A n i m a l
W r i t e s © sm
The
official ANIMAL RIGHTS ONLINE newsletter
Publisher ~
EnglandGal@aol.com
Issue # 07/09/00
Editor ~ JJswans@aol.com
Journalists ~ Park StRanger@aol.com
~
MicheleARivera@aol.com
~
SavingLife@aol.com
Layout ~ Corrynthia@aol.com
THE EIGHT ARTICLES IN THIS ISSUE ARE:
1 ~ Chicken Run - Reviewed by Karen Davis,
President,
United Poultry Concerns
2 ~ Rattlesnake Roundups - by LilFairEGrl@aol.com
3 ~ Job Opportunity - Farm Animal Reform Movement
4 ~ Life With Cats - petopia.com
5 ~ How to Communicate With Animals - Gbarnes345@aol.com
6 ~ Recipe: Zucchini Fritters - Corrynthia@aol.com
7 ~ Poem: Adopt Me - Psych SLW@aol.com
8 ~ Quote to Remember - Carl V.
Phillips
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Chicken Run
Reviewed by Karen Davis, President
United Poultry Concerns
During the Animal Rights
2000 conference in Washington, DC, several of us left for a couple of hours on
July 2 to see Chicken Run. Activists who had seen the movie praised it,
and we'd leafleted at some theater openings in San Francisco, Atlanta, and
Washington, DC. So I was excited, but leery. While one of the directors, Nick
Park, was telling interviewers about his horrible job at a chicken
slaughterhouse and about his pet chicken at the time named Penny, the other
director, Peter Lord, was making it his business to denigrate chickens in
interviews, and Burger King was messing with the movie by having the Chicken
Run chickens tell people to "Eat more beef and save the chickens" in
collusion with Aardman, the movie's production company.
The chickens in Chicken Run live in a 1930s style "free-range"
operation in scattered huts enclosed inside a barbed wire fence that evokes,
with effective expressionist imagery, a Nazi concentration camp. It is the
world of "No light, but rather darkness visible" of John Milton's
Paradise Lost.
Being kept only to lay eggs and then be killed, every morning the hens must
line up while Mrs. Tweedy, the owner of Tweedy's Egg Farm, examines each hen to
decide which one of them, having become useless, will get the ax today. Mrs.
Tweedy is a cruel and vicious Cinderella's stepmother type of woman. Mr.
Tweedy, her husband, is the everyman type who follows orders. He sniffs around
the barbed wire with his slinking mad eyed junkyard hounds slavering at the end
of their leashes looking for signs of rebellion. Mr. Tweedy slams
"bad" hens into the trash bin. Mrs. Tweedy plots to make more money
by installing a mass production chicken-pie factory for the "spent"
hens. Learning about this, the hens redouble their efforts to escape, because
as one hen says for all the chickens, "I don't want to be a pie."
The hens are locked up with a blustering old rooster who identifies ludicrously
with his captors. Wearing a military uniform, he barks out orders at the
hens and imagines himself to have been a flying ace in World War One. In
this dystopia one individual stands out among the rest, a hen named Ginger. She
is the true leader of the flock, the embodiment of their desire to be free. Her
mind and will are focused on a Great Escape, on how to sail over the barbed
wire and get back to the green world that chickens were meant to be in. She and
the other chickens have an ancestral memory of life outside the henitentiary.
In the midst of Ginger's plots, repeated frustrations and refusals to give up,
along comes Rocky the "Flying" Rooster, a refugee from the circus who
with his hotshot American-style breeziness attempts to reinvent himself and
hide his fear of recapture. Rocky brings things to a head at the camp, but he
is not the Hero of the Hen Huts. Ginger is. It is her initiative and brooding
consciousness, her great sad eyes viewing the spectacle of the world, her
burden of having to keep everyone focused on the escape and not degenerate
into fragments of illusion and hopeless acceptance of fate, which constitute
the moral core of the movie. Ginger must grit her teeth -- in this movie the
chickens have the signature teeth of the filmmakers -- and refuse to let human
evil, the centrifugal forces and attrition of everyday life, and her own
despair destroy her or her plan to get herself and the rest of the flock safe
to the world of green grass. Ginger is a true Chickens' Libber and we identify
with her and with the plight of the chickens completely. Neither Peter Lord's
perfidious gibberish about chickens to the media nor Aardman's sellout to
Burger King changes the content of Chicken Run, which rises above its creators
and crummy circumstances as do the hens at Tweedy's Egg Farm.
