Caution: Major spoilers ahead.

While The Men Who Stare at Goats is by no means an animal rights or overtly anti-vivisection movie, it does (happily!) have a few animal-friendly moments.

Based on a 2004 book of the same name by journalist Jon Ronson, the film is a dramatized account of Ronson’s investigation into “psychic” warfare experiments conducted by the U.S. military in the ’70s and ’80s. Ostensibly a story for the skeptic set (indeed, that’s why the husband and I saw it in the theater), the film also at turns sentimentalizes the “free love,” hippie sensibilities and mysticism of the ’60s and ’70s. (Indeed, it concludes on a disappointingly “anything is possible if you believe” note.)

Anyhow, along with all the “flower power” comes not a little tree- and animal-hugging. Goat-hugging, to be more specific: because the army’s more “practical” experiments involve trauma training carried out on live animals, the medical school’s in-house goats also play a role in the aforementioned psychic experimentation – the purposes of which isn’t nearly as sadistic as the trailers let on.

Lest I get ahead of myself, here’s a brief synopsis, via Wiki:

The film follows Ann Arbor Daily Telegram reporter Bob Wilton (Ewan McGregor), who one day interviews Gus Lacey, a man who claims to have psychic abilities. Bob shrugs Lacey off as crazy. Soon after, Bob’s wife leaves him for his one-armed editor. Bob, out of anger, flies to Kuwait to investigate the Iraq War. However, he stumbles onto the story of a lifetime when he meets Special Forces operator, Lyn Cassady (George Clooney). Lyn reveals that he was part of an American army unit training psychic spies (or “Jedi Warriors”), trained to develop a range of parapsychological skills including invisibility, remote viewing, cloud bursting, walking through walls, and intuition.

The founder of this unit, Bill Django (Jeff Bridges), traveled across America in the 1970s for six years exploring a range of New Age movements (including the Human potential movement), because of a vision he received after getting shot during the Vietnam War, and used these experiences to found the New Earth Army. In the 1980s, two of Django’s best recruits were Lyn Cassady and Larry Hooper (Kevin Spacey), who developed a lifelong rivalry because of their opposing views of how to implement the New Earth Army philosophy; Lyn wanted to emphasize the positive side of the teachings, whereas Larry was more interested in the dark side of the philosophy.

In the early 2000s Bob and Lyn embark on a new mission in Iraq, where they are kidnapped by a criminal gang. They escape with fellow kidnapping victim Mahmud Daash (Waleed Zuaiter) and get rescued by a private security firm led by Todd Nixon (Robert Patrick), but get caught up in a firefight between Todd’s security firm and a rival security firm; this would later be known as the “Battle of Ramadi.” Mahmud, Bob and Lyn escape from the firefight and go to Mahmud’s house, which has been shot up by soldiers. From there Bob and Lyn leave to continue on Lyn’s vague mission involving a vision he had of Bill Django.

Here it’s worth noting that Cassady recounts the story of Django and the New Earth Army as his Iraqi adventure with Wilton unfolds in parallel. Both tales begin on a light, humorous note, eventually taking turns for the worse. While the trailers and media interviews done in promotion of the movie tend to emphasize the New Earth Army’s more nefarious projects, Django began the program with the best of intentions: namely, achieving world peace through love and understanding. A laudable goal, to be sure – even if its implementation proved somewhat ridiculous.

However, Hooper eventually betrays Django, assuming control of the New Earth Army in order to corrupt it. (Think of Django as Obi-Wan Kenobi to Cassady’s Luke Sywalker and Hooper’s Darth Vader.) The peace, love and understanding of Django’s ’60s and ’70s give way to the greed, militarization and subjugation of – what? The Reagen ’80s? The Clinton ’90s? The Bush ’00s? All of the above? Take your pick! (The Men Who Stare at Goats is, if not anti-war, at least anti-torture.)

Point being, the original recruits to the New Earthy Army enlisted in order to make love – not war. Whereas the The Men Who Stare at Goats advertising blitz paints the New Earth Army soldiers as hyper-masculine parodies of military men, bent on defeating – nay, annihilating! – the enemy through mind control and super-scary bio-psychic combat, the program’s impetus was the polar opposite of this. The operation’s very name – the New Earth Army – is indicative of this “higher calling.”
 

The struggle between the Light and Dark sides is perhaps most eloquently played out on the body of a goat. After Django’s departure from the military, Hooper is placed in command of the New Earth Army. Under Hooper’s orders, Cassady reluctantly “stares” one of the goats from the trauma lab “to death” – supposedly, he makes her heart explode with his mind. (Groovy, man!) In retelling his story to Wilton, Cassady points to the goat’s needless death as the moment the New Earth Army fell to the Dark Side. Memories of “murdering” the goat evoke feelings of shame and guilt in Cassady. The goat didn’t need to die; she was an innocent. In killing her, Cassady abused his power and violated the tenants of the New Earth Army.

I filed this post under “Intersections” because of the linkages drawn here: the goat’s murder sets off a chain reaction that leads to the abuse, oppression and torture of countless “others” – many of them human. Violence begets violence.

This is only one of two goat-hugging scenes, however. As you were, Wiki:

After their car hits an IED, Bob and Lyn wander in the desert where Lyn reveals a terrible secret to Bob: Lyn was asked to stop a goat’s heart to test the limit of his mental abilities. Lyn had decided against it, but was compelled to try to accomplish the feat and stared at the goat intently. Lyn managed to stop the goat’s heart, but felt that what he did was inhumane and against the entire purpose of the New Earth Army. Lyn left the Army, believing that he and the other New Earth soldiers were cursed and his powers were gone because of that fateful episode. After spending a few days in the desert, Bob and Lyn get rescued and rehabilitated at a camp run by PSIC, a private research firm engaged in psychological and psychic experiments on a herd of goats and some captured locals. To Lyn’s dismay, Larry Hooper runs the firm and employs a now depressed and alcoholic Django.

Bob spends time with Django and learns the ways of the New Earth Army and together they spike the water and food of the base with LSD and free both the goats and captured locals. Following this, Lyn and Django fly off in a Bell JetRanger helicopter, but not before trusting Bob with the duty of making sure his story reaches the public. Bob reveals that neither Lyn nor Django were ever heard from again, believed to have crashed their helicopter.

The audience realizes that Hooper has graduated to human test subjects when Wilton stumbles upon back rooms filled with imprisoned Middle Eastern men. (Unlike the Wiki reviewer, I read them as suspected “terrorists” whose torture was sanctioned by the U.S. military, as opposed to kidnapped locals. Not this this is any better, mind you.) Inside the tiny, barren cells, the men are exposed to a seemingly never-ending loop of violent audiovisual imagery; the experiments appear to involve sleep deprivation and/or sensory over-stimulation of some sort. (Similar to the brainwashing/torture Benjamin Linus visited upon his daughter’s boyfriend Karl in Lost; see Season 3, Episode 7 – Not in Portland. February, you cannot get here soon enough!)

Naturally, both Wilton and Cassady are horrified at this turn of events, not to mention Django’s cooptation by the enemy. High on LSD, they free Hooper’s prisoners – humans and nonhumans alike. While this scene is a bit melodramatic, I couldn’t help but get a little choked up at the liberation of the goats. Sure, the goats were perhaps an afterthought – but at least they were, in the end, deserving of moral consideration.

Before closing this review out, I should add that the animal labs are one aspect of the story that isn’t made up. The U.S. military has a long history of vivisecting nonhuman animals; they still do so, in fact.

As much as I hate linking to PETA:

Every year, the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) conducts trauma and chemical-casualty training exercises in which animals are used as “stand-ins” for wounded soldiers. Medical officers at military installations across the nation critically injure thousands of live animals before killing them. In trauma training exercises, live pigs are shot, stabbed, and set on fire and live goats have their legs broken with bolt cutters and cut off with shears. During chemical-casualty training exercises, live monkeys are poisoned with harmful chemicals. These animals are also often forced to suffer through hellish conditions as they are transported to facilities for this training.

The DoD is putting soldiers’ lives at risk by using animals in these experiments. The anatomies and physiologies of pigs, goats, and monkeys are drastically different than those of humans; therefore, these animals will respond differently to treatments than humans would.

There are numerous non-animal training methods available, including rotations in civilian trauma centers; the Combat Trauma Patient Simulation system (CTPS); the Simulab Corporation’s TraumaMan system; and Dr. Emad Aboud’s “living” cadaver model, which Dr. Aboud has personally demonstrated for the Army.

Neither the Air Force Expeditionary Medical Skills Institute’s Center for Sustainment of Trauma and Readiness Skills nor the Navy Trauma Training Center use animals for trauma training—more proof that it is not necessary to use animals in order to teach these treatment skills.

While pigs seem to be the most common victims today, they’re merely the “new goats”; in this vein, then, The Men Who Stare at Goats is spot-on. When we’re first introduced to the goats, a soldier from the animals lab says ruefully, “We used to use dogs, but you try shooting a dog while he’s licking your hand.” Cut to crazy adorable footage of an oversized puppy giving doggy kisses to a manly man soldier wielding a comically large (in comparison to the pup) gun, his eyes welling with tears. The audience is meant to laugh, but the fact remains: pigs are as intelligent as dogs (if not more so), and are quite dog-like in their behavior (as anyone who’s been following the happy tails of Izzy and Morty knows). Besides, be she dog, pig, goat, cow, chicken or girl, all animals are alike in every way that matters: all share the ability to think, feel, bond, relate – and suffer. Trauma training on a pig is no better and no worse than that on a goat, puppy or person.

For more on the military’s use and abuse on nonhuman animals – including opportunities to take action – see:

PCRM: Improving Military Medicine, including Be Part of Citizen Lobbyist Week: Jan. 11-15, 2010

PETA: Trauma Training 101, including this action alert: Tell Congress to End Military Trauma Training on Animals

Kinship Circle: Stop The Military’s War On Innocents and STOP THE U.S. MILITARY FROM USING LIVE ANIMALS

The Petition Site: Ban Military Trauma Exercises on Animals

HSUS: Live Pigs Shot for Military Trauma Exercise and Questions and Answers About Medical Training Using Animals

Finally – and just because, as y’all no doubt are already aware, I have a raging hard-on for everything The Colbert Report – here are a few segments Stephen did on the (fluffyfunpsychic) goat labs back in September.

—————-

Videos in this post

‘Men Who Stare at Goats’ Trailer HD
The story of a secret unit within the US Army called the First Earth Battalion, whose paranormal military ideas mutated over the decades to influence interrogation techniques at Guantanamo Bay.

The Colbert Report, Thursday, September 17, 2009 – Goat Lab
Stephen resurrects the U.S. military technique of staring at a goat to make its heart explode. (03:35)

The Colbert Report, Thursday, September 17, 2009 – Goat Lab – Jon Ronson
Jon Ronson explains why the U.S. military trained soldiers to use sparkly eyes on the enemy and kill goats with their minds. (04:24)

—————-

Tagged: animals animal rights animal welfare action alerts vivisection animal experimentation animal labs animal research animal testing trauma labs goats pigs dogs monkeys dod the men who stare at goats george clooney trailer video the colbert report stephen colbert comedy central the military the army peta hsus kinship circle jon ronson flower power the ’60s mind control psychic warfare review pop culture movies

KINSHIP CIRCLE PRIMARY / PERMISSION TO CROSSPOST

VICTORIES * SETBACKS * PROGRESS

PART 1: APRIL – JUNE 2009 / KINSHIP CIRCLE UPDATES

1. Pig Abusers At Hormel Supplier Get 1-2 Year Probation
2. Bureaucrats Reach No Decision On Whaling
3. Lax Officials Knew Travis The Chimp Might Attack
4. Kitten Killer’s Accomplice Is Now Charged Too
5. Pet Food Poisoners Plead Guilty And Face Jail Time
6. Foie Gras Producer On Trial For Cruelty
7. Atlanta Falcons Bid Michael Vick A Permanent Farewell
8. “Change” Doesn’t Look Much Different Under Obama
9. California Spay/Neuter Law Passes Senate, Moves To Assembly
10. Groups Sue Salazar In Effort To Save Delisted Wolves
11. Way To Go SAEN! Research Industry Meltdown
12. Cheyenne Frontier Rodeo Bans Video Instead Of Abuse
13. California Bullfight Busts Continue; Humane Officer Assaulted
14. Repression Of Austrian Animal Activists Worsens

PART 2: KC UPDATES / APRIL – JUNE 2009
RESEND PART #2 TO ME: info [at] kinshipcircle.org

15. HSUS And Michael Vick Team Up To Fight Dogfighting?
16. Armed To Kill In National Parks: Guns Allowed
17. Maine Is 6th State To Ban Cruel Confinement Crates
18. NC Pro-Gas Chamber Bill Gets A “No” Vote
19. USDA Cites New Iberia Primate Lab For Violations
20. U.S. Senate Passes Resolution Against Canada Sealing
21. Canadian Sealers Lose Biggest Customer — EUROPE!
22. EU Votes To Let Most Primate Research Continue
23. Karley’s Sociopath Killer Ordered To Stand Trial
24. Horse Slaughterhouses Now Legal In Montana
25. Michigan Pound Gives R&R Research The Boot
26. Big Surprise: Swine Flu, Born On U.S. Factory Farms
27. Los Angeles DA Drops Charges Against Dog Dragger
28. Obama Accepts Breeder Dog As Gift For Daughters

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

1. Pig Abusers At Hormel Supplier Get 1-2 Year Probation

SOURCE: 4 in Iowa sentenced to probation for abusing pigs

www.agweek.com/articles/?id=4733&article_id=14500&property_id=41

PHOTOS: www.peta.org/actioncenter/iowa_pigfarm_gallery.asp

6/26/09, SUMMARY: Four employees at a western Iowa farm (owned by MowMar Farms LLP of Fairmont, MN and a supplier to Hormel Foods) were sentenced to probation for pig abuse. The abuse — exposed by a PETA investigator working there undercover — was shown in a graphic video last year.

