DawnWatch Florida

Florida animal advocates holiday dinner in Orlando, Sat Dec 8, 2007

2007-11-28T12:58:48Z

The following note, from Bryan and Carla Wilson, is for all Florida animal advocates. Wish I could be there!
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Dear friends,

This is a important reminder about the 9th annual Holiday Dinner for the Animals in just 2 1/2 weeks! If you haven't mailed your checks it's not too late but space is filling up quickly!!

Each year animal advocates gather for an evening of delicious Vegan food, camaraderie, some of the best nationally known animal rights speakers, and of course those raffle prizes!! Do not miss out on the event that some call a "holiday tradition" in central Florida. This years speaker is Karen Davis with United Poultry Concerns. Even if you have heard Karen speak in the past, she always brings something new and exciting to the table! Please invite your friends and family to attend. Can you think of a better holiday gift?!

KAREN DAVIS is the President and Founder in 1990 of United Poultry Concerns, a nonprofit organization that promotes the compassionate and respectful treatment of domestic fowl. She has a PhD in English from the University of Maryland-College Park where she taught for twelve years in the English Department.
At the University of Maryland Karen founded the Animal Rights Coalition in 1989, and she pioneered a course on the role of animals in the Western philosophic and literary tradition in the University of Maryland Honors Program. Karen is a featured speaker at the annual National Animal Rights and Taking Action for Animals conferences in Washington, DC and Los Angeles. On July 2, 2002, Karen was inducted into the U.S. Animal Rights Hall of Fame for outstanding contributions to animal liberation. Karen is the author of several books some of which will be available for purchase and signing AT the dinner.

WHAT: 9th annual Holiday Dinner for the Animals
WHEN: Saturday December 8th , beginning at 6:00 PM
WHERE: Garden Cafe located at 810 West Colonial Drive in downtown Orlando
COST: Tickets are $25 in advance or $35 at the door. Price includes dinner selections from 8 Vegan dishes and iced or hot tea.
ALL proceeds will go to United Poultry Concerns

For information on where to mail your checks email us at ruvegan@cfl.rr.com

Because we are expecting a large crowd we recommend that you RSVP and mail your checks as soon as possible. *Your RSVP will only be accepted once your payment has been received.
If you cannot make the dinner, please consider still making a donation to the dinner for UPC and consider it your holiday gift to the animals.

**PLEASE pass this along to everyone you know who cares about making change for animals! We need YOUR help to help us raise important funds for the birds at United Poultry Concerns!!

Sincerely for the animals,
Bryan and Carla

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Date: Wed Nov 28 12:58:48 2007

DawnWatch Florida: "Smart, soulful, sexy people don't eat meat" in Miami Herald 1/18/07

2007-01-18T11:15:26Z

Many Floridians on this list will enjoy this piece from the Miami Herald.
You can send a supportive letter at http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/contact_us/feedback/
Choose "letter to the editor" from the pulldown menu.

Posted on Thu, Jan. 18, 2007
MIAMI HERALD
The Edgy Veggie
Smart, soulful, sexy people don't eat meat
Ellen Kanner

ellenink@aol.com

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/living/food/16477932.htm

Smarter kids make healthier adults. It's a fact. And in one of the findings linking higher IQ to better health, a British research team found smarter kids are more likely to become vegetarian when they grow up.

The study, published last month in the British Medical Journal, reports that if you became a vegetarian by 30, chances are your IQ was at least 5 points higher than that of your peers back when you were 10.

OK, as statistics go, it's a little wordy and it won't change the world. But I wish it would. Often, all it takes is one encouraging announcement to get everyone in line. All across the globe last year, people happily toasted the discovery of resveratrol in red wine. Finding the antioxidant properties of dark chocolate gave everyone a reason to indulge.

But smarter kids growing up to be veggies? I just don't see people snatching up celery.

How about this: Vegetarians are lower risk for heart disease, diabetes and obesity and have a 40 percent lower cancer rate than our meat-eating peers. We live healthier and longer, animals love us, we're smart (Einstein and Gandhi were vegetarians), soulful (ditto the Dalai Lama) and sexy (Natalie Portman and Prince). Think vegetarians are wimpy? Clint Eastwood's a vegan.

We have convincing proof. We have compelling examples. What we don't have are converts among the carnivores.

So what's the problem? Maybe what vegetarians need is a better marketing plan -- an ad campaign complete with a catchy sound bite, maybe with a jingle penned by Prince or another broccoli believer like Morrissey or Coldplay's Chris Martin. We need branding, T-shirts, action figures.

The thing is, vegetarians shouldn't need logos or product placement. We shouldn't have to advertise who we are and the benefits of our life choice.

The real question is why, given the statistics, anyone would choose differently.

The best I can hope for is that scientists keep up their research and for vegetarians to keep putting it out there.

