ALERT! PROPOSED CLOSURE OF FUND FOR ANIMALS OFFICE IN SAN FRANCISCO (FORT MASON)

[Guest guest]

March 12, 2005

 

THE ANIMAL MOVEMENT EATS ITS YOUNG (AGAIN)

 

NOTE: Nobody put me up to this--I'm doing it on my own (and

will, no doubt, be punished accordingly)

 

Please disperse this Alert as you see fit..

 

As feared, the recent merger of the Humane Society of the U.S. and The

Fund for Animals is having some disturbing fall-out. It was learned

only this week that the Powers-That-Be (Wayne Pacelle/HSUS and Mike

Markarian/The Fund, et al.) plan to close the San Francisco office of

The Fund for Animals on May 1 of this year. THIS MUST NOT BE ALLOWED TO

PASS UNCHALLENGED! The Fund's S.F. office is the ONLY

nationally-affiliated animal welfare activist organization in the city,

and it provides an invaluable service and meeting place for local

activists and the general public alike.

 

Surely it's not a matter of money. Last time I looked, HSUS had about

84 million dollars in the bank, The Fund 13 million. Reportedly, the

monthly rent for The Fund office at Fort Mason Center is less than $400.

If it's simply HSUS/Fund policy, then the policy needs changing. Penny

wise, pound foolish? Reportedly, neither Mike Markarian nor Heidi

Prescott (The Fund's National Director) has ever even seen the San

Francisco office (though Wayne Pacelle has visited it on a number of

occasions).

 

The S.F. Fund office is strategically located, with easy public access

and ample parking, and has enabled the presence there over the years of

a host of pro-animal activities: site of the art fair benefit I

organized for Marie Carosello's anti-vivisection documentary, " Tools for

Research; " home base for the volunteer effort working on Prop. 17, the

mountain lion initiative; various presentations by the S.F. Vegetarian

Society; Vigil for Animals; pro-animal readings and lectures; etc.,

etc. Not to mention the annual " Animal People Party " organized every

December by The Fund's indefatigable Virginia Handley for the local

animal protection community. Closure of the local office would cripple

much of Virginia's work, I'm convinced. And that of many other animal

advocates, too.

 

The office is a goldmine of resource materials: books, videos,

posters, petitions, hand-outs, and extensive historical files on an

immense spectrum of animal issues over the years. It also allows for

walk-in traffic seeking animal information. Calls to the office from

the general public are frequent, and handled expertly by long-time and

dedicated and capable staffer Elisabeth Keller (who donates a third of

her hours without charge). Closing this office would put her out of a

job, one worth considerably more than she's paid for, in my opinion.

 

Not to be paranoid and/or cynical, but some think this might be an

ill-disguised ploy to force Virginia Handley out of the merged

organizations, which would be a heart-breaker for Virginia and the

animals alike. Virginia has dedicated her entire life to helping animals

(and people), and this is a disgraceful way to reward her for her

efforts. In this man's less-than-humble opinion, Virginia Handley is a

true hero, and continues to be the single most committed and effective

advocate for animals west of the Mississippi, always putting the

animals' first, unlike some in this sometimes-misguided movement. To

lose her (and her Fort Mason office) would be a crime. Fund founder,

the late Cleveland Amory, a long-time booster of Virginia and her work,

must be spinning in his grave.

 

WHAT YOU CAN DO:

 

CONTACT: Wayne Pacelle, President Mike Makarian, VP

(former President of The Fund)

HUMANE SOCIETY OF U.S. HUMANE SOCIETY OF

U.S./THE FUND

2100 L Street, NW 8121

Georgia Avenue, #301

Washington, DC 20037 Silver

Spring, MD 20910-4933

tel. 301/258-3070

tel. 301/585-2591

fax 301/258-3080

fax 301/585-2595

e-mail - wpacelle

e-mail - mmarkarian

 

Please send me copies of any letters you send.

 

Yours for the animals,

 

Eric Mills, coordinator

ACTION FOR ANIMALS

P.O. Box 20184

Oakland, Ca 94620

tel. 510/652-5603

 

Pee Ess - I'll be out of town March 13-20, and will not be answering

calls/e-mails until my return.