This Week's Bay Area Events

Adopt-A-College Leafleting

The weather is awesome and the Great American Meatout is coming up, so it is the perfect time to start leafleting. As part of Vegan Outreach's Adopt-a-College program, animal advocates will hand out "Why Vegan" and the new "Even if You Like Meat" flyers at colleges around the Bay Area.

The probable schedule is:
UC Berkeley - Thursday, March 17 from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Visit http://www.veganhealth.org/colleges to learn more about Vegan Outreach's Adopt-A-College campaign.



Pacifica Screening of "The Emotional World of Farm Animals"

Please join Bay Area Vegetarians for a special screening of the documentary "The Emotional World of Farm Animals." Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson's book, "The Pig Who Sang to the Moon," is a groundbreaking work that explores the emotional lives of pigs, cows, chickens, sheep, goats and ducks. In both the book and its companion piece, the documentary film "The Emotional World of Farm Animals," Masson learns about and develops relationships with animals most often ignored - except when they're being eaten. As he shares his new knowledge and insights with us, it's easy to understand his affection for these animals - and his conviction that we must change the horrendous reality in which most of them live.

What: Screening of "The Emotional World of Farm Animals"
When: Saturday March 19th, 2:30 to 5:30 p.m.
Where: Pacifica Library, 104 Hilton Way (at Palmetto), Pacifica

FYI, there is no graphic footage in this film. It is suitable for audiences of all ages.

Doors open at 2:30 and the film starts at 3:00 p.m. Admission is free with RSVP at http://www.bayareaveg.org/rsvp.htm?id=694 . Light vegan refreshments will be served. Please bring a friend to see this incredible film.

For more information, visit
http://www.bayareaveg.org/events.php?EID=694#694.



The Great American Meatout Is Coming

On and around March 20, thousands of caring people across the U.S. and around the world will celebrate the Great American Meatout, an international educational campaign sponsored by the Farm Animal Reform Movement (FARM). Every year on the first day of spring, people from all walks of life educate their communities and ask their friends, families and neighbors to "kick the meat habit" (at least for a day). This year marks Meatout's 20th anniversary, making it the largest and longest-running annual grassroots diet education campaign in history.

Please join in by attending (or better yet, organizing) a Meatout event. A number of events are already scheduled to take place in the Bay Area, ranging from feed-ins and leafleting outside of fast food restaurants to video screenings and information tables. Click here
(http://www.meatout.org/events/mevents02.htm#CA) for more information on these events and contact information for volunteering. You can also learn how to plan and register your own Meatout event at http://www.meatout.org/action/index.htm#yourEvent.



House Rabbit Society Annual Easter Event

The House Rabbit Society (HRS) is hosting a free Open House event. Yummy vegan food will be served, and you can spend as much time as you like visiting the rabbits. If you are considering adopting a rabbit, volunteers will be on hand to introduce you to the rabbits and answer all of your questions.

What: HRS Open House
When: Sunday, March 20, from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Where: HRS Rabbit Center,148 Broadway, Richmond

Easter is the most difficult time of the year for rabbits, when countless bunnies are purchased as Easter gifts. Most of them end up neglected and abandoned, ultimately ending up at shelters and rescue organizations like HRS. This year, you can help stop this cycle of abuse by supporting HRS's rescue and education efforts. Attending this positive, fun Open House is a wonderful way to do just that.

No reservations are required for this event. For more information, visit the HRS website at http://www.rabbit.org/rabbit-center/index.html .



Marin Peace & Justice Coalition Animal Rights Committee Meeting

The Marin Peace & Justice Coalition (MPJC) is holding an animal rights committee meeting, and all are welcome to attend.
Preliminary agenda items are as follows:
1. Foie Gras Free Marin Campaign
2. Exotic Deer at Point Reyes
3. KPFA animal rights programming
4. MPJC AR Committee web page development 5. Working Assets Animal Fund

What: Animal rights committee meeting
When: Wednesday, March 23 from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m.
Where: 309 Kent Avenue, Kentfield

If you plan to come, please bring a vegan treat to share. Also, if you have additional agenda items, please send them to kdanaher [at] earthlink.net. Call (415) 459-1149 if you have any questions.



