RAMPANT whales are devastating Japan's
fisheries and should be culled as pests, the official in charge of the
country's controversial whaling program said yesterday.
Joji Morishita said the protected
marine mammals were devouring at least as much as Japan's entire fishing
fleet could catch and they should be slaughtered, just as
plague-proportion kangaroo and deer populations were targeted in
Australia.
Mr Morishita said many Japanese even
wanted to "retaliate" against Australia and other countries that
opposed whaling...
[Link]
(02/03/2003) Marche Européenne des Droits des Animaux
PARIS - Marche Européenne des Droits
des Animaux
Samedi 24 Mai 2003. Rassemblement : à 14 h.00, Place de la Bastille à
Paris.
Organisée par l'UNION POUR LES
ANIMAUX, dans la perspective des Elections Européennes de 2004.
Soyons une seule et même voix pour
les "Sans Voix".
En 2002, nous étions plus d'un
millier. En 2003, venez encore plus nombreux pour revendiquer fièrement,
plus fort, la prise en compte des animaux en politique.
Nos amis italiens de la L.A.V., et
belges, d'Animaux en Péril et GAIA, ont rejoint l'Union pour les
Animaux.. Ils seront pésents à Paris . Par ailleurs, des cars seront
affrêtés de Chambéry, Lyon, Nantes, et Strasbourg, et un voyage de
groupe en train à partir de Marseille.
Pour vous inscrire, vous pouvez contacter Amélie au : O0 33 2 51 83 18 10
(03/03/2003) University chimp amazes scientists with own 'words'
By David Derbyshire, Science Correspondent
A chimpanzee has challenged the widely
held view that animals do not have language by making up its own words
from scratch. Kanzi, an adult bonobo or pygmy chimpanzee kept at Georgia
State University, Atlanta, has come up with four distinct sounds for the
things closest to his heart - banana, juice, grapes and yes...
[Link]
(04/03/2003) Greyhound Killing in Perthshire (UK)
Last April, after agreeing to accept and rehome greyhounds from Ireland,
Perthshire Abandoned Dog Society (PADS) had four healthy young dogs "put to
sleep" just three weeks after they arrived. These dogs had excellent temperaments, had been lovingly rescued and cared for in a home environment
and were sent to PADS because it was felt they would quickly find new homes.
The killing of these dogs by PADS caused widespread outrage within the
greyhound rescue community and a petition entitled "Justice for the Dead Irish Greyhounds" was started, protesting to PADS and demanding answers to
several pertinent questions.
The petition is due to be handed in to PADS at the beginning of April and
one of our Scottish supporters, Vicky Findlay, is trying urgently to collect
as many signatures as possible before that time.
Please let us know as soon as possible if you can help and we'll get a
petition form to you straight away.
(05/03/2003) USA - Eastern Shore Chicken Sanctuary
Please note the grand opening of the new and improved Eastern Shore Sanctuary website. The site has been both updated and expanded, with new content in every section. That means more hard-hitting information about factory farming, more chicken stories and sanctuary photographs, and more thought-provoking readings about the links between speciesism and social injustice.
Website sections include:
- About Us (FAQ, text archive, photo galleries, sanctuary stories)
- About Food (the truth about meat, dairy & eggs)
- About Chickens (the secret lives of roosters & hens)
- About Veganism (facts & useful resources)
- About You (what you can do for the birds & the world)
- Animal exploitation and...
...Hunger
...Environment
...Sexism
...Racism
...Economic inequality
...Violence
- Classic Animal Lib & Veg Literature
(06/03/2003) Kenya game authorities move rhinos to revive park
NAIROBI - Kenya's wildlife authorities this week started relocating nine
white rhinos to a game park in the heart of the east African country where
the rare beast was nearly wiped out in a poaching attack years ago, officials said.
The move is funded by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) and
the Agence Francaise de Development (AFD) and aims at restocking the Meru National Park, 230 km (140 miles) northeast of Nairobi in a bid to boost
tourist visits.
"Kenya Wildlife Service is committed to making Meru a safe and rewarding
tourist destination and wildlife habitat, and to providing the security necessary to protect these rhinos from the threat of
poachers, "Michael Wamithi, its director said...
[Link]
(07/03/2003) City University London - News Release
New "Atlas of Food" launched today maps out worrying trends
The world's food policies are not meeting health and environmental needs and
urgently need to change. So say the authors of a new "Atlas of Food", published today to coincide with, and reinforce the message of, the new
World Health Organisation report*. The WHO's report shows a mounting burden
of diet-related disease.
"The Atlas of Food gives a snapshot of some of the powerful forces that
politicians must grapple with if they are to deliver a food supply system that doesn't contribute to ill-health and environmental damage even while
feeding people" said Dr Erik Millstone, Reader in Science Policy at Sussex
University and co-editor of the Atlas.
The "Atlas of Food" gives a snapshot of 40 key global trends characterising
the world of food today. These include:
- Hunger and over-consumption existing side by side
- Huge advertising expenditure on less healthy foods & soft drinks
- Food for rich countries travelling long distances ('food miles')
- Trade flows concentrated in rich countries whose need is least
- Fish catch threatening the seas
- Pesticide sales rocketing despite consumer and ecological concerns
- Meat eating rising and using vast amounts of grain.
