AR-NEWS Digest 657

Topics covered in this issue include:

  1) (US) Oprah closes testimony in suit, says she's 'not
  anti-beef' 
     by allen schubert 
  2) (Canada)Illness in Canadian Dairy Farm families
     by bunny 
  3) [US] "UW gives county month to commit to monkey care"
     by Steve Barney 
  4) [UK] RSPCA scraps animal rights declaration after warning
     by David J Knowles 
  5) [UK] Vegan father cleared of cruelty
     by David J Knowles 
  6) [UK] Gunman kills police dog and shoots Pc
     by David J Knowles 
  7) Ohio PPF Holds Fur Auction of Skins (US)
     by Jill Howe 
  8) Possible importation of rabbit virus into USA?
     by bunny 
  9) Another charged in boys' sex case
     by Barry Kent MacKay 
 10) Seal Hunters Charaged (CA)
     by Barry Kent MacKay 
 11) Alaskans land sockeye punch (CA-U.S.A.)
     by Barry Kent MacKay 
 12) (US) Winfrey Finishes Beef Testimony
     by allen schubert 
 13) (US) Ag. Dep't Postpones Organic Rules
     by allen schubert 
 14) (AA)(US) The Lobster Zone
     by Twilight 
 15) Subscription Options--Admin Note
     by allen schubert 
 16) Break-in Reported at Shelter Where Nadas Once Held
     by "Bob Schlesinger" 
 17) Vilas Update
     by paulbog@jefnet.com (Rick Bogle)
 18) "SNOWFEST FOR THE ANIMALS" BENEFIT FOR FARM SANCTUARY AND
  F.A.R.M.
     by Vegetarian Resource Center 
 19) JOhn Lewis Partnership Booker Prize
     by "Dave Shepherdson" 
 20) Hunt comes to close; 60 deer killed (VA)
     by NOVENAANN@aol.com
 21) Deaths of manatees the second highest on record
     by Andrew Gach 
 22) (US) Erik Marcus (The New Ethics of Eating) Spring Speaking
  Tour
     by Vegetarian Resource Center 
 23) Preserving Wildlife in California
     by Steve Mittler 
 24) [US] Baylor Uses Live Mascots
     by Debbie Leahy 
 25) 
     by Shirley McGreal 
 26) (East Africa)DISEASE REPORT, HUMAN AND ANIMAL
     by bunny 
 27) (UK)Salmonella and antibiotics in meat
     by bunny 
 28) SOS from Spain: 160 dogs will be put to death
     by Vegetarian Resource Center 
 29) (Aust)Sun bears arrive(re bear paw soup)
     by bunny 
 30) (Aust)Caring Mary deserves a bear hug.
     by bunny 
 31) (NZ)Islands closed due to mystery killer virus
     by bunny 
 32) Multiple Sclerosis - correction
     by Andrew Gach 
 33) Admin Note: Harrassing E-mails
     by allen schubert 
 34) (NZ)COAST DEATHS - NEW ZEALAND
     by bunny 
 35) (US) VCR alert: "The Brain Eater"
     by allen schubert 
 36) PRAWNS FARMING, HAZARDS
     by bunny 
Date: Sat, 07 Feb 1998 00:23:22 -0500
From: allen schubert 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (US) Oprah closes testimony in suit, says she's 'not
  anti-beef' 
Message-ID: <3.0.32.19980207002319.00af44d4@pop3.clark.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

from Dallas Morning News http://www.dallasnews.com/
--------------------------------------------------------
Oprah closes testimony in suit, says she's 'not anti-beef' 

Talk show host ends 15 hours on stand, denies program had effect on cattle
business 

02/06/98

By David McLemore / The Dallas Morning News 

AMARILLO - Oprah Winfrey stepped down from the witness stand Thursday,
ending 15 hours of sometimes grueling interrogation in the libel suit filed
by Texas cattlemen.

She left wearied but unbowed, continuing to the end to demonstrate during
three days of testimony the cheery intensity, humor and combative skills
that have made her a top-ranked talk show host - and the key attraction in
this Panhandle federal courtroom.

Jurors and spectators in the packed courthouse craned to see Ms. Winfrey as
she carefully chose her words and enunciation in response to friendly
questions from her attorney or less kindly inquiries from opposing lawyers.

In their lawsuit, Texas cattleman Paul Engler and a partnership of ranchers
and feedlot operators, Texas Beef Group, contend Ms. Winfrey, her
production company and vegetarian Howard Lyman violated a state law against
disparaging Texas agriculture and food products. The offense is alleged to
have occurred in an April 1996 show that dealt, in part, with the risk "mad
cow" disease might pose to the United States.

Thursday, Ms. Winfrey denied that her show had any effect on the
cattlemen's business, as the group is contending.

"I am not anti-beef. And I know I'm not a malicious person. But I got to
tell you, I don't have such a warm and fuzzy feeling for the cattlemen who
are suing me," she said.

"I understand I can be sued. But I've been asking everybody, including
Jesus, why am I here," she said. "I think Mr. Engler might not like the
things said on that show. But this is America. People are allowed to say
things we don't like."

During the three weeks of trial, the courtroom has been packed by 70
spectators daily. Thursday morning, they begin lining up before sunrise in
a light snowfall to get a place in court.

Even U.S. District Judge Mary Lou Robinson, who runs a no-nonsense court,
has cracked a smile or two during Ms. Winfrey's testimony.

She has also sternly warned the talk show host to answer the questions
asked and not elaborate.

Later Thursday, as it became apparent that Ms. Winfrey would soon leave the
stand, spectators and a small army of reporters began to thin out.

Ms. Winfrey was buoyed during her third day on the stand by the return of
longtime fiance Stedman Graham, who last was in Amarillo Thursday and
Friday as she celebrated her 44th birthday.

Friend poet Maya Angelou, who sat in the courtroom for two days to "lift up
Oprah" was not in the courtroom Thursday.

Ms. Winfrey expressed faith in her staff and her instincts to put on
truthful and fair stories that connect with the everyday people who are her
audience. Her daily viewership is estimated at 20 million people worldwide.

She puts on about 200 shows each year. After her daily stint in court, she
has continued to tape two shows a day in Amarillo to turn-away crowds
because of her contractual commitments, she said.

Texas cattlemen allege it is the size of her audience and her ability to
touch people that made her April 1996 show cause cattle future prices to
plummet, costing them more than $10 million.

"I am aware I have an influence, but I don't believe my show could have
caused a dramatic drop in cattle prices," she said. "Even when we dedicated
a single show to boosting a book by Toni Morrison that resulted in the
sales of 900,000 books, that's less than 5 percent of my audience."

Under questioning by her attorney, Charles Babcock of Dallas, Ms. Winfrey
said the April 16, 1996, show, which asked if the mad cow disease scare in
Great Britain could happen in the United States, was prompted by the huge
volume of news coverage on the issue.

She testified there were 1,700 news articles about the mad-cow crisis
published before the 1996 show.

Jurors also saw a 20-minute videotape of a mock Oprah talk show, in which
Gary Weber of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association rehearsed his
appearance on the real show.

In it, Dr. Weber was seen being interviewed by an Oprah-stand-in, stressing
similar points regarding the safety of U.S. beef from mad cow disease that
he made in the real show.

"After seeing the tapes, it is obvious to me that Dr. Weber cannot in any
way say he was ambushed," Ms. Winfrey testified.

After Ms. Winfrey left the witness stand, plaintiffs' attorneys presented a
videotaped deposition of Dr. Weber, in which he testified he had agreed to
appear on the show only if it was balanced and fair.

"I was disturbed by the layers of outrageous statements and inflammatory
rhetoric," Dr. Weber said.

A second show on the topic, which aired April 23, 1996, offered an
opportunity to air the beef industry's views that mad cow disease posed no
threat to American cattle, Dr. Weber said.

"But it was hard to regain the ground lost in the first show," he said.

Dr. Weber said Ms. Winfrey talked to him just before the second show. "She
said, 'We weren't fair to you.' " 


Date: Sat, 7 Feb 1998 14:46:10 +0800
From: bunny 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (Canada)Illness in Canadian Dairy Farm families
Message-ID: <1.5.4.16.19980207143836.0f2f1980@wantree.com.au>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit

Date: Wed, 04 Feb 1998 12:19:34 -0800

Source: Canada Communicable Disease report - Vol. 24, No. 3, February 1, 1998


VEROCYTOTOXIGENIC ESCHERICHIA COLI INFECTION IN DAIRY FARM FAMILIES
********************************************************************

Infection with verocytotoxigenic _E. coli_ (VTEC) continues to be an
important cause of enteric illness in Canada with 5.0 cases reported per
100,000 population in 1995, the most recent year for which complete data
are available. Infection results in a spectrum of illness including watery
diarrhea, bloody diarrhea, and the hemolytic uremic syndrome. Cattle are
believed to be the principal reservoir for this organism and consumption of
improperly cooked ground beef contaminated with bovine feces at slaughter
is an important risk factor for human infection. The VTEC serotype most
commonly isolated from clinical specimens in Canada is _E. coli_ O157:H7.
However, in both ground beef and bovine feces, _E. coli_ 0157:H7 is far
exceeded by non-O157 VTEC serotypes, several of which have been associated
with human illness.  

Because dairy farm families are exposed to high levels of bovine VTEC
through direct contact with cattle manure and through consumption of
unpasteurized milk, they constitute a model of naturally occurring
transmission of these organisms from cattle to people. We report here on a
recently published Canadian study of dairy farm families undertaken to
investigate the role of VTEC serotypes of bovine origin in human disease…  

Significant behavioral risk factors for infection were not identified, and
neither stool cultures nor serologic status were associated with clinical
illness. VTEC were isolated from stools cultures of 679 (46%) of cattle on
all 80 (100%) farms. Twelve cattle (0.8%) on seven (8.8%) farms were
positive for _E. coli_ O157:H7 on at least one visit.  

A substantial number of dairy farm residents participating in this study
thus had evidence of current or past infection with VTEC on the basis of
stool cultures (6.3%) or serologic status (41.3%). VTEC infection occurred
at a very young age in subjects in this study, as indicated by both the
presence of VTEC in feces and seroprevalence of antibodies to VT1. Most of
these infections appeared to be due to VTEC other than serogroup O157 since
a much higher proportion of persons had antibodies to VT1 (41.3%) than to
O157 LPS (12.5%). Furthermore, _E. coli_ O157:H7 was isolated on only 8.8%
of farms and only one of the nine human VTEC isolates was E. coli O157:H7.
Seven of the eight other human VTEC isolates belonged to serotypes
previously associated with human infection. Our results thus provide
further evidence that non-O157 VTEC of bovine origin can infect humans…  

The lack of disease due to VT1-producing _E. coli_ in farm residents in
this study may reflect protection associated with antibodies induced by
previous exposure. Exposure to the dairy-farm environment may have greater
health significance for urban residents and specific subgroups within the
rural community. Urban residents who visit farms, have direct contact with
cattle, or consume unpasteurized milk may be expected to have a higher risk
of VTEC infection and disease due to less prior exposure to VTEC. In
addition, children with declining maternal immunity, the elderly, and other
immunocompromised individuals who live on dairy farms may have increased
risk of infection and VTEC-associated disease. 
=====================================================================
========
                   /`\   /`\    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, 07 Feb 1998 01:15:27 -0600
From: Steve Barney 
To: AR-News@envirolink.org
Subject: [US] "UW gives county month to commit to monkey care"
Message-ID: <34DC0A0F.A44105A9@uwosh.edu>
MIME-version: 1.0
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"UW gives county month to commit to monkey care"
By Jason Shepard
The Capital Times
Madison, WI
UNITED STATES
February 4, 1998
Page 1

-- Beginning --

UW gives county month to commit to monkey care

By Jason Shepard

Correspondent for 7he Capital Times

A top UW-Madison official has rejected a request by Dane County
Executive Kathleen Falk for a 45-day delay in any transfer of the
monkeys living at the Henry Vilas Zoo.

In a Tuesday letter to Falk, University of Wisconsin Graduate School
Dean Virginia Hinshaw, who oversees the UW's Wisconsin Regional Primate
Research Center, said the monkeys will remain in Madison until March 2,
and will be shipped away after that unless the county gives the UW a
"firm commitment" to care for the monkeys.

If the county gives such a commitment, Hinshaw said, the UW would fund
the rhesus monkeys until the end of the year.

"We repeatedly have been informed that there was not interest at the
county level," Hinshaw wrote in response to a letter from Falk and Dane
County Board Chairman Jonathan Becker.  "But, as I said, I am willing,
as I have always been, to have the county assume responsibilities for
the colonies."

"Unfortunately, we cannot delay a decision for 45 days without a firm
commitment from the county regarding the future of the colonies."

Falk and Becker's letter requested the delay to give the county time to
meet with UW officials to discuss the feasibility of a partial county
takeover of the facility.  Instead, Hinshaw has given the county 27 more
days to come up with a plan to fund the monkeys.

