After receiving complaints from dismayed Hobby Lobby customers reporting the arts-and-crafts chain is stocking its shelves with real rabbit fur pelts for trite craft projects, PETA contacted Hobby Lobby executives, repeatedly explaining the cruelty of the fur industry. We asked that it join its competitors, Michaels and AC Moore, in no longer selling fur, but Hobby Lobby has refused to implement a fur-free policy. A spokesperson for Hobby Lobby even told PETA that the fur Hobby Lobby is currently selling "does not result from the inhumane treatment of any animals."

Rabbit slaughter, no matter where or why it occurs, is always cruel. The United Nations reports that countries such as France are killing as many as 70 million rabbits a year for fur, which is used in clothing, as lures in fly fishing, and for trim on craft items. In addition, the globalization of the fur trade has made it nearly impossible to know where or how animals were raised and slaughtered. Skins move through international auction houses and are purchased and distributed to manufacturers around the world, and finished goods are often exported.

Gluing the pelt of a dead animal on a craft is not art. With all the synthetic fur products available to meet the desires of customers, there is absolutely no excuse for using real animal fur for trite arts-and-crafts projects. Whether it comes from coyotes, minks, foxes, or rabbits, fur looks best on its original owners, not as craft trim.

Millions of animals destined to be cruelly killed for their fur around the world need your help now. Please politely write to Hobby Lobby and demand that it stop selling real fur—like its competitors, Michaels and AC Moore, have already done. Tell the company to choose to sell materials that do not support the killing of animals.

Please send a message to Hobby Lobby’s CEO, President, CFO, and Senior Vice President of Operations, and urge it to end its sale of fur immediately and implement a fur-free policy.

Please also consider writing or calling Hobby Lobby by using the following information:

Hobby Lobby
7707 SW 44th St.
Oklahoma City, OK 73179
405-745-1100

 [ send green star]

Filth, neglect, and dead frogs are revealed in PETA's undercover investigation at Wild Creations, supplier of Brookstone's cruel frog prison. You can help.

 [ send green star]

Canadian monks keep God's animals in unnatural, cruel conditions. Please support the monks' consideration of ending their factory farming. Take action.

 [ send green star]

In January 2009 Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus kicked off its 139th season launching yet another year of traveling the country with captive wild and exotic animals.

The use of animals in the circus is an unnecessary and inhumane practice that is harmful to both the animals and the public. Wild animals are trained to perform unnatural tricks to entertain crowds through the use of barbaric tools — including bullhooks, chains, and electric prods. These tricks are unnatural, frightening, and even painful; but the industry's mantra is "the show must go on."

Even worse, the United States Department of Agriculture has documented that all major circuses have been cited for deficiencies in their animal care ranging from the deprivation of clean water and fresh and proper food, clean living quarters, and even the most basic shelter from weather. Even these minimal requirements are noted as not being met. It is no secret that animals in circuses spend most of their days in boxcars, cages, or chains, in conditions very different from those in which they would naturally live.

The historic trial in Washington DC against Ringling Bros. for its cruel mistreatment of Asian elephants concluded on March 18, 2009, after six weeks. Born Free USA senior vice president Nicole Paquette attended the trial — and served as a witness in the case. We are now awaiting the judge's decision. To learn more, click here.

Please join us in telling Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey to put a stop to such cruelty and cease using wild and exotic animals in its circuses!

 [ send green star]

PETA has acquired shocking photos from a former Ringling trainer that show frightened baby elephants at Ringling's breeding center undergoing barbaric training methods used to make them perform in the circus.

They are cruelly bound with ropes and wrestled by several adult men to learn circus "tricks." The baby elephants scream, cry, and struggle as they are stretched out, slammed to the ground, gouged with bullhooks, and shocked with electric prods.

Contrary to all the assurances given by Ringling about "positive" reinforcement training, the photos tell a starkly different story. For years, baby elephants at Ringling's breeding center have been subjected to violent training sessions that last for three to four hours a day until they learn out of fear of punishment to perform confusing "tricks."

At Ringling, still-nursing 18- to 24-month-old baby elephants are captured rodeo-style, roped around all four legs, tethered neck-to-neck to an "anchor" elephant, and dragged from their mothers. From this point forward in their lives, every movement, every instinct, and every natural form of behavior is subjected to suppression and discipline at the whim of the trainer. Ringling restrains baby elephants with ropes or chains on a concrete floor in a barn for up to 23 hours a day to break their spirits. The babies are never allowed to play outdoors or enjoy anything that is natural or important to them.

Gary Jacobson, general manager for Ringling Bros. Center for Elephant Conservation, falsely testified in March 2009 in Federal District Court in the District of Columbia, "We use hot shots primarily for self-defense and protection," yet Mr. Jacobson is seen in the photographs provided by a Ringling whistleblower using a hot shot (an electrical shock device) on a defenseless baby elephant for training purposes.

PETA is calling on parents to stop taking their kids to the circus and on Ringling's sponsors not to support elephant abuse, but there is more that we can do. Write to USDA officials and urge them to revoke Ringling's license and pursue criminal prosecution of Ringling's trainers today!

 [ send green star]

Act now to save elephants

Dear Dusty,

I know how much you care about animals, so I'm hoping you'll join me in taking action today to save African elephants.

I've just read the latest report from our staff in the field, and it warns that elephants are in crisis. Seizures of illegal ivory are skyrocketing again as poachers rush to supply the international ivory market.

At this rate, many local African elephant populations could become extinct...especially in West and Central Africa!

My friend, the ivory trade must stop now.

Click here to send a message to the EU Environment Commissioner to urge the EU to ban the trade in ivory.

Twenty years ago elephants were being wiped out by poaching. International outcry halted the trade in ivory and elephant herds started to recover.

But now poaching is increasing again after Japan, China, and a handful of southern African countries managed to reopen so-called "limited" ivory trade.

The lesson is crystal clear: ANY legal ivory trade leads to illegal killing.

Please tell the European Union that they must take the lead in reinstating a TOTAL and PERMANENT ban on all ivory trade, and must work to improve protection for elephants in African parks and sanctuaries.

Please send your message today. Make it the very next thing you do.

Thank you,

 [ send green star]

r Dusty,

Help give all animals in the school's labs a second chance like Robert by sharing on Facebook.

Earlier this week, we called on our supporters to help urge the University of Utah to retire Robert, a gentle orange tabby cat who was purchased by the school for $15 from the Davis County animal shelter and was used in cruel experiments. During these experiments, deep incisions were cut into his skull, and electrodes were implanted into his brain.  

It gives me great pleasure to share with you that PETA has received confirmation from university officials that Robert will be retired from the laboratory and adopted into a new home.  

While this is excellent news for Robert, other homeless cats and dogs from animal shelters are still languishing in the University of Utah's laboratories, and they are relying on you to speak out in their behalf.

Please take a moment to contact the Univeristy of Utah and demand an end to its archaic practice of betraying dogs and cats in shelters by purchasing them for cruel—and often deadly—experiments.

 [ send green star]

• Brookstone's Frog-O-Sphere Supplier Exposed
• Nordstrom Must Permanently Remove Fur From All Their Stores
• Tell DailyCandy That Pigs are NOT Good Gifts
• Protect the Redrock Wilderness
• Tell Your Senators to Support the Shark Conservation Act
• How Could They? 250,000 Animals Butchered Alive In Nepal
• fffashion: 2nd Annual Fur Free Fashion Competition
• Save 6000 Camels
• Japanese Whaling Must End

 [ send green star]

Tell Congress You Want Truth in Fur Labeling

Sponsored by: The Animal Rescue Site

Help give consumers the right to make informed choices about whether or not to wear fur. Take action!

