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<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//IETF//DTD HTML//EN//2.0"> <html> <head> <title>AR-NEWS Digest</title> </head> <BODY bgcolor=fbfaea text=#211818 link="#190748" alink="#FFFFEF" vlink="#401C92"> <center> <IMG SRC="IMAGES/HEAD.GIF" tppabs="http://www.envirolink.org/arrs/digest/images/head.gif" USEMAP="#toplinks" BORDER="0"><BR> <img src="IMAGES/YCBAR.GIF" tppabs="http://www.envirolink.org/arrs/digest/images/ycbar.gif"><a href="../INDEX~1.HTM" tppabs="http://www.envirolink.org/arrs/index.html"><img src="IMAGES/HOMEBAR.GIF" tppabs="http://www.envirolink.org/arrs/digest/images/homebar.gif" border=0></a><br></center> <map name="toplinks"> <AREA SHAPE="rect" COORDS="345,27,393,54" href="../../../tppmsgs/msgs0.htm#14" tppabs="http://www.envirolink.org/envirohome.html"> <AREA SHAPE="rect" COORDS="458,7,512,27" href="../SUPPOR~1.HTM" tppabs="http://www.envirolink.org/arrs/Support.html"> <AREA SHAPE="rect" COORDS="401,7,446,26" href="../SEARCH~1.HTM" tppabs="http://www.envirolink.org/arrs/search.html"> <AREA SHAPE="rect" COORDS="352,7,386,26" href="../ORGS~1.HTM" tppabs="http://www.envirolink.org/arrs/Orgs.html"> <AREA SHAPE="rect" COORDS="298,7,337,25" href="../NEWSPA~1.HTM" tppabs="http://www.envirolink.org/arrs/newspage.html"> <AREA SHAPE="rect" COORDS="211,7,286,27" href="../SUB~1.HTM" tppabs="http://www.envirolink.org/arrs/sub.html"> </map> <center><TABLE cellspacing=15 border=0> <TR> <TD width=50 align=center> </TD> <TD width=400 align=left> <!-- PAGE CONTENT GOES BELOW --> <hr> <pre> AR-NEWS Digest 367 Topics covered in this issue include: 1) (ASIA) Monkey brains, bear paws... by vadivu <kuma@cyberway.com.sg> 2) AR-News Admin Note: Mink Farmers Factual Error by allen schubert <alathome@clark.net> 3) [UK] Butcher woos trade with abattoir tours by David J Knowles <dknowles@dowco.com> 4) (KH) Stray dogs to help deminers by vadivu <kuma@cyberway.com.sg> 5) (JP) High tin levels found in tuna by vadivu <kuma@cyberway.com.sg> 6) (SG) Reclamation 'may lead to sea cow's extinction' here by vadivu <kuma@cyberway.com.sg> 7) (LK) Zoo animals moved by vadivu <kuma@cyberway.com.sg> 8) Sears Boycott called by Vegetarian Resource Center <vrc@tiac.net> 9) Genetically Safe Foods and Companies by pmligotti@earthlink.net (Peter M. Ligotti) 10) (US) THe Ethics of Hunting by "H. Morris" <oceana@ibm.net> 11) (US) Vet CLinic for Homeless Animals by "H. Morris" <oceana@ibm.net> 12) (US) Moose Pop. Plummets by "H. Morris" <oceana@ibm.net> 13) (US) Trout Season in NYS by "H. Morris" <oceana@ibm.net> 14) Evil Dupont/Good Babbitt by "H. Morris" <oceana@ibm.net> 15) (US) NJ Bears by "H. Morris" <oceana@ibm.net> 16) Safari Club forms links to zoos by Shirley McGreal <spm@awod.com> 17) National Geographic Tiger Special by Shirley McGreal <spm@awod.com> 18) Re: Sears Boycott called by BHGazette@aol.com 19) Human cloning by Andrew Gach <UncleWolf@worldnet.att.net> 20) The Animals of the Homeless by Andrew Gach <UncleWolf@worldnet.att.net> 21) proctor & gamble by Aldina A Cornett <"cornett@mctc.com"@cei.net> 22) Police roughs up AIDS activists for anti-drug-company demonstration by Andrew Gach <UncleWolf@worldnet.att.net> 23) Patenting life forms by Andrew Gach <UncleWolf@worldnet.att.net> 24) Phone tapping by Wyandotte Animal Group <wag@heritage.com> 25) Sears Circus boycott called. by chris.p.carrot@juno.com (Christophe P Carotte) Date: Sun, 6 Apr 1997 13:42:17 +0800 (SST) >From: vadivu <kuma@cyberway.com.sg> To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: (ASIA) Monkey brains, bear paws... Message-ID: <199704060542.NAA13471@eastgate.cyberway.com.sg> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" > Asia Magazine, April 4 - 6, Volume 35 M 13 Sting Norma Moss Animal Rights? Wrong! It is time to stop using the birds and the beasts as aphrodisiacs, pick-me-ups and status symbols, argues Norma Moss. Outside the famous Erawan Shrine in Bangkok, where people gather to ask favours and to repay their dues, there are rows of tiny cages crammed full of sparrows and other small birds. The name of the game is to pay their captor money, get a bird released, make merit and supposedly win some reward in the life to come. It seems to have occurred to no one that merit might be gained by not capturing the birds in the first place and the people most in need of merit-making are those making money from the captive birds. Furthermore, no sooner is your back turned than the poor little disoriented bird is recaptured to sucker some other person. In a monastery not far away, there used to be an elephant names Phlai Petch who had been tied to a tree for 20 out of his 25-year lifespan. Just before the New Year, the elephant made a