A n i m a l   W r i t e s © sm
                                    The official ANIMAL RIGHTS ONLINE newsletter

  Publisher   ~ EnglandGal@aol.com                                   Issue # 12/16/01
      Editor    ~ JJswans@aol.com
  Journalists ~ Park StRanger@aol.com
                   ~ MichelleRivera1@aol.com
                   ~ sbest1@elp.rr.com


  THE SIX ARTICLES IN THIS ISSUE ARE:

  1  ~ Do AW Campaigns and Reforms Hurt or Help AR and Abolition?
  2  ~ Animal Cruelty Apathy
  3  ~ Request From EnglandGal
  4  ~ Eddie Lama on Montel
  5  ~ A Tail Flickers in February
  6  ~ Memorable Quote

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~1~
Do Animal Welfare Campaigns and Reforms Hurt
or Help Animal Rights and Abolition?
The Theme of the Third Annual United Poultry Concerns Forum
by: Mary and Frank Hoffman - flh@all-creatures.org
for pictures of the event, go to:
http://www.all-creatures.org/articles/ar-upc3.html

This forum brought together activists from both sides of the welfare/rights issue in a harmonious exchange of ideas on the grounds of the United Poultry Concerns' sanctuary in Machipongo, Virginia, USA.  The consensus of opinion was that animal welfare campaigns and reforms do not hurt animal rights and abolition, if the direction of the animal welfare activity is abolitionist in its ultimate goal - i.e. the only way to totally eliminate animal suffering is to "Go Vegan!"

Being on the grounds of the sanctuary added emphasis to the purpose of the meetings as the birds were made a part of the proceedings rather than being excluded, had the meeting been held in a hotel.  We were able to visit with the chickens, ducks, turkeys and cockatiel in the morning, at lunch time, and during our meeting breaks.  Such interaction allowed us to better appreciate the individual personalities of these birds, many of whom were quite affectionate.  Whatever food was left over was fed to the sanctuary residents.  And since the kitchen opens onto the porch, which is used for infirm birds, we could feed the birds.  They really loved the leftover pasta!

The first speaker on Saturday was Kirsten Rosenberg of The Animals' Agenda.  Her subject was "Throwing the Baby Out With the Battery Cage: Looking Out for Animals' Welfare in the Pursuit of Rights."  Kirsten's presentation came across as a "business approach" to arriving at our goals of eliminating animal suffering.  She expressed that politics is the art of compromise, and that in our pursuit of animal rights in the future, we need to find ways to lessen the suffering of animals in our present time.  "Historically, divisiveness is deadly," she said, and we need to support all actions that will help the animals, even in minor ways. 

The second speaker was Joe Miele of New Jersey Animal Rights Alliance.  His subject was "Getting Back to the Core of the Animal Rights Movement."  Joe addressed the four major aspects of the animal advocacy movement: animal rights, animal rescue, animal sanctuaries, and welfare reform.  He discounted all "band-aid" actions of the welfare movement that don't eliminate animal suffering.  Joe's catchy phrase "eliminate, not alleviate" is the core of his philosophy. Joe came across as a purist abolitionist, but at the same time realizing that the abolition of animal suffering was not going to happen overnight, and that we have to do whatever we can to further that goal.  Welfare that doesn't do that is working against the animals.  

Joe showed little "cages" to emphasize the minor difference that the McDonald's, Burger King, and Wendy's "reforms" made in the torturously cramped conditions that laying hens are forced to live in.  The discussion which followed, brought out the fact that even these minor differences reduced the mortality from 20% to only about 3%.  Nevertheless, battery hen houses are still concentration camps.

This led us into the third presentation of the day presented by Paul Shapiro of Compassion Over Killing, a Washington, DC based organization.  He presented the video, Hope for the Hopeless: An Investigation and Rescue at a Battery Egg Facility, an 18 minute documentary which shows the horrors of the lives of the battery hen.  Hens were shown wedged into the wire cages so that they were unable to get food or water.  A dead hen was left to decompose among her cage-mates.  Such depictions emphasize the utter disregard and lack of compassion for the chickens in these factory farms.  This film also reminds us how depraved some human beings can be compared to the tenderness expressed by the rescuers who took a few of the more seriously injured hens to get veterinary care, which is never provided in hen houses. 

