Komputer for Alle 1998 #6/1998 CD 6 (Gul).iso/web/ffa/wwwenv~1.org/arrs/digest/news50~2.htm/text0004.txt

Text File | 1998-04-03 | 50.2 KB | 1,090 lines

The Singapore study reaffirms Western findings. Dr. Ng suggested that
because similar dietary and reproductive changes are increasingly evident in
neighboring Asian countries with rapidly growing
economies, breast cancer is likely to become a greater problem in the rest
of Asia as well.

Although the study concentrated on Chinese women, Dr. Ng said that the
results could also be applied to Malay and Indian women.

However, he pointed out that findings are relevant only to women aged 45 and
above, as the risk factors for younger women could be very different.

Some overseas studies have found that obesity in younger women, for example,
may actually lower the risk of breast cancer.

Dr. Ng also said that no woman is immune to breast cancer. The risk just
increases when there is a family history or if coupled with the various
lifestyle changes. (By Conrad Lu)

Date: Sat, 23 Aug 1997 00:10:40 -0400
From: allen schubert <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (US) FDA Warns of Bacteria in Oysters
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

more food contamination
from AP Wire page:
-------------------------------------
 08/22/1997 21:00 EST

 FDA Warns of Bacteria in Oysters

 WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Food and Drug Administration warned consumers
 Friday that oysters harvested from Washington state waters might contain
 higher than usual levels of bacteria and must be cooked thoroughly.

 About 40 illnesses in California and Washington state have resulted from
 eating raw oysters harvested in Washington waters, the FDA said.

 Warm weather in the Pacific Northwest has increased levels of Vibrio
 parahaemolyticus, a naturally occurring marine bacterium that can cause
 illness, the agency said.

 High levels of the bacteria have prompted the closure of harvest areas in
 British Columbia, where about 100 people have become ill from oysters,
 the FDA said.

 On Wednesday, the Pacific Coast Oyster Growers Association voluntarily
 halted shipments of live oysters and notified those who bought oysters
 before the shipment halt about the problem.

 FDA officials advised consumers to check the source of any fresh oysters
 purchased in the past week, and said those from Washington state should
 be fully cooked to destroy the bacteria before they are eaten.

 FDA advises boiling the oysters in water three to five minutes after
 shells open or steaming live oysters four to nine minutes in a steamer
 that's already steaming.

 The bacteria is common during warm weather and is not the result of human
 sewage contamination of the shellfish harvest area, the FDA said.

 The bacteria can cause diarrhea, abdominal cramps, nausea, vomiting,
 headache, fever and chills. The symptoms occur four to 48 hours after
 consumption. The illness usually runs its course in two to three days,
 but can be more serious in people with weakened immune systems.

Date: Sat, 23 Aug 1997 18:44:48 +0000
From: jwed <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Fowl play in Zhuhai
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"


SaturdayááAugust 23áá1997
South China Morning Post
by SIMON BUERK

Tycoon David Lieu Tsang-van is master of all he surveys. Literally. Nestled
around a man-made lake, his new country club occupies an entire picturesque
valley, a 40-minute drive down the bumpy highway from the Zhuhai ferry pier
across the border from Macau.

High fences march along the distant hilltops encircling his domain, keeping
out locals who cannot afford the $255,000 club membership.

Wander around the grounds, and there are an unusual number of birds
scuttling in the bushes. A faint popping often echoes across the lake,
different to the pile-driver boom familiar in the rest of the province.
Occasionally guests catch a whiff of cordite.

Zhuhai Wansheng Sports and Country Club is Mr Lieu's contribution to
hunting, his passion since his first kill in Shanghai in the 1950s. With
pheasant, quail and duck, and 100 shotguns laid on, it is a first for
southern China.

"It's good exercise, climbing up and down hills, hiking, holding a heavy
gun," said Mr Lieu, who speaks English with a twangy American accent. "It
keeps you fit."

Mr Lieu, 61, forked out $130 million to build his dream, all of it,
according to club spokesman Franki Yang Wai, from the tycoon's savings. For
his money, Mr Lieu got a club rather different from its competitors. Which
is why its opening has not been welcomed by everybody.

"Some people may call it sport," said Amy Chow Tak-sum, spokesman at the
Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) in Hong Kong, "but
to us, it's just the infliction of pain and suffering on animals. We're
opposed to things like this.

"Hunting is not something very Chinese. People may introduce this as a
gimmick to make money. We hope people realise the suffering involved,
because if there is no demand, there will be no supply."

"It is an animal welfare concern," said Jill Robinson, China director for
the International Fund for Animal Welfare. "It's just unnecessary and I
think it's the wrong influence now in a country that has very little
concern for animal welfare, and no legislation at all to stop cruelty to
animals."

Mr Lieu dismissed talk of animal rights with an impatient wave of his hand,
and allusions to hypocrisy for eating meat.

"It's really crap, really nonsense," he snapped. "Animal lovers are idiots.
These people always go from one extreme to the other. People today talk
about democracy and freedom on one hand, but on the other hand interfere in
other people's democracy and freedom."