In time, there'll be a whole generation of smarter kids who'll rely on statistics, not slogans, to decide the healthiest way to eat -- and live.
(End of Miami Herald piece.)
---------------
(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.)

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Date: Thu Jan 18 11:15:26 2007

Bi-partisan need to protect right to help animals in Florida -- No on Amendment 3, 11/7/06

2006-11-02T14:38:24Z

Florida:
Because of the strength of the animal enterprise lobbies, it is hard to get laws passed that offer animals even a modicum of protection. Animal advocates have come to rely on ballot initiatives, which bypass the lobbyists and give the people what they want. And the people generally want to end egregious animal cruelty.
The lobbyists are fighting back with Amendment 3. Please read the HSUS alert below, and forward it to all of your friends and family who care about animal cruelty, urging them to get out and vote against Amendment 3's assault on democracy.

You can watch ads against Amendment 3, currently running Florida, on line at
https://community.hsus.org/humane/notice-description.tcl?newsletter_id=3759877 OR http://tinyurl.com/y9mfna

Here is the HSUS alert:

Vote NO on Amendment 3, Protect Your Rights!

Election Day is just six days away, so I wanted to be sure to remind you to vote no on Amendment 3 on Nov. 7!

Amendment 3 would gut the citizen initiative process in Florida by creating a supermajority passage requirement for ballot measures.

Currently, Florida citizens have had the right to bring proposed laws -- like the 1992 "Save our Sea Life" amendment and the 2002 measure to halt the inhumane confinement of pigs on factory farms -- directly to the people after special interests in Tallahassee block consideration of these popular reforms. If Amendment 3 passes, you can still propose initiatives, but they'd have to get 60 percent of the vote to pass -- even though a politician needs just a simple majority of 50 percent to be elected!

That's not fair.

Just think: the anti-factory farming measure -- which stopped the use of tiny crates that do not allow pregnant sows to turn around -- would have been "defeated" even though it received 55 percent of the vote!

Trust the Voters is a coalition of citizen, environmental, and other groups, including The Humane Society of the United States. We are working to oppose the supermajority ballot initiative and preserve the rights of Florida citizens.

With Nov. 7 just around the corner, we need your help to spread the word. Share this link with your friends and family and ensure that Floridians' right to practice direct democracy is upheld.

I hope you will join our forces and help defeat Amendment 3. Don't let Tallahassee politicians and the developers and agribusiness interests that fund their campaigns take away your rights!

Sincerely,

Wayne Pacelle
President & CEO
The Humane Society of the United States
(End of HSUS alert)
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Date: Thu Nov 2 14:38:24 2006

DawnWatch Florida: Lead story on pig catching in the St Petersburg Times 9/4/06

2006-09-04T21:30:26Z

The following article from the front of the PAC section of Monday's St Petersburg Times presents a great opportunity for letters to the editor against the abuse of animals for human entertainment -- or, given the final lines, on the joy of being veggie! The St Petersburg Times takes letters at http://www.sptimes.com/letters/
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St. Petersburg Times (Florida)
September 4, 2006 Monday

Pig catching fun for some, disturbing to others.
Pig catching rubs some the wrong way

Pg. 1 PAC

By ERIN SULLIVAN
Times Staff Writer

�Do they usually scream like that?� I asked the rancher next to me as some kids hauled the latest pig to the ring. I was feeling like Clarice Starling in Silence of the Lambs.

If I�m about to cover my ears because some pigs are crabby about being covered in Crisco, I think I might faint at a slaughterhouse, swear off meat and start wearing hemp.�They�re not hurt,� said Ken Freeland. �Though there ain�t any free land anymore,� he sniffed.

The pigs are �just talking,� he said. �It�s like a dog barking.�

We were watching the first Greased Pig Contest, held Saturday afternoon at the 32nd Annual Pioneer Days Festival at the Pioneer Florida Museum and Village in Dade City. The grounds are just off Highway 301 N, across from the train tracks and an adult novelty and video store.

I�m not sure which was there first � the history museum or the novelty shop � but I imagine their visitors� paths cross as little as possible, one set being mostly retirees and children and the other, well, others.

More than 70 children and a smattering of adults registered to chase greased pigs � smothered with a handful of Crisco from a jumbo tub and then doused with a cup of olive oil, for good measure � which ranged in weight from 20 pounds to 60 pounds. The breeds of pigs were Yorkshire (a pinkish white) and Hampshire (bluish black with a white belt around the neck) � and the spotted offspring of both, which are called blue butts because, well, their butts are blue. They were brought in by B&B Farms, also of Dade City.

