IDA's e-news: 5/25/05

Table of Contents:
1. Oprah Dishes Up Cruelty
2. Boycott the Canadian Seal Hunt With the "Seal of Approval"
3. Save Horses' Lives - Stop the Omak Suicide Race
4. Hawthorn Elephants in Danger of Going to Circus
5. IDA's May 2005 Auction for the Animals
6. Wild Parakeets vs. Florida Power & Light


1. Oprah Dishes Up Cruelty

Famed talk show host and television producer Oprah Winfrey recently threw a lavish ball to honor the 25 black women who she admires most, but dishonored animals by including dishes like veal and foie gras on the menu. Veal and foie gras represent the extreme end of cruelty in the animal agriculture industry. IDA feels that the woman who introduced Mad Cow disease to mainstream audiences by having Howard Lyman on her show should be boycotting foie gras and veal, not serving it to her party guests.

What You Can Do

Please write to Oprah and politely let her know that the animals used to make foie gras and veal suffer greatly before they reach the dinner plate. You can email Oprah through her website by clicking http://www.oprah.com/email/reach/email_reach_fromu.jhtml or write to:

The Oprah Winfrey Show
Harpo Studios
1058 W. Washington St.
Chicago, IL 60607

Here is a sample letter that you can print out and mail or paste into the website form:

Dear Oprah,

I want to commend you for honoring many of the great black women of our time at your recent Legends Ball in Santa Barbara. These women all deserve recognition for their valuable contributions to the world. However, it upset me to learn that veal and foie gras were served at the dinner.

Veal and foie gras represent the extreme end of cruelty in the animal agriculture industry. Veal is made from baby male calves who are taken from their mothers at one day old, then forced to live in tiny crates that keep them immobile for 12 to 15 weeks just so their flesh will be tender at slaughter. Foie gras is made from the enlarged livers of ducks and geese who have so much corn mush mechanically forced down their throats that many die from ruptured stomachs and punctured windpipes. A recent law will make the production and sale of foie gras illegal in California by 2012, and compassionate legislators in Illinois, Massachusetts, Oregon and New York have introduced bills to ban it in their states.

I understand that your intention was to honor your distinguished guests by serving them something special, but there can be no justification for the amount of suffering forced on calves, ducks and geese for veal and foie gras. I respectfully urge you to avoid serving foie gras or veal at future celebrations, and to let the world know how much suffering these defenseless animals endure by addressing this issue on your show.

Sincerely,

[your name]


2. Boycott the Canadian Seal Hunt With the "Seal of Approval"

The most powerful weapon that animal advocates have against Canada's annual slaughter of several hundred thousand harp seals is the international boycott of Canadian seafood products. With their sights trained on the paychecks of Canadian fishermen who carry out the bloody seal hunt, the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society's new Seal of Approval Campaign gives businesses who buy and sell seafood an incentive to join the embargo. Legendary cartoonist Berkeley Breathed (of "Bloom County" and "Outland" fame) has designed a sticker for the campaign that restaurants, hotels, supermarkets and distributors can display to let patrons know that they oppose the slaughter of baby seals and won't sell Canadian seafood until the massacre stops. Sea Shepherd is giving these stickers away to individuals and businesses that want to display their commitment to the seals.

Sea Shepherd is also offering prizes to both the individual and the organization that enlists the most businesses in their community to sign onto the boycott and display the Seal of Approval sticker. First prize is an all-expenses paid trip to Prince Edward Island in Canada to visit the seals in February 2006. Visit http://www.seashepherd.org/seals/seals_approval.html to learn more about the campaign and the contest.


3. Save Horses' Lives - Stop the Omak Suicide Race

Every year a rodeo in a small Washington town called Omak boasts of its main attraction, "The World-Famous Omak Suicide Race." Over a span of four pitch-black nights, riders repeatedly send horses off the edge of "Suicide Hill" with a 120-foot full-galloping start. Next, the horses plunge more than 210 feet down a steep 62-degree angle slope. Racing blindly at breakneck speed, the horses then plunge into the rocky Okanogan River. After a panicked swim of more than a football field in length, the horses face a final, grueling uphill sprint.

Over the last two decades, there have been over 20 documented horse deaths in this race. In 2004, three horses were killed in the first heat alone. Additional horses are killed during unofficial practice runs, but these deaths are not documented.

What You Can Do

Visit http://www.paws.org/outreach/campaigns/omak.php to learn more about the Omak Suicide Race and how you can help put a stop to it. Then urge corporate sponsors to withdraw support from the race and ask Washington State officials to ban it before any more horses are killed. Click the link above and scroll down the page to find contact information and sample letters.


4. Hawthorn Elephants in Danger of Going to Circus

The Hawthorn Corporation is one of the country's largest suppliers of elephants and tigers to the entertainment industry. Over the past decade, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has charged them with numerous counts of animal cruelty and fined them hundreds of thousands of dollars for violations of the Animal Welfare Act (AWA). In fact, the Hawthorn Corporation treated elephants so badly that the USDA set a deadline by which they must surrender the animals to a USDA-approved facility.

