A n i m a l W r i t
e s
© sm
The official
ANIMAL RIGHTS ONLINE newsletter
Publisher ~ EnglandGal@aol.com Issue # 05/07/00
Editor ~ JJswans@aol.com
Journalists ~ PrkStRangr@aol.com
~ MRivera008@aol.com
~ SavingLife@aol.com
THE NINE ARTICLES IN THIS ISSUE ARE:
1
~ The Importance of Activism
2
~ Animal Rights/Welfare Chronology
3
~ Wool Facts
4
~ Job Opportunity
5
~ Marine Mammal Events
6
~ What To Know About Vegetarians In The Military
7
~ Love For All Creatures
8
~ Dear God (Poem)
9
~ Quote To Remember
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The Importance of Activism
by Marc Bekoff
- bekoffm@spot.Colorado.EDU
"Save
the whales." "Med school can be a real killer." The first slogan
calls attention to the plight of whales who were decimated by human hunters
while the second concerns itself not with how difficult medical school is, but
with the killing of dogs by medical students in physiology classes.
There
are numerous sound bytes that connote dissatisfaction with any number of things
that are happening in the world. And luckily, behind the verbiage are people
who get out there and make a difference because they walk their talk, because
they deeply believe in one or another cause.
Activism
certainly takes time away from other activities that consume us each and every
day. But speaking ones voice - taking an active role to stick up for ones
values and beliefs - is essential for making informed decisions.
There
are many different forms of activism "activism" isn't synonymous with
"radical." Nor does activism mean violence or the destruction of
property. Boycotting is a form of
activism as are silent candlelight vigils. Gandhi was an activist and so was
Mother Teresa.
There
are numerous examples of how activism pays off. Some of the examples with which
I'm most familiar deal with animal exploitation. A classic example of a person
who truly made a difference is the late Henry Spira, founder of Animal Rights
International. While Spira isn't a household name, the results of his efforts
are well known to most of us. Spira was deeply concerned with animal abuse and
first focused his attention on experiments on reproductive behavior in cats
being conducted in the mid-1970s at the American Museum of Natural History in
New York City. There, a group of researchers regularly performed surgery on cat's
genitals and pumped them with various hormones to see how they would respond
sexually. Spira was incredulous that such abuse could happen and be sanctioned
by the U.S. government. He organized protests outside of the museum and as a
result of Spiras grassroots efforts, the National Science Foundation mercifully
stopped funding this research.
Spira
also was deeply concerned with the use of animals to test cosmetics. He formed
the Coalition to Abolish the Draize Test, eventually achieving radical changes
in product safety testing world-wide. In the Draize test, a liquid or solid
substance is placed in one eye of a group of rabbits. Changes in the cornea,
conjunctiva, and iris are observed and scored. Both injury and potential for
recovery are noted. The Draize test is a horrible test, and the rabbits suffer
immensely. Consumer protests against the Draize test created the momentum that
led to the development of non-animal alternatives to many types of animal
testing. By 1981 the cosmetics industry itself awarded one million dollar to
Johns Hopkins school of Hygiene and Public Health to establish the Center for
Alternatives to Animal Testing. Indeed, most cruelty-free products trace their
history back to Henry Spira's tireless and unflagging efforts to stop animal
abuse.
Many
people claim we should act locally and think globally. Indeed, the Boulder-based Rocky Mountain
Animal Defense (RMAD) has had numerous successes in halting animal abuse. One
major achievement was defeating the attempt to build a plexiglass zoo at the
entrance to Rocky Mountain Park in Estes Park. The vote was extremely close and
it was RMAD's efforts that swung the decision in favor of the animals. Indeed,
these efforts won honorable mention at the Genesis Awards hosted by the Ark Trust
(www.arktrust.org), recognition for animal-friendly movies and activism that
rivals that of the traditional Oscars. Other successes for RMAD include
stopping the city of Lakewood from poisoning prairie dogs, securing a
moratorium to prevent exhibiting exotic animals at the Boulder Creek Festival,
getting Celestial Seasonings to adopt a progressive prairie dog management
policy, restricting contest killing in Colorado, and putting an end to pig
racing by the Winecoop restaurant.
