Call Senators to Support Senate Resolution 33 - To Condemn the Canadian Seal Kill
Senator Carl Levin of Michigan has introduced Senate Resolution 33 which
would condemn the Canadian seal hunt and ask the Canadian government to
stop
it. Please call your Senators and ask them to support Senate Resolution
33:
Don't know who they are? Go to the following link to find out:
http://thomas.loc.gov/
It's worth a try!
Thursday, March 31, 2005
Tuesday, March 29, 2005
Tell UW-Madison to Stop Cruel Taser Experiments on Pigs! - Contact Information
Tell UW-Madison to Stop Cruel Taser Experiments on Pigs!
The first link will tell you how you can help stop these tests. The second
link is an article with a live poll. Please vote "no". There is also an address and sample letter below the links. Get to it!!!
http://www.peta.org/Automation/AlertItem.asp?id=1264
http://www.channel3000.com/news/4326263/detail.html
ALSO:
Please contact University of Wisconsin-Madison
> Chancellor John D. Wiley
> and politely urge him to put an immediate end to
> this utterly
> unnecessary and ill-conceived experiment and return
> the grant to the
> Department of Justice:
> John D. Wiley, Chancellor
> University of Wisconsin-Madison
> 161 Bascom Hall
> 500 Lincoln Dr.
> Madison, WI 53706
> 608-262-9946
> 608-262-8333 (fax)
> chancellor@news.wisc.edu
>)'; return true;" onmouseout="status='';">chancellor@news.wisc.edu%20>
> Read a letter to Chancellor Wiley from the sister of
> a Taser victim.
>
<http://cl.exct.net/?ffcd16-fe5f15767d67037a7514-fe27117274600d7a741778>
The first link will tell you how you can help stop these tests. The second
link is an article with a live poll. Please vote "no". There is also an address and sample letter below the links. Get to it!!!
http://www.peta.org/Automation/AlertItem.asp?id=1264
http://www.channel3000.com/news/4326263/detail.html
ALSO:
Please contact University of Wisconsin-Madison
> Chancellor John D. Wiley
> and politely urge him to put an immediate end to
> this utterly
> unnecessary and ill-conceived experiment and return
> the grant to the
> Department of Justice:
> John D. Wiley, Chancellor
> University of Wisconsin-Madison
> 161 Bascom Hall
> 500 Lincoln Dr.
> Madison, WI 53706
> 608-262-9946
> 608-262-8333 (fax)
> chancellor@news.wisc.edu
>
> Read a letter to Chancellor Wiley from the sister of
> a Taser victim.
>
<http://cl.exct.net/?ffcd16-fe5f15767d67037a7514-fe27117274600d7a741778>
Wis. Professor to Test Stun Guns on Pigs - What an Idiot - Let's Stop This
We need to try to stop this sicko. Gee, stun guns hurt???
Wis. Professor to Test Stun Guns on Pigs
34 minutes ago
Top Stories - AP
By RYAN J. FOLEY, Associated Press Writer
MADISON, Wis. - A professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison plans to
study whether stun guns alone can kill pigs — or whether other medical factors
must be at play — as part of an effort to understand why 70 people have died in
North America since 2001 after being shocked by Tasers.
Led by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, outraged animal rights
activists are calling for an end to the two-year study by John Webster, a
professor emeritus of biomedical engineering.
Police hail stun guns as a nonlethal way to restrain unruly suspects. But
critics blame the weapons for dozens of deaths, and police departments are
reviewing how they use the devices, which shoot two small darts carrying about
50,000 volts of electricity to temporarily paralyze people.
Webster wants to test his hypothesis that Taser-related deaths were the result
of heart failure fueled by drug use and other medical factors, not electrocution
by the devices. To do so, researchers will begin in the next month studying how
Taser electrical currents flow through 150-pound pigs.
Of three groups of pigs in the study, one will be given cocaine, one will be
shocked with the devices, and one will be given both cocaine and electric
blasts. Some will be subjected to Webster's "SuperTaser," up to 30 times as
powerful as the model police use. All pigs will be on anesthesia so they won't
feel pain.
"If the hypothesis is correct that Tasers do not electrocute the heart, then why
are people dying in custody after they have been shot by Tasers? The people on
our team have hypotheses why that's true and we intend to answer that question,"
Webster said. "Our goal is to save lives."
Animal rights activists say the study, funded by a $500,000 U.S. Department of
Justice grant, is cruel and unnecessary. They plan protests on the UW-Madison
campus starting this week.
"Shocking more pigs is only going to add their numbers to the Taser-related
death statistics," Patti Gilman, whose brother died after being shot with a
Taser in British Columbia in June 2004, wrote in a letter to the school.
"Robert's death never should have happened. And neither should these experiments."
In a letter to PETA this month, UW-Madison Chancellor John Wiley said the study
could have a significant impact on the use of stun guns. He said researchers
have no other alternative than to use pigs, whose hearts are more like humans
than any other species.
In Wisconsin, the state Department of Justice convened an advisory committee to
create guidelines for police training and use of Tasers. On Tuesday, the
committee is scheduled to hold its first public hearing in Stevens Point, where
Webster will be among four presenters.
Webster said his research could lead to advice for how police should use the
devices, standards for how powerful stun guns can be, and instructions for
emergency room physicians on how to treat those who have been shocked.
Webster suggested some of the Taser-related deaths were from a rare condition
known as malignant hyperthermia, in which bodies essentially overheat. He will
test that theory on swine that have been specially bred to have the condition.
Other suspects may have died if potassium that is released into the blood stream
after muscle contractions caused by a Taser shock reached the heart, Webster
said. Cocaine use might be another factor, he said.
Webster's research is the first independent look at how Tasers affect pigs'
hearts. Research published in January sponsored by Taser International, the
Scottsdale, Ariz.-based maker of the devices, found that 15 times the charge
from ordinary stun guns was needed to electrocute the heart of even the smallest
pigs studied.
Taser said Webster is well-qualified to study the devices, which it says are
safe. The company says Tasers are being used by more than 7,000 law enforcement,
military and correctional agencies in the world.
"We welcome Professor Webster's research as it can provide continued independent
research concerning the safety of our life-saving Taser technology," said
company spokesman Steve Tuttle.
Taser research on animals dates to 1989, involving dogs, bulls and pigs, but
Webster's study is the only known such research now under way, according to PETA.
While all the pigs will be filled with anesthesia, they will be euthanized after
the experiments, said Webster, who predicted about 30 pigs would be used. The
research could create a computer model that would eliminate the need for more
animal testing, he said.
"I think this is an outstanding example of one of those questions that can only
be answered using animals," said Eric Sandgren, a UW-Madison professor who heads
a committee that oversees animal research. "Boy, there's been a lot of deaths
from this. If the alternative is to go back to using bullets, let's find out how
to make this safe."
That's a worthy goal, but researchers should instead study humans who have
survived Taser shocks and autopsy reports of those who died, said Laura Yanne of
PETA. She promised an "unprecedented" protest on Tuesday, but would not release
details.
"Subjecting pigs to cruel experiments is not the way to go on this. It's so
obvious," she said. "This is a half-million dollar boondoggle."
Wis. Professor to Test Stun Guns on Pigs
34 minutes ago
Top Stories - AP
By RYAN J. FOLEY, Associated Press Writer
MADISON, Wis. - A professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison plans to
study whether stun guns alone can kill pigs — or whether other medical factors
must be at play — as part of an effort to understand why 70 people have died in
North America since 2001 after being shocked by Tasers.
Led by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, outraged animal rights
activists are calling for an end to the two-year study by John Webster, a
professor emeritus of biomedical engineering.
Police hail stun guns as a nonlethal way to restrain unruly suspects. But
critics blame the weapons for dozens of deaths, and police departments are
reviewing how they use the devices, which shoot two small darts carrying about
50,000 volts of electricity to temporarily paralyze people.
Webster wants to test his hypothesis that Taser-related deaths were the result
of heart failure fueled by drug use and other medical factors, not electrocution
by the devices. To do so, researchers will begin in the next month studying how
Taser electrical currents flow through 150-pound pigs.
Of three groups of pigs in the study, one will be given cocaine, one will be
shocked with the devices, and one will be given both cocaine and electric
blasts. Some will be subjected to Webster's "SuperTaser," up to 30 times as
powerful as the model police use. All pigs will be on anesthesia so they won't
feel pain.
"If the hypothesis is correct that Tasers do not electrocute the heart, then why
are people dying in custody after they have been shot by Tasers? The people on
our team have hypotheses why that's true and we intend to answer that question,"
Webster said. "Our goal is to save lives."
Animal rights activists say the study, funded by a $500,000 U.S. Department of
Justice grant, is cruel and unnecessary. They plan protests on the UW-Madison
campus starting this week.
"Shocking more pigs is only going to add their numbers to the Taser-related
death statistics," Patti Gilman, whose brother died after being shot with a
Taser in British Columbia in June 2004, wrote in a letter to the school.
"Robert's death never should have happened. And neither should these experiments."
In a letter to PETA this month, UW-Madison Chancellor John Wiley said the study
could have a significant impact on the use of stun guns. He said researchers
have no other alternative than to use pigs, whose hearts are more like humans
than any other species.
In Wisconsin, the state Department of Justice convened an advisory committee to
create guidelines for police training and use of Tasers. On Tuesday, the
committee is scheduled to hold its first public hearing in Stevens Point, where
Webster will be among four presenters.
Webster said his research could lead to advice for how police should use the
devices, standards for how powerful stun guns can be, and instructions for
emergency room physicians on how to treat those who have been shocked.
Webster suggested some of the Taser-related deaths were from a rare condition
known as malignant hyperthermia, in which bodies essentially overheat. He will
test that theory on swine that have been specially bred to have the condition.
Other suspects may have died if potassium that is released into the blood stream
after muscle contractions caused by a Taser shock reached the heart, Webster
said. Cocaine use might be another factor, he said.
Webster's research is the first independent look at how Tasers affect pigs'
hearts. Research published in January sponsored by Taser International, the
Scottsdale, Ariz.-based maker of the devices, found that 15 times the charge
from ordinary stun guns was needed to electrocute the heart of even the smallest
pigs studied.
Taser said Webster is well-qualified to study the devices, which it says are
safe. The company says Tasers are being used by more than 7,000 law enforcement,
military and correctional agencies in the world.
"We welcome Professor Webster's research as it can provide continued independent
research concerning the safety of our life-saving Taser technology," said
company spokesman Steve Tuttle.
Taser research on animals dates to 1989, involving dogs, bulls and pigs, but
Webster's study is the only known such research now under way, according to PETA.
While all the pigs will be filled with anesthesia, they will be euthanized after
the experiments, said Webster, who predicted about 30 pigs would be used. The
research could create a computer model that would eliminate the need for more
animal testing, he said.
"I think this is an outstanding example of one of those questions that can only
be answered using animals," said Eric Sandgren, a UW-Madison professor who heads
a committee that oversees animal research. "Boy, there's been a lot of deaths
from this. If the alternative is to go back to using bullets, let's find out how
to make this safe."
That's a worthy goal, but researchers should instead study humans who have
survived Taser shocks and autopsy reports of those who died, said Laura Yanne of
PETA. She promised an "unprecedented" protest on Tuesday, but would not release
details.
"Subjecting pigs to cruel experiments is not the way to go on this. It's so
obvious," she said. "This is a half-million dollar boondoggle."
The use of Monkeys in research; Communication in elephants - Excellent articles.
