Komputer for Alle 1998 #6/1998 CD 6 (Gul).iso/web/ffa/wwwenv~1.org/arrs/digest/news43~3.htm/text0003.txt

Text File | 1998-04-03 | 55.0 KB | 1,240 lines

The following story includes reference to the fact that Chihuahuas are
non-existent in Great Britain. Having seen many dogs that appear to look
like the breed whilst living there and whilst visiting, I now wonder if I
was suffering an optical illusion.

>From the Burnaby Now - Sunday, June 15th, 1997

By Dan Hilborn
Burnaby Now Reporter

Lucille Sawyer was very [roud of Chico, the pet chihuahua she purchased at
the Pet Habitat store in Brentwood Mall.

But the native of Great Britain, where the tiny Mexican-bred dog is
non-existent [sic], Sawyer was shocked to discover she paid $800 for an
animal with improperly signed pedigree papers.

What she wound up with - despite what the American Kennel Club pedigree
claims - was a miniature pinscher.

"It was a deliberate fraudulent act to advertise an animal that is not a
purebred by pedigree," she told Burnaby NOW this week.

"ask the American Kennel Club why they send documentation for a purebred
pedigree when obviously this animal is not."

Her story started on Feb. 16 when Sawyer and her daughter walked into the
Brentwood Mall store and found the cute little dog advertised for $999.
After a little bit of haggling, she talked the store manager down in price
and paid with her Visa card.

the relationship between owner and pet flourished until Sawyer was out for a
walk and ran into a neighbour who asked what breed of dog Chico was. Her
reponse brought on howls of laughter.

"Come with me Missus. I will show you a real chihuahua," said the neighbour,
who went into his home and pulled out a tiny ball of fluff barely bigger
than his hand.

"When I looked at this tiny creature and then at Chico, the penny dropped,"
Sawyer said. Her four-month-old Chico was already 10 times the weight and
four times the length of a real chihuahua.

Sawyer, a former war correspondent with rather substantive investigative
skills, was not about to let the matter lie there. She sent Chico's blood
sample for DNA testing and she is having anti-body samples taken just to
make sure he's even had his vaccinations.

And in the intervening months, she's tracked down both the breeder and the
pet broker who sold the dog to Pet Habitat to try to determine both their
reputation and the conditions in which they raise and the ship the pets.

Her most disturbing suspicion is that Chico was actually bred at a puppy
mill - one of the infamous US breeding centres which have prompted numerous
consumer alerts from the American Humane Society because of the deplorable
conditions in which they raise their dogs.

Her suspicions only increased when she contacted the breeder in Berryville,
Akansas, and inquired what kinds of dogs are raised there.

The woman who answered the phone confirmed she specializes in dachshunds,
miniature pinschers, and Chihuahuas. (Minipins, as they are commonly called,
are a cross between dachshunds and chihuahuas.)

And in the meantime, Sawyer advises anyone interested in a real purebred dog
to do their buying from a registered breeder, not a pet store.

"What I'm hoping is there'll be a law that makes pet stores sell pet
supplies only, and live animals have to come through the breeder.

"I'm just one example, but how many people out there have these conundrums?
I'm not going to let this rest," she vowed.

Sawyer has also been in contact with a well-known local breeder of
chihuahuas who is convinced the broker, who ultimately sold Chico too the
Brentwood Mall pet store, was aware of the improperly signed pedigree
papers. And she has since found out the store recently sold a second animal
just like Chico, improperly identified as a chihuahua, to another customer.

Attempts to contact the owner or manager at Pet Habitat in Brentwood Mall
were unsucessful, however, an unidentified employee did return a call
Thursday morning to respond to to some questions.

"When we get a puppy, we trust that it's from a good place," said the young
woman.

"We've  never had problems in the past, so I'm thinking something went wrong
here. It's an odd occurrence."

The employee said the pedigree papers were provided by the breeder.

"We trust everything is in order. It's not really the store's fault, it goes
back to the breeder."

The employee admitted she even raised concerns about possible buying from
puppy mills when she first started working at the store 18 months ago, but
the previous owner showed her photographs of the breeding operation to help
abate her suspicions.

When asked how the pedigree papers ended up being improperly signed for a
chihuahua, she said: " All our pets have pedigrees, but they're not for
breeding - they're like pet stock."

When asked how pedigree papers could be for anything else other than
breeding purposes, the employee said: "Maybe you should talk to the owner,
because you're turning everything around."

T0he store owner did not return phone calls after the Burnaby NOW left at
least three messages this week.


Date: Mon, 16 Jun 1997 02:15:47 -0700 (PDT)
From: David J Knowles <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: [CA] B.C. Agriculture shifting to new ground
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

>From The Province - Sunday, June 15th, 1997

Changing market conditions are forcing B.C.'s farmers to diversify

By Tony Wanless

After 28 years as a chicken farmer, Judy Thompson has had it.

Increasing costs, lower margins and brutal competition are making the whole
thing uneconomical.

But this is not a story about how yet another farmer is leaving the life and
contributing to the slow dwindling of farming in Canada.

That's the cliche believed by most non-farm people. Thompson, who runs a
25,000-bird broiler operation in Sooke, is the reality.

She's just about had it with chickens. But she hasn't had it with farming.
Sure, there was a moment when she thought of quitting completely, but she
got through it.

Instead, she's diversifying. She's brought her three grown and educated
children back to her farm, and they're going to go into horticulture, the
fastest-growing segment of farming in B.C.

They're also going into direct farm marketing - another growth sector - and
will sell nursery products they grow right from their farm.

