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Kinship Circle: January Digest (Parts 1 & 2)

January 28th, 2008 7:17 pm by Kelly

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Kinship Circle - kinshipcircle [at] accessus.net
Date: Jan 26, 2008 4:34 PM
Subject: Part 1: KC DIGEST - Dogfighter LA, Sled Dogs, Rabbit Fur…

KINSHIP CIRCLE PRIMARY - PERMISSION TO CROSS-POST

1/26/08
PART 1: JANUARY KC DIGEST - Alerts From Members + Action Links
www.kinshipcircle.org/digest/

PART 1: January KC Digest
1. PETITIONS, WEB LETTERS, VIDEOS
2. Carriage Horse Action Needed
3. Day In Court For Dogfighter In Shreveport, Louisiana
4. Help Save Iditarod Dogs From Brutality
5. Take Action Against Rabbit Fur
6. Burning Live Dogs In Stove Furnaces In Serbia

PART 2: January KC Digest
I DID NOT GET PART 2, Please send it to me: kinshipcircle [at] accessus.net
7. MORE PETITIONS, WEB LETTERS, VIDEOS
8. Protect Companion Animals In Final Farm Bill
9. Sea Shepherd Hostages Freed, Action Still Needed
10. Miami-Dade Commission Picks Cruelty Over Tethering Ban
11. Halt Animal Torture In Fiesta de la Virgen de la Candelaria

=======================

1. PETITIONS, WEB LETTERS, VIDEOS

SIGN BY 1/31/08: Justice In Kidnapped Dog Case, Philadelphia
www.thepetitionsite.com/1/help-a-kidnapped-dog-in-philadelphia

READ: Arrest Made In Case Of Kidnapped Dog In Philadelphia
network.bestfriends.org/pennsylvania/news/21771.html

Demand Full Investigation Into St. Bernard Parish Dog Murders
www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/408098466

FILM: A Sacred Duty – Applying Jewish Values To Help Heal The World
Interview: www.evana.org/index.php?id=29563&lang=en
Watch Film: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9RxmTGHZgE

VIDEO: Scent Of Death – Nearly 29,000 US Horses To Mexican Slaughterhouses
www.mysanantonio.com/specials/20070928Horse/index.html

VIDEO: Save The Chimps Featured In CBC’s “Cruel Camera”
www.cbc.ca/fifth/cruelcamera/video.html

GUILTY For Saving A Life - Tammy Grimes
www.kinshipcircle.org/digest/2007_12.html#anchor1

Make the Tiger Trade Ban Permanent
community.hsus.org/campaign/hsi_tiger_trade

Teens Charged After Cat Found Dead In Microwave
www.thepetitionsite.com/36/justice-for-cat-killed-in-microwave

Ensure Vet Dr. William Baber Doesn’t Hurt Another Animal
www.animallawcoalition.com/animal-cruelty/article-328

Man Punishes Dog By Drilling Hole In His Head
www.thepetitionsite.com/1/man-punishes-dog-by-drilling-hole-in-his-head

Protect Companion Animals In Hawaii
www.petitiononline.com/caddy07/

Horrors Uncovered at PetSmart Supplier’s Breeding Mill
getactive.peta.org/campaign/petsmart_investigation

CHINA: Brutal Killing Of Animals/Cruel Treatment
www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/395884823

SERBIA: End Animal Suffering
www.thepetitionsite.com/1/serbia-suffering

Join Pink - Sign Petition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages in NYC
getactive.peta.org/campaign/pink_horse_drawn_carriages_NYC

Support Clover Moore’s Animals (Regulation of Sale) Bill
www.thepetitionsite.com/1/support-clover-moores-animals-regulation-of-sale-bill

Cypriot Student Kills Dog For Fun: Justice To Be Done!
www.thepetitionsite.com/1/Abuse-justice-animal-cruelty

No Dogs for LaPorte! Sauvons Les Petits
www.thepetitionsite.com/2/no-dogs-for-laporte

=======================

2. Carriage Horse Action Needed

ALERT FROM / REPLY TO:
Zelda, zpenzel [at] nyc.rr.com

BACKGROUND (edited for length):

Send a letter to District Attorney Robert Morgenthau (and Cc Amy Miller, the Assistant District Attorney handling the case) regarding the prosecution of Cornelius Byrne, who has been charged with bribing an undercover investigator to overlook seven violations at his stables.