- Richard Ralston, 28: One count livestock abuse: Two years probation.
- Alan Rettig, 60: One count livestock abuse: Two years probation.
- Greg Hackler: One count livestock abuse: One year probation.
- Jordan Anderson, 26: One count aiding/abetting livestock abuse: Two years probation with deferred judgment (if probation completed, record is erased).
All men but Anderson banned from working with livestock during probation.
**While the penalties seem lame, they’re progress. Charges and litigation rarely even occur in farmed animal abuse cases.

KINSHIP CIRCLE REFERENCES:

2/9/09 JAN-MAR UPDATES: Iowa Pig Abuse Case Is Delayed

www.kinshipcircle.org/updates/updates_jan-march_2009.html#anchor21

10/26/08: Penalize Pig Torturers At Iowa Farm

www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new.asp?LetterID=1770&seriesfirst=true

9/17/08: Hormel’s Pigs: Slammed, Cut, Spray-painted

www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new.asp?LetterID=1759&seriesfirst=true

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

2. Bureaucrats Reach No Decision On Whaling

SOURCE: No Solution Found at Whaling Forum

english.ntdtv.com/ntdtv_en/ns_europe/2009-06-26/335356219048.html

6/26/09, SUMMARY: The International Whaling Commission (IWC) annual meeting closed — with no agreement between pro or anti-whaling nations… The UK is willing to negotiate a compromise deal such as coastal whaling permits [as is the U.S. See action campaign below]… Meanwhile, conservation groups urged the three pro-whaling nations of Japan, Norway and Iceland to start helping to save whales rather than hunting for commercial use.

URGE U.S. TO PLAY STRONGER ROLE IN PROTECTING WHALES:

3/29/09: Demand Whale Conservation Over Killing

www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new.asp?LetterID=1817&seriesfirst=true

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

3. Lax Officials Knew Travis The Chimp Might Attack

SOURCE: Officials were warned about attack chimp

www.nhregister.com/articles/2009/06/20/news/doc4a3d11fa20f03070715027.txt

LT: Chimps like this little guy are wild animals who naturally mature with aggressive tendencies.

RT: Travis was knifed, beaten, shot and killed after attacking a visitor at the home where he lived as a “pet.” MyFOX NY

6/20/09, SUMMARY: Records obtained by The Associated Press show Connecticut officials failed to take action after being repeatedly warned about the dangers posed by a 200-pound chimpanzee named Travis who later mauled and blinded Charla Nash of Stamford, ripping off her hands, nose, lips and eyelids… The state’s inaction could affect a lawsuit seeking $50 million in damages, filed by the victim’s family against chimp owner Sandra Herold.

KINSHIP CIRCLE REFERENCES:

2/24/09: Breaking News – House Passes Primate “Pet” Bill

www.kinshipcircle.org/updates/updates_jan-march_2009.html#anchor15

2/23/09: Wired To Be Wild – Primates Aren’t Pets

www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new.asp?LetterID=1802&seriesfirst=true

BLOG: Travis once worked in show biz, commercials mostly…

kinshipcircle.wordpress.com/2009/02/23/wired-to-be-wild/

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

4. Kitten Killer’s Accomplice Is Now Charged Too

SOURCE: Teen accomplice in kitten roasting case charged with felony animal cruelty

www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2009/06/17/2009-06-17_teen_accomplice.html

KINSHIP CIRCLE: Your letters, faxes, emails…asked that Cheyenne Cherry’s accomplice also be charged in this sadistic killing. She now is charged.

6/17/09, SUMMARY: A 14-year-old teen mom who helped burn a live kitten named Tiger Lily — after breaking into ex-pal Valerie Hernandez’s Bronx apartment — has been busted by the ASPCA and charged with burglary and felony animal cruelty. [The accomplice, name not released] told investigators she helped Cheyenne Cherry, 17, trash the apartment last month and then toss Tiger Lily into an oven. “She admitted the oven was set to 500 degrees,” said ASPCA Assistant Director Joseph Pentangelo… The 14-year-old, who has a 4-month-old baby girl, is currently serving time for an unrelated crime in a juvenile detention center in the Bronx. She was removed from the Bronx facility, slapped with [new] charges, and returned…

ASK PROSECUTORS FOR MAXIMUM PENALTIES:

6/11/09: A Kitten’s Last Screams From An Oven

www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new.asp?LetterID=1837&seriesfirst=true

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

5. Pet Food Poisoners Plead Guilty And Face Jail Time

SOURCE: Business Owners Plead Guilty…Tainted Ingredient Used In Pet Food

www.usdoj.gov/usao/mow/news2009/miller.ple.htm

6/16/09, SUMMARY: Matt J. Whitworth, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that Sally Qing Miller, 43, a Chinese national, and her husband, Stephen S. Miller, 56 (both of Las Vegas, Nev.) and their company, Chemnutra, Inc., pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge John Maughmer to distributing a tainted ingredient used in pet food. [Their action led to] a nationwide recall of pet food in 2007… FDA consumer reports suggest that approximately 1,950 cats and 2,200 dogs died.

Under federal statutes, the Millers are each subject to a sentence of up to two years in federal prison without parole, plus a fine up to $200,000 and an order of restitution. Chemnutra is subject to a fine up to $400,000 and an order of restitution…

KINSHIP CIRCLE REFERENCES

2/9/08 JAN-MAR UPDATES: Companies Prosecuted In Poisoned Pet Food Recall

www.kinshipcircle.org/updates/updates_jan-mar_2008.html#anchor15

APR-JUN 2007 UPDATES: $45 Million Damage For Menu Foods

www.kinshipcircle.org/updates/updates_april-june_2007.html#anchor7

5/8/07: Our Companions Count – FDA Must Monitor Food

www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter.asp?LetterID=1646&seriesfirst=true

4/25/07: Pet Food Saga Hall Of Shame

www.kinshipcircle.org/updates/updates_04_25_07.html

4/14/07: PET FOOD RECALL – News, Updates, Action

www.kinshipcircle.org/updates/updates_04_14_07.html

4/2/07: TOXIC FOOD – Updates & Action Against Menu Foods

www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter.asp?LetterID=1638&seriesfirst=true

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

6. Foie Gras Producer On Trial For Cruelty

SOURCE: Cruel foie gras producer going on trial!

www.banfoiegras.org/page.php?module=home

Ducks become so ill from forced feedings, they cannot lift their heads.
Farm Sanctuary, www.farmsanctuary.org

6/16/09, SUMMARY: On 6/16/09 a trial begins in Chicago against Sonoma Foie Gras owner Guillermo Gonzalez, who claimed to media that he thought animal cruelty footage taken on his farm was “staged.” Bryan Pease, APRL Board Chair and pro bono attorney, writes: Gonzalez has admitted in his deposition that his workers force feed ducks to enlarge their livers up to 12 times their normal size. Cal. Health & Safety Code section 25980, passed after an earlier lawsuit filed against Sonoma Foie Gras by APRL and IDA, makes foie gras production and sale illegal in California, effective in three years…

KINSHIP CIRCLE REFERENCES:

5/14/08 APR-JUN UPDATES: Chicago Overturns Foie Gras Ban

www.kinshipcircle.org/updates/updates_apr-jun_2008.html#anchor12

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

7. Atlanta Falcons Bid Michael Vick A Permanent Farewell

SOURCE: Falcons release Vick, wish him well elsewhere

msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/9672374/Falcons-release-Vick,-wish-him-well-elsewhere

6/13/09, SUMMARY: Less than five years after the Atlanta Falcons signed Michael Vick to a $130 million contract, the suspended quarterback was released in a 98-word statement… Vick is eligible to immediately sign with a team even though he has not been reinstated by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell… Goodell has said he will sit down with Vick after the quarterback completes his 23-month sentence on July 20 for running a dogfighting ring.

KINSHIP CIRCLE REFERENCES:

2/26/09 JAN-MAR UPDATES: Jailed Dogfighter Michael Vick Goes Home In May?

www.kinshipcircle.org/updates/updates_jan-march_2009.html#anchor12

2008 APR-JUNE UPDATES: Vick Dogfight Referee Jailed + Leo Has His Day

www.kinshipcircle.org/updates/updates_apr-jun_2008.html#anchor2

2008 JAN-MAR UPDATES: The Dogs That Vick Hurt

www.kinshipcircle.org/updates/updates_jan-mar_2008.html#anchor26

1/30/08: Vick’s Dogs Speak

www.kinshipcircle.org/disasters/gulfcoast/newsletters/08-01-30.html#3

2007 SEPT-DEC UPDATES: Vick’s Dogs…You Helped Save Their Lives

www.kinshipcircle.org/updates/updates_oct-dec_2007.html

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

8. “Change” Doesn’t Look Much Different Under Obama

SOURCE: Obama Admin Targets Environmental/Animal Rights Activists As Eco-Terrorists

www.opednews.com/articles/Obama-Administration-Targe-by-Stephen-Lendman-090605-93.html

6/5/09, SUMMARY: [This long op-ed is worth a read. Click link above.] What began under George Bush continues under Barack Obama — targeting dedicated activists with “one of today’s most serious domestic terrorism threats,” according former FBI Deputy Assistant Director of Counterterrorism John Lewis before a Senate panel in May 2005. Called “eco-terrorism,” it grew out of the 2001 USA Patriot Act that created the federal crime of “domestic terrorism” and applied it to US citizens as well as aliens. As a result, innocent people are targeted, accused, convicted and sentenced to hard time for constitutionally protected non-violent environmental activism or supporting animal rights…

WHEN WILL FEDS GO AFTER THE REAL BAD GUYS?

www.kinshipcircle.org/fact_sheets/RinglingBrosTheBigCon.pdf

www.kinshipcircle.org/fact_sheets/MoveAlQuaeda.pdf

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

9. CA Spay/Neuter Law Passes Senate, Moves To Assembly

SOURCE: WE WON! SB 250 has PASSED the SENATE!
Judie Mancuso, President, Social Compassion In Legislation (SCIL)
www.SocialCompassionInLegislation.org * www.YESonSB250.com

6/2/09, SUMMARY: THANK YOU EVERYBODY! Your calls and faxes literally shut down Sacramento Senate offices, which reported that SUPPORT calls/faxes outnumbered opposition by a ratio of 20 to 1! This was the deciding factor for many Senators. Senator Florez has personally requested that I express to you his appreciation and gratitude for taking the time to make such a huge, positive statement in the Senate. SB 250 now moves to the Assembly. We will update you as needed. Please kiss all your dogs and cats, and tell them today is a big day for pets in California!

KINSHIP CIRCLE REFERENCES:

6/25/09: FRIENDS OF KC – Vote For Historic Spay/Neuter Bill Is 6/30. Act Now.

friendsofkinshipcircle.wordpress.com

4/8/09: FRIENDS OF KC – California: Spay/Neuter Bill Needs Your Voice Now

friendsofkinshipcircle.wordpress.com/2009/04/08/california-spayneuter-bill-needs-your-voice-now/

6/11/07: The Woman Behind The Mandatory Spay/Neuter Bill

www.kinshipcircle.org/disasters/gulfcoast/newsletters/07-06-10.html#17

6/6/07, APR-JUN UPDATES: Healthy Pets Act Passes State Assembly

www.kinshipcircle.org/updates/updates_april-june_2007.html#anchor6

4/24/07: KC DIGEST – Make Model Mandatory Spay/Neuter Law Reality

www.kinshipcircle.org/digest/2007_04.html#anchor1

4/12/07: Support Landmark CA Law For Mandatory Spay/Neuter

www.kinshipcircle.org/disasters/gulfcoast/newsletters/07-04-14.html#7

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

10. Groups Sue Salazar In Effort To Save Delisted Wolves

SOURCE: Conservationists file suit to reinstate wolf protections

www.mtexpress.com/index2.php?ID=2005126352

6/2/09, SUMMARY: [A coalition of 13 conservation groups**] filed suit against the federal government to reverse removed Endangered Species Act protections for gray wolves in the northern Rocky Mountains. The 13 groups charge that U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar failed to fully consider scientific and legal inadequacies underlying the delisting rule — released in the waning days of the Bush administration — before adopting it on 4/2/09. The groups claim the rule will let more than two-thirds of the region’s wolves be killed before U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service would even consider stepping back in to restore protections.

**Earthjustice represents Defenders of Wildlife, Natural Resources Defense Council, Sierra Club, Center for Biological Diversity, Humane Society of the U.S., Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance, Friends of the Clearwater, Alliance for Wild Rockies, Oregon Wild, Cascadia Wildlands, Western Watersheds Project, Wildlands Project, Hells Canyon Preservation Council.

KINSHIP CIRCLE REFERENCES:

3/6/09 JAN-MAR UPDATES: Wolves Lose: Sec. Salazar Takes Away Protection

www.kinshipcircle.org/updates/updates_jan-march_2009.html#anchor8

1/22/09: Obama’s Freeze May Give Gray Wolves Reprieve

kinshipcircle.wordpress.com/2009/01/23/help-abolish-lethal-wildlife-services-during-obamas-freeze/

11/25/08: Save Gray Wolves From Bush Admin’s Kill Plan
www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new.asp?LetterID=1779& seriesfirst=true

NOV 2008 KC DIGEST: Animals Would Like President-Elect Barack Obama To Know…

www.kinshipcircle.org/digest/2008_12.html#anchor4

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

11. Way To Go SAEN! Research Industry Meltdown

SOURCE: News Release: Research industry next to meltdown, charges watchdog
Michael A. Budkie, SAEN: 513-575-5517; 513-703-9865, saen [at] saenonline.org

6/1/09, SUMMARY: The next industry meltdown may be in the nation’s research laboratories, an independent research watchdog said after it filed a wide-ranging complaint against 26 laboratories — including those at Harvard, MIT, John Hopkins and the University of California — for fraud.

The complaint filed with the Secretary of Agriculture urges an immediate probe of 50 U.S. researchers for filing fraudulent documents and for performing virtually identical experimentation in violation of federal regulations. SAEN, a nonprofit group based in Ohio, filed the complaint following an exhaustive study of 57 taxpayer-funded research grants valued at more than $110 million over a five year period. The study concluded these projects have a redundancy index of 5.4 out of a possible 6 when compared to each other… Copies of the complaint…are available upon request.

