Performing Animals

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, June 1993:

The Louisiana state senate on
May 12 passed a bill to make attending an
illegal dogfight a crime, 33-0, but reduced
the offense from a felony to a misdemeanor,
and cut the maximum penalty from three
years in jail and a fine of $3,000 to one year
in jail and a fine of $1,000. A bill to ban
cockfighting meanwhile remained stalled in
a legislative committee headed by cock-
fighting fan Rep. Raymond Lalonde.

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ANIMAL HEALTH & BEHAVIOR

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, June 1993:

Chinese authorities have begun
purging officials of Shenqui county in
Henan province for collaborating with
Wang Zhiqiang, an entrepreneur who built
a rural empire around a factory that manu-
factured fake veterinary medicines––among
them “antibiotics” made of talcum powder
and cornstarch, and “intravenous solution”
made of monosodium glutamate dissolved
in water. Wang allegedly bought off police
and politicians, held investigators for ran-
som, and tortured witnesses. Federal
authorities finally arrested Wang and shut
down his No. 1 Veterinarian Medicine
Factory, as he styled it, last

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Horses and Cattle

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 1993:

Senator Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii) and Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-New York) have reintroduced the Downed Animal Protection Act, as S. 367 and H.R. 559, which would require stockyards to promptly euthanize sick and injured animals. Support for the measure may be addressed to Senators and Congressional Representatives.
The American Horse Protection Association’s sixth annual training seminar for equine cruelty investiga-
tors will be held May 20-21 at College Park, Maryland. Get details from Ellen Foysyth, 202-965-0500.
Norma Bearcroft, president of the Canadian Wild Horse Society, has asked members to approve a resolution to disband the struggling group by year’s end.

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BOOKS: The Newfoundland Pony

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, April 1993:

The Newfoundland Pony, by
Andrew F. Fraser. Creative
Publishers (St. John’s, Newfoundland,
Canada), 1992. 213 pages. $14.95.
The Newfoundland pony is on the
cusp of extinction, no match for progress in
the form of tractors and snowmobiles.
Numbers of Newfoundland ponies have
dwindled from more than 10,000 in 1976 to
barely 400, as the greater part of its popu-
lation has been sacrified to the insatiable
Moloch of the slaughter trade––in particu-
lar, to the killing plants of Quebec, which
supply the French appetite for horseflesh.

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CHILDREN AND ANIMALS

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, April 1993:

1,000 selected elementary
schools are now evaluating Best
Friends, a curriculum guide developed
by the American Kennel Club. The
guide “introduces elementary school
students to the world of purebred dogs
and teaches responsible dog owner-
ship,” according to a press release.
Included are lesson plans in the areas of
reading, writing, math, art, and oral
presentation. After the trial period, the
guide will be offered––free––to all
schools. For details, call 212-696-8336.

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HORSES

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, April 1993:
The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of
Appeals is to rule soon on whether the
National Park Service can remove about 20
feral horses from the Ozark National Scenic
Riverways park, 150 miles southwest of St.
Louis, Missouri. The horses are feral
descendents of a herd released during the
Great Depression. A three-judge panel is to
decide whether they are protected by the
same laws as western mustangs––whose
own protection is currently in dispute.
More than 60,000 Americans
needed emergency treatment for head
injuries suffered while riding horses in
1991, reports the Johns Hopkins Injury
Prevention Center. Children under 15 were
the most frequent victims. The center rec-
ommends that riders wear helmets.

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Where horse rescue gets hot by Sharon Cregier

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, March 1993:

AMMAN, Jordan –– The sound of a stick on
hide summons Chris Larter to her second-story balcony.
“It’s the donkey-beaters,” Larter explains. Below, a
mare, foal at foot, plows a stony verge. Sheep and shep-
herd dodge four-lane traffic to graze the edges of con-
struction projects. And of course there are boys driving
donkeys. “Last time they were trying to cut a donkey’s
ears off,” Larter continues. She recalls braving a hail of
stones to take photos, locating the parents of the donkey-
boys, and pleading for the donkey’s welfare.
Today, courage requires police reinforcement.
Obtaining backup, Larter partially unloads a staggering
donkey, obliging the donkey-boys to make multiple trips
to finish moving their cargo.
Larter is field supervisor, publicity officer, and
photographer for the Jordanian Society for the Protection
of Animals, sponsored by the 70-year-old Society for the
Protection of Animals in North Africa. Based in England,
SPANA is among the last and most popular remnants of
the British occupation of Jordan, 1920-1946.

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When a horse needs help

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, March 1993:

SANTA BARBARA, Calif.
Held the weekend of February 6-7, the First
International Conference on Equine Rescue
could have run days longer, in Rich Meyer’s
estimation. As horse expert for the
American Humane Association, Meyer
knows horse rescue ranks among most shel-
ter directors’ and animal control officers’
worst nightmares. First, there’s the sheer
size and strength of the animal to contend
with. Second, where there’s one starving or
abused horse, there are usually several.
Third, shelters set up to handle dogs and
cats usually don’t have facilities for live-
stock: big trailers, paddocks, pastures.
Their regular veterinarians tend to be small
animal specialists. And their budgets aren’t
easily stretched to accommodate the special
needs and appetites of equines.

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Dogs & Cats

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, March 1993:

Fire chief John Dugan, of Wellsboro,
Pennsylvania, credited a cat named Puff for saving the
lives of Charles and Sandra Bergenstock on January 18
by waking them up and alerting them to thick smoke.
“There’s no question about it,” Dugan said. “They had
no smoke detectors.”
SEPTA, the Philadelphia public transitsys-
tem, on February 4 suspended the use of dogs to evict
homeless people from subway passages––one day after
city council member Jannie Blackwell was allegedly
roughed up by transit police while investigating allega-
tions that dogs were being used to attack the homeless.
Sue Turkington, 32, of Austin, Texas, told
reporters she plans to use some of the $7.2 million she
won in the January 15 Texas lottery to “start breeding
dogs.”

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