Komputer for Alle 1998 #6/1998 CD 6 (Gul).iso/web/ffa/wwwenv~1.org/arrs/digest/news41~6.htm/text0001.txt

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>From The Electronic Telegraph - Saturday, May 24th, 1997

ú37m millennium grant for giant greenhouses
By Aisling Irwin, Science Correspondent

CORNWALL will be home to rain forests and sub-Saharan desert vegetation by
2000 after an ambitious project was given a ú37 million grant from the
Millennium Commission yesterday.

The Garden of Eden project will create vast domed greenhouses, one of which
will be tall enough to hold groves of mahogany and teak trees which will
grow to their full, 70-metre maturity.

The scheme, which will cost ú106 million, has been designed by the architect
Nicholas Grimshaw. It will transform the industrial landscape of a disused
china clay pit into a world that, it is hoped, will attract more than
750,000 visitors a year.

The most vivid attraction will be its three "biomes", one of which will be
taller than Nelson's Column. Around the "biomes" will be a fourth -
temperate vegetation - including temperate forest found in places like
southern Chile. This is under greater threat worldwide than rain
forest.

The garden, in Bodelva near St Austell, will aim to capture the public
imagination by displaying landscapes that are being destroyed. It will hold
10,000 plant species and one of its great advantages will be its size:
botanical gardens can often afford to hold only one sample of each species.
These conservatories will house whole populations, said Philip McMillan
Browse, one of the project's two horticultural directors.

While botanists will be able to take advantage of this genetic diversity for
study, most research will be done elsewhere using revenue from the garden.
This will finance projects overseas that try to reconcile  the interests of
farmers with those of conservationists.

One of the conservatories will recreate sub-Saharan desert - full of the
bush, acacia trees and vivid flowers that typify countries such as Tanzania
and Zambia. The third will house Mediterranean vegetation. Construction is
expected to start early next year.

The plan was the creation of Tim Smit, a former record producer who was
behind the restoration of the nearby Lost Gardens of Heligan, featured in a
Channel 4 series, and the architect Jonathan Ball.

Heather Couper, the astronomer, who announced the grant in Cornwall, said:
"I am amazed at the scale of it. I think it is marvellous that a project of
this environmental scale is coming out of an environmentally scarred
landscape. We are putting back what we took away - that is the marvellous
thing about the Eden project."

⌐ Copyright Telegraph Group Limited 1997.

Date: Sun, 25 May 1997 02:50:28 -0700 (PDT)
From: David J Knowles <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: [UK Farmer fined ú13 ,500 for killing kites
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>From The Electronic Telegraph - Saturday, May 24th, 1997

Farmer fined ú13,500 for killing kites
By Michael Fleet

A FARMER who was "dedicated to killing creatures" was fined a record amount
yesterday for killing three birds of prey.

John Edwards, 87, poisoned the red kites, a protected species, because he
thought they were attacking animals on his pig farm. Magistrates at Thame,
Oxon, heard that his farm was littered with the corpses of animals, poisoned
bait and traps which had been banned
for years.

He was fined ú13,500, the highest ever for a wildlife poisoning case, with
ú500 costs and an order that traps and poisons be confiscated.

It was claimed he laced animal corpses with poison so they would be eaten by
red kites that nested near his Cold Harbour Farm at  Wallingford, Oxon. He
admitted he did not like the birds but insisted he had not killed them.

He said: "I think the conservationists have been silly to bring them back.
It should be the people who release them who also come to feed them. Why
should my farm provide for them?"

⌐ Copyright Telegraph Group Limited 1997.

Date: Sun, 25 May 1997 02:50:30 -0700 (PDT)
From: David J Knowles <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Poachers' armada is wiping Caspian caviar off the menu
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>From The Electronic Telegraph - Sunday, May 25th, 1997

Poachers' armada is wiping Caspian caviar off the menu
By Robin Lodge in Astrakhan

THE rich spawning grounds of the Volga delta, the world's foremost producer
of caviar, are being jeopardised by climatic changes, pollution and poaching
on a massive scale.

For thousands of years, the sturgeon of the Caspian Sea have been caught for
their precious eggs, providing a delicacy extolled by Herodotus and
Aristotle. But experts say that future generations may never taste the
delicacy. According to the World Wide Fund for Nature, the number of adult
sturgeon in the Caspian has declined since 1978 from about 142 million to
barely 40 million. If this continues the sturgeon could be extinct in 20 years.

Valery Proskuryakov, 50, has been catching sturgeon in the delta for 16
years. He heads a 12-man team working the nets at the 20th Party Congress
collective fishery at the village of Gluboko. From late March to November,
the farm's three brigades work 24 hours a day, letting out and hauling in
their nets for the caviar-bearing Beluga, Sevruga and Osyotr, whose yields
will eventually find their way to the restaurants of Europe, America and
Japan for upwards of ú100 an ounce.

The net stretches some 250 yards to the opposite bank. As it is winched in,
five Sevruga sturgeon weighing up to 40lb each and measuring some five feet
long can be seen thrashing around amid the hundreds of smaller fish. Valery
is unimpressed. "In the old days,
we would reckon on between 30 and 50 sturgeon from every haul."

One of the fishermen splashes out of the water grasping a struggling
sturgeon by its gills and tail. While two colleagues hold it firmly by head
and tail, he takes his knife and deftly splits it along the length of  its
underbelly, revealing a yard long swathe of grey caviar. This is not for the
squeamish.

The caviar is cold from the still twitching body of the fish. Unsalted it
has a creamy taste, a freshness that makes it quite unlike the finished
product. The eggs are still separate and burst against the palate with an
explosion of flavour. The fisherman scoops the eggs into a bucket. It is
then sieved to get rid of the tendrils and membranes, washed and salted,
before being packed into kilogram tins. This fish produced three tins of
caviar - more than 6lb.

The decline can be attributed to three factors: gross over-fishing in the
1970s and 1980s; climatic changes that have seen the level of the Caspian
fall by several metres; and a surge in poaching. The latter has followed the
breakup of the Soviet Union and with it a lack of joint policing by the five
countries adjoining the Caspian: Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Iran and
Azerbaijan.

Efforts are under way to reverse this decline. Russia has set up 10
artificial fish-breeding farms in the Volga delta, releasing more than 10
million infant sturgeon into the Caspian every year. A similar number is
released by Iranian fish farms. Despite a Caspian Sea fishing ban, fishing
still goes on there. Trawlers from Azerbaijan catch Caspian sprats, but
their nets also bring in thousands of immature sturgeon, long before they
reach their river spawning grounds.

A Sevruga sturgeon takes eight to 10 years to mature, Osyotr 10-12 years and
the highly prized Beluga, which grow up to two tonnes in  weight, 16-18
years. Even when mature, the sturgeon spawn only every two or three years.

In Astrakhan, the controls are strict. "Fish police" patrol the delta and
have seized more than 60 tonnes of poached sturgeon this year. Police and
security squads search cars at the airport.

But in a region where virtually every family has poacher relatives, illegal
produce abounds. At the Astrakhan fish market, under-the-counter Beluga is
going for ú15 a pound. Elsewhere, the problem is far worse. In neighbouring
Dagestan, security officials have intercepted planeloads of caviar heading
for the Middle East. Last November, 50 people were killed by a bomb attack
on a border guards' barracks, apparently instigated by caviar smugglers in
retaliation for a series of raids.

But Vladimir Ivanov, director of the Caspian Fisheries Research Institute,
is still optimistic. "I have worked at this institute for 30 years. It is
all my life. The oil will come and go, but the fish have fed the people
around the Caspian for thousands of years. The people know it and in the end
their good sense will prevail."

⌐ Copyright Telegraph Group Limited 1997.

Date: Sun, 25 May 1997 02:50:33 -0700 (PDT)
From: David J Knowles <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: [UK] Are you in a flap over bats?
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
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>From The Electronic Telegraph - Saturday, May 24th, 1997

Are you in a flap over bats?

You may never love them, but you will have to learn to live with them, says
Annie Shaw

MIKE Threadgold has squatters in his house. They leave in winter but come
back during the summer months and claim residents' rights. Mike, head
gardener at Attingham Park, a National Trust house near Shrewsbury in
Shropshire, must by law accommodate them - for his uninvited guests are bats.

May sees the start of the roosting season, and the pipistrelle bats roosting
in the roof of Mike's cottage at the nearby village of Uffington are thought
to be one of the largest maternity colonies in the country  - there were
1,500 last year. Each female will produce one young
before the roosting season ends in September.

Mike's bats are thought to have first gained access through a small crack in
the eaves - bats can get in through holes no bigger than 20mm by 75mm - and
at present all 1,500 use the same exit route from the roof space when,
between 9pm and 10pm, they take flight in
search of an insect supper.

One consequence of this occupation is the accumulation of droppings on the
attic floor: the stench in the warm months becomes intolerable for the human
residents below.

