Komputer for Alle 1998 #6/1998 CD 6 (Gul).iso/web/ffa/wwwenv~1.org/arrs/digest/news70~3.htm/text0000.txt

Text File | 1998-04-02 | 282.0 KB | 6,291 lines

Actress and animal-rights activist Kim Bassinger won the Best Actress Oscar
at the Academy awards in Los Angeles.

She won for her role in L.A. Confidential.

Unfortunately, not all good news however. Ms. Fur herself, Celine Dion,
whose upcoming Canadian tour - she will be appearing in Vancouver October
9th, won the award for Best Original Song - 'My Heart Will Go On'
(described, along with the other nominations, by Vancouver Sun Critic
Katherine Monk as a "over-produced, overindulgent, over-simplified hymn in
the key of banal")

Meanwhile, back in Vancouver, Vegetarian singer Sarah McLachlan took home
four awards from the annual Candian Juno Awards.

McLachlan won Albumn of the Year (Surfacing); Single of the Year (Building
a Mystery); Female Vocalist of the Year; and Songwriter of the Year (with
collaborator Pierre Marchand).



Date: Tue, 24 Mar 1998 13:51:25 +0800
From: bunny <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Urgent help required re whales-more info
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

>Subject: US NAVY KILLING WHALES URGENT HELP NEEDED
>
>PLEASE CIRCULATE... WHALES NEED URGENT HELP AS THE US NAVY
CONDUCTS LOW
>SONAR FREQUENCY EXPERIMENTS IN HAWAIIAN SANCTUARY.. WHALES ARE
DYING.
>Thanks a million, Sue Arnold, Australians for Animals
>
>  If you are willing to send emails of protest here are the key addresses:
>
>The President of the United States William Jefferson Clinton
><[e-mail]>
>Subject: Factual Evidence: Stop using LFAS
>Cc: Hillary Clinton <[e-mail]>,
>        Al Gore <[e-mail]>
>
>
>Prepared by:
>
>Mary Rose and Lanny Sinkin, Light Worker Center, 58 Furneaux Lane, Suite 5
>Hilo, Hawai'i 96720 fax number [phone] Emailto:[e-mail]
>
>"March 17, 1998
>
>The Honorable John H. Dalton Secretary of the Navy FAX: [phone]
>
>Dear Secretary Dalton,
>
>We call upon you to suspend, immediately and for an indefinite duration,
>any further activity pursuant to Permit No. 875-1401 as amended on February
>12, 1998. Under this permit, the United States Navy is now broadcasting
>loud, low frequency sounds into the waters off the west coast of the Island
>of Hawai'i. The facts set forth below and their cumulative impact both
>warrant the requested suspension.
>
>1. Permit application amendment not in good faith.
>
>The National Marine Fishery Service granted the permit application based on
>a finding that the amendment was "applied for in good faith." Federal
>Register, Vol. 63, No. 34, Friday, February 20, 1998 at 8613. Contrary to
>this finding, the United States Navy did not inform the National Marine
>Fishery Service at the time of the application that a monitoring study of
>the impacts on marine life of similar tests conducted off Greece and the
>Canary Islands had resulted in the stranding and deaths of an unusual
>number of whales. Off Greece, the strandings also took place in an unusual
>pattern -- separated individuals rather than a group stranding. Nature,
>March 5, 1998. The failure of the United States Navy to inform the National
>Marine Fishery Service of these research findings demonstrates an absence
>of good faith in the permit application.
>
>2. Violations of Permit during implementation.
>
>The permit for Phase III states:
>
>"6. Source transmissions shall be suspended immediately if an acute
>behavioral response (e.g. repeated/prolonged activity (vocalizations,
>breaching, blowing, time on surface, etc.), potential injurious activity,
>abnormal number of animals present or absent in the area, abnormal
>mother-calf activity, or erratic swimming behavior of pinnipeds, small
>cetaceans, or sea turtles) by a marine mammal or sea turtle is detected."
>
>A. Contrary to the requirements of paragraph 6 quoted above, the
>transmissions were not suspended when observers on the west coast of
>Hawai'i, using a telescope, observed a baby hump back whale breaching more
>than 200 times over a period of five hours. At no time during those five
>hours was the mother whale present. A baby hump back whale breaching more
>than 200 times in a five hour period is "an acute behavioral response"
>under the terms of the permit. The absence of the mother whale over a five
>hour period constituted "abnormal mother-calf activity" under the terms of
>the permit. The Ocean Mammal Institute provided the observer team. The
>National Marine Fishery Service received notice of these observations.
>Either the Institute or other individuals reported the observations to the
>National Marine Fishery Service in Washington, D.C. and Honolulu. For
>confirmation, contact: Ocean Mammal Institute, [phone].
>Similarly, in the first week of March a commercial fisherman observed a
>baby hump back whale staying on the surface for a prolonged period of time,
>the first such observation by the captain in 15 years of fishing. For
>confirmation, contact: Wayne Leslie, [phone].
>
>B. On March 12, dolphins in Honokohau Harbor and the South Side of Hoona
>Bay appeared to be dangerously close to the shore, clustering in a tight
>defensive posture on the surface and exhibiting constant and extreme
>vocalization. This behavior coincided with the broadcasting of the LFA
>tests. The reported behavior also fits the "erratic swimming behavior of
>... small cetaceans" and "repeated/prolonged activity (vocalizations ...
>time on surface)" criteria of paragraph 6 quoted above. This bay is a
>customary resting area for various dolphin pods. For confirmation, contact:
>Chris Reed, [phone].
>
>C. There are various reports of abnormal number of animals present.
>
>1. During the first week of March, a captain of a whale watching vessel
>reported seeing up to fifteen hammerhead sharks located off the old airport
>approximately 1/2 mile from the old Kona pier. The captain found this
>citing unusual enough to report. For confirmation, contact: Captain Mike
>Yee, [phone]
>
>2. In an aerial census survey on March 12 by the Ocean Mammal Institute, an
>extraordinary number of whales were seen on the east coast of Hawai'i. For
>confirmation, contact: Ocean Mammal Institute, [phone].
>
>3. Cuvier beaked whales, rarely seen off Hawaii, were seen off the west
>coast in the vicinity of the United States Navy broadcasting vessel. For
>confirmation, contact: Benedick Howard, [phone].
>
>4. Orcas, rarely seen off Hawai'i, were seen off the west coast. For
>confirmation, contact: Captain James Dean, [phone].
>
>5. On Sunday, March 15, a manta ray appeared and breached twice in Hilo
>Bay. We personally witnessed this event. We have visited the same spot
>three or four times a week for four years and never seen a manta ray there.
>
>D. There are reports of abnormal number of animals absent.
>
>1. An aerial census survey found far fewer whales on the west side of the
>island then normal. For confirmation, contact: Ocean Mammal Institute,
>[phone]. Similarly, a boat captain, scuba trainer, and
>photographer/writer covering whales reports that the number of whales seen
>off the west coast of Hawai'i during the testing period is approximately
>ten percent (10%) of what she has seen in past years. For confirmation,
>contact: Cat Sweeny, [phone]. Similarly, in the first week of March,
>Captain Chuck Leslie, commercial boat captain for 42 years, did not see a
>single whale while opelu fishing between 6:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. within the
>coastal area (shoreline to horizon). Captain Leslie reports this absence
>over such a prolonged period to be the first such absence during whale
>season in his 42 years of fishing the coast line. For confirmation,
>contact: Captain Chuck Leslie, [phone].
>
>3. Related concerns supporting suspension of the permit.
>
>In November 1998, representatives of the United States Navy and the
>Scientific Research Program met with representatives from State agencies to
>discuss state permit requirements for Phase III implementation of the
>permit. As a result of that meeting, the United States Navy agreed to
>various conditions. An "LFA Fact Sheet" issued by the Hawai'i Department of
>Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) contains those conditions.
>
>A. Ocean Mammal Institute. The DLNR fact sheet states:
>
>"The targeted animals will also be observed from two shore stations ...."
>
>"The Scientific Research Program has also agreed to assist the Ocean Mammal
>Institute, a local non-governmental organization, in conducting its own
>shore- based observation program of the whales during the time of the
>experiments."
>
>The Ocean Mammal Institute is the organization which reported the distress
>behavior of the baby hump back whale and the absence of the whale mother
>set forth in Item 2.A above. Having identified the Institute as a competent
>organization to conduct such observations, the United States Navy then
>refused to acknowledge the validity of such an observation and immediately
>suspend the tests, as the permit would require.
>
>B. Warnings. The DLNR fact sheet states:
>
>"Humans swimming, snorkeling or diving within 5 miles of the shore should
>not be exposed to sound intensity levels greater than 120-130dB. ... The
>Navy has provided warnings on the Internet and to local dive shops, dive
>clubs, and diving organizations about the potential of humans hearing
>strange sounds in nearshore waters (<5 mi) during the time of the testing."
>
>We have personally spoken with a dive shop operator in the Kawaihae area
>who stated that he had received no advance notice of any kind, let alone a
>warning, regarding the tests. Local volunteers, not associated with the
>tests, copied the United States Navy Internet warning, added related
>material, and delivered a package to dive shops and other potentially
>affected businesses and individuals. For confirmation, contact: Chris Reed
>- 808-328-8672.
>
>Other than one chaotic public presentation on February 7, we are unaware of
>any effort on the part of the United States Navy to inform and/or warn the
>public about the tests and their potential for causing harm.
>
>The failure to inform/warn demonstrates an irresponsible attitude on the
>part of the permittee, supporting the suspension of the permit.
>
>C. Medical researchers. The DLNR fact sheet states:
>
>"The Navy has also sent two medical researchers to the Big Island to
>provide additional information to the diving community and the public about
>the possible effects to humans."
>
>As people involved heavily in this controversy for the past month, we have
>not spoken with anyone aware of the presence of these two individuals or
>any presentation of additional information on possible effects to humans by
>such individuals.
>
>Sonar testing can cause nausea, headaches, earaches, chest pains, dizziness
>and disorientation to humans. We do have reports of citizens experiencing
>these symptoms during the testing. For confirmation, contact: Joy
>Gardner-Gordon - 808-889-0040.
>
>The absence of the medical researchers and/or any monitoring of possible
>adverse effects on humans demonstrates irresponsibility on the part of the
>permittee, supporting the suspension of the permit.
>
>The above information is more than adequate to form a basis for suspending
>the tests immediately.
>                ACTION...NOW..
>
>Please email your protest to the links below and then copy this email to
>others and keep the wave moving far and wide around the planet.es.
>
>When emailing the following please put "Factual Evidence: Stop using LFAS,
>Stop Using LFAS Worldwide" in subject header.
>
>In the event that not all addresses are underlined highlight them all, copy
>and paste to your email program
>
>Government:
>mailto:[e-mail],[e-mail],vicepresident@whiteho
>u
>se.gov,[e-mail],[e-mail],[e-mail],neil@abercrombi
>e
>.mail.house.gov,[e-mail],[e-mail]
>
>Media:
>mailto:[e-mail],[e-mail],[e-mail],[e-mail]
>,
>[e-mail],[e-mail],[e-mail],[e-mail],ima@
>w
>estworld.com,[e-mail],[e-mail],[e-mail],[e-mail],cnn
>.
>[e-mail],[e-mail],[e-mail],askfox@foxinc.
>c
>om,[e-mail],[e-mail],[e-mail],[e-mail],News8@aloha.
>n
>et,[e-mail],[e-mail],[e-mail],comments@k
>h
>on.com,[e-mail],[e-mail]
>
>
>Military:
>mailto:[e-mail],[e-mail],[e-mail],Shotton.L
>e
>[e-mail],[e-mail],[e-mail],
>
>
>
>
>
>Sue Arnold, Australians for Animals NSW Inc. PO Box 673, Byron Bay NSw 2481
>Australia. Ph: 61 66 843769 Fax: [phone] email:[e-mail]
>
>
>
=====================================================================
========
                   /`\   /`\    The Balance:
Tom, Tom,         (/\ \-/ /\)   NATURE's balance is so fine-
The piper's son,     )6 6(      Take care when altering her design!
Saved a pig        >{= Y =}<    A species introduced could grow
And away he run;    /'-^-'\     To be a source of endless woe;
So none could eat  (_)   (_)    While culling another could unfold
The pig so sweet    |  .  |     A horde of pests it once controlled.
Together they ran   |     |}    from "The Judgement of the Animals"
Down the street.    \_/^\_/     by Willow Macky (published by the RNZSPCA)
***************************************************************************
Rabbit Information Service      http://www.wantree.com.au/~rabbit/rabbit.htm
P.O. Box 30,                    email [e-mail]
Riverton,                       Was Jesus a vegetarian? Vegan and AR info;
Western Australia 6148          http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/4620

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

Date: Mon, 23 Mar 1998 22:36:42
From: David J Knowles <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Contacts for the Candian Sealers' Association
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

The Candian Association is the government-sponsored lobby group which acts
on behalf of the seal slaughterers.

If you should which to find out more about the organization, or wish to
contact them for whatever reason, their spokesperson is Tina Fagin.

She can be contacted, via e-mail, at: < [e-mail] > or <
[e-mail] >

The web site of the CSA is:  http://www.sealers.nf.ca/news.htm


I would be grateful for copies of any replies you receive.

Many thanks,

David Knowles
Animal Voices

Date: Tue, 24 Mar 1998 01:49:00 EST
From: Wackko8281 <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (US) A Good For Lab Rats
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit

Business Week: March 23, 1998
Developments to Watch

A GOOD DAY FOR LAB RATS

IN TODAY'S AUTOMATED LABS, drug researchers can produce thousands of compounds
that promise relief for various diseases. But about 98% eventually fail due to
toxicity, high production costs, or ineffectiveness in human trials. So the
challenge is to determine which candidates are in the other 2%.
   Soon, artificial-intelligence software developed by Multicase Inc. and the
University of Pittsburgh may improve the odds by predicting the toxicity of
chemical compounds. Multicase, a spin-off of Case Western Reserve University
in Cleveland, is now working with the Food & Drug Administration, which is
compiling toxicity databases drawn from hundreds of animal studies. Combined
with the AI software, the databases will serve as ``virtual animals'' for
screening new drugs. The first FDA databases, now nearing completion, are
designed to help predict which compounds may cause birth defects and fertility
problems in animals. Based on that, some compounds could be nixed without
costly trials.
   These tools won't eliminate the need for lab animals. But they could help
the FDA fine-tune decisions on how much testing is necessary. That would let
the pharmaceutical industry slash months or years from its development
cycle--thus saving a bundle. Multicase's systems entail a one-time cost of
$56,000 to $100,000; each animal test series can easily run that much or more.
Multi- case expects approval of the software within two years. Johanna
Knapschaefer

EDITED BY NEIL GROSS


******************************************************************************
               Animal Defense League of New York City/Long Island
                                           PO Box 33
                                   Huntington, NY 11743
                                        1-800-459-3109
                                  [e-mail]
                    http://members.aol.com/adlnycli/home.htm

   The Animal Defense League is a nationally active grassroots organization
   working to inform the public about animal exploitation and abuse. Through
     community ourtreach, networking, legislation, public education, vocal
      demonstrations and civil disobedience, we speak for those who cannot
                                  speak for themselves.

 "The Truth Is On Our Side. Animals Suffer And Die. Vegan Revolution Now!"
******************************************************************************

Date: Mon, 23 Mar 1998 22:05:02
From: David J Knowles <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: [UK] Fishmonger flees giant eel's last fling
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 24th, 1998

Fishmonger flees giant eel's last fling

JOHN Hogg, a fishmonger, kept his distance from a giant conger eel that
"came back from the dead" and snapped its powerful jaws just inches from
his face.

Mr Hogg, 45, was preparing to open his shop in North Shields, Tyne and
Wear, when he went to inspect a fresh delivery of fish.

He said: "The conger eel was in a plastic fish box and suddenly it flipped
up and out on to the floor. I was certain it was dead, otherwise I would
have been more careful. I thought
I was a goner, it was so big and powerful."

The 10-stone [140 lb] eel, which can survive for about an hour out of the
water, flipped on to the floor and began thrashing around. Mr Hogg said:
"Conger eels are vicious and this one had razor-sharp teeth and strong jaws
that could easily snap your wrist. My first thought was to catch it, but
when it turned round and stared me out I decided to run for it."

He shut up shop for several hours and returned only when he was sure the
fish was dead. The eel will be cut into steaks and deep frozen for
restaurants.


⌐ Copyright Telegraph Group Limited 1998.

Date: Mon, 23 Mar 1998 22:49:23
From: David J Knowles <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Contacts for the Vancouver Aquarium
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

For those who wish to contact the Vancouver Aquarium regarding their
seperation of Quila and Aurora (The beluga calf and her mother), or about
their plans to introduce a 'Swim with the Whales' program and other
hands-on "educational" experiences for visitors, they can be contacted at
the following:

VANCOUVER AQUARIUM SNAIL MAIL ADDRESS

PO Box 3232, Vancouver, British Columbia,
Canada V6B 3X8

Phone: [phone]
Fax:       [phone]
COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT

For media and communications requests or information, please contact
Paul Clarke, Communications Manager.
Phone: [phone]
Pager:  [phone]
Fax:       [phone]
E-mail: [e-mail]

website: http://www.vanaqua.org/

Date: Tue, 24 Mar 1998 00:32:26
From: David J Knowles <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: [US/CA] Bassinger wins Best Actress - Correction
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Kim Bassinger won the Best Supporting Actress - not Best Actress as
originally posted. Apologies for any inconvenience.

David

Date: Tue, 24 Mar 1998 04:26:16 -0600
From: Steve Barney <[e-mail]>
To: AR-News <[e-mail]>
Subject: [US] WRPRC: "The UW's Other Monkeys" (IS-031298)
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
MIME-version: 1.0
Content-type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit

http://www.thedailypage.com/docfeed/11monkey.htm
Document Feed Primary Sources
Published by ISTHMUS
Madison, Wisconsin
United States
Thursday, March 12, 1998
Have any documents or suggestions?
E-mail them to Bill Lueders <[e-mail]>.

[Beginning]

The UW's Other Monkeys:
Records regarding the university's use of primates in invasive research.

Included here is a 1997 report by a New York-based nonprofit group that
reviews animal research, as well as materials from the UW explaining its
use of animals in research. All documents were scanned in
electronically.

Medical Research Modernization Committee P.O. Box 2751 Grand Central
Station New York, NY 10163-2751 [phone]

Board of directors Murry J. Cohen, M.D. Marjorie Cramer, M.D. Ray Greek.
M.D. Stephen R. Kaufman, M.D.

[From bottom of page:] The MRMC is a non-profit health advocacy
organization composed of physicians, other health-care professionals,
and laypersons who believe that animal experimentation is an inherently
unsound way to investigate human disease processes. The MRMC favors a
redirection of federal funds towards methods that are modern,
cost-effective, and directly relevant to human beings.

"Critique of Experiments Recently Conducted at the Wisconsin Regional
Primate Research Center (WRPRC)"

Joseph Kemnitz and colleagues have participated in an on-going research
project involving applying dietary restriction (DR) to rhesus monkeys
and studying its effects. The general methodology involves use of 30
male rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulaaa), ages 8-14 years at the beginning of
the study, who are caged individually in order to control access to food
and to measure food intake and physical activity, but grouped in rooms
with other monkeys in the project. They have extensive visual and
auditory, but not tactile contact with each other. They are sedated for
the various tests required. They were assigned to a control group, which
was fed ad lib for 6-8 hours, or an experimental group which was
subjected to 70% DR.

I have reviewed three publications based on this on-going study. One
research paper described the effects of DR on aging.1 It was found that:
average body weight for controls increased by 9% compared to no weight
gain in monkeys on DR; monkeys on DR had less body fat than controls;
physical activity was less in the DR group; and there were no
significant effects of caloric restriction on other age-sensitive
indices (oxygen consumption, insulin levels and glucoregulation, ocular
measures, nail growth, cardiovascular measures, hematologic measures.)
The authors point out that the control animals continued to gain weight
and add body fat despite the progressive decrease of their food intake
from baseline levels, which necessitated recalculation of food allotment
of the DR monkeys in order to reinstate the intended relative level of
restriction. This, they say, complicates the interpretation of the
emerging effects of restriction. The authors also state that because the
life span of monkeys is so much greater than rodents, the effect of DR
on aging will require more time to become manifest, and many years of
follow-up are required. Finally, the authors conclude that their project
is generating a useful base of new information on the physiology of
rhesus monkeys.

A second research paper studies the effect of DR on immune responses.2
It was found that certain immunologic measures--PBMC mitogen-induced
proliferation to ConA and PWM, and NK cell lysis and plasma antibody
response to influenza vaccine--were all significantly reduced in animals
with 24 years of DR compared to controls. Since these decreases are
generally associated with increased aging, it was concluded that the
experimental results are inconsistent with the hypothesis that DR
decelerates immunologic aging in the rhesus monkey. The authors stress,
however, critical differences between their studies and those conducted
in rodents on DR, and conclude that it remains unknown whether their DR
regimen is influencing immunologic aging in a manner totally consistent
to that occurring in rodents.

A third research paper studies the effect of 30 months of DR on energy
expenditure.3 The authors point out that DR without essential nutrient
deficiency retards the rate of biological aging and the development of
cancer and other late-life diseases in mice and rats. They found that
after 36 months of study, monkeys on DR were noticeably thinner, with
significant reduced body weights, and that at the 2~30 month assessment
nighttime energy expenditure was significantly deduced in the DR group
compared to controls, whereas morning, afternoon, and total energy
expenditure were not significantly different. They point out that their
results are consistent with experiments showing a net decrease in body
weight with 20% DR in adult humans; i.e., the lowering of body weight to
a new steady state is consistent with the effects of DR initiated in
adult humans.

These three research papers read like primatology physiology studies
whose focus are on monkey physiology. Indeed, the authors themselves
claim that their project is generating a useful base of new information
on the physiology of rhesus monkeys. When inter-species comparisons of
data are made, the nonhuman primate data are usually compared with
rodent data. Very few allusions to human aging or health are made, and
when they are, the authors seem to think that their results validate
that which is already known in humans. There are very few references to
human studies, which is puzzling since the point of these experiments
should be to better understand the human condition, and because two of
the three papers were published in a clinical journal. This is typical
of the animal research mentality that believes that experimental results
in humans cannot be believed until and unless they are replicated in
animals. Not only is this not true, but the reverse is true.

The procedures used to measure the experimental variables are very
complex and technical, which gives the research papers a
pseudo-scientific veneer. I believe that many animal experimental
protocols are decided upon not because they have an important question
to address, but rather because the experimenters consider their
experimental design and procedures elegant and sophisticated, and that
this research project is an example of that mind-set. The data is
immediately confounded by the inevitable laboratory stress (caging,
social disruption [isolation of profoundly social animals, which can be
so stressful as to result in self-mutilating behavior],4 restraint,
methods of transport, noise levels, lighting, food deprivation, and
routine use of cleansers, insecticides and chemical sterilizers,5 as
well as psychological stress, which has been shown to alter plasma
cortisol levels in monkeys.6 Indeed, the mere handling of monkeys can
result in measurable physiological changes.7 Pulse rates of rhesus
monkeys have been found to change when humans enter the room.8 Although
the experimenters inform us that the animals were all in good health, we
are not informed of the histories of the animals, the conditions of
their prior lives, and their changing conditions with respect to cages,
diets, social environment, etc. Since each species is different
physiologically, there is no reason to assume that these findings are
applicable to humans, except when it is known that application to humans
is likely because the human results are already known, as when the
authors claim that their results correspond with human DR data. In such
cases, there is no need to perform animal research. When results differ
from what is known about humans--such as the finding that DR may not
decelerate immunologic aging in rhesus monkeys--why should this be
assumed to be true in humans? In humans there is evidence that DR,
indeed, does decelerate immunological aging.

A finding such as decrease in body weight after DR is obvious and does
not require experimentation. If it did, it could easily be shown in
human volunteers. Indeed, this is already know from human experimental
studies, and the experimenters statement that their results "are
consistent" with human studies reveals the topsy-turvy world of animal
research, where the cart always seems to precede the horse. As usual,
the experimenters feather their nest by recommending additional years of
the same research. Finally, the effects of DR on aging, immune response
and energy expenditure could have been easily studied in humans, with
results that would have had a greater likelihood to apply to other
humans.

Pauza-Coe Studies C. David Pauza and colleagues, including Christopher
L. Coe, have been conducting studies in SIV-infected rhesus macaque
monkeys. One research paper studied the effect of pertussis toxin on
viral and lymphocyte distributions.9 The authors describe five male
rhesus macaques selected from the WRPRC breeding colony and given
pertussis toxin at ages three or four, and two monkeys not administered
the pertussis toxin. All the animals were enrolled previously in studies
of virus transmission or pathogenesis and were infected with SIV. Two
monkeys had chronic infection after intrarectal inoculation two years
prior to pertussis injection. Three animals were infected by SIV
intravenous injection four months prior to pertussis injection. Two
animals were inoculated intravenously three months prior to the study
and did not receive pertussis toxin injections. CD4+ lymphocyte cell
counts were compared between four of the experimental monkeys and the
two controls, and it was found that the pertussis toxin induced
lymphocytosis. Peripheral blood virus loads and antibody levels after
pertussis toxin injection were compared between the five experimental
monkeys and the two controls, and it was found that pertussis toxin
altered the distribution of viral RNA in lymph nodes and caused
decreased virus replication in some tissues. It was noted that the two
control monkeys survived for four months and 11.5 months after IV SIV
inoculation. The authors state that pathogenesis of SIV in rhesus
macaques is similar to HIV infection in humans, and that their studies
"represent a unique approach to studying AIDS pathogenesis in the
macaque model." It is unclear what happened to the five experimental
monkeys, but it has been suggested that some or all of them died
horrible deaths from coughing.

A second research paper looks at quinolinic acid as a biomarker of SIV
infection and simian AIDS.10 Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) was collected
from monkeys infected with different SIV strains as well as SIV chimeric
viruses to investigate quinolinic acid (QA) levels in the CSF. 37 rhesus
monkeys were studied. 17 monkeys were infected with SIV and SIV chimeric
strains, and 20 served as controls. The experimental group and control
group were housed in different but "comparable" facilities. Results
revealed that the five SIV-infected monkeys in terminal stage
disease--multiple clinical symptoms including wasting, skin rashes, or
chronic diarrhea--had the highest QA. The time to death from sample
collection to euthanasia for these monkeys was 1, 1, 1, 21, and 200
days. The authors note that the levels in both healthy and infected
monkeys were similar to values found in the CSF of HIV-1-infected
humans, but below the levels seen in the CSF of AIDS patients at
autopsy. Elevated QA levels correlated with severity of clinical
disease. Distribution of QA in the CSF less commonly reflected
disturbance of the blood-brain-barrier, as in humans. The authors
postulate that, unlike in humans, the source of QA in monkey CSF may be
infiltrating macrophages.

The major criticism of these research studies has to do with methodology
and sample composition. For the first experiment the seven monkeys
chosen came from non-uniform sources. Four of them came from the Henry
Vilas Zoo (numbers 90019, 90047, 90054, and 90072.) The other three from
the WRPRC breeding colony. The four zoo monkeys were all born in 1990
and were ages 11-13 months at the time of their removal in May 1991
(three on May 1, 1991, one on May 8, 1991.) All four died between May
1995 and Sept. 1996. Use of these monkeys for this kind of research
poses many difficulties. On the non-scientific side, use of these
monkeys for invasive research ignores two different agreements-in 1989
and 1990--not to subject zoo monkeys to invasive research (despite
having broken the agreement, WRPRC renewed the agreement again in 1995.)
These four monkeys were all born after the 1990 agreement---the second
one--and were removed from the zoo in 1991-one year after the agreement.
Given these facts, it is unlikely that their removal was an oversight or
an error. Considering that three of them were removed on the same day,
and a fourth a week later, it seems apparent that their removal was a
well thought out and planned strategy to obtain subjects for an
experiment.

>From the scientific perspective, mixing zoo and non-zoo animals into the
same experimental population poses a problem. The three non-zoo animals
were born at the WRPRC and knew only captivity. The four zoo monkeys
were born at the zoo in an intensively socialized environment consisting
of groups of 50-60 monkeys. All had names, all were taken from their
mothers at ages 11-13 months, and all had to adapt to an isolated cage
life in a totally different environment. Since SAIDS involves
immunodeficiency, and pertussis insult involves further immunological
challenge, it would be necessary for the monkeys in the study--in the
experimental and control groups-40 be as homogeneous as possible
regarding immunological status. Since it is known from studies at the
University of Wisconsin itself--at the Harlow Laboratory--that maternal
separation results in immunodeficiency, it is a scientific travesty to
include potentially immunodeficient monkeys in an experiment which
studies an immunodeficiency disease and involves further
immuno-challenge. To make matters worse, of the five monkeys in the
experimental group, four were zoo monkeys. Of the two controls, none was
a zoo monkeys. Thus the experiment is confounded to the point of
compromise by studying an experimental group of SIV monkeys of which 80%
may have been immuno-compromised by other factors. The difference
between the experimental and control groups may reflect not SIV
infection, but rather the fact that 80% of the experimental group were
maternally separated and highly stressed by having to adjust to a
completely new environment, whereas 0% of the control group experienced
such a shock.

