IDA - Bay Area Events

IDA EVENTS
1. IDA Rodeo Protest in San Francisco
2. Protest UCSF's Abuse of Dogs during WWAIL
3. Gopher Gardening at Ocean Beach
4. Job Opportunities at IDA
OTHER BAY AREA EVENTS TO HELP ANIMALS
1. Support Bill to Protect Animals Sold in Pet Stores
2. Open Field Coursing Ban Moves Forward
3. Compassionate Cooks' April Cooking Class: "Healthful
Mediterranean Menu"
4. EBAA Exposes the Rabbit Meat Industry

IDA EVENTS

1. IDA Rodeo Protest in San Francisco

Rodeo is a cruel "sport" that injures, maims and kills animals
in the name of entertainment. Few rodeo spectators realize that
horses, cows, calves and bulls are normally docile animals who
are forced to appear wild and dangerous through abusive means.
Handlers agitate these otherwise gentle creatures with electric
prods, flank straps, ropes and spurs for the "entertainment" of
the crowd. Regular rodeo events include chasing baby calves on
horseback and lassoing them around the neck, jumping from horses
on top of steers and twisting their heads to force them into the
dirt, and riding "bucking broncos" who are actually domesticated
horses leaping frantically in the air only because of the flank
straps cinched tightly around their sensitive abdomens.

Sadly, some people believe that rodeos are wholesome family
entertainment, and ignore the harm they do to animals and the
message rodeos send to young people: that abusing animals for
fun is tolerable. Watching cowboys hurt gentle creatures for the
crowd's amusement can have a strong impression on children and
dull their natural sensitivity to animals. Children who are told
that it is acceptable and even fun to hurt animals are more
likely to become abusive adults, perpetuating the cycle of
violence against both humans and animals.

What You Can Do:

Please attend a demonstration hosted by Silicon Valley IDA to
protest the callous mistreatment of animals that is part and
parcel of the rodeo. Teachers and students are especially
encouraged to participate and speak out on the animals' behalf.

What: IDA rodeo protest
When: Friday, April 7th, 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Where: Cow Palace, Geneva Avenue (at Santos Street), San
Francisco (click http://www.cowpalace.com/cpinfo.html for directions)

Signs and leaflets will be provided. For more information about
this event, please contact Alfredo Kuba at
bkind2animals [at] comcast.net or (650) 965-8705.

2. Protest UCSF's Abuse of Dogs during WWAIL

As part of IDA's 19th annual World Week For Animals In
Laboratories (WWAIL), we are joining with Vigil For Animals to
protest the University of California, San Francisco's (UCSF's)
cruel use of dogs in highly controversial taxpayer-funded
medical experiments. Given UCSF's numerous Animal Welfare Act
violations and repeated refusal to obey California Public
Records Act (CPRA) requests for information, IDA and Vigil For
Animals contend that UCSF is an unfit guardian for dogs. By
educating the public, we can help end the pointless suffering of
these exploited animals.

Since early 2004, animal advocates have been trying to stop
three cardiology research projects involving dogs at UCSF from
going forward. Dr. Michael Dae's project involving German
shepherds has been terminated, but the university has yet to
document what happened to dozens of dogs used in the project.
Despite the filing of a CPRA request over a year ago and a
lawsuit against UCSF for refusing to release this public
information, the dogs' fate remains unknown. Meanwhile, Dr.
Jeffrey Olgin's experiments have already resulted in the
acquisition of at least 62 dogs and the suffering and death of
over 40 of them. Protocols for these projects indicate the
planned use of 747 dogs over a three-year period. Olgin's other
project has not begun, and it is possible that it has been
combined with the previously mentioned project. There are seven
other research projects involving 128 dogs at UCSF as well, five
of which are publicly funded.

UCSF oversight of its care and use of animals is ineffective, as
evidenced by its Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee's
failure to ensure that principal investigators fully
investigated alternatives to the use of dogs and other animals
(as required by the Animal Welfare Act) before approving
protocols. Other serious concerns about UCSF research protocols
involving dogs (e.g., poor rationale for use of dogs and other
animals, mathematical errors regarding the numbers of dogs
required, questionable scientific premises, and unclear
descriptions of procedures performed on the dogs) call the
scientific validity of these projects into doubt.

