Vivisection

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, October 1992:

* George Bush signed the Animal Enterprise Protection
Act of 1992 into law on August 26, making vandalism of
farms and laboratories a federal offense. The law broadens the
jurisdiction of the FBI in such cases, but probably will not help
federal grand juries probing laboratory break-ins in Oregon,
Washington, Michigan, and Massachusetts to reach indict-
ments, since the alleged offenses took place long before the
law was passed.
* The Bush administration on August 23 proposed redi-
recting federally funded biomedical research into economically
productive areas, a move that might decrease the number of
animals used in so-called basic research, but increase the num-
ber used in product safety testing.

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Tactics & Actions

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, October 1992:

* PETA recently staged the first demonstration
against meat-eating to be held in Moscow, Russia,
since Leo Tolstoy’s time. Inasmuch as the picket signs
were apparently all in English, for the benefit of American
and British TV crews, Russian patrons were mostly puz-
zled. The vegetarian movement Tolstoy championed is
today little known in Russia; Lenin and Stalin viciously
repressed it, viewing the back-to-the-land philosophy that
went with it as counter-revolutionary. Further, while most
Russians are used to going without meat for prolonged
periods due to shortages, fresh fruit and vegetables are also
often scarce and expensive—and tofu was unheard of,
until a small Hare Krishna restaurant introduced it two
years ago. The American Fund for Alternatives to Animal
Research has moved to remedy the situation, wiring
$4,343 to the Center for Ethical Treatment of Animals in
Moscow on August 17. According to CETA president
Tatyana Pavlova, the funds will go toward a computer,
laser printer, and essential software, which in turn will be
used primarily to publish information on vegetarianism.

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Fur

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, October 1992:

* Fur Free Friday will be November 27
this year—the day after Thanksgiving, the
traditional start of the peak fur sales season.
Friends of Animals and Animal Rights
Mobilization are coordinating events in
numerous locations. Get details from FoA at
212-247-8120, and from ARM at 303-388-
7120.
* The Committee of Jews for
Compassion is taking out a series of full-page
ads in Jewish newspapers to publicize Tel
Aviv chief Sephardic rabbi Haim David
Halevi’s recent ruling that Jewish law forbids
manufacturing or wearing fur because it for-
bids causing pain to animals. Write CJC c/o
CHAI, P.O. Box 3341, Alexandria, VA
22302.

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Zoos & Aquariums

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, October 1992:

Two of the four beluga whales caught in
August for the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago died
September 22, apparently as result of overdoses of
roundworm medication. The capture of the whales was
fought every step of the way by marine mammal protec-
tion groups, including Lifeforce and the International
Wildlife Coalition.
The National Zoo in Washington D.C. is test-
ing a deer contraceptive this fall on 30 does. “We’re try-
ing to develop a technology for the humane population
control of deer where hunting is not wise, legal, or
safe,” said Montana wildlife fertility researcher Jay
Kirkpatrick, who developed the contraceptive.

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CRIME & PUNISHMENT

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, October 1992:

Crimes Against Humans
* The FBI and local police are seeking a
serial killer who is believed responsible for
shooting a bowhunter, a deer hunter, two
fishermen, and a jogger since 1989 in rural
eastern Ohio. An anonymous letter to a local
newspaper from the purported killer indicates
he himself is a hunter; he demonstrates a
hunter’s knowledge of firearms. The man
boasted that these are not his only murders.
* Imperial Food Products owner Emmett
Roe pleaded guilty Sept. 14 to 25 counts of
manslaughter in connection with a Sept. 3,
1991 blaze at the company’s chicken process-
ing plant in Hamlet, North Carolina. Similar
charges against Roe’s son and another plant
official were dropped as part of a plea bar-
gain. Roe was setenced to 20 years in prison
for locking exits and neglecting fire precau-
tions. Roe was earlier fined $808,150 for fire
code violations, and still faces 19 civil suits
from bereaved survivors.

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Cat Project Update

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, October 1992:

Our feral cat rescue project in northern
Fairfield County, Connecticut, concluded on
July 12 after handling 320 cats in seven
months. All the cats were vaccinated against
rabies; all who were old enough were spayed
or neutered. Two hundred thirty seven cats
were returned to their original caretakers.
Thirty-nine cats, who were either kittens
when picked up or were apparent abandoned
pets, were adopted out. Another six cats in
this category were adopted by volunteers who
helped run the program.

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DOGS & CATS

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, October 1992:

* Wildlife officer Ric Nattrass of the Queensland (Australia) National Parks
and Wildlife Service has concluded that, “Based on data collected by wildlife staff
at the Moggill Centre (in Brisbane), there is no evidence to date that the domestic
cat is a major threat to the long term survival of the city’s native fauna. From a
purely conservation point of view, neither the numbers nor the species taken by cats
are cause for alarm when compared with the losses to urbanization, industrializa-
tion, motor traffic, and the creation of the horse paddock.” Nattrass’ report is
based on the experience of a single metropolitan area, as critics are quick to note,
and flies in the face of conventional belief; but it is worth pointing out that the only
other major study of domestic cat predation to date, by John Lawton and Peter
Churcher, was also based on the experience of a single location, a village in thesub-
urbs of London, England, and also concluded that while cats kill significant num-
bers of animals, the overwhelming majority are common mice, voles, and birds
(principally sparrows).

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Diet & Health

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, October 1992:

* The USDA school lunch subsidy pro-
gram is functioning as a dump for choles-
terol-laden meat and dairy products, the con-
sumer group Public Voice for Food and
Health Policy charged September 16.
Approximately 20% of each of the 4.1 billion
school lunches served in 1991 consisted of
free food supplied by the USDA—but cheese
and butter made up a third of the $10.2 billion
total, almost all of the potatoes had fat added,
and only 3.4% of the fruit and vegetables
were fresh. The Public Voice report was
endorsed by American School Food Service
Association spokesman Kevin Dando, who
agreed, “There’s entirely too much butter
available, and schools would like to have
more fresh fruits and vegetables.” From 1979
through 1991, the USDA spent $7.2 billion to
supply schools with meat and dairy products,
but spent just $2 billion on fruits, vegetables,
and grains.

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Agriculture

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, October 1992:

October 2 was the 10th anniver-
sary of World Farm Animals Day, declared
in 1983 by the Farm Animal Reform
Movement to coincide with Gandhi’s birthday
and World Vegetarian Day. Major commemo-
rations were scheduled in New York, the
Washington D.C. metropolitan area, Iowa,
Florida, California, and Hawaii.
The contribution of cattle to global
warming has significantly increased over the
past three years, along with the world cattle
population, International Union of Air
Pollution Prevention Associations director
general John Langston warned the 800-mem-
ber group in early September.

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