Komputer for Alle 1998 #6/1998 CD 6 (Gul).iso/web/ffa/wwwenv~1.org/arrs/digest/news37~7.htm/text0009.txt

Text File | 1998-04-03 | 106.7 KB | 2,740 lines

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PIGS BEATEN, ELECTROCUTED, AND BURIED ALIVE IN TAIWAN
                    PETA Appeals to President Lee to End Cruelty

  For Immediate Release:
  April 14, 1997
                                      Contact:
                                      Michael McGraw 757-622-7382, ext. 310


  Taiwan -- The recent outbreak of hoof-and-mouth disease among pigs in
Taiwan has sent the Taiwanese
  government on a violent killing spree, with hundreds of thousands of pigs
being cruelly beaten and
  slaughtered in extremely painful ways in attempts to curb the epidemic.

  Reports from Taiwan show soldiers bludgeoning pigs, crudely electrocuting
them, or burying them alive in a
  mass extermination campaign that may eventually include more than 2
million pigs.

  PETA has faxed an urgent request to Taiwan's President Lee, urging him to
take immediate action to end
  the torture and violent slaughter of the pigs and to guarantee the pigs
are given a humane death at the very
  least.

  An estimated 900 million pigs are confined to intensive factory
farms--where disease spreads rapidly
  because of extreme overcrowding--in Taiwan.
Date: Tue, 15 Apr 1997 17:07:27 -0500 (CDT)
>From: Suzanne Roy <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Protest Ron Wood!
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
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PROTEST NIH COVER-UP OF RON WOOD'S ANIMAL ABUSE AND FRAUD
WORLD WEEK FOR ANIMALS IN LABORATORIES

Thursday, April 24, 1997 Washington, DC
U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services
200 Independence Ave. SW
11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.

Join us as we converge on the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
to protest the NIH's outrageous whitewash of animal abuse and scientific
fraud committed by infamous vivisector Ron Wood.   Help us focus attention
on NIH's scandalous decision to re-fund Wood's crack smoking experiments on
monkeys after they were shut down amidst federal charges for hundreds of
violations of the Animal Welfare Act. A strong show of force is necessary to
convince HHS Secretary Donna Shalala to stop this tragic waste of tax
dollars and animal lives.

Speakers at the protest will include Ray Greek, M.D. of the Medical Research
Modernization Committee; Kenneth Shapiro, Ph.D., Executive Director of
Psychologists for the Ethical Treatment of Animals,  Anjay Elzanowski,
Ph.D., Assistant Director for Research at Humane Society of the United
States; Rhoda Ruttenberg, M.D., a psychiatrist specializing in the treatment
of drug addiction; Tracy Reiman of People for the Ethical Treatment of
Animals; and Paul Shapiro of Compassion Over Killing.

For more information, contact In Defense of Animals at 415/388-9641.

Date: Tue, 15 Apr 1997 15:18:32 -0700
>From: [e-mail] (Peter  M. Ligotti)
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Austrians Overwhelmingly Reject GE Food In National Referendum
Message-ID: <v01540b19af79ac14643e@[206.250.112.52]>
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GREENPEACE: AUSTRIAN REFERENDUM  SENDS
STRONG MESSAGE ON GENETIC ENGINEERING

Greenpeace: The world must listen! - Stop genetically engineered food!

Vienna, April 14, 1997 -- "The European Commission should listen
to the 1,226,551 Austrian citizens who signed a referendum
calling on their government to stop the release of genetically
engineered organisms into food and the environment,"
Greenpeace Austria Executive Director Ulrike Schelander said today.
The referendum on genetic engineering came in second in the
list of referenda in Austria. It was the most successful vote
on enviromental issues.

"With this sensational result, the Austrian people have given a
very strong signal to the other EU countries and the whole world:
A vast part of our population does not want to eat genetically
altered food. Now the politicians have to act accordingly",
Schelander said. "It is not only Austrians who do not want
genetic engineering in their food or environment. Greenpeace is
getting a similar message from consumers and Governments all
around Europe and beyond."

France and Italy have banned the growing of genetically
engineered maize; Austria and Luxembourg have also banned its import.
The EU Parliament last week strongly criticised the EU Commission
for its outrageous behaviour in authorising genetically engineered
maize. European Commission President Jacques Santers' reaction to the
Parliamentary resolution last week was not one of concern, but rather
the opposite: he is trying to try to find ways to stifle
such strong criticism from the Parliament in future.

This week the Commission has been summoned yet again to a meeting
at the United States Department of Agriculture which has reacted
to the European opposition to genetic engineering by saying
`this shouldn't be allowed to happen.'

"For whom is Mr. Santer working - the United States Department
of Agriculture or Europe? Are we to have no democracy or rights
in Europe?" asked Greenpeace Director Schelander.

Following the successful referendum, Greenpeace and the other
initiators demanded a package of immediate measures from the
Austrian government:

1. An immediate moratorium on all releases of GMOs;
2. A ban on the production of genetically manipulated organisms;
3. An import ban on GE maize has to be complied with and defended,
    if necessary up to the European Court;
4. Austria should ban the import of GE soya;
5. An Austrian veto against the EU patents directive;
6. Strict liability-regulations for GE production and transport;
7. Strict and comprehensive labelling of all GE food in Austria;
8. Austria should be take a proposal to the EU for a
   moratorium on releases of all GMOs in Europe.

"In 1978, the Austrian population voted against the nuclear plant
Zwentendorf and thus, as the first country in the world, said no
to nuclear power. Now Austria once again has become a worldwide pioneer,
by pushing back genetically manipulated food and agricultural products",
said Schelander.

for further information:
Matthias Schickhofer, Greenpeace Austria
Tel: ++43-1-7130061-44 or ++43-664-3386503 (mobile phone)
Attila Cerman, Greenpeace Austria
Tel: ++43-1-7130061-58 or ++43-663-9208162 (mobile phone)
Cindy Baxter, Greenpeace International, Tel: ++31-20-5236279

notes to the editors:

1) The referendum against genetical engineering was organised
and supported by a broad coalition of environmental and animal
protection organisations, Austrian farmers and parts of the
catholic church of Austria. It was up for signing between
April 7 - April 14:

NO GENETICALLY MANIPULATED FOOD
Ban of the production, import and sale of genetically manipulated food
and agricultural products in Austria.

NO GMO RELEASES IN AUSTRIA
Ban of the release of genetically manipulated plants, animals and
microorganisms.

NO PATENTING OF LIFE
Ban of the patenting of living beings.

2) According to Austrian law, every referendum that receives
more than 100,000 signatures has to be dealt with by the parliament
within one year. The most successful referendum in the
past was against the construction of the
Vienna Conference Centre in 1982
(1,361,562 signatures).

3) There are 5.76 million voters in Austria.

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>


Date: Tue, 15 Apr 1997 21:39:50 -0700
>From: Andrew Gach <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Animal communication
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
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Researcher believes animals have a lot to say

San Francisco Examiner

SAN FRANCISCO (April 15, 1997 01:02 a.m. EDT) -- Unlike humans, animals
lack sophisticated languages -- but that doesn't mean they aren't saying
anything.

According to legend, Eskimos have hundreds of different words for
"snow." Likewise, animals have multiple ways of crying "Help!" that vary
according to the type of threat, a top scientist says. Certain monkeys
even know how to lie, and for the same reason that many humans lie --
for sex, says researcher Peter Marler.

In Africa, vervet monkeys utter one type of cry when threatened by a
snake; another when attacked by a leopard; and yet another when
assaulted by an eagle, said Marler, who works at the University of
California-Davis.

That way, Marler explained at a language conference Saturday at the
California Academy of Sciences, their fellow vervets will know where to
hide: say, in a tree, far above the snake; or in a bush, where the eagle
can't reach them.

Also, field researchers in Africa have observed male vervet monkeys
attracting females by uttering the vervet word for "food," Marler said.

Just as some human females discover that their blind date's "BMW" is a
rusting Chevy and his "high-powered job" is the night shift at Arby's,
the female vervet rushes up to the male and discovers the "food" is a
twig or leaf.

Marler is "the doyen of animal communication research," said the
scientist who introduced him, Nina G. Jablonski, chair of anthropology
at the academy.

For centuries, scientists have wondered whether the animal world's
cacophony of clucks, tweets, woofs, meows and cock-a-doodle-doos are
primitive forms of language.

Or are they just meaningless grunts, peeps and squeals that creatures
utter as automatically and helplessly as a wind-up doll's plea to
"Change me"? Many animal lovers prefer to believe the former; animal
"behaviorists," the latter.

The contentious science of "animal communication" peaked in the 1970s.
Back then, scientists claimed they had trained primates how to
communicate with sign language.

But critics analyzed videotapes of the training sessions and claimed the
primates didn't really "understand" what they were "saying." Afterward,
the field withered and federal research funds largely dried up.

Nowadays, most animal communication experts' goals are far more modest.
Instead of trying to "talk" via sign language with animals, they
passively observe animals in the laboratory or the field and tape-record
their utterances.

What if the animals are, so to speak, tongue-tied? Well, like movie
Nazis, the scientists have "vays of making zem talk." Nice, harmless
ways, that is.

For example, scientists have startled a chicken into squawking the
chickenish cry of "Hawk!" by placing a TV set over its head, then
showing a videotape of a hawk attack.

In the field, researchers play tape recordings of vervet monkey cries to
see how these affect real monkeys. For example, they'll play a vervet
monkey cry that, translated into human English, means "Look out! Snake!"
Startled, the real-life monkeys stand on their hind feet and look around
for snakes.

And when the scientists play a cry that is monkey-speak for "Look out!
Eagle!", the real-life monkeys hide in a bush where the eagle can't
reach them.

Such experiments offer "great, compelling hints" that the monkeys' cries
aren't simply dumb reflexes, Marler said. Rather, they're the equivalent
of human words that refer to specific objects in the environment, Marler
says.

It raises the $64,000 question: If certain animals utter "words," can
they assemble those words into "sentences"?

This is "the most difficult (issue in animal communication research),
the one I feel most timid in approaching," Marler acknowledged. On the
one hand, he is "virtually certain" there is no evidence that animals
can assemble words into sentences.

On the other hand, tape recordings of certain bird calls show they
contain an intricate internal structure. That structure includes "a
simple library of six (musical) note types" that the bird rearranges
into a complex variety of songs, he said.

In other words, he joked, animal "talk" isn't totally explained by what
a colleague scorns as "the GOP theory" -- a theory that animal
utterances are just "grunts of pain."
Date: Tue, 15 Apr 1997 21:43:07 -0700
>From: Andrew Gach <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Science and the bottom line
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
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Researchers say drug company blocked publication of unfavorable study

The Associated Press

CHICAGO (April 15, 1997 5:25 p.m. EDT) -- For more than six years, a
drug manufacturer suppressed research that could have helped an
estimated 8 million Americans save $356 million a year by using cheaper
alternatives to the company's synthetic thyroid hormone.

Knoll Pharmaceutical Co. finally threatened to sue to halt publication
of a study that could topple its near-monopoly on the $600 million
retail market for the drug, the study's lead author told The Journal of
the American Medical Association. The journal published the research on
Wednesday for the first time.

