ANIMAL HEALTH

September 1, 1994 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, September 1994:

No face-branding halt yet despite what mass media reported

July 7 media reports that the USDA would no longer require face-branding of steers import-

ed from Mexico were incorrect. Such an announcement was expected, but was apparently delayed by

the White House to get input on the rules change from the National Cattlemen’s Association. The

USDA did amend the import rules for Mexican heifers, who now must be given a local anesthetic

prior to spaying, and are rump-branded. The steers are branded to help inspectors backtrack cattle car-

rying bovine tuberculosis; the heifers are spayed to prevent the transmission of brucellosis.

What’s up in Montreal?

September 1, 1994 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, September 1994:

MONTREAL––The Canadian

SPCA recently endured yet another of

many recent changes of management, as

a young dissident faction led by longtime

critic Alex Wolfe won control of the

board and moved it toward the distant

goal of becoming a no-kill––against bitter

union and veterinary opposition.

“Until now,” former board

member Anne Streeter wrote recently in

the Montreal Gazette, “the CSPCA has

been notoriously trigger-happy, putting

down close to 50,000 animals a year.

Now the CSPCA is accused of keeping

too many marginally healthy animals

alive. Critics say the place is overcrowd-

ed, dirty, underfunded and short-staffed.”

What’s up in Minneapolis?

September 1, 1994 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, September 1994:

MINNEAPOLIS––The Animal

Humane Society of Hennepin County, the

leading shelter in Minneapolis, has

achieved a 50% adoption rate or better

every year since 1990. Broken down,

AHSHC places 97% of the puppies it

receives, 50% of the adult dogs, 60% of

the kittens, and 35% of the adult cats. The

high adoption numbers are not achieved

through selective intake: of the 22,151 ani-

mals AHSHC handled in 1992, 84% were

animal control pickups.

Cold winter holds down roadkills: Peaks coincide with moon phases

September 1, 1994 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, September 1994:

DERRY, New Hampshire––The good

news is that roadkills will apparently claim 23%

fewer animal lives in 1994 than 1993. The bad news

is that the reason is probably not safer driving, but

rather the harsh winter of 1993-1994, which thinned

the numbers of many of the most vulnerable species.

Refinements of the survey method may

also account for some of the drop, from an estimated

total of 187 million animals killed in 1993 to just 137

million this year. The 1993 statistics were derived

exclusively from Dr. Splatt’s Roadkill Project, a

learning exercise then including students at 31 New

England middle schools, coordinated by Dr.

Brewster Bartlett of Pinkerton Academy, in Derry,

New Hampshire.

HSUS: PROSECUTE CAT RESCUERS BECAUSE FERAL DOGS ARE DANGEROUS

September 1, 1994 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, September 1994:

According to Humane Society of the U.S. director for overpopulation

issues Kate Rindy, in a March 3 letter to Renee Welch of the Outer Banks

SPCA in Nag’s Head, North Carolina, neuter /release is a bad idea because,

“while feral cat colonies often stay within a confined area, feral dogs form packs

which roam over large areas and which can pose a threat to humans.”

Rindy and HSUS South Central Regional Office director Jim Tedford

also told Welch that neuter/release is illegal in North Carolina.

Welch had inquired in reference to monitored neuter/release of vacci-

nated cats as practiced by the Outer Banks Spay/Neuter Fund in nearby Kitty

Hawk, though she may not have given Rindy and Tedford complete context.

Using HSUS fact sheets on how neutering can cut animal control costs, Karen

LeBlanc of the OBSNF had approached the Dare County Animal Control

Advisory Board two weeks earlier to ask that $5,000 of its annual $104,227 sub-

sidy to the Outer Banks SPCA be earmarked for neutering assistance. The Outer

Banks SPCA objected––even after the OBSNF redrafted the proposal to stipu-

late that no public funds would be used for neuter/release. Armed with the Rindy

and Tedford letters, the Outer Banks SPCA on March 11 faxed a “Statement of

Disassociation” to local veterinarians and on March 13 published it as an adver-

tisement in The Coastland Times. The statement questioned the nonprofit status

of the OBSNF, a chapter of the California-based United Humanitarians, and

echoed without citing the source of the opinion that neuter/release is illegal.

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.

Animal control & rescue

June 1, 1994 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, June 1994:

Effective June 28, use of

live animals as prizes in drawings,

lotteries, contests, sweepstakes,

and carnival games is illegal in

Pennsylvania. The law exempts fish,

as well as domestic animals given

away in connection with state-spon-

sored or sanctioned agricultural and

vocational programs. The Pennsyl-

vania Legislative Animal Network

and state representative Jerry Nailer

had pursued the new law since 1989.

Michigan adopted a

felony cruelty law in late April.

The new law eliminates the old

requirement that an animal be owned

for abuse to be punished, which left

homeless animals unprotected, and

weighs offenses in terms of mali-

ciousness rather than in terms of

property damage. The maximum

penalty is now four years in jail and

a $5,000 fine per offense.

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.

San Francisco adopts no-kill animal control: WILL DECLARING VICTORY WIN THE WAR?

May 1, 1994 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 1994:

SAN FRANCISCO, California––Euthanasia for animal population control offi-

cially ended in San Francisco effective April 1. Taking San Francisco SPCA president

Richard Avanzino up on a challenge issued last October, the city Department of Animal Care

and Control has agreed it will no longer euthanize any dog or cat who meets Avanzino’s

“adoptable” and “treatable” criteria. The SFSPCA has agreed to accept, treat, and place all

such animals. The agreement is expected to cut by two-thirds the number of euthanasias per-

formed by the city shelter: 5,379 in 1993, already by far the smallest number of euthanasias

relative to human population of any major urban animal control district.

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