IDA eNews: 3/07/07

IDA ACTION ALERTS
1. Last Two Hawthorn Elephants Sent to Sanctuary
2. IDA Continues Opposition to Barbaric Canadian Seal Slaughter
3. California Healthy Pets Act Seeks to Stem Animal Homelessness

NEWS & CAMPAIGN UPDATES
1. IDA's Guardian of the Month for April - Jenna Forrest
2. Victory: IDA Halts University's Fatal Medical Sales Trainings
3. San Francisco Protects Wild Parrots' Habitat


IDA ACTION ALERTS

1. Last Two Hawthorn Elephants Sent to Sanctuary
Gypsy & Nicholas to make their new home at PAWS in Northern California

Only several years ago, the Hawthorn Corporation was one of the country's largest suppliers of elephants and tigers to the entertainment industry, and treated elephants so poorly that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) ordered them to surrender the animals to a USDA-approved facility. Many of the female elephants have already been placed at The Elephant Sanctuary ( http://www.elephants.com in Tennessee. However, history will be made next month when the final two Hawthorn elephants complete the long trek from Illinois to their new home at the Performing Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) ( http://www.pawsweb.org/site/homepage.htm ) sanctuary in Northern California.

After lengthy negotiations between PAWS Directors and representatives from the Hawthorn Corporation, an agreement was struck that will allow Gypsy and Nicholas to retire to a permanent home at the spacious ARK2000 sanctuary in San Andreas, Calif. The 2,300-acre sanctuary site currently houses five Asian and three African elephants in a naturalistic hundred-acre-plus habitat of trees, grass and lakes. Beyond donating the elephants, the Hawthorn Corporation is also making a generous financial donation to PAWS in order to fund initial arrangements for the sanctuary to receive the elephants.

Nicholas, a male adolescent Asian elephant, will be the first bull elephant to be taken in by an accredited sanctuary, marking the beginning of a new era in the care of captive pachyderms. The pair will be housed at the old PAWS elephant facility until a Bull Elephant Habitat can be constructed at ARK2000. IDA joins PAWS and elephant advocates in celebrating the fact that Nicholas and Gypsy have found a home where they enjoy wide open spaces and expert care.

What You Can Do:

If they arrive on schedule, the public will have its first opportunity to meet Nicholas and Gypsy at PAWS' Annual Easter Brunch on April 8th, 2007. For more information or to purchase tickets, call (209) 745-2606 or write to info [at] pawsweb.org .

To learn about IDA's ongoing efforts to help captive elephants, please visit http://www.helpelephants.com .


2. IDA Continues Opposition to Barbaric Canadian Seal Slaughter
Annual marine mammal massacre only weeks away

Every year, the Canadian fishing industry declares war on the native seal populations of Newfoundland and Labrador. With the backing of the Canadian Government, fishermen unleash themselves upon the seal nurseries each spring, leaving the snow stained with the blood of over 300,000 innocent seals.

The Canadian seal massacre is the single largest slaughter of mammals in the world. Carried out by fisherman and subsidized by the Canadian government, thousands of seals are brutally killed using rifles, clubs, and hakapiks - wooden rods capped with hooked spikes. One by one the helpless seals are slain on the ice, and, unable to escape, meet their deaths at the end of a hunter's rifle or club. With 95% of the victims being newborn pups less than four weeks old, this "hunt" represents Canada's bloodiest and most guilty secret.

The cruelty of Canada's seal slaughter is both undeniable and indefensible. Seals are limited in their mobility and are unable to effectively flee approaching hunters, making this "hunt" as unfair as it cruel. A 2001 study by experts revealed the scale and severity of the carnage, finding that 79% of hunters did not verify that animals were dead before skinning them. Additionally, 42% of the seals showed minimal or no skull fractures, indicating a high likelihood they were alive and perhaps even conscious while being skinned. Witnesses describe the scene of the slaughter as a vast expanse of crimson ice strewn with the bodies of thousands upon thousands of seals. These animals die needlessly to make unnecessary vanity items for the rich and profit for a heartless few, a tragedy for which an entire nation's government bears a mark of shame.

