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United Nations Environment Program warns about ecological consequences of H5N1

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From ANIMAL PEOPLE, April 2006:

GENEVA–The United Nations Environment Program warned on
March 22, 2006 that, “Culling poultry [to control avian flu H5N1],
especially in developing nations where chicken is a key source of
protein, may put new and unacceptable pressure on a wide range of
creatures,” who may be hunted as alternate protein, “from wild pigs
to endangered great apes.”
UNEP also warned against culling wild birds and draining
wetlands to discourage congregations of waterfowl, who appear to be
victims of H5N1 more than carriers.
Now afflicting 45 nations, H5N1 has been found in 87 bird
species, including many of the most common and broadly ranging–and
carrion-eaters such as kites, crows, and buzzards, known to have
strong resistance to most pathogens.

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Tasmanians bedevil muttonbirds

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From ANIMAL PEOPLE, April 2006:

The Atlantic Canada seal hunt started on the same day in 2006
as the annual muttonbird hunt in Tasmania, a similar event, with a
2006 quota of 300,000, not counting the toll taken by indigenous
Tasmanians.
“It’s horrific,” Against Animal Cruelty Tasmania
spokesperson Suzanne Cass told Tim Jeanes of the Australian
Broadcasting Corporation. “The chick is hauled out of the burrow
either by hand or with a sharp hook. The bird’s neck is broken. It
could take any length of time, with people swinging them around
their heads and throwing them. These birds travel 30,000 kilometres
round-trip each year, and there are 209 breeding colonies around
Tasmania and the islands,” Cass added. “Often they’re not killed
for eating–just recreation.”
Responded Tasmanian West Coast Mayor Darryl Gerrity, “We
don’t have a lot of things to do on the west coast, so we look
forward to the muttonbirds season.”

Verbally aggressive tactics raise issue of freedom of speech vs. uttering threats

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From ANIMAL PEOPLE, April 2006:

SAN DIEGO, PHILADELPHIA, LONDON, NEW
YORK– FBI agents on February 22, 2006 arrested
Rod Coronado, 39, of Tucson, Arizona, for
statements made in a 2003 speech at the
Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender Community Center
in Hillcrest, California.
“Coronado was indicted in San Diego on
charges of demonstrating how to make a
destructive device with intent that the
information be used to commit arson,” reported
San Diego Union-Tribune staff writer Onell R.
Soto.
“You’re damn right when you say I’ve
shown people how to make a firebomb,” Coronado
told the Union-Tribune in July 2005. “I’ve done
my time for my crimes, and I should be able to
talk about them.”

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PETA loses espionage lawsuit vs. Ringling

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From ANIMAL PEOPLE, April 2006:

FAIRFAX, Virginia–A Fairfax County Circuit Court jury on
March 15 found Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Circus owner Kenneth
Feld not guilty of illegally conspiring to infiltrate and harm People
for the Ethical Treatment of Animals between 1988 and 1998.
The verdict may not conclude a lawsuit that PETA first filed
in May 2001. PETA attorney Philip Hirschkop told Brian Westley of
Associated Press and Matthew Jones of the Norfolk Virginian-Pilot
that PETA would appeal. Hirschkop, soon to retire, later told
ANIMAL PEOPLE that the decision to appeal would have to be made by
PETA president Ingrid Newkirk–“But I know what I would do,” he said.
Hirschkop said the case was only the second loss of his
career in a jury verdict. “The jury asked for instructions from the
judge on the difference between harm and injury,” Hirschkop recalled.
“During the nine-day trial, Ringling internal documents
showed that the circus hired private investigators who infiltrated
animal rights groups, obtained credit card and other personal data,
and stole stacks of confidential papers, such as donor lists and
strategy memos,” summarized Tom Jackman of the Washington Post.

