From: Pete Donahue 
Subject: Brittish Quarrantine Law Outdated
Hello listers,
Today I tgave Newsline Texas it's first test drive as the service began
operating in San Antonio last Friday.For those who don't know Newsline is
an electronic newspaper service developed by the National Federation of
the Blind.  It allows a blind user to access several Nationally-Known
Newspapers such as Usa today via their touchtone telephone.While browsing
the News section of Usa Today I came across an article that would be of
interest to guide dog users; especially those who might like to travel to
Great Brittain some day.  While we aren't there yet the article reported
that there is increasing opposition amongpet owners to Brittain's
conttinued use of it's Century-Old Quarrantine law; the toughest one in
the World.  This cruisade is being lead by an organization called
Passports for Pets which believes that more people now want to take their
pets with them whare ever they travel; even if they travel over-seas.
They along with members of the Veterinary Profession and some members of
the Brittish Government believe that it's time for a change given the
available of more effective Rabies Vaccinations ;and blood testing
methods, the use of microchip echnology as a means of positively
identifying animals coming in to the country would allow the quarrantine
period to be reduced to as long as 24 hours to a month from it's current
length of six months.
Subscribers to Harness Up, (The magazine of the National Association of
Guide Dog Users, a Division of the National Feveration of the Blind) will
recall that in the fall-winter edition of 1994 that Darrell Goldsmith, a
Federationist from michigan told of his experiences when he traveled to
Hawaii with his guide dog and about their stay in Hawaii's quarrantine
station.  He discussed the horrible conditions he found there for himself
and the other animals currently in quarrantine.  He told about how he was
treated by the staff of the quarrantine station and about when he was
allowed to leave this prison with his dog he had to be accompanied by
State aggriculture Inspectors arrayed in uniforms and displaying badges
for all to see, and how demeaning it was to the dignity of blind people to
have to put up with such nonsence.
Pet owners interviewed by the writer of the article told similar horror
stories.  Some even reported that their animals were kept in poorly
maintained kennels and that their animals were either misstreated, or that
they died during the quarrantine period.  One pet owner said that his dog
had been beaten by kennel staff.  Another lady who had moved to england
from Australia, (Another Country said to be free of Rabies), said that her
dog died just after six weeks in quarrantine.  The death may have been
caused by starvation.  But it gets worse.  A danish nobleman who had
moved to England placed his beloved Cocker Spanial in quarrantine only to
reveive her in a coffee jar at the end of the six-month quarrrantine
period.
Anyway, it is obvious that change is in the wind.  While the Brittish
Government can talk all it wants about protecting public health pet owners
are no longer willing to have neither themselves nor their pets subjected
to these old, outdated laws and the abuse they inflict on both man and
beast alike.
That is the article in a nutshell.  The only regret I have is that I wish
it had occurred to the writer of that article that these quarrantine laws
pose an undue hardship on guide users and subject them to discriminatory
treatment and hinder ability to travel independantly with our guide dogs
to Countries such as Great Brittain or to our own State of Hawaii.
Anyway i wanted to share that with you all since we need not leave the
U.S. to find these antiquated laws which may have eraced Rabies from
certain parts of the Earth, but cause serious hardshipsfor the animals
that must undergo the quarrantine as well as for not just pet owners, but
for those of us who are blind or disabled who depend on our assistance
dogs to live independantly and to participate fully in society.
I would sugget that you get the article and read it for yourself.  The url
for Usa Today is http://www.usatoday.com.  Newsline users can find it in
the News Section of Usa Today for Monday, March 10, 1997; choice 12,
article 8.  Take care and have a good evening.
Yours truly,
peter Donahue
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