Komputer for Alle 1998 #6/1998 CD 6 (Gul).iso/web/ffa/wwwenv~1.org/arrs/digest/news61~6.htm/text0000.txt

Text File | 1998-04-02 | 62.8 KB | 1,500 lines

>Bangkok Post
29 Dec 97

Please remember Plai Petch

              Human beings don't have an elephant's memory and most of you
              have forgotten me.

              My name was Plai Petch and I was shot dead by police one year
              ago - on Sunday, Dec 29, 1996 to be exact - shortly after
              breaking loose from a chain which kept me tied to a tree for 20
                years at Wat Puet Udon, Pathum Thani.

              The metal ring was biting into my leg and the pain was
              excruciating, yet I always let men take me back to my tree and
              never hurt anyone or caused any damage during the few times
              when I released myself in the past.

              I was 25 years old - quite young for an elephant - when I was at
              last able to wander for a short distance before the police came.
              It was not easy: try not to trip and lose your balance after being
              chained to a tree for 20 years. But the grass was soft and green
              along the klong and I felt happy and carefree.

              Then the cars appeared with their sirens. They closed in on all
              sides. Elephants aren't used to blaring sirens.

              The first shots hit me in the legs. It was so painful - even worse
              than my chains. More than 10 policemen from Klong 2 police
              station were firing continually from the roof-tops as I
desperately
              tried to get back to the safety of my tree.

              The bullets pierced my ears and my body. It was unbearable,
              like fire eating into my flesh. I was trying to escape.

              Then they aimed at my eyes and I stumbled towards a klong.
              Everything turned bright red, even the grass and the trees. It
              suddenly seemed like sunset. Then there was darkness. I could
              feel that my only friend, Po Lerksri, who had taken care of me
              since I was young, was nearby. But he could do nothing to help
              my suffering.

              Elephants love to wallow in the forest streams and I had not
              been able to do so for 20 years. This was my last chance.

              Although I was blind by now, I lay down in the klong and felt the
              coolness of the water against my skin as life finally ebbed
away. I
              had found peace at least.

              Perhaps the world is no longer fit for elephants. They are, of
              course, far less important than the police nowadays.

              I was hoping things would change when my suffering made the
              headlines two years ago. People learnt that I was being
              mistreated by a monk at Wat Puet Udom. But my hopes were
              short-lived. The outcry faded, the press lost interest and I
              remained in chains, a source of amusement for those who visited
              the temple.

              My brothers and sisters are out of work and hungry. Some
              elephants are even compelled to beg on the streets of Bangkok.
              Their lungs are being slowly poisoned by exhaust fumes and
              pollution. The noise drives them crazy. I learnt that men lit
fires in
              neighbouring countries and that our blue sky had become hazy.
              What has happened to our world?

              Does no one remember that it was the elephant that bore the
              kings and princes during royal processions? People loved us and
              we were the highlight of every festive occasion, covered in gold
              and silver, towering proudly above the crowds. We moved the
              heaviest loads and walked carefully through the thickest forests
              to help our masters log the precious trees and build roads long
              before the bulldozers destroyed our natural environment. We
              contributed to their wealth, which they have lost today through
              their greed and mismanagement.

              Our herds roamed free, but once caught and trained, we spent
              the best years of our long lives toiling for the benefit of this
              Kingdom.

              Is it too late to provide the surviving elephants of Thailand
with a
              sanctuary?

              All they need is an area where they can live and die in peace,
              where there is food, water and shade, a place where local
              people and visitors can watch them work and play.

              There must be some kind souls left in this country and abroad.
              They have created so many organisations to save nature and
              animals. Why don't they help us?

              I, Plai Petch, would be resting truly in peace if my death had not
              been in vain.

              The policemen from Klong 2 police station did not care. They
              walked away with smoking guns without so much as glancing
              back at the elephant they had gunned down. And no one cared
              about my being shackled to a tree for 20 years.

              Indifference is a terrible disease. If men don't care about the
              plight of elephants, no wonder they fail to help each other.

              Please remember Plai Petch. It may make a difference to our
              future - and yours.

              Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan
              Geneva, Switzerland


Article copyright Post Publishing Public Co., Ltd 1997
Reprinted for non-commercial use only.
Website: http://www.bangkokpost.net

Date: Mon, 29 Dec 1997 13:23:34 +0800 (SST)
From: Vadivu Govind <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (UK) Foxhunting ban offer to buy off MP
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit



>The Electronic Telegraph
29 Dec 97

Foxhunting ban offer to buy off MP
                  By Joy Copley, Political Staff


                  MINISTERS are drawing up plans to offer the Labour MP
spearheading  the Bill to outlaw foxhunting a deal to guarantee a ban by 2000.

                  They plan to approach Michael Foster, whose Private
Member's Bill won a   Commons majority of 260 last month, with proposals in
the New Year.
                  The Government is seeking a way to get the measure on to
the statute  books without endangering important legislation, which could be
delayed  by pro-hunting peers.
Under the plan, Mr Foster, Labour MP for Worcester, would be asked to
drop his Bill in return for a cast-iron guarantee that the Government would
later back a different measure that would be ensured a swift passage
through Parliament. Mr Foster would be told that, if he co-operated, the
Home Office would back an anti-hunting amendment to a Criminal Justice
Bill in the next session of Parliament, thereby outlawing hunting by the
millennium.

                  The plan, emanating from Home Office ministers, still has
to be cleared by the Prime Minister, but it seems that the desire of the
Government to
protect legislation implementing key manifesto commitments has offset the
wish to remain neutral on hunting. Ministers fear that Mr Foster's Bill, now
in its Commons committee stages, will be so fiercely resisted in the Lords
that it could endanger legislation on devolution, crime and education.
The Lords would find it far more difficult to justify filibustering and
sabotaging a Government Bill than a Private Member's Bill. They will also
be mindful that the Lord Chancellor, Lord Irvine of Lairg, has confirmed
that there is "every likelihood" of abolition of hereditary peers' voting rights
reaching the statute book in 1999, which will make an anti-hunting measure
easier to get through the House.

                  The Government is expected to allow one more Commons
committee session of the Bill to go ahead, on Jan 14, before making its move
to Mr  Foster. Mr Foster knows his Bill cannot become law without being granted
extra parliamentary time, and he indicated last night that he might be
prepared to accept the deal. "I shall have a great deal of thinking to do," he
said. "There are merits in the idea. It would depend on the assurances."

