanka Killer Elephant Sold
(AP Online; 02/06/98)

By DILIP GANGULY  Associated Press Writer

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP)   An elephant that killed two people fetched
nearly $15,000 --  100 times the average yearly salary in Sri Lanka   at
an auction Friday to spare his life.

Raja used to be a star attraction at the National Zoological Gardens in
Colombo, a role that required him to perform tricks every day for
trainers who prodded him with sharp instruments not unlike spears.

But a year and a half ago, as Raja was being led to his performance, he
grabbed his trainer with his trunk and smashed him against an electric
pole, killing him.

Raja was taken out of the show and placed under observation. He seemed
fine until Dec. 25 when he killed another trainer by grabbing him with
his trunk and piercing his chest with his small tusk.

The zoo realized it couldn't keep Raja, but it also knew this largely
Buddhist country which abhors violence would not want the animal put to
death. It decided to give Raja, which means "king" in the Sinhala
language, another chance. As the zoo director put it, "All of us make
mistakes."

On Friday, there was no lack of bidders for the elephant. Among the
would-be owners were a number of Buddhists monks who wanted to use him
in religious parades.

The auction had been under way about 45 minutes when Nilaga Dela, son of
a wealthy gem dealer, placed the winning bid   905,000 rupees, the
equivalent of $14,836. The average yearly salary in Sri Lanka is roughly
$1,500.

After repeating the offer three times, the auctioneer lowered his
hammer. "Magnificent Raja is sold," he said.

Dela said he wasn't afraid of Raja.

"We will give him enough love to start all over again," Dela said.

He planned to let Raja wander on his family's estate in Ratnapura, just
south of Colombo.

A few people at the zoo entrance protested the auction, saying it was
cruel to take Raja from the only home he has known for 20 years.

But Raja's new home may be step up in the world.

Born in the wild in northern Sri Lanka, he was deserted by his herd
while still young. Wildlife officials had him brought to the capital
where he wound up in the zoo.

Until now, when he wasn't doing tricks like lifting a bucket of water,
he has spent most of his days in chains in a shed filled with other
elephants.


Date: Fri, 6 Feb 1998 18:37:39 EST
From: SMatthes@aol.com
To: ar-news@envirolink.org, EnglandGal@aol.com, Pandini1@prodigy.net,
        RonnieJW@aol.com, jdanh@JUNO.com, dawnmarie@rocketmail.com,
        Chibob44@aol.com, Ron599@aol.com
Subject: Florida State Fair Animal Acts Protest Saturday
Message-ID: <35eae31.34db9ec5@aol.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit

ANIMAL ACTS ARE ABUNDANT AT FLORIDA STATE FAIR
Please show your disapproval by giving just two hours (plus travel time)

Saturday 12 noon - 2 p.m.
Fairgrounds at U. S. 301 Entrance
Florida State Fair 
Tampa, Florida

The fair has booked all sorts of animal acts - bears riding motorcycles, tiger
acts, several horse acts, alligator wrestling and much more.  

Two large banners are available.  Hope we have the 4 activists needed to hold
them.  Would like feedback on anyone planning to be there.  Only 3 from
Sarasota have commited to travel the 50 miles to attend.  Anyone from Tampa?
St. Petersburg? Clearwater? Orlando? Plant City?  Gainesville?  Are there any
ACTIVISTS out there?? Hello ----


  
Date: Fri, 06 Feb 1998 18:58:38 -0800
From: Barry Kent MacKay 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Cc: stricker@gvn.net
Subject: Fishing habits upset natural balance (CA)
Message-ID: <34DBCDDE.3ADE@sympatico.ca>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

Fising habits upset natural balance
UBC scientists contend species disappearing because ocean food chains
broken.
by Stephen Straus, Science Reporter
The Globe and Mail. Friday, February 6, 1998

Human fishing practices threaten to irrevocably rupture the ocean's food
web, Canadian researchers say in a scientific paper being released
today.

In a paper published in the journal Science, researchers from the
University of British Columbia and from the Philippines have looked at
the pattern of fish catches around the world from 1950 to 1994.

In a general sense, what they are finding is that as stocks of large
predator fish are depleted, the fishing industry has directed its dights
lower in the food chain.

In practice, this means fishermen then catch the fish that were the
foodstuff of the larger creatures they no longer fish.

After these stocks are exhausted, the fishermen go down another step in
the food chain, concentrating on shrimp and other bottom-dwelling
animals that feed directly on microscopic plants and animals.

