Komputer for Alle 1998 #6/1998 CD 6 (Gul).iso/web/ffa/wwwenv~1.org/arrs/digest/news6~17.htm/text0013.txt

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>From The BBC Website - Sunday, December 21, 1997 Published at 17:05 GMT

Despatches

Jon Devitt
Vienna

The International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna is looking to expand one
of its less publicised activities - pest control. Nuclear technology may
seem a rather radical method of fighting insects but it's been used for
almost the last fifty years. The latest experiment -- to
eradicate the tsetse fly from the island of Zanzibar -- has been declared a
success and the IAEA believes the technique should be extended to other
parts of the world. Jon Devitt reports from Vienna:

It conjures up images of using a nuclear warhead to kill a fly, but the
technique is much more subtle. It was developed in the 1950s in the United
States and involves using low doses of gamma radiation to sterilise
insects, which are then released en masse into the wild.

A pilot project has been running for the last three years in Tanzania. The
country now has the largest tsetse factory, producing 70,000 sterile males
per week.

The project has concentrated on the island of Zanzibar, which has been
flooded with the sterile insects, normally dropped over the island from an
aircraft. The IAEA has declared the project a success and has already
embarked on a more ambitious ten-year programme in the southern Rift Valley
of Ethiopia.

Environmentalists have criticised the method for upsetting the natural
balance.The Atomic Energy Agency say it is in fact environmentally friendly
because it removes the need for insecticides.

Copyright BBC

Date: Tue, 23 Dec 1997 00:23:41
From: David J Knowles <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: [CA] Fire Dept rescues cat (and human)
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Fire Dept rescues cat (and human)
By David J Knowles

VANCOUVER, B.C. - Normally, fire departments don't come out to rescue cats
up a tree.

But tonight, Lower Mainland fire crews were dispatched after a woman
climbed up after a neighbour's cat - and got stuck herself.

Martie Vanhuesen noticed her eight-month-old kitten was missing two days
ago. Tonight, neighbour Briggita McMillan volunteered to climb up the pine
tree in her front yard, despite near-freezing temperatures and wet snow.

McMillan reached the cat, called Barbie, but she was caught in the branches
by her long fur.

Suddenly, it dawned on McMillan that her fingers had become numb, and she
could neither rescue the cat nor extracate herself from the tree.

Another neighbour dialled 911, and firefighters dispatched to the scene
helped McMillan out of the tree. They then rescued Barbie, and returned her
to a grateful Vanhuesen.



Date: Tue, 23 Dec 1997 12:15:09 +0000
From: Katy Andrews <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Cc: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: SECOND WOLF CONFERENCE
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

There is a news article about this on page 10 of this week's New
Scientist - unfortunately they don't have the ful thing on their
website.
Katy.


