Komputer for Alle 1998 #6/1998 CD 6 (Gul).iso/web/ffa/wwwenv~1.org/arrs/digest/news56~4.htm/text0001.txt

Text File | 1998-04-02 | 56.3 KB | 1,449 lines

>From The Electronic Telegraph - Sunday, November 2nd, 1997

Dambusters of Ganges declare Hindu holy war
By Julian West in Hardwar

AN army of Indian holy men, brandishing Shiva tridents, is storming up the
Ganges in a motorised amphibious temple to wage war on a dam.

In what promises to be an epic battle between Hindu traditionalism and
progress, the sadhus have sworn to tear apart the dam with their bare hands
if construction is not halted.

Issuing fearsome cries of "Ganga Mata ki Jai" - "victory to Mother Ganges"
- the dreadlocked holy men are currently travelling up the 1,500-mile river
on a 70ft motor launch decked out as a temple, complete with a statue of
the river goddess Ganga, whipping up agitation against the Tehri dam in the
upper reaches of the river.

They are drawing massive crowds along their route, which stretches from the
mouth of the Ganges in the Bay of Bengal to the river's headwaters in
Gangotri. Indians revere the mighty Ganges as the holiest of India's many
sacred rivers and thousands of Hindus in holy towns along the river, like
Hardwar and Varanasi, sing prayers to the Ganges at dusk.

The Tehri dam was first conceived almost 20 years ago. But it has been
mired in controversy from the outset: mainly over the million people it
will displace, the risk of flooding and the threat of earthquake damage in
the seismically active Himalayas. Construction has been
halted many times by anti-dam activists, and work on concreting the
260-metre barrage has only just begun.

The thousands of holy men camping in the many pilgrimage towns downstream,
as well as many residents, fear that if the dam is breached riverside towns
such as Rishikesh and Hardwar would be inundated in minutes.

But what incenses the sadhus is what they call a violation of the purity of
the goddess Ganga. "Ganges is the holy nectar that flows from the lotus
feet of the god Vishnu, the hands of the god Brahma and the hair of the god
Shiva," rapsodised holy men on the banks of the river in Hardwar last week.
"She is the liquid goddess Mother Ganga."

They maintain that the barrage will "enchain the holy goddess" and that the
25-mile reservoir will be a catchment for "all manner of impious things",
such as sewage from villages and, in particular, monsoon rain.

One holy man explained that during the two-month summer monsoon, when the
river swirls with brown silt, the millions of sadhus who worship the Ganges
stop their prayers, believing that the river goddess is having her period.
"We don't worship that water," said Swami
Shyamsunderadas Shavtri.

What is not clear is why the holy men have only now decided to act. The
Ganges is already one of the world's most polluted rivers, choked with
effluent from tanneries and chemical plants along the banks, floating
animal carcasses and dead bodies with vultures perched on
them. A campaign to launch carnivorous turtles into the river to eat the
corpses failed when the turtles themselves were hunted for soup.

Nonetheless, at a World Hindu Conference in Hardwar 10 days ago, attended
by King Birendra of Nepal, 50,000 holy men vowed to halt the Tehri dam. A
second, mammoth gathering of sadhus, in eight days, is planned in
Allahabad, where the amphibious temple will temporarily halt.

As a next step, Swami Chinmayananda, the campaign's chairman, is
threatening to mobilise India's estimated two million holy men - from
fearsome naked Naga Babas to trident-wielding Shiva sadhus - at the massive
Kumbh Mela religious festival in Allahabad early next year. "I demand the
government of India stops this dam," said Swami
Chinmayananda. "If they don't listen to me, the holy men will take action."

The Swami commands support from a number of powerful Right-wing Hindu MPs
from the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party. And it is unlikely that the
government will entirely dismiss his threat. In 1992, fanatical grassroots
supporters of the BJP demolished the three domes
of the Babri mosque in Ayodhya with their bare hands in 45 minutes.

So far, the Tehri dam has withstood one earthquake, in 1991, without
apparent damage. But even its seismically proofed foundations may not be
able to withstand a horde of angry holy men.

⌐ Copyright Telegraph Group Limited 1997.

Date: Sun, 02 Nov 1997 06:21:46 -0500
From: allen schubert <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (US) Sheriff suspects animal rights activists freed minks
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
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More details on the story from last week.
from Newsworks http://search.newsworks.com/
--------------------------------------------
 Sheriff suspects animal rights activists freed minks


                    MEDFORD, WIS.

                    Raids on three Wisconsin farms over the weekend,
                    loosing thousands of minks into the wild, may be
                    linked to an animal rights group that has claimed
                    credit for mink-farm raids across the country,
                    officials said Tuesday.

                    Federal agents have joined the search because the
                    raids may be part of a nationwide campaign targeting
                    fur ranchers across the country, Taylor County
                    Sheriff Bill Breneman said.

                   ``We look at this as an act of domestic terrorism,''
                    he said.

                    Over the weekend, three mink farms were hit in
                    Wisconsin, the nation's leader in producing mink
                    pelts. About 800 minks were released from the Smieja
                    Fur Farm near Independence, and on Sunday more than
                    300 were loosed from the Ott Mink Ranch near Tomahawk
                    and about 3,000 from the Jack Dittrich farm near
                    Medford in Taylor County.

                    Breneman said the underground Animal Liberation Front
                    was among the suspects, but no one had claimed
                    responsibility by Tuesday afternoon.

                    Activists trying to free domesticated minks are
                    simply harming the animals, the sheriff said.

                    ``These animals are not conditioned to survive being
                    turned loose in the wild,'' he said. ``It is like
                    someone dumping off their cat or dog. They are not
                    doing a humane act here.''