Further scientific questions abound. Why did the authors claim that five
male rhesus macaques were selected from the WRPRC breeding colony when
only one of the five were? Why in the CD4+ study were data for only
four, not five, experimental monkeys given? Why, if the pathogenesis of
SIV in rhesus macaques is only similar to HIV infection in humans, do
they propose the "macaque model" to study AIDS? Similarity is a poor
scientific criterion by which to choose an "animal model." It is well
known that all SIV strains differ markedly from HIV-1, which is
responsible for the vast majority of AIDS. Humans with AIDS produce
antibodies against the Y3 loop portion of a particular glycoprotein
found on HIV's outer covering, but SIV-infected monkeys do not. Since
different SIV strains cannot be reliably extrapolated to one another,
how can SIV findings be extrapolated to the substantially different
HIV-1? What did happen to the five experimental monkeys? Did they die in
throes of coughing from pertussis? Were they symptomatically relieved
during their terminal days? Were they humanely euthanized, or left to
suffer and die slowly and painfully?

In the second study, the numbers of the monkeys are not given, so it is
impossible to determine their sources. But it is likely that the same
admixture of zoo with non-zoo monkeys occurred, thereby skewing the
results in exactly the same way as in the first study. Since the housing
of monkeys is so important, and influences physiological parameters so
considerably,4 how can the authors be so confident that the housing of
monkeys at the Biotron facility, under Biosafety level 3 conditions, and
at the Harlow Primate Laboratory, is "comparable?" This seems like a
leap of faith, and minimizes to the point of disregard the many
important psychosocial factors. The tendency of animal researchers to
only focus on factors that resemble features of the human disease,
generally ignoring or discounting fundamental anatomical, physiological,
and pathological differences, is demonstrated here. The fact that the
time from sample collection to death by euthanasia for three of the five
experimental monkeys was 1 day suggests that the animals were kept alive
in a moribund state just to be present for data collection, and were
euthanized immediately thereafter. This calls into question whether or
not unnecessary pain and suffering was allowed, as well as the question
of whether or not the monkeys' terminal state influenced the results of
the measurements. Again, the authors use human data to corroborate their
monkey data, using CSF findings from HIV-1 infected humans to add
credibility to their monkey data. However, they also point out that the
function of the blood-brain-barrier, as well as the role of infiltrating
macrophages, may differ between monkeys and humans. Such major
differences make it unlikely that monkey data can be extrapolated to
humans with any degree of confidence.

Ershler-Binkley Study Although Ershler is no longer at WRPRC, Binkley
has assumed his research grants and animals. This study investigates the
relationship between interleukin-6 and hypocholesterolemia in rhesus
monkeys.11 In this study five middle-aged and five old rhesus monkeys
received a subcutaneous infection of interleukin-6, with subsequent
measurement of lipoproteins, total and HDL cholesterol, and serum
albumin. For background the authors provide a plethora of previous human
experimental results: in the elderly, hypocholesterolemia is associated
with the presence of chronic illness and poor health; serum cholesterol
falls rapidly at the onset of a variety of inflammatory conditions such
as infection, myocardial infarction, and trauma; a single injection of
an inflammatory stimulus such as lipopolysaccharide, or certain
proinflammatory cytokines, causes a transient, acute fall in serum
cholesterol; the injection of tumor necrosis factor, interleukin-2, and
colony-stimulating factor acutely lowers cholesterol; reduced levels of
lipids, albumin, and body weight are found in older people with
hypocholesterolemia; interferon decreased production of LDL in humans
with normal cholesterol levels; and injection of interleukin-6 for four
weeks increases its serum concentration to levels seen in inflammatory
conditions and results in acquired hypocholesterolemia.

The experimenters selected 12 female rhesus monkeys, aged 12-27 years,
from the WRPRC colony. Of the 12, blood was available for lipoprotein
analysis for ten--five middle-aged and five old. Eight monkeys were in
the experimental group, two in the control group. The result was
decreased levels of all parameters in the experimental group. Since some
of the experimenters' findings are similar to the clinical picture found
in older adults who develop hypocholesterolemia, they propose using
rhesus monkeys given chronic low doses of interleukin-6 as a model for
studying hypocholesterolemia and weight loss in the elderly.

This research paper relies extensively on previous human research for
"background" to the present project. However, these human research
results, demonstrating that hypocholesterolemia is associated with
chronic illness in the elderly, and that serum cholesterol falls with
inflammatory conditions, inflammatory stimuli (lipopolysaccharide or
cytokines,) and injection of interleukin-2 and interleukin-6, provide
enough information to form conclusions about the relationship between
interleukin-6 and serum cholesterol to make the present animal study
redundant. This, again, demonstrates the tendency of animal researchers
to use human data to give credibility to their findings, and their
prevailing opinion that human data must be replicated in animals for
credibility, which simply isn't true. The experimenters have
demonstrated the already known. As a demonstration it may provide a mild
degree of interest, but is it worth the time, expense, and animal lives?
It certainly isn't necessary for medical knowledge. It certainly isn't
research designed to uncover new information. And it certainly doesn't
warrant breaking agreements with the zoo and betraying the confidence of
community members concerned about the welfare of the monkeys.

Since the experimenters selected 12 monkeys from the colony, why was
blood for lipoprotein analysis only available for ten? What was the
basis for removal of 17% of the original group of monkeys? Did the
removal of this 17% change the study population to the extent that the
results are confounded? The sample size was so small to begin with that
removal of the two may have been significant. The sample size was
reduced to ten--eight experimental and two control monkeys. How can such
small sample size produce significant results? Also, is it legitimate to
combine middle-aged and old monkeys into the same sample? Hormonal
differences between the two might confound results, especially
considering that estrogen levels may have been significantly different
between the two groups (depressed in the older monkeys,) and estrogen
level can effect serum cholesterol level. Were some monkeys null iparous
and others not? Other physiological differences may also have
distinguished the two groups. Do we know the developmental histories of
the monkeys? Were some of these monkeys taken from the zoo, in which
case additional variables, such as the stress of separating from social
groups and adapting to a new, isolated environment, might not have been
controlled for? Since all of the monkeys were not considered to be
young, do we know their developmental histories, and do we have
information regarding the likelihood that they were subjected to
changing conditions with respect to diet, cage size, housing conditions,
etc.?

The researchers' suggestion that rhesus monkeys given chronic low doses
of interleukin-6 can serve as a model for studying hypocholesterolemia
and weight loss in the elderly because the research findings are similar
to the clinical picture found in older adults who develop
hypocholesterolemia is spurious, but typifies the tendency on the part
of animal researchers to discount the complexity of biological
reactions, simplify the functions they choose to study, select out only
those factors that interest them, discount all others, and propose
discovery of a new animal model on the basis of mere similarity.
Considering biological complexity and species specificity, similar is
simply not good enough

REFERENCES 1. Kemnitz JW, Weindruch R, Roeeker EB, Crawford K, Kaufman
PL and Ershler WB: Dietary restriction of adult male rhesus monkeys:
design, methodology, and preliminary findings from the first year of
study. J Gerontology 48:517-826, 1993. 2. Roecker EB, Kemnitz JW,
Ershler WB and Weindruch R: Reduced immune responses in rhesus monkeys
subjected to dietary restriction. J Gerontology 51:276-179, 1996. 3.
Ramsey JJ, Roecker EB, Weindruch R and Kemnitz JW: Energy expenditure of
adult male rhesus monkeys during the first 30 mo of dietary restriction.
Am J Pbysiol 272:901-907, 1997 4. Crawley JN, Sutton ME and Pickar D:
Animal models of self-destructive behavior and suicide. Psychol Clin NA
8:299-310, 1985. 5. Barnard N and Hou S: Inherent stress-4he tough life
in lab routine. Lab Animal 17:21-27,1988. 6. Hill CW, Greer WE and
Felsenfeld 0: Psychological stress, early response to foreign protein,
and blood cortisol in vervets. Psychosom Med 29:279-283, 1967. 7. Fox
MW. Laboratory Animal Husbandry Ethology Welfare and Experimental
Variables. Albany, SUNY Press, 1986. 8. Malinow MR, Hill JD and Ochsner
Al: Heart rate in caged rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta). Lab An Sci
24:537- 540, 1974. 9. Pauza CD, Hinds II PW, Yin C, McKechnie TS, Hinds
SB and Salvato MS: The lymphocytosis-promoting agent pertussis toxin
affects virus burden and lymphocyte distribution in the SIV-infected
rhesus macaque. AiDS research and Human Retroviruses 13:87-94, 1997 10.
Coe CL, Reyes TM, Pauza CD and Reinhard, Jr. iF: Quinolinic acid and
lymphocyte subsets in the intrathecal compartment as biomarkers of SIV
infection and simian AIDS. AiDS Research and Human Retroviruses
13:891-897, 1997. 11. Ettinger, Jr. WH, Sun WH, Binkley N, Kouba E and
Ershler W: Interleukin-6 causes hypocholesterolemia in middle-aged and
old rhesus monkeys. J Gerontology 50A:137-140, 1995.

[End of document.]

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

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


Date: Tue, 24 Mar 1998 07:16:31 -0500
From: allen schubert <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (US) Groups Protest Dog Track
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

from CNN Custom News http://www.cnn.com (search: animal rights)
----------------------------------------------------
Connecticut State News
Reuters
24-MAR-98

Groups Protest Dog Track

(BRIDGEPORT) -- Animal rights groups continue daily protests at the
Shoreline Star Dog Track in Bridgeport. The track reopened over the weekend
after more than a year of inactivity due to financial problems. Protestors
claim track officials mistreat the greyhounds and leave them for dead when
their racing days are over. A spokesman for the track disputes the
allegations.
Date: Tue, 24 Mar 1998 07:24:43 -0500
From: allen schubert <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (UK) Environment: Concern at Growth of Genetically Engineered
  Foods
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

from CNN Custom News http://www.cnn.com (search: animal rights)
----------------------------------------------------
Environment: Concern at Growth of Genetically Engineered Foods

Inter Press Service
23-MAR-98

LONDON, (Mar. 22) IPS - Scientists urgently warn that genetically
engineered food could have serious long-term health and environmental
consequences and may worsen chances of food security in the developing world.

Dr Michael Antoniou, a senior lecturer in molecular pathology in London,
Britain, explains that normally gene function is extremely tightly
controlled so that the right proteins are made in the correct place within
the organism, at the right time and in the appropriate quantity.

"This ensures an integrated and balanced functioning of all the tens of
thousands of structures and processes that make up the body of any complex
organism, whether plant or animal. One will not normally find liver
functions in the brain or leaf specific proteins in the fruit and vice
versa!."

He also points out that natural cross-breeding can only take place between
very closely related species while genetic engineering allows the transfer
of single or multiple genes between totally unrelated organisms
"circumventing natural species barriers."

For example, he says, transgenic tomatoes and strawberries are under
development which contain the "anti-freeze" gene from an arctic fish to
improve tolerance to frost. These plants have also been given parts of a
plant virus which helps to "switch on" the fish gene as well as an
antibiotic resistance "marker" gene.

He warns that such manipulation frequently has unexpected results. "Once
injected into the reproductive cells of an organism, the introduced gene
randomly incorporates itself into the DNA of its new plant or animal host.
This disrupts the tight genetic control and balanced functioning which is
retained through conventional cross-breeding."

In a recent study, the pressure group Consumers International (CI) called
for better consultation on genetically engineered foods.

CI recommends that regulations and controls should be put in place to
ensure the safety of all genetically modified foods.

These foods should also be carefully monitored for any health,
socio-economic and environmental repercussions, with special attention paid
to the impact on developing countries.

The study says ways must be found to enable the public to participate fully
in decision-making about genetically engineered foods, and that
international guidelines on genetic engineering, including research,
development, testing, production and marketing, must be agreed "as a matter
of urgency." The public must be fully informed about all aspects of the
safety evaluation of genetically modified foods.

All genetically modified foodstuffs that come on to the market should be
fully and clearly labelled so that consumers are in a position to decide
for themselves whether to buy products created as a result of this new
technology.

"A symbol identifying food that has been produced using genetic
modification, which will be recognized around the world, needs to be
developed", CI urges.

The CI study warns of the potential impact of genetically modified foods on
people with food allergies. "New allergens could be developed
unintentionally, and known allergens could be transferred from traditional
foods into the genetically engineered variants.

"For example, when a gene from the brazil nut was introduced into the
soybean, people allergic to brazil nuts were also allergic to the
genetically modified soybean." In addition, the use of antibiotic marker
genes may contribute to the problem of antibiotic resistance.

Genetic engineering may also result in the creation of new toxins, or
increased levels of toxins, in food. Dr Antoniou notes that in 1989 the
U.S. faced an epidemic of a new disease, eosinophilia myalgia syndrome
(EMS). It was eventually traced to the consumption of a particular brand of
food supplement derived from bacteria genetically engineered to overproduce
the amino acid, tryptophan.

The engineering process had led to the formation of a novel toxin from the
excessive amounts of tryptophan, which contaminated the final product. Out
of the estimated 5,000 people who contracted EMS, 37 died and 1,500 are
permanently disabled.

The CI study says the potential environmental consequences could be
extremely large-scale. "Genetically modified organisms might migrate,
mutate and multiply, and genetically pollute traditional crop varieties --
but they cannot be recalled like a faulty product.

"The long-term consequences of releasing transgenic species into the
environment are difficult to predict, particularly if they start
cross-breeding with other species."

Field trials in Scotland and Denmark using transgenic, herbicide resistant
oilseed rape, saw the new plants easily cross-pollinate related, wild
brassica varieties. Within a single growing season herbicide resistant
"superweeds" were generated.

The possible impact on developing countries is also causing concern. Tom
Campbell, a lecturer in Environmental Studies at the Development Studies
Center in Dublin, Ireland, says one of the biggest myths perpetuated by the
biotechnology industry is that genetically engineered crops are likely to
provide a solution to world hunger.

"Famines are not caused by lack of food but by lack of access to food and
alternative sources of income in times of crisis." He says biotechnology
creates dependency.

"The majority of Third World farmers are small-scale, farming a variety of
crops. By switching to genetically engineered seeds they have to change
their practices and become dependent on the companies which provide the
'package' of seeds, herbicides, fertilizers, irrigation systems, etc."

He points out that in India, farmers using Monsanto's genetically
engineered seeds pay an extra $50-$65 per acre as a technical fee over and
above the price of seed. Farmer must sign a contract stating that they will
not buy chemicals from any one else.

Products developed by biotech companies are mostly aimed at markets in
industrialized countries, says CI. "Genetic engineering research involving
tropical crops tends not to be aimed at improving production of staple
crops in those parts of the world where hunger and malnutrition are serious
problems.

"Instead, it is mostly aimed at producing cheaper substitutes for commodity
crops such as cocoa, sugar cane and vegetable oils on large, industrial
farms.

"If these substitute products are dumped on world markets, the exports on
which many Third World countries depend could be undermined, with serious
consequences for local small-scale farmers and food security" says CI.
Date: Tue, 24 Mar 98 08:35:24 UTC
From: [e-mail]
To: [e-mail]
Subject: New Website - Sentient Creatures, Inc. (New York USA)
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>

Chitra Besbroda, the woman who for years and years has risked her life
daily to rescue "junkyard dogs" and other animals in Harlem, has a website
now (thanks to Dr. Inge F., a "computer wizard" in New Jersey). When in the
site, click on to "Sentient Creatures" to pull up her newsletter - and click
on another button to see photos of the animals up for adoption.

Here's the address:  http://www.petadopt.com

-- Sherrill
Date: Tue, 24 Mar 1998 11:08:24 -0500 (EST)
From: "Jeffrey A. LaPadula" <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail], [e-mail]
Cc: [e-mail], [e-mail]
Subject: DIRECT ACTION CONFERENCE!  MARCH 28th, 1998!
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII

please Forward to any CT lists you know of.
PLEASE FORWARD TO ALL VEGAN/ANIMAL RIGHTS LISTS IN US!

           Direct Action Conference
              Saturday,  March 28, 1998   11 am
              at the Space,  85 Harding street, Worcester, MA


  -Freeman Wicklund, from the Animal Liberation League speaks
about the Campaign for a Unified Movement
  -Dave Wilson,  from Coalition to Abolish the Fur Trade correspondent
speaks about Media and Publicity
  -Darius Fullmer, from Animal Defense League New Jersey speaks
about Defending Your Rights
  -Justin Taylor and -Kim Berardi, from Animal Defense League New
York City and Long Island speak about Civil Disobedience
  -Tony Wong and -Jeff Watkins, from the Animal Defense League
speak about their own experiences with jail, hunger strike and Civil
Disobedience

                     *** PROTEST TO FOLLOW***

    Contact Heather for info at 508. 795. 6832 or email
[e-mail]
 Directions to the space :  From the Mass pike, points East and West.  Get on
Mass Pike and take Exit 290,the Worcester Auburn exit.  Make sure you get
on 290 East, follow this into Worcester.  Take Exit 14, which is the 122
Grafton Millbury exit. At the end of the ramp take a left.  Follow this through  1 light, it will
curve to the right.  Immediately make left onto Temple Street, following
signs for 122 North.  You will come to a stop sign and make a left on
Harding Street, following signs again for 122 North.  The Space is 85
Harding Street across from the car dealership.
      From points North.  Take 190 South to 290 West.  From 290 West, go to
Exit 14.  At exit you can either go straight or right, go right.  Then go
straight through first light, and before first intersection take left at
Temple St.  (Following signs to 122 North) First stop sign left on Harding
St.  The Space is 85 Harding Street (Across from Car Dealership)
     Bring a map!  And for any other direction info call
     the Space @ [phone]



Date: Mon, 23 Mar 1998 19:59:50 -0500 (EST)
From: PAWS <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Watch CBS "Public Eye"
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII

CBS TV's program "Public Eye" will feature a segment on the breeding and
sale of exotic cats on Tuesday, March 24th at 9pm eastern time, 8 central
time.   The segment will feature footage from PAWS' ongoing campaign to
expose the surplus animal industry.

PAWS has recently released a new booklet "Surplus Animals:  The Cycle of
Hell" which describes the multi-billion dollar business in surplus exotic
animals.  To obtain a copy of the book, e.mail us or call the office at
[phone].
Date: Tue, 24 Mar 1998 08:57:08 -0800
From: [e-mail] (Lawrence Carter-Long)
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Will Japan's pregnant 'talking' chimp teach baby?
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Updated 11:06 AM ET March 24, 1998

Will Japan's pregnant 'talking' chimp teach baby?

TOKYO (Reuters) - A chimpanzee that has been taught human communication
skills is pregnant and primate researchers are wondering if she will be able
to pass her communication skills to her offspring.
Ai, a 21-year-old chimpanzee, is expected to give birth in mid-August,
researchers at the Primate Research Institute of Kyoto University said Tuesday.

For 20 years Ai has been taught human communication skills and excels at
using numbers, said primate researcher Tetsuro Matsuzawa.

"Ai will be the first great ape with such advanced language abilities to
give birth," Matsuzawa, a professor who heads the language project at the
primate center, said.

Matsuzawa, who has studied great apes in captivity and done field work in
Guinea, West Africa, said he will be studying how Ai's offspring learns to
communicate within the community of 11 chimpanzees at the center.

"We have no intention of teaching the offspring human communication,"
Matsuzawa said. Ai will continue her studies as usual, but she will be
holding her baby in her arms as she goes through her routine.

Matsuzawa said great apes cultural skills are developed in a community and
handed down through generations. The question with Ai's offspring is how
much of the human communication skills acquired by the chimpanzees at the
center will be passed on to the baby.

"It is not only the mother, but for them the community is the 'teacher'," he
said.

Ai can communicate using numbers, the Chinese characters used in Japanese
writing called "kanji" and knows all the letters of the alphabet. The
chimpanzee has also been taught sign language for daily use.

Ai can communicate the number, color and object names to convey concepts
such as "six red toothbrushes are on the table."

Ai was the subject of an article in the science publication "Nature" in 1985
and has starred in an award-winning documentary produced by national public
television broadcaster NHK in 1997.

Matsuzawa said he was excited about the birth because it would give
researchers a chance to see how certain acquired skills and knowledge could
be passed through generations in chimpanzees



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

"Faced with the choice between changing one's mind and
proving that there is no need to do so, almost everyone gets
busy on the proof."  -  Galbraith's Law

-----Annoying Warning Notice -------

My email address is: [e-mail]

LEGAL NOTICE: Anyone sending unsolicited commercial
email to this address will be charged a $500 proofreading
fee. This is an official notification; failure to abide by this
will result in  legal action, as per the following:

By U.S. Code Title 47, Sec.227(a)(2)(B), a computer/modem/printer
 meets the definition of a telephone fax machine.
By Sec.227(b)(1)(C), it is unlawful to send any unsolicited
 advertisement to such equipment.
By Sec.227(b)(3)(C), a violation of the aforementioned Section
 is punishable by action to recover actual monetary loss, or
 $500, whichever is greater, by each violation.



Date: Tue, 24 Mar 1998 12:05:14 -0500
From: "Patrick Tohill" <[e-mail]>
To: <[e-mail]>
Subject: Update on Taiwan's Dogs
Message-ID: <01bd5747$0346ad60$3c9dcdcd@siliasmi>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: multipart/alternative;
     boundary="----=_NextPart_000_0074_01BD571D.1A70A560"

 The following article will appear in WSPA Canada's upcoming  newsletter WSPA News. I have
posted it here due to the interest in the situation  in Taiwan and to clarify the situation.  Things are
still pretty horrible in Taiwan by our standards,  however, the government has proved very
responsive and has implemented quite a  few of our recommendations. The situation is a
significant improvement over the  horrible conditions we observed last year. More positive
changes are on the way.  LETTERS ARE STILL NEEDED. But be sure to give them credit for
the progress they  are making. And be polite!

Some Improvements for Dogs in Taiwan

Your letters coupled with WSPA's intense campaign to end the suffering of  stray dogs in Taiwan
are starting to have positive effects. Animal welfare in  Taiwan, while hardly up to Western
standards, is at least showing a marked  improvement over last year.

In December of 1996, WSPA conducted an extensive review of 65 Taiwan dog  pounds. Stuffed
into filthy cages, piled one on top of one another, tens of  thousands of dogs were being treated
like garbage. As detailed in WSPA's report  'Disposable Dogs: Made in Taiwan', many of these
so-called pounds were built on  or adjacent to garbage dumps. At one of these dumps animals
were being placed  into a hole in the ground. Most were dead. Dogs were being gassed, drowned,
electrocuted, boiled and buried alive.

A recent visit by WSPA in January 1998 shows things are improving. More than  30 new facilities
have been constructed and the government is subsidizing  neutering projects throughout the
country. Most pounds are now furnishing  adequate food and water for the animals (It is horrible
to contemplate a dog  pound that wouldn't provide adequate food and water! Yet, that is precisely
the  situation we found at many of Taiwan's facilities last year--ed.) There was  evidence of
increased veterinary involvement and most animals appeared to be in  good condition. Many of
the pounds characterized on our last visit as  'unacceptable' had been closed.

Despite this, there were some individual pounds that did not fit this pattern  of improvement.
Sanchung pound presented us with a dog eating another dog whilst  surrounded by adequate food
and water. The attendant was unconcerned and  appeared to see nothing unusual. Kaohsiung
County pound, meanwhile, had two  attendants who appeared to take pride in running a
near-perfect facility.  Animals seemed well cared for and there was even milk-powder available for
puppies. However the method of euthanasia was far from humane--poison mixed in  food!

While some of the worst practices appear to have been curtailed, there are a  few shelters still
employing such unacceptable methods of euthanasia as  electrocution, drowning, and the use of
carbon dioxide and chloroform. WSPA  cannot stress too strongly that these methods are totally
unacceptable. The  continued use of electrocution at several facilities is particularly abhorent  and
should be discontinued immediately. Unlike WSPA's 1996 visit there was no  evidence of dogs
being clubbed or beaten to death or dogs being left to die of  starvation. The apparent elimination
of these methods represents a major  breakthrough.

Writes Joy Leney, WSPA's Director of Companion Animals: "It would be  naive to imply that 'all
is well' at the pounds. There is still cause for  concern at certain facilities. However, we are
pleased that the government has  faced up to how bad things were. We believe it is unlikely that
such horrific  scenes, as those we witnessed last year, will be seen again."

Joy adds that in a recent meeting with Taiwan's Vice-Chairman of Agriculture  Mr. Lin
Shaung-Nung, he referred to all the letters being sent to his government  from around the world.
He is not pleased that WSPA instigated this action,  however, he assured us of the Council of
Agriculture's continuing commitment to  changes and improvements regarding the stray dog
situation. He has advised us  further that the Animal Protection Act will be passed in June of
1998.

Letters are still needed. Please write to the government in Taiwan. If you've  already written,
write them again. Tell them that you are pleased to hear of the  improvements they have made so
far. Suggest that more needs to be done, however,  to ensure that all pounds adhere to humane
standards. Be polite.

Write to: President Lee Teng-Hui, Office of the President, 122 Chungking S.  Road, Section 1,
Taipei, Taiwan, R.O.C.

- end - Regards Patrick Tohill
Communications Officer
WSPA  Canada
44 Victoria St., Suite 1310
Toronto, ON M5C 1Y2
In Canada  1-800-363-WSPA
In Toronto 416-369-0044  The World Society for the Protection of Animals  has been at the
forefront of animal protection and wildlife conservation for  more than 40 years. Recognized by
the United Nations, WSPA represents more than  300 member societies in over 70 countries. Visit
WSPA's website at http://www.way.net/wspa/ Date: Tue, 24 Mar 1998 09:26:20 -0800
From: [e-mail] (Lawrence Carter-Long)
To: [e-mail]
Subject: USA Today:  Animal activism attacked
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

03/22/98- Updated 09:50 PM ET

Animal activism attacked

Alec Baldwin, Kim Basinger, Sandra Bernhard, Jennie Garth and
Bill Maher are straddling the fence by supporting disease research
and animal rights, according to Bleeding Hearts, Broken Promises,
a report released Monday by the Foundation for Biomedical
Research (FBR).

"It's time for the stars to decide whether the rights of animals
take precedence over the health of human beings," says FBR's
Mary Brennan. FBR supports "humane and responsible use of
animals in medical research."

Baldwin, spokesman for People for the Ethical Treatment of
Animals (PETA), issued a statement: "The majority of animal
research done in this country today is unnecessary. However,
one cannot be 'single issue' when it comes to medical research.
I support the work to cure breast cancer and at the same time
urge all participants to suspend cruel and unnecessary animal
testing."

Counters Brennan: "It's very irresponsible for Hollywood people
to pledge to fight disease and support organizations that would
deny access to one of the most effective weapons available to
combat those diseases. The majority of animals we use are
rodents and . . . they're specifically bred for research. If we don't
use animals, we'd have to use people, and I think that's terribly
unethical."

PETA's Lisa Lange says the use of animal testing will delay a
cure for AIDS and breast cancer. "The differences between
humans and rodents are vast. . . . And to use animals in
research is sentencing both humans and animals to death
by taking precious resources away from research that works,
like in-vitro testing and the use of human cells and organs.
Every animal deserves to live a life free from being blinded
and poisoned."

By Arlene Vigoda, USA TODAY

========================

... and here's FBR's press release which pitches the story.

- Lawrence

----------------------------------

Alec Baldwin Breaks With PETA Over Breast Cancer Research
March 24, 1998

ALEXANDRIA, Va., March 23 /PRNewswire/

Long time animal rights activist Alec Baldwin has broken with
People for the Ethical Treatment for Animals (PETA) over the
issue of breast cancer research.

"One cannot be 'single issue' when it comes to medical research,"
 Baldwin said in a statement quoted in Monday's USA Today. "I
support the work to cure breast cancer and at the same time urge
all participants to suspend cruel and unnecessary animal testing."

PETA opposes all medical research with animals. Its founder,
Ingrid Newkirk has said even if animal research produced a cure
for AIDS, "we'd be against it."

"I am delighted that Alec Baldwin has come to realize the vital
need for animal research in developing breast cancer treatments.
Most of the recent discoveries about breast cancer have come
from the study of fruit flies, mice and rats," noted Susan E. Paris,
president of Americans for Medical Progress, a research advocacy
organization. "As Mr. Baldwin learns more about the nature of animal
research in medicine, he will understand the necessity of animal
research in all areas of human health, and see the high standards
of humane care to which research facilities adhere."

Carol Baldwin, Alec Baldwin's mother, is a breast cancer survivor.
Recently her four sons -- actors Alec, Billy, Daniel and Stephen
Baldwin -- pledged to help her raise $1 million over the next three
years for breast cancer research.

