Who’s on top for top job at HSUS?

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From ANIMAL PEOPLE, July/August 2001:

 

The Humane Society of the U.S., expected to accept the scheduled retirement of president Paul Irwin at its fall 2001 annual meeting, in May published an ad in the Chronicle of Philanthrophy soliciting applications from would-be successors. Insiders told ANIMAL PEOPLE in late 1999 that vice president for government relations Wayne Pacelle had been chosen but not yet announced as Irwin’s successor, but sources close to Pacelle said a year later that other candidates might be favored by the board, and that Pacelle, if rejected, would leave HSUS to enter politics. HSUS staff who have previously held top posts include current HSUS executive vice president Patty Forkan; former North Shore Animal League president David Ganz; former American SPCA president John Kullberg; former American Humane Association animal protection division chief Dennis White; and Tufts University Center for Animals and Public Policy founder Andrew Rowan.

Fundraising

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From ANIMAL PEOPLE, July/August 2001:

Foundation Giving Trends 2001, published recently by The Foundation Center, indicates that of all the grant money distributed by U.S. private foundations in 2000, just 1.3% was given to help “Animals and wildlife.” This was marginally more than was spent on science and technological research exclusive of health care, however, and was nearly three times as much as was spent on “Religion” and “International affairs, development, and peace.”

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Crime, punishment, and mega-rewards

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From ANIMAL PEOPLE, July/August 2001:
SAN JOSE, Calif.–Andrew Burnett, 27, on July 13 drew the maximum sentence of three years in prison for felony cruelty from Santa Clara County Superior Court judge Kevin J. Murphy. A jury on June 20 convicted him of grabbing a bichon frise named Leo from Sara
McBurnett of Incline Village, Nevada, after a minor freeway accident in San Jose airport, and hurling the dog to his death in heavy traffic.

The February 2000 incident drew global attention, not only as a dramatic example of a “Link” case, in which a man kills an animal to intimidate a woman, but also because a reward fund for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the killer soared to $115,000.

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ARM!/Chicago to stand down, but ARM!/PAC stands up

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From ANIMAL PEOPLE, July/August 2001:
DENVER, CHICAGO–Just as the last visible remnant of Animal Rights Mobiliz-ation! seemed to be fading from the movement it helped to launch, the ARM! Political Action Committee emerged seeking felony penalties for extreme cruelty to animals in Colorado and Wyoming.

ARM!/PAC claimed a preliminary victory on July 6 when Circuit Judge Randal Arp of Torrington, Wyoming, sentenced Travis Wilson, 20, to serve eight months in jail for beating, mutilating, and burning alive his ex-girlfriend’s basset hound. Wilson may get two to five years more for stealing the hound. More than 1,000 letters and 300 telephone calls resulting from ARM!/PAC alerts had urged an aggressive prosecution and stiff sentencing.

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Shark fins

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From ANIMAL PEOPLE, July/August 2001:
WildAid, one of the newest international wildlife protection groups, announced on July 3 that 70% of a sample of shark fins it bought in Bangkok during May 2001 contained mercury, and one fin had 42 times the recommended limit for human consumption. “Sales of shark fin soup in Bangkok’s Chinatown plunged 70%” within the next week, Associated Press reported. Anchalee Kongrut of the Bangkok Post on July 14 said that “Restaurants selling shark fin soup lost up to 40% of their income,” despite Thai government and restaurant industry claims that their own tests of shark fins found no significant mercury content.

WildAid was formed in late 1999 by Suwanna Gauntlet of the San Francisco-based Barbara Delano Foundation, in whose honor the Suwanna Ranch sanctuary operated by the Humane Farming Association is named; Steven Galster of the Global Survival Network; Environmental Investigation Agency cofounder Peter Knights; and Steve Trent, who also in 1999 started the Environmental Justice Foundation. WildAid has offices in San Francisco, Washington D.C., Thailand, Cambodia, and Russia.

U.S. courts reshape dangerous dog law

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From ANIMAL PEOPLE, July/August 2001:

SAN FRANCISCO–Legal experts and news media commented on how unusual the charges were back on March 27, 2001, when a San Francisco grand jury indicted lawyer Marjorie Knoller, 45, for alleged second-degree murder. The grand jury also indicted both Knoller and her husband and law partner Robert Noel, 56, for alleged involuntary manslaughter and failure to control an animal. Both Knoller and Noel have been jailed since leading police on a 200-mile car chase later on March 27, under suspicion of trying to escape the jurisdiction of the court.

Knoller and Noel were custodians of two Presa Canario dogs owned by prison lifers Dale Bretches, 44, and Paul Schneider, 38, whom police identify as reputed leaders of the white supremacist Aryan Nations gang. On January 26, the two dogs broke away from Knoller and
killed neighbor Diane Whipple, 33. The dogs had a history of attacking people and animals, witnesses testified, and one dog had allegedly injured Noel.

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Marine mammal theme parks hedge big bets

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From ANIMAL PEOPLE, June 2001:

SAN DIEGO, MANILA, LA PAZ–Swim-with-dolphins attractions are making a splash worldwide, but the smart money in marine mammal exhibition seems to be betting on a future with far fewer captive whales and dolphins, at fewer facilities.

That comes as a turnabout, since the anti-marine mammal captivity movement that erupted in 1993 like the fictitious orca Willy’s leap to freedom at the climax of the first Free Willy! film took a cold bath during the past few years when Keiko, the orca who played Willy, showed little desire to be free.

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New groups and projects

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From ANIMAL PEOPLE, June 2001:

World Animal Net, best known for maintaining a globally comprehensive online directory of animal protection groups at <www.worldanimalnet.org>, “has recently been granted consultative status with the United Nations,” cofounder Janice Cox announced on June 1. “This gives us a great opportunity to work for the improved welfare and status of animals at appropriate U.N. meetings,” especially the World Summit for Sustainable Development, to be held in Rio de Janeiro in September 2002. “However,” Cox cautioned, “we must make inputs on animal welfare now if they are to be considered.” For further particulars about getting animal protection concerns on the agenda, contact Cox c/o <worldanimalnet@yahoo.com>.

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Tropical Storm Allison kills 35,000 lab animals

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From ANIMAL PEOPLE, June 2001:

HOUSTON–Flash-flooding caused by Tropical Storm Allison killed an estimated 30,000 animals between 2:00 and 2:30 a.m. on June 9 at the Baylor College of Medicine, and killed 4,700 more at the nearby University of Texas-Houston Health Science Center.

The UT losses included several hundred rabbits, 78 monkeys used mostly in longterm intelligence research, and 35 dogs. Most of the other animal victims were mice and rats. The flooding revealed an unforseen weakness in the design of the two basement animal care facilities.

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