IDA e-news: 3/22/06

IDA ACTION ALERTS
1. IDA Joins Worldwide Seal Slaughter Protests
2. Extinction for the Endangered Species Act?
3. Urge Medical Schools to Drop Live Dog Labs
NEWS & CAMPAIGN UPDATES
1. Watch IDA Animal Rights Videos Online
2. IDA Sponsors Veg Fest in Portland
3. Fight to Save Feral Pigs on Santa Cruz Island Continues


IDA ACTION ALERTS

1. IDA Joins Worldwide Seal Slaughter Protests
Activists Condemn Canadian Government as Start of Hunt Looms

Despite mounting pressure from around the world to stop the annual harp seal slaughter which is expected to begin later this month, the Canadian Government has refused to call it off. Canada's Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) recently announced the quota for the 2006 slaughter, which will allow fishermen to kill 335,000 seals in 2006 (they are permitting an additional 10,000 seals to be killed this year for new Aboriginal initiatives, personal use and Arctic hunts). That's 15,000 more seals than were killed in last year's massacre.

With time running out for the seals, concerned individuals, organizations, coalitions and celebrities from all over the globe have amplified their efforts to put pressure on the Canadian Government in hopes that they will step in and save the seals. Paul and Heather McCartney's recent trip to the Gulf of St. Lawrence, during which they visited with young seals destined for slaughter, called the world's attention to this impending atrocity. Appealing to the world community and the Canadian Government for compassion, they sang, "All we are saying is give seals a chance" to television news cameras documenting their trip.

Following up on the McCartney's landmark peace mission, activists held a global day of action against the seal hunt last week in countries around the world, and IDA was an integral part of it. We held a lively protest in front of the Canadian Consulate in San Francisco (which is across the Golden Gate Bridge from IDA's Mill Valley, Calif. headquarters) that was attended by over 30 people. Enthusiastic activists gathered to hold signs and banners, chant, and pass out information to passerby about the hunt's inherent cruelty. Most spectators supported the demonstrators and expressed great interest in helping to end the hunt. Many said they were surprised the slaughter was still happening, and thanked activists for informing them of the current situation facing the seals. The San Francisco Chronicle and Examiner newspapers, the Associated Press wire service, television station Newsroom Access San Francisco, and radio stations KPFA and KTVU all came to cover the event.

Other successful events were simultaneously held in cities around the world. Over 100 activists protested the seal slaughter in Los Angeles, along with actors Martin Sheen and Dan Haggerty (Grizzly Adams) and Sea Shepherd Conservation Society founder and President Captain Paul Watson. Additional protests were held in at least 10 other American cities, as well as in Spain, South Africa, Croatia and three Canadian cities, putting opposition to the Canadian seal hunt on the world map.

What You Can Do:
1. Contact officials at the U.S. Embassy of Canada and tell them that you oppose the Canadian seal slaughter and will boycott Canadian seafood until their government agrees to end the killing.

The Embassy of Canada
501 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C.20001-2114
USA
Tel: (202) 682-1740
Fax: (202) 682-7619
E-mail: webmaster [at] canadianembassy.org

2. If you eat fish or other aquatic animals, please do not buy Canadian seafood until Canada agrees to end the seal slaughter for good. Please also inform your friends how buying Canadian seafood supports the massacre of baby seals.

3. Organize a demonstration. Request IDA's banner and contact IDA Campaign Coordinator Melissa Gonzalez at Melissa [at] idausa.org or (415) 388-9641, ext. 228 for help with organizing an event in your own community.

2. Extinction for the Endangered Species Act?
Urge Senate Committee Members to Oppose Destructive "Recovery Act"

In our October 2005 e-newsletter, we reported that the Endangered Species Act (ESA) was under attack by lawmakers representing the interests of property owners over conservation of threatened species. At that time, Congress had narrowly passed the Threatened and Endangered Species Recovery Act (TESRA), an amendment that would weaken and eventually nullify the ESA. Now the bill is being reviewed by the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee composed of Senators from 18 states.

The ESA has protected animals and their habitats since 1973, and is one of the cornerstones of America's conservation policy. If TESRA becomes law, many endangered animal populations will shrink, leaving the few sole survivors to propagate the species in a single small area. The amendment also proposes to remove protections from all endangered species in countries outside of the U.S., eliminate independent governmental review and oversight, and give the Secretary of the Interior the power to reject federal scientists' findings if their recommended actions conflict with governmental regulations. Perhaps worst of all, TESRA would cause the ESA to expire in 2015, resulting in the permanent extinction of many unique and irreplaceable species.