"Political attention is on the Iraq conflict, but don't let us forget that
there is a food war going on too. The challenge is clear. We have to ensure
good quality food production that meets both human and ecological health. The watchword is quality not just quantity. The WHO report has laid down a
challenge with governments, the food industry and we consumers must all rise
to", said Professor Tim Lang, Professor of Food Policy at City University and co-editor of the Atlas of Food.
* The Report on the WHO/FAO Joint Expert Consultation on Diet, Nutrition and
the Prevention of Chronic Diseases, embargoed till March 3, 2003 (can be obtained from European Vegetarian Union-Secretariat -
evu@ivu.org)
Notes for Editors
1. For pdfs of key chapters of the "Atlas of Food" book and interview bids,
contact Erfan Hussain, City University Press Office on 020 7040 8783/8493 or
email media@city.ac.uk
2. David Porter is Media Officer, WHO Global Strategy on Diet, Physical
Activity and Health, World Health Organization, tel 00-41-22-791-3774, Mobile: 00-41-79-775-8914
3.
3. "Atlas of Food" £11.99 * Paperback * 1 85383 965 5 * 128 pages *
245x175mm
Available from all good book shops or direct from the publisher at:
Earthscan, 120 Pentonville Road
London N1 9JN
Tel: 01903 828800
Fax: 020 7837 6348
E-mail: orders@lbsltd.co.uk
Or order on-line at
www.earthscan.co.uk
(08/03/2003) Open season on B.C.'s grey wolves
Larry Pynn, Vancouver Sun
Province to allow year-round wolf kill
to increase big game herds
The wildlife management plan for Muskwa-Kechika grey wolves blames their
numbers on years of laissez-faire management, singles out natives for shooting female big game, such as caribou and elk, and warns of the future
impact of resource development.
B.C. is increasing the annual bag limit on the grey wolf and proposes to
burn 120 square kilometres of bush in the northern Rockies. The B.C. Liberal
government plans to declare open season on grey wolves in the North, allowing them to be shot and trapped year-round while backing more than a
three-fold increase in the annual bag limit in a move that would generate more big-game animals for hunters...
[Link]
(09/03/2003) Mad Cow Disease Prompts Cull in Spain
by Sherry Morse
Spanish agricultural officials recently announced that at least 94 cows have
been killed since December in response to the discovery of bovine spongiform
encephalopathy (BSE), which also is known as mad cow disease, in some of the
animals.
All of the cows were kept on farms in the province of Lerida, which is
located in northeastern Spain.
BSE was first confirmed in cows in Spain in 2000 when testing showed that
two in the northwestern provinvce of Galicia had contracted the fatal illness.
Millions of cows in other European countries have been killed in response to
outbreaks of BSE that have occurred during recent years. However, Spanish Agriculture Minister Miguel Arias Canete said that "Spain is not facing an
epidemic."
The origin of BSE is unknown, but some scientists believe the disease is the
result of the feeding of cows with meat-and-bone meal made from sheep infected with a similar illness called scrapie.
[Link]
(10/03/2003) Greyhound Remembrance Day
Greyhound racing in the UK began on July 24th, 1926 at Belle Vue,
Manchester.
On the nearest Sunday to this date every year we will be staging an event
called Greyhound Remembrance Day, in memory of the hundreds of thousands of
dogs that have been abused and killed by the greyhound racing industry since
that day.
The event will involve the laying of flowers outside greyhound stadiums and
we are hoping that some of the people taking part will take their rescued greyhounds along, to provide a good photo opportunity to the local media and
help to spread awareness to the general public of the need to boycott greyhound racing (as well as encouraging the adoption of ex-racing
greyhounds).
We'd like to cover as many tracks as possible, so please let us know as soon
as possible if you'd like to organise, or be involved in, a Greyhound Remembrance Day event in your local area.
We'll provide comprehensive advice with regard to contacting the media and
will be producing special posters for use on the day.
Dear All Those Concerned for Korean Cats and Dogs, Join KAPS for a World Day of Demonstration on
Wednesday, March 12, 2003
Demonstrate or Send E-mails, Faxes, Phone Calls to the locations listed below so that our presence is not just felt outside but inside, as well!
The list of cities participating in the demonstrations has grown!!!
Manifestations will occur around the planet in the cities of:
London, New York, Rome, Den Haag, Barcelona, Madrid, Melbourne, Stockholm, Mexico City, Sydney, and
Denmark, as well as several smaller-scale representations in other locales worldwide.
Events are to begin at 12:00 noon, unless otherwise noted, at Korean Embassies, Consulates, and Cultural Centers of the able cities.
Check Below for contact information around the world and the location nearest you!
London Demonstrations are being coordinated by several persons.
For more information about London, please contact:
Location of London Demo:
Korean Embassy
66 Buckingham Gate
London SW1E 6AJ
United Kingdom
Tel: + 44 (0)20-7227-5500
Fax: +44 (0)20-7227-5503
E-mail:
koreanembinuk@mofat.go.kr
New York City Demonstrations are being coordinated by Greg Horak.
