IDA Weekly Alerts And Updates For May 31, 2001

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In Defense Of Animals

May 31, 2001

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IDA Weekly Alerts And Updates

 

Dear Friend And Fellow Animal Activist,

 

We have a number of very important alerts and notices for you today.

Jason Coats, the Missouri teenager responsible for brutally shooting Suzie

the Chimp to death has been charged with cruelty to animals, which is a mere

misdemeanor in the state of Missouri. He was also charged with property

damage. Since the District Attorney, Bob Wilkins felt that Coats did not

intend to torture Suzie he was not charged with felony animal cruelty. We

continue to closely monitor this very painful case and will let you know the

date of the upcoming trial.

 

Take Good Care,

 

Gretchen Hersman, IDA Alerts Coordinator

Quote Of The Week:

?In modern European thought a tragedy is occurring in that the original

bonds uniting the affirmative attitude toward the world with ethics are, by

a slow but irresistible process, loosening and finally parting.

 

What is the nature of this degeneration in our civilization and why has it

come about?.

The disastrous feature of our civilization is that it is far more developed

materially than

Spiritually. Its balance is disturbed.Now come the facts to summon us to

reflect. They

tell us in terribly harsh language that a civilization which develops only

on its material side and not in the sphere of the spirit..heads for

disaster.?

Dr Albert Schweitzer, 1875-1955

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Table Of Contents:

1) ...IDA Petland Press Release

2) ..National Boycott Petland Week, June 22-30

3) ...IDA Press Release: Jane Goodall Urges Feds To Save Chimps at Coulston

4) ...Offensive Nissan Commercial

5) ...Wal-Mart Super Stores Selling Duck Meat

6) ...Special Event, Plan To Attend!

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ACTIVISTS INTENSIFY BOYCOTT OF PETLAND

 

Mill Valley, CA -- In Defense of Animals (IDA) announces its support for

Boycott Petland Week, June 22-30, 2001, which was recently announced by the

Puppy Mill Fighters e-group. Petland is a national pet store chain with

locations in 29 states and nearly 60 outlets in foreign countries.

 

Hundreds of thousands of dogs, cats, puppies and kittens suffer untold

misery at animal breeding mills. ?Puppy mills? can be either commercial

kennels that rely on factory farming techniques to mass-produce puppies and

kittens or unscrupulous backyard breeders. In either case, the motive is

purely profit and the care of animals in such ?mills? is wholly inadequate.

Animals are housed their entire lives in hutch style cages with wire floors

so that urine and feces drop to the ground beneath the cages. Most dogs are

housed outdoors and subjected to the extremes of winter and summer

temperatures.

 

Instead of supporting the commercial pet production industry, Petland has

been repeatedly encouraged by IDA and other animal advocacy organizations to

work with pounds, shelters and breed rescue organizations to find loving

homes for adoptable animals. Greg Hudson, CEO of Petland, has ignored two

letter from IDA urging the company to sever ties with the commercial pet

industry responsible for the proliferation of puppy mills.

 

?One visit to a puppy mill is all it would take to convince any

compassionate person to join the boycott of Petland,? said Marshall Smith,

IDA's director of investigations. Before joining IDA, Smith was employed by

the United States Department of Agriculture and had seen the unbelievable

conditions the animals are forced to endure - usually for their entire

lives. Smith's efforts to expose the shocking connection between puppy mills

and Petland have remained unfettered in spite of threats and gunfire.

 

IDA is also calling for a ?National Day of Action? against Petland on

December 1, 2001 to impact puppy and kitten sales that traditionally peak

during the holiday season. In yet another campaign to stem the tide of

suffering and misery caused by commercial pet production, IDA is seeking to

elevate the status of animals from ?property? to living beings. ?They are

not our property, we are not their owners? is a campaign to reject the

notion that animals are commodities to be bought and sold. Central to the

campaign is the re-conception of the human-animal relationship from one of

?owner? to ?guardian.? IDA urges people to always adopt animals rather than

purchase an animal companion to refute the notion of animals as property.

 

IDA notes that Petland stores in Cheyenne, WY and Pensacola, FL are not

targeted for demonstrations and are in fact models for other Petlands

because of their work to find homes for adoptable, homeless animals in their

communities.

