A n i m
a l W r i t e s © sm
The
official ANIMAL RIGHTS ONLINE newsletter
Publisher ~ EnglandGal@aol.com
Issue # 03/10/02
Editor
~ JJswans@aol.com
Journalists ~ Park StRanger@aol.com
~
MichelleRivera1@aol.com
~ sbest1@elp.rr.com
THE EIGHT ARTICLES IN THIS ISSUE ARE:
1 ~ It's War ! The Battle Between Animal
Activists and Industries Escalates
by Professor Steve
Best
2 ~ For Folks That Are Not Doing Meatout This Year
3 ~ Easter Lilies Can Be Deadly To Cats
4 ~ Thinking About Getting A Rabbit For Easter? Read
This First !
5 ~ Statewide Network To Help Homeless Animals
6 ~ Summer Student Internship
7 ~ Humans
8 ~ Memorable Quote
*´`³¤³´`*:»§«:*´`³¤³´`*:»«:*´`*´`³¤³´`*:»«:*´³¤³´`*:»³¤³´`*:»§«:*´`´`*:»«:*³¤³´`³¤³´`³¤³´`*:»³¤³´`
~1~
It’s War!
The
Battle Between Animals Activists and Industries Escalates
By Professor Steve Best - sbest1@elp.rr.com
Is it my imagination, or is all hell breaking
loose? Vegan and animal rights activists seem finally to have caught the
attention of animal exploitation industries, and the war between them has
escalated to intense battles in the streets, courtrooms, boardrooms, and
media.
Hardly a day goes by the Animal Liberation Front (ALF) and Earth Liberation
Front (ELF) have not freed animals from their cages in fur farms and
laboratories or destroyed the property of industries killing animals or
damaging nature. From burning biotech research labs and destruction of ski
lodges to firebombing meat companies, these underground liberation groups have
resorted to militant tactics that have earned them the FBI label of
“terrorists” as the government now works toward criminalizing animal rights
activities through legislation such as the “Patriot Act” that allows the state
full powers of surveillance, search and seizure, and suppression of
dissent.
The militancy of these liberation groups inspired the most powerful animal
rights campaign yet, that waged against Huntingdon Life Sciences (HLS) by Stop
Huntingdon Animal Cruelty (SHAC). HLS is a large and particularly heinous drug
and chemical testing company with offices in England and New Jersey. They
profit from pouring industrial chemicals into the eyes of rabbits and
pesticides and herbicides down the throats of beagle puppies. A series of five
undercover videos exposed for the world to see how vicious this company is,
sadistically beating and killing 500 cats, dogs, rabbits, and chimpanzees a
day, 180,000. In one HLS lab report, some of the animals were recorded as
“rotting, but still alive.” HLS performed necropsy (dissection) on living
monkeys and numerous employees were convicted of violating animal welfare laws
by the USDA and almost shut down by the UK government. In the late 1990s,
outraged activists in England and the U.S. formed SHAC as a militant and
ultra-confrontational group. Hardly satisfied with letter writing and
petitions, SHAC activists have made their case through property destruction,
hassling of executives and employees of HLS and their investors at their
workplaces and homes, and raucous demonstrations. Consequently, over a dozen
corporations pulled out of HLS, including Stevens Inc. a major investor that
saved the company from collapse with a $33 million bailout. Meanwhile,
Cambridge University announced they would not open a new animal laboratory for
fear of animal rights activists, as some British scientists vowed to fight back
against animal rights activists.
