ARO newsletter - 6/12/05

[Catchawave]

Newsletter sampler :) Subscription information follows the text.
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A n i m a l W r i t e s © sm

Established 1997
ARO archives at www.geocities.com/RainForest/1395/


Editor ~ [e-mail]


Publisher ~ Susan Roghair - [e-mail]
Journalists ~ Greg Lawson - [e-mail]
~ Michelle Rivera - [e-mail]
Webmasters ~ Randy Atlas - [e-mail]
~ Trevor Chin - [e-mail]
Staff ~ Alfred Griffith - [e-mail]
~ Andy Glick - [e-mail]
~ Sheridan Porter - [e-mail]
~ Bill Bobo - [e-mail]
~ Katie Vann - [e-mail]
~ Michelle Michelson - [e-mail]


THE ARTICLES IN THIS ISSUE ARE:

1 ~ Pet-Friendly Hurricane Shelters Not Forthcoming
2 ~ Message From SHARK
3 ~ Puppymills & Hoarders Have a New Friend
4 ~ The Power of One
5 ~ Job Opportunities
6 ~ ACT Radio
7 ~ Horse Slaughter Amendment Passes U.S. House!
8 ~ Stop Cormorant Killings
9 ~ Why
10~ Memorable Quote




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~1~
Pet-Friendly Hurricane Shelters Not Forthcoming
By Michelle Rivera - [e-mail]



You know that Serenity Prayer? Oh, you know the one, it goes like this: "God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference." It's known as the "alcoholic's prayer," but many attribute it to St. Francis of Assisi, a monk and philosopher from the early twelve hundreds whom the Catholics often refer to as the Patron Saint of Animals. I bring it up now because it is certainly one of my favorite prayers. I mean, as animal-rights activists, we need to accept certain things and accept that those things may never be changed, at least in our lifetime. We need courage to continue to write those letters, attend those demos and work those phone trees even when we know that our triumphs are few and far between. And last, we need the wisdom to know which battles to fight and which ones to let slide for the time being.

This battles' time is here and now.

After four hurricanes devastated parts of Florida last year, the state is taking a fresh new look at some things we have learned to do differently. Tragically, because some people were forced to evacuate their homes, they had to turn their companion animals in to the county shelter where they were promptly euthanized. These were beloved, family members who had good homes and loving families. Their families were faced with a devastating decision. Forced to leave their homes, they brought their animals in for a certain death to avoid a possible death. Over eighty animals were killed in one day, the day before the hurricane, despite pleas from county animal control officials for folks to keep their animals at home or find another solution.

So now, the director at Palm Beach County Animal Care and Control is begging the county commission to find a solution. Looking to other Florida counties, they decided to follow the lead of many of them and ask the School Board if they can designate at least one school as a pet-friendly shelter. The School Board is being stubborn and unreasonable and refusing to even consider this request. School board member Deborah Robinson is quoted as saying that animals are "nowhere near my priority list." It never fails to intrigue me how people who say they want to help people in times of need won't look a little beyond the box and see that by helping their animals, they are helping people too! The other counties that Palm Beach County have approached for advice and sharing of information all state that the pet-friendly shelters were left CLEANER than were the shelters that did not accept pets. Fewer arguments broke out among shelter-dwellers and the pets were well behaved, confined in crates, and cared for by their families. People were not in such a hurry to return to hurricane-ravaged neighborhoods, risking injury, because they had their animals with them safe and sound.

Why the school board is so adamantly opposed to even discussing the possibility is a mystery, but maybe a few letters from Animal Writes readers would give them the impetus to open their hearts and minds just a little and stop being so adamant about something so important.

While Debra Robinson (whose picture appears with the others on this site) was quoted in the paper, all the members seem to be in sync with this position.

The board accepts e-mail at http://www.palmbeach.k12.fl.us/publicaffairs/board.htm

Please help us get this shelter for the animals so people don't have to kill their animals again this year.