What You Can Do

Help protect America's vanishing wildlife by clicking http://ga0.org/campaign/saveESA to urge the Senator representing your home state to oppose the Threatened and Endangered Species Recovery Act. (Note that this alert will only work for those whose Senators serve on the Environment and Public Works Committee.) To have a greater impact, contact your Senator this week by phone or fax using the information below.

James Inhofe (R-OK): (Chairman) Tel: (202) 224-4721 - Fax: (202) 228-0380
John Warner (R-VA): Tel: (202) 224-2023 - Fax: (202) 224-6295
Christopher "Kit" Bond (R-MO): Tel: (202) 224-5721 - Fax: (202) 224-8149
George Voinovich (R-OH): Tel: (202) 224-3353 - Fax: (202) 228-1382
Lincoln Chafee (R-RI): Tel: (202) 224-2921 - Fax: (202) 228-2853
Lisa Murkowski (R-AK): Tel: (202) 224-6665 - Fax: (202) 224-5301
John Thune (R-SD): Tel: (202) 224-2321 - Fax: (202) 228-5429
Jim DeMint (R-SC): Tel: (202) 224-6121 - Fax: (202) 228-5143
Johnny Isakson (R-GA): Tel: (202) 224-3643 - Fax: (202) 228-0724
David Vitter (R-LA): Tel: (202) 224-4623 - Fax: (202) 228-5061
James Jeffords (I-VT): Tel: (202) 224-5141 - Fax: (202) 224-1273
Max Baucus (D-MT): Tel: (202) 224-2651 - Fax: (202) 224-4700
Joseph Lieberman (D-CT): Tel: (202) 224-4041 - Fax: (202) 224-9750
Barbara Boxer (D-CA): Tel: (202) 224-3553 - Fax: (415) 956-6701
Thomas Carper (D-DE): Tel: (202) 224-2441 - Fax: (202) 228-2190
Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY): Tel: (202) 224-4451-Fax: (202) 228-0282
Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ): Tel: (202) 224-3224 - Fax: (202) 228-4054
Barack Obama (D-IL): Tel: (202) 224-2854 - Fax: (202) 228-5417


3. Urge Medical Schools to Drop Live Dog Labs
Ask University Officials to Institute More Humane and Effective Educational Alternatives During WWAIL

As late as the 1980s, many medical schools still trained future doctors by having them operate on live dogs. But times have changed and training technologies have advanced, making dog labs arcane and obsolete. Today, of the 125 medical schools accredited by the Association of American Medical Colleges in the U.S. and Puerto Rico, only 25 still use live animals for medical school training. Of these, only three are known to teach students how to treat humans using live dogs: Louisiana State University, New York Medical College and the Medical College of Wisconsin.

Computerized simulators - human dummies that can be programmed to exhibit a variety of realistic physical responses to electrical currents and drugs - can do a much better job of training students for real world medicine than cutting open and killing dogs can. One key advantage of using simulators is that students can repeat medical procedures over and over again until they learn it thoroughly at minimal cost and without any loss of life. Students in a live dog lab may have to kill numerous dogs before they understand the lesson being taught.

According to a recent article in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=407629), the Medical College of Wisconsin used 52 dogs earlier this month as part of a lab exercise on the circulatory system. Students in groups of five were each given an anesthetized dog and instructed to shave the hair from the dogs' throats, chests and legs. After connecting them to monitoring devices using intravenous probes, they cut the animals' ribcages open using scalpels and bone saws. Students then observed the dogs' physiological reactions to various chemical injections, electrical jolts to their hearts, and manual stimulation of the heart with their hands. Finally, students were ordered to inject their subjects with lethal doses of potassium, and to take notes as the dogs' hearts failed and they died.

Given that more effective and ethical alternatives to using live animals are available, medical schools can choose to end these cruel practices. The implementation of human-based medical training techniques ultimately saves lives, both human and non-human, and teaches students that animals have real value beyond their use as laboratory tools.

What You Can Do:

- Please click http://ga0.org/campaign/DropLiveDogLabs to urge officials at the Medical College of Wisconsin and Louisiana State University to end the use of live dogs in medical training. You can also contact university officials by postal mail, telephone or e-mail.

