ANIMAL MEDIA ALERTS -- NOVEMBER 2004

LOS ANGELES TIMES EDITORIAL IN FAVOR OF KEEPING ELEPHANTS IN ZOOS

The Tuesday, November 30 Los Angeles Times, has printed a reactionary editorial (an editorial is the official opinion of the paper) headed "Big Problem for Zoos." It discusses the recent elephant developments -- the transfer of Tinkerbelle from San Francisco Zoo to sanctuary, Ruby's return to Los Angeles, and the Detroit Zoos attempts to move its elephants to sanctuary.

It ends: "If public outcry continues to pressure zoos to move animals to sanctuaries on the assumption that the beasts are unhappy, or because their exhibition space is too small, it could force zoos to spend untold millions to upgrade. And that's not just for elephants; rhinos could use more room than they're given in most American zoos. Or lions. Or just about any other animal.

"Many zoos may be forced to close as a result, or may simply lose many of their best exhibits. Animal rights activists might call this a good thing, but there are benefits to public exhibition of elephants and other large exotics. In the wild, elephants are in danger of extinction because they are hunted for ivory, and zoos serve an educational purpose that helps spur support for preservation.

"We're glad Ruby got to pack her trunk and come home, and hope Winky and Wanda get some relief for their aching joints. But that's not an endorsement of the elimination of zoos as we know them. Giving kids a chance to see elephants matters too."

Since elephants have been in zoos for hundreds of years and now, as the editorial tells us, are in danger of extinction, obviously zoo exhibits have not proven to be the answer to their welfare concerns. Please politely (we don't want to make this powerful paper an enemy of the animal protection movement!) protest the Los Angeles Times' stance against the efforts of animal protection advocates to get elephants out of zoos.

You can read the whole editorial on line at: http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/editorials/la-ed-elephants30nov30,1,3517454.story 

The Los Angeles Times takes letters at: letters@latimes.com 

Always include your full name, address, and daytime phone number when sending a letter to the editor. Shorter letters are more likely to be published.

For more information on the issue check out: http://www.savewildelephants.com/ 

HUGE FRONT PAGE STORY ON SHAC CAMPAIGN

I am slow getting this out, but wanted everybody to know about a lengthy (almost 4,000 words) front page story in the Sunday, November 28, Newark Star Ledger (huge New Jersey paper) about the Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty (SHAC) campaign. It was an even-handed story, which I am told was accompanied by a beautiful photo of big brown-eyed Beagle -- the experimental dog of choice due to their sweet temperaments.

The piece, by John P. Martin, was headed, "Animal rights and wrongs. The battle over a testing company in New Jersey and England marks a turning point in a global movement."

It opens:

"The wounds from Brian Cass' beating healed long ago, and his employees don't worry as much these days about cars exploding in their driveways or bullhorn-wielding protesters outside their bedroom windows.

"But Huntingdon Life Sciences, the pharmaceutical and chemical- testing company that Cass runs, still struggles to keep customers and suppliers. It can't get a checking account from a British bank, and local taxis won't drive fares to its headquarters here in the rolling countryside 70 miles north of London.

"And HLS, as it is known, hasn't stopped killing about 70,000 animals a year -- mostly rats, but also fish, monkeys and dogs -- used to test drugs and other consumer products at its labs here and in Somerset County, New Jersey. That testing is what put the company in the spotlight five years ago, when animal rights supporters launched an unprecedented campaign to close HLS.

"Since then, efforts by the supporters of Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty, or SHAC, have spread to a half-dozen countries, tangled the legal system and wreaked millions of dollars in property damage and business losses worldwide.

"The campaign has forced dozens of companies to cut ties to the lab, and other groups already are starting to mimic SHAC's tactics, giving once-loosely organized protesters a blueprint for campaigns that go beyond placards and demonstrations.

"Using the Internet, intimidation and a barrage of effective but disturbing guerrilla-like protests and attacks, SHAC targets not just a company, but also its investors, clients and suppliers -- the pillars of support every business needs to function."

It goes on to document some SHAC tactics, and later in the article discusses the bombing of Chiron (it does business with HLS) last year.

There is a nice quote from Greg Avery, the founder of SHAC, in response to the suggestion that SHAC activists are extremists:

"An extremist is someone who gets out of bed in the morning and goes to Huntingdon and poisons animals."

Martin writes, "HLS became notorious in 1997 following two hidden-camera exposés. An undercover British television report on the lab sparked a government probe into animal mistreatment at the Huntingdon plant, company firings and sanctions by regulators."

(Unfortunately he does not detail the footage, but if you go to http://www.shac.net/MERCHANDISE/videos.html you can watch an HLS scientist repeatedly punching a Beagle puppy in the head, and a primate on an operating table, moving her head around, her chest cut wide open.)

The article documents the success of the campaign in the UK, and then the company's move to the United States, where the campaign has continued, headed up by "Kevin Kjonaas" (generally known as Kevin Jonas). Frankie Trull, who heads up the National Association for Biomedical Research, says of the campaign: "I have been (following) the animal rights movement for 25 years and I've never seen anything like this."

Martin discusses the increasingly heated rhetoric from some key players such as Dr Jerry Vlasak and Pamelyn Ferdin (SHAC-USA's new president) who were recently banned from the UK.

The article ends on the following note. We have a quote from Mike Caulfield, the vice president of US operations of HLS:

"Kjonaas has said that HLS is the domino. We believe him, that if they were to be successful in closing this business down, it would embolden SHAC and their associates to a degree that is exponentially frightening relative to what we've experienced."

And then a quote from Greg Avery, regarding the indictments against the Kevin Jonas and six others, and other attempts to stifle the campaign: "You can judge the effect you're having by the way your enemy reacts."

I have given a brief summary of a lengthy and interesting article on the history and tactics of SHAC. I highly recommend reading the whole piece, which you will find on line at: http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/index.ssf?/base/news-19/1101621395275790.xml  

No matter how one feels about SHAC tactics, this huge front page story gives us a great opportunity to express how we feel about the vivisection industry. (If it is an area you don't know much about. A good place to do some reading is: http://www.peta.org/mc/factsheet_experimentation.asp )

The Newark Star Ledger takes letters at: eletters@starledger.com  and advises "Letters must not exceed 200 words. All submissions must include the writer's name, address and phone number. Address and phone numbers are kept confidential. Unsigned submissions will not be used."

Please write.

SAN FRANCISCO ZOO ELEPHANT REACHES SANCTUARY -- 11/28

Though we have been disappointed that the Detroit Zoo has been hindered by the American Zoo and Aquarium Association in its attempts to move its two elephants to sanctuary, we now see wonderful progress in that general field. Today's San Francisco Chronicle (11/29) tells us that yesterday, one of the San Francisco Zoo elephants moved to the PAWS sanctuary, Ark 2000. The front page placement of the story suggests that it is larger than that of the relocation of one large animal. The story indicates a shift in society's attitude concerning the appropriate treatment of wild animals.

