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- (follow-up story)
- from AP Wire page:
- ------------------------------
- 05/08/1997 23:45 EST
-
- Bengal Tiger Attacks Trainer
-
- By MICHAEL RAPHAEL
- Associated Press Writer
-
- BROAD TOP CITY, Pa. (AP) -- A circus trainer's bright new suit may have
- caused a
- Bengal tiger to attack him during a performance, a coroner said.
-
- Wayne Franzen, founder of the Franzen Brothers Circus, died within minutes
- after
- suffering a punctured lung and neck wounds during Wednesday's attack
- before an
- audience of 200 children and their families.
-
- Franzen was wearing the suit for only the second time, and James
- Zangaglia, chief
- deputy coroner for Cambria County, said the tiger apparently lunged at the
- costume.
-
- Witnesses said the animal, one of three in the cage, attacked Franzen when he
- turned his back, then dragged him around the ring by the neck.
-
- ``My father should have known better,'' said Brian Franzen. ``We ran in
- there, and I
- was hitting the cat in the head with a pipe, but it was too late. He was
- already dead.''
-
- The 50-year-old Franzen started the circus 24 years ago after leaving his
- job as a
- school teacher in Wisconsin.
-
- A trapeze artist and a novelty seller quit after Franzen's death, leaving
- 13 employees.
- The afternoon show in central Pennsylvania was canceled Thursday but the
- night
- show was held, minus the tiger act.
-
- ``We have to take in money,'' said Brian Franzen. ``Otherwise, I wouldn't
- have money
- to feed the animals or move the circus.''
-
- The big cat, Lucca, appeared calm in its cage Thursday. Brian Franzen said he
- intends to return Lucca to the show when an insurance company completes its
- investigation of his father's death.
-
- ``I go up there and it purrs to me. It doesn't understand what happened,''
- he said.
- Date: Fri, 9 May 1997 00:25:09 -0400
- >From: "radioactive" <radioactive@bellsouth.net>
- To: "Animal Rights" <ar-news@envirolink.org>
- Subject: Full Story
- Message-ID: <199705090426.AAA18326@mail.mia.bellsouth.net>
- MIME-Version: 1.0
- Content-Type: text/html;
- charset="iso-8859-1"
-
- 01:49 PM ET 05/08/97
-
- Tiger kills trainer at U.S. circus performance
-
-
- (Adds quotes from mental health worker)
- PITTSBURGH (Reuter) - A tiger mauled and killed its trainer
- during a circus performance in Pennsylvania as a crowd of
- children watched in horror, authorities said Thursday.
- The tiger attacked Wayne F. Franzen and dragged him around a
- circus pen in Carrolltown, Pennsylvania, Wednesday night during
- a fund-raising performance for a local school.
- ``We're not really sure what happened exactly,'' Cambria
- County Coroner Dennis Kwiatkowski said. ``We have reports saying
- he was attacked from behind and reports saying he was attacked
- from the front. He was pronounced dead at the scene.''
- Franzen, 50, owned the Franzen Brothers Circus Inc. of
- Bushnell, Florida. His son managed to get the Bengal tiger into
- a cage after the attack.
- A crowd of about 300 people, more than half of them
- children, was watching the performance at a local fairground. An
- emergency counseling service was set up at the circus for those
- who witnessed the attack.
- ``Most of the kids felt confusion,'' said Philip Garmen,
- director of mental health at the Cambria County Mental Health
- Center. ``A lot of them were elementary school age and they're
- not really attuned to death and dying. Some of them said they
- didn't want to go to the circus again.''
- Garmen said crisis counselors were receiving calls Thursday
- from parents who saw the attack and still were shocked or
- concerned about the possible effects on their children.
- Kwiatkowski said an autopsy would be performed on Franzen
- but police were not investigating the incident. ``It's a pretty
- clear-cut case,'' he said.
- Circus officials were not available for comment. Garmen said
- circus workers told him the tiger would not be used in a
- performance again, and would likely be retired to a zoo.
- ^REUTER@
-
-
- Date: Fri, 9 May 1997 00:26:21 -0400
- >From: "radioactive" <radioactive@bellsouth.net>
- To: "Animal Rights" <ar-news@envirolink.org>
- Subject: Full Story
- Message-ID: <199705090427.AAA18496@mail.mia.bellsouth.net>
- MIME-Version: 1.0
- Content-Type: text/html;
- charset="iso-8859-1"
-
- 12:50 PM ET 05/08/97
-
- WTO rules for US in EU beef ban--US trade group
-
-
- WASHINGTON (Reuter) - The World Trade Organization has ruled
- that the European Union unfairly barred U.S. meat shipments in
- the ``hormone beef'' dispute, a U.S. trade group official said
- Thursday.
- ``We've heard from several sources it (the WTO interim
- report) is favorable to our side,'' Chuck Lambert of the
- National Cattlemen's Beef Association said. ``We're willing to
- work with the administration and the Europeans to see this issue
- is resolved.''
- Since 1989, the EU has barred imports of high-quality U.S.
- beef produced with the aid of synthetic growth hormones. The EU
- said the ban was based on health concerns but U.S. officials
- said the synthetic hormones were identical to natural hormones
- and were safe for use.
- Neither side would comment on the report, which was
- distributed late Wednesday and was supposed to be confidential.
- Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman said a U.S. victory
- ''would be very positive news for us.''
- Further talks were possible but interim reports usually
- provide the basis for final rulings.
- Under an adverse WTO ruling, the EU could drop the ban,
- appeal the decision or compensate the United States for a
- continued ban.
- ``This is the first milestone toward getting a positive
- resolution,'' Lambert said.
- The NCBA says the ban cost at least $100 million a year. It
- says that without the ban, U.S. sales of high-quality beef to
- Europe could have grown to $250 million a year.
- Glickman told Reuters that he had not seen the WTO interim
- report.
- But if reports of U.S. victory were correct, ``this is
- obviously very consistent with what we have believed since the
- beginning, which is sound science will show the EU beef ban is
- inconsistent with accurate and sound science,'' he said.
- ``We will be extremely happy is this report is true. It
- would be very positive news for us, we've been fighting this
- thing for a long time.''
- ^REUTER@
-
-
- Date: Fri, 09 May 1997 00:29:50 -0400
- >From: allen schubert <alathome@clark.net>
- To: ar-news@envirolink.org
- Subject: (US) U.S. Battles WTO Over Beef Hormones
- Message-ID: <3.0.32.19970509002947.006c1164@clark.net>
- Mime-Version: 1.0
- Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
-
- from AP Wire page:
- ------------------------------
- 05/08/1997 23:30 EST
-
- U.S. Battles WTO Over Beef Hormones
-
- By MARTIN CRUTSINGER
- AP Economics Writer
-
- WASHINGTON (AP) -- The United States, in a decision that could have major
- ramifications on global farm trade, has won a preliminary victory before
- the World
- Trade Organization in a bitter fight with the European Union over the use of
- hormones in beef.
-
- U.S. officials, who have seen the initial decision, said a three-judge WTO
- panel has
- held that the European Union's ban on U.S. beef treated with growth
- hormones is
- not based on sound science.
-
- ``Our argument was that in the name of food safety, the EU instituted a
- discriminatory and protectionist regime that closed its market to foreign
- imports of
- beef. Based on our review of the draft panel report, it appears the panel
- has come
- down on our side,'' said one U.S. official, who spoke on condition of
- anonymity.
-
- The 60-page ruling has not been made public but was provided to U.S. and
- European trade officials earlier this week. Both sides have 30 days to
- file comments
- and then the WTO panel will issue its final ruling, which can then be
- appealed by the
- losing side to a WTO appeals panel.
-
- But if the preliminary outcome is upheld on appeal, it would represent a
- major victory
- for American agriculture interests who have argued for years that the EU
- ban was an
- unfair trade barrier because it was not based on scientific fact.
-
- It could also set a precedent in the interpretation of a new set of trade
- rules that went
- into effect in January 1995 prohibiting countries from erecting trade
- barriers to
- agricultural products that are not based on sound scientific evidence.
-
- The United States, the world's biggest exporter of farm products, pushed
- hard during
- the last round of global trade negotiations, known as the Uruguay Round,
- to get just
- such protections written into international trade rules.
-
- In addition to the dispute over beef hormones, the United States is
- proceeding with
- WTO cases challenging restrictions against other American agricultural
- products,
- including a Japanese ban on import of certain types of American apples.
-
- Under WTO rules -- if the United States position is upheld on appeal --
- European
- countries would either have to drop their ban on American beef containing
- hormones
- or provide trade compensation in the amount of the injury to American
- producers.
-
- The U.S. beef industry contends it is losing $250 million annually in
- potential sales
- in Europe because of the ban.
-
- While the Geneva-based WTO was attacked by American critics as a threat to
- American sovereignty, the United States has brought more cases than any other
- nation -- a total of 26 since the beginning of 1995. Most of those have
- yet to reach
- final decisions.
- Date: Fri, 9 May 1997 00:31:32 -0400
- >From: "radioactive" <radioactive@bellsouth.net>
- To: "Animal Rights" <ar-news@envirolink.org>
- Subject: Full Story
- Message-ID: <199705090433.AAA19263@mail.mia.bellsouth.net>
- MIME-Version: 1.0
- Content-Type: text/html;
- charset="iso-8859-1"
-
-
- 10:50 AM ET 05/08/97
-
- Yemen says doing its best to curb rhino trade
-
-
- SANAA, Yemen (Reuter) - Yemen is doing all it can to limit
- the smuggling of African rhinoceros horn, a Yemeni official said
- Thursday in response to renewed claims that the poor Arab
- country plays a key role in the illicit trade.
- The horn is prized in Yemen for use in the handles of
- traditional daggers known as jambiyas.
- Yemen ``has exerted all possible efforts to limit the
- smuggling of rhino horns into Yemen within the framework of our
- commitment to carry out the ban,'' the official told Reuters.
- He said Yemen had ``asked the international community to
- cooperate in an effective way to prevent the export of this from
- countries where this rare animal lives.''
- Wednesday ,the wildlife trade monitoring organization
- TRAFFIC said Yemen played a central role in illicit rhino horn
- trade, worsening the endangered species' perilous status in
- Africa.
- TRAFFIC estimated at least 165 lbs. of rhino horn had been
- smuggled into Yemen every year between 1994 and 1996. ``This
- amount could originate from up to 25 rhinoceroses,'' it said.
- The Yemeni official said the government ``is ready to
- cooperate with any international body or country to help
- preserve the lives of the remaining animals.''
- Yemen has not joined CITES, the Convention on International
- Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, according
- to TRAFFIC -- the wildlife trade monitoring programme of the
- World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and the World Conservation
- Union (IUCN), both based in Gland, Switzerland.
- International commercial trade in rhinos and rhino products
- has been banned under CITES since 1977, but member countries
- will meet next month to examine the state of rhineroceros
- species and problems of continued illegal trade.
- There are fewer than 10,000 rhinos remaining in the wild in
- Africa, compared to 70,000 in 1970, TRAFFIC said.
- ^REUTER@
- Date: Fri, 9 May 1997 00:33:06 -0400
- >From: "radioactive" <radioactive@bellsouth.net>
- To: "Animal Rights" <ar-news@envirolink.org>
- Subject: Full Story
- Message-ID: <199705090434.AAA19514@mail.mia.bellsouth.net>
- MIME-Version: 1.0
- Content-Type: text/html;
- charset="iso-8859-1"
-
- 11:29 AM ET 05/08/97
-
- NZ to query China about Antarctic fishing fleet
-
-
- WELLINGTON, New Zealand (Reuter) - New Zealand said Thursday
- it would ask China about reports from conservation groups that
- Beijing is building a 200-boat fishing fleet to exploit
- lucrative toothfish grounds in the Southern Ocean.
- ``We have no information about the Chinese fleet ourselves
- but ... it is something we will be asking the Chinese
- authorities for some comment on,'' senior Foreign Affairs
- official Stuart Prior told a news conference. ``Clearly it would
- be a development of some significance.''
- The World Wildlife Fund said it had information from the
- conservation monitoring group Traffic that China was building
- the fleet to cash in on the lucrative species.
- China has not signed the 1980 Convention on the Conservation
- of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), which is designed
- to protect the environment in that region.
- Toothfish, first named five years ago as the Patagonian
- toothfish, was identified as a rich commercial catch only two
- years ago. It is a long fish with a large mouth and believed to
- be bottom dwelling, living off cod. It lives for up to 25 years.
- In Japan it is sold as ``mero,'' fetching $7,000 a ton.
- The issue would be discussed at the Antarctic Treaty
- Consultative meeting in Christchurch this month.
- ``The matter is of very considerable significance for the
- Antarctic Treaty because the treaty is imposing considerable
- compliance costs on countries, commercial organizations, tourist
- operators, and if they see operators working without those
- costs, you have an incredible situation.''
- New Zealand had already begun talks with France, Australia
- and South Africa about sharing information about how to control
- the problem but Prior said control was difficult because of the
- vast distances involved.
- REUTER
- ^REUTER@
-
-
- Date: Fri, 9 May 1997 00:36:20 -0400
- >From: "radioactive" <radioactive@bellsouth.net>
- To: "Animal Rights" <ar-news@envirolink.org>
- Subject: Full Story
- Message-ID: <199705090437.AAA19979@mail.mia.bellsouth.net>
- MIME-Version: 1.0
- Content-Type: text/html;
- charset="iso-8859-1"
-
-
- 08:17 AM ET 05/08/97
-
- London's newest bakery wishes dogs 'bone appetit'
-
-
- By Scott McCormack
- LONDON (Reuter) - Like any sweet-toothed youngster Barney
- could hardly contain his excitement as he raced toward the
- bakery counter.
- His breath clouded the display glass while he examined the
- rich variety on offer, from cream-topped brownies to dipped
- biscotti to tiered birthday and wedding cakes.
