A n i m a l   W r i t e s © sm

                              The official ANIMAL RIGHTS ONLINE newsletter

  

    Publisher   ~ EnglandGal@aol.com                          Issue # 07/01/01

        Editor    ~ JJswans@aol.com

    Journalists ~ Park StRanger@aol.com

                     ~ MichelleRivera1@aol.com

                     ~ sbest1@elp.rr.com

 

 

    THE TWELVE ARTICLES IN THIS ISSUE ARE:

  

    1  ~ Fourth of July Pet Safety 

    2  ~ Correction

    3  ~ PeTA Halts "Murder King" Protests

    4  ~ Safety Reminder

    5  ~ Job Opening

    6  ~ Dear Editor

    7  ~ Another Coulston Chimpanzee Dead

    8  ~ AMA Urges Phaseout of Antibiotic Use On Animals

    9  ~ "I Only Want A...."

   10 ~ Animal Aid Concerts

   11 ~ The Key To Paradise

   12 ~ Memorable Quote

  

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Fourth of July Pet Safety

by DogAdvocat@aol.com

 

Independence Day is one of the most fearsome times of the year for dogs and cats.  Not only are the noises terrifying, but there are also people who either through sadistic behavior or sheer thoughtlessness, sometimes brought on by over-consumption of alcohol, will attach firecrackers to animals, or even just try show the dog or cat how exciting fireworks can be.  Either way, this can cause pets to dart out in front of cars, bite those that are terrifying them (risking animal control impound), or run without knowing where s/he is going or how to get back.

 

So, the best way to protect companion animals, whether it be your own or your neighbors, is to keep them indoors, preferably in an interior room, not near windows or glass doors.  Play a radio or television loud enough to help drown out the sound of firecrackers.  It can be helpful to play both radio and television at the time, as the alternated sounds cover outside sounds even better. 

 

If need be, your veterinarian can supply you with tranquilizers for your dog or cat, but ask now, because all your vets other clients may be asking too.  Don't count on tranquilizers to do the job without other measures.  Frequently dogs will be so terrified if left outside that it seems they were

never medicated at all -- then after it is all over, the tranquilizer finally works, and works strongly.

 

Many pet guardians stay home with their dogs and cats on the fourth just to make sure they are safe and feel more secure.  If that is your choice, make sure you don't make your pet more phobic by encouraging their fear.  Petting and assuring your pet that all is well can be seen as praise for the fear they are showing.  It's important to act as normal as possible.

 

Thinking about how you would feel if suddenly a war broke out with bombs and grenades may help you to empathize with your dog or cat.  Also, if you see a stray cat or dog that looks in need of a temporary shelter, please be very cautious about being bit out of sheer fear, but if you can do it safely, please let them have a place to stay until the celebrating is over.

 

Animal Rights Online wishes a happy and peaceful Fourth of July to all of our subscribers and their companion animals.

  

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Correction

 

A week ago, in our June 24th issue of Animal Writes, we mistakenly attributed the commentary on the Washington Post article to Rob Eccles.  In fact, the commentary was written by someone else who wishes to remain anonymous.  Please make that correction if forwarding the article to  anyone else.

 

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PeTA Halts "Murder King" Protests

from MeganH@PETA-Online.org

 

Burger King Complies With Demand for Improved Animal Welfare Standards

 

Norfolk, Va. - PETA's "Murder King" Campaign, which has involved provocative ads, celebrity support from Alec Baldwin, James Cromwell, and Richard Pryor, and more than 800 protests at Burger King restaurants worldwide, has been called off following the fast-food giant's announcement today that it will exceed the animal welfare standards that PETA negotiated with McDonald's last year after similar protests.  PETA is now eyeing other chains, such as Wendy's, as possible targets for animal welfare improvements.

 

Under Burger King's new guidelines, the company:

 

* will conduct unannounced inspections of its slaughterhouses and take action against those facilities that fail the inspections

 

* will establish animal-handling verification guidelines for all cattle, swine,and poultry slaughterhouses

 

* will give laying hens 75 square inches of cage space (3 inches more than McDonald's agreed to) and require that the birds be able to stand fully upright

 

* will require two water drinkers per cage

 

* will stop purchasing from suppliers who force-molt (starve chickens to force them to lay more eggs)

 

* will develop auditing procedures for the handling of broiler chickens

 

* will institute humane-handling procedures for chickens at the slaughterhouse

 

* will begin purchasing pork from farms that do not confine sows to stalls

 

* has petitioned the U.S. Department of Agriculture to enforce the Humane Slaughter Act

 

Says PETA President Ingrid Newkirk, "The only way to avoid cruelty in meat production is to go vegetarian, but today Burger King has taken giant steps to improve the lives of millions of animals. We are ending our Burger King protest and examining other chains, such as Wendy's, as potential targets for improvements in animal welfare."

