Call to Action
Want to do something to help the cats in your neighborhood?
Want to help cats locked in laboratories and tortured for profit?
Then, download ACR’s Cat Activist Packet
Use the sample letter to send to local city council members and the sample petition to gather names of your community residents in support of cats and TNR programs, to convince city council and other local government groups to take the humane approach to managing feral cats. At the same time, use ACR’s factsheets to establish and implement a TNR program in your community, while addressing common residents’ complaints about feral cats.
You can also take action and help cats across the United States, by using sample letters to tell companies and charities that continue to test on animals, that you will not purchase their products or support them until they take a clear stance against such cruel and unnecessary practices. And utilize sample letters to help voice your protest against vivisection to government decision makers, so that animals will be protected under the law and such torture will someday be a thing of the past.
Please feel free to reproduce these sample letters and petitions and to alter them so they clearly convey your personal message. ACR’s Cat Activist Packet is not only meant to improve the situation for the cats in your neighborhood and community, but to also help improve the situation for ALL cats living in the United States. Thank you for your compassion and for making your voice heard.
Oreo’s Law/Companion Animal Access and Rescue Act (CAARA)
“Oreo’s Law” was recently introduced in the New York State legislation. This law will make it illegal for animal shelters to kill an animal who a rescue organization is willing to save. This law will allow cat rescue organizations to save un-socialized kittens that the shelter would otherwise euthanize, and it would allow feral cats to be rescued, sterilized, and placed back in his/her colony or relocated to a sanctuary. These animals will be allowed to be saved, even though the shelter director may oppose TNR, foster programs, and working with rescue organizations. This should not be about politics, but about the animals…
ACR encourages our members to thank Mr. Micah Kellner for introducing this law, and to contact your local law makers and request that similar laws be introduced in your state. To read ACR’s letter of support for Oreo’s Law, please click on the above link.
UPDATE: In June 2010, Oreo’s Law (Bill 4480) was defeated in the NY State Assembly, Agriculture Committee, condemning thousands of shelter cats and dogs to death at the hands of shelter administrators who have the power to work WITH rescue organizations to find every animal a home, instead they continue to deny such willing groups to provide adoptable animals a second chance. HOWEVER, the bill was reintroduced to the NY State Assembly in February 2011 with revisions and it is now being called the Companion Animal Access and Rescue Act (CAARA).
Again, thanks to New York State Assembly Member Micah Z. Kellner for introducing this bill, with support from numerous animal rescue advocates. The legislation is sponsored in the New York State Senate by Senator Joseph Robach. CAARA is a comprehensive measure that goes beyond just giving rescue groups mere access. For the first time, it sets qualifications and guidelines for both shelters and rescue groups. Outlining the responsibilities of those who work directly with the animals will help ensure that the animals receive the proper care. These provisions ensure that animals are given fresh food and water on a daily basis, exercise and socialization with other animals, clean living environments, and prompt veterinary care. Additionally, both paper and digital records are required in order to help facilitate finding these animals a home. To ensure compliance, routine inspections of the facility are mandated.
Furthermore, CAARA extends whistleblower protections to rescue groups. In many cases, rescue groups have been denied access to shelters for speaking out against bad practices, whether it be for abuse or mismanagement. Every time a group is turned away, it adds to the undue burden on the taxpayer who has to foot the bill for every animal kept or killed in a shelter.
“Allowing qualified groups to have access is not only the compassionate thing to do,” continued Kellner, “but it saves taxpayers money at a time when they need it the most.”
"Not only will CAARA save tens of thousands of animals in shelters across the state every year at no cost to taxpayers, but it will have impact across the country as others follow New York's lead and introduce similar laws,” said Nathan J. Winograd of the No-Kill Advocacy Center. “Where New York goes, so goes the nation."
We will keep you updated on the outcome of this legislation and ACR continues to encourage our members to thank Mr. Micah Kellner for introducing this law. Also, please contact your local law makers and request that similar laws be introduced in your state. For further information on reforming U.S. animal shelter policies (including the Companion Animal Protection Act), please visit Rescue-Five-O.org.
Pound Seizure and Class “B” Dealers
“Back in the 1940s, the practice referred to as ‘pound seizure’ became common in taxpayer-funded animal shelters across the country. Whether for cosmetic testing, human or animal drug testing, medical technique and tool testing, or biochemical testing, these once-family pets are subjected to experimentation that often ends in death. While many states fail to keep accurate data, the number of pets that become victims of pound seizure easily reaches the tens of thousands and though most citizens are unaware of the practice, it may very well be happening at [your] local animal shelter. Pound seizure remains a dirty little secret in American society, but the practice is moving toward extinction with the help of local citizens advocating for change at their shelter, as well as with animal rescue and welfare organizations providing assistance and advocacy…” --excerpt from the inside cover of “How Shelter Pets are Brokered for Experimentation: Understanding Pound Seizure” by Allie Phillips, author, attorney, advocate.
