Action Alerts

Alliance for Justice: Tell Senators Reid and Leahy to Stop Confirming Controversial Judges
Today on the Senate Floor, Republicans are once again ratcheting up pressure to rubberstamp the president’s judicial nominations. Propaganda is flying fast and furious, often at the expense of the facts.

Alliance for Justice: Five Things You Can Do About FISA
This fall, the House of Representatives passed a version of a bill that would permanently amend FISA. The RESTORE Act, as it was dubbed, attempted to achieve a better balance between civil liberties and national security, and it did not include retroactive immunity for telephone companies who cooperated with the Bush administration’s illegal wiretapping program.

Born Free USA / Animal Protection Institute (API): Oppose the Use of Chimpanzees in Jack in the Box Commercial
Work with us to put an end to Jack in the Box’s use of non-human primates in its advertisements.

Born Free USA / Animal Protection Institute (API): Protect the Cormorants in Canada’s Point Pelee National Park
Your comments are needed by April 23 opposing the killing of Cormorants in Lake Erie.

DawnWatch: Dogs on Wash Post front page and dogfighting on KPCC 4/9/08
The front page Washington Post story, by Steve Hendrix, is headed, “Losing a Best Friend Along With the House.”

(More below the fold…)

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: In Defense of Animals – takeaction [at] idausa.org
Date: Wed, Apr 9, 2008 at 6:34 PM
Subject: World Week for Animals in Laboratories

World Week for Animals in Laboratories

Make plans to get active during WWAIL: April 20 – 26

Please join IDA to make this year’s World Week for Animals in Laboratories (WWAIL), April 20 – 26, the most compelling and effective year yet in speaking out against the abhorrent use of animals in testing and research.

Although millions of animals still continue to suffer and die in laboratories, there is cause to be hopeful that real change is on the horizon.

A Landmark Agreement

In February, 2008, three U.S. government agencies, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the National Toxicology Program (NTP), and the National Institutes of Health (NIH), signed a five-year agreement to create innovative and animal-free methods to evaluate the safety of drugs and chemicals with the goal of phasing out animal tests entirely.

The NRC’s Groundbreaking Report

In July, 2007, the prestigious National Research Council (NRC) issued a report, “Toxicology for the 21st Century,” which outlines a new approach that would rely less on animal studies and focus instead upon in vitro methods. According to the report, “Over time, the need for traditional animal testing could be greatly reduced, and possibly even eliminated someday.”

Broad and sweeping changes are slowly being realized for animals in labs. Yet millions still remain captive in cages, subject to intolerable cruelty. They will not live to see the day that these changes come about, which is why we urgently need you to join forces with IDA and other animal-protection organizations to vigorously work for such a transformation to happen as soon as possible. While there is reason to celebrate, there are still far too many scientists who adhere to obsolete, imprecise, and heartless animal experiments.

Never-Ending Nicotine Experiments

It may be unfathomable, but in 2008, many animals still die in cruel, archaic, and useless nicotine experiments to tests tobacco’s deleterious effects on the body. That’s why IDA has developed our Up in Smoke campaign, which targets experiments that force pregnant and newborn animals to be pumped full of nicotine. This is just one example of the kind of horrendous animal experiments that we need to stop. Sadly, there are many such vile experiments occurring daily in laboratories.

(More below the fold…)

Action Alerts

People for the American Way (PFAW): Sign the Petition to Stop Bad Judges!
Bush allies in the Senate are turning on the heat, trying to push through ultra-conservative, highly controversial judges — judges who will carry on the Bush administration’s influence for a lifetime on the highest courts in the land. But there is a longstanding Senate practice of ending the consideration of controversial nominees in the months before a presidential election. It’s time to say enough is enough.

World Wildlife Fund (WWF): U.S. Activists: Protect Threatened Species and Tropical Forests
U.S. activists: Each year at this time in the federal budget cycle, you have a huge opportunity to help countless species and habitats by urging your members of Congress to speak out for U.S. funding that protects nature in developing countries.