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~2~
Message From Shark



Dear Animal Rights Online Subscribers,

We at SHARK would like say thanks to all of you who contacted the powers that be at the Campbell Soup Company regarding their corporate sponsorship of rodeo animal abuse through their subsidiary Pace Foods. Not only is Campbell's currently sponsoring regular rodeos, they are also sponsoring steer roping events.

Steer roping is a little known event in the rodeo world and with very good reason. The PRCA (Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association) keeps it flying about as far below the radar as possible. To find out why, please see our video clips at http://www.CampbellSoupKills.com. SHARK president Steve Hindi has called this event “calf roping on steroids.” It takes place in only a dozen western states, and it’s rarely included with other rodeo events. More often than not, steer roping (also called steer tripping and steer busting) takes place at a different location from the rest of the rodeo and at odd times. It’s also very common for it to be “by invitation only.” So secret is this unspeakable cruelty, it is not even included at the National Finals Rodeo held annually in Las Vegas. Instead, the steer roping finals are held several weeks before the NFR in out of the way places and without publicity.

This past year it was held in Amarillo. SHARK was there with its video cameras to document it. I have been involved in undercover video documentation of rodeos for several years now and have seen my share of animal abuse, but I was wholly unprepared for what I witnessed in Amarillo. Steer after steer was crippled or killed outright in the arena, then hauled out and dumped into a heap like so much trash. As always in the world of rodeo, there was no medical attention for those animals unfortunate enough to still be alive.

This is the hideous and indefensible cruelty Campbell's has chosen to support. We MUST stop it! Once Campbell's sees the wisdom of dropping its sponsorship, we will move on to another sponsor and then another, until there is no more corporate funding for steer roping. We sincerely appreciate your assistance in making this happen. Keeping the pressure on Campbell's with letters and phone calls is very important. It is also important to boycott Campbell's products. For a complete list of Campbell's labels and products, please visit http://www.CampbellSoupKills.com

Thanks again for taking the time to contact Campbell’s. We deeply appreciate your help with this effort and for all you do for the animals.

Sincerely,
=^..^= Pat Vinet
SHARK Campaign Coordinator
http://www.sharkonline.org/



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~3~
Puppymills & Hoarders Have A New Friend
From Best Friends Society
[e-mail]



And, unbelievably, it's ABC TV.

A lot of people were shocked and confused by a story that appeared on the ABC show 20/20 last Friday. It was an all-out attack on the SPCA of Texas and their cruelty and abuse investigations. And a completely unfounded one.

Hosted by John "Gimme-a-Break" Stossel, it argued that the Dallas humane group, under the guise of conducting cruelty and neglect situations, is really stealing dogs from "helpless" breeders, and then selling these animals for profit.

It was, for sure, one of the more bizarre "investigations" one could ever dream up, and one of the most irresponsible pieces of "reporting" I've ever seen.

ABC apparently contacted the SPCA of Texas last year, saying they wanted to do a story about animal abuse at puppy mills -- which, as we all know, are simply in it for the money. But in the finished version, it's the poor puppy mill breeders that are being exploited, and the SPCA that's in it for the money.

Talk about turning reality on its head!

It's not simply that the piece is biased. It's loaded with jaw-dropping misrepresentations from start to finish. How something like this got on the air is impossible to understand. (Makes you wonder about everything else you see on TV "news".)

The SPCA has published its own rebuttal. But the story of how this TV piece came to be, and what happened behind the scenes, is quite amazing. And it wasn't just the SPCA of Texas. All SPCAs everywhere are brought under suspicion.

We'll be telling the story in installments on the website this week, as we piece the various parts of it together. The first part should be up later today, Tuesday. And we'll follow up with more as we talk to more people in the days to come.
http://news.bestfriends.org



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~4~
The Power of One:
The Twentieth Annual International
Compassionate Living Festival



Book early and save money at the Power of One Conference, and at the same time take advantage of summer airfare sales to Raleigh-Durham International Airport for even further savings!

