A n i m
a l W r i t e s © sm
The official ANIMAL
RIGHTS ONLINE newsletter
Publisher ~ EnglandGal@aol.com
Issue #
03/02/03
Editor ~ JJswans@aol.com
Journalists ~ ParkStRanger@aol.com
~ MichelleRivera1@aol.com
~ sbest1@elp.rr.com
THE ARTICLES IN THIS ISSUE ARE:
1 ~ HSUS Tips For Military Personnel on Temp Pet Care
2 ~ Cruise With The Vegetarian Society
3 ~ Political Training Course for Animal Activists
4 ~ First Ever Trap-Neuter-Return Online Course
5 ~ Job Opportunity
6 ~ Veg Teen Essay Contest
7 ~ Monkey Brains On The Menu
8 ~ City Zoo
9 ~ Memorable Quote
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~1~
HSUS Tips For Military
Personnel on Temp Pet Care
WASHINGTON
(February 5, 2003) - With the Pentagon ordering deployments for tens of
thousands of U.S. troops in preparation for a possible war with Iraq, military
families are facing difficult times ahead. As they make adjustments to juggle
the demands of everyday life, The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) is
offering military families tips to help care for the four-legged members of the
family.
"For many military people, pets are part of their families," said
Martha C. Armstrong, senior vice president of companion animals for The HSUS,
the nation's largest animal protection organization. "Especially now, it's
important to have the companionship that a pet offers."
Since previous military deployments have often been accompanied by increased
levels of animals being taken to animal shelters, The Humane Society of the
United States has an important message to military families: A call to duty
doesn't have to mean giving up your pet.
"In many cases, military personnel will be able to find a friend or family
member who will agree to care for a pet on a temporary basis," said
Armstrong. "Making arrangements well in advance for temporary care for a
pet will ensure that you can be reunited with your pet when you return safely
home."
The HSUS offers the following tips for keeping companion animals in the family:
* Make arrangements for a family member or friend to care for your pet in your
absence.
* Have a written agreement outlining the pet care arrangement. Issues to
consider include what happens to the pet if the caregiver can no longer keep
the animal, who is liable for damages done by the pet, what happens if you
don't reclaim your pet, and what happens if the pet is injured or becomes ill
in the temporary home.
* Complete a pet personality profile to assist the caregiver in understanding
your pet's particular needs.
* Update vaccinations as needed and provide the caregiver with veterinary
records.
* Outfit your pet with a collar and tag with the temporary caregiver's contact
information. Make sure your pet is wearing a rabies tag or license as required
by law in your community.
* Provide funds to cover food, grooming, and other routine needs.
* Leave contact information on how to reach your veterinarian. Make
arrangements for handling payment of routine and emergency medical care.
* Have your pet spayed or neutered to avoid behavioral problems and adding to
the pet overpopulation problem
Betsy McFarland, program manager for animal sheltering issues at The HSUS,
says, "Because shelters already stretch resources to the absolute limit to
care for current populations of homeless animals, we hope that military
personnel will consider relinquishment to a shelter only as a last
resort."
"Family and friends can step in to provide care, or shelters may be able
to give information on assistance programs designed to aid those called for
duty with veterinary expenses, food, and supplies," McFarland adds.
"Pets are accustomed to human care and cannot survive without it, so we
strongly discourage anyone from abandoning a pet in the hopes that he or she
can make it on their own."
The HSUS provides downloadable samples of pet care agreements, pet personality
profiles, and a checklist for military pet owners on its Web site. For more
information call 202-452-1100 or visit The HSUS on the Internet at www.hsus.org
and click the "Pets" link.
The HSUS has over seven million members and constituents. With active programs
in companion animals, wildlife, animals in research and farm animals and
sustainable agriculture, The HSUS works to protect all animals through
legislation, litigation, investigation, education, advocacy and field work.
Through its Pets for Life campaign, The HSUS seeks to keep people and their
pets together.
For More Information Contact: Belinda Mager: 301-258-3072
E-mail: bmager@hsus.org
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Cruise With The Vegetarian Society
7
DAY 'HIGHLIGHTS OF THE MEDITERRANEAN'
DEPARTING 20 AUGUST 2003
- from the Vegetarian Society UK ( IVU Meember Society)
Cruise with the Vegetarian Society the length of the Mediterranean and visit
many of its principal cities whilst enjoying the company of fellow society
members and attending two morning conferences hosted by the society's Chief
Executive, Tina Fox.
full details: http://www.vegsoc.org/community/cruise.html
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~3~
Political Training Course for
Animal Activists
On March 9 the The National
Institute for Animal Advocacy will be holding a professional training
course for becoming a political organizer and lobbyist for animals on the town,
county and state levels.