According to the Humane Society of the United States, there are approximately 3,500 animal shelters in the United States; this includes open-admission shelters and limited-admission shelters. In addition to this number, there are over 13,000 rescue organizations (usually nonprofit charitable organizations) and/or foster groups in the United States as per listed on Petfinder’s website. Acquiring accurate numbers on how many shelters there are in the US and how many animals each shelter obtains and processes is difficult, because no law requires shelters to maintain such data and no central data reporting agency exists to gather such information.
Pound seizure really took hold in the 1940s, after World War II, when biochemical research boomed. Laboratories and schools were in need of animal subjects for research and experimentation, so the argument was made that pound animals should be used because these animals are going to be euthanized anyway. This increase in demand resulted in countless state laws requiring animal shelters to practice pound seizure. According to the American Anti-Vivisection Society, “The majority of laws regarding animals in laboratories passed between 1945 and 1960 were generated by the National Society for Medical Research, which eventually evolved into the National Association for Biomedical Research (NABR).”
|
|
 (Photo: Peta2) |
Pound seizure, or pound release, is when an animal shelter sells or gives away cats and dogs to Class B dealers (random source dealers), who are licensed by the USDA, who then resell the animals for research and experimentation. It also involves shelters providing animals directly to research laboratories or university training programs. It is unknown how many shelter animals are sold into a tortured life of experimentation because accurate records are not available from many states. However, USDA records for a one-year period covering November 2007 through November 2008 indicate that 947 dogs and 230 cats were obtained from shelters by Class B dealers. (Source: Allie Phillips) |
According to Last Chance for Animals (LCA), “The United States Department of Agriculture licenses animal dealers; anyone selling animals to laboratories (or selling more than 24 dogs or cats per year at the wholesale level) must be licensed. Class “A” dealers maintain their own breeding colonies while Class "B" dealers obtain animals from ‘random sources.’ [Besides pound seizure, many “random source” animals are obtained by Class B dealers by stealing family pets from backyards, capturing stray animals off the streets or from “free to good home” ads. According to LCA, two million pets are stolen each year.] For a $10 fee, anyone can apply for a USDA Class "B" dealer license. The USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) inspectors are responsible for making certain that the dealer's records are current and complete, and for ensuring the health and safety of the animals. Unfortunately, the USDA has not made the latter a priority, for there is a shortage of inspectors and enforcement of existing regulations is weak. Consequently, many of the people involved in the sale of stolen animals are licensed by the federal government.”
According to the USDA, there are 1,070 registered Class B dealers in the United States. Dr. Pippin, senior medical and research adviser with the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), states that “formerly numbering in the hundreds, as of 2009 there remain only [9] Class B random source animals dealers in the US, and [six] of those are under investigation for animal welfare violations.” Investigations have revealed that animals in the care of Class B dealers also violate the Animal Welfare Act. Cats and dogs under the care of Class B dealers have been found suffering from wounds, injuries, diseases, inadequate veterinary care, inadequate food/water/shelter, live animals in cages with dead animals, animals who have been beaten, strangled, shot and open burial pits found on properties. (Source: Allie Phillips & LCA)
As of 2009, a total of 17 states, plus the District of Columbia, have passed laws to ban the practice of pound seizure: California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia and West Virginia. In states like Minnesota and Oklahoma, there are laws that mandate pound seizure, so if a dealer or research facility requests an animal from a shelter, the shelter has no legal authority to deny them. Nine other states (Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, Michigan, Ohio, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah and Wisconsin) have passed laws leaving the decision on pound seizure to the discretion of the individual counties or shelters. The remaining 22 states have no law on pound seizure, so the practice is permitted. (Source: Allie Phillips & LCA)
Fortunately, the dynamics of pound seizure have changed over the years, on both sides of the issue. The number of shelters that provide animals to research facilities and universities is decreasing and more research facilities and universities are moving away from animal experiments and using more clinical human studies, autopsies, epidemiology, human tissue studies, and imaging technology to conduct research. In addition, the number of Class B “random source” dealers is declining. However, as previously stated, only 17 states and D.C. have banned the practice, with 2 states still mandating pound seizure, 9 other states leaving it up to the discretion of the shelters and 22 states having no laws so pound seizure is practiced. Pound seizure is still America’s dirty little secret, but as the public becomes more and more educated on the issue and with more and more advocacy groups being formed, there will come a day when pound seizure is a practice of the past.
