In Defense of Animals Bay Area Alert 4-14-05

Table of Contents:
1. Foie Gras and Duck Meat Dinner Outreach 2. Volunteer with Team IDA at California Bicycle Classic 3. Help IDA During World Week for Animals In Laboratories 4. Conduct Outreach Against Dog Meat at Korean Trade Expo 5. Gopher Gardening at Ocean Beach

1. Foie Gras and Duck Meat Dinner Outreach

Chefs Jon Sears (The Dining Room Restaurant) and Scott Giambastiani (Viognier Restaurant) are on what they call "a personal crusade" to defend the "right" of restaurateurs to sell the diseased livers of force-fed ducks as a high-priced gourmet delicacy. They are holding a "special dinner" consisting of a twelve-course duck meal specifically to support California's foie gras and duck meat producers, who are in the business of torturing ducks for profit. In fact, the only foie gras producer in the state, president of Sonoma Foie Gras Guillermo Gonzalez, is the "special guest speaker," and will lead an after-dinner discussion of "The Duck Bill of Rights." Sears, Giambastiani and Gonzalez would like to frame the foie gras issue as one of consumers' right to choose, but at $250 a plate ($300 with wine pairing), their real motivation seems to be a desperate attempt to protect their right to make a financial killing off of animal suffering.

Please join IDA, Viva!USA, Farm Sanctuary, and Animal Place at an educational outreach event outside of this "special dinner,"
the actual intention of which is to justify and promote egregious cruelty to animals.

What: Foie gras dinner outreach event
Where: The Dining Room Restaurant, 1602 S. El Camino Real, San Mateo, Calif.
When: Saturday, April 16, from 4:30 - 6:15 p.m.

To confirm your attendance or for more information and directions, email Alicia [at] idausa.org or call (415) 388-9641, ext.
228.

2. Volunteer with Team IDA at California Bicycle Classic

Join Team IDA and Organic Athlete at the 2005 Sea Otter Classic bicycle event in Monterey, Calif. this weekend from April 14 - 17. This event draws over 50,000 spectators from around the world as well as over 10,000 bicycle racers, and will include events for all types of bike enthusiasts, from professional and amateur racing to bike tours of the area for the whole family.
Team IDA and Organic Athlete have reserved a booth in the Marketplace area, and we're looking for a few good volunteers to table with us and promote the benefits of a plant-based diet for health and athletic performance. If you are at all able to volunteer, call (415) 388-9641 ext. 225. To learn more about Team IDA, visit http://www.teamida.org/index.html .

3. Help IDA During World Week for Animals In Laboratories

World Week for Animals In Laboratories (WWAIL) offers people an opportunity to speak out on behalf of the tens of millions of rabbits, mice, dogs, cats, primates and other animals that become victims of medical research each year. During the week of April 23 - 30, IDA wants you to get active to bring their plight to the public's attention. A series of nationwide events spotlighting the cruelty that takes place behind the heavily guarded compounds of the animal experimentation establishment is being planned for the Bay Area and many cities around the country.

IDA will be holding memorials and leafleting outside of UCSF during WWAIL and we need your help! Activists will gather in front of the Millberry Union at 500 Parnassus Avenue, which runs right through the center of campus. This is where the animal research center and the Chancellor's office are located. Though we may adjust times depending on how many people participate, we plan to be there on:
- Tuesday April 26 & Thursday April 28 from noon to 2:00 p.m.
- Wednesday April 27 from 5:00 to 6:00 p.m.

We need as many people as possible to do outreach and hand out leaflets. If you can spend a couple of hours with us to make people aware of the cruel experiments taking place at UCSF and elsewhere, please contact alicia [at] idausa.org or (415) 388-9641 ext. 228 and let her know when you are available. In addition, we can help you plan your own event and send you free outreach materials. For information on UCSF animal research, visit http://www.vivisectioninfo.org/ucsf/index.html .

4. Conduct Outreach Against Dog Meat at Korean Trade Expo

As we have reported before, South Korea's Ministry for the Office of Government Policy Coordination has proposed a scheme to hygienically control - and effectively legalize - the dog meat trade in their country. IDA strongly opposes this plan, which is supported only by the relatively small number of Koreans who buy and sell dog meat. The vast majority of Korean citizens have never eaten dog meat and wish to see the abhorrent practice banned for good.

Please help IDA educate attendees at the Korean Trade Expo about the Korean Government's cruel plans. IDA will be at the Expo to gather signatures on postcards and hand out leaflets urging people to ask the Government to enforce laws and call off the plans to hygienically control dog meat. Please join other IDA volunteers for this important outreach opportunity. E-mail Kristie [at] idausa.org with times and dates you are available to leaflet.

Dates and locations:
- Thursday, May 5th and Friday May 6th from10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the Radisson Miyako Hotel, San Francisco
- Saturday, May 7th from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at Treasure Island (this is the Exhibition and Korean Folk festival)

To learn more about the Korean dog meat trade and what you can do to stop it, visit http://www.idausa.org/korean_frame.html .

5. 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, May 7 from 9:00 a.m. to 12 noon
Where: Along the Great Highway, near Ocean Beach, San Francisco

Click here (http://tinyurl.com/4hnh2) for directions to this event. For more information, please contact Kevin Connelly at
(415) 388-9641, ext. 226 or kevin [at] idausa.org.
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