Komputer for Alle 1998 #6/1998 CD 6 (Gul).iso/web/ffa/wwwenv~1.org/arrs/digest/news68~4.htm/text0005.txt

Text File | 1998-04-02 | 42.5 KB | 1,107 lines

Does anyone know what the month of issue was or volume number
for the Scientific American Magazine that featured all the articles
for and against vivisection/experimentation ?
Please email me privately at [e-mail] if you have details of
this issue.
=====================================================================
========
                   /`\   /`\    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: Sat, 07 Mar 1998 08:06:22 -0500
From: Constance Young <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Cc: [e-mail]
Subject: Howard Lyman to speak in Kingston, NY for The Great American Meatout
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
MIME-Version: 1.0
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To get the word across about The Great American Meatout, DR. HOWARD F.
LYMAN -- that noble ex-cattleman who caused the uproar (and lawsuit
based on Texas food-liable laws) on the Oprah Winfrey show (which they
ultimately won)-- will be in New York to help the Mid-Hudson Vegetarian
Society, Inc. to celebrate The  Great American Meatout.

There will also be a potluck dinner (obviously vegan).

THE SPEAKER: DR. HOWARD LYMAN
THE DATE: Saturday, March 14 at 4:30 PM.
THE PLACE:  Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the Catskills
            320 Sawkill Road
            Kingston, NY

THE PRICE: $5 for members of the Mid-Hudson Vegetarian Society (with
dish)
          $ 8 for non-members (with covered dish serving at least four
people)

CONTACT:   For more information call 914- 338-8223 or 914-338-7990
           In New York City call 718 238-4035.