Falk's inquiry into the matter came after community pressure mounted to
keep the monkeys in Madison.  The community uproar began in August, when
The Capital Times reported that the UW improperly killed dozens of
monkeys born at the zoo in invasive research projects - a violation of
written promises to the zoo by the UW.

Two months later, the UW announced it was forced by a federal funding
restriction to find new homes for the monkeys.  The round monkey house
and the macaques that live there have been owned and maintained by the
UW for the past three decades.

Tentative plans now call for the 100 rhesus monkeys to go to a research
center in Louisiana, and the 50 stump-tailed macaques to go to Thailand.

Animal rights activists have publicly attacked the UW for what they say
has been an attempt to abandon its responsibilities.

And now - four days after federal money dried up - the county is
fighting for more time to study the issue.

Topf Wells, Falk's executive assistant, said Falk and Becker "think that
we owe it to the monkeys, and the community, to make one last strong
effort to really secure a safe place for the monkeys, and if at all
possible, have one of the colonies stay here at Vilas."

The county likely will need financial backing from a private partner,
however - possibly some foundation - to help support the monkeys, Wells
said.  County officials estimate it would cost about $211,000 a year to
keep all of the monkeys in Madison.

Falk and Becker's letter also formally requested that the UW enter into
discussions with the county about the monkeys' future.  But Hinshaw's
response makes no mention of a potential meeting, and only says that the
UW is willing to give the monkeys to the county if it wants them.

"Unless we have a firm commitment by March 2, 1998, of your agreement to
accept full responsibility for the monkeys and the facility beginning
Jan. 1, 1999, we will resume our own plans," Hinshaw wrote.

In her letter, Hinshaw reiterated an offer from UW regent Jonathan
Barry, who said the UW would likely contribute money to the county in
lieu of demolishing the monkey house, which the current lease from the
county requires the UW to do.  As part of the deal, Hinshaw said the UW
would fund up to 100 rhesus monkeys until Dec. 31 if the county agrees
to fund them beginning in 1999.

She made no mention of the stump-tailed macaques or the possibility of
them remaining.  It's the Stump-tails that have caused much of the
uproar, because they are a federally defined threatened species and the
Madison colony is one of the largest captive breeding groups in the
world.  Activists have fought for the stump-tails in particular to
remain in Madison.

Hinshaw and Joe Kemnitz, director of the primate center, did not return
phone calls Tuesday.

In the letter, Hinshaw tried to squelch fears that the monkeys would
likely be killed if they are transferred to the Tulane Regional Primate
Research Center.  Falk and Becker's letter had asked that the UW honor
the "spirit of the agreement" between the UW and the zoo banning use of
the monkeys for invasive studies.

Hinshaw said she had been reassured that the monkeys will be used for
breeding purposes.

-- End--

For more related info, go to:

     http://www.uwosh.edu/organizations/alag/#Issues


Date: Fri, 06 Feb 1998 23:15:35
From: David J Knowles 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: [UK] RSPCA scraps animal rights declaration after warning
Message-ID: <3.0.3.16.19980206231535.0a6728b4@dowco.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
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>From The Electronic Telegraph - Saturday, February 7th, 1998

RSPCA scraps animal rights declaration after warning
By Hugh Muir 

THE RSPCA has withdrawn a key policy statement declaring support for
"animal rights" following warnings from the Charity Commissioners that it
risked breaching its charitable status.

Copies of the society's latest policy pamphlet have been circulated without
the Declaration on Animal Rights, which has been a prominent feature for
the past 20 years. 

The disclosure will hearten country sports enthusiasts as they redouble
efforts to weaken the "animal rights" element within the RSPCA. It is the
first time the document, which was revised last year, has appeared without
the declaration since it was agreed at a meeting in 1977.

In 1996, the Society withdrew two other documents which detailed the
philosophies that underpin the concept of "animal rights".

The move came after pressure from the commission which believed that some
of the positions taken by the RSPCA placed greater emphasis on the fate of
animals than humans.

This conflicted with the group's charitable status which requires the
society to seek the improvement of mankind through the prevention of
cruelty to animals. 

Dr Richard Ryder, a member of the society's ruling council and a former
chairman, said last night: "The commission seems to be acting as an
official Government censor in suppressing the expression of religious and
ethical opinion. That this censorship should come at a time when the RSPCA
is being infiltrated by foxhunters is very unfortunate. I am not
suggesting that the commissioners are pro deer or foxhunting, but if they
were they could hardly be doing more to help those infiltrating the society."

The declaration stated: "In as much as there is ample evidence that many
animal species are capable of feeling, we condemn totally the infliction of
suffering upon our fellow creatures and the curtailment of their
behavioural and other needs save where this is necessary for their own
individual benefit.

"We do not accept that a difference in species alone [any more than a
difference in race] can justify wanton exploitation or oppression in the
name of science or sport, or for use as food, for commercial profit or for
other human gain."

By contrast, the new policy document explains the limits now placed upon
the RSPCA: "Readers should be aware of the constraints placed by current
charity law on all animal welfare charities. They cannot pursue policies
which, while benefiting animals, would have a detrimental effect on
humankind. Further, they cannot oppose uses of animals for which there are
no alternatives but which may cause pain, suffering or distress and where
there is an overriding benefit to humans. All policy statements which
follow should be read in that context." Last year, the British Field Sports
Society estimated that about 3,000 country sports
enthusiasts responded to an appeal to join the RSPCA and seek policy
changes. A Charity Commission spokesman was unavailable for comment.

© Copyright Telegraph Group Limited 1998.

Date: Fri, 06 Feb 1998 23:18:53
From: David J Knowles 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: [UK] Vegan father cleared of cruelty
Message-ID: <3.0.3.16.19980206231853.0a6763d2@dowco.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
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>From The Electronic Telegraph - Saturday, February 7th, 1998

Vegan father cleared of cruelty
By Paul Stokes 

A FATHER whose four-month-old son died after he put him on a vegan diet was
acquitted of child cruelty charges yesterday after a court ruled that there
was insufficient evidence to proceed with the case.

As David Low, 37, left Sheffield Crown Court after an eight-day trial, he
said that his current girlfriend, Sharon Brown, was expecting a baby in May
who would also be given a vegan diet. Low said there had been a
"witch-hunt" against him in the two-and-a-half years since Ki Beau, his son
by a previous girlfriend, died. "We are not Marks & Spencer-type people. We
have been stigmatised because of our lifestyle," he said. "When my new
child is born, it, too, will be given a vegan diet. This court has accepted
it is a perfectly acceptable diet."

Low, now of Hermit Hill Lane, Wortley, near Sheffield, denied two charges
of child cruelty between August and October 1995. Judge Michael Walker,
Recorder of Sheffield, directed the jury to return formal not guilty
verdicts and dismissed the case. "The evidence is that David Low is a
gentle and caring man," he said. The judge drew attention to a virus
suffered by Ki Beau that was often associated with cot-death babies.

It had been alleged that Low had fed the child a vegan diet using soya
milk, which had considerably reduced his weight gain.

© Copyright Telegraph Group Limited 1998.

Date: Fri, 06 Feb 1998 23:21:43
From: David J Knowles 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: [UK] Gunman kills police dog and shoots Pc
Message-ID: <3.0.3.16.19980206232143.0a67410e@dowco.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
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>From The Electronic Telegraph - Saturday, February 7th, 1998

Gunman kills police dog and shoots Pc
By Maurice Weaver 

A POLICE dog handler was shot in the leg and his dog was killed when they
confronted a gunman early yesterday.

Pc Ian Churms, 33, had been called to what was thought to be a "routine"
domestic dispute when he was shot at by a man at the scene. He was hit in
the leg by a bullet from a .22 rifle as he challenged the gunman. A woman
who had been talking to the officer was shot in the shoulder.

Pc Churms's German Shepherd, named Bryn, was shot dead as he ran towards
the gunman at Irthlingborough, Northants. The woman fled to the home of two
off-duty police officers, but the gunman chased her and broke in. He was
disarmed and arrested by the two officers.

Pc Churms and the woman, named by neighbours as Sue Sturgess, 42, were
taken to Kettering General Hospital with injuries that were not
life-threatening. A police spokesman said Pc Churms, a policeman for 13
years, had received six previous commendations for bravery and
professionalism, including the arrest of a suspected armed robber.

A 32-year-old man was being questioned at Wellingborough police station
last night.

© Copyright Telegraph Group Limited 1998.

Date: Sat, 7 Feb 1998 03:41:51 -0500 (EST)
From: Jill Howe 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Ohio PPF Holds Fur Auction of Skins (US)
Message-ID: 
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII

This from a Fur/Game magazine:

Ohio State Trappers Association/Putting People First SouthWestern
Chapter will hold a fur auctions (sic) February 7, at Ison's Fur
House, 1721 Turner Rd., Xenia, Ohio.  (Trapper) Contacts: Dave
Linkhart (937) 376-5731, Lester Ison (937) 372-6540, or Mark 
Stackhouse (614) 335-1466.


Date: Sat, 7 Feb 1998 16:56:23 +0800
From: bunny 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Possible importation of rabbit virus into USA?
Message-ID: <1.5.4.16.19980207164848.11b7c11e@wantree.com.au>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

NB:Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease (RCD) can survive freezing and 60 degrees
celcius . The virus can survive on clothing (And wool and rabbit products?)
for over 100 days

************************************************************

From: John Cougill 
To: boss@clear.net.nz
Subject: Rabbit Heamorrhagic Disease- Imports of live rabbits,
meat&by-products -Reply
Date: Saturday, 7 February 1998 07:46

Elayne Ravji:  This is in response to your e-mail regarding the
importation of rabbit products and any restrictions placed upon such imports.
First, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has no specific
restrictions on rabbit products, domestic or feral origin, offered for
import into the United States.  Food and Drug Administration may have some
requirements on rabbit meat imported for human consumption.

Second,  I know of no restrictions placed on the importation of raw wool
due to the Calicivirus Disease of Rabbits.
I hope this has assisted in clearing any confusion over such imports.
John W. Cougill
Senior Staff Veterinarian
Import-Export Animal Products Program
National Center for Import and Export
=====================================================================
========
                   /`\   /`\    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, 07 Feb 1998 10:01:28 -0800
From: Barry Kent MacKay 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Another charged in boys' sex case
Message-ID: <34DCA178.7A60@sympatico.ca>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
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The Toronto Star, Friday, February 6, 1998

Toronto

Another charged in boys' sex case

The former co-owner of an East York animal sanctuary faces charges of
secually assaulting two young boys from the late 1960s to the early
1980s.

Another man who worked at the same facility was charged early last
spring.

Police allege the operator of the Endangered Animal Sanctuary and the
Age of Aquarius Pet Shop at the same address on Millwood Rd. in East
York, sexually assaulted two young boys at different times over 17
years.

William Charles Valliere, 57, of Roseneath, was arrested on March 20,
1997, and charged with one count each of indecent assault and gross
indecency.

Toronto resident Roy Yorio Hayashi, 60, is charged with one count of
indecent assault on a male, two counts of gross indecency and one count
of sexual assault.

-30-

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


Date: Sat, 07 Feb 1998 09:55:49 -0800
From: Barry Kent MacKay 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Cc: stricker@gvn.net
Subject: Seal Hunters Charaged (CA)
Message-ID: <34DCA025.7BC@sympatico.ca>
MIME-Version: 1.0
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NEWFOUNDLAND
Seal Hunters Charged
The Toronto Star, Friday, February 6, 1998

Seven people have been charged with violating rules governing the seal
hunt on the East Coast.  The charges follow an investigation into a
videotape of the 1996 hunt released by an animal rights group.  The
federal Fisheries Department says a ship's captain and crew are charged
with 13 violations.

-30-

The "animal rights group" is, of course, the International Fund for
Animal Welfare (IFAW).

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


Date: Sat, 07 Feb 1998 10:35:54 -0800
From: Barry Kent MacKay 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Cc: stricker@gvn.net
Subject: Alaskans land sockeye punch (CA-U.S.A.)
Message-ID: <34DCA98A.481E@sympatico.ca>
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The Toronto Star.  Friday, February 6, 1998

Alaskans land sockeye punch:  Tom Wallington wonders if his fishing days
will soon be over

By Darcy Henton, Western Canada Bureau.

VANCOUVER:  
STEVESTON FISHERMAN Tom Wallington got a nasty surprise when he went to
check the bilge pumps on his salmon boat.

Fastened with duct tape to the cabin door of his 13-metre gillnetter
were legal documents demanding its forfeiture.

The boat, Halfers, is one of several hundred B.C. boats the Alaskan
government has gone after in a $3 million lawsuit over the blockading of
the Malaspina at the Prince Rupert ferry dock last July.

B.C. salmon fishermen surrounded the ferry with their boats, refusing to
allow it to leave the dock for three days, in a protest over Alaskan
fishing of Canada-bound salmon.

