As with the earthquakes in Haiti and Chile, I’ve decided to create a single blog post which will act as a sort of “hub” where I’ll post information, action alerts, newsletters, etc. related to the recent BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Given that President Obama intends to push forward with previously announced plans to expand offshore drilling, there’s a special emphasis on action alerts that address fossil fuels and/or their place in proposed climate change legislation. Where appropriate, I’ve also included information on what you can do to help meet immediate disaster relief needs in the Gulf Coast region.
 

 

“mom, this is just crazy!” Soleil the Sun Conure wants desperately to do something to aid her free-living avian cousins living in the Gulf Coast area. Can you HALP! her?
CC image via mNicolem on Flickr.
——————————

This section includes links to action alerts re: the recent BP oil spill, as well as offshore drilling and pending climate change legislation in general. The links are sorted chronologically, with the most recent additions appearing first. The list is far from inclusive; rather, it’s comprised of the emails that have landed in my inbox, and has been pared down based on usefulness and speciesist language.

Ongoing – Oil Spill: Wildlife Crisis [A project of the Endangered Species Coalition]

04/20/11 – CREDO Action: Destroying our gulf shouldn’t be a tax write-off. Tell BP to pay their fair share.

03/30/11 – Save Our Environment: No More Deepwater Drilling Permits in the Gulf!

01/24/11 – NRDC: Tell Congress to implement the recommendations of the presidential oil spill commission to prevent another Gulf oil disaster

10/19/10 – Save Our Environment: Offshore Oil Drilling Ban LIFTED?!?!

10/05/10 – Alliance for Justice: Tell BP to Do the Right Thing

10/01/10 – NRDC: Tell your senators that failure to address the BP oil disaster is not an option

09/29/10 – NRDC: Stop the Pebble Mine; Tell Anglo American: No More Broken Promises!

09/27/10: Public Citizen: Send Public Comments to the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling

09/22/10 – NRDC: Tell your senators that failure to address the BP oil disaster is not an option

09/17/10: PEW Environmental Group: Senate Action Can Help Stop Another Spill

09/16/10: The Wilderness Society: Keep arctic wildlife safe from drilling rigs. Take action now.

09/03/10 – Save the Manatee Club: Keep Pressure on Washington for a Federal Drilling Moratorium

08/25/10 – Public Citizen: BP Trust Fund Not So Trusty

08/23/10 – Environment New Mexico: Help us defuse BP’s ticking time bomb in the Gulf

08/18/10 – Wildcare: Petition to Support AB 234 Pre-Booms in California’s Waters

07/29/10 – Endangered Species Coalition: Tell Congress to protect our communities and environment from offshore oil disasters

07/28/10 – Defenders of Wildlife: Tell Your Politicians to Clean up Politics and Save Gulf Wildlife

07/27/10 – The PEW Environment Group: Plug the leaks in the law now.

07/23/10 – NPCA: Protect National Park Lands Today and Tomorrow

07/22/10 – The Wilderness Society: Tell Congress to protect our lands from another drilling disaster

07/21/10 – Defenders of Wildlife: Life-Saving Gulf Wildlife Aid at Risk: Don’t Let Big Oil Win

07/15/10 – Endangered Species Coalition: Save all wildlife in the Gulf of Mexico

07/15/10 – Public Citizen: Congress: You Have Oil on Your Hands

07/13/10 – Louisiana SPCA: July 2010 Tail Mail – The Impact of the BP Oil Disaster

07/12/10 – True Majority: Stop the Big Oil Bailout

07/08/10 – NRDC: Tell Interior Secretary Salazar to stop BP’s Liberty Project.

07/07/10 – Center for Biological Diversity: Don’t Let BP Play Russian Roulette With the Arctic

07/01/10 – Call for Proposals: Crude Behavior: Animal Rights in the Wake of Deepwater Horizon

07/01/10 – Earthjustice: It’s Time For Independence From Fossil Fuels!

06/25/10 – Center for Biological Diversity: Burned Alive – Help Stop BP from Torching Endangered Sea Turtles

06/25/10 – Defenders of Wildlife: Take Action for Sea Turtles, Pelicans and Other Coastal Wildlife [Should you choose to use it, please edit the sample letter for speciesism.]

06/22/10 – PETA: Push Attorneys General to Charge BP With Criminal Cruelty to Animals!

06/22/10 – Endangered Species Coalition: Stop BP from burning turtles alive in the oil spill

06/22/10 – CREDO Action: BP is burning endangered sea turtles alive.

06/22/10 – Firedoglake: Tell BP: Put Cleanup Workers’ Health Before Your PR

06/20/10 – Power Without Petroleum: Stop the bribes! Demand clean energy!

06/17/10 – Oil Change International: Separation of Oil and State

06/16/10 – CREDO Action: What President Obama should have said.

06/10/10 – Patrick Leahy: Support ECEA – Hold Big Oil Accountable! [Should you choose to use it, please edit the sample letter for speciesism.]

06/10/10 – The Wilderness Society: Protect Arctic Alaska, A Place Like No Other

06/10/10 – Endangered Species Coalition: Never Again: Save Wildlife from Deadly Oil Spills

06/09/10 – WWLTV: Oil spill hardships forcing owners to give away pets [With a list of food banks to which NOLA residents can make a donation]

06/08/10 – NRDC: Tell Your Senators to Pass Clean Energy Legislation and Prevent More Spills

06/08/10 – Defenders of Wildlife: Take Action for Loggerhead Sea Turtles

06/07/10 – The Wilderness Society: Don’t Let Them Gut the Clean Air Act! [Deadline: June 10]

06/05/10 – Change-dot-org: Not an Environmental Disaster? Tell Congressman Don Young to Stop Defending Big Oil

06/05/10 – PBS: How Much Oil Has Leaked Into the Gulf of Mexico? [Get your Oil Spill Ticker here!]

06/04/10 – ecorazzi: Betty White Wildlife Fund Provides Grant To Gulf Dolphin Research

06/04/10 – Save Our Environment: Tell Obama: No More Offshore Drilling!

06/03/10 – The Wilderness Society: Sarah Palin and YOUR Alaska Lands

06/03/10 – The Sierra Club: Join the Eco Rescue and Recovery Team

06/03/10 – Cetacean Conservation: Declaration Of Cetacean Rights

06/01/10 – Change-dot-org: Tell Obama: Replace Ken Salazar as Interior Secretary

06/01/10 – National Whistleblowers Center: Protect Environmental Whistleblowers!

05/28/10 – Center for Biological Diversity: Stop Risky Offshore Drilling Without Environmental Review

05/28/10 – Firedoglake: Tell the Senate it’s time to Hold BP Accountable; Sign our petition to the Senate to eliminate the liability cap and hold BP completely responsible

05/26/10 – Dawnwatch: Jack Hanna misinforms Anderson Cooper on BP gulf clean-up 5/25/10

05/26/10 – Earthjustice: It’s Time to Pause Arctic Oil Drilling! [Should you choose to use it, please edit the sample letter for speciesism.]

05/25/10 – CREDO Action: Tell EPA: Take away BP’s billions in federal contracts

05/25/10 – Repower America: Tell BP: Spill the Truth!

05/24/10 – Defenders of Wildlife: Help Stop the Arctic Offshore Oil Disaster

05/21/10 – True Majority: No Bailout for BP

05/20/10 – Green for All: Gulf Oil Spill: Urge BP and President Obama to do their part!

05/17/10 – Center for Biological Diversity: Protect Our Oceans From Oil Drilling’s Invisible Threat: Acidification [Should you choose to use it, please edit the sample letter for speciesism.]

05/17/10 – WWF: Prevent an Oil Spill Disaster in America’s Arctic

05/17/10 – NRDC: Tell your senators to oppose Sen. Murkowski’s attack on the Clean Air Act

05/17/10 – America Blog: Urge the President to fire homophobe Jonathan I. Katz

05/15/10 – Ecological Internet: Obama’s Crude Awakening: Offshore Oil Drilling Is Ecologically Devastating and Must End [Should you choose to use it, please edit the sample letter for speciesism.]

05/14/10 – Save the Manatee Club: Protect the Southeast U.S. From Another Oil Rig Disaster

05/13/10 – CREDO Action: An inconvenient truth about the climate bill

05/13/10 – IDA: Tell President Obama And Vice President Biden Please Stop All New Offshore Oil Drilling!

05/13/10 – AVAAZ: No More Offshore Drilling!

05/12/10 – RAN: Tell Obama to stand up to Big Oil! [Bullet point #5: Go vegan! You'll have to pencil that one in yourself, though.]

05/12/10 – Defenders of Wildlife: Help Wildlife Survive a Changing Climate [5/17/10 deadline]

05/10/10 – The Wilderness Society: Stop Shell Oil’s offshore drilling plans in the Arctic

05/08/10 – Public Citizen: Boycott BP

05/08/10 – Oceana: Stop the Drill

05/06/10 – 350: Ban Offshore Drilling — Permanently!

05/06/10 – NRDC: Tell President Obama to Impose a Moratorium on New Offshore Drilling

05/03/10 – Center for Biological Diversity: Gulf Spill Disaster – No New Offshore Oil Drilling!
 
 

V-E-G-A-N spells LOVE. Also: I refuse to include crazy sad pictures of grounded pelicans and oil-soaked otters and turtles belonging to endangered species, splayed out dead on their backs; there are plenty of those in the Kinship Circle alerts below. Until then: LOL birds, vegan food not-porn, and silly smooth red dachshunds, mkay?
CC image via frippy on Flickr.
——————————

In her Mother’s Day newsletter, Karen Dawn noted that she’s seen relatively little discussion of this man-made disaster on animal advocacy listservs. While I admit that my reading list has grown slimmer and slimmer as of late, I tend to agree (which is actually one reason why I decided to compile this link/info roundup).

In this section, I’d like to highlight vegan reactions to the BP oil spill. Where appropriate, I’ve also included links to ongoing coverage from (mostly veg-friendly) environmental organizations. All links appear in reverse chronological order.

Ongoing – Sea Shepherd: Operation Gulf Rescue

Ongoing – The Center for Biological Diversity: Gulf Disaster Coverage

Ongoing – Oil Spill: Wildlife Crisis [A project of the Endangered Species Coalition]

Ongoing – International Bird Rescue Research Center blog

Ongoing – NRDC’s Switchboard Blog: Disaster in the Gulf

Ongoing – Humane Society of the United States (HSUS): Gulf Coast Response

Ongoing – Defenders of Wildlife: Offshore drilling in the U.S.

Ongoing – Mother Jones: MoJo’s BP Oil Spill Coverage

Ongoing – Democracy Now: BP Oil Spill

Ongoing – Salon: Gulf Oil Spill

Ongoing – Matter of Trust: Press and Press Releases

08/06/10 – Fast Company: Oil Is the New Black

08/01/10 – Invisible Voices: Paws for the Cause: Fundraiser for the Gulf Coast [August 15, 2010 @ Barrel Oak Winery in Delaplane, VA]

07/15/10 – vegansaurus!: How to help the other animals affected by the BP oil spill

07/09/10 – Alliance for Justice: Judicial Gusher: the Fifth Circuit’s Ties to Oil [.pdf]

07/07/10 – Best Friends: Relief for innocent victims; Twenty tons of dog food donated to help folks affected by Gulf oil spill provides the assistance needed to keep pets with their families

07/02/10 – Bloomberg Businessweek: BP, Coast Guard Will Save Turtles From Oil Burns

06/30/10 – Rainforest Action Network: Photo Essay: Ecuadorean Delegation Tours BP’s Oil Disaster in the Gulf

06/28/10 – Rainforest Action Network: Indigenous Ecuadoreans Share Oil Spill Experiences with Gulf Coast Communities

06/28/10 – Rainforest Action Network: The Lasting Stain of Oil: Cautionary Tales and Lessons from the Amazon

06/28/10 – The Discerning Brute: Oil Spilling and Spilling and Spilling

06/22/10 – Mother Jones: Louisiana Police Pull Over Activist at Behest of BP

06/19/10 – BuzzFeed: BP is Burning Sea Turtles Alive

06/18/10 – Poverty News Blog: How would you like 50 years of oil spills?

06/11/10 – Deep Roots: Animal Rights Blog: Birds and the BP oil spill

06/10/10 – International Bird Rescue Research Center: Post release survival of oil affected sea birds

06/09/10 – Tom Dickinson @ Rolling Stone: The Spill, The Scandal and the President

06/09/10 – United Animal Nations: Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and the Animals: Q & A

06/09/10 – vegansaurus!: Treehugger says that oil-soaked birds should be killed, not cleaned.

06/09/10 – Break the Matrix: Who Voted to Limit the Liability of Oil Companies?