Date: Sat, 7 Mar 1998 08:07:39 -0500
From: "Bina Robinson" <[e-mail]>
To: <[e-mail]>
Subject: Fw: National Day of Prayer
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
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----------
> From: buffalo folks <[e-mail]>
> To: [e-mail]
> Cc: [e-mail]
> Subject: National Day of Prayer
> Date: Friday, March 06, 1998 11:50 AM
>
> Greetings web warrior friends,
> I am requesting your assistance in helping to get the word out about the
> National Day of Prayer on March 21st
>
> i should be able to have the buffalo nations web space updated about this
> wonderfull event by tomorrow (so much to do...so little time ~GRIN~)
>
> It is snowing here in Montana...
> the camp could use volunteers
>
> thank you for your assistance in helping to get the word out
>
> for the earth,
> su
>
> *************************
> *E-mail Update: Buffalo Nations, 03/03/98
>
> *There is a Day of Prayer called for ALL PEOPLE, by Arvol Looking
> Horse, keeper of the White Buffalo Calf Pipe.
> >From this week's issue of Wotanging Ikche..
> ***********************
>
> Update to Buffalo Nations supporters and friends:
>
> Watch NBC's Today Show March 9th for a special expose on Buffalo Nations!
> Join us for a Day of Prayer for the Buffalo on March 21st.
>
>         Hello from the all volunteer crew at Buffalo Nations.  The last
few
> weeks have been very busy.  We've been visited by a film crew from NBC's
> Today Show and by activist Winnona LaDuke.  For most of February we
> maintained a house with between 25 and 30 people and, as planned, we kept
> dawn to dusk vigil with the buffalo.
>         Over the last few weeks we've been especially thankful for some
> great media work done by Rosalie Little Thunder and Winnona LaDuke.  We
> also received help from the staff of Patagonia who were generous enough
to
> send its
> employees to work with us throughout the month of March!
>
>         Robert Blackwolf spent weeks with us putting together a decent
> field communications outfit.
> A wonderful person in Bozeman ran a fantastic ad for us in the Bozeman
> Chronicle.  And people everywhere continue to offer their support for the
> bison.
>         Right now there are less than a dozen bison out of the park in
West
> Yellowstone and nine close to the border in Gardiner.  Snow has been
> falling all day.  I went north last week and felt Spring in the air but
> here Winter still rules.  We continue to stand with the buffalo everyday.
>
>         We still wish for new folks who want to come out and volunteer
with
> us.  So far this winter more than 130 volunteers have visited Buffalo
> Nations!  The Department of Livestock seems hesitant to show their face
now
> that so much of the world is watching and praying.
>           March 21st will be a day of prayer for the buffalo.  Through
our
> actions and our spirit we will demonstrate that we want these buffalo to
> return.  Please join us in praying in your own way.
>
> *****************************************
>
>
> There is a Day of Prayer called for ALL PEOPLE, by Arvol Looking
> Horse, keeper of the White Buffalo Calf Pipe.
> >From this week's issue of Wotanging Ikche..
>
> Date: Thu, 26 Feb 1998 18:42:17 -0500
> From: "elaine flattery" <[e-mail]>
> Subj: A Call to World Peace
>
> Mitakuye oyasin,
>   My name is Chief Arvol Looking Horse. As the 19th Generation Keeper of
> the Sacred White Buffalo Calf Pipe, I invite you to attend the third
World
> Peace and Prayer Day at the Sacred Pipestone quarries in Pipestone,
> Minnesota on June 21, 1998. According to Lakota Star Knowledge, June 21
> is set as time to pray. Pipestone is the home of the stone from which our
> Sacred Pipes are created, the place that holds the blood of our
ancestors.
> The necessity of the gathering was first brought to us in 1994 when the
> birth of the first White Buffalo Calf signaled the changes that are
coming
> and the fulfilling of  the prophecies of the seventh generation. Since
> then, three more White Buffalo Calves have been born. Their birth relates
> to our ceremonies and signifies the impact of what we are facing. The
> prophecies have directed that we pray for four years at sacred sites in
> the four directions on June 21st of each year.
>   Our prophecies tell us that we are at the crossroads. We are faced with
> either chaos and disaster, or we can unite spiritually in peace and
> harmony. It is time to bring the message of the need for peace throughout
> the world. As a keeper of a sacred bundle, I ask for prayers for Global
> Healing!  Our Mother Earth is suffering. Her wonderful gift of water,
> trees, and air is being abused. Her children the two-legged,  the four-
> legged, those that swim, crawl and fly are being annihilated. We
> continuously see these atrocities. Our relatives,  the animal nations
> reflect  our well-being. What happens to them, happens to us. The
buffalo,
> wolf, salmon, bear, caribou, eagle and other relatives in this fragile
> ecosystem are all in danger and suffering.Their voices must be heard.
They
> need our help.
>   This is a call to all peoples. We ask that all people join us in prayer
> on June 21, 1998. If you are unable to be with us, we ask that you gather
> at your own sacred site, wherever the Spirit guides you to pray. To those
> that can join us we ask you to bring your stories and prayers. We make a
> special call to the wisdom and sacred bundle keepers, our storytellers,
> medicine society knowledge keepers, peacekeepers.
>   We gather so that our future generations may survive through peace and
> balance.
>   In our circle of life there is no beginning and no ending. The process
> of mending the sacred hoop continues.  May peace be with you, my
relatives.
> Mitakuye oyasin,
> The gathering will take place in Pipestone, Minnesota from June 19-21,
1998
> Special invitation to our youth
> Plan to bring tobacco, food, a gift, sage and your own dishes to share
> For the Pipestone Gathering Information call [phone]
> Email: [e-mail]
>
>
> ********************************************************
> This is an all volunteer effort.  Your actions make the difference.
>
> TELL YOUR FRIENDS ABOUT the Stop-the-Slaughter SITE
> http://www.wildrockies.org/bison
>
> ********************************************************
> Check out Buffalo Nations site!  constantly updated with new info from
the
> field!
> http://www.wildrockies.org/Buffalo
> write a letter to the editor of one of the papers listed there!
> ***********************************
>
> For the Buffalo!
> Mitakuye Oyasin (All My Relations)
> ********************************************************
>
> ********************************************************
> This is an all volunteer effort.  Your actions make the difference.
>
> TELL YOUR FRIENDS ABOUT the Stop-the-Slaughter SITE
> http://www.wildrockies.org/bison
>
> ********************************************************
> Check out Buffalo Nations site!  constantly updated with new info from
the
> field!
> http://www.wildrockies.org/Buffalo
> write a letter to the editor of one of the papers listed there!
> ***********************************
>
> For the Buffalo!
> Mitakuye Oyasin (All My Relations)
> ********************************************************
>
>
Date: Sat, 7 Mar 1998 09:49:56 EST
From: HudaKore <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Detroit activists out on bail
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
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All 3 Detroit lock-down activists were released at about 6 this morning on
$100 bail each.  Their charge is for disorderly conduct.  Gary's car had the
window frame cut out of it to release Tiiu and it was impounded.  He cannot
get his car back until March 11 as it is being held for "evidence."  They will
be arraigned on March 11th.  They are all in good spirits and have made quite
an impact.  Positive media coverage.  All need to be congratulated.

