The following is an excerpt from IDA’s eNews, 8-23-06. Please note that you can also make a donation to BETA directly at animals.beirut.com/donate.php.

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: In Defense of Animals – takeaction [at] idausa.org
Date: Aug 23, 2006 7:44 PM
Subject: IDA eNews: 08-23-06

2. Animal Companions Abandoned in Lebanon Need Help

Rescue group needs emergency funds to feed, shelter and protect survivors

In only 36 days of fighting between Lebanon and Israel, approximately 1,000 Lebanese and 163 Israelis have been killed — at least 900 of these casualties of war being civilians. While a cease-fire negotiated by the United Nations has slowed the death toll, further destruction seems almost inevitable. It has been a brutal conflict for both sides, and all kinds of animals are suffering terribly alongside human beings as the fighting continues.

The mass evacuation of Lebanon has caused a major crisis for guardians abroad as some world governments order their citizens to leave helpless animal companions behind to face almost certain death from rocket strikes, starvation or disease. While the French, for instance, made arrangements to evacuate animals along with people, the U.S. government forced 25,000 evacuees to abandon their animal companions in the combat zone soon after the bombs started to fall over a month ago. In this instance, it seems that U.S. officials have learned nothing from the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina, in which thousands of Gulf Region residents courageously chose to stay and face deadly flood waters rather than abandon their beloved animals in their time of greatest need.

Now tens of thousands of animals are trapped in the middle of a deadly military conflict with no means of escape or survival. There remains one main rescue group in Lebanon — Beirut for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (BETA) — and they’re hanging on by a thread. After their shelter was destroyed by missiles, they managed to evacuate dozens of dogs and cats to an abandoned pig farm in the hills around Beirut donated by a generous German supporter. While over one million people have fled Lebanon over the past several weeks, BETA volunteers have vowed to stay with and protect the rescued animals even at extreme risk to their own lives.

What You Can Do:

BETA desperately needs emergency funds to buy food and medicine from nearby countries in the Middle East. You can donate money to support BETA’s lifesaving efforts through the Best Friends Rescue Fund (network.bestfriends.org/middleeast). Be sure to indicate in the “comments” section of the donation form that you want your contribution to go to BETA’s rescue efforts.

Here’s the TOC from IDA’s 08-23-06 newsletter.

Click on the links to take action, or read the whole newsletter online.

IDA ACTION ALERTS

1. USDA Seeking Public Comments on IDA’s Elephant Petition

Also:

Get more information on IDA’s petition to the USDA

Learn more about IDA’s campaign to help elephants in zoos

2. Animal Companions Abandoned in Lebanon Need Help

3. Help Save Feral Cat Colony at Netherlands Resort

CAMPAIGN NEWS & UPDATES

1. Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act Targets Animal Rights Activists

Also:

To learn more about what the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act could mean for animal rights activists, read what journalist Will Potter has to say on the subject.

2. Country Western Star Troy Gentry Charged in Hunting Scam

3. International Anti-Fur Coalition Entreats Fashion Designers to Oppose Cruelty

An archive of past IDA eNews newsletters is available here.

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: DawnWatch – news [at] dawnwatch.com
Date: Aug 23, 2006 5:14 PM
Subject: DawnWatch: Foie gras ban in many papers and poll in Chicago Tribune 8/23/06

Chicago’s ban on foie gras went into effect yesterday, and is featured in many papers today including the New York Times and Washington Post, the internationally distributed Christian Science Monitor, and it is on the front page of the Chicago Tribune. Google News alerts showed the story at 58 news outlets at least. You might check the following link to see if your news outlet is one of them, and send a letter to the editor if so: tinyurl.com/jg349

The Wednesday, August 23, Chicago Tribune front page story is headed, “Chicago’s wild foie gras chase; Mayor Daley calls the ban the ‘silliest’ law. Restaurants across town serve up the delicacy in defiance. Now the question is whether city officials will actually try to enforce the new law.”

