IDA's e-news: 8/17/05

1. IDA-Africa Founder Dr. Sheri Speede Tours U.S.
2. IDA Co-Sponsors World Farm Animals Day
3. Natural Pet Fair a Success!
4. Israeli "Disengagement" Leaves Hundreds of Cats Abandoned
5. Judge Dismisses Animal Cruelty Charges in Cockfighting Case
6. Horse Dies in Omak Stampede's Suicide Race Rodeo


1. IDA-Africa Founder Dr. Sheri Speede Tours U.S.
Receptions Raise Awareness of Bushmeat Trade and Funds to Save Endangered Wild Chimpanzees

In 1998, Dr. Sheri Speede created IDA-Africa to advocate for endangered wild chimpanzees and gorillas. To provide a safe, naturalistic refuge for orphaned chimpanzees whose mothers were killed for bushmeat, she established the Sanaga-Yong Chimpanzee Rescue Center in a remote forest in Cameroon. Today, the Center is home to 47 adult, juvenile and infant chimpanzees living in extended family groups. Vast tracts of enclosed forest keep them safe from hunters. The Center also educates children and adults in Cameroon about conservation, and serves as a springboard for an international campaign to save the last chimpanzees and gorillas remaining in the wild.

This summer, Dr. Speede has embarked on a nationwide tour to bring her urgent message of kinship and preservation directly to the American people. IDA-Africa is holding receptions in major cities where Dr. Speede will speak about her adventures on the front lines of the bushmeat war, how IDA-Africa is combating this illegal trade, and what people in the U.S. can do to help the chimpanzees in Africa. She will also present a special video that documents life at the Sanaga-Yong Chimpanzee Rescue Center, as well as offer her insights into the complex lives of great apes and their relevance to furthering our understanding of human behavior.

Dr. Speede's exciting presentations have already captivated audiences in Seattle, Wash. and Portland, Ore. Next, she moves on to San Francisco, Calif., where she will speak at The Women's Building on Saturday, August 20. From there, the tour will take her to San Diego, Calif.; Boston, Mass.; Washington, D.C.; and New York City. Receptions include hors d'oeuvres, dessert and beverages, as well as auctions for many one-of-a-kind items, including original paintings done by chimpanzees at Sanaga-Yong. Don't miss this rare public appearance by Dr. Speede or this chance to help chimpanzees remain in the wild. For reception dates and locations, ticket purchase or more information, visit http://www.ida-africa.org/events.html or call (503) 643-8302.


2. IDA Co-Sponsors World Farm Animals Day
Attend or Organize an Event in Your Area on October 2nd

October 2nd is World Farm Animals Day, when animal advocates work to inform the public of the plight that 50 billion cows, pigs, chickens, turkeys and other animals face every year around the world. Over 98% of all the animals killed for human use are slaughtered for food. World Farm Animals Day is a time when caring people come together to mourn the deaths of these innocent, sentient animals, killed so brutally and needlessly.

Fittingly, World Farm Animals Day takes place on the birth date of Mahatma Gandhi, the great social reformer and spiritual leader renowned for liberating India from British colonialism using non-violent civil disobedience. Gandhi was also an outspoken vegetarian, and championed a non-harming diet as the basis of living peacefully and harmoniously with all the Earth's inhabitants. The urgency of Gandhi's message is even greater today, as modern factory farms and slaughterhouses have exponentially increased the number of animals killed since his time and meat consumption steadily rises in developing countries.

What You Can Do

Join IDA and Farm Animal Reform Movement (FARM) on World Farm Animals Day by attending or organizing an event in your community. Event Coordinators in all 50 states and two-dozen other countries will stage vigils, hold marches, perform street theater, host video screenings, display exhibits, and set up information tables. Visit http://www.wfad.org to find out what other activists are planning in your area and around the world, get ideas for your own event, or officially register your event. FARM can help you by providing guidance, materials and media publicity.


3. Third Annual Natural Pet Fair A Success!
Fun Activities, Exhibits and Awards Help Guardians and Animal Companions Beat the Summer Heat

The 3rd Annual Natural Pet Fair, co-sponsored by IDA and Bodhi Tree Festivals, was held last Sunday, August 14th at the Brooklyn Animal Resource Coalition (BARC) animal shelter in Williamsburg, N.Y. This exciting outdoor street fair included activities like karaoke, a dunking booth and exhibitors representing holistic pet care companies and non-profit animal groups. During the fair, many dogs and cats from both the BARC Shelter and the ASPCA mobile adoption van found new guardians.

