Roddick tells AmEx to shed fur

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 1993:

WEST SUSSEX, U.K.––Seeking
to build a progressive image, American
Express recently began airing television com-
mercials featuring British cruelty-free person-
al care products entrepreneur Anita Roddick,
whose Body Shop logo has become synony-
mous with conscientious capitalism. The
commercials describe how Roddick roams the
world in search of products whose ingredients
can be harvested from whole and healthy nat-
ural environments, such as the Amazonian
rainforest. It’s great publicity for The Body
Shop as well as for AmEx––and it came at a
price beyond dollars.

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Postage hike to hit charities

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 1993:

Third class nonprofit postal rates, used to
mail ANIMAL PEOPLE and most other humane infor-
mation mediums, are scheduled to take another big jump
in the fall, following increases of 80% over the past three
years. Further, President Clinton’s fiscal 1994 budget
proposes abolishing nonprofit third class privileges for
publications, such as ANIMAL PEOPLE, that contain
either advertising or political advocacy materials.
Nonprofit second class privileges would be removed from
periodicals devoting more than 10% of their space to
advertising (30% to 40% advertising is the usual periodi-
cal breakeven point). Letter-sized nonprofit mailing
rates, used chiefly for fundraising, may go up 32%, from
a current basic rate of 11.1¢ per piece to 14.7¢ apiece.
While the gradual reduction of nonprofit mailing subsidies
hurts all charities, some observers believe the higher rates
will most hurt organizations such as the Doris Day Animal
League, which were formed with the active participation
of commercial direct mail fundraising firms, and whose
programs consist largely of “public education” via letters
and bulletins distributed with funding appeals.

ANIMAL CONTROL & RESCUE

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 1993:

The Los Angeles City Council’ s
ad hoc committee on the ongoing municipal
budget crisis has dropped plans to merge
city and county animal control, as a merger
might hurt service without saving money.
The Agricultural Subcommittee
of the Maine legislature has unanimously
killed as impractical a bill to institute
statewide cat licensing.
Washington state senator Scott
Barr’s bill (SB 5832) to force pounds and
shelters to surrender animals to research lab-
oratories recently cleared the state senate
agriculture committee 6-0. The committee is
headed by Marilyn Rasmussen, who is
author of another bill, SB 5532, that would
strip humane societies of the power to
enforce anti-cruelty laws, and exempt dog
and cat breeders, circuses, zoos, aquariums,

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Can we outlaw pet overpopulation?

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 1993:

SACRAMENTO, California –– Neuter your cat
or else!
In legal language, “An owner of a cat over the age
of six months shall have the cat sterilized by a veterinarian if
the cat is permitted outdoors without supervision.”
As drafted, California state assembly bill AB 302
admits no exceptions. Introduced in early February by
assemblyman Paul Horcher, AB 302 sounds like a shelter
worker’s dream––but may be mainly symbolic, since it
includes neither an enforcement mechanism nor specific
penalties for disobedience. Due to the difficulty of identify-
ing cats, some legal experts believe it could never be
enforced without instituting a universal statewide system of
cat licensing, something never before attempted on any
comparable scale, and almost certain to be opposed by
many cat-keepers.

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ANIMAL PEOPLE investigation: Acting head of North Shore Animal League cleared of old allegations; MAY BE NAMED PRESIDENT OF $59 MILLION HUMANE SOCIETY

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 1993:

PORT WASHINGTON, New York––An intensive ANIMAL PEOPLE
investigation of allegations raised against acting North Shore Animal League chief exec-
utive officer J. John Stevenson by his opponents in an eight-year-old lawsuit has con-
cluded that they have no substance sufficient to call into question his fitness to adminis-
trate the world’s largest humane society.
ANIMAL PEOPLE reviewed more than 300 pages of court documents and
interviewed numerous prominently placed witnesses before grilling Stevenson himself
for six and a half hours. Stevenson suggested the unusually intense session, and drove
three and a half hours each way from his home in Connecticut to participate, he said,
because he saw no other way to lay the long-circulating claims to rest. Although
Stevenson’s opponents discussed some of the issues extensively with The Legal Times in
1990, Stevenson said he hadn’t previously defended himself in public, upon the advice
of his legal counsel to avoid action that could be construed as broadening the case.

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Stallwood to edit Animals’ Agenda; Pacelle quits

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 1993:

MONROE, Connecticut–
Kim Stallwood, former executive director
of People for the Ethical Treatment of
Animals, has been named to replace
board member Jim Motavalli as editor of
the troubledAnimals’ Agendamagazine.
Days later, on April 26, board
president Wayne Pacelle abruptly quit,
without stating his reasons. Now national
director of the Fund for Animals, Pacelle
got his first job in animal rights as
Animals’ Agenda assistant editor in 1987.

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Diet & Health

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 1993:

The Burger King franchise at
Watkins Glen, New York, in February qui-
etly introduced the spicy bean burger sold
by British Burger King outlets. Priced at
$2.29, the vegetarian burger is made from
kidney beans, carrots, onions, potato
flakes, and peppers, breaded and deep
fried, served on a bun with catsup, cheese
(optional), and tomato. Associated Press
quoted the manager as saying six weeks
later, “The demand is unbelievable. People
are coming from all over. There’s not a seat
in the restaurant. They say there are 12 mil-
lion vegetarians in the U.S. If we can kick
into that market, it’s well worth our while.”
According to AP, the spicy bean burger
will be introduced nationally if it remains
popular in Watkins Glen through the end of
the summer.

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Is the ASPCA a dog-in-the-manger? by Garo Alexanian

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 1993:

Last month’s historic announcement from the
American SPCA that it would no longer bid for the $4.5
million contract for operating a pet-killing facility for the
City of New York was apparently motivated by the intro-
duction of Assembly Bill 5376A just three weeks prior.
This bill would finally bring New York City’s
counties (boroughs) parity with all the other counties in the
state with respect to the formation of county-wide Societies
for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Whereas almost
all other counties in the state have the right to have their
own county-wide SPCA, the boroughs of Manhattan,
Queens, Staten Island, and Brooklyn are prohibited from
so doing by state law. An SPCA is basically a volunteer
police force for animals. Functional SPCAs are essential to
shape the public’s attitude, behavior, and compliance with
responsible pet ownership laws. SPCAs help determine
which animal crimes get investigated and prosecuted, and
more importantly, w h o gets prosecuted. If it chose to, a
borough SPCA might bid on any or all of the $4.5 million
contract the ASPCA has relinquished.

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An open letter to the ASPCA and New York City legislators by Elizabeth Forel

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 1993:

The American SPCA’s recent decision to get out of the
business of killing homeless cats and dogs leaves many
unanswered questions. The killing will continue, only
now it may done behind doors closed even more tightly
than before, since the New York City government will
most likely but not willingly assume the responsibility.
New York City could become the biggest, most horren-
dous slaughterhouse dog pound in the nation.
Will the ASPCA don white gloves and join with
every other shelter and humane society in the greater met
ropolitan area, calling themselves a “no kill” shelter but
closing their eyes to the continuing slaughter of precious
healthy animals whose only crime was homelessness? Or
will the ASPCA accept the moral and ethical imperative
and speak out loudly and effectively against the slaughter,
using their newly released energy and financial strength to
educate relentlessly against the obscenity of breeding and
killing? Their past record does not offer much hope.

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