Komputer for Alle 1998 #6/1998 CD 6 (Gul).iso/web/ffa/wwwenv~1.org/arrs/digest/news5~17.htm/text0043.txt

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From: Dave <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Pigeon Info.
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Dear List:

   In support of posts against pigeons shoots (which also occur
regularly and legally in Arizona), below is a handout you may find
useful to help stop pigeon abuse.  All I ask is that you let me know if
you use it and what you think of it.

                         GEE WHIZ ANIMAL QUIZ

1. What animal has been a domesticated friend to man longer than any
other?
2. What animal has helped save so many people that you might not exist
had one of your ancestors not been saved by one of them?
3. What animal is the traditional symbol of love and peace? (Be
specific.)
4. What animals can routinely find their way home from strange places
over hundreds or even thousands of miles away?
5. What winged creature can think abstractly, form concepts, and commit
images to memory many times faster than human beings?
6. What birds did Queen Victoria raise and love?
7. What animal formed the basis for Charles Darwin's studies and later
became his loving friends?
8. What animals did Picasso love so much he named his daughter after
them?
9. What animal has Jimmy Smits grown to love, personally, because of the
character he plays in the hit TV show NYPD Blue?
10. What kind of dove did Noah release from the ark? (Be specific)
11. What bird was used to take aerial photography?
12. What animal did Lockheed Aircraft Company use to send messages
between facilities across Los Angeles in order to avoid traffic?
13. What bird has no sound for pain - and therefore suffers and dies in
silence?
14. What animal has been revered for 12,000 years and, only in the last
century, has been severely abused by man?
15. What bird brings life to an often otherwise bleak inner-city
landscape?
16. What non-native bird inhabits areas without displacing native
species?
17. What animal was used in Desert Storm to send messages that otherwise
would not have gotten through due to intense radio jamming?
18. What was a favorite animal of the famous artists Picasso, Monet and
Matisse?
19. What animals are encouraged to provide a fertilizer of choice for
famous brands of champagne?
20. What is the common name for the Rock Dove?
21. What word in the dictionary means the same as the word "dove"?
22. What bird is falsely accused of spreading many diseases to people?
23. What birds feed milk to their babies?
24. What birds solved incredibly complex puzzles to become one of the
two top birdbrains of England?
25. What bird is commonly sacrificed by murderous bullies as nothing
more than live targets placed in the sights at the end of a shotgun?
26. What bird adorns foods, beauty products, a famous bank, and credit
cards worldwide? (Be specific)
27. What is one member of the dinosaur family who is still alive and
well today?
28. Unscramble the following word to find the answer to these questions:
GINEPO

Turn to the next page for answer and explanations - but don't cheat!