The continuing slide down the food chain applies to both ocean and
fresh-water fisheries.

A potential result of the shifting catch strategies is that even if
moratoriums stop the fishing of a depleted species, its numbers may not
rebound because the food source on which it relied has been depleted.

The negative feedback effect becomes even more exaggerated if the food
its prey eats has also been fished out.

"The moral of the paper is that what we think is sustainable is not. 
Stagnating catches mask an underlying decline," said UBC fisheries
professor Daniel Pauly, adding that "you can't turn cod into plankton
eaters."

The paper, which relies on data from the United Nations Food and
Agriculture Organization, uses a scale in which top predators are 5 and
those at the bottom of the food web are 2.  For example, killer whales
(marine mammals) are 5, tuna, grouper and cod are 4, sardines are 3 and
anchovies 2.

Over the past 34 years, the average trophic (food web) level of fish
caught has declined from 3.4 to 3.1 in the oceans and from 3 to 2.8 in
fresh water.  The biggest decline was in the area off the Canadian and
U.S. East Coasts, where levels have gone from 3.4 to 2.9.

"We think the level would have been above 4 at the turn of the century,"
Prof. Pauly said about an as-yet-unpublished review of earlier data.

However, one down side of the new study is the unreliability of data in
the Southern Hemisphere.

To protect against a complete food web collapse, Prof. Pauly and the
paper's other authors are advocating the establishment of marine
national parks where all fishing is prohibited.

-30-

Barry Kent MacKay
International Program Director
Animal Protection Institute
http://www.api4animals.org

Date: Sat, 7 Feb 1998 08:02:00 +0800
From: bunny 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (US)RCD shown to cause human health problems -- US expert
Message-ID: <1.5.4.16.19980207075428.29ff2098@wantree.com.au>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

>From The Press (NZ)- February 06, 1998

 RCD shown to cause human health problems -- US expert : 

WELLINGTON -- Rabbit calicivirus disease has been shown to cause health
problems in humans, an American expert told Parliament's primary production
select committee. 

Professor Alvin Smith, who has studied caliciviruses for 25 years, told the
committee by teleconference yesterday there was evidence, but no proof,
that RCD had affected humans. 

A study in Geelong, Australia, had shown people exposed to RCD had double
the number of symptoms -- including diarrhoea, vomiting, flu-like illness,
and miscarriages -- as people who were not exposed or only lightly exposed,
he said. 

Dr Smith said the Australian study would be released this month. 

The committee is considering the Biosecurity (Rabbit Calicivirus) Amendment
Bill, which aims to retrospectively legalise RCD which was illegally
imported last year. 

Dr Smith, from Oregon State University, told the committee that creating an
RCD epidemic was "playing with dynamite". 

"There's no rational basis in science in taking this risk." 

Like the chicken flu virus, which had recently infected people in Hong
Kong, RCD could also cross to humans, Dr Smith said. 

Four of the five types of calicivirus were known to infect humans.
Experimental work in Geelong had shown antibodies had developed in 11 of 34
species tested, which indicated it was not just specific to rabbits. 

Kitchen blenders

As a virus, RCD would mutate into many different forms, which was how it
had survived in nature. No two viruses would have exactly the same genetic
sequence. 

"All of this is not proof, but it is compelling evidence," he said. 

He also criticised the practice of farmers using kitchen blenders to make
RCD "home brews" to spread the virus. Blenders caused air-borne infectious
particles, which could drift on air currents. 

He suggested New Zealand could attempt to eradicate RCD in the North
Island, where it was less established. 

However, Australian scientist Tony Robinson, who has studied the
epidemiology of RCD and is involved with the Australian RCD programme,
disagreed with Dr Smith's views. 

"I don't believe there's any evidence that this virus infects other species
and humans, there's no evidence for that." 

RCD was one of the most highly scrutinised viruses yet, he told the
committee. 

It was not reasonable to compare RCD with chicken flu, as influenza was
known to infect humans, he said. To compare the two was scaremongering. 