Press release from DOI: www.nyc.gov/html/doi/pdf/pr84dca_12132007.pdf

Legal process: manhattanda.org/officeoverview/arresttosentence/

CONTACT INFORMATION / TAKE ACTION:

1. Ask the DA to prosecute Byrne to the full extent of the law. It’s extremely important for the DA to know that there is strong interest in this case.
The Honorable Robert M. Morgenthau
District Attorney, New York County
One Hogan Place * New York, NY 10013
Cc: Amy Miller, Assistant District Attorney

2. NEW YORKERS: Contact your NYC Councilmember. Ask your CM to sign on as co-sponsor of Tony Avella’s bill, Intro 658, to ban carriage horses in NYC.
NEW YORK CITY COUNCIL / CONTACT INFO: Council.NYC.Gov
COUNCIL MEMBERS: council.nyc.gov/html/members/members.shtml

SAMPLE LETTER, from zpenzel [at] nyc.rr.com:

Dear…

As you know Council Member Tony Avella recently introduced legislation into the City Council, that would ban the operation of horse-drawn carriages in NYC. This is the first time such a bill has been introduced and we need your help to make this become reality. To date, two other council members, Melissa Mark Viverito and Annabel Palma have joined Council Member Avella as co-sponsors. Now we need other council members to step up to the plate.

As my council member, I ask you to please CO-SPONSOR Intro 658, which would repeal all provisions of the Administrative Code that allow for the operation of horse drawn cabs. Many thousands of New Yorkers and visitors have signed petitions asking for such a ban.

I also ask you to NOT SUPPORT and to VOTE AGAINST Intro 652 and Intro 653 - both industry bills. Intro 652 increases rates for drivers. Intro 653 asks for more inspections and would create a situation where a non-governmental agency would do oversight. It is feared this would result in the industry regulating itself. It would also wind up costing the tax payers money.

As you undoubtedly know, this is an inherently inhumane industry and more rules and regulations will not change that. It is long past time for the cruelty, as well as risks posed to pedestrians and horses by an archaic “amusement,” come to an end.

Your support of Intro 658, as co-sponsor, will be greatly appreciated by all your constituents who care and are concerned about the treatment of these animals. I look forward to a favorable reply.

=======================

3. Day In Court For Dogfighter In Shreveport, Louisiana

ALERT FROM / REPLY TO:
Debra A. Barlow, Hopeful Haven Equine Rescue Organization
www.hopefulhaven.com/ * hopefulhaven [at] yahoo.com
22 Pit Bulls Seized in Louisiana Dogfighting Case
www.idausa.org/campaigns/sport/dog/feature_080102.html

PHOTO: Courtesy The Shreveport Times

BACKGROUND:

From hopefulhaven [at] yahoo.com — Alleged Dogfighter Arraigned in Shreveport Louisiana / Letters demanding maximum penalty sought — On January 7, 2008 Jerry Wells, 45, of Shreveport, Louisiana [appeared] in court to face felony dog fighting charges. The public is being asked to send letters demanding the court impose the maximum penalty in this case.

On November 22, 2007, seven pit bulls, along with training paraphernalia associated with dogfighting, were seized after authorities raided Well’s home… Since then, five dogs have been euthanized after officials at Shreveport’s Caddo Animal Services deemed them “uncontrollable.” One was released to an animal rescue organization and one is being held as evidence.

