AR-NEWS Digest 531

Topics covered in this issue include:

  1) (IL) Music Boosts Israel Egg Yield
     by allen schubert 
  2) (CN) Raising deer 
     by jwed 
  3) (CN) Modern agriculture
     by jwed 
  4) Bull fighting in Macau
     by jwed 
  5) (CN) Giant panda skin sellers held
     by jwed 
  6) [ZW]The rhino's return - Shooting the shooters
     by David J Knowles 
  7) ~ACTION ALERT~ Pet Fair Asia '97
     by jwed 
  8) (US) NC State Slaughterhouse Causes Stir
     by allen schubert 
  9) Test for Future Jobs in Oklahoma Wildlife Department
     by SDURBIN@VM.TULSA.CC.OK.US
 10) pet diseases -> humans
     by Jean Colison 
 11) Wildlife Conference - 14 States and Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands
     by SDURBIN@VM.TULSA.CC.OK.US
 12) USDA Info Request
     by PAWS 
 13) Labor Dep to Investigate Poultry Plants (US)
     by Hillary 
 14) Thalidomide back in use
     by Hillary 
 15) Animal testing fails again
     by Hillary 
 16) Nature winning battle against rabbit virus
     by bunny 
 17) Uncl: Pigeon Info.
     by 
 18) Animal Law Student Summit 
     by "Angel M. Gambino" 
 19) Elephant Strategy Meeting
     by PAWS 
 20) Update--World Farm Animals Day
     by farmusa@erols.com
 21) (US) (Minn.) Emu on the loose
     by klaszlo@juno.com (Kathryn A Laszlo)
 22) Settlement Reached in Lawsuit over National Parks
     by Michael Markarian 
 23) King Royal Appeals for Help
     by PAWS 
 24) (CN) Global markets beckon meat companies 
     by jwed 
 25) U.S. Takes Steps to Avoid "Mad Cow Disease"
     by allen schubert 
 26) "Cloned Sheep May Become Mother"
     by Vegetarian Resource Center 
 27) NJ Fur Protest
     by "veegman@qed.net" 
 28) (USA)FOOD CONTAMINATION, SALMONELLA - SAUSAGES
     by bunny 
 29) Huntingdon Life Sciences Protest
     by Coalition for Animals 
 30) (IND)CHOLERA - INDONESIA 
     by bunny 
 31) AR-News subscription options--Admin Note
     by Allen Schubert 
Date: Tue, 23 Sep 1997 00:05:39 -0400
From: allen schubert 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (IL) Music Boosts Israel Egg Yield
Message-ID: <3.0.32.19970923000535.006d8144@clark.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

from AP Wire page:
-------------------------------------
 09/22/1997 13:08 EST

 Music Boosts Israel Egg Yield

 JERUSALEM (AP) -- An Israeli couple says their hens have been laying more
 eggs since they started playing them classical music.

 Esther and Yossi Dvir from the cooperative farm village of Kfar Hess say
 the egg yield has shot up 6 percent since they installed loudspeakers in
 the hen run last week. Their 7,000 birds are now listening to Mozart,
 Brahms, Beethoven and Vivaldi.

 The Dvirs are organic farmers who are opposed to more restrictive ways of
 breeding hens.

 ``It's like a five-star hotel here,'' Mrs. Dvir told Israel radio Monday.
 ``The birds run free. They can eat worms and we give them organic feed
 with natural ingredients only.''

 Mrs. Dvir said a psychologist suggested she try music after other
 attempts to make the hens happier, such as giving them toys, had failed.

Date: Tue, 23 Sep 1997 12:39:17 +0000
From: jwed 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (CN) Raising deer 
Message-ID: <3.0.3.32.19970923123917.006a74e0@pop.hkstar.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

China Daily 23rd September 1997

SHIJIAZHUANG -- A four-day conference on raising deer was held in
Shanhaiguan, in North China's Hebei Province. Representatives of 100
Chinese companies that raise deer and from similar businesses in the
Republic of Korea and Japan attended the conference. During the conference,
there was a fair of pilose antlers, cosmetics made from pilose antlers, and
traditional Chinese medicines made from deer's blood and bone. Presented
during the conference were articles from Chinese experts on deer's breeding
and raising methods, on fodders, on pilose antler processing and
development, and on how to protect the animal from diseases. China is one
of the world's biggest deer raisers. 
Date: Tue, 23 Sep 1997 12:45:34 +0000
From: jwed 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (CN) Modern agriculture
Message-ID: <3.0.3.32.19970923124534.006a5d14@pop.hkstar.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"


China Daily 23rd September 1997 Yangling leads in agriculture 

YANGLING, an obscure town 90 kilometres west of Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, is
unknown to most of China. What is going on there, however, might well
rewrite the outline of China's agriculture. 

In a place no bigger than 4 square kilometres, more than 4,000 scientists
and technicians are studying 64 disciplines and programmes of agriculture,
forestry and hydraulic engineering. 

They are among China's scientific frontrunners, doing research in wheat
breeding, dry land and water-efficient farming, domestic animals'
reproductive endocrine and embryo engineering, and regional comprehensive
control over soil erosion on the Loess Plateau. 

Some of their research results, including the application of allogeneic
cytoplasm sterility of Chinese cabbage, goat-cloning and wheat nullisomese,
rank ahead of other world-class work. 

So far, the direct economic returns resulting from the application of
Yangling's laboratory research have reached more than 20 billion yuan
($2.41 billion). 

It might not be surprising to see such a research facility with so great a
concentration of professional expertise in developed countries. But it is
really exciting to find such a place in China, where science and technology
have yet to become a main driving force of the nation's agriculture. 

With almost 1 billion rural residents, China is basically an agricultural
country. But China's agriculture is far from being fully industrialized and
modernized. Its farming efficiency remains low as the per-capita production
of grain is still below the world average. 

For decades, Chinese farmers have embraced a traditional farming practice,
which is widely known as a sort of extensive cultivation. The practice
focuses on quantity instead of quality of farming. Under this method,
agricultural growth was achieved by simply expanding the amount of farmland. 

Indeed, in some parts of the country, farming remains in a primitive state.
Lacking modern farming techniques, farmers stick to backward practices,
which prove inadequate in times of natural disaster. 

On the other hand, the country's worsening ecological condition turns out
to be a big ant undermining the limited arable land. 

In the regions where soil erosion is serious, roughly 70 per cent of the
arable land is of low quality. 

The desertification in northwestern and northeastern China has drained the
country of grain to the tune of 500,000 tons every year. 

The problem is particularly worrisome in China, a country that is faced
with the task of feeding one-fifth of the world's population on just 7 per
cent of the world's arable land. 

In the past decade, the Chinese Government has been trying to change the
situation. It started by replacing farmers' old notions of farming with a
sort of intensive cultivation, which is designed to raise the per unit area
yield through applying advanced techniques. 

Against this backdrop, Yangling's role as China's biggest agrotechniques
development base stands out. 

This March, the State decided to establish a National Agricultural
High-tech Industry Demonstration Zone (NAHTIDZ) in Yangling, hoping to make
it produce even more technological breakthroughs for agriculture. 

Boasting two colleges, five research institutes and three polytechnic
schools devoted to agriculture, forestry and hydraulic engineering,
Yangling is ideally cast in this pioneering role. 

Since the establishment of the People's Republic of China, Yangling has
trained more than 60,000 professional personnel in the agricultural field.
More than 5,000 agricultural research projects conducted at the facility
have come to fruition. About 70 per cent of the laboratory research has
been turned into marketable products, which bodes well for the
modernization of China's agriculture 

NAHTIDZ will include divisions known as science garden, industry zone and
several experimental bases. 

Science garden consists of all the schools, research institutes and their
experimental fields in Yangling. This section is expected to tackle such
problems as soil erosion, dry-land farming and water preservation, all
typical of Northwest China. 