                      A foxhound has died after a suspected poisoning at
kennels before a hunt. The seven-year-old dog belonging to the Tredegar
Farmers Pack at Bassaleg, Gwent, died after going into a coma. Six other
hounds are
recovering.

⌐ Copyright Telegraph Group Limited 1997.

Date: Mon, 29 Dec 1997 13:23:41 +0800 (SST)
From: Vadivu Govind <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (S. Africa) Ostrich kills farmer's wife
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
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>The Electronic Telegraph
29 Dec 97

Ostrich kills farmer's wife

                  A SOUTH African farmer's 63-year-old wife died after they
were attacked  by an ostrich near Cape Town. Anna and Abraham Hendricks were
walking through the ostrich farm adjoining their property when the bird
went for them. Mr Hendricks received cuts and bruises. Christopher
Munnion in Johannesburg

⌐ Copyright Telegraph Group Limited 1997.

Date: Mon, 29 Dec 1997 13:23:46 +0800 (SST)
From: Vadivu Govind <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (MY) More tigers sighted in Johor + wildlife conservation
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"



>The Straits Times
29 Dec 97

More tigers sighted in Johor

     KOTA TINGGI -- More tigers were sighted in Johor this year than in
previous years,     with most being reported in Kluang, Kota Tinggi and
Kahang, the New Sunday Times     reported yesterday.

     State Environment and Consumer Affairs Committee chairman Dr Chua Soi
Lek said     the State Wildlife and National Parks Department had estimated
that between 100 and     150 tigers were in Johor's jungles.

     He said although the department would monitor reports of sightings from
the public,     there were no plans to capture and relocate the animals.

     "As long as the tigers do not harm anyone or cause any disturbance, we
can allow themto be in their natural habitat," he said.

     "Enforcement officers would ensure that people living on the fringe of
the jungles are     protected from tiger attacks."

     Dr Chua was speaking to reporters after opening a shooting championship
organised     by the State Wildlife and National Parks Department's Sport
and Welfare Club.

     He said there had been 369 reports of wild animals entering farms and
damaging crops     and livestock in the state this year.

     He said there were also reports of elephants, wild boars, monkeys and
pythons     straying into human habitats.

     "The department has spent about M$60,000 (S$24,720) to relocate
elephants," he said.

     "We have already relocated 57 elephants to the forest-reserve areas of
     Endau-Rompin, Lake Kenyir and the elephant training school in Malacca.
About 30 of     the elephants were relocated to Endau Rompin."

     Dr Chua said the department hoped to relocate the remaining 15 to 20
elephants still     believed to be in the jungles of Kluang, Kota Tinggi and
Mersing by next year.

     On the Wildlife Protection Act 1972, he said that up to October, 456
people were     caught infringing the Act and fined a total of M$38,485.

     "There is a 20 per cent decrease in the number of cases, compared to
last year, which     indicates that people are now more aware of the
importance of preserving and     protecting our wildlife species," he said.
"The cases mainly involve keeping protected birds without a licence and
unlicensed     restaurants selling wild animals as food."

     Dr Chua also said a wildlife conservation programme would be introduced
to the     Orang Asli. -- NST.

Date: Mon, 29 Dec 1997 10:37:38 +0200
From: erez ganor <[e-mail]>
To: Adolfo Sansolini - LAV <[e-mail]>,
        Animal Rights Hawaii <[e-mail]>,
        "[e-mail]" <[e-mail]>,
        "Ari Dale, M.D." <[e-mail]>,
        "[e-mail]" <[e-mail]>,
        Barbara Harkaway <[e-mail]>, Born Free <[e-mail]>,
        "[e-mail] David" <[e-mail]>,
        "[e-mail]" <[e-mail]>,
        Elizabeth S Kent <[e-mail]>,
        Glenn Hunt <[e-mail]>,
        "Howard J. Hoffman" <[e-mail]>,
        In Defense of Animals <[e-mail]>,
        Karin Zupko <ma.neavs.com![e-mail]>,
        michal benshaprut <[e-mail]>,
        PETA Nederland <[e-mail]>,
        Peter Singer <[e-mail]>, rhus <[e-mail]>,
        Ruth van der Leij <[e-mail]>
Subject: Rabies in ISRAEL - Mass killing continue
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

Mass killing of wild life continue.
The Israeli small Animal's Vet Association Blames the Vet Services in
the Ministry of Agriculture, for being direct responsible for the
eruption of the disease.
The Vet Association, claims, the Vet services do not allow all Vets the
Inject Rabies shots, only to those who got the permission to vaccinate
in the nearby area.
 The claim that Rabies shots for cats were not enforced, although it is
known cats can be effected as dogs from rabies, although it was
recommended.
They urge the Vest Services and the Ministry of Agriculture to use the
Oral Vaccination in order to solve the problem among wildlife and stray
animals.
They claim that for 20 years the Israeli Policy was to poison, to shot
but control over the rabies was never achieved that way. it is about
time to change the strategy and use the Oral vaccination.
As a respond, Professor shimshoni - Head of Vet Services in the Israeli
Ministry of agriculture, insist that the use of Oral vaccination could
be effective only in future times, when the same method will be
administered in Jordan and the Palestinian Authority.

I assume by the time Jordan and The Palestinian authority will use the
Oral Vaccination, there won't be reason to use it in Israel, after all
the wildlife animals could be found just in the History books...
Erez Ganor.

Date: Mon, 29 Dec 1997 07:59:27 -0500
From: allen schubert <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (US) Study shows environmental risks of animal waste
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

from CNN Custom News http://www.cnn.com
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Study shows environmental risks of animal waste

A single 50,000-acre hog farm could potentially put out more waste than the
city of Los Angeles

December 28, 1997
Web posted at: 10:42 p.m. EST (0342 GMT)

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) -- The staggering amount of animal waste produced on
American farms often pollutes water, and the risk is growing as more
large-scale livestock operations take hold, according to a new U.S. Senate
study.

The study found that the amount of animal manure produced in the United
States is 130 times greater than the amount of human waste, and there are
no national standards for dealing with the animal waste.

For example, a single 50,000-acre hog farm being built in Utah could
potentially put out more waste than the city of Los Angeles, the study said.

