Non-surgical sterilization wait goes on with new hopes & many frustrations

July 1, 2004 Archivist Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, July/August 2004:

BRECKENRIDGE, Colorado– The good news about the
long-anticipated arrival of effective, practical, inexpensive
non-surgical birth control for cats and dogs may be that the bad news
is not worse.
One effective and safe chemosterilant for male dogs,
Neutersol, is now available to humane societies at reduced cost. A
similar product for cats is in development.
The early test results are “very favorable,” University of
Missouri at Columbia researcher Min Wang on June 27, 2004 told the
Second International Symposium on Non-surgical Contraceptive Methods
for Pet Population Control, held in Breckenridge, Colorado.
Immunocontraceptives for female dogs and cats are still just
over the horizon.
Breakthroughs anticipated five years ago unfortunately have
not materialized. Research involving porcine zona pellucida (pZP)
may be chasing a mirage, many dog and cat contraceptive developers
now believe.
ZooMontana director Jay Kirkpatrick showed in 1990 that pZP
can be used as a contraceptive in horses.
“Immunization of female mammals with purified glycoproteins
from the outermost layer of oocytes, namely the zona pellucida,
often results in autoimmunity and infertility,” explained Dalhousie
University biology professor Bill Pohajdak. “The three components of
zona pellucida from many species have been cloned and sequenced
Porcine ZP is widely used because of availability.

Editorial: Treating people like animals

July 1, 2004 Archivist Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, July/August 2004:

A photograph of U.S. Army Private First Class Lynndie
England, 21, dragging a naked Iraqi military prisoner on a dog
leash emerged early during the investigation of abuses to prisoners
by U.S. guards at the Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad. The photo, part
of a sequence featuring England mistreating naked Iraqi men, could
scarcely have been more illustrative of how the standard treatment of
dogs in a society tends to set the floor for the treatment of humans.
While the standard for the treatment of dogs in the U.S. is
still low, it does exist. The legal definitions of abuse in many
states remain weak, and the definitions of neglect are often weaker,
but the federal Animal Welfare Act and the anti-cruelty laws of all
50 states specifically set some limits on what may be done to a dog.
For the most part, the U.S. guards at Abu Ghraib who have
been disciplined for mistreating prisoners were accused of doing
things that they could have done to dogs with impunity. Only seven
guards who allegedly went beyond what could be done to dogs were
criminally charged during the preliminary investigation.
Lieutenant General Paul Mikolashek of the U.S. Army Office of
the Inspector General on July 23 disclosed 94 additional cases of
abuse of prisoners in Iraq and Afghanistan, including 39 deaths of
which 20 were homicides. Criminal charges are anticipated in
connection with these cases.

New Jersey standards

July 1, 2004 Archivist Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, July/August 2004:

TRENTON, N.J.–The American SPCA, New Jersey SPCA,
Farm Sanctuary, and Humane Society of the U.S. on July 20, 2004
sued the New Jersey Department of Agriculture for allegedly failing
to meet a 1996 mandate to develop humane standards for farm animal
care.
On May 4, 2004 the New Jersey Department of Agriculture
issued standards that allow the use of gestation crates for sows,
veal crates, and withholding food from laying hens to force a molt.
(See AVMA vs. AVAR, page 12.)

The chips are down in high-stakes battle over scanner tech

July 1, 2004 Archivist Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, July/August 2004:

PORTLAND, Ore.; NORCO, Calif.–The microchip wars have reignited.
A decade after American Veterin-ary Identification Devices
and the Schering-Plough Animal Health Corporation resolved
compatibility problems between AVID microchips and the HomeAgain
chips made for Schering-Plough by Digital Angel Corp., lawsuits and
threats of lawsuits involving microchips are flying with surprising
velocity considering that only about 2.5% of all the dogs and cats in
homes in the U.S. carry microchip identification.
The present size of the microchip market appears to be less
at issue than growth potential. AVID and Schering-Plough donated
thousands of scanners to animal shelters just to get them into use,
and even then, the National Animal Control Association vocally
objected to having microchip scanning added to the animal control
workload.
Microchipping has now proved itself, including in alerting
shelters to the previously seldom detected practice of unhappy
neighbors or estranged “significant others” surrendering stolen pets
to shelters as their own.
A recent NACA survey indicates that about 37% of U.S. animal
control shelters now microchip the animals they adopt out. Microchip
makers are betting that soon most pets will be microchipped.

Hired

July 1, 2004 Archivist Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, July/August 2004:

James Bias is the new president of the SPCA of Texas in
Dallas, succeeding Warren Cox, who left in November 2003. Bias
previously headed the Humane Society & SPCA of Bexar County in San
Antonio, Albuquerque Animal Services, and the Humane Society of
North Texas in Fort Worth, and was operations director for Citizens
for Animal Protection in Houston. Cox, running animal shelters
since 1952, is now interim chief at the Montgomery County Animal
Shelter in Dayton, Ohio.

Mike Russell, 59, was in June 2004 named president and CEO
of the World Wildlife Fund of Canada, succeeding Monte Hummel, the
head since 1978. Russell formerly chaired AADCO Automotive Inc.,
and held marketing posts with Sunoco, Petro Canada, and Shell
Canada.