(Photo: Animal Rights Coalition) |
But until then, find out what the laws are in your state regarding pound seizure, if your shelter participates and start educating yourself on the issue. Talk with other advocates, find a lawyer familiar with animal law, form a group of concerned citizens, gather the facts and be ready to refute the opposition (you must know why some support pound seizure). Successful advocacy campaigns take time, and you (and those involved) must be willing to have patience and determination to stick out the fight, no matter how long it takes. Allie Phillips has this to say about ending pound seizure, “After working for the past decade to abolish pound seizure, one shelter at a time, it has become clear to me that the practice is overwhelmingly unwanted and rejected throughout the country regardless of the needs of the research community. If decisions regarding pound seizure were placed in the hands of voting citizens, knowing that more than 63 percent of American households have at least one companion animal, I have no doubt that pound seizure would immediately cease to exist in the United States.” |
The above information has been compiled from two sources. Please visit their websites (listed below) for more information.
“How Shelter Pets are Brokered for Experimentation: Understanding Pound Seizure”
A must-read book by Allie Phillips www.alliephillips.com
Last Chance for Animals (Los Angeles, CA)
www.banpoundseizure.org
www.stolenpets.com
Cats and Kittens Used in Experiments and Testing
Animal testing, also known as animal experimentation, animal research, and in vivo testing (“within the living”) or vivisection (“cutting up” of a living animal), is the use of non-human animals in experiments. According to the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection and the Nuffield Council on Bioethics, it is estimated that 50 to 100 million vertebrate animals are used annually worldwide—from cats and dogs to non-human primates. (This figure does NOT include invertebrates, mice, rats, birds, fish, frogs, and animals not yet weaned.) Sources of laboratory animals vary between countries and species; most animals are purpose-bred, while others are caught in the wild or supplied by Class B dealers who obtain them from auctions, shelters, newspaper ads or by stealing. Most animals are destroyed after being used in an experiment.
Such research is conducted by high schools, universities, medical schools, pharmaceutical companies, farms, defense establishments, commercial facilities that provide animal-testing services to industry, and government institutions. It includes pure research such as genetics, developmental biology, behavioral studies, as well as applied research such as biomedical research, xenotransplantation, drug testing and toxicology tests, including cosmetics testing. Animals are also used for education, breeding, and defense research. The practice is regulated to various degrees in different countries.
Cats are most commonly used in neurological research. According to the American Anti-Vivisection Society, in 2000 alone, over 25,500 cats were used in the U.S., with around half of whom were used in experiments which had the potential to cause "pain and/or distress." Cats and kittens are used in universities across the US everyday, supported by YOUR tax dollars to: damage fetal, newborn, older kittens’ and cats’ brains to see how this inflicted brain damage affects them; implant electrodes in cats’ brains and muscles to study sleep; put catheters down cats’ throats and pour acid into their esophagus to cause inflammation to study digestive tracts and gallbladders. And that is just to name a few of the types of experiments performed on cats and kittens. Don’t forget about “routine” features of laboratory environments— constant handling, isolation, confinement, social
disruption, noise, and restrictions on physical movement.
Despite the latest amendment to the federal Animal Welfare Act (Laboratory Animal Welfare Act of 1966) in 2007, under its provisions and the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals, published by the National Academy of Sciences, any procedure can be performed on an animal if it can be successfully argued that it is scientifically justified and the Act specifically excludes protection for birds, mice, rats, horses not used for research purposes, and farm animals.
Using animals in experiments is not only cruel and in humane but they are a waste of time and money. Such experiments put human health at risk because of their inaccuracy and misleading results.
Clinical human studies, autopsies, epidemiology, human tissue studies, and imaging technology are just a few of the better ways to study human health and disease. Stephen R. Kaufman, MD says this about animal experimentation: “…due to known differences in neuroanatomy between humans and cats…animal models cannot prove hypotheses about humans." Dr. Aysha Akhtar, a neurologist, agrees saying, “…companies are coming up with human based tests…that are going to be far more predictive of what’s going to happen to people than any type of animal experiment.” Dr. Akhtar points out that “92% of drugs that are found to be safe and effective in animal experiments are found to be unsafe or ineffective in people. And out of that 8% that do make it to the market, half of them are later recalled.”
In an age with advancing technologies and an ever-increasing understanding of human anatomy and physiology, it is time to STOP barbaric, outdated testing on animals. This type of research causes an inconceivable amount of suffering and is unnecessary, with non-animal alternatives being developed everyday.