SOURCE Americans for Medical Progress

/CONTACT: Jacquie Calnan of Americans for Medical Progress, 703-836-9595, or
e-mail, [e-mail]/

[Copyright 1998, PR Newswire]




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

"Faced with the choice between changing one's mind and
proving that there is no need to do so, almost everyone gets
busy on the proof."  -  Galbraith's Law

-----Annoying Warning Notice -------

My email address is: [e-mail]

LEGAL NOTICE: Anyone sending unsolicited commercial
email to this address will be charged a $500 proofreading
fee. This is an official notification; failure to abide by this
will result in  legal action, as per the following:

By U.S. Code Title 47, Sec.227(a)(2)(B), a computer/modem/printer
 meets the definition of a telephone fax machine.
By Sec.227(b)(1)(C), it is unlawful to send any unsolicited
 advertisement to such equipment.
By Sec.227(b)(3)(C), a violation of the aforementioned Section
 is punishable by action to recover actual monetary loss, or
 $500, whichever is greater, by each violation.



Date: Tue, 24 Mar 1998 09:31:59 -0800
From: [e-mail] (Lawrence Carter-Long)
To: [e-mail]
Subject: FBR Releases Report; Seeks To Divide Actors, AR Activists
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Foundation for Biomedical Research (FBR) Releases Report Highlighting
Hollywood's Conflicting Support for Human Cures & Animal Rights Celebrity
Contradictions Revealed In Advance of 70th Academy Awards

March 24, 1998

WASHINGTON, March 23 /PRNewswire/

The Foundation for Biomedical Research (FBR) released a report today that
reveals the glaring contradiction of individual Hollywood stars who advocate
on behalf of life-threatening diseases, such as AIDS and breast cancer,
while supporting animal rights groups that fight for the elimination of
animal research, an essential medical resource for combating some of today's
deadliest afflictions.

FBR's report -- Bleeding Hearts, Broken Promises -- names five Hollywood
celebrities who, despite pledges to fight for individual areas of disease
research, have undermined advances in areas of critical illness by
simultaneously supporting the animal rights movement. Stars profiled in the
FBR report include Alec Baldwin, Kim Basinger, Sandra Bernhard, Jennie Garth
and Bill Maher. Bleeding Hearts, Broken Promises cites specific references
where each has served as spokespersons for animal rights groups that
campaign for the elimination of animal testing for medical research, while
having a personal connection to -- or expressing an outward concern for --
serious afflictions that currently rely upon the humane use of laboratory
animals.

"Celebrities must decide whether the rights of animals take precedence over
the health and well being of human lives," said Frankie Trull, president of
FBR. "They cannot simultaneously support the incompatible goals of disease
research and animal rights. They cannot have it both ways anymore."

Historically, animal rights groups, such as People for the Ethical Treatment
of Animals (a.k.a. "PETA"), have experienced profound success by soliciting
the high-profile support of several members of the entertainment industry.
With Hollywood's help, PETA -- whose co-founder bluntly stated that even if
animal research produced a cure for AIDS, "we'd be against it " -- has
become one of the most popular activist-based movements in America.

Bleeding Hearts, Broken Promises plainly states that when Hollywood stars
campaign on behalf of PETA, the public assumes they support everything the
organization stands for -- namely, to deny researchers and scientists one of
the most effective weapons in the fight against some of today's deadliest
killers.

Ironically, many of the experiments PETA opposes are aimed at finding ways
to treat or cure the very diseases for which their celebrity spokespersons
campaign.

"Hollywood stars who support these conflicting agendas are sending a
dangerous message to the American public," added Trull. "They are
communicating the false and illogical notion that the mutually exclusive
goals of animal rights and disease research can simultaneously be attained.
Entertainers must realize that their high-profile support for the animal
rights movement is undermining efforts by the scientific community to
expedite the discovery of cures that could save millions of human lives."

FBR is a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the quality of human
and animal health by promoting public understanding and support of the
ethical use of animals in scientific and medical research. For more
information on FBR, please call 202-457-0654.

SOURCE Foundation for Biomedical Research

/CONTACT: Mary Brennan, 202-457-0654, or Andy Shea, 202-296-0263, both for FBR/

[Copyright 1998, PR Newswire]




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

"Faced with the choice between changing one's mind and
proving that there is no need to do so, almost everyone gets
busy on the proof."  -  Galbraith's Law

-----Annoying Warning Notice -------

My email address is: [e-mail]

LEGAL NOTICE: Anyone sending unsolicited commercial
email to this address will be charged a $500 proofreading
fee. This is an official notification; failure to abide by this
will result in  legal action, as per the following:

By U.S. Code Title 47, Sec.227(a)(2)(B), a computer/modem/printer
 meets the definition of a telephone fax machine.
By Sec.227(b)(1)(C), it is unlawful to send any unsolicited
 advertisement to such equipment.
By Sec.227(b)(3)(C), a violation of the aforementioned Section
 is punishable by action to recover actual monetary loss, or
 $500, whichever is greater, by each violation.



Date: Tue, 24 Mar 1998 12:32:57 -0500
From: "Patrick Tohill" <[e-mail]>
To: <[e-mail]>
Subject: FWD: WSPA/ASPCA LETTER TO TAIWAN
Message-ID: <01bd574a$e2c06d20$3c9dcdcd@siliasmi>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: multipart/alternative;
     boundary="----=_NextPart_000_007F_01BD5720.F9EA6520"

 Council of Agriculture, Taiwan Environmental Protection Administration, Taiwan   World
Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) is an  international protection organisation
working in 75 countries, with more than  350 member societies. WSPA has consultative status
with United Nations,  observership at the Council of Europe and works in cooperation with the
World  Health Organisation (WHO) on animal related issues.  WSPA recognizes the significant
steps taken by the government  recently, to improve management, control and welfare of stray
dogs.  Approximately 30 new facilities for holding stray dogs have been built during  the past 2
years, with budgets allocated food and veterinary  service.  Many of the facilities identified as
"unacceptable,"  by the WSPA/LCA survey in December 1996, have either been closed or
replaced by  new facilities, these facilities are comparable to any such facilities found in  other
parts of the world. However all the facilities sited on garbage sites in  Taiwan are considered to be
unacceptable.  The Animal Protection Law, which will provide the framework  for animal welfare
policies, is now at the final stage of consideration and is  expected to become law in 1998.  It is
now necessary to introduce policies and training  programmes--without which conditions in the
excellent new facilities will  rapidly deteriorate (there is already some evidence of this):  Such
policies and training programmes should  include:
* humane catching/handling, using appropriate      equipment
*
* efficient management of the dog      pounds
*
* veterinary attention to all      pounds
*
* training of lay personnel
*
* appropriate humane methods of euthanasia (it      is emphasized that methods of euthanasia such
as electrocution, drowning,      poisoning are inhumane. Facilities and equipment already exist at
many      pounds for the use of carbon monoxide, which is accepted worldwide as a      humane
method of euthansia, as is sodium pentobarbitone administered      intravenously.)
*
WSPA/LCA recognizes the humane actions already  taken and will continue to work in close
cooperation with the relevant  government departments in Taiwan.  Signed  Joy Leney M. Sc.
Director of Companion Animals  (WSPA)  Signed  Dr. Joseph L. Tait, Consultant Veterinarian to
American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) New York City,  U.S.A.
Date: Tue, 24 Mar 1998 13:45:59 -0400
From: Ty Savoy <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: [US] researchers find soy component lowers cholesterol
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"



08:47 AM ET 03/20/98

U.S researchers find soy component lowers cholesterol


           By Mark Weinraub
           WASHINGTON  (Reuters) - Researchers have discovered the
component in soy responsible for reducing cholesterol levels in
the blood, a study released Friday said.
           The responsible component has been a mystery since a
connection between soybeans and low cholesterol levels was first
revealed in a study published in the New England Journal of
Medicine in 1995.
            The new study, conducted at Wake Forest University School of
Medicine, showed isoflavones in soy proteins, also known as
phytoestrogen, can lower cholesterol levels by as much as 10
percent.
            The isoflavones lowered both total cholesterol and
low-density lipoproteins (LDL), or ``bad cholesterol,'' levels.
 Phytoestrogen is the plant form of the female hormone estrogen.
           The researchers focused on isoflavones because of its
likeness to human hormones, said Dr. John Crouse, an author on
the study reported to the American Heart Association's 38th
Annual Conference on Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and
Prevention.
           ``Isoflavones are a natural candidate ...because some of
their similarities to hormones that effect the level of LDL,''
Crouse said in a telephone interview.
           Patients with higher levels of cholesterol saw their
cholesterol count drop by a greater percentage than patients
with lower levels, the study said.
           The study, examined 156 patients with ``moderately elevated
cholesterol levels.''
           Some of the patients in the nine-week study drank soy drinks
with isoflavones and some drank soy drinks with no isoflavones.
Another group of patients received drinks containing no soy
proteins or isoflavones.
           Patients whose soy drinks contained no isoflavones and the
control group showed no reductions in cholesterol levels, the
study said.
           Scientists began investigating the link when they noticed the
low levels of heart disease in some Asian countries compared to
the United States. One of the dietary differences between the
societies was the Asian countries high soy consumption, said Dr.
Gregory Burke, a professor at Wake Forest University School of
Medicine who also worked on the study.
         ^REUTERS@



Date: Tue, 24 Mar 1998 13:05:06 -0800
From: Barry Kent MacKay <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Cc: [e-mail]
Subject: CA:  MPs blame collapse of fishery on Ottawa
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

The Toronto Star, Tuesday, March 24, 1998

MPs blame collapse of fishery on Ottawa

Committee urges top bureaucrats be `removed'
By Laura Eggerston, Ottawa Bureau

OTTAWA - The federal government caused the collapse of the East Coast
fishery and senior fisheries deparment bureaucrats should be "removed,"
a parliamentary committee is recommending.

"This is not a natural disaster that's happened," Liberal committee
chairman Goeroge Baker told a news conference yesterday.  "This is a
catastrophe made by man.  We believe this collapse to a very large
degree was caused by the government of Canada."

The all-party committee wants the federal government to extend The
Atlantic Groundfish Strategy, known as TAGS.  The income-support program
was to last until May, 1999 to help fishermen whose livelihoods were
destroyed by the fisheries' closing.  But when a high caseload strained
the $1.9 billion budget, TAGS was cut short.  Benefits end Aug. 31.

The committee also wants Ottawa to send foreign vessels packing.

 `THE PARTY'S OVER'

"We've got to say to these foreign nations, `Look, the party's over.
The party's over.  Time to call it a day.  Time to go home.  And if you
don't go home, well perhaps we have some boats who will escort you
home,'" said Baker, who represents the Newfoundland riding of
Gander-Great Falls.

Ottawa should immediately reallocate the quotas it allows France, the
United States, Korea, Japan and other countries to catch within its
200-mile zone to Canadian crews, the 58-page report says.

"It's now or never.  If we don't do it now, perhaps the resource will
never come back," Baker said.

Fisheries Minister David Anderson called cancelling foreign fishing "a
lousy idea."  Mismanagement is only one factor that contributed to the
fishery's decline, he said in an interview from Vancouver.

"There were also ocean condition changes.  There was also too much
political pressure, from fishermen, from MPs, from members of the
Newfoundland assembly."

LOSS OF MARKETS

Canada should not simply reallocate quotas, which are only issued on
fish Canadian fishermen don't want to harvest, he said, adding he was
"disappointed" in the report.

"First, we'll lose some of the foreign markets we now have that are
extremely lucrative, such as the Japanese.  We hassle Japanese tuna
boats for no sensible reason, we will find we don't sell in the Japanese
market."

But committee members discounted the argument.

"Continued federal approval of foreign fishing in Canadian waters kills
fish stocks and kills Canadian jobs," said Reform MP John Duncan
(Vancouver Island North).

Among the most contentious of the recommendations was the advice to
remove senior officials in the Department of Fisheries and Oceans in
order to rebuild trust between the government and fishermen.

"The committee recommends that senior DFO personnel who are viewed by
the fishing community as being responsible for the crises in the fishery
be removed from the department," the report says.

Many of the bureaucrats who made the policy that affected the current
cod stocks have retired, died or moved on, Anderson said.  "I don't want
to spend my time on a witch hunt," he said.

-30-

Barry Kent MacKay
International Program Director
Animal Protection Institute
http://www.api4animals.org


Date: Tue, 24 Mar 1998 12:24:59 PST
From: "daniel v." <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Tough Tactics in Battle Over Animals in the Lab
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Content-Type: text/plain

(sorry if this is formatted badly, i copied from the new york time web
site www.nytimes.com subscription is free in the usa and free for
30 days outside the states this article was in tues., march 24 issue of
the science section. email me if you'd like to discuss this article.)

          By GINA KOLATA

               Alan Staple, the president of a New Jersey company that
conducts animal tests for other companies, was attending a conference in
England last May when he was jolted awake by a telephone call at 3 a.m.
from his company's vice president.

          There was a corporate emergency, the company officer said. An
animal rights group had asserted that the company mistreated dogs in
tests it had done for Colgate-Palmolive. The group, People for
the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA, was starting a wide
campaign calling for consumers to boycott Colgate products.

          Colgate had been testing an antibacterial agent it wanted to
add to toothpaste, Staple said. The company soon canceled all of its
contracts with Staple's company, Huntingdon Life Sciences of East
Millstone, N.J. But that was only the beginning of Huntingdon's
troubles. The company said it later learned that an undercover
investigator for the animal rights group, who had been employed at
Huntingdon, had used a camera hidden in her eyeglasses to secretly make
50 hours of videotapes of the company's laboratories.

          She had also made four audiotapes of 90 minutes each,
photocopied 8,000 company documents, many of them containing corporate
trade secrets, and copied the company's client list, Staple said.
And the group had contacted the clients, asking them to reconsider doing
business with the company.

          Within months, Huntingdon had lost more than half of its
clients. But unlike any other company or research group that had been
investigated by PETA, Huntingdon fought back. And thus ensued a
battle between those who support the use of animals in research and
those who oppose it. The result was a look at how PETA, the most vocal
animal rights organization, gathers its evidence and wins victories.

          The Inquiry:

          Shedding Light on Hidden World

               The organization's public campaign against Huntingdon was
the culmination of an immense effort, said Ingrid Newkirk, the group's
president, and resulted from an investigation so arduous that the group
can only undertake one every year or two. She acknowledged that the
group's investigator had copied company documents, including a client
list, and had made videotapes, but said the tactics were necessary to
show what was going on in the lab.

          Ms. Newkirk said Huntingdon's studies for Colgate included
"the four basic tests for products."Those tests, Ms. Newkirk said, were
to "shove it in the animal's throat, poke it in the eye, shove it
up the nose and rub it in abraded skin."

          She said the investigation also disclosed that dogs were to
have their legs broken as part of a study for a Japanese company,
Yamanouchi Pharmaceuticals. And it found monkeys that Ms. Newkirk
said were slammed into cages and roughly handled. In addition,
she said, the monkey were improperly anesthetized while technicians
ripped out their organs in a study for Procter & Gamble.

          "It's a hidden world of suffering in the laboratory," Ms.
Newkirk said. "A normal person would be appalled at the disrespect, let
alone the pain," of the animals. "The people who work with laboratory
animals are often oblivious to the terror," she said.

          But Staple saw another side of the inquiry. He said he felt
violated by PETA's snooping and helpless to defuse what he thought was a
distorted attack on research that was ethical and humane and that
complied with every stipulation of the Animal Welfare Act, which spells
out conditions for the ethical treatment of animals. He saw the threat
of his company going under, he said, even though it had done nothing
wrong. To Staple, PETA was a terrifying group that used strategies no
different from those used by gangsters.

          So Staple fought back by filing a civil lawsuit under a law
the federal government uses against criminal groups, the Racketeering
Influenced Corrupt Organization Act, or RICO, which can be applied to
other organizations. Huntingdon contended that the animal rights group
had engaged in a pattern of criminal behavior that included threatening
and harassing scientists and companies. The suit asserted that the
animal rights group had repeatedly leveled baseless acusations of animal
abuse in ways that devastated scientific careers and hurt or even
destroyed companies.

          The suit named other researchers and companies that had been
evastated by the group's investigations, describing in detail the
methods used by the organization. The disclosure of PETA's methods is a
first, scientists say, because almost invariably, the targets of the
investigation have decided that it is better to keep mum and hope that
their opponents will eventually go away.

          The Tapes:

          What Is Seen Is Disputed

               Shortly after calling for consumers to boycott
Colgate-Palmolive, PETA held a news conference in Cincinnati, the
headquarters of Procter & Gamble. There, the undercover investigator for
the group, Michelle Rokke, said that monkeys had been tortured in
Procter & Gamble research at Huntingdon. She showed videotapes that, she
claimed, illustrated her point.
          Soon afterward Huntingdon lost Procter & Gamble as a client.
Procter & Gamble had been testing a new drug for migraine headaches,
said Donald Tassone, the company's director of corporate relations.

          Tassone said that the company's veterinarians reviewed the
tapes and while they said the procedures might be unpleasant to watch,
Huntingdon had done nothing wrong.

          Then the animal rights group accused Huntingdon of torturing
beagles in tests it was conducting for Yamanouchi Pharmaceuticals in the
development of a new drug to combat osteoporosis.
          Yamanouchi was investigating whether its drug slowed the
healing of broken bones, which would make it problematic as an
osteoporosis treatment, since the disease itself makes bones brittle and
likely to break. Staple said Yamanouchi had contracted with
Huntingdon to anesthetize dogs, break their bones and see if the drug
slowed their healing. The actress Kim Basinger, a PETA supporter,
traveled to East Millstone, N.J., where she held a news conference on
Huntingdon's lawn. Yamanouchi canceled its study and other contracts
with Huntingdon, telling Staple that it was reviewing with the Food
and Drug Administration how to proceed with testing of the drug.

          Staple said Colgate told him it was suspending all of its
research involving animals. The company did not respond to telephone
calls seeking comment. Staple provided a letter that he said PETA had
sent to more than 200 current and former clients of Huntingdon. The
letter insinuated that the company was flagrantly violating laws
governing animal research and was mistreating animals. In addition to
losing half his clients, Staple said, he received letters and calls
threatening death to him and his family. "We were innocent of all
charges," Staple said. "Things they were saying about us were absolutely
false, absolutely wrong. But PETA was picking off and
destroying our business relationships, one by one."

          The company, which has 220 employees, did not lay off any
workers, Staple said, even though it lost $1 million in business. In
addition, he said, the cost of the lawsuit was $1 million. (PETA said
its legal costs were much lower.)

          Staple said his clients were not so much convinced that the
assertions of the animal rights' group were true but "it was more the
fear of publicity and attracting PETA's attention." Companies, he
said, "fear the specter of PETA showing videotapes and demonstrating in
front of their headquarters."

          Tassone of Procter & Gamble said, "Naturally, we were
concerned about the impact of such video footage on our corporate
reputation." He said his company had investigated Huntingdon and found
nothing wrong. But he said Procter & Gamble broke off its relations with
Huntingdon anyway because PETA's videotape showed "lab technicians
behaving in an uncaring manner."

          No evidence was ever found that Huntingdon violated the Animal
Welfare Act. PETA's finished tape, however, showed a terrified monkey
that was awake and alert being carried, kicking and squirming, to an
operating table. The monkey tried to bite the technicians, and it
struggled violently in an attempt to get away. Next the tape showed the
necropsy, with the bloody body of the monkey spread out on the table
while technicians cut away its organs and snipped off its fur.

          In an interview with G. Gordon Liddy, a radio talk show host,
Ms. Newkirk asserted: "The monkey was completely able to feel everything
that was happening. The monkey was alive." Staple, who obtained copies
of Ms. Rokke's videotapes in the fact-gathering phase of the Huntington
lawsuit, said they had been heavily spliced and
edited to make it seem that monkeys were being tortured. The original
tape, he said, showed a long intravenous infusion of an anesthetic
that rendered a monkey limp and unresponsive. Then the anesthetized
monkey was carried to an operating table, unconscious.
          Staple said the monkey, deeply sedated, had its organs removed
while its heart was beating, a procedure known as a necropsy, to
determine how a drug was affecting the animal's organs. The animal never
woke up after being anesthetized, he said.

          Ms. Newkirk of PETA did not dispute that the tapes were
edited, saying, "If you were going to show significant events in Jeffrey
Dahmer's life, you could show his whole life or you could show
significant events."

          But the most important evidence that Huntingdon was not
torturing animals, Staple said, was that the company had been regularly
inspected over the years by its clients and by an independent agency
that accredits animal testing laboratories and had repeatedly been
declared in compliance with all regulations.

          For example, the Association for Assessment and Accreditation
of Laboratory Animal Research,the nonprofit group that evaluates and
accredits over 620 programs that use animals in research, said that
Huntingdon had passed every inspection before and
after the PETA inquiry. "The site-visit team saw nothing that supported
any of the allegations made by PETA," said John Miller, the
group's executive director.

          As part of its racketeering lawsuit, Huntingdon cited other
companies that use animals or supply them for research or education, as
well as individual researchers who said they had been investigated by
PETA. The company subpoenaed documents and took depositions from them.
          Several scientists at those companies said in interviews that
their lives had been made unbearable after PETA's attack on them began.
An official of one small company that went out of business after PETA's
investigation and a lawyer speaking for another company
said their concerns had been subjected to the same tactics used against
Huntingdon. They spoke on condition of not being identified by name,
saying they feared the torment would begin again.

          But two scientists whose case is cited in the litigation,
Edward Walsh and JoAnn McGee, a husband and wife team at Boys Town
National Research Hospital in Omaha, Neb., did speak publicly.

          Tale of Torture:

          Lives Are Turned Upside Down

                Walsh and McGee study the genesis of congenital deafness
and, until PETA investigated them, did studies in cats, animals whose
auditory system has been extensively studied.
          Their hypothesis, which proved correct, was that deafness
occurs if, during the course of development, a particular nerve did not
make its way to the sensory cells of the inner ear. To test the
hypothesis, they severed the nerve in kittens.

          On Aug. 14, 1996, PETA held a news conference across the
street from Boys Town in Omaha, accusing Walsh and McGee of torturing
kittens, saying the animals were subjected to gruesome and painful
experiments. The group had photographs, videotapes and documents,
obtained by Ms. Rokke, who had infiltrated Boys Town just as she
subsequently infiltrated Huntingdon Life Sciences.

          Walsh insisted that the kittens had been anesthetized during
surgery and given ample doses of analgesic drugs afterwards so they felt
no pain. PETA also showed a videotape of two kittens that stumbled and
fell as they tried to walk across a floor. The group said the kittens
would never live normal lives. But Walsh said that the animal rights
group's own videotapes showed that the animals had completely recovered
from the rare post-surgical complication of loss of balance.

          That news conference "was the beginning of the most horrific
experience ever," Walsh said.

          Walsh and McGee discovered first that PETA had filed a
complaint with the National Institutes of Health and with the department
of Agriculture, accusing them of cruelty to their laboratory animals.
          "We went home in a daze," Walsh said, "but we were still
dismissing it. We have been animal welfare advocates of the first rank
since the day we first started doing research. We thought, by tomorrow
it will be all over. There is nothing wrong here."

          Instead, the animal rights group's complaint led to 13 months
of investigations by the National Institutes of Health, by the
Department of Agriculture, and by an independent group that Boys Town
put together to check PETA's allegations. Ultimately, each group issued
reports clearing the researchers of mistreating animals.

          Walsh and McGee said they received threatening letters and
calls at work and at home. "They were ugly and mean and vile and
vulgar," Walsh said. One caller, he said, seemed to delight in
frightening his 85-year-old mother, who was visiting for a month. The
caller repeatedly told Walsh's mother that he knew she was alone with
the researchers' 5-year-old son.

          One person wrote: "We will kill you and every member of your
family in the exact same way you killed the cats. No matter where you
hide! We will slice open your heads and cut the nerves in your brains
while you are alive."

          Ms. Newkirk said the animal rights group does not send death
threats and that its disclosures about Walsh and McGee's work were
accurate.

          Boys Town decided not to continue its research with cats,
substituting mice instead. Walt Jesteadt, the director of research at
Boys Town Hospital, said that the research in mice could have "greater
long-term payoffs." Jesteadt said there were higher costs in
the use of cats "as well as public relations costs."

          Ms. Newkirk says her group also opposes the use of rodents.

          The Settlement:

          Reaching Accord, Asserting Victory

             In December, PETA and Huntingdon settled the suit out of
court. PETA agreed to destroy or return all of the documents related to
the Huntingdon investigation as well as give the company the inquiry's
videotapes and audiotapes. The animal rights group also said that it
would never interfere with Huntingdon's business relationships with its
customers. PETA also agreed to forgo undercover investigations at
Huntingdon for five years. In return, Huntingdon agreed to drop its
charges against PETA.

          Both sides claimed victory. But Staple is still reeling.
Yes, the cost was great, Staple said, but worth it. "Our goal
is to protect this business." He said he hoped other companies would
fight PETA in the courts.

          Frankie Trull, the president of the Foundation for Biomedical
Research, a Washington group that advocates the humane use of animals in
research, said her group also tried to encourage scientists who are
under attack to fight back. But, she said, "it would be irresponsible to
insist" because the anonymous death threats and the harassment that
accompany PETA investigations are so unnerving.
          Ms. Newkirk of PETA dismissed scientists' claims that they are
terrorized, saying their protestations are "cheap, distracting and take
the attention off of the dead animals." Scientists, she said, "learned a
long time ago that the way to get the spotlight off their own bad deeds
is to become the victim." She said their professions of fear were "just
a silly little distracter."

          Ms. Newkirk said the settlement prohibited her from describing
in detail what her investigator found at Huntingdon. She issued a press
release saying PETA was celebrating its victory. She said the settlement
"sends a strong message to the coalition of fur
industry groups which had lined up behind Huntingdon, anxious to see
PETA's investigations stopped: It didn't work."

          "Only fools litigate," Ms. Newkirk said.

______________________________________________________
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Date: Tue, 24 Mar 1998 16:06:18 -0800
From: Mesia Quartano <[e-mail]>
To: "[e-mail]" <[e-mail]>
Subject: (US) TV Show "Public Eye" segment on Exotic Animals
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

The TV show Public Eye with Bryant Gumbel (CBS) just aired a promo for
its show which airs tonight, which will include a segment on exotic
animals as pets.
Date: Tue, 24 Mar 1998 12:38:00
From: David J Knowles <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: [CA] Video alert
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

'W5', a current affairs program shown on most CTV stations in Canada, is
tonight - March 24th - airing a segment on the use of BGH in cows and
whether it should be allowed in Canada. On the promo they mentioned the
possible implications to human health and the detrimental effects to the
health of the cow.

'W5' airs at 10:00 PM EST/PST.

David

Date: Tue, 24 Mar 1998 12:12:59
From: David J Knowles <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: RFI - AR-Related Material
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Hi Everyone,

[Although this isn't technically an RFI, I couldn't think of what else to
send it as.]

Animal Voices, a weekly animal issues radio show, is seeking the following:

- Restaurant reviews, particularily of veggie/vegan eateries.

- Music reviews - reviews of CD's, singles and concerts of ar/enviro
friendly artists. (Copies of    any relevant music, particularily from new
artists, would also be welcome.)

- Copies of original poems, short stories etc.

- Volunteers to act as news reporters

Whilst we are not in a position to pay for meals, CD's etc. we will
reimburse for expenses such as mailing costs, tapes, telephone charges etc.

To forward material, which probably won't get returned, or for further
information, please contact:

David Knowles
Producer - Animal Voices
314 - 6577 Royal Oak Avenue
Burnaby, BC
V5H 3P3
Canada

Tel: (604)  435-9032
Fax: [phone]
e-mail: [e-mail]

TIA,

David

Date: Tue, 24 Mar 1998 17:48:42 -0500
From: "Ilene Rachford" <[e-mail]>
To: "AR-News" <[e-mail]>
Subject: Texas Animal Cruelty
Message-ID: <01e501bd5777$2e7e5d40$a0765acf@default>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain;
     charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

Found this on another list....thought I'd pass this along to see if any of
you Texans might be able to help. I don't recall seeing this here before, so
apologies if this is a  duplicate.


PLEASE  HELP


     My name is Denise Porter, and I am a psychotherapist, licensed in
the
state of Texas, and President of the Brownsville Society for the
Prevention of
Cruelty to Animals.  The BSPCA is an animal welfare group, recently
formed to
improve the lives of animals in the Rio Grande Valley.  (Not all our
members
agree with pure animal rights philosophy.)   However, I myself am a
long-time
animal rights activist and a vegetarian.

     We have been following a brutal case of animal cruelty down here,
and we
need your help. On September 12, 1997, two juveniles and three adults,
Adrian
Adame, Juan Garcia, and Gerardo Zamora allegedly stoned a dog to death
in the
Las Palmas housing project outside of Harlingen, Texas. A witness
identified
the perpetrators of this crime and stated that a crowd gathered around
them to
watch and to cheer.   Investigators put together a case against the
suspects,
and they were arrested and charged with animal cruelty on October 9,
1997.
The adults have pled "not guilty" and will have a hearing on March 25,
1998 to
set a date for the trial.

