Komputer for Alle 1998 #6/1998 CD 6 (Gul).iso/web/ffa/wwwenv~1.org/arrs/digest/news68~3.htm/text0000.txt

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Saturday, March 7, 1998
The LA Times
Wildlife: Topanga officials plan to post crossing warnings along road
where rare species has been spotted.

By MARTHA L. WILLMAN, Times Staff Writer

In Topanga, they brake for turtles.

In an effort to revive a dwindling population, the Topanga Town Council
has launched a drive to erect a series of warning signs:
"SLOW (turtle silhouette) XING."

The first sign was put up in January on Old Topanga Canyon Road at the
Red Rock bridge, a spot where several of the creek critters were seen in
the road. The council's goal is to place signs all along a three-mile
stretch of the winding mountain route by persuading residents to shell
out $70 per sign.

Topanga's turtles--Western pond turtles, which once thrived in creeks
all over California--are on the state's list of threatened species.

After the species had apparently lived for decades in unsung obscurity
in the canyon, a specimen was found in June 1996, inching across Old
Topanga Canyon Road.

Several more have been seen since, including a few flattened by
vehicles.

The turtles look fairly common, similar in size to the red-eared slider,
"the typical turtle that everybody had as kids," said Kathleen Bullard,
executive officer of the Resource Conservation District of the Santa
Monica Mountains. "You know--the kind that came with the plastic
container with the palm tree."

Four years ago, the turtles were on the state's list of species
considered "of special concern" because of their low numbers and
diminishing habitat. Their situation has since worsened, placing them on
the list of threatened species, just a step away from danger of
extinction.

"There are very few left in Southern California," said Sean Manion, a
state conservation district biologist. He said the reclusive turtles,
which have a drab, brownish-green shell about 6 inches long, "were just
rediscovered."

He said only four live turtles have been reported to the conservation
district in Topanga Canyon, although biologists suspect others have been
seen. "We know they are breeding because we found one young one," Manion
said.

A few Topanga residents have discovered the turtles' haven--a small,
natural pond in a high meadow surrounded by ridges. They keep the
location secret, fearing the turtles will be harmed if word leaks out.

The pond is half a mile from the home of Paul Bordier, on a 120-acre
privately owned tract that is for sale. Residents who know about the
pond are hoping the land will be acquired by a state or federal agency
and preserved as parkland. In addition to the rare turtles, the property
teems with frogs, toads, deer, bobcats, mountain lions and other
wildlife.

Bordier, who has lived in the canyon for 10 years, said he has
researched the history of the pond and kept watch on it as it changed
from year to year from a large body of clear water to a dry lake bed,
then reappeared. But something happened after the disastrous wildfires
in 1994, he said.

"The whole ecosystem changed with all of the silt and debris that washed
down into the pond from the barren hills," Bordier said.

The pond has shrunk to about half an acre. It is surrounded by a wide
expanse of sandy banks and the water is murky and filled with debris--in
short, a perfect breeding ground for the western pond turtle. Dozens of
the shy creatures could be seen and heard plopping into the water when
approached by visitors this week.

Biologists said the turtles need water, sandy banks in which to lay
their eggs, and a lot of sunlight to help the eggs hatch. They hide from
predators in the murky water, or spend hours basking in the sun on
floating debris.
                                             * * *
Conservation district biologist Manion said he was unaware of the turtle
population at the remote pond, but vowed to revisit the site, which he
said he has not seen in more than a year. He said the turtles' natural
enemies, besides humans and their vehicles, include coyotes, raccoons
and other predators.

It is illegal to keep wild turtles in captivity. Manion said that if one
is spotted crossing the road, it should be moved off the roadway,
photographed if possible, and then left alone. He urged that sightings
be reported to the conservation district office, which records the
information.

Search the archives of the Los Angeles Times for similar stories. You
will not be charged to look for stories, only to retrieve one.

                      Copyright Los Angeles Times
http://www.latimes.com/HOME/NEWS/STATE/t000022298.html


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Date: Sun, 08 Mar 1998 21:46:22 PST
From: "Cari Gehl" <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Weekly Animal radio show-Oregon Mondays
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Content-Type: text/plain

Found this on rec.animals.wildlife if anyone is in Oregon and wants to
check it out:


Weekly Animal radio show-Oregon Mondays

Listen for advise and hot topics/interviews to Lewis and Bark Mondays
4-5 Pacific time on am 1120 (NBC affiliate)


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Date: Sun, 08 Mar 1998 21:48:16 PST
From: "Cari Gehl" <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: New Australian Wildlife mailing list
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Content-Type: text/plain

Also from rec.animals.wildlife...

Interested in Australian Native Animals?
The new OZARK mailing list is now open.
Discussion will centre around the care, rehabilitation and release of
Australian Wildlife.
Vets, Registered Carers and interested parties are invited to join free.
To subscribe, send email to:
[e-mail]
with the subject: subscribe
and the word "subscribe" as a message


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Date: Mon, 9 Mar 1998 13:51:29 +0800 (SST)
From: [e-mail]
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (MY) Farmers using banned drug on livestock
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
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>The Straits Times
9 Mar 98

Farmers using banned drug on livestock

     KUALA LUMPUR -- Some Malaysian livestock breeders have been using a
banned     drug on pigs, chicken and ducks to stimulate the growth of the
animals despite     warnings, Health Minister Datuk Chua Jui Meng has said.

     He said that although the drug, beta-agonist -- a growth stimulant
banned since 1992     -- is usually used to treat asthma patients, it can
have adverse effects on those with     heart problems.

     "The drug will also affect those suffering from diabetes, cause
insomnia, irritability,     muscle tremors and food poisoning as had
happened in 1990, 1992 and 1994 in Spain and 1991 in France," he said.

     He urged breeders to stop using the drug on livestock animals as it is
illegal.

     The minister was speaking to reporters after chairing a two-hour
dialogue with
     representatives from the livestock, feedmillers and butcher associations.

     He was assured at the meeting that the drug would not be used by the
associations'     members.

     Offenders can be jailed for up to five years and fined.

     They can also be charged under the Poisons Act 1952, which carries a
two-year jail     sentence or a fine of not more than M$5,000 (S$2,100) or
both.

Datuk Chua said the veterinary services department under the Agriculture
Ministry
     would coordinate its enforcement efforts with the pharmaceutical
services department     and food quality division under the Health Ministry
to ensure that all meat is free from     beta-agonist.

     Checks would be carried out at several levels -- feedmeal, feedmeal
pre-mix, farms,     abattoirs and at the markets.

     The three departments, he said, have worked very closely in the past
1-1/2 years to     educate poultry farmers and prosecute those who use the
drug.

     He added that the principal focus will be on pig farms.

     The minister said he warned those at the dialogue that the ministry
viewed the use of the banned drug as a very serious offence.

     "They (the livestock associations' representatives) have agreed that it
is not worth
     giving the banned drug to the animals to make an extra M$20 to M$30 per
pig and
     risk five years' imprisonment," he said.

     Besides being a growth stimulant, beta-agonist is also used to reduce
the fat in animals.

     "In the case of pigs, the breeders can get new breeds -- like Duroc
from Holland and     Taiwan, or Pritain from Belgium -- which have less
fat," he said. -- NST.

Date: Sun, 08 Mar 1998 21:53:50 PST
From: "Cari Gehl" <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: 460+ Wolves slaughtered in snowmobile
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Content-Type: text/plain

Some older news.  Apologies if this has already been posted - I have
been off ar-news for the past week and a half.

Best wishes,
Cari

---Snowmobile hunt claims hundreds of wolves
Biologists worried about impact of subarctic slaughter



Thursday, February 26, 1998
The Globe and Mail


By Alanna Mitchell


CALGARY -- About a dozen native hunters have killed 460 wolves so far
this winter in the Northwest Territories in what biologists fear may be
one of the biggest and most concentrated commercial wolf hunts in
Canadian history.

Many of the wolves are being chased to death by hunters riding
snowmobiles, said conservation officers and biologists who oversee the
subarctic area. The hunters track down a pack of wolves, manoeuvre them
onto a frozen expanse of tundra, and then, as the animals search vainly
for somewhere to hide, chase them until they collapse from exhaustion.
Then the hunters shoot them.

The final tally of wolves killed will be significantly higher than 460
by the end of the season. Several hunters who are expected to be making
large kills have not yet prepared the skins for export, so have not been
included in the count.

The massive hunt is being driven by an unusually strong appetite for fur
in the fashion industry and by hefty prices for wolf in the
international fur market. As well, the wolves seem to be congregating in
the lower Northwest Territories this winter as they follow caribou
herds.

Biologists, who are calling the kill a "local genocide," say a hunt on
that scale has far-reaching, dire implications for Canada's wolf
population if it keeps up.

Some biologists are especially worried because the Northwest Territories
government has no count of the number of wolves in the region and no
data on what damage a kill of this magnitude could do to the nation's
stock of wolves.

"You can't allow something like this to happen without a way of seeing
what the impact is," said Ludwig Carbyn, Canada's most prominent wolf
biologist and the Canadian delegate to the wolf group of the Swiss-based
International Union of the Conservation of Nature.

He said that since the early 1920s, Canada has recognized the need to
regulate commercial consumption of wildlife. Yet today in the Northwest
Territories, resident hunters and natives can take as many wolves as
they can get.

Paul Paquet, another internationally respected Canadian wolf biologist,
said there is a desperate lack of hard data on wolf stocks.

"If you don't have good information and you make a mistake, it can be a
disaster," he said. "You can see where that took us in the fishery."

The ethics of using snowmobiles to hunt is also being questioned.
Hunting from snowmobiles is legal in the Northwest Territories and
widespread. But it gives hunters a huge advantage over their prey -- so
much so that it is banned as unsportsmanlike in other parts of Canada,
including Yukon, where it carries a fine of up to $10,000 and the
possibility of jail.

"I suspect that these harvesting practices are unacceptable to most
people, including consumers of the fur," said Carolyn Callaghan, a wolf
biologist who is studying the canines as part of the Central Rockies
Wolf Project in Alberta.

