German “animal rights” proposal

June 1, 2002 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, June 2002:

Associated Press erroneously reported on May 17 that “Germany
has become the first European Union country to guarantee animal
rights in its constitution–a move that could curtail experimentation
by the cosmetics and pharmaceutical industries.”
The inaccurate report was amplified by other media and hailed
by animal advocates, as pollsters and talk show hosts asked, “Has
Germany gone too far?”
Actually, only the lower house of the German legislature
approved a constitutional amendment which would add the words “and
animals” to a phrase which would then read, “The state takes
responsibility for protecting the natural foundations of life and
animals in the interest of future generations.”

More bites

June 1, 2002 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, June 2002:

Norman Schachter, 50, on May 19 drew 15 years in prison and
accomplice Derrick Moultrie, 34, drew 10 years, for trying to hire
undercover police officers to beat up author Shaun Considine, 65,
after trying to frame Considine for possessing illegal drugs and
child pornography. Considine’s “only offense was to be virtually
devoured by Mr. Schachter’s dogs” in Central Park in 1998, New York
State Supreme Court Justice William Wetzel said. Considine then sued
Schachter and his wife Debbie Gamiel, 45. Gamiel pleaded guilty in
July 2001 to a misdemeanor charge for allowing the three-dog attack
to occur, and was sentenced to probation.

Animal advocate charged with Dutch assassination

June 1, 2002 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, June 2002:

AMSTERDAM–Volkert Van der Graaf, 32, among the most
prominent animal rights activists in The Netherlands, was charged on
May 8 with killing populist prime ministerial candidate Pim Fortuyn,
54, two days earlier, with five close-range gunshots to the head
and body, as Fortuyn left a radio station where he had just done an
interview.
Van der Graaf was cofounder of Milieu Offensief, known for
use of aggressive legal tactics to fight against all forms of factory
farming.

Fewer fighters, more dogs

May 1, 2002 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 2002:

PUEBLO, Colorado–Issuing one of the stiffest sentences yet
given to a convicted dogfighter, District Judge Scott Epstein of
Pueblo, Colorado, on April 15, 2002 sent Brian Keith Speer to
state prison for six years.
Speer, 32, of Colorado Springs, is to serve 18 concurrent
three-year sentences for 18 felony counts of animal fighting, plus
three more years for his felonious mistreatment of one especially
badly injured pit bull terrier found in his possession during a June
2000 raid on his trailer home near Boone.

San Francisco murder-by-dog defendant gets new trial

May 1, 2002 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 2002:

SAN FRANCISCO–San Francisco Superior Court Judge James
Warren on April 12, 2002 granted a new trial to attorney Marjorie
Knoller, who was convicted by a Los Angeles jury on March 21 of
second degree murder for the dog mauling death of her former neighbor
Diane Whipple.
Knoller, 46, was also convicted of manslaughter and keeping
a dangerous animal, as was her husband, fellow attorney Robert
Noel. Noel indicated that he would also appeal the jury verdict.

SHARK files conspiracy suit vs. Wauconda

May 1, 2002 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 2002:

CHICAGO–The activist group SHARK on April 24 sued Illinois
associate judge for the 19th Judicial Circuit John T. Phillips,
state’s attorney Michael Waller, assistant state’s attorney Daniel
Shanes, the Wauconda County Chamber of Commerce, Wauconda police
chief Daniel Quick, and three current and former members of the
Wauconda County Sheriff’s Department, alleging that for nine years
they engaged in a criminal conspiracy to deprive SHARK members of
their civil liberties in connection with protests against the annual
Wauconda Chamber of Commerce rodeo.

“Baby monkeys” case indictments

May 1, 2002 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 2002:

CHICAGO–A federal grand jury on April 14 returned a 12-count
indictment for illegally importing wild-caught monkeys against Labs
of Virginia, Inc., former Labs president David M. Taub, 59, Labs
board chair Charles J. Stern, 44, and Labs board member William
Curtis Henley, 43. LABS and Taub were each charged with eight
felonies and four misdemeanors.
The federal indictments alleged that between February 20 and
May 30, 1997, LABS flew to the U.S. in four groups a breeding
colony of 1,312 macaques purchased from Indonesian Aquatics Export
CV, called Inquatex. However, the transaction and import documents
allegedly misrepresented wild-caught macaques as captive-bred; the
wild-caught macaques were not legally exported from Indonesia; and
from 17 to 19 macaques were improperly brought to the U.S. while
nursing unweaned young.

Rats, mice, birds amendment, Jesse Helms & Johns Hopkins

May 1, 2002 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 2002:

CHAPEL HILL, NC.; baltimore, Md.–With a joint U.S.
Senate/House of Representatives conference committee expected to
decide any day on whether or not to include in the final reconciled
version of the 2002 Farm Bill a late amendment by Senator Jesse Helms
(R-North Carolina) to permanently exclude rats, mice, and birds
from protection under the Animal Welfare Act, PETA on April 18
disclosed dramatic and gruesome undercover video of technicians at
the laboratories of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
allegedly handling and killing rats and mice in an inhumane manner.
The video footage was obtained by PETA investigator Kate
Turlington, 24, a North Carolina State University graduate who
worked for six months as a technician in the Thurston Bowles animal
research building, near the University of North Carolina Hospitals
complex.

New animal-related legislation passed and signed in seven states

May 1, 2002 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 2002:

Florida Governor Jeb Bush on April 19 signed into law a bill
requiring anyone convicted of intentionally torturing or killing an
animal to attend an anger management counseling workshop.

Oklahoma Governor Frank Keating on April 14 signed into law a
bill prohibiting the construction of new poultry barns within
100-year flood plains, within 300 feet of any state-owned waterways;
and within a mile and a half of any designated scenic river area,
public drinking water well, or water body designated as Outstanding
Resource Waters by the Oklahoma Water Resources Board. The new law
also adds restrictions on poultry manure distribution as fertilizer.

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