Komputer for Alle 1998 #6/1998 CD 6 (Gul).iso/web/ffa/wwwenv~1.org/arrs/digest/news63~9.htm/text0013.txt

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>The Straits Times
15 Jan 98

Wanted: A device to scare away     lobster-killing octopus

     ADELAIDE (Australia) -- A post-graduate student here has won a
scholarship to
     invent a device capable of frightening the wits out of a cunning little
octopus with an     expensive taste for seafood.

     Octopus maorum, more commonly known as the Maori octopus, is blamed for
killing     up to 10 per cent of lobsters caught in pots, costing the local
lobster industry about     A$10 million (S$11.5 million) a year.

The losses prompted the South Australian Rock Lobster Advisory Council to
award a
     A$20,000 scholarship to Mr Danny Brock to study the possibility of
inventing a device     that will deter the octopuses from entering the pots
as part of his PhD thesis at the     University of Adelaide.

     The lobster industry generates A$100 million in export revenue for
South Australia     alone.

     Mr Roger Edwards, the advisory council's executive officer, said that
research
     information would be passed on to the Victorian and Tasmanian lobster
industries,
     which have the same problem, if a successful device was invented.

     "Certainly it is an issue in most lobster fisheries in Australia. The
animal is very clever     and is able to get into very small holes," Mr
Edwards said.
A device which keeps the octopus out of the pots would mean fewer damaged
lobsters     and the survival of immature lobsters in pots, boosting their
breeding population, he     said.

     Another PhD student, Mr Mike Harte, will receive A$5,000 a year for
three years to     develop a software package to help lobster fishers decide
where and when a catch     should be sold. It also calculates fuel costs,
travel times and profits on catches for     various ports. -- AFP.

Date: Thu, 15 Jan 1998 15:35:28 +0800 (SST)
From: Vadivu Govind <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Govts subsidising overfishing, says WWF
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
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>The Straits Times
15 Jan 98

Govts subsidising overfishing, says WWF

     By Leong Ching Ching
     in London

     GOVERNMENTS are paying tens of billions of dollars each year to
subsidise an
     industry that catches US$70 billion (S$126 billion) of fish, according
to the World
     Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).

     Dr Michael Sutton, who heads the WWF's Endangered Seas Campaign, giving an
     example, said the European governments pay out over US$250 million each
year to subsidise fishing.
If this money had been used to retrain fishermen to do other jobs, it would have
     generated revenue many times over, he said.

     The solution, he told The Straits Times, was to work with the market.
One way is to  establish fisheries which promote practices which are viable
both economically and  ecologically.

     Consumers should also play their part by buying products which bear the
logo of such   responsible fisheries.

     For example, the Marine Stewardship Council, which has been endorsed by the
     WWF, plans to put its stamp on the products of responsible fisheries
later this year.

     Small island-states like Singapore, he said, had a crucial role to
play, as their water   boundaries are often larger than their land mass.
Singapore, which has a busy entrepot trade, could be vigilant about the
illegal trade in
   protected marine life.

     Indonesia and the Philippines also need to be watchful as trade in live
reef fish in these  two countries is estimated to be worth US$200 million a
year.

     But most of the fish are caught by divers using cyanide, which
narcotises the fish, but  also damages the reefs. Overfishing of these
slow-growing species is leading to serious     depletion and probably local
extinction, he said.

     Dr Sutton was speaking on the fishing industry in relation to the
United Nations'
     declaration of this year as the International Year of the Ocean.

     In London on Monday, Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, and
President-Emeritus of the WWF, launched the year by urging governments to
stop subsidising overfishing,     protect marine areas and support
international treaties which set standards for fishing.

     He noted: "There may have been a time when it was legitimate to
question whether     there was conclusive evidence that the oceans were
being overfished. That time has     long gone."

     According to UN figures released at a press conference, at least 60 per
cent of the     world's 200 most commercially valuable fish are either being
fished to the limit, or     overfished.

     A few -- such as the Atlantic halibut, a bluefin tuna -- have been
fished to the brink of     commercial extinction.

     More than 100 fishes and other marine life are listed as being
threatened, but less than 1 per cent of the world's oceans and seas are
designated as protected areas.

     All these had been predicted over 20 years ago by environmentalists,
Prince Philip
     said.

     But governments have been reluctant to take action, unwilling to suffer
a loss in revenue     from fishing, fewer jobs for fishermen, and a
reduction in a major food source.

     But, he warned, if the oceans continued to be exploited at the present
rate, there would     be very little for fishermen in the next generation,
or indeed for consumers to eat.

     Urging governments to take action immediately, he compared the
exploitation of the     sea to taking bricks out of a wall.
In the beginning, you may just get a big hole, but take out one brick too
many and the     whole wall collapses, he said.


Date: Thu, 15 Jan 1998 15:35:32 +0800 (SST)
From: Vadivu Govind <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: EU plans partial lifting of British beef ban
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
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>The Electronic Telegraph
15 Jan 98

EU plans partial lifting of British beef ban
by By Toby Helm, EU Correspondent, in Strasbourg

THE first breakthrough in the battle to ease the EU ban on British beef</a>
came last night when Brussels agreed to propose a partial lifting of the
worldwide embargo.<p>
 The 20 European Commissioners decided unanimously to recommend that exports
of meat from "certified" BSE-free herds whose records are kept on computers
should resume.

 But behind the scenes wrangling over the proposal in Brussels and
Strasbourg, where German officials staged a last-minute campaign to prevent
progress, suggests that Britain still faces an uphill struggle to persuade
its EU partners to back the plan.

 The Commission proposal, which would only affect meat from Northern Ireland
- the only area covered by a full computer system - is still subject to
approval by the 15 EU member states.

 Jack Cunningham, the agriculture minister, said: "I welcome the
Commission's decision. This marks a significant step forward in regaining
access to international markets."

 But he warned that the plan still required the support of a majority of
member states either in the EU's Standing Veterinary Committee, or in the
full Council of Ministers.

 Brokering a deal will provide the British EU presidency with a severe test
as several countries led by Germany remain implacably opposed to any easing
of the embargo imposed by Brussels in March 1996.

 One senior European Commission official said: "It is not going to be easy
by any means. The Germans and the Austrians will not move and they will work
hard to persuade others to join them."

 The only dissenting voice in the Commission was that of Emma Bonino, the
consumer affairs commissioner, who tried to build new conditions into the
plan. She was later accused by colleagues of being in the pocket of the
German government.

 In the end Ms Bonino won an assurance that no meat from Northern Ireland
could be sent via Britain for processing, for fear that it would get mixed
up with other meat not allowed for export.

 The Commission proposal will be put to a meeting of EU vets later this
month. If it fails to get the necessary support for automatic implementation
it will then go to the council of agriculture ministers under Mr
Cunningham's chairmanship.

 Officials said they did not expect agreement among member states before
March. "We will have to play this gently. It is a sensitive issue in Europe.
You can't just expect countries to swallow it just like that."

 Neil Kinnock, the British commissioner, said the agreement was a success
for the British presidency. He said: "This recommendation shows that the
United Kingdom government policy of co-operation with its EU partners
through the Commission is paying dividends. This is a firm start on the road
back to a single market for beef."

 Mr Cunningham said he and Mo Mowlam, Northern Ireland Secretary, would be
working to persuade the other member states to endorse the Commission
recommendation. He said: "If agreed it would provide a valuable outlet for
beef from Northern Ireland, relief for the beef markets of the United
Kingdom and a big boost to hopes of securing further relaxation of the
export ban for the year ahead."

⌐ Copyright Telegraph Group Limited 1997.

Date: Thu, 15 Jan 1998 16:52:16 +0800
From: bunny <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Action Alert, Melbourne, Thurs only
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

ALL WELCOME TO 1998.


ACTION ALERT


THURSDAY JANUARY 15, 1998

GOOD FOR TODAY ONLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(MELBOURNE AUSTRALIA ONLY)



THE HERALD SUN NEWSPAPER VOTELINE QUESTION TODAY IS:


        "SHOULD SCIENTISTS BE INTERFERING WITH GENES TO STOP AGEING?

        TO VOTE "NO"   CALL  0055 68300    IT COSTS 25CENTS



ONLY GOOD TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

AFTER THAT YOU'LL VOTE ON SOMETHING ELSE
========================================================
Rabbit Information Service,
P.O.Box 30,
Riverton,
Western Australia 6148

email>  [e-mail]

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

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

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














Date: Thu, 15 Jan 1998 10:02:53 GMT
From: Chris Wright <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (UK) Hound dies as hunt pack riots onto main road
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
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League Against Cruel Sports press release (8/1/98):

NORTH SHROPSHIRE FOX-HUNT BRINGS DEATH AND MAJOR
DELAY TO MAIN ROAD

     A dog was killed and traffic chaos caused yesterday after the
North Shropshire Fox-hunt lost control of its pack of dogs.

     RSPCA Inspector Barry Williams witnessed the incident at 1.30pm
on the south-bound carriageway of the A5 at Shrawardine. He was
driving behind a lorry which suddenly slammed on its brakes in an
effort to avoid hitting the pack of dogs which had appeared from
neighbouring fields. The lorry hit one dog, and the Inspector jumped
out of his car to help, but the animal was already dead.

     Inspector Williams helped to control the chaotic situation. By
the time Hunt Master John Davies arrived there was already a mile-long
tail back. Hunts all over Britain regularly lose control of their dogs
on roads and railways which often leads to animals being killed and
major delays.