There's
also been much controversy over the using and killing of dogs at CUs medical
school (www.bouldernews.com/opinion/columnists/bekoff.html). RMAD's unflagging
efforts to stop this practice, numerous protests, and essays in local media
have had their effect. Channel 7 news and the Camera have called for an end to
the use of dogs as have State Representatives Tom Plant and Dan Grossman. Two
years ago five medical students opted out of the dog labs, last year 15 made
this choice, and this year 31 did so. It's safe to assume that activism has had
some influence.
Despite
numerous successes, there are also costs to activism that often become
personal. Activism can make one vulnerable to their opponent's onslaughts,
especially when an activist is thought to be of "inferior" status.
Recently, a medical student has claimed that she's been harassed because of her
criticism of the dog labs (Colorado Daily, April 20, 2000). If she wasn't having some effect, why would
she be bothered by faculty and other students? My own concerns with the use of
dogs was met head on by a disparaging letter from 11 professors at the medical
school (Silver & Gold Record, December 16, 1999) who claimed that I wasn't
a reliable judge of whether the dogs labs were essential. The fact that
numerous prestigious medical schools have stopped their dog labs made little
impression. Interestingly, these
professors also claimed in the same letter that the dog labs weren't essential
but they didn't want outsiders telling them that! I also have felt the effects of attempts to silence my resisting
the reintroduction of lynx into Colorado
(www.bouldernews.com/opinion/columnists/bekmarc.html).
Costs
of activism - harassment and intimidation - are part of the price of putting
one's feelings on the line. Nonetheless, it's important to speak your mind and
follow your heart. Due to pressure from activists, Sears, Roebuck, and Company
stopped supporting Ringling Brother's Circus, veal consumption plummeted
because of public outrage over the horrific conditions in which veal calves are
imprisoned before being killed, and numerous clothing designers have stopped
making fur and leather products.
Be
patient. Activism takes time, but its well worth it. Protest gently but
forcefully. No one likes to be bullied
and changes that come about due to heavy-handedness are usually short-lived and
make little difference. Deep-rooted changes take time, and often it takes many
efforts to accumulate the momentum that's needed to produce deep changes in
attitude and heart that truly make a difference. It's important to listen to
all views and master opponents' arguments. Only by knowing the tactics of your
opponents can you mount a serious offense.
Freedom
of speech is a guaranteed right for all of us. We need not fear airing views
that are counter to those of the majority. Every individual counts and every
individual makes a difference. Creative proactive solutions drenched in deep
caring, respect, and love need to be developed to deal with the broad range of
problems with which we are currently confronted. Activism often underlies their
development and implementation. Rather
than take a doomsday view that the world won't even exist in 100 ears if we
fail to accept our unique responsibilities, it's more disturbing to imagine a
world in which humans and other life coexist in the absence of any intimacy and
interconnectedness. Surely we don't want to be remembered as the generation
that killed nature. Please act!
Marc
Bekoff teaches in Environmental, Population, and Organismic Biology at CU-Boulder.
