Komputer for Alle 1998 #6/1998 CD 6 (Gul).iso/web/ffa/wwwenv~1.org/arrs/digest/news41~3.htm/text0000.txt

Text File | 1998-04-03 | 73.8 KB | 1,756 lines

Women with implants found to have riskier lifestyles

The Associated Press

CHICAGO (May 27, 1997 8:02 p.m. EDT) -- Women who have breast
enlargements tend to drink more, have more sex partners and get pregnant
younger, and are more likely to have abortions, use the pill and dye
their hair -- factors that researchers should consider when studying
the health risks of breast implants, a study said.

Linda S. Cook of Seattle's Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center said
her study was conducted to prod implant researchers to weigh lifestyle
factors when accessing the safety of implants. She said implants could
be getting the blame for health problems caused by other risk factors.

"You have to look at these factors anew in every study that you do," she
said in a telephone interview. The study was reported in Wednesday's The
Journal of the American Medical Association.

For example, hair dye could increase the risk of connective tissue
diseases while oral contraceptives may reduce the risk of rheumatoid
arthritis. Failing to consider those factors could conceal the risk
arising from breast implants, the study said.

About 1 million American women have had implants, 80 percent for
cosmetic reasons. Thousands claim that silicone leaks have caused
arthritis and such immune system disorders as lupus and
scleroderma.

Studies of thousands of women haven't turned up solid evidence that
implants cause ailments but the issue is still under debate among
scientists and in the courts, where Dow Corning Co. and other silicone
gel implant makers face huge lawsuits.

The Food and Drug Administration in 1992 restricted silicone gel
implants to mastectomy patients in medical experiments. Saline-filled
implants are still available for use in cosmetic and reconstructive
surgery.

Implant activists were critical of the study, with one warning it could
be used to slander women who have had their breasts enlarged.

"We believe it would be an insult not only to these women but to the
authors of the JAMA study as well if self-serving parties were to use
the JAMA study as a means for character assassination," said Sybil
Goldrich, head of Los Angeles-based Command Trust Network, which
represents woman suing breast implant manufacturers.

John Musser, a spokesman for Dow Chemical Co., which owns half of Dow
Corning, praised the study for seeking "what other so-called confounding
factors may be contributing to these claimed illnesses."

"It's important research because it does pitch up the importance of
other lifestyle factors in determining one's health risks," Musser said.

In the study, Cook used data from previous studies of women in
Washington state, New Jersey and Atlanta. The data covered 3,750 women
-- 80 of whom had breast implants for augmentation.

Cook found women with enlargements were nearly three times more likely
to drink seven or more alcoholic drinks a week, more than 1.5 times as
likely to be pregnant before age 20 and twice as likely to have had an
abortion.

She found they were more than twice as likely to have used oral
contraceptives, about 4.5 times more likely to dye their hair, nearly
nine times as likely to have had at least 14 sexual partners and much
less likely to be heavy than their counterparts without implants.

Cook said her work received no money from implant manufacturers.

By MIKE ROBINSON, The Associated Press
Date: Wed, 28 May 1997 16:25:58 -0400
From: [e-mail] (Wgtn Animal Action)
To: [e-mail]
Cc: [e-mail]
Subject: (NZ) Kaimanawa Horses: Unloading techniques condemned
***imbedded html deleted***

Heres the lates news on the horses: For more info check the
Kaimanawa Horse web page at

http://www.nzsail.co.nz/wildhorses/


** Unloading techniques condemned

Last night, 25th May  an activist followed a stock truck, crammed with
wild horses and boasting no less than a four police car escort, to a
 Mr R J Goodwin's farm at Mangamako Road, towards Rangiwahia.

As an experienced horse woman she was appalled that DoC would be so
stupid as to be unloading wild horses into completely alien
surroundings in the pitch dark.

"Settling-in is risky at the best of times for wild horses
and so much more so in the dark.  If there had been any injuries
as the wild horses tried to understand where and how they were
confined and with what rival bands, how would anyone know until
the morning if horses got ripped up in wire or kicked?" she asked.
"We all saw the wild horses panicked through a fence at Booth's last
Monday.  We've all seen the fighting.   What if that had happened
last night in the dark?  This is what DoC claims is humane and
 expert horse management!  I would expect better horsemanship
 from a pony club kid."


Other witnesses watching wild horses being unloaded during the day
stated that electric cattle prods were being used.

One of the activists arrested on the weekend has been charged with
assaulting a policewoman.  Because this is such a serious charge
he is likely to be imprisoned until after the mustering has
finished in July if he is arrested for anything again, even
standard civil disobedience tactics such as sitting down in
front of vehicles.

By the time he gets to produce his witnesses that he didn't
assault the female police officer, the muster will be over.
Either way, this charge has rendered it impossible for this
young man to demonstrate his opposition  to the cull of the
wild horses.


**  Wild Horses begin foundering

Just as the wild horse lobby had warned DoC would happen if the
wild horses were dumped suddenly onto rich farm pasture off
unimproved grasslands, the first cases of laminitis have begun
to crop up in the captured herds. (Ian Coddington the Vet
Association member has confirmed this to  the "Evening Standard" 24/5/97)

Just how DoC plan to treat for laminitis in wild horses which are
unable to be handled we would like to know.  A bullet perhaps?

And how do they propose to prevent future cases? More bullets?

DoC spokeswoman Nicola Patrick, seemingly unaware that laminitis is
caused by an abrupt change in diet from low protein to high and is
virtually unknown in  lean horses running free, is attempting to
convince people that the horses were captured already suffering
from founder.   As foundering horses are extremely reluctant to move,
it must have been extraordinarily difficult to muster them by
helicopter the 15 ks or so into the yards!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*What 'The Boys' get up to when they've got too much time on their hands...

Spotted at the Taihape demonstration a blue Ford Telstar 1996 car
occupied by interested looking men busy taking photographs of the
people watching the horses being unloaded.

A check with the Land Transport Authority revealed that as of that
date the car, plate number UQ3816 was owned by the New Zealand
Defence (Army) Army General Staff, Stout St  Wellington.

When an activist approached the car to get a snap for her
photographic collection, the driver hit the gas and sped away.
Bad hair day?

It would be funny, if it wasn't so sad.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Date: Wed, 28 May 1997 16:33:42 -0400
From: [e-mail] (Wgtn Animal Action)
To: [e-mail]
Cc: [e-mail]
Subject: (NZ) Kaimanawa Horses: more news
***imbedded html deleted***

more that has been added to the web page today.
http://www.nzsail.co.nz/wildhorses/

 Let's Stop the Cull at the meat works door

One thing is clear.  The DoC 'Adopt-a- Wild-Horse' scheme was set up to
fail...too bad it cost $17,000! DoC aren't so naive that they ever
believed that there were 1,200 'good homes' for wild horses in NZ's
largely urbanized population.

They just hoped we'd  fall for the fairy story about the kindly
Conservation Minister and his little helper Peggy from the RNZSPCA
setting out into the Big Wide World to find Good Homes for all the
pretty little ponies...especially the bit about  "and they all
lived happily ever after."

The ugly reality is that most of the 1,200 stallions mares and
foals DoC remove from their home on the Military Estate will be
trucked to slaughter and their meat exported for human consumption
or turned into pet food.


So who looks set to make money out of this?

Naturally DoC are not about to tell us where and to whom they're
going to start sending truck-loads of wild horses come Tuesday
3rd June.  According to them they don't even know ..."they haven't
decided yet..."

Which is sort of a coincidence because but they did say that a
certain firm Paramount Export  have slaughtered wild horses for
them before....and the owner manager of that firm, Mark Russell,
 hasn't decided yet either "whether he would be interested" in a
 contract  to slaughter Kaimanawa Wild Horses.

So in the interests of establishing a few ground rules here, and
the basis for some clear cut consumer choice we've begun sending
out faxes to all the major players.