"I've basically put my poultry farm on hold," Thompson says.

"When they [the federal government] eliminated grain freight-rate subsidies,
they increased my costs considerably, and it's just not economic any more.
Also, the GATT agreement meant a loss of our ability to control imports, so
there will be more competition. It made me realize that I have to diversify.

"I looked at at a way of getting out of the business, but I realized I
wanted to stay.. So, now that my kids are in it with me, we'll go into the
landscaping/horticultural end. It's a have-to thing you do in order to
survive. I'll still keep some chickens, because I like doing it. Unless it's
totally uneconomic, I'll keep doing it."

Thompson's trials typify what's happening in the farm scene in B.C. - and in
more ways than one. She's also president of the venerable B.C. Federation of
Agriculture, which, this month, is dissolving after 60 years of representing
B.C. farmers.

Chages in recent years - such as the growth of comodity groups, the
emergence of new types of farming and the changing nature of farming - meant
the BCFA no longer represented all farmers as it once did, she says.

A new central farm organization is in the works and should be up and runnimg
by the end of the summer, but it's not clear yet what it will do, and what
its mandate will be. That's all still under discussion.

The decline of the BCFA and the emergence of a new organization is a fitting
symbol for B.C's farming picture, which is in the throes of change and,
despite the popular belief, is actually doing quite well. One could almost
say it's booming.

Indeed, a 19996 census of agriculture, released last month, showed that B.C.
far outpaced other provinces with a 12.6 per cent increase in the number of
farms since 1991. Much of that increase came from growth in small-sized,
specialized operations close to urban areas.

Not only did B.C. lead the country in the growth of small farming, but it
also has the most technically advanced farmers. A quarter of farms in B.C.
had computers in 1996, far surpassing most other provinces.

The picture that emerges from the census data is of a widely diversified
farm scene in B.C. that is extremely dynamic. The number of large commercial
operations has dwindled, but technology and new investment has allowed the
fewer numbers to produce far more at lower cost.

The farm picture starts to look very much like a barbell. A declining number
of large commercial operations a one end, and a growing number of small,
part-time farms - often maintained as much out of philosophy as for
economics - at the other.

Date: Mon, 16 Jun 1997 02:15:49 -0700 (PDT)
From: David J Knowles <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: [CA] State of farming in B.C.
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

>From The Province - Sunday, June 15th, 1997

Number of farms in B.C.                                           - 21,653

Growth (1991-1996)                                                  - 12.6 %

Number of farms in Canada                                    - 274,955

Growth (1991 - 1996)                                                - (-1.8 %)

B.C. Farms with sales under $10,000                   - 11,400

B.C. Farms with sales over    $10,000                   - 3,400

B.C. acreage in crops                                                - 1,397,970

B.C acreage in pasture                                             - 3,491,172

Five major B.C. crops (1996)
Hay and fodder                                                          -
859,857 acres
Barley
- 111,483 acres
Spring Wheat                                                             -
96, 564 acres
Oats
-  84, 220 acres
Canola
-  63, 805 acres

B.C. Livestock

Total cattle and cows                                               -
814,103
Beef cattle
-      272,217
Dairy cows                                                                 -
82,008
Sheep and lambs                                                    -
71,603
Pigs
-      174,169
Hens and Chickens                                                 -
13,759,261

Date: Mon, 16 Jun 1997 03:37:14 -0700 (PDT)
From: David J Knowles <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: [UK] Flag-raising protesters claim UDI for Rockall
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"


>From The Electronic Telegraph - Monday, June 16th, 1997

Flag-raising protesters claim UDI for Rockall
By Sebastien Berger

THE Atlantic island of Rockall yesterday made a unilateral declaration of
independence from the United Kingdom.

At dawn three Greenpeace protesters living on the 70ft rock off Scotland
since last week read out their proclamation to establish a so-called Global
State of Waveland, with Rockall as its capital. The flag of Waveland was
raised: a black rock marked with a whale outline, emerging from black waves
and surmounted by a rainbow.

The inhabitants - named as Peter, Mike and Al - are demonstrating against
plans to explore for the massive oil deposits thought to lie below the
waters surrounding Rockall, which have been claimed by Ireland, Iceland and
Denmark as well as the United Kingdom.

Their declaration asserted that "humans should respect and protect the
global commons and the diversity of life on earth" and "secure peace with
the natural world". A Foreign Office spokesman said:  "Rockall has been
British since 1955. That was confirmed by an Act of Parliament. I don't
think we would take this very seriously as a challenge to our sovereignty."

⌐ Copyright Telegraph Group Limited 1997.

Date: Mon, 16 Jun 1997 03:37:18 -0700 (PDT)
From: David J Knowles <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: [UK] Vets call for boar hunt to halt deadly disease
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"


>From The Electronic Telegraph - Monday, June 16th, 1997

Vets call for boar hunt to halt deadly disease
By David Brown, Agriculture Editor

VETS and farmers are urging the Government to mount the biggest wild boar
hunt since the Middle Ages to protect pigs from a deadly disease which is
sweeping Holland, Germany and other European countries.

About 300 boar which have escaped from specialist farms, and pigs which have
cross-bred with them, are believed to be roaming the Kent and Sussex
countryside. Others have been reported in Humberside and Scotland and all of
them, according to the Pig Veterinary Society, are potential carriers of
Classical Swine Fever.

Vets and farmers have accused the Ministry of Agriculture of failing to take
wild boar seriously as a pest. John Wilkinson, senior vice-president of the
Pig Veterinary Society, said yesterday: "We want the Ministry of Agriculture
to investigate methods of controlling the wild boar as a matter of urgency.
These wild boar must be controlled by whatever means available."

