We know that our movement has come a long way when we see the protection of rats and mice on the front page of the Wall Street Journal -- as it was on Saturday, May 16.
The article, by Dionne Searcey is headed, "Their Calling Is Defending Rats, Yet These Folks Aren't Lawyers."
It tells us:
"Animal advocates say rats and mice make up 90% of animal testing conducted in university laboratories and other research facilities in the U.S. In 2002, the Animal Welfare Act was amended to exclude rodents from protections offered to bigger lab animals including dogs, monkeys and even guinea pigs."
The piece quotes various people who are focused on getting at least some consideration for the mice and rats. For example, Chad Sandusky, who used to experiment on rats but now is the director of toxicology and research at the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, says, "I used to see rats and think, 'Ew.' Now I see rats and think, 'Those rats have probably got a family somewhere.'"
You'll find the article on line at http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124243142041325619.html
Please check it out -- it is truly interesting, and newspapers track which articles get the most hits and forwards. So why not spread the good word by forwarding it to your friends?
Positive feedback encourages further focus on animal issues so you may wish to thank Dionne Searcey for the article. She is at dionne.searcey@wsj.com
And please send an appreciative letter to the editor. The Wall Street Journal takes letters at wsj.ltrs@wsj.com
Always include your full name, address, and daytime phone number when sending a letter to the editor. Remember that shorter letters are more likely to be published. And please be sure not to use any comments or phrases from me or from any other alerts in your letters. Editors are looking for original responses from their readers.
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 for a fun celeb-studded promo video and information on Karen Dawn's book, "Thanking the Monkey: Rethinking the Way we Treat Animals," which was chosen by the Washington Post as one of the "Best Books of 2008." And check out Karen's new blog at www.ThankingtheMonkey.com/blog !
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Date: Sun May 17 21:51:47 2009
