(01/04/2002) Gorillas Draw Tourists Back to Rwanda
Rwanda - Hans-Dieter Steinbach, the German ambassador to Rwanda, celebrated his 50th birthday last week with Guhonda and 10 other rare mountain gorillas in the silverback's group.
[Link]
Myanmar's tiger population dwindles
Ynagon - Myanmar's tiger population has probably dwindled to less than 150 animals and urgent action is needed to save the survivors, the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) has said. [Link]
(02/04/2002) British soldiers save an Afghan dog of war
A stray dog adopted by British soldiers when they arrived in Kabul to set
up the International Security Assistance Force has been flown back with
them because they could not bear to see him made homeless again.
[Link]
(Notice) Vegi-info
Une source d’informations complètes et variées à l’usage des végétariens et des autres amis des animaux.
Depuis sa parution en 1996, cette revue végétarienne bénéficie d’une
excellente réputation auprès du public concerné et compte aujourd’hui un
nombre toujours croissant d'abonnés. Ceux-ci ont fait pour la plupart le
choix de se nourrir sans viande, non seulement dans l’intérêt de leur
propre santé mais aussi dans une perspective de bien-être pour tous les
animaux et de respect de la nature.
Chaque trimestre, sur vingt-quatre pages, une information abondante est proposée à nos lecteurs. Les articles relatifs à la santé et les conseils pour une alimentation équilibrée y alternent avec des dossiers concernant la protection de l'environnement, la conservation animale et des questions d’ordre éthique.
A l’heure où, depuis quelques années, les alertes à la dioxine et autres scandales se succèdent dans le secteur de la production alimentaire, il nous semble plus que jamais essentiel de diffuser ce type d’informations, qui préoccupent à juste titre tous les consommateurs mais font l’objet d’analyses objectives et de mises en garde judicieuses dans les colonnes de Vegi-Info.
Au-delà de ces dossiers de fond, Vegi-Info publie aussi des rubriques « vie pratique » consacrées aux meilleures recettes végétariennes, un agenda des conférences et séminaires ainsi qu’une revue de presse internationale, des critiques de livres sur les animaux et le végétarisme récemment parus, un calendrier international de tous les évènements relatifs à ces questions, et bien plus, selon les numéros.
La revue Vegi-Info est adressée gratuitement à tous les membres et donateurs. Elle est disponible en tant qu’abonnement annuel.
Pour toute information supplémentaire : VEGI-INFO
WebsiteE-mail
Japan: Thieving crows snacking on soap
Researchers have finally figured out what the crows were doing with all
the soap they kept stealing from a kindergarten in Matsudo, Chiba
Prefecture. Snacking on it.
[Link]
(03/04/2002) Chickens: Simply put, to know them is to love them
A friend of mine in Ohio, who helped rescue thousands of hens when a
tornado hit a caged-layer operation several years ago, adopted one of the
hens he pulled from the collapsed buildings. He named her Chick Corea and
took her to live with him. She readily adapted to her new environment. She
found all sorts of special places and things that interested her in his
house, she got along well with the cat, with whom she often slept at
night, and she would urge Bill in chicken talk to let her outside. When
she wanted to come in from the garden, she tapped with her beak on the
glass pane of the door. (Chickens use their beaks as hands.) Even Bill was
surprised. "Getting to know Chick Corea was a real eye-opener," he said.
"I had no idea chickens had such strong personalities."
Sanctuary workers such as myself know that chickens are intelligent. If Sarah, a former battery-caged hen, climbed the stairs in the morning to get me downstairs to fix her breakfast after yelling from the bottom step failed to produce results, was she not displaying purposeful adaptive intelligence? Or take Karla, who seeks me out when I'm cleaning the chicken houses each day. Suddenly, there she is, with her little face and neck stretched up. I know what she wants, so I lay down my spackling knife, scoop her up and hold her close. With her pretty pink comb, soft white feathers, and muddy balletic feet, Karla is like a lovely flower who just happens to be a bird. ---- Treated with respect, they also have the capacity to enjoy life immensely, just like any other creature.
Excerpt of a contribution by Karen Davis, PhD, founder and President of United Poultry Concerns -
www.UPC-online.org
(04/04/2002) DawnWatch: Sing Sing kitten killer sentence gets major coverage
On Friday, March 22, a former prison guard from the Sing Sing prison, in New York, was sentenced to a year in jail for killing five
kittens. The story has been covered in many papers. You'll find the most thorough coverage on the Boston Globe website where the full Associated Press story is published
at:
www.boston.com/dailynews
Writer Jim Fitzgerald tells us, "Last March, Hunlock found an inmate with contraband at the Sing Sing Correctional Facility in
Ossining. He then searched the inmate's cell, found five newborn kittens and their mother and ordered the inmate to put them in the
compactor. When the inmate refused, Hunlock did it himself. The mother cat escaped but the kittens were
crushed."
I share this story with my list for three reasons:
1) For the main purpose of DawnWatch - to inspire letters to the media. I am sure the papers will get letters from the antis saying that the sentence was out of proportion. This story presents the perfect opportunity to educate readers about the link between animal and human violence. (If you would like to learn more about the issue, you'll find an excellent article, concluding with links to various resources
at:
www.animalsvoice.com/ )
2) It is always fun to share good news. Jail sentences for animal abuse are a relatively new and very welcome
phenomenon.
