| In the interest of speed and timeliness, this story is fed directly from the Associated Press newswire and may contain spelling or grammatical errors. |
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.''