- And then in deep anticipation of his impending treat he let
- out a loud bark.
- Barney is a regular patron of the latest American trend to
- hit Britain -- a canine confectionery.
- Three Dog Bakery opened for business two weeks ago and hopes
- to cash in on the country's renowned love for dogs, just as it
- has done at seven locations throughout the United States.
- Demand has been enthusiastic.
- Within its first week London's newest culinary adventure
- began to sell out of many items.
- MASTER OF THE HOUSE
- Clutching Barney's lead while trying to keep track of her
- three children, Tess Atkinson shrugged as she paid the cashier
- for a bagful of treats.
- ``He was found abandoned as a newborn so this is all a bit
- upmarket for him,'' she said, petting the eight-month-old puppy.
- Barney barked again and jumped up on the nearest passer-by.
- ``He has no manners but just look how cute he is,'' Atkinson
- apologised.''We do spoil him, but why not? He rules the house
- anyway.''
- With two carefully wrapped 'Boxer Brownies' for her twin
- bull terriers, Kelly Laws admitted to having visited the bakery
- three times in the first few days it opened.
- ``We used to laugh at the Americans how they pampered their
- dogs. Now look at what we're doing,'' she said. Laws gives Jazz
- and Casey their treats while she eats her dinner in front of the
- television. ``They're my children. I don't ever plan to have
- real ones, so they get to play the part,'' she added.
- PITY THE POSTMAN
- The concept for the pooch patisserie was dreamed up six
- years ago by Americans Dan Dye and Mark Beckloff, who became
- disgusted by the unpronouncable ingredients in many dog foods.
- They began to cook up their own varieties using only natural
- ingredients, and soon realised they had stumbled on an untapped
- market after friends hankered for treats for their own dogs.
- Britain represents the company's first foray into overseas
- markets.
- ``The London store has been begging for more product,'' said
- Evan Wooton, U.S. general manager of the chain, which bakes most
- of the treats at its Kansas City base and ships them to London.
- ``If customer traffic is any indication, the English love it.''
- The bakery has maded several concessions for local tastes,
- including treats in the shape of a postman's leg and a daily
- newspaper as well as a lamb and mint flavouring.
- The treats are relatively inexpensive -- many between 30 and
- 50 pence (55-80 cents) -- and the bakery itself very
- unpretentious, tucked away in the corner of a pet superstore
- supplying every possible variety of pet paraphernalia.
- ``We wanted to reach as many dog owners as possible,''
- Wooton explained, adding that the company is also in the process
- of launching a more upmarket version of the bakery.
- YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT
- Three Dog Bakery's brochure says it uses only natural
- ingredients and that humans can eat its products too. ``You
- could feel great about eating any treat that we produce. We eat
- everything we make!'' it proclaims.
- So the decision was made to put the claim to the taste, and
- a sampling menu hastily assembled.
- First came a 29 pence Postman's Leg with the lamb and mint
- flavour of the month. It resembled a Christmas biscuit baked a
- deep golden brown, and indeed proved extremely crunchy with a
- slightly minty aftertaste. It did not melt in the mouth but
- certainly did not taste anything like one might imagine dog food
- to be.
- Carl Davis, who works behind the counter, said many of the
- items are up to three weeks old because they are shipped over
- from the United States. Dogs, apparently, are not as picky as
- humans about freshness.
- Next came a Boxer Brownie, an oversized, sinful looking
- chocolate mass, costing 69 pence, topped with a generous dollop
- of whipped cream.
- The brochure explains that no sugar is added to any product
- and carob used instead of chocolate, which may be healthy for a
- dog, but for a somewhat more discerning palate produces a gooey
- and largely tasteless treat.
- One man walking past the bakery said his six-year-old
- daughter had discovered a brownie meant for her golden retriever
- and stuffed half of it in her mouth.
- ``It came out almost as quickly with a big 'yuck','' he said
- as he scooped up his daughter. ``Our dog just swallowed the rest
- whole.''
- Not all dogs in the store proved such eager customers.
- Hobbes, a black labrador, ran straight past the bakery counter
- to a nearby display featuring dried pigs' ears.
- ``He doesn't go for all that fancy stuff,'' said his owner
- somewhat proudly. ``He is a dog after all.''
-
-
- Date: Fri, 9 May 1997 00:37:38 -0400
- >From: "radioactive" <radioactive@bellsouth.net>
- To: "Animal Rights" <ar-news@envirolink.org>
- Subject: Full Story
- Message-ID: <199705090439.AAA20152@mail.mia.bellsouth.net>
- MIME-Version: 1.0
- Content-Type: text/html;
- charset="iso-8859-1"
-
-
- 11:03 AM ET 05/08/97
-
- Kabul symbol of hope, zoo lioness, gets pregnant
-
-
- By Tim Johnston
- KABUL, Afghanistan (Reuter) - The lioness in Kabul Zoo, long
- a symbol of hope in Afghanistan's capital devastated by years of
- fighting, has become pregnant, the zoo director said Thursday.
- ``She is due to give birth in four or five months. This is
- the first birth we have had in the zoo for seven years,'' said
- director Abdul Razziq.
- Her mate won't be able to witness the event, however -- he
- was blinded in a grenade attack in early 1995.
- For three years after the collapse of the Communist regime
- in Kabul in 1992 the zoo was on the front line. Keepers used to
- crawl along trenches into the zoo to feed its diminishing
- population.
- The zoo's continued existence during the fighting is a
- symbol of hope for the future for the city's population -- a
- small survivor of past normality in a sea of destruction.
- ``During the fighting most of the animals were killed or
- taken away. The cages were destroyed, as was our collection of
- stuffed animals.'' Razziq said.
- Many animals became victims of the crossfire. The elephant
- was killed with a rocket-propelled grenade in 1994 and a black
- bear, which still limps disconsolately around the cracked
- concrete of its pen, was wounded by rocket shrapnel.
- Kabulis again started to visit the zoo after the front line
- moved away in 1995. The male lion was blinded in a revenge
- grenade attack after a young fighter who climbed into the lions
- compound was mauled to death.
- There have since been attempts at a limited rehabilitation
- of the zoo.
- It has acquired some monkeys, wolves and a vulture with a
- broken wing, and Razziq said they hoped to buy two tigers that
- have been captured in the eastern Afghan province of Laghman.
- But as Razziq readily admitted, conditions are far from
- perfect.
- ``The main problems are a lack of money and and the
- inconvenience of the cages for the animals. Some international
- aid agencies have said that they will help with rehabilitating
- the pens, but nothing has come of it,'' he said.
- One problem they are unlikely to have is security. The two
- turbanned Taleban fighters collecting the admission fee were
- both armed with automatic rifles.
- Kabul is now ruled by the Taleban, who took over in
- September last year. But they are still fighting rival factions
- -- including the government it dislodged -- for the 25 percent
- of Afghanistan they do not control.
- ^REUTER@
-
-
- Date: Fri, 9 May 1997 00:39:07 -0400
- >From: "radioactive" <radioactive@bellsouth.net>
- To: "Animal Rights" <ar-news@envirolink.org>
- Subject: Full Story
- Message-ID: <199705090440.AAA20426@mail.mia.bellsouth.net>
- MIME-Version: 1.0
- Content-Type: text/html;
- charset="iso-8859-1"
-
-
- 10:34 AM ET 05/08/97
-
- Hedgehog barbecue enrages British animal activists
-
-
- LONDON (Reuter) - British hedgehog-welfare activists vowed
- Thursday to disrupt plans by a self-styled ``king of the
- Gypsies'' to hold a traditional Gypsy barbecue where the small
- woodland animals would be grilled on skewers and marinated in
- honey.
- Former bare-knuckle fighter Bartley Gorman is selling
- tickets for a Gypsy festival on his land in Uttoxeter, central
- England, in July. Attractions include Gypsy music around
- traditional campfires, and barbecued hedgehog.
- ``We are going to get this stopped,'' said Anne Jenkins of
- Britain's Hedgehog Preservation Society.
- ``It gives people ideas and we have to make sure that this
- is stopped because we want to prevent this idea catching on,''
- she told Reuters. ``The fad is growing for exotic food, you can
- go down city high streets and buy ostrich steak, alligator stew
- and so on. We don't need hedgehogs appearing, it's a bit sick.''
- Jenkins said the society's members would prefer to have the
- festival stopped by using British laws against the breeding or
- trapping of hedgehogs. ``But if we have to call our people out
- to picket it, we will,'' she added.
- ^REUTER@
-
-
- Date: Fri, 9 May 1997 00:42:05 -0400
- >From: "radioactive" <radioactive@bellsouth.net>
- To: "Animal Rights" <ar-news@envirolink.org>
- Subject: Fw: APHIS Press Release USDA Announces Wisconsin's Accredited-Free Tuberculosis
- Message-ID: <199705090443.AAA20843@mail.mia.bellsouth.net>
- MIME-Version: 1.0
- Content-Type: text/plain;
- charset="iso-8859-1"
- Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
-
-
- ----
- >From: Questa Glenn <qglenn@aphis.usda.gov>
- To: press_releases@info.aphis.usda.gov
- Date: Thursday, May 08, 1997 11:19 PM
- Subject: APHIS Press Release USDA Announces Wisconsin's Accredited-Free
- Tuberculosis
-
- Dawn Kent (301) 734-7255
- dkent@aphis.usda.gov
- Jerry Redding (202) 720-6959
- jredding@usda.gov
-
-
- USDA ANNOUNCES WISCONSIN'S ACCREDITED-FREE TUBERCULOSIS
- STATUS
-
- WASHINGTON, May, 8, 1997--The U.S. Department of Agriculture is
- amending the tuberculosis regulations by raising Wisconsin's
- tuberculosis status to accredited-free.
-
- Wisconsin's accredited-free status was suspended on Dec. 8, 1995,
- following the discovery of an infected herd in the state. A state with
- accredited-free (suspended) status is qualified for redesignation to
- accredited-free status after the herd in which tuberculosis was detected
- has been quarantined and the disease eliminated. Additionally, an
- epidemiological investigation must confirm that the disease has not
- spread from the herd.
-
- "We are confident that Wisconsin meets this criteria," said Joan M.
- Arnoldi, deputy administrator for veterinary services with the Animal and
- Plant Health Inspection Service, a part of USDA's marketing and
- regulatory programs mission area.
-
- The tuberculosis regulations govern the interstate movement of cattle
- and bison to control the spread of the disease. A state's status is based
- on its tuberculosis infection rate and the effectiveness of its
- tuberculosis
- eradication program.
-
- Tuberculosis is a serious, communicable disease of livestock and
- humans. It can cause weight loss, general debilitation, and sometimes
- death.
-
- For further information contact: Mitchell Essey, senior staff
- veterinarian, National Animal Health Programs, VS, APHIS, 4700 River
- Road Unit 36, Riverdale, Md. 20737-1231, (301) 734-7727.
- Messey@aphis.usda.gov
-
- Notice of this interim rule became effective upon publication in the
- May
- 7 Federal Register.
-
- Consideration will be given to comments received on or before July 7.
- An original and three copies should be sent to Docket No. 96-093-1,
- Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS, Suite 3C03, 4700
- River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, Md. 20737-1238.
-
- Comments may be reviewed at USDA, Room 1141, South Building,
- 14th Street and Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C., between
- 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except holidays. Persons
- wishing to review comments are requested to call ahead at (202)
- 690-2817 to facilitate entry into the comment reading room.
-
- #
-
- NOTE: USDA news releases, program announcements, and media
- advisories are available on the Internet. Access the APHIS Home Page
- by pointing your Web browser to
- http://www.aphis.usda.gov and clicking on "APHIS Press Releases."
- Also, anyone with an e-mail address can sign up to receive APHIS press
- releases automatically. Send an e-mail message to
- majordomo@info.aphis.usda.gov
- and leave the subject blank. In the message, type
- subscribe press_releases
-
-
- Date: Fri, 9 May 1997 00:41:50 -0400
- >From: "radioactive" <radioactive@bellsouth.net>
- To: "Animal Rights" <ar-news@envirolink.org>
- Subject: Fw: APHIS Press Release USDA Proposes to Revise Regulations for Importing Coffee
- Message-ID: <199705090443.AAA20856@mail.mia.bellsouth.net>
- MIME-Version: 1.0
- Content-Type: text/plain;
- charset="iso-8859-1"
- Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
-
-
- ----
- >From: Questa Glenn <qglenn@aphis.usda.gov>
- To: press_releases@info.aphis.usda.gov
- Date: Thursday, May 08, 1997 10:24 PM
- Subject: APHIS Press Release USDA Proposes to Revise Regulations for
- Importing Coffee
-
- H. Nolan Lemon, Jr. (301) 734-3266
- nlemon@aphis.usda.gov
- Jerry Redding (202) 720-6959
- jredding@usda.go
- v
-
-
- USDA PROPOSES TO REVISE REGULATIONS FOR IMPORTING COFFEE
-
- WASHINGTON, May 8, 1997--The U.S. Department of Agriculture is
- proposing to revise its coffee regulations to prohibit the importation of
- fruits and berries and to clarify rules for moving samples of unroasted
- coffee through Hawaii and Puerto Rico to other destinations.
-
- "USDA is proposing to amend its coffee regulations to list fruits and
- berries as items prohibited entry into all parts of the United States,"
- said
- Alfred S. Elder, acting deputy administrator of plant protection and
- quarantine with the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, a part
- USDA's marketing and regulatory programs mission area.
-
- Current regulations do not specifically list the restricted goods.
- The
- regulations list fruits and vegetables that are permitted entry.
-
- "Coffee fruits and berries present significant risks of introducing
- the
- Mediterranean fruit fly, which is a serious plant pest that attacks a wide
- range of host plants grown throughout the United States," said Elder.
-
- This proposed rule would also remove unnecessary text in the
- regulations for moving samples of unroasted coffee through Hawaii and
- Puerto Rico in transit to other destinations.
