Zoos & Aquariums

October 1, 1992 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, October 1992:

Two of the four beluga whales caught in

August for the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago died

September 22, apparently as result of overdoses of

roundworm medication. The capture of the whales was

fought every step of the way by marine mammal protec-

tion groups, including Lifeforce and the International

Wildlife Coalition.

The National Zoo in Washington D.C. is test-

ing a deer contraceptive this fall on 30 does. “We’re try-

ing to develop a technology for the humane population

control of deer where hunting is not wise, legal, or

safe,” said Montana wildlife fertility researcher Jay

Kirkpatrick, who developed the contraceptive.

CRIME & PUNISHMENT

October 1, 1992 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, October 1992:

Crimes Against Humans

* The FBI and local police are seeking a

serial killer who is believed responsible for

shooting a bowhunter, a deer hunter, two

fishermen, and a jogger since 1989 in rural

eastern Ohio. An anonymous letter to a local

newspaper from the purported killer indicates

he himself is a hunter; he demonstrates a

hunter’s knowledge of firearms. The man

boasted that these are not his only murders.

* Imperial Food Products owner Emmett

Roe pleaded guilty Sept. 14 to 25 counts of

manslaughter in connection with a Sept. 3,

1991 blaze at the company’s chicken process-

ing plant in Hamlet, North Carolina. Similar

charges against Roe’s son and another plant

official were dropped as part of a plea bar-

gain. Roe was setenced to 20 years in prison

for locking exits and neglecting fire precau-

tions. Roe was earlier fined $808,150 for fire

code violations, and still faces 19 civil suits

from bereaved survivors.

DOGS & CATS

October 1, 1992 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, October 1992:

* Wildlife officer Ric Nattrass of the Queensland (Australia) National Parks

and Wildlife Service has concluded that, “Based on data collected by wildlife staff

at the Moggill Centre (in Brisbane), there is no evidence to date that the domestic

cat is a major threat to the long term survival of the city’s native fauna. From a

purely conservation point of view, neither the numbers nor the species taken by cats

are cause for alarm when compared with the losses to urbanization, industrializa-

tion, motor traffic, and the creation of the horse paddock.” Nattrass’ report is

based on the experience of a single metropolitan area, as critics are quick to note,

and flies in the face of conventional belief; but it is worth pointing out that the only

other major study of domestic cat predation to date, by John Lawton and Peter

Churcher, was also based on the experience of a single location, a village in thesub-

urbs of London, England, and also concluded that while cats kill significant num-

bers of animals, the overwhelming majority are common mice, voles, and birds

(principally sparrows).

Animal Health

October 1, 1992 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, October 1992:

* Over a year and a half after the mid-

Atlantic raccoon rabies pandemic hit south-

eastern Connecticut and was expected to

spread throughout New England, confirmed

outbreaks have yet to hit Massachusetts,

Maine, Vermont, and New Hampshire. All

four states have had only the usual handful of

rabies cases, mostly involving bats and foxes.

Bat rabies has been endemic in parts of New

England for decades, while outbreaks of fox

rabies have been sporadic along the Canadian

border at least since the 1950s. While some

rabid raccoons have been found in northern

New England during the past year, they are

not known to have carried the mid-Atlantic

strain of the disease, and there is no evidence

that the forms they appeared to have are wide-

ly distributed in the raccoon population.

Agriculture

October 1, 1992 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, October 1992:

October 2 was the 10th anniver-

sary of World Farm Animals Day, declared

in 1983 by the Farm Animal Reform

Movement to coincide with Gandhi’s birthday

and World Vegetarian Day. Major commemo-

rations were scheduled in New York, the

Washington D.C. metropolitan area, Iowa,

Florida, California, and Hawaii.

The contribution of cattle to global

warming has significantly increased over the

past three years, along with the world cattle

population, International Union of Air

Pollution Prevention Associations director

general John Langston warned the 800-mem-

ber group in early September.

Hunting news

October 1, 1992 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, October 1992:

Arizonans will vote November 3

on a referendum measure to ban

trapping, portrayed by the National Rifle

Assn. and National Trappers Assn. as an

attempt to ban all hunting and fishing as

well. The initiative is sponsored, however,

by Arizonans for Safety and Humanity on

Public Lands, whose initial board of direc-

tors included a hunter and a gun dealer. The

group declined funding from the Humane

Society of the U.S. to avoid confusing the

issues.

KKK defends pigeon shoot; 2,000 protest Labor Day bird massacre but 5,000 support it. Time for new tactics?

October 1, 1992 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, October 1992:

HEGINS, PENNSYLVANIA — A pigeon hit point-blank by a shotgun blast looks

like a spreadeagled angel for just a split second, until the pellets tear her white breast and wings

to pieces and she flaps to the ground, awaiting the trapper boys who will wring her head off.

Wounded angels to some, doves of peace to others, and flying rats according to the

human participants, 5,000 to 7,000 pigeons are shotgunned each Labor Day at the Fred Coleman

Memorial Pigeon Shoot in Hegins, Pennsylvania. Held annually since 1934, the shoot was

reputedly dying of disinterest a half century later; but no more. Two thousand protesters turned

out this year, nearly double last year’s then-record number. Lured by the chance to heckle, be

on TV, and maybe see someone get killed dashing in front of the guns to save pigeons, the

crowd of shoot supporters doubled as well, to an estimated 5,000. Among them were several

motorcycle gangs and two robed and hooded Ku Klux Klan members from Ephrata, Penn., who

explained that they saw the event as a good chance to recruit.

Hurricane Andrew: Noah was there! Disaster spotlights preparation

October 1, 1992 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, October 1992:

MIAMI, FLORIDA — Thousands of

animals drowned, were swept to their deaths

by winds reaching 200 miles an hour, or were

crushed by falling trees and collapsing build-

ings. Fragile habitat was harmed from southern

Florida to coastal Louisiana. But while

Hurricane Andrew hit too suddenly for anyone

to build an ark, thousands more animals were

saved from the August 24 disaster through the

prompt efforts of volunteer rescuers. As the

human relief response came under critical

scrutiny from victims and the media, observers

had only praise for the contributions of animal

control and humane workers.

Why They Can Hunt On Your Land–and what you can do about it!

October 1, 1992 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, October 1992:

Posted your land yet?

If you’re among the 56 million Americans who

live in a nonmetropolitan area, chances are that you

have, long since. If you didn’t, but value your safety

and security, you’d better hop to it, because if you

don’t, your chances of getting the law to respond to

reports of armed intruders may be mighty slim from the

end of summer until after Christmas. Fall, according to

state and federal wildlife agencies, is hunting season, or

rather a succession of hunting seasons: small game,

dove, waterfowl, turkey, grouse and pheasant, archery,

muzzleloader, deer, bear, and a variety of others

depending upon what’s left alive in your neck of the

woods. Anyone with a rifle or shotgun, especially if

carrying a big knife as well and dressed in camouflage,

is presumed to be hunting legally until there are dead

human bodies–unless the land is posted.

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