How do you know who is a vegetarian?

June 2, 2004 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, June 2004:

A problem inherent in discussing whether Hitler or any
prominent person is or was vegetarian is that people often change
their eating habits–and what they say about their eating
habits–over the course of a lifetime.
In the cases of the Buddha, Isaiah, Pythagoras, Leonardo
da Vinci, Mohandas Gandhi, George Bernard Shaw, and Leo Tolstoy,
ethical vegetarianism was a conscious choice made early in life, and
the public record, though scanty for the earlier figures, affirms
that they were consistent with their professed beliefs.
In the case of consumer advocate Ralph Nader, the public
record has been wildly contradictory for 40 years. Often described
as vegetarian, Nader may never actually have practiced vegetarianism
for any length of time.
But the late labor organizer Cesar Chavez was a conscientious
vegetarian for the latter half of his life. This was rarely
reported, though it was on the record.
In the cases of contemporary entertainment celebrities, the
choice to become vegetarian may be much publicized, yet may be
sustained for no longer than a few days.

Diets

India vaccine breakthrough

June 2, 2004 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, June 2004:

BANGALORE–A new anti-rabies vaccine “developed by the
Indian Institute of Science, which promises to reduce rabies
prevention costs by nearly 75%, has been cleared for commercial use
on pet dogs and other animals by the Drug Controller of India,” T.A.
Johnson of The Times of India reported on May 16.
“Based on a novel hybrid of a DNA recombinant vaccine and
cell culture vaccine, the new vaccine will be produced and marketed
by Indian Immunologicals under the name Dinarab,” Johnson said.
But IIS scientist P. Rangarajan cautioned that although
Dinarab has been successfully tested on monkeys and mice, it has
not yet been approved for trials in humans and “will take a while
before reaching the market.”
Meant to be used mainly as a post-exposure treatment by
public health clinics, Dinarab may alleviate chronic shortages of
post-exposure vaccines in India, associated with lack of reliable
refrigeration plus problems in manufacture and transport.

Wars destroy Abidjan Zoo & Gaza Zoo

June 2, 2004 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, June 2004:

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast; RAFAH, Gaza Strip– The Abidjan Zoo
was once among Africa’s largest and the pride of Ivory Coast. The
two-acre Gaza Zoo, between the embattled Rafah and Brazil refugee
camps near the border of Israel and Egypt, was among the smallest,
but still offered thousands of Palestinian children their only chance
to see animals other than dogs, cats, and domestic livestock.
War has destroyed them both, the Abidjan Zoo by attrition
since civil war broke out in September 2002, and the Gaza Zoo in a 3
a.m. onslaught by Israeli tanks and bulldozers on May 20 that
reportedly also smashed 43 homes.
“Like much of the other destruction in the six-day Israeli
offensive, the demolition of the zoo seemed more a psychological
attack on Rafah’s population than a military strike against the
Pelestinian guerrillas who maintain a strong presence in the city.
Even people whose homes or shops were destroyed had anger and anguish
to spare on behalf of the zoo,” observed Newsday correspondent James
Rupert.
Israeli military spokespersons said the action was meant to
intercept Palestinian arms smugglers.

New Austrian law tops global legislative achievements

June 2, 2004 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, June 2004:

VIENNA–The Austrian parliament on May 27 unanimously passed
a new national humane law widely acclaimed as perhaps the most
sweeping and advanced in the world.
The Austrian law “forces farmers to uncage chickens, bars
pet owners from clipping their dogs’ ears or tails, outlaws the use
of lions and other wild animals in circuses, and makes it illegal to
restrain dogs with chains, choke collars, or devices that
administer mild electric shocks,” wrote William J. Kole of
Associated Press.
Added Kate Connolly of The Daily Telegraph, “It also
stipulates that it is illegal to place animals in the care of minors,
or to display pets in shop windows.”
Pre-sedation is required as a condition of performing kosher
or hallal slaughter.
Pushed for 20 years by Herbert Haupt, who is now minister
for social affairs, the new law was endorsed by all four major
Austrian political parties. It provides for fines of up to $18,000
for violations. It is to take effect in January 2005.
Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel called the new law “a
pioneering example,” and pledged to seek similar legislation at the
European Union level. Schuessel is a Christian Democrat, a party
with parallel organizations in many other EU nations and strong
influence in the European Parliament.

Europe
Law

Did whipping cost Smarty Jones the horse racing Triple Crown?

June 2, 2004 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, June 2004:

BELMONT PARK, N.Y.–Did Smarty Jones
lose the Belmont Stakes and his chance to win the
horse racing Triple Crown on June 6 because
jockey Stewart Elliott whipped him?
Counterpunch writer Becky Burgwin thinks
so, and said so in her column of June 9 from a
perspective of expertise.
“I am a huge animal lover,” Burg-win
began, “and though I come from a long line of
jockeys, trainers, and breeders, I think
thoroughbred racing is inhumane. Track racing
especially bothers me because it’s so unnatural.
And then there’s the part where the horses get
whipped. There they lose me.
“When I heard that Smarty Jones had won
the Preakness by seven lengths without having a
crop laid on him,” after winning the Kentucky
Derby,” Burgwin continued, “I was intrigued.
I’ve watched that race [on video] and they’re
right. Elliott never touched him. So I was
thinking, maybe this small, mellow,
sweet-as-all-get-out horse can make it look cool
to win with no whippings, thus affecting change
for all horses in future races.”