It seems a new animal rights movement has been born, one that will have to deal
not only with the stigma of “domestic terrorism,” but also the spies,
harassment, and persecution of the federal government in a time of great
paranoia about “homeland security.” A prime example of the new attacks on
vegetarian and animal rights groups as fanatics and even “terrorists” arrives
in the form of the newly created Center for Consumer Freedom (CCF), a coalition
of 30,000 restaurant and tavern operators adamantly opposed to vegetarianism,
animal rights, anti-biotechnology activists, anti-smoking lobbying, organic
foods advocates, and any “food cop” who dares to question or regulate consumption
of the goods related to their industry. No vegetarian or animal rights
individuals or groups fall outside the huge net they cast over today’s “nanny
culture” of politically correct whiners. Besides SHAC and PETA, CCF’s
favorite target is the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), an
organization led by Dr. Neil Bernard and comprised of scientists, medical
doctors, researchers, and others who advocate veganism and the abolition of
animal experimentation.
In the last year, PCRM has been featured regularly in the mass media, debating
Dr. Atkins over the validity of his high-protein diets, and attacking the food
pyramid as, in their words, “a form of rationalized racism that overlooks
minority people’s health concerns to sell products by the meat, and dairy
industries.” PCRM also has publicly urged the government to sue meat retailers
for the devastating effects of their products on public health, much in the
same manner that tobacco industries were targeted.
The CCF rejects PCRM’s claims to scientific legitimacy and denounces them as a
“terrorist front group” for PETA and SHAC whom they designate as “domestic
terrorist groups.” They “expose” the financial and organizational ties between
PCRM and PETA and PCRM and SHAC. In a January 2002 press release, CCF “called
on PCRM to stop portraying itself as a medical organization and come clean
about its connections to extremist animal rights organizations responsible for
acts of violence and millions of dollars in the destruction of property.” PCRM
is “no more than a puppet for PETA to use in spreading its virulent anti-choice
rhetoric.” PCRM’s superb health education campaigns are rejected as nothing but
“junk science” and efforts “to dispense dangerous animal rights orthodoxy
masquerading as nutritional advice.” CFC conveniently fails to discuss the 16
major research studies that link milk consumption to maladies like prostate
cancer and heart disease. In September 2001, PCRM received some
much-deserved legitimation when the USDA expert panel agreed that the claims
made by the “milk mustache” and “got milk?” advertisements made untruthful
health claims.
While crying rivers over the loss of inanimate property, CCF shows no regard
for the billions of animal lives lost every year in slaughterhouses and
laboratories. They excoriate PCRM for their “junk science” but praise HLS –
notorious for its drugged-out and drunk employees who falsify data -- as
scientifically respectable. They say that PETA and other groups use “scare
tactics [that] are designed to intimidate people into accepting a ridiculously
small set of food choices” with no knowledge of the diversity of vegetarian
options including a remarkable soy analogue for any and every meat taste and
preference. Insipid morons who make Rush Limbaugh seem sagacious? Yes, but they
are also the blowback symptoms of the industry’s vow to retaliate against
vegetarian and animal rights campaigns.
The war for the public mind unfolds on other fronts. In January 2002,
Ringling Bros. Circus (RB) and PETA waged mighty courtroom and media battles.
The Humane Society of Santa Clara (not PETA) claimed that animal trainer Mark
Oliver Gebel bloodied an elephant with a bull hook. The Humane Society of the
United States (HSUS) launched a letter-writing campaign to persuade the
district attorney’s office to prosecute Gebel, which it did. Ringling Brothers
CEO Kenneth Feld argued it was a “crime manufactured to satisfy a political
agenda” and apparently the jury agreed as they acquitted Gebel after only two
hours of deliberation. Unlike many industries under attack by animal rights
activists, RB fought back after the acquittal by taking out full-page ads in
the New York Times and Los Angeles Times. Feld signed an
“Open Letter to Animal Rights Activists” and singled out PETA for “targeting
responsible animal care providers [!] for political reasons.”