After lunch, Steve Best of Voice for All Animals, and an Associate Professor of Philosophy and Humanities at the University of Texas, El Paso, presented his talk entitled, Undoing False Oppositions: Lessons from the Social Revolutionaries.  He said that veganism is our radicalism.  He defended the recent welfare reforms brought about in the fast food industry through the efforts of PETA and others. 

Steve argued that welfarism and reforms are not logically or practically separate from revolution and rights. Steve emphasized that capitalism was the main cause of the torture of animals in the agriculture industry.  But, we believe that the real problem lies in the depraved nature of our fellow human beings who abuse animals for their own personal gain.  They use capitalism to further their goals.  By comparison, the same evil things were happening in the Soviet Union, and they are happening in China, today, at an ever increasing rate.  The "revolution" that is needed is within the human heart.  Steve said that we need to develop a coherent strategy for the animal rights movement similar to the other major historical social movements. 

The next speaker was Sean Day, an attorney from Washington DC, who presented his talk entitled, "Beyond Rights Vs. Welfare: A Model for Evaluating Efforts in Furtherance of Animal Rights."  He emphasized that any welfare action that isn't at least a step toward abolition is not doing the animals any good. 

Sean said that welfare reform laws seem to empower animal abusers more than they serve to help eliminate the suffering of animals.  He gave the example of Edward Taub, who was convicted of animal abuse in the 1981 Silver Springs, MD monkey case, only to have his conviction overturned in federal court based on the ineffective Animal Welfare Act.  He said that since 1966 there have been no criminal convictions resulting from the Animal Welfare Act.  Additionally, 85% of all animals are not covered by this Law. 

Sean, a former welfarist, is now a purist abolitionist.  He opposes the current "Downed Animal Legislation Amendment," because there is no enforcement provision.  He said that the only veterinary care provided is intended to get the animal to walk to its death.

The last speaker was Bruce Friedrich of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), who spoke on Sunday morning.  His talk was entitled, "Welfare v. Liberation: Mutually Exclusive?  Bruce's main emphasis was upon the successes and media attention that lead to people going vegan.  He argued that the welfare reforms negotiated with the fast food giants brought the abuse of animals in the food industry to the public eye. 

Before coming to PETA, Bruce spent more than six years working in a shelter for homeless families and soup kitchens in inner-city Washington, DC. 

Following each speaker and at the end of each day's talks, there was a discussion period for the free exchange of ideas. 

We emphasized that we must direct our attention to the religious community in ways that do not depart from the Bible.  It is important to show God's intent of vegan living both in the creation (Genesis 1:28-29) and in heaven to come (Revelation 21:4).  We emphasized that the Hebrew Biblical understanding of compassion for animals has been lost in most of Christian teachings, and it needs to be reintroduced.

The final consensus of opinion was:

* that we need to find better ways of working together toward our common goal;

* that it is not worth pursuing any welfare or reform activity that is not a step toward abolition,

* that we must emphasize "Go Vegan!" as a part of any activity.

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~2~
Animal Cruelty Apathy
Follow up to dogfighting case
By Michelle Rivera - MichelleRivera1@aol.com

Back in July, 2001, As many readers will remember, I wrote an article and put out an urgent plea for letters to be sent to the office of the State Attorney, the Director of Animal Control and the Palm Beach County Sheriff asking for aggressive prosecution of more than sixty dog-fighters arrested in Palm Beach County. Of the sixty, two were sheriff's deputies.  I would like to follow up at this time and let readers know the outcome of that case.

The sheriff's deputies were fired but were re-hired a week later.  They suffered no losses whatsoever, and didn't even have to perform community service.  The Police Benevolent Association played a big part in protecting these officers.  I spoke to one of the officers, Reginald Mickens, who had absolutely no remorse and actually told me that people "prejudged me because I am black."  He was caught at the dogfight so far inside the building that he had to have been there for a very long time.

The dogs who were confiscated, three of whom were in serious condition and had to be put on iv therapy, were stolen right out of the evidence room at the county facility the night after the bust was made.  An informant told the arresting officer that it was an "inside job."  The dogs were never recovered.

The other defendants accepted a plea agreement for misdemeanor animal abuse and served eight months in the county jail. Most were out in a few months.

