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- Part of a PeTA campaign.........
- from AP Wire page:
- -----------------------------------
- 07/18/1997 02:39 EST
-
- Fishing Ban Urged for Walden Pond
-
- By ROBIN ESTRIN
- Associated Press Writer
-
- CONCORD, Mass. (AP) -- The peaceful woods and clear waters lure Joseph
- Sevigny, with his fishing poles and 12-foot boat, to Walden Pond dozens
- of times a year. He tosses back the bass, but the trout often become
- dinner.
-
- It's a relaxing ritual enjoyed by countless others at the watering hole
- made famous by transcendentalist writer Henry David Thoreau, an angler
- himself.
-
- But a campaign is on to reel in the fishermen. The People for the Ethical
- Treatment of Animals have petitioned the state to ban fishing at Walden
- as part of the group's new anti-fishing crusade.
-
- Even though Thoreau fished on the 60-acre pond, PETA folks say the animal
- lover would have supported the ban.
-
- ``I cannot fish without falling a little in self-respect,'' Thoreau wrote
- in ``Walden,'' published in 1854.
-
- For years, the international animal rights group has fought against
- fishing, arguing that fish feel pain and suffer greatly after being
- caught.
-
- ``Just imagine swimming through the water and all they see is the bait,''
- said Dawn Carr, the coordinator of the campaign. ``By the time they see
- the hook, it's too late. They've already impaled themselves.''
-
- The organization, which has 500,000 members worldwide and 16,000 in
- Massachusetts, plans to ask parks across America to ban fishing. But the
- campaign is being spawned here at Walden, where the conservation movement
- began with Thoreau nearly 150 years ago.
-
- ``I really think the PETA people are wacky,'' said Sevigny, 50, of
- Melrose.
-
- The pond, 16 miles northwest of Boston, and its surrounding woods were
- given to the state in 1922. Today, an estimated 500,000 people a year
- swim, fish, picnic and hike here.
-
- State environmental officials said they have no intention of banning
- fishing there. The deed to Walden Pond clearly spells out that fishing
- will be allowed, said Susan Hamilton, a spokeswoman for the Department of
- Environmental Management.
-
- PETA appealed last week to Gov. William F. Weld, himself an angler,
- asking him to step in and institute a ban. PETA insists that Thoreau
- would have wanted the pond he so loved to be a sanctuary for all
- wildlife.
-
- Thoreau did have a respect for all living creatures, said Tom Blanding, a
- Thoreau scholar and Concord resident.
-
- ``But for them to represent this as an absolute attitude on his part is
- to take things out of the literary context,'' Blanding said. ``To adopt
- him as an advocate for their position perhaps is out of proportion in a
- way.''
-
- The very notion of a fishing ban was enough to make one Walden fisherman
- flounder for words to equal his contempt.
-
- ``Why don't they ban walking here?'' shouted the man, who wouldn't give
- his name but said he has been fishing on Walden for all of his 70 years.
- ``They might as well ban swimming.''
-
- Date: Fri, 18 Jul 1997 19:36:56 -0400
- From: allen schubert <alathome@clark.net>
- To: ar-news@envirolink.org
- Subject: (US) Swine Disease Still a Mystery
- Message-ID: <3.0.32.19970718193653.006f3af4@clark.net>
- Mime-Version: 1.0
- Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
-
- from AP Wire page:
- ------------------------------------
- 07/18/1997 02:10 EST
-
- Swine Disease Still a Mystery
-
- By TOM SEERY
- Associated Press Writer
-
- DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) -- An outbreak of swine disease last year that
- began killing sows and causing them to abort their fetuses still puzzles
- scientists.
-
- ``I'm not sure we would have anything you would call definitive,'' said
- Larry White, senior staff veterinarian for the Agriculture Department's
- Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service in Fort Collins, Colo., which
- is coordinating a nationwide study of the disease.
-
- Reports of the disease last December prompted quick action by government
- and pork industry officials. More than 40 experts met in January to map
- out the research effort.
-
- Researchers believe the sows were stricken with a form of ``porcine
- reproductive and respiratory syndrome.'' But the sows had been vaccinated
- for the disease, and some of their symptoms appeared to be more severe
- than previously seen in that syndrome.
-
- Researchers say an ``acute PRRS'' virus could be causing the latest
- outbreak.
-
- The outbreak, although not widespread, has caused anxiety in the pork
- industry. As hog-raising shifts from small, family-run farms to large,
- factory-style operations where thousands of hogs are housed in
- confinement buildings, disease control has become increasingly important.
-
- Farmers are being advised to be patient while the investigation
- continues.
-
- ``We haven't been able to draw any conclusions about any changes they
- should make,'' White said.
-
- Veterinary laboratories in seven states are working with the USDA to find
- and study cases of the puzzling disease.
-
- When an outbreak is identified, researchers go to the farm, take samples
- from the animals and get information about vaccinations, genetic makeup
- of hogs and other factors.