The Canadian fur industry has come under intense criticism in recent
years -- especially in Europe -- for the clubbing and skinning of seal
pups and the now-abandoned practice of leg-hold traps. After boycotts
and international condemnation, the Canadian fur lobby has taken pains
to convince fur buyers that hunters today are humane.

The story of the vast wolf kill in the Northwest Territories has come to
light only in the past few weeks as the number of wolf pelts certified
by officials for export began to mount. George Bihun, a conservation
officer in Stony Rapids, in Saskatchewan's far north, said his office
has done paperwork for the export permits of 460 wolves captured and
skinned by about a dozen local Indian hunters.

The hunters live in Fond-du-Lac and at Black Lake just below the
Saskatchewan-Northwest Territories border, Mr. Bihun said. But they
charter aircraft to ferry them and their supplies of gas to camps they
have set up near Rennie Lake in the Northwest Territories, just where
the tree line gives way to the tundra barrens.

Dean Cluff, a biologist with the Northwest Territories government, said
he had to swallow hard when he first heard how high the wolf kill was
around Rennie Lake.

"It's not going to be the extinction of the wolf," he said. "But there
are other things we just don't know about."

Mr. Bihun went up to the camp and watched the snowmobile pursuit for
himself. He said conservation officers have seen the number of wolf
pelts exported from the Northwest Territories rise rapidly since hunters
began using powerful modern snowmobiles.

"The last several years, we've seen a high number coming out," he said.
"They're big-time pursuing the wolves. They're not out there trapping."

Lawrence L. Adam, a native hunter who lives at Fond-du-Lac, came away
from his camp in the Northwest Territories a couple of weeks ago with
162 wolf pelts from animals he killed this season.

He said the wolf hunting this year is the best it's been in some time.
"I guess I'm getting good at it," he said.

His nephew is still at the camp and won't be out with his wolf pelts for
another few weeks.

In earlier, less productive years, they have been killing 150 to 200
wolves a year between them, sometimes using snowmobiles, sometimes not,
Mr. Adam said. They also harvest white fox, mink and marten and have
invested hundreds of thousands of dollars in their hunting camp over the
years, he said.

"That's my livelihood," he said. "That's what I'm here for."

Until this year, an average of 915 wolf pelts were taken annually in all
of the Northwest Territories. In 1995-96, 727 wolf pelts were taken.

"We don't have a shortage of wolves up here," said Ron Graf, manager of
integrated resource management in the territory's wildlife and fisheries
division.

Next door in the Yukon, where hunting by snowmobile has been banned
since 1982, about 30 wolves are hunted each year and another 100 are
trapped, said Doug Larsen, a biologist who is the chief of wildlife
management there.

In Saskatchewan, where wolves can be caught only by licenced trappers
who have trap lines, the 3,000 or so such trappers take a total of about
225 wolves a year, said Al Arsenault of Saskatchewan's fish and wildlife
branch.

Even in the years when governments waged all-out war against wolves,
dubbing them noxious vermin for their predations on elk, deer and
caribou, they were rarely able to kill on the scale now under way in the
Northwest Territories.

William Fuller, a biologist who conducted a "wolf-control" program for
the territorial government in the 1950s, said he killed fewer than 300
animals at the peak of the program in the winter of 1955-56 south of
Great Slave Lake. And he was using the now-outlawed strychnine, packing
the poison into holes he drilled with a half-inch bit in the frozen
carcasses of buffalo, and leaving them on lakes in the tundra as bait.

"These guys are killing more than we ever did in our attempts to poison
wolves," he said. "It's anything but sportsmanlike. The wolves wouldn't
have a chance."

He said in all his years of study, he has never heard of as large a
commercial kill as that going on at Rennie Lake and added that hunters
could never have caught that many with the traditional dogsled.

While biologists believe wolf numbers are plentiful in the Northwest
Territories, they also say they used to be plentiful throughout North
America (even Newfoundland). But humans' slaughter of wolves has been so
efficient and so sustained that the animals have been all but wiped out
in the United States and are now considered an endangered species.

In fact, northern Canada has what is considered the only vibrant wolf
population left in the world.

"If Canada cannot maintain a sustainable population of wolves," Ms.
Callaghan, "nobody else can."


http://www.theglobeandmail.com/docs/news/summary/News.html


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Date: Sun, 08 Mar 1998 22:08:29 PST
From: "Cari Gehl" <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Animals and Serial Killers
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Content-Type: text/plain

Again, apologies if this has already been posted.  Sorry I don't have a
date for this one.

Cari

------------------------------------
Janet Pearson, Editorial Writer, Tulsa World, Tulsa, OK USA:

Dogs might be man's best friend, but they also are the most frequent
targets of abuse.

Preferred methods of torture are shooting, beating, dragging,burning,
poisoning, crushing, hanging, and choking, according to a recent
investigation.

In about a third of the cases studied, people were victimized as well as
animals.

Recent reports about animal abuse are so horrible that most Americans
probably try to tune them out. Those who do pay attention must be
wondering: What is happening to our society?

Are such incidents on the rise? Is there some way to stem this
brutality?

There is some evidence that animal cruelty is on the rise. A surprising
number of cases have come to light recently, both here in Oklahoma and
elsewhere. Local animal-welfare advocates report that they come across
obvious animal-abuse cases regularly.

This problem should interest all of us, not only for the obvious, humane
reason, but also because today's animal abusers may well be tomorrow's
serial killers.

Apparently, the subject is of interest to many. Tulsa County District
Attorney Bill LaFortune has said that animal-cruelty cases generate more
calls to his office than any other type of crime. (Interestingly, the
new truth-in-sentencing law would do away with prison sentences for
animal abusers, one of the many aspects of the new law LaFortune
laments.)

 A smattering of recent cases:

  - A Tulsa man pleaded guilty in June 1997 to animal cruelty and
 receives a two-year deferred sentence for starving, neglecting, and
dragging his German Shepherd-Chow mix down the street. Princess
eventually recovered, but had to spend nearly a year in the city animal
shelter while the criminal case was resolved.

 - A Bartlesville couple was sentenced to a year in jail for dragging
their black Labrador Retriever behind a car in 1995. The couple pleaded
no contest to felony animal abuse charges. The dog was later reunited
with previous owners.

 - Another Bartlesville dog was beaten nearly to death recently with a
 board or club with nails driven through it. An investigation into
Gondo's attack is continuing.

 - A LeFlore County man pleaded no contest to animal cruelty and
received three years of probation for torturing a cat in August 1996.
Whiskers was cut in several places but recovered and was adopted.

 - In one of the most shocking state cases, Cushing teenagers last
 October stole and then stomped a kitten to death. The mother of the
6-year-old owner drove to the scene hoping to stop the attack but
quickly left, fearful the teens would turn on her or her daughter.

 - Last March, teenagers broke into an Iowa animal shelter and beat 16
 cats to death with baseball bats. The two were convicted of
misdemeanors after a jury concluded the strays were worth no more than
$31.25 each.

 - Surely the most disturbing case was the Kansas City torture-killing
of a 6-pound Yorkshire Terrier last summer. Four youths, ages 17 to 21,
were charged in the attack on Scruffy after a videotape of the torture
surfaced.

The Humane Society of the U.S. last year began gathering statistics on
the problem. It hopes to establish a database in order to improve
monitoring and influence lawmaking and enforcement.

Of 401 cases analyzed so far, males usually were the culprit. Over half
the reports involved intentional abuse or torture, while the rest
involved extreme neglect. So far, only 15 percent have been adjudicated;
jail sentences were levied in only 33 cases.

Since at least the early 1970s, researchers and law enforcement have
been aware of a link between animal abuse and later violent crime. Study
after study has confirmed the finding, and a profile of the abuser most
likely to become a violent adult has emerged:  young, male,
dysfunctional family background, little self-restraint, no remorse,
multiple acts of abuse with a variety of species.

Some of our best-known serial killers started out torturing animals: Ted
Bundy, Albert DeSalvo (the Boston Strangler) and Jeffrey Dahmer, to name
a few.

Some research suggests that abusers turn to the practice because it
helps them compensate for the powerlessness they feel as a result of
their own deprived backgrounds. Most observers feel that at the least,
intensive counseling is in order for offenders.

The problem is also being taken seriously by the U.S. Justice
Department. The FBI Behavioral Science Unit's research bolsters earlier
findings.

FBI supervisory special agent Alan Brantley, also a psychologist
formerly on the staff at a maximum-security prison, discussed the
bureau's findings.

Asked how many serial killers had histories of abusing animals, he
replied, "The real question should be, how many have not?"

FBI interviews with murderers showed that 36 percent had as children
killed and tortured animals and 46 percent had done so as adolescents.
"We believe that the real figure was much higher, but that people might
not have been willing to admit to it," Brantley told HSUS. Even vicious
killers are reluctant to admit to hurting animals.

A recent survey of HSUS showed that Americans who support adoption also
support stricter anti-cruelty laws by an overwhelming margin. Eight out
of ten people surveyed felt that animal-cruelty laws should be
strengthened; three out of four favor making animal abuse a felony or a
more serious offense. Three-fourths said they would support re-election
of officials who push for tougher animal-abuse laws. (Lawmakers, are you
listening?)

There's a role for not only lawmakers and law enforcement but for
ordinary citizens as well. Citizens can attempt to instill compassion
and humane values in children, question the glorification of violence in
sports and entertainment, push for counseling programs and tougher laws
for offenders, and support animal-welfare organizations.

Ignoring the problem or hoping it will go away will only allow it to
grow worse.

Remember Princess, and Gondo, and Whiskers, and Scruffy.