(More below the fold…)

You know, I just started reading The Great Influenza: The story of the deadliest pandemic in history by John Barry (2005) – in no small part because the 1918 pandemic is heavily discussed in Michael Greger’s Bird Flu, which I highly recommend – and really found it quite ironical that John Hopkins was, at the turn of the century, considered the pioneer of secular, reason-based science. Now they’re one of the last holdouts on animal testing. Innovative, not so much.

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Kinship Circle – kinshipcircle [at] accessus.net
Date: Tue, Apr 8, 2008 at 6:17 PM
Subject: ACT/ End Pig Labs At John Hopkins Medical School

KINSHIP CIRCLE PRIMARY – PERMISSION TO CROSS-POST AS WRITTEN

WORLD WEEK FOR ANIMALS IN LABORATORIES: April 20-26, 2008

www.WWAIL.org

Be counted. Send a letter.

4/8/08: End Pig Labs At John Hopkins Medical School

www.KinshipCircle.org

EMAIL kinshipcircle [at] accessus.net FOR WORD DOC OF A FORMATTED LETTER.
Easily modify letter and copy/paste it into an email or print out to fax or mail.

(More below the fold…)

Action Alerts

Audubon: Ecosystem Restoration Funding in Jeopardy
Restoration of some of America’s most spectacular ecosystems is in the Senate’s hands. The committee in charge of funding ecosystem restoration projects will having a hearing this week this week. Please write to your Senator and urge her or him to help restore America’s natural resources by fully funding ecosystem restoration in fiscal year 2009.

DawnWatch: No kill and puppy mills in major papers — and Oprah follow-up. 4/6-4/7/08
Last weekend, Philadelphia Daily News columnist Stu Bykofsky won a Genesis Award (www.GenesisAwards.com) for a number of animal friendly editions of his regular column. Today he is back on track, with a column headed “Local guy coaxed Oprah into show attacking puppy mills”.

Ecological Internet / Climate Ark: Protest Australia’s Continued Ancient Forest Logging in the Face of Abrupt Climate Change
Australia’s new “climate friendly” government preaches global forest protection for climate benefits internationally, while continuing to industrially clear its own native primary forests in Tasmania and elsewhere, and this unseemly hypocrisy must end.

Elaine Vigneault: 4 Ways To Help Foreclosure Pets
The foreclosure crisis is turning many people, and their pets homeless. Animal shelters are seeing an enormous increase in homeless pets due to foreclosures and lost jobs.

Humane Society Legislative Fund (HSLF): Support the Bear Protection Act
Introduced by Reps. Raul M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and John Campbell (R-CA), H.R. 5534, the Bear Protection Act, would make it easier for the overwhelming majority of states that already ban the sale of bear parts to enforce those laws.

(More below the fold…)

UPDATE, 4/15/08, via the National Wildlife Federation (NWF):

The House of Representatives voted Wednesday to approve the National Landscape Conservation System Act by a vote of 278-140! This Conservation System protects wildlife in 26 million acres of majestic landscapes and watersheds across the America. We could not have succeeded without your support!

Interested in learning more about the areas included in the National Landscape Conservation System?

Please visit www.conservationsystem.org

Stay tuned, as we now expect the bill to go to the Senate for their consideration.

My rep voted NO. Gawd, sometimes living in the stick sux.

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With a Congressional vote coming up this Wednesday, Drew at The Wilderness Society asked me to ask you to contact your rep and urge them to grant permanent protection to the National Landscape Conservation System.

Just what is the the National Landscape Conservation System, you ask?

In June 2000, the National Landscape Conservation System – the most innovative American land system created in the last 40 years – was established to protect the crown jewels of the public lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management.

The 26 million-acre Conservation System includes more than 800 individual units: 15 National Monuments, 13 National Conservation Areas, Steens Mountain Cooperative Management Protection Area in Oregon, Headwaters Forest Reserve in northern California, 38 Wild and Scenic Rivers, 183 Wilderness Areas, more than 5,100 miles of National Scenic and Historic Trails, and 604 Wilderness Study Areas.

The mission of the National Landscape Conservation System is to “conserve, protect, and restore these nationally significant landscapes that have outstanding cultural, ecological, and scientific values for the benefit of current and future generations.”