-
- The proposed rule is scheduled for publication in the May 9
- Federal Register. For more information, contact James Petit de Mange,
- staff officer, Phytosanitary Issues Management Team, PPQ, APHIS, 4700
- River Road, Unit 140, Riverdale, Md. 20737-1236, telephone (301)
- 734-6799 or e-mail him at jpdmange@aphis.usda.gov.
-
- Consideration will be given to comments received on or before July 8.
- Please send an original and three copies to Docket No. 97-011-1,
- Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS, Suite 3C03, 4700
- River Road, Unit 118, Riverdale, Md. 20737-1238.
-
- Comments may be reviewed at USDA, Room 1141, South Building,
- 14th Street and Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C., between
- 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except holidays. People
- wishing to review comments are requested to call ahead on (202)
- 690-2817 to facilitate entry into the comment reading room.
-
- #
-
- NOTE: USDA news releases, program announcements, and media
- advisories are available on the Internet. Access the APHIS home page
- by pointing your Web browser to
- http://www.aphis.usda.gov and clicking on "APHIS Press Releases."
- Also, anyone with an e-mail address can sign up to receive APHIS press
- releases automatically. Send an e-mail message to
- majordomo@info.aphis.usda.gov
- and leave the subject blank. In the message, type
- subscribe press_releases
-
-
- Date: Fri, 9 May 1997 12:52:37 +0800
- >From: bunny <rabbit@wantree.com.au>
- To: ar-news@envirolink.org
- Subject: Salmonella found in meat (Victoria,Australia)
- Message-ID: <1.5.4.16.19970509124532.088f2eee@wantree.com.au>
- Mime-Version: 1.0
- Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
-
- Salmonella still a risk in Victoria according to investigaion.
-
- Front page lead article - The Age Newspaper (Victoria,Australia) 4.5.1997
-
- According to "The Age" Newspaper (Victoria, Australia 4th May 1997),
- Victorians are eating
- meat produced by several shoddy, unhygienic and poorly supervised abattoirs,
- processors and smallgoods manufacturers, according to senior industry
- figures and meat inspectors.
-
- One of the largest processors in the state is taking expired and returned
- meat from retailers, then
- reprocessing, repackaging and reselling it in a major breach of health
- regulations, according to a company
- inspector.
-
- The chairman of the Victorian Meat Authority, Mr John Watson, said he did
- not deny there were problem areas, but believed quality control systems were
- much better since self-regulation was introduced in July 1994.
-
- An investigation by "The Sunday Age" has uncovered a series of problems
- within the [meat] industry
- including:
-
- *Since processors began employing their own safety inspectors, some have
- been pressured not to report
- major safety breaches.
-
- *Companies are often warned in advance if their meatworks are going to be
- independently audited.
-
- *Federal Government Documents predicted major health risks if the Victorian
- deregulation went ahead.
-
- *A CSIRO study shows much higher contamination, including salmonella, of
- domestic meat compared to meat
- produced for the export market.
-
- *People identified and convicted of meat substitution and criticised by a
- royal commission into the industry
- in the 1980's have re-emerged as operators.
-
- **Mutton is being regularly substituted for lamb.
-
- Since self regulation was introduced by the State Government, the industry
- has been controlled by the Victorian Meat Authority. It employs five
- inspectors, assisted by another six staff from a private auditing firm to
- oversee 654 licensed processing premises and more than 200 transport vehicles.
-
- One of these inspectors told "The Age" :We simply have to rely on well
- trained operatives doing the right thing. It's not the system. How do you
- control so many loose cannons?
-
- The Managing Director of one of Victoria's largest meatworks, Mr Castricum
- said "Total self-regulation of the
- meat industry is very dangerous I think." He said "There are still people in
- Victoria letting the side down."
-
- One supermarket was said to have sent back substandard meat on a monthly basis.
-
- One meat inspector claimed "I'm seeing unsafe things all the time, things
- that go past the critical control point, bile and spillage from the
- intestines, splitting of carcases. I've seen splitting of diseased animals
- when they have abcesses in the lungs, in the liver, on the backbone and they
- split them with no sterilisation, spray them and all that does is spread the
- bacteria out of the abcess."
-
- "You should actually stop production when you have either a risk of
- contamination from some pathalogical
- condition or spillage of intestinal contents. That's just not happening."
-
- "Sick, injured or dying animals were being slaughtered without veterinary
- supervision, potentially creating a major health risk," the inspector said.
-
- "The moment we talk about these dangers we get a reaction of anger or
- aggression from management," the inspector said. "The prime objective is to
- keep production flowing, not safety."
-
- "The public should be desperately worried, and if they knew what we knew,
- they would be," he said.
-
- An unpublished copy of the CSIRO health study - part funded by the meat
- industry- contains data indicating that there were differences in the level
- of [salmonella] contamination of export and domestic meats.
-
- A table, authenticated by the author of the report, the CSIRO program
- manager for food safety, Mr Barry
- Shay, states that salmonella was found in 2.24 per cent of domestic boneless
- beef meat samples and in
- .38 per cent of export samples.
-
- Mr Shay said the bacterial count was simply an indicator of poor hygiene and
- likely spoilage rather than safety. He said the salmonella findings were
- based on too small a sample to be meaningful.
-
- The secretary of the Meatworkers Union, Mr Wally Curran, said the auditing
- system was a joke, and their should be spot inspections of meatworks.
-
- One inspector employed at a processing plant supplying packaged meat
- products said it regularly recycled
- expired and returned products.
-
- "They take the product back from the supermarkets, they heat it rapidly,
- cool it, vacuum pack it,
- and its resold as pressed meat, original product" he said.
-
- NB According to this article Meat processors often knew two days before hand
- of an impending inspection.
-
- End
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
- Kia hora te marino, kia whakapapa pounamu te moana, kia tere ai te karohirohi
- i mua tonu i o koutou huarahi.
- -Maori Prayer
-
- (May the calm be widespread, may the sea be as the smooth surface of the
- greenstone and may the rays of sunshine forever dance along your pathway)
-
-
-
- ("\''/").___..--''"`-._
- `9_ 9 ) `-. ( ).`-.__.`)
- (_Y_.)' ._ ) `._ `. ``-..-'
- _..`--'_..-_/ /--'_.' .'
- (il).-'' ((i).' ((!.-'
-
-
-
- Date: Fri, 9 May 1997 15:40:03 +0900 (JST)
- >From: nagaoaki@leda.law.osaka-u.ac.jp (Aki Nagao)
- To: ar-news@envirolink.org
- Cc: nagaoaki@leda.law.osaka-u.ac.jp
- Subject: ISAHAYA BAY IS DYING IN JAPAN
- Message-ID: <199705090640.PAA24429@leda.law.osaka-u.ac.jp>
-
-
- Would you like to read following message ,please?
- Thanks for your time and considerations!
-
- ------ Forwarded Message
-
- Received: from law.law.osaka-u.ac.jp (law.law.osaka-u.ac.jp [133.1.126.21]) by
- leda.law.osaka-u.ac.jp (8.7.5+2.6Wbeta6/3.4W3-law/96080617) with SMTP id CAA03784 for
- <nagaoaki@leda.law.osaka-u.ac.jp>; Sat, 3 May 1997 02:30:37 +0900 (JST)
-
- MIME-Version: 1.0
- Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-2022-jp
-
- ISAHAYA BAY IS DYING - WORLDWIDE PROTESTS BEING IGNORED
- Japan Wetland Action Network Action Alert
- Contact: Maggie Suzuki JAWAN International Liaison
- email: BYG05310@niftyserve.or.jp
- tel/fax: +81-879-33-6763
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- -
- -
- (The following is an amalgamation of several action alerts and upates send out
-
- to email subscribers to the English-language publication, "Japan Environment
- Monitor," and will appear in JEM's upcoming printed version.
- Visit JEM's home page at
- http://www.yin.or.jp/user/greenstar/
- If you would like to subscribe to JEM's email or printed version, please
- contact$B!!(BMaggie Suzuki.
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------
- SYNOPSIS
- Japan's largest tidal flat wetland at Isahaya Bay (3,000 hectares) is dying,
- cut off from the sea on April 14th by a Ministry of Agriculture land
- reclamation project.A number of endemic species will be completely wiped out
- by the project. Migratory shorebirds flying immense journeys between Australia
-
- and Siberia will lose their largest feeding & resting site in Japan. All the
- mudflat-dwelling creatures - crabs, mudskippers (fish which "walk" on their
- flippers), shellfish and other invertebrates, will die within a few weeks if
- two sluice gates in the seawall are not opened to let tides flow in and out.
-
- Justifications for the project have long since dried up - new farmland is not
- wanted and grave doubts about its flood control function emphasized by
- authorities have been$B!!(Bexpressed by an internal expert panel whose 1986 report
-
- was supressed until recently.
-
- All Japan's major conservation organizations and many others in the US,
- Australia, Canada, Russia and elsewhere, as well as hundreds of individual
- citizens, have sent in urgent faxes to the authorities asking the gates to be
- opened. National Dietmembers and$B!!(Bthe national press have shown an active
- interest in the issue, so far in vain.
-
- Please add your voice.
-
- Please send a letter to Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto asking that the gates
-
- in the seawall at Isahaya Bay be opened and the project subjected to a
- rigorous review.
-
- The Hon. Ryutaro Hashimoto, Prime Minister of Japan
- 1-6-1 Nagatacho Chiyoda-ku Tokyo 100 Japan
- Fax: +81-3-3581-3883
-
- Succinct letters to the editor of any of Japan's English newspapers, to the
- Asian Wall Street Journal or any other publication to which you subscribe
- would also be very helpful.
-
- Please send copies of your letters if possible to Maggie Suzuki:
- fax: 0879-33-6763, email: BYG05310@niftyserve.or.jp
-
- The fiddler crabs of Isahaya Bay wave their claws in vain, beckoning to a tide
-
- t
- hat no longer rises. They started to die just a few days after the Ministry of
-
- Agriculture closed off the bay on Monday
- April 14th. Isahaya's 3,000 hectares of mudflats will die by the end of May if
-
- they don't open 2 sluice gates at either end of the 7.5 km seawall constructed
-
- across the middle of the bay. Opening these gates will let tidal flows return
- to the flats.
-
- Hundreds of fax letters have already been sent in to Fujimoto Takao, Minister
- of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and the governor of Nagasaki Prefecture
- ,
- from ordinary citizens and nature conservation groups in Japan and around the
-
- world. Our heartfelt thanks to those JEM email subscribers who responded to
- our urgent action bulletins.
-
- "My mother is from the Ariake Sea area," writes one Japanese housewife, "and
- her stories of its unique life forms delighted my youth. I cannot endure the
- thought of Isahaya Bay being lost. ... If this kind of thing keeps up, the
- human race will have no future."
-
- "Destroying nature for the sake of not just human beings but for the profit of
-
- the construction industry may provide temporary benefits to a few, but it's
- quite clear that in the long run it will devalue our national worth," writes
- a salaryman.
-
- The lead editorial of the Asahi Shimbun on April 16th, entitled, "Land
- Reclamation for Whom?" lambasted the project, concluding "What is most
- pressing now is to open the seawall and save the tidal flat creatures from
- being exterminated. The ecology of the Ariake Sea has developed over the
- course of 6 million years. Who will claim$B!!(Bresponsibility for destroying it?"
-
- On April 28th, 8 Democratic Party National Dietmembers, including party
- representative Hatoyama Yukio visited Isahaya to view the site and meet local
- government representatives. "It smells of death," said Mr. Hatoyama in a
- television interview. After inspecting the seawall and the tidal flats, the
- group talked with local government and pro-development representatives.
-
- In a press conference Mr. Hatoyama said, "They ought to open the sluice gates
- right away. There should be enough time to give more consideration to the
- project, and aim for the co-existence of both human life and a diversity of
- wildlife. We did not come here to say no to the whole concept of reclaiming
- land, but with respect to public works projects, in the context of changing
- times, we must summon the courage to distinguish which ones are really needed
- and which are not. It has already been two weeks since the seawall was closed
- off and there is no leisure time to go through all the various legal
- procedures. I hope to take this up at the highest level of government. There's
-
- a possibility that Prime Minister Hashimoto will give me a hearing on this
- issue."
-
- Conservation Organizations Around the World Protest
-
- On April 24th, all the major nature conservation organizations in Japan,
- including World Wide Fund for Nature Japan (WWF-J), the Wild Bird Society of
- Japan, the Nature Conservation Society of Japan and Japan Wetlands Action
- Network, held a joint press conference in Tokyo to publicize their statements
- calling for opening the gates and reviewing the project. Letters have also
- been sent by major nature conservation organizations around the world,
- including the National Wildlife Federation & the National Audubon Society (US)
- ,
- the Australian Marine Conservation Society & the Queensland Wader Study Group
-
- (Australia), the Socio-ecological Union and the Wader Study Group of the
- Russian Federation, the United Nations University (Tokyo), Ocean Voice
- International (Canada), and Friends of the Earth- International.
-
- Barbara Bramble of the National Wildlife Federation, the United States's
- largest conservation organization, writes, "[We] request that you immediately
- suspend and conduct a thorough review of the Isahaya Bay Land Reclamation
- Project and that you give serious consideration to the alternative plan
- proposed by local citizens' groups."
-
- Daniel Beard, formerly of the Bureau of Land Reclamation and presently Senior
- Vice President for Policy of the National Audubon Society writes "Japan is
- blessed with a precious, unique ecosystem found nowhere else in the world. The
-
- National Audubon Society, as an environmental organization deeply concerned
- with the rapid decimation of
- birds and their habitat, strongly urges you to reconsider the Isahaya Bay
- project."