3) Because I want to focus on one line of the article that is crucial for us to
absorb: The judge, "said he had received 10 letters calling for leniency and 468 urging the maximum sentence." I don't think the judge would have mentioned the number of letters he received if they had played no part in his sentencing
decision. There is another bit of information which drives this point home:
"Just before the Hunlock case came before him, Lange sentenced another man to five years probation for the same crime. Michael Johnson, 30, of
Peekskill, stabbed his pit bull 30 times last year when it refused to leave with him after he argued with his
girlfriend. Lange said the different sentences were due in part to Johnson's pleading guilty rather than insisting on a trial."
Perhaps, the plea of guilty made a difference. Plus, miraculously, the dog lived and was adopted out, which may have impacted the sentence.
However, I truly doubt that if the judge had received 468 letters calling for the maximum sentence in the pitbull stabbing case, the defendant would have got off with probation.
I write this to send a heartfelt thank you to each of the 468 people
who wrote a note to the judge about the Sing Sing case. Not only did your
letters help put a man in jail for a hideous crime, they helped set a
precedent. Next time a judge is leaning towards jail time for an animal
cruelty crime, he or she will know that a man served a year in jail for
crushing kittens. None of us must ever think that the few minutes we spend
to write a note to a judge or a legislator is a waste of time. Those
letters change the law. They change the world. Your letters to the editor
change minds!
Yours and the animals', Karen Dawn -
www.DawnWatch.com
(DawnWatch is an animal advocacy media watch that looks at animal issues in the media and failitates one-click responses to the relevant media
outlets. You can learn more about it at
www.DawnWatch.com. To subscribe to
DawnWatch, email
KarenDawn@DawnWatch.com and tell me you'd like to receive
alerts. If at any time you find DawnWatch is not for you, just let me know via email and
I'll take you off the subscriber list immediately. If you forward for reprint DawnWatch
alerts, please do so unedited and include this tag line.)
(05/04/2002) The international court of justice for animal rights
V E R D I C T of 11th March 2002 against politicians, civil servants, union representatives and industrialists belonging to the member countries of the European Union and Poland relating to the abuse and torture of animals, serious crimes against the dignity of animals and the disregard of animal protection
rights.
I. Established Facts
The International Court of Justice for Animal Rights, consisting of an international jury of 11 members and 3 judges has
established, -that since the realisation of the European Community, now the European Union, the fate of animals for slaughter has, in general, deteriorated,
-that those authorities responsible are seemingly incapable or else too indolent to protect these animals from man’s worst excesses of torture or to enforce the existing laws in place for animal protection,
-that in many European slaughterhouses animals are butchered without sufficient or without any stunning and are dismembered when still fully conscious thus causing them untold
suffering, -that those authorities responsible silently or willingly condone the inhumane and illegal activities of producers, dealers and carriers, whilst showing indifference to the untiring efforts of countless organisations working to attain a better fate for animals for
slaughter, -that through their attitude towards animals for slaughter, the European authorities lend weight to the widening dehumanisation and growing brutality within society,
-that the ritual slaughtering of animals in the name of religion and freedom of belief is spreading ever wider, even though the animals are submitted to unimaginable mental and physical
suffering, -that the agricultural policies of the European Union are hostile to animals: animals for slaughter are regarded as disposable goods, masses of them are forced into existence by unnatural methods using artificial insemination techniques, brutally force-fed, in crammed conditions, in animal factories – without considering the existing market demand – this results in millions of them being exported live into foreign countries or being
destroyed inland.
II. Verdict-Guilty
Based on today’s verbal deliberations and the resulting hearing of evidence, the Court finds guilty:
1. Dr. Franz Fischler, Member of the European Commission, Commissioner for
Agriculture. Mr. Fischler carries the main responsibility for the
animal-hostile agricultural policies of the European Union. He was the one
who instigated the destruction of millions of cattle to relieve market
pressure. He is also responsible for the killing of hundreds of thousands
of calves, some only a few days old, to achieve the ‘Herod premium’ (a
premium paid for their destruction) as well as for the subsidising of live
animals exported to other European countries. The Court calls upon
Commissioner Fischler to resign and to hand back his responsibilities to
the Commission.
2. Mr David Byrne, Member of the European Commission. Mr Byrne is the person mainly responsible for the destruction of millions of healthy animals during the breakout of foot and mouth disease in 2001, only because a some were diseased and the European
F+MD-regulations didnot allow inoculations against F+MD.
3. Agricultural ministers of the member states of the European Union, because they did not enforce their own national regulations valid within the framework of the EU covering the protection rights of animals. Insufficient staffing, the reason given by the ministers and their subordinate authorities, is not an excuse for permitting animals to be so brutally treated.
4. Mr Gerd Sonnleitner, the president of the German Farmers’ Union and chairman of the European Farmers’ Union. As the leading union official, Mr. Sonnleitner carries the brunt of the responsibilities concerning the development of the main structures of European agriculture, these are not only hostile to animals but are also hostile to farmers and have been responsible for the ruin of hundreds of thousands of small and medium-sized farms.
5. The owners of animal mass production plants, in which cattle, pigs and chickens lead an existence of horror and despair, and especially the owners of those battery-hen farms where the animals have to suffer untold misery and young chicks are destroyed by the millions as waste.
Further, the Court declares guilty:
6. Former Minister of Agriculture Jean Glavany and Mr Daniel Canepa, prefect of the Var District. Under their auspices arenas used for bullfighting have been turned into public slaughterhouses where blood-thirsty voyeurs can satisfy their lusts watching animals being tortured to death.