We'll post the replies as they come in.

While we wait on people to make up their minds which side of the
fence they want to be on remember that, Paramount Export, operating
out of  a State Highway 4 address in Piriaki, near Taumaranui  but
with the registered office in Taupo, 3 Tobin Place, has slaughtered
Kaimanawas for DoC over the years and exported their meat for human
consumption to Europe and Japan.

Perhaps a quick polite call/fax  from you might convince the good
folk down at Paramount to give the Wild Horses the Big Swerve...

You could mention to them that as these horses have been exposed
to 1080 throughout their range over the last 5 years, their appeal
from a consumer marketing point of view may be controversial, or
even prove to be detrimental to other products from New Zealand.

Mr Russell's contacts are:
Ph. 07  378 1053
Fax  [phone]  (work)

At the company's abattoir  itself you might like to talk to the
plant manager, a Mr  Grant List.
His contacts are:
Ph  07 895 3039 (work)
Fax [phone]


On the positive side

We have written assurance that   Heinz Wattie (used to be Best
Friend Petfoods) which produce Chef, Rival and Gourmet for cats
and Champ and Fido for dogs are not involved.

They have assured us that no product of theirs contains horsemeat
of any description and certainly never the Kaimanawa Wild Horses.

IAM NZ Inc.  Have still to provide this pledge in writing but have
assured us that they have no involvement at all with the slaughter
or processing of Kaimanawa Wild Horses.  No horsemeat in their
product.

More as it comes to hand.



Date: Tue, 27 May 1997 22:32:01 -0700 (PDT)
From: Bob Smith <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (US)McDonald's picketing-S.F.,CA
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>

Animal Rights Connection continues its public awareness campaign
at McDonald's in San Francisco's Fisherman's Wharf area.

Next monthly session:  Sunday, June 1, 1997  (Noon - 2 PM)

Location:  2739 Taylor Street (near Jefferson)

Nearby Muni lines:  32-Embarcadero, 42-Downtown Loop (via Van Ness),
  30-Stockton (Marina), 15-Third and the Powell-Mason Cable Car.
  Most of these lines serve Caltrain Station and all intersect
  Market St.

Using McDonald's as a familiar backdrop, we take advantage of this
prime tourist location to reach out to the world.  Leafletting
pedestrians and displaying signs and pictures here for 7 years, we
have noticed a significant change in reactions from the public.
Vegetarianism has gained respectability.  Every individual that we help
guide to vegetarianism can translate into hundreds of animals spared
from the miseries of factory farming.  And the trend spreads.

We are anticipating the peak of the tourist season during the summer
months, although San Francisco has visitors year round.  Activists are
invited to join us the first Sunday of any month at the above address.
We also recommend this kind of activity at other locations.

Animal Rights Connection
[phone] Ext 909
[e-mail]
Date: Wed, 28 May 1997 14:21:34 +0800 (SST)
From: Vadivu Govind <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (SG) Six weeks' jail for man who beat cat to death
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"




>The Straits Times
28 May 97
Six weeks' jail for man who beat cat to death
     By Elena Chong


     TECHNICIAN Tan Kok Hiong was yesterday sentenced to six
     weeks' jail for beating a cat to death.

     Tan, 54, who is out on $8,000 bail pending appeal against
     sentence, pleaded guilty on Monday to using a wooden stick to
beat the cat at his Hougang Avenue 10 flat on Dec 2 last year. He claimed
that he had
hit the cat at about 12.05 am because it was going to disturb his pet bird
in a cage. He beat the cat, which could not escape as its paws were stuck in
the window grille of his balcony, repeatedly with a stick.

     A neighbour in the four-storey walk-up block heard the animal's loud
cries and asked Tan why he was doing that. When the police arrived, Tan led
them to the rubbish chute behind Block 512 Hougang Avenue 10 where he had
thrown the carcass.

     Before passing sentence, District Judge Chay Yuen Fatt asked counsel
Chung Ting Fai if he had anything else to say.

     Counsel said Tan had acted on impulse in this case.
It ought to be distinguished from the other animal abuse case in which
renovation
contractor Seah Kian Hock had worked out and contemplated a plan to kill a dog.

     The prosecution had appealed against the $500 fine imposed on Seah, and
the Chief Justice then sentenced him to a month's jail for whipping a
chained pet dog with a metal object. Mr Chung had urged the court on Monday
not to jail his client who was exercising his right to protect his property.

     An intruder had trespassed and harassed his last pet bird, he said. Tan
was an ardent bird lover, and his two other pet birds had earlier been
killed by a stray cat.

Counsel said his client was ashamed and remorseful for his rash act. But the
prosecution had pressed for a deterrent sentence to send a strong message to
like-minded persons that such cruelty to animals would not be tolerated.

     In passing sentence, Mr Chay said it was quite apparent from the facts
that Tan had beaten the cat in a brutal and cruel manner, judging from the
duration of the attack and from the very extensive injuries.

     He said that what Tan did was completely out of proportion to the
mischief of the cat.

     He said he had considered the prosecution's plea for a deterrent
sentence and "the
     heightened public sensitivity and concern towards such acts of cruelty
to animals"
among other things.

     The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals' executive officer
Deirdre Moss yesterday said: "In principle, we agree with the strong stand
taken by the courts against cruelty to animals and that animals need
protection, too."

     Anyone convicted of being cruel to animals can be fined up to $500 and
jailed for up to six months.

Date: Wed, 28 May 1997 18:57:04 -0700
From: Coral Hull <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Activists A Threat To Intensive Farming
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

ACTIVISTS A THREAT TO INTENSIVE FARMING
The Sydney Morning Herald Friday May 23rd 1997 Article by Anthony Hoy
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Intensive animal farming in Australia is under threat following court
decisions that have condoned trespass by animal rights activists
highlighting the conditions at several of Australia's largest poultry
farms and piggeries.

Mr Mark Pearson, a member of the NSW Government's Animal Welfare
Advisory Council and of the RSPCA, said yesterday the animal rights
movement intended to capitalisenon growing legal sympathy in the bid to
abolish intensive farming.

Its campaign against cruelty to battery hens has intensified following a
finding by the Canberra magistrate Mr Michael Ward that trespassers at
the 260,000-hen Parkwood Egg farm at Belconnen in the ACT "had a
reasonable excuse for trespassing."

A Corowa magistrate, Mr Clive Werry, on April 15 imposed no penalty and
recorded no convictions against trespassers who produced a video
depicting conditions at the 250,000-pig Bunge operation at Corowa.

Thirty-two other animal welfare activists who claimed pigs were tethered
by chain at the 2,000-sow Parkville Piggery - in which the former Prime
Minister Mr Paul Keating once had a substaintial interest - will face
court in Scone today.

Mr Ward said it was "impossible not to be overwhelmned by the evidence"
gathered during the Canberra trespass incident. He said the production
of eggs by means of battery farming hens was "inherently cruel to the
hens."

The magistrate said that the practice of hens being "jammed three in a
small cage" gave "some validity to the actions" of the trespassers.

A "good measure of the savagery of the system" was that "the hens are
kept in conditions so bad that they are useless and put down after about
one-third of the "normal life span of a hen", he said.

Mr Ward said a senior veterinary officer with NSW Agriculture had
detailed shortcomings of the battery hen system, including restriction
of movement, bone fractures, cannibalism, loss of feathers and a high
rate of prolaspse as a result of inability to peck for food; de-beaking,
resulting in acute and chronic pain; foot and claw damage; and
deprivation and frustration as a result of inability to nest.

These shortcomings were clearly in breach of the basic behavourial and
physiological needs detailed in the code of practice allowing for the
battery farming of hens, Mr Ward said.

