Woofs and growls
From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 1994:
Animals and wildlife get
7% of the charity dollar in Britain,
4% in Canada, 2% in Spain, and
just 1% each in France and the
U.S., says a new study by the
Charities Aid Foundation––but the
figures aren’t directly comparable,
since medical care is primarily a
government reponsibility in the other
nations but remains heavily subsi-
dized by charity in the U.S.
The U.S. Treasury has
asked the oversight subcommittee of
the House Ways and Means
Committee for legislation that would
enable it to penalize charity officials
who receive excessive compensation
or unreasonably benefit from trans-
actions involving the charity; fine
charities up to 5% of their revenue
for making late or inaccurate filings
of IRS Form 990; and require chari-
ties to provide copies of their Form
990 to anyone upon request.
Currently the fine for late or inaccu-
rate Form 990 filings is just $10 a
day, and charities are obliged only
to permit inspection of their Form
990 at their own offices.
The Brigitte Bardot
Foundation is reportedly out of
financial trouble after a difficult year
that included public humiliation
when Bardot, 59, reportedly volun-
teered to pose for one of PETA’s “I’d
rather go naked than wear fur”
posters and was told PETA only
wanted currently working models.
The Bardot foundation has a staff of
10, 25,000 active members, and a
budget of $900,000, $200,000 of
which is committed to neuter/release
feral cat rescue programs.
Albert Manville h a s
become executive director of the
Adirondack Mountain Club, replac-
ing Walter Medwid, who moved to
the International Wolf Foundation.
Formerly with Defenders of Wildlife,
Manville chaired the Entanglement
Network Coalition, a consortium of
50 environmental groups that
obtained legislation against high seas
driftnetting in December 1992.
Love And Care for God’s
Animal Life, a no-kill shelter with a
10-year record of trouble with
authorities in five states over animal
care violations and fundraising irreg-
ularities, is again mailing appeals.
Calling to claim the former problems
have been rectified, staffer Linda
Lewis told ANIMAL PEOPLE that
the facility near Andalusia,
Alabama, now has 688 dogs, half of
them at least age 10, and at least 400
cats, of whom all the male animals
“and half of the female cats” are
neutered. Lewis said there are either
25 cats or five dogs to a cage .
Posturing as environmen-
talists, members of the five-year-old
Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus
actually have a poor voting record,
says the League of Conservation
Voters. “Typically, the caucus is
terrible,” confirmed LCV communi-
cations director Peter Kelley in a
recent interview with the L o s
Angeles Times. Though losing near-
ly 25% of its membership in the
1992 elections, the caucus has come
back strong as members of Congress
seek means of supporting gun control
legislation without catching flak
from the hunting lobby.
The American SPCA is
joining with Psychologists for the
Ethical Treatment of Animals t o
co-publish the Journal of Applied
Animal Welfare Sciences, a planned
successor to the PsyETA journal
Humane Innovations & Alternatives.
The editors are to be Kenneth
Shapiro of PsyETA and Stephen
Zawistowski of the ASPCA. Sub-
sections with editors yet to be named
will be devoted to laboratory issues,
pets, wildlife, and agriculture.
Frederick Goodwin, for-
mer director of the National
Institute of Mental Health, is now
setting up a Center of Science,
Medicine, and Human Values at
Georgetown University. Under
Goodwin, the science education
office at NIMH focused upon
defending vivisection.
Gaveling out of order
anyone who cited the cruelty of
trapping, Maine Legislature Agri-
culture Committee chair Robert
Tardy on March 28 presided over the
quick confirmation of outgoing gov-
ernor John McKernan’s appointment
of trapper Lowell “Chip” Woodman,
26, to the state Animal Welfare
Advisory Committee. Woodman is
animal control officer for the town of
Monmouth and an active member of
the Monmouth Fish and Game
Association, the Maine Trappers
Association, and the National Rifle
Association. McKernan also reap-
pointed Laura Pruett, 40, of
Augusta, who is treasurer of the
Kennebec Valley Humane Society
and a board member for the Maine
Federation of Humane Societies.