Although it was a hired skipper who sailed Halfers into the Prince
Rupert blockade, Wallington and his business partner, as the regeistered
owner (sic) of the $80,000 vessel, are being held responsible.

Wallington says fishermen don't have the money to fight the Alaskans.

DEADLINE SET

"Most people can't affort it," he says.  "They will lose their boats."

Fishermen were expected to approve a deal today to have the Alaskans
drop their suit in exchange for $2.7 million in federal funding for
Alaskan tourism, a docking fee subsidy for the ferry and a commitment by
the fishermen to leave the twice-weekly ferry alone.

But it's a deal that rankles.

"Putting this money on the table is essentially rewarding the Alaskans
for their behaviour, which is to fish Canadian stock in excess of what
they should," complains John Cummins, a fisherman and MP [federal Member
of Parliament] for Delta-South Richmond.

The fishermen blocked the ferry to bring attention to the fact that the
Alaskans, while claiming to be fishing pink salmon, were netting sockeye
salmon, which is six times more lucrative, and were sending their catch
in refrigerated trucks on the ferry to Prince Rupert fish-packing
plants.

The Alaskans caught 600,000 Canadian salmon last year --- about five
times more than they were allowed under the now-expired Pacific Salmon
Treaty.

John Radosevic, who heads the United Fishermen and Allied Workers Union,
admits it's tough to sell a deal that pays the Alaskans while "the
fishermen, who have their liveliohoods stolen, haven't gotten anything."

While the fishermen are expected to agree to the terms to get the
Alaskans off their backs, the union leader says the deal is just a
secondary skirmish in the ongoing war over the annual billion-dollar
salmon harvest.

"The main priority is still sitting squarely on our plate:  the Alaksans
stealing our fish," he complains.

The federal government has pressed the U.S. for an interim agreement
that would at least cover the upcoming season, since repeated efforts to
negotiate a new Pacific Salmon Treaty have failed.

Two envoys appointed by U.S. President Bill Clinton and Prime Minister
Jean Chretien suggested in their report last month that the only way to
negotiate a new treaty would be through government-to-government
negotiations, rather than attempting to deal with invididual
stakeholders.

They say previous attempts to broker a new deal failed largely because
the states of Washington, Oregon and Alaska, as well as American Indian
tribes, all have a veto.

Canada wants a deal that will entitle each jurisdiction access to the
number of fish produced in its waters.

The so-called "equity principle" worked in the past, but now that
numbers are dwindling, Canada has been forced to take less to offset
overfishing by the Americans.

Radosevic says the 5,000 Canadian fishermen he represents are willing to
endorse an interim agreement that moves toward the equity principle even
if it doesn't immediately accomplish the goal.

"If we get an interim agreement which doesn't achieve full equity in the
first year, that won't be perceived as failure, but if it's just the
status quo for the next two years with the Yanks stealing our
livelihood, people will be pretty damn upset," he contends.

Radosevic says things could get ugly in a hurry if Ottawa doesn't get
its act together.

`DICEY SITUATION'

"We're edging up to a dicey situation here and I see an altogether too
nonchalant attitude here," Radosevic says.

"Alaskans have stolen our fish.  It's like me coming in and taking half
your wages.  I don't think you'd take it lying down."

Dan Edwards, executive director of the West Coast Sustainability
Association, says the situation will be especially desperate along the
north coast this summer, where dismal numbers of salmon are expected.

He says fishermen have been told there will be only 48 fish per boat,
and under the controversial new fishing regulations --- the so-called
Mifflin plan, named after former fisheries minister Fred Mifflin ---
brought in last season, most will be unable to fish anywhere else.

"The despair in the fishing community is tremendous," he says.

"There's a sense that we've been absolutely and totally screwed."

Wellington says he barely broke even last season and the prospects for
the coming season looks even worse.

"If we don't negotiate a deal with the Americans, I don't think we'll be
fishing at all."

-30-

Personal comment:  
Although the AR movement claims to be against speciesism, I suspect if,
instead of salmon (not to mention the bycatch) we were talking about
gray whales, dolphins, puppy dogs or kittens this ongoing dispute would
receive more attention within our movement.  

For some background on this and similar problems involving the torture
of millions of animals largely ignored by the AR-movement, and further
information on the issue and the possible futility of international
agreements aimed at "protecting" at least some animals in international
trade in light of the Multilateral Agreement on Investment, please visit
the current edition of Opinionatedly Yours at API's website (below).

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

Date: Sat, 07 Feb 1998 10:37:55 -0500
From: allen schubert 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (US) Winfrey Finishes Beef Testimony
Message-ID: <3.0.32.19980207103751.00af05cc@pop3.clark.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

from Associate Press http://wire.ap.org
---------------------------------------------------------
 02/07/1998 06:48 EST

 Winfrey Finishes Beef Testimony

 By KATIE FAIRBANK
 AP Business Writer

 AMARILLO, Texas (AP) -- The judge in the Oprah Winfrey beef  
 defamation trial scolded lawyers for both sides, telling   
 them one thing they've got to do differently next week: Stop 
 making faces in front of the jury during testimony.          
                                                          
 Jurors had just been dismissed for the weekend when U.S.    
 District Judge Mary Lou Robinson laid down the law, telling 
 lawyers they cannot try to influence jurors with smirks,    
 grimaces and nods.                                    
                                                          
 ``It is actually unacceptable when counsel appears to laugh  
 or make any display,'' Robinson said Friday. ``That is not
 acceptable, and I will not tolerate it.''

 The talk show host, her production company and vegetarian activist Howard
 Lyman are being sued for more than $10.3 million over an April 1996 show
 that suggested U.S. cattle could spread mad cow disease to people in the
 United States and make AIDS look like the common cold.

 The cattlemen contend Ms. Winfrey edited the show to eliminate pro-beef
 statements in favor of more alarming statements by Lyman, a former
 rancher who said that feeding ground-up cattle parts to cattle in America
 -- a practice that now is banned -- could spread mad cow disease. Ms.
 Winfrey declared: ``It's stopped me cold from eating another burger.''

 Robinson's comments came at the end of the trial's third week.

 Earlier Friday, Dr. Lester Crawford testified about slaughtering and
 safeguard systems in the United States and Great Britain, where there has
 been an outbreak of mad-cow disease. He also said several comments that
 Lyman made on the show were untrue.

 Specifically, Lyman's comment that any animal ``that's not staggering
 around'' is slaughtered for beef was false, said Crawford, who has
 extensive veterinary experience with universities and the government. He
 said cattle must meet several requirements set by the Agriculture
 Department.

 Crawford also disputed Lyman's comment on the TV show that ranchers were
 feeding dead cows to their herds, a practice linked to Britain's mad cow
 outbreak.

 ``The animal byproduct is no more a cow than a leather coat is a cow,''
 Crawford said. He noted U.S. cattle have eaten animal protein since
 shortly after the Civil War.

Date: Sat, 07 Feb 1998 10:41:07 -0500
From: allen schubert 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (US) Ag. Dep't Postpones Organic Rules
Message-ID: <3.0.32.19980207104104.00afc910@pop3.clark.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

from Associate Press http://wire.ap.org
------------------------------------
 02/07/1998 01:53 EST

 Ag. Dep't Postpones Organic Rules

 By CURT ANDERSON
 AP Farm Writer

 WASHINGTON (AP) -- Action on new national labeling rules for organic
 foods will be delayed 45 days for more public comment, Agriculture
 Secretary Dan Glickman decided amid heavy criticism from pro-organic
 groups.

 The Agriculture Department has already received more than 4,000 comments
 on the rules, hundreds of them objecting to the possibility that
 irradiation, genetic engineering and sewage sludge fertilizer could be
 involved in organics.

 Glickman, however, noted that the Agriculture Department had taken no
 stand on those issues and wanted to hear from the public about them. The
 new deadline for comment is April 30.

 ``This is not a final rule and should not be read to reflect how USDA
 will finally resolve the many difficult issues involved,'' Glickman said
 Friday. ``Our goal is to develop a final rule that the organic community
 and all the public can embrace.''

 But the mere possibility that organics rules could include a high-tech
 process such as irradiation to kill bacteria is anathema to most organic
 farmers, who say big agribusinesses seeking a share of the market are
 trying to move the definition away from its all-natural tradition.

 ``We as organic farmers and our customers will not sit idly back and have
 ... (the rules) force-fed to us by corporate agribusiness lobbyists and
 bureaucrats in Washington,'' said George Siemon, chief executive of an
 organic co-op in LaFarge, Wis. ``The farmers of our co-op will not lower
 our standards.''

 Several big corporations have launched organic product lines in recent
 years as consumers -- increasingly concerned about pesticides and other
 chemicals in food -- are now buying organic food to the tune of $3.5
 billion a year and growing.

 The rules stemmed from a 1990 law intended to provide a national
 definition and label requirements for organics now governed only by a
 patchwork of state and private certification programs. But many organic
 producers say the national rules will be weaker.

 ``We strongly believe that the proposed rule is not compatible or
 consistent with current organic practices,'' said Kathleen DiMatteo,
 executive director of the Organic Trade Association based in Greenfield,
 Mass. ``As we see it, USDA's proposed rule blurs the lines between
 conventional and organic agriculture.''

 Some other objections raised by organic farmers:

 --Livestock could be fed up to 20 percent non-organic feed and could be
 treated with antibiotics under certain circumstances. The rule does not
 mandate that animals get access to the outdoors.

 --Numerous recommendations of the 14-member National Organic Standards
 Board were ignored and more stringent local organics guidelines would not
 be allowed.

 --Loopholes could permit use of synthetic pesticides and other materials
 in organic farming that have never been allowed before.

 --Previous uses of land would not be adequately taken into account when
 it is certified for organic production, even if it once was heavily
 contaminated.

 Glickman has scheduled public hearings in Texas, Iowa, Washington state
 and New Jersey on the organics rules and is encouraging people to forward
 comments via the Internet.

 ``We want everyone to participate fully in this process,'' he said.

 ------

 The Internet address is: http://www.ams.usda.gov/nop.

 The hearings are: Feb. 12, Austin, Texas; Feb. 18, Ames, Iowa; Feb. 26,
 Seattle; March 5, New Brunswick, N.J.

Date: Sat, 7 Feb 1998 08:03:33 -0800 (PST)
From: Twilight 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (AA)(US) The Lobster Zone
Message-ID: <19980207160333.8141.rocketmail@attach1.rocketmail.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

A new crane game, like those packed with stuffed toys at video arcades, 
is turning up in restaurants. The "Lobster Zone" is touted in 
advertisements as "giving the patron an opportunity, at $2.00 a pop, to 
pluck a live lobster out of the tank by manipulating a plastic claw
with 
a joystick control." Once captured, the lobsters are swung into
position 
and dropped into a bucket, their last stop on their way to the kitchen 
where they will be boiled alive. Please urge the manufacturer to 
discontinue the Lobster Zone.  
Write to: 
J.R. Fishman, President 
Advanced Games & Engineering, Inc. 
1231 NE Eighth Ave. 
Fort Lauderdale,  FL 33304

LET LOBSTERS LIVE !
Many people feel uncomfortable about cooking and eating lobsters - and
for good reason:  Lobsters suffer severe and prolonged pain when cut
or boiled or broiled alive.
DID YOU KNOW:
• LOBSTERS ARE SENSITIVE BEINGS who cherish their lives and struggle
  against death.  Dr. Loren G. Horsely, an invertebrate zoologist,  
states that a   lobster has a "sophisticated nervous system" and feels
  pain when cut or cooked.

• LOBSTERS CARRY THEIR YOUNG FOR NINE MONTHS and have a long childhood
  and awkward adolescence.

• LOBSTERS, LIKE DOLPHINS, USE COMPLICATED SIGNALS to establish social
   relationships.

• SOME LOBSTERS ARE RIGHT-HANDED and some are left-handed.  They 
  have been observed walking hand-in-hand, the old leading the young.

• LOBSTERS TAKE LONG-DISTANCE SEASONAL JOURNEYS and can cover
  100 miles or more each year.

• LOBSTERS AND OTHER CRUSTACEANS ARE UNHEALTHY TO EAT.
  They are often highly contaminated with bacteria and pesticide  
run-off.

• LOBSTERS CAN LIVE 145 YEARS or longer if they survive the world's most
  devastating predator - the human being.

• LOBSTERS SHOW COMPASSION TOWARD EACH OTHER.  
  Won't you show them compassion, too?

For more information, contact:

PETA -  People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
        501 Front St.
         Norfolk, VA  23510   •   757-622-PETA
         http://www.peta-online.org




_________________________________________________________
DO YOU YAHOO!?
Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com

Date: Sat, 07 Feb 1998 11:07:03 -0500
From: allen schubert 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Subscription Options--Admin Note
Message-ID: <3.0.1.32.19980207110703.0068ff68@envirolink.org>
Mime-Version: 1.0
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A routine posting.........