The felony charges against Steve Rousseau and Rousselet Alphonse of 4116 Plumosa Street in West Palm Beach were dropped on October 24, 2001 because the office of the state attorney was not aggressive in their prosecution.  The case was thrown out because of a technicality that could very easily been defended had the prosecutors chosen to do so.  They did not.

Letters are needed to Barry Krischer, the State Attorney for Palm Beach County (StateAttorney@sa15.state.fl.us) expressing your disappointment in his handling of the case and in his attitude toward animal cruelty crimes in general.  Please also ask that the ruling be appealed.  The arresting officer is trying to get the ruling appealed, but without pressure from the public, it is unlikely that she will be successful.

After I wrote my first article about this case, more than 250 letters were received in the office of the state attorney and this pressure played a huge part in the decision to move forward with the cases.  I have inside information that before the letters came in to the office, the cases were going to be "pled out" as simple misdemeanors and not taken at all seriously.

Please help us to see this case through and that justice is served.  We cannot let the office of the State Attorney simply go through the motions just to placate the animal rights activists, and hope we will quietly go away.  The arresting officer in this case is eight months pregnant and is working over time on this case, our getting behind her and showing some solid support will give her the extra edge she needs at this very critical time.

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~3~
Request From EnglandGal

Dear Animal Rights Online Subscriber

The following is a partial list of books Animal Rights Online has in our library.  We are looking at adding more to this collection and wondered if any of you can recommend any books which we should consider adding.  If so, please provide EnglandGal with the following information:  Book Title, Author, Publishing Companys name and address, and the ISBN#.  Many thanks.

Books in 'NUMERICAL ORDER'
42 Ways To Help Animals In Laboratories
150 Vegan Favorites
1,001 Low-fat Vegetarian Recipes

Books in 'ALPHABETICAL ORDER'
A
A Language Older Than Words
All For Animals: Tips and Inspiration for Living a More Compassionate Life
Animal Equality: Language and Liberation
Animal Experimentation - A Harvest of Shame
Animal Gospel
Animal Grace
Animal Rights and Human Morality
Animal Rights: A Subject Guide, Bibliography, and Internet Companion
Animals in Society: Facts & Perspectives on our Treatment of Animals
Animals on the Agenda
Animals, Property and the Law
Animals: Why They Must Not Be Brutalized
Animal Rights and Human Obligations
Animal Rights: History & Scope of a Radical Social Movement
Animal Rites: Liturgies of Animal Care
Animal Talk: Interspecies Telepathic Communication
Animal Theology
Animal Underworld: Inside America's Black Market
An Unnatural Order
A Vegetarian Doctor Speaks Out

B
Becoming Vegan: The Complete Guide to Adopting a Healthy Plant-Based Diet
Behind The Dolphin Smile
Being Vegan
Being Vegetarian for Dummies
Best Friends: The True Story of the World's Most Beloved Animal Sanctuary
Beyond Animal Rights
Beyond Evolution
Beyond The Bars: The Zoo Dilemma
Beyond The Law
Blessing the Bridge: What Animals Teach Us About Death, Dying, and Beyond
Blood Relations: Animals, Humans, and Politics
Bringing Life to Ethics: Global Bioethics for a Humane Society
Build Me An Ark: A Life with Animals
Burgers 'N Fries 'N Cinnamon Buns

C
Campaigning Against Cruelty: The hundred year history of the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection
Caring Consumers
Child Abuse, Domestic Violence, and Animal Abuse
Chinese Vegetarian Cookery
Communicating with Animals:The Spiritual Connection Between People and Animals
Compassionate Living for Healing, Wholeness and Harmony
Complete Guide to Vegetarian Convenience Foods, The
Conveniently Vegan
Conversations With Dog
Cooking With Kindness
Cooking With Peta: Great Vegan Recipes for a Compassionate Kitchen
Cookin' Southern: Vegetarian Style
Cruelty to Animals and Interpersonal Violence

D
Dark Horses and Black Beauties
Dead Meat
Defending Animal Rights
Delicious Food For a Healthy Heart
Dog, Cat, and Possum Tales