While this is a victory for which animal protectionists have worked long and hard, five of the Hawthorn Corporation's twelve surviving elephants are being taken out of the frying pan only to be put back in the fire. It has recently been announced that these unfortunate elephants are being sent to Carson & Barnes Circus, another notorious perpetrator of animal cruelties. Carson & Barnes has a lengthy history of documented AWA violations. In one undercover video, their animal care director is shown viciously attacking elephants with a sharp bullhook and instructing other trainers to hurt the elephants until they scream.

While the USDA has approved the elephants' transfer to Carson & Barnes, it is not too late for them to instead send them to The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee, which has already agreed to accept all the females by September.

What You Can Do

Click http://ga0.org/campaign/hawthorn to urge Secretary of Agriculture Michael Johanns to send these elephants to The Elephant Sanctuary, where they will be free from abuse.


5. IDA's May 2005 Auction for the Animals

IDA's May 2005 Auction for the Animals is drawing to a close, so be sure to take advantage of this special opportunity to help IDA defend the rights, welfare and habitats of animals while getting some great gifts for yourself or a loved one. Now is the time to bid on a wide selection of over 250 elegant, exciting and unique items valued at more than $45,000 and donated to IDA for this very special online fundraising event.

While the auction started on May 1st, the third wave is going on right now with new items that were added on May 15th. There are still many fabulous items to bid on, including fantastic travel and accommodation packages, special celebrity memorabilia, and tickets for great entertainment and sporting events. Visit http://www.ebay.com/ida to see what's available. Once you find an item that you like, click on the link to view its description, the current bid price, and how much time is left until the bidding ends. Place your bid and keep an eye on it to make sure that, by the time the bidding ends, it's YOURS.

We are still accepting donated items to sell during the auction, so if you have an item that you would like to contribute, please contact Nicole Otoupalik at (800) 338-4451. All donations are tax deductible. If you already sell on eBay, now is a great time to designate 10-100% of your own auction proceeds to IDA by registering at http://www.missionfish.org the partner of eBay Giving Works.


6. Wild Parakeets vs. Florida Power & Light

The green and white birds known as Quaker parakeets have adapted exceedingly well to the modern industrial environment. They like to build their large communal nests on top of utility poles, which are strong enough to hold their weight of several hundred pounds. Unfortunately, these nests can cause power outages and electrical fires, so Florida Power & Light (FPL), one of the largest energy companies in the U.S., has taken to destroying the nests by knocking them to the ground with sticks. The long fall to the ground kills most of the baby birds in the nest, and FPL says they euthanize any survivors.

FPL's brutal treatment of the birds has many residents who have witnessed the exterminations understandably upset. Prompted by the cries of their traumatized children, some people are demanding that FPL find another way to deal with the parakeets instead of killing their babies. The company claims to have already spent hundreds of thousands of dollars searching for a solution but hasn't found an alternative. Yet FPL could at least work with regional bird rescue organizations, such as the Quaker Parakeet Society, that have offered to take the parakeets out of the nests before they are destroyed so the young birds can be adopted out as companions. While not an ideal solution, it is better than extermination. However, FPL has a company policy that forbids giving the birds away, so only those rescued by residents have a chance of escaping death.

What You Can Do

Please write a polite email to FPL through their website at http://www.fpl.com/contact/contents/index.shtml and ask them to change their company policy so that rescue groups can save baby parakeets before the nests are removed. Be sure to check the "Environment" box so your email will go to the correct department. Here is a sample letter that you can paste into the website form:

I am concerned about FPL's treatment of Quaker parakeets. I understand that FPL has been knocking their nests out of utility poles because they can cause power outages and electrical fires. However, in the process, many baby parakeets are killed by the long fall to the ground.

If FPL is going to continue destroying their nests to maintain the power grid, the company has a responsibility to at least take a more humane approach to the presence of Quaker parakeets on utility poles. For example, FPL should change its existing company policy that forbids giving the birds away so that the company can work with regional bird rescue organizations. I understand that at least one group, the Quaker Parakeet Society, has offered to take the parakeets out of their nests before they are destroyed so the young birds can be adopted out as companions. While not an ideal solution, it is better than extermination.

Please also continue to research humane methods of co-existing with the Quaker parakeet and other species in Florida.


Socially Responsible Shopping in Support of IDA

The Vegetarian Site promotes veganism and animal rights by supporting a different non-profit each month. As The Vegetarian Site's charitable beneficiary in May, IDA will receive 10% of all of their sales for the entire month.

All of the products offered by The Vegetarian Site are vegan and made by socially responsible brands. They offer a wide variety of men and women's vegan shoes, books, videos/DVDs, personal care products, clothing, belts and accessories. They sell their wares at comparably low prices, and feature a great number of sale items as well.
Please visit their online store at http://www.thevegetariansite.com/cgi-bin/miva?Merchant2/merchant.mv to shop in support of IDA during the month of May.


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