Komputer for Alle 1998 #6/1998 CD 6 (Gul).iso/web/ffa/wwwenv~1.org/arrs/digest/news4~17.htm/text0006.txt

Text File | 1998-04-03 | 54.3 KB | 1,176 lines

>Hong Kong Standard
20 May 97

Asia faces eco-crisis warns bank

ASIA faces a nightmare future of chronic pollution, urban filth and
overpopulation unless governments overhaul their outmoded environmental
policies, the Asian Development Bank has warned.

``Without conscious shifts in environmental policy most of Asia will become
dirtier, noisier, more eroded, less forested and less biologically
diverse,'' said a report timed to coincide with the bank's 30th anniversary
and released at the bank's general meeting in Fukuoka, Japan.

But the bank warns the required reforms mean a level of investment too huge
to be absorbed by the public purse.

``Asia will pay even more dearly for environment negligence in the future
than it has in the past,'' it said.

The bank says US$245 billion (HK$1.91 trillion) will have to be spent every
year on the environment in 2025 compared to US$38 billion in 1995.

``If such an enormous investment requirement were to be funded wholly by the
public sector, this would pose intolerable fiscal burdens,'' the report says.

In order to cope, the methods of the market economy must be adopted along
with new anti-pollution laws and restrictions on pollutants, the report says.

And it advocates the privatisation of state concerns _ particularly in the
electricity industry.

Certain outmoded subsidies should also be abolished _ for example, water
subsidies which are direct contributors to wasting water, and also
contribute to the salination of the earth. And subsidies on fertilisers and
pesticides also increase pollution, says the report, the result of an
extensive study.

Governments in the region are often guilty of retaining responsibility for a
number of tasks, like waste collection or water purification, which are more
efficiently carried out by the private sector, the bank says.

Pollution already exacts a high economic price _ between 1 and 9 per cent of
gross domestic product in Asia, according to estimates.

It also has long-term consequences which cannot be easily translated into
figures _ for example for the health of people living in the Asian region.

Overpopulation and population growth do not themselves trigger an automatic
decline in the quality of the environment but are a deadly combination when
they go hand in hand with poverty.

Asian countries are often asked to live up to the environmental protection
policies of rich countries _but they do not have the money to carry them
out, the bank says.

The region already faces staggering environmental problems, including 13 of
the world's 15 most polluted cities, the report says.

Rivers are nearly four times as clogged with pollution as they were in the
late 1970s, while at the same time rivers outside Asia have improved.

And deforestation projects are eating up 1 per cent of the region's forests
every year and between70 and 90 per cent of the region's original animal
life has already disappeared.

And the earth is becoming barren and parched by erosion and salination._ AFP


Date: Tue, 20 May 1997 01:57:24 -0400
From: "radioactive" <[e-mail]>
To: "Animal Rights" <[e-mail]>
Subject: USDA, Swine Practitioners, and Pork Producers Kick Off Joint Disease Study
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain;
     charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

USDA, SWINE PRACTITIONERS, AND PORK PRODUCERS KICK OFF JOINT
DISEASE STUDY

     WASHINGTON, May 19, 1997--The U.S. Department of Agriculture's
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, in cooperation with
representatives of the swine industry, will begin a pilot investigation of
the epidemiology of acute porcine reproductive and respiratory
syndrome in the United States.

     Throughout 1996, swine producers in several states reported an
increasing number of swine herds that were experiencing severe
reproductive losses with instances of high sow mortality.  An initial
USDA investigation suggested that the clinical signs and laboratory
findings in affected swine herds were consistent with PRRS as it was
initially described in the United States in 1989.  However, the need to
better understand the clinical observations called for additional studies.

     The National Pork Producers Council and the American Association of
Swine Practitioners are working with APHIS, a part of USDA's marketing
and regulatory programs mission area, to implement a collaborative study
of the epidemiology of acute PRRS.  The goals of the study are to better
characterize the role of the disease-causing agent and to identify
management practices that put swine farms at risk for acute PRRS.

     This is the first joint effort by these groups in responding to an
animal health issue and may serve as a model for future cooperative
studies.

     The study will involve two parts, including investigating current
outbreaks of acute PRRS and studying herds that were previously
affected.

     Swine producers experiencing high levels of abortion or preweaning
piglet mortality should contact their veterinarian for possible inclusion
in
the study.

                                #

NOTE: USDA news releases, program announcements, and media
advisories are available on the Internet.  Access the APHIS Home Page
by pointing your Web browser to
http://www.aphis.usda.gov and clicking on "APHIS Press Releases."
Also, anyone with an e-mail address can sign up to receive APHIS press
releases automatically.  Send an e-mail message to
[e-mail]
and leave the subject blank.  In the message, type
subscribe press_releases


Date: Tue, 20 May 1997 02:53:13 EDT
From: [e-mail] (Kawika Poisson)
To: [e-mail]
Subject: RFI: Nu Skin International
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>