desperate bid for freedom and went berserk, damaging a few cars. He was shot dead - a feat that took a hundred bullets. Somebody then promptly cut off his trunk for a souvenir or tasty titbit. Now they are collecting money for a bell tower in Phlai Petch's memory - although when the poor creature was alive, unless visitors bought food, he often went hungry. Elephants in general are fast becoming an anachronism in Asia - we have deprived them of their natural habitat and, for those we have tamed, there is not enough work and they must walk crowded city streets to forage for food, weaving in and out among cars. All over Southeast Asia, animal are tortured, killed and eaten in the name of health and an improved sex life. Forget the Latin lover - Casanova is passΘ. He never consumed tiger penis, bear paws, gall bladders, yellow dogs, cat-boiled-alive soup, or snake bile like your Asian lover does, although the jury remains out on the efficacy of the alleged aphrodisiacs. If a quarter of these claims are true, then the women of this region must be the luckiest people alive. Anyone for bear paw soup? The bear's paw is lowered into a vat of boiling water to make the soup. According to traditional Chinese belief, the left hind paw is believed to bring the most luck. Bears, having four paws, may provide good luck four times over. Most of the diners are wealthy South Koreans, Taiwanese and Chinese who pay up to US$14,000 for a whole bear or US$1,000 for a paw. It is believed that the greater the pain and fear, the sweeter the meat - a painful death makes the adrenaline flow and enlarges the gall bladder. In Korea, Vietnam and Philippines and northern Thailand they believe man's best friend is also man's best pic-me-up. So is the Chinese moon bear, kept for year in groups in small cages to prevent movement while their gall bladders are "milked". No scientist has yet turned in any results on that one. Equally difficult to substantiate are the claims made for dried seal penises. Who, besides a male seal, could possibly need them, one might ask? Yet dried seal penises are regularly shipped to Southeast Asia from Canada and elsewhere. In China they believe that the fresher the food, the better it is for you. Live turtles have shells torn off, snakes are ripped open, frogs get their legs chopped off, the list is endless. In Burma, Laos and Cambodia, pangolins, bears, snakes, squirrels, fruit bats, and all manner of wild creatures are bundled up alive and whisked off to end in restaurants that specialise in catering for the jaded palate. A case of one country's wildlife being another's dish of the day. In Japan some gourmet appetites are so bored by routine meals that more adventure is sought with the daily bread or rice bowl. Live creatures, such as prawns, are brought to the dinner table in increasing quantities. They also relish monkey brain eaten from the head of the animal, a process not dissimilar to tackling the breakfast boiled egg, except that the monkey, kept in a small cage, is alive. However, being fair-minded, they also play a deadly game of Japanese roulette with one particular fish that can cause instant death if consumed. As for the symbol of the region's dynamism and power - the tiger - at the last count there were only about 5,000 tigers left in Asian forests. If we keep on going after their private parts at the present rate there will be none left in five years' time. Then what will we do to perk up our sex lives? Norma Moss is a Bangkok-based writer Date: Mon, 07 Apr 1997 04:27:33 -0400 >From: allen schubert <alathome@clark.net> To: ar-news@envirolink.org Cc: j_abbott@portal.ca Subject: AR-News Admin Note: Mink Farmers Factual Error Message-ID: <3.0.32.19970407042726.006d0b24@clark.net> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Please take further discussion of this topic to private e-mail or other lists (such as AR-Views). allen Date: Sun, 6 Apr 1997 03:12:07 -0700 (PDT) >From: David J Knowles <dknowles@dowco.com> To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: [UK] Butcher woos trade with abattoir tours Message-ID: <1.5.4.16.19970406011229.36c7609a@dowco.com> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Butcher woos trade with abattoir tours By Jo Knowsley A FAMILY butcher is offering tours of his slaughterhouse to reassure the public that killing sheep, pigs and cattle can be "hygienic and humane". Gerald David, whose abattoir in Porlock, near Minehead, serves his five family-run shops in Somerset, had the idea of setting up"Slaughter Tours" after watching a growing number of media exposΘs of bad practice at some farms, slaughterhouses and butcher shops. "I decided it was time that smaller independent outlets such as myself fought