More information: 318-286-3116. For weekly updates: hopefulhaven [at] yahoo.com
###

Urge fire department to fire man facing dogfighting charges for second time: Caddo Animal Services officers who raided the Shreveport home of firefighter Eric Mosley seized 22 pit bulls and equipment used to train dogs for fighting. The dogs were confined by heavy chains, and had no food and only filthy water in their bowls. Mosley, 42, was arrested on one count of felony dogfighting and taken to jail, but soon released on $10,000 bond.

This is the second time Mosley has been charged with felony dogfighting. After a year-long undercover investigation, authorities raided Mosley’s home in 2005 and seized a total of 37 dogs and dogfighting gear. However, the courts ultimately acquitted him of the charges.

The 22 pit bulls seized last month are being cared for at the Caddo Animal Services shelter. Meanwhile, Caddo Parish Animal Control and Shreveport Police Department are conducting a joint investigation of the crime. The Caddo Parish Fire Department has placed Mosley on paid leave while conducting their own internal investigation.

UPDATE, 1/7/08: Jerry Wells pled not guilty in District Court at his arraignment. His next court date is February 7, 2008 I believe. Eric Moseley will be arraigned the first week of February. Keep letters coming!

CONTACT INFORMATION / TAKE ACTION:
Interim Fire Chief David Glass: 318-673-6655
Deputy Fire Chief Mack McCoy: 318-673-6658
Caddo Parish Fire Department
263 North Common * Shreveport LA 71101
Ask fire department to request Eric Moseley’s resignation. Urge them to terminate any employees involved in dogfighting.

Attn: Paul Carmouche, District Attorney
Office of the District Attorney, Criminal Division
501 Texas Street * Shreveport, LA 71101
email: Pmouche [at] caddoda.com
Ask Shreveport’s DA to seek the maximum legal penalty in prosecuting Mosley and others implicated in felony dogfighting.

SEND COPIES OF YOUR LETTER TO:
Debra Barlow, Animal Cruelty Investigator
12193 Providence Road * Shreveport, LA, 71129
ph: 318-286-3116; email: hopefulhaven [at] yahoo.com

NEED DONATED CAGES:
We need more large cages — 48″ cages only — to house smaller dogs so we can use regular runs for pit bulls contained as evidence. Cages needed to stop the euthanasia of other dogs when we bring in these pit bulls.

Please donate cages or $$ to Hopeful Haven Equine Rescue (tax deductible):
www.hopefulhaven.com/
You can order cages at: www.petcratesdirect.com/

=======================

4. Help Save Iditarod Dogs From Brutality

ALERT FROM / REPLY TO:
SledDogAC [at] aol.com * Sled Dog Action Coalition, www.helpsleddogs.org

CONTACT INFORMATION / TAKE ACTION:

Most Internet service providers allow people to send up to 50 email addresses at a time. Addresses below have been divided into groups of 50. Groups contain addresses for Iditarod sponsors, promoters, and the sponsors of the 111 mushers who signed up for the 2008 Iditarod.

ALL EMAIL BLOCKS, WITH COMMA AND SEMICOLON SEPARATORS:
www.helpsleddogs.org/sponsors.htm#Page

Go to link above and copy each group of emails, for sending your comments.
There are too many emails for Kinship Circle to display in this newsletter.

SAMPLE LETTER, from SledDogAC [at] aol.com:

Dear Iditarod Supporter:

Please end your organization’s support of the Iditarod dog sled race. For the dogs, this event is a bottomless pit of suffering. What happens to dogs during the Iditarod includes death, paralysis, penile frostbite, bleeding ulcers, bloody diarrhea, lung damage, pneumonia, ruptured discs, viral diseases, broken bones, torn muscles and tendons, sprains, torn footpads and anemia. At least 133 dogs have died in the race. No one knows how many dogs die after this tortuous ordeal or during training. For more facts about the Iditarod, visit the Sled Dog Action Coalition website, www.helpsleddogs.org

On average, 53% of dogs who start the race do not make it across the finish line. According to a report published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, of those who do finish, 81% have lung damage. A report published in the Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine said 61% of the dogs who complete the Iditarod have ulcers versus zero percent pre-race.

