COURT CALENDAR

May 1, 1993 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 1993:

Animal Trafficking

Worldwide Primates propri-

etor Matthew Block, 31, of Miami,

drew 13 months in federal prison on April

17 for his part in arranging for six infant

orangutans to be smuggled from Indonesia

to the Soviet Union––the 1990 Bangkok

Six case. Hoping to win a plea bargain,

Block testified against three accomplices

and helped set up the January 26 arrest of

a Mexican zoo director for allegedly trying

to smuggle a gorilla. However, assistant

U.S. attorney Guy Lewis told U.S. district

judge James Kehoe that Block had never

fully cooperated with either investigation,

had lied about his degree of involvement

in the orangutan deal, and was still in

touch with smuggling associates. Block

now faces USDA action for allegedly

feeding primates at his facility spoiled

food, failing to provide water, and keep-

ing them in vermin-infested cages.

Doberman deeds

May 1, 1993 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 1993:

When a tiger abandoned her newborn cub recently at

the zoo in Chhat Bir, India, the zookeeper in desperation gave the

cub to his Doberman pinscher to nurse. After 17 days, both dog

and tiger were reportedly doing well.

Orphaned by Hurricane Andrew when his original fam-

ily lost their home and left him at the SPCA in Jefferson Parish,

Louisiana, a Doberman named Max found a new home with Ava

Mareno of New Orleans last October. On March 27, Max saved

her two-year-old daughter Brittany’s life by pulling away another

dog who was mauling her.

Wild Cats

May 1, 1993 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 1993:

Genetic researchers trying to save

the highly endangered Florida panther on

April 9 recommended a shift away from cap-

tive breeding, the focus of present recovery

efforts. Instead, the team suggested, closely

related Texas cougars should be released into

panther habitat to diversify the gene pool by

natural means. Under the plan, panther kittens

would no longer be removed from the wild for

use in captive breeding, since their gene pool

is presently so narrow that the offspring would

be likely to inherit genetic defects.

Oceans

May 1, 1993 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 1993:

The International Whaling Commission commenced

its annual meeting in Kyoto, Japan, on April 19 as a throng of

1,000 demonstrators marched outside to demand an end to the cur-

rent global whaling ban, in effect since 1986. The IWC scientific

committee met during the last week of April to review current data

on whale populations, while the general commission meeting is

set for May 10-14. Japanese whalers, who already kill 300 minke

whales a year under the auspices of a government research pro-

gram, want to resume whaling on a commercial scale. Iceland has

already resumed commercial whaling, after qutting the IWC.

Zoos & Aquariums

May 1, 1993 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 1993:

Soon after Hurricane Andrew, the Miami Metro Zoo

mailed nearly a million appeals for emergency aid to members of ani-

mal protection groups and to subscribers to magazines about animals.

Zoological Society of Florida deputy director Cynthia Zeigler told

The Chronicle of Philanthropy recently that 27,675 people responded

within the first six months, donating $484,000––results so impres-

sive that TCPgave the story a full-page spread.

Organizing to obstruct attempts by the Shedd Aquarium

in Chicago to capture three Pacific white-sided dolphins off Santa

Catalina Island, California, the Whale Rescue Team claims to have

commitments for participation from the owners of 40 boats and two

aircraft. “The flotilla will use all nonviolent means necessary to pre-

vent the capture,” says Whale Rescue Team founder Peter

Wallerstein.

Wildlife

May 1, 1993 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 1993:

Interior Secretary Bruce Babbit announced April

15 that Georgia Pacific, the largest U.S. forest products com-

pany, has agreed to leave at least 10 acres of woods standing

around each colony of endangered red-cockaded woodpeckers

found on company land in Arkansas, the Carolinas, Louisiana,

and Mississippi. The deal protects 50,000 acres while allowing

Georgia Pacific to log the remainder of its 4.2 million acres of

southern timber.

The World Wildlife Fund has agreed to hire mem-

bers of the impoverished Hoopa tribe in northern California to

restore logged-out forests and eroded stream beds. The Pacific

Gas & Electric Co. has already provided 30,000 trees to the pro-

ject, which is expected to benefit bald eagles, peregrine fal-

cons, and northern spotted owls.

Roddick tells AmEx to shed fur

May 1, 1993 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 1993:

WEST SUSSEX, U.K.––Seeking

to build a progressive image, American

Express recently began airing television com-

mercials featuring British cruelty-free person-

al care products entrepreneur Anita Roddick,

whose Body Shop logo has become synony-

mous with conscientious capitalism. The

commercials describe how Roddick roams the

world in search of products whose ingredients

can be harvested from whole and healthy nat-

ural environments, such as the Amazonian

rainforest. It’s great publicity for The Body

Shop as well as for AmEx––and it came at a

price beyond dollars.

Bill to stop wolf-strafing

May 1, 1993 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 1993:

WASHINGTON D.C.––As he

promised he would last winter, Oregon Rep.

Peter DeFazio has introduced amendments to

the Airborne Hunting section of the Fish and

Wildlife Act of 1956 that would bar using

aircraft to kill native endangered or threat-

ened species on public lands––even for

wildlife management purposes. Support for

the bill, H.R. 1391, may be addressed to any

member of the House or Senate.

Postage hike to hit charities

May 1, 1993 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 1993:

Third class nonprofit postal rates, used to

mail ANIMAL PEOPLE and most other humane infor-

mation mediums, are scheduled to take another big jump

in the fall, following increases of 80% over the past three

years. Further, President Clinton’s fiscal 1994 budget

proposes abolishing nonprofit third class privileges for

publications, such as ANIMAL PEOPLE, that contain

either advertising or political advocacy materials.

Nonprofit second class privileges would be removed from

periodicals devoting more than 10% of their space to

advertising (30% to 40% advertising is the usual periodi-

cal breakeven point). Letter-sized nonprofit mailing

rates, used chiefly for fundraising, may go up 32%, from

a current basic rate of 11.1¢ per piece to 14.7¢ apiece.

While the gradual reduction of nonprofit mailing subsidies

hurts all charities, some observers believe the higher rates

will most hurt organizations such as the Doris Day Animal

League, which were formed with the active participation

of commercial direct mail fundraising firms, and whose

programs consist largely of “public education” via letters

and bulletins distributed with funding appeals.

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