Unfortunately, the filmmakers have more in common with Mrs. and Mr. Tweedy than
they have with the prisoned chickens. And they hide behind "art" and
"entertainment" to give themselves an alibi to betray the meaning of
their own movie. But Chicken Run should be seen by everyone and actively used
to promote a vegan world and animal rights.
Karen Davis, President
United Poultry Concerns
www.upc-online.org
July 5, 2000
Source:
franklin@upc-online.org
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Rattlesnake Roundups
by LilFairEGrl@aol.com
Rattlesnake Roundups are
advertised across the US as educational and fun for the entire family. This is
far from the truth. These roundups are detrimental not only to the rattlesnakes
involved, but to their habitat, other animals in the habitat, and humans.
Rattlesnakes are "rounded up" by use of a gas that forces them from
their dens. This gas harms not only the snakes, but other animals living in the
area. The gassed den is then unusable for months to come. Gases are detrimental
to animals as well as their habitats.
Once at a roundup, snakes are forced to participate in outlandish contests.
There are snake tossing contests, snake bagging contests, and sack races.
Instead of sleeping or catching prey in their natural habitats snakes are
subjected to what could be called torture. People actually pay money to see
frightened snakes tossed around like playthings. Snakes, once feared and admired
by man are now laughed at as they try desperately to escape torture, stares and
laughter.
Once the roundup festivities are over, many people pay extra money to see
rattlesnakes beheaded or killed in other horrible ways. People watch in
amusement as the snakes open their majestic jaws and make one last futile
attempt to shoot venom at the cruel world. And as the blade separates the
snake's head from its body, unfeeling humans, criminals, unaware of the murder
they have committed not only to snakes, but to human compassion, raise the
blade, and slam another snake down on the block.
"So what," one might say, "They're only snakes, man's
enemy." Every life is precious. By supporting the torturing and killing
rattlesnakes, one is demeaning the quality of life. Rattlesnakes have just as
much right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness as any chicken, cow,
or human. Using innocent animals for entertainment is not only wrong, it sends
a subliminal message that life is worth nothing, and that it can be utilized
and taken in the name of fun.
Please urge your senators and representatives to take action against these
barbaric festivals. I am, as of now looking for e-mail addresses and organizing
a petition to end Rattlesnake Roundups. Please boycott Anheuser Bush as they
support Rattlesnake Roundups.
Source:
LilFairEGrl@aol.com
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Job Opportunity
FARM (Farm Animal Reform
Movement) is a national, tax-exempt, educational organization advocating a
plant-based diet and rights for farmed animals through six annual grassroots
campaigns and other programs. It operates from the nation's capital with seven
full-time staffers, through a grassroots network of over one thousand activists
in all 50 states and several Canadian provinces.
FARM has the following openings at our national headquarters in suburban
Washington, DC:
OFFICE COORDINATOR (procures and maintains office equipment, supplies, merchandise;
maintains financial records, conducts mailings, responds to inquiries)
DATABASE MANAGER (maintains member, media, and other data bases)
PUBLICATIONS DIRECTOR (designs and produces brochures, newsletters, fact
sheets, and other publications; maintains web site)
CAMPAIGN COORDINATOR (assists with organizing the Great American Meatout and
other national grassroots campaigns)
CONFERENCE COORDINATOR (assists with organizing AR2000, the national animal
rights conference)
Each position requires applicable prior experience, dedication to promoting
animal rights and a vegan lifestyle, self-starting, and ability to work in a
team setting.
We offer an unparalleled opportunity for professional growth, and personal
fulfillment, along with modest pay and housing, if needed. The office is
located in a safe and pleasant residential neighborhood of Bethesda, MD, 20
minutes from downtown Washington.
