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 # 12/12/04
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 ~ The Costs On Human Health Of Factory Farming
2 ~ The Best Humane Education Conference Ever
3 ~ Spam Alert
4 ~ NIFAA Political Training for Animal Rescue &
Rights Advocates
5 ~ Please Join Us for the Third Annual National Bird Day, January
5, 2005
6 ~ ACT Radio - Animal Concerns of Texas
7 ~ Your Petstore Pup
8 ~ Memorable Quote
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~1~
The Costs On Human Health of
Factory Farming
Fri
Nov 26 2004
THE former U.S. Department of Agriculture veterinarian for one of the largest
beef slaughterhouses in America says hamburger contains a lot more than just
ground beef.
"Hormones, antibiotics, hair, feces, cancers, tumours," says Dr.
Lester Friedlander. "My plant in Pennsylvania processed 1,800 cows a day,
220 per hour. It also processed the highest number of downed cows, 25 to 30 a
day... There is no question. Some cancers end up in the human food
source."
Dr. Friedlander, who trained vets for the USDA and was a decorated employee
during his 10 years with the agency, has given interviews to all major American
TV networks. His repeated warnings about the threats to human health from
factory farming have never been denied by his former employer. "They just
keep saying 'no comment,'" he jokes.
He brought his crusade for public health and the humane treatment of animals --
the best way, he says, of ensuring a safer food supply for humans -- to
Winnipeg earlier this week. Accompanying him was B.C. physician Dr. Ray
Kellosalmi, a founder of The Responsible Animal Care Society (TRACS).
Corporate agribusiness and the almighty dollar are the culprits, Dr.
Friedlander continues. The speed of a slaughterhouse assembly line is all that
counts. Any delay costs about $5,000 a minute and the pressure on veterinarians
to look the other way is intense -- and tacitly demanded by their employer, the
federal government.
The current U.S. administration has altered regulations to allow slaughtering
plants to erect walls to prevent USDA veterinarians from watching the killing
line, Dr. Friedlander says. Dr. Kellosalmi ratchets up the danger to human
health a huge notch. Factory farming -- keeping thousands of animals in close
confinement, necessitating high levels of antibiotics -- will be the breeding
ground for the next global human pandemic, he warns. Already, the feeding of
cattle offal to cattle has spiked an enormous increase in brain-wasting BSE in
beef herds and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans.
Even more worrying is that Nobel Prize winner Dr. Stanley Prussiner, who
discovered prions, the aberrant protein that triggers BSE and CJD, now believes
prions may also cause Alzheimer's disease. Dr. Kellosalmi says the number of
Alzheimer's deaths in the U.S. has spiked from 800 in 1979-80 to 50,000 in
2002.
Dr. Friedlander says the latest agribusiness profit maximizer is to feed
chicken feces and dried urine to cattle. "At first, the cattle wouldn't
eat it. So they added molasses. Cattle have a sweet tooth like us, so they
licked it up -- and ended up eating the feces stuck to it."
The public must insist that the food safety regulatory function be separated
from the governmental agency promoting corporate agribusiness, he continues.
"We need a genuine, separate department of consumer protection."
The cost of today's factory farming in animal suffering is incalculable. If the
cattle-stunner misses his target, that animal can still be alive when the
butchering starts. Pigs can face another agony: They can still be conscious
when they are immersed in scalding water.
Horses are harder to kill because they are intelligent athletic animals who
"won't take pain sitting down," Dr. Friedlander continues. Horses on
the way to slaughter are forced to keep their heads down the whole time they
are in transit because they are transported in the same aluminum
double-deckers. The new U.S. Homeland Security Act, fearing terrorist attacks
on the food supply, has repealed former humane transport regulations requiring
livestock to be periodically unloaded and fed and watered. Animals now must
endure days without food and water at temperatures ranging from 40 below to 40
above. For horses, those days add another agony: the inability even to raise
their heads.
Ferdinand, the Kentucky Derby winner in 1986, "ended up on someone's
dinner plate in Japan," Dr. Friedlander says. "We will do this to an
animal who brought our fathers across this continent, an animal who is an
integral part of our history."
FrancesRussell@mts.net
Winnipeg Free Press
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~2~
The Best Humane Education
Conference Ever!
