A n i m a l W r i t e s © sm
The
official ANIMAL RIGHTS ONLINE newsletter
Established
1997
Editor ~ JJswans@aol.com
Issue # 10/10/04
Publisher ~ Susan
Roghair -
EnglandGal@aol.com
Journalists ~ Greg Lawson - ParkStRanger@aol.com
~ Michelle Rivera -
MichelleRivera1@aol.com
Webmasters ~ Randy Atlas - ranatlas@earthlink.net
~ Trevor Chin - tmchin@yahoo.com
Staff
~ Alfred Griffith - agriffith@igc.org
~ Andy Glick - andy@meatfreezone.org
~ Sheridan Porter -
Pad4Paws21@aol.com
~ Bill Bobo - RunRun@aol.com
~ Katie Vann - Vann167@aol.com
THE ARTICLES IN THIS ISSUE ARE:
1 ~ ParkStRanger Goes Back to the Dentist
2 ~ Increase the Penalty for Cruel DogFighting and Cockfighting
3 ~ Dirty Farm Secrets Revealed
4 ~ Job Opportunity
5 ~ Halloween Pet Safety Tips
6 ~ Celebration FOR The Turkeys
7 ~ I Would've Died That Day If Not For You
8 ~ Memorable Quote
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~1~
ParkStRanger Goes Back to the
Dentist
By Greg Lawson, ParkStRanger@aol.com
This
morning I had an appointment to get a new crown. My dentist, Dr. Rizk
(pronounced "risk," don't laugh, I used to go to Dr. Payne) has hired
a new assistant who is a very attractive young lady. I have to admit, I
am beginning to think I may have some sort of fetish about attractive ladies
putting their fingers in my mouth and causing me pain. Hey, being a vegan
puts me on the outskirts of society anyway.
I was most disappointed when she told me that the nitrous oxide delivery system
wasn't working. The Main Reason I keep going back is for the gas (and, of
course, my dentist's lovely, pain-causing assistants with their plastic gloves,
goggles and masks). Cheryl and I started a conversation and got to know
each other a little bit. She told me that she was born in Wisconsin, but
had lived in El Paso since she was a child. As we were waiting for the
anesthetic to take effect, I finished reading an article in a Reader's Digest I
had started in the waiting room, "Is Our Food Safe?"
"What are you reading?" Cheryl asked.
"An article about pathogens in meat," I replied. "I'm a
vegan and I like to keep up with this kind of thing."
"I was a vegetarian for a while," she told me.
"Oh, really? Why did you become vegetarian?"
"When I was a kid, my parents bought a calf which they kept in the
backyard for a few weeks. One day when I got home from school, the calf
wasn't there. I asked my Mom where it was. She pointed at the
freezer. I looked inside and there were a lot of packages of meat.
I stopped eating animals for years."
"That can happen when you meet your meat." It flashed across my
mind how a similar thing had happened to the Marquis de Sade, the French
nobleman after whom the word "sadism" was coined. One night
when he was a child, he was told at the dinner table that the meal he was
eating was formerly his pet duck. For de Sade, that event helped shape
the rest of his life of debauchery. For most of the rest of us, an event
like that helps us develop a sense of compassion. For me, it was seeing
my grandmother twist the head off a live chicken, and seeing the body run
around the backyard for a minute before dying. "You say you were a
vegetarian, have you gone back to eating meat?" I asked.
"Yes, but not beef, just chicken mostly, and I can't give up my
cheese."
"I can understand that, you being from Wisconsin," I said.
"Yes, I guess it's in my blood." Yes, and unfortunately, the
blood of the calves is still in her blood. I didn't tell her that in
order to make cheese, cows are kept pregnant year after year, the offspring
becoming veal. I thought that heavy information should wait until another
time.
"There are several good soy cheeses on the market, and soy cream cheese
tastes no different from dairy cream cheese."
"I have seen them around, I will have to try them," she said.
The dentist came in and started his business of drilling for the gold card in
my wallet. When he was finished, he instructed Cheryl to make an
impression for the new crown. As she prepared the impression material she
asked, "So tell me, what's the difference between a vegan and a
vegetarian?...Ok, bite down on this and don't open until I tell you it's
ok."
Hmm, I thought for the next five minutes. This seems to be a pattern.