Knoll said it had scientific objections to the study.

With the drug industry spending millions each year on medical studies,
the episode raises troubling questions about the companies' influence
over research findings on which their profits may depend.

"We don't know whether things have been locked up in laboratories that
could save lives," said Dr. David Blumenthal of Massachusetts General
Hospital. "That is probably overdramatic, but I do think there is
probably some delaying ... slowing the progress of science."

Knoll's product, Synthroid, controls 85 percent of the market for
synthetic thyroid hormone, used by people whose thyroid glands have been
damaged by disease or have been surgically removed.

Thyroid hormones regulate metabolism, the chemical activity in cells
that releases energy from nutrients or fuels the manufacture of other
substances, such as proteins.

Synthroid dominates the market in part because it was the first
synthetic thyroid hormone. Natural thyroid extracts had been marketed
for years before federal rules required a scientific benchmark for the
drugs' effectiveness.

In 1987, Synthroid's manufacturer -- at the time, Flint Laboratories --
commissioned a study of the drug. Betty J. Dong, a pharmacist at the
University of California at San Francisco who had published findings
suggesting Synthroid might be superior, was hired to compare Synthroid
to three other,
similar drugs.

Her study showed clearly that the cheaper competitors -- one brand-name
drug and two generics -- worked just as well as Synthroid for thyroid
deficiency.

Over the next four years, the company tried to discredit the study and
prevent its publication, the journal said in an editorial.

After demands for revisions and a university investigation that found no
problems with the work, the study was sent to the journal and slated for
publication in January 1995.

Twelve days before it was to appear, Dong suddenly withdrew the
manuscript, saying Knoll had threatened to sue because her contract
prohibited publication without the manufacturer's OK.

The company has admantly denied making such threats but said it withheld
its permission because of scientific objections to the study.

"It did not meet the requirements of a valid study, which include the
proper selection of patients, appropriate testing methods and control of
drug dosage," Knoll said in a statement this week.

The manufacturer still faults the study but agreed to publication,
partly at the urging of the Food and Drug Administration and of former
U.S. Health Secretary Dr. Louis Sullivan, who is on Knoll's board, the
editorial said. JAMA had five outside experts review the work and judged
it sound.

Synthroid costs two to three times as much as its competitors. At a
Walgreen's drug store in Chicago this week, 100 tablets of a typical
daily dose of Synthroid cost $22.99. The same amount
of Levoxyl, a brand-name alternative, cost $6.99. At those prices, a
year's supply of Synthroid would be $83.91 and of Levoxyl would be
$25.51.

Dong and university officials declined to be interviewed, but she and
her colleagues said in a letter to the journal, "The difficult, sobering
and painful lessons learned should be remembered by all when
collaborations between industry and academia occur."

The incident is hardly unique, according to another study in Wednesday's
journal. About one in 20 faculty members at universities that do
life-science research said publication of their research has been
delayed for months when it yielded "undesired results."

Consumer medical advocate Dr. Sidney M. Wolfe said those results are
terrifying.

"Much of this is derivative of this huge profit motive that these
companies have," said Wolfe, director of Public Citizen's Health
Research Group in Washington. "Everyone thinks that because they're in
the health-care area ... they really operate by different standards, and
they don't."
Date: Tue, 15 Apr 1997 21:48:53 -0700
>From: Andrew Gach <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Animal systems
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
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Chemicals in coffee aroma may prevent disease, researcher says

The Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO (April 15, 1997 00:55 a.m. EDT) -- What makes that morning
whiff of coffee so alluring? It could be your nose telling you, "Drink
up, it's good for."

A University of California-Davis chemist found that beguiling smell of
freshly brewed coffee is caused in part by chemicals that form potent
cancer-fighting antioxidants.

Individually, the chemicals are not potent. But when combined, as in
brewed coffee, the activity increases and is comparable to antioxidants
found in fruits and vegetables.

Takayuki Shibamoto said his preliminary study shows that chemicals in
fresh-brewed coffee might be equal to the amount found in three oranges.

"That's not a very scientific comparison, but it makes it easier to
understand," said Shibamoto, who presented his findings Monday at the
national meeting of the American Chemical Society.

Shibamoto cautioned that the chemicals detectable in coffee's aroma
escape rapidly into the air. "You have to drink it in about 20 minutes
after it is brewed," he said.

Shibamoto warned that the research is preliminary, restricted to
test-tube analysis. If he gets funding, he hopes to take a look at how
animals might be affected by coffee.

Sara Risch, a Chicago-based consultant who has studied antioxidants and
holds a doctorate in food science, called Shibamoto's work "an exciting
start."

"It's fascinating that he's found a new category of compounds that can
serve as antioxidants," she said. "If there's a caution, it's that this
is a laboratory study. The next step is to find out if there is truly
any biological activity -- if you take it into an animal system, do we
still see the antioxidant activity?"

A UC-Davis chemist for 18 years, Shibamoto began studying antioxidants
more than a decade ago.  He decided to examine possible health benefits
of coffee after being intrigued by the fact that many of the world's
cultures have been drinking it for ages.

"That got me started," said Shibamoto, whose research was done with
university funding. "So many other researchers have studied the toxicity
of coffee -- they gave the negative and undesirable effect.  I began
thinking there must be some beneficial effect we are getting from
coffee."

==================================================
Unscientific minds like yours and mine will think that the best way to
find out whether coffee aroma confers health benefits is by doing an
epidemiological study of people who drink fresh brewed coffee and people
who don't.

Not so with the vivisectors.  For them, the next step is always to
take it "into an animal system" - ignoring the fact that success
or failure in rodent studies will prove nothing about the effects in
humans.

Andy
Date: Wed, 16 Apr 1997 01:32:57 -0700 (PDT)
>From: David J Knowles <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: [UK/HK] Marine 'fired at rat' during secret mission
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
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>From The Electronic Telegraph - Wednesday, April 16th,  1997

Marine 'fired at rat' during secret mission
By Tim Butcher, Defence Correspondent


A ROYAL Marine serving in Hong Kong shot at a rat while on an undercover
mission, a court martial hearing was told yesterday.

Cpl Steven Leech faces two charges of negligence after firing his Browning
9mm pistol during the secret operation. "Leech said words to the effect that
he was fed up with the rat and was going to take it out," Lt Cdr Mark
Emerton, prosecuting, told the hearing at HMS
Nelson in Portsmouth. "At this point there was a loud bang and Leech said
something like 'I have either blown it away or missed it by miles'."

The hearing was told that Cpl Leech, 27, who served with 45 Commando Royal
Marines, based at Arbroath in Scotland, was taking part in an operation to
monitor smuggling between Hong Kong and China. Traffic in cars stolen in the
colony and shipped illegally into the People's Republic was the target of an
anti-smuggling unit made up of members of the Armed Forces.

Lt Cdr Emerton said Cpl Leech was with another Royal Marine and two Gurkhas
in an observation post deep in the New Territories when the incident
happened last August. "The post was on a ledge on the side of a hill that
overlooked a location they were watching," he said.

"The other Marine, Philip Harris, said in his statement that in the
afternoon of the next day he heard the noise of the grab bag where the guns
were kept being opened and he saw Leech with a 9mm pistol in his hand. It
was the noise of Leech cocking the pistol that drew his attention."

He then read from the statement from one of the Gurkhas, which said: "Leech
was holding the pistol with both hands, taking aim at a bush in front of
them. He heard Leech repeating the word 'rat' and then 'rat' again." The
hearing was told that Cpl Leech did not report the shot and it was
discovered only later when the weapons were inspected.

Cpl Leech told Royal Navy investigators that he shot at the rat because he
thought that it posed a health risk. He said that the incident was reported
immediately but he suggested that it might not have been logged because of a
language difficulty with the Gurkha radio operators.

Cpl Leech, who has been in the Royal Marines for 11 years and served in
Ulster and Hong Kong, denies the charges.

The hearing is expected to end today.

⌐ Copyright Telegraph Group Limited 1997.

Date: Wed, 16 Apr 1997 01:32:59 -0700 (PDT)
>From: David J Knowles <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: [US] Hockey fans asked not to throw octupus
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

[Always thought some hockey fans were strange]

According to a report on tonight's BCTV's News Hour Final, fans of the
Detroit Redwings National Hockey League team have been asked by team
officials not to throw octupuses (or should that be octupi) onto the ice
during the Stanley Cup play-offs.

The throwing of a dead octpus has been done fans by of the Redwings since
1952, but new regulations brought in by the NHL only permit the throwing of
hats after a hat-trick. Any other odjects will result in a two minute
penalty for the whole of the home team.

Redwing officials have brought in sniffer dogs in order to prevent the
octopses being brought in to the arena.



Date: Wed, 16 Apr 1997 01:32:55 -0700 (PDT)
>From: David J Knowles <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: [UK] MoD joins alliance to save the black grouse
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
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>From The Electronic Telegraph - Wednesday, April 16th,  1997

MoD joins alliance to save the black grouse
By Charles Clover, Environment Editor

A PLAN to halt the decline of the black grouse was launched by conservation
groups and the Ministry of Defence yesterday.

Numbers have decreased from 25,000 cocks in the 1980s to 6,500, according to
the Game Conservancy Trust and the Royal Society for the Protection of
Birds. This amounts to a fall of 10 per cent a year.

The females, known as greyhens, are harder to count than the noisier cocks
at their display sites, or leks but the number of cocks roughly equates with
breeding pairs.

Dr David Baines, the Game Conservancy Trust's head of woodland and grouse
research, said the decrease represented only part of a  "monstrous" decline
from when the black grouse, one of the most spectacular moorland birds, was
an abundant species in the last
century.

It was found in heathland all over southern England. In the 1860s, 4,500
birds were shot in one year on one of the Duke of Buccleuch's Scottish estates.

The reason for the black grouse's accelerated decline in recent years, said
Dr Baines, was overgrazing on the moors as a result of EU policies which pay
farmers by the head of sheep. "This has been accruing for two decades. Now
the sheep have had the plants the grouse like to eat, the trees they use as
shelter from the snow and the habitat for the insects they eat and use to
feed their young."

The new project, which has the backing of 10 landowners, including the
Ministry of Defence, English Nature and Forestry Enterprise, will employ a
full-time project officer in the black grouse's last English stronghold, the
North Pennine moors of Co Durham, Northumberland,
Yorkshire and Cumbria.

John Barrett, of English Nature, said: "We hope the project will identify
positive measures which will enhance the status of black grouse."

The landowners involved are willing to use the sums available under
Government heather improvement schemes - ú25 for each sheep removed. This
compares with payments of ú35 per sheep kept on the hill.

⌐ Copyright Telegraph Group Limited 1997.

Date: Wed, 16 Apr 1997 01:33:00 -0700 (PDT)
>From: David J Knowles <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: [CA] 'Wild kingdom' day has premier, MLA dodging animals
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
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>From The Vancouver Sun - Tuesday, April 15th, 1997

By Jim Beatty
Sun Legislature Bureau

VICTORIA - From stampeding horses to suicidal birds, the animal world had it
in for New Democrats [the governing party in B.C.] on Monday.