06/07/10 – Kiss Me, I’m Vegan: The Animals of the Gulf Coast Oil Spill

06/07/10 – Best Friends: Gulf Oil Spill: Saving those they can, Part 2

06/06/10 – Best Friends: Gulf Oil Spill: Saving those they can, Part 1

06/05/10 – GOOD Blog: BP Banishes Hair Booms

06/04/10 – If It Was My Home: Visualizing the BP Oil Spill Disaster

06/04/10 – Stephanie @ Animal Rights & AntiOppression: Their Faces Will Haunt Us

06/03/10 – True/Slant: Five ways to boycott BP without helping Exxon

06/02/10 – Sue Coe: Murder in the Gulf

06/01/10 – Change-dot-org: Why Ken Salazar Should Take the Fall for the Oil Spill

05/25/10 – Green is the New Red: Greenpeace Protesters Who Oppose Off-Shore Drilling Could Face Terrorism Charges

05/17/10 – Animal Legal Defense Fund: Lessons from the Oil Spill

05/14/10 – Reuters: Huge BP spill means a high-stakes hurricane season

05/12/10 – Our Hen House: PATH Says Wildlife Damage in the Gulf is Much Bigger Than BP Will Admit

05/12/10 – Center for Biological Diversity: Kerry-Lieberman Climate Proposal a Disaster for Climate

05/06/10 – Spiegel Online: Expert Recommends Killing Oil-Soaked Birds

05/05/10 – vegansaurus!: Once more with feeling: Oil, not wind turbines, kills birds.

05/04/10 – vegansaurus!: This is the worst week ever, so watch some videos of adorable sneezing animals. Also, a rant.

05/04/10 – vegansaurus!: Devastating oil spill SUCKS BALLS: How we can help!

05/04/10 – Vegan-dot-com: Yes, PETA Really Does Convince People that All Animal Advocates are Nuts

05/04/10 – Vegan-dot-com: PETA Taunts Oil Spill Victims

05/03/10 – Green is the New Red: Did “Eco-Terrorists” Cause the Gulf Oil Spill?

05/02/10 – Sociological Images: The Power of Images in Environmental Movements

04/30/10 – PETA Media Center: PETA’s ‘Meat on Your Grill Equals Oil Spill’ Banner to Soar Over Alabama’s Gulf Coast [Oh yes they did.]

07/19/09 – Doris @ Animal Rights: Dawn Kills Animals
 
 

Angry Otter sez, “Fah-Q, BP! & Obama, u can shut ur piehoal 2, mkay? I d’nt vote 4 u anyway, so der.”
CC image via xrrr on Flickr.
——————————

Ongoing – The Colbert Report: Videos tagged “oil.”

Ongoing – The Daily Show: Videos tagged “oil.”

10/05/10 – Crude Justice: The Deepwater Oil Spill and the Search for Justice

06/17/10 – The Rachel Maddow Show: Energy Independence is a Myth

 
 
4. Donate Your Hair, Help Mop Up Oil (!)

For serious, y’all! The super-awesome science nerds at Matter of Trust make oil-sucking mats out of donated hair. Human, dog, llama, it matters not: any hair will do. The only requirement is that it must be clean – freshly washed or shampooed – and dry.

[I assume that this necessarily excludes naturally shed hair, which is a shame. All five of my dog-kids are short-haired and never require grooming, i.e., a fur cut or trim. Yet, the four rat/fox/Jack Russell terrier mixes shed like mad, especially in the spring and summer - so much so that I "frisk" and then brush them off before vacuuming the house. (Look! It's snowing!) Probably I collect enough dog hair to make a mat or two every year. If mats could include dander and dust, that is. But don't take my word for it; perhaps a lil' dust is a-ok. Or maybe there's a way of washing loose hair that I'm not aware of?]

Like oil itself, hair is hydrophobic; it repels water. Hair is also – as anyone with hair can tell you – lipophilic; it attracts and holds oil. Together, these two properties make it the perfect material for drawing oil out of water. Enter: “mats” woven from human and animal hair. (Kind of like the Sham-Wow!, as reinvented by Buffalo Bill.)

This short video explains it all:

On its website, Matter of Trust offers instructions for individuals – and barbers and groomers – who’d like to contribute to the project:

Hair / Fur / Waste Wool Clippings & Recycled Nylons Donations

Salons, groomers, wool farmers… all natural fiber donors can sign up to contribute to this program and get posters about our Hair For Oil Spills Program. Please see our specific instructions for this program. Individuals can tell their salons about the program and / or just mail in their own hair after reading our instructions for individuals. Nylons must be washed, can have small runs, and be put in a separate bag from the hair if coming together. Thank you!

As you may have already gathered, used nylons are also needed – to make mini-booms, I think – but c’mon, that’s nowhere near as cool as hair, so of course I wasn’t going to lead with it.

Anyhow, please consider donating your hair – either in full or just the occasional trimmings – to this most worthy of projects. But don’t stop there! If they aren’t already involved, introduce your local salons and animal groomers to the program, and encourage them to participate as well. You can also hold a “hair drive” and collect hair to send directly to Matter of Trust. Just, you know, be sure to let everyone know what it’s for, lest you look like a giant pervo. Maybe hold the drive in conjunction with a bake sale, a la vegansaurus? (‘Cause that doesn’t look weird at all! In a shiny way, I mean.)

Ralphie and I – and my luscious brown locks – circa 2002. My hair is at least 12″ shorter now – in the years after this photo was taken, I trimmed it a few inches at a time until it fell just past my shoulders, an act of foolishness for which I have yet to forgive myself – though I’m currently growing it out in order to donate it to Locks of Love or similar. I think I have the requisite extra 8-10″, but I’m trying to hold out until July or August, when the heat of summer is most oppressive. Or at least I was; now I’m torn. Oil-covered otters or cancer-stricken children: dear dog, how on earth do you choose between the two?!?
——————————

Updated, 6/22/10: And the Gulf Coast it is! Allow me to introduce to you to my severed ponytail, whom I have name Creature, and who will soon be on her way to the Gulf Coast (or wherever else she is needed) to help mop up oil – after a brief stopover at Matter of Trust, of course! Please consider deploying your own hair thingamapeoples, wanted or unwanted, if you can. Creature is lonely, yo.
——————————

Finally, I’ve crossposted select action alerts and newsletters below. (I expect that the bulk of these will be from Kinship Circle, which does an excellent job of covering and, at times, directly participating in disaster relief efforts. If you can spare it, you should totally throw a few bucks their way. No, really.)

Again, these are sorted chronologically, with the most recent alerts appearing first.
 
 
———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Kinship Circle – info [at] kinshipcircle.org
Date: Fri, Aug 20, 2010 at 5:07 PM
Subject: ANIMALS – Pakistan Flood / Gulf Disaster Update

[For simplicity's sake, I've removed the "Pakistan Flood" portion of this email alert. Since I've also created a page dedicated to the flooding in Pakistan, I decided to instead include it there; see: 2010 Pakistan Floods: Animal Rescue Resources. - ed.]

KINSHIP CIRCLE 8/20/10
AUGUST GULF OIL DISASTER UPDATE

ALL PHOTOS (C) WA2S.ORG / KINSHP CIRCLE

AUGUST UPDATE: Kinship Circle’ Brenda Shoss soon heads to the Gulf to join Team #5 off barrier islands and waterways in search of oiled animals. We urge animal advocates to not be lulled into an “everything is okay now” attitude. It isn’t. For example: Remember the baby Royal Tern chicks we found oiled on Queen Bess Island 6/12/10 [PHOTO ABOVE]? Conservation Coordinator Drew Wheelan informs us that they all died. For Kinship’s Rachel Laskowski, part of the ALL EYES ON THE GULF Expedition team that originally spotted/reported these babies, the news is heartbreaking.

Still, many others have been saved. We won’t give up our search for them. The oil’s impact has evolved…and now we need UNDERWATER CAMERAS and additional VIDEO GEAR to find and report animals in its toxic path.

DONATE ONLINE NOW:

www.kinshipcircle.org/donation

ANIMAL DISASTER RELIEF FUND

OR MAIL A CHECK TO:
Kinship Circle
7380 Kingsbury Blvd / St. Louis, MO 63130

KINSHIP CIRCLE & WORLD ANIMAL AWARENESS SOCIETY NEED FUNDING FOR:

** Boat charter fee for us to locate and report oiled animals: To canvass complex waterways and shores…we pay boat charter fees from $500 and up.

** Vehicle rental + gas for volunteer teams across 4 states: Our volunteers scout oiled regions across LA, MS, AL, FL. In order to follow oiled wildlife leads, we may travel hundreds of miles daily.

** GoPro Helmet Hero Wide: Cameras for underwater footage.

** More video equipment: Footage and post-production — for teams documenting in different oil polluted areas simultaneously.

** WISH ITEM: RV-motor home for mobile command center.

** WISH ITEM: 30-foot boat with cabin: For daily water exploration, documentation, and oiled wildlife reporting.

** Daily communications: In order for Kinship Circle to navigate ground teams and strategize daily, we incur large communications bills. Without funding for long distance, internet and public messaging, we can neither implement work on the ground nor publish daily reports, photos, videos.

DONATE NOW:

www.kinshipcircle.org/donation

With over 2 million gallons of crude leaked into Gulf waters, more marine mammals are likely to suffer. Kinship Circle’s Darla Wolak photographed this Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphin, who washed ashore dead in Key Largo, FL.

KINSHIP CIRCLE is focused on wildlife harmed in the Deepwater Horizon disaster. Partnering with World Animal Awareness Society for ALL EYES ON THE GULF Expedition, our volunteers:

* Comb beaches, estatuaries, nesting grounds and open waters — traveling hundreds of miles daily in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida — to find distressed animals and map the oil’s present and long-term impact.

* Locate and report suffering animals to area Unified Command Centers.

* Provide GPS coordinates and other details about oiled wildlife — that expedite rescue and save lives.

* Embed on planes/boats with US Fish & Wildlife, Coast Guard and other agencies/officials.

* Document the oil disaster’s influence on animal habitat and survival.

* Keep a “living map” to chart our journey with photos, video, news.

GULF DISASTER HOME: kinshipcircle.org/gulf_spill/
FIELD NOTES: www.kinshipcircle.org/gulf_spill/2010-06-notes.html
PHOTO LOG: kinshipcircle.org/gulf_spill/photo-log-06-2010.html
REAL-TIME LIVE MAP: www.wa2s.org/

Kinship Circle has no major funding support for animal disaster response. Your tax-deductible gift is a lifeline!

Kinship Circle is a 501c3 nonprofit. All donations are tax-deductible.

JOIN KINSHIP CIRCLE: subscribe[at] kinshipcircle.org
* Action campaigns on animal cruelty issues worldwide
* Animal rescue coordination/news in disasters

UNSUBSCRIBE
* Select a Kinship Circle ALERT received in your mailbox
* Hit “FORWARD” + Send to: info[at] kinshipcircle.org
* Type UNSUBSCRIBE in your subject line and hit send
 
 
———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Kinship Circle – info [at] kinshipcircle.org
Date: Thu, Jul 29, 2010 at 5:33 PM
Subject: Rock N’ Roll For Gulf Oil Victims!

PLEASE FORWARD FAR & WIDE!
Rock N’ Roll For Gulf Oil Victims – Have Fun Helping

GULF OF MEXICO BENEFIT CONCERT
August 29, 2010 * 2:00pm to 10:00pm

WHERE: Mulcahy Pub & Concert Hall
3232 Railroad Ave / Wantagh, New York 11793

RESERVE YOUR TICKETS NOW:
Ron Delfino, Benefit Sponsor: 631-575-2748, delfinoron [at] yahoo.com

CONCERT BENEFIT PROCEEDS GO TO:

1) KINSHIP CIRCLE: Oiled Wildlife – To fund locating/reporting oiled wildlife and documentation of long-term impact on animals.

www.KinshipCircle.org/gulf_spill

2) ST. BERNARD COMMUNITY CENTER: Small Businesses – Support small businesses devastated by the Gulf oil disaster. www.ccstb.org/index.html

PHOTOS (c) WAS2.org / Kinship Circle July 2010

Do you feel helpless watching this oil disaster unfold? Now you can do something to help — and have a blast. The Gulf Of Mexico Benefit Concert features some of New York’s hottest bands, including: No Request Band; Full House; Status Joe; Bad Medicine; Rock Hard Comedy Show

CONTACT RON DELFINO TO RESERVE YOUR TICKETS NOW!
631-575-2748, delfinoron [at] yahoo.com

The delicate cleaning process of an oiled Laughing Gull at Theodore Wildlife Rehab Center in Theodore, AL. Photo (c) WA2S.org / Kinship Circle, Gulf 2010

Kinship Circle, a 501c3 animal advocacy organization, is focused on wildlife hurt in the Deepwater Horizon disaster. Partnering with World Animal Awareness Society for ALL EYES ON THE GULF Expedition, our volunteers:

- Locate and report suffering animals. Our reports to Unified Command Centers — with GPS coordinates and details of oiled animals — save lives.

- Embed on planes and boats with US Fish and Wildlife, Coast Guard…to document long-term oil impact on animals. Our “living documentary” includes photos, videos, interviews and a real-time map…

KINSHIP CIRCLE NEEDS FUNDING FOR:

** Boat charter fees in oil polluted states, to locate/report oiled animals

** Vehicle rental + gas: AEOTGE teams scout oiled areas across four states.
To follow oiled wildlife leads, we travel hundreds of miles daily in:

REGION #1: Greater New Orleans, Jefferson Parish (Grand Isle); Plaquemines Parish (Venice, LA)
REGION #2: Coastline between Biloxi, Mississippi and Pensacola, Florida, Alabama
REGION #3: Southern tip of Florida coastline down to Florida Keys, Miami Beach, etc.

