Animal Legal Defense Fund Asks For Help in Fighting Veal Calf Abuse: Case Against Mendes Calf Ranch for Violation of California Animal Cruelty Laws

Animal Legal Defense Fund Asks For Your Help in Fighting Veal Calf Abuse: Calls for Your Support in Its Case Against Mendes Calf Ranch for Its Violation of California Animal Cruelty Laws

Normally I don’t post emails I receive, but this is an important issue.

Please read below and offer your support.

It’s easy and worth it.

Video footage that stands as proof to the necessity of this case can be found at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfGkfUz2j5k

For proof as to the cruelty of veal (abuse baby cows) including video proof see http://www.noveal.org



Greetings, We need your help.

As you know, the Animal Legal Defense Fund is committed to protecting the lives of animals everywhere.

But you may not know that we have filed a lawsuit against Mendes Calf Ranch for its violation of California animal cruelty laws.

The ranch is a facility that dairy producers use to house and raise newborn calves while their mothers are milked. The babies are taken soon after birth and shipped away to live in Mendes’s cramped, filthy crates with barely enough room to move.

Day after day, these calves live by themselves in crates so small they can’t even turn around or lie down naturally.

They must contort their bodies even to stand in the small space, which is often covered with their own excrement. (Video footage at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfGkfUz2j5k)

While our lawsuit to stop this cruel practice is pending in court, there is more we can do for these animals right now. We need to reach Mendes through the people they’re most likely to listen to: their clients.

Major dairy producers Land O’Lakes and Challenge Dairy get their milk from calves confined at Mendes Calf Ranch. It’s time to let dairy corporations know that these practices are unnecessary — and unacceptable.

We’re launching the Free Baby Mendes campaign to mobilize consumers and animal lovers to sign on to a letter we’ll deliver to Land O’Lakes and Challenge Dairy. We hope that you can help us spread the word.

Would you be willing to post something on your site and/or email your list about the campaign?

Information about the campaign can be found at www.FreeBabyMendes.com. Also available are Free Baby Mendes banners for your website at http://www.aldf.org/content/mendes.php?pid=231.

Together, we can make a difference for these cows—as we work to make sure that animal cruelty laws are taken seriously. Thank you in advance for your consideration.

Sincerely,

April Nockleby
Animal Legal Defense Fund

170 East Cotati Avenue, Cotati, CA 94931
Phone: (707) 795-2533 • Fax: (707) 795-7280
E-mail: info@aldf.org • Web: www.aldf.org

Possible that Most Dogs Related to Abuse by Michael Vick Can be Saved

This is actually a video story and can be found at the following link. I hope it works and I hope this is the truth. It’s the least that can happen after such a horrid case of animal cruelty.

http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=207187&cl=4330777&ch=207399&src=sports

Suspended Falcons Quarter Back Michael Vick Due in Court Nov. 27th on State Dogfighting Charges

Remember, this is separate from the federal charges.

Luckily the state finally decided to pursue him.In addition, luckily, the Falcons are fighting to have 22 million in bonus money returned to them.

Let’s hope that happens.

As stated below, “The Falcons want Vick to return up to $22 million in bonus money, arguing his guilty plea to a federal dogfighting charge violated his 10-year, $130 million contract…”

Article:

Trial date for suspended Falcons QB Vick on state dogfighting charges will be set on Nov. 27

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news;_ylt=AjtYNUiC5I96xViVuCcacCI5nYcB?slug=ap-vickindicted&prov=ap&type=lgns

By HANK KURZ Jr., AP Sports WriterOctober 3, 2007
AP - Oct 3, 10:33 am EDT

SUSSEX, Va. (AP) -- Michael Vick moved one step closer to being tried on state dogfighting charges Wednesday at a hearing to make sure he has legal representation.

An attorney for the suspended Atlanta Falcons quarterback appeared in Surry County Circuit Court and was asked to return Nov. 27 to set a trial date.

Vick, who did not attend the hearing, is in the midst of a big week. On Thursday, representatives from the Falcons, the NFL management council and the NFL Players Association are scheduled to meet in Philadelphia for a contract arbitration case.

The Falcons want Vick to return up to $22 million in bonus money, arguing his guilty plea to a federal dogfighting charge violated his 10-year, $130 million contract. The NFLPA is expected to argue Vick already has earned the bonus money.

Vick, who faces up to five years in prison, is to be sentenced Dec. 10 on the federal charges.
He and three co-defendants, all of whom already have pleaded guilty to the federal dogfighting charges, are not expected at the Nov. 27 hearing, Surry County prosecutor Gerald G. Poindexter said Wednesday.

Poindexter said he hopes to have the trial begin as soon as possible.

"All the good citizens of Surry County I am sure would like to see an end to this, along with a lot of other good people," the prosecutor said outside the courtroom.

Virginia Beach attorney Larry Woodward, who will represent Vick on the state charges, said Vick turned himself in last week in the rural county for pretrial processing and bonding. Vick has been charged with two state felony counts -- beating or killing or causing dogs to fight other dogs and engaging in or promoting dogfighting. Each felony is punishable by up to five years in prison.

Surry County is where the dogfighting enterprise known as Bad Newz Kennels operated since 2001 on 15 acres of land Vick owned.

Woodward's appearance in court was brief, and he made the long walk to his car afterward without saying a word as about 30 reporters peppered him with questions.

Vick's lawyers have indicated they will fight the state charges on the grounds he can't be convicted twice of the same crime. In pleading guilty to a federal conspiracy charge Aug. 27, Vick admitted helping to kill six to eight dogs, among other things.

Vick, suspended indefinitely by the NFL without pay, tested positive last month for marijuana, a violation of U.S. District Court Judge Henry Hudson's order that he stay clean in exchange for being allowed to be free.

After that positive test, Hudson ordered Vick confined to his home address between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., with electronic monitoring and random drug testing.

Associated Press Writer Sonja Barisic contributed to this report.

Yerkes - National Primate Research Center of Emory University Fined $15,000 for Animal Care Problems Linked To the Death of Monkey

Here we go again with the cruel Yerkes.

As stated below, “The macaque — a short-tailed monkey — died from emphysema and from an absence of gas in the lungs... The death was related to incorrectly assembled anesthesia equipment…”

Unfortunately, Yerkes is “… one of eight federally funded national primate research centers [and] has about 3,400 primates at two locations.”

Article:

USDA Fines Animal Lab After Monkey Death

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5h-9H-tT3h83s_oxPm4-eZjdn3XlgD8S0RUEG1

By MIKE STOBBE – 13 hours ago

ATLANTA (AP) — An animal research center was fined $15,000 for animal care problems linked to the death of a monkey, federal authorities said Monday.

Yerkes National Primate Research Center, part of Emory University, denied any willful wrongdoing, but agreed last week to pay the penalty, said U.S. agriculture department spokeswoman Jessica Milteer.

A Yerkes spokeswoman noted the research center reported the monkey's death, and said the center is committed to humane care for animals. "We deeply regret that an animal died," said the spokeswoman, Lisa Newbern.

Yerkes, one of eight federally funded national primate research centers, has about 3,400 primates at two locations. Its scientific contributions include new understanding of monkey and chimp behavior and development of an experimental AIDS vaccine.

The fine stems from findings from two inspections. The USDA reported unsanitary conditions during a January inspection of its 117-acre Lawrenceville field station.

A July inspection confirmed inadequate training and veterinary care at its Atlanta campus, after the macaque died there.

The macaque — a short-tailed monkey — died from emphysema and from an absence of gas in the lungs, Newbern said. The death was related to incorrectly assembled anesthesia equipment, she added.

The equipment has been relabeled, staff members have been retrained, and sanitary conditions at Lawrenceville have been improved, she added.

The fine is not enough, said Michael Budkie, executive director of Stop Animal Exploitation Now, an Ohio-based animal rights organization.

Yerkes received about $40 million in 2006 in federal animal research funds. "Why should Emory care about a $15,000 fine?" Budkie said.

One of the Largest Animal Research Facilities in the Country Will Open in Truckee Meadows near Reno, Nevada

An unfortunate act in a very beautiful part of the country. Sadly, this facility will be large.

As stated below, “The Reno Planning Commission approved Charles River Laboratories' new 450,000-square-foot [facility].

Article:

Animal testing lab's move to Reno spurs outcry over planning
policy

http://news.rgj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071002/NEWS10/710020337/1016/NEWS

SUSAN VOYLES RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL DUNN/RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL

Heather Singer, left, Kathy Parker and Florence Abel on Monday protest the nearly completed Charles River Laboratory on Maestro Drive at Longley Lane.

One of the largest animal research facilities in the country will open this fall in the heart of the Truckee Meadows, and the only planning approval required -- a special use permit -- did not go to the Reno City Council.

The Reno Planning Commission approved Charles River Laboratories' new 450,000-square-foot, preclinical research center at 6995 Longley Lane adjacent to residential property in February 2006.

Since no one filed an appeal, that stood as the final decision. The same thing occurred when a new minor league baseball stadium was approved in downtown Reno in August.
Councilwoman Jessica Sferrazza, who fought for a new regional animal control center, said projects of a certain size should trigger a City Council hearing. Sferrazza lives within a few miles of the research lab but didn't learn of it until last week.

"We're the elected body. I respect the planning commission for what they do," Sferrazza said. "But it should come up to the council for review."
Mayor Bob Cashell agreed.

"There are special occasions," he said. "It's something we should look at."
Councilwoman Sharon Zadra said there was more discussion about parking than animal testing when two neighborhood groups reviewed the project in January 2006. No one seemed to be alarmed about the project, which lies within her ward, she said, noting that the council can't favor some legal businesses over others.

"You can't make judgment calls," she said.