Hello, list!
     (Please respond via private email.)  I recently learned of a company
named Nu Skin International which sells cosmetics, nutritional
supplements, foods & beverages.  Allen & all, this is not an
advertisement.  I'm just wondering if anyone here has used or bought any
of their merchandise & what you think of it.  Some of their products
include skin cream (new Skin), facial wrinkle cream (Dramatic Effects),
cosmetics (New Color) & supplements such as Over-Drive & Life Pak within
their Interior Design Nutritionals division,  officially licensed with
the US Olympic Team.  I asked a Blue Diamond Executive tonight at a
seminar if the company tests on animals & he instantly told me no.  In
fact, he claims NSI is a member of PeTA.  Does anyone know if this is
true?  He didn't know if the company was listed in PeTA's Shopping Guide
for Caring Consumers, but I'm glad to report they are listed there (as a
mail order business in Utah), albeit not vegan.  I looked on the back of
a sample of their hand cream at the meeting & saw various animal-derived
ingredients listed, including but not limited to cholecalciferol, better
known as Vitamin D3, usually derived from bones, egg yolks & livers.
Please tell me what you all think of their products for those of you
familiar with them.  Thanks.

Aloha,
Kawika
--------- End forwarded message ----------
Date: Tue, 20 May 1997 03:09:14 -0400
From: allen schubert <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (US) Frog dissection, or slimy crime?
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

from CNN web page:
------------------------------
                     Frog dissection, or slimy crime?

                     May 19, 1997
                     Web posted at: 11:00 p.m. EDT (0300 GMT)

                     From Correspondent Anne McDermott

                     LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- Seventh-grade sleuths are
                     trying to solve a host of apparent slayings.

                     There's the case of D. Slimyskin -- he bought it
                     with bullets. Then there's Jo Toadness,
                     electrocuted in the living room. D. Frog turned up
                     his toes in the tub, while T. Tadpolian was found
                     dead in a bed.

                     First the budding criminalists identify the
                     victims, all frogs. The students collect
                     fingerprints and clues. The little frog victims
                     even have toe -- make that web -- tags.

                      The cause of K.C. Amphibious' death
                            appears obvious. "It looks like he was
                     stabbed once outside and four times inside --
                     vicious," one girl observes to her lab partners.

                     Then it's time for the autopsies. That part will
                     be familiar to anyone who survived biology
                     dissection. Science teacher Christine Karlberg
                     decided plain old frog dissecting can be
                     forgettable, so she's making it more memorable
                     with murder.

                     "They want the bloodiest, most violent scene
                     possible in most cases," Karlberg says of her
                     students.

                     But some observers, including a member of the
                     group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals,
                     say it's sick.

                     "What are we trying to do, are we
                     trying to make Jeffrey Dahmer's
                     out of our children?" Alex Pachecco asks
                     rhetorically.

                     But some of the children say it's making future
                     investigators.

                     "I want to be a deputy coroner," says one boy as
                     he peered through lab glasses.

                     Meantime, who was responsible for these seeming
                     serial murders?

                      [barbie] It's not clear, but most of the
                               furniture and props appear to belong to
                     one particular woman widely known as Barbie.

                     But wait, she may have an alibi: She said she was
                     out with Ken that night.


Date: Tue, 20 May 1997 01:42:42 -0700 (PDT)
From: David J Knowles <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: [CA] Butcher fined for bear poaching
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

>From The Province - Sunday, May 18th, 1997

Laidlaw butcher Eric Isaacson has been fined $10,000 for bear poaching.

Isaacson pleaded guilty to three charges under the Provincial Wildlife ACt,
including trafficking in bear paws, bear genitalia and bear gall bladders.

The butcher was busted after an 18-month investigation.

Date: Tue, 20 May 1997 01:42:44 -0700 (PDT)
From: David J Knowles <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: [UK] Six-inch nail is driven into horse
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"


>From The Electronic Telegraph - Tuesday, May 20th, 1997

Six-inch nail is driven into horse
By Michael Fleet


A HORSE owner who went to turn out her 25-year-old former hunter into its
paddock discovered a six-inch nail driven into its chin.

The horse, Master Lexion, had to be anaesthetised before the nail could be
removed by a veterinary surgeon. The owner, Angela Sales, 30, a personnel
officer, said she could not believe what had happened to her horse, which
she stabled near Hailsham, East Sussex.

She said: "I screamed for my mother to get a vet after I saw the nail
hanging out of his mouth. It was such a wicked thing to do. I don't think
there are any words to describe someone who carries out such an act on an
innocent animal. Lexi is so soft. He wouldn't hurt anyone. It must have been
agony for him because every time he went for a drink the nail would have
caught on the trough."

The incident, on Sunday, happened two miles from where another horse has
twice been attacked. Hovis, a 20-year-old gelding, was cut under the rib
cage in the first attack and was later slashed on a shoulder with an axe.

Sussex police are investigating both incidents but are not linking them to a
series of horse attacks in southern England three years ago.Those prompted
Hampshire police to set up Operation Mountbatten in the hunt for the "horse
ripper". Arrests were made but no one was charged. Police concluded that a
number of people may have been involved.

The investigation led police to several people who had an unnatural interest
in horses and a number of men were warned about their behaviour.

⌐ Copyright Telegraph Group Limited 1997.

Date: Tue, 20 May 1997 10:35:02 -0400 (EDT)
From: [e-mail]
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Trappers Oppose Lynx Protection
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>

As was posted here a while back, the courts have ruled that the US Fish and
Wildlife Service errored when they chose not to list the lynx population in
the lower 48 states as endangered.  It was said that the USFWS had 60 days to
reevaluate the present status of lynx, and provide some form of protection.