�We don�t have any flashy rides or rock climbing or anything, so we thought this would be a good way to encourage young families to come out and see what we do,� said Christine Smith, the Pioneer Museum�s director. �It�s an old-time fun activity.�

There were several rounds of greased pig catching, sorted in age groups.To win the event, small children just had to touch the pig. The bigger ones had to grab the pig by the hind legs and drag it to the center of the ring. The pigs did not seem to care for this.

The spectators and participants did, though, even after a minefield of glass shards was discovered in the newly tilled and muddied ring. The brave went barefoot. The extremely brave � yes, this is a euphemism � belly-flopped.Winners in all age categories then had to stand in the center, flash a gritty, mud-flecked smile to the crowd and raise his or her arms in victory, much akin to flexing body builders. Winners also got to take their pigs home.

This led to one Brooklyn, N.Y., native whose exceptionally quick son had snared a pig to mutter continually to himself upon leaving, �What am I going to do with a pig?� Though the man, as he put the pig in the backseat of his station wagon, perked up a bit after learning pigs can get to be 250 pounds � and then be sold for $2.50 a pound.

The event staff gave him directions to a feed store.Smith, the museum director, said the greased pig chase harks back to the strong agricultural history of Florida. She wasn�t exactly sure how the sport began and took root at fairs and festivals in small-town America.

Actually, no mention has been found � by this reporter and this newspaper�s research staff � as to when someone first got the notion it would be cool to chase greased pigs. A few people interviewed thought it was started by farmers who had to round up pigs for slaughter.

Knowing people, it probably went something like this:

�I bet I can catch that pig faster than you can.�
�Nuh uh.�
�Yessir.�
�Nuh uh.�
�Yessir.�
�Prove it.�
�Okay.�

Pig fossils have been found in Europe and Asia dating 40-million years. So, the first pig chasing competition might have been started with some hunched-over talk consisting of pushes, grunts and smoldering looks at the opposition. In addition to first dibs on the pig, a rock miraculously shaped into a funny or lewd shape might have been the prize.

The Tampa Bay area is the first place swine set foot in the new world. Hernando de Soto brought 13 of them here in 1539.Three years later, his herd had increased to 700. So, the very land you tread today might be sacred greased pig chasing ground � one of America�s first sports, perhaps.America is third behind Denmark and Canada in exporting pork. (I learned this from the ode to pigs section on the National Pork Producers Council Web site, which has its facts and figures listed directly above the link to recipes. The site also says that pigs are the fourth most intelligent animal. It did not say which three are above pigs, and if humans who pronounce filet mignon as �fil-ETT MIG-non� are included.)

There are more than 180 species of pigs on every continent except Antarctica. So, with that in mind, are there greased pig contests worldwide? Is there an international greased pig chasing champion lurking somewhere? A lanky Dane with a mantle full of trophies, a back yard with a rehearsal mud pit and an ample supply of lard? A Canadian with a T-shirt saying, �World�s Best Pig Grappler,� and then, on the back, �Got a problem with that, eh?� (Or, in the French regions, it would be black and of good material, a size XX-small and smell of smoke and coffee.)

How exactly does one � a person who is not a pig farmer, obviously � practice for this? Are there slicked-down and lubed-up dogs and cats (declawed, preferably) screeching across the globe?

Speaking of dogs and cats, this leads me to my conversation with Lisa Wathne, the captive, exotic animal specialist for the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

I phoned her on Friday afternoon, after I had gotten home and scarfed down a handful of thinly sliced honey ham. I washed my hands before dialing because I felt a little guilty.

PETA, of course, is against greased pig chasing.
�It�s very upsetting to many people. If something similar was done to a dog or a cat, people would be up in arms,� Wathne said. �People should be no less horrified about this being done to a pig.�
She said that the pigs are terrified and often get hurt during these events. She mentioned a pig chase in Maryland where contestants used ropes.One man nearly killed a pig when he lassoed it and then dragged it across the finish line. A newspaper article about the 2004 event said the unconscious pig was picked up and plopped into a cart by a rodeo clown but then came to after a while.Wathne said that there is little evidence of other hog injuries because, if they are hurt, these animals aren�t being taken to a vet. They�re all headed for a slaughterhouse anyway.�

It�s 2006. It�s time we realized that it�s not appropriate to be chasing greased pigs,� she said.Staff at Saturday�s event told contestants to avoid hurting the pigs: no biting, scratching, pulling, yanking or diving on the pigs, though some did. I squealed like, well, a pig each time a person dove on top of one. I kept waiting to hear bones break. But the pigs seemed okay. Not happy. But okay.Lisa Henry of B&B Farms said the pigs aren�t hurt at all. She, like most of the people interviewed, described the greased pig contest as �good, clean fun.� She has fond memories of pig chasing when she was a teen.