[e-mail] wrote:
>
> The North American Wolf Association (Houston, Texas) and the Wolf Recovery
> Foundation (Boise, Idaho) will be holding a second WOLF ACTIVIST CONFERENCE
> (electronically) on Monday evening, December 22nd, to organize a massive
> global letter writing/petition campaign.
>
> NOTE: If you have contacts in other countries who can help by translating
> these letters and petitions into their native language, please invite them
> to attend.
>
> NOTE: If you run a message board, BBS, news group, or any other forum that
> would be appropriate, PLEASE pass this along!
>
> WE NEED EVERYONE'S HELP ON THIS, IF WE ARE TO SAVE THOSE WOLVES
>
> The Conference will begin PROMPTLY at:
>
> 6:00pm PST
> 7:00pm MST
> 8:00pm CST
> 9:00pm EST
>
> at the following address:
>
> http://www.nawa.org/chatnawa.htnl
>
> ****************************
>
> For those of you unfamiliar with the issue:
>
> On Friday, December 12, 1997, U.S. District Judge William Downes, announced
> his decision on a combination of lawsuits brought three years ago by the
> American Farm Bureau, a ranching couple from Wyoming and the Earth Justice
> Defense Fund representing the National Audubon Society. To our complete shock,
> Judge Downes ruled that the wolf recovery program is illegal and ordered the
> removal of Canadian wolves reintroduced in Yellowstone National Park and
> central Idaho.  He did, however, stay his order pending appeal by the
> Interior Department.
>
> The Farm Bureau is expected to push hard for an immediate rejection of the
> appeal. If they area awarded this rejection, Ed Bangs, Rocky Mountain Wolf
> Project Leader of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, has announced the Service
> may be forced to kill the reintroduced wolves - and their pups - currently
> over 150 wolves. If this tragedy is allowed to occur, only 1 - 3 known wolves
> would be protected in Idaho and none in Yellowstone.
>
> * The Judge's decision was based on legal technicalities that do not affect
> the real safety or protection of the wolves. Montana wolves, who have full
> legal protection under the ESA, have been legally killed at a higher rate
> than in the Idaho experimental area.
>
> * Biologically, the wolf reintroduction program has been extremely successful.
> There are currently 12 to 14 pairs of wolves in Idaho going into January
> breeding season. Six of these pair produced six litters (30 - 32 pups) in
> 1997. In Yellowstone, 9 packs produced 64 pups in 1997. Of this total,
> only 1 - 3 are likely naturally occurring wolves, the other 150 plus wolves
> are in danger of being killed.
>
> * As the groups that support wolf recovery were announcing that they would
> appeal Judge Downes decision, Larry Bourret, Executive Vice President of
> the Wyoming Farm Bureau said the Farm Bureau would be in the U.S. Court
> of Appeals defending it.
>
> In an effort to half this disaster, we are calling for the American public
> to rally to this cause. If you are a wolf-supporter and wish to see the
> reintroduced wolves in central Idaho and Yellowstone National Park stay
> with their families, safe and unharmed, there are some facts that you
> should be made aware of:
>
> The American Farm Bureau, one of the largest insurance companies in this
> hemisphere, has stated that it has approximately 5 million members. What
> you might not know is that you may be one of them.
>
> The American Farm Bureau represents the interests of farmers and ranchers.
> They are an umbrella of sorts for thousands upon thousands of smaller
> insurance companies who insure cars, homes, RVs, motorcycles, annuities,
> life insurance, homeowners policies, etc. If it can be insured, the
> American Farm Bureau probably has their fingers in it.
>
> WHAT YOU CAN DO:
>
> On behalf of the wolves whose lives are at stake, the Wolf Recovery
> Foundation in Boise, Idaho, partnered with the North American Wolf
> Association, are issuing a plea, urging you to think long and hard about
> who you spend your money with.
>
> 1) If your insurance policy (any policy) bears the words: Farm Bureau,
> Farm Family and Rural Mutual Insurance Company anywhere on the policy,
> there is a chance that YOUR money is being used to support the effort
> to see the Idaho and Yellowstone wolves killed. There are plenty of
> alternative insurance companies out there who are competitive and would
> be more than happy to do business with you.
>
> If you are unsure who underwrites your policy - call your agent and ask.
>
> It is our intent to send a powerful message to these people.
> PLEASE HELP US!!!!
>
> These wolves have been through hell and back, and by the grace of God, they
> survived. To see them destroyed now would be a horror we would have to live
> with for the rest of our lives.
>
> 2) PLEASE send whatever you can afford to the Wolf Recovery Foundation,
> P.O. Box 44236, Boise, ID   83711-0236 USA - we NEED your support to see this
> thing through.
>
> 3) We will provide a list of CONGRESS men and women to write concerning
> this issue at the conference.
>
> MAKE NO MISTAKE ABOUT THIS - CANADA WILL ABSOLUTELY NOT TAKE
THESE ANIMALS
> BACK. IF WE DO NOT ACT - THESE WOLVES WILL BE SHOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
>
> DO NOT  WASTE A MOMENT OF TIME WRITING TO THE 10TH DISTRICT COURT
PANEL OF
> JUDGES OR THE GOVERNORS, SENATORS, OR STATE REPRESENTATIVES OF
IDAHO,
> WYOMING, OR MONTANA - THE ONLY WAY TO OVERTURN THIS RULING IS
THROUGH
> CONGRESS. CONGRESS IS THE ONLY GOVERNING BODY THAT HAS THE
AUTHORITY TO
> OVERRIDE THIS DECISION.  IT IS, HOWEVER, A GOOD IDEA TO cc THE OTHER
OFFICIALS.
>
> Please plan on attending and bring us your very best ideas!!!
>
> For the Wolves,
>
> Rae Henderson Ott, Executive Director
> North American Wolf Association
> 23214 Tree Bright Lane
> Houston, TX   77373
> [phone]
> [e-mail]
> http://www.nawa.org
>
> Suzanne Laverty, Director
> The Wolf Recovery Foundation
> P.O. Box 44236
> Boise, ID   83711-0236
> [phone]
> [e-mail]

