An open letter to the ASPCA and New York City legislators by Elizabeth Forel

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From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 1993:

The American SPCA’s recent decision to get out of the
business of killing homeless cats and dogs leaves many
unanswered questions. The killing will continue, only
now it may done behind doors closed even more tightly
than before, since the New York City government will
most likely but not willingly assume the responsibility.
New York City could become the biggest, most horren-
dous slaughterhouse dog pound in the nation.
Will the ASPCA don white gloves and join with
every other shelter and humane society in the greater met –
ropolitan area, calling themselves a “no kill” shelter but
closing their eyes to the continuing slaughter of precious
healthy animals whose only crime was homelessness? Or
will the ASPCA accept the moral and ethical imperative
and speak out loudly and effectively against the slaughter,
using their newly released energy and financial strength to
educate relentlessly against the obscenity of breeding and
killing? Their past record does not offer much hope.

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Letters [May 1993]

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From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 1993:

Henry Spira
Thanks for your generous
April editorial––hope it encourages
activists to focus on results, on most
rapidly reducing the universe of ani-
mal pain and suffering.
For the record: as I’m sure
you know, everything we’ve
achieved has been the result of a
team effort, a network, a loop of
organizations and committed indi-
viduals, bringing together different
talents, resources, and
expertise––joining their energies
toward a common goal. I’d be
remiss if I didn’t say so.

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Editorial: Where there’s a will, there’s a way

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From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 1993:

Quite a number of items in this issue have to do with provisions for life after one’s
own death, and not in the spiritual sense. Though we die, our animal companions and
organizations may live on, not necessarily as we’d have chosen. One of our major investiga-
tions this month involved conflicting interpretations of an ambiguous will that eventually
resulted in a protracted legal battle, during which the lawyers for the opposing sides may
have gotten more of the bequest than the cause it was intended to aid. A page of features
describes contrasting arrangements the North Shore Animal League and Texas A&M
University offer for the orphaned cats and dogs of deceased humans––alternatives costing
nothing but perhaps a small donation on the one hand, and $25,000 on the other. An obitu-
ary notes the death of a lady who left a fortune to her local humane society. If space
allowed, a longer item could further describe the two-month search for her will. But for
luck, her intended bequest might never have been delivered.

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Editorial: Welcome, brother or sister. Come on in.

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From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 1993:

A recent study by Western Carolina University psychology professor Harold A.
Herzog Jr., published in the Journal of Social Issues volume 49, #1, concluded after inter-
viewing 23 grassroots animal rights activists that there are “several parallels between an
involvement with the animal rights movement and religious conversion.” In particular,
Herzog discovered that “animal rights activism,” for his study subjects, “usually entailed
major changes in lifestyle,” including both subtractive changes such as giving up eating
meat, hunting and fishing, and wearing fur, and additive changes such as becoming politi-
cally active: writing letters, carrying petitions, giving speeches, picketing, prosletyzing.
Herzog’s findings probably surprise neither committed activists nor critics of the animal
rights movement, many of whom frequently disparage the overt missionary zeal of some
activists (especially new converts). A few opponents of animal rights have even called the
cause a new religion. At least one member of the fur trade press has warned that animal
rights threatens the fundamental premises of Judaism, while several prominent anti-animal
rights authors have claimed the idea challenges Christianity.

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Aerial survey of Alaska finds few wolves–– and too many moose for habitat

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From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 1993:

ANCHORAGE, Alaska––Predictions
that wolves and grizzly bears would devastate
Alaskan moose and caribou over the winter were
“a gross exaggeration,” world-renowned
wildlife expert Gordon Haber told media April
26. Thus there is no need for predator control,
contrary to the claims of the Alaska Board of
Game, which suspended a proposed aerial wolf
massacre in January under threat of an interna-
tional tourism boycott, but is expected to re-rec-
commend killing wolves and grizzlies to protect
the ungulates, prized by trophy hunters, at
meetings scheduled for July and October.
To verify their data, Haber and bush
pilot Buck Woods overflew 35,000 square miles
of interior and south-central Alaska between
April 3 and April 18, adding 87 hours of air
time to their combined total of more than 5,000
hours of aerial surveying and more than 10,000
hours of wolf observation. Haber is a 27-year
veteran of wolf research in Alaska, British
Columbia, and northern Michigan.

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ANIMAL PEOPLE CRACKS CASE: USDA halts sales of Canadian dogs and cats to U.S. labs

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From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 1993:

WASHINGTON D.C.––Confirming leads gathered by ANIMAL PEO-
PLE editor Merritt Clifton during a 13-year probe, the U.S. Department of
Agriculture in mid-April sealed the Canadian border to imports of dogs and cats for
laboratory use. All Class B animal dealers known to have imported dogs and cats
from Canada were advised in writing that such animals cannot be certified as to ori-
gin in compliance with the Animal Welfare Act.
As many as 2,000 dogs and 6,000 cats have been imported from Canada
each year for resale by Class B dealers. Most come from privately operated pounds
that hold municipal animal control contracts––the majority in Quebec. Rural auc-
tions are another significant source, and still other dogs and cats are stolen.

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OBITUARIES

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From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 1993:

Cesar Chavez, 66, died in his
sleep April 25 in San Luis, Arizona. Best
known as founder of the United Farm
Workers union, Chavez was a self-educated
former fruit picker, a staunch advocate of
Gandhian nonviolent tactics for social
change, a vegetarian from early youth on,
and a longtime member of the Animal Rights
Network Inc. advisory board.

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$25,000 & up for lifelong care

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From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 1993:

HOUSTON, Texas––Texas A&M University
on March 26 dedicated an animal shelter, of sorts. For an
endowment of $25,000 per cat or dog, and $50,000 per
horse, the Stevenson Companion Animal Life-Care Center
will keep an animal for the rest of his or her life, after the
owner dies. The animals will be used to study how ani-
mals bond to humans and what role facilities and caretak-
ers play in their well-being, according to associate director
Sally Knight. “The center was developed in response to a
real need in the human community,” Knight said, adding
that 25 to 30 animals are already enrolled.

Lifelong Friends

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From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 1993:

ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico––It isn’t easy
to pay rent, buy food, and keep a pet on just $500 a
month, but hundreds of New Mexico senior citizens do it,
with the help of the five-year-old Lifelong Friends pro-
gram, a project of Sangre de Cristo Animal Protection.
Coordinated from Albuquerque by Shirley Hendrickson,
Lifelong Friends provides free and/or assisted veterinary
care to the pets of seniors.
“Pets are extremely valuable to seniors,” explains
SCAP vice president Frances Bentley. “Studies show that
they live longer when they have animal
companionship––so many seniors don’t have other humans
they can talk to and relate to. And here in New Mexico,”

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