Before I report on the huge animal news this week, the killing a trainer by a grizzly bear, I will note a smaller and more trashy bit of news, which, however, touches on the important issue of pet store purchases. The New York Post's celebrity gossip page, "Page Six," today reported on my coverage, in "Thanking the Monkey: Rethinking the Way We Treat Animals" of Paris Hilton and Britney Spears's pet shop adventures. Unfortunately Page Six edited out the fun bits, and left us with the idea that I am "raging" against the celebs, rather than just having a bit of a go at them while making an important point. But still, I am pleased that an animal rights book, and this issue, is getting Page Six attention. You'll find the piece, headed "STIFLE THOSE ANIMAL IMPULSES," and with a big picture of Paris Hilton, on line at:
http://www.nypost.com/seven/04252008/gossip/pagesix/stifle_those_animal_impulses_108006.htm
or http://tinyurl.com/6bwja2
Now that Paris got us the attention, it would be great if people used the piece as a jump off point for letters to the editor about the horrors of pet stores and puppy mills, and the joys of adoption. The Post takes letters at http://www.nypost.com/postopinion/letters/letters_editor.htm
The big news in animal entertainment this week, was the killing of trainer Stephan Miller, by Grizzly Bear Rocky. The brief International Herald Tribune article, Thursday, April 24, (pg 6) told us only:
"A grizzly bear that appeared in a recent movie killed a 39-year-old trainer with a bite to his neck and had to be subdued with pepper spray. Three experienced handlers were working with the bear Tuesday at Randy Miller's Predators in Action facility when the bear bit the trainer, 39-year-old Stephan Miller, on the neck, a San Bernardino County sheriff's spokeswoman said."
Those few lines offer an opportunity for letters to the editor about the suffering of animals used in entertainment. The International Herald Tribune takes letters at letters@iht.com
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The Los Angeles Times, April 24, included an article, by David Kelly, headed, "Trainers want bear spared;
Slain man's colleagues say the grizzly who killed him is not aggressive and should not be euthanized." (Pg B3)
It opens:
"Friends and colleagues of an animal trainer killed by a performing bear called it a 'freak accident' Wednesday and said the 700-pound grizzly should not be euthanized. The animal, they said, did not intend to kill the bear expert.
"'The same thing he was doing I have done a hundred times. We wrestle the bears in a loving way,' said Joel Almquist, an animal trainer who has worked extensively with Rocky, the 5-year-old grizzly who killed 39-year-old Stephan Miller on Tuesday with a single bite to the neck.
"'This bear has never shown aggression,' Almquist said. 'It was a flash bite, a real quick . . . bam. Unfortunately, we are built like tissue paper compared to them.'"
The article ends with a quote from Karen Rosa, director of the American Humane Assn.'s film and television unit:
"This does not sound like an aggressive attack. It sounds like it happened in the course of playing...But we would probably not be comfortable working with Rocky on the set. It would be a liability issue."
That brings up the question of Rocky's future.
You'll find the full article on line at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/inland/la-me-bear24apr24,0,6884821.story
A discussion of the sadness of the animal entertainment industry would be truly useful on the editorial pages of the Los Angeles Times, in the world entertainment capitol. So please send a letter.
The Los Angeles Times takes letters at letters@latimes.com
In 'Thanking the Monkey', I title Chapter Three, on animal entertainment, "All the World's a Cage."
You can view the first few pages of each chapter on line at http://tinyurl.com/4wd4hq
In the first few pages of Chapter Three, I discuss what I call the ABCDs of animal entertainment: Aquisition, Brutality, Confinement, Disposal. They might be of interest with regard to the current bear story.
You can watch the beautiful bear, Rocky, in the movie "Semi-Pro" with Will Ferrell, and training for the movie, at the links below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GnPt3RIIsA&NR=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPeXZWalpOo
Note the chain link fenced area in which the bear lives.
The story has been in countless papers. If it is in yours, please take the opportunity to send a letter to your editor about the lives of animals in the Hollywood entertainment business.
Yours and the animals',
Karen Dawn
(DawnWatch is an animal advocacy media watch that looks at animal issues in the media and facilitates one-click responses to the relevant media outlets. You can learn more about it, and sign up for alerts at http://www.DawnWatch.com. You may forward or reprint DawnWatch alerts if you do so unedited -- leave DawnWatch in the title and include this parenthesized tag line. If somebody forwards DawnWatch alerts to you, which you enjoy, please help the list grow by signing up. It is free.)
Please go to www.ThankingtheMonkey.com to read advance reviews of Karen Dawn's new book, "Thanking the Monkey: Rethinking the Way we Treat Animals” and watch the fun celebrity studded promo video.
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Date: Fri Apr 25 21:38:57 2008