Iditarod dog kennels are puppy mills. Mushers breed large numbers of dogs and routinely kill unwanted ones, including puppies. Many dogs who are permanently disabled in the Iditarod, or who are unwanted for any reason, including those who have outlived their usefulness, are killed with a shot to the head, dragged, drowned or clubbed to death. “Dogs are clubbed with baseball bats and if they don’t pull are dragged to death in harnesses…” wrote former Iditarod dog handler Mike Cranford in an article for Alaska’s Bush Blade Newspaper.

Dog beatings and whippings are common. During the 2007 Iditarod, eyewitnesses reported musher Ramy Brooks kicked, punched and beat his dogs with a ski pole and a chain. Jim Welch says in his book Speed Mushing Manual, “Nagging a dog team is cruel and ineffective…A training device such as a whip is not cruel at all but is effective.” “It is a common training device in use among dog mushers…”

Jon Saraceno wrote in his March 3, 2000 column in USA Today, “He [Colonel Tom Classen] confirmed dog beatings and far worse. Like starving dogs to maintain their most advantageous racing weight. Skinning them to make mittens. Or dragging them to their death.”

During the race, veterinarians do not give dogs physical exams at every checkpoint. Mushers speed through many checkpoints, so dogs get brief visual checks, if that. Instead of pulling sick dogs from the race, veterinarians frequently give them massive doses of antibiotics to keep them running.

Most Iditarod dogs are forced to live at the end of a chain when they aren’t hauling people around. It has been reported that dogs who don’t make the main team are never taken off-chain. Chained dogs have been attacked by wolves, bears and other animals. Old and arthritic dogs suffer terrible pain in the blistering cold.

Please end your organization’s association with this horrific race.

Sincerely,

=======================

5. Take Action Against Rabbit Fur

ALERT FROM / REPLY TO:
OIPA, International Organization for Animal Protection
international [at] oipa.org * www.oipa.org

BACKGROUND:

Around the world most systems of animal factory farming — such as battery hen cages, foie gras production, mink fur farming — have been the subject of detailed scientific studies, campaigns by animal rights groups and even government bans. Meanwhile, factory farming of rabbits for their fur and flesh has received little attention…until now.

The Coalition to Abolish the Fur Trade (CAFT) have infiltrated and exposed this hideous trade…where millions of rabbits are confined to bare wire cages, kept as breeding machines, their throats slit and their furs turned into boots, hats, gloves and trim for jackets. The killing of rabbits for their fur is the fastest growing part of the global fur trade…

CONTACT INFORMATION / TAKE ACTION:
For more info, visit and support: rabbitfur.org
www.RabbitWise.org/
www.oipa.org/fur/alerts/rabbits.html

=======================

6. Burning Live Dogs In Stove Furnaces In Serbia

ALERT FROM / REPLY TO:
dhartig [at] arcor.de

CONTACT INFORMATION / TAKE ACTION:
vetuprava [at] minpolj.sr.gov.yu
CC: rjtdz [at] BITSYU.NET, redakcija [at] blic.co.yu, redakcija [at] kurir-info.co.yu, redakcija [at] glas-javnosti.co.yu, redakcija [at] nin.co.yu, international [at] oipa.org, press-EN [at] europarl.europa.eu
BCC: epar [at] yunord.net, neilparishmep [at] btinternet.com, info [at] hsi.org

SAMPLE LETTER, from dhartig [at] arcor.de

To Mrs. Sanja Celebicanin, Chief of Veterinary Inspection of Serbia

Dear Mrs. Celebicanin,

I’ve just been informed Mrs. Mila Scepovic has commenced to kill all the dogs in the shelter in Kraljevo by *BURNING THEM ALIVE IN STOVE-FURNACES.