Montanna is the only one of the lower 48 states that allows for the fur
trapping of lynx.  Though estimates put the number of lynx in this state at
150-400, trappers are still allowed to kill this animal in large numbers to
supply the fur trade.

Now that the lynx is close to getting the protection it deserves, the
trappers are throwing a fit.  In the newest issue of the Trapper and Predator
Caller a columnist named Parker Dozhier claims that there are just as many
lynx around now as 300 years ago.  Parker obviously has trouble with basic
math as the lynx is extinct in many states which it was abundant in 300 years
ago.   Lynx only exist in 4 of the lower 48 states, and in those states they
number 150 or less, with the exception of Montanna.

Parker then goes on to rant about managing wildlife with political purposes.
 The ironic thing is that managing wildlife with political goals in mind is
exactly what Parker would have us do.  He has a political motive and that is
preservation of the fur trade, and the rampant killing of animals for human
vanity.  Even when the science shows that the lynx cannot sustain continued
habitat destruction and fur trapping, he weighs in and makes politically
biased claims.

Fur trade PR hacks have always claimed that they were concerned about
endangered species, but the facts prove otherwise.  Recently the National
Trappers Association wanted to delist the otter and bobcat from section 2 of
CITES so that they wouldn't have to go to the trouble of tagging the pelts,
so as to keep up with the body count.  Now the trappers want the lynx to
remain open to trapping even when it has been proven that this animal needs
complete protection today!

Coalition to Abolish the Fur Trade
PO Box 822411
Dallas, TX 75382

Membership is $15 a year.
Date: Tue, 20 May 1997 07:22:17 -0700 (PDT)
From: Mike Markarian <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail], [e-mail],
        [e-mail]
Subject: Park Service Sued for Bison Carnage and Winter Use Policies
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tuesday, May 20, 1997

CONTACT: D.J. Schubert or Howard Crystal (Meyer and Glitzenstein), 202-588-5206
         Michael Markarian (The Fund for Animals), 301-585-2591
         Jasper Carlton (Biodiversity Legal Foundation), 303-442-3037

PARK SERVICE SUED FOR BISON CARNAGE AND OTHER ADVERSE WINTER USE
POLICIES

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Led by The Fund for Animals, a coalition of
environmental organizations and Montana and Wyoming residents today filed
suit in federal court against Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt and
other government officials for violating several federal laws in permitting
winter use activities in Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks.

The lawsuit alleges that the National Park Service has never properly
evaluated the substantial adverse impacts caused by winter use, particularly
snowmobile use and snowmobile trail grooming, in violation of the National
Environmental Policy Act. In addition, the National Park Service and U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service have failed to assess the impacts of winter use on
the threatened grizzly bear and the endangered gray wolf as required by the
Endangered Species Act.

Impacts associated with winter use activities, particularly snowmobiling,
include impacts to the behavior, distribution, movements, and habitat use of
many wildlife species. For example, Dr. Mary Meagher, Yellowstone's bison
expert, has stated that the groomed snowmobile trails are the largest factor
contributing to bison movements outside of the park where nearly 1,100 were
killed this past winter. In addition, impacts to air quality, predators,
threatened and endangered species, and other park users have escalated due
to the uncontrolled use of the parks in winter.

"Secretary Babbitt has decried the slaughter of Yellowstone bison, yet his
own agency is actually aiding and abetting that slaughter by grooming the
trails that bison use to walk to their deaths," says D.J. Schubert, wildlife
biologist for the public interest law firm Meyer and Glitzenstein, which is
representing The Fund for Animals and other plaintiffs in the case.

The suit asks the court to require the Park Service to prepare an
Environmental Impact Statement on its winter use program, and in the
interim, to prohibit snowmobile trail grooming in Yellowstone and Grand
Teton to prevent further environmental impacts to animals and ecology.

"There should be international outrage that the Park Service is illegally
permitting the destructive use of two of the world's premier parks to
accommodate the recreational interests of the few," says Jasper Carlton,
director of the Biodiversity Legal Foundation, a co-plaintiff in the case.

# # #

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

SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION ON THE FUND FOR ANIMALS, ET AL. V. BABBITT,
ET AL.
AND WINTER USE IN YELLOWSTONE AND GRAND TETON NATIONAL PARKS

PLAINTIFFS: The Fund for Animals, Biodiversity Legal Foundation, Bison
Advocacy Project, Predator Project, Ecology Center, Dr. Bill Willars, John
Lilburn, Phillip Knight, Richard Meis, and Walt Farmer.

DEFENDANTS: Bruce Babbitt (Secretary of the Interior), Denis Galvin (Acting
Deputy Director of the National Park Service), Jack Neckels (Superintendent
of Grand Teton National Park), Mike Finley (Superintendent of Yellowstone
National Park), and John Rogers (Acting Director of the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service).

