V for Vegan: easyVegan.info

“The easyVegan Weekend Activist” is a weekly roundup of animal and environmental advocacy action alerts, campaign updates, carnivals, contests, newsletters, petitions, upcoming events and miscellaneous resources, posted every weekend at easyvegan.info. Follow the links provided in order to learn more and take action!

For the time being, the weekly newsletter-esque format will replace the near-daily link roundups I previously posted under the title “easyVegan Link Sanctuary.” Hopefully, this condensed, once-weekly “newsletter” will free up some time so that I can perform more meaningful blogging. If you have any questions or comments about the new format, please drop me a line in the comments section!

While my primary focus is non-human animals and the environment in which they live, I will cover human rights issues as well, especially as they relate to animal and environmental welfare. (For example, while reproductive rights is typically seen as a feminist or women’s issue, the growing global human population does have environmental consequences. In this vein, access to family planning resources has a tangible impact on the environment - an environment we share with non-human animals.)

This link roundup is meant as a jumping-off point for you, the reader, to take further action and learn more about the issues presented here. I link, you decide!

If you have a link you’d like included, please drop me a line at easyvegan [at] gmail.com - or leave it in the comments! Feedback is also appreciated, particularly as it relates to the links included above. I’ve tried my best to identify and name any speciesism, sexism, racism, classism, homophobia, sizeism, etc. which may appear in the resources above; if, however, I’ve overlooked something, please leave a note in the comments. It’s not my desire to fight one form of oppression by engaging in another.

If you’d like to get on the above organizations’ e-mail lists, I’ve compiled a full list of all my resources on the Get Active! page.

You can also follow me on Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, delicious, Flickr, Amazon and LibraryThing.

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Tagged: links quick links link dump link roundup link love link sanctuary easyvegan link sanctuary animals animal rights animal welfare wildlife conservation pet companion animal dog canine cat feline livestock farmed animals animal abuse animal cruelty cruelty to animals environment environmental environmentalism environmentalist nature politics government news in the news action alerts activism get active petitions the petition site care2 click through sites click to help click to donate green animal advocacy animal activism newsletters carnivals contests campaign updates updates press release the animal rescue site the rainforest site the ecology fund free rice good search armchair activism take action tree hugger meat climate change food events upcoming events

Current on “An Organic Death”

Kelly G. — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 23:51:53 +0000

Eco-friendly in life, eco-friendly in death. Current reports on “organic” burials in this short, quirky little segment.

The film is way too long for me to transcribe, but here’s the gist:

Death as part of the natural life cycle has been forgotten in the UK. The biological process of what happens to the body and the environment during burial and cremation is largely unknown. In an ultimate bid to recycle, should we take more responsibility for what we leave behind?

If you’re interested in learning more, I highly recommend The American Way of Death Revisited by Jessica Mitford (2000), a muckraking exposé of the American funeral industry, as well as Lisa Carlson’s Caring for the Dead: Your Final Act of Love, a sort of DIY guide to nontraditional funerals. For more on “green” burial practices, start with the Wiki entry on “Natural Burial,” where you can find external links to a number of associations and websites.

Finally, you may want to consider bypassing the whole funeral spiel altogether, and do something useful with your corpse - like donating it to science.

Of course, there’s also the “Jim shoes” option.

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Tagged: environment environmental environmentalism environmentalist green burial organic current video natural burial

Kinship Circle: Updates, April - June 2009

Kelly G. — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 16:12:12 +0000

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Kinship Circle - info [at] kinshipcircle.org
Date: Mon, Jun 29, 2009 at 10:59 PM
Subject: Part 1/ UPDATES: APR - JUN 2009

KINSHIP CIRCLE PRIMARY / PERMISSION TO CROSSPOST

VICTORIES * SETBACKS * PROGRESS

PART 1: APRIL - JUNE 2009 / KINSHIP CIRCLE UPDATES

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

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

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

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

SOURCE: 4 in Iowa sentenced to probation for abusing pigs
www.agweek.com/articles/?id=4733&article_id=14500&property_id=41

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

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

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

KINSHIP CIRCLE REFERENCES:

2/9/09 JAN-MAR UPDATES: Iowa Pig Abuse Case Is Delayed
www.kinshipcircle.org/updates/updates_jan-march_2009.html#anchor21

10/26/08: Penalize Pig Torturers At Iowa Farm
www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new.asp?LetterID=1770&seriesfirst=true

9/17/08: Hormel’s Pigs: Slammed, Cut, Spray-painted
www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new.asp?LetterID=1759&seriesfirst=true

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2. Bureaucrats Reach No Decision On Whaling

SOURCE: No Solution Found at Whaling Forum
english.ntdtv.com/ntdtv_en/ns_europe/2009-06-26/335356219048.html

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

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

3/29/09: Demand Whale Conservation Over Killing
www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new.asp?LetterID=1817&seriesfirst=true

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3. Lax Officials Knew Travis The Chimp Might Attack

SOURCE: Officials were warned about attack chimp
www.nhregister.com/articles/2009/06/20/news/doc4a3d11fa20f03070715027.txt

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

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

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

KINSHIP CIRCLE REFERENCES:

2/24/09: Breaking News - House Passes Primate “Pet” Bill
www.kinshipcircle.org/updates/updates_jan-march_2009.html#anchor15

2/23/09: Wired To Be Wild - Primates Aren’t Pets
www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new.asp?LetterID=1802&seriesfirst=true

BLOG: Travis once worked in show biz, commercials mostly…
kinshipcircle.wordpress.com/2009/02/23/wired-to-be-wild/

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4. Kitten Killer’s Accomplice Is Now Charged Too

SOURCE: Teen accomplice in kitten roasting case charged with felony animal cruelty
www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2009/06/17/2009-06-17_teen_accomplice.html

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

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

ASK PROSECUTORS FOR MAXIMUM PENALTIES:

6/11/09: A Kitten’s Last Screams From An Oven
www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new.asp?LetterID=1837&seriesfirst=true

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5. Pet Food Poisoners Plead Guilty And Face Jail Time

SOURCE: Business Owners Plead Guilty…Tainted Ingredient Used In Pet Food
www.usdoj.gov/usao/mow/news2009/miller.ple.htm

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

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

KINSHIP CIRCLE REFERENCES

2/9/08 JAN-MAR UPDATES: Companies Prosecuted In Poisoned Pet Food Recall
www.kinshipcircle.org/updates/updates_jan-mar_2008.html#anchor15

APR-JUN 2007 UPDATES: $45 Million Damage For Menu Foods
www.kinshipcircle.org/updates/updates_april-june_2007.html#anchor7

5/8/07: Our Companions Count - FDA Must Monitor Food
www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter.asp?LetterID=1646&seriesfirst=true

4/25/07: Pet Food Saga Hall Of Shame
www.kinshipcircle.org/updates/updates_04_25_07.html

4/14/07: PET FOOD RECALL - News, Updates, Action
www.kinshipcircle.org/updates/updates_04_14_07.html

4/2/07: TOXIC FOOD - Updates & Action Against Menu Foods
www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter.asp?LetterID=1638&seriesfirst=true

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6. Foie Gras Producer On Trial For Cruelty

SOURCE: Cruel foie gras producer going on trial!
www.banfoiegras.org/page.php?module=home

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

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

KINSHIP CIRCLE REFERENCES:

5/14/08 APR-JUN UPDATES: Chicago Overturns Foie Gras Ban
www.kinshipcircle.org/updates/updates_apr-jun_2008.html#anchor12

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7. Atlanta Falcons Bid Michael Vick A Permanent Farewell

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

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

KINSHIP CIRCLE REFERENCES:

2/26/09 JAN-MAR UPDATES: Jailed Dogfighter Michael Vick Goes Home In May?
www.kinshipcircle.org/updates/updates_jan-march_2009.html#anchor12