It will be held at the Mercy Center, a beautiful beach-front retreat and
conference center in Madison, Connecticut. The curriculum will include:
Theories of Social Change, The Structure of Government; The Structure of
Politics and the Political Mind; The Mechanics and Dynamics of Political
Campaigns; Creating a Grassroots Political Machine for Animals for Your Town,
County or State; Creating an Image; Political Dynamics in the Legislative
Arena: Lawmaking and Lobbying; Exploiting Media: Fundraising Strategies;
Recruitment Strategies; and Legal Issues pertinent to these activities.
The Institute will be rigorous enough to qualify for academic credit by
arrangement. Faculty will be excellent.
***Please contact Julie Lewin at: jlewin@igc.org or 203-453-6590 for details or
to register.
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First Ever Trap-Neuter-Return
Online Course
Neighborhood
Cats is pleased to announce the launch of the very first online course on
Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR). Written and instructed by Neighborhood Cats,
the course (entitled Trap-Neuter-Return: Managing Feral Cat Colonies) is being
hosted by Suite University, an online educational community.
Consisting of eight lessons and over 35,000 words of original content, the
course is both affordable and comprehensive, covering every aspect of
ground-level TNR work from community activism, to setting up feeding stations,
to mass trapping of feral colonies, to insight on the wildlife controversy, and
much, much more.
To view the course introduction, overview and lesson plan, and to register, go
to:
http://www.suite101.com/course.cfm/17484/seminar
Ruth Sharp, President of Neighborhood Cats: "Over the past year,
Neighborhood Cats has received an increasing number of requests from all over
the country to come teach our feral cat training workshop (now hosted
bi-monthly by the ASPCA in Manhattan) and for the workshop's written
materials. This inspired us to develop the on-line course. Now
anyone with Internet access, no matter where they live, can quickly learn the
basics of TNR and put it to work in their community."
The first interactive session, lasting 4 weeks, begins March 17, 2003, at a
cost of $19.95. Access to all the written content can be obtained right
away at a cost of $14.95.
Neighborhood Cats
www.neighborhoodcats.org
headcat@neighborhoodcats.org
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~5~
Job Opportunity
Wildlife
Rehabilitation Technician – San Pedro, CA
Location:
San Pedro (California) Bird
Center
www.ibrrc.org/so_cal_center.html
Job function:
To assist senior rehabilitators in the daily operation of aquatic bird
rehabilitation program. You will be involved in all phases of rehabilitation
including animal care, volunteer training and supervision, facility maintenance
and public interaction/education, and coordination of the bird transport
network.
Requirements:
Applicant must have knowledge of various aspects of wildlife rehabilitation
including hands-on experience handling and restraining avian wildlife and
performing basic rehabilitation skills (exams, tubing, injections, calculating
drug dosages, blood sampling, euthanasia); experience working with aquatic
avian species; a high-energy level; good physical condition; the ability to
work efficiently and calmly under occasionally stressful situations; project a professional
demeanor, work well with other people, and be available to work as necessary
during crisis situations, i.e., oil spills. This may mean putting in long hours
and overtime.
• Must have or be able to obtain a valid California drivers license and have a
vehicle.
• This position requires forty plus hour a week during which weekend days and
some holidays will have to be worked.
Send resume and cover letter to:
Coleen Doucette
IBRRC
Rehabilitation Director
4369 Cordelia Road
Fairfield, CA 94534
Fax: 707-207-0395.
E-mail: jobs@ibrrc.org
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Veg Teen Essay Contest
Tell
us what it means to be a veg teen in the new millennium in 500 words and get a
chance to win $50 and great prizes in this contest for teens only!
Deadline Mar. 15th. There are terrific prizes from the following
sponsors:
$50 in cash from vegetarianteen.com
A SoyToy Soymilk Maker from Robert Cohen, http://www.notmilk.com
A hemp watchband and a hemp belt from Fairganic Goods,
http://www.fairganic.com
A "Lolo" handbag in pink and a Hughes belt from Truth Vegetarian
Belts,
http://www.vegetarianbelts.com
A $20 gift certificate from MooShoes, http://www.mooshoes.com
School supplies from VivaUSA!, http://www.vivausa.org
A $15 gift certificate from White Lotus Home, http://www.whitelotus.net
A basket of delicious vegan cookies from Sunflour Baking Co.,
http://www.sunflourbaking.com
The Vegetarian 5-Ingredient Gourmet from In a Veg Kitchen,
http://www.vegkitchen.com,
and renowned cookbook author Nava Atlas
A t-shirt from Peta2, http://www.peta2.com
A cool non-leather handbag from Via Vegan, http://www.viavegan.com
A yummy gift from Stretch Island Fruit, http://www.stretch-island.com
An environmentally friendly prize from A Happy Planet,
http://www.ahappyplanet.com
For complete rules and where to send your submission, go to the following
website:
http://www.vegetarianteen.com/bscontest.shtml
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~7~
Monkey Brains On The Menu
http://view.atdmt.com/AVE/iview/trbnnaws10400021ave/direct;wi.468;hi.60/01/2003.3.2.2.10.46.0?click=
By Richard C. Paddock, Times Staff Writer
MEDAN,
Indonesia -- The eight fruit bats are trying to sleep, but it's not easy. At
midday, they dangle from a stick alongside one of the busiest streets of this
teeming city.
