News
The number of news found: 20.
09/30/2004 ANIMAL RIGHTS ACTIVISTS HYPE VEGANISM!
In 1997, animal rights activist Gary Yourofsky freed 1,542 minks from a Canadian fur farm. Yourofsky and fellow activist Katie Timko now travel the nation lecturing for the organization People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.
09/29/2004 FRANCE DEFIES EU TO CONTINUTE FORCE-FEEDING BIRDS FOR FOIE GRAS!
The French agriculture ministry has infuriated animal welfare organisations by defending that bastion of Gallic culinary culture, foie gras, rather than bow to the demands of Brussels.The ministry gave the country's 6,000 producers an extra five years - until 2010 - to scrap the cramped individual cages, known as épinettes, to which geese and ducks are confined at the end of the fattening process, arguing that a European ruling on the subject was just a recommendation, not a directive."It's shameful," said a spokeswoman for the French Animal Rights League. "France has ratified all these conventions on cruelty to animals, and even put most of them into national law, yet it continues to condone this barbaric practice. It seems foie gras is sacred."
09/28/2004 UCSF FACES ANIMAL CHARGES!
As the fourth-largest recipient of NIH funds and landlord for thousands of research animals, the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), has long been a target of animal activists. Now, it is a target of charges by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Last week, UCSF officials opened the San Francisco Chronicle and discovered that USDA is charging the university with 60 violations of the Animal Welfare Act, including operating on a lamb without anesthesia and depriving monkeys of water."The gravity of [UCSF's] violations is great," USDA alleges, detailing problems with animal housing and veterinary care over a 2-year period between 2001 and 2003. The paper received the complaint from In Defense of Animals, an animal-rights group.
09/26/2004 PROTESTERS PREVENT SHEEP EXPORT!
Animal right protesters have taken action to prevent 500 sheep being exported through Ipswich docks. The sheep were due to be exported from the West bank terminal by Ferryways but the movement was halted by a large number of telephone calls asking them to to halt the moves. Ipswich port manager Robert Smith said: "I spoke to Ferryways and I understand the trade has been suspended as a result of the calls - there was no actual protest at the terminal."
09/25/2004 PIGEONS AND THEIR YOUNG SHUT UP TO DIE OF THIRST AND HUNGER IN MAGAGA!
The municipality of Málaga; Spain (Department of the Environment) had a bright idea to get rid of the pigeons that soil their pristine city: send some of them to another part of Spain (Castilla la Mancha) and wall the rest in. Although after energic protests from the Málaga society for protection of animals they stopped the deed there are many birds trapped and dying behind the closed walls and nobody at the townhall cares.
09/22/2004 HUNT LOBBY PLANS TO BAR ARMY FROM LAND!
Some of Britain's richest landowners are planning to bar the army from using their land in revenge for the government's decision to push a ban on foxhunting through parliament.The Countryside Alliance believes that its supporters could bring military training to a standstill in the northeast of England, Scotland and parts of Wales where the SAS train.The action will be among the first acts of civil non-compliance and disobedience that pro-hunting groups are planning to underline their fury at the "cowardly" way in which the government has "caved in" to Labour backbenchers.
09/21/2004 MPs VOTE FOR BAN ON FOX HUNTING!
On Sep 15 2004 MPs have voted overwhelmingly to ban fox-hunting and hare-coursing. On a free vote, MPs came out in favour of the ban - by 356 votes to 166, a majority of 190. Rural Affairs Minister Alun Michael told the Commons the issue had taken up Parliament's time year after year and must be brought to a conclusion. The Government had been "patient" and had "tried to get the two sides to listen to each other and to find ways forward that were less divisive than the two extremes which are so shrill on this debate". He warned: "But it has become clear that the views are so polarised that it's impossible to deal with in that way."The Bill is being rushed through the Commons in a single day, and the Government has made clear that if the Lords oppose the move the Parliament Act will be invoked to ensure it becomes law. But the already bitter debate was marred by the clashes outside Parliament and another extraordinary security lapse in the Commons with protesters haranguing Mr Michael in the chamber before being finally wrestled to the ground and bundled out by security staff.
09/21/2004 FARMED ANIMALS HARBOR ANTIBIOTIC-RESISTANT BACTERIA!
