———- Forwarded message ———-
From: ASPCA – news-alert [at] aspca.org
Date: Apr 27, 2007 8:00 AM
Subject: Major Dog Fighting Raid in Southern U.S./Pet Food Recall Update

ASPCA WEEKLY UPDATE

April 27, 2007

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

——————————
ASPCA NEWS ALERT
——————————

ASPCA ASSISTS IN INVESTIGATION FOLLOWING MAJOR DOG FIGHTING RAID

The ASPCA’s Dr. Melinda Merck, a forensic veterinarian and the premier “Animal CSI” in the country, is currently documenting the medical condition of more than 40 dogs seized in what Merck is calling “one of the most complete examples of a dog fighting operation that I have ever seen.”

PET FOOD RECALL UPDATE: WHAT ALL PET PARENTS SHOULD KNOW

ASPCA experts urge concerned caretakers to stay on high alert during this ongoing crisis–and to please visit the ASPCA Pet Food Recall Resource Center regularly for the latest updates.

ASPCA SUCCESS STORY OF THE WEEK: THE COMEBACK KIT

Barbara Glover cared for a tranquil tortie until she was ready for adoption–but the two-year-old feline, as it turns out, only had eyes for her foster mom.

HELP WANTED: THE ASPCA NOW OFFERING YEAR-LONG INTERNSHIPS

We’re looking for graduate students in animal science to conduct research for an innovative adoption program.

BUSTED FOR ANIMAL CRUELTY

A Brooklyn man faces up to two years in prison for beating and killing his acquaintance’s cat.

MOM’S THE WORD THIS MAY 13!

This year, celebrate the special mothers in your life with an ASPCA Honor Gift–and give the gift of life to animals in need.

ASPCA ONLINE COMMUNITY EVENT: TALK TO AN ASPCA ANIMAL COP!

Next Friday, May 4, you’re invited to chat online with one of the ASPCA’s hometown heroes, Special Investigator Paul Romano, from 2:00 P.M. to 4:00 P.M. EST.

—————————
ASPCA ADVOCACY
—————————

IL HB 9 PASSES ITS FIRST SENATE HEARING!

HB 9 will protect pets caught up in domestic violence by allowing courts to include pets in orders of protection. The bill has already passed the Illinois House in a shut-out 116-0 vote, and we’re happy to report that it just passed the Senate Judiciary Committee.

U.S.A.: SENATE COMMITTEE APPROVES AMERICAN HORSE SLAUGHTER PREVENTION ACT!

On Wednesday, April 25, the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation voted to move this important bill to the entire Senate for a vote, without making any changes to it. This is a great step for S. 311, which prohibits the transportation, possessing, buying or selling of any horse to be slaughtered for human consumption.

MORE ALERTS FOR YOUR AREA…

——————————-
ASPCA GOES MOBILE
——————————-

Sign up to receive text messages on pet care and pending legislation from ASPCA experts.

————————————————

Tell a Friend!

© 2007 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

————————

Tagged: animals animal rights animal welfare action alerts ASPCA: American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals menu foods recall dog canine cat feline pet companion animal pet food dog food cat food animal abuse cruelty to animals domestic violence dog fighting mother’s day Paul Romano animal cop horse slaughter horse meat horses Illinois american horse slaughter prevention act congress 110th congress

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: In Defense of Animals – takeaction [at] idausa.org
Date: Apr 26, 2007 9:49 PM
Subject: Writing Alert: Philadelphia Zoo elephants going to Pittsburgh

The Delaware News Journal printed an article about the elephants at Philadelphia Zoo being sent to Pittsburgh. Please write a letter to the editor of The News Journal about the suffering elephants endure in zoos. Send letters via an online form.

Read “Philadelphia Zoo elephants going to Pittsburgh” online.

Philadelphia Zoo elephants going to Pittsburgh

The News Journal
Posted Thursday, April 26, 2007

The Philadelphia Zoo’s three African elephants will move to the Pittsburgh Zoos International Conservation Center in Fairhope, Somerset County.

The elephants were originally slated to move to the Baltimore Zoo, but a delay in exhibit plans caused the zoo to look for another home.

The International Conservation Center will not be a public facility and officials say they hope to encourage the elephants to breed there.

“The ICC will enable the Pittsburgh Zoo to play a major role in addressing the need to increase successful reproduction in the African elephant population in North America, and to develop a national program for training managers and keepers to provide the highest level of care for these magnificent animals,” says Dr. Barbara Baker, President and CEO of the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium.

(more…)

UPDATE, 5/8/07:

See also: Urge Your Senators to Stop Global Warming! from Ms. Magazine (who, not-so-coincidentally, has a special Global Warming issue on the stands right. now. Green feminism – that’s the stuff.)

———————-

Via the League of Conservation Voters:

Tell your Senators to co-sponsor the Sanders-Boxer Global Warming bill!