In fact, Mr Lieu said, he should be patted on the back for re-stocking the
area with birds. Pheasants, quail and wild ducks are now bred in a building
behind the club house, with an incubator capable of hatching 12,000 eggs
per batch. By his own account, Mr Lieu's club is a 1,730-hectare oasis for
harassed expatriates living in Zhuhai, with its gleaming clubhouse, 72
luxurious rooms for overnight stays, two huge swimming pools, tennis,
badminton and squash courts, a gym stuffed with hi-tech equipment, and
smartly uniformed staff lurking deferentially in every corner ready to meet
every whim.

"It's the best club in Southeast Asia," the tycoon said proudly at the
opening ceremony on Monday. After an 18-hole golf course is finished on the
other side of the lake next summer, and a club marina is constructed at
Zhuhai harbour, it will be one of the best clubs in the world, Mr Lieu added.

The opening ceremony, held at the target shooting range, was clearly a
moment of triumph for Mr Lieu, who invited the Hong Kong press to travel to
the club to be wined and dined, hoping they would record the moment in a
positive light for posterity.

Zhuhai Communist Party bigwigs trooped to the podium in turn, to tell the
assembled businessmen and jewel be-decked tai-tais what a wonderful boost
the club was for foreign investment in the Special Economic Zone. Mr Lieu
was declared an honorary citizen of Wushan County, in which the club is
located, by the county party boss.

After the traditional lion dance and firecrackers, the assembled throng,
some 200 strong, were treated to a trap and skeet-shooting display by Ding
Hongping, Zhang Yafei and Zhang Jinhua of the Chinese national squad. Zhang
Jinhua also shoots for the People's Liberation Army team.

The targets in trap and skeet shooting - Olympic sports - are orange discs,
called clay pigeons, thrown into the air by a machine. Ms Ding, 19, said
the team also like to shoot rabbits and wild birds, although she added they
did not have time to take any pot-shots at Mr Lieu's pheasants during their
short visit to the club.

The wood-panelled bar, scattered with stern leather arm-chairs, seemed more
Scottish glen than southern Guangdong. Nineteenth century-style prints of
pheasant, partridge and quail line the walls. Giant antlers loom above a
cavernous fireplace. Mr Lieu shot the moose that owned them himself, in
Canada.

The club's logo is a silhouetted man, shotgun slung nonchalantly over one
shoulder, with a trusty hound frolicking at his feet.

A bell rang to signal dinner, and the drinkers wandered up the wide curving
staircase to the dining room where a lavish buffet, mostly meat including
pheasant, awaited them.

The club is family-friendly, spokesman Mr Yang said, adding gambling,
prostitutes, mobile phones and smoking are banned. Stray toddlers ran and
whooped around him.

The family-fun effect was enhanced when Mr Lieu, wearing a golf shirt, took
his seat at the head of the top table like some grand clan patriarch, with
his wife and son, Wayne Lieu Bon-wai, 26, in tow.

A search through the extensive Post files revealed no trace of Mr Lieu, a
tycoon who normally eschews the glitzy Hong Kong social scene, in favour of
quiet dinners at home with friends, according to his son.

The Lieu family are neighbours of Tung Chee-hwa in Grenville House on
Magazine Gap Road. They also own holiday flats in London and Tokyo, and
houses near New York and in Orlando, Mr Lieu junior said.

Mr Lieu senior's businesses include Van Shipping Co Ltd and Super Value
Sporting Goods Co Ltd. The shipping firm once had a fleet of 15 ships, but
now has just one, according to the younger Mr Lieu. His father's main
venture now is the club. All are family owned.

Currently assistant manager at the Queensland government's office in the
SAR, Wayne Lieu said that one day he will probably take over at the helm of
his father's empire. The tycoon, who refused to be photographed by the
Post, also has two grown-up daughters, both working in the United States.

Hunters at Mr Lieu's club order their prey in advance, at $73 per bird. The
doomed fowl are then taken to one of the hunting grounds, each about 250
hectares, and released.

About 30 minutes later, armed with shotguns and followed by one or more of
the club's seven dogs, specially imported from Britain, the hunters arrive
to try to kill them, a feeling Mr Lieu equated several times to working out
at another type of club. "It's just like hitting a golf ball," he said.

At the moment club membership is only for the chosen few, according to Mr
Yang. A hundred of Mr Lieu's friends and business associates have been
invited to join.

Within four years though, membership is expected to reach 1,200, mainly
expatriates living in Zhuhai. Then, some 120 birds will be taken to the
hunting grounds each day, according to Mr Yang.

The hunters are only allowed as many sightings, or kill chances, as the
number of birds they ordered. Anything they kill is cooked in the club's
kitchens, or cleaned up and given to the hunter to take home.

But as even good shots often miss, the hunters are effectively subsidising
the release of birds into the wild, Mr Yang said. Pheasants, quail and wild
ducks could fly over the club's fences, and would eventually re-populate
the countryside for miles around. Already 1,000 quail which Mr Lieu has
released to increase the sport, scamper about in the woods.

"Before I came here," Mr Lieu said, "there wasn't even one sparrow. Now
there are birds everywhere." In the club's brochure the page on hunting is
headed "Hunter and prey in perfect harmony."

It was an argument that did not impress Tim Woodward, former secretary of
the Hong Kong Birdwatching Society, who questioned first whether the
species of pheasants, quails and ducks raised at the club were indigenous
to the area. Many types of pheasants, at least, are native to China, he
said, and even flew wild in Hong Kong until about 100 years ago.