Feld did not discuss Ringling Bros.’ notorious record of animal abuse. Nor of
course does he mention that circus animals are inherently exploited and caged
or chained most of their miserable lives. While RB may have won the battle,
they and the circus industry have not won the war. Interested in Feld’s
missive, national media like The Today Show carried the story, giving
PETA an opportunity to make their case to millions of viewers. On one notable
occasion on January 8th edition of The Today Show, RB failed to show for
the debate, and Wayne Pacelle of HSUS and Jane Garrison of PETA made forceful
and uncontested points against the circus, backed by compelling videotaped
evidence. Subsequently, on January 15th, PETA released a shocking undercover
video of elephant trainer Tim “Make Them Scream” Frisco of Carson and Barnes
Circus spewing profanity and hurting elephants with metal prods, teaching
assistants to inflict pain behind closed curtains and never before the public
eye. CBS news ran the story on their evening news February 6th. Apparently the
animal industry has not learned the lessons of the Mclibel suit, when in 1990
McDonalds sued British activists for claiming their products were unhealthy,
cruel to animals, and harmful to the environment. McDonalds won their case in
court, but not without bruising public relations damage as the activists
claimed were aired and confirmed by the British court. “From a PR
standpoint,” Debbie Leahy of PETA said, “it was probably the dumbest thing [RB]
could do. We’ve been flooded with calls from reporters wanting our response,
which has given us many new chances to explain why we think circuses inherently
abuse animals.”
In February 2002, things heated up between Showing Animals Respect and Kindness
(SHARK), an animal rights group devoted to exposing and documenting the cruelty
of rodeos, and the Olympic committee, which decided to sanctify rodeo as an
official Olympic “sport.” SHARK strenuously protested this travesty, and
as part of their resistance, followed the passing of the Olympic torch around
the country with the celebrated “Tiger Truck” equipped with a massive video
screen showing images of rodeo cruelty for all to see. When Senator Paul Ray
(R-Clearfield) referred to the group on television, in writing, and on the
House of Representatives floor as “terrorists” who made “threats of violence”
to the Salt Lake Organizing Committee (SLOC), SHARK immediately denied the
charges and responded with a libel and slander lawsuit, claiming that Ray’s
remarks damaged their ability to collect donations. As SHARK seeks a trial to
sue for unspecified damages, Ray defends the rodeo as “a very important piece
of our culture here in Utah” and remains unapologetic about lumping the entire
animal rights movement together through the T-word. Enjoying his own Mclibel
effect, Steve Hindi of SHARK has received much media coverage from his
“debates” with the rodeo industry (who somehow never manage to show up). The
Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City provided over two weeks of time to air
animal rights critiques of the rodeo to an international audience.
These are but a few portals through which one can view the intensifying drama
surrounding the struggle between vegetarian and animal rights activists, and
the animal exploitation industries. From RB and CCF to British vivisectionists
and sportmen’s advocacy groups, the industry is fighting back at “notorious and
extreme” (CCF) organizations they feel want to restrict peoples’ freedom to
consume, wear, experiment on, and be entertained by animals, while health and
animal rights activists continue to pose ever-greater threat to their economic
viability.
But no one has the right to exploit animals, and here consumer “choices” and
even “science” must give way to the rights of animals, unless we are prepared
to use the same flimsy rationalizations to experiment on humans too. As
evidence of increasing tensions, and especially after the events of September
11, there has been a growing tendency here and abroad to criminalize animal
rights activities and brand them not simply as “radical” or “extreme,” but
rather as “terrorist,” a term that should be reserved to mean inflicting pain
and violence on innocent living beings for nefarious political or economic
goals.
The ironies are all-too painful. When puppies are crippled and punched in the
face, when pigs are strapped into restraint devices that smash their skulls,
when kittens have their brains carved up, and when monkeys are dismembered
while still alive, we are asked to believe this is science, not terrorism. When
nearly 10 billion animals each year in the U.S. alone are confined and killed
in unspeakably vicious ways by the American food industries, we are told this
is business, not terrorism. In this sick and violent society, property is more
sacred than life, and thus those only who destroy property are branded as
criminals while the real terrorists execute their banality of evil in the daily
affairs of the animal industries.
