IDA eNews: 3/21/07

IDA ACTION ALERTS
1. Victory: New Mexico Bans Cockfighting
2. Elephant Polo Match Ends in Rampage
3. Ask Morningstar to Cut Out Cruelty

CAMPAIGN NEWS & UPDATES
1. St. Louis Zoo Euthanizes Long-Suffering Elephant
2. IDA Joins International Day of Action to End Canadian Seal Massacre
3. At Least 10 Animals Dead from Eating Contaminated "Pet" Food


IDA ACTION ALERTS

1. Victory: New Mexico Bans Cockfighting
Louisiana now only state where blood sport remains legal

In January 2007, IDA included an alert ( http://www.idausa.org/campaigns/sport/cock/feature_070103.html ) in our eNews asking animal advocates to support a proposed ban on cockfighting in the state of New Mexico. We are now pleased to report that the legislature passed this bill, and Governor Bill Richardson has signed it into law!

This victory is the result of many years of hard work by a wide range of animal advocates and political leaders as well as our members' efforts. Thank you to everyone who contacted the Governor thanking him for taking a strong stance against cockfighting, and all of our New Mexico readers who asked your state legislators to vote in favor of the bill.

When the bill goes into effect on June 15, 2007, New Mexico will become the 49th state to outlaw the vicious blood sport of cockfighting, leaving Louisiana as the only state where it remains legal. It's therefore no wonder that regional and national animal protection organizations are already marshalling their forces to wage a campaign to ban cockfighting in its last remaining stronghold. Governor Kathleen Blanco is in favor of signing a law outlawing the blood sport, and State Senator Art Lentini hopes to get enough support to introduce a bill this year.

A ban in Louisiana would be a truly historic triumph for the animal rights movement, because it would mark the final end of legalized cockfighting in the U.S. The drastic decline in support for cockfighting cruelty signals a shift in people's attitudes about animals and an ongoing dialogue in society regarding what constitutes humane treatment of other species. Banning cockfighting for good would be a powerful statement against the abuse of animals for entertainment.

What You Can Do:

- "Take Action" to thank Governor Kathleen Blanco for favoring legislation to ban cockfighting ( http://ga0.org/campaign/lacfb2 ). Also follow up with a polite letter, phone call, fax or email.

Office of the Governor
Attn: Constituent Services
P.O. Box 94004
Baton Rouge, LA 70804-9004 Telephone Numbers:
Tel: (866) 366-1121, (225) 342-0991, or (225) 342-7015
Fax: (225) 342-7099
Web email: http://www.managekeelson.com/websites/la.gov/index.cfm?md=communication&tmp=signup&lisID=886

- Louisiana residents: please "Take Action" ( http://ga0.org/campaign/lacfb1 ) to urge your state legislators to co-sponsor Senator Lentini's bill to ban cockfighting in Louisiana and to support it throughout the legislative process. Also follow up with a polite letter, phone call, fax or email. Get contact information for your state senator and representative ( http://www.louisiana.gov/wps/wcm/connect/Louisiana.gov/Contacts/ ).

Learn more about the cruelty of cockfighting ( http://www.idausa.org/campaigns/sport/cock/cockfighting.html ).


2. Elephant Polo Match Ends in Rampage
Tell jewelry maker Cartier to stop supporting cruel "sport"

Recent video of a distressed elephant on a frenzied streak has placed jewelry giant Cartier under increased pressure to withdraw their sponsorship from a little-known "sport" called "elephant polo." The incident at a tournament in Sri Lanka left one van smashed and two people in the hospital, highlighting again the debate over animals used for entertainment as reason for concern not for ethical reasons, but public safety as well.

In the video, Abey the elephant confronts her captors during a game, smashing a team vehicle as spectators pelt her with rocks. Despite statements by event promoters, the video verifies the longstanding accusation by animal advocates that bull hooks -- sticks tipped with sharp hooks -- are used on the elephants. Experts agree that aggression exhibited by animals is often a direct result of violence inflicted upon them by humans. Cruel training methods, emotional deprivation, and fear of their trainers all contribute to upheavals by captive animals. This makes the use of animals for entertainment a danger not only to the animals themselves, but humans as well.