** BIG WISH / GoPro Helmet Hero Wide: Hi-tech camera for underwater footage.

** BIG WISH / RV-motor home for mobile command center

** BIG WISH / 30-foot boat with cabin: For daily water exploration, documentation, and oiled wildlife reporting.

** Daily communications: In order for Kinship Circle to navigate ground teams and strategize daily, we incur large communications bills. Without funding for long distance, internet and public messaging, we can neither implement work on the ground nor publish daily reports, photos, videos.

DONATE ONLINE NOW:

www.kinshipcircle.org/donation

SELECT: BP Gulf Oil Spill

OR MAIL A CHECK TO:
Kinship Circle / 7380 Kingsbury Blvd / St. Louis, MO 63130
ATN: Gulf Oil Disaster

** GULF SPILL 2010: www.kinshipcircle.org/gulf_spill
** FIELD NOTES: www.kinshipcircle.org/gulf_spill/2010-06-notes.html
** PHOTO LOG: www.kinshipcircle.org/gulf_spill/photo-log-06-2010.html

 
 
———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Kinship Circle – info [at] kinshipcircle.org
Date: Sun, Jul 18, 2010 at 12:14 AM
Subject: Help Us Find Oiled Animals, Gulf Coast

KINSHIP CIRCLE
Help Us Find Oiled Wildlife And Uncover The Truth
We can’t reach suffering animals without your support!

July 18, 2010, Gulf Coast — A heavily oiled bird clings to a boom. A dead dolphin washes ashore. Further out, rusty globs ooze toward a living shore… Kinship Circle, a 501c3 organization, is on the ground — focused on animals harmed in the Deepwater Horizon oilrig disaster.

Audubon Aquatic Center at Freeport-McMoRan Audubon Species Survival Center is base camp for oiled manatees, sea turtles, dolphins. Our team gains unique access here. Above, turtles are cleaned, tagged and micro-chipped.

A WINDOW TO THE TRUTH — In partnership with World Animal Awareness Society for the ALL EYES ON THE GULF Expedition (AEOTGE), Kinship Circle animal disaster responders embed on planes and boats with US Fish and Wildlife, Coast Guard…to form a living documentary of photos, videos and interviews. SAVING LIVES — They also act as “spotters” to locate and report suffering animals. Our reports to Unified Command authorities — including GPS coordinates and details about oiled animals — save lives.

**ALL PHOTOS (c) WAS2.org / Kinship Circle July 2010**

Please donate online now:

www.kinshipcircle.org/donation

SELECT: BP Gulf Oil Spill

Or mail a check to:
Kinship Circle / 7380 Kingsbury Blvd / St. Louis, MO 63130
ATN: Gulf Oil Disaster

We find oiled baby birds on contaminated shores along Queen Bess Island, LA.

KINSHIP CIRCLE HAS NO MAJOR FUNDING SUPPORT – YOU ARE OUR LIFELINE!

DONATIONS FOR GULF DEPLOYMENT HELP WITH:

* Boat charter fees in oil polluted states, for us to locate and report oiled animals: To canvass complex waterways around Gulf barrier islands…

* Vehicle rental + gas for volunteer teams covering four states:
Volunteers scout oiled areas in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida. In order to follow oiled wildlife leads, we travel hundreds of miles daily.

* Deployments: We’ll send AEOTGE teams through August, and continue with wildlife rescue deployments. Cost for field work includes such items as:
– Volunteer lodging / On-ground emergency fund
– Volunteer gear as needed, ie: HAZMAT/Tyveck suits, respirators…
– Volunteer wildlife training/certification

* Daily communications: In order for Kinship Circle to navigate ground teams and strategize daily, we incur large communications bills. Without funding for long distance, internet and public messaging, we can neither implement work on the ground nor bring you daily reports, photos, videos.

“WA2S.org Executive Director Tom McPhee, with volunteer Jonathan Shurtz, spot two oiled pelicans. Jon immediately calls Unified Command to relay the birds’ GPS coordinates. Later, authorities confirm that these oiled pelicans are rescued and transported to the IBRCC bird cleaning operation. We’re thanked for ongoing efforts to locate and report oiled wildlife.”

“While investigating Black Mangrove Island, LA, Kinship Circle’s Esther Regelson and Darla Wolak, spot a juvenile Roseate Spoonbill. The severely oiled bird fights to stay atop an oil boom. The sighting is called in, but it becomes unbearable to watch the bird struggle to keep from drowning. So the bird is caught, brought to emergency triage, and then transferred to IBRRC Fort Jackson Rehabilitation Center. During one of our regular visits to IBRRC, we learn that this bird will live.”

DONATE ONLINE NOW:

www.kinshipcircle.org/donation

SELECT: BP Gulf Oil Spill

OR MAIL A CHECK TO:
Kinship Circle / 7380 Kingsbury Blvd / St. Louis, MO 63130
ATN: Gulf Oil Disaster

**Kinship Circle has no major funding support for any of its animal disaster response. Your tax-deductible gift is a lifeline!

GULF OIL SPILL PHOTOS, VIDEOS & REPORTS:
* GULF SPILL HOME: www.kinshipcircle.org/gulf_spill
* FIELD NOTES: www.kinshipcircle.org/gulf_spill/2010-06-notes.html
* PHOTO LOG: www.kinshipcircle.org/gulf_spill/photo-log-06-2010.html
* SUPPORT: www.kinshipcircle.org/donation
* INTERACTIVE MAP/VIDEOS: www.wa2s.org

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

JOIN KINSHIP CIRCLE: subscribe [at] kinshipcircle.org
* Action campaigns on animal cruelty issues worldwide
* Animal rescue coordination/news in disasters

UNSUBSCRIBE
* Select a Kinship Circle ALERT received in your mailbox
* Hit “FORWARD” + Send to: info [at] kinshipcircle.org
* Type UNSUBSCRIBE in your subject line and hit send
 
 
———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Kinship Circle – disasteraid [at] kinshipcircle.org
Date: Sun, Jul 4, 2010 at 10:32 PM
Subject: Gulf Spill Window To The Truth

7/4/10 – KINSHIP CIRCLE
Window To The Truth – Gulf Oil Spill 2010
Bookmark: www.KinshipCircle.org/gulf_spill

This July 4th we honor an American tradition: THE TRUTH. Kinship Circle volunteers are at the Gulf Oil Spill — partnering with World Animal Awareness Society for All Eyes On The Gulf expedition. We’re on the ground as investigators and animal spotters. We want YOU to see too. It’s all here, photos and reports on what is really happening in the Gulf:

** GULF SPILL HOME: www.KinshipCircle.org/gulf_spill
** FIELD NOTES: www.kinshipcircle.org/gulf_spill/2010-06-notes.html
** PHOTO LOG: kinshipcircle.org/gulf_spill/photo-log-06-2010.html

CHECK OUT THE MOVIE: ALL EYES ON THE GULF – CHAPTER 1

www.KinshipCircle.org/gulf_spill

It’s at the top left side of the page, underneath a counter showing real-time gallons of oil spewed into Gulf waters.

Our volunteers report oiled baby birds along contaminated shorelines in Queen Bess Island, Louisiana. PHOTOS (C) WA2S.org/Kinship Circle

News Bytes From The Gulf

7/4/10 – Houma, LA: Kinship Circle/WA2S.org vols fly over ground zero in a Coast Guard plane with CNN and other media. Smoke. Fire. Oil. Rusty globs and streaks stretch for miles, oozing toward a living shore.

7/3/10 – Venice, LA: While on the water with American Bird Conservancy, loud Coast Guard airboats zip past and scare birds. An oiled pelican lags behind his spooked flock. Report him? Officials won’t come till he’s flightless.

7/3/10 – IBRRC, LA: For every bird rescued, hundreds more aren’t. Each mother here means babies abandoned out there. Only state or federally licensed wildlife experts are authorized to rescue wildlife at this time.

7/2/10 – Black Mangrove Island, LA: Our team members, embedded with USFW, spot a juvenile Roseate Spoonbill (ABOVE). The severely oiled, fragile bird struggles to stay atop an oil boom. He’s flightless and could drown. The sighting is called in, but our boat captain cannot bear to watch any more. He floats within reach and grabs the worn-down bird, who is taken to Grand Isle Marina for emergency triage. The bird is then transferred to IBRRC Bird Cleaning Operation. During one of our regular visits to IBRRC, we see that this lucky bird is recovering. PHOTOS (C) WA2S.org/Kinship Circle

SEE OUR REAL-TIME MAP WITH VIDEOS & MORE: www.wa2s.org

DONATE ONLINE NOW:

www.kinshipcircle.org/donation

SELECT: BP Gulf Oil Spill

OR MAIL A CHECK TO:
Kinship Circle
7380 Kingsbury Blvd / St. Louis, MO 63130
ATN: All Eyes On The Gulf

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

JOIN KINSHIP CIRCLE: subscribe [at] kinshipcircle.org
* Action campaigns on animal cruelty issues worldwide
* Animal rescue coordination/news in disasters

UNSUBSCRIBE
* Select a Kinship Circle ALERT received in your mailbox
* Hit “FORWARD” + Send to: info [at] kinshipcircle.org
* Type UNSUBSCRIBE in your subject line and hit send
 
 
———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Ken Shapiro – ken.shapiro [at] animalsandsociety.org
Date: Wed, Jun 23, 2010 at 2:55 PM
Subject: ASI News from the Gulf

The crisis in the Gulf of Mexico is on everyone’s mind, and images of oil-coated birds, turtles and other wildlife remind us of how terrible the toll is and will continue to be. Often forgotten are the countless microorganisms and other small animals the loss of whom makes this truly an ecological disaster. Although the Animals and Society Institute is not directly involved with animal rescue, we nevertheless support those on the front lines and will get behind all efforts to protect the environment from oil spills, factory farm pollution and any other human-based threat. We encourage you to stay informed and help where you can.

Oiled Perspectives from the Gulf Coast

Kristin L. Stewart, ASI Board member and co-author of our dolphin policy paper, lives on the Gulf Coast (pictured above with Ursa Minor, Mango and husband Ben) and sends this eyewitness report:

The beaches of Northwest Florida have been my home for more than 15 years. President Obama visited us in Pensacola Beach on Tuesday morning, and from the Oval Office that night he addressed the nation to talk about the BP oil spill, recognizing it as “the worst environmental disaster America has ever faced.” I think he is right on about that, although it still does not seem to capture the magnitude of this thing. I cannot fathom what the days, months, years, even generations ahead may reveal about the true breadth of this disaster and what it will mean for coastal and marine life and habitat.

Wildlife biologists say that, unlike dolphins, turtles do not show avoidance behavior when encountering oiled waters, and birds can hardly avoid the affects of oil. Still, I have seen dolphins off the shore here as recently as today and, strangely enough, since the spill began in late April, I’ve noticed far fewer pelicans and seagulls at the beach than normal. That doesn’t mean the birds have escaped the oil, of course. Although I haven’t yet come across oiled wildlife, I’m not looking forward to that inevitability. The official count of affected wildlife along the Gulf coast, as of June 16, is up to 1,417 birds (alive and dead), 449 sea turtles (353 of whom were found dead); and 43 marine mammals -almost all of whom were dead dolphins. (Photo above was taken at Nela Beach last week.)

During his speech, President Obama also characterized pretty well what most people on the Gulf Coast are feeling these days: “sadness…anger…[and] a wrenching anxiety” about what this means for us, our environment, and our way of life. I include all animals in that definition of “us.” From my current perspective, clean-up crews seem disorganized and lethargic; accurate, reliable information about the spill and its impact has been spotty at best; and the question of how best to respond to this unprecedented event – now and in the future – remains urgent, complex, and utterly unclear.

(Watch for more updates in our future newsletters)

Protests Target BP

On June 8, the 50th day of the BP oil spill, a series of vigils were held around the country, organized by MoveOn.org. Managing Director Bee Friedlander (above, right) attended the event in Ann Arbor, Michigan, along with friends from the local animal advocacy movement. Bee spoke briefly comparing the current oil spill with the 1989 Exxon Valdez tragedy. She noted that many of those in attendance were there specifically because of the animals affected by the disaster. (Photo by Kate Brindle)

Click here to read about Bee’s previous experience during the Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska.

Oil Isn’t the Only Thing Spewing into the Environment

Sadly, the assault on the environment in the Gulf is not the only major environmental threat in the United States. Every day, millions of gallons of bacteria-laden manure runoff from concentrated animal feeding operations – CAFOs, or factory farms – pollute groundwater, contaminate crops and combine with methane from farmed animals to contribute more to greenhouse emissions than any other industry, including transportation.

“The CAFO Hothouse: Climate Change, Industrial Agriculture and the Law,” by David N. Cassuto, is the ASI’s most recent policy paper. It was written to offer activists, writers, students, legislators and consumers a concise overview of this extremely serious issue and instigate a reform of agricultural policy in this country.

Just like the growing consumption of oil and gas, the world’s increasing appetite for meat is resulting in environmental changes of huge proportions. In his paper, Professor Cassuto reports that “Worldwide, demand for animal products is growing by 3 percent per year in developing countries…[and] is expected to increase an additional 35 percent by 2015 and to double by 2050.” He notes that 5,000 pigs on a single farm product as much raw sewage as a town of 20,000 people; however, few government regulations cover factory farms, and the meat, egg and dairy industries are not held accountable for this pollution.

