ANIMAL HEALTH

December 1, 1993 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, December 1993:

A mystery hantavirus that killed 26 peopleear-

lier this year could spread across the U.S., the November 5

issue of Science warned. The Pulmonary Syndrome

Hantavirus, as it is now called, PSH for short, was traced

to deer mice after killing 19 people near the junction of

Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, and Colorado––and deer

mice range over most of North America. Cases have now

been confirmed as far north as Montana and the Dakotas,

as far west as coastal California, and as far east as

Louisiana. The southwestern outbreak may have occurred

as result of heavy rains in early 1992 that produced a

bumper crop of pinon nuts and grasshoppers, both staple

foods for deer mice, whose population exploded. The

Centers for Disease Control suspects the outbreak was

detected only because so many cases appeared at once.

Hunter harassment bill clears Senate

December 1, 1993 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, December 1993:

A last-minute deal between

Senate Judiciary Committee chair Joe

Biden (D-Del.) and senior minority mem-

ber Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) inserted a fed-

eral hunter harassment statute into the

anti-crime bill passed by the Senate, 95-

4, in mid-November. The amendment

states it is illegal for a person to

“obstruct, impede or otherwise interfere”

with hunting on federal land. It was nei-

ther mentioned nor voted upon during the

anti-crime bill debate, apparently pass-

ing unnoticed.

HUNTING

December 1, 1993 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, December 1993:

To fight deer overpopulation,

the Ohio Division of Wildlife intends to

seek legalized bowhunting in suburbs;

legalized Sunday gun hunting; a longer

deer season; increased deer quotas; hunt-

ing access to state parks; and the repeal of

suburban hunting bans. Until last year,

Division policy was to boost deer numbers

to create more targets.

The odds a hunter will kill a

person by accident are 279.5 times

greater than the odds a deer/car collision

will. A record 118 people were killed in

deer/car collisions last year, while 130

people were killed in hunting accidents––a

record low. But the 165 million drivers in

the U.S. drive an average of at least once

a day, while the 14 million hunters hunt

an average of 17 days apiece, according to

the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Birds

December 1, 1993 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, December 1993:

The last four of the first

eight California condors to be

returned to the wild were recap-

tured November 9 for relocation

from the Sespe Condor Sanctuary

to the Los Padres National Forest,

far to the north. Three condors

released at Sespe since January

1992 were killed in collisions with

power lines, while a fourth was

poisoned by drinking antifreeze.

Racing Stockcar Assoc-

iates Inc. is attempting to build a

dirt racetrack in a former sand quar-

ry beneath Bake Oven Knob,

Pennsylvania, site of one of North

America’s longest maintained rap-

tor obervatories.

ALASKA TARGETS WOLF CUBS; LEFT ALIVE IN SNARES FOR DAYS; TOP STATE KILLER IS CONVICTED POACHER

December 1, 1993 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, December 1993:

FAIRBANKS, Alaska– – As

renewed bloody horror erupted in Haiti,

Borundi, Angola, Somalia, and the for-

mer Yugoslavia, snow softly covered the

woods of Wildlife Management Unit 20-A.

Then, with camera crews elsewhere and

wolf tracks visible, the trappers crept out

to their planes and unleashed the wolf mas-

sacre the world had awaited for over a

year. Leading the state-hired killers was

Daniel Grangaard, a multi-time convicted

poacher.

“Public records indicate Gran-

gaard, the person placed in charge of the

state-funded wolf kill, has been convicted

of hunting without a license and illegal use

of game to bait traps,” confirmed Stephen

Wells of the Alaska Wildlife Alliance.

Disaster plan works: Wildfire!

December 1, 1993 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, December 1993:

LOS ANGELES, California––Southern California participants in the American

Humane Association’s mid-October disaster preparedness seminar had barely stepped off the

planes taking them home from Baltimore when their lessons were put to the test. Twenty-five

wildfires in 14 days, 19 of them arsons, roared through canyons in seven contiguous counties.

The disaster hot spot seemed to shift with the dry Santa Ana winds––from Escondido,

overlooking San Diego, to Malibu, northwest of Los Angeles. Each blaze seemed more men-

acing than the last, until the climactic fire swept down Topanga Canyon from Calabasas,

forked, and incinerated two separate coastal neighborhoods. Eighteen thousand acres of

Free the dolphins and orcas? Free Willy inspires movement––but Watson has doubts, takes heat

December 1, 1993 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, December 1993:

SANTA MONICA, California––Paul Watson,

Ric O’Barry, Peter Wallerstein, and Steve Hindi all agree

on one thing: Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium shouldn’t have

captured three Pacific whitesided dolphins off San Diego

circa November 27. All were bitterly disappointed when the

Shedd capture crew eluded nautical and aerial surveillance

by the Whale Rescue Team to bring in the dolphins by the

dead of night. A Shedd holding pen at the Kettenburg

Marine wharf was dry and empty late Saturday; the anxious

dolphins were there and shrieking on Sunday morning, and

were still shrieking Sunday night, according to Hindi as

ANIMAL PEOPLE went to press.

If it can make it there, it can make it anywhere

November 1, 1993 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, November 1993:

NEW YORK, N.Y.––Richard Avanzino of the

San Francisco SPCA is quick to point out that he hasn’t

announced his plan to end population control euthanasia

as a blueprint for anyone anywhere else. He explains

carefully that it is intended as an experiment, taking

advantage of the unique conditions in San Francisco, and

that other cities should in turn learn by the San Francisco

experience before attempting anything similar.

Nonetheless, there could be implications for

New York City. Acknowledging the example of the

SFSPCA, the American SPCA announced last April that

it would cease providing animal control service to New

York City in November 1994, exactly 100 years after it

took on the job. Like the SFSPCA, the ASPCA will then

focus upon arranging adoptions, neutering, humane edu-

cation, and improving landlord/pet keeper relations.

Demographics of the shelter dog population

November 1, 1993 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, November 1993:

While good statistical data on the

U.S. animal shelter dog population is

scarce, what is available largely supports

Margaret Anne Cleek’s contention (left)

that large dogs are disproportionately rep-

resented, while small dogs remain in

strong demand. Before accepting Cleek’s

commentary, ANIMAL PEOPLE

checked her various contentions about the

nature of dogs entering and exiting shelters

with a variety of shelter managers from

across the U.S. who were attending the

American Humane Association annual con-

ference in Baltimore, October 10-13.

None had precise statistics for large dog

versus small dog intakes and adoptions,

but the experience of the North Shore

Animal League, which adopts out 43,000

animals a year, proved typical, even at

small rural shelters in remote regions.

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