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Date: Sat, 07 Feb 1998 09:24:55 -0800
From: "Bob Schlesinger" 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Break-in Reported at Shelter Where Nadas Once Held
Message-ID: <199802070924550230.00B6A669@pcez.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
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>From Medford Mail-Tribune  http://www.mailtribune.com
Web Posted Feb 7, 1998
Medford, OR
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------   
   Break-in at county dog pound fails to free condemned livestock-chasing pooch

   By BETH QUINN

   TALENT -- A burglar apparently hoping to free a dog condemned to die for chasing livestock
   peeled back aluminum siding and broke windows, causing $3,500 in damage to the Jackson
County
   Animal Shelter, but failed to find the dog.

   "I think it's pretty clear the intent was not to come here and vandalize," said Jackson County
sheriff's
   Deputy Colin Fagan. "The intent was to come here, get the dog and get out. Nothing else was
   touched."

   Jackson County officials Friday refused to reveal where the condemned dog, Nadas, is being
held.

   Sometime over the past month, the dog was moved from the animal shelter on South Pacific
   Highway after officials learned of an Internet solicitation for volunteers with knowledge of the
   shelter. Officials interpreted that as a threat to break in.

   "It's also obvious that whoever did it knew this facility," Fagan said. "It's not an area that's open
to
   the public. If you were here to adopt, you wouldn't go there."

   Deputies said they were able to collect fingerprints from glass and metal at the scene.

   Sean Roach of Phoenix, owner of the condemned collie-malamute mix, denied involvement in
the
   burglary, which occurred sometime after 6 p.m. Thursday and before 7:30 a.m. Friday.

   "Absolutely not. I'm not that stupid. I know that I'd be the first person for anyone to go to," he
said.

   Roach hasn't seen his pet since he was arrested on Halloween 1996 after appearing at the shelter
in
   a clown suit in what officials termed an attempt to free the dog. He pleaded guilty to a charge of
   criminal mischief and was sentenced to 24 hours of community service and fined $104.

   A long-haired terrier suffering from a broken leg was sprayed with shattered glass during the
   break-in, but no animals were injured. A spokesman for Jackson County said the stray, which
had
   been hit by a car on Thursday and was being held overnight before veterinary treatment,
suffered no
   cuts in the incident and received treatment for the broken leg on Friday.

   Sheriff's deputies gave this account of the break-in:

   The burglar used a pry bar and left-handed airplane shears to peel back a 5-by-4-foot section of
   the outer skin of aluminum siding on the building holding the dog pens. Six inches of fiberglass
   insulation was removed, and a smaller area of inner aluminum siding was peeled. Then the
burglar 
   ran into the heavy plastic wall of the animal cages. The wall was  pierced in several places but
not 
   enough to gain entry.

   "It appears at that point they gave up and attacked the window," said Jackson County sheriff's
   Deputy Dewey Patten.

   The burglar carried the insulation to the side of the building, knocked out an outside light,
covered a
   window with duct tape and, using the insulation as a shield, broke the window to gain entry into
a
   staff lounge. 

   From the staff lounge, the burglar went to the locked room containing 25 caged dogs and again
tried
   to gain entry by peeling back the aluminum siding wall. When that failed, the burglar again used
the
   insulation as protection while breaking through a window reinforced with wire mesh, spraying
   broken glass on the injured terrier in the cage facing the door.

   "It (the terrier) had to lay on the glass the rest of the night," Patten said.

   The burglar also used a bolt-cutter to remove a padlock on the freezer unit where officials store
the
   carcasses of euthanized animals.

   "They probably looked to see if the dog was dead and already in there," Fagan said.

   Roach has been fighting to save his dog since Jackson County commissioners put Nadas on
death
   row after finding that he chased a horse on Lone Pine Road in September 1996. In December
   1995, an animal control officer issued a warning after a rancher said Nadas chased his cow.

   The Oregon Court of Appeals upheld the Jackson County death sentence in October, and the
   Oregon Supreme Court last month declined to review the decision. By law, Nadas can't be
killed
   before the Feb. 17 expiration of an appeal period, and as that day approaches the case is heating
   up locally and nationally. 

   On Friday, Fox TV's "Hard Copy," began airing a segment promoted as "Save the Death Row
   Dog" on stations across the country. Within minutes, phone lines to the animal shelter and other
   Jackson County offices were jammed by callers.

   On Thursday, Jackson County commissioners decided against retroactive adoption of a local
   ordinance that might have spared the dog, and Roach's attorney said he will file a civil rights suit
in
   U.S. District Court in Eugene next week alleging unlawful search and seizure. 

   Also on Thursday, Nadas supporters announced a Feb. 14 rally at the state Capitol to kick off
an
   initiative petition drive to amend the state law requiring the dog's death. County officials
Thursday
   installed a Nadas "hot line" to field telephone calls generated by news stories that have appeared
on
   national television and the Internet.
Date: Sat, 7 Feb 1998 11:25:23 -0600
From: paulbog@jefnet.com (Rick Bogle)
To: "AR-News Post" 
Subject: Vilas Update
Message-ID: <19980207112609689.AAA218@paulbog.jefnet.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

     Dear Listers,
     Don't forget to see Steve Barney's post of the recent Capital Times
article.  It discusses some of the following events.

     On Thursday, Feb. 5, a few of us went to a UW Board of Regents committee
meeting. The Vilas issue had been on the agenda but was removed the morning
of, or evening before, the meeting. The committee's chair, regent Jonathan
Barry, said he removed the issue from the agenda because he felt it had
been resolved.
     We were able to speak with Barry, an ex state legislator and past county
executive, after the committee meeting. He informed us that he had
instructed Dean Hinshaw to send the county a letter stating that the UW
would fund the monkeys for the rest of the calendar year if the county
would officially assume ownership and responsibility for them.  He told us
that he had spoken to Dean Hinshaw on the phone a few days earlier. 
Remember that we spoke to him on the 5th.
     On the night of the 3rd, we had attended the county public works
commission meeting. At that meeting, primate center folks were arguing
strongly about the public health risks, and managment difficulties inherent
in caring for such a large group of monkeys.  They were also continuing to
assert that Tulane would be a humane choice.  But they made no mention of
the UW's offer to fund the monkeys for the rest of the year. 
     Yesterday, a county supervisor's meeting was held. The Vilas issue was not
on the agenda and never had been.  Who should attend but the  primate
center staff. No monkey supporters were present.
     For some undisclosed reason, even after the UW has said it will fund the
monkeys for the remainder of the year, the primate center is still
vigorously lobbying to have them sent to Peter Gerone at Tulane.
     Also funny, is the stipulation that the UW would fund the rhesus but did
not mention the stumps.  No one has suggested a reason for this yet.
Perhaps those who made the decision to offer to fund the monkeys don't know
how many or what kind of monkeys they have.

Also, for your edification, here are a few ways these monkeys or their
babies might be cared for should they in fact end up in Louisiana.

     Louis N. Martin has discovered that monkeys are more likely to die from
simian AIDS after oral infection than they are from vaginal or anal
infection.

     Elizabeth S. Didier has discovered through necropsy that in about 40% of
monkeys infected with simian AIDS, intravenous injections of blood borne
parasites (microsporidia) will cause severe internal lesions and parasite
filled cysts.

     Donald E. Roberts plans to kill 50 monkeys to use their knee joints and
colons to see whether he can find a link between arthritis and inflammatory
bowel disease in monkeys.


     Margaret R. Clark has discovered that monkey mothers with simian AIDS who
are placed in solitary confinement for two weeks before their delivery date
and regularly examined, birth babies who display significantly increased
irritability, slower reflexes, and less interest in objects than normal
babies.

     Michael A. Murphey-Corb infected baby monkeys with one of three varieties
of simian immunovirus (SIV) within two hours of birth. The babies who were
inoculated intravenously received 50 times the adult infectious dose, and
those inoculated orally received 1000 times the adult infectious dose. He
discovered that there did not appear to be a pattern in the length of the
babies' survival.            

     Peter J. Didier is injecting parasites, recently discovered in the eyes
of a few human AIDS patients, into SIV infected monkeys.

     Edgar Donald Roberts serially killed young SIV infected monkeys to
determine whether bone growth rates vary at different ages. No significant
difference was discovered.

     Robert C Lowrie Jr. allows his Lyme infected ticks to feed on monkeys for
five days at a time.

     Bobby J. Gormus has discovered that monkeys infected with SIV develop a
more severe case of leprosy than monkeys who are not infected with SIV.

     Gamal M. Ghoniem is surgically implanting vascular cuffs around the
bladder neck of adult male monkeys. He is able to obstruct the bladder
opening with this device. He has discovered that at maximum obstruction the
urine flow rate is significantly reduced.

     A more detailed account of these experiments and procedures can be found
at the internet site: http://www.ncrr.nih.gov/grants/crisp.htm . This is
the National Center for Research Resources' Computer Retrieval of
Information on Scientific Projects (CRISP) database.

     Literally hundreds of similar studies are underway at each of the seven
centers.            

     We still have a chance to save 150 monkeys and their progeny from similar
fates.

R
Date: Sat, 07 Feb 1998 12:49:25 -0500
From: Vegetarian Resource Center 
To: AR-News@Envirolink.Org
Subject: "SNOWFEST FOR THE ANIMALS" BENEFIT FOR FARM SANCTUARY AND
  F.A.R.M.
Message-ID: <199802071755.MAA28758@mail-out-3.tiac.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit

Feb. 5, 1998

BRODIE MT. SKI RESORT SPONSORS "SNOWFEST FOR THE ANIMALS"
BENEFIT FOR FARM SANCTUARY AND F.A.R.M.       


NEW ASHFORD, MASS.--Ski, snowboard and save an animal!  
It's all in a day's fare at Brodie Mountain Ski Resort on Sunday, 
March 8, 1998.  That's when Brodie hosts "Snowfest For The Animals", 
a day of fun and learning on and off the slopes to benefit 
national farm animal rescue and educational campaigns.  

Gene and Lorri Bauston of Farm Sanctuary will be on hand, 
and the Berkshire Vegetarian Network will have a 
vegetarian food sampling table.

Skiers and riders can be a lifesaver AND receive $5.00 off their 
all day (8:30-5) lift ticket price simply by presenting a special 
"Snowfest For The Animals" coupon on the day of the event 
at Brodie's Main Desk.  For every ticket purchased with a special 
Snowfest For The Animals coupon, Brodie will donate $15.00 
to two nationally prominent, farm animal support organization;
Farm Sanctuary and FARM (formerly Farm Animal Reform Movement).

Coupons for the discounted lift tickets are available now through March 8th
at Brodie Mountain Ski Resort, select Berkshire County (Mass.) shops and
restaurants, and soon on Brodie's web site (http://www.skibrodie.com).  
The coupons are available on flyers promoting the Snowfest For The Animals
event.

If you are unable to track down a Snowfest For The Animals coupon, 
but want to do your part to help farm animals--and receive $5.00 off 
your all-day ski lift ticket purchase  --  you can create your own coupon.  
Simply jot down on a piece of paper your name and address and the words,
"Snowfest For The Animals At Brodie", and present your homemade coupon 
at Brodie's Main Desk on March 8th.  Your homemade coupon will entitle you 
to the $5.00 lift-ticket discount, and Brodie will donate $15.00 
of your ticket purchase to Farm Sanctuary and FARM. 

Featured throughout the day at Snowfest For The Animals will be exhibits,
information tables and other educational activities sponsored by the local
Berkshire Vegetarian Network.  The work of Farm Sanctuary and F.A.R.M. 
will be highlighted.  Gene and Lorri Bauston, who founded Farm Sanctuary 
in 1986, will be on hand to talk about their work in rescuing and protecting 
farm animals, including actions on the state and national legislative front
addressing animal issues and the operation of their farm animal shelters 
in Upstate New York and Northern California.  They also may offer some
presentations.

A vegetarian food sampling table with delicious tastings of meatless entrees
and snacks will be set up in Brodie's Main Lodge.  The tasting table is
being coordinated by the Berkshire Vegetarian Network to help raise
awareness for the forthcoming annual Great American Meatout Day, 
which is sponsored by FARM and slated for March 20th.  Underway since 1985, 
The Great American Meatout encourages consumers to take a one-day 
respite from meat consumption for personal health, the health of the planet, 
and for the animals. 

Other attractions include live music by local vegetarian band, 
"Free At Last", will be performed in The Blarney Room from 1PM - 5PM.  
Many special prizes will be raffled, and there will be face painting for kids.

Snowfest For The Animals coincides with another special Brodie event, 
the Brodie Avalanche Boarder Festival, which features amateur snowboarding
competitions throughout the day.

March 8th promises to be a big day both on and off the slopes at nearby
Brodie Mountain. 

Come on out to Snowfest For The Animals and do your part to save an animal,
and have a fun day too!

