Guest guest Posted April 16, 2001 Report Share Posted April 16, 2001 I'm sure of some interest to you... > > Man finds burning rabbits running from South Bay field > > The Associate Press > Web-posted: 10:10 a.m. Feb. 19, 2001 > > A New Jersey man on his way to the Florida Keys found hundreds of > rabbits on > fire fleeing a burning sugar cane field, authorities said. > > The man, Robert Powell, 27, was on U.S. 27 driving through > South Bay, a > small town south of Lake Okeechobee, when he saw the rabbits run > onto the > highway. > > " The sky was filled with turkey buzzards swooping down and > feeding on > them while they were smoldering, " Powell said. " They were squealing > in pain > and jumping into water. I couldn't believe it. " > > Powell said he tried to rescue several of the creatures, but > was forced > to club some of them to death with a rock because they were burned > so bad. > One rabbit hopped to him, allowing him to put it in a milk > crate in his > car, drive to a pay phone and call wildlife officials for help. > > Unable to get in touch with anyone, he then took the animal > to a > shelter in Big Pine Key, where it was treated with fluid and > antibiotics. > > A veterinarianin Big Pine Key said the rabbit had a 50 percent > chance of > survival. > > Belle Glade fire officials said the sugar-cane field was set > on fire by > nearby sugar companies that were trying to clear excess trees to > prepare for > harvest. > > Authorities said that despite complaints from people, the > practice is > not illegal. > > ***************** > > http://www.freep.com/news/nw/rabbit7_20010307.htm > > Florida's rabbit rundown > > Blazing sugarcane sparks debate about harvest being cruel to > animals > > March 7, 2001 > BY WILLIAM YARDLEY > KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS > > BELLE GLADE, Fla. -- Tarence Oliver knows sugarcane will erupt into > a field > of fire every winter. He knows smoke will fill the sky as growers > burn the > green foliage off the cane to prepare for harvest. > > Oliver, 24, knows one more thing -- the rites of a century-old > ritual in the > sugar sanctuary near Lake Okeechobee. > > He knows when the rabbits will run. > > Ready with a gun, a stick, a dog or bare hands, Oliver and many > others > younger and older than he will be there in the field for the > so-called > rundown, meeting the cottontails and muck rabbits as they flee the > flames. > > But now, just as cane burning is reaching its seasonal peak, just > as rabbit > hunting is at its best, an unwelcome spotlight is shining on the > sugar > companies and the traditions of the small towns sitting between the > levee of > Lake Okeechobee and more than 400,000 acres of cane fields at its > edge. > > The aggressive animal-rights group, People for the Ethical > Treatment of > Animals, is demanding a boycott of U.S. Sugar, one of the largest > growers, > accusing the company of cruelty to animals after a man passing > through > reported seeing bunnies burning as they fled a field. > > While a boycott may have little impact on sugar sales, it is > drawing > attention to a peculiar culture. It is one where people who have > been the > bedrock of the region's workforce created a tradition of rabbit > hunting in > the cane fields that has endured for as long as the growers have > been burning > cane. > > " It's the whole culture of the people out there, " said Lt. John > Reed, a > wildlife officer for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission who > monitors > hunting in the area. > > Residents boast that the quickness required to catch rabbits is why > the area > has produced so many good athletes. > > Most of what the hunters catch they will sell for as little as $2 > per animal > on a corner in Belle Glade. If the hunters make the trip to Miami > or Ft. > Lauderdale, they can get as much as $5 for a fine fat cottontail. > The rest, > they fry or grill or add to soup or stew. > > Hunting any kind of rabbit without a license is illegal in Florida, > but Reed > said he chooses his battles. > > " It's been going on for 100 years, and we're not going to bust a > 13-year-old > kid, " Reed said. " If we catch them selling it, that's a different > ball game. " > > That is why one hunter will give his name only as " the rabbit man " > as he > lifts a mottled muck rabbit from a pile of dozens to the nail > hammered > head-high into the utility pole outside his front door. > > Residents say the rabbit man finds rabbits year-round, whether the > cane is > burning or not. The rabbit man says very little, only that he is 69 > and > retired from the cane fields. > > He points to his young partner