 

==============================================

How you may become involved!

NATIONAL BOYCOTT PETLAND WEEK

Announcing National Boycott Petland Week, June 22-30, 2001. Join Puppy Mill

Fighters, IDA, IMOM, and many other grass-roots organizations in an effort

to educate the public about the puppy mill - pet store connection.

 

June 22-30, 2001 will be a week of Petland and pet store protests,

demonstrations, letter writing and campaigning! All groups are encouraged to

join this national boycott that will kick off on Friday with protests

throughout the United States. If you do not have a Petland store near you,

please feel free to join us in boycotting and protesting all pet stores.

 

If you don't know about Petland stores and the puppy mill problem, please

visit www.puppymillfighters.com for more information.

 

If you are planning on being a part of this event, please join the email

group to find others in your area.

Subscribe to Boycott_Petland:

Boycott_Petland/join

 

More information about the boycott:

http://www.puppymillfighters.com/BoycottPetland.html

 

Please place a link button or banner on your website so that others may join

us in this effort.

http://www.puppymillfighters.com/banners.html

 

 

Tonya G.

t.schauw

 

BOYCOTT PETLAND WEEK 6/22-6/30

www.puppymillfighters.com/boycottpetland.html

 

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IDA Press Release:

In Defense of Animals, Mill Valley, CA 94941

http://www.vivisectioninfo.org/charlesriver/jg053001.html (full text of Dr.

Goodall's four-page letter)

 

Contact: Eric Kleiman, 717-939-3231

 

JANE GOODALL URGES FEDS TO SAVE COULSTON CHIMPANZEES

World-Renowned Scientist Calls on HHS Secretary Thompson to Intervene

 

Washington, DC (May 30, 2001) - World-renowned primatologist Dr. Jane

Goodall has appealed to Tommy Thompson, Secretary of the U.S. Department of

Health and Human Services, to intervene in the National Institutes of

Health (NIH)'s proposed plans to purchase 14 baby chimpanzees from the

notorious New Mexico-based Coulston Foundation and to award a $42.8 million

chimpanzee care contact to Charles River Laboratories, In Defense of

Animals (IDA) announced today.

 

In a letter dated May 19, 2001 (full text of her letter is available on the

web at http://www.vivisectioninfo.org/charlesriver/jg053001.html), Dr.

Goodall urged Secretary Thompson to stop the NIH's proposed purchase of the

14 baby chimpanzees, writing ?These 14 hapless infants are not needed for

research, and must be sent to a sanctuary, where they can be given a chance

at a full and enriching life in permanent retirement.? She also questioned

how the NIH could be allowed to reward Coulston for repeatedly violating

the August 24, 1999 federal consent order with the USDA that settled

multiple Animal Welfare Act violations. Instead, she recommended that the

$400,000 purchase price be sent to the sanctuary to offset the costs of the

infants' care.

 

Dr. Goodall also questioned the NIH's decision to award to Charles River

Laboratories a $42.8 million contract to care for 250 chimpanzees whom the

NIH had ?taken title to? from Coulston last year. She wrote the business

interests of this animal supply and testing conglomerate leave her ?gravely

concerned about the future of these chimpanzees.?

 

Dr. Goodall appealed to Secretary Thompson's ?humanitarian instincts? and

?sense of fiscal integrity? by imploring him to ?Please ensure that the 14

baby chimpanzees whose fate hangs in the balance are given permanent

sanctuary. Please also see to it that any contract for the management of

the [NIH] chimpanzees [in New Mexico] includes ironclad guarantees that

these chimpanzees will never again be used for research and/or testing

purposes.?

 

Dr. Goodall concluded by urging Secretary Thompson ?to convene an

independent panel of experts as soon as possible to assess all the options

to ensure the proper long-term care and well-being of the chimpanzees in

New Mexico? and offered to serve as an advisor to such a panel. There are

currently about 600 chimpanzees in New Mexico, ?owned? either by Coulston

or the NIH.

 

?IDA urges Secretary Thompson and Congress to act on Dr. Goodall's

heartfelt pleas,? said IDA Research Director Eric Kleiman. ?Dr. Goodall is

world-renowned for her dedication to science, humanity, and the protection

of chimpanzees. Her expert recommendations must be followed.?

