Komputer for Alle 1998 #6/1998 CD 6 (Gul).iso/web/ffa/wwwenv~1.org/arrs/digest/news59~4.htm/text0018.txt

Internet Message Format | 1998-04-02 | 37.9 KB

From: allen schubert <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (US) Fur Protestor On Hunger Strike
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
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from CNN custom news http://www.cnn.com/
-----------------------------------------
New Jersey State News
Reuters
02-DEC-97

Fur Protestor On Hunger Strike

(EATONTOWN) -- An anti-fur activist continues a hunger strike in a New
Jersey jail. Twenty-one-year Andrew Nicosia of Hewlett, New York, has been
held in the Monmouth County Jail since being arrested Friday at Macy's in
the Monmouth Mall. Two other protestors were released after posting bail...
but Nicosia is being held in lieu of 250 dollars cash. Animal rights
activists selected last Friday... generally the busiest shopping day of the
year... as a day of protest that they dubbed Fur-Free Friday.
Date: Tue, 02 Dec 1997 08:35:37 -0500
From: allen schubert <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (US) Geese Moving To Oklahoma
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
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from CNN custom news http://www.cnn.com/
------------------------------------------
Oklahoma State News
Reuters
02-DEC-97

Geese Moving To Oklahoma

(STATEWIDE) -- Several hundred Canadian Geese are headed to Oklahoma but
this isn't their usual migration. The U-S Department of Natural Resources
says the birds were captured near the Minneapolis-Saint Paul International
airport because they posed a threat to airplanes. Experts say the giant
birds can damage a jet airliner if they get caught in turbine engines.
After they're shipped to Oklahoma, the birds will be released at the
Choctaw Nation Indian reservation.
Date: Tue, 02 Dec 1997 09:32:49 -0500
From: Miyun Park <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: PRIMATE PROTEST--YERKES CENTER FOR TAXPAYER WASTE
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
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YOU MADE A DIFFERENCE IN APRIL

RETURN AND MAKE HISTORY IN DECEMBER

APE ARMY commander Rick Bogle along with other animal activists from around
the country will gather at the stone gate entrance of Emory University in
Decatur, Georgia on Saturday, Dec. 6, 1997 at 10:30 am for a peaceful
protest against the inhumane and unproductive 'research' being conducted at
Yerkes Regional Primate Research Center.  During its history, Yerkes
Primate Center has been the discoverer of nothing.

The only benefit to mankind that has proceeded from Yerkes has been to
increase the personal wealth of a few individuals; borne by the pain and
suffering of man's closest genetic relative.

Of the 3,000 primates at Yerkes, almost 500 die each year and for what?  What
has Yerkes produced? The cocaine addiction studies, started years ago,
continue
and still no help for human addicts.

Now Yerkes, ever mindful of the need to keep federal grant money rolling
in, is stepping up its campaign to find a cure for AIDS.  Yerkes is
constructing a new $12
million vaccine research center so that even more primates can undergo
intense, grueling experiments. Yerkes is giving false hope to HIV/AIDS
victims for a cure that it cannot produce. Yerkes' AIDS research is on a
road that leads nowhere.

You are invited to join other like-minded individuals to tell Emory/Yerkes
their cruel, useless experiments are a dying industry. Unlike other
movements, these victims cannot speak. Will you speak for them?

Together we can make a difference.  Together we will make change.  Together
we
will win.

For more information, please contact:

Animal Abuse Watch      770-945-4709   Sue McCrosky
ActUp San Francisco      415-522-2907   Michael Bellefountaine
Animal Defense League  404-252-1357   Nikki or Joel
In Defense of Animals    770-242-4343   Jean Barnes


Date: Tue, 02 Dec 1997 11:06:20 -0500
From: allen schubert <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (US) FDA Approves Beef Irradiation
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
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from Associated Press http://wire.ap.org
---------------------------------------
 12/02/1997 09:43 EST

 FDA Approves Beef Irradiation

 By CURT ANDERSON
 AP Farm Writer

 WASHINGTON (AP) -- Coming soon to your local meat market: Fresh beef
 irradiated with cobalt gamma rays?

