Liberty
Matters News Service
May 11, 2005
PETA Kills Puppies and Kittens
The Center for Consumer Freedom (CCF) delights in exposing the hypocrisy that flows from the bowels of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals ( PETA) and its latest discovery should be of great interest to the animal lovers who so generously support their organization. CCF reports that PETA "has been running its own doggie death chamber since at least July 1998. Through the end of 2003, PETA killed over 10,000 dogs, cats, puppies and kittens at its Norfolk, Virginia headquarters." These are the animals PETA insists must be called "companion animals," not pets. Ingrid Newkirk, PETA's founder, told the Associated Press, last year, that they simply could not afford to care for all the animals. "We could become a no-kill shelter immediately," she said. It isn't that PETA doesn't have the money to do so, either. Last year alone, it raked in over $29 million in donations, but preferred to spend it on silly ad campaigns equating people who eat chicken with Nazis and scaring little kids with lurid comic books depicting mommies hacking little animals into pieces. For more information visit: PETAKills Animals.com .
Poster Bird for Environmental Lawsuits
Two environmental groups have wasted no time gearing up the threat of lawsuits on behalf of the newly "rediscovered" Ivory-billed woodpecker. The National Wildlife Federation and Arkansas Wildlife Federation filed a formal challenge with the Army Corps of Engineers requesting the Corps consult with U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service before proceeding with the Grand Prairie Demonstration Irrigation Project. The $320 million irrigation project, the first phase of which is already under way, is designed to help over 200 farmers create more efficient irrigation systems. The second phase would help over 900 farmers, who have drawn down their aquifers, get water for their rice crops. The project would draw an estimated 158 billion gallons of water from the White River system where the woodpecker has reportedly arisen, Phoenix-like, from its extinction. The groups argue that any significant reduction in water flow could adversely affect the habitat of the bird. If the Corps does not adequately respond, the environmentalists could sue. House Resource Committee spokesman, Brian Kennedy said he wouldn't be surprised if they use the bird's "rediscovery" as an excuse to run to the courts. However, Kennedy noted, "[T]his bird was rediscovered in an area that was open to hunting, recreation and virtually all forms of unfettered access, which proves there can be coexistence between human activity and wildlife."
Enviros prepare challenges to protect ivory-billed woodpecker
Administration Pitches Roadless Ball to States
The Bush administration announced last week it would allow Governors to petition the Department of Agriculture to remove roadless limits in national forests allowing logging and mineral production. Western states' Governors and industry groups believe the new rule will lead to a more balanced use of national forests with expanded community and state involvement. Environmental groups don't like it, of course. Chris Wood, now with Trout Unlimited, who helped draft the Clinton rule said, "[B]ack when the rule was promulgated, energy prices weren't nearly as high as they are now. I think you'll see increased oil and gas drilling because of the market." The roadless rule is an administrative rulemaking that House Democrats hope to make permanent through legislation. "A salient underlying assumption the White House made is that the national forests belong only to the people who live within those states," said Rep. Jay Inslee, (D-WA), an avowed foe of the administration's changes. House Resource Committee Chairman, Richard Pombo, (R-CA), likes the change saying; "I appreciate the administration's efforts to move the dialogue over the management of our public forests further from the political bickering in Washington ... and closer to the people that live, work and recreate on and near these lands."
Roadless rule's repeal spurs a new round of
battles
Cranberry Farmer Fights Feds
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is
hounding cranberry farmer, Charles Johnson, for building bogs on fifty acres of
his property without seeking permission. The agency claims the bogs jeopardize
the Beaver Dam Brook, a foot and a half deep stream, that is, according to EPA,
a "navigable water" because it eventually flows into the Weweantic River that
empties into Buzzards Bay. Mr. Johnson has spent over $700,000 fighting the
agency that he says has no authority to regulate his business. EPA has fined
Johnson $75,000 and has ordered him to spend $1.1 million to restore 25 acres
of the wetlands. "[T]here's nothing "navigable" about a cranberry bog," said
Greg Broderick with the Pacific Legal Foundation, who is helping Johnson carry
on his fight. Johnson is infuriated with the government's assertion saying;
"You throw a leaf in it…[I]f it moves, it's navigable." Furthermore, he
considers the EPA to be nothing but "bullying bureaucrats" with no real
knowledge of his land or farming. Johnson vows to keep fighting, even if he
winds up destitute and the government surely won't relinquish the fight until
it has extracted its pound of flesh. Ann Williams, EPA's regional attorney says
Johnson has chosen to defy the law and therefore must pay. "What he's really
saying is he doesn't like what the law says and he doesn't feel like
complying."
Cranberry farmer challenges EPA rules as
intrusive