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Animal Rights/Welfare Chronology
by
bunti@erols.com (Bernard Unti)
1951
Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) founded
1954
Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) founded
1955
Society for Animal Protective Legislation (SAPL) founded
1955
Our Animal WARDS founded
1957
Friends of Animals (FOA) founded
1958
Humane Slaughter Act
1959
Catholic Society for Animal Welfare (now International Society for Animal
Rights) founded
1959
Wild Horses Act
1959
Russell and Birch publish book on the three R's - replacement, reduction,
refinement
1960
American Vegan Society (AVS) founded
1962
Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act
1966
Laboratory Animal Welfare Act
1967
Fund for Animals (FFA) founded
1967
United Action for Animals (UAA) founded
1968
Animal Protection Institute (API) founded
1969
International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) founded
1969
Argus Archive founded [confirm]
1970
Animal Welfare Act amendments
1971
Greenpeace founded
1971
Wild Free-roaming Horse and Burro Act
1972
Marine Mammal Protection Act
1973
International Primate Protection League (IPPL) founded
1973
Endangered Species Act amendments
1973
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES)
1973
Air Force Beagles campaign
1974
North American Vegetarian Society (NAVS) founded
1975
Animal Liberation published
1976
Animal Rights International (ARI) founded
1976
Committee to Abolish Sport Hunting (CASH) founded
1976
Animal Welfare Act amendments
1976
Horse Protection Act
1976
Fur Seal Act
1976
American Museum of Natural History protests
1977
"Undersea Railroad" releases porpoises in Hawaii
1978
Humane Slaughter Act amendments
1978
Scientists Center for Animal Welfare (SCAW) founded
1978
Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF) founded
1978
Medical Research Modernization Committee founded
1978
Indian government bans rhesus monkey exports
1979
Metcalf-Hatch Act repealed in New York state
1979
Coalition to Abolish the Draize Test launched
1979
The Animals' Agenda launched
1979
Packwood-Magnuson Amendment to the International Fishery Conservation Act
1979
Research Modernization Act first introduced in Congress
1979
Animal Liberation Front raid at NYU Medical Center
1980
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) founded
1980
Psychologists for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PsyETA) founded
1980
Action for Life conference launched
1981
Farm Animal Reform Movement (FARM) founded
1981
Trans-Species Unlimited (TSU) formed
1981
Mobilization for Animals (MfA) launched
1981
Association of Veterinarians for Animal Rights (AVAR) founded
1981
Johns Hopkins Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing (CAAT) founded
1982
Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) reauthorized
1982
Food Animal Concerns Trust (FACT) founded
1982
Vegetarian Resource Group (VRG) founded
1982
National Alliance for Animal Legislation (NAA) founded
1982
Feminists for Animal Rights (FAR) founded
1982
Veal Ban Campaign launched
1983
In Defense of Animals (IDA) founded
1983
The Case for Animal Rights
1984
Humane Farming Association (HFA) founded
1984
Performing Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) founded
1984
Animal Liberation Front raid at Head Injury Clinical Research Center,
University of Pennsylvania
1985
Animal Welfare Act amended
1985
Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) formed
1985
Last Chance for Animals (LCA) formed
1985
ProPets Coalition launched
1985
Hegins pigeon shoot campaign launched
1985
Campaign for a Fur Free America and Fur Free Friday launched
1985
Great American MeatOut launched
1986
Farm Sanctuary formed
1986
Animal Welfare Information Center (AWIC) founded
1986
Cambridge Committee for Responsible Research (CCRR) initiative
1987
The Animals' Voice launched
1987
Diet for a New America
1988
Doris Day Animal League (DDAL) launched
19-- Culture and Animals Foundation (CAF) formed
1989
Veal Calf Protection Bill hearings, United States Congress
1990
March for the Animals
1990
Animal Welfare Act amended
1990
California referendum bans lion hunting
1991
Stockyard "downer" campaign launched
1992
Student Right Not to Dissect approved in Pennsylvania
1992
Wild Bird Conservation Act
1992
International Dolphin Conservation Act
1992
Driftnet Fishery Conservation Act
1992
Colorado referendum bans spring, bait and hound bear hunting
1993
First World Congress on Alternatives and Animals in the Life Sciences
1994
Oregon referendum bans bear baiting, bear and cougar hounding
1996
Colorado referendum bans body-gripping traps
1996
Massachusetts referendum bans bear baiting, hound hunting, and reforms
Fisheries and Wildlife Commission
1996
Washington referendum bans bear baiting, hound hunting bears, cougars, and bobcats
1998
Arizona referendum bans cockfighting
1998
Missouri referendum bans cockfighting
1998
California referendum bans body-gripping traps
1999
Harvard University launches animal rights law course
2000
Hegins pigeon shoot terminated
(Author
requests notification of any important events he may have missed.
Please send by email to
bunti@erols.com)
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Wool Facts
Domestic
sheep have lost their natural resistance to fly-strike -- an agonizing disease
in which maggots burrow and eat their way into the animal's flesh. To prevent the disease, many lambs have
their tails docked, often by cutting without anesthetic. In Australia they prevent the disease by
performing an operation called 'mulesing' in which folds of skin around the
sheep's anus are sheared off, again without anesthetic. They do this to 80% of their sheep (30% of
the world's wool comes from Australia).
