UARC News and Events >> 5 March 06

Sun Mar 5 15:27:58 MST 2006

Hi Everyone,

Here is some news of the goings on in the Utah Animal Rights Coalition. In This E-Mail:

  * Calendar of Events
  * Legislature
  * In the News

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### CALENDAR OF EVENTS ###
  ( UARC lists other groups' events in our calendar as a service to the community, for solidarity with others fighting for animal liberation.  PETA, VFS, ARM and Ching Farm are not affiliated with UARC. )

Sunday, 5th (tonight)
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- 6:00 PM - Monthly Vegan Potluck w/ The Oscars;  to be held at Ben and Leici's home at 1585 S. 900 E.  Bring a vegan potluck dish to serve 12 (small portions).  RSVP to Eric (560-8238, ewaters at uarc.com) if you'll be coming.  We'll have on Jon Stewart hosting the Oscars if you're interested in watching.

Monday, 6th
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- 7:00 PM - UARC Steering meeting at The Bridge (512 W. 200 S.).  All are welcome.

Wednesday, 8th
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- 1:30 PM - High school leafletting.  Meet at The Bridge to carpool to a to-be-decided High School where you will help pass out animal rights leaflets and/or CDs.  Contact Jason (jasonh at uarc.com) for more details.
- 7:00 PM - EarthSave monthly potluck at the Downtown Wild Oats

Saturday, 11th
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- 12:00 Noon - VFS fur demo at L'Ours Blanc furs
- Ching Farm cooking class at the Fort Union Wild Oats

Sunday, 12th
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- 5:00 PM - SOAR weekly meeting

### LEGISLATURE ###

The session ended on Wednesday.  The final outcomes:

* HB 61 - Criminal Penalty for Animal Cruelty - Wyatt, S. - SUPPORT

  DIDN'T PASS - didn't make it out of the Senate Rules Committee.  Hopefully will be put forward again next year.

* HB 95 - Individual Income Tax Contribution for Community Spay and Neuter Programs - Noel, M. - SUPPORT

  DIDN'T PASS - last minute minor amendment forced it to go to the House for approval, and didn't have enough time to finish up.

* HB 328 - Eliminating the Age Requirement for Hunting Small Game - Oda, C. - OPPOSE

  PASSED in the last hours of the session.

* HB 329 - Age Amendments for Hunting Big Game - Oda, C. - OPPOSE

  DIDN'T PASS - didn't make it out of the Senate Rules Committee.

Thanks for everyone who spoke with their representatives about these bills.

### IN THE NEWS ###

Monday
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* Ranchers asked to buy wild horses
  Older animals that were culled from range must be sold
  http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,635187910,00.html
BILLINGS, Mont. ? The U.S. Bureau of Land Management and a ranchers' group are asking thousands of Western cattlemen to consider buying older wild horses that have been culled from the range. ...

Tuesday
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* Ringling Bros. infiltrated, wiretapped PETA, jury told
  http://www.sltrib.com/nationworld/ci_3554156
The Ringling Bros. circus infiltrated animal rights groups, stole sensitive internal documents and illegally wiretapped circus opponents as part of a national conspiracy to disrupt animal rights groups, a lawyer told a Fairfax County, Va., jury Monday.
  The allegations by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals launched a trial five years in the making. It also culminates a lengthy legal battle between PETA and Kenneth Feld, whose family has owned the circus for nearly 40 years. ...

* Caution after report of cougar
  http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,635188044,00.html
EAGLE MOUNTAIN ? Utah's Division of Wildlife Resources is urging Eagle Mountain residents to be cautious even though conservation officers have not been able to confirm a reported cougar sighting in the west desert city.
  "We didn't find any evidence of any cougars at all," said Chad Bettridge, a DWR conservation officer. "I'm not saying that there wasn't one there, but the sighting we were given was already a week old, and we were unable to find any tracks." ...

* Climbers at Zion must make way for falcon nests
  http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,635188097,00.html
ST. GEORGE ? Several popular climbing routes in Zion National Park will be closed this week so that peregrine falcons can set up housekeeping along the sheer cliff walls.
  "Zion is considered a core population area for the peregrine falcons," said Jeff Bradybaugh, the park's resource management chief. "This area probably produces more young birds for dispersal outside the park than come into the park." ...

* Beluga whales disappearing from Alaska waters
  http://www.sltrib.com/utah/ci_3554088
ANCHORAGE, Alaska - The white whales of Cook Inlet that have delighted locals and tourists for decades are slowly disappearing and perhaps headed toward extinction. ...

* County seeks consultant for prairie dog plan
  http://www.thespectrum.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060227/NEWS01/602270307/1002
CEDAR CITY - The Iron County Commissioners will interview three companies at the meeting on Monday to find a consultant who can assist them in enhancing the prairie dog habitat conservation plan.
  Iron County Commissioner Dennis Stowell said they have been working on a new plan and the consultant will help them figure out what to do. Grant money was obtained to pay for the consultant as well. ...

Friday
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* 7 California condors set free near Utah border
  http://www.sltrib.com/utah/ci_3564833
PHOENIX - Seven California condors soared over northern Arizona skies Thursday to join their species in reclaiming a place in the world.
  Conservationists who have been working for decades to save the condor from extinction released the endangered birds at the Vermilion Cliffs National Monument, near the Arizona-Utah border. ...

Sunday
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* Animal rights leafleteers sue state
  http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,635189417,00.html
Two members of the Utah Animal Rights Coalition are suing a number of state agencies after a Utah Highway Patrol trooper told them to stop handing out political leaflets outside the state Capitol except to people who approached them and asked for a leaflet.
  Eric Waters and David Berg, both UARC members represented by Salt Lake attorney Brian Barnard, claim in a federal lawsuit that their First Amendment rights were violated when they attempted to distribute the material. ...
  (Editor: for a copy of the leaflet we passed out, visit http://demeter.uarc.com/~ewaters/hunting_leafleting.pdf)

* Defective mice big business for mouse ranchers
  Research: With genes so similar to humans, the rodents are bred with specific genetic defects for use in targeted studies
  http://www.sltrib.com/nationworld/ci_3571264
A technician holds a laboratory mouse at the Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor, Maine. The lab ships more than two million mice a year to qualified researchers.
  BAR HARBOR, Maine - When it comes to the price of mice, you pay extra for defects. ...

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That's it for this week.  Thanks for reading!