7. Magistrate Herbert Haupt, as well as Government Minister Josef Pühringer, and Minister of Agriculture Wilhelm Molterer (Austria). They carry the responsibility for the horrible tortures taking place in Austrian animal production plants and in slaughterhouses, the perpetrators of which are protected from prosecution.
8. The Rt. Hon. Margaret Beckett, Secretary of State, Great Britain. She is responsible for the re-introduction of the notorious British live-exports to the Middle East , where the animals suffer a cruel death. She is answerable for the continuation of animal suffering in the battery farms for pigs and poultry in Great Britain.
9. Polish and EU officials who are active in the systematic forging of documents, so allowing cattle exported from Poland to EU countries to be falsely identified as EU produce, and so presenting a serious danger to the health of the consumers.
10. Ms Annemie Neyts, Belgium’s Minister for Agriculture. She tolerates
bestial atrocities in Belgian slaughter markets and tolerates the
protection of those criminally responsible against legal prosecution.
11. Mr Miguel Arias Canete, the Spanish Minister for Agriculture. He is responsible for the scandalous conditions under which live animals are transported in Spain. He is also in part responsible that the catastrophic subsidisation policies are being continued within the EU in spite of
widespread protests.
III. Conclusion and Recommendations
1. The Court requests that the European Commission and the European Parliament ensure that Animal Protection Rights are introduced and ensured as independent and common aims in the EU treaty and that the necessary competence for their conception is
created.
2. Further, the Court requests that Animal Rights are seen as being an
independent aim of State in the future European Constitution, and that
animals are given a constitutional and legally defendable right to
counsel, to their own dignity, to a life appropriate to their species and
to a death free of anxiety and pain.
Finally, the Court requests that the European Commission sets up its own departmental Commission for Animal Protection Rights consisting of representatives from European Animal Protection Societies.
3. The Court requests more unannounced, official control visits to all animal production plants and slaughterhouses as well as intensifying the supervision of animal transportation. In order to gain transparency, the Court requests the installation of video or web-cam surveillance, this would allow any transgressions against the rights of animals to be provable.
4. The Court requests for the third time since 1993, the immediate prohibition throughout Europe of transporting live animals across country borders and, to that effect the abolition of the ominous export subsidies.
5. The Court insists on the principle that animals for slaughter are to be transported no further than the nearest slaughterhouse. If there is no slaughterhouse near-at-hand, mobile slaughter units are to be used and approved by the EU at the highest level.
6. The Court of Justice categorically condemns the barbaric methods of
ritual slaughter without stunning and requests these to be banned in every
civilised country. The arguments brought in the name of religion and
freedom of belief have to be ethically sound, they cannot be based on the
torture of helpless fellow creatures.
Finally the Court postulates the basic principle that the methods of
industrial mass production cannot be applied to sentient living beings,
the same as conveyor belt work and piecework can have no place in the
process of killing animals for consumption. The breeding of every single
animal places responsibility on man, each and every slaughter is a grave
and serious act which has to be carried out individually, with care and
respect.
The current methods of animal handling have not even the slightest
ethical basis, they are highly abnormal and therefore dangerous to the
health of humanity and destructive to our natural environment. That is why
the EU and all the other countries of Europe are being called upon to
re-construct their attitudes toward domestic animals taking the above
points as guidelines.
As the relationship of humans to animals is part of the fundamental
principles of morality the Court insists that the meat industry be
subjected to the control of a Commission for Ethics which is close to
national education.
The complete and substantiated court decision will be sent within a conducive period to those parties having been found guilty. In addition copies will be forwarded to the EU Commission, the European Council, the UNO, the UNESCO, to the parliamentary meetings of the accused countries as well as to numerous nature and animal protection organisations and societies.
THE INTERNATIONAL COURT FOR ANIMAL RIGHTS
Geneva, 11th March 2002
(06/04/2002) Personal message from Pierce Brosnan: It's Time to Save the Whales Again
Dear IFAW Supporter,
I am urgently trying to reach as many concerned people as I can to
seek your help in the campaign to save the great whales. Over the past
several weeks, government officials in two countries have announced plans
to hunt endangered whales and reopen the banned trade in whale meat.
I need your help to stop this madness before it’s too late. Please forward this message to as many friends and contacts as you can. Then go to
www.ifaw.org/actionforwhales to learn what else you can do to help.
Three decades ago, horrific images of industrial whaling operations
first inspired a global movement to protect these magnificent creatures.
Men and women of conscience across the planet joined together to end this
cruel and outmoded practice and rescue threatened whale species from the
brink of extinction. This global grass-roots effort achieved an important
victory when, in 1986, a worldwide moratorium on commercial whaling came
into effect.
Since that time, millions of people around the world -- from
schoolchildren to senior citizens -- have come to learn more about our
neighbors from the deep. We've learned that whales are intelligent animals
with close-knit family groups, that many are highly migratory, regularly
traversing the depth and breadth of our ocean planet, that whales are
social creatures, communicating across great distances with unique songs,
clicks and calls, and that new threats such as pollution, ship strikes,
entanglement in fishing nets, acoustic disturbance and loss of vital ocean
habitat threaten their very survival.
Incredibly, at the dawn of the 21st century, government bureaucrats in two countries, Japan and Norway, want to return to full-scale commercial whaling. They are finalizing plans to kill more than 1,200 whales this year. Norway, which has long objected to the IWC moratorium, will kill more than 600 minke whales in the North Atlantic. Japan, which uses a scientific loophole to claim its whaling is for scientific research, will this year kill hundreds of endangered Pacific minke, sei, Bryde’s and sperm whales. Once they are butchered and boxed up for shipment, these whales will make their way to market where choice cuts will be sold as delicacies.