                    In October alone, minks have been freed at ranches in
                    Oregon, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa and South Dakota.

                    The vandalism near Medford was similar to animal
                    releases in the past that the Animal Liberation Front
                    has claimed responsibility for.

                    The group's web page says ``the Animal Liberation
                    Front carries out direct action against animal
                    abusing in the form of rescuing animals and causing
                    financial loss to animal exploiters, usually through
                    the damage and destruction of property.''

                    Several days after 5,000 minks and some foxes were
                    released in the early hours of Oct. 6 from a Preston,
                    Ore., ranch, the Animal Liberation Front claimed
                    responsibility.

                    ``The cages were opened and nesting boxes were
                    removed,'' the group said in a notice. ``The minks
                    quickly climbed out of their prison cells, jumped to
                    the earth, and excitedly ran through the fields,
                    enjoying their first taste of freedom, ever.''

                    The Liberation Front said it was the 38th such
                    release it has committed in the United States in the
                    last two years.

                    Police in Wisconsin are searching for the drivers of
                    a red, four-door Geo Metro and a red Dodge Neon who
                    were reportedly ``acting suspicious'' around mink
                    ranches, Breneman said.

                    A red Geo with out-of-state license plates was seized
                    in Sheboygan County Tuesday, but no person was taken
                    into custody, according to Sheboygan Sheriff's
                    Department Capt. David Adams.

                    All but about 500 of the minks freed at the Dittrich
                    ranch near Medford had been recovered by Tuesday
                    afternoon, said Joan Dittrich, Jack's wife.

                    ``Hopefully, we will get them all. We are working on
                    it,'' she said.

                    Alex Ott Jr., the owner of the Ott Mink farm, said
                    there wasn't any graffiti or indication at his ranch
                    that animal rights activists were behind the
                    break-in. But they did know what they were doing, he
                    said.

                    ``If you start playing with latches at night, the
                    minks attack the doors,'' he said. ``They probably
                    wore leather gloves.''

                    In Illinois, authorities discovered an e-mail
                    circulated to animal rights activists saying that the
                    Animal Liberation Front was behind an Oct. 5 raid
                    that freed more than 5,000 minks from an Illinois
                    ranch.

                    On Oct. 17, about 3,000 minks were released from a
                    South Dakota ranch after somebody cut a 20-foot
                    section of fence.

                    A motorist driving past Dittrich's farm at 3 a.m.
                    Sunday noticed the minks streaming across the road,
                    Breneman said The motorist alerted the family and
                    they started trying to recapture the animals.

                    Wisconsin produced 718,100 mink pelts in 1996 from
                    the state's 74 mink ranches, state officials said.
                    Utah was second with 585,000 pelts from 130 ranchers.



Date: Sun, 02 Nov 1997 06:31:20 -0500
From: allen schubert <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (US) Defense lawyer calls animal rights activist a "standout
  freak'
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

from News works http://www.newsworks.com/
----------------------------------------------------------------
Defense lawyer calls animal rights activist a "standout freak'

Trial begins for man accused in incident at West Haven fur company

October 24, 1997
By TIM GURRISTER
Standard-Examiner staff

OGDEN -- A defense lawyer asked a 2nd District Court jury not to convict
his animal rights activist client Thursday because he's a "standout freak"
with beliefs outside mainstream culture.

In his opening statement, lawyer Geoffrey Clark also promised an alibi
witness for Trev J. Poulson, who is accused of attempted aggravated arson
at a West Haven fur company.

Conversely, as Poulson's two- day trial on the second-degree felony began,
the prosecution said Poulson gave them a detailed confession for the
incident March 19th at the Montgomery Fur Co., 1678 S. 1900 West.

Deputy Weber County Attorney Gary Heward said two accomplices were ready to
testify against Poulson. He faces up to 15 years in prison if found guilty.

Agents from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms joined the
Weber County Sheriff's Office in investigating the foiled arson, meant as
protest of harvesting animals for fur or meat.

"We're not trying Mr. Poulson on his beliefs," Clark reminded the
eight-person jury. "Keep that dear to your heart. . . . this young man is
different. He's not normal. He's a standout freak.

" . . . he subscribes to an online service for animal rights activists. He
is anti-government. He is paranoid about law enforcement. He is paranoid
about big bureaucracies. He subscribes to a magazine that accuses the ATF
and the FBI of abuses, of planting evidence."

According to the prosecution, Poulson, 19, of Layton, and an alleged
accomplice were identified by a security guard at Montgomery Fur, who told
police that he watched the two men pour an estimated 25 gallons of gasoline
around the base of the building early the morning of March 19.

As the suspects were preparing a one-gallon milk carton to use as a fuse,
the night watchman yelled at the two men and they fled in a pickup truck.

Terry Montgomery, the owner of the fur company, testified Thursday about
two other "terroristic" incidents at the business. He said he sells hunting
and trapping gear, plus "raw furs."

Last November, Montgomery said he went to the office one night to discover
the place had been broken into and gasoline had been splashed around the
office.

In January 1997, tires were slashed on several vehicles at the fur company.
One vehicle had the letters ALF scratched on the body, which Montgomery
said he took to stand for "Animal Liberation Front." After that, he said,
he hired a security guard.

In news reports the ALF took credit for planning the abortive March 19
incident.

Clark said a witness will testify that Poulson was in Logan visiting her at
the time of the crime.

But Heward said that convicted co-conspirators Cameron M. Kraus, 18, of
Centerville, and Bret G. Walton, 18, of Bountiful, will testify against
Poulson.

