A n i m a l W r i t e s © sm
The official ANIMAL RIGHTS ONLINE newsletter
Publisher ~ EnglandGal@aol.com
Issue #
10/22/00
Editor ~ JJswans@aol.com
Journalists ~ Park StRanger@aol.com
~
MicheleARivera@aol.com
~ SavingLife@aol.com
THE EIGHT ARTICLES IN THIS ISSUE ARE:
1 ~ Apartheid and the Three Caracal Kittens
by Chris Mercer and Beverly Pervan
- krc@spg.co.za
2 ~ The Seven Spirits by KMBWolf@aol.com
3 ~ To Be Peaceful by Carolyn Zaikowski
- MagicReese@aol.com
4 ~ The Most Important Song In The World
from Amanda Valencia - mandypandy5@yahoo.com
5 ~ PeTA Publishes First-Ever Leather Alternatives
Shopping Guide
6 ~ NotMilk.....When Hell Freezes Over by
Robert Cohen - i4crob@idt.net
7 ~ If I could talk to the animals.....
submitted by Steve
Best - sbest1@elp.rr.com
8 ~ Quote To Remember
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Apartheid and the Three Caracal
Kittens
by Chris Mercer and Beverly Pervan - krc@spg.co.za
Authors of the book For the Love of Wildlife
submitted by Merritt Clifton - anmlpepl@whidbey.com
The
Kalahari Raptor Centre is a wildlife sanctuary in South Africa. It is
also the only registered wildlife rehabilitation centre in the Northern Cape
province, which is a vast province covering one-third of the country.
On Saturday, October 14, 2000 we sent the following letter by fax to the
department of Nature Conservation of the Northern Cape Province in Kimberley:
Dear Sirs:
Further to our previous general application for permits to provide sanctuary to
predators, there has been a subsequent development.
On Wednesday we received a phone call from a farmer who stated that he had
captured three young caracals after trapping their mother and killing
her. He felt sorry for the young animals but said that if we could not
take them he would have to put them down. We made an arrangement in
pursuance of which I drove to a small place called Nonieputs (over a thousand
kilometers round trip) to fetch them. One of the three had a broken fore
leg and I took her straight to the veterinarian in Kuruman, Dr. van der
Westhuizen, who attended to the leg and immobilized it.
We are thus presently caring for three young caracals, one of which is
disabled. We wish to use them for the education of schoolchildren who
visit our center, and for the benefit of tourists, who like to photograph
these exquisite little predators. We have no intention of allowing the
public to handle them. We propose to build for them a large camp with
high electrified fencing, where they may live out as happy a life as
possible. We thought that the natural veld near the present vulture
restaurant would give them a pleasant site with a view out over the veld and
plenty of camelthorn trees for shade.
Alternatively, once they are a little older and stronger, do you have any
wilderness in mind where we could release them back into the wild?
Our book For the Love of Wildlife will be out shortly, dedicated to the waning
spirit of wild Africa and its purest elements, the predators with whom mankind
refuses to live, or let live. We hope that you will have no trouble
giving us a permit to care for these beautiful, much-persecuted animals.
Yours truly,
Chris Mercer
Kalahari Raptor Centre
The response, in bold print with much underlining, was a categorical
refusal of the application; a notice of the department's intention to institute
a prosecution; and an invitation to a meeting to "discuss the renewal
of existing permits and to reconsider the future of the Kalahari Raptor
Centre."
The department intends to apply a piece of apartheid-era legislation called the
Problem Animal Control Ordinance, which is a chilling reminder of the days when
all laws and policies were framed to protect the narrow commercial interests of
a tiny minority, the Afrikaans farming community, at the expense of the
population at large.
The Problem Animal Control Ordinance of 1974 is a Declaration of war upon, and
an extermination program for, two species of wildlife: the black-backed jackal
and the caracal (lynx). Both these species are invaluable to a healthy
natural ecosystem by keeping down numbers of rodents and other pests -- but
when farmers create a prey-desert for them by hunting guinea fowl and
springhares, predators will turn their attention to the livestock farmers'
lambs.
Any attempt to harbor or care for these alleged enemies of the State is
strictly verboten. For example, any motorist who stops to pick up an
injured caracal kitten to take her to a veterinarian commits a crime. He
must kill the little animal forthwith, and then bury the body, or he is guilty
of yet another offense.
Wildlife sanctuaries, and this would include economically important eco-tourism
resorts, are treated by the law as an illegal breeding ground for vermin.