For more information, contact Matt or Mary Kelly at Brodie Mountain 
at 413-443-4752, or visit the Brodie web site at
http://www.skibrodie.com.  
Brodie Mountain is located in the Northwest corner of Massachusetts directly 
on U.S. Route 7, in New Ashford, MA.  Information is also available on the 
Farm Sanctuary web site at
http://www.farmsanctuary.org

You can also get more information about FARM at their website at
http://www.farmusa.org
or check out their special Meatout site at
http://www.meatout.org

Date: Sat, 7 Feb 1998 18:49:55 -0000
From: "Dave Shepherdson" 
To: "HSA E-Mail" , "Phil Capon  E-Mail" ,
        "Peter Goodwin Green" ,
        "AR-News" ,
        "ArcNews" 
Subject: JOhn Lewis Partnership Booker Prize
Message-ID: <01bd33f9$56a3f1a0$1fe8b094@dave-s-computer>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: multipart/alternative;
     boundary="----=_NextPart_000_0004_01BD33F9.56A3F1A0"


National Anti Hunt Campaign
PRESS RELEASE 7 February 1998
__________________________

 
VEGETARIAN SHOOTS DOWN 
JOHN LEWIS PARTNERSHIP
The John Lewis Partnership (JLP) launched a full scale security alert after 
animal rights protesters placed a leaflet in a cookbook. 
According to a tip off from a member of staff at Bainbridges, in Newcastle, 
management ordered every single book on public display in all the JLP stores to 
be checked for leaflets after a shopper complained to Bainbridges about a 
leaflet she had discovered hidden in a vegetarian cookbook. The woman claimed to 
be distressed at the contents of the leaflet which alleged that the JLP owns a 
shooting estate and allows hunting across its land. 
Liz Crocker, a spokes person for the National Anti Hunt Campaign (Newcastle) 
(which is engaged in a campaign against the store’s involvement in 
bloodsports) said: "Once again, the JLP appears to be shooting itself in 
the foot! Perhaps, for the sake of its business, its time for the JLP to 
consider using its estate for more humane recreational pursuits." 
 
Ends

 
For further information, contact:
Liz Crocker, Newcastle National Anti-Hunt Campaign 0191 2616151
Neil Hanson, National Anti-Hunt Campaign 0378 307575
John Lewis Partnership, London Press Office 0171 8281000
Bainbridges, Newcastle (general store number) 0191 232 
5000


Date: Sat, 7 Feb 1998 15:28:53 EST
From: NOVENAANN@aol.com
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Hunt comes to close; 60 deer killed (VA)
Message-ID: <2839657a.34dcc407@aol.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit

Hunt comes to close; 60 deer killed
------------------------------------------------------------------------
FAIRFAX, Va. (AP) -- Fairfax County's first organized hunt to control 
the deer population has ended -- with a grand total of 60 animals 
killed.

The small number of bagged deer in the hunt, which ended Friday, has 
left local officials and residents divided whether it was worth the 
effort.

''Are we dealing with smart deer or dumb rules'' governing the hunt, 
asked Supervisor T. Dana Kauffman, who joined other board members in 
calling for a review of the results.

It's unclear how much the county, state and regional park authority 
spent to run the eight days of hunting in Riverbend Park and the 
Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority's Upper Potomac property.

But estimates have ranged from $30,000 to $60,000: a per-deer cost of 
$500 to $1,000. That's fewer deer and a higher per-animal cost than the 
county had expected. The Board of Supervisors was told when it approved 
the hunt that each of 120 hunters was likely get one deer, and would be 
limited to two.

The hunts came in response to complaints that Fairfax is overrun by deer 
that dash in front of cars and eat away at residents' gardens.

Fairfax County's deer population is about 25,000 and growing, according 
to state estimates. The population is about five times what the land can 
support, officials said.

Last October, a 49-year-old librarian was killed when a deer jumped into 
traffic on a road in McLean. By early December, the Board of Supervisors 
voted to authorize the hunts.

Supervisor Stuart Mendelsohn said it was clear that the county probably 
assigned too many people to help manage the hunt, making the effort more 
costly than necessary.

''I think we overdid it, but I don't fault them,'' Mendelsohn said.

John C. Ulfelder, president of Great Falls Citizens Association, said 
regardless of how many deer were killed, the hunt was worth the effort.

''It shows that the county recognizes there is a problem,'' he said.

But other county residents, especially those who opposed the hunt, said 
the results only strengthened their opposition.

''The county spent that much money to kill an animal?'' said Michael 
Shen of Fairfax. ''They could have shipped the deer to someplace else. 
It does not make sense.''
Date: Sat, 07 Feb 1998 13:16:05 -0800
From: Andrew Gach 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Deaths of manatees the second highest on record
Message-ID: <34DCCF15.2D03@worldnet.att.net>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

Deaths of Florida manatees the second highest on record

Agence France-Presse 
MIAMI, Fla.February 7, 1998

Marine biologists monitoring Florida's endangered manatees say 1997 was
only a slight improvement from the worst year on record for the gentle
giants also known as sea cows.

In 1997 some 240 of the mammals died. That was a drop from the 415 in
1996, but still high enough to worry wildlife experts, said Bruce
Ackerman, head of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection's
manatee recovery program.

"1996 was an absolutely terrible, terrible year," said Ackerman. "We're
glad last year wasn't as bad as '96, but it was still bad."

In late January, 25 teams of scientists combed the state in low-flying
planes and came up with a manatee population count of 2,019 -- down from
2,639 manatees counted in 1996.

"We think the counts are most accurate when we have a colder winter, and
that's not this one," said Ackerman, who said he hoped the scientists
missed some of the animals during the count.

The slow-swimming manatees often die after they are hit by motor boats. 

However red tide -- a deadly algae found off Florida's west coast -- is
also known to be a culprit. In 1996, 151 of the large, gentle creatures
were killed by the red tide, a number which dropped to only 16 in 1997.

Scientists say that in 30 percent of cases they simply cannot determine
the cause of a manatee's death.

Biologists, however, blame Florida's rapid population and urban growth
for much of the problem. Manatees eat sea grass, a plant sensitive to
water quality and which has been harder to find as the state -- one of
the fastest growing in the United States -- continues to attract new
residents.

The manatees, which inhabit Florida's shallow, warm waters, must also
compete with the growing number of boats in the state, which has doubled
in the past 20 years.

The manatees are under the protection of the federal Endangered Species
Act, and their numbers had slowly been rising until they took a nosedive
in the past two years.

The only certain way to keep manatees safe is to keep boats out of
restricted areas. Law enforcement authorities vowed to continue their
patrols of manatee areas, said special agent Joe Oliveros with the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service.
Date: Sat, 07 Feb 1998 16:57:03 -0500
From: Vegetarian Resource Center 
To: AR-News@Envirolink.Org
Subject: (US) Erik Marcus (The New Ethics of Eating) Spring Speaking
  Tour
Message-ID: 
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit

Erik Marcus is the author of _Vegan: The New Ethics of Eating_.  
You can check out material about the book at
http://www.vegan.com/

Erik Marcus and his publicist Alka Chandna are currently planning 
his spring book publicity tour throughout the USA.

Perhaps groups on this list would like to arrange a speaking date
for Eric marcus.

At this time Erik does not charge for speaking appearances.  
You can call Erik Marcus or Alka Chandna (his publicist) at: 
(510) 548-4057.


©1998   Maynard S Clark    Vegetarian Resource Center    info@vegetarian.org 
Date: Sat, 7 Feb 1998 17:18:15 -0500 (EST)
From: Steve Mittler 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Preserving Wildlife in California
Message-ID: <199802072218.RAA26123@trapdoor.aracnet.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Tough New Measure to Preserve Wildlife and Wetlands in California
http://www.evans98.com/stb.html

Get involved! Join the 9800 BearSaver Brigade: http://www.evans98.com/vol.html

INITIATIVE MEASURE TO BE SUBMITTED DIRECTLY TO THE VOTERS


     The Attorney General of California has prepared 
the following title and summary of the chief purpose and points of the
proposed measure:
(Here set forth the title and summary prepared by the Attorney General.
This title and summary must also be printed across the top of each page of
the petition whereon signatures are to appear.)

TO THE HONORABLE SECRETARY OF STATE OF CALIFORNIA

We, the undersigned, registered, qualified voters of California, residents of
_________________ County (or City and County), hereby propose amendments to
the Fish and Game Code and to the Revenue and Taxation Code, relating to the
protection of bears and wilderness and petition the Secretary of State to
submit the same to the voters of California for their adoption or rejection
at the next succeeding general election or at any special statewide election
held prior to that general election or otherwise provided by law. The
proposed amendments (full title and text of the measure) read as follows:

Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the Bear and
Wilderness Protection Act of 1998.
Sec. 2. Chapter 12 (commencing with Section 2950) is added to Division 3 of
the Fish and Game Code, to read:
     Chapter 12. BEAR AND WILDERNESS PROTECTION
     2950. The Bear and Wilderness Protection Trust Fund is hereby created in
the State Treasury for the purpose of administering and implementing this
chapter.
     2951. Notwithstanding Section 13340 of the Government Code, all money
deposited in the Bear and Wilderness Protection Trust Fund in each fiscal
year is continuously appropriated, without regard to fiscal year, as follows:
     (a) One-half to the department to acquire, restore, and enhance wilderness
habitat, including the creation of bear safe zones, coastal marine safe
zones, game refuges, and wilderness restricted use districts, as provided in
this chapter.
     (b) One-half to the Department of Parks and Recreation to restore, repair,
and enhance the existing state park system, as provided in this chapter.
      2952.(a) The department shall purchase and acquire real property to
create bear safe zones, coastal marine safe zones, game refuges, and
wilderness restricted use districts, as described in this section, for the
purpose of protecting bears and other wildlife.
     (1) The department shall designate certain wilderness areas as "bear safe
zones," to be used as bear sanctuaries.  The department shall capture,
transport, and release all bears found in this state into the bear safe
zones. The public may enter a bear safe zone, but it is unlawful to possess
a firearm in a bear safe zone.
     (2) The department shall designate certain coastal areas as "coastal
marine safe zones," to be managed by the department for the protection of
 fish and marine life. No fish or marine life may be taken from a coastal
marine safe zone without a permit issued by the department for that taking. 
     (3) The department shall designate certain wilderness areas as "game
refuges," to be managed by the department for the preservation and
protection of wildlife species, as identified by the department. The public
may enter game refuges, but no game animal or other animal may be taken
without a permit issued by the department for that taking.
     (4) The department shall designate certain areas as "wilderness
restricted use districts," to be managed by the department for the
preservation and protection of all wildlife and wildlife habitat. No public
access may occur in a wilderness restricted use district without a permit
issued by the department for that access.
     (b) The department shall consider the following factors in establishing
bear safe zones, coastal marine safe zones, game refuges, and wilderness
restricted use districts:
      (1) The bear safe zones, game refuges, and wilderness restricted use
districts shall be established in rural areas so as to minimize conflicts
between wildlife and human activity.
     (2) Sites shall be established in areas where an abundance of wildlife is
already in existence.
     (3) The department shall maximize its resources to provide for the
largest possible sites.
     2953.   The department shall organize and sponsor wilderness outreach
programs directed at inner city youth and offer wilderness educational
programs for children in kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive.
     2954.   The department may use funds appropriated pursuant to
subdivision
(a) of Section 2951 to hire additional staff to carry out its duties under
this chapter, including, but not limited to, hiring additional management
and support staff, fish and game wardens, criminal investigators, and other
enforcement officers.  The department may also use those funds to purchase
vehicles and other equipment necessary to carry out its duties and enforce
this chapter.
     2958.    The Department of Parks and Recreation shall restore and repair
the existing state parks system, and shall purchase and acquire additional
land, rivers, wetlands, historic sites, and other resources, in order to
enhance the state parks system.
     2959.  The Department of Parks and Recreation may use funds
appropriated
pursuant to subdivision (b) of  section 2951 to hire additional staff to
carry out its duties under this chapter, including, but not limited to,
hiring additional management and support staff, park rangers, park safety
officers, environment officers, and other enforcement officers. The
Department of Parks and Recreation may also use those funds to purchase
vehicles and other equipment necessary to carry out its duties and enforce
this chapter.
     SEC. 3.  Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 4750) of Part 3 of Division
4
of the Fish and Game Code is repealed.
     SEC. 4. Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 4750) is added to Part 3 of
Division 4 of the Fish and Game Code, to read:
CHAPTER 9.  BEARS
     
