Los Angeles – LA Animal Services is suggesting pet owners get their pets micro-chipped before the 4th of July. More animals are lost during the 4th of July celebrations than at any other time of the year. Loud noises from fireworks frighten animals due to their heightened senses of hearing, and they will do anything to escape the noise. This behavior is usually unpredictable and out of character, and it may include chewing through a leash, jumping through screens and glass windows, digging under a fence, jumping over a wall, bolting away from the owner, and running into traffic.

The good news is that there are many things you can do to help ensure your pet’s protection. Just follow these five simple guidelines to make July 4th a great holiday for both of you!

• Don’t take your pet to fireworks displays. The explosions of the fireworks are loud to the human ear. Imagine how loud it sounds to your dog, who can hear sounds up to 60,000 cycles per second — that’s three times greater than the human ear can even register.

• Do not leave your pet in the car. With only hot air to breathe inside a car, your pet can suffer serious health effects, even death, in a few short minutes. Partially opened windows do not provide sufficient air, but do provide an opportunity for your pet to be stolen. This practice is also illegal in the state of California.

• Keep your pets indoors in a sheltered, quiet area. Some animals become destructive when frightened, so be sure you’ve removed any items your pet could destroy or may be harmful to your pet if chewed. Leave a television or radio playing at normal volume to keep him company while you’re attending 4th of July picnics, parades, and other celebrations.

• If you know that your pet is seriously distressed by loud noises like thunder, consult with your veterinarian before July 4th for ways to help alleviate the fear and anxiety he or she will experience during fireworks displays.

• Never leave pets outside unattended, even in a fenced yard or on a chain. In their fear, pets who normally wouldn’t leave the yard may escape and become lost, or become entangled in their chain, risking injury or death.

• Make sure your pets are wearing identification tags so that if they do become lost, they can be returned promptly. Animals found running at-large should be taken to the local animal care center, where they have the best chance of being reunited with their owners.

Two forms of ID are always best when it comes to protecting your pet. If an individual finds your pet, the first thing he or she will look for is an ID tag. If your pet is taken to a shelter, it will also be scanned for a microchip. LA Animal Services micro-chips pets for $25.

(Via ms2 and the DDB mailing list.)

Additional resources:

Keep Your Pet Safe on July 4th, from the HSUS

4th of July Precautions for Pets, on iVillage

Excitement turns to fear for pets on Fourth of July, in the Oakland Tribune

Keep Your Pet Safe on the Fourth of July, from the Sacramento SPCA

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Tagged: animals animal rights animal welfare holidays observances 4th of july july 4th fourth of july pet companion animal dog canine cat feline fireworks companion care

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Farm Sanctuary – info [at] farmsanctuary.org
Date: Jun 29, 2007 4:28 PM
Subject: Farm Sanctuary’s E-News & Action Alert 06/29/07

Cruelty, Waste and Corruption in Farm Bill Challenged

Farm Sanctuary has partnered with Brighter Green (brightergreen.org/brightergreen.php?id=2) to produce a white paper on the 2007 Farm Bill, a piece of legislation that comes up for debate in Washington, DC every five to seven years. Our white paper challenges the factory farming mentality that has governed U.S. farm policy in recent decades, which subsidizes cruel animal farming systems, while failing to adequately support healthy, sustainable plant-based agriculture. In addition, we are fighting two harmful provisions in the 2007 Farm Bill – a 12 million subsidy for the veal industry and a provision that would undermine the ability of states to outlaw cruel farming systems, as was done last year in Arizona through a citizen’s ballot initiative. Find out how you can help!

White Paper: www.farmsanctuary.org/media/pr_farmbill_whitepaper.htm

Discarded Dairy Calves Bounce Back from Neglect

Billy’s the joker. Casey’s laid back. And Phoenix is a real sweetheart—though a little on the stubborn side. It’s sobering to think that just a few scant months ago they could’ve all been described using the same term: dead.