Goal: 40,000 • Progress: 318

 [ send green star]

Dear Dusty,

Olympic organisers plan to serve the worst of British, allowing factory farmed chicken and pork at the 2012 Games.

This week the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (LOCOG) published its Food Vision Paper for the 2012 Olympics, saying it is aiming for “the best of British.” Sadly, for millions of chickens and pigs, LOCOG has set Red Tractor as the mandatory baseline standard, permitting them to be farmed in conditions that do not meet their welfare needs.

The Food Vision Paper currently states "X%" as a target for the percentage of RSPCA Freedom Food meat to be served at the Games. Compassion is calling for an Olympics Food Vision that sets specific and leading targets for chicken and pork that is sourced from higher welfare systems.

Thank you to the 3,757 supporters who took action last week prior to the publishing of the Olympic Food Vision paper. Please continue to make your voice heard and tell the Chief Executive of LOCOG that you are disappointed that LOCOG plans to serve the worst of British, allowing factory farmed chicken and pork at the 2012 games.

TAKE ACTION

Send an email to the Chief Executive of LOCOG calling for RSPCA Freedom Food standards to play a leading role in the Olympics Food Vision.

Thank you.

Eloise Shavelar

 [ send green star]

Ban Cat and Dog Fur Imports Into Canada

Sponsored by: The Animal Rescue Site

Tell the Canadian government to stop importing products containing cat and dog fur. Take action!

Goal: 40,000 • Progress: 31,141

 [ send green star]

Marin County

California Communities Rushing To Help Cats Before December 31 Deadline

The California Veterinary Medical Association promoted passage of SB 762, which will make it impossible for cities and counties to pass de-claw bans after December 31. Humane cities and counties are rushing to protect the cats in their jurisdiction by passing de-claw bans. To learn more about why de-clawing is so inhumane, please visit The Paw Project.

Eight California cities have approved de-clawing bans so far: Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Santa Monica, West Hollywood, Burbank, Berkeley, and Culver City. Now it's Marin County's turn.

Contact your Supervisors!

Contact the Supervisors by e-mail, phone, and fax! Do it now! All contact information is below, and here's a sample letter for talking points, but please use your own words:

RE: Anti-De-claw Ordinance: SUPPORT

Dear Supervisor [personalize]:

Please enact a ban on de-clawing of cats in Marin County.

De-clawing is a separate amputation of each of the last bones in a cat's toes. De-clawing a cat puts that cat at a higher risk of losing his/her home because of the behavior problems (biting and litter box avoidance) that occur after de-clawing. Statistics show that de-clawed cats are more likely to be relinquished.

De-clawed cats, because they are more likely to lose their homes, put an extra burden on the already over-burdened animal shelter system.

De-clawing a cat to protect a child or immunocompromised person is not recommended by physicians because a de-clawed cat is more likely to bite.

De-clawing with laser is still an amputation of the last bones in the cat's toes, and is just as painful or maybe even more painful than other methods of de-clawing.

There are many humane alternatives to de-clawing. Routine nail trims, appropriate scratching posts, "Soft Paws" (vinyl sheaths that fit over the nail), and double-sided sticky tape all work well.

De-clawing is illegal in much of the world. It is considered inhumane mutilation.

Please make Marin County more humane towards our companion animals. I urge you to act before the restrictions of SB 762 take place on December 31. 

Thank you very much.

Respectfully,
[Your Signature]

[your name]
[your address]
[your phone number]

eMail string for all Supervisors:
bos@co.marin.ca.us, sadams@co.marin.ca.us, hbrown@co.marin.ca.us, CMcGlashan@co.marin.ca.us,  skinsey@co.marin.ca.us, jarnold@co.marin.ca.us

District 1: Supervisor Susan Adams 
Phone:
(415) 499-7331
Fax:
(415) 499-3645
E-mail:
sadams@co.marin.ca.us

District 2: Supervisor Hal Brown, Jr. 
Phone:
(415) 499-7331
Fax:
(415) 499-3645
E-mail:
hbrown@co.marin.ca.us

District 3: Supervisor Charles McGlashan
Phone: 
(415) 499-7331
Fax: 
(415) 499-3645
email: 
CMcGlashan@co.marin.ca.us

District 4: Supervisor Steve Kinsey
Phone:
415-499-7331
Fax:
415-499-3645
Email:
skinsey@co.marin.ca.us

District 5: Supervisor Judy Arnold
Phone: 
(415) 499-7331
Fax: 
(415) 499-3645
email:
jarnold@co.marin.ca.us

 [ send green star]

Dear Dusty,

Every day, in every corner of the U.S., pigs and other farm animals too sick, injured or weak to stand or walk on their own are being dragged, beaten, pushed with forklifts, or shocked with electric prods – by any means, no matter how cruel – to get them onto slaughterhouse kill floors. Others are simply being cast aside and left to suffer for hours or days without food, water or veterinary care, and many will die from this neglect.  

Called “downers,” these animals – many of whom are the unwitting victims of factory farm stresses and irresponsible transportation methods – endure horrors that you and I can only scarcely imagine. And, not only is this abuse happening right now, but it is happening much more than you might think. It doesn’t have to be this way.  

Since 1986, when I pulled a downer sheep named Hilda from a stockyard dead pile and restored her to health, Farm Sanctuary has made great strides in the fight against this egregious form of abuse through our No Downers Campaign, including the first ever U.S. downed animal protection laws and the first successful conviction of a stockyard for downed animal cruelty. 

Most recently, our work led to President Barack Obama’s move to address downed animal abuse by announcing a new U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) rule that bans the slaughter of cattle who become downed at any time. But while this is a step in the right direction, downed pigs and other farm animals are still suffering.   

Seven years ago Congress told the USDA to issue regulations to prevent the abuse of downed pigs and other animals, but the agency has failed to do so. As a result, downer pigs – anywhere from 100,000 to more than 900,000 a year according to industry estimates – are subjected to intolerable cruelty. For the sake of these animals, isn’t it time for a change? I say, “YES it is!” 

With recent national media attention on this issue, we’ve reached a critical point for creating meaningful change for downed pigs and other suffering animals, and we must seize this opportunity while we still have it. Will you help by signing our Petition for the Pigs?  

 [ send green star]

• fffashion: 2nd Annual Fur Free Fashion Competition
• Save 6000 Camels
• Japanese Whaling Must End

 [ send green star]

Did you know that because of greyhound racing in the UK as many as 14,000 dogs are killed every year?

The League Against Cruel Sports, a politically active organisation, have been slow to condemn commercial greyhound racing, however they have recently indicated that they are ready to listen to what the public has to say on the issue.

Please respond N O W! It only takes 15 secs:

Ask the League to support the Racing Dog Protection Act!

http://www.rdpa.org.uk/contactleague.html



Thank you

 [ send green star]

Speak up for Farm Animals: Tell the USDA that Factory Farming isn’t "Natural"

 [ send green star]

The complex needs of these intelligent mammals cannot be met in captivity. Compared to their ocean home, tanks are cramped and bare, causing stress, aggression and reduced life expectancy.

The tourists funding Europe’s dolphin attractions probably don’t know that chemically treated water and UV exposure frequently cause ulcers and skin lesions.

And the damage can begin even before captivity: some European dolphinaria buy wild dolphins wrenched from their social groups in traumatic ocean captures. Many die in the process.

 [ send green star]

Olympic athletes and the public could be served standard intensive chicken and pig meat if a current proposal by the Olympics’ organisers goes ahead.

At a time when more and more shoppers are choosing higher welfare chicken, we could see the Olympics Food Vision lagging behind established good practice and allowing intensively farmed meat to be served at the London Olympic games. Take action today.