"But even if they were the right species," Mr Woodward said, "the idea of
them re-populating the area is just ludicrous. There's no habitat, and as
soon as they get over the fence, somebody else will just trap and shoot them."

Ms Chow at the SPCA wondered if the birds, raised in cages, would be able
to fend for themselves in the wild. "Anyway no matter how many excuses they
give, the intention is to release animals to shoot simply for fun and
entertainment," she said.

Land prices are prohibitive in Hong Kong, but that is not the only reason
why Mr Lieu's club could never have been built in the SAR.

As Mr Lieu's pheasants, partridges, quails and ducks are bred in captivity,
he might not have fallen foul of the Wild Animal Protection Ordinance, but
he would certainly have violated the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
Ordinance, according to Dr Howard Wong Kai-hay, veterinary officer at the
Agriculture and Fisheries Department.

"Cruelty is an offence with a maximum punishment of six months imprisonment
and a $5,000 fine," Dr Wong said.

"The shots are never accurate enough to cause instantaneous death, you get
pheasants flopping around on the ground, half-dead, and we certainly know
that animals as high up as pheasants do feel a lot of pain.

"If anyone did decide to breed pheasants and shoot them we would prosecute
them immediately," he said, although he could not recall any cases.

Dr Wong also dismissed Mr Lieu's suggestion that eating chicken, pork or
beef is as cruel as hunting.

"The time taken for a chicken to lose consciousness from having its throat
cut," he said, "is probably a lot shorter than blasting a bird's legs off
then spending the next 20 minutes searching around for it."

In the SAR only one kind of hunting is allowed. When police receive
complaints that wild pigs are destroying crops, two special teams, with 10
skilled civilian marksmen in total, are called out to kill the animals,
according to Dr So Ping-man, conservation officer also at the Agriculture
and Fisheries Department.

The winter months are the peak pig-hunting season, Dr So said, when the
teams are in action once a fortnight on average, mostly in the northeast
New Territories. At the end of each hunt the teams must submit a report,
detailing how many pigs they killed, the pigs' weight, and estimated age.
The meat is split between the hunters.

Perhaps it is no surprise that one of those government-sponsored pig
sharp-shooters is Mr Lieu


Every child has the right to a healthy diet - that means no meat.

http://www.earth.org.hk/
Date: Sat, 23 Aug 1997 07:30:26 -0700
From: carol <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: sam farr's email address
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

does anyone know congressman sam farr's email address?  i want to thank him
for his stand against the king royal circus.

email sent from his site is returned with this message:

YOUR MAIL WAS NOT DELIVERED FOR THE FOLLOWING REASON:

EXPLANATION   : INVALID RECIPIENT

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

RECIPIENT      : HR.SAMFARR

thanks for any help,

carol

"The animals of the world exist for their own reasons.  They were not made
for humans anymore then blacks were made for whites or women for men."
~Alice Walker

http://www.envirolink.org/arrs/paws/

Date: Sat, 23 Aug 1997 11:52:59 -0400
From: allen schubert <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (US) Meat Testing Doesn't Catch it All
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

from AP Wire page:
-----------------------------------
 08/23/1997 11:47 EST

 Meat Testing Doesn't Catch it All

 By CURT ANDERSON
 AP Farm Writer

 WASHINGTON (AP) -- No matter how sophisticated government testing of meat
 and poultry becomes, the sheer volume produced in America may make it
 impossible to detect all dangerous bacteria in food, inspectors say.

 ``There is probably no way to absolutely foolproof this process,''
 Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman said this week.

 For example, the Hudson Foods Co. ground beef plant in Nebraska, shut
 down this week during a federal probe into E. coli contamination, had
 been producing up to 3 million pounds of frozen hamburger every week.

 That's 12 million quarter-pound patties.

 Agriculture Department inspectors go to slaughterhouses that supply
 Hudson and the Hudson plant itself. But it is not practical to test all
 that meat for E. coli, salmonella or other bacteria that can make people
 sick, officials say.

 And health risks in the meat industry can start well before the cattle
 reach slaughterhouses.

 Agriculture experts told U.S. News & World Report that farmers often add
 waste substances to livestock and poultry feed. Chicken manure, which is
 cheaper than alfalfa, is increasingly used as feed by cattle farmers
 despite possible health risks to consumers, says the magazine reaching
 newsstands Monday.

 ``Feeding manure that has not been properly processed is supercharging
 the cattle feces with pathogens likely to cause disease in consumers,''
 Dr. Neal Barnard, head of the Washington-based health lobby, Physicians
 for Responsible Medicine, told the magazine.

 This can make the Agriculture Department meat inspectors' job even
 harder.

 Tight budgets at the agency just exacerbate the problem. The number of
 inspectors at the agency's Food Safety and Inspection Service fell from
 about 12,000 in 1978 to 7,500 today -- to cover the 6,500 private meat
 and poultry plants around the country.

 Pathogens such as E. coli remain a health problem in America. The federal
 Centers for Disease Control estimates that up to 9,800 E. coli cases and
 120,000 salmonella cases a year occur when people don't sufficiently cook
 ground beef containing the bacteria. Cooking at high enough temperatures
 will kill the germs.

 Together, the microbes cost upwards of $500 million a year in medical
 bills and lost productivity, according to a USDA estimate.

 The first meat inspection laws date back to 1906, in the wake of books
 such as Upton Sinclair's ``The Jungle'' that exposed the once-filthy
 conditions in the packing industry.