Elephants do not voluntarily participate in games such as polo: they are forced to play by trainers who routinely administer painful beatings that instill fear and compel obedience in these captive wild animals. To coerce elephants into performing confusing and physically uncomfortable behavior, trainers typically beat them with bull hooks and keep them chained for long periods. Captive elephants routinely suffer chronic physical ailments, social and emotional distress, confinement, and premature death as a result of mistreatment.

For a trace amount of advertising in small foreign markets, Cartier has volunteered itself for an international boycott and public relations fiasco. As the jewelry maker sits exposed in the spotlight for condoning cruelty, now is the time to apply pressure and urge them to stop sponsoring the frivolous and inhumane "sport" of elephant polo. Please take a moment to help Abey and all animals held captive for entertainment by reminding Cartier that abusing animals is never good business.

What You Can Do:

Please "Take Action" ( http://ga0.org/campaign/elephantpolo ) to tell Cartier that their sponsorship of elephant polo is both an insurance and a reputation liability. Also follow up with a phone call, letter, email, or fax asking them to withdraw sponsorship from this cruel form of entertainment.

Madame Borgoltz
Cartier, Inc.
51 rue François Premier
75008 Paris
France
+33-1-58-18-18-18
1-800-227-8437 (customer-service calls from North America)
+33-1-58-18-10-01 (fax)
contact.uk [at] cartier.com

Postage for a standard letter to France from the U.S. is $.84.


3. Ask Morningstar to Cut Out Cruelty
Use of eggs from battery hens in vegetarian foods sparks national campaign

Too often, the dark side of vegetarian foods is that some contain ingredients like dairy or eggs that cause animals to suffer. Advocacy groups are calling on consumers nationwide to urge vegetarian food maker Morningstar Farms® to remove battery cage raised hen eggs from its foods, bringing ethical integrity to products often seen as a cruelty-free substitutes to meat.

As industry trends move in a cruelty-free direction, Morningstar Farms has unwisely lapsed behind its competitors. Last year, Gardenburger®, one its largest business rivals, eliminated eggs from all but one of its products. By continuing the use of eggs from hens raised in cruel conditions, Morningstar tarnishes its image as provider of conscious alternatives, and shuts out a large portion of its target market.

Costumers who follow a vegan diet are a fast-growing demographic, comprising approximately 1% of the population. With its use of eggs, Morningstar effectively eliminates 3 million potential and likely customers. For a food additive that no one would miss were it gone, Morningstar has cut into its potential customer base, compromised its ethical standing, and sparked a national campaign by animal advocates.

Birds raised on egg farms are probably the most abused of all farmed animals. Nearly 300 million hens live confined inside wire battery cages so small that they can barely move. Battery caged hens are typically provided with a meager 67 square inches of space in which to live -- that's less than the size of one sheet of notebook paper. These birds are so intensively confined for their entire lives that they are denied their natural inclinations to spread their wings, perch, or even walk.

Many consumers purchase vegetarian foods as a compassionate alternative to meat, believing these items are cruelty-free substitutes for flesh. Kept from the public eye are the images of thousands of birds in darks sheds, living in cages so small they are unable to lift a wing. Morningstar is making a positive change through their production of meat alternatives. Eliminating eggs is the last step needed to create a truly humane product.

What You Can Do:

Please contact Morningstar Farms and politely remind them their use of eggs, especially from battery hens, is injurious to both their business and their credibility. Ask them to maintain their credibility and competitive edge by dropping eggs from their product line.

Morningstar Farms
c/o Kellogg Consumer Affairs
P.O. Box CAMB
Battle Creek, MI 49016
Tel: (800) 962-1413
Email webform: http://www.morningstar-egg-facts.com/contact-morningstar


CAMPAIGN NEWS & UPDATES

1. St. Louis Zoo Euthanizes Long-Suffering Elephant
IDA charges that zoo’s conditions caused Clara’s premature death

In the wake of 54-year-old Clara the elephant’s death, IDA is charging that inadequate conditions at the St. Louis Zoo are directly responsible for her death on the night of Tuesday, March 13th.