The bats hang head down, their feet and mouths bound tightly with rubber bands.
Passing cars, buses and motorcycles belch so much smoke that the pollution at
street level exceeds any smog alert standard. The bats' little ears twitch amid
the cacophony of honking horns and revving engines.
But these bats are not destined to suffer long. Captured in the rainforest
about an hour outside the city, they will be sold to passing motorists as a
cure for asthma.
The recommended treatment is to cook the bat's heart and eat it.
Westerners might think that improving Medan's air quality would do more to help
asthma sufferers. But here in Indonesia's fourth-largest city, there are many
who believe that bat hearts are the answer.
"There is always a buyer," said roadside bat vendor Mat Unan, who
estimates that he and his partners have sold as many as 500 bats at about $3
apiece in the last three years.
For best results, it is customary to remove the heart from the animal while it
is alive.
"It's very brutal," said Hardi Baktiantoro, Jakarta coordinator of
the animal protection group ProFauna Indonesia. "Even though legally we
cannot do anything about it, we ask people to stop on ethical grounds. We ask
them, is it ethical to torture the animals just for pleasure or medicine?"
Bats are not the only unusual animals on the menu in Indonesia. In various
parts of the country, cobra blood, bear paws, sea turtle eggs, orangutan meat,
crocodile and tiger penises, geckos, dried seahorses, monitor lizards, goat
testicles, shark cartilage, pythons, sperm whales, rhinoceros horns and monkey
brains are consumed as health remedies, impotency cures or gourmet treats.
The demand for some endangered species — including the Sumatran tiger, the
one-horned Javan rhinoceros, the Malayan sun bear and the green sea turtle —
has contributed to a dangerous decline in their numbers even though they are
protected under Indonesian and international law.
In a nation with 300 ethnic groups scattered across 17,000 tropical islands, it
is not surprising that Indonesians have a wide variety of eating habits. KFC,
McDonald's and Dunkin' Donuts are popular in urban areas. But on remote
islands, local tribal traditions remain strong. In a few places, there are
still instances of headhunting and cannibalism.
Much of the desire for peculiar foods is rooted in ideas of traditional
medicine brought to the islands over the centuries by Chinese immigrants.
Today, ethnic Chinese are among the main consumers of animal remedies.
This is a country where health care is woefully inadequate and established
medical treatment can be prohibitively expensive. Some people suffering from
long-term illness or impotency are desperate enough to try anything.
"These animals are endangered not because they cure ailments but because
people believe they can," said Meutia Swasono, professor of medical anthropology
at the University of Indonesia.
Indonesian medical experts say most legitimate traditional medicines are
derived from plants, not animals. However, the belief in animal cures remains
strong. Although about 85% of the population is Muslim, many Indonesians retain
ancient animistic beliefs.
With little education, many are superstitious, and belief in black magic is
widespread.
One animal product that might have some benefit is shark cartilage, which some
studies — though controversial — suggest can be effective in preventing the
spread of cancer, said Dr. Boyke Dian Nugraha, a noted Indonesian physician.
However, the greatest benefit from traditional animal medicine appears to be
psychological, he said, noting that when people believe a cure is effective,
their faith has a healing power. This is especially true when treating
impotence, he said.
"When one believes in a treatment, it has already healed 50% of the
illness," Nugraha said. "Since they believe, 'I will be strong. I
will be powerful,' then they will be. It is not because of the traditional
medicine, but because of the suggestive factor."
People everywhere have eating habits that can be hard for others to stomach.
The French enjoy frog legs and snails. Australians eat kangaroos. Americans
boil lobsters alive. Dogs are popular in much of Asia. Thais eat crickets,
Japanese eat sea urchin eggs, and Chinese eat everything from raw scorpions to
pickled ants. But in Indonesia, the variety and brutality are noteworthy.
Small restaurants and shops cater to popular demand for monitor lizard meat,
bat hearts, raw monkey brains and cocktails made with cobra bile and blood.
Some restaurants have been in business for decades.
There is no law in Indonesia against brutality toward animals. ProFauna has
mounted education campaigns to improve the treatment of animals and worked with
local police to curb the worst abuses, but the group and its supporters remain
a small minority.
