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 # 04/25/04
Publisher ~ Susan
Roghair - EnglandGal@aol.com
Journalists ~ Greg Lawson -
ParkStRanger@aol.com
~ Michelle Rivera -
MichelleRivera1@aol.com
~ Dr. Steve Best -
sbest1@elp.rr.com
THE ARTICLES IN THIS ISSUE ARE:
1 ~ The Concept of Ahimsa or Non Violence
2 ~ Empty Cages Festival
3 ~ 45 Days
4 ~ The Dog & The Child
5 ~ ACT Radio
6 ~ Stop Canada's Seal Hunt
7 ~ AARDAS
8 ~ The Animals
9 ~ Memorable Quote
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~1~
The Concept of Ahimsa or Non Violence
The concept of Ahimsa as propagated in Indian culture for
thousands of years and more recently by Mahatma Gandhi is Ahimsa of the brave,
not of the meek. The stronger or more powerful an individual or a nation, the
greater is the obligation to show compassion to other living beings. However it
is not enough just to be compassionate, one has to be proactive in his or her
compassion and this means that one has to act to stop Himsa or violence towards
any living being which is at our mercy. In Jainism this proactive Ahimsa is
called,' Abhay Daan' which means giving someone protection -- protection from
the fear of death. This therefore is the Ahimsa of the brave but it is not
complete either. Even when you are bitten by a mosquito you do not harm it as
it is in its nature to bite. Lord Mahaveera the 24th. Teacher in Jain religion
was bitten by a cobra and he asked the cobra to subdue its anger and to
remember its last birth in which he was a human being. This then brings us to
the most fundamental beliefs in Hinduism and all other Indian religions -- that
of reincarnation and karma. The cycles of birth and death have been going on
forever and we have all been born in different bodies. Every living being has a
soul and feels pain and does not want to be hurt. This human form of birth,
that we have got, is precious for there are, according to scriptures 8,400
species of life and if this human form life is wasted in inflicting pain to
others then next time round we will be at the receiving end. Those who are
hunting today will be hunted tomorrow in another form of life.
Here then lies the greatest paradox of Ahimsa or non violence -- it is for our
own happiness and security -- we will not be doing anybody any special favours
by practising Ahimsa, it will be for our own well being. For every action that
we take there will be a reaction to it -- this is the law of karma. For every
pain inflicted on others one will have to pay for it sooner or later. We have
also brought karmas of our past birth to this birth and that is why some of us
are inconsolable when we see wanton violence and for others it is
inconsequential. When Ahimsa is practised earnestly by an individual he or she
acquires a certain hallow or divine persona which is difficult to describe but
is there all the same. Just as Ahimsa is important for an individual it is also
important for civilisations. It is said that of the world's recorded
civilisations virtually all have died not from enemy action but from spiritual
decay. Throughout history civilisations have come into being and thrived for a
certain time and then disappeared without trace. The Aryan or Indian
civilisation is the oldest of all living civilisations and it has remained
immortal. Could it be because it practised Ahimsa towards the weak? And if that
is the case then what chance has our present civilisation which has unleashed
the most horrific violence on the animal kingdom? Call it nature or call it
god, those who protect others are protected by a higher power.
The biggest reason, if not the only reason for our violence towards animals, is
our need and our desire to eat. An average person will eat around 30 tons of
food in a lifetime. The saints and sages of India have always emphasised the
importance of establishing control over what we should eat. The hagvad Gita
describes three kinds of food. Food in the mode of ignorance, food in the mode
of passion and food in the mood of goodness. Eating is a necessity, indeed it
can be a great pleasure too but not at the expense of other living beings.
Jains even refrain from eating root vegetables to avoid harm to insects and bacteria.
Both Lord Buddha and Lord Mahaveera fasted for long periods but it is not
possible for us mere mortals and that is why the criteria set for us are to
live with minimum violence. Even the eating of fruits and vegetables involves
violence but this is minimum violence. A fairly recent addition to what is
considered violent is milk and hence more and more vegetarians are becoming
vegan.
Looking at the way the world is moving forward today and the amount violence
that mankind has unleashed on animals -- human kind is heading towards
self-destruction. The only hope is, and we all live on hope, that those of us
fighting the cause of animals continue doing so. Against all odds we are
fighting for a goal and that goal is to grant animals fundamental rights.