But these three calves got a shot at life, thanks to a Farm Sanctuary investigator who pulled them off of a truck bound for a slaughterhouse. The calves are all survivors of an industrialized dairy farm, discarded less than 24 hours after their birth. At our California Shelter, Billy, Casey and Phoenix got the medical attention they needed to become thriving, healthy boys. Read more.

Fun on the Farm With The Mountain Goats

Music lovers from across the country and overseas traveled to the New York Shelter on June 16 and 17 for ZOOP! The benefit concert, featuring John Darnielle and Peter Hughes of The Mountain Goats and Perry Wright of The Prayers and Tears of Arthur Digby Sellers, certainly rocked the rafters of our People Barn! Not only were thousands of dollars raised, but the 200 fans in attendance also witnessed the kind of life all farm animals should have. Read more and view event photos.

Help Farm Animals While You Shop!

We invite you to apply for the Farm Sanctuary MasterCard. Each time you use the card as you shop, dine and travel, a percentage of each purchase goes to Farm Sanctuary. Also, when others comment on the adorable farm animal on your MasterCard, you will have a perfect opportunity to teach them about the plight of farm animals and Farm Sanctuary’s efforts. Please call and apply today.

In the News

Kulongoski Signs Ban On Pig Breeding ‘Gestation Crates’
OPB News, June 28, 2007

You May Want To Reconsider Foie Gras
Chicago Tribune, June 26, 2007

New ‘Superbug’ Strain Spreading in Meat, Warns Study
Nutraingredients.com, June 25, 2007

When Activists Attack
Chicago Reader, June 22, 2007

In the Store

Stop Factory Farming T-shirt

About Farm Sanctuary

Photo via decade_resister

Farm Sanctuary is the nation’s leading farm animal protection organization. Since incorporating in 1986, we have worked to expose and stop cruel practices of the “food animal” industry through research and investigations, legal and legislative actions, public awareness projects, youth education, and direct rescue and refuge efforts. Our shelters in Watkins Glen, NY and Orland, CA provide lifelong care for hundreds of rescued animals, who have become ambassadors for farm animals everywhere by educating visitors about the realities of factory farming. For more information about Farm Sanctuary or our programs, please visit farmsanctuary.org or call 607-583-2225. To become a Farm Sanctuary member or to make a donation today using our secure online form, please visit: www.farmsanctuary.org/join/donate2.htm. For updates on previous action alerts, please visit: www.farmsanctuary.org/actionalerts/update.htm.

Please forward and distribute widely! Thank you.
Farm Sanctuary, P.O. Box 150 Watkins Glen, NY 14891

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To subscribe: www.farmsanctuary.org/signup.htm

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Tagged: animals animal rights animal welfare action alerts farm sanctuary farm bill voting voting rights local voting rights Section 123 democracy events zoop goats flickr veal cow bovine factory farming dairy dairy calves John Darnielle Peter Hughes The Mountain Goats Perry Wright The Prayers Tears of Arthur Digby Sellers

Via People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals:

Boycott Australian Wool Until Lamb Mutilations and Cruel Live Exports End

Currently exploiting more than 100 million miserable sheep, Australia produces 30 percent of all wool used worldwide. Holdings consist of thousands of sheep, making individual attention to their needs and even to medical emergencies impossible. The Australian wool industry abuses sheep in two particularly horrific ways.

First, the industry mutilates millions of lambs each year by cutting chunks of flesh from their backsides with a pair of shears—so far without any pain relief—in a practice known as “mulesing,” even though humane alternatives are available. Then, when sheep are no longer useful to the wool industry, they are herded by the thousands onto death ships and transported thousands of miles through scorching heat and freezing cold to have their throats slit in filthy, open-air markets and barbaric slaughterhouses while they are still conscious.

Details of PETA’s investigation into the cruel live-export industry can be found here.