Tinkerbelle's move follows closely on the relocation of Lota, on November 17, from the hideous Hawthorne facility to the Tennessee elephant sanctuary. You can read about that in an archived Kansas City Star article at: http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/nation/10208826.htm  or read details of the Lota struggle on PETA's "Circuses" website at: http://www.circuses.com/savelota.asp 

We learn from the Chronicle story, headed "Tinkerbelle's big move comes off without a hitch" that when zoo director Manuel Mollinedo, after the deaths of two elephants on exhibit at the zoo, decided, under pressure, to retire the remaining two to sanctuary, "The AZA threatened to withdraw the San Francisco Zoo's accreditation -- which allows members to do such things as trade animals and obtain federal funds -- and won't decide until March."

About the sanctuary, we read:

"Located 123 miles east of San Francisco, the 2,300-acre sanctuary includes hills, lakes, trees, a pachyderm Jacuzzi and, most importantly, other elephants."

Tinkerbelle will be introduced gradually to the other Asian elephants at the sanctuary. Lulu, the only remaining elephant at the San Francisco Zoo, will soon join the PAWS African elephants.

You can read the Chronicle story on line at:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2004/11/29/MNGQ4A35SR1.DTL  and send an enthusiastic letter of support, perhaps discussing wider questions about animals in captivity, to letters@sfchronicle.com . The paper recommends, ""Please limit your letters to 200 or fewer words ... shorter letters have a better chance of being selected for publication."

The Associated Press version of the story appears on many websites including the UK's 'Guardian,' (http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-4642738,00.html   -- letters@guardian.co.uk ) and, naturally, the Detroit Free Press, since that city is dealing with the same issue. The article, headed "San Francisco Zoo risks accreditation with elephant's transfer to sanctuary" tells us:

"Detroit Zoo Director Ron Kagan says he would defy the zoo association if Detroit owned both of the animals, but Wanda is on loan from the San Antonio Zoo, which supports the zoo association's recommendation. Last Tuesday, Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick wrote to San Antonio Mayor Ed Garza, asking him to use his influence with zoo officials there to help get the elephants to the Texas sanctuary."

You can read it on the Detroit Free Press website at:

http://www.freep.com/news/statewire/sw107881_20041129.htm 

The Free Press takes letters at: letters@freepress.com  and also advises, "All writers must provide full name, full home address and day and evening telephone numbers. Letters should be 200 words or less and are subject to editing."

The Associated Press story includes this welcome bit of information:

"The facility's lone African elephant, 38-year-old Lulu, will join Tinkerbelle in San Andreas in late December, and the zoo will permanently close its elephant exhibit."

This is a landmark -- a cause for celebration.

NEW YORK TIMES COVERS ANIMAL LAW SCHOOL ENDOWMENTS FROM BOB BARKER

A large story in the Saturday, November 27, New York Times, headed "Enlisting Law Schools In Campaign For Animals" (Pg B7) tells us that Bob Barker, host of the 'The Price is Right,' still television's most popular daytime game show, "has established endowments of $1 million each at several law schools -- including those at Stanford, Columbia, Duke and the University of California, Los Angeles -- for the study of animal-rights law. Other law schools, among them Northwestern University and the University of Michigan, are in the running for similar gifts. The idea, he said, is to train a generation of lawyers, judges and legislators in animal rights and the widespread problems of cruelty and neglect."

There is a nice quote from Barker:

.''The laws are not stringent enough, and unfortunately the laws that we do have are not necessarily enforced. If we can get more and more young lawyers to be aware of this, then if they're involved in a case that involves animals, they'll know what to do. If they become judges, that's wonderful, they're making decisions. And some of these lawyers are going to become politicians. The most important thing we can do is to change legislation involving animals, and these young people will be in a position to do exactly that. So if the money I invest in this serves to do that, I think it's money well spent.''

We learn that $500,000 has already gone to establish what the Bob Barker Endowment Fund for the Study of Animal Rights at Harvard Law School.

The article mentions Barker's call for spay/neuter at the end of every "Price is Right" show and also that in 1987 he quit the lucrative job of hosting the Miss Universe pageant because its organizers insisted on having the contestants wear fur. The article also goes into the involvement of other celebrities in various animal rights causes.

You can read it on line at:

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/27/arts/television/27bark.html 

This wonderful news gives us a nice opportunity for letters to the editor in support of the project. Let's do our best to make sure the Times editorial page includes words of compassion for other species.

The New York Times takes letters at: letters@nytimes.com 

Always include your full name, address, and daytime phone number when sending a letter to the editor. Shorter letters are more likely to be published.

VEGAN THANKSGIVING ARTICLE MAKES FRONT PAGE ON THANKSGIVING

Yesterday, on Thanksgiving, the Virginian-Pilot ran a front page story about Karen Davis's sanctuary and organization, United Poultry Concerns!  ( http://UPC-online.org). Headed "One lucky turkey will ham it up at vegan feast," it included a joyous photo of Karen Davis and the very lively turkey Florence, who will be the guest of honor at UPC's Thanksgiving celebration this coming Sunday. (Those in the Virginia area can call 757-678-7875 for information).

You can see the beautiful photo and read the article on line at:

http://home.hamptonroads.com/stories/story.cfm?story=78576&ran=20081 

The front page story presents a great opportunity for letters to the editor. And the whole holiday season gives us an opportunity to spread the message of compassion. Please try to write at least one letter to your local paper, today or in the next few weeks, perhaps talking about the joy of your cruelty free holiday meals.

The Virginian Pilot takes letters at: letters@pilotonline.com . And if you have any trouble finding the correct email address for a letter to your local paper, don't hesitate to ask me for help. Also, I am always happy to edit letters.

Floridians can respond to a nice article in the November 26 Sun-Sentinel, headed, "For vegetarians, Thanksgiving dinners have just the trimmings." It is on line at:

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/palmbeach/sfl-pvegetarian26nov26,0,840847.story 

The Sun-Sentinel takes letters at: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/opinion/sfl-letterseditor.customform 

Always include your full name, address, and daytime phone number when sending a letter to the editor. Shorter letters are more likely to be published.

Speaking of beautiful pictures -- this morning Debby Tanzer sent me one of the loveliest human/animal photos I have ever seen. It should be a Thanksgiving greeting card. It is from an article about the Thanksgiving gathering at Meadow Brook Farm in Oregon. You can view it on line at:

http://www.newsshadycove.com/articles/index.cfm?artOID=248626&cp=11017 or http://tinyurl.com/3rrl8 

Enjoy!

NORWEGIAN SEAL HUNT FOR TOURISTS

The Friday, November 26, Los Angeles Times has a lengthy front page story on the opening, for the first time, of the Norwegian seal hunt to tourists. It is headed, "Plans for Seal Safaris Put Norway in a Dilemma."