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Date: Mon, 09 Mar 1998 00:23:36
From: David J Knowles <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: FWD: World Council of Whalers Press Release
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Posted for Annelise Sorg <[e-mail]>

>To: [e-mail], [e-mail], [e-mail]
>From: WhaleSave <[e-mail]>
>Subject: World Council of Whalers Press Release
>Date: Sun, 8 Mar 1998 17:30:57 -0800
>
>
>>March 6, 1998
>>
>>For Immediate Release
>>
>>World's Whaling Communities Unite to Assert Their Rights
>>
>>The world's whalers have held their largest and most diverse gathering
>>ever to assert their right to use whale resources sustainably, and in
>>keeping with their traditions and cultures.
>>
>>>From March 2-6 in Victoria, British Columbia, users of whales and other
>>cetaceans from eighteen countries convened for the first General
>>Assembly of the World Council of Whalers. They issued a challenge to the
>>international community to recognize the vital roles which whaling plays
>>in providing food security, nutrition and cultural identity, and the
>>right of whaling communities to trade in whale products and thereby
>>participate in the global cash-based economy.
>>
>>Specifically, they pledged support for the aspirations of the
>>Nuu-Chah-Nulth First Nations of British Columbia, Iceland, and four
>>coastal whaling communities in Japan to exercise their right to
>>sustainably use whales.
>>
>>The meeting was attended by more than 100 people. Joining the whalers
>>were sympathetic observers from non-whaling countries committed to
>>community-based management as a conservation and development tool, and
>>to preserving the world's rich variety of cultures and  traditions.
>>
>>"A battle has been raging to decide who will manage the world's
>>renewable natural resources, and the people who live with those
>>resources whose very survival depends on managing them wisely are
>>losing," said Tom Mexsis Happynook, Chairman of the Council and Head
>>Whaling Chief of the Huu-ay-aht First Nation in British Columbia.
>>
>>"Since time immemorial, each of our communities has been honoured and
>>duty-bound to serve as the custodians of nature," said Chief Mexsis.
>>"Indeed, it is this responsibility which has shaped our cultures and
>>traditions and defined us as people. Yet there are powerful forces who
>>would take this responsibility from us, and dictate how we should lead
>>our lives. The time has come to make a stand, and assert the right of
>>all communities to manage their resources in accordance with proven and
>>traditional practices."
>>
>>Over the course of the meeting, deliberations focused on protectionist
>>campaigns and government policies that have threatened indigenous
>>cultures from New Zealand to the Arctic. Particular attention was paid
>>to decisions of the International Whaling Commission (IWC), and how
>>these are manipulated by organisations opposed in principle to whaling,
>>regardless of how it is managed or of the consequences for whaling
>>communities.
>>
>>The IWC banned commercial whaling in the late 1980's, and currently
>>allows only "aboriginal subsistence" whaling under a strict regime which
>>requires that all products be consumed locally and there is no trading
>>of products for cash. No longer in control of their own resources,
>>whaling communities have found it ever harder to satisfy their cultural,
>>religious and dietary needs, and in many cases have experienced severe
>>socio-economic distress.
>>
>>The Assembly believed that this suffering was not only unjustifiable in
>>conservation terms, but also resulted from decisions that breached
>>several legally binding international conventions. Among these was the
>>IWC's own convention, the International Convention for the Regulation of
>>Whaling, which requires it to base its decisions on science, and to
>>"take account of the interests of the consumers of whale products and
>>the whaling industry".
>>
>>To address such concerns the World Council of Whalers was established in
>>February 1997, opening a Secretariat on the land of the traditional
>>whaling peoples of the Nuu Chah Nulth Nations in Port Alberni, British
>>Columbia.
>>
>>"Whalers need a global organization in order to feel the strength and
>>encouragement that comes from unity," said Chief Mexsis. This
>>organization should strive to counter "the oppressive misinformation"
>>campaigns waged by Western protectionists to ban consumption of even the
>>most abundant whale stocks.
>>
>>"We must remember, however, that the majority of people are not fools,"
>>he continued, "nor are they full of ill-will toward other people they do
>>not even know. They just need to be better informed about our
>>circumstances, about our responsible attitudes toward nature and natural
>>resources, and our willingness to work with them to exercise appropriate
>>stewardship over those resources."
>>
>>The first General Assembly was attended by participants from the
>>following countries in which cetaceans are currently being utilised or
>>where there is strong interest in resuming traditional uses: Antigua &
>>Barbuda, Canada, Dominica, the Faroe Islands, Greenland, Grenada,
>>Iceland, Indonesia, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, the Philippines, Russia,
>>St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Tonga, and
>>the United States.
>>
>>For further information contact: The World Council of Whalers
>>Secretariat, PO Box 1383, Port Alberni, BC, Canada V9Y 7M2. Tel.:
>>[phone]; Fax: [phone]; e-mail: [e-mail]
>>
>>The World Council of Whalers - First General Assembly - March 2-6, 1998
>>
>>        Resolution
>>
>>WHEREAS, whaling and the sustainable use of whales by peoples around the
>>world contribute significantly to community identity and integrity by
>>satisfying socio-economic, cultural, religious and dietary needs;
>>
>>WHEREAS, high seas whale resources are important natural resources for
>>the benefit of all mankind;
>>
>>WHEREAS, the current majority of members of the International Whaling
>>Commission have failed to meet their legal obligations under the 1946
>>International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling by:
>>       a) maintaining the moratorium on commercial whaling and adopting
>>a sanctuary in the Antarctic Ocean without regard to "scientific
>>findings" as required by the Convention and by
>>
>>      b) ignoring the requirement that regulations on whaling "take
>>account of the interests of the consumers of whale products and the
>>whaling industry"; and
>>
>>that these actions have, caused severe socio-economic and cultural
>>distress to whaling communities.
>>
>>
>>The World Council of Whalers:
>>
>>1. Affirms its conviction that the sustainable use of whales is
>>essential for the food security, culture  and health of peoples, and
>>that commercial activities related to the sustainable use of whales are
>>appropriate and as such, is  acknowledged by the Universal Declaration
>>of Human Rights (Article 25) and the International Covenant of Economic,
>>Social and Cultural Rights (Article 11); and recognized by the Kyoto
>>Declaration of 1995 regarding food security;
>>
>>2. Emphasizes that, in accordance with Article 1 of the International
>>Covenant of Civil and Political Rights and Article 1 of the
>>International Covenant of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, no
>>people may be deprived of its own means of subsistence;
>>
>>3. Underscores the consensus of the international community, as
>>reflected in Agenda 21 and the Convention on Biological Diversity, that
>>indigenous peoples and local communities should continue to be
>>sustainable users and stewards of the living resources upon which they
>>have traditionally depended for their livelihood;
>>
>>4. Concludes that Regional organizations involving resource users are
>>the most appropriate bodies to responsibly manage renewable marine
>>resources and that the use of international institutions or the use or
>>threat of unilateral trade measures to prevent resource users from
>>harvesting whales in a sustainable manner is a violation of universally
>>recognized human rights and fundamental freedoms, as well as a violation
>>of the legal obligations of states under the above noted instruments.
>>
>>
>>NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED:
>>
>>1. That the World Council of Whalers is united in the cause of
>>sustainable use and human rights to natural resource use and committed
>>to continue their cooperation in furthering the objectives of the
>>organization;
>>
>>2. That the World Council of Whalers supports the aspirations of those,
>>particularly, the Nuu- Chah-Nulth First Nations, Iceland and the
>>small-type whaling communities in Japan, wishing to exercise their right
>>to sustainably use whales;
>>
>>3. That the World Council of Whalers recognizes the sovereign
>>prerogatives of nations to utilize resources on a sustainable basis; and
>>
>>4. That the World Council of Whalers encourages its members to ensure
>>that national representation to appropriate international fora includes
>>members of their communities involved in the sustainable use of whales.
>>
>>AND URGES:
>>
>>1. That the World Council of Whalers submit a copy of this Resolution to
>>their respective legislative assembly and appropriate administrator of
>>their government;
>>
>>2. That the World Council of Whalers transmit a copy of this Resolution
>>to each Commissioner of the International Whaling Commission, to the
>>secretariats of the International Whaling Commission, the North Atlantic
>>Marine Mammal Commission, the Convention on International Trade in
>>Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, the Convention on Biological
>>Diversity, the United Nations International Year of the Ocean, the
>>United Nations Decade of Indigenous Peoples of the World, the United
>>Nations Decade of Education in Human Rights and, other appropriate
>>international organizations;
>>
>>3. That the International Whaling Commission recognize and accept its
>>legal obligations under the International Convention for the Regulation
>>of Whaling;
>>
>>4. That the Parties to CITES acknowledge their legal obligations under
>>that Convention; and
>>
>>5. That National Governments be responsive to the petitions from and
>>rights of aboriginal and coastal peoples related to the sustainable use
>>of renewable marine resources.
>>
>
>
>
>

Date: Mon, 09 Mar 1998 07:22:58 -0500
From: allen schubert <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (US) Animal-Control Rules Cause Debate
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

from CNN Custom News (yes...you can set it to search for "animal rights")
http://www.cnn.com
---------------------------------------
Ohio State News
Reuters
09-MAR-98

Animal-Control Rules Cause Debate

(COLUMBUS) -- The Humane Society of the United States is hoping Ohio does
NOT change its rules regulating how animal- control companies can trap
unwanted animals. The Ohio Division of Wildlife is considering changes that
would allow the use of body-gripping traps and leg-hold snares within city
limits. The Humane Society plans to argue against the proposed regulations
at the wildlife council's meeting next week. The society is concerned that
household pets will be caught in the lethal traps along with raccoons and
woodchucks.
Date: Mon, 9 Mar 1998 20:55:17 +0800
From: bunny <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Please help New Zealand's pet rabbits
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

RABBIT INFORMATION SERVICE - Ph/Fax [phone]
INTERNATIONAL PRESS RELEASE - 8th MARCH 1998 - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
********************************************************************

OVER  THE  COUNTER  RCD  VACCINE SALES DEMANDED IN  NZ

New Zealand authorities originally decided against the use of RCD (viral
hemorrhagic disease of rabbits) as a biocontrol of wild European rabbits.
Lawless farmers then imported RCD into New Zealand, deliberately infected
rabbits and spread RCD across the land. The authorities did not prosecute
them. Now NZ authorities have legalised RCD as a biological control agent of
European rabbits in New Zealand.

It is common knowledge that pet rabbits and show rabbits are often owned by
people of middle and lower incomes. Such persons, often struggling to raise
a family, cannot afford a sudden demand for expensive vet fees to vaccinate
rabbits against RCD (a disease they did not want introduced in the first
place).

