September 2004 Volume XIII, #7
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Fund for Animals merging with Humane Society of the United States? (page 3) Thai crackdown on animal trafficking Keeping elephants out of sanctuaries DETROIT, SAN FRANCISCO “Kagan’s intent drew widespread hits high officials ––American Zoo Association director public praise, but alarmed many in the zoo Sydney Butler has warned the Detroit Zoo community who believe that zoos are fully and San Francisco Zoo that the AZA “fun- capable of providing good lives for ele- as CITES nears damentally disagrees” with their decisions phants,” understated Detroit Free Press B A N G K O K––Delegates arriving in to retire two elderly elephants each to sanc- writer Hugh McDiarmid Jr. Bangkok for the 2004 meeting of the parties of tuaries, and will “vigorously enforce our Transferring any elephants out- the Convention on International Trade in professional ethics and accreditation stan- side the AZA-accredited zoo network could Endangered Species, to start on October 1, dards” if the elephants are moved contrary become an influential argument for transfer- will find the clandestine animal traffic thriving, Gibbon rescued by the International to the dictates of the AZA Species Survival ring any elephants whose situations are less despite a year-long crackdown. Primate Protection League. (IPPL photo) Plan committee. than ideal––and elephants are perhaps the The good news is that the crackdown tined for human consumption,” London Detroit Zoo director Ron Kagan leading gate attractions at any zoo, but are is still underway, reaching higher and farther O b s e r v e r correspondent Mark Townsend on May 19, 2000 announced that the ele- in ever shorter supply. into the web of corrupt officials who have reported on September 13. phants Winky, 51, and Wanda, 40-some- The average lifespan of an AZA enabled Bangkok to persist as a global hub of Townend alleged that Manop Lao- thing, would be sent to the Elephant zoo elephant is 36 years, according to AZA illegal animal dealing. hapraser also arrived on the scene recently after Sanctuary at Hohenwald, Tennessee, spokesperson Jane Ballentine. Most ele- Wildlife Conservation Office director notorious wildlife dealer Leuthai Tiewchareun founded and directed by former circus per- phants now in the U.S. were captured Schwann Tunhikorn will head the Thai CITES was arrested near the Laotian border in posses- former Carol Buckley. before the U.S. ratification of the Convent- delegation, replacing Manop Laohapraser, sion of “the bloody carcass of a huge Bengal The elephants would go from ion on International Trade in Endangered who was removed from his post in July 2004 tiger sawn clean in half.” their present one-acre enclosure to a 2,700- Species in 1972 and passage of the for alleged misconduct in authorizing the Leuthai Tiewchareun “was well- acre facility where they could live among a Endangered Species Act in 1973 virtually export of 100 tigers to the Sunya Zoo in China known to the authorities,” wrote Townsend. matriarchal herd almost as if wild. cut off further imports. These elephants are two years earlier. The zoo is owned by the Si “In November 2003, when police raided his The Elephant Sanctuary has nine now middle-aged to elderly, and have been Racha Tiger Farm. home, more than 20 pairs of bear paws lay elephants now: six Asians, three Africans. dying at a rate far exceeding successful An investigation headed by National beside piles of fresh tiger meat. His deep- reproduction. Only a handful of zoo-born Intelligence Agency director Joompol Manmai freeze contained the body of a baby orangutan elephants have survived to maturity, and concluded that the tiger sale was a commercial from Indonesia.” only 11 have been imported in the past 32 transaction, not a breeding and exhibition loan Arrested then, Leuthai Tiewchareun years, all of them in 2003. as defined by CITES. (continued on page 7) “Some believe [the tigers] were des- (continued on page 15) ANIMAL PEOPLE News For People Who Care About Animals September 2004 Volume XIII, #7 (Robert L. Harrison) Bush & Kerry each seek an animal-friendly image, have contrasting records on animals WASHINGTON D.C. – – A n i m a l bubbled down into a watery doom. issues historically have little resonance with “Now, that might have been the end voters, but the appearance of animal-friendli- of the story: A mock funeral at sea and some ness is all-important for U.S. Presidential cam- tears for a hamster lost. But my dad jumped paigns, conventional political wisdom holds. in, grabbed an oar, fished the cage from the Only three presidents have ever been water, hunched over the soggy hamster, and elected without mention being made of