To learn more about this important issue, click here to order your own copy of “The CAFO Hothouse” today!

HAS Fellowship News Reaches Australia

The University of Melbourne, home to one of this year’s Human-Animal Studies Summer Fellowship scholars, recently reported on the ASI program in its Voice publication.

Siobhan O’Sullivan, Ph.D., of the university’s School of Social and Political Sciences is at Clark University now with her HAS colleagues. The UM calls the ASI “American’s premier animal studies think tank” and notes that Dr. Sullivan recently received a grant to establish a Web site that will link other HAS scholars throughout Australia, New Zealand and the neighboring South Pacific islands. Click here to read the full article.

(Note: The article erroneously lists the “Humane Society of America” as a fellowship sponsor.)

Also, click here to see the Fellowship’s final week schedule of speakers.

Does BSL Curb Dog Bites?

Apparently not, according to a survey taken by the Toronto Humane Society five years after Ontario voted to severely restrict dogs labeled as pit bulls. Learn more about the results in our Research Nutshell.

Kim Stallwood Chats in the Zone

European Director Kim Stallwood was featured in a live chat on the Animal Rights Zone Web site on June 19; click here to read the archived discussion!

Please Help Us Move Forward

We share your frustration and concern over events in the world that seem to overwhelm our desire to move forward rather than backward when it comes to saving animals. There is no lack of bad news, but there is also no lack of resolve for turning things around. For the sake of the animals – and the world we share with them – we cannot give up, we can only move forward.

Your support of our academic and policy programs helps change things for the better. We value your membership, participation and determination, and commit to doing all we can for a better tomorrow.

For the animals,

Ken Shapiro
Executive Director

Click here to support the Animals and Society Institute

Animals and Society Institute | 2512 Carpenter Road, Suite 201-A2 Ann Arbor, MI 48108-1188 USA
(734) 677-9240 | (734) 677-9242 (fax) | info@animalsandsociety.org | Privacy Policy | Home | MyASI | Site Map

© Copyright 2010 Animals and Society Institute. 2512 Carpenter Road Suite 201-A2 Ann Arbor MI 48108-1188 USA. All Rights Reserved.
 
 
———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Cathy Liss, President – eAlert [at] awionline.org
Date: Tue, Jun 22, 2010 at 12:26 PM
Subject: URGENT AWI eALERT: Worst environmental catastrophe in US history could foreshadow more to come – Please ask President Obama to permanently ban all new offshore drilling

To view this eAlert online, please visit www.awionline.org/ht/display/ContentDetails/i/21971/pid/11187

June 22, 2010

Worst environmental catastrophe in US history could foreshadow more to come – Please ask President Obama to permanently ban all new offshore drilling

Dear Humanitarian:

The massive and continuing torrent of oil from the April 20th explosion on and subsequent sinking of BP’s Deepwater Horizon ultra-deepwater drilling rig is the worst environmental disaster in US history. The unfolding devastation will forever alter the entire ecosystem of the Gulf of Mexico and beyond. Over 100 million gallons of oil are estimated to have been released into the Gulf already, nine times more oil than was released by the catastrophic wreck of the Exxon Valdez. Recent estimates indicate that, two months after the initial explosion, 2.5 million gallons continue to spew into the fragile and once ecologically rich Gulf ecosystem every day! In other words, BP is releasing the equivalent of a new Exxon Valdez every four and a half days.

A rescue worker lifts an oil-covered turtle out of a hand net.
——————————

Oiled and dead birds, sea turtles, dolphins and fish are showing up in increasing quantities, and many more dead animals are likely to be lost at sea never to be accounted for. Oil is approaching sensitive breeding areas for birds on marshes and beaches, and scientists are predicting a near total breeding failure for those birds this year.

More sea turtles, fish and marine mammals are likely to suffer as the toxic plume, currently measuring 20 miles long and five miles wide, disperses through the water column. The already tenuous future of threatened and endangered sperm whales, manatees, sea turtles, and brown pelicans is particularly worrisome. At least twenty national wildlife refuges and forty endangered species will be impacted as oil moves through the powerful waters of the Gulf Stream. We will not truly understand the full effects of this unprecedented and still escalating disaster for many years to come.

The effects on wildlife of the experimental dispersants used by BP to break up the oil are largely unknown and may, in fact, do more harm than good, by spreading chemicals throughout the food chain, as well as spreading the oil further. BP has applied over a million gallons of the toxic chemical to break down the oil and disperse it at sea, protecting shorelines while sacrificing countless animals in the water column and those on the sea floor.

The damage predictions are devastating, and efforts thus far to stop the flow of oil, largely unsuccessful. Crews have been using a variety of methods to keep oil from reaching beaches, wetlands and estuaries, but cleanup efforts have been erratic and insufficient, resulting from BP’s gross lack of emergency preparedness and intentional trivialization of the risks. There have even been reports of BP workers blocking efforts to rescue endangered sea turtles and burning the animals alive[1] [2]. The lack of government oversight and the failure to follow even loose regulatory measures are painfully apparent.

The industry-friendly Minerals Management Service has allowed, essentially, oil companies to self-regulate for years, encouraging dangerous drilling operations to move forward without environmental safeguards.

On May 27, President Obama announced a 6-month “moratorium” on new offshore drilling permits. However, most of the existing 3,500 drilling rigs and platforms in U.S. coastal waters (79 of them deepwater wells), including some particularly dangerous projects, are allowed to continue, like ticking time bombs. The BP Atlantis, for example, one of the largest oil platforms in the world and also in the Gulf, is documented to have serious safety problems, yet remains in operation [3] [4]. Were something to go awry on the Atlantis, the Deepwater Horizon disaster would pale in comparison.

Although the scale of the disaster is overwhelming and the situation seems hopeless, there is something vitally important you can do:

Write to the President

This catastrophe illustrates the need for drilling operations to be strongly regulated and vigorously enforced. Please write a letter to President Obama and request that his Administration:

* immediately and permanently ban all future offshore drilling projects;
* immediately shut down BP Atlantis and other such unsafe drilling projects until proven safe;
* conduct a review (including their impacts to wildlife) of all deepwater platforms currently under construction and in operation and set a rigorous timeframe for resolving issues;
* halt the use of chemical dispersants until their impacts on the environment are fully understood and determined not to pose a significant threat;
* require all oil drilling to comply with environmental laws;
* ensure that wildlife rescue efforts proceed uninterrupted and investigate claims that BP is blocking rescue efforts; and
* develop strong recovery actions for threatened and endangered species.

If you prefer, you can email President Obama through AWI’s Compassion Index by clicking here.

Volunteer

To report an oiled shoreline or request volunteer information, please call the Deepwater Horizon Response Volunteer Request Line at 1-866-448-5816. To report wildlife in distress, call the Wildlife Distress Hotline at 866-557-1401.

For state specific volunteer opportunities, visit:

Louisiana: www.volunteerlouisiana.gov/

Mississippi: www.volunteermississippi.org/1800Vol/OpenIndexAction.doc

Florida: www.volunteerfloridadisaster.org/

Alabama: www.servealabama.gov/2010/default.aspx

For more information and for other volunteer opportunities, especially for those individuals with wildlife recovery and spill response experience, visit www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com.

Please share our “Dear Humanitarian” eAlert with family, friends and co-workers. As always, we are grateful for your help.

Sincerely,

Cathy Liss
President

[1] Los Angeles Times, “Death by fire in the gulf”, articles.latimes.com/2010/jun/17/nation/la-na-oil-spill-burnbox-20100617 (June 17, 2010)

[2] Sea Turtle Restoration Project, “BP Blocks Attempt to Save Endangered Sea Turtles from Oil Spill”, seaturtles.org/article.php?id=1660 (June 16, 2010)

[3] Food and Water Watch, “Spill the Truth”, www.spillthetruth.org/ (June 21, 2010)

[4] Washington Post, “BP Atlantis rig plans never received proper approvals, former contractor says” www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/17/AR2010061703872.html (June 17, 2010)
 
 
———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Kinship Circle – info [at] kinshipcircle.org
Date: Mon, Jun 21, 2010 at 7:48 PM
Subject: 957 Birds Dead – Boat Needed To Find Oiled Animals

6/21/10 – KINSHIP CIRCLE
WE ARE SEARCHING FOR A BOAT…
For Our All Eyes On The Gulf Expedition In Oil Spill States

The truth about the BP oil spill lies in Gulf waters. We are grateful to locals who ferry Kinship Circle/WA2S.org teams in their boats from Florida to Louisiana. But, to follow oiled wildlife leads, we NEED OUR OWN BOAT:

DO YOU HAVE (OR KNOW SOMEONE WHO HAS):

* A boat at least 30 feet long
* A boat with a cabin to sleep 4-6 people

ANYONE WITH A BOAT, OR LEADS TO A BOAT, CONTACT:
Michelle Way, michelle.way [at] wa2s.org
World Animal Awareness Society, www.WA2S.org

OR DONATE NOW:

www.kinshipcircle.org/donation

SELECT: BP Gulf Oil Spill

Oiled birds like this pelican, transform from reddish brown to their natural white and tan shades via a series of gentle cleanings. As part of our training, AEOTG team members visit Fort Jackson Rescue Center where the IBRRC Bird Cleaning Operation is underway.
——————————

957 Dead Birds…And Counting
6/21/10: USFWS STATS FOR BP OIL-AFFECTED ANIMALS

* DEAD BIRDS: 957 * oiled but alive: 724 * cleaned/released: 97
* DEAD MAMMALS: 47 * oiled but alive: 4 * cleaned/released: 1
* DEAD SEA TURTLES: 387 * oiled but alive: 117 * cleaned/released: 3

BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil rig now spews an estimated 100,000 barrels, or 4.2 million gallons daily, into Gulf waters. Kinship Circle — in partnership with World Animal Awareness Society for the All Eyes On The Gulf (AEOTG) expedition — is armed with camera lenses and notepads in oil-affected states. Our disaster responders act as “spotters” to alert Unified Command to suffering animals and facilitate their capture and care.

As we watch the tragedy unfold…in LA, AL, FL, MS…we realize how much YOU, the public, are not being told. For birds, turtles, dolphins, whales, fishes and other mammals — the disaster has barely begun.

LT: Birds are frightened and disoriented when they arrive at Fort Jackson Rescue Center.
RT: 6/13/10, Long Beach, Mississippi: Kinship Circle Team #1 photographs dead fish floating in oily waters.
——————————

LT: Kinship Circle’s Rachel Laskowski undergoes documentary film training in Louisiana with Tom McPhee, executive director of World Animal Awareness Society.
RT: Kinship Circle’s Rachel and Sister Michael Marie phone in from the water while recording oil affected wildlife.
——————————

SEE OUR GOOGLE MAP WITH VIDEOS. CLICK ON “EVENTS” BUTTON: www.wa2s.org

DONATE NOW:

www.kinshipcircle.org/donation

SELECT: BP Gulf Oil Spill

OR MAIL A CHECK TO:
Kinship Circle
7380 Kingsbury Blvd / St. Louis, MO 63130
ATN: BP Gulf Oil Spill

FUNDING IS NEEDED FOR:

* RV/motor home for mobile command center
* 30-ft boat with cabin for daily water excursions
* Vehicle rental + gas for volunteer squads covering 5 states
* Hazmat/Tyvek suits, respirators, rubber boots
* Deployment of volunteer teams through August (or longer)
* Public messaging and media outreach
* Computers/communications overhead and equipment
* AND MORE…

JOIN KINSHIP CIRCLE: subscribe [at] kinshipcircle.org
* Action campaigns on animal cruelty issues worldwide
* Animal rescue coordination/news in disasters

UNSUBSCRIBE
* Select a Kinship Circle ALERT received in your mailbox
* Hit “FORWARD” + Send to: info [at] kinshipcircle.org
* Type UNSUBSCRIBE in your subject line and hit send
 
 
———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Kinship Circle – info [at] kinshipcircle.org
Date: Sat, Jun 12, 2010 at 7:00 PM
Subject: Kinship Circle Deploys To Gulf Oil Spill!

6/12/10 – KINSHIP CIRCLE ANIMAL DISASTER AID
With All Eyes On The Gulf Oil Spill – Kinship Circle Is There

KINSHIP CIRCLE DEPLOYS TO THE GULF OIL SPILL

June 12, 2010 — Venice, Louisiana: Kinship Circle has gone where few other animal organizations have been: Into the trenches of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf. We are there right now, in an investigative capacity to document oil-affected animals and alert Unified Command where they are. Animal rescue groups — other than specialized organizations authorized under Unified Command — currently do not have access into restricted zones. But select press and documentarians do.

KINSHIP CIRCLE AND AEOTG GULF TEAM #1, from lt to rt:
(back row) Documentary filmmaker Tom McPhee and his son Kevin;
(front row) Kinship Circle IC Bonnie Morrison, Tania Velasco and Rachel Laskowski; Plaquemines Parish coastal director P.J. Hahn; Kinship Circle’s Cheri Deatsch and Sister Michael Marie; AEOTG’s Jon Shurtz
All photos © WA2S.org / Kinship Circle, Gulf Coast 2010

Kinship Circle was asked to “embed” with acclaimed documentary filmmaker Tom McPhee for his All Eyes On The Gulf (AEOTG) expedition. Our disaster responders are on the ground to focus camera lenses and notepads on contaminated parts of Louisiana, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and Texas. AEOTG is a scientific tour to collect visual records. It’s also a window to the truth. As part of AEOTG’s crew of filmmakers and photojournalists, Kinship Circle may deploy teams through August, as funds permit.