-
- The researchers also try to identify nearby farms without the disease,
- and look for factors that might explain the isolated outbreak.
-
- The USDA is studying cases at laboratories in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa,
- Nebraska, Minnesota, North Carolina and South Dakota. Officials hope to
- do an intensive study of 44 farms with the outbreak and nearby farms that
- do not have the disease.
-
- ``The original goal was to try to have some summary information available
- by this fall,'' said Kevin Petersburg, a USDA veterinarian working on the
- case in Iowa.
-
- ``It would be safe to say that the general consensus is that it appears
- to be PRRS,'' he said. ``It may be that we'll find out that there are
- some management factors that play a role in allowing some farms to have
- the acute PRRS outbreak.''
-
- In Iowa, an outbreak occurred in about 10 herds in the southeast part of
- the state. Officials have not identified farms where the outbreak
- occurred, and say there is no evidence that the disease is spreading
- rapidly.
-
- ``It's my perception that things have kind of quieted down, based on the
- number of case reports we're getting,'' said Tom Burkgren, a Perry, Iowa,
- veterinarian who is executive director of the American Association of
- Swine Practitioners, a veterinary group working with researchers on the
- outbreak.
-
- Jim Koch, president of the Iowa Pork Producers Association, said that
- although the ``acute PRRS'' outbreak appears to have stabilized in Iowa,
- common forms of PRRS continue to hit farms.
-
- ``It can go away and haunt you again,'' Koch said. ``It started out as a
- mystery swine disease and remains a mystery swine disease.''
-
- Date: Fri, 18 Jul 1997 23:01:23 +0800 (SST)
- From: Vadivu Govind <kuma@cyberway.com.sg>
- To: ar-news@envirolink.org
- Subject: (TW) Taiwan pork industry reels as Japan continues import ban
- Message-ID: <199707181501.XAA13093@eastgate.cyberway.com.sg>
- Mime-Version: 1.0
- Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
-
-
-
- >CNA Daily English News Wire
-
- TAIWAN PORK INDUSTRY REELS AS JAPAN CONTINUES IMPORT BAN
-
-
- Taipei, July 17 (CNA) Taiwan stands to lose NT$300 million (US$10.79
- million) in export sales owing to Japan's recent refusal to resume import of
- Taiwan processed pork, the Industrial Development Bureau (IDB) said Thursday.
-
- Taiwan hog farmers had hoped that after the outbreak of foot-and-mouth
- disease (FMD) was brought under control, Taiwan pork exports to Japan would
- be allowed to resume. Before Taiwan was declared an FMD-affected area in
- March, Japan was the largest importer of Taiwan pork.
-
- But hog farmer's hopes were dashed by Japan's recent announcement that more
- time is needed to evaluate the situation before the sale of Taiwan pork can
- resume.
-
- Local hog farmers have charged Japan with discriminating against Taiwan
- pork, with many pointing to Japan's treatment of pork products from mainland
- China. Even though the mainland has also been declared an FMD-affected area,
- Japan still accepts pork from provinces with no reported cases of FMD.
-
- IDB officials said the FMD outbreak has taken a heavy toll on Taiwan's hog
- industry. Although the government has provided NT$3.16 billion (US$113.26
- million) in loans to help bail out six local firms that process frozen pork,
- the IDB believes the best solution to the industry's woes would be to
- resume exports.
-
- Taiwan exported NT$42 billion (US$1.51 billion) worth of frozen pork to
- Japan in 1996, which included NT$300 million (US$10.79 million) worth of
- processed pork. (By Lilian Wu)
-
- Date: Fri, 18 Jul 1997 12:17:55 -0400 (EDT)
- From: baerwolf@tiac.net (baerwolf)
- To: Veg-Boston@waste.org, ar-news@envirolink.org, veg-ne@empire.net
- Cc: kvc@OpenMarket.com, hturrisi@tiac.net, hrones@husc.harvard.edu,
- veggie@envirolink.org, mkbrodie@vgernet.net, MINOUADAMS@aol.com,
- Lucy_Tancredi@factset.com, Me1ani@aol.com
- Subject: Primates: July-August - Laboratory Awareness Actions
- Message-ID: <199707181617.MAA24728@mailrelay.tiac.net>
- Mime-Version: 1.0
- Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
-
- Please join the move to focus attention on the plight of primates in
- laboratories and the increasing public sentiment to "Let These Children Go."
-
- The culmanation of this public educational experience will be the
- 9 day peaceful demonstration Aug 2 to Aug 10 at the NERPC in Southboro,MA
- led by national activist Rick Bogle, and the promotion of the populace's demand
- for the upcoming ordinance in Cambridge, MA which shall recognize
- the right of primates to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.
-
- July 7 (Mon)- till Oct - Tabling to Educate about Primates
- Harvard Square, Cambridge, MA 6:00pm till --->.
- Air video tapes, hand out literature, educate the public to how we can end
- the torture
- of primates in laboratories. Help promote passage of an ordinance in Cambridge
- to recognize the right of primates to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of
- Happiness.