FARM is a national organization promoting planetary survival through
plant-based eating. Our programs include the Great American Meatout, World Farm
Animals Day, National Veal Ban Action, Letters From FARM, CHOICE, Industry
Watch, and occasionally, a national convention like ANIMAL RIGHTS '97. To learn
more about FARM, check our website at www.farmusa.org
To apply, send resume and a letter noting position(s), special qualifications
and interests, availability, and salary requirements to: Employment, FARM,
10101 Ashburton Lane, Bethesda, MD 20817.
Source: farm@farmusa.org
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Life with Cats
Cats of all
nationalities have been getting high on catnip for over 3,500 years. Ancient Egyptians watched with delight as
their deified felines abandoned their dignity to roll about in the magic herb.
And modern American felines enjoy over 3,000 tons of catnip a year.
Of course, not every cat is susceptible to the euphoric effects of catnip:
about 20 percent of cats aren't genetically programmed to respond. Experts say
that catnip reactions are inherited and if a cat loves her 'nip, it's likely
that mom or dad enjoyed it as well. In general, catnip is an aphrodisiac and it
seems to affect males more than females. Kittens younger than six months old
who haven't developed sexually usually avoid catnip.
If you think watching your ten-pound housecat enjoying the effect of catnip is
amusing, imagine watching a five-hundred-pound lion roll around like a
kitten. Most big cats -- including
lions, cougars, bobcats, lynx and leopards -- react to catnip with the same
cheek-rubbing antics as your favorite domestic cat. Tigers, however,
seem to be immune to the herb's effects.
So what is it about catnip that's makes most cats large and small purr? The
"high" appears to be triggered by the plant's release (in oil form)
of the chemical nepetalactone, which is similar to the sedative ingredient in
the herb valerian, which has been called the "Valium of the nineteenth
century." (The two substances are not related.) Humans, of course, don't
generally turn cartwheels in the air or bounce around on the furniture after
taking valerian: they skip straight to
the gentle sleep portion of the effect.
Having Catnip Parties
As with sleeping or pain medications or almost any kind of drug that humans
use, prolonged use of catnip establishes some immunity. If catnip is too
readily available, your cat is liable to get bored and lose interest.
The best way to keep your cat interested in her catnip toys is to store them in
the freezer (to help them keep their freshness and to keep your cat from
finding them) and bring them out once every two to three weeks for a special
catnip party. As an added bonus, during catnip parties you can turn off the TV
and let yourself be entertained by your cat's antics.
If you have more than one cat, make sure that you have enough catnip toys to go
around; cats tend to be very possessive of their 'nip and will try to hide
their catnip toys. Cats can also get aggressive when given catnip, and you
don't want your fun-filled party to turn into a cat fight.
Sharing a Nip with Your Cat
While your cats are enjoying chasing their catnip toys, why don't you pull out
the teapot and brew up a pot of catnip tea. Although catnip doesn't give humans
the same euphoria as it does cats, it has been used for centuries to ease
stomachaches and headaches, relieve colds and fevers, soothe colicky children
and ease menstrual cramps. A cup of catnip tea can soothe anxiety, provide a
restful night's sleep and help hyperactive kids settle down. Some companies
sell catnip tea, but to create your own, simply cut up leaves and brew them as
you would other types of loose tea. Catnip can also add an unusual flavor to
sauces, soups and stews.
Buying or Growing Catnip
Catnip toys and loose catnip are both available, but catnip toys are often the
best choice because the catnip is contained and you won't end up with loose
leaves all over your house. It's the scent of the catnip and not the taste that
creates the euphoric effect, so your cat won't be deprived if you choose toys
over loose catnip. Catnip toys for your feline friends come in all shapes and
sizes -- from the traditional mice to holiday favorites such as Santa figures
and pumpkins.
If you're looking for loose catnip to cook with, you can either purchase it or
grow your own. Catnip is a perennial herb with white or pale lavender flowers
that can grow up to five feet tall; it prefers full sun and well-drained soil.
You can harvest and dry the catnip leaves as needed. Plus, catnip contains
citronella and can act as a natural insect repellent. The only caution about
growing catnip is that once the leaves are bruised and release their scent,
cats will come running to play in your catnip garden.
