BOOKS: Beastly Abodes: Homes for Birds, Bats, Butterflies and Other Backyard Wildlife

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, April 1996:

Beastly Abodes: Homes for
Birds, Bats, Butterflies and
Other Backyard Wi l d l i f e, by
Bobbe Needham. Sterling Publishing
Co. (387 Park Ave. South, New York,
NY 10016), 1995. 144 pages, hardcover.
$21.95.

At a glance this looks like just
another book of birdhouses: ornaments for
the garden, never to be occupied by the creatures
they were built for. But though it has
plenty of photos of fancy artistic bird
dwellings, Beastly Abodes also contains an
unexpected wealth of information about
wildlife. Each house comes not only with
plans for building it, but also instructions on
siting it to attract the right creatures. Each is
made with natural or recycled materials that
blend with the surroundings.

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BOOKS: A Cat

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, April 1996:

A Cat, by Leonard Michaels,
illustrated by Frances Lerner
Riverhead Books
(200 Madison Ave., New York, NY
10016), 1995. $14.95

Michaels’ book is like poetry, and
the illustrations are reminiscent of Japanese
brush painting. There is deft economy, an
aptness to both Michaels’ observations and
the fluid strokes adorning the pages.

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BOOKS: The A.B.C. of Cat Trivia

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, April 1996:

The A.B.C. of Cat Trivia
by Rod Evans and Irwin Berent
Thomas Dunne, St. Martin’s Press
(175 5th Ave., New York, N.Y. 10010),
1996. $19.95.

This seems rather pricy to me, as
so many of the items are rather well-known.
I suppose it has utility as a reference, if one
frequently gives speeches on cats, but if you
just want to wow a cat-owned date with cat
lore, you would probably do as well to arrive
with a catnip mouse. Included are 200 pages
of superstitions about cats, cruelties to cats
done by historical personages, long lists of
place names and floral designations which
seem to have as little to do with cats as one
always figured.

BOOKS: Cat Love Letters: Collected Correspondence of Cats In Love

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, April 1996:

Cat Love Letters: Collected Correspondence of Cats In Love
by Leigh Rutledge, illustrated by Robert Crawford.
Dutton (375 Hudson, New York, NY 10014), 1994. $14.95.

I am afraid this is a women’s book. I cannot imagine a man, even the most aieurophilic
student of romantic correspondence of bygone eras when time and pains were spent on
billet-doux, wading through this. Junior high school girls giggling in gaggles, indulgent
mother-and-daughter teams of all ages, and sentimental elderly women will find it “precious.”
It is cleverly done, clearly designed to be a gift item. My copy came as an anniversary
remembrance, and as a valentine or a birthday gift, it will outlast more passing around than
chocolates, but it is written by cats who knew Martha Stewart, had ancestors who knew the
late Emily Post, and probably had descended from pets of Madame de Sevigne a n d L o r d
Chesterfield, both. Maybe a sigh and a mew is not enough. Perhaps both cats and their people
should make more of a game of corresponding, not just roll the ballpoints under the desk
and fall asleep. Here is a book that reveals the intricate maneuvers that may resolve the most
ardent love problems when pen and paper and purr engage.

BOOKS: Titles to read aloud

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, April 1996:

Families of the Deep Blue Sea
by Kenneth Mallory, illustrated by Marshall Peck III
Can We Be Friends?
by Alexandra Wright, illustrated by Marshall Peck III
Do They Scare You?
by Sneed B. Collard III, illustrated by Kristin Kest
Animal Close-Ups series:
The Whale, by Valerie Tracqui,
with photos by Francois Gohier/Jacana
The Fox: Playful Prowler, by Christian Havard
The Wolf: Night Howler, by Christian Havard
All from Charlesbridge Publishing, 1995.
(85 Main Street, Watertown, MA 02172-4411)
$6.95 each, paperback.
Animals In Disguise
by Martine Duprez,
illustrated by Helene Appell-Mertiny
Birds Of The Night
by Jean de Sart, illustrated by Jean-Marie Winants
Charlesbridge, 1995. $14.95 each, hardcover.

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BOOKS: Beyond The Law & Animal Welfare Legislation in Northern European Countries

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, April 1996:

Beyond The Law:
Agribusiness and the Systemic Abuse of Animals Raised for Food or Food Production
by David J. Wolfson.
Coalition for Non-Violent Food, POB 214, Planetarium Station, New York, NY 10024), 1995. 53 pages.
(Send self-addressed catalog envelope with 78¢ postage.)

Animal Welfare Legislation in Northern European Countries: A Study Tour
by Glen H. and Beverly A. Schmidt.
Privately circulated by the American Farm Bureau Federation and the Animal Industry Foundation.

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ISAR, HSUS, Mercy Crusade lawsuits

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, April 1996:

The International Society for Animal Rights on February 28 sued founder and
recently deposed president Helen Jones along with her sometime driver Edward Woodyatt,
both of Clarks Summit, Pennsyvlania, for alleged fraud and conversion of ISAR assets to
personal gain. The bill of particulars against Jones includes 28 purported breaches of fiduciary
duties, involving misrepresentation of financial data, using ISAR funds to purchase alcohol,
abusive behavior toward staff, and bizarre personal conduct, paralleling the accounts
given by former staff in the October 1995 edition of ANIMAL PEOPLE.

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Activism

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, April 1996:

Robert E. Kazelak, of Hoffman
Estates, Illinois, was charged on March 22
with misdemeanor reckless conduct for
allegedly twice firing a shotgun just over the
head of Chicago Animal Rights Coaliton member
Mike Durschmid six days earlier. Durschmid,
with CHARC president Steve Hindi and
other activists, was on the far side of Illinois
Highway 173, protesting a cage-reared pheasant
shoot at the Richmond Hunt Club in
McHenry County. According to Hindi,
Kazelak “aimed the weapon directly at the
heads of the activists,” making sure he had
their attention before he fired. The incident
was immediately reported to the McHenry
County sheriff’s department, who turned it
over to the Illinois Department of Natural
Resources, who gave it to the McHenry
County State’s Attorney, Hindi said, without
key evidence. The charges were finally filed
only after the shooting drew heavy publicity.

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COURT CALENDAR

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, April 1996:

Crimes against humans

Thomas Hamilton, 43, of
Dunblane, Scotland, held permits for
hunting weapons including a shotgun and
two rifles, as well as for the four pistols he
possessed as a target shooter and used on
March 13 to kill 16 five-and-six-year-olds,
along with their teacher, wounding 17 others.
Hunters on the America Online
“Animals and Society” discussion board
nonetheless rushed to deny that Hamilton was
a hunter. Some also argued that Hamilton
was not a “pervert,” since though long suspected
of pederasty, he was never formally
charged with an offense. Hamilton purported
to teach outdoor skills to boys for more than
20 years, trying several times to start youth
clubs after he was ousted as a Boy Scout
leader in 1974 for keeping eight boys
overnight in a freezing van. At one point he
allegedly used his shotgun to threaten a boy’s
mother, but when she called the police she
was told they could do nothing because he
was licensed to have the weapon.

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