Save $30! Conference registration is only $129 per person if postmarked by August 31, 2005 -- after that, the price is $159. Registration includes the conference program, exhibit hall and bookstore, and five vegan meals: the Friday evening welcome buffet, breakfast on Saturday and Sunday, lunch on Saturday, and the keynote dinner Saturday night. The keynote speakers are:

Ø Tony Banks, who as a member of the British Parliament led the successful passage of the Hunting Act 2004 that outlawed fox hunting. He is now a member of the House of Lords.

Ø John Mackey, vegan CEO of Whole Foods Market, the world’s leading natural and organic foods supermarket and a driving force behind higher standards in animal welfare.

Additional speakers include Ingrid Newkirk, PETA; Jill Robinson, Animals Asia; Steven Wise, author, Rattling the Cage; Karen and Michael Iacoobo, authors, Vegetarian America, a history; Patrick Kwan, Student Animal Rights Alliance; Lt. Sherry Schlueter, Special Victims & Family Crimes Section, Broward County (Florida) Sheriff’s Office; Carol Buckley, The Elephant Sanctuary; Tom Regan, author, The Case for Animal Rights and Empty Cages; and Kim W. Stallwood, co-executive director, Animals and Society Institute.

For your copy of The Power of One conference brochure, please call [phone]; email [e-mail]; or visit http://www.animalsandsociety.org/.

A special Scholarship Fund has been established to underwrite attendance by full-time undergraduate and graduate students. Students will be awarded half-price registration on a first-come, first-served basis, based on the fund available. Funds are presently available for more than 50 scholarships! Scholarship applications are available at http://www.animalsandsociety.org/.

The Power of One is the Twentieth Annual International Compassionate Living Festival and is co-produced by the Culture and Animals Foundation and the Animals and Society Institute. The Power of One is at the Sheraton Imperial Hotel and Convention Center in Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina from Friday, October 7 to Sunday, October 9. The Sheraton offers free transportation between the hotel and Raleigh-Durham International Airport.

The Power of One is made possible by the Animal Protection Institute, Farm Sanctuary, The Humane Society of the United States, Lantern Books, and the American Anti-Vivisection Society.

See you there!

Kim W. Stallwood
Co-executive Director
Animals and Society Institute
Email: [e-mail]://www.animalsandsociety.org/
[phone]

Tom Regan and I look forward to seeing you at "The Power of One" conference in Raleigh/Durham, NC October 7-9. Registration information at www.animalsandsociety.org/conference05.htm.



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~5~
Job Opportunities



1. Opportunity to work as a Caregiver at Jungle Friends
Details at http://www.junglefriends.org/Opportunity.shtml

2. Campaign jobs to fight factory farming---an industry that is horribly cruel to animals, and is the number one polluter of our water!

Qualifications:
-a passion for animal rights
-ability to communicate these issues to the public

Flexible hours and days. Full or part time. Decent pay (you won't get rich doing this job, but you will definitely make a difference in the world!)

If you're interested call us at 760-525-3499 or email us.
Location: Berkeley
Salary/Wage: $300-$500 per week
Shift: Days

Reply: [e-mail]
http://www.aprl.org/
Animal Protection and Rescue League



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~6~
ACT Radio



Be sure to listen to ACT Radio, Animal Concerns of Texas, Sunday, June 10 at 7:30pm Mountain, 9:30pm Eastern. Greg Lawson, Steve Best and Liz Walsh cohost this animal rights oriented program every second and fourth Sunday of the month. This time we feature a conversation with Dr. Michael Greger about Superfoods that prevent cancer. ACT can be heard by going to www.ktep.org and clicking on the Listen button. Past programs are archived on the web at www.drstevebest.org/ACT/AnimalConcernsofTexas.htm



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~7~
Horse Slaughter Amendment Passes U.S. House!



We've done it again! Thanks to caring people like you, the U.S. House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly -- 269-158 -- to halt the taxpayer support for the slaughter of nearly 90,000 horses per year. The Sweeney-Spratt amendment effectively eliminates the practice of slaughtering horses -- thoroughbreds, show horses, family ponies, and wild horses -- for human consumption overseas.