 The Food and Drug Administration today approved use of irradiation to
 kill harmful bacteria such as E. coli in beef, a decision favored by an
 industry that was rocked this year by several meat recalls and consumer
 food safety fears.

 Dr. Michael Friedman, acting FDA commissioner, said in an interview that
 irradiation will become a useful tool in combating food-borne illness,
 but that ultimate responsibility still will rest with the food handler
 and preparer.

 ``We think it is safe and we think it is appropriate,'' Friedman said of
 the procedure. ``But the consumer should not believe that he or she does
 not have to use good cooking and handling techniques.''

 Some anti-nuclear activists have protested irradiation as unsafe, but
 Friedman said FDA scientists determined that the process does not change
 the fundamental properties of meat and does not make it radioactive in
 any way.

 ``There is no contact with a radioactive substance. There is nothing left
 on the meat,'' Friedman said.

 The FDA acted on a three-year-old petition from Isomedix Inc., a New
 Jersey company with long experience in medical sterilization that wants
 to offer meat processors irradiation with cobalt-60 gamma rays. There are
 many other ways to safely irradiate meat and other companies in the
 market.

 Such techniques would enable meat packers to kill bacteria at the end of
 the production line, after it is already sealed in packages and cannot be
 contaminated further. This is particularly important in ground beef,
 where bacteria can easily get beneath the surface during grinding.

 Although irradiation has been available for years for poultry, pork,
 spices and some fresh produce, interest in the process for beef
 intensified after this summer's recall of 25 million pounds of Hudson
 Food Co. hamburger tainted with E. coli.

 The meat industry lobbied vigorously for irradiation as an alternative to
 Clinton administration proposals for greater government authority to
 recall contaminated products and punish violators.

 ``I think there is a greater degree of interest,'' said Patrick Boyle,
 president of the American Meat Institute, a meatpacking industry
 organization.

 In this year's FDA spending bill, Congress ordered the agency to act
 within 60 days on the Isomedix petition. The bill also changed labeling
 requirements for all foods treated with irradiation so that the words
 need be no larger than those for the ingredients.

 The three years it took to act on the petition were necessary, Friedman
 said.

 ``There were some very complex scientific issues that had to be dealt
 with,'' he said. But, he added: ``We believe the safety of food is so
 important that we will be focusing our efforts in a more effective way in
 the future.''

 The FDA's action today approves safe irradiation dosage levels for
 various forms of meat, such as frozen, fresh and so on. It is now up to
 the Agriculture Department to issue regulations for processing plants
 that conform to those levels.

 Once that is done, Boyle said meat plants would have to figure out how to
 use irradiation, whether they can afford it and whether there is a
 consumer demand. It is uncertain how adaptable the process would be for
 hamburger that is ground in the grocery store.

 Most likely, consumers would see products marketed in the future that
 would offer them the choice of purchasing irradiated meat.

 ``I think it's going to take a little time for industry and consumers to
 move towards the adoption of irradiation as a purchasing option,'' he
 said.

 One reason irradiation is not widely used on other products is consumer
 wariness of the process and lack of education about it, said Brian
 Folkerts, vice president for governmental affairs at the National Food
 Processors Association.

 ``We need to stop giving consumers the impression that the label is a
 warning when it has been found safe,'' Folkerts said.

Date: Tue, 02 Dec 1997 11:12:14 -0500
From: allen schubert <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Embedded Code/Attachments--Admin Note
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Second attempt (first attempt was an hour ago)...apologies in advance if
this was posted to the list twice.

(This is not often a problem.)  Please avoid attaching files to posts to
AR-News (if an attachment may be useful, offer to send it privately to
those who respond to you via private e-mail).  Also, do not used embedded
html (or other code) in your posts to AR-News.

Both of these reduce the effectiveness of your post as many subscriber
(worldwide) do not have the same software as you.  Your important news item
may appear as gibberish -- people do not like reading such things.  And,
considering the international nature of the list, people may find the
"English" of html quite confusing.  Most people still get their e-mail in
ASCII format.  (For those who don't understand, too get an idea of embedded
codes, on Netscape, you can view the source code of a web page by clicking
"view" and then clicking "document source".  Internet Explorer has a
similar feature.)