2008 APR-JUNE UPDATES: Vick Dogfight Referee Jailed + Leo Has His Day
www.kinshipcircle.org/updates/updates_apr-jun_2008.html#anchor2

2008 JAN-MAR UPDATES: The Dogs That Vick Hurt
www.kinshipcircle.org/updates/updates_jan-mar_2008.html#anchor26

1/30/08: Vick’s Dogs Speak
www.kinshipcircle.org/disasters/gulfcoast/newsletters/08-01-30.html#3

2007 SEPT-DEC UPDATES: Vick’s Dogs…You Helped Save Their Lives
www.kinshipcircle.org/updates/updates_oct-dec_2007.html

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

SOURCE: Obama Admin Targets Environmental/Animal Rights Activists As Eco-Terrorists
www.opednews.com/articles/Obama-Administration-Targe-by-Stephen-Lendman-090605-93.html

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

WHEN WILL FEDS GO AFTER THE REAL BAD GUYS?

www.kinshipcircle.org/fact_sheets/RinglingBrosTheBigCon.pdf

www.kinshipcircle.org/fact_sheets/MoveAlQuaeda.pdf

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

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

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

KINSHIP CIRCLE REFERENCES:

6/25/09: FRIENDS OF KC - Vote For Historic Spay/Neuter Bill Is 6/30. Act Now.
friendsofkinshipcircle.wordpress.com

4/8/09: FRIENDS OF KC - California: Spay/Neuter Bill Needs Your Voice Now
friendsofkinshipcircle.wordpress.com/2009/04/08/california-spayneuter-bill-needs-your-voice-now/

6/11/07: The Woman Behind The Mandatory Spay/Neuter Bill
www.kinshipcircle.org/disasters/gulfcoast/newsletters/07-06-10.html#17

6/6/07, APR-JUN UPDATES: Healthy Pets Act Passes State Assembly
www.kinshipcircle.org/updates/updates_april-june_2007.html#anchor6

4/24/07: KC DIGEST - Make Model Mandatory Spay/Neuter Law Reality
www.kinshipcircle.org/digest/2007_04.html#anchor1

4/12/07: Support Landmark CA Law For Mandatory Spay/Neuter
www.kinshipcircle.org/disasters/gulfcoast/newsletters/07-04-14.html#7

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10. Groups Sue Salazar In Effort To Save Delisted Wolves

SOURCE: Conservationists file suit to reinstate wolf protections
www.mtexpress.com/index2.php?ID=2005126352

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

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

KINSHIP CIRCLE REFERENCES:

3/6/09 JAN-MAR UPDATES: Wolves Lose: Sec. Salazar Takes Away Protection
www.kinshipcircle.org/updates/updates_jan-march_2009.html#anchor8

1/22/09: Obama’s Freeze May Give Gray Wolves Reprieve
kinshipcircle.wordpress.com/2009/01/23/help-abolish-lethal-wildlife-services-during-obamas-freeze/

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

NOV 2008 KC DIGEST: Animals Would Like President-Elect Barack Obama To Know…
www.kinshipcircle.org/digest/2008_12.html#anchor4

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11. Way To Go SAEN! Research Industry Meltdown

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

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

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

FIGHT WITH THE FACTS. DOWNLOAD THIS:

www.kinshipcircle.org/fact_sheets/VivisectiLessonFutilityPH.pdf

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12. Cheyenne Frontier Rodeo Bans Video Instead Of Abuse

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

Examples of “entertainment” at the Cheyenne Frontier Days.
www.sharkonline.org/?P=0000000454

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

RELATED STORES:

VIDEO: Cruel Cheyenne Rodeo Bans Video Cameras!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7Sch7V9ibk&feature=channel

Rodeo bucks video at Frontier Days
www.denverpost.com/search/ci_12473750

KINSHIP CIRCLE REFERENCES:

4/29/09: Coke & Rodeo - Official Soft Drink Of Cruelty?
www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new.asp?LetterID=1824&seriesfirst=true

4/12/08 APR-JUN UPDATES: Matchbox Twenty Cancels Performance at CFD Rodeo
www.kinshipcircle.org/updates/updates_apr-jun_2008.html#anchor24

FIGHT BACK WITH FACTS. DOWNLOAD THIS:

www.kinshipcircle.org/fact_sheets/TheMythOfTheCowboy.pdf

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13. CA Bullfight Busts Continue; Humane Officer Assaulted

SOURCE: Animal rights group continues investigation of Thornton bullfight
www.lodinews.com/articles/2009/06/05/news/3_bullfight_090605.txt

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

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

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

KINSHIP CIRCLE REFERENCES:

5/29/09: Bullfight Bust Uncovers Cruelty In Los Angeles
www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new.asp?LetterID=1834&seriesfirst=true

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14. Repression Of Austrian Animal Activists Worsens

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

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

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

YOU CAN TAKE ACTION, HERE:

Tell Austrian Government - Release Animal Rights Activists
secure2.convio.net/ida/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=1285

KINSHIP CIRCLE REFERENCES:

6/11/08: Austria - Animal Activists Unlawfully Jailed
www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new.asp?LetterID=1745&seriesfirst=true

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

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

KINSHIP CIRCLE PRIMARY / PERMISSION TO CROSSPOST

VICTORIES * SETBACKS * PROGRESS

PART 2: APRIL - JUNE 2009 / KINSHIP CIRCLE UPDATES

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

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

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

SOURCE: 5/21/09, Humane Society Sees Vick as an Ally, Not a Pariah
www.nytimes.com/2009/05/22/sports/football/22rhoden.html?_r=1

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

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

FIGHT BACK WITH FACTS. DOWNLOAD THIS:

www.kinshipcircle.org/fact_sheets/fatalfights.pdf

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

SOURCE: Heading to a National Park? Now You Can Pack Heat
www.truthout.org/052209T

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

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

SOURCE: Another State Bans Gestation Crates and Veal Crates
action.farmsanctuary.org/site/MessageViewer?em_id=10661.0&printer_friendly=1

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

FACT SHEETS FOR YOU TO DOWNLOAD:

www.kinshipcircle.org/fact_sheets/FactsAboutThePorkIndust.pdf

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

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

SOURCE: NC House Judiciary Committee Votes No to Pro-Gas Chamber Bill
www.animallawcoalition.com/gas-chambers/article/692

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

KINSHIP CIRCLE REFERENCES:

7/23/08, JULY 2008 DIGEST: NC Gas Chambers: Explosion With 10 Dogs Inside
www.kinshipcircle.org/digest/2008_07.html#anchor2

NOV 2007 DIGEST: Stop Gassing Of Pets In Yadkin County, NC Gas Chamber
www.kinshipcircle.org/digest/2007_11.html#anchor2

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

19. USDA Cites New Iberia Primate Lab For Violations

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

USDA REPORT on New Iberia Research Center
www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_welfare/efoia/downloads/inspection/72-r-0007.pdf

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

HAVEN’T TAKEN ACTION? DO IT NOW!

3/20/09: Get Great Apes Out Of Laboratories
www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new.asp?LetterID=1815&seriesfirst=true

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

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

SOURCE: Senate passes Levin-Collins resolution urging end to Canadian seal hunt
www.opencongress.org/bill/111-sr84/show

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

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

21. Canadian Sealers Lose Biggest Customer — EUROPE!

SOURCE: EU seal ban a ‘black day for Atlantic Canada’ Industry
www.canada.com/news/Parliament+votes+seal+imports/1564814/story.html

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

HAVEN’T TAKEN ACTION? DO IT NOW!