Britain's native wild boar were hunted to extinction by the end of the 17th
Century. From the late 1970s a few farmers have introduced wild boar from
Europe and from zoos to provide speciality meats. Some farmers cross-breed
them with domestic pigs in an attempt to
produce larger amounts of tastier pork.

Most of the wild boar escapees are believed to be these cross-bred animals,
and this has worried vets and farmers, because they produce larger litters
of piglets and can multiply faster in the wild. They recognise no fence
boundaries and are believed to be "recruiting" other domesticated sows from
outdoor pig herds to join them in the wild.

Mr Wilkinson said yesterday that the ministry had managed successfully to
eradicate coypu, a South American pest which escaped from British fur farms
to cause damage to dykes in East  Anglia, where it built huge burrows. He
said: "A similar campaign should be mounted against wild boar before the
problem gets out of hand and before a major epidemic of disease, such as
swine fever, enters this country."

⌐ Copyright Telegraph Group Limited 1997.

Date: Mon, 16 Jun 1997 07:43:31 -0400
From: allen schubert <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (US) A home for troubled animals
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

from USA Today web page:
------------------------------------------
A home for troubled animals

NEW YORK - A calf who escaped death by running away from a slaughterhouse
is now rolling in clover. Elsie,
a 300-pound Hereford calf, arrived Wednesday at her new home at Green
Chimneys, a 150-acre farm in
Brewster for rescued animals and troubled children. The 100 kids at Green
Chimneys greeted the latest arrival
to their 300-animal farm with a banner reading "Welcome Elsie." Founder Sam
Ross said Elsie will help
troubled city kids, who are responsible for her care. Elsie and four sheep
were bought from an animal dealer,
and were on their way to slaughter in the Bronx when the calf dashed from a
truck May 21. Police had to rope it,
but the resulting publicity helped the animals find a new home. The calf
and sheep were being treated at an
animal hospital. Ross said the four sheep were expected at Green Chimneys soon.
Date: Mon, 16 Jun 1997 07:55:57 -0400
From: allen schubert <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (US) Potatoes Help Find Cheap Vaccines
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

more genetically altered foods
from AP Wire page:
-------------------------------------
 06/16/1997 06:44 EST

 Potatoes Help Find Cheap Vaccines

 BALTIMORE (AP) -- Scientists are planning to feed genetically-altered
 potatoes to human volunteers in hopes of tricking the immune system into
 fighting a common intestinal bug.

 The trial at the University of Maryland is a collaboration with the Boyce
 Thompson Institute for Plant Research in Ithaca, N.Y., which conceived
 the idea and grew the potatoes.

 The university will run the clinical trial and evaluate the results in
 what is the first test of an edible plant vaccine. The target is a strain
 of E. coli that produces diarrhea and in poor countries regularly
 afflicts people living with poor sanitation.

 In a trial that could begin this summer, volunteers would eat three
 servings of chopped, raw potatoes over the course of three weeks. The
 volunteers would be divided into three groups: Two would eat different
 doses of the altered spuds; a third would dine on unaltered potatoes.

 The image of children eating vaccines that come from the ground is
 irresistible to science.

 ``It's the ultimate oral immunization,'' said Dr. Myron Levine, the
 director who founded the university's Center for Vaccine Development and
 has become internationally known as a leader in vaccine research. ``And
 it's as cheap as can be.''

 Plant vaccines hold special promise for developing countries which could
 use them while bypassing manufacturing costs.

Date: Mon, 16 Jun 1997 09:24:07 -0400
From: [e-mail] (Student Abolitionist League)
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Activists Imprisoned, Harassed For Lawful Demonstration
Message-ID: <v01540b01afc96d3d07d1@[204.141.118.229]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

                                                Civil Liberties Defense Fund
 For Immediate Release
Contact:   Adam Weissman
6/15/97
[phone]