Paula Roderick, whose children competed in the event, said �this is great for kids. It�s not something that has just started � people have been doing it for generations. �God gave us food to eat. He didn�t just give us bread and water.�And, then she smiled.�I love bacon.�Freeland, the rancher who said squealing pigs are like barking dogs, said �these pigs probably love this.�They get to run around and show off,� he said. �Pigs are smart and they have a little personality.�He stood by the wire fence and hollered with laughter as he watched.�That pig is having a blast,� he chortled. �Look at them kids getting dirty. For every child who grows up in the city, they miss out.�This is what life is all about. These kids will never forget this.�

I left thinking that I am definitely, absolutely going to become a vegetarian. But then I started having visions of pulled pork and pork chops and ham sandwiches on nice, crusty bread, and I decided, �Heck with it.� But I can still hear them screaming and it bothers me.

The Pioneer Days Festival continues from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. today. For more information about the festival, go to www.pioneerfloridamuseum.org or call (352) 567-0262.

Erin Sullivan can be reached at
esullivan@sptimes.com
or (813) 909-4609.

(END OF ST PETERSBURG TIMES ARTICLE)
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(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. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.dawnwatch.com/cgi-bin/dada/dawnwatch_unsubscribe.cgi You are encouraged to forward or reprint DawnWatch alerts but please do so unedited -- leave DawnWatch in the title and include this tag line.)

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Date: Mon Sep 4 21:30:26 2006

DawnWatch Florida: St Petersburg front page on animal law -- 7/16/06

2006-07-16T17:05:29Z

The following article on the front page of the St. Petersburg Times presents a great opportunity for letters about human society's treatment of other animals. The paper takes letters at: http://www.sptimes.com/letters/

July 16, 2006 Sunday
A; Pg. 1A

LAW A LITTLE FUZZY

http://www.sptimes.com/2006/07/16/State/Law_a_little_fuzzy.shtml

By COLLEEN JENKINS

Times Staff Writer

Every evening, Maximo the Afghan hound gets fresh meat and vegetables. His weekly bath includes two shampoos, conditioner and a blow-dry.

�This dog is treated like a kid here,� Joan Beerman said of the care Maximo gets at her Tampa home.

But when a judge considers later this month whether Joan and Fred Beerman violated a verbal custody agreement they had with Maximo�s breeders, the dog�s welfare won�t have much legal standing.

People may treat their dogs like children, but the law doesn�t.

The issue of pets as property is playing out in courthouses nationwide as people separated from pets during Hurricane Katrina now are trying to pry loose their animals from adoptive homes.

In a highly publicized local case, Hillsborough prosecutor Pam Bondi will go to trial in November to fight to keep a St. Bernard from owners she believes didn�t properly care for it before the storm.

Cases like hers are being closely watched by animal rights activists and animal law experts, who say judges could carve new precedent if they consider a pet�s best interests when deciding who gets to keep it.

�There is a major problem right now,� said David Favre, who teaches a course on animal law at Michigan State University. �Whether or not you treat something right, if it�s property, simply is not relevant.�

Try convincing adoring pet owners of that. The law may check emotion at the door, but people who endure hefty legal bills and prolonged court battles on behalf of their animals don�t equate them with a car or a couch.

Take, for example, the Beermans. The couple, both in their early 70s, have spent $5,000 on attorney�s fees since getting served with an injunction three years ago by their dog�s breeders. The breeders, Michael Cuevas and Jesus Llano, said the Beermans were planning to sneak Maximo out of town and have him neutered.

The Beermans, who wanted to groom Maximo as a show dog, said they had planned no such thing.

The two sides settled last year on an agreement that required the Beermans to allow Maximo�s semen to be collected twice a month and to notify the breeders prior to visits to the vet, Joan Beerman said.

The couple stopped showing the 5-year-old champion dog because they said they feared that Cuevas and Llano would try to nab it.

Now the Beermans are headed back to court. Cuevas and Llano want the dog back, alleging that the Beermans violated the agreement.

�We�ve gone through a lot of aggravation and expense to keep this dog,� Joan Beerman said. �We just want to keep him and keep him safe.�

A few areas of the law have distinguished pets from property, but not always with success.

Some judges in divorce cases have set up visitation schedules for divorcing spouses quibbling over custody of their pets, which don�t fall under child custody rules.

Such agreements run into two problems: They�re frequently violated and appellate courts often overturn them. In a 1995 case out of Duval County, the 1st District Court of Appeal said a dog named Roddy must be evenly distributed like any other marital property.

�It�s really quite a step to abandon the property mode and treat the dog like a child,� said William Reppy Jr., a law professor at Duke University, one of about 60 law schools in the country that offer classes on animal law. �There are some cases where this is happening but it is by agreement� between the spouses and their attorneys.

In the Duval case, appellate judges did not mince words on the difference between pets and children.