Many New Zealand families with a pet rabbit or several rabbits in some cases
can't afford to vaccinate against RCD where some vets are asking $30 per
rabbit per vaccination. (In Australia, many vets will vaccinate a rabbit
against RCD for $10 each or less). The New Zealand Government is going to
allow sale of bottles of deadly RCD over the counter.  The New Zealand
Government should also therefore be morally and ethically obligated to sell
RCD vaccine over the counter to allow people to inject their own rabbits or
to have an experienced breeder help them to inject their rabbits for little
or no charge. Thus the only cost to pet owners would be the cost of the
vaccine (approx. $25 for 5 doses).

It was quoted in the "Evening Standard (New Zealand) 7/3/98 that 5 pet
rabbits died horrific deaths of RCD/VHD. Les Maddaford, of Feilding, had the
grisly task of disposing of his children's pet rabbits, which had died from
RCD. Another 15 had to be put down on Wednesday night by Feilding
veterinarian Errol Harvey.
Mr  Maddaford sympathised with farmers battling the rabbit problem, but said
the way the pet rabbits died was dreadful. "I realise farmers are only
trying to protect their income. But some foresight before releasing the
virus wouldn't have hurt". It was decided the $600 cost of vaccinating the
20 rabbits was too high, he said. But in hindsight..."

Mr Harvey said he had vaccinated only three or four rabbits since RCD was
released in Manawatu in January, but had recently seen several people
worried about their sick rabbits. He was "amazed" people continued to take
the risk of not vaccinating their pets.

New Zealand authorities must allow sale of the RCD vaccine over the counter
if they are going to allow sale of the deadly virus over the counter. Not to
do so will be disadvantaging law abiding rabbit owners and giving financial
advantage to the NZ farmers who broke the law and caused epidemics of RCD in
New Zealand.
Demand counter sales of RCD vaccine in New Zealand....................
Fax New Zealand Prime Minister, Jenny Shipley Fax [phone]


=====================================================================
========
                   /`\   /`\    Rabbit Information Service,
Tom, Tom,         (/\ \-/ /\)   P.O.Box 30,
The piper's son,     )6 6(      Riverton,
Saved a pig        >{= Y =}<    Western Australia 6148
And away he run;    /'-^-'\
So none could eat  (_)   (_)    email: [e-mail]
The pig so sweet    |  .  |
Together they ran   |     |}    http://www.wantree.com.au/~rabbit/rabbit.htm
Down the street.    \_/^\_/    (Rabbit Information Service website updated
                                frequently)

Jesus was most likely a vegetarian... why aren't you? Go to
http://www.zworx.com/kin/esseneteachings.htm
for more information.

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

Date: Mon, 09 Mar 1998 11:36:02 -0800
From: Mesia Quartano <[e-mail]>
To: "[e-mail]" <[e-mail]>
Subject: (US) Bull Finds New Home With Vegetarian
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

Bull Finds New Home With Vegetarian
(AP Online; 03/07/98)

GOOD HOPE, Calif. (AP)   In the eyes of the law, Richard is just steak.
To vegetarian Julie Boldizar, he's a new pet with beautiful eyes.

The 900-pound Holstein bull crashed into the Boldizar's 1 1/2-acre rural
yard a week ago, tearing down a fence and taking up residence with the
family's cats, dogs, roosters, chickens, a sheep named Madeline and two
teen-age sons.

Never mind the damage. Boldizar has fallen for the intruder.

"Have you ever looked into the eyes of a cow?" asked Boldizar, whose
home is
accented with cow knickknacks.

"They're just beautiful," she said. "Look at him. How can you eat him?
He gives big old kisses, and he has a big old rough tongue like
sandpaper, and he's wonderful."

Nobody else has claimed the bull, but keeping him may cost the family
money because state law mandates that unclaimed stray cattle be
auctioned off after 15 days. The statute was intended to keep rustlers
from "finding" animals that aren't theirs.

The family may be able to buy Richard at market value, said Myrlys
Williams, a spokeswoman for the state Food and Agriculture Department.

Boldizar has started a "Trust for Richard Bull Fund" at a bank in this
Riverside County town 60 miles southeast of Los Angeles.

"I think God gave him to me because this law is so stupid," Boldizar
said.


Date: Mon, 09 Mar 1998 11:45:24 -0800
From: Mesia Quartano <[e-mail]>
To: "[e-mail]" <[e-mail]>
Subject: (US) Road Kill Is Now Dinner in W.Virginia
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

Road Kill Is Now Dinner in W.Va.
(AP Online; 03/06/98)

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP)   West Virginia motorists who run down the odd
critter can legally take it home for dinner under a law passed by the
Legislature.

The bill, which has made West Virginia the butt of jokes nationally,
would let drivers keep their road kill provided they report it to
conservation or police officers within 12 hours.

The measure became law when Gov. Cecil Underwood declined to veto it by
a
Thursday deadline.

Pro-road kill legislators envision people eating deer hit on the road,
but the bill allows drivers to take home any wildlife, except protected
birds, spotted fawn or bear cubs.

Proponents said if drivers can be encouraged to eat their road kill, the
state could save money it now pays state Division of Highways workers to
remove the dead animals.

Current law allows people to take possession of road kill only after
they've contacted authorities. By then the meat has spoiled, said
supporters.



Date: Mon, 9 Mar 1998 13:51:09 EST
From: JanaWilson <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (US) Univ. of Okla. Green Mouse Prank
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit


A/w local Okla. City monday news:

The dean of the Univ. of Oklahoma Law Center said he has a good
idea who is reponsible for releasing 100 mice and several rats in
the center recently.  Andrew Coats said the law center custodial
workers discovered the mice in classrooms when they arrived at
work on the 25th of Feb.  Several of the mice apppeared to be
dyed green a/w Mr. Coats.
It is no coicidence that last week was Engineer's Week.  Coats
said "Several people were bitten and my administrative assistant
was bitten three or four times."
Custodial workers and law center facility were able to catch all
the mice early in the morning so that classes were not disrupted.
Norman Animal Control employees were contacted and collected
the rodents.
Coats said he has spoken about the incident with the dean of the
OU College of Engineering who was unavailable for comment.  He
said he and the dean were pretty sure they know which students
were involved and he expects them to pay the bill for the mess left
by the rodents.  Last year, a dumptruck load of manure was left
outside the doors of the law center duing Engineer's Week.  An
engineering student eventually agreed to pay for cleaning up the
mess.  Authorities hope the students responsible come forward
because they left a good trail behind them.
A conflict between students at the law center and the engineering
students has been going on for years.  The rivalry goes back
years ago when the two centers were located next door to each
other.
Coats thinks this prank went too far when people (no mention of
animals) are hurt.  "I think it's someone's misguided attempt at humor,"
Coats added.

                                                 For the Animals,

                                                 Jana, OKC


Date: Mon, 9 Mar 1998 14:24:44 EST
From: LexAnima <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail], [e-mail]
Subject: The problem of deer and the bigger problem of the agencies which mismanages them
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit

In a message dated 98-03-06 14:08:53 EST, Anne Woiwode writes:

<<  -- the deer TB problem is almost entirely caused by human actions, while
the bison are  simply moving back into their natural range and being
unwelcomed by the cattle  ranchers who usurped it. >>

In all due modesty, I have a law review article that will be published this
summer on the subject of backyard or urban deer and the resulting problems.  I
couldn't agree more with Ms. Woiwode's opinion that deer problems, including
TB, are caused by human action and human will.

My argument in the Baltimore University Environmental Law Journal, Summer,
1998, is that the current "overpopulation" of these animals is due entirely to
the actions of a greedy agencies which have positioned themselves to respond
to consumptive users.  I encourage all environmentalists and animal rights
activists to demand that state agencies move beyond managing individual macro
species as sport populations and consider instead how detrimental such
management is to bio-diversity.  Let us allow this problem to rest at the door
of the agencies who created it and continue to re-create it each deer season.

Sprawl could be considered a secondary problem after the mismanagement of the
population by the agencies.  Sprawl itself causes deer "overpopulation" not so
much by taking away wild areas but creating deer feed environment through
ornamental plantings.  Suburban environments create a virtual "donut-shop" for
deer.  (Remember, deer populations can be viable (maybe even "overpopulated")
at 8 animals per square miles in wooded areas, whereas the carrying capacity
of deer in the 'burbs is much higher -- say treble that of wooded areas.  The
biology of a wooded area includes parasites such as brain worm left in the
scat of large ungulates.  These parasites do not hinder a caribou but can wipe
out a deer.)  Thus, selective plantings in the 'burbs can greatly affect deer
numbers.  However, it goes beyond my range as an environmentalist/animal
rights activists to understand -- how -- if at all, we can stop human beings
from dumping bushels of corn for deer.

I, under few circumstances if any, would promote programs now being advanced
by certain organizations to apply contraceptives to deer to diminish
population numbers.  Once the humane movement can show us contraceptive
success with any one species, say dogs or cats, perhaps then I could support a
program for wildlife.  Rather than having the green movement or the humane
movement address the deer issues, deer population can be and should be
administered by the dozens of wildlife experts at the agencies as well as the
almost 100 deer control zones found in all the Great Lakes States.  It is a
policy choice by the agencies to answer to consumptive users (hunters are
consumptive users; an example of a nonconsumptive user would be someone who
takes a photo of deer).  When the Wisconsin DNR attempted to have a doe-only
deer kill season, "Toxic" Tommy Thompson vowed to veto any form of such a rule
because it would be bad for tourism!

It should be noted that while the Twin Cities were engaged in urban deer
kills, the Minnesota state legislature spent over a quarter of a million
dollars (in one year alone) FEEDING corn to deer in the north during the
recent bad winters.  The jury is still out whether deer are outdoor pets,
nuisance animals or food.  Only one thing is sure; the agencies are in the
best position to address this problem which they themselves created.

D'Arcy Kemnitz
Date: Mon, 9 Mar 1998 14:24:50 EST
From: LexAnima <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail], [e-mail], [e-mail]
Subject: Congressional Reserch Service is Concerned with Problems in Senate ESA Bill.
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit

CONGRESSIONAL RESEARCH SERVICE VALIDATES CONCERNS WITH
KEMPTHORNE BILL

        ôThe bill [S.1180] lacks the usual checks on agency actions, such as
meaningful public input, non-agency review, peer review, and judicial
review.ö  CRS-12, 13

     The non-partisan research arm of the Library Congress, the Congressional
Research Service (CRS), recently released a 50-page analysis of the two ESA
bills currently pending in Congress.  CRS confirmed what conservationists
and scientists have always said about S.1180 -- that it reduces public
participation, insulates government agencies from scientific and public
review, and opens new loopholes for abuse by industry groups.  According to
the CRS . . .

