Makah Gray Whale Hunt Makes HSUS/FFA Action Alert

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HUMANElines --- Issue #88 --- April 19, 2000

A Project of The Humane Society of the United States and The Fund for

Animals

To receive directly, call 202/955-3663 or email humanelines

 

WHALES AND ELEPHANTS WINNERS AT CITES: The recent CITES meetings generated

decisive victories for both endangered elephants and whales worldwide.

CITES delegates rejected the proposals by Japan and Norway to overturn the

international whaling moratorium. Meanwhile, four southern African nations

withdrew their proposals to allow the sale of ivory " until an effective

system is in place " to protect elephants from poaching.

 

DOLPHIN-SAFE LABEL STAYS TRUE BLUE: In a notable victory for dolphins, U.S.

Federal District Court Judge Thelton Henderson has denied the Clinton

administration*s attempts to loosen standards for the *dolphin-safe* tuna

label. The Administration had attempted to advance its free-trade agenda by

allowing Mexican tuna caught by dolphin-deadly methods to bear the

distinctive blue *dolphin-safe* label when sold in the U.S. While this

relaxation of standards would have facilitated trade between Mexico & the

U.S., it would have betrayed U.S. consumers by allowing the use of the

" dolphin-safe " label on tuna caught with methods that are clearly not safe

for dolphins --- methods that have been responsible for the harassment,

injury, and deaths of millions of these mammals. Thanks to Judge Henderson,

the dolphin-safe label will, for now, remain true blue.

 

ANOTHER EPA CALL FOR ANIMAL TESTING: Animal activists helped convince Al

Gore to make significant, positive changes in the Environmental Protection

Agency*s High Production Volume (HPV) chemical testing program. The next

step for activists is to convince Gore to restructure another component of

his *Chemical Right to Know Initiative * ----The Voluntary Children*s

Chemical Evaluation Program (VCCEP). Animal protectionists worry that the

VCCEP would lead to attempts to establish *safe* levels of industrial

chemical exposure for human children using heavy emphasis on animal testing,

which has dubious relevance to human health. For example, the VCCEP*S

current test for *developmental neurotoxicity* uses over 1,000 animals alone

AND has never been subject to the same rigorous, validation process that

new, non-animal tests are put through--- a clear double-standard.

Furthermore, many scientists and animal protectionists are questioning the

relevance of the results of rodent tests!

to human subjects. If left unchecked, the VCCEP may cause massive animal

suffering and death only to produce data of questionable validity.

WHAT YOU CAN DO: Please contact Vice President Gore (The Honorable Al Gore,

Vice President, The White House, Washington, DC, 20502,

vice.president, tel: 202-456-2326, fax: 202-456-7044) and

urge him to:

1) Eliminate the animal tests in the VCCEP and 2) Make the program more

relevant to children*s health ---- using approaches that emphasize

children*s exposure to potentially harmful substances, the health profiles

of highly exposed children, and the role of non-animal tests in identifying

adverse health effects.

 

WHALE HUNT RETURNING TO WASHINGTON: Gray whales are again being targeted for

slaughter in Washington state, as five families of the Makah tribe scramble

to be the first in the water for this year's whale hunt, sanctioned by the

U.S. Government as " cultural " whaling. Last year's spring hunt claimed the

life of a three-year old female gray whale who died after being stabbed with

a traditional harpoon and then being shot with very untraditional

..50-caliber bullets from an anti-tank rifle. This year, peaceful

anti-whaling protesters from around the world are again taking to the waters

to ensure the whales' safe passage on their northward migration route. This

year's hunt could result in the slaughter of up to five whales and the

wounding of many others.

WHAT YOU CAN DO: 1) Contact Al Gore (contact information listed above), and

tell him that the U.S. public and the international community do not

support this hunt, where there is no subsistence need. 2) Contact your

federal legislators and ask them to STOP THE HUNT, pending the outcome of

the present court action, filed on behalf of the whales by a coalition of

whale protection groups and supported with an amicus brief by The HSUS. Ask

that they " form a federal oversight committee to look into the legality of

allowing a whale hunt in a U.S. marine sanctuary " and without specific

recognition by the International Whaling Commission. Question the hundreds

of thousands of dollars in Federal funds paid to the Makah Whaling

Commission to support whaling in U.S. waters. (For the names of your

federal legislators, call The HSUS at 202 955-3666 or visit

www.vote-smart.org)

 

ICCVAM ACTION TIME: On Friday, April 14, Congressmen Ken Calvert (R-CA) and

Tom Lantos (D-CA) introduced H.R. 4281, the Interagency Coordinating

Committee on the Validation of Alternative Methods (ICCVAM) Authorization

Act, This bill will permanently establish ICCVAM and require federal

agencies to consider ICCVAM's recommendations on new test methods and

alternatives to animal tests unless they can prove that the animal test is

superior. This is the House companion bill to the Senate ICCVAM bill, S.

1495 which was introduced by Senator Mike DeWine (R-OH), and reported to you

in Issue #79 of Humanelines.

WHAT YOU CAN DO: Contact your Representatives and Senators TODAY and urge

them to co-sponsor H. R. 4281 and S. 1495! (For the names of your federal

legislators, call The HSUS at 202 955-3666 or visit www.vote-smart.org)

 

 

THANK YOU FOR MAKING A DIFFERENCE FOR ANIMALS --- TODAY!!

For more information on legislation, how to find your legislators, or past

HUMANElines, go to www.hsus.org or www.fund.org