Pigeons not animals

October 1, 1994 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, October 1994:

HEGINS, Pennsylvania––The Fund for

Animals is urging activists to send copies of the

dictionary definition of “animal” to Pennsylvania

State Police Commissioner Glenn Walp, for refus-

ing to charge participants and staff at the Hegins

pigeon shoot with animal abuse. Walp said his

legal advisors are uncertain if pigeons are “ani-

mals” and therefore protected by state law.

The Hegins shoot, held each Labor Day

since 1934, went on as scheduled this year after the

Pennsylvania Supreme Court on September 2

rejected an appeal of a lower court’s refusal to issue

an injunction to stop it. The shoot organizers

refused an offer of $70,000 to call it off, delivered

by Rutgers Animal Rights Law Clinic director Gary

Francione on behalf of an anonymous donor. The

shoot raises about $20,000 a year for the Hegins

recreation department, but costs almost as much to

run––and far more when the cost of the state troop-

ers who provide security is factored in. The offer

was controversial in animal protection circles

because the shoot organizers might have demanded

similar amounts to call off future shoots.

Hunting

October 1, 1994 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, October 1994:

Hunter harassment

WASHINGTON D.C.––A federal hunter

harassment statute became law with the August 26

passage of the Crime Bill of 1994. Added to the

Senate version of the Crime Bill by Senator Conrad

Burns (R-Montana), it cleared the Senate without

debate and was kept in the final version by a

House/Senate conference committee as a concession

to the National Rifle Association, which was irate

over the ban of 19 assault rifles named in the bill.

The statute may be considered the first fed-

eral lawmaking achievement of Humane Society of

the U.S. vice president for governmental relations

Wayne Pacelle––who can claim indirect credit for

getting more state legislation passed than any other

animal defender. Pacelle assumed his current post

after staging dozens of high-profile hunter harass-

ment actions from late 1988 into early 1994 in his

former position with the Fund for Animals. Only

four states had hunter harassment laws in 1986,

when Pacelle rose to prominence as a Yale under-

graduate with a successful constitutional challenge of

the Connecticut statute, which was thrown out in

1988 but was amended and restored by the state leg-

islature. There are now hunter harassment laws in 48

of the 50 states––and the NRA, recruiting around the

issue, now boasts a record high membership.

Birds

October 1, 1994 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, October 1994:

A study of more than 1,200

cormorant regurgitations conducted

by the National Biological Survey and

the New York Department of

Environmental Conservation has con-

cluded that lake trout and salmon make

up only 0.5% of the birds’ diet.

Further, cormorants eat only 5% of the

volume of smaller fish that the trout

and salmon eat. Thus the estimated

12,000 cormorants now living along

the eastern shore of Lake Ontario are

no threat to the sport fishing industry,

contrary to the claims of hunting and

fishing groups, which have been call-

ing for cormorant control––often in the

form of an open season on cormorants,

generally considered inedible.

ANIMAL HEALTH

October 1, 1994 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, October 1994:

The European Union has granted Zimbabwe $3.4 million to fight hoof-and-

mouth disease––on condition that farmers be charged for veterinary care now given free.

Anthrax, the worst drought on record, and bovine tuberculosis transmitted by

dairy cattle have together cut the Cape Buffalo population of Kruger National Park in South

Africa from 30,000 to 14,000 in just two years.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is probing a cluster of genetic defects in rap-

tors, blackbirds, and robins from the Rogue Valley region of Oregon, reported by Dave

Siddon of the Wildlife Images rehabilitation center. Similar defects found in birds around the

Great Lakes have been traced to organochlorines, a chemical family which includes dioxin,

PCBs, and the pesticide DDT, which devastated raptors until a U.S. ban took effect in 1973.

