"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated."
~ Gandhi ~
"If I have any beliefs about immortality it is that certain dogs I know will go to heaven, and very very few people."
~ James Thurber ~
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."
~ Margaret Mead ~
"When a man has pity on all living creatures then only is he noble."
~ Buddha ~
"Until we have the courage to recognize cruelty for what it is--whether its victim is human or animal--we cannot expect things to be much better in this world... We cannot have peace among men whose hearts delight in killing any living creature. By every act that glorifies or even tolerates such moronic delight in killing we set back the progress of humanity."
~ Rachel Carson ~
(Sashie Moto)
"I have from an early age abjured the use of meat, and the time will come when men such as I will look upon the murder of animals as they now look upon the murder of men."
~ Leonardo Da Vinci ~
"Wild animals never kill for sport. Man is the only one to whom the torture and death of his fellow creatures is amusing in itself."
~ Froude ~
"If a man aspires towards a righteous life, his first act of abstinence is from injury to animals."
~ Albert Einstein ~
"At the moment our human world is based on the suffering and destruction of millions of non-humans. To perceive this and to do something to change it in personal and public ways is to undergo a change of perception akin to a religious conversion. Nothing can ever be seen in quite the same way again because once you have admitted the terror and pain of other species you will, unless you resist conversion, be always aware of the endless permutations of suffering that support our society."
~ Arthur Conan Doyle ~
January 27, 2005
The Colonel..pays us back!
The following story happened about four weeks ago. It is the wonderful tale of how an animal so loved it's owner, it would not stop till he had saved her life. This is the story of The Colonel, our Siberian rescue, and how he saved my wife's life. It is the story of how he said thank you!
A couple of years ago my wife and I were visiting family in Oklahoma. It was a cold evening when at about 10:30 in the evening we heard this "howling" on the front porch. We went out and saw this emaciated, cold, wet and injured animal. He was limping across our porch to the door.
No one recognized the animal. He was severely injured in his hind quarter and bleeding. We made him comfortable and warm, gave him some food, and stayed up with him for a while. The next day we took him to a Vet for X-rays. He had buck shot in his hind leg. Some rancher decided a .15 Cent bullet was worth his life. We spent several thousand dollars for multiple surgeries to get the lead out, and to stop the blood poisoning.
While recuperating in Oklahoma, he broke into the chicken coupe on two occasions and wiped out the chickens. We named him "The Colonel".
He has gotten progressively better, and has become as close as our children. He follows my wife everywhere, without hesitation. Every day they walk these hills and mountains together.
We take our dogs with us many times, and sometimes just pack them into the truck so we can take them out. 4 weeks ago my wife decided to go to the post office, and at the last minute decided to take Colonel. He normally lays quietly in the back jumper seat, happy just to be going for a ride.
As she was driving home (with a Police Officer behind her) the Colonel started to make a fuss. He started to slap her head with his paws, then started to bite her hair. She was getting alarmed as this was not normal for him. Then he became frantic and jumped into the front seat and started spinning around in 360 degree spins.
She slammed on the brakes so hard she thought the Police car would rear-end her. All of a sudden an SUV whose brakes failed coming down a mountain, came shooting across the road at over 50 miles per hour, 2 feet in front of her truck.
If Colonel had not accomplished what he set out to do..to stop the truck, She would have been broad-sided by the runaway SUV. She got out with the officer to aid the injured woman driver of the SUV. When she returned, Colonel was neatly and quietly tucked back up into the back seat. Quiet as a mouse. He even had a smile on his face.
I think he was pleased at having paid her back for saving his life…
Patrick Doyle
Fall 2004
Friends of Animals Ads target 2005 Tourism Season in Alaska
by Sandy Lewis
Friends of Animals believes that persistence is the key to ending aerial wolf control programs in Alaska. We are committed to another season of protest after November 1, 2004 to target the 2005 tourism season. We hope to bolster the Boycott Alaska campaign with ads to increase public awareness. The November/December issue of Mother Jones (on sale November 2) will carry a full page ad depicting a hunter taking aim at a family of running wolves. Another ad is a reminder that “Like Humans, Wolves Live In Families,” which makes them easier targets for hunters who shoot them from planes. An advertisement in support of Alaska’s wolves will also appear on the Op-Ed page opposite the editorial page of The New York Times.