         ⌐ D.L. Roth, 25 August, 1996

 1. New evidence shows that the Egyptians domesticated pigeons some
7,000 years earlier than was previously thought.
2. Throughout history, pigeons have been used to carry lifesaving
messages, and even medications, very quickly, over impassable terrain,
and with a better than 98% success rate - and still do so in some parts
of the world, today.
3. Only in recent times has the white colored pigeon become widely used
as the symbol of love and peace, much like the portrayals of Jesus with
light, straight hair and blue eyes.  Neither are accurate
representations of their traditional counterparts.
4. Pigeons are raced worldwide, which involves transporting them to
places where they have never been, releasing them, and letting them find
their way home.  Despite extensive investigation and experimentation,
science is still baffled by this uncanny ability.
5. Dr. Theodore Barber, Ph.D., states in The Human Nature of Birds, that
scientific findings converge on three unexpected conclusions:   1.
Birds have many abilities that humans assume are unique to humans,
including musical ability (appreciation, composition, and performance),
ability to form abstract concepts, ability to use intelligence flexibly
to cope with constantly changing life demands, and ability to play with
joy and mate erotically.   2.  Although humans are superior to birds in
certain kinds of intelligence (such as symbolic-linguistic
intelligence), birds are superior to humans in other kinds of
intelligence (such as navigational intelligence).   3.  Birds are not
only intelligent, aware, and willful; they also can communicate
meaningfully with humans and relate to them as close, caring friends.
Investigations initiated by Professor Richard J. Herrnstein at the
Harvard Psychological Laboratories yielded surprising results.
Laboratory PIGEONS conceptualize at a high level of abstraction.  Each
PIGEON concept that was assessed in the laboratory was surprisingly as
general and complete as typical concepts of humans.  Laboratory PIGEONS
also succeed at other tasks that were thought to be unique to humans or
to primates.    Laboratory PIGEONS learned to recognize each of the
twenty-six letters of the English alphabet.  It seemed odd to the
researchers that the birds made the same kinds of initial mistakes as
elementary school students.  In brief, the prevalent notion that
concepts are unique to humans is not valid.  Laboratory birds have
conceptualized what they were "requested" to conceptualize.  It appears
likely that birds in nature conceptualize everything that matters to
them.
6. In fact, much of the royalty throughout the world, starting with the
Pharaohs of Egypt, maintained the prized birds in their royal pigeon
lofts.
7. Charles Darwin used pigeons to formulate his theory of the evolution
of species.   As he worked with the birds, he developed a love for
them.  As a result, he could no longer kill and dissect the birds who
had become his beloved companions.
8. Picasso loved pigeons so much, he named his daughter Paloma, which is
Spanish for pigeon.
9. Jimmy Smits narrates, in a video entitled Man's Oldest Feathered
Friend, "Only in this century have [pigeons received] our ridicule
instead of our respect.   Few urban humans truly understand the beauty,
bravery, and our shared history with these aerial wonders."  In working
with pigeons on his hit TV series, Jimmy Smits has developed a real
affection for these birds.
10. According to legend, says folklorist Boria Sax of Pace University,
"Noah sent out a raven that didn't come back and later a [pigeon] that
returned with the olive branch, a sign of peace."
11. American and allied armed services released pigeons with cameras
strapped to their bodies to take aerial photography during the First
World War.
12. Isn't it amazing that an aircraft company would use this natural
form of airmail!
13. Pigeons are constantly and senselessly exterminated, shot, and
tortured in huge numbers.  One wonders if such cruelty would be so
prevalent if pigeons could cry out loudly when purposely subjected to
such excruciating pain.
14. See Jimmy Smits' quote in answer number 9, above.
15. Pigeons are uniquely adapted to life in the city.  In many urban
areas, children would not have contact with or appreciation of any
wildlife were it not for pigeons.
16. Pigeons are benign residents.  In fact, they lose their very lives
to sustain endangered Peregrine Falcons, hawks, and other predators
which would find it difficult, if not impossible, to survive without
them.
17. In a world of high technology, sometimes the lowest technology is
still the most successful.
18. Monet, Matisse, and Picasso all loved pigeons.   A pigeon loft still
exists in Monet's garden.
19. The next time you tip a glass of fine champagne, enjoy a bit of the
essence of pigeon.
20. Most people don't even know that a pigeon is a dove.
21. The words "dove" and "pigeon" are interchangeable.  All pigeons are
doves and all doves are pigeons.
22. State and local health departments report that there has never,
ever, been even one case of any disease spread from pigeons to people
throughout the history of Arizona.  The Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention says that the risk of getting a disease from a pigeon
anywhere in the entire country is extremely rare.
23. Pigeons make "crop milk", which is similar to mammals' milk, to feed
their babies.  Prolactin, the same pituitary hormone responsible for
milk production in mammals, causes crop milk to be produced by both
sexes and forms the complete diet of nestlings for the first few days of
life.  Scientists first isolated prolactin from pigeon milk and have
used that knowledge to advance dairy science.
24. Researchers in England devised incredibly complex devices to test
the intelligence of all types of birds.  Pigeons came out on top.
25. Unfortunately, Arizona is one of only 4 states that allow the dove
of love and peace to be trapped and shot for fun and profit.
26. Paul Mitchell, Dove soap, Dove Bars, Dove chocolate, the Bank of
America, VISA credit cards, and many other companies adorn their
products with the image of the pigeon.
27. Pigeons are dinosaurs.  Birds are not just descended from dinosaurs
-- they are dinosaurs. So, cast your gaze upward.  You might just see
the dinosaurs flying.
28. GINEPO unscrambled is PIGEON.

Do what you can to protect our oldest feathered friends. Call the Urban
Wildlife Society at 602.265.BIRD.

         ⌐ D.L. Roth, 25 August, 1996

Good Luck,

Dave Roth
State President
Urban Wildlife Society
and Chairman
Avian Affairs Coalition
717 West Cambridge Avenue
Phoenix, Arizona  85007

Phones: Office 602.265.4320
        Hotline 602.265.BIRD

E-mail: [e-mail]

Fax:    [phone]  Notify by voice before faxing.
Date: Mon, 22 Sep 1997 14:26:58 -0700 (PDT)
From: [e-mail]
To: [e-mail]
Subject: HUNGERSTRIKER SUE MCCROSKY, SUPPORTERS FREED (US)
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 22, 1997





Hunger Striker Freed From
DeKalb Jail; Supporters
Also To Be Released

     ATLANTA û Animal rights activist Sue McCrosky û after spending 20 days on a
protest hunger strike û was released from DeKalb County Jail Monday. Her
immediate condition is not known, but she was wheeled out of the jail in a
wheelchair, according to Capt. W. Elliot, assistant jail commander..

     In a related development, all but one of 10 people arrested Sunday at a
protest at the DeKalb Jail for Ms McCrosky were to be released sometime late
Monday after the $500 bail was not required by a Magistrate Court pre-trial
hearing. Only Joel Capolongo, arrested for disorderly conduct, remains
jailed, but supporters believe he also will be released without bail.

     Ms McCrosky was serving a 45 day sentence for violation of the petty
infraction involving residential picketing during a peaceful demonstration
at the home of the director of primate research at Yerkes Primate Research
Center. Activists were complaining about the abuse and killing of animals at
the facility.

     Ms McCrosky was jailed Sept. 3, hospitalized once and spent the past nearly
2 weeks in the hospital wing of the jail. She was to observe her 54th
birthday Thursday.

