Komputer for Alle 1998 #6/1998 CD 6 (Gul).iso/web/ffa/wwwenv~1.org/arrs/digest/news48~7.htm/text0008.txt

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>From The Electronic Telegraph - Sunday, August 3rd, 1997

Foxhunt grant slashed in purge on field sport
By Olga Craig

THE only State-funded fox hunts in Britain are to lose their Government grant.

The hunts, among 31 Scottish fox control clubs, were first given funding in
1970 under Harold Wilson's government.

But now they have been told by the Scottish Office that their ú67,000 grant
for next year and the foreseeable future is "suspended". The clubs,which
kill 3,500 foxes each year, were set up in response to demands for fox
control from sheep farmers and gamekeepers in the Highlands who were losing
hundreds of livestock each Spring.

Last year's money is still being paid as the the grants are given
retrospectively. Derek Tatlow, secretary and treasurer of the
Dochgarroch-based Three Straths Fox Control Association said  yesterday:
"For them to suspend the grant while we are incurring costs on the basis
that we are going to receive it is utterly intolerable."

Even with the Government funding, a club like the Three Straths still needs
to raise ú10,000 to ú12,000 each year. Some 30 surrounding farms and estates
subscribe.

Ian Graham, for the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to
Animals, although not "in agreement with the red-coat brigade", is a
committed supporter of the gun packs.

"I've seen a dog fox doing some terrible damage just for the hell of it
-maimed lambs, their backs broken, left living. It is not more cruel to
shoot a fox than to have lambs chewed up."

Those opposing the clubs claim the official estimates of losses of live
lambs to fox predation is no more than two per cent a year. Kevin Saunders
of The League Agtainst Cruel Sport believes that to call the clubs vermin
control is "basically a smoke screen for sport".

⌐ Copyright Telegraph Group Limited 1997.

Date: Sat, 2 Aug 1997 19:49:04 -0700 (PDT)
From: David J Knowles <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: [UK] BBC seeks parrot's voice made in heaven
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>From The Electronic Telegraph - Sunday, August 3rd, 1997

BBC seeks parrot's voice made in heaven
by John Capon


THE BBC is looking for a parrot that sings hymns to take part in a special
edition for pets of its popular Sunday programme Songs of Praise.

Efforts to find a theologically literate parrot have so far failed.
Researchers combed the archives of such television programmes as That's Life
and Pets Win Prizes - both noted for distinguished bird performances in the
past - but to no avail.

Diane Reid, the show's producer, remains optimistic. "We know that America
has a hymn-singing parrot," she said yesterday, "so we would like to hear
from anyone in Britain who has a pet with similar talents. You never know,
we could end up with a whole choir of feathered friends."

The team has already come up with some suitable titles for the polyphonic
polly, including In the Beak Mid-Winter and All Parrots That on Earth do
Dwell. Tweet is the Work, My God, My King and Dove divine, All Doves
Excelling might well be added to the list.

In the last series of her sitcom, The Vicar of Dibley, Dawn French organised
a pet service at her local parish church. But Songs of Praise stressed that
its programme had serious intent.

David Kremer, the executive producer, said he would like to interview
Christians who work with pets, including those responsible for guide and
hospice dogs and animals that undertake rescue work. Among the hymns already
chosen for the show are Christ, Whose Glory Fills the Skies, Give Me the
Wings of Faith to Rise and, of course, O For the Wings of
a Dove.

Last week, the BBC published a hymn book to complement the Sunday show. One
song it includes is If I were a Butterfly:

 "If I were a wriggly worm,
  I'd thank you, Lord, that I could squirm
  And if I were a crocodile,
  I'd thank you, Lord, for my great smile."

Many birds are mentioned in the scriptures - among them cuckoos, swans and
sparrows. But not the parrot. The bird's only connection may be that the
name of its distant cousin the parakeet sounds very like the name sometimes
given to the Holy Ghost - the Paraclete.

⌐ Copyright Telegraph Group Limited 1997.

Date: Sat, 2 Aug 1997 19:49:07 -0700 (PDT)
From: David J Knowles <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: [UK] Forestry hunt ban angers country set
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>From The Electronic Telegraph - Sunday, August 3rd, 1997

Forestry hunt ban angers country set
By Tim Reid and Greg Neale

THE Forestry Commission angered hunting enthusiasts and farmers yesterday by
enforcing a ban on using its property while it conducts a "major review" of
its policy.

On the first day of the fox hunting season, the Commission refused to renew
licences on its land while it decides whether to allow the practice to continue.

The Commission's decision brought an angry response from those who fear the
review may result in a permanent ban on the 84 hunts that ride Commission
land, which covers two and half-million acres of England, Scotland and
Wales. The move follows the National Trust's decision in April to ban deer
hunting on its land after a scientific report said the practice was
"unnatural and cruel".

A Forestry Commission spokesman confirmed: "In effect, it is a temporary
ban. We have been asked by ministers to review our position in relation to
hunting."

Janet George, of the British Field Sports Society, said the move was causing
considerable ill-feeling with hunters, and farmers whose land neighbours
Commission property.

"The decision is ridiculous," she said. "The Forestry Commission don't even
know which areas of their land they can or cannot legally ban hunting on."
She added that, because of the ban, the threat to livestock would soon be
great. "Farmers are going to become extremely angry over the increase in the
number of foxes preying on their livestock," she explained. "I believe it
will be only a short period of time before farmers take legal action against
the Commission for failing to control foxes."

The Farmers' Union of Wales condemned the move as "a bid to ban hunting by
the back door". A spokesman said: "We would have expected the Forestry
Commission to have waited for the outcome of the review before taking this
action."

Protesters from both sides of the hunting debate gathered throughout Britain
for the opening day of the fox hunting season. About 2,000 anti-hunt
protesters met in Hyde Park in preparation for a march to a rally in
Trafalgar Square. The protest, organised by a fringe group of the National
Anti Hunt Campaign, aimed to put pressure on the Government
to allow time for Michael Foster's anti-hunting Bill.

Tourists mingled with the supporters on the same grass where three weeks ago
more than 100,000 pro-hunting supporters gathered for the countryside rally.

But the march angered the RSPCA, League Against Cruel Sports and other
animal welfare groups, who said it was "unnecessary and confrontational".

John Bryant, a spokesman for the League said: "The London demonstration is
being organised by Niel Hansen, a man with a serious animal rights terrorism
record. We campaign peacefully."

Rory Knight Bruce, joint master of the Tedworth Foxhounds in Wiltshire, said
yesterday's small turnout was proof of a "dwindling interest in anti-hunt
protesting".

But Niel Hansen, the demonstration organiser, insisted: "We are very pleased
with the turnout."

⌐ Copyright Telegraph Group Limited 1997.

Date: Fri, 1 Aug 1997 20:36:36 -0700 (PDT)
From: David J Knowles <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: [UK] Deadline chaos at BSE abbatoirs
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>From The Electronic Telegraph - Saturday, August 2nd, 1997

Deadline chaos at BSE abbatoirs

FARMERS trying to beat a deadline on compensation payments for cattle
slaughtered under the anti-BSE programme have accused the Government of
causing chaos by cutting the number of abattoirs accepting the animals.

 A backlog of cattle has built up as farmers try to get animals slaughtered
before Monday, when compensation payments are due to fall by 11 per cent.
Farmers say the build-up is due to a cut two weeks ago in the number of
abattoirs accepting animals under the "over 30 months scheme" from 48 to 26.
But the Government says the abattoirs can handle the same number of cattle
and that capacity was increased by 20 per cent in anticipation of a rush to
beat the deadline.

Kevin Pearce, the National Farmers' Union senior policy adviser, said: "I
don't think there can be any doubt. The Government has done this to restrict
the number of farmers able to get their animals through under the existing
rates and force them to accept a lower rate. Farmers are furious."

Mr Pearce said that, along with cutting compensation, the new rules also
introduced weight restrictions, which meant some farmers were likely to
receive only ú323 per beast instead of ú900. Farmers keeping animals on
their farms while awaiting space at an abattoir were spending money feeding
them with no prospect of extra compensation for weight put on.

A spokesman for the Intervention Board, overseeing the scheme, said it was
"coincidental" that the new abattoir arrangements came into effect so close
to the payments deadline.

⌐ Copyright Telegraph Group Limited 1997.

Date: Fri, 1 Aug 1997 20:36:32 -0700 (PDT)
From: David J Knowles <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: [UK/US] Changing the species
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>From The Electronic Telegraph - Saturday, August 2nd, 1997

Changing the species

A genetic breakthrough in Baltimore raises profound ethical problems as well
as medical
hopes, discovers Aisling Irwin

LAST week a Baltimore scientist announced that he had overcome the key
obstacle to germline therapy. He warned a conference that, as a by-product,
it would now be easier to alter the genetic make-up of humans so that they
pass on their new characteristics to their
descendants.

Prof John Gearhart, of Johns Hopkins University, took human cells from an
aborted six-week-old foetus. The cells were a type known as germ cells,
which can be triggered to grow into any type of human tissue. Prof
Gearhart's achievement was to keep them alive, on the brink of specialising.

The medical implications are breath-taking. Soon scientists will, by adding
the correct human stimulants, be able to grow an inexhaustible supply of
heart muscle cells or blood cells to boost the failing tissues of the sick.

Trapped on the laboratory bench, the basic cells - known as stem cells - can
be tweaked with unprecedented precision. Scientists could knock out one of
the cells' genes, for example, and see how they develop without it.

