“Invasive” means any species that somebody hates

September 1, 2002 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, September 2002:

WASHINGTON D.C.–Australia and New Zealand may be the most
bioxenophobic of nations, with Britain (page 9) not far behind, but
environmental eugenics have a strong following in the U.S. as well.
Attempting to eradicate non-native species from land holdings
is in fact official policy of the U.S. National Park Service, The
Nature Conservancy, and many other government agencies and
non-governmental organizations involved in conservation.
Paradoxically, some government agencies and nonprofit
hunting clubs are still translocating and introducing populations of
the same species that others are attempting to get rid of. Even as
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service moves to reclassify nonmigratory
giant Canada geese in the Great Lakes region as an “invasive” pest
species, for instance, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources
translocated 4,100 of the geese from the Detroit area to Chelsea,
Iowa, and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources translocated
262 geese from Horicon to Black River Falls.

United States legislative roundup

September 1, 2002 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, September 2002:

California Governor Gray Davis in mid-July signed into law a
bill by state assembly member Virginia Strom-Martin (D-Duncans Mills)
which encourages human services personnel to report any suspected
cases of animal abuse they may encounter on the job. Animal cruelty
investigators are already required to report any suspected cases of
child abuse that they discover. The Strom-Martin bill was introduced
to mandate cross-reporting, but was amended to be non-binding after
child welfare agencies testified that the cumulative cost of the
extra paperwork would be about $200,000 statewide per year.

Germany adopts a pro-animal constitutional amendment

July 1, 2002 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, July/August, 2002:

BONN–The Bundesrat, the upper house of the German
legislature, on June 21 ratified an amendment to the national Basic
Law which adds the words “and animals” to a phrase establishing
environmental rights.
As amended, the phrase now reads, “The state takes
responsibility for protecting the natural foundations of life and
animals in the interest of future generations.”

Congress delivers 9/11 to the Animal Welfare Act

July 1, 2002 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, July/August, 2002:

Monday, May 13, 2002, was a date which should live in
infamy among American animal advocates. On that day, U.S.
president George W. Bush signed into law a new federal Farm Bill
which erased Animal Welfare Act protection of rats, mice, and birds
used in laboratories.
Rats, mice, and birds constitute more than 95% of all of
the warmblooded animals who suffer and die in U.S. biomedical
research, testing, and teaching: about 30 million per year.
Entrusted with enforcing the Animal Welfare Act, the U.S.
Department of Agriculture in truth never actually did protect rats,
mice, and birds as the law directed. Yet for 32 years the Animal
Welfare Act did say that the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection
Service was supposed to protect rats, mice, and birds.

Principle Must Come First

July 1, 2002 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, July/August, 2002:

Principle must come first, by Patrice Greanville
ANIMAL PEOPLE board of directors

“Downplaying the ‘animal rights angle’ will be
counterproductive,” ANIMAL PEOPLE publisher Kim Bartlett advised
animal advocates who were preparing their lobbying strategy for the
spring 2002 legislative sessions.
“If the legislators believe the charade,” Kim continued,
and reiterated in the March 2002 ANIMAL PEOPLE editorial, “it
perpetuates the notion that nobody cares much about animals. If they
don’t buy it, it confirms the view that animal suffering is so
inconsequential a concern that even animal advocates are afraid to
acknow-ledge their true interests.”

Canadian anti-cruelty and Species-at-Risk bills die twice

July 1, 2002 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, July/August, 2002:

OTTAWA–A once promising session of Parliament for Canadian
animal protection bills adjourned on June 21 in Ottawa with both an
update of the 107-year-old federal anti-cruelty law and the proposed
Species-at-Risk Act effectively dead.
Both bills actually appeared to be dead by mid-April,
between the concerted opposition of the Canadian Alliance, the
minority party which dominates western Canada, and the opposition of
Liberal Rural Caucus chair Murray Calder.

State legislative summaries

July 1, 2002 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, July/August, 2002:

A felony cruelty penalty and a statewide system of
registration, regulation, and inspection governing private animal
rescuers take effect in Virginia on July 1.
The felony cruelty provision applies only to deliberately
fatal injuries inflicted upon owned pet dogs or cats. Offenders may
be jailed for up to five years.
The bill governing rescuers was requested by the Virginia
Federation of Humane Societies in response to complaints about lost
animals not being reunited with their families, because the
discovery of the animals running at large was never reported to local
shelters. The bill also anticipates the possibility that dogfighters
may use “breed rescue” as cover to obtain animals, a scam recently
uncovered in several other states.

Wise-users kill Canadian ESA, anti-cruelty bill

June 1, 2002 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, June 2002:

OTTAWA–Canadian Alliance leader John Reynolds gloated on
April 30 that the third attempt of the Liberal government to pass a
national endangered species act appeared to be dead. The current
Parliament is to adjourn on June 21. Liberal house leader Ralphe
Goodale–insisting that the currently introduced Species-at-Risk Act
will “get to the finish line by mid-June”–had by May 28 made no new
move to push it. The Liberals are strongest in Quebec and Atlantic
Canada; the Canadian Alliance dominates the west.

Friends of Animals board chair resigns over anti-chaining bill veto

June 1, 2002 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, June 2002:

HARTFORD–Connecticut state representative Kenneth Bernhard
(R-Westport) has resigned his longtime position as Friends of Animals
board chair, in protest against the role of FoA president Priscilla
Feral in persuading Governor John G. Rowland, a fellow Republican,
to veto what would have been the first state law to explicitly limit
the number of hours per day that dogs could be chained, caged, or
kenneled.
Drafted by Animal Advocacy Connecticut founder Julie Lewin,
the anti-chaining bill was approved 124-17 in the state house and
30-6 in the state senate. Lawmakers backed the bill partly out of
sympathy for dogs chained outdoors alone in all kinds of weather,
and partly due to increasing recognition that prolonged chaining,
caging, or kenneling tends to make dogs more territorial and
reactive, resulting in more frequent bites and more serious bites
than if the dogs have the option of moving away from a threat or
challenge.

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