IDA eNews: 1/02/08

Escaped Tiger at SF Zoo Kills One, Injures Two, Before Being Shot Dead
IDA's January 2008 Guardian of the Month - Lacey Conner
22 Pit Bulls Seized in Louisiana Dogfighting Case


Escaped Tiger at SF Zoo Kills One, Injures Two, Before Being Shot Dead
IDA calls for closure of zoo's tiger exhibit, transfer of remaining tigers to sanctuary, ban on public feeding of large cats, and increased USDA oversight of zoos

Around 5:00 p.m. on Christmas Day, a 350-pound Siberian tiger named Tatiana escaped from her outdoor enclosure at the San Francisco Zoo, then killed 17-year-old Carlos Sousa, Jr. and severely wounded two young companions. After a chaotic search and rescue mission, Tatiana was shot to death outside the zoo's café by police who fired an unknown number of .40-caliber bullets into her body.

More than a week after the tragedy, exactly how and why the 4-year-old Tatiana broke out of the zoo exhibit remain unknown. Police are investigating the incident based on physical evidence found at the scene, as well as an autopsy of the human victim and a necropsy of Tatiana. Here are some relevant facts about the case:

- The Tiger Exhibit: At 12½ feet high, the wall separating tigers from visitors at the San Francisco Zoo is four feet shorter than the minimal safety standards recommended by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), a zoo industry lobbying group to which USDA has irresponsibly delegated much of its oversight responsibility. It is also 8 feet shorter than zoo officials originally reported following the attack. Excessive wear on Tatiana's rear claws suggests that she may have grabbed the top of the wall with her front paws and pulled herself up and over the top. Statements from the zoo and AZA revealed that this deadly deficiency went unnoticed during 40 years of inspections, leading to serious concerns about the AZA and USDA inspection protocols.

- Possible provocation: Speculation that the three human victims provoked the attack by taunting Tatiana remains unconfirmed. However, police found a shoeprint on the railing of the waist-high outer fence that is designed as a barrier to keep the public away from the moat surrounding the tigers. This suggests that one of the young men may have scaled the fence and dangled an arm or leg over the side, which Tatiana could have used as a foothold to escape. Police also found a shoe and blood spattered in the area between the public gate and the moat, and in the moat were sticks and pinecones that zoo officials say could not have fallen in there naturally, and therefore must have been thrown.

- The Zoo's Response: The zoo failed to follow its own emergency protocols ( http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/12/29/MN00U65BE.DTL ) in responding to the crisis, and neglected to notify visitors that a dangerous wild animal was on the loose. Zoo employees who called police also reported the incident as though the bleeding witnesses who ran screaming into the café were mentally deranged or playing a prank, so police response was slower than it would have been if the situation were reported accurately. Once police were outside the zoo's gates, security guards following orders refused to let officers inside for several crucial minutes after they first arrived, delaying their rescue efforts.

- The Surviving Victims: The two brothers (aged 19 and 23) who survived the attack have reportedly been uncooperative with authorities, initially refusing to identify themselves or their dead friend, or provide police with an account of the incident. At this time, details of their interview with police have not been made public. Both survivors were released from San Francisco General Hospital after several days of surgery, and have hired an attorney in anticipation of filing a lawsuit against the zoo.

Inciting Aggression as Amusement

Whether Tatiana was taunted or not, critics on all sides charge that she should not have been able to escape her enclosure, an apparently unprecedented occurrence that seriously endangered the public and resulted in the loss of human and animal lives. Experts in animal behavior concur that Tatiana probably did just what a large apex predator would be expected to do under the circumstances -- chase down and slaughter her prey.

IDA has further asserted that the San Francisco Zoo's public feeding of large cats may have contributed to Tatiana's violent reaction. "Public feeding sessions encourage and reward aggressive behavior towards humans," said IDA President and Founder Dr. Elliot Katz. "Taunting tigers during the public feeding to get a rise out of them, to cause them to show signs of aggression, and to frustrate them for the titillation of the public, is most likely a critical factor in aggression they demonstrate toward keepers and zoo visitors." Katz also noted that the San Francisco Zoo wisely stopped publicly feeding large cats after Tatiana tore the flesh from zookeeper Lori Komejan's arm during an eating display almost exactly one year before the Christmas incident, but resumed the counterproductive ritual several months ago in an apparent effort to attract more visitors.

Safety and Welfare

In the wake of the attack, San Francisco's Mayor and Board of Supervisors are forcefully calling for a review of the zoo's safety and management, and some are suggesting the city reevaluate their relationship with the non-profit San Francisco Zoological Society, which handles the zoo's maintenance and operation. Notably, the zoo had not posted security guards or other staff at the tiger exhibit to ensure the public does not taunt the animals. San Francisco Zoo director Manuel Mollinedo has promised that surveillance cameras will be installed around the tiger and lion exhibits, and that a new metal barrier will be erected on top of the wall.

