WFSA Current News - February, 2003 

February 26, 2003

Ivory concerns of Kenya
            In 2002, CITES, the UN Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, voted to allow a limited sale of some ivory, to be taken out of stockpiles existing in Africa .
            Kenya when viewed alongside other countries worldwide is very unusual in its continued opposition to managed seasonal taking of game animals. With hunting bans existing right across the board, it has long held the position that sale of any ivory will encourage poaching.
            UN Wire today reports news of a poached ivory haul from near the Ethiopian border. It is interesting that this, said to be the largest since 2000, is linked by the report with the Kenyan assertion that any relaxation of ivory sales, no matter how controlled, is liable to lead to an increase in poaching.
            However, the report also very sensibly goes on to raise the question of whether existing laws in Kenya are sufficient to deter poaching. It suggests that penalties are not large enough to deter poachers, considering the possible monetary profits.
            Other African countries in general are becoming ever more inclined to emphasize the considerable benefits to be gleaned from sustainable use of wildlife, while at the same time continuing a blanket condemnation of all illegal and unregulated hunting.
            The story can be found at: http://www.unfoundation.org/unwire/current.asp#32248

February 11, 2003

Children forbidden to spell ‘gun’
            While the Canadian public continues to learn of insurmountable difficulties with the proposed registration of all guns, reported earlier on this website, an article in the National Post today by Sarah Ruttan describes what can only be called a new level of hysteria about guns.
            The article explains how parents from Ontario have complained to Lombardy Public School about their seven-year-old daughter being asked to spell the word gun.
            The mother, Amanda Sousa, denied the role of political correctness and said instead that she is simply protecting her daughter from violence. Mrs. Sousa is reported to have become even more concerned when she discovered that her daughter’s spelling list carried pictures of the words on it, so that her daughter was in effect carrying a picture of a gun.
            A public officer for the school board also became involved pursuant to the complaint, and when he removed the offending word from children’s spelling lists he made a statement to indicate one difficulty, namely that there is a great deal in the current Canadian news about what he artfully called “blank registration” – saying that he did not want to offend anybody by using the forbidden word again.
            The reader may pause here to wonder what name will be given to the tools which the locals will no doubt continue to hunt with, just as they have for the last two centuries. More to the point is the question of how they will explain the activity to their children.

February 3, 2003

US academic conference for eco-terrorists
            The behaviour of dark green environmental activists is not widely reported in some countries, but in many it is a matter of concern. An article by Bruce S. Thompson, writing in Frontpage.com, has described the way that Fresno State University in California has planned a February seminar hosting such groups to appear in debate with academics. Its title is “Revolutionary Environmentalism: a Dialogue between Activists and Academics”.
            In recent years, there have been many violent and damaging attacks on institutions that are perceived by some radical animal rights groups as deserving it. These include such diverse targets as butcher shops, parking lots, office buildings and manufacturers of leather goods. Individuals have been singled out also. One such group, calling itself The Justice Department, is named by the article as sending letters lined with razor blades dipped in rat poison to Canadians working as hunting guides and researchers. Asserting all life forms to be of equal value, such activists are in their own minds justified in pursuing animal rights at virtually any cost. Many have been jailed.
            Those in countries where there are larger rather than smaller numbers of people still deriving a living directly from the earth would find it difficult to imagine the degree of violence, potential and actual, encouraged by some groups purporting to stand for animal rights. They are seen by authorities as an increasing threat to public security. Physical assaults and arson are common, as is the harassment of hunters and fishermen. There are environmental activist internet websites that encourage physical attacks, naming and otherwise identifying employees of potential target organizations. Two groups alone, named in the article as the Earth Liberation Front and the Animal Liberation Front, have been directly responsible for over $40 million worth of damage. Both these groups are expected to be represented at the conference.
            The article makes clear its argument that the university is culpable if it continues with what appears to be a de facto attempt to legitimize radical environmentalism.
            The text in full can be found at: http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=5865 .