     Inspector Williams said today: 'The potential for serious tragedy
in this case just doesn't bear thinking about. Having witnessed the
incident it's a miracle that more dogs weren't killed, let alone the
drivers who had to slam on their brakes to avoid colliding with
vehicles in front. It is absolutely ridiculous that no action can be
taken for such irresponsible behaviour. Common sense dictates that
it is totally irresponsible to take a pack of dogs through a field
right next to a road as busy as the A5. The field had no fencing so
the dogs, obviously following a scent, ran straight out of the field
onto the road.'
-----

Chris W.
Date: Thu, 15 Jan 1998 10:02:47 GMT
From: Chris Wright <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (UK) Pigs die in overcrowded lorry
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

A lorry carrying 85 pigs was stopped on the M6 yesterday by West
Midlands police. The lorry was allegedly carrying twice as many pigs
as allowed under the relevant regulations, and two of them were found
to already be dead. The pigs hadn't had any food or water for 24
hours. The vehicle itself was also found not to meet the required
standards. One fault was that the water dispensers used to supply the
pigs with drinking water supplied water heavily discoloured with rust.
The driver (and presumably whoever he works for) is now facing
charges.

West Midlands police said that a massive 73% of livestock transporters
which they inspect fail to meet the minimum standards both
mechanically and from an animal welfare perspective.

The pigs were en route from Londonderry, Northern Ireland to Essex,
where they were going to be slaughtered.

Chris Wright
Date: Thu, 15 Jan 1998 10:02:50 GMT
From: Chris Wright <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (UK) Owner sees rioting hounds kill her cat
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

RSPCA officials have launched an investigation into an incident at
Old, Northants in which hounds from the Pytchley hunt rioted through a
residential area and tore a 5-year old cat, Missy, to pieces.

Missy's owner, Elizabeth Moss, who is heavily pregnant, witnessed the
attack but didn't realise at the time that the victim was her cat.

Chris W.
Date: Thu, 15 Jan 1998 06:48:08 -0800
From: "Linda J. Howard" <[e-mail]>
To: "AR NEWS" <[e-mail]>
Cc: <[e-mail]>
Subject: URGENT ACTION ALERT - DEMO AT NIH FOR THE VILAS PARK MONKEYS
Message-ID: <01bd21c4$97feb280$3792accf@default>
MIME-Version: 1.0
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     charset="iso-8859-1"
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DEMO AT NIH ON MONDAY, JANUARY 19TH  -- WE DESPERATELY NEED YOUR
SUPPORT!

Sorry for such a short notice, but for anyone who has been following this
case, you understand that everything has happened quickly.  NIH just
announced on Friday, January 9th that they intend to send 150 innocent
monkeys from a zoo in Wisconsin to Tulane Regional Primate Research Center
(formerly Delta Regional Primate Research Center.)

The Alliance for Animals in Wisconsin has asked that groups in the DC
metropolitian area hold a demo at NIH to lend support to their tireless
effort to save the 150 Vilas Park Monkeys - to keep them out of primate
research labs.  This is potentially a precedent setting case and it is at a
pivotal point.  We can make a difference for these monkeys!

Please plan to attend!  Please re-post/copy/distribute this Action Alert to
anyone (or any group) you think would attend.  Some posters and banners will
be provided, but if you have any, please bring them with you on Monday.  The
demo will be held right outside the "Medical Center" Metro stop (red-line
Metro) at Wisconsin Avenue and South Drive in Bethesda, Maryland.  If you
need specific directions, please call me at [phone].

For those you of who have not been following the case, a rough draft of the
media advisory summarizing the case follows:

***********************************************************************
CONTACT:

Rick Bogle, 920-674-306
DÆArcy Kemnitz, 608-286-5952
Linda Howard, 301-564-4914
Tina Kaske, 608-257-6333

What: Demonstration and Freedom March at National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Where: Wisconsin Avenue and South Drive, Bethesda, Maryland
When: Monday, January 19th, 1998 from 11:30 am until 1:00 pm
Who: A coalition of concerned groups and compassionate citizens
Why: To save the lives and prevent undue suffering of 150 monkeys

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is planning to bestow a tragic fate
on 150 innocent monkeys!  NIH plans to move a peaceful colony of macaque
monkeys from the home they have shared for decades to an animal research
facility infamous for painful invasive research procedures. We are fighting
to keep the monkeys together as a colony and out of harmÆs way!

Since 1963, 150 rhesus and stumptail macaques have lived as a colony at the
Henry Vilas Park Zoo in Madison, Wisconsin.  The monkeys have been used for
behavioral and observational studies by University of Wisconsin students.
Additionally, the monkey colony has been on public display as part of the
zooÆs exhibit.  The care of the monkey colony has been provided by the
University of Wisconsin through funding from National Institutes of Health
(NIH) -- funding which was slated to last until the year 2002.  As part of a
contract with Dane County, Wisconsin (which operates the zoo) no invasive
research on any member of the monkey colony would be allowed.

In late November 1997, NIH announced that they would prematurely cut off
funding for the monkey colony.  At that time, discussion arose about
procuring funding for the Vilas Park monkeys.  A reputable primate sanctuary
in Thailand offered to take the 50 stumptail macaques (a threatened species)
and there were numerous offers from concerned organizations and individuals
to fund for care of the Vilas Park monkey colony.  The University of
Wisconsin and Dane County officials were also discussing the possibility of
budgeting to maintain the monkey colony in the Henry Vilas Park Zoo.

On January 9, 1998, NIH announced that they intend to move the Vilas Park
monkeys to Tulane Regional Primate Research Center in Tulane, Louisiana
(formerly know as Delta Regional Primate Research Center) where they intend
to separate the monkeys and perform invasive research on them.  Allowing the
monkeys to be used in invasive research would be a blatant violation of the
zooÆs contract with the University of Wisconsin.

The NIH announcement was made so suddenly that the groups working to ensure
the well-being of the primates have little time to act.  NIH plans to move
the monkeys before February 1, 1998!  The Alliance for Animals has organized
a 24-hour watch at the zoo in case NIH attempts to move the monkeys at
night.  This case has incited an outcry from the public in Wisconsin.

Advocates for animals and compassionate individuals in the District of
Columbia metropolitan area want to go let the culprit û NIH û know that the
public will not stand for a government agency abusing its power, lying to
taxpayers and breaching contracts.  Please join us!

[End of Media Advisory]



Date: Thu, 15 Jan 1998 20:33:43 +0800
From: bunny <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (NZ)Farmers slammed over RCD debacle
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Evening Standard 15/1/98

White slams farmers over RCD 'debacle'
by John Saunders

Labout list MP Jill White yesterday critical of farmers
releasing rabbit calicivirus on a string of properties through
Rangitikei and Horowhena, claiming that without good science,
such releases would inevitably fail.
"It has been a debacle" she said "Good science has been ignored
right from the word go. What should have happened is the report
from the Ministry of Agriculture officials should have been
accepted (by the Government), then much more work should
have then been done on the ethicality of RCD, on what strain,
if any, should be introduced.
"Things got out of hand, and now people seem to be trying whatever
is availabl, without any knowledge of how effective it is going
to be. I suggest this is the scenario in Rangitikei, Horowhena and
all over the country. People are just having a go, with very
litle regard for the factors that should have been considered
scientifically".
Releases of RCD near Taumarunui and the Hawk's Bay have
already failed. In both cases rabbits only died through coming
in contact with baits, or solutions containing the virus sprayed on
the ground. Rabbit-to Rabbit spread had not been triggered.
Critics of those releases say that by spreading a less-virilent strain,
farmers may have inadvertently innoculated rabbits against the
virus.
Ms White, who is also Labour's spokes-women on the environment
and biosecurity, said although there had been moves by a private
company to import a more virilent strain from Australia - and have it
registered as a wild animal control measure under the Pesticides
Act - she couldn't agree with that either, because the research had
not been done to prove it would work.
While lessons should have been learnt from mis-management of
RCD introduction, that had not happened. Agriculture Minister
Lockwood Smith was refusing to accept responsibility.

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

email>  [e-mail]

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

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

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














Date: Thu, 15 Jan 1998 21:21:25 +0800
From: bunny <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (Aust)Activist offers to be infected with deadly disease.
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Rabbit Information Service
Perth, Western Australia

NEWS RELEASE - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE!!!
***************************************

15th January 1997

Australian AR Activist and independent researcher Marguerite Wegner
today offered herself to Australian authorities as a human test subject to
be deliberately infected by the deadly rabbit haemorrhagic disease (renamed
RCD to be less emotive in Australia). RCD/RHD is currently being used as a
biological control agent of wild European rabbits in Australia.

Mrs Wegner was most concerned about the impending approval of live
RHD coated baits (apparently carrots and oats) that may be spread across the
Australian continent and eaten by many species of bird and animal as well as
the intended victims - wild European rabbits.

In a letter to the press, Mrs Wegner stated that for over 2 years she had
advised the Australian Government of the concerns of overseas scientists that
the deadly rabbit hemorrhagic disease  (supposedly a calicivirus) may jump
species barriers.
She stated that four out of five major calicivirus groups were already known
to infect humans and there was no reason to believe RCD/RHD would be any
different in its capacity to cross species lines.

