One of the main themes of the Ninth Annual Genesis Awards was prevention—the prevention of death, whether animal or human. The two Guests of Honor, Dr. Gordon Haber and a pit bull named Weela, prevented the loss of life in two different areas: Haber in Alaska by almost single-handedly stopping the state-sponsored wolf kills, and Weela in Southern California by rescuing more than 100 animals and humans from the floods.

The nearly 1,000 people who filled the International Ballroom at the Beverly Hilton hotel watched as Haber and Weela were honored for their heroic deeds, along with the 21 winners of this year's Genesis Awards. Winners included Black Beauty, Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, The Simpsons, A Current Affair, and Time magazine. The Doris Day Music Award was presented to San Francisco-based industrial hip-hop group Consolidated for numerous pro-animal selections from the album, Business of Punishment.

The co-hosts were Edward Asner, Ellen DeGeneres and Kevin Nealon, and presenters included Alicia Silverstone, Cheryl Tiegs, Joe Lando, Lynn Redgrave, Kathleen Sullivan, Catherine Bach, and Bea Arthur. For the fifth consecutive year, the show was taped for broadcast on the Discovery Channel—expanded this year to 90 minutes from one hour in previous years.

Most Memorable Moments:

Film Classic winner Doctor Dolittle (1967) amazed the audience with its still topical pro-animal messages. Funny lady DeGeneres delivered a side-splitting monologue about what animal rights mean to her.

Winners:

Feature Film: Black Beauty

Film Classic: Doctor Dolittle

Doris Day Music Award: Consolidated

Brigitte Bardot International Award: On the Line, BBC

Dolly Green Special Achievement: Rachel Rosenthal

Television Documentary, PBS: Nova, "The Great Wildlife Heist"

Television Documentary, Cable: National Geographic Explorer, TBS

Television Newsmagazine, Network: 20/20, ABC

Television Newsmagazine, Syndicated: A Current Affair

Television Newsmagazine, Syndicated: The Crusaders

Television Newsmagazine, Cable: CNN Presents

Television Dramatic Series, Network: Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, CBS

Television Dramatic Series, Cable: Dead at 21, MTV

Television Comedy Series: The Simpsons, Fox

Children's Television Program: HBO Special Presentation

Children's Television Program: The New Adventures of Captain Planet

Television News Series: KARE-TV, Minneapolis

Television Commentator: Dennis Farrier, Prime9 News, KCAL, Los Angeles

Syndicated Radio Commentator: Hugh Downs, ABC News

Periodical: Time magazine

Syndicated Columnist: Colman McCarthy