For a hunt motivated by profit, the numbers are more than suspicious. The primary source of revenue from the hunt is seal fur, which brings in only about $40 per pelt. Based on the official annual kill quota of roughly 300,000 seals, this brings in about $12 million total per year. By placing its national reputation and economic standing in an increasingly conscientious world market on such a controversial activity, Canada risks alienating hundreds of millions of consumers worldwide.

For years international boycotts of Canadian seafood and tourism have been in effect, with serious gains made. Prominent celebrities such as Paul McCartney, Pierce Brosnan, Kim Basinger, Brigitte Bardot, Martin Sheen and others have publicly denounced the killing, and the nation's fastest growing grocery chain, Whole Foods Market, dropped all Canadian seafood from its shelves. The figures in fact suggest profits drawn from the seal slaughter may be exceeded by the financial liability of the boycott. For several weeks of off season income for a few thousand fishermen, Canada subjects itself to international scorn and diminished profit.

Annual opposition to the hunt is widespread and varied. This year, as in years previous, protests will be held at Canadian embassies around the world. In addition, activists will again converge on the killing zone to document the slaughter and place themselves between the sealers and the seals, and boycotts of the Canadian tourism and seafood industries will be renewed and promoted. As we do each year, IDA will participate in this global effort by sponsoring protests and exposing the atrocity of Canada's seal slaughter. This year, please join us in the worldwide effort to restore peace to the ice of Canada.

What you can do:

1) Please "Take Action" to let the Canadian embassy know you will not be traveling to Canada or purchasing Canadian seafood until the government officially puts an end to the seal slaughter ( %takeaction-canadaseals% ). Also please follow up by phone, fax email or postal mail with a polite note to the same effect.

The Honorable Frank McKenna
Office of the Ambassador
Canadian Embassy
501 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20001
Tel: (202) 682-1740
Fax: (202) 682-7701, 202-682-7678
canada [at] canadianembassy.org

2) IDA has long demonstrated against Canada's cruel killing of seals, and this year is no exception. Please join IDA and the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society ( http://seashepherd.org ) at the International Day of Protest against the Canadian seal harvest.

What: Protest against Canadian seal slaughter
When: Wednesday, March 15th from 12:00 noon - 2:00 p.m.
Where: San Francisco/Silicon Valley Consulate General of Canada, 580 California Street, 14th floor, San Francisco (map - http://tinyurl.com/2sse6q )
To RSVP, please contact Melissa Gonzalez at Melissa [at] idausa.org or (415) 388-9641, ext. 228.

What: Protest against Canadian seal slaughter
When: March 15th from 11:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.
Where: Canadian Consulate, 550 South Hope Street (corner of W. 6th and S. Hope), Los Angeles (map - http://tinyurl.com/33la9a )
To RSVP and for more information, contact Robb Mead with Harpseals.org at (949) 230-0430.

Other events are happening around the country and around the world, as well. Find out if a protest is being planned for your area ( http://harpseals.org/helpstop/dayofaction2007.html ).

3) Recently, there has been a strong push in Europe to ban sealskin products. Germany and Belgium have already initiated bans, and Britain has expressed support for a ban on sealskin products throughout the European Union. Read more about these developments in the articles below:

German Politicians Ban Import of Seal Products - http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,2207697,00.html

Belgium becomes first EU country to ban all seal products -http://www.ifaw.org/ifaw/general/default.aspx?oid=202696

Britain blasted for backing seal ban - http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,2010512,00.html

Canada miffed over Britain's take on seal hunt - http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/story.html?id=b872e50c-c420-4616-8ff7-2285373478d8&k=59908

Seal pelt prices likely to drop - http://sealhunt.ca/Articles/Article_Seal_Pelt_Prices_Likely_To_Drop.html


3. California Healthy Pets Act Seeks to Stem Animal Homelessness
Bill would require all dogs and cats adopted or purchased in state to be sterilized

The California Healthy Pets Act ( http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/07-08/bill/asm/ab_1601-1650/ab_1634_bill_20070223_introduced.pdf ) is a bill recently introduced in the state of California by Assemblyman Lloyd Levine, who was IDA's Guardian of the Month ( http://guardiancampaign.com/guardianofmonth_06.htm ) in July 2006. AB 1634 would require that all dogs and cats over four months of age adopted or purchased in California to be spayed or neutered. (Animal breeders would be required to obtain a special intact permit in order to be exempted from the requirement.)