Unfortunately a minority of government officials in Japan tries to cast the whaling issue in nationalist terms, claiming that those who would protect the whales are somehow “anti-Japan.” These pro-whaling bureaucrats are clearly out of step with the majority of the Japanese people. Polls in Japan show support for whaling is dwindling among the mainstream public. Whaling is vocally opposed by leading Japanese environmental groups, and scientists have issued repeated warnings that whale meat is contaminated with high levels of marine pollutants and unsafe for human consumption.
Much of Japan's whale hunting is conducted around Antarctica in the
waters of the Southern Ocean Sanctuary. Japan, the lone nation to vote
against this internationally recognized sanctuary when it was established,
will this year again sail its whaling ships into the sanctuary and kill
hundreds of protected whales. Meanwhile, back in Tokyo, Fisheries Agency
bureaucrats are working diligently to revive the international trade in
whale meat. Just last month, they announced Japan would defy an
11-year-old global ban and begin importing whale meat -- 100 tons of it
per year -- from . . . you guessed it: Norway.
It is time for our generation to do its part. These audacious moves by
Japanese and Norwegian bureaucrats threaten more than thirty years of hard
won protections for whales. They must be stopped.
The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), one of the leading global conservation groups fighting to protect marine mammals and their habitats, has established this website to help people like you and me take immediate action to save the whales and learn more about what we all can do to help.
I have worked very closely with IFAW for the past several years.
Together we have spoken out and achieved important victories for whales
around the world. And I am proud to join IFAW once again in this critical
effort to protect these majestic creatures.
The Governments of Japan and Norway need to hear our voices now. It's
time to save the whales again! Please help protect these endangered
animals for future generations.
Thank you for your kind attention and support. If we all stand
together we can turn the tide.
Sincerely,
Pierce Brosnan
P.S. Please also forward this message to as many people as you can to help us spread the word about this global campaign! Thanks again! --PB
(14/04/2002) Ferries Concerned Orphaned Orca Swimming
Too Close For Comfort
There are new worries for the orphaned orca swimming in Puget Sound. The killer whale is swimming dangerously close to Washington State ferries. That's unusual behaviour and she may get hurt. The ferry lane between West Seattle and Vashon is the orphaned orca's playground, and that's making the ferry system very nervous.
Videotape taken within the last week shows the orca, nicknamed "Springer", within feet of a ferry at the Vashon terminal. She was playing with a log, completely unaffected by the ferry horn or the moving boat.
"She's just getting closer to the vessel and really making it all that more dangerous," says Washington State Ferry System spokeswoman Pat Patterson, "not only for herself but also for our crew and passengers."
In fact, the ferry system says several times in the past few days, it's had to back down and maneuver around the baby orca. It's particularly bad near the Vashon Ferry terminal where Springer pops up unexpectedly -- and particularly bad near the ferry Evergreen State.
"At night apparently, we've had reports that she's nestling up to the Evergreen State," says Patterson. "The Evergreen State ties up after service and we have had reports that she will nestle up to it."
But ferries aren't the only boats Springer is causing trouble around. Her well-known penchant for playing with logs could also be dangerous.
"Now we've also seen situations out there where she's pulled logs, "reports Bob Wood of Project SeaWolf, who have spent many days watching Springer. "She's sunk those logs down, 10 feet, and let them go, right underneath our boat!"
Wood says his boat's kevlar hull can take the force, but could a fiberglass boat or a kayak?
"This whale isn't intentionally trying to harm anyone but she's becoming a nuisance from the standpoint that she could harm someone by just playing."
For the time being, the National Marine Fisheries Service has no plans to intervene. But both Project SeaWolf and the ferry system hope the orphaned orca can be moved back to her native Canada soon. Patterson adds, "It's just a real recipe for an accident that nobody wants to
see happen and certainly not us."
And with the sound of something straight out of a Disney movie, the ferry system is offering its help to take advantage of Springer's attraction to the ferry Evergreen State to return the orphan to Canada. They want to try a test run, sailing the ferry to the north to see if Springer will follow. If she does, the thinking goes that may be one way to eventually get her back to
her family pod.
(15/04/2002) Dog and Cat Slaughter in Korea: A letter to The Honourable Mayor, Seoul, Korea
Respected Sir/Madam,
I hope you will appreciate the concern shared by ethically aware people all over the world, about the torture of cats and dogs and their subsequent
consumption. It is not that any of us want to adopt a 'holier than thou' attitude. I am well aware that every group of people have certain habits which seem strange and unacceptable to other people.
I appeal for your help and support in our efforts to create a more compassionate and ethically aware social
order. It is always a handful of enlightened, courageous people who take the lead whenever a reform is
introduced. In India, for instance, human sacrifice was once accepted as a religious rite - but can anyone condone it in this day and age?
As the world grows smaller, and people become more aware, more reflective about ethical attitudes, the onus rests upon the more sensitive and more powerful and more far-sighted leaders, to initiate reforms which
will, in the long run, bring them credit and will benefit society. This is why I am appealing to
you, and why I solicit your help in doing everything in your power to curtail the undeniable cruelty in the
dog/cat meat trade in your city.
The Mayor of Calcutta showed so much readiness in accepting our
program for sterilizing and vaccinating stray dogs (instead of killing
them to control their population) that I am encouraged to hope that you
will take the trouble to read my message and consider our appeal.
