Recent dog attack cases continue trend toward stiffer charges & sentencing

April 1, 2003 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, April 2003–

Benjamin Moore, 28, of Richmond, California, who left
neighbor Shawn Jones, 10, for dead after Moore’s three pit bull
terriers mauled Jones beyond recognition in June 2001, was sentenced
on March 14 to serve six years plus eight months in federal prison on
a plea bargain for possession of cocaine with intent to sell. Moore
will not be prosecuted for Jones’ mauling because no applicable
charge would carry a stiffer sentence than he received on the drug
conviction.

Smart investigation should have looked at histories of animal abuse

April 1, 2003 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, April 2003:

SALT LAKE CITY–Karen Dawn of Pacific
Palisades, California, was not surprised to
read in the March 24 edition of Newsweek that
accused kidnapper and rapist David Brian Mitchell
had a history of cruelty to animals. As an
active distributor of online action alerts, via
<www.dawnwatch.com>, Dawn long since became
familiar with the frequent association of
violence toward animals with violence toward
humans–especially women and children.
Dawn was surprised, however, that the
linkage involving Mitchell seemed to be so little
remarked by news media–and unrecognized by the
Salt Lake City police.

Chronology of humane progress (Part 1 of two parts: from Moses to Walt Disney)

April 1, 2003 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, April 2003:
Chronology of humane progress
(Part 1 of two parts: from Moses to Walt Disney)
by Merritt Clifton

1300 B.C. — Hebrew law as proclaimed by
Moses includes provisions for humane slaughter
and care of work animals.

740 B.C. — Rise of Isaiah, the most
prominent of the Hebrew vegetarian prophets, and
the prophet who most emphasized opposition to
animal sacrifice.

Cockfighting foes face hard fight to keep Oklahoma initiative gains

March 4, 2003 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, March 2003:

OKLAHOMA CITY–Oklahoma cockfighters are not just taking
their battle to stay in business to the state Supreme Court; they
are trying to take the state Supreme Court off the case.
Oklahoma voters approved an initiative banning cockfighting
in November 2002, 56%-44%, but in 57 sparsely populated rural
counties, of 77 counties in all, the majority voted to keep
cockfighting legal.
Local judges in 27 of the 57 rural counties soon thereafter
held the anti-cockfighting initiative to have been unconstitutional.
The first prosecution under the initiative was attempted by
the Kingfisher County sheriff’s department in early December, after
one Luis Rangel was found with more than 100 suspected gamecocks
while sheriffs’ deputies were investigating an alleged case of horse
neglect. But Kingfisher County assistant district attorney Ard Gates
on December 5 refused to press the case against Rangel.

Cockfighting foes face hard fight to keep Oklahoma initiative gains

March 1, 2003 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, March 2003:

OKLAHOMA CITY–Oklahoma cockfighters are not just taking
their battle to stay in business to the state Supreme Court; they
are trying to take the state Supreme Court off the case.
Oklahoma voters approved an initiative banning cockfighting
in November 2002, 56%-44%, but in 57 sparsely populated rural
counties, of 77 counties in all, the majority voted to keep
cockfighting legal.
Local judges in 27 of the 57 rural counties soon thereafter
held the anti-cockfighting initiative to have been unconstitutional.

Earth Island again tries to save dolphins

March 1, 2003 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, March 2003:

SAN FRANCISCO–Earth Island Institute and six other
environmental and animal protection groups on February 12 applied for
a federal injunction against a December 31 rule change by the
National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration which would allow U.S.
firms to market tuna netted “on dolphin” as “dolphin-safe,” if no
dolphins are known to have been killed during the netting.
The injunction application takes the “dolphin-safe” issue
back into the same court where chief judge Thelton Henderson in May
1990 banned imports of yellowfin tuna from Mexico, Venezuela, and
Vanuatu, under a set of 1988 amendments to the 1972 Marine Mammal
Protection Act, and in January 1992 invoked the same law to ban $266
million worth of tuna imports from 30 nations.

Thai government to buy surplus elephants for forest patrol

March 1, 2003 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, March 2003:

BANGKOK–Two hundred out-of-work domesticated elephants are
to be purchased by the Thai government and be re-employed patrolling
37 national parks and wildlife sanctuaries, natural resources and
environment minister Prabhat Panyachartak announced on February 12.
Prabat Panyachartak expected to obtain cabinet approval for
the purchases as a Valentine for Queen Sirikit, who apparently
suggested using the elephants for patrol work after the national
police reported promising early results in training 50 street dogs
for investigative duties, as King Bhumibol Aduladej recommended in
his November 2002 birthday speech.

Sweeping pro-animal bill in Turkey

March 1, 2003 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, March 2003:

ANKARA, Turkey–The Parliamentary Domestic Affairs
Commission on January 15, 2003, adopted a draft national animal
protection bill which would provide prison terms for animal torture,
allowing animals to starve, and bestiality; would prohibit all
forms of animal fighting; would prohibit killing animals by
electrocution, cervical dislocation, drowning, burning, and
boiling; would forbid training animals by methods that cause
avoidable injury or distress; and would prohibit killing animals for
population control unless necessary to halt the spread of an epidemic.
The draft bill would require drivers to make every reasonable
effort to avoid injuring animals on the road, and to take any
animals they hit to a veterinarian and pay for the necessary
treatment.

Farm Sanctuary fined $50,000 in Florida

March 1, 2003 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, March 2003:

TALLAHASSEE, Florida–The Florida Elections Commission has
fined Farm Sanctuary $50,000 for 210 alleged willful violations of
campaign fundraising laws in connection with the passage of Amendment
10, a November 2002 initiative which banned the use of farrowing
crates to raise pigs in a state which had only two working pig farms.
One of those farms was already going out of business, and
state and federal water quality regulations virtually ensure that no
others can be started in Florida.

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