Every year in the United States, an estimated three to four million cats and dogs are killed in animal shelters. Spaying and neutering animal companions is the best way to reduce the number of dogs and cats killed by decreasing the numbers of puppies and kittens being born. By requiring sterilization of all dogs and cats adopted and purchased in the state, AB 1634 would dramatically reduce the number of homeless animals killed in California shelters.

While spaying and neutering has proven the most effective method of stemming the dog and cat overpopulation crisis, there are added benefits to spaying and neutering our animal companions that most people are unaware of. Spayed female dogs and cats have no risk of contracting uterine cancer, and their risk of contracting breast cancer is significantly reduced. Sterilized male cats and dogs are less likely to roam in search of mates, helping to guard animals from fatal diseases like feline leukemia or feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV).

What You Can Do:

- At least 30 states have passed legislation requiring sterilization of cats and dogs adopted from community shelters, but Levine's proposal goes further by holding animals purchased from pet stores or breeders to the same standards. If you would like to help prevent the needless deaths of homeless animals, contact your state senators and assembly members ( http://www.congress.org/congressorg/dbq/officials/?lvl=L ) and encourage them to introduce similar bills in your home state.

- California residents: The California Chapter of the League of Humane Voters (LOHV) ( http://lohv-usa.org ) is looking for volunteers to help with the effort to pass the California Healthy Pets Act. The first hearing on this matter will be held in Sacramento on Tuesday, April 10th. LOHV is setting up task committees in preparation, as animal breeders are already organizing their opposition to AB 1634 and will be out in force. LOHV is looking for dedicated, energetic volunteers who are ready to roll up their sleeves and do some work on this important issue. If you would like to be part of the solution to animal homelessness, join one of the following committees:

1. Letter Writing Campaigns Committee

2. Fundraising Committee (to raise money for transportation to Sacramento for all committee hearing dates)

3. News Media Relations Committee

4. Media Events Committee

5. Campaign Outreach Committees (needed in as many communities throughout the state as possible)

For more information or to join the effort to pass AB 1634, call (323) 666-9075 or e-mail rich [at] humanevoters.org .


NEWS & CAMPAIGN UPDATES

1. IDA's Guardian of the Month for April - Jenna Forrest
Inspired Author gives a voice to Animal Guardians

"If you tend to be unusually intuitive and demonstrably caring, compassionate and spiritual; if you sense danger and see the consequences of an action before others do, and if you have a strong aesthetic awareness and appreciation for animals and nature, then I believe you were born a guardian, and therefore you might relate to Help Is On Its Way – A True Story."
- Jenna Forrest

Jenna Forrest always loved animals and nature, but it wasn't until she began promoting humane and environmental education that she saw a trend in the classrooms she visited. "About one-fifth of the kids in every classroom tended to understand the concept of guardianship immediately -- enough to teach it themselves," says Jenna.

"In every handful of students I could find a thin-skinned child with a deep-thinking mind and yielding heart," adds Jenna, a longtime vegetarian. She recalls one day in particular, when she was observing an ethics-based character education program in South Carolina. She saw a young girl walking into the classroom looking very bright-eyed but I could sense her delicate vulnerability. The child's face reminded her of her own at that age, and she recalled how demoralizing it was growing up in an environment where there was little understanding and encouragement for her love of animals and nature. Over the weeks, Jenna witnessed how the empowering validation offered by this humane education program transformed this shy anxious child into a confident classroom participant.

That was when Jenna wondered what type of transformation might happen if she could reach adults with a book describing the inner thoughts and feelings that some sensitive kids keep hidden. She figured that if more teachers and parents understood that offering sensitive children skills and environments to help them thrive and navigate their own lives, they could turn into creative, powerful and instrumental members of society.