     4750.  (a) It is unlawful to take, injure, possess, transport, import, or
sell any bear or any part or product thereof, or to conspire to take,
injure, possess, transport, import, or sell any bear or any part or product
thereof.
     (b) A violation of this section is a felony punishable as follows:
     (1) A person 18 years or older who is convicted of violating this
section for noncommercial purposes shall be subject to a fine of ten
thousand dollars ($10,000) and sentenced to five years imprisonment in the
state prison, without opportunity for parole or credit for good behavior.
     (2) A person 18 years or older who is convicted of violating this
section for commercial purposes shall be subject to a fine of fifteen
thousand dollars ($15,000) and be sentenced to 15 years imprisonment in the
state prison, without opportunity for parole or credits for good behavior.
     (3) A person under the age of 18 who is convicted of violating this
section for commercial or noncommercial purposes shall be placed under the
care of the Department of the Youth Authority for five years.
     (c) The Attorney General is responsible for prosecuting any person
who
violates this section.
     (d) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a person arrested
for
 violating this section for commercial purposes may not be released on bail
unless the court determines that the person does not pose a flight risk.
     SEC. 5.  Section 12005 of the Fish and Game Code is repealed.
     SEC. 6. Section 6051.5 is added to the Revenue and Taxation Code, to
read:

     6051.5.  (a) In addition to the taxes imposed by Section 6051, 6051.2,
6051.3, and any other provision of this part, for the privilege of selling
tangible personal property at retail, a tax is hereby imposed upon all
retailers at the rate of one-half of 1 percent of the gross receipts of any
retailer from the sale of all tangible personal property sold at retail in
this state on and after January 1, 1999.
     (b) All revenues received pursuant to this section shall be deposited
in
the State Treasury to the credit of the Bear and Wilderness Protection Trust
Fund created pursuant to Section 2950 of the Fish and Game Code.
     SEC. 7. Section 6201.5 is added to the Revenue and Taxation Code, to
read:
     6201.5 (a) In addition to the taxes imposed by Section 6201,
6201.2,
6201.3, and any other provision of this part, an excise tax is hereby
imposed on the storage, use, or other consumption in this state of tangible
personal property purchased from any retailer on and after January 1, 1999,
at the rate of one-half of 1 percent of the sales price of the property.
     (b) All revenues received pursuant to this section shall be
deposited
in the State Treasury to the credit of the Bear and Wilderness Protection
Trust Fund created pursuant to Section 2950 of the Fish and Game Code.
     SEC. 8.  This act shall become operative on January 1, 1999.
     SEC. 9.   If any provision of this act or the application thereof to any
person or circumstances is held invalid, that invalidity shall not affect
other provisions or applications of the act that can be given effect without
the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions of this
act are severable.


Mervin Evans
Evans 98
Post Office Box 205 
Culver City, CA  90232
(213)  506-0523 



Date: Sat, 07 Feb 1998 17:36:15 -0500 (EST)
From: Debbie Leahy 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: [US] Baylor Uses Live Mascots
Message-ID: <01ITB1T9DIJC94HD3Y@delphi.com>
MIME-version: 1.0
Content-type: TEXT/PLAIN; CHARSET=US-ASCII

              ASK BAYLOR TO DROP LIVE ANIMAL MASCOTS
                                       7 February 1998

Baylor University in Texas has been using live black bears as mascots for its
sporting events. They keep two to four black bears on campus and haul them out 
to be paraded around the stadium during games.  New bear cubs are purchased
and the older ones dumped about every two years when they become too large,
unmanageable, and have exhausted their "usefulness."  This is a miserable life 
for the bears, it contributes to the very serious problem of surplus exotic
animals and captive wildlife, and it sets a poor example for the students. 

Baylor University has received complaints over the years and is currently
re-evaluating this practice.  Please send your polite comments as soon as
possible asking them to abolish this tradition.  Contact: 

Robert B. Sloan, Jr., President
Baylor University
P.O. Box 97096
Waco, TX  76798
Tel: 254/755-1011
Fax: 254/710-3557

====================
Illinois Animal Action
P.O. Box 507
Warrenville, IL  60555
Tel: 630/393-2935
Fax: 630/393-2941
====================
Date: Sat, 07 Feb 1998 19:50:15 -0500
From: Shirley McGreal 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Message-ID: <1.5.4.32.19980208005015.00e0535c@awod.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

In studying documents obtained from the Centers for Disease Control under
the US Freedom of Information Act, IPPL has learned that the percentage of
imported crab-eating macaques testing positive for antibodies to the
potentially fatal (to humans) Herpes B virus is extremely high (74-85%). CDC
has complicated IPPL's review of the documents by blacking out sections.
However we obtained reports on several 1997 shipments, all originating from
Indonesia:

* Shipment A

75 monkeys positive, 5 equivocal, 20 negative

* Shipment B

78 monkeys positive, 2 equivocal, 20 negative

* Shipment C

77 monkeys positive, 1 equivocal, 23 negative

* Shipment D

74 monkeys positive, 0 equivocal, 25 negative

* Shipment E

85 monkeys positive, 2 equivocal, 13 negative

Company documents provided to CDC in connection with some of these shipments
claim that, "The animals have been examined several times and are healthy
and free of any known disease entities and are free from evidence of
infection or contagious disease." As far as IPPL can determine, a monkey
having antibodies to herpes B does not mean that she cannot shed the virus.
 
Indonesian health certificates accompany all monkey shipments. IPPL does not
know if herpes B tests are conducted at the Indonesian end? 

Many of us know of the tragic recent death from herpes B of a young woman
working at the Yerkes Primate Center, Atlanta, Georgia. Yet the Centers for
Disease Control releases shipments which it knows to contain positive
monkeys. It is not clear whether Herpes B is considered a "disease entity"
by CDC? The virus is usually dormant but is 70+% fatal when humans do get it
and death is excruciatingly painful and protracted.   

CDC does not require mandatory testing of all macaques in pet trade breeding
facilities. It does not require dealers to provide customers with
information on what herpes B is, and the herpes B status of the parents and
infant macaques they sell, along with instructions on what pet owners should
do should problems arise? At the beginning herpes is hard to diagnose but
this is the only time when treatment helps. Maybe requiring potential buyers
to be informed would end the trade in pet macaques which would be highly
desirable. Better now than after another horrible incident. 

Small numbers of the imported monkeys tested positive for STLV-1 antibody
and SRV antibody.

Among the airlines still carrying macaques are Air France and Northwest. 


|--------------------------------|---------------------------------------|
| Dr. Shirley McGreal            | PHONE: 803-871-2280  FAX: 803-871-7988|      
| Int. Primate Protection League | E-MAIL: ippl@awod.com                 |
| POB 766 Summerville            | http://www.ippl.org                   |
|                                                                        |
|FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - FROM THE TREES -                                | 
|StoP tHE LogGINg oR wE WiLl coNtInUE To KiLl oNe CeleBrITY EacH WeEK.   | 
|THeRe ARe nO SkIinG "aCciDenTS"                                         | 
|--------------------------------|---------------------------------------|


Date: Sun, 8 Feb 1998 08:54:15 +0800
From: bunny 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (East Africa)DISEASE REPORT, HUMAN AND ANIMAL
Message-ID: <1.5.4.16.19980208084643.2bd76a82@wantree.com.au>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

*Here is a report that includes the fact of Rift Valley Fever (previously
a killer of livestock), now being isolated in humans.

DISEASE REPORT, HUMAN AND ANIMAL - EAST AFRICA
**********************************************
A ProMED-mail post


Date: Thu, 05 Feb 1998 17:33:00 +0100
From: Roeder, Peter (AGAH) 


LIVESTOCK DISEASE SITUATION IN THE HORN OF AFRICA: a preliminary analysis
from FAO EMPRES  (5/2/98)  

Having just returned from Kenya and Ethiopia, I am now in a position to
provide some information. I am grateful to the Kenyan Veterinary and
Medical Services, the Tanzanian Department of Livestock Development, the
Ethiopian Veterinary Team, members of the WHO team in Kenya and many
individuals who have provided the information on which the analysis is
based.  

This brief summary deals primarily with the livestock disease situation;
reports from WHO will provide the human disease dimension. In addition to
attempting to describe the existing situation. I have added some indication
of the possible developments in the near future.  

THE SITUATION IN KENYA AND SOMALIA  

Rift Valley Fever  

Historically, within the Horn of Africa, RVF epidemics have occurred in
Rift Valley and Central Provinces of  Kenya at prolonged intervals over 70
years or more. Northern Tanzania forms part of this disease zone but RVF
occurrence in north-eastern Kenya has been a rare event in the past. The
climatic factors favouring its emergence from the area in which the
infection persists have been well studied and it is known that epidemics
follow heavy and prolonged, often unseasonal, rainfall. Examination of
remote sensing data at FAO for the past five months indicates that such
conditions had prevailed in Kenya at the end of 1997. In appreciation of
the risk the Kenya Veterinary Service (KVS) warned farmers of the risk and
advised vaccination of high potential livestock. Livestock vaccinated in
December appear to have been protected. The remote sensing data also
indicate that suitable conditions for the explosive multiplication of
mosquito vectors existed and persist over extensive areas of Kenya,
southern Somalia, south-eastern and southern Ethiopia, eastern Uganda,
southern Sudan and northern Tanzania. Reports and investigations by the
KVS, backed up by laboratory confirmation, are consistent with the
understanding that RVF has been occurring in December 1997 and January
1998, primarily in sheep, cattle and camels, in Central and Rift Valley
Provinces and the west of Eastern Province of Kenya. The disease pattern
here has been typical with fever, abortion (the predominant feature), early
neonatal death, jaundice and death predominantly in young animals, and a
fall in milk yield in dairy cattle. Humans have generally suffered an
influenza-like disease with few complications.  

>From mid-December 1997, a fatal haemorrhagic fever of humans has been
affecting people in Wajir, Garissa and Tana River Districts of
North-eastern and Eastern Provinces of Kenya and in southern Somalia. Rift
Valley fever (RVF) virus has been identified as a causal agent in this
epidemic. RVF-associated human haemorrhagic disease has also been confirmed
west of Magadi in Rift Valley Province of Kenya. Reports of similar human
disease in the north of Somalia (Erigavo, Bosaso, Hargeisa) have not been
confirmed; investigations are in progress.  

At the same time the presence of RVF associated with livestock disease has
been confirmed in north-eastern Kenya and southern Somalia. The abortions
reported in camels and goats are consistent with the diagnosis of RVF, as
could also be some reports of disease and mortality, some associated with
blood stained discharges. Abortions of livestock have also been reported
from southern Kenya associated temporally with confirmed RVF in humans.
However, other reports of high morbidity and mortality in camels, small
ruminants and cattle (the last in a limited area of Lower and Middle Juba
Regions of Somalia), and the few descriptions of clinical signs, are not
consistent with RVF. I am not aware of any reports of unusual livestock
morbidity in the northern part of Somalia.  

Other Livestock Diseases  

The conditions prevailing in the affected area favour the generation of
large populations of mosquitoes, midges and biting flies and, therefore, an
increase in incidence of many of the diseases they transmit was to be
expected. Not surprisingly disease with signs typical of bluetongue is
reported to be affecting improved breeds of sheep (wool sheep, Dorpers and
their crosses) in Kenya away from the northeast and in northern Tanzania.
As expected indigenous sheep and goats do not feature in reports.  

Initial suspicions of anthrax have not been borne out by subsequent
investigations, albeit limited. However, the disease could still be a
component of the animal mortality reported and merits consideration,
especially later as the land dries out.  

Investigations in NE Kenya and Somalia have been severely hampered by
flooding but investigations are proceeding. The aetiology of the livestock
diseases is not fully established. The understanding presented here will
certainly be amended as more information becomes available. The peak of the
RVF epidemic may now have passed in Kenya and Somalia.  

Superimposed on the effects of RVF, other aetiological components which are
likely to be contributing are, by species and disease:  

Small Ruminants  

Disease resulting from environmental factors: heavy mortality of small
ruminants was associated with the flooding, peaking  in NE Kenya in
December. "Foot rot" appears to be widespread as a consequence of long
immersion of the feet in water and mud; loss of the hooves is reported and
ventral dermatitis. Secondary bacterial infection and pain preventing
movement to find food probably resulted in high mortality. It is to be
expected that the stress of heavy rainfall following drought conditions and
combined with malnutrition predisposed them to disease conditions such as
pneumonic pasteurellosis.  

Contagious caprine pleuropneumonia (CCPP) was confirmed by the KVS to have
been the cause of respiratory disease and mortality in goats near to
Garissa in early January. It is endemic to the pastoral communities of
northern Kenya, southern Ethiopia and southern Somalia and is suspected to
be causing significant mortality.  

Peste des petits ruminants (PPR) is considered by the Ethiopian Veterinary
Team to be endemic in south-west Ethiopia and was confirmed to be present
in 1997 in the Somali and Oromiya Regional States of Ethiopia. During 1997,
clinical reports from field operatives in central and southern Somalia
described a disease syndrome highly suggestive of PPR. Although clinical
PPR has never been identified in Kenya, the Kenya Agricultural Research
Institute detected antibodies to PPR in sera collected from 1981 to 1985 in
the border areas of western and northern Kenya. Consequently, the risk of
PPR introduction and/or spread must be considered to be high.  

