ENPA gets 1st female chief since 19th century

May 1, 2007 Archivist Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 2007:
ROME–The Italian charity ENPA, whose name translates
literally as “Entity for the Protection of Animals,” on March 30,
2007 announced the election of a new president, Carla Rocchi, to
succeed Paul Manzi, president since 1999.
“Manzi assumes the role of national prime minister of ENPA,”
ENPA said.
Rocchi, who had headed the Rome chapter of ENPA, becomes
only the second woman president. The first was Anna Winter, a
British-born close associate of Giuseppe Garibaldi, the unifier of
modern Italy. Winter, Garibaldi, and Timoteo Riboli jointly
founded ENPA, then called the Animal Protection Society, in 1871.
About two dozen other Italian animal charities formed during
the next 66 years. Legislation pushed by the dictator Benito
Mussolini forcibly merged them into the Animal Protection Society,
and conferred the name ENPA, in 1938.

Three variants of U.K. tail-docking ban

May 1, 2007 Archivist Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 2007:

A new Animal Welfare Act took effect in Britain on April 6,
with different versions applying in England, Wales, Scotland, and
Northern Ireland. The English version allows a veterinarian to dock
puppies’ tails within five days of their birth, if the person
requesting the docking documents the “type” of the mother and
produces evidence that the dog will be used for hunting or work.
Wales requires definition of “breed” rather than type. Scotland
prohibits docking altogether. The new law also requires that
sociable species, such as dogs and rabbits, must be given
appropriate companionship. A new definition of neglect allows
prosecution of pet keepers who either persistently overfeed or starve
animals.

Euro Commission sues Greece

April 1, 2007 Archivist Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, April 2007:

BRUSSELS–The European Commission on March 21, 2007
announced that it “has decided to refer Greece to the European Court
of Justice for failure to properly implement and enforce European
Union legislation on animal welfare in transport and at slaughter.
The Commission first initiated an infringement procedure against
Greece in 1998,” the announcement explained, “but terminated it
following commitments from Greek authorities to improve matters.
Food & Veterinary Office visits carried out between 2003 and 2006
revealed no substantial improvement.”

Scottish Natural Heritage halts Hebrides hedgehog cull –agrees to relocate instead

March 1, 2007 Archivist Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, March 2007:

INVERNESS–The Scottish Natural Heritage
board of directors on February 20 “approved a
trial translocation of hedgehogs from the Western
Isles to the mainland,” the government-backed
trust announced.
“The move followed consideration of new
advice received from the Scottish SPCA that a
trial translocation should be conducted rather
than a cull,” Scottish Natural Heritage
admitted–without admitting that this is exactly
what the Uist Hedgehog Rescue coalition
recommended all along.
The coalition includes Advocates for
Animals, the British Hedgehog Preservation
Society, Hessilhead Wildlife Rescue Trust, and
International Animal Rescue.

EU rules for moles

March 1, 2007 Archivist Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, March 2007:
BRUSSELS–The European Commission in February 2007 upheld a
ruling by the European Union Health & Safety Executive that
strychnine may no longer be used to kill moles. The verdict means
all burrowing mammals should now be safer from poisoning, either as
targeted or accidental victims.
“Last September a new EU law regulated a wide range of
poisons, including strychnine, to ensure they were safe and had no
harmful effect on the environment,” explained Charles Clover of the
Daily Telegraph. “Manufacturers failed to offer evidence that proved
strychnine does not harm the environment, so the British government
appealed to the EU on behalf of the 3,000 licensed users of the
poison who kill moles on grassland or golf courses. ”
The appeal was denied.

Film to help Turkish street dogs

March 1, 2007 Archivist Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, March 2007:
ISTANBUL–“It is with pleasure that we launch the trailer of
Ghosts of the City, a documentary explaining the situation of stray
dogs in Turkey,” e-mailed Spanish activist and film maker Ivan
Jiminez to ANIMAL PEOPLE on Valentine’s Day 2007.
Ghosts of the City, Jiminez said, explains “the necessity
to implement sterilization of both stray animals and house pets, and
elaborates on issues such as the status of the dog in the Qu’ran and
responsible pet care.” Jiminez is involved in
efforts to pressure the city of Istanbul into properly fulfilling a
national mandate adopted by the Turkish government in 2004 to replace
killing dogs with an Animal Birth Control program similar to the one
underway in India since 1997. (See page one.)

Watson acquittal reversed

January 1, 2007 Archivist Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, January/February 2007:
Prince Edward Island Supreme Court Justice Wayne Cheverie on
November 29, 2006 overturned the April 2005 acquittal of Sea
Shepherd Conservation Society founder Paul Watson for allegedly too
closely approaching a seal kill.
Eleven other Sea Shepherd crew members were convicted of the
charge, filed after seven of them were beaten on April 1, 2005 by
members of the crew of the sealing vessel Brady Mariner. Watson
escaped conviction under an exemption for people who witness seal
kills from their homes, by contending that the Sea Shepherd flagship
Farley Mowat was his permanent home.

New European Parliament chemical policy will increase animal testing

January 1, 2007 Archivist Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, January/February 2007:
BRUSSELS–The Environment Council of the European Parliament
on December 19, 2006 unanimously ratified REACH, a consolidated
chemical safety regulation approved by the Plenary of the European
Parliament on December 13.
The REACH acronym is short for “registration, evaluation,
authorisation and restriction of chemicals.” Three years in
negotiation between the Environment Council and the main body of the
European Parliament, REACH replaces more than 40 older regulations.
Applying to “all substances manufactured or imported in quantities
over 1 metric ton per year,” according to a summary description
released to news media, REACH “is expected to be applied to
approximately 30,000” chemical products.
But it will result in increased animal testing, at least in
the near future.

Rabbit fur farming exposed

January 1, 2007 Archivist Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, January/February 2007:

The Portuguese animal rights group ANIMAL on December 9,
2006 unveiled a nine-minute video showing conditions in the
Portuguese rabbit fur farming industry.
“The film finishes showing the rabbits in the skinning
factory, tied upside down in a line before being skinned alive,”
said ANIMAL president Miguel Moutinho. Live skinning, Moutinho
said, follows “slaughter without proper stunning, with the rabbits
still conscious when having their throats slit.

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