Tom McPhee’s organization, World Animal Awareness Society, is approved under Unified Command (BP, Coast Guard, fed/state officials) to access affected areas. All team members wear photo ID badges.

Brown Pelicans await cleaning in a holding pen at IBRRC (International Bird Rescue and Rehabilitation Center), where Kinship Circle and WA2S team members trained.
Photo © WA2S.org / Kinship Circle

WHERE ARE THE ANIMALS?

On 6/10/10 U.S. Fish and Wildlife reported that more than 400 oiled birds were taken to Fort Jackson Oiled Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Buras, Louisiana in a span of several days — over five times as many than in the last six weeks combined. Where are the photos and clips? According to CNN, BP is attempting to block reporters from photographing animals altogether.

Plaquemines Parish coastal zone director P.J. Hahn lifts an oil-covered pelican at Queen Bess Island in Barataria Bay 6/5/10.
AP/Gerald Herbert

A FILMMAKER’S VISION

Tom McPhee’s All Eyes On The Gulf is a portal to the “human/animal intersection” in this disaster. Team members undergo two-day training before they journey to oil damaged regions across five states. Volunteers gather visual evidence from ground, water and air levels. They act as “spotters” to supply Unified Area Command with location coordinates for suffering animals and facilitate their capture and care. Detailed data collection procedures are used and volunteers are prepped for encounters oil distressed animals.

A rescued and rehabilitated Kemp’s Ridley sea turtle is released off the Bolivar Peninsula in Texas. The species is threatened by the oil slick because it only nests in the western Gulf of Mexico. msnbc.msn.com

Help Save Lives By Supporting All Eyes On The Gulf

As evidenced by Kinship Circle’s aid in Chile’s 8.8 quake and tsunami — disaster response is expensive. We’re rarely involved in two catastrophic missions at the same time. But as animals are treated for wounds and disease in Chile…victims of BP’s oil spill await aid in the U.S.

Photo © WA2S.org / Kinship Circle

OIL SPILL RESPONSE FUNDING IS NEEDED FOR:

* RV/motor home for an All Eyes On The Gulf mobile command center
* Hazmat/Tyvek suits, respirators, rubber boots
* Deployment of volunteer teams through August (or longer)
* Public messaging and media outreach
* Computers/communications overhead and equipment
* Fuel, food, lodging, tents
* AND MORE…

DONATE NOW:

www.kinshipcircle.org/donation

SELECT: BP Gulf Oil Spill

OR MAIL A CHECK TO:
Kinship Circle
7380 Kingsbury Blvd / St. Louis, MO 63130
ATN: BP Gulf Oil Spill

Kinship Circle Animal Disaster Aid

Kinship Circle Animal Disaster Aid is a nonprofit that mobilizes volunteers, supplies and resources for animal victims through its network of trained responders in the U.S. and Canada. Kinship Circle works in agreement with government agencies or other NGOs to deploy teams of trained and credentialed animal responders for assessment, search and rescue, and emergency sheltering aid. We also report disaster news to inform the public about ways they can support animal aid efforts.

LEARN MORE ABOUT KINSHIP CIRCLE

KINSHIP CIRCLE: www.KinshipCircle.org
ANIMAL DISASTER VICTIMS: www.kinshipcircle.org/disasters
ACTION ALERT CENTER: www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library
CHILE DISASTER AID: www.kinshipcircle.org/chile

World Animal Awareness Society

Core mission: To focus a lens on human-animal interactions and to share this information with the world. World Animal Awareness Society is documenting the Gulf oil spill for historical, educational and research purposes. Visual data will be archived indefinitely and distributed via WA2S.org.

LEARN MORE ABOUT ALL EYES ON THE GULF

WORLD ANIMAL AWARENESS SOCIETY: www.wa2s.iorg
SEE GOOGLE MAP WITH VIDEOS OF WHERE WE ARE. CLICK ON “EVENTS” BUTTON

PRESS RELEASE: prlog.org/10732195

WA2S FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/pages/World-Animal-Awareness-Society-WA2SOrg/251128676541?ref=ts

——————————

JOIN KINSHIP CIRCLE: subscribe [at] kinshipcircle.org
* Action campaigns on animal cruelty issues worldwide
* Animal rescue coordination/news in disasters

UNSUBSCRIBE
* Select a Kinship Circle ALERT received in your mailbox
* Hit “FORWARD” + Send to: info [at] kinshipcircle.org
* Type UNSUBSCRIBE in your subject line and hit send
 
 
———- Forwarded message ———-
From: AAVS
Date: Fri, May 14, 2010 at 11:15 AM
Subject: Helping Wildlife Impacted by the Oil Spill

The American Anti-Vivisection Society: Helping Wildlife Impacted by the Oil Spill

Because AAVS’s mission includes all animals, our thoughts have turned to the wildlife whose lives and habitats have been seriously harmed by the enormous oil spill off the U.S. Gulf Coast. The numbers of affected populations—including birds, marine mammals, sea turtles, and fish—are likely to be staggering and may grow worse even after the spill has been contained. The heroic work to save them is only just beginning and will require a sustained effort over months, maybe even years. Helping the victims of a destructive event like this requires specialized training and there are only two organizations in the country with the training and experience to professionally manage a major oil spill response. One, Tri-State Bird Rescue & Research, is located in Delaware, not far from AAVS’s office.

Snowy Egret treated by Tri-State in 2008

“As a wildlife capture and transport volunteer, I work with rehab clinics in my local area, and visit others while shuttling patients to and from sites. Tri-State provides superior treatment and care for birds of all species—you’d be hard-pressed to find a more dedicated, caring, and knowledgeable staff of specialists anywhere.” – Chris Derer, AAVS Director of Development

British Petroleum (BP), the company responsible for this environmental catastrophe, has committed to covering the costs associated with managing and cleaning up the spill, including wildlife rescue. However, it’s important to remember that organizations like Tri-State can only continue to be prepared for crises of this nature because of support from caring people like us. We applaud their expertise and dedication, and know that they’ll appreciate donations that help them continue saving wildlife from perilous, manmade disasters.

For the animals,

Sue A. Leary, President
American Anti-Vivisection Society

Tri-State Bird Rescue & Research has been rescuing and treating oiled, injured, and orphaned wildlife since 1976. Specializing in oil spill response, Tri-State staff is on call 24-hours-a-day to address the wildlife impact of these environmental threats. They also provide training to other emergency response professionals.

Donate Now
100% of contributions received by May 21 will benefit Tri-State Bird Rescue

Join Us:
Facebook | Twitter | Myspace

© Copyright 2010 American Anti-Vivisection Society (AAVS) | All Rights Reserved

The American Anti-Vivisection Society, 801 Old York Road, Suite 204 Jenkintown, PA 19046
aavs [at] aavs.org | 215-887-0816 | www.aavs.org
 
 
———- Forwarded message ———-
From: DawnWatch – news [at] dawnwatch.com
Date: Sun, May 9, 2010 at 8:41 PM
Subject: DawnWatch: BP oil disaster — coverage highlights. Please ask the media for more. 5/9/10

The biggest news for animals over the last week has been the BP oil catastrophe in the gulf. Millions of animals, including 5,000 dolphins, endangered tortoises, pelicans, and countless fish live in that gulf and are dying slow and agonizing deaths from ingesting and inhaling the oil that our species has been vomiting into their home at a rate of 200,000 gallons per day. I find myself thinking of Avatar, where humans were invading Pandora after having totally trashed Earth. Think of what the Gulf of Mexico was like just weeks ago, and what it is like now: it seems that we really are going to completely trash our planet if we don’t change our ways, and change fast.

I happened to see a screening of the movie “Fuel” last week. Winner of the 2008 Best Documentary award at the Sundance Film Festival, it is now more timely than ever. It focuses on what our dependence on oil is doing to us and the earth, and it gives clean energy solutions. Please check out the trailer at www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPrH5za6BlE and get a copy of the DVD when it come out on June 22.

The BP explosion came just weeks after President Obama announced plans for more offshore drilling along our coastlines, an announcement that broke the hearts of environmentalists who had thought they had elected a president with similar values. While it is hard, as an animal holocaust is underway in the gulf, to even think of a silver lining, it seemed at first that at least this blanket of oil over the gulf would bury those plans. Yet as oil poured into the gulf Obama said, “Let me be clear. I continue to believe that domestic oil production is an important part of our overall strategy for energy security.”

The moratorium the administration has announced on new offshore drilling is for three weeks — until the cause of the BP explosion is determined. It doesn’t take into account that the next accident that wipes out a different ocean might have a different cause.

I urge you to please sign the Environment America petition asking Obama to reverse course on offshore drilling. The petition is at: tinyurl.com/24sqvf6

I have been scouring the media for animal news from the gulf. There isn’t much. CNN’s Brooke Baldwin has been on the scene at the gulf. I happened to tune in the first day she took a boat out to the spill. The boat pulled up alongside a sea turtle who we saw coming up trying to get air in the midst of the oil. At least 30 sea turtles have washed up dead so far.

The Fox News website has a slideshow headed, “Animal Victims of the Gulf Spill,” including some of the turtles, at www.foxnews.com/slideshow/scitech/2010/05/03/oil-spill-animals-rescue/#slide=1
(My thanks to Richard Hernandez for that link.)

The Center for Biological Diversity has been following events and posting relevant press. It is a good place to keep track of what’s going on. You’ll find their posts at tinyurl.com/38hqun5 (I thank Candaca Rocha for that link.)

I was shocked by the May 5 Washington Post story, by Juliet Eilperin, headed “U.S. exempted BP’s Gulf of Mexico drilling from environmental impact study.”

It tells us,

“The Interior Department exempted BP’s calamitous Gulf of Mexico drilling operation from a detailed environmental impact analysis last year.” It discusses the “decision by the department’s Minerals Management Service (MMS) to give BP’s lease at Deepwater Horizon a ‘categorical exclusion’ from the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).”

That story is on line at: tinyurl.com/34hsldq

Media interviews with representatives from the Center for Biological Diversity about that exemption, and the lobby money behind it, are well worth watching. Two of the most compelling have been on media outlets on the opposite end of the political spectrum, reminding us that environmentalism, like animal protection, need not be a partisan issue.

The Fox News White House correspondent, Major Garret, gave us a short and hard-hitting report about the exemption, which you can watch on line at: tinyurl.com/26s9voc

If you are a Fox News viewer, please let the network know how much you appreciated the report and that you want to see more on the BP oil spill crisis. Fox News takes comments via email at yourcomments [at] foxnews.com

Democracy Now brought us similar though more in depth coverage on May 7. You can watch it on line at: tinyurl.com/3ajgzc2

You can also email it to your friends, by clicking on the “email” link on that page.

Democracy Now’s Amy Goodman also did a radio blog on this issue, headed “BP: Billionaire Polluter.” It is well worth hearing or reading on line at: www.democracynow.org/blog/2010/5/5/bp_billionaire_polluter

Please thank Democracy Now for its coverage of the disaster and ask them to keep on the story. Democracy Now takes comments at www.democracynow.org/contact?to=8

CNN’s Jane Velez Mitchell, always superb on animal and environmental issues, did an “Issues” segment in which she called for a move to electric cars.

You can watch the brief segment on line at: tinyurl.com/265fqdd

Please recommend it to your friends (by hitting the “recommend” button) and please thank Jane for her continued commitment to animal and environmental issues — her producers need to hear how much their viewers appreciate her stance. Jane takes comments at www.cnn.com/feedback/forms/form5.html?106

The Center for Biological Diversity is calling for the resignation of big oil buddy, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, in light of the Gulf calamity. You can read more about Salazar at: tinyurl.com/25fll2e

Animal advocates need to learn more about Salazar. His department is also responsible for the recent delisting of Grey Wolves as an endangered species. Further, the “All-Creatures” animal advocacy site has a petition to have him removed as Interior Secretary due to his support for the ranching community and participation in the mustang round-ups and decimation of America’s wild horse population. You’ll find that petition on line at: www.all-creatures.org/alert/alert-20100421.html

Despite the animal annihilation underway in the Gulf, I have found relatively little information on animal news lists about the issue. I was therefore struck by Joshua Green’s superb blog on the website for The Atlantic, headed “No Energy,” in which he discusses what seems to be a lack of appropriate outrage. He shares the Obama quote that I shared above, Obama’s commitment to more drilling, and he writes:

“In the wake of the Gulf oil spill, the benefits of clean sources of energy are clearer than ever. What’s so infuriating about the Washington response so far is that there’s no indication the disaster has prompted Obama or anyone else to reconsider his position. In the past, major disasters shifted the terms of debate. This time, nobody is budging. …. Washington eventually responds to public outrage. (Just ask Goldman Sachs.) But for now, energy can join the long list of issues on which Washington leadership has vanished.”

