A n i m a l W r i t e s © sm
The official ANIMAL RIGHTS ONLINE newsletter
Publisher ~ EnglandGal@aol.com
Issue # 02/23/03
Editor ~ JJswans@aol.com
Journalists ~ ParkStRanger@aol.com
~
MichelleRivera1@aol.com
~ sbest1@elp.rr.com
THE ARTICLES IN THIS ISSUE ARE:
1 ~ The Active Activist By Michelle Rivera
2 ~ Why Hunting Is Not A Sport By David Cantor
3 ~ No More Homeless Pets Conference
4 ~ Job Opportunity
5 ~ MeatOut 2003
6 ~ Don't Let Animal Cruelty Show Up In Your Town
7 ~ ACT Radio - Animal Concerns of Texas
8 ~ Through Opened Eyes (The Activist)
9 ~ Memorable Quote
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~1~
The Active Activist
(a monthly series for those who want to become involved in their
communities)
By Michelle Rivera - MichelleRivera1@aol.com
So
you are a vegan who attends, (maybe even organizes) all the animal-rights
demonstrations in your area, good for you! You have enlightened your
friends and educated them by showing The Witness, The Dignity of Chickens, Meet
your Meat and other videos with all kinds of graphic descriptions of slaughter
houses and battery farms, puppy mills and steel-jaw leghold traps, excellent!
You are using your computer to find information and send the news to friends
all over the country, and you are a card-carrying member of PeTA, HSUS and the
Farm Animal Reform Movement. You are on your way to being a very
effective activist! But there is one tool that, if you aren't using it,
you may as well go back to your "old ways."
Your right to vote. Now wait! Before you decide that this is one of
those "do the responsible thing" articles, like the articles we see
on wearing our seat belts, replacing our fire-alarm batteries and performing
routine self-breast exams, hold on. While seat belts, fire alarms and
breast exams may save OUR life, exercising your right to vote may save the life
of an animal.
Now we're talking!
When you read your action alerts and follow the instructions to "write
your senator" about pending legislation, you are doing the animals a great
service. However, if you cannot honestly start out your letter
with the words "Dear Senator, I am a registered voter in your
district," (believe me, they check) your letter may be falling on deaf
ears. Unless you have the power to put a person in office, or get 'em
out, you are powerless. Exercising your right to vote won't just get your
legislators attention, it will help us put people in power that can help the
animals. Senator Barbara Boxer, Senator Joseph Biden and Congressman
Peter Deutsch are all people who have sponsored very important legislation on
behalf of the animals. Who gave them that power? We did.
Voters. And if you aren't a registered voter, you are not using your
voice in the manner most effective for the animals.
So do it. Become a registered voter. The NRA's enormous power comes
from the fact that they are a huge voting block.
But when you write that letter to your representative, make sure you have all
your facts straight. Recently, a friend of mine who works for a television
station received an "alert" from a very large, well-known Animal
Rights Organization (no, not Peta). This organization was alleging that
our Senator was working behind the scenes to get Keiko (remember him? Free
Willy fame?) back in a marine park! This producer friend of mine thought
this was a little fishy (no pun intended!) and checked with a colleague of hers
who happens to work for this senator. There was absolutely no truth to the
rumor, and when this national organization was asked where they got their
information, the e-mails and letters suddenly stopped. Another
example: I recently got an e mail that had been forwarded and forwarded
and forwarded (you get the picture) all around the net about a kitten allegedly
dying due to a malfunction in the Litter Maid litter box. This is the
self-cleaning litter box that people like me rely on to keep my dog from
engaging in snacking on cat poo and my cats happy while I am away. When I
received the e-mail I immediately called Litter Maid and found that the story
is quite unsubstantiated. Litter Maid had heard of the complaint, but the
person claiming the dead kitten had not offered any proof, no vet statements,
no return of merchandise, nothing. And, in fact, there is a back story to that
story that makes it all sound very suspect. But that's a different
story!
