Refuge for former dancing bears allows Bulgaria to enforce bear protection law

October 1, 2002 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, October 2002:

BELITSA, Bulgaria–Nine years after Bulgaria first tried to
ban training and exhibiting so-called dancing bears, bears are still
shuffling in chains to music on street corners. But the show is
almost over, officials say, because new legislation adopted in July
2002 substantially reinforces the 1993 law –and, as important, the
not-quite-two-year-old Belitsa Dancing Bear Park in the woodland
reserves of the Rila mountains at last gives police a place to take
bears they confiscate.
Like many other animal protection laws hastily adopted within
the former Eastern Bloc after the collapse of Communism, the
original law protecting bears went unenforced because there was no
way to make it work.

Crackdown on SHAC hits activist for child porn, brings Boston busts

October 1, 2002 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, October 2002:

BOSTON; CAMBRIDGESHIRE, U.K.–A year after Stop Huntingdon
Animal Cruelty activists thought they were on the verge of victory,
the campaign appears to be collapsing under the weight of the
ruthless and often violent tactics that have characterized it.
British campaigner Robert Moaby, 33, in mid-August 2002
pleaded guilty to two counts of threatening to kill executives of
Huntingdon and other firms, and 17 counts of making pornographic
pictures of children.
According to BBC News, “Moaby sent e-mails containing
violent threats to financial backers of the Cambridgeshire-based
animal research organization, Southwark Crown Court was told. The
messages were full of obscene language and threats of sexual assault,
the court was told. When police examined his computer, they also
found that he had more than 2,800 pornographic imagines of children,”
reportedly as young as age five.

Status-of-animal verdicts in U.S., Britain

September 1, 2002 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, September 2002:

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled on
July 9 that a 10-year-old dog named Barney may
not be subject of a suit seeking visitation
rights, filed by Anthony DeSanctis against his
ex-wife Linda Hurley Pritchard, as the dog is
not a legal person.
San Diego Superior Court Judge Lillian Y.
Lim on July 5 ruled that jurors may be told that
a 38-year-old pony named Lucy who was euthanized
in 2000 by the San Diego Humane Society had no
market value, but may not hear about her
emotional value to Herb Niederheiser, of Ramona,
California, who is suing the humane society for
allegedly unlawfully seizing her. Niederheiser
had Lucy for 25 years.

New laws abroad

September 1, 2002 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, September 2002:

The Bulgarian Parliament on July 10 declared brown bears a
protected species, who may no longer be hunted, bought, sold, or
displayed to a paying audience. About 800 bears inhabit the
Bulgarian mountains, 30 bears are in zoos, 21 are kept by gypsy
exhibitors of “dancing bears,” 11 are in breeding colonies set up to
maintain the zoo population, and four belong to circuses, according
to the International Bear Foundation. The Dutch-based IBF in 2000
paid for microchipping all 66 captive bears, while the Fondation
Brigitte Bardot and the Austrian group Vier Pfoten founded a 2.7-acre
bear sanctuary near the Rila monastary, founded in the 13th century
at the reputed site of the grotto of the 10th century animal-loving
vegetarian saint John of Rila.

U.K. Mammals Trust says “Yankee animals, go home!”

September 1, 2002 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, September 2002:

LONDON–Great Britain from the time of Queen Elizabeth I
through the reign of Queen Victoria energetically exported favored
livestock and wildlife species throughout the British Empire.
Rabbits and foxes were sent to Australia and New Zealand,
starlings and house sparrows to the U.S.–but now Britain is on the
receiving end of introductions, especially from the U.S., and some
conservationists view the new arrivals as threats to the national
character.
David Macdonald and Fran Tatter-sall of the Mammals Trust
reported in May 2002 that the population of native English water
voles fell by 90% during the 20th century, due to habitat
competition and predation by introduced American mink.
Macdonald and Tattersall also blamed the recent decline of
native red squirrels on the success of introduced American grey
squirrels, and lamented that DNA analysis of native British pine
martens showed the presence of at least two American pine martens in
their gene pool.

Germany adopts a pro-animal constitutional amendment

July 1, 2002 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, July/August, 2002:

BONN–The Bundesrat, the upper house of the German
legislature, on June 21 ratified an amendment to the national Basic
Law which adds the words “and animals” to a phrase establishing
environmental rights.
As amended, the phrase now reads, “The state takes
responsibility for protecting the natural foundations of life and
animals in the interest of future generations.”

Donkey heaven by Bonny Shah

July 1, 2002 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, July/August, 2002:

SIDMOUTH, DEVON, U.K.– Fifteen minutes from Exeter, ten
minutes from Sidmouth, a seaside resort town, The Donkey Sanctuary
is approached along winding roads arched with massive trees, with
lush green fields rolling into the hills beyond. The effect is of
entering an enchanted storybook land.
We had seen and heard much about The Donkey Sanctuary during
our own years of looking after donkeys and other animals at the
Ahimsa of Texas sanctuary we founded in Bartonville, Texas, and the
Dharma Donkey Sanctuary we recently started in India, but our first
visit, actually almost a pilgrimage, came in June 2002.

German “animal rights” proposal

June 1, 2002 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, June 2002:

Associated Press erroneously reported on May 17 that “Germany
has become the first European Union country to guarantee animal
rights in its constitution–a move that could curtail experimentation
by the cosmetics and pharmaceutical industries.”
The inaccurate report was amplified by other media and hailed
by animal advocates, as pollsters and talk show hosts asked, “Has
Germany gone too far?”
Actually, only the lower house of the German legislature
approved a constitutional amendment which would add the words “and
animals” to a phrase which would then read, “The state takes
responsibility for protecting the natural foundations of life and
animals in the interest of future generations.”

Animal advocate charged with Dutch assassination

June 1, 2002 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, June 2002:

AMSTERDAM–Volkert Van der Graaf, 32, among the most
prominent animal rights activists in The Netherlands, was charged on
May 8 with killing populist prime ministerial candidate Pim Fortuyn,
54, two days earlier, with five close-range gunshots to the head
and body, as Fortuyn left a radio station where he had just done an
interview.
Van der Graaf was cofounder of Milieu Offensief, known for
use of aggressive legal tactics to fight against all forms of factory
farming.

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