4/25/09: Don’t Stain 2010 Olympics With The Blood Of Seals
www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new.asp?LetterID=1822&seriesfirst=true

3/7/09: Canada Seal Bill Dropped, No Debate. Demand End To Killing.
www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new.asp?LetterID=1811&seriesfirst=true

SPREAD THE TRUTH. DOWNLOAD THIS FACT SHEET:

www.kinshipcircle.org/fact_sheets/BloodPrintOnIce.pdf

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22. EU Votes To Let Most Primate Research Continue

SOURCE: EU OKs primate research
www.the-scientist.com/blog/display/55675/

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

KINSHIP CIRCLE REFERENCES:

11/5/08 OCT-DEC UPDATES: EU Proposal To Ban Great Apes In Experiments
www.kinshipcircle.org/updates/updates_oct-dec_2008.html#anchor19

9/6/07: Urge Primate Testing Ban In Europe
www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter.asp?LetterID=1679&seriesfirst=true

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23. Karley’s Sociopath Killer Ordered To Stand Trial

SOURCE: Glynn Johnson is being “Held To Answer”
www.zimbio.com/Stop+Animal+Cruelty/articles/108/Glynn+Johnson+being+Held+Answer

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

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

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

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

KINSHIP CIRCLE REFERENCES:

12/16/08 UPDATES / OCT-DEC: L.A. Assistant Fire Chief Charged In Karley’s Killing
kinshipcircle.org/updates/updates_oct-dec_2008.html#anchor6

11/14/08: Puppy Fatally Beaten By Los Angeles Firefighter
kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new.asp?LetterID=1776&seriesfirst=true

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

24. Horse Slaughterhouses Now Legal In Montana

SOURCE: Horse slaughter legalized in Montana
www.poocini.com/report/archives/1687

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

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

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

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

Stop Horse Slaughter Blitz At State/Federal Levels
kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new.asp?LetterID=1816&seriesfirst=true

Horse Slaughter Bill Is Back In 111th Congress
kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new.asp?LetterID=1801&seriesfirst=true

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

25. Michigan Pound Gives R&R Research The Boot

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

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

KINSHIP CIRCLE REFERENCES:

3/29/08 JAN-APR UPDATES: Michigan Pound Renews R & R Research, 6 Months
www.kinshipcircle.org/updates/updates_jan-march_2009.html#anchor24

1/7/09: Misery For Profit At Michigan Pound
www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new.asp?LetterID=1793&seriesfirst=true

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

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

SOURCE: Swine Flu Ancestor Born on U.S. Factory Farms
www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/05/swineflufarm

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

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

RELATED STORIES:

Ill Export: Factory Farms…disastrous public relations for Smithfield Foods
hsus.typepad.com/wayne/2009/05/smithfield.html

A Possible Connection: Swine Flu and Factory Farms
hsus.typepad.com/wayne/2009/04/swine-flu.html

Mexico outbreak traced to ‘manure lagoons’ at pig farm
www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/article6182789.ece

Swine Flu Outbreak — Nature Biting Back at Industrial Animal Production?
www.huffingtonpost.com/david-kirby/swine-flu-outbreak—-nat_b_191408.html

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

27. Los Angeles DA Drops Charges Against Dog Dragger

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

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

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

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

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

KINSHIP CIRCLE REFERENCES:

12/22/08 OCT-DEC UPDATES: Dragged Pit Bull Is Healing And Soon Adoptable
www.kinshipcircle.org/updates/updates_oct-dec_2008.html#anchor2

12/17/08: Second Chance For Dragged Pit Bull
www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new.asp?LetterID=1787&seriesfirst=true

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

28. Obama Accepts Breeder Dog As Gift For Daughters

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

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

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

Requests to breeders for Portuguese Water Dogs Jump 100% in U.S., 120% in UK:
www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/2009/06/20/First-dog-a-sales-boon-for-canine-breed/UPI-87521245511358/

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

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All tax-deductible donations are deeply appreciated!

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

Friends of Kinship Circle: Oppose 3-Day Shelter Hold in CA

Kelly G. — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 03:31:09 +0000

Because I’m just a wee bit late in posting this Friends of Kinship Circle action alert, item #1 is no longer active. The good news is, California SB 250 (The Pet Responsibility Act) was voted outed of committed 6-3, so now it’s on to the state legislature. Or so I assume; who knows how many committees and sub-committees must be navigated before the issue comes up for a general vote? Either way, you can sign up to receive future action alerts at www.yesonsb250.com; please do so.

Item #2 - which involves reducing the mandatory hold time from six to three days in California shelters - is still in play, so check it out, take action (if you haven’t already - or, hells bells, even if you have), and spread the word.

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Kinship Circle - info [at] kinshipcircle.org
Date: Thu, Jun 25, 2009 at 7:18 PM
Subject: Act Now For Spay-Neuter Bill * Oppose 3-Day Shelter Hold [Friends Of KC]

FRIENDS OF KINSHIP CIRCLE
friendsofkinshipcircle.wordpress.com

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

IN THIS ALERT:

1. Vote For Historic Spay/Neuter Bill Is 6/30. Act Now.
2. Don’t Let Calif. Kill Shelter Animals After Just 3 Days

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

Vote For Historic Spay/Neuter Bill Is 6/30. Act Now.

ALERT WRITER:

Judie Mancuso, President, Social Compassion In Legislation (SCIL)
stc34 [at] aol.com * www.SocialCompassionInLegislation.org
www.yesonsb250.com/sb250-home.php

TAKE ACTION:

SB 250 will be voted on in the Assembly Committee on Business and Professions THIS TUESDAY, JUNE 30, 2009

2 EASY ACTIONS TO HELP THIS BILL PASS OUT OF COMMITTEE

1. ENTER YOUR NAME/INFORMATION TO SEND AN AUTO LETTER:
www.yesonsb250.com/sb250-send-a-letter.php

2. TAKE 60 SECONDS TO LEAVE A PHONE MESSAGE:
www.yesonsb250.com/sb250-make-calls.php

BACKGROUND:

California’s SB 250, The Pet Responsibility Act

Each year, over $250 million dollars is spent housing and euthanizing homeless dogs and cats in California. Approximately 1 million dogs and cats enter California’s shelters each year, and over half are euthanized (killed) simply because there are not enough homes. California shelters are seeing an explosion of animals relinquished to shelters in this bad economy, meanwhile the shelters are faced with budget cuts and laying off staff.

SB 250 provides a reasonable, fiscally responsible step towards reducing pet overpopulation in California in two ways: by fostering responsible pet ownership through increased animal licensing, and by offering incentives for owners to spay and neuter their pets.

Please note that SB 250 does not affect feral cat caregivers. The bill applies only to pets that live on your property… Since January 1, 2009, California has spent over $100,000,000 tax dollars just to house and euthanize unwanted pets… To learn more about SB 250, including several interviews and video segments: www.YESonSB250.com

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

Don’t Let Calif. Kill Shelter Animals After Just 3 Days

ALERT WRITER:

Kristi Hutchison, stc34 [at] aol.com
webflyer.kindnews.org/flyers/7a4ff520/default.htm

BACKGROUND:

Please email or make calls to oppose Governor Schwarzenegger’s intent to allow pound animals only three days before being killed as a way of handling the current financial situation… He was blocked when he tried to do this Before. All animal lovers need to act again to block this more serious attempt.

webflyer.kindnews.org/flyers/7a4ff520/default.htm

TAKE ACTION:

Oppose the Governor’s plan to speed shelter killings to save money.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
email: gov.ca.gov/interact#email
State Capitol Building
Sacramento, CA 95814
ph: 916-445-2841; fax: 916-558-3160

Five members directly involved in working to negotiate California’s budget.
Speaker of the Assembly Karen Bass: 916-319-2047
Assembly Minority Leader Sam Blakeslee: 916-319-2033
Senate President Pro-Tem Darrell Steinberg: 916-651-4006
Senate Minority Leader Dennis Hollingsworth: 916-651-4036

Long Beach Residents:
Assemblymember Bonnie Lowenthal: 562-495-2915

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

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

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

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

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Tagged: animals animal rights animal welfare action alert animal advocacy kinship circle friends of animals california shelter shelter hold pet companion animal animal companion dog canine cat feline Arnold Schwarzenegger Governor Schwarzenegger SB 250 The Pet Responsibility Act spay neuter pet overpopulation adoption news in the news flickr photos

Animal Advocacy: Contact eBay Re Selling of Guided Hunts

Kelly G. — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 02:34:03 +0000

I’m trying to clear out my inbox before the holiday weekend, so expect a flood of miscellaneous action alerts from now ’til then.