Everyday thousands of animals are used to test cosmetics, toiletries like toothpaste and shampoo, and household detergents and cleaners. The most common test is called the Draize test, where products are put directly into the animals’ eyes and technicians record the effects. The "Lethal Dose" test measures the amount of a product it takes to kill part of a group of animals forced to eat it. THESE TESTS ARE NOT REQUIRED BY LAW, but some companies continue to use them.
To see the U.S. Top 20 Most Painful Animal Labs, click here.
TAKE ACTION: Please take a stand against those who needlessly torture cats and kittens, along with countless other animals, by following some of these easy steps:
1. Start by educating yourself (and others) AND take the Cruelty-Free Pledge. Find out which specific companies do and do NOT use animal testing. On the CaringConsumer website, you can find lists of companies that do and do NOT test on animals. Print out the lists, so you can boycott companies that do such testing by not buying their products and support/buy from companies that do not test. As a compassionate consumer, write letters of protest to companies that do test and letters of thanks to cruelty-free companies.
2. Support and donate to health charities that do not fund animal experiments. To identify these charities, look for the Humane Charity Seal of Approval. For more information, a complete list of approved charities, or to search the database of approved and unapproved health charities, please visit HumaneSeal.org.
3. Contact medical schools to find out their policies and whether they use animals for educational studies and testing. If animals are being used, write and ask the schools to eliminate live-animal labs. Find out if there are existing petitions asking schools to stop the testing, and sign any such petitions.
4. Write to your Representatives and Senators and ask that only humane alternatives to animal testing be legally used by corporations.
5. Support and sign the Pet Safety and Protection Act, which would provide a much-needed safety net to ensure that beloved family pets aren't stolen or acquired under false pretenses for sale to research laboratories.
6. Use ACR's Activist Packet, filled with sample letters and petitions, to help when contacting companies and the government and to help organize your own community
UPDATE: October 2010, Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) successfully ended the last medical student animal lab in Canada! No students in any of the country’s 17 medical schools will need to sacrifice their education or compassion on their way to becoming physicians. ALL Canadian medical schools have switched to medical simulators instead of using live animals, which offer greater insight into human physiology. With the end of Canada’s last animal lab, there are only seven medical schools in all of the U.S. and Canada (out of 176) that still use animals. So keep sending those letters because progress is being made and animals are being saved!
Make Animal Cruelty a Felony in Mississippi
Please take a minute to sign the below petition. Mississippi is one of four states (Idaho, North Dakota & South Dakota) where animal cruelty is still not considered a felony. In these states, abusing an animal is only considered a misdemeanor and punishable by a fine and/or 6 months to a year in jail. By signing the petition, hopefully government officials will ensure this is changed, and Mississippi will agree, that animal cruelty is a crime and punishable to the fullest extent of the law. www.petitiononline.com
Australians Invent New Ways to Kill Feral Cats
In a 1999 report broadcasted by PM on Australia’s Radio National, it was announced that “Victorian animal scientists have developed the world's first poison pill, designed specifically to kill cats. It's hoped the pill will bring the feral cat population under control. Environmental groups say it will save native fauna and flora and it has the support of at least some animal welfare groups.”
According to the broadcast, the toxic pill has been designed specifically for cats and it will not harm other animals. Gerry Maynes, from the Environment Australia Centre, says “The way it operates is that the chemical affects oxygen transport through the hemoglobin in the blood, and effectively what happens is that the cat goes to sleep and doesn't wake up.” Mr. Maynes also states that the pill is humane and its use is supported by animal welfare groups.
Gerry Maynes says, “…In developing this we've kept groups like the RSPCA Australia, and the Australian and New Zealand Federation of Animals Societies aware of what's happening. Dr Hugh Worth from the RSPCA's had a look at some of the experimental work and his concern as you indicated earlier, that this material not be made freely available to irresponsible people. But, on the basis of the work so far, he is satisfied that it would appear to be a humane control method.”
Just recently, in an article appearing in The Sydney Morning Herald, “New traps that attract cats using sound and light, and then squirt them with poison, will soon be tested in South Australia's Kangaroo Island, the Invasive Animals Cooperative Research Centre said on its website.”
"This is a tunnel that emits a... sound and bright features that attract cats to it," said Professor Steven Lapidge. "It requires them to walk through a tunnel and if they set off certain sensors in a certain configuration, then it detects the shape of the animal. If it is a cat then it will deliver a short spray onto its belly of a toxic substance that puts them to sleep."
According to the article, “The [Invasive Animals Cooperative Research] Centre believes Australia may have more than 18 million feral cats descended from escaped domestic pets, which kill native wildlife and are hard to control using conventional poisons.” Australia also is trying to control feral populations of pigs, rabbits, foxes, and even camels, via lethal means.