PETA is calling on consumers to check labels on sweaters before buying them and, if they’re made out of merino wool or made in Australia, to leave them on the racks.

To get your hands on the latest cruelty-free fashions, check out the PETA Mall or our cruelty-free clothing shopping guide.

Boycott Australian wool until the cruel practices of mulesing and live exports are stopped. Use the form [here] to send a letter to the prime minister of Australia asking for a permanent ban on the cruel practices of mulesing and live exports!

Course, there’s no need to be buying wool anyway, but whatevs. I guess it’s not much of a boycott if you admit that you wouldn’t buy animal products no matter what…

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Tagged: animals animal rights animal welfare action alerts peta people for the ethical treatment of animals sheep wool Australia Australian wool live exports mulesing lambs clothing pink psa

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: ASPCA – news-alert [at] aspca.org
Date: Jun 29, 2007 7:00 AM
Subject: Fourth of July Safety Tips/Pet Food Recall Update

ASPCA WEEKLY UPDATE

June 29, 2007

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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KEEP YOUR PETS HAPPY AND HEALTHY THIS FOURTH OF JULY

For many people, nothing beats lounging in the backyard on the Fourth of July with friends and family–including the four-legged
members of the household. While it may seem like a great idea to reward Rover with scraps from the grill and bring him along to watch fireworks, in reality some festive foods and products can be potentially hazardous to your pets.

ASPCA PET OF THE WEEK: ZEPPELIN’S LANDING

This kooky kitty girl brings a whole lotta love to her human family.

PET FOOD RECALL UPDATE

Pet parents, rest easy. In response to negative results from tests conducted by veterinary toxicologists at UC-Davis and the FDA, as cited in news reports, the ASPCA believes that fears of widespread acetaminophen contamination in pet food are unfounded.

WANTED: HEROES, TWO-LEGGED AND FOUR

We’re on the lookout for extraordinary pets–and people.

THE ‘A’ ASKS YOU: DID YOU TAKE YOUR DOG TO WORK?

Take Your Dog to Work Day was Friday, June 22. Did you bring along your pup? Tell us about it at the ASPCA Online Community.

ASPCA® MISSION: ORANGE? AT WORK: MEET LITTLE MAN

This precocious pooch wriggled his way into the heart of a special pit bull lover, and a cross-country adventure ensued.

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ASPCA ADVOCACY
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TENNESSEE OKAYS PET PROTECTION ORDERS…

Bills allowing protection orders for pets are proving quite popular this year, and this session Tennessee joined the ever-growing pack of states recognizing that pets often get caught up in domestic disputes. Tennessee’s version (TN HB 1161/SB 196) is currently on Governor Bredesen’s desk, awaiting his signature.

…AND NEVADA PROTECTS PETS, TOO!

On May 15, Governor Jim Gibbons signed AB 282, authorizing courts to include protections for pets in orders for protection against domestic violence. With the link between human and animal abuse now well established, more and more states are stepping up for pets!

MORE ALERTS FOR YOUR AREA…

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ASPCA TOOLBAR
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STAY CONNECTED WITH US

Have you downloaded the ASPCA Toolbar yet? When you do, you’ll get our freshest content, including pet food recall updates, delivered directly to your browser, no matter where you are on the Web.

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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

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Tagged: animals animal rights animal welfare action alerts aspca American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals dog canine cat feline pet companion animal menu foods pet food dog food cat food recall animal abuse domestic violence battered women interpersonal violence protection order order of protection take your pet to work day holidays 4th of july july 4th fourth of july acetaminophen Tennessee Nevada Governor Bredesen Jim Gibbons

Via the National Parks Conservation Association:

New EPA Rule Means More Pollution for Parks

Al Gore knows it. The polar bears know it. All the world knows- Global Warming is happening. Now that we’ve come to grips with it, everyone is doing their part. Everyone, that is, except the EPA. In fact, instead of working to curb global warming and other pollutants from coal-fired power plants, EPA is trying to make it easier for them to set up shop near our national parks. EPA’s proposed rule would invite coal-fired power plants to emit more pollution into our national parks and other treasured places. Take a minute to tell the EPA just what you think about this proposed rule.