SUMMARY OF LEGAL CLAIMS: Defendants have violated the: National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) by failing to prepare an Environmental
Impact Statement (EIS) to evaluate the environmental impacts of winter use
in Yellowstone (YNP) and Grand Teton (GTNP) National Parks; Endangered
Species Act by failing to assess properly the impacts of winter use,
particularly snowmobile use and snowmobile trail grooming, on imperiled
species such as the grizzly bear and gray wolf; National Park Service
Organic Act (NPSOA) by failing to evaluate whether trail grooming and other
winter use activities violate the purpose of the National Park system and of
YNP and GTNP; and the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) by failing to
provide for public notice and comment on decision to groom trails.

SUMMARY OF REQUESTED RELIEF: The court is asked to declare that the NPS has
violated NEPA, ESA, NPSOA, YNP and GTNP Acts, the APA, and its own
regulations by permitting uncontrolled and destructive winter use of YNP and
GTNP. The court is asked to direct the NPS to comply with the ESA by
engaging in formal Section 7 consultation regarding the impacts of winter
use activities on threatened and endangered species, comply with NEPA by
preparing an EIS evaluating the environmental impacts of winter use in the
parks, and enjoin the grooming of snowmobile trails pending completion of
the EIS and compliance with the ESA and APA.

SUMMARY OF IMPACTS: Winter use in YNP and GTNP has grown exponentially since
the 1960s, when virtually no winter use was recorded, to the mid-1990s, when
over 300,000 visitors annually recreate in the parks. Since the late 1970s,
the popularity of the parks for snowmobiling has increased substantially
with over 70,000 snowmobiles entering the parks during the winter of 1996-97.

The National Park Service (NPS) has facilitated winter and snowmobile use of
these parks by grooming snowmobile trails, providing and expanding on
overnight accommodations, and constructing warming huts, fueling stations,
and other facilities needed to serve the expanding number of winter users.

Such increased winter use activities have not come without a cost. The
environmental impacts associated with winter use, particularly snowmobile
use and the grooming of snowmobile trails, have resulted in substantial
changes to the ecology of the parks and their wildlife.

Such impacts include changes in the population dynamics, distribution,
movements, and habitat use of park ungulates who have learned to use the
groomed trails as energy efficient travel routes.  The energy savings
associated with using these routes corresponds to a decrease in winter
mortality, increase in survival, and an increase in productivity in these
species. As a result, some species, like bison and elk, are maintained at
population sizes which have not resulted in overgrazing impacts but which,
nonetheless, are inconsistent with the so-called natural regulation mandate
of the National Park Service.

Of the park species affected by these changes, none have suffered more than
the bison. Their use of the groomed trail system has facilitated their
movements both within and outside of YNP.  Unfortunately, due to abominable
bison management policies adopted by Montana and the NPS most bison who
emigrate near or across YNP boundaries are killed. Nearly 1,100 bison were
killed this winter alone.  It is indisputable that if YNP did not groom
snowmobile trails or permit snowmobile use, this winter's bison carnage
would have never occurred. Indeed, Dr. Mary Meagher, YNP's bison expert, has
determined that the groomed trails are the largest factor contributing to
bison movements outside of the park.

The groomed trails also may have altered predator/prey interactions in the
parks. The trails likely provide predators with access to prey populations
which they otherwise may not be able to gain due to snow depth. In addition,
the amount of snowmobile use in Yellowstone may be displacing gray wolves
from critical winter habitat. Studies in Canada have shown that above a
certain level of human winter use, which was much less than that experienced
in Yellowstone, wolves will abandon habitat. Grizzly bear access to critical
winter-killed carrion upon den emergence is also reduced due to ungulate use
of the groomed trail system. Not only have the groomed trails reduced the
proportion of winter-killed carrion, but many of the animals that die do so
near the road system. Studies in Yellowstone have shown that grizzlies avoid
carrion when near roads and developments.

Snowmobile use in the parks has also affected air quality. Snowmobiles are
highly polluting machines emitting substantially more carbon monoxide,
hydrocarbon, and nitrous oxides than an automobile. Preliminary air quality
studies in Yellowstone have revealed that on certain days pollutant levels
in Yellowstone exceed federal and state standards.  Indeed, on some days,
carbon monoxide levels in YNP have been worse than anywhere else in the
country. This pollution, along with the noise and sheer numbers of
snowmobiles using the parks daily has diminished the recreational experience
of other park users.

In response to the slaughter of bison this past winter, Secretary Babbitt,
in February, called upon Montana's Governor Racicot to seek a resolution to
this issue to prevent a repeat of this winter's tragedy. The preparation of
an Environmental Impact Statements on winter use in YNP and GTNP in concert
with a prohibition on the grooming of snowmobile trails while the EIS is
being prepared is the first step towards such a resolution.

An EIS will provide the NPS the opportunity to comprehensively evaluate the
environmental impacts of all winter use activities, including snowmobiling
and trail grooming, while also permitting the public to participate in the
decision-making process. In the interim, to reduce further environmental
impacts and to prevent the irretrievable commitment of NPS resources, trail
grooming must be prohibited. While such a prohibition may not prevent all
bison from leaving the park, it will reduce the number and pace of bison
emigrating from YNP.