- Call Bill 617-625-1451 or Steve 508-393-5339 for meeting location and times.
-
-
- July 15, 16, 17 (Tue, Wed, Thur) - Write-a-thon for Primates
- >From your house, your office, create the following types of letters:
- 1) Sample letters for people to sign and send to the NIH, Southboro and
- other primate labs,
- 2) Newspaper Op-Ed pieces against primates in labs, and
- 3) Sample letters for people to sign/send to legislators,
- regarding public dissaproval of the injustices enacted upon primates in
- laboratories.
- Call Steve at 508-393-5339 for info & details, or email baerwolf@tiac.net
-
- July 19 (Sat)-July 29 (Tue) - Distribute "Primates in Labs" Flyers/Sample
- Letters in Malls ,
- and other public places. Call Steve at 508-393-5339 for hand-outs and
- location coordination.
-
- July 23 & July 30 (Weds) - Vigil outside of Harvard Medical School
- Harvard Medical School, Longwood Ave, Boston near the
- Brigham & Woman's Hospital. 3:00pm - 6:00pm
- For more info call Bill at 617-625-1451 or Steve at 617-478-7731
-
- Aug 1 (Fri) - Informational Tabling for Primate Freedom Campaign
- In front of Au Bon Pain, Harvard Sq., Cambridge. 12pm - 5pm
- For more info call NEAVS at 617-523-6020
-
- Aug 2 (Sat)-Aug 10 (Sun) - Informational Protest at New England Regional
- Primate Center,
- 1 Pine Hill Drive, Southboro, MA on the Marlboro line. About one mile south
- of Rte 20.
- Come for the day; come for the duration, as you please.
- Bring vegan food, water, necessities for non-stop demonstrators.
- Bring anti-vivisection posters, banners and flyers if you have any.
- Call Steve at 508-393-5339 or NEAVS at 617-523-6020 for info.
-
- Aug 2 (Sat)-Aug 10 (Sun) - Primate Center Demonstators' Potlucks
- Join vegetarian organizations in providing food and water for activists.
- Three square meals & fluids are needed during the 9 day demonstration.
- Vegan food preparation, and food pickup/delivery,
- and restaurant vegan donations requested.
- Call Steve at 508-393-5339 by July 27 (Sunday night) for food coordination.
-
- Aug 2 (Sat)-Aug 10 (Sun) - Informational Protests Against Primate Labs at
- Harvard University
- Call Bill at 617-625-1451 or Steve at 508-393-5339 or NEAVS at 617-523-6020
- to determine exact location, day, time, and content of each day's
- demonstration.
-
- **Aug 8 (Fri) - Solidarity Vigil in front of New England Primate Research Center
- Southboro, MA. 6:00pm - 8:00pm. Join activist Rick Bogle in a
- silent remembrance for primates suffering at the research center.
- For more info, or if you can provide a ride, or if you need a ride
- call NEAVS at 617-523-6020
-
- Aug 16(Sat)-Nov 4(Tue) - Neighborhood Campaigning in Cambridge for the
- Ordinance to Abolish Primate Exploitation and Slavery (Proposition A.P.E.S).
- call Bill at 617-625-1451
- or Steve at 508-393-5339 for literature and coordination.
-
-
- .......... Further, We could use some stimulating personalities to speak up
- for primates
- in yet to be scheduled media (Newspaper, Radio and TV spots).
- Also do you know any media - savy people?
- Respond to Steve at 508-393-5339 or Chris at 617-787-3125
-
- sbaer
- steven baer
-
- baerwolf@tiac.net
- Massachusetts
-
- HOW DEEP INTO SPACE MUST HUMANS GO BEFORE THEY REALIZE
- ALL THE NEIGHBORS THEY'VE TORTURED ON PLANET EARTH.
-
- Date: Fri, 18 Jul 1997 17:42:13 +0000 (GMT)
- From: Daniel Paulo Martins Ferreira <dmartins@student.dei.uc.pt>
- To: Patrick Nolan <pnolan@animalwelfare.com>
- Cc: ar-news@envirolink.org
- Subject: Correcting a correction...
- Message-ID: <Pine.OSF.3.95.970718173636.10330B-100000@student.dei.uc.pt>
- Mime-Version: 1.0
- Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII
-
-
- Greetings.
-
- A few days ago I corrected the name and the adress of the Minister of
- Foreign Affairs of Portugal.
-
- Well, I made a confusion and gave you another wrong adress. I'm
- sending you the real, confirmed, adress. I'm sorry for all the
- trouble.
-
-
- Hon. Jaime Gama
- Minister for Foreign Affairs
- Palacio das Necessidades
- Largo do Rilvas
- 1350 Lisboa
- PORTUGAL
-
-
- Regards.