The full column is on line at www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2010/05/no-energy/56285/

You can comment right below it or thank him for it by email at joshuagreen [at] theatlantic.com

I hope when the animal advocacy community watches some of the interviews above, about the deals made with BP, and thinks about the millions of animals dying slowly in the gulf, we will see some of that outrage to which the White House responds. The media has a huge impact on public thinking so please encourage the media to stay on this story.

CNN takes feedback for general news at www.cnn.com/feedback/forms/form1.html?39

Let them know we want interviews with environmentalists such as the representatives of the Center Biological Diversity.

Please send letters to the editor to your local papers, and contact your favorite shows, asking for coverage to keep what is going on in the gulf top of mind for the public. The animals and the Earth need your voice.

Yours and the animals’,
Karen Dawn

(DawnWatch is an animal advocacy media watch that looks at animal issues in the media and facilitates one-click responses to the relevant media outlets. You can learn more about it, and sign up for alerts at www.DawnWatch.com. You may forward or reprint DawnWatch alerts only if you do so unedited — leave DawnWatch in the title and include this parenthesized tag line.)

Please go to www.ThankingtheMonkey.com to learn about Karen Dawn’s book, “Thanking the Monkey: Rethinking the Way we Treat Animals,” which was chosen last year by the Washington Post as one of the “Best Books of The Year!”

To discontinue DawnWatch alerts go to www.DawnWatch.com/nothanks.php
 
 
———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Kinship Circle – info [at] kinshipcircle.org
Date: Wed, May 5, 2010 at 1:08 PM
Subject: Kill Baby Kill ­ BP Oil Spill Closes In On Gulf Coast

KINSHIP CIRCLE ANIMAL DISASTER AID NETWORK
5/5/10: Kill Baby Kill – BP Oil Spill Closes In On Gulf Coast

Members of Tri-State Bird Rescue and Research and International Bird Research Center hydrate a Northern Gannet bird, who was covered in oil.

IN THIS ALERT:

1. Kill Baby Kill: Some BP Bullet Points
2. Present Animal Response In Gulf Oil Spill
3. Tubul’s Story: Help Us Save More Like Him [Note: Please see Earthquake in Chile: Some 700,000 Animals May Be Affected for this portion of the alert.]

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

1. Kill Baby Kill: Some BP Bullet Points

A dead fish is seen on the beach in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. Getty Image

BP OIL SPILL IN GULF / DISASTER OVERVIEW

– 5/5/10: Unified command activated for West Coast of Florida: Reps from BP, U.S. Coast Guard and Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) are meeting to plan multi-agency response. They’ve also met with over 30 NGO environmental groups: Tampa Bay Watch, Save our Seabirds, Sarasota Bay Estuary Program, Sierra Club, etc. — in preparation for the worst case.

– 5/4/10: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) says the oil slick seems to move toward Alabama and Florida coasts, as well as the Chandeleur Islands off Louisiana’s southern tip. www.noaawatch.gov

– 5/4/10: U.S. Air Force prepares C-130s for spill response. Members of the 910th Airlift Wing are in Mississippi to help with oil spill clean up.

– 5/4/10: BP spokesperson Bill Salvin reports that three four-story, 70-ton “containment domes” will be lowered over leaks — to trap oil and help pump it to the surface. Other attempts such as a shutoff valve and floating booms have mostly failed — in part due to rough winds and seas.

– 5/3/10: Oil spews at a rate of roughly 5000 barrels (210,000 gallons) per day from three sections of piping. Birds and other animals are vulnerable because they are in reproducing cycles. Young animals may become oiled and parents may plunge into dark waters in search of food. There could be lasting repercussions for fragile wetlands along the Mississippi River.

– 4/22/10: BP’s oil rig collapses into the gulf, after an explosion on 4/20/10. Oil seeps out and BP, while aligned with government agencies and private contractors, cannot stop the flow of crude from the well.

– 4/20/10: A BP (British Petroleum) oil rig explodes. BP, operator of Deepwater Horizon oil rig situated 5,000 feet below the surface in Gulf waters, accepts responsibility for the disaster.

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

2. Present Animal Response In Gulf Oil Spill

A dead sea turtle on a Pass Christian, MS beach. At least 20 sea turtles were found dead along a 30-mile stretch from Biloxi to Bay St. Louis.

Many endangered turtles dying on Texas Gulf Coast. Salt Lake Tribune

Kinship Circle

We are watching the animal response to the BP oil spill. Presently, U.S. government, oil companies, and specialized oil decontamination/wildlife agencies are deployed. Some NGOs have volunteers on standby, but no one should self deploy to this high-security zone without invitation from the unified command (governing agency). KINSHIP CIRCLE IS NOT RECRUITING VOLUNTEERS AT THIS TIME.

A least tern checks her eggs on a Gulfport, Mississippi beach. Environmentalists fear that the oil slick will destroy this generation of birds that nest along the Gulf coast beaches during migration. AP

A dead pelican is seen on Chandeleur Island, Louisiana (5/3). Louisiana’s state bird, the brown pelican, could come to symbolize the affects of the damage done by the oil spill. Their nesting season, which has just begun, lies in the direct path of the spill. Getty Image

Coalition To Restore Coastal Louisiana

www.crcl.org/coalitionprograms/oilspillrecovery.html

REGISTER TO VOLUNTEER: www.thedatabank.com/dpg/316/personalopt1.asp?formid=oilspill
CRCL is joining with our partners at the local, state and federal level to begin registering volunteers to assist with spill recovery efforts.

QUESTIONS? CONTACT:
Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana
6160 Perkins Road, Suite# 225 / Baton Rouge, La 70808
office: 225-767-4181; toll-free: 888-522-6278; fax: 225-768-8193
email: coalition [at] crcl.org

If you encounter oiled wildlife, call: 1-800-557-1401
Do not touch or disturb oiled wildlife, for your safety and theirs.

We do not know the extent of impact to birds, wildlife, and habitat at this time. National Wildlife Federation, National Audubon Society, Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program and the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana are building a standby volunteer list.

Volunteer Louisiana (Statewide Hub)

www.louisianaserve.org/1800Vol/Homepage/viewEventDetails.do?eventId=30619

VOLUNTEER STATUS:
Volunteers not yet needed. Sign up to be updated as needs arise:

www.1-800-volunteer.org:80/1800Vol/Homepage/viewEventDetails.do?eventId=30619

CONTACT INFORMATION:
Volunteer Louisiana (Statewide Hub)
jpace [at] crt.state.la.us
Louisiana Serve Commission
263 Third Street, Ste. 610 / Baton Rouge, LA 70801
225-342-2038 * www.crt.state.la.us/laserve

The Independent: Wildlife rescue teams ready for US oil spill victims. photo: Creative Commons

International Bird Rescue Research Center (BRRC)

www.ibrrc.org/gulf-spill-2010.html#volunteer

VOLUNTEER STATUS:
No call for volunteers.

CONTACT INFORMATION:
Northern California (Main office)
San Francisco Oiled Wildlife Care & Education Center (SFBOCEC)
4369 Cordelia Road / Fairfield, CA 94534
707-207-0380; no_cal_center [at] ibrrc.org

Bird rescue specialists from International Bird Rescue Research Center (IBRRC) are on site in Louisiana and Alabama preparing rescue centers to clean seabirds caught in the Gulf coast oil spill. IBBRC is working in partnership with Tri-state Bird Rescue & Research to prep rehab facilities in Fort Jackson, Louisiana and Theodore, Alabama.

Tri-State Bird Rescue And Research

www.tristatebird.org/

VOLUNTEER STATUS:
Tri-State has been asked to oversee wildlife rehabilitation response along the gulf coast and is working closely with many collaborating organizations. All response efforts are coordinated by the Unified Command on-site.

CONTACT INFORMATION:
110 Possum Hollow Road / Newark, Delaware, 19711
302-737-9543; web form: www.tristatebird.org/contact

A dolphin swims through polluted waters of Drum Bay, Louisiana. There are as many as 5,000 dolphins between Mississippi and Louisiana coasts and the oil rig, many of whom are in their reproductive season. Getty Images www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/30/birds-oil-coated-gulf-spill_n_558665.html

Deepwater Horizon Incident Joint Information Center

www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com

VOLUNTEER STATUS:
Report oiled shoreline or request volunteer information: 866-448-5816

CONTACT INFORMATION:
985-902-5231; deepwaterhorizonresponse [at] hotmail.com
Submit alternative response technology, services or products: 281-366-5511
Submit your vessel as a vessel of opportunity skimming system: 281-366-5511
Report oiled wildlife: 866-557-1401

Nine staging areas have been set up to protect vital shoreline in all potentially affected Gulf Coast states (Biloxi, MS, Pensacola, FL, Pascagoula, MS, Dauphin Island, AL, Port Sulphur, LA, Shell Beach, LA, Slidell, LA, Port Fourchon, LA, Venice, LA).

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

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

FOR BREAKING NEWS & ACTION: subscribe [at] kinshipcircle.org
* Action campaigns on animal cruelty issues worldwide
* Animal rescue coordination/news in disasters

UNSUBSCRIBE
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* Hit “FORWARD” + Send to: info [at] kinshipcircle.org
* Type UNSUBSCRIBE in your subject line and hit send
 
 
———- Forwarded message ———-
From: People Protecting Animals & Their Habitats – PATH Inc.
Date: Tue, May 4, 2010 at 9:13 AM
Subject: Supplies/Donations Needed for Oil Spill Rescue

Bulletin from the cause: People Protecting Animals & Their Habitats – PATH Inc.
Go to Cause
Posted By: Kelly Overton
To: Members in People Protecting Animals & Their Habitats – PATH Inc.

Supplies/Donations Needed for Oil Spill Rescue

PATH needs the following items for oil spill assistance/rescue:

volunteers to collect supplies & donations in their communities
heating pads
electrical extension cords
pliers
nets w/ handle
netting
water picks
feeding syringes
sunscreen (not tested on animals)
wading boots
hotel/airline points/miles
financial support – donations

In NYC supplies/donations can be dropped off at:

Moo Shoes
78 Orchard Street
New York, NY 10002
(Lower East Side b/t Grand/Broome)

Checks can be mailed to (all donations are tax-deductible):

PATH
151 First Avenue, Suite 161
New York, NY 10003

www.ppath.org
Call to Action
Fundraising Project: People Protecting Animals and Their Habitats, Inc.
Donate

You are receiving this email because you are a member of the cause People Protecting Animals & Their Habitats – PATH Inc..

Causes Privacy Policy | Causes Address: PO Box 492, Berkeley, CA 94708 United States

——————-

Tagged: animals animal rights animal welfare action alerts dawnwatch kinship circle disaster relief disaster response man-made disaster bp british petroleum oil oil drilling offshore oil drilling oil spill gulf gulf coast wildlife free-living animals animal rescue environment energy climate change pollution hair donate donate your hair hair donation flickr photos videos science

 
In just three minutes, Colbert touches upon several important points:

1 – Sensationalist predator programming like “Shark Week” perpetuates the myth that many wild-living animals, including sharks, are dangerous creatures who are out to get us. They are to be feared – and also dominated, conquered and killed. It’s “us or them,” right?

2 – The Discovery Channel is doubly irresponsible in its demonization of species which are largely endangered.

3 – Promoting shark “conservation” during Shark Week commercial breaks? Batshit insanity! (Can I say that? Is “batshit insane” a speciesist phrase? Any vegan linguists in the house?)

4 – Humans pose a much greater threat to other humans than do sharks. In fact, humans pose the greatest threat to all life. We’re the ultimate monsters, yo.

5 – Mainstream media: FAIL.

——————–

Videos in this post:

The Colbert Report – Wednesday, August 5, 2009 – Human Week
Since sharks don’t kill that many people, the Discovery Channel should replace their Shark Week with Human Week. (03:13)

——————–

Tagged: animals animal rights animal welfare the colbert report stephen colbert discovery channel shark week sharks speciesism humans predators conservation shark finning pop culture video video blogging awesomeness

So far, there are 77 images, set to display randomly and rotate every 90 minutes. The majority are work safe, but if you happen to draw a swear word or naughty image, there’s a handy-dandy “Reload Banner” button located in the sidebar, right above the search box. Don’t say I never did anything for ya.

You can find out more about each image, as well as the motivation behind the project, on the Banner Credits page. Not to rehash what I wrote over there, but I was tired of the blog’s old look and name; the old banner image was so plain! I wasn’t keen on the idea of up and moving the site, though, so I figured a face lift was in order. Spiff things up, you know? I didn’t change a whole lot – just the banner, really, and I also simplified the background image so the site wouldn’t look overly cluttered and busy – but I love the result. The new banners, which are primarily comprised of photos and artwork I already enjoyed, are so shiny and pretty! I’ve already cycled through a few clicks of the “Reload” button, just to see what would pop up. Ahem.

Karma, in particular, has an interesting back story. The animal depicted on the banner is a Thylacine – a Tasmanian Tiger. Or rather, it’s a picture of a sculpture of a Thylacine. The sculpture is (was?) part of a traveling exhibit called Cryptozoology: Out of Time Place Scale, which Shane and I saw at the Kansas City Art Institute’s Artspace in December 2006. Cryptozoology is the study of cryptids; a cryptid being an animal thought – but not proven – to exist. You know, like mermaids, Bigfoot, Yeti, etc.

