Komputer for Alle 1998 #6/1998 CD 6 (Gul).iso/web/ffa/wwwenv~1.org/arrs/digest/news46~9.htm/text0007.txt

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But when he lost his personal fortune following the collapse of his company,
he began living in a fantasy world and refused to admit that things were
going wrong, said Duncan Birrell, prosecuting. He told the court: "At one
stage Layland ran a successful business and maintained a string of horses.
He had employees to keep them in the best of health and he fully understood
the needs of the creatures he owned. But by February this year these horses
had suffered the same fate as his circumstances had changed. They were found
in squalid conditions hard to comprehend."

When police and officials of the Horses and Ponies Protection Association
(HAPPA) asked Layland about his cruelty, he falsely claimed that the animals
were poised to go to a new home on the estate of the Earl of Lonsdale in
Cumbria. The officers found 15 neglected horses and a yearling foal and
discovered the body of a dead horse under a pile of pallets.

Layland, 62, of Newsholme, near Gisburn, Lancs, admitted five offences of
failing to dispose of horse and dog carcasses and two offences of causing
horses unnecessary suffering. He also asked for nine other horse neglect
charges to be considered.

Mr Birrell said: "It is these animals' good fortune that they came into the
care of HAPPA. One of the association's officials described how she had
never seen such pictures of depression, dejection and unhappiness. So far it
has cost HAPPA ú26,000 to look after and rehabilitate these once-proud animals."

Michael Bower, defending, said of Layland: "He is not proud of what has
happened. He is ashamed. He maintains it was only for a short period and the
horses were to be moved to a new home."

Layland was fined ú200 for failing to dispose of dead animals, and was
ordered to pay ú10,000 compensation to HAPPA, which celebrates its diamond
jubilee this year.

Ken Cranage, chairman of HAPPA, said afterwards: "Cruelty and neglect knows
no social boundaries. Sadly, this sort of case means that this organisation
is now needed more than ever."

⌐ Copyright Telegraph Group Limited 1997.

Date: Tue, 15 Jul 1997 01:50:42 -0700 (PDT)
From: David J Knowles <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: [UK] 500 join last runway protest march
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>From The Electronic Telegraph - Monday. July 14th, 1997

500 join last runway protest march

TERRY Waite and Martin Bell, the MP for Tatton, joined about 500 campaigners
against Manchester airport's second runway yesterday for a last march
through the site before building work begins.

Residents of Mobberley in Cheshire and other nearby villages walked along a
footpath on the site of the ú172 million development before staging a rally.
Veteran campaigners were joined by families walking their dogs and a group
of "eco-warriors" who were evicted from camps on the site last month.

Mr Bell, who defeated the former Conservative MP Neil Hamilton at the
general election, said he was there to support his constituents. "I happen
to represent a lot of angry, upset and concerned people who believe the
runway is a terrible thing. When I fought the election campaign I supported
the decision on the runway, but since then I have learnt a lot about it."

Terry Waite, who was born in the nearby village of Styal, took part in
protests against the runway during the eviction of the protesters. "We will
continue to fight the building of this runway so I hope this will not be the
last time we can walk around here," he said. "We ask the Government to
review this decision and change their policy on air traffic." Mr Waite said
the matter had been referred to Europe because campaigners believed there
were irregularities in the way the project was developed.

Work was due to begin in the spring, but was delayed after protesters built
tunnels and treehouses at camps on the site in the Bollin Valley. The
eviction process took around four weeks.

Gaynor Trafford, who organised the march, said: "It is the last time we will
be able to see this part of the countryside before it is closed off and
becomes the second runway."

⌐ Copyright Telegraph Group Limited 1997.

Date: Tue, 15 Jul 1997 01:50:44 -0700 (PDT)
From: David J Knowles <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: [UK] Rabbits play nursemaid to ostrich chicks
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>From The Electronic Telegraph - Monday, July 14th, 1997

Rabbits play nursemaid to ostrich chicks
By David Brown, Agriculture Editor

PET rabbits have been recruited as nursemaids to comfort baby ostriches that
are hatched and reared away from their natural mothers.

Vets have found that the rabbits have a calming effect on agitated chicks
hatched from eggs and reared in nurseries to guarantee their survival. The
partnership has proved so successful that deaths and injuries from panic
attacks and stress have been reduced among ostrich chicks, which need to be
cosseted in the first few weeks of life.