He said the trespass had "caused no harm to anyone, no drop in
production, no interference with work, no damage and they did some
positive good by helping obviously sick hens"

Mr David Williamson, chair man of NSW Farmers' Egg Producers Committee
and NSW delegate to the Australian Egg Industry Association predicted
Supreme Court appeals against the magistrate's findings.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Coral Hull
ANIMAL WATCH AUSTRALIA
Date: Wed, 28 May 97 06:49:37 UTC
From: [e-mail]
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Dog Is Stabbed, Dragged from Car
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>

Hulbert, OK, USA: A man is accused of stabbing a collie-mix dog, then
dragging the dog behind his car at 50mph until the dog died. Witnesses
called police, and the man was arrested on animal cruelty charges. Police
also arrested him on drug charges.

(That was a short statement on the morning news, and that's all I know
at this point.)

-- Sherrill
Date: Wed, 28 May 1997 08:14:54 -0400
From: allen schubert <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (US) Horse-Drawn Wagon To Pick up Trash
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

a step backwards......
from AP Wire page:
------------------------------
 05/28/1997 01:30 EST

 Horse-Drawn Wagon To Pick up Trash

 By ANNE WALLACE ALLEN
 Associated Press Writer

 BRISTOL, Vt. (AP) -- Patrick Palmer beat out the competition to become
 Bristol's garbage man because he had what others didn't -- a horse and
 carriage.

 Selectmen in this historic, 200-year-old town were impressed by Palmer's
 plan to pick up the trash -- sans truck.

 ``This is pretty unique; that's why he got the bid,'' Town Administrator
 Bob Hall said Tuesday, Palmer's first day as the new village trash
 hauler.

 Palmer and his two draft horses, Luke and Zack, cover their 8-mile route
 at a leisurely pace, moving through the traffic of Bristol's one main
 street without a hitch, and stopping briefly every once in a while to let
 Palmer's nephew, Jake, jump off to throw the trash into the wagon.

 The route, which he covers twice -- once to pick up garbage and once to
 pick up recycling -- takes all day.

 Selectmen for the town of 3,900 chose Palmer over three other bidders
 even though two of the contenders -- both private citizens with trucks --
 put in bids that were $600 or $700 lower than his. Palmer will be paid
 $15,600 for the year.

 ``I think Bristol's trying to create a friendly image, a small-town
 atmosphere,'' Hall said.

 Prindle Wissler Mullin, an artist from Middlebury who stopped in Bristol
 for lunch, said she hoped the town's decision to hire Palmer signaled a
 trend away from modernization and development.

 ``We're going in the other direction, hopefully,'' said Mullin, 85.

 Palmer, 50, drew some waves and greetings from friends, but no undue
 notice as he passed through the village.

 ``If I had a bigger rig, or more room in there, it would be just as quick
 as the truck,'' Palmer said.

 If the horses leave anything behind, Jake picks it up with a shovel and
 throws it in the wagon.

 Palmer is Bristol's first private trash collector; until now, the village
 has done the job itself.

 ``I think that $600 (above the lower bids) is well worth it,'' said
 Suzanne Widlicka, whose home and clothing store is on Palmer's route.
 ``It's our past and it's worth preserving.''

Date: Wed, 28 May 1997 08:20:17 -0400
From: allen schubert <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (US) Calif. Wasps Set To Attack Whitefly
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

 05/28/1997 07:49 EST

 Calif. Wasps Set To Attack Whitefly

 TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- Scientists in Florida are releasing hundreds of
 tiny parasitic wasps in an attempt to wipe out a giant breed of whitefly
 that is attacking landscape plants in four coastal counties.

 The wasps were unleashed in Seminole, St. Lucie, Indian River and Volusia
 counties, where they are expected to form colonies and control the
 whiteflies' spread. The parasitic wasps are a natural enemy, laying their
 eggs in immature stages of the giant whitefly.

 ``They are pretty effective in getting the levels down,'' said Maeve
 McConnell, spokeswoman for the Florida Agriculture Department.

 The wasps were imported from San Diego and are harmless to humans and
 animals. They have been successfully used in whitefly control in
 California and Texas.

 ``We did some testing as well to make sure they are not going to attack
 anything else. These are very specific to the whitefly,'' said McConnell.

 The giant whiteflies, which are triple the size of regular whiteflies but
 smaller than a housefly, prefer hibiscus but may also attack citrus,
 avocado and other common urban landscaping plants. They have not touched
 the crops, McConnell said.

 The whiteflies attack the leaves of the plants, sometimes leaving a
 ``waxy beard'' that can be up to a foot long.

Date: Wed, 28 May 1997 08:21:18 -0400
From: allen schubert <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (US) poultry virus in PA
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

from AP Wire page:
-----------------------------
05/28/1997 07:49 EST
 HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) -- A highly contagious virus that is deadly to
 poultry -- and potentially devastating to Pennsylvania's $564 million
 poultry industry -- has spread to two more flocks in Lancaster County.

 The flocks affected with avian influenza are within an area first
 quarantined May 16, after the H7N2 strain was detected in two other
 flocks. The latest outbreak will mean the destruction of 430,000 birds,
 said state Agriculture Secretary Charles Brosius.

 ``It is very troubling that we have found additional flocks positive,''
 said Brosius. ``We are taking aggressive steps to enforce the conditions
 of the quarantine.''

 The quarantine covers portions of Rapho, Penn, East Hempfield and West
 Hempfield townships. The virus, which poses no threat to humans, has not
 been found outside the area, according to the Agriculture Department.

 U.S. Agriculture Department specialists will help test flocks within the
 quarantine. Officials expect to complete testing by June 6.

 Under the quarantine, which will be in effect indefinitely, haulers
 moving eggs or live chickens from a farm in the quarantined area must
 have a permit showing the farm is free of the virus.

 In February, a flock in Lebanon County was confirmed to have the virus
 and was destroyed. Industry experts estimate this year's loss from all
 five flocks at $1 million.

Date: Wed, 28 May 1997 08:38:14 -0400
From: allen schubert <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (US) genetically engineered tomatoes
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

more genetically engineered food
from AP Wire page:
-----------------------------
 DAVIS, Calif. (AP) -- A University of California researcher has
 identified and cloned a gene in tomatoes that may play a key role in
 fruit ripening.

 The gene is known to control production of proteins believed to let plant
 cells become longer during growth. The research indicates the gene could
 be useful in genetically engineering perishable fruit to lengthen shelf
 life.

 The gene, LeExp1, is a member of a family of genes formerly shown to
 coordinate production of proteins called expansins. Expansin proteins,
 identified in cucumbers, rice and tomatoes, loosen plant cell walls to
 allow the cells to elongate during growth.

 Results of the findings by Jocelyn Rose, a plant biology doctoral
 candidate, were published in Proceedings of the National Academy of
 Sciences.

Date: Wed, 28 May 1997 08:23:32 -0700 (PDT)
From: David J Knowles <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: [CA] $1,000 fine for dragging dog
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

>From The Province - Tuesday, May 27th, 1997

SHELBOURNE, Ont. - A woman who tied a dog to the back of her car and dragged
tha animal for 500 metres on a gravel road has been fined $1,000 and banned
from owning animals for two years.

Maureen Cook, 66., pleaded guilty yesterday to causing unnecessary pain to
an animal. She was taking "care" of the dog for its owner. The animal
survived. (Canadian Press).

Date: Wed, 28 May 1997 08:23:34 -0700 (PDT)
From: David J Knowles <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: [CA] Drug-approval process criticized [Long]
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"


[The following article deals with BGH, human and non-human health concerns
and the major pharamacutical companies. Dr Brill-Edwards will be speaking at
a meeting in Vancouver on Sunday evening.]