Reno lab
The Reno facility will be among the five largest labs in the country, said Greg Beattie, the center's executive director for operations. Charles River is a public company with headquarters in Wilmington, Mass.

The company is relocating from Dunn Circle in Sparks to Reno and will be phasing in employees to the new facility over the next six months.

Sparks city officials, health officials, company officials and animal rights advocates say the plant has operated in the Sparks industrial area without incident for 15 years. Beattie said the 6995 Longley Lane site was chosen because it is closer to where its employees live.

Beattie said the company will greatly reduce research involving macaque monkeys at the Reno facility. In Sparks, he said the monkeys made up the "vast majority" of its research.
He said that means most of the research in Reno will involve rodents and a small percentage of dogs and monkeys. He said the federal government requires nonrodent testing before new drugs can be released on the market.

Activists picket

Animal rights protesters have been at the Reno site in recent months.
"I'm totally against it because of the animal testing they do," said Tania Tavcar, who lives nearby. "Every day I drive by that place, I feel like I'm driving by a pet cemetery. I may move. But I'm going to stay here and fight for a while."

"I don't think people realize what's happening in the middle of town," said Florence Abel, 78, a resident of the Quail Manor Court senior complex, northwest of the building. "I don't think what they are doing is illegal, but it's immoral."

Beattie said research will continue to involve testing new drugs on animals to find any side effects. A new drug for HIV, for instance, would be tested to see whether it causes tumors or other side effects.

Initial testing to see whether the drug is effective against the HIV virus would be done elsewhere, Beattie said.

For the company to handle deadly substances, he said, the building would have to be rebuilt to higher standards. At other locations, Charles River has done preclinical testing for drugs to counter anthrax, nerve gas and the sometimes fatal Dengue virus, according to the Centers for

Disease Control and Prevention.

The new Reno laboratory building is rated as a Biosafety Level 2 facility, the same rating given to hospitals.

Charles River purchased the former State Farm building on Longley Lane and has spent $107 million renovating it, city and county records show. Millions more have been spent on lab equipment.

Animal research will be done on the 50,000-square-foot second floor and a large chemical laboratory will be on the first floor, Beattie said.

Beattie said the Sparks center employs 400 people who will be transferred to Reno. And the Reno lab will to grow to 900 employees over the next several years. Half of the jobs require a college degree, he said.

'No environmental hazards'
The plant, he said, will not create any environmental hazards, and the building did not flood in either the 1997 or 2005 floods. Inside the plant, a pretreatment tank will dissolve acids from the laboratories before the waste enters the sewer system. A station is set up for city officials to monitor that, he said.

Beattie said the only thing coming out of the large vents on the rooftop will be air. He said the plant will have no incinerator, and carcasses are hauled away to approved sites, which he did not want to specify.

Records show the labs are built with one-hour fire safety walls and fire officials have lists of the chemicals used and amounts that will be on site.

Coral Amende, a founder for Reno Outreach for Animal Rights, contends the government doesn't have enough inspectors to oversee the laboratory, contending the U.S. Department of Agriculture has only 101 inspectors for 13,000 laboratories.

The facility is inspected by the USDA, the Centers for Disease Control and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Beattie said.

Beattie said inspectors from these agencies have been through the facility dozens of times and have reported only a few "housekeeping" items. He said the last inspection was about a month ago. The company prides itself on maintaining higher standards than the federal government requires, he said.

He also said the lab is monitored by an institutional animal care and use committee. It includes a local resident, but he declined to name that person.
John Hester, Reno community development director, said the city does not regulate the care of animals in the facility. That's up to the federal government.

He said it's up to the council to change the city's code to require special use permits for larger projects.

The council in 1995 gave the planning commission the final say on special use permits unless there's an appeal. The practice is the same in Sparks and has been since 2000.
Questions were raised about animal testing at a joint meeting of the southwest and south ward neighborhood advisory board on Jan. 5, 2006. Notices were sent to residents within 750 feet, and the company also sent a letter to the Quail Manor Court, a senior citizen housing project next door.

All of that, city officials said, goes beyond legal requirements.

Bob Fulkerson, Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada executive director, said major projects that affect citizens should go before the city council.

The staff report reviewed by planning commissioners included a single mention of testing on animals on its fourth page.

Fulkerson said the city should consider requiring a summary statement of a project in common language "so people know what the heck is going on."

Pending cases

A case against Charles River Laboratories is pending before the New Mexico Supreme Court. The case was dismissed by a lower court that said its chimp facility was exempted from the state's animal cruelty law. The facility was included in an exception for the practice of veterinary medicine.

The criminal charges related to two chimpanzees that died overnight when only security guards were on duty. One was injured by other chimps and bled to death and the other didn't regain consciousness after being anesthetized for an exam.

Amende said researchers can find other ways to find cures without doing research on animals.

"Out of every 100 drugs tested, we get just one that is safe and effective," she said.

Beattie said testing on animals is required by the federal government before new drugs are allowed to be put on the market. "There's not a single medical advance for humans or animals that has been done without this kind of research."

Groups Gather to Remind World that Novartis Supports Animal Testing and the Cruel Huntingdon Life Sciences (HLS)

Article:

Anti-vivisection demonstrators target Novartis

http://www.24heures.ch/pages/home/24_heures/english_corner/news/news_detail/(contenu)/139423

Activists accuse Novartis headquarters in Nyon of collaboration with animal-testing company

Fifteen activists demonstrated in front of the Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis in Nyon on Monday afternoon denouncing animal-testing methods. Participants carrying placards saying “Animal Murderers” or “No to Vivisection” gathered for three hours. Although animal-testing is not conducted at the Novartis factory, the demonstrators accuse Novartis of collaborating with British company, Huntingdon Life Sciences (HLS), which they claim uses “cruel and doubtful” animal-testing methods.

The aim of the activists, who call themselves “Stop Huntingdon Animal cruelty”, is to force business partners to discontinue dealing with the British lab. “We have already managed to make them lose SFr90 million since 1999,” says one demonstrator.

According to Paul Herling, head of research for Novartis international, animal experimentation is a useful support for in-vitro methods. The pharmaceutical company says it regularly scrutinizes partner companies and established the Novartis Animal Welfare service two years ago to assess the treatment of animals during experimentation.

Groups Call for Designers to End Using Snake and Crocodile Skin

This quote found below sums it up: "Anyone who wears exotic skins is giving money toward unimaginable cruelties such as alligators and snakes being whacked on their heads with hammers or machetes, and then skinned while still conscious," she said.

Article:

Catwalk call to ban snake and crocodile skin fashion

http://news.scotsman.com/uk.cfm?id=1571142007

LOUISE BARNETT

ANIMAL-rights campaigners yesterday criticised the use of snake and crocodile skins in designer fashion.

It follows the appearance of exotic animal skins in recent catwalk shows.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has launched an anti-exotic animal skins advert which shows a reptile carrying a handbag. Several fashion designers included snakeskin in their recent bag, shoe and clothing collections.

PETA's Europe director, Poorva Joshipura, said the use of exotic skins in fashion was putting the animals in danger of extinction.

"Anyone who wears exotic skins is giving money toward unimaginable cruelties such as alligators and snakes being whacked on their heads with hammers or machetes, and then skinned while still conscious," she said.
"Beautiful synthetics are plentiful and used by progressive designers like Stella McCartney and Marc Bouwer. It's easy to choose faux and have a look that kills without killing animals."

State of Virginia Indicts Suspended Atlanta Falcons Quarterback Michael Vick in Relation to His Guilty Plea on the Federal Level of Dog Fighting

Luckily Virginia moved on this. Sounds like they didn’t have a choice as if you read the story, state police were about to not prosecute at all prior to the FBI actually moving into the property to investigate.

Article:

Vick charged with torturing, killing dogs in Virginia indictment

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/law/09/25/vick/
index.html?eref=rss_topstories

Decrease font Decrease font
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SUSSEX, Virginia (CNN) -- A Virginia grand jury has indicted suspended Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick and three co-defendants on state charges of running a dogfighting ring at Vick's Virginia home, prosecutors said Tuesday.


Suspended Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick faces sentencing on federal charges in December.

The Surry County grand jury brought two charges against Vick: one count of unlawfully torturing and killing dogs and one of promoting dogfights. Each is a felony charge that could result in a five-year prison term.

Vick, 27, faces a possible prison term of 12 to 18 months after his August guilty plea to a federal conspiracy charge of bankrolling a dogfighting operation from his home outside Newport News, Virginia. He faces sentencing on December 10 in U.S. District Court in Richmond, Virginia.

Vick's lawyers said they will "aggressively" work to make sure "that he is not held accountable for the same conduct twice."

"We are disappointed that these charges were filed in Surry County, since it is the same conduct covered by the federal indictment for which Mr. Vick has already accepted full responsibility and pleaded guilty to in U.S. District Court in Richmond, Virginia," his lead attorney, Billy Martin, said in a statement issued Tuesday afternoon.

Vick pleaded guilty after three associates -- Purnell Peace, 35, of Virginia Beach; Quanis Phillips, 28, of Atlanta, Georgia; and Tony Taylor, 34, of Hampton, Virginia -- admitted their roles in the operation and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors. Read about the federal case against Vick »

Tuesday's grand jury session resulted in charges of promoting dogfighting against all three. In addition, Taylor faces three additional counts of unlawful torture and killing of dogs, and Peace, like Vick, faces one count.

All four are scheduled to be arraigned October 3 and face a tentative trial date of November 27. See a timeline of the case against Vick »
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Earlier, Surry County Commonwealth Attorney Gerald Poindexter said he planned to present more than 10 possible charges against Vick and his co-defendants to the grand jury.

The grand jury refused to bring eight additional counts of animal cruelty against the defendants.

"I'm sure that the grand jury took careful consideration, and they made a decision we can live with," he said.