The idea brought tears to her eyes, and on that very day Jenna began writing about the subject she knew best -- her own experience. Two years later, Help Is On Its Way - A True Story is now complete and on bookstore shelves. In the book, she writes: "I wonder how people get to the point where they think it's normal to throw a tiny body in the garbage along with soda cans and boxes of instant mashed potatoes and take it out to the side of the road to be loaded up in junk trucks…like the Earth's birds are the same as garbage just because they're dead."

Being true to her guardian roots, Jenna's book describes how she nurtured animals and referred to all the animals in her book as "he" or "she" rather than "it." "I hope that describing my thoughts and feelings as a sensitive child will validate the good intentions that others have toward animals and nature," she states. "I want to reach right into the hearts of readers. It would be a great honor if this book might someday serve as a resource on childhood sensitivity for a myriad of social service professionals."

For these reasons and more, IDA is proud to name Jenna Forrest our Guardian of the Month for March 2007.

What You Can Do:

Purchase copies of Help Is On Its Way for yourself and offer copies to teachers, relatives, neighbors and friends of sensitive children so that they understand that affinity toward animals and nature is a normal trait that responds well to being embraced with understanding. Learn more about the book and order your copy at http://www.jennaforrest.com , or visit your local bookstore.

Learn more about IDA's Guardian Campaign ( http://guardiancampaign.com ).


2. Victory: IDA Halts University's Fatal Medical Sales Trainings
Documents reveal more than 200 dogs and pigs killed since 2000

After learning that at least 18 dogs and 191 pigs were killed at the University of Colorado at Denver Health Sciences Center (UCDHSC) during sales training workshops for Valleylab, an electrosurgery systems manufacturer, IDA questioned three University of Colorado (CU) Regents, resulting in the immediate cessation of the labs.

Rita Anderson, Director of the Committee for Research Accountability (CRA), a project of IDA, was responsible for acquiring and reviewing about 350 pages of documents obtained from an open records request about the labs, and immediately notified the CU Regents. She soon learned that the university planned to immediately terminate the lethal demonstrations. In an email forwarded by a CU Regent, the university's attorney stated, "The campus has decided to stop these activities because it is not part of UCDHSC's core mission. Therefore, the campus will no longer allow our facilities to be used for programs where the sole purpose is the training of sales personnel."

Since 2000, Valleylab, a division of Tyco Healthcare, has paid CU to train its sales staff in the use of the company's medical equipment using UCDHSC staff and facilities. Over 100 of these staff training labs have been conducted during that time. Of the university's decision, Anderson stated, "I applaud UCDHSC officials for taking immediate action as soon as this situation was brought to their attention."

UCDHSC's arrangement with Valleylab is reminiscent of a recent incident at the Cleveland Clinic in which a neurosurgeon killed a dog as part of a medical device sales demonstration of a machine manufactured by Micrus Endovascular Corp, sparking national outcry over the unnecessary use of live animals for medical sales demonstrations. IDA and other animal protection groups argued that the dog's life could have been spared if the doctor had instead used a high-tech silicone model that is equally or more effective for training sales staff in the use of medical equipment.

Whereas the Micrus demonstration rapidly drew controversy over the death of a single dog, UCDHSC has killed over 200 animals in the past six years. Making matters worse, all of the dogs killed in UCDHSC's facilities were purchased from Class B dealers. These "random-source" animal dealers obtain a variety of animals from pounds, shelters, auctions, classified ads and through other means. Some have even been convicted of stealing dogs and cats from their homes and selling them to research institutions for experimentation.

For the past several years, Anderson has spearheaded a much-publicized campaign to end widely criticized primate experiments taking place at UCDHSC led by researcher Mark Laudenslager. Her efforts bore fruit in September 2006 when 11 of the "CU-34" bonnet macaque monkeys used in these studies were sent to a Texas primate sanctuary. "In light of years of maternal separation and alcohol studies on monkeys and now this Valleylab issue," said Anderson, "my concern is that we do not know what else is being done behind the locked doors of CU's laboratories."