 [ send green star]

Greyhound Campaign  DogsTrust

It is estimated that every year thousands of Greyhounds disappear.

This includes dogs whose racing days are over as well as those that are bred for the sport but never make it to the track.

The Government has drafted regulations to protect the welfare of racing Greyhounds but Dogs Trust is very disappointed with the scope of their proposals. Although there are some sensible suggestions, we feel the proposals do not go nearly far enough.

/>

Dogs Trust has given detailed feedback on the proposed regulations to DEFRA.We have also written to all MPs drawing their attention to the inadequate proposals and urging them to contact us to find out more about what we believe is needed to ensure the welfare of all racing Greyhounds from cradle to grave.

We ask you to show your support by writing to your MP expressing your deep concerns. Here is a guideline letter to help you:

You can find out who your MP is and contact them online by visiting Write to Them .

This is an important issue and I’d be enormously grateful for your support.

Best Wishes

Clarissa Baldwin OBE
Dogs Trust CEO

 [ send green star]

World Trade Organization

Dolphins have been observed to swim beneath schools of yellowfin tuna. For years, pursuit of dolphins has been a method to capture yellowfin tuna for fishing fleets. In order to catch tuna, mile-long purse-seine nets are set around the dolphins. Tens of thousands of dolphins are caught and drowned in tuna nets each year. Attempts to reduce this problem in the 1972 and 1984 version of the Marine Mammal Protection Act were ineffective in curtailing the problem. Thousands of dolphins were still killed every year. In 1991, Congress created the “dolphin safe” tuna label and in 1992 banned all dolphin unsafe tuna in the US.

In 1991, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), a panel of unelected professional trade officials who meet in secret without outside appeal or review, determined that dolphin safety standards were an unnecessary barrier to foreign trade. The US resisted this ruling and refused to honor it.

In 1995 the GATT developed into the World Trade Organization (WTO), an institutional body capable of enforcing rulings that a nation’s animal protection and environmental laws violate international free trade standards. Countries who refuse to comply with WTO decisions are obligated pay compensations to the winning country or face severe trade sanctions. Mexico threatened a WTO challenge to the US ban on dolphin unsafe tuna. Under pressure from the Clinton administration Congress caved to Mexico's demands and lifted the ban on dolphin deadly tuna. According to Public Citizen's Global Trade Watch, "After years of sustained trade law challenges, the Bush administration decided to quietly implement a change to a “dolphin safe” labeling policy which Mexico had demanded as necessary to implement a GATT ruling. (Mexico had threatened a new WTO case if their demands were not met). On New Years Eve 2002, when few Americans were focused on policy matters, the Bush administration announced that it would change the “Flipper-friendly” tuna policy to allow the “dolphin-safe” label to be used on tuna caught using deadly purse seine nets and dolphin encirclement. This regulation [was] challenged in federal court."

In 2004 a federal judge overturned the Bush administration's attempt to destroy the appeals court upheld the ruling in April 2007.

In October 2008, Mexico made good on its threat to bring a new WTO challenge to the dolphin-safe label. The WTO established a panel to hear the dispute in April 2009.

Panama Free Trade Agreement
According to a letter to Congress signed by 40 animal advocacy and environmental organizations1, “Despite widespread concern of environmental and animal advocates, the Panama Free Trade Agreement contains provisions that would make it harder for countries to ban the trade in wild-caught live dolphins and whales.

“If the Panama FTA is approved, it will become even more difficult to protect those live dolphins that have escaped fishing fleets’ deadly tuna-fishing operations, as dolphin capture operations will be empowered to challenge any effort to restrict the capture and export of live dolphins and whales.” In April 2007, protests erupted in Panama in opposition to plans by Ocean Embassy, a US based company, to capture 80 dolphins for aquarium display in Panama. Under the Panama FTA this could also mean dolphin capture for US marine mammal parks.

What You Can Do:

 [ send green star]

• Thank the Mexican Government for Protecting the Vaquita Marina Porpoise - 23 Nov
• Truth in Fur Labeling Act of 2009 - 23 Nov
• Nature Conservancy Killing Deer Again and Again - 23 Nov
• Let Butterball Know Why YOU Love Turkeys - 21 Nov
• Has Texas Tech Quietly Stopped Killing Cats? - 17 Nov

 [ send green star]

.

National Wildlife Humane Society

 Wildlife Conservation News

 

November 21, 2009  

 

In This IssueMember News NWHS Fundraiser Ivory Bust Gibson Raided NWHS

National Wildlife Humane Society

A non-profit wildlife conservation organization working to preserve and protect threatened and endangered species.

Quick Links

NWHS

TOR Sanctuary

Cougar Hill Web

NWHS Network

NWHS Facebook

NWHS YouTube

NWHS Twitter

NWHS Support

Rainforest Program

Please Donate

 

 [ send green star]

Ask Nepal to
cancel the massacre!

Act now, before the killing begins.

We urgently need your help to stop the slaughter of hundreds of thousands of animals next week during the Gadhimai Jatra festival in Bara, Nepal. Humane Society International is working with our local partners, Kathmandu Animal Treatment Centre (KAT) and Animal Nepal, to prevent this reckless animal cruelty before the festival takes place November 24 & 25.

Every five years, hundreds of men are licensed to kill buffalo, pigs, chickens, rats, goats, and pigeons, receiving a fee for each animal they take. Cruelly, the animals are chased and hacked to death with knives in a competition to kill as many as possible within two days. According to Animal Welfare Network Nepal, the real beneficiaries are the festival organizers and business community, who drive up prices for animals in the lead up to the festival and then pressure local people to contribute livestock to the event.

Animal advocates are asking that the community provide fruits and vegetables instead of animals for the festival. KAT and Animal Nepal are organizing a counter-campaign of peaceful meditation, and together we are petitioning the government, which has reportedly paid for an enclosure to hold thousands of buffalo ahead of the event, to stop the slaughter. Please take action immediately by writing to Nepal's Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism to request a halt to this outdated tradition, considered barbaric by many local people who would like to stop it but feel helpless to do so.

Then, ask your friends and family to help, too. We need to let Nepalese leaders know that the world is watching and considers this bloody practice tragic and shameful.

Thank you for making a difference for animals.

Sincerely,

Andrew Rowan
President & CEO
Humane Society International

 [ send green star]

HEART OF WOLF NEWS 11/16/2009

More news about wolves. Go to:

www.heartofthewolf.org/HoWWolfNewsUpdate11162009.html
www.heartofthewolf.org/HoWOWolfDogNewsUpdate11162009.html
www.heartofthewolf.org/HoWOWolfMediaNewsupdate11162009.html

Mike Wagner
Founder and Director of Heart of the Wolf Organization
http://www.heartofthewolf.org/StopTheHunt.html

 [ send green star]

• San Antonio Zoo Is No Place For Queenie - 15 Nov
• Urge President Obama to Pardon ALL Turkeys This Holiday Season - 15 Nov
• San Antonio Zoo Is No Place For Queenie - 14 Nov
• "Pardoned" Turkeys Deserve Real Refuge - 13 Nov
• Help Animals Suffering in University of Utah Laboratories - 11 Nov
• Demand Moratorium on Wild Horse Round Ups - 10 Nov
• Convince the Vietnamese Government to Save Bears - 9 Nov
• Stop the Use of Monkeys in NASA Space Radiation Studies - 6 Nov

 [ send green star]

Act by December 7th - Stop Prairie Dog Poisoning

Sponsored by: Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund

Help protect prairie dogs and other imperiled Great Plains wildlife that depend on them to survive from deadly poisons. Take action!