                                                                News Release
                                        Arrest of Long Island Teen
Activists Condemned
                                by National Civil Liberties Organization
        The Civil Liberties Defense Fund (CLDF), a national civil liberties
organization, has condemned the arrest of five teen-aged members of the
Long Island Animal Defense League during a demonstration at John Pappas
Furs on Sunrise Highway in Sayville yesterday as "a brazen violation of
fundamental civil liberties."
        The five began their demonstration at 1 PM.  One hour later, police
appeared and demanded that they cross the street stating that their protest
signs were obscuring the view of the street to cars pulling from the
parking lot onto sunrise highway.  The activists complied immediately.  10
minutes later plainclothes police officers approached the activists,
failing to indentify themselves as police officers and began  filming them
with video cameras in a provocative manner, holding cameras only six inches
to one foot from their faces.  As part of a planned "street
theater"activists had previously donned masks.  To obtain footage of their
faces, officers forcibly ripped these masks off their faces, mildly
injuring the jaw of activist Chris Cassarino in the process.
        Officers began surrounding the group's coordinator Justin Taylor
and threw him against a wall.  While one officer continued pulling his
sign, a second used his hand to block the lens of the video camera Justin
was using to film the incident while a third grabbed Taylor's backpack and
conducted an illegal search.  The officer blocking Taylor's camera used
profane and abusive language threatening to physically assault the activist
if he did not stop filming, and to seize his camera.  Officers refused to
give him and others their names or badge numbers, instead offering threats
of violence and numerous expletives.  According to CLDF's Adam Weissman,
"When police threaten to seize cameras, a blatant violation of due process,
and illegally refuse to give their names and badge numbers, it is a sure
sign that police brutality and wrongdoing are underway."   Cassarino
received the same treatment.  A third activist, Peter Berzins was shoved in
the chest by an officer in a show of unnecessary and unprovoked force.
        Cassarino, and a fourth activist, Carol Mehaffey, proceeded to the
nearest phone booth to make a collect call to the Civil Liberties Defense
Fund's Civil Liberties Crisis Hotline, and relayed a summarized version of
these events to Weissman, who requested that they ask a police officer to
speak with him.  The officers refused.  As soon as their call to Weissman
ended, the two were arrested without warning or provocation.
        Meanwhile the remaining officers completed their illegal search of
Taylor and Cassarino's bags, after which the two groups, activists and
police, huddled in separate circles to discuss the situation.  An older
activists arrived late to the demonstration, took a  protest sign and began
pacing. Police then tired to grab her sign and then said to the three other
activists, again with no warning or provocation, "You're under arrest."  In
what CLDF describes as "a clear case of selective prosecution", the older
activist was not arrested.
                The activists were taken to the fifth precinct, where they
were charged with loitering, which civil libertarians charge was, "a gross
violation of their first amendment right to free assembly."  "These young
people were expressing their convictions through lawful, nonviolent, and
time honored methods.  The conduct of the police was un-American, an insult
to the tradion of civil liberties this nation has worked so hard to
preserve."
        Weissman  attempted to reach the commanding officer, Sgt. Ryan at
the 5th precinct for comment, but found her uncooperative.  He commented,
"I have dealt with many police departments, but I have never experienced
behavior of such an unprofessional nature by any precinct, and moreso, by
any commanding officer. It was clear they'd done something wrong and were
now trying to cover up."  The  male activists were later transferred to the
3rd precinct which hung up on Mr. Weissman repeatedly and refused to inform
him of the court where the activists were to be arraigned mad Mehaffey, the
only female , was transfered to the 4th precinct
                                                -30-

                        Update: The activists were released on their own
recognizance

Student Abolitionist League: A Networking Organization and Resource Center
for Student Animal Rights Groups



Date: Mon, 16 Jun 1997 11:36:48 -0400 (EDT)
From: [e-mail]
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (US) Oklahoma Wildlife Breeding Study
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>


At the last Oklahoma Wildlife Commission meeting, Mr. John
Streich, the Wildlife's Dept.'s law enforcement chief, told the
Commission that 65 commericial wildlife breeders are currently
licensed in Oklahoma, but that others may exist who are
operating illegally.
The Wildlife Commission voted to form a committee to review
the department's role in regulating commercial wildlife breeders
and provide recommendations for addressing the issue.

                                                          For the Animals,

                                                          Jana, OKC
Date: Mon, 16 Jun 1997 11:54:42 -0400 (EDT)
From: [e-mail]
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (US) Oklahoma Weekly Hunting News
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>


A free clinic is being offered Saturday at Oklahoma's Lake
Thunderbird (near Norman, Okla) to teach people how to catch
big catfish at night.
Sponsored by the Oklahoma Wildlife Dept and the Little River
State Park, the clinic is limited to 40 persons, ages 10 to 20,
who have never fished for catfish at night.  Some equipment
will be provided, but participants may bring their own gear.

Night fishing will also the subject of a seminar sponsored by
the Wildlife Dept.'s Fishery Research Lab at 7pm on Tuesday
at Jumbo Sports I-35 and I-240 in Oklahoma City

The Okla. Wildlife Commission has approved a $25.4 million
Wildlife Dept. budget, which reflects a 1.5 percent reduction
from last year's budget.  The Wildlife officals said that while
inflation has eroded hunting and fishing license income, the
Dept. is trimming spending to maintain a balanced budget for
the 1998 fiscal year beginning the first of July.  They also said
the dept. is also nearing completion of a five-year-plan for
its programs and projects.  The plan includes a thorough
review of its spending and an evaluation of all its programs.

An introductory archery class for women will be held at
Lake Thunderbird on June 27.  It will be cosponsored by
the Oklahoma Wildlife Dept and Little River State Park.
Geared towards women between 16 to 35 , the class will be
at the park's archery range from 6 to 9 pm.  It is free and
all equipment will be provided.  Participants must pre-register.

                                         For the Animals,

                                         Jana, OKC
Date: Mon, 16 Jun 1997 12:26:36 -0400 (EDT)
From: [e-mail]
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (US) Oklahoma Wildlife Department Survey
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>


The Oklahoma Wildlife Dept., the state agency which is responsible
for managing the state's fish and wildlife resources, has recently
completed a telephone survey of 812 randomly selected Oklahomans
to find out what Oklahomans know about the depts. operations.
In far too many instances , the answer was not much.  The survey
asked someone in each household about 50 questions. It was one
of the first steps in a comprehensive effort on what the public knows
about the agency, and what they want the Wildlife dept. to
emphasize with its programs and projects.

Thirty-three percent of those surveyed said they weren't even aware
that a state agency is responsible for managing fish and and wildlife,
and only 36 percent of those who knew about the agency knew its
official name (Oklahoma Dept. of Wildlife Conservation) or could offer
an acceptable variation such as the Wildlife Department.

For analysis purposes, participants were separated according to
level of familiarity with dept.'s programs.  "Those who were familiar
with us were the strongest supporters of the agency" according to
a spokesman for the dept. "Particpants not familiar with the Wildlife
Dept. were more likely to say they were neither satisfied nor
dissatisfied or that they had no opinion about the dept."