Draconian measures are provided to prevent any show of kindness to the
enemy. The local livestock farmers' association and its military wing,
the provincial nature conservation department, are granted the power to behave
like Robert Mugabe's thugs in Zimbabwe and carry out an armed invasion of the
sanctuary, featuring men on horseback supported by packs of dogs which are
provided by the South African taxpayer. (Until recent financial
stringency brought this abomination to an end, the provincial nature
conservation departments used public funds to import hounds from
overseas. In the Orange Free State such mayhem-by-authority has been
privatized, and is infamously known as the Oranjejag.)
The armed cavalry or motorized invaders, together with the dog pack, may smash
through the fence of any suspect sanctuary and/or eco-tourism resort and charge
around the veld looking for any caracals or jackals who might seek shelter from
the extermination program, making of each little caracal kitten an Anne Frank hiding
in the attic.
A better recipe for causing armed conflict between neighbors is hard to
imagine. The hunters may invade without
notice or permission. Any attempt to resist the invasion is unlawful;
further the outraged occupier may be forced to join the hunt, as
participation in it is compulsory.
When a fugitive goes to ground, the burrow is dug up and then the unfortunate
fellow-occupants of the doomed burrow, whether ant-bears or bat-eared foxes or
whatever, share the fugitive's fate of being torn apart by snarling dogs in a
welter of blood and dust.
The hunt pays no compensation for any collateral damage and loss it
causes. However, the hunters, who are paid and rewarded by the taxpayer
for their grisly work, may recover all of their expenses from the aggrieved
owner/occupier of the scourged land. Limitations are also placed on any
criminal liability for hunt members.
In short, this is nothing more or less than a selective imposition of martial
law. This monstrous legislation so far
exceeds any legitimate need for livestock farmers to protect themselves from
stock predation, and is so immoral and so damaging to the economic interests of
the country, that one wonders how it has avoided repeal in the new South
Africa. Regardless of the obvious sustained cruelty to exquisite
wildlife, the misuse of public funds and harm to the employment prospects for
previously disadvantaged Africans who are condemned to remain as farm slaves
rather than to find emancipation through eco-tourism, are in themselves
good reasons for repeal.
Who are the real problem animals anyway? Certainly not the magnificent
predators whom the tourists will pay millions to see and photograph. The
real problem animals are the goats and sheep who trample and devastate the veld, turning
the land into desert. Besides, the livestock farmers are in retreat
across the southern Kalahari. Terms of trade have moved against them,
while eco-tourist resorts are sprouting and game reserves are expanding.
Tswalu alone changed 26 livestock farms into one 90,000 hectare eco-tourism
resort.
The land use may be changing, but not the laws. As the sun sets on
apartheid and the Kalahari ranching industry, the lengthening shadows of a
brutal past reach out to haunt us.
The only remedy presently available to those who provide islands of sanity in a
sea of mad destruction is the Constitutional Court, and it is not a pretty
equation to divide the delays and costs of a full-scale constitutional battle
by the lives of three little caracal kittens. We intend to do it anyway.
[Messages on behalf of the three Kalahari caracal kittens may be sent to the
Premier of the Northern Cape Province of South Africa, fax 053-8332122; the
Department of Environmental Affairs, fax 012-3220082, e-mail
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The Seven Spirits
by KMBWolf@aol.com
Seven spirits lived in the great beyond. Several
times, they would overhear other spirits telling them how good their life had
been on earth. The seven spirits eagerly looked forward to when they would get
the chance to live on earth.
When the spirits found out that they were all next to receive their bodies,
they all agreed to meet after their lives to discuss how great life on earth
was.
The first spirit was born as a mouse. He started his life happily in a human
home, munching on the random cornflake and climbing throughout the walls. One
day, a luscious smell entered his nose. He followed the scent of cheese to a
hole in the wall leading to the kitchen. He tugged on the cheese when
*SNAP!!* A mousetrap that had been laid for him broke his neck, killing
him.
The second spirit was born a kitten. She sat in a box with her siblings with a
"free to a good home" sign. A man with a strange scent chose her from
the litter. He carried her to a fenced
yard, where she heard loud, angry barking. The man dangled her over the fence
by her scruff. To her horror, she saw three enraged pit bulls, jumping to reach
her. The man threw her in the air above the dogs, where she landed in one's
mouth and was ripped apart between the three.
The third spirit was born a puppy. He found himself living on the streets,
struggling to find food. A woman found him and took him to a shelter, where
cats and dogs barked for homes. He was placed in a cage, and there he stayed.