 Under those laws, which remain essentially unchanged for 90 years, USDA
 inspectors worked inside private meat and poultry plants nationwide. They
 examined sample carcasses and products by sight, smell and touch, trying
 to determine if the product was safe and wholesome.

 But the federal rules never required scientific tests for bacteria like
 E. coli. Some larger companies did it anyway, while smaller ones tested
 only if customers had specific requirements.

 Now, new inspection rules are being phased in by the year 2000 that for
 the first time require some scientific testing for bacteria at all meat
 and poultry processing plants. In the case of E. coli, all plants
 regardless of size had to begin their own testing last Jan. 27.

 Even that will involve only samples taken once or twice a day from plants
 that can move tens of thousands of pounds of meat a day.

 Still, Glickman said the focus will be on critical points in plants where
 contamination is likely. In the case of E. coli, animal fecal matter is
 the most frequent source, so tests will be done at points along the chain
 where its presence is prevalent, such as after cattle are slaughtered,
 when the meat is cut into large pieces for various uses.

 ``Hopefully you'll be able to discover problems much earlier in the
 process,'' Glickman said.

 Such scientific testing generally involves taking a sample from meat,
 putting it in a lab dish and testing it chemically to see if harmful
 bacteria are present.

 At Hudson, company officials agreed to recall all the beef processed at
 the plant since the date of contamination -- up to 25 million pounds --
 and to shut down the plant until stronger safety recommendations were
 met. There was no indication when the plant might reopen.

 Company founder James T. Hudson said the Nebraska plant had done 57 E.
 coli tests of its own since the beginning of 1997. All were negative.

 The source of contamination for Hudson beef patties processed during
 three days in early June has not been found. But government and company
 officials say it likely came from a slaughterhouse supplier outside the
 plant.

 Thus, Hudson said the company will now do E. coli testing on the meat
 arriving from slaughterhouses.

 ``We're going to start inspecting every lot that comes in, rather than
 just depending on the supplier,'' he said. ``We're going to visit with
 some of our suppliers and make sure we're comfortable with their
 testing.''

 The new federal rules also require companies to keep much better records
 of their testing and monitoring, and to enable officials to trace the
 source of any contamination that does occur.

 But in Hudson's case, the medium-sized Nebraska plant won't have to
 comply fully with the rules until January 1999. Federal inspectors said
 this week they were investigating whether Hudson's record-keeping had
 been lacking.

Date: Sat, 23 Aug 1997 12:42:28 -0400 (EDT)
From: [e-mail]
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (US) Clyde Beatty-Cole Bros. Circus in South Jersey
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>


The following is from the Press of Atlantic City.


In Top Form
Tuesday, August  19,  1997
In Top Form
By JACK KASKEY
Staff Writer
MIDDLE Township -- A herd of elephants helped hoist the Big Top on Monday
morning as the circus set up outside Wildwood for two days of shows before
heading to the Atlantic City area.
Having elephants raise the five-story tent is a century-old tradition at
Clyde Beatty-Cole Bros. Circus, said circus owner John Pugh.
The circus next year will introduce a new tent that requires a fraction of
the 54 poles hoisted Monday by six elephants, Pugh said. The new,
$500,000-tent will be bigger and sleeker in design, and with only 8 internal
poles, there will be fewer obstructed views, he said.
But fewer poles to hoist won't necessarily mean the elephants will get to
lounge away their mornings chewing hay.
"They say an elephant never forgets, so just because the tent's a different
shape, doesn't mean he's not going to want to give a hand," Pugh said.
The circus remains today at Islander Raceway and Amusement Park off Route 47,
immediately outside Wildwood.
The tent-raising is a free event that will be repeated from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m.
Wednesday when Clyde Beatty-Cole Bros. Circus moves north to Atlantic City
Race Course in Hamilton Township for shows Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
Circus shows all week begin at 4:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. daily
Some who aren't thrilled to see circus tigers and elephants come to town were
on hand Monday for an animal-rights protest.
Rich Frank of Mays Landing said five circus elephants have died in the past
12 months, including a Clyde Beatty-Cole Bros. elephant named Ola, which died
in March.
Frank, a spokesman for Circus Information Resource Center of New Jersey,
accused the circus of violating the federal Animal Welfare Act.
Pugh said his circus animals are well cared for. Ola died while being
operated on by a Midwestern veterinarian who had performed at least 30
previous elephant operations, he said.
"Do they think we really want to lose an elephant?" Pugh said. "It was a very
sad time. We not only lost a member of the family, but we lost a very
valuable animal. It certainly was not neglect."
Ola was suffering from a persistent foot infection that antibiotics were not
curing. She never recovered from the anesthesia given her during the
operation, Pugh said.
"When you put an elephant down, you take a risk," the circus owner said. "An
elephant can't tell you what's wrong. We are not doctors, so naturally we
call in the best people to take care of them."
He said two of the circus' all-female herd skipped this year's tour while
they attempt to become pregnant in a breeding program.
Copyright 1997 South Jersey Publishing Co.  -  www.pressplus.com


CIRCO-New Jersey held protests at all 10 shows from August 18 through August
22.
******
CIRCO-New Jersey is a is a circus information resource center dedicated to
the liberation of animals from circuses and traveling shows.

