Eradicating feral foxes from Aleutian island leaves auklets to the rats

July 1, 2003 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, July/August 2003:

ANCHORAGE–Perhaps the most catastrophic consequence for
conservation yet of the U.S. federal effort to eradicate “invasive
species” from sensitive wildlife habitat is evident on Kiska Island
in the Aleutians, touted earlier as scene of a major victory.
“In 1986, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service eradicated
foxes from Kiska as part of a campaign to save Aleutian Canada geese
from extinction,” Doug O’Harra of the Anchorage Daily News recounted
on July 14. “About 49,000 beef tallow baits laced with Compound 1080
poison were dropped on the island, killing an estimated 700 foxes”
who were introduced decades earlier by fur farmers.
“Biologists visiting the island in spring 1987 found that
Norway rats had exploded in number with the foxes gone, the
Associated Press reported that spring. A federal report noted the
apparent surge in rats as evidence that the foxes had been
eliminated,” wrote O’Harra.

Hancock still fighting for animals

June 1, 2003 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, June 2003:

SACRAMENTO–Loni Hancock (D-Berk-eley) on May 1 withdrew a
Farm Sanctuary bill to ban the use of gestation crates for pregnant
sows. Opposed by the California Farm Bureau Federation, the bill
was three votes short of clearing the California assembly Agriculture
Committee.
The “Chronology of Humane Progress” published in the May
edition of ANIMAL PEOPLE stated that in 1976 the San Francisco SPCA
became the first U.S. animal control agency to halt killing animals
by decompression. The precedent actually came in Berkeley, across
San Francisco Bay, on a 1972 motion by then-city councillor Loni
Hancock, backed by fellow councillor Ron Dellums, who has since had
a staunchly pro-animal record in the U.S. House of Representatives.
The history of the Berkeley bill was recounted by Lara Diana
Sukol in The Politics of Dogs in Berkeley, 1968-1972, an M.A.
thesis presented to the history faculty at the University of Vermont
in March 2000. Hancock moved to abolish the decompression chamber at
urging of a group called The Dog Responsibility Committee, formed by
Myrna Walton, Julie Stitt, and Sukol’s parents, George and Diana
Sukol.

Australia commits to tail-docking ban

June 1, 2003 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, June 2003:

BRISBANE, Australia–Five of the seven Australian states are
reportedly committed to introducing a national ban on docking dogs’
tails by June 30, 2003, to take effect on December 1.
“New South Wales and the Northern Territory requested more
time to consider joining the ban,” reported Larizza Dubecki of the
Melbourne Age. “The decision [to ban tail-docking] was made at the
April 10 Primary Industries Ministerial Council in Brisbane,
supported by the Royal SPCA and the Australian Veterinary Association.
The AVA first called for a ban on tail-docking in 1998, six
years after the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons in Britain and
five years after the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association, but
Australia is the first English-speaking nation to commit to a ban.
Rare outside English-speaking nations, tail-docking is done
primarily to comply with breed standards established in England by
the Kennel Club during the 19th century, later adopted by the
American Kennel Club and other kennel associations.

U.S. Supreme Court rules that states may prosecute fraudulent fundraisers

June 1, 2003 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, June 2003:

WASHINGTON D.C., LOS ANGELES, SACRAMENTO–The U.S. Supreme
Court on May 5 ruled unanimously that states may prosecute charities
and hired fundraisers for fraud if they misrepresent how donations
will be used.
The case, “Madigan v. Telemarket-ing Associates,” concerned
the effort of Illinois attorney general Lisa Madigan to prosecute a
firm that solicted funds for VietNow, a charity formed to aid
Vietnam veterans.
Summarized Associated Press, “The state claimed would-be donors were
told their money would go for food baskets, job training and other
services for needy veterans, even though Telemarketing Associates
pocketed 85% of the take. One woman said she was told, ‘90% or more
goes to the vets.’ The ruling makes clear that while fundraisers may
keep quiet about the high costs of running a charity drive, they may
not lie about it.”