>From The Globe & Mail - Wednesday, May 28th, 1997

Drug-approval process criticized

Some Health Canada managers passed products despite reviewers' concerns,
insiders say

Wednesday, May 28, 1997
By Laura Eggertson
Parliamentary Bureau

Some managers at Health Canada have repeatedly bypassed or ignored their
drug reviewers' questions about possibly dangerous side effects of human and
animal drugs and
approved them anyway, current and former employees say.

In interviews and documents obtained by The Globe and Mail, regulators who
have quit, filed
grievances or are in mediation describe a department riddled with managers
who go too easy on the pharmaceutical companies whose drugs they review.

In a memo involving one such veterinary drug, Dr. Donald Landry, acting
chief of the
veterinary drugs bureau, outlined a promise to Dr. Murray Jelinski, manager
of product
development with Hoechst Canada Inc. in Regina, to clear the way for the
company's next
drug submission.

"Dr. Jelinski is happy with our handling of the concerns/problems he
encountered with the
review of the Revalor-H submission," says the April 30 memo. It was written
by Dr. Landry to
Ruth Swinimer, executive assistant to Dr. George Paterson, director-general
of Health
Canada's food directorate.

"I told him I would make up for the rough time he's had with Revalor-H when
we review his
next submission," the memo says.

Regulators say the "rough time" Hoechst experienced refers to questions that
several
reviewers raised about the safety of the drug on animals and the possible
long-term health
effects of Revalor-H on people who consume beef from cows treated with the
growth
hormone. The European Union has banned the use of the hormones, which means that
Hoechst's German parent, Hoechst-Roussel, cannot market Revalor-H in Germany.

Asked in an interview if he knew the reviewers had questions about the
safety of the growth
hormone in the food chain, Dr. Jelinski said: "No. That was never a problem.
That was never
a question."

Instead, he said, one reviewer's "unreasonable" concerns about the health
effects on cows
and whether beef from treated animals was juicy or tender enough turned what
should have
been a six-month review into a 17-month process.

"We debated whether or not the product was safe and effective [for animals]
with one of the
reviewers and that became one of the central issues to our submission," Dr.
Jelinski said.

Documents obtained by The Globe demonstrate that one reviewer "strongly"
recommended
that the human-safety division review the results of the animal studies on
the drug.

Dr. Jelinski confirmed that Hoechst went over the reviewer's head to ask
both Dr. Landry and
Dr. Paterson to give the drug review further consideration.

The delay in getting the drug to market cost the company more than
$1-million, Dr. Jelinski
said.

Revalor-H is a growth hormone used to fatten heifers. Some of the cows given
the drug
exhibited side effects, including changes in the size of their uteruses and
mammary glands,
and steers had enlarged prostates, according to documents obtained by The
Globe. The
regulators were concerned that those effects signalled potential problems if
drug residues in
food affected humans, one reviewer said in an interview.

Despite his staff's concerns, Dr. Landry issued a notice of compliance on
May 9 approving
Revalor-H. It is also approved for use in the United States.

Questions about Health Canada's regulation of the pharmaceutical industry
extend beyond
the regulatory process governing Revalor-H and other veterinary drugs into
other divisions of
the health-protection branch involving different managers.

The department's conduct regarding blood infected with the AIDS virus, the
Meme silicone
breast implant, the approval of the heart drug nifedipine and the review of
the bovine
growth-hormone bovine somatropin (BST) have prompted allegations of
wrongdoing by
consumer and health groups.

The Coalition of Canadians for Accountable Government wrote to Health
Minister David
Dingwall last month asking for a parliamentary inquiry into the conduct of the
health-protection branch.

"It is our contention that Health Canada has acted negligently and
especially without regard
to the Canadian public interest and in contravention of Canadian law," the
group said. "This
has resulted in endangering health safety, loss of life, loss of consumer
choice and rising
product prices."

The coalition includes the International Academy of Oral Medicine and
Toxicology, the
Canadian Hemophilia Society, the Canadian Health Coalition, My Health My
Rights and the
Consumer Health Organization of Canada.

Dr. Landry's memo regarding Hoechst is "disgraceful," said Dr. MichΦle
Brill-Edwards, who
was a senior drug reviewer at Health Canada until January of 1996.

"That is an outright statement that we are not going to apply the law evenly
and fairly in the
timing and the nature of our scrutiny of your next submission. This is
definitely improper."

There is a general requirement in law that legislation, including the Food
and Drugs Act that
sets out the requirements manufacturers must observe to bring a drug to
market in Canada,
must be applied evenly and fairly.

"Even altering the timing of a review and speeding it up is improper," Dr.
Brill-Edwards said.

Dr. Landry confirmed that he talked to Dr. Jelinski about problems with
Revalor-H and the
drug company's contention that requests for additional tests were unreasonable.

In fact, he thought so too. "Some of the requests made by the reviewer were
not passed on to
the manufacturer. I didn't think they were justified," he said.

Dr. Jelinski said Hoechst learned of the reviewer's concerns anyway because
Dr. Jelinski
submitted an access-to-information request and received the reviewer's notes.

It is "highly irregular" to have a division chief take the review process
out of the hands of the
regulator instead of reaching a consensus about what questions are submitted
to the
manufacturer, Dr. Brill-Edwards said.

Dr. Landry acknowledged that it is not normal procedure.

He said his commitment to "make up for the rough time" on Hoechst's next
submission meant that "maybe a more expedient review of it or something like
that."

Scribbled on Dr. Landry's memo is a chatty, handwritten note signed by Dr.
Paterson,
director-general of Health Canada's food directorate branch. "Don -- Thanks
for resolving the
issue. Hope you didn't 'promise him the moon though.' Cheers, George."

Dr. Paterson said he does not view Dr. Landry's promise regarding the next
Hoechst
submission as improper. But he acknowledged that he was initially concerned
about it when
he got the memo and discussed it with Dr. Landry at the time.

He said Dr. Landry meant that the department would deal with future Hoechst
submissions
with a "professional, business-like approach, but certainly no favours in
terms of 'Oh, we've
got concerns about this but we'll kind of blind-eye it.' Absolutely not."

Dr. Paterson's response was typical of the response of senior management to
reviewers'
worries, Dr. Brill-Edwards said.

"What you have there is an example of the cavalier manner in which senior
HPB officers
regard wrongdoing. This man is, in essence, condoning the intention of his
staff to apply a
law unevenly and unfairly in the future."

Dr. Brill-Edwards said she resigned from the department because she believed
managers
were ignoring her fears about the potentially dangerous effects of
nifedipine and other heart
drugs known as calcium-channel blockers.

She and the Coalition of Canadians for Accountable Government attribute the
persistent
problems in the department to the deregulation of the drug sector and a new
emphasis on
cost recovery -- getting the pharmaceutical companies to bear the cost of
testing drugs for
market approval. Those costs ran to about $70,000 in the case of Revalor-H.

"It's becoming more and more evident that the department considers that the
client of Health
Canada is not the Canadian citizen, who has a right to know about the
benefits and risks of a
drug," Dr. Brill-Edwards said. "They consider the client to be the
[pharmaceutical] industry."

That is also Dr. Landry's view of the relationship. "I guess if you focus it
that way, the client
and the public, industry is our client. But that doesn't preclude us [from],
or in any shape or
form change, our duties with regards to protecting the public," he said.

Within the health-protection branch, there is "a fine balance and indicative
of that, a tension"
between moving from an exclusive responsibility to protect public health to
a cost-recovery
basis, Dr. Paterson said.

But he espouses the "trust-industry" philosophy prevalent among senior
managers and
bureaucrats. The pharmaceutical industry and the health-protection branch
have a "shared
purpose" to ensure no harmful products make it to market, he said. "In terms
of good
business savvy, they don't want to be in any situation where their integrity
and their
competitiveness would be compromised by a scare."

Dr. Paterson acknowledged examples of instances in which drug manufacturers,
including
Dow-Corning in the United States, pushed products such as silicone breast
implants to
market despite their own researchers' safety concerns.