-
- The role of Isahaya Bay as a vital feeding and resting stopover site for
- migratory shorebirds (waders) which are now in the midst of their spring
- migration, was emphasized in a letter signed jointly by Dr. Svetoslav Zabelin,
-
- Chairman of the International Socio-ecological Union and Dr. Pavel Tomkovich,
- Chairman of the Working Group on Waders of the Russian Federation; "Isahaya
- Bay is a treasure of Japan as well as a world heritage. Reclamation of Isahaya
-
- Bay will cause the loss of a major stopover for numerous flocks of migratory
- birds of Eastern Siberia. For some waders Isahaya Bay is the single place to
- refuel their flight energy on their tremendous way from the Arctic tundra to
- Australia."
-
- >From the other end of the flyway comes a letter from the Australian Marine
- Conservation Society, "We have hoped that Japan delivered the same amount of
- dedication to preserving the environment as it has to developing as a wealthy
- and highly successful industrial nation. What has happened in the Isahaya
- wetlands example?"
-
- The United Nations University, located in Tokyo, warns, "The present [Isahaya]
-
- project will not reflect well on Japan internationally in the light of its
- commitments to the preservation of the environment, rare habitats, and
- sustainable development."
-
- No Reaction
-
- So far, none of the letters sent to the Ministry of Agriculture have gotten an
-
- answer, and the sluice gates at either end of "The Wall" remained closed.
- There is no reason why they cannot be opened at this time. Even if the
- Ministry intends to stick to its plan of converting the area to land reclaimed
-
- for agriculture and a freshwater reservoir, they should at least delay this
- until recommendations made by the Environment Agency to provide sewage
- treatment facilities to the surrounding watershed, now completely lacking,
- have been implemented. Even if it continues to ignore the Ministry of
- Construction and its own expert panel's warnings about the inadequacy of the
- seawall as a flood control measure, it should at least open the gates when no
- flood hazard is imminent. These gates can be open or shut in 6 minutes.
-
- Although fishing cooperatives have been catching and releasing some marine
- fish, such as mullet and eel, Yamashita Hirofumi of Japan Wetlands Action
- Network has dismissed the MAFF-sanctioned action as "a public relations trick.
- " The authorities have made no effort to relocate any of the endangered
- species now dying on the flats. JAWAN conducted a "Mudskipper Rescue" on April
-
- 27th, involving Kagoshima University experts and local schoolchildren.
-
- Will Pressure from the US Government to Increase Domestic Demand Solidify
- Japan's Determination to Go Through with the Isahaya Project?
-
- Before Prime Minister Hashimoto met President Clinton on April 25th, Mr.
- Clinton reportedly sent Mr. Hashimoto a memo asking the Japanese government to
-
- continue to make its utmost efforts to stimulate domestic demand rather than
- depend on exports which invite a trade balance unfavorable to the US. In the
- past, Japan's preferred way of "stimulating domestic demand" has been through
- public works like the Isahaya Bay Land Reclamation Project. It looks very much
-
- as if the US government, which has recently made a renewed commitment to
- restoration of the Everglades, is not aware of the consequences of Japanese
- "domestic demand stimulation" in terms of gratuitous destruction of wetlands
- and other precious natural ecosystems.
-
- YOU CAN HELP
-
- Please send a letter to Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto asking that the gates
-
- in the seawall at Isahaya Bay be opened and the project subjected to a
- rigorous review.
-
- The Hon. Ryutaro Hashimoto, Prime Minister of Japan
- 1-6-1 Nagatacho Chiyoda-ku Tokyo 100 Japan
- Fax: +81-3-3581-3883
-
- Succinct letters to the editor of any of Japan's English newspapers, to the
- Asian Wall Street Journal or any other publication to which you subscribe
- would also be very helpful.
-
- Please send copies of your letters if possible to Maggie Suzuki:
- fax: 0879-33-6763, email: BYG05310@niftyserve.or.jp
-
- BACKGROUND ON ISAHAYA BAY
-
- Isahaya Bay - Biodiversity and Wetland Values
- Isahaya Bay is a quiet pocket bay in Nagasaki prefecture Japan approx. 100
- square km. in area, part of the Ariake Sea, an inland sea in southwestern
- Kyushu. Its depth is in the 10 meter range, and tidal differences can be up to
-
- 6 meters. Its 3,000 ha. of muddy tidal flats are composed of fine silt; with a
-
- high proportion of organic matter. It is the largest tidal flat wetland in
- Japan, comprising about 6% of the national total. Japan has lost 40% of its
- tidal flat area since the war.
-
- A total of 144 species of waterbird including 60 species of shorebird have
- been recorded. Recent maximum fall and spring counts of shorebirds are in the
- vicinity of 4,000+ - 6,000+ birds. Twenty five percent of the global
- population of Saunders's Gull (Larus saundersi, total world pop. 2-3,000)
- winters at the site. Surveys have revealed about 282 species of bottom-
- dwelling invertebrates. Species new to science are still being discovered. It
- has been estimated that at least 5 endemic species will face grave danger of
- extinction due to the land reclamation project. Red data book listed fish such
-
- as the mudskipper (Boleophthalmus pectinirostris) will lose their prime
- habitat site in Japan. Japan's largest community of a saltwater plant, Suadea
-
- japonica, Rare in Japan's Red Data Book, is located on Isahaya's flats. The
- endangered status of at least 20 species will be greatly exacerbated by the
- project. Isahaya Bay meets all the criteria as a wetland of international
- importance under the Ramsar Convention.
-
- The Reclamation Project
- On April 14th, 1997, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
- completed a sea wall extending across the center of Isahaya Bay,
-
- cutting off 3,550 ha., of the upper part of the bay, including all its tidal
- flats, from the tides. The plan to convert this area to 1,600 ha. of
- agricultural land and a 1,700 ha. freshwater reservoir was commenced in 1989,
- despite decades of protest by fishers.
- Another stated purpose is to control flooding from heavy rains and tidal
- surges.
-
- The flood control function of the project has been seriously called into
- question by an internal MAFF panel of experts, whose 1986 report was
- suppressed until leaked in January 1997. The national Ministry of Construction
- ,
- presently building a dam on the Honmyo River which flows into the Bay, has
- publicly questioned the functionality of the project as a flood control
- measure. No bids have been made for any of the agricultural land to be
- reclaimed, which will be exorbitantly expensive and run the risk of being
- periodically flooded.
-
- In 1989, the project was estimated to cost 135 billion yen; this has escalated
-
- to a staggering 235 billion yen (@US$1=120 yen, approx. US$ 2 billion). Most
- of the money has already been used just to build the 7.5 km long seawall -
- land reclamation and irrigation facilities have not been started yet. The MAFF
-
- refuses to issue a final estimate.
-
- The environmental impact assessment for the project was typical of Japan's
- "rubber-stamp" EIA system, which is presently under review. This document
- stated that, for example, the migratory waterbirds would find other habitat in
-
- the greater Ariake Sea, of which Isahaya Bay is part, but no surveys were
- performed to determine whether sufficient suitable alternative habitat is
- available. A national report on bottom-dwelling organisms, which are the food
- of migratory shorebirds, published in December 1996 by WWF-Japan states, "...
- compared with inner bay tidal flats of Saga and Fukuoka prefecture in the same
-
- greater Ariake Sea area, both the number of species and volumes of individuals
-
- recorded were particularly great for Isahaya Bay."
-
- Comments in a Wider Perspective
- The spectacle of extremely powerful authorities overstepping the boundaries of
-
- their usefulness, willfully ignoring common sense protests by a clear-sighted
- minority, dragging the susceptible along with them by pulling rank and playing
-
- on fears, and in the process perpetrating unconscionable crimes which are at
- the same time thunderingly stupid policy, can't help but remind me of the
- Japanese government's approach to World War II. We even have the element of
- international treaties supposed to govern minimal conduct being ignored.
-
- The forced completion of the Isahaya land Reclamation Project is a
- particularly striking example of mere power excersizing itself in a universe
- of its own making, completely divorced from present economic, social and
- ecological realities. Which will it mean if present political realities -
- including the dependence on Tokyo of the local governments which continue to
- actively go along with the project - permit the project to go ahead and the
- tidal flats to die miserably?
-
- The results of an annual public opinion poll conducted by the Prime Minister's
-
- office were released on April 26th. In answer to the question "How well do
- you think public opinion is reflected in national policy," 77% replied either
-
- "not much," or "hardly atall." This is a new low in public confidence, which
- rallied a little during the non LDP cabinet years.
-
- It looks as if the Japanese government, despite its democratic structure, in
- not actually being governed by the will of the people, and at the same time is
-
- incapable of governing itself in accordance with the minimal dictates of
- reason. Although fairly representative of the situation of humanity as a whole
- ,
- the Isahaya situation is, I hope, blatant enough to remind us we do not want
- to be going any further in that particular direction.
-
-
-
- ------ End of Forwarded Message
- :+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:
- $B"v(B NAGAO AKi $B"v(B
- Graduate student,Faculty of Law
- nagaoaki@leda.law.osaka-u.ac.jp
- +:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+
- Date: Fri, 9 May 1997 16:03:46 +0800 (SST)
- >From: Vadivu Govind <kuma@cyberway.com.sg>
- To: ar-news@envirolink.org
- Cc: jwed@hkstar.com
- Subject: (HK) Greenpeace in HK
- Message-ID: <199705090803.QAA24764@eastgate.cyberway.com.sg>
- Mime-Version: 1.0
- Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
-
-
-
- >Hong Kong Standard
- 9 May 97
- Law doubts force Greenpeace rethink
- By Maureen Pao
-
-
- Greenpeace director Anne Dingwall is still looking for a replacement to run
- the group's Hong Kong office. Picture: Mike Ho
-
- GREENPEACE has opted to register its new Hong Kong office as a ``company''
- rather than as a ``society'' because it wants first to see what the
- proposed changes to the Societies Ordinance would mean for activists.
-
- The international environmentalist group took the move even though future
- Secretary of Justice Elsie Leung Oi-sie last week said groups like
- Greenpeace, which she named specifically, would not be considered political
- groups under the new ordinance.
-
- This means it would not be subject to the ban on overseas contributions.
-
- But Anne Dingwall, acting director of Greenpeace in Hong Kong, said: ``We
- will have greater confidence when this is put into writing.''
-
- The group's seven-man office, while based here, will focus its activities
- primarily on the mainland.
-
- The separation between politics and environmentalism is in line with
- Greenpeace's own philosophy.
-
- Ms Dingwall said: ``Greenpeace has a 25-year-old policy of remaining
- independent from politics.''
-
- This is one reason the group opted not to open an office in China.
-
- All non-governmental organisations wishing to operate there must affiliate
- with a government body.
-
- A Greenpeace office in China would be required to work under the State
- Council-controlled National Environmental Protection Agency.
-
- Another reason Greenpeace set up here was that it was not on friendly terms
- with Beijing, Ms Dingwall said. Two Greenpeace exercises last year _ a
- protest in Tiananmen Square against China's nuclear testing that was shut
- down by police after 30 seconds, and a Greenpeace vessel that sailed to
- Shanghai to deliver a similar message _ raised communist hackles.
-
- Transport, communication and infrastructure issues also affected the
- decision, Ms Dingwall said.
-
- The fledgling chapter is also continuing its search for a permanent
- director.
-
- More than 100 applications, mostly from expatriates, have been received
- since the search began early last year.
-
- ``We are looking for someone who is trilingual (Cantonese, English and
- Putonghua), who is familiar with Chinese culture,'' she said.
-
- The group is now turning to candidates with a business, rather than
- environmentalist, background.
-
- ``People can always learn issues. What we need are the skills,'' she said.
-
-
-
- Date: Fri, 9 May 1997 16:03:53 +0800 (SST)
- >From: Vadivu Govind <kuma@cyberway.com.sg>
- To: ar-news@envirolink.org, veg-news@envirolink.org
- Subject: (HK) Fisherfolk hail deity Tam Kung
- Message-ID: <199705090803.QAA20595@eastgate.cyberway.com.sg>
- Mime-Version: 1.0
- Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
-
-
-
- >Hong Kong Standard
- 9 May 97
- Fisherfolk hail deity Tam Kung
- By Priscilla Cheung
-
-
- Shau Kei Wan will come alive for the birthday of Tam Kung, the deity who
- could heal the sick and control the weather.
-
- THE sweet scent of joss sticks and colour processions will help devotees
- celebrate the birthday of the child god Tam Kung next Wednesday.
-
- Hailed locally in Hong Kong, the Taoist deity is second only in popularity
- among the fisherfolk to Tin Hau, the Taoist Queen of Heaven.
-
- Each year, thousands turn up at the Shau Kei Wan temple at A Kung Ngam _
- the largest Tam Kung temple in Hong Kong _ to pay homage on his birthday.
-
- Fisherfolk arrive early on boats bedecked with flags, paper shrines and
- decorations. They pray for rain or calm seas, while others pray for health,
- wealth, knowledge and wisdom.
-
- Dozens of religious, regional or trade organisations sponsor parades, lion
- dances and Cantonese opera shows during the day.
-
- Complete with the intoxicating fragrance of joss sticks and colourful
- decorations, the stretch of Shau Kei Wan Main Street becomes a boisterous
- fairground.
-
- Tam Kung is believed to have been born during the Qing Dynasty. It is
- believed that he was an orphan raised by his grandmother and worshipped as
- a god when he was just 12.
-
- It is said he drew powers from the nine dragons who resided in the hills of
- Kowloon, and could heal the sick and control the weather.
-
- He could ease drought by flinging a handful of peas into the air and
- summoning rain, and quell any violent storm.
-
- Amid a cholera outbreak in the early 1960s, thousands of devotees went to
- the temple to pray for Tam Kung's help. The epidemic miraculously subsided,
- and thousands of lives were saved.
-
-
- Date: Fri, 9 May 1997 16:04:17 +0800 (SST)
- >From: Vadivu Govind <kuma@cyberway.com.sg>
- To: ar-news@envirolink.org, veg-news@envirolink.org
- Subject: (SG) Do not avoid chicken to fight cancer, say doctors
- Message-ID: <199705090804.QAA22731@eastgate.cyberway.com.sg>
- Mime-Version: 1.0
- Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
-
-
- Please see "(SG) Cancer: Case for macrobiotics" for letter in response to this.