A researcher with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health is currently undertaking a study of more than 100 current and former slaughterhouse workers to determine levels of bacteria resistance resulting from the use of antibiotics in chicken production.Toxicologist Ellen Silbergeld is studying the impact of antibiotic-resistant bacteria on poultry workers and on the natural environment, primarily rivers. The current study builds on past research in which Silbergeld found that 60% of her sample of 60 slaughterhouse workers was found to have antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria. This was compared to an incidence of only 10% among the general population in the same geographical area. Other research has found resistant bacteria in catfish and in meat products available at supermarkets. Responding to concerns raised by Silbergeld's research, Richard Lobb of the National Chicken Council downplayed the impact of using antibiotics during chicken production. Lobb said that chicken producers have been "routinely adding microbe-killing formulas to chicken feed since the 1950s." Lobb went on to say that farmers add antibiotics to entire flocks of up to 200,000 birds when only a few birds show signs of illness or disease. Scientists like Silbergeld, however, believe that the 2.5 billion pounds of waste from chicken farms on the Delmarva Peninsula is a risk to slaughterhouse workers and is causing an unknown, potentially harmful effect on the environment.
09/20/2004 END OF ANIMAL RIGHTS CONGRESS VIENNA 2004!
From Sept. 16 to Sept. 19 in Austrian capital Vienna an Animal Rights Congress took place. About 200 AR activists from Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Croatia, USA, UK and Russia attended the Congress, where they interacted, participated in the workshops, listened to about 40 lectures and saw over 50 movies. Two demos - against fur industry and McDonald's were also held during the Congress.
09/16/2004 UPDATE ON HURRICANE RESCUE EFFORTS!
North Shore Animal League America, has been working hard to rescue animals left homeless in hurricane-ravaged Florida. In an earlier update, the League rescued 50 cats in the aftermath of Hurricane Charley. An additional two cats and 15 dogs were also rescued and are now being cared for at the League. Of the 67 animals, over 46 have already found happy adoptive homes! In addition, another 27 dogs displaced after Hurricane Charley were rescued when the Disaster Relief Mobile Units returned to assist during Hurricane Frances.
09/16/2004 REVEALING THE TRUTH ABOUT THE MYTH AROUND MILK INDUSTRY!
On Saturday, September 18, Animal Friends Croatia will held an info stands in the centre of Zagreb. Activists will held out leaflets about dangers of milk for human health, environment and, of course, animals, and passers-by could taste soy, oat and rice milk and other plant-based derived milk products for this demo provided by Biovega and Encian.
09/14/2004 IDA INVESTIGATION LEADS TO CRIMINAL CHARGES AGAINST WORLD'S LARGEST LAB SUPPLIER!
For the first time in U.S. history, criminal charges for multiple counts of animal cruelty have been filed against an animal research laboratory for its operator's alleged institutional neglect and abandonment of chimpanzees. The unprecedented complaint, filed by Otero County, New Mexico District Attorney Scot Key, alleges that negligence surrounding the deaths of the chimpanzees Rex and Ashley, and the near-death of Topsy, at the Alamogordo Primate Facility (APF) constitute criminal animal cruelty.District Attorney Key's investigation of possible criminal wrongdoing in the treatment of chimpanzees at the APF was prompted by IDA, which provided his office with evidence from its network of whistleblowers indicating grave and willful negligence on the part of APF management.
09/13/2004 WORLD FARMED ANIMALS DAY EVENT IN COLLEGE PARK, MD!
United Poultry Concerns and the Eastern Shore Sanctuary & Education Center will leaflet on behalf of chickens in front of McKeldon Library at the University of Maryland-College Park, on Thursday September 30th, in honor and memory of the 9.5 billion chickens who died in US chicken houses and slaughterhouses in 2003, and who continue to be tortured and murdered by the billions. The chicken industry is conspicuous on the College Park campus - a reflection of the blood money pouring into university pockets from the poultry industry on the Eastern Shore.On Wednesday, September 29, United Poultry Concerns will publish a full-page ad in the student newspaper The Diamondback describing the suffering and death of chickens and urging students to 'kick the bloody bucket and go vegan.'
09/12/2004 U.S. ARMY INTENDS TO INJURE GOATS IN TRAININGS TO GIVE MEDICS SIMULATED BATTLEFIELD TRAINING!
FORT CARSON, Colo. -- A training exercise planned at Fort Carson later this month is creating some controversy. The Army said an undisclosed number of goats will be sedated and then injured to simulate combat wounds so medics can practice treating them. Officials said the exercise will help save the lives of soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. "It's very important training," said Ben Abel, a spokesman for Army Special Forces Command in Fort Bragg, N.C., which is responsible for the training exercise at Fort Carson. Abel characterized the number of goats that will be wounded and eventually killed at Fort Carson this month as "a small amount," but he wouldn't provide a number. He said the training is in compliance with federal animal cruelty laws.