ACR is urging our members to contact the Australian Ambassador and tell him to look at the US and European countries for humane methods of controlling feral cat populations. Explain to Mr. Beazley that killing cats is not a long-term solution to such a complex situation. Tell him TNR programs should be utilized instead of using toxic pills and poison traps.
Contact Information:
The Honorable Kim Beazley
Australian Embassy
1601 Massachusetts Avenue Northwest
Washington, DC 20036
Phone: (202) 797-3000
Fax: (202) 797 3168
AND PLEASE VISIT THE PETITION SITE to sign ACR’S petition to STOP Australia from killing feral cats.
New Zealand’s Campaign against Cats
During the 1800s, cats were deliberately released into the New Zealand wilderness in an attempt to control rabbits; which were introduced for food and sport, but quickly spread to “plague proportions” according to several New Zealand government websites. Feral cats are among a long list of “pest” species that the New Zealand Department of Conservation (DOC) has mounted efforts to exterminate.
New Zealand has been described as a “land without teeth,” because there are no native terrestrial mammals, except for two tiny species of bat that inhabit the country. So, it was easy for introduced “predator” species to survive with open niches available. Plenty of food exists. However, because these animals succeeded, they are now seen as “pest” species and are targeted to be eradicated.
According to the DOC, a variety of methods are used to control “pest” populations, including: aerial 1080, poisoned bait, shooting, dogs, leg-hold trapping, Timms trapping, and live-trapping coupled with euthanasia. 1080 (sodium monofluoroacetate) is a toxic chemical sprayed from airplanes over large areas of land. Shooting is permitted in rural areas, but pet cats in the area must be kept indoors on nights when shooting is to take place. Timms traps are designed to kill an animal instantly. A cat will smell the bait and stick his head in the keyhole opening. When the cat takes the bait, it trips the “powerful execution arm” and the neck of the animal is forced upwards into the confined upper part of the unique keyhole opening. The arteries to the brain are compressed and death is “effective and quick.” According to one bird conservancy group (www.brownteal.com), “over 350 feral cats were killed at one New Zealand site using the Timms trap.”
ACR urges our supporters and feral cat supporters to please contact the New Zealand Ambassador here in the United States, and tell him you strongly oppose the way his country is “managing” feral cats and other animals. Take a moment to explain to him that trap-neuter-return (TNR) programs are more effective and less costly than repeated, inhumane eradication attempts. Use the information below to kindly express your opposition.
Contact Information:
The Honorable Roy Ferguson
New Zealand Embassy
37 Observatory Circle, NW
Washington, DC 20008
Telephone: (202) 328 4800
Facsimile: (202) 667 5227
Email: info@nzemb.org
Korea’s Cat & Dog Meat Industry
In Korea, there thrives an industry that subjects companion animals to some of the cruelest forms of abuse and exploitation. Each year millions of dogs and thousands of cats are tortured, slaughtered, and consumed
for purported medicinal properties of the meat. Despite laws protecting dogs and cats from this mistreatment, the Korean government has
refused to uphold its responsibilities and enforce these laws.
One of ACR’s members contacted the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) regarding Korea’s habit of consuming cat and dog meat, and IFAW responded by saying that they have supplied KAPES (Korea Animal Protection and Education Society that works in conjunction with IAKA) a generous grant to help build a new animal education facility in the capital of Seoul. Studies have shown that the best possibility for change will come from within (Korea). “IFAW believes that the social change necessary to end the consumption of cats and dogs is best generated by the promotion of good animal welfare, education, and legislation from within communities where the problem exists…Through support of [IAKA] and KAPES, and its hands-on work in Seoul, there will be a strong Korean voice to pressure the Korean government to stop this abominable practice.”
With this good news, ACR still encourages our members to pressure the Korean government to outlaw the consumption of cats and dogs, but to also continue to support such amazing groups like IAKA and KAPES. The animals of Korea still have a long way to go, but this a good step in the right direction!
Fortunately, International Aid for Korean Animals (IAKA) was founded to promote animal protection and humane education in Korea and to stop the practice of consuming dog and cat meat. To help stop the massacre of dogs and cats in Korea, please write to Korea’s government officials. For addresses and printable postcards, please follow this link http://www.koreananimals.org/help/materials.htm
Contact Information here in the US:
Embassy of the Republic of Korea
The Honorable Duk-soo Han
2320 Massachusetts Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20008
Phone: 202-939-5663/5660
Fax: 202-342-1597
Email: consular_usa@mofat.go.kr
China’s Cat & Dog Fur Trade
Every year, millions of animals, including more than 2 million cats and hundreds of thousands of dogs, are killed for their fur in China. Some are strays, while countless others are people’s pets, who are rounded up and thrown into crates and taken to market. China is one of the world's largest fur suppliers, with more than 95% of the country's finished garments being exported, with a large portion ending up in North America. However, Chinese companies have also been known to deliberately mislabel cat and dog fur as “Asian jackal,” “rabbit,” or “raccoon” to fool consumers. “According to Chinese fur industry sources, a growing number of international fur traders, processors and fashion designers have gradually shifted their business to China, where cheap labor and the absence of restrictive regulations make life easier and profit margins broader,” says the Swiss Animal Protection’s website.