We learn, "The 2,000-seal quota is higher than recommended by Norwegian scientists. Cull numbers in recent years have been about half that figure. The environmental group Greenpeace has urged that the government, instead of targeting more seals, rely on what the organization claims are more ecological options to protect fishing stocks, including expanding marine reserves and reducing the fleet.

And there is a good quote from said Truls Gulowsen, a Greenpeace activist: "They blame the seal for everything that's wrong in the ocean. This hunting is being looked upon as barbaric. It will absolutely hurt the image of Norway as a tourist destination. Shooting seals for fun does not fit in with the unspoiled scenic nature of this country."

This article ties in nicely with PETA's new Fish Empathy Project. Even if one doesn't have empathy for fish, (in which case I recommend checking out http://www.fishinghurts.com) one might want to stop eating them for the sake of the seals. The seals don't have any choice, and they get slaughtered when their consumption is seen to interfere with the availability needed to meet the exhorbitant demand created by the human appetite.

You can read the full front page LA Times story at: 

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-seals26nov26,1,1558279.story 

Front page stories create a great opportunity for letters to the editor that keep the animal rights perspective in the public dialogue. The Los Angeles Times takes letters at: letters@latimes.com 

Always include your full name, address, and daytime phone number when sending a letter to the editor. Shorter letters are more likely to be published.

A NOTEWORTHY THANKSGIVING EDITORIAL-- PLUS MY PERSONAL TALE OF A TURKEY  11/25/

I have been preparing a vegan feast and have had little time for DawnWatching over the last day or so. But I wanted to share an editorial in today's St Petersburg Times because it is extraordinary, for a couple of reasons. One is that an editorial, as opposed to a column or an op-ed, reflects not the opinion of a columnist or a guest writer but instead gives the official opinion of the paper. The other factor I find to be extraordinary is that the paper chose to do something so "in your face": to print, on Thanksgiving, this piece about industrialized cruelty to poultry.

The piece, headed "Protecting poultry" opens:

"Serving turkey on Thanksgiving Day is one of the cherished and enduring American traditions. Each year, the president publicly spares a turkey from its intended fate, though millions more are served up with stuffing and gravy. Yet few Americans may be aware that the law that protects other animals from inhumane slaughter doesn't include turkeys and other poultry."

It tells us that the Humane Society of the United States is asking us to sign a "Petition for Poultry" requiring that birds be rendered insensible to pain before slaughter. (You can sign the petition at: http://hsus.ga4.org/campaign/petition_for_poultry )

And the editorial invokes, in support of the petition, the horrendous "Pilgrim's Pride" event from earlier this year in which,

"an undercover investigation at a poultry processing plant in Maryland showed workers torturing chickens on the assembly line - throwing live animals against walls, 'spiking' one on the floor as though it were a football and generally causing the animals unnecessary pain."

You can read the whole editorial on line at

http://www.sptimes.com/2004/11/25/Opinion/Protecting_poultry.shtml 

You might want to share it with friends and family who are enjoying turkey today.

And you can write an appreciative letter to the editor at http://www.sptimes.com/letters/

You might want to question whether any pain is "necessary" and sing the joys of a vegan Thanksgiving.

On this day that saddens so many of us who care about animals, I hope many people will send off a quick letter to their own paper, sharing the joys of their vegetarian feast. A high proportion of letters in local papers get published. The idea isn't that your letter will be read by somebody who will immediately decide to go vegan -- it is, rather, a way of helping keep the animal rights movement in the public eye

and the voice of compassion as part of the public dialogue. And it is bound to do some direct good. I strongly suspect that a mother feeling put out at having to accommodate a vegan teenager over the holidays could be softened upon reading your thoughtful letter in the local paper, and realize her child is neither a weirdo nor going through a terribly difficult stage.

Always include your full name, address, and daytime phone number when sending a letter to the editor.

Today I feel like a sharing a story that some of you, who have been receiving DawnWatch for a few years, have read before, but that will be new to many others. It might particularly interest those who have never met a turkey.

In the year 2000 I attended my first animal rights conference, in Washington DC. A wonderful activist, Cheryl Kuscera, invited me out to a sanctuary for which she does some volunteer work, Poplar Springs. http://www.animalsanctuary.org  I accepted enthusiastically, having always wanted to meet a pig. I was brought up on Charlottes Web.

We arrived at the beautiful sanctuary. The sanctuary owner, Terry, started our tour with the chickens. I got to hold and stroke beautiful Henrietta. Then Terry took us to the turkey shed. I was happy to say hello to the turkeys, though not overly interested, having been given the impression that they are not all that smart or communicative -- and I was really there to meet the pigs.

I sat cross-legged on the grassy hill, about ten feet from the coop. Terry opened the gate, and out hobbled Olivia. I say hobbled, as she has had the ends of all of her toes cut off -- standard practice in modern turkey farming where birds crowded together in horrendous conditions tend to fight. Rather than providing decent living conditions it is cheaper to hack off their toes and the ends of their beaks.

To my surprise, she wandered up to me, and gingerly I started to stroke her. She moved closer, and I began to pet her, rather like I pet my dogs. I reached my fingers under those thick outer feathers on her back and felt the beautiful soft down underneath -- that which we, sadly, associate with luxury pillows. How beautiful to feel it warm, on a living being. Within a couple of minutes, Olivia had moved into my lap. I continued to move my fingers through her soft down, as I cradled her head in the crook of my other elbow. She fell asleep. I fell in love.

And though I couldn't take Olivia home, and she continues to live at Poplar Springs charming others, I did adopt her. Today her photo will be in the center of our Thanksgiving table.

If you have never met a turkey, I urge you to get to Poplar Springs -- and please give beautiful Olivia a kiss from me -- or to one of the other Farm Sanctuaries. I know of Gentle Barn in Los Angeles (holding a Thanksgiving Feast, open to the public, this afternoon) and Ooh-Mah-Nee in Pennsylvania, and the two called 'Farm Sanctuary' in Northern California and New York. My other recommendation for today, is to make it a celebratory "Turkey Day" by adopting a turkey. She will get to live the kind of life a turkey is meant to live, on a lovely sanctuary, thanks to you. You can do that on line at Farm Sanctuary at: http://www.adoptaturkey.org/  or at Poplar Springs: http://www.animalsanctuary.org/sponsor/index.html 

Today is a sad day in many ways -- for obvious reasons. But there are positive changes for which we can be thankful. The generation now in high school and college is far more sensitive to the plight of non humans than those before them. Veganism is common in that age group. And animal protection is finally becoming part of the public dialogue -- the Saint Petersburg editorial with which I opened this alert points to that shift. Though it is natural to feel some sorrow, this is also a day on which we can give thanks for our ability to work towards and be part of positive change.