-
- Daniel
-
- Date: Fri, 18 Jul 1997 14:53:57 -0400
- From: "D'Amico, AnnMarie" <DAMICOA@od1em1.od.nih.gov>
- To: "Veg-Boston@waste.org" <Veg-Boston@waste.org>,
- "ar-news@envirolink.org" <ar-news@envirolink.org>,
- "veg-ne@empire.net" <veg-ne@empire.net>,
- "baerwolf@tiac.net"
- <baerwolf@tiac.net>
- Cc: "Lucy_Tancredi@factset.com" <Lucy_Tancredi@factset.com>,
- "Me1ani@aol.com" <Me1ani@aol.com>
- Subject: RE: Primates: July-August - Laboratory Awareness Actions
- Message-ID: <c=US%a=_%p=NIH%l=NIHHUB/HUB/00235E5E@imc.nih.gov>
-
- To all...
-
- The postings on Primates in Canada and the US is extremely disturbing.
- I've seen other articles from the NYTimes and other papers around the
- country. Some have already been euthanized. One of the Scientist on the
- board wants to euthanize.
-
- What can we do to intervene? Need some answers quickly. This is going to
- be a horrific injustice. From what I've read the government isn't acting
- quickly enough (what else is new) and that ultimately they will die at the
- hands of opportunists.
-
- We need to do something now. Any suggestions? Please help.
-
- TKS -- AM
-
- ----------
- From: baerwolf@tiac.net[SMTP:baerwolf@tiac.net]
- Sent: Friday, July 18, 1997 12:17 PM
- To: Veg-Boston@waste.org; ar-news@envirolink.org; veg-ne@empire.net
- Cc: kvc@OpenMarket.com; hturrisi@tiac.net; hrones@husc.harvard.edu;
- veggie@envirolink.org; mkbrodie@vgernet.net; MINOUADAMS@aol.com;
- Lucy_Tancredi@factset.com; Me1ani@aol.com
- Subject: Primates: July-August - Laboratory Awareness Actions
-
- Please join the move to focus attention on the plight of primates in
- laboratories and the increasing public sentiment to "Let These Children
- Go."
-
- The culmanation of this public educational experience will be the
- 9 day peaceful demonstration Aug 2 to Aug 10 at the NERPC in Southboro,MA
- led by national activist Rick Bogle, and the promotion of the populace's
- demand
- for the upcoming ordinance in Cambridge, MA which shall recognize
- the right of primates to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.
-
- July 7 (Mon)- till Oct - Tabling to Educate about Primates
- Harvard Square, Cambridge, MA 6:00pm till --->.
- Air video tapes, hand out literature, educate the public to how we can end
- the torture
- of primates in laboratories. Help promote passage of an ordinance in
- Cambridge
- to recognize the right of primates to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of
- Happiness.
- Call Bill 617-625-1451 or Steve 508-393-5339 for meeting location and
- times.
-
-
- July 15, 16, 17 (Tue, Wed, Thur) - Write-a-thon for Primates
- >From your house, your office, create the following types of letters:
- 1) Sample letters for people to sign and send to the NIH, Southboro and
- other primate labs,
- 2) Newspaper Op-Ed pieces against primates in labs, and
- 3) Sample letters for people to sign/send to legislators,
- regarding public dissaproval of the injustices enacted upon primates in
- laboratories.
- Call Steve at 508-393-5339 for info & details, or email baerwolf@tiac.net
-
- July 19 (Sat)-July 29 (Tue) - Distribute "Primates in Labs" Flyers/Sample
- Letters in Malls ,
- and other public places. Call Steve at 508-393-5339 for hand-outs and
- location coordination.
-
- July 23 & July 30 (Weds) - Vigil outside of Harvard Medical School
- Harvard Medical School, Longwood Ave, Boston near the
- Brigham & Woman's Hospital. 3:00pm - 6:00pm
- For more info call Bill at 617-625-1451 or Steve at 617-478-7731
-
- Aug 1 (Fri) - Informational Tabling for Primate Freedom Campaign
- In front of Au Bon Pain, Harvard Sq., Cambridge. 12pm - 5pm
- For more info call NEAVS at 617-523-6020
-
- Aug 2 (Sat)-Aug 10 (Sun) - Informational Protest at New England Regional
- Primate Center,
- 1 Pine Hill Drive, Southboro, MA on the Marlboro line. About one mile
- south
- of Rte 20.
- Come for the day; come for the duration, as you please.
- Bring vegan food, water, necessities for non-stop demonstrators.
- Bring anti-vivisection posters, banners and flyers if you have any.
- Call Steve at 508-393-5339 or NEAVS at 617-523-6020 for info.
-
- Aug 2 (Sat)-Aug 10 (Sun) - Primate Center Demonstators' Potlucks
- Join vegetarian organizations in providing food and water for activists.
- Three square meals & fluids are needed during the 9 day demonstration.
- Vegan food preparation, and food pickup/delivery,
- and restaurant vegan donations requested.
- Call Steve at 508-393-5339 by July 27 (Sunday night) for food
- coordination.
-
- Aug 2 (Sat)-Aug 10 (Sun) - Informational Protests Against Primate Labs at
- Harvard University
- Call Bill at 617-625-1451 or Steve at 508-393-5339 or NEAVS at
- 617-523-6020
- to determine exact location, day, time, and content of each day's
- demonstration.
