CHILDREN & ANIMALS

October 1, 1994 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, October 1994:

Jeanne McVey of the Sea Wolf

Alliance was the only animal protection repre-

sentative at the mid-September International

Conference on Population and Development

meeting in Cairo, Egypt. “I am working quite

well with the environmentalists,” McVey

faxed ANIMAL PEOPLE on September 9.

“This is the occasion for minimizing our dif-

ferences with other groups and countries.” A

precedent for animal protection as well as for

women’s rights was reached when the confer-

ees agreed to oppose female genital mutilation

in their final report. From 85 million to 115

million women worldwide have been genitally

maimed, mostly in Africa, by procedures

intended to promote chastity by inhibiting sex-

ual pleasure. About two million adolescent

women a year still suffer genital mutilation,

according to the World Health Organization.

The importance of the ICPD statement to ani-

mal defenders is that a world governmental

body has now agreed that at least in this

instance, neither culture nor custom is an

acceptable excuse for cruelty.

Woofs and growls

July 1, 1994 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, July/August 1994:

It couldn’t happen to a nicer guy (not!)

U.S. Surgical Corporation chairman Leon Hirsch, 67, was

sued on June 16 by his former housekeeper, Gizella Biro, 40, for alleged-

ly keeping her in virtual sexual slavery from November 1989 until May of

this year. Hirsch is noted in animal protection circles for funding pro-vivi-

section groups and for having purportedly set up an alleged assassination

attempt on himself in 1988 to discredit antivivisectionists. Biro’s husband

of 20 years, former U.S. Surgical groundskeeper Denis Sebastian, made

similar allegations to acquaintances during his divorce from Biro in 1990,

while Biro formally charged Sebastian with sexual abuse. According to

Biro, a Romanian immigrant who lived next door to Hirsch in a million-

dollar mansion that Hirsch provided, and drove cars furnished by Hirsch,

she was forced abouty once a week to have non-consensual sex with Hirsch

and sometimes his wife, U.S. Surgical executive vice president Turi

Josefson, as well as with other women. Biro further alleged that Hirsch

sexually asaulted her two daughters, whose education Hirsch paid for,

along with her friend and fellow former housekeeper, Eva Kale, whom

Biro invited to join the staff. Kale is reportedly preparing a similar suit.

Biro is asking $21 million to drop her charges, all of which Hirsch denies.

COURT CALENDAR

June 1, 1994 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, June 1994:

Crimes Against Humans

Odd jobs man Joseph Bales,

33, and Helene LeMay, 31, a mail-

order vegetarian diet consultant, were

charged April 19 with illegally disposing

of their 10-week-old infant’s remains in

the woods near Eastman, Quebec, a

short drive from their St. Romain home,

and then filing a false kidnapping report

in New York City to cover up for the

baby’s death. Their story fell apart within

hours. An autopsy seemed to confirm

their story that the baby died of natural

causes, as there were no evident signs of

abuse or malnutrition. They did not

report the death, they said, because they

feared they would be charged with abuse,

after having been accused last year of

abusing a mentally retarded foster child.

Editorial: The cause of the homeless

May 1, 1994 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 1994:

The ink wasn’t even dry on the New York Times edition of April 4 when we

received our first outraged call from a dog rescuer. A full-page advertisement placed by the

Coalition for the Homeless showed a forlorn-looking dog at the top. “According to statis-

tics,” the caption read, “his chances of finding a home are 70%.” Below, the photo

expanded to include the homeless woman sitting beside the dog. “Now they’re next to

zero,” said the caption. “Some might say the homeless are treated like dogs. But actually,

a homeless dog is better off than a homeless person. Over 100,000 people bedded down on

New York City’s streets and in shelters last year. But only 2,000 homeless single adults

ended up in homes of their own.”