Wishing all a happy Thanksgiving,

Karen Dawn

HBO'S REAL SPORTS LOOKS AT WORLD OF GREYHOUND RACING

FROM THE HBO REAL SPORTS WEBSITE at http://www.hbo.com/realsports/stories.shtml :

THIS WEEK'S STORIES:

Cecil Fielder... Re-PETE... and

"Dog Fears

Despite the lack of a widespread fan base, and in the face of constant protests by animal rights groups, greyhound racing is a healthy industry in the U.S., with millions of dollars wagered each year at tracks in 15 states. Breeders in search of champion-caliber dogs produce thousands of greyhounds each year, a small percentage of which are deemed worthy of high-stakes races. When a dog is no longer profitable, there are few options for its future. Some find a home through adoption, but those who go unclaimed are destroyed. With the supply of dogs being bred far outweighing the demand, an alarming numbers of dogs are put down each year. Correspondent Bernard Goldberg, in collaboration with Sports Illustrated, takes a probing look at the world of greyhound racing.

Correspondent: Bernard Goldberg."

----------------------------------------

The story will air on HBO this Tuesday, November 23, at 10pm (ET and PT). Watch if you can, and please send the show a note of appreciation for its coverage of the issue. Positive feedback will encourage more coverage of this issue and perhaps of the issues behind other sports that involve cruelty to animals. Real Sports takes comments at:

http://www.hbo.com/apps/submitinfo/contactus/submit.do 

That is the general HBO feedback page. You'll see a pull-down menu headed "Choose a topic" from which you can choose "Real Sports."

PETA'S FISH EMPATHY PROJECT MAKES MUCH MAJOR MEDIA 11/17/04

Never a group to stick to the easy projects, PETA has launched a new campaign aimed at giving a voice to the species slaughtered by humans in the greatest numbers: fish. The campaign is headed the Fish Empathy Project. A wealth of information recently published in various scientific journals on the intelligence of fish has given the campaign impetus.

The website http://www.FishingHurts.com  is packed with information, gathered from scientific journal and media reports, on fish sentience and intelligence. It also covers the health hazards of eating what is widely considered to be a health food. For example, many varieties are so high in mercury that even government agencies whose job it is to promote the fishing industry, warn pregnant women to limit their intake.

I have little personal experience with fish but I know scuba divers who aren't vegetarian but who will not eat grouper because the animals are so playful and affectionate. So I am thrilled to see this campaign.

It is receiving a lot of coverage around the world. It is on over 80 news outlet websites -- you'll find links to the stories at http://tinyurl.com/4jv5b . The MSNBC website has the full Associated Press story: http://msnbc.msn.com/id/6506393/ 

Some of the papers that carried various abbreviated versions in hard copy on November 17 are the Saint Paul Pioneer Press, The Wichita Eagle, The Lexington Herald Leader, The Duluth News-Tribune, Ontario's Record and Windsor Star, and Melbourne's MX and Herald Sun (Nov 18). No doubt there will be more tomorrow. Please check the TinyUrl links page above, and keep an eye on your paper for the story, and send off a quick supportive letter to the editor when your paper carries it. Don't hesitate to ask me for help if you have any trouble locating the email address for a letter to your editor.

You may want to send a quick, polite, but not so supportive note to The Dolans, who host the CNN show, "Dolans Unscripted." Here is a transcript of Daria Dolan's coverage of the issue:

"The sign reads 'fish are friends not food,' and this is the latest crusade by PETA, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. They are calling the fish empathy project, this little one. It's a campaign to get people to stop eating fish, arguing that they are intelligent, sensitive animals, no more deserving of being eaten than a pet dog or pet cat. And I figure, at the rate PETA is going with the animals and everything else, you won't have to get upset - that does look like you, Ken. You won't have to get upset with PETA any more, if you're anti-PETA, folks, because at the rate they're going, they'll be down to nothing to eat. They'll all starve to death, and we'll be cleaned of them off the planet."

I suspect anybody with PETA supporters in their family would have taken some offense at that last line. I recommend that notes to the Dolans be polite as it is not helpful to reinforce negative stereotypes about animal rights activists with people who talk to the public every day -- better to persuade them that such comments are not necessarily appreciated by their audience.

The Dolans take comments at: dolans@cnn.com 

Neal Cavuto, on Fox News, however, had Bruce Friedrich from PETA on his show, "Your World." Cavuto wasn't entirely sympathetic but he did give Friedrich a respectful hearing, for which he should be thanked -- positive feedback will encourage similar coverage in the future. Cavuto takes comments at: cavuto@foxnews.com 

WASHINGTON POST ARTICLE ON TRAPPING 11/16/04

The Tuesday, November 16, Washington Post has a lead story, cover of the Metro section (pg B1) that looks at underside side of the fur industry -- the trapping of the animals.

David A. Fahrenthold's article is headed, "For the Haute, a Hunt for Fur; Fashion-Conscious Trappers Hope to Cash In on Pelts."

It opens:

"Larry Kline stood knee-deep in a Virginia creek, laying a trap.

"He lowered the trap's spring-loaded metal frame -- something like a large mousetrap -- into the current. If a river otter swam through, it would brush against a trigger wire, and then snap! The animal would be caught at the neck by the trap's jaws."

"He'll dive right into the trap, and he'll expire real quick," Kline said as he demonstrated the trap last week near Dumfries.

The article tells us that the fur resurgence has "trickled down to the backwoods of the East Coast" but that,

"For animal rights groups, the resurgence of the fur industry is a disappointment.

"They have charged for years that trapping is cruel, especially the leg-hold traps that can prompt some animals to chew off their feet and trappers who bludgeon animals they find alive in the traps."

Trapping season opened in Virginia yesterday.

We read about the recent resurgence in fur as fashion:

"The 1970s were a boom time, but the 1980s brought another bust, as clothing tastes changed and animal rights groups increased their attacks on fur as fashion. The low point might have been about 1993, when the number of licensed trappers in Virginia fell to about 700, down from nearly 5,300 in 1979. The recent comeback began when fur trim started appearing on high-fashion designs. Then fur became an accessory of wealth sought after by hip-hop stars -- today's rappers reference chinchilla, the fur of a South American rodent, like they did diamonds or Cadillac Escalades a few years ago."

You can read the whole article on line at:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A52618-2004Nov15.html 

Please consider a letter to the editor against wearing the skins of other animals. The Washington Post takes letters at: letters@washpost.com 

Always include your full name, address, and daytime phone number when sending a letter to the editor. Shorter letters are more likely to be published.

USA TODAY FRONT PAGE STORY ON DOMESTIC TERRORISM INCLUDES SHAC

The Monday, November 15, edition of USA Today has a front page story headed, "Domestic terrorism: New trouble at home Chilling plots include cyanide, nerve gas and attempts to acquire nuclear materials."

Astoundingly, the article, which discusses various failed attempts of the kind outlined in its headline, mostly threats against government offices designed to kill people, lumps SHAC activity in with other threats:

"In May, the FBI's domestic terrorism unit charged seven members of an animal rights group with terrorism after investigating what they said was a marked increase in crimes to stop the use of animals for product-testing. The activists, arrested in New York, New Jersey, California and Washington state, are members of Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty. The group seeks to shut down Huntingdon Life Sciences, a New Jersey product-testing company.