The potential for abuse, therefore, is also breath-taking. "We can now alter
the germline of the human," Prof Gearhart says. "There is no question that
these cells have all of the properties that would allow us to do it. Always
in the back of everyone's mind is the issue of germline engineering. We
would not condone it."

Last week, Prof Martin Evans, of Cambridge University, said the work "did
not seem the right thing". "Many of us have decided that we were not going
to attempt to do this with human embryo cells, because it seems unethical."

Prof Evans made the first animal stem cell lines, which led to the
transgenic mouse. They now come in anything from fluorescent green to the
muscular Mighty Mouse.

If he wanted to - and if it wasn't banned by his university and by his
federal funders - Prof Gearhart could do the same with humans. The germline
alteration would happen like this: Prof Gearhart could insert a gene -
perhaps the one that makes a jellyfish glow - into the human cells he has on
his bench. He could then inject these altered cells into an
ordinary human embryo where, at that young stage, the embryo would welcome
them.

The resulting child - let's call him Bill - would be a "chimera". In all his
tissues, including his sperm-producing tissue, he would carry some ordinary
cells and some with the gene for glowing in the dark. Bill would fertilise
his partner's egg with a sperm of his that carried the gene for glowing. His
son, Ben, would then carry that gene in every cell. He and his descendants
would glow in the dark.

Other examples are more mundane. Prof Gearhart has been asked what he would
do if Bill, as an embryo, carried genes which destined him to develop cystic
fibrosis. Prof Gearhart could inject his stem cells, none of which would
carry the cystic fibrosis gene, into embryo Bill. Bill would grow up with
his cystic fibrosis cells diluted by the new ones, and his
symptoms would be milder.

Prof Gearhart's views are straightforward: germline therapy is wrong, the
other medical benefits are right. He insists that no one from the
conventional scientific world would try germline therapy, for fear of
ostracisation and out of ethical sensibility: "The pressures against doing
this would be tremendous."

He is more concerned that fringe groups might believe that germline therapy
was God's will. "The only laws that are on the books deal with federally
funded research," he says. "There are a lot of private donors out there who
would not bat an eyelid at putting money towards this kind of thing."

At the moment, formidable expertise is required to do what Prof Gearhart has
done, but the skills will become easier to acquire. Surely he could have
foreseen this and refrained from doing the research in the first place?

"I think that the benefits that would derive from this certainly dampened
ethical concerns I had about starting this work," he says.

⌐ Copyright Telegraph Group Limited 1997.

Date: Sat, 2 Aug 1997 12:25:39 -0700 (PDT)
From: [e-mail]
To: [e-mail]
Subject: SUNDAY PROTEST AT PRIMATE CENTER SET
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Aug. 2, 1997



Attention: Weekend Assignment Desks








Militant Activists Reveal
Major Protest, Disruption
Sunday at Primate Center

     SOUTHBORO -- Militant animal rights activists from throughout the Northeast
and other parts of the U.S. announced plans to protest and disrupt normal
activities here Sunday at a 12:30 p.m. demonstration at the New England
Regional Primate Research Center.

     Arrests and confrontation with police are expected.

     Similar protests in April at regional primate centers in California,
Georgia and Washington resulted in nearly 100 arrests, and the use of clubs,
tear-gas and concussion grenades by local and state police to stop the
demonstrations.

     Saturday, Rick Bogle, an Oregon educator, began a 9-day vigil at the New
England Primate Center. Bogle is planning vigils at all U.S. regional
primate centers (he has already done vigils at the University of Washington
and University of Oregon primate facilities). He takes along with him a
number of stuffed monkeys, what he calls his "ape army."

     At twin news conferences held Friday in Boston and Saturday in Southboro,
New England Primate Center critics charged Harvard researchers have engaged
in controversial research projects, which appear to be fraudulent and
examples of "double-dipping" into precious U.S. research monies (a copy of a
report critical of the primate centers is available by contacting either of
the contacts below).
-30-
Contact: Steven Baer [phone] or Cres Vellucci [phone]





Date: Sat, 2 Aug 1997 12:25:43 -0700 (PDT)
From: [e-mail]
To: [e-mail]
Subject: 4 arrested at Dallas Circus
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 2, 1997




4 Arrested, Attacked As Activists Protest
Ringling Brothers Circus Saturday

     DALLAS -- Four people were arrested here -- and attacked by circus
employees -- Saturday morning shortly before noon as dozens of militant
animal rights activists picketed the Ringling Brothers/Barnum & Bailey
Circus at the Reunion Arena.

     The four are being held at the Frank Crowley police station in Dallas. They
were arrested as they sat down at the ramp where animals were being led into
the arena. More than a dozen activists earlier blockaded the entrance to the
circus. More than a dozen supporters are now holding a vigil at the jail
until the 4 are released.

     The demonstration was sponsored by Dallas' newest animal rights group --
Animal Liberation/ Texas. ALT was joined by activists from Austin from
Animal Liberation Alliance.

     Animal rights activists have met the circus in more than a dozen cities
this year, from Philadelphia and New York to San Francisco and Denver, and
several times it has led to arrests of protestors who have trespassed.

     ALT activists are opposed to circuses because the animals are exploited,
and tortured -- elephants are clubbed repeatedly and trainers often burn the
feet of other "performers" -- in order to "teach" them to do tricks. After
their time as circus animals, they are either killed or sold into "slavery"
of entertainment parks or zoos. ALT also believes that circuses do not need
animals to be entertaining -- that trapeze artists and clown amuse and
entertain, without the exploitation of nonhuman animals.
-30-

Contact: Lydia / Animal Liberation-Texas / [phone]



Date: Sat, 02 Aug 1997 22:44:46 -0400
From: allen schubert <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (US)Mansfield family opens heart, home to injured baby deer
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from Dallas Morning News www.dallasnews.com :
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
                      Mansfield family opens heart, home to injured baby
                              deer

                       08/02/97

                       By Ivica Profaca / The Dallas Morning News

                       MANSFIELD - You know the story, at least the
                       Disney version.

                       A hunter's bullet leaves young Bambi motherless in
                      a hard, cruel world. With the help of his forest
                       friends, the fawn eventually grows into a
                       confident, wise buck. A tale of unthinkable
                       columnists   tragedy and unfaltering optimism.


                      The fawn who Don Praeger keeps in his back yard -
                       the one who roams his living room and relaxes in
                       his son's bedroom - was found along Interstate 35
                       and the Red River near the Texas-Oklahoma border,
                       his right front leg crushed.

                       Nearby, probably hit by the same car, lay his
                       lifeless mom.

                      The couple who found the fawn about 10 days ago
                       were on their way from Oklahoma to the Texas
                       coast. They put the injured deer in their vehicle,
                       detoured and dropped him off at the Arlington
                       Humane Society.

                       Mr. Praeger, executive director of the Humane
                       Society, and a handful of volunteers took the
                       orphan fawn to the Arkansas-Browning Animal Clinic
                       in Arlington. There, Dr. Mac Todd, a Humane
                       Society veterinarian, surgically repaired the
                       deer's leg, which required inserting a stainless
                       Park Cities  steel pin.

                       Today, the prognosis is encouraging: With the help
                       of his friends in Mansfield, this Bambi, too,
                       could grow into a handsome buck.

                       "We all feel like Bambi's mother," said Mr.
                       Praeger's wife, Jeannie. "I wish we could keep him
                       small, but he is going to be a wild deer."

                       Mrs. Praeger lost out in the name game. She wanted
                       to call the baby deer John Doe. Her husband
                       preferred the more traditional Bambi.

                       Earlier this week, Bambi's limp was noticeable and
                       the surgery scar visible, but he managed to stand
                       on his injured leg and walk, sometimes even
                       hopping.

                       Bambi has grown fond of the Praegers' hospitality
                       and all the attention that's been heaped on him.
                       His favorite spot is in the middle of Donnie
                       Praeger's bed.

                       "Bambi changed my whole perspective on deer
                       hunting," said the Praegers' 22-year-old son.
                       Although he's never shot one, he said, he will
                       never go deer hunting again after meeting Bambi.

                       The fawn has helped himself to Mrs. Praeger's
                       asparagus in the backyard garden. And he's nibbled
                       on the plastic flowers on the living room table.

                       "He is very inquisitive," Mr. Praeger said.

                       So are the Praegers' neighbors. "We have people
                       bringing their kids over here to see the deer,"
                       Mr. Praeger said.

                       Bambi's rehabilitation will be a long process, Mr.
                       Praeger said. It will be six months to a year
                       before he can be left totally on his own, he said.

                       "He is just a baby and hasn't got a mother to show
                       him what to do and what not to do, and protect
                       him," Mr. Praeger said. "Our volunteers have to
                       fill that gap. He couldn't survive without
                       people."

                       For the first couple of days after Bambi's
                       surgery, the recovering fawn stayed at the Country
                       Acres Kennel in Arlington, a pet hotel owned by
                       Mr. Praeger that also serves as a Humane Society
                       facility.

                       Bambi, however, wasn't happy. So Mr. Praeger made
                       him a guest at his Mansfield spread.

                       "He was too nervous because of all the dogs, so we
                       thought this would be a little bit quieter for
                       him," Mr. Praeger said.

                       Bambi will stay with the Praeger family until this
                       weekend, when they will move him to the Arlington
                       Humane Society's Large Animal Facility between
                       Mansfield and Burleson.

                       "That will be a sad day for all of us," said Mrs.
                       Praeger, a Humane Society volunteer.

                       Mr. Praeger said Bambi will stay at the
                       large-animal facility until the leg heals
                       completely.