This one comes from the Yahoo Group Animal Advocacy and is reprinted in its entirety. The CounterPunch article linked to in the alert is lengthy but informative; you can find talking points there or here. (The latter being the equally long-but-informative Newsweek article, “It’s Survival of the Weak and Scrawny; Researchers see ‘evolution in reverse’ as hunters kill off prized animals with the biggest antlers and pelts.”)

Why eBay Should Stop Selling Guided Hunts for Wolves, Bears and Cougars
Blood Sport Auction
By CHRIS GENOVALI

There is an amazing array of things one can purchase on EBay, from used lawn furniture to vintage dolls to bongs allegedly used by Olympic athletes. Among the myriad items being sold on EBay are guided hunts of North America’s grizzly bears, black bears, wolves and cougars. It’s hard to believe, but these recreational killing opportunities are now bought and sold on the world’s largest internet auction site; EBay has become an online marketplace peddling the trophy hunting of the continent’s top-level predator species.

ACTION: Please email and/or write the following individuals and demand that eBay stop this atrocious practice.

Matthew J. Bannick, President, eBay International: matthewb [at] ebay.com

Bill Cobb, President eBay North America: billcobb [at] ebay.com

You can also write a letter to them at:

eBay Inc.
2145 Hamilton Avenue
San Jose, CA 95125

PLEASE WRITE AND FORWARD WIDELY!

———————-

Tagged: animals animal rights animal welfare action alert animal advocacy hunting ebay guided hunts boycott news in the news blood sports

Kinship Circle: Act - Undue Justice: Stu On Death Row, 4 years

Kelly G. — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 02:07:42 +0000

Though I’ve started linking to Kinship Circle’s alerts (as opposed to re-formatting and crossposting) whenever possible, I decided to publish this alert in in entirety anyhow (and even though I did indeed link to it in last week’s weekend link roundup). It’s just one of those stories that boggles the mind; even more so since it’s been dragging on for nearly four years now.

If you’ve been reading easyVegan for any length of time, you’ve probably already seen at least one alert dealing with the plight of Stu and Jeff de la Rosa. In August of 2005, Stu and another of Jeff de la Rosa’s furkids got into a scuffle, in which Stu was hurt. The “pet” sitter/assistant attempted to slip a harness over Stu’s head so that she could take him to the vet. Injured and cornered, Stu bit the assistant. Initially, there wasn’t an issue, as the bite was superficial. A month later, however, the sitter decided to sue, and Stu was confiscated without his father’s knowledge. Stu has been languishing in the “care” of LAAS (L.A. Animal Services) ever since. While experts have determined that Stu is not a danger, on death row he sits.

Thus far, Stu has spent four of his nine years imprisoned, the victim of injured pride, ego and bureaucracy (all of them human). Stu, now a senior, has not shown aggression towards any of his handlers since the August 2005 incident, and yet the city remains dead set on killing him. They continue to fight for his death, in fact. Four years of food, housing, medical care and legal bills - you’d think the city of Los Angeles could find a better use of its money, no?

The whole sad, sorry affair seems even more egregious in light of the “small victories” we celebrate daily - victories such as Gramby’s adoption after 2 1/2 years spent in a kenneled rescue facility. Gramby’s story, while unfortunate and commonplace, is also somewhat understandable - after all, he had no home to return to. His prison sentence was one of both necessity and compassion. But Stu - Stu has a life and family waiting for him. Stu remains imprisoned not out of human kindness, but rather human ugliness. There are no excuses for the injustices committed against Stu. The electric chair for a misdemeanor, indeed.

Please take a moment to read the Examiner article referenced below, and contact the LA City Attorney, the LA Public Safety Committee, LA City Officials and the LAAS. Kinship Circle has helpfully provided contact info and a sample letter (see below), but personalize the letter if possible. By all means, be indignant, stern and outraged - but also polite and respectful.

And also, spread the word - feel free to crosspost the Kinship Circle alert as written!

Previous alerts:

04/13/09 - Kinship Circle: Friends of Kinship Circle Alerts - #3. Save Stu – Wrongfully Impounded Since 9/15/05

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

09/17/07 - Kinship Circle: September Kinship Circle Digest (Parts 1 and 2) - #44. Unhappy Anniversary For Stu! Will He Ever Be Freed?

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

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

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

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

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

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Kinship Circle - info [at] kinshipcircle.org
Date: Thu, Jun 18, 2009 at 8:15 PM
Subject: Act/ Undue Justice: Stu On Death Row, 4 years

KINSHIP CIRCLE PRIMARY / PERMISSION TO CROSSPOST
6/18/09: Undue Justice - Stu On Death Row, 4 Years And Counting

PHOTOS LT-RT: Stu at Thanksgiving, 2008 after 3+ years in custody. Stu with former Animal Services Board Commissioner Marie Atake, who famously resigned in 2007, frustrated in her attempts to increase Department integrity and professionalism. Stu, on day he was impounded by L.A. Animal Services, 2005.

Source: The Examiner: Playing political games with a dog’s life

Kinship Circle does not usually cover complex dog custody cases. Stu’s story is different. His person, Jeff de la Rosa, is a Kinship Circle supporter. We’ve watched Stu grow old in “jail” since he was wrongfully impounded in 2005. Please read the sample letter below, and an account of Stu’s ordeal after that. Stu still faces death. As always, the decision to act is yours.

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

EMAIL BLOCKS: Sample letter + Complete contact information at end

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

* TO SEND: COPY/PASTE EMAIL BLOCKS INTO BCC: LINE OF YOUR EMAIL
* TYPE YOUR OWN EMAIL ADDRESS IN THE TO: LINE
* COPY/PASTE SAMPLE LETTER INTO SAME EMAIL.
* Change some words, sign with your name/full address and send!

LOS ANGELES CITY ATTORNEY’S OFFICE & BOARD OF ANIMAL SERVICES COMMISSIONERS
Rocky.Delgadillo [at] lacity.org, Laurie.Rittenberg [at] lacity.org, Todd.Leung [at] lacity.org, Dov.Lesel [at] lacity.org, tariqkhero [at] gmail.com, ninekitties [at] aol.com, ireneponce [at] earthlink.net, secundar [at] unitedtalent.com, ajq1trq2 [at] aol.com, Jim.Bickhart [at] lacity.org, Ani.Commission [at] lacity.org

PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE & CITY OFFICIALS
councilmember.weiss [at] lacity.org, weiss [at] lacity.org, Councilmember.Parks [at] lacity.org, Bernard.Parks.Jr [at] lacity.org, councilmember.smith [at] lacity.org, Dennis.Zine [at] lacity.org, councilmember.reyes [at] lacity.org, ed.reyes [at] lacity.org, David.Hersch [at] lacity.org, Mike.Hernandez [at] lacity.org, Moniquea.Roberson [at] lacity.org, jose.gardea [at] lacity.org, rebecca.valdez [at] lacity.org, guadalupe.duran.medina [at] lacity.org, lisa.flores [at] lacity.org, tony.perez [at] lacity.org, monica.valencia [at] lacity.org, mayor [at] lacity.org

CONTACT WITH NO EMAIL AVAILABLE:
[incoming] City Attorney Elect Carmen Trutanich
180 East Ocean Blvd.; Long Beach, CA 90802
ph: 562-216-4444; fax: 562-216-4445

***KINSHIP CIRCLE CANNOT GUARANTEE ALL EMAILS WILL WORK***
During campaigns, recipients may change or disable their email addresses.
Emails from government, corporate, or institute websites may be incorrect.