Goal: 50,000 • Progress: 1,431

Tax Relief to Keep Pets at Home

Sponsored by: ASPCA

Help make pet care more affordable -- urge U.S. Office Majority Leader Steny Hoyer to support the HAPPY Act. Take action!

Goal: 80,000 • Progress: 59,849

Help Protect the Working Horses of New York City

Sponsored by: ASPCA

Urge NYC Council members to oppose Intro. 653. Take action!

Goal: 40,000 • Progress: 28,358

Ban Cat and Dog Fur Imports Into Canada

Sponsored by: The Animal Rescue Site

Tell the Canadian government to stop importing products containing cat and dog fur. Take action!

Goal: 30,000 • Progress: 22,797

 [ send green star]

PETITION:

http://www.change.org/actions/view/dogs_and_cats_should_not_be_used_for_experiments-compromises_human_safety_vet_medicine_excluded

DEAR ANIMAL WELFARIST: Animal welfare is important to our culture.
This proposal is a partial ban on animal research. It's a start. It is
unrealistic to expect law makers to totally ban animals for medical
research-let's aim toward something we CAN achieve. Let's ban the use
of dogs and cats in labs. And for good reason: They are dangerous to
use to assess safety for human medications and procedures-the
physiology and anatomy differs too much!

Take baby steps-this idea has the possibility of getting accepted.
Imagine if it passed it would put all the Class B dealers OUT OF
BUSINESS and end animal cruelty in labs for dogs and cats around the
Country.

PLEASE SIGN PETITION

http://www.change.org/actions/view/dogs_and_cats_should_not_be_used_for_experiments-compromises_human_safety_vet_medicine_excluded

 [ send green star]

Hi,

Wolves play a big part in the new movie Twilight: New Moon, but these magnificent animals have played an even bigger role in Washington state, including its Olympic Peninsula coastal range, the real-world setting of the Twilight movies and books.

We can help restore wolves to Washington! I signed a petition to Washington’s governor urging her to support wolf restoration and I hope you will too. Add your name to the petition online at:

http://bit.ly/2p11Cq

Tragically, the extensive wolf extermination campaigns of the late 1800s eliminated these magnificent animals from the Pacific Northwest -- tearing a gaping hole in the natural balance and cultural tapestry that makes Washington so special.

Now wolves are beginning to return to Washington, dispersing from Canada and the northern Rockies. Washington officials are considering how best to manage these amazing animals and where they should allow wolves to be restored. They need to hear from us!

Let Washington Governor Chris Gregoire know that you support wolves in Washington state -- including the western coastal range! Take action online at:

http://bit.ly/2p11Cq.

Thanks for helping…   Gudrun

 [ send green star]

Spain prepares for cruel bullfighting event

Every year in mid November the people in Medinaceli, Spain, gather to "enjoy" an event of unspeakable cruelty. For the "Toro Júbilo" balls of "pitch", a sticky substance derived from petroleum or plants, are attached to both of the bull’s horns and set on fire.

A cheering crowd of blood sports enthusiasts harasses the toro de fuego or “bull on fire” once it is released onto the streets.

The balls burn for hours and hurt the horns, body and eyes, causing terrible suffering. In some instances bulls ran against walls in a desperate attempt to escape the unimaginable pain and suffering.

 [ send green star]

s boundaries, so hunters participating in this management scheme are simply assisting the Montana Department of Livestock's efforts to eliminate native bison from the grounds that are their birthright in Montana.  The hunt will run from November 15 - February 15.  BFC opens our Gardiner camp this weekend as well, so the eyes of the world will be watching everywhere wild buffalo roam.

As we make ready for this coming season, we can use your help to ensure that patrols have everything they need to stay warm, dry, fed and effective in the field.  Please visit BFC's Wish List for a list of items we are always in need of.  Please make a tax-deductible contribution to support the hard work of BFC today.

In this centuries-old range war, we are making progress for the buffalo and their right to roam.  We would not be here working in their defense without your support.  You are the ones who make it possible.  Thank You!

Roam Free!
~Buffalo Field Campaign

------------------------------
TAKE ACTION!  Help the Buffalo with Your Comments to APHIS

More buffalo advocates have submitted comments to the Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service (APHI about their Bovine Brucellosis Program, which maintains the status quo of harming wild bison and elk in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.  Comments are being accepted through December 4, 2009, so if you haven't sent yours in yet please do so today.  If you have, thank you, and please spread the word to save these herds!  Learn more and submit your comments today!

 [ send green star]

You can help keep circuses that use animals from bringing their cruel shows to your town. Order free leaflets and stickers and learn more ways to help take on circuses!

Check out all the tasty vegan and vegetarian options that our top schools offer, and then help us choose the winner.

Odessa Animal Control has been selling lost and stray cats to the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, where they are used in deadly medical training courses. Help these cats now!

 [ send green star]

• The National Park Service's War Against White-Tailed Deer - 9 Oct
• Martha Stewart Recommends Renting "Lovebirds" for Weddings - 8 Oct
• Protect Right Whale Calving Ground from U.S. Navy - 7 Oct
• Ask Morningstar to Leave Eggs and Dairy Out of its Products - 7 Oct
• End Cruelty to Animals in European Rodeos - 5 Oct
• Help Stop the Import of Primates From Cambodia Into the U.S. - 5 Oct
• Tell the Secretary of Agriculture to End the Senseless Poisoning of Wildlife - 4 Oct
• Ban Canadian Imports of Dog and Cat Fur - 3 Oct
• Ask Massachusetts General Hospital to Replace Its Cruel and Outdated Sheep Lab - 1 Oct
• End Animal Abuse at Freedom High School - 1 Oct

 [ send green star]

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/6/stop-the-massacre-of-strays-in-craiova-romania

Please sign this petition sponsored by Veronica!!!!

 [ send green star]

 [ accepted]

• End Cruelty to Animals in European Rodeos - 5 Oct
• Help Stop the Import of Primates From Cambodia Into the U.S. - 5 Oct
• Tell the Secretary of Agriculture to End the Senseless Poisoning of Wildlife - 4 Oct
• Ban Canadian Imports of Dog and Cat Fur - 3 Oct
• Ask Massachusetts General Hospital to Replace Its Cruel and Outdated Sheep Lab - 1 Oct
• End Animal Abuse at Freedom High School - 1 Oct

 [ send green star]

Scientists believe only 300 to 400 right whales remain. Warfare training exercises in the only known right whale calving grounds would jeopardize their survival.

Dear Dusty,

Endangered right whales are swimming right into plans by the U.S. Navy to develop an Undersea Warfare Training Range 50 miles off the coast of Florida. Your help is needed to protect this prime whale calving ground.

Right whales, which can grow up to 59 feet long and weigh up to 100 tons, have been listed as an endangered species since 1973. But since then, their numbers have not significantly increased. Scientists believe only 300 to 400 right whales remain.

Warfare training exercises in the only known right whale calving grounds would jeopardize their survival. Some of the biggest causes of right whale deaths are ship strikes and entanglement in fishing gear. The Navy's training area will include underwater cables, high-speed ship maneuvers, aircraft and submarines.

The National Marine Fisheries Service has said that the "loss of even a single individual right whale may contribute to the extinction of the species." But despite this scientific evidence, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration allowed the Navy to proceed.

Tell NOAA Administrator Dr. Jane Lubchenco that you want her agency to make decisions based on sound science and the law. Let her know that protecting right whales and other endangered species is important to you: http://action.earthjustice.org/campaign/rightwhale_1009/w6digne2f77dminn?

— Earthjustice
Because the earth needs a good lawyer

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End the Poisoning of Wildlife on Public Lands!

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Tax Relief to Keep Pets at Home

Sponsored by: ASPCA

Help make pet care more affordable -- urge U.S. Office Majority Leader Steny Hoyer to support the HAPPY Act. Take action!