While many subscribers may have no problem handling attachments, some do.
For some people, an attached file is downloaded as gibberish, gibberish
that takes time to download.  For others, it may be a useless thing that is
"forgotten" after the message was deleted--however, the "attachment" may
still be on the hard drive.

And...depending on the attachment, it *might* contain a virus if it uses a
"template" (this type of virus is known as a "macrovirus").  (For virus
information, there are a number of sources on the web.)

So...please offer to send the attachment via private e-mail (for those
subscribers who reply privately).

Allen Schubert
AR-News Listowner
[e-mail]


Date: Tue, 2 Dec 1997 08:22:50 -0800 (PST)
From: Friends of Animals <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Offensive Christmas Song Dropped
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

>From "The Advocate" in Connecticut

Taking a stance for animals' rights

Darien-based Friends of Animals won an unexpected victory last week.
After much controversy, the Norwalk Community Chorale agreed to
drop one of its Christmas parody songs about animals from its
upcoming program.

Dot Hayes, director of public information for Friends of Animals
received a complaint form some involved in Wednesday's show at
Norwalk City Hall who objected to "The Twelve Days After
Christmas."

The words of the parody of "The Twelve Days of Christmas" describe
the wringing of necks and the shooting and drowning of animals as
part of a holiday celebration.

"Why take the chance? Evidently the song was controversial, and I
guess the feeling was that it wouldn't be in good taste, so it isn't
going to be played.  The intention wasn't to insult anybody, this is
supposed to be a festive event," said Tim Scheibel, acting director of
Recreation and Parks in Norwalk.  The chorale operates under the
auspices of the parks board.

After receiving complaints, the animal rights organization stepped in
and did  what it does best -- argued for the protection of animals.

"If it was a joke, it was done in bad taste.  Killing animals in a
Christmas song just isn't funny." Hayes said.

The battle began with a phone call to Martin Diamond, director
of the Norwalk Community Chorale, and ended with letters and
phone calls to Norwalk Mayor Frank Esposito.  The mayor decided
to review the parody himself.

"We thought the song in itself was inappropriate, " City Clerk
K.C. Senie said. "The mayor looked at the song and suggested to
Martin Diamond that it be pulled.

"It raised our spirits, it made us feel pretty good that they actually
listened,"
Hayes said with a smile.

"Whoever wrote the song was attempting to be humorous," Scheibel
said.  "However, everybody has different personalities, and some would
have laughed and others would have been offended.  This ceremony isn't to
offend anyone, it is something to enjoy."

Friends of Animals is an international animal protection organization
of about 200,000 members and supporters who stand up for animal
rights It's national headquarters is located in Darien, with three other offices
in New York City, Washington, DC and Jerusalem.

Hayes wasn't counting on the chorale to rethink its song choices.

"I didn't have much faith it would work because when we called the Chorale
twice, we were met with such hostility and they became so furious they hung
up on us,"  Hayes said.  "Somebody must have intervened, but who cares,
it worked."

"All of the animal abuse included in the song actually happens daily to
animals."

The lyrics included: "Then with a single cartridge, I shot the blasted
partridge...
The second day after Christmas I pulled on the rubber gloves and very gently
wrung the necks of both turtle doves."

"Those we represent consider animals the children of the earth, deserving
of to respect we give our children," Hayes said. "If they replaced the
animals with children, would they still think this is funny?"

Not that Hayes is against any offbeat holiday song involving animals.

"I would be happy if they sing 'Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer,"
Hayes said, "because there is no chance of grandma getting run over by
a reindeer."

Date: Tue, 2 Dec 1997 08:49:45 -0800
From: [e-mail] (Lawrence Carter-Long)
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Newswire: Anti-drug, animal-loving punk rock fans use violence (US)
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
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Anti-drug, animal-loving punk rock fans use
violence, police say

BY ARLENE LEVINSON AP NATIONAL WRITER

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- The scar in Rich Webb's back is dark pink and
puckered, a souvenir of the night in 1995 he was attacked by a crowd of
Straight Edgers. They carved an X, the movement's signature, just above
Webb's waist. The doctor said a knife must have been used to slice his
flesh so cleanly.