The trial reconvenes today.
Date: Sun, 02 Nov 1997 06:40:27 -0500
From: allen schubert <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (US) Skateboards, animal rights, music are his top passions
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

from News works http://www.newsworks.com/
----------------------------------------------------------------
Skateboards, animal rights, music are his top passions

 ANDREW HEDRICK

Where interviewed: Greer Skate Park, Palo Alto
Occupation: Skateboarder
Home: Half Moon Bay
Age: 17

What are you doing out here if you live in Half Moon Bay? ``I was bored
today. I go to school at Foothill. It's right up there.''

How long you been skate- boarding? ``Off and on for a couple of years but
seriously the last couple
of months. I skate usually two to five hours every day. It's just something
you come out and
have fun. Even if you're not good at it, you can still have fun doing it.
There's no
deepness or yoga to it. You're just thinking about doing different tricks,
trying to jump over things.''

What do you call a place like this? ``A bowl. It's nice to have a place
like this you can go to in the daytime and skate because skateboarders are
so looked down on, everywhere they go they call the cops and kick you out.
I guess they associate skateboarding with hoodlums.''

You're not a hoodlum. What other things do you do? ``I kickbox. I'm in a
band, Gaea Bleeds. We play like a cross between metal and hard-core. I play
the
drums. We just went down to L.A. We get paid for playing, but we're not
really signed. We're supposed to do a seven-inch, a compilation. But I
don't really know if any of that's going to happen.''

What are you studying? ``Math, philosophy and English right now. But I'm
trying to major in philosophy and computer science. I'd like to go on and
be a lawyer
because I'm pretty heavily involved in animal rights and they always need
lawyers.''

And computers? ``It's something nice to fall back on.''

What do you do about animal rights, Andrew? ``Protests. There's a really
big one coming up the day after Thanksgiving, Fur Free Friday. It's the
biggest
shopping day of the whole year. Ours is going to take place in San
Francisco, Union Square. There's four big stores there that all sell furs.
I don't see any reason why we should have to kill innocent animals just to
clothe somebody -- there's no reason, especially with fur, because of how
tortured they are. I'm vegan; I don't consume, use or wear animal products
of any kind.''

You sound awfully busy with hours a day on your board, school, your music
and protests. ``I also work a lot. I'm the security guard at a gated
community down where I live.''

You carry a gun? ``Oh, no. I open the front gate for people.''

-- Mike Weiss


Date: Sun, 02 Nov 1997 06:46:44 -0500
From: allen schubert <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (US) Supervisors Unlikely To Stop Animal Sales S.F. board
  shows little interest in ban
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

from  San Francisco Chronicle via News works http://www.newsworks.com/
----------------------------------------------------------------
Supervisors Unlikely To Stop Animal Sales S.F. board shows little interest
in ban

April Lynch, Chronicle Staff Writer

Despite the uproar it has caused, San Francisco's proposed ban on the sale
of live animals in food stores has about as much of a future as a chicken
being eyed for purchase at the neighborhood poultry mart.

Although city animal welfare officials voted Thursday to prohibit market
owners from selling live creatures likely to end up as dinner, the Board of
Supervisors still has the last word. And the board, backed by Chinatown
merchants and community leaders angry with the proposal, doesn't seem
inclined to give the idea much support.

``This ban is nonsense. . .and very divisive,'' Supervisor Tom Hsieh said
yesterday. ``I don't think the board will support it, or even consider it.''

The proposal approved by the Commission of Animal Control and Welfare would
put an end to the sale of live chickens, frogs, turtles and other
creatures. Live fish and shellfish, however, would be exempt. Since it
first surfaced a few years ago, the idea has put some of San Francisco's
most powerful groups at odds with each other.

Many Chinese residents see the ban as a cultural insult and a shopping
nightmare, something akin to closing down Italian delis because some people
might be put off by the big hunks of prosciutto hanging from the ceiling.

Chinese cooking puts a premium on fresh ingredients, even if that means
having an animal killed at the store or at home. Many Chinese cooks would
not serve their families a package of processed, plastic-wrapped,
thawed-out chicken breasts from a big supermarket.

``If you think what Chinese stores do is bad, go look at a big chicken or
steak farm and see what they do,'' said C. K. So, who works at a fresh
seafood market along Clement Street. ``It is a lot worse, but people don't
care because it is hidden.''

But animal rights advocates who pushed for the ban say that the live animal
markets are unnecessarily cruel. San Francisco's markets do not carry the
same range of creatures as their counterparts in China, where badgers and
dogs sit in cages awaiting their fate. But turtles, frogs and various live
fowl are common.

Animal rights supporters say the animals are kept in horrible conditions,
with birds crammed into cages so tightly that they crush each other and
frogs piled one on top of the other in big plastic bins. Animal advocates
also want to make sure that animals are killed before they are skinned, cut
up or have their shells ripped off.

``Stop the inhumane slaughter, and eliminate the crushing,'' said Richard
Avanzino, president of the San Francisco SPCA. ``If they would do those
things, we would find no necessity to call for a ban. It is not culture or
national origin that causes shopkeepers to treat animals this way, it is
profit margin.''

With powerful Chinatown groups lobbying hard, most of the Board of
Supervisors seems lined up against the ban. For the idea to go forward, a
board member would need to sponsor it, and so far none has stepped forward.
Mayor Willie Brown has taken no position on the issue, according to his
press secretary, Kandace Bender.

But the animal rights groups are no pushover. San Francisco's SPCA
regularly gets national attention for its innovative programs, and has
thousands of sponsors and volunteers. The group may help lead a drive to
put the ban before the voters if the Board of Supervisors will not consider
it.