When those who said they were familiar with agency were asked if
the agency 's performance had, in their opinion, improved, declined,
or stayed the same, 64% said the dept. had either greatly improved
or somewhat improved.  Only 6% said they thought the agency's
performance had declined.  31% indicated agency performance had
not changed, or they said they had no opinion.

More than half of those surveyed said that they had hunted ( 18%),
fished (48%), or done both in the past 12 months.  The most
popular activity, however, was feeding wildlife.  54% of those polled
said they had done this in the past year.

Other pursuits included picniking, 52%; bird watching, 38%;
camping, 31%; hiking, 30%; and wildlife photography, 25%.
13% said they had participated in none of these activities.

Among those who did not hunt or fish, support for legal fishing
and hunting was very high - 93% for fishing and 79% for hunting.
Assuming hunters and anglers are supportive of their own
activities, support for legal fishing rose to 96%, while support
for legal hunting increased to 84%.

                                                   For the Animals,

                                                   Jana, OKC


Date: Mon, 16 Jun 97 13:13:05 UTC
From: [e-mail]
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Deadly Feasts: Tracking the Secrets of a Terrifying New Plague
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>

This book is by Richard Rhodes, pub. by Simon & Schuster, 1997.
After reading this book, people may finally decide to go vegetarian.
It's an account of the continuing saga of mad cow disease and its
antecedents, descendants, and close relatives.

-- Sherrill
Date: Mon, 16 Jun 1997 09:58:50 -0700 (PDT)
From: Friends of Animals <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: CITES Update Monday, June 16
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Today at The CITES Meeting in Harare Zimbabwe:


Japans Propsal to downlist The Eastern Pacific Stock of Gray
Whales was defeated in a secret ballot by a vote of 61 No and
47 Yes with 8 countries obstaining. This proposal would have
transferred these grey whales from  Appendix 1 to Appendix 2.
Last Thursday another Japanese proposal which sought to redefine
the relationship between CITES and the International Whaling
Commission (IWC) was also defeated in committee by a secret
ballot vote of 51 No and 27 Yes.


Tomorrow (Tuesday. 6/17) will see several important votes, including
the attempts by Zimbabwe, Namibia and Botswana to remove
protection for elephants.  Votes on rhinos and bears are also
expected tomorrow.  FoA will post results as soon as they are available.

Bill Dollinger, Friends of Animals

Date: Mon, 16 Jun 1997 19:11:40 -0400 (EDT)
From: Ione Smith <[e-mail]>
To: David J Knowles <[e-mail]>
Cc: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: [CA] Canine conundrum
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII

Please forgive me sending this note to the list--this is NOT opinion,
but a factual correction. (And it's not directed personally at you, David,
but at the article's author.)

On Mon, 16 Jun 1997, David J Knowles wrote:

[....]
>
> >From the Burnaby Now - Sunday, June 15th, 1997
>
> By Dan Hilborn
> Burnaby Now Reporter
[....]
>
> The woman who answered the phone confirmed she specializes in dachshunds,
> miniature pinschers, and Chihuahuas. (Minipins, as they are commonly called,
> are a cross between dachshunds and chihuahuas.)

Minipins are most assuredly NOT a "cross between dachshunds and
chihuahuas". They are a legitimate breed in their own right. There is
also a slightly larger version called "standard pinschers", more popular
in Europe and very rare in the U.S.

Thanks for your patience with this interruption.

Ione

==================================================
http://funnelweb.utcc.utk.edu/~ilsmith/ethics.html
    for all sides of the AR/AW/anti-AR debate

 http://funnelweb.utcc.utk.edu/~ilsmith/SVME.html
    The Society for Veterinary Medical Ethics

http://funnelweb.utcc.utk.edu/~ilsmith/stereo.html
       the stereotypical behaviors database
==================================================
  I am always willing to learn, however I do not
  always like to be taught. -- Winston Churchill

Date: Tue, 17 Jun 1997 09:23:18 +0000
From: "Karen Bevis" <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Fur Protest in Melbourne (AU)
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>

On Saturday 14 June close to 50 Animal Liberation supporters gathered
in City Square, Melbourne for a anti-fur demonstration.

Most of the protesters were dressed in black.  The girls holding the
banner "Bring Out Your Dead" were dressed in long black skirts and
were wearing veils.  A wheelbarrow full of animal 'furs' (fake),
covered in 'blood' (paint) and topped off by a steel-jaw trap was
also a part of the procession.

The funeral-like procession visited three fur shops in the heart of
Melbourne - chanting 'Bring out your dead', ringing bells and holding
candles and placards.  There was a lot of public interest and
leaflets were handed out.

After an initial visit from a single policeman as we were preparing
to move off, there was no police presence.  We were accompanied by a
number of television camermen.

The demonstration was very successful and will be repeated again (a
number of times) during the winter.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Karen Bevis
Animal Liberation (Victoria) Net Site Co-ordinator
Email:  [e-mail]
http://www.vicnet.net.au/~animals/alibvic/
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Vegetarianism won't cost the earth"
Date: Mon, 16 Jun 1997 19:34:22 -0400 (EDT)
From: [e-mail]
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Request for information.
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>

I am looking for an address of Huntington Life Sciences in New Jersery.  They
were featured in a story on Entertainment Tonight.  The story was about
experiments that were scheduled to be performed on 36 beagle puppies.  The
experiments would include breaking and sawing the pups legs in order to test
a new drug.  The experiment has only been postponed due to the fact that it
has been brought to the publics attention by Kim Basinger and PETA.  I would
like the address of this facility and phone and fax number if possible.  I
hope someone out there can help!!!