They cut him for smoking pot.

Straight Edge could be every frightened parent's dream. A youth
movement born in the underground punk rock scene of the early 1980s,
its devotees swear off drugs, drink, smoking and casual sex. These are
youngsters in revolt against the dangerous temptations of youth.

And thousands of Straight Edgers in this country generally confine
themselves to attending punk rock concerts and trying to set an example
of clean living.

That goes for Utah too. But here, the Straight Edge philosophy can also
become a bludgeon. Beatings, brawls and vandalism by Straight Edge
toughs are common, police say. They say Straight Edgers use chains,
mace and clubs to enforce their abstinent lifestyle. It takes place in school
yards, at concerts and shopping center parking lots.

``If they can't get you, you wake up in the morning, your car will be just
pulverized, every window broken out,'' said Scott Magleby, a detective in
the Salt Lake County sheriff's gang unit.

Some Straight Edgers have gone further, turning their intolerance on the
fur, leather and fast-food trades. Firebombings and burglary in the past
two years and in the name of rescuing animals are the work of current
and one-time Straight Edgers, authorities say.

>From Davis County to the north to the southern end of Salt Lake County,
police see the intersection of Straight Edge and the animal rights
movement: firebombings of a mink feed cooperative, a McDonald's
restaurant and a Tandy Leather and Crafts Supply store; the near-arson
of an animal trap business; minks ``liberated'' from two farms.

``I've become more and more bitter,'' said Terry Montgomery, owner of
the trap business, a mom-and-pop enterprise. ``I don't really care if they
eat 20 heads of lettuce a day. But you can't force your ideas on people.''

This activity is also getting attention from the FBI.

Bret Walton, a tall, sad-eyed 18-year-old, is one of three Straight Edgers
caught trying to burn down Montgomery's store in March. He was the
lookout as the others poured gasoline around the place. A night
watchman asleep inside was aroused by the commotion and chased
them away.

Sentenced to three years' probation after pleading guilty to arson
conspiracy, Walton, a diesel mechanic from North Salt Lake, said it
``was disappointing, it really was,'' that the attack failed.

``I don't know if it would have done any good if it had burned down,''
Walton said. ``I realized the risk, but I felt I wasn't doing enough to help
save animals.''

Authorities say Straight Edgers like Walton are committing crimes in the
name of Animal Liberation Front, a shadowy force that seeks to halt the
use of animals for human purpose, whether in the research lab, the leather
shoe or fur coat, the hamburger or fish fry. Even dairy products are under
ALF assault.

``The FBI's domestic terrorism unit is active in this field,'' said John
Russell, a Justice Department spokesman in Washington. Utah is one of
two ALF hot spots under investigation, he said, declining to identify the
other.

It all seems out of place in this wholesome slice of country between the
Great Salt Lake and the Rocky Mountains' Wasatch Range, where the big
preoccupation is the 2002 Winter Olympics.

But Salt Lake teens have their problems too, and ``Straight Edge is giving
them a feeling of security and support and identity,'' says Michelle
Arciaga of the Salt Lake Area Gang Project.

``This is the neediest generation that America has ever seen.''

                             ------

The movement takes its name from a 1981 song, ``Straight Edge,'' by Ian
MacKaye of the Washington, D.C.-based band Minor Threat:

``I'm a person just like you

But I've got better things to do

Than sit around and smoke dope ...

I've got a straight edge.''

It fit an attitude among punk fans and gave the attitude a name. ``Straight
Edge'' gained followings in Boston, New York and Southern California,
and as far away as Poland and Australia. To highlight its wholesome
credo, it adopted an X as its symbol, X being what music clubs stamp on
the hands of patrons too young for alcohol.

The typical Utah Straight Edger is white, male and middle class, aged from
early teens to early 20s, bearing the tattoos, shorn hair and pierced ear
lobes of punkdom.