According to article 269, paragraph 2, the Criminal Code of Serbia: “Anyone who uses cruelty towards animals or kills animals contrary to the Law of veterinary standards, must be punished for up to three years in prison.”

This law is not being implemented — in fact it is being totally ignored, even by the authorities of Kraljevo.

All the dogs are healthy, very kind, and peaceful — but Mrs. Mila Scepovic wants them dead. This way of acting is barbaric, unconscionable and unacceptable by all civilized standards of the humane treatment of animals.

I can’t understand that people do such horrible things. I’m extremely shocked. IMAGINE THOSE POOR DOGS BEING PUT IN A STOVE-FURNACE AND THEN BEING BURNED ALIVE! What pain, what suffering — and why?

PLEASE MRS.CELEBICANIN, STOP THIS SAVAGE DOG MASSACRE IN THE DOG SHELTER OF KRALJEVO and act according to the LAW OF YOUR COUNTRY, THE LAW OF GOD AND THE LAW OF CIVILISED PEOPLE.

Thank you for your time and attention,

***************************

EACH MONTHLY KC DIGEST INCLUDES:

* ALERTS forwarded by Kinship Circle members.
* CONTACT INFO to reply directly to the activist who supplied the alert.
* Kinship Circle did not write/research these alerts.
* Send submissions for KC DIGEST to kinshipcircle [at] accessus.net

GET COOL STUFF - www.kinshipcircle.org/store/

KINSHIP CIRCLE
FOR ANIMALS - BEAR WITNESS. SPEAK. DEMAND. ACT.
Action Campaigns I Literature I Animal Disaster Aid Networking
www.KinshipCircle.org * www.kinshipcircle.org/disasters/
info [at] kinshipcircle.org I kinshipcircle [at] accessus.net
DONATE: www.kinshipcircle.org/donation/

***************************

UNSUBSCRIBE:
* NEVER USE YOUR JUNK FILTER. Don’t ruin KC list for others!
* Select a Kinship Circle ALERT received in your mailbox
* Hit “FORWARD”
* Enter kinshipcircle [at] accessus.net
* Type UNSUBSCRIBE in your subject line and send

***************************

SUBSCRIBE:
1. Kinship Circle Primary: subscribe [at] kinshipcircle.org
Action campaigns on animal cruelty issues worldwide
TELL US: SUBSCRIBE TO KINSHIP CIRCLE PRIMARY

2. Kinship Circle Animal Disaster Relief: kinshipcircle [at] accessus.net
Animal rescue coordination/news in disasters + companion animal alerts
TELL US: SUBSCRIBE TO KINSHIP CIRCLE ANIMAL DISASTER RELIEF
IF YOU ARE A RESIDENT OF Louisiana, Mississippi, Florida or Texas

***************************

*DISCLAIMER: The information in these alerts is verified with the original source. Kinship Circle does not assume responsibility for the accuracy of the information or for the consequences of its use. Nothing in this email is intended to encourage illegal action in whatever country you are reading it in. Kinship Circle does not engage in, nor support, any form of harassment or unlawful activity. Nothing in this alert serves to promote such conduct.

*Kinship Circle cannot guarantee the validity of email addresses. During a campaign, recipients may change or disable their email addresses.

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Kinship Circle - kinshipcircle [at] accessus.net
Date: Jan 26, 2008 4:34 PM
Subject: Part 2: KC DIGEST - Farm Bill, Hostages, Tether Ban…

KINSHIP CIRCLE PRIMARY - PERMISSION TO CROSS-POST

1/26/08
PART 2: JANUARY KC DIGEST - Alerts From Members + Action Links
www.kinshipcircle.org/digest/

PART 2: January KC Digest
7. MORE PETITIONS, WEB LETTERS, VIDEOS
8. Protect Companion Animals In Final Farm Bill
9. Sea Shepherd Hostages Freed, Action Still Needed
10. Miami-Dade Commission Picks Cruelty Over Tethering Ban
11. Halt Animal Torture In Fiesta de la Virgen de la Candelaria