It opens:

“Foie gras appeared on pizza on Archer Avenue Tuesday, complemented cornbread and catfish at a South Side soul food place, and was stacked on sausages like pats of butter at a gourmet hot dog joint on the North Side.

“Chicago’s immediate reaction to a city ordinance banning foie gras–the French dish made from the livers of force-fed ducks and geese–was to embrace the gray goo like never before, in flights of culinary imagination.

“Rhetoric and pate abounded on the first day of the City Council’s ban, as restaurateurs and gourmands openly flouted the prohibition–cultured, giddy, goose-liver-fueled acts of defiance.”

“On Tuesday morning the Illinois Restaurant Association filed a lawsuit in Cook County Circuit Court seeking to overturn the ban, accusing the City Council of overstepping its authority.

(More below the fold…)

Via the Natural Resources Defense Council:

Tell the Bush administration not to drill Alaska’s Western Arctic Reserve

Nestled in the northeastern corner of Alaska’s Western Arctic Reserve, the sensitive wetlands surrounding Lake Teshekpuk provide a pristine nesting area for tens of thousands of migratory birds, and calving grounds for the 46,000- member Teshekpuk Lake caribou herd. But the Bush administration has announced plans to sell oil and gas leases in this long-protected wildlife habitat as early as next month.

The oil and gas industries have already made inroads into the Western Arctic Reserve, with 10 percent of this largely pristine wildlife breeding ground previously open to leasing. But now the Bush administration wants to strip the area of federal protections, and turn over more than half of the reserve to leasing by oil companies. If the lease sales proceed, oil giants such as ConocoPhillips could destroy this Arctic sanctuary with gravel mines, roads, drill pads, pipelines and processing facilities.

Tell the Bush administration to cancel the September oil and gas lease sale for the Teshekpuk Lake region of the Western Arctic Reserve.

Via People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals:

Bird Factories: Hell on Earth for Millions of Animals

You may be aware of our nation’s dog and cat overpopulation crisis, but did you know that birds face the same problem? Just as puppy mills churn out dogs for unscrupulous pet stores to sell, huge commercial bird operations house birds and remove their offspring by the thousands in order to sell them to stores like PetSmart. In homes throughout the United States, an estimated 40 million birds are kept caged and captive—lonely, bored, and a long way from their magnificent homes.

Urge PetSmart to Go Bird-Free

Please, never buy a bird. Take a moment to fill out this form and ask PetSmart to stop selling birds.

Here’s the TOC from the 8/22/06 issue of The Sierra Club’s Currents.

You can read the whole newsletter online – just click here!

Sierra Club Currents – Giant Sequoia Wins Protection
Volume VI, #32
Tuesday, August 22, 2006

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Quote of Note:

“They are in deep trouble.”

Oil analyst Charles Maxwell at Weeden & Co. on BP’s admission that some pipes in Prudhoe Bay had not been inspected internally for corrosion in more than a decade.

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1) Sierra Club Victory: Giant Sequoia Wins Protection

2) Smart Energy Summer: Hybrids Take On E85

3) Take Action: Save Teshekpuk Lake!

4) Take Action: I want my MPG!

Via Campaign for America’s Wilderness:

Don’t Drill Teshekpuk Lake!

The BLM is moving forward in the coming days to sell leases for oil and gas development in Alaska’s Teshekpuk Lake region. Vast areas nearby are already available for energy extraction, so opening up the critical caribou and migratory bird habitat of the Teshekpuk Lake wetlands is unjustified. Ask Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne to cancel the impending lease sales in this environmentally sensitive wildlife haven.

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: In Defense of Animals – takeaction [at] idausa.org
Date: Aug 22, 2006 12:58 PM
Subject: New Keynote Speaker Added to National Feral Cat Summit

New Keynote Speaker Added to National Feral Cat Summit

Get discounted admission through September 1st

IDA is proud to co-sponsor the 3rd Annual National Feral Cat Summit on September 9th in San Francisco. We are pleased to announce that Michael Mountain (www.bestfriends.org/aboutus/staffdepartments/biommountain.cfm), President of Best Friends Animal Society in Utah, has just been added as the morning’s Keynote Speaker.