Those who know them say most Straight Edgers are law-abiding and
some adherents lash out with violence, local police label Straight Edge
a gang. Straight Edgers reject the tag and say any fights are self-defense.

The problem is so serious that a Salt Lake City police detective, Brent
Larsen, is assigned exclusively to Straight Edge-related crime.

``Don't get me wrong; there are some good kids in Straight Edge,'' Larsen
said. He estimated the movement numbers 600 or 700 in the valley, about
200 of them violent while ``50 or 60... do the firebombing.''

Ms. Arciaga of the area gang project travels outside the state and hears
similar stories. ``It's not just a Salt Lake thing,'' she said. In Texas,
Washington state and California ``people have come and talked to me
about troubles they're having with Straight Edgers.''

A dozen Straight Edgers are rattling Dayton, Ohio.

``We call them 'Hate Edgers,' '' said Sgt. David Williams. In Dayton, a man
was smacked in the head with a skateboard for smoking a cigarette.

``This particular group of people hating people who eat meat, hate gays
as well,'' Williams noted. In this ``strange twist of the just say no'
campaign,'' he said, some also proclaim ties to the Animal Liberation
Front.

AP-CS-12-01-97 1425EST

Akron Beacon Journal
Akron, Ohio

-------------------------------------------

Lawrence Carter-Long
Science and Research Issues, Animal Protection Institute
email: [e-mail], phone: [phone] x. 215
world wide web: http://www.api4animals.org/

"All censorships exist to prevent any one from challenging current
conceptions and existing institutions. All progress is initiated by
challenging current conceptions, and executed by supplanting
existing institutions. Consequently the first condition of progress
is the removal of censorships."  - George Bernard Shaw





Date: Tue, 2 Dec 1997 08:50:34 -0800
From: [e-mail] (Lawrence Carter-Long)
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Newswire: Liberation Front (US)
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

SALT LAKE CITY: Liberation Front.

Jacob Kenison, 19, was raised in a solid Mormon family. Like all
Mormons, he was taught to shun tobacco, caffeine and alcohol and to
obey the law. He could take comfort in his faith's emphasis on family and
church.

Yet it was the Straight Edgers who helped him cope with his fears at 14.

``I was scared of drugs. I heard they make you do weird things,'' Kenison
said. Straight Edge, he said, ``was a protection.''

Now he is about to serve a 16-month prison term on a federal gun offense
and awaits sentencing on a state arson charge to which he pleaded
guilty.

A red jumpsuit hanging loose over his lanky 6-foot-2-inch frame, Kenison
spoke in mid-November, hugging himself and swallowing nervously as he
explained how he ended up in Salt Lake County Metro Jail.

He violated his parents' curfew and was thrown out of the house. At 16,
he was expelled from school for assaulting another student. A witness
told police he rapped a student on the head with spiked brass knuckles.
His parents got him reinstated, but school couldn't hold him. Straight
Edge did.

A freckled redhead, Kenison is festooned with tattoos: Chinese
characters on his neck, a demon and a nude winged fairy dancing on his
arm. He says ``hardline'' in red across his chest indicates he takes the
most stringent Straight Edge line. That line, according to Kenison, is
anti-sexist, anti-racist, anti-abortion; sex is purely for having children,
though marriage ``doesn't really matter.''

He is also a vegan, following a diet doctrine promoted by ardent animal
rights activists. Vegans (pronounced VEE-gans), reject all animal
products. They wear no leather, wool or silk. ``I wouldn't eat refined
sugar, white rice -- nothing bleached. No meat. No dairy. No honey,''
Kenison said.

At 18, he fell into a depression and had ``worthless'' tattooed inside his
left arm. He felt he would never save the animal world; his car was
wrecking the environment; visiting a doctor or dentist might entail
benefiting from research on animals.

Even buying cotton clothes afflicts the helpless, in Kenison's view.
``There's animals that live in the cotton plants -- some live in the shade.
The main reason I'm vegan is, I felt bad.''

In June 1995, a leather crafts store in Murray, south of Salt Lake City, was
firebombed and destroyed. In February this year, Kenison was arrested.
On Nov. 24 he pleaded guilty to taking part in the attack.