IDA staff members Valerie Sicignano and Lawrence Carter-Long played key roles in the day's events: Valerie acted as the fair's Master of Ceremonies, while Lawrence presented a talk on "What It Means to be a Guardian." In addition, The Veg Kids performed their original and inspiring song, "I am not a Nugget!" and IDA hosted the Companion Animal Guardian Awards, honoring 12 individuals and groups for their dedication to the welfare of other species.

An amazing rescue also took place during the fair. A local man found a dog crawling along the street and barely able to walk, so he brought the animal to the fair. BARC personnel took the dog inside the shelter and treated him for heatstroke, as the temperature was over 100 degrees that day with record-breaking humidity. Someone recognized the canine from a newspaper story about a car-jacking two days earlier during which a dog had been abducted. The wayward canine had walked 10 miles from Queens (where the car was stolen) to Brooklyn where the fair was held. BARC returned the dog to his guardian just in time, as he needed daily liver medication. The happy reunion touched the hearts of many at the shelter, and was a fitting testament to the spirit of this special day.


4. Israeli "Disengagement" Leaves Hundreds of Cats Abandoned
Please Urge Government Ministers to Fund Relocation of Cats to a Sanctuary

The evacuation of Israelis from West Bank settlements in Gaza and north Shomron has begun, and hundreds of cats are being abandoned as their caretakers leave the area. Volunteers from the Cat Welfare Society of Israel (CWSI) recently rescued over 100 cats over a period of three nights from two already evacuated settlements - Ganim and Kadim - and took them to the Marchig Trust Sanctuary in Hadera. However, there are hundreds more who will die of starvation or thirst if they are not rescued immediately.

In order to get all of the cats out, additional volunteers and more equipment will be needed, as well as continued access to the affected areas. However, once they are removed from the settlements, the cats' only hope for long-term survival is relocation to the Marchig Trust Sanctuary. To accommodate the number of cats who need to be rescued, the shelter needs money to expand and upgrade its facilities. IDA and other animal advocacy organizations from around the world have already contributed funds to finance the project, but more is still needed.

What You Can Do

- Visit http://www.cats.org.il/eng/donate/donate.html to donate to this urgent cause. Please give what you can: every dollar counts!

- Click http://ga0.org/campaign/SaveAbandonedCats to urge Israeli Government officials to allocate funds for the rescue and relocation of the abandoned cats to the Marchig Trust Sanctuary.


5. Judge Dismisses Animal Cruelty Charges in Cockfighting Case
Calls Cockfighting "mean, nasty, dirty and bloody," but says Kentucky Statute Only Applies to Four-Legged Animals

Citing ambiguity in the wording of state law, Montgomery District Judge William Lane recently dismissed animal cruelty charges against over 500 people caught at a cockfight when police raided the Jeffersonville farm of Marvin C. Watkins, seizing more than $420,000 in cash. Judge Lane threw the case out because of an obscure clause in the law that pertains to people "at an event where a four (4) legged animal is caused to fight for pleasure or profit." Chickens, of course, have only two legs, exempting them from anti-cruelty protection, at least according to Judge Lane's interpretation.

"The decision to let these criminals off the hook is misguided, and could affect how cockfighting cases are tried in courts all over Kentucky from now on," stated IDA President Dr. Elliot M. Katz. "A higher court should review the case, but ultimately the statute must be rewritten to firmly establish the illegality of this vicious and disgusting blood sport."

State police, hoping to convict those involved in cockfighting, have put their support behind Assistant County Attorney Kevin Cockrell's plan to appeal aspects of Judge Lane's ruling. Meanwhile, their investigation into Watkins' activities continues.

What You Can Do

Please call Judge Lane at (859) 498-6622 and politely ask him to interpret the law differently if he handles a cockfighting case in the future to ensure that the guilty are punished and justice is served.


6. Horse Dies in Omak Stampede's Suicide Race Rodeo
Omak Stampede, Inc. Should Be Held Accountable for Animal's Death

Regular e-news readers may recall that IDA previously reported on an event that takes place every August called the "The World-Famous Omak Suicide Race," in which horses and riders rush 210 feet down a steep 62-degree angle slope and plunge into the rocky Okanogan River. The horses must then swim more than a football field in length to face a grueling uphill sprint. Over the last two decades, the ordeal has killed over 20 horses, and additional horses lose their lives during unofficial practice runs, but these deaths are not documented.