Dogs deserve better, and UCSF must be held accountable to the
taxpayers who are funding this research with money that could be
used for more effective and humane non-animal research. With
government bureaucracies presenting a formidable barrier to
obtaining information and resolving welfare concerns, an
outreach campaign to stop the use of dogs in vivisection in San
Francisco is needed.

What You Can Do:

Attend two protests in San Francisco against UCSF's use of dogs
in experiments. IDA and Vigil For Animals will host these
demonstrations on Monday, April 24th and Tuesday, April 25th as
the kickoff for WWAIL in the Bay Area. One protest will be held
at UCSF's Mission Bay campus, and the other at the main campus
on Parnassus Avenue. The tentative time for these protests will
be from 12:00 to 2:00 p.m. For more information, please contact
IDA Campaign Coordinator Melissa Gonzalez at Melissa [at] idausa.org
or (415) 388-9641, ext. 228. We will send out an alert with
complete details about the protests once they are finalized.

3. Gopher Gardening at Ocean Beach

Join the San Francisco Wildlife Protection Project, an effort by
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 ongoing monthly
effort, and usually takes place on the first Saturday of each
month.

What: Gopher Gardening
When: Saturday, May 6th, 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon
Where: Corner of the Great Highway and Wawona Street, San
Francisco, at the small brick Recreation and Park maintenance
building. Click http://tinyurl.com/4hnh2 for directions to this
event.

For more information, please contact Melissa Gonzalez at
melissa [at] idausa.org or (415) 388-9641, ext. 228.

4. Job Opportunities at IDA

Have you ever dreamed about a career in animal rights? Well, now
you can make that wish come true. IDA currently has several job
openings at our new San Rafael headquarters. We are looking for
five highly motivated individuals to fill the following exciting
positions: Graphic Designer, Graphic Production Artist,
Editor/Writer, Development Associate and Administrative
Assistant. To learn more about the duties and qualifications for
these positions and to apply, visit IDA's Job Opportunities
webpage ( http://www.idausa.org/about/jobs.html ).

OTHER BAY AREA EVENTS TO HELP ANIMALS

1. Support Bill to Protect Animals Sold in Pet Stores

Last year, an investigation of California pet stores in four
major metropolitan areas revealed widespread violations of
California laws designed to protect animals sold in pet stores,
as well as instances of inadequate care and conditions that were
harmful to the animals but did not violate current state law.
Assemblymember Mark Ridley-Thomas (D-Los Angeles) has introduced
a bill (AB 2862) that would help correct gaps and weaknesses in
state law governing the care of animals at pet stores. If
passed, AB 2862 would strengthen existing law by setting
specific standards of care and providing tools for improved
enforcement of laws, resulting in better care for animals and
improved consumer protection. AB 2862 would:

- Require that veterinary care be provided to cats, dogs, birds,
rabbits, reptiles, and other animals who become sick or injured
- Set measurable standards for cage sizes
- Establish specific, reasonable sanitation measures to ensure
the comfort of the animals and help protect against bacterial,
fungal and viral illnesses
- Oblige pet store operators to provide animals with
environmental enrichment (toys, nest boxes, exercise wheels,
etc.)

What You Can Do:

- Click http://ga0.org/campaign/AB2862 to urge your state
Assemblymember to support AB 2862. To have an even greater
impact, contact your Assemblymember by phone or postal mail.
Click http://ga0.org/indefenseofanimals/home.html and enter your
zip code to get the mailing address and phone number, or call
the Government Information Hotline at (916) 322-9900 and give
the operator your address. Please forward a copy of your letter
to:

Assembly Business & Profession Committee
Attn: Tracy Rhine, Committee Analyst
1020 N Street, Room 124
Sacramento, CA 95814

- AB 2868 is scheduled to be heard by the Assembly Business &
Professions Committee on Tuesday, April 18th beginning at 9:00
a.m. at the State Capital in Sacramento. If you would like to
attend this meeting and speak out for the animals, please
contact bschmitz [at] api4animals.org .