The response to our efforts for providing pet therapy to distressed people or people
(including children) who are emotionally insecure, has confirmed the benefits of using dogs and cats for a far greater human need - that of giving and getting love. There is no country where people do not have the same
need. There is also no denying that it is detrimental for any people to continue with practices which educated people find abhorrent. It is a peculiar fact that amongst the
educated, cultured people, we find some who pay enormous sums of money for exotic
foods, skins, and whims! To those who are sensitive, however, both are equally abhorrent and
avoidable.
I am very hopeful that under your emancipated leadership, the attitude of the common people will soon undergo a sea change towards dogs and
cats. You are the best judge as to how to achieve the change as quickly and completely as possible. Of one thing I can assure you - and that is the wholehearted appreciation of thousands of people across the world. Not only when the change
happens, but whenever the history of the animals rights movement is
recalled!
I wish you all the best in your noble endeavour.
Yours sincerely,
Purnima L.Toolsidass,
Compassionate Crusaders Trust, People For Animals Calcutta.India
(16/04/2002) Canned Hunts
The closing decades of the twentieth century saw the rise of a new kind of "sport" in North
America: the "canned hunt." Although canned hunts advertise under a variety of names -- most frequently
"hunting preserves," "game ranches," or "shooting
preserves" -- they can be identified by the two traits they all have in
common: they charge their clients a fee to kill an animal; and they violate the generally accepted standards of the hunting
community, which are based on the concept of "fair chase."
In some cases animals may be shot in cages or within fenced enclosures; in others they may be shot over feeding stations; some of the animals are tame and have little fear of
humans, while others may be tied to a stake or drugged before they are
shot. But whatever method is used, the defining characteristic of a canned hunt is that the odds have been artificially manipulated against the animal so heavily that the notion of fair chase is
subverted. Canned hunts are commercial hunts that take place on private land under circumstances that virtually assure the hunter of
success.
As the establishment of canned hunts increases, they are attracting more public concern about their
ethical, ecological, and biological implications. The Fund for Animals has launched a national campaign to end this cruel,
unsporting, and egregious type of hunting. Please visit the links below for more information.
Don't Let the Bush Administration Gut Dolphin Protection! Help Prevent Weakening of the "Dolphin
Safe" Tuna Label!
Secretary of Commerce Donald Evans will be making a critical decision this year on whether or not to weaken the standards for the "Dolphin
Safe" tuna label. Tuna fishermen in the Eastern Tropical Pacific (ETP) target dolphins because tuna and dolphins form mixed
schools. Since the late 1950's, the tuna fishery has killed more than 7 million
dolphins. However, since 1990 and the advent of the "Dolphin Safe" tuna
program, dolphin deaths have decreased by 97% in the ETP.
The "Dolphin Safe" tuna label has saved the lives of thousands of
dolphins. The "Dolphin Safe" label now prohibits use of any tuna caught by chasing and netting of dolphins by fishermen
(e.g. non-encirclement of dolphins). However, politically connected tuna millionaires in Mexico,
Colombia, and Venezuela teamed up with free-trade advocates in the Bush Administration to undercut U.S. dolphin protection laws and open U.S. markets to dolphin-deadly tuna.The Secretary's finding on the "Dolphin
Safe" label is supposed to be based on science, but the politics of trade is winning out over the lives of
dolphins.
YOU CAN HELP SAVE DOLPHINS! PLEASE IMMEDIATELY:
Write a letter to Secretary of Commerce Donald Evans: Tell him not to weaken the standards for the "Dolphin
Safe" tuna label. Dolphins should not be chased and netted to catch
tuna; there are alternative fishing methods that do no harm to dolphins. Tell him you will not buy tuna caught by chasing and netting
dolphins. Tell him scientists have shown that chasing and netting dolphins causes significant adverse impacts on dolphin populations, including preventing their recovery from depletion and separating dependent calves from their mothers.Ask him to add your letter to the Official Decision Record.
Address:
The Hon. Donald Evans
Secretary of Commerce
US Department of Commerce
14th Street and Constitution Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20230
(No Deadline for Comments)
Send a copy to:
Regional Administrator, Southwest Region
National Marine Fisheries Service
501 Ocean Blvd., Suite 4200
Long Beach, CA 90802-4213
Fax: (562) 980-4027
(Deadline for Comments to Regional Administrator: 4/16/02)
For further information, contact Earth Island Institute, International Marine Mammal Project, 300 Broadway, Suite 28, San Francisco, CA 94133;
Voice: (415) 788-3666; Fax: (415) 788-7324;
marinemammal@earthisland.org
THANK YOU! for your efforts on behalf of dolphins
(18/04/2002) Demonstrations for Korean Dogs and Cats
London, England:
When: Monday, April 22 at 12:30 PM
Where: The Korean Embassy, 60 Buckingham Gate, London
IAKA UK Representative Email: Steve Wilkinson
stevdeb.wilko@virgin.net
Other Contacts: Anne Phair tel 0158 252 7187 Bernard Fox tel 0116 236 2670
Brussels, Belgium:
When: Thursday, April 25 at 12:30 PM
Where: The Korean Embassy
IAKA UK Representative Email: Daniel Desmet
hondenleed@hotmail.com
Hague, Netherlands:
When: Friday, April 26 at 12:30 PM
Where: The Korean Embassy
(19/04/2002) 26 March 2002: Day the whales' song was silenced for ever
Man and mammal came together in a life-and-death struggle on an Irish beach to save a stranded family of pilot whales. The whole community of the little seaside village of Castle Gregory poured down on to Fount Beach and struggled through the night to save 50 stricken whales who beached themselves on the sands. Emergency calls from the village brought JCBs and diggers from surrounding farms and businesses. And working on into the night with the aid of car headlights, weeping children and adults lashed ropes around the giant
beasts to drag them back to the water's edge.