Sincerely
[e-mail]
Date: Mon, 16 Jun 1997 16:12:02 -0700
From: [e-mail] (Elephant Advocates)
To: [e-mail]
Subject: LA Zoo berated on front page of LA Times
Message-ID: <v01530504afcb72df83d1@[207.217.3.44]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Please email letters to the editor:  [e-mail]

FRONT PAGE
LOS ANGELES TIMES
By DEBORAH BELGUM, Special to The Times
Monday, June 16, 1997

Animal Escapes Add to L.A. Zoo Woes

Wildlife: Officials say all were caught. Problem comes as elephants test
positive for tuberculosis.

        File this one under Call of the Wild.
        In the past year, a dozen animals at the Los Angeles Zoo have escaped
from their cages, according to federal inspection and zoo reports.
        Those on the lam were a gorilla, a snow leopard, a howler monkey,
four spider monkeys and, most recently, five colobus monkeys that fled
their confines
in mid-May.
        While all of the missing mammals were caught and none of the
incidents proved
to be a threat to visitors, the escapes--several of which have been
attributed to zookeeper error--seem to be happening more frequently than at
many other zoos, according to zoo officials elsewhere.
        "I guess I would have to say that it is highly suspicious to have
that many
errors," said William Amand, executive director of the American Assn. of Zoo
Veterinarians.
        L.A. Zoo Director Manuel Mollinedo said he is concerned about the
incidents.
"I take an escape very, very seriously," he said. "It not only endangers
the animals but our keepers."
        In addition, an L.A. Zoo elephant tested positive recently for
tuberculosis, as has a second elephant that was transferred out of the L.A.
Zoo in October.
        Another L.A. Zoo elephant, which died of salmonella infection in
March, also had tested positive for tuberculosis, and active tuberculosis
was found in a lymph node during the necropsy.
        Zoo officials said they are not worried that people visiting the
zoo could become infected because the facility's four remaining pachyderms
are separated from spectators by a moat. Also, a positive tuberculosis test
does not necessarily mean the animals actually have tuberculosis, because
the tests, medical officials said, can show false results.
        Moreover, they point out, it is impossible to X-ray elephants to
determine
whether they indeed have the disease.
        The zoo's longtime elephant trainer, George French, who retired in
May, has tested negative for tuberculosis. And so have two other elephants,
Ruby and Gita.  Billy, a 12-year-old Asian elephant, has not been tested
because handlers can't get close enough to draw blood from him for a test.

        David Blasko, executive director of the Elephant Managers' Assn., an
international group of 400 elephant handlers, said he hasn't heard of other
zoo elephants testing positive for tuberculosis.
        The unusual series of incidents at the L.A. Zoo--which will become
a separate city department as a result of a 12-0 City Council vote
Friday--have been documented in U.S. Department of Agriculture inspection
reports and in zoo staff meeting notes.
        None of the escaped animals got beyond the zoo's boundaries,
Mollinedo said.
        In July, a teenage male gorilla named Jim escaped from his holding
area by bending a faulty steel door and slipping into an enclosed yard
behind the building.
Instead of climbing out of the yard, the gorilla lingered for a couple of
hours and returned to his holding area. The steel door has been reinforced,
Mollinedo said.
        In August, a snow leopard escaped when a zookeeper did not secure
the door to its holding area. The leopard went into a food preparation area
within the building for at least two hours. Employees had to tranquilize
the leopard with a dart gun to return it to its cage, the zoo director
said.
        A howler monkey fled its confines last fall when a zookeeper opened
a cage door and the primate immediately scrambled out and made a beeline
for a nearby acacia tree, remaining in the tree until a blow dart was used
to tranquilize it. The cage, which Mollinedo said was poorly designed, has
been repaired to prevent future escapes.
        In October, four spider monkeys fled their cage when two zookeepers
did not latch a door. The simians eventually were coaxed to return to their
abode.
        Most recently, five colobus monkeys slipped out of their holding
area when a zookeeper didn't latch a door. The monkeys ambled over to some
nearby trees. Four returned to their holding area. A fifth eluded
zookeepers until it was tranquilized, general curator Judy Ball said.
        Ball, who recently came to the L.A. Zoo from the Woodland Park Zoo in
Seattle, said escapes are known to happen in the zoo world. She remembers
when 23 squirrel monkeys escaped from the Seattle zoo years ago when she
was the general curator. It took days to trap the monkeys. One was run over
by a car. Another was never found.
        At the Denver Zoo in December, an 8-foot 2-inch king cobra
slithered out of its box through a crack near a sliding door. After morsels
of rat meat failed to lure it back to its habitat, the snake was shot and
killed.
        But at the Los Angeles Zoo, the escapes seem to be happening more
frequently.
        "It happens," said David Robinette, general curator at the San
Francisco Zoo, which has 730 animals, about half the number at the L.A.
Zoo. "But I wouldn't say it is common here." He noted that in December five
patas monkeys scrambled from their exhibit when a tree branch fell into
their area. They were quickly shooed back in.
        "We haven't had a problem with that," said Charles Doyle, curator
of mammals at the Burnet Park Zoo in Syracuse, N.Y., which has about 900
animals.
        Zoo Atlanta, which has nearly 1,000 animals, hasn't had any escapes
in the past year. Neither has the Metro Washington Park Zoo in Portland,
Ore., which has 1,200 animals.
        In the past two years, the L.A. Zoo's staff has been working hard
to improve the facility's image, which was tarnished in 1995 when
inspectors from the American Zoo and Aquarium Assn. postponed accrediting
the facility for one year.
        At that time, association inspectors cited a number of problems,
including some conditions so bad that the health of certain animals was in
jeopardy. Also cited were overcrowded conditions, enclosures with
inadequate drainage systems and areas infected by vermin and termites.
        After changing directors and pumping $1.7 million into an emergency
maintenance program, the zoo's accreditation was renewed in 1996.
        But problems continue to occur at the 220-acre Griffith Park facility.
        Last summer, two small monkeys called cotton-topped marmosets died
after a keeper mistakenly left a heat lamp on over their nesting box on a
hot July day, according to USDA inspection documents. Mollinedo confirmed
the incident and blamed it on zookeeper error.