IMPLEMENTATION AGREEMENTS

ôNo public involvement in the development of federal implementation
agreements would be required.ö  CRS-12

ôThe scope of exceptions provided . . .and the scope of remaining judicial
review is not clear, and these issues go to the basic duties of federal
agencies to ensure the survival and recovery of listed species.ö  CRS-12

ôIf private parties participate in mandatory federal agency agreements, it
appears that the actions of private parties could also be excused from the
consultation process, and not be subject to public input or judicial
review.ö  CRS-12

ôOnly agency scientists would review agency actions or non-federal actions
included in such an agreement.  Federal agency efforts to recover species
would be almost completely up to the individual agency, checked only by the
requirement that the Secretary must initially agree to the implementation
plan.ö  CRS-12

ôThe bill lacks the usual checks on agency actions, such as meaningful
public input, non-agency review, peer review, and judicial review.ö  CRS-12,13

ôThe adequacy (or inadequacy) of an agencyÆs decisions may not become clear
until species in question have declined further.ö  CRS-13

CONSULTATION

ôIt appears that the proposed changes to the current º7 consultation process
would eliminate some, and possibly many, current consultations.ö  CRS-35

ôIf any agency chooses not to notify the Secretary that an action æmay
affectÆ species, there is not stated recourse for the Secretary to
intervene, and the agency decision may not be reviewable under a citizen
suit provision.ö  CRS-35

HABITAT CONSERVATION PLANS

ôActions allowed under a before-listing agreement that were premised on
other actions hypothetically being taken that might not materialize, would
apparently continue to be allowed once the species is listed.  Continuation
of such actions might become harmful once a species had dropped to the point
of needing the protection of the ESA.ö  CRS-21

ôIt is possible, for example, that water received under contract from the
Bureau of Reclamation facilities, which apparently currently can be reduced
in times of drought or for ESA-compliance purposes and other reasons under a
standard term in such contracts, might not be able to be so reduced.ö  CRS-23

ôIt is not clear exactly how the agreements are to anticipate the
unforeseen.ö CRS-23

ôIt is not clear how much agencies could do to carry out the new
responsibilities, given the chronic inability of personnel to complete
current responsibilities.ö  CRS-24

ô. . . if the federal government cannot accomplish additional protective
measures on private lands, even at its own expense, would the federal
government be obligated to rely on federal lands more heavily to provide
additional conservation measures in case of unplanned impacts and natural
disasters?ö  CRS-24

LISTING PETITIONS

ôFor petitions to list a species for the first time, the gathering of this
information may prove a formidable obstacle.ö  CRS-6

RECOVERY PLANS

ô. . . broader exceptions than are available under current law would be
allowed.ö CRS-8

ô. . . a recovery plan would not be required in every instance.ö CRS-8

ô. . . the balance of representation on a recovery team is left to the
discretion of the Secretary.ö CRS-9

ô[The hearing requirement] . . . could be costly and time-consuming.ö CRS-10

ôFor a species that occurs on federal lands, 6 1/2 years could elapse
between the time a species is listed and the time protective measures were
in place under relevant federal management plans.  Listing itself and
possible litigation would add additional time.ö  CRS-14

CRITICAL HABITAT

ôThe bill would . . . eliminate the current requirement that the Secretary
designate critical habitat concurrently with the listing of a species.ö
CRS-19

ôThere is no requirement for the Secretary to act on recovery plan
recommendations, or to include special management considerations and
protections in a final designation of critical habitat.ö  CRS-19

ENFORCEMENT

ôIf only the federal government can enforce the agreements and if the
agreements become numerous, arguably enforcement may become difficult.ö
CRS-42

ôOn private lands, there may also be problems of proof in demonstrating
violation of agreements.ö  CRS-42


For more information contact Heather Weiner, Earthjustice Legal Defense
Fund, 202/667-4500
Date: Mon, 9 Mar 98 15:29:30 UTC
From: [e-mail]
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Jim Mason Speaking in Tulsa, OK (USA)
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>

Jim Mason, author of "Animal Factories" and "An Unnatural Order: Why We
Are Destroying the Planet and Each Other," will be presenting a free
lecture at 7:00pm, March 17, 1998, at the Tulsa City-County Library,
downtown location, in the Aaronson Auditorium.

For more information, contact Paula Silver at [e-mail]

This speech is sponsored by Northeastern Oklahoma Animal Helpers (NOAH).

-- Sherrill
Date: Mon, 09 Mar 1998 17:08:58 -0800
From: Hillary <[e-mail]>
To: "[e-mail]" <[e-mail]>
Subject: (US)EPA's new plan to control hog stench
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"


EPA Plans New Controls on Farms

.c The Associated Press

 By H. JOSEF HEBERT

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Environmental Protection Agency said today it will
place new controls on thousands of large livestock and poultry farms to
reduce the flow of animal and chicken wastes into the nation's waterways.

Some farmers claimed the restrictions would lead to higher food prices,
while environmentalists argued the crackdown was long overdue and only a
first step to stem growing pollution from agricultural runoff.

The EPA initiative is the first installment of a broader plan to protect
the nation's waterways. President Clinton last month singled out the need
to protect lakes and streams from urban and agricultural pollution as one
of his top environmental priorities.

EPA Administrator Carol Browner said urban and agricultural runoff accounts
for half of the pollution in the nation's lakes and rivers and waste ``from
animal feeding operations in particular has been associated with threats to
human health and the environment.''

The plan, once it is formally adopted, would reflect a significant
broadening of the federal government's oversight of an estimated 6,000
commercial livestock and poultry farms across the country.

The agency said the largest of these facilities would have to fully comply
with new pollution controls by 2002 and the rest by 2005. Currently only
about a fourth of the animal feedlots are regulated by states, according to
the EPA.

The EPA strategy called for regulating large poultry and other livestock
farms, or feedlots, to curb pollution into nearby waterways much as
factories currently are regulated under the Clean Water Act. The controls
would not apply to cattle ranches, but only to feedlots where the livestock
are fattened before slaughter.

Beef or dairy cattle, hog and poultry farms would be subject to regular
inspections, require pollution permits and be required to develop plans
limiting release of chemicals, manure and other wastes into waterways, the
agency said.

Such pollution has been blamed for excessive nutrients and toxic chemicals
getting into lakes and streams, leading to a growing number of fish kills
in waterways in many parts of the country.

Wastes from poultry farms on Maryland's Eastern Shore was blamed last
summer for an outbreak of the microbe pfiesteria that killed thousands of
fish and forced state officials to close infected rivers along the
Chesapeake Bay to fishing.

The flow of large amounts of nutrients from livestock into rivers and
streams also has caused oxygen-choking algae blooms in waterways, creating
in some cases ``dead zones'' where fish and other aquatic life no longer
can survive.

The EPA proposal would require permits for farms with more than 1,000
cattle, 2,500 swine or 100,000 laying hens. Permits also could be required
for smaller farms that were found to pose an environmental hazard to
specific environmentally sensitive waterways, the sources said.

Currently cattle feedlots, large commercial hog farms and poultry farms are
regulated by the state with pollution standards and permits varying from
one region to another.

The new EPA initiative had been expected within the agriculture industry.
Some livestock groups have been critical of increased federal controls,
arguing they would put U.S. farmers at a disadvantage against farms in
Mexico and other countries, and lead to higher consumer prices for chicken,
beef, pork and dairy products.

Still other farmers, however, have said federal standards may be an
improvement over what some consider a hodgepodge of state regulations, with
farmers in some states required to meet more stringent pollution controls
than competitors in a neighboring state.

AP-NY-03-05-98 1036EST

Date: Mon, 09 Mar 1998 17:09:37 -0800
From: Hillary <[e-mail]>
To: "[e-mail]" <[e-mail]>
Subject: (US) Pfizer to build Research lab in CT
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Pfizer to Join With UConn on Research Lab




  HARTFORD, Conn. -- As part of an effort to increase collaboration between
university researchers and its company scientists, Pfizer Inc. announced on
Thursday that it would build a $19-million research laboratory on the
campus of the University of Connecticut, in Storrs.

  Officials at the university and the pharmaceuticals company said they
hoped the deal would allow Pfizer to progress more quickly in developing
new animal vaccines, while enabling the university to attract faculty and
students.

  "Pfizer scientists and UConn scientists will rub shoulders in the same
facility and share the kinds of insights that are so important in making
discoveries and advances," said George Milne Jr., president of Pfizer
Central Research.

  The 60,000-square-foot building would be owned by Pfizer and leased back
to the university, which would use 20 percent of the space for its own
purposes. According to the agreement, the university would lease the land
to Pfizer for 35 years. Pfizer, which is running out of space in its
offices in Groton, would use its 80 percent of the building for office
space and animal health research.

  Pfizer would pay UConn about $1 million annually to manage the
laboratory, although that is still being worked out, said Robert V. Smith,
dean of the graduate school at UConn and vice provost for research and
graduate education.

  While such collaboration is uncommon, universities have been working with
private companies more frequently since the 1980s as less money was
available for research. Washington University in St. Louis has worked with
the Monsanto Co., for example.

  University of Connecticut officials said they hoped the Pfizer center
would help the school win other research grants and place students in jobs
at companies like Pfizer.

  The center would employ about 24 scientists and support staff, and UConn
said it was looking into hiring more faculty in related areas like
molecular biology.

  UConn's trustees will vote on the project in April, and UConn officials
said they expected it to be approved. The laboratory, which is being called
the Center for Excellence in Animal Vaccine Research, is projected to open
in two years.