In 1989, Health Canada issued reassurances about the safety of the Meme
silicone breast
implant over the objections of bureaucrats who feared complications and
wanted the product
off the market. Surgitek Inc., a subsidiary of Bristol-Myers Squibb,
voluntarily withdrew the
implant in 1991 after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration confirmed it had
found low traces of a suspected carcinogen in the outer layer of
polyurethane foam that covers the silicone gel.

Dr. Brill-Edwards and current regulators described repeated incidents when,
after they raised questions about a company's submission, managers bypassed
them to approve drugs or kept key information secret.

In a grievance filed with the department earlier this month, a drug reviewer
complains of
"persistent and repeat harassment by Health Canada management due to coercion to
approve veterinary drugs of questionable safety; mischaracterization and
defamation of my
name by senior management and industry; intimidation and threat to undertake
disciplinary
action against me."

The reviewer described a pattern since the early 1990s of requests by
managers to change
decisions, verbal threats of lawsuits and drug evaluations that were taken
away and given to
others in the department in hope of a more favourable decision.

"It's become an obvious pattern to me now. Any time I have concerns about
questionable
safety, we go through this process."

Many of the drugs involved contain growth hormones, including BST. St.
Louis-based
Monsanto Inc. is trying to get approval in Canada to market the
controversial synthetic
hormone, which increases milk production in cows.

Critics point to the hormone's tendency to increase mastitis in cows, which
then requires
treatment with antibiotics that can build up people's resistance to
infection-fighting drugs
when residues are passed on in the milk.

"Internally, we have a problem," said another regulator, who spoke on
condition of anonymity.
"The evaluators do not agree that hormones are safe. There is no consensus.
The issue is
not being discussed internally."

Although Health Canada is still reviewing BST's effects on animals, the
department has
already determined that milk from cows injected with the drug is safe for
humans to consume.

But regulators said human safety was not adequately investigated. "Human
safety evaluation
has never been done by people who are in the division," one of the drug
reviewers said.

Instead, Man Sen Yong, chief of the human-safety division in the veterinary
drugs bureau,
made that determination himself and did not show other human-safety
reviewers the
information on which he based his decision, several reviewers charge in a
case that is
undergoing mediation.

". . . The issue of IGF [insulin-like growth factors] has not been
discussed. It's never been
discussed [by human-safety reviewers], never evaluated by anyone else," one
regulator said.

There are some studies that suggest IGF-1 may be increased in milk from cows
treated with
the genetically engineered growth hormone, with unknown consequences.

Dr. Yong could not be reached for comment.

Dr. Paterson said he was unaware of any dissenting views in his department
about the safety of milk and beef from BST-treated cows.

Consumers have been spooked by cases in which other forms of genetically
altered growth
hormones entered the food supply with devastating consequences.

In a well-documented case in Puerto Rico about 10 years ago, for example, a
chicken
processor used several times the legal amount of synthetic estrogen in
chickens, over time
resulting in girls under the age of seven beginning to develop breasts and
boys failing to
develop the characteristics of male puberty.

Five regulators are currently undergoing a process of mediation within the
department to try
to resolve their concerns.

And Dr. Shiv Chopra, a senior drug reviewer, veterinarian and immunologist,
has written Mr.
Dingwall asking him to intervene in a dispute with Elanco Animal Health, a
division of Eli Lilly
Canada Inc.

Dr. Chopra says he believes his resistance to Elanco's request to modify the
way its drug
Rumensin could be administered resulted in the company's complaint to the
department that he lacked "respect" for the animal health pharmaceutical
industry.

Dr. Paterson had no comment about the grievance and mediation in the department.

Date: Wed, 28 May 1997 08:23:39 -0700 (PDT)
From: David J Knowles <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: [UK] Noose rebel halts runway bailiffs
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"


>From The Electronic Telegraph - Wednesday, May 28th, 1997

Noose rebel halts runway bailiffs

A PROTESTER with a noose around her neck has halted bailiffs trying to clear
the site of Manchester's proposed second runway.

The young woman, who has attached the rope to a tunnel entrance, would be
hanged if the trap door to the tunnel were opened, Randal Hibbert, the Under
Sheriff of Cheshire, said. The device made opening the door "virtually
impossible", he said.

The protester, one of four holed up in a tunnel at the Sir Cliff Richard OBE
Vegan Revolution Camp, has also attached herself to reinforced concrete in
an attempt to thwart the bailiffs. A spokesman for the protesters said the
woman had secured herself early yesterday as
bailiffs began their eviction of the camp. He said she had volunteered to
put herself in this position "to stop the bailiffs entering the tunnel and
to delay them as long as possible".

A diagram showing her position and that of the noose was pasted on the door
to the tunnel and the woman was not expected to be in any immediate danger,
the spokesman said.

However, Mr Hibbert, who is leading the operation to evict the
"eco-warriors" from the site in the Bollin Valley, Cheshire, said: "We are
thinking of ways and means to get her out." He told reporters that he
planned to investigate claims that protesters had embedded butane gas
cylinders into concrete blocks which could explode, injuring bailiffs and
tunnellers. Mr Hibbert refused to speculate on the "booby traps" around the
camps, which are said to include glass, barbed wire and nails.

The Cliff Richard camp, where up to 30 protesters in seven tree houses
50-60ft above ground are defying climbing specialists, presented the worst
obstacles so far, Mr Hibbert said.

Two camps, Ziontree and Wild Garlic, were cleared over the Bank Holiday
weekend, but the Cliff Richard camp's two tunnels were  "going to prove more
difficult", he said. Bailiffs were yesterday in contact with the tunnellers,
who were being supplied with compressed air to prevent them from suffocating.

Attempts to clear the Cliff Richard camp began at 8am yesterday, and by
mid-morning nine protesters had been arrested. Mr Hibbert said that bailiffs
had evicted four protesters on the ground and a further five from the trees.
He said bailiffs had now cleared three of the six
camps on the site, which is owned by Manchester Airport.

⌐ Copyright Telegraph Group Limited 1997.

Date: Wed, 28 May 1997 08:23:41 -0700 (PDT)
From: David J Knowles <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: [UK] ú90 ,000 fines for brothers who stole
 rare eggs
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"


>From The Electronic Telegraph - Wednesday, May 28th, 1997

ú90,000 fines for brothers who stole rare eggs
By David Graves

TWO egg collectors were each fined ú90,000 yesterday after admitting
stealing eggs of some of Britain's rarest birds. The men were told that they
faced up to two years in prison if they failed to pay the fines.

The sentences, believed to be the highest for egg thefts, were welcomed by
the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, which said it would be a
strong deterrent.

Lee McLaren, 35, a part-time taxi driver, and his brother, Jamie, 34, a
labourer, of Portsmouth, Hants, had gone to Orkney to target eggs of the hen
harrier, merlin and red-throated diver, all birds given special protection.
Police also found eggs illegally collected from the nests of curlew, fulmar,
dunlin and a starling. A total of 31 eggs were
discovered, 17 of which were from specially protected birds.

Sheriff Bill Wright told the men at Kirkwall sheriff court: "The people of
these islands are hospitable and care very much for their wildlife. You have
abused both their hospitality and their care for wildlife." They were given
four weeks to arrange payment of the fines.

Keith Adam, the procurator fiscal, told the court that the brothers were
seen acting suspiciously in the RSPB's Birsay Moors bird reserve, Orkney. A
police wildlife liaison officer went to a caravan rented by the brothers and
found eggs in cardboard boxes. There were two clutches of hen harrier eggs
and a clutch each from a merlin and red throated diver's nests. Mr Adam
said: "There has been a considerable drop in the hen harrier population in
Orkney and that is not assisted by them taking these items. There are less
than 120 pairs of red-throated divers in Orkney and less than 20 pairs of
merlin, so clearly taking eggs like this is to be discouraged."