No one could understand why the whales headed towards the shore but hundreds of people fought against time and the tide to get the massive mammals back to sea. And the whales themselves joined in the rescue bid as they shepherded their own into deeper water once they had been returned to the sea.
The drama started when the school of whales mysteriously headed for the beach. Children wept openly at the scene of devastation as 17 of the massive creatures - which can grow up to 16ft and weigh three tonnes - died on the beach in front of them. But nearly 30 other whales were saved after villagers and life-boatmen fought tirelessly through the night to help guide as many of the creatures as possible back to the safety of deeper waters.
Pilot whales are known to be extremely close to each other and are rarely seen on their own or in small numbers. They tend to travel in families ranging in size from five to 50, although they occasionally roam in larger pods. Their normal habitat is warm or tropical waters
and they live on a diet of small fish and squid. It is believed some of the close whale family were saved from certain death after they rushed to help a female who had just given birth.
Instead of heading inshore, the whales began to help the mother and baby before swimming back out to sea and shepherding others with them.
Life-boatman Gerard O'Donnell, who was involved in the massive operation to help save the animals, said: "We were guiding one of the whales into deeper water when she dropped a 2ft calf alongside the lifeboat. That birth seemed to be a signal to the others to save themselves
because they gathered round her and started swimming out to sea. I don't know how it can be explained, but it was a turning point and a wonderful thing to see."
The alarm was raised after the group of whales was spotted heading inshore towards Fount Beach. It is believed they may have been trying to escort a sick member of the herd who wanted to die when they became stranded. One villager said: "It was terrible. There were
all these whales dying on the beach. Hundreds of people piled in to try to get them back into the water. There were children crying, ropes were produced from thin air and even a few JCBs arrived. But even when the whales were guided to deeper waters some returned and threw themselves on to the beach. It was an unbelievable and traumatic sight. Amid the sounds of the sea and rescue you could hear the whales emitting their own dying cries."
Another mother whose children had helped in the rescue attempts said: "It was so sad to watch their death throes - they are such magnificent creatures. All the youngsters were there working through the night. They worked themselves to a standstill pulling and heaving on
the ropes.
"There was so much sadness but also joy at the whales we saved as we saw them heading back out into their natural habitat."
Mark Berman
Assistant Director
International Marine Mammal Project of Earth Island
300 Broadway #28
San Francisco CA 94133 USA
415-788-3666 X 146
Fax 415-788-7324
(20/04/2002) British Horse Lovers Rattle Polish Prime Minister
British people have had an unprecedented impact on Poland’s Prime
Minister. As a result, his special adviser has instructed the Polish Ministry of Agriculture to reconsider the barbaric trade in live horses for
meat. Polish horses are sent on journeys often lasting 90 hours and covering 2,500 kilometres before
slaughter. Italy is the destination for 90 per cent of the 50,000 animals involved
annually. Many receive no rest, water or feed and 70 per cent of consignments result in at least one death en route.
The animal welfare group Viva! spent two years planning Poland’s first ever consumer campaign against the horse trade before launching in November last year from permanent offices in
Warsaw. It has three full-time staff and numerous volunteers and has produced a 50-page report on the
trade, shocking videos and leaflets and has established 43 local groups across
Poland. Almost all this has been funded by British people, whose response to the cruelty of the horse trade
Viva! describes as ‘generous and unprecedented’.
The memo was written on April 4 by Lubomi Czupkiewicz, adviser to the Prime
Minister, and accompanied the latest batch of 250 complaints about the horse
trade. It was obtained by Viva!’s Warsaw office yesterday, April 16. It said that due to an enormous number of such protests and high-profile publicity from home and
abroad, it questioned the wisdom of continuing the trade. It said that its dubious profitability had to be balanced against the damage being done to Poland’s image. It concluded that national public opinion also had to be taken into
account.
Only last month, Viva! had a public attitudes survey conducted which showed that 73 per cent of Polish people were opposed to the live export of horses for
meat. It followed a mass consumer advertising campaign by Viva! showing a seriously abused horse on a Polish lorry with the words Not in My
Name. Viva!’s video footage achieved 20 airings on broadcast TV and countless radio broadcasts and newspaper articles. In just a few
months, nearly 40 per cent of Polish people had heard of Viva!’s campaign to save
horses.
Speaking from Viva!’s headquarters in Brighton, Associate Director Tony Wardle
said: "We thank the British people from the bottom of our hearts. They are revolted by this cruel trade and have reached into their pockets and campaigned hard to help end it. They provided Polish people with the opportunity they had never had before - the ability to say to their government - "Not in my
name!". It isn’t over yet but if we keep up the pressure we will
succeed".
For further information contact Kat Macmillan or Tony Wardle on 01273
777688, 07971 622606 or Viva!’s Poland manager Joanna Draus on 0048 22827
8862.
Viva!
Vegetarians International Voice for Animals
12 Queen Square, Brighton BN1 3FD, UK
Tel: 01273 777688 Fax: 01273 776755 http://www.viva.org.uk
(Notice) V-Label
This label is assigned for certified vegetarian / vegan products and offers enormous help in selecting food free of slaughter products. It has already been introduced in Switzerland, Germany, France and the Netherlands and the first V-products can now also be bought in Austria: the vegan product line of “Merkur”
Link.