E
Eat Right Live Longer
Emergency Animal Rescue Stories: True Stories About People Dedicated to
Saving Animals from Disasters
Encyclopedia of Animal Rights and Animal Welfare
Ethical Vegetarianism: From Pythagoras to Peter Singer
Ethics Into Action: Henry Spira & The Animal Rights Movement

F
Facts About Furs
Feed The Birds
Food For Life
Food For The Gods
Food Pets Die For: Shocking Facts About Pet Food
Foods That Fight Pain
Found Dogs: Tales of Strays Who Landed on Their Feet
Free The Animals

G
God's Covenant With Animals: A Biblical Basis for the Humane Treatment of All Creatures
Goodbye, Friend

H
Heinerman's New Encyclopedia of Fruits & Vegetables
Hospice Hounds
Hunting, Animal Rights, and the Contested Meaning of Nature

I
I Can't Believe It's Not Meat
Incredibly Delicious: The Vegan Paradigm Cookbook
Instead of Chicken, Instead of Turkey: A "Poultry" Potpourri
Introduction to Animal Rights: Your Child or the Dog?
In Your Face: From Actor to Animal Activist
Is God A Vegetarian? Christianity, Vegetarianism, and Animal Rights

J
Judaism and Vegetarianism

K
Kids Can Cook: Vegetarian Recipes
Kindred Spirits: How the Remarkable Bond Between Humans & Animals Can Change The Way We Live
Kinship With The Animals

L
Listening to Wild Dolphins
Living in Harmony With Animals
Losing Paradise: The Growing Threat to our Animals our Environment and Ourselves
Lost and Found: Dogs, Cats, and Everyday Heroes at a Country Animal Shelter

M
Mad Cowboy
Mad Cows and Milk Gate
Meat: A Natural Symbol
Meat Is Suicide!
Meatless Burgers
Milk A - Z
Milk: The Deadly Poison
More Than a Meal: The Turkey in History, Myth, Ritual, and Reality
My Cat Saved My Life
My Pet Died

N
Naked Empress, Or The Great Medical Fraud
Natural Pet Cures: Dog & Cat Care the Natural Way
Nature's Chicken: The Story of Today's Chicken Farms
Nutrition and Athletic Performance

O
Out of Harm's Way: The Extraordinary True Story of One Woman's
Lifelong Devotion to Animal Rescue

P
Paw Prints On Our Souls
Peaceful Kingdom: Random Acts of Kindness by Animals
Pit's Letter
Political Theory and Animal Rights
Protect Your Pets: More Shocking Facts
Preparing for the Loss of Your Pet
Prisoned Chickens Poisoned Eggs

R
Rattling The Cage Toward Legal Rights for Animals
Reading Zoos: Representations of Animals and Captivity
Reigning Cats & Dogs: Good Nutrition, Healthy Happy Animals
Religious Vegetarianism: From Hesiod to the Dalai Lama
Replenish The Earth

S
Sacred Cows and Golden Geese
Save The Animals: 101 Easy Things You Can Do
Saving Emily
Science On Trial: The Human Cost of Animal Experiments
Singing to the Sound: Visions of Nature, Animals & Spirit
Slaughterhouse
Soy of Cooking
Souls Like Ourselves
Speaking Out for Animals
Strolling With Our Kin: Speaking For And Respecting Voiceless Animals