Excellent articles. I encourage all to read. Good progress in limiting use of primates in UK testing facilities.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4374025.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4377297.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4374025.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4377297.stm
PLEASE WRITE TO THE REGENTS about 34 Monkeys Abused at CU Medical Center
I am asking for the help of everyone with emailing the CU Regents re: the CU
34. It can be a short or long email, whatever you have time for and feel
inclined to write.
Their addresses are:
_Peter.Steinhauer@colorado.edu_ (mailto:Peter.Steinhauer@colorado.edu) ,
_regent.carlisle@colorado.edu_ (mailto:regent.carlisle@colorado.edu) ,
_regent.hayes@colorado.edu_ (mailto:regent.hayes@colorado.edu) , _carrigan@colorado.edu_
(mailto:carrigan@colorado.edu) , _tom.lucero@colorado.edu_
(mailto:tom.lucero@colorado.edu) , _regent.bosley@colorado.edu_
(mailto:regent.bosley@colorado.edu) , _jerryrutledge@adelphia.net_ (mailto:jerryrutledge@adelphia.net) ,
_regent.schauer@colorado.edu_ (mailto:regent.schauer@colorado.edu) ,
_gail.schwartz@colorado.edu_ (mailto:gail.schwartz@colorado.edu)
I have included the text of my short presentation to the Regents so you have
an idea what we have asked for. We have now presented 7,400 signatures
asking for the release of the monkeys.
In addition to the text below, we presented information about the 100
year-old facilities in which the monkeys live, including documentation that the
temperature has gone as high as 106 degrees in their facilities. Interestingly,
in response to information about the 100 year-old basement, Dr. Sladek said,
that HE had been raised in a 100 year-old building and the PRSIDENT OF THE
US lives in a 100 y/o building. That's the best he could come up with!
Here is what I said:
My name is Rita Anderson. I’m with the Committee for Research
Accountability and the “FREE THE CU 34" campaign.
Thank you for allowing me to speak today. Thanks especially to Tom Lucero
for making this possible.
For over a year and a half I have attempted to discuss with CU officials our
concerns regarding research involving primates at CU’s Health Sciences
Center in Denver (which I will refer to as “HSCâ€).
Phone calls, emails and visits to President Hoffman’s office have been
largely ignored. I have also been told that “no amount of effort†will bring
about a meeting with Dr. Sladek, the Vice-Chancellor for Research, because I
have “caused the University problemsâ€. My crimes were bringing our concerns
to the press and the public, and holding a peaceful candlelight vigil for the
monkeys.
Research - I would like to address some of the past and current activities
at HSC and pose related questions to you.
Maternal Separation - Why was CU’s Mark Laudenslager allowed to conduct
redundant maternal separation experiments on macaque monkeys for 17 years, at a
cost of millions of dollars in federal funding? This was similar to research
that was done 40 to 50 years ago.
Exit Strategy - Why were the monkeys kept at HSC at the end of this project
in October 2003 and where did the money come from to pay for their care?
According to the Boulder Daily Camera, an “exit strategy†had been an explicit
condition of the approval of this project by the Institutional Animal Care
and Use Committee (IACUC). It was agreed that at the end of the research, the
remaining monkeys would be transferred elsewhere and not be kept at the
expense of the University of Colorado.
Embryo Harvesting - Did Dr. Sladek keep them specifically to breed them and “
harvest†their embryos for sale? Although his protocol had reportedly been
denied by the IACUC, documents obtained from HSC indicate he went ahead with
the “embryo harvestingâ€, which means repeated surgical abortions.
This is not medical research. This is commerce.
IACUC Minutes: Why is no one allowed to see unredacted IACUC Minutes of the
meetings in which the Laudenslager exit strategy was discussed and the
Sladek embryo protocol was denied? Former Regent Jim Martin was told by
Chancellor Shore that even he could not view the unredacted Minutes. Why does CU
allow such secrecy?
IACUC Members - Did Dr. Sladek purposely structure the IACUC in his favor
and only allow members who agreed with him? The Boulder Daily Camera reported
that after dissension over the exit strategy and the embryo protocol, Dr.
Sladek fired then-veterinarian Dr. Ron Banks and refused to reappoint a
committee member because they disagreed with him. Some other members resigned.
The USDA is currently investigating alleged violations of the Animal Welfare
Act because of the firing of Dr. Banks. Why is an internal investigation
not being conducted?
Alcohol Study - Why was Dr. Laudenslager allowed to embark upon yet another
very dubious project, to determine if poor mothering in bonnet macaque monkeys
is a contributing factor in adolescent monkey alcoholism? How can this
possibly relate to human alcoholism? Human adolescents are subjected to many
environmental factors, including television, peer pressure, and alcohol
advertisements.
Do you believe this experiment, which began in July 2004, will help solve
alcohol problems on CU’s campus or save student lives? In times of declining
enrollment at CU, how many students will be attracted to a school where they
conduct alcohol research on monkeys?
What is the issue? - The issue is not whether you believe that research
using animals is valid or is not valid. The issue is: Why is this kind of
questionable “research†being conducted on monkeys at CU when it does nothing
more than give a couple of researchers a job and a paycheck?
Changes must be made - It is time to begin a new era of campus-wide honesty
and openness. It is time for accountability to students, parents, alumni,
taxpayers and other supporters of the University.
What do we want? We want action, we want answers and we want an end to the
secrecy at CU. We will remain vigilant for as long as it takes. We ask:
1) That unredacted IACUC Minutes be made available to citizens through the
Colorado Open Records Act.
2) That a thorough investigation be conducted regarding all matters outlined
in my December 8, 2004 letter to you, and that the results of the
investigation be made public.
3) That Mark Laudenslager’s current alcohol study be terminated immediately.
We believe it to be a waste of taxpayer money and an embarrassment to the
University.
That instead, a clinical study be conducted with adolescent humans
regarding binge drinking and alcoholism, and that CU pursue ways of bringing about
changes in this urgent and important matter.
4) That all primates at HSC be retired to a waiting sanctuary at no cost to
citizens. These monkeys live in a 100 year-old basement that does not even
meet the basic requirements of the US Department of Agriculture. Many have
been there for their entire lives, some nearly 20 years.
In order to show the world what an outstanding and upstanding educational
facility we can have at CU, we need your help.
Thank you.
Very truly yours,
Rita L. Anderson
Committee for Research Accountability,
A Project of In Defense of Animals
(303) 527-3372 or (303) 618-3227 (cell)
-------------
Thanks to everyone. The monkeys need you now more than ever. Please write
the Regents now and again later if you don't receive a response.
Rita
34. It can be a short or long email, whatever you have time for and feel
inclined to write.
Their addresses are:
_Peter.Steinhauer@colorado.edu_ (mailto:Peter.Steinhauer@colorado.edu) ,
_regent.carlisle@colorado.edu_ (mailto:regent.carlisle@colorado.edu) ,
_regent.hayes@colorado.edu_ (mailto:regent.hayes@colorado.edu) , _carrigan@colorado.edu_
(mailto:carrigan@colorado.edu) , _tom.lucero@colorado.edu_
(mailto:tom.lucero@colorado.edu) , _regent.bosley@colorado.edu_
(mailto:regent.bosley@colorado.edu) , _jerryrutledge@adelphia.net_ (mailto:jerryrutledge@adelphia.net) ,
_regent.schauer@colorado.edu_ (mailto:regent.schauer@colorado.edu) ,
_gail.schwartz@colorado.edu_ (mailto:gail.schwartz@colorado.edu)
I have included the text of my short presentation to the Regents so you have
an idea what we have asked for. We have now presented 7,400 signatures
asking for the release of the monkeys.
In addition to the text below, we presented information about the 100
year-old facilities in which the monkeys live, including documentation that the
temperature has gone as high as 106 degrees in their facilities. Interestingly,
in response to information about the 100 year-old basement, Dr. Sladek said,
that HE had been raised in a 100 year-old building and the PRSIDENT OF THE
US lives in a 100 y/o building. That's the best he could come up with!
Here is what I said:
My name is Rita Anderson. I’m with the Committee for Research
Accountability and the “FREE THE CU 34" campaign.
Thank you for allowing me to speak today. Thanks especially to Tom Lucero
for making this possible.
For over a year and a half I have attempted to discuss with CU officials our
concerns regarding research involving primates at CU’s Health Sciences
Center in Denver (which I will refer to as “HSCâ€).
Phone calls, emails and visits to President Hoffman’s office have been
largely ignored. I have also been told that “no amount of effort†will bring
about a meeting with Dr. Sladek, the Vice-Chancellor for Research, because I
have “caused the University problemsâ€. My crimes were bringing our concerns
to the press and the public, and holding a peaceful candlelight vigil for the
monkeys.
Research - I would like to address some of the past and current activities
at HSC and pose related questions to you.
Maternal Separation - Why was CU’s Mark Laudenslager allowed to conduct
redundant maternal separation experiments on macaque monkeys for 17 years, at a
cost of millions of dollars in federal funding? This was similar to research
that was done 40 to 50 years ago.
Exit Strategy - Why were the monkeys kept at HSC at the end of this project
in October 2003 and where did the money come from to pay for their care?
According to the Boulder Daily Camera, an “exit strategy†had been an explicit
condition of the approval of this project by the Institutional Animal Care
and Use Committee (IACUC). It was agreed that at the end of the research, the
remaining monkeys would be transferred elsewhere and not be kept at the
expense of the University of Colorado.
Embryo Harvesting - Did Dr. Sladek keep them specifically to breed them and “
harvest†their embryos for sale? Although his protocol had reportedly been
denied by the IACUC, documents obtained from HSC indicate he went ahead with
the “embryo harvestingâ€, which means repeated surgical abortions.
This is not medical research. This is commerce.
IACUC Minutes: Why is no one allowed to see unredacted IACUC Minutes of the
meetings in which the Laudenslager exit strategy was discussed and the
Sladek embryo protocol was denied? Former Regent Jim Martin was told by
Chancellor Shore that even he could not view the unredacted Minutes. Why does CU
allow such secrecy?
IACUC Members - Did Dr. Sladek purposely structure the IACUC in his favor
and only allow members who agreed with him? The Boulder Daily Camera reported
that after dissension over the exit strategy and the embryo protocol, Dr.
Sladek fired then-veterinarian Dr. Ron Banks and refused to reappoint a
committee member because they disagreed with him. Some other members resigned.
The USDA is currently investigating alleged violations of the Animal Welfare
Act because of the firing of Dr. Banks. Why is an internal investigation
not being conducted?
Alcohol Study - Why was Dr. Laudenslager allowed to embark upon yet another
very dubious project, to determine if poor mothering in bonnet macaque monkeys
is a contributing factor in adolescent monkey alcoholism? How can this
possibly relate to human alcoholism? Human adolescents are subjected to many
environmental factors, including television, peer pressure, and alcohol
advertisements.
Do you believe this experiment, which began in July 2004, will help solve
alcohol problems on CU’s campus or save student lives? In times of declining
enrollment at CU, how many students will be attracted to a school where they
conduct alcohol research on monkeys?
What is the issue? - The issue is not whether you believe that research
using animals is valid or is not valid. The issue is: Why is this kind of
questionable “research†being conducted on monkeys at CU when it does nothing
more than give a couple of researchers a job and a paycheck?
Changes must be made - It is time to begin a new era of campus-wide honesty
and openness. It is time for accountability to students, parents, alumni,
taxpayers and other supporters of the University.
What do we want? We want action, we want answers and we want an end to the
secrecy at CU. We will remain vigilant for as long as it takes. We ask:
1) That unredacted IACUC Minutes be made available to citizens through the
Colorado Open Records Act.
