Caution: Major spoilers ahead.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

As much as I hate linking to PETA:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Petition Site: Ban Military Trauma Exercises on Animals

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

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

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Videos in this post

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

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

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

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

That’s right, folks: breed specific legislation, coming soon to military housing near you:

Lots of dog breeds will no longer be allowed on military housing property, according to new policy announced in a memo stamped January 5 from the United States Department of the Army. According to sources, the directive was approved by the Pentagon just prior to President George W. Bush leaving office.

The subject line of the memo reads: “Pet Policy for Privatized Housing Under the Army’s Residential Communities Initiative Privatization Program. Pit Bulls (American Staffordshire Bull Terriers and English Staffordshire Bull Terriers), Rottweilers, Doberman Pinschers, Chow Chows and wolf hybrids are now banned.” [...]

According to the ruling, dogs of any type who currently live on base can be grandfathered in. However, Lynde points out that families are frequently being asked to re-locate. When they do, they can no longer bring their banned dogs with them. Similarly, new enlistees must leave their dogs at home if they’re indentified as a banned breed.

Then what happens to any banned dogs identified and then forcibly relinquished by transferring military? Lynde says, “No one seems to have that answer.”

With morale already low on military bases, according to Lynde, she believes the ruling has already begun to further impact morale. “What kind of family support is this? I tried to communicate with the Garrison Comander’s Office (at Fort Bragg), but I got nowhere,” she says.

Military families whose members include so-called “dangerous” dog breeds, such as pit bulls, rottweilers, doberman pinschers, chow chows and wolf hybrids (!?) – or any mutt whose lineage includes or even resembles these breeds – may, under the new housing policy, be forced to relinquish their canines. If they’re unable to find a trusted friend or family member to take the animals, presumably they’ll have no choice but to surrender their beloved dogs to animal shelters, where many will be killed for lack of homes.

Simply put, this is a travesty. We already demand far too much of our military members and their families – we send them overseas, to fight and die in capricious, pointless wars; we deny them proper physical and psychological care, both in the battlefield and here at home; we ignore the high rates of sexual assault perpetrated against women in the military; we actively discriminate against gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgendered persons who want nothing more than to serve their country; we fail to provide care for the non-human members of military families when the caregivers are deployed or on active duty; and now, the U.S. government is attempting to eradicate a targeted segment of their non-human family members, based on nothing other than naked prejudice, stereotypes and hysteria. Shameful, just shameful.

Take action

1. Please write to your Congresspeople and demand that they take action to halt this policy from being implemented – and then repeal it altogether. You can find contact information for your Senators and Representative here and here. Please copy President Obama on your email, as well. You can find contact information here.

2. Additionally, please write to your state representatives and demand that they tackle this issue on a state level (if nothing else, by applying pressure to their colleagues in the U.S. Senate and House). You can locate your state representative and senator by Googling “kansas + state + legislature” or similar. About.com has a state-by-state list of military bases and installations here. Please copy each base in your state on all correspondence you send to your state legislators.

3. Finally, please consider contacting your local media as well. This is particularly important if you live near a large military base or installation. Reporters love local angles on national stories – and they love dogs, too. Here’s an opportunity to put that speciesism to good use. (But let’s not reinforce it, mmmkay?)

As for talking points, stopbsl.com/bsloverview/ is quite helpful, and includes pointers on what you should and shouldn’t say when making the case against BSL. Best Friends has also written about this issue; see, for example, Once Heroes, Now Banned…. and (the ironically titled) Discrimination in the Military?

Under the “what you can do” heading, Best Friends recommends:

WHAT YOU CAN DO:

► Write a letter to President Barack and Michelle Obama, as well as Army officials. You may contact the President and the First Lady here or send an e-mail to comments [at] whitehouse.gov and put the appropriate name in the subject line. To comment to the Army, contact Ms. Joyce VanSlyke at joyce.vanslyke [at] us.army.mil.

Please keep your contact polite, professional and educational. Encourage other alternatives such as:

• Consider mandatory micro-chipping. Fine those who abandon their dogs.
• Encourage a law prohibiting dogs from being alone in a yard without supervision, until permanently anchored fencing is allowed on military based housing.
• Enforce mandatory spay/neuter programs for all pets on military based housing.
• Enact higher fines for those who breed dogs on military bases.
• You can also join the Stop Breed Specific Legislation community on the Best Friends Network.
• Teach the community, particularly children, about responsible dog ownership and care. Offer humane educators to speak.

Best Friends also has a community organized around stopping BSL, where you can keep up-to-date on news and developments.

(Photo credit: provided courtesy of Lynn Lynde; posted to Best Friends NC Community by Pamela Hay.)

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Tagged: animals animal rights animal welfare action alerts bsl breed specific legislation best friends pet companion animal dog canine pit bull mutt rottweiler doberman pinscher chow chow wolf hybrid military military housing military family us military military base news in the news flickr photos discriminationl breedism

Amnesty International: Civilians must be protected in Gaza and Israel

Citizens for Justice in the Middle East: Action Alerts

CREDO Action: We need a ceasefire now in Gaza.

J Street: Stop the violence in Gaza

MercyCorps: Help Ensure Aid Reaches Gaza’s Families

Oxfam: Urge an immediate ceasefire in Gaza

Peace Action West: For peace in Gaza, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan – we need cooperative, not military solutions.

Progressive Democrats of America (PDA): Stop the Gaza Massacre–Enforce the Law

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Kinship Circle – kinshipcircle [at] accessus.net
Date: Jan 12, 2009 6:11 PM
Subject: Animals In The Crossfire – Hamas/Israel War

VOLUNTEER FORM: Officially register in Kinship Circle’s Disaster Aid Network of volunteers, www.kinshipcircle.org/disasters/volunteer/default.html

KINSHIP CIRCLE ANIMAL DISASTER AID NETWORK
1/12/08: Animals In The Crossfire – Hamas/Israel War

www.kinshipcircle.org/disasters

IN THIS ALERT:

1. Donations Needed For Animals Left In Gaza Streets
2. Israel To Fund Medical Care For War-Injured Animals
3. Donkeys, Mules, Horses In The Holy Land
4. Middle East Animal Welfare Groups

Whatever your opinion about the present war between Hamas and Israel, one fact remains: Animals are innocents in the crossfire. PLEASE NOTE: There is not much animal rescue news related to the Hamas/Israeli war at this time. Most photos below are from the 2005 Gaza evacuation. When we learn more ways to help animals, we’ll post updates. KINSHIP CIRCLE

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

1. Donations Needed For Animals Left In Gaza Streets

SOURCE: 1/09, Let The Animals Live Israel
FULL STORY / VIDEO: www.letlive.org.il/english/article.php?id=193

LET THE ANIMALS LIVE NEEDS HELP FOR ABANDONED GAZA ANIMALS

2009 — In these bad time in the world and in Israel we must not forget our pets. Let The Animals Live, due to the situation in GAZA, is dealing with a growing phenomena of abandoned dogs left behind by their families. We collect them the put them in private shelters as well as our own. Also many dogs are being abandoned in the streets by owners who can not take care of them any more due to the rough financial situation.

To help Let The Animals Live raise awareness and donations… Geler-Nasis advertising agency produced voluntarily a short video telling the need of our organization: www.letlive.org.il/english/article.php?id=193

Please help in any way you can by donating now. Eti Altman, spokesperson and cofounder Let The Animals Live Israel, 972-50-5358421, 972-3-6241776

DONATE TO LET THE ANIMALS LIVE:

www.letlive.org.il/english/donate.php

ABOUT LET THE ANIMALS LIVE / MISSION & SHELTER:

www.letlive.org.il/english/about.php

2005 — LT: Many settlers left their homes without taking pets… Israeli animal activists scoured empty settlements in the Gaza Strip to find abandoned…dogs, cats, chickens, goats, geese, parakeets, ducks, turtles, an iguana… news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4181284.stm

2005 — RT: Yafit, Hakol Chai’s mobile clinic assistant, rescues a chicken.

chai-online.org/e-news/26Aug05/chaialert_29august05.htm

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

2. Israel To Fund Medical Care For War-Injured Animals

SOURCE: 1/6/09, Ynetnews
FULL STORY: State to help fund treatment of pets hurt by rockets

www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3651173,00.html

Last week a Qassam rocket hit a house in Sderot and killed the family’s dog, which was at the building’s yard during the attack. The dog was rushed to the veterinarian for treatment, but died due to severe shrapnel injuries and massive loss of blood.

Following this incident and in light of the fact that like their human owners, pets in Israel’s south are also under the constant rocket threat, the Agriculture Ministry has decided it would help pay for the medical care of dogs and cats injured by rocket fire from Gaza.

“One of the main problems arising from the treatment of wounded animals is that the tax authorities do not consider pets as property, and therefore owners are not compensated for medical treatment of the animal,” said Dganit Ben-Dov, DVM, the Veterinary Services official in charge of enforcing the Animal Protection Law.

“This is the aspect we wish to rectify, since treatment to a wounded animal could cost thousands of shekels,” she added. According to Ben-Dov, the ministry will also consider funding treatment of street cats and dogs…

2005 — Humane society volunteers search for hundreds of pets and farm animals left behind in the past week as Israel rushed to complete its disengagement plan with the eviction of thousands of settlers from the Gaza Strip. (Photo, David Silverman/Getty Images) www.jamd.com/image/g/53448324

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

3. Donkeys, Mules, Horses In The Holy Land

SOURCE: 1/09, The present conflict in Gaza
FULL STORY: www.safehaven4donkeys.org/latest_news/news_one.php

Lucy Fensom, founder of Safe Haven For Donkeys In The Holy Land (SHADH) — based at Moshav Gan Yoshiyya, near the towns of Netanya and Hadera in Israel.

www.safehaven4donkeys.org/index.php

Many have asked whether Lucy, her workers and the donkeys are safe during the present troubles in Gaza. We would like to reassure you all that the sanctuary is a considerable distance from Gaza and so everyone is at present unaffected. Of course, our hearts go out to all the people and animals affected and we pray that a peaceful solution will soon be reached.

In the meantime, Lucy and the team continue to reach out to donkeys, mules and horses in Israel and the West Bank and your help is still very much needed. To make a donation, visit our home page. Thank you for your support.

DONATE TO SAFE HAVEN FOR DONKEYS IN THE HOLY LAND:

www.safehaven4donkeys.org/index.php

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

4. Middle East Animal Welfare Groups

Israel Cat Lovers’ Society, www.isracat.org.il/english-about.html

Rehovot Society for the Protection of Animals / Rehovot SPA
POB 1067, Rehovot 76110, Israel * ph: 972-8-9445497
DONATE: www.israelpets.org/eng/index.htm

Israel Cat Lovers’ Society / We Need Your Help
DONATE: send.bignet.co.il/isracat/donation.php

Concern for Helping Animals in Israel and Hakol Chai
DONATE: chai-online.org/en/home/e_index.htm

2005 — Hakol Chai volunteer & Tali, Hakol Chai staff, with a fortunate dog!
Hakol Chai Enters Gaza to Rescue Abandoned Animals:

www.chai-online.org/en/campaigns/settlements/campaigns_settlements_gaza.htm

Friends of the Earth Middle East (FoEME) — A unique organization that brings together Jordanian, Palestinian, and Israeli environmentalists.

www.foeme.org/about_us.php

Beirut for the Ethical Treatment of Animals

www.betalebanon.org/news.asp?news_id=105

NOAH – The Israeli Federation of Animal Protection Societies

www.noah.org.il

DIRECTORY OF ANIMAL WELFARE GROUPS IN ISRAEL

info.jpost.com/C005/Supplements/CafeOleh/animals.html

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

PLEASE SUPPORT KINSHIP CIRCLE’S WORK FOR ANIMALS…
* DONATE SECURELY ONLINE: www.kinshipcircle.org/donation

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

Action Campaigns I Literature I Animal Disaster Aid Networking
info [at] kinshipcircle.org or kinshipcircle [at] accessus.net
www.KinshipCircle.org * www.kinshipcircle.org/disasters/
KINSHIP CIRCLE is a 501c3 public charity. Donations are tax-deductible.

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

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

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

———————–

Tagged: animals animal rights animal welfare action alerts kinship circle war war on terra war on terror terrorism war on terrorism middle east israel gaza hamas war animal rescue disaster relief war zone Let The Animals Live Israel pet companion animal dog canine cat feline donkey mule horse shadh Safe Haven For Donkeys In The Holy Land Israel Cat Lovers’ Society Rehovot Society for the Protection of Animals Rehovot SPA Concern for Helping Animals in Israel Hakol Chai beta beirut for the ethical treatment of animals Friends of the Earth Middle East FoEME noah The Israeli Federation of Animal Protection Societies news in the news flickr photos

KINSHIP CIRCLE PRIMARY – PERMISSION TO CROSS-POST

PART 1: OCT – DEC 2008 / KINSHIP CIRCLE UPDATES
YEAR END WRAP UP – Victories * Setbacks * Progress For Animals

www.kinshipcircle.org/updates/

PART 1: KC UPDATES / OCT – DEC 2008

1. Donna Karan Announces Fur-Free 2009 Lines
2. Dragged Pit Bull Is Healing And Soon Adoptable
3. Cat Killing Boyfriend Walks Free
4. Records Show Big Industry Planned AETA All Along
5. Obama Picks: The Good & The Not So Good
6. L.A. Assistant Fire Chief Charged In Karley’s Killing
7. Netherlands Ban Products Made Of Cape Fur Seals
8. Prempro Maker, Wyeth, Pays For Fake Articles
9. Report On Hallmark/Westland Downer Scandal
10. Eddie Lama’s Oasis Sanctuary Closes
11. Michael Vick: Early Release & Back To NFL?

PART 2: KC UPDATES / OCT – DEC 2008
RESEND PART #2 TO ME: kinshipcircle [at] accessus.net

12. Hero’s Plan To Save Wild Horses Moves Forward
13. Until Export Is Banned, More Horses Killed
14. Rodeo “Horse Tripping” Outlawed In Phoenix
15. Houston: Biggest Dogfight Bust In U.S. History
16. Activists Vow To Overturn Navy’s Use Of Sonar
17. Oxford Univ. Lab To Use Thousands Of Animals
18. Prop 2 Passes For Calif. Farmed Animals
19. EU Proposal To Ban Great Apes In Experiments
20. Ringling Bros. Big Fat Federal Lawsuit
21. Alaska Whales: 1 vs. Gov. Sarah Palin: 0

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

1. Donna Karan Announces Fur-Free 2009 Lines

SOURCE: 12/22/08, Donna Karan Dumps Fur!
READ FULL STORY: blog.peta.org/archives/2008/12/donna_karan.php

FROM KINSHIP CIRCLE: We’re not sure we trust her, yet. If you took action on KC’s recent alert “Bunnies Hate Donna Karan,” that’s great! She needs to hear that consumers are serious about a 100% fur-free policy.

Donna Karan has announced that her fall 2009 lines will be fur-free and that she has “no plans” to use fur in the future… Karan’s announcement came days after PETA launched our (now offline) DonnaKaranBunnyButcher.com website and after mega-fashion guru Tim Gunn sent Karan and designer Giorgio Armani a video he narrated for PETA showing animals skinned alive and urged them to open their eyes to the violent and bloody fur industry…

KINSHIP CIRCLE REFERENCES:

12/18/08: Bunnies Hate Donna Karan’s Killer Couture

www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new.asp?LetterID=1789&seriesfirst=true

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2. Dragged Pit Bull Is Healing And Soon Adoptable

KINSHIP CIRCLE: Many have asked about Prada (renamed Bluebell), the pit bull dragged behind a truck into the parking lot of Southeast Area Animal Control Authority (where she is now sheltered). Jim Willis (tiergartenjim [at] yahoo.com) coordinated the following updates from his sources in Los Angeles:

12/22/08, From Ruth Silny, an area animal advocate who has visited Prada/Bluebell, rsilny [at] sbcglobal.net — From what I learned when I spoke with Corp. Torres — once healed, she’ll be adoptable. I’m sure they’ll fine-tooth comb every applicant already on a list. She cannot be with any dogs due to some aggressiveness… She is adorable, a good natured dog… Her front legs were healing better, her hind needed attention. She is a beautiful blue-grey color with beautiful eyes… They [SEAACA] are on top of this and other cases, and thankfully they have the courts on their side.

From Aaron Reyes, Director of Operations, SEAACA, Aaron [at] seaaca.org — The court case is sitting on the DA’s desk, with a March court date per the citation the owner signed… I think we have a solid case that will show negligence which caused Bluebell severe pain and suffering…

KINSHIP CIRCLE REFERENCES:

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

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

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

3. Cat Killing Boyfriend Walks Free

SOURCE: 12/19/08, Actor pleads guilty in NYC cat-kill case
READ FULL STORY: www.pet-abuse.com/cases/11246/NY/US/RSS/#UPDATES

Joseph Petcka, 38, an actor and former minor league baseball player who killed his girlfriend’s cat, has pleaded guilty to felony aggravated cruelty to animals. He faces up to 500 hours of community service at his March 2 sentencing. The plea removes the need for a second trial. His first ended with the jury deadlocked 11-1. Prosecutors said Petcka killed the 7-year-old cat, Norman (March 2007) in a drunken, jealous rage… Petcka said outside court that he hopes to do community service in a youth athletics program.

ANIMAL ABUSERS BELONG IN JAIL – NOT YOUTH PROGRAMS

The Honorable Leila Kermani, Assistant District Attorney
Office of the Manhattan District Attorney
One Hogan Place; NY, NY 10013
ph: 212-335-3630 (or 9400); fax: 212-335-9288

The Honorable Michael J. Obus
Manhattan Criminal Court; 100 Centre Street; NY, NY 10013
ph: 646-386-4500; fax: 212-374-5293

SOME TALKING POINTS:

The last place Joseph Petcka belongs is alongside children.

Violence against animals is a well-documented precursor to violence against humans. Randall Lockwood, Ph.D. — a frequent consultant to cruelty investigators, law enforcers, and mental health professionals — describes violence against non-threatening creatures unlikely to retaliate as a precursor to assaulting children, the elderly or disabled.