Poindexter said he pursued the case because "crimes that were not prosecuted were committed in Surry County." But he would not say whether his prosecutors put Vick's federal court admission that he killed dogs before the grand jury.
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"Come on, lady, how much do you need to know?" he told a reporter who was pressing the issue.

The grand jury met at the Sussex County courthouse because the Surry County courthouse is undergoing renovations. E-mail to a friend E-mail to a friend

CNN's Eric Fiegel contributed to this report.

All About Animal Cruelty • Michael Vick

Site Exposes Horror of Annual Namibia Seal Slaughter

Everyone knows about the Canadian Baby Seal Slaugther, but many don't know about the Namibia Seal Slaughter.

Find out more at:

http://namibia2007.wordpress.com/

Another Event Puts Question to Zoos: In Norway, Bears Escape from Zoo and are Killed

Two points here:

One, the unnatural nature of putting bears behind bars.

Two, the idocy of defaulting to killing when any issue arises.

Article:

Animal Rights Association Questions Bear killings

http://www.norwaypost.no/cgi-bin/norwaypost/imaker?id=101976

The Animal Rights Association, NOAH, might report the zoo that has shot and killed three bears in three weeks to the police.The 11-year-old female bear and her two cubs escaped from the zoo in Grong last Monday. Today they were found – and killed.

The police officer in Grong, Herolv Nordaunet, said that the only right thing to do was to shoot the bears, and that they followed all safety guidelines and precautions.

Spokesperson Siri Martinsen from NOAH said that they are very upset that the bears could escape so easily. Not long ago, two young wolves also escaped and were shot and killed shortly after.

“These animal ethics are not acceptable,” Martinsen said.
Manager of the zoo, Randi Dille, said that she will look closer into what went on after the animals escaped.

Officals in Malaysia Call Off Idiotic Dog Catching Contest

Enough said…

Article:

Laudable move

http://thestar.com.my/columnists/story.asp?file=/2007/9/20/columnists/wheelpower/18923843&sec=Wheel%20Power

Wheel Power: By ANTHONY THANASAYAN

Animal lovers everywhere were relieved when the Selayang Municipal Council called off its dogcatching competition due to pressure from the public.
WHAT a sweet victory it was last Friday for animal-loving Malaysians everywhere. The Selayang Municipal Council (MPS), which had been headstrong for the past couple of weeks about its controversial dog-catching competition, finally relented to the public call for the contest to be aborted.

Members of the public were particularly unhappy that attractive cash prizes were being offered, instead of inculcating positive values about responsible animal ownership and love for animals.
The decision was reached at a meeting held at the MPS headquarters in Bandar Baru Selayang, Selangor. The meeting was attended by representatives of five animal welfare and rights groups. The NGOs were joined by the various representatives of local residents in Selayang, as well as MPS council officials.

The animal rights groups present were the Selangor Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, the Animal Rights and Welfare Society (Roar), the Malaysian Association for Responsible Pet Ownership (Marpo), and the Malaysian Animal-Assisted Therapy for the Disabled and Elderly Association (Petpositive).

Also present was another ad hoc group called the Coalition of Animal Lovers of Malaysia (Calm). Formed immediately after the MPS dog-catching contest, Calm was there to oppose the competition.

As president of Petpositive, I was the only representative in wheelchair among 40 others invited to the meeting.

The moment I arrived at the venue, I was confronted with a set of obstacles, which I had to overcome, before getting into the meeting room. Although there were at least two parking lots for disabled drivers, there was no one whom I could ask for assistance. Some of the officers who passed by did not even bother to ask if I needed help.

There was no way they would not have known I was a disabled person, unless they were blind themselves. Not only is my car plastered with disabled stickers all over, but I was parked in the MPS disabled lot. Luckily for me, I didn’t have to wait long. I was soon joined by my animal rights activist chums who got my wheelchair out of the car and helped me into it in no time.
The meeting was held on the first floor, and I had to be carried up two flights of steps that were steep and dangerous to attend it.

What I couldn’t understand was why the meeting was not held in the wheelchair-friendly newer building which was only a stone’s throw away. After all, it was plain as day that Petpositive had the words “disabled” and “elderly” in it. Or is it because people today still view the world in terms of stereotypes? And that disabled people are only seen in handicapped homes, hospitals or hospices, instead of in offices, shopping centres and the meeting rooms of local council buildings?
Just when I thought I would be locked out of the meeting room, a couple of my animal rights friends did a wonderful thing. N. Surendran, from Roar, and Natasha Fernz, from Calm, went upstairs to the meeting room and argued my case until, lo and behold, the venue was moved to the wheelchair-accessible building next door so that I could attend!

Later, I heard that one or two of the invited guests were peeved with me for making them switch venues. They even remarked that I was being too demanding and that I was expecting the world to treat me “special” because of my handicap. However, the morning ended on an extraordinary note. I left the premises with the good news that stray dogs in Selayang would be treated with respect from now on.

I have learnt a lesson from my animal activist friends, too. Sometimes in life, you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do. It’s called: Standing up for yourself.

Animal Rights and Eco Action / Environmentalism: One Cannot Exist Without the Other

A great writing. I encourage all to read it and pass it on. Really shows the true connection between the two issues.

Article:

Animal Rights - the Beating Heart of Eco Action

http://www.arkangelweb.org/features/20070919beatingheart.php

A Discussion on How We in the Animal Rights Movement are at the Centre of Political Change
There is an expression, though not one an Animal Rights activist would tend to use, that describes something so large as to evade notice as the “Elephant in the room.” However, there is now an issue so large, so vital, that it might be better described as the very room itself. That issue is of course Climate Change. What started as the relatively innocuous sounding Global Warming is well on the way to acquiring its more rightful status as likely Climate Catastrophe. Over the last few years this issue has gone from being the preserve of a few scientists and commentators, largely dismissed as cranks, to the front page of every newspaper and the top of most political agendas.

More importantly, this realisation has led to the flowering of a new Eco Action movement, committed to Direct Action in defence of the Earth, and against all those who put greed and material self gratification before the common interest and a sustainable future for all. This Summer saw the second annual Climate Camp take place at Heathrow airport, to protest at the exponential increase in aviation, one of the fastest growing causes of human induced Climate Change. It is absolutely vital that this grassroots movement continues to grow and to succeed. For whilst they might pay lip service to the idea of change, there is no real sign as yet of politicians having the courage necessary to take the necessary decisions.
Over the last year I have made a point of becoming more involved in this movement. For we know that even if we in Animal Rights achieve our goal of eliminating the abuse and exploitation of all Animal Lives, the onset of Climate Catastrophe will render this utterly pointless. The potential consequences of such dramatic change to the weather systems of the Earth, beggar belief. The very ability of the Planet to continue to sustain life may well be compromised.In the face of this possibility it is incumbent on those of us in the Animal Rights movement to take this on board and adapt our strategies accordingly.

It is my belief that it is not possible to separate that which is truly sustainable from that which is properly ethical. As I like to put it, there can be no Life Rights without Earth Awareness. It is possible to argue, and most politicians would, that Climate Change can be tackled without recourse to fundamental change, both in the way in which we view ourselves, and our relationship to the Earth that is home to us all. However, it is the Earth which is the only properly holistic context in which we can come to informed decisions about the way in which we should live. Politicians would argue that we can continue to found ourselves, and our aspirations, on the politics of permanent economic growth. The lie must be put to the madness of this conceit. Money has never made good motivation, and the evidence of this is now made stark for all to see. We need a new ethic on which to base our idea of what it is we are, and it is we in the Animal Rights movement who can provide that ethic.

Throughout the Summer months, and to a lesser extent the rest of the year, there are an ever increasing number of green gatherings and festivals where people from all backgrounds come together to celebrate and discuss our relationship with the Earth. Some are more overtly political than others, and as Climate Change comes to dominate our thoughts, political activism is bound to seem more relevant than celebration. So what is it that links celebration with political activism, be it Eco Action or Animal Rights? What is it also that is the single most important change an individual can make to their lives in order to reduce their carbon footprint? It is to be Vegan, and it is this which is the indissoluble link between Animal Rights and Eco Action.
For those in the Animal Rights movement it is pretty much unthinkable to be deeply concerned with the equality of all Lives, and yet to kill and eat other animals. Granted, vegetarianism is often a stepping stone on the way to being Vegan, but Vegan is where most people end up as the only rational, reasonable and responsible choice. It is the only ethical way. For those in the Eco Action movement, to be Vegan is coming to be seen as the only sustainable way, given the effect it has on one’s carbon footprint. All food at this year’s Climate Camp was Vegan, as it is at most green or Eco gatherings. So it is that to be ethical is to be sustainable, and to be sustainable is to be ethical. As I presume that all of us who wish to see an ethical and sustainable future believe that it is better to be kind than to be cruel, we are, from our differing starting points, coming to the same conclusions and heading toward the same position. That position must be that it is wrong to exploit any Life, human or otherwise.

Although it would now seem that the many and disparate groups and individuals involved in Eco Action or Animal Rights are, in effect, fighting the same fight, that is not yet the way it appears to those we oppose. To them we either seem, or can be portrayed as, a collection of minor, single issue groups, easily dismissed as anything from cranks to crazed extremists. I know this to be a matter of much frustration and annoyance to the many good and decent people acting in defence of the Earth and all life. I would like to suggest that there is something that we can do about this, which will immeasurably increase our influence, without losing the intensity that a small but committed group can bring to a particular issue.

Why is it that the state so dislikes those groups and individuals who make up the Animal Rights movement, and is now showing the same reaction toward Climate Change campaigners? Why is it that the state brings so many resources to bear against us, and is even prepared to compromise its stated, if not realised, democratic ideals, in order to silence us? Could it just be that in their quieter moments or at least somewhere in their being, that they fear us? Not because we pose a physical threat to them, (after all it is they who are the people of violence, not us, it is they who have the guns and the bombs, and who do not shirk from using them), but because they know that we are right! And in being right we threaten not just their power and wealth, but their very idea of who they are.