North America

AVMA bars Association of Vets for Animal Rights from tabling

July 1, 2004 Archivist Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, July/August 2004:

PHILADELPHIA–Fuming over public criticism of American
Veterinary Medical Association farm animal welfare policies, AVMA
executive vice president Bruce Little on July 21 barred the
Association of Veterinarians for Animal Rights from tabling at a
booth it had already reserved and paid for during the five-day AVMA
annual conference, July 24-28.
AVAR vice president Holly Cheever was allowed to address a
pre-conference meeting of convention delegates, but AVAR was
otherwise excluded for “espousing philosophies or actions in
opposition to those of the AVMA.”
Explained Cheever on the AVAR web site, “On June 21, 2004,
a full-page ad ran in the New York Times asking, ‘Has anyone
betrayed more animals than the American Veterinary Medical
Association?’ The ad,” similar to one published in the April 2004
edition of ANIMAL PEOPLE, “was sponsored by Animal Rights
International, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals,
United Poultry Concerns, and the Association of Veterinarians for
Animal Rights.
“While AVAR did not create the ad,” Cheever said, “we were
asked if we wished to sign it, since it addressed many issues which
AVAR has brought before the AVMA.

North America

Breed-specific dog laws survive Ohio challenge, face another; related developments

July 1, 2004 Archivist Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, July/August 2004:

TOLEDO, Ohio–Breed-specific dog legislation on July 8,
2004 survived a challenge in Toledo Municipal Court. Judge Francis
X. Gorman upheld an ordinance limiting possession of pit bull
terriers to one, insured for $100,000 liability, and requiring that
pit bulls be kept behind locked doors or fences at home, muzzled
when taken out.
Paul Tellings, 30, then of East Toledo, sued, backed by
the American Canine Foundation, of Belfair, Washington, after he
was charged with keeping too many pit bulls and not insuring them.
Gorman ruled that “The pit bull, as a breed, is not
inherently dangerous,” and that “There is no statistical evidence
which indicates that the pit bull bites more frequently than some
other breeds.” However, Gorman wrote, “There is substantial
evidence that pit bull bites cause a disproportionate number of
fatalities.” Because pit bulls have “been utilized extensively by
drug dealers, dogfighters, and urban gang members,” Gorman said,
they “create a substantial and real threat to the safety of the
public. This ordinance is a necessary and useful tool,” Gorman
concluded, “in controlling these undesirable dogs.”
ACF founder Glen Bui in a web posting called the verdict “a
very small victory but a major loss.”
Tellings and Bui indicated to Toledo Blade staff writer Robin
Erb that Tellings might next plead “no contest” to a misdemeanor
charge in order to pursue an appeal.

Awards & honors

July 1, 2004 Archivist Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, July/August 2004:

Aryenish Birdie of Kansas City has received the 14th annual
Bill Rosenberg Award, presented by the Farm Animal Reform Movement
for outstanding work toward farm animal liberation by a teenager.
Past winners have included Mike Markarian (1992), now president of
the Fund for Animals; Students for Animal Protection founder Marc
Freligh (1995); actor Danny Seo (1996), now a major donor to Korean
animal welfare work; Compassion Over Killing cofounder Paul Shapiro
(1998); Student Animal Rights Alliance founder Patrick Kwan (2000);
and Mercy for Animals founder Nathan Runkle (2001).

Point Coupee Animal Shelter cofounder Ellen Mauck, 79, of
Jarrow, Louisiana, was on July 9, 2004 named “Humanitarian of the
Year” by the Humane Society of Louisiana. Involved in animal rescue
since early childhood, also legendary for her love of riding
powerful motorcycles, Mauck was a longtime welder for Caterpillar
Inc. in Springfield, Illinois, inspired by the World War II poster
figure “Rosie the Riveter.” In 1992 Mauck was among the charter
subscribers to ANIMAL PEOPLE.

Awards

No radio talk of Reno rodeo

July 1, 2004 Archivist Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, July/August 2004:

RENO–The first rule of journalism is “get both sides,” but
trying to do it cost KPTT-630 Radio sales manager and talk show host
Lee Adams his job on June 28, 2004.
A 28-year veteran of radio work, employed by KPTT since
December 2000, Adams learned on June 25 while preparing for his
weekly Friday afternoon talk show that the Reno Rodeo was ending that
evening, and that Steve Hindi, founder of the animal advocacy group
SHARK, has done extensive documentation of animal abuse at rodeos.
“I telephoned Hindi and invited him to participate in the
show,” Adams told ANIMAL PEOPLE. “I then learned that Professional
Rodeo Cowboys Association animal welfare coordinator Cindy
Schoenholtz was in Reno, tracked her down, and invited her to be on
the show.
“When I informed her that I would also have Hindi, she told
me she would have to clear it with her superiors at the PRCA. Within
an hour she cancelled her appearance. I then got a call from my
boss, general manager Dave Wilt of Lotus Radio in Reno.”
Lotus owns 26 radio stations in California, Arizona, Texas,
and Nevada. Among them is the official Reno Rodeo station.
“Wilt was very upset,” Adams continued, “demanding to know
whose idea it was to put an animal rights activist on the air. Since
Schoenholtz had just cancelled and I wanted to have both sides, I
told him that I wouldn’t put Hindi on the air, and he hung up.

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