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Tagged: environment environmental environmentalism environmentalist action alerts NPCA National Parks Conservation Association EPA environmental protection agency pollution climate change global warming public parks national parks coal coal-fired power plants

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: DawnWatch – news [at] dawnwatch.com
Date: Jun 28, 2007 2:04 PM
Subject: DawnWatch: Great veggie kid article in Philadelphia Inquirer 6/28/07

The Thursday, June 28, Philadelphia Inquirer includes a superb article by Rita Giordano, headed, “The veggie kid; A young family member who says no to meat can be served without making meals a tall order.” It is on the cover of the Food section — page F1

Giordano discusses her fearful reaction to her eleven-year-old daughter’s sudden pronouncement that she was a vegetarian. She writes, “Were we now talking multiple entrees? What did I look like? A caterer?”

Then she writes,

“Nearly a year has passed. Aislinn is indeed a vegetarian, and I have not been reduced to kitchen slave. Having a vegetarian kid in an otherwise meat-eating household has proved to be quite doable. In fact, we’ve discovered great dishes we probably wouldn’t have if not for this veggie thing.

“My kid is not unique. According to a 2005 poll conducted for the Vegetarian Resource Group, an estimated 3 percent, or 1.4 million, American 8- to 18- year-olds are vegetarian.

(more…)

UPDATE, 6/30/07:

The World Wildlife Fund also sent out an action alert regarding the prarie dog poisonings on public land in Nebraska and South Dakota:

You have until July 23 to urge the U.S. Forest Service not to loosen its protections on prairie dogs. These cute and amusing creatures also have a serious side. They serve as a key food source for hawks, burrowing owls, badgers, swift foxes, critically endangered black-footed ferrets and other species, and their burrows also provide important shelter for these species.

Without extensive, healthy prairie dog towns, we won’t be able to protect and restore the Northern Great Plains grasslands, an
ecosystem that WWF has identified as one of the highest priorities for conservation worldwide and one of the places that must be saved in the next 50 years.

Act now to safeguard one of the most important ecosystems on Earth.

Past alerts here.

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———- Forwarded message ———-
From: API Newsletters – donotreply [at] apiforanimals.org
Date: Jun 28, 2007 8:34 PM
Subject: Protect Polar Bears, Prairie Dogs, and more

Support Needed for Polar Bear Protection Act

The Polar Bear Protection Act (H.R. 2327/S. 1406) is currently pending in Congress. If passed, this bill will amend the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 to strengthen polar bear conservation efforts. Your federal legislators need to hear from you right away in support of this bill.

In the Arctic, polar bears are up against an increasing number of threats, including trophy hunting, and quicker ice melts each year – that threaten food supplies, and also result in drowning of bears who may be forced to swim extreme distances in search of a place to come ashore.

Just last week, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved an amendment that stops funding for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to issue permits for the importation of sport-hunted polar bear trophies. Unfortunately, late last night this amendment failed to pass the House of Representatives. This means it is more important than ever that H.R. 2327/S. 1406 gain momentum forward toward permanently protecting these magnificent animals.

To be sure polar bears receive the protection they deserve, please contact your federal legislators today and ask that they co-sponsor H.R. 2327/S.1406.

To find out more and take action on this alert, go to www.api4animals.org/actionalerts.php?p=1242&more=1

(more…)

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Last Chance for Animals – campaigns [at] lcanimal.org
Date: Jun 28, 2007 7:01 PM
Subject: More Elephants Die in Captivity – What Can You Do to Help?