``If we won't get a fair hearing, then our only recourse is the people,''
Avanzino said. ``The community will have to be given a fair chance to make
its own decision.''
Date: Sun, 02 Nov 1997 06:51:56 -0500
From: allen schubert <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (US) Group seeks end to pigeon-shooting event
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

ref to Fund for Animals
from Myrtle Beach Access via News works http://www.newsworks.com/
----------------------------------------------------------------
Group seeks end to pigeon-shooting event

OXFORD, N.C. (AP) - Animal-rights activists are citing a century-old court
ruling in demanding an end to a pigeon-shooting contest that lures
contestants from as far away as Australia to a private farm here.

The event is the Dogwood Invitational and 28-Gauge Championship. It's one
of the country's last ''live shoots'' using real birds instead of clay
targets. More than 100 hunters from all over the world attend the contest
at the Dogwood Gun Club on John Malloy's farm.

Animal-rights supporters say shooting thousands of live, helpless pigeons
is cruel. And they've vowed not to let the pigeon shoot planned for next
week take place.

''It's impossible to hold a live pigeon shoot without hundreds of
violations of the animal cruelty law. These birds are maimed and killed for
a contest, and hundreds of birds are neglected,'' said Angel Gambino,
director of legal affairs for the Fund for Animals. ''It's illegal, immoral
and simply must be stopped.''

Most of the pigeons are only wounded by the shotgun pellets, then lie on
the ground dying, the group said.

Malloy said he doesn't understand why shooting pigeons is so controversial.
The contest is a social gathering among friends, he said.

''This is a fairly small group of hunters, and these animal-rights people
are commenting on something they know very little about,'' he said.

Last week, Granville County Sheriff Marion Grissom got a letter from The
Fund for Animals asking him to halt the contest.

Grissom turned the letter over to Granville County District Attorney David
Waters, who said the court ruling the animal-rights group cited is more
than 100 years old and may not still apply. Waters said he will wait to
hear from the state attorney general before making a decision.
Date: Sun, 2 Nov 1997 22:40:26 +0800
From: bunny <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: BSE-UK 1980-1985
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

BSE - UK: 1980-1985
*******************


Date: Wed, 29 Oct 1997 18:47:41 -0800

Source: Electronic Telegraph, October 30, 1997.

Approximately 54,000 cows infected with Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy
entered the food chain in Britain, in the years before the disease was
identified in 1986, according to a new report.

The study, published in the 30 October 1997 issue of the journal Nature
(v389, p903) show people were exposed to the disease as early as 1980. Up
to 54,000 infected animals were slaughtered for human consumption, before
clinical onset of BSE, between 1980 and 1985.

"Most of those animals were in the early stages of the incubation period so
hopefully they were not very infectious," said Professor Roy Anderson of
Oxford University.

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

Rabbit Information Service,
P.O.Box 30,
Riverton,
Western Australia 6148

Email>  [e-mail]

http://www.wantree.com.au/~rabbit/rabbit.htm
(Rabbit Information Service website updated frequently)

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Date: Sun, 2 Nov 1997 22:43:41 +0800
From: bunny <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (UK)BSE & CJD (NEW VARIANT), EVIDENCE FOR LINK
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
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BSE & CJD (NEW VARIANT), EVIDENCE FOR LINK
******************************************

Date: Tue, 28 Oct 1997



The following is a press release (dated 15 October 1997) from the UK Health
and Safety Executive issued after consideration of the recent research
which indicated that mice infected with brain material from nvCJD patients
exhibit patterns of disease that are apparently the same as those caused by
BSE and different from normal CJD.


15 October 1997

HSE ADVISES THAT BSE SHOULD BE CONSIDERED A BIOLOGICAL AGENT
FOLLOWING
RESEARCH LINK WITH NEW VARIANT CJD

In the light of new research strengthening the link between BSE and new
variant CJD (nvCJD), BSE must now be considered a biological agent (human
pathogen) within the meaning of the Control of Substances Hazardous to
Health (COSHH) Regulations 1994.

The Advisory Committee on Dangerous Pathogens (ACDP) has drawn this
conclusion after recent research showed that mice infected with brain
material from nvCJD patients exhibit patterns of disease - incubation
period and brain lesions - that are apparently the same as those caused by
BSE and different from normal CJD.

The ACDP believe that this, taken with other experimental data since March
1996, provides compelling evidence that nvCJD and BSE are caused by the
same infectious agent and advise that in view of the severity of nvCJD, the
BSE agent should be placed in the same hazard group (3 with derogation) as
the agent responsible for CJD.

BSE has yet to be formally added in the EC classification list under the
Biological Agents Directive 90/679/EEC, but in the meantime, COSHH Schedule
9 requires that employers make their own classification of any agent that
is not listed in the Approved List of Biological Agents  or the ACDP
publication "Categorisation of biological agents according  to hazard and
categories of containment."

To date there have been no confirmed cases of occupational transmission of
either BSE or CJD and none of the cases of nvCJD has any obvious link with
occupational exposure to BSE.  Cases of classic CJD have been diagnosed in
a range of different occupations but there remains no evidence that these
are linked to occupational exposure to BSE or CJD.


The ACDP's advice and recommended worker safety measures have always been
precautionary in the light of the uncertainty about the risks from BSE.
Occupations that do not intentionally work with BSE, e.g., abattoir
workers, vets, should continue to follow the advice given since 1990 and
updated most recently in ACDP general guidance on BSE published in August
1996.  Farmers can get specific advice in Agricultural Information Sheet no
19 "Occupational health risks from Cattle".

Those intentionally working with BSE infected material or preparations such
as laboratory researchers should use the same laboratory safety precautions
as for CJD.  Advice on these can be found in the 1992 publication
"Precautions for work with human and animal  Transmissible  Spongiform
Encephalopathies" or in the Categorisation guidance. The 1992 guidance is
being revised and updated and will be published early in 1998.