This wasn’t Petcka’s first offense: Petcka had vented rage on Norman in the past. Altobelli told jurors she’d found her frightened cat drenched in water. “He was hissing [at Petcka],” Altobelli testified. “Obviously, that was a huge red flag.” But the flag apparently wasn’t red enough. Similar “blind rage” once stirred Petcka to slam a door on another ex-girlfriend, severing her fingertip (although this incident was banned from the trial).

Convicted animal abusers should serve time behind bars — not fulfill community service orders at a youth athletics program, where they’re exposed to vulnerable juveniles.

KINSHIP CIRCLE REFERENCES:

10/24/08: No Plea Deal For Ruthless Cat Killer

www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new.asp?LetterID=1768&seriesfirst=true

10/7/08: Demand Retrial For Vicious Cat Killer

www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new.asp?LetterID=1765&seriesfirst=true

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

4. Records Show Big Industry Planned AETA All Along

SOURCE: 12/17/08, Plans for Labeling Activists as “Eco-Terrorists”
READ FULL STORY: www.greenisthenewred.com/blog/2008/12/17/internal-industry-documents-show-plans-for-labeling-activists-as-eco-terrorists-part-1-of-3/

by Will Potter, www.GreenistheNewRed.com — It’s been two years since passage of the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act, a sweeping law that wraps up non-violent civil disobedience and hurting corporate profits as “terrorism.”

…Here, for the first time, are some of the internal documents outlining how corporations and industry groups planned to label activists “eco-terrorists.” I’ve obtained them from a source who wishes to remain anonymous. They’re the creation of the Animal Enterprise Protection Coalition, a network formed for the sole purpose of passing this “eco-terrorism” legislation…

Note how “Will Potter’s Blog” is listed under the opposition. I guess I should be honored, right?

KINSHIP CIRCLE: And there we are, underneath IDA. We are honored too! We are on Big Industry’s pro-animal radar screen.

KINSHIP CIRCLE REFERENCES:

3/19/07: Invite Congress To AETA Briefing On The Hill

kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter.asp?LetterID=1634&seriesfirst=true

12/8/06: AETA UPDATE / Hope For Repeal?

www.kinshipcircle.org/updates/updates_12_8.html

11/16/06: Questions & Rumors: Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act

www.kinshipcircle.org/updates/updates_11_16.html

11/13/06: Done Deal? AETA Passes

www.kinshipcircle.org/updates/updates_11_13.html

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

5. Obama Picks: The Good & The Not So Good

SOURCE: 12/17/08, Michael Markarian / Obama’s Animal Welfare Team
FULL: hslf.typepad.com/political_animal/2008/12/cabinet_apppoin.html

FORMER IOWA GOV. TOM VILSACK IS SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE

Gov. Tom Vilsack, the next Secretary of Agriculture, has a solid record on animal protection… He will have a big role in how our nation confronts puppy mills, factory farming, predator control, use of animals in research, and other practices and industries that have compromised animal welfare.

* Vilsack advocated to toughen state penalties for animal fighting…
* Vetoed a 2006 bill that would have reclassified dogs as “farm products.”
* Vetoed 2001 legislation to allow sport hunting of mourning doves…

U.S. SEN. KEN SALAZAR (CO) IS NEXT SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR

U.S. Senator Salazar scored 0% on the Humane Scorecard for the 109th Congress, and 50% in the 110th Congress. As Interior chief, Salazar will oversee enforcement of wildlife protection laws (i.e., Endangered Species Act and Migratory Bird Treaty Act) and have authority on…federal lands in national parks, wildlife refuges, and Bureau of Land Management properties.

* Voted against 2005 legislation to ban horse slaughter.
* Current session: Co-sponsored bill to strengthen animal fighting penalties.
* Signed letter to increase funds for enforcement of animal welfare laws…
(Salazar wasn’t pushed by animal advocates.)

LISA JACKSON TO HEAD THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (EPA)

Lisa Jackson led the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, and was a leading animal advocate in the state… [She can help] prioritize use of alternatives to animals in toxicity testing, to ensure strong penalties for pollution from factory farms…

* She rejected attempts by NRA, Safari Club, and trophy hunting groups to initiate a black bear hunting season in New Jersey.
* Implemented program to solve bear conflicts with humane methods such as trash management and public education.

SOURCE: 12/8/08, Michael Markarian / Need Change at Interior, Not More of Same
FULL STORY: hslf.typepad.com/political_animal/2008/12/interior.html

OBAMA PASSED ON ANIMAL-FRIENDLY CONGRESSMAN RAUL GRIJALVA (D-ARIZ)

The possibility of Grijalva as Interior Secretary was endorsed by environmentalists [and animal advocates] who’d admired his work as chairman of House Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands…

* Grijalva is lead author with Congressman John Campbell (R-Calif.) of the Bear Protection Act, which would crack down on illegal poaching of bears…
* Scored 100% on Humane Scorecard since elected to Congress.
* Sided with animal protection on every measure relevant to Interior Department: Import of sport-hunted polar bear trophies, commercial sale and slaughter of wild horses and burros, slaughter of buffalo in Yellowstone National Park, and bear baiting on federal lands.

President-elect Obama selected not-so-animal-friendly Ken Salazar instead of Raul Grijalva, to be the next Secretary of the Interior.

KINSHIP CIRCLE REFERENCES + MORE READS:

Encourage Government To Improve the Lives of Animals

www.all-creatures.org/alert/alert-20081207.html

Animals Would Like President-Elect Barack Obama To Know…

kinshipcircle.org/digest/2008_12.html

Ken Salazar a Disappointing Choice for Secretary of the Interior

www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/press_releases/2008/salazar-12-16-2008.html

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

6. L.A. Assistant Fire Chief Charged In Karley’s Killing

SOURCE: 12/16/08, Assistant Fire Chief Charged In Puppy Beating
READ FULL STORY: cbs2.com/local/Puppy.Beating.Charged.2.889181.html

A Los Angeles County assistant fire chief has been charged with beating a neighbor’s puppy so severely it had to be euthanized. Glynn Johnson was arrested at his home in Riverside County and the district attorney has filed felony animal cruelty charges against him. Johnson is accused of beating a 6-month-old shepherd mix with his fist and a 12-pound rock on Nov. 3. Investigators say Johnson told them he acted in self-defense and the dog wounded his wrist and thumb…

THANK OFFICIALS FOR ARREST & URGE MAXIMUM PENALTIES
SOURCE: Lindy Greene, lindygreene [at] roadrunner.com

Contact Riverside County District Attorney, Rod Pacheco and his Assistant, Chuck Hughes, to thank them for arresting and filing charges against Johnson and to demand that he be punished to the fullest extent accorded by law.

Rod Pacheco, Riverside County District Attorney
4075 Main St.; Riverside, CA 92501
ph: 951-955-5431 or 951-955-5400; fax: 951-955-5682
Maria Driver, D.A. Secretary: mwdriver [at] rivcoda.org
additional email: events [at] rivcoda.org

Chuck Hughes, Riverside County Assistant District Attorney
Western Division; 4075 Main St.; Riverside, CA 92501
ph: 951-955-5400 or 951-955-5431; fax: 951-358-5017

KINSHIP CIRCLE REFERENCES:

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

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

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

7. Netherlands Ban Products Made Of Cape Fur Seals

During the 2008 hunt July 1 to Nov. 15, seal hunters may kill 6,000 adult males and 80,000 pups. www.oipa.org/hunting/alerts/namibia.html

SOURCE: 12/15/08, Ban on fur import from Cape Fur Seals
READ FULL STORY: www.dierennieuws.nl/nw/art/200812/nw71298.htm

The Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Fisheries announced that as of July 1, 2009 a ban on import and trade of fur and other products of Cape Fur Seals will be in force… The Cape Fur Seal hunt takes place on the beaches of Namibia. Second to the Canadian seal hunt this is the biggest annual seal massacre on earth. Annually an average of 80,000 seals are culled and shot for their furs… www.bontvoordieren.nl

KINSHIP CIRCLE REFERENCES:

July 2008 DIGEST: Help End The Namibian Seal Slaughter

kinshipcircle.org/digest/2008_07.html#anchor5

7/11/07: Namibia’s Shame – Massacre Of Nursing Seal Pups & Bulls

kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter.asp?LetterID=1666&seriesfirst=true

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8. Prempro Maker, Wyeth, Pays For Fake Articles

SOURCE: 12/12/08, Drug Maker Said to Pay Ghostwriters for Journal Articles
READ FULL STORY: www.nytimes.com/2008/12/12/business/13wyeth.html?_r=3&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1229115622-yXi0T14dvE6Dtyxyi3tEtg

Wyeth, the pharmaceutical company, paid ghostwriters to produce medical journal articles favorable to its female hormone replacement therapy Prempro… One article was published…in The American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, more than a year after a federal study called the Women’s Health Initiative linked Wyeth’s Prempro, a combination of estrogen and progestin [from pregnant mares’ urine], to breast cancer. The May 2003 article said there was “no definitive evidence” that progestins cause breast cancer and that hormone users had a better chance of surviving cancer…

FACT SHEET FOR YOU TO DOWNLOAD:

www.kinshipcircle.org/fact_sheets/PInPremarinStandsFor.pdf

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9. Report On Hallmark/Westland Downer Scandal

SOURCE: 12/9/08, Hallmark/Westland Might Not Be An Anomaly According To OIG
READ FULL STORY: www.cattlenetwork.com/Content.asp?ContentID=275451

Following the Hallmark/Westland debacle earlier this year, Ag Secretary Ed Schafer requested an investigation by the Office of the Inspector General… The OIG listed these three glaring problems:

1) FSIS cannot demonstrate that its verification of establishment oversight is adequate. 2) Untrained non-veterinarians have been allowed to perform ante-mortem inspection without formal training or direct supervision. 3) The Public Health Veterinarian assigned to the plant took shortcuts in his inspection duties — delegated responsibilities to Hallmark/Westland employees, a serious breach not discovered until well after the damage…

The audit included reviews of 10 “cull” slaughter plants and half of them failed to gain a passing grade… In most industries, a 50% failure rate easily qualifies as a ‘systemic’ problem… After the Hallmark video surfaced, Ag Secretary Schafer said he would ban the slaughter of downer cows without exception, a still delayed pledge…

Quote (author?) worth adding here: “I think Congressmen should wear uniforms like NASCAR drivers so we could identify their corporate sponsors.”

KINSHIP CIRCLE REFERENCES:

Aug-Oct 2008 UPDATES: Politics Trumps Mercy: Still No Downer Ban

kinshipcircle.org/updates/updates_aug-oct_2008.html#anchor11

7/14/08: No Downers. No Exceptions. NOW.

www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new.asp?LetterID=1751&seriesfirst=true

Apr-June 2008 UPDATES: Downer News – Big Meat Backs Downer Ban + More…

www.kinshipcircle.org/updates/updates_apr-jun_2008.html#anchor16

FACT SHEETS FOR YOU TO DOWNLOAD:

www.kinshipcircle.org/fact_sheets/DownedOnTheFarmPHOTOS.pdf

www.kinshipcircle.org/fact_sheets/HortonHearsACow.pdf

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10. Eddie Lama’s Oasis Sanctuary Closes

SOURCE: 11/30/08, Farewell to a Beloved Sanctuary
READ FULL STORY: www.oasissanctuary.org/index.html

Many of you recall Eddie Lama, from Tribe of Heart’s film “The Witness.” The tough-talking New Yorker whose world revolves around animals opened Oasis Sanctuary a decade ago — as a “home to animals who otherwise had no other place to go. Our wonderful ‘D-List’ critters have included fighters, biters, ‘pee-ers ‘n poopers’ alongside the blind, the crippled, and the crazy,” Eddie writes in his bittersweet farewell.

THIS IS WHAT OASIS NEEDS NOW:

* Responsible individuals and like-minded organizations to adopt our cats and dogs (thankfully, the farm animals have all found permanent homes);
* Immediate donations to help us cover $30,000 in back taxes; and
* Continual financial support for sheltering and providing daily care for the unplaced animals.

For information on donations and adoptions to help Eddie and his magnificent critters, go to: www.oasissanctuary.org/index.html

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

11. Michael Vick: Early Release & Back To NFL?

SOURCE: 11/25/08, Vick enters guilty plea, gets suspended sentence
READ FULL STORY: www.ajc.com/sports/content/sports/falcons/stories/2008/11/25/vick_virginia_hearing.html

VICK MAY LEAVE PRISON EARLY & RETURN TO NFL

Vick pleaded guilty to a state dogfighting charge in a Virginia courtroom. Under a plea agreement, the Falcons quarterback received a 3-year suspended prison term and a $2,500 fine on a charge of attending, sponsoring and participating in dog fights. A charge of cruelty to animals with prejudice was dismissed. He also received 4 years’ probation… The [state] charges against Vick carried a maximum sentence of 10 years…

Vick is currently serving a 23-month federal sentence on felony charges related to dogfighting. He is suspended indefinitely by the NFL… Vick is scheduled to be released from federal prison July 20, 2009. With his state case completed, he is eligible to participate in the Federal Bureau of Prisons re-entry program. The program could include an early release and a stay at a halfway house for up to 6 months…

SOURCE: 11/21/08, Report: Vick put family pets in ring
READ FULL STORY HERE: www.ajc.com/sports/content/sports/falcons/stories/2008/11/21/michael_vick_dogfighting.html?cxntnid=bn_2008-11-21_23_31_id617_e

VICK’S FAMILY ANIMALS FOUGHT IN THE RING TOO

Michael Vick put family pets in rings with pit bulls and thought it was funny watching the trained killers injure or kill the helpless dogs. In a 17-page report filed Aug. 28, 2008, by case agent James Knorr of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and released under the Freedom of Information Act, a person identified as confidential witness No. 1 said Vick placed pets in the ring against pit bulls owned by “Bad Newz Kennels” at least twice and watched as the pit bulls “caused major injuries…”

KINSHIP CIRCLE REFERENCES:

Jan-Mar 2008 UPDATES: The Dogs That Vick Hurt

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

Sept-Dec 2007 UPDATES: Vick’s Dogs…You Helped Save Their Lives

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

10/29/07: KC DIGEST – Ensure Vick’s Dogs Are Spared, As Promised

www.kinshipcircle.org/digest/2007_10.html#anchor9

8/28/07: Salvation For Vick’s Dogs?

www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter.asp?LetterID=1676&seriesfirst=true

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

If it’s dated by Dec. 31, it’s tax-deductible for 2008…
Thanks for helping us work for animals in the New Year!
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* DONATE BY CHECK OR MONEY ORDER:
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———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Kinship Circle – kinshipcircle [at] accessus.net
Date: Dec 24, 2008 12:08 AM
Subject: Part 2/ UPDATES: OCT-DEC 2008

KINSHIP CIRCLE PRIMARY – PERMISSION TO CROSS-POST

PART 2: OCT – DEC 2008 / KINSHIP CIRCLE UPDATES
YEAR END WRAP UP – Victories * Setbacks * Progress For Animals

www.kinshipcircle.org/updates/

PART 2: KC UPDATES / OCT – DEC 2008

12. Hero’s Plan To Save Wild Horses Moves Forward
13. Until Export Is Banned, More Horses Killed
14. Rodeo “Horse Tripping” Outlawed In Phoenix
15. Houston: Biggest Dogfight Bust In U.S. History
16. Activists Vow To Overturn Navy’s Use Of Sonar
17. Oxford Univ. Lab To Use Thousands Of Animals
18. Prop 2 Passes For Calif. Farmed Animals
19. EU Proposal To Ban Great Apes In Experiments
20. Ringling Bros. Big Fat Federal Lawsuit
21. Alaska Whales: 1 vs. Gov. Sarah Palin: 0

PART 1: KC UPDATES / OCT – DEC 2008
RESEND PART #1 TO ME: kinshipcircle [at] accessus.net

1. Donna Karan Announces Fur-Free 2009 Lines
2. Dragged Pit Bull Is Healing And Soon Adoptable
3. Cat Killing Boyfriend Walks Free
4. Records Show Big Industry Planned AETA All Along
5. Obama Picks: The Good & The Not So Good
6. L.A. Assistant Fire Chief Charged In Karley’s Killing
7. Netherlands Ban Products Made Of Cape Fur Seals
8. Prempro Maker, Wyeth, Pays For Fake Articles
9. Report On Hallmark/Westland Downer Scandal
10. Eddie Lama’s Oasis Sanctuary Closes
11. Michael Vick: Early Release & Back To NFL?