back, and showed the public that not all slaughterhouses and butchers worked in poor conditions or treated animals badly," he said. "So far I have received unanimous support." Government hygiene regulations prevent him from taking visitors inside the abattoir, so they watch the killing through windows. The first tour took place 10 days ago. So far he has had 15 visitors and last week he arranged a tour on request for a couple of holidaymakers eager to see the premises. Mr David said he believed it was important to reassure the public, in the face of BSE and recent E coli scares. "When they visit us they see that no animal sees any other animal being stunned, or killed. We are terribly careful," he said. Mr David's slaughterhouse kills 50 to 60 pigs a week, 15 cattle and 60-100 lambs. The animals come from farmers he has known for years, are checked by vets and are killed individually. Being an independent butcher, he said, has not been easy in recent years with the growing domination of the supermarket chains in the meat market. There are 11,500 butcher shops in England and Wales but they account for only 17.7 per cent of meat sales, according to 1996 figures from the Meat and Livestock Commission. More than 67 per cent of meat sales are carried out in one of Britain's 4,937 supermarkets. But Mr David believes the tide is once again turning in favour of smaller outlets. He denied the abattoir tour was a shocking way to woo the public, but said: "I know people don't like the idea of killing. "But when they come on a tour they realise it can be done humanely - that it doesn't have to turn your stomach. I haven't had anyone keel over, or react badly to a tour, yet. And I don't expect to." Date: Sun, 6 Apr 1997 19:28:52 +0800 (SST) >From: vadivu <kuma@cyberway.com.sg> To: ar-news@envirolink.org Cc: jwed@hkstar.com Subject: (KH) Stray dogs to help deminers Message-ID: <199704061128.TAA23285@eastgate.cyberway.com.sg> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" >Cambodia Times March 17 - 23, 1997 Stray dogs to help deminers Reaksmey Kongkea Dogs will be used to assist in demining activities in the future. The Cambodian Mines Action Centre (CMAC) believe that man's best friend can be trained not only to detect but to verify a mine. CMAC national director Sam Sotha said 11 of the canines were sent to Sweden last year and they are expected to return in July to assist demining teams throughout the kingdom. Sotha said the dogs would have been trained by Swedish experts on "mine verification and marking". This will be the first time that CMAC is using dogs in demining activities. It may also be the first time that canines are used for demining tasks in the region. Although dogs have been used in various other fields, such as sniffing out drugs or other concealed substances, they are not known to detect mines. And if the venture is a success, CMAC may well find a solution to its manpower needs as the dogs it sent to Sweden are not of pedigree breed but the common stray dogs that are found everywhere. "Cambodia has a lot of dogs. They may not be smart dogs but some of them can be trained to help locate a mine", Sotha told the Cambodia Times last week. He said that local deminers have also been sent to Sweden to learn how to handle the dogs and become trainers. Sotha added that CMAC would eventually train dogs on its own. "The dogs will be of great help to us in expanding our activities to cover more areas in Cambodia", he said, adding that the dogs would complement the activities of the mine verification and marking teams. The teams are responsible for locating and marking the areas which are mined. These areas would be cordoned off for the deminer to do the painstaking job of deactivating the mines. For its continuing efforts, CMAC has been acknowledged as a leader in demining at a conference on anti-personnel mines in Tokyo on March 6. Sotha said the world has now recognised CMAC's capabilities in carrying out demining work and implementation of projects. "The conference has given Cambodia the opportunity to share our problems and successes with other countries facing similar predicament. "Some of the countries had asked for our assistance in the form of sending deminers to train their own people", Sotha said. He said CMAC is ready to lend a hand to these countries if there is an official request from the government. Sotha said CMAC expects to set up another 120 demining units this year as part of its expansion programme. He said CMAC would focus on training people in the provinces as they are more familiar with the areas to be mined. Some 3,600 square kilometres of Cambodia is filled with mines and demining work now being carried out covers an area of 1,300 square