FIGHT WITH THE FACTS. DOWNLOAD THIS:

www.kinshipcircle.org/fact_sheets/VivisectiLessonFutilityPH.pdf

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

12. Cheyenne Frontier Rodeo Bans Video Instead Of Abuse

SOURCE: Cheyenne Bans Video Cameras & Cell Phones at Rodeo
www.sharkonline.org/?P=0000000454 * contactshark [at] gmail.com

Examples of “entertainment” at the Cheyenne Frontier Days.

www.sharkonline.org/?P=0000000454

6/09, SUMMARY: After four years of [documented] abuse, the Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo committee decided that it would be easier to ban video cameras, (including cell phones cameras) than banning animal abuse. “CFD continues to abuse animals by way of Steer Busting and Wild Horse Race events despite a website pledge that CFD, ‘does not tolerate, condone, or permit actions that abuse animals,’” says SHARK president Steve Hindi. “Instead of banning the abuse, the committee has chosen to ban the documentation of the abuse.”

RELATED STORES:

VIDEO: Cruel Cheyenne Rodeo Bans Video Cameras!

Rodeo bucks video at Frontier Days

www.denverpost.com/search/ci_12473750

KINSHIP CIRCLE REFERENCES:

4/29/09: Coke & Rodeo – Official Soft Drink Of Cruelty?

www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new.asp?LetterID=1824&seriesfirst=true

4/12/08 APR-JUN UPDATES: Matchbox Twenty Cancels Performance at CFD Rodeo

www.kinshipcircle.org/updates/updates_apr-jun_2008.html#anchor24

FIGHT BACK WITH FACTS. DOWNLOAD THIS:

www.kinshipcircle.org/fact_sheets/TheMythOfTheCowboy.pdf

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

13. CA Bullfight Busts Continue; Humane Officer Assaulted

SOURCE: Animal rights group continues investigation of Thornton bullfight

www.lodinews.com/articles/2009/06/05/news/3_bullfight_090605.txt

This image, from Ban Blood Sports website shows a bleeding bull gasping for breath near end of a bullfight. Photo: ADDA. www.banbloodsports.com

6/09, SUMMARY: A humane officer for Animal Cruelty Investigations attended bullfights in the Los Angeles community of Artesia on 5/23/09 and in Thornton on 5/29/09… In “bloodless bullfights,” participants try to attach poles tipped with Velcro to a Velcro pad secured to the bull’s back. ACI claims three-inch nails had been inserted in the tips of the poles and beneath the Velcro pad on the bull.

San Joaquin County Sheriff’s spokesman Les Garcia said there is no local investigation because ACI hasn’t provided photographs, film or bullfighting poles with nails to back its allegations. That’s because ACI humane officer, Andrew J. Stewart, will continue to attend bullfights in Calif. counties to collect evidence, ACI attorney David Castleman said. Between fights, when Stewart tried to grab bandoleras, he was put in a chokehold by Darren Nunes, 24, of Los Banos, and almost lost consciousness… Cesar Rocha, 38, of Gustine, and Nunes were arrested on misdemeanor assault…

KINSHIP CIRCLE REFERENCES:

5/29/09: Bullfight Bust Uncovers Cruelty In Los Angeles

www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new.asp?LetterID=1834&seriesfirst=true

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

14. Repression Of Austrian Animal Activists Worsens

SOURCE: Peter Muller, Chair, Equal Justice Alliance
EJA [at] HumaneVoters.Org

5/26/09, SUMMARY: The Austrian Minister of Justice plans to charge 30 more animal activists beyond the 10 who were imprisoned for four months last year. Permitting this outrage in a civilized western nation is likely to encourage similar oppression elsewhere, including the United States. Kinship Circle signed on to a letter to express objections to the Austrian Minister of Justice, President, and Chancellor, adding the comments below:

“The chain of events from last year’s imprisonment of uncharged Austrian activists to the ministry’s current intent to charge them without substantiated evidence — along with 30 more animal activists “guilty” of little more than civil disobedience and seized bits of conversations reviewed out of context — threatens the very notion of constitutional rights within a free society. I am surprised these activities have continued with so little regard for individual liberties. We are troubled by the alleged and ongoing repression of our Austrian animal advocacy colleagues, and hope actions are underway to uphold freedom of speech in Austria.”

YOU CAN TAKE ACTION, HERE:

Tell Austrian Government – Release Animal Rights Activists

secure2.convio.net/ida/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=1285

KINSHIP CIRCLE REFERENCES:

6/11/08: Austria – Animal Activists Unlawfully Jailed

www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new.asp?LetterID=1745&seriesfirst=true

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

Help Fund Our Investigative Research & Literature

* DONATE SECURELY ONLINE: www.kinshipcircle.org/donation

* DONATE BY CHECK OR MONEY ORDER:
Kinship Circle / 7380 Kingsbury Blvd. / St. Louis, MO 63130

ACTION CAMPAIGNS * EDUCATION * ANIMAL DISASTER AID NETWORK
www.KinshipCircle.org * www.kinshipcircle.org/disasters

UNSUBSCRIBE:
* Select a Kinship Circle ALERT received in your mailbox
* Hit “FORWARD”
* Enter info [at] kinshipcircle.org
* Type UNSUBSCRIBE in your subject line and hit send

Subscribe Now – For Breaking News & Action:
Kinship Circle Primary: subscribe [at] kinshipcircle.org
Action campaigns on animal cruelty issues worldwide
Kinship Circle Animal Disaster Aid Network: disasteraid [at] kinshipcircle.org
Animal rescue coordination/news in disasters + companion animal alerts

*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.

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Kinship Circle
Date: Mon, Jun 29, 2009 at 10:59 PM
Subject: Part 2/ UPDATES: APR – JUN 2009

KINSHIP CIRCLE PRIMARY / PERMISSION TO CROSSPOST

VICTORIES * SETBACKS * PROGRESS

PART 2: APRIL – JUNE 2009 / KINSHIP CIRCLE UPDATES

15. HSUS And Michael Vick Team Up To Fight Dogfighting?
16. Armed To Kill In National Parks: Guns Allowed
17. Maine Is 6th State To Ban Cruel Confinement Crates
18. NC Pro-Gas Chamber Bill Gets A “No” Vote
19. USDA Cites New Iberia Primate Lab For Violations
20. U.S. Senate Passes Resolution Against Canada Sealing
21. Canadian Sealers Lose Biggest Customer — EUROPE!
22. EU Votes To Let Most Primate Research Continue
23. Karley’s Sociopath Killer Ordered To Stand Trial
24. Horse Slaughterhouses Now Legal In Montana
25. Michigan Pound Gives R&R Research The Boot
26. Big Surprise: Swine Flu, Born On U.S. Factory Farms
27. Los Angeles DA Drops Charges Against Dog Dragger
28. Obama Accepts Breeder Dog As Gift For Daughters

PART 1: KC UPDATES / APRIL – JUNE 2009
RESEND PART #1 TO ME: info [at] kinshipcircle.org

1. Pig Abusers At Hormel Supplier Get 1-2 Year Probation
2. Bureaucrats Reach No Decision On Whaling
3. Lax Officials Knew Travis The Chimp Might Attack
4. Kitten Killer’s Accomplice Is Now Charged Too
5. Pet Food Poisoners Plead Guilty And Face Jail Time
6. Foie Gras Producer On Trial For Cruelty
7. Atlanta Falcons Bid Michael Vick A Permanent Farewell
8. “Change” Doesn’t Look Much Different Under Obama
9. California Spay/Neuter Law Passes Senate, Moves To Assembly
10. Groups Sue Salazar In Effort To Save Delisted Wolves
11. Way To Go SAEN! Research Industry Meltdown
12. Cheyenne Frontier Rodeo Bans Video Instead Of Abuse
13. California Bullfight Busts Continue; Humane Officer Assaulted
14. Repression Of Austrian Animal Activists Worsens

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

15. HSUS And Michael Vick Team Up To Fight Dogfighting?

SOURCE: 5/21/09, Humane Society Sees Vick as an Ally, Not a Pariah

www.nytimes.com/2009/05/22/sports/football/22rhoden.html?_r=1

LT to RT: Vick, sentenced to 23 months in prison, Jason Hirschfeld/Associated Press.
Purnell Peace conspired with Vick, Phillips and Tony Taylor to kill dogs, Helber/AP.
Quanis Phillips, like Vick and Peace, “thought it was funny” to place family pets in the ring with trained fighting dogs, Helber/AP.
Former Vick fighting dog Leo now acts as a therapy dog, comforting cancer patients, MSNBC.com. www.examiner.com

5/21/09, SUMMARY: Wayne Pacelle, chief executive of the Humane Society of the United States…recently broke ranks with much of the animal rights community and forged a partnership with Michael Vick…to eradicate dogfighting among youths… The Humane Society’s position has nothing to do with endorsing Vick’s return to football but rather with finding a way to use his visibility to fight the scourge of dogfighting, which Pacelle said is gaining popularity with African-American and Hispanic teenagers in urban areas (where [HSUS] has begun anti-dogfighting initiatives)…

FIGHT BACK WITH FACTS. DOWNLOAD THIS:

www.kinshipcircle.org/fact_sheets/fatalfights.pdf

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

16. Armed To Kill In National Parks: Guns Now Allowed

SOURCE: Heading to a National Park? Now You Can Pack Heat

www.truthout.org/052209T

5/20/09, SUMMARY: Here’s a list of stuff the typical American family can legally carry into national parks this summer: sleeping bag, toothbrush, loaded guns. Thanks to a 279-147 vote in the House of Representatives, visitors to the nation’s parks and wildlife refuges will be able to carry weapons… Scot McElveen, the president of the Association of National Park Rangers, predicted that “park wildlife, including some rare or endangered species, will face increased threats by visitors with firearms who engage in impulse or opportunistic shooting.”

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

17. Maine Is 6th State To Ban Cruel Confinement Crates

SOURCE: Another State Bans Gestation Crates and Veal Crates

action.farmsanctuary.org/site/MessageViewer?em_id=10661.0&printer_friendly=1

5/15/09, SUMMARY: Maine’s governor signed into law a bill that protects farm animals by banning veal crates and gestation crates! Maine is the 6th state in the nation to prohibit certain extreme-confinement systems. Last fall, California voters overwhelmingly passed Proposition 2, a ballot initiative that eliminates veal crates, sow gestation crates, and battery cages for egg-laying hens. Similar anti-confinement initiatives have passed in Florida, Arizona, Oregon and Colorado. Similar legislation has been introduced in New York, Illinois, Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

FACT SHEETS FOR YOU TO DOWNLOAD:

www.kinshipcircle.org/fact_sheets/FactsAboutThePorkIndust.pdf

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

18. NC Pro-Gas Chamber Bill Gets A “No” Vote

SOURCE: NC House Judiciary Committee Votes No to Pro-Gas Chamber Bill

www.animallawcoalition.com/gas-chambers/article/692

5/13/09, SUMMARY: The Judiciary II Committee in the North Carolina House has said no to a pro-gas chamber bill. By a vote of 7-5, the committee killed the bill. It is now dead for this session. This is thanks to your faxes, emails and calls. For more on this bill, H.B. 27, read Animal Law Coalition’s report (at link above, under SOURCE).

KINSHIP CIRCLE REFERENCES:

7/23/08, JULY 2008 DIGEST: NC Gas Chambers: Explosion With 10 Dogs Inside

www.kinshipcircle.org/digest/2008_07.html#anchor2

NOV 2007 DIGEST: Stop Gassing Of Pets In Yadkin County, NC Gas Chamber

www.kinshipcircle.org/digest/2007_11.html#anchor2

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

19. USDA Cites New Iberia Primate Lab For Violations

SOURCE: USDA Inspects New Iberia Research Ctr – Inspectors Cite Multiple Issues: www.aphis.usda.gov/newsroom/content/2009/05/newiberia.shtml

USDA REPORT on New Iberia Research Center

www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_welfare/efoia/downloads/inspection/72-r-0007.pdf

5/11/09, SUMMARY: USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service conducted an inspection at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette’s New Iberia Research Center [largest primate lab in U.S.] on 3/17/09, in response to a complaint filed by the Humane Society of the U.S. The inspection revealed issues with the facility’s compliance with the Animal Welfare Act. USDA will take action to ensure these issues are corrected… Inspectors cited the facility for its handling of animals as well as its environment enhancement of nonhuman primates… The inspectors also found problems with New Iberia’s Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC)…

HAVEN’T TAKEN ACTION? DO IT NOW!

3/20/09: Get Great Apes Out Of Laboratories

www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new.asp?LetterID=1815&seriesfirst=true

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

20. U.S. Senate Passes Resolution Against Canada Sealing

SOURCE: Senate passes Levin-Collins resolution urging end to Canadian seal hunt

www.opencongress.org/bill/111-sr84/show

5/7/09, SUMMARY: Current 111 Session of Congress — S.Res.84 urges the Canadian government to prohibit commercial hunting of seals. Expresses support for an unconditional prohibition by European Union on trade in seal products. Passed by Unanimous Consent in Senate on 5/7/09. Resolution agreed to in Senate without amendment and with a preamble by Unanimous Consent.

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

21. Canadian Sealers Lose Biggest Customer — EUROPE!

SOURCE: EU seal ban a ‘black day for Atlantic Canada’ Industry

www.canada.com/news/Parliament+votes+seal+imports/1564814/story.html

5/5/09 SUMMARY: The European Parliament votes overwhelmingly to ban seal items from import/export across the European Union’s 27 nations. It’s a positive leap for the seals who Kinship Circle — along with many other animal groups — have labored to save through action campaigns and education.

HAVEN’T TAKEN ACTION? DO IT NOW!