In the morning, a horse pulling a carriage in quaint Victoria charged over
the legislature lawn and rammed a van owned by MLA [Member of te Legislative
Assembly, or provincial MP]. Then, only hours later, a seagull on a death
mission threatened to down the helicopter taking premier Glen Clark to the
capital from Vancouver's harbor.

The latter might have been disastrous. The helicopter, owned by Helijet
Airways, did some sky-high manoeuvring - including an uncomfortably quick
turn over English Bay - to aviod the seagull, but to no avail.

The bird hit the front fuselage and, well, exploded.

"It sounded like a gunshot," said Clark, who was reading the paper when the
bird was struck. "I was shocked."

Covered in feathers and seagull parts, the helicopter landed at Vancouver's
International Airport to be cleaned and to ensure  no debris was caught in
the engine.

"It looks worse than it is," said Helijet operations manager Gordon Jones,
adding aircraft often strike birds, although helicopter strikes are more rare.

Most birds are drawn away by the downdraft, Jones said.

Earlier in the day, Randell (MLA for Burnaby-Edmonds) was clearing branches
and debris from his Dodge Caravan after the horse's rampage.

"The horse just ran amok...It ran across the lawn and knocked all the
branches over and just pushed in the hood," said Randell, recounting what
police had told him.

"I couldn't believe the horse had hit the car right there in the parking lot."

Owner Bruce Wright, of Princess Black Beauty Carriage Tours, said the horse
was spooked when a passerby extended an automatic umbrella.

"We were training the horse and it just bolted," he said. He said the animal
only stopped after it hit some small trees in front of Randell's vehicle.

No passengers were in the carriage.

With the horse uninjured and back at a nearby farm, the seagull was the
day's only casualty.

Date: Wed, 16 Apr 1997 01:33:03 -0700 (PDT)
>From: David J Knowles <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: [CA] 'Ifs' drive new animal-abuse punishment
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

[This just about sums up the attitude of the Canadian government - at all
levels - towards even animal welfare.]

>From The Vancouver Sun - Tuesday, April 15th, 1997

By Nicholas Read - posted with permission of author

IF the federal Liberals win the next election, IF they have sufficient
political will and IF various interested parties can agree to a change in
the wording, it's possible that the Canadian Criminal Code may be ammended
to make it easier to punish abusers of animals.

That's a lot of ifs and, even if they were eliminated as pre-conditions,
there would be no guarentee that anything would change.

This is not Europe.

Canadian politicians are notoriously backward where animal issues are
concerned; so much so that even when there is massive public support for an
intiative, Candian officials usually can be counted on to find a way to keep
things rooted in the past. For example, while 80 per cent of Canadians want
the leghold trap banned, the government continues to fight for its use in
discussions with the European Union. A long-promised Endangered Species Act,
supported by 90 per cent of Canadians, is still waiting to be debated in the
House and may well die before the next election.

Nevertheless there is hope. Documents I obtained under access-to-infromation
legislation show that the feds are at least considering updating the
Criminal Code to reflect a changing public attitude to animal protection.

Among the points addressed are:

-An increase in the maximum jail sentence for offenders to five years from
six-months.
-The inclusion of stray animals in the law. Currently, it applies only to
animals with owners.
-The combination of existing "archaic and redundant" regulations into a
single, comprehensive section.

But for change to be really effective, more has to be done. Currently, it's
almost impossible to prosecute anyone accused of being cruel to animals
under section 442 of the Criminal Code because of three obstructive words:
"wilful", "unreasonable" and "unnecessary".

They appear in the following clause: "Cruelty, in relation to any animal,
means the wilful infliction upon the animal of pain or suffering that in its
kind or degree, or in its object, or in the circumstancesin which it is
inflicted, is unreasonable or unnecessary."

"But how can anyone prove an act of cruelty is wilful?" humane society
workers ask again and again. And who's to say what's unreasonable or
unnecessary ? Setting an animal on fire in a laboratory can be deemed
necessary if the experimenter says it is.

So, for any real progress to be made, those words have to go.

Will they? Jennifer Lang, communications assistant to Justice Minister Alan
Rock, says it's too soon to say. This project is only at its most
preliminary stage, she says,  so in fact., it's too soon to say much of
anything.

What's more, concerned parties have to be consulted before any any firm
change in wording can be approved.

For example, the Fur Institute of Canada has already expressed concern that
changes to the code could threaten standard fur industry practices. These
include a trapper allowing an animal to remain in a steel-jawed trap for
five continuous days and nights, or a fur farmer  keeping a bobcat or lynx
locked in a cage scarcely bigger than it is until it is gassed or
electrocuted for its pelt.

Last July, the institute sent a letter to the government wanting assurances
that any plans to ammend the code would not affect trapping or hunting. It
said the inclusion of the words "wild animals" in  the code and changing the
definition of animal "to mean any living non-human vertebrate" would be "of
very real concern to us."

It needn't have worried. Justice department lawyer Mark Berlin made that
clear in an interview in which he said that any changes wouldn't affect
"legitimate, legal animal-use industries."

Unfortunately, it's precicisely in these industries - intensive farming,
trapping and vivisection, among them  - that the abuse of animals is most
prevalent.

Stll, a properly amended law would help. Recently, an Ottawa couple were
convicted of abandoning their dogs for two weeks after they moved out of
their house. One dog had to be euthanized when it was discovered starving in
the basement; the other was found frozen to death chained to its doghouse.

Their punishment? A slap on the wrist: Three years probation and a
prohibition against owning animals for two years.

Frances Rosenburg, exective director of the 200,000-member Canadian
Federation of Humane Societies, says her society has spent more than 10
years trying to persuade the government to amend the code. Thousands of
letters and signatures on petitions have been sent in support of such a
change. All that's happened is an expression from the government of a
willingness to talk.

But it's a start. A tentative beginning. And given the sorry state of animal
welfare in ths country, that, sadly, is all she can hold on to for now.




Date: Wed, 16 Apr 1997 01:33:06 -0700 (PDT)
>From: David J Knowles <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Fwd: [CA] Vancouver beluga transfer
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

The following is posted on behalf of Annelise Sorg (Whalesave/Coalition For
No Whales in Captivity. Please reply direct to her. Thanks]

>Date: Tue, 15 Apr 1997 23:57:50 -0800
>To: [e-mail], [e-mail], [e-mail],
>        [e-mail], [e-mail], [e-mail],
>        [e-mail], [e-mail], [e-mail],
>        [e-mail], [e-mail], [e-mail],
>        [e-mail], [e-mail], [e-mail],
>        [e-mail]
>From: WhaleSave <[e-mail]>
>Subject: Vancouver beluga transfer
>
>Following is our response to today's Vancouver Aquarium press release.
>Needless to say, we welcome any ideas and information you can provide.
>Thanks.  //  Annelise
>
 >FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEApril 15, 1997
>
>AQUARIUM'S PROPOSAL VIOLATES
>CANADA'S BELUGA EXPORT BAN
>
>The Vancouver Aquarium announced today in a press release that it has
>applied for export permits to transfer a male beluga called Nanuq, to Sea
>World in San Diego on a two-year  breeding loan.  The Coalition For No
>Whales in Captivity believes this is illegal.
>
>The Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) banned the export of
>wild-caught belugas in 1992.  The ban came shortly after the Shed Aquarium
>in Chicago captured and killed two of four Canadian whales by injecting
>them with a roundworm vaccine made for cattle.
>
>The DFO must reject the aquarium's export permit application and disallow
>the proposed inhumane back-and-forth transfer of Nanuq to the United
>States.  The ban on exportation of wild-caught Canadian beluga whales
>should apply to *all* wild-caught belugas, whether they were caught ten
>days or ten years ago.
>
>Canadian whales should stay in Canada.  Instead of sending beluga whales to
>profit the US Anhauser Busch/Sea World Corporation, the whales should be
>scientifically introduced into a natural sea pen in Nova Scotia.  The
>belugas could then retire in a natural environment and the hard-pressed
>local economy could benefit from increased tourism.
>
>The Toronto-based group Return To The Wild is co-ordinating efforts with
>biologists and conservation agencies to develop a beluga retirement site in
>the pristine ocean waters of the Bras D'Or Lakes in Cape Breton, Nova
>Scotia.  In a September 1996 report to the Vancouver Park Board proposing
>the phase-out of the aquarium's whale exhibits, Vancouver marine mammal
>biologist Dr. Peter Watts wrote "Certain inlets in Bras D'Or, which could
>be netted off, experience ice cover during the winter, which would
>especially suit them for use by belugas.  Further, the absence of native
>marine mammals in Bras D'Or effectively eliminates any fear of transmitting
>disease to wild populations.".  According to Canada's world renowned beluga
>expert Dr. Pierre Beland, the Bras D'Or project has merit.
>
>The Vancouver Aquarium's claim that Nanuq's transfer to a show tank will
>aid conservation research is ludicrous.  In 20 years of keeping beluga
>whales in captivity, the Vancouver Aquarium has not published a single
>scientific paper on the species.  The aquarium should aid Canadian
>conservation efforts by participating in the Bras D'Or project, instead of
>being supportive of California's Sea World.
>
>For more information, please contact:
>Annelise Sorg
>Director
>Coalition For No Whales In Captivity
>102-1365 West Fourth Avenue
>Vancouver, B.C. V6H 3Y8
>Canada
>Tel. [phone]
>E-mail <[e-mail]>
>
>
>
>

Date: Wed, 16 Apr 1997 19:53:50 +0800 (SST)
>From: Vadivu Govind <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail], [e-mail]
Subject: (CN) Restaurants serving snake multiplying in Shanghai
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"




 > The Star Online

                   Wednesday, April 16, 1997

                   Restaurants serving snake multiplying in Shanghai
                   Focus

                   By Leu Siew Ying

                   SHANGHAI: Pit vipers, protected cobras, freshwater
                   snakes, sea snakes ù you name it and 6,000 specialised
                   restaurants here will bring it to your table.

                   Snake restaurants have multiplied here, serving up 4,000
                   tonnes of the exotic fare that connoisseurs say tastes
                   like chicken meat and has aphrodisiac and medicinal
                   values.

                   But almost all the restaurants, from small family
                   operations to large enterprises, were operating
                   illegally, said the latest issue of Life Weekly.

                   The report said a snake market in Tongchuan Road here
                   was the biggest supplier of the reptiles, with one
                   seller delivering at least two tonnes of snakes to
                   restaurants daily.

                   In this market, 10 species including sea snakes,
                   freshwater snakes, cobras and long-noded pit vipers were
                   kept in iron baskets. Only boas, not native to China,
                   are missing.

                   Cobra costs 114 yuan (RM34.86) per kg and one kg of pit
                   vipers costs 360 yuan (RM110).

                   If customers do not find exactly what they want, they
                   can always try the seven other snake markets around the
                   city, including in the Pudong New Area development zone.

                   Snake eating first became popular in southern Guangdong
                   province but has caught on among Shanghainese.

                   Restaurants are springing up everywhere but competition
                   is so keen they fight it out through advertisements.