Cryptozoology is more Shane’s kind of thing. (Not that he believes in unicorns; rather, he enjoys myths and legends, and is fascinated by people who do champion the existence of Sasquatch.) But I love animals and museums, so when he suggested that we check out the exhibit, I was totally down with it.

Most of the exhibits were really quite amusing – very X-Files-ish.

For the conspiracy theorists, the door to the Department of Cryptozoology at the Federal Wildlife Commission:

Some sort of ridiculously adorable unicorn-doggy hybrid:

ZOMG, WANT! She’s probably not vegan, though.

A…day-glo monster fish? Honestly, I’ve no idea what he’s supposed to be:

A turkey-monster!:

Or Monsanto’s latest genetic creation; take your pick.

A miniature goat unicorn!:

What is it with unicorn horns, people?

The anatomy of Capelobo, complete with sexy bits:

Conjoined imp skeletons:

Actually, that would look mighty fine hanging in my living room, right next to the gas mask prints I’ve been wanting. Morbid, me?

A very artsy Abominable Snowman, bringing the rodent(s) home for Mrs. Snow(wo)man and little Sally and Abominable Snowman, Jr.:

And, of course, BIGFOOT!, i.e., Harry!

OH NOES! LOOK OUT SHANE, HE’S RIGHT BEHIND YOU!

Um, sorry. All this silliness carries me away. Yes, I am a nerd. Good times, tho.

All joking aside, there’s one exhibit that didn’t quite fit. Possibly you could call the Thylacine a cryptid in 2009, but once upon a time, they were alive and real. Thylacines existed – until we drove the species to extinction.

Explains Wiki,

The Thylacine was the largest known carnivorous marsupial of modern times. It is commonly known as the Tasmanian Tiger (because of its striped back), the Tasmanian Wolf, and colloquially the Tassie (or Tazzy) Tiger or simply the Tiger. Native to continental Australia, Tasmania and New Guinea, it is thought to have become extinct in the 20th century. It was the last extant member of its genus, Thylacinus, although several related species have been found in the fossil record dating back to the early Miocene.

The Thylacine became extinct on the Australian mainland thousands of years before European settlement of the continent, but it survived on the island state of Tasmania along with several other endemic species, including the Tasmanian Devil. Intensive hunting encouraged by bounties is generally blamed for its extinction, but other contributory factors may have been disease, the introduction of dogs, and human encroachment into its habitat. Despite its official classification as extinct, sightings are still reported, though none proven.

Image via Wiki and is part of the public domain.

Source: Photograph by E.J. Keller, from the Smithsonian Institution archives.

The Thylacine is likely to have become extinct in mainland Australia about 2,000 years ago, and possibly earlier in New Guinea. The extinction is attributed to competition from indigenous humans and invasive dingoes. However, doubts exist over the impact of the dingo since the two species would not have been in direct competition with one another as the dingo hunts primarily during the day, whereas it is thought that the Thylacine hunted mostly at night. [...]

Although the Thylacine had been extinct for around 2,000 years on the Australian mainland by the time the first European settlers arrived, it survived into the 1930s on the island state of Tasmania. At the time of the first settlement, the heaviest distributions were in the northeast, northwest and north-midland regions of the state. They were rarely sighted during this time but slowly began to be credited with numerous attacks on sheep. This led to the establishment of bounty schemes in an attempt to control their numbers. The Van Diemen’s Land Company introduced bounties on the Thylacine from as early as 1830, and between 1888 and 1909 the Tasmanian government paid £1 per head for dead adult Thylacines and ten shillings for pups. In all they paid out 2,184 bounties, but it is thought that many more Thylacines were killed than were claimed for. Its extinction is popularly attributed to these relentless efforts by farmers and bounty hunters. However, it is likely that multiple factors led to its decline and eventual extinction, including competition with wild dogs introduced by European settlers, erosion of its habitat, the concurrent extinction of prey species, and a distemper-like disease that also affected many captive specimens at the time. Whatever the reason, the animal had become extremely rare in the wild by the late 1920s. Despite the fact that the Thylacine was believed by many to be responsible for attacking on sheep, several efforts were made to save the species from extinction. Records of the Wilsons Promontory management committee dating to 1908 included recommendations for Thylacines to be reintroduced to several suitable locations on the Victorian mainland. In 1928, the Tasmanian Advisory Committee for Native Fauna had recommended a reserve to protect any remaining Thylacines, with potential sites of suitable habitat including the Arthur-Pieman area of western Tasmania.

In 1930 Wilf Batty, a farmer, killed the last known wild Thylacine in Mawbanna, in the northeast of the state. The animal, believed to have been a male, had been seen around Baty’s house for several weeks.

Image via Wiki and is part of the public domain.

Caption: “This 1921 photo by Henry Burrell of a Thylacine with a chicken was widely distributed and may have helped secure the animal’s reputation as a poultry thief. In fact the image is cropped to hide the fenced run and housing, and analysis by one researcher has concluded that this Thylacine is a mounted specimen, posed for the camera.”

Image via Wiki and is part of the public domain.

Description: “This iconic image of a bagged thylacine featuring Mr. Weaver in a studio portrait is repeatedly published yet it is not attributed. It may have been taken by Victor Prout who sojourned briefly in Tasmania in the late 1860s but is known and praised for his excellent panoramas of Sydney Harbour by contemporary photohistorians.”

Finally comes the portion of the Wiki entry that I excerpted in my explanation of the Karma banner, as it ties in directly with the Thylacine exhibit I saw:

The last captive Thylacine, later referred to as “Benjamin” (although its sex has never been confirmed) was captured in 1933 and sent to the Hobart Zoo where it lived for three years. [...] This Thylacine died on 7 September 1936. It is believed to have died as the result of neglect—locked out of its sheltered sleeping quarters, it was exposed to a rare occurrence of extreme Tasmanian weather: extreme heat during the day and freezing temperatures at night. This Thylacine features in the last known motion picture footage of a living specimen: 62 seconds of black-and-white footage showing it pacing backwards and forwards in its enclosure in a clip taken in 1933 by naturalist David Fleay. National Threatened Species Day has been held annually since 1996 on 7 September in Australia, to commemorate the death of the last officially recorded Thylacine. [...]

The Thylacine held the status of endangered species until 1986. International standards state that any animal for which no specimens have been recorded for 50 years is to be declared extinct. Since no definitive proof of the Thylacine’s existence had been found since “Benjamin” died in 1936, it met that official criterion and was declared officially extinct by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

The Thylacine sculpture pictured in the Karma banner sat on a table, not far from a projection screen. There playing, on a never ending loop, were the 62 seconds of Benjamin’s life immortalized on film.

It’s difficult for me to convey the melancholia exuded by this one exhibit. Photos of the display appear depressing enough, but they only capture a fraction of the emotions I remember feeling, at once mesmerized and appalled by the images on the screen. It was…heartbreaking, in a word. A painfully stark contrast to the frivolity and lightheartedness of the other pieces in the exhibit.

Even the display’s placement was depressing – the Thylacine artifacts were sequestered in corner, sad and lonely. Appearing at an art museum, probably this was intentional, meant to emphasize Benjamin’s desolate existence – and the tragic fate of her species.

I watched the film reel a dozen times, possibly more. Imprisoned in a small cage, Benjamin paced back and forth,

back and forth,

back and forth.

Pacing out of – what? Depression? Boredom? Anger? Frustration? Heartache? Loneliness? Most likely, all of these and more.

One of the last of her kind, she died in this prison, the victim of human cruelty and neglect.

And sheer, naked prejudice. Thinking of what befell the Thylacines, I’m reminded of the current plight of wolves in the United States, who are demonized for “stealing” and eating the animals whom humans have destined for their own dinner tables. Wolves need to kill and eat animals; it’s a matter of survival. Humans – at least, these particular humans – do not. The hypocrisy and hatred is stunning.

Unfortunately, President Obama shows little interest in halting the genocide.

——————

Tagged: animals animal rights animal welfare cryptids cryptozoology Thylacine Tasmanian Tiger Benjamin wildlife speciesism hunting extinction wolves kansas city kcmo missouri kansas Cryptozoology: Out of Time Place Scale KCAI Kansas City Art Institute Artspace pseudoscience defenders of wildlife art art exhibit museum flickr photos photo blogging

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

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

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*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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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/

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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

 
Naturally, even the so-called “butterfly huggers” (e.g., the North American Butterfly Association, the International Butterfly Breeders Association) view butterflies as a collection or a part of nature or ecology as opposed to the many individual beings that they are. Or, put another way, butterfly conservation is more about environmental protection than animal rights – or even welfare. Even so, The Dangerous World of Butterflies sounds like an interesting read, since butterfly collecting isn’t normally a “hobby” that’s equated with danger (nor are butterflies the first group of animals to come to mind when one thinks of wildlife “poaching”).

During the interview, Jon wonders why one might want to collect butterflies, due to their short life spans of a week or two. According to Wiki, this is a bit of a misconception:

It is a popular belief that butterflies have very short life spans. However, butterflies in their adult stage can live from a week to nearly a year depending on the species. Many species have long larval life stages while others can remain dormant in their pupal or egg stages and thereby survive winters.

Butterflies may have one or more broods per year. The number of generations per year varies from temperate to tropical regions with tropical regions showing a trend towards multivoltinism.

Not that the butterfly’s life span really matters – for, as Laufer explains, it’s not the aim of collectors to house a population of living butterflies. Rather, collectors view butterflies as objects to be exhibited, much like artwork. In this way, the appeal of “owning” the corpse of a butterfly belonging to a protected or endangered species is much like that of owning a stolen piece of art.

As morbid as this attitude is, I’m not sure it’s all that different from that of butterfly conservations, who view their objects of admiration as pieces of a whole, cogs to be manipulated and controlled in order to achieve a desired result. A thousand Schaus Swallowtails, for example, aren’t significant as a thousand living beings, but as representatives of an endangered butterfly species. To conservationists, the beings are all interchangeable members of a species, much as their corpses are interchangeable pieces of valuables and artwork to poachers and collectors.

——————–

Videos in this post

The Daily Show – June 17, 2009 – Peter Laufer
Peter Laufer sheds light on the villainous subculture of poachers who steal endangered butterflies and sell them for big money. (5.13)

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Tagged: animals animal rights animal welfare video video blogging the daily show butterflies wildlife conservation poaching endangered species Peter Laufer The Dangerous World of Butterflies speciesism wildlife conservation

ABC Video Highlights Damage to Birds from Trap, Neuter, Release Programs

American Bird Conservancy has produced a new, short video “Trap, Neuter, and Release: Bad for Cats, Disaster for Birds.” Each year, feral and free-roaming cats kill hundreds of millions of our nation’s birds, putting additional pressure on the populations of many species that are in decline.

Trap, Neuter, and Release (TNR) programs catch feral cats, neuter them, and then release them back to their colonies, which are subsequently maintained by volunteers. In theory, cat colonies managed under TNR will diminish over time through attrition, and eventually disappear. In practice this is not the case.

View the video here.

(If you have difficulty viewing the high-definition version, please click here.)

Here’s the video, along with its description on You Tube:

Each year free-roaming and feral cats kill hundreds of million of birds in the United States. One controversial solution to deal with the feral cat problem is trap, neuter and release. However, evidence is growing that this method is not eliminating the cat colonies or the predation of birds and other wildlife. There are other problems created by feral cats as well including threats to human health, and public nuisance issues. For more information see American Bird Conservancy’s website at www.abcbirds.org

(If you can’t view the video, you can read more about ABC’s speciesist views vis-à-vis free-roaming cats here.)

Though I’m not sufficiently educated on the issue to offer a counter to ABC’s assertions* (except to say that the birds with which ABC is so concerned have no greater right to life than their predators, the domestic and feral cats; but the guardians of domestic cats should most definitely keep them indoors, both for their own safety, and that of wildlife), I have to wonder whether ABC also advocates a vegetarian or vegan diet for Westerners. After all, meat consumption is a major contributor to climate change – which in turn is “the greatest threat to birds and other wildlife in human history.” (So says the Audubon Society, another organization that, inexplicably, engages in omni indulgence, if not outright apologism.) Most likely, ABC stands to save more birds by persuading their fellow Americans to adopt a vegetarian or vegan diet – or even just eating less of the stuff.

And yet.

Yeah, I didn’t think so.

And also, I’d love to hear Laura “Trap, Neuter and Find a Home” Reynold’s** ideas for rehoming all these feral cats when 1) most are not properly socialized to live indoors, with humans (they’re essentially wild animals, hello!); and 2) while between six and eight million cats and dogs enter U.S. shelters every year, only half leave alive. Seriously, what a stupid, uninformed thing to say.

One final thought: humans constitute a massive threat to wildlife. Unrivaled, perhaps. Remember, we’re the cause of climate change, “the greatest threat to birds and other wildlife in human history.”

….

* Luckily, the HSUS and Alley Cat Allies are. For a rebuttal of ABC’s video, start with their websites.

** Of the Tropical Audubon Society; quoted from an interview in ABC’s video.

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Tagged: animals animal rights animal welfare environment environmental environmentalism environmentalist wildife conservation birds cat feline feral cat pet companion animal animal companion American Bird Conservancy abc alley cat allies video video blogging scare mongering speciesism speciesist tnr trap neuter release hsus douchey

Sigh. As feared, the measure made it through the House. The new law won’t be implemented until February 2010, however.

