AR-News: IDA E-News: 5-4-04

[Livia McRee]

Hello,

IDA E-News
Vol. 3 Issue 14

Table of Contents
1. Foie Gras Ban in California Squeaks By
2. Help Free the CU 34
3. AARP Supports Dog Breeding for Profit
4. NY Animal Guardian Day is May 23rd!
5. Wield Your Pens for Animals
6. Don't Miss AR 2004
7. Air VegVideo in Your Community!

1. Foie Gras Ban in California Squeaks By
The bill to ban foie gras, SB1520, squeaked out of the
seven-member Senate Business and Professions Committee on April
26 by a 4:3 vote.

There were at least 30 other organizations and individuals at
the hearing that spoke out against the cruelty of foie gras,
including actress Bea Arthur and Melissa Rivers (daughter of
comic Joan Rivers). Both women made impassioned pleas for the
ducks. "There is no room in our wonderful state for such a
nightmarish industry," said Arthur.

Voting in favor of the bill were Senators Liz Figueroa (chair),
Edward Vincent, Kevin Murray, and Gil Cedillo. Senators Sam
Aanestad, James Brulte, and Michael Machado voted against it.

Unfortunately, to get the bill out of committee, Senator Burton
was forced to offer an amendment to his bill, giving the foie
gras producers 7 1/2 years to stop their cruelty (assuming the
bill passes the full legislature).

SB1520 now goes to the Senate floor. If successful there, it
will then go to the Assembly committees. Thanks to all of you
for helping with this campaign - this was an important victory,
but there is still more to do! Please visit
<http://www.banfoiegras.org> for more information on what you
can do.

2. Help Free the CU 34
The Committee for Research Accountability (CRA), an IDA project,
is calling upon the University of Colorado (CU) to release 34
monkeys being held in its Health Sciences facility. CU has
stated it would cost $12,000 per animal for this release. Both
CRA and IDA urge the University to forego the ransom and set
these intelligent, feeling animals free after years of service
to CU researchers.

IDA recently held a demonstration in front of CU President
Hoffman's office at CU-Boulder and asked for the immediate
release and retirement of the monkeys. IDA staffer Rita Anderson
presented a petition with 1,667 signatures to the president's
office; these were a combination of an online petition
(signatures from US, Canada, France and Belgium) and written
signatures.

What You Can Do
Add your name to the growing list of people who have expressed
their support for the release of the 34 CU monkeys. Our original
goal was 1,500 signatures; now we've set a new goal of 10,000.
If you have not yet signed, please do so by clicking here:
<http://www.petitiononline.com/cu34/petition.html>. With your
help, we can continue to inundate CU with signatures urging the
release of these monkeys. For more information about this
campaign and other ways to help, please visit
<http://www.freetheCU34.org>.

3. AARP Supports Dog Breeding for Profit
In its May and June 2004 issue, AARP Magazine published an
article making suggestions for spending tax money. One
suggestion was to bring home a dog. "You could get a pup free at
the animal shelter, but you won't be sure if you'll have Toto or
Marmaduke when the dog matures. If you want specific
characteristics, consider a thoroughbred. You'll pay $750 to
$1,500 or more for a pure-bred dog. Spring for one with great
bloodlines and champion ancestors, and he may even earn a few
bucks occasionally; stud fees range from $250 to $750," the
article states. You can read the entire article, entitled
"Putting the Fun in Refund" by Karen Hube by visiting
<http://www.aarpmagazine.org/money/Articles/a2004-04-16-mag-refund.html>.


Please write a polite letter to the editor rebuking the magazine
for suggesting buying and breeding animals while millions die in
shelters and urging readers to adopt. Be sure to indicate if you
are an AARP member. Send letters to the editor at
aarpmagazine at aarp.org or by mail to Letters, AARP The Magazine,
601 E St. NW, Washington DC 20049. The magazine also suggests
posting your opinion to their message boards available at
<http://www.aarpmagazine.org/Articles/a2003-01-23-boards.html>.

Sample letter:

Dear Editor,
I was very saddened to read your advice for spending tax returns
in which you suggest that readers should buy a purebred puppy.
("Putting the Fun in Refund" May & June 2004). You must not be
aware that animal shelters are filled to capacity with cats and
dogs no one wants, including many purebreds who are former
companions who were simply abandoned or passed from home to home
before finally ending up in a shelter cage. Suggesting that
retired persons should purchase a custom-made puppy while
millions of healthy animals who need love are put to death each
year is irresponsible in the least. There is no excuse for
breeding more dogs while millions need good homes. AARP should
be ashamed of itself for rewarding breeding, something that
sentences healthy shelter dogs to death. I am certain your
readers will agree.