Helminthosis, primarily the stomach worm causing haemonchosis, develops
rapidly in suitable conditions of soil moisture and high ambient
temperature. Severely anaemic sheep with bottle jaw were indeed found to
have heavy burdens of Haemonchus in Kenya. An increase in incidence with
high mortality could be expected to occur as pastures dry out.  

Cattle  

Cattle have not featured highly in disease reports from the affected areas
except for some reports of unusual mortality from Middle and Lower Juba
Regions of Somalia in January. A clear clinical case description is
lacking. In 1996 the KVS reported the presence of rinderpest in the Mandera
district of North-east Province and since then the disease has been under
surveillance and intensive control activities. There was an unconfirmed
report of a clinical syndrome suggestive of rinderpest in Gedo Region of
Somalia in March/April 1997. It is important that veterinary services,
including those of NGOs, be alerted to the significance of occurrence of a
clinical syndrome which could be suggestive of rinderpest. Any suspicious
signs must be reported to the official veterinary service in order that
prompt action can be taken.  

Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) was present in the Somali Regional State of
Ethiopia, near the border with Kenya, in mid 1997. Clearly, there exists a
risk of dissemination of this infection.  

Camels  

Many reports of high mortality in camels have been received from throughout
the affected area. The abortion storms described are consistent with RVF
being a cause as is some mortality in young animals. Other descriptions of
morbidity and mortality are highly suggestive of camel pox (or the rarer
parapox) - swelling of the labia and head, lesions on the inside (overlain
by a diphtheritic membrane) and outside of the labia, blockage of the
nares.   

A  "camel respiratory disease syndrome"  is a relatively new disease which
spread in epidemic form in recent years from Sudan through Eritrea,
Ethiopia and Djibouti into Somalia and NE Kenya. Its cause is unknown. One
group of researchers has suggested that PPR virus might be involved whilst
others favour an aetiology involving mycoplasma and/or pasteurellosis
because of suggestive pathology and response to antibiotic therapy. After
the initial epidemic abated, a resurgence of this disease is known to have
been occurring in the Afar and Somali Regional States of Ethiopia in 1997
and it was also present in Somalia. It is possible that this disease could
be contributing to the morbidity; mortality can be high.  

Wildlife  

The disease which killed some 200 Gerenuk in northern Kenya in December
1997 to January 1998 was characterised by oral hyperaemia and coronitis
raising suspicions that BT or EHD could be responsible. Examinations are
still pending but no further wildlife mortalities have been reported even
in game in close contact with livestock.  

Other Considerations/Risks  

With high populations of biting flies and midges, it is likely that lumpy
skin disease and ephemeral fever will become prevalent in the near future.  

Tick burdens are likely to increase considerably as the land dries, causing
an increase in direct damage (-tick worry- including foot abscessation ).
Nairobi sheep disease epidemics could be experienced, causing abortion
storms and mortality in indigenous sheep and goats, resembling RVF. East
Coast fever could extend well outside its normal range.  

Contagious bovine pleuropneumonia (CBPP) is endemic in the area and mixing
of cattle herds with crowding provides ideal conditions for transmission.  

Several different leptospiral serovars (L. grippotyphosa and L.
icterohaemorrhagiae, for example) cause disease in a broad range of
livestock species, primarily in humid conditions. This is usually marked by
fever, abortion in pregnant females, haemoglobinuria, jaundice with
moderate to high mortality, closing resembling RVF. Leptospirosis needs to
be considered in differential diagnosis.  

Tse-tse fly transmitted trypanosomosis of cattle is normally present in
southern Somalia and neighbouring Kenya; it is thought to have been
increasing in incidence in NE Kenya before the recent events. Favourable
conditions for tse-tse fly multiplication could be provided as the land
dries out and infection rates could increase. An increase in incidence
could also occur from mechanical transmission by biting flies which are
prevalent. Surra (Trypanosoma evansi infection) is prevalent in camel
populations in the region in normal times and an increase in incidence
would be expected to follow the increase in the numbers of biting flies
favoured by high soil moisture.  

TANZANIA  

On 5/1/98 a team from the Veterinary Investigation Centre, Arusha, visited
a ranch in western Kilimanjaro Region of northern Tanzania to investigate
reported mortality, from December 1997, in cattle and Black-headed Persian
sheep.  In the sheep particularly, their findings were strongly indicative
of an outbreak of BT. Samples have been taken and confirmation is awaited.  

ETHIOPIA  

Investigations by the Ethiopian veterinary services in South Omo district
of south-west Ethiopia from 11 to 17 Jan concluded that there was no
unusual morbidity of livestock or people although there has been extensive
flooding and conditions for vector multiplication are ideal.  

The Ethiopian veterinary services are actively investigating the
possibility that the same disease epidemic conditions as were experienced
in Kenya and Somalia could have extended to include the south-eastern part
of Ethiopia. Reports of human illness are also being followed up by the
medical services. 

--
Peter Roeder
Animal Health Officer
(Infectious Disease Emergencies)
FAO EMPRES
Rome
=====================================================================
========
                   /`\   /`\    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: Sun, 8 Feb 1998 08:59:15 +0800
From: bunny 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (UK)Salmonella and antibiotics in meat
Message-ID: <1.5.4.16.19980208085142.2967113a@wantree.com.au>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

SALMONELLA REPORTS - UK: 1996
*****************************


Date:  Fri, 6 Feb 1998 12:13:19 +0000
From: maff.gov.uk


SALMONELLA IN LIVESTOCK PRODUCTION 1996
This booklet presents data on salmonella collected and collated by the
Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food during 1996 and also provides
data from previous years for comparison purposes.   

Chapters included are:  

REASON FOR SAMPLING & PLACE OF SAMPLING  

Number of incidents recorded by reason for test and place of sampling in
1996 for slaughterhouses and premises other than slaughterhouses.   

Examinations of the tables given under this chapter confirm that only a
proportion of the isolations of salmonella reported to the Ministry came
from incidents of clinical disease. This is particularly striking in the
case of poultry where most of the isolations have been made as a result of
a statutory monitoring programme or as a result of surveillance activities.
In contrast, the majority of isolates of salmonella from other species have
been made as a result of examinations carried out to diagnoses clinical
disease.  

REPORTS OF SALMONELLA IN LIVESTOCK, CATTLE, SHEEP, PIGS AND POULTRY  

Salmonella/_S. typhimurium_/_S. enteritidis_ on farms and premises other
than slaughterhouses, incidents and isolations by serotype, plus incidents
and isolations of _S. typhimurium_ by definitive type and _S. enteritidis_
by phage type.  

Figures here show that the total number of both incidents of salmonella
reported to Officers of the Minister fell in 1996. This is largely due to a
reduction in the number of incidents of _S. typhimurium DT104_ in all
species except chickens and adult cattle. There was a continued reduction
in incidents of _S. dublin_ in adult cattle and a reduction in calves. The
decrease in the number of incidents of _S. enteritidis_ in turkeys, ducks
and geese also continued.  

REPORTS OF SALMONELLA IN LIVESTOCK PRODUCTS   

Isolations from slaughterhouses & human food premises, by serotype.
Examination of the tables reveal that almost all of these isolates were
made as a result of the monitoring of poultry meat products, and, not
surprisingly, the serotypes of salmonella reported are similar in chickens.
Figures show that the total number of isolations from livestock products in
1996 fell by 45% from the 1995 total, due in large to a marked decrease in
the number of isolations of _S. mbandaka_ in poultry  
REPORTS OF SALMONELLA IN ANIMAL FEEDINGSTUFFS

Contamination rates, isolations from various categories of feedingstuffs,
top serotypes of salmonella isolated from compound feed and the major
serotypes isolated from feedingstuff ingredients. PROCESSED ANIMAL PROTEIN
ORDER - contamination rates and serotypes isolated from testing of home
produced and imported processed animal protein.  

This chapter contains expanded information on isolates of _S. enteritidis_
and _S. typhimurium_ made from animal feedstuffs. They show that the number
of isolations of these serotypes from feedingstuffs are very low. The
number of isolations of _S. typhimurium_ made from compounded animal
feedstuffs fell for the second year running, although the number of reports
still remains higher than for several years. The results from the statutory
official testing of domestic processed animal protein show that the
contamination rate rose in 1996 but still remained below the artificially
high level of 1994, which was caused by a number of official investigations
at specific premises. The contamination rate for imported processed animal
protein appears higher than for domestically produced material, but testing
is biased towards those consignments most likely to be contaminated. 

e.g. Table 48: The major serotypes of salmonella in feedingstuff
ingredients 1996

    FeedingstuffSalmonella serotypeIsolations

       Barleyderby1
        taksony2
        typhimurium1
     Cotton seed mealhavana15
        mbandaka5
         binza4
        senftenberg4
        tennessee4
         agona3
         cubana3
        indiana2

e.g. Table 49: Processed Animal Protein Order (PAPO) - domestic protein
official testing - contamination rates

   Sample typeBatches Tested in 1995 Batches Tested in 1996
           No+ve%+veNo+ve%+ve

       Meat & Bone Meal7579.338513.2
       White Fish Meal7--19526.3


ANTIMICROBIAL SENSITIVITY IN SALMONELLAS
S.dublin, S.typhimurium, other salmonellas and all salmonellas

_Salmonella dublin_: 99.7% were susceptible to all 16 antimicrobial drugs.
This has been the situation since surveillance began in 1971 and is of
interest because most isolates come from cattle. _Salmonella typhimurium_:
73.9% were DT104 and it's variants. Only 10.8% of the cultures were
sensitive to all the antimicrobials tested, which is a slight increase on
the 7.6% in the previous year. 
e.g. Table 56: All Salmonellas: antimicrobial sensitivity 1996

  OriginNo. of    % Sensitive Percentage of cultures resistant to:
      cultures  to all 16  S   SU   T   N  AM  FR  TM  C  APR  NA 
                  antimicrbls

   Cattle 1859      32.3       63  67  65   1  64  <1  12  62  <1   4
   Horses 142      43.0       51  54  54   5  52  <1  16  46   -   5


The Salmonella in Livestock Production 1996 booklet is supplied free of
charge and is available from:

Sue Kidd
The Epidemiology Department
Central Veterinary Laboratory
New Haw
Addlestone
Surrey KT15 3NB

 Tel (44) 01932 357622
 Fax (44) 01932 349983
e-mail: s.a.kidd@vla.maff.gov.uk

The 1997 book will be published around May/June, but until then 1996 books
are still available.

--
Charles Byrne
Epidemiology Dept,
Central Veterinary Laboratory
..............................................mhj/es
=====================================================================
========
                   /`\   /`\    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, 07 Feb 1998 21:11:17 -0500
From: Vegetarian Resource Center 
To: AR-News@Envirolink.Org
Subject: SOS from Spain: 160 dogs will be put to death
Message-ID: <199802080219.VAA06405@mail-out-1.tiac.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit

We want to inform you about some facts that you have to know:

1) The dog shelter of La Laguna in Tenerife (Canary Islands - Spain) was
runned by an Animal Protection Society since 1986, but its board
(president and treasurer) didn't take care of animals (no enough food,
no vet care...).
2) Volunteers tried to do the best for dogs and they protested against
this inhuman attitude of the shelter managers.   

4) Last 19/01/98 volunteers take over the shelter but the City Council
decided to sack the volunteers and transform the shelter in a County
pound.

Therefore, the 160 dogs will be put to death!

Please, send a message to the City Council of La Laguna protesting
against this decission and asking for another chance for 160 poor dogs.  

Surf on the La Laguna URL and click in "your comments" and leave there
your message.
http://www.cistia.es/lalaguna
/laguna_ingles/

To send a letter:

AYUNTAMIENTO DE LA LAGUNA
C. OBISPO REY REDONDO 1
38201 LA LAGUNA
TENERIFE
TF 011 34 22 601162
FAX 011 34 22 608830
       
Thanks!

Sofia & Enric
Barcelona Veggies 
http://www.pangea.org/grw/bcnveg.htm

"You must be the change you wish to see in the world"
M. Gandhi

Date: Sun, 8 Feb 1998 10:22:25 +0800
From: bunny 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (Aust)Sun bears arrive(re bear paw soup)
Message-ID: <1.5.4.16.19980208101457.0edfc958@wantree.com.au>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Life at the zoo is easy to bear
Sunday Times (Perth,Australia, February 8th 1998)
by MONICA VIDENIEKS

THREE sun bears have brought a ray of sunshine
into the lives of Perth Zoo staff.
The bears were saved from Cambodian restaurants
where they were destined to have their
paws hacked off for an illegal delicacy - bear paw soup.

The Perth-based Free the Bears Fund rescued
them, housed them in a sanctuary in Phnom Penh
for a year and flew them to their new home at Perth Zoo.
 This week the bears - aged two years,18 months and 14 months  
began to settle in, giving each other playful hugs and exploring
their new home.
Animal health keeper , Jill Cowie hides nuts and spreads honey 
- a favourite with sun bears - around their enclosure
to encourage the male and two females to forage,
as they would in the wild.
Cowie said. "Of all the animals I've looked after,
they are probably the best.You could watch them for hours.
 "I can't believe that people would want to harm them.
If only they could see how wonderful and intelligent they are.
They are just happy little bears now.