Without compromising the integrity of these groups, or of those who prefer to work as individuals, I do feel that we need to operate under a collective, recognisable banner. I say this whilst realising that it is already happening in all except name, and has been for some time. For instance, as someone who has centered themselves in the Animal Rights movement, I chose to work under the banner of Earth First! a name more associated with Eco Action. Earth First! is an idea not an organisation. As such it is available to all of us working toward ethical and sustainable living in whatever field. Evidence of how the movement is operating under this banner can be seen from the self posting website Earth First! Action Reports. This website is ever more widely used by both Eco Action and Animal Rights groups to post details of Actions or for information purposes. I feel it would help to raise the profile and effectiveness of all that we do, to use the Earth First! Name in conjunction with whatever other names we are already using. After all, what better expresses our ethos than to state that what we do, is not done for ourselves, but for the Earth and all Lives. However we choose to operate, as individuals we are all Earth Firsters!

As a visible and tangible demonstration of how Eco Action and Animal Rights are coming together as an Earth First! Movement, the following suggestion has been made. For organisational purposes, the Climate Camp, both in its planning and for the actual event, is made up of a number of neighbourhoods representing different regions. Animal Rights, however, in its various groups and individuals, is a nationwide movement. We feel, therefore that it would show our understanding of the vital importance of Eco Action, and our solidarity with those already involved, to have an Animal Rights neighbourhood at next year’s Climate Camp. Having met a number of people involved in the planning and implementation of this year’s Camp, I am hoping to put forward this suggestion as soon as appropriate, and to help with the necessary planning. In this way, it will become increasingly obvious to those in power who seek only to protect vested financial interest, no matter what the real cost, that they are facing serious opposition. Cogent, coherent and organised opposition working, by way of consensus based non hierarchical systems, toward properly ethical and truly sustainable solutions to the problems we face. We who have decided to care, who have chosen to change, will not sit idly back and watch the Earth and all life being ground into money. As a movement our numbers will grow, and so must the Actions that we take. The future depends on it.
Written by Matt Clowes

To see more of Matt’s writing go to: http://www.earthfirstmanifesto.org/

The Case Made Once Again for the Positive Environmental Effects of Vegetarianism

It’s been made clear once again: undeniably, vegetarianism is the number one act for attempting to address the environmental problems of today.

Article:

Nuggets and Hummers and fish sticks, oh my!

http://gristmill.grist.org/story/2007/9/17/16200/7809

PETA VP argues vegetarianism is the best way to help the planet
Posted by Grist at 11:35 AM on 18 Sep 2007

This is a guest essay from Bruce Friedrich, vice president for campaigns at People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). It was written in response to Alex Roth's essay "PETA's dogma is all bark and no bite." Friedrich has been an environmental activist for more than 20 years.

In 1987, I read Diet for a Small Planet by Frances Moore Lappé and -- primarily for human rights and environmental reasons -- went vegan. Two decades later, I still believe that -- even leaving aside all the animal welfare issues -- a vegan diet is the only reasonable diet for people in the developed world who care about the environment or global poverty.

Over the past 20 years, the environmental argument against growing crops to be fed to animals -- so that humans can eat the animals -- has grown substantially. Just this past November, the environmental problems associated with eating chickens, pigs, and other animals were the subject of a 408-page United Nations scientific report titled Livestock's Long Shadow.

The U.N. report found that the meat industry contributes to "problems of land degradation, climate change and air pollution, water shortage and water pollution, and loss of biodiversity." The report concludes that the meat industry is "one of the ... most significant contributors to the most serious environmental problems, at every scale from local to global."

Eating Meat Is the No. 1 Consumer Cause of Global Warming

Al Gore, Leonardo DiCaprio, and others have brought the possibility of global cataclysm into sharp relief. What they have not been talking about, however, is the fact that all cars, trucks, planes, and other types of transportation combined account for about 13 percent of global warming emissions, whereas raising chickens, pigs, cattle, and other animals contributes to 18 percent, according to U.N. scientists. Yes, eating animal products contributes to global warming 40 percent more than all SUVs, 18-wheelers, jumbo jets, and other types of travel combined.

Al and Leo might not be talking about the connection between meat and global warming, but the Live Earth concert that Al inspired is: The recently published Live Earth Global Warming Survival Handbook recommends, "Don't be a chicken. Stop being a pig. And don't have a cow. Be the first on your block to cut back on meat." The Handbook further explains that "refusing meat" is "the single most effective thing you can do to reduce your carbon footprint" [emphasis in original].

And Environmental Defense, on its website, notes, "If every American skipped one meal of chicken per week and substituted vegetables and grains ... the carbon dioxide savings would be the same as taking more than half a million cars off of U.S. roads." Imagine if we stopped eating animal products altogether.

Eating Meat Wastes Resources

If I lie in bed and never get up, I will burn almost 2,500 calories each day; that is what's required to keep my body alive. The same physiological reality applies to all animals: The vast majority of the calories consumed by a chicken, a pig, a cow, or another animal goes into keeping that animal alive, and once you add to that the calories required to create the parts of the animal that we don't eat (e.g., bones, feathers, and blood), you find that it takes more than 10 times as many calories of feed given to an animal to get one calorie back in the form of edible fat or muscle. In other words, it's exponentially more efficient to eat grains, soy, or oats directly rather than feed them to farmed animals so that humans can eat those animals. It's like tossing more than 10 plates of spaghetti into the trash for every one plate you eat.

And that's just the pure "calories in, calories out" equation. When you factor in everything else, the situation gets much worse. Think about the extra stages of production that are required to get dead chickens, pigs, or other animals from the farm to the table:

1. Grow more than 10 times as much corn, grain, and soy (with all the required tilling, irrigation, crop dusters, and so on), as would be required if we ate the plants directly.
2. Transport -- in gas-guzzling, pollution-spewing 18-wheelers -- all that grain and soy to feed manufacturers.
3. Operate the feed mill (again, using massive amounts of resources).
4. Truck the feed to the factory farms.
5. Operate the factory farms.
6. Truck the animals many miles to slaughterhouses.
7. Operate the slaughterhouses.
8. Truck the meat to processing plants.
9. Operate the meat processing plants.
10. Truck the meat to grocery stores (in refrigerated trucks).
11. Keep the meat in refrigerators or freezers at the stores.

With every stage comes massive amounts of extra energy usage -- and with that comes heavy pollution and massive amounts of greenhouse gases, of course. Obviously, vegan foods require some of these stages, too, but vegan foods cut out the factory farms, the slaughterhouses, and multiple stages of heavily polluting tractor-trailer trucks, as well as all the resources (and pollution) involved in each of those stages. And as was already noted, vegan foods require less than one-tenth as many calories from crops, since they are turned directly into food rather than funneled through animals first.

Eating Meat Wastes and Pollutes Water

All food requires water, but animal foods are exponentially more wasteful of water than vegan foods are. Enormous quantities of water are used to irrigate the corn, soy, and oat fields that are dedicated to feeding farmed animals -- and massive amounts of water are used in factory farms and slaughterhouses. According to the National Audubon Society, raising animals for food requires about as much water as all other water uses combined. Environmental author John Robbins estimates that it takes about 300 gallons of water to feed a vegan for a day, four times as much water to feed an ovo-lacto vegetarian, and about 14 times as much water to feed a meat-eater.

Raising animals for food is also a water-polluting process. According to a report prepared by U.S. Senate researchers, animals raised for food in the U.S. produce 86,000 pounds of excrement per second -- that's 130 times more than the amount of excrement that the entire human population of the U.S. produces! Farmed animals' excrement is more concentrated than human excrement, and is often contaminated with herbicides, pesticides, toxic chemicals, hormones, antibiotics, and other harmful substances. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the runoff from factory farms pollutes our rivers and lakes more than all other industrial sources combined.

Eating Meat Destroys the Rain Forest

The World Bank recently reported that 90 percent of all Amazon rainforest land cleared since 1970 is used for meat production. It's not just that we're destroying the rainforest to make grazing land for cows -- we're also destroying it to grow feed for them and other animals. Last year, Greenpeace targeted KFC for the destruction of rainforests because the Amazon is being razed to grow feed for chickens that end up in KFC's buckets. Of course, the rainforest is being used to grow feed for other chickens, pigs, and cows, too (i.e., KFC isn't the only culprit).

What About Eating Fish?
Anyone who reads the news knows that commercial fishing fleets are plundering the oceans and destroying sensitive aquatic ecosystems at an incomprehensible rate. One super-trawler is the length of a football field, and can take in 800,000 pounds of fish in a single netting. These trawlers scrape along the ocean floor, clear-cutting coral reefs and everything else in their path. Hydraulic dredges scoop up huge chunks of the ocean floor to sift out scallops, clams, and oysters. Most of what the fishing fleets pull in isn't even eaten by human beings; half is fed to animals raised for food, and about 30 million tons each year are just tossed back into the ocean, dead, with disastrous and irreversible consequences for the natural biological balance.

Then there is aquaculture (fish farming), which is increasing at a rate of more than 10 percent annually. Aquaculture is even worse than commercial fishing because, for starters, it takes about four pounds of wild-caught fish to reap just one pound of farmed fish, which eat fish caught by commercial trawlers. Farmed fish are often raised in the same water that wild fish swim in, but fish farmers dump antibiotics into the water and use genetic breeding to create "Frankenstein fish." The antibiotics contaminate the oceans and seas, and the genetically engineered fish sometimes escape and breed with wild fish, throwing delicate aquatic balances off-kilter. Researchers at the University of Stockholm demonstrated that the horrible environmental impact of fish farms can extend to an area 50,000 times larger than the farm itself.