2) That a thorough investigation be conducted regarding all matters outlined
in my December 8, 2004 letter to you, and that the results of the
investigation be made public.
3) That Mark Laudenslager’s current alcohol study be terminated immediately.
We believe it to be a waste of taxpayer money and an embarrassment to the
University.
That instead, a clinical study be conducted with adolescent humans
regarding binge drinking and alcoholism, and that CU pursue ways of bringing about
changes in this urgent and important matter.
4) That all primates at HSC be retired to a waiting sanctuary at no cost to
citizens. These monkeys live in a 100 year-old basement that does not even
meet the basic requirements of the US Department of Agriculture. Many have
been there for their entire lives, some nearly 20 years.
In order to show the world what an outstanding and upstanding educational
facility we can have at CU, we need your help.
Thank you.
Very truly yours,
Rita L. Anderson
Committee for Research Accountability,
A Project of In Defense of Animals
(303) 527-3372 or (303) 618-3227 (cell)
-------------
Thanks to everyone. The monkeys need you now more than ever. Please write
the Regents now and again later if you don't receive a response.
Rita
Unfortunate Outcome in Cruelly Crowded Farm Animal Transport Case - What You Can Do to Help
Unfortunate Outcome in Cruelly Crowded Farm Animal Transport Case
PLEASE SEND A LETTER:
Unfortunate Outcome in Cruelly Crowded Farm Animal
Transport Case
Original Alert 2/04/05
Update 3/25/05
Jesse R. Duenas of Vallejo, California, was under
investigation for animal cruelty for overcrowding
animals in transport, causing many to die and become
injured. On January 8, 2005, Duenas allegedly crammed
a trailer full of animals, and took them to Roseville
Livestock Auction. By the time they arrived, four had
died and two were severely injured from the trip.
The case was originally reported in the Sacramento Bee
which stated that Duenas was to be arraigned on
February 9 at the Placer Superior Court in Auburn,
California. This date was moved back to March 9 by
District Attorney Bradford R. Fenocchio and then the
case was dropped. In a regrettable decision by the
Deputy District Attorney, Douglas Van Breeman was
quoted in the Sacramento Bee as saying that there was
not enough evidence to convict Duenas or convince a
jury, even though witnesses saw animals piled on top
of each other.
This was a rare instance of an auction facility
wanting justice done due to cruel transport and could
have helped set a precedent. Unfortunately, this
incident is not uncommon in the livestock
transportation business. Many animals are sold through
auction rings where they are subjected to
transportation and handling stresses, and extreme
crowding during transportation results in rampant
suffering and deaths.
What You Can Do
Please write letters immediately to politely express
your disappointment that this severe animal cruelty
case was not pursued. Ask the Placer County Deputy
District Attorney to reconsider charging Duenas with
the most serious crime supported by the evidence.
Douglas Van Breemen
Placer County Deputy District Attorney
11562 B Avenue
Auburn, CA 95603-2687
telephone: (530) 889-7000
PLEASE SEND A LETTER:
Unfortunate Outcome in Cruelly Crowded Farm Animal
Transport Case
Original Alert 2/04/05
Update 3/25/05
Jesse R. Duenas of Vallejo, California, was under
investigation for animal cruelty for overcrowding
animals in transport, causing many to die and become
injured. On January 8, 2005, Duenas allegedly crammed
a trailer full of animals, and took them to Roseville
Livestock Auction. By the time they arrived, four had
died and two were severely injured from the trip.
The case was originally reported in the Sacramento Bee
which stated that Duenas was to be arraigned on
February 9 at the Placer Superior Court in Auburn,
California. This date was moved back to March 9 by
District Attorney Bradford R. Fenocchio and then the
case was dropped. In a regrettable decision by the
Deputy District Attorney, Douglas Van Breeman was
quoted in the Sacramento Bee as saying that there was
not enough evidence to convict Duenas or convince a
jury, even though witnesses saw animals piled on top
of each other.
This was a rare instance of an auction facility
wanting justice done due to cruel transport and could
have helped set a precedent. Unfortunately, this
incident is not uncommon in the livestock
transportation business. Many animals are sold through
auction rings where they are subjected to
transportation and handling stresses, and extreme
crowding during transportation results in rampant
suffering and deaths.
What You Can Do
Please write letters immediately to politely express
your disappointment that this severe animal cruelty
case was not pursued. Ask the Placer County Deputy
District Attorney to reconsider charging Duenas with
the most serious crime supported by the evidence.
Douglas Van Breemen
Placer County Deputy District Attorney
11562 B Avenue
Auburn, CA 95603-2687
telephone: (530) 889-7000
Please distribute - vote for the seals that will be slaughtered!!
Please distribute - vote for seals!!
CTV is holding a poll about Canada's seal hunt. Please vote YES that
the seal hunt should be stopped today!
Animal groups are out in the Gulf of St. Lawrence right now, and there
are more than 50 sealing boats set to start the killing tomorrow at 6
am.
Please vote and circulate widely:
http://www.ctv.ca/generic/generated/static/AMdefault.html
Thanks!!
CTV is holding a poll about Canada's seal hunt. Please vote YES that
the seal hunt should be stopped today!
Animal groups are out in the Gulf of St. Lawrence right now, and there
are more than 50 sealing boats set to start the killing tomorrow at 6
am.
Please vote and circulate widely:
http://www.ctv.ca/generic/generated/static/AMdefault.html
Thanks!!
Wednesday, March 23, 2005
Make this year's seal hunt (baby seal slaughter) the last
Excellent article. Please pass it on. Thank you. Visit: www.protectseals.org
from the March 18, 2005 edition -
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0318/p09s01-coop.html
Make this year's seal hunt the last
By Rebecca Aldworth
MONTREAL - Right now, seals are giving birth to their pups on the ice
floes off Canada's East Coast. The seal nursery that forms is one of
the greatest wildlife spectacles on Earth. The sun gleams across icy
landscapes and open water, the only sounds are the soft cries of the
newborn seals. In this magical scene, serene mother seals lie
contentedly and peacefully with their nursing pups.
It is a sight that tourists from across the globe pay thousands of
dollars for the privilege of witnessing - one that brings substantial
revenue to coastal communities in eastern Canada.
But just days later, the peace of the ice is shattered as seal hunters
descend on the defenseless pups, and the nursery is turned into an
open-air slaughterhouse.
Beginning in the last week of March, hundreds of thousands of seal
pups will be clubbed and shot to death in Canada's annual commercial
seal hunt. It is an industrial-scale slaughter that targets the
animals for their fur, and leaves their carcasses to rot on the ice.
With more than 300,000 pups allowed to be killed this year, it has
become the largest slaughter of marine mammals on earth.
Though while I was growing up in a Newfoundland fishing community,
like most Canadians, I never saw the seal hunt. The slaughter of harp
and hooded seals is something that occurs far offshore on the ice
floes - well away from the eyes of the public.
But for the past six years, I have traveled to the ice floes and
observed the seal hunt at close range.
The majority of the seals killed are less than one month old; these
pups, newly separated from their mothers, are defenseless and have no
escape. And they are treated brutally. In 2001, an independent team of
veterinarians was escorted to the ice floes by the International Fund
for Animal Welfare. They studied Canada's commercial seal hunt at
close range. Their report concluded that up to 42 percent of the seals
they studied had probably been skinned alive while conscious - a clear
violation of Canada's criminal code and marine mammal regulations that
govern the hunt.
The violent images of the hunt - gunshots, clubbings, and the sounds
of animals in pain - are vivid memories I can never erase. I carry
them with me as I work to end this slaughter. And it is my hope that
goal is finally within reach.
Sealing is an off-season activity conducted by a few thousand
fishermen from Canada's East Coast. According to media reports and
government data, they make, on average, only 5 percent of their total
incomes from sealing - the rest comes from commercial fisheries.
When the first pup is clubbed or shot to death on the ice at the end
of March, the Humane Society of the United States, with a network of
powerful organizations that includes the Massachusetts Society for the
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the Born Free Foundation, will
launch a global boycott of Canadian seafood.
We are asking Americans not to buy Canadian seafood products, such as
snow crabs, until the commercial seal hunt is ended for good. American
consumers can easily identify Canadian seafood products, which are
labeled clearly in all major grocery stores.
Such a boycott - if well supported - would show the Canadian
government and fishing industry that continuing the seal hunt is not
worth the potential impact of this campaign.
As I and many others leave for the ice floes next week to again bear
witness to this slaughter, we are asking Americans to stand with the
Humane Society of the United States in our campaign to save the seals.
Together, we can put this cruel, outdated slaughter back into the
history books where it belongs.
Rebecca Aldworth is director of Canadian wildlife issues for the
Humane Society of the <http://www.ProtectSeals.org> United States.
from the March 18, 2005 edition -
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0318/p09s01-coop.html
Make this year's seal hunt the last
By Rebecca Aldworth
MONTREAL - Right now, seals are giving birth to their pups on the ice
floes off Canada's East Coast. The seal nursery that forms is one of
the greatest wildlife spectacles on Earth. The sun gleams across icy
landscapes and open water, the only sounds are the soft cries of the
newborn seals. In this magical scene, serene mother seals lie
contentedly and peacefully with their nursing pups.
It is a sight that tourists from across the globe pay thousands of
dollars for the privilege of witnessing - one that brings substantial
revenue to coastal communities in eastern Canada.
But just days later, the peace of the ice is shattered as seal hunters
descend on the defenseless pups, and the nursery is turned into an
open-air slaughterhouse.
Beginning in the last week of March, hundreds of thousands of seal
pups will be clubbed and shot to death in Canada's annual commercial
seal hunt. It is an industrial-scale slaughter that targets the
animals for their fur, and leaves their carcasses to rot on the ice.
With more than 300,000 pups allowed to be killed this year, it has
become the largest slaughter of marine mammals on earth.
Though while I was growing up in a Newfoundland fishing community,
like most Canadians, I never saw the seal hunt. The slaughter of harp
and hooded seals is something that occurs far offshore on the ice
floes - well away from the eyes of the public.
But for the past six years, I have traveled to the ice floes and
observed the seal hunt at close range.
The majority of the seals killed are less than one month old; these
pups, newly separated from their mothers, are defenseless and have no
escape. And they are treated brutally. In 2001, an independent team of
veterinarians was escorted to the ice floes by the International Fund
for Animal Welfare. They studied Canada's commercial seal hunt at
close range. Their report concluded that up to 42 percent of the seals
they studied had probably been skinned alive while conscious - a clear
violation of Canada's criminal code and marine mammal regulations that
govern the hunt.
The violent images of the hunt - gunshots, clubbings, and the sounds
of animals in pain - are vivid memories I can never erase. I carry
them with me as I work to end this slaughter. And it is my hope that
goal is finally within reach.
Sealing is an off-season activity conducted by a few thousand
fishermen from Canada's East Coast. According to media reports and
government data, they make, on average, only 5 percent of their total
incomes from sealing - the rest comes from commercial fisheries.
When the first pup is clubbed or shot to death on the ice at the end
of March, the Humane Society of the United States, with a network of
powerful organizations that includes the Massachusetts Society for the
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the Born Free Foundation, will
launch a global boycott of Canadian seafood.
We are asking Americans not to buy Canadian seafood products, such as
snow crabs, until the commercial seal hunt is ended for good. American
consumers can easily identify Canadian seafood products, which are
labeled clearly in all major grocery stores.
Such a boycott - if well supported - would show the Canadian
government and fishing industry that continuing the seal hunt is not
worth the potential impact of this campaign.
