Archive for 2000
Dawn Carr Receives Probation for Miss Rodeo America 2000 Pie
Last year animal rights activist Dawn Carr, 31, cowardly threw a pie in the face of 21-year-old Brandy DeJongh immediately after DeJongh’s crowning as Miss Rodeo America 2000. Carr intended the pie in the face as a commentary on rodeos and animals.
Not surprisingly, Carr is a member of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.
In December 2000, Carr pleaded guilty to misdemeanor battery in Las Vegas, Nevada. She received one year’s probation and was ordered to pay $1,700 in restitution to DeJongh for damages done to the dress DeJongh was wearing.
Source:
Sentence set in activist’s pie incident. Las Vegas Review Journal, December 5, 2000.
Tags: Dawn Carr, Nevada, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, United States
Human Trials of Canine Paralysis Treatment to Begin
Human trials will begin shortly on an implantable device that successfully promoted nerve regrowth in dogs and may be able to increase nerve regeneration in people who suffer from some forms of spinal cord injury.
In experiments with dogs, the device stimulated regrowth of nerve cells if the device was implanted within two weeks after certain spinal cord injuries. The device emits a very weak electrical field of about 600 microvolts per millimeter which mimics the electrical field present during rapid nerve growth in human and animal embryos.
In canine trials, about 85 percent of the injured animals showed improvements in bodily functions, including a few who regained the ability to walk after being paralyzed. Whether or not such results will translate to human beings remains to be seen.
“Something will happen,” neurosurgeon Scott Shapiro told the Associated Press. “The question is how robust the response will be. We’ll just have to wait and see.”
As Naomi Kleitman, education director for the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, told the Associated Press,
The fact that they’re going to a clinical trial in Indianapolis is very exciting and it’s good evidence that the field has made progress, but obviously we have to be realistic. There’s no guarantee any of this will work in humans.
But, of course, it is important to go ahead and try, regardless of the outcome.
Source:
Trials begin for paralysis patients. Rick Callahan, The Associated Press, December 10, 2000.
Tags: Dogs, Spinal Cord Injuries
Ark Trust: It’s All The Media’s Fault
One of the more amusing things about radical political movements, such as the animal rights movement, is just how seriously they take themselves. In a press release announcing its annual list of media “foe-paws” (who thought that up), Ark Trust’s Gretchen Weiler goes on about the supposed overwhelming influence of the media,
In our role as media watchdog, we must be ever-vigilant and speak out about negative as well as positive messages. Either from ignorance or insensitivity, these movies, television shows, magazines and newspapers communicate messages that desensitize the public toward animal suffering and are deserving of a “Foe Paw,” our end-of-year dishonor roll.
What images in the popular media “desensitize the public toward animal suffering”? Here’s a sample.
- Unsurprisingly, 20/20’s John Stossel gets a prominent mention for a segment on that show that criticized the animal rights movement. As the Ark Trust recognizes, the last thing in the world the animal rights movement can stand is any criticism, because it is modeled on philosophical premises that the overwhelming majority of Americans reject.
- The film, The Wonder Boys, gets a “foe paw” for its black comedy treatment of a professor who shoots a dog and puts it in the trunk of his car.
- CBS’ “Survivor” television show obviously comes in for criticism for advancing the bizarre notion that human beings might use fish, chickens, and even rats as a food source. Oddly, Ark Trust says, “We’d rather watch “Gilligan’s Island” — but didn’t that show frequently use non-human primates for some of its more amusing episodes?
- “The Today Show” earns a “foe paw” for “glorifying” the use of animals in the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus.
- All of the sports shows on TNN, ESPN, and ESPN2 earned “foe paws.”
- Jay Leno receive Ark Trust’s enmity for a skit in which Leno put a toy puppy in a wok and said the dish was a favorite in Korea. Bad taste, perhaps, and a bit inaccurate, but obviously it hasn’t done much to desensitize Americans as there have been no reported cases of people trying to fry up dogs in the United States.
Source:
The dirty dozen doesn’t save the day. Ark Trust, Press Release, December 11, 2000.
Tags: Ark Trust, Gretchen Weiler
Animal Liberation Front Claims Responsibility for Vancouver Truck Firebombing
The Animal Liberation Front claim that on December 11 activists placed incendiary devices under three trucks at Ferry Meat Market in Vancouver, British Columbia, though apparently only one of the incendiary devices actually detonated.
In a communique republished by the North American Animal Liberation Front Press Office, the ALF activists said that,
Ferry Meat Market …was chosen because of its involvement with the barbaric meat trade that claims billions of lives yearly. All businesses large or small which participate in animal abusing industries will continue to be targeted as part of the ALF’s ongoing campaign to tend the slaughter of animals for profit. Let it be known to those with blood on their hands that we are watching.
In case anyone missed the point in that, David Barbarash — who insists he is only a spokesman for the ALF — said in the Press Office release that, “Meat companies and packing plants are frequent targets of animal liberation activists because of the inherent cruelty of raising an animal for slaughter. From the rearing of cows, pigs and chickens, to their confinement, to their ultimate slaughter all involve cruelty, pain, suffering and ultimately, death.”
Source:
A.L.F. claim fire attack on meat trucks. Press release, North American Animal Liberation Front Press Office, December 13, 2000.
Tags: Animal Liberation Front, David Barbarash, Terrorism
Animal Rights Activists Suspected in UK Bomb Blast
On December 11 a man barely escaped with his life after a bomb planted near his van destroyed the vehicle shortly before he was to leave for work. At the moment, animal rights activists are the focus of police suspicion.
The man worked for an electrical firm that was subcontracted to work for a pharmaceutical firm, which the UK media reported was probably Astra Zeneca. The van was used to transport electrical workers to the pharmaceutical company.
