Komputer for Alle 1998 #6/1998 CD 6 (Gul).iso/web/ffa/wwwenv~1.org/arrs/digest/news35~1.htm/text0016.txt

Text File | 1998-04-03 | 9.8 KB | 232 lines

Glow in the dark lambs keep foxes at bay

Reuter Information Service

LONDON (Mar 28, 1997 1:07 p.m. EST) - British farmers have found a novel
new way to outsmart hungry foxes -- with lambs that glow in the dark.

Researchers discovered that coating the lambs with phosphorescent paint
discourages hungry predators prowling the fields during the lambing
season.

The paint is laced with a foul-tasting substance which also puts off any
fox in search of a speedy meal.

"Foxes will quickly come to associate the light with a terrible taste.
It has a taste so horrible that even a hungry fox will never become
accustomed to it," said a spokesman for the manufacturers of the new
Repel spray.
Date: Sat, 29 Mar 1997 00:47:52 -0800 (PST)
>From: David J Knowles <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: [CA] McDonald's in the classroom
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
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CTV National News tonight reported that McD's, Burger King, Pepsi and other
multinational corporations are queing up to place advertising in the class room.

Parents at cash-strapped schools in Brampton, Ontario, have reluctantly
agreed to having the ads - in the form of screen savers on classroom
computers - on a trial basis.

If successful, the ads may be placed onto computers throughout Ontario.

The cash crisis has come about as a result of massive public spending cuts
by the provincial government and even schools in relatively well-off areas
are finding it hard to pick up the ever-growing expense of buying books and
other essential supplies.

Most of the parents interviewed had reservations about the trial, but
accepted that "something had to be done."

One also believed that children already heavily watching TV were able to
differentiate between the ads and other information they got from the computers.

As a condition of the trial, some of the advertising space is taken up by
informational material.



Date: Sat, 29 Mar 1997 00:48:59 -0800 (PST)
>From: David J Knowles <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: [UK] Zoo to hold inquiry into deaths of two gorillas
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>From The Electronic Telelgraph - Saturday, March 29th, 1997

Zoo to hold inquiry into deaths of two gorillas

                  VETERINARY experts are trying to identify a bug that
claimed the lives of two gorillas at Belfast Zoo.

                  Keke, a male silverback and Asali, a pregnant female, died
within two days of each other this week. Post mortem examinations are being
conducted and one body has been being flown to a laboratory in England. It
is thought that the animals died from a virus.

                  Staff at the zoo, which is well known for its primate
collection, said the loss of the two breeding animals was a blow to their
conservation efforts for the species. Three remaining gorillas are in
isolation being monitored for signs of illness.

                  Hugh Smyth, a member of the zoo committee and a former
Belfast Lord Mayor, called for an inquiry into the deaths, which bring to
six the number of animals to have died in the past year. Two camels died
while being moved under anaesthetic and two zebras also perished. "I am
amazed at the number of animals we have lost," he said.

                  A zoo spokesman said: "Since those deaths we have had
eight births as well." The zoo is preparing its own report which will be
published next month.

⌐ Copyright Telegraph Group Limited 1997.

Date: Sat, 29 Mar 1997 00:49:24 -0800 (PST)
>From: David J Knowles <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: [UK] A bunny isn't just for Easter, parents told
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>From The Electronic Telelgraph - Saturday, March 29th, 1997

A bunny isn't just for Easter, parents told
By David Brown, Agriculture Editor

                  THE cuddly image of the Easter bunny has a dark side, vets
warned yesterday, with thousands of pet rabbits being abandoned when owners
realise how expensive they are to keep.

                  Rabbits are now Britain's fourth most popular companion
animals, gaining steadily on dogs and cats. Many are house-trained, earning
promotion from garden hutch to living room. But about 15,000, many bought as
Easter presents, were handed to animal rescue centres in 1995 because their
owners could not cope with them.

                  Last year's abandonment figures, which are still being
compiled, are "much higher", the British Houserabbit Association said
yesterday.  "The problem is more acute after Easter when hundreds are sold
as children's pets," it said.