Nitin Mehta
Copyright 15th. Oct. 2002
[Nitin Mehta is the organiser of the Young Indian Vegetarians in the UK and can
be contacted on animalahimsa@yahoo.co.uk]
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~2~
Empty Cages:
The Nineteenth Annual International
Compassionate Living Festival
HE PREMIER ANIMAL RIGHTS CONFERENCE IN AMERICA
Friday, October 1 Sunday, October 3, 2004
Sheraton Imperial Hotel and Convention Center
4700 Emperor Blvd
Research Triangle Park, NC 27709
Produced by the Culture and Animals Foundation and the Institute for Animals
and Society
Conference Program
Friday, October 1
5 p.m. - 9 p.m. Registration,
exhibits, and bookstore open
6 p.m. - 7 p.m. Welcome vegan buffet
7 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. Opening Remarks
7:30 p.m. - 9 p.m. Sue Coe, artist
and author, Dead Meat
Saturday, October 2
8 a.m. - 9 a.m. Vegan breakfast
buffet
8 a.m. - 9 p.m. Registration,
exhibits, and bookstore open
9 a.m. - 9:45 a.m. Animals in
Agriculture: A Critical Overview by David Wolfson, Esq., author, Beyond the Law
9:45 a.m. - 11 a.m. Animals in
Agriculture Advocacy Panel led by Gene Bauston, Farm Sanctuary, with Jim Mason,
author, An Unnatural Order; Lauren Ornelas, Viva!USA; and Kim Sturla, Animal
Place
11 a.m. - 11:15 a.m. Break
11:15 a.m. - 12 noon Animals in
Education and Science: A Critical Overview by Ray Greek, MD, Americans for
Medical Advancement and author, Sacred Cows and Golden Geese
12 noon - 2 p.m. Vegan lunch
followed by Animal Rights and Political Action by Dr. Robert Garner, University
of Leicester and author, Animals, Politics and Morality, and Animal Rights and
Social Movements by James M. Jasper, author, The Art of Moral Protest
2 p.m. - 3:15 p.m. Animals in
Education and Science Advocacy Panel led by
Sara Amundson, Doris Day Animal League, with Tina Nelson, American
Anti-Vivisection Society; Troy Seidle, People for the Ethical Treatment of
Animals; and Michelle Thew, Animal Protection Institute
3:15 p.m. - 4 p.m. Companion
Animals: A Critical Overview by Michael W. Fox, DVM, author, The Boundless
Circle
4 p.m. - 4:15 p.m. Break
4:15 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. Companion
Animals Advocacy Panel led by Jane Hoffman, Esq., Mayors Alliance for New York
Citys Animals, with Denise Kelly, Avian Welfare Coalition; Becky Robinson,
Alley Cat Allies; and Robin Starr, Esq., Richmond SPCA
7 p.m. - 9 p.m. Vegan dinner
followed by Patrick McDonnell, artist and author, Mutts
Sunday, October 3
8 a.m. - 9 a.m. Vegan breakfast
buffet
8 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. Registration,
exhibits, and bookstore open
9 a.m. - 9:45 a.m. Wildlife: A
Critical Overview by Professor Marc Bekoff, University of Colorado, Boulder and
author, Minding Animals
9:45 a.m. - 11 a.m. Wildlife
Advocacy Panel led by Mike Markarian, The Fund for Animals, with Kim Haddad,
DVM, Captive Wild Animal Protection Coalition; Katherine A. Meyer, Esq., Meyer
& Glitzenstein; and Wayne Pacelle, The Humane Society of the United States
11 a.m. - 11:15 a.m. Break
11:15 a.m. - 12 noon Empty Cages by
Tom Regan, Culture and Animals Foundation
12 noon - 12:30 p.m. Closing Remarks
3 p.m. - 4 p.m. Blessing of the
Animals, Duke University Chapel, Durham, NC
For more information please contact:
Kim Stallwood <kim.stallwood@animalsandsociety.org> or
Tom Regan <Tom_Regan@ncsu.edu>
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~3~
45 Days
COK - Compassion Over Killing - investigators gathered hundreds of
photos and dozens of hours of footage from U.S. broiler chicken
("meat" chickens) factory farms and slaughter plants. In this
landmark investigation, the lives and deaths of these birds were documented
week after week, until their deaths at an industry average of only 45 days.
COK produced a gripping 12-minute documentary film - 45 Days: The Life and Death of a Broiler Chicken - as well as
launched a new website at ChickenIndustry.com, where you'll find a
comprehensive, fully cited report on the broiler industry, photos, video clips,
chicken-free recipes, and much more.
Go to www.ChickenIndustry.com to learn
more about this investigation, the documentary, and what you can do to help.
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~4~
The Dog & The Child
Author Unknown
The
Dog: When I'm a puppy, I'll cry at night, and you'll have to get up
every couple of hours during the night. When I'm sick, I sneeze, get runny
noses, run a fever, cough, and sometimes throw up. When I'm hungry my stomach
makes noises. When I'm tired I take a nap. When I'm thirsty I look for
something to drink. When I'm happy, I smile and when I'm sad, you can see it in
my eyes. When I don't get my way, I throw a tantrum. When I get hurt, I cry.
When I get hit, I cower. When I get scared, I hide behind your leg and look to
you for assurance. When you leave me, I miss you. When you come home from work,
I get excited. When you ask me about my day, I get silly. When you play catch
with me, take me to the park, take me for a walk and teach me stuff about the
world, I look to you with admiration. When you're mad at me, I feel sorrow.