For the animals,
Hilma
Date: Sat, 7 Mar 1998 11:17:34 EST
From: HudaKore <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: A note from Gary Yourofsky
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
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Here's an update from Gary:

"After 10 hours in the 11th Precinct (Detroit), I am finally out on $100 bail
for disorderly conduct.  The car lockdown went as planned even though eight
police officers were scattered around the front entrance to The Michigan State
Fairgrounds.  However, never underestimate 'the element of surprise' when
conducting acts of civil disobedience.  When I slid underneath my car at 6:10
p.m. and locked my neck to the wheel axle, a few officers yelled. 'Sir, sir,
what are you doing?'  Obviously, they were startled, confused and dumbfounded.
I will be going to 36th District Court Wednesday morning at 8:30 a.m. EST.
This incident does not affect my prior arrest (Chatham 3) for allegedly
freeing 1,500 minks from The Eberts Animal Concentration Camp in Blenheim,
Ontario, last April. Remember, as long as animals are enslaved, mistreated and
deprived of their freedom, there should be no quietude from animal rights
activists.  By the way, today's Detroit Free Press actually ran a pretty good
story on the The Shrine Circus lockdown."

For total liberation,
Gary
Date: Sat, 7 Mar 1998 13:46:38 -0500
From: "Bina Robinson" <[e-mail]>
To: <[e-mail]>
Subject: WHALES / SONAR
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
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THE ECONOMIST   March 7, 1998

Quiet, please. Whales navigating

As if whales did not have enought to cope with, being chased across the
oceans by Japanese and Norwegian fishermen, and swarmed around by
Californian tourists in small boats, it now looks as though they may suffer
"collaterial damage" from the use of sonar by the world's navies.  Such
damage has long been suspected, since whales employ their own form of sonar
for navigating and hunting, and also use sonar-like low frequency sound for
communicating with each other (so-called whale song).  But Alexandros
Frantzis, of the University of Athens, believes he now has evidence to
support the idea.

Dr. Fratzis, who has just published his data in NATURE, studies Cuvier's
beaked whale--a denizen of the Ionian sea off Greece's west coast, among
other places.  Like many whales, individual of this species sometimes
misnavigate and end up stranding themselves on the world's beaches.
Occasionally a whole group of them will do so together in what is called a
mass stranding.  But during two days in May 1996, Dr Frantzis observed
something he had never seen before--a dozen beaked whales stranded as
individuals, rather than a group, along a 40 km (25 mile) stretch of coast.

Normal mass strandings are thought to be caused when a group of whales
follows a leader that (sic)  has made a mistake.  That cannot explain how
12 whales ended up on the beach with an average distance of 3 1/2 km
between them.  But Dr Frantzis subsequently discovered that a NATO research
vessel was in the area at the time and was carrying out tests of a sonar
that produces extremely loud low-frequency sound (it has a maximum output
of 230 decibels, compared with 100 decibels for a jumbo jet).  This, he
thought, might be the explanation.  He reckons the chance that the
strandings in Greece were a conincidence is less than one in a thousand.
And he found that three similar mass strandings in the Canary Islands were
also associated with military manoeuvres.

What, if anything, can be done to reconcile the interests of navies and
whales?  Perhaps nothing.  But now that the problem has been exposed, those
who plan sonar tests whould at least try to be good neighbours, and keep
the noise down to the absolute minimum.   -30-

The Economist
25 St James's Street London SW1A 1HG  FAX [phone]
111 West 57th St New York NY 10019  FAx [phone]

Date: Sat, 7 Mar 1998 13:48:05 EST
From: BanFurNow <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Dallas - ALT Upcoming Actions
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
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Animal Liberation of Texas
P. O. Box 820872
Dallas, TX  75382
[phone]
[e-mail]
http://www.envirolink.org/orgs/alt/animalrights.html

Upcoming Actions

Saturday, March 7, 1998
Neiman Marcus anti-fur protest at the downtown store.  Activists are to meet
at the corner of Ervay and Main at 2:00 p.m.