*´`³¤³´`*:»§«:*´`³¤³´`*:»«:*´`*´`³¤³´`*:»«:*´`³¤³´`*:»³¤³´`*:»§«:*´`´`*:»«:*³¤³´`³¤³´`
~2~
For Folks Who Are Not Doing
Meatout This Year
From FARM - farm@farmusa.org
Allright.
So you decided you didn't have time to plan a fancy Meatout event this year.
Fair enough. Here's what you can do to relieve the guilt while helping lots of
animals (and people):
Send your complete contact information to farm@farmusa.org. We will send
you a colorful poster, a greeting sign, and 40 neat little 'Kick the Meat
Habit' brochures. Then it's decision time.
@ Workplace Feed-In. On your way to work on March 18 or 19, pick up some soy
lunch 'meats,' veggie burgers, or soy dogs, a jar of mustard, and a loaf of
sliced bread or buns. Put them out on your workplace or dorm lunch table with
the 'Kick' brochures and place the poster and sign behind.
@ Retail Outreach. Get your local health food store or coop to place the poster
in the window and the 'Kicks' by the checkout counter.
@ Exhibit. Display the poster, sign, and 'Kicks' in your local library or
student union. If you get ambitious, we can send you additional posters and
large color photos.
Although Meatout is officially on March 20, you can conduct these activities
before and after that date. The animals will still appreciate it.
Give us a ring at 1-800-MEATOUT or visit http://www.meatout.org, if you
have any questions. You may want to check out other events in your area at http://www.meatout.org/html/meatout_events.html.
Enjoy! The Meatout Folks.
*´`³¤³´`*:»§«:*´`³¤³´`*:»«:*´`*´`³¤³´`*:»«:*´`³¤³´`*:»³¤³´`*:»§«:*´`´`*:»«:*³¤³´`³¤³´`
~3~
Easter Lilies Can Be Deadly to
Cats
From MollyMcGee01@aol.com
The
ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center and the Cat Fanciers' Association warns cat
owners: Easter Lilies can be deadly for your cat!!!
The ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center, in partnership with the Cat Fanciers'
Association, is leading a nationwide campaign to warn cat owners about the
dangers of Easter lilies and certain other types of lilies. "Easter lily,
tiger lily, rubrum, Japanese show lily, some species of day lily, and certain
other members of the Liliaceae family can cause kidney failure in cats," says
Dr. Sharon Gwaltney-Brant, Veterinary Toxicologist at the ASPCA Animal Poison
Control Center, "All parts of these lilies are considered toxic to cats
and consuming even tiny amounts can be life threatening to your cat."
Cat owners are encouraged to consider safer alternatives to Easter lilies such
as Easter Orchids, Easter Lily Cactus, Easter Daisy or violets.
According to Michael W. Brim, Public Relations and Marketing Director for the
Cat Fanciers' Association, "Part of being a responsible pet owner is to
educate yourself on the many different health issues facing your pet. Removing
dangerous plants from your cat's home is an important part in having safer,
healthier, and happier pets."
Should your feline friend eat part of a poisonous plant, rush the cat to your
veterinarian as soon as possible. If you can, take the plant with you for ease
of identification.
Other Lilies to avoid if you have a cat in your home include:
GLORY LILY - Gloriosa Superba
TIGER LILY - Lilium tigrinum
STARGAZER LILY - Lilium orientalis
RUBRUM LILY - Lilium speciosum rubrum
ASIAN LILIES - Lily asiatic delicious
ASIAN LILIES - Lily asiatic montreaux
For more information about these and to see photos of the dangerous lilies, you
can visit CFA's website: www.cfainc.org
Be safe and protect your beloved pets.
*´`³¤³´`*:»§«:*´`³¤³´`*:»«:*´`*´`³¤³´`*:»«:*´`³¤³´`*:»³¤³´`*:»§«:*´`´`*:»«:*³¤³´`³¤³´`
~4~
Thinking of getting a rabbit
for Easter?