As I and many others leave for the ice floes next week to again bear
witness to this slaughter, we are asking Americans to stand with the
Humane Society of the United States in our campaign to save the seals.
Together, we can put this cruel, outdated slaughter back into the
history books where it belongs.
Rebecca Aldworth is director of Canadian wildlife issues for the
Humane Society of the <http://www.ProtectSeals.org> United States.
Barker endows animal rights law course
[Entertainment News] EVANSTON, Ill.,, March 22 : Northwestern University has accepted a $1 million donation from television game show host Bob Barker to endow a course on animal rights law.
Baker, host of the Emmy-award winning "The Price Is Right" for 33 years, is a millionaire and a long-time proponent of animal welfare, animal rights and international wildlife law.
He often ends a broadcast with an appeal for spaying and neutering of dogs and cats to control animal population.
"Animals need all the protection we can give them," said Barker."We intend to train a growing number of law students in this area of law in the hope that they will ultimately lead a national effort to make it illegal to brutalize and exploit these helpless creatures."
Barker has made previous $1 million gifts to endow the study of animal rights at Duke University, the University of California at Los Angeles, Stanford and Columbia.FemantleMedia, the producer of "The Price Is Right" established an endowment at Harvard.
- -- Copyright 2005 by United Press International.
[Entertainment News] EVANSTON, Ill.,, March 22 : Northwestern University has accepted a $1 million donation from television game show host Bob Barker to endow a course on animal rights law.
Baker, host of the Emmy-award winning "The Price Is Right" for 33 years, is a millionaire and a long-time proponent of animal welfare, animal rights and international wildlife law.
He often ends a broadcast with an appeal for spaying and neutering of dogs and cats to control animal population.
"Animals need all the protection we can give them," said Barker."We intend to train a growing number of law students in this area of law in the hope that they will ultimately lead a national effort to make it illegal to brutalize and exploit these helpless creatures."
Barker has made previous $1 million gifts to endow the study of animal rights at Duke University, the University of California at Los Angeles, Stanford and Columbia.FemantleMedia, the producer of "The Price Is Right" established an endowment at Harvard.
- -- Copyright 2005 by United Press International.
Pigeon Control - Avipel vs Avitrol
For those having issues with Pigeons, but don't want to kill them with Avitrol - a poison, there's an alternative - Avipel. Or, do you know of someone or a business that is having problems? Have them read this. Read on..taken from an article..
Indeed it seems Avipel may be a humane alternative to Avitrol!
According to PETA, "Avipel is made by the same company that manufactures Flight Control for Canada geese and it’s completely harmless. The mechanism for it is aversive conditioning—the pigeons eat a little bit, get a stomach ache, associate the food with the area and leave. The HSUS/Fund is recommending it as an alternative to Avitrol which is perfect because, as you know, Avitrol is marketed as a flock-dispersion product and so is this. The difference is, this stuff doesn’t kill the birds and Avitrol does! Brilliant! This could b! e the greatest weapon yet to be used in efforts to stop the use of Avitrol."
Friday, March 18, 2005
THE MONKEYS AT THE CU HEALTH SCIENCES CENTER IN DENVER NEED YOUR HELP
Hi Everyone - THE MONKEYS AT THE CU HEALTH SCIENCES CENTER IN DENVER NEED YOUR HELP. We have been trying for some time to to convince CU to release them to a sanctuary.
Wednesday, March 23, is the date of the next CU Regents meeting in Denver. The FREE THE CU 34 issue is on the agenda. A few of us will be speaking (3 minutes each), and I would like to ask that anyone who is available come and support us. You do not have to speak, but if you would like to, please let me know and I can fill you in on more details. I have some CU 34 t-shirts (black with white letters and logo) that I will be bringing. (For those of you who have already agreed to speak, I will be sending info out by the weekend.)
This meeting will be held at the Tivoli in Denver on March 23, 2005 at noon or shortly after. The exact timing is not finalized yet, but the Regents secretary will call me tomorrow (Friday) to give me a specific time so you don't have to wait around. I will send a second email giving an exact time, but please think about it in the meantime.
CU conducted maternal separation experiments on monkeys for 17 years. That study ended in October 2003. They then held the monkeys at the Health Sciences Center even though they were no longer being used in an experiment. A few months later they began another study to determine if poor mothering in monkeys contributes to adolescent monkey alcoholism. Of course both of these experiments are questionable at best and many think they are completely unnecessary and wasteful.
If you can come to the Regents meeting, please let me know. I hope to see some of you there.
Wednesday, March 23, is the date of the next CU Regents meeting in Denver. The FREE THE CU 34 issue is on the agenda. A few of us will be speaking (3 minutes each), and I would like to ask that anyone who is available come and support us. You do not have to speak, but if you would like to, please let me know and I can fill you in on more details. I have some CU 34 t-shirts (black with white letters and logo) that I will be bringing. (For those of you who have already agreed to speak, I will be sending info out by the weekend.)
This meeting will be held at the Tivoli in Denver on March 23, 2005 at noon or shortly after. The exact timing is not finalized yet, but the Regents secretary will call me tomorrow (Friday) to give me a specific time so you don't have to wait around. I will send a second email giving an exact time, but please think about it in the meantime.
CU conducted maternal separation experiments on monkeys for 17 years. That study ended in October 2003. They then held the monkeys at the Health Sciences Center even though they were no longer being used in an experiment. A few months later they began another study to determine if poor mothering in monkeys contributes to adolescent monkey alcoholism. Of course both of these experiments are questionable at best and many think they are completely unnecessary and wasteful.
If you can come to the Regents meeting, please let me know. I hope to see some of you there.
By Patti Davis (Daughter of Ronald and Nancy Reagan.) - About Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
Dirty Footprints
We must write letters of outrage to the senators who voted to drill in
ANWR, says our columnist. But maybe all there is left to do is weep.
By Patti Davis (Daughter of Ronald and Nancy Reagan.)
Newsweek
Updated: 2:26 p.m. ET March 17, 2005
March 17 - President Bush must be feeling so victorious. The Senate has
now said yes to drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge—the
pristine place President Eisenhower took measures to protect in 1960.
Environmental groups have said the fight isn’t over, and I want to
believe there is still something we can do—write letters, e-mails, rise
up en masse and say no. But I don’t know if anything will help at this
point. It’s possible that the only thing we will be able to do is
weep—at the devastation of wild, untamed land where caribou are free to
breed and give birth far away from the harm that humans bring. Where
polar bear are a common sight and where cars and trucks and engines are
never heard. Where people are outnumbered by the vast numbers of birds
and animals—safe for the moment, but soon to be doomed.
The absurd statements made by politicians and oil companies that the
environment can be protected while drilling for oil are just
that—absurd. It assumes that we are ignorant. Roads will be carved,
trucks will rumble through, drills will be stabbed into the earth. Oil
companies don’t care about nature, the environment or the animals that
will be terrified and traumatized. They don’t care, and neither does
the Bush administration.
It is possible that the senators who voted for this measure care
about
re-election, so that’s where the letters and outrage should be
directed.
In 2001, when my sister Maureen died, Sen. John McCain came to her
memorial service. I spoke with him for quite a while that day and,
because the effort to drill in the Arctic was in the news at that time,
we spoke about it.
“It will never get through the Senate,” he said to me. “It won’t
happen.”
I’ve held onto his words since then. I believed him … mostly because I
so desperately wanted to. When I saw the news today, I sat down and
wept.
CONTINUED: We Have An Administration that Cares Nothing for This Planet
We have an administration in Washington that cares nothing for this
planet, for beauty, for pristine places, for innocent animals with soft
brown eyes. Everything is a war to this president, and he is determined
to win.
advertisement
If this actually happens—if 1.2 million acres of this exquisite land is
given over to oil companies—the area will never be the same. Ever.
George W. Bush will leave office and if we are very lucky someone who
cares about the future of the planet will be elected. But the Arctic
National Wildlife Refuge will forever be scarred by what this president
set into motion.
I don’t believe this is even about oil; after all, we won’t see any of
it for another decade. This is about another victory for the Bush
administration. This is about Bush leaving his footprint on yet another
corner of the earth and then walking away and not looking back at the
damage he has left behind.
It’s how he has lived his life—failing to acknowledge the consequences
of his actions. From 1979 to 1990, when he was in the Texas oil
industry, investors lost millions of dollars after three of his
companies went bankrupt—but Bush walked away with a profit and has
never even commented on his sloppy business sense. His military record
has never been adequately explained. CBS took the hit for shoddy
journalism when it raised questions about his Air National Guard
service, but Bush continues to deflect inquiries about the real issues.
Nor has he ever owned up to the false information about WMDs in Iraq;
meanwhile people are dying every day over there.
When his last term as president is over, he will walk away from a war
that he got us into based on lies, from a gutted environmental policy
and possibly from the destruction of a fragile, beautiful place called
the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve. We will be left with the damage
this administration has caused, with scars on the earth and memories of
wildlife that used to roam and fly over vast acres … before they
started dying.
True to his nature, this president will walk away and not look back.
Davis, the daughter of Nancy and Ronald Reagan, is a writer based in
Los Angeles
© 2005 Newsweek, Inc.
We must write letters of outrage to the senators who voted to drill in
ANWR, says our columnist. But maybe all there is left to do is weep.
By Patti Davis (Daughter of Ronald and Nancy Reagan.)
Newsweek
Updated: 2:26 p.m. ET March 17, 2005
March 17 - President Bush must be feeling so victorious. The Senate has
now said yes to drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge—the
pristine place President Eisenhower took measures to protect in 1960.
Environmental groups have said the fight isn’t over, and I want to
believe there is still something we can do—write letters, e-mails, rise
up en masse and say no. But I don’t know if anything will help at this
point. It’s possible that the only thing we will be able to do is
weep—at the devastation of wild, untamed land where caribou are free to
breed and give birth far away from the harm that humans bring. Where
polar bear are a common sight and where cars and trucks and engines are
never heard. Where people are outnumbered by the vast numbers of birds
and animals—safe for the moment, but soon to be doomed.
The absurd statements made by politicians and oil companies that the
environment can be protected while drilling for oil are just
that—absurd. It assumes that we are ignorant. Roads will be carved,
trucks will rumble through, drills will be stabbed into the earth. Oil
companies don’t care about nature, the environment or the animals that
will be terrified and traumatized. They don’t care, and neither does
the Bush administration.
It is possible that the senators who voted for this measure care
about
re-election, so that’s where the letters and outrage should be
directed.
In 2001, when my sister Maureen died, Sen. John McCain came to her
memorial service. I spoke with him for quite a while that day and,
because the effort to drill in the Arctic was in the news at that time,
we spoke about it.
“It will never get through the Senate,” he said to me. “It won’t
happen.”
I’ve held onto his words since then. I believed him … mostly because I
so desperately wanted to. When I saw the news today, I sat down and
wept.
CONTINUED: We Have An Administration that Cares Nothing for This Planet
We have an administration in Washington that cares nothing for this
planet, for beauty, for pristine places, for innocent animals with soft
brown eyes. Everything is a war to this president, and he is determined
to win.
advertisement
If this actually happens—if 1.2 million acres of this exquisite land is
given over to oil companies—the area will never be the same. Ever.
George W. Bush will leave office and if we are very lucky someone who
cares about the future of the planet will be elected. But the Arctic
National Wildlife Refuge will forever be scarred by what this president
set into motion.
