AGRICULTURE

April 1, 1994 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, April 1994:

Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt on

March 17 announced his third proposal in

less than a year to increase grazing fees on

federal land and prevent soil erosion of over-

grazed leases in 17 western states. Expected

to take effect later this year, the new propos-

al does not require Congressional approval.

It would double the grazing fee to $3.96 per

animal unit, and set different environmental

standards from state to state within a frame-

work of national principles. The proposal

was immediately attacked by both ranchers

and environmentalists.

American Breeders Service of

DeForest, Wisconsin, now sells cattle

semen and embryos “that carry a predicted

twinning value of at least 40% for bulls and

30% for cows,” according to the USDA,

which developed the method. The idea is to

cut production costs by getting more births

per pregnancy, but the gains may be offset

by increased birthing injuries to cows,

which are the leading cause of downers.

Guest opinion: Hunting, violence, and child molestation

April 1, 1994 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, April 1994:

by Dr. Emmanuel Bernstein, psychologist

Adirondack Counseling, Saranac Lake, New York

The March 1994 issue of ANIMAL PEOPLE pre-

sented New York state hunting participation and crime statis-

tics that clearly show an association between incidence of

hunting and child molestation. This is especially impressive

since the statistics were presented in a manner that took into

account the possible influence of population density––and the

apparent influence of hunting proved stronger.

As ANIMAL PEOPLE noted, University of New

Hampshire director of family research Dr. Murray Strauss in

1987 found the number of hunting licenses sold to be a major

indicator of regions “culturally disposed toward violence.”

He also found that the states most culturally disposed toward

violence were the states with the highest rates of teen homi-

cide.

Endangered ocean species

April 1, 1994 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, April 1994:

Russian whaling commissioner

Alexei Yablokov on February 21 confirmed

that Soviet whalers for decades killed far

more whales than they reported to the

International Whaling Commission. For

instance, he said, in the 1960s one ship reported

killing 152 humpbacked whales and 156 blue

whales, but actually killed 7,207 humpbacks,

1,433 blue whales, and 717 right whales, a

species protected by the IWC since 1946.

Another ship killed 1,568 humpbacks and 1,200

right whales during the winter of 1961-1962,

but reported none of the right whales while the

USSR said its entire fleet killed only 270 hump-

backs all year. Two years later the same ship

killed 530 blue whales; the USSR said the fleet

total was just 74. The revelations mean IWC

estimates of whale numbers may be far too high.

WATSON TRIAL BEGINS; SEA SHEPHERD MAY GET INTO THE SEAL WOOL BUSINESS

April 1, 1994 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, April 1994:

ST. JOHNS, Newfoundland– –

Captain Paul Watson of the Sea Shepherd

Conservation Society was confident and perhaps

even exhuberant March 21, after the Canadian

government presented its case concerning four

counts of criminal mischief brought in connec-

tion with a July confrontation between The

Cleveland Amory, Watson’s vessel at the time,

and the Cuban dragnetting vessel Rio Las

Casas. Three of the counts, pertaining to

alleged reckless endangerment of human life,

could bring Watson a life term in prison.

Sealing and child sex trade

April 1, 1994 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, April 1994:

TORONTO, Ontario––The International Fund for Animal Welfare drew

headlines across Canada on March 7 with graphic newspaper ads depicting the penis

bone of a seal and decrying Canadian support of the slaughter of at least 50,000 seals

off the Atlantic coast, allegedly to supply penis bones to the Asian aphrodisiac trade.

As IFAW pointed out, that trade is closely associated with the forced recruitment of

children to staff brothels in Thailand, the Philippines, Taiwan, and elsewhere, which

cater to the belief that sex with a virgin can rejuvenate an aging man’s potency. More

than 400,000 children are currently victimized, The New York Times Magazine of

January 16 reported, many of whom contract AIDS and other serious diseases.

As many as 150,000 seals may be killed to get 50,000 penis bones, since

much of the hunting is done from small boats by men with rifles, the sexes of seals are

not obvious, and as even seal hunt defender George Wenzel has acknowledged, as

many as two out of each three shot seals who get off of ice floes into water sink before

they can be gaffed aboard a power boat. Canada contends that the penis bones are a

byproduct of hunting for meat, pelts, and seal oil, which sell for about $20 per seal;

the penis bones go for $130 apiece.

Letters [April 1994]

April 1, 1994 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, April 1994:

Year of the Dog

Curioser and curioser, as

Alice might have said––referring to

the leaders of the animal welfare

movements, not Wonderland!

For centuries the Chinese

have designated each year with the

name of an animal, in no way a

western tradition. However, last

year at least six national animal

welfare organizations decided arbi-

trarily to call 1993 the Year of the

Cat, ignoring the traditional

Chinese designation of the Cock.

Letters

Editorial: Zoo issue isn’t individual vs. species

April 1, 1994 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, April 1994:

A unique attempt to cut through mutual mistrust will occur in late April as 10 top

officials of major zoos, aquariums, and species survival plans, five delegates from animal

protection groups, and 14 academics, veterinarians, and journalists––including the Editor

of ANIMAL PEOPLE––gather at the White Oaks Conservation Center, near Jacksonville,

Florida, for a summit organized by the Tufts Center for Animals and Public Policy, with

the support of the Gilman Foundation.

Zoos and humane advocates have major interests in common, and should be work-

ing together to protect endangered species; improve public knowledge of animals; close

abusive roadside zoos; and perhaps most urgent, deal with the growing problem of wildlife

being bought, bred, and sold as pets by generally unqualified individuals whose ani-

mals––after outgrowing backyard quarters––are frequently either anonymously tossed over

a zoo fence at midnight or left tethered to the front door of an animal shelter.

Farewell to marine mammal protections

April 1, 1994 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, April 1994:

WASHINGTON D.C.––Only par-

tially enforced since 1988, the Marine

Mammal Protection Act appears likely to be

reauthorized with markedly less clout for

whales, seals, and dolphins than it once had.

The House version of the reautho-

rization bill, HR 2760, easily cleared the

Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee on

March 16 after adoption of an amendment by

Rep. Jolene Unsoeld and Maria Cantwell

(both D-Wash.) that would allow the govern-

ment to issue permits for killing marine mam-

mals whose predation might depress the num-

bers of a potentially threatened animal.

McDonald’s agrees to adopt humane code: PRECEDENT RAISES CARE STANDARDS FOR INDUSTRY

April 1, 1994 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, April 1994:

OAK BROOK, Illinois––McDonald’s, the world’s biggest beef purchaser,

pledged February 16 to issue a statement of humane principles to all the meat and poultry

slaughterhouses that supply the 14,000 U.S. McDonald’s restaurants, with a request that it be

forwarded to all the farmers who supply them. An abbreviated edition of the statement is also

to appear in the 1993 McDonald’s annual report to shareholders.

McDonald’s general counsel and senior vice president Shelby Yastrow agreed to

ratify and distribute the statement in exchange for the withdrawal of a stronger and more spe-

cific statement advanced as a shareholder resolution by Henry Spira of Animal Rights

International and Nanette Coco of the Franklin Research and Development Corporation, rep-

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