By Michelle Rivera - MichelleRivera1@aol.com
The Association of Professional Humane Educators
(APHE) presents the "Tools of the Trade" National Conference
Palm Beach Gardens, Florida
January 20-22
This year our Keynote Speaker is Zoe Weil! Zoe Weil is co-founder and president
of the International Institute for Humane Education (IIHE). Zoe has been
a humane educator since 1985 and has taught tens of thousands of children and
adults about humane and compassionate living. She became a pioneer in a
movement that has transformed humane education from a field that focused
primarily on animals and the environment, to a broad-based, comprehensive
educational approach that includes human rights, environmental ethics, animal
protection, and cultural issues. Zoe is the author of Above All, Be Kind:
Raising a Humane Child in Challenging Times (2003), and the upcoming book, The
Power and Promise of Humane Education (due out in the fall of 2004). She is
also the author of two humane education books for young people, So, You Love
Animals: An Action-Packed, Fun-Filled Book to Help Kids Help Animals (1990) and
Animals in Society: Facts and Perspectives on our Treatment of Animals (1994).
Prior to co-founding IIHE, Zoe created and directed Animalearn, which become
one of the most successful and extensive humane education programs in the
world. She has many tools to offer humane educators and we are honored to have
her join us for this conference. We would like to thank the Pegasus
Foundation for their generous support in bringing Zoe Weil to this conference!
Other speakers include: Lt. Sherry Schlueter is with the Broward County Sheriff's
Office and has been a guest on Oprah and Montel and has been a consultant to
many law enforcement agencies here and abroad. With over thirty-three years
experience in crimes against animals, Lt. Schlueter will give humane educators
the tools to respond to students who share stories of animal cruelty and abuse
in their homes, neighborhoods and communities.
ASPCA's Humane Educator Jennifer Dragotta shares her experiences from St.
Eustatius as well as New York City, where she encounters a multicultural
population every day. She will bring us the tools to tailor our lessons
to the population we are teaching.
Cheryl Falkenburry is the director of Caring for Creatures and is an animal
behaviorist and puppeteer. She will show us how to use puppets as tools to
bring harmony to the household by teaching kids how to behave around their own
pets. She has a kit available for sale, including Rags the marionette.
Jane Deming, director of the Providence Humane Society shows us how storyboards
make great presentation tools to teach kids to be safe around animals.
Come hear this veteran humane educator and acting director of the Providence
Animal Rescue League teaches kids to care about safety.
Michelle Rivera is the author of Hospice Hounds, Animals and Healing at the
Borders of Death, and Canines in the Classroom, Raising Humane Children through
Interactions with Animals, and her third book, The Simple Little Vegan Crockery
Cookbook due out in the winter of 2005. She is a journalist with Animal
Writes, The Official Animal Rights Online Newsletter, and the co-founder and
president of Animals 101, Inc, an organization dedicated to humane education.
She is also a Delta Society licensed evaluator and will share with us
information on certifying your companion animal as a therapy animal.
Activity animals make great tools in helping us establish empathy for animals
and you will be treated to a live demonstration of a Delta Society evaluation.
Humane Educator Janice Mininberg, Women's Humane Society, has developed a
program that is sure to strike a chord with young students who are fans of
Harry Potter (and who isn't?) She has combined the animals of Harry
Potter's mythical world with real-life ideals and brings us the tools to reach
a broad audience through imagination. Don't be surprised by a visit from
Professor McGonagall.
Lisa Cushing, NAHEE (National Association of Humane And Environmental
Education) presents: Simon Says, 'Let's Be Kind to Animals!'"
Nahee publishes KIND News as well as dozens of other humane education
materials. Lisa Cushing, NAHEE's outreach coordinator, brings this new
presentation from the well-known "Teach Kids to Care" workshop
series. No longer the "terrible twos," preschoolers (ages 3 to 5) are
ready to listen, share, identify with others, and lend a hand. What a great
time to teach compassion, respect, and responsibility for animals! Come and
learn about effective preschool presentations-practicing songs, rhythms,
fingerplays, feltboard activities, and tactile exercises that open young
children's eyes, ears, and hearts to the needs of our animal friends.
Corey Price, from the famous Dumb Friends League in Denver, Colorado, is a
humane educator with the tools to keep teachers involved! She will show
us how to design and implement a humane education teacher workshop and partner
with local colleges and school districts to offer continuing education credits
for teachers.
John Goodwin is the grassroots coordinator for the Humane Society of the United
States and he believes that exercising your right to vote and voting for
someone who is there for the animals is the most important thing activists can
do to help animals. He will give us the tools we need to teach our
students how to understand basic civics and use that information for the good
of the animals.
Cynthia Frisch is an officer with the unique and awesome Pegasus Foundation, an
organization dedicated to helping those agencies who are meeting especially
daunting challenges. Their foundation helps agencies by giving them the
tools they need to help an enormous number of animals. She will share with us
the special problems faced by Florida such as panthers, manatees and the
Everglades. Fascinating
And we will close with an esteemed panel of character education experts
moderated by Ann Gearhart, Humane Educator of the Year.
Who Should Attend? You!