I don’t believe this is even about oil; after all, we won’t see any of
it for another decade. This is about another victory for the Bush
administration. This is about Bush leaving his footprint on yet another
corner of the earth and then walking away and not looking back at the
damage he has left behind.
It’s how he has lived his life—failing to acknowledge the consequences
of his actions. From 1979 to 1990, when he was in the Texas oil
industry, investors lost millions of dollars after three of his
companies went bankrupt—but Bush walked away with a profit and has
never even commented on his sloppy business sense. His military record
has never been adequately explained. CBS took the hit for shoddy
journalism when it raised questions about his Air National Guard
service, but Bush continues to deflect inquiries about the real issues.
Nor has he ever owned up to the false information about WMDs in Iraq;
meanwhile people are dying every day over there.
When his last term as president is over, he will walk away from a war
that he got us into based on lies, from a gutted environmental policy
and possibly from the destruction of a fragile, beautiful place called
the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve. We will be left with the damage
this administration has caused, with scars on the earth and memories of
wildlife that used to roam and fly over vast acres … before they
started dying.
True to his nature, this president will walk away and not look back.
Davis, the daughter of Nancy and Ronald Reagan, is a writer based in
Los Angeles
© 2005 Newsweek, Inc.
Thursday, March 17, 2005
Re - Post - Canada's brutal slaughter set for late March - what you can do
Looks like the links from the prior post did not show up. Let's try this again.
Canada's brutal slaughter set for late March
If you are having trouble viewing images in this e-mail, please
<http://hsus.ga4.org/humane/notice-description.tcl?newsletter_id=3079823>
click here.
<http://www.hsus3.org/protectseals>
<http://img.getactivehub.com/an2/custom_images/humane/spacer.gif>
The largest commercial slaughter of marine mammals on the planet will
begin
in days. By the end of this year's hunt, more than 300,000 seals will
have
been brutally killed - many of them babies as young as 12 days old.
Some of
them will have been skinned while still conscious and able to feel
pain. The
Humane Society of the United States will be on the front lines in
Canada,
fighting to halt this atrocity. Please stand with us today and stop the
seal
hunt forever.
<http://www.hsus3.org/protectseals>
<http://www.hsus3.org/protectseals>
Step 1 <http://www.hsus3.org/protectseals>
<http://www.hsus3.org/protectseals> Sign the pledge to boycott Canadian
seafood. Click here.
Seal hunting is an off-season activity conducted by fishers from
Canada's
East Coast. They earn, on average, a small fraction of their incomes
from
seal hunting - the rest from commercial fisheries. Canada earns $3
billion
annually from seafood exports to the United States. The connection
between
the commercial fishing industry and the seal hunt in Canada gives
consumers
all over the world the power to end this brutal slaughter. We'll
deliver
your pledge to Canada's government so the politicians will know you've
joined our international Protect Seals team and are committed to ending
the
seal hunt once and for all.
<http://img.getactivehub.com/an2/custom_images/humane/spacer.gif>
<http://img.getactivehub.com/an2/custom_images/humane/spacer.gif>
Don't Buy While Seals Die: Boycott Canadian Seafood.
<http://www.hsus3.org/protectseals>
Photo: IFAW
Help save the baby seals by <http://www.hsus3.org/protectseals>
signing the
pledge to boycott Canadian seafood. Your simple act could help end the
seal
hunt forever.
<http://img.getactivehub.com/an2/custom_images/humane/spacer.gif>
<http://img.getactivehub.com/an2/custom_images/humane/spacer.gif>
<http://img.getactivehub.com/an2/custom_images/humane/spacer.gif>
<http://img.getactivehub.com/an2/custom_images/humane/seals_launch_box-botto
m.gif>
<http://img.getactivehub.com/an2/custom_images/humane/spacer.gif>
<http://hsus.ga4.org/ct/s7zO5XE1Xz1C/>
<http://hsus.ga4.org/ct/s7zO5XE1Xz1C/> Step 1
<http://hsus.ga4.org/ct/s7zO5XE1Xz1C/>
<http://hsus.ga4.org/ct/s7zO5XE1Xz1C/> Pass the pledge to friends.
Canada is sensitive to world opinion. Hundreds of thousands of people
protesting and, in particular, refusing to buy Canadian seafood will
make a
difference. Taking the pledge is simple and effective.
<http://hsus.ga4.org/ct/s7zO5XE1Xz1C/> Click here to pass it on!
<http://hsus.ga4.org/ct/x1zO5XE1Xzqq/>
<http://hsus.ga4.org/ct/x1zO5XE1Xzqq/> Step 1
<http://hsus.ga4.org/ct/x1zO5XE1Xzqq/>
<http://hsus.ga4.org/ct/x1zO5XE1Xzqq/> Download your pocket seafood
guide.
We've made your pledge to boycott Canadian seafood EASY with our
wallet-sized guide. Once you've signed the pledge,
<http://hsus.ga4.org/ct/x1zO5XE1Xzqq/> click here to download your free
guide.
The first stage of the barbaric hunt, set to start in late March, will
unfold very quickly - and we'll be there to cover it. A spotter plane
will
help us pinpoint the slaughter locations, and helicopters will take our
teams out onto the ice so they can record the ugly truth about what
happens
away from public view.
You can stay in touch with our biggest animal protection campaign of
the
year at <http://www.hsus3.org/protectseals> www.ProtectSeals.org.
There
you'll find up-to-the-minute news, videos, and actions every day during
the
hunt.
I know that it's painful to think about this awful abuse, but your
involvement and action are critical to ending it. Thank you for joining
us
today in our fight to abolish the brutal seal hunt forever.
Sincerely,
<http://img.getactivehub.com/an2/custom_images/humane/seals_launch_waynesig.
gif>
Wayne Pacelle
President & CEO
The Humane Society of the United States
P.S. Get frequent updates from Rebecca Aldworth, our Director of
Canadian
Wildlife Issues, who will be on the ice throughout the hunt to witness
and
report. <http://hsus.ga4.org/ct/spzO5XE1Xzq1/> Click here.
Copyright C 2005 The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) | All
Rights
Reserved.
The Humane Society of the United States | 2100 L Street, NW |
Washington, DC
20037
Canada's brutal slaughter set for late March
If you are having trouble viewing images in this e-mail, please
<http://hsus.ga4.org/humane/notice-description.tcl?newsletter_id=3079823>
click here.
<http://www.hsus3.org/protectseals>
<http://img.getactivehub.com/an2/custom_images/humane/spacer.gif>
The largest commercial slaughter of marine mammals on the planet will
begin
in days. By the end of this year's hunt, more than 300,000 seals will
have
been brutally killed - many of them babies as young as 12 days old.
Some of
them will have been skinned while still conscious and able to feel
pain. The
Humane Society of the United States will be on the front lines in
Canada,
fighting to halt this atrocity. Please stand with us today and stop the
seal
hunt forever.
<http://www.hsus3.org/protectseals>
<http://www.hsus3.org/protectseals>
Step 1 <http://www.hsus3.org/protectseals>
<http://www.hsus3.org/protectseals> Sign the pledge to boycott Canadian
seafood. Click here.
Seal hunting is an off-season activity conducted by fishers from
Canada's
East Coast. They earn, on average, a small fraction of their incomes
from
seal hunting - the rest from commercial fisheries. Canada earns $3
billion
annually from seafood exports to the United States. The connection
between
the commercial fishing industry and the seal hunt in Canada gives
consumers
all over the world the power to end this brutal slaughter. We'll
deliver
your pledge to Canada's government so the politicians will know you've
joined our international Protect Seals team and are committed to ending
the
seal hunt once and for all.
<http://img.getactivehub.com/an2/custom_images/humane/spacer.gif>
<http://img.getactivehub.com/an2/custom_images/humane/spacer.gif>
Don't Buy While Seals Die: Boycott Canadian Seafood.
<http://www.hsus3.org/protectseals>
Photo: IFAW
Help save the baby seals by <http://www.hsus3.org/protectseals>
signing the
pledge to boycott Canadian seafood. Your simple act could help end the
seal
hunt forever.
<http://img.getactivehub.com/an2/custom_images/humane/spacer.gif>
<http://img.getactivehub.com/an2/custom_images/humane/spacer.gif>
<http://img.getactivehub.com/an2/custom_images/humane/spacer.gif>
<http://img.getactivehub.com/an2/custom_images/humane/seals_launch_box-botto
m.gif>
<http://img.getactivehub.com/an2/custom_images/humane/spacer.gif>
<http://hsus.ga4.org/ct/s7zO5XE1Xz1C/>
<http://hsus.ga4.org/ct/s7zO5XE1Xz1C/> Step 1
<http://hsus.ga4.org/ct/s7zO5XE1Xz1C/>
<http://hsus.ga4.org/ct/s7zO5XE1Xz1C/> Pass the pledge to friends.
Canada is sensitive to world opinion. Hundreds of thousands of people
protesting and, in particular, refusing to buy Canadian seafood will
make a
difference. Taking the pledge is simple and effective.
<http://hsus.ga4.org/ct/s7zO5XE1Xz1C/> Click here to pass it on!
<http://hsus.ga4.org/ct/x1zO5XE1Xzqq/>
<http://hsus.ga4.org/ct/x1zO5XE1Xzqq/> Step 1
<http://hsus.ga4.org/ct/x1zO5XE1Xzqq/>
<http://hsus.ga4.org/ct/x1zO5XE1Xzqq/> Download your pocket seafood
guide.
We've made your pledge to boycott Canadian seafood EASY with our
wallet-sized guide. Once you've signed the pledge,
<http://hsus.ga4.org/ct/x1zO5XE1Xzqq/> click here to download your free
guide.
The first stage of the barbaric hunt, set to start in late March, will
unfold very quickly - and we'll be there to cover it. A spotter plane
will
help us pinpoint the slaughter locations, and helicopters will take our
teams out onto the ice so they can record the ugly truth about what
happens
away from public view.
You can stay in touch with our biggest animal protection campaign of
the
year at <http://www.hsus3.org/protectseals> www.ProtectSeals.org.
There
you'll find up-to-the-minute news, videos, and actions every day during
the
hunt.
I know that it's painful to think about this awful abuse, but your
involvement and action are critical to ending it. Thank you for joining
us
today in our fight to abolish the brutal seal hunt forever.
Sincerely,
<http://img.getactivehub.com/an2/custom_images/humane/seals_launch_waynesig.
gif>
Wayne Pacelle
President & CEO
The Humane Society of the United States
P.S. Get frequent updates from Rebecca Aldworth, our Director of
Canadian
Wildlife Issues, who will be on the ice throughout the hunt to witness
and
report. <http://hsus.ga4.org/ct/spzO5XE1Xzq1/> Click here.
Copyright C 2005 The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) | All
Rights
Reserved.
The Humane Society of the United States | 2100 L Street, NW |
Washington, DC
20037
GEEE, what a surprise.....Senate Backs Searching for Oil in Alaska Refuge
Wow, I bet we're all real surprised...
I knew there was something sneaky about the recent spike in gas prices - they knew there was a vote coming up so they wanted to increase rage amongst consumers to be able to pass this bill. You see these "tricks" all the time. You know, the old game - the sky is falling, so we need to give the power to (insert company or industry here) to save the day. Yet, even if there was opposition from people they still would have done it - so who knows.
Senate Backs Searching for Oil in Alaska Refuge
By Tom Doggett
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - As U.S. oil prices soared to a record high on
Wednesday, the Senate gave President Bush's energy plan a major boost by
voting to open Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) to oil
drilling.