As you know, LCV has been at the forefront of efforts to demand that our leaders come up with real solutions to solve the most critical environmental problem we face – global warming.

Last night at our annual DC dinner with over 500 leading environmental activists, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Chair of the Senate Environment Committee, challenged us to step up to an even larger leadership role.

Senators Boxer and Bernie Sanders (I-VT) have introduced legislation that would halt global warming – The Global Warming Pollution Reduction Act.

The Sanders-Boxer bill (S. 309) is a comprehensive plan for cutting global warming pollution, which is why it has been endorsed by some of the country’s top environmental and public health organizations, including LCV. If passed, the bill would:

* Gradually reduce U.S. emissions by 80% below 1990 levels by 2050;
* Call for greater reliance on clean, renewable energy sources;
* Establish a “cap and trade” program to help businesses meet pollution reduction goals without suffering economic losses; and
* Promote energy efficiency and reduce emissions from cars.

Every day, more and more people are realizing that global warming cannot be ignored, and that finding a solution will be the defining moment of our time. But the wake-up call needs to be persistent, and it needs to be heard by lawmakers who have the power to pass global warming legislation now.

Click here to ask your Senators to support this important legislation.

———————-

Tagged: environment environmental environmentalism environmentalist action alerts lcv League of Conservation Voters global warming climate change Sanders-Boxer Global Warming bill The Global Warming Pollution Reduction Act congress 110th congress ms. ms. magazine feminism ecofeminism

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: DawnWatch – news [at] dawnwatch.com
Date: Apr 25, 2007 11:56 PM
Subject: DawnWatch: NY Times on foie gras — plus veal letters — 4/25/07

There is a half-page story about foie gras in the Dining section (Pg F9) of the Wednesday, April 25, New York Times. The article, by Juliet Glass, is headed, “Foie Gras Makers Struggle to Please Critics and Chefs.”

It opens:

“Tom Brock produces foie gras at a Southern California farm, but even he used to feel squeamish when he had to force-feed the geese with an 8- to 10-inch steel tube to fatten their livers.

”’I used the traditional tube, and force-fed the traditional way,’ Mr. Brock said, ‘and it was the single most unpleasant experience of my life.’

“So he bought a feeding machine that a Hungarian goose farmer had recently invented in his garage workshop. It has a soft rubber tube that Mr. Brock says has been much gentler on his animals.

“It may make the birds, and Mr. Brock, feel better. But yet to be seen is whether it will please the animal rights activists who helped California enact a law that will ban foie gras starting in 2012, got Chicago to outlaw the sale of foie gras last year and are threatening similar action in other parts of the country.

(more…)

Here’s the TOC from IDA’s 4-25-07 newsletter.

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

IDA Action Alerts

Help Protect the Heber Wild Horses; Urge officials to ensure that the Forest Service creates a humane management plan

Urge Congress to Support Tax Deductions for Animal Companions; Amended tax law would help guardians provide better care for non-human dependents

Prevent Poisoning of Prairie Dogs; Tell National Forest Service to promote native wildlife, not welfare ranching

Campaign News & Updates

IDA Unveils New Animal Research Reallocation Initiative for WWAIL; Participate in exciting events taking place this week in cities around the world!

IDA India Creates Compassion for Cows; Advocates urge temple visitors to be kinder to bovines

Canadian Seal Killers Trapped in Ice; At least 100 boats caught in between frozen Newfoundland floes

An archive of past IDA eNews newsletters is available here.

———————

Tagged: animals animal rights animal welfare environment environmental environmentalism environmentalist action alerts ida in defense of animals pets companion animals dogs canines cats felines taxes tax deductions Heber Wild Horses horses wild horses wildlife conservation Prairie Dogs WWAIL World Week for Animals in Laboratories animal research animal testing vivisection events holidays observances india cows bovines seals seal hunting hunting karma

Via Rainforest Action Network:

Tell Peter Orser to Get Weyerhaeuser out of Grassy Narrows

The campaign against Weyerhaeuser is heating up, and Weyerhaeuser and Quadrant Homes need to feel the pressure! Take action now and send an email to Peter Orser, CEO of Quadrant Homes. Demand that he take responsibility and tell him to stop building new homes from wood stolen from Grassy Narrows.

Background and past alerts here.

——————

Tagged: environment environmental environmentalism environmentalist action alerts RAN Rainforest Action Network grassy narrows Weyerhaeuser Peter Orser logging logging rights clear-cut logging

Please take a moment to sign this petition from the American Civil Liberties Union:

JOIN THE CALL TO RESTORE OUR CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS

For almost seven years, George W. Bush has repeatedly violated the Constitution and stripped away the fundamental rights that define our country. Congress and the American people have let it happen.

The time has come to restore our America.