Mrs Wegner said there were several provisos to her offer. The first being
that she should be joined in the Human RCD deliberate infectivity testing by
those who promoted the virus as supposedly safe to humans. She asked that PM
MR John Howard, Commonwealth Agriculture Minister - Mr John Anderson, CSIRO
scientists
Dr Brian Cooke, Dr Harvey Westbury, Dr Keith Murray and Dr Tony Robinson also
volunteer for the human testing as well as the head of the national farmers
federation and NSW and Victorian heads of state farmers federations. She
also asked that Victorian State Premier Jeff Kennett volunteer as well as
Dr Tony Adams (Chief Medical Adviser, Commonwealth Department of Health
and Family Services) as well as Dr Michael Catton (Fairfield Infectious
Diseases Hospital). Mrs Wegner stated that although such a test would be
inconclusive, it would add to the scientific knowledge already amassed about
the disease.
It seemed only fitting that those who condoned the spread of the RCD/RHD disease
in Australia or had been involved in the approval process of RCD as a
biological control agent without making any public protest, also
participated in the study.

Further Mrs Wegner asked that she and her suggested co-test subjects
be infected by injection of at least 10,000 rabbit lethal doses, as well as
by aerosol (inhalation of the disease) and having the virus spread on the
skin and also eating either 10,000 rabbit lethal doses of RCD/RHD or 100,000
rabbit lethal doses (the latter being preferable).

The second proviso stated by Mrs Wegner, was that she not be quarantined but
should be allowed to continue her daily routine and also that all blood tests
and monitoring  be independently monitored by independent virologists.

When asked why she was offering to be a human test subject which could be
quite dangerous, Mrs Wegner stated that she felt the future of young Australians
of all species may be threatened if RCD baits were spread across the continent.
She stated that the spread of RCD baits could infect species that would
never normally have been exposed to the disease and also the quantity of
deadly live RCD/RHD virus ingested by all species in Australia  (including
humans) would be a great unknown. Ingestion of large quantities of live
RCD/RHD virus including mutant strains of RCD may be enough to enable the
virus to cross species lines.
RCD/RHD, a deadly hemorrhagic virus of mammals for which there is no cure
and no vaccines to protect any other species except wild European
rabbits,was first observed in China in 1984.

A response to Mrs Wegner's offer has yet to be received.


End

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




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

email>  [e-mail]

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

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

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














Date: Thu, 15 Jan 1998 21:24:30 +0800
From: bunny <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: RABIES - ISRAEL: 1997
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

RABIES - ISRAEL: 1997 (02)
**************************
A ProMED-mail post

[see also:
Rabies - Israel: 1997                                  980113011709]

From: Yakobson A. Boris <[e-mail]>
Date: Wed, 14 Jan 1998 21:48:03 +0000


Thank you for your continued interest in the rabies situation in Israel. I
hereby enclose for you some additional information about the genetic
identification of the virus strains in the last three (human) rabies cases
that occurred in Israel. All the three cases were diagnosed antemortem from
saliva using the nested RT/PCR method performed by Dr. Dan David of the
Kimron Veterinary Institute, and confirmed by the Pasteur Institute (first
case) and the CDC rabies laboratory (the last two cases). The genetic
analysis made in Israel by Dr. Dan David was based on nucleotide sequences
of 328 bp from the C' of [the] nucleoprotein gene.

The nucleotide sequences of rabies virus isolates from human and foxes
showed 100% identity. The rabies virus variant strain from the first case
was characterized in the Pasteur Institute by Dr. Herve Bourry.  He wrote
that "According to the primers that worked on isolates, it should be a
Lyssavirus of genotype 1 related to what is already known from the strains
circulating in Israel."  The other 2 isolates were sent recently to the CDC
laboratory for confirmation of genetic analysis. Rabies has never been
diagnosed in bats and rats in Israel in several small-scale surveys and in
routine diagnostic cases conducted in recent years.

In conclusion, based on this current data, we did not think that we are
facing a new or different form of rabies.

With regard to the source of the infection, the victims did not recall any
possible route other than a bite (first case) and scratches (last 2 cases)
inflicted by unseen and unknown nocturnal animals. Possibilities include
carnivores known to have contracted rabies in the past such as stray cats,
stone martens (_Martes foina_) or badgers (_Meles meles_).

--
Yakobson A. Boris
Department of Pathology
Kimron Veterinary Institute
========================================================
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: Thu, 15 Jan 98 07:18:57 UTC
From: [e-mail]
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Man Misses Cruelty Case Court Date; Warrant Out
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>

Wagoner, OK, USA: An arrest warrant was issued Wednesday for Howard
Luther Clark after he failed to appear in court to plead no contest
to starving a one-time winning thoroughbred horse.

The animal cruelty charge stems from the death of Ensign Nobility,
a 5-year-old stud, nicknamed Chance.

The emaciated horse was euthanized Sept. 21, 1996, after it became
apparent that he was losing his battle to survive malnutrition and
infection, authorities said.

Judge Darrell Shepherd was also to hear testimony Wednesday from the
Claremore veterinarian who cared for the horse.

Shepherd was to decide whether Clark must pay any or all of the $1,200
that the Second Chance Equine Rescue Foundation spent to pay for feed
and veterinary care for the horse. The foundation evolved out of its
efforts to save Chance.

-- Sherrill
Date: Thu, 15 Jan 1998 06:21:37 -0800 (PST)
From: Friends of Animals <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: New York Times
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
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>From Page Six, New York Post, 1/15:

Elsewhere on the Times front, Friends fo Animals protestors
are targeting Sunday Magazine fashion reporter Holly Brubach
today, because she is moderating what they say is a "pro-fur"
discussion of the Fashion Group International.  FoA will be
outside Manhattan Penthouse at Fifth and 14th with a Brubach
lookalike disporting on a large fur-covered bed.  Those arriving
will be handed condoms and invited to "get in bed with the
New York Times" to the strains of Barry White.  Just in case
there are no takers, some fur-clad trappers and neanderrthal types
will be on hand to frolic with the faux Bruach in order to "spotlight
the cozy relationship which the Times has developed with the
fur industry.  "I wasn't aware that I was in bed with the fur
industry," says Brubach.  "As far as I know the panel is neutral."

Date: Thu, 15 Jan 1998 09:28:17 -0800
From: Mesia Quartano <[e-mail]>
To: "[e-mail]" <[e-mail]>
Subject: Elephants under siege in Bangladesh
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10:58 AM ET 01/13/98

FEATURE-Elephants under siege in Bangladesh

By Shehab Ahmed Nafa
DHAKA, Bangladesh (Reuters) - Bangladeshis got a rare glimpse of the
country's fast-disappearing wild Asian elephant last month but they did
not like what they saw.

A newspaper carried photos of one of the endangered animals, shot to
death and awash in blood after its tusks and toenails had been ripped
out by poachers. Conservationists and other readers were outraged.

For many, the most shocking aspect of the death was that it occurred in
the Eidgah wildlife sanctuary in southeastern Bangladesh, one of the
country's few remaining elephant refuges. Pressure from
conservationists and the public to punish those responsible moved
embarrassed wildlife authorities to order an investigation.

The case has thrown a harsh spotlight on the precarious state of
Bangladesh's elephant population. Wildlife activists say the number of
elephants, protected under the 1974 Wildlife Preservation Act, has
dwindled to only about 450, most of which survive in the rugged
southeastern Chittagong Hill Tracts.

The tracts, a southern extension of the Himalayas, once offered the
perfect habitat, but the herds are under growing pressure from human
encroachment on their feeding grounds and have been pushed to the brink
of extinction by poachers.

They have been declared endangered throughout Asia and are protected by
the Convention on Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), which prohibits
trading in ivory. In Bangladesh, violators face two years' jail and a
fine.

ASIAN ELEPHANTS FACE EXTINCTION
"Asian elephants are clearly facing extinction due to human encroachment
in their habitat and lax security in the wildlife
reserves,'' said Rashiduzzaman Ahmed, the International Union for
Conservation of Nature's representative in Bangladesh.

"Unless steps are taken soon to overcome the shortcomings, the elephants
will become extinct in Bangladesh in the next five to six years. Besides
falling to poachers' guns, many will migrate to neighboring countries,''
he said.

Many of Bangladesh's wild elephants are thought to be crossing into
neighboring Myanmar (formerly Burma), which has the largest population
of Asian elephants as a result of a comparatively undisturbed habitat,
said Zakir Hossain, IUCN regional chief for South and Southeast Asia.

Clearing of forests to make way for palm oil and rubber plantations has
taken its toll on the traditional foraging grounds in southeastern
Bangladesh. Large groves of bamboo, one of the elephants' favorite
foods, were wiped out to provide materials for the construction of
shelters for some 250,000 Muslim refugees who arrived from Myanmar in
1992.

Most of the refugees have since returned to Myanmar but the now-barren
hills no longer provide enough food for the
elephants, conservationists say.

Wildlife biologist Anisuzzaman Khan, executive director of Nature
Conservation Movement (NACOM), a non-government organization, said human
encroachment had led to increasingly frequent run-ins between elephants
and people. With the destruction of their staples -- bamboo shoots and
banana trees -- elephants are often forced to prey on other crops.

ELEPHANTS STRIKE BACK
At least 10 people died in 1997 and many others were injured when wild
elephants rampaged through villages, pulling down houses and eating or
trampling down crops.

"Despite petitions by local residents to keep the Chunoti wildlife park
(in southeastern Bangladesh) and the last remaining patches of green
forest intact so that elephants remain happy within their homes, nothing
has been done so far,'' Khan said. If their natural habitat were given
better protection, he added, the elephants would have no need to venture
out and clash with farmers.

The Forest Department is conducting a study to determine ways to better
conserve these elephant habitats. Spurred by the uproar over the
poaching case, both NACOM and Bangladesh's non-governmental National
Bio-Diversity Group have offered to lend expertise and manpower to the
effort.