Further details of the advice on BSE and CJD can be obtained from the
following sources:-

Food National Interest Group,Glasgow          Tel [phone].
Fax [phone]

Dangerous Pathogens/Microbiology,Directorate of Science and
Technology,Bootle
Tel. [phone].           Fax.  [phone]    e-mail:
[e-mail]

Health Directorate,Biological Agents Policy section (ACDP Secretariat)
London
Tel. [phone]            Fax. [phone]     e-mail:
[e-mail]

Notes to editors

1. Bruce et al (1997) Transmissions to mice indicate that 'new  variant'
CJD is caused by BSE agent. Nature 389:pp498-501. Hill et al  (1997) The
same prion strain causes nvCJD and BSE.   Nature  389:pp448-450.

2. The Advisory Committee on Dangerous Pathogens (ACDP) advises the  Health
and Safety Commission, the Health and Safety Executive and  Health and
Agriculture Ministers on the risks to workers and others  from exposure to
pathogens.

3. "Categorisation of biological agents according to hazard and  categories
of containment", 1995, ISBN 0-7176-1038-1, price ú8.50, is  available from
HSE Books, PO Box 1999, Sudbury, Suffolk, CO10 6FS -  Tel [phone] -
Fax [phone].

4. "BSE (Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy): Background and General
Occupational Guidance", 1996, ISBN 0-7176-1212-0, price ú5.50, and
Agricultural Information Sheet 19 are available from HSE Books, PO Box
1999, Sudbury, Suffolk, CO10 6FS - Tel [phone] - Fax [phone].

5. "Precautions for work with human and animal Transmissible

Spongiform Encephalopathies" ISBN 0-11-321805-2, 1992, price ú6.50 is
available from the Stationary Office.

Public Enquiries: Call HSE's InfoLine, tel: [phone], or write to:  HSE
Information Centre, Broad Lane, Sheffield, S3 7HQ.

Press Enquiries: Journalists only: Liz Justice 0171-717 6905.

HSE information and press releases can be accessed on the Internet
<http://www.open.gov.uk/hse/hsehome.htm>

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

Rabbit Information Service,
P.O.Box 30,
Riverton,
Western Australia 6148

Email>  [e-mail]

http://www.wantree.com.au/~rabbit/rabbit.htm
(Rabbit Information Service website updated frequently)

     /`\   /`\
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Date: Sun, 2 Nov 1997 22:53:21 +0800
From: bunny <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: More Mad Cow Disease(Belgium)
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Brussels: Belgium reported its first case of mad cow disease,
calling it a blow to the country's beef sector.
Agriculture minister Karel Pinxten said the stricken animal was born
in 1992 on a farm near Namur, 40km south of Brussels. He had informed
the European Union head office and Belgium's EU partners.

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

Rabbit Information Service,
P.O.Box 30,
Riverton,
Western Australia 6148

Email>  [e-mail]

http://www.wantree.com.au/~rabbit/rabbit.htm
(Rabbit Information Service website updated frequently)

     /`\   /`\
    (/\ \-/ /\)
       )6 6(
     >{= Y =}<
      /'-^-'\
     (_)   (_)
      |  .  |
      |     |}
 jgs  \_/^\_/













Date: Sun, 2 Nov 1997 11:48:15 EST
From: JanaWilson <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (US) Oklahoma Weekly Hunting News
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit


As reported in local Oklahoma City news:

A special access permit will be required of anyone using Creek
National Wildlife Management Area in SE Oklahoma.  All funds
raised from permit sales will be used to develop and manage the
wildlife resources and habitat in the area.  The Oklahoma Wildlife
Dept. and the John Hancock Mutual Life Ins. Co, the landowner,
are working together to manage the fish and wildlife resources
on the 215,000-acre area.  Anyone using the land for hunting,
fishing, horseback riding, camping or any other activity is required
to buy an annual access permit.  For residents, the cost is $16
and for non-residents the cost is $25.  Lifetime license holders
are not exempt from having to buy the access permit.  Access
permits are available from anywhere hunting and fishing licenses
are sold.

A course on nuisance beaver control will be presented by the
Oklahoma Trappers and Predator Callers Association next
Saturday at the Okla. Wildlife's Dept. Tulsa office.  The four
hour course has a registration fee of $20.

Deer hunters must get permission to track wounded animals
onto private land adjoining their hunting area a/w Mr. John Streich,
law enforcement chief of the Okla. Wildlife Dept.
"Although hunters have an obligation to the animals they hunt to
make every attempt to recover deer, they can't track an animal
onto private land without the owner's permission.  If they can't
get permission, there's nothing legally they can do to recover
the animal.  That's why we strongly advise that hunters get
permission tot rack wounded deer on adjoining properties
before going hunting," said Mr. Streich.
He added that as a last resort, hunters can try to contact their
local game warden.  The game warden may know where to locate
the landowner, but hunter shouldn't assume they'll be able to
track down the landowner or get permission to follow the deer.

As part of the Oklahoma Wildlife's Dept. efforts to introduce
women to the "outdoor life", a one-day outdoor skills workshop
will be held Nov. 15 at the Chickasaw National Recreation Area
off Interstate-35 near Sulfur, Okla.
The workshop, which is co-sponsored by the Wildlife Dept. and
the Chickasaw National Recreation Area, will provide participants
with an opportunity to learn such outdoor skills as archery,
fishing, dutch over cooking, bird watching, nature crafts and
beginning canoeing. The cost is $15 and enrollment is limited to 60.

