1) Goats bred for "new markets" by Andrew Gach <UncleWolf@worldnet.att.net> 2) (AU-Asia) Emu eggs as aphrodisiacs by Vadivu Govind <kuma@cyberway.com.sg> 3) (UK) Tests on pig intellect by Vadivu Govind <kuma@cyberway.com.sg> 4) Request for info: "Collectors" by Dietrich Haugwitz <dvh@mindspring.com> 5) petition for preservation of wildlife and biodiversity by oetvtier@salzburg.co.at (oetvtier) 6) Re: Fw: VIRUS WARNING ! by Doris & Dan <doris@alum.mit.edu> 7) (NZ)Did VHD/RCD kill New Zealand sea lions? by bunny <rabbit@wantree.com.au> 8) Seattle wolf benefit concert - Mar. 14 by "Cari Gehl" <skyblew@hotmail.com> 9) Audubon Advisory 3/6/98 by "Cari Gehl" <skyblew@hotmail.com> 10) LA Times: A Dog Is Man's Most Grateful Friend by "Cari Gehl" <skyblew@hotmail.com> 11) LFAS-Mass stranding (Nature paper) (fwd) by "Cari Gehl" <skyblew@hotmail.com> 12) Court Ruling May Spell Doom for Park Wolves by "Cari Gehl" <skyblew@hotmail.com> 13) Major wolf die-off recorded on Isle Royale by "Cari Gehl" <skyblew@hotmail.com> 14) [UK] CJD destroyed my daughter, father tells inquiry by David J Knowles <dknowles@dowco.com> 15) [UK] Vet's reference to scrapie 'was cut from speech' by David J Knowles <dknowles@dowco.com> 16) [UK] Farmers rally in support of hotelier by David J Knowles <dknowles@dowco.com> 17) [UK] BSE inquiry transcripts by David J Knowles <dknowles@dowco.com> 18) [UK] Huntsman cleared over fox trampling by David J Knowles <dknowles@dowco.com> 19) [UK] Wife wins fight to keep dog by David J Knowles <dknowles@dowco.com> 20) [MX] Loggers blamed as millions of butterflies die in Mexico by David J Knowles <dknowles@dowco.com> 21) Admin Note -- Inappropriate Posting by ar-admin@envirolink.org 22) (US) Animal Trafficking In Chinatown by allen schubert <alathome@clark.net> 23) President Reserves Right to Change His Mind About Neutering by Tereiman <Tereiman@aol.com> 24) (US) Test: Wild Horses Died of Stress by allen schubert <alathome@clark.net> 25) Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo by SDURBIN@VM.TULSA.CC.OK.US 26) Cincinnati P&G Action Alert! by Tereiman <Tereiman@aol.com> 27) Vilas - Become a broken record by paulbog@jefnet.com (Rick Bogle) 28) Vilas background by paulbog@jefnet.com (Rick Bogle) 29) About drugs by Daniel Paulo Ferreira <dmartins@alumni.dee.uc.pt> 30) About AIDS by Daniel Paulo Ferreira <dmartins@alumni.dee.uc.pt> 31) White House Letter by DDAL <DDAL@aol.com> 32) Carson and Barnes Circus by SDURBIN@VM.TULSA.CC.OK.US 33) (US-Seattle/Kirkland) Cruelty-free products by SimonChai <SimonChai@aol.com> 34) Looking for Activists by In Defense of Animals <idausa@ix.netcom.com> 35) Easter Bunnies and Moto Foto by SDURBIN@VM.TULSA.CC.OK.US 36) RE: Virus/How to tell if hoax by Sandy <elliotts@usfca.edu> 37) (US) Oklahoma State Senate Hog Farm Debate by JanaWilson <JanaWilson@aol.com> 38) [US-WI] LEGISLATION: LRB-4985: WI Moratorium on Factory Farms by Steve Barney <AnimalLib@vaxa.cis.uwosh.edu> 39) superintendent letter by "Leslie Lindemann" <LDTBS@worldnet.att.net> 40) Sexual Animal Abuse in Manatee County, Florida by SMatthes <SMatthes@aol.com> 41) Problem Pet Stores Closed [Seattle] by Bob Chorush <BChorush@paws.org> 42) (Ca) James Bond And the Seal Hunt by Ty Savoy <ty@north.nsis.com> 43) Houston Livestock "Show" and rodeo by RiotFrog <RiotFrog@aol.com> 44) (Mex) Loggers fingered as butterflies die by Ty Savoy <ty@north.nsis.com> 45) [US-WI] "Thai Entrepreneur Wants UW Monkeys" (TCT-030998) by Steve Barney <AnimalLib@vaxa.cis.uwosh.edu> 46) [US-WI] "Animal advocates: Return zoo monkeys" (TCT-031098) by Steve Barney <AnimalLib@vaxa.cis.uwosh.edu> 47) [US-WI] "Hog factory stinks figuratively and as matter of fact" (TCT-031098) by Steve Barney <AnimalLib@vaxa.cis.uwosh.edu> 48) (US) free range chickens by allen schubert <alathome@clark.net> 49) [CA] Plant a tree - save a salmon by David J Knowles <dknowles@dowco.com> 50) Canadian Sealers Are Spin Doctors by Vegetarian Resource Center <vrc@tiac.net> 51) Clinton To Neuter New Puppy 'Buddy' by Vegetarian Resource Center <vrc@tiac.net> 52) Wild horses die of stress after captured by Andrew Gach <UncleWolf@worldnet.att.net>