The report is scheduled to be released later this week, but
copies were distributed to reporters by Sen. Tom Harkin,
D-Iowa, who called it "the first comprehensive report to illustrate the
magnitude of environmental problems caused by animal waste."

The study was compiled by the Democratic staff of the Senate
Agriculture Committee. Harkin is the ranking Democrat on that
committee.

The study said the nation's agricultural officials consider 60 percent of
rivers and streams "impaired," with agricultural runoff the largest
contributor to that pollution.

Last year alone, more than 40 animal waste spills killed 670,000 fish in
Iowa, Minnesota and Missouri, the study said. That was up from 20 spills in
1992.

Harkin used the study to support his push for national
environmental standards for livestock producers. He and other
supporters want Congress to impose national standards so states won't
undercut each other in an effort to lure the livestock industry.

Farm groups have been leery of new regulations.

The report also noted that the rise of large-scale livestock
operations -- a growing trend among meat producers -- has greatly increased
the risk of waste spills, because the large farms produce more waste than
can be spread over nearby cropland.

Over the last 15 years, the number of hog farms nationally has dropped to
157,000 from about 600,000, but the overall output of hogs has increased.
Date: Mon, 29 Dec 1997 08:18:12 -0500
From: allen schubert <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (US) Food disparagement laws to get first test
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Howard Lyman/Oprah Winfrey
from Mercury Center news page http://spyglass1.sjmercury.com/breaking/
------------------------------------
Food disparagement laws to get first test (12/28/1997)

Posted at 3:59 p.m. PST Sunday, December 28, 1997

Food disparagement laws to get first test

Knight-Ridder Newspapers

   WASHINGTON -- In some parts of the United States, you can be sued for
disparaging pears, castigating cauliflower, ridiculing emu meat or -- as TV
celebrity Oprah Winfrey learned -- bad-mouthing beef.

   Thirteen states, responding to pressure from agricultural organizations,
have adopted food defamation laws in the 1990s. More than a dozen other
states are considering similar legislation.

   In general, these statutes make it possible for farmers and ranchers to
win damages from consumer groups, health advocates, journalists or anyone
else who spreads false information about the safety of a food product.

   So far, the laws have been little used. But that could soon change.
Their first court test is set for Jan. 7, the starting date for a federal
jury trial of a lawsuit filed by Texas cattle ranchers against Winfrey and
one of her guests.

   The ranchers claim the cattle industry lost millions of dollars as a
result of remarks made primarily by Howard Lyman, a vegetarian and director
of the Humane Society's Eating with Conscience Campaign, on the ``Oprah''
show of April 16, 1996.

   Lyman said ``mad cow'' disease would plague the U.S. beef industry
because it is ``following exactly the same path they followed in England.''
Winfrey, apparently impressed by Lyman's remarks, said she would stop
eating hamburgers.

   Many civil libertarians are convinced that the food defamation statutes
-- derisively dubbed ``banana bills'' and ``veggie libel'' laws by their
detractors -- stifle free speech and press.

   ``Sooner or later, these laws will be held unconstitutional, I'm sure of
it,'' ventured P. Cameron DeVore, a Seattle lawyer who specializes in
freedom of expression.

   Most of the laws ``penalize speech that is made in the utmost of good
faith and advance scientific inquiry and public debate -- but may not yet
be substantiated by scientific evidence,'' said David J. Bederman, a law
professor at Emory University in Atlanta. His early legal challenge to
Georgia's food defamation law was dismissed because the law had not yet
been used there.

   Had such laws been on the books decades ago, Bederman said, they could
have been used to punish the people who first warned of the dangers of DDT
or tobacco.

   That's nonsense, says Steve Kupperud, senior vice-president of the
American Feed Industry Association and a foremost advocate of food
disparagement laws.

   ``Look, I was a newspaper reporter for 15 years and the last thing I was
intending to do was muzzle the press or destroy the First Amendment,'' he
insisted.

   ``But if activists stand up and say `cauliflower causes breast cancer,'
they've got to be able to prove that,'' Kupperud said. ``I think that to
the degree that the mere presence of these laws has caused activists to
think twice, then these laws have already accomplished what we set out to
do.''

   Food disparagement laws were triggered by the failure of apple growers
in Washington state to obtain damages for losses attributed to a CBS
``Sixty Minutes'' broadcast in 1989. The broadcast said Alar, a chemical
used to lengthen the time that apples ripen on trees, could cause cancer.

   The apple growers' suit was dismissed on grounds that the alleged
defamation was directed at a product, not specific producers, and a food
could not be defamed.

   After that, agricultural organizations started pushing for laws that
would punish false statements about food products rather than the people
who produce them, about broccoli rather than the owners of the Bar-B
Vegetable Ranch.

   Farmers and food producers are eager to use the laws ``to fight wacky
claims that hurt them in their bottom line,'' Kupperud said, but they are
waiting to see how the Oprah case turns out.

   The suit was filed by Paul Engler, an Amarillo rancher, and Cactus
Feeders, a large cattle producer in the Texas Panhandle. They demanded $6.7
million from Lyman, Winfrey and her production company.

   ``In the stampede to win the ratings race, the truth is often the first
to get trampled,'' Engler's suit said.

   ``As a direct result of what has been called the `Oprah Crash,' the
cattle industry suffered millions of dollars in ... losses and ... loss of
confidence in the beef product.''

   Under Texas law, anyone who says that a perishable food product is
unsafe -- and knows the statement to be false -- might be required to pay
damages to the producer of such a product.

   Kevin Isem, a lawyer for Engler, said in an interview that a pre-trial
interrogation of Winfrey showed ``she relied on her staff and the staff
didn't do squat to find out whether his (Lyman's) statements were true or
not.''

   But Charles L. (Skip) Babcock of Dallas, a lawyer for Winfrey, said
there was plenty of research.

   ``The question was whether it (mad cow disease) can happen here and the
show presented people on both sides of the issue,'' Babcock said.

   He characterized Winfrey's remarks as ``opinion, hyperbole or rhetoric,
not statements of fact. Oprah has been quoted as saying, `I asked questions
about a major health issue and that's all I was doing.'''

   The Texas judge refused to dismiss the case on free-speech grounds. But
the constitutional issue is expected to be raised again, as are the broader
issues the food disparagement laws address.