Of
UK wool, 27% is 'skin wool' (pulled from the skins of slaughtered sheep and
lambs).
Wool
represents only 3-10% of a sheep farmer's profit, the rest being made mostly
through the sale of lambs for slaughter.
Altogether 20 million sheep and lambs are slaughtered in this England
every year.
Millions
of lambs and sheep die every year worldwide from exposure to cold after
shearing. One million die in Australia
alone.
There
are plenty of substitutes for wool, from good old cotton in its infinite forms
to the modern and actually far more efficient synthetic "fleece"
products.
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Job Opportunity
EarthSave
Louisville is Looking for a One in a Million for 2000
EarthSave
Louisville is launching a national search for a new Executive Director. An affiliated chapter of EarthSave
International, EarthSave Louisville is a non-profit educational and advocacy
organization that inspires and empowers people to shift toward a diet centered
around fruits, vegetables, grains and legumes - foods that are healthy for
people and for the planet.
The
position reports directly to the local board of directors and is responsible for
all the activities of the organization, including program development and
implementation, budget development/monitoring, fund raising, staff/volunteer
recruitment and development, public relations/marketing, all administrative
functions, and other duties as assigned by the local board of directors.
According
to EarthSave International President Howard Lyman, "The EarthSave
Louisville Chapter is one of our most progressive and active chapters. The new
director will know that he or she is making a tremendous contribution to the
future of all life on this planet by changing perceptions one individual at a
time. It is an exciting time to be a
part of a rapidly growing organization and a new mindset sweeping the nation." Local events include the annual Taste of
Health and Turkey-Free Thanksgiving Dinner, vegetarian cooking classes, monthly
potlucks, as well as various speaking engagements and tabling events.
Interested
individuals should send a resume in confidence to:
Pamela Rogers, Executive Source, LLC 502-893-9796
3620-A Brownsboro Rd., #280 502-897-2310 (fax)
Louisville, KY 40207
ExecutiveSource@AOL.com
Source: "Maynard
S. Clark" <vrc@tiac.net>
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Marine Mammal Events
Two
important events are quickly approaching for marine mammal activists.
We
are hoping that everyone will get involved in one or both of these events:
Marine
Mammal Freedom Weekend (MMFW) - Memorial Day
Weekend, which this year is May 27-29.
World
Week for Captive Dolphins - July 1-8.
ORCA
and In Defense of Animals are coordinating actions in U.S./Canada for MMFW and
World Week. Traditionally, actions
taking place during these events include protests at marine parks and
aquariums, leafleting, tabling, media events, etc.
If
you are involved in a campaign against a marine park or aquarium, please
participate in either one of both of these important events. We particularly hope to include actions at
the following facilities:
Sea World - San Diego, San Antonio,
Cleveland, Orlando
Vancouver Aquarium
Shedd Aquarium
Dallas World Aquarium
Miami Seaquarium
Marineland
Hershey Park, Pennsylvania
Edmonton Mall
Point Defiance Aquarium
Texas State Aquarium, Corpus Christi
Virginia Marine Science Museum
There
are of course many others. And, if you
don't live in an area with a facility displaying captive marine mammals, you
can still participate. We can supply
you with ideas and materials, if needed.
If
you would like to be involved and can help plan something in your area, or
would like further information, please contact Cathy O'Brien or Suzanne Roy at
the address/phone/e-mail below.
Thanks
all for your help. Really hope to have
a great turnout this year and to make MMFW and World Week bigger and better
than ever.