--
---------------------------------------
Katy Andrews
Year 2000 Project Administrator
Room 203, 61LIF, ICRF London  WC2A 3PX.
Tel: [phone]
e-mail: [e-mail]
---------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 23 Dec 97 06:49:28 UTC
From: [e-mail]
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Bear Cub Saved from Cooking Pot
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>

Bangkok, Thailand (AP) - A baby bear who was destined for the cooking pot
was saved - thanks to the generosity of Thai masseuses.

The manager and employees of Bangkok's Pavilion Massage Parlor took pity
on the beast when a man came in to ask for directions to a Korean
restaurant, where he was going to sell the bear, The Nation newspaper
reported.

Koreans are believed to be the world's biggest consumers of bear paws
and other organs, which they believe promote vitality and health.

The bear's owner said he could no longer afford to feed the 14-month-old
animal.

"I decide to buy the bear after looking into its eyes," the newspaper
quoted manager Somchai Rojjanaburapha as saying.

Some 40 masseuses also pitched in, paying half the $222 cost.

The bear was sent to the Khao Khieow Open Zoo, 50 miles southeast of
Bangkok.
Date: Tue, 23 Dec 97 08:02:01 UTC
From: [e-mail]
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Vegetarian Times
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>

The new Vegetarian Times Magazine has an article about Gary Francione in it.

-- Sherrill
Date: Wed, 24 Dec 1997 00:02:34 +0000
From: jwed <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (CN) Shanghai Zoo
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

China Daily - 23rd December 1997

More zoo animals

SHANGHAI -- Nearly 4,000 new animals have joined Shanghai Zoo this year,
either through birth or introduction from abroad. Shanghai Zoo now has over
14,000 animals from 596 species, 15 more than a year before. In 1997, 35
animal and 38 bird species produced young, 41 of which are rare animals
enjoying State protection. Zoo attendants said this is the first time that
white-hipped entellus monkeys have produced offspring in the zoo.


Date: Tue, 23 Dec 1997 12:09:02 -0500
From: Mesia Quartano <[e-mail]>
To: "[e-mail]" <[e-mail]>
Subject: (US) "Mad mice" offer new test for mad cow disease
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

06:53 PM ET 12/22/97
By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Correspondent

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. scientists said Monday they had developed a
test for mad cow disease that offers a way to check whether meat or
other products may carry the risk of infection.

Genetically engineered mice that are especially sensitive to the disease
can be used to check for contamination and perhaps to see if mad cow
disease is more widespread than suspected.

Dr. Stanley Prusiner, Dr. Fred Cohen and colleagues at the University of
California San Francisco said their test could ''prove critical in
minimizing future human exposure.''

"We've engineered them to have a bovine gene. In that way they now
become susceptible to mad cow disease,'' Cohen said in a telephone
interview.

The mice have ground-up material injected into their brains, and are
then watched for symptoms.

Mad cow disease, known scientifically as bovine spongiform
encephalopathy (BSE), swept through British cattle herds in the 1980s.
British government officials said it posed no risk to people -- until a
few started dying of an odd strain of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD),
the human equivalent.

Tests indicate strongly that this variant of CJD, which has affected
more than 20 people so far, came from eating infected beef. British
officials have imposed progressively stronger measures to try to protect
meat-eaters from risk, including bans
on uses of certain organs and of beef on the bone.