Date: Sat, 23 Aug 1997 12:47:52 -0400 (EDT)
From: [e-mail]
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (US) Animal-rights activists protest circus
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>

This is a follow-up article concerning CIRCO-New Jersey's protest of Clyde
Beatty-Cole Bros. Circus from the Press of Atlantic City.

Animal-rights activists protest circus
 By JACK KASKEY
and JEANNE DEWEY
Staff Writers
MIDDLE TOWNSHIP  -- An off-duty Wildwood police officer drafted his chief's
help Monday in a failed effort to remove animal-rights activists protesting
the circus.
The police-sponsored circus was held on the chief's land, which is in Middle
Township. Township officers said the protest was lawful.
The conflict began when Madeline Hastings-Frank and her husband, Rich Frank,
of Egg Harbor Township, decided to share with the circus-going public what
they claim are animal-rights abuses at the circus.
Hastings-Frank donned a clown suit and headed with her husband for Islander
Raceway and Amusement Park, where they were joined by a friend.
Prior to the 4:30 p.m. show, the three protesters handed out photos of what
they say are the poor living conditions of elephants, tigers and other
animals owned by the Clyde Beatty-Cole Bros. Circus.
A coloring book they distributed told the story of a baby elephant taken from
its native land to live with a circus.
Frank said he expected someone to question the legality of the protest, so he
researched the need for permits and the locations of public rights-of-way at
Islander.
It wasn't long after they arrived that James Nanos, an off-duty Wildwood
officer, told the trio to quit their protest, the couple said.
"He told us to stop handing out literature," Hastings-Frank said. "He said,
`I'm a policeman. I'm from Wildwood.' "
The circus was sponsored by the Fraternal Order of Police, Cape May County
Lodge 7, whose board of directors is headed by two Wildwood officers,
including vice president Nanos.
"He said the protest could hurt the fund-raiser," Frank said.
While the circus was within a stone's throw of the Wildwood border, the
protesters were in Middle Township, and they told Nanos he had no authority
there.
As children took animal-rights coloring books and their parents took
pamphlets, Nanos told the protesters he was calling Wildwood Police Chief
Robert Davenport, Frank said, and he took out a cellular phone.
Davenport refused to comment on his role in Monday night's events, except to
say he was acting in his capacity as a Middle Township property owner and not
as Wildwood police chief.
The protesters said they did not know until Tuesday that Davenport co-owned
the Islander amusement park.
The FOP asked Middle Township police to remove the protesters, and Davenport
called Middle Township Capt. William Shea, the police captain said.
Shea said he told Davenport he could sign trespassing complaints against the
protesters, but police would not remove them. Davenport did not sign any
complaints.
Shea said the three protesters were not violating the law by handing out
pamphlets near the tent entrance. He contacted the Cape May County prosecutor
and Township Solicitor Bruce Gorman, who both agreed the protesters could
remain.
"They have a constitutional right to assemble and they were not interfering
with anyone's egress to the site," Shea said.
The protesters said Nanos grew increasingly incensed as he was unable to stop
the distribution of animal-rights literature. In what the protesters describe
as a heated exchange, a Middle sergeant told Nanos he was not in Wildwood and
had no jurisdiction.
Nanos was not working Tuesday and could not be reached for comment.
By the time the 7:30 p.m. show began, there were a dozen protesters carrying
signs with slogans such as "Circus animals live and die in chains" and
"Circuses no fun for animals."
The dispute with the FOP had cooled off by then. Nanos even invited the
protesters to share in an order of pizza, Frank said.
Being vegans, the animal-rights protesters were unable to accept. Vegans
don't eat meat or animal products, such as cheese.
As Hastings-Frank prepared to resume the circus protest on Tuesday, she
suggested her experience can serve as a lesson to others. "You have to stick
up for yourself," she said. "We were within our rights, and we knew it."

Copyright 1997 South Jersey Publishing Co.


CIRCO-New Jersey is a is a circus information resource center dedicated to
the liberation of animals from circuses and traveling shows.

Date: Sat, 23 Aug 1997 12:54:25 -0400 (EDT)
From: [e-mail]
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (US) CIRCUS PROTEST - TAKING COP TO TUSK
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=unknown-8bit


This editorial appeared in the August 22 edition of the Press of Atlantic
City.
The Press of Atlantic City was the major sponsor of the Clyde Beatty-Cole
Bros. Circus at the Atlantic City Race Course this August 20 through 22.  The
Press has sponsored the Clyde Beatty-Cole Bros. Circus for many years as a
fund raiser for the Literacy Volunteers.  After months of negotiating with
CIRCO-NJ, the Press has decided it will not sponsor the Clyde Beatty-Cole
Bros. Circus next year.  When the circus was told by the Press that they
would no longer sponsor the circus, they asked if it was because of the
animal rights people.  The Press said that it was one of several reasons.