        And in March, a 29-year-old elephant, Annie, died from salmonella
infection. A necropsy showed her lungs contained tuberculosis encapsulated
in old calcified fibrous tissue. It was not believed to be contagious, said
Charles Sedgwick, the zoo's director of animal health services.
        Tara, a 31-year-old African elephant that tested positive in May
for TB, has lost more than 1,000 pounds in seven months, zoo officials
confirmed. They attribute the weight loss, however, to a massive boil on
Tara's rectum that employees have been treating for several months. Tara
has lived at the L.A. Zoo since shortly after her birth in Africa in 1965.
        Calle, a 30-year-old female Asian elephant that tested positive for
TB, is on loan to the San Francisco Zoo.
        Gary Johnson, who owns the Perris elephant compound, is waiting for
test results on four of his elephants to see if they might have been
exposed to tuberculosis.  His elephants are sometimes used for elephant
rides at fairs and events, posing a potential health risk to riders.
        The news of elephants testing positive for tuberculosis is a
reminder of an incident last summer in which two Circus Vargas elephants in
the Los Angeles area died of the infectious disease, which can be
transmitted to humans.
        Until 1990, one of those circus elephants, Hattie, was owned by the Los
Angeles Zoo before being sold to an elephant trainer in Illinois, who then
leased her to Circus Vargas.
        Animal rights activists, upon hearing of the elephants possibly
having TB, have begun to question how the hulking mammals are handled at
the L.A. Zoo.                                                  "I don't
think this zoo is set up for elephants," said Gretchen Wyler, president of
the Ark Trust Inc., an animal rights group. Wyler also sits on the Los
Angeles Zoo Directors Advisory Committee.
        Three years ago, the L.A. Zoo's elephant barn went through a
$1.4-million renovation to improve care for the animals and make it safer
for elephant keepers. Added were individual stalls for the animals and
remote-controlled doors and video cameras.  The zoo plans to build a
$24-million Pachyderm Forest.
                               Copyright Los Angeles Times
                                         ###

note:  Zoo records and research for this article provided by Elephant Advocates.

send letters about the Zoo to:

Mayor Richard Riordan
200 North Spring St., #305
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Wk: [phone]
Fx: [phone]

Ask that your letter become part of permanent record, filed under "LA Zoo"
and copied to the Ad Hoc Committee for Zoo Improvement.

ASK FOR CLOSURE OF THE ELEPHANT EXHIBIT.  In the last 21 years, at least 21
elephants have come into the LA Zoo and 11 have died there.  None of old
age or natural causes. The Zoo cannot claim to be making a contribution
toward elephant conservation, education or welfare.

Ask the AZA ( American Zoo & Aquarium Association) to rescind its
accreditation to the LA Zoo.

AZA Board of Directors
7970-D Old Georgetown Road
Bethesda, MD  20814-2493
Ph: [phone]
Fx: [phone]

###
Thank you. The Zoo has received 200 letters from all over the world from
caring individuals, questioning their elephant care.  Elephant Advocates
has requested the letters through the California Public Records Act and
will present them to City Council requesting closure of the elephant
exhibit.















Deborah Famiglietti


Date: Mon, 16 Jun 1997 22:03:07 -0400
From: allen schubert <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (US) Procter & Gamble wants to take fake fat nationwide
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

from CNN web page:
------------------------------------
                     Procter & Gamble wants to take fake fat nationwide

                     Olestra now sold only in few states

                     In this story:

                        * FDA not worried by hundreds of complaints
                        * Chefs demonstrate olestra-made meals
                        * Related stories and sites

                     June 16, 1997
                     Web posted at: 4:20 p.m. EDT (2020 GMT)

                     From Correspondent Eugenia Halsey

                     (CNN) -- Right now, if you want the Olestra
                     experience you have to live in Indiana, Ohio, or
                     Colorado. The controversial fat substitute,
                     approved last year by the Food and Drug
                     Administration and marketed by Procter & Gamble
                     under the brand name Olean, is being tested in
                     those states. And, if critics have their way,
                     national distribution won't proceed.

                     Indianapolis is the newest and biggest test
                     market, so far, for fake fat versions of Lay's and
                     Ruffles brand potato chips and Doritos brand corn
                     chips.

                     You can also get olestra now in other companies'
                     products, including Ritz and Wheat Thins crackers
                     and Pringles potato chips.

                     At first, Frito-Lay called its olestra-made potato
                     chips "Max." The name didn't catch on, however,
                     and was changed to "Wow!"

                     FDA not worried by hundreds of complaints

                     Olestra essentially is fat and sugar, chemically
                     processed so that it passes through the human body
                     unabsorbed.

                     For now, it's approved only for salty snacks but
                     for some consumers, one bag was enough.

                      "They made me sick," one shopper told
                              CNN, adding that snack foods made with
                     olestra upset her stomach.

                     "I had some cramping," one man said. "And if you
                     read the bag, it says 'loose stools.' That
                     happened (to me)."