"Prosecutors allege that the activists set fire to Huntingdon employees' cars, vandalized shareholders' homes and threatened their families. They are charged with conspiring to commit terrorism against an enterprise that uses animals for research and could face up to three years in prison if convicted."

You can read the whole article, thereby learning the preposterous context of those lines, at:

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2004-11-14-domestic-terrorism_x.htm 

On the SHAC 7 website you can learn about the charges against the animal rights activists:

"The SHAC 7 are animal rights activists indicted under the controversial Federal Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act. The Act punishes anyone who 'physically disrupts' an animal enterprise. The charges stem from these activists' alleged participation in an international campaign to close the notorious product testing lab Huntingdon Life Sciences.

Specifically, these activists are alleged to have operated a website that reported on and expressed ideological support for protest activity against Huntingdon and its business affiliates. For this they are charged with 'terrorism' and face an aggregate of 23 years in Federal Prison."

That website also has information about Huntingdon Life Sciences atrocities and about how you can help the SHAC campaign or the defense of the SHAC 7.

http://www.shac7.com/ 

The inclusion of the SHAC campaigners in this front page article about domestic terrorism presents a great opportunity for letters detailing the terror in our nation's laboratories. Please write. USA Today takes letters at:

http://www.usatoday.com/marketing/feedback/feedback-online.aspx?type=18  

RUBY BACK IN LOS ANGELES ZOO -- Los Angeles Times -- 11/14/04

Last May, Ruby, an elephant who had spent 19 years at the Los Angeles Zoo, 16 of them in the company of another elephant, Gita, was moved to a zoo in Knoxville Tennessee. Animal rights activists, feeling that breaking the bond with Gita was cruel, and that life in the Knoxville Zoo would be even worse for Ruby than life in the Los Angeles Zoo, fought the move. But Ruby was moved and activists continued to fight to bring her back to Los Angeles. Since Tennessee has one of only two elephant sanctuaries in the country (the other is the PAWS sanctuary in Northern California) many activists would have liked to see the battle switch to having her sent there. But those behind the lawsuit felt that there was little hope of that. They succeeded, instead, on having her moved back to Los Angeles last night. It was a 40 hour journey and she now faces 30 days in quarantine. And there is still talk of her being sent to yet another zoo.

This sad saga is covered in the Sunday, November 14, Los Angeles Times (pg B3) in an article headed, "Her Trunk All Packed, Ruby Is Coming Home; The African elephant was transferred from the L.A. Zoo to one in Tennessee last year, but she didn't adapt well."

You can read it on line at: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-ruby14nov14,1,755340.story  

Please send a letter to the Times against the keeping of wild animals in captivity for human entertainment and in favor of sending Ruby and Gita to sanctuary. Your letter can educate people about what they support when they visit the zoo, plus, decision makers look to the letters to the editor pages as barometers of public opinion -- so your letter could help persuade Los Angeles officials to follow the lead of the San Francisco and Detroit zoos which are attempting to release their elephants to sanctuary. 

The Los Angeles Times takes letters@latimes.com 

PETA has a great fact sheet on zoos, headed "Pitiful Prisons" at: http://www.peta.org/mc/factsheet_display.asp?ID=67 

Always include your full name, address, and daytime phone number when sending a letter to the editor. Shorter letters are more likely to be published.

CHRISTIANITY AND VEGETARIANISM DEBATE ON FAITH UNDER FIRE

On Saturday, November 6,, Bruce Friedrich, Director of Vegan and Farmed Animal Campaigns at PETA, was a guest on the popular Christian TV show, "Faith Under Fire." He debated Wesley Smith on the topic of whether Christians should be vegetarian. It was a terrific discussion -- I will paste the transcript below.

I will note a point that struck me personally. Smith says, "Nobody supports cruelty to animals, and what PETA tends to do is find an exaggerated or the exception rather than the rule and say that that’s the rule." I clearly remember the first time I ever saw photos, sent to me in a mass mailing, of sows living in gestation crates, and still hear the voice in my head that said, "That's horrible but don't those animal rights people find some weird farm somewhere doing that and tell us that is the norm?" What a shock I got a year or so later when I learned that factory farming, the astoundingly cruel treatment of animals, really is the norm. The public still has much to learn on that issue.

I highly recommend taking a few minutes to read the transcript below. Please send "Faith Under Fire" a note saying you enjoyed the debate and would like the show to look more at the topic and have Friedrich (or perhaps "the PETA person" back on). Please, particularly, forward this alert to vegetarian Christian activists so that they can respond.

To send a comment to the show, go to http://www.faithunderfire.com/  and click on "Comments" on the lower right hand corner of the screen.

For a Christian perspective on our treatment of animals, and a fantastic chapter on pig farming, I recommend Matthew Scully's book, "Dominion: The Power of Man, the Suffering of Animals, and the Call to Mercy." It is a superb Christmas present for anybody, but perhaps particularly for the conservatives or Christians in your family who have not yet made the animal connection. You can read about it and buy it at: www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0312319738/dawnwatch/102-2381385-6470539 

Yours and the animals',

Karen Dawn

Transcript follows:

(Note: This was a 40 minute debate that has been knocked down to 9 minutes, so some of the segues don't quite work -- but you will get the gist.)

LEE STROBEL: Everybody loves animals, but some people go further than that. They believe it’s morally wrong to kill animals just so people can enjoy a hamburger or a fish sandwich. Some even demand civil rights for animals. So, what would Jesus eat? Well this is Faith Under Fire. This is where we put questions like that to the test. So, joining us is Wesley Smith, he’s an attorney who writes about bioethics. He’s the author of The Consumer’s Guide to the Brave New World. And facing off with him is Bruce Friedrich. He represents PETA, that’s the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. He directs their vegan campaign. A vegan is sort of a, a serious vegetarian. He’s overseeing efforts like this one. This is a billboard of a pig with a caption, “ He died for your sins.” Now Bruce, I know you’re a professing Christian, you got to know that this billboard is terrible offensive to a lot of Christians. Are you hurting your own cause buy using tactics like that?

BRUCE FRIEDRICH: What we’re trying to do is raise people’s awareness about the fact that every time we sit down to eat we, we have a choice to make, and that’s a choice between supporting cruelty to animals or supporting compassion for animals. I adopted a vegetarian diet, or a vegan diet about seventeen years ago, and I did it after I read a book called “ Christianity and the Rights of Animals” by an Anglican priest and Theology professor at Oxford University in England. And his argument is pretty simple. He says, for Christians, what we should be trying to do day in and day out is to lead lives that are as merciful as possible, as compassionate as possible, and that what’s happening on factory farms, what’s happening in slaughterhouses, these animals are never able to do anything that God designed them to do. Their bodies are mutilated without pain relief. They’re crammed into conditions, cooped in their own feces and urine, and at slaughter they’re literally, they have their throats slit open, and they’re hacked limb from limb…

LEE STROBEL: Right.