4/25/09: Don’t Stain 2010 Olympics With The Blood Of Seals

www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new.asp?LetterID=1822&seriesfirst=true

3/7/09: Canada Seal Bill Dropped, No Debate. Demand End To Killing.

www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new.asp?LetterID=1811&seriesfirst=true

SPREAD THE TRUTH. DOWNLOAD THIS FACT SHEET:

www.kinshipcircle.org/fact_sheets/BloodPrintOnIce.pdf

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

22. EU Votes To Let Most Primate Research Continue

SOURCE: EU OKs primate research

www.the-scientist.com/blog/display/55675/

5/5/09, SUMMARY: Research with non-human primates was approved by the European Parliament (540 MEPs in favor, 66 opposed, 34 abstentions). The directive revises draft legislation introduced by the European Commission 11/08 that called for a near-blanket ban on primate testing… The EC legislation does, however, forbid testing on great apes, except to help conserve these species. The report recommends phasing out wild-caught animals in favor of laboratory-bred animals over 10 years, and calls for an overall reduction in primates in research. It also spells out categories of pain, with guidelines about when repeat testing is allowable…

KINSHIP CIRCLE REFERENCES:

11/5/08 OCT-DEC UPDATES: EU Proposal To Ban Great Apes In Experiments

www.kinshipcircle.org/updates/updates_oct-dec_2008.html#anchor19

9/6/07: Urge Primate Testing Ban In Europe

www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter.asp?LetterID=1679&seriesfirst=true

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

23. Karley’s Sociopath Killer Ordered To Stand Trial

SOURCE: Glynn Johnson is being “Held To Answer”

www.zimbio.com/Stop+Animal+Cruelty/articles/108/Glynn+Johnson+being+Held+Answer

5/2/09, SUMMARY: Glynn Demon Johnson, a retired L.A. County assistant fire chief charged in the beating death of his neighbor’s puppy, has been ordered to stand trial. Johnson, 54, is charged with felony animal cruelty and using a deadly weapon during the commission of a felony in connection with the beating of Karley, a 6-month-old German shepherd mix, on 11/3/08.

Johnson claims he was in his house on Armintrout Drive in the Woodcrest community, just south of Riverside, when he spotted Karley running loose through his yard on the day of the alleged attack.

She was picked up by a neighbor, Travis Staggs, who was taking the dog home when Johnson offered to return the animal himself. Staggs handed Karley over and…told sheriff’s investigators that, seemingly without provocation, Johnson turned and struck the dog “with his closed fist, 10-15 times.” Staggs said Johnson tried to pry open the animal’s jaws and then “picked up a rock and began striking Karley in the head,” the affidavit stated…

The vet told sheriff’s investigators that Karley had a shattered skull and appeared to have a broken jaw. At the Tooles’ request, the dog was euthanized. Johnson retired from the fire department soon after the allegations arose. He is free on $10,000 bail.

KINSHIP CIRCLE REFERENCES:

12/16/08 UPDATES / OCT-DEC: L.A. Assistant Fire Chief Charged In Karley’s Killing

kinshipcircle.org/updates/updates_oct-dec_2008.html#anchor6

11/14/08: Puppy Fatally Beaten By Los Angeles Firefighter

kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new.asp?LetterID=1776&seriesfirst=true

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

24. Horse Slaughterhouses Now Legal In Montana

SOURCE: Horse slaughter legalized in Montana

www.poocini.com/report/archives/1687

PHOTOS: www.poocini.com/report/archives/1687 and www.poocini.com/report/archives/1695

5/1/09, SUMMARY: House Bill 418, to allow investor-owned horse slaughterhouses in Montana while limiting opportunities for legal action against them, became law. The measure sponsored by Rep. Ed Butcher, R-Winifred, aims to limit the kind of legal challenges that forced the last U.S. slaughterhouses, in Illinois and Texas, to close in 2007.

Washington, DC, The “Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act” (S. 727) will end the slaughter of American horses on a national level, as well as the export of horses for slaughter across our borders… The bill came at a time when horse slaughter no longer occurred on U.S. soil, but with enactment of Montana’s HB 418, passage of S. 727 through the U.S. Senate is critical…

TAKE ACTION – CLICK ON LINKS FOR SAMPLE LETTER/CONTACT INFO:

Stop Horse Slaughter Blitz At State/Federal Levels

kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new.asp?LetterID=1816&seriesfirst=true

Horse Slaughter Bill Is Back In 111th Congress

kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new.asp?LetterID=1801&seriesfirst=true

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

25. Michigan Pound Gives R&R Research The Boot

SOURCE: Montcalm County citizens win; animals no longer to be sold for research! www.poocini.com/report/archives/1658

4/27/09, SUMMARY: Montcalm County Board of Commissioners’ voted 6-3 not to extend its 30-year relationship with R&R Research. Simply put, pets in Montcalm County, Michigan will no longer be handed over to Class B dealers to be sold for medical research. For everyone who fought for their community alongside citizen groups like the Concerned Citizens Coalition of Montcalm, [and all Kinship Circle members who took action!] — this is your victory.

KINSHIP CIRCLE REFERENCES:

3/29/08 JAN-APR UPDATES: Michigan Pound Renews R & R Research, 6 Months

www.kinshipcircle.org/updates/updates_jan-march_2009.html#anchor24

1/7/09: Misery For Profit At Michigan Pound

www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new.asp?LetterID=1793&seriesfirst=true

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

26. Big Surprise: Swine Flu, Born On U.S. Factory Farms

SOURCE: Swine Flu Ancestor Born on U.S. Factory Farms

www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/05/swineflufarm

5/1/09, SUMMARY: Scientists have traced the genetic lineage of the new H1N1 swine flu to a strain that emerged in 1998 in U.S. factory farms, where it spread and mutated at an alarming rate… “Industrial farms are super-incubators for viruses,” said Bob Martin, former executive director of the Pew Commission on Industrial Animal Farm Production… Diseases travel rapidly through such immunologically stressed populations, and stay with animals as they are shuttled nationwide between birth and slaughter. That provides ample opportunity for strains to mingle and recombine. An array of industry-developed vaccines confer short-term protection, but at the expense of provoking flu to evolve in unpredictable ways…

In 2003, the American Public Health Association called for a ban on contained animal feeding operations. One year later, St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital virologist Richard Webby, one of the original chroniclers of H3N2′s emergence, called the U.S. swine population “an increasingly important reservoir of viruses with human pandemic potential…”

RELATED STORIES:

Ill Export: Factory Farms…disastrous public relations for Smithfield Foods

hsus.typepad.com/wayne/2009/05/smithfield.html

A Possible Connection: Swine Flu and Factory Farms

hsus.typepad.com/wayne/2009/04/swine-flu.html

Mexico outbreak traced to ‘manure lagoons’ at pig farm

www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/article6182789.ece

Swine Flu Outbreak — Nature Biting Back at Industrial Animal Production?

www.huffingtonpost.com/david-kirby/swine-flu-outbreak—-nat_b_191408.html

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

27. Los Angeles DA Drops Charges Against Dog Dragger

SOURCE: Jim Willis, author, Pieces of My Hearts, tiergartenjim [at] yahoo.com
Cat and Dog Rescue Association, catdogrescue [at] gmail.com, 323-666-1357
Karma Rescue, www.KarmaRescue.org, info [at] karmarescue.org

BEFORE PHOTO: Bluebell (Prada), shown bloodied and injured after dragged from her former owner’s pickup truck in 12/08. Southeast Area Animal Control Agency brought her back to good health.

AFTER PHOTO: BlueBell recovers at SEAACA, before she moves to foster care with Karma Rescue. (Staff photo by Keith Durflinger) SEAACA, www.seaaca.org/bluebell.htm

4/28/09, SUMMARY: In Dec. 2008, Bryana Wilson of Norwalk near Los Angeles brought a one-year old dog, Prada, to the local shelter to be killed because the dog had an undiagnosed skin problem (mange). She put Prada in the back of an open pick-up and tied her with a leash. The dog’s guardian drove too fast and Prada fell out of the truck. The screaming dog was dragged for blocks because the driver didn’t notice… The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office will not press charges against the dog’s caretaker… Prada rode in the truckbed (rather than cab) because her guardian said she smelled. “This dog’s open sores, red, raw skin and hair loss took months to develop. Untreated mange this bad can shut down a dog’s organs and kill a dog. It is cheap and easy to treat with over-the-counter medicine. This crime alone is enough for a cruelty case to be filed,” says Lois Newman, President of the Cat and Dog Rescue Association in Los Angeles.

FAST FORWARD: Prada, renamed Bluebell, healed physically and emotionally. (As of mid-May, 09) she still resides in her temporary foster home in Malibu. She plays with other dogs because rescuers socialized and trained her. Karma Rescue: karmarescue.org

KINSHIP CIRCLE REFERENCES:

12/22/08 OCT-DEC UPDATES: Dragged Pit Bull Is Healing And Soon Adoptable

www.kinshipcircle.org/updates/updates_oct-dec_2008.html#anchor2

12/17/08: Second Chance For Dragged Pit Bull

www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new.asp?LetterID=1787&seriesfirst=true

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

28. Obama Accepts Breeder Dog As Gift For Daughters

SOURCE: Betrayal from our President

www.examiner.com/x-3605-DC-Animal-Welfare-Examiner~y2009m4d12-Betrayal-from-our-President

4/11/09, SUMMARY: Obamas get pup from a Texas breeder, by way of Senator Ted Kennedy as a “gift.” We’re disappointed President Obama opted for a Portuguese water dog from a breeder — especially after so many animal groups lobbied him to to adopt from a shelter. A rescue dog in the White House would have established a visually powerful precedent…

“TELL US SOMETHING WE DIDN’T KNOW” DEPARTMENT:

Requests to breeders for Portuguese Water Dogs Jump 100% in U.S., 120% in UK:

www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/2009/06/20/First-dog-a-sales-boon-for-canine-breed/UPI-87521245511358/

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

Help us raise $5,000 to print/circulate Fact Sheets
All tax-deductible donations are deeply appreciated!

* DONATE SECURELY ONLINE: www.kinshipcircle.org/donation

* DONATE BY CHECK OR MONEY ORDER:
Kinship Circle / 7380 Kingsbury Blvd. / St. Louis, MO 63130

ACTION CAMPAIGNS * EDUCATION * ANIMAL DISASTER AID NETWORK
www.KinshipCircle.org * www.kinshipcircle.org/disasters

Subscribe Now – For Breaking News & Action:
Kinship Circle Primary: subscribe [at] kinshipcircle.org
Action campaigns on animal cruelty issues worldwide
Kinship Circle Animal Disaster Aid Network: disasteraid [at] kinshipcircle.org
Animal rescue coordination/news in disasters + companion animal alerts

UNSUBSCRIBE:
* Select a Kinship Circle ALERT received in your mailbox
* Hit “FORWARD”
* Enter info [at] kinshipcircle.org
* Type UNSUBSCRIBE in your subject line and hit send

*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.

———————

Tagged: animals animal rights animal welfare action alerts kinship circle brenda shoss animal abuse animal cruelty cruelty to animals dog canine pet companion animal mutt german shepherd shepherd mix karley la los angeles california firefighter riverside county Glynn Johnson flickr photos news in the news cat feline hormel pigs factory farming farmed animals International Whaling Commission iwc whales whaling whale meat wildlife conservation travis chimp chimpanzee primate Cheyenne Cherry tiger lilly pet food recall foie gras ducks michael vick hsus shark dogfighting bloodsports bullfighting barack obama green scare civil liverties aeta sb 250 spay neuter wolves SAEN vivisection animal research animal testing animal experimentation Cheyenne Frontier Rodeo rodeo Austria censorship maine farm sanctuary veal crates gestation crates cows calves north carolina shelters Iberia Primate Lab usda swine flu canada seal hunt seal skin sealing montana horses horse slaughter horse meat michigan R&R Research class b dealers pound seizure bluebell prada Bryana Wilson

Saturday marked the beginning of World Week for Animals in Laboratories (WWAIL), which is being held from April 18th through the 26th this year.

In addition to emailing the White House Office of Public Liason (OPL) (see below), you can find additional ways to take action at www.wwail.org. You can view a list of 2009 events here, or register your own. IDA helpfully provides a bevy of literature, posters and stickers for your events – no matter how big or small – which you can view and download here.

Striking at the Roots’ Mark Hawthorne also offers his suggestions for 5 Things You Can Do to Help Animals in Labs.

Are you participating in WWAIL? Share your action and outreach ideas in the comments!

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: In Defense of Animals
Date: Mon, Apr 20, 2009 at 11:31 AM
Subject: Take Action Today For World Week for Animals in Laboratories (WWAIL)

World Week for Animals in Laboratories (WWAIL) Is Here!

April 18 – 26 – Scroll down for an important message you should send to President Obama

In February 2009, under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) received an additional $10.4 billion in funding. This money is in addition to NIH’s 2009 budget of $30.3 billion.

Although technology has progressed and there is broad acknowledgment of the flaws of animal models, NIH funding for animal research has remained unchanged and the numbers of animals used has increased.

Please join IDA in contacting the White House Office of Public Liaison during World Week for Animals in Laboratories (WWAIL) to ask that the $10.4 billion in stimulus money be designated exclusively for non-animal research. Click here to read IDA’s letter to President Obama.

The terms of the stimulus money received by NIH require greater transparency and accountability to the public than routine appropriations. In addition, they must address a greater number of challenge areas, such as clinical research, genomics, information processing and stem cell research, among others. They are also subject to additional measures to prevent fraud and waste.

These challenge areas are ideal for the funding and expansion of non-animal methods. Increasingly, there is broad acknowledgement among scientists of the superiority of human-based research methods, like clinical research and tissue and organ cultures, which provide fully relevant results and do not suffer from the disparities of other species. This is where the future of biomedical research lies and as such, is where all of the $10.4 billion in stimulus money should be directed.

Further, in 1993, Congress passed the NIH Revitalization Act which mandated that the NIH implement a plan to “conduct or support research into methods of biomedical research and experimentation that do not require the use of animals,” as well as for reducing the number of animals used in research.