                     In all, about 800 consumers have reported mild to
                     moderate side effects, including diarrhea,
                     according to the FDA, which says the complaints
                     are nothing worrisome.

                     Still, the Center for Science in the Public
                     Interest -- a consumer watchdog group -- wants
                     olestra products pulled from shelves. "An additive
                     that can cause vomiting or diarrhea does not
                     belong in a snack food eaten by millions of
                     Americans," argues Michael Jacobson, the center's
                     executive director.

                     Chefs demonstrate olestra-made meals

                     Procter & Gamble has been firing back with
                     testimonials, including one from former Health and
                     Human Services Secretary Louis Sullivan, who is
                     now a paid consultant to P&G.

                     He says the fact that the FDA has approved the fat
                     substitute is good enough for him. Sullivan calls
                     olestra "a very good, innovative product with
                     another approach to controlling our weight."

                     Dr. Sullivan was among dozens of invited guests
                     who recently attended an Atlanta dinner where
                     appetizers and desserts were made with olestra
                     oil, which has not yet been approved for the
                     general public.

                     "I think it's really the oil of the '90s,"
                     said Chef Paul Albrecht of Pano's & Paul's
                     restaurant. Procter & Gamble is demonstrating
                     olestra-made meals in cities nationwide.

                     The company claims Olestra snack foods have been
                     flying off the shelves in test market cities.
                     "We've sold or sampled more than 15 million
                     servings," says P&G's Greg Allgood. "People are
                     telling us that this is a product that works for
                     them."

                     For now, Frito-Lay plans to make "Wow!" potato
                     chips available nationally sometime next year.

Date: Mon, 16 Jun 1997 22:28:25 -0400
From: allen schubert <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (US) Cattlemen Have Beef With Oprah
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

from AP Wire page:
-------------------------------------
 06/16/1997 17:42 EST

 Cattlemen Have Beef With Oprah

 By MARK BABINECK
 Associated Press Writer

 AMARILLO, Texas (AP) -- Texas cattlemen have a serious beef with Oprah
 Winfrey.

 During an ``Oprah Winfrey Show'' broadcast last year, a guest said that
 feeding ground-up animal parts to cattle could spread mad cow disease to
 humans in the United States. To applause from the studio audience, Ms.
 Winfrey exclaimed: ``It has just stopped me from eating another burger!''

 Cattle prices began to fall the day of the show and fell for two weeks
 before rising again.

 Amarillo cattle feeder Paul Engler and a dozen cattlemen are now suing
 under a 1995 Texas law that protects agricultural products from slander.

 ``I couldn't help but be infuriated,'' said Engler, who flipped on the
 program while visiting Chicago, Ms. Winfrey's home base. ``I sat there
 and couldn't hardly believe what I was seeing.''

 Engler's year-old federal lawsuit appears to be the biggest test yet of
 so-called ``veggie libel'' laws, which sprouted after a ``60 Minutes''
 report in 1989 on the growth regulator Alar sent apple prices plummeting.
 Since then, 13 states have passed laws against falsely disparaging
 products.

 Ms. Winfrey's show came at a time when drought, high feed prices and
 oversupply were crippling cattlemen. While her recommendations have made
 best sellers out of books, Engler said that same power cuts both ways.

 Mad cow disease, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy, has not been
 reported in the United States. It is a brain-destroying disease that has
 ravaged cattle in Britain since the late 1980s, where it is believed to
 have been spread by cattle feed containing ground-up sheep parts.

 Panic erupted last year because of fears that infected beef may have
 caused a version of a fatal human brain illness. But no definitive links
 have been found.

 During the ``Oprah'' show, U.S. Humane Society official Howard Lyman told
 the audience that 100,000 cows in this country drop dead annually for no
 known reason, and are ground up and fed to other cows, Engler's lawsuit
 said.

 ``If only one of them has `mad cow disease,' that has the potential to
 infect thousands,'' said Lyman, an anti-meat activist, according to the
 lawsuit. He followed other guests who played down the worries.

 Cattle prices had dropped 10 percent by the end of the month following
 the show, from 62 cents per pound to 55 cents.

 Engler said he lost $6.7 million. The cattlemen sued Lyman, Ms. Winfrey,
 her Harpo Productions Inc. and distributor King World Productions.

 Ms. Winfrey defended the show shortly after its airing but has since
 refused to discuss it.

 ``I asked questions that I think that the American people deserve to have
 answered in light of what is happening in Britain. We gave them
 (cattlemen) a chance to respond,'' she said in a statement at the time.

 Lyman's attorney, Barry Peterson, said: ``We don't believe Mr. Lyman nor
 Ms. Winfrey ever said U.S. beef was infected. ... He only said that
 practices within the industry were potentially threatening.''

 Earlier this month, the Food and Drug Administration ordered an end to
 feeding cattle meat and bone meal from other cattle.

 Seattle attorney Bruce Johnson, who successfully defended CBS in an
 Alar-related lawsuit, calls ``veggie libel'' laws a ``Pandora's box for
 every interest group that wants protection.''

 ``Political correctness takes many guises,'' said Johnson, who wrote a
 1995 article blasting such laws. ``This happens to be agribusiness' take
 on political correctness.''

 Appeals courts traditionally have upheld states' rights to limit
 business-related speech, usually through truth-in-advertising laws, First
 Amendment specialist Tom Baker said.

 ``I guess it would be important to note from the Oprah side that this
 isn't commercial speech, it's speech about a public health issue,'' said
 Baker, a Texas Tech University law professor. ``How one characterizes the
 speech involved in the statute is really the First Amendment game.''


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