                       "Then we will rehabilitate him into the wild,
                       probably at Joe Pool Lake, or some other place
                       where there is no hunting," Mr. Praeger said.

                       "I would hate going through all this and then have
                       him get shot."

                       When he matures, he won't be the lovable, big-eyed
                       Bambi his surrogate family has come to know and
                       love.

                       "Give him another five or six months," Mr. Praeger
                       said, "and you wouldn't like to be around him.

                       "He will be dangerous."

Date: Sat, 02 Aug 1997 02:42:38 -0400
From: allen schubert <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (US) Tuna-Dolphin Bill Sent to Clinton
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from AP Wire page:
--------------------------------------------
 07/31/1997 21:22 EST

 Tuna-Dolphin Bill Sent to Clinton

 WASHINGTON (AP) -- Congress sent President Clinton a bill Thursday that
 could allow tuna caught with large nets that also trap dolphins to be
 sold on grocery store shelves.

 The tuna-dolphin bill, a controversial issue in Congress for several
 years, was cleared for the president's signature after the House accepted
 a Senate compromise acceptable to the White House and many environmental
 groups.

 A bill passed 99-0 by the Senate on Wednesday would lift a 1990 embargo
 on imports of tuna from the Eastern Pacific, where the nets can scoop up
 dolphin with the fish.

 The House version passed in May would have immediately given the new
 imports the ``dolphin-safe'' label, but the Senate altered that to give
 the Commerce Department until March 1999 to study the fishing procedure
 before making a preliminary ruling on whether the label could apply. A
 final ruling by the commerce secretary would be due by Dec. 31, 2002.

 Rep. Wayne Gilchrest, R-Md., a sponsor of the House bill, said that if
 ``the scientific study shows that there is no stress as a result of
 encirclement, and other problems with the dolphins don't arise ... then
 the label will reflect that dolphins can be released without harm in the
 process of encircling tuna fish.''

 Rep. Randy ``Duke'' Cunningham, R-Calif., another House sponsor, said he
 didn't agree with everything in the Senate bill, but he and others in the
 House ``agree that in the best interest of the country and the safety of
 the tuna-dolphin that it would be good to pass.'' He said Clinton ``has
 lobbied strongly for this bill and will sign it.''

 The problem of dolphins swimming with schools of tuna occurs mainly in
 the tropical eastern Pacific Ocean. The 1990 embargo was imposed after
 the huge encircling purse-seine nets were blamed for the deaths of
 hundreds of thousands of dolphins a year. Since then, however, techniques
 have been introduced that are safer for the dolphin.

Date: Sat, 02 Aug 1997 02:48:18 -0400
From: allen schubert <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: US Urged To Save Asian Elephants
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from AP Wire page:
----------------------------------
 07/31/1997 15:02 EST

 US Urged To Save Asian Elephants

 By DARLENE SUPERVILLE
 Associated Press Writer

 WASHINGTON (AP) -- A proposal to spend up to $25 million to conserve
 Asian elephants could go a long way toward saving them from extinction, a
 House subcommittee was told Thursday.

 ``It is clear that active intervention is necessary,'' Mary Pearl,
 executive director of the Wildlife Preservation Trust International told
 the House Resources panel on fisheries, conservation, wildlife and
 oceans.

 Pearl, other backers of animal protection and an Interior Department
 official who urged passage of the bill said federal dollars could help
 attract much-needed private funding for programs to help the mammals.

 Two decades ago, Asian elephants -- also known as Indian elephants --
 numbered more than 75,000 across south and southeast Asia where they are
 mostly found. But loss of habitat, capture and other threats have reduced
 the population to fewer than 45,000 worldwide, witnesses said.

 ``The situation is urgent,'' Pearl added.

 A bill by Reps. Jim Saxton, R-N.J., chairman of the House Resources
 subcommittee, and Neil Abercrombie, D-Hawaii, would create a special
 elephant fund in the Treasury Department similar to existing programs on
 behalf of African elephants and rhinoceroses and tigers.

 It would authorize up to $5 million per year over five years to finance
 conservation programs approved by the Interior Secretary.

 ``Unless immediate steps are taken to conserve this magnificent animal,
 it will surely continue to disappear from much, if not most, of its
 traditional habitat,'' Saxton said.

 The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the American Zoo and Aquarium
 Association, the World Wildlife Fund and Feld Entertainment Inc., parent
 of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, also endorsed the bill.

 Asian elephants have a relationship with humans that dates back 5,000
 years when they were first captured and trained for use in religious
 ceremonies and war and as draft animals.

 Today, it is the species seen most often in zoos and circuses.

 ``Given the many perils facing Asian elephants, it is clear that the time
 is right to support efforts to preserve this important species and its
 habitat,'' said Andy Ireland, senior vice president of Feld
 Entertainment.

Date: Sat, 02 Aug 1997 02:31:25 -0400
From: allen schubert <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (US)Egg Industry Touts New Research
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from AP Wire page:
----------------------------------
 08/01/1997 17:27 EST

 Egg Industry Touts New Research

 By CURT ANDERSON
 AP Farm Writer

 WASHINGTON (AP) -- A national ad campaign this summer seems to claim the
 last word on eggs and cholesterol: ``More studies say eggs are OK,'' it
 declares, over a picture of a pepper-and-mushroom omelette.

 The advertisement continues: ``The conclusion: If you're healthy, go
 right ahead and enjoy your eggs. Your cholesterol will probably stay
 about the same.''

 Nutritionists caution, however, that people with cholesterol problems --
 and certainly people with heart disease -- should still be careful about
 how many eggs they eat.

 Sweeping generalizations are unwise, because cholesterol in the diet
 affects people of all ages and health statuses differently, cautions
 Wahida Karmally, director of nutrition at Columbia University's Irving
 Center for Clinical Research.

 ``Some people's blood cholesterol will go up, and some people's won't go
 up,'' Karmally said. ``It is definitely less potent in raising blood
 cholesterol than saturated fat. But we cannot just bypass cholesterol
 altogether, because it does have an impact on some people.''

 Adds Bonnie Liebman of the consumer group Center for Science in the
 Public Interest, who's critical of the industry ads: ``Less impact does
 not mean trivial impact.''

 Since the mid-1960s, when studies first detailed the damage that
 cholesterol can do to arteries, the egg has been the most familiar symbol
 of the substance.

 It has suffered accordingly.

 The average person ate 320 eggs a year in 1967; today that's down to
 roughly 237 a year. The American Heart Association recommends that people
 limit consumption to four egg yolks a week, and says some people at risk
 of heart disease shouldn't eat them at all.

 Take Leon Rothenberg, a 78-year-old retiree who lives in Chevy Chase, Md.
 He's heard of the new research but said he's sticking to his doctor's
 recommendation that he eat no more than two eggs a week.

 The ad campaign, which has run widely on television and in print, is
 based on a University of Arizona analysis of 224 studies conducted since
 1966 involving more than 8,000 people.

 The analysis found that for most people, high-cholesterol foods such as
 eggs have less impact on dangerous cholesterol in the bloodstream than
 foods high in saturated fats.

 Other studies have reported similar results, but none involved so many
 people over so long a time.

 ``It dispels long-held myths about what foods will and won't increase
 their risk for coronary heart disease,'' said Wanda Howell, the
 University of Arizona nutrition professor who published the study this
 year.

 In scientific terms, the study concluded that one egg with 215 milligrams
 of cholesterol will increase cholesterol in the blood by about 4.5
 milligrams per deciliter of blood.

 Because the average American, each day, eats about 205 milligrams of
 cholesterol per deciliter of blood, eating an egg would increase that
 level by about 2 percent.

 ``It is basically unmeasurable,'' said Donald McNamara, executive
 director of the industry's Egg Nutrition Center.

 Some critics allege that McNamara has a conflict of interest in promoting
 the study because he helped put it together.

 McNamara, a colleague of Howell's at the University of Arizona, is listed
 as co-author. He left to take the Egg Nutrition Center job in April 1995,
 after the study was completed but not yet published.

 In addition, the Egg Board provided $36,000 for the study, about 40
 percent of its total money.

 In answer to such criticisms, McNamara noted the findings are consistent
 with other studies and that most of the work examined by the analysis was
 not financed by the egg industry.

 ``We went through a rigorous review,'' he said.

 But the ad campaign still makes some claims that trouble other nutrition
 experts, as do letters McNamara has circulated to hundreds of doctors
 contending the study ``raises important questions regarding the
 appropriateness of an across-the-board ceiling on cholesterol for the
 entire population.''

 The ad campaign was approved by the Agriculture Department, which also
 publishes guidelines recommending that people try to control cholesterol
 in the diet. The agency says the ads were reviewed before release by a
 panel of scientists and by the Food and Drug Administration.

 Olivia Tulay, who came to Takoma Park, Md., from Liberia six years ago,
 said eggs are a dietary staple in her homeland, but she restricted egg
 consumption after reading about cholesterol in this country. After seeing
 the new ads, she's begun eating more eggs.

 ``It has just come back to what I knew before: that eggs are good for
 you,'' Ms. Tulay said.
Date: Sat, 2 Aug 1997 11:07:15 -0400 (EDT)
From: [e-mail]
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Hunting Broadcast Network on AOL
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>

Upon clicking on what's "hot" and "new" on AOL, lo, and behold, I found HBN,
or Hunter's Broadcast Network. Also included is HOGG, Hunter's Online Gourmet
Guide. There's a disgusting photo of a man and animal he's killed, and they
have a contest to name the caption.  (Any ideas???)

This network is full of information on anything from big game hunting to
hunting places, etc. in every state.

