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From: DawnWatch - news [at] dawnwatch.com
Date: Jun 24, 2007 7:53 PM
Subject: DawnWatch: NY Times reprimanded by its public editor for “Death By Veganism” piece. 6/24/07

All those who wrote to the New York Times protesting Nina Planck’s “Death by Veganism” op-ed (you’ll find the DawnWatch alert about it at tinyurl.com/2b3sp5) can give yourselves a big pat on the back. Your outcry was registered.

The New York Time’s current public editor is Clark Hoyt. The Times tells us, “Clark Hoyt is the readers’ representative. His opinions and conclusions are his own. His column will appear on Sundays at least twice monthly.”

According to Wikipedia, the New York Times established the position of Public Editor in response to the 2003 Jayson Blair scandal. Wikipedia explains “The job of the public editor is to supervise the implementation of proper journalism ethics at a newspaper, and to identify and examine critical errors or omissions, and to act as a liaison to the public. They do this primarily through a regular feature on a newspaper’s editorial page.”

The public editor’s column in the Sunday, June 24, New York Times is headed, “The Danger of the One-Sided Debate.” (Page WK14)

Hoyt tells us that two recent columns by guest contributors caused enormous reader outcries. The most recent was by Ahmed Yousef, a spokesman for Hamas. Hoyt quotes a reader, who wrote that such a piece ‘’isn’t balanced journalism, it is more the dissemination of propaganda in the spirit of advocacy journalism.'’ While Hoyt did not agree with Yousef’s piece, he does contend:

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From: DawnWatch - news [at] dawnwatch.com
Date: Jun 22, 2007 8:19 PM
Subject: DawnWatch: AZ Newspaper take stand against Section 123 — 6/22/07

Last week I strayed from the DawnWatch tradition of focusing only on media stories in order to alert people to a chilling piece of federal legislation that has the potential to nullify the efforts of those who have fought and prevailed on behalf of the animals in state legislatures. (See tinyurl.com/2chz9g for that alert.) Today, Friday June 22, the Arizona Republic editorial page took a stand against that legislation in an editorial headed, “Hog-tying the will of Arizona voters.”

The editorial opens:

“In November, Arizona voters said they want farm animals treated humanely and decently.

“Last month, the subcommittee on livestock, dairy and poultry of the U.S. House Agriculture Committee inserted a provision in the 2007 Farm Bill that could nullify that vote.

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From: DawnWatch - news [at] dawnwatch.com
Date: Jun 21, 2007 6:48 PM
Subject: National conference — “Taking Action for Animals” July 28-30, Washington DC

The national annual animal advocacy conference, “Taking Action for Animals” is next month. It is in Washington DC July 28-30.

Representatives from the Humane Society of the United States, Farm Sanctuary, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, and many other leading organizations will speak to and gather with hundreds of compassionate people who want to learn more about what they can do to help. Besides being educational, national conferences are fun — a wonderful place to hang out with like-minded people and recharge.

Check out www.TakingActionForAnimals.com for a list of sponsoring organizations and speakers and to register now.

I am delighted to be giving a “Working with the Media” workshop with Bruce Friedrich from media savvy PETA. I look forward to seeing everybody there!

Yours and the animals’,

Karen Dawn

(DawnWatch is an animal advocacy media watch that looks at animal issues in the media and facilitates one-click responses to the relevant media outlets. You can learn more about it, and sign up for alerts at www.DawnWatch.com.To discontinue DawnWatch alerts go to www.DawnWatch.com/nothanks.php)

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Tagged: animals animal rights animal welfare action alerts dawnwatch events education conferences karen dawn HSUS PCRM Humane Society of the United States Farm Sanctuary the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine Taking Action for Animals July 2007

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From: DawnWatch - news [at] dawnwatch.com
Date: Jun 21, 2007 6:16 PM
Subject: DawnWatch: “Ethical living: Do fish have feelings too?…” UK Guardian, 21 June, 2007

The UK’s Thursday, June 21 Guardian has a piece headed, “Ethical living: Do fish have feelings too?: Animal rights campaigners are turning their attention to aquariums. But should we really get worked up about angel fish and guppies, wonders Harry Pearson.” (p 18)

Pearson opens with:

“When I was a child, my Aunt Nancy had a tank of tropical fish - guppies, black mollies, angelfish - in the front room of her house in Redcar. If anyone asked if the fish had enough space, her reply was automatic. ‘Oh yes,’ she would say. ‘You see, they only have a memory of five seconds.’ The fish, it seemed, swam to one end of the aquarium and by the time they had got there, they had forgotten everything they had seen. As a result, the fish found this small box of water as infinite and fascinating as the universe.