Mike is sanguine about the imposition. "In summer we only live in half the
cottage," he says. "It is amazing to discover there are so many bats. We
would not know they were there if it were not for the smell." The National
Trust, with a small grant from English Nature, is trying to improve the
problem by installing a lining to the roof, and the roof space is being
adapted to provide a special entrance and exit and to give extra ventilation.

Less tolerant of the conditions bats impose on their human co-habitees is
the writer Auberon Waugh: "I have always lived in houses dominated by bats,
but none as badly as the one I live in now. Cellars are what I mind most of
all because that's where I keep all my wine.

"For years we kept them down with tennis racquets - we sent the children to
deal with them - but nowadays you can be fined ú2,000 if you frighten or
annoy a bat; more if you kill one."

Amy Badham, development officer of the Bat Conservation Trust, says that
most people who discover they have bats in their homes are nervous at first,
but, she says, it is surprising how many people grow to love them. "There is
nothing to be afraid of," she says. "Bat pose no risk to human health, and
most people are unaware they have them because they often occupy only a tiny
space, such as under the roof tiles.

"Indeed, many people want to encourage them and we are able to give advice
on making a hospitable environment, including bat boxes and bat bricks,
which help the creatures to roost."

So how can you tell if you have bats? If you see crumbly mouse-like
droppings on windows or in the loft, they have probably been left by bats.
The most common house-loving bat is the pipistrelle, which likes to roost in
gable ends, at the top of cavity walls near chimneys, or
behind barge boards. They also like churches.

The brown long-eared bat is most likely to be found in roof voids, and may
sometimes be seen clinging on to timbers near the apex of the roof.

Bats are protected by law and must not be injured or disturbed. If you want
to use the space they are occupying, or do any alterations or repairs, you
must contact the BCT, or one of the nature conservation bodies for advice to
avoid prosecution.

Tony Hutson, the senior conservation officer at the BCT, says: "If you have
adequate ventilation, there shouldn't be a smell from droppings. We can
advise on ways of ensuring this without disturbing the bats. You can also
put down newspaper in your loft which you can then clear out. The droppings
make good fertiliser - indeed, bat fertiliser is big business in the tropics."

⌐ Copyright Telegraph Group Limited 1997.

Date: Sun, 25 May 1997 02:50:36 -0700 (PDT)
From: David J Knowles <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: [TH] Thai Bullfighting
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
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>From The Weekend Sun (Vancouver Sun) - Saturday, May 24th, 1997 (travel section)

By Sutin Wannabovorn - Reuters

TRANG, Thailand - The crowd surrounding the muddy bullring yells with
excitement as the fading drumbeats signal the start of the bullfight.

But it's a far cry from the roar of "Toro! Toro!" heard in Madrid or
Pamplona. In Thailand, bullfighting aficionados are most likely to yell
"2-to-1" or "10-to-1 for 10,000."

They come for the gambling, not the sport.

In fact, bullfighting in Thailand bears little resemblance to Spain's
version, where man is pitted against beast.

In this southern province, the home of Thai bullfighting, matadors don't
exist and it's bull against bull with money as king.

Hundreds of gambling fans at the ringside cheer widely and make frantic hand
signals to place bets, which range from thousands to millions of baht,
according to bookies.

Deals are made once the gamblers touch each other's hands and bookies say
honesty prevails.

"Bullfighting gamblers always honor our deals," one bookie said.

Wicharn Damrongsak, the owner of the Trang bullfighting arena who organizes
the weekly fight, said bullfighting is the most popular sport for gamblers,
overtaking other gambling favorites like boxing and cock fighting.

"The gamblers favor bullfighting more than boxing because in human sports,
one can fix the winner for money but no one can fix the animal," Wicharn said.

"I would estimate at least 10 million baht ($385,000 Cdn) changes hands in
each day of fighting," he said. "In some matches the stakes are really high,
up to 14 million baht."

After one recent match, the owner of a winning bull who rushed to kiss the
animal on its forehead after its victory, said he pocketed big money from
the fight

"My family and I won more than 300,000 baht from this match," said
Pongthatwat Petprasit, 37, the owner of Daeng Kaoyod, the three-year-old
bull which won and was named best fighter of the day.

Wicharn, a civil servant, said although he thinks bullfighting is cruel to
the animal, the sport is so entrenched in southern Thailand that he'll
continue with the game.

In Thai bullfighting, the bulls attack each other until one of the animals
backs down and runs away. Their battles can last anywhere from several
minutes to up to half an hour.

Bullfighting has existed in teh southern region for more than 100 years.

In the early days of the sport, bulllfighting took place after the harvest
season but it later developed into a weekly event and is also held during
festivals.

There are no official statistics on the scale of bullfighting, but one bull
expert estimates about 4,000 fighter bulls are bred and rotated throughout
the region.

"The bulls are very well bred and very well taken care of by their owners, "
said Pongthatwat, the bull owner.

He said most of the fighting bulls sleep under mosquito nets and eat a diet
that includes bananas, eggs and vitamins.

Since fighting bulls are bred by specific breeders and are earmarked
especially for the sport, their prices are much higher than non-fighting bulls.

A fighting bull costs up to 300,000 baht, a bull owner said, while normal
bulls cost around 10,000 baht a head.


Date: Sun, 25 May 1997 19:58:11 +0800 (SST)
From: Vadivu Govind <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (VN) Cat Meat
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>The Sunday Times (Review)
25 May 97
In Vietnam, absent cats mean rats have a field day


     "HAVE you ever tasted cat meat? It's one of the most delectable
dishes," said Mr
     Truong Quang Phat, warming to the task of skinning a fat feline and
laying it on a
     charcoal grill in front of diners in his restaurant in Hanoi.

     Having tired of the snake and other exotic dishes, the middle class
gourmets of Hanoi have developed a taste for the cat -- raw, marinated,
grilled or dunked in a Mongolian hotpot.

     Many believe it has aphrodisiac and other therapeutic properties.

But as more and more of the "little tigers" are skinned to satisfy north
Vietnamese
palates, it is literally a case of the cats being away and the rats getting
busy -- a recipe for another ecological disaster.

     "I kill about seven cats a day and this is not enough to satisfy my
diners," said Mr Phat proudly claiming he counted not only Vietnamese but
also Chinese, Taiwanese,
Indonesians and some Europeans among his clientele.

     "My customers prefer the gall and the stomach of black cats and they
have to be
ordered several days in advance. And the price has tripled in two years,
from US$3.50 to US$11 for a cat." (This is roughly S$5 to S$15).

A diner, Mr Nguyen Phi Hung, claimed: "Asthma can be cured by cat meat and a
man's sexual prowess can be aroused with the help of four raw galls pickled
in rice
wine."

     Traditionally, the Vietnamese look on the cat as a family friend and
raise them to help chase away rats, both in cities and in the countryside.

     A dozen restaurants featuring cat meat have opened in just one district
of Hanoi and about 1,800 cats are cut up every year in each of them.

     The proliferation of such eateries has taken a steady toll of the
capital's felines and the restaurateurs have had to look farther afield to
keep their diners satisfied.

"Overnight, all the cats in my neighbourhood were stolen and sold to
restaurants in
Hanoi and China," said Mr Nguyen Quang Hoa. The Chinese have long been known
to fancy the felines for their tables.

     "To my knowledge, at least 200 cats are packed off to China every day
for medicinal and culinary purposes," said a restaurant owner.

     As a result, rats are multiplying at an alarming rate, gorging on up to
30 per cent of grain produced in some districts around Hanoi.

     Official figures show that rats have eaten their way through more than
6, 000 ha of paddy and and nearly 1,000 ha of maize or sweet potato in the
suburbs since early this year, despite several pest-control campaigns.
In the process, the use of chemical pesticides has aggravated environment
and health
problems.

     Hapless municipal authorities have appealed to the districts to do
something for saving the cats and ridding the rats in the most efficient
manner. But, as a Hanoi daily
  lamented, the rats are breeding ceaselessly.

     'If today we keep killing cats and snakes for the table, we will soon
have to eat ... yes, rats," said an ecologist with not a little irony,
calling for an unceremonious closure of all  the restaurants featuring
feline meat. -- AFP


Date: Sun, 25 May 1997 19:58:22 +0800 (SST)
From: Vadivu Govind <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Whale hunting to whale watching
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
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>The Sunday Times
25 May 97

     WHALE WATCH: An environmental group said in Manila yesterday that it hoped
to turn local whale-hunting commu- nities in the central Philippines into
whale-watching tour operators to protect endangered species and help the
communities earn a living.

Members of the Society of the Environment in the Philippines said they would
use a
US$150,000 (S$211,500) grant from Citibank for the three-year project to set
up the
operations in the Pamilican, a haven for whalesharks, whales, dolphins and other
marine life. -- AFP.


