A Project of Animal People, Inc., 1992-2013
From ANIMAL PEOPLE, September 2011:
HOHENWALD, Tenn.— Elephant Sanctuary vice president of operations Scott Blais on August 17, 2011 announced that he is leaving the organization. Blais and Carol Buckley cofounded the Elephant Sanctuary in 1995, with one elephant on 112 acres near Hohenwald, Tennessee. It now keeps 14 elephants on 2,700 acres. Read more
From ANIMAL PEOPLE, September 2011:
JOHANNESBURG--A South African government commission appointed in February 2009 to consider introducing gambling on greyhound racing has reportedly concluded that, in the words of commission chair Astrid Ludin, “Given the limited demand and the problems associated with it, we did not think it should be legalized.”
The South African National SPCA noted that a similar commission reached comparable conclusions in the late 1940s, leading to the series of provincial bans on betting on greyhounds which have been in effect ever since. Two previous commissions affirmed the bans.
From ANIMAL PEOPLE, September 2011:
Cat Companions: A memoir of loving and learning
by Susan M. Seidman
CreateSpace (distributed exclusively by <www.amazon.com>, 2011.
248 pages, paperback. $16.00.
Cat Companions describes the qualities we love about our cats: mysterious, aloof, cranky, yet loving and fun. Author and cat lover Susan M. Seidman dishes out tidbits about her extended feline family, including Supan with whom she shared an apartment in Paris, and Alex, one of her many cats who were discarded by someone else. Read more
From ANIMAL PEOPLE, September 2011:
Editorial feature:
Animal husbandry & the Horn of Africa famine
“In central and western Kenya, farmers have had a bumper crop of plump ears of corn and earthy potatoes. Yet in the north, skeletal children wait for food aid amid a growing emergency,” recounted Katharine Houreld of Associated Press on September 1, 2011.
Altogether, Houreld wrote, 3.75 million Kenyans are at risk of starvation. Another eight million people are at risk in Ethiopia, Sudan, and Somalia. Read more
From ANIMAL PEOPLE, September 2011:
SILVER SPRING, Maryland– The American Zoo Association on August 12, 2011 announced that “As soon as possible, and no later than September 1, 2014, elephant care providers at AZA facilities shall not share the same unrestricted space with elephants,” except “for the specific purposes of required health and welfare procedures, transport, research, active breeding and calf management programs, and medical treatments and testing.” The new policy, adopted after more than seven months of internal discussion and review, will become part of the AZA accreditation standards for elephant management and care, most recently updated in May 2011. Read more
From ANIMAL PEOPLE, September 2011:
Letters
Traps in Taiwan
Just to clarify the so-called ban on leg-hold traps in Taiwan, described by Mira Fong in your July/August 2011 edition: while many groups are claiming victory in making Taiwan a “trap-free” nation, the truth is that leghold traps can still be used with special permission, and this will likely be given to the aboriginal population, who are granted certain freedoms within this and other laws so as not to take away their cultural and historical rights. The ban is still a victory, as many stray animals and protected wild animals have been killed or maimed in traps placed in or around farmland as a deterrent to dogs and other animals. This is largely outlawed now, as is the sale of leghold traps in stores.
The Wulai Animal Guardian Society, which is still in its infancy, will be building relationships with aboriginal hunters with a goal of later appealing to their well-documented respect for nature and the environment, as well as their honor, to encourage them to employ less cruel and indiscriminate methods for hunting, instead of taking advantage of their legal right to continue using leghold traps with permission.
In short, Taiwan has not fully banned leghold traps, but has limited their use.
–Seán McCormack
Taiwan Animal S.O.S. (TASOS)
<seanimals@gmail.com> Read more
From ANIMAL PEOPLE, September 2011:
TRIPOLI–Veterinarian Amir Khalil of the Austrian-based international animal charity Vier Pfoten on September 9, 2011 led a rescue team to the aid of the 700 animals at the Tripoli Zoo. Vier Pfoten is believed to be the first animal charity allowed to work in Libya in more than 40 years.
North Carolina Zoo director David Jones and the International Fund for Animal Welfare had raised $10,000 to help the rescue, Jones said on the North Carolina Zoo web site. Read more
From ANIMAL PEOPLE, September 2011:
JAIPUR, India-– The most prominent elephant polo tournament in India, scheduled for August 21, 2011 in Jaipur, was cancelled just days before it was to be held when the major backer, the brewery Carlsberg India Pvt. Ltd., withdrew sponsorship.
The annual tournament was begun in 2006 by Elephant Family founder Mark Shand, brother of the Duchess of Cornwall. Using the match to demonstrate elephant handling without the traditional use of the ankus, or “elephant hook,” Shand and the Elephant Family donated the proceeds to a program to aid working elephants formerly operated by the Jaipur-based charity Help In Suffering. Read more
From ANIMAL PEOPLE, September 2011:
AUSTIN, JOHANNESBURG-– Comparable clusters of fast-moving wildfires had contrasting outcomes for animals in Bastrop and Leander counties in Texas during the first week of September 2011 and the Gateway region of Northwest Province, South Africa, during the last week of August.
Experienced disaster relief personnel from the Austin Humane Society, Austin Pets Alive!, and the Best Friends Network evacuated about 180 dogs and cats from two animal control shelters that were jeopardized by the Texas fires, reported Best Friends Network volunteer Jessi Freud. Read more