     Unfortunately, the adolescents have received "deferred
prosecution,"
meaning that if they follow the terms of a six-month contract, they will
not
be prosecuted.   The contract says that they must commit no other crime,
follow a curfew, and attend school.   They will not have to receive
therapy,
nor do they have any community service hours to do.

     The BSPCA is circulating a petition demanding that those involved
be
prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, that the court impose the
maximum
sentence allowed under Texas law against those found guilty, and that
none of
the parties involved ever be allowed to have any kind of animal in the
future.
Finally, we want those found guilty of this crime to receive
court-ordered
psychological therapy and to do community service hours.

     It is important to note that those involved in this atrocity are
all gang
members and that the three adults have prior criminal records.  Here as
elsewhere the torture and death
of animals is part of gang initiation rites.   An informant who used to
live
in this area has told us that the murder of helpless animals is a daily
activity of the gang that controls the neighborhood.

     People here in the Rio Grande Valley treat animals very badly, in
general.   Animal cruelty is not taken seriously and, quite frankly, not
that
many people care about the dog that got stoned.   Knowing this, the
BSPCA is
trying to raise public awareness about the link between violence toward
animals, violence towards humans, and criminality.  This makes it a
human
issue too, not only an animal issue.

     We want this story to go national. If anyone out there has any
media
contacts, please help. I am willing to go on radio or television.   And
if
anyone can get this story on web sites of big organizations that would
be
great.  Also, activists can write editorials to the three newspapers
here.
The D.A. Yolanda de Leon and the Assistant D.A. Jeff Henley need to know
that
the country is watching how they handle this case.    The Director of
the
juvenile probation office, Amador Rodriguez, needs to hear your views on
these
kids essentially getting away with a slap on the wrist.  We believe
juvenile
perpetrators of cruelty need to be held accountable and punished for
crimes
against animals.  This must not happen in the future!

Please contact:

Mr. Amador Rodriguez, Director
Juvenile Probation Office
P.O. Box 1573
San Benito, Texas 78586
Phone: [phone]
Fax:  [phone]
E-Mail: none

The Honorable Yolanda de Leon, District Attorney
Cameron County District Attorney' s Office
974 East Harrison
Brownsville, Texas 78520
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
E-Mail: none

Jeff  Henley, Assistant District Attorney
Same address, phone number and fax number as above

It would be helpful if activists could write letters or guest editorials
to
the region's three major newspapers:

The Brownsville Herald
32 Cent Forum
1135 East Van Buren
Brownsville, TX 78520
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]

The Valley Morning Star
Editorial Dept.
1310 South Commerce
Harlingen, TX 78550
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]

The Monitor
Editorial Dept.
1101 Ash Ave.
McAllen, TX  78501
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]

     We would welcome any ideas on how to proceed with this "campaign."
We
are a small, struggling organization and need guidance.  Thank you.


Denise Porter
President
Brownsville Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
4777 Paseo del Rey
Brownsville, TX. 78521
Phone: [phone] home; [phone] work
Fax: [phone]
E-mail:  [e-mail]



Date: Tue, 24 Mar 1998 14:10:52 -0800 (PST)
From: Michael Markarian <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail], [e-mail]
Subject: CT Alert: Phone Calls Needed to Help Wildlife
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

CONNECTICUT ALERT

YOUR PHONE CALLS CAN HELP WILDLIFE!

With your help, the Nuisance Wildlife Control Act overwhelmingly passed in
Connecticut last year. But due to an omission in the Act, we need to pass a
new bill -- Senate Bill 412 -- requiring nuisance trappers to be trained in
non-lethal methods and to inform consumers about them.

Some nuisance trappers are still using body-crushing traps on squirrels and
raccoons. Senate Bill 412 will require nuisance trappers to be trained in,
and to tell customers about, humane options such as one-way doors and
repellents that humanely evict unwanted animals from homes.

Sometimes homeowners allow animals to be cruelly killed because they don't
think that they have any other option. Sometimes homeowners never know
exactly what the nuisance trappers did with the animals they removed. This
bill will change all that by requiring nuisance trappers to provide written
and verbal information to homeowners about humane problem-solving options.

You have one State Senator and one State Representative who represent you in
Hartford. Please tell them to vote "YES" on SENATE BILL 412, and to oppose
any weakening amendments. This bill may be voted on any day, and time is
short! You can call them at:

        1-800-842-1421 (for State Senators)
        1-800-842-8267 (for State Representatives)

If you do not know who your State Senator and State Representative are,
please call your local library, town or city hall, or League of Women Voters
for assistance.

Here are a few points you may wish to make in your phone calls:

*** This bill restores the intent of the Nuisance Wildlife Control Act which
was enacted last year after a highly publicized raccoon drowning case. The
Act was approved unanimously by the Environment Committee and passed
overwhelmingly in both the House and the Senate.

*** The bill will require that nuisance wildlife control operators receive
training in non-lethal as well as lethal methods of controlling nuisance
wildlife, and that they inform homeowners about non-lethal as well as lethal
control methods so that paying homeowners can make informed decisions about
how they want a particular wildlife problem handled. Consumers will be
better informed, and nuisance wildlife control operators will be better trained.

For more information call Julie Lewin at [phone] or Laura Simon at
[phone].

Date: Tue, 24 Mar 1998 23:10:05 +0000
From: "Deidre" <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (Fwd) WWF-Save Our Sanctuary Campaign
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT

------- Forwarded Message Follows -------
Date:          Thu, 19 Feb 1998 23:10:10 -0500
From:          Kath Short <[e-mail]>
Subject:       WWF-Save Our Sanctuary Campaign Update
To:            "diedre bourke-an'l act'n" <[e-mail]>,

Greetings,

Please find below the latest on our Save Our Sanctuary Whale Campaign.

WE NEED YOUR HELP NOW!   With....

getting petition signatures - let us know if you want petition forms and/or
download one from www.whales.org.nz.

promoting the campaign through your newsletters, notice boards, friends and
family,

visit the web site lots

requesting more information from us and distributing it

donating to WWF-NZ

Sir Peter Blake, Sam Neill, When the Cat's Been Spayed, Lucy Lawless,
Steve and Terri Irwin, Dame Cath Tizard and Maggie Barry are just
some famous people supporting the campaign but we really need your
support too.

Many WWF-NZ members and supporters are now phoning in their support
now that they've seen the latest supporter news about the Whale
Campaign.

Kath Short
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Date: Tue, 24 Mar 1998 23:10:06 +0000
From: "Deidre" <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (Fwd) The Web Site Needs You
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT

------- Forwarded Message Follows -------
Date:          Mon, 23 Mar 1998 22:43:42 -0500
From:          Kath Short <[e-mail]>
Subject:       The Web Site Needs You
To:            "diedre bourke-an'l act'n" <[e-mail]>,

Greetings All,

The WWF-NZ Anti-Whaling Campaign is going brilliantly.  Completed petition
forms are pouring from our members and supporters all over the country and
the volunteers in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch are doing a
stirling job in wind, rain and sun!

As of yesterday we'd counted 14000 signatures into the WWF-NZ office and
the Body Shop in NZ has collected 21000 so far.  We still have some time to
go and the Body Shop in Australia is also running the petition which means
it is in 60 shops there.

The web site has had 1000's of hits and yesterday it won the NZ WAMMO web
award which we and 'The Web', the company who designed the site are
thrilled about.  CHECK IT OUT.  We've had 3 dissenting comments from
Norway(2) and Japan(1) and replied in as informed a way as we are able to!
Please go and make your comments too!  Lucy Lawless, Sir Peter Blake, Sam
Neil and When The Cat's Been Spayed are just some of the celebrities up
there showing their support too.

The Island Bay Marine Lab hosted the 3m papier mache minke whale (with a
bloody harpoon in it's blowhole) for SeaWeek and hung it from the ceiling.
4000 children saw it during the week and many more over the open weekend
too.  The Body Shop in Wellington has a warehouse with a large wall on the
side of it that is painted with information about the campaign and will
have the whale on a ledge near it too!  Let's hope the water-proofing
works!

Download the petition, request some more information, hey buy your
christmas presents with the merchandise section!

Thanks for your support and do not hesitate to contact me or
[e-mail] if you'd like any further information.

Cheers

Regards

Kath Short
Programme Officer
Conservation Research
WWF-NZ
[e-mail]

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Date: Tue, 24 Mar 1998 15:15:13 -0800 (PST)
From: Michael Markarian <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail], [e-mail]
Subject: CT Alert: Legislation to Help Pet Store Puppies
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

CONNECTICUT ALERT

SUPPORT LEGISLATION TO HELP PET STORE PUPPIES!

You probably heard recently about the tragedy of 50 puppies who burned to
death in a truck trailer fire in Greenwich. The puppies were on a truck from
Kansas bound for pet stores in New England. You may also remember the
incident last August in Bridgeport when a truck from Missouri, also bound
for New England pet stores, was found to be carrying nearly 100 puppies in
poor condition.

In response to these tragic events, the Connecticut Legislature will
consider House Bill 5495, "An Act Concerning the Importation and Sale of
Dogs and Cats." The bill states that:

*** in-state breeders of more than two litters a year must purchase a state
kennel license, so state canine officers can respond to cruelty complaints
without a search warrant;

*** pet stores must display on the cage of each puppy the locality from
which the puppy is from;

*** the stores must make available detailed information on each puppy;

*** the stores must forward on a quarterly basis to the State Department of
Agriculture all available information, including both the breeder and
broker, of all puppies sold;

*** and the stores must post a Department of Agriculture telephone number
for complaints.

This bill is a far cry from the ban that we want on the sale of puppies and
kittens in pet stores, but its provisions will be extremely useful in
documenting the ugliness of the pet store and puppy mill industry. Some
in-state breeders are fighting the section which pertains to them, so it is
important that you make clear to legislators that you are equally committed
to this portion also.

You have one State Senator and one State Representative who represent you in
Hartford. Please tell them to vote "YES" on HOUSE BILL 5495. You can call
them toll-free at:

        1-800-842-1421 (for State Senators)
        1-800-842-8267 (for State Representatives)

If you do not know who your State Senator and State Representative are,
please call your local library, town or city hall, or League of Women Voters
for assistance.

For more information call Julie Lewin of The Fund for Animals at [phone].

Date: Tue, 24 Mar 1998 19:04:51 EST
From: Tereiman <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Letters needed:  PETA NYTimes story!
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit

Please take the time to read this wonderful article and write a letter to the
editor!  I am sure there will be plenty of letters from the animal research
industry and the more letters we get in, the more of ours they will have to
print!  Thanks.
--Tracy Reiman
PETA

Tough Tactics in Battle Over Animals in the Lab

New York Times
March 24, 1998
By GINA KOLATA

               Alan Staple, the president of a New Jersey company that
conducts animal tests for other companies, was attending a conference in
England last May when he was jolted awake by a telephone call at 3 a.m.
from his company's vice president.

          There was a corporate emergency, the company officer said. An
animal rights group had asserted that the company mistreated dogs in
tests it had done for Colgate-Palmolive. The group, People for
the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA, was starting a wide
campaign calling for consumers to boycott Colgate products.

          Colgate had been testing an antibacterial agent it wanted to
add to toothpaste, Staple said. The company soon canceled all of its
contracts with Staple's company, Huntingdon Life Sciences of East
Millstone, N.J. But that was only the beginning of Huntingdon's
troubles. The company said it later learned that an undercover
investigator for the animal rights group, who had been employed at
Huntingdon, had used a camera hidden in her eyeglasses to secretly make
50 hours of videotapes of the company's laboratories.

          She had also made four audiotapes of 90 minutes each,
photocopied 8,000 company documents, many of them containing corporate
trade secrets, and copied the company's client list, Staple said.
And the group had contacted the clients, asking them to reconsider doing
business with the company.

          Within months, Huntingdon had lost more than half of its
clients. But unlike any other company or research group that had been
investigated by PETA, Huntingdon fought back. And thus ensued a
battle between those who support the use of animals in research and
those who oppose it. The result was a look at how PETA, the most vocal
animal rights organization, gathers its evidence and wins victories.

          The Inquiry:

          Shedding Light on Hidden World

               The organization's public campaign against Huntingdon was
the culmination of an immense effort, said Ingrid Newkirk, the group's
president, and resulted from an investigation so arduous that the group
can only undertake one every year or two. She acknowledged that the
group's investigator had copied company documents, including a client
list, and had made videotapes, but said the tactics were necessary to
show what was going on in the lab.

          Ms. Newkirk said Huntingdon's studies for Colgate included
"the four basic tests for products."Those tests, Ms. Newkirk said, were
to "shove it in the animal's throat, poke it in the eye, shove it
up the nose and rub it in abraded skin."

          She said the investigation also disclosed that dogs were to
have their legs broken as part of a study for a Japanese company,
Yamanouchi Pharmaceuticals. And it found monkeys that Ms. Newkirk
said were slammed into cages and roughly handled. In addition,
she said, the monkey were improperly anesthetized while technicians
ripped out their organs in a study for Procter & Gamble.

          "It's a hidden world of suffering in the laboratory," Ms.
Newkirk said. "A normal person would be appalled at the disrespect, let
alone the pain," of the animals. "The people who work with laboratory
animals are often oblivious to the terror," she said.

          But Staple saw another side of the inquiry. He said he felt
violated by PETA's snooping and helpless to defuse what he thought was a
distorted attack on research that was ethical and humane and that
complied with every stipulation of the Animal Welfare Act, which spells
out conditions for the ethical treatment of animals. He saw the threat
of his company going under, he said, even though it had done nothing
wrong. To Staple, PETA was a terrifying group that used strategies no
different from those used by gangsters.

          So Staple fought back by filing a civil lawsuit under a law
the federal government uses against criminal groups, the Racketeering
Influenced Corrupt Organization Act, or RICO, which can be applied to
other organizations. Huntingdon contended that the animal rights group
had engaged in a pattern of criminal behavior that included threatening
and harassing scientists and companies. The suit asserted that the
animal rights group had repeatedly leveled baseless acusations of animal
abuse in ways that devastated scientific careers and hurt or even
destroyed companies.

          The suit named other researchers and companies that had been
evastated by the group's investigations, describing in detail the
methods used by the organization. The disclosure of PETA's methods is a
first, scientists say, because almost invariably, the targets of the
investigation have decided that it is better to keep mum and hope that
their opponents will eventually go away.

          The Tapes:

          What Is Seen Is Disputed

               Shortly after calling for consumers to boycott
Colgate-Palmolive, PETA held a news conference in Cincinnati, the
headquarters of Procter & Gamble. There, the undercover investigator for
the group, Michelle Rokke, said that monkeys had been tortured in
Procter & Gamble research at Huntingdon. She showed videotapes that, she
claimed, illustrated her point.
          Soon afterward Huntingdon lost Procter & Gamble as a client.
Procter & Gamble had been testing a new drug for migraine headaches,
said Donald Tassone, the company's director of corporate relations.

          Tassone said that the company's veterinarians reviewed the
tapes and while they said the procedures might be unpleasant to watch,
Huntingdon had done nothing wrong.

          Then the animal rights group accused Huntingdon of torturing
beagles in tests it was conducting for Yamanouchi Pharmaceuticals in the
development of a new drug to combat osteoporosis.
          Yamanouchi was investigating whether its drug slowed the
healing of broken bones, which would make it problematic as an
osteoporosis treatment, since the disease itself makes bones brittle and
likely to break. Staple said Yamanouchi had contracted with
Huntingdon to anesthetize dogs, break their bones and see if the drug
slowed their healing. The actress Kim Basinger, a PETA supporter,
traveled to East Millstone, N.J., where she held a news conference on
Huntingdon's lawn. Yamanouchi canceled its study and other contracts
with Huntingdon, telling Staple that it was reviewing with the Food
and Drug Administration how to proceed with testing of the drug.

          Staple said Colgate told him it was suspending all of its
research involving animals. The company did not respond to telephone
calls seeking comment. Staple provided a letter that he said PETA had
sent to more than 200 current and former clients of Huntingdon. The
letter insinuated that the company was flagrantly violating laws
governing animal research and was mistreating animals. In addition to
losing half his clients, Staple said, he received letters and calls
threatening death to him and his family. "We were innocent of all
charges," Staple said. "Things they were saying about us were absolutely
false, absolutely wrong. But PETA was picking off and
destroying our business relationships, one by one."

          The company, which has 220 employees, did not lay off any
workers, Staple said, even though it lost $1 million in business. In
addition, he said, the cost of the lawsuit was $1 million. (PETA said
its legal costs were much lower.)

          Staple said his clients were not so much convinced that the
assertions of the animal rights' group were true but "it was more the
fear of publicity and attracting PETA's attention." Companies, he
said, "fear the specter of PETA showing videotapes and demonstrating in
front of their headquarters."

          Tassone of Procter & Gamble said, "Naturally, we were
concerned about the impact of such video footage on our corporate
reputation." He said his company had investigated Huntingdon and found
nothing wrong. But he said Procter & Gamble broke off its relations with
Huntingdon anyway because PETA's videotape showed "lab technicians
behaving in an uncaring manner."

          No evidence was ever found that Huntingdon violated the Animal
Welfare Act. PETA's finished tape, however, showed a terrified monkey
that was awake and alert being carried, kicking and squirming, to an
operating table. The monkey tried to bite the technicians, and it
struggled violently in an attempt to get away. Next the tape showed the
necropsy, with the bloody body of the monkey spread out on the table
while technicians cut away its organs and snipped off its fur.

          In an interview with G. Gordon Liddy, a radio talk show host,
Ms. Newkirk asserted: "The monkey was completely able to feel everything
that was happening. The monkey was alive." Staple, who obtained copies
of Ms. Rokke's videotapes in the fact-gathering phase of the Huntington
lawsuit, said they had been heavily spliced and
edited to make it seem that monkeys were being tortured. The original
tape, he said, showed a long intravenous infusion of an anesthetic
that rendered a monkey limp and unresponsive. Then the anesthetized
monkey was carried to an operating table, unconscious.
          Staple said the monkey, deeply sedated, had its organs removed
while its heart was beating, a procedure known as a necropsy, to
determine how a drug was affecting the animal's organs. The animal never
woke up after being anesthetized, he said.

          Ms. Newkirk of PETA did not dispute that the tapes were
edited, saying, "If you were going to show significant events in Jeffrey
Dahmer's life, you could show his whole life or you could show
significant events."

          But the most important evidence that Huntingdon was not
torturing animals, Staple said, was that the company had been regularly
inspected over the years by its clients and by an independent agency
that accredits animal testing laboratories and had repeatedly been
declared in compliance with all regulations.

          For example, the Association for Assessment and Accreditation
of Laboratory Animal Research,the nonprofit group that evaluates and
accredits over 620 programs that use animals in research, said that
Huntingdon had passed every inspection before and
after the PETA inquiry. "The site-visit team saw nothing that supported
any of the allegations made by PETA," said John Miller, the
group's executive director.

          As part of its racketeering lawsuit, Huntingdon cited other
companies that use animals or supply them for research or education, as
well as individual researchers who said they had been investigated by
PETA. The company subpoenaed documents and took depositions from them.
          Several scientists at those companies said in interviews that
their lives had been made unbearable after PETA's attack on them began.
An official of one small company that went out of business after PETA's
investigation and a lawyer speaking for another company
said their concerns had been subjected to the same tactics used against
Huntingdon. They spoke on condition of not being identified by name,
saying they feared the torment would begin again.

          But two scientists whose case is cited in the litigation,
Edward Walsh and JoAnn McGee, a husband and wife team at Boys Town
National Research Hospital in Omaha, Neb., did speak publicly.

          Tale of Torture:

          Lives Are Turned Upside Down

                Walsh and McGee study the genesis of congenital deafness
and, until PETA investigated them, did studies in cats, animals whose
auditory system has been extensively studied.
          Their hypothesis, which proved correct, was that deafness
occurs if, during the course of development, a particular nerve did not
make its way to the sensory cells of the inner ear. To test the
hypothesis, they severed the nerve in kittens.

          On Aug. 14, 1996, PETA held a news conference across the
street from Boys Town in Omaha, accusing Walsh and McGee of torturing
kittens, saying the animals were subjected to gruesome and painful
experiments. The group had photographs, videotapes and documents,
obtained by Ms. Rokke, who had infiltrated Boys Town just as she
subsequently infiltrated Huntingdon Life Sciences.

          Walsh insisted that the kittens had been anesthetized during
surgery and given ample doses of analgesic drugs afterwards so they felt
no pain. PETA also showed a videotape of two kittens that stumbled and
fell as they tried to walk across a floor. The group said the kittens
would never live normal lives. But Walsh said that the animal rights
group's own videotapes showed that the animals had completely recovered
from the rare post-surgical complication of loss of balance.

          That news conference "was the beginning of the most horrific
experience ever," Walsh said.

          Walsh and McGee discovered first that PETA had filed a
complaint with the National Institutes of Health and with the department
of Agriculture, accusing them of cruelty to their laboratory animals.
          "We went home in a daze," Walsh said, "but we were still
dismissing it. We have been animal welfare advocates of the first rank
since the day we first started doing research. We thought, by tomorrow
it will be all over. There is nothing wrong here."

          Instead, the animal rights group's complaint led to 13 months
of investigations by the National Institutes of Health, by the
Department of Agriculture, and by an independent group that Boys Town
put together to check PETA's allegations. Ultimately, each group issued
reports clearing the researchers of mistreating animals.

          Walsh and McGee said they received threatening letters and
calls at work and at home. "They were ugly and mean and vile and
vulgar," Walsh said. One caller, he said, seemed to delight in
frightening his 85-year-old mother, who was visiting for a month. The
caller repeatedly told Walsh's mother that he knew she was alone with
the researchers' 5-year-old son.

          One person wrote: "We will kill you and every member of your
family in the exact same way you killed the cats. No matter where you
hide! We will slice open your heads and cut the nerves in your brains
while you are alive."

          Ms. Newkirk said the animal rights group does not send death
threats and that its disclosures about Walsh and McGee's work were
accurate.

          Boys Town decided not to continue its research with cats,
substituting mice instead. Walt Jesteadt, the director of research at
Boys Town Hospital, said that the research in mice could have "greater
long-term payoffs." Jesteadt said there were higher costs in
the use of cats "as well as public relations costs."

          Ms. Newkirk says her group also opposes the use of rodents.

          The Settlement:

          Reaching Accord, Asserting Victory

             In December, PETA and Huntingdon settled the suit out of
court. PETA agreed to destroy or return all of the documents related to
the Huntingdon investigation as well as give the company the inquiry's
videotapes and audiotapes. The animal rights group also said that it
would never interfere with Huntingdon's business relationships with its
customers. PETA also agreed to forgo undercover investigations at
Huntingdon for five years. In return, Huntingdon agreed to drop its
charges against PETA.

          Both sides claimed victory. But Staple is still reeling.
Yes, the cost was great, Staple said, but worth it. "Our goal
is to protect this business." He said he hoped other companies would
fight PETA in the courts.

          Frankie Trull, the president of the Foundation for Biomedical
Research, a Washington group that advocates the humane use of animals in
research, said her group also tried to encourage scientists who are
under attack to fight back. But, she said, "it would be irresponsible to
insist" because the anonymous death threats and the harassment that
accompany PETA investigations are so unnerving.
          Ms. Newkirk of PETA dismissed scientists' claims that they are
terrorized, saying their protestations are "cheap, distracting and take
the attention off of the dead animals." Scientists, she said, "learned a
long time ago that the way to get the spotlight off their own bad deeds
is to become the victim." She said their professions of fear were "just
a silly little distracter."

          Ms. Newkirk said the settlement prohibited her from describing
in detail what her investigator found at Huntingdon. She issued a press
release saying PETA was celebrating its victory. She said the settlement
"sends a strong message to the coalition of fur
industry groups which had lined up behind Huntingdon, anxious to see
PETA's investigations stopped: It didn't work."

          "Only fools litigate," Ms. Newkirk said.
Date: Wed, 25 Mar 1998 08:53:57 +0800
From: bunny <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Iraq Threatens UK With Anthrax
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Tue, 24th March 1998

Iraq Threatens UK With Anthrax

New Zealand News


The Government is seeking further information on reports that Iraq has
threatened to smuggle large quantities of deadly anthrax into "hostile
countries".

But a spokesperson for the Foreign Affairs Minister, Don McKinnon, says
there is no reason at this point to believe New Zealand is under threat of
terrorist attack from Iraq.

Britain's air and sea ports have been put on alert to the threat of deadly
anthrax being smuggled into the country by Iraq.

Britian's "Sun" newspaper has reported that the warning follows a threat by
Iraqi President, Saddam Hussein, to flood Britain with the toxin disguised
inside "duty free" bottles of alcohol, cosmetics, cigarette lighters and
perfume sprays.

The "Sun" says the alert was issued March 18, the same day a British
intelligence document revealed an Iraqi plot to smuggle large quantities of
anthrax into "hostile countries".

The British Government has confirmed the document referred to in the "Sun"
is authentic.

New Zealand is part of the coalition forces currently stationed in the Persian
Gulf, which are poised to attack Iraq if weapons inspections are obstructed.

A spokesperson for Foreign Affairs Minister, Don McKinnon, says New
Zealand is seeking further details but at this stage is not aware of the threats
applying to this part of the world.

She says New Zealand is "keeping abreast" of the situation, however.
The US State Department won't say if threats have been made against the US.

                     (24/03/98)
=====================================================================
========
                   /`\   /`\    The Balance:
Tom, Tom,         (/\ \-/ /\)   NATURE's balance is so fine-
The piper's son,     )6 6(      Take care when altering her design!
Saved a pig        >{= Y =}<    A species introduced could grow
And away he run;    /'-^-'\     To be a source of endless woe;
So none could eat  (_)   (_)    While culling another could unfold
The pig so sweet    |  .  |     A horde of pests it once controlled.
Together they ran   |     |}    from "The Judgement of the Animals"
Down the street.    \_/^\_/     by Willow Macky (published by the RNZSPCA)
***************************************************************************
Rabbit Information Service      http://www.wantree.com.au/~rabbit/rabbit.htm
P.O. Box 30,                    email [e-mail]
Riverton,                       Was Jesus a vegetarian? Vegan and AR info;
Western Australia 6148          http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/4620

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

Date: Wed, 25 Mar 1998 09:10:53 +0800
From: bunny <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (EUR)BSE, CURRENT STATUS - EUROPEAN UNION
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

BSE, CURRENT STATUS - EUROPEAN UNION
************************************
Date:  Tue, 17 Mar 1998
Source :Promed Mail


The discussion on ProMED-mail concerning the recent BSE cases in Belgium
and France made me feel it might be useful to post the results of a
journalistic investigation I published in the British science weekly New
Scientist last year (Secrets and Lies in Europe, New Scientist, 3 May 1997,
p14-15). Nothing has happened since to change the conclusion I reached
then. (The article may be accessed at
<http://www.newscientist.com/nsplus/insight/bse/bse.html>.)

The conclusion was that there must be many cases of unreported BSE on the
Continent, and that they are being fed to other cattle, spreading the
infection. This was based on three lines of evidence: the non-reporting of
probable cases in live cattle imported from Britain; inadequate veterinary
surveillance; and poor controls on meat and bone meal (MBM).

Research by the Dutch Institute for Animal Science in Lelystad shows that,
given the known incidences of BSE in British cattle between 1985 and 1990,
at least 1688 of the 57,900 cattle exported for breeding to Europe during
those years, which then lived for another two years, should have got BSE.
The degree to which overall rates of BSE in British cattle can be applied
to select breeding stock has since been questioned, but there must
nonetheless have been a substantial number of sick beasts among them. They
were not reported to veterinary authorities, so they entered the food
chain. This is moreover a conservative estimate, of breeding animals only,
not total live cattle exports. This tells us both that the infection must
be present on the Continent, and that veterinary surveillance systems have
not detected it.

Has surveillance improved? Not much. Emmanuel Vanopdenbosch, head of
Belgium's National Institute for Veterinary Research and of the scientific
committee that advises the European Commission on BSE, says that even in
the absence of BSE, the incidence of diseases with BSE-like neurological
symptoms is about 100 a year per million head of cattle. If farmers are
reporting fewer than that to authorities, then cattle with such symptoms
are not being reported, hence they are entering the food chain. And if
there is BSE present, some of those cattle might have had it. The reporting
rates (concentrated in regions with rabies) in 1996 were 48 per million in
Belgium; 70 in Germany; nine in France; eight in Holland. That such low
reporting rates can miss BSE was demonstrated when the Dutch trebled theirs
in 1997, and immediately started finding cases.

The European Commission keeps these surveillance rates secret. They are
unobtainable for some countries. Limited or non-existent compensation for
farmers who report sick animals, even threats against those who do, work
against effective surveillance in many places.

Besides live cattle, MBM from Britain is likely to have introduced
infection to the Continent. Exports to the EU did not end until 1994.
France banned it in 1989. The case recently found in France was born in
1993. But a French parliamentary enquiry last year found that large amounts
of cheap British MBM were smuggled into France until 1994 mainly through
Belgium.