                                                     For the Animals,

                                                     Jana, OKC
Date: Sun, 2 Nov 1997 17:34:03 -0300
From: [e-mail]
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (AR) NEWS AT THE ARGENTINE MILITARY HOSPITAL
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>

(AR) NEWS ON ANIMALS TORTURE AT THE ARGENTINE MILITARY HOSPITAL

BACKGROUND:

In our ACTION ALERT (October '97) we reported the aberrant
experiments carried out at The Argentine Military Hospital. To
perform his work "Traumatic Shock and Liver", Dr. Major Guillermo
Daniel Vadr a tortured and killed 42 dogs. For this reason we had
asked you to send contempt messages to Lieutenant General Martin
Balza.

NEW FACTS:

General Martin Balza answered to this worldwide contempt arguing
that during his command no medical research endangering the animals
integrity had been performed. He added that the work carried out by
Dr. Major Guillermo D. Vadra is actually a worw carried out... in
1986!

BUT:

The scientific magazine which pick up the work carried out by Dr.
Major Guillermo D. Vadra which makes reference to the acts of
torture instilled on the 42 dogs:

a) is a publication entitled "Revista de la Sanidad Militar
Argentina" -Argentine Military Health Magazine- and it belongs to
the Army (which promotes in this way this ruthless work)

b) was published in 1996 and distributed afterwards.

c) in NO PLACE, AT ALL, the scientific issue makes reference to the
fact that the work done by Dr. Major G.D.Vadra has been carried out
10 years ago.

d) the sources cited in the atroucius work "Traumatic Shock and
Liver" include quotations from issues released AFTER year 1986
(which would add the talents of fortune-teller to the sadistic
traits of Dr. Vadra!)

e) in the same publication it is said that Argentine Military Health
has awarded a prize to Dr. Major Vadra: "PREMIO BIENAL (1995-1996)
DR. JUAN MADERA" (a curious way the Army has of repudiating a s tudy
which according to General Balza, it wouldn't have been done during
his command!)


.....................................................................
THANK YOU VERY MUCH TO ALL OF THOSE WHO HAVE SENT THEIR CONTEMPT
MESSAGES !!!

We"ll keep you posted about this and other news.

.........................................................................
Information mailed by CLUB DE ANIMALES FELICES (Happy Animal's Club)
[e-mail]

Date: Sun, 2 Nov 1997 14:16:36 -0800 (PST)
From: Dawn <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: RFI: Fur Free Friday Florida
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

Attention Northern and Central Florida:

If anyone is planning a Fur Free Friday in Northern or Central
Florida, please send details to: [e-mail]

Aren't Laura Strickland's group in Jax or FL Voices for Animals in
Tampa planning a Fur Free Friday?

Common people, don't let up the pressure. We have NOT won this battle
yet.

TIA and Keep fighting the good fight!

Dawn
Gainesville, FL
===
[e-mail]


_____________________________________________________________________
Sent by RocketMail. Get your free e-mail at http://www.rocketmail.com

Date: Mon, 3 Nov 1997 07:09:02 +0800
From: bunny <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: HANTAVIRUS, RODENTS - CHILE
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

HANTAVIRUS, RODENTS - CHILE
***************************


Date: Fri, 31 Oct 1997

Source: El Mercurio, Santiago Chile; 14 October 1997


Specialists from the CDC of the United States have toured southern Chile
for the past two weeks to collect information on the incidence of
hantavirus infection in the rodent population.  [The disease has been
confirmed in 20 cases of human infection in Chile with 12 deaths, a 60%
case-fatality rate].  In the final report delivered to the Minister of
Health, they indicated the possibility that there may be two hantaviruses
in two mouse species.

This could explain how the virus might be transmitted among distinct
species of mice that share the same habitat.  Dr. James N. Mills, one of
the CDC experts in charge of the work of trapping rodents in the area of
Cohiaique, Aisen, and Valdivia, indicated that the study of the reservoir
of disease was very successful, in that close to 2,000 traps placed in
various areas captured 316 rodents [about 16% trap success rate]
representing 9 species.

Among them, 50% were _Oligoryzomys longicaudatus_ (the long tailed mouse),
35% were _Akodon olivaceous_ (the gray mouse), and a minor percentage were
_A. longipilis_ (the short furred mouse [?]).

Preliminary analysis indicated that 13% of the _Oligoryzomys_ and 8% of the
_A. olivaceous_ had antibodies to a hantavirus  [which virus is not
indicated].

"It could be that this occurrence is similar to that in the [1993] outbreak
in the southwest United States where, owing to the high concentration of
deer mice, other species of rodents were infected.  We found various
species with antibodies but when we look for virus in species that are not
specific carriers, we don't find any," added the expert [Jim Mills].

He indicated that the other possibility is that "We found one virus in _O.
longicaudatus_ and another in _A. olivaceus_, similar to the situation that
occurred in Argentina in the south of Sante Fe Province, where they found
four viruses in four species, distinct reservoirs in a restricted area."

In any event, Mills said that they must wait for the sequence results,
studies that will take place at the CDC to determine if one or two viruses
are in Chile.  The sequence studies will take less than two months to
establish the situations in Chile.

He also emphasized that many hantavirus have been discovered in North and
South America but only a small proportion of those are involved in human
disease.

Mills was cautious to indicate that if they find another virus in _A.
olivaceous_, they won't [immediately] know whether it is connected with
disease in humans.  He reaffirmed that the long tailed mouse is the same
species that carries Andes virus of Argentina.

The chief of the mission from the CDC, Ali Khan, pointed out that some of
the clinical properties of Chilean hantavirus  pulmonary syndrome are
different from those seen in the United States--such as a renal disfunction
in the patient.  At the same time, he highlighted that the study of
hantavirus cases in Chile showed that 20% were in children "something
unusual and not seen in the United States," he emphasized.  The cases in
children presented at the start of the outbreak in last August [and are not
continuing to occur in children?].