As for the poachers responsible for the slaughtered elephant shown in
the newspaper, Abdul Wahab Akonda, a wildlife conservation officer, said
authorities were on their trail. "We are taking action,'' he said, but
he added even if the culprits are caught a lack of properly trained
conservation personnel will leave Bangladesh's remaining herds at the
mercy of poachers.


Date: Thu, 15 Jan 1998 09:37:48 EST
From: Tereiman <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Cattlemen's prod prime opportunity for Winfrey, PETA
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Date: Thu, 15 Jan 1998 09:47:49 +0000
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Cattlemen's prod prime opportunity for Winfrey, PETA

Chicago Tribune
Janauary 15, 1998

                                Though we've seen no "mad cow" cases
                                on these shores, there's evidence in
                                Texas of an outbreak of mad cowboy
                                disease.

                                By cowboy I mean cattle
                                producer, as in the beef
                                ranchers whose
                                defamation-of-food lawsuit,
                                based on remarks made by
                                vegetarian activist Howard
                                Lyman, will begin next week
                                in an Amarillo courtroom.
                                And by mad I mean
                                downright crazy for including
                                Oprah Winfrey on their list of
                                defendants.

                                Oprah Winfrey, mind you.
                                One of the most popular and
                                trusted women in the world.
                                And they plan to attack her in
                                a way destined to put the
                                entire, unappetizing
                                meat-production process
                                under a national microscope,
                                thinking this will help them sell more
                                burgers. Talk about spongy brain
                                tissue!

                                Lyman, an apostate cattle
                                rancher, had been bashing
                                beef for more than 10 years
                                -- criticizing its health and
                                environmental effects as well as
                                production methods. He and others had
                                long warned that the way we produced
                                cattle feed (formally banned last
                                year) put this nation's herds at risk
                                for bovine spongiform encephalopathy
                                -- tagged "mad cow disease" by the
                                media.

                                The meat business was able to brush
                                the critics away like so many flies
                                buzzing around a carcass. "Per-capita
                                U.S. meat consumption has increased by
                                9.2 lbs. per person since 1980," says
                                a current industry fact sheet. "A 1995
                                consumption study (found) only 1
                                percent of Americans actually do not
                                eat meat."

                                Then Lyman appeared on Winfrey's
                                Chicago-based talk show in April 1996
                                along with a representative of the
                                U.S. Department of Agriculture and a
                                spokesman from the National
                                Cattlemen's Beef Association. A
                                transcript of their segment reveals a
                                typical TV rhubarb -- a mediated
                                is-too, is-not conversation that skims
                                the surface of a complex issue -- on
                                whether there's a notable risk of BSE
                                appearing in the United States.

                                Winfrey, who previously ate beef so
                                little that her best-selling cookbook
                                contains no recipes using it, revealed
                                her sentiments to the audience by
                                swearing off hamburgers on the spot.

                                Beef prices fell for the next two
                                weeks, after which a group of
                                cattlemen sued Lyman, Winfrey and
                                Winfrey's production company and
                                syndicators for more than $12 million
                                in losses under a 1995 Texas law that
                                holds people liable for falsely
                                disparaging food products. In doing
                                so, they appeared to be taking public
                                relations advice from the same group
                                of rodeo clowns that pushed McDonald's
                                Corp. into the disastrous "McLibel"
                                trial in England.

                                In that case, recall, the Oak
                                Brook-based fast-food giant sued a
                                pesky group of environmentalist
                                leafleteers under Great Britain's
                                oppressive libel laws in an effort to
                                get them to stop handing pedestrians a
                                list of complaints about McDonald's.
                                The charges were the usual
                                animal-rights, eco-scare background
                                noise most people just tune out
                                because it's easy to ignore and, hey,
                                the food's tasty.

                                But two of the activists wouldn't
                                yield, so McDonald's pushed on. The
                                trial ran from June 1994 to June 1997,
                                cost the company an estimated $16
                                million in legal fees and exposed the
                                leaflet's allegations to a worldwide
                                audience. Along with the company's
                                lukewarm $98,500 victory award, it got
                                a now-widely distributed scolding from
                                the judge for "cruel practices"
                                against animals and using advertising
                                that exploits children.

                                Remember the old line about how you
                                don't want to watch sausage being
                                made? Well you apparently don't want
                                to watch Chicken McNuggets being made,
                                either.

                                And now the Oprah trial will throw
                                open the metaphorical sausage factory
                                doors. Win or lose (and in the end
                                Oprah will not lose), her presence at
                                the trial and in Amarillo, where she
                                will tape shows next week, promises to
                                turn up the volume on that background
                                noise in our heads about factory
                                farming. It may be safe and cost
                                effective, as the ranchers claim, but
                                it's not pretty.

                                "We use whatever vehicles we can to
                                put the focus on what animals go
                                through before they show up on your
                                plate," said spokesman Bruce Friedrich
                                of People for the Ethical Treatment of
                                Animals, an organization grateful for
                                the madness of the cowboys. "We
                                couldn't have bought this kind of
                                publicity."

Date: Fri, 16 Jan 1998 01:21:58 +0800
From: bunny <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Calicivirus
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Tasmania, Australia

Calicivirus

The Examiner 15/11/97

The rabbit calicivirus might not be as effective
in the temperate areas of Australia as it seems to be
in the semi-arid pastoral regions. (The Examiner, Nov 5th)

CSIRO scientists at the Australian
Animal Health Laboratory believe there is another
intestinal calicivirus of rabbits in the wetter areas of eastern
Australia which could be cross-protecting rabbits against its lethal
effects.

If this is proven it would be an example of a closely related virus
conferring immunity against the lethal effects of the calicivirus.

It would also explain the low rabbit kills experienced at several release
sites across eastern Australia

-Dave Obendorf
========================================================
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: Thu, 15 Jan 1998 12:53:54 -0500 (EST)
From: "Jeffrey A. LaPadula" <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (US-NJ) FUR STORE TO CLOSE!
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII

Embattled Metuchen fur dealer has plans to
close

Published in the Home News Tribune 1/14/98


By BART CALENDAR
and SARAH GREENBLATT
STAFF WRITERS

A Metuchen fur shop that has been targeted by militant animal-rights groups
is liquidating its stock
and may soon close its doors while a Highland Park furrier is considering
doing the same.

Holocaust survivor Oscar Loewy, who has compared the protesters at his
Metuchen shop to Nazis,
would not say they are putting him out of business, but Stephen Muszka of
Marianne Fur in
Highland Park said the groups are to blame for his decision.

"I'm pretty close to closing because of them," said Muszka, whose windows
have been shattered
and who has been the victim of frequent crank calls. "These people are going
too far."

Loewy, whose store has been on Main Street since 1966, last month described
the protests as both
"stressful" and "very unsettling."

"It is not a peaceful protest, what they are doing," Loewy said. "They
disrupt people's lives
without cause."

Representatives of the animal-rights groups said yesterday they were "in
shock" and "delighted"
by the news.

"This is a victory for every fur-bearing animal," said 17-year-old Corinne
Ball of North Brunswick,
a member of the Oakhurst-based Animal Defense League. "I hope the Loewys
find a business
where they can prosper without hurting innocent life. We wish them no
ill-will at all."

Loewy and his wife, Eva, would not say yesterday exactly when they will be
shutting down Oscar
Loewy's Designer Furs.

Eva said the couple is not bowing to pressure from the Animal Defense League
or the more militant
Animal Liberation Front, which took credit for breaking Loewy's shop windows
in November.

"I certainly won't let them do that to me," she said. "I was thinking about
it plenty of times . . . I'm
looking forward to taking it a little bit easy."

Eva Loewy said she was indifferent to the fact the two groups regard the
closing of the fur shop as
a major victory for their cause.

"I couldn't care less what they think," she said. "They are not that powerful."

Metuchen Mayor Ed O'Brien said the timing of the closing is "unfortunate."

"I'm disturbed that it happens to coincide with this situation," the mayor
said. "I don't want to give
these people any credibility."

Both Ball and Darius Fullmer, a founder of the Animal Defense League and
former ALF activist,
said they were shocked the store decided to close after only four protests.

"I never thought an action this drastic would happen this quickly," Ball said.

Fullmer said the Animal Defense League will now look for another furrier to
protest on a regular
basis, most likely Furs By Guarino in East Brunswick.

"We are going to look around," Fullmer said. "There are not that many
(furriers) in Middlesex
County. I drive by Guarino's every day."

Muszka said it has been difficult to run his shop since a rock with "ALF"
written on the side was
tossed through his windows in November and he started to receive crank calls.

"I have had to put Caller ID on my phone," Muszka said. "It's a very
difficult situation. I'm just
trying to make a living. Why should people treat me like this? I have never
done anything wrong."

Both the Animal Defense League and the ALF have been watched by the Metuchen
police since
the windows were broken at Loewy's on Nov. 8 hours before an Animal Defense
League protest in
front of the shop.

Oscar Loewy said in an interview last month that the ALF attack and the
protest reminded him of
his experiences as a Hungarian Holocaust survivor -- particularly because it
took place so close to
the anniversary of Kristallnacht - Nov. 9-10, 1938, when Nazis shattered the
windows of
Jewish-owned businesses and synagogues.

The ALF has used a World Wide Web site to take credit for dozens of crimes,
including using
incendiary devices to burn four meat trucks in Howell, using similar devices
to activate the
sprinkler system at Flemington Fur Co. to destroy furs and slashing couches
at the Elizabeth IKEA.