Date: Sun, 25 May 1997 19:59:37 +0800 (SST)
From: Vadivu Govind <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (MY) Better fish landing depots by 2002
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
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>The Star
Sunday, May 25, 1997

                   Better fish landing depots by
                   2002

                   MALACCA: The Malaysian Fish Development Authority (LKIM)
plans
                   to upgrade all its fish landing depots around the country
by the year                    2002
                to woo back Malaysian fishermen who are landing their catches in
                   neighbouring countries.

                   According to chairman Datuk Zakaria Said, the projects --
costing more
                   than a billion ringgit -- would involve main fish landing
depots in Kuala
                   Kedah, Penang, Lumut, Malacca, Muar, Endau, Kuantan, Kuala
                   Terengganu and Kelantan.

                   ''We want to upgrade these depots to attract our
fishermen to unload                     their
                   catches here as it costs us 50 per cent more to import
the fish from
                   neighbouring countries,'' he said.

                   Zakaria, who was speaking to reporters after officiating
the 17th annual
                   general meeting of the Southern Malacca Fishermen's
Association, said                   the
                   Government spent about RM900 million yearly to import fish.

                   Zakaria said the Government could not bar Malaysian
fishermen from
                   unloading their fish in neighbouring countries.

                   ''We will seek the help of the Denmark Government to
upgrade our                         depots
                   as their fish unloading technology is very advanced,'' he
said, adding                         that
                   currently two depots in Batu Maung and Kuala Terengganu
were being
                   upgraded at a cost of RM80 million.

                   Zakaria said the upgraded fish landing depots would have
sophisticated
                   equipment, cold rooms and ship repair facilities, in
addition to being                         easily
                   accessible to transport.

                   He said LKIM was also planning to hand over 17 fish
landing depots to                         be
                   managed by fishermen's associations.


Date: Sun, 25 May 1997 08:41:33 -0400
From: allen schubert <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Animals of stone live in Cuban peasant's zoo
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
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from CNN web page:
------------------------------
Animals of stone live in Cuban peasant's zoo

                            In this story:

                                   There are humans in Blanco's zoo, too
                                   'I'll always be a peasant'

                            May 24, 1997
                            Web posted at: 11:48 p.m. EDT (0348 GMT)

                            YATERAS, Cuba (CNN) -- Angel
                            Inigo Blanco went for a walk near
                            his home 20 years ago, and had
                            an idea that many people would
                            have dropped immediately.

                            There were no zoos in eastern
                            Cuba, and it occurred to him that
                            he could create one by carving
                            animals from the huge chunks of
                            limestone that abounded in the
                            midst of a lush, semi-tropical
                            jungle.

                            He returned the next day and
                            began work on a lion. It wasn't
                            easy, and he nearly gave up.

                            "I came one day and worked and
                            said, 'I'm not coming back,'" he
                            says. "It's very difficult work."

                            But he did come back, day after
                            day for 20 years, and now he has
                            a collection of 360 stone animals
                            and birds ranging from gorillas to
                            roosters.

                            Protected by a fence and a
                            sagging iron gate, Blanco's zoo
                            is home to elephants, lions,
                            rhinoceroses, panthers,
                            crocodiles and buffalo.

                            There is a gorilla with a quizzical
                            look on its face as it fights off
                            several stone lions. There is a
                            bear hunkering in the midst of
                            extravagant green foliage.

                            There are humans in
                            Blanco's zoo, too

                            There is a horned mountain goat and two other
creatures with big ears
                            and no horns and the same, over-caffeinated
look in their eyes. They may
                            also be goats. Then, again, they may not.

                            A lion lurking behind a stand of bright orange
lilies has the same quizzical
                            expression as the gorilla while, nearby, waves
of fat ripple across the
                            back of a hippopotamus in profile.

                            There are chickens, rats and donkeys, some of
them hiding amidst the
                            greenery. There are even humans in Blanco's zoo.

                            "The sculpture which took me the longest was
the Indian village," he says.
                            "I worked on that for seven months."

                            Even now, 20 years into his opus, Blanco uses
only a hammer, a lever
                            and a file, and he says the work is still
difficult. "Sculpting is hard work,"
                            he says, "whether you're working with mud or
wood."

                            'I'll always be a peasant'

                            As sculpture goes, Blanco's work has a simple,
almost childlike quality
                            similar to a style of painting known as
"primitive."

                            Blanco's, however, is neither so deliberate nor
so philosophical. He does
                            what he can, and while it will never be
confused with great art, he is proud
                            of it.

                            "I'll always be a peasant," he says.

                            Blanco is 61 now, and one of his children works
with him. He will inherit
                            his father's stone legacy and, perhaps, the
dream as well.
Date: Sun, 25 May 1997 10:39:22 -0400 (EDT)
From: [e-mail]
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (US) Oklahoma Hunting Article
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>


According to Oklahoma hunting news:

Hunting, fishing and outdoor sports in general could use a lot of guys like
Dave Watson, the spokesman for Cabela's Sportsman's Quest archery tour.

In Oklahoma City for a recent North American Bowhunters tournament, Watson
demonstrated a talent for talking that would serve him well on the tube where
the sport of hunting needs all the help it can get.

When push comes to shove in front of the cameras, many TV reporters are eager
to present hunting's side as explained by a toothless backwoodsman with a
heart of gold and a brain of mush.

It's reassuring to note that Watson, a former member of the famous Oak Ridge
Boys, is not rendered speechless by the appearance of a microphone, and he
has some strong views on the positive side of hunting.

In fact, he's pursuing a project he hopes will permit him to help counteract
the major networks' anti-hunting propaganda with a national television show
of his own.

It would be aimed at children, who happen to be the main targets of the
present collection of unrealistic kids' programs, most of which are anti-
everything Watson stands for.

''Unfortunately,'' he says, ''it has become increasingly politically
incorrect to hunt and fish, so the powers that be -- the huge corporations,
the huge sponsors -- disassociate themselves from people and groups who hunt
and fish. Therefore, they're promoting an anti-hunting and anti-outdoors
lifestyle which is very unhealthy.''

Watson has developed a concept for a show called ''Kidz Outdoor Extreme,''
which he says will provide an alternative to the influence of the endless
parade of ''Bambi'' type programs made especially for youngsters.

''What I'm trying to do is get a kids' show designed to get young people
involved in the outdoors whether it's hunting or fishing or hiking,'' he
said. ''Just anything to get them out of the malls for a while.

''One out of every four homes does not have a dad there, and even if he is,
he's worked his tail off all week to make ends meet. He just doesn't have
time any more for that weekend fishing trip with junior.''

Without a father's guidance, there's nothing these days to steer a young
person toward the outdoors, Watson says.

''Hunting is starting to be in trouble now, but in 10 years hunting is going
to be in very bad trouble,'' he said. ''So is fishing. What we're seeing is a
lot of anti-hunting statements and a lot of anti-fishing statements on
television directly targeting youngsters who are 6 to 10 years old. If they
hear that enough times, they're going to grow up and say, 'Hey, fishing is
bad. It hurts those fish to catch them on a hook. They feel that pain.'
They'll say that instead of, 'Wow, Dad and I went out and caught four nice
trout and we ate them. We had a great day.' That type of attitude is not
being promoted.

''The major networks have already said there's no way they're going to have a
hunting and fishing show for children,'' Watson said. ''They just will not
allow that no matter what sponsorship you get. I understand their point of
view, but I learned last week -- and it shocked me -- that even to make a
pro-hunting or pro-conservation comment I have to have a sponsor who'll let
me, because most of the program sponsors will not.''

Watson said he hopes there's a couple out there who'll take a stand for
hunting and fishing.

''I've got it to where one of the networks -- I can't tell you which one yet
-- has accepted the show, and now we're looking for sponsors,'' he said.
''That's where I am today.''

Watson said he's hoping to launch the show in the first quarter of 1998,
featuring such things as skydiving, mountain climbing, SCUBA diving and
various outdoors adventures, as well as hunting and fishing.

''I think it can happen,'' he said. ''We're talking about 26 weeks. I think I
can get ahead far enough by December to put it on the air, and then finish up
the remainder of the shows.

''It's a start,'' he said. ''If you watch you'll see the kids' shows that
they have now are making anti-hunting comments every single day, and it's
hurting us so bad any kind of positive TV influence at all would be a step in
the right direction.''

                                                          For the Animals,

                                                          Jana, OKC
Date: Sun, 25 May 1997 10:56:50 -0400
From: Vegetarian Resource Center <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (US) McDonald's Aims to Focus on Taste, Service
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

McDonald's Aims to Focus on Taste, Service

Copyright 1997 by Reuters / Fri, 23 May 1997 3:24:14 PDT

OAK BROOK, Ill. (Reuter) - McDonald's Corp. said it would raise its
standards on food
taste and service, and hinted that it might add a new chicken product to
the menu.

