Dutch assassin gets 18 years

May 1, 2003 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 2003:

AMSTERDAM–Volkert van der Graaf, 33, who confessed to
killing anti-immigration and pro-fur politician Pim Fortuyn on May 6,
2002, in the first Dutch political assassination since World War II,
was on April 14 sentenced to serve 18 years in prison.
Seeking a life sentence, the prosecution said it would appeal.
Likening the assassination to shooting Adolph Hitler before
he could rise to power, van der Graaf testified that he shot Fortuyn,
54, because he was “a threat to weaker groups in society,”
including asylum-seekers, Muslims, the disabled, and animals.

Will new Kenya government lift hunting ban?

May 1, 2003 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 2003:
NAIROBI–Kenya has a new President, National Rainbow
Coalition candidate Mwai Kibaki, succeeding Daniel arap Moi,
President since 1978.
Kibaki, a longtime leading member of the parliamentary opposition to
the arap Moi regime, almost immediately replaced the entire Kenya
Wildlife Service board of directors, fueling concern that Kibaki may
next move to overturn the national ban on sport hunting enforced
throughout arap Moi’s tenure as–according to Ghosts of Tsavo author
Philip Caputo–a gesture of respect to Daphne Sheldrick, widow of
Tsavo National Park founder David Sheldrick and pioneer of successful
rehabilitation of orphaned elephants.

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 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.

Will Sakhon Nakhon province governor Panchai keep promise to ban dog meat?

March 1, 2003 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, September 2003:

BANGKOK–Recently elected Sakhon Nakhon provincial governor
Panchai Borvornratanapran reportedly retreated on July 18 from a
mid-June promise to abolish the sale and slaughter of dogs for meat.
Following a protest rally by about 300 dog meat traders and
butchers from Tha Rae, the impoverished northeastern district where
dogs are most often eaten, provincial spokesperson Raksit Wathayotha
told Agence France-Press that the governor met with representatives
of the dog meat industry and “said he doesn’t want to impose the
opinion of the entire province, which favors ending dog meat
trading, on Tha Rae. He wants them to make their own decision and
will not object if the majority of Tha Rae people still want to
practice dog meat eating and selling.”
Agence France-Presse attributed directly to Governor Panchai
an estimate that 17 dog slaughter houses in Tha Rae kill 300 to 400
dogs per day, selling up to 4,000 kilograms of dog meat per day.
[At 300-400 dogs killed per day, however, the average daily sales
volume would be only half as large.] About 90% of the dog meat was
sent to Bangkok, Governor Panchai reportedly claimed. Some is known
to be exported to China and Vietnam.

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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