Goal: 80,000 • Progress: 446

Help Protect the Working Horses of New York City

Sponsored by: ASPCA

Urge NYC Council members to oppose Intro. 653. Take action!

Goal: 40,000 • Progress: 627

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Almost everyone has heard of McDonald's, and most people have eaten at the chain at least once, but many people don't know about the horrific cruelty that goes into every portion of chicken served under the Golden Arches.

In the slaughterhouses of McDonald's U.S. and Canadian chicken suppliers, birds are dumped out of their transport crates and hung upside-down in metal shackles, which often results in broken bones, extreme bruising, and hemorrhaging. Workers have the opportunity to abuse live birds, and birds have their throats cut while they are still conscious. Many birds are immersed in tanks of scalding-hot water while they are still alive and able to feel pain.

McDonald's has the ability to end these abuses.

There is a less cruel method of chicken slaughter available to McDonald's suppliers called controlled-atmosphere killing, or CAK, and it would cost the corporation nothing to demand that its suppliers use it. CAK would eliminate the worst abuses currently suffered by chickens killed for McDonald's. In fact, a 2005 study about CAK produced by McDonald's concluded that it is far better for animals than the current method of slaughter.

Write to McDonald's now, and demand that it phase in the exclusive use of chickens killed by CAK by requiring that its suppliers switch to this method.

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Enough is enough: help Catalonia end bullfighting

Dear WSPA Supporter

A huge public-led campaign in Catalonia, one of the largest regions of Spain, has called for an end to the bloody cruelty of bullfighting.

The Prou (‘enough’ campaign has found huge local support. It builds on a groundswell of anti-cruelty opinion that has been expressed in independent opinion polls and in 69 Catalonian towns’ decision to declaring themselves anti-bullfighting.

Will you join the call for an end to cruelty? The sheer number of campaign supporters has already forced the regional parliament to schedule a vote on banning the region’s most infamous blood sport. By taking a simple online action today you can tell Catalonian MPs that you support their citizens’ wishes and encourage them to be bold in outlawing this archaic and inhumane activity.

 Let them know the world is watching

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I recently wrote to you about the chilling details of what really goes on in the dark world of vivisection. Following a dogged campaign in which we employed the Freedom of Information Act, Oxford University has released information concerning the cruel treatment that a macaque named Felix endured when vivisectors conducted disabling and invasive experiments on his brain.

This is the first time that a UK laboratory has effectively been forced to reveal secrets of this kind to the public, and it means that we are now able to evaluate the government's decision to grant a license to perform an experiment – and try to hold someone accountable.

We must now build on this historic precedent and use the information gained to help save other animals who are every bit as vulnerable and sentient as Felix was.

We need you to take two vital steps today to help us fight against cruel vivisection:

1) Contact the government minister to demand that European law is changed to reduce animal suffering and to support more accurate non-animal tests.

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All Activists: Help Protect Sea Turtles in Malaysia

Take action on this issue

Sign a petition to help save marine turtles and support WWF's Egg = Life campaign in Malaysia.

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Hi,

I wanted to draw your attention to this important petition that I recently signed:

"Help stray dogs in Bosnia & Herzegovina"
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/hondenopvang?e

I really think this is an important cause, and I'd like to encourage you to add your signature, too. It's free and takes less than a minute of your time.

Thanks!
 

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Max Mara Fashion Group, one of the biggest retail companies worldwide, sadly continues to feature real animal fur in its collections year after year.

Fur used in modern fashion is a symbol of cruelty and disrespect for animals. With beautiful faux fur alternatives widely available there is no need torture and kill animals to make a fashion statement or turn a profit.

Tell Luigi Caroggio, CEO of Max Mara USA, that there is nothing fashionable about cruelty to animals and that you will boycott his stores until the company adopts a fur-free policy.

 Take action

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The ongoing, unlawful killing of dogs by local authorities is causing horrific sufferings.

Help us help Kerala’s dogs. Your signature shows the strength of international public feeling, which influences the authorities.

Please click here to sign our petition

http://www.animalrescuekerala.org/index.htm

Thankyou.

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 [ accepted]

Horses Forced To Fight Each Other For "Sport"

Dear Friend,

In addition to combating the dog meat trade, Network for Animals campaigns against horse fighting in the Philippines. Most people aren’t aware of this, but on the island of Mindanao, gamblers force horses to fight against each other until one is injured, killed or flees.

Horse fighting is an illegal spectator blood sport where two stallions are incited to fight each other over a mare in season. Fights are attended by raucous crowds who anticipate intense fighting, gore and even death.

While horse fighting is promoted under the guise of tradition, in reality, extensive gambling on the outcomes of the horse fights is the main reason it has become so prevalent.

The animal welfare implications are obvious - gouges, gashes and broken limbs sustained during fights are always serious and can be fatal. Veterinary observers report seeing horses being kicked with such force to the head that their eyes literally pop out of their sockets, horses having their entire ears torn off during fights, and horses drenched in blood from their injuries.

Please take a few moments to write to the Philippines ambassador in London and explain that you want him to tell the Filipino government to enforce the law.

We are working to end horse fighting through lobbying municipalities to ban the practice, education and enforcement of the existing national law. Unfortunately, the region where horse fighting is prevalent is known to be even more lawless than the rest of the Philippines, so we have a major battle ahead of us and i hope that we can count on your support.

For the animals,

Brian Davies
Founder

P.S. SKY News recently did an expose on horsefighting, which you can view here.

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• The UK is one of five EU member states to allow fishermen to remove shark fins at sea under an exception to the EU finning ban.
• The UK lands over 80 tonnes of shark fins annually.
• The shark fin trade encourages unsustainable mortality and unacceptable levels of waste and it is imperative that the UK government complies with the original intent of the EU shark finning ban and ceases to permit the removal of shark fins at sea.

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Dear dusty,

Students across the nation have the opportunity to take a wide range of courses at colleges and universities. The majority of these classes help students to become more knowledgeable, but unfortunately, not every school employs the best teaching techniques in its classrooms. This not only affects the quality of students' education but also has dire consequences for animals in some cases.
 
In psychology and biology classes at Saginaw Valley State University, students are required to perform cruel experiments on rats and frogs. During one experiment, rats are infected with larval tapeworm parasites, killed, and then dissected. In a physiology laboratory, frogs' have their brains destroyed when pins are stuck through their skulls, and they are dissected while their hearts are still beating.

Humane, non-animal teaching methods are used in similar classes at other universities; there is no reason for rats and frogs to suffer in these cruel and deadly experiments at Saginaw Valley State University.

Please take 30 seconds of your time to give a voice to the helpless rats and frogs who are being used in experiments at Saginaw Valley State University.

Thank you for all that you've done, and will continue to do, to help animals.

For all animals,

 [ send green star]

Dear Dusty

European whales and dolphins urgently need your help

European Governments are failing on their promise to save dolphins.

Parties to ASCOBANS (the Agreement on the Conservation of Small Cetaceans of the Baltic, North East Atlantic, Irish and North Seas) will meet in Bonn, Germany 16th-18th September.

They've been meeting for 125 years! If, at this meeting, they fail to act on commitments made in 2000, thousands of dolphins will continue to die in fisheries interactions and the Baltic harbour porpoise - already critically endangered - may well become extinct within a few years.

Plus...

The bottlenose dolphins of Scotland’s Moray Firth are an increasingly vulnerable and endangered population. European Governments – including the UK - have committed (through ASCOBAN to protect these remarkable creatures and other whales and dolphins from the combined threats of bycatch, prey depletion, noise and marine pollution, and the growing impact of climate change.