``Taste, service and value are the three big hitters,'' Chairman Michael
Quinlan told
shareholders Thursday.

At the annual meeting here, McDonald's executives said the fast-food chain
is working
to improve the taste of its products, with an emphasis on fresher food.

McDonald's is also testing several food initiatives in some of its units.
These include
toasting sandwich buns and preparing food to order, Jack Greenberg,
chairman of the
McDonald's USA, told reporters after the meeting.

McDonald's, which last year rolled out the Arch Deluxe hamburger, may also
be adding
a chicken item.

``We just might have some real hot new chicken stuff,'' Quinlan said, but
did not give
details.

McDonald's executives said the company was also raising the bar on its
service,
particularly at the drive-through window.

Improved service is part of McDonald's long-term Campaign 55 promotion,
which offers
featured sandwiches for 55 cents when consumers also buy a drink and french
fries or
hash browns.

Campaign 55 has been touted by McDonald's as a means to bring more customers
into its U.S. units, which suffered a decline in same-store sales in 1996.

For the first quarter of 1997, U.S. same-store sales rose.

Greenberg did not project U.S. results for the year, but said he expected
the domestic
business to be better than last year.

In the U.S. market, where McDonald's has more than 12,000 units out of more
than
21,000 worldwide, Greenberg said competition remains intense.

``It's going to continue to be quite competitive.... Everybody in the
business is going to
be fighting over a lot of the same customers.

Speaking to reporters, Greenberg criticized some McDonald's franchisees who
have
raised complaints publicly about the company and its rapid expansion in the
United
States.

At an American Franchisee Association news conference on Wednesday, some
franchisees complained that McDonald's U.S. expansion has hurt their profit
margins.

``We have the largest franchise system in the world and we have the least
number of
lawsuits,'' Greenberg said.
Date: Sun, 25 May 1997 12:31:33 -0400 (EDT)
From: [e-mail]
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Consumer Reports: "Medical News: How to Assess the Latest Breakthrough"(US)
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>

If you just want to skip to the really infuriating part -- it's Section 1.
 An address for letters to the editor is at the end  -- Mariann
-----------------------------------------------------
Consumer Reports, June, 1997, page 62-63

YOUR HEALTH: "Medical News: How to Assess the Latest Breakthough"

     It's a common malady of the information age: confusion over the latest
news about how to avoid -- or treat -- cancer, heart disease, and dozens of
other ills.
     If it's Wednesday morning, you're hearing about the latest report in the
Journal of the American Medical Association.  On Thursday, it's this week's
announcement picked up from the New England Journal of Medicine.  On Friday,
it's biological news from Science.  Then there are reports based on Nature,
The Lancet, and Cell.  Every week, like clockwork, major scientific research
journals publish new studies dissecting our lifestyles and our medical
options into small pieces.  You can count on the newspapers, radio, and TV to
seize on many of them as the basis of news reports.  On top of that comes
news almost every day from medical conferences, drug companies, or patient
support groups.
     If you pay attention, you can get really confused.  One study says
caffeine is bad for your heart.  Another says it doesn't matter.  One study
says alcohol can give you cancer.  Another says wine consumption seems to
explain why the French can eat plenty of butter and cheese but suffer fewer
heart attacks than Americans.
     "It's very easy to be seduced by headlines," notes Harvard Medical
School epidemiologist Julie Buring, principal investigator in the Women's
Health Study of vitamin E and aspirin.
     In fact, scientists very rarely have cause to shout, "Eureka!"  Instead,
the process of gaining medical knowledge is in some ways like the creation of
a pointillist painting.  If you concentrate too much on individual dots,
you'll miss the big picture -- which may take years to come together.
     Still, some studies should matter to you more than others.  Here are
five ways to assess how much weight you should give a medical report.  They
are the same sorts of questions that researchers ask when deciding which
leads to follow up.
     1. Who's promoting the study?  There is a vast commercial machinery
behind the publication of scientific information, from business trying to
lure investors, to institutions hoping to gain prestige or win grants as a
result of publicity. "You have to look at the motivations of everyone
involved in telling you that there is some breakthrough that is going to
change your life," advises Marcia Angell, executive editor of the New England
Journal of Medicine.
     A case in point: the "milk is bad for you" scare of 1992.  A group of
physicians -- bolstered by famed pediatrician Benjamin Spock -- called a news
conference to denounce the possible hazards of cow's milk.  The group's
report dwelled on studies showing a supposed "link" and "strong correlation"
between dairy products and juvenile diabetes.  Not everyone noticed that the
evidence for such a link is weak; that it might apply only to children who
already are genetically susceptible to diabetes; that Spock was there mostly
to support breast-feeding of infants; and that the group, associated with the
animal rights movement, vigorously promotes vegetarianism.
     2.  How was the study done? Even if the source looks reliable, were the
studies carried out in people?  in just one gender? lab animals? test tubes?
 The further away a study is from the real world, the less reason to
automatically apply its results to your own life.  Use your common sense.
 "If it sounds far-fetched, it often is," says endocrinologist JoAnn E.
Manson, a co-investigator in the Women's Health Initiative, a study of
estrogen, calcium and vitamin D.
     3.  What kind of study was it?  Even if the study was done in people,
not all studies are created equal.  To look at the effect of a medication on
a disease, the best design is a "prospective" interventional study -- one
like the Physicians' Health Study, which followed 20,000 physicians for more
than a decade to look for aspirin's ability to prevent heart attacks and
beta-carotene's ability to prevent cancer.  A good prospective study assigns
people at random to either a treatment group or a no-treatment "control"
group.  Without such a comparison, it's impossible to know if the treated
group really benefitted.
     This is one of the problems with a spate of reports this year about the
"promise" of radiation therapy for the blinding disease called macular
degeneration.  Most of the research reported by the press has no control
group.
     Less reliable than prospective studies are retrospective studies, in
which researchers look back at what happened to subjects in the past.  This
approach is often used as the first step in a hunt for the causes of cancer
clusters, birth defects, or puzzling syndromes.  The accuracy of the results
relies on people's records and recollections and cannot be proof of cause and
effect.
     4.  How big was the study?  How many people were studied and for how
long?  In general, the bigger the study, the better.  Unfortunately, small
projects with intriguing results can make headlines that are just as big as
those given to larger, more comprehensive studies.  That was illustrated by a
pair of dueling studies of hormone-replacement therapy published in 1995.
     One study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, looked at
more than 120,000 women in the two-decades-long Nurses Health Study.  It
carefully laid  out which women were more susceptible to an increase in
breast-cancer risk when taking hormone replacement therapy.  The next month,
the Journal of the American Medical Association published a retrospective
study of 1029 women in Washington state, which concluded that taking hormones
didn't raise breast-cancer risk.
     Despite the different study designs and sizes, they received equivalent
coverage in the press.  "It makes you want to just throw up your hands,"
grumbles Graham Colditz, the lead author of the larger study. [Note that
Consumer Reports doesn't even mention that some "vast commercial machinery"
with a hidden agenda might be at work here, unlike the case of the evil
doctors who are trying to trick you into not drinking milk. -- MS]
     5.  Does it matter in real life?  Watch out when a researcher is quoted
as saying that a result is "significant."  The word may not mean what you
think.  In research, "significance" is a statistical term,  typically a
determination that the findings have a 5 percent chance of having occurred at
random.  It means the results need to be taken seriously by other
researchers, not that the results necessarily will be a big deal to you.  (It
also means that about 5 percent of all "significant" results are wrong.)
     Given all the uncertainties that can affect a particular study, many
researchers don't take a single report too seriously unless an apparent risk
or benefit really stands out.  "I wouldn't pay much attention to a risk
unless it was talking about a twofold or threefold increase in risk," advises
Angell.
     And if the disease or side effect being studied is extremely rare, even
a tenfold increase in risk may not mean much in the context of all the things
that are much more likely to make you sick over a lifetime.
Recommendations
     It's unwise, and sometimes even dangerous, to take any single study as a
reason to change your medication or your lifestyle.  For example, in 1995,
certain calcium-channel-blocker drugs for high blood pressure were reported
to raise the risk of heart attack.  "There was a panic among users of these
drugs," Manson said.  But instead of contacting their doctors and discussing
a switch to a different drug, "some patients were stopping their drug
overnight," she said, taking on a high, known risk of death from stroke.
     If you year about a worrisome study, seek out multiple accounts of the
study to help you get a clearer picture of the state of the science.  Look
especially for advice from federal organizations, as well as major
public-health organizations, such as the American Heart Association or the
American Cancer Society, to get a sense of how urgent the news is.
     If you're still wondering about the study's importance, consult your
physician -- bear in mind that the doctor's own copy of the medical journal
may still be in the mail.
-------------------------------------
 The Address for letters to the Editor for Consumer Reports is
Consumer Reports
P.O. Box 2015
Yonkers, NY 10703-9015
"Please include a daytime phone number"
Date: Sun, 25 May 1997 12:42:47 -0400
From: Vegetarian Resource Center <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Cc: [e-mail], [e-mail]
Subject: Tryannosaurus Rex suffered from gout (from red meat)
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Tryannosaurus Rex (T. rex) suffered from gout

Copyright 1997 by United Press International / Wed, 21 May 1997 14:04:36 PDT

SAN FRANCISCO, May 21 (UPI) -- Researchers from Ohio think they just might
have
an answer to why the ferocious Tyrannosaurus rex roamed the Earth in such a
foul
mood.

