REVIEWS: Thunder of the Mustangs

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, June 1998:

Thunder of the
Mustangs:
Legend and Lore
of the Wild Horses
Edited by Mark Sprag
Sierra Club Books
(85 2nd St., San Francisco, CA 94105),
1997. 120 pages, 75 color photos.
$30.00 hardbound.
Wild horse enthusiasts will be drawn
to this book by breathtaking color photographs
taken by some of the most prominent wildlife
photographers alive. The very essence of wild
horses––their autonomy, self-containment,
and fear––is made manifest by the talent of
John Running, Charles and Rita Summers,
Phil Schofield and others.

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OBITUARIES

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, June 1998:

Edwardjohn Shumak, 22, of
Sharon, Wisconsin, eldest son of JES Exotics
wildlife sanctuary founder Jill Shumak, was
killed early on April 7 as he drove to work in
nearby Delavan. “A deer crossed his path at
the crest of a hill,” Jill Shumak said. “Edward
swerved to avoid it,” but the car flipped. He
was thrown 20 feet, dying “instantly, of massive
head trauma. We will be having a candlelight
ceremony on August 14, his birthday,”
she continued, “at 8 p.m. at the sanctuary.
His ashes will be buried here with his animal
friends. I could always count on Edwardjohn
when I needed help with the animals. My husband
Jim, younger son Corey, and I will miss
his ever-present smile, dancing eyes and
eagerness to assist anyone who needed it.”

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REVIEWS: Kratts’ Creatures

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, June 1998:

Kratts’ Creatures
with Martin Kratt, Chris Kratt, and Shannon Duff
PBS, 4:30 p.m. daily, school day afternoons and weekend mornings.

After Wolf Clifton, 7, saw one
episode of Kratt’s Creatures at his cousin
Eric’s house, on a local Public Broadcasting
System station that doesn’t reach here, there
was no peace until we’d figured out how to get
the program by satellite from KBDI-Denver.
There was still a conflict, in that because of
the difference in time zones, K r a t t ’ s
Creatures airs here an hour earlier than it’s
supposed to––soon enough after the end of
Wolf’s school day that he has to rush right in
the door and turn on the TV, and even then he
often misses the opening sequence.
But ANIMAL PEOPLE p u b l i s h e r
Kim Bartlett, Wolf’s mommy, is also his driver,
and was soon so hooked on K r a t t ’ s
Creatures herself that they rarely miss the start
of the original material.

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How EU pays “full regard to the welfare requirements of animals”

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, June 1998:

LONDON, BRUSSELS––A year after the 15
European Union member nations on June 18, 1997 signed a
binding protocol requiring them to recognize animals as “sentient
beings,” and to “pay full regard to the welfare requirements
of animals,” the practical value of it remains unclear.
No aspect of the protocol has been backed, as yet,
by tough new international animal care and handling standards.
But neither has the protocol been shoved into a file
drawer and forgotten. Diplomats are dickering daily over a proposed
phase-out of battery caging for laying hens. Negotiations
also continue over livestock transportation requirements.
The outcome on each topic may be much less than
animal advocates seek, and perhaps even expect.

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House Speaker Gingrich favors research chimp retirement

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, June 1998:

SAN ANTONIO––Eight adult
chimpanzees and two infants, all nearly lifelong
residents of laboratory cages, scrambled
into new quarters at Primarily Primates on
May 7––some experiencing direct sunshine
and outdoor habitat for the very first time.
“This enclosure is one of the largest
ever built for the retirement of chimps used in
research,” said Primarily Primates president
Wally Swett. “The toddlers played chase and
tickle games. The males and females are
resolving their dominance hierarchy. They are
a troop for the first time in their lives, learning
how to be chimpanzees.”
The 10 chimps arrived at Primarily
Primates from the now closed Laboratory for
Experimental Medicine and Surgery In
Primates at New York University.

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1,001 tales of whales

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, June 1998:

MUSCAT, Oman––The 50th annual
meeting of the International Whaling
Commission opened on May 16 in Muscat,
Oman, but lasted just one Arabian night
before chairperson Michael Canny of Ireland
suspended proceedings from Sunday, May 17,
until at least Tuesday, May 19.
In the interim Canny hoped to
resolve an impasse resulting when Japan and
seven Caribbean nations led by Antigua
demanded that all votes be via secret ballot.
The U.S. and most European nations oppose
secret votes, which would allow nations to
take private positions contravening their public
stance. Nongovernmental organizations
opposed to whaling accused Japan of purchasing
votes by linking foreign aid to whaling.

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Fixing the problem in San Jose

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, June 1998:

This is to update my April 1997
report on the changes in shelter intake at
the Humane Society of Santa Clara Valley
since San Jose began a free spay/neuter
voucher program in October, 1994.
The vouchers are no longer free.
Participants now pay $5.00 to have an
owned or stray cat fixed. Owned cats must
be licensed. The city of San Jose reimburses
veterinarians $20 per female, $10
per male, and the veterinarians keep the
$5.00 from the client. Surgeries on cats
who are pregnant, in heat, or have other
problems are reimbursed at a higher rate.

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Abroad

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, June 1998:

A long dispute over custody of the
Nilgiris Animal Welfare Society sanctuary in the
Nilgiri Hills region of southern India has reportedly
been settled out of court. Local trustees kept control
of the 52-acre NAWS property, three bulls, three
ponies, and a cow, Deanna Krantz of the New Yorkbased
umbrella organization Global Communications
for Conservation told friends. Krantz, who
tried to assume management of NAWS in 1996-1997,
said she had taken a number of dogs and donkeys to a
new sanctuary in the same area, set up on a farm
owned by her project manager. Krantz returned to
the U.S. in March, but said she would go back to
India “soon.” Refusing to answer direct questions

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OBITUARY: LINDA MCCARTNEY

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, June 1998:

Linda McCartney, 56, died of
breast cancer on April 17 in Tucson,
Arizona. The daughter of entertainment
lawyer Lee Eastman, Linda had already
become a noted rock-and-roll photographer,
after a failed first marriage, when she met
composer Paul McCartney of the Beatles at a
London nightclub in 1967. They were married
in March 1969. Linda and Yoko Ono,
wife of the late John Lennon, were often
blamed by fans and writers for the Beatles’
subsequent break-up. Drafted into Paul’s
new band, Wings, as a keyboardist and
backup singer, Linda endured further criticism
for musical mediocrity. Learning to
withstand public abuse served her well after
they became ethical vegetarians in 1979, 12
years after Paul’s lifelong friend and fellow
Beatle George Harrison.

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