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

12. Hero’s Plan To Save Wild Horses Moves Forward

Wild horses gathered from the Fox & Lake Herd Management Area in near Empire, Nev., wait in a pen. www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27738672/

SOURCE: 11/24/08, Madeleine Pickens
READ FULL STORY: madeleinepickens.com/

“I thank every one for their tremendous support. The number of responses has been simply overwhelming. It is very gratifying to know that there is strong support to not let this part of the American heritage become extinct. Be assured I am moving forward as quickly as possible with my plans for this beautiful Sanctuary and I will share with you the progress that I am making. Stay tuned, updates will be posted on my website — madeleinepickens.com/ — Thank you, Madeleine Pickens”

KINSHIP CIRCLE REFERENCES:

11/18/08: Update & Action – Doomed Wild Horses Have A Hero?

www.kinshipcircle.org/updates/updates_oct-dec_2007.html#anchor16

7/10/08: BLM Wants To Kill Wild Horses

www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new.asp?LetterID=1749&seriesfirst=true

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

13. Until Export Is Banned, More Horses Killed

SOURCE: 11/24/08, More horses sent abroad for slaughter after ban
READ FULL STORY: www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27934125/

…Last year, when state-imposed bans closed the last three U.S. horse slaughterhouses, a record 78,000 horses were exported to Canada and Mexico for slaughter, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture statistics compiled by the Humane Society. That’s a 138% increase from 2006. Statistics show that 76,100 horses have been slaughtered in Canada and Mexico so far this year. But the actual figure is likely higher… Slaughter opponents got a hopeful sign from Congress when a proposed export-for-slaughter ban was approved by the House Judiciary Committee in late September. But the bill got hung up in the Agriculture Committee during the final days of the session and will have to be reintroduced next year…

KINSHIP CIRCLE REFERENCES:

10/2/08: Call/Write To End Horse Slaughter For Good

www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new.asp?LetterID=1764&seriesfirst=true

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

14. Rodeo “Horse Tripping” Outlawed In Phoenix

SOURCE: 11/14/08, Phoenix ordinance makes horse-tripping illegal
READ FULL STORY: www.azcentral.com/community/phoenix/articles/2008/11/14/20081114phx-horse1115.html

Phoenix City Council members approved an ordinance that makes roping or tripping equine animals for the purpose of entertainment a misdemeanor punishable by jail time or fines… Participants in horse-tripping events are awarded points for intentionally roping a galloping horse or donkey to the ground. Animal rights advocates compare the traditional charreada event to the underground games of dogfighting or cockfighting…

FACT SHEET FOR YOU TO DOWNLOAD:

www.kinshipcircle.org/fact_sheets/TheMythOfTheCowboy.pdf

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

15. Houston: Biggest Dogfight Bust In U.S. History

SOURCE: 11/14/08, Largest undercover dogfighting sting in U.S. history
READ FULL STORY HERE: www.kvue.com/news/top/stories/111408kvue_dogfighting_raid-cb.1b0f3f3a2.html

Sgt. Manning, of the DPS Criminal Intelligence Service, and another DPS investigator have spent the last 15 months infiltrating the seedy world of dogfighting in Houston. “It’s the largest undercover dogfighting operation in the country,” said Assistant Harris Co. D.A. Belinda Smith… Authorities expect to arrest 85 people in multiple counties on over 155 felony charges. The investigation, called Operation Dead Game, was a joint effort between DPS, the USDA and the Harris County District Attorney’s office…

FACT SHEET FOR YOU TO DOWNLOAD:

www.kinshipcircle.org/fact_sheets/fatalfights.pdf

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

16. Activists Vow To Overturn Navy’s Use Of Sonar

SOURCE: 11/13/08, U.S. Supreme Court OKs Navy use of sonar
READ FULL STORY: www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-scotus13-2008nov13,0,3987528.story

Despite the Supreme Court’s ruling that the nation’s security outweighs the need to protect marine mammals from high-powered sonar during Navy training exercises, environmentalists said the fight was far from over. The court immediately lifted limits on the Navy exercises now being held 12 miles off the Southern California coast, in a victory for the outgoing Bush administration. But the decision doesn’t bind the incoming administration of President-elect Barack Obama to follow the same policy…

Environmentalists…said studies have shown piercing underwater sounds cause whales to flee in panic or to dive too deeply. Whales have been found beached in Greece, the Canary Islands and the Bahamas after sonar was used, and necropsies showed signs of internal bleeding near the ears…

KINSHIP CIRCLE REFERENCES:

Jan-Mar 2008 UPDATES: Judge To Bush Admin: You Can’t Exempt Navy In Sonar!

kinshipcircle.org/updates/updates_jan-mar_2008.html#anchor17

May-Jul 2006 UPDATES: Navy Sonar Drills Restricted Near Marine Mammal Habitat

kinshipcircle.org/updates/updates_may-july_2006.html#9

8/27/04: Whales – Casualties Of Navy Training

kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter.asp?LetterID=1223&seriesfirst=true

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

17. Oxford Univ. Lab To Use Thousands Of Animals

SOURCE: 11/11/08, Oxford University opens controversial animal research lab
READ FULL STORY: www.guardian.co.uk/science/2008/nov/11/animal-research-oxford-university

A controversial animal research laboratory…officially opened today at Oxford University… Thousands of animals will eventually be housed in the new facility, which aims to bring the university’s disparate animal research projects under one roof. The centre will provide room for mice, ferrets, monkeys and other species, such as tadpoles… The centre is expected to be fully operational by the middle of next year…

KINSHIP CIRCLE REFERENCES:

3/23/05: Don’t Let Oxford Torture More Primates

kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter.asp?LetterID=1323&seriesfirst=true

7/15/04: Stop Oxford University’s Research Expansion

kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter.asp?LetterID=1199&seriesfirst=true

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

18. Prop 2 Passes For Calif. Farmed Animals

SOURCE: 11/5/08, Historic Victory for Farm Animals!
READ FULL STORY: action.farmsanctuary.org/site/MessageViewer?em_id=8241.0&printer_friendly=1

FROM KINSHIP CIRCLE: The California Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act passed in the largest agricultural state in the U.S. A ban on the most egregious cruelty — battery cages, veal crates, gestation crates — will be phased in. Clearly, “how animals become meals” has entered mainstream consciousness. Of equal importance: Despite the millions agribusiness lobbyists spent on overturning this initiative, it passed. The ballot initiative system, fueled by grassroots stamina, worked.

KINSHIP CIRCLE REFERENCES:

JULY 2008 DIGEST: Help Proposition 2 Win Relief For Animals In Calif.

www.kinshipcircle.org/digest/2008_07.html#anchor3

Don’t Blow This Landmark Chance For Farmed Animals

www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter.asp?LetterID=1709&seriesfirst=true

FACT SHEETS FOR YOU TO DOWNLOAD:

www.kinshipcircle.org/fact_sheets/FactsAboutPoultyEggIndustr.pdf

www.kinshipcircle.org/fact_sheets/FactsAboutThePorkIndust.pdf

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19. EU Proposal To Ban Great Apes In Experiments

SOURCE: 11/5/08, Protection of animals in scientific experiments
READ FULL STORY: europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/08/1632&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

The European Commission presented a proposal to strengthen protection of animals still used in scientific procedures… The new provisions will also contribute to minimizing as far as possible the number of animals used in experiments… The use of non-human primates is subject to restrictions, and the proposal also introduces a ban on the use of great apes — chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas and orangutans — in scientific procedures. Only when survival of the species itself is at stake, or in the case of an unexpected outbreak of a life-threatening or debilitating disease in humans, can a Member State exceptionally be granted permission for their use…

KINSHIP CIRCLE REFERENCES:

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

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

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20. Ringling Bros. Big Fat Federal Lawsuit

SOURCE: 10/24/08, CIRCUS BEASTS OF HURTIN’
READ FULL STORY HERE: www.nypost.com/seven/10242008/news/nationalnews/circus_beasts_of_hurtin_135048.htm

After 8 years of legal wrangling, Ringling Bros. heads to Washington federal court (10/27/08) to answer charges from animal-rights groups that it beats its Asian elephants. The ASPCA, three other pro-animal groups and a former Ringling employee have filed a suit charging that circus workers routinely hit the elephants with a bull hook – a club with a sharp, pointed hook — while training and disciplining them.

The suit, filed in June 2000, also contends that Ringling employees forcibly remove baby elephants from their mothers with ropes and chains before they are weaned. And it claims that elephants are kept chained for up to 100 hours while being moved in train cars. All these actions violate the 1973 Endangered Species Act, the suit says…

FACT SHEET FOR YOU TO DOWNLOAD:

www.kinshipcircle.org/fact_sheets/RinglingBrosTheBigCon.pdf

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

21. Alaska Whales: 1 vs. Gov. Sarah Palin: 0

SOURCE: 10/18/08, Alaska Whales Protected Over Palin’s Objections
READ FULL STORY: www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/17/AR2008101701046.html

The Bush administration named the beluga whale in Alaska’s Cook Inlet an endangered species despite opposition to the move by Gov. Sarah Palin. By affording the whale protection under the Endangered Species Act, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will now embark on an ambitious research effort to determine why the species is on the decline… Subsistence hunting took a toll on the Cook Inlet beluga population, which numbered as many as 1,300 in the 1970s but now stands at 375.

KINSHIP CIRCLE REFERENCES:

9/27/08: Palin’s Pro-Death Platform On Animals

www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new.asp?LetterID=1762&seriesfirst=true

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

Please help Kinship Circle work for animals in the New Year!
* DONATE SECURELY ONLINE: www.kinshipcircle.org/donation

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

Action Campaigns I Literature I Animal Disaster Aid Networking
info [at] kinshipcircle.org or kinshipcircle [at] accessus.net
www.KinshipCircle.org * www.kinshipcircle.org/disasters/
KINSHIP CIRCLE is a 501c3 public charity. Donations are tax-deductible.
Public (501c3) Charity Status: 170 (b) (1) (A) (vi)

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Animal rescue coordination/news in disasters + companion animal alerts
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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.

————————-

Tagged: animals animal rights animal welfare action alerts environment environmental environmentalist environmentalism kinship circle brenda shoss bush george bush barack obama 2008 elections sarah palin wildlife conservation pet companion animal dog canine animal fighting dogfighting blood sports michael vick animal abuse animal cruelty cruelty to animals vivisection animal experimentation animal research animal testing primates wyeth fraud Donna Karan fur fur free faux fur horses horse slaughter horse meat prada Bluebell pit bull SEAACA california Joseph Petcka cat feline norman sex and the city Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act aeta green scare green is the new red will potter civil liberties Tom Vilsack Ken Salazar Lisa Jackson Raul Grijalva Karley Glynn Johnson Netherlands seals seal hunt factory farming factory farms farmed animals Hallmark Westland Eddie Lama Oasis Sanctuary Madeleine Pickens blm ranchers rodeo phoenix houston texas navy sonar dolphins oxford prop 2 Ringling Bros. elephants esa endangered species act beluga whale alaska news in the news flickr photos

KINSHIP CIRCLE PRIMARY – PERMISSION TO CROSS-POST

PART 1: KC UPDATES / AUG – OCT 2008
Victories * Setbacks * Progress For Animals

www.kinshipcircle.org/updates/

PART 1: KC UPDATES / AUG- OCT 2008
1. Dogfighting Don’s First Day In Louisiana Court
2. Ringling Goes To Federal Trial October 20, 2008?
3. Dog Poisoner Gets 30 Jail Days + Counseling
4. HSUS Sues United Egg Producers
5. Bush Admin Objects, But Polar Bears Get Habitat
6. Our Visit To The Vice Prez Debate, St. Louis, MO
7. After AETA: Another Law To Silence Activists
8. Prop 2 Looks Good As Nov. 4 Elections Approach
9. Bush Admin VS. Gray Wolves: GOP Losing
10. Politics Trumps Mercy: Still No Downer Ban

PART 2: KC UPDATES / AUG – OCT 2008
PLEASE RESEND ME PART #2: kinshipcircle [at] accessus.net
11. Humane Society Legislative Fund Endorses Obama
12. Police Sgt. Acquitted In Dog’s Death In Locked Car
13. Who Dumped HLS Animal Killers Lately?
14. Shooting Mayor’s Dogs Is “Justified.” Huh?
15. Freedom For Unlawfully Jailed Austrian Activists
16. 8 Little Lambs Left A Lab – To Live At A Sanctuary
17. New Development Proves: IAMS Kills
18. Nepal Bans Monkey Export To Research Labs
19. Korea to Classify Dogs as Livestock
20. NJ: Landmark Legal Victory For Farm Animals
21. EU Proposes Total Ban On Some Seal Goods
22. Calif. Law Bans Slaughter Of Downers
23. Hits & Misses For Animals

RE: 10/10/08: Don’t Let Soldiers Kill Beloved Dog In Iraq

NO ANSWERS YET, BUT SEE: Puppy love denied by U.S. army rules

cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/World/2008/10/14/7080146-ap.html

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

1. Dogfighting Don’s First Day In Louisiana Court

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

DATE: 10/14/08

SOURCE: Illegal dogfight case begins

theadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081014/NEWS01/81013020

Pit bull breeders face dog-fighting charges

www.2theadvocate.com/news/acadiana/30729964.html

EDITED FOR LENGTH

This case has languished since pre-Katrina 2005 when State Police recovered dogfighting magazines, pictures, home videos, a treadmill, steroids, surgical equipment to repair wounds from fighting, and break sticks used to pry open a pit bull’s jaws, etc. — from the property of Boudreaux and his son.

The trial of a Broussard man and his son, who are facing more than 40 counts of dogfighting, began following several trial postponements. Floyd Boudreaux, 73, and his son Guy Boudreaux, 44, were arrested in March 2005 and charged with 48 counts of dogfighting after Louisiana State Police officers seized more than 50 pit bulls, allegedly used for illegal dogfighting, from their Lafayette parish residence. Boudreaux and his son waived their rights to a jury to proceed with the case. The court heard
opening statements from Prosecutor Ronald Dauterive and defense lawyer Jason Robideaux… More witnesses, including more than 10 defense witnesses, are set to appear in court…

KINSHIP CIRCLE REFERENCES:

1/20/06: LA Dogfight Thugs Are Charged

www.kinshipcircle.org/updates/updates_jan-april_2006.html#10

1/18/06: Justice Lags In Bust Of LA Dogfighting Dynasty

www.kinshipcircle.org/fact_sheets/fatalfights.pdf

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

2. Ringling Goes To Federal Trial October 20, 2008?

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

DATE: 10/12/08

SOURCE: Lawsuit Against Ringling Bros. to Protect Asian Elephants Moves Forward

www.awionline.org/wildlife/elephants/rbsuit.htm

HEART for Animals, animalrights.meetup.com/242/

Ringling Bros. to stand trial for elephant abuse beginning October 20, 2008 in Washington, D.C.

Photo: Demo at Izod Center, East Rutherford, NJ 2008. HEART for Animals, heartforanimals [at] optonline.net

EDITED FOR LENGTH

From Kinship Circle — We couldn’t verify this long-awaited trial — however, Animal Welfare Institute, one of the plaintiffs, has a COUNTDOWN TO RINGLING BROS. TRIAL meter on its site. As of 10/12/08, the meter read:

2000-2003: American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Fund for Animals, Animal Welfare Institute, and former Ringling “barn man” Tom Rider file a lawsuit against Ringling Bros. Circus under the Endangered Species Act for its cruelty to Asian elephants.

February 2002: U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit unanimously holds that plaintiffs have Article III standing to bring the case. Records disclose:

* USDA neglects to inform public about numerous RBBBC elephants with tuberculosis… Documents show virtually all Ringling endangered Asian elephants are exposed to TB…

* USDA says use of chains and ropes to forcibly separate nursing elephants from mothers at Ringling’s Center for Elephant Conservation inflict “unnecessary trauma, behavioral stress and physical harm.”

2007: Federal judge rules the animal cruelty case against Ringling may proceed. Documents uncovered during lawsuit reveal employees beat, chain and wound endangered Asian elephants with bullhooks…

DETAILED (1998-PRESENT) TIMELINE OF RINGLING ON TRIAL:

www.awionline.org/news/2007/ringling_bros_abuse.htm

KINSHIP CIRCLE REFERENCES:

www.kinshipcircle.org/fact_sheets/RinglingBrosTheBigCon.pdf

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

3. Dog Poisoner Gets 30 Jail Days + Counseling

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

DATE: 10/9/08

SOURCE: CRR man sentenced to 30 days for dog poisonings

www.ktvz.com/Global/story.asp?S=9156166

EDITED FOR LENGTH

One dog died, other survived — Alan Whitacre, 68, is preparing to spend 30 days in jail and get mental health counseling after admitting to poisoning his neighbor’s dogs for months. Whitacre says his neighbor Ken Schmidt’s dogs, Timber and Topaz, barked constantly for a year. “He admitted he had lost his mind because the dogs were barking day after day, and he felt animal control and the sheriff’s office had failed him,” Jefferson County Deputy District Attorney Steve Leriche told Circuit Judge Daniel Ahern. “So he said he began trying to kill the dogs.” Whitacre pleaded guilty to putting rat poison in meat and throwing it over the fence to the dogs…

KINSHIP CIRCLE REFERENCES:

9/26/08: No Plea Deal For Poisoning Dogs

www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new.asp?LetterID=1760&seriesfirst=true

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

4. HSUS Sues United Egg Producers

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

DATE: 10/9/08

SOURCE: Egg Industry Sued for Deceiving Consumers about Animal Welfare

www.hsus.org/press_and_publications/press_releases/egg_industry_sued_for_deceiving_consumers_100908.html

EDITED FOR LENGTH

A lawsuit filed by Humane Society of the United States in the District of Columbia alleges that advertising by UEP and MoArk, LLC, and R.W. Sauder, Inc., is duping consumers who care about animal welfare into buying eggs bearing the “United Egg Producers Certified” logo. While UEP touts that its certification program is an “animal welfare” program, it permits factory farmers to confine hens in restrictive, barren cages in which they can’t perform many of their natural behaviors, including perching, nesting, foraging or even spreading their wings…

KINSHIP CIRCLE REFERENCES:

Meat-on-a-Stick for Earth Day?

www.kinshipcircle.org/columns_articles/0041.html

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

5. Bush Admin Objects, But Polar Bears Get Habitat

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

DATE: 10/6/08

SOURCE: Government has till 2010 to designate polar bear habitat

www.mcclatchydc.com/260/story/53565.html

EDITED FOR LENGTH

WASHINGTON — Environmental groups and the Bush administration reached a partial court settlement that requires the Department of Interior to designate critical habitat for polar bears by June 30, 2010. The Department of Interior in May listed the polar bear as threatened by global warming, but didn’t designate any critical habitat protection. The Center for Biological Diversity, Greenpeace and the Natural Resources Defense Council filed a lawsuit in an attempt to force the government to do more for the bears’ long-term survival under the Endangered Species Act…

KINSHIP CIRCLE REFERENCES:

Apr-June 2008 UPDATES: Polar Bears Get Endangered Status

www.kinshipcircle.org/updates/updates_apr-jun_2008.html#anchor13

8/27/07: Polar Bears Are Not Trophies

kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter.asp?LetterID=1674&seriesfirst=true

6/1/07: Uncertain Fate For Polar Bears

www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter.asp?LetterID=1652&seriesfirst=true

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

6. Our Visit To The Vice Prez Debate, St. Louis, MO

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

DATE: 10/2/08
SOURCE: www.KinshipCircle.org

10/2/08: VICE PRESEDENT DEBATE / WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY, ST. LOUIS

VIDEO: SARAH PALIN AND ANIMALS [a must see for animal advocates]

Sarah Palin’s Shocking Animal Cruelty

www.worldproutassembly.org/archives/2008/09/sarah_palins_sh.html

For those who don’t believe the number two spot on the ticket matters much, consider this: 14 vice presidents in American history eventually climbed to the top job, eight of them because their predecessors died in office. If Sarah Palin were to be propelled into the presidency and given the opportunity to run the United States like she has run Alaska — controlling Departments of Interior, Agriculture, and Commerce, with wide-ranging authority over issues affecting pets, wildlife, farm animals, marine
mammals, animals in research, and public lands — it would be a terrible day for animals and for the country. Michael Markarian (HSUS and HSLF)

KINSHIP CIRCLE REFERENCES:

9/27/08: Palin’s Pro-Death Platform On Animals

www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new.asp?LetterID=1762&seriesfirst=true

9/25/07: Shot From The Sky – Aerial Wolf Hunts

www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter.asp?LetterID=1686&seriesfirst=true

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

7. After AETA: Another Law To Silence Activists

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

DATE: 10/1/08

SOURCE: New Law Shields UC Scientists

www.dailynexus.com/article.php?a=17239

Assembly Bill 2296, the Researcher Protection Act of 2008

www.animalliberationfront.com/News/2008_10/NewLawShieldsUCScientists.htm

EDITED FOR LENGTH (but you ought to read it all, at either link above)

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed UC-backed legislation into law — Assembly Bill 2296, the Researcher Protection Act of 2008… The legislation immediately…bans publications describing researchers’ appearances or residences, and legally bars individuals from entering a researcher’s home with the intent to commit a crime… The provision criminalizes any speech designed to threaten or intimidate academic researchers, thereby restricting the speaker’s First Amendment rights.