It is almost incredible that there were no fatalities in this year's race. Yet one horse did die while "competing" in the rodeo held in conjunction with the Suicide Race. During the Team Bronc Riding event (in which a flank strap is tightened around the horse's sensitive abdomen, causing him to "buck" in severe discomfort), a horse tripped over a rope attached to another horse's halter and smashed to the ground, breaking his neck.

What You Can Do

Urge corporate sponsors to withdraw their financial support from the Omak Stampede's rodeo. Remind them that rodeos routinely abuse animals and endanger their lives, and that this death is only one of many caused by this cruel "sport." Visit the Progressive Animal Welfare Society's website at http://www.paws.org/outreach/campaigns/omak.php and scroll down the page for contact information and sample letters.


Please Help Elephants in Zoos

Dear friend of In Defense of Animals,

As you may know, elephants are intelligent, sensitive beings and elephants held captive in our nation's zoos are so very vulnerable, and so horribly abused.

Zoo directors and zoo veterinarians are fully aware of the suffering and pain they are causing, of the severe foot and joint diseases, of the psychological disorders of the elephants under their "care." And yet they callously stonewall and fight against the relocation of these gentle giants from totally inadequate and abusive conditions to the large space and healing soft soil of elephant sanctuaries.

Hour after hour, day after day, month after month, year after year, the unyielding concrete and compacted surfaces and lack of space and harsh weather conditions contribute to and exacerbate zoo elephants' deteriorating health, their ongoing painful infections and foot and leg degenerations.

With your help we shall intensify our efforts to spark a nationwide re-evaluation of the costs, ethics and morality of keeping elephants in zoos.

Here is what you can do today to help elephants in zoos:

Visit IDA's Save Elephants in Zoos campaign website at http://www.savezooelephants.com to educate yourself, and please share this link with your friends, family, neighbors and co-workers so they too can learn the truth about the sad plight of elephants in zoos. While at the site, be sure to visit the "What You Can Do" section at http://www.savezooelephants.com/youcando.html to find out how to get more involved with our efforts to help elephants in zoos.

Contact IDA at ida [at] idausa.org to request our Elephants in Zoos brochure, available free of charge. It contains quotes from respected elephant experts decrying the terrible plight and suffering of elephants confined in zoos.

And please, make as large a tax-deductible donation as you possibly can via our secure donations server at https://secure.ga3.org/02/idadonations and enter "ELE" in the first name field of the "in honor of" section of the form.

Your participation and support are critically important in our fight to free elephants from the abuse, pain and early deaths they suffer at the hands of the zoo industry.

Thousands of dollars are needed to place ads, print and distribute literature, hold protests, demonstrations and press conferences, and pay for investigations and lawsuits.

Whatever you can give, your participation and support will make a tremendous difference. For all the elephants that have suffered so very much, who have so tragically died in our nation's zoos, let us never rest until this national tragedy comes to a final end.

On behalf of these gentle giants whose fate is in our hands, IDA thanks you for your kindness, generosity and caring. With your participation and support, we will see a day when individuals of other species will receive the respect and protection they so richly need and deserve.


Help Someone Kick the Meat Habit with FARM's Meatout Monday Newsletter

If you know someone who says they'd like to cut meat out of their diet but thinks it's too hard, then tell them about Meatout Mondays, a free weekly e-newsletter designed to help those who don't want to quit "cold turkey" kick the meat habit one day at a time - starting with Mondays! Easy and fun to read, Meatout Mondays encourages individuals to make changes at a pace that is comfortable for them, and is an excellent tool for introducing vegetarianism to anyone.

Every week, Meatout Mondays includes tasty vegan recipes, new product and book reviews, important health information, and inspirational stories of people who have changed their lives for the better by cutting animal products from their diets. In this week's Meatout Mondays, TV star Persia White speaks out for animals. Click http://www.meatoutmondays.org/05-08-15.htm to read the latest issue.

Please visit http://www.meatoutmondays.org to review past issues and to subscribe your friends and family members. Meatout Mondays is a free e-newsletter, and individuals can easily unsubscribe at any time.