The industry zone will be composed of 13 agricultural high-tech industries
including crop seed, bio-rational biocide, special fertilizer, water-saving
irrigation equipment, forest products, natural beverage and tonic
pharmaceutical. 

All these industries are open to investors both at home and abroad. They
are designed to set a good example of agricultural industrialization for
the rest of the country.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: 09/23/97
Author: Si Nan
Copyright© by China Daily 




Date: Tue, 23 Sep 1997 13:12:04 +0000
From: jwed 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Bull fighting in Macau
Message-ID: <3.0.3.32.19970923131204.006a17d8@pop.hkstar.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Anti-bullfight supremo to lead Macau protest 

STAFF REPORTER South China Morning Post, Hong Kong, 23rd September 1997

Animal rights activists will picket bullfights to be held in Macau this
weekend, hoping to persuade people not to attend.

One of the world's leading anti-bullfight campaigners, Vicki Moore, will
fly into Hong Kong tomorrow from Britain to boost opposition to the blood
sport.

The protesters, including members from the International Fund for Animal
Welfare and the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, will use
flags and banners with anti-cruelty slogans to try to turn the audience
around.

The fund's China director Jill Robinson said: "Unfortunately there are
enough tourists who are curious about bullfighting to fuel the interest.

"What we are saying is don't even go into the stadium. Last year the vast
majority of people we spoke to after the event said they wouldn't go back."

She said there would be no physical attempt to bar people from the
purpose-built arena at Avenida Infante D'Henrique during the first fights
on Saturday.

Ms Robinson said the arrival of Mrs Moore, who will travel to Macau on
Friday, was a boost to the protest.

Mrs Moore started campaigning against bullfighting about 10 years ago. She
was unable to demonstrate in Macau last year because she was recovering
from being gored by a bull which left her in a wheelchair for a year.

She said from her home in Britain yesterday: "Ninety-five per cent of the
population in the epicentre for bullfighting - Spain - is indifferent to,
or opposed to it.

"That's why it is so awful that something so loathed and detested should be
exported to Asia where it is not part of the culture at all."

Both the fund and the SPCA have put up posters on the Star Ferry, KMB and
Citybus geared at tourists who may be curious about the spectacle.

The fund is also bringing in vet Gail Cochrane to try to rebut organisers'
claims the animals are not in much pain.

The group has also written to the Macau Government asking for the money
spent on bullfighting to be ploughed into something more representative of
Portuguese culture. They have not received a reply.
Date: Tue, 23 Sep 1997 13:12:11 +0000
From: jwed 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (CN) Giant panda skin sellers held
Message-ID: <3.0.3.32.19970923131211.006a6014@pop.hkstar.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

 South China Morning Post 23rd September 1997

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE 
Three men have been arrested in southeastern Fujian province for trying to
sell a giant panda pelt for 550,000 yuan (HK$513,810), a report said
yesterday.

They were arrested in an ambush as they tried to sell the skin in Hui'an
county last month, the Hong Kong branch of China News Service said.

The pelt was taken by the trio from southwestern Sichuan province, home of
the giant panda.

It was the seventh such case reported in Fujian in eight years.

Only 1,000 giant pandas are believed to exist in the wild and Chinese zoos,
and the animals are under state protection that provides the death penalty
for poachers and smugglers.
Date: Tue, 23 Sep 1997 00:56:59
From: David J Knowles 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: [ZW]The rhino's return - Shooting the shooters
Message-ID: <3.0.3.16.19970923005659.31972d3a@dowco.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

>From The Economist - September 20th edition

The rhino's return

Shooting the shooters

The black rhino may be saved after all. Poached down to a few pockets in a
handful of countries in southern Africa, its numbers seem to be rising
again. For that, thank a new approach to conservation on small game reserves.

One of these reserves is Imire Gane Ranch, 90 minutes drive from Harare,
the capital of Zimbabwe. In 1989, it took in seven baby rhinos, all found
in the Zambezi valley next to the bodies of their slaughtered mothers. "The
Economist" became a sponsor of one of these calves, Fumbi by name, which is
now a strapping three-tonner.

By day, Fumbi and friends are out in the bush, but under the watchful eye
of armed guards. AT night they are steered into a "boma" - a fortified
stockade - with the guards just outside. None of this has made the rhinos
bashful, so the Imire herd has multiplied. The first baby rhino born at
Imire was accidentally drowned at only four months. Since then, three more
have been born. One of them has already grown up enough to be taken to the
huge Matsudona National Park in the north-west of Zimbabwe.

The other two are still with their mothers at Imire. Lucky visitors can see
them out in the bush; unlike the rest of the herd, these mothers are too
temporarily too wild for the boma. But Imire's owners, the Travers family,
plan to take the calves away soon, and then reintegrate the two mothers
back into the herd.

With luck, that should then lead to more births. If this experiment and
others are to be part of the rhino's long-term salvation, then the Imire
seven must produce a new generation of at least seven survivors. The
females will probably be fertile for another eight to ten years, so there
is still plenty of time.

Meanwhile, efforts like those at Imire have certainly stopped the black
rhino's decline. The numbers in Zimbabwe had plunged from at least 5,000 in
the 1960's to only 200 in 1990. Now, the best estimate is 269, possibly more.

Even in the national parks, the figure is rising. Poaching there has
stopped, though this has little to do with international efforts to stop
the trade in rhino horns. Zimbabwe has never been a fan of CITES (the
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species), arguing that -
particularily for elephants - a legitimate market produces the best
results: controlled hunting, with the hunters' money providing an incentive
for local people to support conservation rather than encouraging poachers
to kill the pests.

Much more than by CITES, the rhinos in Zimbabwe's national parks are
protected by a new and fiercer force. If guards and game rangers come
across anybody who might be a poacher, they now have the right to shoot
first and ask questions later. Shoot-to-kill doubtless offends the
sensitivity of some western conservationists, but in the Zimbabwean bush
its effect was immediate - and salutary.

[The e-mail address for The Economist is:  They
request a postal address and daytime phone number, even for e-mailed
letters. They can also be faxed at: (0171) 839 2968 (within UK) + 44 171
839 2968 ( from elsewhere). David]

 
Date: Tue, 23 Sep 1997 16:36:42 +0000
From: jwed 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: ~ACTION ALERT~ Pet Fair Asia '97
Message-ID: <3.0.3.32.19970923163642.00696170@pop.hkstar.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Dear Friends,

Re: Action Alert Pet Fair Asia '97 posted earlier.

Please add to the list of sponsors Wu Hung Bhiksu and the Life
Conservationists Association of Taiwan. 
Also please circulate the Alert as widely as possible and try to interest
journalists in the issue.

Thank you!
Dr John Wedderburn.
Date: Tue, 23 Sep 1997 08:03:08 -0400
From: allen schubert 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (US) NC State Slaughterhouse Causes Stir
Message-ID: <3.0.32.19970923080305.006d998c@clark.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

from AP Wire page:
-----------------------------------
 09/23/1997 03:45 EST

 NC State Slaughterhouse Causes Stir

 By MARTHA WAGGONER
 Associated Press Writer

 RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- A proposal to build a laboratory and classroom that
 include a slaughterhouse at North Carolina State University is getting
 bogged down with neighbors' concerns and activists' complaints.

 ``Dumb ideas come and go around the Triangle, but the winner in recent
 years has to be the request by NCSU to construct a slaughterhouse
 adjacent to the vet school ...,'' began one weekly newspaper's editorial.

 Across the country, more than 20 land-grant universities with
 slaughterhouses report few, if any, protests about the research that goes
 on inside.

 That's true from the school that slaughters the most animals, Texas A&M
 -- where the slaughterhouse is near the school cafeteria -- to the
 University of Georgia -- where the steel outline of the meat science
 technology center just went up on east campus.

 At Oklahoma State University, it's difficult to tell a slaughterhouse
 lies behind the Georgian archway of the new agricultural building.

 ``From the outside, it certainly looks like a nice, new office complex,''
 school spokesman Bob Keating said of the 80,000-square-foot building at
 the edge of main campus.