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GET A FORMATTED LETTER (WORD DOC): info [at] kinshipcircle.org
Easily modify letter. Copy/paste it into an email or print letter to fax or mail.

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Dear City of Los Angeles Officials,

I trust all letter recipients are familiar with Stu, a rescued dog who lived an uneventful five years with Jeff de la Rosa, before de la Rosa entrusted his dogs to an assistant while away for a family emergency.

Under that pet sitter’s care, in August 2005, Stu atypically clashed with another household dog and wound up with a torn ear. It is accepted knowledge that injured animals may react defensively. As the pet sitter slipped a harness over Stu’s hurt ear, the scared dog bit her twice on the arm.

“A couple of puncture wounds,” Commissioner Archie Quincey, a 30-year veteran of L.A. Country Animal Control, would later state. Still, a full month after the incident, the assistant served de la Rosa with a lawsuit and Stu was seized from a locked, backyard kennel. Thus began Stu’s incarceration under L.A. Animal Services (LAAS) and a bureaucratic battle so absurd, Stu’s story has gained worldwide notoriety.

What is the point of keeping this now elderly dog on death row? Dr. Richard Polsky, a co-creator of City criteria for gauging dangerous dogs, and Bobby Dorofshar of New Leash on Life, also a City advisor and one-time member of its Spay/Neuter Advisory Committee — have testified that Stu poses no threat of aggression to humans. Their conclusion stems from assessment of Stu’s pre- and post-incident behavior, plus comprehension of how the victim’s actions may have triggered the bites. Dorofshar sheltered Stu at his own facility for many months, during which time he came to know the dog.

The City Attorney should call off his resistance to de la Rosa’s appeal and close the books on this case. Please stop shuffling Stu through a bureaucratic thicket and let the dog live his final years with de la Rosa.

After four years of wrongful internment in LAAS facilities, just one fair and merciful outcome remains: Stu needs to go home. Yesterday.

Sincerely,

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PLAYING POLITICAL GAMES WITH A DOG’S LIFE

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A detailed article (link) gives an accurate picture of Stu and Jeff de la Rosa’s ordeal. Kinship Circle re-phrases it for simplicity and length:

Stu lived uneventfully with Jeff and two other dogs for five years, before Jeff had to leave him with a sitter in Aug. 2005, due to a family emergency. He entrusted his dogs to an assistant who knew them. While away Stu atypically clashed with another of Jeff’s dogs and wound up with a torn ear.

The pet sitter tried to slip a harness over Stu’s wounded ear, to bring him to the vet. Injured animals often act uncharacteristically defensive. Such was the case with Stu: The scared dog bit the assistant twice on her arm.

The assistant did not file a report with police or L.A. Animal Services (LAAS). She told Jeff she “didn’t want to get Stu in trouble.”

Yet three weeks later, Jeff was slapped with a lawsuit. Ten days after that, Stu was seized (without warning) from Jeff’s locked outdoor kennel. Jeff rushed to Animal Services, but staff denied Stu’s release, citing a bite report received one full month after its occurrence. Thus began Stu’s incarceration, a battle of bureaucratic power plays so embarrassingly absurd, Stu’s story is notorious worldwide.

With the assistant now dramatizing her account (Stu “dragged her back and forth across the floor”), lawyers asked for six million dollars in damages. Meanwhile LAAS ruled in its initial hearing to revoke the dog’s license. The verdict would have let Jeff relocate Stu outside Los Angeles or move himself. The verdict would have let Stu live.

Instead, LAAS ignored the Hearing Examiner’s recommendations (defying LAAS rules) and a Captain Helen Brakemeier memoed then-General Manager Guerdon Stuckey: “After reviewing the [Hearing Examiner's] report, I disagree…and think that the dog should be deemed dangerous.” Brakemeier never mentioned evaluating Stu herself or what authorized her to override the original verdict. Still, Stuckey sided with Brakemeier to sentence Stu to death.

Ironically, Mayor Villaraigosa fired Stuckey days later for the GM’s inability to bring euthanasia numbers down. Jeff only found out about Brakemeier’s inappropriate role in Stu’s fate after securing all public records in the case, in an attempt to save his dog.

Fast forward four years and Stu is still trapped in a bureaucratic thicket. He’s aged inside City facilities as Jeff fights a relentless legal battle. Esteemed dog behaviorists — such as Dr. Richard Polsky, a co-creator of City criteria for gauging dangerous dogs, and Bobby Dorofshar of New Leash on Life, another City advisor and one-time member of its Spay/Neuter Advisory Committee — have testified that Stu poses no threat of aggression to humans. Their common conclusion stems from assessment of Stu’s pre- and post-incident behavior, along with comprehension of how the victim’s actions may have triggered the bites. Dorofshar even sheltered Stu at his own facility for many months, during which time he came to know the dog.

Animal Services and the City Attorney’s office remain dead-set on killing Stu. Are they peeved over the negative publicity? Just before the forced resignation of previous General Manager Ed Boks, the City Council admonished him for blogging against Jeff (and other LAAS critics) on the City’s time.

Animal Services Commission, created to monitor LAAS, even advocated for Stu’s life. Commissioner Archie Quincey, a 30-year L.A. County Animal Control veteran, motioned the City Attorney to call off his resistance to Jeff’s appeal. Quincey proposed the case go back to Superior Court to drop Stu’s sentence because evidence shows a denial of due process. But Commissioner Quincey’s motion has vanished from the Commission’s agenda and a 6/8/09 meeting before Stu’s Appeals Court case was cancelled as well.

No one seems to know who’s in charge — Animal Services Commission or Animal Services Department — of meeting agendas. It is clear, however, that Stu’s case is shuffled so that Commissioner Quincey’s motion goes unheard.

Quincey intends to bring up Stu’s case at the June 22 meeting whether it’s scheduled or not. “I think it’s gone too far,” he told reporter Kate Woodviolet for LA Pet Rescue Examiner. “I have a lot of Animal Control experience. I saw the pictures [of the human victim's injuries], there were a couple of small puncture wounds — and the dog was injured when it happened. On that one bite Stu gets the ultimate penalty? That’s like getting the electric chair for a misdemeanor!”

At this point, there is but one fair and merciful outcome left: Stu needs to go home. Yesterday.

