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The Makah whale hunt looms darkly as everyone rejoices that Keiko is a big step closer to resuming his interrupted life in the wild. There has been little news coverage of this important international issue outside the state of Washington, space and time being taken up with President Clinton's although the media did stop gossiping long enough to report Keiko's transfer to a pen in his home waters off Iceland.

The Sea Shepherd Navy and a flotilla of small boats known as the Whale Guardians Network, have announced their intention to position themselves between the defenseless whales and the Makah, who will now be using power boats (and heavy duty .50 caliber rifles) instead of, or perhaps in addition to, their traditional cedar dugout canoes as originally proposed. The Coast Guard has announced its intention to maintain a 1500 foot exclusionary zone around the Makah and their boats in the interest of public safety. This will exclude citizens from a marine sanctuary and prevent full documentation of any Makah killing or wounding of whales that takes place.

At this point, the lawsuit to stop the hunt brought by Australians for Animals and Breach Marine Protection of the UK, and joined by Washington Congressman Jack Metcalf, is the best hope for a benign outcome. It is scheduled to be heard September 17. (It lost.)

Gray whales are bottom feeders and have high levels of heavy metals and other toxins in their flesh which could adversely affect Makah health. We've had two reports that much of the flesh of a baby gray whale, said to have been incidentally caught in fishing nets and butchered with the help of a visiting Alaskan native, wound up being dumped or used as dog food.

A cartoon by Horsey of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer gives another perspective to the Makah scene. Two kids have been sitting comfortably watching television. One cries out, "DAD! Why'd you do that?! I thought you were out harpooning a whale!" Dad, who has just sunk his harpoon into the TV set, replies: "I decided this was a better way to preserve our tribal culture."

Meanwhile, other tribes around the world, encouraged by Japanese whalers to join in the killing, await the outcome of the Makah campaign to kill whales for "cultural" purposes as opposed to actual subsistence needs. The International Whaling Commission recognizes only subsistence as a reason to kill whales.

Letters to Editors of local papers to acquaint people with this issue would be helpful at this time. Also letters to your representative and senators as well as the White House.

California anti-leghold initiative gives voters a chance to save over 30,000 animals a year from suffering and death. The referendum is opposed by ranchers, the wool industry, the National Audubon Society (sic!), and trappers. Leaflets and stickers to help voters to realize the importance of Proposition 4 are available free of charge from PROPAW

310-441-1499 1388 Westwood Blvd. Los Angeles CA 90025.

Email: <propaw@ix.netcom.com>

Florida Department of Environmental Protection uses steel traps to eradicate coyotes in St. Joseph Peninsula State Park Wilderness Preserve under a permit from US Fish & Wildlife Service. According to a park ranger, traps are set and left unchecked for 3 or 4 days at a time , and the animals are inhumanely shot several times with a .22 rifle. Non-target animals caught have included beavers, bobcats, deer, foxes and raccoons. The purpose of this procedure is to protect the eggs in sea turtle nest, which are covered by a "flat piece of wire mesh" with nothing to prevent predators from getting at the nest from the side. It seems as if a better-designed excluding device would keep the eggs safe and avoid killing predators whose population will keep being replenished in any case,but the ranger I spoke to said the coyotes steal the eggs as they are being laid. If you have any ideas on this, Anne Harvey is park managers Address: St. Joseph Peninsula State Park,

8899 Cape San Blas Road, Port St. Joe FL 32456. Tel. 850-227-1372 or 850-229-8308.

Department of Defense threatens pronghorn survival in Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge. Despite warnings from the US Fish & Wildlife Service that the Defense Department's proposed aircraft training exercises over this Arizona "refuge" would threaten wildlife there, including the remaining 200 Sonoran pronghorn antelopes, flight training from the Marine Corps Air Station at Yuma would allow jet fighters to roar as low as 200 feet above the refuge and helicopters to hover within 50 feet of the desert floor despite the fact that the Barry M.Goldwater Air Force Range, extending from Yuma almost to Casa Grande, close to half-way across Arizona, lies just north of the "refuge".

Fur farm animals liberated by ALF. In just 11 days in August, the Animal Liberation Front freed 13,000 minks and 330 foxes from fur farms in Minnesota and Iowa. While it it was a worthy objective to save these animals from early, and most likely painful, execution and give them a chance to live in the wild, we question the advisability of releasing such large numbers of predators all in one place. They are likely to wipe out local populations of rabbits, woodchucks, squirrels and other small rodents as well as fish and amphibians before dispersing more widely in their search for food. Putting this drawback aside, these actions constitute a major deterrent to fur farming. Whether by coincidence or design, similar releases have occurred in Britain, Sweden, Finland and the Netherlands. The summer has also seen intensive and sustained campaigning against fur stores, especially in New Jersey. Just in: 7,000 more mink freed from one farm in Britain.

United Arab Emirate bans bird and rabbit hunting. As of August 23, Sheik Saqr Mohammed al-Qassimi has banned wild bird and rabbit hunting in Ras al-Khaimah, an area of 656 square miles, to preserve wildlife and the environment. Penalties for first time offenders: vehicle impoundment and two days in jail. Repeat offenders will be jailed for a month and fined 5,0000 dirhams ($1,362).

Salmon farming opposed. The David Suzuki Foundation is paying $960 a month for two billboards alerting the public to the fact that farmed fish are injected with drugs. "Scientific studies show open net cage salmon farms threaten both human health and the viability of fragile wild salmon stocks" according to foundation director, Jim Fulton.

California condors fly where they please. Thanks to a captive breeding program, 15 of these giant birds are sailing over Arizona and Utah on their 9-foot wing spans making it difficult for their guardians to track them. They have been seen at Lake Powell and Bryce and Zion National Parks, an awesome treat for visitors.

Peregrines unendangered. Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt pointed with pride to the successful effort to bring back peregrine falcons after most of them had been wiped out by DDT. He was less clear about the status of the wolves in Minnesota, Michigan and Wisconsin whom he proposed removing from the list, however.

Manitoba tightens policy on placing polar bears in zoos. The province will henceforth send only orphaned cubs with little chance of survival in the wild to live in zoos. Only zoos with good facilities will be eligible and they will be subject to subsequent monitoring. Play facilities are a requirement. Polar bears reproduce in captivity and some zoos are guilty of ditching older cubs to make room for the new babies. Manitoba's new policy is an admirable one, however. Meanwhile, British Columbia still permits hunters to kill grizzlies. Contrary to government estimates of 10,000-13,000, the Environmental Investigation Agency estimates BC populations may be as low as 4,000. Last year hunters killed 212. In 1996, they killed 363.

Washita National Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma offers a "quality" goose hunt to hunters selected in a drawing. The "refuge"provides 10 blinds for use on seven two-day weekends. The "refuge" is a major stopover and wintering area. In addition to an estimated 100,000 Canada geese, sandhill cranes will be fair game.

Ohio voters have a chance to stop morning dove shooting by voting in favor of issue #1 on the November ballot.

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