BRUCE FRIEDRICH: …while they’re still conscious.

LEE STROBEL: Okay now…

BRUCE FRIEDRICH: This is something Christians should take a stand on and we should refuse to support it.

LEE STROBEL: Okay, another one of your billboards, Bruce, says, “Jesus was a vegetarian”. And I’ve seen your stuff online where you argue very strongly that Jesus was a vegan. Uh, do you still hold to that position? What evidence do you have that Jesus refrained from eating meat?

BRUCE FRIEDRICH: Well, once again Lee, we’re trying to raise an issue and to get people talking about the issue and thinking about the issue. There is some scholarly research that argues from a historical standpoint that Jesus was a vegetarian, although, what we’re trying to do is to get Christians thinking about what we should be eating today. And the reality is animals on factory farms, animals in slaughterhouses, God designed them…

LEE STROBEL: Okay.

BRUCE FRIEDRICH: …they’re also supposed to be giving glory to God…

LEE STROBEL: Okay.

BRUCE FRIEDRICH: And God designed them in certain ways. All those things are denied them.

LEE STROBEL: Okay, let’s let Wesley have his say. Wesley do you think it’s a sin to eat meat?

WESLEY SMITH: Well I’m not a Theologian and I’m, I don’t get in to those kinds of issues, but I can say that, uh, the idea of Jesus being a vegetarian is ludicrous. The Last Supper when Jesus told the disciples to go out and prepare the Passover meal, what he was telling them to do was sacrifice a lamb and then it would be roasted and that was required of all observant Jews at that time. You know, Christianity, as far as I understand is about people and about taking care of people, and eating meat, by the way is a natural thing for people to do. We are omnivores. We are not herbivores. And of course we have an obligation not to be cruel to animals and we want to increase our, uh, the humane way in which we treat animals. But what Bruce would have us do and what People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals would have us do is not eat animals at all, not wear leather, not uh, uh, use animals in medical research. We couldn’t horseback ride. We’d have to shut down the fishing fleet. What PETA and animal liberationists as opposed to people who support improved treatment of animals want would be terribly detrimental to human welfare.

BRUCE FRIEDRICH: It’s a disingenuous argument. The reality is, chickens are so pumped full of drugs, chickens are so genetically manipulated that they grow six to seven times as quickly as they would naturally. They literally keel over dead. Jesus, looking for a metaphor for his love for humanity, used a hen’s love for her brood. These chickens, they’re smarter than dogs and cats, they’re never allowed to raise their kids, they’re cooped in their own feces and urine. They literally cripple under their own weight from all of these drugs and this genetic breeding. It is a sin to treat God’s creatures so abysmally, and that’s the reason that I got in to animal rights in the first place. I’ve been a vegetarian for seventeen years.

LEE STROBEL: Okay. Let’s let Wesley respond to that. Let’s let Wesley respond to that. Go ahead, Wesley.

WESLEY SMITH: Well, nobody supports animal cruelty, and of course PETA will take somebody who…

BRUCE FRIEDRICH: But if you eat meat, you do.

LEE STROBEL: Bruce, give him a chance to respond.

WESLEY SMITH: Nobody supports cruelty to animals, and, uh, what PETA tends to do is find an exaggerated or the exception rather than the rule and say that that’s the rule.

LEE STROBEL: Okay, we’re going to, we’re going to…

WESLEY SMITH: Here’s what the, here’s what the holocaust on your plate campaign said, and the audience has to understand that they mean this literally, not metaphorically, quote, “The leather sofa and hand bag are the modern equivalent of the lampshades made from the skins of people killed in death camps”. People that eat steaks are not Heinrich Himmler, and anybody who equates the Holocaust with cattle ranching does, is not qualified to preach morality to anybody.

LEE STROBEL: Now Bruce, how do you answer that? That really seems over the top. Come on.

BRUCE FRIEDRICH: Our point is, is that it’s the same mentality, this mentality that might makes right that allowed the Holocaust that allows us to do these sorts of things to animals. The reality is that other animals, differences between human beings and other animals are differences of degree, they’re not differences of kind. Other animals are made of flesh and blood and bone, just like human beings are. They have the same range of emotion, they have the same vital organs, and they feel pain.

LEE STROBEL: Okay, guys, good exchange. We need to take a quick break. We’re going to be right back. Don’t go away.

TELL US WHAT YOU THINK. LOG ON TO WWW.FAITHUNDERFIRE.COM  TO SEND US YOUR OPINION.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOR MORE INFORMATION AND RESOURCES ON TODAY’S TOPICS, LOOK FOR THE FAITH UNDER FIRE DISPLAY AT YOUR LOCAL BARNES & NOBLE BOOKSTORE.

LEE STROBEL: We’re back, talking about the civil rights of animals. Bruce, you don’t say that vegetarian diet would be mandated because a person’s a Christian, do you? You don’t’ think it’s something that naturally flows as a mandate from the teachings of Jesus, do you?

BRUCE FRIEDRICH: We’re a fallen people. In Genesis 9 we’re given permission to eat meat, but shouldn’t we strive day in and day out to make choices that are as compassionate as possible, as merciful as possible? Every time we sit down to eat…

LEE STROBEL: What…

BRUCE FRIEDRICH: …we can chose to support cruelty or we can chose to support kindness.

LEE STROBEL: Wesley, um, I mean we have been given…

WESLEY SMITH: Yeah.

LEE STROBEL: …Christians anyway, the right to eat meat, uh, in the Bible, is that not enough?

WESLEY SMITH: In fact, as I well, uh, the first, you know who killed the first animal in the Bible? God, when He clothed Adam and Eve who were embarrassed by their nakedness in animal skins. So if you got a problem with using animals in a proper and humane fashion take it up with the Lord. In terms of violence, this is something Bruce Friedrich said at an animal rights convention, quote, “It would be great if all of these fast food outlets, these slaughterhouses, these laboratories, and the banks that fund them exploded tomorrow.” Do you take that back Bruce?

BRUCE FRIEDRICH: I, I would like to see the places close tomorrow, but I basically live on the BK veggie…

WESLEY SMITH: You said exploded.

BRUCE FRIEDRICH: Wesley, I, I…

WESLEY SMITH: You said exploded.

BRUCE FRIEDRICH: I…

LEE STROBEL: Bruce, let me ask you the question. Is it ever right to pursue violence in supporting the animal cause that, uh, that you do?

BRUCE FRIEDRICH: Anything that would harm humans or harm animals is antithetical to what animal rights stands for. It’s about human rights and it’s about animal rights. They are bound and they are one in the same.

WESLEY SMITH: What we have to do in all of these issues is balance the human good received from the harm that can be caused. We have to be very careful, and, and perhaps the industrial farms need to be taken a look at. But having inexpensive food for people is a very important human benefit. And if these farms are as bad as, as PETA says they are, then they need to be dealt with. But that doesn’t mean we should not be allowed to eat meat. And that is PETA’s ultimate goal.