                   Huimin Lao Mi Snake Island, which opened in February,
                   bought a front page advertisement in the Liberation
                   Daily saying the quality of its snake meat was assured
                   and the restaurant was supervised by the Xuhui district
                   consumers association.

                   The restaurant charges 316 yuan (RM96.63) for one kg of
                   cobra, 576 yuan (RM176.13) for one kg of pit viper and
                   76 yuan (RM23.24) for one kg of water snake.

                   Customers pack its lobby every night waiting for seats,
                   while snakes writhe nearby in glass tanks.

                   More than 90 per cent of the snakes that end up on
                   dinner tables here have slithered their way from the
                   mountains of Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Sichuan and Hunan
                   provinces.

                   Officials from the Shanghai Wildlife Protection
                   Administration Bureau said snake restaurants should have
                   two licences, but 99.9 per cent of the restaurants had
                   no licences at all.

                   Provincial snake businessmen, who had obtained the
                   licences issued by their own provincial departments,
                   were not licensed by local authorities here to do
                   business here, the officials said.

                   May to October is the peak period for eating snakes
                   because they are more abundant in the wild and the meat,
                   blood, gall bladder and skin are believed to have a
                   cooling effect and are good for the complexion and the
                   sex drive. ù AFP



Date: Wed, 16 Apr 1997 19:54:06 +0800 (SST)
>From: Vadivu Govind <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (IN) Indian animal rightists demonstrate for cows
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"



                             [THE HINDU]

                     Wednesday, April 16, 1997
                          SECTION: Regional

              Police lathicharge animal rights activists
              Date: 16-04-1997 :: Pg: 06 :: Col: d
              By Our Staff Reporter
              BANGALORE, April 15.



              Police resorted to lathicharge and burst teargas shells
              to disperse a mob at the Yelahanka Police Station here
              today. The demonstrators were demanding to know the
              whereabouts of about 60 cows, allegedly being taken to
              slaughter houses.

              The activists of Akhil Karnataka Pranidaya Sangha (AKPS)
              had intercepted three lorries packed with cattle, some
              of which bore injuries, near the police station in the
              early hours of today. They were allegedly being
              transported to slaughter houses on the eve of Bakrid.

              However, high drama prevailed when some ``miscreants''
              allegedly assaulted the activists while the animals were
              being taken to an ashram and hijacked the animal-laden
              vehicles.

              Following this, the AKPS activists organised a dharna in
              front of the police station, demanding that the animals
              be brought back and handed over to them.

              The AKPS activists, ``acting on a clue,'' had kept a
              watch on the incoming vehicles at Yelahanka since
              midnight. During morning the activists intercepted three
              lorries, in which the animals were ``packed like cotton
              bales.'' At least one of the cattle had died due to
              suffocation and a few others bore deep cut wounds on
              different parts of their bodies, it is stated. One of
              the lorries was said to be stinking because of the
              oozing blood from the injured cows, infested with flies.

              Mr. Sunil of the AKPS said the activists were not
              allowed to feed the animals nor was any treatment given
              to them.

              Later, it was decided to take the cattle to Vijayapura
              Ahsram under police protection, which were accompanied
              by some of the activists. But a group of men suddenly
              stopped the cavalcade, it is said, and assaulted the
              activists and drove the vehicles away.

              The angry activists of the AKPS and their supporters,
              numbering around 350, resorted to ``rasta roko'' in
              front of the police station. The crowd indulged in
              stone-throwing and burnt a maruti van. Mr. Ananthkumar,
              BJP MP, sought action against the policemen alleging
              ``dereliction of duty'' in saving the cows.

              Tension subsided when Mr. Revanasiddhaiah, Commissioner
              of Police, and Mr. Kasturirangan, Additional
              Commissioner of Police (Law and Order), assured the
              agitators to trace the lorries and animals and initiate
              action against the police, if found guilty.



Date: Wed, 16 Apr 1997 19:54:12 +0800 (SST)
>From: Vadivu Govind <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (IN) Experts flay claims over tiger population
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"



                             [THE HINDU]

                     Wednesday, April 16, 1997
                          SECTION: National

              Experts flay claims over tiger population
              Date: 16-04-1997 :: Pg: 16 :: Col: a
              By Our Staff Correspondent
              BHOPAL, April 15.

              Wildlife experts have lashed out at the Madhya Pradesh
              Forest department authorities for attempting to project
              through TV and newspaper reports that the tiger
              population has increased in the State even before the
              tiger census began earlier this month.

              Mr. Valmik Thapar, who is a member of the Project Tiger
              Steering Committee, MP Tiger State Committee and also
              IUCN-Cat Specialist Group, has written to the Union
              Minister for Environment and Forests expressing dismay
              over attempts by the State Forest Department authorities
              to speculate on the tiger population at a premature
              stage. Tigers are being counted across the country and
              it is only by the end of this year that some indicators
              about the health of the tiger population would be
              available, he has emphasised through his letter to the
              Union Environment Minister.

              He has demanded that all State Wildlife Wardens be
              instructed to not come out with any indicators or
              figures till the All-India Tiger Estimation is over.

              When approached for comments, publisher and editor of
              ``Sanctuary,'' Mr. Bittu Sahgal - who is also a member
              of the Project Tiger Steering Committee and Madhya
              Pradesh Tiger State Committee - termed it as an
              ``unhealthy development''.

              This goes against the directives of Project Tiger, he
              said and added that instead of the week-long census
              operation, an exercise should be conducted round the
              year keep tabs on the tiger population and this should
              be done in close coordination with scientific groups
              that can simultaneously help assess whether or not
              adequate prey-base is available to support the tiger
              population.

              He even went to the extent of saying that it had been
              ''painfully`` noticed that the State forest department
              authorities were using Tiger Census to cover up their
              failure when it came to protecting tiger population.

              The week-long census operation began in Madhya Pradesh
              on April 4 amid fears that certain attempts might be
              made by the concerned authorities to cook up statistics
              and fudge tiger figures by manipulating the tracing of
              pug marks and collecting other related evidence by the
              forest employees. Meanwhile, an experts group has
              already recommended, at the Government of India level,
              an alternative approach to the estimation of tiger and
              prey population.

              It has been pointed out that research on population
              estimation techniques applicable to large mammals has
              now conclusively established the fact that approaches
              based on the concept of ''sampling`` are more rigorous,
              reliable, replicable and cost efficient as compared to
              earlier approaches based on total counts.

              It has been suggested that there should be a mapping of
              tiger distribution once a year by the forest department
              staff and the park authorities should not be asked to
              come up with exact numbers of either tigers or prey.

Date: Wed, 16 Apr 1997 19:54:21 +0800 (SST)
>From: Vadivu Govind <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail], [e-mail]
Subject: (SG) 35 mosques forced to cancel ritual
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"



> The Straits times
     APR 16 1997

     35 mosques forced to cancel ritual

By Indrani Nadarajah and Ting Siew Lee

     MADAM Maryulis Marlian had been looking forward to the ritual
     sheep sacrifice, or korban, that was due to take place at the
     Sultan Mosque on Friday, Hari Raya Haji.

     This was the first time that the mosque was to have this ritual
     and she and 10 other women were to cook for about 30 needy
     families

     So, she was shocked yesterday, when Muis, the Islamic Religious
     Council of Singapore, said that korban would be cancelled at the
     Sultan Mosque and 34 other mosques this year.

     Muis said the animals could not be shipped in on time. About
     3,500 Muslims will be affected.

     "We were so looking forward to preparing mutton curry and meat
     stew for needy families as well as for visitors. We had bought
     all the ingredients like onions, ginger and garlic," explained
     Madam Maryulis, 42, a canteen operator who also heads the
     mosque's women's committee.

     The animals were to have been slaughtered to provide the meat.

     This is the first time this has occurred since 1992, when Muis
     took over bringing in animals for Hari Raya Haji. It last
     happened in 1991, said Muis secretary Syed Haroon Aljunied. But
     one of the 35 mosques, the Hasanah Mosque will be getting 200
     sheep from an importer though they had ordered only 50.

     For 37 other mosques which had arranged on their own to have the
     animals shipped in, the ritual will go on as scheduled this
     Friday.

     Muis president Maarof Salleh said at a press conference yesterday
     that Shafiq Halal Food Pte Ltd won the tender to provide 3,424
     sheep and 20 cows.

     On Monday, it told Muis it had problems shipping the animals from
     Australia and could deliver on Friday at the earliest.

     "But this would be too late, because the animals wouldn't be able
     to meet the one-day quarantine requirements," said Mr Syed
     Haroon.

     Korban can only take place on the four days of Hari Raya Haji.

     "Basically, it reminds us that the prophet Abraham was prepared
     to sacrifice his own son for God, but because he was spared at
     the last minute, he offered up a sheep instead," he said.

     Yesterday, the Muslim religious head of Singapore, Mufti Syed Isa
     Mohamed, said that as korban was not obligatory, Muslims who had
     made the vow this year, could defer it till the following year.

     However, canteen operator Zubaidah Marlian, 38, had made plans to
     do it in Batam.

     "I have contacted some relatives there who will make the
     arrangements for me. It would be too disappointing not to do it,
     because of its religious significance." she said.

     All attempts by The Straits Times to contact Shafiq Halal Food
     yesterday for comment failed.

     The Australian company that is believed to be supplying the
     animals, Austral Asia Trading House, also could not be contacted
     yesterday.

     Muis will form a committee to look into this problem, and ensure
     it does not happen again.

Date: Wed, 16 Apr 1997 19:54:27 +0800 (SST)
>From: Vadivu Govind <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Some rams stray into gay baas: Scientists
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"



> The Straits Times, APR 16 1997

     Some rams stray into gay baas: Scientists


     LONDON -- Sheep farmers counting their lambs this spring may not
     have realised what a gamble they took last autumn, when they
     relied on their rams' naturally lustful instincts.

     A US study suggests that 10 per cent of rams are attracted only
     to other males and another 10 per cent have no interest in sex at
     all, said the Internet edition of the Times on Monday.

     Animal behaviour specialist Anne Perkins of Montana's Carroll
     College said: "If a ram does not pay attention to a female on
     heat within 30 minutes, then the chances are that it has very low
     libido, is asexual or male-orientated." She said that because
     rams were usually reared in all-male groups, even heterosexual
     ones often showed some homosexual behaviour. But as researchers
     have suspected that even this did not explain poor breeding
     performance, they ran an experiment in which two rams and two
     ewes on heat were tethered in a rectangular field, into which
     other rams were released. The scientists noted that the
     homosexual rams sniffed at but did not mount the females, but
     they responded to the urine of the males. If a tethered male
     urinated, they would smell that and proceed to mount them.

     The scientists found that about one in 10 rams was turned off by
     sex with animals of either gender, while others appeared to have
     a low sex drive or shyness and would perform only at night or if
     exposed to a female repeatedly.

Date: Wed, 16 Apr 1997 19:54:40 +0800 (SST)
>From: Vadivu Govind <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail], [e-mail]
Subject: More on THAT Fish Study
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"


Please note that I am posting news whether I find the contents agreeable or
not.
Those who are/know researchers/other scientists may want to find out more
about the study and perhaps write a rebuttal to the Journal and post it to
the list.