2. Open Field Coursing Ban Moves Forward

AB 2110, the bill to ban open field coursing in California,
passed Assembly Public Safety Committee this week, and is now
headed for the Assembly floor. As we have reported in previous
alerts, open field coursing is a blood sport in which packs of
specially-trained dogs are set loose in a field to chase and
kill wild jackrabbits flushed out by spectators. The dogs
(mostly greyhounds dressed in colored racing jackets) are scored
by the agility and speed with which they chase down their prey,
and rewarded for tearing the rabbits apart. AB 2110, introduced
by Assemblymember Loni Hancock (D - Berkeley), would make
participation in open field coursing a misdemeanor punishable by
six months in jail, a $1,000 fine or both.

What You Can Do:

- Click http://ga0.org/campaign/AB2110 to urge your Assembly
member to support this bill to ban open field coursing. To have
greater influence on these decision makers, also call and write
letters of support. Click
http://ga0.org/indefenseofanimals/home.html and enter your zip
code to get the mailing address and phone number.

- San Jose residents: Be aware that Assemblywoman Rebecca Cohn
(D-San Jose, 24th District) came out strongly against the bill,
saying "If my family didn't hunt, particularly before the winter
time, we didn't have any protein available to us." If you are
one of her constituents (click
http://democrats.assembly.ca.gov/members/a24/images/map24.jpg
for a district map), please write her a polite letter letting
her know that people can easily get adequate protein without
scoring dogs on their ability to rip apart a defenseless rabbit
the fastest.

Assemblywoman Rebecca Cohn
100 Paseo De San Antonio, Suite 319
San Jose, CA 95113
Tel: (408) 282-8920
Fax: (408) 282-8927
E-mail: Assemblymember.Cohn [at] assembly.ca.gov

- TV news anchor Dan Noyes from the I-team at KGO, the ABC San
Francisco affiliate, did another hard-hitting follow-up on this
issue yesterday. Click
http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=i_team&id=4054999 to
watch a video of the news segment online. Please click
http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=i_team&id=3308976thank
to e-mail Dan Noyes and the I-Team thanking them for doing such
a great job.

- Solano County residents: Solano County is also considering a
local ban on open field coursing. Please urge your Supervisor to
support the ban. Click
http://www.co.solano.ca.us/Contact/Contact.asp?NavID=468 to find
your Supervisor's contact information.

3. Compassionate Cooks' April Cooking Class: "Healthful
Mediterranean Menu"

Join Compassionate Cooks for their next vegan cooking class,
"Healthful Mediterranean Menu," and learn to make five
delicious, nutritious dishes, including Basic Basil Pesto with
Polenta Squares, Muhammara (Roasted Red Pepper and Walnut
Spread), Elegantly Simple Stuffed Bell Peppers, Asparagus Soup
with Fresh Herbs, and Delicious Date Squares. Using local,
in-season, mostly organic ingredients, Compassionate Cooks
features easy-to-prepare recipes and debunks myths about
plant-based diets. Join the class in April for yummy food
samples and a lot of fun!

What: Compassionate Cooks' April Cooking Class: "Healthful
Mediterranean Menu"
When: Saturday, April 15th, 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Where: The First Unitarian Church of Oakland, 685 14th Street
(at Castro), Oakland (click http://uuoakland.org/directions.htm
for directions)

Be sure to register in advance either online at
http://www.compassionatecooks.com/reg.htm or by calling (510) 531-COOK.
You can also mail a check to Colleen Patrick-Goudreau, P.O. Box
18512, Oakland, CA 94619. The $45 cost of the class includes
instruction, food samples, copies of recipes and much more.

4. EBAA Exposes the Rabbit Meat Industry

Each year over eight million rabbits are raised and slaughtered
for their meat by approximately 200,000 producers across the
United States. Known primarily as a cottage industry, American
rabbit meat production is largely unregulated by the federal,
state and local authorities.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) classifies
rabbits as poultry. Designated as farm animals, meat rabbits are
denied legal protection by the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act
and Animal Welfare Act. They are often raised in battery cages
much as chickens are in the egg industry.

In 2006, East Bay Animal Advocates (EBAA)
(http://www.eastbayanimaladvocates.org) documented conditions at
Cloverdale Rabbit Company, California's second largest
commercial rabbit meat slaughterhouse. Visit
http://www.rabbitproduction.com to see what EBAA uncovered.