Das V-Label wird für kontrollierte vegetarische / vegane Produkte vergeben und erleichtert den Einkauf von schlachtproduktefreien Nahrungsmitteln in ganz Europa. Nachdem es bereits in der Schweiz, in Deutschland, Frankreich und den Niederlanden Verwendung findet, gibt es seit Mitte März auch die ersten damit gekennzeichneten Produkte in Österreich: eine neue Linie veganer Produkte der Ladenkette Merkur Link.
Le sigle collectif européen "V" est une excellente façon d'introduire le végétarisme européen tel qu'il est pro-pagé par l'Union Végétarienne Européenne (EVU) et permettra aux associations végétariennes de se positionner elles-mêmes comme associations de consommateurs, et ainsi de resserrer les rangs et d'agir en tant qu'interlocuteurs vis-à-vis des fabricants, producteurs et sociétés de service
Link.
(21/04/2002) Wither Paradise!
Rampant deforestation on Indonesian habitats has led to virtual extinction
of the protected cendrawasih, a unique yellow and red tufted bird of
paradise. Adorned with amazing colored plumes, the males, not unlike
peacocks, perform elaborate dances to attract the females during the
breeding season. The bird’s natural habitat, large trees in the Raja Ampat
Islands east of Jakarta, have been an easy target and felled illegally.
These spectacular birds are a feast for the eyes and bird lovers fervently
hope that the cendrawasih will not go the same way as the dodo did!
(22/04/2002) European Cetacean Bycatch Campaign - APRIL 22nd-28th 2002
Thousands of porpoises, dolphins and whales are dying in European waters each
year. They are dying due to entanglement in gill nets, tangle nets, trammel nets, purse seine nets, drift nets
(which are not prohibited in the Baltic Sea), longlines, and in the nets of pelagic
trawlers, the most destructive of which are the pair trawlers.
It would seem that economic and political considerations take precedence over environmental and animal welfare
concerns.
PLEASE participate in our EUROPEAN ACTION WEEK APRIL 22nd – 28th 2002.
We ask that you write to:
- Your MP - explain your reasons for not eating fish
products, request that he/she supports your actions, and raises the issue of cetacean bycatch in your national
parliament.
- Your MEP - explain your reasons for not eating fish
products, request that he/she supports your actions, and raises the issue of cetacean bycatch in the European
Parliament.
- Your national Minister for Fisheries - explain your reasons for not eating fish
products, and request details of the measures that your national government is taking in order to comply with the Habitats Directive, in relation to cetacean
bycatch.
- Mr. Franz Fischler, EU Commissioner for Agriculture & Fisheries, 200, Rue de la Loi, B-1049,
Brussels.
franz.fischler@cec.eu.int - explain your reasons for not eating fish
products, and request details of the measures that the Commission is taking in order to comply with the Habitats Directive, in relation to cetacean
bycatch.
- Supermarkets - explain your reason for not eating fish
products, and request that they provide the consumer with a greater variety of products suitable for vegetarians and
vegans.
(23/04/2002) "Dolphin" ride to highlight the issue of cetacean bycatch
On April 22nd “dolphin” cyclist, Alan Cooper of Cetacea Defence, will
leave Lands End en route for John o'Groats.
April 22nd marks the start of European Action Week, which has been
organised by the European Cetacean Bycatch Campaign.
The aim of the
week is to draw attention to the escalating numbers of whales, dolphins
and porpoises (cetaceans), dying as a result of entanglement in various
types of fishing nets (incidental bycatch).
Along the 1000-mile cycle route, Alan will be available for media
interviews. As the founder of 'Vegetas' MS Activities Network, Alan aims
to promote the Vegan way of life, and to inform MS sufferers of the
various vegan therapies and treatments, which may prove helpful; to lobby
for better access to the countryside, and bring together vegetarian and
vegan MS sufferers who may wish to participate in outdoor pursuits, but
lack the confidence to do so.
As a Vegan, animal welfare activist and advocate for whales and
dolphins for 20 years; a backpacker, cyclist, and rock climber of nearly
30 years; an MS sufferer for a number of years, Alan is more than capable
of discussing the issues involved, and can give practical advice on
staying active with MS.
People love dolphins, and MS is a common illness with no known cure, so we
anticipate that there will be considerable public interest in these
issues. For photo opportunities, interviews and details of Alan’s
itinerary, please refer to the contact details below.
(24/04/2002) Exotic-animal lovers can make easy, risky buys in 'underworld'
Keep an eye on your neighbor. If he has a few extra bucks, a little spare time and a love of wild
animals, you could wind up living next door to a lion or tiger with the strength of eight men and paws as big as your head. Buying a tiger or other exotic animal in Harris County is easier and faster than buying a gun or getting a driver's
license.
www.chron.com/
(25/04/2002) An Australian Voice regarding the Culling of 7 million Kangaroos
The information on the slaughter of Kangaroos is very distressing. Kangaroos are
powerful, majestic animals with a commanding appearance. As an Australian
(although it's getting harder and harder to be able to admit that) I am horrified that other Australians are eating our
wildlife.
Funny that the culling of Koalas receives so much outrage from
Australians but not the killing of Kangaroos. And let's not forget that
when Koalas have been culled no suggestion is ever made to EAT them! Why
is it that people feel comfortable eating a Kangaroo but not a Koala,
could it be that Koalas remind them too much of cuddly children, and that
would mean we would have to recognise how wrong consuming an animal, who
breathes and loves the same as us, truly is? I think so.