In the fast-expanding world of ostrich farming, where every chick destined
to be farmed for meat for supermarkets and gourmet restaurants is worth
between ú50 and ú100, a huge investment is at stake.

Since the cost of providing round-the-clock care by attendants would be too
expensive and time-consuming, the rabbits are used instead.

Erica White, the hatchery manager at the West Bar Animal Hospital at
Banbury, Oxon, which rears about 700 chicks a year for ostrich farms, said:
"The chicks need a lot of attention. But they calm down and become less
stressed in the company of rabbits. They don't like being on their own. They
snuggle up to the rabbits, which comfort them and show them how to feed
themselves. It sounds silly, but before we used rabbits we had to make
beak-shapes with our hands to show the chicks how to peck at their food. It
was very time consuming."

Clive Madieros, the senior partner at the hospital and an expert on
ostriches, has written a guide to "ostrich chick bunny protocol" for fellow
vets.

He said: "Ostrich chicks and rabbits have a strong affinity for each other.
The rabbit acts as a 'dummy figure' for the ostrich chicks. The rabbit
effectively supplements the mother and considerably improves the welfare of
the newly-hatched ostrich chick."

Dwarf rabbits - either does or neutered bucks - are used in the first few
days of the chicks' lives. But Mr Madieros recommended that larger rabbits
be used as the chicks grow bigger and stronger. It is then that they start
to pester and bully their "foster mothers".

After five or six weeks, the chicks have learnt to fend for themselves.

⌐ Copyright Telegraph Group Limited 1997.

Date: Tue, 15 Jul 1997 01:50:46 -0700 (PDT)
From: David J Knowles <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: [UK] Outcry over swoops on 'black fish' suspects
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>From The Electronic Telegraph - Monday, July 14th, 1997

Outcry over swoops on 'black fish' suspects
By David Brown, Fisheries Editor

FISHERMEN accused the Government of harassment yesterday for actively
applying new controls against landing fish caught in breach of EU
conservation rules.

Police officers are accompanying fisheries inspectors when they swoop on
suspect vessels to try to reduce the number of illegal landings, which
affect half of all cod caught in the North Sea.

The "black fish" scandal has so angered the Government that it has drawn up
a tough plan of action.

Scottish Office officials have written to fishermen to tell them that they
not only face large fines, but EU and government grants worth tens of
thousands of pounds a boat will be refused or taken back.

Fishermen accused the Government of intimidation and harassment yesterday,
saying they needed the grants to modernise their vessels and keep up with
changing technology at sea. They also complained that British fishery
protection ships were monitoring them for many hours while they fish
normally. They said expensive obstacles had been put in the way of
skippers applying for licences to switch catching activities from one zone
to another around the British Isles.

The clamp-down was ordered by Elliot Morley, the fisheries minister, after
evidence from conservationists, fish wholesalers and some foreign fishing
interests that British boats have been landing huge quantities of cod,
haddock, plaice and other fish in breach of EU rules.

A report in The Telegraph disclosed that quotas had been routinely breached
on a huge scale for at least five years. Mr Morley described it as "a
national disgrace".

The tough stance is unlikely to help relations with the fishing industry.
Fishermen cited a recent incident at Fraserburgh, Scotland, as an example of
over-reaction. Police sealed off the harbour while fisheries inspectors
carried out a spot-check on a local fishing vessel which was unloading in
the early hours.

The police also accompanied inspectors when they boarded the vessel to check
its documents. They found everything in order. Fishermen say it is not
unusual for boats to unload at night. Landings are dictated by the tides and
the weather, they say, but conservationists argue that this is when "black
fish" are brought in.

George MacRae, secretary of the Scottish White Fish Producers' Association,
said yesterday that it was challenging the legality of removing grant aid.
One skipper with a previous conviction for black fish landings fears that he
might forfeit his grant of ú60,000.

The association, which represents 400 boats, has already protested to the
Scottish Office about the use of police officers. "Our members have a right
to go about their business without being harassed by police," said Mr
MacRae. "Fisheries inspectors have all the powers they need."

Fishermen's leaders claim that allegations of "black fish" landings are
exaggerated and unsubstantiated.