Spring 2004 state legislation

June 2, 2004 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, June 2004:

Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco on June 3 signed a bill
banning so-called hog/dog rodeo, in which dogs attack penned pigs,
to take effect on August 15, but efforts to ban cockfighting failed
to clear the state house agriculture committee. Louisiana and New
Mexico are the last two states to allow cockfighting.
Vermont Governor James Douglas and Tennessee Governor Phil
Bredesen have signed 2004 bills creating felony penalties for cruelty.
The Tennessee bill, however, only allows a felony penalty
for a second offense, exempts animals who are injured while being
“trained,” and exempts animals who are being used for work or
hunting. Further, the cost of jailing convicted offenders is to be
taken from the Tennessee pet overpopulation fund, raised by license
plate sales. Jailing just a few offenders could drain the fund. The
original purpose of the Tennessee bill, retained in the final
version, was to require peace officers who may encounter dangerous
dogs to be trained about dog behavior.
The Alaska legislature passed a felony cruelty bill on May 9,
but it had not been signed by Governor Frank Murkowski. as of June 23
The Humane Society of the U.S. reported on June 15 that more
than 90% of animal cruelty prosecutions involve neglect. Seven
neglect cases were prosecuted as felonies in 2002; 23 in 2003, only
seven of which brought convictions; and eight in 2004 through May 1.

Israeli Supreme Court rules on feral cats

June 2, 2004 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, June 2004:

TEL AVIV–Recently retired Israeli Supreme Court Justice
Dalia Dorner, still ruling on cases she heard earlier, on June 3
ordered that the Israeli Agriculture Ministry Veterinary Service
“must establish more restrictive rules concerning the authority to
exterminate street cats,” reported Haaretz correspondent Yuval Yoaz
“The killing of street cats…must be the last step, taken
only when the public cannot be protected by other reasonable means,”
Dorner wrote, according to the Haaretz translation of the verdict,
rendered in Hebrew.
The verdict was affirmed by active Justices Aharon Barak and
Asher Grunis, but was promptly appealed. Concern for Helping
Animals in Israel founder Nina Natelson told ANIMAL PEOPLE that a
seven-judge panel would review the appeal within 30 days.
ANIMAL PEOPLE received widely varying interpretations of the
verdict from observers of the case and participants.
The case originated out of the four-year-old attempt of the
no-kill organizations Let The Animals Live and Cat Welfare Society of
Israel to prosecute veterinary technician Na’ama Adler-Blu and her
husband Eyal Blu for killing feral cats. The couple own a firm
called Magen Lahatul that captures and kills feral cats under
contract with the Agriculture Ministry Veterinary Service. The Tel
Aviv SPCA was also a defendant.

Court Calendar

June 2, 2004 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, June 2004:

Humane work

New York State Supreme Court Justice Bruce Allen on May 28
upheld the constitutionality of the state anti-cruelty law under
which barber Darrel Nelson, 56, was convicted in December 2003 for
amputating a three-month-old Rottweiler’s tail in October 2002.
Nelson used a rubber band to stop the blood supply to the tail, then
cut the tail off with a sharp instrument. Nelson was convicted only
days before the New York Court of Appeals ruled 6-0 against a case
brought by Manhattan lawyer Jon H. Hammer that sought to overturn the
tail-docking requirements in the breed standards of the American
Kennel Club and American Brittany Club. Hammer argued that the
anti-cruelty law language under which Nelson was convicted should
apply to the breed standards. The court held that Hammer had no
standing to sue, and that the statute applies only to deeds, not to
recommendations for procedures not actually performed by the AKC and
ABC.

South Africa purges “95%” of Table Mountain tahr

June 2, 2004 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, June 2004:

CAPE TOWN–South Africa National Parks on June 9, 2004
suspended efforts to exterminate feral Himalyan tahrs on Table
Mountain, after 25 days of shooting.
SANParks claimed to have killed 109 tahrs, estimated to be
95% of the descendents of a pair who escaped from the long defunct
Groote Schnur Zoo in 1935.
Officially, the killing stopped due to the onset of winter
weather. But SANParks chief executive David Mabunda had come under
increasing public criticism for claiming to have no alternative to
killing the tahr.
In fact The Marchig Animal Welfare Trust had proposed in
March 2004 to pay for either sterilizing and relocating the tahrs to
the Sanbona Wildlife Reserve near Barrydale, operated by private
conservationist Adrian Gardiner, or returning them to their native
India if the logistics could be arranged.
The tahrs are an endangered species in India. The Indian
government has asked several times for the tahrs to be repatriated,
but has lacked funding for their capture and transportation. A
coalition called Friends of the Tahr pursued repatriation from 1999
until earlier this year, but disbanded, without remaining assets,
after unsuccessfully pursuing legal action on the tahrs’ behalf.

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