AGRICULTURE: California downer bill may ratify neglect of hurt cattle

October 1, 1994 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, October 1994:

SACRAMENTO, California––California governor Pete Wilson on September 16

signed SB 692, the California Downed Animal Protection Act, passed by the legislature on

August 26. Endorsed by Farm Sanctuary, the Doris Day Animal League, and the Association

of Veterinarians for Animal Rights, SB 692 was fought by the Humane Farming Association

and Friends of Animals, who charge that amendments made to win the support of the Farm

Bureau Federation mean the new law only ratifies the present treatment of injured and ill cattle.

Of most concern to HFA and FoA is clause 599f.(b), which originally mandated that,

“No slaughterhouse, stockyard, auction, market agency, dealer or hauler shall hold a nonam-

bulatory animal without immediately humanely euthanizing the animal.” As amended, 599f.(b)

deletes haulers from the list, enabling cattle truckers to continue to accept downers for trans-

port. Further, instead of requiring that downers be immediately euthanized, which precludes

slaughtering them for human consumption, the bill now requires only that “immediate action”

must be taken “to humanely euthanize the animal or remove the animal from the premises.”

Wildlife briefs

October 1, 1994 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, October 1994:

Three related California bills to
decriminalize accidental killings of protect-

ed species, improve scientific review of

species proposed for protection, and allow

some killing of endangered species in eco-

nomic activities providing compensation was

made died September 2 when a coalition of

business interests and environmentalists split

over the definition of the word “conserve.”

The business groups objected that the word

might commit them to species recovery work,

not just to paying for habitat or individuals

lost. The bills were touted as potential mod-

els for reforming the federal Endangered

Species Act, reauthorization of which is more

than two years overdue.

Wildlife research

October 1, 1994 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, October 1994:

A 10-year study by Beijing

University researcher Pan Wenski has dis-

covered that giant pandas in the wild are not

the solitary foragers they have long been

believed to be, but rather form social com-

munities of up to 28 animals. Both males

and females tend to have multiple sexual

liaisons, Pan Wenski reported, adding that

the wild panda population is slowly increas-

ing now after decades of decline.

Genetic research by University

of California at Davis biologist Phillip

Morin suggests that one western African

chimpanzee subspecies––the only tool-using

chimp in the wild––appears to have been

genetically isolated for 1.5 million years,

and therefore might qualify as an altogether

different but related species. Captive

chimps from this group have readily

hybridized with others.

Bears head CITES agenda

October 1, 1994 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, October 1994:

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.––

China is expected to push to relax global

restrictions on traffic in bear parts at the

November 17-18 meeting of the Convention

on International Trade in Endangered Species,

to be held in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

The World Society for the Protection

of Animals prepared by hosting an internation-

al symposium on the medicinal uses of bear

matter in Seattle on September 10-11. Said

WSPA North American campaigns director

Wim de Kok, “The huge number of bears

being farmed in China,” estimated at more

than 10,000, “is like an alarm signaling the

threat to wild bears around the world,” since

poached bear parts can easily be relabeled to

indicate farm origin. “The continued captivity

of bears on farms only serves to fuel demand

for these products, and forces thousands of

bears to endure miserable lives,” de Kok

added. Many of the bears are connected to

tubes through which bile––believed by many

Asians to have medicinal properties––is

extracted from their stomachs. Other facilities

combine bear parts production with tourism.

Performing animals

October 1, 1994 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, October 1994:

California governor Pete Wilson on August 29 signed a bill banning the inten-

tional tripping of horses in entertainment, a standard feature of charreada rodeo.

“Tripping and roping a horse is no different than what is done to steers and calves in Anglo

rodeos,” objected Los Angeles assemblyman Richard Polanco. “I agree,” responded Eric

Mills of Action for Animals. “Perhaps he would carry a bill to outlaw calf roping next year?”

Iams Co., the second-biggest sponsor of the 1,100-mile Iditarod dog sled race,

announced on September 13 that it will discontinue involvement after the 1995 race because

the organizers have not addressed their concerns about dog safety during the event.

Thailand on August 29 formed a working group to fight cruelty to animals at

tourist attractions. Included are representatives of the Royal Forestry Department, the

Tourist Police, the Tourism Authority, and conservation groups.

« 1 2 3 4 »