Cohen said his team's test could be used to check to see how much of a
risk certain cattle parts poses and said it was superior to current
testing methods. He hoped one of its first uses would be to see whether
blood can carry the infection -- a hotly debated point.

The new mice develop BSE in about 200 days -- much more quickly than
normal. In cows, BSE takes years to develop and normal CJD takes decades
to show up in humans.

This was still too slow to test individual cuts of beef, Cohen said.
``I'm very fond of aged beef but this would take 100 days or so and we
don't like our beef that old,'' he said.

"But if your goal was to figure out the infectivity of various parts of
a cow, you could use this assay,'' Cohen added.

"You could then rationally decide which parts of the cow are more
concerning, how long you should let cows live before making them part of
the food chain. We know the incidence of mad cow disease goes up with
the age of the cattle.''

He added: "Then you can make reasoned public decisions.''

Cohen said he did not know yet whether the new mice would make more beef
products available, or fewer.

It could also be used to show whether American cattle really were free
of BSE. ``We could cull one out of every 100 cattle and say: 'Look these
are safe,''' he said.

Prusiner, who won this year's Nobel Prize for Medicine for his discovery
of the prion proteins that cause mad cow and related diseases, and his
colleagues published their findings in the Proceedings of the National
Academy of Sciences.

The only foolproof way to test for BSE is to wait until a cow develops
symptoms, kill it and test its brain.

Mice can be injected with brain or other potentially infected material,
but normal mice take a year to develop BSE and most are highly resistant
to getting it at all, due to the
so-called species barrier.

(REUTERS)

Date: Tue, 23 Dec 1997 10:44:39 -0800
From: "Bob Schlesinger" <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Nature Conservancy Position on Feral Pig Snaring
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit

The following was received from the Nature Conservancy in response to my inquiry critical of
their continued use of wire snares on feral pigs in Hawaii:
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------

     THE CHALLENGE TO SAVE HAWAII'S RAIN FORESTS

          Feral Animals And Their Impact On Native Species

1.  Hawaii's rain forests are among the most endangered ecosystems in the
world.  Half of these unique forests have already been lost, and the remainder
is in the grip of an environmental crisis.  Thousands of native Hawaiian
species_90% of which have no other home on the planet_face extinction if these
last rain forests are lost.  These same forests are the primary sources of
fresh water for every population center in the state.  Their health is vital
to the people of Hawaii.

Over 10,000 unique plant and animal species rely on Hawaii's embattled rain
forests and other native habitats for survival_they have no other home on
earth.  With 40% of the nation's endangered birds and 35% of the nation's
endangered plants, Hawaii is a global priority in the struggle to save the
planet's biological treasures from extinction.  Half of our 140 known native
bird species have already been lost forever; of the 70 surviving species, 30
are endangered and 12 are down to fewer than 100 surviving individuals each.

Hawaii's native forests are essential to the environmental and economic
well-being of Hawaii's people.  Every population center in the islands relies
on nearby native forests for its fresh water, either through surface water
diversions or through groundwater sources that depend on forest lands for
their replenishment.  Destruction of these forests through loss of key species
and through massive erosion of precious topsoil has been a concern of Hawaii's
people for much of this century.  Erosion of forest soils has also buried and
killed large areas of coral reef, reducing the productivity of Hawaii's
fisheries.

2.  Pigs, goats, and other foreign hoofed animals introduced to the islands by
humans are the greatest threat to these forests -- preying upon native birds
and plants, destroying our protective watershed cover, and spreading diseases
that also threaten human health.

Until the arrival of humans in Hawaii just 1500 years ago, Hawaii had no land
mammals other than a small species of bat.  The pigs and other animals
destroying Hawaii's forest today are primarily European and Asian livestock
(introduced since 1778) which have gone wild (feral) in a land where they have
no natural enemies and where the native species are defenseless against them.
 The smaller Polynesian pig brought here by the first Hawaiians is gone,
crowded out by these later introductions.

