Pet-Abuse-com founder pleads for registry data standards

October 1, 2010 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, October 2010:
(Actual press date November 3.)
Recently, legislation has been proposed by state and local
governments to initiate individual animal abuse registries.
Similar to Megan’s Law for sex offenders, this legislation
would require individuals convicted of animal abuse crimes to
register with the public database or potentially face fines and/or
jail time.
We at Pet-Abuse.Com wholeheartedly support these efforts,
and applaud the legislators, advocacy groups, and individuals who
have worked so hard to get them this far. We were founded on the
belief that such registries are vital to the safety and welfare of
animals and humans alike, and it has been exciting to see such
progressive movement in this direction over the past year.
However, as we watch the momentum behind legislation for
registries continue to build, we become increasingly concerned that
what seems like a step forward might actually be a step backwards if
the planning and technical execution of these registries are
insufficiently considered.

Can “National Heritage” status save elephants in ever more crowded, faster moving India?

October 1, 2010 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, October 2010:
(Actual press date November 3.)

DELHI, GUWAHATI– The largest of land animals, but neither
faster than a poacher’s speeding bullet nor more powerful than a
locomotive, elephants are now officially protected with tigers as
“National Heritage Animals of India,” declared Indian environment
and animal welfare minister Jairam Ramesh on October 21, 2010.
Unclear is whether National Heritage status will help elephants any
more than it has helped tigers, who since gaining their National
Heritage designation in 1973 have been poached and illegally poisoned
for preying upon livestock to the verge of extinction across most of
India.
National Herit-age status helped to secure land and funding
for tiger conservation, and for about 30 years the tiger population
was believed to be recovering, but more recent findings have shown a
steep decline that was not previously noticed due to faulty research
and corrupt management in some tiger reserves.

North Dakota rejects initiative that would have banned canned hunts of deer & elk

October 1, 2010 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, October 2010:
(Actual press date November 3.)

BISMARCK–North Dakota voters on November 2, 2010 defeated
Initiated Measure 2, which would have banned shooting elk and deer
inside high-fence enclosures.
With 434 of 505 precincts reporting, the attempt to ban
so-called canned hunts trailed by 24,911 votes, failing by a margin
of 56% to 44%.

Video of singer killing tame bear may have helped in eastern N.D.

October 1, 2010 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, October 2010:
(Actual press date November 3.)
GRAND FORKS–North Dakota ballot Measure 2, seeking to ban
hunting deer and elk within high fences, failed statewide but passed
in the eastern third of the state.
Contributing to the regional split in the North Dakota voting
may have been intensive local exposure during the week before the
November 2010 election of a videotape of country music star Troy
Gentry illegally killing a tame black bear named Cubby at a Minnesota
game farm in 2004.

Former support of gassing dogs and cats may cost challenger the Illinois gubernatorial race

October 1, 2010 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, October 2010:
(Actual press date November 3.)

SPRINGFIELD–The votes of animal advocates may prove pivotal
in deciding the 2010 Illinois gubernatorial race.
Democratic incumbent governor Patrick Quinn held an 8,000
vote lead over Republican state senator Bill Brady as ANIMAL PEOPLE
went to press on the morning of November 3, 2010, but both Quinn
and Brady had approximately 46% of the ballots, with 97% of Illinois
precincts having reported.
Regardless of which candidate finishes the first count ahead,
a recount appeared to be almost certain.

Humane Society Legislative Fund candidates did well

October 1, 2010 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, October 2010:
(Actual press date November 3.)
WASHINGTON D.C.– Among 298 midterm election candidates
endorsed by the Humane Society Legislative Fund, 238 were declared
winners by noon on November 3, 2010, 46 lost, and 14 were in races
still undecided.
In Washington state the HSLF endorsement of incumbent
Senator Patty Murray, a Democrat, may prove pivotal. Murray held a
1% margin over Republican challenger Dino Rossi as ANIMAL PEOPLE went
to press, with a recount certain.

Vegan ex-NHL hockey star is named deputy director of Canadian Greens

July 1, 2010 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, July/August 2010:
MONTREAL–Recently retired vegan hockey star Georges Laraque,
33, was on August 1, 2010 named one of the two deputy directors of
the Green Party of Canada.
Laraque, born in Montreal of Haitian parents, said on his
web site that he gave up meat and later joined the Greens due to “my
deep concern for animal welfare.” Laraque has also raised funds for
relief work in Haiti.
Named “Best Fighter” by Hockey News in 2003 and “#1 enforcer”
by Sports Illustrated in 2008, Laraque played 13 years in the
National Hockey League for Edmonton, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, and the
Montreal Canadiens.

American Humane Association deal with egg producer may undercut California standards

July 1, 2010 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, July/August 2010:

SACRAMENTO–Humane Society of the U.S. factory farming
campaign senior director Paul Shapiro rejoiced on July 7, 2010 when
California Governor Arnold Schwarz-enegger signed AB 1437, to
require that all eggs sold in California be produced under conditions
meeting the welfare standards for laying hens kept in California that
were established by the passage of Proposition Two in November 2008.
Shapiro called AB 1437 “a bill that will require all whole
eggs sold in California by 2015 to come from hens who can stand up,
lie down, turn around, and fully extend their limbs. In other
words: cage-free.”
Shapiro was scarcely alone in his understanding.
Editorialized The New York Times, “Since California does not produce
all the eggs it eats, this new law will have a wider effect on the
industry; every producer who hopes to sell eggs in the state must
meet its regulations. There is no justification, economic or
otherwise,” The New York Times added. “Industrial confinement is
cruel and senseless,” the editorialists wrote, “and will turn out
to be, we hope, a relatively short-lived anomaly in modern farming.”

EU General Affairs Council approves new draft rules on animal experiments

May 1, 2010 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 2010:
BRUSSELS–The European Union General Affairs Council on May
11, 2010 approved a new draft directive on animal experiments. The
present directive has been in effect since 1986. The new directive
is expected to be approved by the full European Parliament in
September 2010.
“Under the new provisions member states will be required to
ensure that experiments with animals are replaced, wherever
possible, by an alternative method; the number of animals used in
projects is reduced to a minimum without compromising the quality of
results; [and] the degree of pain and suffering caused to animals
is limited to the minimum,” the council said in a prepared statement.

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