For more information about NYC, please contact:
Location of New York Demo:
Korean Cultural Center
460 Park Avenue (6th Floor)
New York City
NY 10022
Tel: + 646-674-6073 ext. 273
Fax: +212-421-3028
E-mail:
visa_ny@mofat.go.kr
Rome Demonstrations are being coordinated by Ilaria Ferri. Demo begins at 11:00am.
For more information about Rome, please contact:
Location of Madrid Demo:
Korean Embassy & Consulate /
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade
Gonzalez Amigo 15 (Arturo Soria 247)
28033 Madrid
Spain
Tel: + (822) 738-96-01
Tel: + (822) 738-96-05
Fax: + (822) 720-26-86
Telex: 24651 WOIMBU SEOUL
Melbourne Demonstrations are being coordinated by Laura Teresa. Demo begins at 10:00am.
For more information about Melbourne, please contact:
Location of Melbourne Demo:
Korea Trade Center
22 Albert Road
St. Kilda
Australia
Stockholm Demonstrations are being coordinated by Katarina Moström (Animal Rights Sweden) and Marita Carlsson (www.hundochkatt.com). Demo begins at 11:30am.
For more information about Stockholm, please contact
For additional information about future demonstrations or delivering information in the area you live in, please contact IAKA/KAPS at the locations listed below:
Special thanks to all those who have been leading this World Day of Demonstration. Their tireless volunteerism is not just a great benefit for the cats and dogs of Korea, but an inspiration to be encountered.
Thanks for the attention you all offer the miserable dogs and cats of Korea. Lets represent their agonized voice this upcoming Wednesday, March 12, 2003. They need our help!
Best to everyone,
Kyenan Kum
Founder
International Aid for Korean Animals (IAKA)
Korea Animal Protection Society (KAPS)
(12/03/2003) Whales Win Right-of-Way in Atlantic Shipping Lanes
When a ship and a northern right whale collide, the whale loses.
The heavily traveled commercial shipping lanes in Canada's Bay of
Fundy-between New Brunswick and Nova Scotia-run through right whale feeding
grounds. But now the whales, and the conservation movement, have scored a significant victory...
[Link]
(13/03/2003) For Immediate Release
3 Japanese States to Ban Pound Seizure on March 31, 2003
After one and a half years of campaigning by WAVA (World Association for
Voice of Animals), an Australia-based animal rights organization, 3 Japanese Governments - the
Hokkaido, Iwate and Yamagata Prefectures voted to end the supply of homeless dogs and cats from local
pounds to research institutions for animal experimentation by March 31, 2003.
The decision followed media exposure by WAVA of annual pound seizure by
these 3 states, and WAVA's continued demand that the transfer be stopped on the grounds that it
was completely unacceptable to use abandoned animals for these painful and cruel
experiments after, in many cases, suffering abuse, neglect and abandonment by their owners.
The Hokkaido, Iwate and Yamagata Governments initially said that they
were properly following "Guidelines on Acceptance of Dogs and Cats and Injured Animals into Pounds"
and that WAVA's protest would not affect next year's transfer.
Yet the media reported that the national trend was the continuing
abolishment of this decades-old practice.Government officials also feared being criticized as beneficiaries
of "pound seizure", the practice of selling pound animals that have not been claimed or who have been abandoned
by their owners to the research institutions.
Yamagata Government transferred 149 dogs in 2000 and 80 dogs in 2001
from pounds to Yamagata Medical School, and would have supplied a similar number of animals in 2003.
In 2000, Hokkaido Government transferred 656 dogs and 125 cats to medical schools, followed by
176 dogs and 90 cats in 2001. Iwate Government transferred 30 dogs and 43 cats in 2000, and 32
cats in 2001.
Prior to this unprecedented ban by 3 prefecture, WAVA had made official
submissions and petitioned to the governments. Graphic images of the conditions of laboratory animals and the
experiments they go through were also shown to the government officials.
After the U.S.A, Japan has the highest number of
animals killed annually in the name of scientific progress. Every two seconds an animal dies in Japanese laboratories after
suffering atrocious routine burning, poisoning, scalding, mutilation, starvation, gassing etc.
There are no legislative restrictions or regulations concerning
vivisection in Japan. Its Animal Ethics Committee consists solely of individuals involved in animal experimentation.
Even as the wider community slowly becomes aware of the pain suffered by animals that are
subject to experimentation, their interest in eliminating this pain has not been taken into account by
the Animal Ethics Committee.
WAVA has also previously convinced the Fukushima Government (which was
supplying animals to Fukushima Medical School), Tochigi Government and Hiroshima Government to
stop the supply of pound animals for scientific experimentation.
WAVA's President Stephanie A. Nakata said "The decisions will have a
huge impact on other Prefectural governments still continuing this outdated practice and we are
confident that more will soon follow the lead of these 3 governments. The banning Japan-wide would not
happen overnight, but we are confident that the practice will cease in the near future."
"This is not only an inhumane practice, it is also against the new
animal protection legislation which came into effect in 1999." Ms. Nakata said.
WAVA is now stepping up its campaign to end this archaic practice in
other parts of Japan such as Kagoshima, Okayama, Aomori and Gunma.