Date: Tue, 20 May 1997 10:35:35 -0400
From: allen schubert <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (US) RFI: Exotic fenced animal hunt (Michigan)
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Request for information (and help) from private e-mail.  Send responses to
at Lynette:  dick lausen <[e-mail]>
------------------------------------------------------------------
I live in West Michigan,
the township is Claybanks in Oceana County, approximately 30 miles north
of Muskegon. What I need to know is how to go about stopping these
people. Their are no township ordinances restricting this type of
business at this time. They are planning to put it on a 40 acre parcel
that abutes many homes, and from what I have heard so far, plan to let
their "customers" use high powered rifles to "bag" their enclosed game.
The DNR stated that the only thing that is protected are the species of
animals from this area, deer, wild turkey, etc. There is nothing that
would require the animals to be inspected, and not sure what type(s)of
animals they will all be stocking. We are appalled at the thought of
this particular business, the animal does not stand a chance. Neighbors
live close here and are uneasy of the thought of bullets flying through
the air. We are also concerned of the type of diseases that could be
brought in.
Would like to speak with someone that could tell us in a step by step
plan, what we need to do to stop them.
Thanks so much.
Lynette

Date: Tue, 20 May 1997 11:20:45 -0400
From: allen schubert <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (BR) Circus Lion Mauls Boy
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

from AP Wire page:
------------------------------
05/19/1997 20:11 EST
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AP) -- A lion cub displayed on top of a car to
advertise a
 circus escaped and mauled a 4-year-old boy to death in the northeastern
city of
 Tiangua, police said Monday.

 The cub escaped Sunday afternoon when its rope leash broke. An animal handler
 with the Dallas Circus had been leading the animal by the leash on top of
the car,
 Ceara state policeman Alessandre Mesquita said.

 The lion ran into a video rental store where children were playing video
games.
 Several children were able to run away, but the animal cornered Jose
Vincius Silva in
 the store and bit him on the head.

 The boy died at the hospital in Tiangua, 180 miles west of Fortaleza. The
lion was
 handed over to federal environmental protection agents.
Date: Tue, 20 May 1997 10:35:14 -0700
From: Houston SPCA <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: HSPCA needs your voice today!
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

This is a repeated posting of the original notice from 5-16. The
Commisioners's meeting on this matter is today, 5-20 at 1:45pm.
Your voice is needed NOW.

AA (Houston, TX) Harris Co. Animal Control sells pets for medical
            research

The Houston SPCA desperately needs you to call the Harris County
Commissioners at 713-755-5000 and tell them you oppose the sale of pets
from Harris County Animal Control to medical research laboratories.
Tell the Commissioners that animal shelters should be the last humane
refuge for stray, abandoned, or unwanted pets. Pets should be given a
chance at life in new adoptive homes.
Tell the commissioners that they are betraying the public's trust by
selling pets for research, and you oppose this barbaric, primitive
practice.
Please attend the Harris County Commissioners court meeting on Tuesday,
May 20, 1:45 pm at 1001 Preston. All you need to do is stand up, state
your name and address, and tell the commissioners you oppose the sale of
pets to medical research labs.
Further details can be found at http://www.neosoft.com/~hspca/news.htm
Thank you for caring
Date: Tue, 20 May 1997 23:53:58 +0800 (SST)
From: Vadivu Govind <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (MY) Deer farms to draw tourists
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"


The Star
                   Tuesday, May 20, 1997

                   Deer farms to draw tourists

                   PEKAN: Deer farms managed by orang asli in oil palm
plantations may be
                   introduced as a tourist attraction.

                   National Unity and Social Development Minister Datin
Paduka Zaleha
                   Ismail said that chalets would be built to enable
tourists to have a closer
                   look at the deer habitats and the orang asli culture.

                   Zaleha said the project which would be jointly managed by
the orang asli
                   Affairs Department, Veterinary Services Department,
National Park and
                   Wildlife Department and Universiti Putra Malaysia was
being studied by
the ministry.

                   "However, the pilot project in Kampong Runchang will
determine whether
                   it will succeed," Zaleha told reporters after the launch
of a deer farm in an
                   oil palm plantation yesterday.

                   She added that once the pilot project succeeded, the
programme would be
                   implemented in at least 16 orang asli settlements.

                   Twenty-seven deer are being reared in oil palm estates in
Kampong
                   Runchang, Paloh Hinai, here. More than 200 orang asli
have been tending
                   the farms since last year.



Date: Tue, 20 May 1997 23:55:01 +0800 (SST)
From: Vadivu Govind <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (MY) Group against hunting jungle fowl
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"


The Star
20 May 97

Open season on jungle fowl not
                   advisable, says group

                   PENANG: Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM) is concerned over the
                   Malacca Wildlife Department's move to issue hunting
licences to 100
                   shotgun permit holders to shoot jungle fowl.

                   Its president S.M. Mohd Idris said SAM was disturbed by
the decision of
                   the department to issue the licences.

                   "The issuance (of licences) to renew hunters' interest
and to sharpen their
                   shooting skill is shocking and uncalled for," he said.

He said the blasting of gentle, defenceless jungle birds or any other wildlife
                   was a violent act.

                   He added that there was no guarantee that hunters would
not in the
                   process hunt or shoot other animals instead of sticking
to the rules.

                   He also said that shooting damaged the environment.