�Our courts are overwhelmed with the supervision of custody, visitation and support matters related to the protection of our children,� the opinion read. �We cannot undertake the same responsibility as to animals.�

As animal rights activists continue to push for what they believe the law should be � that is, animals are different from property � folks who love the furry critters among us carry out their own versions of justice.

Last November, Tara Hood rescued a flea-ridden, food-starved kitten off the street outside her building contractor business in Tampa. She cleaned it, got its shots and made an appointment to have it spayed.

Two weeks later, a couple showed up claiming she had stolen their pet. Within days, there was a warrant out for her arrest. People picketed outside her office at rush hour. One protestor�s sign said �Tara Hood is a thief.�

Facing arrest, Hood still hesitated to relinquish the cat. She believed its initial owners should have had it spayed and kept it inside, away from the busy city streets.

�People are like, �Why don�t you just give the dog or cat back?� � she said last week.

Hood, who has fostered cats for five years, returned the cat, mostly because she began to worry for her personal safety. Hillsborough�s animal services department also promised to keep an eye on it.

�My concern was for the cat,� she said. �It�s honestly a true love of animals.�

In the tangles between Katrina pet owners and those who took in their lost pets, similar fact patterns are emerging, said Favre, who runs a comprehensive Web site on animal law.

On one side are those who argue they never intended to abandon their pets. They include Steven and Dorreen Couture, a New Orleans couple who sued Bondi of Tampa and Rhonda Rineker of Dunedin for refusing to return the dogs they were separated from during the hurricane.

Same goes for Thomas Exnicious III, a New Orleans man who is waging his own court battle to reclaim his chihuahua named Tricksy. The North Carolina woman who adopted Tricksy won�t give it back out of concern for the dog�s well-being, court records show.

�It is regrettable that we have to take this severe an action on behalf of a family that has already suffered enough,� said Carrie Ryan, a Charlotte, N.C., lawyer who is representing Exnicious.

On the other side are the adoptive owners like Bondi. She said she would have driven her adopted St. Bernard back to New Orleans herself if it didn�t have heart worms, which she believes indicates the dog didn�t receive needed medication before Katrina.

If judges stick to a strict construction of dogs as property, the new owners� argument won�t go far, experts said.

�They have absolutely no right to keep the dog,� Reppy, the Duke professor, said of post-Katrina owners. �You can�t lose your ownership in an emergency when the state of mind is so clear. It�s just preposterous.�

Cathy Wos contributed to this story. Colleen Jenkins can be reached at cjenkins@sptimes.com or (813) 226-3337.
(END OF TIMES ARTICLE)
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Date: Sun Jul 16 17:05:29 2006

DawnWatch Florida: Sun Sentinel front page and Orlando Sentinel on race track injuries -- 7/6/06

2006-07-06T17:34:23Z

The following front page Sun Sentinel article, headed "Breaking More Than Records," presents a great opportunity for letters to the editor about the use of animals in entertainment. A good source of information on greyhound racing is www.Greyhounds.org

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

The article is also in the Orlando Sentinel, on page B5, headed, "Groups: Report injuries at tracks"
The Orlando Sentinel takes letters at insight@orlandosentinel.com and advises, "Each letter should be 250 words or fewer and include the writer's name and day and evening telephone numbers for verification purposes."

Sun-Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, Florida)
July 6, 2006 Thursday
Broward Metro Edition
LOCAL; Pg. 1A

BREAKING MORE THAN RECORDS;
ANIMAL RIGHTS GROUPS WANT STATE TO REQUIRE RACETRACKS TO RECORD INJURIES OF HORSES, DOGS

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/legislature/sfl-fanimalsjul06,0,3088625.story?coll=sfla-news-legislature

By Linda Kleindienst Tallahassee Bureau Chief; Lynette Norris of the Tallahassee Bureau contributed to this report.

When Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro pulled up short in the Preakness Stakes,
his Triple Cown dream shattered by a broken leg, the accident dramatized a
stark reality: Racing animals get hurt.

The point was made again last week when the greyhound Ozzie The Man -- a
longtime big winner and favorite at the Palm Beach Kennel Club -- had to

retire after breaking his rear right foot in a training race.

Although thousands of dogs and horses race on Florida tracks every year, no
one knows how many suffer debilitating injuries that end their careers or
their lives.

The state doesn't require injuries to be reported. Animal rights groups
have been fighting to get a law passed that would require reporting, but the
Legislature has refused over the past several years to give the issue an
airing. Some say it is a testament to the racing industry's lobbying prowess
in the Capitol.

Sen. Steve Geller, D-Hallandale Beach, a strong supporter of the state's
pari-mutuels, filed the reporting bill for this spring's legislative session.
But he never got a hearing and the state took no position on the issue.

"I think it would make racing stronger by eliminating a lot of critics,"
Geller said. "They have told me there are not a lot of injuries and my
reaction was, `Fine. Produce the records so we can prove it.'"