.See next weeks Sunday Times for a sun bear poster and your chance
to win a luxury weekend for two in the Heritage trail lodge at
Margaret River in our "Name the Bear" competition.

=====================================================================
========
                   /`\   /`\    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: Sun, 8 Feb 1998 10:29:48 +0800
From: bunny 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (Aust)Caring Mary deserves a bear hug.
Message-ID: <1.5.4.16.19980208102214.0edfc94a@wantree.com.au>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Caring Mary deserves a bear hug.
Lead letter to the editor
(with picture of 2 sun bears and activist)
Sunday Times (Perth, Australia)
February 8th 1998

Last weeks article on the sun bears and
Mrs Hutton's efforts to save them from
the cruelties inflicted in Asian countries 
is to be applauded.
It should be sent in triplicate 
to every Asian government from
Indonesia to Japan.

Mrs Hutton should be in line for a Nobel Peace Prize for
her campaign, which I and other veterinarians wholeheartedly
support.

May I reiterate one line for those who did not read the article:
"Their (the bear's) paws would have been hacked off while they 
were still alive and eaten
in bear paw soup by wealthy Koreans and Japanese."

How much more disgusting can mankind's actions against 
the world's animals get?

Dr John Lewington
B.Vet Med, MRCV.S,
Craigie

=====================================================================
========
                   /`\   /`\    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: Sun, 8 Feb 1998 10:52:57 +0800
From: bunny 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (NZ)Islands closed due to mystery killer virus
Message-ID: <1.5.4.16.19980208104523.2a87b61a@wantree.com.au>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

**Note *MAMMAL* = LION because the computer program at AR sends back
postings with the words S## L##N



SEA *MAMMAL* DIE-OFF - SUB-ANTARCTICA (06)

[1]

Date: Fri, 6 Feb 1998 08:19:41 +1300
From: E Ravji 
Source: NewsRoom Tonight 


Staff Reporter: Ian Llewellyn
Date: Thursday, 5 Febuary 1998
Time: 10:21 pm NZT

Islands Closed - The Conservation Minister has closed the Auckland and
Campbell Islands to visitors in response to potential risks to human
health, from the mystery illness that has caused mass fatalities of New
Zealand (Hooker) sea *mammals*. See the Politics Wire. There is general concern
that a series of environmental malaise may be linked. Besides the sea
*mammals*, dead marine life have been washing up on the parts of the eastern
coasts of the Wairarapa and Kaikoura. In the Wairarapa a number of people
and animals have suffered sore throats, headaches and irritations, these
have been linked to algae at sea being blown on shore. Shellfish gathering
has also been stopped on Great Barrier Island following the discovery of
mussels contaminated with a natural toxin.

TV1 6pm News (first segment) 

Staff Reporter: Ian Llewellyn
Date: Thursday, 5 Febuary 1998
Time: 6:15 pm NZT

1. Animals are dying and swimmers are falling ill around the coast of New
Zealand. On Great Barrier Island people have been told to stop harvesting
shellfish, on the Wairarapa Coast people are becoming ill and seals are
dying on the Auckland Islands. The Conservation Minister has closed the
Auckland and Campbell Islands die to the unknown nature of the mysterious
ailment which is killing New Zealand sea *mammal* pups.

2. Algae blooms are appearing around the coast causing problems for
shellfish and other marine mammals in a number of areas. El Nino is being
blamed.

[2]

Date: Thu, 5 Feb 1998 15:48:27 -0700
From: Hal Nash 

Is it possible that this massive die-off of sea mammals* is a consequence of
the near extinction the species experienced in the 19th century? 

The tremendous loss of biodiversity at that time would have led to extreme
inbreeding with the now large population possessing little biodiversity. All
students of biology are taught that biodiversity is the key to longevity of
a species. What we are seeing now might be massive die-offs of genetically
similar individuals of a population following exposure to some sort of
regularly occurring agent, biological or otherwise. While this event, from
human perspective, appears tragic, it is the age old winnowing of a
population by natural selection.

--
Hal B. Nash
Assistant Professor of Biology
Western Wyoming College
Rock Springs WY   82901
e-mail: HNASH@wwcc.cc.wy.us

[An interesting idea but first off I would not expect such a scenario to
start with a massive die off 100 years later. Any comments? Latterly, it has
become clear that the removal of large parts of the middle of the marine
food chain, such as by large-scale fishing in international waters, can have
devastating effects on marine ecology as a whole. To return to our sheep,
can someone in New Zealand give us a better overview of what is being seen
and recorded in New Zealand waters beyond that in the sea mammals*. mod MHJ}
.........................................mhj/es


=====================================================================
========
                   /`\   /`\    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, 07 Feb 1998 19:54:43 -0800
From: Andrew Gach 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Multiple Sclerosis - correction
Message-ID: <34DD2C83.3609@worldnet.att.net>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

About a week ago, I submitted an article about an important discovery
regarding multiple sclerosis.  Commenting, I said: "In [animal]
research, demyelination is usually produced by exposure to corrosive
chemicals."

It was called to my attention that this was not true.  After checking up
on the literature, I found that my statement was indeed incorrect. 
Demyelination is usually induced by antigens that act through the
animals' immune system, rather than by direct chemical action on nerve
cells.

My mistake was the result of faulty recollection, not a deliberate
attempt to mislead.  Neither did it alter the fact that the animals used
in these experiments were made to undergo great suffering or that the
the discovery described in the article was not the outcome of
experiments with animal "models."  

With that proviso, I apologize for making an inaccurate statement.  

Andy
Date: Sat, 07 Feb 1998 23:11:54 -0500
From: allen schubert 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Admin Note: Harrassing E-mails
Message-ID: <3.0.1.32.19980207231154.006a25a0@envirolink.org>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

For those subscribers receiving Anti-AR e-mail from fellow 
AR-News subscribers, please do not reply to those individuals.

If such problems persist, please consider contacting me and I will consider
banning such individuals from AR-News.

Such matters will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

DO NOT refer your spamming problems to me!

Allen Schubert
ar-admin@envirolink.org
Listowner AR-News
Date: Sun, 8 Feb 1998 12:28:50 +0800
From: bunny 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (NZ)COAST DEATHS - NEW ZEALAND
Message-ID: <1.5.4.16.19980208122116.4db7a54e@wantree.com.au>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Note *mammals* = *lions*

COAST DEATHS - NEW ZEALAND

Date: Fri, 6 Feb 1998 22:25:24 +1300
From: E Ravji 
Source: The Press News Page - Friday, Feb 6, 1998

Hot weather blamed for sealife deaths, Diane Keenan and Seth Robson [edited]  

The disturbing developments on the New Zealand east coast in the past week
include:   

[1] Reports of mysterious deaths of seals, crayfish, octopuses, and
shellfish at Kaikoura.  

[2] Toxic algae confirmed as causing health problems such as sore throats
and nose and eye irritations in beach goers in the Wairarapa.   

[3] Dead and dying fish washed up along the Wairarapa coast.   

[4] Public health officials have closed the coasts of Great Barrier Island
to shellfish-gathering after detecting a poison that can cause paralysis.   

Bob McDavitt, of the MetService, said that the weather pattern of El Nino
was a factor in the emergence of toxic algae in coastal areas. "We're going
for the mother of all El Ninos this summer, so it wouldn't surprise us if
it also produced algae blooms."   

Canterbury Health yesterday tested for algal bloom off the Kaikoura coast
after reports of dead seals, crayfish, octopuses, and shellfish. The
National Institute for Water and Atmospheric Research was taking samples
from the dead octopuses washed up along the coast. Divers have reported
dead kina (sea eggs) and crayfish off the Kaikoura Peninsula. Department of
Conservation staff are investigating the Kaikoura reports. DOC Kaikoura
field centre supervisor Mike Morrissey said two dead seals had been found
near Kaikoura on Wednesday and tissue samples had been sent to Massey
University for testing.   

Further south, a seal separated from its mother was found at Waikuku, along
with a dead adult seal. Mr Morrissey said there were about 3000 seals along
the Kaikoura coast and some occasionally died of natural causes. However,
the testing of the pair of dead seals was to ensure there was no connection
with the dead New Zealand (Hooker) sea *mammals* that were discovered last week
at the Auckland Islands.   

Mr Morrissey said he went diving off Kaikoura at the weekend and did not
find any dead crayfish. "But I cannot think of any reason why kina would be
lying upside down on the bottom unless they were suffering from an
infection," he said.   

Stress from hot weather killed an endangered adult female albatross and her
chick at Taiaroa Head near Dunedin yesterday. DOC staff used fire hoses to
spray nesting birds every two hours to keep them cool from high temperatures. 

--
Elayne Ravji 
Friends of the Earth New Zealand
Ph/Fax + 64 6 3765024
email: boss@clear.net.nz
............................................mhj/e
=====================================================================
========
                   /`\   /`\    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, 07 Feb 1998 23:28:02 -0500
From: allen schubert 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (US) VCR alert: "The Brain Eater"
Message-ID: <3.0.32.19980207232800.0077d120@pop3.clark.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

from Public Broadcasting System website http://www.pbs.org/
----------------------------------------------------
NOVA Online
"The Brain Eater"
NOVA answers the question "Where's the beef?" with this site that offers an
in-depth look at mad cow disease
and explores the implications for public health when science faces an
unknown pathogen. 

http://www.pbs.org/nova/madcow/ (Available Tuesday, February 10th)

The Brain Eater
http://www.pbs.org/nova/madcow/

February 10, 1998 

What causes Mad Cow disease? Are new infectious agents called prions
responsible? Do they even exist? Follow the debate. 

How long do turkey cutlets keep in the 'fridge? What about mayonnaise? Bone
up on food storage and handling tips from the USDA.

What happens when science faces an unknown pathogen? What are the
implications for public health? Explore these issue and more at NOVA's Web
site.
Date: Sun, 8 Feb 1998 12:34:09 +0800
From: bunny 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: PRAWNS FARMING, HAZARDS
Message-ID: <1.5.4.16.19980208122635.528f16ea@wantree.com.au>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

PRAWNS FARMING, HAZARDS - TANZANIA (02)
***************************************
(from Promed USA)

AQUACULTURE ILLS

"Taura syndrome" is affecting shrimp mariculture in Ecuador, Honduras,
Panama, Japan and China, according to Jorge Calderon of the National
Aquaculture and Marine Research Center, Guayaquil, Ecuador. And it has
affected US shrimp farms (Verhovek SH. Virus imperils Texas shrimp farms:
Mysterious disease from Ecuador is moving up Gulf coast. NY Times 14 June
1995:A16).  

Taura, named for a river in Ecuador, is indeed a syndrome, as three viruses
and one vibrio have been implicated (V. harveae).  The aquaculture systems
themselves may be highly vulnerable to invasion. In some instances mangrove
networks are removed to create the ponds, that are then carved out of
denuded  dunes adjacent to beaches. They lack vegetation to filter and
cleanse incoming water carrying nutrients and organisms, and adequate
ingresses and egresses.  Many types of foodstuffs are used to feed the
shrimp, including hamburger meat.  Pesticide (possibly immunosuppressive
agents) levels are high in many areas, as they are employed to prevent
plant pests on nearby banana plantations - that industry being of
equivalent economic value in Ecuador. Chloramphenicol and other
broad-spectrum antibiotics are flooded into the ponds to decrease
contamination.   

The result, as the Marine Research Center on Ecuador's coast has
determined, is immunodeficient shrimp suffering from multiple opportunistic
infections (OI's). One of the suspected viral agents is a baculovirus
(insect-borne, thus transfer via insects is possible. But these
monocultures may also be vulnerable to emerging opportunistic agents.
Elsewhere (e.g., in scallop farms) rickettsial agents have emerged.   Where
the shrimp farms are located inland, Ecuadorians are concerned about the
dissemination of antibiotic-resistant or insensitive (e.g., viral and
protozoan) organisms in downstream water systems.    

Ecuador's shrimp exports have suffered, as have those of the other nations
mentioned - often after three or four years of high productivity.  The
systems, themselves, may not be unsustainable, though more technologically
advanced and expensive systems may be more resistant. At present up to one
fifth of the 100 million metric tons of fish harvested per year are from
mari/aquaculture systems. But, as they are now, it is questionable whether
they will be able to substitute for the decline in world stocks, evident in
14 out of the world's 17 major fisheries. 

--
Paul R. Epstein, M.D., M.P.H., Associate Director
Center for Health and the Global Environment
Harvard Medical School
Oliver Wendell Holmes Society, Room 263
260 Longwood Avenue
Boston, MASS 02115
=====================================================================
========
                   /`\   /`\    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



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