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

The following is excerpted from their website:

You Can Still Help!

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

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

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

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

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

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

I’d also like to add the following:

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

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

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

After doing some more digging re: the ACLU’s position on AETA, I’m now convinced enough that they screwed us to do the previously unthinkable: put them On Notice.
 

 
And - if they don’t watch their sorry arses - they may soon be Dead To Me. Assuming I can find a Dead To Me generator.

Anyway, back to that Kinship Circle alert for a moment. Rumor #4 involves the ACLU’s opposition - or lack thereof - to the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act (AETA).

The whole section, verbatim:

4. QUESTION/RUMOR: The ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) didn’t take a stand for free speech by opposing AETA.

4. CLARIFICATION

From D. Barber, Correspondence Manager, American Civil Liberties Union:

The ACLU Letter to Congress Urging Opposition to the Animal Enterprise Act, S. 1926 and H.R. 4239 (3/6/2006) can be read at www.aclu.org/freespeech/gen/25620leg20060306.html.

If you are not already an ACLU member, we encourage you to help support our aggressive work on the issues you care about. To join please visit www.aclu.org/contribute/contribute.cfm or call 1-888-567-ACLU. Once again, thank you for your interest in the ACLU.

Sincerely, D. Barber, Correspondence Manager, American Civil Liberties Union

11/14/06, from Karen Dawn, news [at] dawnwatch.com:

Actually, Sensenbrenner lied about lack of opposition from the ACLU. Sigh. ACLU did not oppose the whole bill but did ask for changes: www.aclu.org/safefree/general/27356leg20061030.html.

After contacting Kinship Circle for clarification, I was told that they were simply providing information regarding the ACLU’s stance on AETA, and leaving it to KC readers to draw their own conclusions.

My conclusion: at best, the ACLU is being duplicitous in their replies to animal advocates who dare to criticize the ACLU’s actions on AETA. Worst-case scenario - they totally sold us out.

Let’s have a little looksee at the facts, shall we?

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As I mentioned earlier, AETA passed the House yesterday afternoon; out of the House and the Senate, the only Congressperson who voted against it was Dennis Kucinich.

As described by Dr. Alex Hershaft (FARM’s President/Founder and co-founder of the Equal Justice Alliance), the voting process was nefarious, to say the least:

Today (11/13/06), a dozen of us from Equal Justice Alliance, FARM, League of Humane Voters, and Compassion Over Killing spent five hours visiting Congressional offices and urging them to vote against AETA, which had been scheduled over the weekend for a sudden vote at 6:30 pm. We were carrying suporting statements from the National Lawyers Guild, the New York City Bar Association, and the Natural Resources Defense Council. At each office, we were told that the mail and calls were running overwhelmingly in our favor.

Around 3pm, one of the legislative aides said that the bill was just being debated on the House floor. He gave me a pass, and I rushed to the Capitol across the street. I was astonished to see only about six House members present. House Judiciary Chairman Sensenbrenner spoke in favor of AETA, quoting Jerry Vlasak’s and other’s past extreme statements. Dennis Kucinich joined in abhorring violence, but noted that the bill infringed on civil liberties of people conducting civil disobedience or undercover investigations. Sensenbrenner invoked lack of opposition from the ACLU. Then the chair called for a voice vote, and Kucinich cast the only no vote. It was all over in 15 minutes.

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Get right with D-O-G!:

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Calling all activists - just a reminder that the House is expected to hold a vote on the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act (AETA) today! If you haven’t already, please take a moment to contact your Representative and urge him or her to vote against this blatantly unconstitutional legislation. (If you have, call/email/fax her a second, third, or fourth time!)

Over 160 animal welfare/rights and other progressive organizations oppose AETA, including the ACLU. If AETA becomes law, there’s no doubt that it will be challenged in the courts, wasting valuable taxpayer money. Explain this to your Rep. If you voted for her last Tuesday, tell her why: did she receive the endorsement of Humane USA, the Humane Society Legislative Fund (HSLF), the League of Humane Voters, the Sierra Club, and/or the League of Conservation Voters - all animal rights/welfare and environmental groups that could be labeled “terrorists” under AETA? If you voted for your Rep. because she’s been an ally of activists groups in the past, AETA would undermine her (and your) progressive politics. Tell her so! On the flip side, if your Rep. overwhelmingly sides with Big Business (and their corporate abuses), then remind her that Americans voted last week - and we voted for change! Citizens are sick and tired of politics as usual, and those politicians with little regard for average Americans are on their way out. Remind your Rep. that she’d better get with the times, or prepare to be voted out next election cycle!

Past action alerts concerning AETA are available here. Many, such as those from No AETA.com, the PCRM, Kinship Circle, and NAVS, contain sample letters to get you started. Please personalize these (with some of the points raised above, as well as your own thoughts) to double your impact. Talking points also abound, should you wish to phone your Rep. (Try to do both if possible.) Finally, please pass this along to your friends, family, and fellow activists. AETA may single out “animal terrorism,” but it affects activists everywhere.

The Equal Justice Alliance is lobbying against AETA today from 10 AM to 2 PM EST. Details are available here: www.noaeta.org/lobby.htm:

Meet at the Longworth House Office Building at Independence Ave and C Street, SE (orange map icon ).

Meet in the cafeteria between 10am and 2pm for lobbying materials and instructions. Please dress conservatively. Capitol South Metro (blue and orange lines) is closest metro. Click here for metro map.

Call FARM/Equal Justice Alliance at 800-632-8688 for details, or call Dawn Moncrief onsite at 202-468-4834.

Please consider joining them if you’re in the area - and stay tuned to www.noaeta.org for breaking news.

Inspirational artwork after the jump.