Eating Meat Supports Cruelty

Caring for the environment means protecting all of our planet's inhabitants, not just the human ones. Chickens, pigs, turkeys, fish, and cows are intelligent, social animals who feel pain, just as humans, dogs, and cats do. Chickens and pigs do better on animal behavior cognition tests than dogs or cats, and are interesting individuals in the same way. Fish form strong social bonds, and some even use tools. Yet these animals suffer extreme pain and deprivation in today's factory farms. Chickens have their sensitive beaks cut off with a hot blade, pigs have their tails chopped off and their teeth removed with pliers, and cattle and pigs are castrated -- all without any pain relief. The animals are crowded together and given steady doses of hormones and antibiotics in order to make them grow so quickly that their hearts and limbs often cannot keep up, causing crippling and heart attacks. At the slaughterhouse, they are hung upside-down and bled to death, often while they are still conscious.

What About Eating Meat That Isn't From Factory-Farmed Animals?

Is meat better if it doesn't come from factory-farmed animals? Of course, but its production still wastes resources and pollutes the environment. Shouldn't we environmentalists challenge ourselves to do the best we can, not just to make choices that are a bit less bad?

The U.N. report looks at meat at a global level and indicts the inefficiency and waste that are inherent in meat production. No matter where meat comes from, raising animals for food will require that exponentially more calories be fed to animals than they can produce in their flesh, and it will require all those extra stages of CO2-intensive production as well. Only grass-fed cows eat food from land that could not otherwise be used to grow food for human beings, and even grass-fed cows require much more water and create much more pollution than vegan foods do.

Conclusion

The case against eating animal products is ironclad; it's not a new argument, and it goes way beyond just global warming. Animals will not grow or produce flesh, milk, or eggs without food and water; they won't do it without producing excrement; and the stages of meat, dairy, and egg production will always cause pollution and be resource-intensive.

If the past is any guide, this essay will generate much hand-wringing from my meat-eating environmentalist colleagues and, sadly, some anger. They will prefer half-measures (e.g., meat that is "not as bad" as other meat). They may accuse PETA of being judgmental -- simply for presenting the evidence. They will make various arguments that are beside the point. They will ignore the overwhelming argument against eating animal products and try to find a loophole. Some will just call the argument absurd, presenting no evidence at all.

But as Leonardo DiCaprio has noted, this is the 11th hour for the environment. Where something as basic as eating animals is concerned, the choice could not be any clearer: Every time we sit down to eat, we can choose to eat a product that is, according to U.N. scientists, "one of the ... most significant contributors to the most serious environmental problems, at every scale from local to global," or we can choose vegan -- and preferably organic -- foods. It's bad for the environment to eat animals. It's time to stop looking for loopholes.

Considering the proven health benefits of a vegetarian diet -- the American Dietetic Association states that vegetarians have a reduced risk of obesity, heart disease, and various types of cancer --- there's no need or excuse to eat chickens, pigs, eggs, and other animal products. And vegan foods are available everywhere and taste great; as with all foods -- vegan or not -- you just need to find the ones you like.

You can find out more at GoVeg.com and get great-tasting recipes, meal plans, cookbook recommendations, and more at VegCooking.com.

For story: Nuggets and Hummers and fish sticks, oh my!
15 Comments | Post a Comment
Don't Taser Me, Bro'


Eating meat is not the problem.

Eating a lot of putrified animal particle board that parades as meat is the problem.

Hunting a wild boar once every two weeks in Tuscany is living.

Wolfing down Presto! burgers is suicide.

Let's separate the wheat from the chafe -- and please, PETA, don't taser me!

John Bailo
Sutext:
by jabailo at 12:14 PM on 18 Sep 2007

John

What does that have to do with the issue? How much wild boar have you hunted this year?

by Matt G at 12:20 PM on 18 Sep 2007

I wonder what prompted this article?

Read "damage control."

The ad says, "Meat is the #1 Cause of Global Warming," which some fool pointed out is not true ("Uh, he doesn't have any clothes on.."), so here they try to do damage control by rewording it to say "Eating Meat Is the No. 1 Consumer Cause of Global Warming" which unfortunately is even less true. Power generation, industrial processes, and just about every other source of CO2 is paid for by consumers.


The divisive stance they have taken is a dead end strategy. They refuse to simply acknowledge that eating less meat, and less environmentally destructive forms of it is an adequate goal. That is because their real agenda is animal rights. They have jumped on the global warming environment bandwagon to promote their cause. They insist that you become one of them. They have a clearly defined group of people, Vegans and Vegetarians. There does not appear to be any other group allowed. That is why I created the 50-percent Vegan group of which I am a proud member. I also formally challenge Bruce to a carbon footprint pissing contest!

I'll work on a formal rebuttal if I have time. Gawd.


In the end, it all comes down to biodiversity. Poison Darts--Protecting the biodiversity of our world

Gorillas Head One Step Closer to Extinction

The tragedy of the loss of Gorillas would be incalculable.

Article:

Gorillas now 'critically endangered'

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070912/
ap_on_re_eu/endangered_gorillas

By ERICA BULMAN, Associated Press Writer Wed Sep 12, 4:10 PM ET

GENEVA - The most common type of gorilla is now "critically endangered," one step away from global extinction, according to the 2007 Red List of Threatened Species released Wednesday by the World Conservation Union.

The Ebola virus is depleting Western Gorilla populations to a point where it might become impossible for them to recover.

Commercial hunting, civil unrest and habitat loss due to logging and forest clearance for palm oil plantations are compounding the problem, said the Swiss-based group known by its acronym IUCN.

"Great apes are our closest living relatives and very special creatures," Russ Mittermeier, head of IUCN's Primate Specialist Group, told The Associated Press. "We could fit all the remaining great apes in the world into two or three large football stadiums. There just aren't very many left."

In all, 16,306 species are threatened with extinction, 188 more than last year, IUCN said. One in four mammals are in jeopardy, as are one in eight birds, a third of all amphibians and 70 percent of the plants that have been studied.

"Life on Earth is disappearing fast and will continue to do so unless urgent action is taken," the IUCN warned.

The Western Gorilla's main subspecies — the Western Lowland Gorilla — has been decimated by the Ebola virus, which has wiped out about a third of the gorillas found in protected areas over the last 15 years.

"In the last 10 years, Ebola is the single largest killer of apes. Poaching is a close second," said Peter Walsh, a member if IUCN's Primate Specialist Group, told the AP. "Ebola is knocking down populations to a level where they won't bounce back. The rate of decline is dizzying. If it continues, we'll lose them in 10-12 years."

Female gorillas only start reproducing at the age of 9 or 10 and only have one baby about every five years. Walsh said even in ideal conditions, it would take the gorillas decades to bounce back.

The World Conservation Union also said the Yangtze River dolphin is now "possibly extinct." There have been no documented sightings of the long-snouted cetacean since 2002. An intensive search of its habitat in November and December proved fruitless but more searches are needed as one was possibly spotted in late August.

The Redheaded Vulture soared from "near threatened" to "critically endangered." The birds' rapid decline over the last eight years is largely due to diclofenac, a painkiller given to ill or injured farm cattle so they can still work. But the substance poisons the vultures when they scavenge livestock carcasses.

Only 182 breeding adults of the Gharial crocodile remain, down almost 60 percent from a decade ago. India and Nepal's crocodile has become critically endangered because dams, irrigation projects and artificial embankments have reduced its habitat to just 2 percent of its former range.

The woolly-stalked begonia is the only species declared extinct this year. Extensive searches have failed to uncover any specimens of the Malaysian herb in the last century, IUCN said.

Only one species moved to a lesser category of threat. One of the world's rarest parrots 15 years ago, the Mauritius Echo parakeet, eased back from critically endangered to only endangered. That was a result of close monitoring of its nesting sites, and supplementary feeding combined with a captive breeding and release program.

IUCN says 785 species have disappeared over the last 500 years. A further 65 are found only in artificial settings such as zoos.

The Red List, produced by a worldwide network of thousands of experts, includes some 41,000 species and subspecies around the globe.

Six Flags Discovery Kingdom Kills Another Animal: Death of Giraffe Leads to In Defense Of Animals Has Filing Complaint With USDA

What in the world is Six Flags doing keeping live animals at an amusement park? How in the world does the USDA allow this?

Article:

VALLEJO: ANIMAL RIGHTS GROUP FILES COMPLAINT AGAINST SIX FLAGS
09/07/07 10:40 PDT

VALLEJO (BCN)

http://cbs5.com/localwire/localfsnews/bcn/2007/09/07/n/
HeadlineNews/COMPLAINT-FILED/resources_bcn_html

In Defense of Animals has filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Agriculture asking them to investigate the death of a giraffe at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom on Wednesday.

Makonnen the 2-year-old giraffe died when a one-alarm fire broke out in the giraffe barn at the amusement park, according to Six Flags. IDA is asking the USDA to investigate whether the animal's death was caused by lack of proper facility maintenance. An electrical outlet in the barn malfunctioned and started the fire.

The USDA approves exhibitors' licenses for people or venues that are going to be exhibiting wild or exotic animals, said Les Schilbert, a consultant for IDA, so they will conduct an investigation to see if the license should be revoked.

According to the IDA the federal Animal Welfare Act requires exhibitors to maintain housing facilities in good repair so that animals are protected from injury. In the filed complaint IDA also cited concerns about the lack of overnight monitoring of park animals.

The fire broke out just after 2 a.m. Wednesday night, according to a park spokeswoman. Two giraffes in an outside corral were led away from the flames, but Makonnen was inside the giraffe barn and perished.