Culling doesn't work, I can't believe these morons haven't gotten that
yet, the only way to reduce numbers, if that is necessary and I don't
believe it is since I live in the country and have yet to run into a
Kangaroo, is capture, spay/neuter and release programs. Exterminating
animals does not work, not with any animals and only someone with
sub-average intelligence would think that it would.
And I know that the brutal shootings of Kangaroos are true, every
word, it is a barbaric act which could only be perpetrated by someone with
absolutely no compassion or respect for life.
I support those who are doing all they can to stop this slaughter, they are the kangaroos only hope for
survival. ...and this comment... "By contrast, kangaroos and their ancestors have survived millions of years in the uniquely tough Australian
environment"...strange that we, a self-satisfying, violent society of people, should come after millions of years and threaten that which has survived nature
itself.
Romina, a western low land gorilla, would have positively uttered the above if she could
speak! Born blind with cataracts in both eyes she was successfully operated upon by surgeon Jenny Watts in the Bristol zoo. Reunited with her pals Bongo and Salome after the
operation, she has started interacting with males and there may be romance in the air!
Part of an international breeding program, Romina was born in Rome zoo and hand-
reared. She came to Bristol zoo in November ’01.One of an endangered
species, Romina is huge but her size and power would not have allowed her to exist in the wild. Gorillas are often shot for sport and their hands and feet cut off for trophies to hang in sick minded people’s drawing
rooms. Perhaps Romina, after seeing her benefactors, would have still felt that was yet some hope left in the world for her
ilk.
(27/04/2002) Norwegian researchers have been given the go-ahead to shoot up to 60 dolphins
They hope to find out more about the diet of the Atlantic white- sided and white-beaked
species.
Conservationists prevented a similar experiment last year and say they will try to stop it
again.
For protests:
Ministry of the Environment (MD)
Miljøverndepartementet,
Pb 8013 Dep, 0030 Oslo
Tlf: 22 24 90 90,
faks: 22 24 95 60
E-post:
postmottak@md.dep.no
(28/04/2002) Vegan Shoes!
When die hard vegans use vegan clothes why should shoes be left behind?
Well, “thy wish is our command”, say some enterprising vegans who have started a store in Manhattan New York, which caters to this
demand. Enviro-friendly shoes and other accessories are available here and come in the latest modes. A growing clientele and enhancing vegan appeal have led to new converts who insist on leaving their leather shoes
behind. Kudos to the vegan shoemakers and sellers! May their tribe
increase!
(29/04/2002) Wolf boy goes home to mum
The mother of Romania's "Mowgli Boy" took her son home for the first time last week, after he spent years living with wild animals in the forests of Transylvania. Lina Caldarar has already had one heart-stopping moment since being reunited with Traian, 7, when he ran in front of a car to chase a cat. The feral child - nicknamed Mowgli by hospital staff after the character in The Jungle Book - was found by a shepherd two months ago, barely alive, huddled in a cardboard box, naked and the size of a three-year-old. He had forgotten how to speak.
www.theage.com.au/14
(30/04/2002) Dying to Entertain You
Cetacean Freedom Network's Worldwide Memorial paying Homage to All the Cetaceans Killed by
Captivity
www.captivitystinks.org
At the initiative of the Cetacean freedom Network and thanks to the active
collaboration of C. W. Dortch, Director of Lolita's Legion (www.geocities.com/tokitae),
a Worldwide Virtual Memorial paying homage to all the Cetaceans - dolphins,
orcas, belugas, porpoises, river dolphins and others - who died in
captivity just for human fun and profit, is now on the Web.
This page is still (and will be for a long time) under construction,
not only because the exact number of Captive Cetaceans who died since the
creation of the first delphinarium in USA is ignored for lack of records,
but also because this list will not cease to become longer each day by new
cetacean deaths in delphinaria. Many new facilities are now opening in
Asia, Europe, and elsewhere for tourists.
Your help is indispensable : if ever you get any useful information about
captive dolphins or other captive marine mammals who died in your own
country, please forward it to the addresses below :
A l'initiative du Cetacean Freedom Network et grâce à la collaboration
de Carl Dortch, Directeur de l'association "Lolita's Legion"
www.geocities.com/tokitae
un grand Mémorial Virtuel en hommage à tous les cétacés morts en captivité
vient d'être érigé sur le Web.
Cette page est encore - et sera longtemps, hélas - en construction, car
non seulement le nombre exact de cétacés morts depuis la création des
premiers delphinariums aux USA ne sera jamais connue dans toute son
abominable ampleur, faute d'archives, mais surtout parce que cette liste
ne cesse de s'alourdir chaque jour de nouveaux décès. Des centaines de
nouveaux delphinariums s'ouvrent aujourd'hui en Asie et ailleurs pour
satisfaire les touristes. Jamais aucun autre "animal" de zoo ou
de cirque n'aura payé aussi cher la mode dont il fait l'objet !
Votre collaboration nous serait donc très précieuse : si par hasard,
vous disposiez d'informations sur les décès survenus au sein de tel ou tel
delphinarium ou parc marin de votre région, même incomplètes, merci de les
faire parvenir à l'adresse indiquée ci-dessous.
Dying to entertain you -
orcaman@telus.net
Mémorial International en Hommage à tous les Cétacés Morts Captifs
Y.Godefroid, Bruxelles
Website "Dauphins Libres et Dauphins Captifs" -
www.dauphinlibre.be
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