SAN FRANCISCO (AP) The Bush administration is under attack
from one of the world's most prominent environmentalists, who says
the president's policies could lead to more African animals being
killed or captured for profit.
Primatologist Jane Goodall said Sunday that the White House is
leading an ``onslaught'' against the Endangered Species Act.
Goodall, famed worldwide for her life's work studying and
protecting chimpanzees in Tanzania, said her beloved apes and other
species face a threat from the Bush Administration that could undo
decades of conservation efforts.
``When I start talking about the long list of reversals of
legislation that the Bush administration has introduced over the
last three years, it's terrifying,'' Goodall said during an
appearance at San Francisco's Episcopal Grace Cathedral.
She cited an effort by the White House to amend the 1973
Endangered Species Act so U.S. companies can import a certain
number of endangered animals if they compensate the animals' native
countries with money for conservation programs. Currently, such
animals can't be imported into the United States.
Goodall said she believes circus owners and other businesses
that use animals for entertainment or research are responsible for
the proposed change.
``Obviously, they have lobbied someone in the administration to
introduce this terrible bill,'' Goodall said. ``We mustn't let it
happen.''
Goodall is known internationally as an outspoken advocate for
environmental causes. United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan
named Goodall a U.N. Messenger of Peace last year, and she was made
a dame of the British Empire the female equivalent of a knight
by Queen Elizabeth this year.
During her remarks in San Francisco, Goodall also accused Bush
of promoting a global climate of fear since the Sept. 11 terrorist
attacks to justify building more nuclear weapons.
``The president of the United States has sent a message around
the world be afraid,'' Goodall said, contrasting Bush's
leadership with Winston Churchill's reassuring style when World War
II terrorized her native England.
Asked whether her blunt remarks put her at risk of being labeled
partisan, Goodall said she merely calls situations as she sees
them, without regard to politics.
``There are certain people in decision-making places who are
clearly doing the wrong thing,'' she said. ``If we care about
justice and we care about stewardship of the planet, we have to
speak out.''
(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)