Letters of thanks can be sent to:
The Press of Atlantic City
1000 W. Washington Ave.
Pleasantville, NJ 08232

e-mail:  [e-mail]


CIRCUS PROTEST

TAKING COP TO TUSK

Elephants may be unhappy about being in the circus, but since pachyderms
maintain a stoic silence, we are not likely to have any definitive word on
the matter.
However, should someone decide to dress up as a clown, take up a post at a
public event and pass out pamphlets that claim sadness and suffering to be
the lot of Jumbo and Dumbo, he or she has a constitutional right to do so.
That's free speech.
This week, at the Clyde Beatty-Cole Bros. Circus at the Islander Raceway and
Amusement Park in Middle Township, some animal-rights activists showed up to
protest what they claim are poor living conditions for circus animals, most
notably, the elephants. An off-duty police officer from Wildwood told them to
leave. They refused. He called his chief, Robert Davenport, who called Middle
Township Police Capt. William Shea, who called the township solicitor and the
county prosecutor's office.
Shea was told the protesters were exercising a legal right to assemble and
express an opinion. Shea wisely let them be.
Too bad such wisdom was not shared by the off-duty Wildwood officer James
Nanos, who initiated and maintained the confrontation to the point of having
to be told by a Middle Township police sergeant that he had no jurisdiction
at the site of the circus.
ItÆs disturbing to see a police officer who doesn't recognize it when people
are exercising their constitutional rights.  It's disturbing to see an
officer butting in where he has no business doing so. It's even more
disturbing to learn that the officer in question is vice president of the
Fraternal Order of Police lodge that is benefiting from the circus, which is
being held on his chief's land. Davenport is part-owner of Islander Raceway.
Whatever we might think about the treatment of circus elephants, anyone is
entitled to express an opinion on the matter without being intimidated -
especially by a police officer who should know better.

Our position - It's disturbing to see a police officer who doesnÆt recognize
it when people are exercising their constitutional rights.

********
CIRCO-New Jersey is a is a circus information resource center dedicated to
the liberation of animals from circuses and traveling shows.



Date: Sat, 23 Aug 1997 10:46:34 -0700 (PDT)
From: David J Knowles <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: [UK] Most BSE cases in Europe 'are not reported'
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"


>From The Electronic Telegraph - Saturday, August 23rd, 1997

Most BSE cases in Europe 'are not reported'
By David Brown, Agriculture Editor

CONTINENTAL European Union countries have reported only one in six cases of
mad cow disease, according to an official veterinary survey published today.

The report calculates that of the 55,400 British cattle exported to other EU
countries for breeding purposes between 1985 and 1989, at least 1,642 would
have contracted BSE after export. However, only 285 cases were reported.

In Germany - where the campaign against buying British beef has been
strongest - the number of BSE cases reported since March last year was 48
times less than expected.

The figures are published today in The Veterinary Record, official journal
of the British Veterinary Association. They confirm fears of scientists,
vets and farmers that chronic
under-reporting has put animal and human health at risk due to lax controls
and delayed efforts to wipe out BSE.

They also vindicate the tough stance taken by Dr Jack Cunningham, Minister
of Agriculture, who threatened to disrupt imports of beef from other EU
countries which do not follow the strict anti-BSE controls which are already
in place in the UK.

>From next January, all beef entering the UK must have been processed in
plants where specified offals are removed and destroyed in line with strict
controls applied in British
abattoirs. Scientists fear that meat and bone meal from unreported infected
cattle on the Continent has been re-circulated and used in animal food where
it will cause new cases of BSE - many of which will again go unreported.

The report was drawn up by three of Europe's most respected experts on
animal disease - John Wilesmith, head of epidemiology at the Government's
Central Veterinary Laboratory, Dr Bram Schreuder of Holland's Institute of
Animal Science and Health and Professor O C Straub of the Germany's Federal
Research Centre for Virus Deases of Animals.

Their figures were based on the number of cattle exported to EU and other
countries for breeding purposes rather than slaughter and the number which
would have been expected
to succumb to BSE if they had remained in the UK. This, in turn, was based
on the percentage of beef and dairy cattle which fell ill in this country.

More than 55,400 cattle went to other EU countries between 1985 and 1989
when exports were halted under the UK controls to halt the spread of the
disease.

Denmark imported 889 animals in that period. Of these, according to the
report, 29 would have been expected to fall victim to BSE if they had
remained in the UK. But only one BSE case had been reported by January this
year.

So far about 168,531 cattle have died from BSE in the UK since 1988. But by
January this year only 515 other cases  had been reported from other parts
of the world, including the EU, despite exports of cattle from the UK
between 1985 - when BSE was taking hold here - and 1989.

Switzerland, which has carried out a sweeping slaughter and destroy policy,
suffered 228 cases blamed mainly on imported rations containing the rendered
remains of contaminated cattle.

The Swiss authorities have long maintained that the number of cases
elsewhere in Europe should be much higher. By January, the Republic of
Ireland had reported 188 cases - but the number expected was 911.

Germany reported five - the expected number was 243. Of the others:

               France reported 28 - expected number 32;
               Spain reported none (54);
               Italy reported two (50);
               Portugal reported 61 (262);
               Denmark reported one (29);
               Holland reported none (44);
               Belgium and Luxembourg reported none (17).

The research team reported difficulties in gathering accurate statistics
from various countries. Professor Karl Linklater, president of the British
Veterinary Association, said: "This report quantifies more accurately what
we have believed all along.

"It is important that we get uniform preactions in place throughout the EU,
including the removal and disposal of specified offals from, cattle. The
Ministry of Agriculture is taking the same position."

Ben Gill, Deputy president of the National Farmers' Union of England and
Wales, said: "This report vindicates the position taken by the NFU and the
Government. It also vindicates the action of Franz Fischler, EU Farm
Commissioner, to secure tight controls throughout the EU.
We have made the point all along that BSE is not just a  British problem."