BRUCE FRIEDRICH: The, the human good received is we have two-thirds of Americans overweight. I go to church every Sunday; it’s no different there. People are so obese, and that’s one of the seven deadly sins, it’s gluttony. Vegetarians are a tenth as likely to be obese, we have more energy, we need less coffee. We need less sleep. It’s good for us and it’s good for the animals.

WESLEY SMITH: Bruce.

BRUCE FRIEDRICH: And you can sit there, Wesley, and justify the cruelty to animals that you’re supporting, but it mocks God to treat God’s creatures so abysmally. That’s what factory farms…

WESLEY SMITH: You know what, you know what, what…?

BRUCE FRIEDRICH: …and slaughterhouses are doing.

WESLEY SMITH: What mocks God is to create a moral equivalency between humans and animals just as the animal liberationist movement does.

BRUCE FRIEDRICH: You, you keep…

WESLEY SMITH: That is a true mockery of God.

BRUCE FRIEDRICH: You keep building up that strawman only to, only in order to knock it down. But the reality is on factory farms and slaughterhouses, God says,…

WESLEY SMITH: (mocking Bruce) Factory farms and slaughterhouses

BRUCE FRIEDRICH: …animals should be raising their children.

WESLEY SMITH: Ingrid New…Ingrid…..

BRUCE FRIEDRICH: God says, hence want to build nests.

LEE STROBEL: Okay, gentlemen, gentlemen, gentlemen. We’re talking over each other. Hold it, we’re talking over each other.

BRUCE FRIEDRICH: But what’s happening…

LEE STROBEL: Time out here, time out. We’re, we’re running out of time.

WESLEY SMITH: Have the, have the, Bruce, you should have the courage of your convictions, your own boss Ingrid Newkirk said a rat is a dog is a boy because we’re morally equal, and that does away with…

BRUCE FRIEDRICH: She didn’t though, Wesley.

WESLEY SMITH: …the concept of human in…she did, that does away with the concept of human exceptionalism, which is extremely dangerous to humans and it is extremely dangerous to animals.

BRUCE FRIEDRICH: Wesley, what she said is that where pain is concerned, and this is just physiologically true, take biology 101, where pain is concerned, a rat is a pig is a dog is a boy. We all feel pain in the same way; we all feel pain to the same degree. You have an issue with that take it up with God.

LEE STROBEL: All right. Gentlemen thanks for joining us. It’s been a, it’s been a provocative conversation, debate I’d say, and you know, I say personally, Bruce that I just don’t think you’ve established that Jesus was a vegan. I just don’t think the evidence is there. I think anybody who takes the text of the Bible seriously, and takes the New Testament seriously would not come to that conclusion. And, and I think the idea…

BRUCE FRIEDRICH: Lee, as long as people…

LEE STROBEL: Wait a minute, I think the idea of equating animals to humans, as Wesley has raised, it goes down a slippery slope. We really got to be careful, but, like Wesley, I mean, you raised some troubling points about how animals are treated in food processing plants, and I think that…

WESLEY SMITH: You know, Lee, sometimes…

LEE STROBEL: …that’s probably worth…

WESLEY SMITH: …you know…

LEE STROBEL: …probably worth pondering for all of us. We have to go.

WESLEY SMITH: You know…

LEE STROBEL: Bruce, Wesley thank you for being on Faith Under Fire. We’re going to be right back

AUSTRALIAN PRESS REPORTS EFFECTS OF WOOL BOYCOTT -- MULESING FACES CUT

As the American animal protection movement licks Tuesday's wounds (that is not a partisan statement about the presidential election but a comment on the loss of various battles over animal friendly and unfriendly ballot initiatives) we have good news coming out of Australia: an impending ban on mulesing. Those who missed earlier reports on the topic might not be familiar with the practice. The PETA website http://www.SaveTheSheep.com  is a superb resource on the campaign against mulesing and live export. It describes mulesing as follows:

"During mulesing, lambs are thrown onto their backs and their legs are restrained while the skin and wool around their backsides is carved away with metal shears to expose the flesh. At the same time, their tails are often cut off. The procedure is tantamount to partially skinning the animals alive without anesthetics."

Though Australia has a small human population, it is the world's largest producer of wool, so this is a huge step forward in the world of welfare. And the publicity surrounding the issue can help the public understand that the decision to wear products that do not come from animals is a sound ethical choice.

A Monday, November 8, article on the website for Melbourne's "The Age" headed "Wool industry leaders meet for talks," reported:

"Plunging prices, an international boycott threat and internal industry friction had plunged the Australian wool industry into crisis, a wool growers spokesman said.

"Australian Wool Growers Association leader Chick Olsson said the industry was facing an international boycott on Australian wool, jeopardising billions in exports....

"Last month, upmarket American retailer Abercrombie and Fitch, with $US1.2 billion ($A1.66 billion) in annual revenue, introduced a boycott on Australian wool after the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) threatened to conduct a campaign against the retailer.

"The PETA campaign aims to end Australia's live export trade, as well as the practice of mulesing lambs, where farmers cut away some animal skin to prevent flystrike."

We also learn from the article that GAP and Benetton are now looking at banning Australian wool. It is on line at:

http://www.theage.com.au/news/Breaking-News/Wool-industry-leaders-meet-for-talks/2004/11/08/1099781299688.html 

A story appearing on both the Sydney Morning Herald and Age websites, headed, "Wool Groups Hold Emergency Meeting" also notes the possible expansion of the boycott:

"PETA has threatened to pressure other retailers to ban Australian merino products."

That article is on line at:

http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/Wool-groups-call-emergency-meetings/2004/11/08/1099781291375.html 

And the wonderful effect of the pressure is revealed in a Tuesday, November 9, Melbourne Herald Sun report, headed: "Mulesing faces cut:"

The article opens:

"AUSTRALIAN sheep and wool industry leaders have responded to animal welfare group campaigns by promising to phase out the practice of mulesing by 2010.

"Industry leaders decided to phase out mulesing at a meeting in Sydney yesterday.

"WoolProducers president Robert Peitsch said the industry was speeding up research and development programs to enable an end to mulesing and interim measures to improve animal welfare.

"Mr Peitsch said industry research programs, undertaken by Australian Wool Innovation Limited, were looking at alternatives to mulesing, including the use of a protein that removes wool and tightens skin around the breech.

You can read the whole article on line at:

http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,11326896%255E662,00.html 

The PETA website, www.SaveTheSheep.com,  where one can learn about mulesing, also details the horror of live export.

And the articles in the Australian press announcing the welcome phase-out of mulesing, create opportunities for letters that slam the live export trade, and/or tout vegan fashion.

The Herald Sun takes letters at: http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/feedback/dhs-testletters.html 

The Age takes letters at: letters@theage.com.au 

The Herald takes letters at: letters@smh.com.au 

Always include your full name, address, and daytime phone number when sending a letter to the editor. Shorter letters are more likely to be published.

