A Project of Animal People, Inc., 1992-2013
From ANIMAL PEOPLE, July/August 2012:
Taiji plans “swim with dolphins” park
TAIJI, Japan–Notorious for killing as many as 2,000 dolphins and small whales per winter, the coastal Japanese city of Taiji plans to make Moriura Bay, where the 2009 Oscar-winning documentary The Cove was clandestinely filmed, “a huge pool where people can swim and kayak among small whales and dolphins,” the Daily Yomiuri disclosed on May 1, 2012. Read more
From ANIMAL PEOPLE, July/August 2012:
Rhode Island to give animals legal representation in cruelty & neglect case
PROVIDENCE–Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee on June 15, 2012 endorsed into law a bill that allows the director of the state Department of Environmental Management to designate a department veterinarian or a representative of the Rhode Island SPCA to act as an advocate for the animal victims in abuse and neglect cases. The advocate would be assigned to make recommendations on behalf of animal victims to any court in Rhode Island before which the custody or well-being of an animal is at issue. Introduced by state senator John J. Tassoni Jr. and state representative Peter John Petrarca, the new Rhode Island law is believed to be among the first of its kind in the world. Swiss voters in March 2007 rejected by a margin of more than 2-to-1 a ballot question seeking to establish a similar system. Governor Chafee on June 21 signed into law a bill banning the use of veal crates and restricting the use of gestation stalls for pigs. Nine other states have similar legislation.
From ANIMAL PEOPLE, July/August 2012:
Chimps injure anthropology student at Jane Goodall Institute Chimpanzee Eden
JOHANNESBURG–U.S. anthropology student Andrew Oberle, 26, lost an ear, several fingers and toes and a testicle on June 28, 2012 after entering a restricted enclosure at Jane Goodall Institute Chimpanzee Eden, apparently to pick up a rock that he believed two chimps named Nikki and Amadeus might hurl at a group of about a dozen visitors. Placed in a medically induced coma due to blood loss, Oberle underwent six hours of surgery five days after the attack. Read more
From ANIMAL PEOPLE, July/August 2012:
GreenInterview.com host Silver Donald Cameron, 75, was on June 29, 2012 awarded the Order of Canada, for his career as journalist, writer, and community activist. Cameron in the April 2011 edition of ANIMAL PEOPLE and on his personal web site denounced the legal position of the Canada Revenue Agency that “an activity or purpose is only charitable when it provides a benefit to humans.” Concluded Cameron, “The coyote, the cod and the chestnut have a right to live and flourish, and advocating on their behalf–with or without a benefit to humans–is a deeply moral activity and a legitimate charitable purpose.” Read more
From ANIMAL PEOPLE, July/August 2012:
Bell Canada not funding centennial Stampede rodeo
CALGARY, RENO–-Bell Canada spokesperson Jacqueline Michelis on July 3, 2012 confirmed to Lauren Krugel of Canadian Press that the telecommunications company will not sponsor Calgary Stampede rodeo events. The 100th anniversary running of Calgary Stampede was to be held July 6-13, 2012.
“We have decided to focus on the entertainment part of the Stampede,” Michelis said. Bell Canada continued to sponsor non-rodeo Stampede events, including free live entertainment at the newly opened Bell Centennial Plaza on the Stampede grounds. Read more
From ANIMAL PEOPLE, July/August 2012:
Bogotá bans bullfights, but “corralejas” continue in Colombian hinterlands
BOGOTA, Colombia— Bogotá mayor Gustavo Petro “has stated that he will end bullfighting after bullfight organizers Taurine Corporation refused to agree that animals would not be killed during the fights,” announced Animal Defenders International chief executive Jan Creamer on June 15, 2012.
“We are close to seeing an end to bullfighting in Bogotá, thanks to cultural and social change,” said ADI Colombian representative Eduardo Peña. Added ADI spokesperson Matt Rossell, “It is envisaged that the Plaza La Santamaría, where bullfights are currently held, and the surrounding area will developed into a cultural hub.” The Petro administration has already published a four-year plan for redeveloping Plaza La Santamaría. Read more
From ANIMAL PEOPLE, July/August 2012:
International data
The United Kingdom data below was collected by the ninth annual Dogs Trust survey of U.K. dog wardens, and does not include dogs who are killed after surrender to nonprofit humane societies–believed to be about half of the actual total of dogs killed by U.K. shelters. The data from Belgium, Kyryzstan, Pakistan, and Ukraine was collected in 2010 by the United Nations Food & Agricultural Organization. The remainder was collected by ANIMAL PEOPLE, in the same manner as the accompanying U.S. data. Read more
From ANIMAL PEOPLE, July/August 2012:
KOCHI, Kerala, India–A livestock gift scheme meant to increase the incomes of 30 families living within the nominally protected Vazhachal Forest, within the Parambikulam Tiger Reserve buffer zone, is putting the forest, the families, and the donated cattle at risk, Wildlife Division of the Kerala Forest Research Institute chief E.A. Jayson told K.S. Sudhi of The Hindu in May 2012. Read more
From ANIMAL PEOPLE, July/August 2012:
California foie gras ban takes effect
LOS ANGELES–A California law forbidding the sale of foie gras took effect on July 1, 2012, almost eight years after passage–and was challenged in court less than 24 hours later by plaintiffs including Hot’s Restaurant Group, the foie gras trade organization Association des Éleveurs de Canards et d’Oies du Québec, and Hudson Valley Foie Gras, the upstate New York firm that is the largest foie gras producer in North America. Read more