Day: December 27, 2002

Maneka Gandhi Removed from Indian Animal Testing Panel

Earlier this year I wrote about an upsurge in Hindu nationalism in India that, among other things, was helping drive an animal rights agenda in government. Spearheading that was Maneka Gandhi, who was chairperson of India’s Central Committee for the Purpose of Control and Supervision of Experiments on Animals and using her position to block scientific research.

This week, however, Gandhi was removed from her position as chair of this committee. The position was temporarily handed over to V.K. Duggal, Special Secretary in the Union Environment and Forests Ministry, until a permanent replacement can be named.

Gandhi had been removed from the Union Cabinet in July 2002 after she came up on the losing end of a debate over animal research with then-Union Health Minister C.P. Thakur.

Thanks to Gandhi’s role in impeding animal research, a number of important initiatives, including production of vaccines, have fallen behind schedule.

The official reason for Gandhi’s removal from the committee was that a Member of Parliament could not hold this sort of committee post, but it was also clear that the government wanted to install someone less extremist in her views. Union Environment Minister T.R. Baalu told The Hindu that the government would be looking for a chairperson who would better balance animal welfare concerns with the need for animal research.

Source:

Maneka removed from panel monitoring tests on animals. P. Sunderarajan, The Hindu, December 24, 2002.

Maneka Gandhi divested of post of Chairperson of Committee. OutlookIndia.Com, December 23, 2002.

Michael James Scarpitti aka Tre Arrow Added to FBI's Most Wanted List

The FBI has added Michael James Scarpitti, aka Tre Arrow, to its December Most Wanted List. Scarpitti is wanted in connection with a series of Earth Liberation Front arsons in Oregon. In its press release announcing Scarpitti’s addition to the list, the FBI said,

Michael James Scarpitti, also known as Tre Arrow, is wanted for his alleged involvement in the deliberate setting of a fire at a sand and gravel company in Portland, Oregon, on April 15, 2001. As a result of the arson, three concrete mixing trucks were damaged by incendiary devices and the damage was estimated to be more than $200,000. Scarpitti was indicted by a federal grand jury in Oregon and charged with four felonies for this crime on October 18, 2002.

Scarpitti is also wanted for his alleged involvement in an arson which occurred at a logging company in Eagle Creek, Oregon, on June 1, 2001. The remains of four incendiary devices were found at the scene along with four unexploded devices. As a result of this incident, two logging trucks and a front loader were damaged. Scarpitti was indicted for this crime by a federal grand jury in Oregon on August 13, 2002.

Scarpitti is a longtime environmental activist with an extensive history of involvement in anti-logging tree sits and other related protests. He is known to be affiliated with the Earth Liberation Front (ELF), which is a loosely organized movement whose stated objective is to stop the destruction of the natural environment and the exploitation of the earth’s natural resources through whatever means are necessary. Law enforcement authorities consider the ELF to be a domestic terrorism group.

There is a $25,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Scarpitti. Anyone with information about Scarpitti’s whereabouts should contact their local FBI office.

Source:

Michael James Scarpitti: Wanted By The FBI. Federal Bureau of Investigations, Press Release, December 2002.