Read this first!
From FeralPlace@aol.com
The
following information comes from:
House Rabbit Society
148 Broadway
Richmond, CA 94804
(510) 970-7575
http://www.rabbit.org
Contrary to Eastertime hype, rabbits and small children aren't a good match.
The exuberance of even the gentlest toddler is stressful for the sensitive
rabbit.
Children like a companion they can hold, and cuddle. That's why stuffed animals
are so popular. Rabbits are not passive and cuddly. They are ground-loving
creatures who feel frightened and insecure when held and restrained. The
result: the child loses interest, and the rabbit ends up neglected or
abandoned.
Easter bunnies soon grow large and reach adolescence. If left unneutered, they
will chew, spray or dig. Many end up neglected or abandoned. The result? Humane
organizations such as House Rabbit Society see a huge increase in the number of
abandoned rabbits after Easter. Help us stop this yearly cycle by educating
yourself and others!
For more information, visit:
Bunnies & Easter Don't Mix
http://www.rabbit.org/easter/
Children & Rabbits
http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/children.html
Rabbit Proofing
http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/rabbit-proofing.html
Spaying & Neutering
http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/spay-neuter.html
Housing
http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/housing.html
Help Spread The Word
http://www.rabbit.org/easter/help.html
Flyers For Easter & Bunnies Don't Mix
http://www.rabbit.org/easter/flyer/index.html
Rabbit Rescue Groups
http://www.rabbit.org/hrs-info/contacts.html
*´`³¤³´`*:»§«:*´`³¤³´`*:»«:*´`*´`³¤³´`*:»«:*´`³¤³´`*:»³¤³´`*:»§«:*´`´`*:»«:*³¤³´`³¤³´`
~5~
Statewide Network to Help
Homeless Animals
From Teresa Turner - tturner5@columbus.rr.com
The
Ohio Humane Education Association (OHEA) has been laying the groundwork for our
statewide network, "Protecting Ohio's Companion Animals" (P.O.C.A.).
This network is unique in design and will require that we have volunteers in
all 88 counties to help clean up Ohio for the dogs and cats. Every year nearly
200,000 dogs and cats are killed in Ohio. It is long past the time to put an
end to this tragedy.
The structure and activities of the network will be to: 1) reduce the number of
animals going into shelters, 2) assist in getting animals out of shelters, and
3) put an end to inhumane practices in the sheltering and killing of unwanted
animals. These aims place heavy emphasis on educating individuals and
communities on the importance of spaying and neutering and responsible
companion animal care.
We are looking for dedicated individuals to serve as volunteer county
coordinators. Although many counties have coordinators, most do not. Many
counties would benefit from a team approach and volunteers are needed
throughout the state. Our first step involves information gathering on what is
going on in each county (many counties are still very inhumane the animals
simply don't have a chance). From this information the needs will be assessed
and a county web page created for what will be the most comprehensive Ohio
companion animal web site. Next, we will be distributing printed materials and
establishing lines of communication with key people in each county.
Will this strategy work? Yes. Action is already being taken and animals being
helped.
This past weekend we went into a southern county after our county coordinator
gathered documentation and photographs on the shooting and box gassing of dogs.
We videotaped graphic evidence and then approached a county commissioner
requesting that the shooting and gassing stop immediately or the media would be
contacted. We were promised that orders would be given to the dog warden to
stop immediately. A meeting is being arranged with the county commissioners to
help this county change the way it deals with stray and unwanted dogs.
Progress is measured in lives saved. Many of us make a difference everyday, one
animal at a time. Together we can help thousands. Consider being part of this
effort to educate and bring about change in Ohio.