While some groups would prefer to stop the racing, that isn't likely to
happen anytime soon, especially in Broward County. In return for the right to
operate slot machines, the Legislature mandated that the county's four
pari-mutuels continue to conduct live racing.

Several of the state's horse and dog tracks maintain injury records that
help them determine if their track has a problem, if the dirt is too hard or
too soft, or if the turns are too sharp for the animals. But track owners say
most of the injuries are minor. "The injuries are a tool for me to check to
see if there is any trend going on," said Dennis Testa, vice president of
racing at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, where Barbaro won the Florida
Derby in April. "I don't want to see any rider or any horse get hurt."

Testa, who said five or six horses had to be euthanized of the 7,000 that
raced at Gulfstream this year, said he would have no problem turning the
injury information over to the state -- if Florida required it.

Animal rights groups that are fighting for states to pass reporting laws
target the greyhound industry. Florida has 15 dog tracks, compared with only
four horse tracks.

At Mardi Gras Race Track and Gaming Center in Hallandale Beach, an
estimated 26,000 dogs ran in 3,444 races between December and May. Forty-one
injuries were reported, but none was life threatening, said Vice President Dan
Adkins.

In the nine states where reporting of greyhound injuries is mandatory, the
information has opened a window into a side of dog racing the public doesn't
usually see. Information was not readily available on how many states require
reporting of horse racing injuries.

During the 2005 racing season in one of those states, New Hampshire, 372
greyhounds were injured at the state's two tracks. Of those, more than 138
sustained "career ending" injuries; two were euthanized.

"I think the public would be outraged to find out how many dogs are being
seriously injured," said Carey Theil, executive director of Grey2K USA, a
Massachusetts-based group that pushes for reporting laws and would like to see
greyhound racing banned.

Jack Cory, a Florida lobbyist who represents dog breeders, owners and
kennel operators, fought to keep the recordkeeping bill from being heard by
the Legislature this year. He calls it a costly idea that is a waste of time.

"We don't require that kind of reporting for horses or people. These are
privately owned animals. I think we can spend the $1.5 million it would cost
to take care of hurricane victims or kids," said Cory, who represents the
Florida and national greyhound associations. Instead, the greyhound industry
would support the state taking a more active role in mandating track safety
standards, he said.

Bob Varnberg, 62, sees the end result of accidents that racing greyhounds
suffer at the track or the kennel. At Grey Haven kennel just south of
Gainesville, he and his wife, Marilyn, specialize in working with dogs that
have broken legs -- dogs that generally used to be euthanized.

When the animals are healed, the Varnbergs try to find new homes for their
wards through their Greyhound Adoptions of Florida.

Most dog accidents get public notice only if they're tragic enough to make
news, like the 2003 death of 3-year-old Leta's Princess, who had to be
euthanized on the track at Palm Beach Kennel Club after colliding with the
motorized lure. The West Palm Beach track does not keep injury records.

"No records are kept ... because it really hasn't been necessary, since
injuries are few and far between," said Theresa Hume, director of publicity
for the track. In recent years, the legislative focus has been on adoption
programs for animals that were once commonly destroyed because they couldn't
compete.

Lobbyist Cory helped write the legislation that requires tracks to have
greyhound adoption programs and advertise them. Kathy Pelton of Cooper City
has two adopted greyhounds, Mollie and Eddy. The vet determined Mollie, who
had been off the track for a year and was found wandering the streets of South
Florida, had suffered a broken leg. Eddy was underweight and infested with
ticks, fleas and worms when he was adopted just one day off the track. That's
when Pelton got involved with Grey2K USA.

"I think the public should really be made aware of how many injuries are
occurring at the track," she said. "And the only way we'll find out is through
a record-keeping bill."

Lynette Norris of the Tallahassee Bureau contributed to this report.

Linda Kleindienst can be reached at
lkleindienst@sun-sentinel.com
or
850-224-6214.

TRACK DATA
Of the 15 dog tracks and four horse tracks contacted by the South Florida
Sun-Sentinel, only four were willing to share information about on-track
injuries.

Collect injury information, willing to share some statistics:

Gulfstream Park (horse track), Hallandale Beach

Jefferson County Kennel Club, Monticello

Mardi Gras Race Track and Gaming Center (formerly Hollywood Dog Track),
Hallandale Beach

Pompano Park Harness Track

Collect injury information but refuse to make public:

Jacksonville Kennel Club

Orange Park Kennel Club

Do not collect injury information:

Calder Race Course (horse track), Miami

Daytona Beach Kennel Club

Derby Lane/St. Pete Kennel Club, St. Petersburg

Ebro Greyhound Park

Melbourne Greyhound Park

Palm Beach Kennel Club, West Palm Beach

Pensacola Greyhound

Tampa Bay Downs (horse track)

Did not answer requests for information:

West Flagler Greyhound Track, Miami

Bonita Greyhound Track, Naples/Fort Myers

Sanford/Orlando Kennel Club

Sarasota Kennel Club

Tampa Greyhound Track
(END OF SUN SENTINEL ARTICLE)
---------
(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. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.dawnwatch.com/cgi-bin/dada/dawnwatch_unsubscribe.cgi You are encouraged to forward or reprint DawnWatch alerts but please leave DawnWatch in the title and include this tag line.)