Thursday, March 26, 1998
ALT will be protesting against the March of Dimes for their participation in
animal testing.  This action is in support of a national campaign against
March of Dimes organized by Physican's Committee for Responsible Medicine.
Activists are to meet in front of the March of Dimes office located at 8131
LBJ Freeway in Dallas at 1:45 p.m.  Please call ALT for more information.

Saturday, March 28, 1998
Neiman Marcus anti-fur protest at the downtown store.  Activists are to meet
at the corner of Ervay and Main at 2:00 p.m.

Saturday, April, 11, 1998
Neiman Marcus anti-fur protest at the Northpark store.  Activists are to meet
in front of TGI Friday's at the corner of Park and Central at 1:30 p.m.

Saturday, April 18, 1998
Animal Damage Control protest in Ft. Worth.  Activists are to meet in front of
the United States Courthouse located at 501 W. 10th in Ft. Worth at 1:45 p.m.

Sunday, April 26, 1998
National Lab Week - Dallas kick off vivisection Demonstration.  Details to be
announced at a later date.

Please check our info. line and/or web page for updates on upcoming actions
╖ (972)  664-6760 Information Line
╖ http://www.envirolink.org/orgs/alt/animalrights.html
Date: Sat, 07 Mar 1998 11:34:09 -0800
From: Andrew Gach <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Coatimundi said to be boiled alive
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
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Little progress in coatimundi killing case

Scripps Howard
SAN FRANCISCO, March 5, 1998

Authorities investigating the alleged illegal killing of a raccoon-like
animal -- a coatimundi -- in a restaurant in San Francisco's famed
Chinatown in October say they're pursuing the case aggressively but
making little progress.

"Our investigators are working very hard," said Lt. Miles Young of the
California Fish and Game Department, "but we're running into a dead end.
This is months old and people aren't really talking."

Carl Friedman, city director of animal care and control, said
investigators are "getting a little closer" to people believed to have
been eyewitnesses, but haven't yet spoken to them.

Meanwhile, the restaurant where the animal was allegedly boiled alive --
the Grand Palace -- was held in violation of state food sanitation law
by the city Health Department.

The ruling followed a Feb. 24 abatement hearing prompted by allegations
made by the same three ex-workers who accused the restaurant of cooking
the coatimundi alive.

In affidavits made in connection with a state claim for back wages, the
former employees also alleged various unsanitary conditions in the
restaurant's kitchen and storage areas.

According to a letter signed by health director Mitchell Katz, the
restaurant was found to be in violation of the state Uniform Retail Food
Facilities Law and allowed to close voluntarily. Upon re-inspection Feb.
26, health authorities determined that "significant improvements" had
been made and the restaurant re-opened.

According to the statements given by the fired employees in early
February to the state labor commissioner, a live coatimundi was plunged
into a pot of boiling water on Oct. 21 and killed over a 20- to
30-minute period, apparently in order to be prepared as a $1,000-a-plate
dish.

Coatimundis look like raccoons with elongated snouts; they are native to
the American Southwest, Mexico and South America.

After the charges became public, they were sharply denied by Cheng and
by the restaurant's attorney, Alia Samad Salameh.

On Feb. 23, the fired workers' claims for an undisclosed amount of back
wages were settled confidentially, according to Samad Salameh.

Friedman said that because of the settlement, "these people might not be
as cooperative."

Samad Salameh reiterated her previous denial of the animal cruelty
charge.

"Somehow things got taken out of context and there was this horrible
allegation that devastated my client unfairly," she said. "I understand
the concerns of animal rights groups, but the bottom line was it wasn't
true.'

By SCOTT WINOKUR, San Francisco Examiner. Distributed by Scripps Howard
News Service.
Date: Sat, 07 Mar 1998 11:53:29 -0800
From: Andrew Gach <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: EPA chief reassures factory farmers
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
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New pollution rules not intended to punish hog farmers, EPA chief says

The Associated Press
WASHINGTON, March 6, 1998

A proposal to cut animal waste pollution in waterways is not designed to
punish livestock producers or cause economic damage to agriculture,
Environmental Protection Agency chief Carol Browner said Friday.