                  Urging people to be careful before parting with a few
pounds to buy a rabbit, the association said: "Most people think of rabbits
as inexpensive, undemanding pets. They should think again."

                  Vaccinations against myxomatosis or viral haemorrhagic
disease cost between ú10 to ú20 each. Suitable hutches can cost from ú80 and
castrating bucks to prevent them spraying can cost about ú40. Spaying a doe
to prevent bad temper at sexual maturity costs around  ú60. This operation
is strongly advised to prevent uterine cancer which kills 80 per cent of
females. Rabbits also need regular dentistry to prevent their teeth becoming
overgrown.

                  Luci Wheeler, a 25-year-old project co-ordinator for a
promotions company in London, is typical of the modern rabbit owner - and,
despite the gloomy warnings of the experts, she would not be without her
pet. She and Puddle, an 11-week-old German dwarf lop, live in her
ground-floor flat in Hammersmith. The hutch is in the yard, but the rabbit
spends a lot of time indoors.

                  "He's so sweet and no trouble at all," she said yesterday.
"He likes to snuggle up to me. I kept rabbits at our family home so I'm used
to them. Puddle goes in the car when I visit my parents. He doesn't mind a bit."

⌐ Copyright Telegraph Group Limited 1997.

Date: Sat, 29 Mar 1997 00:49:46 -0800 (PST)
>From: David J Knowles <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: [UK] Random tests for the pigeons that get too high
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>From The Electronic Telelgraph - Saturday, March 29th, 1997

Random tests for the pigeons that get too high
By Maurice Weaver

                  DRUG tests for homing pigeons are to be introduced
following concern that unscrupulous fanciers are feeding anabolic steroids
to their birds.

                  The Royal Pigeon Racing Association said the checks were
needed because of the substantial prizes now offered in the sport. Large
cash sums and even cars are regularly given away. A new rule banning
steroids and beta-agonists has been approved by the RPRA
and owners caught doping their birds will face a three-year ban from
competition.

                  The tests, which start next month, will include sampling
pigeon droppings from members' lofts and random checks after major races.
Although the Queen has her own prize birds, the sport in Britain has a
mainly "cloth-cap" image and has always treasured its clean reputation.
There are about 80,000 British fanciers.

                  Having released their birds, the most successful of them
traditionally persuade the pigeons to speed home with the promise a good
meal or a pretty hen waiting in the loft. Corruption, when it has occurred,
has been fairly unsophisticated, mainly involving tampering with the
time-clocks that register the moment when homing birds are released
and when they come fluttering back to base.

                  The possibility of drug abuse did not arise until about
three years ago when a scandal broke among Belgian fanciers who were found
to have been administering steroids to the birds by eye drops. Drug tests
are now standard on the Continent. A spokesman for the Cheltenham-based
association said: "The steroids and beta-agonists build up muscles and make
the birds fly further and go through the pain barrier. Competition is
fierce. We have no evidence of drug-taking here but tests have not been
available until now.

                  "We hope the random tests will be a deterrent to anyone
thinking of using drugs. It is essential that honour and dignity be
maintained, just as with any human contest. The message is: if you are
doping your pigeons you had better stop."

⌐ Copyright Telegraph Group Limited 1997.

Date: Sat, 29 Mar 1997 09:02:32 -0500
>From: marcia <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Are ANY Animal Tests "Required by Law"?
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
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Hi All,

I see conflicting information on whether *any*
animal tests are required by law: (1) for
any type of cosmetics or household products
(which I need so my e-mail to Proctor & Gamble
is accurate), and (2) for any medical usages
(which I need for my own knowledge).

If anyone has a definitive answer, I'd appreciate
your posting it quickly so I can get an accurate
e-mail off to P&G today.  If you have a cite to
an authoritative source, that would help.

Thanks!
Marcia
Date: Sun, 30 Mar 1997 09:19:33 -0500
>From: allen schubert <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail], [e-mail]
Subject: Re: Are ANY Animal Tests "Required by Law"?
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
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