The Conservation System offers the spectacular qualities of the National Parks and National Wildlife Refuges. But the System represents an innovative shift from conventional management: protecting large landscapes-entire ecosystems and archaeological communities-not small, isolated tracts surrounded by development. Arizona’s Agua Fria National Monument contains hundreds of archaeological structures and sites; to understand the story these sites tell, the monument includes surrounding lands where their inhabitants traded, hunted, and farmed. Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument encompasses 800,000 acres, including parts of the watershed of the Grand Canyon.

The National Landscape Conservation System Act (HR 2016), which moves to the House floor on April 9th, will if passed formally establish the proposed Conservation System. You can take action and urge your rep to vote yes on HR 2016 here.

To learn more, visit www.conservationsystem.org – or check out this nifty video intro from The Wilderness Society:

And be sure to spread the word!

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Tagged: animals animal rights animal welfare environment environmental environmentalism environmentalist action alerts the wilderness society wildlife conservation nature National Landscape Conservation System National Landscape Conservation System Act National Landscape Conservation Act west American west American southwest National Parks National Wildlife Refuges National Parks System news in the news video youtube

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Born Free USA Newsletters – donotreply [at] apiforanimals.org
Date: Fri, Apr 4, 2008 at 4:37 PM
Subject: Victory for Lynx / Our New Blog

Alerts at a Glance:

* Court Rules in Favor of Threatened Lynx — Judge says MN Trapping Program Violates ESA
- Fantastic News! This week’s ruling by a federal judge orders MN to ensure that no further lynx are captured by trapping activities within core lynx habitat.

* We’ve Launched a New Blog!
- Be sure to check out our blog for regular, incisive, up-to-the-minute commentary on issues affecting wild animals in need, both in the USA and around the world.

* Help Us Help Animals
** Make a Donation: Please consider a contribution in support of our 2008 campaigns and programs. Your gift will help us make a difference for countless animals this year.

(More below the fold…)

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: In Defense of Animals – takeaction [at] idausa.org
Date: Fri, Apr 4, 2008 at 12:02 PM
Subject: IDA’s April 2008 Auction for the Animals

IDA’s April 2008 Auction for the Animals

Suport IDA’s work by bidding on fabulous items

Support IDA’s mission to defend the rights, welfare and habitats of animals during IDA’s Auction for the Animals on eBay. The auction gives you the opportunity to help IDA help animals while having fun bidding on a wide selection of elegant, exciting and unique items that have been donated to IDA for this very special online fundraising event. Auction items include fantastic travel and accommodation packages, special celebrity memorabilia, tickets for great entertainment and sporting events and much more!

Beginning this Saturday, April 5, you can view the auction items on www.ebay.com/ida. Once you find an item that you like, click on the link to view its description, the current bid price, and how much time is left until the bidding ends. Place your bid and keep an eye on it to make sure that, by the time the bidding ends, it’s YOURS. The auction will run in four waves, one wave per week, with new items being added each week.

We are still accepting donated items to offer during the auction, so if you have an item that you would like to contribute, please contact Nicole Otoupalik at (800) 338-4451. All donations are tax deductible. If you already sell on eBay, now is a great time to designate 10-100% of your own auction proceeds to IDA by registering at www.missionfish.org, the partner of eBay Giving Works.

If you received this message from a friend, you can sign up for IDA’s Action Center.

In Defense of Animals, located in San Rafael, Calif., is an international animal protection organization with more than 85,000 members and supporters dedicated to ending the abuse and exploitation of animals by protecting their rights and welfare. IDA’s efforts include educational events, cruelty investigations, boycotts, grassroots activism, and hands-on rescue through our sanctuaries in Mississippi and Cameroon, Africa.

In Defense of Animals is a registered 501(c)3 non-profit organization. We welcome your feedback and appreciate your donations. Please join today! All donations to IDA are tax-deductible.