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FULL CONTACT INFORMATION

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[incoming] City Attorney Elect Carmen Trutanich
180 East Ocean Blvd.; Long Beach, CA 90802
ph: 562-216-4444; fax: 562-216-4445; (no email available)

[outgoing] City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo
800 City Hall East; 200 North Main Street; Los Angeles, CA 90012
ph: 213-978-8100; fax: 213-978-8312
email: Rocky.Delgadillo [at] lacity.org

Ms. Laurie Rittenberg and Mr. Todd Leung
Office of the City Attorney
200 N Main Street; City Hall East, 9th floor; Los Angeles CA 90012
fax: 213-978-2250; email: Laurie.Rittenberg [at] lacity.org,
Todd.Leung [at] lacity.org, Dov.Lesel [at] lacity.org

BOARD OF ANIMAL SERVICES COMMISSIONERS
President Tariq Khero: tariqkhero [at] gmail.com
Vice President Kathy Riordan: ninekitties [at] aol.com
Commissioner Irene Ponce: ireneponce [at] earthlink.net
Commissioner Ruthanne Secunda: secundar [at] unitedtalent.com
Commisioner Archie Quincey: ajq1trq2 [at] aol.com
*(Mayoral aide assigned to Dept.) Jim Bickhart: Jim.Bickhart [at] lacity.org
Ani.Commission [at] lacity.org

PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE
Councilmember Jack Weiss, Chair, Council District 5
200 N. Spring Street, Room 440; Los Angeles, CA 90012
ph: 213-473-7005; fax: 213-978-2250
email: councilmember.weiss [at] lacity.org, weiss [at] lacity.org

Councilmember Bernard C. Parks (former police chief), Council District 8
200 N. Spring Street, Rm. 460; Los Angeles, CA 90012
ph 213-473-7008; fax: 213-485-7683
email: Councilmember.Parks [at] lacity.org, Bernard.Parks.Jr [at] lacity.org

Councilmember Greig Smith, Council District 12
200 North Spring St., Rm 405; Los Angeles, CA 90012
ph: 213-473-7012; fax: (213) 473-6925
email: councilmember.smith [at] lacity.org

Councilmember Dennis Zine, Council District 3
200 N. Spring Street, Rm.450; Los Angeles, CA 90012
ph: 213-473-7003; fax: 213-485-8988
email: Dennis.Zine [at] lacity.org

Councilmember Ed Reyes, Council District 1
200 N. Spring Street, Room 410; Los Angeles, CA 90012
ph: 213-473-7001; fax: 213-485-8907
email: councilmember.reyes [at] lacity.org, ed.reyes [at] lacity.org

David Hersch, Public Safety Deputy: David.Hersch [at] lacity.org
Mike Hernandez, Assistant Chief of Staff: Mike.Hernandez [at] lacity.org
Moniquea Roberson, Executive Assistant / Administrative Manager:
Moniquea.Roberson [at] lacity.org

Jose A. Gardea, Chief of Staff: jose.gardea [at] lacity.org
Rebecca Valdez, Chief Planning Deputy: rebecca.valdez [at] lacity.org
Guadalupe Duran-Medina, Planning Deputy: guadalupe.duran.medina [at] lacity.org
Lisa Flores, Executive Assistant/Scheduler: lisa.flores [at] lacity.org
Tony Perez, Communications Director: tony.perez [at] lacity.org
Monica Valencia, Press Deputy: monica.valencia [at] lacity.org

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

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

SOURCE OF INFORMATION / REFERENCE LINKS

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

Playing political games with a dog’s life

Proposed [impossible] settlement in Stu’s case

Jeff de la Rosa, Stu’s dad
stu.911 [at] gmail.com

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

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Tagged: animals animal rights animal welfare action alerts kinship circle breanda shoss Jeff de la Rosa Stu dog canine pet companion animal LAAS Los Angeles Animal Services Los Angeles Ed Boks California Supreme Court Judge Yaffe California inhumane Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa Rocky Delgadillo denzel washington training day

Chocolate & Yogurt: Sarah Haskins on “Lady Food”

Kelly G. — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 16:13:30 +0000

As much as I love me some Sarah Haskins, sometimes it’s weeks before I remember to check for a new installment of her Target Women series. I’d blame it on my scatterbrain, except I’m usually organized to a fault. There are just too many distractions on the interwebs to keep track of, dammit.

Anyhow, I had ample time to catch up this week, since I haven’t been feeling all that well. (Stomach bug, food poisoning, who knows.) Though she rarely covers “animal issues” per se, a number of her skits do indirectly touch upon animal exploitation, as we saw with her take on the Carl’s Jr. franchise. So it is with her discussions of “lady food” - namely, chocolate and yogurt.

There are a number of feminine corollaries to the tired old “meat = masculinity” meme. For example, women eat “like birds” (and sundry other adorable-but-harmless wildlife), daintily pecking at fruit, vegetables and (one would assume) scattered nuts and seeds, our weak lil’ bodies having little need for muscle-building protein. (Protein is only found in the rotting flesh of animal corpses, dontchaknow!?)

Additionally, whereas men crave meat (and heart disease), women literally lust after sugary highs - especially if they come coated in chocolate. What better foodstuff for already hysterical, irrational and moody beings, no? Plus, consuming the milk of our enslaved sisters is the perfect night cap to a shitty blind date.

The marketing of yogurt - specifically, probiotic-rich yogurt - is a newer trend. (Or at least “new” in the retro sense of the word; I’ve no idea what the picture was like in the ’70s, but the Mr. swears that he remembers similar gynocentric yogurt advertising in his youth.) Whether you want to attribute it to IBS, yeast infections or diet fads, yogurt most definitely falls into the “lady food” category.

Someone had better alert my husband, as he eats at least as much Whole Soy as I do. (Eeks! Soy yogurt! It will grow him a vagina and turn him gay!)

Again, I’m troubled that women are pushed to consume “dairy”-based products, considering the intimate tie we share with the “producers” of this “dairy” (i.e., our gender and the potential for exploitation based solely on our reproductive organs). Consider PETA’s “Breast is Best” campaign, which created such an uproar in the feminist (and general) community. Sexist or not, this sort of abuse is visited upon millions of “milking” cows every year - so where’s the sympathy for their actual suffering, vs. the hypothetical human suffering proposed by PETA?

Women are told that we crave (milk) chocolate as if it were a drug, or need (dairy) yogurt (again, as if it were a drug), nevermind 1) the suffering each class of products inflicts on our non-human sisters and 2) the wide availability of cruelty-free alternatives.

Speaking of which, Whole Soy and Silk both make delicious soy-based yogurts. Contrary to what Dannon would have you believe, virtually all yogurts - dairy and soy included - contain “good” bacteria; Activa & Co. provide nothing new on this front. Just look for the words “Lactobacillus acidophilus” (”L. acidophilus”), “Lactobacillus Rhamnosus” (”L. rhamnosus”), “Bifidus,” “probiotics,” “good bacteria,” or “live cultures” on the label.

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Videos in this post:

Sarah Haskins in Target Women: Chocolate (February 6, 2009)
If you want to take my chocolate away from me, you’ll have to pry it from my cold, dead, sticky, delicious hands. Chocolate: more important to women than air.

Sarah Haskins in Target Women: Yogurt Edition (May 9, 2008)
Hey ladies, want yogurt? No? Too bad, because yogurt wants you. Sarah Haskins takes on yogurt advertising, from the many flavors of Yoplait to Jamie Lee Curtis and the digestive wonders of Activia.

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Tagged: animals animal rights animal welfare chocolate yogurt sarah haskins target women the current videos video blogging soy yogurt dairy women animals and women parallel oppressions intersections intersectionality food diet meat humor satire activia dannon

The easyVegan Weekend Activist, No. 9

Kelly G. — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 23:21:58 +0000

Action Alerts: Animal & Environmental Advocacy

Animals Australia: Aussie Company Supports Cruel Seal Cull

Center for Biological Diversity: Help Ban Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining

DawnWatch: AR activism and CMU prisons on Democracy Now 6/25/09

DawnWatch: Parrot crisis beautifully covered on CBS Sunday Morning News 6/21/09

Defenders of Wildlife: Save Frogs and Protect Human Health [Ban Endosulfan]

Farm Sanctuary: Isn’t It Time for California Dairy Farmers to Stop Cutting Cows’ Tails Off? (Update: June 24, 2009)

Farm Sanctuary: Michigan: Don’t Let the Fox Guard the Henhouse

Forest Ethics: Tell Hillary Clinton to Stop Dirty Oil in its Tracks

Greenpeace: Petition to Stand up for the Whales

Jane Goodall Institute (JGI): Take Action Against the Bushmeat Trade—Watch the Video and Show your Support for Great Apes

Kinship Circle: 6/18/09: Undue Justice – Stu On Death Row, 4 Years And Counting

LGBT Compassion: Animal Abuse at San Francisco Farmers’ Markets [See also: Live Chickens Sold in Sealed Bags by San Francisco Markets; Law Enforcement Turns Blind Eye - Letters Are Urgently Needed!, from United Poultry Concerns (UPC)]

Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC): Speak out to save Yosemite’s Sierra Nevada bighorn sheep

Oceana: Tell Congress to Stop Mercury Pollution from Chlorine Plants

PETA: Tell Travelzoo to End Ringling Bros. Circus Deal

PETA: Stop the Construction of Primate Testing Facilities in Malaysia!

PETA: Keep Admitted Pig Abuser Jordan Anderson Away From Animals!

PETA: Tell Etsy to Stop Selling Fur!

PETA: Blue Mountains Is for Conservation, Not Captivity!

PETA: Stop Ringling Bros.’ Expansion in Coney Island

PETA Asia-Pacific: Congratulate Israeli Minister of Justice for Approving the World’s First Nationwide Bill to Ban Fur

PETA Asia-Pacific: Tell the Four Seasons to Stop Supporting Elephant Cruelty

PETA UK: Urge Defra to Reject Higher Stocking Densities for Chickens

The PEW Environment Group: Urge Your Member of Congress to Support Clean Energy Economy Job Growth

Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM): Tell Breast Cancer Charities to Use Innovative, Humane, Nonanimal Research Methods

The Sierra Club: Make the Location of Toxic Coal Ash Sites Public Information!

The Sierra Club: Secretary Clinton’s Power to Stop Dirty Oil

The Sierra Club: Urge Congress to Protect Additional Waterways from Being Destroyed

WSPA: Ask your Senators to Support the Shark Conservation Act of 2009

Action Alerts: Human Rights

ACORN: Sign the petition to stop abusive immigration law enforcement.

American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU): Hold the President to His Promise and Restore Religious Liberty!

American Rights at Work: Take Action: Chipotle, how about some integrity for Florida’s farmworkers? [Should you choose to use the sample letter provided, please edit for speciesism.]

Amnesty International: Iranian authorities must release prominent human rights defender Abdolfattah Soltani and other detainees

AVAAZ: Iran: Stop the Crackdown

CARE: Take Action to Prevent Child Marriage

Council for a Livable World: Votes on Missile Defense This Week - Contact Congress Now!

Courage Campaign: Lt. Dan Choi may be fired from the military for refusing to lie about who he loves; Sign a personal letter of support for Dan before Tuesday’s trial and help him fight “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”

CREDO Action: Tell Pelosi and Reid: Now is the time to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act.

Iranicon: Paste launches Iranicon to support fair elections

Moms Rising: Support the Breastfeeding Promotion Act!

Move On: Iran: Stop the Crackdown

Peace Action West: Ask President Obama to put his vision in writing.

Peace Action West: Don’t waste our money on new fighter jets!

People for the American Way (PFAW): Tell the President and Congress: It’s time to repeal DOMA.

School of the Americas Watch (SOA Watch): Keep Up the Pressure - Tell your Senator to Take a Stand for Human Rights and Transparency

Secular Coalition for America: Action Alert: Stop Promoting Religion at the Capitol Visitor Center

Stop Family Violence: Protect Damon from Abuse

United Farm Workers (UFW): Pass comprehensive immigration reform this year! [You may also want to suggest that, as part of this immigration reform, the government stop all work on border walls and fences, as they interfere with the migration patterns of wild-living animals.]

Campaign Updates

In Defense of Animals (IDA): International Day Of Action For Elephants In Zoos A Worldwide Success

Liberation BC: Success! Barbara Jo’s Cancels Foie Gras Event!

PETA2: Victory! Sprint Agrees Not to Use Great Apes in Ads

Carnivals

Carnival of the Green #185 @ The Daily (Maybe)

Contests

Livin’ Veg: Win “The PETA Practical Guide to Animal Rights” [Deadline: June 29, 2009]

Musings from the Fishbowl: How do you celebrate freedom? With a giveaway, of course! Sweet Freedom Saturday [Deadline: July 1, 2009]

PETA: Enter to Win a Paul Frank Bike! [Deadline: July 20, 2009]

The PETA Files: ‘Win It’ Wednesday: Kitty Castles [Deadline: July 8, 2009]

PETA2: Free Stuff Friday: Dirty Shirty Tee! [Deadline: July 3, 2009]

Newsletters

ASPCA: eNews, June 26, 2009 - Undercover Puppy Mill Investigator Speaks

Best Friends: eNews, June 26, 2009 - Speaking of compassion

Best Friends: eNews, June 19, 2009 - Spot the hidden talent

Center for Biological Diversity: Endangered Earth Online, No. 466, June 25, 2009 - Too Many People, Too Much Plastic, Not Enough Polar Bears

In Defense of Animals (IDA): eNews - June 26, 2009 - News You Can Use To Help Animals

The Sierra Club: Club Currents, June 23, 2009: Volume VII, #24

Vegan Outreach - Enewsletter, June 24, 2009, School Record, Lots of News!

Petitions: Animal & Environmental Advocacy

Stand Up for Whales - Don’t Rest Until There’s Justice!

Save Northern Leopard Frogs and Protect Human Health

Maximum Penalty for Puppy Miller Skip Eckhart

Sign petition to help save Snaps! - dog victimized by viscous kids

Please save Snaps! SeaTac, Washington Pitbull to die!

Tell Staples Center circuses are cruel to animals

Woman saves orphaned baby deer - Ohio government wants to euthanize it and put her in jail!

U.S.Military Base Okinawa threatens Dugongs habitat

Petitions: Human Rights

Help Release Laura Ling and Euna Lee

Stop Bullying! Pass the Safe Schools Improvement Act

‘Round the Interwebs

ecorazzi: Confirmed: Earthrace Superboat Joining Sea Shepherd Fleet; 78 foot trimaran wave piercer to intercept and block harpoons.

Invisible Voices: Mute Swans – scapegoat for the Chesapeake marsh grasses

Willam Fisher @ Public Record - Obama’s Pledge of Transparency Remains Largely Unfulfilled

Michael Lind @ Salon: Wanted: Freedom from religion; The theocratic repression in Iran is a reminder that there can be no freedom without secular government

US Campaign for Burma: Shepard Fairey Unveils Icon in Support of Aung San Suu Kyi

Vegan Soapbox: CA Budget Cuts: Shorter Stays For Strays?

Upcoming Events

Animals & Society Institute (ASI): Bag It for the ASI in Ann Arbor! - Monday, April 13 through Sunday, July 5, 2009

American Rivers: National River Cleanup - June 2009

Worldwide Vegan Bake Sale - Saturday, June 20 through Sunday, June 28, 2009

Let It Live - Friday, June 26 through Sunday, June 28, 2009 in Portland, Oregon

Dogs Deserve Better (DDB): Chain Off 2009 - Saturday, June 27 through Sunday, July 12, 2009

Farm Sanctuary: Fourth of July Pignic; An Independence Day for Farm Animals - Saturday, July 4, 2009 in Watkins Glen, New York and Orland, California

In Defense of Animals (IDA) & Coexistence for Animal Rights on Earth (CARE): International Day of Action for Dogs and Cats in Korea - Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Taking Action for Animals - Friday, July 24 through Monday, July 27, 2009 in Arlington, Virginia

Farm Sanctuary: NY Country Hoe Down - Saturday, August 1 through Sunday, August 2, 2009 in Watkins Glen, New York

Farm Sanctuary: Walk for Farm Animals - September through October 2009

Ocean Conservancy: International Coastal Cleanup - Saturday, September 19, 2009

Farm Sanctuary: NY Farm Animal Care Conference - Saturday, September 19 through Sunday, September 20, 2009 in Watkins Glen, New York

Farm Sanctuary: NY and CA Thanksgiving Celebration FOR the Turkeys - Saturday, November 21, 2009 in Watkins Glen, New York and Orland, California

Your Weekly Click-Through Reminders

About

This link roundup is meant as a jumping-off point for you, the reader, to take further action and learn more about the issues presented here. I link, you decide!