A month after his arrest he and friends bought an assault rifle for fellow
Straight Edger Joshua Ellerman. Kenison admitted lying when he failed to
state in the federal gun-purchase form that he was charged with a crime.
He says he made an honest mistake.

Meanwhile, 19-year-old Ellerman is living with his mother, DeAnn Taylor,
awaiting federal trial for the mink co-op bombing. If convicted, he could
spend the rest of his life in prison.

Ms. Taylor declined interviews for them both while the case is pending.
Her elder son, Colby Ellerman, a former Straight Edge who turned 21
Thanksgiving Day, pleaded guilty to freeing minks. He too declined an
interview.

``My son Joshua is not guilty,'' Ms. Taylor said. Both her sons, ``are
very, very good boys.'' As for Straight Edge, ``there's a lot of good in it,''
she said.

Authorities say violence associated with animal rights is ebbing. One
Straight Edger who took part in protests at fur stores said police
surveillance -- picture-taking and constant questions -- is turning kids off.
Some are letting their short hair grow out, to deflect attention.

Still, at hardcore punk rock concerts, Salt Lake police have picked up
fliers like one that describes the proper fuel mixture to make a firebomb
(add motor oil and get a ``longer-lasting hotter flame.'')

It's at such concerts that Dave Wilson seeks recruits for his cause,
marrying the moralistic outlook of Straight Edge to his own animal rights
campaign.

``Years down the road, people are going to view us as freedom fighters
and saints for freeing these animals,'' said Wilson, who at 19 has dropped
ambitions to become a fashion model to devote his life to animal rights.
``We used to have black slaves. Now we have mink slaves or fox slaves
or pig slaves.''

Officially, he speaks for a Texas-based group called Coalition to Abolish
the Fur Trade, and issues statements claiming responsibility for attacks in
the name of the Animal Liberation Front.

Straight Edge, having started by saying no to drugs and sex, and a
fervent core having moved on to fighting for animal rights, now shows
signs of turning against itself, according to police and failed firebomber
Bret Walton.

``The kids who were for animal rights and Straight Edge, they were for
each other,'' Walton said. ``But now everybody hates each other and they
get into fights. It seems like over nothing. And then tons of cops come.''

Akron Beacon Journal
Akron, Ohio

Lawrence Carter-Long
Science and Research Issues, Animal Protection Institute
email: [e-mail], phone: [phone] x. 215
world wide web: http://www.api4animals.org/

"All censorships exist to prevent any one from challenging current
conceptions and existing institutions. All progress is initiated by
challenging current conceptions, and executed by supplanting
existing institutions. Consequently the first condition of progress
is the removal of censorships."  - George Bernard Shaw





Date: Tue, 2 Dec 1997 08:46:58 -0800 (PST)
From: Michael Markarian <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail], [e-mail],
        [e-mail]
Subject: Letters Needed on Winter Use Settlement
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

ACTION ALERT

SNOWMOBILE TRAIL CLOSURE IN YELLOWSTONE NEEDS YOUR SUPPORT:
FIRST STEP TOWARD ENDING BISON SLAUGHTER

The National Park Service (NPS) has recently published a draft environmental
assessment (EA) analyzing the impacts of closing at least one snowmobile
trail in Yellowstone Park to all winter use.

Since the late 1960s, the NPS has permitted snowmobiles in Yellowstone and
has facilitated their use by packing down or grooming the snow on all Park
roads.  Park Service scientists and The Fund for Animals have argued that
bison use of the groomed trail system not only facilitates bison emigration
from the Park into Montana where they are slaughtered, but has completely
and artificially altered bison population size, distribution, movements, and
the natural ecology of the Park.

This EA is a product of a settlement of a lawsuit filed by The Fund for
Animals and other organizations against the NPS over its management of
winter recreation in Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks.  The EA
proposes to close at least one trail segment in Yellowstone to all winter
use in oredr to study the impact of groomed trails on Yellowstone bison.
This is the first time that a trail may be closed in Yellowstone since it
was opened to snowmobiles.