working one pole over. " He's the > rabbit man, > too. " > The rabbit man turns the rabbit upside down, pressing the flesh of > one foot > through the nailhead, so the rabbit hangs from it. He cuts from the > ankle, > peeling the skin in a whole piece down the length of its body and > away. > > He is careful to leave the fur on at least one foot. > > " So they'll know it ain't no cat. " > > Rabbit is a delicacy for some, particularly cottontail. > > Short-eared muck rabbits are most common in the cane, and they > likely are > what Robert Powell saw running from a burning field when he stopped > in South > Bay, Fla., on his way from New Jersey to Key West on Feb. 15. > > " I couldn't believe it, " Powell was quoted as saying in a story in > the Key > West Citizen. " The sky was filled with turkey buzzards swooping > down and > feeding on them while they were smoldering. They were squealing in > pain and > jumping into water. " > > Within a week, PETA announced its boycott, focusing on the growers, > not the > rabbit hunters. > > " We're asking growers to find an alternative to burning, " said PETA > wildlife > biologist Stephanie Boyles. " Why would I want to isolate local > rabbit hunters > when there are people all over the country who kill rabbits? " > > U.S. Sugar is not bending. The company argues that its cycle of > burning > improves the habitat and that the noise and smoke give bunnies > plenty of > warning to get out. > > They also question whether Powell really saw what he said he did. > " While we > regret that any creature might be harmed, we believe that recent > reports have > been greatly exaggerated, " the company said in a statement. > > Regardless of the boycott, the rabbit men will find plenty of > customers. > > " This has been going on for years and years, millions and millions > of > rabbits, " the younger rabbit man said. " And all of a sudden, > somebody wants > to say something. 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Guest guest Posted April 18, 2001 Report Share Posted April 18, 2001 In a message dated 4/18/2001 12:14:30 PM Pacific Daylight Time, isabelle240 writes: > If we boycott U.S. sugar, what kind of sugar should we buy? South American? > Asian? Yeah right, like THEY will treat animals (and human beings, for that > matter) with more respect. Don't see the forest for the trees... > -Belle > There are much better options for sweeteners than sugar anyway! Most of the refined isn't vegan. I've done away with it all together. C *************************************************** " People of other genders, races and even age groups were once treated as property in this country. Now, it is time for 'people' of other species to be accorded the same simple dignity of being recognized not as someone else's property but as beings in their own right. " --Michael Mountain, Best Friends Sanctuary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 18, 2001 Report Share Posted April 18, 2001 If we boycott U.S. sugar, what kind of sugar should we buy? South American? Asian? Yeah right, like THEY will treat animals (and human beings, for that matter) with more respect. Don't see the forest for the trees... -Belle > The aggressive animal-rights group, People for the Ethical > Treatment of > Animals, is demanding a boycott of U.S. Sugar, one of the largest > growers, > accusing the company of cruelty to animals after a man passing > through > reported seeing bunnies burning as they fled a field. > _______________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 18, 2001 Report Share Posted April 18, 2001 Vegan: (a new definition) doing the most you can do to reduce animal harm in any form. If boycotting US sugar makes sense to you do it. If it does not, don't. But above all respect what others do in their reqeust to reduce suffering. offered respectfully for you to consider, L! --- Isabelle Netto <isabelle240 wrote: > If we boycott U.S. sugar, what kind of sugar should we > buy? South American? > Asian? Yeah right, like THEY will treat animals (and > human beings, for that > matter) with more respect. Don't see the forest for the > trees... > -Belle > > > The aggressive animal-rights group, People for the > Ethical > > Treatment of > > Animals, is demanding a boycott of U.S. Sugar, one of > the largest > > growers, > > accusing the company of cruelty to animals after a > man passing > > through > > reported seeing bunnies burning as they fled a field. > > > _______________________ > Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at > http://www.hotmail.com. > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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