Dr. Figueroa, at the same time, indicated that when the population of this
type of rodent [which, is not clear] increases above normal levels, it is
due to climatic factors or the availability of food, and it is possible
that a species is able to invade the habitat of another.  "And this
circumstance is clearly compatible with the idea of infection from one
species to another in a transitional fashion."  [Not clear to me what this
means.]  The Secretary of State said that he was working with Chilean
scientists to determine the location of the reservoir [When they find it I
hope they will let us know!] and they are still studying the level of
antibody titres against hantavirus strains in the rodents they have
captured.

Epidemiologists: The director of the Chilean Society of Epidemiology,
Catherine Ferrecio, called upon the Minister of Health to create an
institutional program to deal with surveillance and control of epidemics.
The request would be brought before the Third Chilean Congress of
Epidemiology that is to take place October 15-17 in Vina del Mar [Sorry we
are late with this posting], where they will deal with advances in facing
emerging diseases such as hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, and studies on the
effects of various kinds of human infection.

--

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

Rabbit Information Service,
P.O.Box 30,
Riverton,
Western Australia 6148

Email>  [e-mail]

http://www.wantree.com.au/~rabbit/rabbit.htm
(Rabbit Information Service website updated frequently)

     /`\   /`\
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       )6 6(
     >{= Y =}<
      /'-^-'\
     (_)   (_)
      |  .  |
      |     |}
 jgs  \_/^\_/













Date: Sun, 2 Nov 1997 16:07:13 -0700 (MST)
From: robanne harrison <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: dog as Plaintiff
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII

Has anyone heard of a case in Ohio (I think) where a man, who had been hit
by a car, wants to include his dog as a Plaintiff in his lawsuit? Any info
will be helpful- especially the name of the attorney representing them.
Thx- Robanne     [e-mail]
(don't forget not to hit forward when
responding)

Date: Mon, 3 Nov 1997 07:11:28 +0800
From: bunny <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: BSE - BELGIUM: FIRST CASE
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

BSE - BELGIUM: FIRST CASE
*************************

Date: Sat, 01 Nov 1997

The first case of BSE has been reported by the Belgian Minister of
Agriculture on October 31, 1997 at 2:30 PM local time.  The cow was sent to
the slaughterhouse on the 17th of September, but presented neurological
disorders, so it was discarded from the food chain.  The head was sent to
the lab and the carcass has been destroyed.  The [Belgian laboratory's
diagnosis of BSE] has been confirmed by the British lab in Weybridge.

[The animal] was a five and a half-year-old cow, born on the same farm from
which it was sent to the slaughterhouse.   [Presently, epidemiological data
are not available, but an investigation is ongoing involving] particularly
the cows of the same age on that farm.  The farm is located in the province
of Namur.

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

Rabbit Information Service,
P.O.Box 30,
Riverton,
Western Australia 6148

Email>  [e-mail]

http://www.wantree.com.au/~rabbit/rabbit.htm
(Rabbit Information Service website updated frequently)

     /`\   /`\
    (/\ \-/ /\)
       )6 6(
     >{= Y =}<
      /'-^-'\
     (_)   (_)
      |  .  |
      |     |}
 jgs  \_/^\_/













Date: Sun, 02 Nov 1997 17:07:55 -0800
From: Andrew Gach <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Frankenstein is running scared
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

Scary science from Frankenstein to genetic clones

Scripps Howard
(November 1, 1997 12:34 p.m. EST)

Witches, ghosts and vampires still have their ghoulish charms, but to
really put goosebumps on Americans these days, the magic formula
seems to be a little stray DNA, a mutant virus, and some conspiring
space aliens. Forget about the undead; this Halloween, send in the
clones.

The newly released film "Gattaca," about a future world with a ruling
class of genetically-engineered "perfect" people, is but one of a series
of works dealing with cloning issues and hoping to follow the box-office
success of flicks like "Jurassic Park" and its sequel.

The notion of the mad scientist, of technology run amok, of the
medically bizarre, is, of course, as old as human storytelling: the
Bible has the tower of Babel; Greek mythology the stories of Icarus and
his wings, and Prometheus, who earned the wrath of the gods by stealing
fire and making men out of clay.

But in a world of instant communications and impression, scientists are
becoming more than a little worried that people are forgetting the
"fiction" part of "science fiction," and that public fears may translate
into laws that ban or cut funding for legitimate research.

It's a concern more often than not expressed with rolled eyes and
nervous titters, but there are signs that the Ph.Ds are taking the power
of pop culture over what they do more seriously.

"I think we've all become more aware of the influence the popular
impression of what we do, and can't do, can have on our work," Scottish
researcher Ian Wilmut, whose team transplanted the DNA that became Dolly
the sheep, said in an interview earlier this year.

"The real scare story here is that unwise, though well-intentioned, laws
could deprive patients of the tremendous promise of genetic research,"
said Judith Bello, executive vice president of the Pharmaceutical
Research and Manufacturers Association, which was so spooked by the
pending release of "Gattaca" that it called a special briefing on the
promise of real genetic research for science reporters a few weeks ago.

Dr. Francis Collins, the politically astute head of the National Human
Genome Research Institute, took 60 members of his gene-mapping team out
for a viewing of "Gattaca" earlier this week, both for fun and to make
them more aware of what Collins termed "the science fiction buzz" over
what they're doing.

"People are afraid of things they don't understand, and since a lot of
people don't understand much about science and its reasoning, they're
suspicious of it," said University of Connecticut psychologist Stuart
Vyse, author of "Believing in Magic," a new book on the psychology of
superstition and related fears in the modern world.