Feral animals have been a major cause of forest destruction, and are now the
greatest threat to the few remaining strongholds of pristine forest.  Where
uncontrolled, feral pigs and goats destroy lush forest vegetation and expose
fragile soils causing rapid erosion, damaging our watersheds and silting over
our reefs.  Just a few of these animals can do great damage in a short time.
Wild pigs, weighing as much as 300 pounds, eat the eggs and nestlings of
native ground-nesting birds such as seabirds and Hawaiian geese (nene).

They spread aggressive weed seeds in their droppings and pollute our water
supply with feces, eroded silt, and foreign diseases such as leptospirosis,
the number of cases of which has tripled between 1995 and 1996 and caused two
deaths in Hawaii in 1989.

3.  Just a few pigs or goats can cause serious damage in our fragile forests.
With adequate forage, pigs and goats can double their numbers in just four
months.  To be effective, control programs must aim at removing at least 70%
of the feral animals in an area within one year; anything less can be replaced
by reproduction in just one year.

The Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources, the National Park
Service, The Nature Conservancy, and others have worked for many years
developing effective control programs to reduce the devastating effects of
pigs and other alien species invading our forests. The National Park Service,
especially, has conducted major research in Hawaii on hunting, trapping,
baiting, snaring and other feral animal control methods.  We have collaborated
with experts elsewhere in the U.S. and abroad, taking advantage of this
collective knowledge to develop our current program.  We have learned that,
both for the protection of the forest and to minimize the number of feral
animals that must be killed, control programs must be very aggressive.  An
effective control program must use a variety of methods to reduce the feral
animal population in an area to very low levels as quickly as possible, and
keep it low.

It has been ascertained, through years of research and experience, that the
most effective feral animal control program available at this time combines
fencing, hunting, live-trapping and snaring.

Wherever the terrain permits, fences are constructed to restrict animal
movements and prevent re-invasion from outside.  Because of Hawaii's
extraordinarily rugged terrain, however, fencing is not always feasible.  And
even with fences, some feral animals will enter through breaks caused by
fallen trees or heavy storms.

Hunting is the primary control method used on our Hawaii preserves.  Hunting
can be effective in accessible areas which can be hunted thoroughly and often
(i.e., within 2 hours' hike from a road), but it can be impractical and
dangerous in more remote areas.  Hunting typically requires the use of trained
dogs to locate pigs in dense vegetation; the safety of both dogs and hunters
becomes a major concern in remote, rugged locations.  Also, as pig or goat
numbers reach lower levels and as surviving animals become wary of hunters and
dogs, hunting becomes less effective.  A population large enough to do
significant damage and to reproduce quickly can continue to elude hunters,
even within some fenced areas.

Live-trapping with baited cages or corrals can capture some of the pigs in an
area, but in most areas, traps are not only too cumbersome to deploy widely,
they also cannot reduce the population enough to prevent continued
reproduction.  This is in part because in Hawaii's lush forests where the food
supply is plentiful, some pigs simply aren't attracted to even the most
effective trap baits.

4.  Pigs and goats are now invading the most remote native forests, where many
of our rarest species survive. In these critical areas, federal, state, and
private land managers (including The Nature Conservancy) use a combination of
fencing, hunting, live-trapping, and snaring to protect the forest.  Based on
years of research and experience, land managers agree that snaring is an
essential part of the forest protection program.

Snaring has been added to control programs only where no other method will
protect the forest.  These remote sites, mostly high-elevation rain forests,
have become the last bastions for many native species, especially our
endangered forest birds.  In these areas, a few pigs or goats can do great
damage in a short time, and are extremely difficult to capture with traps or
hunting for the reasons described above.  Snares provide managers with a
control method that can be deployed over large, rugged areas to capture feral
animals and keep their numbers very low.  Snares can capture animals that
enter these areas even when humans are not present, preventing the expansion
of the feral animal problem.  They can be used where it is unsafe to send
hunters and dogs.  Where snares are in use, the damage caused by pigs and
goats has been dramatically reduced.

