Day: December 1, 2002

Obituaries

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From ANIMAL PEOPLE, December 2002:

Annelisa M. Kilbourne, DVM, 35, was killed in a light
plane crash on November 2 at the Lope Nature Preserve in Gabon,
Africa. Earning her veterinary degree from Tufts University in 1996,
Kilbourne worked in Malaysia for the Wildlife Conservation Society,
in Chicago for the Lincoln Park Zoo and Shedd Aquarium, and in
Borneo for the SOS Rhino project, before returning to the Wildlife
Conservation Society to investigate the impact of Ebola virus on wild
gorillas. Her work helped to establish that the spread of Ebola is
an important factor in the recent decline of gorilla populations,
and that eating poached gorillas is one way the deadly disease
spreads among humans.

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Who Gets The Money? — 13th annual edition

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From ANIMAL PEOPLE, December 2002:

Starting on page 13 is our 13th annual report on the budgets,
assets, and salaries paid by the major U.S. animal-related
charities, plus miscellaneous local activist groups, humane
societies, and some prominent organizations abroad. We offer their
data for comparative purposes. Foreign data is stated in U.S.
dollars at average 2001 exchange rates.
Most charities are identified in the second column by
apparent focus: A for advocacy, C for conservation of habitat via
acquisition, E for education, H for support of hunting (either for
“wildlife management” or recreation), L for litigation, N for
neutering, P for publication, R for animal rights, S for
shelter/sanctuary maintenance, V for focus on vivisection, and W
for animal welfare. The R and W designations are used only if a
group makes a point of being one or the other.

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“Well-meaning” wildlife traffic? CITES weighs Taiping gorilla case

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From ANIMAL PEOPLE, December 2002:

TAIPING, Malaysia; SANTIAGO, Chile–Few points on earth
are farther apart, with more open sea and sky between them, than
Taiping, Malaysia, home of the struggling Taiping Zoo, and
Santiago, Chile, the host city for the 12th Convention on
International Trade in Endangered Species Conference of the Parties,
called CITES-COP 2002 for short.
Yet the Taiping Zoo and CITES-COP 2002 had an awkward issue
to deal with in mid-November, having to do with the zoo illegally
buying baby gorillas in the name of conservation. The facts were
less in dispute than the intentions behind the January 2002
transaction–and the closest resemblance to common ground between the
positions of Taiping and the CITES Secretariat, across 6,000 miles
of Pacific Ocean, might have been the rolling deck of a Japanese
whaling ship.

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LETTERS [December 2002]

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From ANIMAL PEOPLE, December 2002:

Fighting bulls in Moscow

I singlehandedly run my own animal sanctuary in England for
over 160 sick, elderly or needy animals. I read ANIMAL PEOPLE and
recall your September 2001 article regarding bullfighting being
banned in Moscow. In recent years I have become very involved with
animal welfare (or the lack of it) within Russia, visiting several
times and helping the individuals and the few small organisations
there who stand up for animal rights.
I am currently seeking funds to support a small group of
young and determined people who are trying to help the bulls who were
originally brought into Russia for the purpose of fighting them.
The situation is that after your article was published and
bull fighting was banned in Moscow, the bulls were moved 300
kilometers north to Yaroslav, where permission was again sought to
hold a bullfight. This was not granted. Since then, the “owner”
of the bulls has kept them in appalling conditions while continuing
to seek permission to fight them. Many bulls have died from neglect,
but a small group called People for Animals are now trying to raise
funds to purchase these bulls and start the first farm animal
sanctuary in Russia. This would be a massive step forward for animal
rights in a country where the very notion of an animal having any
rights is totally unthinkable. So far I have been the only person
who has shown any interest or offered any support from the West. My
sanctuary is not in a position to help financially. I have begun to
sell my own possessions to raise funds to help these poor animals,
as I feel that if the opportunity is lost in Russia to show people
that farm animals should be treated with love and respect, it may
be a long time before another opportunity comes.
I have asked many large organisations for help, including
the World Society for the Protection of Animals, but have been
refused. WSPA says they are trying to ban bullfighting worldwide,
but if they achieve this, someone must take responsibility for the
animals who have been bred for this purpose.
–Fiona Oakes
Towerhill Stables Animal Sanctuary
Asheldham, Essex
CM0 7DZ, U.K.
44-1621-774-471
44-1621-772-109
<info@drwrinkle.freewire.co.uk>
<www.towerhillstables.com>

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Big gains for pro-animal issues, candidates may send a message to the White House and Congress

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From ANIMAL PEOPLE, December 2002:

WASHINGTON D.C.–Anxiety intensified on November 5 about the
future of wild animals who depend upon protected habitat, as the
Republican Party won a one-vote U.S. Senate majority to go with their
majority in the House of Representatives.
There is no longer a partisan obstacle to advancing proposals
favored by the George W. Bush administration to weaken federal
habitat protections of every kind.

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Cow-slaughter hits flashpoint

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From ANIMAL PEOPLE, December 2002:

MUMBAI, DELHI, India– Animal welfare inspector Abdul
Sattar Sheikh, 45, of People for Animals/Mumbai, was hospitalized
and “struggling for his life,” the Times of India reported, after a
gang of illegal butchers beat him with iron rods on October 16.
Whether Sheikh would ever walk again unassisted was in
considerable doubt.
PfA-Mumbai, partnered with Beauty Without Cruelty-India, had
just raided an unlicensed slaughterhouse. The investigators
proceeded to the Bandra police station afterward to file criminal
charges against the alleged offenders.

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Bad-mouthed cats may have Bartonella bacteria

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From ANIMAL PEOPLE, December 2002:

Chronic gingivitis and stomatitis in cats, resulting in
tooth loss and inflamed gums, may be caused by Bartonella–the
bacteria that causes “cat scratch fever” in humans, after the
bacterium is transmitted into the bloodstream by cat claws that have
been licked by infected cats.
Cats can transmit Bartonella to other cats by scratching,
biting, spitting, hissing, sneezing, or even eye-licking in
connection with social grooming.

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Dutch animal welfare measures threatened

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From ANIMAL PEOPLE, December 2002:
 
Den Hague–Dutch agriculture minister C.P. Veerman, a
Christian Democrat, on October 9 told Parliament that he intended to
repeal laws adopted by the previous government which would phase out
fur farms over the next 10 years and improve conditions for broiler
hens and laying hens.
The Veerman position was consistent with the platform of the
rightist Lijst Pim Fortuyn party, which won a place in the coalition
government with the Christian Democrats and the Liberals by placing
second in the May 2002 election. The election was held nine days
after Pim Fortuyn himself was allegedly assassinated by a maverick
antifur activist who is now awaiting trial.

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Farm Sanctuary charged with 210 violations of Florida election campaign funding law

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From ANIMAL PEOPLE, December 2002:

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. –Besides being chiefly symbolic, Florida
Amendment 10 may have been won at a price, for Farm Sanctuary,
going far beyond the $1.3 million raised to pass it by Floridans for
Humane Farms.
Farm Sanctuary was one of the four major funders of the
Amendment 10 campaign, along with the Animal Rights Foundation of
Florida, the Fund for Animals, and the Humane Society of the United
States.

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