-- Sherrill (I'm writing AOL about this.)
Date: Sun, 3 Aug 1997 01:18:30 +0000
From: "Miggi" <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: [UK] - McDonalds In A Pickle Over Nazi Maps
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT

>From BBC Ceefax Page 124 (2/8/97)
MCDONALDS IN A PICKLE OVER NAZI MAPS
 Fast food chain Mcdonalds is in a pickle over a marketing ploy in
Austria which features placemats with a map of the country as devised
by Adolf Hitler.
 McDonalds said it had wanted to highlight the beef producing regions
of Austria on its paper mats.
 But the maps seven district divisions instead of the current nine
matches Hitlers plans for Austria in 1938.
 A company spokeswoman called the blunder "an unfortunate
coincidence".

Date: Sun, 03 Aug 97 19:23:47 PDT
From: "BHGazette" <[e-mail]>
To: "AR News" <[e-mail]>
Subject: No mail
Message-ID: <[e-mail]822>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="ISO-8859-1"; X-MAPIextension=".TXT"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable

Allen:  Sorry to post this to the list (I'm unable to send mail
directly to you(????)).  I haven't received any AR-news since
Friday am.  Can you help?
Thanks,
JD
Bunny Huggers' Gazette

Date: Sun, 03 Aug 1997 13:43:23 -0500
From: L Grayson <[e-mail]>
To: ar-news <[e-mail]>
Subject: Where is the news?
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

I have not received any posts from ar news for two days
What is happening
Liz
Date: Sat, 2 Aug 1997 07:55:25 -0400 (EDT)
From: [e-mail]
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Cat Set on Fire
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>

(Tulsa World, Tulsa, OK USA): A stray cat that was set on fire last month got
a good home Friday, only one day after he was put up for adoption.

Garfield, a 2-year-old orange tabby, recuperated at the Tulsa Society for
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals after he was attacked July 4 by someone who
poured lighter fluid over him and then lit it, director Marcia Stone said.

The cat's ears had to be cropped an inch because of his burns, so TSPCA
officials thought it might be difficult to find someone to adopt him.

But that didn't matter to his new owner, Margaret Moon, who decided to adopt
Garfield without even seeing the cat after she heard about him.

"They kept warning me before they brought him out that he wasn't pretty," she
said.
"That's not important, though. I just love animals and wanted to give him a
good home."

Garfield was a stray who hung around the Creekside Apartments because some of
the residents fed him.

The morning of July 5, a woman in the apartment complex found the cat at her
door and saw that he had been shaved and severely burned on his back, Stone
said.

Animal cruelty investigator Jack Powell has been working on the case, but so
far he has not determined who burned the cat. Powell and society officials
believe it was probably teenagers on the Fourth of July.

"We think they may have even used Roman candles on him," Stone said.

The TSPCA took in Garfield and gave him medical attention. Although his ears
were damaged, he is in good health, Stone said.

"He should be angry at all of us who walk on two feet, but he's not," she
said. "He's just a sweet guy."


-- Sherrill

Date: Mon, 04 Aug 1997 10:24:21 +0800
From: jwed <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (CN) Wildlife dealers
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

China Daily 4th August 1997.
Chinese companies importing or exporting wildlife and related products will
have to register with wildlife protection administrations at the provincial
level by the end of this year. The move is part of efforts to control the
wildlife import and export business and to curb excessive trading in
wildlife, said a recent circular issued by the Endangered Wild Fauna and
Flora Import and Export Administration Office. Companies that fail to
register by the deadline will have their licences suspended or revoked. In
Beijing, about 200 companies have filed applications.
Date: Sun, 03 Aug 1997 00:30:10 -0400
From: David Rolsky <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Minneapolis, MN: 6 Arrested at Mall of America
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

August 2, 1997


6 Anti-fur Activists
Arrested at Mall of America


MINNEAPOLIS - Six anti-fur activists were arrested today for criminal
tresspass in front of Macy's inside the Mall of America during a peaceful
demonstration.  This comes after Judge Nordby's decision of July 24th,
wherein he ruled that the Mall of America is public property and that all
First Amendment rights apply inside the Mall, as they do on all public
property.

Both police and mall security were advised of this fact by the protesters
but chose to continue the arrests anyway.  The Mall claimed that they were
appealing Judge Nordby's decision, but this claim is likely to be false.
Judge Nordby actually ruled in favor of the Mall by not dismissing the
tresspassing charges against Freeman Wicklund and others from a previous
demonstration.  It is not possible for the victor in a legal dispute to
appeal that decision.

Activist David Rolsky, who chose, with several others, to leave rather than
be arrested, stated "that the Mall has now clearly violated our
Constitutional rights.  We're confident that all charges against those
arrested will be dropped and we will keep exercising our rights until
Macy's and all the other stores in the Mall stop selling death for profit."
Date: Tue, 5 Aug 1997 01:06:54 +0800 (SST)
From: Vadivu Govind <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (CN) MEAT ALLERGY
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"



>The Straits Times
2 August 97

MEAT ALLERGY: Chinese doctors had found a village populated by people with
an allergy to meat.

     Ten per cent of the 650 people of Xiguo in Miyang county of Henan
province had     been stricken by serious illness since 1981 after eating
meat, and many others vomited     or felt dizzy when they smelled it.

     Specialist medical teams have been sent to the village as the
phenomenon appeared to     be getting worse. -- AFP.

Date: Tue, 5 Aug 1997 01:07:22 +0800 (SST)
From: Vadivu Govind <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (SG) Breaking the Meat Habit
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"




>The Straits Times
2 August 97

IT LOOKS like mutton, smells like mutton and even tastes like mutton.

     But it is actually mushroom stalks masquerading as meat and thousands of
     Singaporeans are going for this dish and other vegetarian items
disguised as curry     chicken, pipa duck, fish and even steamed frog legs.

     While there is no precise figure, sources in the food industry think
that there are several     thousand of such vegetarian food-lovers.

     They say that meat-free dishes are not only as tasty as real meat, but
also healthier as     they have no cholesterol and are low in fat.
Some mock meats are made from soya bean, which is first soaked in water to
soften it.     It is then blended and mixed with softened mushroom stem.
Seasoning is added later.     Other mock meats are made from gluten.

     For mock chicken dishes, mushroom is used in place of the bird as it
has a similar     smell. To make it taste like the real thing, the chef adds
liquid ginger, sesame oil,     pepper, sugar and salt.

     Such items are being created by modern Chinese vegetarian restaurants
here to     introduce the fare to non-vegetarians.

     To suit diners who crave something different from the simpler fare of
yesteryear, chefs     have to whip up innovative dishes.
Mr Lee Mun, 39, the chef and owner of Nanking Court, explained why
creativity is     essential these days. "It is hard for meat-eaters to be
weaned from eating meat, so we     try to lure them gradually by letting
them try mock meat dishes in our vegetarian menu,"     he said.

     Once they have tried and like the taste, he hopes they will return for
these dishes as     well as others.

     Mr Lee became a vegetarian himself for pragmatic reasons -- he wanted
his vegetarian     customers, particularly the Buddhist monks, to have
confidence in his cooking since he     was a true vegetarian like them.

     He opened his restaurant at Kallang Road four years ago. He was a chef
for 21 years     at various restaurants before setting up his own business.
Mock-meat dishes are not the only items offered by the vegetarian eateries.

     At Nanking Court, they comprise only 60 out of 200 vegetarian dishes.
They make up     about half the menu at Grand Court, a buffet-style outlet
at Orchard Shopping Centre.

     On the other hand, some places like Lingzhi Vegetarian Restaurant at
Orchard Towers     offer only a sprinkling of mock-meat dishes as they
prefer to serve a "purer" form of     cuisine.

     There are apparently two schools of thought on the practice of serving
vegetables     posing as meat, according to Dr Wong Weng Fai, president of
the management     committee of the Buddhist Research Society here.
One camp contends that mock meat is not meat in essence, whatever
animal-like shape     and taste it may take, he says. But the other school
-- the purists -- shun it because it     resembles meat.

     Pure vegetarians (the "vegans") do not eat meat, fish, poultry, eggs or
dairy products.     But those who do eat egg and dairy products are also
considered vegetarians, or     "lacto-ovo-vegetarians".

     Some "pure" vegetarian restaurants even forbid customers to bring in
meat items, such     as hamburgers.

     Besides Chinese and Indian vegetarian restaurants and stalls, another
place that sells     vegetarian fare is Organic Paradise at Orchard Point.
It offers meals made from     organic vegetables imported from Australia,
which are said to be free from pesticides and chemicals.

     Daily set meals include organic bran rice sets which comprise brown
rice, soup and     four oganic vegetables.

NEXT SECTION
Some vegetarian dishes too fatty

     DISHES prepared by Chinese vegetarian restaurants here are not as
healthy as their     supporters make them out to be, according to a
government expert.

     Mrs Tan Wei Ling, director of the Food and Nutrition Department of the
Ministry of     Health, said: "They are usually higher in dietary fibre and
have no cholesterol, but they     tend to have more added fat, salt and
seasonings which are used to enhance the     flavour.

     "Generally, vegetarian cuisine in Chinese restaurants could do with
less fat and oil."

     However, she added that the fat content depends on preparations and
cooking     methods.

     She said deep-fried mock meats are relatively high in fat. For
instance, fried vegetarianduck has 10.1 g of fat (for each 100-g portion),
in addition to 4.4 g of saturated fatty     acids, 4.2 g of mono-unsaturated
fatty acids and 1.1 g of polyunsaturated fatty acids.