The latest evidence points to the giant tyrant suffering from painful gout.

Reporting today (Wednesday) in the British journal Nature, Bruce Rothschild
of the Arthritis Center of Northeast Ohio in Youngstown says it appears that
T. rex was no different from many of the well-fed human tyrants, who shared
his medical dilemma.

Gout is a metabolic disorder in which urate crystals accumulate in bones
and joints,
often causing new bone tissue to grow.

Says Rothschild, ``Caricatures of the agony and ill-temper of those afflicted
with gout are magnified by its recognition in Tyrannosaurus rex.''

The evidence of the dinosaurs' ill health comes from fossilized limb bones
of the Cretaceous King of Tyrant Lizards.

In animnals, gout has been recorded in a variety of reptiles and birds.
The disorder in these may be a symptom of dehydration or kidney problems.
In humans, on the other hand, gout is usually connected with food and drink.

Says Rothschild, ``Given the absence of vintage port during the Cretaceous
Period,
a possible contributor to gout in the dinosaurs may have been red meat,
a delicacy with which T. rex was quite familiar.''
Date: Sun, 25 May 1997 13:09:57 -0400 (EDT)
From: [e-mail]
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Dog World: Toying With Animal Rights
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>

Dog World, June 1997

Editorial: Toying With Animal RIghts

by Donna L. Marcel

     The animal rights vs. animal welfare issue has been hotly debated for
years.  Many people use the terms "rights" and "welfare" interchangeably,
neither understanding their different interpretations nor the battle lines
that have been drawn among animal-related groups.
     Animal welfare groups say they are committed to responsible treatment
and care of animals while claiming the animal rights philosophy puts animals
ahead of human beings.  Although all animal rights groups may not endorse
this hard stance, there are some extremist groups that do, even going so far
as using vandalism to publicize their cause.
     Whether the rights groups vehemently protest the running of the Iditarod
sled dog race, the use of animals in medical research or even animal
ownership, the animosity among the animal rights and the welfare proponents
rages on.  The latest flare-up involves Barbie -- yes, as in doll -- and her
manufacturer, Mattel, Inc.
     It was reported by Keith Bradsher in the February 23 edition of The New
York Times that Mattel is trying to stop furriers and businesses from
invoking Barbie's name or using her to model and sell doll furs.  According
to the Times report, earlier this year Mattel sent letters to these
businesses threatening legal action if they continue to don the doll in mini
fur coats.
     In the article, Lisa McKendall, Mattell's director of marketing
communications, said the main concern is that the coats violate the company's
trademark.  She also stated Mattel is worried about the doll's image.  "We
would not have Barbie wear real fur -- she's a friend to animals."
     According to the Times the company did clothe Barbie in mink stoles in
the 1960's, but The Barbie 30th Anniversary Magazine, a 1989 promotional
publication, seemed to indicate a change in attitude.  Included in the
magazine was a resume for the doll listing her current occupation as an
"animal rights volunteer."
     I admit that's a very curious "job description," but does that, as well
as the attempt to halt the fur fashion statement, really mean Mattel endorses
the animal rights movement?
     Apparently the American Animal Welfare Foundation, a national
organization promoting the humane use of animals, thinks it does.
 Accompanying its recent press release taking issue with Mattel's action was
a copy of a two-page letter sent to Glenn Bozarth, senior vice-president of
the company's corporate communications department.  The letter, written by
AAWF president Harold DeHart, expresses "shock and outrage that Mattel, Inc.
has lent its support to animal rights extremism" and that the company "should
be ashamed of itself for endorsing a movement that puts animals over people,
and attempts to impose its radical views on society through intimidation,
harassment and violence."
     DeHart also claims in the letter that one animal activist group
publication describes various techniques for committing arson against
animal-use industries.  He then asks Bozarth, "Is it your intent to associate
Barbie with such tactics? By aligning her with animal rights attacks on the
fur industry, that is exactly what you have done.  Will Barbie also disclaim
leather, wool and silk?  Will she take a stand against hamburgers and hot
dogs? Will she campaign against milk and ice cream?"
     I was unable to contact either McKendall or Bozarth for comment about
these accusations before this issue went to press, but I would like to know
Mattel's motivation behind describing the popular doll as an animal rights
volunteer. [Gee, I would like to know where the "AAWF" gets its funding.  MS]
 Does the toy manufacturer really endorse the beliefs of the animal rights
proponents, or is it -- like many people -- uninformed about the rights vs.
welfare issue.  Does the AAWF really have a bone to pick, or has it
misinterpreted a simple stance against killing animals so humans can keep
cozy in the lap of luxury?  One thing's for sure: The fur will continue to
fly if the rights and welfare proponents can't see eye to eye and work
together.
-----------------------------------------
E-mail address for Dog World is [e-mail]
S-mail address is Dog World, 29 North Wacker Drive, Chicago, IL 60608
Date: Sun, 25 May 1997 12:26:31 -0700
From: Andrew Gach <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Nuclear medicine unpopular on Long Island
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

Excerpts from a very long New York Times article on the shutdown of the
Brookhaven nuclear laboratory:

=========================================================

May 25, 1997

Brookhaven Shutdown Has Serious Impact on American Science

          By CLIFFORD KRAUSS

UPTON, N.Y. -- Experimenting with blasts of neutron beams at the
main reactor in the Brookhaven National Laboratory, Dr. Leonard
F. Mausner developed a radioactive isotope that dulls the pain of bone
cancer. But late last year, just as he began to make progress toward
using the isotope against cancer, a radiation leak was discovered in a
laboratory storage tank. The uproar that followed now threatens to close
the reactor permanently.

--- snip ---

Recent public attention has focused on safety lapses at the laboratory,
whose contractor was dismissed this month after the federal government
issued a report saying the laboratory had put research ahead of
protecting the public. But its troubles have jeopardized more than the
community's health and trust, scientists say.

--- snip ---

The low-level tritium contamination caused by a storage-tank leak that
may be 20 years old has created a swell of anxiety among Long Islanders
concerned about the safety of their drinking water, which comes from
underground wells.

Although state and federal pollution experts have minimized the public
health risks from the leak's underground seepage, antinuclear and
environmental advocates in the area have expressed concern that the
underground contamination could be responsible for the area's high
breast cancer rates and the brown tide pollution in nearby Peconic Bay.

Reacting to the public concerns and the laboratory's clumsy response to
a plume of contamination that was first discovered 12 years ago but
linked to the reactor storage tank only last year, on May 1 the federal
Energy Department revoked its contract with the management company that
has run Brookhaven. The agency has also begun a study, which may not be
completed until next year, that may decide to close the reactor
permanently.

Whatever the study shows, political pressure from the public and
influential members of the New York congressional delegation could
keep the laboratory from reopening its primary reactor and also force it
to shut down a second, smaller research reactor engaged in brain cancer
treatment.

The main Brookhaven research reactor has the capacity to produce an
array of radioactive isotopes to treat cancer patients. But its primary
function is bombarding tissues, alloys and other materials with intense
beams of neutrons to create high-resolution maps of atomic particles.

--- snip ---

The suffering has taken many forms at Brookhaven, not least in the
concerns of scientists fearing pink slips. Researchers complain that
their neighbors and local merchants pester them about their work with
provocative questions about the tritium leak and possible links to
cancer. Some say their children have come home crying because they were
teased at school about "glowing in the dark."

===========================================================

The full story is available at:

http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/national/ny-brookhaven.html

The New York Times doesn't charge for online access, but requires
registration.

PS: Medical researchers often display a cavalierly attitude regarding
public health.

A few years ago, Stanford was "reproached" for allowing its nuclear
research laboratory to drop plastic bags stuffed with the irradiated
bodies of experimental animals in the regular landfill.

I suppose, vivisectors feel their activities are important enough to
make short shrift of such mundane matters as nuclear regulations and
public safety.