ST PETERSBURG TIMES FRONT PAGE STORY ON CANNED HUNTS

The St Petersburg Times has a Sunday, November 7, front page story on canned hunting. It is headed, "Shoot to thrill. At high-fence preserves, game hunters pay big bucks to kill exotic animals over a weekend. But has it taken the sport out of sport hunting?

Writer Leonora LaPeter describes a hunt then explains:

"The hunts take place behind 8-foot fences at safari-like game preserves throughout Florida. Hunters pay if they kill - as much as $7,000 per animal. They also pay a daily fee, typically $175 to $250, to stay at a lodge with meals.

"Animal rights activists call them 'canned hunts' because the animals are confined and can't get away. About a dozen states ban the practice; even some hunters say they violate the spirit of fair chase."

We read:

"Finding a trophy-size native white-tailed deer on Florida's 5-million acres of public hunting grounds can be tough.

"On game ranches, a single hunter sometimes has the entire preserve to himself. The properties tend to be more dense with animals, giving hunters more opportunity, and they offer variety, sometimes a dozen or more species."

We get an idea of the national picture:

"Of the 25 states that offer exotic animal hunts, Texas is the most popular, with at least 62 ranches and likely more that operate below the radar, according to the Fund for Animals, a nonprofit organization that opposes the practice. The group estimates there are between 500 and 1,000 exotic animal ranches in the United States."

Interestingly, we learn "Hunters in Montana pushed through a ballot initiative four years ago that banned the shooting of captive wildlife, said Jim Posewitz, executive director of Orion the Hunter's Institute, a Montana-based nonprofit organization that teaches ethical hunting."

Posewitz's opposition to canned hunts is based on the idea that the public owns the animals and has the right to kill them -- that right shouldn't fall to a few wealthy landowners. He is quoted: "There are 159 years of judicial history supporting the idea that wildlife belongs to the people and it is allocated in a democratic fashion. You put up a high fence and either buy or capture this resource, you're taking possession of something that once was and should be a public resource."

The article tells us that the Fund for Animals makes fighting canned hunting a top priority:

"Each of the past five years, the Fund for Animals has prompted congressmen to introduce bills that would ban the transport of exotic animals across state lines for the purpose of shooting them on ranches smaller than 1,000 acres. The bills have never been considered. This year's version was introduced a few weeks ago in the House and Senate."

(You can learn more about the issue and send a letter in support of the bill to your legislators at:

http://action.fund.org/action/index.asp?step=2&item=10186 

Or go to www.fund.org  and click on 'Crackdown on Canned Hunts'.)

You can read the full front page story at:

http://www.sptimes.com/2004/11/07/State/Shoot_to_thrill.shtml 

It presents a great opportunity for letters to the editor questioning hunting, canned or otherwise, as a sport.

The St Petersburg Times takes letters at: http://www.sptimes.com/letters/ 

CROMWELL ANTI AVMA PIG FARMING OP-ED IN CHICAGO SUN TIMES

The American Veterinarian Medical Association met on Friday, November 5, to, according to its website: "provide attendees with opportunities to increase their knowledge of the science and ethics behind how pregnant pigs are housed and to discuss related animal welfare concerns."

Actorvist James Cromwell, who won an Oscar for his performance as Farmer Hoggett in Babe, has an op-ed in the November 6 edition of the organization's hometown paper (The AVMA is based in Illinois) in honor of the meeting. It is headed: "Message for the AVMA: It’s Time to (Let the) Pig Out!"

He opens:

"The American Veterinary Medical Association is gathering in Chicago on November 5 to discuss a topic that is very dear to my heart: the treatment of pigs.

"Imagine being shoved inside a small closet with barely enough room to move. Your feet begin to ache from the hard floor so you contort your body just enough to sit down. But after a while, this position offers no more comfort and you struggle to stand up again. The lack of room to walk or even turn around starts to atrophy your muscles, and festering sores on your feet make every movement agony. Now imagine spending six years like this—and you'll begin to understand what life is like for nearly 6 million pregnant or nursing pigs in the United States."

He discusses the intelligence and emotional nature of pigs, tells us that gestation crates are banned in Europe, then writes:

"Yet the crating system continues to dominate the U.S. industry, in no small part because of its support from the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA).

"Although the AVMA’s professed mission is to improve animal health, it’s the factory farmers who make the decisions about animal welfare on their farms. This was even acknowledged by AVMA President Dr. Bonnie Beaver in her 2004 address to the AVMA House of Delegates in which she announced: 'It is important for each of us to recognize that we may at times become too close to the industries we serve, losing our objectivity about what is the best welfare and adopting instead that suggested by the industry.'"

He commends the AVMA for finally discussing the issue, but condemns how slowly the organization is moving forward on it, finishing his article:

"In the meantime, 6 million pigs in the U.S. remain immobilized in gestation crates despite the existence of viable, humane alternatives that are being successfully implemented elsewhere. So what is the AVMA waiting for? The organization should be true to its mission statement by condemning the use of cruel and oppressive gestation crates."

You can read the whole piece on line at: http://www.suntimes.com/output/otherviews/cst-edt-ref06b.html 

It would be wonderful if the AVMA's local paper were to fill up with letters to the editor expressing shock that the organization condones the crating of sows. Please write. The Chicago Sun Times takes letters at: http://www.suntimes.com/geninfo/feedback.html 

(Select 'letter to the editor' from the pull-down menu.)

Those who are unfamiliar with sow gestation crates should check out the photos at: http://www.factoryfarming.com/gallery/photos_gestation.htm 

Always include your full name, address, and daytime phone number when sending a letter to the editor. Shorter letters are more likely to be published.

NEW YORK TIMES ARTICLE ON GROWTH OF VEGAN FASHION

If you would like to get your mind off the election for a while, check out the lead article in the fashion section of the November 2, New York Times, headed "Being a Cow's Best Friend." (Pg BS.) It is about the growing interest in and availability of vegan clothing. It promotes MooShoes, a boutique in Lower Manhattan, and other merchants selling vegan goods:

"Pangea in Rockville, Md., sells vegan shoes, bags, wallets and guitar straps; the Web site Vegan Essentials offers hemp shoes and clothes. Vans now includes vegan sneakers in its footwear line. And Stella McCartney, long an activist for animal rights, has added shoes stamped ''suitable for vegetarians'' to her collection. Her fabric and Lucite pumps are available at Nordstrom."

It mentions various vegan celebrities and the change in image of vegan clothing from hippie to hip. You can read the whole piece on line at:

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/02/fashion/02FRON.html 

It presents a great opportunity for letters to the editor about the cruelty of the leather and wool industries. You can refresh yourself with information about the leather industry at: http://www.peta.org/mc/factsheet_display.asp?ID=58  and about wool, and PETA's Australian wool boycott at: http://www.savethesheep.com/ 

The New York Times takes letters at: letters@nytimes.com 

Always include your full name, address, and daytime phone number when sending a letter to the editor. Shorter letters are more likely to be published.