- Vadivu
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
- -----------
-
- >The Straits Times
- MAY 5 1997
- Do not avoid chicken to fight cancer, say doctors
- ALLISON LIM
-
-
- NEVER mind that doctors today are able to cure nearly all early
- cancers. Never mind that new treatments for cancer can buy time
- even for people in its advanced stages.
-
- The disease is still shrouded in myth.
-
- Doctors Teo Cheng Peng and Khoo Kei Siong, medical oncologists at
- the Singapore General Hospital, say that even though there have
- been amazing advances in the last 20 years which have improved
- cancer treatment, many patients still come to them burdened with
- misconceptions.
-
- Next Saturday they will speak at a forum to address some of these
- misconceptions, including:
-
- Myth 1: All cancers are fatal.
-
- The fact is that many cancers can be cured, especially if they
- are detected early, says Dr Khoo, a senior registrar.
-
- Doctors consider patients "cured" of the disease if it has not
- recurred after many years.
-
- Myth 2: Western cancer treatments kill.
-
- It is quite understandable why people believe this, say the
- doctors.
-
- "Many people would know of someone who suffered from cancer and
- died after going to the hospital for treatment," says Dr Khoo.
-
- "So they end up thinking that the treatments kill."
-
- Part of the reason is that Western cancer treatments are
- sometimes used for palliation, to buy more time for a dying
- patient and make them feel more comfortable.
-
- Dr Khoo says: "For example, a man knows of a neighbour suffering
- from advanced lung cancer who is coughing badly and cannot
- breathe. He goes for treatment and later dies.
-
- "And he thinks: 'Oh, chemo and radiation therapy kills.' "
-
- The fact is, says Dr Khoo, chemotherapy or radiation therapy may
- have worked because it reduced the size of the tumour and the
- patient no longer coughs or shows the other symptoms and is
- comfortable.
-
- "But if the cancer is already very advanced, there is nothing we
- can do to stop the disease from advancing and ultimately he is
- going to die from it."
-
- Dr Teo, who heads the SGH oncology department, says this is why
- some people think that chemotherapy is "poisonous" and would kill
- the patient more quickly.
-
- The truth is that chemotherapy is beneficial for certain cancers
- including breast cancer, lymphomas and germ cell cancers.
-
- And chemotherapy is not necessarily a terrible experience to go
- through.
-
- This is because there are drugs and other devices which can help
- patients deal with the side-effects of chemotherapy.
-
- These include anti-vomiting drugs, appetite stimulants and stem
- cell growth factors which encourage cells damaged or weakened by
- chemotherapy to regenerate.
-
- Dr Khoo says the myth of dangerous Western treatments also apply
- to surgery.
-
- He gives this example: One of his patients, a 40-year-old mother
- with breast cancer, completed her chemotherapy treatment
- successfully to reduce her breast tumour.
-
- She was later advised to go for surgery to remove the remaining
- tumour, which would have given her a good chance of living.
-
- "But she chose not to because she was certain that she would die
- after surgery."
-
- Instead she went on a macrobiotic diet. Now her condition has
- worsened.
-
- Myth 3: Certain foods are "poisonous" and should not be eaten.
-
- Dr Teo says that this belief is probably an extension of the myth
- that chemotherapy is toxic.
-
- "The patient's family and friends may tell them to avoid toxic
- foods such as chicken, prawns and eggs and encourage them to take
- more vegetables instead."
-
- Ironically, chicken and eggs are among foods that the patient
- needs because they are high in protein and keep the patient
- healthy.
-
- While good nutrition is not a cure for cancer, it makes the
- patient stronger so that he/she can withstand more aggressive
- forms of therapy such as chemotherapy and radiation.
-
- According to studies in the United States, patients who lose as
- little as 6 per cent of their body weight may reduce their
- survival time by half.
-
- Yet the same studies show that 30 to 87 per cent of cancer
- patients are malnourished. They often have a poor appetite. Some
- are also hypermetabolic, which means their bodies use up energy
- faster than usual.
-
- Cancer patients must therefore ensure their diets are adequate
- and balanced. Dr Teo says that patients must eat enough to keep
- up their strength and must eat a variety of foods.
-
-
- Date: Fri, 9 May 1997 16:04:33 +0800 (SST)
- >From: Vadivu Govind <kuma@cyberway.com.sg>
- To: ar-news@envirolink.org, veg-news@envirolink.org
- Cc: jwed@hkstar.com
- Subject: (SG) Cancer: Case for macrobiotics
- Message-ID: <199705090804.QAA24864@eastgate.cyberway.com.sg>
- Mime-Version: 1.0
- Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
-
-
-
- >The Straits Times
- MAY 9 1997
-
- Cancer: The case for macrobiotics
-
- -----------------------------------------------------------------
-
- WE CERTAINLY need to dispel the many myths surrounding cancer.
- Your report, Do Not Avoid Chicken To Fight Cancer (Life!, May 5),
- is, unfortunately, based on the biggest myth of all.
-
- The mother of all cancer myths is this: Doctors know the whole
- truth about cancer and anything else is a myth.
-
- What Drs Teo and Khoo say is merely based on their personal
- knowledge and understanding. It is not the absolute truth. Nor is
- it the entire truth.
-
- For example, your article reports: "The truth is that
- chemotherapy is beneficial for certain cancers ..."
-
- Well, it is equally true that a number of medical studies found
- that cancer patients who do not receive chemotherapy, radiation
- or other medical treatment tend to live longer and suffer less
- discomfort.
-
- Dr Khoo went on to cite the example of his patient with breast
- cancer who declined surgery, went on a macrobiotic diet and "her
- condition has worsened".
-
- While this one incident may be true, it is again equally true
- that, worldwide, thousands of people have recovered from cancer
- -- and other life-threatening illnesses -- by adopting a
- macrobiotic diet based around whole grains, vegetables, beans and
- seaweed.
-
- These survivors included medical doctors such as Dr Anthony
- Sattilaro, author of Recalled By Life, and Dr Hugh Faulkner,
- author of Physician Heal Thyself.
-
- Dr Sattilaro lived for about 12 years after he was diagnosed with
- cancer that had spread to five different parts of his body, while
- Dr Faulkner lived seven years after he was diagnosed with
- advanced pancreatic cancer.
-
- The medical profession is often quick to dismiss these recovery
- stories as anecdotal evidence which is unscientific and therefore
- unimportant.
-
- Yet, Dr Khoo finds it important to highlight this one equally
- unscientific anecdote of one person who did not get better.
-
- The statement that chicken and eggs are among the foods that a
- cancer patient needs is just as unscientific.
-
- It is based simply on the understanding that chicken and eggs are
- rich in protein.
-
- But other foods, including soy beans and fermented soy bean
- products like miso, are also rich in protein. More importantly,
- these foods have been proven scientifically to possess
- anti-cancer properties.
-
- Scientific literature is rich with studies showing that all sorts
- of grains, beans and vegetables help fight cancer.
-
- Have there been any scientific studies which show that chicken
- and eggs can do the same job? That cancer patients really need to
- eat chicken and eggs, meaning they will definitely die if they
- don't?
-
- On the contrary, there are plenty of scientific studies which
- show that a high meat diet contributes either directly or
- indirectly to the development of many types of cancer.
-
- Is there even anecdotal evidence of people who recovered from
- cancer by eating chicken, eggs and meat? I have not come across
- any before.
-
- Yet, I know of many cancer patients who recovered fully, or whose
- conditions improved significantly, meaning they suffered less
- pain, felt more energetic, etc -- after they switched to a
- vegetarian or macrobiotic diet (which includes fish in certain
- cases).
-
- Sure, going vegetarian or macrobiotic will not guarantee recovery
- from cancer. Just as seeking medical treatment is also no
- guarantee.
-
- But if there are any vegetarians who recovered from cancer after
- they started eating meat, I would love to hear from them. Richard
- Seah Siew Sai President The Macrobiotics Society (officially
- known as Macrobiotics Study Centre)
-
-
- Date: Fri, 9 May 1997 16:04:40 +0800 (SST)
- >From: Vadivu Govind <kuma@cyberway.com.sg>
- To: ar-news@envirolink.org
- Subject: (TH) Farmers make peace with their enemy
- Message-ID: <199705090804.QAA19845@eastgate.cyberway.com.sg>
- Mime-Version: 1.0
- Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
-
-
-
- May 9, 1997
-
- [BANGKOK POST]
-
- CONSERVATION
-
- Farmers make peace with their enemy
-
- Villagers now try to protect elephants
-
- Chakrit Ridmontri
-
- Pineapple farmers in Prachuab Khiri Khan have
- made their peace with their old enemy the
- elephant and are now working to protect the wild
- animals.
-
- Not only have the planters diversified their
- pineapple crops into less tasty treats they have
- also started to bring in tourists to see the
- elephants in their natural habitat.
-
- Nong Changreung, a village headman in Tambon
- Huey Sat Yai, Hua Hin district, said more than
- 200 families living on the edge of Kaeng Krachan
- national park had planted other crops instead of
- just pineapples.
-
- At a meeting held yesterday at the Faculty of
- Forestry, Kasetsart University, to discuss the
- relationship between elephants and energy needs,
- he said villagers were now friends with the
- beasts.
-
- The problem in Tambon Huey Sat Yai started in
- 1978 when villagers started to move to the area
- under a government relocation plan to give
- degraded forest plots to landless farmers.
-
- Mr Nong said that as more and more families,
- presently numbering 200, came the pineapple
- plantations began to encroach on land used by
- elephants near the park.
-
- "In the past, we were kept busy chasing the
- elephants away using many tactics such as by
- flashing lights at them, using electric fencing,
- or even shooting them," he said.
-
- The thawing in relations followed the planting
- of fruit trees five years ago.
-
- They started to plant guava and rose apple
- orchards and graze cattle.
-
- Other villagers became traders, selling foods
- and drinks to tourists who visited the park.
- Finally, they brought tourists to see the
- elephants.
-
- With assistance from the Energy Conservation
- Promotion Fund and Wildlife Fund Thailand, the
- villagers set up a centre to promote
- conservation of the wild elephant. They mapped
- out wild elephant trails and natural tourist
- spots such as waterfalls to help tourists
- visiting the park.
-
- A conservation group was also set up to
- undertake forest and animal conservation
- programmes. They now have members in eight
- villages.
-
- Pongpisit Viseshakul, director of the Energy
- Conservation and Renewable Energy Division, said
- the fund had contributed some five million baht
- to support conservation activities in Huey Sat
- Yai.
-
- He said elephant problems were related to
- increasing energy consumption since when dams
- and gas pipelines were built villagers were
- evicted and forced to live in forest areas
- alongside the elephants.
-
- Article copyright Post Publishing Public Co., Ltd 1997
- Reprinted for non-commercial use only.
- Website: http://www.bangkokpost.net
-
-
-
- Date: Fri, 9 May 1997 16:04:45 +0800 (SST)
- >From: Vadivu Govind <kuma@cyberway.com.sg>
- To: ar-news@envirolink.org, veg-news@envirolink.org
- Subject: (TH) Attempt to curb preventable illnesses
- Message-ID: <199705090804.QAA23770@eastgate.cyberway.com.sg>
- Mime-Version: 1.0
- Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
-
-
-
- May 9, 1997
-
- [BANGKOK POST]
-
-
- HEALTH
-
- Public behaviour change urged
-
- In attempt to curb preventable illnesses
-
- Aphaluck Bhatiasevi
- Chiang Mai
-
- The nation's loss of control over deaths and
- sickness caused by illnesses that can be
- prevented is mainly due to failure in
- influencing a change in public behaviour, it was
- revealed at a health conference yesterday.
-
- Nitiya Phensirinapha of Sukhothai Thammathirat
- University said the best way to influence public
- behaviour is by making them aware of the effects
- their daily behaviour has on health.
-
- Asst Prof Nitiya said: "Since it is not possible
- for health educators to compete with increasing
- commercials that influence the use of unhealthy
- products, it is necessary to enable the public
- to think for themselves."
-
- Vivat Rojanaphitayakorn of the Communicable
- Diseases Control Department said: "Instead of
- only focusing on technical information, the
- authorities should also approach the public to
- find out the actual cause of illness and the
- possible ways of control."
-
- Dr Vivat said statistics collected from VD
- patients visiting government clinics show that
- despite a reduction in the number of reported
- cases, as high as 90 percent of infections are
- still caused by sex workers.
-
- "In this case, we can say that we have succeeded
- in controlling the rise of VD, but have failed
- to influence the behaviour of the group of men
- that continue to visit sex workers," he said.
-
- Dr Vivat said it is good to monitor the
- occurrence of diseases, "but what is the use if
- we don't make use of the information gathered"?
-
- Chaisri Suphornsilpachai of the Medical Services
- Department said it is time authorities divert
- their focus from communicable to
- non-communicable diseases.
-
- Dr Chaisri said despite a change in the nation's
- disease pattern due to rapid industrialisation,
- authorities continue to give importance to
- communicable diseases rather than the
- non-communicable.
-
- "For over 10 years, the three major causes of
- deaths in the country are accidents, heart
- disease and cancer, but information collected on
- these diseases is done only once a year or
- sometimes once in two years. On the other hand,
- information collected on communicable diseases
- is updated every month," she said.
-
- Dr Chaisri said it is also important to identify
- the causes of diseases or the risk factors,
- instead of only compiling statistical
- information.
-
- "The surveillance system of the Epidemiology
- Division only focuses on statistics of reported
- cases and the format of collecting the
- information is very uniform-like, the same
- throughout the country and not based on local
- problems. Nothing is done to identify the risk
- factors, which are believed to change every two
- years," she added.
-
- Article copyright Post Publishing Public Co., Ltd 1997
- Reprinted for non-commercial use only.