09/11/2004 YELLOWSTONE PARK RODENTS SHOW EFFECTS OF GLOBAL WARMING!
Two rodents in Yellowstone National Park - and their ancestors dating back 3,000 years - have given scientists the first direct evidence that global warming can affect genetic diversity. The finding could provide important clues to how rising global temperatures could affect the evolution of other species. The International Panel on Climate Change predicts that global temperatures will increase by 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit by 2100. There are several scenarios about what could happen - including increasing disease and floods and disappearing glaciers - but until now no one had looked at how past climate changes have affected genetic diversity.
09/10/2004 KOALAS ARE DROPPING FROM TREES BECAUSE OF THIRST!
CANBERRA, Australia - Residents of Australia's drought-ravaged east coast were urged Wednesday to leave buckets of water underneath trees because koalas are dropping dead of thirst. The much-loved marsupials have been found dead under trees or drinking from garden hoses because of lack of rain, the international conservation group Australian Koala Foundation warned. Koalas usually get all the water they need from the eucalyptus leaves they feed on but not during drought conditions."In arid conditions, the toxicity of the leaves increases and fluid content reduces, making them unappealing to the palate of the koala," foundation executive director Deborah Tabart said in a statement. "Consequently, the koala's already fussy diet is severely restricted."She urged people living near koala colonies to put buckets of water under their trees on hot days to prevent the furry animals that spend most of their lives asleep in tree forks from being hit by cars or attacked by dogs as they search for a drink.The foundation has urged the federal government to list koalas as an endangered species, in a bid to curb the tree clearing that it predicts will rid the east coast of koalas within 15 years. The foundation estimates 10 million koalas existed in Australia at the time of European settlement in 1788, but only 100,000 remain now.
09/09/2004 MORE SCIENTIFIC TESTS ON ANIMALS!
LONDON - The number of animal experiments in Britain rose last year to its highest level since 1994, prompting condemnation from animal rights campaigners who said the government had failed to curb cruelty. Anti-vivisectionists were particularly concerned about a 20 percent leap in experiments on primates, including marmosets and macaques, to 4,799. Overall, animal experiments totalled 2.8 million in 2003, up 2.2 percent from the previous year, the government said yesterday. Nicky Gordon, science officer at the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection, said there had been a general increase over the past decade despite a promise from the ruling Labour Party to reduce animal experiments.
09/05/2004 FINLAND CLOSES DOWN BEAGLE AND RABBIT VIVISECTION BREEDERS!
The University of Kuopio have decided to close down the Karttula beagle and rabbit vivisection breeders. By Friday 1800 people had signed the internet petition that was set up last Monday. All together 20,000 people have signed the petition (the signatures were mainly collected on the streets in Finland), and it was given to the head of the Universityo on Friday.The University have said that one of the main things which affected the closure was the fact that the security costs were too high: they had to guard the place 24 hours a day all year around. That's only because there have been raids, demos and protest camps there for years.
09/02/2004 BUSH OPENS MORE LANDS TO HUNTING AND FISHING!
WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration said Monday it will give people who hunt and fish new access to hundreds of thousands of acres of lands and streams within 17 national wildlife refuges and wetlands. The decision as the Republican National Convention was opening in New York was announced by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Asked if it might help President Bush's re-election efforts, the agency's director, Steve Williams said, "This is just another example of the president's commitment to sportsmen." "By law, Congress directed the service to consider and provide opportunities for hunting and fishing where it's compatible on the refuges. We take that quite seriously," Williams added.
09/01/2004 BREEDER FOUND GUILTY ON 11 COUNTS!
FRANKLIN -- A Williamson County jury found dog breeder Jennifer Siliski guilty on 11 of 30 counts of animal cruelty, ending a full day of deliberation over whether her care for more than 200 dogs she raised to sell amounted to abuse. The jury's decision, was hailed as a victory byprosecutors, county animal control officials and dozens of volunteers who have cared for Siliski's Maltese dogs for months after getting temporary custody."I wanted to feel like the seven months of effort we've put into this was worth it, and that these little dogs have a better life," animal control officer Valerie Clarke said, holding back tears after the verdict was announced. "Everybody that has a foster dog should be able to keep it."
The number of news found: 20.