Aly Bruce, defending, said: "My clients admitted they offended and knew they
were doing wrong. They obviously apologise for that and they have learned,
or are about to learn, a very severe lesson."

The brothers admitted 70 charges including taking and possessing eggs and
disturbing rare and protected birds. Each charge carried a maximum fine of
ú5,000.

After the case the men said they were "stunned, horrified and dismayed" by
the severity of the sentence. Lee McLaren said: "It's absolutely ridiculous.
We were told it would be a fine of about  ú2,500."

Keith Fairclough, a RSPB senior site manager, said he was delighted with the
fines. "This is giving the right message that the Wildlife and Countryside
Act is starting to be taken seriously. It also sends out a clear message
that not only will egg thieves be dealt with severely, but people can't
think of Orkney as a soft touch. Orkney has been targeted in the past, but
hopefully it won't be again."

The RSPB said that the previous highest fine for an egg collector was
ú16,000, reduced to ú2,000 on appeal, imposed in the west of Scotland
several years ago.

⌐ Copyright Telegraph Group Limited 1997.

Date: Wed, 28 May 1997 11:59:18 -0400 (EDT)
From: [e-mail]
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Cat Show Benefit For Wildlife WayStation
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>

We have been putting on Benefit Cat Shows at the Santa Monica Civic Aud. for
31 years. This year we will Benefit The Wildlife Waystation. They care for
over 1000 wild animals many that have been abandoned and abused, many of them
are Lions, Tigers, Cougars and big cats. That is why our show motto is
"Little Cats Helping Big Cats."

The show, this year is on Sept. 20 & 21. Saturday it starts at 11:00AM to 6PM
Sunday 9AM-5PM. Admission is $6.00 adults and $4.50 Sr. and children. The
profit of the show benefits the Waystation.

We have all breeds of cats on exhibit and judging. Judging will be both days.
Seven judges will be judging pedigreed Cats, Kittens, Premiers and Household
pets.

We also have many vendors at the show with ALL kinds of Cat goodies, and
pedigreed kittens for sale and orphaned cats/kittens for adoption.

The show is very exciting and everyone who visits always has a wonderful
time, we have many people that return each year. We hope to see you there.

If you would like more info or wish to enter your cat in our show, please
contact our entry clerk at [e-mail]

Thanks in advance for supporting The Santa Monica Cat Show! If you need
anymore info contact me at [e-mail] and feel free to check my web
page which contains information about the show:
http://members.aol.com/persianpal/sm-catshow.html.  Hope to see everyone
there!  "When animals benefit, we benefit."
Date: Wed, 28 May 1997 12:04:43 -0400 (EDT)
From: [e-mail]
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Wild Minks Strike Swedish Fur Farms Again
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>

We received this communique from the Swedish direct action organization, the
Wild Minks.

The Swedish direct action anti fur group has struck again.  This time 2 fur
farms were raided with only 3 days between them.

On the night of May 10, Trangsas mink farm in Trangsas, Eskilstuna was raided
and a total of 70 mink (all breeding males) were released into the wild.  600
breeding cards were stolen and on them was information going 4 years back, so
this was a big set back for the murdering scum.  Slogans such as "Bloody
Scum" and "The WIld Minks" were sprayed.

On the night of May 13 another fur farm was raided.  Skyberga fur farm, just
outside Kumla, was the target this time.  The fence was cut down around this
enormous fur farm so the mink would have many of places to escape to.  Around
1,000 breeding cards were stolen and slogans such as "Auschwitz", "Stop the
Torture", and "The Wild Minks" were sprayed on the farm.  All breeding males
that could be found on the farm were released, making it a total of 60 mink
that were given a chance to enjoy freedom.

The Wild Minks will not give up until all fur farms in Sweden are closed,
even if that means we have to raid every farm.  They haven't seen anything
yet!

Another action that has happened in Sweden that you might want to hear about
is against a hunting breeder.  On the night of May 8th a hunting breeder at
Hesselbyholm in Strangnas was raided by a group calling themselves "The
Animal Liberators".  Damage for a cost of 100.000 SEK was done and 550
pheasants freed!

end
Date: Wed, 28 May 1997 10:40:25 -0700 (PDT)
From: Mike Markarian <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Cuyahoga Valley deer kill
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Found this on another list:

>                         ***************
>
>Cuyahoga Valley NRA (OH) - White-Tailed Deer Draft EA
>
>The park has released a draft environmental assessment and
>management plan for white-tailed deer for public review and
>comment.  A public hearing will be held on June 10th and comments
>will be accepted until the end of June. Action is required due to
>adverse impacts on biodiversity.  Alternatives considered include
>no action, reproductive intervention and population management.
>The recommended alternative calls for removal of 471 deer in
>1997 and 80 each following year to maintain the desired
>population level. Questions should be directed to resource
>management specialist [e-mail].
>
>                       ******************

Date: Wed, 28 May 1997 14:08:12 -0400 (EDT)
From: [e-mail]
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Cat Show Benefits Wildlife Waystation
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>

We have been putting on Benefit Cat Shows at the Santa Monica Civic Aud. for
31 years. This year we will Benefit The Wildlife Waystation. They care for
over 1000 wild animals many that have been abandoned and abused, many of them
are Lions, Tigers, Cougars and big cats. That is why our show motto is
"Little Cats Helping Big Cats."

The show, this year is on Sept. 20 & 21. Saturday it starts at 11:00AM to 6PM
Sunday 9AM-5PM. Admission is $6.00 adults and $4.50 Sr. and children. The
profit of the show benefits the Waystation.

We have all breeds of cats on exhibit and judging. Judging will be both days.
Seven judges will be judging pedigreed Cats, Kittens, Premiers and Household
pets.

We also have many vendors at the show with ALL kinds of Cat goodies, and
pedigreed kittens for sale and orphaned cats/kittens for adoption.

The show is very exciting and everyone who visits always has a wonderful
time, we have many people that return each year. We hope to see you there.

If you would like more info or wish to enter your cat in our show, please
contact our entry clerk at [e-mail]

Thanks in advance for supporting The Santa Monica Cat Show! If you need
anymore info contact me at [e-mail] and feel free to check my web
page which contains information about the show:
http://members.aol.com/persianpal/sm-catshow.html.  Hope to see everyone
there!  "When animals benefit, we benefit."
Date: Wed, 28 May 1997 11:47:07 -0700 (PDT)
From: Mike Markarian <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail], [e-mail],
        [e-mail]
Subject: Calls Needed -- CT Bill in the Senate Tomorrow!
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

HB 6577, the bill in CT to prohibit nuisance wildlife control trappers from
drowning animals, using conibear traps, injecting animals with paint
thinner, and using other cruel methods, passed the House by a vote of 126 to
13, and today passed unanimously out of Senate committee. Calls are urgently
needed to CT State Senators, as the bill will most likely be up for a full
vote in the Senate tomorrow (Thursday)!!!

If you live in Connecticut, please call your State Senator TODAY and ask him
or her to support HB 6577. You can call 1-800-842-1420 for Senate Democrats,
or 1-800-842-1421 for Senate Republicans. You can call your local Registrar
of Voters if you need to find out which State Senator represents you.

Thank you!!!

Date: Wed, 28 May 1997 21:28:50 -0400
From: allen schubert <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (US)APHIS Press Release USDA RESTRICTS PORK IMPORTS FROM SPAIN
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

from USDA:
---------------------
 Dawn Kent     [phone]
[e-mail]
Jerry Redding [phone]
[e-mail]


USDA RESTRICTS PORK IMPORTS FROM SPAIN

     WASHINGTON, May 28, 1997--The U.S. Department of Agriculture
is restricting the importation of pork and pork products into the United
States from Spain because of the detection of hog cholera, a highly
contagious viral disease of swine, in that country.