But Continental MBM must also now also be considered at risk from
undetected, infected animals. A confidential European Commission report on
European rendering plants in 1997 found hygiene practices broadly incapable
of preventing BSE transmission. Feeding mammalian MBM to ruminants has been
illegal in the EU since 1994, but is still legal for pigs and chickens. BSE
cases in France born after 1994 are thought to have arisen either because
pig feed was given to cattle, or because cattle feed was contaminated by
pig feed left over in the milling machinery, which can amount to ten per
cent of a batch.

Infected MBM puts the whole European herd at risk, as MBM is traded freely
in the EU. Germany puts its faith in high-temperature pressure cooking of
MBM, even though this does not destroy all infectivity; five of the
(imported) BSE cows found in Germany were rendered for feed. France says it
catches all cases through surveillance, and refuses to cook MBM even though
the EU requires it. The first Belgian BSE case was added to MBM
subsequently sent to Belgium, Holland and Poland. It is said to have been
taken back.

Of the British MBM imported into Belgium before 1994, one bag in ten
remained in Belgium. The rest caused French cases. The two Belgian cases
were born before 1994. Hence their dismissal as "spontaneous" must be open
to question, scientifically interesting though such sporadic cases may be.
It will be interesting now to see if such admissions that infection is
present on the Continent continue. It bodes ill that Germany has balked at
removing nervous tissue from slaughtered cattle, although this has been
agreed by the EU, as it claims to be BSE free.

--
Debora MacKenzie,
Europe correspondent,
New Scientist.
e-mail: [e-mail]
=====================================================================
========
                   /`\   /`\    The Balance:
Tom, Tom,         (/\ \-/ /\)   NATURE's balance is so fine-
The piper's son,     )6 6(      Take care when altering her design!
Saved a pig        >{= Y =}<    A species introduced could grow
And away he run;    /'-^-'\     To be a source of endless woe;
So none could eat  (_)   (_)    While culling another could unfold
The pig so sweet    |  .  |     A horde of pests it once controlled.
Together they ran   |     |}    from "The Judgement of the Animals"
Down the street.    \_/^\_/     by Willow Macky (published by the RNZSPCA)
***************************************************************************
Rabbit Information Service      http://www.wantree.com.au/~rabbit/rabbit.htm
P.O. Box 30,                    email [e-mail]
Riverton,                       Was Jesus a vegetarian? Vegan and AR info;
Western Australia 6148          http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/4620

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

Date: Wed, 25 Mar 1998 09:16:40 +0800
From: bunny <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (Aust)Avian Influenza,thousands of birds die
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

"During the outbreak, a total of about 310 000 broiler breeders and progeny,
1.2 million fertile chicken eggs, 261 emus and 147 emu eggs were destroyed."
See below


INFLUENZA, AVIAN - AUSTRALIA
****************************
Source :Agriculture NSW

Date: Fri, 20 Mar 1998 15:17:54 -0500


An outbreak of virulent avian influenza (AI) occurred in three properties
near Tamworth, New South Wales (NSW) during November/December 1997.

Outbreak description

An increase in daily mortality was first noticed in one shed of a
broiler-breeder operation on 16 November and thought to be due to a
bacterial infection. However, after increased mortalities in other sheds
from 21 to 24 November, avian influenza (AI) was suspected. This was
confirmed by viral isolation at the Australian Animal Health Laboratory
(AAHL) on 25 November. The mortality rate in affected sheds ranged from
about 40 to 100% over about seven days.

A second infected broiler breeder enterprise was situated about 3 km south
of the first infected flock. Following confirmation of AI on the first
property, and identification of a potential link through a dead bird
pick-up contractor, the second property was placed under a high level of
surveillance. On 3 December 1997, daily mortality in one shed increased
from 2 to 22. Gross pathology observed at post mortem examination was
suggestive of AI, a diagnosis confirmed by testing at AAHL.

Infection was also confirmed in emu chicks, located on a property about 1
km to the south-east of the first case. There were 261 emu chicks present,
ranging from one to three months old. This property also had a broiler
growing enterprise, although the broiler sheds were empty at the time o
the outbreak. AI virus was isolated from cloacal swabs collected from the
emu chicks as part of routine surveillance activities on 5 December. At no
time was there any evidence of clinical disease in any of these emus.

Adult emus on a related property about 20 km away were serologically
negative for AI virus.

AI virus serotype H7N4 was isolated from all three cases. Extensive
investigation and surveillance was undertaken on both commercial and
residential poultry flocks in the area, without detecting any additional
infected flocks.

Response

Following the confirmation of virulent AI, Commonwealth and State Chief
Veterinary Officers agreed that an eradication program would be implemented
in accordance with the Australian Veterinary Emergency Plan (AUSVETPLAN).
NSW Agriculture coordinated operations with the assistance of Rural Lands
Protection Boards and local emergency operations organisations. A local
disease control centre was established at Tamworth to coordinate operations
in the area, and a State disease control centre was established in Orange
to coordinate policy, resources and finances. More than 100 people operated
from the local centre at the peak of the campaign, with a further 1012 in
the State control centre. As specified in the AUSVETPLAN guidelines, action
commenced immediately to prevent the spread of the disease, eliminate
infection on infected properties, and undertake surveillance to detect any
additional cases.

At the start of the outbreak, a 3-km restricted zone and a 10-km control
zone were declared around the outbreak area, to allow strict controls on
the movement of poultry and poultry products. All commercial poultry flocks
within these areas were closely monitored for evidence of disease,
including regular post mortem examination of dead birds, and serology for
evidence of AI antibodies. Domestic backyard poultry in the restricted zone
were also checked for evidence of AI virus.

All birds on infected premises were destroyed and buried, litter was
removed and buried, and sheds were thoroughly cleaned and disinfected. The
last of the infected birds were slaughtered on 13 December, and
decontamination operations continued until early January 1998. After
completion of cleaning and disinfection, sheds were left empty for a
further three weeks before restocking. Surveillance will continue on the
restocked farms for a further six months to ensure that the virus has been
successfully eliminated. Area movement restrictions were revoked on all but
the three previously infected properties in late January.

During the outbreak, a total of about 310 000 broiler breeders and progeny,
1.2 million fertile chicken eggs, 261 emus and 147 emu eggs were destroyed.
All direct costs of eradication will be met under the CommonwealthStates
Cost Sharing Agreement for eradication of certain exotic diseases. Under
this agreement, the Commonwealth Government and State/Territory governments
meet the cost of eradication for any of 12 specified exotic diseases,
including virulent avian influenza. This agreement covers the cost of
compensation to the owner for stock and equipment destroyed as part of the
eradication program, as well as operational costs for the program.

Suspected Source and Epidemiology

Extensive tracing and investigation identified contaminated river-water as
the most likely source for infection on the first property. All water for
the enterprise is pumped from the Peel River, and filtered and chlorinated
before use. Investigations suggest that filtration and chlorination of the
water was inadequate, potentially permitting the persistence of AI virus in
the water. A survey of wild bird in the area upstream of the water intake
identified a number of water bird species that could present a high risk
source for AI.

Spread of the virus to the second property appears to have been due to
either mechanical transfer by the dead bird pick-up truck, or possibly by
aerosol transmission. Spread to the third property was probably via aerosol
or flies.

Extensive investigations on all infected properties, and surveillance of
both commercial and backyard poultry failed to identify any other infected
flocks or any other likely sources of infection for the three infected flocks.

End

=====================================================================
========
                   /`\   /`\    The Balance:
Tom, Tom,         (/\ \-/ /\)   NATURE's balance is so fine-
The piper's son,     )6 6(      Take care when altering her design!
Saved a pig        >{= Y =}<    A species introduced could grow
And away he run;    /'-^-'\     To be a source of endless woe;
So none could eat  (_)   (_)    While culling another could unfold
The pig so sweet    |  .  |     A horde of pests it once controlled.
Together they ran   |     |}    from "The Judgement of the Animals"
Down the street.    \_/^\_/     by Willow Macky (published by the RNZSPCA)
***************************************************************************
Rabbit Information Service      http://www.wantree.com.au/~rabbit/rabbit.htm
P.O. Box 30,                    email [e-mail]
Riverton,                       Was Jesus a vegetarian? Vegan and AR info;
Western Australia 6148          http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/4620

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

Date: Tue, 24 Mar 1998 20:29:42 -0500
From: joemiele <[e-mail]>
To: veegman
Subject: Circus information
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Hello all,

Following is a good website regarding circuses.

http://www.circuswelt.com/Circusse/CIRCusa.htm

Peace,
Joe


"Laws:  good people don't need them, bad people won't obey them, so what
good are they?"
     Utah Phillips


()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

Visit NJARA's *UPDATED* web page!

http://www.envirolink.org/orgs/njara/index.html

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()


Date: Tue, 24 Mar 1998 20:44:53 -0500 (EST)
From: Go Vegan Now <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Animal Liberationist #4
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
MIME-version: 1.0
Content-type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII

Attention AR Activists,

Issue #4 of The Animal Liberationist is now out.  The latest issue
features an extensive article on the Animal Liberation Front, an
interview with Dr. Jerry Vlasak, the transport to the slaughterhouse,
news, and much more. (32 pages, $3.00 ppd)

Send orders to:
The Animal Liberationist
PO Box 71
Manchester, MA  01944

***********************************************************************
"The extreme inequality in our lifestyle: excessive idleness among some,
excessive labor among others; the ease with which we arouse and satisfy
our appetites and our sensuality; the overly refined foods of the wealthy,
which nourish them with irritating juices and overwhelm them with
indigestion; the bad food of the poor, who most of the time do not have
even that, and who, for want of food, are inclined to stuff their stomachs
greedily whenever possible; staying up until all hours, excesses of all
kinds, immoderate outbursts of every passion, bouts of fatigue and mental
exhaustion; countless sorrows and afflictions which are felt in all levels
of society and which perpetually gnaw away at souls: these are the fatal
proofs that most of our ills are of our making, and that we could have
avoided nearly all of them by preserving the simple, regular and solitary
lifestyle prescribed to us by nature."

--French Enlightenment philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1750)
***********************************************************************

Date: Tue, 24 Mar 1998 21:58:59 -0500
From: allen schubert <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (US) Chicken Feed Produces Bigger Eggs
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

(genetic engineered chicken feed?)
from Associated Press http://wire.ap.org
---------------------------------------
MARCH 24, 01:16 EST

Chicken Feed Produces Bigger Eggs

By JANET McCONNAUGHEY
Associated Press Writer

NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- It isn't just chicken feed.

Louisiana State University says a recently patented additive is something
to squawk about: Hens that eat it lay eggs with nearly one-third less
cholesterol and saturated fat than your average egg, and 40 percent more
protein.

Not only that, the eggs are bigger. There are more of them. They taste
fresh longer. And the hens eat less.

It is not the first designer egg. Several others are already on the
market, each with its own individual health claim.

Many experts now believe that most healthy people can eat an egg or two a
day, as long as their cholesterol levels are OK and heart disease doesn't
run in their families. Some nutrition experts, however, recommend only
four eggs a week, and on that scale, the LSU reduction in fat and
cholesterol would be enough to add only about one egg a week.

``At least these researchers are tackling the right problem,'' said Bonnie
Liebman, director of nutrition for the Center for Science in the Public
Interest. She said any major cut in a yolk's cholesterol is a step
forward.

Eggland's Best, which feeds its hens a vegetarian diet, agreed to a
$100,000 fine last year to settle claims that it advertised its eggs as
lower in cholesterol after it had agreed not to do so.

Eggstasy, marketed by Century Acres Eggs of Port Washington, Wis., is
advertised as the first reduced-fat egg. EggsPlus, from Pilgrims Pride in
Dallas, boasts extra omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids -- compounds that may
cut the risk of heart disease -- from a diet boosted with flax seed and
fish oil. Omega Eggs, developed at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, are
laid by hens fed 15 percent flax seed to boost omega-3 fatty acids.

LSU's additive was developed by Albert Meier, a specialist in the way the
brain and endocrine systems regulate both metabolism and reproduction, and
graduate student John Wilson.

Meier, who recently retired from LSU, said he could not be specific,
because the additive is still being tested, but described it as an amino
acid.

He said the research looked at parts of the brain known to be involved in
metabolism and reproduction, and found ways to change things dramatically
from season to season.

Meier and his brother, Hal, who formed Cyncron Corp. to license the
patents from LSU, get FDA approval and sell the additive, say their eggs
average 160 milligrams of cholesterol or less, compared to 213 in the
average egg.

The eggs also are more than 25 percent lower in saturated fats and 17
percent lower in total fats. This, in turn, increases the protein
concentration in the yolk, which Meier said keeps the eggs tasting fresh
longer.

``Just from a nutritional standpoint, those would appear to be wonderful
changes,'' said Olivia Wood, an associate professor of nutrition at Purdue
University and director of its dietetic program.

Sensitivity to cholesterol varies, but most Americans need to cut fat in
their diets, she said.

Current recommendations call for a maximum of four yolks a week. Cutting
the cholesterol in a yolk from 215 to 160 milligrams would allow about 5.4
yolks, Liebman said.

Meier said it will probably be years before the eggs go on sale, because
he wants the Food and Drug Administration to certify the claims.
Date: Tue, 24 Mar 1998 21:53:43 -0500
From: [e-mail] (If we don't change the future now we'll end up where we're
headed)
To: [e-mail]
Subject: RIP Scruffy-- Help get justice!
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>

courtesy of PETA: Please Help!

 Please help pursue justice in the name of Scruffy, a 12-year-old
Yorkshire terrier whose unbelievably cruel torture and killing by four
men was caught on videotape.

On June 27, 1997, Jose Gutierrez, Marcus Rodriguez, Richard Golubski, and
Lance Arsenalt allegedly lured this little dog away from his home and
tormented and killed him, all the while videotaping the crime. According
to reports, the four men elevated Scruffy off the ground to choke him,
then placed him, still alive, in a garbage bag, poured lamp oil on him,
and set him on fire. The video allegedly shows the men watching the
agonized little dog running around wildly, desperate to find relief from
the unimaginable pain he must have been experiencing. Reports indicate
that Scruffy was still hanging on to life when the flames went out.
Allegedly, the four tried to decapitate Scruffy with a shovel, but
failed, then tried to break his jaws apart with their hands. Reports
claim that the men were laughing as they tortured and killed the little
dog.

These four men were reportedly so proud of their cruelty that they
distributed copies of the video. One of the videotapes was turned in to
the police. The men have since been arrested and charged with arson and
cruelty to animals. We need your help to ensure that they are prosecuted
to the fullest extent of the law.

Please write District Attorney Nick Tomasic to urge him to press for the
maximum penalty and psychiatric counseling for the persons responsible
for Scruffy's killing.


Nick Tomasic
 Wyandotte County District Attorneys office
 710 North 7th Street
 Kansas City, KS 66101



 Urgent -- Immediate Action Needed

_____________________________________________________________________
You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail.
Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com
Or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866]

Date: Tue, 24 Mar 1998 22:29:51 EST
From: BanFurNow <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (Dallas) New Nearly Vegan Restaurant
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit

Dallas has a new nearly vegan restaurant.  It is an oriental restaurant that
offers vegan chicken, beef, shrimp, pork and fish.  Everything is vegan except
the veggie burger with cheese (obviously).

The restaurant offers fake meat products that are sold out of their freezer.
Most of them are vegan as well but always check the ingredients to be safe.

The restaurant offers a daily buffet at lunch.  They are closed from 2 p.m. to
5 p.m. and stay open until 9:00 p.m.

Suma Veggie Cafe
800 E. Arapaho, #120
Richardson, TX  75081
[phone]

Lydia Nichols
Animal Liberation of Texas
P. O. Box 820872
Dallas, TX  75382
[phone]

Date: Wed, 25 Mar 1998 12:29:51 +0800 (SST)
From: Vadivu Govind <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Greyhound racing in Vietnam
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"


>The Sunday Times
22 Mar 98

Dog Races: Vietnam has approved plans for its first greyhound-racing track,
its main investor, the British-Virgin Island-registered Hemlock Services,
said on Friday.

The US$4.95-million (S$7.9 million) track, to be built in the city of Vung
Tau, is expected to start operations next year. Its financial backers hope
to attract foreign and Vietnamese punters. - Reuters.

Date: Tue, 24 Mar 1998 21:14:47 -0800
From: Andrew Gach <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: FWD: rBGH milk and cancer of the prostate
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

NOTE: I'm forwarding this despite of the unfortunate reference to rat
research.  If the connection between rBGH and prostate cancer is
supported by clinical studies, the FDA will come under heavy pressure to
reconsider its unqualified support of the Bovine Growth Hormone.

Andy
==============================================================

Health Canada scientists pressured to approve rBGH and other
questionable drugs

On April 16 and 17, 1998, the Public Service Staff Relations Board in
Ottawa (Canada0 will be hearing grievances filed by six Health Canada
scientists, who work in the Bureau of Veterinary Drugs.    This board is
a semi-judicial labour relations body that overseas the rights and
responsibilities of all public servants in the Canadian Federal
Government.

According to their allegations, the scientists are being pressured
through coercion by upper level management in Health Canada to approve
drugs of questionable safety.  These drugs include antibiotics and
hormones administered to animals used in food production.

Genetically engineered bovine growth hormone or rBGH (also abbreviated
rBST), which is injected in cows to increase milk production is one of
the drugs under question.   rBGH, which has not been approved in Canada,
is under hot dispute worldwide.

...............................

2.) Thanks to Patricia Dines at Community Action Publications
<[e-mail]> for the following article:

CHICAGO, March 15 /PRNewswire/ -- The following was released today by
Samuel S. Epstein, M.D., Professor Environmental Medicine, University of
Illinois Chicago, School of Public Health:

As reported in a January 23, 1998 article in Science, men with high
blood levels of the naturally occurring hormone insulin-like growth
factor (IGF-1) are over four times more likely to develop full-blown
prostate cancer than are men with lower levels. The report emphasized
that high IGF-1 blood levels are the strongest known risk factor for
prostate cancer, only exceeding that of a family history, and that
reducing IGF-1 levels is likely to prevent this cancer. It was further
noted that IGF-1 markedly stimulates the division and proliferation of
normal and cancerous prostate cells and that it blocks the programmed
self-destruction of cancer cells thus enhancing the growth and
invasiveness of latent prostate cancer. These findings are highly
relevant to any efforts to prevent prostate cancer, whose rates have
escalated by 180% since 1950, which is now the commonest cancer in
non-smoking men with an estimated 185,000 new cases and 39,000 deaths in
1998.

While warning that increasing IGF-1 blood levels by treating the elderly
with growth hormone (GH) to slow aging may increase risks of prostate
cancer, the 1998 report appears unaware of the fact that the entire U.S.
population is now exposed to high levels of IGF-1 in dairy products. In
February 1995, the Food and Drug Administration approved the sale of
unlabelled milk from cows injected with Monsanto's genetically
engineered bovine growth hormone, rBGH, to increase milk production. As
detailed in a January 1996 report in the International Journal of Health
Services, rBGH milk differs from natural milk chemically, nutritionally,
pharmacologically and immunologically, besides being contaminated with
pus and antibiotics
resulting from mastitis induced by the biotech hormone. Most critically,
rBGH milk is supercharged with high levels of abnormally potent IGF-1,
up to 10 times the levels in natural milk and over 10 times more potent.
IGF-1 resists pasteurization and digestion by stomach enzymes and is
well absorbed across the intestinal wall. Still unpublished Monsanto
tests, disclosed by FDA in summary form in 1990, showed that
statistically significant growth stimulating effects were induced in
organs of adult rats by feeding IGF-1 at the lowest dose levels for only
two weeks. Drinking rBGH milk would thus be expected to increase blood
IGF-1 levels and to increase risks of developing prostate cancer and
promoting its invasiveness. Apart from prostate cancer, multiple lines
of evidence have also incriminated the role of IGF-1 as risk factors for
breast, colon, and childhood cancers.

Faced with escalating rates of prostate and other avoidable cancers, FDA
should withdraw its approval of rBGH milk, whose sale benefits only
Monsanto while posing major public health risks for the entire U.S.
population. Failing early FDA action, consumers should demand explicit
labeling and only buy rBGH-free milk.

SOURCE: Cancer Prevention Coalition
________________________________________________________
Richard Wolfson,  PhD
Consumer Right to Know Campaign,
for Mandatory Labelling and Long-term
Testing of all Genetically Engineered Foods,
500 Wilbrod Street
Ottawa, ON  Canada  K1N 6N2
tel. [phone]  fax. [phone]
email:  [e-mail]

Our website, http://www.natural-law.ca/genetic/geindex.html
contains more information on genetic engineering as well as
previous genetic engineering news items Subscription fee to genetic
engineering news is $35 for 12 months See website for details.
Date: Tue, 24 Mar 1998 23:37:24 -0600
From: sharon <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: RIP Scruffy-- Help get justice!
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

HI,
Just thought I'd mention that there is an online petition web site up
currently with a letter to the prosecutor concerning Scruffy. And for
those who don't have a computer, there is an offline petition available.
This is for leaving in various places, ie:vets office, grocery store,
work place, etc. Please visit these sites and help.
Also, I have a web page up for Vinnie the Beagle. This is another Kansas
abuse case. I too have an online petition for this issue.
The addresses are both listed below in my signature.
Thanks for your time,
Sharon R.




If we don't change the future now we'll end up where we're headed wrote:
>
> courtesy of PETA: Please Help!
>
>  Please help pursue justice in the name of Scruffy, a 12-year-old
> Yorkshire terrier whose unbelievably cruel torture and killing by four
> men was caught on videotape.
>
> On June 27, 1997, Jose Gutierrez, Marcus Rodriguez, Richard Golubski, and
> Lance Arsenalt allegedly lured this little dog away from his home and
> tormented and killed him, all the while videotaping the crime. According
> to reports, the four men elevated Scruffy off the ground to choke him,
> then placed him, still alive, in a garbage bag, poured lamp oil on him,
> and set him on fire. The video allegedly shows the men watching the
> agonized little dog running around wildly, desperate to find relief from
> the unimaginable pain he must have been experiencing. Reports indicate
> that Scruffy was still hanging on to life when the flames went out.
> Allegedly, the four tried to decapitate Scruffy with a shovel, but
> failed, then tried to break his jaws apart with their hands. Reports
> claim that the men were laughing as they tortured and killed the little
> dog.
>
> These four men were reportedly so proud of their cruelty that they
> distributed copies of the video. One of the videotapes was turned in to
> the police. The men have since been arrested and charged with arson and
> cruelty to animals. We need your help to ensure that they are prosecuted
> to the fullest extent of the law.
>
> Please write District Attorney Nick Tomasic to urge him to press for the
> maximum penalty and psychiatric counseling for the persons responsible
> for Scruffy's killing.
>
>
> Nick Tomasic
>  Wyandotte County District Attorneys office
>  710 North 7th Street
>  Kansas City, KS 66101
>
>
>
>  Urgent -- Immediate Action Needed
>
> _____________________________________________________________________
> You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail.
> Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com
> Or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866]

--
You can help -
http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/Vines/3611/animals.html
Be their voice, speak up for justice!
http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/Vines/3611/vinnie.html
--
Offline Poster & Petition Project -
http://pages.prodigy.net/mjartisian/poster_project.html
The Petition Team Updates - http://members.aol.com/mjartisian/index.htm
The Petition Team Newsletter -
http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/Vines/3611/newsletter.html
The Federal & State Felony Law Petition -
http://www.actioncat.com/sign.html
Luvcats - http://www.geocities.com/Heartlands/Prairie/6507/scruffy.html
Date: Tue, 24 Mar 1998 23:42:43 -0600
From: sharon <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: NY Times Peta article
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

I agree in part. It is a sad state we live in. And yes, there are many
more labs using animals.  But some have also been convinced to stop.
It's those baby steps that count. We can't give up now. Every step we
take brings us closer to the ultimate goal.  Education, the key to
anything.  The more we talk, protest, yell, scream brings us closer and
closer. To educate only one more person runs full circle. And we have
taken again another tiny step.
Sharon R


daniel v. wrote:
>
> In regards to the NY Times article titled
> 'Tough Tactics in Battle Over Animals in the Lab'
> which can be read at www.nytimes.com in the science section of tues.,
> march 24...
>
>   I have mixed feelings on this article.  Great that it is in the New
> York Times, but I am upset at how animal experimenters use the animal
> welfare act against the animal rights movement.  I believe that the
> Animal Welfare Act may have been a turn for the worse in the animal
> rights movement.  The use of animals for experimentation should not be
> acceptable under any circumstances.  Just because it is done humanely,
> which who are we fooling this will never work, doesn't make it
> acceptable.  And as far as which side may have won, as long as these
> experiments continue I believe the AR movement has decidedly lost.  What
> makes experimenting on rats any better then experimentation on cats,
> besides the mainstream factor that people set cats appart because there
> are deemed somehow more important.  This is a sad state, and I am
> dismayed at the outcome.
> Daniel
> [e-mail]
>
> ______________________________________________________
> Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com

--
You can help -
http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/Vines/3611/animals.html
Be their voice, speak up for justice!
http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/Vines/3611/vinnie.html
--
Offline Poster & Petition Project -
http://pages.prodigy.net/mjartisian/poster_project.html
The Petition Team Updates - http://members.aol.com/mjartisian/index.htm
The Petition Team Newsletter -
http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/Vines/3611/newsletter.html
The Federal & State Felony Law Petition -
http://www.actioncat.com/sign.html
Luvcats - http://www.geocities.com/Heartlands/Prairie/6507/scruffy.html
Date: Wed, 25 Mar 1998 14:20:18 +0800 (SST)
From: Vadivu Govind <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (TH) 4000 China-bound snakes seized
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"


>Bangkok Post
25 Mar 98

4,000 China-bound rat snakes seized at Don Muang airport

              Reptiles saved from becoming
              delicacies

              Chakrit Ridmontri and Uamdao Noikorn

              Forestry officials seized 4,000 rat snakes destined for China, at
              Bangkok International Airport yesterday.

              The live snakes, a protected species, ranged in size from a
half to
              two metres long. They were packed in about 80 containers
              meant for frozen shrimps and were destined to be used as food
              and medicine. The smugglers moved the containers into a
              customs warehouse at the airport but then disappeared after the
              snakes were spotted.

              Thanit Palasuwan, chief of the Wildlife Protection and Control
              Division, said the snakes, worth 1.2 million baht, were Oriental
              rat snakes. They were about to be loaded onto a China Airlines
              flight destined for Guangzhou. Only legally licensed dealers are
              allowed to export snakes from Thailand. Some Chinese believe
              snake blood improves their health.

              Snakes have often been smuggled to China with the criminals
              using fake documents and packing the reptiles into seafood or
              animal containers.

              However, police and forestry officials have failed to identify the
              smugglers, the freight company or the owner of the snakes, said
              Mr Thanit, adding that officials would raid the airport again
              following another tip-off.

              Chotipun Sookkasem, an airport freight official, said paperwork
              should show who had arranged the delivery. He suspected
              airport officials had colluded with the smugglers.

              However, an airport customs official said no one had declared
              the goods because forestry officials carried out the raid before
              the suspects appeared with the documents.

              Agriculture Minister Pongpol Adireksarn said the snakes would
              be taken to the Wildlife Nursery Centre in Ratchaburi.


Article copyright Post Publishing Public Co., Ltd 1998
Reprinted for non-commercial use only.
Website: http://www.bangkokpost.net

Date: Wed, 25 Mar 1998 14:20:28 +0800 (SST)
From: Vadivu Govind <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (ID) Zoo replaces kangaroo meat with pork
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"


>The Straits Times
25 Mar 98

It's pig, not 'roo, on zoo menus

     JAKARTA -- Australian kangaroos have priced themselves out of the
market, and the     Jakarta zoo has had to turn to local wild pigs to feed
its animals.

     The plunge in value of the rupiah has forced the cash-strapped zoo to
rethink its
     feeding policies.

     It stopped using imported kangaroo meat a month ago when it became too
     expensive, zoo veterinarian Sutarman said yesterday.

     "Now we are getting wild pig from southern Sumatra. The local
government has a pig-control programme because there are too many of them
and they are pests," he
said.

     The zoo had been using 250 kg of pure high-protein kangaroo meat and
100 kg of
meat-on-the-bone daily to feed the carnivores.

     Mr Sutarman said the company that was importing the meat had closed down.

     Now the zoo is buying wild-pig meat at the cost of about 6,000 rupiah
(about S$1.15)     a kilogram -- around the same rupiah price it was once
paying for kangaroo meat     before the currency collapsed and the price
jumped 200 per cent. - Reuters


Date: Wed, 25 Mar 1998 14:20:34 +0800 (SST)
From: Vadivu Govind <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (JP) Gorilla meets fatal attraction
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"



>The Straits Times
25 Mar 98

Case of the amorous gorilla

     TOKYO -- An endangered gorilla named Sultan met his fatal attraction in
a Japanese     zoo, dying of a heart attack within moments of contacting his
new harem, officials said     yesterday.