Spaying Cats & Dogs on the Rosebud Indian Reservation
Ruth Steinberger, Spay/OK and Joyce Hillard, Arkansans for Animals, Inc. | Fall 2004
The Rosebud Sioux Indian Reservation in South Dakota includes some of the poorest counties in the United States. The Reservation has many traditional tribal members and a 70% unemployment rate. Economic and social marginalization has resulted in tragic circumstances for both people and animals. Similar to other reservations, the stray dog and cat problem at Rosebud exceeded levels found in any non-reservation community. Animals suffered from mange, starvation, freezing temperatures and cannibalism, and recently as three years ago, the tribal council hired people from off-reservation to shoot dogs without collars. The shootings seriously distressed tribal members, including those charged with hiring the shooters. In desperation, some people tied rags around the dogs’ necks to save them, an effort that did not address starvation, illness or reproduction. Intensifying the crisis, there were three to five serious dog bites every week, mostly of children, which resulted in two to four dissections per month to check for rabies.
Regulating Dissent: How Hunting Advocates Get Away with Silencing Animal Advocacy in Canada
Some of our readers have mentioned the difficulty of activism, with regard to seals and other animals, north of the border. In this report, Friends of Animals explains why things are particularly rough for the Canadian advocate, and considers how activists might rally for change.
Charities have traditionally provided services that governments consider worthwhile — services that the governments themselves decline to provide. So governments try to extend charities a courtesy by exempting them from various taxes. But governments also traditionally protect property interests. What happens when charitable ideas and property interests collide?
Friends of Animals would like to announce the release of a new public service announcement, now available via Internet. The name of the video is Alaska Wolves.
Alaska Wolves brings to viewers a dramatized scene of aerial wolf hunting. The practice was ended in Alaska in the 1970s, and the state’s residents have actually voted twice to end same-day use of aircraft for public wolf hunting and trapping. Yet pilots in search of prey have come back to haunt North American wolves under the Governor Frank Murkowski’s undemocratic leadership.
It is now clear that the Alaskans who want an end to the hunts need outside support. Alaska seems remote to many, but we believe that people will be motivated to intervene on behalf of the wolves once the world sees what is happening.
We have set up a special donation page, and we ask for your help to further our efforts to save Alaska Wolves.
If you are a member of the media and are interested in airing this public service announcement copies can be made available upon request. Please email us at info@friendsofanimals.org.
Friends of Animals would like to thank the following individuals who contributed to the creation of this public service announcement: Chooi-Leng Tan, Todd Kuehnl, Arnold Gallardo, Scott Moran, Nathan Searles, Barbara LaRue, Leo Keeler, Dorothy Keeler, and Josh Schaerti.
Volunteers Needed at The Sanctum...Wolf Sanctuary and Educational Facility
Perform a valuable service for the community! Have fun with the wolves!
Our immediate need is finding volunteers to help build large enclosures for our wolves.
We are located in the beautiful mountains of Western North Carolina. We are approximately an hour from Asheville and Boone.
For more info and directions,please contact Liz Mahaffey at 828-688-9005 or e-mail at wolfsanctum@direcway.com
Or
Deborah VanDyke at 828-688-1041 or e-mail at sanctum.webmaster@highstream.net
DARIEN, Conn., US – The Alaska tourism boycott led by international animal advocacy organization Friends of Animals now resumes, this time to impact Alaska's summer 2005 season. The first two weeks of this year's intervention will see over two dozen "Howl-Ins" – protests planned from New York to Alaska.
On Saturday the 6th of November, Howl-Ins will begin in 16 states. One of these states will be Alaska itself, in a Howl-In planned with members and supporters of the Last Resort Animal Sanctuary of Sitka, Alaska.
upporters of wolves will display posters announcing that "Alaska is planning a heart-stopping wildlife spectacle" and showing a wolf in a rifle's crosshairs. Members of the public will sign post cards for Alaska's Gov. Frank Murkowski. Each card is a pledge to boycott travel to Alaska until the wolf-killing ends.
Howl-Ins will continue through April 2005 unless Gov. Murkowski calls off the state-sanctioned killers before that date.
En route to this weekend's Howl-In at San Francisco's annual Green Festival, Friends of Animals president Priscilla Feral said, "We cannot wait to howl with the people of San Francisco this Saturday and Sunday. We'll make sure that Frank Murkowski can hear us."
Since November of 2003, pilots have obtained permits from the Alaska Board of Game and the state's Department of Fish and Game. One by one, with the assistance of low, slow-flying aircraft, airborne hunters have traced, tracked, chased, and killed 147 wolves. This method of killing wolves has not been used since the late 1980s and is normally illegal in Alaska. But in spite of votes in which Alaskans opted to end same-day use of aircraft for public wolf hunting and trapping, the killing permits have Gov. Murkowski's approval. In 2003-2004, the first year of Alaska's current state-sponsored aerial wolf-killing scheme, over 200,000 people pledged to boycott the state's $2 billion-a-year tourism industry.