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Date: Thu Jul 6 17:34:23 2006

DawnWatch Florida: Lead article on pet evacuation bill in Sun Sentinel 4/6/06

2006-04-10T11:09:05Z

The following story, was on the cover of the Metro section in the Palm Beach editon of the Saturday, April 6, Sun-Sentinel. It presents a great opportunity for animal friendly letters to the editor. The Sun Sentinel takes letters at
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/opinion/sfl-letterseditor.customform

Sun-Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, Florida)
April 8, 2006 Saturday
Palm Beach Edition

LOCAL; Pg. 1B

PET-FRIENDLY SHELTER BILLS ADVANCE;
DESPITE CALLS OF SUPPORT, SCHOOLS HAVE CONCERN

BYLINE: Jennifer Peltz Tallahassee Bureau; Mark Hollis of the Tallahassee Bureau contributed to this report.

BODY:

For an untold number of Floridians, hurricane warnings force a wrenching
choice: their well-being, or their pets'?

Few public storm shelters allow pets, out of concerns about taking on care
and cleanup.

But since two bruising hurricane seasons have proven that many people would
imperil themselves before abandoning their pets, a South Florida legislator

and others are pushing for more free, public, pet-friendly shelters statewide.
Proposals (HB545, SB1484) made headway this week in the state Legislature,
getting nods from both House and Senate committees.

To Tara Foye, it's an idea whose time has come -- at 100 mph. She vividly
remembers huddling in her bathroom last fall as Hurricane Wilma trashed the
back porch and threw a tree through her windshield.

She and her boyfriend, Dennis Stroccia, had thought about clearing out. But
with a Labrador retriever and two cats, where?

"And I'll be damned if I'm going to leave them," says Foye, who lives west
of Boca Raton. "... When an animal lives with you for five or 10 years,
they're part of the family."

Broward and Miami-Dade counties already have hurricane shelters that
welcome pets along with people.

But the topic is a raw nerve in Palm Beach County.

Nearly all of the county's public hurricane shelters are in public schools,
and county leaders have implored school officials to designate at least one as
a place for pets. But school administrators have raised a host of red flags,
from air quality to pet escapes, according to schools spokeswoman Vickie
Middlebrooks.

"The School District is sensitive to the needs of people who do not, and
should not, need to abandon their pets during emergencies," Middlebrooks says.
"... However, the School District doesn't feel that schools are the solution
to the problem."

But county Animal Care and Control Director Dianne Sauve thinks they are,
for lack of other hurricane-safe options.

As a stopgap, her agency took in pets during Wilma, but owners couldn't
stay with them and had to sign forms acknowledging the West Palm Beach-area
building might not withstand the storm.

Last summer's catastrophic Hurricane Katrina put a nationwide spotlight on
the predicament of pets in disasters. Stories of Gulf Coast residents who
refused to evacuate because buses or shelters wouldn't take their pets, as
well as images of other pets abandoned amid the floodwaters, compelled
Congress to consider the issue.

Those stories and pictures made a similar impact on state Sen. Nan Rich,
D-Weston. She's pushing to require a pet-friendly storm shelter in each
Florida county.

"Seeing the plight of people who had pets and who had nowhere to go in
Mississippi and New Orleans and even in our own state ... I just thought that
this was an important component of our emergency plans," says Rich, a former
dog owner.

Mark Hollis of the Tallahassee Bureau contributed to this report.

Jennifer Peltz can be reached at
jpeltz@sun-sentinel.com
or 850-224-6214.

PROTECTING PETS

Hurricane preparations need to include pets, too. Some advice from
animal-care experts:

Prepare a two-week pet survival kit before a hurricane. It should include a
crate or carrier large enough for each pet, veterinary records, photos of the
pet, leashes, toys, blankets, water and food dishes. Make sure to add a
two-week supply of pet food, water, pet medications, cleaning supplies and
litter.

Be sure each pet has current vaccinations, especially rabies.

Be sure each pet has a current identification tag. Attach a phone number of
a relative or friend not in the evacuation zone, so anyone who finds your pet
will be able to call a person who knows how to reach you.

Don't leave your pets at home if you evacuate. If they survive the storm,
they might wander out through a broken window or door and get lost.

If you plan to board your pet at a kennel, make reservations early.

If you have fish, consider getting a battery-operated air pump.