So, in summary, to be a good activist in your community, first be a registered
voter. I cannot stress this enough. Start with a visit to
www.humaneusa.org Humane USA PAC and follow their links for
voter information and sign up for their e-mail alerts for legislative
action. Check your facts and be sure you have them straight. It's
always a good idea to research issues on your own rather than leave it to the
interpretation and decisions of others who may have agendas that are different
from your own. This way, you can say "I saw it for myself! I looked
into this myself and this is what I found!" Who can argue with
that? And know who your elected officials are. Make an appointment
and go visit them as the local animal activist in their district. Do this
with everyone from the chief of police to the mayor to the local television
producers to the director of animal regulation. Attend counsel meetings
to be sure decisions are not being made that impact the lives of wild animals
or feral cats. Stay involved. Be the noise that your
representatives cannot ignore, the person people call on for local animal
issues and the voice for animals in your own backyard. Keep informed,
keep interested, and keep writing and voting.
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~2~
Why Hunting Is Not a Sport
By David Cantor - Djcgside@aol.com
Claims
by hunters, officials, and outdoors columnists that hunting is a sport have
long caused segments of the public to accept that notion. Yet an activity
is not necessarily a sport just because those who practice it claim it is or
because authorities reinforce the notion.
It is very much worth questioning whether hunting is in fact a sport -- since
hunting is a life-and-death matter with irrevocable results and many people
deplore the deliberate killing of wildlife legally owned by all of us in
common. The relevant facts lead to the conclusion that hunting is not a
sport.
Consider activities universally accepted as sports, and you can see they share
several qualities. Team sports like soccer, football, hockey, rugby, and
basketball and sports of mainly individual effort like pole vaulting, shot put,
marksmanship, skiing and tennis involve only participants who choose to take
part and understand the object, skills, rules of the sport.
That cannot be said of hunting since key participants -- the nonhuman targets
of the human participants -- do not know they are participating and do not
choose to do so. They do not know the object is to kill them or the rules
or regulations that govern hunting. Animals may sense danger, but that is
a far cry from knowing they are participating in a sport. The more
accustomed to human presence an animal is, the less "sporting" some
hunters consider it to shoot that animal, but that does not mean shooting
animals is a sport -- it just means hunters choose to use that terminology.
Even in the most violent of sports, killing participants is never the
object. Even though some people believe boxing should be illegal due to
brain and other injuries often inflicted and deaths sometimes caused,
inflicting injury or causing death is not the object of boxing. Hockey
players, though castigated or ejected for undue violence, seek to get the puck
into the opposing team's goal and prevent it from entering theirs, not usually
to harm or kill opponents.
In those sports as in others, all participants know their sports, know the
risks, and choose to participate. Not so with hunting, in which the aim
is to kill nonhumans forced to participate unbeknownst to them and in which
severe wounding without death or with slow, agonizing death often occurs.
Of course, no veterinary "trainers" rush onto the field to help
wounded Canada geese, deer, mourning doves, or others while an aggrieved
audience hopes for the best. After all, killing is the objective.
The only way around this argument that hunting is not a sport is to claim human
beings are the only participants -- that the animals are not
participants. In support, one would have to claim hunting could take
place without animal "quarry" or that animals are not conscious
beings capable of participating in anything. Both would be patently
ridiculous assertions. The first contradicts the definition of
hunting. The second contradicts scientific knowledge that animals are in
fact conscious beings and that they participate in many things, such as seeking
food and cover, watching for predators to protect self and social group,
building nests, raising young, and more.
If, by calling hunting a sport, hunters simply mean they have fun doing it,
sure, that fits one definition of "sport." But that would
acknowledge hunting should not be respected like sports involving challenge,
competition and sportsmanship including all participants' knowledge and
consent. And killing for fun, smacking of the utmost disrespect for life,
is always discouraged in a civilized society.