Animal Defense League members say they do not take part in any of the ALF
attacks and insist
they are only involved in peaceful protests.

Last month, the ALF issued a declaration of war on the fur, fast-food and
animal-testing industries,
saying they would crush such businesses "under our boots."

Local police have described the ALF as "terrorists" and sources have said
the group is the subject
of a federal investigation.

Posted: 01/13/98 09:46:50 PM
****************************************************************************
                     ANIMAL DEFENSE LEAGUE - NEW JERSEY
                                 P.O. Box 84
                             Oakhurst, NJ 07755
                             [phone]
                    http://envirolink.org/orgs/adl
****************************************************************************

Date: Thu, 15 Jan 1998 15:11:08 -0600
From: "Alliance for Animals" <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: VILAS MONKEYS STILL NEED HELP!
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>

CONTACT: Tina Kaske, Executive Director
Alliance for Animals
122 State St., Madison, WI 53703
Office phone: pm 608-257-6333

JANUARY 15, 1998

ALLIANCE FOR ANIMALS VOLUNTEERS WILL BE HOLDING A
24 HOUR "ZOO WATCH" AT THE HENRY VILAS ZOO TO BE ABLE TO ALERT
THE MEDIA IF AND WHEN THE TRUCKS COME TO TAKE THE 100 RHESUS
MONKEYS
FROM THEIR HOMES TO A CERTAIN DEATH AT THE TULANE PRIMATE CENTER IN
LOUISIANA.  (If we can't find someone for a particular shift, we will
have a volunteer make an hourly "drive-by" to check on the monkey
house)

MEMBERS OF THE ALLIANCE HAVE BEEN WORKING TO ALERT THE PUBLIC TO
THE
PLIGHT OF THE MONKEYS.  THERE ARE FULL COLOR ADS IN BOTH THE WI STATE
JOURNAL AND THE CAPITOL TIMES TODAY..(THURSDAY).

  THERE WILL BE A MEETING WITH KATHLEEN FALK, THE DANE CO. EXECUTIVE
  AND THE ALLIANCE FOR ANIMALS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, TINA KASKE AND DR.
  MARIAN BEAN, A LONG TIME MEMBER OF THE ALLIANCE ON JANUARY 21ST AT
  KATHLEEN FALKS' OFFICE.

  ON MONDAY, JANUARY 19TH,  THERE WILL BE A DEMONSTRATION AT THE
  HEADQUARTERS OF THE NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH IN WASHINGTON,
DC
  HELD BY A COALITION OF CONCERNED ANIMAL GROUPS AND COMPASSIONATE
  CITIZENS.  THEY WILL BE PROTESTING THE MOVE OF THE VILAS ZOO MONKEYS
  TO THE FEDERALLY FUNDED TULANE PRIMATE CENTER.

ONCE THE ANIMALS LEAVE MADISON, THERE IS LITTLE HOPE FOR THEM..BUT AS
LONG AS THEY ARE HERE WE ARE DOING ALL WE CAN TO KEEP THE PUBLIC
INFORMED ON WHAT THEY CAN DO TO HELP. THE MONKEYS SHOULD BE ABLE
TO
STAY IN MADISON UNTIL A SANCTUARY CAN BE FOUND FOR THEM..THE
UNIVERSITY HAS DONE NOTHING TO ENCOURAGE THIS.  THEY ARE MOVING THE
ANIMALS OUT IN A HURRY TO DISCOURAGE ATTEMPTS TO KEEP THEM HERE.

 CALL: Kathleen Falk, Dane Co. Exec.Senator Herbert Kohl
     608-266-4114414-297-4451 (Milwaukee office)

TIME IS WHAT IS NEEDED RIGHT NOW.  THE ANIMALS DESERVE TO STAY IN
THEIR FAMILY GROUPS AND WE SHOULD PROTECT THEM FROM CERTAIN
SUFFERING
AND DEATH AT THE TULANE FACILITY.
  THEY STILL HAVE A CHANCE!
Date: Thu, 15 Jan 1998 16:20:47 -0800
From: Mesia Quartano <[e-mail]>
To: "[e-mail]" <[e-mail]>
Subject: (FL) Barnum and Bailey Circus in Miami
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

Barnum and Bailey Circus is currently in Miami (Jan 9 thru 19th).

WTVJ Channel 6 (NBC) in Miami has been airing pro-circus segments
featuring clowns on their Midday News program. This is not surprising,
since WTVJ, along with Sears and a local radio station (Magic 102.7),
are "presenting" the circus. Please ask the station to show some
journalistic integrity and tell the truth about the circus. I have yet
to hear them mention the tiger who was killed in St. Petersburg, FL.

On 1/14/98, Barnum and Bailey clowns were shown giving blood.

Today (1/15/98), WTVJ reported that the City of Miami police, aided by
the Barnum clowns, were giving out tickets to motorists who were wearing
seatbelts -- free tickets to the circus!

**************
WTVJ News:
http://www.nbc6.nbc.com/email.html
Email: [e-mail]

**************
Miami Police Public Information Office
Telephone: [phone]
FAX: [phone]
Email: [e-mail]
Web Site: http://www.gate.net/~pio1/info.htm

**************
Magic 102.7
WMXJ Radio
20450 NW 2nd Avenue
Miami, FL 33169
Phone: [phone]
Email:  [e-mail]

Date: Thu, 15 Jan 1998 21:55:42 +0000
From: Katy Andrews <[e-mail]>
To: ar-news <[e-mail]>, green student <[e-mail]>,
        roadalert <[e-mail]>,
        actionupdate <[e-mail]>
Cc: "Adrian. Stannard" <[e-mail]>,
        Graham Dawson <[e-mail]>,
        Clive Ramsey <[e-mail]>,
        David Boote <[e-mail]>
Subject: Leyton Relief Road - threat to ecology/wildlife.
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1
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Dear AR-news, Green Student Network and other interested persons,

As promised, I am finally putting something on the net about the "East
London Freight Expressway" - coming soon to a back yard near me! - and
why it is of regional environmental and ecological importance.  IÆm
going to start at the south end of the route and work north - from the
Leyton Yard, more or less opposite Leyton underground station (anyone
involved in the campaign against the M11 Link Road will know the station
only too well!), up to the Argall Avenue Industrial Estate alongside the
Riding School paddocking at Walthamstow Marshes.

It's a failry long document so you might to best to print it out, save
it to file, or flag it to read when you've time.  I apologise if you've
had to wait while it downloads.  I will put something on the net another
time about the history of the road and about the findings of MTRUÆs
Environmental Impact Assessment Survey into its effects on traffic flow
and the general environment another time, as this document is quite long
enough!

This is primarily concerned with an environmental and ecological
description of the LRR route as it stands.  It doesnÆt deal with the
isues of the contaminated land at the Low Hall Tip Site, which is more a
matter of scandal than planning and is subject to a complaint to the
Local Government Ombudsman.

Information in this paper is taken from a number of sources; most
especially: "Feasibility Study - Temple Mills Redevelopment" (W.S.
Atkins, June 1988); "Nature Conservation in Waltham Forest - Ecology
Handbook No. 11 (London Ecology Unit, 1989 - the assessment at Temple
Mills was carried out in October æ89); "Development Framework Study -
Temple Mills Area" (Jones Lang Wootton, August 1990); "A Charter for the
Lea Valley" (Lea Valley Federation, ? 1990); "Temple Mills Environmental
Impact Assessment" (Metropolitan Transport research Unit, June 1991);
"An Ecological Assessment of Temple Mills" (London Ecology Unit, January
1992); and my own extensive collection of ephemera, maps and Council
documents (including the Unitary Development Plan) dating from
approximately 1992 - for much of this collection I must thank Margaret
Flanders, Barry Crawford, Adrian Stannard, Neil Bedford, Clive Ramsey,
Graham Dawson, Lorraine Metherall, Lawrie Wortley and other past and
present local residents who have generously passed to me their own
documents, copies of letters and other ephemera.

The road in question is now officially known as the Leyton Relief Road,
having formerly been called the Leyton Freight Road.  The total
development area, including Leyton Yard and the former Town Gas Works
site, covers 80 areas, and much of the land is derelict.  For virtually
all of its length it would run alongside the green open spaces of the
Lea Valley Regional Park.  Local people would prefer the reinstatement
of the railway line - quieter, no need for permanent lighting,
non-pollutive and less hazardous to wildlife.  the road is planned to
run alongside the Leyton and Hackney Marshes through several sites of
ecological importance and alongside the River Lea and Dagenham Brook.
It stops at Walthamstow Marshes, which is a designated Nature Reserve
containing two SSSIs and a bird sanctuary, but pressure to extend it up
the valley to Ferry Lane would be unstoppable if it were to be built.
The other end of it is the disused railway sidings at Leyton Yard,
currently used as storage for heavy machinery building the adjacent M11
Link Road.  For much of its length it runs through what was/is
recognised by the London Ecology Unit as a Grade One Site of Borough
Importance which it would cease to be were the LRR to be built.  More on
the Temple Mills site later.  The road would also bring noise and
vibration, pollution (chemical and light) and visual intrusion to what
is now a quiet, green open area, near the southern end of the Lea valley
Regional Park (which runs from Stratford to Broxbourne in
Hertfordshire).