their began to administer CPR. pets, and none since 1880, according to “There are still to this day some Claire McLean, curator of the Presidential Pet reports of mouth-to-mouth,” Alexandra Kerry Museum in Lothian, Virginia. said, “but I admit it’s probably a trick of Some analysts of image-making memory. The hamster was never quite right believe voters may have preferred Republican after that, but he lived. George W. Bush over Democrat Al Gore in “It may sound silly, and we still 2000 because Bush fed his cats on camera, in laugh about it today, but it was serious to us. his bathrobe, presenting a caring appearance, And that’s what mattered to my father.” while Gore, in a business suit, only patted his “The Bushes started out with three dog while speaking of other things. cats and one dog during the 2000 campaign Alexandra Kerry, daughter of and ended up with two dogs and one cat in the Democratic nominee John Kerry, opened her White House,” according to New York Times July 29 address to the Democratic National columnist Maureen Dowd. Convention in Boston with a pet story. The first dog, Spot, was born in the European wild boar––feral in Australia. (Kim Bartlett) “It hasn’t been easy to sift through White House, a daughter of Millie, the years of memories about my father and find spaniel kept by President George H. Bush and Governments push hunting the big bucks, those few that might best tell you who John his wife Barbara. Their decision to breed Kerry really is,” Alexandra Kerry began. Millie may have provoked more protest mail boars, et al––for the price on their heads “So, let me begin with one July day than the 1991 Persian Gulf War. CANBERRA, JOHANNESBURG, species might save them, much as regulated when [sister] Vanessa and I were kids. It’s a Spot died on February 21, 2004. N A I R O B I–– Australian government agencies hunting contributes to the survival of other tro- silly story, but it’s true, and it’s one of my “The six-toed cat Ernie,” acquired are missing the gravy train by hiring sharp- phy animals––even if they have to be raised in favorite memories about my father. as a stray whom Spot treed in Texas, “was shooters to kill non-native wildlife, University captivity to be kept abundant enough to shoot. “We were standing on a dock,” sent to a friend in Los Angeles, deemed ‘too of Queensland faculty members Gordon Recommended targets include wild Alexandra Kerry recounted, “waiting for a wild’ for the White House,” Dowd continued. Dryden and Stephen Craig-Smith reported in horses, pigs, deer, camels, water buffalo, boat to take us on a summer trip. Vanessa, the The friend, investment banker Brad early September 2004 to the Rural Industries and goats, said Dryden and Craig-Smith. scientist, had packed all of her animals, Freeman, commenced a much publicized Research & Development Corporation. They found that about 10 hunting including her favorite hamster. Our over-zeal- search for Ernie after he disappeared in March The RIRDC is a federal think-tank safari operators in Queensland and the ous golden retriever got tangled in his leash 2001. Ernie was found three weeks later, formed to create jobs in the Outback. It envi- Northern Territory already escort approxi- and knocked the hamster cage off the dock. “reportedly in ragged shape and without his sions the Outback as a tourism draw rivaling mately 150 hunters per year to kill non-native We watched as Licorice, the unlucky hamster, (continued on page 13) Africa––for one type of tourist. hooved stock. The hunters spend an average “Wealthy hunting enthusiasts around of about $1,000 per day in the field. the world would be happy to cull these ani- Hunt Australia managing director mals that nobody in Australia wants, and Bob Penfold told Daily Telegraph r e p o r t e r would pay for the privilege,” Craig-Smith Lisa Miller that water buffalo hunting alone is said. “This would be a niche tourism market worth $7.2 million per year to Australia, and targeted at cashed-up hunters,” he added, could become five times as lucrative if restric- “not a wholesale slaughter of animals.” tions on hunting were relaxed. Translation: if the non-native target Penfold’s estimate, however, sug- species were extirpated, as the present philos- gests that water buffalo hunters spend an ophy of the National Parks and Wildlife improbable 48 days apiece in the field to bag Service mandates, the proposed trophy hunt- their slow-moving quarry. ing business would collapse. The Dryden/Craig-Smith recommen- Thus hunting Australian feral (continued on page 16) 2 - ANIMAL PEOP LE, September 2004 my french fries while sitting next to me on the way up here. With us he can romp and play . and love . as much as he wants. Nobody will ever hurt him again.