Andy
Date: Sun, 25 May 1997 20:22:07 -0400 (EDT)
From: [e-mail]
To: [e-mail]
Subject: AOL News on frog dissection
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>

Today's News feature on AOL includes a story it recognizes as a
"controversial" class on frog dissection. In order to balance the coverage,
AOL includes both a link to virtual frog and a link to PETA's web page!!!
Date: Sun, 25 May 1997 22:07:25 -0400 (EDT)
From: [e-mail]
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Fwd:  Jaguar hunt called off in Caracas
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>

In a message dated 97-05-25 21:05:57 EDT, AOL News writes:

 << Subj:Sunday's Latin American Briefs
  Date:97-05-25 21:05:57 EDT
  From:AOL News
 BCC:LMANHEIM

 .c The Associated Press

       CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) - Responding to a firestorm of protest,
 the government dropped a plan to permit jaguar hunting that
 ironically sought to raise funds to preserve the endangered
 species.
       Venezuela wanted to issue shooting licenses for jaguars and
 allow up to 30 of the animals to be exported as hunting trophies
 each year. Proceeds from the licenses were to be used to move
 remaining jaguars to protected zones.
       The proposal, approved two weeks ago, drew protests from
 wildlife protection groups who called it absurd and a threat to the
 species' survival.
       Animal rights groups and environmentalists praised the abrupt
 about-face.
       Jaguars once prowled plains and jungles from the southwest
 United States to Argentina but have vanished in many countries.
 Scientists put the population at under 100,000 worldwide. About
 4,000 are in Venezuela, which had 10 times that number as recently
 as the 1960s.
       Ilegal hunting and encroachment on the natural habitat of the
 leopard-like animals with black spots has caused the population to
 shrink dramatically. >>


---------------------
Forwarded message:
Subj:    Sunday's Latin American Briefs
Date:    97-05-25 21:05:57 EDT
From:    AOL News


      MEXICO CITY (AP) - Two Mexican army sergeants and two rebels of
the newly-appeared Popular Revolutionary Army were killed in a
skirmish in the southern state of Guerrero, an army spokesman
confirmed Sunday.
      Three army doctors were wounded in the shootout between leftist
rebels and a contingent of soldiers on a rural highway near the
town of Petatlan, about 190 miles south of Mexico City.
      The EPR rebels first emerged in June 1996 in Guerrero state and
since have been blamed for the deaths of more than two dozen
people, mainly soldiers and police, in attacks on military targets.
      A manifesto issued by the group calls for democracy and social
justice, as well as economic policy changes to combat poverty and
create more jobs.
      Mexico's other rebel organization, the Zapatista National
Liberation Army - which staged a brief armed uprising in the
southern state of Chiapas in 1994 - has denied having any links to
the EPR.
      CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) - Responding to a firestorm of protest,
the government dropped a plan to permit jaguar hunting that
ironically sought to raise funds to preserve the endangered
species.
      Venezuela wanted to issue shooting licenses for jaguars and
allow up to 30 of the animals to be exported as hunting trophies
each year. Proceeds from the licenses were to be used to move
remaining jaguars to protected zones.
      The proposal, approved two weeks ago, drew protests from
wildlife protection groups who called it absurd and a threat to the
species' survival.
      Animal rights groups and environmentalists praised the abrupt
about-face.
      Jaguars once prowled plains and jungles from the southwest
United States to Argentina but have vanished in many countries.
Scientists put the population at under 100,000 worldwide. About
4,000 are in Venezuela, which had 10 times that number as recently
as the 1960s.
      Ilegal hunting and encroachment on the natural habitat of the
leopard-like animals with black spots has caused the population to
shrink dramatically.
      TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AP) - Honduras' Catholic Church vowed
Sunday to go ahead with plans to erect a huge Christ statue on a
mountaintop overlooking the nation's capital despite opposition
from evangelical groups.
      Honduras' evangelical congregations have objected to government
financing provided for the Catholic-sponsored project, a 66-foot
(20 meter) statue, combined with a 33-foot (10 meter) pedestal of
Christ with upraised arms. The project is set to begin in November.
      A Catholic Church spokesman said the statue will serve as ``a
symbol of unity'' among Honduran Christians despite the
controversy.
      However, the Tegucigalpa Association of Evangelical Pastors said
its members are ready to march through the capital to protest the
plan.
      A majority of Honduras are Catholic, while evangelical church
members make up about 4.5 percent of the country's 5.8-million
population.
      SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) - An American yacht early Sunday rescued
all 13 sailors from a Spanish adventurer's reed raft that broke
apart in the South Pacific.
      The Chilean Chilean navy said the Stray Dog yacht was sailing
back to Easter Island Sunday after completing the rescue some 180
miles north-west of Chile's Polynesian possession. It was expected
to reach the island early Monday.
      A heavy storm last Friday night severely damaged Kitin Munoz'
Mata Rangi reed raft, splitting it in two and making its mast to
collapse, the navy said.
      Munoz hoped the trip from Easter Island to New Zealand would
prove that ancient Polynesian vessels sailed long distances across
the southern Pacific Ocean. He had the formal backing of UNESCO and
the Spanish royal family for his aborted adventure.
      RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AP) - The Ministry of Justice announced
it will build 44 new federal prisons to stem increasing prison
violence, a newspaper reported Sunday.
      The announcement was made just one week after four prison
rebellions erupted simultaneously in Mato Grosso, Espirito Santo
and Sao Paulo states.
      In most cases, overcrowding is the main reason for the
outbursts. Prisoners often sleep on floors or are forced to share
the same bed by sleeping in shifts. Substandard food, hygiene and
medical care is also typical. And a slow justice system keeps many
inmates waiting years to stand trial.
      Currently, there are 148,760 inmates in facilities with a
capacity for just 68,597, according to a 1995 prison census. The
new prisons should increase nationwide capacity by 14,500 and be
built by the end of 1998, according to the daily Folha de Sao
Paulo.
      AP-NY-05-25-97 2059EDT
Copyright 1997 The
Associated Press.  The information
contained in the AP news report may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without
prior written authority of The Associated Press.


To edit your profile, go to keyword NewsProfiles.
For all of today's news, go to keyword News.
Date: Sun, 25 May 1997 22:07:37 -0400 (EDT)
From: [e-mail]
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Fwd:  Jaguar hunt called off in Caracas
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>

In a message dated 97-05-25 21:05:57 EDT, AOL News writes:

 << Subj:Sunday's Latin American Briefs
  Date:97-05-25 21:05:57 EDT
  From:AOL News
 BCC:LMANHEIM

 .c The Associated Press

       CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) - Responding to a firestorm of protest,
 the government dropped a plan to permit jaguar hunting that
 ironically sought to raise funds to preserve the endangered
 species.
       Venezuela wanted to issue shooting licenses for jaguars and
 allow up to 30 of the animals to be exported as hunting trophies
 each year. Proceeds from the licenses were to be used to move
 remaining jaguars to protected zones.
       The proposal, approved two weeks ago, drew protests from
 wildlife protection groups who called it absurd and a threat to the
 species' survival.
       Animal rights groups and environmentalists praised the abrupt
 about-face.
       Jaguars once prowled plains and jungles from the southwest
 United States to Argentina but have vanished in many countries.
 Scientists put the population at under 100,000 worldwide. About
 4,000 are in Venezuela, which had 10 times that number as recently
 as the 1960s.
       Ilegal hunting and encroachment on the natural habitat of the
 leopard-like animals with black spots has caused the population to
 shrink dramatically. >>


---------------------
Forwarded message:
Subj:    Sunday's Latin American Briefs
Date:    97-05-25 21:05:57 EDT
From:    AOL News