- Website: http://www.bangkokpost.net
-
-
- Date: Fri, 9 May 1997 16:04:51 +0800 (SST)
- >From: Vadivu Govind <kuma@cyberway.com.sg>
- To: ar-news@envirolink.org, veg-news@envirolink.org
- Subject: (JP) Global warming may cause malaria outbreak in western Japan
- Message-ID: <199705090804.QAA15744@eastgate.cyberway.com.sg>
- Mime-Version: 1.0
- Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
-
-
- >Asahi Shimbun
- May 9, 1997
- Global warming may cause malaria outbreak in western Japan
-
-
- As the pace of the global warming accelerates in the next century, western
- Japan may be threatened by an outbreak of malaria and a surge in the death
- toll of the elderly due to sunstroke, according to the draft of a report by
- the Environment Agency.
-
- It gives a general picture of how the progress of the so-called greenhouse
- effect may affect human health, agriculture and the natural environment in
- 21st-century Japan.
-
- A task force of 30 experts commissioned by the agency warned in the report
- that Japan should quickly begin drawing up measures to protect people,
- particularly the elderly and people living in cities.
-
- The report is a compilation of recent domestic environmental studies. It
- gives a broad-range projection on what would happen in Japan if the amount
- of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere doubles. Most of its assumptions are
- also based on a forecast by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
- that the global average temperature will rise by about 2 degrees in 2100
- from the 1990 level.
-
- As a result of global warming, the draft report warns, the number of those
- suffering sunstroke will drastically increase. It cites cases in Tokyo
- where the number of people sickened by heat increased dramatically when the
- day's average temperature rose above 27 degrees and the highest temperature
- exceeded 32 degrees, in 1994 and 1995.
-
- If the annual average temperature rises by 3 degrees, more people above age
- 65 will die in western Japan, the report says.
-
- Also, malaria may prevail in the whole of western Japan, not only in Amami
- Oshima and other Nansei group islands as previously predicted, the report
- says. The basis for the assumption is a recent finding by the National
- Institute for Environmental Studies, after a survey in southern China, that
- an epidemic can break out even in regions where average monthly
- temperatures get as low as 13 degrees.
-
- In agriculture, the effects of global warming will vary depending on the
- region, the report says. The rice harvest will shrink in western Japan--by
- 37-38 percent in Nagoya, for example. By contrast, northern Japan will
- enjoy larger harvests--by 6-22 percent in Sapporo. The total yearly
- domestic rice yield will vary between a decrease of 6 percent and an
- increase of 9 percent.
-
- The report also warns that a major review of river flood and dam control
- will become urgent because snow will begin melting earlier than it does
- now.
-
- If the sea level rises by 30 centimeters, 57 percent of existing seashores
- will disappear, it also says. Should it become one meter higher, more than
- 20 trillion yen will have to be spent on upscaling breakwaters and
- remodeling port facilites, it estimates.
-
- The report concludes that global warming can inflict unpredictable damage
- to the nation in every possible aspect from vegetation, agriculture,
- fisheries, urban infrastructure, transportation networks and people's
- lifestyles.
-
- It stressed more research efforts should be made without delay to come up
- with effective countermeasures.
-
- Kazuhiro Ueda, professor of environmental economics at Kyoto University,
- said the latest report will help improve people's awareness of the genuine
- need to tackle global warming.
-
- "Finally, we've got some basic material to start deliberations over the
- issue on the national level," he said.
-
- -END
-
- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
- [top] [prev] [next] [bottom] [par] [??]
-
- Blaze kills two firefighters
-
- Asahi Shimbun
-
- SAPPORO--Two firefighters died Thursday while battling a blaze at a
- two-story electric shop in Sapporo's Toyohira Ward, municipal fire
- department officials said.
-
- Osamu Tsutsumi, 42, and Kazuo Okada, 37, were overcome by smoke and
- collapsed on the second floor of the building. They died of carbon monoxide
- poisoning at a hospital, the officials said.
-
- The firefighters were not wearing gas masks when they were found
- unconscious. However, both had entered the building wearing gas masks and
- equipped with air tanks, the officials said.
-
- The officials said they did not know why the masks were removed. Police
- began their investigation this morning. The cause of the fire is not known.
- been established.
-
- They said the two firefighters might have been involved in a so-called
- backdraft phenomenon when they opened the door to enter the room. A
- backdraft is a sudden flare-up caused by a sudden supply of oxygen into a
- closed, burning area.
-
- Another firefighter went upstairs with Tsutsumi and Okada, but went out of
- the building to replace his air tank. When he returned to the second floor,
- he found his colleagues lying on the floor, police said.
-
- Police began their investigation this morning. The cause of the fire has
- not been established.
-
- -END
-
- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
- [top] [prev] [next] [bottom] [par] [??]
-
- Ainu bill passes Lower House
-
- By MAKOTO USHIDA
-
- Asahi Evening News
-
- A bill that acknowledges the presence of the Ainu people and promotes their
- culture--for the first time in the nation's history--passed a plenary
- session of the Lower House unanimously on Thursday.
-
- The bill had been approved unanimously by the Upper House in April, so
- Thursday's passage means the new law will go into effect within three
- months of an official announcement.
-
- The Ainu Shinpo, or the Ainu New Law, is significant because it replaces
- the former discriminatory "aborigine law" of the Meiji Period. It was this
- law that sought to stamp out the identity of the Ainu people, a minority
- indigenous to northern Japan.
-
- That policy of "Japanization" was designed to deprive the Ainu of their
- land and turn these former hunters and fishermen into farmers. The law also
- sought to suppress their language and cultural heritage.
-
- "I hope the new law will help usher in a new age of equality between
- Japanese and Ainu societies," said Jiro Sasamura, who currently heads the
- Ainu Association of Hokkaido.
-
- With the passage of the new law, Sasamura also expects to create an "Ainu
- forest" where traditional Ainu lifestyles can be recreated.
-
- Sasamura also wants the education system modified in order to preserve the
- Ainu language since schools have been overwhelmed by Japanese-language
- courses.
-
- "There are currently 14 facilities where the Ainu language is taught," said
- Sasamura. "I want to expand this coverage to the 56 municipalities in
- Hokkaido where the association operates branches."
-
- "What we want from now on are ethnic policies for the Ainu people, not
- welfare policies," said Sasamura. "And I want the Japanese people to
- realize that Ainu people live throughout Japan, and not only in Hokkaido."
-
- Sasamura said he was concerned about Ainu people living outside Hokkaido.
- "It is true that many of them were driven out of their homeland of Hokkaido
- because of discrimination," he said. "So I want to see new ethnic policies
- enforced." Current welfare policies for Ainu people apply only to those
- living in Hokkaido.
-
- The Ainu New Law declares that the culture and traditions of the Ainu
- people should be protected and promoted to bring about a society where
- Japan's northern-based minority can take "ethnic pride" in itself. It says
- nothing, however, about the indigenous rights or other ethnic rights of the
- Ainu people.
-
- "We cannot live only on culture, and we feel the government has dodged the
- essential issues," says Koichi Kaizawa, who fought the Nibutani Dam court
- battle in the Sapporo District Court.
-
- Kaizawa, who lives near the dam site in Biratori, Hokkaido, argued and won
- the case in March on the grounds that the dam obliterated Ainu holy
- grounds, or chinomisiri, by putting them under water.
-
- Date: Fri, 9 May 1997 05:28:09 -0400 (EDT)
- >From: Pat Fish <pfish@fang.cs.sunyit.edu>
- To: ar-news@envirolink.org, veg-news@envirolink.org
- Subject: RFI:Commercial Slams Vegetarians/PathMark (US NYS)
- Message-ID: <Pine.BSF.3.95.970509052226.23193S-100000@fang.cs.sunyit.edu>
- MIME-Version: 1.0
- Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII
-
-
- On Wednesday morning at about 11 AM, Warner Bros. TV affiliate WPIX in NYC
- ran a Pathmark commercial, apparently about their meats. I only caught the
- tail end of it. There were some women near the meat fridge-pits, talking
- over their shopping carts, and the commercial ends when one woman leans over
- to another and asks "You aren't a vegetarian, are you?" in much the same
- tone people might use to ask "you aren't a jehovah's witness are you?".
-
- Did anybody see this commercial, and can you provide details?
-
-
- Date: Fri, 9 May 1997 18:02:31 +0800 (SST)
- >From: Vadivu Govind <kuma@cyberway.com.sg>
- To: ar-news@envirolink.org
- Cc: jwed@hkstar.com
- Subject: (IN) Vandalur Zoo to create new 'genetic lines'
- Message-ID: <199705091002.SAA27288@eastgate.cyberway.com.sg>
- Mime-Version: 1.0
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-
-
-
- [THE HINDU]
- Monday, May 05, 1997
- SECTION: Regional
- Vandalur Zoo to create new 'genetic lines'
- Date: 05-05-1997 :: Pg: 03 :: Col: d
- By P. Oppili
-
- CHENNAI, May 4.
-
- The Arignar Anna Zoological Park (AAZP), Vandalur, is
- taking up newer techniques to improve the successes in
- captive breeding of many an endangered species of
- animals.
-
- To create new `genetic lines', the national coordinated
- breeding programme has been introduced by the Central
- Zoo Authority of India (CZAI), under which several
- species of animals are being exchanged between various
- zoological parks in the country, according to Mr. M.
- Jagannatha Rao, Deputy Director of the park. The CZAI
- has identified a few major zoos which have a proven
- record of breeding endangered species and one among them
- is the Vandalur Zoo.
-
- Under the coordinated breeding programme, the AAZP has
- been selected as a centre for breeding Asiatic lions and
- tigers in captivity.
-
- In the last three years animals such as wild dog and
- lion tailed macaques had been sent to Hyderabad Zoo,
- Nilgiri langurs to Nandankanan Zoo, Orissa, and zebra to
- Kanpur Zoo, while the park received wolf from
- Nandankanan Zoo, Orissa and reticulated python from the
- Snake Park Trust, Chennai.
-
- It is estimated that due to human interference, over 200
- species of birds and mammals have been eliminated in the
- last 300 years, making it important not only to protect
- the natural habitat of the animals, birds and reptiles,
- but also to establish the zoo banks for species.
-
- The viable breeding groups of the species have to be
- established in zoological parks or preferably in
- specially established centres where they could be bred
- successfully. When sufficient number of the species have
- been accumulated in the zoos and breeding centres, the
- same could be reintroduced into the natural habitat.
-
- In India, 66 species of mammals, 38 bird species and 18
- reptile species are considered endangered. The Indian
- zoos have been successful in captive breeding of some of
- the species such as tigers, wild dogs, wolves, clouded
- leopards, binturong, Indian rhinoceros, lion-tailed
- macaques, smooth Indian otters, gaurs, Nilgiri tahr,
- wild ass, Indian elephants, sloth bears, muggers, and
- monal pheasants.
-
- Though the zoos have achieved some success, their
- efforts have been mostly sporadic and confined to
- individual initiatives. After initial success, most of
- the efforts suffered due to constraints of financial or
- technical resources, transfer of key personnel or lack
- of proper management plans for zoos in general and
- species in particular.
-
- The outstanding success of captive breeding and
- reintroduction is that of three species of crocodiles
- into the wild, since the initiation of the Crocodile
- Breeding and Management Project in India in 1975. Under
- this programme over 1,500 gharials and 1,000 saltwater
- crocodiles have been released into the wild.
-
- The Sangai or Manipur deer is another example, says
- Mr.Rao. The habitat of the species has been restricted
- to 25 sqkm area, known as Kaibul Lamjao Park in Manipur.
- The brown antlered deer was considered extinct in 1951.
- However, a few specimens have been located in the area
- since.
-
- Captive breeding is a management tool which requires
- multidisciplinary input from veterinary science,
- pharmacology, embryology, genetic engineering,
- endocrinology, biology and animal husbandry. Success of
- the captive breeding programme mainly depends on
- understanding the biology of the species, availability
- of enough animals of suitable age and sex, availability
- of sufficient space, facilities and management and
- finally redistribution of stock to ensure continual
- mixing of the `gene pool', the officials say.
-
- Coordination and cooperation among the zoos is
- absolutely essential for free exchange or loan of
- animals for the success of captive breeding. Maintenance
- of proper breeding records and studbooks are also
- important for coordinating breeding efforts and
- information exchange among zoos.
-
- To accelerate the breeding rate, new techniques such as
- artificial insemination and embryo transfer have been
- developed in advanced countries.
-
- Mammals such as Asian elephant, Indian giant squirrel,
- black buck, lion, tiger, panther, lion-tailed macaques,
- Nilgiri langur, wild dog and striped hyena, exotic
- species like hippopotamus, grey kangaroo, chimpanzee and
- zebra, peafowl, sarus crane, spoon bill and white stork
- and marsh crocodile, Indian rock python and reticulated
- python have been bred in captivity at the AAZP.
-
-
- Date: Fri, 9 May 1997 18:02:48 +0800 (SST)
- >From: Vadivu Govind <kuma@cyberway.com.sg>
- To: ar-news@envirolink.org, veg-news@envirolink.org
- Subject: (IN) Trouble in the fish market
- Message-ID: <199705091002.SAA28292@eastgate.cyberway.com.sg>
- Mime-Version: 1.0
- Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
-
-
-
-
- [THE HINDU]
- Monday, May 05, 1997
- Trouble in the fish market
- Date: 05-05-1997 :: Pg: 17 :: Col: d
- By Malabika Bhattacharya
-
- CALCUTTA:
-
- At least Rs. 25 crores worth fish, a good part of which
- are prawns, have perished in the past two weeks in West
- Bengal, especially in the coastal regions, thanks to the
- excessive cultivation of fish in the ponds, popularly
- known as bheris spawning diseases.