APHE provides professional development opportunities and networking for
educators who promote humane attitudes toward people, animals and the
environment. APHE upholds the highest standards of practice in humane
education.
Visit us at APHE.org
Or write us at
APHE, C/O The Latham Foundation
1826 Clement Ave., Alameda, CA 94501
CONFERENCE SPONSORS:
Animals 101, Inc.
Best Friends Animal Society
PETsMART Charities
The ASPCA National Shelter Outreach
The Humane Society of the US
The Pegasus Foundation
Conference Location
Doubletree Hotel
4431 PGA Blvd.
Palm Beach Gardens, FL
561-622-2260
Special Conference room rate $78.00
Be sure to mention APHE when making your reservations to get the special rate,
and call before December 20th as rooms are limited.
Fly into Palm Beach International Airport
For information or to receive a conference brochure and/or schedule, please
e-mail me at MichelleRivera1@aol.com or visit www.aphe.org.
See you in Sunny South Florida!
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~3~
Spam Alert
Do you Yahoo? Do you wonder why you keep
getting so many email advertisements?
Yahoo is now using something called "Web Beacons" to track Yahoo
Group users around the net and see what you're doing and where you are going -
similar to cookies.
Take a look at their updated privacy statement:
http://privacy.yahoo.com/privacy
About half-way down the page, in the section on cookies you will see a link
that says web beacons. Click on the phrase web beacons. That will
bring you to a paragraph entitled "Outside the Yahoo Network."
In this section you'll see a little "click here to opt out" link that
will let you "opt-out" of their new method of snooping.
Once you have clicked that link, you are opted out.
Notice the "Success" message on the top of the next page. Be
careful because on that page there is a "Cancel Opt-out" button that,
if clicked, will *undo** the opt-out.
Feel free to forward this to others. Yahoo is recording every website and
every group you visit.
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~4~
NIFAA Political Training for
Animal Rescue & Rights Advocates
who want
strong laws & ordinances for animals
Preliminary
announcement--please forward broadly across US to organizations and individuals
who may want to attend March 19 or arrange for a NIFAA training in
March as part of a NIFAA tour
March 19, 2005 Las Vegas
Sponsored by
Las Vegas Valley Humane Society and the University of Nevada, at Las Vegas,
Department of Public Administration
Finally a NIFAA political training for animal advocates on the West
Coast. Julie E. Lewin's acclaimed "life altering" course for
animal rescue and rights advocates who want strong laws and local ordinances
for animals. Hotel accommodations will be available. We'll send a
detailed announcement soon. Advance registration is required.
To receive future announcements for March 19 contact humane society board
member Susan Krisko nicksusan15@hotmail.com or
Julie Lewin jlewin@igc.org.
To arrange a NIFAA training as part of a tour contact Julie Lewin jlewin@igc.org.
NIFAA is the National Institute for Animal Advocacy. Check out their
website:
Animal Advocacy Connecticut:
NIFAA
http://www.aact-online.org/nifaa.html
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~5~
Please Join Us for the Third
Annual
National Bird Day, January 5, 2005
The
Animal Protection Institute (API) in coordination with the Avian Welfare
Coalition (AWC) is calling on activists around the U.S. to take action on
behalf of captive birds by drawing attention to the exploitation of other
country’s native birds by the U.S. pet industry on January 5 — National Bird
Day.
"National Bird Day" is not only a good day to take time to appreciate
the native wild birds flying free outside our windows, it is also a perfect
time to reflect on how we treat the native birds of other countries. While we
have enacted laws to protect our native birds — such as blue jays, cardinals,
and crows — from commercial exploitation, we fail to recognize the
inconsistency in allowing the pet industry to exploit the birds of other
countries.
Even when bred in captivity, exotic birds are not considered domesticated
animals, and all their inherent behavioral and physical needs remain intact.
Sadly, when it comes to birds, deprivation of their natural behaviors (to fly
and flock, for example) is an inescapable component of their captivity.
Each year thousands of birds are sold into the pet trade to individuals who are
under the mistaken impression that a bird will make a perfect pet. Eventually,
whether due to frustration, disinterest, or concern, many people attempt to rid
themselves of the responsibility of caring for their birds. Unfortunately, few
of these birds will find a loving home, and most will spend their days isolated
and confined to their cages. Others will bounce from home to home as their
caretakers tire of them, and some may be abandoned at local shelters and birds
rescues, set free to fend for themselves, or are euthanized.
Meanwhile, pet stores across the country, including Petco and PetsMart,
continue to treat birds like merchandise peddling them into the pet trade. The
in-store care of animals in pet shops is always suspect, because store managers
are often faced with conflicting responsibilities of caring for animals, even
when the animals are sick, and making a store profitable. Since the cost of
veterinary care can easily exceed the commercial value of an animal, common
sense leads to the conclusion that profits and animal care inherently conflict,
especially in a retail environment.