Despite this law, which was passed more than 15 years ago before the technological explosion that has included mapping of the human genome, widespread use of DNA microarrays and other paradigm-shifting advances – federal funding for grants using animals has remained constant at just over 40% of all grants.

Recent studies published in prestigious journals like Nature and The Chronicle of Higher Education have documented researchers themselves citing an “old boy’s network” at the helm of a fundamentally flawed federal research funding system that concentrates grant awards in the hands of a select number of aging “cash cow” researchers while leaving younger, innovative investigators struggling.

Please join IDA in speaking out during WWAIL, April 18 – 26 to ask that these monies go towards the future of cutting-edge biomedical research, rather than continuing to perpetuate outdated animals models.

Please send a message to the White House Office of Public Liason (OPL). The OPL uses a webform for public communication, rather than an actual e-mail address. So please visit this address, www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/opl/, then copy-and-paste the sample letter below into the web form. While you can use this sample letter verbatim, it will be more effective if you personalize it with your own thoughts.

Sample letter to send to White House Office of Public Liason (OPL):

I wholeheartedly support the Obama Administration’s commitment to eliminating government waste and improving efficiency. As part of this initiative, I urge you to allocate the $10.4 billion in stimulus money for National Institutes of Health (NIH) exclusively to non-animal methods. This is in keeping with the goals of the stimulus package to fund innovative and cutting edge areas of research. In addition, the 1993 NIH Revitalization Act mandated that the NIH implement a plan to “conduct or support research into methods of biomedical research and experimentation that do not require the use of animals.” Despite this law, funding for animal grants has not decreased over the past 16 years, and the numbers of animals used in laboratories has increased. This lack of initiative is driven by an “old boys’ network” in the NIH’s peer review system that promotes outdated animal research methods at the expense of innovative and modern human-centered methodologies. As scientific progress leads increasingly away from using animals to “model” uniquely human diseases, and as federal dollars for research become increasingly scarce, our nation can ill-afford a system that favors the status quo over effective, innovative and humane research. I urge you to promptly address this significant area of government waste by utilizing the stimulus money to fund only effective, non-animal research.

Thank you very much for your support!

About IDA

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, Mumbai, India, 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) 448-0048 Fax (415) 454-1031
idainfo [at] idausa.org

——————–

Tagged: animals animal rights animal welfare action alerts ida in defense of animals wwail World Week for Animals in Laboratories events animal testing animal research animal experimentation vivisection nih president obama stimulus flickr photos

4/13/09: We Are Their Hope

friendsofkinshipcircle.wordpress.com

* KINSHIP CIRCLE DOES NOT WRITE OR RESEARCH THESE ALERTS.
* QUESTIONS? CONTACT ALERT WRITERS. PLEASE DO NOT HIT REPLY.

IN THIS ALERT:

1. Recent Kinship Circle Alerts Are A Click Away
2. Pound Seizure & Humane Euthanasia
3. Save Stu – Wrongfully Impounded Since 9/15/05
4. New England Animal Rights Workshop 6/13/09
5. Party To End Puppy Mills On 4/19/09
6. Urge Portugal City To Become Anti-Bullfighting
7. We Are Their Hope: World Lab Animal Liberation Week
8. Vegans Take On The “3 Peaks” Challenge

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

Animals and Their Jewish Guardians

www.tikkun.org/article.php/Nathan

A prestigious publication, Tikkun Magazine, has just published Sandra Nathan’s piece: “Animals and Their Jewish Guardians.” It is a master work detailing the contributions of animal rights luminaries, such as: Lewis Gompertz, Isaac Bashevis Singer, Charles Patterson, Henry Spira, Peter Singer, Richard H. Schwartz, PETA’s Matt Prescott, Roberta Kalechofsky, Frederick Wiseman, Jenny Stein, Dr. Elliot Katz…

Amid these famous philosophers, filmmakers, authors and professors…are several excerpts about Kinship Circle and the group’s founder, Brenda Shoss. We are very honored to be included among such noteworthy names. READ THE ARTICLE HERE: www.tikkun.org/article.php/Nathan

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

1) Recent Kinship Circle Alerts Are A Click Away
ALERT WRITER: Brenda Shoss, Kinship Circle, info [at] kinshipcircle.org

NEW WAY TO SEND COMMENTS:

www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library

Recent sample-letter alerts in Kinship Circle’s Letter Library now contain an “EMAIL THIS LETTER” feature. Just click and a ready-to-send email opens in the email software on your computer. This feature (along with other means for sending comments) always follows the sample letter.

TAKE ACTION NOW:

4/12/09: War Hero’s Dog Brutally Killed

www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new.asp?LetterID=1819&seriesfirst=true

Kinship Circle supporter — Sylva (sylvasylva59 [at] embarqmail.com) — would also like you to join her petition on the murder of a war hero’s dog:

www.thepetitionsite.com/1/four-murder-heros-therapy-dog-in-texas

4/6/09: Abusers On Maine Egg Farm Ought To Rot In Jail

www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new.asp?LetterID=1818&seriesfirst=true

3/29/09: Demand Whale Conservation Over Killing

www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new.asp?LetterID=1817&seriesfirst=true

3/20/09: Stop Horse Slaughter Blitz At State/Federal Levels

www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new.asp?LetterID=1816&seriesfirst=true

3/20/09: End Live Labs At New Jersey Med School

www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new.asp?LetterID=1814&seriesfirst=true

3/20/09: Get Great Apes Out Of Laboratories

www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new.asp?LetterID=1815&seriesfirst=true

3/13/09: Unchain Tina, Jewel And Queenie From Circus Slavery

www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new.asp?LetterID=1813&seriesfirst=true

3/7/09: Canada Seal Bill Dropped, No Debate. Demand The Killing End.

www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new.asp?LetterID=1811&seriesfirst=true

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

2) Pound Seizure & Humane Euthanasia
ALERT WRITER: Forwarded by Linda J Mander, linda.j.mander.gigb [at] statefarm.com

BACKGROUND:

From linda.j.mander.gigb [at] statefarm.com — Pease help with the Michigan pound seizure (animals sold to research) and gas chamber issues.

TAKE ACTION:

MICHIGAN POUND SEIZURE:

www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/649021463

HUMANE EUTHANASIA:

www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/900398769

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

3) Save Stu – Wrongfully Impounded Since 9/15/05
ALERT WRITER: Jeff de la Rosa, Stu’s Dad, stu.911 [at] gmail.com

QUESTIONS ABOUT STU’S CASE? CONTACT: stu.911 [at] gmail.com

BRIEF BACKGROUND — IN STU’S WORDS:

A Los Angeles Animal Services Hearing Examiner found me to be NOT DANGEROUS. Guerdon Stuckey, then General Manager of the dept., overturned that recommendation, declared me “Dangerous,” and sentenced me to die. Stuckey was fired by the Mayor of Los Angeles within days of condemning me.

I was evaluated by Dr. Richard Polksy, PhD. of dogexpert.com and found to be NOT DANGEROUS. My owner appealed to the Board of Commissioners but they would not overturn the GM. My owner went to Superior Court to get the dept. to re-open the case. The judge denied my petition. I have been impounded since September 15, 2005…

STU TODAY:

Oct. 2007: Stu was transferred to New Leash on Life (Bobby Dorafshar), where he’ll remain until a Court of Appeals decision. A hearing, not yet set, will likely occur in June, followed by 90 days for a decision. I’m appealing the Superior Court denial of my petition to overturn the GM’s decision.

Dec. 2008: After City had refused dental care for Stu’s rotting teeth (since Sept. 2006) they gave a superficial cleaning. He’s lost teeth and has advanced periodontal disease. I forced them to let Dr. Tsugawa, a board certified dental vet, examine Stu. City wouldn’t pay $1000+ for x-rays and initial treatment. My fear is that his jaw is crumbling and he’s in pain.

3/23/09: Bobby Dorafshar (excellent trainer and founder of New Leash on Life Rescue and K9s Only Day Care), who is contracted to care for Stu in the interim, told the Board of Commissioners/Appeal Board that after 18 months with Stu, “This dog is not dangerous. Any aggression present now is due to confinement and non-socialization.” City forbids Stu to be walked outdoors or to play with other dogs. Ed Boks and the City Attorney are blocking all attempts to place Stu’s case on the Board of Commission’s Agenda.

TAKE ACTION:

QUESTIONS? EMAIL: stu.911 [at] gmail.com

PLEASE ASK CONTACTS BELOW TO:

1. Ensure daylight off-premises exercise for Stu.

2. Allow Stu’s re-socialization training with humans and dogs under Bobby Dorafshar (Stu’s caretaker during legal proceedings).

3. Initiate Stu’s complete dental exam and treatment by Dr. Tsugawa.

4. [Ask the Mayor and City Attorney] Allow the Board of Commissioners to agree to tell the Court of Appeals that missing evidence was excluded in error and that it should be considered by the Court of Appeals.

5. [Ask Ed Boks and Linda Barth] Stop trying to kill an innocent dog.

6. Drop opposition to Stu’s appeal and either give him a fair hearing by the department or close this case and return Stu home to Jeff.

Department of Animal Services, City Of Los Angeles
221 N Figueroa St., 5th FL; Los Angeles CA 90012; ph: 213-485-9607
Board of Commissioners: tariqkhero [at] gmail.com, ninekitties [at] aol.com, ireneponce [at] earthlink.net, ajq1trq2 [at] aol.com, secundar [at] unitedtalent.com, Ani.Commission [at] lacity.org, ross.pool [at] lacity.org
Management: Ed.Boks [at] lacity.org, Linda.Barth [at] .lacity.org

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, City Hall
200 North Spring Street, RM 303; Los Angeles, CA 90012
ph: 213-978-0600; fax: 213-978-0750
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa: mayor [at] lacity.org
Jim Bickhart, Mayor’s Office: Jim.Bickhart [at] lacity.org

City Attorneys: Dov.Lesel [at] lacity.org, Laurie.Rittenberg [at] lacity.org, Todd.Leung [at] lacity.org

Los Angeles City Council: garcetti [at] council.lacity.org, councilmember.reyes [at] lacity.org, ed.reyes [at] lacity.org, zine [at] council.lacity.org, Dennis.Zine [at] lacity.org, cardenas [at] lacity.org, weiss [at] .lacity.org, alarcon [at] lacity.org, richard.alarcon [at] lacity.org

SIGN PETITION FOR STU:

www.thepetitionsite.com/1/save-this-dog-stu-gag-ed-boks-from-continuing-to-lie

DONATE TO FUND A NEW ATTORNEY:

myspace.com/save_stu

READ MORE:

laanimalservices.com/PDF/commission/2007/070907stuupdate.pdf

laanimalservices.com/info_rumors.htm

Kelly’s note: For additional background, please see the following alerts:

12/25/07 – Kinship Circle: UPDATES: Year-End Victories & Setbacks, SEPT – DEC 2007 (Parts 1 & 2) – #17, “Stu Is Spared, But NOT Free Or Exonerated”

09/17/07 – Kinship Circle: September Kinship Circle Digest (Parts 1 and 2) – #4, “Unhappy Anniversary For Stu! Will He Ever Be Freed?”

06/20/07 – Kinship Circle: JUNE KC DIGEST: Saving Stu, Dolphin Captures, Oasis In Trouble + MORE – #1, “Saving Stu – Legally They Can Kill Him Any Day Now”

06/20/07 – Kinship Circle: Saving Stu: Legally They Can Kill Him Any Day Now

01/10/07 – Kinship Circle: Stu In Grave Danger. Again. [KC MEMBER ALERT]

09/08/06 – Kinship Circle: UPDATE: Stu Is Safe!

09/07/06 – Kinship Circle: LETTER / End Stu’s Nightmare Inside LAAS

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

4) New England Animal Rights Workshop 6/13/09
ALERT WRITER: Jamie Kordack, Jamie.R.Kordack [at] usace.army.mil

NEW ENGLAND ANIMAL RIGHTS WORKSHOP

An Educational Forum for Sharing Knowledge and Networking
Open-Discussion Sessions & Special Guest Speakers
Networking and Socializing / Exhibits and Cruelty-FREE Shopping
Free Literature / Con-current Educational Videos / Vegan Lunch

WHEN: Saturday, June 13, 2009, (10:00 am registration)

WHERE: WORKSHOP – West Brookfield, MA Town Hall, 2nd floor Grand Ballroom

DIRECTIONS: From West or East: Take MA T-pike/I-90 to exit 9. Take Rt. 20 East, turn Left and go North on Rt. 49 to end/to Rt. 9. Turn Left/West on Rt. 9 to center of West Brookfield. Town Hall is at the light. Parking on common/Cottage Street/West Main Street (in front of Library).

AFTER-HOURS WINE AND UN-CHEESE TASTING – Charles Hubbard House, a beautiful 1836 Colonial, 3 doors down from the town hall, 15 West Main St. Wine, bear, soda, vegan munchies…

TIMES & COST: Workshop 10:30am to 5:00pm / $15
After-Hours Wine & Un-Cheese Tasting 5:30 to ? / $10

FOR MORE INFORMATION & TO RSVP: Jamie Kordack, 978-318-8399;
cell: 978-265-9503 * jamie.r.kordack [at] usace.army.mil * www.nearw.org

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

5) Party To End Puppy Mills On 4/19/09
ALERT WRITER: Diana Magor, dianamagor [at] gmail.com

PARTY TO PUT AN END TO PUPPY MILLS – APRIL 19, 2009

This event is happening all over the USA on 4/19/09. Many are hosting a fundraising “party” to help end this cruel practice. I am hosting one at my
house in Santa Cruz, CA and would like to invite anyone interested in attending to join me from 3:30 to 6:30 pm PT. Economist and dog activist Ben Stein, Congressman Sam Farr, and others will be on a conference call on this issue at 4:30PT (7:30 ET; 6:30 CT).