kilometres. CMAC has successfully demined 690 square kilometres of land and returned them to local authorities for further use. CMAC's main training centre at Kop Srov can train up to 4,000 people in various aspects of demining work annually. The centre's director Bun Thoeurn said most of the trainees are former soldiers and those who are victims of mines. Since its inception in 1995, Bun Thoeurn said, the centre has produced 6,000 deminers. "Most of them find work in the mine fields under CMAC. Others find jobs as trainers", he said. Sotha said CMAC has enough capable deminers to carry on its work but still need foreign assistance in the form of technical expertise and equipment. He said CMAC needs about US$8 million annually to finance its operations. The money has so far come from the United States, Australia, United Kingdom, Denmark, Canada, Belgium, Japan, Norway, Sweden, Holland and Germany. Date: Sun, 6 Apr 1997 21:00:09 +0800 (SST) >From: vadivu <kuma@cyberway.com.sg> To: ar-news@envirolink.org, veg-news@envirolink.org Subject: (JP) High tin levels found in tuna Message-ID: <199704061300.VAA30101@eastgate.cyberway.com.sg> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > The Japan Times, April 4, 1997 High tin levels found in tuna A joint research team has discovered that tuna and bonito in the seas around Japan have high concentrations of organic tin from paints used on ship hulls and material used to protect fish nets. The team, made up of scientists from Ehime University's Agriculture School and Kyoto University's Fishery Experimental Station, is scheduled to announce its findings during a meeting of the Japan Society of Fisheries that opened Apr. 4 at Tokyo University of Fisheries. The chemical concentration levels are many times that found in fish in the south Pacific and Indian Ocean, but not high enough to harm humans, according to the team. The team believes that the seas around Japan are now sources of organic tin contamination of fishery resources, and migratory fish like bonitos and tunas are believed to have absorbed the chemicals while migrating through the area. Shinsuke Tanabe, a professor at Ehime University's Agriculture School, and his team members collected 47 tuna and bonito from the central Sea of Japan, the waters off Kochi Prefecture, Papua New Guinea, the Indian Ocean and five other areas, from 1983 through last year. By analyzing organic tin chemicals in the livers of the fish, tuna caught in the central Sea of Japan were found to have the highest concentration of tributyl (320 nanograms -- 1 nanogram is equal to 1 billionth of a gram) and two other tins.<BR><BR>Tuna caught off Kochi Prefecture followed with 310 nanograms, followed by 300 nanograms in bonito caught in the central Sea of Japan, according to the team. The concentration levels are comparable to those found in fish living in contaminated waters like Tokyo Bay or off the Italian coast, they said. In the fish caught in the south Pacific or around the Philippines, the team found only 24 to 50 nanograms of tin. Date: Sun, 6 Apr 1997 21:00:18 +0800 (SST) >From: vadivu <kuma@cyberway.com.sg> To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: (SG) Reclamation 'may lead to sea cow's extinction' here Message-ID: <199704061300.VAA29547@eastgate.cyberway.com.sg> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" >The Straits Times, 6 Apr 97 Reclamation 'may lead to sea cow's extinction' here By Sharon Vasoo PROPOSED reclamation works on Pulau Ubin and Pulau Tekong may cause the endangered dugong or sea cow to become extinct here, warned the Nature Society (Singapore) yesterday. The mammal's only source of food supply is sea grasses and these will be wiped out by landfill works. Although the islands were slated as protected nature areas, the latest development guide plan by the Urban Redevelopment Authority did not indicate how these nature areas would be protected, said Dr Ho Hua Chew yesterday. He was speaking at a conference on the state of Singapore's natural environment, organised by the society. In an interview, Dr Ho, the chairman of the society's conservation committee, said: "They are already endangered and if their food supply is cut, they may just simply disappear altogether. However this situation can be prevented if the islands were legally protected." An estimated 20 to 25 dugongs were reported to be living around the two islands five years ago. But the situation has worsened due to water pollution, reclamation and the rise in leisure boat activities in these areas, said the Nature Society. "You'll be lucky if you do spot one now," said Dr Ho. He added that another mammal, the finless porpoise, which looks like a baby dolphin is under similar threat. "It's