Date: Tue, 20 May 1997 23:57:32 +0800 (SST)
From: Vadivu Govind <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (MY) New frontier in turtle conservation
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"



The Star
 Tuesday, May 20, 1997

              New frontier in turtle conservation

                   Story by Tan Cheng Li; Picture by K.K. Ng

                   THE nearly full moon lit up the beach ever so slightly,
                   but it was enough to illuminate the area. Instead of
                   garbage, patterned trails ran down the sandy beach - an
                   indication that turtles had come ashore to seek their
                   nesting spot for the night.

                   "You are lucky. The turtles know there are special
                   visitors tonight, that's why they've all come ashore,"
                   says ranger Jufri Nasri in jest.

                   On a serious note, however, he explains that the weather
                   is just right for the turtles to land. It had rained the
                   previous night, so the beach is cool and inviting.

                   We trail one turtle track to a rounded shape crouched
                   under a shrub. The giant creature had already ploughed a
                   hole in the sand, and is now silently depositing its
                   cache of eggs in the pit. Jufri immediately goes to
                   work, scooping the eggs into a pail.

                                  Three metres away under the safety of
another shrub, the
                   heaving and huffing of another turtle as it digs its
                   hole is audible. I scrutinise the beach and make out
                   several rounded shapes heading up the beach - more
                   turtles are landing.

                   In fact, on that night on Pulau Selingaan - one of three
                   islands which make up the Turtle Islands Marine Park,
                   40km north of Sandakan, Sabah - a total of 26 green
                   turtles struggled ashore to lay their eggs. This is by
                   no means a record; as many as 40 have come ashore in the
                   past.

                   The Turtle Islands, which also include Pulau Gulisaan
                   and Pulau Bakkungan Kecil, have been managed as a marine
                   park by Sabah Parks since 1977. With a fully protected
                   status, turtles - especially the greens and hawksbills -
                   nest in hordes unmatched by any other site in Malaysia.

                   The Sabahan effort is being heralded as a success story
                   in marine turtle conservation, more so now that the only
                   grey speck marring this otherwise spotless picture has
                   been dusted away.

                   And what is this grey speck? For years, turtle
                   preservationists have pointed out that what Sabah was
                   trying hard to conserve, the Philippines was exploiting
                   without control. This is because another group of turtle
                   nesting islands lie just beyond the boundary in the Sulu
                   Sea separating Malaysia from the Philippines.

                   Being highly migratory animals with no recognition of
                   man-made borders, turtles have been found to nest on
                   islands on both sides of the boundary. Thus efforts by
                   one country to protect the turtles can come to nought if
                   the other does not do likewise.

                   And for a long time, this was the case. While the eggs
                   in Sabah's islands were totally protected, Filipino
                   villagers continued to slaughter the turtles for their
                   meat and harvest the eggs on their islands.

                   Realising that protection of turtles meant protection of
                   all the islands, Malaysia and Philippines last year
                   agreed on the Turtle Islands Heritage Protected Area
                   (TIHPA), under which complementary management plans are
                   being drawn up for the three Malaysian and six
                   Philippine islands.

                   Believed to be the first trans-frontier marine turtle
                   sanctuary in the world, the efforts of both countries
                   were acknowledged when they were jointly awarded the
                   1996 International Paul Getty Conservation Award by the
                   US-based Paul Getty Foundation, with a cash prize of
                   RM125,000.

                   Sabah Parks marine research officer Muhamad Saini
                   Suliansa lists the reasons for conserving Turtle
                   Islands: They are significant turtle nesting sites for
                   both countries. They are the only major nesting area for
                   green turtles in South-East Asia, one of 16 such sites
                   in the world. Pulau Gulisaan supports the largest
                   breeding population of hawksbill turtle in Malaysia -
                   with over 600 nestings annually.

                   Ensuring total protection

                   One reason why conservation efforts have worked well in
                   Turtle Islands is because Sabah Parks has full control,
                   says Saini. In a milestone move in 1972, the state
                   bought over the three islands from private owners for
                   RM89,000.

                   The islands were then turned into a game and bird
                   sanctuary, and a national park five years later. "This
                   effectively ended the era of egg-harvesting. Rangers are
                   now posted on all three islands to collect the eggs for
                   hatcheries," says Saini.

                   In the six Filipino islands of Taganak, Bakkungan Besar,
                   Baguan, Boan, Lihiman and Langaan, however, it is a
                   different story.

                   "Enforcement is difficult as they are the furthermost
                   islands in the Philippines Archipelago. So far are they
                   that the islanders actually sold the turtle eggs to
                   Malaysians," says Saini.

                   Fortunately, conservation efforts spearheaded by the
                   Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) Philippines have changed
                   this scenario. In 1982, Baguan was turned into a turtle
                   sanctuary under the Philippines Marine Turtle
                   Conservation Project. This island alone accounts for 65
                   per cent of egg production within the group.

                   The islands are in the process of being declared a
                   national marine park, says Joel Palma, project manager
                   in WWF Philippines.

                   "Because of the pressure of a poor fishing community
                   which still regard egg collection as a traditional
                   source of livelihood, the activity is allowed to
                   continue. But it is regulated."

                   Thirty-five per cent of the eggs can still be harvested,
                   says Palma. Each year, 156 permits are issued for this
                   purpose. Since there are 419 families on the islands,
                   each may get to collect the eggs only once in three
                   years.