Vadivu
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------

> The Straits Times,
 APR 16 1997
Eating fish may curb heart attacks -- study


     Conducted among 1,822 workers in Chicago, it found an overall
     reduction of 42 per cent in deaths from heart attack among the
     fish-eaters over 30 years.

                     ---------------------------------

     A LARGE long-term study has found that men who eat 200 g or more
     of fish a week -- about the size of two beef patties -- are less
     likely than those who rarely eat fish to die of heart attacks.

     The finding, published in The New England Journal of Medicine,
     joins eight other studies that have linked a heart-protective
     effect with regular fish consumption.

     The study, conducted among 1,822 employees of Western Electric,
     in Chicago, found an overall reduction of 42 per cent in deaths
     from heart attack among the fish-eaters over a period of 30
     years.

     Most of that reduction was accounted for by a low rate of cardiac
     deaths that were not sudden, or those occurring more than three
     hours after the onset of a heart attack.

     The researchers, headed by Dr Martha Daviglus, a
     preventive-medicine specialist at Northwestern University Medical
     School, in Chicago, took into account dozens of other factors
     that could influence cardiac risk in the study participants,
     including the possibility that protection came not from eating
     the fish but also from the replacement of meat in the men's diet.

     No matter how the data were analysed, fish-eating was associated
     with a reduced risk of cardiac deaths.

     "The good news is that eating small amounts of fish -- amounts
     that can fit easily into all people's diets -- make a
     difference," Dr Daviglus said in an interview.

     Although the study did not record the kinds of fish consumed, she
     speculated that much of it was probably canned tuna and lean fish
     like flounder or cod.

     "From this study," she said, "we can say that eating small
     amounts of fish, even lean fish, is associated with protection
     against heart attacks."

     Dr Charles Hennekens of Brigham and Women's Hospital, in Boston,
     whose Physicians Health Study has also suggested that eating fish
     reduces cardiac risks, said: "The public should be reassured that
     there is likely to be a small to moderate benefit to eating fish
     twice a week."

     Still, he emphasised that the evidence to date is "suggestive but
     not conclusive and more research ought to be done on this".

     Dr Jeremiah Stamler, emeritus professor of preventive medicine at
     Northwestern and a co-author of the new report, pointed out that
     "we don't yet know the mechanism by which fish-eating protects
     against cardiac deaths".

     "It would be nice to know how it may be working," he said.

     Dr Stamler emphasised, however, that the findings "have nothing
     to do with popping capsules of fish oils, the long-term effects
     of which we know nothing".

     One shortcoming of the study and others like it is that
     information about the participants' diets was gathered at the
     beginning of the project and nothing is known about subsequent
     changes that might have occurred in the men's eating habits.

     But Dr Stamler said: "Despite changes in dietary patterns that
     have occurred in our country, the limited data we have indicates
     that people tend to continue to eat more or less the way they ate
     before." -- NYT

Date: Wed, 16 Apr 1997 22:12:32 +0800 (SST)
>From: Vadivu Govind <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (IN) New Indian Animal Rights Website
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"


The URL of the Beauty Without Cruelty, India website that Manoj referred to is

http://giaspn01.vsnl.net.in/~bwcindia/


Vadivu

Date: Thu, 17 Apr 1997 10:19:05 -0400
>From: allen schubert <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Connect with Action
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

EnviroLink Network, host of the Animal Rights Resource Site, as well as
this e-mail list, has a new feature designed for activists:

Connect with Action
http://www.envirolink.org/connect/

Right now, only one portion has content:  Tools for Activists

allen
Date: Wed, 16 Apr 1997 11:45:00 -0400 (EDT)
>From: Ming-Lee Yeh <[e-mail]>
To: allen schubert <[e-mail]>
Cc: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: (TW)PETA--PIGS BEATEN, ELECTROCUTED, AND BURIED ALIVE IN
TAIWAN
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII

Dear PETA and all friends,

Thank you for your support to the animals in Taiwan. The Life
Conservationists Association (LCA) in Taiwan very much appreciates what
you have done.

Acctually, President Lee is an expert in agriculture economy. As we
understand from all media, what he and his government is more considering
about how to rescue the pork markets rather than other issues related to
this disease. However, the experiences tells is that his government does
care about the international images of Taiwan. So we always believe that
international voice will help any animal rights activities within that
island.

All supports and voices are most appreciated. And we do wish the
international continues to support. In addition, we also want to know how
President Lee and his government respond your appeals. By this way, the
LCA is able to judge which strategy is more effective in the future.

Please let us know any response that you receive from Taiwanese
government. Thank you for your help!

Minglee Yeh
Representative in the US
Life Conservationists Association of Taiwan
[e-mail]
tel/fax/: 703-2041858



 On Wed, 16 Apr 1997, allen schubert wrote:

> from PETA news release page:
> ---------------------------------------------
> PIGS BEATEN, ELECTROCUTED, AND BURIED ALIVE IN TAIWAN
>                     PETA Appeals to President Lee to End Cruelty
>
>   For Immediate Release:
>   April 14, 1997
>                                       Contact:
>                                       Michael McGraw 757-622-7382, ext. 310
>
>
>   Taiwan -- The recent outbreak of hoof-and-mouth disease among pigs in
> Taiwan has sent the Taiwanese
>   government on a violent killing spree, with hundreds of thousands of pigs
> being cruelly beaten and
>   slaughtered in extremely painful ways in attempts to curb the epidemic.
>
>   Reports from Taiwan show soldiers bludgeoning pigs, crudely electrocuting
> them, or burying them alive in a
>   mass extermination campaign that may eventually include more than 2
> million pigs.
>
>   PETA has faxed an urgent request to Taiwan's President Lee, urging him to
> take immediate action to end
>   the torture and violent slaughter of the pigs and to guarantee the pigs
> are given a humane death at the very
>   least.
>
>   An estimated 900 million pigs are confined to intensive factory
> farms--where disease spreads rapidly
>   because of extreme overcrowding--in Taiwan.
>

Date: Thu, 17 Apr 1997 00:41:04 +0800 (SST)
>From: Vadivu Govind <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (TH) Wildlife Sanctuaries
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

                               April 16, 1997

                               [BANGKOK POST]

                            WILDLIFE SANCTUARIES

             Bid to stall management transfer scheme

             Environmentalists, academics resist Forestry
             plan

             Chakrit Ridmontri

             Academics and environmentalists want to delay a
             Forestry Department plan to hand over management
             of national parks and wildlife sanctuaries to
             regional forestry offices.

             "We should do something to delay the process, as
             the department has not carefully considered both
             the positive and negative points of the
             handover," said Surachet Chetthamas, a lecturer
             at the Faculty of Forestry, Kasetsart
             University.

             Sathit Sawinthorn, Forestry Department chief,
             has ordered the Natural Resource Conservation
             Office to submit to him on Friday the list of
             parks and sanctuaries to be handed over.

             The first batch will be made up of about 50
             forests being prepared to be set up as parks and
             sanctuaries.

             The go-ahead prompted a group of academics,
             environmentalists and some park officials
             dissenting from the plan to take action for fear
             that fertile forests in the country mostly
             remaining in the parks and sanctuaries would be
             adversely affected, because regional forestry
             offices lack skills in conservation work.

             "We have to inform Prime Minister Chavalit
             Yongchaiyudh and Agriculture Minister Chucheep
             Harnsawat about the negative effects of the
             plan, asking them to order the departmental
             chief to exchange views with us," said Mr
             Surachet, who was speaking at a meeting of
             opponents held recently at the faculty.

             Uthis Kutintara, another forestry lecturer, told
             participants to put pressure on the department
             chief to consider the plan at the national park
             and wildlife sanctuary committees chaired by the
             permanent secretary of the Agriculture Ministry
             and the minister.

             He said the committees, which comprise a number
             of forestry experts including NGOs, would enable
             the department to obtain a wide range of views
             regarding the positive and negative aspects of
             the plan so that it could make the right
             decision.

             Mr Sathit, meanwhile, said he had carefully
             considered the plan, saying he has assigned a
             working committee chaired by one of his deputies
             to gather information on both aspects from
             various concerned parties.

             "Any park official who wants to offer his
             opinion on the plan can inform the committee
             directly," he said, adding that the process was
             transparent.

             According to Mr Sathit, the plan is aimed at
             tightening the management of the parks and
             sanctuaries so as to get rid of corruption and
             to increase the ability to protect the forests.

             But opponents said regional forestry offices are
             too weak to prevent local influential people
             from encroaching on and poaching in preserved
             forests.

             They accused Mr Sathit of trying to keep away
             conservation officials to do conservation work
             in order to pave the way for tourism in the park
             and sanctuaries.


Article copyright Post Publishing Public Co., Ltd 1997
Reprinted for non-commercial use only.
Website: http://www.bangkokpost.net



Date: Wed, 16 Apr 1997 09:57:43 -0700 (PDT)
>From: Friends of Animals <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Connecticut AlertConnecticut Action Alert- Help Defeat Bill
  857  Connecticut Activists:  Friends of Animals needs your help to
  defeat Bill No. 857, which has already been approved by the
  Environment Committee and is likely to reach the General Assembly
  floor for a vote. Please contact your legislators today.  The bill
  would give the Commissioner of the Department of Environmental
  Protection carte blanche with regards to wildlife management.  It
  states that the Commissioner "...may destroy and dispose of any
  species which he determines to be undesirable..."   If the bill is
  passed it would do the following:  -Place absolute power in the hands
  of the DEP without the  benefit of broad public input.  It would allow
  the DEP to cater to hunters without the input of most citizens who
  insist on  being represented when wildlife policies are being debated
  and analyzed.  -Mute swans and other nongame species would lose
  protection. Since 1981, Friends of Animals has fought the DEP to keep
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"


Date: Wed, 16 Apr 1997 12:13:01 -0700
>From: [e-mail] (Peter  M. Ligotti)
To: [e-mail]
Subject: More Resources: Genetic Engineering of Food and Animals
Message-ID: <v01540b02af7ad4e66e67@[206.250.112.97]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

BOOKMARKS ON GENETIC ENGINEERING FOR THE WWW
(Compiled by Jim McNulty)

SOME GOOD STOP OFF POINTS WHEN BROWSING

http://web.its.smu.edu/~dmcnickl/miscell/pfcamp.html
Anti-food defamation laws in the USA

http://www.fairfield.com/wuebben/TM/genetic.html
Help to avert the dangers of GE food

http://www.netlink.de/gen/info.html
Combined Web Pages (SWEDISH)
Greenpeeace.NLP Pure Food Campaign .
THIS IS AN EXCELLENT SOURCE OF INFORMATION

http://www.t0.or.at/~global2000/gentech.html
GLOBAL 2000 in the German language,
but definitely worth getting a translator for.

http://www.newspage.com/NEWSPAGE
You can set Newspage to search the whole of the internet for you,
so you have a newspaper e-mail delivered everyday without having
to search; the only catch is $5 dollars a month. Mine is set with
six choices 1 Biotech Agriculture.2 Bio-tech Companies.  3.
Enviromental Regulations 4.Animal testing 5 Bio-Tech Medicine etc.
EXCELLENT SOURCE OF INFORMATION

http://www.greenpeace.org/
Greenpeace Homepage. Excellent, as you would expect.