     She added that, generally, well-planned vegetarian diets can be
healthy, and studies     have shown that vegetarians normally have lower
risks of degenerative diseases, like     heart disease, certain forms of
cancer, hypertension and diabetes mellitus.

     A vegetarian diet that also includes both dairy products and eggs can
be nutritionally     adequate.

     But a vegan diet, which excludes all animal products including dairy
produce and eggs,     will be lacking in vitamin B12 and is commonly low in
iron and zinc.

NEXT SECTION
Business of eating vegetarian is now worth millions

     CHINESE vegetarian restaurants have become a multi-million-dollar
business, just like     their Indian counterparts.

     The Chinese cuisine differs from Indian as the latter uses garlic and
shallots (small     onions) while the Chinese do not.

     The dishes in the Indian eateries are curry-based while the Chinese
ones use little curry.

     Five years ago, there were fewer than 10 Chinese vegetarian outlets.
Today, there are     between 20 and 30.

     They normally do not use eggs and dairy products, and serve no alcohol.
They also do     not use onions and garlic as some customers find them to be
"heaty", explained Mr Lee     Mun of Nanking Court.
The chefs and managers of several Chinese vegetarian establishments report
that     business had grown substantially in recent years.

     For instance, three restaurants in the city area said business has
increased 50 to 60 per     cent since they opened.

     Lingzhi Vegetarian Restaurant was started six years ago, while Grand
Court opened     three years ago at Orchard Shopping Centre and Dragon Park
opened at Mosque     Street, Chinatown last December.

     Mr Lee said his Nanking Court has seen a 40 per cent jump in business
since it opened     in 1993, although it is located outside the central area.

     Business at Hongkong Bodhi Vegetarian Restaurant in the Upper Thomson
area has grown by 20 to 30 per cent since its opening five years ago.

     Prices of dishes at these places range from $5 to as much as $40.

     Customers include professionals, housewives, students, tourists, and
Indian and     Chinese Buddhists, including monks and nuns. A few
restaurants, which have halal     certificates, also have Muslim customers.

     There are basically three kinds of customers in Chinese vegetarian
restaurants. These     include Buddhists and the health-conscious.

     An example is administration officer Sophia Sim, 28, who turned totally
vegetarian four     years ago for health reasons.

     "I had acne problems and used to spend $120 a month on facials, but it
was no help. I finally gave up meat for a vegetarian diet and now my acnes
have vanished," she said,     adding that she rarely catches colds or flu now.

     She patronises Nanking Court. "I like the restaurant's mutton curry
which is totally like     real mutton curry, though the meat is actually
mushroom."

     Another full-timer is Mr Jivai Khiani, 42, an Indian businessman who
frequents     Nanking Court and Lingzhi.

     He follows the teaching of a guru in India who advocates a vegetarian
diet and no     alcohol. He eats in both Indian and Chinese restaurants.

     The next are the part-time vegetarians. These include Buddhists who go
vegetarian on     the first and 15th days of the Chinese month.
Finally, there are the occasional vegetarians. These are people who eat such
dishes for     a change.

NEXT SECTION
Three kinds of customers

     1Full-time vegetarians
     These include Buddhists and the health-conscious.

     She patronises Nanking Court. "I like the restaurant's mutton curry
which is totally like     real mutton curry, though the meat is actually
mushroom."

     Another full-timer is Mr Jivai Khiani, 42, an Indian businessman who
frequents     Nanking Court and Lingzhi.

     He follows the teaching of a guru in India who advocates a vegetarian
diet and no     alcohol. He eats in both Indian and Chinese restaurants.

2Part-time vegetarians

     These include Buddhists who go vegetarian on the first and 15th days of
the Chinese     month.

3Occasional vegetarians

     These are people who eat such dishes for a change.

Date: Tue, 5 Aug 1997 01:05:53 +0800 (SST)
From: Vadivu Govind <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Land use in Rwanda
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"


>The Straits Times
 4 Aug 97


PARK HOMES: The Rwandan government has approved a plan to reclaim about
 two-thirds of the country's largest national park in a bid to resettle
thousands of
 Rwandans who have returned to the country over the past three years.

     Agriculture Minister Augustin Iyamuremye said under the plan about
one-third of     Akagera National Park, which is along Rwanda's eastern
border with Tanzania, would     remain a conservation area. The rest would
be for human habitation and for agriculture     and livestock. -- AFP.

Date: Tue, 5 Aug 1997 01:05:35 +0800 (SST)
From: Vadivu Govind <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: McDonald's map of Austria matches Hitler's
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"


>The Straits Times
4 Aug 97

Oops ... McDonald's map of Austria matches Hitler's

     VIENNA -- Fast-food chain McDonald's Austria is in a pickle over the
design of its     place-mats which feature a map of the country as devised
by Nazi dictator Adolf     Hitler.

     McDonald's told Die Kurier daily that it had wanted to show Austria's
beef-producing     regions on the paper mats. Coincidentally, the mats'
division of Austria into seven     districts, instead of the current nine,
matches exactly Hitler's plan for the country, which     he annexed in 1938.

     A spokesman for the advertising agency Heyer & Partner, which devised the
campaign, said the map was drawn by someone unfamiliar with the Austrian
borders, so some provinces were joined together to simplify the design.

     "We certainly don't want to provoke anyone with the theme of the Nazi
era," he said.     McDonald's Austria said it would remove the mats from its
75,000 outlets immediately.     -- Reuter.


Date: Tue, 5 Aug 1997 01:05:27 +0800 (SST)
From: Vadivu Govind <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (JP) Tigers kill couple
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Tigers kill couple

>Asahi Shimbun
4 Aug 97

TOMIOKA, Gunma Prefecture--An elderly couple was mauled to death by Bengal
tigers Saturday at a safari park, but the husband was able to save their
baby grandchild, police reported.

While the safari park continued to operate Saturday with an additional
guard, police were investigating to determine if there was any negligence on
the part of park operators, they said.

According to police, 64-year-old Tokuji Terayama and his wife Hanako, 60,
died at a nearby hospital after they were attacked by the tigers.
A tiger attacked the woman as she left her vehicle carrying her three-month
old grandchild, who had been crying in the car. She was trying to carry the
baby to his mother in another vehicle, in which her husband was also riding.

Tokuji got out of the car when he saw his wife being mauled, and managed to
spirit their grandchild to safety before he too was attacked and mauled by
another tiger.

The couple was attacked in an area where safari visitors are prohibited from
leaving their vehicles.

Kunihiko Takahashi, an executive with the safari park, said that he was very
sorry about the tragedy.
But he added that he would not have expected anyone to get out of a vehicle.

A son of the elderly couple who was with them at the park said that they
didn't know there were tigers in that particular area and had not seen any
warning signs.

Date: Tue, 5 Aug 1997 01:08:27 +0800 (SST)
From: Vadivu Govind <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (SG) Cockatoos 'kept in cramped, dirty conditions'
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"



>The Straits Times
2 August 97

Cockatoos 'kept in cramped, dirty conditions'

     THE cockatoos found in a small cage in a Rangoon Road hardware shop
were in such     distress that they were huddled in a corner of the cage and
squawking.

     Their feathers were broken and their cage was filled with faeces and
stale food.

Magistrate Wong Choon Ning heard this yesterday in the trial of Lawrence
Kuah Kok     Choon, 23, who is accused of keeping cockatoos and gibbons,
which are protected     animals, in his shophouse in July last year. The
Primary Production Department found     23 cockatoos and two gibbons in
cages when it raided the shop last year, the court     heard.

     Jurong Bird Park curator Ken de la Motte, who was with the PPD team
when the     birds were seized, described the state of 10 White-tailed Black
cockatoos found in a     small cage.

     "It was unhygienic. There was old food and it was built up with
faeces," he said,     replying to questions from Deputy Public Prosecutor
Serene Wong.

He said the birds were in poor condition and thin.

     When asked to describe the sounds they made, he said: "I have worked with
     cockatoos for so many years that I can differentiate (the sounds). So
when I look at a     bird I can tell if it's stressed."

     When cross-examined, he said the cockatoos were kept in a single cage.

     But defence counsel N. Sreenivasan produced photographs the PPD took
during the     raid, which showed the birds in two cages.

     He asked: "Do you agree that the photograph does not show 10 White-tailed
     cockatoos in one cage?"

     "Yes," said Mr de la Motte.
Kuah faces five charges of keeping the birds, which are protected under the
Endangered Species Act, and another two, of keeping gibbons without a
permit, under     the Wild Animals and Birds Act.

     The maximum penalty for keeping an endangered animal is a fine of
$5,000 and a     year's jail. For keeping a wild animal without a permit,
the maximum penalty is a fine of     $1,000. The trial continues on Monday.

Date: Tue, 5 Aug 1997 01:04:58 +0800 (SST)
From: Vadivu Govind <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Eat less and have sex to live to 100
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"


See comments on vegetarian diet.

- Vadivu
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Singapore newspaper
>Sunday Plus (Part of The Sunday Times)
3 August 97

Eat less and have sex to live to 100
Professor Zhou Yimou's research
     on longevity comes from Han-dynasty
     records. Picture by Chew Seng Kim.


     Man should live up to between 120 and 170 years old. Professor Zhou
Yimou from     China tells you how. LEONG WENG KAM reports.

THE secrets that might help you live a century or more are out: Stop eating
when your     stomach is three-quarters full, do more good deeds for others
and make sure you have     a normal, healthy sex life.

     Chinese health expert Professor Zhou Yimou recently gave this
prescription for long life     to about 200 people at two talks.

