Day: August 11, 2003

BBC on Afghanistan Trade in Furs of Endangered Animals

The BBC reported in July that there is a flourishing trade in the furs of endangered animals in Afghanistan.

BBC reporter Jannat Jalil reports that such stores are allowed to operate openly because the new Afghanistan government has not yet finalized a law to outlaw the practice. In addition, the influx of foreigners with the United Nations, other NGOs, and an international peacekeeping force has created a market for such furs.

Environment Minister Yousef Nouristani told the BBC,

“We have asked most of the foreigners not to buy these things and if there is not a market from the foreigners the Afghan people probably don’t need it,” he says.

“It’s the market created by the foreigners — particularly those who are working with the UN or other NGOs.”

Jalil suggests that even snow leopards might be killed for their fur. There are only an estimated 100 or so snow leopards in Afghanistan. He reports going into a story in Kabul and asking about snow leopard fur. The response from the shop keeper was that he had already sold out of such furs. In another shop she finds snow leopard fur for sale, but the shop keeper insists the furs are 10-15 years old.

Source:

Afghans flout fur ban. Jannat Jalil, The BBC, July 21, 2003.

Animal Rights Activist Sues Over Ejection/Arrest from Circus

Animal rights activist Rita Ross, 63, has filed a $3.5 million lawsuit after she was ejected from a New York performance of the Clyde Beatty-Cole Bros. Circus.

Clyde Beatty representatives ended up calling the police to deal with Ross on July 12, 2002. She was arrested on charges of resisting arrest, disorderly conduct and trespass. Ross is suing the circus and the private security firm at the mall where the circus performed.

Ross claims she was targeted because of her animal rights views. The New York Journal News excerpted part of her lawsuit that reads,

The defendants . . . determined among themselves that persons who harbored beliefs concerning certain deference and respect toward animals displayed and shown at the circus presentation of defendant Clyde Beatty-Cole Bros. Circus were to be deemed suspicious and must be excluded and removed from the property.

But according to Clyde Beatty-Cole vice president of administration Renee Story, the circus attempted to eject Ross only after she had repeatedly left her seat and rushed toward the animals to take photographs. The circus employees considered Ross’ behavior disruptive and potentially unsafe and, according to Story, “Several times she was escorted back to her seat.”

The New York Journal News reports that,

After the performance, Storey said, Ross screamed at staff members giving elephant rides and the patrons taking them.

Yeah, it sounds like Clyde Beatty-Cole employees didn’t have any good reason at all to call police to remove Ross from the premises.

Sources:

Putnam woman sues circus. Cara Matthews, New York Journal News, July 21, 2003.

Animal-rights activist sues circus over ejection. Associated Press, July 21, 2003.