Where cats belong–and where they don’t

June 1, 2003 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, June 2003:

KISSEEMEE, Florida–Depending on who you listen to, the
Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission either declared war
on feral cats at a May 30 meeting in Kisseemee, or clarified their
position that they have no intention of so doing.
Claiming the support of the American Bird Conservancy,
National Audubon Society, and National Wildlife Federation, Florida
Wildlife Division director Frank Montalbano talked like a man going
to war in a March interview with Orlando Sentinel outdoors writer Don
Wilson.

Montana Spay/Neuter Task Force fixing for “Phase 3”

June 1, 2003 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, June 2003:

VICTOR, Montana–Scarce funding may doom
the Montana Spay/Neuter Task Force, founder Jean
Atthowe told ANIMAL PEOPLE in early June
2003–but, characteristic of the optimism that
impelled Atthowe to form the Task Force in 1996,
she added that lack of resources may expedite the
transition of the work to community management.
This would fulfill her initial ambition for the project.
“From November 1996 through October
2002,” Atthowe said, “the Task Force has helped
to create 46 pet care events with local hosts,
and has provided spay/neuter surgeries for over
15,000 Montana dogs and cats. The Task Force has
visited all seven Native American nations in
Montana from one to four times each,” as well as
many small towns in remote locations which often
do not even have a local veterinarian.

Locke vetoes Washington trap ban repeal & other state legislative highlights

June 1, 2003 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, June 2003:

Three of the biggest wins for animals during spring 2003
legislative sessions were the defeat of anti-animal bills in
Washington, Texas, and California.
Washington Governor Gary Locke on May 22 vetoed a repeal of
Initative 713, banning the use of body-gripping traps. The
initiative was approved in November 2000 by 55% of the electorate.
It was vulnerable in the legislature because support was concentrated
along the heavily populated eastern shore of Puget Sound, which is
proportionally underrepresented in both the state house and senate
relative to rural districts.
Despite vetoing the repeal bill, Locke asked the state
Department of Fish and Wildlife to “place limited enforcement
resources into higher-order priorities than against homeowners,
businesses, and the timber industry, that trap for moles, gophers,
and mountain beavers.”

Charities sue over slogans and similar names

June 1, 2003 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, June 2003:

SAN FRANCISCO–Alleging “trademark infringement, unfair
competition, and related claims arising from the unauthorized use”
of the phrase “Don’t breed or buy while homeless animals die,” the
International Society for Animal Rights on April 29, 2003 sued In
Defense of Animals in U.S. District Court.
ISAR trademarked the phrase in January 2001, the suit
states, objecting that “IDA has incorporated the confusingly similar
slogan ‘Please don’t breed or buy while millions of homeless animals
die’ into posters, flyers, and other products featuring gruesome
images of dead and/or dying pets.” ISAR contends that this confuses
“prospective and actual donors and members about a perceived
relationship between the organizations.”

Is the NIH really going to send chimps to India?

May 1, 2003 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 2003:

THIRUVANATHAPURAM–G. Mahadevan of The Hindu daily
newspaper caught both the Indian and U.S. animal advocacy communities
by surprise with an April 15 report that the Thuruvananthapuram Zoo
in the capital city of Kerala state “is finalizing paperwork for the
transfer of two male and two female chimps from the National
Institute of Health in Maryland.”
Joyce McDonald, acting communications director for the
National Center for Research Resources at the U.S. National
Institutes of Health, confirmed to ANIMAL PEOPLE that “NCRR has
begun preliminary discussions with the Thiruvananthapuram Zoo in
India concerning the transfer of chimpanzees from the United States,”
but indicated that it is far from a done deal.
“There are many issues that need to be resolved before any
final determinations are made,” McDonald said. “For instance, NCRR
has to be assured that the zoo environment is appropriate and
properly accredited; that lifetime care is available; that the
animals will stay in the zoo; that notification and approval from
U.S. and Indian regulatory agencies has been obtained; that proper
transportation can be provided, etc. In addition, we need to assured
that expenses can be covered by the Indian zoo. Again, our
discussions are very preliminary,” McDonald emphasized, “and these
issues must be resolved to our satisfaction before NIH would
coordinate the transfer of the animals from a U.S. research facility.

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