     Curators lifted cage bars separating the 28-year-old lowland gorilla
from three
     potential mates on Monday, ending months of bachelorhood, they said.

     But after three minutes of frolicking, Sultan suffered a fatal heart
attack.
It "chased the females for a few minutes, but suddenly collapsed", said a
general
curator.

     A veterinarian and a curator both tried to revive the gorilla but failed.

     Monday's incident was Sultan's first direct contact with prospective
breeding partners     after arriving in January at western Japan's Kyoto
Municipal Zoo from Tokyo's Ueno     Zoo. It had no known health problems.

     Another male gorilla, Makk, also died of a heart attack at the same zoo
in May last
     year. It was the first male lowland gorilla to have been bred at a
Japanese zoo.

     Lowland gorillas are notoriously difficult to breed and have been
designated as being     on the brink of extinction. AFP

Date: Wed, 25 Mar 1998 14:20:37 +0800 (SST)
From: Vadivu Govind <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (ID) Enough chickens to meet demand
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"


>The Straits Times
25 Mar 98

ENOUGH CHICKENS TO MEET DEMAND

     INDONESIA'S chicken supplies were sufficient to meet demand despite the
virtual     collapse of the poultry industry, traders and industry officials
said yesterday.

     They described as exaggerated a report by the US Department of
Agriculture that the     economic crisis had devastated the industry and the
country could run out of chicken     this month. -- Reuters


Date: Wed, 25 Mar 1998 02:22:52 -0400
From: Ty Savoy <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: [Eur] EU backs animal welfare standards
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"


EU backs animal welfare standards

By NICK NUTTALL / The Times of London

       London - A British initiative to end cruelty in zoos won European
backing  when environment ministers agreed Monday to support legally
binding standards of animal welfare.

British officials now hope they will be able to secure a framework
directive in the summer to crack down on zoos, aquariums, bird gardens
and dolphinariums in the European Union that keep animals in cramped,
boring, and unhealthy conditions.

The directive will also set new standards for zoos to develop captive
breeding and other conservation programmes for rare and endangered
animals.

Three options had been on the table in Brussels. One, backed by the
 European Commission, was for a recommendation on improving the animal
welfare of zoos. But this would not have been legally binding.

Another was to back a full animal welfare directive for zoos as supported
by the European Parliament. However, the successful proposal, developed
under the British presidency, was for a directive to aid the conservation
of rare species but with provisions to set up a Europe-wide licencing and
inspection scheme for zoos.

One British official said after the vote: "It is basically a conservation
         directive where animal welfare is brought in through the back door."

Environment Minister Michael Meacher said that the directive would allow
zoos to work together more effectively. Some 230 zoos across the EU were
working to conserve 150 endangered species including the Siberian tiger and
the European otter.

The initiative, negotiated by Angela Eagle the junior environment minister,
comes after years of campaigning by welfare groups concerned at poor
standards in some zoos notably in Spain and Greece.

Unlike Britain, several European countries still have no system for
inspecting and approving zoos. Some countries have argued strongly that
animal welfare should be a national, rather than European, issue.

Several unspecified member states continued to question the European
Commission's right to set welfare standards becaue these are not enshrined
in the Treaty of Rome. However, despite reservations, a majority of
ministers voted in favor - "a very significant step forward", according to
a spokeswoman for the Environment Department.

Earlier, environment ministers agreed on a string of measures designed to
 combat air pollution and increase recycling. Under the auto-oil directive,
 emissions from light vans of particulates _ tiny flecks of soot linked with
 heart attacks and lung ailments - will be cut by about 40 per cent.

A solvent directive covering chemicals from dry cleaners to aircraft
painting will cut emissions of smog-forming pollution from these areas by
57 per cent.



Date: Wed, 25 Mar 1998 01:43:29 EST
From: PDR COLO <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: PRAIRIE DOGS NEED YOUR HELP!!!
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit

PRAIRIE DOGS NEED YOUR HELP!!

>From the Denver Post
Thursday, March 19, 1998
The Denver Post
1560 Broadway
Denver CO  80202
[phone]
1-800-336-7678
Fax: [phone]
email:  [e-mail]

PRAIRIE DOGS FACE POISONING
By Renate Robey
Denver Post Staff Writer

LAFAYETTE, COLORADO--

Animal Rights Activists are mobilizing to prevent the poisoning of 2,000
prairie dogs who live in a colony at a development site near the Lafayette
municipal building.

During a contentious city council meeting earlier this week, members of animal
liberation groups argued that the poisoning should be delayed until June, by
which time the animals could be safely relocated, they say.

The activists say the extermination was scheduled for Friday.  But the
developer denies that, saying no date has been set.  And he says he still is
looking for alternatives to killing the animals.

"I'm appalled they're going to kill 2,000 prairie dogs," said Susan Miller,
president of Wild Places, a nonprofit animal protection group.  "I'm extremely
upset about this."

The development, near South Boulder and South Public Roads, will include
apartments and commercial space.

The Lafayette City Council approved the project a month ago.  This week,
council members told the activists there is now nothing the city can do to
delay it.

"On the advice of our attorney, there was no action we could take," coucilman
Michael Romero said.

One of the project's developers, Michael Dunn, said Wednesday that his company
has tried to find an alternative to killing the prairie dogs.  But he said
efforts to find a relocation spot have been unsuccessful.

The development is on a tight schedule.  Construction has to begin by April 1,
under city zoning rules, Dunn said.

Miller and other activits, however, say they know of a potential spot for the
colony on land owned by Boulder County Parks and Open Space.  Boulder County
officials could not be reached Wednesday.

Another option is to leave part of the site undeveloped initially and allow
the prairie dogs to remain undisturbed for the time being.  They could be
moved when a new site is approved by state wildlife officials.

But there is some dispute about whether the site could be graded without
harming the prairie dogs.

Miller criticized the developer for failing to move the prairie dogs last
summer, when her group began expressing concern about the animal's fate.

"When they had the chance to do a full-blown relocation.....we continually got
put off," Miller said.

CONTACT:  (HIT THEM HARD AND HIT THEM OFTEN)

1.  Carolyn McIntosh, Mayor
City of Lafayette
1290 Public Road
Lafayette, Colorado  80026
[phone]
Fax: [phone]
no email supposedly

2.  Rod Tarullo, City Administrator
City of Lafayette
1290 Public Road
Lafayette, CO  80026
[phone]
Fax: [phone]
email: rodt@cityof lafayette.com

John Mumma, Director
Colorado Division of Wildlife
6060 Broadway
Denver, CO  80216
[phone]
Fax:  [phone]
no personal email supposedly
PR People: [e-mail]
[e-mail]

Chuck Lewis, Chairman
Colorado Wildlife Commission
[phone] (Work) Same # for Fax
[phone] (Home) Same # for Fax
no email supposedly
NOTE: The Colorado Division of Wildlife has regulatory control over all
wildlife in Colorado, including prairie dogs.  There is a year-round open
season on prairie dogs in Colorado which means they can be killed anytime,
anywhere, and by virtually any means.  They have a requirement for a small
game license which is never enforced.  The way the CDOW handles these issues
involving the prairie dogs is to pass the buck, ignore it and hope it will go
away, baffle everyone with BS, and try in every immaginable way to ignore the
whole issue and in the meantime, set up as many roadblocks to relocation
and/or protection they can think of.  The prairie dog and its ecosystem is a
political hot potato that they try their darnest NOT to deal with, hoping that
eventually the prairie dog will go extinct and they won't have to deal with it
anymore.  This is not opinion, it is fact.  The prairie dog is heading rapidly
towards an Endangered Species listing; they're helping put it there.

Michale Dunn
Dunn Properties
5031 S. Ulster
Denver CO  80237
[phone]
(Michael Dunn is supposedly telling city officials and people protesting the
slaughter of these animals that he is going to have them moved from one part
of the property to another part.  For many reasons, this is silly and
impractical.  Do not buy into this BS.)

Susan Miller
Wild Places
774 Cougar Dr
Boulder CO  80302
[phone]
[phone]
email:  [e-mail]

Also working on the issue:
PRAIRIE ECOSYSTEM CONSERVATION ALLIANCE
PO Box 370264
Denver CO  80231
[phone]

A protest is tentatively planned for Wednesday, March 25, 1998 in front of the
Lafayette City Hall, at 5:30pm.  The city hall address is the same as above
for the mayor.  Please call Susan Miller of Wild Places at the above number
for confirmation.

Date: Wed, 25 Mar 1998 15:45:31 +0800
From: bunny <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Websites About Genetic Engineering
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Websites About Genetic Engineering

A list for those concerned about the recent cross-species genetic engineering
of the global food supply with the genes of viruses, bacteria, insects, fish,
animals; even with human DNA.

Relevant Websites About Genetic Engineering (Easily accessible with Netscape
mail programs)

http://www.iquest.net/ofma/  organic farmers & suppliers can share info here

http://www.greenpeace.org/~comms/cbio/geneng.html

http://www.lisco.com/mothersfornaturallaw

http://www.genetic-id.com

http://www.lisco.com/

http://www.mum.edu/Fagan.html

http://www.mum.edu/PRESS/genetics/ethical_stand.html

http://www.greenpeace.org/~usa/reports/biodiversity/roundup

http://www.geocities.com/Athens/1527/  (Pure Food Campaign)

http://www.envirolink.org/orgs/shag/

http://www.mum.edu/PRESS/genetics/Fagan.html

http://www.natuurwetpartij.nl/genmanipkampanje

http://userwww.sfsu.edu/~rone/Genetic%20Engineering.htm

http://www.bio-integrity.org

http://www.natural-law.org/issues/genetics/ge_hazards.html

http://www.essential.org/crg/

http://www.peg.apc.org/~acfgenet/     (Australian GeneEthics Network
<[e-mail]>)

http://www.indians.org/welker/genome.htm

http://www.demon.co.uk/solbaram/articles/clm505.html

http://www.hrc.wmin.ac.uk/campaigns/ef/earthfirst.html

http://www.netlink.de/gen/

http://www.netlink.de/gen/home.html

http://home1.swipnet.se/~w-18472/indexeng.htm  "Genetically Engineered Foods -
Safety Problems" conveys scientific facts about various problems with GE
foods.


http://www.hotwired.com/drweil/97/08/index3a.html  Dr Andrew Weil's website.
He
has a writeup on GEfoods

http://www.pcug.org.au/~jallen/coggenel.htm John Allen - database of non-GE
food suppliers

http://www.juiceguy.co    ABSOLUTE HEALTH is a nutritional website with over
140 subjects at present, including material on Aspartame, Herbicide resistant
weeds, Genetically altered food, Milk, etc.  Hank (the Juiceguy)

http://www.igc.org/greendisk     GREEN DISK - The editors of The Green Disk
have released the latest version of their Guide to Environmental Computing --
a
guide to the use of computers for environmental research and activism. Version
1.2 of the guide contains more than 1,100 listings of World Wide Web Sites,
listservs, online databases, bulletin board services, software, educational
programs, CD-ROMS and datasets. Also included are articles on green computing,
listings of service providers, books, conferences, workshops and much more.
The
guide is international in scope and ranges from highly technical and
specialized listings to more general sources for environmental learning and
research.

http://www.envirolink.org/orgs/shag/genetix.html

Since more than 10 years there is a network of german grassroot groups
located in Berlin. The network is opposing gene technology from medicinal
aspects to GM crops. The web site is:

http://www.b.shuttle.de/zuzie/GeN.html

I am running a german and a english speaking mailing list. The english
speaking one since 1995. You can access the web archive of both lists
at:

http://www.free.de/gentec/

=====================================================================
========
                   /`\   /`\    The Balance:
Tom, Tom,         (/\ \-/ /\)   NATURE's balance is so fine-
The piper's son,     )6 6(      Take care when altering her design!
Saved a pig        >{= Y =}<    A species introduced could grow
And away he run;    /'-^-'\     To be a source of endless woe;
So none could eat  (_)   (_)    While culling another could unfold
The pig so sweet    |  .  |     A horde of pests it once controlled.
Together they ran   |     |}    from "The Judgement of the Animals"
Down the street.    \_/^\_/     by Willow Macky (published by the RNZSPCA)
***************************************************************************
Rabbit Information Service      http://www.wantree.com.au/~rabbit/rabbit.htm
P.O. Box 30,                    email [e-mail]
Riverton,                       Was Jesus a vegetarian? Vegan and AR info;
Western Australia 6148          http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/4620

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

Date: Wed, 25 Mar 1998 00:47:40
From: David J Knowles <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: [UK] Tree battle unites middle class and eco-warriors
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit

Tree battle unites middle class and eco-warriors
By Susie Steiner

VOLVO drivers and eco-warriors formed an unusual alliance yesterday as the
commuter belt came out in force to defend environmentalists camped in their
trees.

Bailiffs were sent to Kingston upon Thames, west London, to evict about 60
protesters clinging to trees that are to be felled. But as 20 sheriff's
officers - supported by 140 private security guards and 120 police - used
hydraulic lifts to pluck the demonstrators from the trees, residents
gathered to express their thanks to the campaigners. "The tree protesters
are doing what we would like to be doing and that is why we support them so
much," said Sue Robinson, a nurse who lives nearby.

The 48 trees, planted in 1948 to shield a power station, are to be cut down
to free the view to the Thames for luxury flats being built by Fairclough
Homes, the property developers. Environmentalists first built tree houses
in the poplars last November after planning
permission for the felling was confirmed by the council.

Speaking from one of the poplars yesterday, Charlie, 25, described himself
as a tree shepherd. He said: "I'm doing it because the trees belong to the
people of Kingston. The only
people who will benefit are the developers, and that is out of order."

Patricia Fitzgibbon, a member of the Friends of Canbury Gardens, said her
group was grateful to the protesters. "They've stayed right through the
winter," she said. A petition against the felling was signed by 20,000 park
users whose anger is directed against the
council for failing to listen to residents' views.

A council spokesman said: "The felling is part of a legal agreement between
Kingston council and Fairclough Homes, granted as part of a planning
permission to redevelop the site of  the former power station." The
eviction, thought to be costing the council ú500,000, is expected to take
another few days. By last night nine demonstrators had been arrested.

⌐ Copyright Telegraph Group Limited 1998.
Date: Wed, 25 Mar 1998 00:50:09
From: David J Knowles <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: [NL] Stone-throwing magpies alert
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit

Stone-throwing magpies alert

MAGPIES are pelting cars in The Hague, Holland's administrative capital,
with pebbles. The town council has put up warning signs in saying: "Watch
Out! Stone-throwing magpies. Park at your own risk."

⌐ Copyright Telegraph Group Limited 1998.
Date: Wed, 25 Mar 1998 00:57:46
From: David J Knowles <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: [UK]  Fields of filth
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

>From The BBC website - Tuesday, March 24, 1998 Published at 22:46 GMT

Special Report

Fields of filth

No one wants sewage in their back yard

Although it has to go somewhere, human waste is turning up in some
unexpected places. One controversial method of disposal in Scotland means
that raw untreated sewage can be injected into farmland within hours of it
being flushed away.

BBC reporter Louise Batchelor has investigated the fears that this process
could be the missing link in the food poisoning chain, leading to a
recycling of the deadly E-coli 0157 that killed 20 people in Lanarkshire in
1995.

In Scotland, three quarters of all sewage sludge is currently dumped at sea
and only 13% on farmland. But rural communities fear that proportion is
about to rise because the European Union has banned sea dumping due to
anxieties about pollution. The ban comes into force in December.

Recycling sewage

Scotland has known about the ban for several years, but with only months to
go until the deadline there does not appear to be any alternative in place,
except recycling sewage on land as an organic fertiliser.

The waste is taken to a treatment plant to be separated out. Then it is
tankered away, either to be stored or put on farmland. The route from
lavatory to land can be achieved  within a day.

Although there is a certain amount of settling and filtering before some of
the water is discharged into the sea, the remaining sewage sludge is
untreated.

Water authorities do not know what bugs are lurking in the sewage on any
given day. Under the law the regulators, SEPA, the Scottish Environmental
Protection Agency, is only asked to check for substances like heavy metals,
nitrogen and phosphorous. It does not have to look for 'pathogens'.

The bugs or 'pathogens' are tiny organisms, some of which can cause
illnesses like Hepatitis A and Salmonella.

It is feared the deadly E-coli 0157 bacterium can also be passed on in this
way.

E-coli threat

BBC Frontline Scotland collected several samples of raw sewage and waste
from treatment plants and fields where sewage has been dumped. After
analysis at Heriot-Watt University, experts discovered that most of the
samples were contaminated with E-coli and its nastier cousin 0157, as well
as Salmonella.

However, East of Scotland Water authority and sewage contractors also
conducted their own independent tests on the relevant sites and their
results did not show any signs of
contamination.

Most healthy people are not affected by E-coli, but it is a different story
for the elderly and the very young. The outbreak at Wishaw in Lanarkshire
14 months ago led to 20 deaths.

Brian Austin, Professor of Microbiology at Heriot-Watt, said he was
concerned to hear raw sewage can go straight to the land.

"I would be disturbed to know that untreated sewage was just disposed of. I
would certainly like to see means by which the bacteria, and preferably the
viruses, were inactivated before they left the sewage works," he said.

Professor Hugh Pennington, the government advisor on E-coli, said:  "E-coli
0157's natural home is in the guts of animals. It obviously gets from
animal to animal and spreads that way.

"What we don't know is exactly how that happens, presumably it's through
animals grazing on contaminated land, contaminated with our own manure.

"Obviously, if we're going to add further samples of manure to that field
in the form of say sewage sludge we might be contributing to that problem_"

Code of practice

There is a code of practice designed to ensure that pathogens in sewage do
not get into the human chain, but the legislation was drawn up before it
was known that some bacteria could survive on the ground for many days.

SEPA is responsible for making sure that environmental pollution does not
take place. Its Chief Executive Alan Paton has denied accusations of
complacency.

"We are involved in research programmes which are trying to establish the
scientific basis for action. I think it's unreasonable to expect us to take
action, and costly action, because there are major implications for sewage
charges, for the water authorities, for the
environment as a whole," he said.

Local opposition

Near to the villages of Saline and Blairingone on the borders of Fife, and
Perth and Kinrossis, farmland is being injected with the sewage sludge.

Local Blairingone resident Duncan Hope said: "It was pretty horrible to be
living here when they were actually doing these operations, these spreading
operations.

"The stench was just something else. I've lived on farms all my life. I've
been involved in the cattle and the sheep and you get all sorts of farmyard
smells  but this is just totally something else."

Concerned about the smell and the possible dangers, local people have
formed action groups to protest.

 "We don't know whether this is causing disease or not. We're not
scientists, we can't tell. But we know it includes a lot of pretty  nasty
bacteria this is being pumped on in huge quantities into various parts of
the area, and it's happening all over the country.

"I don't think it's a very safe thing. If it keeps going the way it is,
they're only going to turn the country into a gigantic sewer," said Mr Hope.

Copyright BBC 1998
Date: Wed, 25 Mar 1998 04:53:56 -0800
From: "Bob Schlesinger" <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Augusta County, (VA) Dog Pound Horrors
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit

Posted on behalf of the author:  Jill Breslauer
--------------------------------------------------

Tom runs a clock shop in Staunton, Virginia.

One day one of his customers mistook his dog, in his shop, for a purebred
abandoned dog the dog warden had just taken to the Augusta Dog Pound.  Tom
didn't like the idea of a Lhasa Apsos dog sitting all alone in the pound at
Christmas.  He decided to go adopt the poor dog.

Oddly, he couldn't find the dog pound's phone number in the telephone book. He
called the dog warden, which is the telephone number for the Sheriff's office.
By the time the warden returned his call, the dog had been euthanized.  IT WAS
TWO WEEKS BEFORE CHRISTMAS, THE HEIGHT OF PET ADOPTION SEASON.

This pound has no adoption policy.  They have no regular hours.  They are
located on private property which is difficult to find, even for lifelong
residents of the area.  They operate "by appointment only". They have no
direct telephone line.  I have been told their phone number is listed in 1
local newspaper, in small print, but I couldnt find it.

I have visited this pound.  I have seen that they do not even feed the dogs
out of bowls. The dry dog food was thrown on the cement floors, to mix with
the pet feces.   The dogs have no beds or bedding, no feed bowls, no comfort
before they are killed.  Even tiny puppies are forced to sleep on cold, wet,
hosed-down concrete before they are systematically put to death. I asked to
adopt a puppy, they said no, it must die.
I asked about another scruffy dog, asking how old he was they said "he's old"
(in actuality, he's maybe 1-2 years of age!)...... They did not encourage his
adoption.
WHY ARENT THESE COMPANION ANIMALS BEING ADOPTED OUT????

Their fate is sealed the moment the Animal Control Officer picks them up.
This pound has also refused volunteers, who are willing to care for and walk
these poor creatures.  This pound has made little effort to follow the bare
minimum state laws for animal care.  It seems they only do so when heavily
pressured.

We gave them a chance.  We begged AUGUSTA COUNTY to clean up the Augusta Dog
Pound. We inundated them with hundreds of letters of protest.  They gave the
dogs some water bowls.  They put up a tiny sign ("dog pound") on their
private, secluded property.

LET'S PUT THE PRESSURE ON SHAMEFUL AUGUSTA COUNTY and SHUT THE
KILLING MACHINE
DOWN.

There's no excuse for 675 dogs killed in 1996- 38 adopted.
                                   681 dogs killed in 1997- 35 adopted.

Right down the road the wonderful Augusta County S.P.C.A .has an adoption rate
of as high as 75%, regular business hours, a direct telephone line and a
cheerful, freindly, encouraging staff more than willing to help with adoption
procedures.

PLEASE HELP SHUT DOWN THE AUGUSTA DOG POUND NOW.

The cold-blooded killing of OUR COMPANION ANIMALS has got to be stopped.
WILL YOUR PET BE NEXT?
It might be if you live or visit Augusta County.

You say your dog has a collar and license ?  Doesn't matter! The Augusta Dog
Pound executes dogs with collars, tags, licenses, tattoos and microchips, if
they are not located and claimed in a few days. they do not discriminate!  Any
dog will do.  Puppies, older dogs, purebreds.... anything living.

You say your phone number is on your dog/cat's collar?  Doesn't matter!  Your
line could be busy. Or maybe your Rover lost his collar.   Or maybe the staff
doesn't call.
 Oops, your dog or cat's DEAD.

What do they do with these pets?  Why does this pound kill them so quickly?
WE WOULD LIKE TO KNOW.

According to Chris DeRose of Last Chance For Animals, speaking at the Animal
Rights Symposium in Norfolk, Viriginia 3/21/98, dogs can sell for $300-$700.
to laboratories for experimentation, where they are brutally burned, poisoned,
maimed, mutilated, tortured, drugged, brain injured, electrocuted, etc.... and
then killed.

Is this where the 600-800 dogs of Augusta County, Virginia are going per year?

HELP SHUT DOWN THE AUGUSTA DOG POUND with its pathetic 3% adoption rate.

HELP US!  THE ANIMALS NEED YOU!

*SIGN OUR BALLOT, I beg you (see below).

*WRITE AUGUSTA COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
     CHAIRMAN N. RUSSELL ASHBY
     91 RIDGEWOOD DRIVE
     VERONA, VIRGINIA 24482 U.S.A.
                Please CC:  Tom H.Rosen,2212 West Hill Farm Drive, Staunton,
VA. 24401 U.S.A.

*DEMAND THE DOG KILLING STOP IMMEDIATELY.

*DEMAND THAT THESE ANIMALS BE PROPERLY CARED FOR, EXERCISED,
  FED, WATERED, GIVEN VETERINARY CARE AND ADOPTED OUT TO
  LOVING HOMES.

*DEMAND THAT AUGUSTA COUNTY CONTRACT WITH THE AUGUSTA
  S.P.C.A., GIVING THE DOGS A CHANCE FOR LIFE.

*FORWARD THIS ON TO EVERYONE YOU'VE EVER MET, EVERYONE YOU KNOW!


We know Augusta County has received countless letters and complaints.
Still, they refuse to stop the killing.

LETS TELL THEM HOW WE FEEL ABOUT THE KILLING OF 681 OF OUR PETS IN
1997.



Here's the LIST OF SHAME about the Augusta Dog Pound:


SHAME!:   No adoption policy

SHAME!:   3-5% adoption rate, at best.

SHAME!:   50% of pound records ARE NOT LEGIBLE.

SHAME!:  No regular business hours for public visitation.
                Visitation BY APPOINTMENT ONLY.

SHAME!:  No direct telephone line.
                (LEAVE A MESSAGE, MAYBE  THEY'LL CALL YOU BACK)

SHAME!:   95% EUTHANASIA RATE---  SHAME ON THEM!

SHAME!:   Poor description of collected animals
                 Tracing a lost pet would be IMPOSSIBLE.

SHAME!:   In 3 years of records, there are no adequate
                 follow- ups on spay/neuter agreements.

SHAME!:   Spay/neuter records DO NOT coincide
                 with adoption records
                 (records are supposed to be signed on the day of adoption --
                     pay/neuter agreement allows adoptees 30 days to
spay/neuter)

SHAME!:   Medical care provided ONLY FOR DOGS WITH TAGS,
                 no others.

SHAME!:   No feed bowls, no bedding, no documented
                 veterinary care, no exercise provided.

SHAME!:  THE OWNER OF THE LAND AND SHELTER
                receives $$$ for leasing facility to Augusta County
                (under a 10- year contract) IS NOW THE ANIMAL
                CONTROL OFFICER AT THIS FACILITY.
                   THIS IS AN OBVIOUS CONFLICT OF INTEREST.
* It is in this man's interest to process the dogs as quickly as possible.
* It is easier for this man to kill, rather than have to care for and adopt
out
   these 600-800+ dogs every  year.

         THIS IS THE FOX WATCHING OVER THE HEN HOUSE.
         THIS IS OUTRAGEOUS.

Your assistance is necessary to stop the killing of our pets and is most
gratefully appreciated.  Please forward this plea for help on to every person,
group, organization you know.  On behalf of the animals, I thank you.
Jill Breslauer, [e-mail]


---------------------------------------------------BALLOT---------------------
---------------------------------

1997= 681 DOGS KILLED
SHAME ON AUGUSTA COUNTY
SHAME ON THE AUGUTA COUNTY DOG POUND


SHUT DOWN THE AUGUSTA COUNTY DOG DEATH POUND
CONTRACT WITH THE AUGUSTA COUNTY S.P.C.A TO HANDLE ALL LOST AND
ABANDONED
ANIMALS IN AUGUSTA COUNTY-- THE ANIMALS MUST LIVE


NAME: ___________________________________________

ADDRESS:________________________________________

                ________________________________________


MAIL TO: N. RUSSEL ASHBY
              91 RIDGEWOOD DRIVE
              VERONA, VA. 24482  U.S.A.
Please CC:  Tom H.Rosen,2212 West Hill Farm Drive, Staunton, VA. 24401 U.S.A.

OR: E-mail this to [e-mail] and it will be mailed for you free of
charge!!!!

Please forward this plea for help on to every person, group, organization you
know.  On behalf of the animals, I thank you.
Jill Breslauer, [e-mail]

Date: Wed, 25 Mar 1998 14:35:23 +0100
From: 2063511 <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: [FRA-UK] Linda &  Paul Strikes Back Again
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
MIME-version: 1.0
Content-type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
Content-disposition: inline
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit

The weekly metropolitan newspaper Lecturas has published this week a
photography with Paul & Linda marched past MCartney in one fashionable one of
its daughter in Paris. The important thing for the animals is that Paul &
Linda took a sticker where can to see the word " FUR COAT " and the sign that
prohibition in any state of the world indicates.

Jordi Ni±erola
>From Bbarcelona, Catalunya, (Spain)

My web against fur coats is:

http://www.geocities.com/rainforest/vines/6506/pellcas.htm

Visiteu les meves pαgines / Visit my homepages

http://www.geocities.com/rainforest/vines/6506
http://www.geocities.com/colosseum/loge/3128
http://www.geocities.com/hollywood/academy/2855

Date: Wed, 25 Mar 98 07:44:05 UTC
From: [e-mail]
To: [e-mail]
Subject: USDA Buys Beef, Blasts Big Packers
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>

Tulsa World, OK,USA: Depressed cattle prices led U.S. Agriculture
Secretary Dan Glickman to announce the government purchase of $30
million in beef and a renewed investigation into whether four
dominant processing companies exert unfair influence on the market.

Prices paid to cattle producers are in the doldrums because supplies
are huge, American consumers are not eating enough beef to keep pace
and exports are down largely due to the Asian financial crisis.

- Sherrill
Date: Wed, 25 Mar 98 08:36:50 UTC
From: [e-mail]
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Casting Call
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>

Inspired by Marie-Louise Febronie Meilleur, the 117-year-old Canadian
vegetarian who's still going strong, PETA is seeking centenarian
vegetarians for its upcoming ad campaign spotlighting - what else -
the health benefits of a vegetarian diet. Vegetarians born before the
turn of the century and interested in getting their 15 minutes of fame
should contact PETA at: (757) 622-PETA, ext. 324.

