From ANIMAL PEOPLE, July/August 2000:

U.S. District Court Judge Ellen S. Huvelle ruled on June 27 in Washington D.C. that the Alternatives Research & Development Foundation, In Vitro International, and Philadelphia college student Kristine Gausz have standing to pursue their March 1999 lawsuit against the USDA for failing to protect birds, rats, and mice under the Animal Welfare Act. Huvelle held that “a researcher who witnesses the mistreatment of rats in her lab must have standing,” and that the USDA does not have “unreviewable discretion to exclude birds, rats, and mice from AWA protection.” The Alternatives Research & Development Foundation is a subsidiary of the American Anti-Vivisection Society, founded in 1994 to support the development of alternatives to animal use in laboratories.

Seattle Federal District Judge Marsha Pechman ruled on June 12 that USDA Wildlife Services could proceed with killing as many as 3,500 resident Canada geese in alleged problem areas around Puget Sound this summer, under contract to 12 counties, 11 cities, the University of W a s h i n g t o n, and B o e i n g. As many as 1,000 geese were reportedly captured and gassed during the next two weeks. USDA Wildlife Services regional chief G a r y O l d e n b u r g refused to disclose the locations of goose roundups and killing to either the Seattle Times, activist groups, or Renton mayor Jesse Tanner, and reportedly told Tanner that if any journalist turned up at a killing site, the killing would be halted to avoid exposure. Similar massacres––and secrecy––are slated for many other regions.

Read more

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, July/August 2000:

The Conservation and Reinvestment
Act, approved on May 10 by 314 of
the 435 members of the House of Representatives
and now before the Senate, would
allocate $45 billion in federal oil leasing revenues
to buying land for parks and green
space, wildlife protection, and beach maintenance.
Backed by most leading conservation
groups, it is opposed by John Eberh
a r t of the Georgia Earth Alliance, who
argues that the matching funds it would
grant to state wildlife agencies might remove
their incentive to seek support from the nonhunting
and trapping public, not just the
license-buying hunters and trappers.
The California State Assembly
on May 30 voted 55-18 in support of A B
2 4 7 9, which would prohibit dismembering,
flaying, or scaling live turtles, frogs, and
birds sold as food––notably at the so-called
“live markets” serving mostly ethnic Asian
clientele in San Francisco, Oakland,
Stockton, Sacramento, and Los Angeles.
Illinois Governor George Ryan
on June 9 signed into law HB 3254, the
Dissection Alternatives Act, which enables
students to opt out of school dissection labs.