The information gained from this study will be used in an Environmental
Impact Statement that the NPS will prepare on the impacts of winter
recreation on Park wildlife and Park ecology.  The Fund believes that the
EIS must conclude, based on the scientific and legal evidence, that trail
grooming and snowmobile use in Yellowstone must end.  This would be
enormously beneficial to Yellowstone's bison because without the groomed
trails far fewer bison are likely to migrate into Montana.  Over the last 10
years, over 3,000 bison have been killed due to the unsubstantiated fear of
disease transmission to domestic livestock.

THE NPS WILL ACCEPT PUBLIC COMMENTS ON ITS EA THROUGH DECEMBER 15,
1997.
YOUR LETTERS IN SUPPORT OF CLOSING SNOWMOBILE TRAILS TO PROTECT
BISON ARE
NEEDED BY THAT DATE.  THE FUTURE OF YELLOWSTONE'S BISON, OTHER
WILDLIFE, AND
OF YELLOWSTONE PARK IS IN YOUR HANDS.

In your letter tell the NPS that:

*    You support Alternative 1 but that you believe more snowmobile trails
must be closed this winter in order to engage in a proper study of the
impact of groomed trails on bison and to prevent bison from wandering into
Montana where they are unnecessarily killed.

*    Trail grooming and snowmobiling in Yellowstone causes significant
adverse impacts on bison and other Park wildlife, including grizzly bears
and wolves, pollute Yellowstone's air, and destroy the serenity of the Park
experience and, therefore, must be banned.

Send your comments to Yellowstone National Park, P.O. Box 168, Yellowstone
National Park, WY  82190.

In addition, please send a letter to Yellowstone National Park
Superintendent Mike Finley at the same address thanking him for agreeing to
prepare an Environmental Impact Statement on winter use and its impact to
the wildlife and natural resources within the Park despite harsh criticism
he has received for so doing from numerous public officials and interest
groups.

For more information about this issue please contact D.J. Schubert at
202-588-5206 or <[e-mail]> or visit The Fund for Animals' home
page at <http://www.fund.org>.  A copy of the EA is available at
<http://www.nps.gov/yell/winterroadea.htm>.

Thank you for participating in this critically important issue.

Date: Tue, 2 Dec 1997 08:46:28 -0800 (PST)
From: Michael Markarian <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail], [e-mail],
        [e-mail]
Subject: Fact Sheet on Winter Use Settlement
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

FACT SHEET

SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT ON WINTER
USE OF YELLOWSTONE AND
GRAND TETON NATIONAL PARKS

     In May 1997, The Fund for Animals, Biodiversity Legal Foundation, Predator
Project, Ecology Center and several individuals filed suit against the
National Park Service (NPS) for its violation of several federal laws in
administering winter use of Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks.  The
plaintiffs claimed that the NPS was in violation of the National
Environmental Policy Act and Endangered Species Act for failing to evaluate
the environmental impacts of winter recreation, particularly snowmobiling
and grooming snowmobile trails, on Park wildlife, including threatened and
endangered species like the grizzly bear and gray wolf, air quality,
solitude, and Park ecology.

     Among the many impacts associated with winter recreation in the Parks is
the impact of the groomed snowmobile trail system on wildlife, particularly
bison.  These trails facilitate bison emigration out of Yellowstone where
nearly all have been killed as a consequence of Montana's unjustifiable and
abhorrent bison management policies.  Moreover, since the trails provide
bison with energy efficient travel routes, scientists and others believe
that bison use of these trails has substantially altered bison population
dynamics, movements, distribution, and habitat use to the detriment of the
bison and Park ecology.  Dr. Mary Meagher, the world's foremost expert on
Yellowstone bison, has concluded that bison use of the groomed trail system
led to a doubling of the size of the bison population by the fall of 1994
compared to what would have existed if trail grooming did not occur.

     After nearly two months of negotiations, on September 23, 1997 a settlement
agreement was reached between the parties.  This settlement was subsequently
approved by the Court on October 28, 1997.