-
- **Aug 8 (Fri) - Solidarity Vigil in front of New England Primate Research
- Center
- Southboro, MA. 6:00pm - 8:00pm. Join activist Rick Bogle in a
- silent remembrance for primates suffering at the research center.
- For more info, or if you can provide a ride, or if you need a ride
- call NEAVS at 617-523-6020
-
- Aug 16(Sat)-Nov 4(Tue) - Neighborhood Campaigning in Cambridge for the
- Ordinance to Abolish Primate Exploitation and Slavery (Proposition
- A.P.E.S).
- call Bill at 617-625-1451
- or Steve at 508-393-5339 for literature and coordination.
-
-
- .......... Further, We could use some stimulating personalities to speak
- up
- for primates
- in yet to be scheduled media (Newspaper, Radio and TV spots).
- Also do you know any media - savy people?
- Respond to Steve at 508-393-5339 or Chris at 617-787-3125
-
- sbaer
- steven baer
-
- baerwolf@tiac.net
- Massachusetts
-
- HOW DEEP INTO SPACE MUST HUMANS GO BEFORE THEY REALIZE
- ALL THE NEIGHBORS THEY'VE TORTURED ON PLANET EARTH.
-
-
-
- Date: Fri, 18 Jul 1997 16:00:53 -0700
- From: Sean Thomas <sean.thomas1@sympatico.ca>
- To: ar-news@envirolink.com
- Subject: Monkey Business
- Message-ID: <33CFF5A5.15B1@sympatico.ca>
- MIME-Version: 1.0
- Content-Type: multipart/mixed; boundary="------------3C421FCD530C"
-
- Sean Thomas, Co-Director
- Animal Action
- Ottawa Citizen Hit reload or refresh if you're not getting today's
- Online date.
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- [National - Ottawa Citizen Online]
-
- Friday 18 July 1997
-
- Health Canada considers private monkey business
-
- Breeding mill would produce primates for profit
-
- Randy Boswell
- The Ottawa Citizen
-
- The creation of a private, profit-making monkey mill for
- government and industry research labs is among the
- options available to Health Canada as it considers what
- to do with its primate breeding colony of 750 long-tailed
- macaques.
-
- The idea, listed along with several other alternatives in
- a report completed last month that examined Health
- Canada's animal resources division, contrasts with a
- recommendation issued Wednesday by an expert panel of
- American scientists that has been considering the future
- of that country's population of 1,500 research
- chimpanzees.
-
- The U.S. National Research Council, in a study sponsored
- by the National Institutes of Health, urged a five-year
- moratorium on chimpanzee breeding in the States because
- an "oversupply has created substantial management
- problems for the institutions that house them."
-
- The U.S. panel also urged the establishment of
- "sanctuaries" for chimps no longer needed for
- experiments, and rejected the idea of killing unwanted
- animals.
-
- The future of the Ottawa monkeys, which have been used
- since 1983 for research into environmental toxins and
- AIDS and to test polio vaccines, will be the focus of a
- study due in November from a panel of scientists and
- philosophers named this week by the Royal Society of
- Canada.
-
- Health Canada requested the analysis as it faced the
- fallout of massive federal budget cuts and changing
- trends in animal research. The department has concluded
- that, without some prospect of cost recovery, it can no
- longer justify spending $1 million a year for the care
- and maintenance of monkeys for which there is declining
- need within Health Canada itself.
-
- But one of the potential solutions to the predicament,
- according to the June report, is to privatize the colony
- through an employee takeover or direct sale to a private
- firm.
-
- Plans to "determine a market value for the monkey colony
- as a commercial operation" are listed in the department's
- recommendations.
-
- Over the years, some of the monkeys have been sold to
- outside agencies and universities, but on a modest scale.
-
- "Several members of the pharmaceutical and testing
- laboratory sectors felt that if they had access to
- animals from the HPB (Health Protection Branch) colony,
- more sophisticated (and lucrative) testing could be
- conducted in Canada," the report stated.
-
- It is the superior quality of the Health Canada monkey
- colony, for research purposes, that makes potential
- commercialization attractive -- even in an era when
- public campaigns against the use of laboratory primates
- have driven many researchers toward using rodents or
- high-tech alternatives to animals for their experiments.
-
- The Ottawa colony's "unique nature and irreplaceability,"
- as the Health Canada report describes it, derives from
- the fact that the genetic history of the monkeys is known
- for two generations and that they are free of the herpes
- virus that infects much of the North American primate
- research stock.
-
- In 1991, a veterinarian at the Texas Primate Centre
- contracted a rare monkey herpes virus and died; a Health
- Canada scientist died in 1958 after he was bitten by an
- infected animal.
-
- The macaque or Cynomolgus monkey is also in greater
- demand than the widely available rhesus monkey because
- "cynos" are smaller and thus easier to house and control.