 

For more information, including videos of animals in factory-farm conditions, visit PETA's MurderKing.com Web site.

 

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Safety Reminder

cross posted - author unknown

 

Too many people are still not aware just how dangerous many everyday products used in gardening are.

 

Snail and Slug Baits and Beyond...  Metaldehyde is one of the main ingredients in most slug and snail baits and one of the deadliest. It is extremely hazardous to all mammal life and dogs are exceptionally attracted to it.  Metaldehyde poisoning can cause dangerously increased heart rate,

severe breathing complications, and profound seizures, leading to death.  If caught early enough to treat, most survivors still eventually die from complications with the liver. In either case, it's an ugly and painful way to die.  Some people use the 'dust' snail baits, which are extra dangerous, as

it can be carried on the wind for many blocks.  This poisonous dust, which the wind can carry to your lawn or lawns your dogs may walk on, like in a park -- the dog walks through it, then later licks their feet.  Well do you see a potentially deadly scenario forming here?  Please remember to let your dog walk through a pans of clean water, to rinse their paws, followed by wiping them dry after each walk in public areas or even around the neighborhood.  Their life could depend on it.

 

Other Pests and Pesticides... More than 1400 active pesticide ingredients are used in an excess of 45,000 pesticide formulas. Because of the extremely hazardous nature of some pesticides, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has canceled, suspended or restricted their use. The following is a list of pesticides banned from household use in the USA:

Aldrin, Aresenates, Chordane, Creosote, Cyanides, DBCP, DDT, Dieldrin, Heptachlor, Kepone, Lindane, Mirex, Pentachlorophenol (PCP), Silvex, Arsenite, 2, 4, 5-T and Toxaphene.  DO NOT USE THESE PRODUCTS!

 

Learn more about these and other 'Everyday Products' that could be hazardous and some alternatives at  http://www.rainyday.net/cbc/products.shtml

 

Please remind all your friends who share their homes with animals too.

 

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Job Opening

from Tribe of Heart - server@tribeofheart.org

 

OUTREACH COORDINATOR

 

Tribe of Heart is a small, highly focused charitable not-for-profit organization based in Ithaca, NY, that produces and distributes educational documentaries to promote an ethic of universal compassion in our society. We are seeking an energetic, resourceful, highly organized self-starter to join our collaborative team as Outreach Coordinator.

 

Responsibilities include: Supporting the efforts of activists and educators using the Animal People documentaries as a tool for change; developing support materials such as teacher's guides and a web site for teenagers;  presenting The Witness to diverse audiences at educational events and

conferences; initiating partnerships with like-minded non-profit organizations, teachers, and schools; helping create and implement broadcast, international distribution, fundraising and publicity initiatives.

 

Ideal candidate has knowledge and experience with grassroots activism and/or publicity; has a demonstrated commitment to animal advocacy, vegetarianism/veganism, education and peaceful means of social change; is skilled at cultivating relationships with people of all ages and diverse

backgrounds; is able to juggle a complex array of program goals while meeting deadlines; is calm under pressure, comfortable using computers and business machines, is able to quickly adapt to changing circumstances, enjoys both strategic thinking and application of practical skills, and is an excellent listener with a good sense of humor. Bachelors degree and outstanding verbal and written communications skills required, plus at least 3 years professional experience.

 

This is a job that requires a lot of hard work, diplomacy, commitment, discretion, and most of all, a love of working with people. It offers in return a chance to be part of a creative team involved in exciting projects while making a real contribution to a positive social change movement.

 

Interested applicants please call (607) 275-0806 between 6 and 9pm EST.

 

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Dear Editor

from Roberta Wright - SPEAK Tucson

animal8@earthlink.net

 

It's that time of year again, and letters to the editor are needed to combat circus fever in Tucson.  Below is my letter, sent to letters@azstarnet.com

 

Arizona Daily Star

 

Dear Editor:

 

Where but in Tucson could commercial enterprises like rodeos and circuses get so much free publicity from the media?  I was sickened by pictures of elephants walking on the hideously hot summer pavement on their way to the community center, while mothers and their small children

looked on in awe.  Why doesn't the paper run just as big a story about the tragedy of these wonderful creatures living their whole lives in confinement,  trained to do things they would never do in the wild, and influencing the minds of youngsters who then believe that all these things are completely natural?  Who will tell these children that what they are seeing are all lies?  Their parents?  Apparently not.  And when they leave the circus, what do they take from the experience?  That all is well with the huge wild animals they saw so callously displayed for human entertainment.