In a speech to a national hog farmer conference, Browner said the EPA
intends to work closely with livestock producers to determine how best
to
reduce manure pollution so that no single segment is put at a
competitive
disadvantage.

"No one livestock industry will be singled out. All will be required to
do a
better job of managing their waste," Browner told the National Pork
Industry
Forum in Reno, Nev., in the speech carried by satellite.

The draft EPA initiative announced Thursday would for the first time
require
some 6,000 larger hog, cattle and poultry operations to obtain federal
permits and meet national water pollution guidelines. Now, state rules
cover
only about a quarter of them.

Browner said that the EPA, working with the Agriculture Department and
farmers, would identify ways to provide financial and technical
assistance
to implement the regulations. She promised the government will listen to
producers' concerns and consider regional differences before issuing a
final
version.

"Can you tell us what you need us to do?" she asked. "What are the
resources
we need to provide you with?"

Corporate hog farms have sparked controversy around the country because
of
fish kills, odor problems and their economic impact on smaller
producers.
Yet Browner said the pork industry is at the forefront in facing up to
pollution and working with regulators on solutions.

"We're learning firsthand from you how all your operations work, what
makes
sense and what doesn't make sense," she said.

Before the speech, Iowa Pork Producers Association president Norman
Schmitt
said farmers are worried about added costs and whether federal
regulations
might be less flexible than state rules. He also said farmers don't need
another paperwork burden.

"Any time you create a program at the federal level, it's just another
layer," said Schmitt, a hog farmer in Rudd, Iowa. "If it's truly going
to
protect the environment, we will do that. The biggest problem is the
bureaucracy."

Delegates to the pork forum are scheduled to vote Saturday on
resolutions dealing with government waste regulation, including one that
favors state or federal regulations over those imposed by counties or
towns.

By CURT ANDERSON, AP Farm Writer
Date: Sun, 08 Mar 1998 09:28:26 -0800
From: Coral Hull <[e-mail]>
To: AR-News <[e-mail]>
Subject: Circus Tiger Not To Blame For Biting Off Trainer's Forearm (The True Story)
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit

.......NEW RELEASE.......THE TRUE STORY......

Circus Tiger Not To Blame For Biting Off TrainerÆs Forearm

The Bengal tiger which bit off the arm of a Chipperfield circus keeper
Nigel Wessman 32 was not to blame for the incident, its breeder said
yesterday. æThe tiger didnÆt do it. His teeth did it.Æ

Four-year-old Rajah was in his pen with his sisters, Sita and Rani. Mr
WessmanÆs left forearm was severed below the elbow when he put it into
RajahÆs cage on Wednesday evening, ignoring the usual procedure of using
a metal bar to open a partition and bash the tigerÆs head in. æI thought
they were my friends,Æ the distraught Wessman said, æI trusted them.Æ

Surgeons who later amputated the limb above the elbow gave Mr Wessman
some advice at the hospital, æYou may as well take this with you and
feed it to Rajah. It seems like a waste just throwing it away.Æ

Rajah was bred and beaten up for circus work, and is hired out each
summer to European circuses. Circus owner, Mr Turncliffe was confident
that the tiger would fulfill this years engagements with other
inexperienced forearms in Belgium.

æRajah is a very good natured tiger who loves the trainers who beat him,
and there is no reason to think that he will be too full, to cope with
future forearms offered to him,Æ he said.

æHe probably thought that Mr Wessman was feeding him, with himself. ItÆs
not uncommon for tiger trainers to have this kind of personal commitment
to the animals.

As far as IÆm concerned Wesson is an experienced tiger keeper. He was
also very brave, telling everyone to calm down, whilst he gently coaxed
Rajah to let go of his jugular.

Anyway, I really donÆt see how we can blame the tiger for this incident.
ItÆs a completely humane method of removing a circus trainerÆs forearm.
It was just one of those things, over in a couple of seconds.Æ

WessmansÆs wife added to this, saying, æNigel was very brave. He simply
placed his forearm in my handbag on the way to the hospital. It was a
bit grose, like carrying a dogÆs bone home from the butchers without the
wrapping. But I did it for him.Æ

A portable television normally watched by the tigers in the evenings,
featuring a local advertisement for TCP lozenges with a tiger biting a
manÆs throat out, was later withdrawn from the cages.