4. NY Animal Guardian Day is May 23rd!
Join IDA New York City in celebrating the first Animal Guardian
Day in New York on Sunday May 23rd from noon to 5:00 p.m.! We
will be celebrating with Quentin the Miracle Dog and his
Guardian Randy Grimm, and our team of newly appointed Animal
Guardian Ambassadors including Senator Liz Krueger, Valerie
Sicignano, and Lawrence Carter-Long! Come on down and adopt a
dog or cat, get your Animal Guardian Ribbon, meet the Pet Care
Experts and enjoy free dog and cat treats! All festivities take
place at the Mayor's Alliance for NYC's Animals' Adoption & Pet
Care Festival at the Promenade, Central Park (enter Park at 72nd
Street from 5th Ave. or Central Park West) in Manhattan.
<http://www.guardiancampaign.com>.

5. Don't Miss AR 2004!
The discounted Animal Rights 2004 registration rate for IDA
members has been extended to {put in a date two days after you
mail the newsletter}. IDA is a major co-sponsor. Please visit
AR2004.org/registration.html
<http://www.ar2004.org/registration.html> to register.

The conference will be held on July 8-12 at the Sheraton
Premiere Hotel in Vienna, Virginia, just outside the Washington
Beltway. The hotel offers a fabulous $75 room rate and free dog
beds. A thousand participants are expected.

Key speakers include Steve Best, Lawrence Carter-Long, Karen
Davis, Michael Fox, Michael Greger, Tippi Hedren, Alex Hershaft,
Steve Hindi, Kevin Jonas, IDA president Dr. Elliot Katz, Greg
Lawson, Howard Lyman, Jim Mason, Lauren Ornelas, Tom Regan,
Jerry Vlasak, Paul Watson, and Zoe Weil. More than 70 other
animal rights leaders will be presenting as well (see
<http://www.AR2004.org/program.html>).

The program features plenary sessions, workshops, rap sessions,
campaign reports, strategy meetings, newcomer orientation,
employment clearinghouse, networking receptions, awards banquet,
and vegan cuisine and entertainment. The key focus is
development of effective tactics for our movement.

The program is constructed along five parallel tracks, but
allows ample time for socializing and networking. The schedule
begins with the opening reception and plenary on Thursday
evening and closes with the Sunday evening banquet. A number of
post-conference activities including lobbying, demonstrations,
seminars, and special interest meetings are planned by groups
for Monday. Please visit www.animalrights2004.org
<http://www.animalrights2004.org> for additional details.

6. Wield Your Pens for Animals
Edward George Bulwer Lytton, an English novelist, once wrote,
"The pen is mightier than the sword." IDA activists have been
wielding their mighty pens to speak out for animals. Members of
IDA's writing group have had letters to the editor published on
a host of topics from Mad Cow Disease to fur in publications
such as the Oregonian, Seattle Weekly, Los Angeles Times, and
The Chicago Tribune.

Please consider joining IDA's writing group, designed to alert
those with a talent for writing and a passion for animals of
news articles that need to be responded to with letters to the
editor or campaign aspects that require correspondence with
public officials. If you are interested in joining this group,
please email the group coordinator, Kristie Phelps, at
Kristie at idausa.org. Please include the email address where you
would like to receive alerts, your city, state, and nearest big
city (in case of a story of local interest).

7. Air VegVideo in Your Community!
Video is one of the most compelling ways to educate people about
the mistreatment of animals in our culture. While there are many
great videos that document this mistreatment, the footage is
rarely shown on television. Public-access is a great - and free!
- way to show this footage.

VegVideo, a fantastic one-hour-long show that currently airs in
15 cities around the country, educates people about factory
farming and encourages a vegan diet. The shows are inspirational
and educational, and each time it airs the producer gets
wonderful feedback from people who say they will never eat meat
again after seeing the show!

Most cities and towns have a public-access station that airs
videos submitted by the community. In fact, many stations are
desperate for new shows. Gabe Quash, an animal activist in San
Francisco, has prepared the episodes to public-access stations'
specifications and will send them to you for free, so all you
need to do is sign up for a show and drop them off.

What You Can Do
Sponsors are needed to air this video in cities all across the
country. The responsibility of a sponsor varies from city to
city, but usually it entails nothing more than signing up for a
show and dropping off tapes at the station every month or two.
The episodes will be mailed to you at no cost. This is a
wonderful opportunity to educate people about animal issues.

Please visit www.VegVideo.org and email Gabe at
vegvideo at yahoo.com to learn more!

To read the latest installment of The Cat Therapist's column,
"Ambush and Attack," visit
<http://www.idausa.org/cattherapist.html>. If you have a
question about your feline companions, email her at
thecattherapist at idausa.org.