———- Forwarded message ———-
From: In Defense of Animals - takeaction [at] idausa.org
Date: Nov 15, 2007 12:29 AM
Subject: IDA eNews: 11-14-07

Having trouble viewing IDA eNews? View it online.

November 14th, 2007

IDA Action Alerts

Stop Volkswagen’s Deadly Bird Experiments
Car company funds studies to decapitate European robins, garden warblers, and zebra finches

Oil Spill Kills Birds in San Francisco Bay
Cargo ship hits bridge, dumps 58,000 gallons of fuel into water

Ask Senate to Stop Sale of Animal Companions to Laboratories
Take Action to urge your elected officials to approve Sen. Akaka’s Farm Bill amendment

Campaign News & Updates

Victory: Japan Dolphins Will Not Go to Dominican Republic
The Save Japan Dolphins Coalition spares the Taiji Twelve from life in a marine park

One Week Left Until Fur Free Friday
Make plans to help animals skinned for fashion on November 23rd

School Kicks Cruel Donkey Basketball Game to the Curb
Thanks to those who contacted high school and Society of St. Vincent de Paul

(more…)

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: In Defense of Animals - takeaction [at] idausa.org
Date: Nov 14, 2007 8:40 AM
Subject: Writing Alert: Thinking big when it comes to elephants

The Oregonian published an opinion piece about Oregon Zoo’s plans to expand its elephant exhibit. Please write a letter to the editor on the suffering elephants endure in zoos. Send letters to the Oregonian at letters [at] news.oregonian.com.

Read “Thinking big when it comes to elephants” online.

Thinking big when it comes to elephants

Monday, November 12, 2007

Three decades ago, the Oregon Zoo was considered a world leader on captive Asian elephants. Today, even those representing the zoo admit that’s no longer the case. Despite evolving scientific knowledge about elephants and their complex needs, the Oregon Zoo, like most urban zoos, is living in the past. As a result, these endangered animals are needlessly suffering.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s not for lack of trying. A behind-the-scenes tour leaves no doubt that those who look after Portland’s most popular zoo residents are doing what they can within the facility’s space limitations. But for years, the zoo has kept six or more elephants confined to pens the size of an average suburban backyard. That might be fine for the family dog, but we now know it’s totally inadequate for earth’s largest land mammal, which can weigh as much as 10,000 pounds and which has evolved to walk long distances each day.

Restricted space and unnatural conditions are causing the elephants to suffer and die prematurely from chronically diseased feet and crippling arthritis. Those challenges and the associated expense have led 16 major zoos to close or phase out their elephant exhibits, including zoos in Detroit, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Chicago and New York.

(more…)

Get right with D-O-G!:

These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: In Defense of Animals - takeaction [at] idausa.org
Date: Nov 7, 2007 6:51 PM
Subject: IDA eNews: 11-7-07

Having trouble viewing IDA eNews? View it online.

November 7th, 2007

IDA Action Alerts

Take IDA’s Thanksliving Pledge!
Go turkey-free to save lives & win prizes this holiday season

bebe Agrees to Go Fur-Free…but Not Quite Yet
Take Action to urge fashion retailer not to wait until 2008

Sponsor IDA’s Anti-Fur PSA for Fur Free Friday
TV spot shows viewers the animal cruelty fashion industry tries to hide

Campaign News & Updates

IDA’s November 2007 Guardian of the Month - Christine Dorchak
Greyhounds’ best friend has the dog racing industry on the run

IDA-Project Hope Adoption Spotlight - Dottie
Darling Dalmatian is one of 28 animals recently spayed/neutered by vet students at the sanctuary

Victory: Cape May Adopts Plan to Protect Both Feral Cats and Endangered Birds
IDA joins coalition that helped convince New Jersey town to preserve TNR program

(more…)

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: In Defense of Animals - takeaction [at] idausa.org
Date: Nov 2, 2007 11:40 AM
Subject: Maggie Arrives Safely at PAWS Sanctuary

Maggie Arrives Safely at PAWS Sanctuary
U.S. Air Force pilots successfully complete Operation Maggie Migration

After 25 years, Maggie has finally made the move from a tiny enclosure at the Alaska Zoo to her new home at the Performing Animal Welfare Society elephant sanctuary in Northern California. This is a great day not only for Maggie, but for IDA and everyone else who has worked to secure her freedom. We offer our sincerest thanks and congratulations to everyone who helped make this victory possible.

This historic trip included a five-hour flight in a temperature-controlled crate aboard a United States Air Force C-17 cargo plane from Alaska to Travis Air Force Base, followed by an 85-mile drive in a flatbed truck to PAWS. Maggie arrived safely on schedule at the sanctuary at 6:30 this morning.

(more…)

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: In Defense of Animals - takeaction [at] idausa.org
Date: Oct 31, 2007 7:08 PM
Subject: IDA eNews: 10-31-07

Having trouble viewing IDA eNews? View it online.

IDA Action Alerts

IDA Seeks Whistleblowers at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom
$2500 reward offered for evidence of animal cruelty at amusement park

Port Authority Exterminating Feral Cats at NY’s JFK Airport
IDA joins coalition to save cats and stop the killing

Rhode Island Woman Severs Stolen Parrot’s Leg
Take Action to urge prison sentence for animal abuser

Campaign News & Updates

Stay In Touch with IDA on Facebook
Networking site promotes friendship and animal advocacy

World GO VEGAN Days Wrap-Up
IDA holds outreach events, awards prize to winner of our e-Card contest

Cold Snap: Tips for Keeping Animals Safe & Warm This Winter
Protect your furry friends from frostbite, hypothermia & other seasonal health hazards

(more…)

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: In Defense of Animals - takeaction [at] idausa.org
Date: Nov 1, 2007 11:20 AM
Subject: Writing Alert: Breeding elephants doesn’t protect them

The Pittsburgh Post Gazette printed an opinion piece about the Pittsburgh Zoo’s new elephant breeding facility. Please write a letter to the editor thanking them for publishing the piece and addressing the zoo conservation myth. Send letters to letters [at] post-gazette.com.