Jerry Vlasak, a spokesman for the North American Animal Liberation, said: “The University likes to make it seem like all scientific progress will come to a halt if animal testing is restricted. That simply is not the case. Anti-animal testing protesters have been primarily challenging the use of primates, such as the UC using BOTOX to paralyze primate’s eye muscles and gluing metal coils to their corneas to study eye movements. They have been doing this study for 20 years and it has done nothing to help humans.”

Michael Budkie, executive director of Stop Animal Exploitation NOW!, said: “Since researchers are using public funds…people have a right to know how their tax dollars are being spent.” According to SAEN, the UC system holds over 5,000 primates, primarily at laboratories connected to UC Davis, UC San Francisco and UC Los Angeles. Many experiments are highly invasive and painful, SAEN asserts, and involve procedures like water deprivation, exposure to infectious diseases and the bolting of devices to the skull…

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

8. Prop 2 Looks Good As Nov. 4 Elections Approach

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

STATEWIDE POLL SHOWS YES! ON PROP 2 LEADING 72-10

DATE: 9/30/08

SOURCE: Jennifer Fearing, jfearing [at] hsus.org

EDITED FOR LENGTH

SACRAMENTO — The YES! on Prop 2 campaign reports a tidal wave of voter and donor support from Californians backing the effort to stop the inhumane treatment of animals on industrial factory farms. In contrast, donations raised by the No on Prop 2 campaign have come from a handful of corporate factory farming interests — most out of state and many embroiled in a national price-fixing scandal. The results of a new statewide poll by KSFN-Fresno/SurveyUSA show overwhelming support from voters, with Prop 2 commanding a 62-point lead: 72-10 (18 undecided).

PROP 2 SPONSORS SUE U.S DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE

DATE: 8/21/08

SOURCE: For now, feds will steer clear of California animal-rights measure

www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/08/21/BA0912G90F.DTL&tsp=1

EDITED FOR LENGTH

In papers filed in San Francisco, the U.S. Department of Agriculture denied accusations in a lawsuit that it planned illegal political spending… The suit accuses Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer of approving a $3 million budget increase for the American Egg Board to use in advertising against Prop. 2. The board is a government-supervised group of egg producers that collects fees from the industry to research and promote egg products… The expenditure would violate a federal law prohibiting the agency from using any funds to influence government policy, the suit said…

LEARN ABOUT PROP 2 AND HOW TO HELP IT PASS: yesonprop2.com

KINSHIP CIRCLE REFERENCES:

JULY 2008 DIGEST: Help Proposition 2 Win Relief For Animals In Calif.

www.kinshipcircle.org/digest/2008_07.html#anchor3

Don’t Blow This Landmark Chance For Farmed Animals

www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter.asp?LetterID=1709&seriesfirst=true

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

9. Bush Admin VS. Gray Wolves: GOP Losing

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

CONSERVATIONISTS WIN LAWSUIT TO PROTECT GRAY WOLVES IN GREAT LAKES

DATE: 9/29/08

SOURCE: Court Orders Bush Admin to Retain Protections for Wolves…

www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/press_releases/2008/gray-wolves-09-29-2008.html

EDITED FOR LENGTH

Judge Paul L. Friedman of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia today ordered the Bush administration to retain protection for gray wolves in the Great Lakes area under the Endangered Species Act. The Court’s order and accompanying opinion were issued in response to a lawsuit brought by conservationists challenging the Bush administration’s effort to unlawfully apply the Endangered Species Act to the status of gray wolves…

DELISTING OF GRAY WOLVES IN YELLOWSTONE & NORTHERN ROCKIES RESCINDED

DATE: 9/17/08

SOURCE: Save America’s Wolves, www.savewolves.org

EDITED FOR LENGTH

In March 2008, the Bush/Cheney Administration eliminated Endangered Species Act protections for wolves in Greater Yellowstone and the Northern Rockies. For months, wolves were slaughtered… until conservation groups prevailed in court and restored federal protections for these magnificent animals. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) officials say they plan to rescind the plan to delist gray wolves in Greater Yellowstone and the Northern Rockies sometime soon and place them back under federal protections…

TAKE ACTION TO PROTECT GRAY WOLVES PERMANENTLY:

Speak Up For the Gray Wolf Today

salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2167/t/5243/petition.jsp?petition_KEY=1322

Help Ensure a Lasting Future for Wolves in Greater Yellowstone and the Northern Rockies

action.defenders.org/site/PageServer?pagename=savewolves_takeaction

KINSHIP CIRCLE REFERENCES:

3/29/08: Gray Wolf Hunts Planned After De-Listing

www.kinshipcircle.org/updates/updates_apr-jun_2008.html#anchor28

4/27/04: Western Gray Wolves Under Attack

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

10. Politics Trumps Mercy: Still No Downer Ban

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

DATE: 9/29/08

SOURCE: Industry News / Senate snubs bill with non-ambulatory cattle language

www.meatingplace.com/MembersOnly/webNews/details.aspx?item=9831

EDITED FOR LENGTH

The U.S. Senate rejected a motion to proceed to debate the Economic Stimulus package, which included language that would ban non-ambulatory cattle from entering the food supply. The measure was rejected by a vote of 52 to 42, leaving it short of the 60 votes required to proceed… USDA proposed a rule banning non-ambulatory cattle last month (Aug. 27, 2008)…

KINSHIP CIRCLE REFERENCES:

7/14/08: No Downers. No Exceptions. NOW.

www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new.asp?LetterID=1751&seriesfirst=true

Apr-June 2008 UPDATES: Downer News – Big Meat Backs Downer Ban + More…

www.kinshipcircle.org/updates/updates_apr-jun_2008.html#anchor16

3/2/08: I’m Mad. Downer Ban? USDA Says Forget It

www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new.asp?LetterID=1727&seriesfirst=true

2/23/08: USDA-Certified Cruel: Downers Dragged, Shocked, Rammed

www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new.asp?LetterID=1725&seriesfirst=true

www.kinshipcircle.org/fact_sheets/DownedOnTheFarmPHOTOS.pdf

www.kinshipcircle.org/fact_sheets/HortonHearsACow.pdf

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

Due To Lack Of Funding, Kinship Circle May Fold

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

This decision is by no means final, as we struggle for a “miracle” grant in these difficult economic times. Your donations are cherished…Anything contributed now is tax-deductible and goes directly to our programs.

Still, we need an operating budget grant to remain “in business” for you and the animals. We will certainly keep our supporters updated…and function as usual until such time we must close.

AGAIN; We are not folding right now. But it may happen within the year, if we don’t secure funding to pay for overhead and projects.

* Animal Disaster Aid Networking & Response
* Educational Literature And Outreach
* Website With Downloadable Tools For Activists
* Research/Campaigns To Help animals…and more

DONATE ONLINE: www.kinshipcircle.org/donation/

DONATE BY MAIL: Kinship Circle / 7380 Kingsbury Blvd. / St. Louis, MO 63130

Action Campaigns I Literature I Animal Disaster Aid Networking
info [at] kinshipcircle.org or kinshipcircle [at] accessus.net
www.KinshipCircle.org * www.kinshipcircle.org/disasters/

DONATE ONLINE: www.kinshipcircle.org/donation/
DONATE BY MAIL: Kinship Circle / 7380 Kingsbury Blvd. / St. Louis, MO 63130

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

SUBSCRIBE:
Kinship Circle Primary: subscribe [at] kinshipcircle.org
Action campaigns on animal cruelty issues worldwide
Kinship Circle Animal Disaster Aid Network: kinshipcircle [at] accessus.net
Animal rescue coordination/news in disasters + companion animal alerts

*DISCLAIMER: The information in these alerts is verified with the original source. Kinship Circle does not assume responsibility for the accuracy of the information or for the consequences of its use. Nothing in this email is intended to encourage illegal action in whatever country you are reading it in. Kinship Circle does not engage in, nor support, any form of harassment or unlawful activity. Nothing in this alert serves to promote such conduct.

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Kinship Circle – kinshipcircle [at] accessus.net
Date: Wed, Oct 15, 2008 at 2:27 PM
Subject: Part 2/ UPDATES: AUG-OCT 2008

KINSHIP CIRCLE PRIMARY – PERMISSION TO CROSS-POST

PART 2: KC UPDATES / AUG – OCT 2008
Victories * Setbacks * Progress For Animals

www.kinshipcircle.org/updates/

PART 2: KC UPDATES / AUG – OCT 2008
11. Humane Society Legislative Fund Endorses Obama
12. Police Sgt. Acquitted In Dog’s Death In Locked Car
13. Who Dumped HLS Animal Killers Lately?
14. Shooting Mayor’s Dogs Is “Justified.” Huh?
15. Freedom For Unlawfully Jailed Austrian Activists
16. 8 Little Lambs Left A Lab – To Live At A Sanctuary
17. New Development Proves: IAMS Kills
18. Nepal Bans Monkey Export To Research Labs
19. Korea to Classify Dogs as Livestock
20. NJ: Landmark Legal Victory For Farm Animals
21. EU Proposes Total Ban On Some Seal Goods
22. Calif. Law Bans Slaughter Of Downers
23. Hits & Misses For Animals

PART 1: KC UPDATES / AUG – OCT 2008
PLEASE RESEND ME PART #1: kinshipcircle [at] accessus.net
1. Dogfighting Don’s First Day In Louisiana Court
2. Ringling Goes To Federal Trial October 20, 2008?
3. Dog Poisoner Gets 30 Jail Days + Counseling
4. HSUS Sues United Egg Producers
5. Bush Admin Objects, But Polar Bears Get Habitat
6. Our Visit To The Vice Prez Debate, St. Louis, MO
7. After AETA: Another Law To Silence Activists
8. Prop 2 Looks Good As Nov. 4 Elections Approach
9. Bush Admin VS. Gray Wolves: GOP Losing
10. Politics Trumps Mercy: Still No Downer Ban

RE: 10/10/08: Don’t Let Soldiers Kill Beloved Dog In Iraq
NO ANSWERS YET, BUT SEE: Puppy love denied by U.S. army rules

cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/World/2008/10/14/7080146-ap.html

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

11. Humane Society Legislative Fund Endorses Obama

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

DATE: 9/22/08

SOURCE: Humane Society Legislative Fund Endorses Obama-Biden

hslf.typepad.com/political_animal/2008/09/humane-society.html

EDITED FOR LENGTH

The HSLF board of directors — comprised of both Democrats and Republicans — has voted unanimously to endorse Barack Obama for President… Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL), as an Illinois state senator, backed at least a dozen animal protection laws, including those to strengthen penalties for animal cruelty, to help animal shelters, to promote spay/neuter, and to ban slaughter of horses for human consumption. In the U.S. Senate, he has consistently co-sponsored multiple bills to combat animal fighting and horse slaughter, and has supported efforts to increase funding for adequate enforcement of the Animal Welfare Act, Humane Methods of Slaughter Act, and
federal laws to combat animal fighting and puppy mills. MORE: hslf.typepad.com/political_animal/2008/09/humane-society.html

Michael Markarian is the president of the Humane Society Legislative Fund, a
501(c)(4) social welfare organization that lobbies for animal welfare
legislation and works to elect humane-minded candidates to public office.

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

12. Police Sgt. Acquitted In Dog’s Death In Locked Car

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

DATE: 9/10/08

SOURCE: www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2008/09/10/20080910Lovejoy-claim0911.html

EDITED FOR LENGTH

Chandler Police Sgt. Tom Lovejoy’s legal saga continued… Lovejoy and his wife, Carolynn, filed a notice of claim against Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, alleging the sheriff of initiating a malicious prosecution in the death of Lovejoy’s K-9 partner, Bandit. The claim seeks $350,000 in damages. Last month, a Justice of the Peace in the San Tan Justice Court acquitted Lovejoy of animal abuse. Bandit died in the back of Lovejoy’s SUV in August 2007 after being forgotten for at least 12 hours….

Attendees of the memorial signed a photo of Bandit which was going to be given to the Chandler Police Department. Julio Jimenez, Tribune,

www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/95496

READ MORE ABOUT THIS CASE:

Chandler cop acquitted in animal cruelty case

www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/123207

Trial Begins In Death Of Chandler Police Dog

www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/123142

Hundreds gather to honor fallen K-9 officer (PHOTOS)

www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/95437

KINSHIP CIRCLE REFERENCES:

OCT. 2007 UPDATE: 1/10/08 Trial For Sergeant Who Let Dog Die In Patrol Car

www.kinshipcircle.org/updates/updates_oct-dec_2007.html#anchor16

9/30/07: Bandit Died Waiting In Officer’s Scorching Car

www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter.asp?LetterID=1688&seriesfirst=true

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

13. Who Dumped HLS Animal Killers Lately?

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

MERCK DUMPS HUNTINGDON “LIFE” SCIENCES!

DATE: 9/9/08

SOURCE: Merck DUMPS Huntingdon “Life” Science!

dc.indymedia.org/newswire/display/144114/index.php

EDITED FOR LENGTH

SHAC-UK, shac.net — A huge victory in the SHAC Customer Campaign: Global giant Merck has abandoned HLS and released the following statement: “We hereby state as follows: Merck KGaA has no plans to be an HLS customer in the future which plans apply to Merck KGaA globally as well as to Merck´s subsidiaries globally. According to our phone-conversation on last Friday this statement will effect that Merck KGaA will be delisted from any shac-list globally. Yours sincerely Merck KgaA”

3 COMPANIES DUMP MORE THAN 1.5 MILLION HLS/LSR SHARES IN A MONTH

DATE: 7/30/08

SOURCE: Indy Media UK, publish.indymedia.org.uk
SHAC-UK, shac.net
For The Animals 7, www.myspace.com/fortheanimals7

EDITED FOR LENGTH

After Raymond James/Eagle Asset Management and H Partners decided that shares in HLS blood money were not for them, Old Mutual, 2 Lambeth Hill, London who had shares in HLS torture through their company Acadian Asset Management also made another quick escape from the campaign against HLS and sold all LSR shares. This shows a strong message that companies still won’t deal with HLS once they find out about them!

KINSHIP CIRCLE REFERENCES:

www.kinshipcircle.org/fact_sheets/WhoIsHuntingdonLifeScienc.pdf

www.kinshipcircle.org/fact_sheets/HLS2005Report.pdf

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

14. Shooting Mayor’s Dogs Is “Justified.” Huh?

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

DATE: 9/5/08

SOURCE: Killing of Mayor’s 2 Dogs Justified, Pr. George’s Finds

www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/04/AR2008090402746.html

EDITED FOR LENGTH

Prince George’s County Sheriff’s Office has concluded in an internal review that deputies were justified when they shot and killed two dogs belonging to the mayor of Berwyn Heights during a July drug raid. Sheriff Michael Jackson said one dog was engaging an officer and the other was running toward a second officer at the time the black Labs were shot…

A necropsy requested by Mayor Cheve Clavo concluded one dog was shot four times and the other twice, including once in the dog’s back legs. Calvo said the necropsy bolstered his contention that neither dog was threatening law enforcement officers during the raid and that one dog was shot from behind as he fled into a back room. A sheriff’s department SWAT team and county police narcotics officers burst into the mayor’s home July 29 after police intercepted a 32-pound package of marijuana [falsely] addressed to Trinity Tomsic, Calvo’s wife…

KINSHIP CIRCLE REFERENCES:

8/9/08: Mayor’s Dogs Gunned Down In Police Raid

www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new.asp?LetterID=1756&seriesfirst=true

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

15. Freedom For Unlawfully Jailed Austrian Activists

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

DATE: 9/2/08

SOURCE: Austrian Solidarity, www.austriasolidarity.com, info [at] austriasolidarity.com

EDITED FOR LENGTH

Christof, Elmar, Felix, Jan, Jürgen, Kevin, Leo, Martin and Sabine — the remaining 9 Austrian activists — are finally free! Since the end of May, 9 activists (Christian had been released earlier) have been charged with Forming a Criminal Organization, under 278a StGB of the Austrian penal code. The Appellate court explained…the pre-trial detention cannot be upheld if the expected penalties are in no relation to it… Every letter, petition and demo directly impacted the campaign to demand justice for the TEN…

KINSHIP CIRCLE REFERENCES:

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

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

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

16. 8 Little Lambs Left A Lab – To Live At A Sanctuary

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

DATE: 8/28/08

SOURCE: Karen Straight, Director of Outreach, The Kindness Ranch, dr.straight [at] gmail.com
Meet The Miracle Sheep Babies, picasaweb.google.com/thekindnessranch/TheSheep#
The Arrival, www.kindnessranch.org/sheep.html

EDITED FOR LENGTH

Kindness Ranch rescues and rehabilitates former laboratory animals…even though labs rarely relinquish their animals. But one lab did release these 8 beautiful sheep to Kindness Ranch. Here they are in a natural setting — paving the way to haven for more lab survivors in the future.

