Jogger’s death starts puma panic

June 1, 1994 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, June 1994:

COOL, California––Trail runner Barbara

Schoener, 40, a Placerville mother of two, on April 23

became the first human to be killed by a puma in

California since 1909, when Morgan Hill school teacher

Isola Kennedy, 38, and pupil Earl Wilson, 8, were

mauled by a rabid mountain lion. They survived their

wounds, but died of the rabies some weeks later.

Schoener, running alone in the Auburn State

Recreation Area, apparently unwittingly approached the

puma’s den. Wildlife officials killed the puma on May 1,

after several days of tracking, discovered she was a lac-

tating female, and rescued a male cub on May 4, who

will be donated to a zoo or wildlife park.

Animal control & rescue

June 1, 1994 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, June 1994:

Effective June 28, use of

live animals as prizes in drawings,

lotteries, contests, sweepstakes,

and carnival games is illegal in

Pennsylvania. The law exempts fish,

as well as domestic animals given

away in connection with state-spon-

sored or sanctioned agricultural and

vocational programs. The Pennsyl-

vania Legislative Animal Network

and state representative Jerry Nailer

had pursued the new law since 1989.

Michigan adopted a

felony cruelty law in late April.

The new law eliminates the old

requirement that an animal be owned

for abuse to be punished, which left

homeless animals unprotected, and

weighs offenses in terms of mali-

ciousness rather than in terms of

property damage. The maximum

penalty is now four years in jail and

a $5,000 fine per offense.

Killing wildlife for fun & profit

June 1, 1994 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, June 1994:

Austrian scientist Dr. Martin

Balluch, now at Cambridge University,

reportedly may be deported from Britain

because he opposes fox hunting. Letters of

protest may be sent to the Right Honorable

Michael Howard, Home Secretary, Home

Office, 50 Queen Anne’s Gate, London

SW1H 9AT, United Kingdom.

The winter of 1993-1994 was

among the harshest on record, forcing deer

to yard up sooner and stay yarded longer––but

early field reports indicate that few deer

starved despite hunters’ claims of deer over-

population. Wild turkeys were hard-hit, how-

eve––and may decline, warns National Wild

Turkey Federation representative Tom Baptie

of Castleton, Vermont, because undigested

grain from cow manure is a staple of their

winter diet, but anti-pollution laws now

restrict where and when manure can be spread.

BOOKS: The Best Cat Ever

June 1, 1994 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, June 1994:

The Best Cat Ever, by Cleveland Amory. Little Brown & Co.,

(1271 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020), 260 pages, $19.95 hardcover.

The Best Cat Ever, the third and final

volume of Cleveland Amory’s trilogy which also

includes The Cat Who Came for Christmas and The

Cat and the Curmudgeon, eulogizes Polar Bear and

the warm relationship Amory enjoyed with him for

15 years. Since an aging, arthritic cat, however

personable, cannot supply enough material alone

for an entertaining book of this length, Amory

includes a lot of gossipy humor about his school

days and Harvard years, recalled as he takes Polar

Bear to his major reunions. He recounts for us also

his career as a TV critic, his attempts to endure the

Duchess of Windsor as an employer for the biogra-

phy she wished him to write, and similar tidbits.

OBITUARIES

June 1, 1994 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, June 1994:

Aida Fleming, founder of the

Kindness Club, died on January 25 at age 97.

A longtime animal rescuer, inspired by the

example of Albert Schweitzer, Fleming began

the Kindness Club in 1959 with an essay contest

for school children. The pledge children take to

join has for many become a lifelong creed: “I

promise to be kind to animals, as well as peo-

ple, and to speak and act in defense of all help-

less living creatures.” Eulogized Paul Watson

of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, “My

brothers, sisters, and I were greatly influenced

by the Kindness Club. I attribute what I do,

and the fact that my brothers and sisters are also

anti-hunting, anti-fur coats, and very pro-ani-

mals, to the fact that we were all members of

the Kindness Club.” [The Kindness Club oper-

ates from 65 Brunswick Street, Frederickton,

New Brunswick, Canada E3B 1G5.]

Obituaries

BOOKS: Keeping and Breeding Cockatiels, and Popular Parakeets: Australasian and Asian Species in Aviculture

June 1, 1994 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, June 1994:

Keeping and Breeding Cockatiels, and Popular Parakeets: Australasian and

Asian Species in Aviculture, both by Dulcie and Freddie Cooke. Sterling Publishing

Co. (387 Park Ave. South, New York, NY 10016-8810), 1987, updated 1993, and 1989,

updated 1993, respectively. 159 and 149 pages, $14.95 each, paperback.

A newcomer to birdcare would not be

well-guided by these books, which are oriented

toward aviculture in England. Their contents are

essentially identical. Each addresses basic avian

health, nutrition, and reproduction. Each contains

a chapter on avian disease by veterinarian Alan

Jones. Each omits much important information.

The need for companionship, integral to a bird’s

well-being, is overlooked almost entirely, as are

the avian needs for routine, consistency, and

security. Avian behavior is not addressed at all.

BOOKS: Cockatoos in Aviculture

June 1, 1994 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, June 1994:

Cockatoos in Aviculture, by Rosemary Low. Sterling Publishing

Co. (387 Park Ave. South, New York, NY 10016-8810), 1993, 270 pages.

$24.95, paperback.

Rosemary Low is a highly respected aviculturist, who is also involved in

parrot conservation with the World Parrot Trust. In this informative volume she

emphasizes the intelligent nature of cockatoos and the importance of treating them

with respect. She writes, “The best aviculturists are those who try to put them-

selves in the place of their birds and consider what they would like if they had to

change places.”

COURT CALENDAR

June 1, 1994 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, June 1994:

Crimes Against Humans

Odd jobs man Joseph Bales,

33, and Helene LeMay, 31, a mail-

order vegetarian diet consultant, were

charged April 19 with illegally disposing

of their 10-week-old infant’s remains in

the woods near Eastman, Quebec, a

short drive from their St. Romain home,

and then filing a false kidnapping report

in New York City to cover up for the

baby’s death. Their story fell apart within

hours. An autopsy seemed to confirm

their story that the baby died of natural

causes, as there were no evident signs of

abuse or malnutrition. They did not

report the death, they said, because they

feared they would be charged with abuse,

after having been accused last year of

abusing a mentally retarded foster child.

Gorilla case was frame-up ––McGreal

June 1, 1994 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, June 1994:

MIAMI, Florida––Victor Bernal, 57,

director of zoos and parks for Mexico state,

Mexico, was convicted on May 18 of trying to

bootleg a gorilla from Florida who was actually a

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agent in disguise.

Bernal paid $97,500 for the “gorilla,” in one of

two stings set up by convicted primate trafficker

Matthew Block of Worldwide Primates as part of

an attempted plea bargain. The other sting

nabbed alleged bird’s egg smuggler Clement

Solano.

Bernal is to be sentenced on July 18. In

the most recent similar case, a Texas exotic bird

dealer who was convicted of smuggling parrots

was on April 28 fined $10,000 and sentenced to

five years in prison.

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