Protest Korean Dog and Cat Slaughter

Please join members of IDA to protest South Korea's illegal dog and cat meat trade. Each year, two million dogs are electrocuted, strangled or bludgeoned to death in South Korea.
Then they are boiled, skinned, browned by a torch, chopped up and eaten. Many of the dogs have been stolen from families that love them. The majority of the dogs are homeless, captured by butchers, kept packed in filthy conditions and sold in open markets. Cats don't fare any better. Viewed as pest animals, cats are boiled alive so their "juices" can be extracted for so-called "health tonics."

While eating dogs has been illegal (but ignored by the law) in Korea up to this point, the Korean Government has recently established standards for the "hygenic management" of dog meat, effectively legalizing the consumption of these animals. This makes it more important than ever that people speak out.

Please join us as we educate the public about these atrocities.

What: Demonstration against South Korean dog and cat meat market
When: Saturday, March 26 from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m.
Where: Justin Herman Plaza, San Francisco

You can e-mail Kimberly Cusson who is organizing the protest at crossply219k [at] yahoo.com to let her know if you plan to attend.
Posters and leaflets will be provided. Visit http://idausa.org/campaigns/korea/korean.html for more information about South Korea's dog and cat meat trade.



Gopher Gardening at Ocean Beach

Join the San Francisco Wildlife Protection Project, a joint effort by IDA and the San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department, to create a wildlife "sanctuary" along the Great Highway. By landscaping the area according to the Parks Department's specifications, volunteers create a habitat for native gophers and prevent them from being trapped and killed.
This is an on-going monthly effort, and happens on the first Saturday of each month. Please give us a hand so we can help the gophers.

What: Gopher Gardening
When: Saturday, April 2 from 9:00 a.m. to 12 noon
Where: Along the Great Highway, near Ocean Beach, San Francisco

For more information, please contact Kevin Connelly at (415) 388-9641, ext. 226 or kevin [at] idausa.org.



Vegetarian Outreach on East Bay College Campuses

Every Monday in March, join East Bay Animal Advocates for vegetarian outreach at various colleges in the East Bay.
Advocates give members of the public an opportunity to learn about the plight of farmed animals while handing out educational literature on how to make our planet a safer place for animals.
For more information and to volunteer, email info [at] eastbayanimaladvocates.org or call (925) 487-4419.



Sign Petition for Animal Rights Radio on KPFA

A proposal to produce Karen Dawn's animal rights radio program, Watchdog, has been officially submitted to KPFA. In order to get the show on the air, it is imperative that animal advocates let the station know that many listeners want animal rights programming and news coverage on KPFA. The show's advocates want the petition to include at least 1,000 signatures before submitting it to the station, and so far less than 250 people have signed it. Please click here
(http://www.ipetitions.com/campaigns/ANIMAL-RIGHTS-RADIO) to sign the petition at the link above. Also please circulate this message to other animal advocates.



Write Letters to the Editor of the SF Chronicle About Iditarod Article

On Tuesday, March 8, the San Francisco Chronicle published an article in its sports section entitled, "Csonka Sees Iditarod As Part Mardis Gras," in which Hall of Fame running back Larry Csonka promotes the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. The journalist, Steve Wilstein, fails to question Csonka's claims that the dogs are always well cared for. According to Wilstein, "Csonka said he understands the concerns of animal rights advocates who oppose the race because it's a grueling event." He then quotes Csonka as saying, "But they also have to realize these dogs are bred and trained for this and they live for it."
Click here
(http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2005/03/08/sports/s025949S01.DTL)
to read the rest of the article.