All Catnip Is Not Created Equal
Catnip's potency, like that of other herbs, is affected by a number of factors,
including soil, growing conditions and climate. Cats can have different
reactions to catnip grown under different conditions, so if your cat isn't
responding to the catnip in her fuzzy mouse, try buying a new catnip toy and
see if there's a different reaction.
Another factor that can affect your cat's reaction to catnip is the herb's
age. Although it doesn't take much
catnip for cats to go bonkers -- they respond to catnip in concentrations
approaching 1 part per billion -- it's important to remember that catnip loses
its potency over time because the nepetalactone that causes the euphoric
reaction breaks down. Storing catnip in the freezer can prolong its life and
keep it safely out of your cat's reach for those special occasions when you and
your cat can both enjoy it.
And that only leaves one question . . . what is it that cats dream about when
they're on a catnip trip? Perhaps it's that ideal world of cat kind -- a world
where birds fly low, dogs run slow and people walk around with their pockets
full of catnip.
Source: : Pet Article
http://www.petopia.com/pet_care_article.asp?categoryID=58&catdisplay=
no&CatImage=h-lifestyle.gif&articleID=282&tab=2&subtab=2&careimage=
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How to Communicate With Animals
Samantha Khury began
talking with animals as a child. Now, as one of the leading experts of our
times, she explains how you can communicate with your animal friends.
Sending pictures. "Animals communicate by sending pictures," says
Samantha Khury, one of the world's foremost animal communicators. Rather than
listening to your words, they pick up on the visual images and emotional
feelings that you're sending out.
"We, too, start communicating as children with pictures in our minds. Then
we gradually convert everything to words. But the pictures are still there and
this is how the animals think."
How it began for Samantha. The big moment of revelation for Samantha was on the
day her 16 year old son brought home a pheasant that had been hit. The bird was not injured, but traumatized to
the point where he could not fly. As
Samantha gently picked him up and talked soothingly to him, her head was
suddenly filled with pictures of the area all around, but from way up in the
air, as though she was in a low-flying plane.
"I realized that these pictures were not from in my own mind," she
said. "The images could only have been from the mind's eye of the bird -
beautiful pictures of tree-tops. So I went all over the neighborhood,
trying to get pictures from all the neighbors' pets."
Pictures and feelings that can explain the problem. Her clients or patients -
pets and their people - come to her for insight into behavioral problems, or
physical ailments that haven't responded to regular medical treatment. Often she
will receive images and feelings from the animal that explain the problem
and suggest a solution.
Samantha tells the story of a cat called Casey who had become listless and
depressed.
Samantha explained that Casey the cat urgently needed a new job. When Casey's
family brought him to her, he "told" her he had lost his job.
Samantha didn't understand what Casey meant until the family confirmed that
until recently they had owned a restaurant. They used to take Casey in with
them each morning, and he'd stand around outside and greet the customers as
they came in. Then the restaurant burned down and Casey lost his job. They
confirmed that this was indeed when he got his first bout of depression.
Casey soon got over his problem by going to the local library and meeting
people there. But the library rules changed and he was no longer allowed
in. So he lost another job. This time,
he became seriously depressed.
Samantha told the family that Casey really needed another job. They arranged
for him to visit senior citizens in the neighborhood and Casey was soon
back in top form.
Sending pictures back to animals. Once she understood the concept of receiving
images from an animal, Samantha soon realized she could send them, too. She
describes this as using our daydreaming capacity to imagine an action as being
completed and send that thought and emotion to the animal. Most of us already do send images to our
animals, says Samantha. The trouble is, we're sending negative ones. When Fido
or Fluffy are doing something we don't like and we try to tell them to stop
doing that, the picture in our mind is of the bad behavior. "Don't scratch
the sofa!" for example, is accompanied by a picture of scratching the
sofa.
The trick is to hold a positive picture of the desired behavior in your mind's
eye.
Rather than holding on to that negative picture, the trick is to hold a picture
of the desired behavior in your mind's eye. Replace your negative emotions and
pictures with positive ones. Worrying that an animal will do the wrong thing
sends the picture of that wrong action to the animal, which simply reinforces
the behavior.
Remembering the past. Animals remember their past in pictures and
emotions. Samantha says that if she is
dealing with a frightened animal, she tries to create a visual space for them
to re-experience the first time that the trauma happened so that new behavior
can then be introduced to replace it.