“For years, Clara suffered from painful and debilitating arthritis and chronic foot infections. These conditions are a direct result of decades spent in the St. Louis Zoo’s tiny yards and concrete-floored barn stalls,” said Elliot M. Katz, DVM, president of IDA. “It’s shameful that the St. Louis Zoo allowed Clara to decline to the point where she could barely walk or stand. Had the zoo taken action several years ago to provide Clara with the space and natural conditions she needed to heal, Clara might still be alive today.”

The largest yard at St. Louis Zoo is one-half acre, totally inadequate for elephants which can walk tens of miles a day in the wild. In addition, elephants spend nights and prolonged periods during the winter locked in the zoo’s concrete-floored barn stalls.

Experts agree that lack of exercise and standing on unyielding surfaces wreak havoc on elephants’ joints and feet. Recent surveys show that a majority of elephants in zoos suffer from painful and potentially lethal foot and joint disease. Clara is the eighth elephant to die in 15 months at facilities accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA). Seven of those elephants suffered from severe foot and/or joint disease prior to death.

Over a year ago, IDA had called on St. Louis Zoo to transfer Clara to The Elephant Sanctuary ( http://www.elephants.com/ ), a 2,700-acre natural habitat refuge in Tennessee. The sanctuary’s space and natural terrain has restored quality of life to many elephants debilitated by years spent in a circus or zoo.

“Instead of addressing the cause of Clara’s problems, the zoo continued to hold her in the same environment that was causing and exacerbating the degenerative conditions,” Katz said. “All the while the zoo was masking Clara’s pain with ever-increasing doses of pain killers, even to the point of causing bleeding ulcers and signs of kidney damage.”

“Clara stands as a national symbol for the suffering elephants needlessly endure in zoos,” Katz concluded. “If zoos cannot provide the vast space, soft ground and natural conditions elephants need, they should not keep elephants at all. It is elephants like Clara who pay the price for zoos’ unwillingness to provide what science tells us elephants need.”

Elephants have a natural lifespan of 60-70 years. Even though elephants in zoos are protected from poaching, drought, famine and disease, they typically die decades short of their natural lifespan.

Learn more about IDA’s campaign to help elephants in zoos ( http://www.helpelephants.com/ ) and join our Elephant Task Force ( http://www.helpelephants.com/form_signup.html ).


2. IDA Joins International Day of Action to End Canadian Seal Massacre
Protests in San Francisco and Los Angeles expose cruelty of annual “hunt”

On Thursday, March 15th, IDA joined animal advocates throughout the U.S. and in 17 countries around the world for the annual International Day of Action to end the seal massacre in Canada. More than 300,000 harp and hooded seals are killed by Canadian fishermen in Newfoundland and Labrador every year, making this the largest massacre of marine mammals in the world. About 95% of the victims are newborn pups less than four weeks old who are clubbed or shot to death for their silky fur pelts. Independent witnesses claim that some are even skinned alive.

IDA's headquarters are located in San Rafael, Calif., about 15 miles north of San Francisco, so we co-organized a demonstration with the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society ( http://seashepherd.org ) at the San Francisco/Silicon Valley Consulate General of Canada. About 10 activists held signs and handed out leaflets at the Consulate, and Channel 7 TV News came to cover the protest.

IDA's Southern California Coordinator Bill Dyer also attended a protest at the Canadian Consulate in Los Angeles organized by Harpseals.org. About 60 animal advocates, including the famous Vegan Vixens ( http://www.veganvixen.org/ ), participated in the demonstration outside of the Canadian Consulate in Los Angeles, which was closed because of the protest. Activists handed out many flyers detailing Canada's shameful slaughter of seals to passerby, encouraging them to boycott the Canadian seafood industry until the massacre is officially banned.

The seal slaughter kicks into high gear later this month, when sealers will take to the ice wielding clubs, hakapiks, and guns. Activists from various animal protection organizations will also be there to witness and document the killing. IDA will continue to participate in the global effort to expose the atrocity of Canada's seal slaughter as long as it goes on.

What You Can Do:

Recently, there has been a strong push in Europe to ban sealskin products. Germany ( http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,2207697,00.html ) and Belgium ( http://www.ifaw.org/ifaw/general/default.aspx?oid=202696 ) have already initiated bans. Meanwhile, the Canadian government has chastised Britain for expressing their support for a ban on sealskin products throughout the European Union ( http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,2010512,00.html ).