-----------------------------------------------------------------
Coral Hull
Animal Watch Australia
http://www.envirolink.org/orgs/animal_watch/au.html
Date: Sat, 07 Mar 1998 18:37:04 -0500
From: allen schubert <[e-mail]>
To: [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"

from Associated Press http://wire.ap.org
---------------------------------------
MARCH 07, 17:41 EST

Bull Finds New Home With Vegetarian

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: Sat, 07 Mar 1998 18:45:57 -0500
From: allen schubert <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (US) It's Bull When It Comes to Dairy
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

factory farming
from Associated Press http://wire.ap.org
----------------------------------------
MARCH 07, 10:45 EST

It's Bull When It Comes to Dairy

By CURT ANDERSON
AP Farm Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) -- In the female world of dairy cows, it's the bulls that
command the greatest attention. Especially a major stud like Round Oak.

Round Oak spent his career in the 1970s at Select Sires in Plain City,
Ohio, and is widely considered the most successful bull ever, with direct
offspring believed to have sired 2.7 million Holstein dairy cows around
the globe.

``Everybody wants to use the top bulls,'' said Rex Powell, a research
geneticist at the Agriculture Department.

Every dairy farmer wants his cows to produce the most high-quality milk
possible, and bulls such as Round Oak have the genes to do it. And with
such studs in short supply, a high-tech global matchmaking service has
evolved to enable farmers to buy bull semen containing the genetic traits
they want.

It's not exactly romance, but it works.

``We have an industry where we identify our best genetics, and we make
that available around the world at a low cost,'' said Tom Lawlor, research
director at Holstein U.S.A. in Brattleboro, Vt.

The system traces its roots to World War II, when the United States
brought genetically superior cows to Europe to provide milk for its
soldiers. The cows behind when the Army left, and European farmers noticed
output of the American cows was much greater than their European sisters'.

``They kind of showcased the genetics that we have here,'' Lawlor said.
``That started getting people's attention.''

Since then, the United States has led the way in providing the world with
bull semen, mainly for the dominant Holstein breed. It's an industry with
$60 million in exports every year.

The most recent advance is a Sweden-based international rating service
called Interbull, which this year ranked 90,000 bulls in 22 countries by
careful evaluation of the milk their offspring produce.

``It's all based on the daughters,'' geneticist Powell said. ``It really
is a female world in dairy.''

For the bulls, the ratings can literally mean life or death. ``That's how
we evaluate whether a bull is a keeper or a hamburger,'' Powell said.

The Interbull service, 18 years in the making, removes much doubt by
enabling farmers to examine objective data for breeding. It also funnels
the different rating systems used in different countries into one list
that applies worldwide.

Rankings are adjusted for each country's environment, because factors such
as climate and type of feed play a role in a cow's milk production.

``A bull whose daughters perform well on a pasture in New Zealand won't
necessarily perform the same in confined feeding in California,'' Powell
said.

Semen from a solid but unspectacular bull costs upwards of $12 a dose, but
for the top producers it can run to $100. Only about one out of every 10
bulls is kept for semen, and experts say only the top 500 or so are
responsible for most of the world's cows.

``They will have thousands and thousands of daughters. Some will have tens
of thousands,'' Powell said.

As strong U.S. genetic traits spread, more bulls in other countries are
joining the elite stud ranks. American farmers are importing increasing
amounts of semen as they seek new genetic advantages.

``We've sold our best genetics everywhere, and they've made good use of
it. Now they're starting to sell it back to us,'' Powell said.

For now, milk fat and protein content, and the quantity a cow produces,
are the most sought-after traits. In the future, Interbull could include
ratings for resistance to disease, cow longevity and ability with
withstand udder disease, or mastitis.

The system could play a role in cloning of dairy cattle to keep the best
animals consistently in production. Holstein U.S.A.'s Lawlor said the
ratings could enable breeders to keep a superelite core group that
constantly would be updated genetically and the clones sold.