In Defense of Animals
3010 Kerner, San Rafael, CA 94901
Tel. (415) 388-9641 Fax (415) 388-0388
idainfo [at] idausa.org

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Tagged: animals animal rights animal welfare action alerts ida in defense of animals auction shopping online ebay donate

Action Alerts

Bill of Rights Defense Committee (BORDC): People’s Campaign for the Constitution
I support the goal of the People’s Campaign for the Constitution: To restore constitutional rights, checks and balances, and the rule of law, which have been violated under the guise of a permanent “War on Terror.”

Campaign for America’s Wilderness: Protect wilderness in Big Sky Country’s largest National Forest!
Stretching across 18 mighty mountain ranges, the 3.3 million acre Beaverhead-Deerlodge is the crown jewel of southwest Montana. But off-road vehicles threaten to ruin quiet trails, trample streams, spread weeds, and rob this majestic landscape of its splendor.

Center for Biological Diversity: Help Save America’s Last Wild Forests
One-third of America’s national forests are protected from road-building and other industrial development by the Roadless Area Conservation Rule — but now the administration is working state-by-state to open these treasured places to logging, mining and other development.

CREDO Action: Say No to a New Generation of Nuclear Weapons
The U.S. Department of Energy (the federal agency responsible for building and maintaining our nation’s stockpile of nuclear weapons) is currently moving ahead with plans for a whole new generation of nuclear bombs. Tell the DOE to focus on safely reducing our existing stockpile, not making new weapons.

Dawnwatch: Wall Street Journal on HSUS pressure on firms 4/4/08
We see more of the growing influence of animal issues in the mainstream, both business and media, with today’s, Friday April 4, Wall Street journal article, “Humane Society Probes Put Pressure on Firms”.

(More below the fold…)

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Kinship Circle – kinshipcircle [at] accessus.net
Date: Wed, Apr 2, 2008 at 9:50 PM
Subject: ACT/ Baby’s Final Cries Must Not Be Forgotten

KINSHIP CIRCLE PRIMARY – PERMISSION TO CROSS-POST AS WRITTEN

Be counted. Send a letter.

4/2/08: Baby’s Final Cries Must Not Be Forgotten

www.KinshipCircle.org

LEFT: Severino Cruz, Baby’s killer.

CENTER: Baby, a three-year-old pit bull killed with a power drill.

RIGHT: Enrique Cruz, the killer’s brother, also implicated in long-term
animal abuse and neglect.

EMAIL kinshipcircle [at] accessus.net FOR WORD DOC OF A FORMATTED LETTER.
Easily modify letter and copy/paste it into an email or print out to fax or mail.

(More below the fold…)

Action Alerts

DawnWatch: Please thank Oprah for her puppy mill and adoption show, 4/4/08
Many of you have written to me (thank you!) to make sure that we all know that Oprah is doing a show on puppy mills this Friday, April 4. Woohoo! Wayne Pacelle’s blog (hsus.typepad.com/wayne/) says, “Oprah taped an entire hour-long program last week on puppy mills and the related issues of shelter adoptions, spay and neuter, and euthanasia.”

Defenders of Wildlife: Speak Out for Yellowstone Bison!
This year alone, more than 1,100 bison have been killed — nearly a quarter of the wild population. This is no way to manage one of the icons of the American West — especially in a state that prides itself as a destination for wildlife-seeking tourists.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA): Tell Gucci to Stop Selling All Fur
After hearing from thousands of PETA supporters, Gucci has assured PETA that it will not sell any more seal fur, a product of the vicious Canadian seal hunt—an annual massacre in which hundreds of thousands of terrified baby seals are clubbed to death and many are skinned alive. This is a step in the right direction, but PETA now wants Gucci to stop peddling pelts from all animals.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA): Update: Prosecuting Attorney Sends Animals Back to Convicted Animal Abuser!
Despite the horrors uncovered at the property of Mackinac County, Michigan, resident Larry Rooney, Prosecuting Attorney Alfred Feleppa returned 16 animals who had been seized by animal control to this alleged hoarder and newly convicted animal abuser.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA): Reports of Bird Shooting at Shaw’s Supermarket in Manchester, Connecticut
PETA’s caseworkers recently received complaints claiming that Shaw’s Supermarket in Manchester, Connecticut, has brought in a person to shoot live birds inside the store with a pellet gun.