Because the use of snares is restricted to very remote sites where human
travel is difficult and often dangerous, it takes months to deploy them and it
is physically impossible to check each snare every day.  Daily checks would
require constant use of helicopters to ferry staff, causing added stresses to
the rare native birds in these forests.  Traversing steep, wet terrain each
day also greatly increases the risk of serious injury to field staff, and
causes severe trampling of delicate bogs and forest vegetation.

5.  The Nature Conservancy's goal is to end the use of snares as rapidly as an
adequate replacement can be found to protect the forest.  We are dedicating
staff and funding to search for additional control methods that can replace
snaring.  There are several possibilities, but it will be some time before
they are practical for Hawaii.

Commonly proposed alternatives to snaring such as poisons and birth control
are opposed by many and are not as simple as they may sound.  No poison of any
kind is currently legal for pigs or goats in the U.S., and many people are
concerned about environmental effects of any chemical placed in the forest.
While birth control is theoretically possible and has been applied to [many
mammal] species [in controlled settings], [it is not yet practical for use in
remote, wild populations.  Contraceptives [for mammals] must be delivered
surgically or by injection, and must be re-administered each year.  This makes
them impractical for use in free-roaming, wild populations in the dense rain
forest.  Also, there are serious concerns about the effects of these drugs on
the treated animals, and about the impacts [the animals] would continue to
have on the environment while they lived.  Nevertheless, we continue to stay
abreast of contraceptive research as a future alternative for some situations.


     FACTS

The Conservancy's goal is to bring an end to the use of snares as quickly as
an equally effective replacement method can be found.  However, at this time
we believe there are only two choices for Hawaii's fragile rain forest areas:
protect them with hunting, fencing, live-trapping, and snaring, or allow feral
animals to destroy them.  We cannot in good conscience turn our backs on the
many native species which inhabit these forests, and whose very existence is
threatened by animals which people are responsible for bringing to these
islands.

Since 1993, we have reduced the number of nature preserves in which snares are
used from four to two.

We have built more than  20 miles of fencing on our preserves at a cost
o$35,000 - $50,000 per mile. Where our own ownership boundaries make fencing
impractical, we have developed  partnerships with neighboring landowners for
large-scale fencing that will further reduce the number of pigs in upland
forests.

We have further expanded our use of hunting as a feral animal control method.
On Molokai, we  have followed through on our commitment to test the ability of
organized teams of staff and volunteer hunters to keep pig and goat numbers
low in two areas where snares were used earlier to reduce feral animal
populations. This trial program has succeeded in keeping pig numbers low in
these two sites, but goat populations have rebounded and now require renewed
effort.  On Maui, we have expanded our use of professional hunters in
accessible areas of our preserves.

To accelerate the search for alternatives, the Conservancy established the
Hawaii Animal Control Research Consortium, a group whose participants
represent the full range of views on approaches to feral animal control.  The
Consortium includes The Nature Conservancy, the National Park Service, the
Humane Society of the United States, the Hawaiian Humane Society, the State of
Hawaii, a local hunter, and PeTA.   This group worked together despite their
differences to conduct a comprehensive review of control methods and to devise
a research program to develop the most effective, humane, and culturally
appropriate control methods for feral animals in Hawaii's remote natural
areas.

The challenge of reversing the extinction crisis in Hawaii requires some
difficult choices.  We hope that you choose to work with us as we face this
urgent challenge.


-------------------------[Original Message]--------------------------

Below is the result of your Membership Comments form.
--------------------------------------------------
subject: Membership Comments
state: OR
zip: 97123
last_name: Schlesinger
comments: Recently I received a request to renew my membership. I had let
my membership lapse because of the Conservancy's use of cruel wire snares to
catch wild pigs on your land in the Hawaiian Islands.
Please send me proof that this practice has stopped, and
a way that I can verify it.  Otherwise I plan to publicize
at our web site that it is still taking place.
Thank you,
-Bob Schlesinger

Date: Tue, 23 Dec 1997 12:38:17 -0800
From: [e-mail] (Lawrence Carter-Long)
To: [e-mail]
Subject: A Request Regarding News Stories...
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Greetings folks -

Many of the articles posted here on ar-news deserve either
a direct response or some degree of commentary - unfortunately
since many of the items are usually taken directly from newswires,
folks like myself who often respond to them have no way of knowing
where they were actually publihed, if anywhere.