Louisiana State University Buys Another Live Tiger as Mascot: Ridiculous Move Exposes Lack of Concern in General for Endangered Animals

Absolutely ridiculous that a university is allowed to have a rare, live animal. How could they possibly care for such an animal?

Those tempted to be fooled by the foolish words of the LSU chancellor below, think again.


Article:

Animal rights groups: LSU tiger must go

http://www.postchronicle.com/news/strange/
article_212102553.shtml

Published: 8, 2007 at 8:49 PM

BATON ROUGE, La., 8 (UPI) -- Louisiana State University’s decision to acquire another live tiger mascot has outraged some animal rights activists.

Mike VI, a 2-year-old male from an animal rescue organization in Indiana, is a Bengal-Siberian mix. The university’s previous mascot died in May of kidney failure.

The mascot’s housing is luxurious compared to many zoos, with air-conditioning, a wading pool and a waterfall. Mike’s medical care comes from the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine.

“He probably gets better medical treatment than most of us,” LSU Chancellor Sean O’Keefe told The New York Times. “He’s one charmed cat.”

But the university is coping with a growing sensitivity to animal treatment. Louisiana recently banned cockfighting, joining the other 49 states, and some in the state legislature say LSU should give up its tiger.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals agrees.

“As grandiose as Mike’s expensive habitat may look, it is inadequate for a tiger,” Lisa Wathne, a PETA captive exotic animal specialist, told the Times. “The whole idea of carting this animal to a sporting event with screaming people is stressful to any wild animal.”

Three Former Circus Employees Join Federal Lawsuit Against Ringling Brothers And Barnum & Bailey Circus Under The Endangered Species Act

Once again, this suit “…alleges that Ringling Bros. mistreats and abuses the Asian elephants it uses in shows all across the country.”

An excellent move.

For more on the cruel truth behind the cruelty of the circus see http://www.circuses.com/

Article:


Elephants Beaten with Bull Hooks in the Name of Entertainment
Posted by: Liz in Animal Rights, Peace

http://willienelsonpri.com/peace/365/elephants-
beaten-with-bull-hooks-in-the-name-of-entertainment.html

Former Ringling Brothers Employees Bolster Federal Lawsuit Against Circus

Washington, D.C. (Aug. 29, 2007) – The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) and others seek permission for three former circus employees to join in their federal lawsuit against Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus under the Endangered Species Act. The suit alleges that Ringling Bros. mistreats and abuses the Asian elephants it uses in shows all across the country.

Former Ringling Bros. employees Archele Hundley, Margaret Tom and Robert Tom Jr. witnessed elephant cruelty before leaving the circus last summer. Their observations reaffirm evidence previously described by existing plaintiff and former Ringling Bros. employee Tom Rider, which includes the routine striking of elephants with bull hooks, and chaining of the animals for long periods of time.

Hundley, who quit the circus because she found the mistreatment of the animals too upsetting, recalled an incident where notorious animal trainer, Sacha Houcke used a bull hook in an attempt to force an elephant named Baby to lie down.

After smacking her with the bull hook repeatedly with no success, Houcke inserted the bull hook into Baby’s ear canal, and while holding the bull hook’s handle with both hands, he pulled down on Baby’s ear with all of his weight, causing her to bleed profusely and squeal in pain.

In describing an episode that happened earlier this year when an elephant named Asia defecated on one of the dancers during her routine, Margaret Tom stated that she “witnessed two guys beat Asia the minute she left the stage, hitting her at least 10 times with bull hooks, making her scream.”

Margaret Tom’s husband, Robert Tom Jr., reported that elephants are hit with bull hooks daily. He described an elephant who bled from the back and screamed in pain from a beating that lasted approximately 30 minutes. The trainer exerted so much energy that “he would periodically sit in a chair to take a break, then return to the elephant and start hooking again.”

“These witnesses reinforce what we know Ringling Bros. is anxious to hide,” said Tracy Silverman, General Counsel for AWI. “We are pleased that these former employees have come forward to reveal what goes on behind the scenes of the big tent, and we are eager to present this evidence in court.”

The Washington, D.C. law firm Meyer Glitzenstein & Crystal is representing AWI and its co-plaintiffs, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, the Fund for Animals, the Animal Protection Institute and another former Ringling employee, Tom Rider.

Trial is expected to commence sometime next year.

Contact: Tracy Silverman, Esq.: (703) 836-4300/tracy@awionline.org

The Animal Welfare Institute has worked for over 56 years to reduce the unnecessary pain and suffering inflicted on animals by humans.

Michael Vick, Former Quarterback of Atlanta Falcons Gives In: Admits to Not only Gambling on Dog Fighting, but to Brutally Killing Dogs

This is probably old news to some, but in case any readers hadn't heard, here is the latest. What stands out is that he finally admits not only to gambling and to dog fighting, but also to actually taking part in brutally killing dogs. This included downing or hanging.

“According to the statement, Vick also was involved with the others in killing six to eight dogs that did not perform well in testing sessions last April. The dogs were executed by drowning or hanging.”

Even more telling: "Vick agrees and stipulates that these dogs all died as a result of the collective efforts" of Vick..."

Article:

"Vick agrees and stipulates that these dogs all died as a result of the collective efforts" of Vick, Phillips and Peace, the statement said.

NFL suspends Michael Vick indefinitely

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070824/
ap_on_sp_fo_ne/fbn_michael_vick

By DAVE GOLDBERG and LARRY O'DELL, Associated Press Writers Fri Aug 24, 7:33 PM ET

No matter how nuanced his confession for involvement in dogfighting, Michael Vick got no leniency Friday from the NFL.
ADVERTISEMENT

Commissioner Roger Goodell suspended the Atlanta Falcons quarterback indefinitely without pay, just hours after Vick filed a plea agreement that portrayed him as less involved than three co-defendants and guilty mainly of poor judgment for associating with them.

Vick acknowledged bankrolling gambling on the dogfights, but denied placing bets himself or taking any of the winnings. He admitted that dogs not worthy of the pit were killed "as a result of the collective efforts" of himself and two co-defendants.

Goodell wasn't moved and didn't bother to wait until Monday, when U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson will formally accept the plea and set a sentencing date likely to land Vick in prison for one to five years.

The commissioner said Vick's admitted conduct was "not only illegal but also cruel and reprehensible." Even if he didn't personally placed bets, Goodell said, "your actions in funding the betting and your association with illegal gambling both violate the terms of your NFL player contract and expose you to corrupting influences in derogation of one of the most fundamental responsibilities of an NFL player."

Goodell freed the Falcons to "assert any claims or remedies" to recover $22 million of Vick's signing bonus from the 10-year, $130 million contract he signed in 2004.

The commissioner didn't speak to Vick but based his decision on the court filings. NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said Goodell may meet with Vick in the future, and Goodell said he would review the suspension after all the legal proceedings.

"You have engaged in conduct detrimental to the welfare of the NFL and have violated the league's personal conduct policy," Goodell told Vick in a letter after meeting in New York with Falcons president and general manager Rich McKay.

Falcons owner Arthur Blank supported Goodell's decision and said:

"We hope that Michael will use this time, not only to further address his legal matters, but to take positive steps to improve his personal life."

Earlier Friday in Richmond, Va., a "summary of facts" signed by Vick was filed along with his written plea agreement on a federal dogfighting conspiracy charge.

"While Mr. Vick is not personally charged with or responsible for committing all of the acts alleged in the indictment, as with any conspiracy charge, he is taking full responsibility for his actions and the actions of the others involved," the defense team said in a written statement after the plea agreement was filed.

"Mr. Vick apologizes for his poor judgment in associating himself with those involved in dog fighting and realizes he should never have been involved in this conduct," the statement said.

Vick and his lawyers said his involvement was limited when it came to the enterprise known as the Bad Newz Kennels.

"Our position has been that we are going to try to help Judge Hudson understand all the facts and Michael's role," Vick's defense attorney, Billy Martin, said in telephone interview. "Michael's role was different than others associated with this incident."

Vick's summary of facts said he provided most of the Bad Newz Kennels operation and gambling monies, echoing language in plea agreements by the three co-defendants — Tony Taylor, Purnell Peace and Quanis Phillips.

When the dogs won, the statement said, gambling proceeds were generally shared by Taylor, Peace and Phillips.

"Vick did not gamble by placing side bets on any of the fights. Vick did not receive any of the proceeds of the purses that were won by Bad Newz Kennels," the court document said.

According to the statement, Vick also was involved with the others in killing six to eight dogs that did not perform well in testing sessions last April. The dogs were executed by drowning or hanging.

"Vick agrees and stipulates that these dogs all died as a result of the collective efforts" of Vick, Phillips and Peace, the statement said.

In the plea agreement, the government committed to recommending a sentence on the low end of the federal sentencing guideline range of a year to 18 months. However, the conspiracy charge is punishable by up to five years in prison, and the judge is not bound by any recommendation or by the guidelines.

Hudson has a reputation for imposing stiff sentences, according to lawyers who have appeared in his court. The judge will set a sentencing date at Monday's hearing.

Martin said Vick will "speak to the public and explain his actions." Though he declined to say when and where, the Tom Joyner Morning Show, a syndicated program based in Dallas, said it will have a live interview with Vick on Tuesday.

The case began in April when authorities conducting a drug investigation of Vick's cousin raided a Surry County property owned by Vick and found dozens of dogs, some injured, and equipment commonly used in dogfighting.

A federal indictment issued in July charged Vick, Peace, Phillips and Taylor with an interstate dogfighting conspiracy. Vick initially denied any involvement, and all four men pleaded innocent. The three co-defendants later pleaded guilty and agreed to testify against Vick.

Taylor was the first to change his plea, saying Vick financed the dogfighting ring's gambling and operations. Peace and Phillips soon followed, alleging that Vick joined them in killing dogs that did not measure up in test fights.