     ?We have taken immediate action to protect U.S. livestock from
this deadly disease,? said Joan M. Arnoldi, deputy administrator of
veterinary services with the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service,
a part of USDA?s marketing and regulatory programs mission area.  ?We
will continue to monitor the situation in Spain closely.?

     Officials of Spain?s Ministry of Agriculture recently notified APHIS
that an outbreak of hog cholera had occurred.  Based on this notification,
APHIS is removing Spain from the list of countries considered free of this
disease and is prohibiting any imports of live swine.  Pork and pork
products may be imported if they are cooked or cured and dried in
accordance with APHIS regulations.

     Hog cholera was eradicated from the United States in 1978 after
a 16-year effort by the swine industry and state and federal
governments.

     This action was published as an interim rule that became
effective April 18 and was published in the May 27 Federal Register.

     Consideration will be given to comments received on or before
July 28. An original and three copies should be sent to Docket No.
97-040-1, 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.

     For further information contact John Cougill, Staff Veterinarian,
Products Program, National Center for Import and Export, VS, APHIS,
suite 3B05, 4700 River Road, Unit 40, Riverdale, Md. 20737.  Call (301)
734-3399 or e-mail [e-mail].

                                                        #

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
[e-mail]
and leave the subject blank.  In the message, type
subscribe press_releases



Date: Wed, 28 May 1997 20:29:52 -0700 (PDT)
From: David J Knowles <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: [UK] Britain may ban German beef over BSE fears
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"


>From The Electronic Telegraph - Thursday, May 29th, 1997

Britain may ban German beef over BSE fears
By David Brown, Agriculture Editor

THE Government may ban imports of beef from Germany and other EU countries
which do not observe Britain's strict abattoir hygiene controls to protect
consumers from mad cow disease, John Cunningham, Minister of Agriculture,
signalled yesterday.

But he made clear that a decision, which would embroil the Government in its
first clash with the European Union, must be taken at the highest level of
Government, including the Prime Minister.

While insisting that the Government did not intend to take "unilateral"
action against imports from other EU countries, Dr Cunningham conceded that
it might have little choice if curbs are called for in the next few days by
the Government's independent Spongiform
Encephalopathies Advisory Committee (SEAC).

Some members of the committee, which advises the Government on BSE and its
human equivalent, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), are demanding curbs on
any imported beef which does not comply with the British hygiene controls.

They say it is nonsense to import increasing amounts of meat from other
countries which have suffered BSE in their cattle herds while it is produced
to lower hygiene standards than British beef.

The British beef is banned from export anywhere in the world on the grounds
that it might pose a risk to health. SEAC provoked the beef crisis in March
last year when it announced a possible link between BSE and a new form of
CJD in young people. So far, 15 people have
died from the new form of the fatal brain illness. There is one other
"probable" victim.

The Conservative Government followed every recommendation by the committee.
Dr Cunningham said "If SEAC advises us to act, I will have to refer this
advice to the Prime Minister. Then we will publish that advice."

It would be "difficult not to act" if SEAC called for curbs. "At least it
would be action based on scientific opinion," he added. There was no
uniformity in Europe, he said, on ways of dealing with specified offals,
including the thymus, spleen, brain and other materials deemed most likely
to harbour the deadly BSE agent. In some countries, cattle brains are still
a delicacy.

He had persuaded the EU Commission to reconsider an earlier decision not to
impose Britain's tough controls, introduced before and after the beef crisis
broke last March, on all countries in the community.

He identified Germany, where resistance to British beef exports is
strongest, as one country which did not observe the controls. Germany has
suffered a handful of BSE cases. Prof John Pattison, chairman of SEAC, said
yesterday: "The committee has already met to discuss the question of
imported beef and is now considering its position. I hope that a
recommendation to ministers can be made by the end of this week. It may be
before the weekend or just after.

"I cannot pre-empt the committee's decision. We will report to ministers,
who will decide what action to take. It will also be up to ministers to
decide whether to publish our advice. The previous Government did and I see
no reason why this Government will not do the same."

Farmers and meat industry leaders are angry that beef imports from Germany,
Holland, France and Ireland, which have all suffered cases of BSE, have been
soaring in recent months to take advantage of a recovery in sales on the
British market.

These imports have hit cattle prices, now running at about 91p a kilo, about
6p a kilo lower than at the height of the beef crisis last year.

Helen Cranford in Brussels writes: The European Commission is expected today
to impose sanctions on Norwegian salmon producers who are threatening the
livelihoods of Scottish and Irish fish farmers.

Sir Leon Brittan, the EU's chief trade negotiator, is believed to have
recommended a 13.7 per cent import duty after Commission experts found that
Norwegian producers had received state subsidies, enabling them to undercut
their competitors.

⌐ Copyright Telegraph Group Limited 1997.

Date: Wed, 28 May 1997 20:30:07 -0700 (PDT)
From: David J Knowles <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: [UK] Men 'have lung cancer link with air pollution'
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"


>From The Electronic Telegraph - Thursday, May 29th, 1997

Men 'have lung cancer link with air pollution'
By Roger Highfield, Science Editor

EVIDENCE that air pollution is linked to lung cancer is provided today by a
study that used lichen as a biological barometer.

Despite firm links with cigarette smoking, the effect of air pollution on
the incidence of cancer has been controversial for more than four decades.
Today, however, the journal Nature publishes a large-scale study that uses
the diversity of lichen to estimate the extent of air
pollution, showing that pollution increases the incidence of lung cancer in
young men. Measuring pollution levels accurately and over large enough areas
to study the effect on disease has always been problematic. Changes with
time can also confuse the data.In this
study 2,500 lichen measurements were taken over a region where there are
only nine pollution gauges. Prof Cesare Cislaghi, of the Institute of
Medical Statistics, University of Milan, and Prof Pier Luigi Nimis, of the
University of Trieste, used the diversity of lichen species as an indicator,
with low diversity linked to high pollution levels.

The lichen are sensitive to sulphur pollution, providing a kind of barometer
of the mixture of air pollution produced by combustion in a large area, here
the Veneto region in north-east Italy. The area has about four million
inhabitants and enjoys marvellous sunsets over
Venice as a result of the air pollution, said Prof Nimis.

Using information from the Italian National Institute of Statistics the
scientists found that the incidence of lung cancer in men under 55 was
strongly correlated with their lichen "pollution index".

Although the risk was small, Prof Nimis said that the affected population is
large, and thus the "impact of pollution in terms of cancer mortality is
important".

The incidence of other cancers was not related to pollution, nor was lung
cancer in women, whose smoking habits may be more to blame.

⌐ Copyright Telegraph Group Limited 1997.

Date: Wed, 28 May 1997 20:30:04 -0700 (PDT)
From: David J Knowles <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: [UK] Caterer jailed after wedding guests fall ill
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"


>From The Electronic Telegraph - Thursday, May 29th, 1997

Caterer jailed after wedding guests fall ill
By Susie Steiner

A CATERER who served warm seafood mayonnaise, giving more than 200 wedding
guests salmonella poisoning, was jailed for four months yesterday.

The newly-weds had to cut short their honeymoon in the United States because
the groom became so ill. Alain Baxter, 33, was paid  ú4,785 to provide the
food for the wedding reception of Neil and Fiona Morgan at their mock Tudor
home in Sissinghurst, Kent.

Baxter, of Maidstone, Kent, used raw eggs in the mayonnaise, mixed it with
prawns and left it in covered dishes for up to four hours in a marquee.
Temperatures on the day, Aug 19, 1995, reached 85F.

Guests were served the seafood starter, followed by roast turkey, chicken,
rib of beef and champagne. They danced to a jazz band in the seven acres of
grounds and swam in the Morgans' outdoor pool.