He watched as dogs and cats came and went. He paced in his cage for days,
hoping that someone would take him home. One day, a man opened his cage. He jumped for joy as he realized that
someone wanted to adopt him. He was taken to another room and placed on a cold,
metal table. He was held down, shivering and shaking, when he felt a small
sting. He found himself breathing slower, and getting weaker, as the euthanasia
kicked in.
The fourth spirit was born a rabbit. She was shipped to a cold, white
laboratory, where she was kept in a small cage. She could feel the fear and
sadness of the other rabbits. She was taken one day to a table where she was
strapped down. A scientist shoved a
tube down her throat, gagging her. Fluids entered her stomach. Hours went on,
and more fluid was fed to her. She wanted to vomit, but the tubes prevented her.
Around her, others were dying. Her body trembled with sickness and fear until
she, too, succumbed to what humans call medicine.
The fifth spirit was born a calf. He was taken straight away from his mother.
He cried out for her, but the men just simply threw him in a wooden create. He
could not stand, nor turn around, and he was fed such awful food. He yearned to
be with his mother cow, but all he could nuzzle was the rough wooden planks of
his prison. At last, he was freed from his crate. He found himself being
dragged to another part of the dark room, where he was bound. His neck was
sliced with a blade, and his life slowly slipped away.
The sixth spirit was born a fox. She pranced around the forest happily each
day, full of life. One day, she ran through the trees as she normally did until
she found herself being thrown. When she came too, she found a trap on her leg.
The steel teeth had broken her paw, causing her excruciating pain. Blood poured
onto the forest floor, and she whined and pulled. Nothing could break the
strength of the trap. Hours went by, and she grew weaker with blood loss. In
the distance, she saw a man approach her. She could barely lift her head as he
came up. He stepped on her neck hard, choking her. She coughed and gasped as he
crushed her to death.
The seventh spirit was born a fawn. He lived in a forest as well, and nibbled
on the delicious grass. One day, he heard a noise afar. He broke into a run,
dodging trees and shrubs. Loud bangs came from behind him, and he ran ever
faster. Suddenly, he fell to the ground
in pain. He had been shot in the shoulder, and the hunters ran up to find him.
As he lay bleeding, one of the hunters kicked him harshly. "This one's no
good. It's got no antlers. Leave it here." And they left him to die.
The spirits reunited after their lives. Each told their story of the nightmare
they had for lives. They wept at the short, tragic lives they had lived. They
all agreed that life on earth might be great for some lives, but as they had
seen, many lives were cut short needlessly. Their one life had been vanquished,
and they would never live again. They all spent eternity mourning for lives
that could have been.
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To Be Peaceful
by Carolyn Zaikowski - MagicReese@aol.com
"To one whose mind is free, there is
something even more intolerable in the suffering of animals than in the
suffering of humans. For with the latter it is at least admitted that suffering
is evil and that the person who causes it is a criminal. But thousands of
animals are uselessly butchered every day without a shadow of remorse. If any
person were to refer to it, they would be thought ridiculous. And that is the
unpardonable crime. That alone is the justification of all that humans may
suffer. It cries vengeance upon all the human race. If God exists and tolerates
it, it cries vengeance upon God."
-Romain Rolland, Nobel
Laureate
I.
Humans are animals. Like others, we have evolved with qualities that are
specific to our species. The human animal, by its own accord, has been granted
the characteristic of reason. By definition, this word is interchangeable with
others such as: sound judgment, common sense, intellect, logic, understanding,
insight, perception, and rationalization.
II.
Human beings are moral and powerful, however, we practice these morals and use
these powers in utterly wrong places. We have created this material world, so
why should it not be our duty to salvage it as well, as the supposed
intelligent beings that we are? We have elevated our species in the system of
status, so high that we fail to remember that we are animals as well. As the
most powerful animals, we must take on the highest responsibility to the earth
and beings around us.
The main reason why I chose to give up consuming and purchasing animal products
is, of course, because I believe in peace. The practice of inflicting pain and
torture among animals numbs human beings to the effects and realities of violence.
Non-violence begins in the willingness to understand and be compassionate
toward "lower" creatures and their ability to comprehend pain just as
the human animal can. In accepting atrocity on such a large scale, an innate
acceptance of violence is created and equality and peace are not possible on
any level thereafter.
In an adverse world, differentiation between beings will only work against us.