He said he did not condone the use of kitchen blenders to spread RCD,
because it was not a good microbiological practice. -- NZPA 

=====================================================================
========
                   /`\   /`\    Rabbit Information Service,
Tom, Tom,         (/\ \-/ /\)   P.O.Box 30,
The piper's son,     )6 6(      Riverton,
Saved a pig        >{= Y =}<    Western Australia 6148
And away he run;    /'-^-'\  
So none could eat  (_)   (_)    email: rabbit@wantree.com.au
The pig so sweet    |  .  |  
Together they ran   |     |}    http://www.wantree.com.au/~rabbit/rabbit.htm
Down the street.    \_/^\_/    (Rabbit Information Service website updated
                                frequently)                                

Jesus was most likely a vegetarian... why aren't you? Go to
http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/4620/essene.htm
for more information.

It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong.
       - Voltaire

Date: Fri, 06 Feb 1998 16:20:14 -0800
From: "Bob Schlesinger" 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Nadas supporters plan new round to save dog
Message-ID: <199802061620140540.016D1179@pcez.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit

>From the Medford Mail Tribune  http://www.mailtribune.com
Web Posted February 6, 1998
Medford Oregon
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

   Nadas supporters plan new round to save dog

   By BETH QUINN

   The battle to save Nadas is moving into federal court and into the streets next week.

   An attorney for the condemned dog's owner said Thursday he'll file a lawsuit in U.S. District
Court
   in Eugene seeking to hold Jackson County commissioners personally liable for allegedly
violating the
   dog's owner's civil rights.

   He also said Nadas' supporters plan to launch an initiative petition drive to overturn the state
law
   used by commissioners to condemn the collie-malamute to death.

   "We'll be suing them in federal court next week for wrongful search and seizure," said Lake
Oswego
   attorney Robert Babcock. "Not only are we going to battle on to save Nadas, but the kickoff for
   the initiative campaign to do away with this livestock law is Feb. 14."

   Babcock represents Sean Roach, of Phoenix, who has been fighting to save the life of his dog
since
   Jackson County commissioners issued a death sentence in September 1996. Their ruling came
after
   the dog chased a horse on Lone Pine Road in Medford; Roach had also received a warning from
   county animal control officers in December 1995 after a rancher complained that Nadas chased
his
   cow.

   The fight for Nadas' life has captured national attention, with coverage ranging from the
National
   Enquirer to postings on Internet web sites. County commissioners have received an avalanche
of
   2,700 letters urging them to save the dog.

   County officials are bracing for a deluge of phone calls after the broadcast of a Nadas segment
that
   was expected to air at 12:30 a.m. today on Fox-TV's "Hard Copy." The county has set up a
Nadas
   Hotline at 776-7338 that will record all calls.

   Despite the brouhaha, commissioners Jack Walker, Sue Kupillas and Ric Holt are standing firm
on
   their decision to have the dog put down, citing a recent ruling by the Oregon Court of Appeals
that
   found the dog's death mandatory under state law.

   Nadas supporters had hoped commissioners would adopt a retroactive local ordinance to spare
his
   life because the dog chased but didn't injure either animal. Individuals and animal shelters
outside of
   Oregon have offered the dog a new home.

   Thursday, county commissioners met in an executive session closed to the public, and
afterwards
   County Administrator Burke Raymond said commissioners held firm because they fear future
   liability, especially since animal control officers say Nadas is not adoptable.

   "There is a criteria established for determining whether a dog is adoptable, and in the opinion of
the
   professionals at animal control, Nadas is presently not adoptable," he said.

   But Babcock questioned whether Colleen Macuk, manager at the Jackson County Animal
Shelter,
   has the professional training to make that assessment, noting a recent letter to the editor from a
   county animal shelter volunteer who described walking, brushing and playing with Nadas.

   "If they become attached to him through walking him, playing with him and brushing him, he
sounds
   pretty damned adoptable to me,'' Babcock said.

   "Let's say Colleen Macuk knows what the hell she's talking about and the dog is not suitable for
   placement in the average American home with 2.5 kids and ostriches racing around the borders.
   That would not say anything at all about if the dog was suitable for placement with a sanctuary
that
   has offered a home."

   Raymond said county officials and employees are frustrated by the fact that so many people are
   fighting for the life of a dog which chases livestock while ignoring the thousands of innocent
dogs put
   down each year. In 1997, Jackson County euthanized 1,710 dogs. 

   Of those, only 49 were condemned for violating laws that protect livestock.

   Babcock believes Roach's dog is a fitting poster dog for a bad law.