-
- "If made available to industry and universities on a
- larger scale than in the past, the HPB monkey colony
- could be an important element in the science and
- technology infrastructure of Canada," it noted.
- "Toxicological testing companies would have the ability
- to attract more lucrative contracts, and this in turn
- would contribute to the science base of the country with
- a concomitant positive impact on Canadian
- competitiveness."
-
- About 800 macaques are used annually for product testing
- in Canada, most purchased from primate suppliers in
- Texas.
-
- "The monkey colony in Ottawa is strategically located to
- the supply of these animals to industry and institutions
- located in Montreal and Toronto," says the report.
- "Several companies have expressed that the HPB colony
- would be their first choice supplier because of ease of
- shipping, less traumatized animals ready for test much
- sooner, and the fact that animals are of a much higher
- quality."
-
- Monkeys sell for between $1,000 and $4,000, depending on
- their state of maturity, and monkeys in their
- reproductive prime are the most expensive.
-
- William Leiss, the Queen's University professor who
- convened the expert panel on behalf of the Royal Society,
- said Health Canada officials recognize "they could cover
- their costs" by stepping up sales of monkeys. But he says
- the department turned to the expert panel partly because
- it is searching for better alternatives.
-
- "They don't want to do it," he said, but acknowledged
- that the panel could conclude that increased revenues
- from marketing of the monkeys would benefit taxpayers and
- help Canada maintain a valuable research resource.
-
- Stephanie Brown, an animal rights activist with the
- Canadian Federation of Humane Societies, warned that
- "trying to make a buck means producing a lot of animals"
- and risking the same kind of "glut" that appears to have
- developed in the U.S. market for chimpanzees.
-
- Ms. Brown, who recently sat on a Health Canada advisory
- committee examining the future of its animal resources
- division, slammed the notion of "approaching the future
- of the colony as an entrepreneur."
-
- Dr. Jim Wong, chief veterinarian with the Canadian
- Council on Animal Care and the man responsible for
- inspecting the living conditions of Health Canada's
- monkey colony, said the expert panelists -- and
- ultimately federal officials -- face an excruciating
- choice because of the financial pressures at the Health
- Protection Branch.
-
- "If I was doing a research project I'd want to eliminate
- as many variables as possible," he says, referring to the
- macaque colony's disease-free status and richly
- documented medical history. "That's why these animals
- would be highly desirable."
-
- But he says the animals are also expensive to maintain
- and "do you breed them for the sake of breeding them on
- the chance that there might be a buyer?"
-
- One of the leading U.S. authorities on lab animals,
- citing this week's recommendations on Amerian
- chimpanzees, says Canada should tread carefully before
- commercializing its primate colony -- for both economic
- and ethical reasons.
-
- "There's money to be made, but I doubt the market is that
- large," says Andrew Rowan, director of the Tufts
- University Centre for Animals and Public Policy.
-
- Mr. Rowan recently met with Health Canada officials, as
- they began to ponder the future of the colony, to provide
- advice on alternatives to animal research. He recalls
- that "there was a lot of tension in the room" because
- many of the scientists were concerned about losing their
- jobs should the monkey colony be disbanded.
-
- "My own preference is that we should look toward
- decreasing animals in research instead of looking for
- ways to promote it," he said. "The danger is that you can
- oversell one's need (for monkeys) in order to justify the
- maintenance of the population."
-
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- Copyright 1997 The Ottawa Citizen
- Ottawa Citizen Hit reload or refresh if you're not getting today's
- Online date.
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-
- [National - Ottawa Citizen Online]
-
- Thursday 17 July 1997
-
- Animal research: part of the price of good health
-
- Even scientists dedicated to ending animal testing admit
- facilities like Ottawa's primate colony will be needed
- for a long time, writes Sharon Kirkey
-
- Sharon Kirkey
- The Ottawa Citizen
-
- Skin substitutes and brain cells that can grow in Petri
- dishes are just some of the alternatives scientists are
- aggressively pursuing to reduce the need for using
- animals in research.
-
- But even the director of an organization dedicated to
- ending testing on animals doubts medical science will
- overcome the need for facilities such as Health Canada's
- colony of research monkeys -- at least in the foreseeable
- future.
-
- "I have to have as my goal that at some point in the
- future we won't be doing animal research," says Gilly
- Griffin, executive director of the Ottawa-based Canadian
- Centre for Alternatives to Animals in Research.
-
- "But I have to take a pragmatic view too. We still have
- big, big problems to solve. We haven't solved AIDS, we
- haven't solved neurodegenerative diseases, we haven't
- solved cancer," Ms. Griffin said.
-
- "We can do a lot of (research) in cellular systems, but
- at the end of the day you're still going to have to do a
- bit of animal research as well."
-
- A colony of 750 long-tailed macaque monkeys is poised to
- become the latest victim of federal government
- restructuring and downsizing. A Royal Society panel of
- scientists and philosophers has been appointed to
- determine, among other key considerations, whether the
- colony is "unique, valuable and necessary" to protect the
- health of Canadians.