 

The failure to empathize with the plight of these animals is truly mind-boggling.  When is the public going to wake up and realize that we cannot dominate and beat into submission every living creature for gratuitous reasons?  When are we going to become compassionate consumers of

our planet rather than rapists and pillagers of everything we see?  Ringling Bros. is just the tip of the iceberg, but we should not be giving them a free ride without demanding a full and complete picture of the atrocity.

 

Sincerely,

 

Roberta S. Wright, Founder

Supporting and Promoting Ethics for the Animal Kingdom (SPEAK)

animal8@earthlink.net

 

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Another Coulston Chimpanzee Dead

from In Defense of Animals (IDA) - ida@idausa.org

 

Alamogordo, NM (June 25, 2001) - Yet another young chimpanzee has died from negligence at the notorious Coulston Foundation, In Defense of Animals (IDA) charged today.

 

According to whistleblowers who initially contacted People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, a chimpanzee named Gina died on June 5 after she had been locked outside in searing heat for hours. 

 

A list of chimpanzees at Coulston obtained through the Freedom of Information Act shows two chimpanzees named Gina and Jena.  Gina would have been only 12 years old at the time of this death, while Jena would have been only 17.

 

The whistleblowers allege that she died from causes related to the sun and heat.  According to National Weather Service climatologist James Ashby (775-674-7010), the temperature recorded at Holloman Air Force Base reached 91 degrees on June 5.  Because the day was clear, with 40-mile visibility, both the sun and the heat beat down on Gina for hours.

 

Gina died at Coulston's LaVelle Road facility, which is near Holloman Air Force Base.

 

According to IDA, Gina's death is simply the latest in a long line of negligent, preventable chimpanzee deaths at Coulston, which is the only lab in the 35-year history of the Animal Welfare Act to have three sets of formal U.S. Department of Agriculture charges filed against it for negligent primate deaths.

 

On August 24, 1999, Coulston signed a federal consent decree with the USDA which mandated, among other things, that the lab must "fully comply" with the Animal Welfare Act.  Since that time, every single USDA inspection report has documented violations of both the federal order and the Act, while Gina is at least the third chimpanzee to have died from negligence during that time span.  The USDA currently has open investigations into the deaths of the two others, Donna and Ray.

 

"Gina is simply the latest victim of Coulston's negligence and the government's willful failure to enforce the law," said IDA Research Director Eric Kleiman.  "The federal government must take over this abysmal lab - before it kills again - and permanently retire the over 300 chimpanzees imprisoned there."

 

WHAT YOU CAN DO: DEMAND THAT ACTION BE TAKEN NOW!!

Please contact your Congressional Representatives and ask them to see that the remaining 300 chimps are placed in a loving sanctuary where theywill at long last be cared for under decent conditions.  This abhorrent situation must not be allowed to continue.

 

 and from PeTA:

 

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT REWARDS UNETHICAL AND POSSIBLY CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR

 

The Coulston Foundation (TCF) is a chimpanzee laboratory/death camp located in Alamogordo, New Mexico, that is guilty of killing dozens of chimpanzees and violating hundreds of provisions of the federal Animal Welfare Act (AWA).

 

In 1999, as part of its settlement agreement with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) regarding violations of the AWA, TCF agreed to divest itself of 300 chimpanzees and restrict the breeding and acquisition of new chimpanzees. TCF also agreed that in order to breed chimpanzees, it would have to identify to the USDA "long-term funding sources" for the animals.

 

Recently, 14 chimpanzees were born as a result of breeding by TCF. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is planning to buy the infants for $400,000, despite already owning a "surplus" of chimpanzees.  According to Judith Vaitukaitis, director of NIH's National Center for Research

Resources, her office was concerned that the animals "would be sold to the entertainment business" if NIH didn't act. The fact that NIH has to bail TCF out by purchasing the animals proves that it did not identify "long-term funding sources" for the animals as required by the USDA, thereby making the breeding of the 14 chimpanzees illegal.

 

NIH should not reward TCF for breeding chimpanzees when there is no place for the ones currently being "retired" from research and when the foundation may have done so illegally; the infants should be seized and placed in an appropriate sanctuary. Instead of prolonging the suffering endured by animals at TCF and exacerbating the "surplus" chimpanzee crisis by continually devising new, innovative, and possibly illegal ways to keep TCF afloat, NIH should close this notorious facility, thereby saving taxpayer dollars and animal lives.