                   "Prior to 1982, egg collection was unregulated but we
                   are now able to conserve 65 per cent of the total eggs
                   in the area," says Palma.

                   Scientists believe the group of islands to be a single,
                   well-defined turtle rookery, and the nesting turtles to
                   come from the same stock. Genetic research is being
                   undertaken to confirm this.

                   "Since we are talking about a single population, we need
                   a common plan to manage the area as a single unit,"
                   explains Palma, who has worked on turtle conservation
                   for the past 12 years.

                   In fact, the six islands on the Philippines side was
                   handed over to them by Borneo only in 1948.

                   Palma says the essence of Tihpa is to co-ordinate and
                   complement both countries' turtle conservation and
                   management programme.

                   Towards this end, a trans-frontier management authority
                   called the Malaysia-Philippines joint management
                   committee (JMC) was formed early this month. A sub-group
                   of the JMC will meet in July to consider a joint turtle
                   resource management programme to further protect the
                   turtle habitat.

                   Both countries will also standardise and integrate
                   research and monitoring procedures. These will centre
                   around the turtle population and distribution, their
                   migration pattern, tagging of turtles, DNA analysis, and
                   the determination of sex ratio in hatchery operations.

                   Involving the people

                   While Sabah Parks adopts a "hands-off" approach in
                   managing its Turtle Islands, the Filipino approach is
                   exactly the opposite. For one, it has to take into
                   consideration the presence of islanders.

                   "With limited land resources, the main source of
                   existence for villagers is the marine habitat. So
                   conservation of that habitat is crucial," says Palma.

                   To alleviate the pressure on the marine ecosystem, WWF
                   Philippines and the Department of Natural Resources have
                   undertaken a project to help the people establish
                   alternative livelihoods.

                   The approach is participatory, explains Palma. "The
                   capacity of the people is developed so that they
                   themselves decide on alternative livelihoods.

                   "We try to develop the people rather than a project, so
                   the people can take care of themselves even after the
                   project."

                   The villagers are trained in, among others, leadership
                   and organisational skills, environment protection and
                   gender development.

                   Palma says the Philippines hope the local community can
                   emulate the ecotourism now operated on Pulau Selingan by
                   Sabah Parks.

                   The only island among the three opened for tourism,
                   Pulau Selingaan showcases how conservation and economics
                   can go hand in hand as long as there is stringent
                   control.

                   Sabah Parks limit visitors to 28 each night and there
                   are house-rules: no night strolls on the beach, no loud
                   noise, no bright lights and no photography of nesting
                   turtles. And each night, only one nesting turtle is
                   selected for viewing.

                   All tour guides undergo an annual course on turtle
                   conservation. Flout the rules and you will be barred
                   from the island, as in the case of the tour operator
                   caught stealing hatchlings a few years ago.

                   On the island, activity is minimal during the day.
                   Visitors can swim, snorkel or just soak in the sun. When
                   dusk settles, however, the atmosphere is charged with
                   excitement.

                   Joining the rangers on their patrol around the island, I
                   observed how the walkie-talkie sets crackled with
                   reports of turtle landings. Sometimes, the rangers
                   exchange news with their Filipino counterparts who have
                   also been equipped with similar communication sets.

                   The rangers work in shifts: from 8pm to 1am and 1am to
                   6am. On nights when landings are numerous, they work at
                   a feverish pace: remove eggs from the nests, tabulate
                   the numbers, measure the turtle and tag it, transfer the
                   eggs to the safety of the hatchery, and then head back
                   to other nests.

                   And while new eggs are being deposited in the hatchery,
                   new hatchlings are popping up from earlier nests. To
                   give them an edge in survival, these will be released
                   into the sea that night or morning itself, under the
                   veil of darkness to elude predators.

                   Reason for optimism

                   Have projects in both countries rejuvenated the
                   dwindling numbers of green and hawksbill turtles?

                   "It is hard to say. We still cannot establish the turtle
                   population as they are highly migratory and their
                   reproductive behaviour is difficult to predict. We still
                   need time to study the nesting population," says Palma.

                   There is reason for optimism, though. Cases of turtle
                   landings have risen after a severe drop in the 60s.
                   Annual nesting data is also consistent, prompting both
                   Saini and Palma to conclude that the turtle population
                   may be stabilising.

                   Adds Saini: "The figures are very promising. But we
                   cannot say yet that the population has gone up. For the
                   eggs hatched in 1977 and 1982 (when egg collection was
                   regulated), recruits will start nesting only in 30 to 50
                   years' time. So it will be at least 2010 before they
                   return here to nest."

                   Provided the hatchlings survive, that is. Faced with
                   predators, destruction of habitat, contamination of food
                   sources, strangling by nets and slaughtering by man and
                   boat propellers, scientists estimate that less than one
                   per cent of hatchlings will live to be a nesting adult.

                   On a starry night at Pulau Selingaan, excited tourists
                   gleefully line the beach for the finale of their Turtle
                   Islands experience - the release of hatchlings into the
                   sea.

                   One lucky chap gets the honour. As he gently tips a
                   bucket on the sand about three metres from the water
                   edge, baby turtles tumble out in a flurry of flailing
                   flippers.