Date: Mon, 09 Mar 1998 17:17:08 -0800
From: Hillary <[e-mail]>
To: "[e-mail]" <[e-mail]>
Subject: Steve Hindi getting out
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

ANIMAL-RIGHTS ACTIVIST SET FOR RELEASE ON BOND


   An animal-rights activist held since Feb. 3 in McHenry County Jail on
charges related to his efforts to scare away bird hunters' prey has won a
reprieve.
   The Illinois Supreme Court issued an order Thursday requiring that bond
be set for Steve Hindi, 43, of Plano so that he can be released while his
case is being appealed.
   With previous jail time in late 1996, he has served nearly 2 months of a
6-month sentence for indirect criminal contempt of court.
   The founder of the Chicago Animal Rights Coalition could be released as
soon as Friday morning, after posting bail of $500, said his attorney,
Judith Halprin of Highland Park.
   "Obviously, we're very pleased with (the order)," Halprin said. "I'm
hopeful because you have a good likelihood of success (on appeal) when they
grant bond."
   Hindi was arrested Oct. 12, 1996, after he buzzed his motorized 40-foot
parasail over a flock of Canada geese during an outing at the
since-shuttered Woodstock Hunt Club.
   He was charged with violating a temporary restraining order designed to
keep protesters away from the 500-acre club, which was stocked with
farm-raised birds.
   Five charges, including one of misdemeanor animal and hunter harassment,
are still pending against Hindi. Halprin said she expects the state Supreme
Court will soon weigh in on the constitutionality of that statute.
   Matthew Litvak, an attorney for the hunt club who opposed Hindi's
release, was unavailable for comment.


Copyright Chicago Tribune


Date: Mon, 09 Mar 1998 17:20:22 -0800
From: Hillary <[e-mail]>
To: "[e-mail]" <[e-mail]>
Subject: Another Pie Story..sorry
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

I know alot of you are tired of hearing about this, but i ran across it on
the net, and decided to post it...

Date: Wednesday, February 25, 1998
Source: By Mark Caro, Tribune Staff Writer.   CHICAGO TRIBUNE
Section: TEMPO
Parts: 1

HARANGUE WITH MERINGUE
THIS MEANS OF PROTEST IS REALLY IN YOUR FACE

   If this really is the dawning of a new era of pie-heaving social
protest, then the nation's chief corporate executive officers could be in
for the ultimate Bozo nightmare.
   Microsoft chief Bill Gates not too long ago was nailed in the kisser by
one of a group of 30 pie-wielding fiends while entering a government
building in Brussels. Noel Godin, the 52-year-old Belgian pie-thrower and
author ("Cream and Punishment') who spearheaded the pie toss, claims to
have a list of targets.
   A week after the Gates glopping, it was Procter & Gamble Co. Chairman
John Pepper's turn. While accepting a public service award from Ohio's
governor in Columbus, he got a face full of tofu cream pie courtesy of a
hitwoman from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.
   "I'm sure there are CEOs around the country concerned about whether
they're going to have a pie thrown at them," Tracy Reiman, manager of
PETA's campaigns department, crowed last week.
   Godin, in an interview with Time Inc.'s on-line Netly News column, was
translated as saying: "I'm part of a gang of bad hellions that have
declared pie war on all the unpleasant celebrities in every kind of domain."
   Godin's proclaimed hit list includes Bill Clinton, British Prime
Minister Tony Blair, Demi Moore, Scientology members Tom Cruise and John
Travolta, Billy Graham and the pope (targeted for his opposition to birth
control).
   Though the context is different, the purpose of these pies doesn't vary
much from the first ones splatted into people's faces. Movie director Mack
Sennett of the Keystone production company generally gets the credit for
originating -- or at least popularizing -- the messy gag in his slapstick
silent films, including the Keystone Kops reels from around 1914.
   "It was always considered the ultimate puncturing of dignity," said film
historian and critic Leonard Maltin. "For years it just stood for sticking
a pin in the balloon of pomposity. That's how everyone used it -- the Three
Stooges, everyone."
   Soon after Sennett's introduction of the pie-in-the-face gag, it became
as much of a comedy staple as a kick in the pants, a dousing from a seltzer
bottle and a shove into a pool.
   Pie also had the advantage over other tossed foods in that it leaves an
especially prominent residue while seeming a rather gentle form of violence.
   "You'd throw tomatoes at bad actors and performers, and it was much more
intentionally vicious," noted Jack Nachbar, professor emeritus of popular
culture at Bowling Green State University. "A pie might be more of a
corrective: `Get off your high horse.' You don't hurt anybody when you plop
a pie in their face."
   Movie pie-throwing peaked with Laurel and Hardy's 1927 short "The Battle
of the Century," which employed about 4,000 pastries in the largest such
fight ever. Blake Edwards' 1965 comedy "The Great Race" also included an
epic cream-ation.
   But when is the last time you actually laughed at a pie in the face? The
stunt has gotten old, which might explain why it has become rare in
adult-oriented entertainment. Yet protesters have appropriated this movie
gag as a real-life weapon.
   Yippies engaged in some creamy mischief in the late '60s and early '70s,
and, a gay man smashed a pie into Anita Bryant's face in 1977 after the
entertainer led a campaign to repeal a homosexual equal-rights ordinance in
Florida.
   Reiman said pie-throwing is part of PETA's overall strategy. "Because we
don't have the billion-dollar budget that Procter & Gamble has or the fur
industry has, we have to come up with more creative ways to get people's
attention," she said.
   PETA has twice pied designer Oscar de la Renta, who uses fur, as well as
Ronald McDonald, chicken magnate Frank Perdue and singer Kenny Rogers,
whose fast food chain, Kenny Rogers' Roasters, has drawn PETA's ire for its
treatment of chickens.
   "I was with someone dressed as a chicken, and we actually ran backstage
and up on stage (at a Rogers concert) and threw the pie at him while he was
performing," Reiman recounted. "Then we were pummeled by his bodyguards."
   She called hitting someone with a pie "a silly little way to draw
attention to a very serious issue. It may embarrass him, but he ruins the
lives of animals, and we really want them to stop and think about it.
Throwing a pie will make them do that."
   Reiman, however, couldn't point to any tangible results from its pie
actions. For example, she said Kenny Rogers' Roasters hasn't changed its
treatment of chickens.
   Procter & Gamble spokeswoman Mindy Patton also gave no indication that
Pepper is suddenly rethinking his company's approach to animal testing.
"Procter & Gamble is clearly a leader in developing alternatives to animal
testing, and we're not going to be deterred from doing so because of a
pie," she said, turning the tables. "It's tough for us to understand why
PETA won't join us in this search."
   As for the animal-rights group's tactics, Patton said, "I think having
dialogue on how we can work together in developing alternatives to animal
testing is a constructive way, and that's where we're focusing our
energies. I think a pie is rather juvenile."
   Still, Pepper is not pressing charges against his PETA assailant, a
Portland woman identified as Alison Green. Part of the beauty of such an
attack is that the victim can't appear to be too mad about it without
looking like a spoilsport -- even if the breach of security can be rather
creepy.
   Gates was surrounded by five armed bodyguards when 30 pranksters
descended upon him, yet Microsoft spokeswoman Erin Brewer made a point of
noting that Gates "handled it with a great deal of humor." He also is not
pressing charges.
   As for any lesson Gates may have learned, Brewer said, "I think the
message we take away is that obviously Bill is a well-known public figure,
and he draws attention. I don't know that we walk away with a strong idea
of what Godin was trying to achieve."
   Godin told Netly News that Gates earned his pie "because in a way he is
a master of the world. . . . He could have been a Utopist, but he prefers
being the lackey of the establishment."
   The pieman added that a Microsoft employee helped coordinate the attack
because he felt Gates had been "tainted" by his power, so "it wouldn't be
bad to teach Bill a lesson, to bring him back to reality."
   Godin's first pie attack was in 1969 against "empty" French writer
Marguerite Duras. Other targets have included prominent French figures such
as movie director Jean-Luc Godard and celebrity intellectual Bernard-Henri
Levy, who has incurred Godin's creamy wrath five times.
   Godin, incidentally, said the pies thrown at Gates came from a Brussels
bakery. All of PETA's pies have been made of tofu.
   "We're all vegetarians, and we don't use any animal products in our
food," Reiman said, "and therefore we're going to throw ethical pies as well."

Date: Tue, 10 Mar 1998 11:19:35 -0800
From: [e-mail]
To: [e-mail]
Cc: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: Jim Mason Speaking in Tulsa, OK (USA)
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

If anyone attends this lecture, could they post the highlights or send
me a hard copy of the notes (if that's not too much to ask) - cant quite
make it there from Australia!

Pamela Sutton
Wild Tiger Fund Australia
P O Box 2254, Prahran
Victoria 3181 AUSTRALIA

EMAIL: [e-mail]

[e-mail] wrote:

> Jim Mason, author of "Animal Factories" and "An Unnatural Order: Why
> We
> Are Destroying the Planet and Each Other," will be presenting a free
> lecture at 7:00pm, March 17, 1998, at the Tulsa City-County Library,
> downtown location, in the Aaronson Auditorium.
>
> For more information, contact Paula Silver at [e-mail]
>
> This speech is sponsored by Northeastern Oklahoma Animal Helpers
> (NOAH).
>
> -- Sherrill



Date: Mon, 9 Mar 1998 19:09:37 -0600
From: [e-mail] (Victoria Mireles)
To: [e-mail]
Subject: UTNE Reader
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; CHARSET=US-ASCII
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT
MIME-Version: 1.0 (WebTV)

Hello listers:

I just saw the April 1998 edition of the UTNE Reader, and this month's
main focus is "What Animals Could Tell Us If Only We'd Listen.  Some
articles are The Secret Language of the Wild'; My Life with Wolf; Where
do You Draw the Line.

Parts of these articles can be read online at http://www.utne.com

Victoria

Humans argue, Nature acts.

Voltaire

Date: Mon, 09 Mar 1998 20:08:48 -0500
From: allen schubert <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (US) Rogue Parrots Escape Florida Cages
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

from Associated Press http://wire.ap.org
--------------------------------------------
MARCH 09, 19:11 EST

Rogue Parrots Escape Florida Cages

By JOHN PACENTI
Associated Press Writer

MIAMI (AP) -- Pepi the parrot shared many happy days with her owner Jean
Quincy, but there were those times when the call of the wild was
overwhelming, when Pepi would squawk, ``I want out!''

She got her wish after seven years in a cage.

``The wild parrots would come in the yard and visit her through the porch
screen,'' Quincy said. ``Then one day I got a phone call and went in and
she had chewed through the screen.''