The sickening details outlined in the indictment and other court papers prompted a public backlash against Vick, who had been one of the NFL's most popular players.

Animal-rights groups mobilized against Vick — even protesting at NFL headquarters in New York — and sponsors dropped him.

"It is fitting that the NFL has suspended him," said Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of The Humane Society of the United States. "He's now a role model for something terrible, and it's not appropriate that he suit up in an NFL uniform."

Michael Vick, Quarterback for Atlanta Falcons Finally Admits Truth: Will Plea Guilty to Charges of Supporting Grisly Dog Fighting Operation

Here are a couple paragraphs from the story below that serve as reminders to the reality of the cruelty of Michael Vick’s actions:

“The July 17 indictment said dogs that lost fights or fared poorly in test fights were sometimes executed by hanging, electrocution or other brutal means. The grisly details fueled public protests against Vick and cost him some of his lucrative endorsement deals.

The case began April 25 when investigators conducting a drug search at a massive home Vick built in Surry County found 66 dogs, some of them injured, and items typically used in dogfighting. They included a "rape stand" that holds aggressive dogs in place for mating and a "breakstick" used to pry open a dog's mouth.”

Article:


Falcons' Vick to plead guilty to charges

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070820/
ap_on_sp_fo_ne/fbn_vick_plea

By LARRY O'DELL, Associated Press Writer Mon Aug 20, 7:25 PM ET

RICHMOND, Va. - Michael Vick agreed Monday to plead guilty to federal dogfighting conspiracy charges, a deal that leaves the Atlanta Falcons quarterback facing up to 18 months in prison and puts his NFL career in jeopardy.
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Under the plea agreement, prosecutors will recommend Vick be sentenced to between a year and 18 months in prison, according to a government official who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the terms have not yet been made final.

That would be a higher penalty than is usually recommended for first-time convicts, and reflects an attempt by the government to show that animal abusers will receive more than a slap on the wrist for their crimes, the official said.

The offense is punishable by up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

U.S. District Judge Henry Hudson will have the final say on how much time Vick will ultimately spend in jail.

Vick's plea hearing is Aug. 27.

Defense attorney Billy Martin said Vick reached an agreement with federal prosecutors after consulting with his family during the weekend.

"Mr. Vick has agreed to enter a plea of guilty to those charges and to accept full responsibility for his actions and the mistakes he has made," Martin said in a statement. "Michael wishes to apologize again to everyone who has been hurt by this matter."

The NFL noted in a statement that Vick's admission wasn't in line with what he told commissioner Roger Goodell shortly after he was initially charged.

"We totally condemn the conduct outlined in the charges, which is inconsistent with what Michael Vick previously told both our office and the Falcons," the NFL said.

The league, which barred Vick from training camp, said it has asked the Falcons to withhold further action while the NFL's own investigation wraps up.

The Falcons said they were "certainly troubled" by news of the plea but would withhold further comment in compliance with Goodell's request.

In a telephone interview with the AP, Martin said Vick is paying a high price for allowing old friends to influence his behavior, but he emphasized that his client takes full responsibility.

"There were some judgment issues in terms of people he was associating with," Martin said. "He realized this is very serious, and he decided to plead so he can begin the healing process."

The lawyer said salvaging Vick's NFL career was never part of the discussions.

"Football is not the most important thing in Michael Vick's life," he said. "He wants to get his life back on track."

Vick is charged with conspiracy to travel in interstate commerce in aid of unlawful activities and conspiracy to sponsor a dog in an animal fighting venture. He had pleaded not guilty last month and vowed to clear his name at a November trial.

The plea deal was announced just a new grand jury began meeting. Prosecutors had said that a superseding indictment was in the works, but Vick's plea most likely means he will not face additional charges.

Three of Vick's original co-defendants already have pleaded guilty and agreed to testify against him if the case went to trial. Quanis Phillips of Atlanta and Purnell Peace of Virginia Beach signed statements saying the 27-year-old quarterback participated in executing at least eight underperforming dogs by various means, including drowning and hanging.

Phillips, Peace and Tony Taylor, who pleaded guilty last month, also said Vick provided virtually all of the gambling and operating funds for his "Bad Newz Kennels" operation in rural Virginia, not far from Vick's hometown of Newport News.

The gambling allegations alone could trigger a lifetime ban under the NFL's personal conduct policy.

Vick's Atlanta attorney, Daniel Meachum, told the AP that Vick is taking a chance with his guilty plea as far as his career is concerned because there have been no discussions with the league in recent days.

"There's no promise or even a request of the league to make a promise," Meachum said.

Meachum said the plea deal involves only the federal case. He said he doesn't know if there have been any discussions about resolving Virginia state charges that may be brought against Vick.

The case began April 25 when investigators conducting a drug search at a massive home Vick built in Surry County found 66 dogs, some of them injured, and items typically used in dogfighting. They included a "rape stand" that holds aggressive dogs in place for mating and a "breakstick" used to pry open a dog's mouth.

Vick contended he knew nothing about a dogfighting operation at the home, where one of his cousins lived, and said he rarely visited. The former Virginia Tech star also blamed friends and family members for taking advantage of his generosity and pledged to be more scrupulous.

The July 17 indictment said dogs that lost fights or fared poorly in test fights were sometimes executed by hanging, electrocution or other brutal means. The grisly details fueled public protests against Vick and cost him some of his lucrative endorsement deals.

Accused Dog Torturer Quarterback Michael Vick of the Atlanta Falcons Faces Likely Suspension for the 2007 Season for Dog Fighting

It’s heartening to see the NFL finally get serious with the thugs it has in it’s midst. Sending this message is important to making the statement that the NFL will FINALLY take these issues serious.

Article:

Sources: Vick suspension near

By Jason Cole, Yahoo! Sports

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news;_ylt=Aj9Qn

MeN.5Pj8_5gCOPRxARDubYF?slug=jc-vick081207

&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

August 12, 2007

Jason Cole

Yahoo! Sports

Two NFL sources said that commissioner Roger Goodell likely will announce this week or next the suspension of Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick for the 2007 season.

"That's the direction it's going and has been from the time this started," one of the sources said this week.

In July, Goodell told Vick not to report to training camp in the aftermath of a federal indictment for his alleged involvement in dogfighting on a property he owned in Virginia. Vick has since been arraigned on the matter and is facing trial in November.

What is unclear is whether Vick will be allowed to return to the Falcons this season if he is acquitted. This offseason, Goodell suspended Tennessee Titans cornerback Adam "Pacman" Jones for the entire season but added stipulations that could allow Jones to return earlier if he clears his record.

Said the other source: "The plan was to make sure it was announced before the season. Given what everybody has seen from what (league) security found and what the feds are telling us, there's really no choice."

From a public relations standpoint, the NFL would like the matter dealt with before the opening week of the season. The feeling is that if the league can resolve the matter now, any further news on Vick will not detract from the buildup to the season.

The NFL has examined the indictment against Vick at length and has conducted a quasi-investigation of its own. The league has not interviewed anyone associated with the case, but it has pored over as many public documents as it could find.

The most careful element of the suspension is how it will be worded. Under the league's new personal conduct policy, there is some belief that Vick could escape punishment because this is the first time he has been charged with a crime.

However, Goodell hinted last week that because Vick was charged with multiple counts, including gambling on dogfights, the league may have a way around that. In an interview with USA Today, Goodell said that while he was disturbed by the dogfighting accusations, the gambling aspect is just as meaningful.

"Listen, we're sickened by the allegations and the predicament Michael put himself in," Goodell said. "But there are a lot of things in the indictment that concern the NFL that may not be of a greater concern from a law enforcement standpoint."

The NFL's gambling policy, which was established long before the personal conduct policy, has resulted in the suspension of players in the past. Both Paul Hornung and Alex Karras were suspended for the entire 1963 season after admitting they placed bets on NFL games.

Players can be banned for life for illegal gambling.

In Belgium, Number of Animals Used in Animal Testing Increases Considerably: A Total of 756,715 Animals Were Used in Tests in Belgium

How tragic. Shows that much work is yet to be done in ending vivisection. The number just in that one small country is staggering. Not surprisng though, as Belgium is also a country that loves to eat horses.

Sadly too, animal testing is not necessary.

For information on alternatives to animal testing, see

http://www.geari.org/alternatives-to-animal-testing.html


Article:

More animals used for tests

http://www.expatica.com/actual/article.asp?subchannel_id=24&story_id=426888

August 2007

BRUSSELS – A total of 756,715 animals were used in different types of tests in Belgium last year.

This signals a slight increase in the number of test animals compared to 2005, the animal welfare department of the federal ministry of public health, safety of the food chain and environment announced on Wednesday. Animal rights organisation GAIA says this is the fourth consecutive year showing an increase in animal testing.

The animals are primarily used in the development and quality control of medicines and medical material. Last year a total of 37,739 more animals were used in experiments, an increase of 5.2 percent compared to the year previous. There was an especially marked increase in the number of mice (up 28,023), rabbits (up 9,359), birds (up 2,861) and fish (up 5,099) that were used in experiments, GAIA points out.

The number of cats used in experiments also increased significantly – by 32 percent – from 81 in 2005 to 107 last year. That is unacceptable, says the animal rights organisation, which is sounding the alarm. GAIA blames the increase on a failing government policy.

Three Animal Rights Groups Protest Abusive Treatment of Elephants by the Ringling Brothers And Barnum and Bailey Circus

Good to see the groups still raising awareness to the abuse suffered by elephants in circuses.

For more detailed information on the abuse of elephants in circuses see http://www.idausa.org/facts/circusfacts.html

Article:

Animal Rights Groups To Protest Treatment Of Circus Elephants

http://www.10news.com/news/13848316/detail.html

SAN DIEGO -- At least three animal rights groups will protest what they call abusive treatment of elephants by the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus Wednesday outside its opening night performance at the San Diego Sports Arena.