   ``These scares have numbed the public,'' said Kupperud, of the feed
industry association. ``We at least gave them (farmers and food producers)
a tool to fight back with.''

   Babcock, Winfrey's lawyer in the case, disagrees. ``I used to think
these laws were silly,'' he said. ``Now I think they're dangerous. It's an
enormous tool an industry can use to silence its critics.''

   The 13 states with food disparagement laws are Alabama, Arizona,
Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Dakota,
Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Texas.

  States reported to be considering similar legislation include California,
Iowa, Maryland, Nebraska, South Carolina, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin
and Wyoming.

Date: Mon, 29 Dec 1997 08:30:35 -0500
From: "West, Jamey" <[e-mail]>
To: "'[e-mail]'" <[e-mail]>
Subject: COMPLETE SLAUGHTER OF ALL FOWL PLANNED
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>

Hong Kong to Slaughter Chickens
By Keith B. Richburg
Washington Post Foreign Service
Monday, December 29, 1997; Page A11
HONG KONG, Dec. 28-In a dramatic escalation in its battle against a
"bird flu" virus that apparently has killed four people, Hong Kong
authorities today announced plans to slaughter all chickens in the
territory, as well as geese, ducks, pigeons and quails that may have
been housed near chickens.

The mass slaughter, scheduled to begin Monday and last 24 hours, will
affect 1.3 million chickens from 160 chicken farms and about 1,000
markets. Health officials ordered the step late Saturday after they
discovered the bird flu virus in samples taken from a local chicken farm

on Christmas Eve and after another chicken died from the virus at a
wholesale market.

The slaughter order was extended to all poultry at retail and wholesale
outlets because officials could not determine whether different species
may have been kept on farms with chickens and also become infected with
the avian virus, known as A H5N1.

"There is also a likelihood of cross-contamination between species,"
said Lessie Wei, director of the Agriculture and Fisheries Department.

The only poultry spared will be those on farms without chickens. The
massive undertaking to destroy every chicken in Hong Kong will involve
as many as 2,000 workers from at least seven government agencies. The
chickens mostly will be killed on-site -- gathered into sealed
containers by workers wearing protective suits and gassed with carbon
dioxide -- and their carcasses will be placed in plastic bags and
shipped to one of three designated landfills.

"We will be using a sealed container, put the chickens inside, and the
chickens will die quickly," said K.K. Liu, assistant director of
agriculture and fisheries. Poultry dealers and farmers will be
compensated for the loss of their birds, but the amount will be set
later by Hong Kong's provisional legislature, officials said today at a
news conference.

Poultry workers are unlikely to complain about the flocks' slaughter
because chicken sales here have plummeted since the mysterious virus
surfaced. According to the latest government reports, 20 people in Hong
Kong are either confirmed or suspected to have contracted the bird flu,
and four of them have died. In addition, preliminary blood test results
from the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
indicate that nine of 502 people exposed to the virus tested positive
for bird flu antibodies but have not fallen ill. The center has a team
of investigators in Hong Kong.

Bird flu symptoms are similar to normal flu symptoms -- fever and
chills, sore throat and muscle aches.

On Saturday, health and agriculture officials insisted that no wholesale

slaughter of chickens was needed. The Hong Kong government on Dec. 23
had banned all chicken imports from elsewhere in China, which is widely
suspected of being the source of the virus. And the owners of local
stalls were ordered to clean them thoroughly.

"I feel that at this point in time, the measures are sufficient," Health

Director Margaret Chan said Saturday when asked about the possibility of

a chicken slaughter.

But today, Chan and other officials explained their turnaround after
discovering the contaminated samples just before midnight. They decided
that the mixing of local and other Chinese chickens was too widespread
to guarantee Hong Kong poultry is virus-free. As chicken sales lagged,
local birds were stored in pens with birds from southern China, where
the Agriculture and Fisheries Department on Dec. 22 had traced three
infected birds through a wholesaler.

"That is why we believe it is time to destroy all chickens in Hong
Kong," said Liu, the assistant agriculture director.

The ban on chicken imports from the rest of China remains in effect.
Hong Kong residents, who traditionally like to buy their chickens live
and pluck them at home, will have to rely on frozen poultry, much of it
from the United States and Australia.

"I believe that is acceptable to the public," said Stephen Ip, the
secretary for economic affairs. "We do have frozen chickens; we don't
have to consume fresh chickens." He added that imports from elsewhere in

China could resume once border controls and tests are in place to screen

for the virus and that chicken farms could start again with fresh
flocks. "We're not talking about depriving the public of fresh chickens
for good," he said.

The widespread slaughter is likely to prove costly -- in compensation
for farmers, as well as in the labor involved

But officials today would not put a price tag on the decision. "I think
health is the most important thing," Ip said. "It's not our concern as
to how much money it will cost".
Date: Mon, 29 Dec 1997 10:50:48 -0600 (CST)
From: [e-mail] (HSUS Wildlife)
To: [e-mail]
Cc: [e-mail].-
Subject: Reptiles & Amphibians Destined for the Pet Trade Need Your Help!
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>

                         REPTILES AND AMPHIBIANS
                       DESTINED FOR THE PET TRADE
                             NEED YOUR HELP!

                     REOPENING OF THE COMMENT PERIOD
                                    AND
                            TWO PUBLIC MEETINGS
                                    ON
               HUMANE AND HEALTHFUL TRANSPORT REGULATIONS
                  GOVERNING THE CONDITIONS UNDER WHICH
                      LIVE REPTILES AND AMPHIBIANS
                  ARE TRANSPORTED TO THE UNITED STATES


WHAT IS THE PROBLEM?

     Each year millions of live reptiles and amphibians are imported to
the United States for sale in the pet trade.  The number imported
continues to grow every year.  The lack of shipping standards governing
the transport of reptiles and amphibians to the U.S. has resulted in
the needless injury and death of countless turtles, lizards, snakes,
and frogs.  These animals are routinely crushed, dismembered, and
frozen to death during transport to the United States.  A 1981
amendment to the Lacey Act authorized the U.S. Department of the
Interior to promulgate regulations governing the humane and healthful
transport of live reptiles and amphibians to the United States.  Such
regulations have not been forthcoming until now.  The pet industry is
orchestrating massive opposition to the adoption of these regulations
which they falsely claim will halt the import of live reptiles and
amphibians.  In reality, it will make shippers and airlines legally
accountable for the death and injury they cause to reptiles and
amphibians.