One cat she treated, Tonga, was very aggressive. Samantha asked her what had
happened and received back an impression of Tonga being picked up by a man at
some earlier time very roughly. Since then, Tonga was afraid of being picked up
or touched on a particular part of the back. Samantha told her that biting hurt
people and to stop biting -- which she did.
"I acknowledge that all animals have a sparkle of God in them. We are
equal beings."
Rediscovering our inner wonder. Communication works best, she says when we use
what she calls "our inborn spiritual wonder, our intuition, which is
awakened as we acknowledge the emotional connection with all species." She
says that long before she ever discovered how to talk with animals she had a
great wonder and love for them. She saw them as her equals even when she was a
child.
This respect for animals -- for their intelligence and emotional nature, she
says, was the basic key to her being able to communicate with them. If you have
respect what they are, she realized, the animals would willingly communicate
with her.
Summing it all up, Samantha offers these simple tips:
~ Respect their sensitivity and intelligence. "Acknowledge and respect the
emotions and feelings of the animal kingdom. They, too have a consciousness of
their life experiences."
~ Ask questions visually, and be open to the pictures or emotions that come
back into your consciousness.
~ If you cannot form a picture in return, give an emotional impression. The common denominator that allows us to
connect with all animals is the reality of the oneness of creation. "I
acknowledge that all animals have a sparkle of God in them. We are equal
beings."
Source:
Gbarnes345@aol.com
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Zucchini Fritters
Corrynthia@aol.com
4 T whole wheat flour
1 T nutritional yeast
1 tsp sugar
1 T En-R-G egg replacer powder
2 cups grated zucchini
2 T onion, finely chopped
1 tsp canola oil
Black pepper, to taste
Begin by heating griddle over medium heat.
In medium bow, combine first four ingredients; stir to mix. Add zucchini,
onion and oil to bowl; mix well. Season to taste with black pepper.
Spray griddle with non-stick cooking spray. Drop zucchini mixture
by tablespoonfuls onto griddle. Cook until nicely browned (2-3
minutes); turn and brown other side (1-2 minutes). Makes 1 dozen.
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"Adopt Me"
by Psych SLW@aol.com
In back of the apartment complex,
there was a little stray kitten.
He had no name.
Nobody loved him.
He ate out of the dumpster.
Some days the pickings were slim or rancid, and his belly ached.
He was frightened.
He howled at night, and the humans yelled, "shut up!"
Sometimes they threw things at him.
Then one day, someone called the pound to come and get him.
He had become
a "nucience".
Life went from bad to worse, as he lay in his cage, day and night, listening
to the howls and barking of other orphaned, captured animals.
Smelling the fear.
He began not to feel well.
He watched as some animals were taken to a back room,
never to return.
He watched as others were taken home by smiling humans.
Then one day,
he felt a gentle hand stroke his fur.
He was frightened, and backed away.
The hand pulled back. The cage door shut.
He saw the human walk away.
"Meow", he called out. The human stopped and looked back at him.
"Meow", the human said back.
He tried to be brave enough to look at the human,
and the smiling eyes made him feel safe.
"Meow", he said again, and pushed his
paw through the cage door.
The human hand touched his paw ever so gently and asked,
"Would you like a new home, little guy?", and then, the magic
words...
"I'll take this one"
Although frightened, the brave little kitten allowed himself
to be held closely to the humans chest. It felt warm.
He felt himself relax.
A kiss on his head felt soothing.
A motor arose from deep within him.
"He's purring!" the human stated happily.
His purr grew louder as the days went on, and
he discovered the joys that come from being loved, fed and protected.
If you can provide a good and loving home to an abandoned cat or dog,
Adopt a Pet today. They are waiting anxiously.
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Quote To Remember
"I transitioned from vegetarian to vegan
because I came to realize that the same moral motives that kept me vegetarian
applied equally to dairy, eggs, and leather."
~ Carl V. Phillips
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Susan Roghair - EnglandGal@aol.com
Animal Rights Online
P O Box 7053
Tampa, Fl 33673-7053
http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/1395/
-=Animal Rights Online=-
«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»
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