People ask us about veganism, but then don't really want to hear the
answer. Gluing my mouth shut with alginate was so far the most effective
method I had ever encountered. But I was patient, after all, I was the
patient. As soon as she took the hardened alginate from my mouth, my
numbed lips struggled to form the words that for ethical reasons, vegans don't
eat dairy products or eggs, that veganism really wasn't about sacrifice, but
about substitutions. "You can buy everything from pastrami to
chicken nuggets, from ice cream to sour cream all made from soy."
"Wow," she said. I didn't realize that." She
commented that it must be hard to eat out, though. I agreed, but said
that many places have vegan dishes and that the Vegetarian Society of El Paso
has frequent potlucks, restaurant events and our bimonthly dinners with a vegan
buffet prepared by one of the best hotels in El Paso, and of course, I
suggested she join us for our vegetarian thanksgiving in November. She
said she would think about it, but that her boyfriend was a big
meateater. My heart sank. We had both enjoyed the probing and the
poking, and when it was over, then she mentions a boyfriend.
Nevertheless, I will invite her to our thanksgiving vegan buffet. Maybe
her boyfriend won't want to go, but she will.
The point of this article is this: it's very important to engage in
conversation about veganism with everyone we meet. In some people it will
make a difference. Don't just wait for that special someone you connect
with who is wearing goggles, gloves and a mask.
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~2~
Increase the Penalty
for Cruel Dogfighting and Cockfighting
From Animal Protection Institute - info@api4animals.org
H.R. 4264, the Animal Fighting Enforcement Act, has been
introduced in Congress to increase enforcement of anti-animal fighting laws.
H.R. 4264 received approval from the House Judiciary Committee on September 30,
2004, and the bill now moves to the entire U.S. House of Representatives for a
vote. Your help is needed to ensure the passage of this key legislation.
Contrary to popular myth, cockfighting is not an accidental or natural sparring
of two roosters. Instead, cockfighting is a deliberately staged bloodsport in
which two roosters are placed in an enclosed pit to fight. Roosters raised for
fighting are specifically bred for their aggressiveness and they then are
trained to fight. Their natural spurs are cut off and replaced by steel razor
blades ("slashers") or by curved metal spikes measuring up to 3
inches in length ("gaffs"). Stimulants and/or blood clotting agents
often are fed to the birds prior to the fights to make them more aggressive and
harder to kill. This activity is staged before spectators, who often wager on the
outcome of the contest.
During cockfights, the birds can suffer serious injuries, including broken
wings or legs, lacerations, and multiple puncture wounds. The dead and dying
birds are discarded in trash bins or alongside the road. If the birds survive
the fights, they are stitched up (presumably without anesthetics) to fight
again. As a result, there is no meaningful "victory" for fighting
roosters.
If passed, the Animal Fighting Enforcement Act would: (1) provide a
two-year (felony) imprisonment penalty for animal fighting violations; (2) make
it unlawful to buy, sell, transport, deliver, or receive an animal interstate
(or import an animal from another country) for animal fighting; (3) ban the
interstate or foreign sale, purchase, transport, or delivery of slashers and
gaffs; and (4) prohibit the promotion of animal fighting ventures through the
use of the U.S. mail.
Because the lobbyists who represent the cockfighting industry will work hard
against this bill, your voice is urgently needed. Please contact your
federal Representative today and ask him/her to co-sponsor and support H.R.
4264.
Address for your Representative:
The Honorable [Full Name]
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515
To obtain a phone or fax number for your Representative, call the House
switchboard at 202-224-3121. Telephone and fax numbers of individual members of
Congress can also be reached by calling Federal Information at 800-688-9889.
If you do not know the name of your Representative, please call
202-224-3121 or go to http://congress.org/congressorg/home/
and enter your zip code and press "Go." The photo and name of your
Representative will appear on the right side of the screen. You can then click
on the photo for detailed contact information.
You can mention the following points to your U.S. representative:
<> During a typical cockfighting tournament, many of the birds are
killed. Winners as well as losers suffer severe injuries, including broken
wings, punctured lungs, and gouged eyes.
<> Roosters, like all other animals, have a nervous system and experience
pain. The American Veterinary Medical Association considers cockfighting to be
cruel and has recommended that the practice be banned and violations be
considered a felony offense [which this legislation accomplishes]. The
American Poultry Association also opposes cockfighting.