FOR MORE INFORMATION & TO FIND EVENT IN YOUR AREA, SEE:

www.partylaunch.com/partyanimals/findparty/index.cfm

www.hslf.com

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

6) Urge Portugal City To Become Anti-Bullfighting
ALERT WRITER: Miguel Moutinho | ANIMAL, miguel.moutinho [at] animal.org.pt

BACKGROUND:

Every summer in the city of Tavira, in the Algarve (coastal region of the South of Portugal), a bullfight is staged in a mobile bullring — mostly for foreign tourists, who are deceitfully attracted by promoters claiming bullfights are “bloodless” expressions of local culture. In fact, bullfights are shockingly bloody and violent, and certainly not part of the culture of the Algarve. Every time a bullfight occurs, at least six bulls are viciously tortured, just to profit from animal cruelty.

TAKE ACTION:

Write to the Mayor of Tavira, in the Algarve, asking to officially declare Tavira an Anti-Bullfighting City.
Copy (Cc): campanhas [at] animal.org.pt presidente [at] cm-tavira.pt; ecordeiro [at] cm-tavira.pt; fviegas [at] cm-tavira.pt; cbaracho [at] cm-tavira.pt; lnunes [at] cm-tavira.pt; asimoes [at] cm-tavira.pt; jguerreiro [at] cm-tavira.pt; fbeato [at] cm-tavira.pt; camara [at] cm-tavira.pt; gci [at] cm-tavira.pt

Please send a written letter to the President of the Municipality of Tavira:
Mr. José Macário Correia, Presidente da Câmara Municipal de Tavira
Câmara Municipal de Tavira
Praça da República
8800-951 Tavira, PORTUGAL

SAMPLE LETTER:

Honorable Officials of Tavira:

I write to urge you and the Municipality of Tavira to free your beautiful city from bullfighting. Tavira does not have a permanent bullring and there is no bullfighting tradition in Tavira or anywhere in the Algarve. On the contrary, the fact that a bullfight takes place in Tavira every year only hurts your city’s good name and reputation. It is even more harmful for the animals tortured in these bullfights.

To date, 65 Spanish towns and three French towns have declared themselves anti-bullfighting. In Portugal, Viana do Castelo has already officially taken that step. The Mayors of Braga and Cascais announced that they will no longer authorise bullfighting spectacles in their cities as well.

I call upon you to proclaim Tavira an anti-bullfighting city, through the implementation of a policy of non-authorisation of bullfighting spectacles in your city — at least as far as municipal licenses and authorisations are required for these to take place.

Such a step would hugely benefit Tavira and make your constituents happy with that measure, which would certainly have positive effects in the next
elections. I’m also certain that tourism in Tavira would grow.

I look forward to a response from you and I thank you in advance for your attention.

Yours, very respectfully,

[Name], [City, Country] [Email address]

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

7) We Are Their Hope: World Lab Animal Liberation

ALERT WRITER: Michael Budkie, Executive Director, SAEN, saen [at] saenonline.org
www.saenonline.org, www.wlalw.org

WORLD LABORATORY ANIMAL LIBERATION WEEK, APRIL 18-26, 2009

As you read this email, untold millions of animals suffer and die in laboratories across the U.S. Most — including rats, mice, birds, amphibians, and all animals used in agricultural research — receive no protection under current laws. Federally owned laboratories (such as those owned by the Department of Defense, the NIH, the USDA, EPA, etc.) receive no independent inspections… The USDA does not adequately enforce the very limited requirements of the Animal Welfare Act (AWA)…

RESOURCES / SAEN WEBSITES:

Stop Animal Exploitation NOW! www.saenonline.org
Fact sheets about product testing, primate experimentation, general animal experimentation, as well as materials focusing on specific labs…

RESOURCES / WLALW WEBSITE:

World Laboratory Animal Liberation Week: www.wlalw.org/
Contains sign-up form for this year’s event and listings from prior years.
To increase media exposure…please sign up with the details of your events.

RESOURCES / KINSHIP CIRCLE ANIMAL EXPERIMENTATION FACT SHEETS:

Download and print our photo- and fact-filled literature to use for tabling, leafleting, at demos, presentations, etc.

ANIMAL EXPERIMENTATION

www.kinshipcircle.org/fact_sheets/VivisectiLessonFutilityPH.pdf

Animal Testing: You Paid For It

www.kinshipcircle.org/fact_sheets/YouPaidForIt.pdf

Sacrificing One Won’t Save The Other

www.kinshipcircle.org/fact_sheets/MODSacrificOneWontSaveOther.pdf

Iams Doublespeak: Experiments On Cats And Dogs

www.kinshipcircle.org/fact_sheets/DyingForKibble.pdf

Who Is Huntingdon Life Sciences?

www.kinshipcircle.org/fact_sheets/WhoIsHuntingdonLifeScienc.pdf

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

8) Vegans Take On The “3 Peaks” Challenge
ALERT WRITER: Andrew Knight, Founder, Extreme Vegan Sporting Association, info [at] extremevegansports.org * www.extremevegansports.org

BACKGROUND:

During a single 24-hour period from May 2-3, the first known all-vegan team will attempt to successively scale the three highest mountains within Wales, England and Scotland — the famous “3 Peaks” Challenge.

We aim to publicly demonstrate that vegans can achieve impressive feats of fitness…thereby overcoming misperceptions about the vegan lifestyle. Given that animal agriculture is one of the largest contributors to global warming — as well as cruel to animals and bad for human health — we feel it’s
important to show how incorrect such misperceptions are.

We also aim to raise money for the electoral campaign of Animals Count, during the June 4th European Parliamentary elections. Animals Count (www.animalscount.org/) is a UK political party for people and animals, and will contest these elections with the goal to increase consideration given to animal issues, by all political parties… READ MORE ABOUT THE ALL-VEGAN “3-PEAKS” TEAM: www.vegan3peaks.info

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

ACTION CAMPAIGNS • EDUCATION • ANIMAL DISASTER AID NETWORK
www.KinshipCircle.org * www.kinshipcircle.org/disasters/

UNSUBSCRIBE:
* Select a Kinship Circle ALERT received in your mailbox
* Hit “FORWARD”
* Enter kinshipcircle [at] accessus.net
* Type UNSUBSCRIBE in your subject line and hit send

SUBSCRIBE:
Kinship Circle Primary: subscribe [at] kinshipcircle.org
Action campaigns on animal cruelty issues worldwide

Kinship Circle Animal Disaster Aid Network: info [at] kinshipcircle.org
Animal rescue coordination/news in disasters + companion animal alerts
SEND: Address / Phone / Email for placement in geographic disaster zone

————————–

Tagged: animals animal rights animal welfare action alerts kinship circle dog canine pet companion animal animal companion stu Jeff de la Rosa LAAS Los Angeles Animal Services Ed Boks events education hsus puppy mills Tavira Portugal bullfighting bllod sports animal fighting World Lab Animal Liberation animal testing animal research animal experimentation vivisection flickr photos

A critical vote on the future conduct of vivisection is imminent. Your help is needed now.

An absolutely vital vote on the future of vivisection is taking place this coming Tuesday, March 31. The vote relates to the new Directive that will govern how animal research is conducted across the European Union – the UK included – and will replace the current rules, which are 23 years old. Tuesday’s vote will be by the European parliament’s Agricultural Committee, which has the biggest say of all the parliament’s committees on how the new Directive will look.

On Tuesday, its members will be voting on a set of proposals produced by the committee’s ‘rapporteur’ – an English MEP called Neil Parish. Parish’s proposals have alarmed animal protection bodies throughout Europe for the way they would seriously weaken existing animal protection measures. They would, for example, permit animals to be subjected to ‘severe, prolonged suffering’. And, instead of providing additional protection for primates – which is what the European Commission has called for – he wants monkeys to be used for curiosity-driven research that, for example, involves the infliction of severe brain damage, the withholding of food and water, and holding brain-damaged animals in restraint chairs, while they are forced to press icons on a computer screen over and over again.

Please send an email TODAY or TOMORROW to the eight UK members of the Agricultural Committee. Their addresses are as follows:

* jim.allister [at] europarl.europa.eu
* james.nicholson [at] europarl.europa.eu
* neil.parish [at] europarl.europa.eu
* brian.simpson [at] europarl.europa.eu
* alyn.smith [at] europarl.europa.eu
* struan.stevenson [at] europarl.europa.eu
* robert.sturdy [at] europarl.europa.eu
* jeffrey.titford [at] europarl.europa.eu

Some key points to stress are:

1. You are alarmed by attempts to weaken animal protection measures that the European Commission wishes to see introduced.

2. The Commission wants to phase out the use of wild-caught primates. Amendments that conflict with this goal must be opposed. Despite scaremongering by pro-animal research industry groups, there is no evidence that such a phase-out would damage medical research.

3. You oppose proposals that would allow any animal to be subjected to ‘prolonged, severe’ suffering.

4. Reducing animal use will improve the quality of science, as well as preventing animal suffering. This will make European laboratories attractive to business and academic researchers rather than – as has been threatened – lead to an exodus to parts of the world where standards are lower.

5. It is vital that all proposed ‘projects’ using animals are scrutinised rather than being given automatic approval. The Committee is faced with proposals that would allow most research projects to go through on the nod.

6. You support measures that call for regular thematic reviews of specific areas of animal use and replacement by non-animal systems. Without such a systematic approach, the introduction of non-animal methods will be an unnecessarily protracted process.

7. Increased accountability, transparency and access to information – as well as data sharing to avoid duplication of experiments – are all vital.

8. You urge Committee members not to bow to the powerful, self-interested biomedical lobby. They should vote instead for measures that increase animal welfare and which tackle unjustified secrecy and concealment.

Support our work – make a donation now.

——————

Tagged: animals animal rights animal welfare action alerts vivisection animal research animal testing animal experimentation uk European union Neil Parish animal aid

FRIENDS OF KINSHIP CIRCLE / PERMISSION TO CROSSPOST

friendsofkinshipcircle.wordpress.com/

* KINSHIP CIRCLE DOES NOT WRITE OR RESEARCH THESE ALERTS.
* WE ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THE VALIDITY OF FRIENDS OF KC ALERTS.
* CONTACT ALERT WRITERS. PLEASE DO NOT HIT REPLY. We will not respond.

1. Trouble For Greyhounds in South Africa
2. Jamaica Wants Greyhound Races Too
3. Jason Wu Puts Aside Fur, For Now
4. Tucson Rodeo Shocks Horses
5. Guandong – Cats Skinned And Boiled Alive
6. Fight Horse Slaughter State By State
7. Prosecute Bird Killers In Florida
8. Ask For End To NYC Horse Carriages
9. World Laboratory Animal Liberation Week

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

1) Trouble For Greyhounds in South Africa

ALERT WRITER / REPLY TO:
South West Animal Protection, southwestanimalprotection [at] yahoo.co.uk

BACKGROUND:

2/20/09: SAY NO TO PROPOSED GREYHOUND RACING IN SOUTH AFRICA

www.care2.com:80/causes/animal-welfare/blog/trouble-ahead-for-greyhounds-in-south-africa/

TAKE ACTION:

The University of the Free State Faculty of Law has been appointed by the Department of Trade and Industry to conduct research on the possible
legalization of greyhound racing.

Professor Elizabeth Snyman-Van Deventer
University of the Free State Faculty of Law
fax: 051-401-2698; email: snymane.rd [at] ufs.ac.za

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

2) Jamaica Wants Greyhound Races Too

ALERT WRITER / REPLY TO:
Animal Aid, info [at] animalaid.org.uk

www.animalaid.org.uk/h/f/ACTIVE/blog/ALL/1//?be_id=190

BACKGROUND:

Plans to bring greyhound racing to Jamaica are of great concern due to the inevitable cruelty involved. Huge numbers of greyhounds are destroyed each year after they’ve ‘retired’ from racing, and many pups are killed just because they’re deemed ‘unsuitable’ for racing. In addition, many greyhounds are subjected to abuse by owners who view them as mere commodities.

TAKE ACTION:

Politely email the Jamaican Tourist Board and the Jamaican High Commission to let them know your concerns.

Jamaican Tourist Board: mail [at] visitjamaica.uk.com
Jamaican High Commission: Jamhigh [at] jhcuk.com

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

3) Jason Wu Puts Aside Fur, For Now

ALERT WRITER / REPLY TO:
Centcom, centcom [at] war-online.org

BACKGROUND:

2/6/09: Fashion designer Jason Wu, who designed Michelle Obama’s inaugural ball gown, was scheduled to unveil his Fall 2009 collection at Exit Art

2/13/09. The evening was set to include a significant amount of fur as Wu has signed a deal with Saga Furs. Win Animal Rights was scheduled to protest this event. Working behind the scenes, along with many other animal advocates, we are pleased that Jason Wu has decided to “back burner” his fur collection… Special thanks to celebrity blogger, Perez Hilton, who posted: perezhilton.com/2009-01-24-michelle-obamas-inauguration-dress-designers-an-animal-killer

TAKE ACTION:

Wouldn’t it be lovely if Jason Wu canceled his use of fur instead of just postponing it? Let Jason know that the whole world is watching. Ask him to make the compassionate choice and to cancel his plans with Saga Furs.

Jwu LLC
6 West 37th St., 3rd Floor; New York, NY 10018-7505
ph: 1-212-643-0598
email: jason [at] jasonwustudio.com, jason [at] thewstudio.com
(not sure of either email address, but one or both of them might work)
(Jason Wu’s sales rep) John W. Murphy: john [at] thewstudio.com
website: www.jasonwustudio.com/

If on Myspace, leave comment: www.myspace.com/jasonwustudio

If on Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/Jason-Wu/49229617622

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

4) Tucson Rodeo Shocks Horses

ALERT WRITER / REPLY TO:
SHARK, info [at] SHARKonline.org, www.TheCruelTruth.com

PHOTOS: SHARK, www.sharkonline.org/

BACKGROUND:

VIDEO: Tucson Rodeo Shocks Horses

2008, SHARK exposed the Tucson Rodeo for shocking horses with 5,000 – 6,000 volts of painful electricity to make them perform. SHARK filed a complaint requesting a criminal investigation and charges against those responsible, with the Arizona Department of Agriculture, Animal Services Division.

