See also: IDA Writing Alert: Activists decry black bear hunt in Chesapeake, 11/25/06.

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: In Defense of Animals – takeaction [at] idausa.org
Date: Nov 28, 2006 6:45 PM
Subject: Writing Alert: They’re Going On A Bear Hunt

Port Folio Weekly published a story about a black bear hunt that is set for THIS WEEKEND, December 1 and 2. One hundred hunters will “win” a lottery to hunt black bears in a wildlife refuge in Norfolk, Virginia. Only after 20 black bears are reported dead will an order be made to stop hunting.

Please send a letter to the Port Folio Weekly, thanking them for the article and urging readers for their support in protecting Virginia’s black bears.

As we are fighting a tight deadline, please send letters, as soon as possible, to Port Folio Weekly via tom.robotham [at] portfolioweekly.com.

You can read “They’re Going On A Bear Hunt” online by clicking here.

They’re Going On A Bear Hunt

By Micah Maidenberg
Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2006

For the first time since its creation in 1974, the Great Dismal Swamp Wildlife Refuge will allow hunters to track and kill Ursus americanus — the American black bear. The hunt, scheduled for Dec. 1 and 2, stipulates that a maximum of 20 bears can be taken from two sections of the refuge.

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———- Forwarded message ———-
From: DawnWatch – news [at] dawnwatch.com
Date: Nov 28, 2006 6:08 PM
Subject: DawnWatch: Newsweek — “Why Hunting Is on the Wane in America…A sportsman’s lament.” 12/4/06 edition

The December 4 edition of Newsweek has a piece on hunting, by Steve Tuttle, headed “Why Hunting Is on the Wane in America.” and sub-headed, “It’s a way of life that dates to the dawn of the nation. But hunting is on the wane in America. A sportsman’s lament.”

It opens:

” I remember the first time I ever killed something. It was a rabbit, and I was about 12 years old. I put my gun to my shoulder and aimed—taking care to lead the target—and pulled the trigger. The animal seemed to tumble end over end in slow motion. I ran up to him excitedly and he looked up at me, shaking and still alive and making a little whimpering sound. My father reached down, picked up the rabbit by its hind legs, and gave him a karate chop on the back of the neck, killing him instantly. He looked up at me and said, “Good shot, boy!” and handed me the rabbit.

“I was proud and devastated all at once. The rabbit felt warm in my hand, and I was trying really hard to fight back tears. The other men in the hunting party came over and slapped me on the back. Little did they know that I would have given anything to bring that rabbit back to life. I would feel sad about it for weeks. I went on to shoot a lot more game over the years, but none ever had the same emotional impact, nor did I ever get teary-eyed at the moment of the kill. In my culture, in the rural America of western Virginia, that was the day I began to change from boy to man.”

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Even though AETA was signed into law by GW yesterday, Farm Sanctuary has further suggestions for opposing the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act.

The following is excerpted from their website:

You Can Still Help!

Thank you to all who previously took action against the AETA by demanding that First Amendment activities such as demonstrations, leafleting and boycotts, should not be criminalized by calling such legal activities “disruptive” to business. However, rest assured that animal advocates shall persevere undaunted. Also, remember that that there is language in the sloppily-drafted bill which would make it difficult for prosecutors to overreach and chastise First Amendment-protected activities.

* Let House Judiciary Chairman Sensenbrenner, who spoke in favor of AETA, know how you feel about his attempts to criminalize animal advocates.

* Thank Rep. Dennis Kucinich for being the sole voice on 11-13-06 by speaking out that HR 4239 was voted on without more representation by the House. Urge others to do so as well.

* Please contact your U.S. (not State) Representative and express your disappointment, especially if they are co-sponsors of the bill.

* Contact your U.S. Senator and express your disappointment with her, or his, vote. Let your Senator know that compassion should not be a crime!

* All legislators may be contacted through the U.S. Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121. To identify your Congressperson, go to www.house.gov or www.senate.gov, or simply enter your zip code at www.vote-smart.org.

I’d also like to add the following:

* Contact the ACLU and politely express your disappointment/frustration/anger at their last-minute withdrawal of their opposition to the bill. A history of the ACLU’s stance re: AETA is available here; detailed contact info for the ACLU is listed here (scroll to the bottom of the post).

* Contact the BORDC and thank them for opposing AETA (and defending our First Amendment freedoms) when the ACLU would not. More on the BORDC here and here.

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Tagged: animals animal+rights action+alerts aeta Animal+Enterprise+Terrorism+Act free+speech terrorism animal+terrorism eco-terrorism censorship aclu american+civil+liberties+union farm+sanctuary bordc Bill+of+Rights+Defense+Committee

Dogs Deserve Better sent out a press release (.pdf) regarding founder Tammy Grimes’ latest court date, which was yesterday, 11/27/06. A note for new readers: Grimes, a PA resident, was arrested and charged with theft back in September for rescuing Doogie, a dying, chained dog. Background and past alerts here.