<> Cockfighting entertains spectators through the suffering and death of
animals. It desensitizes young children — who often attend the events — to
violence. To the vast majority of people, causing animals to fight to the death
is not an acceptable "sport."
<> Cockfighting is not a natural activity.
While it is true that game fowl have a fighting
instinct, the natural purpose of the fighting instinct is to establish
"pecking order" and it seldom results in serious injury. In
cockfights, however, the birds are bred for aggressiveness, fitted with lethal
instruments, and given drugs to maximize their aggression. Unlike birds in the
wild, these animals cannot escape. They are placed in an enclosed pit and
forced to fight until one quits, is severely injured, or dies.
For more information contact Barbara Schmitz at bschmitz@api4animals.org
or 916-447-3085 x208.
The animals deserve a voice in
Congress — yours!
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~3~
Dirty Farm Secrets Revealed
By Robert Cohen - www.notmilk.com
It
is illegal to visit a dairyman's barn at 4:00 AM and observe or photograph his
way of doing business without first obtaining his permission. If caught, you
will be fined, jailed, and charged with agricultural terrorism. So, how can one
document the abuses suffered by farm animals?
What do farmers do to sentient creatures, and what devices of torture do they
use?
That's easy. The evidence is included in the 2005 Nasco Farm & Ranch
catalogue, advertised as "The Largest Farm Catalog in the World."
How to brand an animal? Pages 13-14 gives a farmer options. There's the
heavy duty Copper Branding Iron which offers more efficient branding because:
"The heat is more evenly distributed and held in the iron for a much
longer period of time...designed to reduce blotching."
Reduce blotching? What a relief that must be to a cow who has just had
glowing-red metal applied to her body while smelling the fumes of burning skin
and flesh.
Or, there is now a non-heat option. Simply freeze the branding iron in liquid
oxygen. The growth of white hair at the branding site in three-four months will
confirm that pigment-producing cells have been painfully destroyed.
Love those hog pipes and hog whips offered on page 57. You can be
fashionable while whipping your hogs. The device comes in two colors. The hog
pipe is "strong and durable" and comes with a "leather wrist
grip to help prevent dropping." While you're shopping, pick up one of
those fiberglass livestock sorting poles, or a "lightweight, high impact
'Pro Stick' with a "pro-style sharp point."
Page 61 offers an inexpensive de-horner ($61.45 plus shipping), which is
advertised as:
"Safe to use; little danger from kicking. 30" handle lets you stand
away."
Page 65 offers devices that can be used for both farm business and farm fun.
You can own a heavy grain "Leather Pig Slapper" or a deluxe pair of
"Animal Grabber Tongs."
Oh, what thoughtful pig farmers we have. Page 67 offers a $95 pig tail docker
that heats to 850 degrees Fahrenheit, and "cauterizes as it cuts."
And, if those silly piggies decide to bite each other's stumps, you can buy a
can of "Pig Pax." Take your $11 investment and "Spray Pig Pax on
the back of pigs or on the places being attacked (such as tails) and its foul
taste will discourage pigs from biting one another."
One of my favorite devices, on page 71, comes with a photograph of a pig laying
on its back held tightly in a metal entrapment. You could be the proud owner of
a "Comfort Castrator," and the good news is that no anesthetic is
needed. I wonder if it comes with ear plugs to drown out the sound of squealing
pigs.
Page 88 carries a line of chicken books. I count seven instruction manuals, but
none written by Karen Davis. You can purchase her books by going to:
http://www.upc-online.org
Want to raise chicken eggs?
Page 92 has a multi-stacking poultry layer cage for just $69.85. Four chickens
can do their business inside of a box with floor area that is just
36" by 18." Each chicken gets an ample amount of room, just
over 1 square foot (1.125 sq. ft.) to live her life in while laying her eggs
for your consumption. And when they no longer produce those eggs, you can purchase
a tabletop picker (page 93) with motor that:
"Cleans chickens, ducks, and pheasants in seconds -- even gets pin
feathers if bird has been properly scalded."
Those calf restraints on page 147 provide hours of pleasure for the user, while
the high powered dehorning saw on page 149 is designed to delight both farmer
and his children on a Sunday afternoon.
Don't even ask what the five different models of "balling guns" sold
on page 154 are used for.
Page 159 offers the new "Elector Insecticide" which is advertised as:
"A new and effective way to control flies and lice on lactating and
non-lactating dairy and beef cattle."