Medical College of Wisconsin
Michael J. Dunn, Dean
8701 Watertown Plank Rd.
Milwaukee, WI 53226
Tel: (414) 456-8213
mdunn [at] mcw.edu

LSUHSC School of Medicine
Larry Hollier, MD, Dean
2323 Kenilworth Parkway
Baton Rouge, LA 70808
Tel: (225) 763-2811
lhholl [at] lsuhsc.edu

New York Medical College
Rev. Msgr. Harry C. Barrett, D.Min., M.P.H.
President and Chief Executive Officer
Administration Building
40 Sunshine Cottage Rd.
Valhalla, NY 10595
Tel: (914) 594-4600

- IDA's 2006 World Week for Animals In Laboratories (WWAIL) is taking place from April 23rd to 30th, so start making your plans now. WWAIL is a great time to promote humane alternatives to animal experimentation at a university in your community that experiments on animals. If you would like to organize and register an event in your community, IDA can assist you with planning. Visit http://www.wwail.org for more information and to receive free materials.


NEWS & CAMPAIGN UPDATES

1. Watch IDA Animal Rights Videos Online
See Undercover Investigations, Protest Footage, PSAs and More!

Thanks to computers, digital media and the Internet, getting and sharing information is easier today than ever before. Increasingly sophisticated technology continuously drives a communications revolution that is evolving every day. One of the most exciting frontiers to emerge recently is online television. YouTube is the leader in this new medium that democratizes the creative process by allowing anyone to share their videos with hundreds of millions of viewers all over the world easily and at absolutely no cost.

IDA has already tapped into this cutting edge technology by posting numerous animal rights videos on YouTube. IDA public service announcements (PSAs), footage from our recent protest against the Chinese cat and dog fur trade, and compelling undercover investigations are now all available for viewing at http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=InDefenseofAnimals . We will continue to post more videos in the near future, so visit this page often for the latest updates.

YouTube has simplified the uploading and viewing process to make sharing videos easy. No matter what viewing software you have on your computer, you'll be able to watch videos on YouTube. If you have videos of your own you'd like to share with the world, you can now do so without having to master hundreds of multimedia formats or complex uploading procedures. Visit http://www.youtube.com to learn more.


2. IDA Sponsors Veg Fest in Portland
Hundreds Enjoy Vegan Food Samples, Cooking Demos and More

IDA was a proud, full sponsor of "Veg Fest, A Compassionate Living Fair" in Portland, Oregon this weekend presented by Northwest VEG, a local grassroots vegetarian education group. Hundreds of people crowded into the First Unitarian Church for the daylong event to sample delicious vegan food from dozens of vendors, learn how to prepare exquisite meals at cruelty-free cooking demos, browse the displays of dozens of local organizations and educate themselves at lectures presented by experts in compassionate living.

At IDA's display, shocking undercover video footage drew in curious, emerging vegetarians to ask questions about what the animals endure on factory farms and how they can end their support for the violence. An animated, chicken-costumed activist, Vegan Syd, was a big hit with young and old alike.

"It was really encouraging to see all the interest and new faces," said IDA's Connie Durkee, who helped organize the event. "We almost completely ran out of literature, it was very rewarding!" IDA's new "Go Vegan and Nobody Gets Hurt" t-shirt was so popular that Connie literally sold the shirt off her back to meet the demand.

What You Can Do:

You don't need to put on a complex event like this one to have a big impact educating the public about the benefits of a compassionate lifestyle. Just visit http://www.idausa.org/worldgovegandays.html to find out how you can make a difference!


3. Fight to Save Feral Pigs on Santa Cruz Island Continues
IDA Lawsuit Remains the Last Hope for Survivors of Slaughter

In June of 2005, we reported in our e-newsletter that IDA began a court battle to stop the extermination of feral pigs on Santa Cruz Island off the coast of Santa Barbara, Calif. The animals have peacefully coexisted with myriad other species since the 1850s when ranchers began breeding them on the island. Yet the National Park Service and the Nature Conservancy, co-owners of the island, want to eradicate the pigs because they claim they destroy native plants and threaten the endangered island fox.

However, close examination of their restoration plan reveals some rather deceptive ulterior motives. In a statement to the press, the park's former superintendent Tim Setnicka wrote, "To help sell the fox restoration program for which we had no money, we came up with the media spin that one of the main reasons golden eagles reside on park islands was because of pigs. This would help vilify the pigs and help support the pig removal project."

Despite sharp criticism and charges of financial deceit, the National Park Service and the Nature Conservancy used $5 million of taxpayers' money to hire private exterminators to "kill every last pig" on the island. The New Zealand-based company, Prohunt, has already killed about 4,800 pigs using trained dogs, guns, knives and clubs. While the island's owners hope that not a single pig will remain by next summer, IDA is pressing on with legal action to save the pigs that remain, which is surely only a tiny fraction of those that roamed Santa Cruz Island less than a year ago. Expressing a determination to stop the slaughter, IDA founder and President Dr. Elliot Katz recently told the Los Angeles Times, "Whether there are pigs (left) there or not, we have to see this thing through." IDA continues to fight for the pigs' right to remain alive even while the U.S. government is trying to get a federal judge to dismiss the case in a motion scheduled to be heard next week.

