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Wildlife could be subjected to hunting in National Parks and Monuments if Sec. Babbitt decides to let Hopi tribe remove eaglets from Wupatki National Monument near Flagstaff AZ. An article in the LA Times reported that Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt was considering granting a Hopi request to take baby eagles from Wupatki National Monument back to their reservation where they would eventually be suffocated as part of a religious ceremony. He needs to hear from the public that it doesn't want any further violation of its parks or other public lands for any reason whatever. The Coalition to Protect Animals in Parks and Refuges was formed in 1983. Despite an auspicious start, it lacked the funds to raise enough voices to counteract the chorus of demands from of those who saw the refuges as ideal places to hunt and trap. This time we must have enough voices. How many can you generate? More info at http://www.linkny.com/~civitas Write to:

Bruce Babbitt, Secretary tel 202-208-6956; fax 202-205-3100

Department of the Interior

1849 C Street NW

Washington DC 20240

Antarctic krill population said to be down by 75%, i.e. only 25% remain. Krill comprise the major food of whales and penguins in the Antarctic Ocean. Scientists attribute this particular problem to the hole in the ozone layer, but it typifies basic changes occurring in the food chain of all the seas brought about by the global warming. trend, pollution, and over-fishing.

Congress and the National Marine Fisheries Service are considering a ban on long-line fishing in the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean from South Carolina south. They hope to slow the rapid decline in migratory species like tuna, swordfish, billfish. and sharks. The miles-long lines of baited hooks are also killing sea birds and other species of fish..

Prescott AZ successfully stood up to the AZ Game & Fish Department by opposing translocation of Willow Lake antelope. F&G claims antelope have lost too much forage to development and wants to move them to another area. Mayor Sam Steiger and council are unanimously of the opinion the antelope will migrate on their own if food becomes scarce. F&G expressed concern that council wouldn't be able to "manage" them, but latest news is that F&G will settle for ear tags (like domestic cows) and radio collars for as many of the 65 member herd as they can catch.

Elephant slaughter resumes with lifting of ivory trade ban. As feared, poachers began killing elephants with automatic weapons once the market for their tusks was reopened. Park rangers were more likely to be armed with ordinary rifles.

23 baby elephants rescued from abusive training and sale to zoos. Despite the best efforts of an international consortium of animal protection organizations led by the National Council of Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in South Africa to prevent it, seven of the original 30 babies captured in Botswana were shipped to European zoos. More happily, 14 now live in Marakele National Park, SA, and 9 are on a private preserve. A wild herd has adopted some of them. All were rescued from a South African wildlife dealer who hired mahouts to train them. The mahouts chained and beat the bewildered babies, already suffering from separation from their mothers. The purpose of this cruel treatment is to establish dominance.

Wolves to be released in New Mexico. USFWS plans to transfer wolves from Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest in Arizona to Gila National Forest in New Mexico where there will be fewer cattle producers to object to them. They are running out of release sites in Arizona.

Cloned panda embryo causes controversy. The World Wide Fund fears that the embryo, cloned from cells of dead female panda inserted into a rabbit egg, will, if carried to term in a surrogate mother, detract from efforts to save pandas in the wild: "The continued survival of the panda is threatened by the destruction of its habitat--no amount of tinkering in laboratories will help reduce this threat, which is paramount," according to WWF Hong Kong director David Melville.

NATO bombing caused long-term pollution in Jugoslavia. The beautiful blue Danube is lined with mercury and polluted with ammonia, ethylene dicholoride, hydrogen chloride and crude oil. The fish kills were describe as lying like "big carpets on the water". Migratory patterns of birds were disturbed along with general habitat destruction. Chemicals including dioxin are still leaking from bombed factories. Bulgaria also suffered as the polluted Danube flowed through that country on its way to the Black Sea.

Elk Island National Park in Alberta auctioned off 30 threatened wood bison. At least 13 were bought by organizations that run hunting preserves. Prices ranged from $2,000 to $6,000 each. The park had more bison than it could accommodate and funds wee lacking to send the animals to join wild herds in the North.

Over-fishing of salmon lethal for grizzlies. The Indian coastal village Oweekeno, British Columbia was forced to kill nine grizzlies who were trying to break into houses in search of food. The bears were starving because their principal source of food for storing up fat to survive the winter is salmon, and salmon have been severely depleted from human over-fishing and environmental changes such as stream siltation

caused by clear-cutting forests. One salmon run was reduced from 200,000 to 5,000, another from 300,000 to 10,000. Click here for details about erstwhile peaceful relationship between bears and people.

Beeping collar reduces bird mortality caused by cats. The British Trust for Ornithology estimates that the average cat kills an average of one bird a week. Wearing a collar that emits a faint beep every seven seconds reduces bird morality per cat to one every 2.5. Weeks. In the US, 73 million cats are estimated to kill 1.4 billion birds annually. The collar does not appear to affect mice. The company, Willana Lifesciences, has EU grants to investigate various sounds as alerts for different species. Ornithologists are opposed to free-ranging cats as are many cat advocates.

British hunt groups' Countryside Alliances gets $750,000 international support and is establishing a North American chapter. By lumping their sport of chasing foxes, deer, otters and minks to their death with other outdoor pursuits, the small minority of British hunt supporters mustered a spectacular 250,000 supporters for its London protest march in 1998. Blood sports proponents in other countries view the Countryside Alliance as the frontline defense in preserving their sport. Members of the North American chapter have pledged to contribute a minimum of $2000 a year. The US Masters of the Foxhounds Association asserts that any ban of blood sports would be "a major abuse of human rights".

Mink farmer fined $24,000 for polluting streams. The Washington Department of Ecology found mink manure in storm water runoff and septic tank discharges from the Marr Mink Farm. It also found E. coli in septic tank discharges from the place where meat and eggs are processed for mink food.

Oklahoma has managed its deer population to a point where the doe/buck ratio is as high as 15 and even 20 in some areas. This is a prime example of what game management is all about. The situation is hard to remedy because hunters are reluctant to shoot antlerless animals.