http://www.greenpeace.org/~comms/cbio/geneng.html
Greenpeace Bio-tech
Information and Campaign Highlights

http://lcweb.loc.gov/  Library of Congress. Very useful tool when
needed. American Law and Constitution Reform is available here.

http://www.yahoo.com/
Yahoo; one of the best Internet Search Engines

http://www.reutershealth.com/ Reuters Health Information.
It has a good Search Engine that specializes in
Health issues worldwide.

http://www.netlink.de/gen/biopiracy.html
Swedish anti-biotech info service this article
covering Bio-Diversity

http://lcs.usatoday.com/news/court/nscot000.htm
Supreme Court Index.
Another excellent tool for information when needed

http://www.greenpeace.org/~comms/cbio/newsindx.html#geneng9
Another good source of info from Greenpeace on gentic engineering news.

http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/9604/13/agent_orange/index.html
CNN article about the 300,000 Vietnamese children Chemical War
Victims from the Vietnam War. Monsanto as one of the makers of
Agent Orange(Dioxin). They have not paid out compensation
owing to the Constitutional Protection they received
from the US Government. I myself accessed this article
when the picture of the vietnamese child Thoa was included
(I HAVE COPIES) IT HAS BEEN REMOVED. WHY?

http://www.rz.uni-frankfurt.de/~ecstein/gen/biofacts.html
Good article about Intellectual Property Rights.

http://www.reutershealth.com/news/search.html
Reuters News Service
has good Search engine to browse for up to date news.

http://www.monsanto.com/
>From those Loveable Folks At Monsanto.
Gives a bit of an insite into their sordid world.

http://ci.mond.org/9619/961910.html
Interesting Triple selection of
Web pages from Greenpeace and on the opposing sides
Monsanto and Soya Growers.

http://www.ag.uiuc.edu/~farnswor/
Sustainable Agriculture.

http://www.ag.uiuc.edu/~stratsoy/expert/resource.html
Converse with an expert on soya politics
http://www.agri-net.com/centralsoya/
Combined pages for growers
and exporters of Soya .(US)

http://catless.ncl.ac.uk/veg/Orgs/VegSocUK/Campaign/genetics.html
Vegetarian Society on Genetic Engineering

http://www.hrc.wmin.ac.uk/campaigns/ef/toxmut/bio.html
Earth First
(Devon)
Good articles on Genetic Engineering

http://www.hrc.wmin.ac.uk/campaigns/ef/toxmut/flavr.html#cflower
Earth First again with an excellent article about the
cauliflower mosaic virus.

http://www.cnn.com/SEARCH/index.html
CNN Searcher.
Good source of material available on health,
enviroment politics etc worldwide.

http://www.ornl.gov/TechResources/Trans/hmepg.html#info
Transgenic animals available for research

http://www.jax.org/resources/documents/pricelist/index.html
To order your transgenic animals for research
purposes, etc. here's the place.

http://www.hrc.wmin.ac.uk/campaigns/ef/toxmut/dsart.html
Earth First Toxic Mutants etc.

http://www.geocities.com/Athens/1527/
Pure Food Campaign Homepage
Excellent  campaign from Jeremy Rifkin and compadre's,
old adversaries of Genetic Engineering.

http://www.chicago.tribune.com/
Another US News Service but priceless to gauge things US.

http://www.natural-law-party.org.uk/ge_index.html
Natural Law Party.
Well presented auguments on all issues pertaining to the struggle.
John Fagan: one of the leading speakers on GE.

http://www.shef.ac.uk/uni/projects/doe/doe5.html
ACRE Information releases.

http://biosafety.ihe.be/GB/Leg_EurGB.html
Euro/British Legislation

http://www.fao.org/waicent/faoinfo/economic/esn/codex/codex.htm
Codex.
Very important issues decided by this commitee
appointed by GATT AND WTO (World Trade Organization)
to oversee the introduction of G/E foods

http://www.shef.ac.uk/~doe/
Department of the Enviroment
The UK Ecological Warrior Force.

http://www.lisco.com/mothersfornaturallaw/
Mothers for Natural Law
Succesful group of concerned mothers instrumental
in many campaign endeavors.

http://www.epa.gov/
Enviromental Protection Agency
The place to check on Legislation and
press releases in US of EPA

http://binas.unido.org/binas/
Part of Unido

http://www.hrc.wmin.ac.uk/campaigns/RTS.html
Last but by no means least RTS!



<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>


Date: Wed, 16 Apr 1997 15:54:36 -0400
>From: "H. Morris" <[e-mail]>
To: "[e-mail]" <[e-mail]>
Subject: Bardo Speaks Out???
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

I don't know about those comments of hers on Muslims.....as a Sufi myself,
I might take offense....

.c The Associated Press

      By CHRISTOPHER BURNS
      PARIS (AP) - A defiant Brigitte Bardot has again blasted the
Muslim practice of slaughtering sheep, despite facing court charges
of racism in earlier comments on the subject.
      ``One more time, one too many times,'' the animal rights
campaigner and former screen siren said. The four-day ritual of Eid
Al-Adha, which begins Thursday, ``will bathe France's earth in
blood,'' she added.
      Bardot linked Algerian Muslim fundamentalists to the slaughter,
which she contends is cruel to sheep.
      ``They've slit the throats of women and children, of our monks,
our officials, our tourists and our sheep. They'll slit our throats
one day and we'll deserve it,'' she said in a statement released
Tuesday.
      Muslim militants in Algeria have recently slashed or beheaded
scores of villagers and they have killed a number of French
nationals in their 5-year-old insurgency.
      A human rights group threatened to press charges, the daily
France Soir reported today.
      ``Freedom of expression, yes, but racism is a crime,'' said
Mouloud Aounit, president of the Movement Against Racism and
Anti-Semitism and for Friendship Among Peoples.
      Bardot is to appear Sept. 11 before the Paris Court of Appeals
for allegedly ``provoking hatred and racial discrimination'' last
year. A lower court acquitted her of the charge in January.
      A conviction could bring one year in prison and a fine of
$55,000.
      The 62-year-old former actress last year described the ceremony
as ``torture, signs of the most atrocious pagan sacrifices.'' She
also condemned ``the invasion of France by an overpopulation of
foreigners, notably Muslim.''
      During the springtime celebration following the Islamic fast of
Ramadan, many of France's 3 million Muslims sacrifice a lamb in a
rite of peace, as Islamic and biblical teachings say God allowed
Abraham to do instead of killing his son.
      Bardot's foundation has called for the ritual slaughter to take
place in state-supervised slaughterhouses and for the animals to be
stunned before being killed.
      AP-NY-04-16-97 0445EDT
Date: Wed, 16 Apr 1997 15:55:40 -0400
>From: "H. Morris" <[e-mail]>
To: "[e-mail]" <[e-mail]>
Subject: Mcd's new Promo
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

.c The Associated Press

      By CLIFF EDWARDS
      CHICAGO (AP) - Teenie Beanies are proving just as popular as
their bigger siblings.
      McDonald's restaurants have been swamped with parents and kids
looking for the colorful beanbag animals, which, starting last
Friday, were offered with each Happy Meal.
      The chain said it is selling out in Chicago, Minneapolis, St.
Louis, Kansas City and other Midwestern cities, selected areas of
New York City, parts of Connecticut and the South.
      ``People are buying them like there is no tomorrow,'' said
spokeswoman Lisa Howard.
      Nationwide, supplies probably will be exhausted by April 25, Ms.
Howard said.
      McDonald's grabbed hold of one of the hottest kid crazes to lure
tiny spenders and their parents into its restaurants.
      The Oak Brook, Ill.-based chain produced nearly 100 million of
the toys - its largest order ever for a promotion - in anticipation
of heavy demand.
      But word that the company was going to offer smaller versions of
the beanbag animals with each Happy Meal set off a feeding frenzy.
      The company on Friday recommended that its owner-operators limit
the sale of Happy Meals to 10 after some customers bought them by
the caseload to get the Teenie Beanies.
      McDonald's - which produced the toys itself under a license
agreement with toy maker Ty Inc., also of Oak Brook - made 10
different animals.
      Two animals were to go on sale each week until supplies ran out.
But different restaurants sold different versions, and some parents
reported spending much of last weekend driving around to get all 10
versions.
      Ty spokeswoman Anne Nickels said the popularity of the miniature
Beanie Babies is no surprise. ``They have an appeal to everyone,
not just girls, but boys, adults, senior citizens, kids, college
students,'' she said.
      Beanie Babies, the original versions with names like Squealer
the Pig and Kip the Cat, made their debut in 1994, but sales have
soared this year.
      Ty, whose Teenie Beanie Babies are made in China, has limited
distribution of the full-size toys so severely that stores have run
out nationwide. Demand is so strong that Ty doesn't list its
telephone number.
      In all, there are 103 different Beanie Babies on the market.
Their suggested price is $5, but they often sell for much more.
      The tiny toys at McDonald's sell for $1.50 without a food
purchase, while a Happy Meal with a cheeseburger, small fries, soda
and Teenie Beanie Baby cost $2.50.
      Every six months or so, a few new Beanie Babies are ``born.''
But for every new one, an old one is retired. The company has
stopped production on 26 species - Beanie fans call them
``extinct'' - and those can draw big bucks.
Date: Wed, 16 Apr 1997 14:59:17 -0600
>From: "Alliance for Animals" <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (Fwd) abuse update
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>

Hello,
Please write letters to local newspaper editors discussing how repeat
offenders get off easy..especially ANIMAL ABUSERS and ANIMAL KILLERS.
It would be wise to discuss how the hideous crimes were committed
in front of his child.  What kinds of effects will this have on her?
Sure he had a bad childhood..OK, so he needs psychiatric help!  He
needs to be off the streets, because as long as he walks, no animal
within his grasp is safe.  This man has a lot of problems and should
not have custody of a nine year old daughter...(in my opinion).
Scott Dirks, the assistant DA on the case told me yesterday to ask
people concerned about the case to report any clues or evidence to
the JANESVILLE, WI POLICE DEPT AT: [phone], and to write the
papers, etc..Scott also asked to have people write their concerns,
feelings on the case to him for the case file..at:

Scott DIrks
Office of the Rock County District Attorney
51 South Main St.
Janesville, WI  53545
His phone is: [phone]  bear in mind that he is swamped with
calls...
FAX is: [phone]


------- Forwarded Message Follows -------
>From:          [e-mail]
Date:          Mon, 14 Apr 1997 11:32:41 +0000
To:            [e-mail]
Subject:       abuse update

ABUSE UPDATE -- 4.14.97

The assistant district attorney prosecuting the case is Scott Dirks.
Write to him at the Office of the Rock County District Attorney, 51 S.
Main St., Janesville, WI 53545. or call 608.757.5615 or fax him at
608.757.5725.

As of Monday, April 14, Herbeck had been released on his own
recognizance. He is due in court this afternoon at 3 p.m. (central
standard time) and a date will be set for his preliminary hearing.