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In October, the US Senate voted unanimously to pass The Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act (AETA), S. 3880; the House is slated to consider similar legislation, H.R. 4239, when they reconvene next week.

A number of animal advocacy organizations have distributed alerts urging citizens to take action. For those that have been crossposted or excerpted on easyVegan.info, click here or search for “AETA” using the search box to your right.

A recent alert from Friends of Animals included a link to an article in the newsletter Dissident Voice by Lee Hall. “The Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act May Soon Be Law, How Could This Happen?” is a detailed look at AETA. It offers a good overview of the legislation, particularly how it came to be, so go check it out.

Hall concludes:

The AETA is close to becoming law because militant tactics have given oppressive forces the ability to rationalize a need for it; because the dominant paradigm in animal advocacy is isolation from compatible progressive causes; and because corporate front groups have organized around portraying environmentalists and animal advocates in an extremely negative light, then tapped into the current drive for anti-terror legislation. From this convergence of dynamics, H.R. 4239 has arisen.

In the coming days, it’s imperative that we energetically oppose this bill. Find the person who claims to represent you in Congress, ring them up at 202.224.3121, and explain that real safety means questioning the influence of corporate profit-seekers over their lawmaking.

And in the long term, it’s imperative that progressive thinkers create liaisons and learn from each other. The single-issue advocacy groups that follow the corporate paradigm are unlikely to understand the point. But let the AETA be a wake-up call to the rest of us.

Indeed, AETA has serious consequences not just for animal advocates, but for all activists. Consequently, a number of diverse organization oppose the bills, including the ACLU, The National Lawyers Guild, Indy Media, and the Rainforest Action Network. This is, of course, in addition to the 130+ animal advocacy organizations that oppose the legislation.

Whether you’re an animal rights advocate, someone who believes in the humane treatment of animals, an environmentalist, or an activist of another stripe altogether, please take a moment to contact your Representative and urge him or her to vote against H.R. 4239. You may also want to contact your Senators and (politely) scold them for voting to pass S. 3880. Contact information for US Reps is available at www.house.gov; Senators, www.senate.gov. If you need help getting started or would like further background, feel free to browse through some of the action alerts previously posted on this site.

After the jump: a list of additional resources.

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Please take a moment to cast your vote for Animal Planet’s Hero of the Year. Ten contestants are up for the honor, which includes a $10,000 donation to the charity of the winner’s choice, as well as an undoubtedly much-needed vacation in Hawaii.

Be sure to read each nominee’s profile; each is impressive, which makes choosing just one deserving activist a tough task. The roster includes such notables as the founders/directors of the Elephant Sanctuary (TES), the Idaho Black Bear Rehabilitation Center (IBBR), Dogs Deserve Better (DDB), and the website Pet-Abuse.com.

Granted, I’m not always a huge fan of Animal Planet (for instance, in the mini-biographies, animals are referred to as “it”s as opposed to “him/her” or “them”), but this is a great way to show support and appreciation for our Animal Heroes. I only wish that I could vote for each nominee!

The following news report was recently reprinted on the Ethological Ethics Yahoo Group:

Wal-Mart kills prairie dog colony
Company says it looked at options before fumigating

By Kate Larsen, Camera Staff Writer
August 30, 2006

LAFAYETTE — Construction started this week on a Wal-Mart Supercenter along U.S. 287, and some local residents are unhappy with the company’s decision to kill a small prairie dog colony on the site.

Earlier this year, Boulder County asked Wal-Mart to contribute to local land preservation to offset the impact its new store will have on local prairie habitat. Additionally, one local resident offered to help the company relocate the animals to city open space.

The company rejected both offers and fumigated the colony after researching relocation and other options.

“We did look into relocation options and were just having too much difficulty with the movement of them across county lines and having a site available in the given time frame,” said Gray McGinnis, a spokesman for Wal-Mart.

The retail giant is building a 207,000-square-foot store on 31 acres on the west side of U.S. 287 between Arapahoe and Baseline roads, expected to open in the summer of 2007. The project was approved by the Lafayette City Council nearly 11 months ago. The Supercenter will replace the 20-year-old Wal-Mart on South Boulder Road in the city.

The company submitted a prairie dog mitigation plan to the city, and followed every step of it, McGinnis said. Attempts to relocate the animals, as well as efforts to give the animals as prey to programs that help raptors and black-footed ferrets, were unsuccessful, he said.

Although Lafayette has open space dedicated for prairie dog relocation, it is intended to serve animals from public properties within the city.

Resident Karen Norback said she offered to approach the city’s Open Space Advisory Committee for Wal-Mart in hopes of relocating the colony to the city-owned land.

“I thought if they were willing to contribute money to the open space program, and with the small number of dogs on the site, that it could have been a win-win situation for everyone,” Norback said. “But they didn’t respond to me.”

Norback called Wal-Mart’s actions “unacceptable.”

You can read the entire article here.

The Daily Camera is based in Boulder, Colorado, and the construction is taking place in Lafayette, Colorado.

Please take a moment to contact Wal-Mart and let them know that you find their actions unnecessary and reprehensible. Wal-Mart could have reloacted the prairie dog colony, but instead decided to exterminate the animals because it was the most convenient option. Express your displeasure with their decision, and let them know that a company’s environmental and animal welfare policies influence your purchasing decisions.

You can submit feedback to Wal-Mart’s corporate offices using their online form (click here and be sure to enter in the correct location information);

Send them snail mail at the following address:

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
Bentonville, Arkansas 72716-8611

Or call them at 1-800-WAL-MART (1-800-925-6278).

Finally, you can contact local Lafayette Wal-Mart at the following address/number:

Wal-Mart
300 Waneka Parkway
Lafayette, CO 80026
(303) 666-0340

Please forward and cross-post where appropriate!