   "I think Nadas has awakened much of Oregon to the lunacy that this law reflects, and to the
political
   allegiances of Jackson and other counties," he said.
Date: Fri, 6 Feb 1998 16:28:09 -0800 (PST)
From: Michael Markarian 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org, en.alerts@conf.igc.apc.org
Subject: Mass. Alert: Phone Calls Needed to Save Beavers
Message-ID: <2.2.16.19980206193219.6857e9ea@pop.igc.org>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

MASSACHUSETTS ACTION ALERT

Phone Calls Needed to Save Beavers!

On Monday, February 9, the Chair of the Conservation Commission will meet
with local trappers to consult on trapping and killing beavers who have
flooded a youth soccer field in Peabody.  On Thursday, February 12,
officials will vote on the plan.  There is a beaver baffle in place near the
soccer field; however, it has been vandalized and the city would rather
waste their resources by trapping and killing beavers, than by fixing the
minor repairs to the baffle.

The plan to capture and kill the beaver, and then to repair the water
damage, will be much more expensive than repairing the beaver baffle.
Removing the beavers will simply create a vacancy into which more beavers
can move.

Please contact Peter Torigian, the Mayor of Peabody, and tell him that the
public should have a voice at the meeting on Monday evening, and demand that
he as an elected official vote to stop this trap and kill plan.  Also, call
Kevin McHugh,  the Chair of the Conservation Commission, and tell him that
he must act in accordance with the general public of Massachusetts,  who
voted last year that the lethal trapping of wildlife is unacceptable.  Also,
find out from City Hall when and where these meetings are being held, and
attend them to show your opposition to this plan.  

     
        Peter Torigian                    
        City Hall                             
        Lowell St.                           
        Peabody, MA 01960           
        Ph: (978) 530 1616              
        Fax: (978) 531 2667

        Kevin McHugh
        City Hall 
        Lowell St.
        Peabody, MA 01960
        Fax: (978) 531 0098

Thank you for your help with important issue.  Remember, every call counts!!!
     

Date: Sat, 7 Feb 1998 11:14:42 +0800
From: bunny 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (Aust)CALICIVIRUS BLAMED FOR BETTONG DEATHS
Message-ID: <1.5.4.16.19980207110709.2c17b978@wantree.com.au>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

The West Australian [Newspaper]
Saturday February 7th 1996

CALICIVIRUS BLAMED FOR BETTONG DEATHS

ADELAIDE CONSERVATIONIST  John Wamsley fears the rabbit 
calicivirus disease has killed bettongs and could wipe out wildlife.
  Dr  Wamsley,  the  director  of South Australia's Earth Sanctuaries, 
said he believed the calicivirus disease (RCD) killed about  100
burrowing  bettongs,  short-nosed rat-kangaroos, at his Yookamurra
sanctuary in the Murray Mallee a year ago.
 He accused the Federal Government of doing research on the
cheap before the release of RCD in 1996.
 But Dr Wamsley said he had no proof that RCD was behind the
bettong  deaths because  he  was unable to recover bodies.
 The CSIRO, Primary Industries South Australia and the  RCD
management group rejected Dr Wamsley's claims, saying there
was no evidence that bettongs were afFected by RCD.

   Dr Wamsley said he had dismissed  the  deaths  -  which
reduced the . Yookamurra bettong colony from about 120 to four in a
week - as a fluke at the time but recently  became  convinced  that
RCD was the killer.
 "I was talking to someone a couple of weeks ago and they told
me they had a pen of rabbits and red  bettongs together  
(in  the Adelaide Hills) and when the calicivirus came through, 
they all died," he said.
 "I don't think they tested calici with all the native 
animals . . . I'm calling for them now to test on red bettongs 
and burrowing bettongs as a matter of urgency and, if they
are . . . susceptible to it, then I'm asking for a complete rethink of
what the CSIRO is on about."
 Dr Wamsley said the CSIRO which  tested  whether  RCD
affected  animals  other  than rabbits before its release, should
be prosecuted under endangered species legislation if the bettongs
were killed by the virus.
  CSIRO  division  of  animal health chief Mike  Rickard said
there was no scientific ..evidence that RCD infected native animals
or any species other than the European rabbit.
  He said the CSIRO and international laboratories had tested 43
different animal species, including brush-tailed bettongs, to show
that RCD infected the rabbit only. 
 Dr Rickard said he would be amazed if RCD affected any animals other 
than rabbits but he said claims of possible infection
should be treated seriously and investigated.
  RCD management group chairman Graeme Eggleston said 
Dr Wamsley's claims were based on circumstantial evidence.
 Primary Industries South Australian senior research officer Ron
Sinclair said there was no reason to associate RCD with the deaths.
=====================================================================
========
                   /`\   /`\    Rabbit Information Service,
Tom, Tom,         (/\ \-/ /\)   P.O.Box 30,
The piper's son,     )6 6(      Riverton,
Saved a pig        >{= Y =}<    Western Australia 6148
And away he run;    /'-^-'\  
So none could eat  (_)   (_)    email: rabbit@wantree.com.au
The pig so sweet    |  .  |  
Together they ran   |     |}    http://www.wantree.com.au/~rabbit/rabbit.htm
Down the street.    \_/^\_/    (Rabbit Information Service website updated
                                frequently)                                