In Bali, sea turtles are butchered alive to keep the meat from sticking to the
shell. In Sumatra, monkeys are burned to death before butchering in the belief
that they will taste better if the blood is not drained from the body.
Perhaps most brutal of all is the treatment of the long-tail macaques. Some
believe that eating the monkeys' brains can cure impotence. The practice has
led to over-hunting, says ProFauna, which has campaigned against the slaughter.
Some establishments serve macaque at a special table with a hole in the center.
The monkey is tied up and the top of its skull cut open with one slice of a
sharp knife. The animal, still alive, is placed under the table so its head
protrudes like a bowl. Arrack, a powerful native alcohol, is sometimes poured
into the skull and mixed with the brain.
In the central Jakarta neighborhood of Kota, a shopkeeper who calls himself
Cobra Man specializes in selling snakes, bats and dried lizard meat. He said he
gets 10 to 20 orders a year for monkey brains.
"I feel pity, but I have to do it," he said. "It's my
work."
Cobra Man said each week he sells about 100 cobras, all caught in the wild.
Little of the snake goes to waste. Typically, he cuts off the head and drains
the blood into a glass of arrack. He adds the bile and serves the drink as a
treatment for respiratory ailments, skin problems, aches or indigestion. It is
also said to improve a man's stamina and sex life.
As a cure for impotence, the cobra's penis can be soaked in arrack for a month
much like a worm in a bottle of mescal. A bag of 50 snake penises sells for
$11.50.
The concoctions are as varied as the imagination. One customer asked Cobra Man
to boil a cobra live. When it was cooked, the man filtered the liquid and drank
it.
The quest for cures is contributing to the near-extinction of some animals,
particularly the rhinoceros, valued for its horn, and the sun bear, prized for
its gall bladder and bile. Some bears are smuggled to China, where their parts
are even more valuable. Though the Sumatran tiger is highly endangered, tiger
penis can be found for sale in Jakarta, the capital, as a cure for impotence.
The price: $40.
The arrival of Viagra might someday help reduce the slaughter of species that
are believed to cure impotence. But for most Indonesians, Viagra is too
expensive to replace traditional medicine. The smallest size of Viagra tablet,
25 milligrams, sells for the equivalent of $8, while a concoction made from
cobra penis is only $3.50. The minimum wage here is about $50 a month.
One who swears by traditional remedies is Hajjah Nurdiani, 60. Five years of
treatment with cobra bile and powdered shark cartilage cured her intestinal
cancer, she claims. Nurdiani ate cobra bile every day for three years after
learning of its benefits from a friend, she said. Worried that the bile would
eventually shrink her bones, she switched to shark cartilage, a treatment she
had read about in a magazine. Every day for two years, she drank an ounce of
the powder mixed with water.
"The snake's bile tasted like nothing," she said. "But the
shark's cartilage was loathsome."
Nurdiani, a devout Muslim who has taken the hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, said the
medicine worked because she had faith.
"I had a health checkup in 2001 and, thank God, the doctor did not find
any cancer left in my body," she said. "I believed God would help me
heal my illness. Shark's cartilage powder was just a tool."
In Medan, a city of 2.2 million people, Unan and a man who gave his name only
as Dibah sell their bats under a large mahogany tree on busy Walikota Street, a
block from the North Sumatra governor's mansion.
A major port city across the heavily traveled Malacca Strait from Malaysia,
Medan has long been an entry point for Chinese immigrants.
The two men, along with a woman who declined to give her name, also sell turtle
eggs for the equivalent of about 17 cents each. It is illegal because the
turtles are endangered, but no one enforces the law.
The bats, with black wings and reddish-brown fur, are caught in the jungle by
stringing a net between two trees. They are kept tied up day and night until they
are sold. Two or three times a day, their keepers unbind their mouths for a few
minutes and give them a few squirts of sugar water. Every once in a while, they
are fed banana.
"You fry the heart and make the meat into a soup," Dibah said.
"I feel nothing because I sell them as medicine to help other
people."
Sari Sudarsono of The Times' Jakarta Bureau contributed to this report.
In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, any copyrighted work in
this message is distributed under fair use without profit or payment to those
who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for
non-profit research and educational purposes only.
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~8~
City Zoo
By Vivian Yeiser Laramore
The tick of time is out of rhyme,
Where wild things wait for death,
Watching the stars through iron bars,
And breathing each other's breath.
But little man with his civic plan,
To conquer and subdue,
Acquires a thrill from broken will,
Of beasts in the city zoo
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~9~
Memorable Quote
"A
reduction in beef and other meat consumption is the most potent single act you
can take to halt the destruction of our environment and preserve our natural
resources. Our choices do matter. What's healthiest for each of us personally
is also healthiest for the life support system of our precious, but wounded
planet."
-- John Robbins, author of Diet for a New
America
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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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