-
- The monkeys cost the government about $1 million a year
- to maintain. That money comes from Health Canada
- emergency funds. The monkeys have been used in research
- into AIDS and herpes, to screen polio vaccines and to
- measure the effects of ingesting chemicals ranging from
- PCBs to caffeine.
-
- But just how much Canada -- and medical science
- researchers -- still need a monkey breeding colony has
- emerged as a key issue in the controversy.
-
- "What I'm hoping is that the Royal Society will have a
- good look at what kind of research is really necessary at
- this point using primates in Canada," said Ms. Griffin,
- who is also an information officer for the Council on
- Animal Care, which ensures animals used in research are
- properly care for.
-
- "I think that we should be looking less and less to using
- primates," Ms. Griffin said. "There is not much use for
- them in testing procedures any more, and in terms of
- research, who knows?"
-
- Researchers are moving away from using animals in
- experiments, not only because of pressure from
- animal-welfare activists but cost.
-
- Today, researchers are investigating alternatives that
- can stop compounds from ever reaching animals for
- testing, Ms. Griffin said.
-
- For example, researchers are using jelly-like substances
- for eye and skin toxicity tests. One such substance,
- called corristex, is being used to test materials for
- corrosiveness. Until now, these chemicals would have been
- tested on rabbit skin.
-
- Researchers are using a bacteria test to determine
- whether a chemical can produce a mutation that may lead
- to cancer.
-
- Previously, scientists had to test for those DNA
- mutations in animals.
-
- And scientists are working on different cell cultures to
- try to get brain cells, or neurons, to grow in Petri
- dishes the same way they would grow in animals.
-
- But while alternatives to animal testing like these are
- becoming part of mainstream science, researchers probably
- will never be able to completely simulate the human body
- "with a lab dish or computer, at least not in my lifetime
- or your lifetime," said a senior Health Canada research
- scientist, who asked not to be identified.
-
- "The proof in the pudding, as far as I'm concerned, is
- that you have to put the chemical back into the whole
- animal to see if it does react the way that things seem
- to be going on in the test tube."
-
- Thalidomide, the anti-morning-sickness drug that was
- banned worldwide in 1962 after causing severe birth
- defects in more than 12,000 babies, was never thoroughly
- tested in animals.
-
- "When it comes down to putting something into humans,
- whether it's a food additive or drug or an environmental
- pollutant, you have to go to an animal system to do some
- of your testing," the Health Canada scientist said.
-
- And no one knows what diseases or viruses lurk around the
- corner.
-
- The main reason monkeys are used in research is because
- they are so close to humans on the evolutionary ladder.
- The similarity of monkey AIDS to human AIDS has allowed
- the disease in monkeys to serve as a model for the human
- disease.
-
- If Health Canada were to close the monkey colony, "we
- would have to look at importing those animals again," Ms.
- Griffin said.
-
- Only about one of every 10 primates that are trapped and
- then transported for research survives -- one of the
- reasons the federal colony was put in place.
-
- "I don't want to see us going through getting (monkeys)
- from the wild again," Ms. Griffin said.
-
- "What I would like to see, and I hope this is what the
- Royal Society is going to do, is really give a good
- objective look at what research is actually being done,
- and what research is really necessary using primates in
- Canada."
-
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-
- Copyright 1997 The Ottawa Citizen
- Date: Fri, 18 Jul 1997 16:06:52 -0700
- From: Sean Thomas <sean.thomas1@sympatico.ca>
- To: ar-news@envirolink.com
- Subject: Monkey Business
- Message-ID: <33CFF70C.2F48@sympatico.ca>
- MIME-Version: 1.0
- Content-Type: multipart/mixed; boundary="------------74DE1F3A367"
-
- Sean Thomas, Co-Director
- Animal Action
- Ottawa Citizen Hit reload or refresh if you're not getting today's
- Online date.
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-
- [National - Ottawa Citizen Online]
-
- Thursday 17 July 1997
-
- Monkey business
-
- Panelists deciding fate of a $1M-a-year monkey colony
- will try to detach themselves from their evolutionary
- cousins, writes Charles Enman.
-
- Charles Enman.
- Ottawa Citizen
-
- A Royal Society panel will consider whether Health Canada
- still needs the colony of monkeys that it keeps at
- Tunney's Pasture.
-
- It costs $1 million per year to keep the 750 long-tailed
- macaque monkeys in captivity -- so the panelists will
- have to look, in part, at economic and bottom-line
- considerations, especially in a time of shrinking
- departmental budgets.
-
- Of course, these aren't goldfish or white rats -- they're
- monkeys, our furry evolutionary cousins. And some people
- think they therefore come with ties that bind.
-
- But do the five panelists think so?
-
- The Citizen spoke to three of them yesterday. Each said
- they care about monkeys but would not allow their
- feelings to savage the dispassion they must bring to the
- issue at hand.
-
- So you see, their feelings are avuncular, but there's not
- a monkey's uncle among them.