The Lea Valley is a green wedge of captive countryside penetrating right
to the heart of the city of London. It is the "green lung" of East
London; a vital open space with a unique character existing within easy
reach of thousands of city dwellers and offering people great
opportunities for both recreation and education. The River Lea and its
banks provide an important link for  aquatic and mobile species
(mammals, birds and insects) between inner London and the open
countryside. Rising in Bedfordshire it flows south through Hertfordshire
and London to meet the Thames east of Limehouse.  The inaccessibility of
the east bank opposite Hackney Marshes has afforded especial protection
to wildlife and here the river is recognised for its importance to
migrating birds with bankside vegetation affording cover to wildfowl.
Beyond Bully Point Nature Reserve (now diminished by the M11 Link Road
and plans for the CTRL station in Stratford) the Lea flows between
Leyton and Hackney Marshes, the largest single area of open recreational
land in London.

On the Leyton (east) bank, although there are allotments and recreation
grounds, much of the land has been given over to waste disposal sites,
lorry parks, some light manufacturing industry and especially railway
usage. Industry began as a natural extension of the late-mediaeval
developments at Three Mills (Stratford at Bow), and there have been
mills at Temple Mills since at least the thirteenth century.  There have
long been small industries along the river, mainly connected with the
timber trade; Hackney and Leyton are still known for furniture.  (Even
in the 1980s timber was being brought up the Lea by barge from the
Thames and a few now disused warehouses still remain.)  Nonetheless,
Jones Lang WoottonÆs 1990 "Development Framework Study" reported that
"The overriding characteristic of the marshes is of wide open spaces."
Despite this, the Study goes on to consider the "opportunity" offered by
the LRR for development at Lea Bridge and Temple Mills which "occupy a
visually strategic place."

Most of the area through which the road is planned to be built was
Lammas Land until 1904, and therefore remained largely undeveloped.
Wildlife has been able to thrive and the "Charter for the Lea Valley"
(produced by a federation of twenty local pressure groups and
conservation bodies) stressed the importance of ensuring that as
development pressures increase the wildlife habitats are left
undisturbed.  One relatively new but very significant wildlife habitat
is the Temple Mills sidings area.  The Leyton Yard, which forms an
extensive part of this, was bulldozed at 5.00 a.m. one morning by
British Rail in the mistaken belief that eco-activists were about to
occupy it, raising a howl of protest from local residents.  This area is
now in a state of ugly dereliction and largely covered by machinery and
portakabins connected with the ongoing construction of the M11 Link
Road.  The rest by and large still exists.  Taken as a whole, the line
of the Leyton Freight Road passes through and affects areas of woodland,
grassland, scrub, bare ground and stream communities.

The Temple Mills marshalling yards were enclosed under an Act of
Parliament in the 19th century and in 1840 the North Eastern Railway
opened a line (later known as The Jazz Line) up the Lea valley from
Stratford to Broxbourne.  Between 1877-1893 the amount of land taken up
for railway sidings gradually increased and small industries grew up
alongside the railway.  Many had their own sidings; the line of a single
railway and former level crossing can still be discerned where the Black
Path crosses Argall Avenue.

After Beeching took his hatchet to the railways, the decline in freight
being carried by rail which had begun in the 1950s became rapid.  By the
1980s the sidings were all but abandoned (except by the nuclear waste
cask which sometimes waits there on a Thursday afternoon!) and most of
the tracks were taken up.  The "ghost train" still runs in one direction
only once per week from Enfield and Tottenham Hale (to save BT the cost
of a Public Inquiry to stop the passenger service), but only a little
freight now comes this way, connecting Stratford to the Barking - Gospel
Oak line at South Tottenham.  So itÆs a very quiet place, except for the
birds! As most of this 46 acre site has been unused for many years it is
now overgrown. This central section has long reverted to young woodland
surrounded by scrub and tall herbaceous vegetation. This land is now an
effective buffer area for the Lea Valley Regional Park and provides both
a haven for wildlife and a green link between the banks of the River Lea
and the open spaces of Ive Farm and Marsh Lane Fields, part of the
ancient Lammas Lands of Leyton Marshes.

When the London Ecology Unit first studied the area in 1989, the 31
hectares of "Temple Mills Wasteland" were classed as a Grade 1 Site of
Borough Importance.  One of the largest expanses of immature wasteland
habitat near central London, the area still harbours important
populations of birds, animals, insects and flowers.  In both Leyton Yard
(now flattened) and the southern marshalling yard, there was scrub
vegetation of self-seeded saplings and shrubs on what is largely old
railway ballast, some of which is quite polluted with heavy metals such
as lead, zinc, sulphurous compounds and a range of organic contaminants
such as phenols and coal tars.  Significant plants in this area
predominantly consist of barren fescue, Michaelmas daisy, rose-bay
willowherb, yellow toadflax, soapwort, viperÆs bugloss, dittander, field
pansy and other colonising species typical of poor, well-drained soil.
Larger plants include sallow and birch saplings and occasional
buddleia.  ViperÆs bugloss is naturalised in very few places outside the
southern chalk belt; the two large patches of this plant would be
destroyed by the LRR.  17 species of butterfly were recorded during the
LEUÆs visits in 1989-91, which makes the site important in a local
context.  The only uncommon species was the "gatekeeper" butterfly.  The
invertebrate fauna gnarly is quite rich due to the diversity of
flowering plant species.  The area is also alive with rabbits
(particularly around the hump) and there are several foxes.  The foxes
also use the adjoining Marsh Lane Fields as hunting grounds, and the
railway is useful as a route connecting their hunting grounds.  Several
foxes live alongside the Dagenham Brook in the Ive Farm area.

The LRR route runs through what in the 1930s was a "hump" shunting yard
- goods trucks were pushed up onto a "hump" or mound of land, and then -
by means of a human controller using a complex system of points switches
- were loose-shunted down from the hump along one of a number of
pathways to join the correct train where the shunters would connect the
trucks together.  (YouÆve probably seen the sign "not to be hump or
loose shunted" on goods trucks - this is what it means!)  The hump was
mentioned as an area of special ecological importance with mature trees
on it; the 1992 LEU Assessment called it an "overgrown garden" of
special importance to birds, and 37 species of birds, some quite rare
and of ecological significance, were recorded.  Throughout the site
common birds such as woodpigeon, blackbirds and magpies were quite
common; rarer species in the southern Temple Mills area included mistle
thrush, lesser whitethroat, willow warbler, blue tit, goldfinch,
greenfinch, linnet and redpoll.  As the trees have grown so more birds
have been attracted to the site, and there are now nesting stonechats.
Rare plants in the area include thyme-leaved sandwort (most of the
habitat of which would disappear and thus also the plant community),
small toadflax (ditto)

In this area, the road would be very close to the River Lea and - across
the river from Leyton - to Hackney Marshes.  Hackney Marshes are common
land and registered as Metropolitan Open Space. They are bounded on the
east by the River Lea and on the west by the River Lea Navigation
(Hackney Cut), which separate into two distinct bodies of water at the
disused lock just south of Lea Bridge Road.  During the second world war
the Marshes had bomb rubble dumped on them, raising the level. Most of
the marshes are laid out for football and other sports.  Hackney Marshes
have an important nature conservation function; the river is used by
birds such as cormorants, heron, tufted duck and teal for feeding and
for shelter in the winter.  The grass areas are used by Canada geese,
wood pigeons, starlings and swifts; the trees and bushes planted around
the Marshes give a home to many woodland birds such as owl, chaffinch,
wrens and robins.

After this point, going northwards, the LRR would run alongside the
Dagenham Brook, "LeytonÆs Green Jewel" which since the 1989/92 Reports
by LEU has been extensively improved, largely by local volunteers.  Here
breeding birds include wren, dunnock, song thrush, willow warbler,
greenfinch and linnet, predominantly using the thick bramble scrub to
the west of the brook as a nesting area.  The LRR route  then goes along
the disused railway line, the eastern side of which is thick hawthorn
scrub with some mature tree species, mainly willow, birch, elder and
sycamore.  Breeding birds here include garden warbler, wren, robin,
songthrush, goldfinch, greenfinch and linnet.  There is also our
resident family of kestrels, living on the pylon!  Near Clementina
Estate, by the former gas works, the soil is better and goat willow,
silver birch, and ash grow, surrounded by bramble and open grassland.
There is an area of sycamore woodland in the north-east corner, which is
where the LRR is planned to pass.  Horses graze on nearby Marsh Lane
Fields and the relative inaccessibility of the land protects it from
human disturbance.

The gas yard site itself is derelict contaminated land, but it does
contain the noteworthy "hard poa" meadow-grass and also blue fleabane,
which is unknown anywhere else in east London.  There is also a large
ovate poplar tree near the Lea Bridge Road, and the Framework Study
suggested that this tree should be the focus of a central courtyard
around which the new development would be built.  (Whether the tree is
still there after last MondayÆs chainsawing I donÆt know.)  A number of
toxic substances, such as coal tars, phenols, cyanides, ammoniacal
salts, sulphates and sulphides and other corrosive contaminants are
widespread here, and there are tar wells.  This makes remediation
difficult.  Additionally, some materials are potentially combustible,
such as spent oxide, coal and tars, and some may produce asphyxiant,
toxic and/or explosive gases such as HCN, sulphur dioxide, methane,
hydrogen sulphide and carbon dioxide.  Local people have been warned in
a letter from British Gas that "from time to time you may detect some
smells arising from these works, but these do not present any hazard and
will be controlled by our site contractors." (Letter from Chris Dodds,
Construction Manager for BG plc, in letter to Occupiers dated 19th
December 1997)

The proposed developments on land alongside the Leyton relief Road south
of Lea Bridge Road are:

Leyton Yard Site:
The 26 acre former "Civil EngineerÆs Yard" (owned by Railtrack) is to be
developed as a major shopping/retail centre to replace the existing
small shops on the run-down Leyton High Road.  (A major supermarket
chain, not Tesco or SainsburyÆs, stated on Monday - 12.1.98 - that it
was interested in making a bid here.)