What You Can Do:

- Donate funds to help IDA win our lawsuit against the island's owners to save the pigs. Call (805) 965-7120 to give a donation through your credit card, or send a check (payable to IDA) to:
In Defense of Animals
c/o Rick Feldman, fiduciary for In Defense of Animals
1 South Milpas Street
Santa Barbara, CA 93103

-If you live in the Los Angeles area, attend a rally next Monday, March 27th at 9:00 a.m. at the Federal Court prior to the court hearing. E-mail ida [at] idausa.org or call (415) 388-9641, ext. 222 for more information.

- Visit http://www.idausa.org/campaigns/wildlife/santa_cruz_island_pigs.html to learn more about this campaign.


IDA in the News

The Marin Scope newspaper recently published an article profiling IDA founder and President Dr. Elliot Katz, touching upon some of the victories we have achieved since we started fighting for animals in 1983. From lawsuits and investigations to protests and media campaigns, IDA remains at the forefront of animal protection, winning greater respect for all species in the process. You can read the article at http://www.idausa.org/news/currentnews/060307_newsmarinMardenclipping.pdf .

Please consider a donation to IDA to support our important work on behalf of animals. To contribute, please visit http://idausa.org/donate.html .


The Homeopathy Series: Potencies
Featured Remedy: Hypericum perforatum
by Jan Allegretti, coauthor of The Complete Holistic Dog Book: Home Health Care for Our Canine Companions

This is Part 2 in a series of articles on homeopathic medicine. There are thousands of remedies to choose from, and they're among the easiest to use and safest types of medicine available. In each article we look at a featured remedy and its unique healing properties, and also explore some of the guidelines and background information that will help you get the maximum benefit for the animals in your care.

The first time you visit your health food store to buy a homeopathic remedy can be a bit daunting. You scan the dozens of remedies on display, find the one you're looking for, but then discover you need to choose from vials labeled 6X, 12X, 12C, and 30C. What do the numbers and letters mean? And which one is right for the animal you're caring for?

The answers to these questions start with an understanding of how these remedies are prepared. Homeopathic medicines are highly dilute forms of the substances from which they're made. (See the first article in the Homeopathy Series, "What Is Homeopathy?") To make the remedy known as Hypericum, a remedy commonly used to treat cuts and scrapes, a pharmacist dilutes a tincture of the St. John's Wort plant (its Latin name is Hypericum perforatum) in water or alcohol, and in most cases sprays the solution on tiny sugar pills. When you buy Hypericum from your store or homeopathic pharmacy, the vial of pills is labeled with the name of the remedy along with a number and a letter - actually the Roman numerals X, C or M - to signify just how dilute the solution is, also known as the "potency" of the remedy. A 1X indicates dilution to a ratio of 1:10, or 1 drop of the tincture combined with 10 drops of alcohol or water. A 1C potency indicates a dilution of 1:100, or 1 drop of original substance combined with 100 drops of inert liquid. A 1M indicates a dilution of 1:1,000.

The number that precedes the X, C or M indicates how many times the pharmacist has repeated the dilution process. For example, to make a 1X potency of Hypericum, 1 drop of the mother tincture is placed in 10 drops of water, then pounded or shaken vigorously, or "succussed," to release the energy of the plant into the solution. This gives us our 1:10 dilution. If we take 1 drop of that solution and add it to 10 more drops of water, repeating the process, the result is a 1:100 dilution of the tincture we started with. We call this a 2X potency. If a 6X potency is needed, the process is repeated a total of 6 times to create a 1:1,000,000 solution. Notice that in this case the 6 in 6X tells us how many zeros are in the ratio that describes the dilution.

You can begin to see how a 6X remedy, with only 1 part Hypericum out of 1 million parts water, would leave us with very little of the original plant tincture actually present. Now consider that remedies are often diluted even further. 12X or even 30X potencies are very common. At 30X we would have only 1 drop of mother tincture of Arnica for every 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 drops of our solution!

But wait - it gets even more interesting. Potencies identified with the letter C have been diluted in much the same way as the X potencies, except that for each dilution, 1 drop of mother tincture has been added to 100 drops of inert liquid, for a 1:100 dilution. A 30C potency means we have a ratio with twice as many zeros as in the 30X potency, above. 60C, 100C and 200C go on from there. When referring to even higher dilutions, the Roman numeral M, or more commonly 1M, is used to identify a 1,000C potency. Experienced practitioners use higher potencies still, with designations like 10M or LM.