What Wilstein and Csonka leave out is that dogs often DIE for the Iditarod. In the twenty-nine Iditarod events that have been held, at least 120 dogs have died during the arduous 1,150 mile race from Anchorage to Nome, Alaska, which can take anywhere from nine to fourteen days to complete. Causes of death include strangulation in towlines, internal hemorrhaging after being gouged by sleds, liver injury from collision, heart failure and pneumonia.
Please write letters (200 words or less) to the Editor of the Chronicle at letters [at] sfchronicle.com. Explain that, for the dogs, the Iditarod is not the "great celebration" that Csonka and Wilstein make it out to be. You can also write to Wilstein directly at swilstein [at] ap.org. For more information on the Iditarod, visit http://www.helpsleddogs.org .



Help Defeat AB 734

It seems that Assemblywoman Nicole Parra has taken on the charge to help Adidas continue killing kangaroos to make soccer cleats.

Over the past two years, several bills have been introduced to remove protections for these unique creatures. The current bill, AB 734, seeks to lift the current ban on the importation and sale of any body part from a kangaroo species not listed as endangered.

VIVA!USA is asking caring people to send letters opposing AB 734 to California Assembly Members. You can find out how to contact your Assemblyperson by clicking here
(http://ga0.org/indefenseofanimals/home.html) and entering your zip code, or by calling the Government Information Hotline at
(916) 322-9900 and giving the operator your address. Don't forget to include your name and full mailing address.

Please send a copy of your letter to Viva!USA at roos [at] vivausa.org, as well as a copy of any reply you receive from your Assembly Member.

If you would like regular e-mail updates on this bill, please write to AB734 [at] vivausa.org.



Help Stop Extermination of Exotic Deer in Point Reyes

The National Park Service is planning to kill much of the exotic deer population in Point Reyes National Seashore to deal with overpopulation. The deer were originally purchased in 1948 from the San Francisco Zoo by a Point Reyes resident who released them into the wild to hunt. When Point Reyes became a national park in 1962, hunting was banned in the area and the remaining deer proliferated. At present, about 1,150 exotic deer live in the park.

The plan devised by the National Park Service proposes a combination of lethal and non-lethal control methods (such as
sterilization) to manage the deer. You can read the park's Environmental Impact Statement online at http://www.nps.gov/pore/home_mngmntdocs_exoticdeer_deis.htm .

What You Can Do:

The National Park Service is accepting public comments on their proposal between now and April 8, 2005. Please contact the Superintendent of Point Reyes and urge the use of non-lethal methods to control the deer. Let her know that humans caused the overpopulation problem, and any solution must take the interests of the deer into consideration.

Click here to send a prewritten letter online:
http://ga0.org/campaign/reyesdeer , or write to:
Superintendent, Point Reyes National Seashore Point Reyes, CA 94956
Attn: Non-native deer management plan
Email: ann_nelson [at] nps.gov



Join the Dog March to Protest UCSF Experiments

Despite last year's "Day of the Dog" protest and many civilized attempts to dialogue with UCSF officials, the university is still determined to perform cruel heart experiments on 750 to 800 dogs. To cause artificial heart failure, researchers will implant pacemakers in the dogs to make their hearts beat extremely fast and surgically damage their heart valves. The dogs will suffer in great pain for a period of time ranging from several days to as long as six months, depending on the degree of problems and injuries caused. The purpose of these experiments is unclear, because it is already known that dog hearts - both anatomically and at the cellular level - are very different from those of humans, and better results can be achieved using humane human-based research and technology.

A dog march is being organized to protest and draw media attention to UCSF's cruelty. The organizers need at least fifty well-behaved dogs to commit for a couple of hours. If you can join the march, please e-mail Michelle at noanimalexperiment [at] yahoo.com or call (650) 619-9713. Please let her know how many dogs will accompany you.

When: Sunday, April 10th, 2005 at 10:45 A.M. Rain or shine. The gathering and the march will last about an hour.

Where: Corner of 16th Street and Owens Street, at the Mission Bay Campus

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Visit the web address below to tell your friends about this.

http://ga0.org/join-forward.html?domain=indefenseofanimals

You can sign up for In Defense of Animals Action Center at:

http://ga0.org/indefenseofanimals/join.html