This makes me crazed as there are plenty of opportunities for
educating people that go unanswered.   To those who're interested,
could you PLEASE forward any science, health or animal
experimentation related news items to me at the following
address:

Lawrence Carter-Long
Animal Protection Institute
2831 Fruitridge Road
Sacramento, CA 95814

If you are unsure as to whether or not API is interested in
responding to a particular story, please give me a call at
the phone number found in my sig. file.

Thanks, gang!

Happy holly-daze to all -

Lawrence Carter-Long
Science and Research Issues, Animal Protection Institute
email: [e-mail], phone: [phone] x. 215
world wide web: http://www.api4animals.org/

"Civil liberties are always safe as long as their exercise doesn't
bother anyone."   New York Times editorial, 1-3-41






Date: Tue, 23 Dec 1997 20:40:42 -0500 (EST)
From: Debbie Leahy <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: [US] Nativity Scene Animals
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
MIME-version: 1.0
Content-type: TEXT/PLAIN; CHARSET=US-ASCII

NO MERRY CHRISTMAS FOR NATIVITY SCENE ANIMALS

Sheep, goats, a donkey, and a camel were used as a Nativity
scene for an outdoor play at Hillcrest Baptist Church last
Christmas.  Rented and shipped from a Wisconsin company, these
animals were left outdoors, unsupervised and exposed to the
elements for several days.  Animals at a similar scene in
Virginia suffered the consequences posed by this type of
display-a pack of dogs mauled the sheep and panicked the donkey
who was hit by a car when he attempted to flee.  Their injuries
were so severe that all the animals had to be euthanized.

Traveling animal acts contribute to the very serious issue of
surplus animals.  When they've exhausted their "usefulness,"
they may be abandoned, sold, or killed.

Sponsors seldom bother to check an exhibitor's background.  The
animal rental company last used by Hillcrest Baptist Church --
Animal Entertainment, also called R-Zoo-has a troublesome past:

- In October, 1997, a baboon reportedly bit a 4-year-old girl at
a pumpkin farm.

- In 1994, a young wallaby escaped from the zoo and was
recaptured days later.

- In 1994, a 1,700-pound hippopotamus escaped from the zoo and
wandered around for two days-the animal was shot and killed.

- R-Zoo operator, Mark Schoebel, paid a $1,000 federal fine
after being accused of supplying wild Wisconsin bears to Korea,
where bear gall bladders fetch high prices as aphrodisiacs.

- In 1994, the U.S. Department of Agriculture recommended
Schoebel be penalized for willfully and knowingly transporting
a primate across state lines without a required health
certificate.

No reputable animal care facility would ever subject its animals
to the stress and danger of public display or jeopardize the
public's safety.  Despite concerns raised by last year's
Nativity scene, Hillcrest Baptist Church is again using live
animals as stage props.  Please urge the church to rely on the
talents of human performers and extend their circle of
compassion to all living beings.  Contact:

     Pastor Ron Pate
     Hillcrest Baptist Church SBC
     17300 Pulaski Road
     Country Club Hills, IL  60478
     Phone) 708/799-8300
Date: Tue, 23 Dec 1997 22:20:41 EST
From: NOVENA ANN <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Dick Kaye hangs up his mink
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit

Dick Kaye hangs up his mink

By Penny Parker
Denver Post Business Writer

Dec. 17 - Dick Kaye is wrapping up his 46-year career in the fur
business.

At the end of January, Kaye will step down as head of his multistore
retail operation and turn over the day-to-day responsibilities to his
partner, Joe Hamilton.

Hennessy International, a New York investment firm, will buy out Kaye's
interest, but the Richard Kaye Furs Inc. name will stay on the door of
the flagship store in the Denver Design Center at 601 S. Broadway.