Yet the safety precautions suggested by Mollinedo do not even begin to address the conditions in which captive tigers are held, and which cause ongoing frustration and neurotic behavior among individuals put on display for public entertainment. In the wild, Siberian tigers have a territory of about 20 square miles. Yet a map of the San Francisco Zoo ( http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/object/article?o=2&f=/c/a/2007/12/27/MNABU4Q5T.DTL ) shows that the tiger enclosure, which held four animals before Tatiana's death, is a rectangle that is merely one short city block in length (that is, less than 200 feet), and even narrower in width. Such a small area cannot possibly provide a decent quality of life for members of a species who normally roam far and wide over the boreal forests and tundras of their native habitat.

IDA Calls for Change

In response to conflicting statements by the San Francisco Zoo and the AZA about the tiger enclosure, IDA challenged the zoo's decision to re-open in early January, calling for the facility to remain closed pending investigations by state and federal law enforcement and regulatory agencies. This will give the city time to reconsider the zoo's role in the community, and to assess whether the zoo is meeting obligations to the animals in its custody and the public who visit them. IDA also urged that the zoo's tiger exhibit be permanently closed and the remaining tigers immediately transferred to a sanctuary. We also asked the USDA to immediately inspect all tiger exhibits at other facilities around the country, and to order the closure of those that do not meet or exceed even the minimal, inadequate AZA guidelines.

IDA also called for Mollinedo's removal as Zoo Director. "Director Mollinedo has shown an inability to ensure that the San Francisco Zoo meets even minimal standards for public safety and animal comfort," said Dr. Katz, also noting that the USDA, which possesses but rarely exercises a Congressional mandate to oversee zoos, too often defers to the AZA in matters of public safety as well as animal protection. "Zoos claim that their animal captives are comfortable and their human visitors safe merely because zoos are regulated by both the AZA and the USDA. If this zoo has been around and inspected since the 1940s, and neither the AZA nor the USDA noticed such a serious and potentially deadly deficiency, what does that say for their inspection protocols?"

What You Can Do:

1) Please Take Action ( %takeaction-tatiana% ) to ask USDA Secretary Charles Conner to step up inspections of tiger exhibits around the country and to close all those that fail to meet minimal AZA standards, and to put an immediate halt to all public feeding displays of large cats.

2) Please contact the SF Zoo urging them to:
- Immediately terminate Mollinedo as Director.
- Close the tiger exhibit for good.
- Send the tigers to an accredited sanctuary where they can have a decent quality of life.

San Francisco Zoo
1 Zoo Road
San Francisco, CA 94132
Tel: (415) 753-7080

2) San Francisco residents: Ask the SF Board of Supervisors to hold hearings to carefully evaluate the purpose and practices of the SF Zoo.

San Francisco Board of Supervisors
1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place, Room 244
San Francisco, CA 94102
Tel: (415) 554-5184
Email: board.of.supervisors [at] sfgov.org


IDA's January 2008 Guardian of the Month - Lacey Conner
From rescue to advocacy, VH-1's Rock of Love "bad girl" does good for animals

Lacey Conner is best known for her role as a contestant on Rock of Love ( http://www.vh1.com/shows/dyn/rock_of_love/series.jhtml ), VH-1's reality TV series that pitted 20 young women against each other for the romantic affections of rock star Bret Michaels, lead singer of popular '80s glam-metal band Poison. Fans of the show will remember Lacey as the "villain" who took to provoking the other girls, but her friends and admirers would attest this was more like a character she was portraying than the genuinely sweet and caring person she is in real life. Lacey says she strategically chose the troublemaker role because it made for more interesting viewing and earned her extra camera time -- which she often used to speak out strongly against cruelty to animals.

"I tried to use the show as a platform to shine a light on issues relating to animals," Lacey says. For instance, she infamously had it out with another girl on the show who decided to flaunt her fur coat and make jokes about killing animals. Lacey explains that "I made it very clear in my response that, in my opinion, there is nothing 'cool' about torturing and killing innocent animals for their fur, and nothing funny about the pain they suffer for human vanity."

More recently, Lacey spoke out against fur again while visiting family for Thanksgiving in her hometown of Dallas, Tex. at a Fur Free Friday demonstration ( http://flickr.com/photos/idausa/sets/72157602162412245/detail/ ) co-hosted by IDA and local groups. Over the years, Lacey has also protested the circus, and helped IDA protest seal slaughter by joining us outside of the Canadian Embassy in Los Angeles, where she has lived for the last three years. But Lacey's primary passion these days is her animal rescue operation, New Dawn Pet Rescue ( http://www.newdawnpetrescue.org/index.htm ), which she founded in April 2007.