``The elite population would always be one or two generations ahead,''
Lawlor said. ``You wouldn't be selling something that could be sold back
to you.''
Date: Sat, 07 Mar 1998 18:30:02 -0600
From: Steve Barney <[e-mail]>
To: AR-News <[e-mail]>
Subject: [US-WI] "Animal Rights Protesters Say Falk Shares Monkey Blame"
 (TCT-030698)
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
MIME-version: 1.0
Content-type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit

"Animal Rights Protesters Say Falk Shares Monkey Blame"
By Chris Murphy
The Capital Times
Madison, Wisconsin
United States
Friday, March 6, 1998

-- Beginning --

 ANIMAL RIGHTS PROTESTERS SAY FALK SHARES MONKEY BLAME

By Chris Murphy
The Capital Times

 Members of the Alliance for Animals protested on the steps of the
City-County Building on Thursday afternoon to say that County Executive
Kathleen Falk should share the blame for the departure of 101 rhesus
monkeys from Henry Vilas Zoo.

 Protesters also planned to express displeasure at a UW Board of Regents
meeting this morning.

 About 10 animal rights activists came to the City-County Building with
flowers and carried placards with pictures of monkeys. In front of
television news cameras, some held a banner that read: ``Monkeys Lost --
U.W., Falk Why??''

 The monkeys belonged to the University of Wisconsin, but were housed
for decades in an exhibit at the county's Henry Vilas Zoo. About 50
stump-tailed monkeys remain at the zoo, and their fate is uncertain.

 Alliance for Animals director Tina Kaske conceded Thursday that the
university forced Falk's hand and that the Dane County Zoological
Society pressured her with concerns about how a monkey fund-raising
drive might affect other projects.

 But Kaske added that Falk should have taken a risk to make sure that
the rhesus monkeys were not shipped to Tulane University in New Orleans.

 The university moved the animals out Wednesday morning, but Tuesday
night, the Wild Animal Orphanage in San Antonio made an offer to take
all of the zoo monkeys for $15,000, which the Alliance for Animals was
ready to pay.

 ``The monkeys are gone now. It's water under the bridge, and she should
be held accountable,'' Kaske said of Falk.

 But the county executive was not eager to shoulder any blame.

 ``I understand that they're angry, and that they want to protest. But I
don't really understand why they've chosen to focus on me, except
perhaps that I was willing to talk to them,'' Falk said of the
protesters Thursday. ``I've kept my door open, I've taken their calls,
I've met with them. Maybe they just feel that I'll listen.''

 UW officials have said the county refused to take almost any
responsibility for the monkeys, but Falk aide Topf Wells said Thursday
that university officials insisted on deadlines that were too difficult
to meet and that they required a simultaneous solution for both the
rhesus and stump-tailed monkeys.

 It was late in the negotiations when Falk heard from those who raise
money for the zoo that there might be too much competition for other
scheduled projects if people were also raising money to keep the
stump-tails in Madison, Wells said.

 Given the uncertainty, Falk was unwilling to make a firm commitment to
pay for the stump-tails' ongoing upkeep, and the university moved the
rhesus monkeys out shortly afterward.

 ``Kathleen, as county executive, felt she had to balance the county's
concerns for the UW monkeys with her responsibility to keep the zoo in
good shape,'' Wells said.

 Kaske said the university is primarily to blame for the rhesus monkeys'
departure, and the protest before the regents will be much larger than
the one staged Thursday.

 THE CAPITAL TIMES

 Demonstrators came to the City-County Building on Thursday to protest
the departure of rhesus monkeys from the county zoo.

-- End --

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

     http://www.uwosh.edu/organizations/alag/Issues.html


Date: Sat, 07 Mar 1998 18:43:22 -0600
From: Steve Barney <[e-mail]>
To: AR-News <[e-mail]>
Subject: [US-WI] "So What Happens To The 50 Monkeys Remaining Here?"
 (TCT-030598)
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
MIME-version: 1.0
Content-type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit

"So What Happens To The 50 Monkeys Remaining Here?"
The Capital Times
Madison, Wisconsin
United States
Thursday, March 5, 1998

-- Beginning --

 SO WHAT HAPPENS TO THE 50 MONKEYS REMAINING HERE?

