Sea Turtles

May 1, 1996 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 1996:

Earth Island Institute, The Fund for
Animals, and the Humane Society of the U.S. o n
April 19 announced the formation of a 30-organization
“consumer-powered campaign to end the slaughter” of
sea turtles in shrimping by seeking “turtle-safe shrimp
eco-labelling,” patterned after the dolphin-safe labeling
campaign of 1990.
Ecologist Paul Robertson, executive director
of Bat Conservation International 1988-1989 and
field director at the Center for Rainforest Studies in
Queensland, Australia, 1991-1995, is new executive
director of the Caribbean Conservation Corporation,
sponsor of the Sea Turtle Survival League, founded in
1959 by the late sea turtle advocate Archie Carr.

Salmon

May 1, 1996 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 1996:

Canadian fisheries minister Fred Mifflin
on March 30 declared that the government would cut
the British Columbia salmon fishing fleet of 4,400
vessels in half over the next three years, via license
buy-backs. Fishing industry representatives said the
plan wouldn’t do much to help depleted salmon
recover, however, because 75% of the catch is taken
by the 20% of the fleet most likely to stay active.
Also to protect salmon, the Canadian
Department of Fisheries and Oceans the same day
announced the closure for this year of the commercial
sockeye fishery on the mouth of the Fraser
River, and said native and recreational fishing might
be closed there as well. This year’s Fraser River
salmon run is expected to be the lowest on record.

Oceanariums

May 1, 1996 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 1996:

Sea World took a high profile
in marine mammal rescue
efforts at opposite corners of the U.S.
in early April:
• In Florida, Sea World
Orlando biology staff led efforts to
discover the cause of 238 wild manatee
deaths––more than ever before
recorded even over a full year––during
the first third of 1996. The toll of 100
through the first 90 days of the year
was already considered alarming,
when 138 more died between March 5
and April 20. About 2,600 manatees
inhabited Florida waters when the
deaths began. Strangely, all of the
victims have been adults. The deaths
roughly coincide with a toxic red tide
that hit 150 miles of Florida’s South
Gulf Coast in April, and red tides can
be lethal to manatees: a red tide in
1982 killed 39 manatees. However,
forensic examination of remains hasn’t
found any direct link between the red
tide and the deaths.

U.S., Peru split on dolphins

May 1, 1996 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 1996:

WASHINGTON D.C.––The House Resources Subcommittee on
Fisheries, Wildlife, and Oceans on April 18 approved HR 2823, a bill by
Representative Wayne Gilchrest (R-Maryland) to implement the 1995
Declaration of Panama. Endorsed by the Clinton administration, Greenpeace,
the World Wildlife Fund, and the Center for Marine Conservation, HR 2823
and a Senate companion bill, S 1420, change the definition of “dolphinsafe”
to allow the resumed import of tuna netted “on dolphin,” if the number
of “observed” dolphin deaths is less than 5,000 for the fleet for the year.
Proponents of the bill argue that netting “on dolphin” is less harmful
to sea turtles, sharks, and other endangered marine species. Opponents
disagree, including the Humane Society of the U.S., the Sierra Club, and
most other animal and habitat protection groups. “HR 2823 is deadly to dolphins,”

Religion & animals

May 1, 1996 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 1996:

A Sarajevan mob for reasons
unknown assaulted a Hare Krishna street
procession on April 20, injuring two members
from Britain, one from Australia, and a
young Bosnian recruit. “The clash was unexpected,”
reported Reuter. “The Hare Krishna
movement was very active in Sarajevo
throughout the war, performing their dance
and songs in the city streets even during the
worst of the shelling and winning sympathy
for their courage from the beseiged residents.”
In Sarajevo, Grozny, and other
wartorn cities behind the former Iron Curtain,
Hare Krishnas are also known for their bakeries
and vegetarian soup kitchens. “There
may be places in the world where simply seeing
a bunch of Hare Krishna members would
make people turn tail and run. But Grozny
isn’t one of them,” New York Times correspondent
Michael Specter recently reported.

A matter of brains: MAD COW DISEASE PANIC CONTINUES

May 1, 1996 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 1996:

LONDON, BRUSSELS, PARIS,
WASHINGTON D.C.––International panic
over the possible linkage of “mad cow disease”
with the brain-destroying Creutzfeldt-Jakob
disease in humans, just beginning to wane as
the May edition of ANIMAL PEOPLE went
to press, may rebound with the publication of
data suggesting that the disease may be carried
from species to species by mites––and may be
virtually impossible to eradicate.
“You could remove all the poor cows
and then find that weren’t even the source in
the first place,” said Henryk Wisniewski,
whose team at the New York State Institute for
Basic Research in Developmental Disabilities
discovered the possible role of mites, publishing
their findings in the The Lancet, a leading
British medical journal. Exploring the theory
that bovine spongiform encephalopathy is a
mutated form of the sheep disease scrapie,
Wisniewski injected hay mites from a scrapieplagued
part of Iceland into the brains and
abdomens of 71 mice. Ten of the mice developed
the microscopic spongelike holes in the
brain that are symptomatic of scrapie, BSE,
and CJD.

Exotics

May 1, 1996 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 1996:

Doll Stanley-Branscum of In
Defense of Animals on April 2 filed cruelty
charges against erstwhile exotic animal rescuers
Catherine Graham and Lawrence
Twiss of Philadelphia, Mississippi, for
allegedly keeping a menagerie including 46
lions, 21 tigers, six ligers, five bears, five
cougars, a camel, and a leopard in crowded
and filthy conditions, often without
water––and bid for custody of the animals at a
Chapter 7 bankruptcy proceeding. According
to Stanley-Branscum, Graham-Twiss “started
her personal collection from rescues and
allowed them to breed.” Stanley-Branscum
said many of the animals had lost their tails in
fights, while some cubs had been eaten.

BAD DOGS & WORSE PEOPLE

May 1, 1996 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 1996:

Hearing testimony from attack
victims Allison Judah, 14, and Tiara
Dews, 13, the Washington D.C. city council
on April 2 passed an ordinance requiring that
pit bull terriers and Rottweilers be muzzled in
public. Violations resulting in human injury
may be punished by fines of up to $20,000.
On February 19, Anthony A. Fuller, 22,
allegedly led a gang in sexually threatening
Judah and Dews. They fled into an apartment
building, but were chased out by the manager,
whereupon Fuller allegedly set his pit bull
on Judah. Her leg injuries will require plastic
surgery. Washington Humane Society
executive director Mary Healy objected that,
“If our kennels fill up with Rottweilers and
pit bulls who are outside without muzzles,
we will have no space for adoptable dogs.”

News from abroad

May 1, 1996 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 1996:

The Royal SPCA is “reviewing our
opposition to experiments on primates,”
according to a spokesperson, after receiving a
warning from Richard Fries, Chief Charity
Commissioner for Great Britain, that it
would be acting in a manner “inconsistent with
its charitable status” if it argues that, as
Andrew Pierce of the London Times p a r aphrased
Fries’ argument, “the infliction of
pain on animals could not be justified if it was
for the good of man.” Fries’ warning, Pierce
said, apparently also enables fox hunters to
challenge RSPCA opposition to fox hunting,
since the hunters claim killing foxes is for the
good of farmers. The warning comes as the
28,000-member RSPCA is fighting an attempted
hostile takeover by the British Field
Sports Society, which in March asked its
80,000 members to join the RSPCA in time to
vote at the June annual meeting.

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