PART 1: January KC Digest
I DID NOT GET PART 1, Please send it to me: kinshipcircle [at] accessus.net
1. PETITIONS, WEB LETTERS, VIDEOS
2. Carriage Horse Action Needed
3. Day In Court For Dogfighter In Shreveport, Louisiana
4. Help Save Iditarod Dogs From Brutality
5. Take Action Against Rabbit Fur
6. Burning Live Dogs In Stove Furnaces In Serbia

=======================

7. MORE PETITIONS, WEB LETTERS, VIDEOS

Chill the Drills - Protect Alaska’s Polar Bear Seas
www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/465483188?z00m=12674942

VIDEO: Help! Cat Music Video
www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMzW3LIkNLA

VIDEO: Overlooked
tinyurl.com/2qb4ow

VIDEO: The Cat Lady of Sri Lanka
www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvIQ9EFDM_k

Ask Wendy’s To Stop Using Eggs From Hens In Battery Cages
community.hsus.org/campaign/US_2007_wendys_eggs3

ALL LIFE IS SACRED
www.thepetitionsite.com/1/all-life-is-sacred

JAPAN: Stop Killing Whales
www.petitiononline.com/japkill/

Arapawa Goats/Still In Danger/Slight Reprieve
www.thepetitionsite.com/1/arapawa-goats

Animals are Sentient Beings
www.gopetition.com/online/15780.html

End Euthanasia of Healthy and Treatable Animals!
www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/723066513

Sign Appeal To Help Stray Dogs In Bulgaria
www.nobodyspet.eu/appeal_en.html

Stop Killing Stray Dogs And Cats In The EU
www.thepetitionsite.com/1/respektiere

Unchain The Dogs Of New York State
www.thepetitionsite.com/2/unchain-the-dogs-of-new-york-state

ITALY: Petition To Ban Fur Farming
www.oipa.org/public/fur/petition.php

Urge AAA to Stop Corporate Promos of Ringling’s Cruelty to Animals
getactive.peta.org/campaign/AAA_ringling_promos

Save Wetlands in Mississippi! Stop the Yazoo Pumps
www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/860167631?z00m=12672889

=======================

8. Protect Companion Animals In Final Farm Bill

ALERT FROM / REPLY TO:
Zelda, zpenzel [at] nyc.rr.com

CONTACT INFORMATION / TAKE ACTION:
Congress.org - www.Congress.org
Project VoteSmart - www.vote-smart.org/
USA Senate - www.senate.gov
USA House of Representatives - www.house.gov
Congressional Switchboard: 202-224-3121

SEND WEB AUTOMATED LETTER:
community.hsus.org/campaign/FED_2008_farmbill_amendments/

SAMPLE LETTER, from [unknown writer]:

Dear Representative… and Senators…

Help these pet protection provisions in the Farm Bill cross the finish line!

The House and Senate have both unanimously approved language in their respective versions of the Farm Bill to prohibit certain terrible practices that affect our domesticated pets. Even though we are in the 21st Century, we face a number of crises involving real cruelty to animals.

Here are just a few examples:

DOGFIGHTING: The Michael Vick case of dogfighting is just the tip of the iceberg. Dogs die horrific deaths every day by the hundreds if not thousands at the hands of barbarians. Others live lives of starvation, isolation, and confinement to the end of a chain except to fight. No civilized society can accept such brutality.

“CLASS B” DEALERS: Currently dogs and cats are often bought from random source Class B dealers for use in experiments. It’s an open secret that a number of Class B dealers, or “bunchers,” either 1. steal pets, 2. get them from public pounds that are supposed to be “caring” for abandoned pets, or 3. get them from “free to good home” ads, by fraudulently representing themselves as caring owners who will take great care of the pet.