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

To recap: The following article ran in the April 11, 1997 issue of The
Wisconsin State Journal, Madison, Wisconsin.
Headline: Animal mistreatment called "gut-wrenching"
By Kathleen Ostrander
Rock County Correspondant
JANESVILLE (Wisconsin)  Police arrested a man on felony animal
mistreatment charges after finding the corpses of a puppy and five cats
at his home.
      One Rock County Humane Society official who was at the man's home
earlier this week described the case Thursday as "gut-wrenching."
      Police were first called Sunday to Barry Herbeck's Janesville home
after his girlfriend found cat entrails down the garbage disposal while
she was cleaning the house.
      She told police she then recalled that she came home about a month
ago when she was still living with Herbeck, 35, and found a dead cat in
the hallway. She said she also recalled the man's nine-year--old
daughter saying he had killed the family puppy.
      Police found the rotting corpse of an eight-month-old female
German shepherd stuffed in a container on Herbeck's porch.
      When police opened the container they saw that the puppy's nose
and mouth had been taped shut with duct tape and one side of the dog was
covered in blood.
      Police searched for the man whom relatives said was at a
carpet-laying job, for several days, finally catching up with him
Wednesday.
      The nine-year-old girl told police her father became angry when
the puppy urinated on the floor, so he taped its mouth and stuffed it in
the container. She said he told her not to let it out or feed it, even
thought it was whining.
      She said he threw at least one cat against the wall so hard that
it died, and she saw another dead cat in the bathtub after it had bitten
her father. She said there had been a large, heavy box in the freezer
which she suspected was another dead cat.
      In a statement to police, Herbeck said that he had been beaten as
a child and had a lot of pent-up anger. He said that he felt better
after he killed the animals and that it helped him release his anger. He
also said he felt guilty.
      According to the report, Herbeck said that after he killed the
cats he had in the house he would answer ads in the papers for free
cats. He would dispose of dead cats in the dumpster where he worked or
put them out with the trash.
      Herbeck, who has a felony conviction for robbery, was also
arrested on a charge of being a felon in possession of a weapon, because
police found two shotguns in the home. When Herbeck said Wednesday that
he was suicidal, he was committed to the Rock County Health Care Center.
      Police said Thursday that they expected he would appear in court
when he was released, but they didn't know when that would be.

-- end story --

THIS IS HOW YOU CAN HELP:
If you know of any relevant websites or digests for this story, please
post it there -- local media coverage has been very sparse.
Also, please write your feelings on this case to the authorities
involved as soon as their addresses are available. I will try to get the
information out by Monday when city offices have reopened, but you may
wish to contact

This man's little victims must not be forgotten!  And his daughter is
not only a victim of this monstrosity, but may be in physical danger
herself when and if he is released. Please, write or call and ask or
demand (whatever your personal style is) that Barry Herbeck be held
fully accountable for his actions and punished to the full extent of the
law!

Thank you so very much --

Rainey Clandennon (Kris Aaron)
[e-mail]

Date: Wed, 16 Apr 1997 16:30:37 -0400 (EDT)
>From: [e-mail]
To: [e-mail]
Cc: [e-mail], [e-mail]
Subject: Indiana Farmer  Dies from Mad Cow  Related Illness???  (US)
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>



  Corn, Soybeans Fall on Mad Cow  Fear

Wednesday, April 16, 1997 4:11 pm EDT

  CHICAGO (AP) -- Corn and soybean futures fell Wednesday on Chicago's Board
of
 Trade as reports that an Indiana farmer died of an ailment similar to mad
cow disease
 prompted worries that people will eat less meat, leaving less need for
animal feed.

The U.S. Centers for Disease control says there is no direct evidence that
mad cow
 disease -- bovine spongiform encephalopathy -- can spread to humans. But
news
 that 62-year-old Joseph Gabor died of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, which has
been
 linked by British researchers to mad cow disease, prompted a selloff in
animal feed
grains and beef futures.


 Creutzfeldt-Jakob reports also sent beef futures plunging on the Chicago
Mercantile Exchange. Pork prices, which have been independently strong,
gained on speculation that people may switch from beef to pork, analysts
said.

 c Copyright 1997 The Associated Press







Date: Thu, 17 Apr 1997 17:31:13 -0400
>From: allen schubert <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: SUMMER-Africa/Brazil> ProjDIRs/Interns ('97 & '98)
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

>From: [e-mail]
>Date: Wed, 16 Apr 1997 14:02:46 EDT
>Reply-To: [e-mail]
>Sender: [e-mail]
>To: [e-mail]
from private e-mail...send any response to:  [e-mail]
-------------------------------------------------------------
>FWD'd / GREENer WORLD Internships
>
>[PLEASE SHARE/FORWARD]
>
>JOB ANNOUNCEMENT :  25 Project Director Positions
>
>
>
>Crossroads is now winding down recruitment for the Summer 1997 Prog in
>
>Africa and Brazil, and is now accepting applications for the Summer 1998
>
>Program.
>
>This may be of interest to those with interest in rainforest/ecology
>
>issues, international development and humanitarian work.
>
>CREDIT
>
>Interns/Volntrs usually arrange to receive academic credit - 7 to 15 units.
>
>C O U N T R I E S: Botswana, The Gambia, Ghana, Eritrea, Ivory Coast
>
>     Kenya, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zimbabwe
>
>             Malawi, Ethiopia, Namibia, Guinea Bissau,
>
>                  and Brazil (in South America)
>
>_____________________________________________________________________
>
>
>
>       S U M M E R   J O B   A N N O U N C E M E N T
>
>
>
>              A F R I C A  &  B R A Z I L
>
>Position:     P r o j e c t   D i r e c t o r  /  G r o u p   L e a d e r
>
>
>
>  [Also, accepting Intern/Volntr Applications-college-age & up/all welcome]
>
>
>
>Director      26 years old & up; with experience or advance studies related
>
>Requisites       to a Crossroads project or to development issues/concerns
>
>              Professionals, faculty, staff, students, persons with
>
>                 skills - all interested are encouraged
>
>              Canadians, Americans, others, WELCOME
>
>
>
>Location:     18 Countries in Africa, plus Brazil
>
>Duration:     June 16 - August 12 (tentative dates)
>
>Director      All travel and living expenses will be covered,
>
>Pay:             plus you will receive an honorarium/stipend
>
>
>
>DEADLINE:     Recruitment for the Summer 1997 Program is now winding down
>
>                 Applications for Summer 1998 are now being accepted
>
>
>
>Organization: Operation Crossroads-Africa & Brazil
>
>              475 Riverside Dr., Suite 1366
>
>              NY, NY 10027
>
>              A Non-Profit 501(C)(3) Organization
>
>
>
>Co-Sponsors:  Various UN Programs, NGO's, Ministries [Health, Education,
>
>              etc.], WHO, Int'l Econ Dev Orgs, Medical Schools, Local
>
>              Hospitals, Clinics & Grassroots Organizations
>
>
>
>Contact:      International Projects/Overseas Programs
>
>              Tel: [phone]
>
>
>
>E-mail:       <[e-mail]>
>
>
>
>OnLine Info:  E-Mail to <[e-mail]>
>
>                  & in the Subject Field, type either:
>
>
>
> 1-        "SEND DIRECTOR/LEADER PACKET" [26 yrs & up w/ leadership skills]
>
>                         or
>
> 2-        "SEND PACKET FOR VOLs/INTERNS" [all welcome; college-age & up]
>
>                   Crossroads helps Volunteers/Interns raise needed funds;
>
>                   Early application is essential
>
>
>
>Website:        http://www.igc.org/oca/
>
>                   (here, find brochure, application, information, etc.,
>
>                          OBTAINABLE ALSO BY E-MAIL-see above)
>
>
>
>====================================================================
====
>
>         P R O J E C T    D I R E C T O R S  /  L E A D E R S
>
>====================================================================
====
>
>
>
>If you have experience in a field related to a Crossroads project, and
>
>a strong interest in Africa and in team work, pls contact the organization.
>
>
>
>As a Project Director/Group Leader, you will be in charge of
>
>10 to 14 Volunteers/Interns (who will be professionals, students,
>
>researchers, non-students and others, all ages), usually in a rural
>
>community or village setting. This is an intense living, learning
>
>and work experience.
>
>
>
>________________________________________________________________________
>
>
>
>Multi-disciplinary Projects
>
>
>
>   Nursing * Medicine * Clinical * Primary Care * Rainforest * Ecology
>
>   Health * Social Sciences * Nutrition * Education * Econ & Comm Dev
>
>   Gender Issues * Wildlife * Anthropology * Water & Sanitation * Folklore
>
>   Agriculture * Dist Lrng  * Ethnomusicology * Dance * Computer Literacy
>
>   Construction of Clinics, Libraries, Homes * Traditional Medicine
>
>   Human Rights * Land tenure issues * Work camps * Living in villages
>
>
>
>              200 - 250 Volunteers & 20 - 25 Projects
>
> __________________________________________________________________________
>
>
>
>BRAZIL: Land Tenure Reform/Settlement Communities/Rainforest-Ecology
>
>
>
>                  <<   B   A   H   I   A   >>
>
>
>
>
>
>This project with multiple objectives is in the Mata Atlantica (Coastal
>
>Forest) area in the Southern Cone of the State of Bahia. This is where
>
>local poor communities are struggling to gain access to land via
>
>articulated political effort.
>
>
>
>There are over a dozen officially recognized Land Reform Settlemnts in this
>
>region, where former landless peasants are striving to promote efforts
>
>to save the remnants of this unique patch of rich, bio-diverse forest, as
>
>well as to secure their access to land by changing the parameters of Land
>
>Tenure in that area.
>
>
>
>We have been contacted by leaders of these communities seeking help with
>
>the various projects they deem vital. These projects will deal with
>
>Reforestation, Human Rights, Youth Development, Education & Training,
>
>Primary Care and Health, as well as Ecological issues.
>
>_________________________________________________________________________
>
>
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Date: Thu, 17 Apr 1997 18:28:22 -0400
>From: allen schubert <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (US) Bill Would Weaken Tuna Rule
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

from AP Wire page:
---------------------------
 04/16/1997 18:11 EST

 Bill Would Weaken Tuna Rule

 By H. JOSEF HEBERT
 Associated Press Writer

 WASHINGTON (AP) -- Legislation that would weaken the ``dolphin-safe''
label on
 cans of tuna was endorsed Wednesday by a House committee and could be
 considered by the full House within weeks.

 In the Senate several members already have promised to use parliamentary
tactics,
 including a filibuster, to slow the legislation down should it reach the
floor.

 The proposal to lift the tuna import restrictions has divided
environmental groups,
 with some arguing it will lead to the killing of thousands of dolphins in
the eastern
 Pacific by fishermen who use nets to catch tuna. Others say it will allow
for broader
 protection of the marine ecosystem and reduce the killing of other fish
and turtles
 caught in the nets.

 The bill, which cleared the House Resources Committee by voice vote
Wednesday,
 would end the import ban on yellowfin tuna caught by using nets. Many
 environmentalists have criticized the use of nets because fishermen often
 deliberately catch dolphins along with the tuna.