In addition to press releases, the DDB website is updated as needed with notes on the court dates, as well as calls to action for DDB supporters.

Here’s yesterday’s update:

11/27/06. Today was the pretrial conference in the jury room of the Blair County Courthouse. There were no further deals offered or made, and so we informed the judges that we would be continuing on to a jury trial. Mr. Dickey’s office will file a motion to dismiss all charges this week.

Tammy will be meeting with Mr. Dickey within the next week to figure out future moves.

We are currently set up for a further pretrial conference on February 5th at 8:30 a.m. This is the final pretrial activity before we move onto jury selection and go to trial.

There have been an unheard of number of letters to the editor published in the Altoona Mirror. 12 at last count, only three of which were negative. We have a TON of support here!

We would like everyone to continue to write letters to the editor of the Altoona Mirror at opinion [at] altoonamirror.com. Keep them short and snappy if possible.

We also NEED to have a TON of people attend the hearing! We would like to hold a rally at the next pretrial conference, however it is very early in the morning…if you have a great idea how to really raise local support, please e-mail us at Tammy [at] dogsdeservebetter.org and let us know.

How about a large group marching in a holiday parade in Altoona or Holllidaysburg? Worked for the suffragists!

You can read past updates, and keep abreast of the case, here.

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Tagged: animals animal+rights action+alerts ddb dogs+deserve+better doogie tammy+grimes animal+abuse dogs canines

Oy. Literally seconds after posting this update re: AETA, I received the following alert from Last Chance for Animals in my inbox. What a sham.

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Campaigns Department – campaigns [at] lcanimal.org
Date: Nov 27, 2006 9:28 PM
Subject: Breaking News – President Bush Signs AETA 11/27

President Bush Signs AETA Today — 11/27/2006

President Bush signed The Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act (AETA, S.3880 ENR) into law today, Monday, November 27th.

The AETA not only puts our constitution in jeopardy, it puts all of us who speak out against the status quo in jeopardy. Animal rights activists, civil rights activists, the media, entertainers and even the NRA are all in danger of being called “Terrorists.” The broad language in this bill creates a dangerous, slipperly slope that can be used to take away our first amendment rights and put innocent people in jail!

The bill was fast-tracked through both the House and the Senate by the biomedical industries — people who have everything to gain by silencing legitimate protests against their cruel animal abuse. Click here to see the official language of the bill as it was signed today.

“LCA has been at the forefront of fighting and opposing the AETA on a national level. Former Congressman and lobbyist for LCA, Charlie Rose, has been working feverishly against the AETA,” states LCA President Chris DeRose. “This is not over for LCA, this is just the beginning.”

Fight the AETA

Contact your Senate and House Representatives and let them know you oppose the AETA and their complacency during the passing of the bill.

Visit www.house.gov and www.senate.gov for contact information.

email: campaigns [at] lcanimal.org
phone: (310) 271-6096 x30
web: www.lcanimal.org

Last Chance for Animals | 8033 Sunset Blvd. #835 | Los Angeles | CA | 90046

————

Tagged: animals animal+rights action+alerts lca last+chance+for+animals free+speech first+amendment censorship aeta Animal+Enterprise+Terrorism+Act terrorism animal+terrorism eco-terrorism activism advocacy

The following letter has been circulating on animal rights/welfare listservs, and is also available on the Equal Justice Alliance’s website.

—————–

AETA – Where Do We Go from Here?

Source: Equal Justice Alliance

Dear fellow animal activist,

As you are well aware by now, the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act (AETA, S. 3880) passed the U.S. Senate by unanimous consent in September. It passed the U.S. House of Representatives on November 13th because we were outmaneuvered by the Republican leadership of the House Judiciary Committee. And now the bill has been signed into law by President Bush. We appreciate your massive outpouring of e-mails and phone calls to Congress. We learned valuable lessons from our lobbying experience. For us, this is a new beginning.

What We Are Doing

We have resolved that Equal Justice Alliance must continue its mission along three tracks:

* To protect equal justice and freedom of speech for animal and other social justice advocates by working to repeal AETA and to prevent future repressive legislation;

* To provide an alternative Congressional watchdog function;

* To promote an atmosphere of respect for animal advocacy within Congress and Justice Department.

We plan to pursue three ways of neutralizing AETA:

* By convincing federal district attorneys not to prosecute under AETA because the law is too broad and vague to make it through the courts;

* By convincing federal courts to dismiss a test case because the law is too broad and vague;

* By convincing Congress that the law is unworkable, unconstitutional, and should be repealed.

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NOTE: The following is excerpted from a recent Kinship Circle Digest (Hope For Greek Animals, Ireland Pitbull Massacre + MORE, 11/27/06).