 The Capital Times

 The Henry Vilas Zoo may yet be able to preserve at least part of its
monkey colony.

 The two players holding all the cards -- the University of
Wisconsin-Madison and Dane County -- are being very guarded if not
pessimistic in their predictions, however.

 Some 50 monkeys remain at the zoo and, unlike their more common
cousins, they might stay.

 Citing funding problems, the UW on Wednesday shipped 101 rhesus monkeys
to Tulane University, leaving 50 rare stump-tailed macaques at the zoo.

 The UW also is having ongoing discussions with a wildlife center in
Thailand about shipping those monkeys back to their native land.

 But the door is still open to keep them in Madison.

 Charles Hoslet, special assistant to the chancellor for governmental
affairs at the UW, said Tuesday: ``If the county were to come to us with
some reasonable proposal, the stump-tails could possibly remain here.''

 County Board Chairman Jonathan Becker said the county has always
supported keeping some monkeys in Madison, and he would be willing to
continue talking.

 ``I don't think I can be described as optimistic, but we'll continue to
see what can be accomplished,'' he said.

 Topf Wells, an aide to Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk, sounded
skeptical.

 ``I think if the university wants any assistance from the county, we'll
just wait to hear from them,'' he said.

 Told that the university indicated a willingness to consider some
``reasonable proposal'' to keep the remaining monkeys in Madison, Wells
burst out laughing.

 One reason earlier negotiations failed, Wells then explained, is that
the university would not negotiate separately about the fate of the
stump-tails as opposed to the rhesus monkeys.

 It is hard to consider re-opening talks when some UW officials were
quoted as saying the county negotiated in bad faith, he said. That's
``not only false, but outrageously false,'' he said.

 ``If they call, I'm sure Kathleen will certainly listen,'' Wells added.

 The county operates the zoo, but the UW owns the monkeys. The UW
decided to get rid of the monkey colony, which it had maintained for
roughly 35 years, after behavioral research on the monkeys ended in June
and the National Institutes of Health announced last fall that its
federal grant could no longer be used to support the zoo monkeys.

 Dane County officials negotiated with the UW for several months in an
effort to keep the entire colony at the zoo. The UW wanted the county to
take over all upkeep costs starting in 1999, but the county was looking
for more of a financial commitment from the UW.

 Talks broke down Tuesday and the rhesus monkeys were quickly dispatched
to Tulane over the protests of animal rights groups as well as first
lady Sue Ann Thompson, who had sought to keep them here.

 How long the county has to come up with a proposal to keep the
stump-tailed macaques is unclear. A UW source said the animals may still
be here for a month or so.

 Tina Kaske of the Alliance for Animals said the group would continue
its fund-raising efforts to help keep the stump-tailed monkeys at the
zoo.

 The group had raised more than $20,000, she said.

 Another group, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, had also
pledged $35,000 to help preserve the entire colony in Madison, Kaske
said. She said she believed that money would still be on the table to
help the stump-tails.

 ``The stump-tails are precious and we want to make sure they are
secured,'' she said Wednesday. ``We want them to stay in Madison. Not
only are they an endangered species, but they are extremely beautiful.
This is their home.''

 Kaske said she did not want to rule out the Thailand wildlife center as
an option.

 ``My first choice would be to keep them in the United States so we
could keep track of them,'' she said, adding that Thailand now has a lot
of abused and neglected monkeys to deal with from the pet trade.

 The cost of supporting the 50 stump-tailed macaques is still a question
mark.

 The cost for maintaining the entire 150-monkey colony was estimated at
anywhere from $100,000 annually to more than $200,000.

 Susan Trebach, director of the UW office of news and public affairs,
said she is unable to calculate the cost of maintaining the remaining
monkeys, roughly one-third the size of the original colony.

 Maintaining a small colony could actually cost more per monkey than
keeping a larger colony because of large base expenses for housing,
handlers and other overhead costs.

 ``We can't take past costs that have been given and divide them by
three, because there are basic costs for handlers and so on,'' she said.

 [Photograph by] DAVID SANDELL/THE CAPITAL TIMES [with caption reading]

 A protester is arrested Wednesday at the Henry Vilas Zoo.

-- End --

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

        http://www.uwosh.edu/organizations/alag/Issues.html




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