-
- The average Bengali, known for his intense love of fish,
- was shocked one fine morning when the headlines in some
- of the popular Bengali dailies said that lots of fish,
- especially prawns, in the countless bheris located in
- South Bengal were infected with bacterial and viral
- diseases and perished before they could reach the
- markets. ``It could be the excessive use of pesticides
- in paddy-fields near the ponds where prawns are
- cultivated,'' said Mr. Kiranmoy Nanda, the State
- Fisheries Minister.
-
- Mr. Nanda tried to bring the situation under control by
- taking appropriate measures. He could do so in case of
- sweet-water fish such as rohu, katla, bhetki and so on
- but found it difficult to treat the diseased prawns.
-
- Four years ago, a similar disease broke out in Andhra
- Pradesh and the entire prawn community got nearly wiped
- out giving a severe jolt to the cultivators. In 1995,
- bacterial infection claimed a large number of prawns in
- the coastal areas of neighboring Orissa. Bengal's
- coastal regions were also affected by the disease.
-
- In 1995-96, the State earned foreign exchange worth Rs.
- 350 crores from the export of 14,000 tonnes of prawns.
- This figure is set to rise to Rs. 416 crores in 1996-97
- when the exports are estimated to have touched 16,000
- tonnes. This time, the earnings would positively shrink
- because of the sudden illness that struck the prawns.
- What is worrying the Government is the plight of the
- countless farmers who do not know how to repay the loans
- they had taken from the banks for pisciculture. The
- farmer is in for bad times. So is the average man who
- could buy fish at a reasonable price from the market
- every day till the outbreak of the disease. For, many
- Bengalis depend on fish for its high protein value,the
- absence of which would make the families depend on other
- protein sources which more often than not are beyond the
- reach of the common man.
-
- Currently, the price of a sweet-water fish such as rohu
- has almost doubled, nearly Rs. 15 more per kg than the
- original price. Only a few days ago, the fish-lover
- suffered because of the truck strike. The price of the
- sweet-water fish, the bulk of which comes from Andhra
- Pradesh, shot up by Rs. 20 per kg. Even after the strike
- was called off, prices did not show signs of going down.
- And now, with the disease, the chances of the price
- going down to a reasonable level appear to be dim.
-
- The State Fisheries Department took measures the moment
- the news of the disease reached the Writers' Building,
- the State Secretariat. It had also begun a training
- programme for the farmers for teaching them the means of
- checking such an outbreak of disease. Although the
- problem has been brought within control, the fate of the
- farmers dealing in prawns in Digha and Tamluk in
- Midnapore district appears to be a little uncertain. An
- estimated 36,000 hectares in the State is currently
- under prawn cultivation. An additional 7,000 hectares
- will shortly be brought under it. Basirhat, Haroa,
- Sandeshkhali, Minakha, Basanti, Gosaba, Sagar, Digha and
- Tamluk in both North and South 24- Parganas districts
- house a large number of bheris. Hundreds of people are
- dependent on these bheris for survival. Apart from the
- two districts, the white spots disease has been detected
- in fish even in Murshidabad and Nadia districts. This
- year, Digha alone suffered a loss of foreign exchange
- worth Rs. 12 crores because of the disease. Its 112
- bheris were hit by the disease.
-
- Mr. Nanda has blamed some of the bheri owners for the
- current misfortune that has befallen the farmers. The
- owners, according to him, have been cramming the ponds
- with fish more than its capacity with a view to earning
- a high profit. They even prepared the fish feed
- containing extra nitrate, administered antibiotic
- medicines and used pesticides for increasing production.
-
- Mr. Nanda may be right. But,what is surprising is the
- fact that the Government, till the outbreak of the
- disease, did not think of taking measures to discipline
- these bheri owners or to train the farmers on how to
- tackle the situation. Critics have charged Mr. Nanda
- with carefully avoiding the reality. He, they allege,
- was more concerned with the volume of production as that
- would mean Bengal retaining the top position in the
- country in pisciculture.
-
- Mr. Nanda, however, says the Government has sought funds
- from the World Bank to set up a research laboratory to
- detect and analyse the disease and evolve medicines to
- cure the fish. Laboratories, he says, will be set up in
- all the districts for testing soil and water.
-
-
- Date: Fri, 09 May 1997 18:23:16 +0800
- >From: jwed <jwed@hkstar.com>
- To: ar-news@envirolink.org
- Cc: Jill Robinson <0005086269@mcimail.com>
- Subject: Chinese Circus
- Message-ID: <3.0.1.32.19970509182316.007a2ce0@pop.hkstar.com>
- Mime-Version: 1.0
- Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
-
- Many readers were distressed by the report from Guangzhou in China earlier
- this week concerning circus animals that were in danger of being abandoned.
- Ms Jill Robinson, China Director of IFAW (International Fund for Animal
- Welfare), has investigated the situation and reports that the logistical
- problems were solved and the animals have returned to their "normal" life
- in Anhui Province.
-
-
- Every child has the right to a healthy diet - that means no meat.
-
- http://www.earth.org.hk/
- Date: Fri, 09 May 1997 09:52:16 -0400
- >From: allen schubert <alathome@clark.net>
- To: ar-news@envirolink.org
- Subject: (US) Brucellosis...wildlife to livestock concerns
- Message-ID: <3.0.32.19970509095214.006d5500@clark.net>
- Mime-Version: 1.0
- Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
-
- from AP Wire page:
- -----------------------------
- 05/09/1997 08:01 EST
- CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) -- A federal team is reviewing Wyoming's efforts to
- control
- brucellosis after officials in several states expressed concern the
- disease might be
- spread from wildlife to cattle herds.
-
- Stuart McDonald of the Agriculture Department said the inspection ``should
- be taken
- as part of a quality assurance program to ensure Wyoming is as good as we
- know it
- is.''
-
- The state already had been declared brucellosis-free. But officials in
- some states
- threatened to impose sanctions on Wyoming beef several months ago amid fears
- the disease, which is called undulant fever in humans, could be picked up
- from wild
- animals.
-
- McDonald said inspectors will look at livestock auction facilities and
- laboratories.
- Some team members are inspecting areas near Jackson and Yellowstone National
- Park, where elk are found near cattle herds, to check the state's program
- for keeping
- wildlife away from cattle.
-
- State Agriculture Commissioner Ron Micheli said he has confidence in
- Wyoming's
- program, but adds, ``You always have apprehension about the unknown.''
- Date: Fri, 09 May 1997 10:04:44 -0400
- >From: allen schubert <alathome@clark.net>
- To: ar-news@envirolink.org
- Subject: (US) McDonald's 55-Cent Big Mac a McFlop
- Message-ID: <3.0.32.19970509100441.0068fd1c@clark.net>
- Mime-Version: 1.0
- Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
-
- from AP Wire page:
- -----------------------------
- 05/09/1997 06:05 EST
-
- McDonald's 55-Cent Big Mac a McFlop
-
-
- NEW YORK (AP) -- The sizzling sales McDonald's hoped for when it launched a
- 55-cents deal on Big Mac sandwiches have so far turned out to be a McFlop,
- The
- Wall Street Journal reported today.
-
- The burger behemoth has been surveying 3,000 of its domestic restaurants
- -- about
- a quarter of the total -- since it began the Big Mac offer two weeks ago
- and has found
- that sales are actually off as much as 6 percent compared with last year, the
- newspaper said.
-
- ``There was a lot of anticipation for this to kick in, and it hasn't
- yet,'' said Bob Srygley,
- the operator of four stores in Arkansas. He said he has been forced to
- throw away
- several trays of Big Mac buns because of the lagging sales.
-
- Dick Adams, the head of a San Diego-based consortium of McDonald's
- franchisees,
- said many of his group's members are ``almost relieved'' that the
- promotion has yet
- to catch on, because it isn't clear that any profit can be made at the
- 55-cent price.
-
- A McDonald's spokesman told the newspaper that despite the reports, the
- company
- has seen an increase in total sandwich sales. He added that the 55-cent
- promotion
- is ``a long-term initiative to increase restaurant and company profits and
- cash flow
- while giving customers a better value (and it) is doing just that.''
-
- The 55-cent deal -- McDonald's was founded in 1955 -- is expected to last
- until at
- least December.
-
- Several franchisees said that while the Big Mac sales are disappointing,
- there has
- been a strong reaction to the restaurants' 55-cent breakfast sandwiches.
-
- In addition to the 55-cent deals, the restaurants also are planning a
- speedier service
- campaign, which would guarantee that customers receive their orders within 55
- seconds of paying for them. Those who don't would receive a McDonald's
- ``Oops''
- coupon for a free sandwich on another visit.
-
- The 55-second initiative could begin by mid-July, the newspaper said.
- Date: Fri, 09 May 1997 10:07:37 -0400
- >From: allen schubert <alathome@clark.net>
- To: ar-news@envirolink.org
- Subject: (US) Dogcatcher Cleared in Stray Deaths
- Message-ID: <3.0.32.19970509100734.0068fd1c@clark.net>
- Mime-Version: 1.0
- Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
-
- from AP Wire page:
- -----------------------------
- 05/09/1997 05:49 EST
-
- Dogcatcher Cleared in Stray Deaths
-
- SWANSEA, Mass. (AP) -- A former dogcatcher who resigned amid criticism over
- reports that he killed more than 600 dogs was cleared of any wrongdoing by
- a state
- prosecutor.
-
- Herman Camara, who quit in January, reported killing 639 of 762 stray dogs
- -- nearly
- 84 percent -- that he caught over the last three years.
-
- Camara said he tried to find the owners first. But critics said the
- figures suggest he
- didn't try hard enough -- and noted that he was paid as much as $60 for
- each dog he
- reported handling.
-
- The matter is closed as far as the state is concerned, Assistant Attorney
- General
- Jeremy Silverfine said in a letter dated May 1.
-
- ``There does not appear to be sufficient evidence of criminal conduct to
- merit further
- action by the attorney general's office,'' he wrote.
-
- Jeffrey Michaelson, Camara's attorney, said Thursday that the decision was a
- ``complete vindication'' for his client, who was pleased, but still
- ``smarting from what
- was a lot of unfair publicity.''
-
- He said Camara does not plan to reapply for his old job, a part-time post
- he held for
- 17 years. Camara worked alone and boarded the dogs at his private livestock
- auction business.
-
- Camara was paid $7,500 a year on top of $6 a day for each dog in his care,
- for up to
- 10 days. He asked the town for the maximum $45,720 for the 762 dogs he
- said he
- cared for over the last three years. The town budgets $15,000 a year for
- boarding
- costs.
-
- Camara said he returned anywhere from two to five dogs a week to their
- owners.
-
- Nancy Sullivan, president of Swansea Friends of Animals, was angry about the
- decision.
-
- ``I personally feel the attorney general didn't do a very good job,'' she
- told the
- Providence Journal-Bulletin.
- Date: Fri, 09 May 1997 10:09:28 -0400
- >From: allen schubert <alathome@clark.net>
- To: ar-news@envirolink.org
- Subject: (US) Circus Goes On After Tiger Attack
- Message-ID: <3.0.32.19970509100926.0069a6c0@clark.net>
- Mime-Version: 1.0
- Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
-
- (another followup story on the circus tiger in PA)
- from AP Wire page:
- --------------------------------
- 05/09/1997 03:20 EST
-
- Circus Goes On After Tiger Attack
-
- By MICHAEL RAPHAEL
- Associated Press Writer
-
- BROAD TOP CITY, Pa. (AP) -- After the show, Brian Franzen stood in the
- rain crying
- next to his beloved elephants, camels and donkeys. The night before, one
- of the
- circus' tigers attacked Franzen's father, dragging him around the ring by
- his neck
- until he was dead.
-
- The Franzen Bros. Circus, started by Wayne Franzen 24 years ago, held another
- standing-room only performance Thursday night. Smiling children clutching
- bags of
- cotton candy and bright balloons streamed out of the big top. Nearby, 10
- restless
- Bengal tigers stared out from their tiny cages.
-
- The younger Franzen said his father would have wanted the show to continue.
-
- ``We have to take in money,'' Franzen said, a slight catch to his voice.
- ```Otherwise, I
- wouldn't have money to feed the animals or move the circus.''
-
- To Wayne Franzen, the animals were all that mattered. He had a better
- rapport with
- his creatures than with people, his son said.
-
- The circus, billed as ``America's Favorite Show,'' canceled its afternoon
- performance
- Thursday in Broad Top City, about 110 miles east of Pittsburgh. The
- evening show
- went on minus the tiger act. A trapeze artist and novelty seller quit on
- Wednesday
- night, leaving 13 employees.
-
- The circus, one of 100 such small shows traveling the country, began when
- Wayne
- Franzen quit his shop teaching job in Wisconsin and started a one-ring act.
-
- At first, the only animals in the show came from farms -- horses, dogs and
- goats.
- Eventually Franzen, who trained all the animals himself, added more exotic
- animals.
-
- On Thursday, some customers returned advance tickets, but others came to
- fulfill
- promises to excited children.
-
- ``The kids seem fine,'' said Karen Stevenson. ``I think the adults are
- more worried
- than the kids.''
-
- Wayne Franzen was wearing a new bright suit with puffy sleeves for only
- the second
- time when the tiger apparently lunged out at the costume from behind, said
- James
- Zangaglia, chief deputy coroner of Cambria County.
-
- The suit may have prompted the attack, authorities said.
-
- Brian Franzen and Patty Frederick, a nurse who was in the crowd, rushed to
- Franzen's side.
-
- ``We ran in there, and I was hitting the cat in the head with a pipe, but
- it was too late,''
- Brian Franzen said.
-
- Parents shielded the eyes of sobbing children, and announcers urged people
- in the
- crowd to leave quietly and orderly.
-
- The tiger's paw punctured Franzen's lung. Cambria County Coroner Dennis
- Kwiatkowski said Franzen bled to death within five minutes from extensive
- wounds
- in his neck. The tiger tore apart his trachea and his esophagus.
