Rabies Update

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.

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ANIMAL HEALTH

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.

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Diet & Health

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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Letters [May 1993]

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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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