That is not to say some hunters, wildlife officers, elected officials, and
members of the press do not honestly believe hunting is a sport. But they
are seriously mistaken. They misunderstand as countless people have
always misunderstood things. But in the case of hunting, their error is a
basis of terrible suffering in animals and of distress in people who care about
animals. Therefore, it must be understood that hunting is not a sport.
David Cantor, executive director of Responsible Policies for Animals, Inc.,
lives and works in Glenside, Pennsylvania. He has advocated for animals
and published articles and letters on animal protection since 1989.
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~3~
No More Homeless Pets
Conference
April 25 - 27 , 2003
Hilton Costa Mesa, Costa Mesa, Calif.
sponsored by Best Friends Animal Sanctuary
How can your community save all the healthy
homeless dogs and cats? Meet the people who are creating a new world for
homeless pets at this landmark gathering of experts from across the country as
we explore strategies to develop no-kill communities. You'll learn about:
* Adoptions: Simple steps to get more animals out of
the shelter and into good new homes.
* Spay/Neuter: Model programs from around the
country that are really working.
* Fundraising: The straight story on how to get the
resources you need.
* Promoting your work: How to get the attention of
the media and really reach your target audience.
* Plus: Saving feral cats, working with animal
control, preventing burnout, recruiting the best volunteers, building
coalitions and much more.
Whether you're a humane professional or a person who cares about animals,
you'll get practical information, inspiration, and advice. For full
details of speakers, topics, workshops, and an optional day of intensive
seminars visit the Best Friends web site at:
<http://www.bestfriends.org/nmhp/conference0403.html>
(OR download a PDF of the conference brochure at:
<http://www.bestfriends.org/nmhp/pdf/NMHPconfbro.pdf>.)
OR contact Best Friends Animal Sanctuary:
phone: 435-644-2001 X129 fax: 435-644-2078
e-mail: nmhp@bestfriends.org
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~4~
Job Opportunity
The
position for shelter director at the Solano County Animal Shelter is now
open. The posting closes on March 10th. We DESPERATELY need a good
director at our shelter, animals lives are in danger if we do not take this
opportunity to get someone good in this position. The County does have
degree and experience requirements. You can see the job posting at www.solanocounty.com.
Even if you don't have ALL the requirements please complete an application.
Please email this to anyone you feel might be interested in this
position. The pay is not bad and many rescue groups in the area are here
for your support.
This shelter kills way too many animals needlessly and we really want to change
it to become a "humane" shelter. In it's current state it is
not.
Thank you so much for your help!
Sincerely,
Annette
4 Paws Pet Rescue dba
Friends of the Solano County Animal Shelter
DOGPAWZ2001@aol.com
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~5~
MeatOut 2003
Meatout
is in 4 weeks... & it's time to order your FREE food samples!
Register an event for Meatout at www.meatout.org and you can request free food
samples from the Meatout sponsoring manufacturers. Decisions are made on a
case-by-case basis, with preference given to early requests, so join thousands
of caring people (on or around March 20) and help your friends and neighbors
"kick the meat habit."
Participating is easy. Events can be any size. Many are large celebrations.
Many are a few people with an information table and/or food samples. Even one
person can make a difference by distributing food or literature in their
community.
We are here to help. We have plenty of information, handouts and advice to help
you. You can also order an Event Pack and we'll send you a Meatout banner,
color posters, handouts, stickers and more. Please contact us if you need any
assistance.
Finally, we want to remind you that we have Meatout t-shirts (for $12 +
shipping), Meatout web banner exchanges, and a Meatout discussion list. All are
available at: www.meatout.org.
Please join us to make this the best Meatout ever. Together we are saving the
world, one bite at a time.
Sincerely,
Dawn Moncrief
Nat'l Coordinator, Meatout 2003
1-800-MEATOUT
info@meatout.org
www.meatout.org
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~6~
Don't Let Animal Cruelty Show
up in Your Town
From info@api4animals.org
When
the circus comes to town, don't roll out the welcome wagon -- put up a
billboard!
