Editorial: Humane is for humanity

October 1, 1994 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, October 1994:

The Roman Catholic Church recently published a new Catechism, an event of

importance to more than one billion people worldwide, about 19% of the global human

population, because the Catechism is the reference that governs the daily conduct of devout

Catholics, interpreting everyday situations in accordance with what the Church believes to

be divine will.

Like secular law, the Catechism is founded largely on precedent, derived from a

combination of codified dictate and ajudication. As the instrument of an institution whose

practical purpose is conserving moral order, the Catechism cannot be expected to break

abruptly from tradition to tell the faithful that most must radically change their lives. Even

small changes are therefore noteworthy. Such a small change comes in Passage 2415,

which extends moral consideration to animals, plants, and habitat. “The Seventh

Commandment enjoins respect for the integrity of creation,” it asserts. “The use of mineral,

plant, and animal resources cannot be separated from respect for moral imperatives. Man’s

dominion over inanimate and other living beings granted by the Creator is not absolute; it is

regulated by concern for the quality of life of his neighbor including generations to come; it

requires a religious respect for the integrity of creation.”

Wise-Use Wiseguys

September 1, 1994 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, September 1994:

Champion steer wrestler Bob

Marshall, whose work somewhat resembles bes –

tiality and involves frequent bumps on the head,

claimed recently in the Friends of Rodeo

newsletter that opposition to animal rights was

ordained by Paul in the name of Jesus because

animal rights activists “listen to seducing spirits

that teach the doctrine of demons,” promoting

“sex without marriage” and “sexual perver –

sions,” which “basically expresses the view –

point of our liberal leaders.” Thus, he said,

“The devil is who we really stand against.”

This came to him, he hinted, in a vision.

Diet & Health

July 1, 1994 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, July/August 1994:

A 10-month study published in the

June issue of Cancer Causes and Control, the

journal of the Harvard School of Public Health,

found that children who eat more than 12 hot dogs

a month whose fathers have a history of similar

consumption have nine times the normal risk of

leukemia. The study compared 232 leukemia

patients under age 10 with a similar group of

leukemia-free children. Wrote Dr. John Peters,

who led the University of Southern California

study team, “These findings, if correct, suggest

that reduced consumption of hot dogs could

reduce leukemia risks, especially in those con-

suming the most. Until further studies are com-

pleted and this issue becomes clearer, it may be

prudent for parents to consider reducing consump-

tion of hot dogs for themselves and their children

where consumption frequencies are high.” About

2,600 children a year get leukemia; 72% survive.

Wildlife

July 1, 1994 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, July/August 1994:

Media accounts widely misrepresented

an alleged disparity between $21,000 donated to

help the orphaned cub of the mountain lion who

killed California runner Barbara Schoener in May,

and the $9,000 donated to help Schoener’s children.

In fact, $15,000 of the amount “given” to the cub

came from the Folsom County Zoo’s dedicated

building fund for creating a mountain lion exhibit,

which the cub will occupy. An attempt by hunters to

use the fatal attack as pretext to reverse a hunting

moratorium imposed in 1971 and made permanent

by the passage of the 1990 Mountain Lion Initiative

was rebuffed June 14 by committees of both the

California state senate and assembly. In Montana,

meanwhile, the state Fish, Wildlife and Parks

Commission delayed until August a decision on

whether to deliberately cause a mountain lion popu-

lation crash by raising the kill quota from 436 to 479,

of whom at least 328 would have to be females.

Animal control & rescue

July 1, 1994 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, July/August 1994:

Consistent with previous studies done in

Portland and Minneapolis, which have found that

German shepherds make up about 14% of the canine popu-

lation but do about 27% of the biting, a Denver study of

178 first-time biters and 178 nonbiters issued June 9 by the

Centers for Disease Control found that German shepherds,

chows, and collies were the dogs most likely to attack; the

least likely were golden retrievers and poodles. Only one

pit bull terrier, a nonbiter, was included in the sample.

Despite the frequency of German shepherd bites, which

may reflect their frequent use as sentries, the ANIMAL

PEOPLE log of dog attacks causing death or serious injury

indicates that German shepherds are responsible for under

2% of the attacks in those categories, while pit bulls,

Rottweilers, and wolf hybrids together account for 79% of

the deaths and 92% of the maimings.

AGRICULTURE

June 1, 1994 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, June 1994:

The USDA on April 26 announced yet another pro-

posal to raise grazing fees on federal land. This version would

boost the base fee to $3.96 per head-month by 1997, but would

provide incentive discounts for ranchers who undertake various

forms of conservation and/or rangeland improvement.

Comments will be reviewed until July 28. An Environmental

Protection Agency impact study published May 18 estimated that

current management practices would bring a 3% decline over the

next 20 years in stream quality in the affected habitat, while the

proposed changes would bring a 27% improvement.

A National Agricultural Statistics Service survey of

the 10 largest corn-producing states, which raise 80% of the total

U.S. corn crop, reports that less than 1% is lost to wildlife. The

average loss per acre is 0.66 bushels. Of the 35.4 million bushels

eaten by wild animals, deer eat 13.9 million, while birds eat 9.6

million. The 1993 crop came to 5.14 billion bushels in all.

What the new Catechism really says about animals

April 1, 1994 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, April 1994:

DENVER, Colorado––“The Catholic church has

declared that humans should not love animals or spend

money on them when it could otherwise be spent on human

beings,” the World Society for the Protection of Animals’

magazine Animals International reported last fall, claiming,

“The announcement is included in the newly published edi-

tion of the Catholic Catechism, the 800-page book which

states the church’s position on all aspects of life.” A similar

report appeared several months later in the American Anti-

Vivisection Society magazine AV, and was then amplified by

activist newsletters and computer networks until it reached

Marshall Massey of the Environmental Projects Center, who

sought verification.

Religion & Spirituality

Diet & Health

December 1, 1993 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, December 1993:

Unhealthy diet follows smoking as

the leading cause of preventable death i n

the U.S., according to a new study co-

authored by Dr. Mcihael McGinnis, deputy

assistant secretary in the U.S. Department of

Health and Human Services. McGinnis is

responsible for designing U.S. disease pre-

vention strategy. Preventable deaths account

for about half of the U.S. death rate. The

study appeared in the Journal of the American

Medical Association.

Religion & Animals

October 1, 1993 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, October 1993:

Islamic scholar Kanan Makiya

asks fellow Moslems to completely reject

all forms of cruelty, including to animals,

in War, Tyranny, Uprising, and the Arab

World, a history of the Sadaam Hussein

regime in Iraq. (W.W. Norton., New York,

367 pp., $22.95 hardcover.)

Makiya scores fellow Middle

Eastern intellectuals for not condemning

massacre, rape, torture, and censorship.

“It’s not that people haven’t spoken out,”

he told New York Times writer Joseph

Cincotti. “But when the choice is a priority

of struggle against the West or Israel, cru-

elty isn’t even an issue. I want to make it

one. People can change. I insist on it.”

Makiya’s book focuses on state-

sponsored cruelty in Iraq, especially to dis-

sident Kurds, Shiites, and their children.

« 1 … 8 9 10 11 12 »