For further information visit:
www.wava.org.au,
or contact:
Stephanie A. Nakata, President
WAVA (World Association for Voice of Animals)
P.O.Box 71, Gordon NSW 2072 Australia
Phone: +61 (0)2 9144 5221 -
Mobile: 0403-200-538
Fax: +61 (0)2 9988 4832
E-mail: wava@wava.org.au
Website: www.wava.org.au
(14/03/2003) Dear Friends...
Viva! would just like to take a few minutes to update you on our recent and upcoming campaigns. Firstly, a heartfelt thank you to everyone who took part in our Adidas Day of Action on 8th Feb. Designed to highlight Adidas' role in the slaughter of millions of kangaroos each year, the day was a great success. Over 50 demos took place across the country and media coverage was excellent, with a double-page spread in the Daily Mail headlined "Butchered for Becks’ boots" appearing on the day itself. Adidas - who use more kangaroo skin than any other company - are on the defensive. They have shown that they do respond to our pressure. Thank you for keeping it up.
Viva!’s next Day of Action is on a subject much closer to home: factory farming. On March 29, we aim to generate publicity and outrage about the pig farrowing crate with our nationwide Unhappy Mother’s Day event. By exposing the truth about this brutal practice, we can bring the campaign directly to the consumers who have the greatest impact on animals’ lives.
The farrowing crate is one of the very worst of factory farming’s hidden horrors. Hundreds of thousands of pregnant sows are shut into these tiny cages a week before they give birth - and remain imprisoned until their piglets are three to four weeks old. The crate is just inches wider and longer than the sow’s own body: for up to thirty-five days, more than twice a year, she can do nothing but stand up, lie down, suckle her piglets and stare at a blank wall. Just last week I filmed sows in farrowing crates for our campaign video: to see these intelligent, inquisitive and characterful animals confined in these squalid, barren, often filthy conditions made me both angry and sad...
The farrowing crate is designed with one purpose only: to maximise the ‘production’ of pigs. All considerations of animal welfare are sacrificed to that goal. It is, therefore, not just an appalling practice in its own right, but a symbol of everything that is evil about factory farming. That is why this campaign is so important. Viva! is committed to the abolition of the farrowing crate not just for its own sake but as an integral part of the struggle to end factory farming and meat consumption itself.
Viva! has produced brand new leaflets, action packs, posters and we are in the process of producing a powerful new video for this campaign. To create photo opportunities we have created a giant "Unhappy Mother’s Day" card: two A2 posters which can be mounted on card or boards to make a "card" to be handed in to supermarkets or butchers. If you would like to get involved in some way in the day, Viva! has the materials you need. All of these materials are available to be ordered from our website (www.viva.org.uk): just follow the links from the home page.
Millions of piglets are born in the crate every year and hundreds of thousands of sows endure imprisonment in it every time they give birth. Every member of the public who buys bacon, pork or ham contributes to animal sufffering - and every single one is a potential vegetarian. Please take part in this vital Day of Action.
You can also help by making a donation to the campaign - please go to our home page
www.viva.org.uk and click on the Donate section to make an on-line,
secure, donation.
Many thanks
Alistair Currie, Campaigns Office, on behalf of all at Viva!
Viva!
Vegetarians International Voice for Animals
12 Queen Square, Brighton BN1 3FD, UK
Tel: 01273 777688 Fax: 01273 776755 http://www.viva.org.uk
(15/03/2003) Uproar in India as captured elephant dies in despair
JASHPUR, India - His skin rubbed raw from chafing against ropes tying his
front and back legs to tree-trunks, the newly caught wild elephant hangs his
head in what looks like abject despair.
A few days later he is dead. Reverentially, the local people dig a deep pit
for him, cover his body with a white sheet, fling in flowers and grimly start shovelling earth into the grave of an elephant who wildlife
campaigners say was tortured to death...
[Link]
(16/03/2003) US - MEATOUT: Nearly 30 Governors and Mayors Issue Meatout Proclamations
BATON ROUGE - Louisiana's avid outdoorsman, duckhunter and fisherman Gov.
Mike Foster has signed a proclamation declaring March 20 as "Great American
Meatout Day" and encouraging residents to forego meat in their diets on that
day. Foster's proclamation would appear on its face to contradict his personal beliefs and the official motto of Louisiana as the "Sportsmen's
Paradise."
Part of the proclamation signed Wednesday says, "A wholesome, plant-based
diet of whole grain, vegetables and fresh fruits, reduces the risk of heart
disease, stroke, cancer (etc.); . and such a diet helps prevent the suffering and death of more than nine billion sentient animals... in the
United States."
[Link]
(17/03/2003) We Must Act to Save the Leatherback Sea Turtle
The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society has a special affection for the Leatherback. During the summer of 2001, Sea Shepherd crewmembers camped out on the remote North shore beaches of Tobago to guard the turtles from poachers. During this campaign not a single turtle was killed.
The crew observed the turtles crawling ashore, laying their eggs, and returning to the sea.
The Leatherbacks are the longest-living marine species to ever ply the world's oceans. But the leatherback sea turtle, the largest turtle in the world, is on the brink of extinction, and scientists question whether the animal will survive into the next decade.
"Over the last 22 years their numbers have declined in excess of 95 percent," said Larry Crowder, a marine scientist at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. Crowder detailed the plight of the turtle during last week's annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Denver, Colorado.
