Zoos & Aquariums

April 1, 1993 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, April 1993:

The World Society for the Protection of Animals recently liberated Flipper, the

last captive dolphin in Brazil, near where he was captured in 1982. Before the release,

Flipper was reaquainted with life in the ocean under the supervision of Ric O’Barry of the

Dolphin Project––who also trained his namesake, the star of the Flipper TV program. Brazil

banned keeping marine mammals in captivity in 1991. The Brazilian Flipper spent the past

two years in solitude at an abandoned amusement park near Sao Paulo, and was kept alive

by the local fire department, who used their pumper truck to change his water after the filtra-

tion system in his tank deteriorated beyond repair.

Colorado’s Ocean Journey, the proposed aquarium to be built in Denver,

recently tried to head off protest by claiming it would include “only third generation captive-

born dolphins.” Pointed out David Brower, president of Earth Island Institute, “There are

no third-generation captive-born dolphins anywhere.” The Coors Brewing Company recent-

ly retreated from the dolphin controversy. According to a prepared statement issued

February 15, “Contrary to rumors and recent advertisements, Coors does not ‘want to bring

dolphins to Denver.’ Our support of this project is not focused on, nor dependent on,

cetaceans.”

WSPA battles bear-baiting

April 1, 1993 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, April 1993:

The World Society for the

Protection of Animals asks that letters

protesting bear-baiting be sent to the

Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan,

2315 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Washington,

DC 20008-2802. Videotapes recently

obtained by WSPCA staff show how, as a

WSPCA press release explains, “the trained

bear is led to the center of a field and tied by

a 15-foot-rope to a peg in the ground. At the

judge’s signal, two dogs are unleashed to

attack. If the dogs can grasp the bear’s nose

in their teeth and flatten the bear in three min-

Religion & Animals

April 1, 1993 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, April 1993:

The General Association of Davidian

Seventh Day Adventists, a 500-member vege-

tarian sect active in New York, California, and

South Carolina, wish to make known that they

have nothing whatever to do with the Branch

Davidians, who have been involved in an armed

standoff with police and the FBI since February

28 at their compound near Waco, Texas.

ANIMAL HEALTH

April 1, 1993 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, April 1993:

Ohio Veterinary Medical Board member George Wenning, DVM, resigned March 11 under pressure

for having called filing horses’ teeth “nigger work” during a board meeting. The governor’s office ordered another

member, Tom Liggett, DVM, to take a one-day course on cultural diversity at his own expense––and made the

annual course mandatory for all 400 members of state boards and commissions. Liggett reportedly routinely

inquired as to whether applicants for veterinary licenses were “Americans.” The situation came to light when for-

mer board president Linda Randall, DVM, an Afro-American, told media that her private complaints to Governor

George Voinovich had gone unanswered for six months.

Diet & Health

April 1, 1993 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, April 1993:

Riley Detwiler, age 17 months,

on February 21 became the fourth toddler to

die from the outbreak of E. coli bacteria

poisoning that hit Jack-in-the-Box restau-

rants in Washington state and San Diego,

California, in December and January.

March 16, President Bill Clinton responded

to the deaths by proposing a complete over-

haul of the USDA meat and fish inspection

systems. Tainted meat killed more than 150

Americans and made more than 150,000

seriously ill during the past decade.

Tainted pork killed 63 people in

France last year, made 279 people serious-

ly ill, and caused seven abortions.

Fur

March 1, 1993 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, March 1993:

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife

Service has proposed to take red, western

gray, and eastern gray kangaroos off the

threatened species list, which would mean

their pelts could be imported in greater

numbers. Protected since 1974, the

Australian kangaroos now number about

18 million, up from 10 million in 1984,

and are killed for pelts at the rate of about

5.2 million a year. Public comments will

be received until March 22. Address

Office of Public Affairs, USFWS, Dept.

of the Interior, Washington, DC 20240.

Marine Mammals

March 1, 1993 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, March 1993:

“EAT WHALES,” SAYS JAPAN

TOKYO, Japan –– The Japan Fisheries Agency and

25 Japanese fishing organizations on January 29 launched an

aggressive media campaign urging Japanese citizens to eat more

whale meat. The goal is to generate pressure on the International

Whaling Commission to rescind the six-year-old global ban on

whaling at its annual meeting in May, to be held in Kyoto.

The blitz includes radio and television spots touting

whale meat as a cure for asthma and acne, and distribution of

100,000 comic books depicting the history of the Japanese whal-

ing industry. The history is likely to be inaccurate: contrary to

the industry claim that whaling is part of Japanese cultural tradi-

tion, historian Fujiwara Eiji documented in 1989 that Japanese

commercial whaling actually began in 1909, when a man named

Oka Juro brought the concept and techniques from Norway. His

activity was so detested by traditional fishers that some of them

burned his facilities in 1911.

Zoos & Aquariums

December 1, 1992 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, December 1992:

The American Association of

Zoological Parks and Aquariums

announced November 6 that it would rein-

state the accreditation of the Columbus Zoo

in Columbus, Ohio, effective January 1.

The zoo and former director Jack Hanna

were suspended in April for violating the

AAZPA code of ethics by importing two

pandas from China for an exhibit that closed

in September after attracting 925,000 of the

zoo’s 1.5 million visitors. AAZPA con-

tends––along with most other wildlife pro-

tection advocates––that China’s panda

rentals are not in the best interest of either

the species or the individual animals. A

week after the AAZPA announcement, the

Columbus Zoo executive committee named

Hanna “director emeritus” and replaced him

with longtime general manager Gerald

Borin.

Wildlife

December 1, 1992 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, December 1992:

The World Wildlife Fund and

the National Wildlife Federation on

November 13 asked Interior Secretary

Manuel Lujan to impose trade sanctions on

China, Taiwan, South Korea, and Yemen

for permitting traffic in rhinocerous horns.

The wild black rhino population has plunged

from 65,000 to 2,000 since 1970.

The California condor who was

found dead October 8 suffered kidney fail-

ure from drinking antifreeze, the U.S. Fish

and Wildlife Service has determined. The

condor was one of the first two to be

released into the wild after an intensive cap-

tive breeding program. Sixty-two California

condors remain in captivity, six of whom

are scheduled for release this month.

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