AR-News: [hsus-action] HUMANElines Issue 286

[סמדר]

Issue 238From: HUMANElines
owner-hsus-action at lists.hsus.org
To: HUMANElines -- The Weekly Activist Newsletter
Sent: Friday, March 05, 2004 11:59 PM
Subject: [hsus-action] HUMANElines Issue 286


Issue 286 --- March 5, 2004
A Project of The Humane Society of the United States and The Fund for
Animals
http://www.humanelines.org/

UPDATE: COMMENT DEADLINE FOR ENDANGERED SPECIES EXTENDED:
The US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has extended the deadline for public
comments on the Bush Administration’s regulatory proposal to weaken the
federal Endangered Species Act (ESA) until Tuesday, March 9, 2004. This is
the same proposal put forth last fall, in which the FWS sought to upend the
ESA by allowing big game hunters, skin traders, and circuses in the U.S. to
import any of the more than 500 foreign endangered species protected by the
ESA (see HUMANElines Issue 267). This modification of ESA regulations would
be the most profoundly damaging change for foreign endangered species in
decades, and it would likely threaten the survival of many species the ESA
currently protects.

WHAT YOU CAN DO:
Although the FWS fielded thousands of letters from citizens last year asking
officials to preserve the integrity of the ESA, it now says that those
comments were based on “public confusion” about what the proposed rule
change will do. Let the FWS know that you will not accept the Bush
Administration’s attempts to discount public opinion and bow to the whims of
trophy hunters and others who profit off the capture and killing of
endangered animals. Ask them to preserve the integrity of the ESA and to NOT
permit the import of endangered species into the U.S.
Time is short, so send your email to Chris Nolin, Chief of the Division of
Conservation and Classification at the FWS by Tuesday, March 9 (5 p.m. EST):
fw9comments at fws.gov
To read a sample letter, see:
http://www.stopextinction.org/Team/Team.cfm?ID=1380&c=1

To read the FWS' original proposed rule, please go to:
http://frwebgate4.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/waisgate.cgi?WAISdocID=50974013505+4+0+0&WAISaction=retrieve

Or see the current notice regarding the reopened public comment period on
this proposed rule: http://www.eswr.com/frr/f022304a.htm


NEW JERSEY BEARS NOT OUT OF THE WOODS, BUT THERE’S HOPE:
Recent news reports indicate that Governor James McGreevey of New Jersey is
urging the state fish and wildlife agency not to hold a bear hunt in 2004.
The reports note that McGreevey received more than 14,500 letters against
the hunt (with just 2,800 for it), and that this volume of correspondence
exceeded that of any other issue the governor has dealt with. Given that no
final action been proposed, it is important that animal advocates,
especially those in New Jersey, make their view known to the governor. Every
call, every email, every letter truly makes a difference.

WHAT YOU CAN DO:
Please urge Governor McGreevey to use his authority to halt any additional
bear hunting in New Jersey.
The Honorable James McGreevey
P.O. Box 001
Trenton, NJ 08625
609-292-6000
Fax: 609-292-3454
E-mail through website: www.newjersey.gov/governor/govmail.html

YOUR LETTERS WORK!
In the last two weeks, your letters have made a difference in two notorious
cases of animal cruelty. On Tuesday (3/2), a judge decided the fate of
Robert Lamano, the New Jersey man whose dog "Reno" died after Lamano wrapped
an entire role of electrical tape around his muzzle, leaving him unable to
eat, drink or bark for help for weeks (see HUMANElines Issue 283). At the
sentencing hearing, the judge brought to court the more than 500 letters he
received from concerned animal protection advocates nationwide. He then
modified the proposed plea agreement, doubling Lamano's probationary period
and mandating a psychological evaluation. While The HSUS and activists had
urged the judge to reject the plea agreement and impose jail time, it was
clear at the sentencing hearing that your letters had a significant impact
on the outcome of this case.

Just a few days earlier in West Virginia, the man responsible for starving
his dog Sunbear to death was handed the maximum sentence allowed under the
law. Sunbear died after his caretaker, Hubert Wilmer, locked him inside a
windowless laundry room, without food or water, for at least six weeks (see
HUMANElines Issue 267). During the trial, the jury deliberated just four
minutes before returning a guilty verdict, and the magistrate then gave
Wilmer the maximum six month jail sentence with a $1000 fine-- an almost
unheard of sentence for animal cruelty in West Virginia. Kanawha County's
Prosecuting Attorney reported that he received more than 400 letters from
around the world—several of which he responded to personally—about the
Sunbear case. Since that time, thanks in significant part to the outcry over
the Sunbear case, West Virginia passed a felony animal cruelty law.

REGISTER TO VOTE AND HELP ANIMALS:
The 2004 presidential race is shaping up to be extremely close and critical.
Each and every vote will be vital in determining the course this nation
follows in the future. The Student Animal Rights Alliance (SARA) has
partnered with Working Assets as part of a national campaign to register
voters for the critical 2004 election. Just go to
http://www.defendanimals.org/vote to register to vote or change your
registration address. Just fill out the form, print and mail. It’s easy and
quick. If you’re already registered, please forward the link to friends and
family.


To receive directly, call 202-955-3668 or email humanelines at hsus.org
For more information on legislation, how to find your legislators, or past
HUMANElines, go to http://www.hsus.org/
or     http://www.fund.org/
---