     He said he had culled the secrets from Tang dynasty (618-907) herbalist
Sun Simao's     books called Qian Jin Yao Fang (Prescription Worth A
Thousand Taels Of Gold).

     Prof Zhou, 63, from the Hunan Chinese Medical Health Institute, said in
an interview     that he believed many more people could live to be more
than 100 years by following     the advice in the book, which was written
more than 1,000 years ago.

"In fact, the natural lifespan of man should be between 120 and 170 years,"
he said.

     But now, centenarians are rare finds. In China, which has a population
of more than     one billion people, there are only about 6,000 who are at
least 100 or older.

     He blamed this on unhealthy habits, such as an unbalanced diet and
over-eating.

     Prof Zhou started doing research into the Chinese secrets of longevity
after a     Han-dynasty tomb called Ma Wang Dui was unearthed in Changsha,
Hunan province,     in 1972.

     Medical books containing the secrets of a healthy long life were also
found there. The     professor is the president of an institute set up in
Changsha to advance the research on     them.
According to Prof Zhou, the Chinese started writing about healthy living and
longevity     as early as the Spring and Autumn period (770-476 BC).

     Sun Simao, the Tang-dynasty herbalist, had collated the findings of his
ancestors into     two famous books, Qian Jin Yao Fang, and later Qian Jin
Yi Fang (The Alternative     Prescription Worth A Thousand Taels Of Gold).

     They are considered to be cornerstones of Chinese medical science
today, especially in     relation to the use of herbs.

     Prof Zhou compiled Sun's principles on healthy living and longevity
into a book about     three years ago. While his advice may seem common
sense to most, he said few follow     it.
For example, most still over-eat, not knowing that when the body system
fails to digest     the extra food, it will only cause harm to the body.

     Summarising Sun's nine-point secrets to a long, healthy life, he said
the first is the     importance of a good living environment where there are
plenty of trees and mountains     and clean water.

     "If we drink clean water and breathe in fresh air all the time, we will
be healthy     naturally," he said.

     Next, people should keep to a regular pattern of living, including
sleeping hours and     meal times in order not to upset the "biological
clock" or rhythm of the body, he said.

He said that at least four hours of sleep is needed each night but not more
than 10     because overdoing it will have an adverse effect on the state of
mind.

     Turning to food, he said a proper diet involved the right balance of
acidic and alkaline     content.

     There must also be enough protein, fat, minerals, carbohydrates and
water in it. Protein     from meat, he explained, is also important.
Therefore, a person who is on a strictly     vegetarian diet will not eat as
healthily as someone who also takes meat, he said.

     Sex and regular physical exercise also help to promote healthy living.

     "Sex is a natural physical need, and suppressing it will cause
psychological harm to     both mind and body," said Prof Zhou. "But too much
of it is also harmful."
Next, he touched on high moral values and longevity. He said a person with high
morals, who often does good to others, is naturally happy and therefore
stands a better     chance of a longer life.

     On the other hand, he said, a person who is evil often lives in fear
and guilt and cannot     be happy.

     Also important is the need to be moderate in one's feelings and
emotions. Extremes in     emotions can be very harmful.

     Prof Zhou emphasised that prevention is better than cure. He advised
that people at     any age should turn to the doctor for the slightest ailment.

     He said the elderly should continue to learn new things as they grow
old if they want to grow even older.

     He said: "Two years ago, I read in the papers in China that Singapore's
Senior Minister     Lee Kuan Yew at 72 had started learning to use the
computer. I was very impressed     and feel that this great leader who is
still working at this age will surely live a long life."

RELATED
A man revered as the God of Longevity

     SUN SIMAO was a Tang-dynasty herbalist who spent a lifetime learning
the secrets of     special herbs and the medical benefits that could be
reaped from them.

     He lived more than 1,000 years ago and wrote many books on the herbs
and their     cures and on the secrets of healthy living and longevity.

     Two of his books, Qian Jin Yao Fang (Prescription Worth A Thousand
Taels Of     Gold) and Qian Jin Yi Fang (The Alternative Prescription Worth
A Thousand Taels Of     Gold), are now classic Chinese medical texts.

     According to Professor Zhou Yimou, from the Hunan Chinese Medical
Health Institute     in China, the young Sun was a sickly child but became
quietly determined to discover     cures for his illnesses.
A man revered as the God of Longevity

     SUN SIMAO was a Tang-dynasty herbalist who spent a lifetime learning
the secrets of     special herbs and the medical benefits that could be
reaped from them.

     He lived more than 1,000 years ago and wrote many books on the herbs
and their     cures and on the secrets of healthy living and longevity.

     Two of his books, Qian Jin Yao Fang (Prescription Worth A Thousand
Taels Of     Gold) and Qian Jin Yi Fang (The Alternative Prescription Worth
A Thousand Taels Of     Gold), are now classic Chinese medical texts.

     According to Professor Zhou Yimou, from the Hunan Chinese Medical
Health Institute     in China, the young Sun was a sickly child but became
quietly determined to discover     cures for his illnesses.

Date: Mon, 4 Aug 1997 14:49:53 -0400 (EDT)
From: [e-mail]
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (US) Oklahoma Greyhound Breeding Business
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>


According to Oklahoma City news:

               Welcome to Greyhound Heaven

Greyhound trainer Gerald Languell of Blair, Ok. has some interesting
news for the rest of the world.  "Believe it or not, southwestern
Oklahoma is the greyhound capital of the world," according
to Mr. Languell. (Greyhound racing is not legal in Okla.)

He would bet most wouldn't believe it.  But it is close to the truth
according to the National Greyhound Association.  "Oklahoma is one
of the biggest breeding states in the country," said Mr. Gary Guccioni,
the association's executive director.  "It's probably in the top
three or four."

Laugell and others say that southwestern Oklahoma is a training
paradise for greyhounds for three reasons:  the warm climate, the
vast amount of land and the sandy soil.

"The sandy soil is easy on their feet, and it builds up their muscles.
This part of Okla is really perfect for training greyhounds.  From Sayre
on down, it's basically saturated with dogs" said Earl Inman who is
a trainer living in Sayre, Ok.

Laguell credits Alva Flynn of Mangum, Ok. as one of Oklahoma's
pioneering greyhound trainers.  "In 1945, Alva brought in the
first greyhound when he paid $300 for one, an unheard of price
back then.  Everyone thought he was crazy," said Languell.

Practice tracks soon popped up everywhere.  Languell lives a
short distance from six different tracks.  Good trainers can earn
anywhere from $100 to $120 per month to house and train one
greyhound.  The dogs they train then move on to places such
as Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.

According to Languell "It's a big business out here.  A lot of money
goes into supporting a racing greyhound, like money for feed,
etc.  For a lot of people out here, raising greyhounds is their
sole income."

                                       For the Animals,

                                       Jana, OKC



Date: Mon, 4 Aug 1997 14:50:41 -0400 (EDT)
From: [e-mail]
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (US) Oklahoma Greyhound Trainer Problems (Part 2)
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>


   Guccioni said such conflicts are uncommon in the greyhound
industry.
  "Out of roughly 5,000 greyhound owners across the country
registered with the NGA, we have to investigate roughly six people
a year," Guccioni said from his Abilene office.
   The dispute seems to be heating up.
   The group required Brown to transfer all greyhounds out of her
name by July1.  Brown still has 60  dogs housed at her kennels.
  "We plan a return visit to her farm shortly," Guccioni said.  "She
wasn't supposed to have any dogs in her possession after July 1,
and that already hasn't happened.  I'm sure that won't play too
favorably at her appeals hearing in Oct."
   The Beckham and Washita county sheriff's departments received
complaints the dogs were being abused, but neither dept. found
evidence supporting the complaints.
   "In Okla. I would be within my legal rights if I wanted to get a bulldozer
kill all my dogs and toss them into a ditch," Brown said.  "They
are my livestock.  I can do what I want with them.  But I would never
do that."
  "I am on the verge of bankrupcy because I chose to liquidate my
assets to feed those dogs rather than let them starve."
   Texan John Musslewhite claims to have videotape of six greyhounds
he left in Brown's care from October to March that tells a different
story.
   "I can't say I saw any dead dogs," Musslewhite said.  "But on that
tape, those dogs look like they had never been fed.  She claims they
were poor eaters.  Yet when I picked them up..they ate like they
had never eaten before.  She cheated those dogs out of a racing career."
Musslewhite complained to the national group which has since reviewed
the tape.
   Brown said Musslewhite's dogs were sick.
   "Even some of the locals have turned on me now," said Brown.
"I came here four years ago as outsider with the sole purpose of
raising and training greyhounds.  I basically started out with 20 dogs
and in two years, I was up to 429 dogs.  There were people who had been
doing this the past 20 years who weren't as successful."
   "Now at the first signs of trouble, these people are circling like
vultures.  I've had people call up and threaten my life.  I had someone
toss a dead goat in my front yard.  It got so bad, I slept with a
loaded gun because I feared for my life.
   "But I am not going to let those people push me anymore.  I am
fighting back."