Add your voice to the ACLU’s Campaign to Restore Our Constitutional Rights. As part of this all-out effort we are bringing together people from across the nation for a Day of Action to demand the restoration of our rights and a return to the values embodied in the Constitution.

Start today by adding your name below. Your voice will be heard as we come together in Washington to demand change. Our petition will be hand-delivered to your members of Congress in Washington, D.C. during our day of action on June 26, 2007.

When you get to Question #2, “What’s the issue that matters most to you?”, be sure to drop in a snarky-but-serious line about AETA. Yeah, I’m still sore over that one.

———————–

Tagged: animals animal rights animal welfare environment environmental environmentalism environmentalist action alerts ACLU American Civil Liberties Union AETA animal enterprise terrorism act terrorism eco-terrorism animal terrorism war on terra war on terror Constitution first amendment freedom of speech censorship habeas corpus civil liberties free speech protest

Via American Rivers:

Save the Clean Water Act!

The fundamental safeguards for clean and healthy water in our streams, rivers and lakes are in jeopardy. A confusing 2006 Supreme Court decision concerning the Clean Water Act has left the fate of 60 percent of the nation’s stream miles in legal limbo. As expected, polluters are now flooding the courts with appeals to raze small streams and wetlands.

Congress can resolve this problem by passing legislation to restore full federal protection for all our waters. Help us ensure that all of our nation’s waters are protected under the Clean Water Act. Got to www.AmericanRivers.org/Alert909 and urge your representative to co-sponsor the Clean Water Authority Restoration Act of 2007 today.

———————–

Tagged: environment environmental environmentalism environmentalist action alerts american rivers water pollution clean water act congress 110th congress

Via United Poultry Concerns:

Please Thank IRA GLASS for Promoting Veg Change

Yesterday we announced that media celebrity Ira Glass, host of the wildly popular Public Radio International’s This American Life aired on National Public Radio, and now on TV, appeared on Late Night with David Letterman Friday, April 20th where he told Letterman and millions of viewers that his visit to United Poultry Concerns’ chicken sanctuary inspired him to become a vegetarian.

Please thank Ira Glass for bringing this important message to the public. We are So Honored & So Grateful to Ira Glass!

Contact Ira Glass at:

Ira Glass
This American Life
153 West 27th Street, Suite 1104
New York, NY 10001
Email: ira [at] thislife.org, web [at] thislife.org
Website: www.thisamericanlife.org/About_Contact.aspx

After the flip: the original alert, as well as a video (via You Tube) of the appearance.

Karen Davis, Chicken Advocacy, Vegetarianism Discussed On David Letterman

Ira Glass appeared on Late Night with David Letterman Friday April 20th promoting the television version of his radio show This American Life. Since 1995, Ira Glass has been host of Public Radio International’s This American Life. For 16 years before that, he worked as a producer, editor, and reporter on National Public Radio’s All Things Considered and Morning Edition.

At the midpoint of his conversation with Letterman, Glass described his encounter with Karen Davis of United Poultry Concerns and the huge letter-writing campaign UPC mobilized several years ago. He commented with amazement on the overwhelming task of advocating for chickens in a world where their death is everywhere you look, an “Armageddon” as he described it.

He described UPC’s sanctuary in the midst of a large poultry production area, where “little escaping chickens” falling off trucks are brought to UPC’s sanctuary for safety, how he was invited to visit and upon meeting the chickens discovered they are indeed little individuals with personalities – “this one’s shy, that one’s outgoing.”

When he asked Letterman if he had ever met a chicken, Letterman quipped about meeting one on the end of his fork. He asked Glass if he had made dietary changes since then and Glass replied that he thought of those chickens every time he took a bite of chicken after that and that he has indeed become a vegetarian.

To view the segment on You Tube, visit www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1TcL0wZ-pM

——————–

Tagged: animals animal rights animal welfare action alerts UPC united poultry concerns karen davis ira glass david letterman Public Radio International This American Life National Public Radio NPR vegetarian vegetarianism chicken meat eggs poultry you tube

Here’s the TOC from the 4/24/07 issue of The Sierra Club’s Currents.

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

Sierra Club Currents – Sierra Students Break the Addiction
Volume VI, #61
Tuesday, April 24, 2007

————————

Quote of Note:

“Don’t touch me.”

– Karl Rove gets angry while discussing global warming with Sheryl Crow over dinner.

————————

Table of Contents

(1) Victory: Sierra Students Break the Addiction

(2) Gulf Coast: Arbor Day of Action

(3) Take Action: Extend Energy Efficiency

(4) Take Action: Save the Endangered Species Act

————————

Tagged: animals animal rights animal welfare environment environmental environmentalism environmentalist action alerts the sierra club club currents arbor day climate change global warming energy break the addiction mtv gulf coast energy efficiency Energy Efficiency Incentives Act esa endangered species act endangered species wildlife conservation