But the next morning they complained of stomach problems and 224 guests,
including several pregnant women, suffered diarrhoea, vomiting and fever.
These were the symptoms of salmonella poisoning, Peter Miller, prosecuting,
told Tunbridge Wells magistrates.

Baxter, a professional caterer who had been unemployed for a year, denied
four charges under the Food Safety Act. Baxter told the court: "I feel I was
unlucky because the eggs were bad and there was no way I could have known."
He said he had agreed to do the reception as a favour to Mr Morgan.

Kuldeep Clair, defending, said: "This was an appalling incident of food
poisoning which caused suffering to at least 224 people at this large and
expensive wedding.

"He provided a favour for a friend and was paid only his expenses. He felt
responsible for what happened. He has lost two stone [28 lbs] in weight
because of stress. It is clear that the heat of that day increased the rate
at which the food was contaminated."

Peter Blackwell, chairman of the magistrates, told Baxter that the public
had a right to know that their food was safe to eat. "You as a professional,
and I say that because you have experience of 15 years of catering, had a
duty of care under the food regulations to provide
food which was fit for human consumption. Quite evidently it was not."

Outside court, Mr Morgan said: "So many people were ill long afterwards and
I believe the nightmare will live with all the guests for ever." Michael
Maskell, a guest at the wedding, said after the verdict:

"He caused a great deal of misery. Just about everybody who went to the
wedding was really sick. One of our neighbours spent seven days in bed."

Justene Beard, environmental health officer for Tunbridge Wells council,
which brought the prosecution, said: "The main problems at this event were
mainly due to a lack of refrigeration, particularly during the preparation
and display of food, the undercooking of
poultry and the use of raw eggs in the mayonnaise, which should always be
avoided at large catering functions."

⌐ Copyright Telegraph Group Limited 1997.

Date: Wed, 28 May 1997 20:30:09 -0700 (PDT)
From: David J Knowles <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: [UK] Farmers lose role as local advisers
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"


>From The Electronic Telegraph - Thursday, May 29th, 1997

Farmers lose role as local advisers
By David Brown, Agriculture Editor

FARMERS were dropped as local advisers to the Ministry of Agriculture
yesterday - ending a relationship dating from the Second World War and
paving the way for more consumer power in MAFF.

John Cunningham, the Minister of Agriculture, said that the ministry's nine
regional panels in England were being scrapped to help to transform MAFF
into "a more direct, open and accessible ministry for consumers and farmers
alike".

In a move which signalled a weakening of farmer influence in the wake of the
beef crisis and other food scares, Dr Cunningham said it was "time to move
on", and that consumers should be given more priority.

The advisory panels, each of which costs up to ú24,000 a year to run, were
set up in 1972 to replace statutory county agricultural executive committees
established during the war to maximise food production. Each panel had nine
members, mostly farmers, who met several times a year to advise MAFF on
local issues affecting crops, livestock and the environment. Members were
unpaid but could draw expenses.

Dr Cunningham said he had written to all the members thanking them for their
work. From now on, he said, junior ministers at MAFF would take over the
panels' role in three designated areas of the country.

Jeff Rooker, the food safety minister, will cover the Northern, North Mercia
and South Mercia region, Elliott Morley, the countryside and fisheries
minister, will cover the East Midlands, the North-East and East Anglia. Lord
Donouhue, the minister for the farming and food industry, will be
responsible for the South-East, South-West and Wessex. Consumers'
representatives are to be appointed to all advisory committees of MAFF.

Sir David Naish, the president of the National Farmers' Union of England and
Wales, said: "The NFU has had a solid working relationship with the regional
panels and farmers will be disappointed to see this useful channel of
communication closed."

MAFF is to be renamed this year in another move expected to place consumers
first and in preparation for the independent Food Standards Agency promised
by the Government.

⌐ Copyright Telegraph Group Limited 1997.

Date: Wed, 28 May 1997 20:30:11 -0700 (PDT)
From: David J Knowles <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: [CA] BC Court Grants Logging Co. Right to Continue Clearcutting
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

>From The Greenpeace Press Release Server


COURT GRANTS WESTERN FOREST PRODUCTS  RIGHT TO CONTINUE
CLEARCUTTING GREAT
BEAR RAINFOREST

Vancouver, May 28, 1997-- Today Western Forest Products (Doman Industries)
gained an injunction against Greenpeace activists that it has sought  since
Friday, May 23 in the British Columbia Supreme Court.

The injunction seeks to remove the eight activists who have been locked on
to logging equipment on Roderick Island, halting a Western Forest  Products
clearcutting operation in the area. The company has stated  that it intends
to continue its destructive clearcutting of the Great  Bear Rainforest
despite appeals by Greenpeace and a wide range of  other social and
environmental groups in B.C.

"We have successfully stopped the clearcutting of this incredible piece of
our global heritage for more than a week now," said Greenpeace  Forests
Campaigner Tzeporah Berman from
the site of the blockade.  "According to Western Forest Products, we have
already stopped 8,000 trees from being logged in just this one area."

"There will come a day when those who have fought to protect the last of
the northern rainforests will be thought of as heroes, not criminals.  But
the wheels of justice grind slowly.  We will continue working  for this
day." said Karen Mahon from the courthouse.

Through the continued presence of a floating base camp and the MV Moby
Dick, Greenpeace will continue to bear witness to both the majesty  and
destruction of the Great Bear Rainforest.

Greenpeace is calling for an end to clearcutting, no new roads in the
temperate rainforest and no logging in any of the remaining pristine
rainforest valleys.

For more information:

Steve Shallhorn, Vancouver office, [phone] (office), 416 451 9354
(cell phone)
Karen Mahon, in court, (604) 220 -7701 (cell phone)


http://www.greenpeace.org




</pre>
                            <!-- END OF PAGE CONTENT -->

    </TD>


    <TD width=50 align=center>

    </TD>
</TR>

                            <!-- THE BOTTOM TOOLBAR -->

<TR>

    <TD colspan=3 align=center fontsize=2>
    <a href="../SUB~1.HTM" tppabs="http://www.envirolink.org/arrs/sub.html">ARRS Tools</a>  |
<a href="../NEWSPA~1.HTM" tppabs="http://www.envirolink.org/arrs/newspage.html">News</a>  |
<a href="../ORGS~1.HTM" tppabs="http://www.envirolink.org/arrs/Orgs.html">Orgs</a>  |
<a href="../SEARCH~1.HTM" tppabs="http://www.envirolink.org/arrs/search.html">Search</a>  |
<a href="../SUPPOR~1.HTM" tppabs="http://www.envirolink.org/arrs/Support.html">Support</a>  |
<a href="../ABOUT/INDEX.HTM" tppabs="http://www.envirolink.org/arrs/about">About the ARRS</a>  |
<a href="mailto:[e-mail]">Contact ARRS</a>
    </TD>
</TR>


                                <!-- END OF MAIN -->

</TABLE></center>




        <!-- THE UNDERWRITERS -->

<table border=0 width=100%>
    <tr><td>

<center>    <hr width=285>
<Font Size=1>THIS SITE UNDERWRITTEN IN PART BY:</FONT>
<BR>


<a href="../../../tppmsgs/msgs4.htm#476" tppabs="http://www.envirolink.org/cgi-bin/show_support.pl?id=t889237296&sec=sbn_bottom&url=http%3a//www.go-organic.com/greenmarket/gorilla/" target=_top><img src="../../SUPPORT/BANNERS/CROSS-~1/MICHAE~1.GIF" tppabs="http://www.envirolink.org/support/banners/cross-promotion/michael_wide.gif" border=1 alt="Gorilla Foundation"></a>


<hr width=285>

    <br><font size=2>
    <b>The views and opinions expressed within this page are not
necessarily those of the <br>EnviroLink Network nor the Underwriters.  The views
are those of the authors of the work.</b></font>
    </center>
    </td></tr>

</table>

</BODY>

</HTML>