WHAT CAN BE DONE?

     WRITE A LETTER:  The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has invited
the public to comment on proposed regulations governing the humane and
healthful transport of live amphibians and reptiles to the United
States.  The proposed regulations may be found in Federal Register,
Volume 62, No. 109, published 6 June 1997 (this noticecan be accessed
via the following web site:
http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/multidb.cgi
Use the following "search" parameters:  In the date line, type: ON
6/6/97.  In the subject line, type: "Reptiles".)  Another Federal
Register notice, Volume 62, No. 234 published on 5 December 1997,
re-opened the comment period. The Service will accept comments from
January 17, 1998 through February 17, 1998.  Send your comments to:
Mr. Kenneth Stansell, Chief / Office of Management Authority / 4401 N.
Fairfax Drive, Room 430 / Arlington, VA  22203.  Fax: [phone].
Email: [e-mail].

     ATTEND A PUBLIC MEETING:  The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will
hold two January public meetings on the regulations in Los Angeles and
New York City.  The pet industry has already sent out an alert to the
reptile and amphibian importers, pet stores, and dealers asking them to
show up at the public meetings.  Reptiles and
amphibians need to have people who truly care about their treatment by
the pet industry and airlines at these public meetings to defend the
adoption of these regulations!

            January 17, 1997              January 27, 1997
            1:00 pm - 5:00 pm             1:00 pm - 5:00 pm
            St. John's University         The Westin Hotel
            Bent Hall Seminar Room        Los Angeles Airport
            8000 Utopia Parkway           5400 West Century Boulevard
            Jamaica (Queens), New York    Los Angeles, California

Some points that can be made in a letter or in your verbal statement to
the Service:

     SUPPORT the Service's initiative to promulgate these much-needed
        regulations (albeit sixteen years after Congress asked them to
        do so).

     ENCOURAGE the Service to, at a minimum, adopt the reptile and
        amphibian shipping standards of the International Air Transport
        Association (IATA).

     SUPPORT the Service's proposal to improve upon the IATA
        regulations by:

     -    in most cases, barring the use of corrugated board or
            corrugated cardboard boxes (which collapse under pressure,
            especially when wet with excreta).

     -    requiring veterinary certificates, issued in the country
            of export, for all reptiles and amphibians entering the
            U.S.

     -    prohibiting the import of animals that have external
            parasites, such as ticks, mites or leeches or that are
            sick or injured (unless the primary purpose of such import
            is medical treatment).

     -    requiring shippers to maintain optimal temperature (defined
            as between 70 F an 80 F) throughout the transport process.

     -    reducing the number of hatchling turtles that can be enclosed
            in each compartment of a box, from 62 to 25, in a box can
            hold no more than 100 hatchlings.

     SUGGEST that the Service improve on the IATA regulations by
barring the use of corrugated board or corrugated cardboard for
shipment of hatchling turtles because boxes made of these materials are
easily crushed during shipment.

     OPPOSE the Service's proposal to weaken the IATA regulations by
allowing five specimens of so-called "small" reptiles (crocodiles under
24 inches, lizards under 12 inches, snakes under 36 inches) per bag
when IATA allows only one per bag.


                  The Humane Society of the United States
                             2100 L Street NW
                           Washington, DC 20037
                               202-452-1100
Date: Mon, 29 Dec 1997 12:03:07 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


A/w with local Okla. City hunting news:

All annual Oklahoma hunting and fishing licenses and permits
expire on 31 Dec, except for the furbearer and trapping licenses,
a/w Mr. Robert Taylor, fiscal services coordinator for the Oklahoma
Wildlife Dept.
He also added that sportsmen can save more than 15% off the
cost of individual hunting and fishing licenses by buying an
annual combination license.  License requirements and exemptions
are outlined in the Oklahoma Hunting Regulations and the Okla.
Fishing Regulations.  Answers to licensing question can be obtained
by calling [phone].
The Oklahoma Wildlife Dept. is funded primarily by hunting and
fishing license fees and revenue from federal excise taxes on guns,
ammunition, motorboat fuel and fishing equipment. (Plus we all
pay a small fee on car tag renewals..)

Oklahoma trappers and predator hunters may sell furs at the Agri-
Civic Center in Chandler, Okla. on Jan. 3, Feb. 7, and Feb. 28.
Auctions will be sponsored by the Oklahoma Trappers and
Predator Callers Association.

Zebco, the Tulsa-based fishing giant, is offering a free guide for
single parents whose children are interested in fishing.  "The Single
Parents Guide to Fishing" is available by writing Single Parent
Fishing, Zebco, Box 270, Tulsa, Okla.  74101.

                                                      For the Animals,

                                                      Jana, OKC
Date: Mon, 29 Dec 1997 17:10:12 EST
From: MINKLIB <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (US) Trapping: Ekco Group Condemned as Hypocrites
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit

For Immediate Release
12-30-97


New Owner of Pet Products Firm Accused of Maiming Dogs, Cats

Nashua, NH-- Today a national anti fur group condemned the Nashua, NH based
Ekco Group Inc. as hypocrites for their purchase of Aspen Pet Products, while
still manufacturing steel leghold traps at their Woodstream subsidiary in
Lititz, PA.

The Coalition to Abolish the Fur Trade, a Dallas based organization with
chapters across the country, received a copy of a press release which Ekco
distributed on Dec. 16th.  In this release Ekco revealed that they had
acquired the Denver based Aspen Pet Products.  This pet supply company makes
toys, bones, and other animal care items.

ôIt is ironic that Ekco now owns a company which many people who love their
animals may endorse, while still manufacturing steel leghold traps which
regularly maim those very same dogs and cats each fur trapping seasonö stated
CAFT Executive Director J.P. Goodwin.

ôIt is bad enough that this company produces these steel traps which crush the
paws of millions of raccoons, foxes, and beavers each year, but then to
position themselves so as to take money from people who have and care for
animals is repugnantö continued Danielle Dore, a New Hampshire CAFT
coordinator.

The organization has called for a boycott of all Ekco products and has
announced that 1998 will see a major campaign against the company because of
their role in the trapping industry.