Leatherback turtles roam tropical and sub-tropical waters of the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans. They are found as far north as the British Isles to as far south as Australia. The turtles grow as large as nine feet (2.7 meters) long, six feet (1.8 meters) wide and weigh over 1,000 pounds (454 kilograms). Leatherback turtles are covered in a namesake rubbery shell and can dive 4,922 feet (1,500 meters) deep in search of soft-bodied prey like jellyfish.
Leatherback sea turtles have lived for 150 million years. If the species is allowed to vanish, scientists believe it will foreshadow the extinction of a host of other marine species. Scientists estimate there are less than 5,000 nesting female leatherbacks in the Pacific Ocean today, down from 91,000 in 1980.
Crowder has joined more than 400 international scientists—including marine biologist and National Geographic Society Explorer-in-Residence Sylvia Earle—in calling on the United Nations to issue a moratorium on destructive fishing practices in order to save the turtle.
"Recent studies warn that unless immediate and significant steps are taken, the world's largest and most wide-ranging sea turtle will soon become extinct," signatory scientists said in a statement issued last week in advance of a meeting by UN's Food and Agriculture Organization's Committee on Fisheries which begins today in Rome, Italy.
Hooked, Tangled, Harvested
Leatherback sea turtle populations have been decimated by a fishing technique known as longlining, in which fishing vessels lay out 40- to 60-mile-long (64- to 97-kilometer) lines of vertically hanging baited hooks.
Sea Shepherd regularly confiscates these illegal long-lines. The Sea Shepherd ship Farley Mowat departed New Zealand on March 12th on a mission to locate and confiscate illegal longlines.
Leatherback sea turtles get caught up and tangled in these hooks, causing them to drown. Scientists are uncertain as to what attracts the leatherbacks to the hooks, which are used primarily to catch swordfish and tuna.
According to a recent study conducted by the Pew Charitable Trusts (a non-profit philanthropic organization based in Washington, D.C. and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), longline fishing fleets set on the order of 1.5 billion baited hooks in the world's oceans each year. "That's 4.5 million hooks per night," said Crowder. A number, he adds, which is too high to sustain.
To help remedy this problem, U.S. longline fisheries already have been restricted or closed in areas where leatherback sea turtles are known to swim. But scientists believe that this will not be enough to save the leatherbacks from extinction.
More than 90 percent of longline fishing conducted in international waters originates from international fleets, primarily from Japan, Taiwan, Korea, and China. Saving the leatherbacks will require the cooperation of these countries, said Steiner.
Compounding the population toll caused by longline fishing, leatherback sea turtle eggs are considered a delicacy in many parts of the world. Eggs are actively harvested in parts of Latin America and Asia.
Most nations, however, have taken steps to protect leatherback sea turtle nesting beaches over the past few decades. Costa Rica has turned a major nesting beach into a national park, and the turtles have had legal protection in Mexico for over a decade. "One of the key things to understand is harvesting an adult has a much bigger effect on population than an egg," said Crowder. Many of the eggs may not make it to reproductive age, whereas an adult can actively reproduce.
Preventing Extinction
To save leatherback turtles from extinction, scientists say the most important step is to place an immediate ban on longline and gillnet fishing until alternate, turtle-safe methods can be developed.
This is not an easy task. Turtle excluder devices developed for trawl net fishing fleets allowed the Kemp's Ridley sea turtle to recover from the brink of extinction in the 1980s. But no such technology presently exists for longline fishing.
The world's appetite for swordfish has a significant impact on leatherback turtle populations. According the Pew Charitable Trusts study, longlines set out to catch swordfish are ten times more likely to entangle a leatherback than a longline set for tuna.
The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is calling on super-markets, restaurants, and seafood outlets to ban swordfish and shark from sale to the public. “To save the Leatherback, we must stop consuming the long line catches and the public must not purchase swordfish or shark”, according to Captain Paul Watson, the President of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.
Additionally, scientists are asking that all beaches where leatherback sea turtles are known to nest and lay eggs be protected and all egg harvesting be banned.
According to Captain Watson, “if we do not take action now to save the Leatherback, this magnificent species will be extinct within a decade.”
Information obtained from National Geographic, Environmental News Service and the Sea Shepherd Conservation
(18/03/2003) India: High court order comes to rescue of circus animals
MUMBAI: Animal rights activists got a shot in the arm with the Bombay high
court directing that 19 animals of the Empire Circus which are legally banned from being exhibited in any performance be shifted from their cramped
confines to a rescue centre at Nahargad in Jaipur.
The rescued animals, ten tigers and nine lions were sent to the rescue home
on Monday night. A bear, also owned by the circus, however, ccould not be sent as the centre has no facility to house it...
[Link]
(19/03/2003) Fur Free Activist Update
In the last update, I reported on the status of the cat and dog fur
trade in Europe. This update, I am happy to report that the island of Guernsey, a small island in the Channel Islands, between Britain and
France, has spoken out strongly against the use of real cat and dog fur for "trinkets." Local residents took action against the ornaments, such
as fur cats in baskets. Activists gave information on the cruel slaughter of cats and dogs in Asian countries for their fur to the media
and shops. In addition, an advertisement was taken out in the island's newspaper. Concerned island citizens visited all the shops selling the
toys.