-
- The chair of the panel, Conrad Brunk, is a philosophy
- professor at the University of Waterloo.
-
- From childhood, monkeys have had some place in his
- imaginary universe.
-
- "As a small child, I had a fantasy of owning a monkey,"
- he recalls. "I loved to think about the organ grinder's
- monkey. And I loved to be read stories about monkeys."
-
- Did he feel an affinity for monkeys?
-
- "Obviously I did, and I think that's natural for humans.
- The behaviour of monkeys is so close to our own -- and
- especially close to the behaviour of children.
-
- "I think a child, seeing a monkey, will say, 'Here's a
- being that's very close to my own experience of the
- world.'"
-
- Mr. Brunk says the very closeness of primate
- consciousness and sensibility to the human "makes the
- whole issue of animal welfare and animal rights
- especially sensitive. Monkeys and other primates have a
- broader range of potential injuries and emotional
- reactions than lower animals.
-
- "Is the monkey feeling bored? Feeling confined? Maybe
- feeling deprived of certain kinds of activity natural to
- the species? These questions will have more impact on a
- monkey's consciousness than they would on a fish or
- chicken or rat."
-
- The very resemblance of monkeys and other primates to
- human beings means "we owe them the kind of treatment and
- respect that is very similar to what we owe ourselves,"
- Mr. Brunk said.
-
- The same treatment we give to children, say?
-
- "No, I wouldn't go that far. But there is a possibility
- that they could suffer in a way that, considering their
- evolvement, is simply unacceptable."
-
- Mr. Brunk said the committee will have to seek a
- consensus that represents not only the member's views but
- those of the Canadian public at large. For that reason,
- the public will be invited to submit its views on whether
- the government should maintain the primate colony at
- Tunney's Pasture.
-
- For Michael McDonald, director of the Centre for Applied
- Ethics at the University of British Columbia, the
- resemblance of monkey to man is incontestable.
-
- "Even as a child, seeing monkeys at zoos and circuses, I
- was fascinated to see how much they are like us --
- they're so social, they need lots of contact with their
- own kind.
-
- "Of course, they're our genetic kin, and many people
- would say they're in some ways our spiritual brothers.
- They have a more developed mental and emotional space
- that does recall the human being."
-
- Ethicists even see the beginnings of moral behaviour
- among monkeys, Mr. McDonald says.
-
- "They seem to develop something that looks like morality
- among themselves," he says. "There seems something
- altruistic in the way parent monkeys care for their
- offspring. And sometimes you see behaviour that looks
- like sacrifice for the sake of the group." An example of
- the latter could be the struggle a dominant monkey will
- engage in with intruders.
-
- "Is this really altruism?" Mr. McDonald asks. "Perhaps
- it's just something to preserve the dominance of the
- alpha male. But a great deal of primate behaviour seems
- to demonstrate that ethics may simply be an evolutionary
- adaptation to living with creatures of your own kind."
-
- Andrew G. Hendrickx, director of the California Regional
- Primate Centre at the University of California at Davis,
- has worked with monkeys for 35 years.
-
- Growing up on a farm in Minnesota, he never saw a monkey.
- But after completing university, he started working with
- them and was immediately fascinated.
-
- "And I'm still fascinated," he says. "Their intelligence
- and their emotional similarity to us has got to spark
- some degree of emotional connection.
-
- He says, however, that his "scientific objectivity is
- never clouded."
-
- The lab monkey's life is no dog's life, he's quick to
- point out.
-
- Lab directors now insist on "environmental enrichment
- opportunities" for their primate charges.
-
- Captive monkeys typically enjoy what Mr. Hendrickx
- compares to the jungle gyms that city parks provide for
- children. Monkeys used to be housed singly, but are now
- kept in groups to reduce loneliness. Mirrors are put up
- in cages so the monkeys can keep tabs on what their
- cohorts are doing.
-
- Captive monkeys also get excellent nutrition and medical
- care.
-
- "With the nutrition and the medical care and the
- enrichment, I would say the monkey in the lab is better
- off and probably happier than the monkey in the jungle,"
- Mr. Hendrickx says.
-
- Mr. McDonald says the committee will consider many
- options.
-
- Perhaps the colony should be maintained. Perhaps it
- should be sold piecemeal to other research groups.
- Perhaps the monkeys should be kept from reproducing and
- simply allowed to die out.
-
- Or perhaps the animals should be put down, though he
- doesn't like this last possibility.
-
- But Pierre Thibert, chief of the animal resources
- division at Health Canada, says no monkey is in peril.
-
- If it is decided to sell the monkey colony, a nucleus
- group might be sold intact to a research group in the
- United States or Canada. The others would be sold to
- other interested research institutions.
-
- "I'm quite sure there is no way we will be killing the
- animals," Mr. Thibert says.
-
- Monkeys sell for between $1,000 and $4,000, depending on
- their age. The most valuable are of reproductive age.
-
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- Copyright 1997 The Ottawa Citizen
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