“That fish have an incredibly short memory is known to everyone. Unfortunately, like many well-known ‘facts’, it is not true. Several years ago researchers at the Australian Veterinary Association blew the five-second-memory idea right out of the water. Today, the generally held view is that fish have a memory span of at least a few months.

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From: DawnWatch - news [at] dawnwatch.com
Date: Jun 20, 2007 9:00 PM
Subject: DawnWatch Dallas follow-up — feature article on vegetarianism 6/19/07

Margaret Morin has let me know that in the same section of yesterday’s Dallas Morning News (same section as the vegan shopping guide I just sent out) there was a feature article on vegetarianism. Woohoo! I will paste it below.

Please send appreciative letters at www.dallasnews.com/cgi-bin/lettertoed.cgi

Choosing a vegetarian diet changed their health

Here’s how local people made the switch

Tuesday, June 19, 2007
By LISA MARTIN / Special contributor to the Dallas Morning News
Photos by REX C. CURRY/Special Contributor

Though no physician ever suggested that Barbara Bush of Carrollton become a vegetarian, the assistant professor at the University of North Texas realized that she inherited a legacy of diet-related diseases that included diabetes and heart problems.

Barbara Bush (left), Don Moy and Angelica Thomas, all members of the Black Vegetarian Society of Texas, prepare a meal at Mr. Moy’s house. A dozen years ago, she began as a vegetarian, then transitioned to a vegan, someone who eats no animal products whatsoever, including dairy and eggs.

“Doctors seem to enjoy telling me I’m in good health,” she says. “And I feel like I’m in good health.”

She’s part of a growing trend of people abstaining from or limiting the amount of meat and other animal-based products in their diet. As of last year, there were an estimated 4.8 million vegetarians in the United States, one-third to one-half of them vegan, according to the Vegetarian Resource Group, a nonprofit educational organization. That number has nearly doubled since 1997.

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UPDATE, 7/5/07:

Holy shit. He totally won. Never underestimate the power of jowly, unfunny latenight “funnymen”, would be today’s lesson. Or something.

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Kevin Eubanks:
Big zucchini, or world’s biggest zucchini?

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From: DawnWatch - news [at] dawnwatch.com
Date: Jun 20, 2007 7:59 PM
Subject: DawnWatch: Jay Leno nominates Kevin Eubanks as sexiest vegetarian 6/15 - 6/19/07

Perhaps you have heard of PETA’s “sexiest vegetarian” contests. They are in line with PETA’s general attempts to put an animal friendly message wherever there is public attention — and for as long as anybody can remember there has been plenty of attention on sex. The competition has leagues for sexiest vegetarian celebrities and also for the tofutti cuties and sultry soy boys next door.

The contests get a lot of press, and thanks to Jay Leno, millions of Americans heard about them over the last week. On the Friday, June 15th Tonight Show, Leno introduced the topic telling us that People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is asking folks to vote for the sexiest vegetarian. He said, “I guessing the winner will be the guy with the biggest zucchini.” Then he said to the Tonight Show’s band leader, Kevin Eubanks, “Hey, Kev, you’re a vegetarian, I should nominate you. We should get people to vote for you.” Then he started teasing Kevin about having photos he shot of him at Pismo beach.

On Monday, June 18, Leno reminded viewers that PETA is looking for the sexiest vegetarian of the year and he said that he had nominated Kevin. And he said, “I want people to go to the PETA website and vote.” (The competition is at www.GoVeg.com )

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From: DawnWatch - news [at] dawnwatch.com
Date: Jun 17, 2007 11:00 PM
Subject: DawnWatch: Alaska’s elephant Maggie to be moved — Edmonton’s Lucy soon to be alone 6/15/07

(DawnWatch subscribers: You haven’t heard from me for a few days because my dear old computer suffered a heart attack last week and is still in Intensive Care. Though he is expected to recover, I can no longer avoid admitting that it is time for him to retire. Loyal to the last, he will be back at work this coming week in order to tie up loose ends and train his successor. I will then be able to respond to the emails that have piled up over the last week or so. Meanwhile, today I will do the best that I can, without my computer’s full resources, to do a little DawnWatch catching up.)

A recent story important to many of us concerns Maggie, the elephant who lives alone at the Alaska Zoo. I first learned of her plight from a heartbreaking cover story about her, by Robert Meyerowitz, printed in the February 12 2005 Anchorage Press. The Elephant Sanctuary still has that article on its website at www.elephants.com/pr/2_17_05_AnchoragePress.htm. I strongly recommend reading it. It tells us, “In 1983, a Zimbabwe cull left five baby elephants watching on grassy plains as all the adults in their herds, all the elephants they’d ever known, were cut down around their ears.” The baby elephants were flown to the US, and Maggie was brought to Alaska to accompany the lone elephant there named Annabelle. When Annabelle died, Maggie was left alone. Because of the climate, Maggie spends much of her life inside a heated barn. When activists complained that she desperately needed exercise and should be released to a sanctuary where she would have acres on which to roam
with other elephants, the zoo’s solution was to design an elephant-sized treadmill for her.