Undercover investigators from Swiss Animal Protection (SAP) toured fur farms in China's Hebei Province, and it quickly became clear why outsiders are banned from visiting. There are no regulations governing fur farms in China—farmers can house and slaughter animals however they see fit. According to SAP, “[animals] are stunned with repeated blows to the head or swung against the ground. Skinning begins with a knife at the rear of the belly whilst the animal is hung up-side-down by its hind legs from a hook. A significant number of animals remain fully conscious during this process. Supremely helpless, they struggle and try to fight back to the very end. Even after their skin has been stripped off breathing, heart beat, directional body and eyelid movements were evident for 5 to 10 minutes. Conditions on Chinese fur farms make a mockery of the most elementary animal welfare standards. In their lives and their unspeakable deaths, these animals have been denied even the most simple acts of kindness.”
Currently, China has no national animal welfare legislation, only the China Wildlife Protection Law and the Regulations on the Licensing of the Rearing and Breeding of Protected Wildlife of National Importance, that contains some sections covering the management of wildlife breeding, but no regulations on treatment or handling, let alone any information regarding animals such as cats and dogs. According to a SAP investigator, “The propaganda department’s statistics show that the fur industry has already become a mainstay of Suning’s flourishing economy. The county’s revenue generated from fur grew from 80 million yuan in 2002 to over 200 million yuan [18.8 million or US$24 million] in 2004.”
Regardless of the kind of animal slaughtered to manufacture fur items, these are products of cruelty on a massive scale, and we must do everything to stop it! To help these animals, we must educate consumers, corporations, and even governments about the pain that goes into every piece of fur trim and every fur cat toy produced in China.
For a report on China’s fur trade by the SAP click on this link:
http://www.animal-protection.net/furtrade/more/fur_report.pdf
UPDATE: In 2010, President Barack Obama signed The Truth in Fur Labeling Act (H.R. 2480) to protect consumers and animals when buying products with fur on them. The legislation closes a loophole in federal law that currently allows some animal fur garments to go unlabeled if the value of the fur is $150 or less, leaving consumers in the dark as to whether they are buying faux or animal fur. The Dog and Cat Protection Act of 2000 banned the trade of domestic dog and cat fur in the United States, but some garments made of cat and dog fur were still getting into the country because there was no law saying these items had to be labeled as such. With this new legislation, all garments containing animal fur are required to be accurately labeled. This will help keep cat and dog fur out of the U.S. and help protect conscious consumers who wish not to purchase such items.
Please write to China’s Ambassador located in the US:
The Honorable Zhang Yesui
The People’s Public of China
3505 International Place, NW
Washington, DC 20008
Phone: (202) 495-2266
Fax: (202) 495-2138
Email: chinaembpress_us@mfa.gov.cn
Save the Cancun Tigers
There are nearly a dozen tigers and other exotic animals suffering in Cancun, Mexico today and their lives hang in the balance, as they wait for someone to help them!
In 2005, Hurricane Wilma hit Cancun, Mexico causing massive destruction. Before the hurricane hit, the owner of Pepé’s (previously a restaurant) fled, leaving the animals behind to fend for themselves. When he returned to his property, he found that some of the animals had escaped and some had died, while others were found battered and bruised still inside their enclosures.
Returning to Mexico with no money, Pepé did not reach out for help in caring for these animals, instead he left them in their decaying environment. He is quoting as saying he feeds them whatever he can and often the tigers feed on stray animals that accidentally wander into the cages. One female tiger in particular desperately needs medical attention for an inured leg; she is seen in the video severely limping.
Since the summer of 2008, The Wild Animal Sanctuary (TWAS) located in Colorado has been working with Last Chance for Animals (LCA) in California and a group in Mexico called Gente Por La Defensa Animal (GEPDA) to rescue these desperate animals. The Mexican government revoked Pepé’s permits and officials from the Mexican Wildlife Department (PROFEPA) met with representatives of GEPDA, LCA, and TWAS to discuss a rescue mission to save the animals in Cancun. The Mexican Government had originally agreed to rescue these animals and have them transported to TWAS in the US, but changed their minds a few days prior to the scheduled rescue--leaving the animals to suffer in their filthy environment.