(Info. from Vegetarian Times Magazine)

-- Sherrill
Date: Wed, 25 Mar 1998 10:26:58 -0500
From: Henry Cohen <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: AR-NEWS digest 697 -Reply
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain
Content-Disposition: inline

Please unsubscribe
Date: Wed, 25 Mar 1998 10:57:04 -0800
From: Barry Kent MacKay <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Fast Breaking News re Seal Hunt..
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

This is from Pat Gray (personal stuff edited out), a dear friend who
lives on Prince Edward Island and has been involved in marine mammal
issues for many years, receieved by me on the morning of 25 March,
98....a must read for seal  hunt opponents.  An earlier letter is
shocking in its content, and I WILL post it later today.

Patricia Gray wrote
>
> Hi Barry:
<snip>

> The breaking news is... a 64ft. Newfoundland sealing vessel "Brady
> Mariner" has struck ice 10km off East Point, Prince Edward
> Island. This wooden vessel has 8 people onboard  is taking on water
> and  trying to land  people on the ice in order to repair the hull and
> pump out water. A Coast Guard vessel "Sir William Alexander" is 15 km
> away and is coming to the rescue. The "sealer" was trying to make it
> to the nearest port in PEI but the damage is too extensive. It would
> appear that the "sealer" was looking for seals in a protected area.
> I have talked to DFO [Departement of Fisheries and Oceans...they are supposed to enforce the
so-called "Seal Protection Regulatlions, which serve in great part to hamper access to the hunt by
observers - BKM] Halifax, they knew nothing about it. I also asked
> if they had heard from DFO Charlottetown about the incidents with the
> seals up west... they knew nothing! [This was contained in an earlier report which I will post
later...right now I'm in a rush to a meeting --- BKM]  Still haven't heard back from DFO
> Charlottetown.
> Will keep an eye on this developing situation.
> Best regards
> Pat
>
> Patricia Gray
> President
> Canadian Animal Distress Network

Date: Wed, 25 Mar 1998 12:00:18 EST
From: AAVSONLINE <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail], [e-mail], [e-mail]
Subject:   Re: NY Times Peta article
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit


In a message dated 3/25/98 1:48:45 AM, [e-mail] wrote:

<<daniel v. wrote:
>
> In regards to the NY Times article titled
> 'Tough Tactics in Battle Over Animals in the Lab'
> which can be read at www.nytimes.com in the science section of tues.,
> march 24...
>
>   I have mixed feelings on this article.  Great that it is in the New
> York Times, but I am upset at how animal experimenters use the animal
> welfare act against the animal rights movement.  I believe that the
> Animal Welfare Act may have been a turn for the worse in the animal
> rights movement.  >>

One thing I always point out to people not "into" animal rights when the
Animal Welfare Act is referred to is what actually is covered.  The AWA covers
basic food, housing, and watering.  Those things have to be provided, of
course there are exceptions.  If the experimenter says he/she must withhold
water for a given amount of time, then that's okay.  The AWA doesn't keep
"bad" experiments from happening.  There is NOTHING illegal as long as it's in
a lab, part of a study, written into a protocol etc. etc.

Also good to point out the the AWA exempts mice, rats and birds (as well as
farm animals if they are being used for improved agricultural production).
Look at the AWA, these animals are not considered animals by the Act.  These
animals constitute 80-90% of animals used in laboratories. (an estimate-one
can only guess since they are not even counted)

Mainstream American thinks the AWA is keeping animals safe and pain free-we
need to let them know this is far from the case.

I step down from my soapbox now-
Stephanie Shain
American Anti-Vivisection Society
Date: Wed, 25 Mar 1998 12:22:38 -0800
From: Mesia Quartano <[e-mail]>
To: "[e-mail]" <[e-mail]>
Subject: South Africa to shoot diamond-smuggling pigeons
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

02:14 PM ET 03/24/98

S.Africa to shoot diamond-smuggling pigeons

CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - South Africa has decided to shoot all pigeons in
its Northwest diamond producing area, because the birds are being used
to smuggle gems out of the country.

"Diamonds are leaving the country in a manner which is extremely
worrying," Manda Msomi, chairman of parliament's public enterprises
committee, said Tuesday, reporting after a visit to state diamond mining
company Alexkor.

"Diamonds are being strapped onto the body of pigeons and flown out of
the country. The law now is to shoot all pigeons on sight," Msomi said.

Msomi said his team would recommend that Alexkor not be
privatized in the near term because the company's assets had
been so depleted by diamond theft.

"There is no way we can allow the sale of Alexkor to be approved without
a true valuation," he said. "The security of the product is paramount."

Msomi said it was possible that employees and the local community were
implicated in the widespread theft and said Alexkor needed to spend
about 40 million rand ($8 million) to improve security.
Date: Wed, 25 Mar 1998 12:31:10 -0500 (EST)
From: [e-mail] (baerwolf)
To: [e-mail], [e-mail], [e-mail]
Cc: [e-mail], [e-mail], [e-mail]
Subject: Worcester 3/28 Direct Action Conf. & 3/29 Primate Protest
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Greetings -

Contents:       ......................................
        1) Direct Action Conference & Directions
        2) Primate Protest & Directions
   .......................................................................
 1)
           Direct Action Conference
              Saturday,  March 28, 1998   11 am
              at the Space,  85 Harding street, Worcester, MA


  -Freeman Wicklund, from the Animal Liberation League speaks
about the Campaign for a Unified Movement

  -Dave Wilson,  from Coalition to Abolish the Fur Trade correspondent
speaks about Media and Publicity

  -Darius Fullmer, from Animal Defense League New Jersey speaks
about Defending Your Rights

  -Justin Taylor and -Kim Berardi, from Animal Defense League New
York City and Long Island speak about Civil Disobedience

  -Tony Wong and -Jeff Watkins, from the Animal Defense League
speak about their own experiences with jail, hunger strike and Civil
Disobedience

                     *** PROTEST TO FOLLOW***

    Contact Heather for info at 508. 795. 6832 or email
[e-mail]


 Directions to the Space :
======================

>From the Mass pike, points East and West.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Get on Mass Pike and take Exit 290 East,
the Worcester/Auburn exit.

Make sure you get on 290 East, follow this into Worcester.

Take Exit 14, which is the 122 Grafton Millbury exit.
 At the end of the ramp take a left.

Follow this through  1 light, it will curve to the right.
Immediately make left onto Temple Street,
following signs for 122 North.

You will come to a stop sign and make a left on Harding Street,
following signs again for 122 North.

The Space is 85 Harding Street across from the car dealership.


>From points North.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Take 190 South to 290 West.
>From 290 West, go to Exit 14.
At exit you can either go straight or right,
go right.

Then go straight through first light,
and before first intersection take left at Temple St.
(Following signs to 122 North)

First stop sign left on Harding St.
The Space is 85 Harding Street (Across from Car Dealership)


for other direction info call the Space @ [phone]
************************************************************
tttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt
ttttttttttttttttttttttt
  2)
                   Protest Against Experimentation on Primates

                                 Sunday,  March 29, 1998
                                        7 am - 5pm (or any part thereof)
                      New England Regional Primate Center
                      1 Pine Hill Drive
                       Southboro, MA

Directions from the Space
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Get back out to Rt 290

Take 290 East to 495 South

Take Rt 495  to Rt 20 East Marlboro

Follow Rt 20 approx 5mi

Pass "Price Chopper" mall on left.
At  Lights & Mobil Gas Station on right
Take right onto Farm Rd

~ 1/2 mi - left onto Broadmeadow Rd
~ 1/2 mi - right onto Parmenter Rd
~ 1/2 mi - 1 Pine Hill Drive,
        The place where 1,500 monkeys are tortured.

Primate Protest Info: Call Steve  508-393-5339
tttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt
tttttttttttttttt
steven baer

[e-mail]
Massachusetts

HOW DEEP INTO SPACE MUST HUMANS GO
BEFORE THEY LOOK BACK AND REALIZE
ALL THE NEIGHBORS THEY'VE TORTURED ON PLANET EARTH.

Date: Wed, 25 Mar 1998 12:57:51 -0500 (EST)
From: Franklin Wade <[e-mail]>
To: Ar-News <[e-mail]>
Subject: Join UPC at "White House Egg Roll" Mon 4/13 10-4pm
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII

"White House Egg Roll"-One More Bad Day At Black Rock

PLEASE JOIN UNITED POULTRY CONCERNS AT THE WASHINGTON MONUMENT

     Date: Monday, April 13th, "Easter Monday"

     Time: 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM

     Where: The Washington Monument Grounds Northwest Quadrant
        near Constitution Avenue

     Metro:  (1) Smithsonian 12th street exit. Go west to 17th &
Constitution Avenue, about 5 blocks.  (2) Farragut West 17th
Street exit.  Go south to Constitution.  About 5 blocks.

     Why: To staff table, hold posters, and distribute literature
in conjunction with the annual White House Easter Egg Roll, where
2-to-6-year old children push hard-boiled eggs down a 10-yard
lane with plastic soup ladles on the White House lawn.  About
20,000 people attend this event, which uses 7,000 hard boiled eggs
from battery-caged hens.  As a souvenir, each child receives
a colored wooden egg "signed" by the president.

     Our United Poultry Concerns table will tell the truth about
eggs including the cages, debeaking, forced molting, filth,
salmonella, slaughtering, and total suffering.  We will have
handout literature, posters, and a Banner: Sick Chickens Cooped
in Poop!

     We'll feature Replacing Eggs & Celebrate Life Without Eggs.

                  Please Join Us. We Need Your Help.
             Look for the Bright Blue Plastic Canopy.

For more information contact Karen Davis at 301-948-2406 or
Franklin Wade at [e-mail]
_____________________________________________________________________
[e-mail]                                   Franklin D. Wade
    United Poultry Concerns - http://www.envirolink.org/arrs/upc





Date: Wed, 25 Mar 1998 14:59:55 +0000 (GMT)
From: Pat Fish <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: ALERT:CNN on Hunting Kids Kill 5 in Jonesboro, AK (US)
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII


 Two youths, said to be 11 and 13, are being held after spraying their
classmates with gunfire in rural Jonesboro, Arkansas.  Both were caught
wearing hunting camo, and were in possession of semi-automatic rifles, as
well as other deadly firearms.  The state has a history of encouraging
students in gun-related activites.  This is the third such killing since
October.

 On Wednesday (today) CNN's "Talk Back Live" show will ask how these kids
turn out like this.  The show starts at 3PM EST, though calls, faxes and
net mail are sometimes accepted as early as 2PM.

Voice: 1-800-310-4266
Fax:   [phone]     (these are free calls)
net:   http://www.cnn.com/talkback

 MSNBC will also be having a similar interactive show on the issues,
starting at 5PM EST.

Voice: 1-888-MSNBC-US
net:   www.msnbc.com

Date: Wed, 25 Mar 1998 10:57:43 -0800 (PST)
From: Michael Markarian <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail], [e-mail]
Subject: PA Alert: New Strategy to End Pigeon Shoots
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

PENNSYLVANIA ALERT

NEW STRATEGY TO END PIGEON SHOOTS!

We know you have written and called your State Representative and State
Senator many times over the past few years to ask them to support
legislation to ban live pigeon shooting contests, and we thank you for
remaining committed to the effort to ban pigeon shoots in Pennsylvania. We
will never give up until pigeon shoots are a thing of the past, and we know
that you feel the same way.

We have come up with a new and exciting strategy in this battle, and we hope
that you will help us make 1998 the last pigeon shooting year in
Pennsylvania. Representative Sara Steelman (D-Indiana County) and 50
co-sponsors have just introduced House Bill 2473. If approved by the
Legislature, this bill will place a question on the statewide ballot in
November, and Pennsylvania voters will have the opportunity to decide
whether live pigeon shoots should be banned.

Please write or call your State Representative and State Senator in
Harrisburg (not federal) and tell them to support House Bill 2473.

        Representative __________
        State Capitol
        Harrisburg, PA 17120
        House Switchboard: [phone]

        Senator __________
        State Capitol
        Harrisburg, PA 17120
        Senate Switchboard: [phone]

If you don't know who your State Representative and State Senator are,
please call The Fund for Animals at [phone] and we will look them up
for you.

Please also contact the Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee and the
Speaker of the House. Tell Chairman Gannon to release House Bill 2473, and
tell Speaker Ryan to allow House Bill 2473 on the House floor for a vote.

        Chairman Thomas P. Gannon
        State Capitol
           Harrisburg, PA 17120
        Phone: [phone]

        Speaker Matthew J. Ryan
        State Capitol
        Harrisburg, PA 17120
        Phone: [phone]

We have more momentum now than ever before! Even if Representatives and
Senators do not want to take a stand for or against the pigeon shoots, they
should support democracy and support the right of Pennsylvania citizens to
vote on this issue. Your Representative or Senator may be the one vote we
need to end pigeon shoots in Pennsylvania forever! Thank you for your help!

====================================

PENNSYLVANIA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Please contact your State Representative in Harrisburg and ask him or her to
support House Bill 2473. If your Representative is already a co-sponsor,
thank him or her for supporting the bill.

    State RepresentativePartyCountyPhone (717)

    ADOLPH, William F., Jr.RDelaware787-1248
     ALLEN, BobRSchuylkill783-5293
     ARGALL, David G.RSchuylkill787-9024
    ARMSTRONG, Thomas E.RLancaster783-2076
      BAKER, Matthew E.RTioga772-5371
     BARD, Ellen R.RMontgomery783-7309
     BARLEY, John E.RLancaster787-7477
     BARRAR, StephenRDelaware783-3038
     BATTISTO, Joseph W. DMonroe783-9077Co-Sponsor
      BEBKO-JONES, LindaDErie772-4035Co-Sponsor
     BELARDI, FredDLackawanna787-6908
   BELFANTI, Robert E., Jr.DNorthumberland787-5780
   BENNINGHOFF, Kerry A.RCentre County783-1918
     BIRMELIN, JerryRWayne783-2037
     BISHOP, Louise WilliamsDPhiladelphia783-2192Co-Sponsor
     BLAUM, KevinDLuzerne783-2580
      BOSCOLA, Lisa M.DNorthampton772-0948Co-Sponsor
      BOYES, KarlRErie783-6433
     BROWN, Teresa E.RCrawford787-2353
     BROWNE, PatRLehigh787-6572
     BUNT, Raymond, Jr.RMontgomery787-6937
      BUTKOVITZ, Alan L.DPhiladelphia772-4032Co-Sponsor
      BUXTON, Ronald I.DDauphin783-9342Co-Sponsor
     CALTAGIRONE, Thomas R.DBerks787-3525
      CAPPABIANCA, Italo S.DErie787-4358Co-Sponsor
      CARN, Andrew J.DPhiladelphia787-3542Co-Sponsor
       CARONE, PatriciaRButler783-1707Co-Sponsor
   CASORIO, James E., Jr.DWestmoreland783-3483
      CAWLEY, GaynorDLackawanna787-8980Co-Sponsor
     CHADWICK, J. ScotRBradford783-8238
    CIVERA, Mario J., Jr.RDelaware787-3850
     CLARK, Daniel F.RJuniata783-7830
      CLYMER, Paul I.RBucks783-3154
      COHEN, Lita IndzelRMontgomery783-2063Co-Sponsor
      COHEN, Mark B.DPhiladelphia787-4117Co-Sponsor
    COLAFELLA, Nicholas A.DBeaver787-5475
    COLAIZZO, Anthony L.DWashington787-1188
      CORNELL, Roy W.RMontgomery787-6886Co-Sponsor
     CORPORA, Joseph, IIIDNorthampton783-3815Co-Sponsor
     CORRIGAN, Thomas C., Sr.    DBucks787-2663
     COWELL, Ronald R.DAllegheny783-1905Co-Sponsor
     COY, Jeffrey W. DFranklin787-6526
     CURRY, Lawrence H.DMontgomery783-1079Co-Sponsor
      DALEY, Peter J., IIDWashington783-9333Co-Sponsor
     DALLY, Craig A.RNorthampton783-8573
     DeLUCA, TonyDAllegheny783-1011
    DEMPSEY, Thomas W.RLycoming787-6815
     DENT, Charles W.RLehigh783-8756
     DERMODY, FrankDAllegheny787-3566
    DeWEESE, H. WilliamDGreene783-3797
     DiGIROLAMO, GeneRBucks783-7319
    DONATUCCI, Robert C.DPhiladelphia783-8634
      DRUCE, Thomas W.RBucks787-5452Co-Sponsor
     EACHUS, Todd A.DLuzerne787-2229
      EGOLF, AllanRPerry783-1593
     EVANS, DwightDPhiladelphia783-1540
      FAIRCHILD, RussRUnion787-3443
     FARGO, HowardRMercer787-3288
     FEESE, BrettRLycoming787-5270
     FICHTER, John W.RMontgomery787-6423
    FLEAGLE, Patrick E.RFranklin783-5218
     FLICK, Robert J.RChester787-8579
    GANNON, Thomas P.RDelaware783-6430
      GEIST, Richard A.RBlair787-6419
    GEORGE, Camille "Bud"DClearfield787-7316
     GIGLIOTTI, Frank J.DAllegheny787-4652
    GLADECK, Joseph M., Jr.RMontgomery787-2801
    GODSHALL, Robert W.RMontgomery783-6428
     GORDNER, John R.DColumbia783-1102
    GRUITZA, Michael C.DMercer787-1354
    GRUPPO, Leonard Q.RNorthampton783-6437
     HABAY, Jeffrey EarlRAllegheny783-7426
     HALUSKA, GaryDCambria787-3532
    HANNA, Michael K., Sr.DClinton772-2283
    HARHAI, TedDWestmoreland772-2820
     HARHART, JulieRNorthampton772-5398
     HASAY, George C.RLuzerne787-1117
    HENNESSEY, Timothy F.RChester787-3431
      HERMAN, Lynn B.RCentre787-8594
    HERSHEY, Arthur D.RChester783-6435
     HESS, Dick L.RBedford787-7076
     HORSEY, MikeDPhiladelphia783-1491
    HUTCHINSON, Scott E. RVenango783-8188
      ITKIN, IvanDAllegheny787-3651Co-Sponsor
    JADLOWIEC, Kenneth M.RMcKean787-5075
      JAMES, HaroldDPhiladelphia787-9477Co-Sponsor
     JAROLIN, Stanley J.DLuzerne787-1836
      JOSEPHS, BabetteDPhiladelphia787-8529Co-Sponsor
      KAISER, RalphDAllegheny787-4693Co-Sponsor
     KELLER, William F.DPhiladelphia787-5774
    KENNEY, George T., Jr.RPhiladelphia787-8523
     KIRKLAND, ThaddeusDDelaware787-5881Co-Sponsor
     KREBS, Edward H.RLebanon783-1815
   KUKOVICH, Allen G.DWestmoreland787-1157
      LaGROTTA, FrankDLawrence783-8424Co-Sponsor
      LAUGHLIN, SusanDBeaver787-4444Co-Sponsor
     LAWLESS, John A.RMontgomery787-5741
     LEDERER, Marie A.DPhiladelphia783-8098
      LEH, Dennis E.RBerks787-6417
    LESCOVITZ, Victor JohnDWashington787-2769
    LEVDANSKY, DavidDAllegheny 783-1020
    LLOYD, William R., Jr.DSomerset783-5183
     LUCYK, Edward J.DSchuylkill787-2798
      LYNCH, JimRWarren787-1367Co-Sponsor
     MAHER, John A.RAllegheny783-1522
    MAITLAND, Stephen R.RAdams783-5217
     MAJOR, SandraRSusquehanna783-2910
    MANDERINO, Kathy M.DPhiladelphia787-1254
     MARKOSEK, Joseph F.DAllegheny783-1012Co-Sponsor
    MARSICO, Ronald S.RDauphin783-2014
     MASLAND, AlbertRCumberland772-2280
    MAYERNIK, David J.DAllegheny783-1654
     McCALL, Keith R.DCarbon783-1375
    McGEEHAN, Michael P.DPhiladelphia772-4029
     McGILL, EugeneRMontgomery783-7179
     McILHATTANRClarion772-9908
    McNAUGHTON, Mark S.RDauphin787-1230
       MELIO, AnthonyDBucks787-3557Co-Sponsor
     MICHLOVIC, Thomas A.DAllegheny783-1018Co-Sponsor
    MICOZZIE, Nicholas A.RDelaware783-8808
      MILLER, Sheila M.RBerks772-2435
     MUNDY, PhyllisDLuzerne783-1614
      MYERS, JohnDPhiladelphia787-3181Co-Sponsor
     NAILOR, Jerry L.RCumberland783-5282
      NICKOL, Steven R.RYork783-8875
     O'BRIEN, Dennis M.RPhiladelphia787-5689
     OLASZ, Richard D.DAllegheny783-1021
      OLIVER, Frank L.DPhiladelphia787-3480Co-Sponsor
     ORIE, Jane C.RAllegheny772-9943
     PERZEL, John M.RPhiladelphia787-2016
      PESCI, Timothy L.DArmstrong787-1407Co-Sponsor
   PETRARCA, Joseph A.DWestmoreland787-5142
     PETRONE, Thomas C.DAllegheny787-6410Co-Sponsor
    PHILLIPS, Merle H.RNorthumberland787-3485
     PIPPY, John R.RAllegheny787-6651
      PISTELLA, Frank J.DAllegheny783-1023Co-Sponsor
       PLATTS, Todd R.RYork787-1298Co-Sponsor
     PRESTON, Joseph, Jr.DAllegheny783-1017Co-Sponsor
      RAMOS, BenjaminDPhiladelphia783-0408Co-Sponsor
     RAYMOND, RonRDelaware787-3472
    READSHAW, Harry A.DAllegheny783-0411
    REBER, Robert D., Jr.RMontgomery787-2924
      REINARD, Roy RBucks787-9033
     RIEGER, William W.DPhiladelphia787-7855
    ROBERTS, LawrenceDFayette783-1359
     ROBINSON, William Russell   DAllegheny787-9460Co-Sponsor
     ROEBUCK, James R., Jr.DPhiladelphia783-1000Co-Sponsor
     ROHRER, Samuel E.RBerks787-8550
      ROONEY, T.J.DNorthampton783-8515Co-Sponsor
     ROSS, ChrisRChester783-1574
      RUBLEY, CaroleRChester783-0157Co-Sponsor
     RYAN, Matthew J.RDelaware787-4610
     SAINATO, ChrisDLawrence772-2436
      SANTONI, DanteDBerks783-3290
     SATHER, Larry O.RHuntingdon787-3335
      SAYLOR, Stanley E.RYork783-6426
     SCHRODER, CurtRChester783-2520
     SCHULER, Jere W.RLancaster783-6422
     SCRIMENTI, Thomas J.DErie787-9475
     SEMMEL, Paul W.RLehigh787-3017
     SERAFINI, Frank A.RLackawanna783-8777
      SEYFERT, TracyRErie772-9940
     SHANER, James E.DFayette772-5771
      SMITH, BruceRYork783-8783
     SMITH, Samuel H.RJefferson787-3845
    SNYDER, Donald W.RLehigh787-4145
    STABACK, Edward G.DLackawanna783-5043
    STAIRS, Jess M.RWestmoreland783-9311
     STEELMAN, Sara G.DIndiana772-2046Sponsor
      STEIL, David J.RBucks772-5396
      STERN, Jerry A.RBlair787-9020
     STETLER, Stephen H.DYork787-8995
    STEVENSON, Thomas L.RAllegheny787-2047
    STRITTMATTER, Jere L.RLancaster787-5451
     STURLA, P. MichaelDLancaster787-3555
      SURRA, Dan A.DElk787-7226
   TANGRETTI, Thomas A.DWestmoreland783-5963
     TAYLOR, Elinor Z.RChester783-3737
     TAYLOR, John J.RPhiladelphia787-3179
      THOMAS, W. CurtisDPhiladelphia787-9471Co-Sponsor
      TIGUE, Thomas M.DLuzerne787-8982Co-Sponsor
      TRAVAGLIO, Guy A.DButler787-7686
      TRELLO, Fred A.DAllegheny783-3780Co-Sponsor
     TRICH, Leo J., Jr.DWashington787-9473
     TRUE, KatieRLancaster772-5290
     TULLI, Frank, Jr.RDauphin787-2684
   VAN HORNE, Terry E.DWestmoreland783-1819
     VANCE, Patricia H.RCumberland787-5935
     VEON, Michael R.DBeaver787-1290
     VITALI, GregDDelaware787-7647
      WALKO, DonDAllegheny787-5470Co-Sponsor
     WASHINGTON, LeAnna M.DPhiladelphia783-2175Co-Sponsor
      WAUGH, Michael L.RYork783-8389
     WILLIAMS, Anthony H.DPhiladelphia787-9104Co-Sponsor
      WILLIAMS, ConnieDMontgomery787-7529Co-Sponsor
     WILT, Rod E.RMercer783-5008
     WOGAN, Chris R.RPhiladelphia787-3974
    WOJNAROSKI, Edward, Sr.DCambria787-7524
     WRIGHT, Matthew N.RBucks787-8581
    YEWCIC, Thomas F.DCambria783-0248
     YOUNGBLOOD, Rosita C.DPhiladelphia787-7727Co-Sponsor
    ZIMMERMAN, Leroy M.RLancaster787-3531
     ZUG, Peter J.RLebanon787-2686

Date: Wed, 25 Mar 1998 14:58:08 -0500 (EST)
From: "Jeffrey A. LaPadula" <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: 1-800-919-FURS (fwd)
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Tue, 24 Mar 1998 20:19:17 -0500
From: "Darius G. Fullmer" <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: 1-800-919-FURS

David A. Furs of Totawa, NJ recently set up a 1-800 # to the shop.
Apparently some people (hooligans or something) have been calling there
quite a bit.  Of course neither myself, the ADL-NJ, or the ADL as a whole
would ever support doing anything illegal.  But here's what I've heard
some of these folks have been saying:
People often call the 800 #s of abusers, but it's so random and spread
out that the effect is little if any.  But if many people all committed
to call the same one however many times they could every day and stuck to
it the results would be devestating.  For instance, 100 calls a day would
cost them at least $29,000 a year.  They would also recieve a call every
five minutes, interupting their efforts to sell more dead animals.  From
what I hear the # per day is already well over 100.  I also hear the
effects are obvious.  Whereas they used to pick up the phone with a happy
"Good morning!  This is David Antonovich of David A. Furs, how may I help
you?", they now just yell a frustrated, "hello?!?" and hang up as the
other line rings in the background.  Apparently they always call from pay
phones because repeated calling can be considered harassment by some
people.  I've heard rumor of people calling between classes at school, on
break at work, while stopped to get gas, waiting for trains...
Damn hooligans.
*****check out the Animal Defense League - New Jersey web page at:
http://envirolink.org/orgs/adl

_____________________________________________________________________
You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail.
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Date: Wed, 25 Mar 1998 21:30:09 +0100
From: Jordi Ni±erola <[e-mail]>
To: AR News <[e-mail]>
Subject: [CAT] St.Cugat "With the Neceser to the neck "
Message-ID: <01bd582c$cdfda780$36026d9e@default>
MIME-version: 1.0
Content-type: MULTIPART/ALTERNATIVE;
 BOUNDARY="Boundary_(ID_H95WyrgfZkNPgFygasK/Hg)"

 From La Vanguardia (www.vanguardia.es)

Clean Dogs. The city council of Sant Cugat (Barcelona) has devised an  innovating system of
collection of excrements, " clean City ". Canvas  deals with neceser of that hangs of strap of dog,
that takes a roll of  disposable plastic bags in which the lees are introduced, to send them to the
containers in which it is allowed.

It is an important initiative, since one of the great critics that become, to  the masters of the dogs
in Spain, is the little tact with the excrements. With  these initiatives it is possible to be obtained,
that those that are little  friends of the animals begin to want them.

Jordi Nierola Barcelona (Catalonia, Spain)

 Jordi Ninyerola i Maym http://www.geocities.com/rainforest/vines/6506/pellcas.htm
http://www.geocities.com/rainforest/vines/6506
http://www.geocities.com/hollywood/academy/2855
http://www.geocities.com/colosseum/loge/3128
[e-mail] "Matar per sobreviure s un acte de  la natura, matar per diversi
o per llur una pell, s un  acte que no fan ni els ms cruels dels  animals"  Date: Wed, 25 Mar 1998
01:50:52
From: David J Knowles <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: [CA] W5 report on BGH
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Tonight - March 24th, CTV's ' W5 ' current affairs program broadcast a
segment on Bovine Growth Hormone (BGH aka rBGH, BST & Posilac)

Reporter Christine Neilson presented the segment called "Pure Milk".

It showed a US-based farmer injecting his cows with BGH.

"This is a competitive business and we all have to look at these cows as if
they are a each a machine, as if in a factory. The more eficient they can
be and the more productive they can be, the more profitable we are going to
be," he said.

Neilson then interviewed Dr Micheal Hanson, of the Consumer Policy
Institute in New York.

Hanson talked about the concerns about effects of BGH on human health.