But despite these threats some countries are faltering on their promises. WDCS is determined to hold them to account.

You can follow the meeting through the WDCS blogs and postings here, but we shall need your help to achieve the best outcome for the whales and dolphins, so please take action and make sure your voice is heard.

Thank you

Chris Butler-Stroud
WDCS CEO

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• Read a joint letter to the Minister from the RSPCA, WSPA and Compassion in World Farming
• Read an article in the Guardian about the issue
• Watch the ‘Irritating Chicken’ campaign You Tube video

The RSPCA is a charity registered in England & Wales no. 219099

Please do not reply to this email. It is an automated mailbox.

You have received this email because you are subscribed to our newsletter.
If you don't want to receive this email please unsubscribe.

Copyright © RSPCA 2009

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If you're having trouble viewing this email, see it on the Web.Bid online and help Asia's suffering animals!Dear Leigh,

Animals Asia UK is proud to announce that our online auction is open for international bidding! If you're looking for a special Christmas or birthday present, then our online auction with 42 amazing items to choose from, may have just what you're looking for.

Relax and people watch in Marbella.

 

Sailing sparkling Arabrian seas ....

 

Exclusive bronze of Ginny bear.

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© NOAA; Lee R. Berger

Tell the FWS:

Increase protection for sharks at CITES. 

 Then, ask them to do the same for nautiluses.

Submit your comments today! The deadline is this Friday, September 11.

In the lead-up to the 15^th meeting of Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITE in March 2010, I am writing to ask for your help to increase protection for sharks and nautiluses against unregulated trade.

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  University Instructors Bash Turtles' Heads With Hammers

During experiments at Marquette University, students destroy frogs' brains, and rabbits have their aortas cut out. Instructors also bash turtles' heads with hammers. Help end this cruelty now!

With all eyes on Canada as it prepares to host the 2010 Winter Olympics, people everywhere are speaking out against Canada's seal slaughter. Find out what your favorite celebrities are saying.

Legendary interviewer Jiminy Glick sits down with "Ronald McDonald" (aka Andy Dick) to discuss the business of killing chickens and making Unhappy Meals. Watch the hilarious video now.

Dozens submitted their sexy photos—and you voted—and now one man and one woman have been named PETA's Sexiest Vegetarians Over 50. Check out which senior stud got your votes!

Some Pizza Huts are offering tickets to Ringling Bros. Circus despite overwhelming evidence that the circus beats elephants used in the show. Tell Pizza Hut to end the promotion now!

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If you are having trouble viewing this email, click here

You’ve probably read in the news the sordid tale of Frank ‘El Ingles’ Evans, the butcher boy turned matador who, at 67, has come out of retirement to return as the ‘last British Bullfighter’.

Having killed 300 bulls in his ‘career’ and with a book to promote, Evans is hitting the shop floor to try and increase sales. He’s at the Waterstone’s store at Deansgate, Manchester on the 16th September at 7pm, and we expect he’ll be turning up at other Waterstone’s stores around the country.

Please email or call your local Waterstone’s store today and ask them if Frank Evans is due to make an appearance at your local store. If he is, go along and listen to what he has to say, and then make it very clear what you think by telling him that his shameless promotion of a barbaric bloodsport is wide of the mark in a country where 89% of people say they wouldn’t visit a bullfight.

Click here to find details of your local store, and don’t forget to tell us what response you get!

Christina Bengston
Campaigner

Click here if you no longer wish to receive email updates from us.

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Dear Friend,

You and I view dogs as deserving of respect and kindness, if not beloved members of our family. Sadly, this is not the case at all in parts of the Philippines where callous dog meat traders capture and butcher dogs under the most appalling conditions. The Philippines dog meat trade is one of our major campaigns, and the facts of the matter do not make for easy reading:

• It is estimated that up to 500,000 dogs are butchered every year in the Philippines.

• Dog meat traders acquire animals by rounding up strays, buying dogs from unsuspecting owners and even stealing pets. Network has seized countless dogs with collars around their necks.

• Transport conditions are so bad that as many as 90 out of a load of 100 dogs can suffocate en-route to the make shift slaughterhouses.

It is this last horrifying fact that makes us so determined to eradicate this brutal industry. We are making progress and have recently achieved new improved legislation, but we now need to convince the Philippines government to enforce it. International condemnation is crucial in achieving this.  Please send an email to the Philippines ambassador to voice your disapproval of the dog meat trade. Every voice counts!

Rest assured we will do everything we can to end this cruel industry. Not all Filipinos eat dogs. In fact, dogs are only eaten in a few northern provinces and the vast majority of Filipinos are offended by the practice. Together we will prevail, so that dogs no longer have to go through the agony of being slaughtered for a cheap meal.

For the animals,

Brian Davies
Founder

P.S It would really  helpful if you could take a few moments to send an email to the Philippines ambassador. The more people he hears from the more seriously he will take this issue.

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This e-mail was sent by: Network for Animals Imperial House 2 Heigham Rd  Eastham London E6 2J

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Dear Leigh,

Despite numerous complaints from compassionate people like you, Brookstone continues to sell imprisoned frogs and snails in "Frog-O-Sphere" containers—tiny aquatic prisons.

Because of the outrage from concerned shoppers, Brookstone employees are speaking out against this cruelty. A distraught Brookstone employee recently contacted PETA about the mistreatment of frogs and snails at one location and sent us these undercover photos and horrifying details confirming that frogs and snails are sold with little regard for who will care for them. The employee said:

We did have a frog that had a growth on its bottom. We eventually transferred that aquarium to the stock room and the frog died. No vet was called …. There is absolutely no policy or [veterinary] contact in my store for sick frogs. … [W]hen they do die we are told to "flush" them. … The snails die even more frequently. We have a bag full of over 15 snails that have died in the last month.

We need your continued support to keep the pressure on Brookstone to do the right thing and stop selling live animals. If you haven't already, please take a moment to call Brookstone and ask that it stop selling live animals. Call 603-880-9500 and enter extension 6826 once the automated system picks up. Don't forget to leave a message if no one answers.

Please also take a moment to forward this to family and friends so that they, too, can ask Brookstone to stop selling live animals. Also, stop by your local Brookstone and check to see if there are any sick or dead frogs in the Frog-O-Spheres. If you see any animals in distress, notify the store manager right away.

Thank you for speaking up for the frogs and snails imprisoned by Brookstone and for your compassion for animals.

Sincerely,

Desiree Acholla
Animals in Entertainment Specialist

Click to

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Moratorium urgently needed: Kangaroos heading for Extinction.After investigating the state government data pertaining to kangaroo densities across the Kangaroo Management Zones, it has been found that kangaroos are now 'quasi extinct' across most of NSW, South Australia and Queensland... MORE

Stop the Massive Removal of Cloud's Wild Horse Herd.Cloud and the wild horses of Montana's Pryor Mountains are world famous but fame it appears is not going to protect the herd from a drastic government round up planned to begin September 1st in their spectacular wilderness home... MORE

Boycott the Olympic Games in Canada 2010 and Stop the Seal Hunt Forever.All eyes are on Canada as it prepares to host the 2010 Winter Olympics. This extra attention will bring increased scrutiny and comes with the added responsibility of setting a positive example for the world... MORE

Help Protect Cats on Long Island, New York.Even while feral cat groups have organized and grown, many individual caregivers have been harassed and cited for their community service. Some have even dropped from view to care for the cats in secret for safety’s sake, which is what is happening on the premises of Mercy Medical Center located in Rockville Center, Long Island, New York... MORE

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Dear Friend,

You and I view dogs as deserving of respect and kindness, if not beloved members of our family. Sadly, this is not the case at all in parts of the Philippines where callous dog meat traders capture and butcher dogs under the most appalling conditions. The Philippines dog meat trade is one of our major campaigns, and the facts of the matter do not make for easy reading:

• It is estimated that up to 500,000 dogs are butchered every year in the Philippines.