In addition, IDA founder and President Dr. Elliot Katz will give the opening remarks. Other speakers include Paul Jolly (the PETCO Foundation), Esther Mechler (SPAY USA), Bryan Kortis (Neighborhood Cats), Sandra Monterose and Debora Bresch (the ASPCA), Nancy Peterson (The Humane Society of the United States) and Valerie Sicignano (IDA and Neighborhood Cats).

(More below the fold…)

Via the Union of Concerned Scientists:

Tell McDonald’s to Remove the Hummer Toys

Even as gas prices and global warming are starting to change American consumers’ attitudes on fuel economy, McDonald’s “Hummer of a Summer” campaign is peddling toy versions of the iconic gas-guzzling H1, H2, and H3 SUVs. Ironically, this promotion targets kids—a group especially at risk from the myriad respiratory and heat-related illnesses caused by smog-forming and global warming pollution from autos.

In 2003, UCS activists successfully pressured McDonald’s to cut back its purchases of meat from suppliers who overuse antibiotics that are important to fighting human disease. Now tell Don Thompson, Chief Operations Officer of McDonald’s USA, to demonstrate support for children’s health and the environment by removing the Hummer toys from its Happy Meals and Mighty Kids Meals.

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Cathy Liss, Legislative Director – action [at] saplonline.org
Date: Aug 22, 2006 8:34 AM
Subject: SAPL eAlert: PLEASE JOIN US AT THE RALLY FOR HORSE

PLEASE JOIN US AT THE RALLY FOR HORSES
US House of Representatives to Vote on H.R. 503

August 22, 2006

If you are available, please join the Society for Animal Protective Legislation (SAPL) at the Washington, D.C. Rally for Horses in support of the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act (AHSPA).

When: Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2006 at 10:00 a.m.
Where: Cannon platform on the lawn of the US Capitol, at the corner of Independence Ave. and New Jersey S.E. (see arrow on attached map)

YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE

The US House of Representatives is expected to vote on H.R. 503, the AHSPA, on Sept. 7. This vote will represent the culmination of five years of campaigning by concerned constituents on behalf of the horses. Since SAPL and the Doris Day Animal League began their national campaign to end horse slaughter for human consumption in late 2001, more than a quarter of a million horses have been brutally killed in the three remaining US slaughterhouses and sold overseas to be served to the patrons of upscale restaurants. As we continue our fight to end this tragedy through passage of the AHSPA, we must remember an estimated 2,000 horses are slaughtered each week as the bill awaits adoption by Congress.

We can still make a difference. The American people are being heard through the calls, emails and faxes that have flooded Congress, and legislators are listening. However, we must redouble our efforts and keep pressure on Congress to act strongly and decisively now. Please continue to contact your Representative (you can be connected to his or her office by calling the Capitol Hill switchboard at 202-224-3121), and encourage your friends, family and coworkers to do so as well. While support has been overwhelming, we can do even better for the horses. SAPL will not stop its campaign on behalf of America’s horses until the bill has passed and the brutal horse slaughter industry has been abolished.

If you have any questions, please contact us at 703-836-4300 or horses [at] saplonline.org, or visit SAPL online at www.saplonline.org/horses.htm. You might also wish to purchase a shirt, hat or bag at www.cafepress.com/sapl to promote our fight and to wear to the rally. As always, thank you for your help.

Sincerely,

Cathy Liss
Legislative Director

P.S. Please visit our new website, www.compassionindex.org, to locate your legislators and see how they stand on animal welfare legislation.

Sign up for SAPL eAlerts to receive the latest legislative news on what you can do to help us protect all animals: www.saplonline.org/action.htm

If you are unable to view this SAPL eAlert, please click here: www.saplonline.org/Alerts/rallyforhorses.htm

Forward important SAPL eAlert!

