A Project of Animal People, Inc., 1992-2013
From ANIMAL PEOPLE, January/February 2013:
CHENNAI––Seventy beagle puppies bred in China by Beijing Marshall Biotechnology Co., Ltd for laboratory use were instead on December 19, 2012 adopted into homes by the Blue Cross of India. Bought by the Bangalore pharmaceutical firm Advinus Thereapeutics, the beagle pups were flown to Chennai on October 19, 2012 by Cathay Pacific Airways, misidentified as pets on transport documents. Read more
From ANIMAL PEOPLE, January/February 2013:
HONG KONG, HANOI, HARARE––The Animals Asia Foundation on January 16, 2013 won a six-month battle against the ordered eviction of the Vietnam Bear Rescue Centre from the edge of Tam Dao National Park, Vietnam––and just three days later won the cancellation of a controversial sale of baby elephants from Zimbabwe to China. Read more
From ANIMAL PEOPLE, January/February 2013:
Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, Indonesia––Sun bears, the smallest of the bear family, are known for their seemingly ceaseless foraging in the wild. Yet a decade after sun bears were made the official mascots of Balikpapan, the most affluent city in East Kalimantan, Indonesia, in part in appreciation of their industriousness, chief city councilor Andi Burhanuddin Solong reportedly wants to disenfranchise them because he views them as “lazy.” Read more
From ANIMAL PEOPLE Jan/Feb 2013:
Suzanne Saueressig, DVM, 89, died on February 8, 2013 in Richmond Heights, Missouri. Born in Nuremberg, Germany, Saueressig “grew up with cats and dogs,” remembered St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporter Michael Sorkin. Read more
From ANIMAL PEOPLE, November/December 2012:
Dear Animal People,
The year 2012 has, like most years, brought the animal
movement gains on some fronts and losses on others.
Very noticeably, it brought more than the usual amount of
controversy among animal defenders over a proposed piece of federal
legislation which would attempt to regulate the caging of egg-laying
hens. Those in favor of the legislation made a good case for the
bill, and those against had rational reasons to oppose it becoming
law. But along with the facts came a great deal of confusion and
misinformation about what the bill would do and, most unfortunately,
there was impugning of motives on both sides.
From ANIMAL PEOPLE, November/December 2012:
NEW YORK CITY–The Queens Library at Baisley Park, South
Jamaica, seized the opportunity to educate New Yorkers about urban
wildlife after inadvertently acquiring a resident raccoon during
Superstorm Sandy, safely ensconced in a glass-enclosed atrium garden.
How the raccoon arrived was anyone’s guess, but staff
presumed he would leave the same way when ready. Young visitors
named him “Mr. Rocky Books,” and made a cardboard shelter for him,
placed inside the atrium by library staff, who also supplied him
with fresh food and water.
From ANIMAL PEOPLE, November/December 2012:
MUMBAI–Speaking with the Dalai Lama on World Compassion Day,
November 28, 2012, Humane Society of the U.S. president Wayne
Pacelle announced an official linkage of three formerly separate
Indian projects of the HSUS subsidiary Humane Society International.
“We’ll have our campaigns office in Hyderabad, focused on
factory farming and ending animal testing for cosmetics, our
veterinary training center in Jaipur, and our Asia-wide street dog
management program grounded in Ahmedabad,” Pacelle said.
Maintaining a presence in India since 1996, HSI has sponsored
some of the work of the Help In Suffering animal hospital and shelter
in Jaipur since 2001, began sponsoring veterinary work by the Animal
Help Foundation of Ahmedabad in 2005, promoting Animal Help founder
Rahul Sehgal to become HSI Asia Pacific director in 2007, and also
in 2007 opened the Hyderabad office, under regional media contact
N.G. Jayasimha.
Said the Dalai Lama, 77, “A vegetarian diet is the
most healthy one for you. We must respect all forms of life. Animals
deserve our compassion. We must know their pain. I was not vegetarian
till about five decades ago,” he added, “but when I saw hens being
abused on an animal farm, I decided to become vegetarian.”
The Dalai Lama admitted, however, that he has not consistently
maintained vegetarianism, and is not vegetarian now.
From ANIMAL PEOPLE, November/December 2012:
ROME, OTTAWA, BEIJING– Furriers and sealers have again
pinned their hopes of an industry revival to trends in China, but
actual Chinese sales data and the rapid rise of animal advocacy in
China suggest they will be disappointed.
The International Fur Trade Fede-ration opened the 2012-2013
winter “fur season” by claiming record global retail fur sales, but
offered data showing a continuing decline. The IFTF predicted that
world fur sales would exceed $15 billion in 2012, the same total the
IFTF claimed annually since 2008, up from $9.1 billion in 2000 and
$13 billion in 2005.
From ANIMAL PEOPLE, November/December 2012:
WELLINGTON–People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals was
mentioned in the first sentence of international coverage of the
November 28, 2012 world premiere of The Hobbit: An Unexpected
Journey, perhaps the most publicized film debut ever.
The American Humane Association drew global attention to the
72-year-old AHA pursuit of broader authority to supervise the use of
animals in film making.
Wellington, hosting the world premier, billed itself “The
Middle of Middle Earth.” As many as 100,000 people attended Hobbit
screenings and a parade in honor of the cast. The New Zealand
government struck commemorative coins for the occasion.
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is the first of a planned
$500 million prequel trilogy, following the success of director
Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy, also based on the
writings of J.R.R. Tolkien (1892-1973).