 

What You Can Do:

 

Please contact your Congressional Representatives and ask that they give

serious attention to this matter. Request that they use their influence to

see that these unfortunate primates are given sanctuary at long last.

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Courtesy of Mary Zoeter:

OFFENSIVE NISSAN COMMERCIAL

 

 

You may have already viewed the Nissan (Motors Ltd) commercial that

depicts a Nissan vehicle fighting a bull in a ring.

 

Please write to Nissan

Motors & explain that bullfighting is a deadly bloodsport, not a tool for

selling more trucks.

 

Write to:

Yoshikazu Hanawa, Pres, Chairman, CEO

Carlos Ghosn, COO

Kanemitsu Anraku, Exec. VP, CFO

Kensho Kusumi, Exec. VP

Nissan Motor Co., Ltd

17-1, Ginza 6 - Chome, Chuo-Ku, 104-8023

Tokyo, Japan

 

Their North America address is:

Nissan Motor Corporation

P.O.Box 47060

Gardena, CA 90248

1-800-NISSAN-1 (1-800-647-7261)

 

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PLEASE ASK WAL-MART TO STOP SELLING DUCK MEAT

**Please cross post**

 

Animal Friends,

 

Wal-Mart SuperCenters currently sell duck meat from Maple Leaf Farms

(MLF). Photos and details about MLF can be seen on our website at

www.vivausa.org. We have e-mail addresses for a number of people who are

in a position to make Wal-Mart stop. Please take a moment to e-mail,

call or send a letter to Wal-Mart (see at the bottom).

 

In the past, Wal-Mart has made decisions that they felt reflected the

type of community they want to represent. Remind them that they can do

it again!

 

In Wal-Mart's response to consumers they are stating:

?All of the poultry that we purchase is from United States Department of

Agriculture-inspected and approved processing plants. We rely on the

USDA to ensure that the products we purchase are manufactured safely and

ethically.?

 

However, they are failing to tell people that the USDA does not have

any regulations on how these birds are raised or housed. In addition to

this, our statistics on ducks being boiled alive comes from FSIS (Food

Safety Inspection Service) a branch of the USDA.

 

Please write to:

 

H. Lee Scott

President & CEO Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

hlscott

 

Thomas M. Coughlin

Executive Vice President & President & CEO, Wal-Mart Stores Division

tmcough

 

S. Robson Walton

Chairman of the Board Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

srwalto

 

Doug Degn

Executive Vice President, Food Merchandising Wal-Mart Stores, Inc

djdegn

 

Thomas M. Schoewe

Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

 

tmschoe

 

Robert K. Rhoads

Senior Vice President, General Counsel & Secretary Wal-Mart Stores,Inc.

rkrhoad

 

J. J. Fitzsimmons

Senior Vice President, Finance & Treasurer Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

jjfitzs

 

Or contact them at:

1-800-925-6278

 

Lee Scott, President

Wal-Mart (SuperCenters)

P.O. Box 116

Bentonville, AR 72712-9956

 

Make sure your dollars speak for compassion. To order our leaflets or to

get our free Ducks Out of Water packet, contact us at info.

 

For the animals,

lauren Ornelas

US Campaigns Director

Viva!

www.vivausa.org

P.O. Box 49023

Atlanta, GA 30359

404/315-8881

 

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In Defense of Animals is proud to announce an upcoming special event that we

hope you will attend.

 

In The Garden is going to be a gourmet vegan luncheon with silent and live

auctions, honoring Didi Silverstone (mother of Alicia) for her tireless

efforts on behalf of animals. The event will feature Dr. Elliot Katz,

founder and President of IDA, and Christine Craft, television & radio

personality.

 

In The Garden will be held on June 24, 2001 at 11:00am at the spectacular

grounds of the Dunsmuir Estate, at 2960 Peralta Oaks Court, in Oakland, CA.

 

Reservations are limited, and tickets are $50 per person. For information

or tickets, please call (415) 388-0936.

 

Thank you for your support and activism, and we hope we will see you at In

The Garden!

 

In Defense of Animals

 

End Of Alerts

 

 

Humans are a disease, a cancer of this planet, and we are the cure... GO VEGAN!

 

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