As a result of their efforts, each of the shops took the ornaments off
their shelves. One shop handed over 2 bag fulls of the fur toys to be photographed in a big pile for a story in Guernsey's newspaper.
Concerned citizen activists are now encouraging Jersey, the other island
in the Channel Islands, to follow suit.
Action of the Week
Do you ever feel tongue-tied when it comes to vocalizing your concerns
about the cruelty in the fur industry? HSUS has made activism easier with "I'm not a coat" anti-fur business sized cards that you can
distribute to the (fur-clad) members of the public or hand out at demonstrations and other events. The cards put a spotlight on the sheer
number of animals killed for each coat, while reminding people of a fur coat's original owner. To order a supply of FREE cards to promote
compassion in the fashion industry, send your mailing address to
furfree@hsus.org or us at 301-258-3109.
You can also request from us Fur Free stickers to stick on your
envelopes. This is an extremely effective way to spread the anti-fur message, as each envelope passes through many hands before it gets to
its final destination. Again, email me at
furfree@hsus.org
to request stickers.
Feel free to contact me with any questions or comments!
Andrea Cimino
Campaign Manager, Wildlife and Habitat Section
The Humane Society of the United States
2100 L St. NW
Washington, DC 20037 www.furfree.org acimino@hsus.org
(20/03/2003) Animal rights campaigners dismiss pro-vivisection opinion poll
A MORI opinion poll commissioned by new pro-vivisection medical research
group the Coalition for Medical Progress (to be published at 12pm today), claims to see an increase in public sympathy for animal experiments. But
leading anti-vivisection campaigners the British Union for the Abolition of
Vivisection (BUAV) has today dismissed the poll and argues that public opposition to animal experiments is stronger than ever.
Wendy Higgins, BUAV Campaigns Director, says: "This CMR conveniently blames an alleged downturn in support on animal
rights activists but that simply doesn't reflect our experience on the ground. We certainly haven't witnessed any decrease in public disgust at
laboratory animal suffering."
The BUAV has also questioned the credibility of the poll itself.
Wendy Higgins says, "The poll's questions contain highly leading provisos.
For example, there appears to be higher support for animal experiments if no
unnecessary suffering was involved, and yet this premise is a nonsense as the severe level of suffering lab animals endure is all but hidden from
public view and under the legislation lab animals can be subjected to a catalogue of horrendous cruelties."
The BUAV believes it is disingenuous to suggest that an increase in animal
rights activism has resulted in a decrease in public interest in or sympathy
with the anti-vivisection cause. Indeed previous opinion polls have reflected continued support for opposition to vivisection even at the height
of animal rights protest against Huntingdon Life Sciences (HLS). An ICM poll
published on January 23 2001 showed less than half of respondents were positively in favour of animal experiments even to test new medicines. That
opinion poll was taken in the aftermath of the publicity surrounding HLS when people opposed to vivisection were presented in a particularly
unfavourable light by the media.
"This is just so much spin by a coalition of animal researchers," says Wendy
Higgins "the suggestion that public support for animal campaigners has waned
just isn't substantiated by our everyday experience. If the public is presented with a false scenario where they believe it is possible to
experiment on animals without causing suffering, then of course you could expect a higher figure. But when they see the horrific evidence of animal
suffering for themselves rather than the sanitised version delivered by the
animal researchers, they are revolted by it."
ENDS
Notes to Editor
1. Contact the BUAV on 020 7700 4888
2. The MORI opinion poll is to be published at 12pm today (19th March
2003).
(21/03/2003) Bush defeat seen in Senate on Alaska drilling
WASHINGTON - The Bush administration was poised for a major defeat in its
proposed national energy policy as congressional Democrats said they have enough Senate votes to block drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
(ANWR).
Tapping the refuge's potential 16 billion barrels of crude is a central part
of the administration's energy plan to help reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil imports. Environmentalists and many Democrats contend the
pristine wilderness should be left untouched in favor of stricter oil conservation measures.
Democrats said they had 52 votes in the 100-member Senate to strip language
from a pending 2004 budget bill that tried a new legislative approach to opening the refuge to drilling.
"That's where we feel the number is," a Democratic source said, speaking on
condition of anonymity. "All systems are go" to block the drilling measure,
the source said...
[Link]
(22/03/2003) UIST HEDGEHOG RESCUE - TIME FOR ACTION
A consortium of organisations and
experts working together as Uist Hedgehog Rescue (UHR) has finalised
arrangements and is now ready to launch the rescue mission to save as many
hedgehogs as possible on the islands of Uist and Benbecula.
UHR plans to begin catching hedgehogs
from the end of March. All hedgehogs will be checked by an experienced
wildlife veterinary surgeon before being transported to the mainland,
where they will be released into carefully selected sites. The welfare of
the translocated and resident hedgehogs will be paramount.
UHR is to hold a Public Meeting on the
islands to explain and discuss its plans, ways to involve local residents
including through the use of a 'reward scheme' and answer any questions.
As well as representatives from UHR, wildlife and veterinary experts will
also be present (see Notes to Editors).
The rescue mission has been made
necessary because of Scottish Natural Heritage's (SNH) refusal to accept a
detailed and feasible rescue plan and scientific study, proposed by UHR.