The successful amendment to the agriculture appropriations bill, championed by U.S. Representatives John Sweeney (R-NY), John Spratt (D-SC), Nick Jo Rahall (D-WV), and Ed Whitfield (R-KY), will defund USDA inspections at the three U.S. horse slaughterhouses as well as border inspections of slaughter-bound horses. All three slaughterhouses are foreign-owned companies.

"Since our nation was founded, we as a country have shared a special relationship with the horse," said Rep. John Sweeney (R-NY). "It is unconscionable that for decades, we have been using federal taxpayer dollars to support a practice that the American public is overwhelmingly opposed to. I'm pleased to see that my colleagues agree that this horrid inhumane treatment must end."

"If you've grown up with and ridden horses as I have, you develop an affinity for these special creatures," added Rep. John Spratt (D-SC). "They're as close to human as you can get in the animal domain."

On May 19, the U.S. House voted to support a similar amendment, by a vote of 249-159, to ban the slaughter of wild mustangs. Today's vote protects domestic horses as well, as there is no justification in slaughtering horses for human consumption abroad. U.S. Senator John Ensign (R-NV) has pledged to introduce a bill in the Senate to outlaw the slaughter of horses for human consumption.

Protecting America's horses -- domesticated and wild -- has clearly struck a chord with animal advocates nationwide. Congressional offices told us they were flooded with phone calls and emails asking them to support the Sweeney-Spratt amendment, and I can assure you that your participation has once again carried the day for horses.

With two victories in the U.S. House, our efforts for horses will now turn to the U.S. Senate, and we hope you will be there with us to end horse slaughter once and for all. If you would like to help us do even more to protect horses and pass other animal protection laws, please make a donation at https://secure.hsus.org/01/founders_horse_slaughter/nB1q9Oo51ImeI?

Thank you so much for helping us win another critical legislative battle -- and for helping horses to run free and live in peace.

Sincerely,
Wayne Pacelle
President & CEO
The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS)
www.hsus.org



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~8~
Stop Cormorant Killings



Please take action on the despicable "culling" taking place in Presqu'ile Provincial Park in Ontario. Last year the Ministry of Natural Resources killed 6030 double crested cormorants. This year their target is 5500 because of pressure by hunting and fishing organizations. Below is a press release in regards to the killing of cormorants still feeding nestlings which Natural Resources promised they wouldn't do.

Barry Kent MacKay of the Animal Protection Institute is asking people and organizations to "sign on" to protest this kill. You will find the name and address of the Minister of Natural Resources below the press release and the letter below that. Please copy and paste the letter and form below then sign on and fax or mail to Minister David Ramsay.

For Immediate Release

Ministry of Natural Resources continues to kill even when cormorant parents are feeding their chicks.
Ministry fails to comply with EBR commitment - "The shooting of birds with hatched young will be avoided.
"Ridiculous cat and mouse games with observers continues in the fight to save the Presqu'ile cormorants.

Toronto, Friday, June 3, 2005: The Ministry continues to shoot cormorants in the colony where parents are observed feeding young. When the Ministry amended its cormorant management strategy in 2004 to include killing as an additional management tool, it committed not to shoot birds with chicks.

The report states, "The shooting of birds with hatched young will be avoided through modification in the timing of various management techniques."

"The Ministry's quest to kill cormorants reached a new low" said Julie Woodyer, Campaigns Director for Zoocheck Canada, one of the organizations observing the cull. "Ministry gunmen attempted to beat us to the punch by arriving earlier to kill as many cormorants as possible before we arrived on the scene."

"The whole procedure is just ridiculous" continued Woodyer. "Ministry staff should know by now that we can match them - for every hour they are on the island, we will be on the water monitoring them. We now have someone at the Island for 15 hours a day. We are determined to be here until they stop shooting the birds. We intend to continue to document parent birds feeding chicks and dead birds in and near nests with feeding parents."