Republicans have tried for more than two decades to open ANWR to oil
exploration. The Bush administration, which views ANWR as the
centerpiece of its national energy plan, was blocked in the past four
years by a Senate coalition of moderate Republicans and Democrats.
Pete Domenici, chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources
Committee, led the fight to defeat a Democratic effort to strip ANWR
drilling language from a broad budget resolution funding the federal
government in fiscal 2006. The vote was close, 51 to 49 in favor of
keeping the drilling provision in the bill.
However, the Republican plan to give oil companies access to the refuge
is far from a done deal.
Last year, Congress failed to reach a budget agreement because of
fighting among Republicans. This year, the House of Representatives and
Senate have sharply different versions of budget plans for tax cuts and
spending reductions.
The refuge sprawls across more than 19 million acres in northeastern
Alaska, an area roughly the size of South Carolina. The Senate plan
would restrict drilling to ANWR's 1.5-million acre coastal plain.
"I hope Congress passes ANWR. There's a way to get some additional (oil)
reserves here at home on the books," President Bush said at a news
conference on Wednesday.
Opponents said there is not enough oil in the refuge to justify harming
the area's caribou, musk oxen, polar bears, migratory birds and other
wildlife. Instead, they say, Congress should tighten mileage standards
for vehicles to reduce U.S. oil demand and reliance on oil imports.
"I think it is very foolish to say that oil development in a wildlife
refuge can co-exist," said Democrat Maria Cantwell of Washington, who
sponsored the amendment to strike the ANWR drilling language. "For those
who say somehow this is going to affect gas prices... we won't see this
oil for 10 years. It would have a minimum impact on markets."
6 BILLION BARRELS WAITING?
The government has estimated energy companies would find it
cost-efficient to recover at least 6 billion barrels of oil from ANWR if
prices were at or above $35 a barrel.
U.S. crude oil prices soared to a new trading high of $56.50 a barrel at
the New York Mercantile Exchange on Wednesday, after the Energy
Department issued a weekly report showing a steep decline in gasoline
stocks
.
The ANWR provision calls on the federal government to raise more than $5
billion from companies in leasing fees to hunt for oil. Alaska would
keep half of the money.
Republican leaders put the ANWR provision in the budget resolution
because budget bills cannot be filibustered under Senate rules, as
Democrats had threatened to do to any measure that allowed drilling in
the refuge. The budget resolution requires a simple majority for
passage, instead of the 60 votes needed to end a filibuster on other bills.
Domenici said sophisticated, new technology would not harm the land
being searched for oil. "To explore to find out whether (oil) is there
will absolutely do no damage to anything," he said.
Drilling supporters also argue ANWR could eventually boost U.S. oil
supplies by an extra 1 million barrels per day (bpd), cutting U.S.
dependence on oil from the volatile Middle East.
The United States consumes about 20.8 million barrels of oil a day and
imports account for 58 percent of supply.
"What's going to happen to America when we are totally dependent on
foreign countries and we are held hostage by any country in the world
that produces oil? I believe we have a crisis," Domenici said.
The Senate is expected to vote later this week on the overall budget
resolution that contains the ANWR drilling language. That measure would
then need to be reconciled with the House's budget legislation, which
does not include an ANWR provision.
I knew there was something sneaky about the recent spike in gas prices - they knew there was a vote coming up so they wanted to increase rage amongst consumers to be able to pass this bill. You see these "tricks" all the time. You know, the old game - the sky is falling, so we need to give the power to (insert company or industry here) to save the day. Yet, even if there was opposition from people they still would have done it - so who knows.
Senate Backs Searching for Oil in Alaska Refuge
By Tom Doggett
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - As U.S. oil prices soared to a record high on
Wednesday, the Senate gave President Bush's energy plan a major boost by
voting to open Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) to oil
drilling.
Republicans have tried for more than two decades to open ANWR to oil
exploration. The Bush administration, which views ANWR as the
centerpiece of its national energy plan, was blocked in the past four
years by a Senate coalition of moderate Republicans and Democrats.
Pete Domenici, chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources
Committee, led the fight to defeat a Democratic effort to strip ANWR
drilling language from a broad budget resolution funding the federal
government in fiscal 2006. The vote was close, 51 to 49 in favor of
keeping the drilling provision in the bill.
However, the Republican plan to give oil companies access to the refuge
is far from a done deal.
Last year, Congress failed to reach a budget agreement because of
fighting among Republicans. This year, the House of Representatives and
Senate have sharply different versions of budget plans for tax cuts and
spending reductions.
The refuge sprawls across more than 19 million acres in northeastern
Alaska, an area roughly the size of South Carolina. The Senate plan
would restrict drilling to ANWR's 1.5-million acre coastal plain.
"I hope Congress passes ANWR. There's a way to get some additional (oil)
reserves here at home on the books," President Bush said at a news
conference on Wednesday.
Opponents said there is not enough oil in the refuge to justify harming
the area's caribou, musk oxen, polar bears, migratory birds and other
wildlife. Instead, they say, Congress should tighten mileage standards
for vehicles to reduce U.S. oil demand and reliance on oil imports.
"I think it is very foolish to say that oil development in a wildlife
refuge can co-exist," said Democrat Maria Cantwell of Washington, who
sponsored the amendment to strike the ANWR drilling language. "For those
who say somehow this is going to affect gas prices... we won't see this
oil for 10 years. It would have a minimum impact on markets."
6 BILLION BARRELS WAITING?
The government has estimated energy companies would find it
cost-efficient to recover at least 6 billion barrels of oil from ANWR if
prices were at or above $35 a barrel.
U.S. crude oil prices soared to a new trading high of $56.50 a barrel at
the New York Mercantile Exchange on Wednesday, after the Energy
Department issued a weekly report showing a steep decline in gasoline
stocks
The ANWR provision calls on the federal government to raise more than $5
billion from companies in leasing fees to hunt for oil. Alaska would
keep half of the money.
Republican leaders put the ANWR provision in the budget resolution
because budget bills cannot be filibustered under Senate rules, as
Democrats had threatened to do to any measure that allowed drilling in
the refuge. The budget resolution requires a simple majority for
passage, instead of the 60 votes needed to end a filibuster on other bills.
Domenici said sophisticated, new technology would not harm the land
being searched for oil. "To explore to find out whether (oil) is there
will absolutely do no damage to anything," he said.
Drilling supporters also argue ANWR could eventually boost U.S. oil
supplies by an extra 1 million barrels per day (bpd), cutting U.S.
dependence on oil from the volatile Middle East.
The United States consumes about 20.8 million barrels of oil a day and
imports account for 58 percent of supply.
"What's going to happen to America when we are totally dependent on
foreign countries and we are held hostage by any country in the world
that produces oil? I believe we have a crisis," Domenici said.
The Senate is expected to vote later this week on the overall budget
resolution that contains the ANWR drilling language. That measure would
then need to be reconciled with the House's budget legislation, which
does not include an ANWR provision.
Canada's brutal slaughter set for late March - what you can do
Canada's brutal slaughter set for late March
If you are having trouble viewing images please
click here.
The largest commercial slaughter of marine mammals on the planet will begin
in days. By the end of this year's hunt, more than 300,000 seals will have
been brutally killed - many of them babies as young as 12 days old. Some of
them will have been skinned while still conscious and able to feel pain. The
Humane Society of the United States will be on the front lines in Canada,
fighting to halt this atrocity. Please stand with us today and stop the seal
hunt forever.
Step 1
Sign the pledge to boycott Canadian
seafood. Click here.
Seal hunting is an off-season activity conducted by fishers from Canada's
East Coast. They earn, on average, a small fraction of their incomes from
seal hunting - the rest from commercial fisheries. Canada earns $3 billion
annually from seafood exports to the United States. The connection between
the commercial fishing industry and the seal hunt in Canada gives consumers
all over the world the power to end this brutal slaughter. We'll deliver
your pledge to Canada's government so the politicians will know you've
joined our international Protect Seals team and are committed to ending the
seal hunt once and for all.
Don't Buy While Seals Die: Boycott Canadian Seafood.
Photo: IFAW
Help save the baby seals by signing the
pledge to boycott Canadian seafood. Your simple act could help end the seal
hunt forever.
Canada is sensitive to world opinion. Hundreds of thousands of people
protesting and, in particular, refusing to buy Canadian seafood will make a
difference. Taking the pledge is simple and effective.
We've made your pledge to boycott Canadian seafood EASY with our
wallet-sized guide. Once you've signed the pledge,
guide.
The first stage of the barbaric hunt, set to start in late March, will
unfold very quickly - and we'll be there to cover it. A spotter plane will
help us pinpoint the slaughter locations, and helicopters will take our
teams out onto the ice so they can record the ugly truth about what happens
away from public view.
You can stay in touch with our biggest animal protection campaign of the
year at www.ProtectSeals.org. There
you'll find up-to-the-minute news, videos, and actions every day during the
hunt.
I know that it's painful to think about this awful abuse, but your
involvement and action are critical to ending it. Thank you for joining us
today in our fight to abolish the brutal seal hunt forever.
Sincerely,
Wayne Pacelle
President & CEO
The Humane Society of the United States
P.S. Get frequent updates from Rebecca Aldworth, our Director of Canadian
Wildlife Issues, who will be on the ice throughout the hunt to witness and
report.
Copyright C 2005 The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) | All Rights
Reserved.
The Humane Society of the United States | 2100 L Street, NW | Washington, DC
20037
protect-seals@hsus.org | 202-452-1100 |
If you are having trouble viewing images please
click here.
The largest commercial slaughter of marine mammals on the planet will begin
in days. By the end of this year's hunt, more than 300,000 seals will have
been brutally killed - many of them babies as young as 12 days old. Some of
them will have been skinned while still conscious and able to feel pain. The
Humane Society of the United States will be on the front lines in Canada,
fighting to halt this atrocity. Please stand with us today and stop the seal
hunt forever.
Step 1
seafood. Click here.
Seal hunting is an off-season activity conducted by fishers from Canada's
East Coast. They earn, on average, a small fraction of their incomes from
seal hunting - the rest from commercial fisheries. Canada earns $3 billion
annually from seafood exports to the United States. The connection between
the commercial fishing industry and the seal hunt in Canada gives consumers
all over the world the power to end this brutal slaughter. We'll deliver
your pledge to Canada's government so the politicians will know you've
joined our international Protect Seals team and are committed to ending the
seal hunt once and for all.
Don't Buy While Seals Die: Boycott Canadian Seafood.
Photo: IFAW
Help save the baby seals by
pledge to boycott Canadian seafood. Your simple act could help end the seal
hunt forever.
Canada is sensitive to world opinion. Hundreds of thousands of people
protesting and, in particular, refusing to buy Canadian seafood will make a
difference. Taking the pledge is simple and effective.
We've made your pledge to boycott Canadian seafood EASY with our
wallet-sized guide. Once you've signed the pledge,
guide.
The first stage of the barbaric hunt, set to start in late March, will
unfold very quickly - and we'll be there to cover it. A spotter plane will
help us pinpoint the slaughter locations, and helicopters will take our
teams out onto the ice so they can record the ugly truth about what happens
away from public view.
You can stay in touch with our biggest animal protection campaign of the
year at
you'll find up-to-the-minute news, videos, and actions every day during the
hunt.
I know that it's painful to think about this awful abuse, but your
involvement and action are critical to ending it. Thank you for joining us
today in our fight to abolish the brutal seal hunt forever.
Sincerely,
Wayne Pacelle
President & CEO
The Humane Society of the United States
P.S. Get frequent updates from Rebecca Aldworth, our Director of Canadian
Wildlife Issues, who will be on the ice throughout the hunt to witness and
report.