Marshalling Yards:
45 acres of Marshalling yards are to be retained for eventual use by the
Channel Tunnel Railway operator, probably as berthing/cleaning areas as
part of its London International Freight Terminal.  the LIFT is proposed
to be located on the former sidings between Ruckholt Road and Lea Bridge
Road as one of two major freight termini distributing and handling
traffic for the Channel Tunnel railway, and the massive existing
Freightliner Depot at Stratford would be incorporated into this.  A
10-metre high overhead beam crane will be permanently on site: the
Framework Study suggested that "its visual impact need not be
detrimental" and it could be "an interesting feature in the landscape."
Local people at the Inquiry at the Houses of Parliament into the Channel
Tunnel rail link asked for a natural bund to be put in with screening
trees to hide the visual obtrusion of this development, as suggested by
the Framework Study, but we have since been told that the LRR
construction makes this impossible.

Former Town Gas Works:
This 11 acre contaminated area by Clementina Road is to be remediated to
a B1/B2 end use standard.  (Contaminated land reclamation in UK is
carried out to standards imposed by the determined end-use.)  This means
light industrial, "high-tech" and warehousing use.

The LEUÆs 1992 Assessment concluded: "The net result of the development
as it stands would mean the loss of a Grade 1 Site of Borough Importance
for nature conservation.  The importance of the site is based upon the
extent of the wasteland habitat present [and] the diversity of plants
and animals it supports."  The main habitat loss would be the naturally
regenerating wasteland and associated grassland, a habitat rarely found
in such large expanses and harbouring important populations of several
species.  It was proposed in 1992 to retain some of the existing
vegetation in a linear "nature area" encompassing the eastern railway
embankment, the Dagenham Brook and the eastern fringes of the northern
and southern marshalling yards.  The Development Framework Study
referred to this as a "Linear Nature Park" and suggested the name
"Leyton Ecology Corridor."  However, this would be a considerable
reduction from the present size, and would contribute to the loss of
some bird species in particular.  The Assessment stressed the need to
maintain "green links" to other nearby open spaces both for access for
people and to facilitate the movement of wildlife.

The original Environmental Impact Assessment Study suggested that the
LRR could only have overall environmental benefit if it were to be
implemented as part of a package to include traffic management in local
roads and- crucially - the reopening to passenger traffic of Lea Bridge
Station on the Lea Bridge Road.  Irrelevant to mention, perhaps, is that
this part of the LRR package has NEVER been discussed since!  We are no
nearer to getting the railway reopened to passengers (despite that fact
that it would go a long way towards solving  the traffic crisis in the
area) or reopening the Hall Farm Curve than we were when the Inquiry
closed with the Inspector finding in our favour, saying that the road
should be DELETED altogether from the BoroughÆs proposed Unitary
Development Plan.  Also, a 900 place secondary school is now being
proposed (going to Public Inquiry - this was the Council meeting I spoke
at last night) for Seymour Road, on the Clementina Estate, which will
completely offset any benefit accruing to the area of the traffic
management schemes, assuming they were to be put in anyway.

North of the Lea Bridge Road, the LRR turns east into the Argall Avenue
Industrial Estate.  The precise line of the road here has yet to be
finally determined.  It could go up the Black Path, a mediaeval portersÆ
way running in a straight line through Hackney and Walthamstow.  Or they
could find some minor modification to that.

At this point the finer detail of the threat to the valley gets bogged
down in a forest of road numbers.  Suffice it to say that the latest
idea is for a road to link the huge Allied Bakeries factory at the north
of the Argall Estate to the Leyton Relief Road in the valley.  This
would have wonderful consequences for the residents of South Access Road
(along which all the traffic now passes) and for Markhouse and
Blackhorse Road residents and for the cross-roads where I happen to live
about a quarter of a mile away.  But Allied Bakeries (makers of
Kingsmill, Sunblest and other revolting substances) are not very keen on
the idea because of the extra journey that their lorries would have to
make.  The residents of Elm Park Road - who have now been told that to
overcome the AB objections their road is going to have at the back of it
a spur from the LRR onto the Lea Bridge Road (thus negating the need for
the LRR to go along the Temple Mills sidings at all, by the way!) - are
even less enthusiastic.  Especially as a fast food restaurant is
proposed for the Lea Bridge Junction Loop!

And no-one believes that the point block in South Access Road will last
long.  AB want to get stuff in from their flour-mills in Hertfordshire
to the north, and out to their distribution points on the M25 for
overnight supermarket delivery.  They donÆt want to go south and round a
huge detour to access the M11 Link Road which will bring them out miles
round the North Circular or the M25 from where they want to go.
Factories site themselves in locations where they can get their products
in and out cheaply, and the AB factory is not something you can easily
dismantle and move!

However, all this needs a map in front of you to see whatÆs actually
going on.  Suffice it to say, that the traffic problems in Walthamstow
will be increased, not decreased by the road, and the LRR wonÆt solve
the problem (heavy traffic affecting 400 households in part of Burwell
Road - yes, thatÆs the excuse for all this!!) anyway - as the Inspector
agreed at the Public Inquiry - which we won! (some brief history
later).  The next logical step is to carry out the original ELAS scheme
by linking the LRR to Ferry Lane and thence the A1055 North-South Route
from Tottenham hale to Enfield.  And that means crossing or running
alongside Walthamstow Marsh.  Walthamstow Marsh, a designated Nature
Reserve containing two SSSIs and much of historical and ecological
interest, is all that remains of our once extensive  marshlands of the
Lea Valley. That it has survived at all, so close to the centre of
London, is a miracle.  It has never been ploughed and its surface still
bears the imprint of Ice Age braided river channels giving it an
undisturbed continuity of some 10,000 years.

To walk across Walthamstow Marsh is to step into an ancient, enduring
landscape - something very rare indeed, especially in a metropolis.  As
the Lea Valley FederationÆs "Charter for the Lea Valley" put it:
"Nowhere else in London can people experience such a rich landscape of
wetland habitats." To be able to walk through wind rippled stands of
sedges, dense reed beds , creamy masses of meadowsweet, lush meadow
grassland and all manner of abundant marshland vegetation is an
astonishing experience within sight of the inner City  In the spring and
early summer the air is full of the song of reed and sedge warblers,
skylarks and cuckoos, kestrels hovering; in the autumn huge flocks of
goldfinches can be seen; in the winter, when low lying tracts of the
Marsh lie under water, snipe are a common sight; overhead there are
often cormorants, skeins of geese flying low, quacking pairs of ducks,
and herons drifting towards the reservoirs or coming down to feed; -
these are all common Marsh experiences in this unlikely semi-urban
setting."

There are also, I might mention, some smashing pubs along the River Lea,
which here is a single body of water (the Navigation) with the
recently-excavated Flood Relief Channel flowing some distance away
nearer to housing.  There is ample mooring space along the river here,
and many people live here year round on colourful narrowboats.

Katy Andrews
15.01.1998

P.S.
A quick word about the author - I took a BA (with 1st class hons) in
History of Resource Management (1988) and an MSc in Resource Assessment
for Development Planning (1990).  I went to Twyford Down to join the
Dongas Tribe in 1992, and have since been involved in the No M1 Link
Road Campaign and several campaigns concerned with the Leyton
Freight/Relief Road.  IÆm a member of the Executive Committee of the
Capital Transport Campaign and the London & SE Region committee of the
Railway Development Society.  I currently work in IT Support, having
trained as a computer programmer and systems analyst before going to
University at a somewhat ripe age!  I hope this explains some of the
shortcomings that you will no doubt find in the following: I wouldnÆt
personally know a wren from a ptarmigan, I merely report as
intelligently as I am able!

If you have any questions, comments or anything to add, please let me
know!
Date: Thu, 15 Jan 1998 18:34:18 EST
From: OnlineAPI <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: VICTORY FOR ARIZONA PREDATORS!
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit


VICTORY FOR ARIZONA PREDATORS!

January 15, 1998 . . . As a result of public outcry, the Arizona Game & Fish
Commission (AGFC) announced today the controversial "Predator Hunt Extreme
'98" will be canceled this year.  An Associated Press article, press releases
and action alerts publicizing the issue throughout the state and across the
country resulted in a flood of phone calls to the AGFC and to the private
sponsors of the hunt, Outdoor Promotions.

After informing Outdoor Promotions that the hunt could not go on, the AGFC
announced it will be meeting next week with the Arizona Wildlife Advisory
Council to specifically address the issue of contest hunts in the state.
Animal advocates have conveyed to the Commission that the public expects no
less than an administrative ban on contest hunts in the state.  If this is not
implemented, animal advocates will turn up the pressure once again by alerting
the press and public to the issue.

For this year, Arizona's coyotes, foxes, bobcats and mountain lions will rest
at peace on February 7th and 8,th safe from the yahoo hunters such contest
hunts attract.  Let us ensure that these animals never have to fear a contest
hunt in Arizona again.

Camilla Fox
Animal Protection Institute

Posted by:
Animal Protection Institute
P.O. Box 22505
Sacramento, CA  95822
Ph: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
www.api4animals.org


Date: Fri, 16 Jan 1998 12:58:19 +0800 (SST)
From: Vadivu Govind <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (TH) Dept urged to protect wild  animals
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
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>Bangkok Post
16 Jan 98

Dept urged to  protect wild  animals

              Killing of wounded tiger criticised

              Chakrit Ridmontri and Kanitta Inchukul

              Animal activists called on the Forestry Department to care
forwild animals so that they do not have to be killed when they get  into
residential areas.