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White Lions – Harmful Rubbish On Animal Planet

REPLY DIRECTLY TO: Chris or Bev Mercer, chrisandbev [at] mweb.co.za
Campaign Against Canned Hunting
P.O. Box 356; Wilderness, 6560; South Africa
ph: 044 8771495; cell: 0829675808 or 0827944517

www.cannedlion.co.za/index.html

11/25/06 — We ask all recipients of this email to cross-post as widely as possible, to try to repair some of the damage done by Animal Planet’s Screening White Lions: King of Kings. Please write to Animal Planet requesting they pull the documentary, as it sends the wrong message.

CONTACT INFORMATION:

TO – Alexandra_Bennett [at] discovery.com

CC – Mark_Wild [at] discovery-europe.com, joanna_johnston [at] discovery-europe.com, claire_dann [at] discovery-europe.com, natalie_spanier [at] discovery-europe.com

EDITED FOR LENGTH

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

Animal Planet has been able to use the power of television to foster compassion for animals… Imagine my surprise when I switch to my favourite channel to watch White Lions: King of Kings, only to see Marius Prinsloo, a notorious canned lion breeder in S.A., presented as a paragon of conservation working to preserve the white lion gene, and Timbavati Hunting Farm portrayed as a wonderland for wildlife. What rubbish!

The South African canned lion industry is one of the cruelest industries in the world. The SA Minister of the Environment, himself a former hunter, has publicly described the canned hunting fraternity as “environmental thugs.” How could Animal Planet stoop to white washing this industry, and present canned hunting as conservation?

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———- Forwarded message ———-
From: DawnWatch – news [at] dawnwatch.com
Date: Nov 27, 2006 3:37 PM
Subject: DawnWatch: Calls for letting animals run free on today’s editorial pages — NY Times and Hartford Courant — 11/27/06

Two editorial pieces in today’s papers (Monday, November 27) share the theme that animals need to run free. The Hartford Courant carries an editorial, the editorial department’s official opinion, headed “A Lesson In Emu’s Death” — the lesson being the fundamental yearning we all have for freedom. In the New York Times there is an op-ed by author Jonathan Safran Foer, headed “My Life as a Dog,” in which the acclaimed author argues in favor of allowing dogs off leash at certain hours. His poignant piece includes compelling reflections on human and animal nature and our treatment of other species.

In “A Lesson In Emu’s Death” the Hartford Courant tells us, “Occasionally, something happens that casts doubt on pat theories about man’s exclusivity within the animal kingdom.” We read about an emu (something like an ostrich) named Friggin who escaped from a farm four months ago and died of heart failure the moment he was captured to be returned to the farm.

The piece ends with:

“Residents who spotted Friggin during its four-month breather couldn’t help commenting that the emu seemed to be in a state of bliss as it romped through the woods of Simsbury, Avon, Canton, Burlington and New Hartford.

“One wonders whether the emu’s heart gave out because it realized that its life on the run had ended. Life is cheap. But living, truly living, even for four months, is priceless.”

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———- Forwarded message ———-
From: DawnWatch – news [at] dawnwatch.com
Date: Nov 26, 2006 3:58 PM
Subject: DawnWatch: “For elephants, acres to roam” — Philadelphia Inquirer — 11/26/06

The Sunday, November 26, Philadelphia Inquirer includes a lead story (pB01) by Julie Stoiber, headed, “For elephants, acres to roam.”

We learn that when Philadelphia closes its elephants exhibit, while three of the elephants are going to the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore, which has a six-acre elephants exhibit. Dulary, the sole Asian elephant, who has been largely isolated for the last 15 months after one of the young Africans gored her, will see the most dramatic reversal of misfortune. She is heading to the 2,700 acre elephant sanctuary in Tennessee.

The article describes the sanctuary founded by Carol Buckley and Scott Blais and tells us about some of the elephants who will soon make-up Dulary’s herd.

It ends on a charming note:

“When asked which stall would be hers, Buckley and Blais looked up, incredulous.

“‘She gets to pick her own stall,’ Blais said, laughing. ‘Oh, yes, it’s up to them.’”

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———- Forwarded message ———-
From: DawnWatch – news [at] dawnwatch.com
Date: Nov 25, 2006 9:47 PM
Subject: Dawnwatch: Sea Shepherd heads for Antarctica — Brisbane’s Courier Mail, 24 November, 2006

The Sea Shepherd team doing their best to defend whales in Antarctica, and Brisbane’s Courier Mail (Australia) has run a terrific article, by Phil Bartsch, about the effort. It appeared in the Friday, November 24 edition of the paper headed, “To war over whales.”

It opens:

“Blood is about to be spilled into the icy blue waters off Antarctica again – much of it within the Australian Whale Sanctuary.

“But not if Captain Paul Watson can help prevent it.

“‘What’s the point of having a whale sanctuary if you can kill whales in it?’ argues the controversial founder and president of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.

“‘I’m not going to stand around and do nothing and watch these magnificent creatures being slaughtered. The time for conferences and meetings and mail-outs and petitions is over.’”

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