Some other curious devices make great Christmas presents (or Chanukah presents
for Jewish dairymen). My number one gift-giving idea is included on page
179, and it's only $32.85. Is this the perfect stocking stuffer for your
favorite dairyman? Buy one or more today: The Teat Tumor Extractor.
"This medium-size, 4.55mm instrument is imported from Denmark and is very
popular, especially among herdsmen in Wisconsin and Minnesota. It's most
important advantage over U.S. models is the double cutting edge."
Tumors in udders from cows whose milk and cheese we eat? Perhaps it is no
coincidence that the highest per capita breast cancer rates can be found in
Denmark.
There are 131 more pages to this Marquis-de-Sade-like catalog, but suddenly,
it's ceased being fun for me.
If you want more, order a copy of the Nasco Farm catalog for your own reading
pleasure. Call: 800-558-9595.
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~4~
Job Opportunity
DIRECTOR, MIAMI-DADE ANIMAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT
SALARY: ENTRY $82,403 – MAX $130,446 Annually
Miami-Dade
County is looking for a dynamic, innovative and experienced professional in the
field of Animal Services with a proven successful track record in developing
partnerships and running animal services programs and operations. This is
highly responsible executive level work in planning and directing the operations
of the Miami-Dade Animal Services Department. This position will be responsible
for coordinating Miami-Dade County’s animal care and control services, which
includes overseeing the activities of the County’s animal shelter, license and
rabies vaccination programs, veterinarian services, dead animal removal from
the public right-of-way, animal adoption and spay/neuter programs, humane
education, public relations, and field operations involving the apprehension,
transportation, and confinement of unleashed, unlicensed, diseased or injured
dogs or other domestic or wild animals. Responsibilities include directing the
enforcement of state law and county code related to the control and care of
animals, enforcing vaccination requirements for dogs and cats, participating in
countywide or regional coordinative efforts among animal welfare agencies,
developing and promoting animal service partnerships with private sector animal
welfare agencies and overseeing an annual budget of $6.76 million, and
developing and implementing a capital plan for the improvement of animal
shelter facilities.
Other duties include the supervision of a staff of approximately 70 full-time
employees engaged in various levels of office operations, professional care and
treatment of animals, field enforcement of laws and ordinances pertaining to
animal control, investigation of animal cruelty complaints, and public contact
work in support of county animal services activities. This position requires
the Director to develop and implement long and short-term departmental goals
and objectives and coordinate animal control and care services with citizens,
community groups, private animal welfare agencies, other county agencies and
local and state agencies.
Bachelor’s degree. A minimum of five to nine years of progressively responsible
managerial and administrative experience within an animal control or animal
welfare agency to include the enforcement of regulations, ordinances, and laws
is required. Experience working with volunteer groups and advocacy groups is
highly preferred.
Applicants must submit one (1) copy of their resume indicating social
security number, requisition #5360001 and title of position to the Employee
Relations Department, Personnel Services Division, Center for Employment
Application, 140 West Flagler Street, Suite 105, Miami, Florida 33130 by
Monday, November 1, 2004. Applicants can E-mail their resumes to resumes@miamidade.gov.
Please refer to our web page (www.miamidade.gov/jobs) regarding Resume
Application/E-mail Instructions or call our JOBS hotline at (305) 375-JOBS
(5627). Applicants should indicate all computer skills and education on
the resume. (Animal Services Department) (Downtown)
Hiring decisions are contingent upon the results of a physical examination, including
alcohol and drug screening. Applicants must meet residence requirement.
EOE/M/F/D.
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~5~
Halloween Pet Safety Tips
From Hugs For Homeless Animals - www.h4ha.org/
Halloween may be fun for children but it can be a
traumatic and even dangerous time for your pet. Here are a few common sense
tips to protect your pet on Halloween:
<> Keep your pet away from the front door. Keeping your pet in a separate
room during the trick-or-treating hours is best. At an open door, dogs in
particular, may feel the need to "protect their home and humans" and
may bite your bizarre-looking visitors. Your pet may also become frightened
dart out through the open door.
<> Don't leave your pet out in the yard (front or back yard) on
Halloween. There are plenty of stories of vicious pranksters who have teased,
injured, stolen, even killed pets on this night.
<> Trick-or-treat candies are not for pets. Chocolate is poisonous to
many animals, and tin foil and cellophane candy wrappers can be hazardous if
swallowed.