"Video tapes of the colony taken by observers show that the cormorants have chicks" said Barry MacKay, Canadian Representative, Animal Protection Institute. "In one sequence it appears that one parent cormorant is feeding chicks with the other parent dead in the nest."

"Birders who have observed the colony on High Bluff Island previous years estimate that over 60% of the nests would have hatched young by now," continued MacKay. "David Ramsay, Minister of Natural Resources promised not to shoot adult cormorants with young. Yet this morning Ministry shooters roared over to the Island to see how many birds they could kill before our observers arrived. You really have to question the mentality of the Ministry staff who think it is OK to play cat and mouse games in an effort to blow away more birds. Cormorants are dedicated parents and try to tend their young even as they are being slaughtered by Ministry gunmen."

"The real joke is the Ministry's line that it is culling cormorants to protect the other species on the Island" said Woodyer. "Ministry staff talk about how sensitive the Black-crowned Night-Herons are to disturbance and yet they would be shooting throughout some days if we were there. They continue driving all-terrain vehicles throughout the island, picking up and composting the dead birds who fall to the ground in addition they are circling the island with motor boats to pick up dead and injured birds who are in the water from the days carnage.

Just the day before Ministry staff brought wood and re-bars to the Island and proceeded to build deer exclosures."

"We call upon David Ramsay, the Minister of Natural Resources to call off the cull to protect the adult cormorants with hatched young as his staff promised to do" said Rob Laidlaw, Director, Zoocheck Canada. "The Ministry made an absolute commitment to the public - shooting birds with hatched young will be avoided -in their amended cormorant strategy document posted on the Environmental Bill of Rights web site."

Note: Please circulate to anyone you know. In the States you can alter it to "area code" instead of "postal code". Fax or snail-mail it in. Ask me ([e-mail], or phone [phone]) if you have any questions. Please copy me. We are looking for both individuals and groups to sign-on. Thanks - BKM] (Barry Kent MacKay)

Honourable David Ramsay,
Minister of Natural Resources,
Whitney Block,
99 Wellesley St. W.,
Toronto, ON M7A 1W3
416-314-2301(p) 416-314-2102(f)

Dear Mr. Ramsay,

Please bring an immediate end to the cormorant cull to prevent the orphaning of babies who will die of exposure and starvation. I am writing to ask you to stop the slaughter of 5,500 cormorants on High Bluff Island in Presqu'ile Provincial Park, which started on May 24, 2005.

Observers of the cull have film footage of cormorant parents feeding their young chicks. The video also shows dead cormorants, killed by your staff, hanging from the nests as their partners try to care for the eggs and the young.

You promised not to kill parent birds. You commitment to members of the public reads, "The shooting of birds with hatched young will be avoided."

Parent cormorants take turns feeding their young, shading them from the sun, bringing water in their pouches to cool them off, protecting them from predators and keeping them warm. Cormorant chicks require both parents to survive. The Ministry gunmen are taking cruel advantage of this highly developed cormorant behaviour knowing that even under fire cormorants will return to their chicks. It is unconscionable that the Ministry would continue to shoot the adult birds knowing that young will be left to starve to death.

Therefore I am asking you to take the following actions:
1. Intervene immediately and stop the cull to prevent orphaned cormorant babies; and

2. Instruct your staff to stop "demonizing" cormorants in order to build a case for their mass slaughter;

Thank you for your consideration in this matter. I urge you to act quickly to stop the killing.

Sincerely,
Signature
Name
Address
City
Postal Code



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~9~
WHY
By Janet Riddle - [e-mail]

No more pretending, it's time to know
why won't you acknowledge you hurt us so?
We are defenseless and you are so strong
so how could we have done you wrong?

Your wrath is laid with a knife or gun
yet you say we're the ones that can't reason?
To comfort our terror, you seldom try
how can you so easily justify?

You're never around when we die
why can't you look us in the eye?
We scream and you cover each ear
why do so few of you care to hear?

Why when we're struggling to stay alive
we need you the most and you don't arrive?
Our death is caused by your own distant hand
why couldn't you have just made a stand?