The statistics cited are accurate, but out of context. As we pointed out to the

Coalition for the Homeless on behalf of our upset readers, the 30% of New York City stray

dogs who don’t find a home within a week to 10 days of pickup are euthanized at one of the

American SPCA shelters. The numbers of stray dogs euthanized are falling much faster

than the number of homeless people on the streets, but the ASPCA still killed 16,760 dogs

in 1991, the most recent year for which we have complete statistics, plus 22,595 cats,

whose chance of adoption ran around 20%.

ANIMAL HEALTH

May 1, 1994 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 1994:

Zoonosis

The politics of rabies took a twist

on April 1 when in all seriousness Patricia

Munoz, public health director for

Washington County, New York, told the

county public health committee that she need-

ed an infectious disease control nurse on her

staff to handle the growing rabies-related

caseload. The Washington County public

health department handled about 500 more

cases of all types during the first three months

of 1994, including 16 cases of possible expo-

sure to rabid animals. Munoz got the com-

mittee to recommend the hiring, then dis-

closed that the nurse would also handle

hepatitis and salmonella cases, both of which

are far more numerous.

Guest opinion: Hunting, violence, and child molestation

April 1, 1994 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, April 1994:

by Dr. Emmanuel Bernstein, psychologist

Adirondack Counseling, Saranac Lake, New York

The March 1994 issue of ANIMAL PEOPLE pre-

sented New York state hunting participation and crime statis-

tics that clearly show an association between incidence of

hunting and child molestation. This is especially impressive

since the statistics were presented in a manner that took into

account the possible influence of population density––and the

apparent influence of hunting proved stronger.

As ANIMAL PEOPLE noted, University of New

Hampshire director of family research Dr. Murray Strauss in

1987 found the number of hunting licenses sold to be a major

indicator of regions “culturally disposed toward violence.”

He also found that the states most culturally disposed toward

violence were the states with the highest rates of teen homi-

cide.

Sealing and child sex trade

April 1, 1994 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, April 1994:

TORONTO, Ontario––The International Fund for Animal Welfare drew

headlines across Canada on March 7 with graphic newspaper ads depicting the penis

bone of a seal and decrying Canadian support of the slaughter of at least 50,000 seals

off the Atlantic coast, allegedly to supply penis bones to the Asian aphrodisiac trade.

As IFAW pointed out, that trade is closely associated with the forced recruitment of

children to staff brothels in Thailand, the Philippines, Taiwan, and elsewhere, which

cater to the belief that sex with a virgin can rejuvenate an aging man’s potency. More

than 400,000 children are currently victimized, The New York Times Magazine of

January 16 reported, many of whom contract AIDS and other serious diseases.

As many as 150,000 seals may be killed to get 50,000 penis bones, since

much of the hunting is done from small boats by men with rifles, the sexes of seals are

not obvious, and as even seal hunt defender George Wenzel has acknowledged, as

many as two out of each three shot seals who get off of ice floes into water sink before

they can be gaffed aboard a power boat. Canada contends that the penis bones are a

byproduct of hunting for meat, pelts, and seal oil, which sell for about $20 per seal;

the penis bones go for $130 apiece.

COURT CALENDAR

March 1, 1994 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, March 1994:

Humane Enforcement

The toughest cruelty sentence ever

issued in Vermont went to Donald Bliss, of

Barre, on a December 14 plea bargain. Bliss

admitted to keeping a starving Belgian mare staked

outside for most of the winter of 1992-1993. He

drew a year in jail with immediate probation, a

suspended fine of $2,000, was ordered to donate

$1,000 to the Central Vermont Humane Society,

and was obliged to pay the town of Barre $1,100

for boarding the mare until she was adopted by

Anne Cole Butler, of Orange.

Sex & money

January 1, 1994 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, Jan/Feb 1994:

Charities risk losing much of their

skilled workforce because they underpay

women, according to Applied Research and

Development Institute national director Carol

Barbieto. Women make up 68.2% of the non-

profit payroll, including 75% of the people in

executive jobs, Barbieto said, but female

nonprofit executives earn 26% less on average

than men. The average nonprofit salary is

$17,298 a year, far below the average national

wage for non-agricultural workers of $23,433.

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