Cathy O'Brien
ORCA (Observe Respect & Compassion for
Animals)
P.O. Box 1215
Pacifica, CA 94044
(650) 738-2561
e-mail:
co@ix.netcom.com
Suzanne Roy
In Defense of Animals
sroy@idausa.org
Source: "Cathy
O'Brien" <co@ix.netcom.com>
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What To Know About Vegetarians In The Military
by Matthew
Beedle - MattBeedle@aol.com
These
are some things that I would like to share for those of you that are thinking
about joining the military service. While spending 2 months in Basic Training
(Boot Camp) and 2 months in Advanced Individual Training, I came across several
vegetarians that stopped practicing their ways because they found it too much
trouble. This doesn't have to be the way that it is, you are guaranteed the
right to practice your eating habits. One of the things to make it easier to be
a vegetarian is to pick a religion that says you must be a vegetarian, that way
if someone says anything to you, you can say that it is your religious right to
be a vegetarian. When you go out in the field and are given MRE's (Meal Ready
To Eat) there are vegetarian MRE's that are distributed along with the other
MREs. I myself sometimes had to swap
with a buddy or ask my drill sergeant for one, but in the end I always got one.
There may be people that will tell you that you will not be able to perform
your training and that you will grow too weak if you do not eat meat. I myself
started my training in the worst physical shape and now I am in good shape. One
thing that you may want to do is eat beans and nuts for protein, ask around and
find out what you need before you join the service, and don't fall into the
peer pressure.
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Love for All Creatures:
Frequently Asked Questions
About the Bible and Animal Rights
by
nphelps@fund.org
According
to Genesis 2:18-19 God created nonhuman animals to be companions for human
beings. At first glance, these verses
appear to describe a process of trial and error, but a god who works by trial
and error is not really consistent with the Judeo-Christian tradition. More
likely, Genesis is describing the creation of a network of interlocking
relationships, a web of life, in which every participant has a unique and
valuable role to play. In the case of some animals, this may mean an individual
relationship with human beings in which both the human and the nonhuman
participant find love, joy, and comfort. In the case of others, it may mean
playing a role in the global ecosystem that sustains the quality of life for
all beings. This kind of
interdependence is very difference from the notion that sentient beings are
resources to be exploited for the benefit of one species only.
The
idea that we are created in the image of God (Genesis 1:27) places upon us an
obligation to reflect the love and compassion of God in all aspects of our
lives. If our lives are a reflection of
God's love, we will not bring terror, agony, and premature death upon
defenseless creatures whom God has created with the ability to experience these
feelings.
Dominion
(See Genesis 1:28), in Hebrew as in English, simply means
"authority." Parents have
authority over their children, and governments have authority over their
citizens, but we expect parents to exercise their authority for the benefit of
their children, and governments for the benefit of their citizens, and we judge
them harshly when they do not. There is
no reason why we should judge humanity's exercise of dominion over nonhuman
animals by any different standard.
The
idea that animals are resources to whom we owe no direct moral duties did not
originate in either Judaism or Christianity. It is an ancient Greek idea most
baldly stated by Aristotle, who believed that there is a natural hierarchy of
beings based on intelligence (reason, rationality), and that beings lower in
the hierarchy exist to serve those who are higher. At the top, he placed Greek men, and below them he ranged
non-Greeks, women, slaves, and animals.
His ideas were picked up by Saint Paul, who grew up in a Greek city
(Tarsus in Asia Minor, modern Turkey), and was as comfortable in the Greek
language and culture as he was in the Jewish. Thus, in several passages, such
as I Corinthians 9:9, Paul makes it clear that he has no ethical problem with
meat eating, and that he believes we have no ethical duties to animals.
Paul's
view, however, cannot be traced to Jesus, whom the Bible never quotes as saying
anything even vaguely similar, and never describes as eating meat (except for
fish on one occasion after the resurrection). In fact, on two occasions, Jesus
is quoted as condemning animal sacrifice in very harsh terms. (Matthew 9:13;
12:7)
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Dear God
by Guila
Manchester
Please keep me
humble.
And if I ever
need
To see my name
in lights,
Then let them
be
The kind of
lights that shine
In some dumb
creature's eyes
That just a
time before
Held misery.
And if I ever
need
To seek
self-satisfaction
By letting
others know
The good I do,
Then make the
wish to help
So deep within
me,
The only one
I'll need to tell
Is You.
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Quote To Remember
"I care not for a man's religion whose
dog and cat are not the better for it."
--
Abraham Lincoln
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- EnglandGal@aol.com
Animal Rights
Online
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