Powered by

Society for Animal Protective Legislation | PO Box 3719 | Washington | DC | 20027

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Humane Society of the United States – humanesociety [at] hsus.org
Date: Aug 22, 2006 8:00 AM
Subject: A Scoop of Lies from Ben & Jerry’s

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The Humane Society of the United States
Humane Action Network Alert
August 22, 2006

community.hsus.org/campaign/US_2006_benjerrys_eggs01/

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URGENT: PROTEST BEN & JERRY’S SCOOP OF LIES

Is Ben & Jerry’s serving up “Chocolate Chip Cruelty Dough”? On its web site, the ice cream company known for its social conscience criticizes what it calls “giant, industrial farming operations,” and it ends one of its commercials with the tag line, “Ben & Jerry’s: Join our fight for small family farms.”

But this week, after nearly a year of promises to The Humane Society of the United States that it would phase out battery-cage eggs in its ice cream, the company has done an about-face and chosen to continue to buy eggs–perhaps 20 to 30 million of them a year–from factory farms that confine egg-laying hens in tiny battery cages so small the birds can’t even spread their wings.

You’ve taken action to help farm animals before (thank you!). Today, caged hens are counting on you again to show Ben & Jerry’s that it should live up to its socially responsible reputation and lose the battery cage eggs in its ice cream.

Tell Ben & Jerry’s right now to stop supporting this cruelty!

(More below the fold…)

Via Center for American Progress:

At the Center for American Progress Action Fund, we’ve been fighting to move America from dependence on foreign oil towards clean and renewable domestic alternatives. We’ve made our voices heard through the Kick the Oil Habit campaign and our innovative cross-country Road Trip. Now it’s time to show our support for legislation that will establish permanent change and set a new course for the entire nation.

This November, in California, voters have an opportunity to fight Big Oil and choose a path to cleaner alternative energy by voting Yes on Proposition 87, California’s Clean Energy Initiative. Prop 87 will reduce California’s dependence on gasoline and diesel by 25% in the next ten years. These reforms will be funded by collecting drilling fees from companies that drill for oil in California, similar to drilling fees already collected in states like Alaska, Texas, and Louisiana. Big Oil should not be getting a free ride in the number three oil producing state in the nation. They should pay their fair share to support alternative fuel technologies that will benefit all Americans.

To make Prop 87 a reality, Californians need your help. Big Oil is swamping the state in a smear campaign because they do not want to pay their fair share for access to our natural resources. Voters in California need to hear the truth. Sign our petition in support of Prop 87 to send a message to Big Oil to drop their smear tactics and pay their fair share towards a better energy future.

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: ASPCA – news-alert [at] aspca.org
Date: Aug 18, 2006 2:22 PM
Subject: Help End Suffering of Baby Chicks/NASCAR Celebs and Their Pets

AUGUST 18, 2006

Welcome to our weekly email newsletter, your source for the latest news from our animal welfare community and information on pending humane legislation.

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ASPCA NEWS ALERT
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YOUR HELP NEEDED TO STOP BILL THAT’S BAD FOR BIRDS

Did you know that millions of day-old baby chicks are sent through the mail by commercial hatcheries and cockfighting breeders every year? The birds are literally packed in boxes, without food or water and without concern for extremes in temperature. Although the U.S. Postal Service has decided to adopt several regulations that would protect these birds, legislation recently introduced by Senator Charles Grassley attempts to undermine these new regulations. If passed, S. 2395 would ensure the continuation of unnecessary suffering for these baby birds.

ASPCA SUCCESS STORY OF THE WEEK: GOOD DOGS COME TO THOSE WHO WAIT

Sarah and John Hall opted to adopt a pet, rather than buy one from a breeder–and proved that patience really pays off.

HUMANE HEROES OF THE WEEK: OUR FRIENDS AT THE POSADA AT WHITTIER

When it comes to helping animals, a little “change” is always good! Just ask these ASPCA supporters from California.

ON OUR SUMMER READING LIST: PIT ROAD PETS

NASCAR stars and their pets gear up for animal welfare in this cool new book from the Ryan Newman Foundation.