                   As the visitors cheer them on, the hatchlings dash to
                   the water with sheer determination. Some are thrown back
                   by the wave but they struggle on, knowing that they must
                   make it to sea, but perhaps not knowing if they will
                   ever return to Turtle Islands, as full-grown nesting
                   turtles to continue the legacy.

Date: Wed, 21 May 1997 00:03:27 +0800 (SST)
From: Vadivu Govind <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (IN) Vandalur Zoo attracts summer crowd
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"


>The Hindu
20 May 97
Vandalur Zoo attracts summer crowd
               Date: 20-05-1997 :: Pg: 03 ::
               Col: d
               By Our Staff Reporter
               CHENNAI, May 19.

               Reeling under the unusually high
               summer temperature, the
               residents of the city have rediscovered a cool corner on the
outskirts of                 the metro: the Arignar Anna Zoological Park,
Vandalur.

               Compared to the previous years, the number of visitors to the
park rose
               substantially in the last 15 days. In the first two weeks of
this month,
               74,526 persons visited the park as against 47,224 during the
same period
               last year, an increase of nearly 58 per cent. On an average,
nearly 5,000
               persons came to the park while on last Sunday, it rose to
8,000. ``It is nice
               to see people coming all the way from the city to ward off
the summer
               heat,'' said a senior official of the Park.

               Majority of the visitors come in big groups. On most days,
children
               outnumber the adults. In 1995, 52,514 persons visited the park.

               Unlike the usual visitors, majority of the summer crowd seem
to take
               refuge in the shade of trees while the children hang around
the nearby
               enclosures. Others take a long walk into the interiors to see
the wild
               inhabitants held in captivity.

               Facilities for drinking water have been provided at every
hundred metre
               distance, Mr. S. Ramanathan, Director of the Park, said on
Monday. With
               limited availability of potable water in the area, the
visitors find the
               arrangement quite convenient.

               However, absence of proper eateries inside the park continues
to be a
               sore point. Many visitors from other parts of the State and
outside
               complained that they had a tough time scouting for food. Most
of them
               were taken by surprise by the absence of any outlet of
eatables at a place
               receiving thousands of people everyday.

               Mr. Kandeswaran, an employee of a nationalised bank in
Vailankanni and
               a regular visitor, said there was no control over the
``lovebirds'' entering
               the park. Earlier, lovers used to be denied entry on the
grounds that they
               would create nuisance to the serious animal and bird lovers,
mainly
               children, he said.

               Spread over 510 hectares, the Park is one of the largest of
its kind in the
               country. Besides the usual attractions, it houses many an
endangered
               species like Sangai deer, Pygmy Hippo, Lion tailed Macaque.
The reptile
               enclosures have crocodiles, python and monitor lizard among
the usual
               fare.

               Along with the number of visitors, the disturbance to the
animals, a
               punishable offence, also has risen, a Park employee said.
Many visitors
               attempt to feed them and throw stones into their cages.
``Though the
               increase in the number of people is a welcome sign in terms
of revenue, it
               should not be allowed to affect the delicate environment,''
adds an avid
               animal-lover.




Date: Tue, 20 May 1997 12:53:28 -0400
From: allen schubert <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: McLibel verdict date to be end of June (apparently)
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

from McSpotlight:
---------------------------------
News just in ...
according to the Press Officer at the Lord Chancellor's Dept

(1)  The verdict will be at the end of June.

(2)  Justice Bell will produce a summary of his Judgment
     which he will read out, lasting approx 1 hour
     [presumably, hard copies of this will be available].

(3)  The full version of the Judgment will be issued on disk
     to the press [and McSpotlight?] - it will be several
     hundred pages long - [not sure if hard copies available].

(4)  The actual date of the verdict should be available on 6th June.
     [and we will let you know and soon as we know]

McSpotlight will bring you our summary of his judgement within
an hour or it being given. A copy of his summary should be
available shortly afterwards. The full judgement (of the judge)
should be available on McSpotlight with 24 hours - depending on
whether we get hard copy or a disk.


P.S. Don't forget our competition to win copies of the book
     McLibel by John Vidal. Visit the site to enter.

P.P.S. If you are in the UK - have you Adopted-a-Store yet?
       Details on McSpotlight.


Date: Tue, 20 May 97 09:58:08 -0000
From: <[e-mail]>
To: "ar-news" <[e-mail]>
Subject: The Ape Army
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"



I am posting this on behalf of Rick Bogle in Oregon.

Rick is martialing a national protest against primate vivisection.

The plan is to conduct vigils in front of the natoin's primate research
centers.  Rick is planning on these vigils to be attended by activists,
but also by and army of stuffed toy monkeys.  He wants your presense and
creativity.  Activist turnout is crucial to focus media attention on this
issue.

Protests are as follows:

Oregon Regional Primate Research Center May 31-June 8
Washintgon Regional Primate Research Center July 4-July 13
New England Regional Primate Research Center August 2- August 10
Wisconsin Regional Primate Research Center September 6- September 14
Tulane Regional Primate Research Center (New Orleans) October 4- October
12
California Regional Primate Research Center (Davis, CA) November 1-
November 9
Yerkes Regional Primate Research Center (Atlanta) December 6-?

For more info, contact the Liberation Collective
P.O. Box 9055
Portland, OR  97207
503/230-9990, fax [phone]