Camel jockey civil rights case refiled in Kentucky after Florida dismissal

September 1, 2007 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, September 2007:
LEXINGTON, Ky.–Plaintiffs including the parents of five
unnamed boys who were allegedly enslaved in Dubai as camel jockeys
filed a class action lawsuit during the second week of September 2007
against Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid al Maktoum, brother of the ruler of
Dubai.
The ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bid Rashid al Maktoum, was in
Lexington, Kentucky, to attend the annual Keeneland September
Yearling Sale, where the family has reportedly paid as much as $3
million for highly regarded thoroughbred horses.
The lawsuit alleges that Sheikh Hamdan was complicit in
enslaving as many as 30,000 children during the past 30 years for use
as camel jockeys–a misnomer, since the children, sometimes as
young as four years of age, are tied to the backs of the racing
camels, and have no ability to control them. Many are thrown and
injured, or even killed.

Supreme Court of India upholds bullfight ban

September 1, 2007 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, September 2007:

NEW DELHI–A three-judge bench of the Supreme Court of India
on July 27, 2007 overturned a March 9, 2007 Madras High Court
judgment dismissing a petition seeking enforcement of the Prevention
of Cruelty to Animals Act to prohibit harvest festival bullfights and
bullock cart races.
Called jallikattu, the bullfights and bullock cart races as
practiced mostly in rural Tamil Nadu somewhat resemble the mob
attacks on bulls practiced at festivals in parts of Spain, Latin
America, and South Africa.
Participants beat the bulls and throw chili powder in their
eyes, ears and mouths to enrage them, Animal Welfare Board of India
witnesses testified. Spectators and participants are often gored or
trampled to death, “and the number of injured fighters has often run
into the hundreds,” noted Reuters.

Dogs symbolize the west in Iran

September 1, 2007 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, September 2007:

TEHRAN–Radio Free Europe on September 14, 2007 amplified
and elaborated upon accounts circulating for more than six weeks that
Iran has embarked upon an intensified campaign of harassment against
dog keepers.
“Since the creation of the Islamic republic in Iran in 1979,”
Radio Free Europe said, “the acceptability of dog ownership has been
debated by the authorities. Friday prayer leader Hojatoleslam
Gholamreza Hassani, known for his hard-line stances, was quoted a
few years ago as saying that all dog owners and their dogs should be
arrested.
“In the past,” Radio Free Europe recounted, “dog owners
have received warnings or were forced to pay fines for having a pet
dog. Despite such harassment, dog ownership has increased,
especially among young people in Tehran.

Michael Vick case blows whistle on dogfighting

September 1, 2007 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, September 2007:
RICHMOND, Virginia–Pleading guilty on
August 24, 2007 to felony conspiracy, Atlanta
Falcons quarterback Michael Vick will face a
maximum sentence of five years in prison and a
fine of $250,000 when he appears before U.S.
District Judge Henry E. Hudson for sentencing on
December 10.
By then the 50 surviving pit bull
terriers who were seized in April 2007 from the
dogfighting kennel that Vick confessed to
financing for seven years may have already
received the death penalty.
Vick agreed to plead guilty after
co-defendants Quanis L. Phillips, 28, Purnell
Peace, 35, and Tony Taylor, 34, pleaded
guilty to the same conspiracy charge. Each had
agreed to testify against Vick if his case went
to trial.
Vick admitted in a signed statement that
he was present twice when his co-defendants
killed losing dogs after test fights at the Surry
County property where his kennels and a fighting
arena were maintained. The statement said the
dogs “were killed by various methods, including
hanging and drowning.”
Following Vick’s guilty plea, National
Football League commissioner Roger Goodell
suspended Vick for “cruel and reprehensible”
conduct and “significant involvement in illegal
gambling,” an offense often punished in
professional sports by lifetime expulsion.

BOOKS: Animal Laws of India

July 1, 2007 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, July/August 2007:

Animal Laws of India
edited by Maneka Gandhi, Ozair Husain, & Raj Panjwani
Third Edition
Universal Law Publishing Co. (c/o <sales@unilawbooks.com> or
<www.unilawbooks.com>), 2006.
1,236 pages, hardcover. 995 rupees (about $22.00) plus shipping.