Date: Tue, 10 Mar 1998 21:57:22 -0800
From: Andrew Gach <UncleWolf@worldnet.att.net>
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: Goats bred for "new markets"
Message-ID: <350627C2.43B8@worldnet.att.net>
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Farmers and scientists locking horns over goat ranch
Scripps Howard
SANTA CRUZ, Calif., March 10, 1998
Argueing that biotechnology and agriculture do not mix, some neighbors
and environmentalists are locking horns with a goat rancher whose herd
is being raised not for meat, mohair or milk but for production of
antibodies in cancer and other research.
John Stephenson, who has spent 25 years in the cancer research field,
including a 13-year stint at the National Cancer Institute, has 1,600
goats grazing on his land 5 miles north of Santa Cruz.
"If agriculture is going to survive, it has to seek out additional
markets," Stephenson said. "The requirement for food in this country has
long been saturated."
Others want to see the goats go, however. Some neighbors and
environmental groups argue that not only does the goat operation damage
the land, it also does not represent a real agricultural use in a county
where the leading crops are strawberries, flowers, lettuce and apples.
Save Our Agricultural Land and the national Sierra Club filed a lawsuit
over a proposed ordinance that would allow biomedical livestock
operations on agricultural land. Although the ordinance bans lab
operations, it does allow livestock to be raised for biomedical or
pharmaceutical research purposes.
The lawsuit asks that the county be required to file an environmental
impact report on the proposed measure.
Santa Cruz County supervisors approved the land use ordinance last
September.
The grappling over goats will be discussed Wednesday at a California
Coastal Commission meeting in Monterey. The commission must approve the
ordinance before it can become law.
"The main concern is that it could lead to a loss of a lot of
agricultural land," said Barney Elders, a Santa Cruz attorney who is
handling the lawsuit for the Sierra Club. "There is so much money to be
made in biotechnology. It tends to drive out traditional agriculture."
Each goat is immunized with a different synthetic peptide, a protein
part that causes their immune systems to produce antibodies within two
years. Every few months, a small amount of blood is drawn.
The antibodies are separated from the blood and purified at Santa Cruz
Biotechnology Inc. in Santa Cruz, a company Stephenson and his wife,
Brenda, started six years ago. The company sells about 600 different
antibodies, used in cancer and other medical research, to universities
and pharmaceutical companies worldwide.
Elders argues that biotechnology is not an agricultural use. "They're
more like industrial uses," because the movement of animals is limited,
he said. "It's not really farming; that's the problem. There's no
growing of food. They're not growing fiber or crops" or producing
livestock for food.
Elders said the Sierra Club also had concerns about goat manure from the
Stephenson ranch damaging the land.
Others say that times have changed and that deriving research antibodies
from goats is just a way of making a cutting-edge living off the land.
"A goat is a goat is a goat, whether you raise it for meat or raise it
for hair to make an Afghan or raise it for milk or raise it for
antibodies. It's still agriculture," says Bill Ringe, a real estate
agent and part-time apple grower. He's also a former board member of the
Santa Cruz County Farm Bureau, which supports the goat ranch.
Jonathan Wittwer, who lives a couple of miles away from the ranch and is
a founding member of Save Our Agricultural Land, disagrees.
"Nobody is saying you shouldn't be able to use agricultural land to grow
flowers or peanuts," Wittwer said. "They do not harm the soil.
"If (the Stephensons) were using monkeys to (produce antibodies), does
that make it a zoo? Using goats doesn't make it a ranch."
By EVE MITCHELL, San Francisco Examiner, distributed by Scripps Howard