It must be understood that all creatures feel pain on their own scale. Are we a
part of the food chain? As humans we have proudly decided that our separation
from "animals" lies in our ability to reason and make civilized
decisions. Here lies yet another incentive to give up the barbaric ways of our
stature. If we are to label ourselves "reasonable" and "civilized"
we must grasp an acute awareness of respect, compassion, self-discipline and
equality. Because we eat animals not for survival's sake, nor for health
reasons, but out of pure greed and ignorance, we are indeed more self-centered,
arrogant, and barbaric than any fellow creature. We must practice being dutiful
to less powerful beings as it is in our greater power to do so. We have the
ability to live healthily on non-animal products. We have the ability to
salvage creatures. We allow ourselves to take in dogs and cats as pets and then
put forth the audacity of eating meat in front of them.
Becoming vegan has cleared my mind of what I did not know existed in me. I have begun to see meat for what it truly
is, something that is impossible to do if one does not open their conscience to
reality. By boycotting factory farms I have refused to pay for the senseless
murder that takes place there. American farms of this day and age are not
wholesome. They are alarmingly similar to Hitler's concentration camps, but the
victims there are not human. I know that by myself I will never make a large
scale difference. But I will not support something that I know, in every
portion of my heart, is wrong. I will not degrade myself by sinking into
ignorance. My wish for the progress of this cause is merely for others to
realize the truths that have been so conveniently blanketed for the sake of
spoiling ourselves with the taste of meat. If we allow ourselves to briefly
contemplate the way we would feel if we lived our lives only to be the tools
of torture, reproduction, and murder, then we could perhaps forget our
cravings and give back what we have taken. We are hidden from the genocidal
acts of the farm animal world. It is the reason we are able to consume beautiful
creatures. But if you have ever heard the blood wrenching cries of a
non-human animal in distress, then you would surely notice the striking
similarity between those cries and the cries of a helpless human baby.
More savage and cruel than any other species, the human animal has embarked
upon the ultimate genocide. How far will we trek beyond decency? When will we
fall upon consciousness? Upon selflessness? If we are to ever live peacefully
with ourselves and with the living creatures and earth around us, we must erase
the tale we have created to soothe our minds. We must come to grips with our
own shortcomings before we are able to diminish the violence and pain that we
support so willingly, so unknowingly. We must fully saturate ourselves with the
fact that every being is indeed sentient, just as we are.
"The search for (non-violence) has to be both external and internal. We
seek to ignore this crucial search because the sacrifices it demands are
evolutionary. It means moving away from greed, selfishness, possessiveness and
dominance to love, compassion, understanding, and respect."
-Arun Gandhi, grandson of Mohandas Gandhi,
in his essay Challenges and Choices.
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The Most Important Song In The World
from Amanda Valencia - mandypandy5@yahoo.com
Click
on www.brilliantsins.com/songs.html (or go directly to our website
www.brilliantsins.com and click on 'Songs, (if you cannot access links); listen
to the first song "Fur is Dead" -- trust me, it's worth three minutes
of your time. This one song could
change the world for animals!!!
Music & bands have a huge influence on people, particularly young people,
and this song could change people's apathy towards wearing fur. Please give the
song a few listens and read the lyrics
When you check out the website: www.brilliantsins.com you can also view a page
'Hell On Earth' dedicated to animal rights, with links to PeTA, Humane Society,
In Defense Of Animals etc.
To go directly to the song: www.brilliantsins.com/songs.html
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PeTA Publishes First-Ever
Leather Alternatives Shopping Guide
The hottest trend today is animal-friendly
pleather, which can look just like the real thing.
To help shoppers track down everything from satin pumps and hemp purses to
synthetic leather snowboarding boots and rubber biker jackets, PETA has
compiled a Shopping Guide to Nonleather Products. The guide is free for
the asking, and can be ordered by calling 757-622-PETA, ext. 418. For more
information, please visit PETA's Web site www.CowsAreCool.com
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NotMilk.....When Hell Freezes
Over
by Robert Cohen - i4crob@idt.net
http://www.notmilk.com
Every day, I receive 2,000+ e-mails, and at least
once a day, I get the suggestion to get myself booked on Oprah. This morning I
realized my chances of getting the NOTMILK message to America on the Oprah
Winfrey Show were a lot closer to "none" than "extremely
slim." Finding myself stranded in the Buffalo, New York airport
magazine store, I noticed a prominently displayed copy of the October, 2000
issue of "The Oprah Magazine" (circulation of over 1 million
readers).
Imagining that the milk industry might exert some power on Oprah by advertising
in her impressive magazine, I looked for evidence of the dairy influence.
