Zoos

December 1, 1993 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, December 1993:

World Society for the Protection of

Animals field officer Neil Trent flew to Tbilsi

in the former Soviet republic of Georgia on

November 26 in an emergency effort to save

starving animals in the city zoo––among them

two tigers, several lions, a polar bear, a leop-

ard, a wolf pack, and 25 birds of two species

(down in recent months from 1,000 birds of 40

species). The animals have reportedly received

only a third of their normal rations for months.

They were to be sent to the better-funded Baku

Zoo in Azerbaijan, but the deal was vetoed by

the Tbilsi mayor for reasons of regional pride,

according to anthropologist Mary Ellen

Chatwin, who called WSPA after other groups

declined to help. The Tbilsi Zoo used to draw

500,000-plus visitors a year, with a staff of

120. Attendance fell with the economy when

civil war broke out following the collapse of the

Soviet Union; some of the present staff of 60

are paid under 50ç a month. Worldwide, the

menageries of at least four major zoos have

starved in the last two years, all due to war.

Marine mammals

December 1, 1993 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, December 1993:

The Japanese whaler Nisshin Maru sailed from

Yokosuka November 12 on a five-month “research” mission.

The vessel killed 330 whales last year, also for

“research”––but most of the whales’ meat was sold. Just two

days earlier, Swedish authorities intercepted 3.5 tons of whale

meat in an illegal air cargo shipment from Norway to South

Korea, apparently for resale to Japan. Norway killed 226

whales this year, including 157 under a self-assigned 160-

whale commercial quota, of which 56% were females and 69%

of those were pregnant. “These animals are larger than the

males and therefore produce more meat per catch,” explained

Chris Stroud of the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society.

“That the Norwegians seem to be killing the elements responsi-

ble for the recovery of the population does not seem to be a

consideration. Their only thought is to maximize commercial

advantage.”

Zoos

November 1, 1993 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, November 1993:

Trying to share World Series pub-

licity, the Philadelphia Zoo wagered the loan of

two white lion cubs against the loan of two

Tasmanian Devils from the Toronto Zoo on

October 17––and incensed some Philadelphians

who thought the deal showed a casual attitude

toward the fate of the animals. Both zoos are

well-reputed, and the animals were apparently

scheduled to be moved elsewhere anyway.

The San Diego Zoo, barred from

renting two giant pandas from China at $1

million a year by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife

Service, is trying to decide what to do with a

new million-dollar panda cage and an extensive

stock of panda souvenirs. Interior Secretary

Bruce Babbitt ruled that the deal might con-

tribute to “irresistible pressure for the capture

and export of pandas,” contrary to the best

interest of the highly endangered species, even

though it was billed as a breeding loan and

China was supposed to spend the revenue on

panda conservation projects––which have

included such only vaguely related activities as

building hotels and hydroelectric dams in the

recent past. The deal also contradicted policy

of the American Society of Zoological Parks

and Aquariums.

Wildlife: wolves and elephants and turtles and bison and bats and bears––oh my!

November 1, 1993 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, November 1993:

The North American Free Trade

Agreement could harm endangered species

and wildlife sanctuaries along the

U.S./Mexican border, a U.S. Fish and

Wildlife Service impact analysis says. “There

are serious habitat problems and endangered

species problems on the border now, and we

expect that NAFTA may in fact exacerbate

some of them,” USFWS international affairs

specialist Doug Ryan told the Los Angeles

Times on September 27. The USFWS report

confirms the view of the majority of national

animal and habitat protection groups; see

“Animal and habitat protection groups split”

on page 6 of the October issue of ANIMAL

PEOPLE.

COURT CALENDAR

October 1, 1993 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, October 1993:

Editor’s note: The people grouped under the heading “Animal Collectors,”

below, call themselves animal rescuers. The others, purportedly, sought to make

money. In each case, however, regardless of alleged motive, the pathology and cir –

cumstances of the perpetrators seems to be the same. As humane investigator Lewis R.

Plumb of the Promotion of Animal Welfare Society in Paradise, California wrote about

a case he and his wife prosecuted, “When two people are living in a mobile home with

hundreds of dogs, with feces all over the floors and even on the bed, when in one small

container a mother poodle nurses two dead puppies who have been left in the cage,

when three dead puppies are in the freezer next to a frozen turkey and some ice cream,

then you get the idea that it just maybe is not so much criminality as insanity. How

should these people be humanely dealt with? As it is now, each felony cruelty count

under California law carries a maximum penalty of one year is prison, a maximum fine

Animal Spectacles

September 1, 1993 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, September 1993:

The Trump Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey, pledged to end mule-diving exhibitions

on its famed Steel Pier on August 15. Models in bathing suits rode full-sized horses through 40-foot jumps into a tank of sea water at the Steel Pier from 1929 until 1978, when the pier was closed. Reopened this year, the Steel Pier featured Tim Rivers’ World’s Only Diving Mules, a riderless touring act from Citra, Florida, but met heavy protest when Rivers’ mule, two miniature horses, and a dog all appeared reluctant to jump from a 30-foot height.

Habitat

July 1, 1993 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, July/August 1993:

Eighty percent of the remaining old growth

forest in the Pacific Northwest would be protected from

logging under a plan to protect endangered spotted owls

and salmon runs unveiled July 2 by President Bill Clinton

in response to rulings by Federal District Judge William

Dwyer of Seattle that have restricted logging for nearly

three years. During the halt, the logging workforce has

declined from 145,000 to 125,000. The protected zones

would run along watersheds. Loggers would be allowed

to cut about 1.2 billion board feet of old growth per year

in less sensitive areas, down from five billion board feet

in the mid-1980s. While most of the plan does not

require Congressional approval, it must be ratified by

Dwyer before any old growth logging on the land covered

by his decisions can resume. Dwyer’s decision, based on

the provisions of the Endangered Species Act, is due in

mid-July. The Clinton plan, drafted with heavy input

from Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt, drew immediate

flak from House Speaker Thomas Foley, who indicated

he might cross party lines in an attempt to gut the ESA

when it comes up later this year for renewal.

Wildlife

July 1, 1993 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, July/August 1993:

British and Danish mammologists have con-

firmed the discovery of a previously unknown hooved ani-

mal in the Vu Quang Nature Reserve of northwestern

Vietnam, along the Laotian border. Dubbed Psuedoryx

nghetinhensis, the animal resembles a cow, is about the

size of a goat, and has antelope-like horns. Psuedoryx

nghetinhensis is the biggest new land animal to be found in

more than 50 years.

An investigation of the cash value

Pennsylvanians would assign to various wildlife-related

experiences, upcoming in The Journal of Environmental

Management, found a day of fishing assessed at from

$4.80 to $53.40, depending on the site, while a day of

bird-watching would go for $15.00, and the chance to

view an elk at close range would fetch $24.52. The prices

are over and above the actual cost of the activity.

FUR

June 1, 1993 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, June 1993:

Someone used rat poison in late

April to kill more than 17,000 mink at

the Sakhalin Fur Industrial Association fur

farm on Sakhalin Island in the former

Soviet Union. The fur farm claimed a loss

of $2.8 million, although at current world

pelt prices the actual loss was probably

closer to $400,000. Possible suspects

include rival fur entrepreneurs trying to

boost prices for their own pelts by creating

a shortage and simultaneously wiping out a

rival; someone in management attempting

to cash in on the limited insurance cover-

age; and/or disgruntled employees.

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