Jesus was most likely a vegetarian... why aren't you? Go to
http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/4620/essene.htm
for more information.

It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong.
       - Voltaire

Date: Sat, 7 Feb 1998 11:22:41 +0800
From: bunny 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (Aust)CALICIVIRUS BLAMED FOR BETTONG DEATHS-(date fixed)
Message-ID: <1.5.4.16.19980207111508.0d5f6dda@wantree.com.au>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

The West Australian [Newspaper]
Saturday February 7th 1998

CALICIVIRUS BLAMED FOR BETTONG DEATHS

ADELAIDE CONSERVATIONIST  John Wamsley fears the rabbit 
calicivirus disease has killed bettongs and could wipe out wildlife.
  Dr  Wamsley,  the  director  of South Australia's Earth Sanctuaries, 
said he believed the calicivirus disease (RCD) killed about  100
burrowing  bettongs,  short-nosed rat-kangaroos, at his Yookamurra
sanctuary in the Murray Mallee a year ago.
 He accused the Federal Government of doing research on the
cheap before the release of RCD in 1996.
 But Dr Wamsley said he had no proof that RCD was behind the
bettong  deaths because  he  was unable to recover bodies.
 The CSIRO, Primary Industries South Australia and the  RCD
management group rejected Dr Wamsley's claims, saying there
was no evidence that bettongs were afFected by RCD.

   Dr Wamsley said he had dismissed  the  deaths  -  which
reduced the . Yookamurra bettong colony from about 120 to four in a
week - as a fluke at the time but recently  became  convinced  that
RCD was the killer.
 "I was talking to someone a couple of weeks ago and they told
me they had a pen of rabbits and red  bettongs together  
(in  the Adelaide Hills) and when the calicivirus came through, 
they all died," he said.
 "I don't think they tested calici with all the native 
animals . . . I'm calling for them now to test on red bettongs 
and burrowing bettongs as a matter of urgency and, if they
are . . . susceptible to it, then I'm asking for a complete rethink of
what the CSIRO is on about."
 Dr Wamsley said the CSIRO which  tested  whether  RCD
affected  animals  other  than rabbits before its release, should
be prosecuted under endangered species legislation if the bettongs
were killed by the virus.
  CSIRO  division  of  animal health chief Mike  Rickard said
there was no scientific ..evidence that RCD infected native animals
or any species other than the European rabbit.
  He said the CSIRO and international laboratories had tested 43
different animal species, including brush-tailed bettongs, to show
that RCD infected the rabbit only. 
 Dr Rickard said he would be amazed if RCD affected any animals other 
than rabbits but he said claims of possible infection
should be treated seriously and investigated.
  RCD management group chairman Graeme Eggleston said 
Dr Wamsley's claims were based on circumstantial evidence.
 Primary Industries South Australian senior research officer Ron
Sinclair said there was no reason to associate RCD with the deaths.
=====================================================================
========
                   /`\   /`\    Rabbit Information Service,
Tom, Tom,         (/\ \-/ /\)   P.O.Box 30,
The piper's son,     )6 6(      Riverton,
Saved a pig        >{= Y =}<    Western Australia 6148
And away he run;    /'-^-'\  
So none could eat  (_)   (_)    email: rabbit@wantree.com.au
The pig so sweet    |  .  |  
Together they ran   |     |}    http://www.wantree.com.au/~rabbit/rabbit.htm
Down the street.    \_/^\_/    (Rabbit Information Service website updated
                                frequently)                                

Jesus was most likely a vegetarian... why aren't you? Go to
http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/4620/essene.htm
for more information.