"Tumours, polyps and cancers? Sounds worrying, should we be worried?"asked
Neilson.

"The more we find out about it, the more problematic this substance turns
out to be," Hanson replied.

Joel Weiner, of Health Canada, reassured Neilson that there were "very
stringent" standards for approval.

' W5', however, had obtained a copy of a letter from Health Canada
regulators, charging that they had been: "... pressured by [Health Canada]
management to ignore...professional standards," putting the "...health of
Candians in jeopardy."

Neilson attempted to interview one of the letter's writers, Dr Chopra, at
his home. He refused to comment on the letter, but did say he had been
advised not to talk about it by his employers (Health Canada).

The Vice President of Monsanto Canada told Neilson they had "worked closely
with Health Canada" and that they continued to do so. He was "confident
that [BGH] would clear the regulatory system and that it will be made
available to Candian dairy farmers."

Neilson talked with Ben & Jerry's founders about their legal action to get
their ice cream labelled "rBGH-free" in Illonois.

Neilson asked Ontario farmer Ian Cummin about the availability of BGH in
Canada - even though it is illegal here.

He said that he knew of several farmers who used it. "If you are willing to
pay a premium, there are people who will deliver it right to your door," he
said.

This was denied by Weiner, who said an alert had gone out to customs
officials on the US/Canada border to be on the lookout for Posilac.

Neilson said all the Canadian farmers she had talked to had told her how
easy it was to get hold of Posilac. Sometimes this is done by professional
smugglers, and sometimes the farmers themselves bring it across the border.

Neilson herself brought several boxes across the border without any problems.

"Are you confident that they're stopping it at the border?" she asked Weiner.

After replying that they were doing a "very good job", Weiner was shown the
boxes that Neilson had brought across the border herself.

"It looks as if they could have done a better job," Weiner admitted.

The boxes, by the way, were empty.

[CTV is a private Candian network. ' W5 ' is its flagship current affairs
program.]

David J Knowles
Animal Voices

Date: Thu, 26 Mar 1998 07:04:43 +0800
From: bunny <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: (USA)ANTIBIOTICS, AGRICULTURAL USE, CDC POSITION - USA
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Forwarded from Promed mailing list for your information



ANTIBIOTICS, AGRICULTURAL USE, CDC POSITION - USA
*************************************************


Date: Thu, 19 Mar 1998 23:30:39 -0500


[The following post was received on the FOODSAFE list following a
discussion of the impact of animal antibiotics on antibiotic-resistant
foodborne pathogens. Several comments had suggested that antibiotic use in
animals in the US was minimal and tightly controlled by veterinary rules.
This discussion prompted the following response. -- RAL]

I have read with interest the recent comments on "Foodsafe" pertaining to
the human health consequences of antimicrobial agents used in food
animals....I feel compelled to clarify several items.

CDC and other public health officials acknowledge the need for antimicrobial
agents for TREATMENT of infections in food animals. We further believe that
food animal veterinarians should be allowed use of all classes of
antimicrobial agents, even those classes of agents which are very precious
in human medicine (such as fluoroquinolones) provided adequate public health
safeguards are present to prevent the emergence and transfer of
antimicrobial-resistant pathogens (particularly Salmonella) to humans
through the food supply. Unfortunately, although adequate public health
safeguards are in place to prevent the presence of antimicrobial residues in
foods, the current drug approval process does not have adequate safeguards
to prevent the emergence antimicrobial resistance and dissemination of
antimicrobial resistance to humans.

CDC and other health officials also acknowledge that most human _Salmonella_
and _Campylobacter_ infections in the United States, including
antimicrobial-resistant infections caused by these pathogens, come from
ingestion of food, often foods of animal origin, contaminated with these
pathogens. Further, there is clear evidence that use of antimicrobial agents
in humans has very little, if any, influence on the  emergence of
antimicrobial resistance among THESE pathogens (as an aside, human use of
antimicrobials for other infections, such as ear infections in children, has
everything to do with the emergence of antimicrobial resistance among those
pathogens). Since emergence of antimicrobial resistance occurs only
following antimicrobial use, we (and many others) are left with the
conclusion that antimicrobial resistant among these foodborne pathogens is
the direct result of antimicrobial use, both therapeutic and sub therapuetic,
in food producing animals........we know of no other explanation (except for
some effect contributed by the use of antimicrobial use in orchards).

These conclusions where reached at a recent WHO meeting in Berlin, the
report of which may be obtained at
<http://www.who.ch/programmes/emc/vph.htm>. We would be happy to send you more
information on these issues if you would send us (e-mail address
<[e-mail]>) your address.

As for the erroneous statements made previously [on FOODSAFE] .... we are
not aware of any "cancelled" uses of growth promoter agents. Tetracycline
and penicillin are still widely used sub therapeutically in the US and
Canada (although this use was prohibited decades ago in Japan, Australia,
New Zealand, and Europe). It is not true that growth promoter uses of these
agents are expensive ... they are extremely inexpensive. It is not true that
most antimicrobial agents used in food animals are for therapeutic uses; the
sub therapeutic uses greatly outweigh the therapeutic uses. It is not true
that the NCBA has a moratorium on growth promotion uses.....in fact many (if
not most) dairy calves in the US are feed medicated milk replacer (it is
true that penicillin has never been used in cattle as growth promoters and
that the  CBA as suggested that cattle not be given growth promoter -- or
some such language). It is not true that sub therapeutic use of
antimicrobials is highly regulated (or more regulated than in human
medicine) ... for example, although no antimicrobial agents are allowed to
sold over-the-counter for human use in the US, many agents are sold
over-the-counter for food animal use.

Finally, the suggestion [also on FOODAFE] that CDC somehow "tampered" with
the data which was presented in the NEJM [New England Journal of Medicine]
article is without merit and only serves to be inflame the discussion. CDC
is a science-based organization with no vested interests other than the
public's health --- the NEJM article was fully "cleared", and endorsed at
the highest levels, by CDC. Even if the NEJM is discounted (which I don't
think it should), there remains irrefutable evidence that antimicrobial use,
sub therapeutic and therapeutic, in food animals leads to the emergence of
antimicrobial resistant Salmonella and Campylobacter, which are transmitted
to human via the food supply, resulting in adverse human health consequences.

Fred Angulo, DVM PhD
Foodborne and Diarrheal Diseases Branch
National Center for Infectious Diseases, CDC
=====================================================================
========
                   /`\   /`\    The Balance:
Tom, Tom,         (/\ \-/ /\)   NATURE's balance is so fine-
The piper's son,     )6 6(      Take care when altering her design!
Saved a pig        >{= Y =}<    A species introduced could grow
And away he run;    /'-^-'\     To be a source of endless woe;
So none could eat  (_)   (_)    While culling another could unfold
The pig so sweet    |  .  |     A horde of pests it once controlled.
Together they ran   |     |}    from "The Judgement of the Animals"
Down the street.    \_/^\_/     by Willow Macky (published by the RNZSPCA)
***************************************************************************
Rabbit Information Service      http://www.wantree.com.au/~rabbit/rabbit.htm
P.O. Box 30,                    email [e-mail]
Riverton,                       Was Jesus a vegetarian? Vegan and AR info;
Western Australia 6148          http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/4620

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

Date: Thu, 26 Mar 1998 07:06:50 +0800
From: bunny <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: ANTIBIOTICS, CONSEQUENCES OF AGRICULTURAL USES
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

ANTIBIOTICS, CONSEQUENCES OF AGRICULTURAL USES
**********************************************


Date: Fri, 20 Mar 1998 00:50:29 -0500
source ANIMALNET


Henrik Wegener of the Danish Veterinary Laboratory was cited as saying that
a clear link between the use of antibiotics in animal feed and the emergence
of "superbugs" in hospitals has been established for the first time.

Genetic tests on bacteria in the gut of people, pigs and chickens have shown
that resistance to vancomycin, a widely used antibiotic, developed when a
similar drug was used in animal feed.

The story says that antibiotics are given in animal feed because they
typically increase animals' growth rate by 5 per cent.

The story says that by isolating the gene responsible for vancomycin
resistance in enterococci from people, pigs and chickens, Dr Wegener
demonstrated that the resistance moved from animals to human beings.
=====================================================================
========
                   /`\   /`\    The Balance:
Tom, Tom,         (/\ \-/ /\)   NATURE's balance is so fine-
The piper's son,     )6 6(      Take care when altering her design!
Saved a pig        >{= Y =}<    A species introduced could grow
And away he run;    /'-^-'\     To be a source of endless woe;
So none could eat  (_)   (_)    While culling another could unfold
The pig so sweet    |  .  |     A horde of pests it once controlled.
Together they ran   |     |}    from "The Judgement of the Animals"
Down the street.    \_/^\_/     by Willow Macky (published by the RNZSPCA)
***************************************************************************
Rabbit Information Service      http://www.wantree.com.au/~rabbit/rabbit.htm
P.O. Box 30,                    email [e-mail]
Riverton,                       Was Jesus a vegetarian? Vegan and AR info;
Western Australia 6148          http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/4620

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

Date: Wed, 25 Mar 1998 19:18:27 -0500
From: [e-mail] (If we don't change the future now we'll end up where we're
headed)
To: [e-mail], [e-mail], [e-mail],
        [e-mail], [e-mail], [e-mail],
        [e-mail], [e-mail], [e-mail],
        [e-mail]
Subject: JAPANESE WHALERS STILL USING OUTLAWED COLD HARPOON?
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>


Please Forward To All Your Contacts....

JAPANESE WHALERS STILL USING OUTLAWED COLD HARPOON

Japan has alternative secondary whale killing methods....
One is second harpoon without penthrite grenade and the other is electric
lance. (Ishikawa)

...the crew prepared to use one of the two available secondary killing
methods. The first of these was to shoot a second (cold) harpoon into the
whale. (Wall)

HAS JAPAN HARPOONED ITSELF IN THE FOOT ?

The use of non-explosive cold harpoons for minke whaling was banned by
the International Whaling Commission (IWC) in 1981 on the grounds that it
is inhume.

Now it is revealed that Japanese whalers, during commercial minke whale
hunts (conducted under the guise of scientific  whaling) in the Antarctic
Sanctuary and the western North Pacific, are using the cold harpoon
extensively as a secondary killing method.

A leading Norwegian whaling scientist has inferred that the cold harpoon
is used in preference to the electric lance secondary killing method.

During recent Japanese minke whale hunts, around a quarter (26%) of
whales caught were subjected to one or more cold harpoons following an
unsuccessful first strike by penthrite explosive grenade harpoon. Of the
minke whales struck with the cold harpoon, about half (53%) remained
alive after one or more shots and were then subjected to electrocution
with electric lance apparatus.

Both penthrite and cold grenade harpoons are used to recapture
struck-and-lost whales.

The IWC member governments seem to have been unaware of the ongoing use
of cold harpoons by Japanese whalers; thus the Government of Japan
appears to have deliberately kept the use of cold harpoons a secret from
the IWC.

The inefficient and inhumane cold harpoon and electric lance secondary
killing methods are used instead of a second or third explosive penthrite
grenade harpoon for economic reasons - they destroy less of the
commercially valuable flesh on the small minke whale.

The Government of Japan (GoJ) argues that because of its technical
objection lodged against the IWC decision to ban the cold harpoon for
commercial killing of minke whales, Japanese whalers have no obligation
to adhere to the ban; and IWC regulations - including the ban - do not
apply to scientific research whaling anyway.

By blatantly ignoring the cold harpoon ban, the GoJ and the Japanese
whaling industry are imposing their ethical values on a majority of the
international community: cultural imperialism from a government and
industry which regularly accuse all who oppose commercial whaling of
cultural imperialism.

The GoJ has clearly acted in bad faith, with complete disregard for the
humane treatment and welfare of individual whales, the regulations of the
IWC, the widespread international public concern about inhumane killing
of whales, Japan international reputation and the overseas perception of
the Japanese public in general.

During Japanese pelagic (open ocean) minke whaling operations in the
Southern Ocean (Antarctic) and western North Pacific, the whalers use a
penthrite explosive grenade harpoon as the primary killing method when
capturing minke whales. Between just 26% and 29.4% of the minke whales
are killed instantaneously (Wall 1996, GoJ 1994). The majority of whales
that survive the first harpoon strike are then subjected to a secondary
killing method. Until 1996 it was thought that the inefficient and
inhumane electric lance apparatus was the only secondary killing method
employed in Japanese pelagic minke whaling, except for occasional
re-shooting with a second explosive harpoon when the first is poorly
placed, pulls out or the fore-runner (harpoon line) breaks. During a
joint Japan-Norway defence of the electric lance, it0Awas revealed that
Japanese whalers also use non-explosive cold harpoons, despite the act
that the cold harpoon is banned by the IWC because of its unacceptable
inefficiency and inhumaneness, whether or not it is used as a primary or
secondary killing method.

Quite simply, Japan has unwittingly admitted to using an internationally
outlawed weapon.

C
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OLD HARPOON & MINKE WHALING

Until its replacement with the penthrite explosive grenade harpoon in the
mid 1980s, the non-explosive cold grenade harpoon had been the chosen
primary killing-capture method employed in Japanese commercial whaling
operations for minke whales since 1971. A non- exploding grenade was used
against minke whales in order to prevent extensive damage and consequent
loss of the carcass, caused by the explosion of the grenade in such a
small animal (Best 1974). The lethality of the cold harpoon is directly
related to the damage the projectile causes to the
organs and tissues it hits on passage through whale's  body. The killing
effect and the crushing and damage that arises are due more to a direct
hit in vital organs and damage from the wing-formed harpoon claws and
fore-runner, than damage from the harpoon head. The cold harpoon
therefore works more like a large arrow (Den 1992).

As a primary killing method, use of the cold harpoon failed to achieve
instantaneous death or insensibility in 80-90% of cases. Times to death
the time between first harpoon strike and death or insensibility) were
unacceptably long, with mean times to death of between 5 and 11 minutes
that indicated prolonged periods of suffering. There is no question that
the cold harpoon as a killing method - whether primary or secondary - is
inefficient and inhumane.

PROHIBITION OF THE COLD HARPOON

Under Article V.1 (f) of the 1946 International Convention for the
Regulation of Whaling (ICRW), the IWC may amend the Schedule of the ICRW
to specify or prohibit the types of gear and apparatus and appliances
which may be used in whaling. In 1980, the IWC voted to prohibit use of
the cold harpoon for the commercial killing of all whale species except
the minke whale, with effect from the start of the 1980/81 pelagic season
and 1981 coastal season, on the grounds of its inhumaneness (IWC 1980).
In 1981, Australia proposed a Schedule amendment to prohibit use of the
cold harpoon on the minke whale, again due to its inhumaneness. After
discussion this was agreed subject to a phase out; the Aprohibition was
effective from the start of the 1982/83 pelagic season and the 1983
coastal season (IWC 1981). This established a clear precedent,
demonstrating that it was within both the framework of the ICRW and
competency of the IWC to take decisions and make regulations concerning
the welfare of whales and to prohibit the use of certain pieces of
whaling equipment on the grounds of humaneness.

NO MENTION OF COLD HARPOONS

Documents submitted by the GoJ to the IWC in recent years make no mention
whatsoever of cold harpoons being employed as an alternative secondary
killing method to the electric lance during pelagic whaling operations.
The only reference which could be said to hint at the possible use of
cold harpoons comes from a GoJ document (GoJ 1994) concerning the 1993/94
season, which states: As Japan had lodged formal objection to Schedule 6
of the Convention, adopted in 1981, pertaining to the obligation to use
explosive harpoons in the whale catch, the Japanese scientific research
catch pursuant to Article VIII of the Convention, conducting (sic) since
1987, has been exempted from the provisions of Schedule 6. Thus it does
appear that, until 1996, it was GoJ policy to deliberately keep the use
of cold harpoons a secret from the IWC. Breach Marine protection brought
this matter to all the IWC Commissioner's attention in 1996. Despite
BMP's published evidence, no discussion of Japan's use of this banned
killing method has taken place within the IWC.

ELECTRIC LANCE ONLY?

It is apparent from documentation submitted to the IWC that the majority
of IWC member governments, non-governmental organisations and researchers
have been unaware that the Japanese whalers have used anything other than
the electric lance as a secondary killing method - except for the limited
use of a second explosive penthrite harpoon to secure a whale with a
poorly placed first shot, or which is lost when the first harpoon pulls
out or the ore-runner breaks - as the foll
_____________________________________________________________________
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owing examples illustrate:

The two main secondary methods of killing currently on record are use of
the electric lance (Japan) and the use of large calibre rifle (Norway)
(GoUK 1995).

If a whale is not killed instantly by an explosive harpoon, the Japanese
use electric lances as a secondary killing device (McLachlan 1995).

The Japanese and Norwegians use different techniques for dispatching
wounded whales. The Japanese whalers winch the whale to the ship, implant
electrodes through the blubber... (Kestin 1995).

USE OF COLD HARPOON REVEALED

The following is from a paper submitted by Hajime Ishikawa of the
Institute of Cetacean Research, Tokyo: Japan has alternative secondary
whale killing methods in order to kill a whale which does not die with
the first explosive harpoon in Japanese Whale Research Programme under
Special Permit (JARPA and JARPN). One is second harpoon without penthrite
grenade and the other is electric lance.

The use of alternative secondary killing methods employed in Japanese
pelagic whaling operations to dispatch wounded whales is expanded upon by
Professor Lars Wall, chief scientific advisor on whaling to the
Government of Norway, member of the IWC Scientific Committee and the
Norwegia delegation, in the second paper in question, his analysis of
recent Japanese whale killing data with special emphasis on the use of
the electric lance. The paper included the following references to the
cold harpoon:

...If a whale died instantaneously or within a few minutes, no secondary
killing method was used. But if the whale showed signs of life after the
first hit, the crew prepared to use one of the two available secondary
killing methods. The first of these was to shoot a second (cold) harpoon
into the whale. This operation could be repeated. The second method
available was to=0Ause electrical stunning...

With regard to use of the cold harpoon as a secondary killing method,
Wall Aanalysis is reliable. He clearly states that he was provided with a
comprehensive data file, in which the records for each of the 891 whales
were complete. These included records of: 93(first) secondary method
(none, harpoon, lance), number of cold harpoons, voltage and
amperage of electric current, time to firing of (first) cold harpoon,
time to use of lance, loss/ recapture, ...

COLD HARPOON - THE FIRST CHOICE

In his paper, Wall implies that given the choice of employing the
electric lance apparatus or re-shooting with a cold harpoon, it is the
cold harpoon which is the preferred option of the Japanese whalers, as
the following reiterations show:

...the crew prepared to use one of the two available secondary killing
methods. The first of these was to shoot a second (cold) harpoon into the
whale... The second method available was to use electrical stunning...

The electric lance was sometimes used in addition to a cold harpoon if
the first (or second) cold harpoon failed to kill the animal.

In most cases the whalers chose the secondary killing method they
considered most suitable in the circumstances. If, for instance, the
whalers considered that the first harpoon was in danger of being pulled
out, a second harpoon was used. On the other hand, if the whale was too
close to the boat, it was often not possible to shoot it with a second
harpoon, but the electric lance could conveniently be applied. In some
cases either secondary killing method could be used with an equal chance
of success as judged by the whalers.

CONCLUSION

This matter of Japan's use of the cold harpoon must now be dealt with
internationally at the highest levels of government, both through the IWC
and private channels. This issue not only highlights the urgent need for
a firm resolution seeking to enforce the 1981 IWC decision, but also the
need for rigorous measures to deal effectively with the perennial problem
of inhumane killing of whales.

Any further delay by the GoJ in implementing genuine attempts by the
international community, through the IWC, to minimise, eliminate and
prevent the ignificant proportion of slaughter which fails to meet the
IW
_____________________________________________________________________
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C definition of Humane Killing is simply not acceptable.

The GoJ has evidently absolved itself of responsibility over the matter
of humane killing. As Fukuzo Nagasaki, former Director-General of the
Institute of Cetacean Research stated (1993): But even if methods are
discovered which Aguarantee animals a more pain-free death, we must
consider the costs of implementing change, and the effect these costs
will have on product prices. There are thus certain practical limitations
when it comes to developing humane methods of slaughter.

WRITE NOW TO YOUR IWC COMMISSIONER ASKING HIM WHY NOTHING HAS
BEEN DONE
TO STOP THIS ON-GOING ATROCITY. DEMAND HE TABLES A MOTION AT THE 50th
IWC
MEETING (MAY 1998) CONDEMNING JAPAN'S USE OF THE 'COLD' HARPOON.

_____________________________________________________________________
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Date: Wed, 25 Mar 1998 19:57:18 -0500
From: "sharon cahr" <[e-mail]>
To: <[e-mail]>
Subject: Philip Gonzalez
Message-ID: <19980326010106.AAC16851@default>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

Hi,
Philip Gonzalez the author of The Dog Who Rescues Cats is going to be
speaking for ROAR(Recognition of ANimal Rights) in Westchester
County(Tarrytown) on Tuesday, March 31st at 7:00PM..  His and Ginny's story
is a heartwarming one and the lives of many needy stray have been saved
because of them.. If you want further info please call [phone].
Thanks.

Date: Wed, 25 Mar 1998 20:01:54
From: David J Knowles <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: [UK] BSE Inquiry - Day 9 Evidence
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

BSE Inquiry - Day 9 Evidence

Day 9 of the BSE Inquiry saw further evidence from Dr David Tyrrell.
Tyrrell was head of
the so-called Tyrell Committee, and then was given the job as first head of
the
Spongioform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee - a role taken over later by Dr.
Pattison.

Tyrell was asked about concerns he had regarding the setting up of SEAC. He
compared
the set up of the committee - made up of voluteers and given a multitude of
tasks, with
that of the committee coordinating AIDS research.

"I thought it was going to be a committee which met to provide an expert
analysis of the
background science, and advice on a few points.  Of course, there were
other things added
to that and things changed quickly.

"I was in the process of retirement, which sounds as though it meant I had
more time.  It
meant that I had less resources, because I could not use the MRC's library
and secretarial
help, and I had to do my own office work, filing and so on.  Trying to be
conscientious
about reading the literature meant that I spent a proportion of my evenings
sitting in my
study reading the journals.  I think that was the actually the thing which
finally made me
say, 'Once I get to 70, apart from the fact that the little grey cells
would not be ticking so
well, I thought I would rather be doing other things in the evening, rather
than reading
science,'" he said.

Professor Fred Brown, of the Plum Island ADC and an original member of SEAC
told the
inquiry: "...I do remember the original letter of invitation to serve on
the original SEAC
Committee, which I think said it would not be a very onerous task, and it
would probably
be meeting once or twice a year.  It certainly did not turn out like that.
I think there were
quite a number of meetings, as you can see from the minutes, but I think it
is also true that
there was quite a lot of background reading in relation to many of the
documents that we
were sent prior to the meetings, and there was reading the minutes
subsequently.  So I
think the time that was spent on SEAC was slightly more than I had expected
originally."

Dr William Watson, Director of the Central Veterinary Laboratory, said: "I
perhaps
anticipated spending two days a month on SEAC business.  I never saw myself
as a
coordinator of research whilst on the SEAC Committee.  I mean, we were in
no position
to coordinate research.  In fact, if you recall, as director of the CVL
[Central Veterianary
Laboratory], I appointed my own coordinator of research, even in that
situation, let alone
on a country-wide basis."


Tyrrell gave the inquiry several examples of things which concerned the
committee. One
of these was the use of "plain language" when issuing media releases.

"... on the other hand, we were always told that there was not room on a
press release to
explain all the science that lay behind it, or the concepts.  One example
would be that of
what does it mean to say something is "safe"?
"To say something is "safe" does not mean to say that there is no risk at
all attached, but
that the risk is very small and something which people will cope with in
their ordinary
lives. Even such basic ideas were not the sort of thing that you can put
easily into this sort
of encapsulated press release problem, so there was a tension all the time.
 The tension
was large in a sense -- after our first two interim reports, we really had
not justified the
fact that we knew anything about spongiform encephalopathies and the
science that lay
behind them, either the basic historical origins of the diseases or the
current molecular
studies.  So we felt it was incumbent upon us at least to put on record
that we had
reviewed the science and could distill it in a reasonably digestible form
for people in
general to read, and to say that is the basis upon which we had been saying
the things we
had been saying in the past."

David Pepper, a large animal vet who practiced in Devon, England, and who
served on
SEAC, told the inquiry about how dairy herds are managed in the UK.

"The aim in the dairy industry is to have a calf per cow a year.  Not all
those progeny will
enter the herd, and there will be a variety of reasons why they will not.
The most
prominent reason will be that some of them will be male and they,
therefore, will not enter
the breed herd, except in the exceptional case where they might make a
bull.  Not all of
them will be of dairy replacement breeding.  In other words, they will have
been bred in
order to be a beef calf, a beef cross calf.  Those will not enter the dairy
herd again either.
There is also considerable, not a massive but a considerable mortality in
calves; and the
assumption that a calf born is going to be a calf that will be adult in the
dairy herd would
be misleading.  There is a percentage which do not make it.  So those three
items would
already cut down the numbers.  On top of that, there is a selection
procedure which says:
'I do not think I want all possible animals which will milk in my herd, I
only want the best.'

"The national average duration of a cow in the herd is alarmingly short,
but  some cows go
on much longer, and they tend to be the more special ones, and they tend to
be the ones
that are bred in order to take calves from them to replace them or to
produce dairy
replacements.  So that the ones that last longer in the herd are the ones
that are
preferentially bred from, and the ones you hope for a heifer calf than a
bull."

The inquiry was also told that about 60 per cent of beef in the UKcomes
from the dairy
herd.  BSE to date has occured mostly, but not exclusively, in the dairy
herd.

Tyrrell said there were many reasons for delays in implementing many of the
recommendations made in the by his and other committees.

These were: a lack of monitoring of the processes going on in abattoirs and
subsequently.;
The local authorities provided inspectors, and it was not an evenly
implemented service;
There was a shortage of vets due to cut backs in staff were being cut; and
there were
uneven management practices in slaughterhouses.

As well as these problems, there was also a lack of co-ordination within
MAFF; a
separation between the diagnostic service and the meat hygiene service; and
some of the
regulations were only brought into effect after a consultation period.
This meant that
"even when people had made up their mind what needed to be done, they could
not,
without breaking the law, actually do it."



Date: Wed, 25 Mar 1998 23:44:20 -0500
From: Wyandotte Animal Group <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: USDA Press Release:  Illinois Elephant Research
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

>                                   Jim Rogers       [phone]
>                                             [e-mail]
>                                   Jerry Redding  [phone]
>                                            [e-mail]
>
>
>USDA CLOSES ANIMAL WELFARE ACT CASE BY OPENING DOORS FOR
>ELEPHANT TB RESEARCH
>
>     WASHINGTON, March 25, 1998--The U.S. Department of Agriculture
>and John Cuneo, a licensed animal exhibitor doing business as Hawthorn
>Corporation in Grayslake, Ill., have agreed to a consent decision and
>order regarding violations of the Animal Welfare Act.
>
>     "Over the past two years, we've been working with Hawthorn to
>bring him into compliance with the AWA," said Michael V. Dunn, assistant
>secretary for marketing and regulatory programs.  "We have recently
>closed an AWA case with John Cuneo that not only brings him into
>compliance with the Act, but also advances research into elephants and
>elephant health."
>
>     "The settlement in this case is unique.  Hawthorn Corporation has
>agreed to pay a $60,000 civil penalty with half of that amount going to
>one or more research institutions to study tuberculosis in elephants.  The
>remainder of the fine is to be spent on the TB testing and treatment of
>Cuneo's elephants to ensure their health and continued well-being."
>
>     Cuneo neither admitted nor denied any violations of the AWA, but
>agreed to the above mentioned penalty and a 45-day license suspension
>that gives credit for time already served during a prior 21-day summary
>suspension.  The $30,000 directed to research groups will go to groups
>that are approved by USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
>
>     "All captive and wild animals are important resources," Dunn added.
>"Our settlement with Cuneo is just one example of our commitment to
>ensuring their continued well-being."
>
>     USDA's efforts also include a task force to specifically address the
>issue of TB in elephants.  As a result of the taskforce's
>recommendations, APHIS animal care is now requiring all elephant
>owners covered under the AWA to test their elephants on a regular
>basis and make the results of those tests available to APHIS inspectors.
>
>     For the first time ever, APHIS inspectors visited every traveling
>exhibitor's wintering facility this year to get a better idea of how their
>animals are treated at home.  APHIS inspectors have been paying
>particular attention to captive elephants and will begin elephant-specific
>training later this year.
>
>     The AWA requires that regulated individuals and businesses provide
>animals with care and treatment according to the standards established
>by APHIS.  Animals protected by the law must be provided with adequate
>housing, handling, sanitation, food, water, transportation, veterinary
>care, and shelter.
>
>     The law covers animals that are sold as pets at the wholesale level,
>transported in commerce, used for biomedical research, or used for
>exhibition purposes.
>
>                                #


Jason Alley
Wyandotte Animal Group
[e-mail]
</pre>



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