Where men are mean and dogs are scared

July 1, 1999 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, July/August 1999:

SEOUL, Republic of Korea––Yet another of the
reputed international victories of the animal protection movement
during the 1980s has collapsed––and this one, the abolition
of dog-and-cat-eating in the Republic of Korea, was for
many activists the most important of all.
It was supposedly achieved in 1978, 1980, 1984,
1986, 1988, and in 1991, according to statements by Korean
officials and premature declarations of victory issued by the
International Fund for Animal Welfare, the World Society for
the Protection of Animals, and many other organizations which
joined in a threat to embarrass the Korean government with
protests against dog-and-cat-eating during the 1988 Olympic
Games, held in Seoul.
Sunnan Kum, 54, informally founded the first
Korean humane society, Koreans for Animal Protection, in
1981. The international groups backed her efforts in 1983,
after she sent them videotapes showing exactly what goes on.

Animal testing and experimentation

June 1, 1999 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, June 1999:

Four months after PETA began
a campaign to reduce animal use in connection
with the High Production Volume chemical
safety testing project undertaken by the
Environmental Protection Agency,
Chemical Manufacturers Association, and
Environmental Defense Fund, at urging of
U.S. vice president Albert Gore, PETA
declared on May 4 that “The EPA has conceded
that some of the planned animal tests
were not necessary. At a recent meeting in
Fairfax, Virginia,” PETA said, “EPA officials
announced their intention to remove a
requirement for genetic toxicity tests on animals,
allowing non-animal tests instead. The
EPA also announced at the meeting that it has
agreed to pull requirements for terrestrial toxicity
tests that would have meant intentionally
poisoning birds. A giant rabbit has followed
Gore to 22 cities,” the PETA statement finished,
“with a sign that says ‘Gore: burn
bunnies, lose votes.’”

Why I started the Animals Asia Foundation by Jill Robinson

June 1, 1999 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, June 1999:

It is offensive and incorrect to say
that Asian people don’t care about animals.
They do––which is why I started the Animals
Asia Foundation in August 1998, after working
for 12 years as a consultant in Asia for the
International Fund for Animal Welfare. The
growing number of Asian environmental and
animal welfare groups is a clear indication that
many Asians share the concerns of animal
lovers worldwide.
Asia lacks animal protection legislation
and realistic educational programs, but
what it needs to improve the situation is help
and encouragement rather than condemnation.
Asian governments are generally receptive to
animal welfare initiatives, and many people in
the local community would welcome the
chance to join with foreign organizations in
making a difference.

Free Willy! six years later

June 1, 1999 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, June 1999:

OSLO, Norway––Responding on
four days’ notice to a Japanese plan to capture
four orcas in Norwegian waters, former
“Flipper” trainer Ric O’Barry recently scored
one of the biggest, quickest victories of his 30-
year crusade against marine mammal captivity.
Yet mass media and even Internet
animal rights forums scarcely noticed.
O’Barry was used to the silence.
Arrested on Earth Day 1970 for tryting to free
two captive dolphins, he campaigned virtually
alone for almost 20 years. Then the 1993 hit
film Free Willy! and sequels made opposition to
marine mammal captivity briefly the fastest
growing and most lucrative branch of the animal
rights movement.

ANIMAL CONTROL

May 1, 1999 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 1999:

Thailand is stepping up a six-year
drive to eradicate rabies. In 1998, says the
Thai government, 3.3 million of the estimated
5.2 million Thai dogs were vaccinated,
700,000 were sterilized by injection (method
not specified), and 165,000 were surgically
sterilized. Only 200,000 free vaccinations
were done, but this year 1.5 million dogs will
be vaccinated without charge, while one million
are to receive the injection sterilant and
238,650 are to be surgically sterilized.

Malaysian pig crisis waning

May 1, 1999 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 1999:

KUALA LUMPUR––The previously
unidentified Hendra-like virus
ravaging the Malaysian pig industry for
the past six months was on April 10,
1999 formally named the Nipah virus,
after the village of Baru Sungai Nipah in
Negri Sembilan, the district where it was
first isolated by virologist Chan Kaw
Bing, MD.
The Hendra virus was named
after Hendra, Australia, where a similar
disease killed 15 horses and three humans
who worked with horses in 1994.

Our search for the Bishnois by Bonny Shah

May 1, 1999 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 1999:

Texas-based animal advocates
Bonny and Ratilal Shah on Christmas Day
1998 took time out from working on other
humane projects in India to visit two Bishnois
villages in the Rajasthan desert.
Valmik Thapar, executive director
of the Ranthambore Foundation, described
the Bishnoi in his 1997 book Land of the Tiger
as “the primary reason that desert wildlife still
exists on the subcontinent. The women of the
community have been known to breastfeed
black buck fawns and save insect life, while
many of the men have died in their efforts to
counter armed poaching gangs.

Maneka survives Indian gov’t fall

May 1, 1999 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 1999:

NEW DELHI––Despite the April
16 collapse of the coalition government of
India, of which she was part, animal advocate
Maneka Gandhi will remain minister of
state for social welfare and empowerment
until new national elections are held––in June
at earliest, but possibly not until September.
The uncertainty, as ANIMAL
PEOPLE went to press, had to do with
whether elections could be completed before
the summer monsoons.
Meanwhile, Maneka keeps the
supervisory authority over animal protection
that she has built into her office since she
joined the present cabinet in March 1998.

GUERILLA WARFARE HITS GORILLA TOURS

April 1, 1999 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, April 1999:

KAMPALA––An estimated 117 alleged members of
the displaced Hutu tribal militia Interhamwe on March 1 turned
from fighting the Tutsi-tribe-led coalition that has ruled
Rwanda since 1994 to strike a deadly blow at tourism in the
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park of western Uganda.
Four wildlife guards were killed in the March 1 dawn
assault, including community conservation chief warden Paul
Ross Wagaba, who was burned alive, and 32 park visitors
were abducted from tourist camp sites near Lake Katangira.
Five vehicles and trailers used as residences were
burned, along with the Ugandan headquarters of the
International Gorilla Conservation Project.
Chicago University gorilla researcher Elizabeth
Garland, 29, woke to gunfire but escaped physical harm by
slipping into the bush as other visitors fled their tents into open
view and were captured. She watched as the raiders segregated
the visitors by language and nationality, taking those who spoke
English with them.

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