"These people treat them like the devil would," Florence Lambert of the Elephant Alliance said. "They've been abused."

Circus officials have long denied allegations of mistreatment, claiming it exceeds all federal animal welfare standards set by the U.S. Department of Agriculture under the Animal Welfare Act.

Lambert went to the circus' annual walk from the train to the Sports Arena Tuesday, checking on the condition of the elephants, but said she was forced to remain in her car because employees know her as the woman who unmasked them.

"Fourteen years ago, I took a lot of photos that were incriminating. They (circus employees) shout at me," she said.

Lambert said she watched from her car, making sure the elephants were all right, and to see if she could report any violations to Animal Control.

"They (circus employees) were shouting and punching them with the bull hook," Lambert said. "But they weren't using the hooks to break the skin."

Although Lambert was a witness to the walk where she said the animals "looked so sad and just so abused," Animal Control was parked nearby, and she said the trainers were doing nothing illegal.

Other animal advocates will be in attendance tomorrow to protest elephant training practices among other issues.

The San Diego Animal Advocates said they will pass out fliers in English and Spanish on Wednesday, as well as have banners in both languages, the group's Jane Cartmill said.

During the protest, a person dressed inside a flat screen television suit will be displaying videos of what Cartmill calls elephant training.

Circus official Andy Perez said Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey encourages the public to see the elephants and other animals for themselves.

"We don't have bad trainers," he said.

The circus has trainers available 90 minutes before the show. The audience can see trainers and the animals at that time, Perez said. The circus is especially proud of its Asian elephant breeding program, Perez said.

The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus operates a 200-acre facility in Florida where the elephants can retire, breed and become a part of a research project to ensure their species' survival, Perez said.

Cartmill said her group will be protesting the circus for false statements of breeding elephants for conservation purposes.

"Captivity equals conservation is absurd," Cartmill said. "They should buy habitat in Asia where the elephants belong. Breeding them in a U.S. environment is not conservation."

Attempt to End Private Ownership of Exotic Animals in North Carolina Shot Down

Sad, but predictable.

Article:

Exotic animal ban tamed

http://www.newsobserver.com/
news/story/663521.html

Ryan Teague Beck with, Staff Writers

In the rush of 11th-hour lawmaking last week, a bill that would have banned private ownership of exotic animals took a quiet second trip to legislative purgatory.

The bill's sponsor, Sen. Ed Jones, stuck the measure into an end-of-session study bill after the proposed ban drew intense criticism. State agriculture officials, agribusiness interests and a loose coalition of private zoo and sanctuary owners, reptile keepers and trainers who conduct animal education programs in schools, churches and other venues objected to the ban.

Backed by the Animal Protection Institute, a California-based animal rights group, the bill originally would have slapped a ban on a broad range of exotic animals for public health and safety reasons -- from lions and tigers to bats, pythons, monkeys and apes. Supporters said a ban is needed to protect people from disease and prevent tragedies such as the 2003 death of a Wilkes County fourth-grader who was mauled by a tiger kept in his aunt's backyard.

But critics of the bill said it reached well beyond the laudable goal of banning backyard ownership of tigers and other large carnivores by including restrictions that would have put small zoo owners and animal educators out of business. Opponents also lambasted an earlier study committee chaired by David Jones, head of the N.C. Zoological Park in Asheboro, saying it was stacked with animal rights activists and turned in a final report five months late -- after the Senate exotic animal ban legislation was introduced.

Jones, a Democrat from Halifax County, tucked his bill into a measure that charges the Legislative Research Commission to study the proposed ban after it ran into opposition in a Senate committee and special subcommittee.

At least one member of that subcommittee, Sen. Eddie Goodall, a Republican from suburban Charlotte, questions whether supporters of the ban have proven a broad public health and safety threat from exotic animals.

"There just didn't seem to be a need to do something drastic," Goodall said.

Finding and Convicting Poachers Being Made Easier with High –Tech Techniques

Very good news. Looks like at least one person is serious about this.

Article:

Poaching probes go high-tech

http://www.casperstartribune.net/articles/2007/
08/08/news/regional/40633927f89f60548725732f006f3029.txtBy

REBECCA BOONEAssociated Press writer

CALDWELL, Idaho -- A knife with traces of blood found in a suspect's truck. A few hairs picked up at the crime scene hundreds of miles away. Authorities feared the victim was dead, perhaps already dismembered and eaten.

Dr. Karen Rudolph didn't have much time: She had to see if DNA on the bloody knife matched the scattered hair found on a rock outcropping in the Idaho wilderness. Two days later, working quickly but carefully on delicate equipment in a state laboratory, she had an answer for investigators. The DNA was a match.

The suspect was arrested and charged -- with poaching.

"Idaho poachers, until recently, were kind of your average Joe Bad Guy out in the woods doing small-fry things," said Rudolph, a wildlife laboratory biologist for the Idaho Department of Fish and Game. "But now many of them literally hunt every day and night -- looking for antlers to sell so some rich guy in Jackson Hole can have an antler chandelier, or ingredients to make some strange alternative medicine or to get a trophy for bragging rights. It's become commercial."
That means more high-stakes court cases, she said, with defendants hiring top-dollar attorneys and juries expecting high-tech evidence.

And that's where Rudolph comes in.

As the state's only wildlife DNA expert, the 44-year-old Horseshoe Bend resident handles evidence for many of Idaho's poaching cases. At its simplest, Rudolph's job requires her to forensically determine the species, gender and identity of any given hunk of tissue, wayward tuft of hair, bone chip or dried splatter of blood.

In many cases, her work has helped prosecutors win convictions and encouraged defendants to plead guilty without going to trial, officials said.

In one recent case, Gary Lehnherr of McFarland, Wis., and Ronnie Gardner of Jerome, Idaho both pleaded guilty in federal court to illegally killing a trophy mule deer in Lincoln County with a high-caliber center fire rifle. Rudolph matched DNA in blood and hair found at the kill site -- in an area where only muzzleloader hunting was allowed -- with DNA from the deer's antlers, found in Lehnherr's home.

When the two are sentenced Oct. 15, they face up to one year in prison and $100,000 fines for the federal misdemeanor. Assistant U.S. Attorney George Breitsameter, who prosecuted the case, said Rudolph's work was "an important investigative tool" in the case.

DNA also helped crack the case of a man who was suspected of trying to poison wolves in Wyoming and Idaho with pesticide-laced meatballs. No wolves were found dead, but the tainted meat was suspected in the death of more than 20 pet dogs.

First, DNA from some meatballs found at a crime scene near Salmon was matched to DNA found in blood in Tim Sundles' freezer. The former Salmon resident, who now lives in Montana, was headed for trial but pleaded guilty after more DNA evidence turned up.

Investigators had taken samples of yellow snow found at the crime scene that day, suspecting that the person who left the meatballs had relieved himself at the site. They were right, Breitsameter said -- DNA from human cells found in the urine was a perfect match for Sundles.
In February, Sundles was sentenced to six days in jail, banned from federal or public land for two years and ordered to pay more than $1,500 in fines for violating the Endangered Species Act.

The use of DNA evidence in wildlife investigations is fairly new, but it's being used more and more, Breitsameter said.

"I'm not sure if that's because of people's expectations, but DNA is the modern fingerprint that people can use to attach an individual to a crime," he said. "It's only come up in the last couple of years or so here, and as it's available, it's required because it can either exculpate somebody or has the potential to inculpate them."

At the tiny cinderblock Fish and Game lab where Rudolph works in Caldwell, the mail may bring a cardboard tube filled with bear bait or a wrapped hunk of meat taken from someone's freezer. Game wardens often stumble on suspected crime scenes while they're hiking in the wilderness, Rudolph said, so they have to collect the evidence with whatever makeshift container they can find in their backpacks.

Sometimes Rudolph finds herself living something like a countrified scene from the TV crime thriller CSI.

"I've been given a bone saw that had tissue from different animals stuck between the tiny teeth of the blade. Once, I had to pick through a shop vacuum for tissue. We mostly found hair," she said. "I spent hours examining a pontoon boat for moose blood, because the officer had a tip that the poacher had been fishing the same day he killed a moose, and both the boat and the moose were transported in the same truck."

Some suspects, apparently unaware that investigators use advanced forensic techniques, get a little cocky and unwittingly help investigators, Rudolph said.

"One guy had a folding knife that a warden thought had been used in a poaching case, and when the officer asked for it, the guy laughed and said, 'Go ahead and take it. I've already cleaned it and boiled it and you won't find anything."'

Back in the lab, Rudolph was undeterred. She put a layer of aluminum foil down on the lab counter and slowly opened the folding knife. As she ran a tiny brush over the hinge, the bristles dislodged a speck of dried blood.

The sample was minuscule. But it was enough to run a DNA test and connect the knife to the poached animal, she said.

Few states have their own wildlife DNA lab, said Ken Goddard, director of the National Fish and Wildlife Forensics Lab. So Goddard's Ashland, Ore. lab handles wildlife evidence from across the nation, as well as for some international cases.

"Maybe 8 or 9 states have one person, but have never been able to get the funding for a real lab," Goddard said. "The idea is to take what works in a human crime scene and transfer it to wildlife crime management. All labs -- human or wildlife -- try to link the suspect, the crime scene and the evidence together. But in wildlife, you have to figure out first if a crime was committed. That can depend on time of day, what side of the road someone was on and even the type of weapon used."

Ultimately, the use of DNA evidence helps keep game wardens safe by minimizing their initial contact with suspects, Goddard said.

"Before, you had to catch them with the deer or poached bear and they're generally armed at the time. That can be terribly dangerous," he said. "Now they don't have to catch people in the act -- they can just gather the evidence later."