Mr MacRae said: "When anyone is asked to come forward and give proper
details of their allegations, they disappear like snow off the top of a dyke."

But the new action has been welcomed by fish merchants who say they lose
huge sums of money because illegal landings undermine demand and prices.
Fishermen claim that problems of over-supply have more to do with large
imports from the Faroe Islands and other countries which are bought by
processors.

Mr MacRae said: "We are starting our own inquiries into the true levels of
fish imports. We believe not enough attention has been paid to this problem
and that British fishermen have been made scapegoats with allegations of
'black fish' landings."

Mr Morley was unavailable for comment yesterday. But a spokesman for his
Fisheries Department said: "Black fish undermines quotas. It has to stop.
Regarding the alleged harassment of fishermen, this is simply a matter of
tighter enforcement of controls."

⌐ Copyright Telegraph Group Limited 1997.

Date: Tue, 15 Jul 1997 01:50:51 -0700 (PDT)
From: David J Knowles <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: [CA] Loggers increase levels of violence, refuse to debate
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
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VANCOUVER, BC - Members of the IWA, which represents most of British
Columbia's unionized loggers, and their supporters, continue to increase
their violence against enviromentalists protesting against clearcut logging.

In Bella Coola, where a nearby blockade by Greenpeace and other
environmental and native groups on King Island ended in the arrests of
several protesters, local pro-loggers have threatened and attacked members
of the Forest Action Network, smashed the windows of a local enviromentalist
and even desecrated the grave of an acctivists who died two years ago.

In Squamish, IWA members and their supporters mounting a blockade on a
public highway against the Western Canada Wilderness Committee, were
involved in a pushing incident with WCWC president Paul George.

Meanwhile, the town council in Port Hardy, on northern Vancouver Island,
have passed a motion which would deny providing municipal services to groups
which engage in, or state they are going to engage in, illegal acts.

Port Hardy Mayor Russ Hellberg says the motion applies to both Greenpeace
and other groups, including the IWA, but admits his heart lies with the
loggers. Asked by Vancouver Sun environmental reporter Larry Pynn if he
opposed the Squamish blockade based on his council's motion, Hellberg
replied that he did not, adding that there  is a dichotomy there.

- The IWA wimped out of two chances to debate the issues with Greenpeace
Monday.

Cooperative Radio 102.7 FM's 'Monday Brown Bagger' public affairs program
had planned a debate between a representative of the union and Tamara Stark,
a Greenpeace forest issues campaigner, but the IWA cancelled shortly before
the show was due to be broadcast.

The official reason was that they had no-one available due to "contract
negotiations" but they did manage to find someone available for another
radio show on CKNW. Brown Bagger host Don Norden noted that the real reasons
were they could not face the truth that the reason for job losses was
increased mechanization in the industry - not enviromental regulations, and
the fact they were now under the control of the logging companies.

The IWA spokesperson who appeared on CKNW did so on condition that he would
not engage in a debate with Greenpeace or other environmental activists.

David J Knowles
Animal Voices News

Date: Tue, 15 Jul 1997 01:53:35 -0700 (PDT)
From: David J Knowles <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: [EU] GREENPEACE CALLS ON EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT TO HALT
PATENTING
  OF LIFE
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
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>From The Greenpeace Press Release Server

GREENPEACE CALLS ON EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT TO HALT PATENTING OF LIFE


Brussels, 14 July 1997 -- Greenpeace is calling on members of the European
Parliament to put ethical, environmental and agricultural concerns over the
interests of big business and to
reject the European Commission's proposed directive on patenting, which is
up for debate in Strasbourg tomorrow (Tuesday). MEPs rejected a similar
Directive 1995.

Greenpeace believes that if approved, the Directive will be in direct
conflict with the European Patent Convention, which does not allow the
patenting of plants and animals. When national
governments try to implement this legislation, this will create a complex
and confusing legal situation.

In addition, the approval of such a directive would strongly influence the
GATT debate on International Intellectual Property Rights agreement (TRIPS),
to be reviewed in 1999. Until now, the European Union position has been that
TRIPS must allow for the exclusion of animals and plants from patenting.

"Not only is it a myth that European science or competitiveness has been
harmed by the lack of extensive patenting laws, the truth is that it is big
transnational biotechnology companies -
- and the United States -- who are pushing for this legislation and it is
they who will reap the benefits," said Greenpeace campaigner Benny Haerlin.