Copyright C 2005 The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) | All Rights
Reserved.
The Humane Society of the United States | 2100 L Street, NW | Washington, DC
20037
Wednesday, March 16, 2005
Madonna opens hunting business on her property in the UK
Wasn't there a time when she was a veg. and into peace? Now she's basically running a hunting business. Doesn't she have enough money as it is?
Madonna attacked by animal rights group
Monday, March 14 2005, 14:46 GMT -- by Daniel Saney
Madonna has come under fire from an anti-hunting group for allowing shooting to take place on her estate.
Following Madge's success last year in banning ramblers from her paths, FemaleFirst.co.uk reports that she earns £10,000 every time she allows hunters to shoot birds on her property.
The League Against Cruel Sports has dedicated a page of its website to the pop icon, accusing her of having birds reared in factory-farming conditions.
The site informs readers: "For the really rich, really keen and really star- struck, a day's shooting can be arranged on Madonna and Guy Ritchie’s Wiltshire, England estate for a mere £10,000.
"She has been fighting to keep ramblers off her footpaths, but is open for business to paying customers."
Madonna attacked by animal rights group
Monday, March 14 2005, 14:46 GMT -- by Daniel Saney
Madonna has come under fire from an anti-hunting group for allowing shooting to take place on her estate.
Following Madge's success last year in banning ramblers from her paths, FemaleFirst.co.uk reports that she earns £10,000 every time she allows hunters to shoot birds on her property.
The League Against Cruel Sports has dedicated a page of its website to the pop icon, accusing her of having birds reared in factory-farming conditions.
The site informs readers: "For the really rich, really keen and really star- struck, a day's shooting can be arranged on Madonna and Guy Ritchie’s Wiltshire, England estate for a mere £10,000.
"She has been fighting to keep ramblers off her footpaths, but is open for business to paying customers."
If you couldn't attend any of the demonstrations agains the Canadian seal slaughter - or, to keep helping....
If you couldn't attend any of the demonstrations agains the Canadian seal slaughter, you can still add
your voice to the protest by contacting Canadian embassy officials
to demand they "Stop the Seal Kill." Send your message to:
The Honourable Frank McKenna
Office of the Ambassador, Canada
Canadian Embassy
501 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20001
202-682-1740
Fax: 202-682-7701 or 202-682-7678
webmaster@canadianembassy.org
your voice to the protest by contacting Canadian embassy officials
to demand they "Stop the Seal Kill." Send your message to:
The Honourable Frank McKenna
Office of the Ambassador, Canada
Canadian Embassy
501 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20001
202-682-1740
Fax: 202-682-7701 or 202-682-7678
webmaster@canadianembassy.org
Tuesday, March 15, 2005
I didn't realize that this was already occuring. Strange stuff...
Animal-rights groups and ethicists have claws out over latest clones
By Howard Witt
Chicago Tribune
AUSTIN, Texas - It was something of a curiosity back in December when a California company announced the delivery of the world’s first kitten cloned for a customer bereaved enough over the loss of a pet cat to pay $50,000 to have it duplicated.
But now that the production line is ramping up - a second cloned feline was delivered to a customer last month, and three more are on the way - the response in some quarters is less than warm and fuzzy. With other designer pets, such as glow-in-the-dark fish and hypoallergenic cats, also coming off the drawing boards, some ethicists, animal-rights groups and legislators are rousing themselves to oppose what they regard as a new moral and biological threat: the manufacture of customized pets engineered to buyers’ precise specifications.
"We don’t need to be rushing Frankenkitty to the marketplace," said Lloyd Levine, a California state legislator who recently introduced a bill that would ban the sale of cloned pets. "Many of these animals are born with limbs missing and deformities. What happens if they get out and start breeding? Maybe we ought to wait and develop this scientific research before we rush this to the marketplace."
The American Anti-Vivisection Society, meanwhile, has petitioned the U.S. Department of Agriculture to begin regulating pet cloning labs that so far have evaded government scrutiny. Critics contend that cloning companies are preying on the emotions of bereaved pet owners and falsely promising exact copies of their companions.
"We want people to understand what is involved," said Crystal Miller-Spiegel, a senior policy analyst with the animal-protection group. "It’s not always the heartwarming story you hear about in the media. There’s a lot of deceit in how these companies are pitching this to consumers."
But officials of Genetic Savings & Clone, the Sausalito, Calif., company that is producing the cloned cats, as well as the firm’s satisfied customers, angrily dispute such claims. They insist that the science behind animal cloning has come a long way since Dolly the sheep was created in 1996 - and died prematurely six years later - and that advances have greatly reduced the instances of stillbirths and deformities.
Cloning of commercial livestock and even some endangered species is now commonplace, advocates argue, so why not replicate the most beloved animals of all - household dogs and cats - for clients who are willing to pay the price?
"Much of the controversy is based on science fiction," said Ben Carlson, vice president of Genetic Savings & Clone. "Many of our critics seem to rail against what they think pet cloning is. But just as IVF (in-vitro fertilization) has ceased to be controversial, over time people will perhaps understand it better and it will be more affordable."
Despite its whimsical name, Genetic Savings & Clone sees lucrative opportunities in its niche market. It has outgrown its cloning lab in Austin, Texas, and this month is to open a new facility near Madison, Wis., where scientists hope the labor-intensive process of producing cat clones can be streamlined.
Carlson said several hundred clients already have paid $295 to $1,395, plus annual storage fees, to bank genetic material from their pets that can later be used to produce clones. To spur more demand, company officials recently reduced the price of cat clones from the Hummer range down to Volvo territory - $32,000. And GSC scientists are aggressively pursuing the biologically more difficult feat of cloning dogs - a product for which the company expects to charge an even higher price.
"The people who seek our services are always going to be a minority of pet lovers," Carlson said. "Most people will be perfectly happy to continue to get pets from shelters or pet stores.
"Our clients are kind of like a subset of the folks who have settled on a particular breed," he added. "They’ve got a particular idea about the characteristics they want in their next pet. ... Cloning is going to give them the most similar pet that’s available. ... We liken it to a later-born identical twin."
That’s pretty much what the Dallas airline employee who bought the first cloned kitten says she got for her $50,000.
"What we received was a kitten that looks identical and is amazingly similar in personality" to the original cat, wrote "Julie" in a brief e-mail exchange. The woman declined to be interviewed in person or identified beyond her first name, and she would not explain why she decided to spend such a large sum for a housecat.
Critics are unconvinced by such testimonials, however, and insist that the clone buyers are being misled.
"If it was really conveyed to (GSC customers) that they would be likely to find other animals out there that have the behaviors they are interested in, I doubt they would have many clients," said David Magnus, director of the Stanford University Center for Biomedical Ethics.
"When we lost our beloved cocker spaniel last January, it was devastating," Magnus added. "The temptation to try to find a technological way to make that hurt go away is something I can really appreciate. But it’s false."
Other critics worry that the technology to clone pets has outpaced ethical considerations.
"It defies logic to think that somebody can feel right about paying $50,000 for a cat when 17 million dogs and cats are killed in shelters and pounds every year," said Mary Beth Sweetland, director of research and investigations at People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. "That money could be put towards the support of innumerable homeless animals if these people truly care about animals."
Still others insist that animals suffer at all stages of the cloning process, either as egg donors, surrogate mothers or the clones themselves, and that the absence of any government oversight leaves room for potential fraud and abuse.
Genetic Savings & Clone officials counter that all of their animals are well cared for, that they are open to monitoring by outside agencies and that they take pains not to promise customers that their cloned pets will behave precisely like their deceased predecessors.
"As long as we eliminate the harm and produce high-quality clones, it doesn’t matter the percent of the populace that feels clones should be available for sale," said Lou Hawthorne, the company’s chief executive officer. "There are lots of things that people aren’t interested in buying that are for sale."
As for human cloning - a prospect that provokes near-universal popular revulsion - Genetic Savings & Clone officials say they won’t go anywhere near it.
"Our code of bioethics states that we will not share anything with people seeking to clone human beings," said Carlson, the company vice president. "It’s not an area we see demand for. We also have moral objections."
Animal-rights groups and ethicists have claws out over latest clones
By Howard Witt
Chicago Tribune
AUSTIN, Texas - It was something of a curiosity back in December when a California company announced the delivery of the world’s first kitten cloned for a customer bereaved enough over the loss of a pet cat to pay $50,000 to have it duplicated.
But now that the production line is ramping up - a second cloned feline was delivered to a customer last month, and three more are on the way - the response in some quarters is less than warm and fuzzy. With other designer pets, such as glow-in-the-dark fish and hypoallergenic cats, also coming off the drawing boards, some ethicists, animal-rights groups and legislators are rousing themselves to oppose what they regard as a new moral and biological threat: the manufacture of customized pets engineered to buyers’ precise specifications.
"We don’t need to be rushing Frankenkitty to the marketplace," said Lloyd Levine, a California state legislator who recently introduced a bill that would ban the sale of cloned pets. "Many of these animals are born with limbs missing and deformities. What happens if they get out and start breeding? Maybe we ought to wait and develop this scientific research before we rush this to the marketplace."
The American Anti-Vivisection Society, meanwhile, has petitioned the U.S. Department of Agriculture to begin regulating pet cloning labs that so far have evaded government scrutiny. Critics contend that cloning companies are preying on the emotions of bereaved pet owners and falsely promising exact copies of their companions.
"We want people to understand what is involved," said Crystal Miller-Spiegel, a senior policy analyst with the animal-protection group. "It’s not always the heartwarming story you hear about in the media. There’s a lot of deceit in how these companies are pitching this to consumers."
But officials of Genetic Savings & Clone, the Sausalito, Calif., company that is producing the cloned cats, as well as the firm’s satisfied customers, angrily dispute such claims. They insist that the science behind animal cloning has come a long way since Dolly the sheep was created in 1996 - and died prematurely six years later - and that advances have greatly reduced the instances of stillbirths and deformities.
Cloning of commercial livestock and even some endangered species is now commonplace, advocates argue, so why not replicate the most beloved animals of all - household dogs and cats - for clients who are willing to pay the price?
"Much of the controversy is based on science fiction," said Ben Carlson, vice president of Genetic Savings & Clone. "Many of our critics seem to rail against what they think pet cloning is. But just as IVF (in-vitro fertilization) has ceased to be controversial, over time people will perhaps understand it better and it will be more affordable."
Despite its whimsical name, Genetic Savings & Clone sees lucrative opportunities in its niche market. It has outgrown its cloning lab in Austin, Texas, and this month is to open a new facility near Madison, Wis., where scientists hope the labor-intensive process of producing cat clones can be streamlined.
Carlson said several hundred clients already have paid $295 to $1,395, plus annual storage fees, to bank genetic material from their pets that can later be used to produce clones. To spur more demand, company officials recently reduced the price of cat clones from the Hummer range down to Volvo territory - $32,000. And GSC scientists are aggressively pursuing the biologically more difficult feat of cloning dogs - a product for which the company expects to charge an even higher price.
"The people who seek our services are always going to be a minority of pet lovers," Carlson said. "Most people will be perfectly happy to continue to get pets from shelters or pet stores.
"Our clients are kind of like a subset of the folks who have settled on a particular breed," he added. "They’ve got a particular idea about the characteristics they want in their next pet. ... Cloning is going to give them the most similar pet that’s available. ... We liken it to a later-born identical twin."
That’s pretty much what the Dallas airline employee who bought the first cloned kitten says she got for her $50,000.