Instead of accepting UHR's non-lethal solution to the conflict between
hedgehogs and birds, SNH is instead, using taxpayers money, intent on
unnecessarily killing thousands of healthy hedgehogs. SNH plans to start
the slaughter on 7th April 2003.
At this late stage, UHR again makes
the offer to the Uist Wader Project (consisting of Scottish Natural
Heritage, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and the
Scottish Executive) that UHR, with its considerable experience in the
relocation of wildlife, is willing and able to take any hedgehogs that SNH
catch to be killed. UHR appeals to the Uist Wader Project to cooperate
with it to help save these healthy animals and to halt their unnecessary
slaughter policy.
- ENDS -
Notes to Editors:
For further information please contact
Advocates for Animals' office on 0131 225 6039. Out of Hours call Ross
Minett (07946 517 585) or Les Ward (07971 590337).
Uist Hedgehog Rescue (UHR) consists
of: Advocates for Animals, the British Hedgehog Preservation Society,
Hessilhead Animal Rescue Centre, International Animal Rescue, the Mammals
Society and St Tiggywinkles Wildlife Hospital.
The Public Meeting will be held at
Liniclate School Theatre, Liniclate between 7 and 9PM on Wednesday 26
March 2003.
Yours sincerely
ROSS MINETT
Campaigns Director
Advocates for Animals
10 Queensferry Street, Edinburgh, Scotland, EH2 4PG
Tel: +44 (0)131 225 6039 Fax: +44 (0)131 220 6377 www.advocatesforanimals.org.uk
(23/03/2003) Animal activists protest Los Angeles
elephant's move
LOS ANGELES - They say elephants never forget.
Are Los Angeles zoo officials about to break the hearts of two middle-aged
elephants by exiling one of them from her closest friend to a zoo in a far
away state filled with strangers?
Los Angeles Zoo officials say the move will give Ruby, a 42-year-old African
elephant, a chance to form deeper relationships with members of her own species, and a role as an "auntie" in the Knoxville Zoo's elephant breeding
program.
But animal rights activists contend the zoo plans to cruelly rip Ruby from
the only friendship she has known in the last 16 years - Gita, a 45-year-old
Asian elephant.
Ruby and Gita have been pals since Ruby arrived at the zoo in 1987 following
a stint as a circus elephant...
[Link]
(24/03/2003) Canadian Medical School to End Use of Live Animals
by Sherry Morse
The University of British Columbia School of Medicine (UBCSM) has
announced that it will discontinue using live animals in classes in September.
According to UBCSM Dean of Medicine Dr. John Cairns, the School will
instead employ "robotics, computer models and animal tissue taken from slaughterhouses."
"The question we've always asked is, what is the best way to ensure the students get the information they need?" Dr. Cairns told a Canadian Press reporter. "At the same time we're considering social issues."
The policy change was prompted in part by objections raised by students.
"We'd rather not have the students concerned about any aspect of the program," said Dr. Cairns.
"It's an excellent and appropriate decision, not only for the animals, but for the students," Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine President Dr. Neal Barnard stated. "The quality of education (will) only improve."
Only two other medical schools in Canada - the University of Western
Ontario and Memorial University of Newfoundland - also still use live animals as teaching aids.
Only 34 of the 126 medical schools in the United States still use live animals in classes.
[Link]
(25/03/2003) US wants tougher trade rules for fish subsidies
GENEVA - The United States called last
week for tougher global controls on subsidies to the fishing industry
which it said were doing heavy environmental and economic damage. The plan
was put to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) which is considering whether
to seek to negotiate new rules for fishing as part a wider round of free
trade talks.
The United States, which won support
from Norway and Chile and other states with significant fishing
industries, urged an end to all subsidies that directly led to overfishing
or excessive capacity or distorted trade...
[Link]
(26/03/2003) SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT COMMITTEE BACKS RESCUE OF UIST HEDGEHOGS
The Scottish Parliament's Public Petitions Committee has today backed plans
to rescue the hedgehogs on the Uists and relocate them to waiting homes on
the mainland. After discussing a petition submitted by the British Hedgehog
Preservation Society (BHPS), the Committee called on Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) to abandon its plans to killing the Uist hedgehogs.
The BHPS is part of a consortium of organisations called Uist Hedgehog
Rescue (UHR) which is planning to rescue these healthy hedgehogs before they
are killed by conservation quango SNH.
In this second hearing of the petition, the Committee stated that "SNH seem
to be imposing unreasonable restrictions" on UHR's rescue plans and that "there was no need to kill the hedgehogs, as relocating them off the island
still solves the problem they may be causing to the birds". The Commitee recommended that SNH have further communications with UHR with a view to
assisting with relocation. SNH will also be asked to hand over any hedgehogs
they catch this year to UHR for relocation.
The Committee felt that the vast practical experience and scientific
knowledge of UHR show its intentions to be both realistic and practical. Members of the Committee stated that the petition will be kept open so that
they may be kept up to date with the situation.
A spokesperson for UHR said "All groups involved in UHR are obviously
delighted that the Scottish Parliament's Public Petitions Committee has endorsed strong public opinion by stating its support for relocating
hedgehogs from the Uists. SNH's plan to use taxpayers' money to kill these
healthy wild animals is deplorable when there is a perfectly acceptable and
practical alternative. We were very disappointed when SNH chose to reject
our carefully constructed plans, and refused to work with us. However, now
that the Scottish Parliament is urging them to think again, we would of cour
se welcome their co-operation."