 In fact, a survey by The Associated Press shows that more than 44,000
 animals are slaughtered on 20 campuses each year, with poultry taking up
 the majority of those deaths.

 N.C. State would have the capacity to slaughter 25 cattle, 50 hogs, 2,000
 turkeys or 5,000 chickens twice a week -- or more than 300,000 animals
 each school year.

 But Duane Larick, who will manage the center, said the lab will operate
 nowhere near the maximum capacity. It's likely to be more on the scale of
 schools like the University of Illinois, where an estimated 1,250 animals
 are slaughtered each year, he said.

 N.C. State wants to conduct a broad range of research, including waste
 management -- an important issue in a state where hog waste spills were
 one factor in a two-year moratorium on new hog farms.

 At Texas A&M, the emphasis is on food safety, meat palatability and new
 product development. At Purdue and the University of Georgia, researchers
 specialize in finding genes that produce meat that consumers like.
 Oklahoma State is working with industry for product development.

 And recent concerns about food safety -- including the recall of meat
 from one processor -- make the work more important than ever, professors
 say.

 But opponents include concerned neighbors, animal rights activists and
 those who just don't trust the university to run the slaughterhouse
 smoothly.

 Neighbors worry the slaughterhouse will be smelly and noisy and compound
 traffic problems in an area where a basketball and professional hockey
 arena are being built.

 Among the opponents is Ellen Bring of Durham, head of an animal activist
 group called the Factory Farming Economic Conversion Project. She worries
 the building will be too silent, too clean.

 ``They're attempting at the university to create a facility that will
 keep all of the screams hidden from the people,'' Bring said.

 Opponents also complain that Raleigh's zoning regulations don't allow
 slaughterhouses within the city limits. The school has a small nuclear
 reactor not allowed under zoning, either.

 NCSU has tried to reassure residents. No rendering -- the smelly part of
 meat processing -- will be conducted on site. Loading and unloading areas
 will be completely enclosed.

 ``They're afraid it's going to smell ugly, and it won't,'' says Roger
 Mandigo, animal science professor at the University of Nebraska.

 Legislators approved $5.5 million for the 25,000-square-foot building,
 which will include laboratories, a 100-seat multimedia classroom and
 offices, in addition to the meat processing areas.

 The city planning commission recommended approval of the slaughterhouse
 in August, but action is pending an appeal filed by opponents.

Date: Tue, 23 Sep 97 08:02:33 UTC
From: SDURBIN@VM.TULSA.CC.OK.US
To: ar-news@Envirolink.org
Subject: Test for Future Jobs in Oklahoma Wildlife Department
Message-ID: <199709231304.JAA27511@envirolink.org>

(I'd love to see ar people work in this department!)

It's very short notice, but the Oklahoma Wildlife Department just
announced that Friday will be one of only two opportunities this year
to take the hiring exam for possible employment with that agency. The
exam will be given at 10:00am in the Tom Steed Development Center
Auditorium at Rose State College (located on the northwest corner
of the intersection of I-40 and Hudiburg Road in Midwest City). This
standardized test is required for anyone wanting to apply for employment
as a game warden biologist, information specialist, or technician.

Individuals may take the exam only once every 12 months with job
applications sent out to the 25 top-scoring individuals. Personal
interviews are scheduled when and if there is a job opening.
For more information on Friday's exam, call the Wildlife Department's
Human Resources Office at 405-521-4640.

-- Sherrill
Date: Tue, 23 Sep 1997 09:21:40 -0400 (EDT)
From: Jean Colison 
To: Ar-news 
Subject: pet diseases -> humans
Message-ID: 
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII


(lost in mail)


Pet Study Warns Of Many Diseases' Transfer to Humans
Reuter
Monday, September 22, 1997; Page A08
The Washington Post 

CHICAGO, Sept. 21—Cats and dogs can carry at least 30 infectious 
diseases that may be transferred to humans but pet owners and health 
care workers are often unaware of the threat, according to a study 
released today.
"Fortunately, despite close contact with these pets the number of [such] 
illnesses in humans is relatively low," said the report from 
Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine in Rootstown, Ohio.
"There are more than 110 million pet dogs and cats in the United 
States," the study said. "These pets are found in 70 percent of 
households and have been directly or indirectly linked with the 
transmission of at least 30 infectious agents to humans.
"Pet owners often are not aware of and most health care workers are not 
trained to recognize these . . . diseases," said the report published in 
the Archives of Internal Medicine, a journal issued by the American 
Medical Association.
James Tan, author of the report, suggested pets should not be allowed to 
defecate on beaches or playgrounds; that animal feces be immediately 
removed from yards and playgrounds and not be used as fertilizer; that 
hands be washed after contact with a pet and medical attention be sought 
for every animal bite, no matter how small. 

©Copyright 1997 The Washington Post Company

Date: Tue, 23 Sep 97 08:10:12 UTC
From: SDURBIN@VM.TULSA.CC.OK.US
To: ar-news@Envirolink.org
Subject: Wildlife Conference - 14 States and Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands
Message-ID: <199709231310.JAA28105@envirolink.org>

Oklahoma will be host during the first week of October to one of the
largest wildlife conferences held each year in the United States. The
51st annual meeting of the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife
Agencies will be held Oct. 4 - 8 at the Medallion Hotel in downtown
Oklahoma City. Between 700 and 1,000 wildlife professionals are expected
to attend the conference which will include sessions on fisheries,
game management, information and education, and  natural resources
management. The association is a coalition of wildlife agencies from
14 states - Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana,
Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee,
Texas, West Virginia, and in addition, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

-- Sherrill
Date: Tue, 23 Sep 1997 10:08:58 -0400 (EDT)
From: PAWS 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: USDA Info Request
Message-ID: 
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII

The USDA has extended the deadline for comments regarding "what practices 
are currently used for handling and training potentially dangerous exotic 
or wild animals used in exhibition..and what training and experience 
levels trainers/handlers of such animals have."   According the the USDA 
info request, they "are seeking this information to help more thoroughly 
examine all issues pertaining to the training and handling of potentially 
dangerous exotic or wild animals used in exhibition." 

The deadline for comments has been extended to November 6.

PAWS urges all individuals and groups who work on circus issues or issues 
regarding animals in exhibitions to send your comments in immediately.  
The animal training industry is certainly making its opinions known.  
Tips on how to submit comments have appeared in Circus Report, Animal 
Finders Guide, and several other industry publications. 

To submit comments, send an original and three copies of your remarks 
to:  Docket No. 97-001-1, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, 
APHIS, Suite 3C03, 4700 River Road, Unit 118, Riverdale, Md.  20737-1238.


Date: Tue, 23 Sep 1997 10:07:36 -0700
From: Hillary 
To: "ar-news@envirolink.org" 
Subject: Labor Dep to Investigate Poultry Plants (US)
Message-ID: <3.0.32.19970923100734.00683bd8@pop01.ny.us.ibm.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

POULTRY PROBE: Labor Department plans wage, safety study of plants.

Investigators will hit about 30% of the nation's 174 poultry facilities in
a review that could bring enforcement actions. The department says the
industry's average injury and illness rate is more than double the national
average for all companies, and past enforcement of wage-and-hour rules
"suggests substantial noncompliance."

Public hearings to inform the industry about the review are under way. Kim
Bobo, executive director of the National Interfaith Committee for Worker
Justice, a Chicago group that sought the inquiry for 10 months, says
federal officials are "trying to explain themselves in a way that the
poultry industry doesn't go ballistic."

Industry attorney David Wylie, contending that poultry doesn't deserve
singling out, said the review would be "plowing old ground."
Date: Tue, 23 Sep 1997 10:22:17 -0700
From: Hillary 
To: "ar-news@envirolink.org" 
Subject: Thalidomide back in use
Message-ID: <3.0.32.19970923102213.00683bd8@pop01.ny.us.ibm.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

FDA Notifies Celgene Of Intent To OK Thalidomide For Leprosy

Dow Jones Newswires


WASHINGTON (AP)--The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is ready to approve
the sale of thalidomide, which gained worldwide notoriety in the 1960s
because of birth defects it caused.