 

Please write the USDA and demand that it fine TCF $100,000 if TCF violated its agreement with the agency in any way

 

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AMA Urges Phaseout of Antibiotic Use On Animals

from Andrew Gach - UncleWolf@worldnet.att.net

 

The American Medical Association has approved a resolution urging the government to phase out the overuse of antibiotics in livestock, broadening the association's campaign to curb resistance in humans to the lifesaving drugs.

 

At its annual meeting this week, the AMA's policy-making House of Delegates approved the resolution urging that "non-therapeutic" use of antibiotics in animals be phased out or eliminated. The measure refers specifically to antibiotics that are given to humans as well.

 

Environmental groups applauded the action, but it was criticized by the Animal Health Institute, which represents companies that make veterinary medicines.

 

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"I Only Want A ..."

By ©Shell 2001 - FeralPlace@aol.com

To Link To This Article: http://www.theanimalspirit.com/want.html

 

I recently tried helping two cats find a home. One was a beautiful tabby who was down on his luck. His caretaker was having a baby, so the cat became disposable. The other was a beautiful purebred Siamese cat who also needed a home. This was another case of a caretaker moving and not bothering to check if she could bring her cat with her.

 

I received over thirty responses from people all over the state who were interested in the Siamese, and not one letter for the tabby. Of course, the Siamese was placed in a good home quickly, but the tabby was still waiting.

 

I thanked all of the people who offered a home to the Siamese and I let them know that he had found a home, but there was still a tabby who was waiting. I asked them if they would be interested in him.

 

Everyone said, "No, I only want a Siamese."

 

"Why do you only want a Siamese?"

 

"They have great personalities."

 

"Yes, they do have wonderful personalities, but so does this tabby. Would you at least like to meet him?"

 

"No, thank you."

 

...end of conversation.

 

I can't help but think of all the wonderful cats that are passed over because they are not a certain breed. If you are looking for a cat (or other companion animal, such as a dog, rabbit, ferret, guinea pig, etc.) with specific personality traits, let the shelter or rescue know exactly what you are looking for. A dog that is good with children or a cat that gets along with other animals is not limited to a specific breed. Different companion animals have different personalities. There is no need to pass over a wonderful animal just because they are not your "preferred breed."

 

The tabby is sitting in a cage at the shelter waiting for a home. He fit the specifications of almost thirty people and would make a great addition to their family, but because he's not a specific breed, he will probably be killed in seven days.

 

Let's end the "preferred breed" mentality that is literally killing companion animals on a daily basis.

 

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Animal Aid Concerts

from Linda Gentille - linda@pianoprincess.com

http://www.Gentille.com/

 

Dear Music and Animal Lovers:

 

My band and I are doing several fundraiser concerts to help the animals this year. Please review this venue schedule and if you'd like to help us help the animals and you or your friends or relatives live in Toronto, Ft.  Lauderdale, New Jersey, Minnesota, China, Japan, or Korea (how's that for a diverse list?), then please plan to attend one of our concerts. Details for each performance are listed on my website at  

http://www.AnimalAidTour.com/Concerts/Schedule.html

 

Hope to see you at one this year's concerts and remember, every concert is not only about music and fun family entertainment, but also a message  of compassion and help for our furry friends.

 

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The Key To Paradise

by Donna Anderson - donna1994@delphi.com

 

As I sit, searching my very soul for a hint of life,

I wonder the true meaning of it all...

Are we a species that dwells on bringing pain to others,

when we, ourselves, do not wish to feel it?

Or are we mystic lovers of our earth,

with the ability to show our compassion locked deep within?

If so, what will it take to find this precious key

and open the rusty doors to paradise?

Though we are a breed apart,

we share the same polluted air as our fellow creatures.

We see the same night, sun, moon, and stars

shining innocently in the sky.

We have the given intelligence to love, create, hope, wish, and destroy,

but we now must capture a new intelligence...

The power to sense the pain of others.

 

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Memorable Quote

 

             "We manage to swallow flesh, only because we do not think of the cruel

                        and sinful thing we do. If after our pity is aroused, we persist in throttling

                        our feelings simply in order to join others in preying upon life, we insult

                        all that is good in us. I've decided to try a vegetarian diet. 

                                                                        ~ Rabindranath Tagore

  

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Susan Roghair - EnglandGal@aol.com

Animal Rights Online

P O Box 7053

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http://www.animalsagenda.org/

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