• Dog meat traders acquire animals by rounding up strays, buying dogs from unsuspecting owners and even stealing pets. Network has seized countless dogs with collars around their necks.

• Transport conditions are so bad that as many as 90 out of a load of 100 dogs can suffocate en-route to the make shift slaughterhouses.

It is this last horrifying fact that makes us so determined to eradicate this brutal industry. We are making progress and have recently achieved new improved legislation, but we now need to convince the Philippines government to enforce it. International condemnation is crucial in achieving this.  Please send an email to the Philippines ambassador to voice your disapproval of the dog meat trade. Every voice counts!

Rest assured we will do everything we can to end this cruel industry. Not all Filipinos eat dogs. In fact, dogs are only eaten in a few northern provinces and the vast majority of Filipinos are offended by the practice. Together we will prevail, so that dogs no longer have to go through the agony of being slaughtered for a cheap meal.

For the animals,

Brian Davies
Founder

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Trucha the Tigress was Bred to Death

The death of a tiger is a sad thing, whether you knew the tiger or not, because the world is just a bit less magnificent with each such passing.  Trucha's death grieved all who knew her but the fact that she was bred to death by those who use tiger cubs for profit made it even harder to bear.  I know that your time is precious, but please take a few moments to walk in her paws and discover what Trucha endured in the "cub mill" so that her death will not have been in vain.

http://www.bigcatrescue.org/cats/captive/tigerstrucha.htm

You can help by using the form at the link below to write a letter to your CITES representatives, and let them know that you support strong tiger conservation, and you insist that they keep the Bobcat under Appendix II Protection so that they are not killed in the US for the Russian fur market.

http://www.capwiz.com/bigcatrescue/issues/alert/?alertid=13810331&type=CU
 
For more detailed information on CITES and the tiger and bobcat issues click here:  http://www.bigcatrescue.org/laws/2009/CITES.htm

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Collins named NIH Director

Francis Collins, M.D., Ph.D, was confirmed as the 16th director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) by the U.S. Senate. A geneticist and former director of the National Human Genome Research Institute, Dr. Collins (as well as former NIH director Dr. Elias Zerhouni) supported the “Memorandum of Understanding” which promotes the development of non-animal methods of toxicity testing.  The Memorandum was signed by the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Toxicology Program, and the National Institutes of Health Chemical Genomics Center.

We are asking all members to sign the following petitions - even if you have done so in the past. They are revised and readdressed to Dr. Collins:

1. Sign our Wenka petition, which asks Dr. Collins for the immediate release of all federally-owned elder chimpanzees in U.S. laboratories into permanent sanctuary.
2. Sign our Who’s There petition, which asks Dr. Collins to disclose the names and other requested information for each and every federally-owned or supported chimpanzee currently held at all federally-owned or supported research facilities.

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Keep Leatherback Protections at Las Baulas National Park

Costa Rica created Las Baulas National Parkby Law in 1995, acknowledging its responsibility to protect the the last leatherback nesting beach in the Eastern Pacific. Populations of Pacific leatherback sea turtles have crashed by 90 percent over the past two decades and are not recovering.

Photo Doug Perrine/seapics.com

During Oscar Arias’ administration, private development interests have been encouraged to mount interminable attacks against Costa Rica’s Leatherback Marine National Park - Las Baulas, located along the country’s northern Pacific Coast. Over the past few years, multiple bills have been written, each one proposing to rezone the park and open its beaches up to coastal construction projects. So far every one of these bills has been rejected.

Desperate to exploit the nesting beaches for tourism, developers have presented a new bill (17.383), which proposes to degrade the national park to a mere national wildlife refuge. The bill is backed by President Oscar Arias Sanchez himself, who has ordered the members of his National Liberation Party to support it. By showing his support and handcuffing his fellow party members to act otherwise, Arias intends to push the bill through the Environmental Commission and plenary vote before the country’s national elections take place in February. Doing so would guarantee that the incoming government does not meddle with his intentions.

Please sign this petition to let President Arias know that removing protections at the last nesting beach of the magnificient leatherback sea turtle will forever ruin Costa Rica's reputation as a environmental leader and could undermine the country's large eco-tourist industry.

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9/5/09: Save Gray Wolves So We Can Slaughter Them?


The gray wolf, also called timber wolf, is the largest wild member of the
Canidae family and an ice age survivor originating during the Late
Pleistocene around 300,000 years ago...

Today their fate is uncertain, amid pressure to kill wolves at the behest of
cattle ranchers vying for autonomous grazing grounds. The removal of
Northern Rocky Mountain gray wolves from the list of endangered wildlife is
also a gift to logging, drilling and hunting industries.

Private industries have persuaded federal agencies like the Forest Service,
U.S. Fish & Wildlife, and Bureau of Land Management to poison prairie dogs,
haze buffalo, roundup wild horses...and delist wolves for open season.

Taxpayers spent millions to recover the very same wolves the Obama
administration is now letting Greater Yellowstone states kill. There is no
comprehensive federal wolf plan...just a bunch of guys in camouflage gunning
down wolves in Idaho and Montana.

=============================================================
EMAIL BLOCKS: Sample letter follows. Full contact info at end of alert.
=============================================================

EVERYONE, SEND COMMENTS TO:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/
WEB CONTACT FORM ONLY, NO PUBLIC EMAIL ADDRESS

IDAHO & MONTANA RESIDENTS ONLY,  ALSO SEND COMMENTS TO:
STATE IDAHO LEGISLATORS:
http://www.legislature.idaho.gov/howtocontactlegislators.htm

STATE MONTANA LEGISLATORS:
http://leg.mt.gov/css/find%20a%20legislator.asp

NATIONAL IDAHO & MONTANA LEGISLAORS IN WASHINGTON DC:
http://www.Congress.org
http://www.vote-smart.org/
http://www.senate.gov
http://www.house.gov

***KINSHIP CIRCLE CANNOT GUARANTEE ALL EMAILS WILL WORK***
During campaigns, recipients may change or disable their email addresses.
Emails from government, corporate, or institute websites may be incorrect.

=============================================================
ASK FOR A FORMATTED LETTER (WORD DOC): info@kinshipcircle.org
Easily modify letter. Copy/paste it into an email or print letter to fax or mail.  
=============================================================

Dear President Obama, Secretary Salazar, State and Federal Officials:

I am shocked that the Obama administration has activated a Bush-era rule to
remove gray wolves from the Endangered Species list. The delisting of
Greater Yellowstone wolves basically sanctions their slaughter.

Montana opens fire on 9/15/09 with a 75-wolf limit. Idaho's race to kill up
to 25% of its wolves (during this season alone) began on 9/1/09. Idaho's
Fish and Game Department hopes to sell 70,000 permits. That's too many
trophy hunters to unleash on a wolf population that has not fully rebounded.

Idaho's estimated 1,000 wolves cannot withstand an annual hunt. Yet this
year officials set a 330-wolf quota -- with Idaho hunters allowed to take
220 wolves. The state's Nez Perce tribe may kill another 35 wolves.

Where is the intelligent strategy to sustain the very wolves that Americans
salvaged from near extinction? Instead, we are asked to standby as Idaho and
Montana aim for possibly the largest wolf bloodbath since the 1930s.

It is not too late to halt the hunt and renew Endangered Species Act
safeguards for gray wolves in the Northern Rockies. I urge you to take
meaningful action to reinstate protections now.