You Can Help
Join API, the Avian Welfare Coalition, and other animal advocates across the
country in celebrating the third annual National Bird Day — a day of action for
captive birds — by helping to educate the public about issues affecting captive
birds.
There are many ways you can participate. Visit www.NationalBirdDay.org
for sample letters, resources, materials and more information.
Take Action!
Send a letter to the editor or Op-ed drawing attention to the plight of captive
exotic birds in this country. Sample letter available at www.NationalBirdDay.org.
Set up an educational display. Community centers and local or school libraries
often have exhibit cases that can be used for educational displays. Just ask
the manager or librarian how to make a reservation and be willing to agree to
some guidelines.
Host a video showing. A video showing can consist of close friends or family
members viewing a video at home or reserving a classroom with a standard
television or big screen for the public. Videos are available from AWC members.
Visit www.NationalBirdDay.org for
ordering information.
Give a presentation at a school, children’s museums, boy’s and girl’s club, or
library. Ask the kids to draw or write on the theme "Born to be
Wild," comparing and contrasting our native birds to the native birds of
other countries, comparing and contrasting how birds live in the wild and how
they live in captivity, or how the wild bird trade impacts birds. More ideas
available at: http://craftsforkids.about.com/library/spdays/bljan5th.htm.
Hold a peaceful protest and leaflet in front of a Petco or PetsMart to educate
their customers on why they should not support Petco or PetsMart so long as
they continue to sell birds. Or drive to your local Petco and PetsMart stores
and place flyers on the windshields of cars parked in the parking lot.
A reproducible Petco/PETsMART flyer is available from API at www.api4animals.org/images/BirdDayFlyer.pdf.
A variety of AWC flyers is available at www.avianwelfare.org/action/flyers/index.htm.
Write letters to Petco and PetsMart and let them know why you won’t patronize
their stores. Sample letter available at www.NationalBirdDay.org.
Let us know your plans!
We would like to compile a list of activities complete with contact information
so that interested people team up to participate in planned leafleting and
tabling events in their area. So once you have decided what you want to do,
email Monica Engebretson at monica@api4animals.org so we can add
your action to our list of participants and activities. If you get a letter to
the editor published in a newspaper, please let us know and send a copy if
possible to:
API
P.O. Box 22505
Sacramento, CA 95822
For more information on exotic bird issues visit www.AvianWelfare.com
and www.MoreBeautifulWild.com
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~6~
ACT Radio - Animal Concerns of
Texas
Be
sure to listen to ACT Radio tonight, Sunday, Dec. 12, at 9:30pm EST (7:30pm,
mountain time). Tonight, the guest will be Susan Davis, co-author of
Stories Rabbits Tell, and an educator with the House Rabbit Society. We
will be discussing the images we have of rabbits in our society.
ACT can be heard over the web with Real Radio, which is a free download and with
other streaming audio software.
Click on Listen to KTEP Online at
El Paso NPR - KTEP 88.5 :
National Public Radio for the Southwest
http://www.ktep.org/program_detail.ssd?id=103
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~7~
Your Petstore Pup
Author Unknown
Cherish your new petstore pup -
Stand always by his side.
Mend his ills and give him hugs
And lots of fun car rides.
Feed him well and let him run
To build his body strong.
Play with him and give him treats.
Love him his whole life long.
You’ll soon become his hero.
He will not ask you for much.
He’ll trade his lifelong loyalty
For your kind word and touch.
Count him among your blessings,
As you are his blessing, too,
But then please do just one thing more
When every day is through.
Take time to look into his eyes
Each night you tuck him in.
I bet you’ll see reflected there
Two other pups like him.
They’ve never had a family,
Soft bed, good food, nor fun.
They live life out in a wire box -
And never get to run.
They suffer searing heat at times,
At others freezing cold,
As weeks and months and years drag by
While they are growing old.
So think about his mom and dad
Who shine there through his eyes,
And remember all the mill dogs
Who are paying with their lives.
If they had ever had a chance,
They’d have grown up like him, too,
With years of love to give and get
Before their lives were through.
You’ll never see them face to face -
Such miracles are rare -
But pray for your pup’s mom and dad,
‘Cause someone ought to care..
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~8~
Memorable Quote
To Mrs. Claus: "Why do my
Christmas puppies and kittens
keep being turned into the pound, or worse, after Christmas?"
~ Santa
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Susan Roghair - EnglandGal@aol.com
Animal Rights Online
http://www.oocities.org/RainForest/1395/
-=Animal Rights Online=-
«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»
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