                                                  For the Animals,

                                                   Jana, OKC
Date: Mon, 4 Aug 1997 14:51:09 -0400 (EDT)
From: [e-mail]
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (US) Oklahoma Greyhound Trainer Problems (Part 1)
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>


This article appeared in today's Oklahoma City news..Greyhound
racing in Oklahoma is illegal but the greyhound business is
thriving..this article is in two parts because of length:

     Greyhound Trainer Target of Industry investigation

CARTER,Ok.: Greyhound trainer and owner Shella Brown says she
is a victim of malicious allegations, an unethical National Greyhound
Ass (NGA) and numerous death threats.
  Brown's detractors in the greyhound industry allege she is a con
artist who has swindled thousands of dollars from clients and callously
starved their dogs.
  The greyhound ass. expelled Brown earlier this year and its officials
claim to be conducting an investigation into allegations she is abusing
dogs at her Cottonwood Creek Farm nine miles east of Carter.
  Brown denies those allegations. In October, she will get a chance
to clear her name at an appeals hearing in Abilene, Kan., at the
association's headquarters.Until then she is prohibited from business.
"The NGA actually has no legal authority, but they have an enormous
amount of pull in the greyhound industry," she said.
  "They have sent out letters telling people that if they deal with me,
they will be shut down too.  I have people in the business who support
me but are afraid to come forward.  I don't blame them.
  "It is my opinion the NGA is doing everything in its power to put me
out of business so i don't have the resources to fight them."
   Brown claims her problems began last yearwhen client Mary
Graham of Lousiana repeatedly missed her monthly payments on 238
greyhounds being housed and trained at Brown's farm.  Brown said
the payments eventually stopped and at a $90 a month fee per dog,
the expenses mounted very quickly.
  "That's when i first went to the NGA," Brown said.
   The greyhound group executive director, Gary Guccioni, says his org.
"loaned" Brown $2,500 to help care for Graham's dogs.
Ass. officials also ordered both Brown and Graham to appear at a hearing
in April.  The group's board voted to ban both from dealing in greyhounds.
Graham and Brown are now battling each other as well as the
greyhound association.
  "I have checks and receipts totaling over $147,000 I paid Shella, plus
a $4,000 vet bill," Graham said.  "I didn't even have the no. of dogs
she claims I had there.  There were no more than 130 of my dogs
in her care at any given time.  She's not telling the truth."
  Fallout from the Brown-Graham hearing could leave the greyhound
industry with a black eye, Graham believes.
  "The NGA is not going to be truthful about all this," Graham
claims.  "If all this stuff comes out about the NGA, it could be
disastrous to the industry.  They do whatever they want to do.
In the past, no one has challenged them because everyone said
they are too powerful...Over the years they have cost me over a million
dollars because of the things they have covered up."

                                        For the Animals,

                                        Jana,OKC
Date: Mon, 4 Aug 1997 15:31:00 -0400 (EDT)
From: [e-mail]
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Fur Updates
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>

The Beaver Butchery Bill, which would have legalized the snare for beaver
trapping in NY, is now dead.  The session ended without the bill progressing
to the floor.  It could be brought up again come January when the next NY
legislative session begins.

Evans is taking over the fur salons at Bloomingdales.  Revillon had the
salons but wants to focus on their freestanding stores.  They reportedly want
to open up a new shop in San Francisco.

Evans had received a $27 million line of credit, and probably used that to by
out these salons.  If sales don't go as planned this could be a disaster for
Evans.  However, Bloomingdales reported something like a 28% increase in fur
sales last year, and it will take a lot of campaigning to reverse that trend.
 This can be done if activist groups would agree to focus more on dept.
stores, as this is where all the major furriers do their business.

The EU may not allow Russian lynx into their member countries anymore.  This
is a result of concern over the health of the wild populations of this
species.  This would not effect Canadian lynx.

For more fur news subscribe to the quarterly publication Inside the Fur
Industry.  IFI costs $18 for a one year subscription and contains updates on
the fur trade that aren't available anywhere else.

Coalition to Abolish the Fur Trade
PO Box 822411
Dallas, TX 75382
Date: Mon, 4 Aug 1997 16:00:01 -0400 (EDT)
From: [e-mail]
To: [e-mail]
Subject: National Trappers Association Credit Card
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>

The National Trappers Association has a credit card available to their
members, courtesy of MasterCard and MBNA Bank.  When an NTA member uses one
of these cards, a percentage of the profits is donated to the NTA for use in
promoting fur trapping.

MBNA has felt some pressure for this but not nearly enough.  Please spread
this action alert on to everyone you know.  We need activists to call and
demand that MBNA cancel this line of credit cards.

The phone number to call is 1-800-441-7048.

Please pass this message on to everyone you know.

Coalition to Abolish the Fur Trade
PO Box 822411
Dallas, TX 75382
Date: Mon, 04 Aug 1997 08:33:17
From: [e-mail]
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Yerkes Infects 2 More Chimps with Virulent HIV Strain
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

In Defense of Animals
131 Camino Alto, Suite E
Mill Valley, CA  94941
415-388-9641 (voice)
[e-mail] (email)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

   YERKES INFECTS TWO MORE CHIMPS WITH VIRULENT STRAIN OF HIV

Potential Impact on Other Chimps Questioned in Light of National
Academy of Sciences Report Calling for Expanded Use of
Chimpanzees in Research

     Atlanta, Georgia (August 4, 1997)--Researchers at the Yerkes
Regional Primate Research Center have infected two chimpanzees,
Tika and Manuel, with the same mutant strain of HIV that resulted
in the suffering and death of a chimpanzee named Jerom, In Defense
of Animals (IDA) announced today.  In the Fall of 1995, Yerkes
researchers transfused Jerom's blood into another chimpanzee,
Nathan, who quickly developed low white blood cell counts.  Other
researchers at the University of Alabama-Birmingham have also
injected Jerom's virus into chimpanzees.

     According to the May 1997 Journal of Virology, the virus found
in Jerom's blood is a new mutation--dubbed "HIV-1 (JC)"--that is
especially virulent in chimpanzees.  HIV-1 (JC) is different from
the three strains of HIV that Jerom had been exposed to.

     In a report issued last month, the National Academy of
Sciences (NAS) called for increasing the use of chimpanzees in
research.  The report stated that because of the current high cost
of using chimpanzees, which can include user fees of up to $65,000,
the federal government should subsidize such research, "thereby
making the chimpanzee model more accessible to investigators and
substantially increasing its use" (page 84).  The report also
repeatedly refers to chimpanzees, who share 98.4% of human DNA, as
a "resource."

     "Why is Yerkes infecting more of our closest genetic cousins
with a mutant virus that does not even exist in humans?" asked IDA
Research Director Eric Kleiman.  "Jerom suffered tremendously, and
for what?  So that Yerkes could claim that Jerom's case proves what
we've known for years -- that HIV causes AIDS?  Is that why Yerkes
infected Tika and Manuel with a virulent virus that will probably
cause them excruciating suffering?"

     "Will dozens more chimpanzees suffer the fate of Jerom,
Nathan, Tika and Manuel because the National Academy of Sciences
has called for increasing the use of chimpanzees by making it
cheaper with federal subsidies?" he continued.  "Is this the kind
of experimentation that NAS wants to expand in animals who create
and use tools, teach their children, have their own dialects in the
wild, and whose intelligence and complexity so closely parallel our
own?"

     Jerom's suffering has been detailed by former Yerkes animal
caretaker Rachel Weiss, who personally cared for him during his
final months.  Jerom suffered from wasting, constant diarrhea, and
pneumonia, and was also placed in social isolation by Yerkes
researchers.  According to Weiss, at one point he was so severely
weakened by wasting that he had a difficult time holding his head
up.  Jerom would sometimes hang his head and sob quietly; other
times he would curl up in a fetal position on the floor.

     Ms. Weiss has also written about her relationship with Tika,
Manuel and Nathan.  Manuel has a light colored face with freckles,
and often swaggers about on two legs.  He also sits and hoos for no
apparent reason.  Tika is a "friendly girl" who loves to wash
things and spit on strangers.  Nathan had been quite friendly, and
often laughed, grinned, and held Weiss's hand.  However, his
friendly behavior evaporated after he was transfused with Jerom's
blood.  Weiss also states that Yerkes Director Dr. Thomas Insel
told her that, if Nathan developed AIDS, Yerkes had no plans to
treat him.  Insel explained that giving Nathan AIDS treatments
would interfere with the collection of HIV-infected tissues, and
that Nathan's comfort and well-being were not the primary concern
of the research.

     "Yerkes has claimed that Jerom did not suffer, but the facts
speak for themselves," concluded Kleiman.  "They are treating these
unique individuals as if they are little more than furry test
tubes--or a 'resource,' as the NAS panel repeatedly describes them.
This is simply appalling, especially considering the fact that
other researchers at Yerkes have helped prove just how complex
chimpanzees truly are by demonstrating their elaborate system of
social justice.  Approximately 200 chimpanzees have been infected
with HIV since the mid-1980s, and we still do not have a human
vaccine.  Enough is enough.  These unique animals should be
permanently retired, and no more chimpanzees should ever be invaded
with any human virus or disease."

     IDA is a national animal protection organization with over
65,000 members based in Mill Valley, CA.  IDA is currently
formulating a plan to permanently retire 144 Air Force chimpanzees
who once had been used to test the effects of space flight, but
since 1970 been leased out for biomedical experiments, including
AIDS and hepatitis.  IDA hopes that this sanctuary will be the
first step in creating a national retirement system for chimpanzees
currently in laboratories.

                              # # #

Date: Mon, 4 Aug 1997 13:47:44 -0700 (PDT)
From: Mike Markarian <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail], [e-mail],
        [e-mail]
Subject: Cruelty Officer asks for Injunction to Stop the Hegins Pigeon
  Shoot
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Monday, August 4, 1997

CONTACT: Heidi Prescott, 301-585-2591
         Katherine Meyer, 202-588-5206

ANIMAL CRUELTY OFFICER ASKS FOR INJUNCTION TO STOP HEGINS PIGEON
SHOOT

POTTSVILLE, Pa. -- Today, as part of a lawsuit that was filed in the Court
of Common Pleas of Schuylkill County in May, a Pennsylvania humane officer
filed a motion for a preliminary injunction to halt the Hegins pigeon shoot
scheduled for Labor Day. The plaintiff alleges that the pigeon shoot is
illegal under Pennsylvania's Cruelty to Animals law (Pa.C.S.A. 18 $ 5511).