sad because they were driven away by the result of such activities. Something should be done to try to improve the situation." At the seminar, participants reviewed the Singapore Green Plan issued in 1983 by the Government. The plan identified 19 nature sites and four coral sites along the Southern Islands for conservation as nature areas. This includes the islands of Pulau Tekong and part of Pulau Ubin. But the URA's development guide plan covering the island indicate that two land parcels on Pulau Ubin have already been tendered out for rustic holiday accommodation or an outdoor activity centre. The plans, said Dr Ho also did not specify the conservation boundaries on these islands. He said: "It seems that the authorities have simply chosen to forget their claims to conserve these areas." The URA could not be reached for comment yesterday. At the end of the seminar, the society said that to step up conservation efforts, it will make several recommendations to the Government at year's end. These include clear boundaries of the nature areas so that new developments cannot encroach and mandatory checks to ensure that nearby developments do not harm these areas. In addition, it will ask for legal protection for nature areas. Date: Sun, 6 Apr 1997 21:00:40 +0800 (SST) >From: vadivu <kuma@cyberway.com.sg> To: ar-news@envirolink.org Cc: jwed@hkstar.com Subject: (LK) Zoo animals moved Message-ID: <199704061300.VAA30282@eastgate.cyberway.com.sg> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" (SRI LANKA) >Sunday Observer, 06, April 1997 Ahungalla animals moved Under police guard OFFICIALS OF the Department of Wildlife Conservation yesterday removed the animals from the Ahungalle Private Zoo to the National Zoological Gardens, Dehiwela. All animals except the crocodiles and some birds which will be removed today, all other animals including elephants, lions, leopards, bears etc. were loaded into trucks and brought to Dehiwela. Commenting on the operation that commenced yesterday, Wildlife Conservation Director, N. W. Dissanayake told the Sunday Observer that the operation was kept a well guarded secret and his men moved into the Ahungalle Zoo without prior notice. The DIG Southern Province provided nearly 150 armed policemen for the security of officials and other men who went to Ahungalle. Mr. Dissanayake said that this was done in view of the Department's earlier experience where there were organised gangs protesting the removal of animals. They were refused entry into the zoo and had to turn back following threats by the organised gangs. Court ordered the closure of the private zoo following allegations that the animals were drugged and not tamed as claimed by the zoo authorities. The owner of the zoo denied this allegation and challenged the authorities to test the animals for any traces of drugs. However the whole episode culminated with the killing of a school boy by a lion a few weeks ago. Date: Sun, 06 Apr 1997 09:45:39 -0400 >From: Vegetarian Resource Center <vrc@tiac.net> To: AR-NEWS@envirolink.org Subject: Sears Boycott called Message-ID: <3.0.32.19970406004001.00d301b0@pop.tiac.net> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Sears has decided to become the dream come true for the puppy mill industry in Raliegh, N.C. They have dogs for sale like cars on monthly credit. Large banner reads "Take a puppy or Kitten home in 15 minutes or less for as little as$20.01 >per month its a snap." also a sign on the door behind the puppy display reads "Start a home business breeding small animals for this pet store chain. Its a fun, profitable, and educational way for children and adults to earn mone while learning about business, animal sciences and responsibility. Hamsters Rabbits Gerbils Rats Guinea Pigs Reptiles Birds Kittens Puppies " Complaints about selling dogs and encouraging irresponsble backyard breeding should be addressed to : store manager Mike Bianchi (919) 782-9745 and Sears & Roebuck Co. National Customer Relations Dept. 3333 Beverly Road Hoffman Estates, IL 60179 phone 800-762-3048 or E-mail http://www.sears.com/cserv/compln.htm where they recieve comments/complaints I am cutting up my Sears card and telling them I got my card to buy tools and long underwear! NOT to support the puppymill industry. And until that atrocity of ignorance is removed I will boycott and inform everyone I can. Join me if you agree. Susan EnglandGal@aol.com Date: Sun, 6 Apr 1997 07:43:44 -0700 >From: pmligotti@earthlink.net (Peter M. Ligotti) To: veg-news@envirolink.org, ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: Genetically Safe Foods and Companies Message-ID: <v01540b01af6d66c29ceb@[206.149.207.78]> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" 