The beatings are becoming more heavy-handed. The whips are snapping more wildly
than usual. And the psychological abuse has become almost constant. Circuses
and traveling animal acts are gearing up for another season and soon could be
bringing their acts of abuse to your town. While circus are hooking up the
cramped, barren boxcars that will become a formerly wild animal's
"home" for more than 50 weeks this year, it's important that we also
start preparing a nice "cold" welcome for the Cruelest Show on Earth!
Now
* Find out which circuses and animal acts will be performing in your area.
Check their exhibitor's record and with the U.S. Department of Agriculture
(USDA) to see if they have been cited
for violating the Animal Welfare Act [non-AOL users see website #1 at end
of article]. If the circus has violations -- and most of them do! -- let
everyone know.
* Find out when and where the circus or animal act will be performing in your
area. Contact the group(s) who will
be sponsoring the circus [#2], as well as the venue where it's being held.
Let them know there are plenty of spectacular animal-free circuses and shows
available so they don't need to support animal cruelty or put the public in
danger. And if the circus has violations, provide that information as well.
* Put up a billboard and/or run an advertisement in honor of the circus
animals. Most outdoor companies require a few months' lead time to rent a
billboard -- especially if you want a specific location. Because billboards
usually run for a month, you'll want to have your ad up three weeks prior to
the circus coming to town as well as the week it's performing. You don't
usually need as much lead time when running a newspaper ad, but you might use
the added time to work on ways to raise money to buy the ad space. API is happy
to provide free billboard [#3] and print ad [#4] materials
(more ads here [#5] and here [#6]), including
shipping, but you'll have to reserve and pay for the space. API has English as
well as Spanish-language billboards
[#7] available.
Just Before the Show
* Order some of API's posters [#8] and hang
them everywhere you think potential circus-goers might be. Schools, libraries,
college campuses, bookstores, coffee shops, movie theaters, etc. ... Be
creative! But always ask for permission before posting. It's no use wasting
paper or time if they're just going to be torn down. Remember, we want to win people
over to the animals' side and our actions can help (or hurt) that process.
* Write a Letter to the Editor [#9]
of your local newspaper explaining why circuses are no fun for animals and
don't teach our children respect for our wild friends. If the circus is in a
college town, contact the school paper about writing an "op-ed" piece
and don't forget about the small neighborhood papers as well.
* Find out when and where the animals are being unloaded and be there -- with a
camera or video recorder in hand -- to capture any violations of the Animal
Welfare Act [#10]. Report any suspected problems to the USDA and to your
local humane society or animal control agency.
* Communicate with local activist groups and individuals and plan to hold an
"educational" demo at the performances. Contact API and order flyers [#11] to
distribute. (See also print-ready pdf's of The Big Lie Under the Big Top in English
[#12] and Spanish
[#13].) Write a press release
[#14] and send it out to your local media a few days prior to your demo
inviting them to come and cover the story.
During the Show
* Be at the entrance to the performances. You'll be surprised how many people
still don't know about the big abuse that goes on under the big top. Let them
know about all the wonderful animal-free circuses that truly are fun for the
whole family. It's also a good idea to find out from the police or venue just
where you are able to hold your demonstration. Then call the media that day and
let them know exactly where you are.
* Monitor the news very closely for any animal incidents. Many times the circus
is able to keep an escaped-tiger incident quiet. You might even contact your
police and city shelter after the show. Sometimes they are called in to
intervene when an animal escapes, yet the story never makes it into the paper.
After the Circus Leaves
Approach public officials about joining the many cities across the U.S. that
have banned traveling animal acts
[#15] in their city. Even if there were no animal incidents, let them know that
they were lucky this time. For the safety of animals as well as people, the
city should enact a restriction on traveling
animal acts and circuses [#16].
* Write to the USDA, urging it to better protect animals used in circus by
increasing its enforcement of the Animal Welfare Act.
* Contact all the circus sponsors (whether media [#17] or business [#18]) and ask
them please to support only animal-free acts in the future.
* Find out where the circus is heading next and contact activists in that area.