At the very least, suspend this irresponsible wolf "management" plan until
it undergoes the type scientific scrutiny the Obama administration
advocates. Secretary Salazar's original verdict to delist wolves didn't
assess biological repercussions. It failed to consider Idaho's policy for
the unsustainable killing of hundreds of wolves.

During the Bush administration, conservation groups convinced a federal
court to reject the same delisting rule. This time, 13 groups filed a
similar lawsuit to restore endangered species status for wolves.

Wolves are key to thriving ecosystems. But state plans seem more focused on
eradication than ecologically balanced wildlife populations. The federal
government needs to defend the wolves that U.S. citizens invested millions
in tax dollars to save.

Thank you,

 [ send green star]

Act by September 7th - Help Ban the International Trade of Polar Bear Parts

Sponsored by: Defenders of Wildlife

Urge Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to fight for strengthened international protection for these magnificent animals. Take action!

Goal: 50,000 • Progress: 581

 [ send green star]

Tell the FWS: Don't endanger bobcats!

Submit your comments by Friday, September 11

A couple days ago, I wrote to ask for your help to protect polar bears ahead of the March 2010 meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITE.

Another animal species that will be at risk at the CITES meeting is the bobcat.

Bobcats, a member of the cat family Felidae, occupy most of the continental United States. They are about twice the size of a domestic cat and are easily identified by their thick grayish-brown fur, tufted ears, and their bobbed tail, for which they were named.

One of the proposals our government is likely putting forward would completely remove CITES protection for the bobcat. In effect, this would mean that there would be no international or federal government oversight of the export of bobcat skins.

The same thick fur that makes bobcats so beautiful is also in high demand for the fur industry. Bobcats are usually trapped in steel jaw leghold traps, and then strangled, shot, or clubbed by the trapper. In fact, bobcats are the most heavily traded cat species in the world, with over 50,000 specimens on the market every

 [ send green star]

Action Alerts

• Urgent: Ask Property Owners' Association to Bag Cruel Bow Hunt!
• Tell Delia's to Ditch Ringling's Cruel Tees
• URGENT: Call for an End to Barbaric Labor Day Event in Ohio!

 [ send green star]

September 2009

• Save Romanian Zoo's Lions from Slaughter - 1 Sep
• Tell Norwegian Authorities to Save Majlo's Life - 1 Sep

August 2009

• Urge Costa Rican Legislative Assembly to Protect Leatherback Turtles - 31 Aug
• Ask Japanese University to Halt Cruel Veterinary Training Practices - 30 Aug
• Help End The Kapparot Chicken-Swinging Ritual - 26 Aug
• End Longline Fishing: Take Endangered Sea Turtles and Bluefin Tuna Off the Hook - 26 Aug
• Protect Bristol Bay Wildlife From Mining - 26 Aug
• Tell Little Rhody Egg Farms To End Forced Molting - 25 Aug
• Boycott Idaho Potatoes Until They Stop Wolf Massacres - 25 Aug
• Reinstate Federal Protections for Northern Rockies Wolves - 25 Aug
• Ask Washington State Ferry System to Humanely Solve their Gull Conflicts - 22 Aug
• Stop the Massive Removal of Cloud's Wild Horse Herd - 21 Aug
• Limit Snowmobiles in National Parks - 20 Aug
• Help Defeat Hunter Harassment Laws - 20 Aug
• End Cruelty to Circus Elephants in the UK - 20 Aug
• Time is Running Out for Caribou - 17 Aug

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Dear Leigh,

School is officially back in session for many students across the country. While this is an exciting time for students to meet up with friends they haven't seen in awhile, it is no fun for the thousands of animals who will be used in cruel classroom experiments at U.S. colleges and universities.

For the past 30 years, Bucknell University Professor Owen Floody has been drilling holes into the skulls of female hamsters, damaging their brains, and observing the injuries' effects on the hamsters' sexual behavior. Once the experiments are done, these sensitive, intelligent hamsters are killed, and their brains are dissected.

It is time for Professor Floody to abandon this outdated and deadly exercise. There are many humane non-animal teaching methods that are readily available and used in courses similar to his at other universities.

Please take a moment of your time to speak up for the hamsters who are suffering in these cruel experiments at Bucknell University.

Thank you for all that you've done, and will continue to do, to help animals.

For all animals,

Justin Goodman
Research Associate Supervisor
Laboratory Investigations Department

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As it enters its fourth week, the Chicken Out! 39 Days campaign is really gaining momentum. We’ve had over 2500 new people sign up, received coverage in local and national media and our chicken blog is sparking some lively debate.

A landmark government decision on chicken welfare is imminent. We urgently need your help to stop millions of chickens enduring even worse conditions than they currently are.

You may remember that a few months back, Defra announced plans to review the law on stocking densities for meat chickens to bring them in line with new EU standards- allowing even more birds to be crammed into an already unacceptably small area.

We asked your help then to send a message to the animal welfare minister before the consultation period came to an end - then Hugh presented a giant petition postcard to the Ministry on behalf of our campaign.

The government have now indicated that a decision could be made as soon as this month - so we need to show the government just how strongly the British people feel about chicken welfare.

Please take a couple of minutes to send an urgent email to the new Defra minister, Jim Fitzpatrick, asking him not to compromise the welfare of millions of British chickens.

And encourage your friends, family and colleagues to join the campaign at this critical time by forwarding this email on. Together, we are making our voices heard, and legislators, retailers and producers are beginning to listen. But every person who joins us makes our campaign stronger and brings a free-range future one step closer.

It’s day 23 in the broiler shed and the cramped, dirty conditions are taking their toll on our intensively-reared chick. What’s more, he’s now grown so quickly that his legs are struggling to hold the weight of his heavy body. Read what a typical factory-farmed chicken goes through in the 39 Day blog.

Conditions are very different for free-range birds, whose growth rate is more natural and who have access to the outdoors. We believe that all chickens deserve a free-range life.

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Tell the FWS:
Polar bears are not rugs!

Submit your comments by Friday, September 11

In March 2010, the more than 170 countries that have signed the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITE will meet in Qatar to discuss trade protections for dozens of plant and animal species.

These important meetings take place only once every two to three years, and they determine whether vulnerable animals around the world will be protected, or allowed to be killed for trade or traded alive.

The United States government is considering submitting proposals that would mean life or death for animals of several species. Over the next two weeks, I’ll be asking for your help to protect these special animals. I hope you will speak out on their behalf using our easy online action forms.

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Polar bears are still hunted to make rugs

It is no secret that polar bears are on thin ice. Global warming is causing the bears’ icy habitat to erode and poses a serious threat to the existence of the species. But what many people don’t know is that international commercial trade in polar bear skins and body parts threatens to accelerate their extinction. The U.S. has the power to bring this trade to an end.

The U.S. government is considering a proposal that would move polar bears from CITES Appendix II—which allows regulated commercial trade—to Appendix I—which allows no commercial trade. The commercial trade in polar bear parts and trophies is rampant, with more than 400 polar bear skins on the market each year. If we don’t act now, polar bears might not have a fighting chance.

Polar bears should not have to face the threat of commercial trade when they are already fighting an uphill battle against global warming! But you can help give polar bears the protection they deserve by taking the following actions:

Join us in submitting comments to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service urging our leaders to go forward with the proposal to list polar bears on Appendix I of CITES in order to stop the international trade of polar bear skins and other parts! Please do it today – comments on proposals are due Friday, September 11th!

Sign the petition asking President Obama to support polar bears and see that this proposal makes it to the CITES meeting in March!

After you've taken action to help protect polar bears, be sure to tell your friends and family how they can help threatened species, too.

Thanks for all you do for animals.

Sincerely,

Andrew Rowan
President & CEO
Humane Society International

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