(More below the fold…)

There are also a few photos of Opie on Flickr, and on Farm Sanctuary’s website here. So sad, his passing is, but at least he only knew a few hours of human cruelty, followed by 18 years of bliss at Farm Sanctuary. Dog bless, sweet boy.

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Farm Sanctuary – info [at] farmsanctuary.org
Date: Wed, Apr 2, 2008 at 5:00 PM
Subject: Farm Sanctuary Mourns Loss of Founding Resident

Farm Sanctuary Mourns Loss of Founding Resident

On a cold day 18 years ago, a tiny calf, no more than a few hours old, was abandoned and left for dead at a stockyard in upstate New York. A dairy industry discard too weak and sickly to even stand, the male Holstein lay helpless in an obscure alleyway, where few signs of life emanated from him—let alone any indication of the magnificent creature he was destined to become.

Saved at the last hour by Gene Baur, then a young activist, the downer calf was named Opie and brought to live at Farm Sanctuary, a seedling operation at the time, which sheltered far fewer animals and was run only by its founders and a handful of volunteers. Here, Opie, who when rescued had a temperature too low to even register on a thermometer, was placed on an IV, given colostrums and bottle-fed ‘round the clock until he was well enough to integrate with the other cattle.

On the happy day he was introduced to his new herd mates, Opie was adopted within moments by the now 21-year-old Maya, also one of the first downer calves ever rescued by Farm Sanctuary. Under the cow’s watchful eye, Opie, like the organization—which kept building more barns, laying more fencing and making its name known throughout the nation—grew, and then grew some more.

Standing more than six feet tall and weighing about a ton and a half in his prime, Opie, who blossomed into the benevolent, paternal leader of our cattle herd, was an awe-inspiring sight to behold. Visitors, most of whom were at first rendered speechless by and, often, a little fearful of the massive steer, were reassured when they approached Opie and learned that he had a heart that matched his size. No one made an impression quite like Opie did.

Gentle, warm and receptive to any and all affection he was offered by admirers, Opie’s dramatic rescue story, seemingly miraculous recovery, radiant personality, and powerful presence helped build the very foundation for our visitor program and proved what a difference our animal ambassadors could make for others of their species. It is impossible to know exactly how many people this magnanimous animal turned vegan, but Opie, once forgotten by a cruel industry, was clearly adored throughout his life by thousands, who were changed for the better from having known him.

Off the farm, Opie’s compelling before and after rescue photos were presented at legislative sessions, distributed widely on Farm Sanctuary activist materials, and picked up by media throughout the nation, leading to such advances as the introduction of the Downed Animal Protection Act in the U.S. Congress in 1992. The face of our No Downers Campaign (www.nodowners.org/), Opie and his story continued to help us shed light on the critical need for legislation to prevent the marketing and slaughter of animals too weak and sick to walk on their own and advocate for measures to prevent their suffering long after his rescue.

(More below the fold…)

Action Alerts

American Freedom Campaign: Urge Congress to investigate the president’s abuse of executive power
Prosecutions may be appropriate. Impeachment should not be out of the question. But what is needed immediately is a thorough investigation into the Bush administration’s understanding of the extent of the president’s power as commander-in-chief.

American Rivers: Tell the EPA to Dump the Pumps Once and For All!
An EPA veto would put an end to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ plan to build the world’s largest hydraulic pumping plant in one of the most sparsely populated regions in the state of Mississippi. In a throwback to another era and contrary to federal policy, the Corps would use the Yazoo Pumps to drain wetlands so agribusiness can intensify production to reap more farm subsidy payments.

In Defense of Animals (IDA): Act Now to End Horse Slaughter in the U.S.
Urge your legislators to co-sponsor the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act

National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA): Action is Long Overdue.
Most people would agree that a year is far too long to wait for, well, just about anything. And unfortunately because of one lone Senator from Oklahoma, some of America’s national parks and public lands have had to wait more than a year to for Congress to take action to properly preserve and interpret important parts of America’s heritage.

Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS): Tell GM to Offer Real Hybrid Solutions Today!
On March 20, General Motors (GM) vice chairman Bob Lutz admitted at the New York Auto Show that not making a vehicle like the Prius was “a mistake.” Yet GM continues to make that same mistake.

(More below the fold…)

Previous IDA alerts here and here.

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: DawnWatch – news [at] dawnwatch.com
Date: Tue, Apr 1, 2008 at 1:28 AM
Subject: DawnWatch: Animal slaughter art exhibit closes under peaceful protest, then threats — SF Chronicle 3/30/08

Last week, a San Francisco art exhibition that included animal cruelty was in the news. This Sunday’s San Francisco Chronicle, March 30, included a lead article (by Ilana DeBare, pg B1) headed, “Art Institute halts exhibition showing killing of animals; Workers threatened; video unclear about why deaths filmed.”

The article opens:

“Citing threats of violence by animal rights activists, the San Francisco Art Institute said Saturday that it is canceling a controversial exhibition that included video clips of animals being bludgeoned to death, as well as a public forum it had scheduled to address the controversy.

“”We’ve gotten dozens of threatening phone calls that targeted specific staff people with death threats, threats of violence and threats of sexual assaults,’ said Art Institute President Chris Bratton. ‘We remain committed to freedom of speech as fundamental to this institution, but we have to take people’s safety very seriously.’

“The exhibit that sparked the controversy was a one-person show by Paris artist Adel Abdessemed called ‘Don’t Trust Me,’ which opened March 19.

“Along with a variety of other elements, the show included a series of video loops of animals being bludgeoned to death with a sledgehammer in front of a brick wall. The animals killed included a pig, goat, deer, ox, horse and sheep.”

While the headline and opening lines of the article suggest that the exhibition was removed only because of threats of violence, further on we read:

“Abdessemed’s show, one of about a dozen public exhibitions that the 650-student school hosts each year, had opened fairly quietly. But as word spread among animal rights groups, more than 8,000 people sent e-mails to the institute slamming the show. Institute officials temporarily closed the show Wednesday and scheduled a public forum for Monday.

“But then the tone of some of the e-mails turned violent, Bratton said, with threats against individual staff members, such as, ‘We’re going to gather up your children and bludgeon their heads.’ Officials decided to shutter the exhibition permanently, the first time in the institute’s 137-year history that a show was closed for safety reasons. They also canceled the forum.

“”Some of the people who said the most threatening things said they would be present at the forum,’ Bratton said.”

(More below the fold…)

Action Alerts

Audubon: Urge Congress to Support International Conservation Programs
The Bush Administration has proposed major cuts to international conservation spending, especially to the Biodiversity Program of the US Agency for International Development (USAID), which has led important conservation efforts to protect species and habitats in more than 50 countries.

Defenders of Wildlife: Help Keep America Wild!
The Bush/Cheney Administration is pushing to remove crucial protections for more than 6 million acres of roadless backcountry in Idaho’s national forests (including forests that border Yellowstone) to make it easier for mining, logging, oil and gas, and a host of other corporate interests to ravage these beloved lands. Comments due April 7.

League of Conservation Voters (LCV): URGENT: The U.S. House Must Act on Global Warming This Year!
As Congress prepares to set their 2008 agenda, now is the time to contact your Representative to make sure that solving global warming is a top priority this year.

The Sierra Club: Keep West Virginia Wild and Wonderful
The Wild Monongahela Act will ensure that West Virginia’s Monongahela National Forest remains wild and wonderful for many generations to come by designating seven new or expanded wilderness areas, totaling more than 47,000 acres within the Monongahela National Forest. Tell your Representative to protect West Virginia’s wilderness!

The Wilderness Society: Keep Idaho Forests Wild
The Bush Administration and the state of Idaho are seeking to change the way more than seven million acres of roadless forests are managed in the gem state. The change could affect two-thirds of Idaho’s unprotected wilderness and result in an eight-fold increase in logging on roadless forests. (Same issue of Defenders of Wildlife alert above.)

(More below the fold…)

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Tagged: bbc documentary penguins