London’s Daily Mail reported that the bomb, which was powerful enough to destroy windows in homes and other vehicles 100 feet away, was similar to devices previously used by animal rights activists. The Daily Mail quoted detective superintendent Michael Ward who said, “The suspicion is that it has come from animal rights activists and it was directed towards one company. The vehicle attacked was used by a sub-contractor working for a company which has attracted the interests of animal rights activists.”
Update: This case was later definitively proved not to have had any animal rights connection.
Source:
Bomb blast blamed on animal rights activists. David Wilkes, Daily Mail, December 12, 2000.
Tags: Terrorism
PETA Sues Rosie O’Donnell
Last week People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals sued talk show host and actress Rosie O’Donnell for defamation after O’Donnell claimed PETA endorses the use of some leather products.
PETA and O’Donnell became entangled after O’Donnell decided to proclaim a “wear leather day” on her show. Many animal rights activists and groups, including PETA, decided to go after O’Donnell, declaring “wear leather day” as promoting cruelty to animals.
On a recent episode O’Donnell told her talks how audience that The Gap used leather approved by PETA. According to PETA spokeswoman Lisa Lange, “There’s no such thing as PETA-approved leather,” and PETA announced a lawsuit seeking an on-air retraction of O’Donnell’s statement as well as $350,000 in damages.
The only problem is that O’Donnell is absolutely right — The Gap does use PETA-approved leather and the lawsuit is completely frivolous.
Earlier in the year PETA launched a campaign to convince The Gap to stop using leather obtained from China and India. PETA argued quite vociferously that animals killed for leather in China and India are treated cruelly, and that it would be better for The Gap to buy leather from countries with higher animal welfare standards.
When The Gap caved in to PETA’s demands, the organization trumpeted its great victory. Now, however, PETA wants to run away from this victory when O’Donnell correct points out that The Gap uses PETA-approved leather.
The bottom line is that this lawsuit is simply just another publicity stunt from a group that excels at such stunts.
Source:
Animal rights group sues O’Donnell. The Associated Press, December 6, 2000.
Tags: Asia, China, Cows, Leather, Lisa Lange, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, Rosie O'Donnell
Scientists Busy Decoding the Fugu Genome
Animal rights activists like to claim that non-humans are simply too different to serve as models for human beings, but scientists at the Energy Department’s Joint Genome Institute hope that decoding the genome of the fugu, a poisonous fish considered a delicacy in Japan, will yield important clues about how human genes work.
The JGI hopes to have the a preliminary version of the fugu genome finished by spring of 2001. Why the fugu?
“The fugu has a small and compact genome, on the order of a tenth the size of the human genome, and yet whenever researchers have gone into the fugu and looked for human genes, by and large they’ve found them,” Trever Hawkins, director of JGI, told the San Francisco Chronicle.
While the human genome consists of about 3.4 billion different chemical building blocks, the fugu’s genome only has about 400 million different chemical building blocks. Since both fugu and human beings must have had a common ancestor, the working hypothesis is that any genes that the fugu and human beings share in common are likely to be extremely important ones. JGI scientist Paul Predki told the Chronicle, “The intent is to use the fugu sequence as a comparison. We believe it contains essentially the same complement of genes as human DNA.”
Over the next couple decades, medical research is likely to be revolutionized by a knowledge gained by comparing human and non-human genomes combined with the increasingly sophisticated ability to manipulate and modify genes.
Source:
Fishing for clues: the genetic map of the lowly fugu could help scientists decipher the human blueprint. Tom Abate, The San Francisco Chronicle, December 11, 2000.
Tags: Fish, Genetic Engineering
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals’ Commercial Gets Shot Down By CBS
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals recently got some bad news — CBS rejected an advertisement it wanted to run during the Superbowl. CBS said it doesn’t accept issue ads for the Superbowl. The commercial, which consists of cows singing an anti-leather song (I’m not making this up), is available in several different formats on PETA’s web site.
The weird thing is, what in the world is PETA doing trying to buy a $2.5 million, 30 second TV spot? As Americans for Medical Progress wrote in its recent newsletter,
PETA’s willingness to spend $2.5 million for a one-time
30 second television spot may come as a shock to some of
its donors. Most of PETA’s reported $17 million a year
budget is financed through individuals giving small
contributions in the $5 - $50 range. It is not likely
that many of these donors thought their money would
go to finance a commercial with singing cows.
Indeed.
Tags: Cows, Leather, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
Alec Baldwin Knows About ‘Wackos’
MSNBC reports that Alec Baldwin recently attacked online journalist (and I use that term loosely) Matt Drudge. Baldwin said, “I would put him in the wacko category.”
I’m not necessarily a big fan of Drudge, but this is coming from a man who thinks we should abandon important medical research that could save millions of lives because it involves killing some mice and other animals.
To my mind Drudge and Baldwin are kindred spirits (actually I respect Drudge more because he never made such a horribly bad movie as The Shadow.)
Tags: Alec Baldwin
Infant Received Pig Heart Valve
The BBC reports that 16-month old Amy Davies, who lives in Great Britain, received a heart valve transplant from a piglet when she was just seven month olds. The infant had a large hole in her heart as well as severe blockage of one of her heart valves. Surgeons said she was too small for an artificial valve and they doubted she could cope with the immunosuppressive drugs that are needed to prevent the body from rejecting artificial valves.
Many animal rights activists argue in favor of a ban on such xenotransplants arguing that the animal, in this case the piglet, have rights that supercede the human infants, and/or that the risk of diseases crossing from swine to human is simply to great to offset the medical benefits of such transplants.
Source:
Baby given piglet’s heart valve. The BBC, December 4, 2000.
Tags: Pigs, Xenotransplantation