That pet ends up isolated in a small cage for the rest of its short life, subjected to painful and invasive experiments, deprived of all contact, and killed without a backward glance when the experiment is over. Many of these animals are denied the most basic vet care and suffer horribly from everything from starvation to infection to intentionally inflicted wounds. This horrific “business” must be shut down.

The Senate version of the Farm Bill includes measures to 1. stop the import for commercial sale of very young puppies from foreign puppy mills, and 2. strengthen the federal law on dogfighting.

The House version includes provisions to 1. increase maximum fines for Animal Welfare Act (AWA) violations, 2. require USDA to resume annual reports to Congress on its AWA enforcement efforts.

I STRONGLY urge you to do everything you can to ensure the final Farm Bill includes these all-important provisions to protect our pets.

The Farm Bill has historically been a vehicle for animal protection measures. I care very much about pets and the inhumane, horrific things happening to them under our current laws. It is untenable that a civilized or modern society would legally accept such cruelty and inhumane treatment.

These issues are important to me. Thank you for your consideration.

=======================

9. Sea Shepherd Hostages Freed, Action Still Needed

ALERT FROM / REPLY TO:
Win Animal Rights: centcom [at] war-online.org * 646-267-9934
war-online.org

PHOTO: Benjamin Potts (l) and Giles Lane (r) are now on board the Australian customs ship the Oceanic Viking. (Institute of Cetacean Research).

Detained activists released - Sea Shepherd:
www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/01/18/2141147.htm?section=world

BACKGROUND (edited for length):

1/17/08, from centcom [at] war-online.org — BREAKING NEWS: SEA SHEPHERD CREW MEMBERS ON BOARD AUSTRALIAN SHIP — Just confirmed by Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, crew members Benjamin Potts and Giles Lane were released from the rogue Japanese whaling vessel Yushin Maru 2 and they are currently on board the Australian Oceanic Viking. Word is they will be transferred back to Sea Shepherd in the morning.

Thanks to everyone who called, wrote and protested at the Japanese Embassy in London, the New York Consulate Office and the Embassy in Washington DC… Sea Shepherd will resume their whale defense activities just as soon as they get Potts and Giles back on board the Steve Irwin.

CONTACT INFORMATION / TAKE ACTION:

Contact Japanese Consulates and Embassies to demand an end to their illegal whaling activity in the Antarctic Sanctuary.

Ambassador and Consul General Motoatsu Sakurai
Japanese Consulate General
299 Park Avenue * New York, NY 10171
ph: 212-371-8222; fax: 212-371-1294
email: inquiry [at] ny.cgj.org, goikenbako [at] ny.cgj.org, visainfo [at] ny.cgj.org

Other staff members at Japanese Consulate Office:
www.ny.us.emb-japan.go.jp/en/a/05.html

Ambassador Ryozo Kato, Embassy of Japan in the USA
2520 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W. * Washington, DC 20008
ph: 202-238-6700, 202-238-6900, 202-238-6773; fax: 202-328-2187

If you are not from greater New York area, protest at your local embassy or consulate office. To find nearest Japanese Embassy or Consulate Office:
www.mofa.go.jp/about/emb_cons/over/index.html
www.embassyworld.com/embassy/Japan/Japan.html

=======================

10. Miami-Dade Commission Picks Cruelty Over Tethering Ban

ALERT FROM / REPLY TO:
SledDogAC [at] aol.com

BACKGROUND (edited for length):

January 22, 2008: The Miami-Dade County Commission refused to vote on the tethering ban ordinance proposed by the County’s Dept. of Animal Services. By refusing to vote, commissioners are allowing dogs to spend their lives on the end of a chain. Help the dogs by writing to Commissioners.

CONTACT INFORMATION / TAKE ACTION:

Write/fax Miami-Dade County Commissioners. Explain why chaining is cruel.
Tell them to pass a humane ban that protects dogs. Other jurisdictions have enacted tethering ban ordinances. If you plan to boycott travel to Miami Beach and Miami until a good tethering ban is passed, say so.