The FDA wrote Celgene Corp. (CELG) Monday that thalidomide would be
approved to treat an agonizing inflammation in leprosy patients - once the
company meets some final conditions, including tight restrictions on its use.

Celgene spokesman Bob Butler said the FDA's "approvable letter" contained
no surprise conditions and predicted final approval could come "in weeks
rather than months."

Thalidomide was banned world-wide 35 years ago after it caused horrific
birth defects in 12,000 babies. It had been sold as a sedative for pregnant
women in 48 countries, but never in the U.S., because an FDA scientist
uncovered early signs of toxicity and blocked approval. Still, some
Americans got it overseas or in clinical trials.

No one knew then that just one pill in early pregnancy could result in a
baby with no limbs or with flipper-like arms and legs, and other defects.

Now thalidomide is making a comeback. Seventeen days ago, the FDA's
scientific advisers said thalidomide can alleviate the agonizing leprosy
condition called "erythema nodosum leprosum."

Leprosy is so rare in the U.S. that the FDA estimates only about 50
patients a year would need that therapy. But doctors are expected to
prescribe thalidomide for a wider range of conditions once it is on the
market. It is being studied against AIDS-related wasting and ulcers,
cancer, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis and autoimmune diseases.

The FDA and outside experts agree all that use will inevitably result in
more thalidomide babies. So the FDA's advisers recommended that it be sold
under the tightest restrictions ever implemented for a U.S. drug, even
demanding that a photo of a child thalidomide victim be shown to every
doctor who prescribes it and every patient who takes it.
Date: Tue, 23 Sep 1997 10:23:41 -0700
From: Hillary 
To: "ar-news@envirolink.org" 
Subject: Animal testing fails again
Message-ID: <3.0.32.19970923102334.00683bd8@pop01.ny.us.ibm.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

New Class-Action Suits Demand
Monitoring of Diet-Drug Users

Associated Press


WASHINGTON -- A week after two popular prescription diet drugs were pulled
from the market because of a linkage to heart problems, attorneys have
filed suit in five states demanding that the manufacturers pay for medical
monitoring of former users.

The class-action lawsuits were initiated last week in New York, Utah,
Colorado and Hawaii and earlier in California on behalf of patients
allegedly injured from using fen-phen, the popular name for a combination
of prescription diet drugs, Washington attorney Gary Mason said.

Suits are expected in other states in coming weeks, he said Saturday.

After studies linked the diet pills to serious heart damage, drug-makers
last Monday withdrew from the market fenfluramine and dexfenfluramine, sold
under the brand names Pondimin and Redux, respectively.

The Food and Drug Administration urged millions of dieters to immediately
stop taking both drugs.

The FDA said phentermine, which combined with fenfluramine made the
once-popular fen-phen combination, appears safe when used by itself. But
doctors said phentermine has only mixed results when taken alone.

"Thousands of people will now need regular medical attention for which the
drug-makers must be held responsible," said attorney Michael Hausfeld, a
partner with Mr. Mason.

In a telephone interview Sunday, Mr. Hausfeld said the drugs were intended
for people who are extremely obese, but sales were so high that it should
have been clear to the manufacturers that they were used by people who
wanted an easy way to lose a few pounds.

"It never was made for them. It never was intended for them. But that was
the use to which it was put," Hausfeld said.

The lawsuits seek medical monitoring, emergency notification and updated
patient warnings for class members, Mr. Mason said. Some suits seek
specified monetary damages for individuals.

Mr. Mason, whose law firm Cohen, Milstein, Hausfeld & Toll is coordinating
the class-action suits, said similar actions would be filed in all 50
states within the next few weeks.

The nine defendants in the suits are Wyeth-Ayerst Laboratories Co.,
division of American Home Products Corp.; Interneuron Pharmaceuticals Inc.;
Gate Pharmaceuticals, a division of Teva Pharmaceuticals, USA Inc.;
Smithkline Beecham Corp.; Abana Pharmaceuticals Inc.; Richwood
Pharmaceutical Co. Inc.; Ion Laboratories Inc.; Medeva Pharmaceuticals
Inc.; and A.H. Robins Co. Inc.
Date: Tue, 23 Sep 1997 23:35:16 +0800
From: bunny 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Nature winning battle against rabbit virus
Message-ID: <1.5.4.16.19970923232532.2c172a5c@wantree.com.au>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Nature winning battle against rabbit virus

by Anthony Hoy
Rural Editor

Sydney Morning Herald - September 1997

Nature appears to be winning the war against rabbit calicivirus disease
(RCV) in the high rainfall areas of Australia.

But in arid and semi-arid test sites where RCV rabbit mortality is as high as 
95 per cent, feral cats and foxes, deprived of their traditional prey, are
decimating native animals and birds.

As rabbits continue to out-breed the spread of the disease in areas with
rainfall of more than 300mm per annum, the RCV Management Group is preparing
to try to speed up the natural spread of the virus with a bait delivery program.

In NSW the virus has been re-released at 11 sites "where initial releases
did not cause an obvious decline in rabbit numbers." The management group's
August 
monitoring and surveillance report has confirmed that rabbits less than eight 
weeks old are not susceptible to RCV while those aged 8-12 weeks are
protected by maternal antibodies.

Some rabbits are developing immunity to RCV due to previous, undetected
outbreaks and researchers fear unknown climatic factors may be working in
favour of the rabbit.

"The effects of the arrival of RCV on the rabbit populations has been
variable..." the report states. "More information is needed before the
causes can be determined. Possibilities include variations in environmental
conditions, presence or absence of vectors for spreading RCV, or differences
in susceptibility of rabbits." The report confirms that at Lake Burrendong
on NSW Central Tablelands "possum survivial declined after RCV arrived due
to increased cat predation, with the number of possums lost in the last nine
months equal to numbers lost in 27 months of pre-RCV data".

At Hattah in Victoria, mallee fowl monitoring has shown a "higher level of
nest abandonment and egg predation by foxes since RCD arrived".

"To date, no correlations have been found between small mammal or reptile
numbers and declines in rabbit densities at any of the intensive sites," the
report states.

The two year monitoring and surveillance program, funded by the Agriculture
and Resource Management and Ministerial Council, is co-ordinated by the
Bureau of Resource Sciences and complements a CSIRO epidemiology program.

There are 10 intensive sites across Australia where changes in rabbit
populations, disease prevalence, flora, fauna, predators and vegetation are
measured.

Information is being collected from 54 "broadscale" sites, with "infrequent
monitoring" of more than 600 release sites where rabbits have been
inoculated with RCV.

End

===========================================

Rabbit Information Service,
P.O.Box 30,
Riverton,
Western Australia 6148

Email>  rabbit@wantree.com.au

http://www.wantree.com.au/~rabbit/rabbit.htm
(Rabbit Information Service website updated frequently)

     /`\   /`\
    (/\ \-/ /\)
       )6 6(
     >{= Y =}<
      /'-^-'\
     (_)   (_)
      |  .  |
      |     |}
 jgs  \_/^\_/













Date: 23 Sep 97 12:10:27 UTC
From: 
To: 
Subject: Uncl: Pigeon Info.
Message-ID: <19970923.121027.SDURBIN@VM>

From: Sherrill
Thanks for the list! This is great!!!

