Wildlife

December 1, 1993 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, December 1993:

A study of the efficacy of the Endangered

Species Act by wildlife biologists with the U.S. Fish and

Wildlife Service and the University of Idaho at Moscow

reported November 12 in Science that, “Few species have

actually recovered,” because population goals are set too

low in 60% of the cases where vertebrate populations can

be counted. “Even if population goals were achieved”

they added, “60% of the ESA’s threatened or endangered

vertebrate species would remain in peril, with roughly a

20% probability of extinction within 20 years or 10 gener-

ations, whichever is longer.”

The wild population of bonobo apes, or

pygmy chimpanzees, who are the closest relatives of

humans after the common chimpanzee, has fallen from

50,000 to under 10,000 in two decades; extinction is pro-

jected within seven years. Native to Zaire, bonobos are

threatened by habitat loss, meat poachers, and pet traders

who traffic in the orphaned infants. Young bonobos typi-

cally die within days when apart from their mothers. The

usual customers are visiting non-Africans, who buy

bonobo babies in misguided hopes of saving them, says to

primatologist Jo Thompson. But this encourages the

poachers to capture more. The human and bonobo DNA

sequences differ by only 2-3%.

AGRICULTURE

November 1, 1993 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, November 1993:

A House/Senate conference com-

mittee agreed October 7 to raise the grazing

fee on federal land from $1.86 per animal unit

month to $3.45 over the next three years, and

to increase government supervision of ranching

activities on leased federal land. The higher

fee––still far lower than the going rate for leas-

ing privately owned grazing land––is expected

to sharply reduce the number of cattle and

sheep on the range in 16 western states. Final

approval of the grazing bill is pending.

October 16, both the House and the Senate

voted to eliminate $500 million in subsidies to

the slumping sheep industry. Wool and lamb

prices have fallen to record lows in each of the

past three years. The American Sheep Industry

Association predicted 25% to 30% of U.S.

sheep ranches would go out of business.

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.

WOOFS AND GROWLS

October 1, 1993 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, October 1993:

THE WISE USE WISE GUYS ET AL

George Frampton’s last major task

before leaving the presidency of The Wilderness

Society to become Assistant Secretary for Fish,

Wildlife, and Parks in the Clinton administration

was to preside over the assembly of a 50-page

report called The Wise Use Movement: Strategic

Analysis and 50-State Review. It calls upon the

mainstream environmental movement to distance

itself from radical environmentalism, deep ecolo-

gy, and animal rights, while rebuilding alliances

with farmers and hunters.

The fall 1993 issue of Friends of

Animals’ ActionLine magazine features ANIMAL

PEOPLE editor Merritt Clifton’s “Attack of the

Wise Use Wise Guys,” an investigation of vio-

lence against animals and animal defenders by

members of the self-named “wise use movement.”

It’s $1.95, from POB 1244, Norwalk, CT 06856.

Having run low on friends in Washington D.C.,

Putting People First is relocating this month to

Helena, Montana––PPF president Kathleen

Marquardt’s birth state.

BOOKS: The New Complete Guide To Environmental Careers

October 1, 1993 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, October 1993:

The New Complete Guide To Environmental Careers, by the

Environmental Careers Organization. Island Press (1718 Connecticut Ave.

NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20009), 1993, 364 pages, paper $15.95. [ISBN 1-

55963-178-3]

Aside from health care, environ-

mental concern will create more employ-

ment opportunities in the near future than

any other service sector of the economy,

according to many career counselors. This

guide––completely updated–– offers an

introduction to the myriad possibilities.

BOOKS: Getting Down To Earth: A Call to Environmental Action

October 1, 1993 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, October 1993:

Getting Down To Earth: A Call to Environmental Action, by John

Heidtke. Paulist Press (997 Macarthur Blvd., Mahwah, NJ 07430), 1993, 179

pages, paper $9.95. [ISBN 0-8091-9571-2]

This book is definitely not your

run-of-the-mill environmental textbook for

young adults. John Heidtke is more ambi-

tious and, ultimately, more basic in his

goal. Urging his readers to discover and

define their own moral values, he combines

the emerging personal awareness of adoles-

cence with environmental ethics, and there-

by encourages the development of an inte-

grated ecological conscience.

Agriculture

October 1, 1993 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, October 1993:

Twenty-two percent of New York’s 11,800 dairy farms now milk

their cows three times a day, up from 15% in 1991, according to the Cornell

University Department of Animal Science. The New York dairy cow population

is down to 749,000, from 928,000 a decade ago, and the number of dairy farms is

down from 18,000, but the remainder produced a record 11.6 billion pounds of

milk. Largely because of thrice daily milkings, average milk production per cow

is up 20%, to 15,463 pounds (roughly equal to the national average). Because

thrice daily milkings wear cows out faster, farmers who have gone to that sched-

ule cull their herds more often. Dairy farming accounts for $1.5 billion of New

York’s $2.9 billion-a-year agricultural industry.

Animal and habitat protection groups split on North American Free Trade Agreement

October 1, 1993 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, October 1993:

NO IMPACT STATEMENT REQUIRED

WASHINGTON D.C.––The U.S. Court of

Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled September 24

that the Clinton administration doesn’t have to produce an

environmental impact statement on the North American

Free Trade Agreement before it takes effect. The ruling

reversed a lower court ruling that would have required sev-

eral years of study before the pact could be submitted to

Congress for ratification.

Public Citizen, one of three plaintiffs in the bid to

delay or stop NAFTA, pledged to appeal to the Supreme

Court within a matter of weeks.

“This decision has cheated the American public

out of the right to know,” said Friends of the Earth director

Jane Perkins.

Agriculture

September 1, 1993 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, September 1993:

Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt on August 9

announced plans to hike grazing fees on 280 million acres

of public lands, from the present $1.86 per animal unit per

day to $4.28––still below market value, and half the $8.70

fee the House passed in July 1991, later killed by the

Senate. An earlier attempt by Babbitt to up grazing fees

was delayed by President Clinton until his budget cleared

Congress.

The European Commission on July 13 proposed

that horses in transport should be watered and fed every six

hours; calves under four weeks old, every eight hours; and

adult cattle every 16 hours. Horses and pigs would get 10

hours of rest after traveling 12 hours. If adopted, the new

rules will protect all animals traveling between member

nations.

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