There on page 113 was Frankie Muniz, star of TV's "Malcolm in the
Middle," posing with his "Got Milk?" mustache. On page 117
was a full-page ad for Dannon Drinkables, followed by an ad for Kraft products
on page 118.
How strong can bones get? On page 133, Dannon Yogurt's ad presented their
dairy argument. Oprah's magazine continued with an ad for Land O' Lakes
Butter on page 150, Stoneyfield Yogurt on page 199, a two-page ad for Rice
Krispies on page 200-201, an ad for Yoplait Yogurt on page 206, an ad for
Philadelphia Cream Cheese on page 272, and a Got Milk? coffee ad on page
300. Last but not least, there was a second cheesy Kraft calcium ad.
A full-page ad in "The Oprah Magazine" runs $67,275.
One dozen full-page dairy ads make for enormous cash flow for Oprah. The total
cost for those dozen ads is $807,300. Multiply that times 12 months and
you've got nearly $10 million per year of advertising revenue. Make no
mistake about it, folks. Oprah and her handlers have little reason to
kill the sacred cow by presenting any negative milk issues on her nationally
syndicated television show.
Oh, yes...here's some special advice to you from Oprah in her July/August
issue:
"Accept what people offer. Drink their milkshakes.
Take their love." --- Wally Lamb, Author
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If I could talk to the
animals.....
submitted by Steve Best - sbest1@elp.rr.com
Dr. Dolittle's speech to his accusers before being sent to
the
insane asylum for the crime of compassion toward animals
(1967 version starring Rex Harrison).
I do not understand the human race.
It has so little love for creatures
with a different face.
Treating animals like people
is no madness or disgrace.
I do not understand the human race.
I wonder why do we treat animals like animals?
Animals treat us so very well.
The devoted ways they serve us
and protect us when we're nervous --
Oh, they really don't deserve us,
all we give them is hell!
Tell me how else man repays them,
do we ever think to praise them?
No we don't, and this dismays them,
you can tell.
We're riddled with ingratitude,
we give no love or latitude,
in every way our attitude is, well,
like animals.
Why do we treat animals like animals?
How can people be so inhumane?
Cows and chickens work to feed us,
dog and horses show they need us
and though cats don't always heed us,
their affection is plain.
What do we do?
We neglect them;
we do nothing to protect them;
we reject them,
don't expect them to complain.
We ignore them or we beat them;
when we're hungry, then we eat them.
It's appalling how we treat them,
it's insane!
Like animals!
We humiliate and murder and confine them
we create their wretched status,
then we use it to malign them.
I mean, why should we say,
"preening like a dog"?
Why should we say,
"working like a horse"?
Why should we say,
"eating like a hog,"
when what we mean is
"eating like a man"?!
Don't we? Of course!
A man of ill repute
is called a "weasel" or a "rat,"
a woman you dislike
becomes a "vixen" or a "cat."
A family that is blessed
with healthy reproductive habits
occasions the remark,
"Well you know them,
they "breed like rabbits"!
"He's as stubborn as a mule!"
"He's as stupid as an ox"
"He's as slimy as a snake!"
"He's as crafty as a fox!"
Remarks like that really get my goat!
Why don't we say, "noble as a frog"?
Or, why can't we say, "wealthy as a hen"?
True, we say, "devoted as a dog."
What we should say is:
"chic as a giraffe,"
"pretty as a pig, eh?"
That'll be the big day, won't it?
But when? But when?!
When will we stop treating them like animals?
Is the human race entirely mad?
Women see a baby goatskin, or a lambskin,
or a stoatskin!
And to them it's just a coatskin --
Oh, it's terribly sad!
When you dress in suede or leather,
or some fancy fur or feather,
do you stop and wonder whether,
for a fad,
you have killed some beast or other?
And you're wearing someone's brother,
or perhaps it's someone's mother
in which you're clad!
Like animals, like animals,
like ... animals.
Well, it's true,
we do not live in a zoo.
But man is an animal too.
So why can't you, like me,
like animals ...
animals.
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Quotes To Remember
George
T. Angell, founder of the MSPCA, wrote long long ago:
" I am sometimes asked, why do you spend so much of your
time and money
talking about kindness to animals when there is so
much cruelty to men?
I answer I am working at the roots."
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Susan Roghair - EnglandGal@aol.com
Animal Rights Online, President
http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/1395/
-=Animal RightsOnline=-
&
Advisory Board Member, Animal Rights Network Inc.,
not-for-profit publisher of The Animals' Agenda Magazine
http://www.animalsagenda.org/
The
Animals' Agenda Magazine: WebEdition
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