Humane ed. for Mideast peace

May 1, 1994 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 1994:

TEL AVIV, Israel––As the West

Bank erupted in another round of bombings and

massacres, more than a thousand Israelis and

Palestinians asked to attend a March 22-23 con-

ference on preventing violence through humane

education, held in the Tel Aviv suburb of

Ramat Gan by Concern for Helping Animals in

Israel––but the hall could hold only 450.

Children & Animals: NABT MOVES TOWARD STRONGER SUPPORT OF CLASSROOM DISSECTION

April 1, 1994 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, April 1994:

WASHINGTON D.C.––The National Association of Biology Teachers has withdrawn its monograph The

Responsible Use of Animals in Biology Classrooms “due to ethical concerns about some of its classroom exercises and about

the unequal representation of animal rights and biomedical research groups in the resource list,” according to the

February/March 1994 edition of National Science Teachers Association Reports. NABT executive director Patricia

Marine mammals

March 1, 1994 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, March 1994:

S. 1636, the present Marine

Mammal Protection Act reauthorization

bill, has cleared the Senate Commerce

Committee and at deadline was expected to be

passed any day by the full Senate, with House

ratification likely in April. The Humane

Society of the U.S. has asked members to

write Congress opposing S. 1636 because it

“has no provisions for effective enforcement,”

and “would allow the accidental killing of

endangered species (currently prohibited) and

the intentional shooting of seals and sea lions

solely to protect fish commercially caught or

raised.” HSUS seeks amendments that will

“ensure that marine mammal mortality in com-

mercial fishing operations reaches insignifi-

cant levels approaching zero, mandate specif-

ic punitive consequences if kill reduction goals

are not met on schedule, prohibit the capture

of wild whales or dolphins for public display,

prohibit swim-with-the-dolphin programs and

petting pools, prohibit public feeding of both

captive and wild marine mammals, prohibit

the issuance of permits to kill endangered

species in commercial fisheries,” and “prohib-

it the intentional killing of seals and sea lions

solely to protect fishing gear, catch, or net

pens.” The Animal Welfare Institute has

issued a similar appeal for action.

WAR

December 1, 1993 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, December 1993:

While other bloodbaths have

diverted concern from Saddam

Hussein’s purge of Shiites from

Southern Iraq, an effect of the killing

may soon be evident throughout

Europe, Asia, and

northern Africa, when waterfowl

numbers crash as result of the

drainage of about half the 6,000

square miles of wetland between the

Tigris and Euphrates rivers. The

wetland is perhaps the most impor-

tant feeding, resting, and breeding

area for migratory birds in the

Middle East. Saddam ordered the

the rivers diverted in August 1992,

ostensibly for irrigation but more

plausibly to drive the Shiites, who

oppose his regime, into Shiite-con-

trolled Iran. The wetlands are the

traditional Shiite stronghold.

Wildlife

December 1, 1993 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, December 1993:

A study of the efficacy of the Endangered

Species Act by wildlife biologists with the U.S. Fish and

Wildlife Service and the University of Idaho at Moscow

reported November 12 in Science that, “Few species have

actually recovered,” because population goals are set too

low in 60% of the cases where vertebrate populations can

be counted. “Even if population goals were achieved”

they added, “60% of the ESA’s threatened or endangered

vertebrate species would remain in peril, with roughly a

20% probability of extinction within 20 years or 10 gener-

ations, whichever is longer.”

The wild population of bonobo apes, or

pygmy chimpanzees, who are the closest relatives of

humans after the common chimpanzee, has fallen from

50,000 to under 10,000 in two decades; extinction is pro-

jected within seven years. Native to Zaire, bonobos are

threatened by habitat loss, meat poachers, and pet traders

who traffic in the orphaned infants. Young bonobos typi-

cally die within days when apart from their mothers. The

usual customers are visiting non-Africans, who buy

bonobo babies in misguided hopes of saving them, says to

primatologist Jo Thompson. But this encourages the

poachers to capture more. The human and bonobo DNA

sequences differ by only 2-3%.