When you're proud of me, I feel accomplishment.
The Child: When I'm a baby, I'll cry
at night, and you'll have to get up every couple of hours during the night.
When I'm sick, I sneeze, get runny noses, run a fever, cough, and sometimes
throw up. When I'm hungry, my stomach makes noises. When I'm tired, I take a
nap. When I'm thirsty, I look for something to drink. When I'm happy, I smile
and when I'm sad, you can see it in my eyes. When I don't get my way, I throw a
tantrum. When I get hurt, I cry. When I get hit, I cower. When I get scared, I
hide behind your leg and look to you for assurance. When you leave me, I miss
you. When you come home from work, I get excited. When you ask me about my day,
I get silly. When you play catch with me, take me to the park, take me for a
walk and teach me stuff about the world, I look to you with admiration. When
you're mad at me, I feel sorrow. When you're proud of me, I feel
accomplishment.
We have the same feelings, this dog and this child. We will spark in you
emotions, of Joy and of Pride. We have the same feelings, this dog and this
child. We both feel pain, we both bleed and we both cry.
We have the same feelings, this dog and this child. We both feel the fear, of
you not loving us and of dying.
We ask you to consider, why is one of us more disposable than the other.
Sincerely, This Dog and This Child
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~5~
ACT Radio
Be sure to listen to ACT, Animal Concerns of Texas with cohosts
Greg Lawson and Steve Best and Liz Walsh, tonight, April 25, at 7:30pm Mountain
time. We will be talking with George Wuerthner, author of the book Welfare
Ranching, the Subsidized Destruction of the American West.
ACT can be heard on the web with Real Radio. Click here to listen
to Act. http://www.ktep.org/
El Paso NPR - KTEP 88.5 : National Public Radio for
the Southwest
Click here for an archive of our past shows...
http://utminers.utep.edu/best/ACT/AnimalConcernsofTexas.htm
Animal
Concerns of Texas
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~6~
Stop Canada's Seal Hunt
The International Fund for Animal Welfare has just
launched a worldwide online campaign to Stop Canada's Seal Hunt...join the
fight.
Nearly ONE MILLION seals will be killed over the next three years unless we
work together to put an end to the cruelty. The Canadian commercial seal hunt
is the largest hunt for marine mammals in the world and the time has come for
it to end.
Please visit this site, send a letter of protest to the Prime Minister of Canada
and help spread the word about the campaign to save the seals.
IFAW
Seal Campaign Central -
http://www.kintera.org/faf/home/ccp.asp?ievent=20480&ccp=31326
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~7~
AARDAS
AARDAS stands for the Animal Abuse Registry Database
Administration System, and it is the method by which Pet-Abuse.Com manages case
information.
This web-based software system is designed to enable designated Animal Welfare
and Humane Law Enforcement organizations across the country (and sometimes
beyond!) to participate in sharing and updating information about abuse crimes
in an effort to compile the most detailed and accurate representation of animal
abuse crimes in existence. With approx. 20,000 cases, we are already the
Internet's largest database of criminal animal cruelty, and we are the only one
that allows users to search by specific criteria.
Goals:
The ultimate goal of AARDAS is to allow real-time access to statistics and
information about abuse crimes and their abusers, from which we can:
* Establish a global network of dedicated administrators who will be
responsible for cases within their own region
* Enable Shelters to better screen their applicants
* Allow the public access to public record abuse crime information that is
presented in an un-biased and organized manner
* Assist law enforcement and humane law enforcement with finding out additional
information during their own investigations and prosecutions
* Allow interested citizens the opportunity to monitor cases and attend court
hearings when possible
* Compare statistical analyses on abuser profiles, to learn what age groups,
cities, etc require more humane education attention and funding
Joanna Toms
Cruelty Caseworker
www.pet-abuse.com
jtoms@pet-abuse.com
717-404-7199
Toll Free Crime Line: 866-240-1179
Let Us Know About It ! - http://www.pet-abuse.com/database/caseinfo.php
Search Database - http://www.pet-abuse.com/database/abusers.php
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~8~
The Animals
by Edwin Muir (1887-1959)
They do not live in the world,
Are not in time and space.
From birth to death hurled,
No word do they have, not one
To plant a foot upon,
Were never in any place.
For by words the world was called
Out of the empty air,
With words was shaped and walled--
Line and circle and square,
Mind and emerald,--
Snatched from deceiving death
By the articulate breath.
But these never trod
Twice the familiar track,
Never never turned back
Into the memoried day;
All is new and near
In the unchanging Here
Of the fifth great day of God,
That shall remain the same,
Never shall pass away.
On the sixth day we came.
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~9~
Memorable Quote
"The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but
because of those who look on and do nothing."
- Albert Einstein
«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»
Susan Roghair - EnglandGal@aol.com
Animal Rights Online
http://www.oocities.org/RainForest/1395/
-=Animal
Rights Online=-
«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»
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