Rabies Update

May 1, 1993 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 1993:

New Jersey Department of Health veterinarian Colin T. Campbell told a region-

al conference on rabies held March 24 in Syracuse, New York, that the state of New Jersey

has allocated only $55,000 of the estimated $160,000 necessary to complete a two-year field

trial of the long-awaited Wistar orally administered raccoon rabies vaccine on the Cape May

peninsula. The state Department of Environmental Protection and Energy is seeking grants to

make up the balance. The vaccine is embedded in bait balls; raccoons who take the bait

vaccinate themselves. The bait balls are being air-dropped in batches of 20,000 at a time,

directed at the probable corridors of raccoon movement from the vicinity of the nearest

known rabies cases, which are presently about eight miles away. About 145,000 bait balls

will be dropped in total if the project is successfully completed.

ANIMAL HEALTH

May 1, 1993 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 1993:

Massachusetts SPCA veterinari-

ans Michael G. Aronsohn and Alicia M.

Faggella recently published protocols for

anesthetizing and neutering 6-to-14-week-

old kittens in the Journal of the American

Veterinary Medical Association, vol. 202,

#1, pp. 53-62.

The USDA announced April 1

that from now on it will require environ-

mental impact statements filed in connec-

tion with animal disease eradication activi-

ties to include identification of any pesti-

cides that might be used; any chemicals

used for sanitation; and a protocol for dis-

posing of carcasses and contaminated

manure and debris.

Diet & Health

May 1, 1993 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 1993:

The Burger King franchise at

Watkins Glen, New York, in February qui-

etly introduced the spicy bean burger sold

by British Burger King outlets. Priced at

$2.29, the vegetarian burger is made from

kidney beans, carrots, onions, potato

flakes, and peppers, breaded and deep

fried, served on a bun with catsup, cheese

(optional), and tomato. Associated Press

quoted the manager as saying six weeks

later, “The demand is unbelievable. People

are coming from all over. There’s not a seat

in the restaurant. They say there are 12 mil-

lion vegetarians in the U.S. If we can kick

into that market, it’s well worth our while.”

According to AP, the spicy bean burger

will be introduced nationally if it remains

popular in Watkins Glen through the end of

the summer.

Is the ASPCA a dog-in-the-manger? by Garo Alexanian

May 1, 1993 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 1993:

Last month’s historic announcement from the

American SPCA that it would no longer bid for the $4.5

million contract for operating a pet-killing facility for the

City of New York was apparently motivated by the intro-

duction of Assembly Bill 5376A just three weeks prior.

This bill would finally bring New York City’s

counties (boroughs) parity with all the other counties in the

state with respect to the formation of county-wide Societies

for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Whereas almost

all other counties in the state have the right to have their

own county-wide SPCA, the boroughs of Manhattan,

Queens, Staten Island, and Brooklyn are prohibited from

so doing by state law. An SPCA is basically a volunteer

police force for animals. Functional SPCAs are essential to

shape the public’s attitude, behavior, and compliance with

responsible pet ownership laws. SPCAs help determine

which animal crimes get investigated and prosecuted, and

more importantly, w h o gets prosecuted. If it chose to, a

borough SPCA might bid on any or all of the $4.5 million

contract the ASPCA has relinquished.

An open letter to the ASPCA and New York City legislators by Elizabeth Forel

May 1, 1993 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 1993:

The American SPCA’s recent decision to get out of the

business of killing homeless cats and dogs leaves many

unanswered questions. The killing will continue, only

now it may done behind doors closed even more tightly

than before, since the New York City government will

most likely but not willingly assume the responsibility.

New York City could become the biggest, most horren-

dous slaughterhouse dog pound in the nation.

Will the ASPCA don white gloves and join with

every other shelter and humane society in the greater met –

ropolitan area, calling themselves a “no kill” shelter but

closing their eyes to the continuing slaughter of precious

healthy animals whose only crime was homelessness? Or

will the ASPCA accept the moral and ethical imperative

and speak out loudly and effectively against the slaughter,

using their newly released energy and financial strength to

educate relentlessly against the obscenity of breeding and

killing? Their past record does not offer much hope.

Letters [May 1993]

May 1, 1993 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 1993:

Henry Spira

Thanks for your generous

April editorial––hope it encourages

activists to focus on results, on most

rapidly reducing the universe of ani-

mal pain and suffering.

For the record: as I’m sure

you know, everything we’ve

achieved has been the result of a

team effort, a network, a loop of

organizations and committed indi-

viduals, bringing together different

talents, resources, and

expertise––joining their energies

toward a common goal. I’d be

remiss if I didn’t say so.

Letters

Editorial: Where there’s a will, there’s a way

May 1, 1993 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 1993:

Quite a number of items in this issue have to do with provisions for life after one’s

own death, and not in the spiritual sense. Though we die, our animal companions and

organizations may live on, not necessarily as we’d have chosen. One of our major investiga-

tions this month involved conflicting interpretations of an ambiguous will that eventually

resulted in a protracted legal battle, during which the lawyers for the opposing sides may

have gotten more of the bequest than the cause it was intended to aid. A page of features

describes contrasting arrangements the North Shore Animal League and Texas A&M

University offer for the orphaned cats and dogs of deceased humans––alternatives costing

nothing but perhaps a small donation on the one hand, and $25,000 on the other. An obitu-

ary notes the death of a lady who left a fortune to her local humane society. If space

allowed, a longer item could further describe the two-month search for her will. But for

luck, her intended bequest might never have been delivered.

Editorial: Welcome, brother or sister. Come on in.

May 1, 1993 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 1993:

A recent study by Western Carolina University psychology professor Harold A.

Herzog Jr., published in the Journal of Social Issues volume 49, #1, concluded after inter-

viewing 23 grassroots animal rights activists that there are “several parallels between an

involvement with the animal rights movement and religious conversion.” In particular,

Herzog discovered that “animal rights activism,” for his study subjects, “usually entailed

major changes in lifestyle,” including both subtractive changes such as giving up eating

meat, hunting and fishing, and wearing fur, and additive changes such as becoming politi-

cally active: writing letters, carrying petitions, giving speeches, picketing, prosletyzing.

Herzog’s findings probably surprise neither committed activists nor critics of the animal

rights movement, many of whom frequently disparage the overt missionary zeal of some

activists (especially new converts). A few opponents of animal rights have even called the

cause a new religion. At least one member of the fur trade press has warned that animal

rights threatens the fundamental premises of Judaism, while several prominent anti-animal

rights authors have claimed the idea challenges Christianity.

Aerial survey of Alaska finds few wolves–– and too many moose for habitat

May 1, 1993 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 1993:

ANCHORAGE, Alaska––Predictions

that wolves and grizzly bears would devastate

Alaskan moose and caribou over the winter were

“a gross exaggeration,” world-renowned

wildlife expert Gordon Haber told media April

26. Thus there is no need for predator control,

contrary to the claims of the Alaska Board of

Game, which suspended a proposed aerial wolf

massacre in January under threat of an interna-

tional tourism boycott, but is expected to re-rec-

commend killing wolves and grizzlies to protect

the ungulates, prized by trophy hunters, at

meetings scheduled for July and October.

To verify their data, Haber and bush

pilot Buck Woods overflew 35,000 square miles

of interior and south-central Alaska between

April 3 and April 18, adding 87 hours of air

time to their combined total of more than 5,000

hours of aerial surveying and more than 10,000

hours of wolf observation. Haber is a 27-year

veteran of wolf research in Alaska, British

Columbia, and northern Michigan.

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