For the Animals,
Teresa Turner
State Coordinator
OHEA Director
P.O. Box 546
Grove City, Ohio 43123
614-875-1810
http://www.ohiohumaneeducation.org
*´`³¤³´`*:»§«:*´`³¤³´`*:»«:*´`*´`³¤³´`*:»«:*´`³¤³´`*:»³¤³´`*:»§«:*´`´`*:»«:*³¤³´`³¤³´`
~6~
Summer Student Internship
Position: One full-time intern
Internship Description:
Legal - Job Duties
* Conduct legal research on potential lawsuits. Work with General Counsel to
determine whether or not there is a cause of action and recommend course of
action to pursue.
* Draft FOIA requests and state public records requests.
* Conduct legal research for Program Department on issues relating to 2002
campaigns.
* Assist Government Affairs Coordinator with monitoring state and federal
legislation, recommending API position on bills, lobbying on state and federal
bills through letters, and phone calls.
* Prepare legal comments on proposed state and federal regulatory rule changes.
To apply for the legal internship, the person must be a law student with an
interest in animal law.
Animal Advocacy - Job Duties
* Assist program staff in reviewing literature and public policy on API's
campaigns.
* Write correspondence and lobby letters, fact sheets, and action alerts on
animal advocacy issues.
* Research animal protection issues for Program Department on issues relating
to 2002 campaigns.
* Help update facts and statistics on website.
To apply the person must be an upper division graduate or graduate.
Internship Location: The Animal Protection Institute headquarters, 1122
S Street, Sacramento, CA
Term of Internship: 10 to 12 weeks, Summer 2002
(dates are flexible).
Application Deadline: March 31st, 2002.
Number of Hours Per Week: 40 hours.
Stipend: $8.00 to $12.00 per hour depending on experience -- no housing
available.
Academic Credit: To be determined by academic department chairperson.
Preferred Skills: Excellent research and communication skills, computer
literacy, prior experience in advocacy, strong interest in animal law and/or
advocacy.
Who We Are: API is a national non-profit animal advocacy organization
founded in 1968, dedicated to advocating for the protection of animals from
cruelty and exploitation. Regional, national, and international programs focus
on issues in the areas of captive exotic animals, vegetarianism, wildlife,
companion animals, and animal used in science. Please visit www.api4animals.org
for more information.
To Apply: Send cover letter, resume, and writing sample to:
Nicole Paquette, General Counsel
Animal Protection Institute
1122 S Street
Sacramento, CA 95814.
*´`³¤³´`*:»§«:*´`³¤³´`*:»«:*´`*´`³¤³´`*:»«:*´`³¤³´`*:»³¤³´`*:»§«:*´`´`*:»«:*³¤³´`³¤³´`
~7~
Humans
By Donna Anderson - donna1994@delphi.com
Humans are an interesting species
with their knowledge to create
but when they gather in such large numbers
they play a lawless king to nature's fate
The forests begin to disappear
with the animals who call it home
and the oceans become immorally polluted
while we talk mindlessly on the phone
Though we're worried about our salaries
and minor things in life
we are beginning an immeasurable journey
and an unthinkable fight.
*´`³¤³´`*:»§«:*´`³¤³´`*:»«:*´`*´`³¤³´`*:»«:*´`³¤³´`*:»³¤³´`*:»§«:*´`´`*:»«:*³¤³´`³¤³´`
~8~
Memorable Quote
"When you're on a journey, and the end keeps
getting further and further away, then you realize that the real end is the
journey."
~~ Karlfried Graf Durckheim
«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»
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=-
&
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
«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»
(Permission Granted To Quote/Forward/Reprint/Repost This Newsletter In
Whole Or In Part with credit given to EnglandGal@aol.com)
* Please forward this to a
friend who you think
might be interested in subscribing to our newsletter.
* ARO
gratefully accepts and considers articles for publication
from subscribers on veg*anism and animal issues.
Send submissions to JJswans@aol.com
** Fair Use Notice**
This document may contain copyrighted material whose use has not been
specifically authorized by the copyright owners. I believe that this
not-for-profit, educational use on the Web constitutes a fair use of the
coprighted material (as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law).
If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go
beyond fair use, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner