ANIMAL ISSUES BULLETIN
June 20, 2011
** "Adopt a Shelter Cat" Month
** Check Up Your Federal Lawmakers
** Superior Court Rules on Goth Kitten
** Ken Joins anti-Barbie Protest
** Save the Sentosa Resort Dolphins
** SF Pet Sale Ban Proposal Lives
** Researchers Try for Cruelty Exemption
** Forbes Covers Ag-Gag
** Princeton Cited for USDA Violations
** Animal Planet: Captive Hunting Exposed
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-- June is Adopt a Shelter Cat Month –
In honor of Adopt a Shelter Cat Month, PETA is challenging animal advocates to take an action
and has offered five suggestions people can take to help felines. Take a look at
http://www.peta.org/action/cat-actions.aspx. Here they are:
1. As long as breeders continue to churn out kittens and puppies and irresponsible people choose not to
spay or neuter their animals, animal shelters will have to do society's heartbreaking dirty work and put
millions of healthy cats (and dogs) to death every year. Do your part by pledging to end animal
homelessness! The petition is at:
https://secure.peta.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=2065
2. Learn about your feline's body language tips to help you better understand the messages that your cat is
sending you.
3. Take 10 seconds to urge the University of Michigan (U-M) to stop tormenting cats in unnecessary, cruel,
and deadly medical-training exercises. U-M already uses state-of-the-art human-patient simulators to teach
the same skills in other courses for nurses and physicians—take action now at
https://secure.peta.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=3147 and urge U-M to go crueltyfree in all its training courses!
4. Participate in "Caturday" on Twitter! All you have to do to get in on the fun is tweet @PETA an image of
your feline companion with the hashtag #Caturday, and be sure to keep a look out for any retweets
mentioning your furry friend.
5. Spread the word about "Adopt a Shelter Cat" Month on Facebook! Six to 8 million dogs and cats will enter
animal shelters this year alone. You could save a life.
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-- What’s Congress Been Doing For Us –
In regard to agriculture spending for fiscal year 2012, there is some good news: The “defunding” provision that currently prohibits the U.S. Department of Agriculture from using its
resources to inspect horse slaughter plants remains intact in the House-passed Agriculture
Appropriations bill. The final spending bill is still to come. Meanwhile, Senator Mary Landrieu
(D-LA) and Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) reintroduced the "Against Horse Slaughter
Prevention Act of 2011"(SB1176) to end the slaughter of American horses both in the United
States and abroad. The last horse slaughter plant in the United States closed in 2007, however
horses continue to be transported to slaughter facilities in Canada and Mexico. Read more at
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http://www.examiner.com/pet-rescue-in-national/bill-to-permanently-ban-horse-slaughterintroduced-by-sen-landrieu#ixzz1PpNF0JAe
Ask your Senators to support the Horse Slaughter Prevention Act of 2011. Get more
information on the bill at http://www.animallawcoalition.com/horse-slaughter/article/1817 . At
this website, you can find a list of lawmakers who have already agreed to cosponsor this
legislation and get contact information for members of the Senate. Here is a sample message
you can send via email or telephone:
As your constituent I urge you to support SB 1176, the Horse Slaughter Prevention Act of 2011. The time to
stop the slaughter of American horses for human consumption overseas. There are no working
slaughterhouses in this country and the majority of Americans favor a humane death for horses. Horses
should not be shipped to Mexico or Canada to be killed cruelly to satisfy a foreign taste.
No logical reason exists to support horse slaughter. Most horses sent to slaughter are not old and infirm.
There will not be thousands of unwanted horses starving to death. Some will be purchased and other will go
to rescue. Horses will also be humanely euthanized. Right now, 90% of horses that die annually are humane
euthanized and/or safety disposed of, so 10% more should not be a burden. In fact, at an average cost of
about $225, humane euthanasia is not too expensive for the average horse owner. Horse theft will go down
since “killer-buyers” will not exist. In fact, when California banned horse slaughter in 1998, horse theft went
down by 34%.
Please support the Horse Slaughter Prevention Act of 2011. I look forward to hearing from you about this
issue.
Sincerely,
[
]
Please telephone Senators who have already sponsored this legislation and thank them for a
wise decision.
More disappointing, after a vote of 132 to 287, the U.S. House of Representatives defeated the
Campbell-DeFazio-Peters amendment to stop Wildlife Services’ wasteful use of taxpayer money
to kill predators with poisons, aerial gunning, and other inhumane methods.
To find out how your own officials voted on this amendment, check out the information at:
http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2011/roll452.xml
If your representative voted yes, please call and say how grateful you are that your legislator
stood up for wildlife. If your representative voted no on the Campbell-DeFazio-Peters
amendment, please politely say how disappointed you are.
NOTE: If you need to identify and get contact information for your federal lawmakers, go to:
http://action.humanesociety.org/site/PageServer?pagename=electedOfficials_federal
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-- Goth Kitten Decision -Three judges of the Superior Court upheld a conviction for animal cruelty of a dog groomer who
had offered “gothic” kittens for sale on eBay. An investigation into the pierced kittens began in
2008 when a citizen saw the animals being offered for $100 each on eBay, inquired about them
and reported it to the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals of Luzerne County,
according to the Times Leader in Wilkes Barre. A citizen tipped off PETA, as well, which
conducted an investigation of its own and passed on information to the SPCA. See the story at:
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http://www.ohmidog.com/2011/06/17/court-affirms-that-piercing-cats-is-cruelty/
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-- Barbie Trashing Indonesian Rainforests! –
Earlier this month, Greenpeace activists hung massive protest banners on the Mattel
headquarters building in El Segundo, California. The posters, depicting an unhappy Ken doll,
state, "Barbie, it's over. I don't date girls that are into deforestation." Activists dressed as Ken
dolls lowered themselves down the fifteen-story building to hang the banners. They were joined
by a female activist dressed as a Barbie doll, who drove a pink bulldozer while handing out
flyers to Mattel's employees. At least eight of the activists, including "Barbie" were arrested and
charged with conspiracy and trespassing,
After the Greenpeace protest, Barbie’s Facebook page was dominated by a discussion of
deforestation. Mattel had to temporarily shut down the page to comments. Greenpeace’s social
media campaign called on Mattel to stop purchasing paper pulp harvested from the last habitat
of Indonesia's orangutans and tigers. A Mattel response—right on the front page of the
company website--was not long in coming.
Greenpeace was deemed victorious when the company announced that it will be "developing a
sustainable procurement policy for all of Mattel's product lines which will address the important
issue of deforestation. The policy will include requirements for packaging suppliers to commit to
sustainable forestry management practices."
You can join the campaign and sign the petition at:
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/955/131/674/
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-- Save the Sentosa Dophins -Twenty-five wild bottlenose dolphins captured near the Solomon Islands are going to become
permanent residents of Resorts World - Sentosa, Singapore, unless public protest can change
the situation. The dolphins are being keep in a holding facility in the Philippins while the Sentosa
Resort is being build. Two of the dolphins have already died. Statistically, around 53% of
dolphins who survive violent capture will die within 90 days. For more information, check out the
statement of Ric O’Barry, marine mammal specialist, at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QP3FbrF5YyM
Please Say NO TO CAPTIVITY. ~RESORT WORLD FREE THE DOLPHINS and also thank Ric
O'Barry, Save the Blood Dolphins, The Dolphin Project, Save Japan Dolphins and Earth Island
Institute for their continued support.
Check out the Save the World's Saddest Dolphins website by local group ACRES (Animal
Concerns Research and Education Society): http://www.saddestdolphins.com/ Click on The
People’s Voice link at the top of the page to learn how you can help these dolphins and send a
message to Resorts World.
A petition appears on change.org asking for the release of the remaining dolphins. Check it out
at:
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http://www.change.org/petitions/please-help-free-the-sentosa-25-from-resort-world-in-sentosasingapore
Here is the text of the petition:
Gentlemen,
I am contacting you on behalf of the Dolphins that Resorts World Sentosa has in captivity. These 25 dolphins
now being kept in the Philippines, were captured in the waters of the Solomon Islands. We kindly ask that
you consider freeing these Dolphins.
If Resorts World frees the dolphins, not only will it show good corporate citizenship, it will also be a massive
windfall of good publicity for them. In helping return these dolphins, Resorts World would show the people of
Singapore and the world that you are a true steward of the environment and a responsible company sensitive
to the harm captivity inflicts on dolphins.
Your cooperation would ensure that these dolphins are returned to their natural habitat where they can
thrive, as opposed to keeping them in captivity, separated from their original home range and their pod, most
Singaporeans would object to keeping dolphins in captivity if they knew the horrible capture practices.
While wild dolphins can live for 60 years, in captivity they often die prematurely. Captive dolphins routinely
suffer from ulcers, they frequently go blind and have skin problems. Many also succumb to stress-related
conditions like pneumonia, depression as well as self-inflicted injuries or those caused by accidents or
confrontations with other confined dolphins. Many activists across the world are working to protect dolphins
and prevent dolphins from being removed from the wild for captivity.
I know the people of Singapore love dolphins. Most Singaporeans would object to keeping dolphins in
captivity if they knew the dangers to the dolphins and the horrific capture practices of the Solomon Islands
and other dolphin capture countries. This is gaining International attention and the world is watching you.
Thanking you in advance for making the right decision to free the Dolphins, I remain,
Very truly yours,
[Your name]
Readers can take a look at the Resort’s response and its poor attempts to justify its actions at:
http://www.globalanimal.org/2011/06/17/sentosa-dolphin-captors-respond-with-pr-campaigntake-action/42783
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-- SF Animal Control Tries Pet Sale Ban Again -Last year in San Francisco, a ban on the sale of puppies, kittens and other small animals was
proposed in hopes of increasing adoptions and dropping euthanasia rates, but a decision was
put off and the issue was scrapped altogether. The proposal is again alive after a year of study.
The San Francisco Chronicle ran a story about this on June 15. Read it at:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/06/14/BA661JTO52.DTL#ixzz1PMM6F67P
Alice Graef of Care2 notes that the proposed pet ban has been extended to include goldfish,
tropical fish and guppies in an effort to raise awareness of the plight of even the smallest of
animals that are raised inhumanely and to discourage impulse buys of pets. See her article at:
http://www.care2.com/causes/animal-welfare/blog/san-francisco-is-renewing-efforts-to-ban-petsales/
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-- Animal Cruelty Passes for Wisconsin Researchers? -Should scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison be exempt from state statutes
pertaining to crimes against animals as long as the investigators are "engaged in bona fide
scientific research?" That seems to be the question. Check out “Campus Connection: UW
researchers may soon be exempt from animal cruelty statutes” in The Capital dated June 13,
2011:
http://host.madison.com/ct/news/local/education/campus_connection/article_dd8afd22-93c011e0-b15d-001cc4c03286.html
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-- Forbes Story on Ag-Gag –
Efforts to outlaw the undercover recording of animal abuse in livestock operations appear to
have stalled in Iowa and other states in the face of complaints that the proposals were intended
primarily to protect the industry with little concern for animals' welfare. On June 13, Forbes
covered this story:
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2011/06/13/general-us-food-and-farm-undercovervideos_8513133.html
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-- USDA Cites Princeton for USDA Violations -Princeton University continues to run afoul of federal regulations in its testing of primates,
including depriving some of the animals of water for over 24 hours, according to a report
obtained by The Times. See the NJ.com story dated June 12 at:
http://www.nj.com/mercer/index.ssf/2011/06/princeton_university_research.html
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-- Captive Hunting Exposed -This Animal Planet special will shed light on the unsporting and cruel captive hunting industry,
and is a must-see episode. Follow HSUS investigators as they go undercover to expose these
relatively unknown operations – ranches that stock fenced enclosures with tame animals to be
shot for guaranteed trophies. For the right price, any animal from a kangaroo to an endangered
antelope can be killed for a living room trophy.
Follow the 5 steps below to get ready for tonight’s airing!
Step 1 – RSVP to this event (Above)
Step 2 – Watch this video: http://youtu.be/6SzkyGTRVdU
Step 3 – Find out when the show airs near you and set your DVR: http://bit.ly/lrnguZ
Step 4 – Learn more about Captive Hunting on our website: http://bit.ly/kj8AUj
Step 5 – Stay involved by liking our Wildlife page on Facebook: http://on.fb.me/iCQ6cw
If you miss Monday’s viewing, check out http://animal.discovery.com/tvschedules/special.html?paid=15.15976.130237.0.0 for other times to see this investigation.
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