-30-

Date: Tue, 30 Dec 1997 06:27:59 +0800
From: bunny <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Hong Kong bird slaughter-1.2 million to die
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Re HK bird slaughter

On the TV news last night it was mentioned that 1.2 million birds
were to be slaughtered in Hong Kong. They mentioned ducks and geese as well
as chickens and live footage was shown where the birds were not being gassed but
the chinese person took the beautiful looking chicken out of a row of boxes
(looked like possibly egg layers) and broke the birds neck out of full view of
the camera (obscured by some wooden crates with gaps in them) but enough in
view of camera that you could see the bird struggle and put its wings out.
Then they put them in bags and shovelled lime on them. This is so cruel.

========================================================
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  \_/^\_/

It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong.
 - Voltaire








Date: Tue, 30 Dec 1997 06:53:05 +0800
From: bunny <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (USA and others)Foodborne disease - bear meat etc
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

FOODBORNE DISEASE, BEAR MEAT, FATAL [Siberia]
************************************


Date: Sat, 27 Dec 1997 12:15:17 -0800



The following data on the global distribution of trichinosis and its status
in the United States were abstracted from the GIDEON software program:

Trichinosis - species distribution:

- It is estimated that 11 million are infested worldwide.  Most infections
are due to _Trichinella spiralis_ (T1).  Trichinosis accounted for 1.5% of
all food-related outbreaks in Europe during 1991 to 1992.

-  _T. nativa_ (T2) is found in arctic regions, and transmitted by horse
and bear.

- _T. britovi_ (T3) occurs in temperate zones, and is acquired from horses
and boar.

- _T. pseudospiralis_ occurs in the Nearctic and Oceania, and is found in
birds and omnivores. Rare human cases have been reported.

- _T. nelsoni_ (T7) is found in the tropics, and is acquired from wart hogs.

Trichinosis in the United States:

- 2,773 cases were reported during 1944 to 1953; 2,252 during 1954 to 1963;
1,273 during 1964 to 1973; 1,351 during 1974 to 1983.  An average of 57
cases were reported annually during 1982 to 1986 (5 fatal cases during this
period).

- In 1990, Iowa accounted for over 60% of reported cases; 38 of 62 cases
reported in 1991 were reported from Wisconsin; 41 cases were reported in
1992 (28 of these from Alaska); 16 in 1993; 32 in 1994; 29 in 1995 (59%
from Idaho and Iowa); 11 in 1996; 3 first half of 1997.

- 128 food-related outbreaks were registered during 1973 to 1987.

- 23 fatal cases were reported during 1961 to 1970; 1 (in 1989) during 1986
to 1995.

- Pork accounts for 61% of cases and bear meat 33%. Cougar jerky was
implicated in 10 cases in Idaho in 1995.

- 21% of Alaskan lynx (_Felis lynx_) are infested with _Trichinella nativa_.
========================================================
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  \_/^\_/

It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong.
 - Voltaire








Date: Mon, 29 Dec 1997 19:36:34 -0500
From: "Bina Robinson" <[e-mail]>
To: <[e-mail]>
Subject: Setbacks for meat industry
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

>From Civitas: received from FARM (Farm Animal Reform Movement) Dec 29/97
FARM address:  10101 Ashburton Ln., Bethesda MD 20817   301-530-1737

The fall of the meat-industrial complex is finally in sight.  The key
factors are widespread public concern with the health and environmental
effects of animal agriculture and escalating production costs.

More and more consumers are becoming aware of the devastating consequences
of meat consumption on human health.  Just in the past year, consumption of
dark green leafy vegetables, fruits, and other foods containing folic acid
was found to reduce blood homocysteine levels and consequent risk of
coronary disease.  Tripling the consumption of animal fat and cholesterol
was found to triple the incidence of coronary deaths.  A review of 4,000
reports by the World Cancer Research Fund concluded that 3-4 million cases
of colon, breast, and lung cancer in the world could be prevented annually
by  a plant-based diet.

US Public Health Service now estimates that up to 80 million Americans are
sickened each year by E. coli, Samonella, and other meat-borne pathogens,
and over 9,000 are killed.  It has declared contamination of turkey and
chicken carcasses by Campylobacter a major threat to public health.  Drug
abuse in factory farms has rendered two other deadly pathogens immune to
all antibiotics.  Pathogens and heavy metals in beef have been traced to
chicken manure in cattle feed.

Environmentalists, and even fishermen and hunters, are finally recognizing
intensive animal agriculture as the most severe current threat to natural
resources.  Forests and other wildlife habitats are being systematically
wiped out.  The US Department of Interior has reported a net loss of one
million acres of wetlands to animal agriculture during the past decade.
Fisheries along the eastern seaboard have been devastated by Pfiesteria
microbes nurtured by farm animal waste.


Costs of production have been driven up dramatically by government's
desperate damage control measures and shrinking wolrd feed grain supplies.
Just this year, USDA recalled 25 million pounds of contaminated ground beef
and closed the processing plant.  FDA approved irradiation of beef, adding
a new production cost and public safety hazard.  EPA is finally planning to
limit effluents from hog and poultry operations.  Twelve traditionally
agricultural states are now regulating the size and emissions of factory
farming operations.  A Virginia slaughterhouse was fined $12.6 million for
7,000 incidents of dumping wastes into a river.

The Worldwatch Institute reported this year that world grain production is
falling behind meat consumption.  Last year's poor grain harvest raised
feed prices dramatically, driving a number of ranchers out of business.
Such episodes are expected to occur with increasing frequency, leading to
major economic dislocations in the US and more severe famines in developing
countries.

-



Date: Mon, 29 Dec 1997 19:35:58 -0800
From: Hillary <[e-mail]>
To: "[e-mail]" <[e-mail]>
Subject: Fur is Back?
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Subj:Boston Furriers Say Sales Are Back
Date:97-12-22 11:38:57 EST
From:AOL News
 BCC:FreeAnmls

Boston Furriers Say Sales Are Back

.c The Associated Press

 BOSTON (AP) - Fur is flying again. Boston furriers say holiday sales are
up 25 percent over last year.

Fur sales bottomed out in 1991, but rose to $1.25 billion last year and are
still climbing, according to the Washington D.C.-based Fur Information
Council of America.

Although sales have not reached the 1987 peak of $1.8 billion, it's not for
a lack of trying by the fashion industry.

This spring, more than 160 U.S. and European designers included fur in
their fall collections, up from 42 in 1985, according to the Fur
Information Council.