You somehow accept most any deed
but won't you get bad crop if you plant bad seed?
You use and take our lives at your will
isn't that called stealing still?

Our lives are taken for only your gain
isn't it your hands that our blood has stained?
You have the control of your every choice
why won't you hear us and lend us your voice?

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~10~
Memorable Quote





"And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe,
nor political, nor popular, but he must take it
because his conscience tells him that it is right."
~ Martin Luther King Jr.






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Susan Roghair - [e-mail]
Animal Rights Online, President
Established 1997
http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/1395/
-=Animal RightsOnline=-
In memory of my Sam - www.all-creatures.org/stories/a-sam.html
In memory of my Molly Girl - www.all-creatures.org/stories/a-molly.html
«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»
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[shockra]

1. I saw that 20/20 segment.

Unbelievable. Of course it was a John Stossel story, so I knew it would be full of crap, but...to try and paint animal welfare organizations as doing evil to citizens and being in it for the *money*?? What planet is this "reporter" living on? Like there aren't enough homeless animals that they have to stoop to stealing them from people -- to have enough to sell. Please.

20/20 used to be a pretty good show, once upon a time. Now it sucks, big time.

http://news.bestfriends.org/index.cfm?page=SpecialReport&mode=entry&entry=591AF0D0-BDB9-396E-9A28B4C86DA4E693

Edson and the director of the SPCA of Texas, James Bias, were happy with the interviews and looked forward to an air date of the segment that would show the public the horrors of puppy mills.

Instead, they were shocked to learn that the information they had provided was to be used against them in the June 3 20/20 edition, with a segment called “Cruelty to Owners?”.

John Stossel presented a story that showed the owners of puppy mills as innocent victims and the SPCA of Texas, along with other SPCAs around the country, as the bad guys, stealing animals from these innocent breeders and selling them in a scheme that is all about money.

In a report that focused on money instead of the welfare of animals, John Stossel presented a story that showed the owners of puppy mills as broken-hearted animal-lovers left in financial ruin. In contrast, SPCAs were portrayed as greedy bad guys motivated by financial gain through “stealing” and then “selling” confiscated animals. It seemed to ask the question: what levels would animal welfare organizations stoop to next?

[Catchawave]

2. Hurricane shelters for pets.....

I was saddened to hear about this, from Michele's article:
<snip>
"After four hurricanes devastated parts of Florida last year, the state is taking a fresh new look at some things we have learned to do differently. Tragically, because some people were forced to evacuate their homes, they had to turn their companion animals in to the county shelter where they were promptly euthanized. These were beloved, family members who had good homes and loving families. Their families were faced with a devastating decision. Forced to leave their homes, they brought their animals in for a certain death to avoid a possible death. Over eighty animals were killed in one day, the day before the hurricane, despite pleas from county animal control officials for folks to keep their animals at home or find another solution."
<snip>

Why were they promptly euthanized....was it the owner's request or shelter policy? So if indeed they came from loving families, why?

I know in SE VA, whenever we're under "official" evacuation orders, hotels within hundreds of miles drop their "no pets" policy and offer deep discounts to families within the evacuation area (w/proof of address). I think this is a joint effort by FEMA/HSUS.

I know the public hurricane shelters will never allow pets, and that's understandable due to the nature of those places being packed like sardines!

I'm glad Michele brought this up now, there must be better solutions and alternatives for these 'loving families'
:crazy:

[livinginphotographs]

3. When Isabel came through last year

My ex-girlfriend wanted to evacuate our house, but I specifically stayed because I was afraid no hotels would put us and our 4 cats up. I figured if a tree landed on the house, I'd rather be here to make sure the cats were okay. She wanted to leave the cats in the house and get out.

Funny how I kept the cats and got rid of the girlfriend. :)

But back on-topic, I did find out later how most hotels will allow animals (within reason) in situations like that. I just can't imagine giving your animals up to be euthanized whenever there's some sort of natural disaster. Those sound like some pretty shitty pet owners.