"I want to travel a bit. I want to fish and I want to play golf,"  Kaye
said in the aristocratic voice that served as his signature in
television and radio commercials over the years. "I want to retire and
take it easy." That's the second time he's said that. The first time
Kaye tried to retire was in 1987, when he sold his chain of Lloyd's Furs
- a Denver company he bought out of bankruptcy for $1,500 in 1952.

"When I bought Lloyd's Furs I had such little money that I couldn't
afford to change the name on the sign or the stationery," Kaye said.

After his first retirement, Kaye threw himself into civic and charity
work.

"I also took piano lessons, went to the gym and tried playing the stock
market. I didn't do well at any of those things." Kaye retired from
retirement in 1991 and opened a little store under his own name. "It
became big business," he said. "Those were fun, great years - halcyon
years."

Furs, Kaye said, are actually less expensive today than when he started
in the business in 1952. Production costs have dropped dramatically,
which in turn has driven down retail prices, he said.

"It's a business of supply and demand. Now there are thousands of
ranchers that supply." Furs today cost from $1,000 for a fox jacket to
$100,000 for a full-length sable coat. Mink is the biggest seller.

Kaye said the anti-fur movement in the early 1980s didn't make much of a
dent in sales, even though protesters regularly paraded in front of his
door. "They made very little impression on the buying habits of people,"
he said.

The biggest change in the fur business is the frequency with which
customers drape themselves in fur, he said. "At one time a fur was a
symbol of luxury, worn primarily in the evening and with formal wear.
Now, it's something you wear proudly with blue jeans or evening
dresses.''
Date: Tue, 23 Dec 1997 22:32:41 EST
From: NOVENA ANN <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Convicted activists haven't changed views
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit

Convicted activists haven't changed views

Animal-rights supporters who broke into mink farm, released animals now
serving five years of probation
Tracy Wheeler
Beacon Journal staff writer
Published Monday, December 22, 1997,
in the Akron Beacon Journal.

MEDINA: Hours after Stephanie MacDougall was charged with five felonies
for breaking into a Lafayette Township mink farm, she still believed in
what she was trying to do. And she wasn't apologizing for it.

Five months later, her accomplice, and now her husband, Jesse Parsh,
said, ``Our views haven't changed.''

But asked if they regretted what they did, he said, ``I'd rather not
comment on that.''

MacDougall and Parsh, both 19 and of Cleveland, are two of four
animal-rights activists arrested on July 10. Matthew Coate, 20, of
University Heights, was arrested, as was a juvenile. All have been
convicted of breaking and entering, vandalism and possession of criminal
tools.

Twice in early July, the four broke into Tom Mohoric's mink farm. The
first time, Parsh and MacDougall cut through the fence and spray-painted
the animals' pens with the slogans ``Fur is Dead,'' ``Free the
Animals,'' and ``A.L.F,'' a reference to the Animal Liberation Front.

They were turned back when an animal bit Parsh on the hand while trying
to cut open a cage. Undeterred, they returned a couple of nights later.

The juvenile dropped off Parsh, MacDougall and Coate, with the plan
being that they'd hook up down the road two hours later. The team
released 41 of the animals and tore up about 50 breeding cards,
according to court records.

An alarm awakened Mohoric, who called police.

While Mohoric gathered the loose minks, the police found the juvenile
sitting in her car. The other three approached and were arrested. They
confessed later.

Mohoric estimated damages at $15,000. The cages and fence were ruined,
he said, but more important, once the minks were released and their
identification cards were torn up, they were no longer useful for
breeding.

But business is back to normal, Mohoric said, and he was told he should
see his first restitution check soon.

Parsh and MacDougall have been sentenced to six months of house arrest;
Coate was sentenced to 30 days of house arrest. All were given five
years of probation (during which Medina Common Pleas Judge Judith Cross
said they could have no involvement with animal-rights groups) and 100
hours of community service. They are also ordered to pay restitution of
$4,943, plus court costs. Cross told Coate at his sentencing last Friday
that it was still a stupid thing to do, even though she felt he was less
involved than the other two.


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