- ENDS -
Notes to Editors
For further information please contact Advocates for Animals' office on 0131
225 6039. Out of Hours call Ross Minett (07946 517 585) or Les Ward (07971
590337).
Uist Hedgehog Rescue (UHR) consists of: Advocates for Animals, the British
Hedgehog Preservation Society, Hessilhead Animal Rescue Centre, International Animal Rescue, the Mammals Society and St Tiggywinkles
Wildlife Hospital.
Yours sincerely
ROSS MINETT
Campaigns Director
Advocates for Animals
10 Queensferry Street, Edinburgh, Scotland, EH2 4PG
Tel: +44 (0)131 225 6039 Fax: +44 (0)131 220 6377 www.advocatesforanimals.org.uk
(27/03/2003) Wisconsin finds chronic wasting disease in elk
MADISON, Wis. - Wisconsin has confirmed its first case of chronic wasting
disease in an elk, state agriculture officials said.
The illness, which is related to mad cow disease, was discovered in
Wisconsin's wild deer herd in February 2002 and has since been found in 80
deer, all from a southwestern area of the state. Chronic wasting disease (CWD) has also been found previously in six farmed Wisconsin deer ...
[Link]
(28/03/2003) Greyhound Action International Alert
Ban the export of greyhounds to Asia Campaign 2003
Due to the increase in the export of greyhounds to Asia, we are launching
campaigns against any individuals, companies and breeders that are partaking
the export of greyhounds to Asia.
We are asking people to support our campaign by giving out leaflets and
collecting signatures on our petition. You can get copies of both either by
contacting us,
by downloading them from
www.greyhoundaction.co.uk
(click on international section), or go direct to
http://ga.redblackandgreen.net
Take Action!
1. Below is a list of the main exporters of greyhounds to Asia. Please
consistently write, fax and email.
2. Telephone them with your protest.
3. If you are based in Australia please contact Claudette Vaughan
claudelou@hotmail.com Tel: (61) 04 2217 8741 for leaflets and organise
demonstrations outside the companies & breeders premises. Let them know that
they are partaking in animal abuse by exporting these dogs to a painful death in Asia.
5. Please visit Greyhound Action International website
www.greyhoundaction.co.uk which exposes the cruelty & suffering that
greyhounds are enduring in Asia and other parts of the world. You can help
by visiting the sections for each individual country and writing a protest
letter to the addresses provided.
6. Contact the following Australian racing authorities and insist that they
ban the export of greyhounds to Asia. Shanghai & Korea are the most recent
places to introduce greyhound racing.
8. Contact the following breeder and the main exporter of greyhounds to
Asia:- Sam Cauchi has sent vast numbers of greyhounds to their deaths by exporting
them for breeding/racing to Macau and Korea.
Contact details:
Sam Cauchi
ROCKY RIDGE FARM
RMB 1200 Jones Road, Calga, NSW 2250, Australia sam@rockyridgefarm.com.au
HomeTel: +61 2 43 75 1145 Fax: +61 2 43 75 1129
Mobile: + 61 418 42 8786 or +61 412 42 8787
9. The following companies are also responsible for exporting greyhounds to
Asia.
JET PETS ANIMAL TRANSPORT
HEAD OFFICE
20 Garden Drive Tullamarine, Victoria. Australia.
Tel : +61 3 9330 1541 Fax: +61 3 9335 1206 info@jetpets.com.au
General Manager Sandy Matheson sandy@jetpets.com.au
Custom Service Manager Joanna Larkin joanna@jetpets.com.au
(29/03/2003) Elephants in India Being Fitted with Light Reflectors
by Amanda Katz
Approximately 30 domesticated
elephants in Delhi, India are being fitted with light reflectors at night
in order to prevent collisions with motor vehicles from taking place.
The reflectors, which hang from the
elephants? backs, are being provided for free by the Wildlife Trust of
India (WTI) and Blackpool Zoo in England in response to reports of a
number of recent collisions.
"Elephants are easily hit during
late hours and the accidents can be equally damaging for humans, as the
animals' swipes can be fatal," said WTI spokesperson Ashok Kumar.
Capturing elephants and using them for
commercial purposes is legal in India. About 6,000 of the approximately
33,000 elephants in the country have been domesticated for use in wedding
processions, temple rituals, providing entertainment and/or advertising.
Wildlife experts estimate that about
10 elephants are injured by collisions with motor vehicles in India each
year.
If the reflectors prove to be
effective, the Blackpool Zoo and WTI will distribute more of them.
(31/03/2003) EU seeks to control killing of sharks
BELGIUM: March 31, 2003
BRUSSELS - The European Union took a first step last week to control the
slaughter of sharks for their fins, which are sold to lucrative markets in
Asia where shark fin soup is a delicacy.
European Parliament members approved a proposal to set out how EU vessels
may catch and land sharks. This was to ensure fishermen do not hack off fins
illegally and dump the bodies in the sea, sometimes still alive, in a process known as "finning". ..
[Link]
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