Late one evening eight little lambs arrived at the ranch. We introduced them to their new home in our barn. The next morning they were ready to come out and explore… They are all growing fast and enjoying the freedom at the ranch. www.kindnessranch.org/sheep.html

A special thank you to the Castelli Family, Lamb Family, and all the other donors for the generous donations to make this project possible. We also greatly appreciate the assistance of Brenda Shoss of Kinship Circle and Jennifer Warner is spreading the word about this project.

READ MORE ABOUT KINDNESS RANCH: WIPE YOUR PAWS

www.trib.com/articles/2008/09/13/news/wyoming/4c026df5a71bce7f872574c30021089e.txt

KINSHIP CIRCLE REFERENCES:

8/3/08: From Research To Ranch – Help A Miracle!

www.kinshipcircle.org/disasters/relief/08-08-03.html

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

17. New Development Proves: IAMS Kills

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

DATE: 8/28/08

SOURCE: UPDATE – Boycott Iams Pet Food For Its Cruel Treatment of Animals

www.rushprnews.com/2008/08/28/boycott-iams-pet-food-for-animal-cruelty/#more-2843

EDITED FOR LENGTH

WASHINGTON, DC (RUSHPRNEWS) — The U.S. Department of Agriculture has released an official complaint stating that the contract laboratory investigated by PETA in 2002 and 2003 — employed by pet-food manufacturer Iams — “has shown a lack of good faith.” The government complaint alleges that the violations were documented by government inspectors at the contract laboratory from 2002 to 2005.

VIDEO: PETA’S 9-MONTH UNDERCOVER INVESTIGATION:

www.petatv.com/tvpopup/video.asp?video=iams&Player=wm

KINSHIP CIRCLE REFERENCES:

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

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

1/5/05: IAMS Doublespeak Spells Misery For Cats And Dogs

www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter.asp?LetterID=1284&seriesfirst=true

www.kinshipcircle.org/fact_sheets/DyingForKibble.pdf

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18. Nepal Bans Monkey Export To Research Labs

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

DATE: 8/25/08

SOURCE: Nepal Bans Exports Of Monkeys For Vivisection

www.animalliberationfront.com/ALFront/Actions-Nepal/BansMonkeyExports.htm

EDITED FOR LENGTH

The Nepalese government announced a ban on the export of monkeys for vivisection. Whilst we welcome this move we still call for the release of monkeys from farms and a complete end to all bio-medical research using monkeys in Nepal.

WATCH CAMPAIGN VIDEO OF THE MONKEY FARMS:

THEN TAKE ACTION TO FREE THE MONKEYS HERE:

www.animalliberationfront.com/ALFront/Actions-Nepal/BansMonkeyExports.htm

KINSHIP CIRCLE REFERENCES:

6/24/08: Nepal’s Monkeys Sold To Animal Experimenters

www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new.asp?LetterID=1746&seriesfirst=true

10/14/06: End Breeding/Export Of Nepal’s Monkeys For Research

www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter.asp?LetterID=1583&seriesfirst=true

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

19. Korea to Classify Dogs as Livestock

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

DATE: 8/14/08

SOURCE: www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2008/08/117_29358.html
It’s Their Destiny, www.2kat.net/itstheirdestiny/

EDITED FOR LENGTH

The Ministry of Environment will categorize dogs as livestock to regulate sanitation practices of large-scale dog breeders. Central and local governments have refrained from putting dogs on a par with cattle, chickens and other livestock as an official recognition of dog meat as food. Under current law, it’s “illegal” to butcher dogs and trade their meat. However, under the revised law, which will come into effect Sept. 28, large-scale “dog farmers” [who breed dogs for human consumption] must build facilities to handle the disposal of dog excretion and report it to regional authorities… According to the ministry, there are about 720,000 dog farms nationwide, raising some 2.3 million dogs as of December of 2005…

KINSHIP CIRCLE REFERENCES:

MAY 2008 DIGEST: Stop Korea From Legalizing Dog Meat

www.kinshipcircle.org/digest/2008_05.html#anchor5

11/8/07: No More Dogs For Dinner in Philippines

www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter.asp?LetterID=1697&seriesfirst=true

11/2/07: Outlaw Korean Cat/Dog Meat For Good

www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter.asp?LetterID=1695&seriesfirst=true

3/16/05: Korea Moves To Legalize Dog Meat

www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter.asp?LetterID=1318&seriesfirst=true

www.kinshipcircle.org/fact_sheets/CompanionCuisine.pdf

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

20. NJ: Landmark Legal Victory For Farm Animals

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

DATE: 7/30/08

SOURCE: www.farmsanctuary.org/mediacenter/2008/pr_nj_decision08.html

EDITED FOR LENGTH

Farm Sanctuary scored a precedent-setting victory in its decade-long battle against the New Jersey Department of Agriculture’s (NJDA) inhumane standards of farm animal care. In a monumental legal decision, the New Jersey Supreme Court unanimously declared that factory farming practices cannot be considered “humane” simply because they are “routine husbandry practices.” The Court also rejected the practice of tail-docking cattle, the manner in which the NJDA had provided for farm animals to be mutilated without anesthesia, and ordered the agency to readdress many of the state-mandated standards for the treatment of farm animals…

KINSHIP CIRCLE REFERENCES (past campaigns no longer online):

7/7/04: Comments – NJ “Humane” Policies For Farmed Animals

12/11/03: Last Chance For Humane Bill in New Jersey

7/5/03: Cruelty As Usual On NJ Factory Farms

5/21/03: NJ Humane Standards Waived For Economic Gain

1/18/03: NJ Humane Veal Bill Reaches Assembly Floor

7/7/02: New Jersey Humane Veal Bill

1/24/01: New Jersey Initiative To Ban Intensive Confinement Systems

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

21. EU Proposes Total Ban On Some Seal Goods

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

DATE: 7/24/08
SOURCE: www.boston.com/news/world/europe/articles/2008/07/24/in_seal_hunt_protest_eu_weighs_ban_on_some_imports/

EDITED FOR LENGTH

BRUSSELS — The European Union proposed a total trade and import ban on products from seals killed in a cruel way despite warnings it could hurt the world’s largest annual seal hunt in Canada. The plan covers hunts worldwide, but focuses on Canada because of assertions by hunt opponents that it is the cruelest… The EU proposal says trade in seal products would be allowed from countries that can offer guarantees their hunting techniques are “consistent with high animal-welfare standards”… and recommends labels making clear seal products meet strict EU conditions…

KINSHIP CIRCLE REFERENCES:

8/5/08: The Other Canadian Seal Hunt – Grey Seals Of Nova Scotia

www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new.asp?LetterID=1755&seriesfirst=true

Apr-June 2008 UPDATES: Canada’s Seal Hunt Ends With Lower Kill Numbers

www.kinshipcircle.org/updates/updates_apr-jun_2008.html#anchor21

1/15/08: Canada’s Disgrace – Stop The Seal Slaughter

www.kinshipcircle.org/letter%5Flibrary/letter_new.asp?LetterID=1714&seriesfirst=true

www.kinshipcircle.org/fact_sheets/BloodPrintOnIce.pdf

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

22. Calif. Law Bans Slaughter Of Downers

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

DATE: 7/23/08

SOURCE: Humane Farming Association, hfa [at] hfa.org

EDITED FOR LENGTH

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed into law the nation’s most comprehensive legislation to protect sick and injured farm animals… AB 2098 will prohibit the transport and marketing of downed animals and will allow prosecutors to file criminal charges against any slaughterhouse that butchers downed animals for human consumption. In addition, HFA’s legislation will prohibit marketing of other diseased and disabled farm animals, including pigs, sheep, and goats. This bill also for the first time prohibits factory farms and other producers from transporting disabled farm animals to stockyards, auctions, or other marketing facilities…

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

23. Hits & Misses For Animals

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

Moni, a 17-year-old orangutan, carries her four-day-old baby at Gembira Loka zoo in Yogyakarta, Indonesia… The number of orangutans in Indonesia and Malaysia had declined sharply due to illegal logging and the rapid expansion of palm oil plantations, researchers say.

STUDY: ORANGUTANS COULD FACE EXTINCTION IN WILD
DATE: 7/5/08
SOURCE: www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25540331/
EDITED FOR LENGTH
ANGKOK, Thailand — Orangutan numbers have declined sharply on the only two islands where they still live in the wild and they could become the first great ape species to go extinct if urgent action isn’t taken, a new study says. The declines in Indonesia and Malaysia since 2004 are mostly because of illegal logging and the expansion of palm oil plantations…

GREYHOUNDS RECEIVE PROTECTION OF ANTI-CRUELTY LAW
DATE: 7/2/08
SOURCE: www.grey2kusa.org/news/070208.htm
EDITED FOR LENGTH
Governor John Lynch has signed our bill to restore racing greyhounds to the protection of New Hampshire’s anti-cruelty statute. For the first time in 9 years, individuals who abuse greyhounds at commercial racetracks can be prosecuted for animal cruelty. The new law also applies to racing horses…

TAKOMA PARK CITY COUNCIL: FOIE GRAS TOO CRUEL TO SWALLOW
DATE: 7/1/08
SOURCE: www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/takoma-park-city-council-says,453623.shtml
EDITED FOR LENGTH
TAKOMA PARK, MD — Takoma Park City Council unanimously passed a resolution opposing the force-feeding of ducks and geese for foie gras. This resolution, initiated by Mayor Bruce Williams and introduced by Council Member Reuben Snipper, states that the council “opposes the production and sale of foie gras” and further “encourages Takoma Park residents not to buy foie gras in order to avoid supporting this extreme form of animal cruelty.”

NC SLAUGHTERHOUSE WORKER CHARGED: 6 COUNTS ANIMAL CRUELTY
DATE: 7/1/08
SOURCE: www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,374703,00.html
EDITED FOR LENGTH
A worker allegedly videotaped abusing pigs at a North Carolina slaughterhouse was charged with six counts of animal cruelty. Elio Miguel Marrero is among a number of workers reportedly filmed mistreating pigs at Murphy Family Ventures, which supplies pork to industry giant Smithfield Foods. The Sampson County District attorney’s office charged Marrero with six misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty in five separate cases… The alleged abuse came to light after an investigator from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) got a job at the slaughterhouse and secretly videotaped workers beating and dragging swine with a metal prod, castrating the babies without painkillers and gouging out their eyes…

TWO MAKAHS TO SERVE TIME FOR ILLEGALLY KILLING WHALE
DATE: 7/1/08
SOURCE: seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008026795_makah01m.html
EDITED FOR LENGTH
TACOMA — A federal judge decided to lock up two Makah tribal members for illegally killing a gray whale last fall, while three others received two years’ probation. As part of the plea deal reached with federal prosecutors, whalers William Secor, Theron Parker and Frankie Gonzales also will perform community service in Neah Bay ranging from 100 to 150 hours, according to the sentence imposed by United States Magistrate Judge Kelley Arnold…

KINSHIP CIRCLE REFERENCES:

1/16/06: 100+ Orangutans Stolen From The Wild

www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter.asp?LetterID=1465&seriesfirst=true

10/10/04: Black Market Orangutans: Prized Babies, Dead Mothers

www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter.asp?LetterID=1278&seriesfirst=true

5/14/08: Chicago Overturns Foie Gras Ban

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

TOXIC LINK: Animal Factories & Mother Earth

www.kinshipcircle.org/columns_articles/0049.html

9/4/078: Help Philly Go Foie Gras Free

www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter.asp?LetterID=1678&seriesfirst=true

8/13/07: Foie Gras For Sale On Amazon.com

www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter.asp?LetterID=1669&seriesfirst=true

5/28/08: No More Makah Tribal Whaling

www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new.asp?LetterID=1743&seriesfirst=true

www.kinshipcircle.org/fact_sheets/FactsAboutPoultyEggIndustr.pdf

www.kinshipcircle.org/fact_sheets/FactsAboutThePorkIndust.pdf

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

Due To Lack Of Funding, Kinship Circle May Fold

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

This decision is by no means final, as we struggle for a “miracle” grant in these difficult economic times. Your donations are cherished…Anything contributed is tax-deductible and goes directly to our programs.

Still, we need an operating budget grant to remain “in business” for you and the animals. We will certainly keep our supporters updated…and function as usual until such time we must close.

AGAIN, PLEASE NOTE: We are not folding right now. But it may happen within the year, if we don’t secure funding to pay for overhead and projects.

* Animal Disaster Aid Networking & Response
* Educational Literature And Outreach
* Website With Downloadable Tools For Activists
* Research/Campaigns To Help animals…and more

DONATE ONLINE: www.kinshipcircle.org/donation/

DONATE BY MAIL: Kinship Circle / 7380 Kingsbury Blvd. / St. Louis, MO 63130

Action Campaigns I Literature I Animal Disaster Aid Networking
info [at] kinshipcircle.org or kinshipcircle [at] accessus.net
www.KinshipCircle.org * www.kinshipcircle.org/disasters/

DONATE ONLINE: www.kinshipcircle.org/donation/
DONATE BY MAIL: Kinship Circle / 7380 Kingsbury Blvd. / St. Louis, MO 63130

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

SUBSCRIBE:
Kinship Circle Primary: subscribe [at] kinshipcircle.org
Action campaigns on animal cruelty issues worldwide
Kinship Circle Animal Disaster Aid Network: kinshipcircle [at] accessus.net
Animal rescue coordination/news in disasters + companion animal alerts

*DISCLAIMER: The information in these alerts is verified with the original source. Kinship Circle does not assume responsibility for the accuracy of the information or for the consequences of its use. Nothing in this email is intended to encourage illegal action in whatever country you are reading it in. Kinship Circle does not engage in, nor support, any form of harassment or unlawful activity. Nothing in this alert serves to promote such conduct.

——————————

Tagged: animals animal rights animal welfare action alerts kinship circle brenda shoss pet companion animal dog canine cat feline livestock meat dogfighting animal fighting blood sports dog meat Louisiana Floyd Boudreaux Guy Boudreaux animal abuse animal cruelty cruelty to animals elephants circus Ringling Bros. Animal Welfare Institute awi Alan Whitacre Timber Topaz Ken Schmidt hsus eggs United Egg Producers factory farming farmed animals hens polar bears wildlife conservation environment sarah palin 2008 elections protest flickr photos update digest news in the news st. louis mo missouri aeta civil liberties green scare animal research animal testing animal experimentation vivisection ca california gray wolves usda downers downed animals livestock barack obama joe biden hslf Tom Lovejoy Maricopa County Joe Arpaio Bandit shac hls merk Prince George’s County Mayor Cheve Clavo Cheve Clavo Trinity Tomsic maryland payton chase Austria lambs animal rescue the kindness ranch iams peta nepal korea seals eu nj new jersey dog racing greyhounds pit bulls Elio Miguel Marrero

Great news! Thanks to you and the hard work of the good folks at SPCA, Operation Baghdad Pups, M.A.R.S. Safe Haven and M.A.R.S. Productions, Ratchet, the adopted Iraqi puppy, is now on a plane en route to the United States!

Here’s the wonderful story as told by M.A.R.S. Safe Haven, the sponsors of the Clemency for Ratchet petition:

“Operation Baghdad Pups program manager, Terri Crisp, and Ratchet met at the Baghdad airport tonight and boarded a plane bound for the U.S. After SPCA International received military clearance on Wednesday, October 15, for Ratchet’s travel, the organization set this final rescue plan into action. Last week, the world got behind Ratchet and Spc. Beberg’s plight; an online petition collected over 65,000 signatures pleading for Ratchet’s release.

“Crisp and Ratchet are scheduled to arrive at Dulles International Airport in Washington, DC on Monday afternoon. Ratchet will be cleared by the Center for Disease Control and given a thorough medical evaluation by a local Virginia veterinarian. As long as Ratchet receives a clean bill of health, he will fly to his final destinations, Minneapolis, MN, on Wednesday.

“Northwest Airlines, a Minnesota base company, generously donated Ratchet and Crisp’s flights from Kuwait to Minneapolis, MN.

“You can receive future updates on continued efforts to help our men and women in the Armed Forces adopt their pets and bring about change to the military’s policies on this issue: info [at] mars-safehaven.net

“Saving Private Ratchet has wonderful gifts with all proceeds going to the SPCA: www.care2.com/go/z/e/AbLiE/W1DG/qBhr

“Read more from the SPCA: www.care2.com/go/z/e/AbLif/W1DG/qBhr “

Also, I’ve posted an update from Kinship Circle after the original KC alert.

Update, 10/19/08, via Care2:

First, the good news: thanks to pressure from folks like you, SPCA International’s Operation Baghdad Pups secured Ratchet’s release!

Then, the bad news: the military did NOT release him in time for the flight back home on Wednesday. They gave Ratchet clearance to be released just 30 minutes before SPCA International’s rescue expert, Terri Crisp, was to lift off from the Baghdad tarmac and he missed the flight. SPCA International plans to make another emergency return trip to Baghdad to rescue Ratchet as soon as Sunday.

Obviously, these flights are expensive – but every animal’s life is worth it. SPCA International’s program Operation Baghdad Pups relies entirely on the generous donations of people like you. You can donate today at www.SPCA.com to help save Ratchet and other soldiers’ animals just like him who are waiting for safe transportation to the U.S.

Equally important, we must keep the pressure on the U.S. military to ensure that Ratchet remains safe until he can be rescued. And we must and make sure the military releases all animals adopted by servicemembers so they can be brought back the U.S. to the loving homes that await them.

M.A.R.S. Safe Haven, SPCA and Operation Baghdad Pups thank you for your support.