     As delineated in the settlement, the NPS has agreed to:

   1.Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to evaluate the
environmental impacts of all forms of winter recreation and use on Park
wildlife and Park ecology.  The NPS will initiate scoping for the EIS no
later than April of 1998.  A draft EIS will be available for public comment
on or before August 1, 1999 with a final EIS and decision notice expected by
September 2000.

   2.Prepare an Environmental Assessment (EA) to evaluate the impacts of
closing at least one road segment to winter use this winter and in
subsequent winters to study the impact of groomed trails on bison.  The
proposed action in the EA, which became available to the public on November
15, is to close the trail segment between Fishing Bridge and Canyon,
approximately 14 miles, to all winter use except in the case of an
administrative emergency.  The public comment period will close on December
15, with a decision to be made by January 10, 1998.  If the NPS decides to
close the trail to winter use, then it will not be groomed beginning on the
date the decision is made.  The NPS is not limited to only closing this
trail but could close additional trails to winter use this coming winter.

     In addition, the NPS must consider closing at least a similar length of
trail in subsequent winters to study the impact of groomed trails on bison.
In other words, at least 14 miles of trails must be considered for closure
in Yellowstone Park each winter until the EIS is completed.

   3.Each winter until the EIS is completed, the NPS will solicit public
comment through publication of a notice in the FEDERAL REGISTER on the type,
location, and methodology for studying bison use of the Park's snowmobile
trail system.  This information will be used to determine where trail
closures may be needed to facilitate the study of the impact of the groomed
trail system on bison.  After considering comments generated by the public,
the NPS will publish notice of its intended study plans by December 1 of
each year.

     This is a fair and reasonable settlement which will permit all interested
parties to participate in the NPS decision-making process regarding the
study and management of winter use, particularly snowmobiling and trail
grooming, in Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks.

Date: Tue, 02 Dec 1997 13:01:38 +0000
From: Ione Smith <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Ontario--beans for the poor
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

I tried to send this from another account the other day, got an error
message. Many apologies if it has already appeared on the list. This is
forwarded by request, because I know there's several Ontario folks on
the list.

----------

Hi there. This is just a note we are sending to the different food banks
and  soup kitchens either by telephone or e-mail.

The Elora/Fergus Unitarian Universalist Church and the Bean Growers of
Ontario have joined together in a pilot project to help distribute
healthy and nutritious beans to Ontario's needy.

We have available, in Paris, Ontario, 100 pound bags of beans to be
distributed to food banks and soup kitchens in Wellington county. There
are currently four varieties: Kidney, Romano, Black and Dutch Browns.
You can pick them up yourself or a member of our congregation will
collect them from Paris and deliver them to you at a cost of $10 per 100
pound bag.

We have many nutritious recipes and other literature available for those
unfamiliar with the best methods of preparing dried beans.

Please call me for more information:

Jim Sannes
25 Main Street East
Drayton, ON
N0G 1P0
519 638-5444
[e-mail]
--

Ione

      ==================================================
       http://funnelweb.utcc.utk.edu/~ilsmith/SVME.html
          The Society for Veterinary Medical Ethics
      http://funnelweb.utcc.utk.edu/~ilsmith/ethics.html
          for all sides of the AR/AW/anti-AR debate
      ==================================================
            Reality is whatever refuses to go away
        when I stop believing in it. -- Philip K. Dick
Date: Tue, 2 Dec 1997 13:10:13 -0500 (EST)
From: PAWS <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Watch Inside Edition Thursday
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII

On Thursday, December 4, "Inside Edition" will air a segment on exotic
animals--especially lions and tigers--and the problems of surplus
breeding.  In the Sacramento area, the program airs at 7:30 p.m. on
channel 31.  Check your local listings for time and station.

(In New York city, the show is delayed one day and will air on Friday,
December 5 at noon.)
Date: Tue, 2 Dec 1997 14:19:47 -0800 (PST)
From: Michael Markarian <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail], [e-mail]
Subject: MD DNR Offering Black Bear Stamp Promotion
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

[Ed. note: Please support the Maryland black bear stamp program. Help us
prove that Maryland residents can live with black bears rather than hunt
them. -- MM]