⌐ Copyright Telegraph Group Limited 1997.

Date: Sat, 23 Aug 1997 10:46:38 -0700 (PDT)
From: David J Knowles <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: [UK]Risk from genetic crops 'ignored'
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"


>From The Electronic Telegraph - Saturday, August 23rd, 1997
Risk from genetic crops 'ignored'
By David Brown, Agriculture Editor

              GREENPEACE accused the Government yesterday of
              "learning nothing from the beef crisis" and failing to
              recognise the dangers to consumers of genetically-engineered
              crops.

              The environmental pressure group claimed that these crops,
              which are altered to make them resistant to pests, diseases
              and weed-killing chemicals, pose "potentially serious" risks
              to public health and the environment.

              In a report, From BSE to Genetically-Modified Organisms,
              Greenpeace blamed the BSE crisis on "a negligent
              decision-making process which cannot cope with scientific
              uncertainty".

              Greenpeace claimed that the risks from BSE were "strikingly
              similar" to those from genetically-modified organisms.
              "Exactly the same mistakes are likely to be repeated over the
              introduction of these organisms into the human food chain,"
              Greenpeace claimed.

              In both cases, it said, there was a potentially long time-lapse
              before problems could be identified. There was also
              scientific uncertainty about the damage they could cause.
              Yet despite this, safety approvals for growing and marketing
              genetically-modified crops were becoming "routine" in
              Europe.

              Dr Ian Taylor, a Greenpeace spokesman on earth sciences,
              said: "The BSE fiasco showed that waiting for proof of harm
              is indefensible . . . yet the Government wants to do the same
              with genetically-modified food."

              The Ministry of Agriculture dismissed the claims last night.
              A spokesman said: "Food safety is, and will remain, the
              Government's top priority. Before any genetically-modified
              organisms are approved for sale in Britain they are subject to
              a rigorous risk assessment.

              "The Government is determined that all foods which contain
              genetically-modified ingredients will be clearly labelled."

              The National Farmers' Union for England and Wales also
              dismissed the report, adding: "We have insisted all along that
              there should be safeguards for the consumer."

              Britain's first commercial crop of genetically-modified
              oilseed rape is expected to be planted next spring.

               BP yesterday withdrew its legal action against Jon Castle,
              captain of the vessel Greenpeace which took part in the
              occupation of the Stena Dee drilling platform in the
              Foinaven oilfield, west of Shetland, last week.

              The company, which dropped a ú1.4 million damages claim
              against the Greenpeace environmental group on Thursday,
              had alleged Mr Castle had been in breach of an interdict.

⌐ Copyright Telegraph Group Limited 1997.

Date: Sat, 23 Aug 1997 14:20:57 -0700 (PDT)
From: [e-mail] (pawsinfo)
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Summer 97 PAWS News online [WA]
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

The latest edition of the Progressive Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) News
letter is now online. The newsletter features articles on HOWL, our wildlife
rehabilitation facility; our shelter and advocacy programs; Monkey Jungle;
Taiji; Lolita; and more.

The Summer 1997 PAWS news can be accessed directly at:
http://www.paws.org/activists/pn4/index.htm

or from a link from our home page at: http://www.paws.org

If you would like a hard copy of the PAWSnews Summer 1997, please email your
snail mail address to the address in the signature of this email.




Bob Chorush  Web Administrator, Progressive Animal Welfare Society (PAWS)
15305 44th Ave West (P.O. Box 1037)Lynnwood, WA 98046 [phone] ext
862, [phone] fax
email [e-mail]      http://www.paws.org

Date: Sat, 23 Aug 1997 20:29:14 -0400
From: allen schubert <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (AR) Argentine Beef Heads to U.S.
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

from AP Wire page:
-----------------------------------
 08/23/1997 13:24 EST

 Argentine Beef Heads to U.S.

 By IAN PHILLIPS
 Associated Press Writer

 BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) -- Pedro Salaberry, a ruddy-faced cowboy,
 has nothing but sympathy for those who have not tasted a fine Argentine
 steak, preferably washed down with a full-bodied red wine.

 ``Call me arrogant, but nothing compares to Argentine meat,'' the gaucho
 said as he eyed a champion Aberdeen Angus at an exhibition. ``Everybody
 should try it at least once in their life.''

 In recent years, that pleasure has been mostly found within Argentina,
 due to a partial export ban stemming from outbreaks of hoof-and-mouth
 disease. In May, the country was declared free of the disease.

 Now the red meat Argentines are so fiercely proud of will be put to a
 crucial test: For the first time in 67 years, fresh and chilled beef will
 be exported this week to the United States.

 Exports to the United States will be limited initially to a 20,000-ton
 annual quota -- a figure that Argentine officials hope to increase over
 the years.

 ``This is more of symbolic than economic value,'' Agriculture Secretary
 Felipe Sola said in an interview. ``By exporting to the United States,
 our profile will be a lot higher and that will open up new markets
 worldwide.''

 Lucrative markets such as Japan and South Korea won't be accessible until
 Argentina no longer needs to vaccinate cattle to avoid foot-and-mouth
 disease, but that could be just a few years away, Sola said.

 Most of the beef shipped north will be used as hamburger meat. In
 addition, a small amount of fine cuts are aimed at top New York
 restaurants.