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Kinship Circle – kinshipcircle [at] accessus.net
Date: Fri, Oct 10, 2008 at 2:55 PM
Subject: ACT NOW/ Don’t Let Soldiers Kill Dog In Iraq

KINSHIP CIRCLE PRIMARY – PERMISSION TO CROSS-POST AS WRITTEN

10/10/08: Don’t Let Soldiers Kill Beloved Dog In Iraq

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

UPDATE: Sgt. Gwen Beberg’s puppy, saved from a life of hardship in Iraq, could be executed by U.S. superiors. Ratchet has until early next week to be released in order to make the Operation Baghdad flight out of Iraq…

Ratchet is at Camp Striker in Iraq. Fifteen other dogs were allowed to leave with Baghdad Pups on the flight Ratchet was supposed to be on. The base’s commanding officers seized Ratchet on his way to the airport. Ratchet has had his necessary vaccinations and is healthy. Ratchet needs a military release because the military is refusing to let him leave Iraq.

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

FULL CONTACT INFORMATION. Sample letter follows.

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

CONTACT MINNESOTA SENATORS & REPS, EVEN IF NOT FROM MINNESOTA
TIME IS OF ESSENCE: Phone calls and faxes are best way to communicate.

Senator Amy Klobuchar
ph: 888-224-9043 -or- 612-727-5220
Washington DC fax: 202-228-2186
Metro fax: 612-727-5223
web mail: klobuchar.senate.gov/emailamy.cfm
ADDITIONAL CONTACT INFO: klobuchar.senate.gov/contactamy.cfm

Senator Norm Coleman
ph: 800-642-6041 -or- 651-645-0323
Washington DC fax: 202-224-1152
St. Paul, MN fax: 651-645-3110
web mail: coleman.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Contact.ContactForm
ADDITIONAL CONTACT INFO:

coleman.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Contact.Offices

Representative Keith Ellison
ph: 202-225-4755 -or- 612-522-1212
Washington DC fax: 202-225-4886
Minneapolis, MN fax: 612-522-9915
web mail: ellison.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=87
ADDITIONAL CONTACT INFO: (CLICK ON: CONTACT US)

ellison.house.gov/

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

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

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

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

Dear Minnesota Senator/Representative:

Please count my comments, along with similar messages you’ve received. I am dismayed that Sgt. Gwen Beberg — a Minnesota citizen presently deployed in the Middle East — cannot bring home her beloved Iraq puppy Ratchet.

Sgt. Beberg has remained on duty 15 months beyond her original tour due to the stop-loss policy. During that time she rescued Ratchet, a friendly mutt who became her lifeline. Naturally, Sgt. Beberg sought the aid of Baghdad Pups, an agency that negotiates clearance and transport for companion animals that U.S. soldiers “adopt” overseas.

But this story cannot end happily without your help. Ratchet now faces death at the hands of U.S. Army officers. The military seized the dog while en route to the Baghdad airport with Sgt. Beberg. An SPCA International press release claims: “Soldiers can face immediate court-marshal [for befriending animals] and some even see their animals brutally murdered by a direct gunshot to the head from commanding officers who will not bend the rules.”

This is unacceptable in the civilized world. Our Department of Defense must implement an adoption system that lets soldiers bring vetted pets back to the U.S. with them.

In the meantime, Baghdad Pups returns to Baghdad on October 15, 2008. Officials must free Ratchet before then so he can leave Iraq with Baghdad Pups. Sgt. Beberg, who leaves later in October, will be forced to abandon Ratchet to certain death if he doesn’t depart on that earlier flight.

I hope it is not too late for Ratchet and urge you to act promptly. Please do everything possible to get Ratchet on board with Baghdad Pups. Sgt. Beberg deserves a happy ending after serving her country. Anything less is extraordinarily inhumane and unjust.

Thank you,

For your reference:

www.spca.com/press/item/56

www.getfreshminds.com/2008/10/baghdad-pups. …

www.baghdadpups.com/

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

DONATE TO BAGHDAD PUPS…HELP BRING THEM HOME!

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

TO REALLY MAKE A DIFFERENCE for Gwen and other soldiers, donate to Baghdad Pups. Costs may run over $4000 to bring a dog or cat to the U.S., and Baghdad Pups receives 3-4 new requests from soldiers every week….

Operation Baghdad Pups

www.baghdadpups.com

DONATE ONLINE:

www.baghdadpups.com/donation/contribute.php?source=DONATE

VIDEO – Rescuing Lava Became Marine Jay Koppelman’s Secret Mission

www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQ4WYuHxkK4

To contact SPCA International and Operation Baghdad Pups on Ratchet’s behalf, use special email address setup for him: SaveRatchet [at] spca.com

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

SOURCE OF INFORMATION / REFERENCE LINKS

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

PETITION: Clemency for Ratchet

www.thepetitionsite.com/2/clemency-for-ratchet

For Ratchet

www.getfreshminds.com/Ratchet-letter.html

Soldiers Coping In Iraq? Animal Abuse Is A Crime!

www.kinshipcircle.org/digest/2008_03.html#anchor2

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

Kinship Circle needs funding to keep going…

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

Your donation lets us meet expenses for:

* Animal Disaster Aid Network & Response
* Educational Literature And Outreach
* Website With Downloadable Tools For Activists
* Research/Campaigns To Help animals…and more

DONATE ONLINE: www.kinshipcircle.org/donation/

DONATE BY MAIL: Kinship Circle
7380 Kingsbury Blvd.; St. Louis, MO 63130

Action Campaigns I Literature I Animal Disaster Aid Networking
info [at] kinshipcircle.org or kinshipcircle [at] accessus.net
www.KinshipCircle.org * www.kinshipcircle.org/disasters/
Kingship Circle / Public (501c3) Charity Status: 170 (b) (1) (A) (vi)

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

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

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

*DISCLAIMER: The information in these alerts is verified with the original source. Kinship Circle does not assume responsibility for the accuracy of the information or for the consequences of its use. Nothing in this email is intended to encourage illegal action in whatever country you are reading it in. Kinship Circle does not engage in, nor support, any form of harassment or unlawful activity. Nothing in this alert serves to promote such conduct.

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Kinship Circle – kinshipcircle [at] accessus.net
Date: Sun, Oct 19, 2008 at 8:22 PM
Subject: UPDATE – Iraqi Pup On Way Home To US!

KINSHIP CIRCLE – PERMISSION TO CROSS-POST

10/19/08: UPDATE – Iraqi Pup Ratchet On His Way Home To US!
THANKS TO ALL who wrote, called, faxed and emailed! Kinship Circle

Iraqi puppy adopted by American soldier on charter flight en route to US

By KIM GAMEL | Associated Press Writer; 7:02 PM EDT, October 19, 2008

BAGHDAD (AP) _ Ratchet the Iraqi puppy finally had his day. An animal rescue group flew into Baghdad on Sunday and picked up the dog, which was adopted by Army Spc. Gwen Beberg, 28, of Minneapolis in a case that highlighted military rules barring troops from caring for pets while in Iraq.

Ratchet was loaded onto a charter flight, which took off Sunday night for Kuwait. He’s due in Minnesota later this week. It was the third try by Operation Baghdad Pups to get Ratchet out of the country on behalf of Beberg, who says she couldn’t have made it through her 13-month deployment without the affectionate mutt.

She and another soldier rescued the puppy from a burning pile of trash in May. Beberg’s quest to get the dog has gained international attention. More than 65,000 people from Illinois to Italy have signed an online petition urging the Army to let the puppy go to the United States.

The U.S. military said the dog was free to leave but American troops could not be responsible for its transportation. “We’re happy the SPCA has made arrangements for his safe travel to the U.S., we hope he has a long, happy, fruitful life there,” military spokesman Lt. Col. Paul Swiergosz said.

Beberg initially tried to send him with a military convoy from her base south of Baghdad to the airport for an Oct. 1 pickup. But the playful black dog with a touch of white on his nose, chest and paws was reportedly confiscated by an Army officer and sent back.

Baghdad Pups, a U.S. rescue program run by the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals International, tried again on Wednesday but was unable to get Ratchet to the flight, which took off with six other dogs instead. On Sunday, a private security firm collected Ratchet from the small base, put him into a pet carrier and transported him to the airport on Baghdad’s western outskirts.

Baghdad Pups coordinator Terri Crisp then took custody and boarded him on the charter. The effort will cost an estimated $5,000, according to the SPCA.

Beberg has been transferred to another military base to prepare for her departure from Iraq next month. Her mother said bonding with the 6-month-old puppy was a life-saver for her daughter. “He has been her emotional support, confidante, sanity-saver and a connection with something other than a war zone,” Patricia Beberg said Sunday in a telephone interview.

She also urged the U.S. military to reconsider its policy that bars troops from caring for pets while on duty or taking them home. “The animals are doing so much good for our soldiers, not only when they’re there but when they come home,” she said. “The military says it’s very concerned about their mental health … this is one way to help and it certainly doesn’t cost as much as years and years of therapy.”

Baghdad Pups has brought 56 dogs and six cats to the U.S. to be with their owners since February. The group says it is both rescuing animals who face abuse in Iraq, as well as helping soldiers who benefit from the bond developed with the animals.

The U.S. military cited several reasons for its pets policy, including health issues and difficulties in caring for the animals.

In June, a dog brought to the U.S. by Operation Baghdad Pups tested positive for rabies after it was euthanized for other health problems. SPCA International spokeswoman Stephanie Scroggs said one cat had to be put down.

ALSO READ: Saving Private Ratchet is a SUCCESS!!!!

www.thepetitionsite.com/2/clemency-for-ratchet

———————-

Tagged: animals animal rights animal welfare action alerts kinship circle brenda shoss pet companion animal dog canine iraq war iraq war war in iraq middle east war on terra war on terror Sgt. Gwen Beberg Gwen Beberg Minnesota Baghdad Pups Ratchet Camp Striker spca news in the news flickr photos video

KINSHIP CIRCLE PRIMARY – PERMISSION TO CROSS-POST AS WRITTEN

8/8/08: Mayor’s Dogs Gunned Down In Police Raid

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

LEFT: Berwyn Heights, Md., Mayor Cheye Calvo and wife Trinity Tomsic speak at a news conference 8/7/08. Calvo is asking for the U.S. Justice Dept. to investigate a county police raid on his home in which his dogs were killed. (Source.)

RIGHT: The mayor’s two family dogs, Payton and Chase, seen in photo. (Source.)

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

FULL CONTACT INFORMATION. Sample letter follows.

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

PLEASE NOTE: If more influential contacts become available, Kinship Circle may post an addition to this 8/8/08 alert.

PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY POLICE
Melvin C. High, Chief of Police
Prince George’s County Police Department
7600 Barlowe Road; Landover, Maryland 20785
ph: 301-772-4740 * fax: 301-772-4788
email: Police_CustomerService [at] co.pg.md.us

PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE
Michael Jackson, Sheriff
Office of the Sheriff for Prince George’s County, MD
P.O. Box 548; Upper Marlboro, MD 20773-0548
fax: 301-883-6962 * email: sheriffinfo [at] co.pg.md.us
main ph: 301-883-7000 (ask to speak to Sheriff Michael Jackson)
Lt. Ridgeley, Public Information (PIO) Office: 240-508-7710
Cpl. Mario Ellis, Public Information/Community Affairs Office:
ph: 240 508-7638 * fax: 301-883-7984

STATE’S ATTORNEY FOR PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY
Glenn Ivery, State’s Attorney of Prince George’s County
State’s Attorney, Courthouse
14735 Main Street; Upper Marlboro, MD 20772-3050
ph: 301-952-3500 * fax: 301-952-3775

COPY YOUR COMMENTS TO (CC):
(Attorney for Berwyn Heights Mayor Cheye Calvo and his wife, Trinity Tomsic)
Timothy F. Maloney
Joseph, Greenwald & Laake, P.A.
6404 Ivy Lane, Suite 400; Greenbelt, Maryland 20770
fax: 240-553-1748 * email: TMaloney [at] jgllaw.com

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

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

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

County Police Department, Office of the Sheriff, and State’s Attorney of Prince George’s County:

I am shocked by July 29, 2008 shooting death of two family dogs in the home of Berwyn Heights, Maryland Mayor Cheye Calvo. I understand officers from Prince George’s County Sheriff’s Office, along with County Police in the Narcotics Enforcement Division, raided the mayor’s home and slaughtered two non-aggressive Labrador retrievers at point blank range.

I trust that an unbiased internal investigation is underway and urge swift punitive action for these officers, including suspension from the force.

As you know, the mayor and his wife have since been exonerated in the case of a suspect marijuana package involving drug traffickers and intended for someone else. But the deliberate killing of Payton, 7, and Chase, 4, can never be recanted. One deputy fired at Chase’s back as the frightened dog fled to the back of the house. Another gunned down Payton as soon as the dog was spotted. Police interrogated the mayor and his mother-in-law at gunpoint, amid the dogs’ bloody remains.

These dogs did not pose a threat to an armed SWAT team. But even if they had, why were no warning shots, chemical sprays, batons, or other deterrents tried first? Please equip law enforcers with the knowledge to neutralize animals perceived as aggressive — without resorting to lethal force. I encourage both the county police and sheriff’s office to learn skills to distinguish anxiety, fear, and protective canine behaviors (i.e., barking, growling) from genuinely hostile behavior.

I fully support Mayor Calvo’s call for intervention from the U.S. Justice Department. If an impartial investigation warrants animal cruelty charges, officers should be arrested and prosecuted. At the very least, the unprovoked killing of family dogs denotes police misconduct.

Armed law officers displayed an utter lack of judgment in a volatile situation. Their response was inappropriate and demands your utmost attention. Please inform me of any progress in this very disturbing case.

Thank you,

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

KINSHIP CIRCLE OFF-LINE FROM 8/12 – 8/19

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

KINSHIP CIRCLE WILL BE OFF-LINE: AUGUST 12 to 19, 2008

Brenda Shoss will present and exhibit (with help from Kinship Circle volunteers) at the National AR2008 Conference in Washington, DC.

We hope to meet you at our booth or presentations!

8/17/08, 10:00 AM: Writing Our Message
(letters, articles, fact sheets, brochures, newsletters, advertising copy)

8/17/08, 2:30 PM: Advertising Our Message
(newspapers, public transport, billboards, radio/TV, internet)

8/17/08, 3:30 PM: Publishing on the Internet
(websites, e-newsletters, blogging, streaming, RSS feeds, MySpace, YouTube)

8/17/2008, 4:30 PM: Research/Info Programs
(Animals Voice, DawnWatch, Kinship Circle)

AR2008, AUGUST 14-18, is held at Hilton Mark Center
5000 Seminary Road, Alexandria, VA 22311; 703-845-1010

www.arconference.org/

REGISTRATION: www.arconference.org/registration.htm

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

SOURCE OF INFORMATION / REFERENCE LINKS

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

Eric Rice / Eric’s Dog Blog, ericrice3 [at] comcast.net

ericsdogblog.blogspot.com/2008/08/sherrifs-murder-2-dogs.html

Statement From Attorney For Mayor Cheye Calvo And Wife Trinity Tomsic

static.wjla.com/documents/calvocounselstatement080608.pdf

Police Raid Berwyn Heights Mayor’s Home, Kill His 2 Dogs

www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/30/AR2008073003299.html

Police raid Md. mayor’s home and kill his dogs

www.examiner.com/a-1526728~Police_raid_Md__mayor_s_home_and_kill_his_dogs.html

Police: Two Arrested in Marijuana Shipping Plot; Raid on Mayor’s Home Defended

www.wjla.com/news/stories/0808/541609.html

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

Action Campaigns I Literature I Animal Disaster Aid Networking
info [at] kinshipcircle.org or kinshipcircle [at] accessus.net
www.KinshipCircle.org * www.kinshipcircle.org/disasters/

DONATE ONLINE: www.kinshipcircle.org/donation/

DONATE BY MAIL: Kinship Circle
7380 Kingsbury Blvd.; St. Louis, MO 63130

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

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

SUBSCRIBE:
Kinship Circle Primary: subscribe [at] kinshipcircle.org
Action campaigns on animal cruelty issues worldwide
Kinship Circle Animal Disaster Aid Network: kinshipcircle [at] accessus.net
Animal rescue coordination/news in disasters + companion animal alerts

*DISCLAIMER: The information in these alerts is verified with the original source. Kinship Circle does not assume responsibility for the accuracy of the information or for the consequences of its use. Nothing in this email is intended to encourage illegal action in whatever country you are reading it in. Kinship Circle does not engage in, nor support, any form of harassment or unlawful activity. Nothing in this alert serves to promote such conduct.

—————————-

Tagged: animals animal rights animal welfare action alerts kinship circle brenda shoss animal abuse animal cruelty cruelty to animals police misconduct police raid no-knock warrant police brutality dog canine pet companion animal murder Maryland Prince George’s County Berwyn Heights Mayor Cheye Calvo Cheye Calvo Mayor Calvo Trinity Tomsic news in the news flickr photos

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Kinship Circle – kinshipcircle [at] accessus.net
Date: Mon, Jul 28, 2008 at 11:05 PM
Subject: #1/ KC DIGEST: Jenny, Greyhounds, Gas Chambers, Prop. 2…

KINSHIP CIRCLE PRIMARY – PERMISSION TO CROSS-POST

Every 1 to 2 months, Kinship Circle forwards alerts from supporters in KC Digest. We did not write or research any of these alerts. Please DO NOT HIT REPLY. Respond directly to contacts in each alert.