Please write or call the British Ambassador to the U.S. and politely urge him to continue pushing for an EU-wide ban on products made from sealskin.

Sir David Manning
3100 Massachusetts Avenue,
Washington, D.C. 20008
Tel: (202) 588-7800
Web email: http://www.britainusa.com/functions/feedback/enquiry.asp

If you write a letter to the Ambassador, please cc the Canadian Ambassador to the U.S. to make sure he knows people are urging other governments to take action against the seal slaughter.

The Honorable Michael Wilson
Office of the Ambassador
Canadian Embassy
501 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20001


3. At Least 10 Animals Dead from Eating Contaminated "Pet" Food
Dozens of brands sold by major retailers being recalled for causing kidney failure

At least nine cats and one dog have died from kidney failure as a result of eating "pet" food manufactured by Menu Foods and sold under some of the most popular brands on the market. Seven of these animals died in tests conducted by Menu Foods at Cornell University on about 45 dogs and cats. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has yet to announce how many reports of cats and dogs suffering kidney failure or death they have received.

More than 50 brands of dog food and 40 types of cat food are being pulled from store shelves throughout the U.S., Canada and Mexico. These include high-end brand names such as Iams, Nutro Natural Choice, Eukanuba, and Science Diet. The recalled brands are sold by 17 of the top 20 North American retailers, including Kroger, Safeway, PetSmart, Wal-Mart, Winn-Dixie, Hannaford, and Price Chopper, among others, and include some store brands.

Researchers with the company and the FDA have yet to determine what is causing the deaths, but suspect that it is linked to a protein source used as a filler in wet food (i.e., canned or pouched), which Menu Foods says they purchased from a new supplier. Scientists believe the food could be contaminated with heavy metals like cadmium and lead or some type of fungal toxin.

This is not the first time cats and dogs have suffered for "pet" food. Some commercial cat and dog foods contain such unsavory ingredients as pesticide residues, antibiotics and other drugs, and meat and by-products from sick or "downed" animals. Some manufacturers even purchase the carcasses of cats and dogs from shelters and process them into "pet" food with deadly euthanizing chemicals still in their bloodstreams. Some companies (Iams, for example) are targeted by animal rights activists for conducting cruel and deadly tests on cats and dogs, and for keeping them alone in barren laboratory cages.

The recall raises serious health and safety concerns for our animal friends. Please read on to learn how you can protect your cat or dog from eating the wrong food and what to do if you think your animal has already eaten some.

What You Can Do:

- If you are a dog or cat guardian, consult the list of recalled brands on the Menu Foods website ( http://www.menufoods.com/recall ). If the brand your animals eat is listed, take them to the veterinarian for blood work. Menu Foods also released two phone numbers that concerned guardians can call for more information: (866) 463-6738 and (866) 895-2708. Also let your family and friends with animal companions know about the recall.

If you believe your animal companion has eaten contaminated food:

- Make sure you take him or her to the vet. Symptoms of kidney failure include lethargy, loss of appetite, and vomiting. Cats can lose 80% of their kidney function before showing symptoms, by which time treatment may not be effective. If caught early enough, a veterinarian can flush out the animal's system with fluids.

- Contact your local FDA office ( http://www.fda.gov/opacom/backgrounders/complain.html ) to report the illness for tracking purposes.

- If your animal companion has suffered or died as a result of eating the brands that are now being recalled, you may qualify to be part of a possible class action lawsuit. Submit your complaint to a lawyer for a free evaluation ( http://www.lawyersandsettlements.com/submit_form.html?label=menu-foods ). Also learn more about class action lawsuits ( http://www.lawyersandsettlements.com/faq.html ).

- Vote no on an ABC News survey asking whether researchers should continue to test the contaminated food on dogs and cats ( http://www.abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=2963443&page=1 ).


Bid for Awesome Items in IDA's eBay Auction for the Animals

IDA's eBay Auction for the Animals is going on now, so be sure to visit http://www.idausa.org and click on the Auction for Animals button to see and bid on the exciting items we have to offer. And remember, every item purchased helps animals by supporting IDA's important work.

IDA is also still accepting items for the auction. To donate items or for more information about the auction, please contact Nicole Otoupalik at (800) 338-4451 or via e-mail at nicole [at] idausa.org . All donations are tax deductible.