 For many Argentines, the idea that their grass-fed cattle will end up in
 American fast-food restaurants is ridiculous.

 ``A waste,'' Marcelo Celis proclaimed as he lined up for a table at a
 Buenos Aires steakhouse. ``Argentine beef is unique in flavor. Eventually
 they'll get the idea.''

 The arrival of Argentine beef has caused some concern among U.S.
 producers, said Dale Moore of the U.S. National Cattlemen's Beef
 Association. But most worries are of a sanitary nature.

 ``There's bound to be concern about economic impact, but with just 20,000
 tons of imports, I suspect it's going to be a little hard for the
 Argentines to take over the market,'' he said.

 Americans consume about 7.7 million tons of beef a year, the association
 says.

 Moore is unfazed by accounts of the quality of Argentine beef and
 speculation that the country might soon become a major exporter, like
 Australia and New Zealand.

 ``In the U.S., most good cuts are from grain-fed animals. Meat from
 grass-fed cows is different: Less tender, less tasty,'' he declared.

 Just how big an exporter Argentina can become will depend on marketing
 and how producers can boost dwindling heads of cattle, which now stand at
 a 30-year low.

 Already, Russian delegations have come to Buenos Aires in a bid to find a
 substitute for European Union beef, which has been tainted by fears of
 mad cow disease. Russia could import 40,000 tons a year, according to the
 U.S. Embassy in Buenos Aires.

 ``We think foreign players will come and bet on the Argentine market as a
 result of the new export possibilities,'' said Yael Malik of the
 agribusiness firm Cresud, which has Argentina's biggest cattle herd and
 ranches covering almost 500,000 acres.

Date: Sat, 23 Aug 1997 21:21:53 -0400 (EDT)
From: Jean Colison <[e-mail]>
To: Ar-news <[e-mail]>
Subject: Fur Information Council
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII


Washington Post
Letters-to-the-Editor
1150 15th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20071


Free For All

Saturday, August 23, 1997; Page A17
The Washington Post

Fur Chic
Contrary to Kevin Sullivan's reference that fur coats have fallen out of
fashion due to animal rights protests here in the United States ["Fur
Eastern Economics: Beijing's Pelt Belt," Business, Aug. 6] fur sales
have risen 15 percent in the past two years alone, and now are up to
$1.25 billion in retail sales in the United States. Fur is very much in
fashion, as evidenced by the abundance of fur seen on the runways this
year. Every top fashion magazine has hailed the return of fur as the
major fashion trend of the year, and the number of designers including
fur in their collections has quadrupled in the past dozen years.
Furthermore -- according to a poll by Responsive Management, a research
firm specializing in public opinion on conservation, wildlife and
environmental issues -- 88 percent of Americans believe that the animal
rights movement has no influence on their decision to wear fur. In
addition, 92 percent disapprove of the tactics used by animal activists.
-- Carol Wynne
The writer is executive director of the Fur Information Council of
America.


⌐Copyright 1997 The Washington Post Company
Date: Sat, 23 Aug 1997 23:06:31 -0400
From: allen schubert <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (US) Dwindling donations force Greenpeace to downsize
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

from CNN web page:
-----------------------------------
                     Dwindling donations force Greenpeace to downsize

                     August 23, 1997
                     Web posted at: 10:04 p.m. EDT (0204
                     GMT)

                     SAN FRANCISCO (CNN) -- A quarter of a century ago,
                     the environmental group Greenpeace captured the
                     world's attention and imagination with
                     high-profile campaigns, such as the effort by its
                     ship, Rainbow Warrior, to thwart nuclear testing.

                     But now, as Greenpeace tries to stop oil drilling
                     off the coast of Alaska, hardly anybody notices.
                     And far fewer people are giving money to the
                     group.

                     As donations continue to fall, Greenpeace U.S.A.
                     is downsizing. In addition to its Washington
                     headquarters, only five field offices will remain
                     open. Staff will be slashed from around 400 to 65,
                     and Greenpeace's international organization will
                     exert more control over its American subsidiary.

                     "Perhaps we are losing touch
                     with some of our supporters
                     out there, and that means to
                     us that we need to refocus,"
                    says Greenpeace's Deborah
                     Rephan. "We need to regroup. We need to get clear
                     and stronger about what our campaign priorities
                     are."

                     The group's focus is expected to change, with
                     forest destruction and global warming as the top
                     priorities. Some environmental experts say that is
                     a smart strategy.

                      "They've got to focus on certain
                     environmental problems. You can't focus
                     on the whole thing -- it's an exhausting
                     experience for sure," says Dan Dahlsten of the
                     University of California.

                     While some might believe that there is less to
                     worry about these days because they perceive the
                     Clinton administration as environmentally
                     friendly, Greenpeace disagrees, urging people to
                     look at the record.

                     "We still see polluter-friendly politics coming
                     out of the Clinton administration," says the
                     group's Bradley Angel. "As insane as it is, the
                     Clinton administration is still entertaining the
                     idea of building a nuclear waste dump above an
                     aquifer, threatening the drinking water for 20
                     million people, including Los Angeles."

                     But just how Greenpeace will narrow its message to
                     global warming and forest preservation when many
                     of its troops are primarily interested in other
                     issues could be the organization's biggest
                     challenge.