Date: Tue, 23 Sep 1997 11:02:28 -0700 (PDT)
From: "Angel M. Gambino" 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Animal Law Student Summit 
Message-ID: <2.2.16.19970923142652.574f1510@pop.igc.org>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

>Return-Path: 
>Date: Tue, 16 Sep 1997 20:24:54 -0700 (PDT)
>From: gwendellyn i earnshaw 
>To: phoffman@law.harvard.edu, ads1905@is.nyu.edu, rvanderv@kentlaw.edu,
>        mhlerner@law.harvard.edu, csouris@vermontlaw.edu,
>        npaquett@vermontlaw.edu, dale@ucsu.colorado.edu,
>        mereness@scf-fs.usc.edu, amoncrie@law.harvard.edu,
>        z965821@rye.farm.niu.edu, tsichelm@law.harvard.edu,
>        mliebson@law.harvard.edu, velez@law3.law.ucla.edu,
>        giearnshaw@law.uoregon.edu, stpierre@uchastings.edu,
>        liskeyr@holmes.uchastings.edu, appel@scf-fs.usc.edu, stoye@swlaw.edu,
>        hoak@sonoma.edu, Robert_Smith@wind.uscourts.gov,
>        dinesh.parakh@utoronto.ca, rke@lclark.edu, animaljust@law.uoregon.edu,
>        cdolan@lclark.edu, criss@lclark.edu, hhaviv@umich.edu, tedr@cruzio.com,
>        jtishler@aldf.org, agambino@fund.org, ADL@indiana.edu,
>        fdegiac@juno.com
>Subject: Animal Law Student Summit 
>
>
>ANNOUNCING THE FIRST ANNUAL....
>
>                 ANIMAL LAW STUDENT SUMMIT
>                 FRIDAY, OCTOBER 10, 1997*
>                      9 AM to 4:30 PM
>                       to be held at
 >     Northwestern School of Law of Lewis & Clark College
>                      Portland, Oregon
>
>Presented by Animal Justice of the University of Oregon School of Law and
>the staff of the Animal Law Journal at Northwestern School of Law of Lewis
>& Clark College.
>
>The ALSS is made possible by a grant from the Animal Legal Defense
>Fund, a non-profit network of over 700 attorneys working locally and
>nationally to defend animals from abuse and exploitation.
>
>*NOTE that the ALSS is scheduled for the day preceding the Lewis & Clark
>Animal Law Conference (which takes place on Saturday October 11) and will
>also take place at the Northwestern School of Law of Lewis & Clark
>College.
>
>**********************************************************************
>FRIDAY, October 10
>
>9-10:15 AM:  HOW TO START AND RUN AN EFFECTIVE ANIMAL RIGHTS LAW
GROUP:
>HOW TO ORGANIZE CONFERENCES, SYMPOSIUMS, AND HOW TO START AN
ANIMAL LAW
>JOURNAL AND NEWSLETTER.
>-Nancy Perry, Humane Society of the United States
>-Jim Goldstein, Attorney (invited)
>
>10:30-11:45 AM:  HOW TO INCORPORATE ANIMAL LAW INTO YOUR LEGAL
>PRACTICE; NETWORKING BETWEEN STUDENT GROUPS; AND WORKING WITHIN
THE
>COMMUNITY TO AID AND SUPPORT ANIMAL ISSUES AND GROUPS
>-Richard Katz, VP Academia, ALDF
>-Joyce Tishler, Exec Director, ALDF
>
>Noon-1:00 PM:  VEGAN LUNCH and SOCIAL
>
>1:30-3:00 PM:  ROUNDTABLE WORK GROUP:  Students will get together in a
>group on a proposed project.  This year we will be working on an "Animal
>Bill of Rights" with the goal to get it adopted by a local jurisdiction.
>-Pamela Frasch, ALDF (invited)
>
>3:15-4:30 PM:  HOW TO PROPOSE AND ORGANIZE EXPERNSHIPS, INTERNSHIPS
>AND AN ANIMAL LAW CLASS AT YOUR SCHOOL; ID OF CURRENT CLERKSHIP
>OPPORTUNITIES
>-Scott Becksted, Attorney (invited)
>-Angel Gambino, In-house Counsel, The Fund for Animals (invited)
>
>*Note that these topics, time slots and speakers are subject to change. 
>
>**********************************************************************
>
>IT IS IMPORTANT THAT YOU RSVP FOR THE SUMMIT.  Please e-mail Gwen
>Earnshaw at giearnshaw@law.uoregon.edu with your name, address, phone,
>e-mail and number of participants. If unable to e-mail, call (541)
>338-8118. 
>
>For more information about the Summit, contact the above
>e-mail(preferable)/phone.
>
>We apologize for this late notice.  Please be advised that flight
>arrangements should be made at least 2 weeks in advance of departure date.
>We suggest flying in Thursday, October 9 and departing Sunday the 12th
>(the Animal Law Conference on the 10th has an evening vegan banquet from
>6-9 PM).  Students at Lewis & Clark have volunteered to house summit
>attendees.  To request housing and/or information about the Animal Law
>Conference, please e-mail Jennifer Criss at criss@lclark.edu.  If unable
>to e-mail, call the Lewis & Clark Animal Law Office at (503) 768-6798.
>
>We hope to see you at what we hope will be an another important step
>toward gaining equal consideration for animals.
>
>Thank you.
>Sincerely,
>The Members of Animal Justice
>University of Oregon School of Law
>
>
>
>
>
>

Date: Tue, 23 Sep 1997 16:57:40 -0400 (EDT)
From: PAWS 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Elephant Strategy Meeting
Message-ID: 
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII

PAWS will sponsor a strategy meeting for all groups and individuals who 
are interested in working on the circus elephant issue.  We'll have 
the meeting on Sunday morning, at 10 a.m., November 16th, at the PAWS 
Animals in Entertainment conference (Beverly Garland Hotel, 4222 Vineland 
Ave., North Hollywood.)  Thanks to PETA, IDA, and other groups for the 
suggestion!  Anyone needing directions to the hotel, should e.mail us or 
call the hotel at (818) 980-8000.
Date: Tue, 23 Sep 1997 17:42:26 -0700
From: farmusa@erols.com
To: AR-News 
Subject: Update--World Farm Animals Day
Message-ID: <342861F2.3939@erols.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

Updated information for the grassroots activist is now online at the
FARM website:

http://www.farmusa.org/wfad1997/

Information includes sample news releases, letters to editors and fast
food chains, and flyers.  

These items, and more, are available in hard copy for individuals or
groups holding organized events.  For more information, call: 
1-888-ASK-FARM or 1-888-FARMUSA.


Date: Tue, 23 Sep 1997 18:59:14 EDT
From: klaszlo@juno.com (Kathryn A Laszlo)
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (US) (Minn.) Emu on the loose
Message-ID: <19970923.191659.12655.0.KLaszlo@juno.com>

Published Sep 23, 1997

Elusive emu on the loose near New Prague

Jim Adams
Star Tribune
Minneapolis/St. Paul

Gaston, a wily emu spurned by his would-be mate, is roaming Scott and Le
Sueur counties, where he has eluded capture for three weeks.

The long-legged fugitive is not a rarity. Another emu recently leaped to
freedom in Dayton in rural Hennepin County. But police herded it to its
owner, who snagged it with a crook hook.

"They can run pretty fast," said Dayton Police Chief Gary Kroells,
adding, "We take every call seriously."

Yet another of the ostrich look-alikes met a less sanguine end in
Victoria. Its owner, frustrated by repeat escapes, tracked it down and
shot it, said Carver County Deputy Bob Brown.

As emu ranching has grown -- the Minnesota Emu Association has about 40
members -- over the past decade, so has the number of birds on the run,
say county deputies. Escaped emus also have been seen in Northfield and
Isanti County, owners say.

Emus are raised for their low-fat, low-cholesterol meat, hides, oil and
large dark green eggs, said Ed Wallum, an auto technician who has about
60 emu on his Isanti County farm.

Emus won't harm you if they can flee, Wallum said, but if attacked, "they
have toenails that can rip you in a heartbeat. And they kick forward,
like a kangaroo."

Deputies have learned it takes a certain tack to catch an emu. 

"You run up from behind and jump on it," said Scott County dispatcher
Lynn Rohe. She got directions from Lori and Richard Doran, whose emu,
Gaston, hopped a 6-foot fence on their hobby farm near New Prague.