The state intends to permit the killing of up to 500 wolves this coming winter, beginning when autumn snowfalls allow for the tracking of wolves. The heightened killing plans come in the wake of a March 2004 approval for the opening of two new hunting areas.
Friends of Animals placed advertisements for the Alaska tourism boycott in the New York Times Sunday Magazine and Mother Jones Magazine; more to come soon. Friends of Animals' 60-second video describing the airborne hunting is available electronically at www.friendsofanimals.org.
In conjunction with the boycott, Friends of Animals will continue to have a presence in the Superior Court in Anchorage, as the organization's legal challenge to this killing continues.
Friends of Animals Howl-In listings will be updated each day as locations are confirmed. A complete and up-to-date listing of Howl-Ins and campaign supporters can be found at:
LaPorte, CO Held by: W.O.L.F Sanctuary Date: Saturday, 11/6/04 Time: 10am - 4pm
Naples, FL Held by: Shy Wolf Sanctuary Held at: Coastland Center Mall Date: Saturday, 11/6/04 Time: 10am - 9pm
Atlanta, GA Held by: Laughing Wolf Photo Studio Date: Saturday, 11/6/04 Time: 11am - 4pm
Bakersville, NC Held by: The Sanctum Date: Saturday, 11/6/04 Time: 12n - 6pm
Columbia, NJ Held by: Lakota Wolf Preserve Date: Saturday, 11/6/04 Time: 10am - 2pm
Commack, NY Held at: Mega Mall - Larkfield Rd Date: Saturday, 11/6/04 Time: 12n
Mesa, AZ Date: Saturday, 11/7/04 Time: TBA
Bolivar, OH Held by: Wolf Timbers Date: Saturday, 11/6/04 Time: 11am - 2pm
Bend, OR Held by: Wolfdog Rescue Date: Saturday, 11/6/04
Yellow Springs, OH Held by: People/Animals Network Held at: Downtown near Little Arts Theatre Date: Saturday, 11/6/04 Time: 1pm - 4pm
Corvallis, OR Held by: Stoker’s Vita World Date: Saturday, 11/6/04 Time: 9 am - 6pm
Allentown, PA Held by: Lehigh Animal Rights Coalition at: Lehigh Valley Mall, McCarther Rd. Date: Saturday, 11/6/4 Time: 12n - 3pm
Hunker, PA Held by: OohMahNee Farmed Animal Sanctuary Date: Saturday, 11/6/04 Time: 12n - 2pm
Burton, WA Held by: Wolftown Date: Saturday, 11/6/04 Time: 7pm
Tenino, WA Held by: Wolf Haven International Date: Saturday, 11/6/04 Time: 12n - 6pm
San Francisco, CA Held by: Friends of Animals Held at: Green Festival Date: Saturday, 11/6 & Sun., 11/7
Tucson, AZ Held by: Animal Liberation Network Held at: Reid Park Telemundo Festival Date: Sun., 11/14 Time: 11am - 4pm
Washington, D.C. Held by: Friends of Animals Held at: Dupont Circle Date: Sun., 11/21 Time: 12n - 3pm
New York, NY Held by: Friends of Animals Held at: 5th Ave & 49th ST, SW Corner Date: Saturday, 12/4 Time: 12n - 3pm
# # #
This
message was sent from Friends of Animals to Patrick@NativeRadio.com. It was sent from: Friends of Animals, 777 Post Road Ste 205, Darien, CT 06853.
You can modify/update your subscription via the link below.
ADVOCATES TAKE DIRECT ACTION IN SUPPORT OF VEGETARIAN RESTAURANTS
DARIEN, Conn. – Friends of Animals, an international animal advocacy organization, will be in the New York City and College Park, Md. on Oct. 16 to join with activists worldwide in support of World Day of Action against McDonald's.
World Day of Action is an annual event bringing together a huge number of people on a wide range of issues every Oct. 16, with activities all over the world. On this day Friends of Animals will be encouraging consumers and passers-by to take direct action for animals, the environment and social justice by promoting vegetarian restaurants in New York City and College Park.
"Great vegetarian restaurants such as Counter and Caravan of Dreams in New York, and Berwyn Café in College Park have earned local support," said Daniel Hammer, of Friends of Animals. "Visitors to these vibrant restaurants are taking positive and direct action in support of everyday people who are changing society for the better."