      MEXICO CITY (AP) - Two Mexican army sergeants and two rebels of
the newly-appeared Popular Revolutionary Army were killed in a
skirmish in the southern state of Guerrero, an army spokesman
confirmed Sunday.
      Three army doctors were wounded in the shootout between leftist
rebels and a contingent of soldiers on a rural highway near the
town of Petatlan, about 190 miles south of Mexico City.
      The EPR rebels first emerged in June 1996 in Guerrero state and
since have been blamed for the deaths of more than two dozen
people, mainly soldiers and police, in attacks on military targets.
      A manifesto issued by the group calls for democracy and social
justice, as well as economic policy changes to combat poverty and
create more jobs.
      Mexico's other rebel organization, the Zapatista National
Liberation Army - which staged a brief armed uprising in the
southern state of Chiapas in 1994 - has denied having any links to
the EPR.
      CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) - Responding to a firestorm of protest,
the government dropped a plan to permit jaguar hunting that
ironically sought to raise funds to preserve the endangered
species.
      Venezuela wanted to issue shooting licenses for jaguars and
allow up to 30 of the animals to be exported as hunting trophies
each year. Proceeds from the licenses were to be used to move
remaining jaguars to protected zones.
      The proposal, approved two weeks ago, drew protests from
wildlife protection groups who called it absurd and a threat to the
species' survival.
      Animal rights groups and environmentalists praised the abrupt
about-face.
      Jaguars once prowled plains and jungles from the southwest
United States to Argentina but have vanished in many countries.
Scientists put the population at under 100,000 worldwide. About
4,000 are in Venezuela, which had 10 times that number as recently
as the 1960s.
      Ilegal hunting and encroachment on the natural habitat of the
leopard-like animals with black spots has caused the population to
shrink dramatically.
      TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AP) - Honduras' Catholic Church vowed
Sunday to go ahead with plans to erect a huge Christ statue on a
mountaintop overlooking the nation's capital despite opposition
from evangelical groups.
      Honduras' evangelical congregations have objected to government
financing provided for the Catholic-sponsored project, a 66-foot
(20 meter) statue, combined with a 33-foot (10 meter) pedestal of
Christ with upraised arms. The project is set to begin in November.
      A Catholic Church spokesman said the statue will serve as ``a
symbol of unity'' among Honduran Christians despite the
controversy.
      However, the Tegucigalpa Association of Evangelical Pastors said
its members are ready to march through the capital to protest the
plan.
      A majority of Honduras are Catholic, while evangelical church
members make up about 4.5 percent of the country's 5.8-million
population.
      SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) - An American yacht early Sunday rescued
all 13 sailors from a Spanish adventurer's reed raft that broke
apart in the South Pacific.
      The Chilean Chilean navy said the Stray Dog yacht was sailing
back to Easter Island Sunday after completing the rescue some 180
miles north-west of Chile's Polynesian possession. It was expected
to reach the island early Monday.
      A heavy storm last Friday night severely damaged Kitin Munoz'
Mata Rangi reed raft, splitting it in two and making its mast to
collapse, the navy said.
      Munoz hoped the trip from Easter Island to New Zealand would
prove that ancient Polynesian vessels sailed long distances across
the southern Pacific Ocean. He had the formal backing of UNESCO and
the Spanish royal family for his aborted adventure.
      RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AP) - The Ministry of Justice announced
it will build 44 new federal prisons to stem increasing prison
violence, a newspaper reported Sunday.
      The announcement was made just one week after four prison
rebellions erupted simultaneously in Mato Grosso, Espirito Santo
and Sao Paulo states.
      In most cases, overcrowding is the main reason for the
outbursts. Prisoners often sleep on floors or are forced to share
the same bed by sleeping in shifts. Substandard food, hygiene and
medical care is also typical. And a slow justice system keeps many
inmates waiting years to stand trial.
      Currently, there are 148,760 inmates in facilities with a
capacity for just 68,597, according to a 1995 prison census. The
new prisons should increase nationwide capacity by 14,500 and be
built by the end of 1998, according to the daily Folha de Sao
Paulo.
      AP-NY-05-25-97 2059EDT
Copyright 1997 The
Associated Press.  The information
contained in the AP news report may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without
prior written authority of The Associated Press.

To edit your profile, go to keyword NewsProfiles.
For all of today's news, go to keyword News.
Date: Sun, 25 May 1997 22:18:55 -0400 (EDT)
From: [e-mail]
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: Dog World: Toying With Animal Rights
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>

Those who read the Dog World article might be interested in knowing that the
American Animal Welfare Foundation is a front for Fur Commission USA.  The
two organizations share office space and have a board of directors made up of
the same people.

Dog World might want to know that they have been suckered by a fur industry
front group.

JP Goodwin
Coalition to Abolish the Fur Trade
Date: Sun, 25 May 1997 19:39:07 -0700
From: Andrew Gach <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: FWD: Paul Watson update
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE          MAY 23rd, 1997

ENVIRONMENTAL HERO'S TRIAL SPURS INTERNATIONAL ACTION AND OUTRAGE
Mick Jagger, Rutgor Hauer, Jane Seymour, Martin Sheen Condemn
Norwegian Foul Play

For the past 2 weeks, Holland has been barraged with public and
celebrity expressions of concern and protest in support for Captain
Paul Watson, founder and president of the Sea Shepherd Conservation
Society. This weekend, mass demonstrations and other protests are
planned to focus world attention on Watson, whom many countries now
consider a political prisoner in the high-stakes war on the oceans
and marine wildlife species.

Watson was arrested in Amsterdam on April 2 on an Interpol warrant
issued by Norway. Pending an extradition hearing, Norway wants Watson
to serve a jail sentence on the charge of sinking a Norwegian whaling
vessel in 1992, for which he was convicted in absentia. Other charges
stem from the incident on July 6, 1994, when the Sea Shepherd
conservation vessel Whales Forever was rammed, depth-charged and
fired upon by the Norwegian naval vessel Andenes which was protecting
the whaling fleet during its illegal whale-killing activities. Norway
claims that it was Sea Shepherd's vessel Whales Forever that did the
ramming even though the incident was witnessed by 11 independent
journalists on board who obtained footage and photographs proving
that the action was carried out by the Norwegians.

"Norway made a mistake when they thought they could arrest Paul
Watson, who has been fighting nonstop for the whales for 26 years
now," said Sea Shepherd International Director Lisa Distefano. "By
trying to manipulate the Dutch justice system for their own means,
they have focused unwanted attention on their illegal whaling in
defiance of the global moratorium. They want Paul badly, but they
wanted to get him quietly. It looks like they're not getting their
wish."

A full-page advertisement in the May 23 edition of the newspaper
Volkskrant features actors Pierce Brosnan, Cher, Rutgor Hauer, Jane
Seymour, and Rob Lowe, and musicians Mick Jagger and Chrissie Hynde,
among others, who are appealing to the Dutch community to free Paul
Watson. The ad was sponsored by avid Sea Shepherd supporter John Paul
Dejoria, CEO of Paul Mitchell Systems, respected for his activism and
support of environmental causes.

"We are grateful for the outpouring of personal time, funding, and
commitment by people worldwide who realize what is at stake here,"
said Distefano.  "Since Paul's arrest, we have received a flood of
hate mail, phone calls, e-mail, and faxes from Norway in a hate
campaign orchestrated by a Norwegian government-controlled radio
station. We can't hold out much hope for Paul's survival in a
Norwegian prison. We all just hope the global outcry will be enough
to convince the Netherlands that condemning Paul to almost certain
death in order to support Norway's political agenda on whaling is not
a course of action they want to follow."

Watson's extradition hearing is on May 26, 1997 at 3:30 P.M. and is
open to the public at the Court of Haarlem, Netherlands, 46
Jansstraat, which will also be the site of a massive international
demonstration beginning at 2 p.m.

Contact: Lisa Distefano [phone]

SEA SHEPHERD CONSERVATION SOCIETY
PO Box 628
Venice, CA.  90294  USA
Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
www.seashepherd.org

*****************************
Sent From Nick Voth
System Administrator
E Street Communications, Inc.
<[e-mail]>
*****************************
Date: Sun, 25 May 1997 22:48:30 -0400
From: allen schubert <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (US) Feathered Gladiators Fight to the Finish in U.S.
  Cockfight Pits
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

from AP Wire page:
-----------------------------
May 25, 1997

Feathered Gladiators Fight to the
Finish in U.S. Cockfight Pits

By DOUG JOHNSON
Associated Press Writer

CHAPARRAL, N.M. (AP) -- A sign outside the Otero Private Game Club on the
outskirts of town reads, "No Drinking, No Drugs and No Gambling." The
rusty-metal barnlike structure is surrounded by an ominous 10-foot
barbed-wire fence.

Obviously, it's no ordinary barn.

It's a cockfight pit, an arena where feathered gladiators
fight to the death. Every other week, men, women and children
pack the pit to participate in a sport that is banned in 44
other states and considered a felony in 17 of those.

Strangers are rarely welcome here, strangers with cameras,
never. This is for the people who understand it, who grew up
with it, who love it.
                                                              -------------
Critics call it a blood sport. But for Fernando Viramontes
and hundreds of other rooster breeders like him, it's a way of a life.

"In my family, the tradition has lasted for more than 100 years," says
Viramontes, a high-school health teacher and president of the New Mexico
Game Breeders Association. "I am proud to be part of that tradition."

Jean Burton, president of the Carlsbad Humane Society, says trying to
justify the sport by calling it a tradition is ridiculous.

"It was also a tradition to throw the Christians to the lions, but we grew
out of that one," Ms. Burton says.

Inside the game club, a band plays Mexican tunes in one corner while men
and women line the walls chatting. A concession stand offers sandwiches and
soda.

Fifty-two-year-old Bill Wood sits in his wheelchair at the edge of the ring
sharpening metal gaffs for $5 apiece. The knifelike devices are slipped
over the natural spurs of the gamecocks, to quicken the kills.

At center stage is the large dirt arena, about 20 feet in diameter,
encircled by a Fiberglas window streaked lightly with blood.

Breeders enter five birds each, at $300 per entrant, to fight in this
Saturday event. The breeder with the most wins takes home the whole pot.

Each bird is weighed by the pit operator and randomly matched with other
entrants on a scoreboard.

Handlers place the metal gaffs on the birds and the first two are brought
into the pit.

The crowd is restless, and the betting begins. After a quick look at the
birds, people rush around the bleachers looking for takers.