<> Be careful of pets around candles and lit pumpkins. These may be
easily knocked over and cause a fire. Curious kittens especially run the risk
of getting badly burned.
<> Don't dress your pet in a costume unless you know he loves it. This
may put added stress on the animal. If you do dress up your dog, make sure the
costume isn't constricting, annoying or unsafe. Be careful not to obstruct his
vision, even the gentlest dog can get snappy when he can't see what's going on
around him.
<> Finally, some humane organizations fear that certain pets, primarily
black cats, are at risk of becoming unwilling participants in the darker side
of Halloween activities, and elect to halt adoptions of these animals until
after the holiday. For safety reasons, owners of all pets, particularly black
cats, should keep an especially close eye on their pets around Halloween.
Remember that your pets are depending on you to keep them safe from the more
dangerous goblins and ghouls that this holiday brings out.
<><><><><>
For another great Halloween safety website, check out the following:
Animal Safety -
Halloween
http://www.elvira.com/articles/animalsafety.html
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~6~
Celebration FOR The Turkeys
This
year celebrate Thanksgiving with your sanctuary family. Farm Sanctuary's
California and New York shelters are hosting our annual Thanksgiving
Celebration FOR the Turkeys. Join with fellow vegetarians to help spread a
compassionate holiday message. The festivities begin at noon and include a
delicious vegan meal, shelter tours, presentations, and the Feeding of the
Turkeys Ceremony!
<> California Shelter · Orland, CA
Join with special guest speakers Persia White of UPN's Girlfriends and author
Erik Marcus at the California celebration, and enjoy a delicious catered
holiday dinner. This event costs $30 per person.
<> New York Shelter Watkins Glen, NY
The New York celebration features a potluck dinner and a special presentation
by Harold Brown of the acclaimed documentary film, Peaceable Kingdom.
Please bring a vegan dish to feed
eight people.
Reservations are required for both events by November 12th. We regret that we
may not be able to accommodate reservations received after the deadline.
Confirmation packets with ticket(s) and directions will be mailed to all
registrants.
For further details and registration information, please go to:
http://www.adoptaturkeyorg/turkey_celebration.htm
Farm Sanctuary is a national, non-profit organization dedicated to ending farm
animal abuse through direct rescue and protection campaigns. For more
information about Farm Sanctuary programs, please visit
http://www.farmsanctuary.org
or call 607-583-2225. To become a Farm Sanctuary member or to make a donation
today using our secure online form, please go to:
http://www.farmsanctuary.org/join/donate2.htm.
For updates on previous action alerts, please go to:
http://www.farmsanctuary.org/actionalerts/update.htm
Please forward and distribute widely! Thank you
Farm Sanctuary, P.O. Box 150 Watkins Glen, NY 14891.
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~7~
I Would've Died That Day If Not
For You
By Anonymous
I would've given up on life, if not for your kind eyes.
I would have used my teeth in fear, if not for your gentle hand.
I would have left this life, believing that all humans don't care.
Believing there is no such thing as fur that isn't matted... skin that isn't
flea bitten,
Good Food and enough of it...
Beds to sleep on...Someone to love me...
to show me I deserve love...just because I exist.
Your kind eyes...your loving smile...your gentle hands... Your big heart saved
me!!!!!
You saved me from the terror of the pound.
You have soothed away the memories of my old life.
You have taught me what it means to be loved.
I have seen you do the same for other dogs just like me.
I have heard you ask yourself in times of despair... Why do you do it?
When there is No more money...No more room....No more homes....
I see you open your heart a little bigger...stretch the money a little
tighter...
Make just a little more room...to save one more like me.
I tell you this with all the gratitude and love that shines in my eyes.
It is the best way I know how...
Reminding you why you go on trying...
I AM THE REASON
The dogs before me are the reason
As are the ones who come after.
Our lives would've been wasted...Our love never given.
WE WOULD'VE DIED THAT DAY IF NOT FOR YOU!
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~8~
Memorable Quote
"My perspective of veganism was most affected by learning that the veal
calf is a by-product of dairying, and that in essence there is a slice of veal
in every glass of what I had thought was an innocuous white liquid -
milk."
~ Rynn Berry
«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»
Susan Roghair - EnglandGal@aol.com
Animal Rights Online
http://www.oocities.org/RainForest/1395/
-=Animal Rights Online=-
«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»
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