SHARK received great media coverage of this issue helping to educate many in Arizona about rodeo animal abuse. In advance of the upcoming rodeo this year, SHARK has sent out two press releases to the media, the City Council and the Mayor of Tucson requesting their attention and action on this issue.

TAKE ACTION:

Request a ban on shocking the animals in the rodeo like many other rodeos in Texas, Colorado, Wyoming…

Mayor Bob Walkup
City Hall; 255 West Alameda Street; Tucson, Arizona 85701
ph: 520-791-4201; fax: 520-791-5348; email: mcweb [at] tucsonaz.gov

Vice Mayor, Karin Uhlich
Ward Three; 1510 East Grant Road; Tucson, Arizona 85719
ph: 520-791-4711; fax: 520-791-5391; email: ward3 [at] tucsonaz.gov

Mike Hein, City Manager
City Hall; 255 West Alameda Street; Tucson, Arizona 85701
ph: 520-791-4204; fax: 520-791-5198; email: mike.hein [at] tucsonaz.gov

Council Member Regina Romero
Ward One; 940 W. Alameda Street; Tucson, Arizona 85745
ph: 520-791-4040; fax: 520-791-5393; email: ward1 [at] tucsonaz.gov

Council Member Rodney Glassman
Ward Two; 7575 E. Speedway; Tucson, Arizona 85710
ph: 520-791-4687; fax: 520-791-5380; email: ward2 [at] tucsonaz.gov

Council Member Shirley Scott
Ward Four; 8123 E. Poinciana; Tucson, Arizona 85730
ph: 520-791-3199; fax: 520-791-4717; email: ward4 [at] tucsonaz.gov

Council Member Steve Leal
Ward Five; 4300 South Park Avenue; Tucson, Arizona 85714
ph: 520-791-4231; fax: 520-791-3188; email: steve.leal [at] tucsonaz.gov

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

5) Guandong – Cats Skinned And Boiled Alive

ALERT WRITER / REPLY TO:
Maria Lopes, marialopes [at] iwab.org
Anti-Fur Society, www.antifursociety.org/ActionAlert.html

PHOTOS: Anti-Fur Society website, www.antifursociety.org/ActionAlert.html

BACKGROUND:

Cats are skinned and boiled while still alive in Guandong, a south of China province. READ FULL STORY: www.wishtv.com/dpp/news/international/int_ap_beijing_protest_decries_custom_of_eating_cats_20081218804

TAKE ACTION:

Write to the Guandong authorities (cc to the Chinese Embassy) asking them to stop this horrific practice. Your message will be more effective if you fax it or send it by snail mail in addition to emailing it. Regardless, please send them a message of disapproval. NOTE: It is very important to send
polite messages or our efforts may be in vain.

Guangdong Foreign Affairs Office
ph: (8620) 81218888; fax: (8620) 81218569; email: webmaster [at] gdfao.gov.cn

Food & Drug Administration Bureau of Guandong:
email: ywts [at] gzfda.gov.cn, xzts [at] gzfda.gov.cn

Guangdong Foreign Affairs Office of Guandong Province
ph: (8620) 81218888; fax: (8620) 81218569
email: waiban [at] gz.gov.cn, webmaster [at] gdfao.gov.cn

SAMPLE LETTER / TALKING POINTS:

www.antifursociety.org/ActionAlert.html

(Scroll past addresses, mid-page)

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

6) Fight Horse Slaughter State By State

ALERT WRITER / REPLY TO:
International Fund For Horses, fund4horses.org/info.php?id=1114

BACKGROUND:

2/9/09: We must now fight horse slaughter state by state since many state legislators have introduced pro horse slaughter resolutions on behalf of
foreign investors anxious to defeat H.R. 503.

These resolutions and bills are a not-so-subtle ploy by the foreign investors that own horse slaughterhouses to defeat H.R. 503 which would ban the sale, transport, and possession of horses in interstate and foreign commerce for slaughter for human consumption.

There is no point in states appropriating tax dollars for studies when currently horse slaughter for human consumption is not allowed in the U.S. These resolutions will simply insure horse slaughterers can continue to take American horses to Mexico or Canada for slaughter. States taking part: Arizona, Utah, Missouri, South Dakota, North Dakota, Wyoming, Kansas, Arkansas, Minnesota, Montana, and Illinois.

TAKE ACTION:

STATE BY STATE HORSE SLAUGHTER BILLS, TAKE ACTION HERE:

fund4horses.org/info.php?id=1114

FEDERAL BILL HORSE SLAUGHTER BILL, TAKE ACTION HERE:

www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new.asp?LetterID=1801&seriesfirst=true

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

7) Prosecute Bird Killers In Florida

ALERT WRITER / REPLY TO:
C ALLARD, cdallard1 [at] bellsouth.net

BACKGROUND:

2/25/09: Collier County, Florida: Senseless killing of birds.

Article link: www.heraldtribune.com/article/20090225/ARTICLE/902250353/2055/NEWS

TAKE ACTION:

These individuals need to be prosecuted to the full extent of the law! Let the Collier County States Attorney know, in a polite manner.

Collier County States Attorney’s Office
Administrative Building, 6th Floor
3301 E Tamiami Trail; Naples, FL 34112
ph: 239-252-8470; Office Head, Richard Montecalvo: Rmontecalvo [at] sao.cjis20.org

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

8) Ask For End To NYC Horse Carriages

ALERT WRITER / REPLY TO:
Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages, coalition [at] banhdc.org

www.banhdc.org/index.shtml

PHOTOS: www.blindersthemovie.com/photos

BLINDERS: Award-winning documentary exposes the truth behind the tradition of NYC horse-drawn carriage industry. www.blindersthemovie.com

BACKGROUND:

PLEASE HELP US: If you live in another city or country – WE NEED YOU! New York City is in the fight of its life to rescue its carriage horses from a life of slavery and to shut down the horse-drawn carriage trade. In three years, we have succeeded in bringing worldwide attention to this anachronistic and inhumane industry and we are close to making a ban a reality. AS POTENTIAL TOURISTS, WE NEED YOUR HELP TO SHUT IT DOWN! On January 30 the City Council Consumer Affairs Committee held a public hearing on two carriage horse bills. There was no vote.

The City Council likes to claim horses and buggies are a tourist attraction. THIS IS WHERE YOU COME IN. When you visit our city, is this the first thing you do? What about museums, theater, night life, shopping and restaurants? Will NYC survive without carriage horses? We certainly think so. And we ask you to send a letter to our City Council saying the same.

TAKE ACTION:

SEND LETTER TO COUNCIL EMAIL ADDRESSES:
marroyo [at] council.nyc.gov, avella [at] council.nyc.gov, baez [at] council.nyc.gov, brewer [at] council.nyc.gov, comrie [at] council.nyc.gov, ecrowley [at] council.nyc.gov, deblasio [at] council.nyc.gov, emdilan [at] council.nyc.gov, rarbeloc [at] council.nyc.gov, mathieu.eugene [at] council.nyc.gov, felder [at] council.nyc.gov, fidler [at] council.nyc.gov, foster [at] council.nyc.gov, garodnick [at] council.nyc.gov, gennaro [at] council.nyc.gov, vgentile [at] council.nyc.gov, agerson [at] council.nyc.gov, gioia [at] council.nyc.gov, gonzalez [at] council.nyc.gov, Ignizio [at] council.nyc.gov, rjackson [at] council.nyc.gov, ljames [at] council.nyc.gov, katz [at] council.nyc.gov, koppell [at] council.nyc.gov, lappin [at] council.nyc.gov, liu [at] council.nyc.gov, viverito [at] council.nyc.gov, martinez [at] council.nyc.gov, darlene.mealy [at] council.nyc.gov, rmendez [at] council.nyc.gov, nelson [at] council.nyc.gov, palma [at] council.nyc.gov, recchia [at] council.nyc.gov, rivera [at] council.nyc.gov, sanders [at] council.nyc.gov, seabrook [at] council.nyc.gov, sears [at] council.nyc.gov, vacca [at] council.nyc.gov, vann [at] council.nyc.gov, weprin [at] council.nyc.gov, twhite [at] council.nyc.gov, yassky [at] council.nyc.gov, barron [at] council.nyc.gov, dickens [at] council.nyc.gov, oddo [at] council.nyc.gov, quinn [at] council.nyc.gov, reyna [at] council.nyc.gov, stewart [at] council.nyc.gov, vallone [at] council.nyc.gov

SEND LETTER TO MAYOR MICHAEL BLOOMBERG: www.banhdc.org/what_you_can_do.shtml
CLICK ON LINK IN FIRST PARAGRAPH

SAMPLE LETTER / TALKING POINTS:

Please indicate in the email subject line something like this: “Californians against horse-drawn carriages”; “Tourists against horse-drawn carriages”

Dear Council Member:

As a tourist to your great city, it is troubling to see that New York City still has an inhumane horse-carriage trade. These 19th century slow moving conveyances do not belong in a crowded and congested 21st century city. They impede the flow of traffic, getting in the way of ambulances, fire trucks and police cars – not to mention cars, taxis, buses, bikers and pedestrians. Horses suffer in more ways than can be imagined starting with a denial of their innate horse nature. Please support the bill to ban this industry. New York should join the ranks of cities like London, Paris, Toronto, Oxford and Beijing, which have banned the carriage trade. Tourists come to NYC for its wonderful museums, theater, night life, restaurants and shopping. The carriage trade brings shame to your city. I will not travel to New York as long as this inhumane industry continues to operate.

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

9) World Laboratory Animal Liberation Week

ALERT WRITER / REPLY TO:
Michael Budkie, Executive Director, SAEN, saen [at] saenonline.org
www.saenonline.org, www.wlalw.org

BACKGROUND:

World Laboratory Animal Liberation Week April 18-26, 2009 As you read this email, untold millions of animals suffer and die in laboratories across the United States. Most of these animals including rats, mice, birds, amphibians, and all animals used in agricultural research receive no protection under current laws. Federally owned laboratories (such as those owned by the Department of Defense, the NIH, the USDA, EPA, etc.) receive no independent inspections. It has been demonstrated that the USDA does not adequately enforce the very limited requirements of the Animal Welfare Act (AWA). Labs often break federal laws and more animals are hurt by these infractions every day. Violations are often ignored, fines are reduced or eliminated, and penalties are ineffective.

Use of non-human primates has reached an all-time high with 69,990 experiencing the cruelty of captivity in a laboratory. In university and private settings, squirrel monkeys are confined to restraint chairs and steel screws are drilled into the skulls of rhesus monkeys. Chimpanzees suffer for decades as they slowly go insane. Dogs languish in runs as they pine for their families. Electrical coils are forced into the eyes of cats.

TAKE ACTION:

World Laboratory Animal Liberation Week 2009 is April 18 – 26. However, it is more important that you take action than that your action falls exactly within these dates. If we are to be successful in exposing the ongoing abuses of animals in laboratories, we must begin planning now.

SAEN WEBSITES WITH RESOURCES

Stop Animal Exploitation NOW! www.saenonline.org

Sections of our main website have fact sheets about product testing, primate experimentation, a general flyer about animal experimentation, as well as materials focusing on specific labs.

Our Government Grants Promoting Cruelty to Animals contains information on research protocols, grant applications, and journal articles relevant to over 120 different researchers spread throughout 47 labs in 24 states.

World Laboratory Animal Liberation Week: www.wlalw.org/

Contains a sign-up form for this year’s event, and listings of events from previous years. It is very important that we are aware of all WLALW events so that we may help in their promotion and media exposure, so please sign up with the details of your events as soon as possible. When your event is posted on our website, more activists will be able to attend.

Using information from our website, any activist can plan a news conference to discuss the use of animals at a nearby laboratory. Protests, rallies and civil disobedience can also be used to pressure a laboratory to change policies or even eliminate specific experiments. Leafleting can be an effective method of educating the public. Large numbers of activists can be helpful for protest events, but media campaigns involving other methods can be effective with a single dedicated activist.

We are the voices for millions of suffering dogs, cats, primates, rats, mice, rabbits, guinea pigs, birds, sheep, pigs and animals of many other species. Please get involved with this vital event. We are their only hope.

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

Check Out Our New Cafe.Press Store!
Please indulge yourself or someone else — in COOL STUFF that shows a commitment to animals. Your purchase supports Kinship Circle’s work!

* KINSHIP CIRCLE’S MAIN STORE: www.kinshipcircle.org/store

* KINSHIP CIRCLE CAFE.PRESS STORE: www.cafepress.com/KinshipCircle

ACTION CAMPAIGNS • EDUCATION • ANIMAL DISASTER AID NETWORK
info [at] kinshipcircle.org or kinshipcircle [at] accessus.net
www.KinshipCircle.org * www.kinshipcircle.org/disasters/

YOUR SUPPORT LETS US WORK FOR ANIMALS!
* DONATE SECURELY ONLINE: www.kinshipcircle.org/donation
* DONATE BY CHECK OR MONEY ORDER:
Kinship Circle / 7380 Kingsbury Blvd. / St. Louis, MO 63130

UNSUBSCRIBE:
* Select a Kinship Circle ALERT received in your mailbox
* Hit “FORWARD”
* Enter kinshipcircle [at] accessus.net
* Type UNSUBSCRIBE in your subject line and hit send

SUBSCRIBE:
Kinship Circle Primary: subscribe [at] kinshipcircle.org
Action campaigns on animal cruelty issues worldwide

Kinship Circle Animal Disaster Aid Network: info [at] kinshipcircle.org
Animal rescue coordination/news in disasters + companion animal alerts
SEND: Address / Phone / Email for placement in geographic disaster zone

——————————-

Tagged: animals animal rights animal welfare action alerts kinship circle carriage horses horses mustangs wildlife conservation horse meat animal racing dog racing dog canine pet companion animal south africa Jamaica jason wu fur Tucson rodeo shark animal abuse World Laboratory Animal Liberation Week flickr photos

BREAKING STORY: Tune in to ABC-TV Nightline tonight

Please tune in to Nightline tonight (Wed. 03/04 11:30pm EST). This evening’s broadcast* features an expose of the New Iberia Research Center (NIRC). The 9 month undercover investigation of NIRC brings the sad realities of a chimpanzee’s life in a lab to millions of viewers. We ask you to not miss this rare opportunity to see the truth. Please invite your friends and family to watch.