-
- Brian Franzen said he intends to return the 6-year-old cat named Lucca to
- the show
- when an insurance company completes its investigation.
-
- ``I go up there and it purrs to me. It doesn't understand what happened,''
- he said.
-
- Rodney Huey, a vice president at Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey
- Circus, said
- tiger attacks are rare because good trainers build trust with animals.
- Circus workers
- have been injured while breaking up fights among big cats.
-
- ``I don't know what happened on that circus, but our history shows that
- ... there have
- been fights, people have gotten bitten or cut here and there,'' he said.
- ``We have
- never had a cat trainer killed in the ring or even attacked.''
- Date: Fri, 9 May 1997 23:59:54 +0800 (SST)
- >From: Vadivu Govind <kuma@cyberway.com.sg>
- To: ar-news@envirolink.org
- Subject: (KP) `Bangsaeng' Urged to Be Ecosafe
- Message-ID: <199705091559.XAA10290@eastgate.cyberway.com.sg>
- Mime-Version: 1.0
- Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
-
-
-
- >The Korea Herald
- 9 May 97 : `Bangsaeng' Urged to Be Ecosafe
-
- In its letters to Buddhist temples across the nation, the Ministry of
- Environment yesterday called for more environmental- friendly rituals
- on Buddha's birthday.
-
- ``Bangsaeng, an aged ritual of releasing live fish into rivers or
- lakes, may cause the disruption of the local ecosystem or
- environmental contamination,'' the letter said. The ministry asked
- Buddhist temples to be more careful in selecting fish which won't harm
- the ecosystem. The temples will conduct the ritual on Buddha's
- birthday next Wednesday.
-
- Imported foreign fish such as bluegill and bass released by Buddhists
- for the annual Bangsaeng ritual have been the main culprit in
- disrupting the local ecosystem. Preying on the species native to the
- nation's rivers and lakes, the released foreign fish, classified as
- carnivorous fish, have posed a new threat to the local ecosystem.
-
- The ministry has been launching a nationwide campaign to exterminate
- harmful foreign species such as bullfrogs, bluegills and bass since
- early this year.
-
-
- Date: Fri, 09 May 1997 12:36:27 -0400
- >From: "H. Morris" <oceana@ibm.net>
- To: "ar-views@envirolink.org" <ar-views@envirolink.org>
- Subject: veg survey
- Message-ID: <3.0.32.19970509123612.007255d8@pop01.ny.us.ibm.net>
- Mime-Version: 1.0
- Content-Type: text/enriched; charset="us-ascii"
-
- <x-rich>Hey all--
-
-
- part of the results of the veg survey in which so many of you participated are now available at:
-
-
- http://www.veganstandards.org/survey1.html
-
-
- The rest will be posted shortly.
-
-
- Hillary
-
- <bold><italic>Vegan Standards and Certification Project, Inc.
-
- </italic></bold>91 Joralemon Street
-
- Suite 4
-
- Brooklyn, NY 11201
-
- email: VeganStandards@ibm.net
-
- www.veganstandards.org
-
- 718-246-0014
-
- fax: 718-246-5912
- </x-rich>
- Date: Fri, 09 May 1997 14:15:18 -0400
- >From: Shirley McGreal <spm@awod.com>
- To: ar-news@envirolink.org
- Subject: Re: Nigerian hangings
- Message-ID: <1.5.4.32.19970509181518.008b4ec0@awod.com>
- Mime-Version: 1.0
- Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
-
- WWF-Canada recently nominated Shell Oil for an environmental award. Like
- many others, I registered my protest due to Shell Oil's hanging of 9
- Nigerian environmentalists, and received the following response from
- WWF-Canada which seems to feel you can "compartmentalize" corporations'
- activities and, towards the end of the letter, that nobody should criticise
- WWF's positions. Shirley McGreal
-
- >Comments: Authenticated sender is <jkenney@wwfmail.wwfcanada.org>
- >From: "Jeff Kenney" <jkenney@wwfcanada.org>
- >To: Shirley McGreal <spm@awod.com>
- >Date: Fri, 9 May 1997 12:16:46 +0000
- >Subject: Re: Nigerian hangings
- >Reply-to: "Jeff Kenney" <jkenney@wwfcanada.org>
- >Priority: normal
- >
- >Dr. McGreal,
- >
- >Thanks for registering your concern about WWF's
- >nomination for the B.C. Environmental Award. We
- >have heard from a number of people and want to
- >share the following statement with you concerning
- >the rationale behind the nomination. Within the next
- >week Monte Hummel, President of WWF Canada,
- >will be getting back to all those who have written to
- >WWF with some additional comments. In the
- >meantime, I would like you to know that your
- >comments have been received and are being
- >considered.
- >
- >Sincerely,
- >
- >Jeff Kenney
- >Communications Officer
- >WWF Canada
- >
- >=======================================
- >
- >
- >
- >May 1, 1997
- >
- >World Wildlife Fund's Nomination
- >for the B.C. Environmental Award
- >
- >During April, World Wildlife Fund Canada submitted a
- >nomination for the 1997 Minister's Environmental Awards
- >in B.C. WWF nominated Shell Canada Limited, Chevron
- >Canada Resources, Petro-Canada and Mobil Oil Canada
- >in recognition of their recent donation of 320,000 acres
- >of mineral exploration rights off the northwestern coast of
- >British Columbia to the Nature Conservancy of Canada.
- >
- >This gift was announced at a formal signing ceremony in
- >Calgary on March 19th. His Royal Highness, Prince Philip,
- >attended the ceremony to witness the donation in his
- >capacity as President Emeritus of WWF International. Also
- >in attendance were representatives of the Haida Nation,
- >aboriginal residents of the area, who paid their highest
- >tribute in support of this action.
- >
- >WWF views the contribution of the four oil companies as
- >being very significant, as it is a critical step towards the
- >establishment of the Gwaii Haanas National Marine
- >Conservation Area Reserve which will constitute the
- >marine component of Gwaii Haanas National Park. WWF
- >is now pressing the federal government to take the
- >necessary steps to have the marine reserve formally
- >designated. The contribution of mineral permits is the
- >largest in Canadian history to advance marine con-
- >servation. WWF believes that the contribution serves as
- >an international example of how energy companies,
- >governments, conservation groups and aboriginal people
- >can work together for the environment.
- >
- >Because of the conservation significance of this specific
- >contribution by the four oil companies, WWF nominated
- >them for a provincial environmental award (corporate
- >category) on April 7th. The nomination speaks solely to
- >the four companies' contribution of the mineral rights. It
- >is obviously not an overall endorsement of their environ-
- >mental practices or other activities elsewhere in Canada
- >or around the world.
- >
- >WWF believes strongly in encouraging bona fide
- >conservation initiatives, regardless of the sector from which
- >they originate. As enunciated in WWF Canada's
- >"Advocacy with Excellence" policy, "WWF recognizes
- >that a wide range of stakeholders in Canada is interested in,
- >and necessary to, making progress on conservation concerns.
- >These interests include government, business, labour,
- >aboriginal interests, scientists and other non-government
- >organizations. Therefore, we don't summarily rule out
- >working with whole sectors by subscribing to "anti"
- >ideologies (e.g. anti-logging, anti-hunting, anti-corporate or
- >anti-labour). We support or work with anyone who shares
- >our conservation mission."
- >
- >
- >WWF has not commented on the overall environmental
- >record of any of the four oil companies and does not
- >anticipate doing so. At the time of the death of Ken
- >Saro-Wiwa and his colleagues in Nigeria, WWF
- >International did publicly express its concern over the
- >situation in the Niger Delta. To quote a portion of that
- >statement: "Their death (that of Mr. Saro-Wiwa and
- >colleagues) is symptomatic of the wider environmental
- >and social problems created by the inequitable distribution
- >of oil wealth in Nigeria, particularly among the communities
- >most affected by oil operations and by the failure to develop
- >the oil industry in an environmentally sensitive way. WWF
- >does not feel that the oil companies have operated to the
- >high environmental standards that they espouse in the
- >developed world and calls upon them to meet international
- >environmental and social standards wherever they operate."
- >
- >WWF holds strongly to its right to act independently in the
- >best interests of conservation. In return, we do not try to
- >tell other groups whom they should support or criticize. In
- >some cases, our approach may mean commending
- >corporations for specific conservation contributions in one
- >part of the world and, where warranted, criticizing those
- >same companies for activities in another part of the world.
- >We do not see this as a contradiction in terms or as being
- >hypocritical; we see it as a practical effort to reform
- >corporate behaviour in the best interests of the environment
- >and people.
- >
- >For more information, please contact:
- >Pegi Dover
- >Director of Communications
- >416-489-4567, Ext. 254.
- >(pdover@wwfcanada.org)
- >
- >
- >
-
- Dr. Shirley McGreal, Chairwoman
- International Primate Protection League, POB 766 Summerville SC 29484 USA
- Phone: 803-871-2280 Fax: 803-871-7988 E-mail: ippl@awod.com
- Web page (revised January 1997): http://www.sims.net/organizations/ippl/
- April IPPL News is now out featuring news of Limbe Wildlife Sanctuary in
- Cameroon
- NOTE; THE OLD E-MAIL ADDRESS AT SC.NET WILL NOT BE IN USE AFTER 15 JUNE,
- PLEASE DIRECT ALL E-MAIL TO IPPL@AWOD.COM
-
- Date: Fri, 9 May 1997 12:10:54 -0700 (PDT)
- >From: bchorush@paws.org (pawsinfo)
- To: ar-news@envirolink.org
- Subject: Ocean Spray Action Alert
- Message-ID: <199705091910.MAA19761@siskiyou.brigadoon.com>
- Mime-Version: 1.0
- Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
-
- To all,
-
- Ocean Spray, the juice company, ran a major coupon ad in Sunday papers
- across the country on May 4 which featured a photo of a captive dolphin and
- also promoting their support for the Center for Marine Compromise, OOPS, I
- mean Conservation? As you know CMC is a supporter of the Dolphin Death Act,
- Sea World, Shedd Aquarium,etc. Please send a letter to Ocean Spray and
- educate them about this wise use sellout organization!!
- Linda Compton
- Manager, Consumer Affairs
- Ocean Spray,Inc.
- 1 Ocean Spray Drive
- Lakeville-Middleboro, MA 02349 1-800-662-3263
-
- FAX FOR BOTH: 508-946-7704
- c.c.: Tom Bullock CEO, Ocean Spray
- 1 Ocean Spray Dr.
- Lakeville-Middleboro, MA 02349
-
-
-
-
-
-
- Bob Chorush Web Administrator, Progressive Animal Welfare Society (PAWS)
- 15305 44th Ave West (P.O. Box 1037)Lynnwood, WA 98046 (425) 787-2500 ext
- 862, (425) 742-5711 fax
- email bchorush@paws.org http://www.paws.org
-
- Date: Fri, 09 May 1997 19:17:43 -0400
- >From: allen schubert <alathome@clark.net>
- To: ar-news@envirolink.org
- Subject: (US) Beef Exports Shouldn't Raise Prices
- Message-ID: <3.0.32.19970509191740.006b58dc@clark.net>
- Mime-Version: 1.0
- Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
-
- from AP Wire page:
- ----------------------------------
- 05/09/1997 17:23 EST
-
- Beef Exports Shouldn't Raise Prices
-
- By HILLARY CHURA
- AP Business Writer
-
- CHICAGO (AP) -- The U.S. cattle industry estimates it could reap $250
- million a year
- by exporting hormone-fed beef to Europe, thanks to a decision by the World
- Trade
- Organization.
-
- Such sales are not big enough to cause shortages at home and are not
- expected to
- drive up prices for American consumers.
-
- At the same time, some American analysts and commodities investors wondered
- Friday if there really is a big appetite for American beef in Europe.
- After all, the
- continent jealously guards its own agricultural interests, has an aversion
- to chemical
- additives and has been torn by food-related crises -- most notably the
- mad-cow
- disease scare.
-
- ``Even if we can export, that's no guarantee that people on the other side
- will buy it,''
- said livestock analyst Charles Levitt at Alaron Trading Corp. in Chicago.
- ``If we want
- to export, we would have to do a pretty good sales campaign to
- indoctrinate the
- consumer in Europe as to the safety and wholesomeness of the product, and
- that
- would also take time.''
-
- Futures prices reflected that sentiment Friday on the Chicago Mercantile
- Exchange.
- Even though prices rose, the jump stemmed from technical moves and
- ``short-covering,'' or buying by traders who earlier had bet on declining
- prices and
- wanted either to lock in profits or limit losses as prices climbed.
-
- The WTO ruled Thursday that the 15-nation European Union's ban on
- hormone-injected beef was not based on scientific evidence about its
- health effects
- and therefore was unjustified. American beef receives hormones to speed
- muscle
- growth and produce a leaner meat.
-
- Many of the EU countries are expected to appeal the decision or, in a
- concession to
- their own cattle industries, maintain the eight-year ban by offering lower
- tariffs on
- other American imports, Levitt said.
-
- And if hormone-fed U.S. beef does begin flowing to Europe, the potential
- market
- represents only a fraction of the $250 billion-a-year American industry.
- The U.S.
- cattle industry estimates it could make $250 million by selling beef to
- Europe.
-
- That means Americans are unlikely to see higher prices at the grocery
- stores amid
- fears of supply shortages, said Alisa Harrison, spokeswoman for the National
- Cattlemen's Beef Association.
-
- Europeans also are more likely to seek more beef liver and other organs,
- instead of
- steak and other cuts that Americans buy, Harrison said. She also predicted
- U.S.
- farmers will increase production before European demand increases. It
- takes about
- two years to bring a cow to market.
-
- Russell Knutson, a farmer and feedlot operator in Magnolia, Minn., speculated
- Europeans would be slow to buy U.S. beef -- because of their fear of
- hormones -- but
- said they eventually would turn to cheaper U.S. products.
-
- ``Cash talks,'' he said.
-
-
-
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