COMING UP: INFORMATIONAL RETREAT IN WISCONSIN, ANIMAL ACTIVIST TRAINING IN D.C.

Bear Interest Group hosts a weekend retreat for Wisconsin wildlife advocates; Taking Action for Animals hits D.C. September 2-5

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ASPCA ADVOCACY
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MICHIGAN: HB 4254 WOULD REQUIRE ALTERNATIVES TO DISSECTION

HB 4254 would require public schools to provide alternatives for students with moral objectives to dissection. This “win-win” bill would allow students who object to dissection to opt out, while not requiring any action of students who do not object.

URGE ASSEMBLY MEMBERS TO VOTE FOR SB 1578, CALIFORNIA RESIDENTS!

SB 1578, the bill to ban dog chaining as the primary means of confinement, has already passed the Senate, and is now set for a vote on the Assembly floor–probably within the next week to 10 days. Please contact your legislators on this issue today!

MORE ALERTS FOR YOUR AREA…

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© 2006 The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals®
424 E. 92nd St
New York, NY 10128
Visit us online at www.aspca.org

I saw the following story on Yahoo – it was posted on an anti-AR mailing list, of all places! – and just thought I’d share. The one-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina is fast approaching. Please take a moment to “think occasionally of the suffering of which you spare yourself the sight,” and consider making a donation to Best Friends, BETA, or another animal rescue group to help the (non-human) animal victims of natural (and man-made) disasters.

Jazz Funeral for Pets Lost to Katrina
New Orleans holds jazz funeral, memorial service for pets lost to Hurricane Katrina

NEW ORLEANS, Aug. 21, 2006

By JANET McCONNAUGHEY Associated Press Writer

Some came to the jazz funeral memorial march with photographs of pets lost in Hurricane Katrina’s floods or aftermath. Others came with just their memories.

Earl Madona and his fiancee, Maggie Smith, brought a giant dog mask and two stuffed animals to symbolize their three dogs, two of them lost in the floodwaters.

They were among about 100 people who gathered Sunday night on the Esplanade Street median for a 10-block walk to a memorial service at St. Anna’s Episcopal Church. Some marched with their dogs.

“It’s just a nice way to pay tribute to all those that were lost so horribly, you know, all those that suffered,” said Gail Langos, who was walking with her dachshunds, Merlin and Muffin. [...]

Before the march began Sunday, the Rev. Bill Terry of St. Anna’s Episcopal Church spoke briefly with members of the Treme Brass Band. “You know what to do,” he told them. “You’ve done it a million times before.”

Later, he told the crowd: “We’re New Orleans. This is how we mourn.”

Jazz funeral marches traditionally start with a dirge for the mourners’ sorrow, then move into an uptempo celebration of the loved one’s life and salvation.

This time, the march stepped off to a slow rendition of “Just a Closer Walk With Thee.”

There was a bit of silence. The drums rattled briskly, and the band swung into “Just a Little While to Stay Here.”

Via Defenders of Wildlife:

Tell your Representative to Become a Voice for Wildlife

Since President Theodore Roosevelt established Florida’s Pelican Island as the first National Wildlife Refuge in 1903, the system of refuges has grown to nearly 550 with at least one in every state and U.S. territory. Now, your Representative has a chance to ensure that these wild lands remain a vital part of our natural heritage for centuries to come.

Write your Representative today — urge him or her to become a founding member of the Congressional Wildlife Refuge Caucus.

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: DawnWatch – news [at] dawnwatch.com
Date: Aug 20, 2006 4:45 PM
Subject: DawnWatch: Organic dairy critics on Chicago Tribune front page — 8/20/06

The Sunday, August 20, Chicago Tribune has a front page story headed, “Organic. Critics say dairy tests the boundaries and spirit of what ‘organic’ means.”

It opens:

“With its neat white barns and lush green pastures, the Horizon Organic dairy farm on the outskirts of this tiny town on Maryland’s picturesque Eastern Shore would seem to fit the organic ideal.