"People call and say they saw it standing by the highway and then it runs
off in the cornfield," Rohe said.

Richard Doran, a Northwest Airlines baggage handler who is Gaston's
owner, said it all started when Cruella, one of two breeding females put
in Gaston's pen, rejected him.

"She tried to chase him out of here," said Doran, standing in the mud
with two other emus in a 30- by 50-foot pen. "He jumped about 4 feet up
the fence and his weight about 125 pounds carried him over."

Doran, his wife, their four kids and neighbors chased Gaston through corn
and soybean fields for several hours.

"I caught it in a bean field," Doran said. "I started carrying it home
but he was so heavy I put it down. Then he wouldn't get up. So we tied up
his legs and were going to drag it out of the bean field, but the rope
gave way."

Two neighbors on horseback tracked the emu for a while and another man on
a motorcycle tried to herd it home but scared it into a cornfield. "The
corn is 8-foot and the bird is six feet standing up," said Doran.

Gaston last was seen Monday along County Rd. 11 west of Montgomery in Le
Sueur County, about 8 miles from home.

Doran has five other emus, and despite the lack of a strong market for
the bird, he's optimistic.

"The business is going to take off," he said. "It's just a matter of
when."

Perhaps, before the emus do.

Copyright 1997 Star Tribune | Minneapolis-St.Paul





Date: Tue, 23 Sep 1997 15:59:49 -0700 (PDT)
From: Michael Markarian 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org, seac+animalrights@earthsystems.org,
        en.alerts@conf.igc.apc.org, wild-rockies-alerts@wildrockies.org
Subject: Settlement Reached in Lawsuit over National Parks
Message-ID: <2.2.16.19970923192456.4c17df1c@pop.igc.org>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tuesday, September 23, 1997

CONTACT: D.J. Schubert, (202) 588-5206
         Jasper Carlton, (303) 442-3037

SETTLEMENT REACHED IN LAWSUIT OVER NATIONAL PARKS
Parks will Study Snowmobile Trails and Other Winter Activities that Harm
Wildlife

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Today, in an agreement filed in U.S. District Court, The
Fund for Animals, the Biodiversity Legal Foundation, the Ecology Center,
Predator Project, and several other co-plaintiffs settled their lawsuit
against the National Park Service regarding winter use activities in
Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. One such activity discussed in
the settlement agreement, the grooming of snowmobile trails in Yellowstone,
was according to the plaintiffs a major factor leading to the gruesome
slaughter of more than 1,000 bison last winter.

As agreed to in the settlement, the National Park Service will:

* Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement to evaluate thoroughly and
comprehensively the impact of winter use activities on Yellowstone and Grand
Teton National Parks.

* Consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service over the impacts of winter
use activities, including snowmobiling and trail grooming, on threatened and
endangered species, including the gray wolf and grizzly bear.

* Prepare an Environmental Assessment evaluating the impact of closing at
least one road segment to winter use this year and in subsequent winters,
until the EIS is completed, to study the impact of snowmobile trail grooming
on bison. This is the first time ever that one or more trail segments are
likely to be closed in Yellowstone National Park.

"This will not end the indiscriminate and unnecessary slaughter of bison
outside of Yellowstone, but it establishes an important precedent for trail
closures to study the impact of grooming on bison," says D.J. Schubert, a
wildlife biologist with The Fund for Animals. "Ultimately we believe that to
protect America's bison, trail grooming and snowmobile use in Yellowstone
must cease and Yellowstone's thirty year experiment as a National Playground
must end."

Adds Jasper Carlton, director of BLF, "We commend the Park Service for
agreeing to conduct this analysis, but it is long overdue. This will be the
first meaningful analysis of the impacts of winter use on the environment
and should result in fundamental changes to winter management."

A copy of the seven-page settlement is available upon request.

# # #

http://www.fund.org

Date: Tue, 23 Sep 1997 20:20:57 -0400 (EDT)
From: PAWS 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: King Royal Appeals for Help
Message-ID: 
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII

The following open letter to the circus industry has appeared in the 
September 22nd issue of Circus Report.  Gigi Davenport, wife of John 
Davenport, owner of King Royal Circus, is appealing for support from the 
circus industry.  She asks people to write not only to Congress but also 
to the Mayor of Albuquerque, the Albuquerque Zoo, and to Steve Kendall's 
Animal Care Association, who, apparently, will also receive contributions 
for King Royal's legal expenses. 

Please renew your calls and faxes to the USDA, demanding that King 
Royal's permits be revoked AND that the animals still on the road with 
King Royal be confiscated.  These animals are still performing in the 
Mid-West now and, according to recent eye-witness reports, they are in 
precarious health.  Please demand that these animals--including the young 
elephant Mickey-be removed to a safe haven and NOT simply be sold to 
another traveling show.  Write:

Mike Dunn
Assistant Secretary
USDA
14th St. and Independence Ave. SW
AG-0109
Washington, DC  20250-0109
(202) 720-4256
(202) 720-5775  fax

Letter appearing in Circus Report, September 22, 1997, No. 35, Vol.25, p. 9:

"Dear Showfolks of America,

Please take a minute of your time and read this letter. I have written to 
as many Circus People and Circus Fans that I know personally and some who 
I do not know. 

I would first of all to introduce myself. My name is Gigi Davenport and 
for those who do not know me, I live on The King Royal Circus and when I 
say LIVE, I mean it, I have been with the Davenport shows for 20 years 
and am proud to say that.  Some days aren't as great as others, but for 
the most I'm pleased and happy raising my family here. 

I am married to John Davenport and we have two children; Sophia and 
Willie and my husband has two children from a previous marriage; Benjamin 
and John.

My husband is Terrell Jacobs' son, so he is a very strong Believer in 
Keeping Animals in the Circus business. He has taught his Children to 
work Animals and make sure they are well taken care of, our daughter 
wants to be a veterinarian to help take of the Animals on our Show. 

We are very Proud of our Children and our Circus, but as I am writing 
this letter, we meaning The King Royal Circus are Fighting for our Life 
and by saying Life I mean Every Living Animal on Our Circus and every 
Circus out there, because The Activists are getting the best of us and we 
Feel like we are alone, but I refuse to fall without a Fight. 

I know the Circus Industry has been hit hard by Activists and the 
business this year has not been as good as we would have liked it to be, 
but we cannot sit back and let these uninformed Radicals run OUR LIVES!! 
We have to Fight Back TODAY!

I cannot say say it any plainer than that, Please Help keep King Royal 
and ALL the other WILD ANIMAL CIRCUSES ALIVE.   King Royal Circus is 
trying very hard to Fight for the Rights to have Animals on our Show and 
we need your Help and Support. 

We recently had an elephant die, it died of samonela poisoning.  Ben was 
taking it home to be looked at by our Vet when it passed away. 

We flew another driver in to help Ben get home quicker, he flew into 
Albuquerque, NM.  Ben parked the truck and trailer across from the 
airport and walked across to pick up his relief driver, he did not leave 
the Animals unattended in a parking lot nor did they suffocate in an air 
tight trailer, there was a groom on hand and the windows of the trailer 
were all open for air. Ben was gone approximately 20 minutes inside the 
airport, when he returned to the rig the police were there demanding that 
the door be opened for inspection so Ben opened the door and the police 
saw the dead elephant and called the zoo for help and information on what 
to do about this problem. 

At that time we could not get through to them to let them go home.  They 
hooked a wrecker to our truck and pulled it a few blocks to a place 
behind the zoo and then charged us for it, when our truck was very 
capable of moving itself. But you are at the mercy of the police and can 
only do what they say at the time. The next day it was all over the news 
that the elephant suffocated and was abandoned, then we got the news that 
the zoo was going to help us out because they didn't really want them 
there.  Then they decided with all the media that they would try to keep 
the other two elephants and llamas, so now we are in a custody battle for 
our Animals. 

