Woofs and growls:
From ANIMAL PEOPLE, October 1992:
The U.S. Court of Appeals for
the 11th Circuit on August 18 upheld a lower
court decision that Soldier of Fortune maga-
zine must pay $4.3 million in damages to the
sons of Richard Braun, an Atlanta business-
man who was murdered in 1985 by a contract
killer whose “gun for hire” ad the magazine
published. The killer, Michael Savage, 44,
of Knoxville, Tenn., and eight of his clients
have been convicted of criminal conspiracy in
connection with the Braun case and at least
two others. Soldier of Fortune has recently
amplified a series of National Rifle
Association attacks on the animal rights move-
ment and anti-hunting activists.
The NRA spent August and
September lobbying to overturn New Jersey
governor Jim Florio’s veto of a bill passed by
the state House and Senate that would repeal a
two-year-old ban on possession of semiauto-
matic assault weapons. The NRA spent
$243,065 to help secure election of legislators
hostile to the ban in 1991. At deadline, the
motions to override still hadn’t been brought to
a vote, and the NRA was believed to be one
House vote short of having the requisite two-
thirds majority in each chamber. If the over-
ride attempt fails, it will be a significant set-
back for the NRA, who hoped to use it to send
a message to politicians across the U.S. on the
eve of the November federal election.
* The Canadian equivalent of the NRA,
the National Firearms Association, has pub-
lished a pamphlet urging women to carry guns
or hunting knives, and to demonstrate before
witnesses that they use the weapons as tools,
since carrying such items without a special
permit is illegal in Canada. Pamphlet author
and NFA cofounder David Tomlinson took up
gopher-shooting at age 11, and ran a
University of Alberta research laboratory for
22 years before retiring in 1989 to devote full
time to the NFA presidency.
In Defense of Animals announced
August 20 that it would set up a defense fund
for Tina Geronimi, 36, a forklift driver who
in May became one of four Procter & Gamble
employees to co-sponsor a shareholders’ reso-
lution asking the firm to abandon animal test-
ing. Geronimi, who had been with Procter &
Gamble eight years, was fired June 11 for
allegedly over-reporting her working hours on
the Friday before Memorial Day. The resolu-
tion she cosponsored will be voted upon at the
annual shareholders’ meeting on October 13 in
Cincinnati.
Trying to overcome an image of
hostility toward animals, while continuing to
be the major funding source for at least three
pro-vivisection groups, U.S. Surgical Corp. is
sponsoring an exhibit on sharks at the Norwalk
Maritime Center. The exhibit seeks to dispel
the “misconception that they’re vicious and
prey upon man or animals for sport,” says
exhibit director Lawrence Fisher. U.S.
Surgical also sought media kudoes for return-
ing an apparently stolen German shepherd
named Luther to Robert Nappe of North
Haven, Conn., on June 22. The firm, which
kills several hundred dogs a year in sales
demonstrations of surgical staples, has spon-
sored a dog-tattooing campaign by the
National Dog Registry, but Luther was tat-
tooed by Tattoo-A-Pet of New York City.
Meanwhile, U.S. Surgical backed escalated
anti-animal defense media campaigns by the
Americans for Medical Progress Educational
Foundation, Connecticut United for Research
Excellence, and Educators for Responsible
Science.
David Berkman has been named
executive director of the Animal Protection
Institute, succeeding Duf Fischer, who
retired. Berkman holds a Ph.D. in criminolo-
gy. His administration is expected to empha-
size companion animal issues.
The Stark County Humane
Society, of Canton, Ohio, is trying to identify
several imposters who drive a tan van bearing
the group’s insignia. Claiming to be cruelty
investigators, the imposters have intimidated
and verbally abused several pet owners, and
may in actuality be pet thieves or burglars.
The Sierra Club has endorsed
Democratic presidential candidate Bill
Clinton, only the second such endorsement
the 100-year-old organization has ever made.
The endorsement came hours before
Republican incumbent George Bush escalated
campaign attacks on the Endangered Species
Act.
American Rivers supports an annu-
al Labor Day “Road Kill Opossum Chili Cook-
Off” hosted by the Central Georgia River
Runners, in exchange for nearly 60% of the
proceeds. Object to AR c/o 801 Pennsylvania
Ave. SE, Suite 400, Washington, DC 20003.