All these zeros can be mind-boggling. Fortunately, there's no need to try to keep track of them- with a little practice you'll feel comfortable referring to the standard number and letter designation as you choose the appropriate potency for the illness or injury you're dealing with.

This leads us to a very intriguing aspect of homeopathy: The higher the potency - that is, the more dilute a remedy is- the more powerful it is. That's right. A very high potency, in which the original substance has been diluted to a ratio of trillions or more, is more powerful - or deeper acting - than one that has been diluted to a ratio of a thousand or less. As you can imagine, there is much speculation among homeopaths about why this is true. One way to explain it is that the very high potencies carry a pure energetic imprint of the medicine and, therefore, promote healing on a very deep energetic level.

Which potency is the right one for the animal you're caring for? Consider these factors:

1) The severity of the injury or illness: A severe injury will require a higher potency than a minor one. 12C, 30C, or even 1M may be called for.

2) The strength or vitality of the animal: An otherwise strong, healthy animal will handle a high potency remedy well, while one that is old, frail, or very weak from a long-term illness should be treated gently with lower potency remedies, such as 6X or 12X.

If you're uncertain whether your choice of remedy or potency is the one best suited for the condition of the animal you're working with, begin with a lower potency, such as 12X or 6C. If you see some improvement, but the condition remains unresolved, move on to a higher potency. If you see no improvement, re-evaluate her case; a different remedy may be a better match for her symptoms, and will likely stimulate a better healing response.

One final note...These guidelines are intended for use in treatment of acute cases. Chronic illness involves a somewhat different approach, and is beyond the scope of what we can cover in this series. If you're new to homeopathy it's best to work with an experienced practitioner for help with chronic illness. And of course, enlist the help of a veterinarian any time you know or suspect a serious condition exists. But for minor, acute illness and injuries, the safety and effectiveness of homeopathic medicine means you can begin to explore its remarkable healing benefits by starting with the lower potencies and following a few basic guidelines. Chances are both you and your animal friends will be pleased with the results.

Featured Remedy: Hypericum

Hypericum is homeopathy's pain reliever. Think of this remedy for any soft-tissue injury that involves lots of nerve endings, such as cuts, scrapes, even surgical incisions and dental work; also injuries to toenails or hooves. This is an important remedy for puncture wounds (give in alternating doses with Ledum). It will quiet the traumatized nerves and also help prevent infection.

Hypericum is also helpful for back pain, particularly in the lumbar region, or when you see signs of a pinched nerve or muscle spasm. It's affinity for the nervous system also applies to emotional states such as anxiety and depression.

When treating injuries, in most cases you'll start with a dose of Arnica (see the featured remedy in "What Is Homeopathic Medicine?" in this series), then follow with Hypericum. In cuts, scrapes, surgical incisions, or dental work where swelling or bruising of the tissue is likely, continue to alternate the two remedies - a dose of Arnica followed by a dose of Hypericum, then Arnica again, Hypericum, and so forth. (The frequency of the doses will depend on the severity of the symptoms and the progression of healing -more frequently immediately after the injury, tapering off as symptoms disappear. We'll address this in greater depth in an upcoming article.) Once the likelihood of swelling has passed, continue Hypericum alone for pain.

Consider giving Hypericum when you see the following symptoms:*
- A visible cut, scrape, or puncture wound
- Injury to the foot, toes, toenails, hoof or other outer extremity
- Stiff gait, tense back muscles, pain response when you apply gentle pressure to the back, especially in the lumbar area
- Abrupt movement as though trying to get away from pain; sudden crying out as though from a sharp pain; turning to look at the back as though looking for the source of pain; other signs of pinched nerve or muscle spasm
- Recovery from surgery or dental work
- Nervousness, anxiety
- Depression
*Any of these symptoms could be a sign of a serious illness or injury that requires professional care. Contact your veterinarian if you're not sure.

Do you have a comment or a question? Is there a topic you'd like to see addressed in this column? If so, send a message to Jan at AskJan [at] idausa.org . It won't be possible to respond to all emails personally, but she will welcome and read every one.


The Cat Therapist

Twice a month, Carole Wilbourn, the Cat Therapist, answers questions and offers advice on how guardians can enrich their relationships with their beloved feline companions. Click http://www.idausa.org/cat_therapist/men_cats.html to read the latest edition of Cats on the Couch. Also visit Carole's Cat Store ( http://www.thecattherapist.com/cat_store.htm ) to purchase a copy of her classic book, "Cat Talk: What Your Cat is Trying to Tell You." The winners of the Cat Therapist’s Men and Their Cats contest will be announced in the next column.