Florida has no native parrots or parakeets, but plenty of wild ones. They
are escapees and their descendants, and are known to lure other caged
birds out of their homes to join the flock.

State wildlife officials say these rogues pose a danger to agriculture and
native birds. But others see them as one of the delights of living in
Florida.

``I really enjoy seeing the parrots because they are very beautiful,''
said South Florida bird lover Susan Sigsbee. ``They can be extremely
noisy,'' she admitted, but added: ``I really don't see them infringing on
anything.''

The yellow-headed Amazon, the scarlet macaw and the budgie parakeet can be
pests, noisily invading back yards in their hunt for mangos, avocados,
figs and fruits. In addition to ravaging fruit trees, the birds take up
nesting space and uproot woodpeckers and other native species.

``They amount to a form of pollution,'' said Henry Cabbage, spokesman for
the Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission. ``There are some pretty
ferocious parrots out there, preying on all kinds of other birds. They are
very territorial.''

The macaws of Central and South America, the largest of the world's 315
parrot species, can be found nesting in royal palm trees in Coconut Grove,
a Miami neighborhood. With 4-foot wingspans, they stand 2 1/2 feet from
crown to the tip of their long, pointed tails and have brightly colored
feathers of scarlet red, orange, yellow, deep blue and green.

``It is the most amazing thing to see these blue-and-yellow macaws,'' said
Dennis Olle, chairman of the Tropical Audubon Society. ``Here you are
stalled in traffic and these birds are flying overhead.''

Around Miami, more than 16 species were detected in a 15-mile diameter
during a bird count in December. In Broward County, north of Miami, a
flock of 40 red-crowned Amazons are known to talk to caged birds through
windows and porch screens.

The St. Petersburg area has the nation's only wild flock of budgerigars,
the cute Australian square-headed birds that stand about 4 inches high and
are popular as pets.

The monks or Quakers, yellow-and-green parrots from Argentina, hang out at
the Miami Dolphins' training site in Davie and are often seen grooming
each other at dusk.

``They get on electrical poles and short-out neighborhoods, and then the
electric companies have to take the nest down and local residents get
irate because `you're messing with our parrots,''' said state wildlife
inspector Kyle Hill.

And when state officials wanted to count the budgies in St. Petersburg,
the city commission passed an ordinance prohibiting harassment of the
birds.

Pepi didn't forget life at the Quincy home. A few times, she flew back and
perched in the big banyan tree.

``She used to say, `I'm a good girl,''' Ms. Quincy said.
Date: Mon, 09 Mar 1998 20:15:04 -0500
From: allen schubert <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (US) Judge Permits Dog's DNA as Evidence
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

from Associated Press http://wire.ap.org
--------------------------------------------
MARCH 09, 17:59 EST

Judge Permits Dog's DNA as Evidence

SEATTLE (AP) -- In what may be a legal first, a judge has ruled
prosecutors can use DNA evidence from a dog in a murder trial.

Prosecutors say blood spatters from the pit bull are needed to place the
two defendants at the scene where the dog and its two owners were killed.
The defendants allegedly had the dog's blood on their jackets.

The trial is set for June 16.

Joy Halverson, senior scientist at PE AgGen, a California company that
tested the bloodstains, said that cat DNA was used in a criminal case in
Canada but that this may be the first time DNA from a dog has been used in
the United States.

Superior Court Judge Richard Jones issued the ruling earlier this year.

The dog, a pit bull mix named Chief, was shot to death at a home in
Seattle in 1996 along with Jay Johnson, 22, and Raquel Rivera, 20.

Prosecutors said the defendants, George Tuilefano and Kenneth Leuluaialii,
kicked down the door of the house after Johnson refused to sell them
marijuana, then opened fire, shooting the dog first.

PE AgGen matched bloodstains on the two jackets with blood from the pit
bull, prosecutor Timothy Bradshaw said. The test showed there was only one
chance in 350 million that the blood was not the dog's, Bradshaw said.

The prosecutor said the dog DNA is ``the most objective evidence that the
defendants were present while the crime was committed.''

Pete Connick, Tuilefano's lawyer, argued against admitting the dog blood
analysis as evidence, saying his client wasn't wearing a jacket.

Leuluaialii, 22, and Tuilefano, 24, are charged with murder and animal
cruelty. Leuluaialii could get life in prison without parole; Tuilefano
could get least 40 years.

In the past four years, PE AgGen has done DNA tests on more than 3,000
dogs, Bradshaw said.
Date: Mon, 09 Mar 1998 19:11:28 -0600
From: Steve Barney <[e-mail]>
To: AR-News <[e-mail]>
Subject: [US-WI] [Fwd: UW-Madison News Release--Vilas monkeys]
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
MIME-version: 1.0
Content-type: multipart/mixed; boundary="------------FF05BCAA03DFB3FC7D98D7F7"

[Belated, but very important news - I thought I'd posted this before.
Sorry, I guess I had a bad day the day we lost 100 monkeys.]

More info about the UW-Madison monkey scandal is available at:

     http://www.uwosh.edu/organizations/alag/Issues.htmlReturn-path:
<[e-mail]>
Received: from mail1.doit.wisc.edu by VAXA.CIS.UWOSH.EDU (PMDF V5.1-7 #17145)
 with ESMTP id <[e-mail]> for AnimalLib; Wed,
 4 Mar 1998 13:17:52 CST
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 ; Wed, 04 Mar 1998 13:03:18 -0600
Date: Wed, 04 Mar 1998 13:03:01 -0600
From: Nick Weaver <[e-mail]>
Subject: UW-Madison News Release--Vilas monkeys
To: [e-mail]
Message-id: <v04003a00b12355881066@[144.92.15.216]>
MIME-version: 1.0
Content-type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE              3/4/98
CONTACT: Charles Hoslet, [phone]; Virginia Hinshaw, [phone]

(Editor's note: Charles Hoslet and Virginia Hinshaw will be available to
the media between 2 and 3:30 p.m. today. Please call Amy Toburen at (608)
262-0925 or Brian Mattmiller at [phone] to schedule a time.)

PROPOSAL FOR SANCTUARY NOT VIABLE; TULANE PLANS CONTINUE

MADISON - A reported offer Wednesday morning that an animal sanctuary would
accept University of Wisconsin-Madison monkey colonies for $15,000 turned
out to only be a down payment to begin relocation; a complete transfer
would carry a much larger price tag and remained an uncertain alternative
for the animals.

University officials had previously explored sanctuary options, including
the one named in the proposal today, and received cost estimates ranging
from $100,000-$150,000  for the rhesus colonies from Dr. Thomas Butler, a
veterinarian who consults with animal protection groups.

With conflicting information on the Texas sanctuary and an opportunity to
complete the transfer to Tulane, UW-Madison officials could not give the
Alliance for Animals' proposal any further consideration. The university is
currently moving the rhesus monkeys from the Henry Vilas Zoo to the Tulane
Regional Primate Research Center, in Covington, La., a program of Tulane
University.

Ultimately finding the best long-term care for the rhesus has been and
remained the university's top priority, said Virginia Hinshaw, dean of the
Graduate School.

"Our professional judgment, after reviewing all of the options is that the
Tulane
facility is the best possible option for a colony of monkeys this large,"
 Hinshaw said."There are not many facilities that can accept this size
colony and keep the monkeys together," Hinshaw said. "This transfer to
another federally funded primate facility was the appropriate choice."

"We continue to explore options for the best placement of the stumptail
colony," Hinshaw said, and those monkeys will remain at the zoo in the
interim. UW-Madison will continue to negotiate with conservation groups in
Thailand to transfer the stumptailed monkeys, a threatened species, to a
proposed refuge there. The groups in Thailand expressed interest in the
colony in December.

The staff of the UW-Madison chancellor's office met Wednesday morning with
Karen West, a member of the Henry Vilas Zoo Commission, and Regina Rhyne, a
Dane County supervisor. Later in the morning, they received more
information from Alliance for Animals President Tina Kaske.

An Alliance for Animals press release early Wednesday morning stated the
Wild Animal Orphanage of San Antonio, Texas, is willing to take all of the
UW-Madison monkeys from the Henry Vilas Zoo for $15,000. The sanctuary
reportedly also would have released the university and county from any
liability for the colony after the transfer.

John Dowling, an attorney with the university, talked with Carol Asvestas,
vice president of the Wild Animal Orphanage, to verify the information that
was proposed to the university by the alliance and was informed that the
$15,000 was merely a down payment, with the cost for the rhesus and
stumptail colonies with an estimate of at least $90,000.

The university and Dane County officials failed to reach agreement late
Tuesday on the future of the Vilas colony, which prompted UW-Madison to
move ahead with plans today to transfer the rhesus monkeys to Tulane. But
the proposal early Wednesday morning from the Alliance for Animals needed a
serious review before the Tulane plans went forward, said Charles Hoslet,
special assistant to the chancellor for state relations.

Joseph Kemnitz, interim director of the Wisconsin Regional Primate Research
Center, said the director of the Tulane facility intends to use the rhesus
monkeys in an outdoor breeding colony. Should any of the monkeys become
unsuitable for breeding, they may be assigned to research projects with the
oversight of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Kemnitz said.

The Wisconsin and Tulane Centers are among seven supported by NIH to
conduct strictly regulated, humane research involving animals to make
progress on a number of human health issues. Studies are investigating
cancer, AIDS, infectious disease and other significant human health threats.

In November, NIH decided to end a long tradition of funding the UW-Madison
center's facility at the Henry Vilas Zoo, which was established in 1963.
The facility costs more than $100,000 a year to maintain and provide proper
care for the roughly 150 monkeys housed there.

Noting that its primary goal is to solve human health problems, NIH decided
to end support for the zoo facility because the animals were no longer
being used in research programs.
###



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University of Wisconsin-Madison
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Date: Mon, 09 Mar 1998 20:39:10 -0500
From: allen schubert <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (US) Hog Intestines Used To Rebuild Knees
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

from Associated Press http://wire.ap.org
--------------------------------------------
MARCH 08, 12:02 EST

Hog Intestines Used To Rebuild Knees

By RICK CALLAHAN
Associated Press Writer

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) -- When surgeons repaired James McDonald's
wobbly right knee recently, the 38-year-old ranch caretaker got a dose of
high-tech chitlins.