Let them know what worked well for you, as well as anything you found out that
could be beneficial. Some of the larger circuses are hiring photographers to
film our demonstrations and other activists would appreciate a heads-up if this
is the case with a circus coming to their town.
And always feel free to call API for any help or suggestions along the way.
Contact Sharie Lesniak
<sharie@api4animals.org> at 916-447-3085 x216.
#1 www.api4animals.org/doc.asp?ID=621
#2 www.api4animals.org/doc.asp?ID=628
#3 www.api4animals.org/doc.asp?ID=1016
#4 www.api4animals.org/doc.asp?ID=641
#5 www.api4animals.org/doc.asp?ID=639
#6 www.api4animals.org/doc.asp?ID=637
#7 www.api4animals.org/doc.asp?ID=1028
#8 www.api4animals.org/doc.asp?ID=1037
#9 www.api4animals.org/doc.asp?ID=625
#10 www.api4animals.org/doc.asp?ID=624
#11 www.api4animals.org/doc.asp?ID=1427
#12 www.api4animals.org/images/PDF/BigLie-English.pdf
#13 www.api4animals.org/images/PDF/BigLie-Spanish.pdf
#14 www.api4animals.org/doc.asp?ID=1428
#15 www.api4animals.org/doc.asp?ID=632
#16 www.api4animals.org/doc.asp?ID=622
#17 www.api4animals.org/doc.asp?ID=627
#18 www.api4animals.org/doc.asp?ID=628
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~7~
ACT Radio - Animal Concerns of
Texas
By Greg Lawson - ParkStRanger@aol.com
Be sure to listen to ACT Radio tonight at 9:30pm
EST (7:30pm, mountain time) with Animal Rights Online journalists Greg Lawson
and Steve Best. KTEP can be heard over the web with Real Radio, which is
a free download.
http://www.ktep.org/program_detail.ssd?id=103
El Paso NPR - KTEP 88.5 :
National Public Radio for the Southwest
Tonight, Steve and I have our second conversation
with Bruce Friedrich, Director of Vegan Outreach for PETA, People for the
Ethical Treatment of Animals. We discuss Bruce's campaigns against
McDonalds, Wendys, Burger King and KFC, the outlandish tactics of PETA and
veganism in general.
If you enjoy the show, please contact KTEP and tell them you support ACT Radio
and are pleased to hear this kind of programming.
General
Feedback: http://www.ktep.org/index.ssd
A
note about getting Real Radio if you don't already have it...
On the KTEP website you will see an icon on the left that says Listen to KTEP
Online, click it. The next page will say "In order to listen to KTEP
on-line you will need the Real Player, which is available for free on the Real
website. Click here to visit their download area." Go there.
That page will try to sell you the deluxe RealOne Player, but look in the top
right hand corner, there is a link that says "Free RealOne
Player." Go there.
Now on this page, on the bottom right, you will see a link that says
"Download the Free RealOne Player Only." This is what you want.
The download takes a little time, so be sure to do this early so you won't miss
today's installment of ACT Radio.
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~8~
Through
Opened Eyes (The Activist)
By WantNoMeat@aol.com
Through opened eyes we clearly see
and answer the animal's plea
We must see what others ignore
so we alone unlock secrecy's door
We look inside the anguished eyes
and we have the burden to wise
When others cover their ears
we are the ones to fight the tears
All of our strength it takes
to endure when our heart aches
When the images etch our mind
it's justice we struggle to find
The screams mark our soul
to end the agony our common goal
Silencing the wails cannot wait
in our hands we hold their fate
If only others would lend their voice
and for the helpless make the choice
With each action we destroy or defend
on each decision so many lives depend
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~9~
Memorable Quote
"If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is
where they should be. Now put the foundations under them."
~ Henry David Thoreau
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Susan Roghair - EnglandGal@aol.com
Animal Rights Online
P O Box 7053
Tampa, Fl 33673-7053
http://www.oocities.org/RainForest/1395/
-=Animal Rights Online=-
«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»
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