If you’d like to get on the above organizations’ e-mail lists, I’ve compiled a full list of all my resources on the Get Active! page.

You can also follow me on Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, delicious, Flickr, Amazon and LibraryThing.

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Intersectionality ‘Round the Interwebs, No. 3

Kelly G. — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 01:59:32 +0000

I’ve been feeling kind of crappy since Friday, so I all I have to offer is this link roundup. Happy reading…or not.

Kelly Garbato @ Animal Rights @ Change.org: Egypt’s Pigs: Beaten, Stoned, and Burned Alive (Part 1) and Religious Discrimination and the Killing of Egypt’s Pigs (Part 2)

In my second round of guest posts at change.org, I look at the recent pig culls in Egypt, and explain how the mass killings may have less to do with concerns over the swine flu than with religious discrimination directed at the country’s Coptic Christians - as well as “their” pigs.

I, Bonobo: Guess who’s really at the bottom of the shitpile? and

Vegan Soapbox: Why Women Should Care About Animals

Bonobobabe and Eccentric Vegan both respond to a recent piece that appeared in the community section of Feministing. Not surprisingly, the author asserted that animal rights and feminism are unrelated movements, such that the animal rights movement has nothing to contribute to feminism and vice versa. Thus, it’s perfectly acceptable for good liberal progressive feminists to eat meat, wear fur and shit on animal advocates when they complain. I’m taking liberties, of course, but you get the idea.

Bonobobabe’s reply, in particular, is a must-read. I skimmed it over several times, trying to boil it down to an excerpt or two to illustrate her argument, but it’s all awesome. This about sums it up, though:

So, while I think it’s fine for a woman who calls herself a feminist to put her time and energy towards women-centered things, I also feel that if a feminist is supposed to be sensitive to class and race issues, that she should also be sensitive to speciesist issues. It’s not OK to say that you are better than an animal. Besides, hierarchies are the invention of men. Being a speciesist, even if one is a feminist, is playing by men’s rules. You’re better than that.

Hat tip to Stephanie for this one.

Bob Herbert @ the New York Times: State of Shame

Op-ed columnist Bob Herbert laments the plight of New York foie gras “feeders” - who, like most agricultural laborers, struggle at hard, underpaid, undervalued and oppressive work:

Each feeder, for example, is responsible for feeding 200 to 300 (or more) ducks — individually — three times a day. The feeder holds a duck between his or her knees, inserts a tube down the duck’s throat, and uses a motorized funnel to force the feed into the bird. Then on to the next duck, hour after hour, day after day, week after week.

The routine is brutal and not very sanitary. Each feeding takes about four hours and once the birds are assigned a feeder, no one else can be substituted during the 22-day force-feeding period that leads up to the slaughter. Substituting a feeder would upset the ducks, according to the owners of Hudson Valley Foie Gras, which operates the farm.

Not only do the feeders get no days off during that long stretch, and no overtime for any of the long hours, but they get very little time even to sleep each day. The feeding schedule for the ducks must be rigidly observed.

Unfortunately, Herbert has little sympathy for the ducks themselves, even getting a few slight digs in at animal advocates who dare to concern themselves with trivial matters like animal welfare when, zomg, what about the peoples!?

To wit:

Animal-rights advocates have made a big deal about the way the ducks are force-fed to produce the enormously swollen livers from which the foie gras is made. But I’ve been looking at the plight of the underpaid, overworked and often gruesomely exploited farmworkers who feed and otherwise care for the ducks. Their lives are hard.

As unpleasant a task as continuously force-feeding an animal must be, surely it’s worse for the animals on the receiving end of the violence, no?

Listen up, Bob Herbert. Compassion isn’t a finite pie; there’s plenty to go around. Can’t we care about both the human and non-human animals being harmed by destructive animal agricultural practices? Doesn’t concerning ourselves with even the “lowliest” of animals make us better human beings? How does mocking the most victimized beings help anyone, hmmm?

ecorazzi: Anthony Bourdain On Gwyneth Paltrow: “That One Bitch Who Refuses To Eat Ham”

Shock of all shockers, Anthony Bourdain calls Gwyneth Paltrow a “bitch” in the course of slamming her so-called vegetarianism.

While on a panel with fellow foodie Mario Batali at Seattle’s Paramount theater last weekend, Bourdain poked fun at Batali’s PBS series Spain… On the Road Again; which featured the chef and Paltrow on a culinary tour of Spain. “Why would you go to Spain with the one bitch who refuses to eat ham?”

Normally, this is where I’d point out the link between one type of oppression (Bourdain’s speciesism) and another (Bourdain’s misogyny), but ecorazzi’s comments section is filled with plenty of pro-animal misogyny as well. To paraphrase the second comment down: “I wouldn’t call Gwyneth Paltrow a bitch, but she’s a bitch.”

Seriously, people, can we fucking stop bashing women in the name of protecting animals? It’s no better than when feminists bash animals in the name of protecting women. Tit for tat.

And, hello! - In addition to being a gendered slur, “bitch” is a speciesist slur as well.

Cara @ Feministe: GOP Activist Compares Michelle Obama to a Gorilla and

Like a Whisper: Remember When the NY Post Said “A Monkey is Just a Monkey”?

In an unfortunate (and sadly, entirely predictable) parallel to how her husband was similarly smeared by Sean Delonas and the New York Post earlier this year, GOP activist Rusty dePass (R-South Carolina) likened an escaped “zoo” gorilla to Michelle Obama - or rather, one of her ancestors. Cara at Feministe and Professor Susurro at Like a Whisper have more.

MSNBC: Same-sex behavior nearly universal in animals

In yet another follow up to my Green Porno post, a literature review recently published Trends in Ecology and Evolution reveals that virtually every animal species engages in same-sex or homosexual behavior, for a variety of reasons:

[M]ale fruit flies sometimes court other male flies, but this behavior is due to a missing gene that gives the flies the ability to distinguish between sexes, said Bailey, a co-author of the review. “That is very different from male bottlenose dolphins, who engage in same-sex interactions to facilitate group bonding, or female Laysan Albatross that can remain pair-bonded for life,” he added.

Coming soon to a church near you: Pray the Gay Away - All primates now welcome!

Flick: Sow and bruised piglet Kawartha Aug 11.

The photo caption continues: Sow was punched in face by workers to forcibly remove piglet after photo taken.

Hat tip, Liberation BC on Twitter.

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Tagged: animals animal rights animal welfare patriarchy intersections parallel oppressions animals and women sexism misogyny gender feminism race racism violence stereotyping exploitation sex gender intersectionality quick links link roundup link dump Intersectionality ‘Round the Interwebs

The Dangerous World of Butterflies: More dangerous for butterflies than for humans.

Kelly G. — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 16:50:27 +0000

On Wednesday, journalist Peter Laufer appeared on The Daily Show in order to discuss his newest book, The Dangerous World of Butterflies: The Startling Subculture of Criminals, Collectors, and Conservationists. While the material might seem rather lighthearted - especially in comparison to his previous subjects, which include neo-Nazism, illegal immigration and the Iraq war - the illegal butterfly trade is nothing to scoff at, as he explains:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Videos in this post

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

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