Lacey's rescue work begins at the L.A. city animal shelter, where she finds dogs who are about to be put down and takes them home so they can have another chance at life. Because of the volume of animals coming into the shelter, many of these canines are young and healthy, but some are ill or injured, so Lacey makes sure they get all the veterinary care they need to recover. At any given time, there may be five or six dogs running around her house and yard, and she also has three dogs of her own -- Sadie, Siouxsie, and Scout -- as well as a beloved horse named Paladin.

In 2008, Lacey plans to continue attending animal rights protests, and has some big career plans as well, which include another possible program on VH-1 that she hopes will offer her more opportunities to get the animal rights message out. She has also been making noise for animals as a musician, specifically as the lead singer of Nocturne ( http://www.nocturne.cc/ ), an industrial-Goth band that often incorporates animal and human rights themes into its lyrics. Lacey recently decided to take an indefinite hiatus from Nocturne to pursue a more pop-infused direction in her music, but still aims to include animal motifs in her songs.

If there is one thing Lacey hopes to rouse in people, it is a desire and determination to do something to help animals. "It seems that a lot of people truly do care about animals, but are unaware of the level of cruelty that is sanctioned by society," she says, "so we need to focus on making them aware of what is really happening, however disturbing it is." Emails from young fans who are inspired by Lacey's outspoken compassion to help animals motivate her to keep up the good work, but she emphasizes that you don't need to be a celebrity to make a difference.

"I try to set an example that will encourage people to do something, no matter how big or small," she says, "because collectively, if we all do our part, it will add up to be something huge! We each need to use whatever means we have at our disposal -- in my case, a role on a TV show -- to rally people into getting excited about making the world a better place. And that's what I intend to keep doing, wherever my career takes me."

Learn more about Lacey Conner, IDA's January 2008 Guardian of the Month, at myspace.com/laceyrockoflove .


22 Pit Bulls Seized in Louisiana Dogfighting Case
Urge fire department to fire man facing dogfighting charges for second time

Caddo Animal Services officers who raided the Shreveport home of firefighter Eric Mosley on December 18th seized 22 pit bulls and equipment used to train dogs for fighting. The dogs were confined by heavy chains, and had no food and only filthy water in their bowls. Mosley, 42, was arrested on one count of felony dog fighting and taken to jail, but soon released on $10,000 bond.

This is the second time that Mosley has been charged with felony dog fighting. After a year-long undercover investigation, authorities raided Mosley's home in 2005 and seized a total of 37 dogs and dogfighting gear. However, the courts ultimately acquitted him of the charges.

The 22 pit bulls seized last month are being cared for at the Caddo Animal Services shelter. Meanwhile, Caddo Parish Animal Control and Shreveport Police Department are conducting a joint investigation of the crime. The Caddo Parish Fire Department has placed Mosley on paid leave while conducting their own internal investigation.

What You Can Do:

1) Call the Caddo Parish Fire Department and urge them to terminate any employees who are involved in dogfighting.
- Interim Fire Chief David Glass: (318) 673-6655
- Deputy Fire Chief Mack McCoy (318) 673-6658

2) Write to Shreveport's District Attorney asking that he seek the maximum legal penalty in prosecuting Mosley and others implicated in felony dogfighting.

Office of the District Attorney, Criminal Division
Attn: Paul Carmouche
501 Texas Street
Shreveport, LA 71101

Please also send copies of letters to:

Debra Barlow
Certified Animal Cruelty Investigator
12193 Providence Road #A
Shreveport, LA 71129


IDA-Project Hope Adoption Spotlight - Dottie

There are many animals at the IDA-Project Hope sanctuary ( http://www.project-hope.net ) who need homes and loving guardians. Dottie is one such dog. She is shy and reserved but extremely sweet and affectionate, and once you gain her trust, you will have a true and loyal companion. She gets along well with other animals, but prefers that they share her laid-back temperament.

If you are interested in adopting Dottie, call IDA-Project Hope director Doll Stanley at (662) 237-0233 or email doll [at] idausa.org for more information.

Also pay an online visit to the other animals at IDA-Project Hope who are in need of loving guardians ( http://search.petfinder.com/shelterSearch/shelterSearch.cgi?shelterid=MS05&preview=1 ), or financially sponsor a dog, cat, pig, goat, or chicken living at the sanctuary ( http://www.project-hope.net/adoption_gallery.html ).

Great Holiday Gift: IDA-Africa's 2008 Calendar

Support IDA-Africa by purchasing a calendar highlighting some of the special chimpanzees at our Sanaga-Yong Chimpanzee Rescue Center. Each month features a beautiful color photograph and a short biography for a different chimpanzee, as well as important U.S. and Cameroon dates and animal welfare observance days.

Each 17" x 11" calendar is only $15, including shipping and handling and proceeds from each purchase directly benefit the chimpanzees at the sanctuary. View the calendar online ( http://www.ida-africa.org/index.php?page_id=272 ) and order yours today!


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