     Her jailing sparked protests in more than a dozen U.S. cities this past
week, and demonstrations as far away as England and New Zealand. The jail,
and court have been flooded by hundreds of callers throughout the U.S.

-30-

Date: Mon, 22 Sep 1997 17:52:40 -0400 (EDT)
From: [e-mail]
To: [e-mail]
Subject: YOPLAIT YOGURT CONTAINERS KILLING WILDLIFE
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>

Please note:  This is a re-post of an alert posted earlier this month on
ar-news with more complete contact information for reaching Yoplait/ General
Mills, including an email address for the company and a sample letter.
 -Camilla Fox
_______________________________________________________________


                                    ANIMAL PROTECTION INSTITUTE

                                                ***ACTION ALERT***
                                     Yoplait Containers Killing Wildlife

A member of the Animal Protection Institute, who is also an animal control
officer in California, recently contacted our office about a recurring
problem she and other animal control officers have experienced in the field
regarding wild animals getting their heads stuck in Yoplait yogurt containers
and suffocating to death. She requested that we distribute this Action Alert
and sample letter to the President of General Mills. Please write or fax a
letter requesting that they address this problem as soon as possible. Wild
animals do not appear to get their heads stuck in other yogurt containers, so
the problem is most likely the actual shape of the Yoplait containers. A
simple change in design could rectify this problem.

Letters should be addressed to:

Mr. Steve Sanger, President
General Mills Incorporated
P.O. Box 1113
Minneapolis, MN 55440
fax [phone]
phone [phone]
Email [e-mail]

Sample Letter

Mr. Steve Sanger
President
General Mills Incorporated
P.O. Box 1113
Minneapolis, MN 55440

Dear Mr. Sanger,

I am writing to convey what many wildlife advocacy and rehabilitation
organizations see as a serious problem with the shape of your Yoplait yogurt
containers.  Many animal control officers and wildlife rehabilitators have
expressed concern regarding Yoplait yogurt container's impact on wildlife.
The current design of Yoplait containers, with its narrow top and wide
bottom, is such that certain species of wildlife have been found to get their
heads stuck in the container and are suffocating to death as a result. This
appears to happen primarily with juvenile skunks and raccoons and ostensibly
as a result of these animals attempting to retrieve any uneaten yogurt at the
bottom of the container. For some reason this problem is only occurring with
Yoplait yogurt containers. Clearly the shape of the containers is such that
it makes it impossible for a juvenile wild animal to remove its head before
suffocating to death.

One animal control officer in California in a recent letter to the Animal
Protection Institute wrote, "I have worked in dispatch communications for
animal control since 1992, and have had numerous calls from citizens of young
wildlife getting their heads stuck inside Yoplait containers since they are
so narrow at the top. These are the only containers we have found causing
problems. Last week, we had three juvenile skunks that officers had to
rescue. It is quite a tug to get the container off; many have suffocated this
way. We have seen as many as 5 in one week in the San Mateo County California
area. Our previous Captain had written to Yoplait years ago, but nothing was
changed."

When a staff member at the Animal Protection Institute recently contacted
your company, she was told that your company is aware of the problem and has
"known about the problem for years" but has refused to do anything about it.

I urge you, as President of General Mills, to take this issue seriously and
to respond to the public's concerns with concrete action. A slight change in
the Yoplait container design could easily rectify this problem without
jeopardizing the brand recognition of the product. As a national corporation,
General Mills has a responsibility to respond to the public's concerns about
the safety and environmental impacts of your products. Please ensure that
this problem is addressed as soon as possible.

Thank you for taking my concerns into consideration. I look forward to
receiving a response from you about this important issue.

Sincerely,

[Your Name]


Date: Mon, 22 Sep 1997 15:32:56 -0700 (PDT)
From: [e-mail]
To: [e-mail]
Subject: RELEASE/INDIANA FOX FARM RAID
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Immediate Release
(Sept. 22, 1997)







UNDERGROUND ANIMAL RIGHTS GROUP
FREES 200 FOXES FROM INDIANA FUR FARM

     ANDERSON, IN û At least 200 foxes were freed this weekend when an
underground animal rights group û responsible for dozens of other
"liberations" throughout the U.S. -- cut fences and broke open cages during
an early morning raid at Adam's Fox Farm here.

     The Animal Liberation Front (ALF), a clandestine organization with a secret
membership throughout the U.S. and Europe, claimed responsibility for the
Saturday attack in a communique sent to sympathetic above-ground animal
rights groups.

     "About 200 foxes were liberated," said the ALF in the communique, adding
that "a large gate that led to a field and freedom was opened..and the foxes
found it before the liberators left." The communique also described how the
ALF destroyed a 3-foot tall fence "in its entirety" in order to provide a
route for the foxes to escape.

     "Animals locked in cages don't have a voice, and so you may not hear their
cries. They still feel pain. Murderers of the innocent have spilled blood
for too long unchallenged...Now we will destroy the industries of torture,"
ALF has stated after past raids.

     The ALF, contrary to any fur industry claims, said the animals released