The local Animal Activists saw it on the news and that is how this became 
so blown out of shape. Even our lawyer can't believe the mess this is and 
how it has got there. 

The USDA is involved and has suspended by husband's license for 21 days, 
and at one time told me I could work my Animals in the show, but now they 
have decided not to let me or Javier Martinez work because of 
association. 

On day they (the USDA) tell us one thing and the next they tell us 
another, so we are trying very hard to do what they tell us as best we 
can, but they keep changing the rules on us.  We are learning as we go, 
but we are also getting tired of fighting.  We want our Animals Back from 
the Albuquerque Zoo, But we need help.

Please take time to call or write us and let us know that you are there 
for us and they we are doing the Right Thing to keep fighting for our 
Animals and let us know how your feel about what you have read and have 
seen on TV about this matter or any other matter concerning animals. 

My husband said to me, "Times are changing and people are changing and 
maybe we need to change also, maybe animals aren't going tobe in circuses 
becuase people don't want them to be, the majority will rule some day and 
maybe that time is here."  Anyone who knows my husband John D. T. 
Davenport knows that the most important thing in the world to him is his 
animals and his circus and in that order. So when he said that to me, It 
really broke my heart to hear that.

I want to thank you for taking time to read this and please let me know 
how you fell. I'm going to show my husband if anything that there are 
people on his side and that peopel do care. 

Best Wishes Always and God Bless, 
Sincerely yours, 

Gigi"


Date: Wed, 24 Sep 1997 09:56:56 +0000
From: jwed 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (CN) Global markets beckon meat companies 
Message-ID: <3.0.3.32.19970924095656.00699054@pop.hkstar.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"


China Daily 24thSeptember 1997

THE 11th World Meat Conference opened in Beijing yesterday, with
congratulations from Chinese Vice-Premier Li Lanqing who called this an
opportunity for China's meat industry to enter the world market. 

The meeting, which has drawn some 600 delegates from 35 countries, is the
first time the International Meat Secretariat (IMS) is holding a world
congress in an Asian country. 

With the theme of focusing on improving the quality of meat products to
ensure consumer satisfaction, the meeting will discuss such issues as
prospects for the international meat trade, the development of the meat
trade in the Asia-Pacific region, and food safety in the production of meat. 

The meeting, to be concluded tomorrow, will also study the economic, legal
and environmental aspects of meat production, processing, technology and
trade, and exchange production experiences. 

In his opening address, Li said the conference will help to accelerate the
pace of modernization of China's meat enterprises. 

Li noted that with government support and the efforts of people in the
international meat trade, there has been much activity in economic and
technical co-operation, and the trading of products, and technical
co-operation and capital flows have progressed. 

"Holding the meeting in China is unusual in the sense that meetings are
normally hosted by countries with large meat exports," said IMS President
Oberst. 

"One reason for our coming here is simply that the potential for
international trade with China, both imports and exports, is very large
indeed," he said. 

"We have noted the rising prosperity of the Chinese people and the increase
in meat consumption, and we have come to study the potential for trade at
first hand," he said.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: 09/24/97
Author: Ma Zhiping
Copyright© by China Daily 




Date: Tue, 23 Sep 1997 22:21:37 -0400
From: allen schubert 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: U.S. Takes Steps to Avoid "Mad Cow Disease"
Message-ID: <3.0.32.19970923222133.00693b04@clark.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

from Yahoo news page:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday September 23 6:10 PM EDT

U.S. Takes Steps to Avoid "Mad Cow Disease"

NEW YORK (Reuters) -- A handful of young adults in the U.K. have died of a
fatal neurological disease that may have been caused by eating beef from
cattle infected with "mad cow disease," or bovine spongiform encephalopathy
(BSE). Could it happen in the U.S.? It's possible, although steps are being
taken to help prevent such an outbreak, according to Dr. Paul Brown, of the
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke in Bethesda,
Maryland.

Both countries used ground-up animal carcasses to make cattle feed and
nutritional supplements, a step that probably helped a neurological disease
in sheep, scrapie, to be passed to cows. In the late 1970s, both the U.K.
and the U.S. changed the way it processed sheep carcasses, increasing the
likelihood that scrapie could be passed to cattle. And both countries have
scrapie-infected sheep -- a disease known for centuries that has never
caused illness in humans. The U.S. has had an annual incidence of 30 to 50
cases of scrapie in 8 million sheep and the U.K. has 200 to 300 cases in 42
million sheep.

"Why then have we not seen a BSE epidemic in the United States?" Brown
wrote in the current issue of The Journal of the American Medical
Association. There may be a couple of reasons, he said. For example, the
strains of scrapie in the U.S. may not be capable of causing illness in
cattle. And in the U.S. only about 0.6% of rendered animal protein is
derived from sheep tissue compared with 14% in the U.K.

"A third explanation is that we do have an epidemic, but have simply not
recognized it," he said. Cattle injected with U.S. strains of scrapie do
develop a neurological disorder, but do not show the spongy holes in the
brain that are characteristic of BSE-cows in Europe. And there have been
outbreaks of spongiform encephalopathy in U.S. mink that were fed meat from
"downer cows," so-called because they lie down from an unknown illness
before dying.

However, analysis of more than 6,000 cows in the U.S. with neurological
disorders or considered "downer cows" have not yet turned up a single case
of BSE.

"This is reassuring, and will be increasingly persuasive as additional
thousands of animals are examined in coming years," Brown wrote.

It could take several years to conclusively determine that the 21 people in
the U.K. and 1 in France who died of the neurodegenerative disorder
Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, in fact contracted the illness from eating
contaminated beef. In the meantime, the British government has made a
number of changes to reduce the possible spread of BSE, including slaughter
of sick animals, eliminating bovine brain, spleen and thymus from human
food, and banning mechanically recovered meat -- meat recovered from a
carcass using high-powered hoses -- from the spinal column.

In the U.S., cattle and cattle products from Great Britain have been banned
and tighter controls on sheep have been instituted, including a ban on
transferring sheep from scrapie-infected flocks to uninfected flocks.

In June 1997, the Food and Drug Administration banned the use of most
mammal carcasses in cattle feed, and at some point in the future, the use
of any animal tissue in livestock feed may also be banned.

It's possible that high-risk tissues, such as the cow brain, could be
banned as food for humans in the U.S., despite the lack of evidence that it
is a problem in this country. And other cow-derived products are under
scrutiny, including gelatin, which is in multiple products including drug
capsules and cosmetics.

"Altogether, a full plate for government regulatory agencies," Brown
concluded. SOURCE: The Journal of the American Medical Association
(1997;278:1008-1011)

Date: Tue, 23 Sep 1997 22:28:07 -0400
From: Vegetarian Resource Center 
To: AR-News@Envirolink.Org
Subject: "Cloned Sheep May Become Mother"
Message-ID: <3.0.3.32.19970923222807.0142ac10@pop.tiac.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"



                    Cloned Sheep May Become Mother

     EDINBURGH, Scotland (AP) - Dolly the cloned sheep could soon
  become a mother - but any offspring are likely to be conceived more
  naturally than she was.
  
     Staff at Edinburgh's Roslin Institute, breeders of the world's
  first cloned mammal, said today that Dolly will be put through a
  breeding program early next year that will help establish her
  fertility and whether her lambs have been affected by her unusual
  conception.
  
     Her offspring will not be cloned, said Professor Graeme
  Bulfield, the institute's director, so they will be genetically
  different from her.
  
     "It will probably be a matter of putting them (Dolly and a male
  sheep) out in a field and letting them get on with it," he said.
  
     Healthy lambs will increase the value of the cloning process to
  PPL Therapeutics, the Scottish biotechnology company formed to
  market the center's work.
  
     Scientists at the institute announced in February they had
  created Dolly using cells from another sheep's udder.
  
     The institute has already proven that cloned animals can
  reproduce. Megan and Morag, sheep conceived through a different
  cloning process, have lambs of their own.
  