Friends of Animals will distribute the famous "What's Wrong with McDonald's" leaflet, which argues that McDonald's promotes unhealthy food, the exploitation of workers, damage to the environment, and the maltreatment of nonhuman animals.
McDonald's sued London campaigners Helen Steel and Dave Morris for distributing an earlier version of this leaflet. According to media coverage of the resulting "McLibel" trial, "Although McDonald's won the original judgment, it was embarrassed when the trial judge ruled that large parts of the leaflet were true. The judge agreed that McDonald's was responsible for animal cruelty, that it exploited children through its advertising and that it paid its workers in Britain poorly."*
McDonald's spends over $1.8 billion annually to promote itself worldwide as a fun, healthy, responsible company. But locally owned and operated restaurants such as Counter, Caravan of Dreams and Berwyn Café -- which offer hearty vegan and organic delights -- are the real McCoy.
Joining Friends of Animals to take direct action on Oct. 16 in support of the Berwyn Café, College Park, Md. will be members of the Coalition for Animal Rights, a student organization at the University of Maryland.
Download Friends of Animals' Vegan Restaurant Guides to New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Toronto from www.friendsofanimals.org.
Pittsburgh Contact: Candice Zawoiski, Voices for Animal
Liberation, (412) 370.1998
Pittsburgh, PA– As aerial wolf-killing in Alaska
accelerates, so does the urgency of citizens across the country organizing
Howl-Ins to boycott travel to Alaska. Voices for Animal Liberation will be at
the lobby entrance of the East End Food Co-op, at 7516 Meade St., from 11am-2pm
on Saturday, March 13th. Howl-Ins educate the public about Alaska’s
state-sponsored aerial wolf-shooting program, which was recently reinstated
after a ten-year moratorium on the practice, and is being countered by a
tourism boycott.
Since January 2004, at least 100 wolves have been chased down and
shot in the Nelchina basin and McGrath regions of Alaska, where the state
sponsors aerial wolf “control” programs. In the last two weeks, the
Board of Game expanded the shooting spree to include bears and land in the
McGrath area beyond the original 1,728 square miles, doubling it to 3,588
square miles, and this week opened additional areas -- encompassing about
20,000 square miles— to wolf “control”. The no-hunting or
trapping buffer zone outside of Denali National Park was also reduced, leaving
it sorely inadequate for Denali’s wolves.
The Board's decisions have comprised a frontal assault on the
majority of Alaskans, wolves and other free-living animals, Friends of Animals
says.
“These wolf and bear-killing measures, designed to appease
hunters are insane, out of step with modern society, and show how uncivilized
the policy-makers are. The Board of Game is trying to erase 8 years of
compromise, and progressive policy made under the previous governor, Tony
Knowles. It’s an international horror,” says Priscilla Feral,
president of Friends of Animals.
Governor Murkowski, who appointed 6 of the 7 Board of Game
members, has ignored the citizens of Alaska, who have voted against these
programs twice (in 1996 and 2000 voter referenda). In response, over 80,000
Boycott Alaska postcards have been mailed, as well as countless letters, faxes,
emails, and phone calls from North Americans and people all over the globe,
pledging to boycott Alaska's $2 billion-a-year tourism industry until the
aerial wolf-shooting stops.
“Doubling the wolf 'control’ area in McGrath is likely
to accelerate the number of wolves killed there, and it reflects the underlying
source of the problem— a lack of ethics combined with faulty scientific
reasoning. Although we denounce the ethical poverty associated with the killing
of each wolf, we note that even the state's scientific reasoning is off the
mark, for the expansion exposes the reality that there is a smaller number of
wolves in the area than the state’s biologists asserted,” says Feral.
To date, Pittsburgh marks the 108th Howl-in. To find out when and
where new ones will be happening, and to see the names of over 100
organizations that are supporting the tourism boycott,
click here.
In 1998, Wildlife Services spent more than $20 million to kill over 100,000 predators, primarily coyotes. The methods used to kill the animals included aerial gunning - that is shooting the animals from helicopters, setting "M-44" traps that eject sodium cyanide into animals' mouths, "denning" - the practice of finding coyotes' dens and shooting or gassing the cubs to death - and catching the animals in steel legholds among others.
Please visit the Friends of the Earth website to learn more !
There is much we can learn as humans from the Wolf, as well as all members of the animal kingdom. We urge and encourage your active support to foundations directly involved in research and re-introduction programs. We urge and encourage you to actively support foundations directly involved in the preservation of our wildlife and their habitats.