The movement to free Maggie received renewed media attention in May this year, when twice in on one week Maggie lay down and was unable to stand up until local firefighters intervened to lift her. Finally, the Alaska Zoo Board has agreed to let Maggie go to a better facility with a warmer climate. Whether that will be a sanctuary or just a somewhat better zoo has not been announced.

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UPDATE, 6/12/07:

Another alert regarding the Farm Bill, this time from Last Chance for Animals. Now with new and improved talking points!

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From: Last Chance for Animals - campaigns [at] lcanimal.org
Date: Jun 12, 2007 2:32 PM
Subject: Congress to Strip State and Local Animal Welfare Laws! Take Action Now!

Urgent Action Needed! - Don’t Let Congress Undo State and Local Animal Laws!

Congress is attempting to subvert the rights of citizens by prohibiting states and localities from voting against activities concerning public health, safety, and morals!

A provision in the pending Farm Bill would overturn some of the most important animal welfare legislation passed in decades and prevent us from protecting and fighting for the rights of animals across the country!

If passed, this provision would nullify state bans on horse slaughter, bans on gestation crates in Florida and bans on both gestation and veal crates in Arizona and bans on foie gras in California and Chicago.

This is an outrageous power grab that would undermine the democratic process and deny citizens the right to pass state and local laws on issues of humane treatment or food safety.

TAKE ACTION NOW

Reach your federal legislatures by calling the Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121

After you make your calls, please follow up with an email to further encourage your legislators to keep this dangerous provision out of the Farm Bill.

Visit www.house.gov and www.senate.gov to contact your legislators.

Sample text below for phone calls and emails.

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I remember Gigi.

That’s Gigi and her human, Judy Migliore.

And that’s Gigi’s decomposing corpse, after she was shot in the head and left to rot by St. Bernard Parish deputies.

I hope they nail the fuckers.

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From: DawnWatch - news [at] dawnwatch.com
Date: Jun 11, 2007 3:50 PM
Subject: DawnWatch: ABC’s Nightline on “Katrina Pets Executed” 6/11/07

The following report is linked from the ABC news Nightline page, with the note: “More on this story tonight on “Nightline” at 11:35 p.m. EDT.”

Please thank Nightline for covering this issue. Feedback matters! Nightline takes comments at nightline [at] abcnews.go.com.

Lawsuit: Katrina Pets Executed
Investigations, Two Criminal Indictments and a Lawsuit Put the Heat on St. Bernard Parish’s Sheriff’s Office

abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/story?id=3265151&page=1

By JIM AVILA, ELIZABETH TRIBOLET and CHRIS FRANCESCANI
ABC News Law & Justice Unit
June 11, 2007

For nearly two years, pet owners from the low-lying Louisiana parish of St. Bernard have accused sheriff’s deputies of having wantonly killed dozens of dogs they forced evacuees to leave behind during Hurricane Katrina in 2005, without regard to the dogs’ size or the potential threat they might pose.

One owner said her family was forced at gunpoint to leave its dog behind. Another owner said residents became frantic when, they said, they overheard one deputy claim that “once everybody’s gone, we’re going to have target practice tonight.” They claim in court papers that deputies were under orders to shoot every dog they found.

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———- Forwarded message ———-
From: DawnWatch - news [at] dawnwatch.com
Date: Jun 11, 2007 2:54 PM
Subject: DawnWatch: NY Times, “My Dog Days” - 6/11/07

The Monday, June 10, New York Times has an op-ed headed “My Dog Days” by novelist Arthur Phillips, which will warm the heart of all who have fallen in love with dogs. It opens:

“My little guy is growing up fast. He’s toilet-trained, he goes uncomplainingly to sleep and he no longer chews on his playmates’ faces until they bleed. He is 8 months old, and I know, years from now, that I will always remember this summer as the time he and I fell in love.

“Between this summer and next, this latest beagle — the third of my adult life — will age from zero to 1 (or zero to 7), on a fast track to reduce me to mourning sometime in my early 50s.”

I will not attempt to summarize it, as it so warmly written I could not do it justice. I urge you to go to www.nytimes.com/2007/06/10/opinion/10phillips.html and enjoy it in full. The more hits the article gets the better, so that the Times learns how much its readers enjoy animal friendly pieces. Please also send appreciative letters to the editor. As animal advocates, however, it is our job also to remind readers that equally beloved and memorable companions come from shelters. Because beagles are the focus of the piece, some people may also wish to write about the horrifying fate of many beagles in our nation’s laboratories.

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