Read “Breeding elephants doesn’t protect them” online.

Breeding elephants doesn’t protect them

Zoos like those in Pittsburgh should help preserve the animals’ native habitat instead

Wednesday, October 31, 2007
By Marianne Bessey

During this month’s ground-breaking ceremony at the Pittsburgh zoo’s proposed elephant breeding facility in Somerset Country, lots of lip service was paid to “conservation.” It is without question that elephants, endangered in Asia and threatened in Africa, desperately need help. But will spending millions of dollars on breeding a handful of elephants actually help elephants — or just the zoo’s bottom line?

(more…)

Get right with D-O-G!:

These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: In Defense of Animals - takeaction [at] idausa.org
Date: Oct 30, 2007 10:46 AM
Subject: Writing Alert: Elephants suffer in zoos

The Birmingham News published an opinion piece about Birmingham Zoo’s plans for a new elephant exhibit. Please write a letter to the editor on the suffering elephants endure in zoos urging the zoo to scrap any such plans. Send letters to the Birmingham News at epage [at] bhamnews.com.

Read “Elephants suffer in zoos” online.

Elephants suffer in zoos

Sunday, October 28, 2007

The Birmingham Zoo’s plan to create a new, $15 million exhibit to house six to eight male elephants ignores the elephant in the room: the fact that landlocked urban zoos cannot provide Earth’s largest land mammals with the space and natural conditions they need to thrive.

The zoo’s proposed 14-acre Trails of Africa exhibit may sound good on paper, but even if elephants were allowed to roam the entire acreage (an unlikely prospect given the inability of zoos to house male elephants together due to aggression issues and the space that will be taken up by indoor housing and visitor amenities), it would still be inadequate for six to eight pachyderms.

Elephants evolved to walk tens of miles daily. Their feet were meant to dig, climb, swim, run and even stand, but all on natural dirt, sand, grass, forest and savanna floor, which maintain foot and joint health.

Zoo conditions prevent elephants from exercising, forcing them to stand, virtually in one place, for decades on unyielding substrates like concrete and compacted earth. These conditions wreak havoc on elephants’ joints and feet. More than 60 percent of all elephants in zoos suffer from foot disease, and nearly half have arthritis. These painful conditions are the leading cause of suffering and premature death of elephants in zoos.

(more…)

Get right with D-O-G!:

These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: In Defense of Animals - takeaction [at] idausa.org
Date: Oct 25, 2007 1:42 AM
Subject: IDA eNews: 10-24-07

Having trouble viewing IDA eNews? View it online.

IDA Action Alerts

World GO VEGAN Days Is This Weekend!
Send an IDA e-Card and win a prize in our contest

Fur Free Friday: Focusing on Furriers
Alert: Tell Land’s End to stop selling rabbit fur

Congress to Consider Ban on Steel-Jawed Leghold Traps
U.S. could join 88 other countries in abolishing cruel contraptions

Campaign News & Updates

Raging Southern California Firestorm Endangers People and Animals
Get tips for keeping your family and your animal companions safe during this and other crises

IDA-Project Hope Adoption Spotlight - Lilah
Friendly and adorable Pit Bull mix will win your heart!

Victory: Cole’s “Owner” Convicted and Fined for Animal Cruelty
Abandoned dog was found chained to mobile home, starving and dehydrated

(more…)

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: In Defense of Animals - takeaction [at] idausa.org
Date: Oct 23, 2007 11:31 AM
Subject: Writing Alert: World GO VEGAN Days

World GO VEGAN Days is an annual event designed to spread information and educate people about the vegan lifestyle, which is a compassionate way of eating and living. Veganism is a healthy choice that shows love and respect for animals, the environment and your own life. As a vehicle to promote veganism each year through outreach events and the media, we hope that World GO VEGAN Days will help make the word “vegan” a household term that is universally recognized as meaning love and compassion for all living beings. World GO VEGAN Days will be observed on October 26, 27, and 28 2007.

“World GO VEGAN Days” is also about celebrating what it means to be vegan. Veganism enables people to live in balance with all of Earth’s creatures and promote freedom for animals from exploitation as part of their everyday lives. Modern animal agriculture is cruel and violent toward the chickens, cows, pigs and other creatures used to make meat, milk and eggs. During World GO VEGAN Days, we encourage people to become conscious of what - and who - they are eating, the effect it has on the world, and that a non-violent alternative exists.

(more…)

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: In Defense of Animals - takeaction [at] idausa.org
Date: Oct 17, 2007 10:31 PM
Subject: IDA eNews: 10-17-07

IDA Action Alerts

Send Elephants Tina and Jewel to a Sanctuary
Former circus performers still living in squalid Texas pen

Canadian Cormorants Face Slaughter
Urge wildlife officials not to cull native colonial water bird

Killer Party: Host’s Cat Bludgeoned, then Burned to Death
Urge maximum prosecution under the law for the accused

Campaign News & Updates

Help Air IDA’s “Veganism: The Power of Compassion” Ad on TV
Expose factory farming during World GO VEGAN Days, Oct. 26 - 28

Puerto Rico Animal Control Workers Accused of Throwing Dogs and Cats from Bridge
Take Action to urge officials to identify and prosecute those responsible and initiate animal policy reforms

Halloween Horror: On Humankind’s Monstrous Cruelty to Animals
Harrowing holiday provides unique opportunities for reflection, advocacy, and tasty vegan treats

(more…)