"Science and scientists often get poor treatment by Hollywood, and
there's long been this unease about disturbing the natural world, or
attempting to do things that religion might consider reserved to God,
that plays into this," Vyse said.

Hollywood made the mold for science fiction horror with the 1931
classic, "Frankenstein," starring Boris Karloff as the corpse brought
back to monstrous life by Dr. Victor Frankenstein.

Now, the National Library of Medicine in Bethesda, Md., is opening,
opening, on Halloween, of course, an exhibit examining the written and
film depictions of the Frankenstein story going back to Mary Shelley's
original 1818 novel, based on a dream and written on a dare from Lord
Byron.

Titled "Frankenstein:Penetrating the Secrets of Nature," the exhibit
traces the medical science trends that influenced Shelley in the early
19th century and filmmakers who make the monster an icon more than 100
years later, but tries to address today's fears, too.

When Shelley wrote her novel, Edward Jenner's smallpox vaccine was just
emerging from ridicule and scientists were using jolts of electricity to
make frog legs and other animal limbs twitch into "reanimation." By the
1930s, experiments with artificial organs and the iron lung were
underway, and debate raged over genetic superiority, which caused
Karloff's monster to be equipped with a "criminal" brain.

"Frankenstein remains alive because it has become a metaphor for
anxieties and uneasiness about new discoveries in biology and medicine,"
said Susan Lederer, a medical historian at Penn State University and
curator of the exhibit, which runs through Aug. 15.

"Many of the fears and issues raised 200 years ago about science are
still before us today with endeavors like cloning, xenografting (animal
transplant), the genome project and other developments in biomedicine,"
added Elizabeth Fee, head of the history of medicine division at
the library.

While Frankenstein, like most doctors of the day, worked secretively
with cadavers, "we try to make the point that science today is much more
open and accessible to the public through the mass media, the World Wide
Web, our own library," Fee said.

"The challenge is how to navigate this ocean of information to educate
ourselves about new developments in biomedical science in order to make
responsible decisions," added Lederer.

But Vyse warns that "science is not a popular topic, and while people
may appreciate what it can do for them, they still fear what it might do
to them, that technology may cost them control in their lives. There's
no question this conflict is going to persist."

By LEE BOWMAN, Scripps Howard News Service

************************************************

A typical PR piece.  Not one single quote that might suggest the that
fears aroused by genetic manipulation are based on something more
tangible than public ignorance.

Andy
Date: Sun, 02 Nov 1997 17:09:06 -0800
From: Andrew Gach <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Human chickens released from the cage
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

'Human chickens' fly the coop after 168 hours

Agence France-Presse
OTTAWA (November 2, 1997 00:34 a.m. EST)

Two "human chickens" were released from their cage Saturday after being
cooped up together for 168 hours on display for passers-by.

Eric Wolf and Pamela Meldrum, both 27, were paid 2,500 dollars (1,750
U.S.) each to be cooped up together for a week, surviving on water from
a hose-pipe and a vegetarian mash, which they both described as
tasteless.

The exhibit at Canada's national arts center was to demonstrate the
plight of chicken locked up day after day without food or comfort. The
idea was dreamt up by artist Rob Thompson for a video production on
animal slaughter.

The only concession to the two featherless "chickens" was a toilet
discreetly hidden by a curtain.

The couple, who met only a couple of hours before being caged together
without any bedding, admitted to getting on well with each other --
although Meldrum did complain a couple of times about her partner's
smelly feet.

Wolf said that, for him, sitting on the floor of the cage was difficult.

"My neck is ready to fall right off my shoulders," he said.

Meldrum said that, apart from the physical discomfort and the smell of
Wolf's feet, one of the most difficult problems was having to answer the
same questions "hundreds of times" from different journalists.
Date: Mon, 3 Nov 1997 11:39:07 +0800
From: bunny <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (Aust)Natural plant hormones may protect against breast cancer
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Diet Linked With Cancer

by Ann Treweek

Sunday Times, Perth 2nd November 1997


Dramatic new evidence that a healthy diet protects women against breast cancer
has been found in Perth [Western Australia].

Key factors appear to be natural plant hormones in soy and other legumes,
whole grains and berries, fruit, vegetables and flax seed.

Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital breast centre director Dr David Ingram has
found a
substantial reduction in breast cancer risk for women with a high intake of
natural plant hormones called phyto-oestrogens.

These plant hormones have a similar chemical structure to the female hormone
oestrogen.

Dr Ingram spoke to the WA Breast Group this weel about his research
findings, just published in the prestigious medical journal, The Lancet.

His study, with colleagues Katherine Sanders, Marlene Kolybaba, and Derrick
Lopez, aimed to assess the association between phyto-oestrogen intake
(measured by urinary excretion) and breast cancer risk.

"It's probably the first big study in the world to look at this," Dr Ingram
said.

Doctors overseas are showing a lot of interest.

The study involved 144 pairs of women with women newly diagnosed with breast
cancer paired against age-matched "controls".

After adjustment for factors including alcohol and fat intake, the team
found that high excretion of two plant hormones were linked with a
substantial reduction in breast cancer risk.

The study team reported:"These findings could be important in the prevention
of breast cancer."

Most previous research on diet and breast cancer was based on the hypothesis
that a fat-rich diet predisposed women to the disease.

End

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

Rabbit Information Service,
P.O.Box 30,
Riverton,
Western Australia 6148

Email>  [e-mail]

http://www.wantree.com.au/~rabbit/rabbit.htm
(Rabbit Information Service website updated frequently)

     /`\   /`\
    (/\ \-/ /\)
       )6 6(
     >{= Y =}<
      /'-^-'\
     (_)   (_)
      |  .  |
      |     |}
 jgs  \_/^\_/




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