Cats & Dogs

July 1, 1993 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, July/August 1993:

The older men who get the most emotional benefit

from keeping pets are those who have the least free time, the most

difficulties in personal relationships, and the most financial trouble,

according to a newly published study by Ohio State University psy-

chology professor Sara Staats––whereas the women who derive the

most satisfaction from pets are those with the most free time and

the most satisfactory relationships with other people. Staats’ data

came from a survey of 250 people over age 50. The findings appar-

ently reflect the role of pet as family member for women, contrast-

ed with the role of pet as surrogate for family among many men.

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.

Zoos & Aquariums

June 1, 1993 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, June 1993:

The Zoological Society of London on April 13

rejected plans by entrepreneur David Laing and New Zoo

Developments Ltd. to build a $55 million walk-through

aquarium and wildlife film theatre on the 36-acre site. The

166-year-old London Zoo, the world’s oldest, has raised

$3.8 million independently, toward the cost of $32.5 mil-

lion worth of renovations it needs to become a captive

breeding facility. Laing said he would try to situate the pro-

posed aquarium and theatre elsewhere in London.

The Pittsburgh Zoo opened an insect gallery on

April 24, featuring a $24,000 video camera that allows visi-

tors to zoom in on particular insects, magnify their view,

and follow them around a terrarium. Nineteen insect species

are featured in the gallery, and are rotated in the magnifica-

tion area.

Whaling ban holds

June 1, 1993 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, June 1993:

TOKYO, Japan––The 47th annual meeting of

the International Whaling Commission concluded May 14

with the 1986 ban on commercial whaling still

intact––and Japan and Norway still threatening to follow

Iceland in quitting the treaty that holds the IWC together.

Norway has already announced that it will

resume commercial whaling this summer, risking trade

sanctions from the United States. Meanwhile, Norway

and Japan are already harpooning 100 and 300 minke

whales apiece per year for “research.” The rudimentary

research ends in each nation with the whale meat on

restaurant tables. Claiming that the Southern Hemisphere

minke whale population is up to 760,000 and out of dan-

ger, Japan wants to kill 2,000 a year. The Japanese gov-

ernment is also desperately worried that the IWC will

extend its authority from minkes, the smallest of the great

whales, to smaller cetaceans such as dolphins and porpois-

es. As with the great whales, some species of dolphins

and porpoises have been driven close to extinction by

aggressive huntiing, and public opinion in most of the

developed nations favors protecting them.

Performing Animals

June 1, 1993 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, June 1993:

The Louisiana state senate on

May 12 passed a bill to make attending an

illegal dogfight a crime, 33-0, but reduced

the offense from a felony to a misdemeanor,

and cut the maximum penalty from three

years in jail and a fine of $3,000 to one year

in jail and a fine of $1,000. A bill to ban

cockfighting meanwhile remained stalled in

a legislative committee headed by cock-

fighting fan Rep. Raymond Lalonde.

Agriculture

June 1, 1993 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, June 1993:

The Food and Drug Admini-

stration held hearings May 6-7 on whether

to approve the sale of milk produced with

the aid of the genetically engineered hor-

mone bovine somatotropin (BST), and if

sale is approved, whether the milk should

be specially labeled. Four chemical

firms––Upjohn, Monsanto, American

Cyanamid, and Eli Lilly––have reportedly

spent $500 million to develop and introduce

BST, which boosts milk production per cow

by up to 20%. BST is opposed by con-

sumer groups concerned about the possible

effects of the drug on human health, which

may include altering the growth rate of

bone and liver cells; animal protection

groups worried that BST may increase the

stress on cows; and dairy farmers anxious

that many of them could be put out of busi-

ness, since BST enables fewer cows to pro-

duce more milk, which is already in over-

supply. The same debate is underway in

Canada, where a multi-department review

of the possible effects of BST is to be com-

pleted later this year.

Horses and Cattle

May 1, 1993 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 1993:

Senator Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii) and Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-New York) have reintroduced the Downed Animal Protection Act, as S. 367 and H.R. 559, which would require stockyards to promptly euthanize sick and injured animals. Support for the measure may be addressed to Senators and Congressional Representatives.

The American Horse Protection Association’s sixth annual training seminar for equine cruelty investiga-

tors will be held May 20-21 at College Park, Maryland. Get details from Ellen Foysyth, 202-965-0500.

Norma Bearcroft, president of the Canadian Wild Horse Society, has asked members to approve a resolution to disband the struggling group by year’s end.

Wildlife

May 1, 1993 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 1993:

Interior Secretary Bruce Babbit announced April

15 that Georgia Pacific, the largest U.S. forest products com-

pany, has agreed to leave at least 10 acres of woods standing

around each colony of endangered red-cockaded woodpeckers

found on company land in Arkansas, the Carolinas, Louisiana,

and Mississippi. The deal protects 50,000 acres while allowing

Georgia Pacific to log the remainder of its 4.2 million acres of

southern timber.

The World Wildlife Fund has agreed to hire mem-

bers of the impoverished Hoopa tribe in northern California to

restore logged-out forests and eroded stream beds. The Pacific

Gas & Electric Co. has already provided 30,000 trees to the pro-

ject, which is expected to benefit bald eagles, peregrine fal-

cons, and northern spotted owls.

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