“Elephant Sanctuaries-Not Captivity” Update; Two More Elephants Die in Captivity

MONA

Mona, the Asian elephant who lived in captivity at the Birmingham Zoo since 1955, was euthanized last Thursday, June 21st. Mona was found down twice last week in her enclosure. She was euthanized after she failed to get to her feet with assistance after the second downed instance. A necropsy is being performed to determine the cause of her illness.

Mona was captured in the wild in 1951 and has lived alone in her 1,000 square foot enclosure since the death of her companion, Susie, over two years ago.

See below to find out what you can do to get involved in the fight “Elephant Sanctuaries-Not Captivity.”

CAROL

Carol, the Asian elephant who gained fame for her appearance on “The Tonight Show” and her ability to paint, was euthanized last Tuesday, June 19th. 40 year old Carol was born in Thailand and brought to the San Diego Zoo in 1968. Zoo officials stated that Carol suffered from painful degenerative joint disease which lead to her euthanasia last week.

Degenerative joint disease and chronic foot problems are most often linked to the death of elephants in captivity. Elephants in zoos spend their lives in small enclosures, standing on compacted dirt or concrete. As a result of inadequate enclosures, elephants suffer extremely painful arthritic and dgenerative join disorders, recurrent foot infections and digestive problems. According to numerous elephant experts, these symptoms do not exist in elephants in the wild.

(more…)

Via People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals:

Tell Burton Snowboards to Stop Selling Fur!

We need your help to convince Burton Snowboards to stop selling fur! The company used fur on its MKII jacket and has refused to meet with PETA to discuss adopting a fur-free policy despite PETA’s repeated requests for a meeting over the past several months. The fur industry kills millions of animals each year—including rabbits, minks, and foxes—in horribly cruel ways.

Animals on fur farms are kept—sometimes for years—in tiny, filthy cages, where they are surrounded by their own waste. They spend their entire miserable lives standing on the thin cage wires, never having a chance to dig, jump, or play. The way the farmers kill the animals would break your heart—some are killed by having their necks broken or their skulls beaten before being strung up by their legs and having their heads cut off, and others are killed by anal and vaginal electrocution. Yes, you read that right.

You can help convince Burton that selling fur is cruel and wrong. Send company officials a letter to let them know that you won’t buy Burton products until the company agrees to stop selling fur!

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Tagged: animals animal rights animal welfare action alerts peta people for the ethical treatment of animals fur fur trim faux fur Burton Snowboards MKII

See also: IDA Writing Alert: Elephants’ treatment called harmful.

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: In Defense of Animals – takeaction [at] idausa.org
Date: Jun 28, 2007 4:49 PM
Subject: Breaking News: IDA Issues Report on Elephant Abuse at Six Flags

Breaking News: IDA Issues Report on Elephant Abuse at Six Flags

This morning, In Defense of Animals (IDA) held a press conference at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom to issue a report on the state of the elephants at the North Bay amusement park.

Citing medical records and eyewitness testimony, we revealed evidence that the elephants are victims of abusive treatment and are suffering from ailments related to the inadequate, stressful, and barren conditions at the park. At the press conference, IDA President Dr. Elliot M. Katz issued an urgent plea to the City of Vallejo to send the elephants at Six Flags to a sanctuary. IDA called for an immediate end to shows that exacerbate the elephants’ physical ailments.

IDA’s request comes before the pending sale of the City’s interest in Six Flags Discovery Kingdom to the park. The sale would include four elephants “owned” by the City of Vallejo.

“The city of Vallejo has made millions of dollars from this park and these elephants,” writes Dr. Katz in a letter delivered to the Mayor this morning. “Instead of selling them like furniture, the City must take immediate responsibility for their well-being by sending the elephants to a sanctuary where they can live the rest of their lives in peace.”

Conditions at Six Flags are among the worst of any zoo in the country. In addition to outdated facilities and circus-style training methods that rely on force and physical punishment, the park uses elephants in rides and circus-like shows, practices many zoos have abandoned due to humane and public safety concerns.

What You Can Do:

(more…)