"If the pigeon shoot is not halted before Labor Day, hundreds of violations
of the Cruelty to Animals law will once again be allowed to occur," declares
Katherine Meyer, attorney for the plaintiff. "Ripping the heads from
crippled birds, or leaving them to writhe in pain without food, water, or
veterinary care, is a clear violation of Pennsylvania law."

The plaintiff in the case is Officer Clayton Hulsizer of the Pennsylvania
S.P.C.A. He alleges that the defendant has violated Pennsylvania's Cruelty
to Animals law by (1) annually organizing a pigeon shoot in which thousands
of birds are wounded for entertainment purposes, (2) killing wounded birds
by tearing their heads from their bodies or by banging the birds against
barrels, and (3) leaving wounded birds unattended without food, drink,
shelter, or veterinary treatment.

At the Hegins pigeon shoot in 1996, investigators from The Fund for Animals
documented that about 77 percent of the birds released were wounded.
Investigators monitored 4,124 pigeons released, and documented that 566
pigeons (14 percent) were killed immediately; 2,642 pigeons (64 percent)
were wounded and retrieved by "trapper boys"; 532 pigeons (13 percent) were
wounded but not routinely collected by "trapper boys"; 384 pigeons (9
percent) escaped gunfire unharmed; and 3 birds were already dead when the
traps opened.

The Court of Common Pleas of Schuylkill County previously dismissed a case
against the Hegins Labor Day Pigeon Shoot, but on appeal the Superior Court
ruled that the trial court should have made "a factual determination of
whether the wounded birds are cruelly treated, or whether all reasonable
efforts are employed to dispose of injured pigeons in a non-abusive way."

Adds Heidi Prescott, national director of The Fund for Animals, "Pigeons are
animals, and it is illegal to abuse or neglect any animal. The Courts simply
must halt this massive, organized act of cruelty."

For a copy of the 22-page motion filed today, please call The Fund at
301-585-2591.

# # #

http://www.fund.org

Date: Mon, 4 Aug 1997 18:40:16 -0400 (EDT)
From: [e-mail]
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Please sign me off
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>



     Please take me off your ar-news subscription list.  I have enjoyed them
and appreciate your concerns.  At this time, I can't keep up, but will leave
the door open for a better time in the future.   Thank you very much.









                                                                   MaliaRenee
Date: Mon, 04 Aug 1997 19:48:00 -0400
From: allen schubert <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Admin Note:  subscription options
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

The usual reminder............

Here are some items of general information (found in the "welcome letter"
sent when people subscribe--but often lose!)...included:  how to post and
how to change your subscription status (useful if you are going on
vacation--either by "unsubscribe" or "postpone").
---------------------------------------------------------------

To post messages to the list, send mail to [e-mail]
POSTING

To post a *news-related item* (no discussions), send your message to:

     [e-mail]

Appropriate postings to AR-News include: posting a news item, requesting
information on some event, or responding to a request for information.
Discussions on AR-News will NOT be allowed and we ask that any
commentary either be taken to AR-Views or to private E-mail.
------------------------------------------

***General Subscription Information***
ALL THE FOLLOWING SHOULD NOT be sent to ar-news !!!
(send them to [e-mail])
For all commands, use a blank Subject line.
---------------------------------------------------

To request a digest version, send mail to [e-mail]
with the following single line:

     set ar-news mail digest

To switch back to immediate mail, and to get copies of *your* postings
also, send the following command:

     set ar-news mail ack

or the following to not get your own postings:

     set ar-news mail noack

To see how you are set up ***(and to see if you are still subscribed!)***, use

     set ar-news

To temporarily stop mailings, use:

     set ar-news mail postpone

To re-enable it, use ack, noack, or digest as above.

To unsubscribe, use:

     unsubscribe ar-news

or:

     signoff ar-news

If you have to subscribe again, use:

     subscribe ar-news first_name last_name   (use false name if you want!)

If you have problems, please contact:

     Allen Schubert
     [e-mail]


Date: Mon, 4 Aug 1997 16:55:44 -0700 (PDT)
From: David J Knowles <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: [UK] Foxhunters sabotage RSPCA by infiltration
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable

>From The Electronic Telegraph - Monday, August 4th, 1997

Foxhunters sabotage RSPCA by infiltration
By Hugh Muir

COUNTRY sports enthusiasts have infiltrated the RSPCA to sabotage its
opposition to hunting.

Internal estimates by the charity's officers and confirmed by the British
Field Sports Society indicate that a pro-hunt challenge to its anti-hunting
policy from within is gathering pace. Though normal membership has also
increased, the infiltration of more than 3,000 country sports enthusiasts
has so concerned senior RSPCA officials that they are exploring way of
excluding foxhunters or limiting their influence.

One option being considered is for the charity to require members to affirm
their opposition to "any activity which is considered by the society to
involve avoidable suffering to animals". Another would force new members to
wait five years instead of the current three before they can be elected to
the council.

Both suggestions have the support of the wider membership but have failed to
win the necessary approval from the Charity Commission, which has to agree
all major rules changes. The three working party members have been asked to
frame an argument which will convince the Commission to allow a ban on
foxhunters on the basis that hunting is
cruel and contrary to the society's objects. The working party will also
consider if efforts to resist the infiltration have been improperly hampered
by the Charity Commission and the society's own officers.

The RSPCA has 40,000 members and regards opposition to hunting as a tenet of
faith but fears a successful infiltration by committed pro-hunters  would
make that stance more difficult to maintain. The issue gained impetus last
month when Elizabeth Burton, a candidate endorsed by the pro-hunting lobby,
was elected to the society's ruling council. Roy
Forster, the chairman, whose candidature was supported by the country sports
lobby, was re-elected by a surprisingly high margin.

For its part, the country sports lobby sees membership as a way of moving
the RSPCA away from "animal rights" activism. It says greater emphasis
should be attached to traditional animal welfare, which would be compatible
with support for country sports. Dr Richard Ryder, a member of the RSPCA's
working party and a former chairman, said  "The infiltration seems to be
happening because foxhunters feel threatened by the anti-hunting Bill now
before Parliament.

 "As far as we are concerned, they have been able to achieve this level of
infiltration because of the advice we have received from the Charity
Commission that we were in no position to stop it."

Daphne Harris, another council member, said the nature of the society would
be changed by a greater influx of hunters.

Angela Walder, a former council member and chairman of the RSPCA branch on
the Isle of Sheppey, Kent, has threatened the Charity Commission with legal
action.

She said: "I find the whole thing completely crazy. I am sure Rachman
wouldn't have been allowed to join a housing charity. Why should hunters be
allowed inside the RSPCA?"

Pro-hunters have used circulars and articles in periodicals to alert
supporters to the need to join the RSPCA. There was a sustained push before
last month's annual general meeting. They have also lobbied the Charity
Commission advocating their rights to membership.

Mr Forster, a vet, was endorsed by the country sports lobby despite his
opposition to hunting because he is nevertheless viewed as a moderate. The
battle between the two sides is uncompromising. Among the  weapons being
wielded by the anti-hunt lobby is the transcript of a secretly taped
telephone conversation in which Peter Voute, executive director of the
British Field Sports Society, says the drive to win influence within the
RSPCA is a long-term one.

⌐ Copyright Telegraph Group Limited 1997.

Date: Mon, 4 Aug 1997 16:55:47 -0700 (PDT)
From: David J Knowles <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: [UK] New CJD strain kills mother
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable

>From The Electronic Telegraph - Monday, August 4th, 1997

New CJD strain kills mother

A MOTHER of four who lived on a farm estate has become the latest victim of
BSE-related Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease.

Susan Carey, 36, is the 21st person to die of the new strain of the brain
disease. Mrs Carey died at her home, near Rochester, Kent, in March, but
confirmation that she was killed by the new variant of CJD has just been
made at the National CJD Surveillance Unit in Edinburgh.

An inquest was opened into Mrs Carey's death five days after she died but it
was adjourned pending the unit's findings. It is expected to be resumed next
month.

One of the key questions to be considered at the inquest is whether the
infection could have occurred between 1985 and 1987 when her husband, Henry
Carey, was a farm worker on the estate of Lord Brabourne at Mersham, near
Ashford, where the Queen and other members of the Royal Family have been
regular visitors.

Ashford is at the centre of one of the biggest clusters of BSE-related
deaths in Britain. Mr Carey, 43, said: "Sue was our everything and we are
sad beyond words."

⌐ Copyright Telegraph Group Limited 1997.

Date: Mon, 4 Aug 1997 16:55:57 -0700 (PDT)
From: David J Knowles <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: [UK] China finds new pandas
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable

>From The Electronic Telegraph - Monday, August 4th, 1997

China finds new pandas

CHINA has found a new colony of about 30 pandas in forests in the
north-western region of Gansu, it was reported yesterday.

The endangered giant pandas were discovered during an exploration around
Diebu by the provincial wildlife preservation bureau, the China News Service
said. According to the forestry ministry, China has fewer than 1,000 pandas
living in the wild, separated into 20 small groups.

Beijing is reported to be planning about 14 reserves after placing the
animals under state protection in 1962. The panda is the country's mascot
and killing one is a capital offence.

⌐ Copyright Telegraph Group Limited 1997.


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