"Vente en verde," shouts one elderly man, "Twenty on green."

A referee scratches two lines in the dirt, the handlers shake hands and,
without much coaxing, the birds lunge at each other, feathers flying high.

The birds stab each other with their gaffs, which often become entangled
and the referee has to separate them. This continues for about 10 minutes
before the audience starts to lose interest.

"I've got hens who fight harder," yells one man wearing a bright red
baseball cap with a rooster emblem on the front.

The referee shuffles the handlers and their birds into a smaller pit,
called a drag pit, to finish the battle to the end. A new set of fighters
is brought out to the main pit.

After a fight concludes, with one bird killing the other, the handlers
shake hands again and money is exchanged in the stands.

Viramontes lives just across the Texas border on the edge of Anthony. With
rows of pecan trees shading the grassy two acres surrounding his house, the
plush grounds look more like a Secret Garden than a rooster farm.

About 50 birds are leashed to stakes -- spaced out between the trees to
keep them apart. Their stark red feathers contrast with the green grass and
mirrored water dishes set out before them.

But make no mistake, while Viramontes treats these chanticleers like little
kings for the first two years of their lives, he raises them for one
purpose only: to fight to the death.

There are eight game clubs throughout New Mexico that operate under
Viramontes' game breeders association, though other breeders say many more
exist.

There also is a national organization, the United Gamefowl Breeders
Association, formed in 1975 to protect the interests of cockfighters and
game breeders. The organization has affiliates in 32 states.

Viramontes' group of about 8,000 cockfighters recently lobbied in Santa Fe
to stop legislation that would have outlawed the sport in New Mexico.

"Like any other sport, we do have our problems with people that come (to
the fights) for drinking, trying to gamble and causing problems," he says.
"But most of the people are like me, there to take care of business."

That business, Viramontes says, is to test the blood lines of the birds for
their "gameness," or ability to kill their opponents the fastest. It's also
to make a little money, sometimes winning pots as big as $10,000.

He added that the people who participate in this sport also have a great
deal of respect for the birds.

"Then you're going to ask, 'Why do we fight them till they die?' " he says.
"Well, they have an internal instinct to fight and you have to build on
that instinct. They would rather be in a fight every day, but I make them
wait two years before I fight them."

Elizabeth Jennings, executive director of the Sangre de Cristo Animal
Protection Inc., would like to see cockfighting banned.

"This is a heinous act and we don't need to be encouraging blood sports for
entertainment," she says. "There is something hideous about making money
off of two animals destroying each other and enjoying it."

But getting the sport outlawed is no easy task, something state Rep.
Delores Wright of Dona Ana learned when she introduced the bill at this
year's legislative session.

"I received threatening phone calls from people who said if I didn't pull
the bill, I would not be re-elected ever again," Ms. Wright says. "So I
tried to compromise."

In the end, Ms. Wright gave up.

"In my 26 years of living here, I just had no idea there were so many bird
fighters," she says.

Despite the cockfighters' swift victory, Viramontes fears there is still a
threat to the sport because of misrepresentation by media and animal-rights
advocates.

"It is a private business, run by a group of private people who enjoy a
sport unpopular with people who don't understand it," he says. "But I'd
rather my children be raising game fowl than hanging out and joining a
gang."

Albert "Sergeant" York, a retired Army veteran who fights cocks alongside
Viramontes, says he was first attracted to the sport in the Philippines
during World War II.

Before it was outlawed in Dona Ana County, York operated a pit in Las
Cruces that he says was frequented by community leaders and elected
officials.

"It's in my blood and I love it," he says.

Viramontes says an entire economic community relies on rooster breeders,
from feed suppliers to veterinarians. He says he spends $4,000 on labor and
maintenance around his rooster farm and up to $500 a year on specialty
grains from health-food stores.

He says he will sell about half his 150 roosters at $150 to $300 each to
help pay for the costs of running his operation.

The sport was popular in ancient times in India, China and other Eastern
countries and was introduced into Greece in the time of Themistocles,
524-460 B.C.

>From Rome the sport spread northward. Although opposed by the Christian
church, it became popular in Italy, Germany, Spain and its colonies, and
throughout England.

Cockfighting remained a favorite pastime of the English gentry from the
early 16th century to the 19th century.

In the United States today, cockfighting is legal only in parts of New
Mexico, Arizona, Oklahoma, Missouri, Louisiana and Virginia.

Viramontes says protecting cockfighters' rights will always be his
organization's top priority.

"People who stay in this sport do it for the roosters -- to preserve our
rural lifestyle," he says. "We are as game as our roosters and will fight
to the bitter end to protect our sport."

Date: Mon, 26 May 1997 11:48:56 +0800 (SST)
From: Vadivu Govind <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (HK) Dolphins face brighter future
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"



>South China Morning Post
Monday  May 26  1997


     Dolphins face brighter future
     OLIVER POOLE

     Chinese white dolphins will survive longer than was once feared, new
findings indicate, but the handover mascot still faces local extinction.

     Scientist Dr Thomas Jefferson's latest biannual survey shows a slight
rise in the
     population, even though around eight dead dolphins have already washed
up on
     beaches this summer.

"It now appears the drop in local numbers is not as bad as we originally
believed," he
said. "Despite what was once estimated, Hong Kong will still have white
dolphins next century."

     But in the long run, over-development and pollution will sound the
death knell for the animal selected by the Preparatory Committee as the best
symbol of the territory's
     optimism at the change of sovereignty.

     "I try to be encouraged by our findings but the overall trend, however
slight, is
     downward, and this means in 25-30 years it is likely none will be
left," said Dr
     Jefferson, who has been assessing the size of the population for 18 months.

     He attributed the recent rise in numbers to problems in counting
dolphins, which spend 95 per cent of their time underwater. "Only the
long-term trend can give us the overrall picture," he said.

     Internationally, the species is safe. They have been spotted as far
afield as north
     Australia and South Africa.

     However, the animals rarely leave their home area, meaning it is
unlikely the local
     population will ever be replenished.

     Dr Jefferson's project for the Agriculture and Fisheries Department
aims to identify the exact number of local dolphins and the extent of their
decline. Full findings will be published when the survey is finished in 12
months.

     Understanding will be enhanced next year when Dr Jefferson joins other
conservationists on the first study of the dolphin to be conducted in
Chinese waters.

     Data will be gathered as part of an environmental impact study on plans
to dredge part of the Pearl River.


Date: Mon, 26 May 1997 11:49:21 +0800 (SST)
From: Vadivu Govind <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (HK) Food hygiene task force faces twin-pronged attack
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"



>Hong Kong Standard
26 May 97
Food hygiene task force faces twin-pronged attack
By Ella Lee and Maureen Pao


ACTION taken by a food hygiene task force in the wake of the recent cholera
scare has been criticised as too little, too late.

The task force, headed by Director of Health Dr Margaret Chan Fung Fu-chun,
recommended giving the two municipal departments involved the power to shut
down unhygienic food sellers and producers and force all food handlers to
attend food hygiene seminars.

But Regional Council environmental hygiene select committee chairman Ting
Yin-wah said on Sunday the task force was ``disappointing'' as it had failed
to put forward any ``groundbreaking'' ideas. He said the government should
conduct a consultancy study into the situation.

``What the task force is doing is to plug the holes exposed in our system so
far, but the problem is we don't know how many holes we are actually having
until another crisis appears,'' he said.

``The government should study the possibility of setting up a food hygiene
council. Hong Kong has two municipal councils . . . there is no
co-ordination at all.''

Speaking on RTHK's Letter to Hong Kong, the legislator representing the
medical profession, Edward Leong Che-hung, demanded more vigorous
inspections and stringent licensing regulations for restaurants and food
producers. That would avoid the need for Hong Kong to declare itself an
``epidemic port'' just weeks before the handover.

Dr Leong said outdated licensing regulations that allowed food factories in
``non-urbanised'' areas to function despite the absence of proper tap-water
supplies or sewage systems had led to the recent cholera outbreak.

``For a small, yet well-developed territory like Hong Kong, there is no
reason to tolerate food plants operating in `undeveloped areas in
undeveloped conditions'', he said.

``The public must . . . be flabbergasted to learn that licences were
actually granted on such lenient criteria to one of the culprit food
factories as late as 1990.'' That factory produced 20 to 30 tonnes of food a
day.

Although he welcomed the establishment of a task force on food hygiene, Dr
Leong called it ``tantamount to a failure in management when crisis-solving
task forces have to be set up at frequent intervals for firefighting
purposes''.

He also called for improved food labelling and for food premises to publicly
display their hygiene ratings.

Dr Chan said on Saturday that the cholera outbreak was under control as no
new cases had emerged in the past 10 days, although a suspected case was
reported that day.

Thirteen people were struck down by the outbreak in the past month, and a
further three people, two of them food handlers, were found to be carriers.




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