"What we received was a kitten that looks identical and is amazingly similar in personality" to the original cat, wrote "Julie" in a brief e-mail exchange. The woman declined to be interviewed in person or identified beyond her first name, and she would not explain why she decided to spend such a large sum for a housecat.
Critics are unconvinced by such testimonials, however, and insist that the clone buyers are being misled.
"If it was really conveyed to (GSC customers) that they would be likely to find other animals out there that have the behaviors they are interested in, I doubt they would have many clients," said David Magnus, director of the Stanford University Center for Biomedical Ethics.
"When we lost our beloved cocker spaniel last January, it was devastating," Magnus added. "The temptation to try to find a technological way to make that hurt go away is something I can really appreciate. But it’s false."
Other critics worry that the technology to clone pets has outpaced ethical considerations.
"It defies logic to think that somebody can feel right about paying $50,000 for a cat when 17 million dogs and cats are killed in shelters and pounds every year," said Mary Beth Sweetland, director of research and investigations at People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. "That money could be put towards the support of innumerable homeless animals if these people truly care about animals."
Still others insist that animals suffer at all stages of the cloning process, either as egg donors, surrogate mothers or the clones themselves, and that the absence of any government oversight leaves room for potential fraud and abuse.
Genetic Savings & Clone officials counter that all of their animals are well cared for, that they are open to monitoring by outside agencies and that they take pains not to promise customers that their cloned pets will behave precisely like their deceased predecessors.
"As long as we eliminate the harm and produce high-quality clones, it doesn’t matter the percent of the populace that feels clones should be available for sale," said Lou Hawthorne, the company’s chief executive officer. "There are lots of things that people aren’t interested in buying that are for sale."
As for human cloning - a prospect that provokes near-universal popular revulsion - Genetic Savings & Clone officials say they won’t go anywhere near it.
"Our code of bioethics states that we will not share anything with people seeking to clone human beings," said Carlson, the company vice president. "It’s not an area we see demand for. We also have moral objections."
Remember - Today - 3-15 - International Day Against Seal Slaughter
Check this site for more information and for locations of protests
world wide.
Maybe there's one in your neighborhood. If not, get one together!
http://www.seashepherd.org/seals/seals_worldwide_protest.html
world wide.
Maybe there's one in your neighborhood. If not, get one together!
http://www.seashepherd.org/seals/seals_worldwide_protest.html
Experts: Illegal Ivory Trade Taking Off
So not only is Sudan allowing genocide, they're also allowing the marauding wackos they call the army to allow the murder of peaceful elephants. Amazing. But all due to Chinese demand.
Experts: Illegal Ivory Trade Taking Off
Mon Mar 14,11:21 AM
World - AP Africa
By CHRIS TOMLINSON, Associated Press Writer
NAIROBI, Kenya - Poachers are killing between 6,000 and 12,000 elephants a year to supply illegal ivory markets in Sudan — among the largest in the world — to meet growing Chinese demand, experts said Monday.
Most of the elephants are killed in southern Sudan, Congo and the Central African Republic, with some ivory also coming from Kenya and Chad, said Esmond Martin, an expert on the illegal ivory trade who recently conducted a survey in Sudan on behalf of Care for the Wild International.
Martin said he found 11,000 ivory products on display in 50 shops in Sudan's capital, Khartoum, and in nearby Omdurman. He also visited 150 ivory craftsmen making new products, much of it jewelry.
Despite international and Sudanese laws forbidding trade in ivory outside of internationally supervised sales, traders and craftsmen openly displayed and discussed the industry with Martin and his team during their research last month.
"Practically every trader we talked to said the Sudanese national army was doing the killing in southern Sudan," Martin said. "Almost everybody we talked to said the army was the main group of people involved in the transport (of ivory from central Africa)."
The average price per kilogram of quality ivory has risen from about $45 in 1997 to $105 now, Martin said. The average price paid in central Africa, where the elephants were killed, is $20 a kilogram, he added.
"Over 75 percent of all of the ivory bought in Khartoum and Omdurman on the retail side is bought by Chinese people," Martin said. "They are not buying small quantities, they are buying huge quantities to take back home."
There are between 3,000 and 5,000 Chinese who live and work in Sudan, mainly in the oil, mining and construction industry. He said ivory name seals and chopsticks were recently introduced to meet Chinese demand for those item.
More than 50 percent of Africa's elephants were killed by poachers between 1979 and 1989, when an international ban on the ivory trade was introduced.
That poaching was driven by economic prosperity in Japan, but the current increase in demand is a result of China's growing economy, said Nigel Hunter, director of the Monitoring the Illegal Killing of Elephants unit of the United Nations (news - web sites) organization that regulates trade in wildlife.
Hunter said the Chinese government has stepped up efforts to intercept illegal ivory imports, but that Sudan has done little to discourage the trade. Shops throughout Khartoum advertise ivory and display items in store windows, though the Sudanese government pledged last year to crack down on the trade by March 31.
Sudanese officials were not immediately available for comment.
"All the Sudanese need to do is enforce their own laws," said Martin, whose research was financed by the British-based Care for the Wild International conservation group.
Martin also found rhino horn, crocodile and other products from endangered species on sale in Khartoum, despite international bans on trade in such products.
Experts: Illegal Ivory Trade Taking Off
Mon Mar 14,11:21 AM
World - AP Africa
By CHRIS TOMLINSON, Associated Press Writer
NAIROBI, Kenya - Poachers are killing between 6,000 and 12,000 elephants a year to supply illegal ivory markets in Sudan — among the largest in the world — to meet growing Chinese demand, experts said Monday.
Most of the elephants are killed in southern Sudan, Congo and the Central African Republic, with some ivory also coming from Kenya and Chad, said Esmond Martin, an expert on the illegal ivory trade who recently conducted a survey in Sudan on behalf of Care for the Wild International.
Martin said he found 11,000 ivory products on display in 50 shops in Sudan's capital, Khartoum, and in nearby Omdurman. He also visited 150 ivory craftsmen making new products, much of it jewelry.
Despite international and Sudanese laws forbidding trade in ivory outside of internationally supervised sales, traders and craftsmen openly displayed and discussed the industry with Martin and his team during their research last month.
"Practically every trader we talked to said the Sudanese national army was doing the killing in southern Sudan," Martin said. "Almost everybody we talked to said the army was the main group of people involved in the transport (of ivory from central Africa)."
The average price per kilogram of quality ivory has risen from about $45 in 1997 to $105 now, Martin said. The average price paid in central Africa, where the elephants were killed, is $20 a kilogram, he added.
"Over 75 percent of all of the ivory bought in Khartoum and Omdurman on the retail side is bought by Chinese people," Martin said. "They are not buying small quantities, they are buying huge quantities to take back home."
There are between 3,000 and 5,000 Chinese who live and work in Sudan, mainly in the oil, mining and construction industry. He said ivory name seals and chopsticks were recently introduced to meet Chinese demand for those item.
More than 50 percent of Africa's elephants were killed by poachers between 1979 and 1989, when an international ban on the ivory trade was introduced.
That poaching was driven by economic prosperity in Japan, but the current increase in demand is a result of China's growing economy, said Nigel Hunter, director of the Monitoring the Illegal Killing of Elephants unit of the United Nations (news - web sites) organization that regulates trade in wildlife.
Hunter said the Chinese government has stepped up efforts to intercept illegal ivory imports, but that Sudan has done little to discourage the trade. Shops throughout Khartoum advertise ivory and display items in store windows, though the Sudanese government pledged last year to crack down on the trade by March 31.
Sudanese officials were not immediately available for comment.
"All the Sudanese need to do is enforce their own laws," said Martin, whose research was financed by the British-based Care for the Wild International conservation group.
Martin also found rhino horn, crocodile and other products from endangered species on sale in Khartoum, despite international bans on trade in such products.
Monday, March 14, 2005
Worldwide Protest Against Canadian Slaughter of Seals - March 15
Check this site for more information and for locations of protests world wide. Maybe there's one in your neighborhood. If not, get one together!
http://www.seashepherd.org/seals/seals_worldwide_protest.html
http://www.seashepherd.org/seals/seals_worldwide_protest.html
Another Easy Action to Help Stop Seal Clubbing -
Save Baby Seals by clicking a button! SIMPLE!
Click here: http://babyseals.care2.com/welcome?w=466687696
Then just 1 click below the baby seal photo. Please be her voice.
More than 319,000 harp seals will be clubbed or shot to death this
year in Canada. 96% of them will be less than 3 months old, and some
may even be skinned alive. Your clicks support airtime for IFAW's TV
campaign to build public pressure against this cruel and inhumane hunt.
Sickos continue to kill baby seals - Sign Petition - Easy
Sickos continue to kill baby seals - amazing still occurs. Please
follow link
( or cut and paste into your browser) to protest. - Easy to do.
Seal Hunt Kills 321,000 but New Hope Arises
http://www.ifaw.org/ifaw/general/default.aspx?oid=89072
The Canadian government's plan to deliberately cull the harp seal
herd has no scientific justification and is out of step with modern
science. Sign our petition to call for an end to this cruel hunt.
PLEASE FORWARD FAR AND WIDE! THANK YOU!
Thursday, March 10, 2005
Severe Animal Rights Abuses in China - Fur
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| By Shi Ju The Epoch Times | Mar 09, 2005 |
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NEW YORK - On the afternoon of February 28, members of PETA held a news conference in front of the Manhattan Macy’s department store building. They held up fur-trimmed jackets made by Tommy Hilfiger that bear the “Made in China” label, and showed video footage recording the barbaric slaughter of animals on Chinese fur farms.
The Chinese fur industry has eclipsed all other countries combined to become the world’s largest fur supplier to the United States, Canada, and Europe. Fur has resurfaced in fashion because it is now cheaper to use than ever, as a result of imports from China, where millions of foxes, raccoons, minks, and rabbits are killed in ways that would shock unsuspecting consumers in the Western countries where the fur is sold.
The video footage played at this press conference was the first-ever exposé of Chinese fur farms. In the past year, an undercover reporter visited several animal farms in Hebei Province, where the numbers of animals killed have increased from 50 to 6,000 animals. The reporter used a pinhole camera to record inside stories from these breeding farms which are horrifically cruel. Footage of a Hebei Province's animal fur trade market shows a fox being hung upside down and skinned alive. The animals were then piled up on the ground, with those already skinned painfully struggling side by side for more than 10 minutes, until eventually ceasing to breathe.
The PETA Vice-President, Dan Mathews, stated that not only human rights are seriously encroached upon in China, but also animals cannot escape this cruel treatment. At present, there are no animal protection laws there. The massacre of these animals in Hebei was cruel in the extreme and difficult to imagine for people from other countries.
After watching the video footage, one Chinese person commented, "It’s really cruel; I really don’t know how they could do things like this. What’s the matter with the people there nowadays? How could they do such a thing without exhibiting human nature? It’s bad enough towards humans, for instance torturing to death the Falun Gong practitioners who practice Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and the Christians who promote benevolence. But towards animals, as was just seen a moment ago, this kind of behavior should not belong to humans even though it is actually seen quite often. What kind of element makes people lose their conscience?"
According to statistics from Chinese Customs, in 2003, China’s animal fur export value had reached US$1 billion. Compared with 2002 it had grown 42.5 percent. It is estimated that China produces 1.5 million fox and raccoon skins every year. It also produces marten (weasel) fur, dog fur, cat fur, etc.
PETA has placed the inside story about Chinese fur farms and the slaughtering on their website http://www.peta.org for general access.
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