T
Table for Two: Meat and Dairy-Free Recipes for Two
Tasty Bytes Cookbook: Best-of-the-Internet Vegetarian Recipes
Teaching Compassion: A Guide for Humane Educators, Teachers, and Parents
That Quail, Robert
The Animal Dealers: Evidence of Abuse of Animals in the Commercial Trade 1952-1997
The Animal Rights Debate
The Animal Rights Movement in America: From Compassion to Respect
The Animal Rights/Environmental Ethics Debate
The Animal Rights Movement in the U.S. 1975-1990
The Case For Animal Rights
The Compassion of Animals: True Stories of Animal Courage and Kindness
The Dreaded Comparison: Human and Animal Slavery
The Early Years: The Story of the Pug Who Ruled My Life
The Food Revolution: How Your Diet Can Help Save Your Life and the World
The Great Ape Project: Equality Beyond Humanity
The Heart of the Matter: Breaking Codes and Making Connections Between You and Your Dog or Your Cat
The HSUS Complete Guide To Dog Care: Everything You Need to Know to Keep Your Dog Healthy and Happy
The Inner Art of Vegetarianism: Spiritual Practices for Body and Soul
The Inner Art of Vegetarianism Workbook: Spiritual Practices for Body and Soul
The Loss Of A Pet: A Guide to Coping with the Grieving Process when a pet dies
The Lost Religion of Jesus: Simple Living and Nonviolence in Early Christianity
The Nutritional Yeast Cookbook
The Orangutans
The Puppy Baby Book
The Rainbow and Other Stories
The Saucy Vegetarian: Quick & Healthful No-Cook Sauces & Dressings
The Smile of a Dolphin: Remarkable Accounts of Animal Emotions
The Souls of Animals
The State of the Animals 2001
The Thee Generation: Reflections on the Coming Revolution
The Uncheese Cookbook
The Use of Animals in Higher Education: Problems, Alternatives, & Recommendations
The Vegetarian Female
The Voice Of The Infinite In The Small
The Weaning of America
Think Like A Cat: How to Raise a Well-Adjusted Cat Not a Sour Puss
Three Cats, Two Dogs: One Journey Through Multiple Pet Loss
"Three Dog Bakery" Cookbook
To Free A Dolphin
Tofu & Soyfoods Cookery

U
Unleashing Your Inner Dog: Your Best Friend's Guide to Life

V
Vegan: The New Ethics of Eating
Vegan Vittles
Vegetarian Cooking for Dummies
Vegetarian Cooking for People with Allergies: Wheat and Dairy-Free
Vegetarian Food For Thought: Quotations & Inspirations
Vegetarian Magic In Three Easy Steps
Vegetarian Planet
Victor's Picnic With the Vegetarian Animals
Voices from the Garden: Stories of Becoming a Vegetarian

W
Waste of the West: Public Lands Ranching
What Is A Vegetarian?
What Vets Don't Tell You About Vaccines
When Animals Speak: Advanced Interspecies Communication
Wind-Of-Fire: The Story of an Untouchable
Writings on an Ethical Life

Y
You Can Save the Animals!

Z
Zoos And Animal Rights: The Ethics of Keeping Animal

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~4~
Eddie Lama on Montel
TUESDAY DECEMBER 18TH
From Bryan & Carla Wilson - ruvegan@cfl.rr.com

Eddie Lama, subject of Tribe of Heart's documentary THE WITNESS, will be appearing before 6 million television viewers of The Montel Show this Tuesday, December 18th. He will be one of four guests, each of whom has a chapter devoted to them in Montel Williams' recently published book, "A Dozen Ways to Sunday: Stories of Hope and Courage." Eddie's segment will feature clips from The Witness, footage of his Oasis animal sanctuary, an interview with Montel, and a cameo appearance by one of the sanctuary's most beloved residents, Moondog.

For local air times and channel information, visit the Montel Show web site, at: http://www.montelshow.com/show/where.vep

For this special broadcast event, in addition to information about The Witness, the Tribe of Heart web site will feature photos and information about Eddie Lama's Oasis sanctuary. See http://www.tribeofheart.org

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~5~
      A Tail Flickers in February
By Kimberly DeMatteo - BunnyACA@aol.com
                           
A tinge in the wind makes me remember,
for painful pasts are newly renewed.
It's like the weather
sometimes shaking trees and branches. 
The rain comes and time stands still,
leaving with it the bitter cold of February. 
I cry and it feels better for the moment
but somehow returns. 
I knew we didn't have much time with you,
but still February came too soon. 
The sun heals and holds my hand
for February is almost too much to bear. 
Time can be gentle
when days seem too real
and again there's that flicker
that time can never heal.

   Dedicated to Missy, a Squirrel
    March 2000 -  February 2001

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~6~
Memorable Quote

"Non-violence leads to the highest ethics, which is the goal of all evolution.  Until we stop harming all other living beings, we are still savages."

                                                                        ~~ Thomas A. Edison

«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»
Susan Roghair - EnglandGal@aol.com
Animal Rights Online
P O Box 7053
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http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/1395/
  -=Animal Rights Online=- 
&
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not-for-profit publisher of The Animals' Agenda Magazine
http://www.animalsagenda.org/
The Animals' Agenda Magazine: WebEdition
«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»
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