PART 1: JULY KC DIGEST – Alerts From Kinship Circle Supporters

www.kinshipcircle.org/digest/

PART 1: JULY KC Digest

1. Jenny Still Needs Your Voice
2. Race Track Closing. Don’t Let Greyhounds Die
3. NC Gas Chambers: Explosion With 10 Dogs Inside
4. Help Proposition 2 Win Relief For Animals In Calif.
5. Brutal Torture Of Dog At JNU Campus
6. Help End The Namibian Seal Slaughter

PART 2: JULY KC Digest
PLEASE RESEND ME PART #2: kinshipcircle [at] accessus.net

7. Please Post Our Carriage Horse Flyer
8. U.S. Government Sends Tigers to a War Zone
9. Help Animals In EU Laboratories
10. Ask PetSmart to Stop Selling Live Animals
11. Brazil: End Animal Tests – Federal Univ. Of Goias

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

1. Jenny Still Needs Your Voice

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

ALERT FROM / REPLY TO:

Margaret Morin, Concerned Citizens for Jenny: dogs_good [at] yahoo.com

www.concernedcitizensforjenny.net

The zoo hasn’t decided what will happen to Jenny, but officials said they do not want her to live by herself. Two groups want her moved to a sanctuary.

BACKGROUND (edited for length):

Dallas Zoo is set to retire African elephant Jenny, 31, to Africam Safari Park in Puebla, Mexico — instead of an accredited sanctuary where she can roam with other elephants in a natural habitat. At Africam Safari Park Jenny would share a 4.9-acre space. She’d live constantly on display, without adequate space, exercise or social enrichment. Moreover, American welfare and anti-cruelty laws won’t safeguard Jenny in Mexico. Why would Dallas Zoo move Jenny to a foreign amusement park that can’t possibly fulfill her physical and psychological needs — particularly when the nearby Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee would welcome her?

CONTACT INFORMATION / TAKE ACTION:

1) Politely express your belief about what is best for Jenny. Unfortunately, the DMN has come out against Jenny (click on link). Also state that the fight to save Jenny is a D/FW grass roots effort. Our voice for Jenny is from our hearts and we live here. This is important, as the City Council must believe D/FW citizens want Jenny to go to The Elephant Sanctuary.

2) Repeatedly (politely) CALL, FAX, EMAIL the Mayor. If his office tells you to call the Zoo, advise that you urge the mayor to intervene to send Jenny to The Elephant Sanctuary — and that you do not want to call the Zoo. The Zoo will not change its plan unless the mayor insists.

Mayor Tom Leppert
Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla Street, Room 5EN; Dallas, TX 75201-6390
main ph: 214-670-4054; fax: 214-670-0646; tom.leppert [at] dallascityhall.com

3) Urge Dallas City Council to send Jenny to The Elephant Sanctuary. Demand a Public Hearing for Jenny before the Dallas City Council. Dallas Mayor and City Council web mail: www.ci.dallas.tx.us/forms/mcc/MCC_Mail_Form.htm

DALLAS RESIDENTS: Call/fax/email/mail your city council representative:
214-670-5111 OR www.dallascityhall.com/government/government.html

KINSHIP CIRCLE REFERENCE / SAMPLE LETTER:

6/29/08: Don’t Send Elephant Jenny To Mexican Display Park

www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new.asp?LetterID=1747&seriesfirst=true

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

2. Race Track Closing. Don’t Let Greyhounds Die

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

ALERT FROM / REPLY TO:

Buctale13 [at] aol.com

pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/AnimalRightsandActionAlerts/message/3915

BACKGROUND (edited for length):

7/23/08, Woodlands Greyhound Race Track closing in Kansas City: The Woodlands Racetrack in Kansas City is closing August 24th. I have spoken with REGAP (Retired Greyhounds as Pets) here in Kansas City. There are 600 Greyhounds at the track. Greyhound rescue estimates they will be able to get 200 into the rescue network.

The Woodlands is a last-stop track in the Greyhound racing industry, the remaining 400 will be ‘returned’ to the breeders and likely [killed].

CONTACT INFORMATION / TAKE ACTION:

REGAP can be reached at 816-763-3333
REGAP (greyhound rescue) needs urgent help for FOSTERS, ADOPTIONS, TRANSPORTS, etc. Please contact them if you can help and forward to friends you know who may be able to help. REGAP: 816-763-3333

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

3. NC Gas Chambers: Explosion With 10 Dogs Inside

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

ALERT FROM / REPLY TO:

Laura Allen, lauraallen [at] animallawcoalition.com

www.animallawcoalition.com/gas-chambers/article/562

www.companionanimalnetworktv.org/NCnewsletter.html

Gas Chambers, www.animallawcoalition.com/gas-chambers

BACKGROUND (edited for length)

7/23/08, Will the State Finally Ban Them? There was an explosion yesterday inside the animal gas chamber at Iredell County Animal Services Shelter — www.co.iredell.nc.us/Departments/Animal_Control/anconcont.asp

The fire department was called to contain the resulting fire. 10 dogs were inside the gas chamber at the time. The gas chamber was at the end of its cycle when the explosion occurred… American Veterinary Medical Association guidelines for use of animal gas chambers in its 2007 Euthanasia Report state gas chambers “must be well lit and have view ports that allow personnel direct observation of animals” that are inside. It is recommended personnel remain in the room when the animals are in the chamber… Iredell County’s gas chamber was new…

READ FULL REPORT: www.animallawcoalition.com/gas-chambers/article/562
More on animal gas chambers and a lawsuit pending against Union County, NC:

www.animallawcoalition.com/gas-chambers/article/469

www.animallawcoalition.com/gas-chambers/article/551

CONTACT INFORMATION / TAKE ACTION:

1) WRITE LETTERS URGING BAN ON ANIMAL GAS CHAMBERS.
The Office of Administrative Hearings, Rules Review Commission
1307 Glenwood Avenue; Raleigh, NC 27605

2) MAKE CALLS URGING END OF ANIMAL GAS CHAMBERS IN NORTH CAROLINA.
Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler: 919-733-7125
Chamber of Commerce President Lew Ebert: 919-836-1407

3) SEND COMMENTS TO NORTH CAROLINA GOVERNOR.
Governor Mike Easley: www.governor.state.nc.us/email.asp?to=1
1-800-662-7952 (NC residents); 919-733-4240 or 919-733-5811 (out-of-state)
fax: 919-733-2120

Urge him to request the introduction of legislation to override the Commissioner of Agriculture’s removal of the board’s recommendation to end the killing of pets by carbon monoxide gas. Gov. Easley has refused to request this legislation, claiming “aggressive dogs are safer to kill by gas.” Actually, it is safer to sedate animals first and then use lethal injection. Most shelters use injection to euthanize even aggressive dogs, including 67 of North Carolina’s 100 counties. Send Gov. Easley this link: www.companionanimalnetworktv.org/Videos/yadkin_county.mov

4) URGE NC LEGISLATORS TO ADOPT MEASURE BANNING USE OF ANIMAL GAS CHAMBERS.

www.ncga.state.nc.us/gascripts/Help/KnowledgeBase/viewItem.pl?nID=27

NC House members: www.ncga.state.nc.us/gascripts/members/memberList.pl?sChamber=House
NC Senators: www.ncga.state.nc.us/gascripts/members/memberList.pl?sChamber=Senate

5) CONTACT IREDELL COUNTY OFFICIALS. URGE THEM TO USE LETHAL INJECTION AND NOT GO BACK TO THE ANIMAL GAS CHAMBER.
Joel R. Mashburn, County Manager: jmashburn [at] co.iredell.nc.us
ph: 704-878-3050; fax: 704-878-5355
Jean Moore, Clerk to the Board of commissioners: jmoore [at] co.iredell.nc.us
Tracy Jackson, Assistant County Manager: tjackson [at] co.iredell.nc.us

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

4. Help Proposition 2 Win Relief For Animals In Calif.

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

ALERT FROM / REPLY TO:

Barb Dunsmore, tochashona [at] yahoo.com

BACKGROUND:

The California Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty initiative has been certified for the November 2008 statewide ballot… This measure bans:

* Confinement of pregnant pigs in two-foot wide gestation crates where they can barely move.
* Confinement of male calves in veal crates where they’re chained by the neck from birth until death.
* Confinement of six to nine egg-laying hens in a battery cage no larger than a filing drawer.

TO WIN PROPOSITION 2 FOR ANIMALS: We need funds to compete with big industry advertising opposing Prop 2.

“The agribusiness interests opposing Proposition 2 — masquerading as the deceptively named Californians for Safe Food — have a record of duping the public, harming animals, and polluting the environment.” But (HSUS) Wayne Pacelle, Dr. Kate Hurley, and Andrew Kimbrell make a clear and cogent case for the passage of Proposition 2. Help ensure passage of Proposition 2 in November by contributing to the YES! on Prop 2 campaign: www.YESonProp2.org/donate

CONTACT INFORMATION / TAKE ACTION:

CALIFORNIANS: Vote YES on Proposition 2 on November 4, 2008.

EVERYONE: Join the $20/20 campaign — Donate $20 + ask 20 other people to donate $20 here: secure.hsus.org/01/chf_2020?source=chf005

MORE WAYS TO HELP PROPOSITION 2 WIN: www.voteyesonprop2.org

Get involved with campaign to pass Prop. 2. Email: cabosmom [at] hotmail.com

KINSHIP CIRCLE REFERENCES:

Don’t Blow This Landmark Chance For Farmed Animals

www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter.asp?LetterID=1709&seriesfirst=true

DISCLAIMER: Kinship Circle believes a vegan lifestyle is the ultimate way to end animal cruelty and the devastating impacts of animal agriculture. While suffering may be reduced via more cage space, anti-cruelty laws, “humane slaughter,” etc. — upgrades cannot eliminate: Confinement, deprivation, drugging, manhandling, slaughter, dismemberment, and consumption.

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

5. Brutal Torture Of Dog At JNU Campus

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

ALERT FROM / REPLY TO:

Rishi Dev, rishidev000 [at] gmail.com
Rajashree Khalap, Manager, WSD Indian Pariah Dog Club
indianpariahdog.blogspot.com * www.wsdindia.org

BACKGROUND (edited for length):

On July 7, 2008 a student from NE India, YORONSU, (male 31 years of age in the dept. of School of Social Sciences, JNU doing Phd) along with two other students, at J.N.U. (Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi) TORTURED and bludgeoned an 8-year-old black, female dog for more than 1-1/2 hours, with a cricket bat and rods till she was all in blood and her head swollen to twice the size. Then the three of them CUT HER INTO MANY pieces while she was alive and her mouth was stuffed up with a cloth and tied.

First she was lured from the ground floor to the upper floor using biscuits as bait and then locked up in their hostel room where this incident took place… There is enough proof and witnesses on campus to authenticate the incident. After much investigation a complaint has been filed with the police station of vasant vihar. But to date no action has been taken by the police. The students also got signatures of students who saw the body and others who know about the act…

CONTACT INFORMATION / TAKE ACTION:

TO: Vice-Chancellor Professor B.B. Bhattacharya: bbb [at] mail.jnu.ac.in, vc [at] mail.jnu.ac.in
Rector (1) of the University, Prof. Rajendra Prasad: rp47 [at] mail.jnu.ac.in, rp47jnu [at] gmail.com
Rector (2) of the University, Prof. Ramadhikari Kumar: rector_2 [at] mail.jnu.ac.in
Dean of Social Science, Prof. Harjit Singh: harjit [at] mail.jnu.ac.in
Advisor of the Foreign Students’ Affairs: advisor_fsa [at] mail.jnu.ac.in
Commissioner of Police, Mr. SH. Y.S. Dadwal: delpol [at] del2.vsnl.net.in

CC: University News: jnunews [at] mail.jnu.ac.in, pro [at] mail.jnu.ac.in
New York Times, foreign [at] nytimes.com

BCC: rishidev000 [at] gmail.com

SAMPLE LETTER from [author not identified in original alert]

Dear Sirs:

News of the torture and cutting alive of a dog in the JNU Campus travels quickly in our age of the Internet and has a strong impact on how your University is viewed by people in other countries and by prospect students.

I write to you to let you know how extremely upset and disgusted I feel after I read how three students of your University killed an 8 year old loving and friendly female dog “the female dog was hit for more than 1 and half hours, with a cricket bat and rods till she was all in blood and her head swollen to twice the size. Then the three of them CUT HER INTO MANY pieces while she was alive and her mouth was stuffed up with a cloth and tied”. Acts of cruelty towards animals cannot longer be tolerated in a civilized country, or in an University where students should be taught to become humane and compassionate towards other sentient beings.

I ask you to take action immediately to stop the abuse of animals in your University since apparently this is a regular activity on the campus of JNU and many dogs and puppies have died this death and that the J.N.U. administration is least bothered all the time.

a) Expell the students from the university and black list them.

b) Do not accept the PhD of one of the students involved in this crime, which he is going to submit on July 20 2008 and do not allow his guide to sign his PhD.

c) Cancel all Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees of those animal killers.

d) SUBMIT A CHARGESHEET AGAINST THEM WITH THE POLICE AND GET THEM ARRESTED.

Thank you for your time and consideration to this important issue. Looking forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

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

6. Help End The Namibian Seal Slaughter

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

ALERT FROM / REPLY TO:

www.oipa.org/hunting/alerts/namibia_petition.html

OIPA, International Organization for Animal Protection: international [at] oipa.org

During this year’s hunt — July 1 to Nov. 15 — seal hunters may kill 6,000 adult males and 80,000 pups. www.oipa.org/hunting/alerts/namibia.html

BACKGROUND (edited for length):

Although the Namibian government justifies its annual seal hunt by claiming seals are responsible for the demise of fish stocks, scientific studies have shown that over-fishing is to blame — not seals. In reality, Cape Fur seals are killed mostly for their fur. Adult males are also killed for their penises, which are exported to Asia to be used as aphrodisiacs.

Namibia is the only country in the world that still allows the killing of nursing baby seals. During what’s been described as “the cruelest seal ‘hunt’ on the planet,” young Cape Fur seal pups and adult males are beaten with clubs, stabbed, and shot with arrows…

CONTACT INFORMATION / TAKE ACTION:

Urge an end to the barbaric seal slaughter.
Permanent Mission of the Republic of Namibia to the United Nations
360 Lexington Avenue, Suite 1502 New York, NY 10017 (USA)
Namibia [at] un.int

Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources
Private Bag 13355; Windhoek, NAMIBIA
Hon. Minister Dr. Abraham Iyambo: aiyambo [at] mfmr.gov.na
Hon. Deputy Minister Kilus Nguvauva: knguvauva [at] mfmr.gov.na
Permanent Secretary Nangula Mbako: nmbako [at] mfmr.gov.na, secretary [at] namibia.org.za

His Excellency Hifikepunye Pohamba,
President of the Republic of Namibia: hpohamba [at] op.gov.na
Office of the President; Private Bag 13339 State House; Windhoek, NAMIBIA

Hon. Prime Minister Nahas Angula: nangula [at] opm.gov.na
Office of the Prime Minister
Private Bag 13338; Windhoek, NAMIBIA

Namibia Ministry Of Environment & Tourism
Private Bag 13346; Windhoek, NAMIBIA
Hon. Minister Willem Konjore
Mr. A. Mieze, Director of Tourism: amieze [at] met.gov.na
Parks & Wildlife Management: b.beytell [at] mweb.com.na
Additional department emails: nghitila [at] dea.met.gov.na
Namibia Tourism Board: info [at] namibiatourism.com.na, namibia [at] saol.com

SAMPLE LETTER FROM: www.oipa.org/hunting/alerts/namibia_petition.html

Dear sir/madam,

I am shocked that the Namibian government promotes the barbaric, senseless slaughter of Cape fur seal pups and bulls. The pups are so young that they are still nursing. I have seen the sickening video footage of this horrifying massacre. The massacre is appalling. South Africa stopped killing seals. You have an obligation to protect the Cape fur seals. I urge you to stop this slaughter at once.

Sincerely,

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

GET COOL STUFF (and support Kinship Circle):

www.kinshipcircle.org/store/

KINSHIP CIRCLE
Action Campaigns I Literature I Animal Disaster Aid Networking
info [at] kinshipcircle.org or kinshipcircle [at] accessus.net
www.KinshipCircle.org * www.kinshipcircle.org/disasters/

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

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

SUBSCRIBE:
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Action campaigns on animal cruelty issues worldwide
Kinship Circle Animal Disaster Aid Network: kinshipcircle [at] accessus.net
Animal rescue coordination/news in disasters + companion animal alerts

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

*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 – kinshipcircle [at] accessus.net
Date: Mon, Jul 28, 2008 at 11:05 PM
Subject: #2/ KC DIGEST: Carriage Horses, Tiger To Iraq, PetSmart Live Sales…

KINSHIP CIRCLE PRIMARY – PERMISSION TO CROSS-POST

Please DO NOT HIT REPLY. Respond directly to contacts in each alert.
KC Digest is brought to you, courtesy of Kinship Circle.

PART 2: JULY KC DIGEST – Alerts From Kinship Circle Supporters

www.kinshipcircle.org/digest/

PART 2: JULY KC Digest

7. Please Post Our Carriage Horse Flyer
8. U.S. Government Sends Tigers to a War Zone
9. Help Animals In EU Laboratories
10. Ask PetSmart to Stop Selling Live Animals
11. Brazil: End Animal Tests – Federal Univ. Of Goias

PART 1: JULY KC Digest
PLEASE RESEND ME PART #1: kinshipcircle [at] accessus.net

1. Jenny Still Needs Your Voice
2. Race Track Closing. Don’t Let Greyhounds Die
3. NC Gas Chambers: Explosion With 10 Dogs Inside
4. Help Proposition 2 Win Relief For Animals In Calif.
5. Brutal Torture Of Dog At JNU Campus
6. Help End The Namibian Seal Slaughter

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

7. Please Post Our Carriage Horse Flyer

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

ALERT FROM / REPLY TO:

Elizabeth Forel, Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages
coalitionbanhdc [at] gmail.com * www.banhdc.org

www.blindersthemovie.com

BACKGROUND (edited for length):

Thanks to everyone who has offered to post our fliers. There are still many people in NYC who are not aware of the carriage horse issue. The Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages has designed fliers for posting in sympathetic venues — like pet supply stores or veterinarians’ offices — or any other place there may be a tack board for postings.

CONTACT INFORMATION / TAKE ACTION:

To post fliers in your neighborhood, contact: coalitionbanhdc [at] gmail.com

Option 1: I’ll send you a PDF file of the flier. You must be able to print it on a color printer and you may print as many as you like.