As for the strong-armed tactics of anti-fur activists, people like Deborah
Burger of Duxbury, who just purchased a beaver fur coat, isn't bothered.

``I'm not nervous. The coat is insured,'' she told The Boston Globe. ``If
someone throws red paint on it, I'll get another one.''

AP-NY-12-22-97 1136EST

Date: Mon, 29 Dec 1997 19:39:29 -0800
From: Hillary <[e-mail]>
To: "[e-mail]" <[e-mail]>
Subject: Woman Rescues Geese
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Subj:Woman Takes Geese Home for Dinner
Date:97-12-24 03:09:15 EST
From:AOL News
 BCC:FreeAnmls

Woman Takes Geese Home for Dinner

.c The Associated Press

 REDLANDS, Calif. (AP) - Tana Pryor was worried the geese at Ford Park
might end up as someone's Christmas dinner. So she took two home and gave
them a holiday meal of their own.

``I didn't want to see anybody eat them,'' said Mrs. Pryor, 42, who often
helps stray or abandoned animals. ``I just got home, put them in the cage I
use for barnyard rescues, gave them food and water and they were eating and
eating and eating.''

Police didn't think so kindly of her deed, and threatened to arrest her for
theft of city property if she didn't give the geese back.

``They told me I was going to jail,'' Mrs. Pryor said. ``One of them walked
over to my 11-year-old son and said, `Does your mom do this a lot?' He
said, `Yes.'

``Then the officer said, `Is your mom going to eat these geese?' And my son
said, `No. She's a vegetarian.'''

On Monday, Redlands officials said it was all a misunderstanding. Geese and
ducks in the parks aren't city property.

AP-NY-12-24-97 0306EST

Date: Mon, 29 Dec 1997 19:44:41 -0800
From: Hillary <[e-mail]>
To: "[e-mail]" <[e-mail]>
Subject: Animal Waste Causing Tremendous Problems
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"


Study Shows Risks of Animal Waste

.c The Associated Press

 By MIKE GLOVER

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - The staggering amount of animal waste produced on
American farms often pollutes water, and the risk is growing as more
large-scale livestock operations take hold, according to a new U.S. Senate
study.

The study found that the amount of animal manure produced in the United
States is 130 times greater than the amount of human waste, and there are
no national standards for dealing with the animal waste.

For example, a single 50,000-acre hog farm being built in Utah could
potentially put out more waste than the city of Los Angeles, the study said.

The report is scheduled to be released later this week, but copies were
distributed to reporters by Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, who called it ``the
first comprehensive report to illustrate the magnitude of environmental
problems caused by animal waste.''

The study was compiled by the Democratic staff of the Senate Agriculture
Committee. Harkin is the ranking Democrat on that committee.

The study said the nation's agricultural officials consider 60 percent of
rivers and streams ``impaired,'' with agricultural runoff the largest
contributor to that pollution.

Last year alone, more than 40 animal waste spills killed 670,000 fish in
Iowa, Minnesota and Missouri, the study said. That was up from 20 spills in
1992.

Harkin used the study to support his push for national environmental
standards for livestock producers. He and other supporters want Congress to
impose national standards so states won't undercut each other in an effort
to lure the livestock industry.

Farm groups have been leery of new regulations.

The report also noted that the rise of large-scale livestock operations - a
growing trend among meat producers - has greatly increased the risk of
waste spills, because the large farms produce more waste than can be spread
over nearby cropland.

Over the last 15 years, the number of hog farms nationally has dropped to
157,000 from about 600,000, but the overall output of hogs has increased.

AP-NY-12-28-97 2001EST

Date: Mon, 29 Dec 1997 19:45:41 -0800
From: Hillary <[e-mail]>
To: "[e-mail]" <[e-mail]>
Subject: Tyson to Pay
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"


Tyson Foods To Pay $6 Million

.c The Associated Press

 By ROBERT GREENE

WASHINGTON (AP) - World poultry giant Tyson Foods agreed Monday to pay $6
million in penalties after pleading guilty to making illegal gifts to
former Agriculture Secretary Mike Espy, including tickets to President
Clinton's first inaugural dinner.

Under the plea agreement with independent counsel Donald Smaltz, Tyson will
not be barred from making millions of dollars worth of sales to the
military or to school lunch programs.

The Arkansas-based company admitted to making more than $12,000 in gifts to
Espy during 1993 when it gave the newly appointed cabinet member four
tickets, worth $6,000, to Clinton's 1992 inaugural dinner.

At the time, the department was considering several regulations of interest
to Tyson, including an emergency rule requiring safe handling instructions
on all raw meat and chicken packages.

Espy, 44, has been indicted as a result of the investigation, which forced
him to resign three years ago. He has denied any wrongdoing.

Gifts from Tyson prompted an internal Agriculture Department investigation
and subsequent investigation by Smaltz. The investigation also led to the
trial and conviction of Sun-Diamond Growers of California, another
agribusiness giant, and a guilty plea and fine for Crop Growers Corp., a
leading crop insurance firm.

``Our government is a government of all the people and not just the
privileged few who seek to buy their way into regulatory grace,'' Smaltz
said in a statement.

The other Tyson gifts were travel, lodging and entertainment for Espy and
his girlfriend, Patricia Dempsey, to attend a company party in
Russellville, Ark., and the Dallas Cowboys-Green Bay Packers football
playoff game, and a Tyson Foundation scholarship worth $1,200 for Miss
Dempsey.

Tyson, based in Springdale, Ark., had sales of $6.5 billion in 1996. Though
known for chicken, the company is in the pork and seafood business as well.
It is also a leading U.S. maker of tortillas.

``Tyson looks forward to having this long, costly distracting matter
concluded,'' the company said in a statement.

The $6 million penalty includes a $4 million fine and $2 million to help
cover the cost of the investigation.

The company sold $10.5 million worth of goods to the Defense Department in
the 1996 budget year, the Pentagon says. School lunch sales are harder to
measure because most purchases are made locally or on the state level. But
they are subsidized by federal reimbursements to the school lunch program.

Espy and former Housing Secretary Henry Cisneros are the highest-ranking
officials of the Clinton administration to be accused of a crime. Cisneros
was indicted this month on conspiracy, obstructing justice and other
charges related to false statements to the FBI about payments to his former
mistress, Linda Jones.