UPDATE November 2010: Conditions for the animals have reached an all-time low, as Pepe has allowed two more tragic situations to manifest...
Pepe has continued to breed his tigers in order to get cubs. Five tiger cubs were born to sibling tigers that were being kept together, and Pepe used them to gain attention for himself. He pulled the tiger cubs from their mother in order to obtain news stories showing him posing with the cubs - but since he lacks the knowledge needed to care for newborn cubs - at least four cubs died within days!
At last reporting, only one cub remained, and its future looks bleak (and it may already be dead). In addition to his shear lack of care for these cubs, he also allowed one of his tigers to escape and it ended up seriously mauling a neighbor - putting the man in the hospital! The tiger was captured and returned to his cage, but all of the cages Pepe uses are old, deteriorated and falling apart, so the chances of another escape are high!
The Mexican Government has moved further on this case, stating they have revoked Pepe’s permits that allow him to have these animals… but nothing has actually been enforced to date. Animals have continued to die as this case has been neglected by the officials, and it is critically important for everyone who reads this to contact as many government officials and media outlets as possible - so they will finally act on saving these animals!
UPDATE April 2011: FINALLY, after many years and hundreds of thousands of people calling, writing and demonstrating - the Mexican Government seized the 8 remaining Tigers and 2 Jaguars from Jose Juarez Gil (AKA Pepe Tigre). The Tigers and Jaguars were removed from the property and were taken by government agents and wildlife officials to undisclosed locations.
We are thankful that these animals were finally rescued, but are concerned for their long-term well being. Until the Government officials (PROFEPA) release more information where they were taken and what their strategy is for providing these animals with a good quality of life, we will not rest. These animals deserve the very best life possible after spending their lives in shear misery.
We applaud the actions of the Mexican Government in seizing these Tigers and Jaguars, but ideally they should go to The Wild Animal Sanctuary in Colorado where they could live and roam freely, while receiving the very best care available. Here is a link to one of the initial news reports regarding the animals’ rescue.
ACR is urging our members to please continue to pressure the Mexican government to release these wildcats to The Wild Animal Sanctuary in Colorado, where they will be able to live out their lives free from further mistreatment. Please watch the video below regarding their story and contact Mexican and US government officials to express your concern for these beautiful creatures and their desperate need to be released to a sanctuary. For more information on this situation and how you can help, please visit www.savethecancuntigers.com. Thank you!!
Save the Cancun Tigers from Wild Animal Sanctuary on Vimeo.
Contact Information:
United States:
Ambassador Arturo Sarukhan
Embassy of Mexico
1911 Pennsylvania AV, NW
Washington, D.C. 20006
Tel: (202) 728 1600
Mexico:
Name: Secretario Juan Rafael Elvira Quezada
Title: Titular de la Secretaría de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales
(Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources)
Address: Blvd. Adolfo Ruiz Cortinez 4209
Jardines en la Montaña
C.P. 14210
Tlalpan, D.F.
México
Email: c.secretario@semarnat.gob.mx
Name: Dr. Hernando Guerrero Cácerez
Title: Coordinador de Asesores Secretaría de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales
(Chief of Staff to Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources)
Address: Blvd. Adolfo Ruiz Cortinez 4209
Jardines en la Montaña
C.P. 14210
Tlalpan, D.F.
México
Email: hernando.guerrero@semarnat.gob.mx
Name: Martín Vargas Prieto
Title: Director General de Vida Silvestre
(Director of General Wildlife)
Email: martin.vargas@semarnat.gob.mx
Name: Patricio Patrón Laviada
Title: Procurador Federal de Protección al Ambiente
(Federal Attorney for Environmental Protection)
Address: Camino al Ajusco No. 200, Piso 8 Ala Sur
Col. Jardines en la Montaña
C.P. 14210
Tlalpan, D.F.
Mexico
Help End Big Game Hunting in South Africa
Animal Rights Africa (ARA), an African animal rights organization, released a key report in July 2010 -- which takes an in-depth look at hunting activities in South Africa. ARA is concerned that bushmeat hunting - poaching - remains prevalent.
South Africa has the largest hunting industry in sub-Saharan Africa, attracting wealthy foreigners wishing to kill anything from elephants to duikers (antelope). It remains the world's top 'canned' lion hunting destination, says the ARA report and the rhino hunting permit system has been repeatedly abused in recent years to launder horn into the illegal medicine market in the East. Furthermore some hunters are shooting animals which live in the Kruger National Park and cross unfenced boundaries into private and provincial nature reserves.