For more information on disaster planning for pets, call Palm Beach County
Animal Care & Control at 561-233-1200.
(END OF SUN SENTINEL ARTICLE)
-----------------------------
(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. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.dawnwatch.com/cgi-bin/dada/dawnwatch_unsubscribe.cgi If you forward or reprint DawnWatch alerts please leave DawnWatch in the title and include this tag line.)

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Date: Mon Apr 10 11:09:05 2006

DawnWatch Florida: CBS 4 follow-up on Canadian seal hunt 3/22/06

2006-03-22T19:03:25Z

Floridians:
Here is a link to Jennifer Santiago's follow-up story on the seal hunt on CBS 4 in Miami. Check it out at
http: HREF="mailto://cbs4.com/video/?id=14957@wfor.dayport.com">//cbs4.com/video/?id=14957@wfor.dayport.com and please send your thanks at http://cbs4.com/contact

If you are in the Miami CBS 4 viewing area, please include your address.

I send a big thank you to all who wrote CBS 4 after the first piece.

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. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.dawnwatch.com/cgi-bin/dada/dawnwatch_unsubscribe.cgi If you forward or reprint DawnWatch alerts, please do so unedited -- leave DawnWatch in the title and include this tag line.)

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Date: Wed Mar 22 19:03:25 2006

Florida DawnWatch: Miami Herald front page on plight of wildlife post Wilma 11/10/05

2005-11-10T14:43:41Z

The following article, from the front page of the Thursday, November 10, Miami Herald, closes with this welcome line:
"They're homeless and trying to get by just like we are. We have to live with them and respect them.''

You can send an appreciative letter to the editor at http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/contact_us/feedback_np1/

The Miami Herald
November 10, 2005 Thursday
A; Pg. 1

Scattered wildlife draws too close for comfort;
Animals in South Florida are facing the same housing plight that people are facing after Hurricane Wilma -- no place to stay.

TODD WRIGHT, twright@herald.com

Armed with a flashlight, hand mirror, and ladder, animal trapper Corey Holender tried to evict a tiny tenant from a three-bedroom Miramar home.

The unwanted houseguest, an opossum the size of a small dog, snuck into the house through a hole that Hurricane Wilma punched in the roof. Much to homeowner Alessandra Bond's dismay, the marsupial has been squatting in the ceiling above the master bathroom for several days.

''My roof is caving in. My house is a mess and we just got power,'' said Bond, watching cautiously as Holender tried to capture her new roommate.

''I love animals more than anything, but this is too much. I have enough problems,'' she said.

Hurricane Wilma left behind a growing number of problems for homeowners, like Bond, already hit with power outages, roof damages and a ruined landscape.

Now, piles of curbside debris and holes in roofs and porches have become inviting, temporary lodging for wildlife in search of new sleeping quarters after having their tree homes destroyed.

An auto-body shop's garage makes a good home for burrowing owls.

Attics are comfortable spots for iguanas.

Raccoons, usually seen scurrying into the nearest bush as humans approach, have been caught napping in doorways.

Mice, rats and other rodents seem to prefer setting up housekeeping in the mounds of debris.

Yards have become a happy hunting ground for hawks, vultures and snakes.

FREE HOTEL

''There are a lot of displaced animals out there and your home is just as good a place as any for them to live in,'' said Gary Curto, a supervisor at Fort Lauderdale's Wildlife Care Center.

``It's like a free hotel room.''

Although more wild animals are surfacing in neighborhoods, people are in little danger, he said.

''Nothing is going to be jumping out of the wood pile,'' he said.

``Most animals, when given the opportunity to leave, will always leave.''

But the situation could become worse if debris piles are left standing and vacant buildings are not patched up quickly, Curto said.

THIRTY ANIMALS A DAY

After Hurricane Katrina in September, the Wildlife Care Center was admitting about 150 displaced and injured wild animals a day, mostly babies.

The center is averaging about 30 animals per day after Wilma, Curto said.

The hurricane also may have affected the flight pattern of migrating birds, which has made for good bird-watching for people and harrowing times for pets.

Baltimore orioles, woodpeckers and warblers all have been spotted in neighborhoods across Broward since the storm, Curto said.

Normally, the birds would be on their way farther south.

Curto said his center has received calls about red-tailed and red-shouldered hawks attacking birds in backyards and eyeing the family poodle or cat from telephone wires.

''Until we get some of our canopy back, we are going to hear about a lot of animals moving close to people,'' Curto said.

"They're homeless and trying to get by just like we are. We have to live with them and respect them.''
----------------------------
(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. To unsubscribe, go to www.DawnWatch.com/unsubscribe.php. If you forward or reprint DawnWatch alerts please leave DawnWatch in the title and include this tag line.)

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Date: Thu Nov 10 14:43:41 2005