The agreement must be approved by U.S. District Judge Ricardo M. Urbina,
who scheduled sentencing for Jan. 14. The senior chairman of the company,
Don Tyson, entered the plea to the one-count criminal charge on behalf of
the firm.

Tyson and his son, John, vice chairman of Tyson Foods, had been granted
immunity in exchange for their grand jury testimony. Smaltz has been
investigating Archie Schaffer, the company's senior spokesman. The firm's
Washington lobbyist, Jack Williams, has been indicted after an earlier
conviction was thrown out. He is scheduled for trial Feb. 2.

The agreement calls for the company to help with Smaltz's cases against
Espy, Schaffer and Williams.

Williams' attorney, Barry Levine, said his client isn't worried about the
company's plea bargain.

``He doesn't fear their cooperation,'' Levine said. ``I have seen no
evidence of misconduct by the company or its people.''

In its statement, Tyson said it believes Schaffer and Williams are innocent
and the company ``will continue to support these individuals.''

As part of the plea, Tyson must set up ethics training and other safeguards
against future wrongdoing.

AP-NY-12-29-97 1735EST

Date: Mon, 29 Dec 1997 20:28:18 -0500
From: Vegetarian Resource Center <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: New monkeys found in Brazil in Amazon
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit

.c The Associated Pressá

NOVA ARIPUANA, (AP) - For more than a year, Marc van Roosmalen
combed the Amazon rain forest in search of a specific new species
of monkey. He found more than he bargained for.

Along the trail, the Dutch primatologist discovered four other previously
unknown types of monkey and a new species of porcupine. The formal description
of two of the monkeys will appear in a Brazilian scientific journal next year.

He also spotted a new tapir and new jaguar, although he has yet to capture
them.

Oh yes, he also found the monkey he was looking for.

Scientists are excited by the discoveries, remarkable even by Brazilian
standards. With 80 of the world's 250 known monkey species - more than any
other country - Brazil has turned up an average of one new monkey a year since
1990.

``From what Marc has shown me, they are certainly different than anything I've
seen before,'' said Anthony Rylands, a British professor of vertebrate zoology
at the Federal University of Minas Gerais.

Even more startling, the new species were found barely 190 miles from Manaus,
the Amazon's largest city, which in turn is 1,800 miles northwest of Rio de
Janeiro.

``That just goes to show how little we still know about biodiversity in the
Amazon,'' Rylands said.

It all started with the dwarf marmoset that appeared on Roosmalen's doorstep
in 1996, brought by a local man who knew that the scientist cares for orphaned
monkeys.

Roosmalen knew right away it was a new species, and the discovery was widely
reported last August. But finding the monkey's home was no easy task - all he
knew was that it had come aboard a boat somewhere along the 2,000-mile Madeira
River.

So Roosmalen set out through the forest, snapshot in hand, asking anybody he
came across if they had seen the monkey in the photograph.

``I'd show people the picture and they'd say they knew where to find it. But
what they showed me always turned out to be another monkey,'' said Roosmalen,
who works at the National Amazon Research Institute, INPA, in Manaus.

Occasionally, the ``wrong'' monkey also was an unknown species, one of the
categories - family, genus and species - used to classify animals.

One of the new monkeys belongs to the Callthrix genus. Roosmalen has dubbed it
the manicore marmoset until the scientific description with a formal name is
published.

The squirrel-sized manicore has a grayish-white body with naked ears, orange
legs, a black tail and pinkish face. An average adult measures 9 inches with a
15-inch tail and weighs around 12 ounces.

Another is a member of the Callicebus genus. The locals call it the zog-zog -
probably from the sound of the throaty duet couples sing to establish their
territory.

The zog-zog has a reddish-orange beard and belly, a grayish-brown back and a
white spot on the tip of its tail. An average adult measures 16 inches, has a
tail slightly longer than its body and weighs just over 2.2 pounds.

Another discovery was a pink-nosed, black-tailed dwarf porcupine, with
deceptively fluffy pale hair covering sharp yellow spines. Roosmalen expects
to publish the scientific description of the porcupine next year with Maria
Nazare da Silva, a small-mammal specialist at INPA.

Still to come are descriptions of two more monkey species, the tapir and the
jaguar.

Roosmalen's search for his dwarf marmoset ended in Damiao Lisboa Pereira's
backyard, in a tiny community on the Aripuana River near its confluence with
the Madeira.

The monkeys come to Pereira's backyard three times a day to feed on a pair of
morototo trees, one of their few sources of food during the dry season.

Not long after sunrise, zog-zogs call to each other deep in the thick jungle.
High above, a pair of Nun birds - long-tailed and black with bright red beaks
- sing a somber duet resembling an organ fugue.

Then the monkeys appear, leaping from tree to tree with incredible speed and
agility.

``They move so easily it's like watching water flow,'' Roosmalen said. ``I
think, relative to their size, they are the fastest monkeys in the world.''

Roosmalen believes the adult monkey, which averages about 6 inches in length
and weighs around 6.3 ounces, is the world's second smallest after the pygmy
marmoset.

It also has one of the world's smallest distributions for a primate. The
species is found only on a triangular patch of land smaller than Rhode Island
between the Madeira and Aripuana rivers.

The dozens of rivers that criss-cross the region are natural barriers that
tend to isolate the species. Monkeys that may share a common ancestor
developed into separate species over several million years.

``On the other side of the Aripuana, the monkey is white with tuft ears. On
this side, it's whitish-orange with a black tail. The next river over, it's
all white with a black tail and legs,'' explains Valquimar Araujo, a boatman
who has worked with Roosmalen for years.

Unfortunately, the wealth of plants and animals here may disappear before
science discovers them. Without protection, most of these animals will be gone
within 20 years, Roosmalen says.

``I really believe the area has the highest biodiversity in the world in terms
of primates and maybe in general. But not a single hectare of the region is
protected by law,'' he says.

New roads and improved navigation along the Madeira River are part of a
massive grain project planned nearby and almost certainly will open the area
to logging.

The forest behind Pereira's house already bears the scars of selective
logging. Huge tire tracks run a mile into the once-pristine forest, where a
bulldozer was used to remove the trees.

The loggers received the community's permission to cut for a fee, then left
without paying.

AP-NY-12-28-97 1202EST

⌐1997   Maynard S Clark    Vegetarian Resource Center    [e-mail]


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