More than 1,000 lions were killed in 2008 at a time when most people believed the industry had been stopped. It has not and continues, pending a court appeal.
According to research by the University of North West in Potchefstroom, South Africa, more than a million wild animals are killed by hunters every year, some for meat but some just because they have large horns, tusks, or ‘pretty' coats. Some, like African wild cats and genets, for example, are killed simply for fun and target practice. Currently, the Government supports this killing, arguing that hunting in South Africa is in line with concept of ‘sustainable utilization of natural resources'. Ethics and scientific 
justification appear not to come into it.
Even some hunters argue that quest for increased economic returns and bigger trophy animals sometimes override what they view as accepted practice, says the ARA. Some private farms are overstocked and also populated with species that do not occur in the region in order to generate greater hunting income, hybrid and color-variant animals are specially bred for hunting despite the disapproval of formal hunting organizations and in many instances animals have no chance of escape and are shot under conditions that amount to ‘canned hunting'.
Animals are Killed for Profit
ARA spokesperson, Michele Pickover said, "SANParks recently acknowledged, contrary to previous denials, that animals move freely between these areas [referring to fenced and non-fenced areas]. However, it refuses to publically acknowledge they may be shot."
"It is astounding that South Africa's precious heritage, in the form of animals that move across imaginary boundaries from the Kruger National Park, are intentionally being allowed to be hunted and killed for profit with the fervent support and consent of the South African government and all its conservation agencies..."
Professional Hunters' Association of SA (Phasa) president, Eduard Katzke, rejected ARA's report as a false portrayal of hunting as destructive. "To use the terms 'poaching' and 'hunt' in the same context indicates how uninformed ARA is on the role the hunting industry plays in conservation and wildlife management," he said.
Wildlife Ranching SA (WRSA) said ARA's notion that the local hunting industry was based on the exploitation of animals was debatable. "Hunting is an essential crop method for the sustainable use and survival of game," said WRSA president Jacques Malan.
Alley Cat Rescue Agrees with Animal Rights Africa
Hunting is an incorrect strategy to preserve Africa's wildlife heritage and to promote ecotourism. Moreover, humanity has a duty of compassion and humanity towards animals and also at stake are issues of justice. The time is overdue for individuals, civil society and governments to recognize animals as complex, living beings, rather than as tools, objects and trophies.
There should be a national public consultation and review process of the 1996 Agreement signed between the National Parks Board (now SANParks) and the APNR (Association of Private Nature Reserves), including the 1993 removal of the fences between the APNR and the Kruger National Park.
The concept of "res nullius" (meaning animals belonging to no one) in relation to national, and provincial parks, needs to be scrapped.
There is an urgent need for public debate on the concept of "sustainable utilization" in relation to hunting. A comprehensive, transparent and public examination and investigation of the hunting industry is needed. The South African government should impose a moratorium on hunting until the findings of this public inquiry have been released. Government conservation agencies (provincially and nationally) must publicly make available, through websites, up-to-date applications for hunting permits and hunting statistics.
The government should be switching land away from hunting and towards photographic use, which is a non-consumptive, ethical wildlife ecotourism. Tourists need to be more proactive in informing themselves about which hunting and breeding destinations in South Africa are doubling up as ecotourism destinations and avoid choosing such places.
To read the complete Animal Rights Africa report, please click here.
NEWS UPDATE: December 1, 2010 (Cape Town, South Africa) According to a press release on IFAW.org - Thousands of captive bred lions are more vulnerable than ever following a court ruling that not only demotes them from being considered a “Threatened or Protected Species” but also allows for the immediate resumption of “canned hunting.” “This ruling puts canned hunting right back on the agenda, and further entrenches South Africa’s image of a country that puts animal welfare last while profiteering from an abhorrent form of hunting practice,” said Jason Bell-Leask, Director Southern Africa of the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW).
An appeal by the South African Predator Breeder’s Association against an earlier ruling that prevented captive bred lions from being hunted before they had spent 24-months in the wild, and also challenging the inclusion of lions as a listed large predator in the Threatened or Protected Species Regulations, was upheld by a sitting of the Supreme Court of Appeal on Monday.
The high court said the minister of environmental affairs at the time did not take a “rational decision” when he determined that captive bred lions should fend for themselves in the wild for 24 months before being hunted and that captive bred lions would temporarily lose their status as a listed large predator.
“The ruling is a sad day for lions but hopefully the court of public opinion will now come to bear on the canned hunting industry, shaming it for what it is – an immoral and indefensible business without a shred of credibility,” said IFAW’s Bell-Leask.
To sign a petition against canned hunting, please click here.