3. San Francisco Protects Wild Parrots' Habitat
Board of Supervisors passes ordinance to preserve and replace vital cypress trees

Back in December 2005, IDA joined the effort to help save a grove of Monterey cypress trees in San Francisco's North Beach neighborhood because they are a favorite perch of the world-famous wild parrots of Telegraph Hill ( http://www.markbittner.net/parrots_central.html ). Readers of last week's eNews ( http://ga0.org/indefenseofanimals/notice-description.tcl?newsletter_id=7537805 ) will recall that IDA started a second petition recently to support legislation proposed by Supervisor Bevan Dufty ( http://www.sfgov.org/site/bdsupvrs_index.asp?id=12723 ) to preserve this habitat and ensure that the parrots will have a home on the Greenwich Steps for years to come.

Well over one year later, after a long campaign by many dedicated private citizens, city officials and the Northeast San Francisco Conservancy, we are proud to announce that yesterday the San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted to pass the ordinance protecting the trees! Mark Bittner, the parrots' longtime caretaker who lives next to the cypresses, noted that "the parrots were sitting in those trees squawking at the very moment the legislation passed." Thank you to everyone who signed IDA's petition ( http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/557131157 ) and asked their family and friends to do the same. More than 1,900 caring people from every corner of the globe showed their support for the parrots by signing on.

IDA presented the results of this petition and the one we started in December 2005 at the Land Use Committee hearing in City Hall on Monday, March 5th. Committee members were impressed that IDA had gathered more than 4,500 signatures in support of protecting the parrots' habitat. The hearing chamber was packed with parrot advocates, many of whom made public statements about how the parrots benefit the people of San Francisco and add to the city's uniqueness. These included Judy Irving (the producer/director of "The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill" - http://www.pelicanmedia.org/store.htm) and Mark Bittner (the movie's co-star), Richard Schulke and Christine Garcia (chair and vice-chair of the Commission of Animal Control and Welfare - http://www.sfgov.org/site/awcc_index.asp?id=1333 ), and IDA spokesperson Mat Thomas, who was also quoted in an ABC7 News story about the parrots ( http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=local&id=5093613 ). "A key element in this success," said Judy Irving, "was the very visible outpouring of support from all over the globe. We couldn't have done it without IDA."

With Arbor Day ( http://www.arborday.org ) coming up on Saturday, March 10th, it's especially fitting that San Francisco has passed this unique ordinance to mandate the pruning and maintenance of the two older cypress trees, plant up to six new parrot-friendly trees, and protect the property owner from legal liability should the dying trees happen to fall before being replaced. Wild parrot flocks now live in such diverse urban environments as Orange County, Calif.; Brooklyn, N.Y.; Fort Lauderdale, Fla. and Chicago, Ill.; as well as numerous cities in Great Britain and elsewhere. San Francisco's innovative solution will show other cities faced with similar issues that living harmoniously with urban wildlife benefits everyone -- human and animal alike.

What You Can Do:

Watch the broadcast television premiere of "The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill" on Tuesday, May 29th at 9:00 pm when it airs on PBS' Independent Lens series. For more information, check local listings for your area ( http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/broadcast.html ).

Purchase a copy of "The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill" on DVD or VHS ( http://www.pelicanmedia.org/store.htm ), as well as Mark Bittner's best-selling book "The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill: A Love Story...With Wings" ( http://www.pelicanmedia.org/wildparrots.html ).


Bid for Awesome Items in IDA's eBay Auction for the Animals

IDA's eBay Auction for the Animals is going on now, so be sure to visit http://www.idausa.org and click on the Auction for Animals button to see and bid on the exciting items we have to offer. And remember, every item purchased helps animals by supporting IDA's important work.

IDA is also still accepting items for the auction. To donate items or for more information about the auction, please contact Nicole Otoupalik at (800) 338-4451 or via e-mail at nicole [at] idausa.org . All donations are tax deductible.