It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong.
       - Voltaire

Date: Fri, 06 Feb 1998 23:26:28 -0500
From: allen schubert 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (US) Attorney likens 2nd beef show to open barn door
Message-ID: <3.0.32.19980206232624.0075b620@pop3.clark.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

from  Amarillo Globe-News http://www.amarillonet.com/
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Web posted Friday, February 6, 1998 2:05 p.m. CT

Attorney likens 2nd beef show to open barn door

By KAY LEDBETTER
Globe-News Farm and Ranch Editor

Taping a second show with cattlemen was "courageous" of Oprah Winfrey, but
much like "shutting the barn door after the horse is out," said plaintiff
attorney Joseph Coyne in the suit pitting area cattlemen against the
talk-show host.

Winfrey finished testifying late Thursday and Dr. Gary Weber, executive
director of regulatory affairs for the National Cattlemen's Beef
Association, took the witness stand via videotape.

The courageous comment referred to a letter sent to Winfrey by NCBA dated
April 25, 1996. In it, John Lacey, NCBA president, said "When we voiced our
concerns to you last week about what we believed to be an unfair
representation of our industry, you could have dug in and done nothing.
Instead, you showed courage and honest commitment to fairness by offering
us the opportunity to return to your show April 23, 1996 to set the record
straight."

Weber said on videotape, however, "It's hard to regain the ground with
respect to what happened on the first show."

What happened, he said, was that conversations with Harpo Productions staff
members led him to believe the show would be a fair and balanced forum to
present education material on bovine spongiform encephalopathy and what had
been done to prevent it from becoming a problem in U.S. beef.

What he got, Weber said, was interruptions and bad editing.

In testimony this morning, Weber was asked whether he thought Oprah was
honest.

"I think she wanted to be, she wanted to be fair with me and our industry,"
he said.

Asked whether she had integrity he said, "In my experience, she wanted to
set the record straight, I interpret that as fairness. The second show
showed she wanted to be portrayed that way."

However, when pushed further on the question of her integrity, Weber said,
"The way I was treated on the first show, I question that."

He testified he had problems with the way the show was staged, the
placement of the government expert off stage and in the audience, and
"layers of what we thought were false statements."

The audience at one time was "quite agitated," Weber said, but had settled
down and seemed more at ease once they found what the government had done
to protect the United States from a mad cow outbreak.

"If it had aired that way, it would have been OK," Weber said. The calming
statements were edited out, he said.

Weber said he went back for the second show on April 23, 1996, because it
was important to get the facts out.

"The public deserved that. We deserved that. We had a good story to tell,"
Weber said. "We were very proud of the facts."

Weber finished testifying early today and Dr. Lester Crawford, director of
the center for food and nutrition policy for Georgetown University, was
called to the stand by the plaintiffs.

He had finished outlining his credentials when a morning break was called.

Date: Fri, 06 Feb 1998 23:44:16 -0500
From: allen schubert 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (US) School Makes `Mad Cow' Discovery
Message-ID: <3.0.32.19980206234414.00eefbc8@pop3.clark.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

from AP http://wire.ap.org
-------------------------------------
 02/06/1998 02:24 EST

 School Makes `Mad Cow' Discovery

 By PAUL RECER
 AP Science Writer

 WASHINGTON (AP) -- Researchers have found how one form of prion, the
 abnormal protein thought to cause mad cow disease, is able to start a
 process that causes a massive destruction of brain cells.

 A team from the University of California, San Francisco, says it has
 discovered a type of prion that attaches to a key structure in neuron
 cells and triggers a signal that causes the cell to die.

 Dr. Vishwanath R. Lingappa, the study's lead author, said that the
 research reveals a process ``that is at the heart of at least one prion
 disease.'' But he said it is not clear if the same process occurs in all
 prion diseases.

 A report on the study is published today in the journal Science.

 A prion is an abnormal form of a protein that is present in the brains of
 humans, animals and birds.

 Nobel laureate Stanley B. Prusiner, a team member, has established a
 theory after many years of research that abnormal prions cause the
 widespread death of neurons, resulting in disorders such as scrapie in
 sheep, mad cow disease in cattle and a fatal brain disorder called
 Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in people.

 The theory is that a mutated form of prion attaches to normal prions in
 the brain and causes mutations. This leads in turn to massive and
 progressive destruction of brain cells and, eventually, death.

 Although the theory remains controversial, Prusiner was awarded the Nobel
 Prize last year for his prion research.

 In the latest study, the California researchers used a form of mutated
 prion that is different from the mad cow prion to search for an
 explanation of how the proteins cause disease.