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New Jersey dismantles Office of Animal Welfare

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From ANIMAL PEOPLE, April 2006:

TRENTON–New Jersey Office of Animal Welfare director Cheryl
Maccaroni was on February 16 returned to her former job as deputy
attorney general.
All three inspectors were transferred to the Infectious &
Zoonotic Disease Program under state vet Faye Sorhage.
“That is where shelter inspections were handled until June
2004, when then-Health Commissioner Clifton Lacey authorized
$200,000 to develop the Office of Animal Welfare,” wrote Brian T.
Murray of the Newark Star-Ledger. The Office of Animal Welfare and
the Infectious & Zoonotic Disease Program are both under the state
Department of Health and Senior Services.
New Jersey Animal Welfare Task Force member Gordon Stull,
DVM, recalled that before the Office of Animal Welfare was formed,
“There were serious problems with inspections of shelters, pet
shops, and kennels. In just the past year,” Stull said, “the
office conducted over 400 inspections.”

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CVS drops glue traps

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From ANIMAL PEOPLE, April 2006:

WOONSOCKET, R.I.–The 5,400-store CVS drug chain on March 1
ceased stocking glue traps for small rodents, spokesperson Mike
DeAngelis confirmed to Providence Journal staff writer Paul Grimaldi.
PETA spokesperson Stephanie Boyles told Grimaldi that PETA
first asked CVS to stop selling glue traps in August 2005. The
Humane Society of the U.S. asked chain stores to stop selling glue
traps in 1985-1990, but whether any complied is unclear.
“We are currently trying to persuade E-Bay to stop selling
glue traps and leghold traps. Perhaps this latest major development
will encourage them to do the right thing,” said Philip Kiernan of
Irish Council Against Blood Sports.”

Investigator has a history of conflict with nonprofit organizations

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From ANIMAL PEOPLE, April 2006:

Undercover investigations are rarely disclosed to the world
by the sponsors while still underway–at least not on purpose.
Findings, however, are typically intensively publicized,
especially when produced on behalf of major international nonprofit
organizations.
The publicity blitz usually starts after all undercover
personnel are out of harm’s way, often after a brief embargo while
findings are shared with law enforcement.
Standard operating procedure may have been inverted by some
of the sponsors of the Jason Mier/Karl Amman probe of alleged Kenya
Airways involvement in wildlife trafficking–depending on whose
version of what happened one accepts.

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HSUS endorses neuter/return

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From ANIMAL PEOPLE, April 2006:

“The Humane Society of the U.S. advocates community-based
trap/neuter/return programs with on-going responsible management as
the most viable long-term approach available at this time to reduce
feral cat populations,” HSUS declared in a March 20 policy update.
The HSUS guidelines for neuter/return drafted with the aid of Bryan
Kortis of Neighborhood Cats are substantially the same as the
guidelines produced by ANIMAL PEOPLE publisher Kim Bartlett in 1992.
Having recommended in 1994 that neuter/return practitioners should be
prosecuted for abandoning animals, HSUS gradually withdrew active
opposition to neuter/return, beginning in 1998.

Post-Katrina conflicts & rescues go on

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From ANIMAL PEOPLE, April 2006:

BATON ROUGE–A Louisiana source involved in undercover law
enforcement against illegal animal fighting alerted ANIMAL PEOPLE
late on February 21, 2006 that state attorney general Charles Foti
had begun investigating Humane Society of the U.S. fundraising and
expenditures in connection with Hurricane Katrina.
Named the lead agency for animal relief by the Fed-eral
Emergency Management Administration, HSUS raised more than $30
million for Katrina aid, and had as many as 200 workers in the
disaster area in September and October 2005.
HSUS confirmed the report within 24 hours, but Foti’s office
said nothing until spokesperson Kris Wartelle acknowledged the “basic
beginning of an inquiry” to Robert Travis Scott of the New Orleans
Times-Picayune on March 16. “She said Foti has made no accusations
of wrongdoing, and declined to give more details,” Scott wrote.
“There’s no question that cockfighters, hunters, and others
in Louisiana are constantly looking to damage our credibility,” HSUS
president Wayne Pacelle told ANIMAL PEOPLE on February 22. “Since
they cannot compete with our message that cockfighting is cruel, they
attack the messenger.”

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