Religion & Animals

October 1, 1993 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, October 1993:

Islamic scholar Kanan Makiya

asks fellow Moslems to completely reject

all forms of cruelty, including to animals,

in War, Tyranny, Uprising, and the Arab

World, a history of the Sadaam Hussein

regime in Iraq. (W.W. Norton., New York,

367 pp., $22.95 hardcover.)

Makiya scores fellow Middle

Eastern intellectuals for not condemning

massacre, rape, torture, and censorship.

“It’s not that people haven’t spoken out,”

he told New York Times writer Joseph

Cincotti. “But when the choice is a priority

of struggle against the West or Israel, cru-

elty isn’t even an issue. I want to make it

one. People can change. I insist on it.”

Makiya’s book focuses on state-

sponsored cruelty in Iraq, especially to dis-

sident Kurds, Shiites, and their children.

Zoos

July 1, 1993 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, July/August 1993:

Interior Secretary Bruce

Babbitt told the San Diego Zoo on June

25 that, “Frankly, at this time, I am not

optimistic that our biologists can issue the

permit” the zoo seeks to import three pan-

das from China under a captive breeding

loan, because the import might violate the

Endangered Species Act. Babbitt said the

zoo would be allowed to bring in the pan-

das only if it can prove that the breeding

loan “will ultimately result in enhanced

protection for the species.” He added that

his staff was concerned “that this transac-

tion will set a precedent and generate irre-

sistible pressure for the capture and export

of pandas from the only region where they

are found wild.” The San Diego Zoo has

already spent more than $1 million in

preparation to receive the pandas, who are

expected to be a record-breaking attrac-

tion, and has agreed to pay China $1 mil-

lion a year during their visit plus $600,000

per cub who lives longer than six months.

Animal Control & Rescue

July 1, 1993 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, July/August 1993:

New Hampshire has followed

New Jersey and Connecticut in establish-

ing a statewide low-cost neutering pro-

gram. The New Hampshire program, man-

aged by the state department of agriculture

and funded by a $2.00 surcharge on dog

licenses, will subsidize neutering animals

adopted from shelters and those belonging

to people of low income.

The percentage of purebreds

among dogs received by pounds and shel-

ters appears to be edging up, e.g. from 22%

in 1991 to 25% in 1992 at the SPCA of

Monterey County, California, which keeps

some of the most comprehensive records on

purebreds. Other shelters claim to be

receiving as many as 30% purebreds. The

percentage may be up simply because total

admissions are generally down while the

number of dogs surrendered by owners is

holding even, and owned dogs are more

likely to be purebred.

Zoos & Aquariums

April 1, 1993 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, April 1993:

The World Society for the Protection of Animals recently liberated Flipper, the

last captive dolphin in Brazil, near where he was captured in 1982. Before the release,

Flipper was reaquainted with life in the ocean under the supervision of Ric O’Barry of the

Dolphin Project––who also trained his namesake, the star of the Flipper TV program. Brazil

banned keeping marine mammals in captivity in 1991. The Brazilian Flipper spent the past

two years in solitude at an abandoned amusement park near Sao Paulo, and was kept alive

by the local fire department, who used their pumper truck to change his water after the filtra-

tion system in his tank deteriorated beyond repair.

Colorado’s Ocean Journey, the proposed aquarium to be built in Denver,

recently tried to head off protest by claiming it would include “only third generation captive-

born dolphins.” Pointed out David Brower, president of Earth Island Institute, “There are

no third-generation captive-born dolphins anywhere.” The Coors Brewing Company recent-

ly retreated from the dolphin controversy. According to a prepared statement issued

February 15, “Contrary to rumors and recent advertisements, Coors does not ‘want to bring

dolphins to Denver.’ Our support of this project is not focused on, nor dependent on,

cetaceans.”

« 1 … 16 17 18 19 »