“But on a recent Wednesday morning, with crisp blue skies and temperatures in the low 80s, there was something missing from Horizon’s pastures. Namely, there were no cows.

“Critics of Horizon, including two former workers, say the empty pastures are emblematic. The dairy’s new management, installed a year ago, has been so obsessed with increasing production to meet the soaring demand for organic milk that it has mostly kept the cows in the barn, the former workers allege, despite a U.S. Department of Agriculture requirement that organic cows have access to pasture.

(More below the fold…)

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: DawnWatch – news [at] dawnwatch.com
Date: Aug 20, 2006 3:09 PM
Subject: DawnWatch: Natural Health magazine on flexitarianism — September 2006 issue

The September issue of Natural Health Magazine includes an article headed, “Flex Appeal: a foodie and her carnivore companion discover the joys of being almost vegetarian.” (Pg 68.) It is about a new phenomenon called flexitarianism.

The writer, Karen Kelly, tells us that her husband needed to lower his cholesterol and that she wanted to “satisfy his craving for meat while still protecting his health.” She hosted a dinner party and writes of the food, “Chock-full of vegetables but with just enough creamy dairy and real, cured pork for that extra kick of flavor, it was tasty, healthy, and–most important–satisfying.”

(More below the fold…)

Yesterday, Snopes.com posted an article about the (fur)kids-and-paper-shredders issue that I mentioned on Monday.

Claim: Household paper shredders can pose a danger to children and pets.

Status: True.

So there you have it: Snopes says, “shred with caution.”

After a news roundup that includes many of the same stories I referenced, resident skeptic Barbara Mikkelson goes on to explain:

A large part of the problem is that since shredders were originally designed as business equipment for offices (where they would presumably be used only by adults), many models did not have the kinds of safeguards built into them to provide adequate protection in household environments, where children and animals abound. Although consumer safety groups are working to get manufacturers and lawmakers to adopt more stringent safety standards for shredders (such as making paper slots thinner and placing blades farther away from openings), the adoption of new standards takes time, and plenty of the machines already have been purchased for home use.

Some veterinarians maintain that serious shredder accidents involving animals are rare, but the frequency of occurrence is difficult to estimate since there has not been any systematic effort to keep track of such injuries. Regardless, the subject merits attention since the potential for accidents (involving both people and pets) will likely continue to grow as more and more shredders make their way into households, and the likelihood of injury can be mostly eliminated by following a few simple precautions:

* Try to place your shredder where it is not accessible to children or pets.

* Turn off (or unplug) your shredder when you are not using it.

* Never allow children to operate your shredder, even with adult supervision.

* Keep your hands and fingers as far from the shredder opening as possible when feeding material into it.

* Be careful to secure or remove ties, necklaces, bracelets, loose-fitting clothing, and long hair before using your shredder.

* Avoid putting thicker material (such as food wrappers, product packaging, and padded envelopes) through your shredder.

Go. Unplug. Now.

For this week’s Friday Random Cuteness, I offer you a series of pictures that I managed to snap a few weeks ago, right before my camera broke and had to be sent to Colorado for repairs. (Oh, how sorely it is missed!)

The pictures speak for themselves: Ralphie loves to dig, Rennie loves to lounge. Occasionally she wears herself out so, chasing the ball and such, that she just hunkers down and refuses to move. Even if Ralphie’s raining a dirt storm all over her. She’s a Dirty Grrrl, so why should she care, anyway?
 

 

 

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Tagged: friday+random+cuteness my+furbabies

PETA’s weekly eNews (8/18/06) is now online; you can view the entire newsletter here.

Action alerts from this edition include the following:

Chemical Companies Plan to Poison 5,000 Animals

Texas Man Indicted on Charges of Setting Tortured Dog on Fire: Have Your Say

Note: The link to the online version of the newsletter appears to be broken for the time being – perhaps it’ll be up later on. Sorry ’bout that!