 Lingappa said they found that when the abnormal prion is made in the
 cell, it becomes stuck in a structure called the endoplasmic reticulum, a
 membrane that makes proteins and moves them around within the cell.

 When the prion is lodged in the membrane, said Lingappa, it triggers a
 signal that causes the cell to die.

 ``What we have found is why cells die in some prion diseases,'' said
 Lingappa. ``In these diseases, the prion gets made in a form that turns
 on a signaling event to other parts of the cell. Apparently, neurons are
 triggered to die in this way.''

 He said the disease mechanism on a molecular level is one that has not
 been seen before in studies of fundamental cell processes.

 Lingappa said the process was discovered when a mutated type of prion was
 placed into the brains of newborn laboratory rats. The animals died
 within 60 days.

 A study of the rats' brains linked the deaths to abnormal prions stuck
 within the internal membrane of neuron cells.

 Researchers then tested specimens from patients who died of a brain
 disorder called Gerstmann-Straussler-Scheinker disease, or GSS. Lingappa
 said that the abnormal prion was found in this brain tissue.

 GSS is a rare disease that destroys the brain in a way close to
 Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.

 Lingappa said the prion linked to GSS is not infectious, while prions
 that cause mad cow disease and Cruetzfeldt-Jakob can be spread from one
 victim to another.

 A variant of Creutzfeldt-Jakob is thought to have caused the death of 23
 people in Britain since 1995. Scientists believe the victims contracted
 the disease from eating meat infected with bovine spongiform
 encephalopathy, or mad cow disease. The export of British beef was banned
 in 1996 because of the disease.

 But GSS, said Lingappa, apparently is not infectious and results from an
 inherited mutation.

 ``We're dealing with a disease where a mutation in the prion protein
 causes cells to die,'' he said. ``We don't know how this relates to the
 other prion-associated diseases.''

 Dr. Frank O. Bastian of the University of South Alabama, an expert in the
 Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, said he is uncertain whether the experiment
 reported by Lingappa will prove to be important in combating the disease.

 ``It is unclear if this really advances the understanding of the prion
 protein disease process,'' said Bastian.

Date: Fri, 06 Feb 1998 23:50:12 -0500
From: allen schubert 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (RO) Bardot Asks Romania To Kill Strays
Message-ID: <3.0.32.19980206235010.00779134@pop3.clark.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

from AP http://wire.ap.org
--------------------------------------
 02/06/1998 16:55 EST

 Bardot Asks Romania To Kill Strays

 By MIHAELA ARMASELU
 Associated Press Writer

 BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) -- Former French star Brigitte Bardot, who has
 dedicated herself to animal protection, Friday asked Romanians to kill
 stray puppies immediately after their birth.

 ``If I, who love animals so much, tell you this, it means I believe it is
 a bigger crime to leave them alive to torment themselves in a miserable
 life than killing them after birth,'' Bardot said during an animal
 sterilization conference.

 The two-day conference, organized by the Austrian animal rights
 organization Four Paws and the Bucharest city administration, was the
 start of a campaign aimed at sterilizing 190 dogs a day in the Romanian
 capital.

 ``It is a challenge for us and for the Romanian vets. ... The stray dogs
 are first a danger for themselves, and then for the people because of the
 diseases they can have,'' said Professor Alois Holzmann from the
 University of Vienna.

 Bucharest Mayor Viorel Lis and animal rights leaders signed an agreement
 allowing Austrian veterinarians and students to sterilize dogs in
 Romania.

 Four Paws donated dlrs 50,000 to the project and will continue with
 technical and managerial support.

 Lis said the city is offering empty land where shelters can be set up to
 house almost 10,000 animals and the veterinarians could perform
 sterilizations.

 The actress said her organization, Foundation Brigitte Bardot, plans to
 bring in as much as one ton of equipment and medicine needed for the
 operations.

 ``The Bucharest situation is terrible considering the huge number of dogs
 on the streets,'' she said.

 Between 100,000 and 200,000 dogs roam the city and bite 50 people a day.

 Bardot met with President Emil Constantinescu and asked him to pressure
 Parliament to repeal a 75,000 lei (dlrs 9) tax on dog owners. The average
 monthly salary is dlrs 91.

 ``This tax is a crime, especially for people as poor as Romanians,'' she
 said, while urging the public to adopt stray dogs.

 Bardot adopted two white puppies from a dog pound Thursday. She already
 owns 15 pets.

 (ma/scl)


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