"These newly formed genetic engineering transnationals, such as Monsanto,
Novartis and AgrEvo simply want to knock out the competition and make even
more money by grabbing patenting rights all over the world."

Rather than encouraging wide ranging research, Greenpeace believes the
result of the Directive would be to prevent scientific collaboration and
free exchange of information.
Companies will claim exclusive monopoly rights on individual genes and DNA
sequences, thus preventing scientists from other companies carrying out
their own work in these areas.

World food supply relies on a few major crops -- the patenting of plant and
animal genes will narrow down their genetic diversity, harming the
environment and allowing a few companies
to control the markets. Farmers will find themselves at the mercy of the
owners of gene rights. Already farmers using the Monsanto roundup Ready
Soybean have had to sign carefully worded contracts, restricting their use
and requiring exclusive use of Monsanto pesticides..

"This new directive is unethical and anti-environmental," said Haerlin.
"Europe should take pride in defending values such as a respect for life and
genetic integrity and take a stand
against the greed of transnational corporations. We urge MEPs to follow
their strong lead two years ago and vote against this Directive."


Date: Tue, 15 Jul 1997 19:29:55 -0400
From: allen schubert <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (US) Raising Lobsters in North Dakota?
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(factory farming)
from AP Wire page:
----------------------------------
 07/15/1997 01:22 EST

 Raising Lobsters in North Dakota?

 By JOHN MacDONALD
 Associated Press Writer

 CARRINGTON, N.D. (AP) -- Think of lobsters and Maine probably comes to
 mind. But North Dakota? A researcher is raising a freshwater variety to
 see if they could help North Dakota farmers diversify.

 ``There's a tremendous market for them,'' said Brian Stange, a biologist
 at North Dakota State University's Carrington Research Extension Center.
 ``My gut feeling is that this could prove to be fairly profitable.''

 Inside one of the center's buildings, where researchers raise a fish
 called tilapia, Stange has been raising 30 young red claw lobsters since
 April. Their home is a converted plastic fertilizer tank, cut in half and
 filled with tires and old feed sacks for the crustaceans to hide among.

 The animals are actually large Australian crayfish. But they can be
 marketed as lobsters once they weigh at least 6 ounces.

 Stange's lobsters only recently began reproducing, and he expects to have
 several thousand young ones on hand in a few weeks.

 The goal of his study is to determine not only if the lobsters can be
 raised in North Dakota, but whether farmers -- especially those involved
 in other aquaculture projects -- would get a good return on their
 investment. So far, he said, results look promising.

 Stange said the popularity of red claw lobsters as a delicacy is growing,
 especially among trendy restaurants on the nation's east and west coasts.

 Red claw lobsters are not as large as the saltwater variety, but they are
 unique because of their vivid coloring. When young, they look like most
 other crayfish -- brown. But as they age, they turn a bright blue and the
 males develop red stripes on their claws.

 Stange hasn't tasted one yet, but said lobster aficionados have told him
 red claw lobsters are sweeter than their larger cousins.

 Consumer demand, Stange said, is much greater than the supply.

 ``Right now there's just one producer out in California who is marketing
 them to restaurants, and he's getting $20 a pound,'' Stange said. ``And
 he can't keep up. They're always wanting more of them.''

 Stange expects to eventually have 5,000 to 6,000 lobsters on hand, with
 about one-third of those ready for market.

 What makes them appealing as a potential income source in North Dakota,
 Stange said, is the low cost -- about $200 -- of getting into the
 business.

 Young lobsters cost about $1 a piece. As adults, the females produce
 thousands of offspring a year. They can be raised in a simple tank kept
 at a constant 85 degrees, the same temperature needed for tilapia.

 But there are some drawbacks. It takes about a year for the lobsters to
 reach the preferred market weight of about half a pound. They must be
 cared for daily through that entire time span.

 ``It's not for everybody, obviously,'' Stange said. ``But I think there
 are a lot of people who would consider it.''

Date: Mon, 14 Jul 1997 21:55:54 -1000 (HST)
From: Animal Rights Hawaii <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: the nature conservancy has murdered over 27,000 sheep on Santa  Cruz I
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>