Indian animal advocates often claim that India has the laws
most favorable to animals of any nation, and the most favorable
courts at the upper appellate levels.
Thus Indian animal advocacy tends to emphasize improving
enforcement and trying to move as expeditiously as possible through
often incompetent and corrupt local courts to reach the upper levels.
This distinctly contrasts with the emphasis of activism in the U.S.,
where seeking passage of new laws generates many times as many
appeals and e-mails as seeking enforcement–although activity on
behalf of stronger humane law enforcement has increased exponentially
since the advent of Alison Gianotto’s enforcement-oriented web site
<www.Pet-Abuse.com>.

Michigan Supreme Court upholds city hunting ban

July 1, 2007 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, July/August 2007:
LANSING–The Michigan Supreme Court on June 20, 2007 ruled 4-3
that cities have the right to ban the use of firearms and archery
equipment within their limits.
“While the Department of Natural Resources enjoys exclusive
authority to regulate taking game,” the majority held, “there is no
indication that the legislative grant of authority to regulate taking
game is superior to or supersedes the authority to regulate the
discharge of weapons.”
Saginaw resident Michael Czymbor brought the case, backed by
the Michigan United Conservation Clubs.

Sri Lankan district court ruling puts Kandy Animal Birth Control program in jeopardy

July 1, 2007 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, July/August 2007:

KANDY, Sri Lanka–A District Court ruling that there are too
many dogs at large in Kandy may permit the Kandy Municipal
Corporation to resume killing street dogs on October 5, 2007, 60
days after the ruling was issued.
The killing would contravene a national no-kill policy
proclaimed in June 2006 by Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa,
who reaffirmed it in July 2007–but Kandy has defied official policy
to kill dogs before.
“The Kandy Animal Birth Control program started in 2002,
with municipal cooperation,” summarized Eva Ruppel (“Padma”) of the
Save Our Friends Association. When KMC cooperation was discontinued,
we went to the courts to prevent the killing of dogs. Despite a
court-order in our favor, the KMC killed 360 dogs in August 2005.”
ABC supporters stopped the killing by charging Kandy
officials with contempt of court. The August 5 ruling dismissed the
contempt charges, and gave the ABC program 60 days to reduce the dog
population.

Ex-Thai forest chief indicted for tiger sale

July 1, 2007 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, July/August 2007:
BANGKOK, BEIJING–The National Counter Corruption
Commission of Thailand on August 10, 2007 unanimously indicted
former Thai forest department chief Plodprasop Suraswadi for a
variety of alleged criminal offenses in authorizing the 2002 export
of 100 tigers from the Sri Racha Tiger Zoo in Chon Buri to the Sunya
Zoo in Hainan, China.
“Under the [Thai] Wildlife Protection Act, exports of
protected wildlife can be made government-to-government for research
and conservation purposes,” the Bangkok Post explained. “However,
the NCCC found that the tiger export was commercial, because Sri
Racha Tiger Zoo and Sunya Zoo are private entities.”
Responded Plodprasop, “The tigers were not from the wild and
not native to Thailand. The Sri Racha Tiger Zoo imported Bengal
tigers and raised and bred them for 10 years.”

ELF/ALF strategist sentenced as terrorist

June 1, 2007 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, June 2007:
EUGENE, Oregon–Stanislas Meyer-hoff, 29, on May 23, 2007
drew 16 years in federal prison for his admitted participation in a
string of arsons attributed to the “Earth Liberation Front” and
“Animal Liberation Front.” The fires, set in five western states,
did more than $40 million damage, according to federal prosecutors.
Meyerhoff was the first of 10 admitted ELF and ALF arsonists
to go before U.S. District Judge Ann Aiken for sentencing, and was
expected to draw the longest sentence.
“According to the government,” wrote Bryan Denson of the
Portland Oregonian, who covered the case from the first actions
onward, “Meyerhoff co-owned a pair of MAK-91 semiautomatic rifles,
helped write the Earth Liberation Front’s manual on how to set fires
with electrical timers, coached others on how to make [explosive
devices], and led arsons.”

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