 But supporters said the bill would ensure that Mexico and other countries
with large
 tuna fleets in the eastern Pacific take steps to protect not only the
dolphin but other
 marine life -- sea turtles, small fish and other species -- now often
killed during tuna
 fishing. Dolphin often swim with tuna in the eastern Pacific.

 The legislation would allow tuna caught with nets to continue to be sold
with the
 ``dolphin-free'' label as long as it is certified that no dolphins
actually were found
 dead in the nets.

 Wayne Pacelle of the Humane Society of America said the issue has been pushed
 by free-trade advocates and pressure from Mexico, whose fishermen cannot send
 their fish into the U.S. market because of the dolphin-safe import rule.

 Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., called the bill ``a major setback for American
 consumers that demand dolphin-safe tuna.'' Miller offered an amendment
that would
 have limited the number of dolphins killed to 2,500, but the measure was
defeated
 12-28.

 Another proposal, offered by Rep. Frank Pallone, D-N.J., that would have
allowed
 net-caught tuna to be imported, but without the dolphin-safe label, was
turned back
 by a 12-28 vote.

 The White House has endorsed the legislation, as have some leading
 environmental groups, including Greenpeace, the Center for Marine
Conservation,
 the World Wildlife Fund and the Environmental Defense Fund. They maintain
that
 dolphin protection should be pursued internationally.

 Rep. Wayne Gilchrest, R-Md., sponsor of the bill, maintains dolphin are
killed by nets
 in the eastern Pacific despite the U.S. import ban, and the legislation
would ensure
 fishermen comply with a regional agreement that would afford greater
protection to
 all marine life.

 A similar bill was approved by the House last year, 316-118, but died in
the Senate,
 where opposition still is strong.

 The U.S. import ban has been credited for the dramatic decline in dolphin
deaths in
 recent years.
Date: Wed, 16 Apr 1997 15:28:51 -0700 (PDT)
>From: David J Knowles <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: [UK] Police set up genetic database for birds
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

BBC World Service Television News reported that West Yorkshire Police are
compiling a database of DNA from rare and endangered birds, such as the
periguin falcon, to help track down the trade in the animals.

Both the birds themselves, and their eggs, fetch large sums of money on the
blackmarket.

Police Constable Steve Dunn, a wildlife specialist with West Yorkshire
Police said that the database would assist him and his colleagues trace
whether birds found in human possession were taken from the wild.

Previously, DNA sampling was only possible using blood samples, which made
it expensive, difficult and stressful to the birds. A new technique allows
DNA to be obtained from the bird's feathers, which enables the samples to be
more easily obtained.

West Yorkshire Police are adding the bird DNA to their computerized database
of human criminals. If the scheme proves succesful, it will be extended
throughout the country.

Date: Thu, 17 Apr 1997 18:35:35 -0400
>From: allen schubert <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (US) Tiny Waterborne Organism Kills Fish
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

A tie-in with the North Carolina hog farming....
from AP Wire page:
-------------------------------
04/16/1997 16:12 EST

 Tiny Waterborne Organism Kills Fish

 By SCOTT MOONEYHAM
 Associated Press Writer

 RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- Millions of fish in North Carolina's marshlands have
turned up
 dead with ugly, open sores caused by a microorganism that feeds on their
blood.
 Now some scientists suspect the organism preys on humans, too.

 More than a dozen fishermen, divers and others have found open sores on their
 bodies, reported feeling faint or complained of memory loss after coming into
 contact with brown water fouled with dead fish.

 The organism killing the fish is known as pfiesteria, and biologists call
it ``the cell
 from hell.''

 Pfiesteria has been likened to the piranha of the microbial world. Yet a
piranha
 wouldn't stand a chance against this bloodthirsty menace.

 Scientists say the tiny organisms secrete a toxin that eats holes in fish,
then slowly
 paralyzes their muscles and suffocates them.

 North Carolina State University researcher JoAnn Burkholder, who helped
discover
 the one-celled organism in 1990, is convinced that pfiesteria's toxins
sickened her
 and as many as nine other researchers. She and a fellow researcher said they
 suffered severe neurological symptoms, including memory loss, after
handling the
 organism in a lab in 1993.

 But she said state health officials seem more concerned with avoiding bad
publicity
 that could harm tourism than investigating the possible danger to humans.
Although
 the state committed $585,000 to study pfiesteria in 1995, the money is
just now
 making its way to researchers.

 ``We still need to know an awful lot,'' Burkholder said. ``It's an
unfortunate tragedy
 that we don't know more by now.''

 State officials defended their efforts, saying that they are collecting
evidence and
 studying the problem and that there is no proof the organism attacks
humans. ``We
 continue to try to gather information within the limits of our
resources,'' said Mike
 Moser, director of epidemiology.

 Pfiesteria, a one-celled organism called a dinoflagellate, has existed for
thousands
 and perhaps millions of years. It has been found as far north as Delaware
and as far
 south as the Gulf of Mexico. It can live in either fresh or salt water.

 Nowhere has the tiny killer been more prevalent than in North Carolina's huge
 estuaries, where slow-moving saltwater is captured behind the islands of
the Outer
 Banks. It has left millions of menhaden, shad and flounder dead and
rotting on the
 shores of the Neuse and New rivers.

 Burkholder's research indicates that the tiny creatures proliferate and
take on a
 deadly form when exposed to high levels of nitrogen and phosphorous --
byproducts
 of human and animal waste.

 She and others believe the organism became a problem in North Carolina waters
 as the state's hog farming industry and population rose dramatically over
the past
 decade.

 David Jones, a New Bern fishermen who once ran a wholesale fish market on the
 river shores, is convinced pfiesteria is responsible for the severe memory
lapses
 and other neurological problems he says he suffers.

 Jones said his problems began in 1988, when he experienced what he thought
was
 heat stroke while working his crab pots during a fish kill.

 ``This stuff is real, and it's bad, and I certainly wouldn't want you or
anyone else to
 have it,'' he said. ``What's inside of me eating me alive?''

 Questions about pfiesteria's effects on people have grown since a book
tracing its
 discovery, ``And the Waters Turned to Blood'' by Rodney Barker, was
released earlier
 this month. State officials have criticized the book and complained that
it created
 hysteria.

 Burkholder said proving that people's health problems are caused by
pfiesteria is
 difficult because researchers have yet to isolate and identify its toxins.

 Until then, doctors won't be able to test people's blood or tissues for
evidence that
 the sores or other symptoms have been caused by pfiesteria.

 Dr. Chris Delaney, a New Bern physician who has treated two people with skin
 sores, criticized the state's handling of the issue.

 ``I don't see this as high science, but the political lay of the land is
such that there is
 a lot of resistance to change,'' he said.
Date: Wed, 16 Apr 1997 15:48:45 -0700 (PDT)
>From: David J Knowles <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Urgent RFI
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Hi everyone,

Does anyone have any recent information regarding "Oncomouse" regarding the
patent application to the European Patents Office or elsewhere?

I have also heard that the unfortunate animal was not as sucessful as Havard
University had hoped in regard to its ability to develop cancers. Does
anyone have any details on this as well?

TIA,

David

Date: Wed, 16 Apr 1997 15:52:12 -0700 (PDT)
>From: [e-mail] (pawsinfo)
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Shrine Circus Seattle - Sponsors
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

April 16, 1997

Dear Activist,

Listed below are the businesses that sponsored the Shrine Circus which
appeared at the Seattle Center
Key Arena last weekend. As you can see, it's an extensive list and a sad
reflection of the fact that so many
people are still unaware of the misery experienced by animals in circuses.

These businesses need to hear from all of us. Please write to as many of
them as possible. Your letter
does not need to be long or filled with details. Simply point out that
circuses are no fun for the animals
involved, object to their sponsorship of this year's circus and ask that
they refrain from sponsoring
circuses in the future. Please send a copy of any replies that you may
receive to Lisa at PAWS (address below). Thank you!

Sponsors of the 1997 Shrine Circus (Seattle)

Chris Maly, Marketing Director
Blockbuster Video
2025 1st, Suite 250
Seattle, WA 98121

Jim Anderson
Wight's Home and Garden
5026 196th SW
Lynnwood, WA 98036

Frank Fadden, President
Clark Office Products, Inc.
PO Box 27185
Seattle, WA 98125-1585

Rick Duell, Operations
Frank Lumber
17727 15th Ave. NE
Seattle, WA 98155

Kent Stanley
Stanley Roofing
19710 144th Ave NE
Woodinville, WA 98072

Jim McKenzie
Quality Inn
4303 Kitsap Way
Bremerton, WA 98312

Carla Stanford
Seattle Skating Club Bingo
22111 Hwy. 99
Edmonds, WA 98020

Jerry Dahl, President
Western Fleet Supply
620 S. Dakota
Seattle, WA 98108

Don Pells
Bayshore Electric
PO Box 691
Lynnwood, WA 98036

Ernest Jonson & Company, P.S.
Certified Public Accountants
PO Box 9129
Seattle, WA 98109

Dan Krpan
Day & Night Plumbing & Heating
PO Box 1021
Lynnwood, WA 98046

Office Administrator
Agra Earth & Environmental
11335 NE 122nd Way, Suite 100
Kirkland, WA 98034

Smokey Basler
Spartan Electric Service, Inc.
6263 Ellis Ave. S.
Seattle, WA 98108

Tad Kasuya, General Mgr.
Hotel International
5621 196th SW
Lynnwood, WA 98036

Steven Jordan
Covenant Shores
9150 North Mercer Way
Mercer Island, WA 98040

Jimbo's Family Restaurant
19626 & Hwy. 99
Lynnwood, WA 98036

Gery and Dick Smith
C & S Auto Rebuild, Inc.
6805 Greenwood Ave. N.
Seattle, WA 98103

Bardahl Additives & Lubricants
Bardahl Manufacturing Corporation
PO Box 70607
Seattle, WA 98107-0607




Bob Chorush  Web Administrator, Progressive Animal Welfare Society (PAWS)
15305 44th Ave West (P.O. Box 1037)Lynnwood, WA 98046 [phone] ext
862, [phone] fax
email [e-mail]      http://www.paws.org

Date: Thu, 17 Apr 1997 19:38:00 -0400
>From: allen schubert <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (US) POTOMAC ENDANGERED
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

The effects of factory farming on the environment....
from WJLA Washington web page:
----------------------------------------------------
POTOMAC ENDANGERED

The Potomac is the 7th most-endangered river in the country. The group
American Rivers put the Potomac on the list announced Wednesday. The
principal reason--a huge increase in commercial poultry production upstream
from Washington in the last decade. The group says the number of chickens
raised has skyrocketed from 7,000,000 to 95,000,000. The increase in
poultry waste going into the Potomac has led to dramatic increases in
bacteria in the water.
Date: Wed, 16 Apr 97 16:12:38 -0000
>From: <[e-mail]>
To: "ar-news" <[e-mail]>
Subject: Linda Blair New Jersey Calendar Signing
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"

Actress and animal animal supporter Linda Blair will be signing her
celebrity calendar which benefits Last Chance for Animals in New Jersey.


May 3, 1997
2:00 P.M.
Garden State Exhibition Hall
50 Atrium Dr.
Somerset NJ 08873