COMMISSIONER EMAILS
district11 [at] miamidade.gov, District4 [at] miamidade.gov, District12 [at] miamidade.gov, District3 [at] miamidade.gov, District9 [at] miamidade.gov, District6 [at] miamidade.gov, district5 [at] miamidade.gov, BMORRIS2 [at] miamidade.gov, District1 [at] miamidade.gov, District7 [at] miamidade.gov, District7 [at] miamidade.gov, District8 [at] miamidade.gov

Commissioner Seijas has no email. Fax her: 305-375-2011
Board of County Commissioners website: www.miamidade.gov/commiss/

FACTS ABOUT CHAINING:

Continuous tethering makes dogs aggressive: 1994/Centers for Disease
Control: Chained dogs are 2.8 times more likely to bite. 2003/American Veterinary Medical Association: “Never tether or chain your dog because this can contribute to aggressive behavior.” When threatened, dogs instinctively run or fight. A chained dog, unable to flee, often feels forced to fight, attacking any unfamiliar animal or person who comes into his or her territory. Children have been injured or killed after going into a chained dog’s area, or encountering a dog who has broken free from a chain.

Continuous tethering is inhumane: 1996/United States Department of Agriculture: “Our experience in enforcing the Animal Welfare Act has led us to conclude that continuous confinement of dogs by a tether is inhumane.”

Tethered dogs are easy targets for attacks by other animals. They’re killed or injured by weather extremes, poisoned by humans, and made sick from animal feces or bird droppings. In many cases, necks of chained dogs become raw and covered with sores from constant yanking and straining to escape confinement. Dogs have been found with collars embedded in their necks.

Dogs are social animals. Tethering forces them to live in solitary confinement, unable to interact normally. Lonely and isolated, chained dogs are known to bark excessively at all hours of the day and night.

=======================

11. Halt Animal Torture In Fiesta de la Virgen de la Candelaria

ALERT FROM / REPLY TO:
Susan Trear, STrear [at] jdtplaw.com

CONTACT INFORMATION / TAKE ACTION:
social.contact [at] oecd.org; wh-info [at] unesco.org; F.Bandarin [at] unesco.org; A.Pedersen [at] unesco.org; n.sanz [at] unesco.org; arzobispado [at] arzobispadomexico.org.mx; benedictxvi [at] vatican.va; info [at] ap.org; info [at] cnbc.com; info [at] kpfk.org; info [at] wspa.de; info [at] wspa.nl; infor [at] rc.net

SAMPLE LETTER, from STrear [at] jdtplaw.com

Honorable Officials, Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is inconceivable that in the 21st century, letters such as this still need to be written; letters sent to protest one of the most inhumane and archaic celebrations that still takes place in what is surely one of the darkest and most uncivilized corners of the earth. I am speaking of the celebration of the Fiesta de la Candelaria, which will take place in Tlacotalpan, Veracruz, Mexico, in February; a “celebration” in which the lowest elements in society are permitted to express their savage sadism and primitive basic instincts, in the torture of the most innocent of creatures; a cruel spectacle that puts all of Mexico to shame!

People all around the globe are aware of this barbaric Fiesta, one that diminishes all of us as members of an intelligent and compassionate species and which is condoned by Church and Governmental officials who refuse to speak out against what can only be a hideous distortion of a religious celebration. That the gratuitous torture and dismemberment of Cebu bulls is allowed by authorities who look the other way, is an indication of the hypocrisy and insanity the prevails in Mexico and the Church.

Thousands have written letters, signed petitions and pledged to boycott Mexico, yet officials and religious leaders refuse to condemn this modern-day Sodom and continue to ignore the pleas of compassionate people everywhere. There is no place for such wanton abuse of living beings that are capable of suffering and feeling pain in civilized society. I urge you to condemn this at once and put an end to this disgrace.

Respectfully,

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