              They were criticising the shooting of an old and hungry tiger by
              officials at Khao Yai after it attacked two rangers at a park
              home.

              Although the activists said human life was more important than
              wildlife they said the department should have tackled the
              situation properly.

              Leonie Vejjajiva, of the Wild Animal Rescue Foundation of
              Thailand, said old or wounded animals unable to feed themselves
              should be taken to an animal rescue centre and then returned to
              the wild if their health improved.
                She said the park should have stun guns at checkpoints to allow
              rangers to defend themselves.

              The park should also conduct a study to find out how many
              unhealthy wild animals there were. Unhealthy animals could then
              be rescued before they became a danger to humans by searching
              for food in residential areas.

              She said the 2.5-metre tiger which was shot dead was an
              Indochinese species. It was an endangered species and unable to
              breed in captivity.

              Surapon Duangkhae of Wildlife Fund Thailand said the situation
              was inevitable because the park's headquarters were mostly
              located in the most fertile part of the park.

                But Thavorn Lamsrichan, director of the Natural Resource
              Conservation Office, said the tiger was too old to hunt prey and
              so had to find easy food.

              He said the department is considering removing the ranger's
              house and park headquarters from the heart of the forest to
              prevent tourists and wild animals clashing.

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

Date: Fri, 16 Jan 1998 12:58:24 +0800 (SST)
From: Vadivu Govind <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (UK) 1 pig fugitive still on the run
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
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>The Electronic Telegraph
16 Jan 98

Pig knocks the stuffing out of police
                   By Sean O'Neill

        A PIG that became one of the country's most celebrated fugitives was
back on the run last night after eluding police who cornered it in a back
garden.

                   A second pig, which had escaped from the same abattoir
more than a
week ago, had been recaptured earlier after an intensive search led by the
world's media.

                   The net closed on the ginger Tamworth boars eight days
after they
burrowed under a fence and swam a river to escape slaughter in
Malmesbury, Wilts.
The first pig was returned to Arnoldo Dijulio, a council roadsweeper who
reared the animals in his garden. A national newspaper assisted in the
capture and is thought to have offered a sum far greater than the animal's
ú50 value for exclusive rights to its story.

                   Dozens of reporters and photographers, some said to have
hired pick-up  trucks, then scoured the surrounding countryside for the second.
Photographers and television crews flew overhead in helicopters. It was
found when Harry Clarke, 61, and his wife Mary saw it in their garden and
called the police.

                   As officers closed in, it tried to escape along the side
of the house towards the road only to retreat in fear when faced by a
battery of flashbulbs.

                   A spokesman for Wiltshire police said: "At around 7.15pm
an attempt was made to capture the cornered pig but, due to the large
numbers of people
around the place, it was spooked and darted into undergrowth. It is still
contained and the RSPCA are waiting until it is calm enough to be caught."

                   Debbie Stinchcombe, who works at an animal sanctuary and
was among those trying to capture the pig, said: "The animal was frightened
and broke
through a fence at the bottom of Mr and Mrs Clarke's garden and has
disappeared into the thick woods behind. It knows it is safe in there. We
have left food out for it and will reassess the situation in the morning."

                   Phil Bussey of the RSPCA said: "This pig has proved more
elusive than
Houdini. It seems like we have been tracking it for ever. It ran rings around
us all night in Mr Clarke's garden. Finally, the Clarkes asked everyone to
leave because their lawn and shrubs were getting wrecked."

                   The five-month-old boars, whose outlaw status earned them
several
nicknames, including Butch and Sundance, spent most of their week of
freedom in an impenetrable thicket near Tetbury Hill.

                   As they avoided recapture, their celebrity status grew.
Television
networks, tabloid newspapers, animal lovers and vegetarians fought to
save them from slaughter and offered them a home.

                   Dave Lang, a pig breeder, even took Sam, his 60-stone
Tamworth sow, to  the thicket in an attempt to tempt them out.

                   With an RSPCA inspector on hand, the sow was paraded back
and forth without success. Mr Lang, 47, could not understand it. "Pigs are
hopelessly attracted to the opposite sex," he said. "Sam is a fully-grown
pig. What young chap would not be attracted to an older woman?"
Mr Dijulio, who was furious when they escaped and had remained
adamant that they were destined for his dinner table, had a change of heart
last night.

                   "If somebody makes an offer to me then I can sell the
pigs and they can
take them off my hands," he said. "I have been very surprised by the
amount of interest. People have been ringing my work, ringing up from
London and a helicopter has been sent to search for them. I could not
believe it when they went over the river. They swam over that and went
over the football pitch and disappeared."

                   Ann Petch, who breeds Tamworths at Umberleigh, Devon,
said the
animals probably relished the pursuit. "Tamworths are quite bold and quite
bright. There is a little bit of devilment in them," she said.

"They see little gaps where other animals might not and they tend to go for
 them. At five months they are quite juvenile but they are hardy, capable
 animals. They will feed on beechmast and acorns and they are scavengers.
They will pick up insects and worms and graze on the undergrowth."

                   Mrs Petch, who said Tamworths had "a moist, tender
succulence, which a lot of modern-bred pork lacks", added: "It might sound
hard, but they are
domestic farm animals and their function is to provide meat."

                   Peggy Hickson, the town's mayor, appealed for the animals
to be saved.
She said: "These pigs must not go to the abattoir. They have been so
brave. To swim the river, which is almost at flood level at the moment, was
superb. My favourite video is Babe. I have seen it twice. I think it is a
tragedy that people breed them just to have them slaughtered. They are
very bright animals."

                   Malmesbury was relishing the attention last night. A
butcher's shop
 advertised wild boar sausages "at runaway prices".

                   While the escapers might look forward to a long and
peaceful life, the third pig which accompanied them to the abattoir has
already been slaughtered
 and hangs in two halves in the cold room.

                   "Luckily, only two of them got away," said Jeremy Newman,
the abattoir   manager. "The one that didn't has been processed in the usual
way."

⌐ Copyright Telegraph Group Limited 1997.

Date: Fri, 16 Jan 1998 12:58:30 +0800 (SST)
From: Vadivu Govind <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (UK) Pigs are meat, not pets
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>The Electronic Telegraph
16 Jan 98

Cut out for rashers, not romance
                  By David Brown, Agriculture Editor


                 THE public was urged yesterday to forget romantic notions
of saving the Tamworth Two from the butcher's block by adopting them as pets.

                  The Tamworths are Britain's oldest surviving native pig
breed: there are
only 306 registered breeding sows and 77 boars out of a total swine
population of 7.5 million. But commercial farmers and agricultural
conservationists maintained that the best result was a humane death and
transformation into pork chops.
The ginger-coloured Tamworths are also known as Old English Forest Pigs
and have long snouts to root around on the ground for food. The sows are
docile but boars can be very active and difficult to keep in confinement.

                  The two that escaped are relatively young - less than six
months old - and already weigh about 110 pounds. When fully grown they will
tip the scales
at almost five times that and will have voracious appetites.

                  There were suggestions last night that the two animals may
be part wild
boar which were crossed with Tamworths for their meat. Wild boar
farming is a thriving niche business and several hundred escapees are
already said to be roaming in the wilds of Sussex and elsewhere.

                  The Rare Breeds Survival Trust said: "The sad fact is that
in any breed you  need far fewer boars than sows and these boars are reared
for meat and
slaughtered. We actually advise as many farmers as we can to establish
commercial markets for Tamworth meat to encourage more people to keep
them. Ensuring a commercial outlet for livestock is a proven method of
conservation but the public can find that very hard to understand."

                  He said: "It must be remembered that pigs have no other
function other than  being fattened for meat. You can't shear them for wool
or draw milk from
them."

                  Caroline Wheatley, who owns the Berkswell herd of Tamworth
pigs at
Boyton Farms, Warminster, Wiltshire, said: "We keep Tamworths here and
all I can say is that they are marvellous farm animals. But we keep them as
farm animals, not pets."
Grenville Welsh, the chief executive of the British Pig Association, said:
"We have heard a lot of stories of people wanting to give these pigs a
home. The one thing they should be quite clear about is that pigs in general
do not make good domestic pets and Tamworths most certainly do not.
There was fashion some years ago for keeping pet Vietnamese pot-bellied
 pigs. But this proved to be misguided and people soon discovered that it
 was better to get rid of them. We have also heard that these runaway
'Tamworths' may be the offspring of pigs with wild boar blood in them.
Tamworths are very spirited pigs, even without wild boar blood."

⌐ Copyright Telegraph Group Limited 1997.

Date: Fri, 16 Jan 1998 12:58:34 +0800 (SST)
From: Vadivu Govind <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Bird flu 'as virulent as 1918 killer'
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>The Electronic Telegraph
16 Jan 98

Bird flu 'as virulent as 1918 killer'
                  By Aisling Irwin, Science Correspondent

                  THE virulent strain of "bird flu" that broke out in Hong
Kong at the end                   of last year appears to be as aggressive
as the virus that caused the                          Spanish flu pandemic
in 1918, which killed between 20 million and 40                  million
people around the world.

                  Scientists report today in the journal Science that they
fear that the flu,
                  which arose in chickens but has spread to people, could
soon become
                  more infectious to humans. At present it passes easily