Organizations
From ANIMAL PEOPLE, Jan/Feb 1998:
DEBUTS
Frequent ANIMAL PEOPLE contributor
Carroll Cox on December 5
announced his incorporation of EnviroWatch,
“to do research and investigations related to
environmental issues,” especially involving
“endangered species in Hawaii and other parts
of the world.” Spotlighted on the
EnviroWatch web site, >>http://www.envirowatch.org<<,
are alleged mismanagement of
an ecologically and culturally sensitive state
property near Kona; harm to endangered
Hawaiian stilts and protected migratory birds
from oil sumps at the Chevron refinery on
Oahu; deaths of albatrosses, whales, turtles,
and monk seals caused by longline tuna fishing;
and the U.S. Navy use of Farallon de
Medinilla, an endangered bird habitat off
Guam, as a target for bombing practice.
A former special investigator for the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service, Cox in 1990 briefly
closed the Hawaiian longline fishery to protect
endangered species, but was suspended two
years later and fired two years after that for
‘accepting a bribe’––the Joe A. Callaway
Award for Civic Courage, from accountability
advocate Ralph Nader. Friends of Animals
hired Cox to do investigations in April 1997,
but abruptly fired him on August 20 and
informed ANIMAL PEOPLE of the firing in
two telephone calls, each of which also
described talks with USFWS––a longtime funder
of FoA anti-poaching programs in
Africa––regarding settlement of a lawsuit over
coyote killing at the Julia Butler Hansen
National Wildlife Refuge (page 7). Just before
the suit was settled, USFWS denied ever discussing
settlement with FoA. Cox is seeking
damages from both USFWS and FoA.
Voices for Animals, of Tucson,
and Concerned Arizonans for Animal
Rights and Ethics, of Phoenix, in late
November 1997 merged to form the A n i m a l
Defense League of Arizona, which has also
assumed responsibility for operating the
Arizona Lobby for Animals. CAARE
founder Stephanie Nichols-Young heads the
ADLA board, while Lisa Markkula, who
recently succeeded Roberta Wright as head of
VFA, becomes a salaried executive director.
Neither CAARE nor VFA had paid staff.
ADLA will be based in Phoenix, but
Markkula said she would spend two days a
week in Tucson.
Former America OnLine “Animals & Society” discussion board host Dick Weavil claims nearly 5,000 subscribers to his new forum, AnimalTalk ALERT, the first project of his own nonprofit organization, AnimalTalk Inc. “I have a registered domain at >>http://www.animaltalk.org<<,” Weavil told ANIMAL PEOPLE, “and am constructing a web site at that address which will initially focus on providing free resources for the care and placement of disadvantaged felines––disabled, elderly, FELV, FIV, FIP, etc., and later expand to other areas of animal welfare and animal rights work. AnimalTalk Inc. will also do web site design, implementation, and maintenance for animal shelters, humane societies, grassroots animal protection groups and individuals, inter alia.” Weavil was ousted from “Animals & Society” in early 1997 by a combination of pressure on the AOL Pet Care Forum proprietors brought by dog breeders, hunters, and trappers. A N IMAL PEOPLE, then a compensated “Animals & Society” information provider, resigned from AOL in protest, but Weavil may still be reached at his AOL address, >>Nyppsi@aol.com<<, named in honor of a deceased favorite cat.
The Sacramento Audubon Society, Sacramento Urban Creeks Council, Save the American River Association, California Native Plant Society, Environmental Council of Sacramento, and the regional chapter of the Sierra Club in November announced formation of an umbrella group, Habitat 20/20, to jointly represent them. Collectively, they hope, they can find the resources to employ a fulltime coordinator. Each is currently all-volunteer.
TRANSITIONS
Responding to complaints about
dog show judges “who come to a ring using a
stick or two sticks, who do not have the stamina
to stand for an hour or two, with failing
eyesight, who are arthritic and have difficulty
bending down to run their hands over the
dogs,” British Kennel Club assistant secretary
Richard Burt Andrews recently asked
the organizers of about 3,000 breed shows to
consider an “appropriate upper age limit” in
choosing judges. Responded Peggy Grayson,
77, a dog judge since 1943, “All people like
me hope is that we can drop dead when we are
judging. That would be the best way to go.
The Jane Goodall Institute i n
December relocated from Connecticut to POB
14890, Silver Spring, MD 20911-4890; telephone
301-595-0086; fax 301-595-3188; email
>>janegoodall@wcsu.ctstateu.edu<<.
The National Wildlife Federation,
downsizing, is to relocate by 2000, after selling
its 27-year-old headquarters in Fairfax
County, Virginia, to the McLean Bible
Church. The church, moving up from quarters
a fifth as large, will share the offices with
NWF until then. It has agreed to leave 78% of
the 43-acre NWF site undeveloped for at least
eight years, and to leave 61% undeveloped for
at least 20 years, while keeping public nature
trails open. NWF has since 1936 been the
national umbrella for 48 state hunting clubs.
The Hispanic Naturopath Society,
formed in 1928 to promote vegetarianism and
nature appreciation, has met opposition from
residents of a former Staten Island retreat
called Spanish Camp and admirers of the late
Dorothy Day, cofounder of the C a t h o l i c
W o r k e r organization, over plans to sell the
site to developer John J. DiScala for $7 million.
The Hispanic Naturopaths bought the 17-
acre shoreline site in 1948 and built 70 bungalows
on it. Most were later sold, but the society
still collects rent on the land they occupy.
Day, recently proposed for sainthood by New
York Archbishop John Cardinal O’Connor,
lived at Spanish Camp with Commonweal editor
Patrick Jordan and his wife K a t h l e e n
from the early 1970s until her death in 1980 at
age 83. DiScala has reportedly offered to sell
the land to cottage occupants at $150,000 per
