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Federal bill would that would greatly reduce trapping needs the support of your representative.  HR 1581, introduced by New York Congresswoman Nita Lowey, would prohibit the sale of any fur obtained from steel-jawed traps.  Ask your representative (Washington DC 20515) to sign on as a cosponsor and support this bill.  If the skins can't be sold, there will be no incentive to trap.

The Makah have killed two whales with enthusiastic
assistance of the US Coastguard. The second whale was found dead with rope burn, torn flesh consistent with a harpoon wound, and holes consistent with the entry and exit of a bullet from the 50 cal. anti-tank gun used by the tribe.  The body washed ashore 90 miles south of Neah Bay indicating that the whale probably suffered for a long time.  Meanwhile, the Makah were dancing on the carcass of the friendly young female who had allowed the Makah to come close enough to jab their harpoon into her and follow up with their anti-tank weapon.  A harpoon may have grazed the back of a mother whale with calf, suggesting the possibility of two more deaths.

These atrocities took place with the assistance of US Coast Guard vessels and helicopters which had been helping to locate whales from the air.  Members of the Sea Defense Alliance and Sea Slhepherd were nevertheless successful in staying between the whales and their attackers until the Coast Guard seized their vessels, zodiacs and jetskis.
In true police state style the Coast Guard also detained crew members without charges and eventually arrested three of them.  It appears from skid marks that the driver of a Coast Guard vehicle tried to run down a protester on land.  Some members of the Coast Guard are highly supportive of the kill.  Others are upset.  One said he'd like to jump the rail and swim with the whales, but all have been forced to carry out orders from Washington regardless of personal feelings..

These events are the result of admiinistration policy formulated by Vice President Al Gore who should hear from you at the the White House (DC 20500).  Also, your representative (20515) and senators (20510).  Complain about the overactive participation of the Coast Guard at considerable taxpayer expense and emphasize that the Makah do NOT have permission from the International Whaling Commission to kill whales, a fact the media are reluctant to report.  Tell them you do not want to be a citizen of a whaling nation.  Letters to editors relaying this information would be helpful.

You may also wish to call the campaign office of Bill Bradley who is challenging Gore for the Democratic presidential nomination.  The toll free number is 1-888-643-9899.  Address: 395 Pleasant Valley Way, West Orange NJ 07052.  He could make Gore look even worse by taking a position against whaling.  Enough calls might persuade him to do so.

The worst of the Makah action is that other aboriginal tribes around the world are poised to resume whaling for "cultural" reasons.  One bright spot:  Glen Clark, Premier of British Columbia, where 10 tribes have declared their intention to resume whaling, has announced the province will not issue the necessary permits.  (Unfortunately, the federal government has jurisdiction on the sea.)  Also other tribes around the world have voiced their opposition to whaling.  Still other tribes have voiced their support for the Makah, however, one even sending a
canoe which the Coast Guard allowed inside its arbitrary exclusion zone.

To make matters still worse, the bodies of 65 gray whales have washed up along the shores of the Baja Peninsula, California and British Columbia, the most since 1924.  Half of these were adults and the rest at least yearlings, not the infants who have a mortality rate of 50%.  The cause for this die-off has not been determined for sure, but marine scientists theorize that ocean warming has changed marine ecology, adversely affecting the amphipods the whales feed on in the Bering Sea.  They do not feed at all during the months of their sojourn southward and would be likely to starve if they had not been able to take in enough food during the previous summer.

Japan allows killing of bottlenose whales in the Sea of Japan, which has been closed to whalers since 1972. A Japanese forestry and fisheries official who did not want to be identified told reporters that whales would be allowed to kill eight bottlenose whales up until the end of June.  Japanese whalers have been killing this species in the Pacific right along in defiance of the world moratorium.  Japanese have also been killing an average of 1800 Dall's porpoises every year according to the Environmental Investigation Agency.

"Second  Harvest" in tropical forests where logging roads provide human access to "bushmeat", i.e. any animals including gorillas, chimpanzees, monkeys, antelopes, elephants, etc.  The Wildlife Conservation Society based at the Bronx Zoo estimates that logging opens up 23,000 square miles of formerly inaccessible forest  for hunters and poachers by each year.  The market for "bush-meat" has grown with its availability.  One logging camp killed 1100 animals for its own consumption in just one year.  The problem is especially acute in Africa, Asia and Indonesia.  The only hope seems to be to convince local people and governments that they can earn more money from animal-watching tourists.  Smuggled chimpanzee and other primate flesh is being sold in Belgian restaurants and probably in other countries as well.  A mulltimillion baboon slaughterhouse is being proposed in South Africa, but latest word (May 24) is that it is "on hold".

Arizona Fish & Game plans aerial gunning campaign against coyotes to foster pronghorn population.  Besides being cruel and expensive, this campaign is useless for its intended purpose because coyote populations historically bounce back very quickly because more fertile young coyotes rush to claim territories previously held by less fertile older coyotes who were killed.  This plan was the advice of the Animal Damage Control (ADC) now euphemized as Wildlife Services. Colorado citizens have successfully opposed an aerial gunning campaign in their state.

Canned hunts threaten wildlife, domestic animals and humans with diseases like tuberculosis.  According to testimony before the Natural Resources Committee in the Louisiana House of Representatives by Dr Jim Guidry, assistant Secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals,  TB is endemic in Michigan deer, and the disease has been spread to domestic cows with the possibility that it can be passed on to humans associating with cows or ingesting products from unpasteurized cow milk.  Nevertheless, the committee defeated a bill (HB1034) that would have banned canned hunts by a vote of 9 to 3.  Two other bills, yet to be given hearings, have the potential to eliminate canned hunts in Louisiana.  Another house bill (HB1759) would ban translocation of wildlife for the purpose of canned hunts and senate bill (SB867) would prevent sending zoo animals to canned hunts.  Oregon is also considering a bill to ban canned hunts HB2564.  New York had a similar bill (A1738 & S3939A) but it was amended in deference to special trophy hunt interests so that it wound up doing more to sanctiion canned hunts than abolish them.

Canada's Fisheries Minister David Anderson is prepared to support a seal cull if anyone can prove that the seals are preventing the cod from making a comeback.  Earlier studies have shown cod to be a minor item compared to capelin in the seals' diet.

Turtles have become rare in Southeast Asia because of
Chinese demand for them.  As a result, the export of American turtles to Clhina has increased up to fourty times since 1900, according to a New York Times article, May 4, 1999.
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