Doctors replaced his weakened knee's anterior cruciate ligament, or ACL,
the web of fibrous tissue that binds the knee together, with refined hog
intestines.

The Carbondale, Colo., man is the first person to receive an implant of
small-intestinal submucosa, or SIS, a paper-thin material derived from
hogs' small intestines that has shown promise in regenerating damaged
tissues.

Developed by Purdue University researchers, SIS has attracted widespread
attention in the medical community, where it could have applications from
repairing tendons and ligaments to replacing human arteries, the esophagus
and even intestines.

In animal tests, SIS has shown an ability to spark a wound-healing
response that stimulates the growth of new blood vessels. It serves as a
``scaffold'' around which the body heals, eventually replacing the
material with new tissue.

``It's exciting because it seems to have the capacity to stimulate the
body's healing response and to modify itself to whatever environment it's
being used in,'' said Dr. Robert Hunter, who performed the Jan. 22 surgery
on McDonald's knee at Aspen Valley Hospital in Aspen, Colo.

Hunter, an associate professor in the department of orthopedics at the
University of Colorado, removed the shriveled ACL from McDonald's knee and
attached the hog-based replacement using titanium screws.

McDonald has fared well since, undergoing a common post-operative
procedure to drain fluid from his knee, which had been wobbly since a
childhood injury.

McDonald, who oversees a 600-acre ranch in the shadow of the Rockies near
Carbondale, Colo., was able to turn in his crutches three weeks after the
surgery. He works out daily for 10-minute periods on a stair climber and
treadmill as part of a six-month rehabilitation regimen.

It will be at least that long before doctors know how well SIS works in
McDonald and the 11 other patients scheduled to receive knee implants in
clinical trials approved by the Food and Drug Administration. If the
surgeries being performed at the Aspen hospital and Valley Presbyterian
Hospital in Van Nuys, Calif., show SIS to be safe, more extensive trials
will follow.

Dr. Stephen F. Badylak and his colleagues at Purdue first stumbled across
SIS's healing potential in 1987, when they were testing it as a vascular
graft in dogs.

Badylak, director of research for Purdue's Hillenbrand Biomedical
Engineering Center, attributes SIS's healing qualities to the fact that
mammals' intestines have evolved to heal quickly.

``Our intestines get injured every day, every time we go to a fast food
place and get a virus or whatever. The body has to heal now and quickly,''
said Badylak, also the chief physician for Purdue's athletes.

``I think it tells us we're an awful lot more like pigs than we'd like to
admit,'' he said.

Although SIS is taken from hog intestines, it contains no individual hog
cells, all but eliminating the threat that human patients could be
infected with hog-borne diseases, he said.

After it is taken from the middle layer of hog intestines, SIS undergoes
extensive sterilization and processing. The final product is a complex
matrix of collagen that's easily malleable.

``You can dry it, you can powder it, inject it, you can take a sheet and
make it into strips and then braid it and add tensile strength to it. You
can make it into a tube. There just seems to be almost no end to what we
might use it for,'' Badylak said.

Mindful of that, Purdue's Office of Technology Transfer has licensed the
rights to SIS to three companies.

DePuy Orthopaedics Inc. has the rights to use SIS for a variety of
orthopedic uses. The Warsaw, Ind., company made the SIS sewn into
McDonald's knee.

Cook Biotech Inc., a division of Cook Group of Bloomington, Ind., has
optioned all of SIS' other possible applications in humans -- except for
hernia repair, a facet being developed by Sentron Medical Ventures Inc. of
Cincinnati.

Dr. Richard Tarr, DePuy's senior vice president for research and
development, said the company has spent nearly six years and millions of
dollars developing SIS for orthopedic applications.

If SIS works in clinical trials, it would be a welcome new option for
doctors who perform surgery on an estimated 50,000 patients each year to
repair anterior cruciate ligaments.

During the 1980s, doctors tested a number of synthetic materials to
replace the ligament -- carbon fibers and Gortex, among them -- only to
discover that while they worked, they tended to break or fray, creating
the need for additional surgery.

Since then, orthopedic surgeons have returned almost exclusively to the
practice of ``harvesting'' material from the patient to reconstruct the
damaged ligament. But that material isn't always ideally suited for its
new purpose. It also creates a second wound that must heal.

Dr. Michael Ehrlich, chairman of the American Academy of Orthopaedics'
research committee, has tested SIS in the joints of rabbits at his lab at
Rhode Island Hospital in Providence, R.I.

While the results have been promising, Ehrlich said he is concerned that
the public's demand to get the fruits of research more quickly into
clinical settings may have prompted the FDA to act hastily in approving
the clinical trials.

``I wouldn't want it put in my knee,'' said Ehrlich, chairman of the
department of orthopedics and rehabilitation at Brown University's School
of Medicine.

McDonald, who aggravated his childhood injury when he stepped into a
badger hole while working on the Colorado ranch, is hopeful the hog-based
remedy will work.

``If you can imagine walking down the street and having a wobbly knee all
the time. That's what it (was) like,'' he said.

``But if this graft takes, it'll be a new me,'' he said.
Date: Mon, 09 Mar 1998 18:19:37
From: David J Knowles <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: [UK] Blair agrees to extend deadline for BSE inquiry
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit

>From The Electronic Telegraph - Tuesday, March 10th, 1998

Blair agrees to extend deadline for BSE inquiry
By David Brown, Agriculture Editor

THE inquiry into bovine spongiform encephalopathy and its equivalent fatal
human brain disease was extended by six months yesterday on the orders of
the Prime Minister.

Sir Nicholas Phillips, the Appeal Court judge heading the investigation
into BSE, announced on the first day of the public inquiry in London that
he would not be able to complete his report to ministers by the original
deadline of December 31.

The inquiry aims to determine the origins of the disease, and whether
enough was done to protect the public. BSE has killed  more than 170,000
cattle in Britain since it was first recognised by government pathologists
in 1986. It has also been linked with the deaths of 23 people from a new
form of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. News of this link, announced by the
previous government on March 20, 1996, provoked the beef crisis and the
European Union's ban on exports of beef from Britain.

Sir Nicholas said: "This is a very important inquiry which will be
investigating BSE and CJD - two diseases which have had tragic
consequences. Having analysed the work to be done, I have concluded that
the inquiry cannot be completed by the end of the year. I am not prepared
to contemplate a superficial report which would disappoint the many people
who rightly expect this inquiry to be a thorough one. I have therefore
asked the Prime Minister to
give us an extra six months to achieve the task."

The Government announced the BSE inquiry last December and initial
estimates have put its cost at ú2 million. Sir Nicholas said yesterday: "It
is only in the last month that I have come to
appreciate the true scale of our task."

A spokesman for Tony Blair said the Government had no difficulty in
allowing a six-month extension to the inquiry which is seeking evidence
from 150 former ministers, 300 civil servants and more than 100 scientists.
Jack Cunningham, the Agriculture Minister, announced the extension in a
written Parliamentary answer.

Sir Nicholas said the inquiry was dealing with complex issues and
conflicting scientific opinions. A number of theories about the cause of
BSE called for scrutiny of scientific evidence and epidemiological studies.
One theory was that it was caused by meat and bone meal, a rendered
by-product of cattle and sheep used in cattle food rations. Others said it
was caused by toxins in the farming industry. All called for an historical
analysis of their use.

Sir Nicholas said: "So far as the new variant CJD is concerned we have to
consider the histories of those who have tragically died of that disease to
see whether and in what way contact with BSE may have resulted in their
deaths. Then we are required to consider whether the response to the
emergence of BSE and to the risk of CJD was adequate."

Paul Walker, the counsel to the inquiry, said that some had accused
officials of keeping information secret before the announcement on March
20, 1996, that new variant CJD was
probably triggered by BSE-infected beef. If facts were kept from the public
it was the job of the inquiry to find out why. "There is no room for
secrecy now," he said. The extension was welcomed by relatives of victims
of the new variant CJD.

⌐ Copyright Telegraph Group Limited 1998.

Disclaimer: Articles from the Electronic Telegraph are posted for
informational purposes. Any views expressed therein are those of the
Electronic Telegraph, The Daily Telegraph and The Sunday Telegraph, and may
not necessarily agree with those of 'Animal Voices' or those connected with
'Animal Voices'. I will be pleased to provide further information, where
possible, but comments about the content should be addressed to the ET and
not myself.

Date: Mon, 9 Mar 1998 18:37:54 -0800 (PST)
From: [e-mail]
To: [e-mail]
Subject: GROUP CHALLENGES CALIFORNIA 'LIBEL LAW' (US)
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 8, 1998





Group Challenges California æVeggie Libel Law'
Look-a-Like; News Conference Set Monday

     WOODLAND, CA û A civil liberties group will release details Monday of a
little-known "University Libel Law," which is designed to end or limit free
speech û including the barring of news media from campuses unless they have
prior permission, or cover stories a university deems acceptable.

     A news conference has been set for Monday at 1:30 p.m. (front steps of Yolo
County Superior Court, 725 Court St..)

     The "Veggie Libel Law" look-a-like û similar to the one used to attack
Oprah Winfrey by Texas Cattlemen û may ban news media from covering campus
stories unless they "comply" with the law, and can be used to force the news
media to "register" before entering the heretofore "open" California campus
system.

     An historic test of the full effects of the law will be heard in Yolo
County Superior Court Tuesday, according to the Activist Civil Liberties
Committee, a legal aide group providing assistance in the defense of 6
animal rights activists who go to trial under the law this week.

     Yolo County û at the behest of the University of California û plans to
conduct a series of at least seven different trials starting March 10
prosecuting people under what can be described as the "University Libel Law."

     The trials are expected to cost Yolo County taxpayers more than $100,000.

-30-
Contact: Cres Vellucci [phone]

NOTE: Copies of the statute will be provided. Following the news conference
documents will be filed in the courthouse opposing the law's use in Yolo
County Court.


________________________
Legal Aide Office Of
Activist Civil Liberties Committee
PO Box 19515
 Sacramento, CA 95819

Telephone: [phone]
 Fax: [phone]
</pre>



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