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While the Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights Act of 2009 is a piece of legislation I most definitely support, Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) introduced an rider to the bill which would allow visitors to openly carry loaded firearms in our national parks (as well as battlefields, national monuments and historic sites).

The bill passed the Senate yesterday, with an overwhelming majority: 90 yes votes to just 5 no votes. The rider was left intact, with a vote of 67-29.

CNN’s Brianna Keilar explains:
 

A number of environmental groups oppose the rider, fearing that it will make national parks less safe for human visitors and non-human inhabitants alike.

The National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA), for example, offers the following background and commentary:

On January 9, 2009, the Bush Administration made effective new regulations that allowed visitors to carry loaded, concealed firearms in national parks. The Bush regulation replaced a regulation developed by the Reagan Administration that required that firearms in national parks be unloaded and put away. The Reagan regulation was developed in 1983, and had been successful at maintaining our national parks as safe, family-friendly destinations. In fact, according to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report, there were 1.65 violent crimes per 100,000 national park visitors in 2006–making national parks some of the safest places for families to visit in the United States.

National park professionals, including seven former Directors of the National Park Service, the Association of National Park Rangers, the U.S. Park Ranger Lodge of the Fraternal Order of Police, the Coalition of National Park Service Retirees, and the current career leadership of the National Park Service strongly opposed the Bush regulation. These national park professionals echoed NPCA’s concern that the Bush regulation would increase the risk of opportunistic shooting of wildlife, and vandalism of historic monuments, structures, and archaeological resources, as well as increase the risk of gun-related accidents. We also believed that the process undertaken to promulgate the regulation was flawed because the Bush Administration failed to complete a review of the regulation’s potential environmental impacts as required by law.

The American public also largely opposed the Bush regulation. All told, of the 140,000 people who voiced their positions on this issue during the comment period, 73 percent opposed allowing loaded, concealed firearms in our national parks.

On March 19, the U.S. District Court ruled overwhelmingly in support of the lawsuit filed by the Association of National Park Rangers, the Coalition of National Park Retirees, and NPCA, and issued an injunction against the implementation of the regulation. The judge found that the Bush Administration’s process was “astoundingly flawed” because they “abdicated their [National Environmental Policy Act] obligations” and “ignored substantial information in the administrative record concerning environmental impacts.”

The Reagan-era regulation, which NPCA supports, is effective once more.

At the court’s direction, the Obama Administration reported on April 17 that it would not appeal the courts decision, but would conduct an environmental impact statement on the effects of the rule and develop a range of alternatives. [...]

UPDATE: May 14, 2009 — A dangerous and misguided rider has been attached to the Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights Act of 2009 (H.R.627)‬‪‪‬ that will allow individuals to openly carry assault rifles, shotguns, and semi-automatic weapons in national parks if the firearm is in compliance with State law. As a result, individuals could attend ranger led hikes and campfire programs carrying loaded firearms at Yellowstone National Park, Shenandoah National Park, Grand Canyon National Park, and many other national park units across the country.

Sadly, the U.S. Senate disregarded the concerns of national park rangers and former Park Service directors who want American families and wildlife to remain safe in our national parks. Click here to see how your Senator voted.

NPCA believes that shotguns and rifles have no place in our national parks and are currently hard at work trying to have this rider stricken.

Now the bill goes back to the House, where a vote is imminent. Please contact your Representative and urge him or her to oppose Coburn’s rider. It’s worth noting that this legislation has been introduced, on its own, previously – where it’s been soundly defeated. Now that it’s become part of a more popular bill, its supporters – the NRA, Republicans and, yes, even some Democrats – may be successful in sneaking it through. In which case, Dog help America’s wild-living non-human animals, who already exist under constant siege from their human counterparts.

If you’d like to take action on this issue, the NPCA helpfully provides a sample letter here. Please also consider calling your Representative; you can search for contact information here.

By the by, this just goes to show why having a Democratic majority in the House and/or Senate isn’t good enough; if the Dems are so “moderate” that they’re practically Republicans, what’s the bloody point?

Go Green, is what I’m sayin’.

Updated to add:

The Wilderness Society has also begun a campaign on this issue; you can view their sample letter and talking points here.

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Tagged: animals animal rights animal welfare action alerts npca national parks conservation association environment parks national parks tom coburn rider nra guns firearms wildlife conservation poaching Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights Act of 2009 Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights credit card credit card reform politics blue dog democrats sneaky cnn video video blogging

KINSHIP CIRCLE PRIMARY / PERMISSION TO CROSSPOST
3/29/09: Demand Whale Conservation Over Killing

LT: Minke whale. Juergen Freund. OCEANS. Ribbon Reefs, Great Barrier Reef, Australia.

RT: A Bryde’s whale lies on the deck of a Japanese whaling vessel. The species is listed as “Data Deficient” on the IUCN Red List and current population numbers are not known. (Institute for Cetacean Research)

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

FULL CONTACT INFORMATION. Sample letter follows

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

President Barack Obama
The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
comments: 202-456-1111; switchboard: 202-456-1414
fax: 202-456-2461; web mail: www.whitehouse.gov/contact/
THERE IS NO PUBLIC EMAIL ADDRESS FOR PRESIDENT OBAMA.
Please take the time to fax or snail-mail comments to him.

The International Whaling Commission
The Red House, 135 Station Road
Impington, Cambridge
Cambridgeshire CB24 9NP, UK
ph: +44 (0) 1223 233 971; fax: +44 (0) 1223 232 876
email: secretariat [at] iwcoffice.org, iwcjournal [at] iwcoffice.org, webmaster [at] iwcoffice.org

Nick J. Rahall II, House Natural Resources Committee Chairman
Committee on Natural Resources
1324 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
ph: 202-225-6065; fax: 202-225-1931
web mail: www.rahall.house.gov/?sectionid=9&sectiontree=9

Otto J. Wolff, Acting Secretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce
U.S. Department of Commerce
1401 Constitution Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20230
ph: 202-482-2000; email: owolff [at] doc.gov, webmaster [at] doc.gov

Nancy Sutley, Chair, White House Council on Environmental Quality
722 Jackson Place, NW
Washington, DC 20503
ph: 202-395-5750; fax: 202-456-6546
Jon Carson, Chief Of Staff for Nancy Sutley: jcarson [at] ceq.eop.gov
Horst Greczmiel, CEQ Associate Director, NEPA: horst_greczmiel [at] ceq.eop.gov
Edward Boling, General Counsel: eboling [at] ceq.eop.gov

Ms. Hilary Clinton, Secretary of State
U.S. Department of State
2201 C Street NW
Washington, DC 20520
ph: 202-647-4000; fax: 202-647-2283
web mail: contact-us.state.gov/cgi-bin/state.cfg/php/enduser/std_alp.php
presidential campaign email (no guarantee): questions [at] friendsofhillary.com

Dr. Jane Lubchenco, Under Secretary of Commerce for
Oceans and Atmosphere and NOAA Administrator
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
1401 Constitution Avenue, NW, Room 5128
Washington, DC 20230
ph: 202-482-3436; email: jane.lubchenco [at] noaa.gov

Marine Mammal Commission
4340 East-West Highway, Suite 700
Bethesda, Maryland 20814
ph: 301-504-0087; fax: 301-504-0099
email: mmc [at] mmc.gov, tragen [at] mmc.gov, bgisiner [at] mmc.gov, pthomas [at] mmc.gov

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

EMAIL BLOCKS: Sample letter follows.

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

OFFICIALS (FROM ABOVE) WITH EMAIL ADDRESSES:
secretariat [at] iwcoffice.org, iwcjournal [at] iwcoffice.org, webmaster [at] iwcoffice.org, owolff [at] doc.gov, webmaster [at] doc.gov, jcarson [at] ceq.eop.gov, horst_greczmiel [at] ceq.eop.gov, eboling [at] ceq.eop.gov, questions [at] friendsofhillary.com, jane.lubchenco [at] noaa.gov, mmc [at] mmc.gov, tragen [at] mmc.gov, bgisiner [at] mmc.gov, pthomas [at] mmc.gov

OFFICIALS WITH WEB MAIL ONLY:
President Barack Obama

www.whitehouse.gov/contact/

Nick J. Rahall II, House Natural Resources Committee Chairman

www.rahall.house.gov/?sectionid=9&sectiontree=9

Ms. Hilary Clinton, Secretary of State

contact-us.state.gov/cgi-bin/state.cfg/php/enduser/std_alp.php

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

FOR A FORMATTED SAMPLE LETTER (WORD DOC), EMAIL:
kinshipcircle [at] accessus.net
Easily modify letter. Copy/paste it into an email or print letter to fax or mail.

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

Dear Mr. President and Honorable Government Officials:

The United States once played a vital part in protecting whales and their oceanic habitat. As a nonpartisan voice for the International Whaling Commission (IWC), it helped shape decades of sound conservation.

That’s about to change if U.S. IWC Commissioner Dr. William Hogarth successfully removes a key safeguard for these giant marine mammals.

Whales are already vulnerable to pollution, global warming, sonar, drilling, fishnet entrapment, ship strikes, habitat loss and more human hazards. Yet Dr. Hogarth wants to dilute the IWC’s moratorium on commercial whaling.

Granted, the commercial ban has been difficult to enforce. Japan, Iceland and Norway have long exploited an IWC exemption for “scientific whaling.” There is no rationale for butchering whales to analyze migration, age, ecology or behavior. Eminent scientists and legal authorities rebuke “scientific whaling” as pointless. In fact, science-based slaughter is a veil for commerce in whale meat.

Dr. Hogarth further undercuts whale preservation with his proposal to accept some commercial whaling and allow it in coastal waters. I encourage you to appoint the Director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) as the U.S. IWC Commissioner and oppose strategies that endorse Special Permit catches or “Coastal Whaling.” I hope you will uphold IWC regulations and discount any type whaling presently forbidden under them.

The U.S. ought to use its clout to halt whaling from Japan, Iceland and Norway — not appease them with watered down rules. Japan, in particular, has continually defied international treaty obligations and hunted endangered whales. Moreover, whale hunts are profoundly inhumane. Harpoons explode inside their bodies. It can take a half to full hour for a whale to die. Some, tied to the side of ships, suffocate as they thrash in vain.

Please revitalize America’s leadership in the IWC with a U.S. Commissioner who facilitates conservation instead of killing.

Thank you,

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

SOURCE OF INFORMATION / REFERENCE LINKS

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

Urge Obama to Stop Plan to Slaughter Whales

www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/705737795?z00m=19747563

Whaling Commission Political Deal Could Overturn Moratorium

www.ens-newswire.com/ens/mar2009/2009-03-13-03.asp

U.S. Plan to Expand Whaling Released

www.ifaw.org/ifaw_international/media_center/press_releases/02_02_2009_52206.php

Legislator wants USF dean off whaling commission

www.tampabay.com/news/environment/wildlife/article973344.ece

Letter To President Obama For Coalition Of Animal Organizations

www.acsonline.org/issues/whaling/Ltr0901WhalesNeedUs.html

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

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Irreplaceable Alert: YOU can be part of the exhibit!

Take Part in a Photo Petition to Congress

Looking for a new way to get involved and help support wildlife at risk from global warming? Join the Irreplaceable Photo Petition!

We will be turning photos of YOU (caring members of the public) into a collective mosaic of a polar bear, the iconic image of wildlife struggling in a warming world, and presenting it to Congress to bring attention to this important cause.

Your photo can help support at-risk wildlife and be part of the Irreplaceable exhibit!

* Want to participate? Send (email) us your photo here: photomosaic [at] irreplaceablewild.org! (Make sure to include your name and state in the email).

The Irreplaceable: Wildlife in a Warming World campaign is dedicated to educating policymakers and the public about the impacts of global warming on wildlife through the beauty and power of images, combined with the inspiration and knowledge from science, religion, and conservation law.

Over the last year, the exhibit has traveled all over the country, and thousands of you have been inspired by these stunning photographs to take action and get involved.

Now it’s your turn to become part of the exhibit! We need thousands of people to donate their personal photographs to a unique “photo petition,” which will be delivered to our policymakers asking them to take steps to protect wildlife imperiled by global warming. The finished mosaic will be presented in May to Congress in Washington, DC, and displayed on the Irreplaceable website.

Thanks for your support, and your photos!

-Irreplaceable: Wildlife in a Warming World
www.irreplaceablewild.org

Want to learn more about the Irreplaceable effort? Check out these links:

* Watch the Irreplaceable video
* View the exhibit online
* Sign the Call to Care

Details of submission:

Your photo is more likely to be used if it is a high quality image (at least 640×400), is not over-exposed, and is in landscape orientation. Please only submit photos of yourself, or you and a few friends who have agreed to be part of the campaign. Please include your name, city, and state in your email, as well as the full names of those pictured.

By submitting your photo, you understand that it may be used in the Irreplaceable Photo Petition Project, and give permission for your image to be shown publicly for the purposes of the campaign. Please send all images to photomosaic [at] irreplaceablewild.org.

©2009 Irreplaceable: Wildlife in a Warming World | 1625 Massachusetts Ave NW Suite 702 | 202-667-4500 | info [at] irreplaceablewild.org

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