     
  
  {APWire:Science-0922.171}    9/22/97



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Date: Tue, 23 Sep 1997 22:30:50
From: "veegman@qed.net" 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: NJ Fur Protest
Message-ID: <3.0.2.16.19970923223050.2afffec8@qed.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

New Jersey Animal Rights Alliance
PO Box 174
Englishtown, NJ  07726
(732) 446-6808


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 23, 1997


Contact: Joe Miele (201) 368-8271

Militant Anti-Fur Protest In Parsippany

PARSIPPANY --  Animal rights activists will descend upon the Fur Mart  this
coming Saturday, September 27 to protest the atrocities inherent in the fur
trade.

Members of the New Jersey Animal Rights Alliance (NJARA) say that the Fur
Mart will be a target of regularly scheduled demonstrations.  "There is no
excuse for wearing fur" says Joe Miele, Chairman of NJARA's Anti-fur
Committee.  "Fur is the ultimate symbol of greed and cruelty.  Killing
animals because their skin is more beautiful than ours cannot be tolerated
in a civilized society."

Past anti-fur actions taken by NJARA have included parades through busy
city streets, large scale protests and demonstrations, and acts of civil
disobedience.


Date: Wed, 24 Sep 1997 11:05:58 +0800
From: bunny 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (USA)FOOD CONTAMINATION, SALMONELLA - SAUSAGES
Message-ID: <1.5.4.16.19970924105557.2b2f59e4@wantree.com.au>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

FOOD CONTAMINATION, SALMONELLA - USA
************************************


Date: Fri, 19 Sep 1997 04:51:04 -0400

Source: Excerpted from FSNET 


SEATTLE FIRM RECALLS FERMENTED SAUSAGE FROM WESTERN WASHINGTON
STATE
September 12, 1997
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service

WASHINGTON -- Bavarian Meat Products, Inc., a Seattle, Wash., food
processing firm, is voluntarily recalling about 400 pounds of fermented
sausage because the product may be contaminated with _Salmonella_ bacteria,
the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced today. 

"Bavarian Meat Products CERVELAT" sausage was distributed to retail food
stores mainly in the Western part of the state of Washington. A small
amount of the product was also distributed to military commissaries in the
state.

All packages of the product sold after September 1 are being recalled.
"EST.  6431" appears inside the USDA inspection seal on the product label.
No other product is affected by the recall.

"We urge consumers who have purchased the product after September 1 to
return it to the place of purchase," said FSIS Administrator Thomas J. Billy.

USDA discovered the problem through its routine monitoring program for
Salmonella in dry and semi-dry fermented sausage.

Consumption of food contaminated with Salmonella can cause salmonellosis, a
potentially serious  disease. In general, healthy people rarely contract
salmonellosis; most susceptible are pregnant women and those with weakened
immune systems -- infants, the elderly, and the chronically ill. 

Symptoms of salmonellosis include nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and
diarrhea, and in some cases flu-like symptoms such as fever, chills, and
headache.

Consumers with questions about the recall may phone the toll-free USDA Meat
and Poultry Hotline at 1-800-535-4555. The hotline can be reached from 10
a.m. to 4 p.m. (Eastern Time) Monday through Friday. 

[E. coli O157:H7 and O111 have caused outbreaks in dry sausage in the US
and Australia. Fermented sausage is produced with a pH typically below 5.0
and dried, so contamination with _Salmonella_ would have seemed unlikely. --
RAL]

===========================================

Rabbit Information Service,
P.O.Box 30,
Riverton,
Western Australia 6148

Email>  rabbit@wantree.com.au

http://www.wantree.com.au/~rabbit/rabbit.htm
(Rabbit Information Service website updated frequently)

     /`\   /`\
    (/\ \-/ /\)
       )6 6(
     >{= Y =}<
      /'-^-'\
     (_)   (_)
      |  .  |
      |     |}
 jgs  \_/^\_/













Date: Tue, 23 Sep 1997 23:01:44 -0400
From: Coalition for Animals 
To: ar-news@envirolink.com
Subject: Huntingdon Life Sciences Protest
Message-ID: <34288298.6E31@worldnet.att.net>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit

Protest Against Huntingdon Life Sciences Culminates in
Scream Heard `Round the World`

East Millstone---At a protest against Huntingdon Life Sciences (HLS) in
East Millstone, New 
Jersey, Coalition for Animals (CFA), a nonprofit animal rights group,
will stage a `scream heard 
`round the world` at 2:00 PM (EST) on Saturday, September 27, for the
remaining animals in 
HLS laboratories in the United States and United Kingdom.  At the same
time in England, the 
British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection will join CFA in the
campaign to stop HLS from 
carrying out animal experimentation.  The scream is meant to be a
symbolic expression of the 
pain and terror felt by animals in laboratories throughout the world.

A pre-protest rally will be held in nearby Colonial Park at 11:30 AM
during which speakers will 
discuss arguments against animal experimentation.   At 12:30 PM, the
protesters will walk 
through the park on a route destined for the HLS laboratory on Metlars
Road.  The protest will 
last approximately one hour and will culminate in the scream heard
`round the world`.

CFA hopes to raise public awareness about the cruelty and uselessness of
vivisection and the 
prevalence of abuse in animal laboratories, particularly that seen in
HLS facilities:

Video footage was released by British television showing HLS staff
punching and 
shaking frightened beagles and simulating a sex act while attempting to
insert a 
needle into a dog’s vein.  The government has found evidence of improper
dosing 
of animals and other violations.  Because of this footage, HLS’s permit
to perform 
animal experiments in the United Kingdom will be revoked in November
1997 
unless the company meets 16 stringent conditions imposed by the British 
government to force HLS to clean up its act.  HLS has already lost
several major 
clients over these revelations: SmithKline Beecham, Zeneca, Astra,
Bristol-Myers 
Squibb, and Glaxo Welcome.  Trading in Huntingdon stock exchanges has
been 
suspended at the company’s request to prevent its continuing and rapid
decline in 
value.

The HLS East Millstone facility is a subsidiary of this British group. 
The People 
for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is fighting in court to make
public the 
videotapes and photographs taken inside this laboratory.  After being
shown this 
footage, Proctor and Gamble suspended their contract with HLS.

For further information, contact Coalition for Animals, PO Box 611,
Somerville, NJ 08876, 
(908) 281-0086, njcfa@worldnet.att.net.  Visit us on our web page at
http://home.att.net/~njcfa/

-30-
Date: Wed, 24 Sep 1997 11:07:45 +0800
From: bunny 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (IND)CHOLERA - INDONESIA 
Message-ID: <1.5.4.16.19970924105744.2b2fa900@wantree.com.au>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

CHOLERA - INDONESIA 
************************

Date: Mon, 22 Sep 1997 03:38:58 -0400

Source: Media sources, September 20, 1997, excerpted from FSNET 


JAKARTA -- Suara Pembaruan, an Indonesian newspaper, was cited as reporting
Saturday that at least 154 people have died in Indonesia's remote eastern
province of Irian Jaya due to a cholera outbreak resulting from drinking
unsanitary water after rivers in the area ran dry.



===========================================

Rabbit Information Service,
P.O.Box 30,
Riverton,
Western Australia 6148

Email>  rabbit@wantree.com.au

http://www.wantree.com.au/~rabbit/rabbit.htm
(Rabbit Information Service website updated frequently)

     /`\   /`\
    (/\ \-/ /\)
       )6 6(
     >{= Y =}<
      /'-^-'\
     (_)   (_)
      |  .  |
      |     |}
 jgs  \_/^\_/













Date: Tue, 23 Sep 1997 23:07:12 -0400
From: Allen Schubert 
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: AR-News subscription options--Admin Note
Message-ID: <3.0.1.32.19970923230712.00693954@envirolink.org>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

about time for that routine posting........

To unsubscribe, send e-mail to:  listproc@envirolink.org

In text of message:  unsubscribe ar-news
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Here are some items of general information (found in the "welcome letter"
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