Go to the ABC News website to see a preview and to post a comment.

Please watch your email for a follow up eAlert with timely campaign news.

Thank you for your support and attention.

*News segment schedules are subject to change. Visit Nightline for more information and local listings.

As of this writing, Nightline has several clips of the show available on its website; unfortunately, embedding is disabled, so you’ll have to go to Nightline’s website in order to view the videos.

Even if you don’t tune in, be sure to drop them a quick note of appreciation for covering the story!

UPDATE, 3/4/09: Stephanie, who clearly did more research than I (sorry, I usually can’t bring myself to watch these undercover investigations, *sigh*), has a lengthier writeup here.

——————–

Tagged: animals animal rights animal welfare action alerts abc news nightline animal testing animal research animal experimentation vivisection primates neavs New England Anti-Vivisection Society nirc New Iberia Research Center news in the news

Here’s some extra web exclusive goodness from the McCartney interview – Sir Paul explains the art of vegetable hunting to Stephen:
 

 
————–

OK, well, not really. Paul McCartney appeared on Wednesday’s episode, the same episode wherein Stephen “broke” the “buffalo wing” shortage crisis story. But Stephen didn’t interview the obligatory white dude from the National Chicken Council until the next night, so he and McCartney never met. I doubt McCartney was even privy to the Superbowl/”buffalo wing” story, since his interview was pre-recorded. Still, catchy title, dontchathink?

Plus, vegetarianism did come up during McCartney’s interview. Check it:
 

 
Now for the “buffalo wing” shortage, which spanned two segments. The Richard Lobb interview is by far the more interesting of the two clips, so if you watch only one video, make it the second one below.
 

 

 
While the Lobb interview is supposed to be humorous and somewhat fluffy, it left me fuming. Though it’s hard to tell – the video seems heavily edited – Stephen missed a few golden (atomic?) opportunities to call Lobb on his bullshit.

To wit: Stephen, when questioning Lobb’s supply and demand explanation for the “chicken wing” shortage (quote: “every chicken has only two wings, and it’s really not worth it to produce a chicken just to get the wings”), wonders why the “chicken farmers” don’t just engineer a chicken with “three, four, dare I say it – five” wings? Lobb answers, “Nah, we don’t wanna go there. We don’t get into genetic engineering and modification and so forth.” “You don’t!?” Stephen interrupts: “Have you ever had a chicken nugget? That is a miracle of science.”

Instead of challenging Lobb’s denials of genetic modification with a joke, it would’ve been nice to see Stephen point out the sorry physical condition of “poultry” chickens, all thanks to genetic engineering through irresponsible (and downright evil) selective breeding practices:

Today’s meat chickens have been genetically altered to grow twice as fast, and twice as large as their ancestors. Pushed beyond their biological limits, hundreds of millions of chickens die every year before reaching slaughter weight at 6 weeks of age. An industry journal explains “broilers [chickens] now grow so rapidly that the heart and lungs are not developed well enough to support the remainder of the body, resulting in congestive heart failure and tremendous death losses.” Modern meat type chickens also experience crippling leg disorders, as their legs are not capable of supporting their abnormally heavy bodies. Confined in unhealthy factory farms, the birds also succumb to heat prostration, infectious disease, and cancer.

Like meat type chickens, commercial turkeys also suffer from genetic manipulation. In addition to having been altered to grow fast and large, commercial turkeys have been anatomically manipulated to have large breasts to meet consumer demand for breast meat. As a result, turkeys cannot mount and reproduce naturally, and so their sole means of reproduction is artificial insemination. Like meat chickens, turkeys are susceptible to heart disease, and their legs have difficulty supporting their overweight bodies. An industry journal laments “…turkeys have been bred to grow faster and heavier but their skeletons haven’t kept pace, which causes ‘cowboy legs’. Commonly, the turkeys have problems standing and fall and are trampled on or seek refuge under feeders, leading to bruises and downgradings as well as culled or killed birds.”

The “meat” and “dairy” industries’ genetic experiments don’t start and end with selective breeding, either. They also “directly manipulate…an organism’s genes,” which is the more commonly accepted definition of “genetic engineering” (selective breeding also has the effect of manipulating a species’ genes, but since it’s done “naturally,” technically it doesn’t count as “genetic engineering” per se).

Take these examples gathered by UPC, for instance:

Merck & Co. (the pharmaceutical company that owns Hubbard [chicken] Farms and British United Turkeys Limited), has been doing experiments on chickens using growth hormones from cattle. In the early 1990s, Merck filed for a European patent on a “Macro Chicken,” described on the patent application as a “transgenic fowl expressing bovine growth hormone.” At the same time, geneticists have been searching for a fat-reducing gene to insert into the germ plasm of commercial broiler chickens. This is because selection for body weight in the 20th century tripled the appetite and number of fat cells in broiler chickens so that they “became unable to synthesize protein and lean meat fast enough to keep pace with increased intake of food energy. The excess food energy was deposited as lipids, and broilers became fatter.” With all this in mind, genetic engineers envision a prospect of manipulating the chicken’s DNA to make chickens grow larger, leaner, and faster, and of changing the shape and composition of their bodies. Never mind the chicken, for in this vision, as a biotech company president said, “I’m not sure that birds have preferences about their body shape.”

Indeed, genetically engineered “meat” may soon be coming to a dinner table near (the collective) you:

Fast-growing salmon. Heart-healthy pigs. Nutrient-packed milk. These and other genetically engineered products have gotten one step closer to store shelves.

The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday announced final guidelines that will help producers clear the regulatory hurdles as they try to bring genetically engineered meat to the marketplace. The guidelines, though themselves not legally binding, will help companies meet mandated regulations.

“This guidance will help the FDA efficiently review applications for products from GE animals to ensure their safety and efficacy,” said Randall Lutter, the agency’s deputy commissioner for policy. [...]

A genetically engineered animal is one whose DNA has been altered with DNA from another animal to produce a desirable trait. In some cases, animals are engineered to produce milk that contains medicines — so called “biopharm” animals — and in others, to provide fast-growing or more nutritious food.

Under current rules, a genetically engineered product requires only a label saying it has new nutritional content. For example, if milk were engineered to have more vitamins, a label would have to say only that it has more vitamins, not that it was genetically engineered.

The agency and the biotech industry have agreed that a label isn’t required because the animals aren’t any different from regular animals.

Lobb’s claim that the “chicken industry” doesn’t “get into genetic engineering and modification and so forth,” then, is a bald-faced lie.

Indeed, regular readers of my daily link roundups might recall a number of action alerts urging the FDA against allowing genetically engineered food – including “meat” and “dairy” products – from entering the marketplace (or at least being sold without a label indicating the food’s origins).

If the “chicken industry” could design, breed, slaughter and sell a chicken with five wings – and make a profit while doing so – I have no doubt that they would. Hell yes, they would. Those fuckers have no morals, ethics or conscience – a lack of humanity which certainly shines through in the Lobb interview.

————–

Video sources:

January 28, 2009: Better Know a Beatle – Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney accuses the Dalai Lama of cannibalism in an emergency. (07:09)

January 28, 2009: Countdown to Atomic Disaster – The Wing-Ageddon
Watching the Super Bowl without a plate of chicken wings is like making love without a plate of chicken wings. (05:51)

January 29, 2009: Sport Report – Chicken Wing Spokesman Richard Lobb
Richard Lobb has advice for the man who has to choose between frying chicken wings and educating his kids. (07:07)

February 4, 2009: Exclusive – Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney explains to Stephen how to hunt vegetables. (1:43)

————–

Tagged: animals animal rights animal welfare video comedy central the colbert report stephen colbert meat chickens chicken wings buffalo wings super bowl national chicken council richard lobb vivisection animal research animal testing animal experimentation genetic engineering biotechnology food public safety interview paul mccartney upc selective breeding frankenfood bullshit factory farming

KINSHIP CIRCLE PRIMARY / PERMISSION TO CROSSPOST

1/29/09: An NIH Fairytale About Animal Testing Targets Kids
FOR A FORMATTED LETTER (WORD DOC), EMAIL: kinshipcircle [at] accessus.net
Easily modify letter. Copy/paste it into an email or print letter to fax or mail.

ABOVE: Cover and two pages from “The Lucky Puppy,” a misleading children’s workbook produced by North Carolina Association for Biomedical Research.

kids.niehs.nih.gov/images/coloring/luckycolor.pdf

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

FULL CONTACT INFORMATION. Sample letter follows

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

Christine Bruske Flowers,
Director of the Office of Communications and Public Liaison / National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
P.O. Box 12233, MD NH-10
Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709-2233
ph: 919-541-3665; fax: 919-541-2260
email: bruskec [at] niehs.nih.gov, cb551b [at] nih.gov
staff: rmackar [at] niehs.nih.gov, peterso4 [at] niehs.nih.gov, rozier [at] niehs.nih.gov

Dr. Linda S. Birnbaum, Director
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
111 T.W. Alexander BG 101
P.O. Box 12233, MSC B2-01
Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709
ph: 919-541-3201; fax: 919-541-2260
email: birnbaumls [at] niehs.nih.gov

Raynard S. Kington, M.D., NIH Director (Acting)
National Institutes of Health
Building 1 – Shannon Building, 126
1 Center Drive
Bethesda, MD 20892
ph: 301-496-7322; fax: 301-402-2700
email: kingtonr [at] mail.nih.gov

*Kinship Circle cannot guarantee validity of email addresses. During campaigns, recipients may change or disable their email addresses. Emails from government, corporate, or institute websites may be incorrect.

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

SAMPLE LETTER — This letter is prepared to inform you about the issue.
Try to shorten and personalize your letter before sending.

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

Dear Ms. Flowers, Dr. Birnbaum, and Dr. Kington:

Please permanently delete “The Lucky Puppy” from all National Institutes of Health (NIH) websites. Young children may not realize that this coloring workbook is a tall tale about animal experimentation.

The Lucky Puppy presents a distorted view of animal research:

“She had mice in her lab. They lived in nice, clean cages.” Mice, rats and birds are not even protected under the Animal Welfare Act (AWA). Lab animals typically don’t receive veterinary aid or pain medication. They are deprived of food, water and hygienic housing. Their enclosures are overcrowded (with mice, this can lead to cannibalism and smothering). Environmental enrichment is rare. Record-keeping is often haphazard.

But the NIH knows this, since the examples above are drawn from the agency’s own documentation on labs that have failed to comply with federal law.

“Mice were fed good food. But they were sick with the same disease Lucky had.” Lab mice are not sick. Experimenters artificially induce human disease and injury. In this contrived setting, animal stress alone “can influence the researcher’s understanding of scientific discovery.” Results may be inapplicable to human health and safety, according to a report in Contemporary Topics in Laboratory Animal Science.

“‘But how can animal medicine be good for children?’ Matt asked. Dr. Smith smiled and answered, ‘The mice in the lab, puppies like Lucky and children like you are all animals. Our bodies might look different, but we really are very much alike under our skin!’” Anatomical, physiological, cellular, genetic and psychological variations between species make accurate correlations between animals and people unlikely.

For example, researchers recognize primates do not contract the human strain of AIDS or develop its clinical symptoms. Of 85 HIV/AIDS vaccines tested in animals, each one failed in 197 human trials. Furthermore, U.S. deaths or injuries linked to drug therapies more than doubled from 1998 to 2005, according to findings in the Archives of Internal Medicine. Each recalled drug had proven “safe” in animal tests.

Still, animals are mutilated, paralyzed, and burned. Toxins are poured into their eyes. Corrosives are smeared on shaved skin. Poisons are forcibly ingested. They vomit, convulse, hemorrhage, and die.

In reality, animal experimentation makes a lousy kids book. Why not flaunt advances in animal-free technology? “Nowadays, Mr. Cell and his in vitro friends, Cell Lines and Cellular Components, let scientists try out medicine in stuff that actually comes from humans! That’s how we make sure the medicine works and is safe for children, instead of just mice.”

I urge you to remove The Lucky Puppy and similar propaganda from the biomedical research industry.

Sincerely,

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

SOURCE OF INFORMATION / REFERENCE LINKS

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

Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine

www.pcrm.org/

PCRM Director of Research Policy, Hope Ferdowsian. M.D.
info [at] pcrm.org

NIH Lies To Kids In “The Lucky Puppy”

kids.niehs.nih.gov/images/coloring/luckycolor.pdf

Urge the NIH to Remove the “Lucky Puppy” Coloring Book

secure2.convio.net/pcrm/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=208

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

Please Help Kinship Circle Continue Its Work For Animals

* DONATE SECURELY ONLINE: www.kinshipcircle.org/donation

* DONATE BY CHECK OR MONEY ORDER:
Kinship Circle / 7380 Kingsbury Blvd. / St. Louis, MO 63130

ACTION CAMPAIGNS • EDUCATION • ANIMAL DISASTER AID NETWORK
info [at] kinshipcircle.org or kinshipcircle [at] accessus.net
www.KinshipCircle.org * www.kinshipcircle.org/disasters/
KINSHIP CIRCLE is a 501c3 public charity. Donations are tax-deductible.

UNSUBSCRIBE:
* Select a Kinship Circle ALERT received in your mailbox
* Hit “FORWARD”
* Enter kinshipcircle [at] accessus.net
* Type UNSUBSCRIBE in your subject line and hit send

SUBSCRIBE:
Kinship Circle Primary: subscribe [at] kinshipcircle.org
Action campaigns on animal cruelty issues worldwide

Kinship Circle Animal Disaster Aid Network: kinshipcircle [at] accessus.net
Animal rescue coordination/news in disasters + companion animal alerts
SEND: Address / Phone / Email for placement in geographic disaster zone

*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.

————————-

Tagged: animals animal rights animal welfare action alerts kinship circle animal testing animal research animal experimentation vivisection book children’s book nih National Institutes of Health the lucky puppy propaganda flickr photos coloring book