Option 2: I’ll send you several copies by snail mail. The link on the flier takes you to the news/announcement page, www.banhdc.org/news.shtml, which has been updated. It is a good place to review the issues.

We have had lots of offers from Manhattanites — but we especially need help from those who live in Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens and Staten Island. NOTE: these flyers must not be posted on public property — such as telephone kiosks, newspaper boxes, bus shelters, mail boxes, etc. It is against the law. We have already been warned and threatened with a $250 fine per poster…

Horse-drawn carriages constitute a danger to people in vehicles, on bicycles, and on foot, as well as the horses themselves. At least six people have been hospitalized and three horses have died from horse carriage incidents in New York since 2006. www.banhdc.org/index.shtml

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

8. U.S. Government Sends Tigers to a War Zone

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

ALERT FROM / REPLY TO:

getactive.peta.org/campaign/tigers_baghdad_zoo

BACKGROUND (edited for length):

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has issued a permit for Conservators’ Center, Inc. — a roadside zoo in Mebane, North Carolina — to send two tigers to the Baghdad Zoo in Iraq.

When the war in Iraq began, the media reported that hundreds of animals at the Baghdad Zoo were killed, stolen, eaten, stuffed, sold, or let loose by looters, or they escaped when mortar blasts damaged their cages… There is no evidence that Iraq has standards for captive-animal care that are comparable to those in the U.S. and there is no regulatory agency to provide oversight of the zoo and ensure humane and adequate animal husbandry. Documents included with the permit application indicate that animals at the Baghdad Zoo are handled with ropes.

The proposal to send the tigers to the Baghdad Zoo is being portrayed as a gesture of goodwill toward the citizens of Iraq, but it is cruel and irresponsible to put tigers in harm’s way in a country where most of the people don’t even have access to basic necessities.

CONTACT INFORMATION / TAKE ACTION:

Ask the USFWS to reevaluate its decision regarding PRT-181813 and deny the Conservators’ Center permit application. Remind USFWS that it has already been demonstrated that animals at Baghdad Zoo are not protected from military conflict. Tell officials that the export of tigers to Iraq would violate the spirit of CITES, an international wildlife trade agreement.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
1849 C Street, NW; Washington, DC 20240
1-800-344-WILD
web mail: www.fws.gov/duspit/contactus.htm

SAMPLE LETTER FROM: getactive.peta.org/campaign/tigers_baghdad_zoo

Regarding PRT-181813:

I was horrified to learn that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has issued a permit for two tigers to be exported to the Baghdad Zoo. It has already been tragically demonstrated that the animals at the Baghdad Zoo are not protected from the country’s military conflict, and it would be unconscionable to subject more animals to such danger. Futhermore, the Baghdad Zoo does not appear to have standards for captive-animal care that are comparable to standards in the U.S., and exporting tigers to Iraq would violate the spirit of the international wildlife trade agreement CITES.

Please reevaluate your decision regarding PRT-181813, and deny the permit application for the Mebane, North Carolina, Conservators’ Center to send two tigers to the Baghdad Zoo in Iraq.

Sincerely,

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

9. Help Animals In EU Laboratories

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

ALERT FROM / REPLY TO:

www.oipa.org/vivisection/alerts/europe_petition.html

OIPA, International Organization for Animal Protection: international [at] oipa.org

BACKGROUND (edited for length):

In 1986 the Council adopted Directive 86/609/EEC on the protection of animals used for experimental and other scientific purposes. The Directive seeks to improve controls on the use of laboratory animals, sets minimum standards for housing and care as well as for training of personnel handling animals and supervising experiments. It also aims at reducing the numbers of animals used for experiments by requiring that an animal experiment should not be performed when an alternative method exists, and by encouraging the development and validation of alternative methods to replace animal methods. The latter served as the basis for the Commission to set up ECVAM, the European Centre for the Validation of Alternative Methods, in 1991…

In recent years, it has become increasingly apparent that the Directive needs to be revised in order to promote improvements in the welfare of laboratory animals and to further foster the development of alternative methods… More than 12 million animals die each year in research and testing laboratories across the European Union (source: Fifth Report on the Statistics on the Number of Animals used for Experimental and other Scientific Purposes in the Member States of the European Union). This is because the 20-year-old EU animal experiments directive is out of date…

CONTACT INFORMATION / TAKE ACTION:

Commissioner Potocnik, European Commission
B-1049 Brussels, Belgium
fax: 0032 (0)2 298 82 88; janez.potocnik [at] ec.europa.eu

Kurt Vandenberghe: kurt.vandenberghe [at] ec.europa.eu
Tiina Tapio, secretary: tiina.tapio [at] ec.europa.eu
Waldemar Kütt, Deputy Head of Private Office: waldemar.kutt [at] ec.europa.eu
Christiane Neale, secretary: christiane.neale [at] ec.europa.eu
Catherine Ray, European Commission Spokesperson for Science & Research: catherine.ray [at] ec.europa.eu
Helena Skutnik, secretary to the Commissioner: helena.skutnik [at] ec.europa.eu
Helena Zadnik, secretary to the Commissioner: helena.zadnik [at] ec.europa.eu

SAMPLE LETTER FROM: www.oipa.org/vivisection/alerts/europe_petition.html

Dear Commissioner Potocnik,

In recent years, it has become increasingly apparent that the Directive 86/609EEC needs to be revised in order to promote improvements in the welfare of laboratory animals and to further foster the development of alternative methods.

We need a comprehensive revision of Directive which is by now out of date since it was adopted more than 20 years ago. Please, support a ban on the use of great apes in experiments and allow adoption of the proposal to revise Directive 86/609 EEC.

Sincerely,

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

10. Ask PetSmart to Stop Selling Live Animals

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

ALERT FROM / REPLY TO:

ga0.org/indefenseofanimals/notice-description.tcl?newsletter_id=14293705

In Defense of Animals, idainfo [at] idausa.org

BACKGROUND (edited for length):

During early 2008, 700 PetSmart stores suspended sale of exotic birds when random tests confirmed that some birds tested positive for a deadly bacterial infection. However, PetSmart is in the news again and experiencing more problems related to the sale of live animals. The company is blamed for the death of a 63-year-old father, a Vietnam Veteran, after tests confirmed he had contracted Psittacosis from a cockatiel purchased from one of their outlets. Please Take Action to help IDA put an end to the suffering of birds and halt the risk of people contracting avian diseases.

CONTACT INFORMATION / TAKE ACTION:

PetSmart headquarters
19601 N. 27th Avenue; Phoenix, AZ 85027
ph: 800-738-1385; fax: 623-580-6502

SAMPLE LETTER FROM: ga0.org/campaign/petsmartbirds/

Dear PetSmart,

As a consumer, I write to express my concerns regarding the plight of unwanted, homeless parrots. Parrot rescue sanctuaries nationwide share my belief that selling birds and treating them like merchandise contributes to an increasing population of unwanted, homeless, suffering birds.

The proper care and housing of exotic birds is complicated and time consuming. Most consumers are ill-prepared and unable to handle the wild traits that most birds exhibit. Screaming and chewing are natural behaviors that most parrots demonstrate. Even hand-fed babies can learn to bite due to untrained handling and they frequently become aggressive once they mature.

Captive birds suffer in captivity and demonstrate psychological and physical stress, leading to illness and unstable behaviors such as self-mutilation, aggression, excessive screaming, neurotic pacing, or extreme introversion. These behaviors often leave their caretakers frustrated and angry, and are reasons that lead many people to surrender the birds. In spite of these facts, most pet stores rarely tell consumers the whole truth. Instead, the birds are included in promotions and they are advertised as though they will make “the perfect pet,” resulting in impulse purchasing.

There are a limited number of credible sanctuaries in the nation and they are filled to capacity. It is cruel to keep marketing birds when more and more unwanted birds become homeless. Birds should not be treated like objects. They have needs that most captive environments can’t provide.

Please promote adoption and rescue and stop selling live animals. Focus on selling high quality supplies instead. In doing so, you will appeal to the many consumers who, like me, want to patronize compassionate, responsible companies that care about the plight of all species.

Sincerely,

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

11. Brazil: End Animal Tests – Federal Univ. Of Goias

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

ALERT FROM / REPLY TO:

www.oipa.org/vivisection/alerts/brasil.html

OIPA, International Organization for Animal Protection: international [at] oipa.org

On the 14th of June 2008 some Brasilian activists were able to go into an animal holding facility at the School of Medicine of the Federal University of Goiás, in Brasil and took some photos to the dogs. As you can see in the photos, the animals were found cannibalizing each other, the dogs had many diseases, they are in agony, after being vivisected on alive.

BACKGROUND (edited for length):

The animals are being used many times over for experiments. After they are taken back to the kennel they do not receive medical treatment on their still open wounds. This is against Federal Brasilian Law under Law 9.605/98 article 32 states: Abuse, ill treatment, wounds, mutilations of wild, domestic animals is punished with detention, since 3 months to 1 year. The same is for researchers who do cruel experiment on living animals for educational or scientific purposes when there are alternatives.

They have been charged many times by the Public Prosecutor of the city of Goiâia (capital of Goiás, Brasil) but the charges have been ignored. The chancellor of the University deny the ill tratments of the dogs, but the photos show the truth. The dogs are from Municipal shelters and this show the sad fate of the stray animals of the city.

The animal model is not accurate and actually has held back medical science by consistently providing faulty and unreliable data. Extensive research has brought to light the fact that there has never been even one medical advancement that has ever come from testing on an animal.

Vivisected animals are torn from their families, bought from the entertainment business due to being viewed as disposable or are reproduced specifically for vivisection by breeders. Also, they are often stray animals taken from the streets or animals obtained through “free to good home” ads.

More than 90%of U.S. medical schools have eliminated live animal labs from their curricula. Innovations in medical simulation technology, availability of alternatives, increased awareness of ethical concerns, and a growing acknowledgment that medical training must be human-focused have facilitated this shift. Ask Brazilian authorities to accept the denunciations they received from Goiânia, so that people who abuse animals are charged.

CONTACT INFORMATION / TAKE ACTION:

156 [at] goiania.go.gov.br, cme [at] educacao.goiania.go.gov.br, gabinete [at] mp.go.gov.br, 16promotoria [at] mp.go.gov.br, 4camara [at] pgr.mpf.gov.br, carlosvilhena [at] prr1.mpf.gov.br, Secretaria [at] cnmp.gov.br

SAMPLE LETTER IN SPANISH HERE:

www.oipa.org/vivisection/alerts/brasil_petition.html

(English version not found)

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

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KINSHIP CIRCLE PRIMARY – PERMISSION TO CROSS-POST AS WRITTEN

7/23/08: Army Shoots Pigs To Teach Lifesaving Skills

A pig at rest; photo via JB/John

EMAIL kinshipcircle [at] accessus.net FOR WORD DOC OF A FORMATTED LETTER.
Easily modify letter and copy/paste it into an email or print out to fax or mail.

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

FULL CONTACT INFORMATION. Sample letter follows.

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

Colonel Thomas P. Guthrie, Chief of Staff
25th Army Infantry Division
Schofield Barracks, Hawaii 96857
Chief of Staff: 808-655-4823
Commanding General: 808-655-0025
Deputy CG OPS: 808-655-4991
Deputy CG SPTO: 808-655-1184
website: www.25idl.army.mil/

Major Derrick W. Cheng, Public Affairs Officer
25th Infantry Division Public Affairs Office
442 Santos Dumont Ave., WAAF Bldg. 108, Rm. 304 (Public Affairs)
Schofield Barracks, HI 96857-5000
25th Infantry Division Public Affairs Office: 808-655-6341
Acting Director, Public Affairs, 808-656-3160
Public Affairs Fax: 808-656-3162

25th Infantry Division Public Affairs Office Current Personnel
Maj. Tage Rainsford: tage.rainsford [at] us.army.mil

USARPAC Public Affairs Office
U.S. Army, Pacific
Attn: APPA, Building T100
Fort Shafter, HI 96858-5100
808-438-6350; Public Affairs: edward.abersong [at] us.army.mil

ADDITIONAL ARMY EMAIL: ben.bullington [at] us.army.mil

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE OFFICIALS
WEB MAIL FORMS: www.defenselink.mil/faq/comment.html

www.defenselink.mil/faq/questions.aspx

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE / PUBLIC CONTACT: ph: +1 703-428-0711 +1

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

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

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

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

25th Infantry Division Public Affairs Office; USARPAC Public Affairs Office; U.S. Department of Defense:

I am an advocate of viable research and training. Thus, I agree with medical professionals who find it unnecessary to gun down live pigs with M16A2 and M4 rifles. This drill — which occurred July 18, 2008 at U.S. Army Garrison at Schofield Barracks in Hawaii — relies upon old-fashioned animal experimentation to prepare combat medics for battlefield injuries.

Over 95% of American medical schools do not use animals in surgical training. Most Advanced Trauma Life Support courses have discarded live animal labs. The American College of Surgeons no longer recommends animal experimentation in its curriculum.

Please update Army trauma-management training to reflect modern science. I urge you to replace the maiming and killing of pigs with progressive techniques more relevant to humans.

For example, the American College of Surgeons sanctions Simulab’s TraumaMan for Advanced Trauma Life Support. The Combat Trauma Patient Simulation System “provide[s] realistic training” and has reduced trainee dropout rates from 23% to 6%, as reported the U.S. Navy publication CHIPS. Cadavers mechanically equipped to pump artificial blood through vessels can emulate live human surgery.

Overall, animal-free research cuts costs and improves skills. A timely New England Journal of Medicine article highlights the “very detailed feedback and…more subtle measurement of trainee performance” gained from virtual reality simulators. The article summarizes: Inanimate models are “safe, reproducible, portable, readily available, and…cost-effective.”

I respectfully ask the U.S. Army and Department Of Defense to evolve with the most humane and proficient technologies available. Please implement animal-free labs to instruct Army personnel in the management of critically wounded soldiers.

Thank you,

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

SOURCE OF INFORMATION / REFERENCE LINKS

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

Army shoots live pigs for medical drill

U.S. Army Shooting Live Pigs in Trauma Training

Army to Shoot Live Pigs for Medical Drill

POLL: Is the Army’s shooting of live pigs for staff medical training ethically sound?

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

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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.

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Tagged: animals animal rights animal welfare action alerts kinship circle brenda shoss pig pigs animal research animal testing animal experimentation animal labs live animal labs vivisection army warmongers medical training U.S. Army Garrison Schofield Barracks Hawaii flickr photos Simulab TraumaMan trauma life support training education news in the news

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Kinship Circle – kinshipcircle [at] accessus.net
Date: Thu, Jun 12, 2008 at 10:40 AM
Subject: UPDATE/ Marine Who Tossed The Puppy

KINSHIP CIRCLE PRIMARY – PERMISSION TO CROSS-POST AS WRITTEN

UPDATE/ Marine Expelled For Tossing Puppy Over Cliff

In This Alert:

1. UPDATE: Lance Cpl. David Motari “Being Processed For Separation” From Marine Corps
2. ENOUGH? What About Prosecution For Crime Of Animal Abuse?
3. ACTION: Ask Military To Overhaul Its Policy On Animals In War Zones

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

1. UPDATE: LANCE CPL. DAVID MOTARI EXPELLED FROM MARINES

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

6/11/08: The Marine Corps expels one Marine and disciplines another for their roles in a video showing a puppy tossed over a cliff to his death. Both soldiers were on patrol on Iraq at the time. In the video a man identified as David Motari dangles a black and white dog by the scruff of the neck, cooing: “Cute little puppy.” Sgt. Crismarvin Banez Encarnacion baby-talks: “Ah, so cute, so cute…little puppy.” Motari then hurls the animal over a cliff into a rocky gulch. The dog, who looks about 12 weeks old, squeals while flying through the air. A thud is heard far below…

The 17-second video posted on YouTube drew sharp condemnation from animal rights groups when it came to light in March. “That’s mean. That’s mean, Motari,” an off-camera Encarnacion is heard telling the Marine who tossed the black and white dog. The off-camera Marine snickered slightly afterward.

Lance Cpl. David Motari, assigned to the 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment at Kaneohe Bay, is “being processed for separation” from the Marine Corps… He also received unspecified “non-judicial punishment.”

The second Marine, Sgt. Crismarvin Banez Encarnacion, also received unspecified “non-judicial” punishment. Encarnacion is assigned to the Weapons and Field Training Battalion, Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego…

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

2. WHAT ABOUT PROSECUTION FOR THE CRIME OF ANIMAL ABUSE?

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

FROM KINSHIP CIRCLE: While we applaud the Marine Corps for expelling Motari and reprimanding his accomplice Encarnacion — animal cruelty is a CRIME. Our letters asked for the men to be charged with aggravated cruelty and intentional killing of a companion animal. We urged maximum penalties and psychological counseling…

3/4/08: The Soldier Who Tossed The Puppy

The Moron

His Accomplice

A Fatal Toss…

Marine Who Did It

LINKS TO VIEW ORIGINAL VIDEO:

www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25108189/

www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,23317978-5006003,00.html

www.dumpert.nl/mediabase/43462/9fb16ab3/us_soldaat_gooit_puppy.html

digg.com/people/US_Soldier_throws_puppy_off_cliff_(video)?t=13323218

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

3. SOLDIERS VENTING RAGE ON ANIMALS? TAKE ACTION!

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

TAKE ACTION:

Soldiers Coping? Animal Abuse Is A Crime!

www.kinshipcircle.org/digest/2008_03.html#anchor2

**COMPLETE CONTACT INFORMATION TO PROTEST AT LINK ABOVE**

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

SOURCE OF INFORMATION / REFERENCE LINKS

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

Marine Expelled Over YouTube Puppy Video

Marine expelled…Second Marine punished for clip showing dog thrown off cliff in Iraq

KINSHIP CIRCLE REFERENCES:

FACT SHEET: Animals – War’s Unseen Collateral Damage

Soldiers Coping In Iraq? Animal Abuse Is A Crime!

American Soldier Shoots Yet Another Poor Dog In Iraq?

1/19/07: Latest Casualty: Soldiers Torment Crippled Dog In Iraq

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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.

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