Wildlife Court Calendar

September 1, 2003 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, September 2003:

U.S. District Judge for the D.C. Circuit Gladys Kessler on
July 31 rejected a Fund for Animals lawsuit challenging the authority
of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to issue import permits for
Argali sheep trophies imported from Mongolia, Tajikistan, and
Kyrgyzstan. The Fund argued that hunting the Argali put the species
in peril. Responded Kessler, in granting a motion for summary
judgement solicited by Safari Club International on behalf of USFWS
and the Department of the Interior, “Because U.S. hunters generally
pay the highest prices for hunting permits issued by the Tajikistan
government, the absence of legal U.S. hunting substantially
decreased the permit revenues received by the Tajikistan government.
Because permit revenues were used in part for conservation and to
‘convince the local population not to poach,’ the decreased revenues
actually resulted in increasing the amount of poaching in the
region.” In short, Kessler reaffirmed the paradigm prevailing in
wildlife law since the Middle Ages that because hunters fund wildlife
management, wildlife management should favor hunting.

Judge imposes settlement of fundraiser Eberle’s libel suit, ANIMAL PEOPLE corrects error made by a source and two items never in the newspaper nor on our web site

July 1, 2003 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, June 2003:

FAIRFAX, Virginia–Imposing the
“Correction & Statement of Regret” published
directly below, Fairfax County Circuit Judge
Stanley Paul Klein on May 29, 2003 ended a
lawsuit brought against ANIMAL PEOPLE in July
2002 by direct mail fundraiser Bruce Eberle and
his firm Fund Raising Strategies.
Obtaining several specific corrections
and clarifications that ANIMAL PEOPLE had already
made, to the extent that available information
allowed, Eberle and FRS received no retractions
of main coverage, no damages or costs, no
admission of their allegations of libel and
tortious interference in business relationships,
and–in tacit recognition that Eberle and one of
his major clients contributed to whatever errors
were made through their own inaccurate
remarks–no apology.

Eberle says he had nothing to do with MIA “skeleton in closet”

July 1, 2003 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, July/August 2003:

Responding to the June 2003 ANIMAL PEOPLE
article “Judge imposes settlement of fundraiser
Eberle’s libel suit,” Bruce Eberle of Fund
Raising Strategies Inc. both telephoned and wrote
in reference to four paragraphs quoted and
paraphrased from a Los Angeles Times exposé of
the activities of his former client Jack Bailey.
The complete exposé, by Los Angeles
Times staff writer Scott Harris, was originally
published on August 7, 1991, and is accessible
at <www.latimes.com>.
Stated Eberle, “Neither my company nor I
had anything whatsoever to do with a fund appeal
[discussed by Harris] that referred to Jack
Bailey bringing back a partial skeleton of a
supposed American POW. If such a fund appeal
was, in fact, mailed, my company and/or myself
did not create it, mail it, or have anything
to do with it.”

British fox hunting ban is near

July 1, 2003 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, July/August 2003:

LONDON–The British House of Commons on July 9, 2003 voted
317-145 in favor of a national ban on fox hunting, a week after
voting 363-154 to enact a total ban instead of a compromise that
would allow some hunting to continue for predator control.
The votes brought close to fulfillment the 1997 election
promise of Prime Minister Tony Blair to ban fox hunting if the Labour
Party won the Parliamentary majority. Blair and Labour have led the
government ever since, but have put other matters ahead of the
proposed hunting ban, while anti-hunting private members’ bills have
cleared the Commons only to die in the House of Lords.
The Hunting Bill, now presented with the full support of the
Blair government, is scheduled for second reading by the Lords on
September 17, followed by detailed review in October. The Lords,
who hold their seats by heredity rather than election, can amend and
delay legislation. The anti-fox hunting Commons majority, however,
has become strong enough to override the Lords.

Dog chaining bill signed in Connecticut

July 1, 2003 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, July/August 2003:

HARTFORD–Animal Advocacy Connecticut founder Julie Lewin
announced on July 10, 2003 that Connecticut Governor John G. Rowland
had signed the Confinement and Tethering of Dogs Act and three other
bills endorsed by AACT. To take effect on October 1, the
Confinement and Tethering of Dogs Act is the first state law in the
U.S. to limit how long a dog can be tethered outdoors.
Rowland vetoed a similar bill in 2002 that included specific
restrictions on tethering, but approved this one, spokes-person John
Wiltse told Associated Press, because it requires only that
tethering may not be for an “unreasonable period.” What is
“unreasonable” may vary with the weather and the breed and age of the
dog.

Canada cancels help for whales, dolphins caught by accident–308,000 worldwide

July 1, 2003 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, July/August 2003:

CAPE BROYLE, Newfoundland; BERLIN, Germany; LIMA,
Peru–Environment Canada has ceased funding Whale Release &
Stranding, a nonprofit organization that frees trapped whales and
other marine mammals from fishing gear, and the Department of
Fisheries and Oceans and Parks Canada have not picked up the slack,
Dene Moore of Canadian Press reported on June 15.
Whale release & Stranding received 55 reports of marine
mammals caught in fishing gear during 2001-2002, director Wayne
Ledwell told Moore. Ledwell and assistant Julie Huntington are the
only two paid employees of the group, which was partially funded by
the Canadian Coat guard until 2000, when Environment Canada took
over.

Court Calendar: Precedental verdicts

July 1, 2003 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, July/August 2003:

A three-judge panel of the Oregon Court of Appeals ruled 2-1
on July 9 that a ballot initiative prohibiting the state government
from confiscating private property without first obtaining a criminal
conviction against the owner was structured in violation of state
constitutional rules. Passed by two thirds of the voters but not yet
enforced, the initiative was challenged by the Lincoln Interagency
Narcotics Team with several humane societies as co-plaintiffs. If
enforced in cruelty cases, the initiative could prevent taking
animals into protective custody upon charging the defendants, and
therefore might expose the animals to continued suffering.

Five convicted of murder-by-dog, three charged in new cases

July 1, 2003 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, July/August 2003:

TEMECULA, California–Baby sitter Jackie Batey, 30, was on
July 9 charged with felony child endangerment and involuntary
manslaughter for the June 20 fatal mauling of Sumner Clugston, age
2, in the front yard of her home in Riverside County, California.
Batey allegedly left Clugston and three other children alone with her
pit bull terrier.
The charges against Batey followed five convictions on felony
charges in three other murder-by-dog cases during the preceding 12
days.
The Batey charges came 20 days after Kathleen Josephine
Hansen, 60, and her son Roger Allen Hansen, 35, were jailed and
charged with involuntary manslaughter, endangering the welfare of a
child, reckless endangerment, and dog law violations after a
similar incident in Clarion County, Pennsylvania. In that case,
Roger Hansen allowed his three Rottweilers to escape while Kathleen
Hansen was playing with her two-year-old granddaughter Lillie
Krajewski of Buffalo.

Legislative Calendar

July 1, 2003 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, July/August 2003:

Reviewing proposed amendments to the Fiscal Year 2004
Agriculture Appropriations Act, the House of Representatives on July
14 added $800,000 to the USDA Animal & Plant Health Inspection
Service budget to support enforcement of legislation banning the
interstate transport of gamecocks and fighting dogs, by a vote of
222-179, but voted 202-199 against an amendment by Representatives
Gary Ackerman (D-NY) and Steve Latourette (R-Ohio) that would have
forbidden processing non-ambulatory livestock for human consumption.
This was the closest that Ackerman has come yet in many attempts to
pass “anti-downer” legislation.

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